Diclaimer: Hellsing belongs to Kouta Hirano, Gonzo Animation, Geneon Entertainment and Dark Horse comics.
Chapter Four:
Deceit
After so long a time, after a few months, the two vampires who had not too long ago become friends, returned to the place where Seras called a home.
They had decided to walk back hand-in-hand, still fresh from their enduring friendship. Their hearts were warm with love and care preserved from the experience of being in the jungle for the past few months.
Meltzer himself had almost forgotten he was not to get too involved in Seras, but he could not help it. Besides, the closer he was to her, the higher likeliness of the plan succeeding.
Romanian mansion loomed in front of them, growing larger and larger. Meltzer gasped, "It's huge!"
"Well of course it is," came the reply. "Master would always want to act big and powerful. Just wait till you see the interior; the decor is fit for the King of Hell."
"Are you sure it's fine for me to go in?" he asked, not wanting to see an Underworld look-alike. He had had seen the place more than enough.
"At least meet my master, Rudolf," she pleaded. "I wish to stay with you the rest of my life! He acts like my father and wants the best for me most of the time. That is one of the many reasons he wants me to hunt."
"Fine, fine... Very well, I'll go."
"Thanks a million, Rudolf!"
Soon, they reached the gates of Alucard's domain. Seras simply pushed open the heavy door for there was no lock of any kind. The door would not need security from normal human folk, as it was too heavy for any human to lift or even drag. However, a vampire would be able to enter, the beings having unmatched strength.
"Master Alucard!" called Seras as she entered the narrow walkway leading to the main hall.
What is it, Police Girl? Back already?
"Of course I'm back," she replied aloud. "Did you actually want me to stay in that damned place forever?"
Like you said, it's "damned". You are one, no doubt.
"Master," she growled.
Then she caught sight of Alucard a few metres in front of her. "Oh, hello, Master."
Seras whirled around to look at Meltzer. Master?
"Rudolf, what—?"
"He is my master, Seras. The Dracula."
"So that was…"
"Yes, at that time I wondering if your master is also mine; the difference in name was just that it is spelt backwards."
"Master, you… Did you put Rudolf in that sickening place as well?"
"He was already there when I met him. I turned him into an undead because he needed more than the qualities of a human to survive. He would have perished in that hellish place if not for me." Alucard replied, emphasising what he thought of the jungle.
"But if it was hellish, did you even expect me to return?"
"As to that, I'll leave it to your own judgement," he said, lips curling into a smirk.
"What—" she began but stopped. She knew that arguing with him was useless, as he would not change what he saw fit.
Fuming, she did not pursue the matter, preferring to march into her room. Meltzer followed closely, bowing to the cloaked Master as he passed.
As soon as she shut the door, Seras let out a breath that she had unconsciously been holding. She had immediately held her breath to prevent herself from exploding in anger, a habit she adopted during the days of living with only her Master and no one else.
"I am sorry about this, Seras. I should have told you more about my suspicions at the time."
"It's not your fault," she sighed. "I just never expected things to take such a nasty turn. I should not have read too much into his actions. But he is very cunning, you know?"
Meltzer kept quiet, not trusting himself to speak. Never had he been thrust into such a situation, unable to trust and confide into his Master fully and to make very certain he did not stray away from his purpose of duty, to get too involved.
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"Go and hunt," Alucard growled. He had waited far too long. "Hunt, hunt!"
"I will NEVER hunt!" Seras shouted, red in the face. "I keep telling you that, but do you listen? No. You just keep thinking that I will crack up one fine day and start killing, you freak!"
Alucard and Seras were locked in an argument yet again. Alucard was not his usual self—he had lost almost all patience he had for Meltzer to cajole his ex-fledgling into the ways of a "proper" vampire. It was already a year since they were back, and oh so reliable Meltzer hadn't made Seras change her ways.
In addition, she had become more bold and unafraid to spew insults at her Master. It was getting too much. Not only has Seras not agreed to hunt, she had lost possibly all respect she had had for him!
Alucard may have all eternity to wait, but he wanted to be able to enjoy her as a loyal and cruel Bride.
If Meltzer could not influence Seras, then he would have no choice but to carry out the next step of his devious plot. Not that Meltzer really proved himself useful. To sacrifice a next-to-useless fledgling with no potential for one who has proved she would meet his expectations was worth it. Why continue keeping two sores in the neck when he could discard one and be rewarded with the Bride of his dreams?
"Very well, suit your own wishes," he hissed. He turned in a swift and sharp motion so that his cloaked swished. He paused for a few seconds before speaking and then leaving.
"Woe betides you, Seras Victoria. This is your choice. You cannot turn back."
Seras, however, was too angry and flushed to dig deep into the words for its concealed meaning. It may not even matter, for they may be one of his few empty threats. What could he do, anyway? Shout and try to intimidate her? It was not going to work anymore. The Seras he saw before him was not the Seras he thought her to be. She was a changed person.
Or so she thought. She would come to learn that she was wrong and deceived all along.
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"Have you ever thought of dying, Seras?"
"Well, um… Yes, of course. We've all died, haven't we?" she replied, caught off guard by his sudden question.
"No, not that sort of dying. I mean really dying. Gone from this world, and never to live again."
"Well, I…" she trailed. "Yes, I have. It happens all the time, if you've lived with many people around you, and watching them all pass on… Why the questions?"
"Because, Seras," Meltzer said, his face grave, "you are going to die."
"You're joking, aren't you?" she asked, startled. For some reason, she began to shake inside. "Why would I die?"
"I don't joke. I never joke. You are going to die, and believe that."
Seras looked shocked, and was staring at her companion with questioning and disbelieving eyes.
Meltzer rose from the rock where he was sitting, and strode to a flame-of-the-forest. Their possessions were under the tree, including two broadswords for protection against the wild. He picked up his weapon and went back to face the female vampire.
He unsheathed the sword and pointed it in the direction of her face. If they were not about twenty metres apart, Seras would have been pricked.
His eyes were cold and determined, and they showed no mercy. There was also no smile whatsoever on his face. They were set and fierce. It was not like him. Not like her sweet Rudolf at all. What was wrong with him?
Then, without warning, he leapt at the poor, worried girl. She quickly snapped back to reality and avoided getting stabbed. But only just.
She jumped her way to where they had stowed their belongings and seized her own sword, unsheathing it just in time to parry another blow from the merciless Meltzer.
Why is he like that? Why had he changed? Was I the one who brought upon him this change? No. He never cared for me at all. He was just waiting for a nice chance to slay me. It was all a trap. A shitting trap!
If a fight was what he wanted, a fight is what he would get.
Her defensive mechanisms had kicked in, and she had lost her kind and selfless mind. For just this fight, her survival instincts were back, and so was the will to kill. The monster within Seras had been awakened.
She screamed as she attempted to plunge her blade into the traitor's heart, but he dodged in time. He then took advantage of the short distance between them and swung his sword with powerful force. He missed as well.
That scum... I trusted him! I trusted his damned soul! I thought that he could be like Pip, but I was wrong. There is only one Pip Bernadette, and only ONE! All my trust and care was for naught. That shameless German!
Meltzer was high in the air and descending fast, raising his weapon for what might be the final blow. But it was not, as Seras parried strongly. She pushed him and his sword away from herself with her blade.
Filth. He WILL pay.
He flew into the air again before landing expertly on his feet several metres away. Upon landing, he sprang forward to her with his feet, weapon held back to deliver a fatal slash.
But Seras was quicker, and smarter. Since the enemy was holding the sword with his right hand, the attack would come from the left first. She knew that; it was all registered in her head, and so she moved swiftly to her right and swung her sword into his torso. No matter how enduring his body was, he could never escape being sliced. His momentum and her full-strength swing guaranteed a severely damaged waist.
Your end is near. Prepare to suffer and beg for mercy!
He let out a gasp of pain as blood flew out from under his ribs and his mouth. The great thrust into his body caused him to spin horizontally in the air before slamming onto the sand-covered ground.
Meltzer was taking in short breaths despite not needing to breathe, aggravating his injury. His two hands clutched his gaping wound, his fingers soaked in blood. He had been slashed around the stomach, just below the ribcage. His upper body was now joined to his hip only by half of his remaining waist, and blood was still gushing out.
Suddenly, the waves beneath the cliff they were on could be heard loudly. Very loudly. The intensity of the battle seemed to have drowned out all other sounds, and now that it was over, everything came back. But the waves of the ocean seem to be crying out for the two's torn relationship.
Seras eyes were gleaming maniacally as she surveyed her work.
"So," she asked, looking and sounding mad, "how does it feel to be torn? To feel that you were able to trust a person to do something and then have he fail it? How?"
She walked over to the nearly deceased self of Meltzer, and looked down. What she saw changed her mind almost instantly.
"What," she exclaimed, aghast, "have I done?" The sword slipped out of her fingers, dropping onto the rocky ground.
"Seras..." he rasped. "I am truly sorry for what I had done. I did not mean to... I was just taken over... by... It is very hard to explain..."
"It's me who should be sorry," Seras choked. "I—what have I done? I never wanted to kill, to hunt. But... I have become your hunter."
"Just regenerate, please! Heal your wounds, I'm sure you can do that."
"I am not a true vampire as you are, my dear," he reminded. "This is the end. Would you... can you give me a last hug?"
"Yes, certainly, Rudolf. I will give you even more than that."
And she bent forward to embrace his bloodied body, staining her own clothes. Then, she kissed his forehead.
"And," he said in short spasms, "I am sorry to have deceived you. I am Rudolf Meltzer. But I am no longer cruel. I... wish you to know that."
After uttering his last words, he closed his eyes and there left a consoled expression on his face.
Seras cried harder and harder, her head in Meltzer's lifeless chest. "I—I know that, Rudolf. I know that you are not cruel."
She then gently lowered Meltzer's body onto the sandy ground. She muttered a few words of prayer before going on ahead to the edge of the cliff. There she sat, and watched the evening sun set. Even after that, she stayed, gazing to the horizon. It was nearly midnight before she stood up and walked along the road home.
To the home she never felt was home. It was a home only by name, for she had nowhere else to live. Just like her Master who was not her Master anymore.
How could she?
To kill someone who genuinely cared for her, someone who went beyond his Master's orders, and to care for her before being taken over?
Why could she not see past the mask his Master generated?
Was it because she did not love him enough? Because she did not return his love for her?
Or was it that she was too selfish to care for him as much and to bother to know him well? Was it that she was too self-centred to not notice the intensity of his love?
Yes. Perhaps it was that.
Enraged at herself, she struck the ground with the sword she had been holding unconsciously. It sank in deep, and Seras cried again, gripping the sword for balance.
Her tears were bitter tears, until the penny dropped.
She realised something. She remembered something.
The cold and merciless eyes of Meltzer during the fight.
But... why would he have apologised and let go of everything to her in the end? Why did he suddenly revert to his normal and kind self?
Or was it that he was not kind at all?
Yes. That must be it. The Meltzer of Hitler's time was a cruel being, was he not? He hadn't changed at all. The cruel never change their spots. They never.
The best two examples are Alucard and the shit, she thought furiously.
Never will she love a person again. She will never. The few people who ever made her happy were Integral, Pip, her parents and a few of the Hellsing soldiers. This world only had several kind souls. No others.
She was not kind too. She hated everything. She hated everyone. She hated herself.
But so many sins she had committed. So many. What salvation would she find if she tried to keep clean, anyway? She would no longer treat this as her life. Her life was long gone. This life, however, belonged to Alucard and her vampiric counterpart. This was just another's life with a small portion of her mind left over from the past life. This was just another's life who was trapped in her corpse.
The Seras her parents knew no longer exists. It is the Seras Alucard wanted that lives.
This was another's life, and not her own. It is not hers, so she will make way for the ruthless Seras to take control of this life. She will not meddle with it anymore.
It was none of her concern.
A life of orgasm, non-existent love, hunting and killing beckoned.
The sweet Seras many knew for a long time had left.
Now, the No-Life Queen Alucard lusts for takes charge.