"It's as silent as the grave in here," muttered Alucard under his breath.
Despite the morbid implied humor, the vampire was right. The doctors had judged it too dangerous to move Integra, so they had set up an impromptu ER inside her office. They were waiting for the bleeding to finally stop; if that didn't happen, there would be no point in an operation. Walter spoke quietly with one of the nurses, and finally turned and walked toward the two vampires leaning on the back wall.
"Walter, what did she say? Will Sir Integra make it?" Seras asked, half-dreading the answer.
"They're... not sure," the old butler frowned. "The bleeding has finally stopped, and the doctors will operate soon. They're amazed that she lived this long; most people die from a jugular cut within 45 seconds. To be honest, her chances aren't very good, but if anyone can survive this, it's Integra. That girl has a will of iron... she always has..."
Walter took off his monocle and wiped it on his shirt; apparently it had gotten wet somehow. Unwilling to discuss the matter further, he walked past the two vampires and out the door, muttering something under his breath about "making tea."
The blonde, female bloodsucker hung her head. Seras truly felt sick, both from worry and from guilt.
"I'm sorry, Sir Integra," she thought miserably. "I could tell something was wrong, but I didn't figure out what it was until it was too late. If only I'd..."
"Police girl. You must pay close attention. Watch how Integra fares in battle."
Her master's voice snapped Seras out of her "what if's". She looked up at Alucard, confused. "Battle?"
He stared at Integra as the doctors gathered around her. "Integra tore through her own throat; she shed her own blood and chose to fight for her life. Giving in is what kills people. When you refuse to surrender with all your heart, only then do you transcend your humanity. 'Even in the face of death, never give up!' That is the strength of our master."
After that, no words passed between them. Seras reflected on what Alucard had just told her; it reminded her a great deal of her experience in Cheddar.
"Is that why he chose to bring me back to life?" she wondered. "Because I wouldn't give up?"
While these and countless other thoughts floated through Seras's head, only one thought echoed through Alucard's.
"I'm sorry, Integra. I have failed you..."
The vampire stared at the helpless, dying form of his master in morbid fascination.
"Integra, my master; it's hard to see you like this. You were always so strong, so fearless... My very presence has made grown men quake and wet themselves, but you always griped me out like I was a mere child. I have served 13 different masters of the Hellsing family, and each impressed me in his or her own way. In the heat of battle, there was never a more courageous man than Simon Hellsing. Solomon himself couldn't have been wiser than Harold. And Laura... she died as she had lived: with dignity and honor. But Integra... you are in a whole different class.
Your body is weak, femine, not overly athletic, and no more durable than the average human shell. That isn't where your strength lies, though. It's that soul of yours; it burns brighter than 1,000 suns. When you were only 14, you spit in my face and told me you would rather die than beg for your life. If anything, you've only become stronger since then! You've done your duty always; perhaps, this time, at the cost of your own life."
Out of the corner of his eye, Alucard saw Seras start to say something, then stop herself. He could sense that she wanted to ask him something about Integra, but beyond that, her emotional state made it impossible to determine exactly what her question was. Finally, frustrated and upset, Seras gave up and stalked out of the room. Alucard was actually relieved she had left; he really wasn't in the mood for talking right now. As he watched the doctors and nurses mill around Integra, his reflective thoughts slowly gave way to angry guilt.
"Damn it! Why couldn't I save you?! Protecting the master of the Hellsing family is my most basic duty! I let my desire for battle distract me, and it looks like it may have cost me the life of one of the only people I can truly call 'friend'... With all of my vampiric strength, all of my heightened senses, all of my demonic powers, I still failed..."
"Helplessness when a loved one is in trouble. It's one of the worst feelings in the world, isn't it, Mr. Alucard?"
Alucard jumped involuntarily; who spoke, and how did they sneak up on him like that? He whirled around to see a short man standing a few feet to his left. The man had salt-and-pepper hair, a beard, looked to be in his mid-40's, and was wearing an ordinary black tuxedo. He was also wearing an old-fashioned sheath and sword at his side. Alucard quickly pulled out Jackal and pointed it at the man's head.
"You, sir, are not Hellsing personnel," Alucard growled angrily. "Do you work for the same group that controls Incognito, or did the Iscariot Organization send you? Regardless, you'd better give me a name and a damn good story by the count of three, or I'll be forced to give your head some extra ventillation! Three!"
The man looked taken aback, and smiled apologetically. "Please, sir. There's no need for that! Put the gun away."
"Two!" Alucard said gravely.
"S-sir! Really!" the man protested.
"One!" hissed the vampire as his trigger finger tightened.
"All right! All right!" the man held his hands up defensively. "If you really must know, my name is Richard! I'm an angel on a mission from God!"
"HA! Wrong answer," Alucard smiled wickedly.
BLAM!
Alucard grinned, waiting for the smoke to clear so he could see his handiwork. What he did see almost made him drop his gun in shock! The bullet was hovering in place a few millimeters away from Richard's face!!! Alucard blinked, and the bullet fell to the ground.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Richard clicked in disapproval. "Such manners. You're old enough to know better!"
With that, he pointed his finger toward Alucard's gun. "What's he up to?" Alucard wondered, confused. He didn't have to wait long to find out.
"What the--?!"
Alucard's gun suddenly felt like it weighed a ton! Now unable to hold it up with one hand, he grabbed it with both and lifted upward with all of his might. Still, he was unable to keep it level enough to fire on the mysterious intruder! Alucard froze when he felt a cold, steel blade touch his neck; the man was holding his sword to the vampire's throat. Knowing it would only take one simple motion to decapitate him, Alucard reluctantly dropped his gun.
"You made a wise choice," smiled the "angel". "I can assure you that my sword would've been much more effective on you than your bullets were on me."
A thought suddenly popped into Alucard's head: why didn't the gunshot alert Hellsing security? He turned toward Integra's operating table, expecting the orderlies to be hiding behind the monitoring devices, but instead was shocked to see that they seemed not to have heard the struggle at all! Alucard's mouth hung open in disbelief, but it quickly closed into an amused grin.
"Could this fellow really be what he says he his?" he thought excitedly. "Interesting... I'll play along for now; this COULD be fun!"
"Really! An actual angel!" Alucard laughed. "Who would have thought it?! Well, Mr. Angel, if that's what you truly are, I can assure you that you're in the wrong place..."
Alucard suddenly narrowed his eyes and spoke darkly. "Unless, of course, that hypocrite you call 'master' has sent you to take mine away from me. Is that the case?"
Richard looked very irritated. "Mind your tongue, vampire! I am not the angel of death, if that's what you're asking. I do not know exactly what the fate of your master will be. Actually, I've come here to see YOU."
At that, Alucard began to laugh hysterically. "HAHAHAHAHA! Dotell! My, you ARE off track. Obviously you don't know who I am, or you wouldn't be here!"
Cutting the vampire off, Richard looked very sternly at him and said, "Actually, Vlad, I know EXACTLY who you are."
Alucard stopped laughing immediately and turned deathly pale.
"Something the matter?" the angel queried.
"I... haven't been called by that name in a very, very long time..." Alucard answered slowly.
Richard raised one eyebrow slightly. "You say I don't know who you are. Well, where I come from, we like to keep accurate records, so please help us correct our files! Let's see..."
He reached into his tuxedo and pulled out a large manilla file-folder. Opening it, he began reading its contents aloud.
"Name: Vlad Tepes
Aliases: Vlad the Impaler, Dracula, Alucard
Titles: Count of Wallachia, Permanent Retainer of the Hellsing Family
Born: January 29, 1431
Died: October 31, 1476
You were the noble son of Vlad Dracul, or 'Vlad the Devil'. You had a loving mother, and you cared deeply about your brothers. Your country was under constant threat from the Turkish armies, so your father trained you and your brothers in the art of war from an early age. You were engaged to a woman you were madly in love with: Sophia, Princess of Transylvania, I believe. Although you had a violent temper, you were also a compassionate man, very capable of showing mercy. You showed such promise to be a good prince, until that day..."
Alucard darkened visibly, and gritted his teeth in anger. He'd tried so hard to forget all of this! Although it had happened over 500 years ago, the memories were still far too fresh, too painful...
"On your fifteenth birthday, you were sent out on an reconaissance raid against the Turks, only to discover that you had played right into their hands. The Turks had abandoned their camp and attacked your father's castle 'en masse' while your third of the Wallachian army was away, overwhelming and massacring everyone inside. They killed every man, woman, and child within those walls. That included your parents, siblings, and fiancee, correct?"
If Alucard hadn't been fairly certain that it would be pointless to try, he would've killed Richard right then and there.
"Your heart turned black that day. You were willing to do anything at any cost to avenge them, no matter what the consequences. You sold your soul to Satan in return for the power to 'repay the Turks a thousand-fold, to make them curse the day they were born.' Those were the exact words, right? The next Turkish regiment to invade Wallachia didn't return, and when their comrades came after them, they were greeted at the border by a forest of spikes with human bodies impaled over them. That frightened group of soldiers retreated as fast as their legs could carry them, and the legend of 'Dracula' was born. Invincible and unstoppable, you slaughtered all of the Turks you could find, and when they stopped coming as frequently, you turned your bloodlust on your own people.
This state of affairs continued for ten years, until Lucifer came on your twenty-fifth birthday to claim you. To his surprise, you fought him fiercely! Although it would've been a small matter for someone with his power to drag your soul 'kicking and screaming' down to Hell, he decided to punish you (and all of humanity with you) by changing you into a vampire. After that, you continued playing with the Turks until you bored of them, allowing them to behead and 'kill' you, if only to be rid of them. Thus the 'death date', right? You terrorized Europe from that time until 1843, when the Hellsing family finally brought you low after an attempt on Queen Victoria's life. They kept you alive and forced you into perpetual servitude to the House of Hellsing. Under the name 'Alucard', you have served them faithfully ever since; tell me, in what do I err?"
All of the mirth had long since evaporated from Alucard's face. "In nothing. Your records are very exact."
"One question, though..." Richard asked curiously, "why 'Alucard'? I can see that it's your old name in reverse, but--"
"My purpose went in reverse," Alucard smiled weakly. "I went from feeding off humans to protecting them, so I thought the name change would be appropriate."
"I see. Thank you!" he said happily as he jotted the new info down in the folder. "I must admit, that little puzzle had even us stumped!"
Alucard stared in solemn disbelief at the man in front of him. "You really are what you claim to be, aren't you? An angel... You must be; the only men who could have supplied you with some of that information have long ago crumbled to dust. Most of them I killed myself. Still, the question begs to be asked: What do you want with me, servant of God?"
Richard smiled oddly. "Why do angels always visit this earthly plane, Alucard? I have a message for you."
END OF CHAPTER 2
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Anti-disclaimer: I do own Richard. If, by any chance, someone wants to use him, they've got to ask me first.
There; that's out of the way. I waited until the end of the chapter for the anti-disclaimer (does that make it a "claimer"?) so as to not give anything away. I hope you enjoyed this installment; it obviously contains more original stuff than the last one. "Alucard's folder" actually took some research, by the way. The birth date, death date, and method of execution are 100 percent fact, or so the Encyclopedia Brittanica tells me.
Stick around! Besides containing the "meat and potatoes" of the Baron Hausenpheffer School of Philosophy, the next chapter also contains this story's conclusion. In the meantime, please review!