Author's Notes: Now the plot introduces. A little extra dialogue in this scene, but it's necessary. There's a little bit of Manga characters, but I don't think I'm going to bring in the whole Millennium because I haven't read enough of the manga to do them justice.
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Order 14: Repentance
The television buzzed disquietingly, flickering in and out of reception. The unsmiling face of a newscaster appeared periodically between bursts of network snow. "Martial law declared in Singapore . . . LSD-crazed gangs . . . London noble exiled . . . decline in air travel and tourism . . ."
A gloved hand reached out and switched of the news. It returned to rest upon the arm of a dull charcoal gray captain's chair, fingers tapping periodically. As time went on, the tempo increased until the impatience was almost palpable. A thick cigar in a heavy gold holder helped to ease this tension until the door opposite finally creaked open. A cold wind blew in although beyond the door one could only see a labyrinth of metal corridors. There was a sense of movement, and then a dark shadow knelt below the gloved hand. A few ashes flaked off the cigar and drifted down onto its head, but it neither flinched nor moved. The cigar was stubbed out onto the arm of the chair and flicked across the floor with practiced carelessness.
"There's no need to cloak yourself. The stain of failure is visible through the darkest shadow." The owner of the glove spoke, his voice surprisingly ordinary. It held none of the ominous overtones one might expect from a man in a room such as this with a servant such as that at his right hand. The room in question was not overly large, though a raised ceiling made it seem cavernous and created echoes that bounced off the iron pipes and fitted rivets. It had an industrial feel to it, everything constructed out of metal sheets darkened with age. Somewhere steam hissed out in a steady stream of noise, making the whole place uncomfortably hot. Neither occupant, however, seemed to notice or be affected by the heat.
The shadow drew back from the kneeling figure, revealing unnaturally pale skin marred by what seemed like studs. One eye was strangely enlarged and reddened, appearing nothing like a normal human eye. Its entirely body was hairless and covered with extremely faded purple markings, one forming an unusual third eye decoration on its extended forehead. The man, if it could even be called that, had no name. Or if he had, it was lost to the archives of history. If you asked though, he might identify himself as Incognito before flattening you to an unsightly stain on the pavement. He seemed though, oddly wary now, though not crossing the line to afraid.
"Remember," the other in the chair continued, "I raised you and I can send you back to that hell again. Do you want that? To be powerless and substanceless, little more than a gnat whining in the ear of the Devil. I warn you, I do not tolerate failure. And your defeat last night was high on that scale."
Incognito bowed his head, strangely subservient for a master vampire. "I am sorry my lord. The vampire Alucard was unpredictably powerful. I found no mention of the extent of his strength in any of the sources. Even after summoning the God Set, I was unable to best him. I barely escaped with my life."
The man nodded through this in a very bored manner. "Yes I know, I know, spare me the explanations. I ought to get rid of you here and now, but it turns out that you have unexpectedly caused some events to go in our favor."
Incognito doubted that they were unexpected. Everything happened because the Major wanted it to happen. Even his failure to kill Alucard was most likely planned. Nothing got by the genius strategizer.
The man in his starched military suit continued, voice beginning to pick up in excitement and speed. "We have successfully destroyed and discredited Hellsing. I doubt that Sir Hellsing will ever be able to rebuild it entirely. We have also unleashed the first wave of terror and unrest upon London. My operatives are currently working on a follow-up. Your battle with Alucard has revealed to us the extent of his true strength. Finally, as an added bonus, everyone believes you to be dead and will thus not be on their guard."
Incognito remained silent as the Major paused to catch his breath. The vampire was not entirely sure where all this was headed, but did not let that bother him. It was not his responsibility to do the thinking, he merely carried out the orders. Once, a long time ago, he would have balked at being under anyone's control. That had gotten him killed the first time.
"It is apparent to me that the vampire Alucard will be a major stumbling block. His powers unbound do greatly outstrip yours and he was able to recover without any visible change while you have been distastefully weakened. Even if you kill Hellsing and leave him without a master, he might attempt to destroy us out of spite or amusement." The light gleamed off his glasses and the bloodshot eyes of the Major were momentarily obscured. "The solution has been handed to use by those clever little Hellsings themselves. We cannot destroy Alucard, so we must bind him instead. That is where you come in."
Incognito was wary at the mention of his role. He had been given another chance to recover from his failure, but he didn't know how he could be of any use. The Major, however, had the ability to see where he could not. "I bound you using an ancient spell, one recovered from the sunken cities of the Mediterranean. I have researched this matter, and I believe that method should be able to overpower or at least co-exist with the seal already placed on Alucard. However, in order to cast it, one must be in the same place as where the original seal was formed. I trust you understand your task."
The Major weighed a stack of papers in one gloved hand thoughtfully before slipping them into a leather scroll holder. He tossed it at Incognito who caught it smoothly without raising his head from the position of subservience. The cylindrical container vanished as he touched it, disappearing into the same alter dimension as his machine gun, somewhere deep under that strangely malleable skin. The Major's eyes fixed on him, caught with a brief air of sternness. His voice was disturbing unmenacing as he told his vampiric servant, "I'll arrange for several distractions . . . you will not fail again."
Incognito lowered his head closer to the floor in acquiescence. His master's meaning was clear and he could not bend to failure again. There was a flicker of power and then his form ran upwards into a purple streak that slowly faded away. Incognito was already miles away, somewhere deep in his desert cave.
The Major removed his glasses to clean them on a crisp what handkerchief. Replacing them and tilting them further up his nose, he began to laugh, a sound that could have rivaled any mad scientist. It started small, then erupted louder and louder until it seemed to possess his entire dwarven frame. "War, war!" he crowed, intermingled with the same insane laughter. "It is coming and it will spread."
His laughter echoed eerily in the metallic underbelly as walls and pipes amplified the sound.
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Enter the mad Major. I don't have the best grasp on his character since he's from the manga, so if you have any input, please tell me. Thanks for reading, please review so I can improve.