RED RAIN

Witches blood. It was during her dabblings with black magic that it had tainted her soul and blood. Not only that, but it ended up being a valuable resource that Incognito would've stopped at nothing to obtain.

Anna tightened her jaw and fought against the bindings that paralyzed her whole body. The only thing she could do was a slight twitching in her fingers and nothing more. Incognito had her right where he wanted her, and she could see that there was no room for escape.

"Struggling won't save your life, Vermillion," Incognito said, drawing his attention away from the church's stained-glass windows.

Since she couldn't move her head, Anna followed him with her wide and fretful eyes. He circled her like she was prey before crouching down to her side. Anna then suddenly sucked in a deep breath when the creature climbed on top, straddling her body and leaning down inches from her face. Anna was desperate to turn her head away, but the only thing she could do was whimper and avert her eyes.

"I have been waiting for this moment for so long. To finally complete the contract we had agreed to all those years ago," he said while dragging a long finger down the side of her face.

Anna closed her eyes tightly and tried to keep her voice strong and unshaken, but she knew her fear was apparent. "For what…" she whispered out through gritted teeth. "You had caused unfathomable chaos to the Hellsing organization to lesson their grip on me. To lesson Alucard's grip. Well...you have me now. What is it that you wanted?"

She had figured out some time ago that the FREAK chips and the fake vampires were nothing but a tool. Using them to launch Hellsing into a state of panic. Incognito knew that he would've never been able to take Anna away if they were still at full strength. Not while Alucard stood so close to her. So he needed to be patient and plan his attacks out, creating enough disorder in the organization for them to lose their grip on the scarlet woman.

Incognito moved in close and pressed his nose into her neck, breathing in deeply and taking in her scent. Anna shivered with pale panic and closed her eyes tightly. He then took her face into his hand and physically moved her head to look out the window.

"Look…and you shall see very soon," he said in a hushed voice, his breath right against her cold neck.

Anna opened her eyes very slowly just as he sank his teeth deep into her neck. She opened her mouth to scream but did everything she could to keep herself together. Her heart felt like it was being torn apart by this ugly sense of betrayal. It was sickening to hear the deep, drawn-out sucking noises that were grinding against her ears. Incognito went on for several minutes, and her strength had long since evaporated. The corners of her eyes started to darken, but not before seeing a glow of white light coming from outside. It shot up into the sky, followed by distant sounds of screaming on the streets of London.

"Demon…Sett." Anna realized with a cold shiver of death on her neck. "You were…summoning Sett. You're going to tear this world apart."

Incognito retracted his fangs, leaving a cloted strain of blood from her neck. "It is what I was born to do. I never had the means to do it though. But through your witch blood…I can summon the demon and take it into my body," he said with a wide, demented grin. "You should be grateful. You won't have to see the world that had rejected you anymore. Rest in ruins and return to the earth…Vermillion." He opened his mouth wide and violently sank his teeth back into her skin. Anna couldn't hold it in this time, and a scream ripped from her lungs.

Alucard's eyes flashed open with a startle when he felt a jabbing pain in his neck. As his body began putting itself together, he slowly sat up and looked down at himself. His hair was longer than before and solid white, and even his clothes had changed.

"Master…" Seras called out softly. She had crawled over to a pillar and rested against it, leaving behind a long streak of blood pooling around her. The bleeding eventually stopped, but she hardly had any strength left in her body anymore.

"Seras…" Alucard spoke up with a deep, dreadful whisper. "Where is Anna?" he asked without looking at her, transfixed on the lights that were going on outside.

Seras hesitated. "I…I don't know. That monster took her away. I don't know where she is now."

"I don't believe that. You're connected to her by blood. She was the one who turned you. You can sense her. Even now….you can feel her presence," said Alucard.

Somewhat confused by what he meant, Seras closed her eyes for a moment to think. Instead of darkness though, she saw a trail of red mist behind her eyelids. Seras opened her eyes again and looked around but didn't see anything. She turned back to Alucard for a moment, perplexed, before turning back around and closing her eyes, seeing the red mist. She followed the trail out the window, across the chaotic streets, to the church near the center of London.

"The church," Seras said with a sharp gasp. "Mistress is at the church. But…the trail is weak." She said with a sudden shakiness in her voice, the panic sweeping through her like ice water in her veins. "Why is it getting weak? Master? Is something happening to my Mistress?"

Alucard clenched his hands tightly and turned around, looking out the other window that Seras was gesturing to. "Seras, stay here." He said and turned to leave the room.

It never stopped raining. It poured down on the Count like a righteous hammer of God, reminding him that there was nothing left for the No-Life King. The sound of rainfall was irritating, and the sky had been in a constant state of dreariness for decades. Never letting up and giving him a chance to heal. The sky split open like a fresh wound, festering with grief and a constant, never-ending reminder that the light had abandoned him. Or rather...killed.

It was all his fault…

Was there anything he could've said to make her stay? Could she really have been happier to become a candle and burn into nothing? Becoming one with the earth but being forgotten by time? If that were the case, she would never get hurt again. Never criticized and blamed for every misfortune people had to suffer. His dearest treasure of Heaven.

Even without her, he still couldn't stop himself from seeing his beloved. Her long blonde hair, the ruby eyes once made of steel, and the smell of flowers and herbs. She was still so vivid that he fooled himself into thinking he could reach out and touch her. The beautiful illusion of grandeur.

"Ah…it's been so long. But you're still…so beautiful, my beloved," the Count croaked out. He reached out to the illuminated figure, far too bright for his eyes. It was like she was made of pure sunlight, looking at him with adoring eyes. Nothing like how they had been the last time he had seen her. Angry and full of hate. "Have you come to take me to hell? So we can finally be together again?"

The beautiful illusion crouched in front of him and stared at his hand, reaching weakly out to her, only inches away. Guilt surfaced in her eyes as she lifted her snow-white hand and pressed it against his. As her fingers curled around his, he could feel just how icy her skin really was. The exact temperature as him. This illusion...was very much real.

The Count's eyes widened very slowly, blinking a couple of times until they could focus. She wasn't made of sunlight as he first initially thought. She was wet from the rain, and her clothes stuck to her body like a second skin. Water dripped off the tips of her fingers as she pulled him close, pressing his head against her still chest. The Count's breath got caught in his throat as her arms wrapped around him, hugging him tightly, just like she used to do back then.

"Forgive me..." the lovely witch whispered out, sounding like she was on the verge of crying. "Forgive me…forgive me. I should've never done that. I should've never…never…"

Forgive her? The Count didn't even know why she would say those words to him. He was the one who should ask for forgiveness. He was the one who ruined and darkened her once-golden brilliance. He was the reason why she was a creature of moonlight now.

The Count sat up straight and pulled her ever closer to his body. He wrapped his red cape around them and sat under the heavy rainfall that wasn't so bothersome now. "No… I should be the one asking for forgiveness. The day you burned…I should've died alongside you. Only then would we have been at peace. Only then…would we have been together forever," he whispered while running his finger through her tangled hair.

The woman's lips quivered. "Forever is now, my love," she said while burying her face into his chest, smelling of both blood and rainwater. "My forever…is with you."

The rain didn't stop, but neither the woman nor the Count minded anymore. Nor did they even notice it. The sound drowned away from their ears, and the only thing they could now hear was the sound of the person they loved most.

The darkness was inevitable at this point. The corners of Anna's eyes were blackening, and all sounds around her were hollowed, eventually fading away into a crude form of obscurity. Untouched by light and uncomforted by abandoned within the cold stone walls of the church.

"Anna…" a deep voice called out through the haze.

Anna stretched a scrawny hand out towards the voice and realized a demon was grabbing her. His big hands were cold, and she could also tell he had bony fingers. She blinked slowly, but the blurriness persisted, blinding her. There were no details to discern about him; all she could describe was that he was a broad-shouldered figure with deep, darling red eyes. It could be a demon...or Death himself.

Anna's lips parted, and a struggled wheeze escaped. "Ah…so this is how it is. Like before…the demons were always willing to keep me company…" she sputtered out as a fretful and despairing smile crept to her pale lips. Her voice shook as she spoke like she was moments away from crying her heart out. "Forgive me, my dearest…I would've wished for nothing more than to go back to the time…where I was your beautiful treasure…hidden in the woods. Like a fraction of Heaven falling into your eyes."

Alucard bit down on his lips as he held his dearest close to his chest, wishing at that moment that his body was warm instead of ice cold. "Ah…those were always our most innocent times," he said with a soothing whisper.

Anna smiled at the tone. Lovely and like velvet. "Tell me, demon… Was I ever loved? Was I…a mistake?"

Alucard tightened his jaw. "I cannot answer all your questions, I'm sorry. I can say this though. You were at least…the most important person in this demon's life. You were too bright though…and burned away."

There was a sudden clarity across Anna's face as an old memory resurfaced. "Burning… That's right. I burned. I wonder…. Am I still burning?" she asked as something wet dripped onto her face. She felt it slide down her cheek and trickle down her bloodied neck.

Rain? Was this rain, Anna thought. It had been so long since she had the cold comfort of rain. Soothing to both the soul and the tormented. She read in books long ago that rain had the power to wash away the sins of the wicked. Leave them pure and with peace of mind.

Was this her peace?

There was a small spark before Anna's body began to bloom with vermillion flames. It coated her entire being but didn't burn. It was a cold flame. A comforting flame.

"It looks like the rain had finally come…to put out the fire," Anna whispered one last time before the flames totally consumed her. Burning up memories, scars of the past, and even her future…returning to the earth how it always should've been.

Ash fell through his arms as Alucard just sat there, staring at the same spot the love of his life had just been. His sadness was swift. As well as his grief. A feeling suddenly swelled up from the cages of his soul, a passion that could rival hell. A rage that could burn Satan to Ash. An anger that will damn everything to the lowest pits of the abyss.

With bloody tears falling down his cheeks, Alucard ground his teeth together and pressed his forehead to the ashen floor. And up from his very soul, his scream split the sky in two.

"INCOGNITOOOO!"