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Kantra
Lord Makura
VampyreVixen16
ParanoidSchizo
Order 29: Fare Thee Well
When faced with the news of imminent death, human beings have several different reactions. There's the typical five stages of grief -denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance -, some allow themselves to wallow in depression, and still others attempt to complete a list of things before they go. Integra, being of sound mind and iron will, did not succumb to the fear of death. She began writing her will.
Her intention was to leave everything to Miranda. She stayed up into the late hours of the night, trying to finish the document as soon as possible, when Alucard phased in on her.
"It's rather late, don't you think?" he asked softly.
"Go away, Alucard," she responded harshly. "I have work to finish."
"Oh?" He asked with a grin and moved forward. "And just what are you working on?"
Integra hadn't told him. It had been a week since her doctor's appointment and she hadn't told anyone. She had thought Alucard would have been able to tell but since he hadn't, she reasoned the disease was still in its early stages. She coughed weakly.
"Are you still sick? My God, humans are frail."
Integra had to smile. She knew he wouldn't be talking like that if he knew she was dying and she almost considered withholding the information from him. But he was soon to find out and then he'd be on the warpath.
"Yes, I am still sick. And I might still be for some time to come."
In response to Alucard's confused expression, she turned her pen up and pressed the point firmly into the pad of her thumb. Blood slowly rose to the surface of her skin. Alucard smelled ink, blood, and...the faint scent of disease. Faintly alarmed, he crossed the distance between them and grabbed Integra's wrist. Despite her cry of protest, he yanked her into a standing position, bringing the injured digit closer to his nose. He gave a suspicious sniff then closed his mouth around the wound.
"Servant!" Integra barked, jerking her hand away. "Control yourself."
Alucard's eyes were wide as the blood dripped down his throat. "You are..."
"Dying, yes," Integra said impatiently. She sat back down and looked up at Alucard who looked at a loss for words. "Don't look so surprised," Integra said. "People die. That is the way of the world. Did you think it'd be different for me?"
But Alucard barely heard her words. It was strange but perhaps some little part of him had thought that Integra would be around forever. How could he have been so stupid?
"Who else knows?" he heard himself ask.
"No one," came Integra's easy answer.
"You haven't told Miranda?"
Integra rolled her eyes. "Yes, because I know if I were a little girl, I'd want to know my mother was going to die."
Alucard visibly drooped and Integra was surprised to see an actual expression of sadness on his face. "Integra-"
"Be quiet," she said sharply, cutting him off. "This is the way of things. There is no point in getting upset because it will do nothing to change the situation. Everyone's just going to have to get used to the idea of me not being around." She paused and said, in a rare moment of jest, "Death shouldn't make you soft, Alucard."
The No-Life King didn't - couldn't - accept the humor in her statement. "How long do you have?" he asked quietly.
The doctors had said Integra had a mere six months to live but she fought for two long years. It was during the second year that her death could no longer be hidden. Miranda was in a constant state of depression. Her behavior regressed and it looked as though she would follow Integra to the grave. She would often be seen at Integra's side, even when the Hellsing leader said she should spend time with her father. Miranda would adamantly refuse and stay close to her mother.
Christopher Lee seemed broken by the news as well. He constantly tried to spare Miranda from seeing her mother so sickly and frail and oft times could be seen dragging the child from Integra's bedside, kicking and screaming.
Integra spent half her time in bed and the other half with Miranda. She was determined to instruct her young daughter, so that she too would be a great Hellsing leader. Distraught, Miranda would have no part in it.
Alucard phased in on her, sobbing in her room.
"Use the door!" she shouted, buried in her pillow. "Or better yet," she sat up, glaring at him, her face tear-streaked. "Don't come in at all."
Alucard held back a smirk and he crossed the room and sat beside her on her bed. Miranda turned away, putting her back to him. "I'll disregard that as a side-effect of your hysteria," he said lowly.
"Just get out," Mirand moaned pitifully, wiping at her eyes.
"No, I don't think I will," Alucard replied nonchalantly. "Perhaps you should try and pull yourself together, little Hellsing. What kind of leader will you make if you go to pieces at someone's death?"
"Someone? She's my mother, you heartless bastard! When she dies, I'll have no one. And as for being a leader, I don't want any part of Hellsing. It can crumble to the ground for all I care!"
Alucard raised an eyebrow. "Have you forgotten about your father, child?"
Miranda didn't respond. She took several deep breaths and said darkly, "Get out."
"No," Alucard said simply.
She turned on him angrily. "I gave you an order!"
"Ah, but unfortunately, I don't take your orders. Only the leader of Hellsing can command me and as you stated you don't care if this whole place crumbles to the ground."
Miranda stood up in a rage. "I hate you, Alucard," she spat before leaving the room and slamming the door behind her.
Alucard sighed lowly, leaning back on the bed. Miranda did not seem like Master material anyway. He had been thinking that for a long time now but he sincerely hoped that it was her mother's fate that was causing this bad behavior. But some small part of him knew...that the greatness of the Hellsing Organization would die with Integra. It both thrilled and saddened him.
Alucard could be found by Integra's side as well, when Miranda was elsewhere.
"How do you feel?" he asked softly.
"Wonderful," came her dry reply.
The once regal Hellsing head was little more than a talking corpse now. Her blue eyes, once commanding and determined, were now glassy and clouded-over with her approaching death. Her cheeks had sunken and her bones were brittle and fragile. She looked tired and old. She was not long for this world.
He could hear her heartbeat, weak and struggling, inside her chest. It would fail soon. He knew that.
"The Hellsing Organization will end with you," he said suddenly.
Integra listened and shook her head faintly. "No. Miranda will-"
"Will what? Your daughter wants no part of this decaying institution nor is she fit to run it."
Amazingly, Integra gave a weak smile. "You should be happy then. You may yet have no one to command you. I don't have much longer."
"What, did you see your entire life flash before your eyes?"
Integra frowned faintly. "I happen to hate that expression. It's as though," she took a rattling breath. "It's as though before you die, you search desperately for proof that you were alive to begin with."
Alucard's expression softened. "I never wanted you to die."
"I know," Integra whispered weakly. "You wanted me to be yours."
Alucard was silent for a moment. "You could still be," he said quietly.
A bitter smile came over her face. "You want to give me your blood so that I will recover and walk strong once more." She fell silent and for a second the thrill of hope passed through Alucard's heart. He thought she was considering it until she spoke again.
"How selfish."
The shock was etched into his face. "Selfish? Tell me, Integra, dying and leaving this world a shattered image of what you used to be...how is that selfless?"
But Integra didn't respond. She turned her head away from him.
"Integra," Alucard called urgently.
She sighed lowly. "Farewell. My Count."
His hand wrapped around hers and held it until an hour crawled past and her weak heartbeat stopped altogether. As he sat, staring at her face, sadness overwhelmed him, choked him. "Farewell. My Master," he replied in the silence of the room, in the wake of death.
When Miranda found out, she flew into a rage. She cursed Alucard for not calling her to share in the last moments of her mother's life. Her anger was physical. She tore through the halls, upsetting the castle, breaking glass and screaming until her throat tore and bled before collapsing, exhausted, sobbing and heart-broken in Seras' arms.
The funeral was in three days. Miranda did not attend and Alucard and Seras watched from the back. Alucard remembered feeling this same way at Integra's wedding. Seras worried over what would happen now that Integra was gone but Alucard was already making plans.
He awoke Seras promptly at sundown. "M-master?" she squeaked, looking up from her coffin to Alucard's grinning face. He looked happier than he had in a long time.
"Wake up, Police Girl. I have a job for you."
"A job?" Seras sat up, wiping at her eyes. "What is it?"
"I want you to pack a bag. We're going on vacation."
"Vacation? Where to?"
"Must you repeat me, Seras?" he asked, his grin widening. "It never matters where you go on vacation. Just that you get away from where you are. The Hellsing staff has been fired. And better yet: It's the day of Miranda's inauguration ceremony and the girl has gone missing."
"Miranda's missing?" Seras said in alarm. "We have to find her."
"You will follow my orders, Police Girl. Pack a bag of clothes and meet me at the nearest train station in one hour. Ditch your uniform, you're no longer Hellsing personnel."
"Master, wait," she stuttered. "This is all happening too fast."
"Hurry up, Police Girl," Alucard said, rising to his feet. "The night is young."
And Alucard left the Hellsing mansion. His first step was to find Miranda and he already knew where she'd be. The girl wouldn't try hiding out at Katherine's anymore. Alucard suspected she was somewhere nearby, somewhere familiar. He found her, slumping on the swings of he playground Integra used to take her to. The twelve-year-old didn't seem at all surprised by Alucard's approach.
"I'm not going to the ceremony," she said definatly. "I don't want to be the leader of Hellsing."
"That's just as well," Alucard replied. "Because I'd never think of you as a good leader."
Miranda looked up at him, tearfully. "Why are you being so mean to me?" she asked.
Alucard rolled his eyes. "Because you're acting so pitiful. Besides, I didn't come to bug you about that. Chances are you'll be made into a figurehead against your will anyway. I came to say goodbye."
"Goodbye?"
"That's right. Au revoir. Sayonora. Later, kid."
"Where are you going?" she asked suddenly fearful.
"Away," he said, relishing her despair.
"I don't want you to go," she said, standing up quickly.
"Is that so? Well, I think it's unfortunate then that I don't do what you want."
Her eyes narrowed fiercely. "I order you not to go!"
Alucard laughed. "Haven't I told you that you can't order me around, Miranda?"
She softened now, going back to tears. "Alucard, please don't go. Please. I'll behave myself, I'll act like a good leader. Please, I'll do anything, if you'll stay!"
"One cannot act like a good leader, Miranda. You either are or you aren't. And you aren't. Come now." He turned her back. "It's time I took you back to the mansion."
"I won't go back!" she shouted and turned to run.
Immediately, Alucard phased in front of her, blocking her path. He lashed out, grabbing her arm and picked her up, throwing her over her shoulder. Miranda raged and kicked and screamed but to no avail. "Alucard, let me go! Put me down! I don't want to go back, I don't wanna!" She was a sniffling pile of tears when they returned to Hellsing and her awaiting father.
"Alucard," Christopher Lee said, stepping forward at the sight of them. "Thank goodness you found her."
Alucard made a small noise of agreement before setting Miranda down. Naturally, she tried to escape again but her father grabbed her, causing her to scream again. "Miranda, stop this foolishness," he commanded, squeezing her wrist painfully. The girl quieted down but tugged occasionally on her father's hold. Alucard had to grin at the little girl, so determined to escape her fate. "I'll be seeing you. Take care of yourself."
The last thing he saw before vanishing was Miranda's tortured, anguished face.
-
It took about an hour for all of Alucard's plans to fall into place. He purchased two train tickets and had his and Seras' coffin put on a special cargo route for their destination. He was waiting twenty minutes for Seras, his patience dwindling when she finally showed up.
She had changed out of her Hellsing uniform as commanded. She walked towards him in her usual combat boots but now she wore a pair of black pants and a small black t-shirt that exposed her pale, flat midriff. Thrown around her was a long red trenchcoat the looked very much like Alucard's. With circular, black-tinted glasses and a sexy smirk, she walked with the confidence of an aged Nosferatu.
"That's a good look for you, Police Girl," Alucard commented, impressed, when she reached him.
"I've never really liked my mini-skirt uniform," she said with a smile. "It's hard to get around when I have to worry if people can see my bum."
Alucard finally caught notice of the two containers she'd brought in. He recognized them as the holding cases for the Harkonnen and the Harkonnen II.
"What did you bring those for?" Alucard asked with a faint frown.
"Oh." Seras grinned sheepishly. "I'm sorry, Master. I just...couldn't stand the thought of leaving them behind to collect dust."
Alucard gave a slightly exasperated sigh. "And how, my dearest Police Girl, do you intend to get two high powered military weapons through a simple train station?"
Seras smiled, removing her shades. "Why don't you just leave that to me?" she said and started walking towards the check-in counter.
When she placed the Harkonnen guns onto the scale they weighed a combined 879 pounds. "Ma'am," the attendant said. "I'm afraid you can't take such a large package onto the train."
Alucard watched with interest to see what Seras would do.
The Draculina locked eyes with the attendant and held the gaze for several seconds. Then she waved her hand in front of the woman's face. "This is not the package you're looking for," she said seriously.
The woman's eyes flickered red for a moment but then she blinked and shook her head. "What?"
Alucard rolled his eyes at Seras' foolishness. He brushed his protege aside and took his place in front of the woman. "The containers are not filled with any dangerous weapons. You do not need to check them. We will be taking them onto the train. There is no problem."
Her eyes went red completely, blank and unfocused. "There is no problem," she repeated emptily.
"Good." Alucard looked at Seras. "Grab your things," he said and turned away without waiting for her. Seras hurried to catch up with him. "Wait, Master," she called in protest.
Alucard whirled on her. "Police Girl. Nosferatu are masters of hypnosis, the ability to impress our will onto others. Don't confuse it with cheap theatrics like the Jedi Mind Trick."
Seras looked sheepish. "I thought it might work, is all," she said, slightly embarrassed.
Alucard sighed faintly and placed his hand on Seras' head, ruffling her hair. "You've been a creature of the night for a while now but you still are horribly inexperienced. This trip is to help you along with your progress."
"Are you going to tell me where we're going now?"
He held out her train ticket to her and she took it, reading it quickly.
"Wallachia?" she asked incredulously, looking up at him. "Wallachia, Romania?"
"Correct, Police Girl."
-
Seras sat in her seat, across from Alucard, looking out the window, her knees bouncing anxiously.
"Why so nervous, Police Girl?" Alucard asked with amusement.
Seras sighed heavily, blowing her hair out of her face. They'd been traveling for about two hours now and Seras had grown increasingly fidgety. "Why are we going such a great distance, Master?" she asked with a note of desperation.
"There's no reason to stay In London. Not to me. With Integra's death, she left her position to Miranda who doesn't want it to begin with. What's left of the Round Table will place her as a figurehead and do as they please with the Hellsing Institution. Chances are you and I would be imprisoned in the dungeons like I was decades ago."
"But...what about Katherine? You didn't even say goodbye."
He closed his eyes briefly. "You don't need to worry about her," he said, unconcerned.
"Master," Seras said in annoyance.
"Silence," Alucard said, cutting her off and rising to his feet. "Haven't I told you not to worry already? You certainly do whine a lot."
Seras pouted. "You don't have to be so mean," she said defensively.
He smirked. "I would've thought you'd gotten used to it by now," he said and left their compartment.
Seras fell back to her seat, crossing her arms petulantly. Her gaze softened as she looked out the window. Minutes passed before she grew tired and Alucard returned with a satisfied air about him.
"What've you been up to?" Seras asked suspiciously.
"I wasn't aware I had to report to you, Police Girl," he said smugly.
Seas sighed in faint annoyance and leaned her forehead against the window, watching the darkness zip by.
"I've just had a bit to drink," he said casually, resuming his seat.
Seras sat up straight immediately. "You what?"
"I didn't stutter, Police Girl," he said softly.
Seras just gaped.
Alucard grinned, tilting his head to the side. "You jealous? My Police Girl? Feeling hungry?" He knit his fingers together and watched her. At the mention of hunger, Seras' stomach gave an involuntary growl and she moved to grasp it but steadied herself. She looked back at him, hesitating. There'd be no point in lying; he'd see right through her.
"I'll live," she said softly at last.
"Not if you keep denying yourself. We don't have the luxury of medical blood at our disposal now, Police Girl. You're going to have to drink from living humans now. You have no other choice."
Seras drooped sadly.
"What's the look for?" Alucard asked, amused once more. "It's really not as awful as you're making it seem. I can guarantee you'll feel much better," he said, his voice smooth as silk. He extended his gloved hand. "Come. And we shall find you a decent meal."
Seras eyed his hand with faint trepidation...
-
"Man, what are we doing?" Sam complained loudly. "I can think of at least ten better things I'd rather be doing right about now."
"Sam, put a cork in it," Katherine said over her shoulder. "We have to see what's going on at the mansion."
Damien yawned widely, showing his fangs. "I'd rather be sleeping," he said lowly with a tired edge to his voice. "You know even vampire slayers need downtime, Kat."
The No-Life Princess turned on them with annoyance in her eyes. "God! You guys whine a lot. Just shut up and we'll be done in awhile, alright? Goddamn!"
Sam rolled her eyes and Damien smiled. He moved closer to Kat, wrapping his arm around her waist. "Don't be so testy, Kit Kat."
She ignored him for a minute as they approached the Hellsing gates. The place looked empty and abandoned. "Hm." Kat pushed on the gate and the lock broke effortlessly. The trio of vampires walked up to the front door and pushed it open.
"No one's here," Sam said after a few seconds from stepping inside.
After a quick inspection of the place, Sam's statement was confirmed. They convened in the basement where Kat's eyes narrowed at the lack of coffins. "So where're your parents?" Sam asked, looking around. Kat glanced around silently, noticing two scraps of paper on the basement floor. She knelt down and picked them up, raising them to her face.
"What is it?" Damien asked, coming up behind her.
"A train ticket receipt," she answered dully. "To...Romania." She growled, raising to her feet. "They went to bloody Romania! What kind of parents leave their kid behind without even saying anything?" She tossed the ticket stubs back to the floor and turned away. "Forget it, let's go home." She stomped to the door with Damien behind her before they noticed that Sam had not moved. The energetic, redhead had bent to examine the tickets.
"Sam, I'm not going to wait for you," Katherine said impatiently.
Sam released several low breaths, a secret smile playing on her lips. "Guys, don't you know what this means?"
"What?" Damien asked.
"You two have no imaginations whatsoever. We've got a whole castle to us, empty at that and the only two people who could say anything to us are hundreds of miles away."
The other two still looked blank.
"Aw, grab a brain, you nitwits! I'm thinking we could throw the biggest goddamn party in all of London!" she said with a wild grin.
Katherine blinked then her face gained a certain thoughtfulness. "You know what, Sam?" she said lowly. "I don't often get to say this...But I think that's a damn good idea you've got."
Sam smiled. "I thought you might say that. Dame?"
He shrugged. "I have no opinion," he said with a smile.
"Then it's settled," she said, already bouncing with excitement. "Hellsing House will be the host of the year's biggest party!"
Okay, I hope to get even more reviews this time around and I'm so happy to know that people are still reading. Ja!
