Chapter 3
Disclaimer: Please, I wish.
The metal had finally pooled, its mirror like effect proving mesmerizing. Through habit, Ghost picked it up and rolled a small ball between his fingers. He snarled, shocked at the actual pain the warm metal had triggered. After a moment, he pulled on his fingerless gloves and hoped that they would provide a little protection.
Finally, the metal in its moulds, he removed one of the perfect stakes with a pair of tongs and, with caution; he ran the metal across his gloved palm. It only stung lightly this time but it still allowed him to see that the weapon was to his standards. Just a fraction of a millimetre off perfection, perhaps next time.
Smiling slightly, the albino started on his inscription, a ghost of silver to silence the undead. Sitting back, he turned the contraption in his hands, using a small cloth to protect his exposed fingers. Well, this could prove awkward in battle. Perhaps he could make a steel jacket for them? Or modify these wretched gloves somehow?
He could always ask Walter to solve the problem – Arucard had informed him that if he wanted a better weapon, say larger or more powerful, then Walter was the person to contact. Maybe he would.
The butler merely raised an eyebrow to the query, turning the well crafted weapon in his hand. With reverent caution, he lowered the silver stake onto the table before leaning back and opening up a drawer.
"I had taken the time to study your patterns and techniques these past few days whilst everyone else has been playing to your tune in ridiculous pranks." He smiled wryly and pulled out a modified pair of gloves, the palm and fingers lined with a skeletal frame of metal. They were still fingerless however so that the metal caught the light. "You are renowned for using all silver hand to hand combat weapons, most likely so that if they are dropped, they are useless to the enemy."
"That is correct."
Walter nodded, seemingly pleased with himself. "The metal frame is made of steel and the material is of leather, allowing safe contact with your silver weaponry."
"In theory."
This caused the man to pause for a moment. "Well it has worked every time I tried the design."
"You are human; the briefest touch has no effect on your living flesh. A brief one would burn my own undead flesh." With that said, he picked up the gloves and deftly put them on, marvelling at the soft black leather and how the white stitching seemed perfectly smooth on them. Ghost flexed his fingers with the steel on them before picking up his silver stake and twirling it in his hand. Nothing. "It'll do." The albino vampire turned and left the room.
Walter shook his head and picked up the stake that had been left behind. He read the inscription and frowned, a ghost of silver to silence the undead, how fitting for a vampires own weapons.
Arucard was grinning, the smirk unmovable from his features as he watched the albino kitting up for his first mission. Ghost had been given a uniform. It was a simple outfit made solely of black, heavy silver capped boots (the albinos work), plain jeans with silver chains added on (by the albino), a simple black shirt. His ammunition was worn in two belts strapped across his chest and a heavy silver sword hung from his hip. The gloves fitted in perfectly, small silver studs attached to the knuckles, by the albino.
Shaking his head, Ghost looked over to his sire and indicated the few remaining items he had yet to put on, the shirt and the belts. "Do I have to wear all this?"
"You added the silver yourself, Ghost." Arucard chuckled.
"I don't see you wearing a uniform."
Arucard indicated his garb and smirked.
"Doesn't count – its red!"
"You get to accessorise when you're three hundred."
"It's still red."
"When you're my age, people hardly argue over a little colour."
Shaking his head, Ghost gave in and pulled his t-shirt off, knowing that he would overheat if he wore that and the thick shirt. As usual, he was suddenly paranoid about the scars and the runes carved into him.
As though sensing the thoughts from the closed mind, the sire sighed. "Those runes, when did you get them?"
"Where do you think?"
He nodded, admitting to himself that he hadn't expected less. Finally, his charge was changed and ready, seemingly nervous again. Arucard smirked, sinking through the floor and vanishing, his red hat being the last to go.
Ghost shook his head, using the door to get outside and meet up with Seras. Perhaps he could ask her about how she dealt with the painful hunger that had slowly been growing in his chest. Did she actually drink the blood from the horrid little pouches?
They had blundered right into the middle of a nest. The three vampires were already cursing the fact that they hadn't noticed the trap and now they formed a small circle, keeping their backs covered by the other vampires.
"Hey, is Hellsing recruiting?" One vampire laughed and had his jaw shot off for the effort. Arucard theatrically blew the smoke off his gun before smirking.
"Anyone else have something to add?"
"Yeah!" Another laughed. "They slackening your lead? Two little runts, makes you wonder-"
Ghost took a step back, watching the vampire disintegrate as he twirled his stake. Smiling, he took another stake so that he had one in each hand, letting his animal anger come to the surface. "Who's next?"
"Oh me!" A small little poodle of a vampire smiled and twirled a strand of hair absently. "Are humans not up to the Hellsing grade?"
Seras was about to pull the trigger of her gun but the vampire crumbled to dust; Ghost wiped the edge of his blade on his trousers.
"Are you all going to be picked off one by one like sheep to the slaughter or are you actually going to let me have a little fun in my undead life?" He flipped the blade before throwing it, catching a vampire between the eyes. "So what do you say to some good old fashioned mobs?"
Arucard chuckled, locking his gun into place. "Sounds good to me, all in favour?"
"Aye." Ghost produced more stakes.
Seras rolled her eyes and levelled her Hellcannon. "It's time to party." Why not?
The soldiers sat quietly, the truck trundling along the road and back to the mansion. They were still recovering slightly from watching their three vampires destroy an entire nest and none of the humans had so much as let the guns off safety never mind fire a lone bullet.
As usual, Arucard had done his vanishing act, leaving the two younger ones to catch a lift in the truck. Seras spent the journey smiling bashfully at any soldier that caught her eye and Ghost instead spent the time with his head on his chest and eyes closed.
One blonde soldier nudged another one with red hair, trying to catch his attention before signalling the two vampires with his eyes. He whistled, the message coming across easily.
Red nodded then leaned over, whispering as quietly as he could over the noise of the rumbling engine. "Looks like we're set for early retirement."
"We're to kill all vampires, that means them too one day." A soldier with black hair sneered and leant back against Ghost.
The albino's eyes shot open and he growled. "I think you'll have a harder time of that human than these petty freaks who've been toying with you."
"Right, all Sir Integra has to do is command you to stay still and bam, end of all vampires."
"Your naivety is charming, though tedious at times. Do you not think my own self preservation far out weighs some forced master?" Ghost snorted and closed his eyes again in the silence of the truck. "It is a day I look forward to."
The rest of the drive back to the Hellsing Organisation was done in utter silence, disturbed only by the low rumble of the trucks engine and the worried thoughts of the men.
It was just sitting there, the ice keeping it cool. Ghost stared at the pouch of blood and felt his stomach turn. Why? He sighed and sat back, the pain in his chest would remain for another day it seemed as he pushed the bucket away.
"I heard you in the truck." Dropping from the ceiling and landing perfectly on his feet, Arucard smiled, scaring the cat away. "It's curious, your attitude changing so."
"Self preservation has a lot to explain for. I'd shoot myself in the head if it wasn't for these." He looked at the back of his gloved hands, tracing over the symbol before sighing heavily.
The sire frowned, one fang catching his lip and making the action seem cruder than it was. "Is that so?"
"It is so." The albino shook his head. "I will play a puppet then, when our kind is eradicated, I will then be eradicated too."
"I doubt that will ever happen." Arucard smiled, picking up the pouch of blood and passing it over to the albino. It was refused and he frowned again. "You should drink, it will make you strong."
"Then I choose to stay weak."
The pouch was dropped onto the table and Arucard shook his head. He was never one to appear angry having always found a calm demeanour more petrifying. A smirk crossed his face. "Power upgrade from three-"
"Don't."
"Two."
"Arucard!" Ghost snarled, feeling his control slip away from him.
"One, removing power levels, runes in effect." The sire smiled as his charge went stock still. Ghost's eyes dilated, the red seeming to engulf the white and he growled deeply, his posture changing to become more stooped.
Arucard held the pouch out again, gently piercing it to allow the scent of blood into the air. It was promptly snatched, hungrily torn into by the albino.
Standing up, the sire watched until the bag was almost empty. "Level lockdown, one, two, three, neutral."
Ghost's eyes retracted and jerked away, dropping the pouch. All he could taste was blood and it didn't take a genius to figure out what was happening. Snarling aggressively, he lunged forward.
"Nice try." Arucard smirked, holding the struggling albino by the neck. Dropping Ghost, he turned, slowly melding into the shadows.
Counting to three, the albino let himself relax and he smirked at the shadows, perhaps being stronger would have its advantages, after all, he did have a little revenge left to exact and he'd need all the power he could get.
He needed a good stiff drink. The full glass of whiskey sat temptingly in front of him and Ghost sighed heavily, taking a sip. It had been a long day, too long. Someone clapped him on the back and he spun round, gloved hands gripping around the stake in his jacket.
The burning grip was loosened and he smiled, turning back to face his drink. "Rex, its good to see you, pup."
"And you too, Ghost." Rex smiled, his glossy black hair cut in the stylised plait that seemed fashionable of late amongst young men with too much time and money. They were both born in the same year, went to the same school, the same university. It appeared that they had both died in the same year too.
Ghost smiled, waiting to see how long it took this old...acquaintance, for they had never truly been friends, to figure out what he was. But then again, his eyes had always been red.
"You look different." Rex had ordered a drink and gulped it down quickly. "Drink?"
"Mines is sitting in front of me."
"You always did drink too slow."
"No Rex, I simply tasted the actual flavour of life." He cocked his head, looking at the man in the corner of his eye. "You seem remarkably healthy, Rex. Last I saw of you, I believe you were in a gutter throwing up."
The black haired man smiled. "And the last I saw of you through hazy memory, is you going off to be one of the queens men, tell me, was it army life that is to be blamed for making your old soul even older?"
"Something like that."
"Always the cryptic one. Tell me, how is your young lass?"
"Dead."
"The woman who's practically your wife?"
"Dead."
"The dog?"
"Put down, cancer."
"Oh. Was there some accident or something?" Rex ordered another drink before taking a gulp of the whisky in front of Ghost. Neither commented. "Well?"
The albino put on the theatrics, looking down at his gloved hand which was tracing the grain of the wood of the bar. "You'll think I'm mad, but do you believe in creatures of the night? Undead monsters that prey on the blood of the living?"
Rex had the decency to look slightly nervous. "There's been rumours abound, but there's always rumours."
Just what did he have to do? Ghost licked his fangs, pausing and allowing the other vampire the chance for a good long look. He tossed back the rest of his drink and stared at the empty glass. "Until dawn, we are both just men. Old friends. After that, we are unknown vampires. Drink to good times, tonight will be the last for one of us."
Rex snorted. "You speak as if you're about to die, do you plan on watching the sunrise?"
"Something like that. Do you fancy a bite to drink?"
"Do I ever turn down a drink?"
"I had hoped so." Ghost rose to his feet and left the bar, his old acquaintance by his side as they entered the bitter cold night. The albino simply walked on, ignoring the others protests. He had always felt the leader of the two; he had always been the reliable one in his entire year. Even in death, it seemed that some people never did learn.
Rex continued to speak unknowingly. "But then again, Sylvia was always one for dabbling in the arcane, never really thought she was right until my throat was being ripped out." He chuckled. "But the options now are so...much more. Don't you agree, Ghost?"
"They are certainly different."
"Well if you ask me, I think -"
"I never asked."
"Oh." Rex walked for a few moments in silence. "Did you ever wonder what base Sylvia and I reached before you left to join the army?"
God, perhaps people like Rex just deserved a quick merciless death and have them done with. Despite the burning of the silver in his gloved hand, the stake found home.
The vampire looked hurt, the process of disintegrating slow. His eyes caught the red ones of the albino and he smiled slightly before vanishing completely.
Turning, Ghost left again into the night. Perhaps existence as one of the undead would be a little more bearable, after all, eternity was long enough to fix the errors that always annoyed him as a mortal.
A noticeable change had come over the newest of the vampiric trio, one that even the most unseeing mortal could see. He no longer swayed over every decision, he had become a predator. One that was true, cold, cunning and deadly. He was a hunter looking for his prey.
There had been a break in. The thief was easily caught, but only after the man had seen too much. He laughed despite the fact that he was being held against his will by a vampire. Seras frowned, annoyed as the thief kept laughing.
"Master, can I gag him?" She smiled almost innocently. "Please?"
Integra interrupted before the smirking Arucard could say anything. "Just what do you know about us?"
Again, the thief just laughed.
"If I may intervene?" Walter smiled, clicking his fingers.
"Torture won't be necessary." Ghost smiled, he had been leaning against the wall nonchalantly up until that point. "He knows more than even your soldiers do, master." He told the human woman.
She nodded and sighed. "Walter, will you deal with the paperwork? I have a migraine and a meeting tomorrow I would rather not attend."
"And of our thief?"
"Let our vampires squabble over him." She had gone and therefore missed the three varying looks on the vampires. The sire was smirking, as he always did. Seras looked disgusted and promptly pushed the thief to Arucard, marching off with Walter.
Ghost shook his head and turned to leave, a hand on his shoulder stopped him.
"You need to feed, I can tell."
The albino looked at the thief and shook his head, unconsciously licking his fangs in anticipation. The thief was carelessly tossed to him and he yelped, surprised.
"Well?" Arucard smirked, watching the conflict.
"I can't." He shook his head.
"Power levels-"
"Don't do that!" Ghost snarled. "I hate not knowing what I'm doing – I still don't know if I've already killed."
"You haven't."
"Can I ask what's happening?" The thief was suddenly nervous and he tried to pull away from the albino. The grip on his arm tightened, nearly crushing the bone and causing him to cry out.
"Shut up, I'm having an argument."
Chuckling, the sire couldn't resist. "Don't play with your food, Ghost."
The albino rolled his eyes. "Do you mind, I'm trying to battle with my conscience at the moment and its currently losing."
"You shouldn't need to think at all Ghost, you should just be able to act on instinct. That is what a true vampire does. Are you a true vampire? Or just some pathetic monster."
"I'm just me, a ghost." He jerked the mans head back and bit hard, crushing the windpipe immediately, the man felt no suffering as he began to feed. Ghost let out a light cry as his meal was jerked away from him.
"Ah, ah. You have to learn to share." Arucard smirked then bit, knowing that he was being watched. If his predictions were right, the albino would be arriving in his room to find the blood pouch and have no qualms about drinking it.
He was rather surprised when the body was ripped out of his grasp. "You can have that cold stale stuff downstairs. I had first bites on this one."
The older vampire slowly smirked. "As you wish, Ghost." He vanished into the shadows, pleased to note that this one used its fangs.
The truck rumbled along slowly as it always did. Seras took the time to watch the albino in the heavy stale silence that preceded every mission. She knew what had happened; she knew that all of the soldiers knew. Ghost wasn't that bothered about hiding the fact that he used his fangs now.
After the umpteenth bump and the following curses, the female vampire shuffled over and eventually swapped seats all the way to sit next to the other vampire. Another bump caused her to land ungracefully on his lap and awake him from whatever memories he had been thinking about.
Ghost growled and pushed her onto the space beside him before tilting his head back and closing his eyes again. A light cough made him prise one open and he focused on Seras. She smiled thinly.
"Why?"
Ah, he had been expecting this. Ghost leant back more comfortably and mused for a moment, looking at the air as if it held some hidden truth. "Why? Well Seras, that answer should be obvious. I'm a vampire, there is no cure but death and my spirit cant rest until my vengeance is done."
"And your vengeance?" She asked, surprised at her own anger whilst he remained so calm. "What pathetic idea gives you the right to kill humans?"
"Seras, you are like a vegetarian who won't admit what their eye-teeth are for. We are vampires; we feed off the life of the living. That is our right and it is the one that we were given by our master, be it willingly or not."
The soldiers had become very uncomfortable, unconsciously shuffling away as Seras simply gaped at the albino in stunned surprise. "But...how can you say such things? You were so human too, so caring. What happened to you to change so much?"
He chuckled dryly as a response. "I simply admitted the truth, you will too one day. Don't worry, I wont kill every mortal that crosses my path, only those I am given or I see as worthy of such a miserable death." Ghost closed his eyes again slowly. "I am not a true killer, just the ghost of one."
Seras had little to say to him but the opportunity was lost as the truck ground to a halt and the back doors slid open. Standing there, like the red grim reaper, Arucard smirked and waited for his charges to come.
He had never seen anything like it. What was this creature? For he was surely not man or vampire. Ghost retreated to hide behind the column that supported the hall in which he and the priest were fighting in. Seras also stood behind a pillar, though not in the position ready for battle. Her eyes were closed and she seemed to be praying, her gun clasped tightly in her hands.
Ghost clenched his silver stake and, letting his anger free, darted out of hiding as he threw it, getting the monster in the chest. A sword caught the albino in the shoulder and, as he bumped into the wall beside Seras, he growled in pain, pulling it out.
"What are you waiting for?" He growled angrily. "Kill him already!"
"But...master."
"Isn't here and I can't defeat him on my own, we need to fight this one together."
Seras blinked slowly then frowned. "But I don't want -"
"This is no time to debate on the ethics of being a vampire with human morals Seras Victoria, we need to -" He tackled her onto the ground as series of knives whistled overhead. "Oh forget this, just fight."
"Don't order me about – I am older than you."
"In mortality yet as a true vampire, you're not even born yet."
Seras gritted her teeth and rolled out from under him, firing her gun at Paladin Alexander. A knife struck her in the chest and she cried out in shock, hiding behind the first pillar. Cursing, Ghost checked his number of stakes.
"Arucard!" He shouted, annoyed and slightly surprised at the lack of his master. Perhaps something more entertaining was happening, he thought bitterly as he darted out from his cover, hurling the finely crafted weapon.
"Demon, why do you run from the might of the father, the son and the holy spirit? You can not escape His wrath, no matter how fast your inhuman speed takes you." The priest laughed manically and flung several more knives at Ghost.
One struck the albino through his left arm, where the bones joined to form the shoulder. He gritted his teeth at the pain but continued to run regardless, unsheathing his sword as he slashed at the priest.
The man just laughed. "Do you think your cheap black magic will work against one of gods own hands?"
"It's blaspheme to claim to be god, or any damn part of his anatomy. You could be his mouldy old foot for all I care." He hoisted the sword up and took another swing, feinting to the left before delivering the blow into the stomach.
"You fool; you can't hurt a man of god."
Ghost fell back, the blades in his chest scratching the ground as they pierced straight through his back. He growled and cursed that wretched master of his; he couldn't even die as himself, just a ghost. Like always.
"I tire of these small spates, priest." A chuckle signalled the arrival of Arucard, as did the rapport of several bullets. Scowling, the blonde priest retreated, significantly outnumbered as the albino dragged himself to his feet and Seras appeared from her hiding place.
"Oh I see, it takes three demons to muster the courage to attack -"
"Oh give it a rest, Vatican." Arucard squared off three more shots, effectively making three bullet holes in the priest's thick skull. Before he could fire any more rounds, several armed men entered, their chunky armour and weaponry echoing in the quiet room. As did the sound of the safety being released on their raised guns.
One soldier started to speak, slowly. "You've been ordered to back away, this man is to be removed and taken back to where he belongs."
"In hell?" Ghost gasped weakly.
"No, Rome."
The albino smirked, his teeth developing certain redness. "Christ, send me to hell first then." He watched as the priest ran off and eventually the soldiers looked unsettled and unsure.
"Go." Arucard smiled. "I need a word with these two."
"Master?" Seras choked and looked at the blade in her chest.
"Don't move, you'll only make it worse, police girl." Ignoring the dry snort from the other vampire, he wrenched the blade out and looked down on Seras who fell to the ground, clutching the bleeding wound.
Growling, Ghost wrenched the blade out of his shoulder and dropped it on the ground, refusing the help his sire offered. There were an awful lot of blades. Arucard watched in interest before picking up one of the dropped blades and rolling up his sleeve.
"No, not again." Seras shook her head before getting to her feet and stumbling out of the room. "I refuse master, I don't want it."
Arucard watched her leave, a smirk twisting his aristocratic face. "I wasn't asking you, police girl."
The albino frowned, his confused mind slowly working it out. If it wasn't Seras, then it was him. What was being offered again? Blinking away the impending darkness of sleep, he focused on his sire.
The vampire drew the knife along his arm and offered it. "Drink, the blood will make you strong. It will free you from me."
"Just one master?"
"Just one."
Ghost smiled slowly. "Finally – it gets confusing with two, you know?" he shook his head, smiling. God, he felt drunk, forget light headed, he hadn't felt like this since that incident with all those tequilas...
"Well?"
The albino smirked. "How can I refuse freedom?"
The albino watched the moonrise slowly; a nostalgic smile tugging his lips, for it could not tug his unbeating heart. The gloves were tossed aside and he stroked Tipsy who sprawled happily across his lap. Ghost glanced at her, and in doing so, he noted the heavy brands before smiling again, reading the words.
Hellsing. Hells gates arrested. Gott mit uns. And shine heaven now.
A brief memory of German popped into his mind and he smiled, how fitting for a vampire. Hellsing. Hells gates arrested, God with us and shine heaven now. Hells gates were closed in his mind, he thought on the side of god and yet he was one of hells own. An impure monster.
Life was full of bittersweet juxtapositions.
He looked away and back to the moon, smiling as a thought tugged his mind and at the cats delighted purrs. Arucard, how good to think of him as more of an equal now, though he could never be such a grim reaper. No, he was merely that dark passings ghost, still feared and still deadly enough to take life for its own mercies.
It was good to be finally free.
It was good finally be a ghost, not just its shadow.