Adding to the disclaimer. I don't own Spiderman or Halo either.

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The next afternoon, Matthew entered Hellsing's cafeteria. A few soldiers looked up, but most of them looked away after identifying him. Matthew had become a semi-regular to the cafeteria. True, he didn't really need to eat. All the sustenance he needed he got from blood. But, he was still Matthew Jemeth, and three years of being a vampire hadn't put much of a dent in his palette. Even if he gained nothing from eating food, it still tasted good.

The others had been a little nervous about his being there, but after a while they grew to accept him. His pulling many of them out of certain death certainly helped with that. At times, some of the soldiers would even approach and talk with him. Matthew figured they'd worked up a system to tell if he was up to talking or not. That afternoon his slow walk and eyes lost in thought probably told them it wasn't a good day.

Matthew grabbed a tray and joined the line. At the other side he emerged with a drink, a ham and cheese sandwich and a banana. He settled in for a quiet late lunch, and thought over the previous night's dream. The location and trio of unstoppable ghouls didn't tell him much, but seeing Anderson made him guess that Hellsing would be fighting the Paladin soon. 'Fight the Regenerator… Great. I'd been hoping we could avoid that.' Matthew had seen Anderson fight before during the battle against Shalrik. He was impressed by the man's skill with his blades. While he had learned to fear little in his three years as a vampire he did fear Anderson. Alucard, Seras, and Anderson had had various battles over the previous years, but always on missions when Matthew wasn't involved. Why that was he didn't know. Maybe simple luck?

He took another bite of the sandwich as he sensed someone sit across from him. In his distraction, he hadn't noticed. He swallowed the bite and brought his eyes back into focus. "Oh, hey Seras."

Seras Victoria smiled at him. Over the years she'd gotten more… serious. While on a mission she would drop into combat mode, and when off-duty she remained professional with most people. Around Matthew, however, she would relax. He was glad he could still get her to smile. "We don't need to you turning into another Alucard," he'd told her about a year and a half before. She'd listened.

She'd probably sensed his internal debate and had come to find out what was on his mind. He decided to just get to it rather than wait for her to ask. "Had a dream last night."

She set her elbow on the table and propped her head on her hand. "What of?"

"Anderson." He told her of the dream, including what he heard and its abrupt end. "I'm trying to figure out what it means. The only part I can get is Anderson, and I think that means I'll have to fight him sometime soon. How soon, no clue."

"Well, whenever it is, you won't have to face him alone. I'll be there." She sighed. "And I'm sure Alucard would love another chance to toy with him."

Matthew raised an eyebrow. Seras had said that a bit sarcastically. "You don't want Alucard to fight Anderson?"

"No. I'd rather not fight Anderson at all. I'd rather he stayed on his side of Europe and us on our side."

He snorted. "I've gotta agree." His face snapped back to normal. "But enough about that. What's the word?" He took another bite of sandwich.

Seras sat up, also getting out of an Anderson induced bad mood. "Some of our troops are tracking down a vampire seen in the area of Hyde Park. Right now they're just watching him. We'll wait until he stops before we go in."

"All right," he replied. He started gathering up his things. "Well, then, I'm off to check e-mail. Let me know when something happens?"

"Of course."

After a quick smile and a nod, Matthew grabbed the tray and stood. After throwing away the remaining scraps and placing the tray on top of a stack, he left the cafeteria and started for the stairs.

Having not checked his e-mail in several days there were a fair number of them to go through. Mostly spam, though. A couple were important. One was from Akira. He sighed. Akira, his girlfriend of not five, approaching six, years. After he'd been turned three years previous, he told her it was her choice whether or not they would remain together. So, for the last three years their relationship had become long distance, and had somehow survived. He did love her, but he was starting to feel that if he loved her he would tell her to find someone else. 'I'm not exactly a good prospect anymore.' He would reply later, when the thoughts in his head got a little brighter.

After a couple hours of aimless wandering around the internet, a voice entered his mind: Seras's. 'Matthew,' the voice came, 'go to Sir Integra's office. We're getting ready to start.'

'Got it,' he thought back. Shutting down his computer, he grabbed his jacket and headed for the door. Minutes later he arrived in the darkened office of Sir Integra Wingates Hellsing. Night had fallen, and she hadn't turned on any more lights than she needed to see with. Seras was in the room already, along with Fargason and Harison. Fargason no longer lead field missions, instead helping with intel and planning. After their last major battle he'd handed off direct control of Hellsing's forces to Harison, who had become an excellent field commander.

Sir Integra, clad in her usual dark green suit, sat behind her desk with cigar in hand as Fargason continued his report and Matthew took his usual place beside Seras. Alucard was nowhere to be scene, meaning he was standing in the dark shadows and looking for the most annoying time, place, and way to appear. "…the target never left Hyde Park as far as my observers can tell. They have teams on all sides of the park. He's probably found some place to hide. We're not sure why he was in the park to begin with, either to look for victims or meet with allies."

Harison spoke next. "I'd recommend we send in a team to sweep the park. It's late enough that few should still be there. Still, we shouldn't take more than a couple squads and equip all weapons with silencers."

Integra nodded. "Take Victoria and Jemeth with you. They can help track down the vampire."

"Understood, Sir Integra."

"May God and her Majesty go with you."

"Amen."

The group started to file out, Matthew being the last one out the door. As the door shut, he heard talking inside. He slid his foot back to keep the door open slightly. Integra spoke. "Alucard, go with them. If there is some new organization trying to take root I want it destroyed before it gets the chance."

Alucard's voice replied. "Understood, Sir Integra." Opening up his vampiric sense he could detect Alucard's presence, and could almost feel it as he melted through the wall. Suppressing a shudder, he continued towards the armory. They had a mission to prepare for.

Ten minutes later, Matthew joined Seras at the assembly area. A couple squads of troops stood nearby as a single transport lumbered up. Matthew was armed with his standard twin nine millimeter Browning High-Power semi-automatic pistols, modified for easy single hand operation. On his back he had a backpack which held one of his other weapons and ammo for a third. The second weapon was his assault rifle, the Spitfire. It fired 223 caliber solid silver bullets. Originally, it had a second barrel that fired a twelve gauge shotgun shell, but that had been modified when the silver shot proved too ineffective. The new piece gave the rifle a more round look, and Matthew had noted it looked similar to the assault rifle from the game Halo. His third weapon was a cannon firing three inch shells. It was the Valkyrie, the first weapon Walter had given him. For a time it had been held to the backpack through a series of hinges ending in a clamp, but for ease of use he went back to the original shoulder strap. He used to have shot shells for it, but had opted for only depleted uranium slugs instead. His backpack, modified over the years for ease of use and maneuverability, could hold twenty rounds for the cannon, dispensed through a port on the lower right side. The upper right side held a port for the Spitfire's magazines. He held ten of those, each carrying thirty rounds.

Seras had her twin Glocks and her main weapon, a thirty millimeter cannon called the Harkonnen. She carried depleted uranium slugs and incendiary explosive shells for it. It was an incredibly long rifle, at least six feet. Matthew was always astounded whenever she fired the cannon, as its recoil tended to push her back by at least a couple inches. 'If I were still human and shot that, I'd bet it'd rip my arm clean off.' "So," he said to her, "ready for a walk in the park?"

She shifted her eyes to meet his gaze. "Some walk," she replied.

He shrugged. "Meh. You know me, always looking at the bright side of things."

Hellsing's troops started loading onto the transport, Seras and Matthew taking position near the door. It wouldn't be a long drive, and they had agreed they would be the first out the door. Never knew when some group might try to ambush them as they unloaded. The transport made it way through the darkened streets of London, the occasional streetlight illuminating the group inside. The human troops had night vision goggles, which gave a faint red glow. Some stood, looking nervous. Those were probably rookies, still completing their first half-dozen missions. Now that troops were more plentiful, the organization could afford to assign a veteran soldier to each rookie. Survivability increased almost immediately after that policy was started. The rest of the soldiers were far more relaxed, a couple catching a few minutes of sleep on the way to Hyde Park.

Before too long, the transport came to a halt. Matthew punched the button dropping the ramp and leapt out before it had finished lowering. Seras exited in a more conventional fashion as the human troops filed out and formed up. Harison, who had joined the driver up front, started breaking them up into teams of three and assigning them patrol areas, telling them to call in if they found anything before engaging. Matthew and Seras would go solo, each making their own patrols through the park. After a confident smile and nod to Seras, Matthew started on his route.

He loaded each browning, cycled their slides, and lowered their hammers before stuffing them back in their holsters. He checked that the first round for the Valkyrie and the first magazine for the Spitfire were ready to go, and touched each with his right hand to ensure he still remembered where they were. Matthew then cleared his mind and stretched out with his vamipric sense. He stopped, and allowed the input from his seventh sense to direct him. He found himself turning in place ninety degrees, now facing east. He shrugged. He didn't know this new sense too well yet, but for now it was good enough for him. Matthew continued walking. Soon, over the radio headset he wore, he got a call from a team now ahead of him. He had to chuckle; the sense had been right.

Matthew made his way over to the team and quickly identified the leader. "What've you got?"

"Here, sir." The soldier grabbed a nearby bush and pulled. It came up, bringing with it a circular plate. Underneath it was a dirt tunnel heading down at an angle. "We found tracks heading to this tunnel, sir. It's likely the vampire went down here."

Seras's voice came over the headset. "There's also a chance there are still more in the area. We should continue our search."

Matthew keyed his microphone. "I'll scurry down there and check it out anyway. Never know where it might lead."

Harison spoke next. "Approved, Jemeth. Keep in contact at all times, understood? And team three, stand guard there. I don't want anything else using that tunnel."

"Affirmative, sir. I'll let you know what I find." Releasing the transmit key, he looked at the tunnel. It was small, barely large enough for him to fit. "Drat," he muttered. With a sigh, he took off the backpack and set it on the ground, laying the Valkyrie nearby. He even had to take off the holster belt, yanking his pistols before setting it next to the rest of his gear. "I'll just leave my stuff here with you guys, ok?"

The leader nodded. "We'll take care of it, sir."

"Thanks." He gave a nod, held his pistols ahead of him, and squirmed into the tunnel. It was a tight fit, but he'd soon made his way to the end, finding himself crawling through a hole into a concrete room with a single metal door. "Hmm…" Thumbing back the hammers of his pistols, Matthew allowed his vampiric sense to stretch out again as he slowly opened the door. Outside was a simple concrete hallway, simple light fixtures hanging from the ceiling. Pipes, carrying either wires or water, ran along the upper corner. Water dripped in a few places, making puddles on the floor. The sense didn't show anything nearby, so he stepped into the corridor, picked a direction, and started walking.

After a bit as he was passing another door, he stopped in his tracks. "My spidey sense is tingling…" As the vampiric sense started to take full form, Matthew had started calling it his spider sense as a joke. As he'd figured it, 'that's what happens when you take someone with my imagination, give him vampire senses, and show him the movie version of Spiderman.' He turned to look at the door, then pointed his gun at it. "There's something behind you, isn't there." Matthew tried the door knob, but it was locked. With a shrug, he simply leaned back and kicked the door open, bringing both guns to bear.

Whatever he'd expected to find, he didn't. The room was filled with rows of wooden coffins. "Wow… Someone's got plans…" He walked to the nearest one, took aim with one pistol, and used the other hand to quickly open it. Nothing. It was empty. Matthew walked to another and quickly opened it. Again, nothing. After checking a third, Matthew figured they would all be empty. But whoever had brought these here had plans. Why else collect a shitload of coffins?

He returned to the hallway and continued walking. His senses told him there was more to find, and rounding the next corner he discovered what. Ahead of him was a trio of ghouls, and they'd seen him. That meant whatever vampire was controlling them knew he was there. The ghouls growled, and started shuffling toward him. Matthew knew from experience not to let them get too close. These ones weren't armed, but their teeth were sharp. He brought up his brownings and launched a small barrage of bullets. The ghouls dropped, becoming piles of ash and pieces. He sent a thought to Seras. 'Contact. Just took out a few ghouls.'

'Still nothing up here,' she thought back. 'Though… wait… I think I've got something. More later!'

Matthew shuddered. He'd been detected, so the vampires were going to try to flee. 'Dimmit…' He picked up the pace. He jogged around the corner and found another pack of ghouls. He aimed and fired again, suddenly wishing he'd brought more magazines with him. One of the ghouls, one that had been armed, managed to snap off a shot before Matthew's bullet took him down. The piece of lead cut through a chunk of the flesh of his arm as it passed. It quickly started to heal and within a couple minutes would be no more than a memory.

His vampiric sense gave him a direction to take, and he went. He rounded the next corner and stopped. A herd of ghouls had been arrayed to stop him. 'Dammit again…' He brought up his pistols and fired. Soon, the slides of each browning locked back. He was out of ammunition… and one ghoul was left standing. He sighed, let the slides forward, and pulled the triggers to drop the hammers. A pair of clicks responded, not that he thought anything else would happen.

He now found himself facing a single ghoul with no ammunition. Alucard could take them out by hand, thrusting a single hand through the ghoul's heart. Matthew had no desire to. Luckily, he had another idea. He stuffed his right browning into his right pocket, the pistol barely fitting. He held the left browning down by his side. Suddenly, he whipped the gun up and hit the magazine release. A single magazine shot through the air and slammed into, and through, the ghoul's head. It dropped in a pile of ash and pieces. He stuffed the pistol into his left pocket.

Matthew was completely out of ammunition. Twice before he'd either run out of either ammunition or weapons. Wanting to have a backup plan for if it happened again, Matthew had worked closely with Walter on a new piece of equipment, which was now mounted on his back and had barely made it down the tunnel with him. He brought his right arm around behind him and along his back through a pair of straps and to a handle, which he grasped and gave a single squeeze. The straps tightened. He pulled his right arm in a strong, upward jerk, and freed the equipment from his back. His arm came back around, bringing up a medium sized metal shield decorated in the colors of the Hellsing coat of arms. It was made of a new alloy Walter had concocted which was, in theory, bulletproof. Matthew hadn't had the chance to test it, and it appeared that the time had come.

His left hand reached up behind his head and grasped a grip sticking above his left shoulder. He pulled up and forward, freeing a one meter long broadsword from its leather scabbard. It was made with a core of the same alloy as the shield with an eighth inch silver plate on all sides. He had to take care when using it due to his vampiric weakness to silver. He'd learned that lesson well when he'd hit his leg with the sword in practice. It had left a painful red mark which had lasted for a good week. Upon finishing his training in wielding the sword, he'd given it a name: Amenthyl. It had no meaning; it was just a name Matthew had come up with.

He took the sword through a couple experimental arcs, getting the feel for it. Once he felt comfortable, or as comfortable as one can be when taking a sword to a gunfight, he continued down the hall once again. He almost knew what to expect around the next corner, and he wasn't disappointed. A trio of ghouls stood ready to face him, one armed with a pistol. Matthew brought up his shield, waiting for the ghouls to make the first move. The armed one aimed and fired.

Automatically, his vampiric senses and instincts worked together to jerk the shield down and to the right. With a ping, the bullet was deflected into the concrete wall of the hallway. Matthew smiled. 'Walter, it works.' He charged ahead, holding Amenthyl above and behind him. After catching a second bullet with the shield, he brought the sword in a horizontal arc ahead of him, sliding the armed ghoul's head clean off. Bringing the sword back in another arc, he spun around and caught a second ghoul's neck. A third overhead slide cut the third ghoul's head in half. It joined its fellows as a pile of ash and pieces on the floor.

He held the sword at his side and continued down the hall. Hopefully he wouldn't have any more encounters before linking back up with the troops. The hall had one last corner and ended in a large lobby like area. It was very different from the corridor. Carpeted, well lit, furnished. He looked around the room, packaged up the mental images, and sent them to Seras. She sent a reply saying she got it and she was busy. Matthew started towards a door leading in what he guessed was her direction when a noise came from behind him. Spinning around, he saw a trio of figures. This time, though, they were vampires. 'Oh Hell…' They had sub-machine guns, similar to the MP5s Hellsing's troops used. Matthew brought the shield up into position and held the sword at ready behind him. 'Seras? I think I could use a little help right about now.'

Her reply came quickly. 'You and me both, Matthew. We've entered the building you're in now and found a large number of ghouls. I can't get there right now.'

'Drat… Well, good luck to you. I'll find a way to manage.' He started sidestepping, trying to move to any sort of cover.

The lead vampire spoke. "He's a Hellsing pet. Kill him." With a hiss, they opened fire. Matthew leapt forward and up, deflecting as many bullets as he could. He landed behind the vampires, managing to stop close enough to stab at one with the sword before leaping away. He got lucky, the strike managed to pierce the creature's heart and send him to the floor as a pile of ash. His luck quickly ran out. The second burst of fire sent several bullets into his leg. With a yelp of pain, Matthew was sent to the floor. Luckily the bullets were lead. He didn't loose the limb. He brought the shield in front of him, hoping to block the attack long enough for his leg to heal itself.

The battle was interrupted by a pair of loud bangs. The two vampires fell to the ground, headless and dissolving to ash. Matthew stood, his leg now able to hold his weight and looked to where the shots had come from. There sticking upside down out of the ceiling was Alucard, his still smoking Joshua and Jackal in his hands. One hand, holding Joshua, disappeared into the ceiling. Matthew put away the sword and shield as Alucard spoke. "Do try to be more careful, Young Jemeth. You master would be distraught if anything were to happen to you." His hand and arm reappeared, holding Matthew's bundled gear below him. He swung it back, then tossed it down to him on the floor.

Matthew caught it. In a mix of annoyance and appreciation he said, "Thanks, Alucard." The elder vampire vanished into the ceiling. Matthew rearmed himself, yanking the Spitfire off its mounts and stuffing in a magazine. He started again to the door he'd chosen.

A voice came from above again. "Oh, Jemeth?" Matthew looked up. A single arm stuck out of the ceiling, Alucard's Jackal pointing to a different door. "That way."

Matthew sighed and turned to the other door. It sat next to an elevator and was marked 'Stairs'. "Ok," he said to himself, "so they're up a floor. Fine." He entered the stairwell, checked for any enemy forces, and jogged up to the ground floor. He opened the door, and was met by the tremendous muzzle flash and explosive bang of Seras's Harkonnen cannon. "Holy shit!" he yelled as he slammed the door. After a moment, he reopened it to find Seras pressing her lips to keep from laughing at his display. "What?" he said. "I open to door to be greeted by a big ass cannon! How else am I supposed to react?" Seras said nothing, instead gesturing to the side with her head to tell him, 'come on, let's go.' "Fine, fine," he replied.

Luck was back on Matthew's side, it seemed. The mission ended quickly after that, the troops taking out the last few ghouls as Alucard battled with one of the remaining vampires. His battle did not last long, but Matthew had been able to watch it. Alucard, as usual yelling at his opponent to actually do something, methodically blasting the enemy vampire to pieces before finally putting a mercury charged silver bullet through its skull.

The remaining troops started loading into the waiting transport. Three had been lost. A cleanup team arrived to start picking up the place and search for any useful information. Matthew paused before boarding the transport, looking at the moon and wondering what the next day and night would have in store for them.