*Standard disclaimers apply* What is it with Hellsing fans and Evanescence? Heh, well I'm a fan too, so I can't complain. (Hell, I'm listening to Bring Me To Life as I write this.)

Carpe Jugulum, Chapter 4

"Frankly, I can't think of any worse way to break the bad news to someone than that." The doctor frowned as he paced over to the sedated form of Victoria Celes. "Though I suppose she deserved an honest answer…" Running a hand through his hair, Bryans stepped over to the doctor's position.

"Well, she had to find out sooner or later, and I don't think she would have appreciated finding out later by herself. What I mean is, what if she felt hungry later, and didn't realise what she was doing? Someone could get hurt, and considering the amount of silver bullets, and people who know how to use them around here, I think that someone would have been her."

"Yes, I suppose you're right. Anyway, try to be a little more subtle when she wakes up, alright?"

"Yessir."

Meanwhile, the Hellsing Organisation was continuing its fight against the Undead.

In the city of Birmingham, in the English Midlands, the setting sun cast a baleful red glow over the city, as its inhabitants returned from their jobs, and its offices and factories ground to halt, emptying before darkness approached.

The complicated beauty of this scene went unnoticed as a group of Hellsing soldiers made their way through dark alleys, into deserted tenements and across short open areas of waste ground. They ran silently, unburdened by any heavy equipment, with their weapons at the ready.

In front of the squad, Sergeant Adrian Sheppard was taking point, keeping an eye out for any enemy movement. There had been reports of a number of feedings in the area, which had filtered down to Hellsing through its contacts in the Police. The feedings had mainly taken place in this particular neighbourhood, suggesting that the vampire was either lazy, stupid, or was attempting to lure Hellsing here. For safety's sake the latter option was assumed to be true.

Suddenly, one of the troops moving on Sheppard's left dropped to his knee and fired a burst into the shadows of a nearby alley. "Target left!" The trooper yelled, as the rest of the team moved into position. Almost immediately, a man rushed from the shadows. The blood that coated his mouth and neck left no room for any doubt concerning his identity. At the sight of the Hellsing troops, he bared his fangs, which had the unfortunate effect of encouraging a swarm of silver-jacketed rounds to tear him to pieces. As the corpse fell, it burst into flames, turning into a cloud of ash before it had hit the ground. Somewhat unsettled, the troops drew closer to the smoking pile of ash.

"Never seem 'em do that before…" Murmured one of the soldiers. Sheppard remained silent. He had. This vampire had perished in exactly the same way as the vampire in the hostage incident a few days back.

In Sheppard's experience, vampires only died when their brain or heart was destroyed. Silver was particularly effective in this respect, since they were unable to heal wounds inflicted by it. However, dead vampires still left a corpse, albeit a rather hideous one. They didn't usually disintegrate. Sheppard frowned. He'd report this, and then leave it to the Research boys. Who knew, maybe the bloodsuckers were getting more fragile…

Shrugging off that vaguely comforting thought, he ordered the squad to regroup and continue their sweep. The rest of the night passed without incident, and the squad returned to base in the morning, tired but satisfied at a job well done.

"Listen, um, Miss Celes, I'm sorry about last night. I realise I could perhaps been a little more subtle."  At these words, Victoria Celes looked up incredulously.

"A little more subtle?! I'm dead, for fuck's sake!" A pair of hostile red eyes glared venomously at Bryans as he flinched slightly, feeling slightly foolish for entering the room without the doctor. Or a small army's worth of weapons. Well he thought inwardly, it could be worse…she could have flown into a murderous rage and bitten me. Then, as quickly as it had erupted, Celes' anger evaporated, leaving a forlorn, terrified woman in its wake. Bryans watched awkwardly as Victoria started to sob. He felt somewhat impotent simply standing there, but he was also very reluctant to get close enough to a vampire to provide comfort. From his position by the doorway, Bryans moved slightly closer and continued speaking.

"Uh, listen, if you were worried about how this is going to…erm…affect you, feel free to take a look at the medical files we've got. You may find the results…reassuring…" Victoria Celes' sobs continued unabated, and Corporal Bryans sighed to himself. Well, maybe he could jar her out of her self-pity induced reverie.

"Will you stop crying for a second? You may be a vampire, but you're acting like it's the end of the world or something!" Startled, Victoria stopped for a moment, and stared at Bryans, like a small child that has just been harshly reprimanded. Her tears stopped for a moment and she sniffed. He continued: "Look, most vampires lose their capacity for pity after their creation. The fact that you can still cry is a good sign; it means that you aren't as inhuman as you think. And if you're worried about drinking blood, don't be, we have a huge supply of animal blood at the base; you won't have to bite anybody."  Looking away from him, Victoria replied:

"What's going to happen to me? Are you going to perform experiments on me, or what?"

"Initially, yes, there will be a few experiments, tests; they'll monitor how you function, that kind of thing, but I think the main idea is that you join our military division." Victoria looked at him incredulously.

"Me? Hunting vampires?"

"I don't see why not. You have better night vision, strength and agility than you did before; you'd make a perfect Hellsing operative." Victoria stopped for a moment and considered this. Before she could answer him, Bryans reached to the counter behind him and picked something up. "But that's not the reason I'm here right now." He said as he turned around; revealing a small plastic bag, full of a surprisingly bright red liquid. Celes' eyes widened.

"Is that…?"

"It is." Victoria's features arranged themselves into a frown.

"You don't expect me to actually drink that, do you?" Bryans' face remained impassive.

"You'll have to, sooner or later. And having you go on the vampiric equivalent of a hunger strike won't do anyone any good." Victoria Celes eyed the container with distaste.

"I'm not going to do it." Bryans exhaled, his calm demeanour cracking slightly.

"You'll have to do it sooner or later. If you don't feed fairly soon, you'll starve to death. Do you want that?" Victoria refused to respond. Seeing her steadfast refusal to cooperate, Bryans sighed inwardly. He'd been hoping to avoid this. He put the container on the table and then, moving with a speed that startled Victoria, he jammed his right hand into her open mouth, bringing his left up to strike her jaw, forcing her jaw closed. He winced only slightly as her fangs bit deep into his hand, and looked at the ceiling. He heard an initial startled exclamation, which was quickly silenced. He flinched at the sensation in his right arm, cradling Victoria's head next to his shoulder. A few seconds later, he withdrew his now bloody hand, winding a bandage around it as he stood back. Victoria looked back at him, wiping her mouth absently as she struggled to find some words.

"I…I'm sorry. I don't know why, but when you…I…" She floundered verbally. Bryans turned to face her; surprised that she thought he deserved an apology. Seeing the look on her face, he replied:

"Don't worry about it. I just didn't want you starving to death, that's all. The cuts aren't bad, but vampire saliva contains an anti-coagulant, so i'll need this…." He held up the bandage. A moment later,  he reached behind himself.

"You'll probably want this now." He picked up the blood pack and gently tossed it to Victoria. She caught it awkwardly, then stared at it for a moment. There was a straw attached. For some reason, she found that ludicrously funny, and chuckled; the first amused sound she had emitted since she died. Walking towards the doorway, Bryans smiled thinly. At the threshold, he paused and turned back. "I'll be back in an hour or so to show you to your quarters; we can't keep you in the lab forever."

A/N: Yes, I will be getting round to Blade soon, don't worry. I'm just trying to establish the Hellsing side first.