A/N: Another chapter up. Thanks to my readers and reviewers!
Common enemies
Creates unexpected allies.
The following evening, Seras was awoken abruptly by Alucard, making her nearly fall off the couch. She had managed to find some blankets, and in her sleep had unconsciously wrapped herself in them to keep from shaking. She dislodged herself from the entanglement of covers as Alucard spoke.
"Come Police Girl, the evening train leaves soon and we cannot risk taking a later one."
Sitting up groggily, Seras saw through the heavy curtains that the sun was only now setting. Grumbling, she arose and stretched her limbs, wondering how he had awoken so early. Looking down at her self, she sighed. Having no other wardrobe with her, she had been forced to sleep in her clothes. Strangely, when Seras went to smooth them from her night's sleep, they didn't appear to be wrinkled. Looking at her 'bed', she also noticed the covers had not shifted during the day.
"Hurry, Police Girl" Alucard called from the hall outside their room.
"Yes, Master" she answered, giving one last glance toward the couch. Then she joined her master in the hall and they set off toward the train station. Thankfully, Alucard had timed their awakening perfectly and the sun was just going behind the mountains as they exited the hotel.
Reaching the station with little time to spare, they quickly bought a compartment and seated themselves. They sat opposite each other, with Alucard staring intently at Seras. She began to squirm under his gaze and finally could not take the oppressing silence any longer.
"Master, is there something bothering you?"
"No Police Girl, but I believe you're wondering about the appearance of your bed." Seras nodded the affirmative. "The reason for the bed's unchanged covers was caused by your lack of movement. When a vampire sleeps during the day, they are as dead as any mortal death. So our bodies neither shift nor turn in sleep."
"Oh." Seras obviously had much to learn about her changed body.
The rest of the trip was spent in complete silence. Arriving in Budapest a few hours later, they found a coffin maker and Alucard selected from among the current stock of merchandise. As promised, he chose one suitable only for a single person. The coffin maker did give the two a suspicious look when Alucard payed for their 'bed' with his gold, but was wise enough not to ask questions.
Making their way to the airport, Alucard arranged for the coffin to be transported nonstop to England by way of a private cargo plane. Left alone for a few moments while the crew went in search of equipment to haul their temporary 'bed', they now had the chance to climb into the coffin.
However, the pair was faced with an interesting dilemma. How would both fit in the small coffin? Ingeniously, Alucard had ordered a wooden box tall enough for one of them to lie on top of the other. Meaning Seras, being the smaller of the two, would be forced to spend the entire trip laying on top of Alucard. She would have objected strenuously, but what other choice did they have?
The coffin trip was eventful, to say the least. Seras did not sleep very well, her hunger flaring up every hour or so. She had managed to control her need by distracting herself with the sights of Budapest, but now she had only the small confines of the coffin to occupy her sights with. Also, she continually heard Alucard laughing below her. Obviously he thought their predicament to be most amusing. His continual enjoyment made Seras wonder if he'd planned their current situation from the beginning.
Arriving at the London International Airport, they were placed on a truck and driven to one of the many hotels, as per Alucard's instructions. When the coffin had been settled in their room and the last footsteps had faded into the distance, the lid was quickly thrown open. Seras literally jumped out, nearly crashing into a wall in her eagerness to escape the cramped confines.
Also climbing out of the coffin, Alucard stretched his long limbs and inspected their new living quarters. He had ordered one of the more luxuriant suites, though he'd demanded that all the windows have thick curtains.
Walking out of the hotel entrance, Alucard stared with mild curiosity at his surroundings.
"The city has changed much since I was last here. There are quite a few more people now than there were back then." Whatever changes had taken place, he expected the visit to be much like his last. However, turning to Seras who lay beside him, he was reminded that there had been someone other than Seras with him.
"When did you last visit London Master?" Seras saw another chance for her to learn about Alucard's past.
"At the turn of the last century. Quite an interesting time I had here, too." Here he chuckled, remembering the interesting chase and games he had played with the mortals. They had tried very hard to destroy him, and had nearly done so. However, their underestimation of his powers caused their mission to fail. He had survived, while they had all grown old and were now long in their graves.
"We have no time for such idle talk, Police Girl. There's business we have to attend to."
Walking into a dark alley, Alucard turned into a flock of bats and flew into the sky. Seras followed, not sure where her master was leading her.
Reaching the outskirts of London, Alucard looked for familiar landmarks to guide him. Fortunately, the landscape of the large ancestral mansions had not changed much, so there was no difficulty finding the one he looked for. Locating the mansion, he noticed there had been a few changes done. Barracks had been built around the back of the mansion, making the grounds resemble a small military compound. There were also guards posted at the gate entrance and in various parts around the perimeter of the house. Apparently the organization had been paid well for their services to their country.
Seras looked at the compound below them. She had never seen a more fortified residence in her life. There were more troops here than there had been cadets at her police academy. What was Alucard getting them into?
Dropping into a clearing in the woods a few dozen yards from the gate, Alucard and Seras changed back to their original forms. The time had come for another training lesson.
"Police Girl, the only way for us to enter the mansion is to turn into mist. You must learn the technique quickly, or we will not have enough time to complete our business this night." He spoke in her mind so as not to alert the guards prowling around them.
"Yes, Master" Seras whispered, not sure if he could hear her thoughts.
"Speak in your thoughts, and I'll hear you."
"Alright" she answered. She felt silly talking in her mind, but her master had given her an order. She had no choice but to obey.
"Concentrate on the air around you. Feel the pull of the wind and the wide expanse of the sky."
Seras did as she was told, imagining all Alucard was telling her. Once more she felt her body change, shifting itself into a new form.
A few minutes later, the transformation was complete. Looking around, Seras noticed with relief that her vision was not as confusing as in her bat form. The only drawback appeared to be the wind, she had to pay heed to the ever-changing gusts or she would be blown off course.
With Alucard leading the way, they slowly slid along the ground and through the gates. Obviously the troops were unprepared for a vampire attack, since not one noticed the rather heavy mist now creeping among the compound. The heavy fog disappeared under the large oaken doors and swirled around the main hall, smelling where to go. Finding a scent, the mist floated up the stairs and under the first door of the second story.
Looking around the room, Seras was startled to see a female figure sitting behind the desk. Whoever the person was, she appeared to be staring at a large portrait of a man.
Integra was deep in thought when she sensed someone in the room. Turning her eyes toward the door, she was startled to see two people standing there. One, a man, was wearing a large red overcoat while his companion was a small woman with blond hair. Strangely, even though night had fallen, both were wearing sunglasses.
"How did you enter here?"
"Do you greet all your guests in such a manner, Miss Hellsing? Vampires are able to enter any building undetected, as I'm sure you're aware of."
Integra's first thought of action was to call in her men. They would quickly destroy the two menaces. But one question was bothering her, how had the monster known who she was?
"Your blood reeks of Hellsing. Also, sending in your men would not be wise. I believe you've seen the damage I can inflict. The demise of the Iscariot Organization was my doing."
"So you're the monster who destroyed Iscariot" Integra said calmly, realizing the monster could read her mind. Quickly remembering her father's training against the undead, she closed her thoughts to the vampire's prying. However, without the use of her troops, she now needed a new way to defend herself from the abomination before her.
The gun in the top drawer of her desk came to Integra's mind, the one she had ordered filled with silver bullets. She only needed to distract the vampire enough to draw the weapon.
"The Hellsing organization owes you our thanks for eliminating that nuisance. Odd though, the reports done by my agency showed more than one vampire. Of course, the evidence was accumulated by judging the damage alone, considering there were no survivors to tell us exactly what happened."
Here her mood changed and her voice grew cold. "Unfortunately, no matter what service you've done for my organization, I have sworn to destroy all of your kind." Integra quickly opened the drawer and pulled out her gun,
Alucard merely chuckled, apparently not impressed with the human standing before him. "Then I'm afraid you will be disappointed. I didn't come here to die, but to do business. An exchange, you might say. Your information for my services."
"What do you mean?" Her manner became less tense but the gun did not lower.
"Recently a creature invaded my territory. He was neither vampire nor human. His passport led us to London and a note found in one of his pockets led us to you. Depending upon how much information you have on the cheap imitation, I will lend my services accordingly. Of course, you must supply both of us with blood, though how you come by the liquid is your choice."
"How can I trust you won't feed upon my men?"
"You have my word as a gentleman" Alucard said, giving her a low bow and one of his grins.
"Gentlemen don't drink other people's blood, vampire."
"There is an exception to every rule, Miss Hellsing, but back to business. If you refuse my offer, than my associate and I will be forced to search London until we find the information we seek. I don't think you want two hungry vampires scouring your city, bound by no laws nor agreements."
When he received no answer, Alucard turned and began walking toward the door as if to leave. Seras remained where she was, still wondering about these new developments.
"We call them Freaks. They are vampires created by men, why anyone would do so we have yet to figure out. They have only appeared in the last few years." Integra did not like the idea of dealing with vampires, but the monsters' strength could prove useful.
'Then we have an agreement between us?" Alucard asked, sensing some hesitation.
"Yes."