Sorry for the delay. I just haven't really been in the mood to work on this or DF for quite some time. I kinda just caught up reading some books and failing to find a job so this kind of got pushed to the back burner. The main hurdle was the second section of the chapter, as I knew what I wanted to convey but I didn't think I could pull it off. I don't think I did, but people will get the general idea I was shooting for.

With that being said, I will say the second section has some truly disturbing imagery. If you have a weak stomach or don't like reading freaky stuff, you may want to skip over it.

Chapter Twenty Seven: Remnants

"To be a revolutionary you have to be a human being. You have to care about people who have no power."

It was an odd thing, the position they had been in since the rift opened. Xavier Flynn had spent most of his life hunting down vampires in the shadows, dispatching them with extreme prejudice. It had been one of the defining things in his life that made him, himself. To use the terms that he had learned from old man Sanders back during his Division S training, he was a hunter and weapon against the undead until the day he died. Thus he often found it disconcerting how one who had been such a successful hunter was now hunted daily, along with his allies.

He sighed as he followed the young Alice Hellsing deeper into their hideout, well beyond the outskirts of London. Going anywhere remotely near London was always risky, but more so for the young lady than anyone else. The hideout itself was the remains of a building that had collapsed into the sewer system when the initial rampaging took place after the rift had opened. Their entrance was basically the building but over time they had expanded down further into the sewer system. It seemed like it was the best place to hide at the time, and as the resistance's numbers grew, so did their underground base.

He idly played with the cross necklace he wore, his eyes glancing towards the red jewel in its center. His eyes glanced at the young girl's necklace, knowing for a fact that the only reason that she could even consider getting that close to London was due to the effects that the trinket had. Our warding specialist is to be commended for that piece of work. It's probably the reason we've been able to hide for so long as well, if what Victoria once said about the scent of a Hellsing's blood is true.

As the two walked forward, Flynn ignored the men and women scattered throughout the wreckage. He knew the looks that would be on their faces, especially upon seeing the daughter of the 'cursed' Hellsing family. Looks of hope, desperation, resignation, hatred... The list goes on, depending on each individual but there was one that was always present despite any other emotion one might have. It was the feeling of loss that could be read in their eyes, knowing full well that life would never be the same again.

His companion suddenly stopped outside a large metal door. It had been built to cover one of the sewer system's old drainage pipes that no longer functioned. Since the damage to the country had been so widespread, about half of the sewer system didn't actually work as necessary but Lysandra's minions didn't care. The door resembled that of an old bank vault, large hinges on it that look immovable to the naked eye. She knocked three times against the metal, the hollow banging echoing around them, before pausing then knocking another single knock. She then took a step back, coming to stand besides Flynn as he looked around them, shooting glares at the survivors that were shooting the young girl dirty looks. It ain't her fault you ungrateful bastards... Flynn found himself thinking as the door before them began to groan before opening. Without hesitating in the slightest, the two walked through, Flynn casting a final glance before the door once again closed.

They were met by a small group of men. One stepped forward, an eye patch covering his right eye. "Agent Flynn, Lady Hellsing, please follow us. We've been expecting you." The two nodded before following behind the man, the man's associates trailing behind them. They had guns ready to fire pointed at the backs of the two, but neither let this bother them. It had become routine, which in itself was a sign of what lengths humanity had been driven to.

The hallways were dark and dreary, as one would expect from the sewers. On the edge of the hallways, spaced approximately twenty feet apart were oil lamps, giving the bare minimum of light in order for people to find their way. It was a creepy environment but considering they knew they practically lived in a horror novel, they adapted with little fuss. Every now and then there would be another branching tunnel with its own makeshift 'torches' leading the way. The place was a rat maze if there ever was one.

The procession continued for at least another ten minutes before the man with the eye patch spoke once again. He looked mostly at Flynn before holding out his hand. "Weapons." From the tone of voice, one could tell that it was not a request. Alice removed the small pistol she had and ejected the bullet clip before handing the firearm to their guide. She shot a glance to her subordinate who only smirked before detaching the silver stringing device from his wrist.

He handed it over to the man with a hint of amusement. "That better still work when I get it back Cyclops." The man instantly bristled at the remark as he unconsciously tightened his grasp on the weapons in his hands.

Alice looked to the side with a bored look on her face before saying. "Wildcard, don't cause any trouble." She then faced the man with the eye patch before bowing her head slightly. "I apologize for my companion's rudeness."

The man scoffed under his breath before nodding to the men behind the two. He stepped out to the side while another took his place, opening the door for the two. He gestured for them to enter and the two did so with little problems. The door slammed shut behind them but neither really cared about that. They were far more focused on the three men sitting at the table in front of them.

The room was small, but it was out of the way and was only used by a select group of people. A small oil lamp hung overhead; it was near impossible to get electricity down here. Not that they would try, considering it would eventually lead the vampires to this place. The light flicked as the lamp swung idly from its perch, illuminating the room with an orange glow. She knew all three of the men, though there was only one that she held any real favor towards. The man in question rose to his feet as the two entered, a look of relief on his tired old face.

Alice Hellsing brushed some of her hair away from her eyes before speaking, "Mission accomplished." Two words, uttered so monotone it could have been as if someone had been speaking about something as mundane as a children's book, rather than a series of explosions that tore through London earlier that evening. Xavier mentally flinched at the girl's tone, wondering what had happened to the innocent little girl that they pulled from the remains of the facility. The standing man walked over slowly and embraced the young lady without warning. The Hellsing heir did nothing to fight it. She gave him a worried expression before returning the embrace and whispering softly, "It's alright Christopher. I'm alright."

The old man in question released her and wiped a tear from his eye. "You must stop doing this lady Hellsing. You're going to give this old man a heart attack one day." He then took several steps back and waited while the young woman's focus turned the two men at the table.

The first was one that was to be expected. She had remembered the man from when she had heard her father died. He had come shortly before the rift opened. She thought him to be a strange man, though ordinary. It wasn't until much later that she realized exactly what he was. She had never really cared for god, but sitting in front of her were one of her few allies, a man of such. Father Matthew Perigrin, a member of the Vatican's special forces.

After the failure of the assault on Buckingham, the Vatican's forces were ransacked as vampires decimated their ranks. The confusion of the opening of the rift had paved the way towards their downfall. With the aid of Hellsing's forces, the Iscariots who had aided them in their attack on Buckingham were able to escape along with the remainder of Hellsing's forces. Father Perigrin had emerged as their leader but according to what she had heard from both Agent Flynn and several other Iscariots, the man had changed drastically, as if he had seen something that a mortal should never have seen. He was quiet and collective, and almost never spoke of his faith in any way, shape, or form. Many of the resistance had taken to calling him 'the fallen priest.'

She shifted her gaze from the stoic Perigrin to the other man that sat at the table. This man, as far as she was concerned, was an odd third factor, the likes of which neither Lysandra nor the hunters had thought of. He was in his late thirties to earlier forties, blond hair trailing down to his shoulder blades but tied up into a ponytail. A vertical scar ran from his left ear down to his chin, as if some had tried to carve his face off. His green eyes surveyed the room with an air of indifference, as if he didn't really see them at all. A cigarette was in his mouth and he slowly took a drag off before speaking, his voice sounding confident but lacking any sort of amusement. "All three targets were eliminated?"

Alice frowned slightly at the leader of the resistance. He had been the leader of a rather large band of criminals that had flourished in the underground, known only as 'The Coyote.' Supposedly a former member of the British army, prior to the rift opening he had spent a good ten years or so building up his connections and power. He had once had a hand in everything ranging from extortion to assassination prior to the opening of the rift. He even had information on the Hellsing institution, something that was classified even at the upper echelons of British society. His aid after the rift had opening had been unexpected but Alice had known they would be lost without it. The man had brought men, weaponry, and information that the remaining hunters had desperately needed.

The man was the leader of the resistance, as his men made of the majority of the forces. Without his support, the men from Hellsing and the Vatican would have been wiped out in five years, but his sudden alliance saved them in more ways than one. He wasn't really liked by the soldiers of Hellsing or the Vatican, but it was better to have him as an ally than an enemy. He fought without honor, with no regards to what happen to innocent lives.

Alice at one time had hated his methods but after growing up in the post-rift world, having to hide from vampires at every turn and watching people cower in fear instead of standing up to fight, she no longer cared. She saw the fools that didn't fight back as cowards and as she grew into her teenage years a layer of indifference had been put up as she fought.

Alice snapped out of her musings before responding to the earlier question. "I have confirmation of the death of the targets. We ran into some trouble but we handled the situation."

Father Perigrin frowned slightly before asking, "Were you followed?"

She look insulted that the man had even suggested such a thing before replying. "Agent Griphten was part of our team. He says we were not followed. That is proof enough for me."

The Coyote merely smirked at the cross look on the Iscariot's face before saying, "Calm down Father." He then looked back to Alice and nodded. "Excellent work then Lady Hellsing. Those three were high in Lorenz's chain of command. That should send a clear message to those blood sucking bastards."

Flynn scoffed at the empty claim as he leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. Lorenz could give a rat's ass about a few instant freaks under his command. It's not like they can't be replaced. Flynn was one of the many who didn't like the Coyote. He didn't trust him and had been very wary when the criminal leader had offered his aid. It was simple enough; the man didn't trust the operatives from Hellsing either. The Division S agents were treated as if nitroglycerin; a deadly weapon but incredibly unstable. Their loyalty was to the Hellsing institution, unlike many of Hellsing's common soldiers. They had fought to an unholy degree for the institution, many of which for good portions of their lives. So in turn, they were treated as special forces in the resistance and it separated them from their old colleagues in the institution. Over the course of several years now it was nearly impossible to determine if a member in the resistance had come from Hellsing, Iscariot, the Coyote's own men, or from the myriads of citizens who had secretly joined their cause, thus very few remained loyal to the young heir to the Hellsing family.

Alice didn't bother to respond to the Coyote's words. She merely took a seat at the table before asking. "What's our status?"

Father Perigrin spoke first, "I have put some to work on placing holy blessings on the ammunition that we do have but it will not nearly be as effective as silver bullets. We recently obtained a good portion of silver but none of our smiths are capable of crafting bullet shells, we just don't have the equipment necessary. I ordered them to focus more on melee weapons." He shook his head a few times before adding, "My men will give instructions on melee warfare with vampires."

Alice nodded before turning to the Coyote. "What of our supplies?"

The blond-haired man slid further into his seat as if pondering something. Finally he spoke, his voice somewhat soft but bearing what seemed to be bad tidings. "Our last raid was successful and we have enough food to keep the men going for a few weeks, a month at best if we ration it correctly. However I do not know how long we can keep relying on raids to replenish our food supply. Lysandra's forces having been watching us far too closely and I do not think it would be wise to make another such raid for some time. We need to find other ways to obtain supplies."

Christopher finally broke his silence and added, "We are also running short on medicine and medical supplies. Winter will be coming soon and I do not think we will be able to last another winter at this rate."

The Coyote nodded. "Correct. I have some people doing some research into that problem though. They are searching through old hospitals that were destroyed when the rift opened. The facilities might still have some untouched supplies but I'm not holding my breath."

Alice closed her eyes before letting out a large sigh. It seems like we're running short on time. We couldn't keep this up forever. She frowned as she rubbed her eyes, her weariness starting to take a toll on her body. "We need information on Lysandra's movements in Buckingham itself. We need to make a move soon."

The Coyote nodded. "I already have sent some men of mine in. They don't know how to find this place so there's no risk in that regard." His eyes widened slightly before he spoke up again, "And my sources also turned up another interesting piece of information."

Flynn opened an eye but didn't say anything. Alice spoke up, "And what would that be?"

The Coyote reached into his pocket and withdrew a piece of paper. He read it quickly to himself before summarizing. "Lysandra is looking for some very specific people." Sensing the air in the room chilling slightly he continued, "One is you, Lady Hellsing, for obvious reasons. She knows that you are one of the key factors in the resistance and probably plans to kill you in order to destroy your institution for good."

Alice merely sighed as she leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. "What else is new?" Flynn couldn't help but smirk at the young girl's nonchalance at the statement. Perhaps I'm rubbing off on her after all. Ol'man Hellsing would have my head if he were still alive.

"The information on the other is sketchy at best. Apparently her name hasn't actually been spoken in quite some time so my men were unable to actually determine who she is. All my people know is that its a woman. She's rumored to only have one arm and apparently hasn't been seen since the rift opened.

Alice frowned before looking to Flynn. He saw her look and shrugged his shoulders. The young woman then looked towards the old man who had taken care of her for most of her life and was met with a similar response. She looked back towards the ex-crime lord and asked, "Any particular reason?"

The man frowned at the paper before tossing it on the table. "My source isn't completely sure but it seems like the woman is a threat to them somehow."

The room was silent for some time after that, each person silently wondering on who the person in question was. Finally Alice let out a rather large sigh before asking, "Gentlemen, do you require me for anything? If not I wish to rest, it has been a tiring night."

Christopher nodded before shooting a glance towards the other two leaders, as if requesting they allow the teenager to rest. The Coyote nodded once and Perigrin did likewise. Alice then rose from her seat and turned and walked out of the room, the elder former butler accompanying her. Flynn watched to two leave with a curious look but kept his comments to himself, muttering something indiscernible under his breath. The former military man turned to the Division S operative and asked, "Is she alright Agent Flynn?"

Flynn shrugged. "The little princess puts up a good front but she isn't cut out for this. She may insist otherwise but her skills aren't up to the level where they need to be if she's going to be treading into enemy territory, even more so in her case." Normally one would think that Flynn wouldn't mention such at thing seeing how he didn't really care for either men, but it wasn't like it was a big secret. He took a long sigh before scratching the back of his head. "She isn't as cold as she pretends to be, and that simple fact will slowly kill her."

The Coyote frowned at that statement slightly before asking, "If you don't think she should be doing missions like that, why don't you stop her?"

Flynn only smirked. "She's a Hellsing; stubbornness runs in the blood. Besides, if I told her that she shouldn't go she would consider it a weakness and then insist on going in order to overcome it." He sighed lightly as he rested against the wall.

The fallen priest merely seemed to turn somewhat contemplating before uttering, "She used to be a sweet girl too, if not a little naive about the way the world works." He was silent for a few moments before musing, "A shame really."

Flynn remained silent after the soft voice of the Iscariot went quiet. I suppose that's what happens when your mother is slaughtered right in front of you... and you have to grow up too many years too early... He then pushed off the wall, giving neither man a glance and walked out of the room, intent on breaking open the bottle of whiskey that the old bartender had given him earlier during the day. Perhaps the others will share a drink with me.


The water fell around her body as she rested against the front wall. Her eyes were closed as she took some deep breaths, as if she were under examination. Her body trembled slightly as her memories tore through her mind, only offset by the sound of the falling water.

The water was ice cold and sent pin pricks of pain along her skin as they landed, leaving trails of numbness down her legs. She could barely feel her feet and the pin pricks caused by the cold were beginning to cause her stomach to itch. She gently rubbed her stomach as the shower slowed to a slow and inconsistent drip from above. She didn't bother to open her eyes when it finally stopped.

"Miss Alice, would you like another bucket?" Came the elderly voice of her attendant. She liked the old man, and considered him family in a sense. Perhaps a strange grandfather or uncle?

"Yes Christopher, if it wouldn't be too much trouble." She replied, looking upwards and opening her crystalline blue eyes. The low light was revealed and she watched as a hand reached over the makeshift shower curtain, an improvised piece of metallic debris that had been scavenged, carrying a pail of water. She watched as he slowly pour the water into the bucket above her head and a few moments later her shower once again started, through the few holes in the second bucket. The water was slightly warmer than before and Alice thanked her attendant. "I'll be fine, you may go."

She didn't need to see him to know that he was bowing slightly to her. "As you wish Miss Alice." A few moments later she heard him turn to leave and walk away, closing the door behind him.

She sighed under the water before reaching out around the 'curtain' and grabbing the pants she had been wearing previously. A pair of faded denim jeans that were slightly loose on her small frame but the closest they had been able to find. She fumbled in the back pocket until she found the small container that she had been looking for. She poked her head out of the makeshift stall and ran her hair behind her before she let out a large sigh before opening the small rectangular container.

Inside was a series of small blue cylindrical tablets. She stared at them as if evaluating them before removing one and closing the container. She closed the container and placed it back in her pants, hoping that her old friend would never find out about it. She didn't know if he would be able to take it in his old age. He doesn't need to know. Only Flynn knows and he keeps his mouth shut though I can tell he doesn't approve.

The training to become an expert in Division S was rigorous and comparable to the training that was on par with the world's top counter-terrorism groups. However there was a distinct difference in the training that no other group ever did. Most spec-ops groups begin the training harshly in order to weed out who had the mentality to go on; separate the men from the boys so to speak. Those who couldn't handle the intensity dropped off, most grateful that they were no longer expected to go the lengths that the group required.

Division S was similar to many spec-ops teams in their overall ability but their mindset were completely different. You weren't nominated to join the elite division unless it was known that you would go all the way. It may take a while, but there had never been a single person to quit the harsh training. This wasn't a training to separate the men from the boys, it was a hellish life meant to break the men back into boys and then turn them into something more then men; it was meant to turn them into hunters. A large part of that training was condensed in the small blue pill that Alice Hellsing held in the palm of her hand.

She didn't know its actual name, almost no one did anymore. Since the fall of the facility, it wasn't like they could make more of them either, not that anyone really felt the need to. It was the shadow division's dirty little secret that not even her father had known. Those who survived the Division S training referred to the drug as 'The Blue Deathwish.' It was a concentrated neuro-toxin that had been discovered by Hellsing's researchers around seventy years ago. The goal had been to develop something similar to a vampire-repellent but instead they came up with the Deathwish. It was pure fear, concentrated and packaged into small little blue pills. Upon taking it, the effects were close to immediate and would last for anywhere from ten to thirty minutes at a time. It caused the user to be confronted by horrible nightmares that would override their sense of being, similar to a way that twenty-first century 'acid' or LSD worked.

Upon discovering what the researchers had discovered, the leader of Hellsing at the time had ordered the samples destroyed. The person in charge of the new elite Division S had other plans. He had the researchers develop more of the drug and test it for side affects. It was found to be non-addictive, which in reality wasn't all that surprising considering the amount of sheer terror the user felt while experiencing the effects, and didn't cause any long term physical damage. He then worked the samples into the training program, forcing the soldiers to experience terror in pill form while training.

The results were mixed. There were several who were driven mad by the effects, taking their own lives rather than facing the imagined fears. While not reported to the Hellsing Institution as a result of the drug's use, it did make many weary about taking the pills as instructed by their trainers. On the other end of things, the concentration of those who endured the effects tripled and more or less eliminated heavy fears in the agents. In the end, those who had become hunters while training will the blue pills were as close to fearless as possible, if not completely fearless. This could also be the root of several agents' obscure or maniacal personalities, such as Xavier Flynn or the late James Hawthorne.

She focused for a few more seconds on the pill before tossing it back and shallowing it. She could feel the pill dissolving in her throat and her body buckled slightly back underneath the bucket. The water was growing colder by the second as she closed her eyes, trying to prepare for what the drug would show her.

She felt her heart beating faster already and knew the moment she opened her eyes that she may start screaming. In a way she was glad that they were in the lowest reaches of the sewers. The large bank vault type doors were a hindrance in many ways, but at least they were soundproof. She heard rather than felt her breath starting to come in short gasps under the effects of the toxin and chided herself before forcing herself to take deep calming breaths. The water still dripped down on her, but it felt as if it was slowly becoming warmer. Alice Hellsing took more one deep breath before opening her eyes. When she did she once again wished she had listened to Flynn more than she did.

Her skin had rivulets of red dripping down her body. She frowned before she realized what it was and looked up. Instead of the bucket being there, a headless corpse of one of the men who had died in an operation she had run last week was hanging there, upside down by a rope tied around his ankles. She shuddered and couldn't help but take a step back, her back slamming against the wall as her speed seemed to be far too great. The stone wall scratched her back but it was impossible for her to tell if it had broken the skin or not. She was too occupied by the head being held in the man's arms, smirking at her as if he was going to try asking the girl on a date or something. A pair of puncture marks were visible near where the man's neck, or rather the remains of it were. "Weak..." Was all the corpse said before her focus shifted.

The wall she was bracing herself against suddenly shifted, no longer stone but now flesh as she felt warmth and something hairy pressing against her back. A second later, a series of hairy long legs wrapped around her legs, abdomen, and neck. A moment later she felt a searing pain on the back of her neck as something ripped into the flesh.

She couldn't but scream as the pain flooded her senses before she bit her lip and turned her head to see what was restraining her body. She screamed once again as he action tore some of her flesh out before coming face to face, or rather face to eyes, with the biggest spider she had ever seen. While not overly terrified of small arachnids like some people were, she could honestly say that she didn't like them too much. This wasn't a small arachnid; it was a very big arachnid . She saw her own blood dripping from the monstrosity's fangs and reacted as best she could in her restrained state. She twisted her body to her left side as much as she could and slammed her left elbow directly into one of of the giant arachnid's eyes.

The legs surrounding her body instantly poofed into a dark purple fog as the rest of the giant spider merely became a large lump of angry locusts that buzzed her head, someone all after her blood. A few tried to climb into her ears and she swatted as many of the insects away as she could before feeling herself choke on something. Before she could understand what was happening she felt her mouth open and several swarms flew out of her mouth, causing her to gag and vomit as soon as they all left her body. She fell down to her knees in her own vomit and blood, as well as the blood of the corpse that was still hanging there, its severed smiling at her the whole time. "Someone like you is going to save England. Don't make me laugh little princess. Perhaps you should stay in these sewers forever, you'd live longer." The smile then grew even more, twisting upwards beyond that of how a normal person would be able to smile. The smile actually began to split the face's skin, which shot out blood before the skin merely fell from the face, leaving the muscles behind chilling the young girl to the bone. "Perhaps you should go to that blood sucking bitch and ask to be spared. I'm sure she would love to have you as a toy of some sort, perhaps some young blood and an able body to give to her servants to play with."

Alice rose with fury at that, completely lost within her own hallucinations and swung a harsh right cross at the head. "Over my dead body!" She yelled as the fist impacted against the skull and muscle. Instead of falling like one would expect, the head, torso and legs merely exploded in a brilliant rain of blood. She felt flesh slap against her fact and raised her hand to wipe a piece of skin from between her eyes and she flung it contemptuously away.

As if responded to her attack, the skin below her neck between her breasts began to bubble and churn as if someone dropped a stone into a lake. She panicked slightly, feeling the strange rippling as it grew, and began to slap and rub away the irritation. Without warning a hand shot forth from the ripple and grabbed her neck, cutting off her air-flow. She trying to scream but couldn't without any air. She tried to use her right hand to pry the grip off of her neck but her eyes widened in shock as all she saw attacked to her right forearm was a bloody stub instead of a hand.

Without warning the hand burst into flames and she felt the heat enveloping her body and her neck to be more specific. The hands grip must have slackened slightly because she screamed louder than she ever before, this time in pain as well as fear. As she screamed the hand vanished and so did the flames but Alice didn't even notice as she feel forward once again. She landed on her hands and knees and stared at the darkness below her. She stood up shakily again but as soon as she did the ground beneath her seemed to loose its substance and she found herself falling. In panic, she trashed her arms out to try and catch something to keep from falling into the abyss beneath her.

She caught something fleshy and warm and tightened her grasp on it. She looked up and found herself staring into the face of her dead father, his eyes missing and the top of his head peeled off, revealing the gray matter beneath it. "Don't worry sweetheart, daddy's here." She screamed once again, which seemed to cause the deformed and desecrated visage of her father to laugh. "Don't worry honey. I'll give you a hand." No sooner than after he said that, his forearm that had been holding her up ripped from the rest of the arm, flesh and all akin to a noise of someone tearing into a steak.

She didn't know how long she fell for but screamed as unseens winds tore past her face, visions of dead men and women surrounding her. Finally her body just jerked to a stop, not like she had hit ground but rather she was merely jerked out of the air and was no being held silently against something. He noticed that her wrists were shackled and she was unable to move them.

She looked around, trying to find where the next attack would come from and saw nothing save total darkness. All the blood that had been running down her body earlier was now gone as well. She looked absolutely furious as she yelled, raising her head into the air as if challenging. "That can't be the best you got!"

It was then that she saw a small bit of light shining off in the distance. She couldn't help but look towards it, wondering if the effects were wearing off. It blinked three times before there was a large flash of light, temporarily blinding her. She opened her eyes, somewhat wishing she could rub her hand against them and her breath caught in her throat. No...

The scene was one that was familiar to her. She had dreamed nightmares about it many nights since it had happened nine years ago. It wasn't anything new to her, but it still sent a chill down her spine and bile rushing towards her throat, waiting to escape. Before her stood the one vampire that had changed her life more than she ever thought possible. He stood there with a sick grin on his face, as if enjoying the torment he was causing the girl with his sheer presence. Without so much as saying a word, he turned to the side and walked away towards where two huddled forms hid beneath some debris. Her eyes widened and she croaked out "No..." as she realized who the two forms were.

She closed her eyes as her body trembled as the scene from her past played out once again. No, I don't need to see this again. Not again! Almost against her will, her eyes opened and watched the grisly spectacle as the vampire tore away the debris, throwing away the child with a vicious slap before yanking the older woman and tossing her down in front of him before reaching for the zipper on his pants. This time Alice forced her eyes closed against whatever had been keeping them open before. It did nothing to save her from the screams of fear, pain, and shame that echoed from the woman's mouth as the vampire from Alice's memories violated her mother. Eventually all that could be heard was her mother's sobbing as the vampire continued to rape the woman. It all ended abruptly as an ear-splitting shriek ripped from her mother's throat as the vampire sank his fangs into her neck.

Alice once again opened her eyes and watched as the vampire laughed and rose from the woman's bruised and beaten body. He licked his lips clean of the gleaming red blood that seemed to paint his mouth before turning his head towards the side where he had slapped the young girl earlier. The girl had woken up during the violation of her mother and kneeled there as if locked there, her eyes glassed over from the scene. Simply too much for her seven year old mind to handle. The vampire eventually stood in front of her and grabbed her by her neck and lifted her into the air, intent on sinking his fangs into the young girl's neck.

Alice couldn't help but smirk despite the horrific images she was seeing. She couldn't only do that because she knew what happened next in the nightmare. It was the first time she had killed and was a turning point in her life. Somehow the gun that had found its way into the little girl's hand was raising to the vampire's face as he lifted her into the air and she pulled the trigger. The bullet ripped through the vampire's skull, causing the vampire to collapse into the dust from whence it came.

The little girl fell to the ground and grabbed her wrist, the kick back from the gun hurting her untrained arms. Alice paled when she realized what was coming next as the dead woman's body slowly began to rise. The little girl looked up in shock as she watched her mother begin walking towards the girl. By no means a normal walk, but rather a strange slouched one, as if it would take too much energy to stand up straight. The woman's eyes were hollow, as if they had been carved from the skull and her skin hung loosely from her body. The little girl saw this and began backing away in fear. "Mommy?" The little girl questioned, the weapon hanging heavy in her little arms.

The ghoul before her offered no response other than a howling groan. The little girl was visibly trembling in fear as the undead form of her mother began advancing on her slightly faster. The ghoul was only a second away from devouring the girl when the girl closed her eyes, raised the gun and fired.

It was at this point that world around Alice vanished. She once again found herself sitting underneath the shower bucket back in their headquarters. The water had stopped falling long ago and she was breathing heavily as the water drip-dried on her body as she sat with her back leaning against the wall of the stall. She looked around as if shocked to see where she was before everything proved to be too much for the teenager. Within moments, the cold mask she wore around her subordinates collapsed and she began to cry to herself.


She stepped out of the shower around fifteen minutes later, her hair tied back through the use of a rubber band. She was wearing the same clothes she had worn earlier on the strike in London but her face was still paler than usual. There were deep rings of red around her eyes, proof that she had been crying, even to those who didn't know her.

When she walked out she was surprised to see Flynn leaning against the wall as if waiting for her. His eyes were closed but he was flipping a coin in the air absentmindedly. She shot him a weak glare but he didn't even notice it before opening his eyes and giving her a steady gaze. Upon noticing the red rings around her eyes he frowned before reaching for something in his coat pocket. He handed her a metal flask which she tried to give back to him but he refused. "Drink. It'll take the edge off of the after-effects." She looked at him, surprise evident on her face before unscrewing the top and taking a sip. She almost choked as the harsh burning taste of scotch burned down her throat and she withdrew from the flask and began coughing, already feeling sick to her stomach before handing the open flask back to the man. He only took a sip of it himself before screwing the top back on and placing it back in his pocket. He didn't say anything for several minutes before saying, "There's been a development. The dog and the fallen priest have requested your presence."

She couldn't help but chuckle at the words of the agent who she considered an older brother. "You mean Coyote and Perigrin?" He only shrugged, a look of disinterest written on his face. She nodded before saying, "Let's go then."

A few minutes later they were back in that same room where they had met the two before. Christopher was there as well, a somewhat stunned look covering his face. That... can't be a good thing... Alice thought to herself before turning to Coyote and asking, "What is it?"

He exchanged a glance with Perigrin and Christopher before speaking. "We have learned the identity of the woman that Lysandra's people are looking for. One of our spies was killed by the other was able to contact me and send the picture that Lysandra's people are using to find the woman." He withdrew the photo from his pocket and flicked it across the small table until Alice caught it and held it up to the light.

The image seemed familiar but she couldn't recognize it. She didn't have to however as she heard Flynn gasp behind her and then heard a coin hit the ground. Alice looked over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow at her agent's shocked expression. "You know her Wildcard?"

Perigrin looked confused for a moment before asking, "Shouldn't he? She is one of yours after all." He seemed to consider it for a moment before saying, "Then again you may not remember her."

She shrugged before looking at the photo again. "So who is she?" She asked, directly more towards Flynn than anyone else.

Christopher was the one who spoke up, "She is, or rather was I suppose, Hellsing's top hunter. She hasn't been seen for ten years, we all thought she was dead."

Alice looked at the picture of a brunette woman wearing a dark blue trenchcoat with a raised eyebrow. She didn't notice it at first but suddenly one little detail caused Alice's body to chill. "She has red eyes..."

"That's right. She was a vampire, a pure blood who served the Hellsing family for over a hundred years." Christopher said, pushing his glasses up as he explained. "Seras Victoria was the trump card of the Hellsing institution for many years."

Flynn didn't add anything but couldn't help but chuckle slightly. So Draculina's alive. This could be interesting. He couldn't help but grin maniacally as he heard the young woman's next words.

"Find her before Lysandra's goons do. If she is our ultimate weapon, it is well beyond the time to pull the trigger."