He held the sword, his eyes staring straight at the tip. He smirked as he reminded himself that he was instead staring at a feral monster that threatened to drain the life out of him at any moment, a being that saw him both as host and as prey.

Quickly, he swung the blade, striking at imaginary opponents. He knew that such training could not completely prepare him for a real battle, for a real battle was unpredictable and unknown. Still, it served well to make sure his skills didn't dull and that his muscles did not atrophy. As he swatted aside his conceived attackers, his white cloak flowing around him like a regal extension of himself. His own clothes were also white, save for the scabbard which was a blood red colour. He envisioned the white to symbolise a justice and purity that would expunge all vampires from the face of the earth.

"Sir?" Came a voice at the door. He stopped to turn toward the visitor, a lone soldier. Seeing that he had gotten his attention, the soldier continued to report. "Sir, we have received word from the Ninth Executor. He has successfully evacuated and extricated from our storehouse in Germany."

"Perfect." He nodded.

"However, he did lose one of the prototype pseudo-Bloodbane weapons that was being tested for mass production." The soldier reported. "He states that they were taken by surprise by Knights."

"The Kuran queen is on to us." He nodded. "A setback, but not a drastic one. Jerome has placed thousands of sites all across the world capable of this. And what of the storehouse? Was it removed?"

"Yes." The soldier affirmed. "The Third Executor was responsible."

"Celestine…" He sighed. "I fear it was a mistake to place her there for security. She sometimes goes too far. Nevertheless, it isn't so detrimental, not with Rodin back in the fray. However, keep tabs on them, and instruct her that I forbid any individual activity not approved by myself. Someone has to reign that crazed woman in."

"Of course First Executor." The soldier nodded. "As for the other locations, we have yet to follow up, but we believe they have been evacuated. As for the Kraven clan, we were told that there is a lead to follow up on. I was told by the tenth that he would report shortly."

Arthur Banel, the leader of Helsing nodded in confirmation. "Very well. Into the eternal hunt…"

Alaska

"Once more, into manual labour, and in a Taiga forest no less. Have I ever told you how much I prefer not to have long field excursions?" Henry said.

"You knew such were your responsibilities when you became a Knight." Ganju sighed beside him. "So be quiet."

"Try to at least understand my grievances?" Henry growled. "We have been exploring this place for days now. You'd think we would have found this hidden laboratory by now."

"I must say though, Rodin's information is quite profound." Ganju said. "Who would have thought a laboratory would be hidden all the way here in Alaska? Even we never thought to look this far."

"I suppose the guy has his sources." Henry said as he stepped over some mud. "But I would have liked if they had been able to pinpoint us closer to this place. I'm certain I smell now."

Ganju sighed. While it was a bit of a nuisance, he had to admit Henry had a point. The Taiga forest situated in Alaska was… well huge would be an understatement. It had been at least four days of constant searching in this whole place, and they weren't even close to finding out where this secretive lab of the Kraven clan would be hidden. If anything, the only evidence they had were the tell-tale signs of Paragon monsters, such as the massive claw marks in rocks and the destroyed vegetation. However, with the very environment, any other tracks were easily covered. Ganju had to admit, it was smart of them to be located here.

He continued the trek, using his axe for support on the snowy landscape. While the cold wasn't something he was concerned about, their supplies were starting to dwindle. Already he could feel the pang of his thirst coming through, with only another two days' worth of blood tablets to sustain him. He wondered if he would have no choice but to call for an extrication. By then it would be likely that the laboratory would catch wind of their presence. It wasn't out of the question they'd have powerful detection equipment. Therefore, they had no choice but to soldier on.

Twenty minutes in and finally Henry slumped down. "Alright, that's it. I need a break."

"I think what you need is more trips to the gym." Ganju answered. "You are completely unfit for this."

"Well excuse me, but I'm not some muscle-packed workhouse!" Henry growled. "I'm a chess player, horse-rider, violinist person! I have no aptitude for such physically demanding missions!"

"You know, I do remember you managing properly in that long-distance trek trial we took before we were knighted." Ganju frowned. "And I'm sure you passed."

"Do you remember that I was dead last!?" Henry snarled. "And I even collapsed after that!"

"Well, find that inner drive again." Ganju said nonchalantly. "You will need it to survive this day."

"Oh shut up, I-" Henry started, but then reached over and grabbed Ganju's shoulder. "Get down, now!"

"What!?" Ganju blinked in surprise as he quickly hit the ground. Looking up, he saw why. In the sky a helicopter flew past, bearing no insignia. They watched as it continued on its path, glad that their white cloaks prevented it from seeing them. It flew for another few seconds before it stopped, hovering in the air.

"Look!" Henry pointed to the ground directly below the helicopter. They watched as the trees and rocks began to move. Quickly, they moved to a nearby tree, climbing it as fast as they could to get a better elevation. It was then they saw what was happening.

The ground itself was artificial, hiding the massive doors that allowed a landing pad to rise to the surface, enabling the helicopter to land. Henry took out a pair of binoculars to get a better look, frowning as soon as he saw who had emerged. "Ridley." He said. "This just became complicated."

"Agreed." Ganju nodded. "We'd best call for backup. Time for us to get to that landing platform. Quite clever, hiding their facility underground."

"Though we ought to have expected this." Henry stated. "They did the same back at their castle."

"For now, we just have to approach undetected." Ganju answered. "Let's wait till the coast is clear, and then we begin the infiltration."

"Alright then." Henry nodded. "I'll check our beacon, make sure it's still working."

"Good plan." Ganju agreed. "And also good for you noticing that helicopter."

"Leave the observations and smarts to me and I'll leave the heavy-lifting to you." Henry replied.

"What am I, your pack horse?" Ganju frowned.

"I didn't mean that damn it!" Henry scowled. "Look, can we just get on with it?"

With the beacon set, Ganju and Henry began the infiltration of the secret Kraven laboratory. As soon as they approached the surface of the hidden doors, they checked around for possible entrances. However, as Henry had predicted, there were none. It seemed apparent that the Kraven clan had only intended for the helicopter to be the sole way in and out of this particular entry point.

"There will most likely be a second exit, my guess it is near the ocean." Henry surmised. "It's the only way they can get those Paragon monsters anywhere else, given their size and method of travel."

"We can use that as a possible exit if we get cut off." Ganju nodded. "But for now, we need to get in with this one." He closed his eyes, feeling the rock and stone beneath him. While the shaft was built using metal struts, beams and cables, the structure itself still lay within the ground itself, the natural tunnel hollowed out of the earth. Ganju now traced a path through the earth that would allow them to tunnel directly down into the laboratories themselves. Once he was ready, he gripped the ground, feeling the earth at his fingers crack apart. Slowly, he opened a depression in the earth, allowing both of them to enter.

"Now, you are sure you can get us in without raising an alarm?" Henry asked.

"It's not going to be easy." Ganju replied. "I can't dig close to the shaft itself, I risk causing noticeable damages. So expect a long ride."

"As long as it gets us in there." Henry nodded. "Alright, go for it."

Ganju put all his focus into manipulating the earth, tunneling them through the soil and downward into the depths of the Kraven clan's secret laboratory. He had hoped that at the very least James Ridley would pay no notice. As of now, he wasn't confident in their ability to apprehend him.

Slowly but surely, Ganju tunneled down, using his powers to sense for any changes in the environment around him. He remembered how Emi referred to his powers once, like that of a mole. While he wasn't too pleased with how she worded (or the fact that she probably never stopped thinking that way), he had to admit she was right. His powers were not just a manipulation of the physical world, but also had sensory properties. Feeling the vibrations through the stone, sensing any changes within its structure. Within the earth, Ganju's very senses were extended. The earth was a part of his very being; just like how Gabriella's bats were for her.

An unknown amount of time passed before he finally felt them reach the bottom. Slowly, he placed his hand on the stone before him, slowly having it part away and allowing both he and Henry to come out. They quickly ducked behind the metallic strut that Ganju had conveniently navigated them to, allowing them to hide from the patrols.

"I must say, your delicacy always amazes me." Henry said.

"I keep saying I have a sensitive side." Ganju replied. "You just need to know where to look for it."

"Fair enough." Henry chuckled softly. "Now then, I can see the entrance over there." He now gestured to the door across of them at the left guarded by four masked vampires. "Death Bringers. They see us, and we're done before we start."

"And our cloaks aren't exactly going to hide us." Ganju said, noticing how the white was plainly visible in the dimly lit shaft. "Any suggestions?"

"One." Henry said. "But we need to be fast. For now, you are right, we should ditch the cloaks."

As soon as they removed their cloaks, Henry moved as stealthily as possible to the far right of the room, directly to the left of the entrance. Slowly, he stood up and moved to the light, fluttering the white cloaks as forcefully as he could. The rustling of cloth was enough for the Death Bringers to take notice, causing them all to turn toward him. Henry grinned as he draped one over his arm, allowing it to fall like a curtain. He taunted them like a matador would a bull. And as expected, they took the bait.

As they moved to apprehend him (another took out a radio), the rocky wall behind them extended, crashing into them and propelling them toward Henry. Gracefully, he leaped out of the way, the white cloak he had draped over his arm flowing as he twisted away from the Death Bringers being rammed into the wall behind him. As the cloak fell, he smirked at the two masks he had managed to pull off two of them.

"Olé." Henry mocked as the guards were slammed into the wall. He walked back just as the stone pillar was retracted, causing their bodies to drop down upon the floor. He now walked over to them, studying their dark cloaks. While it would take a while to remove the dust on them, the fact was that it would make a suitable disguise.

"Do you really have to put such incessant flair on everything?" Ganju frowned as he walked forward.

"Tsk tsk my brawny friend." Henry smiled. "Sometimes, you need to find a way to de-stress in the face of combat. Otherwise, you end up making far too many oversights."

Ganju's frown continued, but slowly disappeared as he saw the point. "Oh fine. But please, try not to blow our cover."

They walked through the labs, posing as Death Bringer guards. They took care to avoid as many other people as they could. It wasn't impossible that there would be routine checks on the different guards' positions. Meeting people would definitely increase their chances of capture. Thankfully, Ganju had stuffed the unconscious ones into the earth, meaning they were likely safe for now.

"I really hope we don't give ourselves away." Ganju sighed beneath the mask. "I don't have my weapon on me since it makes it easy to notice, but the small mace from that guy doesn't comfort me at all."

"Relax." Henry replied. "We go in, find out what we can and then leave as soon as possible. If our cover is blown, I suppose you could just collapse this place."

"How is that an idea?" Ganju retorted.

"Can't you dig underground?" Henry countered.

"Still, burying ourselves alive isn't exactly sane." Ganju explained. "It take a lot just to hold up who knows how many tons of rock and soil were to come crashing down here. I may be strong, but I'm not invincible!"

"Well, leave that as a last resort ok?" Henry grumbled. "Like I said, I'd rather we just walk out of here."

The two made their way through the facility. Based on Akira's prior knowledge at Castle Kraven, it was necessary for them to locate a networked computer. Thanks to the resources supplied by the queen, it would be a simple matter to access the data caches stored in the facility's data drives. Henry had to admit, the Darkstalkers did not hold back when attempting to get information.

After a few minutes of wandering, they had finally found one such device. And as luck would have it, no one was around. Henry plugged the drive in, watching as the device hacked through and began retrieving files from the system.

"Hmm, it seems we have quite a few interesting files." Henry nodded. "We have cargo manifests, Paragon research notes, files on plenty of Pureblood rulers worldwide as well. It seems Mortis had done his homework on us all. Figures how he made everything play into his hand. I shudder at the thought if Lady Yuki wasn't present at our battle in Romania."

"Download all of it. But keep your eyes out for anything related to Project Alucard." Ganju nodded. "Make it fast. I'm certain we are going to trigger some alarms soon. I doubt what we've done for now has gone unnoticed."

"Done." Henry nodded as he copied and dumped all the files he could find, figuring he'd go through them later. As soon as he did, an alarm sounded. "Ah dammit!" He cursed as he finally found something. "Ok, something weird here. Specimen A-001 to be transported, hangar 4, destination classified, time… right now!?"

"What exactly would that be?" Ganju frowned as he drew his mace.

"Really? I need to give you all the answers?" Henry growled. "I don't know, but we ought to find out! Let's move!" Just as they did however, the entire place rumbled. Lights immediately shut off, red blinking lights now flooding the halls and room.

"What the hell was that?" Ganju frowned. "Was that our guys?"

"Again, another question I don't know the answer too!" Henry said. "But right now, we ought to move and find out what this specimen A-001 is. It could be their Alucard specimen! We have to stop it from leaving this facility at all costs!"

The two vampires now made their way to the designated hangar. On the way, they found themselves barred by Death Bringer soldiers, who wasted no time in engaging them. While they dealt with them easily, Henry noted how many more were responding to something else within the facility. He was suddenly alerted to gunfire echoing through the halls.

"They must be fighting someone else." Ganju noted as he removed the mace from a dead Death Bringer's head. "Most likely a Helsing strike force."

"They must be after the Alucard as well." Henry surmised. "It may not be a bad thing if they burn this lab to the ground, but they will kill us if we get seen."

"So why not let them? Better that we let them destroy that specimen." Ganju said.

"That's because I couldn't find anything pertaining to the Alucard." Henry said. "We'd best get something like a blood sample or at least a data file on what that thing is capable of. Otherwise, we'd be at a complete disadvantage to the Kraven clan!"

"Alright then." Ganju nodded at the logic. "Call the play."

"Then to hangar 4 it is." Henry said, rushing off in the direction. As they rushed through the facility, they spotted armed men in black engaged in firefights with masked vampires. He watched in as they fought with military weapons, ranging from submachine guns to assault rifles, each one firing specialized anti-vampire rounds, causing severe losses to the Kraven vampires. However, Henry knew that was merely a small part of their overall fighting strength. He took notice of assailants in lightly armoured clothing, dancing about the hallways as they cut down vampires with anti-vampire blades.

Still, it was a mistake to think the Helsing troops had the upper hand. Screams were heard throughout the halls followed by savage hisses and roars as Paragon monsters were unleashed, ripping the humans to pieces. Many a time the two had to back away and find another route as Wretchlings emerged from round the corner; sometimes having no choice but to fight their way through.

"Dammit!" Ganju groaned as they ran from a Wretchling. "These things are persistent!" They finally reached one of the main hangars; Henry quickly running to the switch for the hangar door. Ganju now took up a small sword that lay on the ground, hefting it in his hand. "Not my style, but it'll do!" He now threw it at the Wretchling, expertly impaling its face and causing it to falter. That bought enough time for the door to close, sealing them off from the beast.

"This is just wrong…" Henry grumbled. "We're getting caught up in trouble that we didn't even start!" Henry now turned to Ganju, who apparently regarded the whole situation calmly. "How are you not even fazed by this?"

"Trust me, when you spend years with Emi's antics, you learn to get used to these things." Ganju explained as he studied the hangar. "You know how many of her messes I've had to deal with?"

Henry blinked. "Well, when you put it that way, it does make sense." He now looked around, studying the hangar along with the various helicopters. "Now then, it seems that our delivery boys are trying to send airmail, with all these vehicles around. I suspect these hangars lead to other entrances."

"I suppose we need to look for some sort of tank?" Ganju said. "Akira did say the Paragon creatures were contained in them."

"We ought to find a radio and let our reinforcements know. Tell them to keep their eyes out for any helicopters taking off." Henry said. "Still, I wonder how Helsing managed their way in?"

"They probably busted through." Ganju answered. "Still, I don't get how they would be able to do that unless they had loads of explosives on hand. Unless they managed to enter from one of the hangars, but that doesn't explain why there is no fighting in this general area."

"Agreed." Henry nodded. "We saw most of the fighting on the way, but there is none here. I have to say your assumption is correct. But it still leaves the question; how did they get through?"

As he said this, the ceiling above him exploded. Henry and Ganju now jumped away to avoid falling debris. Amidst the wreckage, two figures descended and crashed into the floor. One was obviously a Wretchling. It was fighting an imposing bald man who was about one-and-a-half times taller than Ganju. In his hand was a massive warhammer. With a quick strike, the hammer crushed the Wretchling's skull, blood and brain matter staining the floor. Ganju and Henry watched as the hammer head glowed with blood-red markings, a pulsating 'eye' in the middle.

The man now looked up from his kill, frowning as he spotted the two of them. "You…" He said with a Russian accent. "Vampire Knights yes?" He now grabbed the dead Wretchling, flinging its body into a helicopter. The impact shattered the vehicle's windows while crumpling its door, all the while pushing it a few meters away from where it was originally.

"Oh hell…" Henry muttered. "An Executor."

"Make that plural…" Ganju looked up as another dropped down. This one was dressed in a regal surcoat fitted with sliver bracers and boots. In his arms was a lance that sported similar red markings. He ruffled his blonde hair, as if trying to shake the dust from it.

"What have you found here mon amie?" He spoke. Then he turned and saw the two Vampire Knights. "Ah… Vampire Knights. You should know we have no business with them."

"Quiet." The burly one spoke. "Objective or no, vampire is vampire. They are to be killed, wherever they are."

"True…" The other replied as he twirled the weapon. "Though I feel that at least taking one of them prisoner would be of benefit. After all, while we have a good amount of information, we still need to know details of Castle Kuran if we want to take our fight to the queen herself, oui?"

"You make sense." The Russian nodded, hefting the hammer with both hands. "Very well, we fight. Whoever doesn't die first will be prisoner."

"Hmm, a simple and effective suggestion. I like it." The French nodded as he readied the lance. "Six will handle this Alucard specimen we heard so much about. I suppose that leaves us free to handle this."

Henry drew both katanas while Ganju braced himself, his eyes darting to a weapon rack nearby that held a spiked flail.

"Ah, excuses." The French apologized in his native language. "But I forgot to introduce myself. Hugo Phillipe, I am the seventh Executor in Helsing. And here is Sergei Zuykov." He now gestured to the large man. "Now, why not we hear yours?"

"Henry Oswald." Henry nodded. "And this is Ganju Kain. I'd say it's a pleasure, but I know otherwise."

"Ah…" Hugo smiled. "I like a man who does not waste my time. But I am quite surprised. To think two influential ones would be here. Truly, I hope you put up a good fight."

"No more talking!" Sergei bellowed as he stomped the ground, the hammer now glowing a sickly blood red. "Fight now!"

"As my friend says." Hugo shrugged as his lance glowed similarly. "Well then, en garde!"

Author's Note:

And that's the next one! As always, please read and review