Disclaimer! Hellsing isn't mine. And I'm using these characters of Kouta Hirano's without permission. And I'm shamelessly playing mix'n'match with vampire mythology and abusing architecture to suit my plot.
Kouta's a GUY? I am speechless. Which is good, because you're here for the fic.
..
With the ship underway, Sir Integra was content to change, pray, and collapse into bed.
She dreamed, blissfully drifting from the facts of her exile.
"Integra?"
Her dream faded to a barren landscape.
"Integra."
She looked around, groping for her perspective as she would for her eyeglasses. Let's see, Hellsing disgraced and Alucard withering away. . .
"Integra!" He came into focus, all stress and fangs and red.
"You realize you're a mummy in a basement and I'm busy," she told Alucard crisply.
"No, you're not!" He looked shaken, as he had during that business with the Sidhe woman, his hat and glasses gone and expression wild. "You need to wake up!"
"Nonsense," she said in her dream. "I'm sleeping."
The world fell away from beneath her feet and Alucard lunged at her, snarling like a fiend from the pit, as she began her fall—
She woke with a convulsive jerk, throwing the blankets away, and sat up.
Across the room, barely visible, a face stared at her through the ventilation grille.
..
"I'm not crazy!" she snarled. "I want to see the captain now!"
"Look, lady, all I know is, you saw a face that left immediately. And you didn't have your glasses on so you can't tell me exactly how it disappeared. That does not exactly build the ol' confidence."
Integra paused to regroup. At least she had left her gun hidden in her cabin.
"Kindly let me see someone in authority," she said, her voice shaking only a little with rage.
"Perhaps I could be of help?"
They both turned abruptly to look at him. He jumped a little. He had the look of a person that other people tend to blame for things. He wore a simple black suit. Nothing about him was particularly memorable beyond his worried expression.
"I don't know," said Integra, as kindly as possible, "but if you have a suggestion, I'd like to hear it."
"Well, I. . . excuse me. This would work better if you came and looked at the blueprints."
The man who'd been standing in Integra's way looked away, sighing in what sounded like disgust. "Oh, you."
"Certainly," said Integra, and followed him.
"You see," he said, when he'd led her into a smaller room down the hall and shut the door, "frankly, the noise in the vents gets pretty creepy at times."
"Noise?" asked Integra, expecting an answer.
"I thought it sounded like scrapings. I have a room close to the main ventwork, so I hear all the sounds, amplified." He shot her a darting look. "Now I think it's just metal moving in the air."
"What does this have to do with—"
"Sorry. I'm getting there." He spread out a roll of the ugliest graph paper Integra had ever seen. "When I first came on board, the vents worried me. To the point I checked if anyone could fit in them. See, this is the ventilation system for A deck."
"Yes?" Integra took in the winding vents. "Oh. You're right. I couldn't have done those turns as a child."
"You might be able to stretch your upper body around some of these turns, but you'd never be able to bend your knees enough to go through. Especially here," he pointed, "where the vent turns into a sort of accordion tube to fit around the light fixtures."
"Someone couldn't move the. . . loose accordion enough?"
"Not without kicking through it or simply falling through it. It's not meant to hold weight. And if they struggled too hard trying to get through, see, this is where the light fixture is attached. They'd knock the lights out for sure."
Integra studied the vents, trying to see one straight shot from one room to the other. "Why do they wind so much from room to room?"
"Because otherwise, you'd get cigar smoke from the next room over. There's a grille for each of these on the wall of the outside deck."
"Oh." Integra followed the vent with one finger. "I see."
"Yeah." He glanced at her. "I've never seen anything in there." It was almost a question.
"I was having a rather frightening dream," Integra murmured, trying to back down from the point where she felt like an idiot and pick up again.
"I'm glad I could help." He smiled. "Good night, miss."
"Good night." Integra smiled back and headed to her room again.
She looked at the vent.
It showed no signs of looking back.
She picked up her forgotten book and began reading.
She thought she heard footsteps in the hallway. Now her senses were so tuned she could hear footsteps on carpeting through a solid door? Ridiculous. She concentrated on the words she was reading.
There was a soft knock on the door.
Integra growled.
The knock repeated, a little more quickly.
"This had better be good," she snarled, putting her book down and crossing the room to the door. She checked the peephole.
Seras looked back at her, eyes unnaturally huge from glass distortion.
Integra opened the door and looked at her doubtfully.
"I'm afraid it's not very good," Seras said softly. "Can I come in?"
"Password?" Integra asked.
"Uh, what password?"
"Good." Integra stepped back to let the vampire in and closed the door behind her. "What are you doing here? Was turning into a cloud of bats that easy?"
"That would be the problem," Seras said. "I didn't go anywhere."
"Oh, God help us," Integra glanced at the clock to check the time. "Any hostile intent?"
"Not yet, that I know of. They've got a stock of blood. I don't know if they intend to supplement it."
"Will you be missed?"
"Yes, if I stay for long."
"Do they know how active you are during the day?"
"They might be out too. The decks are enclosed and dark."
"Right. Tomorrow afternoon near the tennis court."
"Uh, they have a day shift."
"Suggest a time."
"Near the Captain's rooms. There's an unused one. Three hours to sunset."
"Right. Three doors down from the Captain's quarters?"
"Precisely."
"Very well."
Seras stepped into the hallway, then ducked back in, pulling the door with her.
"Problem?" Integra asked softly.
"Just a steward. I'll wait til he's gone."
Integra strangled the urge to look out in the hallway too. This led to strangling the urge to quiz Seras. The vampire slipped into the hallway. Integra put the locks on after her. She turned, rolling against the solid wood, and studied the still room.
Moving the gun to her bed was not a good idea. Bad things happened when half-asleep women grabbed for firearms.
She found herself laying a hand over her stomach. She dropped it, reminding herself she wouldn't feel anything for weeks. Months, perhaps.
The air conditioning whirred.
She crossed to the vent, took off her necklace, and hung it in front of the vent. She returned to her chair and book.
The gold cross swung in the breeze.
Kouta's a GUY? I am speechless. Which is good, because you're here for the fic.
..
With the ship underway, Sir Integra was content to change, pray, and collapse into bed.
She dreamed, blissfully drifting from the facts of her exile.
"Integra?"
Her dream faded to a barren landscape.
"Integra."
She looked around, groping for her perspective as she would for her eyeglasses. Let's see, Hellsing disgraced and Alucard withering away. . .
"Integra!" He came into focus, all stress and fangs and red.
"You realize you're a mummy in a basement and I'm busy," she told Alucard crisply.
"No, you're not!" He looked shaken, as he had during that business with the Sidhe woman, his hat and glasses gone and expression wild. "You need to wake up!"
"Nonsense," she said in her dream. "I'm sleeping."
The world fell away from beneath her feet and Alucard lunged at her, snarling like a fiend from the pit, as she began her fall—
She woke with a convulsive jerk, throwing the blankets away, and sat up.
Across the room, barely visible, a face stared at her through the ventilation grille.
..
"I'm not crazy!" she snarled. "I want to see the captain now!"
"Look, lady, all I know is, you saw a face that left immediately. And you didn't have your glasses on so you can't tell me exactly how it disappeared. That does not exactly build the ol' confidence."
Integra paused to regroup. At least she had left her gun hidden in her cabin.
"Kindly let me see someone in authority," she said, her voice shaking only a little with rage.
"Perhaps I could be of help?"
They both turned abruptly to look at him. He jumped a little. He had the look of a person that other people tend to blame for things. He wore a simple black suit. Nothing about him was particularly memorable beyond his worried expression.
"I don't know," said Integra, as kindly as possible, "but if you have a suggestion, I'd like to hear it."
"Well, I. . . excuse me. This would work better if you came and looked at the blueprints."
The man who'd been standing in Integra's way looked away, sighing in what sounded like disgust. "Oh, you."
"Certainly," said Integra, and followed him.
"You see," he said, when he'd led her into a smaller room down the hall and shut the door, "frankly, the noise in the vents gets pretty creepy at times."
"Noise?" asked Integra, expecting an answer.
"I thought it sounded like scrapings. I have a room close to the main ventwork, so I hear all the sounds, amplified." He shot her a darting look. "Now I think it's just metal moving in the air."
"What does this have to do with—"
"Sorry. I'm getting there." He spread out a roll of the ugliest graph paper Integra had ever seen. "When I first came on board, the vents worried me. To the point I checked if anyone could fit in them. See, this is the ventilation system for A deck."
"Yes?" Integra took in the winding vents. "Oh. You're right. I couldn't have done those turns as a child."
"You might be able to stretch your upper body around some of these turns, but you'd never be able to bend your knees enough to go through. Especially here," he pointed, "where the vent turns into a sort of accordion tube to fit around the light fixtures."
"Someone couldn't move the. . . loose accordion enough?"
"Not without kicking through it or simply falling through it. It's not meant to hold weight. And if they struggled too hard trying to get through, see, this is where the light fixture is attached. They'd knock the lights out for sure."
Integra studied the vents, trying to see one straight shot from one room to the other. "Why do they wind so much from room to room?"
"Because otherwise, you'd get cigar smoke from the next room over. There's a grille for each of these on the wall of the outside deck."
"Oh." Integra followed the vent with one finger. "I see."
"Yeah." He glanced at her. "I've never seen anything in there." It was almost a question.
"I was having a rather frightening dream," Integra murmured, trying to back down from the point where she felt like an idiot and pick up again.
"I'm glad I could help." He smiled. "Good night, miss."
"Good night." Integra smiled back and headed to her room again.
She looked at the vent.
It showed no signs of looking back.
She picked up her forgotten book and began reading.
She thought she heard footsteps in the hallway. Now her senses were so tuned she could hear footsteps on carpeting through a solid door? Ridiculous. She concentrated on the words she was reading.
There was a soft knock on the door.
Integra growled.
The knock repeated, a little more quickly.
"This had better be good," she snarled, putting her book down and crossing the room to the door. She checked the peephole.
Seras looked back at her, eyes unnaturally huge from glass distortion.
Integra opened the door and looked at her doubtfully.
"I'm afraid it's not very good," Seras said softly. "Can I come in?"
"Password?" Integra asked.
"Uh, what password?"
"Good." Integra stepped back to let the vampire in and closed the door behind her. "What are you doing here? Was turning into a cloud of bats that easy?"
"That would be the problem," Seras said. "I didn't go anywhere."
"Oh, God help us," Integra glanced at the clock to check the time. "Any hostile intent?"
"Not yet, that I know of. They've got a stock of blood. I don't know if they intend to supplement it."
"Will you be missed?"
"Yes, if I stay for long."
"Do they know how active you are during the day?"
"They might be out too. The decks are enclosed and dark."
"Right. Tomorrow afternoon near the tennis court."
"Uh, they have a day shift."
"Suggest a time."
"Near the Captain's rooms. There's an unused one. Three hours to sunset."
"Right. Three doors down from the Captain's quarters?"
"Precisely."
"Very well."
Seras stepped into the hallway, then ducked back in, pulling the door with her.
"Problem?" Integra asked softly.
"Just a steward. I'll wait til he's gone."
Integra strangled the urge to look out in the hallway too. This led to strangling the urge to quiz Seras. The vampire slipped into the hallway. Integra put the locks on after her. She turned, rolling against the solid wood, and studied the still room.
Moving the gun to her bed was not a good idea. Bad things happened when half-asleep women grabbed for firearms.
She found herself laying a hand over her stomach. She dropped it, reminding herself she wouldn't feel anything for weeks. Months, perhaps.
The air conditioning whirred.
She crossed to the vent, took off her necklace, and hung it in front of the vent. She returned to her chair and book.
The gold cross swung in the breeze.