Chapter 13 - I will find you, always

Yeah, so this one took a while. I'm really sorry but I have hit kind of a block, and my uni work has hit me harder than I thought. Who knew learning a long dead language would take so much time up? Plus some new injuries are affecting me. Uploads may slow to one or two a month, but I hope that those of you who have stayed around enjoy what is to come. There are still many chapters in the works, and I do want to have a completed fic. Perhaps I bit off more than I can chew? For those who are interested, this fiction is also available on AO3, under the same name -Asharf- although chapters are normally uploaded here first. Hope you all enjoy, Caio xx

Seras scrabbled around in the dark, desperately trying to understand her surroundings. It was pitch black, even her undead eyes were straining to see anything at all. The fall had been so sudden that she'd barely managed to soften her fall with her shadows. Her head had bounced off the stone; cracking open with a sickly crunch. The darkness had closed around her so quickly, that she briefly worried the impact had made her blind. Fortunately after about five minutes her world stopped spinning and her eyes adjusted to see the faint outline of her arms and the uneven surface beneath her.

From what she could tell she'd fallen through a sinkhole of some kind, and into an underground chamber. She was slow to heel from the lack of blood, but eventually she had been able to sit up and crawl around without her brain falling out from inside of her skull.

She tried to call out to Alucard through their bond, but her own voice ricocheted inside her mind, screeching like feedback loop on a cheap microphone. Wincing she tried to stand, but her head knocked off the low ceiling, opening her barely healing wound and causing her to shriek in pain falling to her knees.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck! Mother of all fucks that hurt". Seras grit her teeth against the searing pain. Gently she touched the gash feeling how her hair was sticky with her own blood. There was a shot of burning pain, traveling like lighting though her jaw and into her forehead . She had pressed too hard. The pain barely dispersed, although the bleeding slowed, even if it didn't fully heal. Whatever those rats had done when they had attacked her, it had slowed down her healing. Slowly she tried to use her shadows to feel out the space around her, but they merely flicked across the floor feebly, writhing like dying worms on the stone.

"Goddamnit!", she yelled, realising most of her powers were now failing her. There was nothing left but to feel out her surroundings the old fashioned way. Slowly she reached out her arms, letting her fingertips gently graze her surroundings. Her hands quickly found walls to the left and the right of her, and the solid rubble behind that. Above her, the rocky cavern arched up enough for her to kneel on the floor and sit on her heels, but not enough to stand or even bend over. There seemed to be nowhere for her to move, and she could feel her mania and panic shaking in her chest.

She began to feel around the walls faster now, her hands moving fast and jerkily, searching for any signs of escape. Sharp pieces of the stone bit into her knees as she fumbled around in the darkness, her bloody tears obstructing her limited vision and sapping her energy. She could feel her breathing become laboured as she became dizzy. She could swear the walls were closing in on her, the soil crumbling and choking her. She knew she didn't need air to breathe, but she felt like she was suffocating, and it made her desperate.

"I'm going to be buried alive. I'm going to be stuck down here. I'll starve to death". Her voice was rapid and uneven, words shooting from her mouth like an anxious prayer. She screamed in heart wrenching agony, trying to reach out to her master, trying to escape.

Suddenly, her hand was met by empty space, and she fell forward, skinning her chin on the wall. She was too relieved to even consider the pain, her tears, now flowing in relief. She'd found a way out! She wouldn't die here. She could see her master again. Her other hand shot forwards, seeking the taste of freedom.

The hole was small and wedged into a tight corner of small chamber. Seras squinted, trying to make out its size, or what might be on the other side, but it only seemed to be darker on the other side.

The narrow corner forced her to lie on her stomach as she pushed both arms out in front of her, pulling herself towards the hole. She managed to shove both arms through, and began to feel out her surroundings, unable to fit her head through the hole. Her fingertips met nothing but air. There was just an empty void, its cold damp air rolling between her fingers.

Her stomach dropped, her hope dwindling under the fear caused by the emptiness. There was nothing gain by remaining where she was, she would die if she stayed there. She couldn't call out to her master, or even move that much. But if she moved to the new chamber, she could fall to her death. Her body would be broken into pieces and she would be left behind. Forgotten by everyone. Seras gnawed at her lip, pulling off the loose skin and bruising the flesh with her teeth.

Her stomach turned summersaults, but she made her decision. "I have to keep moving." She said to herself sternly. "I am not a coward; I will not sit here in the dark waiting to die!" She felt around the hole, pulling loose stones and dirt from the sides making it big enough to fit through.

"I will get through this". The dirt surrounding the opening began to crumble in her hands. "I will not die; I will not fall to my death". Her mantra kept her courage bubbling as she clawed at her surroundings. The hole was now large enough for her to fit through, and her eyes had finally adjusted to see more than a foot ahead of her. The hole was still dark, no matter how long she stared, it seemed endless.

She pulled back, and flipped, so he feet now faced the hole. If she was going to jump it would be better to break her legs than her head. Gently she moved forwards pushing her legs through fully, she let them dangle freely, hands placed either side of the hole, holding up her torso. She tried to sink lower, but her uniform got caught in a rock and she was snagged in place. Her arms shook in fear, but she refused to give up. Frantically she reached behind her and attempted to un-hook herself. The stones around her body started to become loose and fall away into the void below her, she didn't hear them hit the floor. She tried to unpick the fabric, but it was caught where she couldn't reach. Sighing she knew she'd have to rip it.

"No time to bitch out of this now" she murmured to herself. Steeling her nerves Seras curled her legs upwards, tensing her muscles and her strength before throwing her body weight down ats she kicked away from herself. The fabric store, and cold wind hit her back, but she didn't notice, because for the second this evening she was falling into endless darkness. There was a fleeting feeling of complete regret, followed by a much more powerful urge to scream. Her shriek was loud and powerful, echoing of the stone walls like nothing she'd ever heard before.

The water was briny and stung her eyes, forcing her to close them against the pain. Normally she didn't breathe, but the sudden shock of the cold water forced her to take an involuntary gasp, filling her lungs with salty water. Her natural instincts took over and she began to panic and struggle, arms flailing, chest burning as it filled with liquid. She could feel it drying out her lungs, she needed to get out of the water.

She looked up, forcing her eyes to bear the sting, it was dark, but there was a small light that seemed so far away. Furiously she began to kick her feet, scrabbling upwards, fighting the heavy weight of her limbs. Eventually she managed to work her way to surface, and pulled herself to the side of the lake. She tried to take a deep breath, but her throat was full of water, forcing her to choke out the water in her lungs. She watched it splatter against the stone, much of It coming out with bloody bile and mucus from the tears in her throat.

"God…fucking…dammnit". She gasped for air between words, her voice hoarse. Everything hurt, tears threatened to fall, and her clothes clung uncomfortably against her skin. She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling, her body aching everywhere. The force of hitting the water had caused every single muscle in her body to spasm, some may even have torn from the impact alone. The salt in the water caused the cuts in her knees and head to sting. She could feel her arms and elbows tingling in acute agony, there must have been some cuts she hadn't noticed there.

"At least landing in water meant I didn't break my legs" she said to herself, a dry laugh escaping her lips. She could feel the cold stone biting into her back. She shifted uncomfortably

A low ringing sound began to echo around the room, and she briefly wondered if she had damaged her ears in the fall. Sitting up she shook her head, trying to dispel the sound, but it only grew louder, clearly it was coming from an outside source. Something flashed in her peripheral vision, and she saw an eerie blue light start growing from deep within the water she landed in. It branched out, branching out in molten light along unseen grooves in the rock, beneath her feet and across the walls. It illuminated the cavern in crystalline light.

Seras could see now, the walls were shaped into ornate arches, the natural stone carved away to create the illusion of a cathedral-like interior. The swirling patterns reminded her of something she had seen in museums or at culture festivals, ancient designs, evoking goddesses and serpents of religions long forgotten. Drawn to follow the light, she got up and slowly followed the blue light as it crawled towards a ring of podiums.

It settled at the base of each pillar, before climbing up towards large circular hearths that sat atop each one. Each one was set alight with a powerful blue flame that crackling against the surrounding darkness.

Looking down, Seras noticed that the podiums surrounded a drawing on the floor. From what she could tell, it was a large, seven pointed star. Each point had a stone placed at the end, decorated with different offerings. A large wooden chest sat in the very centre.

"What the?". Behind her, the light from the lake began to fade, and draw back into itself, but the lit fires it had lit throughout the chamber remained.

She looked back over to the box, and the markings that surrounded it. "What the fuck is all this?". She sniffed at the air, hoping to find some indication of what might be inside. She caught the scent of the saltwater she had landed in, the musty smell of damp earth that clung to her clothes. The fires gave off a coppery almost metallic smell, similar to the blood that clotting in her wounds. She couldn't smell anything from the box.

She crept closer to one of the podiums, trying to get a closer look at the markings that scarred its surface and those on the floor. It reminded her of the chalk drawings she'd seen coating Alucard's door and room. She wondered if this was similar to the kind of binding spell that bound him.

She stepped forwards, passing by the outer circle of rocks, and the offerings that sat atop them. They were clean and didn't look too old. Someone had been maintaining whatever this was, and that meant that she wasn't likely to be alone.

A new sense of urgency filled her movements and she tried to reach out with her third eye, ignoring the pain from where her head was still cracked open. Despite her dampened powers but she could feel a faint living aura emanating from the case in the centre of the markings. Pain blossomed behind her eyes, and her third eye was forced shut. She narrowed her eyes, scooting closer to the box, she carefully watched for any sign of movement.

As soon as she got within five feet of the box it began rattle violently, the hinges of the lid squeaking in protest.. She froze, stuck to the spot as it gyrated in front of her. Nothing else in the cavern moved, other than the crackling fires. They were still alone. Stealing her nerves, she moved forwards, determined to face down the contents with dignity. For all she knew this could be one of the lost children, somehow still alive and desperately trying to escape. She frowned and peered closer at the box. It probably wasn't the child, from what she had seen through her third eye, the aura had been so weak it barely looked human. If her powers weren't so weak she might have attempted to understand its aura, but at most she could sense nothing other than it was awake

"No point in being a coward now", she scolded herself, before ripping the box wide open. Looking down Seras saw a complete human skull sitting neatly in a bouquet of dried lavender. Small purple fires burned in the black abyss of each eye socket, burning an unseen fuel. It jerked around to face her; its burning eyes locking with her own. Seras screamed. The skull screeched back.

Dropping the lid of the box with a loud crash, Seras stumbled backwards, her wet boot slipping out from under her on the stone floor. She lurched backwards; landing heavily on her tailbone, pain shooting up her spine. Her yell became increasingly pained and the skulls' more harrowing, their voices echoing off the cave's wall, ripping through her injured head like a jackhammer. Seras clamped her hands over her ears, biting down on her tongue to suppress her own voice.

Slowly the skull quietened, and Seras was able to lower her hands. The pain still hammered against her skull, every sound ricocheting in her ears. She fruitlessly rubbed her forehead trying to disperse the ache, wincing when her finger pressed on the split flesh of her scalp. She tried to call on her powers and pull her skin together, but she could feel something subduing them. It faintly reminded her of Anderson's bible pages, and how they had stopped her powers and outright stopped others. But this felt different. Father Anderson had the ability to block or remove her powers, this was more like something stronger was overpowering her. It felt like drowning.

A few feet ahead of her, the box rattled, drawing her attention. She moved her feet beneath her in a low crouch, and slowly crept forwards.

She peered over the edge, staring at the bone inside. Two spherical flames were burning in each socket, glowing an eerie lilac colour.. Seras paused, marvelling at the fact that it genuinely seemed to be looking at her.

"What the hell…?" she murmured, reaching out to touch it. Before she could get close enough, the skull shunted away from her, seemingly able to propel itself around slightly, despite the complete lack of limbs normally necessary to do so.

"It's a little forward to put your hands on me, especially when we haven't even been introduced.". It cried out, more in annoyance than actual fear. Seras yelped and recoiled her hand, holding it to her chest as if the skull had burned her. It continued to star up at her.

Despite the fact that it had no flesh or muscle, its jaw had moved as it spoke. The lilac flames seemed to be something akin to eyes much and they even wavered around slightly, as though it were looking her up and down. Seras tilted her head, gaping at the creature before her. Despite the flames, the interior of the skull seemed to be completely devoid of light.

"It is un-ladylike to gawp girl". The skull definitely sounded haughty.

"Oh, sorry." She closed her mouth and backed up slightly. " I'm Seras." She offered lamely, completely unsure if she should be talking to a sentient skull. "Seras Victoria". She blinked nervously.

"Hmm, Seras Victoria". The skull seemed to think on her name briefly, allowing it to roll around its empty cranium. Its voice sounded feminine, although deeper and huskier than Seras' own. The accent was pleasant, but she couldn't place it specifically.

Eventually its locked gaze back on her, sending chills down her spine. "I have never heard of you, although the fates seem to think you are important". The skull had sounded somewhat confused by its own statement, but Seras had no idea what 'the fates' even were, let alone why she'd be important to them. There was a small pause and Seras got the impression this information was somehow important.

When she didn't respond, the Skull made a dismissive noise and spoke again "My name is Feidelma" She saw it shift slightly against the dried flowers, burying its chin downwards before looking back up at her. "You may call me Delma".

"Sure. Delma. Hi" Seras gave a small closed mouth smile and wave to the skull, completely unsure what to do in the absurd situation. Seras' mind was racing on what she was supposed to do with the thing, it seemed friendly enough, despite the earlier screaming. As though reading her mind the skull spoke again.

"Apologies for my earlier hysterics, I have not seen a stranger in many years, and you look so dishevelled and bloody I thought you were here to kill me". Delma said, giving a small and, if at all possible, haughty head wobble, before focusing on the cave around them both.

Seras looked down at her blood and salt stained clothes and wondered how terrible she must have looked. She could tell how bad she smelt. Her uniform was still wet, and the dirt from the sinkhole and cave-in now coated her skin in watermarked patches. Her head-wound was oozing and the blood was drying and clotting in her hair. With her powers being suppressed and the loss of blood, she felt severely fatigued. Frustrated, she began questioning the skull.

"Why are you relaxing in a box in the middle of an abandoned cave Delma?", the mixture of pain and exhaustion wearing her voice thin.

"It's not an abandoned cave, and I wasn't relaxing". It made a noise that sounded something akin to a sniff, before continuing. "I am a prisoner of the ladies who live off this land. Apparently they didn't like what I had to say very much. Or they didn't want other people to hear it. Although, I suppose the two are not mutually exclusive concepts…"

Seras rolled her eyes, not in the mood for longwinded conversations. She cut in the skull's monologue. "So you don't know about the boggart attacks on the local village?"

"oh that? Yes I know all about that, always have done. But you see that was the problem, I wasn't supposed to, at least not before them. Creatures don't like it when you tell them what they are going to do". Seras frowned deeply.

"Wait, you told the boggarts to attack the village?", Seras' voice was ripe with barely contained anger.

"No, of course not, silly girl. It wouldn't benefit me; I just knew they were going to do it. And of course, they didn't like that"

"They? They who? The boggarts?"

"Hmm? I don't suppose those little creatures were happy about it either, but for entirely different reasons I assure you. Despite what you think they don't actually like children's bones that much.." Seras swore she could feel her brain leaking out of her nose with every second of the conversation that passed her by.

"Shut it! Who are they?! Who orchestrated the attacks?!" Her patience wafer thin.

"The ladies"

"The ladies, who?"

"The ladies who rule these lands", the skull replied, its voice incredulous.

Seras almost screamed, her stamina finally leaving her. Reaching out she grabbed the skull, and pulled it from the box.

"Right, you are coming with me. You're too weird to be left behind, and I need someone else to talk to you, because I can't be arsed right now." As she held Delma in on clawed hand, noticing small engravings around the base of the cranial bone. Storing it as a problem for later, she held the skull up to her face, squaring her shoulders to appear more confident than she felt. "You and I are getting out of here, and then, once we find my master, you're going to explain all this bullshit to him. He might even be mad enough to understand your ramblings."

Without waiting for Delma to respond, Seras cradled the skull in her weaker arm, leaving her better one free to defend them should she need to.

Looking around, she saw a large arched pathway in a far corner of the cavern and began to march towards it. The blue flames that lit up the room, also seemed to have reached the arch and the passageway beyond it, so at least she wouldn't be scrabbling in the dark for much longer.

"Am I right, Miss Seras, in assuming you are lost?" Delma's question was sarcastic but entirely cruel sounding. Seras found herself being honest with the beheaded skull.

"Yes. Completely" She managed to get out between gritted teeth

"I expected as much. No-one has wandered down here in millennia. Well no-one but them, of course, but we can agree they don't count yes?"

Seras was barely listening to the idle chatter, focusing on moving forwards, despite the growing pain in her head. "Yes, I suppose" she muttered gruffly.

"Although, I have to say, I am glad you did walk, or rather fall, into my cavern. It'll be nice serving a new master. Plus being able to taste fresh air would be nice. You're very kind to take me with you dear."

Seras made an affirmative noise at the back of her throat but wasn't wholly listening, unsure exactly what the skull was babbling about. The path before her branched out three different ways, each one dimly lit by icy blue flames that reflected softly off the slick walls. She couldn't see any difference between them, and nothing indicated any change in elevation or any breeze to follow.

"Don't suppose you know which one of these tunnels leads out of here do you?", the vampire asked her companion, hoping that, at some point, she would find moonlight and her master again.

"Hmmm? Let me see, I can't see anything under your arm!". Seras moved to hold the skull forwards slightly, irritated by its tone.

"If you're wanting to leave quickly, you'll want to take the middle one. It'll take you directly to the main chambers, and to the grand entrance. Although I must warn you that we'll have to go past the ladies. It'd be far safer to hide out and wait for them leave."

Seras sniffed, knowing she was in no state to fight. Something was still suppressing her powers. She suspected these so called 'ladies' were responsible, and for the attacks on the village. Whatever they were she couldn't fight them alone.

"How long would it take to wait them out?" she queried the skull, hopefully.

"Oh I shouldn't think more than a month."

"A MONTH?!" Seras whisper yelled, "I can't wait that long! I'll go mad from starvation; my master would tear this place apart before that amount of time passed!.". At the mention of his name, Seras felt something brush against her mind, its touch silky and chilling. She knew it was her master. She tried to call out to him, but the connection was ripped away by something, leaving an agonising silence behind. She let out a pained cry, the emptiness inside her throbbing like a searing wound. The skull clearly mistook her scream for one of anger and seized it as a chance to chastise her.

"You are a dramatic one, aren't you? Look at yourself! You know perfectly well that you are in no condition to fight. And certainly not against the ladies." Delma sounded like an old schoolmistress scolding errant child. "Look at you, your just a child. What use could you be against them?"

"I am a vampire!" Seras spat back, tired of the damned skull impertinence. "I am the fledgling of the most powerful vampire there is, and I work as a soldier for the undefeated Hellsing organisation, and for her majesty the queen". She began shaking the skull in fury. "I have battled hell's daemons and survived, what are two women to me?"

The skull was quiet, its eyes flickering from being shaken. It seemed to be considering her words. Seras hoped that she may have frightened the damned thing into silence, but she was quickly proven wrong.

"If your master is as powerful as you claim, then where is he?" The barb was well placed, striking directly the growing fear swelling in the pit of Seras' stomach. Was he actually going to find her? Would she ever see him again? She felt her fingers itch at the thought of burring them in his clothes as she embraced him. The comforting hold of his mind against hers.

Channelling her doubt into anger she continued to yell at Delma "He's the strongest vampire there is! He is unparalleled in his power and his prowess in battle has never been matched. He will tear this place apart to find me, and I would do the same for him!". She could feel her voice becoming shill and tears stinging her eyes. How dare this scrap of life criticise her master! Who was this old bag of bones to say such a thing!

"Oh I'm sure he is dear." Delma continued, her voice saccharine and self-amused "And the fact that he let you to fall into the lair of two highly dangerous spirits, completely under-equipped and unprepared to survive without him, is a credit to his prowess as a master, I'm sure".

"That's my fault not his! I'm a bad student!"

"Oh, and I'm sure he told you so, didn't he? Yet where is your illustrious teacher my dear? I do not see him here. Nor can I feel his presence in these caverns. Some humans are here, as are the ladies and their servants, but you stand as the only vampire."

Seras frowned, her heart faltering under the crushing weight of being abandoned. She knew it wasn't entirely true, she had felt her master searching for her, but the skull's words had stung. She slumped against the wall of the passageway, her damp uniform squelching against her skin. The only thing that pulled from her solemn mood was a small part of Delmas little speech.

"You can sense the caverns?". Her brows furrowed as she spoke, trying to force her tired mind pull the pieces together.

"Oh yes. I am currently enslaved to the Ladies. As a result I have insight into their dwellings. Becoming my master has made them vulnerable in ways they do not entirely like. That's why they trapped me in the box. I have my uses, but I do come with a certain amount of liability." Seras knew the feeling.

She tried to sort through all the idle chatter she'd ignored. Delma clearly wanted out, and to find a new master? But she couldn't quite understand what that had to do with her. And there was only one exit? That couldn't be right, because she said there were humans down here, and they had to have found a way in without disturbing the ladies.

"Wait! What about those humans? Who are they?". The skull was momentarily quiet, rocking disconcertingly under her arm.

"They look to be soldiers of some kind. They are a bit roughened up, but are certainly doing better than you are". Seras smiled at the news. Her troupe were here! The caverns up north must have connected to these tunnels. Perhaps there was a way out of here after all. She pushed herself off the wall her vision becoming momentary blurry, causing her to pitch forwards slightly. She managed to catch herself and hold back the rising bile.

"Tell me how to get to them Delma. They can help me get out."

"Certainly dear". And with that Seras began her wanderings of the tunnels and caves, guided by the peculiar talking skull and her ever present desire to live and defeat her enemies. She grit her teeth against the mounting pain in her head, and followed the path Delma set out for her. She called out to her master, hoping her message might reach him.

"I'm coming master. I will survive. I will find you, always".