Chapter 4: Reconciliation
A/N: thanks for all reviews and ideas! I will take them into account.
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The Being sat on his throne, looking into a pool. In it, he could see a dark-skinned-woman speaking on a telephone. A tall man in red stood behind her. The Being swirled the pool with his finger, and the image changed to a blonde girl. She had just finished talking to a large man in a trenchcoat, and looked on the verge of tears. A tall Frenchman walked in and sat next to her. As he did, the Being grinned. Everything was going according to plan.
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Seras sat and looked at the phone, in a stupor. She was completely exhausted. She had just finished giving her report to Integra. Integra had commended her for her performance, but had criticized her use of the Halconnen in a crowded terminal. She had also asked why Seras had not sensed the vampires, a question which Seras had been embarrassed to answer. The truth was that she had been too enthralled with the sight of Paris through the terminal windows to notice anything else. In all, it had been a very draining telephone conversation. Seras still had not gotten a chance to eat, and she was on the verge of collapse.
She turned and pulled out two of her blood packs. Opening the first one, she drank it down, shuddering slightly at the taste. She wasn't used to having them warm, and it seemed too much like fresh blood for her liking. As she finished the first one, she heard a noise at her door. She looked up and saw John Carrigan standing in the doorway. He was looking down at her with a slightly disgusted air.
"I was coming to tell you that dinner is almost ready, but I guess you won't be joining us after all." He turned away and headed away down the hall. Seras threw the empty pack aside and raced after him.
"Wait!" she called. "Can I just come along anyway?"
"Why should you? Are you tired of cold blood, and want some fresh from the jugular?"
Seras looked up at him, stung. Why was he being so mean? What had she done? Integra had made it clear that she was harmless.
"What's wrong?" she asked, reaching her hand out. "Why do are you so mad at me?"
He slapped her hand away, looking furious.
"What's wrong?" he replied, his voice low and angry. "I'll tell you what's wrong. What's wrong is the fact that I have to work with one of the monsters who killed my sister. I've made a career out of exterminating demons like you, and now I'm being forced to cooperate with you and even be civil to you. That, freak, is what's wrong.
He slammed the door of Seras' room and stalked away, leave the vampire at the brink of tears. She collapsed onto her bed and put her head in her hands, struggling to maintain control. How could he say that! She had saved his life in the terminal! She hadn't harmed anyone! How could he treat her like that? Seras gave up on control. She put her head down and sobbed.
Pierre was rushing to dinner when he heard Seras' low sobs. He paused, listening. He started to keep walking (he really had to get to the kitchen to serve dinner), but his compassionate nature just couldn't let him leave without seeing what was wrong. He sighed, and, with a light knock at the door, entered the room.
"What's the matter, Miss Victoria?"
Seras looked up, startled. She hadn't heard the butler out in the hall.
"Oh," she said, wiping her face and attempting to pull herself together, "it's nothing, really. I'm alright. Besides," she said, looking up at him, "why are you so concerned about a Vampire, anyway?" She spat the word vampire bitterly.
"Ah, I see. You've been talking to John, haven't you? What did he say to you?"
Pierre sat down next to Seras on the bed, looking at her concernedly. The look on his face was enough to make Seras start sniffling again.
"He saw me drinking blood," she said, pointing to the empty blood pack on the floor. "It triggered something off. He called me a freak, and said that I was one of the monsters that killed his sister. He said that he doesn't want to work with one of the demons he's made a career out of killing." Seras' voice wavered, and she took a deep breath. "What's the matter with him anyway? What happened with his sister?"
Pierre sighed. "That is a long and sordid story, my dear. John's younger sister was an up-and-coming actress in the United States. She had been engaged to be married to a rich young man in Los Angeles. Somehow, she found out that the man was a vampire, and she tried to break off the engagement. In a fit of rage, her vampire fiancé killed her and turned her into a ghoul. John went looking for her after she failed to turn up at the wedding rehearsal, and found the creature that she had become. He was forced to kill his own sister, and he has never recovered from the pain. He was at that time a member of the U.S. Navy S.E.A.L.s. He used the skills learned in the military to hunt the vampire down and kill it. Ever since that day, he has hated vampires and has devoted his life to eradicating them. He volunteered for the nanotech implant procedure in order to be more able to achieve this goal."
"Nanotech implant?" said Seras. "You mean he's a cyborg?" Her own experience with cyborgs had left her deeply mistrustful of them. The only one she had ever met was the Paladin Alexander Anderson, and he was not a very good representative.
Pierre nodded. John was indeed a cyborg, and had been one for the entire 2 years he had been with the Knights.
So that's why he's so strong, thought Seras. "But if he hates vampires so much, why was he being so nice to me in the airport?"
"He did not wish to cause a scene. It is also possible that he was doing it for my sake, since he knows that I like to make a good first impression. Unfortunately," he said, smiling, "circumstance really prevented it from going as I had planned. Don't pay to much attention to John, my dear. He'll come around eventually." Pierre rose to his feet and turned to leave. Seras stood and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Pierre?" she said, trying out his first name for the first time.
"Yes, Miss Victoria?"
"Thanks. You're the only one who's been nice to me here."
Pierre smiled. "It was my pleasure. Now, I believe that we both have dinner to finish. Good night, Seras."
He turned and walked away. At least one person here doesn't hate me, thought Seras. Maybe I can survive here after all.
----
After dinner, John sat in his quarters, brooding. The sight of that little monster drinking blood had been too much for him to handle. How she could sit in the middle of the headquarters of Europe's biggest vampire hunting organization and do something so monstrous was beyond him.
As John sat, scowling, there was a knock at his door. He looked at the door and called for the visitor to come in. When he saw Pierre, he scowled more fiercely. He had been expecting this since he saw Pierre go into the vampire's room, and now he steeled himself for a lecture.
"What do you want, Pierre?"
"I wanted to speak to you about the way you treated Miss Victoria tonight. Now, I know that you don't want to here this," he said, as John shook his head, "but I think you need to. That young woman was sitting on her bed in tears after you blew up at her."
"Probably just sad that I interrupted her demon feast," replied John angrily.
"Listen to me, John! That woman was as disgusted by that blood as you were; I could tell by the way she looked at it. She has obviously not accepted her vampirism. She may not be human any longer, but her emotions are still just as frail as they would be if she were. As a matter of fact, I think that they are more so since she became a vampire. According to the profile that Hellsing sent us, she has been a vampire for less than a year. Think of how traumatic that must be!"
"Think how traumatic it was for my sister!" snarled John. "She was killed and changed into a demon by the man she loved! How can you ask me to put myself into the shoes of the monsters that killed her?"
"That is pure foolishness, Carrigan. That girl was not even born when your sister was killed! She is in no way responsible for her death, and for you to blame her for it is idiotic."
"John," Pierre said, sitting on the bed and putting a hand on his shoulder, "think about how well she handled herself in the terminal today. She could be an amazingly valuable asset to us. As a matter of fact, she saved your life. I was out of ammunition and so were you. If she had not killed that vampire, he would have shot you with a 40mm grenade. Even your regenerative powers could not have withstood that. You have to give her a chance."
John sighed, and ran his fingers through his hair. He looked back up at Pierre, and sighed again.
"All right, Pierre. You're right, I guess. I'll give her a chance. But the first time she looks at me with bloodlust in her eyes, I'm going to kill her. Deal?
"Very well, that will have to do," said Pierre with a sigh. "You might want to apologize to her now, before she falls asleep. I'll leave you to it. Good night."
He got up and left, leaving John to think how to apologize. John was the first to admit that he was terrible with words. Maybe a gift. . .
----
Seras threw the empty blood pack into the wastebasket. She had not been able to eat the other one after what John had said to her. She sat and stared at the floor, completely downcast. Her first day in Paris had not been good at all. She had been attacked in the airport, yelled at by John Carrigan, and she still had not eaten properly. She just wanted to go home.
As Seras sat there bemoaning her situation, she heard the door open. She looked up and saw John standing there, his face blank. Seras shrank away from him. What was he going to do to her now? She could tell he was armed, because she could smell gun oil.
John sighed, and reached under his coat. Seras almost panicked and attacked, but then she saw that he was only withdrawing a sheaf of paper. It was a 3000 franc gift certificate for one of Paris's most prominent clothing stores. She looked up at him, startled by this new turn of events.
"Sorry about before," said John gruffly. "I was out of line. That certificate is to make up for it. Maybe I'll take you shopping tomorrow." He smiled slightly. "Buy you something that matches those red eyes."
He turned on his heel and left. Seras stared after him in wonder. It was several moments before she could speak to thank him, and by then he was gone. She put the certificate away in the desk in her room, and lay down in the coffin that the Knights had provided. Seras sighed. She missed her four- poster from home. She drifted off to sleep, thinking that maybe things wouldn't be so bad here after all.
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Well, did you like that? Am I doing a good job of keeping Seras in character? Let me know. Sorry there wasn't any action in this chapter; maybe I should change the Genre. Let me know about that as well. Thanks!
A/N: thanks for all reviews and ideas! I will take them into account.
----------------------------
The Being sat on his throne, looking into a pool. In it, he could see a dark-skinned-woman speaking on a telephone. A tall man in red stood behind her. The Being swirled the pool with his finger, and the image changed to a blonde girl. She had just finished talking to a large man in a trenchcoat, and looked on the verge of tears. A tall Frenchman walked in and sat next to her. As he did, the Being grinned. Everything was going according to plan.
------
Seras sat and looked at the phone, in a stupor. She was completely exhausted. She had just finished giving her report to Integra. Integra had commended her for her performance, but had criticized her use of the Halconnen in a crowded terminal. She had also asked why Seras had not sensed the vampires, a question which Seras had been embarrassed to answer. The truth was that she had been too enthralled with the sight of Paris through the terminal windows to notice anything else. In all, it had been a very draining telephone conversation. Seras still had not gotten a chance to eat, and she was on the verge of collapse.
She turned and pulled out two of her blood packs. Opening the first one, she drank it down, shuddering slightly at the taste. She wasn't used to having them warm, and it seemed too much like fresh blood for her liking. As she finished the first one, she heard a noise at her door. She looked up and saw John Carrigan standing in the doorway. He was looking down at her with a slightly disgusted air.
"I was coming to tell you that dinner is almost ready, but I guess you won't be joining us after all." He turned away and headed away down the hall. Seras threw the empty pack aside and raced after him.
"Wait!" she called. "Can I just come along anyway?"
"Why should you? Are you tired of cold blood, and want some fresh from the jugular?"
Seras looked up at him, stung. Why was he being so mean? What had she done? Integra had made it clear that she was harmless.
"What's wrong?" she asked, reaching her hand out. "Why do are you so mad at me?"
He slapped her hand away, looking furious.
"What's wrong?" he replied, his voice low and angry. "I'll tell you what's wrong. What's wrong is the fact that I have to work with one of the monsters who killed my sister. I've made a career out of exterminating demons like you, and now I'm being forced to cooperate with you and even be civil to you. That, freak, is what's wrong.
He slammed the door of Seras' room and stalked away, leave the vampire at the brink of tears. She collapsed onto her bed and put her head in her hands, struggling to maintain control. How could he say that! She had saved his life in the terminal! She hadn't harmed anyone! How could he treat her like that? Seras gave up on control. She put her head down and sobbed.
Pierre was rushing to dinner when he heard Seras' low sobs. He paused, listening. He started to keep walking (he really had to get to the kitchen to serve dinner), but his compassionate nature just couldn't let him leave without seeing what was wrong. He sighed, and, with a light knock at the door, entered the room.
"What's the matter, Miss Victoria?"
Seras looked up, startled. She hadn't heard the butler out in the hall.
"Oh," she said, wiping her face and attempting to pull herself together, "it's nothing, really. I'm alright. Besides," she said, looking up at him, "why are you so concerned about a Vampire, anyway?" She spat the word vampire bitterly.
"Ah, I see. You've been talking to John, haven't you? What did he say to you?"
Pierre sat down next to Seras on the bed, looking at her concernedly. The look on his face was enough to make Seras start sniffling again.
"He saw me drinking blood," she said, pointing to the empty blood pack on the floor. "It triggered something off. He called me a freak, and said that I was one of the monsters that killed his sister. He said that he doesn't want to work with one of the demons he's made a career out of killing." Seras' voice wavered, and she took a deep breath. "What's the matter with him anyway? What happened with his sister?"
Pierre sighed. "That is a long and sordid story, my dear. John's younger sister was an up-and-coming actress in the United States. She had been engaged to be married to a rich young man in Los Angeles. Somehow, she found out that the man was a vampire, and she tried to break off the engagement. In a fit of rage, her vampire fiancé killed her and turned her into a ghoul. John went looking for her after she failed to turn up at the wedding rehearsal, and found the creature that she had become. He was forced to kill his own sister, and he has never recovered from the pain. He was at that time a member of the U.S. Navy S.E.A.L.s. He used the skills learned in the military to hunt the vampire down and kill it. Ever since that day, he has hated vampires and has devoted his life to eradicating them. He volunteered for the nanotech implant procedure in order to be more able to achieve this goal."
"Nanotech implant?" said Seras. "You mean he's a cyborg?" Her own experience with cyborgs had left her deeply mistrustful of them. The only one she had ever met was the Paladin Alexander Anderson, and he was not a very good representative.
Pierre nodded. John was indeed a cyborg, and had been one for the entire 2 years he had been with the Knights.
So that's why he's so strong, thought Seras. "But if he hates vampires so much, why was he being so nice to me in the airport?"
"He did not wish to cause a scene. It is also possible that he was doing it for my sake, since he knows that I like to make a good first impression. Unfortunately," he said, smiling, "circumstance really prevented it from going as I had planned. Don't pay to much attention to John, my dear. He'll come around eventually." Pierre rose to his feet and turned to leave. Seras stood and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Pierre?" she said, trying out his first name for the first time.
"Yes, Miss Victoria?"
"Thanks. You're the only one who's been nice to me here."
Pierre smiled. "It was my pleasure. Now, I believe that we both have dinner to finish. Good night, Seras."
He turned and walked away. At least one person here doesn't hate me, thought Seras. Maybe I can survive here after all.
----
After dinner, John sat in his quarters, brooding. The sight of that little monster drinking blood had been too much for him to handle. How she could sit in the middle of the headquarters of Europe's biggest vampire hunting organization and do something so monstrous was beyond him.
As John sat, scowling, there was a knock at his door. He looked at the door and called for the visitor to come in. When he saw Pierre, he scowled more fiercely. He had been expecting this since he saw Pierre go into the vampire's room, and now he steeled himself for a lecture.
"What do you want, Pierre?"
"I wanted to speak to you about the way you treated Miss Victoria tonight. Now, I know that you don't want to here this," he said, as John shook his head, "but I think you need to. That young woman was sitting on her bed in tears after you blew up at her."
"Probably just sad that I interrupted her demon feast," replied John angrily.
"Listen to me, John! That woman was as disgusted by that blood as you were; I could tell by the way she looked at it. She has obviously not accepted her vampirism. She may not be human any longer, but her emotions are still just as frail as they would be if she were. As a matter of fact, I think that they are more so since she became a vampire. According to the profile that Hellsing sent us, she has been a vampire for less than a year. Think of how traumatic that must be!"
"Think how traumatic it was for my sister!" snarled John. "She was killed and changed into a demon by the man she loved! How can you ask me to put myself into the shoes of the monsters that killed her?"
"That is pure foolishness, Carrigan. That girl was not even born when your sister was killed! She is in no way responsible for her death, and for you to blame her for it is idiotic."
"John," Pierre said, sitting on the bed and putting a hand on his shoulder, "think about how well she handled herself in the terminal today. She could be an amazingly valuable asset to us. As a matter of fact, she saved your life. I was out of ammunition and so were you. If she had not killed that vampire, he would have shot you with a 40mm grenade. Even your regenerative powers could not have withstood that. You have to give her a chance."
John sighed, and ran his fingers through his hair. He looked back up at Pierre, and sighed again.
"All right, Pierre. You're right, I guess. I'll give her a chance. But the first time she looks at me with bloodlust in her eyes, I'm going to kill her. Deal?
"Very well, that will have to do," said Pierre with a sigh. "You might want to apologize to her now, before she falls asleep. I'll leave you to it. Good night."
He got up and left, leaving John to think how to apologize. John was the first to admit that he was terrible with words. Maybe a gift. . .
----
Seras threw the empty blood pack into the wastebasket. She had not been able to eat the other one after what John had said to her. She sat and stared at the floor, completely downcast. Her first day in Paris had not been good at all. She had been attacked in the airport, yelled at by John Carrigan, and she still had not eaten properly. She just wanted to go home.
As Seras sat there bemoaning her situation, she heard the door open. She looked up and saw John standing there, his face blank. Seras shrank away from him. What was he going to do to her now? She could tell he was armed, because she could smell gun oil.
John sighed, and reached under his coat. Seras almost panicked and attacked, but then she saw that he was only withdrawing a sheaf of paper. It was a 3000 franc gift certificate for one of Paris's most prominent clothing stores. She looked up at him, startled by this new turn of events.
"Sorry about before," said John gruffly. "I was out of line. That certificate is to make up for it. Maybe I'll take you shopping tomorrow." He smiled slightly. "Buy you something that matches those red eyes."
He turned on his heel and left. Seras stared after him in wonder. It was several moments before she could speak to thank him, and by then he was gone. She put the certificate away in the desk in her room, and lay down in the coffin that the Knights had provided. Seras sighed. She missed her four- poster from home. She drifted off to sleep, thinking that maybe things wouldn't be so bad here after all.
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Well, did you like that? Am I doing a good job of keeping Seras in character? Let me know. Sorry there wasn't any action in this chapter; maybe I should change the Genre. Let me know about that as well. Thanks!