Victoria stopped on a crossing of two lengthy corridors, piercing the body of the mansion on the second floor level. Something was attracting her to the left, gently pulling to the northern wing. The mansion had been much more populated at the times of Integra's ancestors, it seemed. The old building had too many rooms to be mended properly by its staff, so there were places just locked for years... If not for good. This wing was always deserted, as far as she could recall... The girl made several steps along the hallway, waking an echo in it, and gasped at sudden understanding. The strong and oh-too-familiar-recently smell of fresh blood was the lead which brought her here. She rushed to the smell source, which turned out to be a door about thirty yards away from the crossing. Vampiric sense of smell was definitely keen.
"Oh yeah, if we manage to exterminate all the undeads in this country one glorious day, Hellsing institution can always send Master and me to Heathrow airport - to sniff at travelers and their belongings for explosives and drugs... What a career!" – snorted the girl gloomily, opening the door with a gun in her hand. She jumped into the room and froze, looking at the bloody mess around. It was hard to imagine the few liters of blood every human body contains, to look so... massive, being let out of its closed pipeline. Crimson stripes were everywhere... And bodies. The dead bodies of the rookies, transferred from army not so long ago; they looked like broken dolls of a careless child. Victoria gritted her teeth in sudden pain of Cheders deja vu and quickly turned to the adjacent room's door, creaking open. Her gun was trained at the door, ready to shoot at anything... But not at the pale fellow in Hellsing troops uniform, staggering slowly into the room. He was holding his side with blood-stained hand.
"What… What's going on here?" - came from him in trembling voice. He stumbled, and Victoria quickly stretched her hands to help him gain the balance. Big, big mistake. The poor bleeding lamb she was up to help and comfort, instantly turned into a mean wolf, so to say. His hand darted from his side with a foot long blade, securely hidden behind the man's back before. Victoria tried to dodge and almost succeeded. Almost. Being distracted, the young vampire lacked a tiny part of a second to escape the cutting edge, plowing through her side and forearm. Her clothes and flesh gave way with a ripping sound and the dark blood-soaked spot started to grow rapidly on the sky-blue fabric of the uniform. Victoria's arm grew numb practically at once. Her pistol fell on the floor, too heavy and slippery with blood to hold in an injured hand... The girl clenched her teeth and tried to attack the adversary in close combat, but the fellow made a quick viper-like movement and leaped back through the doorway. Obviously, his injuries and weakness were fake, but the speed he managed to move... Not human. The full revelation came to her when the dead bodies around her started to twitch, their pale skin graying and deteriorating into the ghouls' disgusting appearance.
"Attack now! Finish her off!" - heard Victoria the yell of the man from inside of the next room. The ghouls didn't need orders for that, though. They were just plain hungry and there was only one available dish in the menu. The policewoman kicked the hand of the first customer away, crushing the chest of the second with the gloved fist of an uninjured arm and winced - her side was still too touchy for such active twists. She bent to pick up her gun, silently cursing herself for not taking Harconnen with her this time. Besides it's shooting abilities, it would have made a perfect club...
"You know, Seras, sometimes I feel like a rebellous teenager's father. Why do you never listen to what I say? - boomed above Victoria's head. Master went straight to the business, turning the ghouls into ashes, which didn't stop him from the nagging session. - I told you, cop, trust no one!"
"Sorry, Master, but I'm not used to be that paranoid..."
"Who's talking about being paranoid? Just don't trust anyone... But me, of course. Can't you tell the difference?"
The last phrase came from the doorway. Victoria rolled her eyes and made a face to Alucard's back. Suddenly she heard her Master whistling in surprise.
"Whoa, you've found it, police girl! They say rookies are always lucky... Hmmm, maybe that's true at some point."
Victoria felt anything but lucky at the current moment, but paced along the blood-soaked carpet to look at the reason of Master's rants. When she peered inside, the sight made her raise her eyebrows. The room, a part of a guest suite once, had all its furniture moved to the walls to give enough place for a giant hexagram painted on the floor with fresh blood. Alucard stood at its edge, eyeing it with profound distaste.
"He escaped. Through the portal, sneaky little bastard. - Master seemed to develop an annoying habit to answer the yet non-pronounced questions of his apprentice. - Yes, this one. The sigils of this kind are used either for sealing us or providing an instant transporting route if inverted."
"Can we use it? Now?"
"Of course, we can. And will. I'm kind of grateful to that vermin for leaving such a gorgeous trail… - Alucard's face became the one of a grinning shark. - So, why not thank him here, police girl."
Alucard grabbed his subordinate's elbow and stopped, feeling dampness under his fingers - the nasty looking cut on the girl's hand was still bleeding slightly.
"So, it was a blessed blade... Did he really think it could protect him that much? Or he's become a die-hard Anderson's fan and started to collect memorabilia already? - the older vampire bent down to regard the wounds. - It must hurt. Injuries of this type take time to regenerate... Care to return?"
The answer was a stubborn look.
"I see. Well, let's not waste any more time then. Give me your hand."
Hand in hand the two stepped into the sigil. It flashed, releasing the embedded power of the spell.
The transporting through the sigil was a momentary black-out; the next second Hellsing agents' heels hit the wooden floor in the middle of the similar hexagram at the other end of their instant journey. A welcoming party was there already, no flowers or music, though. Eight men stood between the sigil and the only exit of a large windowless room and stared cautiously at the newcomers.
"Hello! Any guides here? We are eager to tour this place..." - drawled Alucard, exposing his teeth in a crooked grin and moving forward.
The mob looked a little bit startled, but basic math encouraged them. A semicircle of Uzi muzzles flashed with fire and the room became a living hell. The automatic guns' roar and Casull barking mixed with swearing, moans and rumbling of plaster pieces, falling from the walls and ceiling. Victoria blinked away the dust and spotted the figure in Hellsing trooper uniform, disappearing behind the door. She yelled with rage and made a suicidal leap forward, forgetting about her sore side and bullets whistling around. A long hand caught her by the collar in the mid-air and yanked back.
"Not so fast, hot-head. We shouldn't part here. - Master silenced the last member of the group and kicked the closest human-shaped heap of ash with his boot's toe. A gun clanked there, sliding along the floor to Victoria's feet. - Take this. Know how to use this toy, I believe?"
"Hmph. Piece of cake." - the girl blew the remains of its previous owner off her new weapon and picked another one, checking the ammo in both. The reassuring weight of the new guns along with the silver-loaded Beretta from Hellsing stock made her feel a wee bit more comfortable. She hanged the second Uzi on her shoulder and jogged after her Master, who was at the door already. Hellsing vampires emerged into a long corridor. Victoria glanced through a window. She thought she recognized the peaceful parks-and-mansions landscape outside. It was a rich suburb at the opposite from Hellsing HQ end of London.
"Quick... I wonder if this sigil transporting would work for humans...Instead of the Tube, for example…"
"Quit daydreaming at work, cop! – Alucard's voice came simultaneously with another volley of gunfire from the end of the corridor. - Do your job if you've decided to tag along!"
"Yes, Master! - Victoria raised her trophy gun and hold the trigger pulled for a few seconds, beheading her target with a shower of bullets. - Just hope the jerk we met back at home is there..."
"The only way to found it out is to clear our path and check the remains afterwards. A foolproof method, heh-heh... - Master grinned in his usual predatory way and resumed his walk forward. - Anyway, we have to clean this place entirely, Victoria. We'll not miss him here, don't sweat."
They really didn't. There were no parts of Hellsing ammunition on all the undeads they sent to eternal damnation or whatever fate awaits a vampire after the second death, but they observed the full set of it on the pathetic figure, they got cornered in the elegant hall of this enigmatic house. The man pressed his back to the carved oak wall panels, holding his blessed blade in front of himself. It was shaking in his hands a little.
"Pick-a-boo! - Alucard lowered the still smoking barrel of his favorite working tool and slowly moved to the corner. - So, kid, you've stirred enough trouble to make some explanations before starting a joyride to Hell. If you want to die quickly instead of being ripped apart without haste, tell me where's your Master."
Silence. The No Life King stopped and tilted his head.
"Come on. It's quite clear that a low level scum like you would never have enough guts, power or knowledge to create all this mess."
Alucard's arm flicked in the air and knocked the knife out of the traitor's hand.
"Answer me, goddammit!"
The fellow couldn't stand the pressure any more. His boyish face turned into a grimace of fear, when he screamed into the emptiness of the house:
"Mistress! Save me!!!"
The shriek seemed to disturb the flames of numerous candles, the only source of light in the room. Shadows in the corners waved, dancing on the row of old portraits on the walls. Victoria's heart made a frantic leap, when one of the paintings seemed to gain its own life. No, it wasn't the portrait. A woman in a long red dress stepped out of the wall to grab the attention of all vampires, gathered in the hall. She was stunningly beautiful... But Seras felt a shiver, running down her spine. The face of the woman was young and smiling, as if being made of delicate Chinese porcelain, but the dark wells of her eyes - eyes of an immortal - held cold and cruel wisdom of a countless years long lifespan.
"My, my. The rumors were true. Brits really managed to domesticate the Dragon himself. - the ironic voice rang melodically as the female vampire regarded the gloves on Alucard' hands. - You've changed... Alucard. Even the name is new..."
Hellsing's main weapon and top secret swirled on his heels and met the woman's gaze:
"Hello, Elisabeth. It has been awhile... You haven't changed at all."
The lady presented him with a luscious smile: "Is it a compliment?"
"No, just a plain statement. I felt your hand in all this scheme... You could never give up the pleasure of pulling the strings, right?"
"Oh, don't be so rude, dear. I know, it may be awkward for you to face me in your present situation... - Elisabeth tilted her head and pouted prettily. - I had to work a lot to set this meeting up... It was a sheer luck the boy found one of my minions."
Alucard glanced at the soldier darkly, making him press himself into the wall until the aged oak behind his back creaked in protest.
"Found? Or was found?"
"He looked for one of us desperately. Wished to live forever… Well, I've granted this wish - like a kind fairy! - and he completed his part of the pact." - the vampiress laughed. Suddenly she turned to the right, facing Seras. The silk of her dress rustled softly, as she walked up to the girl. Victoria inhaled a hypnotizing scent of Elisabeth's perfume and suddenly felt light-headed. Her knees became weak and eyelids - heavy, when the girl felt the female nosferatu's fingers stroking her cheek.
"So smooth... I admire your taste, Alucard. Will you let me play with your new pet later? - the caressing hand suddenly twitched, leaving a deep scratch on Victoria's skin. Elisabeth snickered, her long tongue flicked, licking away a drop of blood. - What's her name again? I forgot..."
"Her name is Victoria Seras. And she's not a pet. - Alucard gripped his subordinate's arm and dragged her aside. - Get a hold of yourself, Beth. What're you up to?"
"You seem to give me a cold shoulder, darling. - the vampiress narrowed her eyes. - Definitely, you act not the way you did back then. Remember all the fun we had together? That was a fabulous time..."
"Going all sentimental, huh? Aging women are often like that, they say." - Alucard holstered the gun and crossed his hands, smiling coldly.
Elisabeth's mouth twisted in sudden rage. "Don't you dare to tell me... that! - she screamed. - You want me to say it out straight? All right! I was asked... pleaded... By those who you are trained to search and destroy here, Hellsing's hound! That weaklings couldn't put an end to your rampage and now it's a mission of mine! So, choose now - either you stop blocking my curse, let it finish your human masters off and return to your true path with me or... No matter what tricks that pathetic humans taught you, I will not let you out of here alive."
Alucard was silent, deep sarcasm written on his face. The vampiric bee-queen walked up to him and caught hold of the sides of the red trench-coat.
"Tell me! What reasons do you have to become a renegade? To betray not only your own kin, but yourself as well? - Elisabeth stopped shaking the tall figure in front of her and slipped her hands around Alucard's neck. - Freedom is one step away from you! Take it and I'll be by your side as before..."
Alucard didn't move, but these words animated the soldier in the corner, forgotten by everybody. Obviously, he decided that whatever was going to happen in this house soon, he would be safer at some distance from the scene. The farther the better. The vampire masters didn't pay any attention to that, absorbed with their confrontation, but Victoria couldn't let him escape. He had betrayed and killed, he had wounded her, he had helped to put Integra and Walter to the very edge of death... She rose the Beretta, her only weapon after the countdown in the corridor, meticulously aimed at the fellow's head and pulled the trigger. Nothing. A misfire, dammit! The rat sidled to the door already, no time for hesitating. The heavy 9mm Beretta became the main item of a ballistic experiment, being thrown as a boomerang, and hit the traitor's temple as the girl jumped forward, knocking him down. They rolled on the floor, exchanging punches, kicks and blocks, overturning furniture and heavy brass candle stands. The martial skills and vampiric strength of both opponents were roughly balancing each other, so the girl was in disadvantage as anyone, being engaged into a fight with an enemy almost a foot higher and much heavier. She was thrown away to land face down and hear Elisabeth's mocking laughter. "Watch your manners with young ladies, boy!" She nodded in answer to her pawn's begging gaze:
"You may leave. You've competed your task."
Victoria started to get up, propping her body with both hands, when her knee hit something. It was the blessed blade, left and forgotten on the carpet. The ex-policewoman's palm closed at its handle as she sent her body forward at all the speed she could make. Her target turned to her, baring his teeth and throwing his hand towards the girl's face. In a lightning quick move only a desperate vampire could make, Seras dodged the blow and swung the blade, bringing it with tremendous force onto the extended hand of the man. The hand went off cleanly and neatly, being cut a couple of inches below the shoulder joint. Victoria made a dancing sidestep, putting her other hand on the handle and twisting her torso to add momentum to the strike. She brought the knife around at blinding speed to its inevitable rendezvous with her enemy's neck. The force of the swing was so fierce, that the steel seemed to meet no obstacle in its smooth way through the flesh and backbone. The head of the unlucky vampire rolled off his shoulders, making an instant-long eerie sight of the headless body, standing with blood squirting out of the opened carotide. Then it dissipated into a cloud of ash with a soft sighing sound.
"Whoops, looks like his eternal life lasted not that long as he'd expected! - Elisabeth playfully smiled to Alucard, still hanging on him like an exotic necktie. - Your pet is rather naughty."
"The kind fairy doesn't look too concerned about her servant's fate." - Alucard's brows rose a trifle in a mock surprise.
"Why should I? I have lots of them, one more, one less..." - the careless shrug of the vampiress' shoulders was the only epitaph for her deceased pawn.
Alucard's bland gaze moved from Elisabeth's face to the pitiful heap of dust and heavy-breathing Victoria, standing above it, still with the blade in her hand. She looked exhausted and frightened, but still ready to fight. A corner of Master's mouth rose, as he observed his apprentice, heavy breathing and even more disheveled than usual. Still smiling, his lips started to move soundlessly. Elisabeth seemed to understand the idea of the speech well enough, as she jumped away from Alucard with a furious shriek.
"Category A." - sighed Alucard at last, rising his gloved palms to the sides of his head. A shockwave of power rushed from him, his tall figure suddenly blurred, losing its human shape. Victoria drew a shaky breath and caught some movement from the side of her eye. She sharply turned and the appearance of the female nosferatu made her start wishing to wake up from this nightmare. The seductive body in a streaming silk dress wasn't there any more, just a strange shimmer. It was like hot air, dancing above roads in summer, shapeless and wavering; only alebaster-white face and palms with strangely extended fingers shone clearly on it. The shimmer started to twist and expand as a tide of power and concentrated hatred hit Victoria, exploding with blinding pain in her head. Falling into the bliss of unconsciousness, she saw something like a pitch-black hound's form, darting to her and enveloping her body, but she didn't care about anything already. She peacefully floated away into nowhere.
Something itched her face, getting to the waking nerves. Victoria wrinkled her nose and tried to move away, failing to open her eyes.
"Mmm... Five minutes more, please..." - she murmured, trying to grope for a blanket and pull it over her head, hiding herself from orange light - it was streaming even through her eyelids. – Only five minutes and I'll get up, honestly!"
Her hand touched something fabric-like. Hee, bingo! She pulled the blanket to her nonchalantly.
"Gah! What are you trying to do - choke me, police girl?"
Victoria opened her eyes abruptly. She was cradled in her Master's arms as that night in Cheders but... Oh, joy. Unlike then, her hand was around Alucard's necktie and pulling. He made a face:
"Looks like it becomes a tradition. All the ladies I've ever known try to kill me sooner or later. You started it sooner... Why females are so mean to me?"
"Why don't you go to a shrink to sort it out? - suggested the girl sleepily. – Oedipus complex and all that stuff…"
Her eyes were closing again. The dream with its feeling of warmth and safety was still there and tempting ...
Suddenly Victoria remembered the recent events, twitched and started to fidget. When she managed to look over Alucard's shoulder, she spotted the source of the orange light. They were on a lawn about fifty yards away from a Georgian styled mansion and it was engulfed with flames. Fire roared in all the windows already, sending crackling sparks and thick smoke into the night sky.
"We dropped several candles there. - Alucard turned his head and looked at the fire, his pupils became thin slits. – Good. The fire will do the rest of the cleaning. No traces..."
Victoria silently looked at he Master's face, not daring to ask about the details. She still felt a chill along the spine, remembering the last scene she had seen - the two monsters, maneuvering to start their death match. And she hadn't kept her word, being weak again... To faint on the scene! Uh-oh.
Alucard looked down, having caught the tail of her thoughts, as usual.
"Don't blame yourself, Seras. You can't play in this league so far... She was a decent opponent even for me."
"Who... - the girl hesitated for a moment, - Who was she?"
"Her name was Elisabeth Bathory. A true vampire, one of the strongest. Our paths parted long ago... to cross again like this."
"I think I heard something about her..."
"Perhaps. Humans used to call her Bloody Countess. You can look this name up in Hellsing database or ask Walter..."
"Walter! Lady Integra! - the memory of them motionless and pale despite all the efforts of medics returned to Victoria as a flash. - What's with them? Are they... " The girl trailed off and rummaged the pockets of her dirty and torn uniform.
"Damn, no cell phone!"
Alucard grinned.
"The curse is gone along with its author... As far as I feel, Integra is better already. She must be sleeping now. I'm sure the same goes for Walter. And I doubt any cell phone would've survived through that fight of yours...- suddenly the vampire chuckled. - It was quite a show, cop. I wish I could tape it... And send it to some cable TV as a sample of the new and very effective method against graffiti doodlers. You draw anything in Hellsing-Hall, you get your head chopped off. Heh-heh-heh!"
Victoria shuddered: "I don't need this sort of fame, thank you. Besides, I doubt Lady Integra would be enthusiastic about such an idea..."
"Oh yeah, we'd get a small, but valuable special award from her if tried to pull such a trick... A silver bullet in the head. She's a stern critic when it comes to cable TV..."
Both vampires gazed at the flame again. Distant wails of a siren showed the attention of the local fire brigade to the arsonist activity of Hellsing agents. At last Victoria sighed:
"You know, Master, is it a coincidence or not, but almost every time we get out into the city together the result is a getaway from closing sirens... How shall we withdraw now? The sigil is destroyed..."
"Hah, don't you worry. We aren't lost puppies after all. The moon is beautiful tonight, eh?"
The girl craned her neck and looked up: "Yes, it is... To drive along a quiet highway and listen to romantic songs on the radio - I used to enjoy that at such nights... before."
"Oh, really? Songs... Hm. Why not? Music cures stresses and tension, I heard. - Alucard's grin became really mischievous all of a sudden. - Are you ready for a relaxing getaway trip in my company, cop?"
Soon after arriving at the scene the police brigade ought to don gas masks due to the unknown toxic components in the smoke from the burned mansion. Evidently there was something in the air, because two firemen suffered from hallucinations of the weirdest kind. The victims described "a huge bat from Hell" or "a bloody Jurassic park pterodactyle" flying over their heads, as they turned around the corner to check the backyard of the mansion. Both firefighters swore that the creature was carrying a shrieking babe and singing "Fly me to the Moon" in deep human voice, periodically interrupting itself with maniacal laughter. No traces of any known hallucinogens were found in their blood probes afterwards, though.
Author's note a.k.a. mindless midnight blabbing: I heard that introduction of original characters is considered a big no-no in fanfiction writing. It's called Mary Sue something… Peggy Sue? Jenny Sue? Duh, don't remember. Anyway, Elisabeth Bathory was a real person, obsessed with her beauty. She abhorred the very idea of aging, so she killed young girls and bathed in their warm blood to prevent it. God bless plastic surgeons and modern civilization! It makes me wonder what Michael Jackson would have done if he'd lived in Elisabeth's time… Hmm. Mindboggling, eh?
Ms. Bathory is nicknamed Countess Dracula sometimes and I just couldn't stand the temptation to process this hint. I don't expect any legal lawsuits for slander from her anyway… Heh-heh.