Disclaimer: I don't own any IPs that might appear in the story
Reconciliation in Blood
A Council of Thirteen universe story
One shot
Beta:
I wonder what the Hellsing Organisation wants with us. Nakuru sent to Eriol telepathically as they and Spinel Sun were escorted through the halls of the Thames House office building in Millbank, London that served as the headquarters of the United Kingdom's internal Security Service and towards the meeting with Integra Hellsing, the leader of Britain's anti-Midian organisation. I mean, Midians aren't exactly our speciality.
Then perhaps they have encountered a problem with magicians that they require assistance with? Spinel offered with a shrug as he floated abreast with Nakuru. Or perhaps a combination of the two? Midian magic users exist after all.
They certainly do. Eriol replied, radiating amusement. The fact that Helena serves as a Lord of the Thirteen is proof of that.
True, Nakuru sent back with a nod. So, Eriol, think that's what this is about? Hellsing ran into some Midian magicians that they want our help handling?
I do not know. Eriol concluded, as their guide came to a stop in front of a generic door that he opened for them. But we'll find out soon enough. We're here.
Right! Game time! Nakuru returned as she straightened her posture and adopted a serious pose.
Spinel rolled his eyes at the display but nevertheless followed his fellow Guardian's lead in mentally preparing himself for the meeting ahead if the spike in the serious air he was projecting was any indication.
Eriol shook his head goodnaturedly at his Guardians as he walked into the conference room their guide had led them to. Yes, this was a formal meeting but there was really no need for them to be so tense. It was between allies after all.
Though as he looked at the two people already seated at the conference table, he could perhaps empathize a little with his Guardians. The Hellsing delegation most decidedly did not give the impression that they were friendly.
Integra Hellsing, the leader of the Organisation which bore her family's name, was a woman with creamy brown skin, blue eyes and long blonde hair. She had a tall, thin build, almost to the point of being lanky and was dressed in a black blazer, black dress pants, a white buttoned shirt, black shoes and a red cravat. And she was glaring at Eriol from behind her circular wire-rimmed glasses.
Standing behind her and to her right was her bodyguard, the infamous Nosferatu bound by Integra's ancestor Abraham Van Hellsing, Alucard. The infamous monster who had once been known as Dracula. Eriol knew for a fact, and long association with Helena, that Nosferatu like Alucard could assume practically any shape they so wished. And was mildly reassured that it seemed Hellsing's trump card had chosen to take his preferred guise nowadays of a tall, long limbed, broad shouldered adult man of indeterminate but reasonably young age. He was dressed in a charcoal suit, leather riding boots, and an intricately knotted red cravat, covered by a full-length, red frock overcoat with a cape, a red fedora with a wide, floppy brim and a pair of circular, heavily tinted, wire-framed orange sunglasses with goggle sidings. An outfit that was completed by a pair of white gloves which each had a five-pointed seal adorning their backs that symbolically denoted his servitude to the Hellsing family. A fact however that failed to alleviate the menace the deadly vampire exuded as he offered Eriol a predatory grin.
"You're late, Lord Hiiragizawa." Hellsing spat as Eriol took his seat.
"I would not have been if you had not demanded we meet in person." Eriol shot back smoothly, unintimidated by Hellsing's power plays.
It was after all wholly unnecessary for them to meet like this when an online conference or one facilitated by magic would have been sufficient. Nor was there a need for Hellsing to come across as quite as hostile as she was being.
"Let's just get to the point, shall we?"
"You are a brave man, Lord Hiiragizawa." Alucard cut in in a teasing tone that nonetheless dripped with bloodlust, causing Eriol and his Guardians to tense slightly. "To be so blunt to my mistress."
Refusing to give the vampire or his mistress the satisfaction of showing that they'd managed to unsettle him, Eriol, with the aid of long practice, hid it behind his annoyance.
"I am merely reciprocating her attitude in kind." He said with a shrug. "No more, no less."
"Alucard, be quiet." Hellsing barked and the vampire obeyed, though that damnable smirk of his never left his face. "As you want, let's get down to business. The Hellsing Organisation formally requests assistance from you, Lord Hiiragizawa, as the Eleventh Lord of the Council of Thirteen."
"What for?" Eriol asked skeptically. "The Hellsing Organisation has never asked for assistance from the Council in the past, no matter what they faced. The Incognito Incident was proof enough of that."
If Integra was affected by the barbed reference to how her reluctance in calling for help in dealing with magic had led to the near destruction of the organisation that was her family legacy and the loss of untold lives, she made no sign.
"It is to prevent a repeat of that incident that the Queen has insisted I ask for your assistance this time."
"I take it that whoever you are hunting this time are magic users?"
"Indeed," Hellsing said, lighting one of the cigars that she was notorious for smoking. "A coven of Nosferatu have just moved into London from continental Europe and are stirring up trouble. They have been feeding excessively and attracting unnecessary attention. There have already been a number of deaths, fostering talk of a serial killer in the city. Murders that we have traced back to them."
Eriol had heard of it. Kaho had been especially concerned about the killings which the tabloids had unimaginatively labelled as being the work of the "Nightstalker Ripper" after the club outside of which the first victim had been found.
"They are in clear violation of the unwritten rules of conduct that our native Midians have maintained for centuries."
"Dealing with Midians is not my speciality." Eriol shot back, using a subtle wind spell to redirect the smoke from Hellsing's cigar away from him. He had said it more in a moment of pique than anything but the ancient vampire that was Hellsing's servant jumped onto his words immediately.
"Indeed it is not," the infamous Alucard said with a smirk that spoke of some cunning manipulation. "But there is one among your number who is, is there not? The Fifth, the Midian Lord?"
Both Eriol and Hellsing startled at that and looked at the Nosferatu with disbelief.
"Alucard, you cannot be serious." Hellsing said with a glare. "You know full well who the Fifth is."
"Of course," the being who had once gone by Vlad Tepes said, his smirk transitioning into a grin that spoke of how he knew exactly what he was doing and that his opponents, Eriol and his own master in this case, couldn't beat him at the game he was playing. "But that does not change the fact that she is most up to this task, is it not, my Master? Even over Lord Hiiragizawa?"
"Helena is indeed far better equipped in dealing with matters pertaining to Midians than I could ever be." Eriol agreed, causing Hellsing to frown.
Alucard's smile only grew wider at Eriol's admission even as he pressed his case further.
"And so, doesn't it behoove us to employ the expert on the matter? After all, we wouldn't want to disappoint the Queen again do we, Master?"
Hellsing's eyes narrowed at the reminder of the Incognito Incident and her disastrous response to it, but didn't correct her servant. Instead, she leaned back in her chair and took a long thoughtful drag on her cigar.
"Very well, Lord Hiiragizawa, if you won't mind, could we trouble you to contact your colleague Lady Helena for assistance on this matter?"
Eriol frowned even as Ruby gave voice to his thoughts.
"I somehow doubt Lady Helena's going to want to help." His Lunar Guardian said. "She doesn't exactly have warm feelings for Britain."
"I can imagine." Hellsing said with a frown.
"No, you cannot." Eriol cut the woman off before she could continue. "You cannot even begin to understand Helena's sense of betrayal from being assigned a kill order by the country she fought and died for."
Hellsing winced at that and normally Eriol would've been sympathetic but considering what the woman had done to Helena, who he considered one of his closest friends, he unsurprisingly found it hard to muster up the emotion.
"Nevertheless, I will ask her. Though do not expect a miracle."
Helena had just finished her dinner in the wee hours of the morning after a long night of work and as her servants cleared away the dishes, she was thinking about what she could do to enjoy the rare chance to relax she had for the rest of the night. Sadly it was not to be and she had a meeting with Eriol scheduled. Much to her dismay, a ruler's duty was never ending and the chance to relax was few and far between.
That thought had barely finished crossing her mind when exactly at the time he'd told her to expect him, a projection of Eriol joined her in her dining room inside her New York manor.
"Hello Eriol. Punctual as always." Helena greeted her fellow Lord of the Thirteen pleasantly.
"Hello Helena," Eriol returned with a nod as his projection took a seat across from her. "I hope you had a pleasant dinner."
"It was delicious. The blood was seamlessly mixed into every dish." Helena said with a smile as she thought back to the gastronomical wonders her chefs had served her for dinner. "My chefs outdid themselves as always. But enough pleasantries. What do you want to discuss? And why did you request that I be comfortable when we did so?"
"Because I am afraid that the matter is one that is potentially upsetting to you and I want to minimize the blow as much as possible."
"And what pray tell, could make you so wary of my response?" Helena asked with a frown.
"Are you aware of the coven of Nosferatu that's just moved into London?"
"Yes," Helena confirmed as an unsettling suspicion began to grow in the back of her mind. "They are a semi-nomadic group that moves from locale to locale within Europe every decade or two whenever they either tire of a place or the situation forces them to move."
"And are you aware that they are magicians?"
"Of course," Helena said with a roll of her eyes. "I have full dossiers on them, just like I do on most notable Midians across the world. Where is this going, Eriol?"
"You're not going to like this, Helena." Eriol said, shifting uneasily. "But I can't keep dancing around the bush anymore."
"Yes, please don't." Helena urged. "Just get to the point please."
"The coven has been causing problems since they arrived in London. And since they are magicians-"
"Hellsing wants the Council's assistance. Mine in particular, if you're approaching me." Helena breathed in realisation, only dimly aware of her shadows writhing in agitation as she shunted her own unease over the fact into them.
"Yes, Alucard convinced Integra Hellsing that your help would be beneficial."
"My former Master?" Helena asked, her brows narrowed in confusion. "Why would he do that?"
"Your guess is as good as mine, Helena. But he made a good point. You are the Midian Lord and as you just proved with the mention of those dossiers, you are best equipped to deal with this rogue coven."
"I suppose," Helena conceded with a sigh. "I'll forward you the dossiers and any other intelligence on the coven. You can pass it along to Hellsing."
"That is appreciated, but they want more." Eriol said hesitantly, wary of her reaction.
"They want me to actively assist?" Helena asked incredulously.
Considering it was the British government, with Hellsing acting as their agents of enforcement, who had placed a still active kill order on her head, she thought her reaction was quite reasonable.
"Her Majesty's Government believes that as the Midian Lord perhaps you can convince the rogue coven to leave."
"I might," Helena admitted. "Even those Midians who have not sworn allegiance to me still offer me considerable respect. I might be able to leverage that but that I can only do that in person. They won't regard them as genuine and are unlikely to accept my words if it is secondhand."
"Hellsing concurs with your assessment of the character of Nosferatu, it is why they would like you to send a familiar to attempt such."
"I take it Hellsing is suggesting that much under severe protest?" Helena said, rolling her eyes.
"Yes, allowing you to act via familiar was Hellsing's compromise."
"They are still unwilling to let me step foot in Britain?"
"No, Hellsing is not." Eriol confirmed with a shake of his head.
"And Her Majesty's Government?" Helena asked, picking on the distinction that Eriol was making.
"Is more amenable to the idea," Eriol confirmed. "Look, Helena, I can't confirm anything, but I'm thinking this is their attempt at a trust building exercise."
"For whom?" Helena asked with a frown.
"Everyone, I think." Eriol said with a sigh. "They want you to stop being so distrustful of everything British. Her Majesty's Government wants proof that you can be trusted and they're forcing you to work with Hellsing so they can have direct proof of it too."
"That sounds about right," Helena agreed before humming thoughtfully.
If this works out it can only be a good thing. Helena concluded. Burying the hatchet will benefit everyone.
"So will you help?" Eriol asked after a moment.
"Yes, I believe I will." Helena said, coming to a decision. "You will serve as our liaison?"
Eriol nodded.
"Then I leave the matter of making the arrangements of what needs to be done in your hands, Eriol."
Her fellow Lord's projection offered her a grateful smile and stood.
"Leave it to me." He assured her. "I will be in touch soon."
Helena offered him a smile as his projection faded away.
"Was accepting wise, my Lady?" Agaptus said as the Prefect of her Praetorian Guard stepped out of the shadows of her dining room.
"Who knows?" Helena said with a shrug. "But nothing ventured, nothing gained. Let us see how the dice fall for this gamble, shall we?"
The Roman nodded, giving nothing away about his own thoughts on the matter.
On Helena's part, she too kept up a poker face, refusing to show any sign of the uncertainty she felt over what she'd agreed to. And the worry that she wasn't letting a desire to mend bridges with her homeland had caused her to make a mistake.
"So this is the place huh?" Schrödinger, the werecat familiar that Helena had sent, said as Eriol teleported himself, his Guardians, the lycan in question and Alucard onto the deserted dance floor of a nightclub in Soho, London during the day.
Said familiar took the form of a young boy of around fourteen with cat ears and a perpetual smirk that was dressed in a Hitler Youth uniform consisting of black shorts, a yellow dress shirt, black knee high socks and a black tie and which he complemented with white gloves and black dress shoes.
Glancing at Helena's familiar, Eriol had to wonder where in the world she had found a genuine Nazi werecat of all things and how did she add him to her army of familiars!?
But he quickly dismissed the stray thought. He had a mission to accomplish and he could not afford distractions.
So with that in mind, he surveyed his surroundings instead. The club they were in, the Sanguine, had recently opened and was in fact the front for the lair of the coven of rogue Nosferatu they were seeking to deal with. A fact that had been revealed to the British by intelligence provided by Helena.
The club wasn't anything special as far as Eriol could tell. Beyond the gothic aesthetic that it had adopted to set it apart from its competitors there was nothing that differentiated it from the many other clubs in London.
"I can see why the Police Girl chose to send you, familiar." Alucard set suddenly, eyeing Schrödinger with interest and utterly ignoring the werecat's protest at his use of the disrespectful nickname to refer to his Mistress. Something that for some unknowable reason, Alucard insisted on doing in spite of the familiar and Eriol's repeated protests. "With that peculiar power of yours you, and by extension your Mistress, cannot be truly harmed. Not, at least, by whatever petty magic or tricks our opponents today can muster."
"Alucard, Schrödinger." Eriol hissed warningly as he sensed the signs of an incoming teleport.
One which manifested in a burst of bright crimson light that deposited the club's owners, the Sanguine Coven, a short distance away from where Eriol and his allies stood. Each of the newly arrived Nosferatu were overdressed in formalwear, but that was probably the least eye catching part about them. What truly made them stand out was their physical perfection.
Both men were well-built and blonde, looking incredibly handsome. Their female counterparts, their mates if Helena's reports were accurate, be they the blonde or the olive skinned brunette were just as attractive, sporting figures that supermodels would have envied. It seemed like these Nosferatu subscribed to the idea of maintaining an outwardly attractive appearance, something that could not be said for all of their kind.
"Show time~!" Schrödinger sang as he skipped ahead of their party. "Hi there, Sanguine Coven. Do you know what I am?"
"You're a familiar of the Fifth Lord, Lady Helena, the Lord of the Midians." The older looking of the two male Nosferatu of the Sanguine Coven said with a nod. "What are you doing in our lair? And with Hellsing's Trashman no less?"
"Well, you see, you four have been creating a lot of trouble in London lately and the government ain't happy with you." Schrödinger said as he wagged his finger at the four Nosferatu chidingly. "They want you gone."
The Sanguine vampires hissed in agitation at this, but the werecat ignored them and just kept talking.
"Now normally this means they'd just sic Hellsing on you, and that's still on the table as you can see with Mister Alucard over there being here." Schrödinger said, gesturing towards the infamous Nosferaru who offered his fellow vampires a predatory grin.
"And you're offering us another option?" The Sanguine's leader scoffed.
"Yup," The werecat said with a playful grin. "As a special one time offer from my generous Mistress, she's managed to convince the British to give you a chance to leave the country and never come back. If you do that, we won't have to kill you."
Eriol winced at the delivery. Was her familiar deliberately trying to undermine Helena's pitch in some kind of act of defiance? Or was he doing this at her direction?
He honestly couldn't be sure either way. On the one hand, peaceful coexistence between Midian and humans was possible. Helena had proved that in her domains in the Americas and actively championed it worldwide. And even if it meant sparing some monsters such as these, if it meant furthering that cause, he was reasonably sure she was willing to let even these unrepentant monsters go. On the other hand, she was just as likely to be deliberately sabotaging her own offer to instigate a fight where she could eliminate these four rogues that would undoubtedly threaten the peace she was working to build.
"Is that all you're offering us!?" The younger looking of the Sanguine males asked incredulously as the two females hissed in disapproval. "Do you take us for beggars looking for scraps from your table, Helena!?"
"My brother speaks for all of us," the Sanguine leader said, cutting Schrödinger off as he was about to say something. "That offer is wholly insufficient. Our Coven have not sworn allegiance to her and do not accept her authority, we need not demean ourselves to accede to such ridiculous demands."
"I take it then that you've rejected the Council of Thirteen's gracious offer of an amnesty and resettlement?" Alucard said as he drew an ominous black pistol from under his coat. "Then you must be held accountable for their crimes."
Before anyone else could react, the Hellsing vampire raised his weapon and in one smooth motion, pulled the trigger and blew the brains out of the lone brunette among the Sanguine Coven. Such a move might've at worst inconvenienced a decently old Nosferatu but as per Helena's intelligence, the brunette, a certain Hayley Kenner, was barely a decade old and unlike Helena had none of her talent for unlife. Thus much to the horror of her Coven, the shot proved fatal and even as her body collapsed to the ground, it crumbled into dust.
"Hayley!" The oldest looking of the males shouted in horror before turning to Alucard and with his eyes glowing crimson he leapt at Hellsing's infamous Trashman whilst his shadow wrapped around him, transforming him into the shape of a humanoid wolf with pitch black fur and vicious crimson fangs and claws.
Damn! This is exactly the outcome I was trying to avoid. Eriol thought to himself as he turned to the other Sanguine male and raised his staff to conjure a barrier against the lightning he was shooting at him. But what's done is done. It's time to fight.
"Spinel, Ruby, support me." He ordered as he prepared to go on the offensive.
"I guess negotiations have failed." Schrödinger said with a sigh as he used his unique ability to be everywhere and nowhere to 'teleport' out of the way of a fireball the blonde vampiress, Rebekah Mikaelson if he remembered the intel reports correctly, tossed his way.
Yes, it has. His Mistress sent via their connection. Now kill them with prejudice.
"Not going to give them a second chance, Mistress?" Schrödinger asked as he reappeared behind the vampiress and put a hand to the startled Nosferatu's back, causing a magic circle to appear as he channeled his Mistress' magic. "Soulbreaker Flame."
The sickly purple flames that were spat out by his spell, quickly consumed the vampiress and rapidly began burning away at the multitude of souls that made up her being as a Nosferatu just as intended. Soulbreaker Flame and the family of associated spells had been specifically created by his Mistress to target the souls of its targets and served as an effective counter to her fellow Nosferatu and other beings who were conglomerates of souls. Thus all the Rebekah woman's efforts to smother the flames, be they mundane or magical, proved fruitless and after only a few minutes of desperate struggle, all that remained of the thousand year old Norse Nosferatu was a pile of ash.
"Mistress, have I ever told you that your magic is terrifying?" Schrödinger muttered as he eyed the remains of his opponent.
He was being totally honest too. If he'd been hit by one of the Soulbreaker spells before Mistress had absorbed him, even with his unique ability he'd have been destroyed. It was that dangerous.
You exaggerate Schrödinger. Mistress sent back with a mental roll of her eyes. Hitting you would never have been easy. Besides, it's not like a sufficiently powerful magic user couldn't counter my Soulbreaker spells. Soul magic, though uncommon, is a known quantity and many counters for it exist.
"I'll take your word for it." The familiar said with a shrug. "I still think it's super scary though."
That is your prerogative. Master sent back with a shrug of her own. How goes the other fights?
"About as you would expect, Mistress." The catboy said disinterestedly as he 'teleported' onto the bar that occupied one corner of the club to give his Mistress a better view of the still ongoing fights through his eyes.
Lord Eriol and his Guardians were hunkered down behind a barrier of some kind, Schrödinger knew next to nothing about magic and couldn't identify what type it was, as the lightning that the younger of the two males of the Sanguine Coven shot at him arced unnaturally around him, pinning him down.
"Lord Eriol is needlessly holding back." The familiar noted with a yawn as he 'teleported' out of the way of the lightning bolt that the previously mentioned Nosferatu hurled his way.
"Stay still, lycan." The vampire spat. "You will pay for what you did to my Rebekah. And when I'm done with you, I'm going to hunt down that Mistress of yours and make her pay as well!"
"I don't think so," Schrödinger replied with a roll of his eyes. One that was shared with his Mistress, as they both cringed at the man's stereotypical behavior. Honestly for a thousand year old Nosferatu, this Kol Mikaelson character could be more original!
"I will!" The Nosferatu yelled as his shadows writhed and his familiars, a pack of boringly standard ghouls began to pull themselves out of it. Heck! The only thing vaguely interesting about them was that they looked to have been Vikings in life. "I don't care if she's the Fifth Lord! Helena will pay for killing my Re-"
"Clichéd idiot," Schrödinger snorted in distaste as the familiar beam, even if he himself had never seen it, of Lord Eriol's Solar Flare spell scorched the vampire and his familiars and reduced them to cinders in seconds.
Be polite. Master ordered and sighing Schrödinger turned to his saviour. Not that he'd been in any real danger in the first place.
"Thanks Lord Eriol," he said with a courtly bow anyways. His Mistress' orders were absolute after all.
"Don't mention it." Lord Eriol told Schrödinger as he rose from his bow and 'teleported' to stand next to the man.
"Should we interfere?" The Eleventh Lord asked as he gestured to the fight between Alucard and the last surviving member of the Sanguine Coven.
"No," Schrödinger said, serving as his Mistress' mouthpiece. "Let Alucard have his fun."
"Glorious!" Alucard declared with an accompanying laugh as he exulted in the joy of a good fight even as his opponent used the oh so sharp claws of his werewolf form to tear his right arm clean off and forcing him to drop the Jackal with it. "This is truly a glorious fight!"
"Just die you masochistic bastard!" The transformed Klaus Mikaelson roared as he swung his claws at Alucard once more, intent on bisecting him only for the Jackal to bark and blow his whole right shoulder to pieces, forcing him to instinctively howl in pain and leap back.
"How?" The other Nosferatu growled as his wounds healed, earning a chuckle from Alucard as he answered the question through actions and his amputated arm adjusted its aim and fired another shot.
This time, much to Alucard's disappointment, the Norseman was ready and blurred out of the way of the bullet. However, instead of launching into another attack, he chose the more cowardly option of backing away to consider the situation.
Frowning at his foe's lack of bloodlust, and slightly impressed that he had the self-control to suppress what little of it he did have enough despite Alucard having just killed his mate to think rationally, the Hellsing vampire used the opportunity to have his shadows flow from his wound and extend down to pick up his lost limb and reattach it.
"That level of regeneration should be beyond even our kind." Nikaelson noted with a growl as he fell into a quadrupedal stance.
"Not for the true No Life Kings among us." Alucard spat back, his disappointment with his foe growing as the other man charged him, zigzagging towards him as he summoned the Casull from his shadows and together with the Jackal, used it to shoot a rain of blessed silver at the oncoming lesser vampire.
"A slave like you is no king!" The werewolf themed Nosferatu roared as he leapt the last few feet, ignoring the half dozen or so bullet wounds he suffered by doing so and landed atop Alucard in a frenzied attack full of fangs and claws.
"This is more like it!" Alucard cried out with satisfaction as he was reduced to a bloody pile of meat by the other vampire's feral fury. "Unleash your full wrath against me, little vampire!"
Mikaelson's response was to wrap his twisted lupine jaws around Alucard's head and in a powerful tug, rip it clean off his neck, sending blood flying. Adding even more of the sanguine liquid to the many, many litres of it already staining the ground. The lupine Nosferatu was not done though.
"Die you pathetic excuse for a vampire!" He somehow roared despite having a head between his jaws before snapping said jaws closed with great force, shattering Alucard's head in the process.
"Perhaps you are not quite as weak as I thought, Klaus Mikaelson." Alucard said with a laugh as he stepped out of the shadows behind the other vampire, totally unharmed despite the destruction of his previous body.
"What!? Impossi-" The lesser vampire began only to be silenced as the Casull and Jackal barked from underneath him.
The shots ripped massive holes into the lycan-like body of the other Nosferatu even as it sent it flying back.
Alucard was not finished though and with a thought the bloody remains of his last body transformed into a mass of shadow full of vicious fanged maws and crimson eyes that proceeded to surge towards his wounded opponent like a wave of murderous death.
"Not like this!" Mikaelson roared as Alucard's shadows wrapped around him, ripping and tearing him into pieces even as he struggled desperately. "Not without avenging Hayley."
"The world is cruel Mikaelson. We rarely get what we want." Alucard told the other man as he brought the Casull and Jackal into his hands and pointed them at his face. "Time for you to die."
"No!" The ancient Norseman howled as his last words as Alucard pulled the triggers for his gun and twin blessed silver rounds blasted the lupine head into a fine mist.
That alone was not enough to kill the other Nosferatu of course, but it did disorient him enough for Alucard's shadows to finish their job of consuming him and adding him to his own already immense army of absorbed souls.
Recalling his shadows as he finished his meal, he turned to his allies for this mission.
"The target has been silenced." He informed them with a victorious grin. "What now Police Girl, Eleventh Lord?"
"Now comes the truly painful part, my former Master." The Police Girl - No, perhaps it was time to stop calling her that. Even though he'd been preoccupied with his fight with Mikaelson, he had not missed how effortlessly her familiar had dealt with its opponents. That spoke highly of her capabilities and at the very least warranted a reassessment on his part of his opinion of her. - said through her familiar. "The politics."
The Eleventh Lord winced at that and Alucard laughed joyously. Truly this was a great day. Not only had he enjoyed a good fight, he'd also had a chance to see a snippet of his childe's strength and relish in the suffering of one of the upstart Lords of the Thirteen. It was a great day indeed!
A week after the extermination of the Sanguine Coven, Eriol and Kaho along with Spinel and Ruby acting as their bodyguards, found themselves in the American embassy in Dublin serving as mediators between Helena and Hellsing as they met with the explicit aim to settle their differences.
Looking at the two parties moving to take their seats at opposite ends of the conference room that the Americans had provided them, Eriol honestly wondered how they could possibly hope to achieve the task they'd set out to accomplish. Looking as unpleasant and antagonistic as the last time he'd seen them were Hellsing and her pet vampire. Not to be outdone on the standoffish front, Helena had come accompanied by Agaptus and the whole strength of her Praetorian Guard, the lead members of which lined her half of the conference room in an imposing display of the loyalty she'd accrued for herself.
At least things on Helena's part are unintentional. Eriol thought with a frown. Helena had confessed to him earlier that her Praetorians had more or less bullied her into bringing them along with their Prefect, Agaptus, declaring there was no way they would let her meet with an organisation who has a kill order on her head alone. Truce or not.
Considering she spent a good part of the aftermath of the war with the Sapphic Circle galavanting all over the place without them, I can understand why the Praetorians are being overprotective now.
I suppose you're right Kaho. Eriol replied telepathically to his wife's observation. But judging by Helena's expression, I doubt she appreciates it.
Looking at her loyal and overprotective men in exasperation, Helena couldn't help the long-suffering sigh as she took her seat. Something that earned her an amused laugh from Alucard.
"You will have to get used to it." The infamous Nosferatu said with a grin. "The loss of one's freedom of movement is one of the prices of being a leader."
"Oh, I know." Helena said with a roll of her eyes. "I know that well."
Alucard chuckled at that even as he pulled out the chair for his Master, earning another eye roll from Helena.
"So have I proven that I can be trusted?" Helena asked Hellsing once the cigar loving woman - She was smoking one right now! - had taken her seat.
"You are still a threat." Hellsing said, noncommittally.
"That is true," Eriol cut in. "However, so are many Nosferatu that you allow to abide in Britain."
"None of them are a Lord of the Thirteen." Hellsing countered. "Most of them barely use magic at all."
"I am a Lord of the Thirteen as well." Eriol reminded her. "And I am a threat. So are the many magic users in Britain. You tolerate them. Why is Helena different?"
Hellsing refused to answer, just puffing away on her cigar. It was instead her vampiric servant that provided the answer.
"It is because she is my childe." The legendary Nosferatu said with a proud, predatory grin. "Master fears she might attempt to free me."
Helena scoffed at that, surprising Eriol.
"And do you want to be freed, my former Master?" Helena asked pointedly. "Or do you wish to continue serving Hellsing and seek out the death that has so eluded you?"
The legendary Dracula is suicidal!? Eriol thought, taken aback by what Helena was saying.
"It is at the hands of a man that I shall die." Said Nosferatu replied, his smirk widening and his eyes glowing crimson behind his sunglasses.
"Yes, so you believe, and it is in service of Hellsing that you have met the few humans that have ever come close to doing the deed. You have come to believe that it is through fighting with humans that you will find the humans that will give you the death you desire." Helena said, meeting her sire's crimson gaze with a matching one of her own. "That is, above all your myriad reasons, why you serve Hellsing."
"Brillant!" Alucard laughed. "Absolutely brilliant! To discern my motives from the traces of my blood still in your system? You are truly a fantastic Nosferatu."
"I do have a noted talent at assimilating the essence of those whose blood I acquire." Helena replied with a shrug.
"You have not answered the question at hand, Lady Helena." Hellsing cut in, shooting the Fifth Lord a glare no less piercing than that of her servant.
"And what question is that?" Helena said airily, amused and dismissive.
It seemed she did not like how Hellsing was speaking to her. Eriol could understand. Helena had once told him that she used to respect Hellsing as a good leader and as a person with an unbreakable will, both qualities she admired. However, what Helena had perhaps not realised until she was confronted by it just now was that she too had become such a person. And when two such individuals met, friction was unavoidable.
I need to step in. Eriol decided. Before they truly start sniping at each other.
He was saved the effort when Kaho, bless her, intervened first.
"Helena," Kaho said, deliberately excluding the honorific granted to Helena by her subjects as a subtle reminder of their friendship. That there were friends in the room and she should tone it down before a fight broke out that could endanger them. "I believe Sir Hellsing would like to know whether you intend to free your sire."
"Ah, that." Helena said with a nod that spoke as much as a reply to Kaho's unvoiced reminder as it was in response to what had actually been said. "I think my former Master has made his position on that clear. I respect his decision."
"Then if you will not be stripping my Organisation and with it Britain of its strongest weapon against Midian threats, I can agree to rescinding the kill order against you." Hellsing said, trying to sound magnanimous but to Eriol's admittedly biased ears coming across as petty.
"That is generous of you." Helena said sarcastically. "I suppose now that I won't be shot on sight the moment I step foot in the country I might visit London someday. I do miss some of my old haunts."
"Wait for the paperwork to go through first." Hellsing said as she stood to leave. "We wouldn't want a diplomatic incident just because you were too impatient for the bureaucracy to do its work."
"Bureaucracy," Helena said with a snort. "Truly a bane of existence."
"On that I can agree with you, bloodsucker." Hellsing said with a chuckle as she began walking to the door.
She paused after only a few steps though as she realised that Alucard had not moved to follow her.
"Alucard?" The leader of Hellsing asked with a raised brow as she stopped by the door to the conference room.
"You have grown into a fine No Life Queen, Seras Victoria." Alucard said, offering Helena a respectful bow. One that one might offer a worthy peer. An equal.
"That is not my name anymore, Alucard." Helena replied coldly.
If Alucard was offended, he showed no sign of it. Instead, he nodded in understanding.
"I stand corrected. Indeed, it is not." He said with a bow of apology. "Farewell, Helena, Fifth Lord of the Thirteen."
"Farewell, Alucard, my former Master." Helena said, returning the same respectful nod her sire had offered her earlier.
With their goodbyes made, Alucard spun on his feet and with his coat flaring dramatically behind him, he walked towards his Master.
Said woman just shook her head and muttering under her breath exasperatedly about prideful Nosferatu began walking away.
"Thank you for being here and playing mediator, Eriol, Kaho, Ruby, Spinel." Helena said with a genuine smile as she too stood to leave.
"I was glad to have been of assistance." Eriol said diplomatically, careful to not mention any of the frustration he'd felt with having been saddled with the mess. Whilst the meeting had gone amicably, the planning behind it had been a bureaucratic nightmare. One that he did not expect to end anytime soon as he was sure that he'd be involved somehow in the process of rescinding Helena's kill order.
Helena knew all that and so shot him a knowing look. Thankfully though she did not dispute his assertion, choosing instead to just nod in acceptance of his platitude and departing with her Praetorians in a swirl of shadows.
"I'm glad things are over for now." Kaho declared with a sigh of relief as she leaned back in her chair.
"Agreed," Eriol said as he rubbed his temples.
"Here, Eriol, Kaho, have some tea." Ruby said as she put cups of freshly brewed tea that she'd somehow acquired in front of them. "It'll help you relax."
"Thank you Ruby," Kaho said, offering his Lunar Guardian a smile.
"Yes, thank you Ruby." Eriol agreed with a smile of his own. "After the stress of the last few weeks, I think we need a vacation."
"Or at least some time off."
Thankfully for the couple, that was exactly what they got as fate deemed fit to bless them with a whole week without any matters that required their attention, allowing them ample time to themselves to unwind.
Though I suspect fate had nothing to do with it. Eriol mused as he and Kaho cuddled together on the couch in their living room. I'm pretty Helena conspired with the others to make sure we got the week off.
"Thinking of what to get Helena as a thanks for arranging this break for us?" Kaho asked as she eyed his contemplative look.
"So you agree that she helped set this up?"
"Of course," Kaho scoffed. "Speaking from experience, when have we managed to go a full week without some kind of Incident requiring our attention?"
"Never," Eriol agreed. "We must do something nice for Helena and the others too. She likely couldn't manage this on her own. Any suggestions?"
"Hmm…" Kaho hummed playfully as she adjusted her position so she was straddling him. "Your fellow Lords always did like a baby shower."
"Kaho are you suggesting what you want or what they'd like?" Eriol asked his wife with a slight frown, even as she began grinding her lower body against his crotch.
"Why can't it be both?" Kaho asked, coyly.
"Since when did you become such a minx, huh?" Eriol asked as he reached out to cup her breasts and began kneading them through her sweater. "You used to be so innocent and sweet."
"I-I am still innocent and sweet. I'm just also a woman with n-needs."
"Then, as your husband I suppose I should satisfy those needs, shouldn't I?" Eriol asked as he leaned up towards Kaho's face.
She closed the remaining distance and pulled him into a passionate kiss.
"I'm home!" The familiar voice of their teenaged son, Clow, shouted suddenly as he slammed the front door to the manor open to the sounds of Nakuru and Spinel chasing after him, chiding him on his lack of manners.
At the sound of their son's voice, Eriol and Kaho immediately leapt apart.
"Welcome home, Clow!" Kaho shouted back, just a little flustered as she hastily straightened her clothes. "You're back early."
Even as his wife greeted Clow, Eriol couldn't help but curse his timing.
Just our luck. Things were just about to get interesting.
Honestly, did their little break have to coincide with Clow being back from Eton awaiting the start of his university classes? As much as he loved the boy, he was a menace at times. Especially in his parents' efforts to give him a new sibling.
At least he was still at Eton during and after the Circle's invasion. Kaho sent him telepathically, having realised the direction his thoughts had taken. Imagine having him underfoot whilst we tried to deal with that.
Eriol just nodded. That would've been a nightmare. Having a teenager in the house whilst coordinating the war, short though it had been, and the recovery efforts afterwards would've been hellish.
"There was nothing interesting at the shopping centre," Clow said as he made his way into the living room, a cup of water he must've gotten from the kitchen along the way in hand. "So I just decided to head home."
"Is that so?" Kaho asked with a grin. "Then why don't you go get cleaned up. It's about time I started preparing dinner and you did say you'd promise to help me with that today."
"I did." Clow said with a wince as he turned to trudge upstairs to his room "Okay, I'll see you in the kitchen in a bit, Mum."
"Sorry about not being able to keep him away longer." Nakuru said as she stepped into the room just as Clow left. "Like he said, he got bored of the shopping centre sooner than I'd expected."
"Yes, it seems there were no pretty girls for him to ogle like you had planned." Spinel teased as he flew into the room from behind Nakuru. "Or at least none pretty enough to catch Clow's attention."
"That wasn't my plan!" Nakuru insisted. "I just thought Clow would like a walk around the neighbourhood now that he was back is all!"
"Sure it was~!" Spinel teased.
"Spinel, did you have sugar?" Kaho asked his Sun Guardian suspiciously. A valid one considering his out of character behavior. "You did, didn't you?"
"Just a little?" Spinel admitted hesitantly. "I might've had a cookie or two."
"Nakuru, you let him?" Eriol asked with a frown.
"He stole them out of my bag before I could stop him." Nakuru confessed with a wince. "There wasn't enough sugar for him to go totally crazy and Clow thought it was fine, so we decided not to head back right away."
"Spinel, Nakuru, you two should both know better." Kaho scolded. "As punishment, both of you will help me with making dinner too."
"Hai, Kaho~!" Eriol's two Guardians chorused in defeat.
"Good, now go get cleaned up. I don't want dirty hands or paws potentially contaminating the food so chop, chop!"
At her order, both Guardians raced off to go get cleaned up.
"What would I do without you, Kaho?" Eriol asked honestly as he watched the two eagerly run off.
"I'm sure you'd manage, love." Kaho said with a smile. "But why don't you go find something to do, like I promised Clow, Spinel and Nakuru, I've got to start getting dinner ready."
"Need a little more help?"
Kaho tapped her chin in mock consideration for a moment before replying. "Why not? We can make it a family affair."
"Sounds like a plan." Spinel said, volunteering himself as well.
"Then let's get started shall we?" Kaho said as she began leading the way to the kitchen. "Dinner isn't going to cook itself."
Making dinner with his family wasn't what Eriol originally had in mind to unwind from the stress of mediating the reconciliation between Helena and the Hellsing Organisation but he could not deny that it served the purpose well. Spending time with his family was perhaps exactly what he needed. It was a good reminder that it was to protect moments like that which made all the hardships of being a Lord of the Thirteen worthwhile.
Done!
This was supposed to be about Eriol but my muse ran away from me and things quickly devolved to have an equal focus on Helena. Hopefully, it is a satisfying read regardless.
Nothing else really to say about this little one shot, till next time cheerio~!