Of Angels and Demons
By Moo
In the year since the destruction of the Vampire Incognito, the Hellsing organization was slow to recover. The delay in the recovery was due in part to the divided priorities in the leadership of the organization. Sir Integra was splitting her time between hunting down FREAKS, chasing other Vampire Hunter's out of her country and searching for a lost team member. This lack of focus was proving costly for the organization on many levels.
Shortly after Incognito's defeat and Integra's incarceration, fledgling vampire Seras Victoria disappeared, seemingly without a trace. Cold reason told Integra that Seras was dead, if not for the fact that Alucard was convinced that she wasn't. Considering that Alucard, Hellsing's secret weapon a master vampire or No-Life-King as he called himself, was Sera's master and through the bond that was established when he created his fledgling, Integra had no reason to doubt his information.
That Alucard was so certain Seras had not been destroyed, but could not sense anything else about her, was in and of itself enough to worry Integra. In fact, it worried her more than anything else, including the rival Hunters group, the rumors of a 'Demonic Angel' stalking the children of the night, or the ever-increasing FREAK activity.
Although, the rival faction and the 'Demonic Angel' were a threat to Hellsing and England, Hellsing's specialty was Vampires. Even the Queen understood that. This creature, this night hunter, was described as angelic in appearance and had the power to summon the very golden light of the sun. It used light, a power that is diametrically opposite from the powers and abilities of a vampire. Therefore the information on these factions was dismissed as secondary to dominating the FREAKS and scouring the city for the lost team member.
"Any word on Officer Victoria?" Integra asked as a shadow fell across her desk. She didn't look up from her work. She already had her answer; if Alucard had found anything on the former police officer, he would already have informed her.
Her servant merely growled in response. She watched him closely; she could tell he was frustrated at being unable to locate his fledgling. She suspected it wasn't out of any particular concern for his fledgling's welfare as much as being unwilling to show any weakness to friend or foe. And Alucard would consider this inability to locate, control and retrieve his fledgling a weakness.
In many respects, Integra recognized that she and Alucard were very similar, in that if someone wasn't strong enough to survive on their own they had little use for them. Normally, she would have simply told Alucard that Seras had gone renegade and he needed to destroy her, except that it would be completely against her nature. Integra never thought she'd ever meet a soft-hearted vampire. Also, over the years she'd learned to trust her intuition and something was nagging at her, something that said she…no, they needed to find Seras, and soon.
Unknown to Alucard and Integra, the 'Demonic Angel' was also seeking for something, only she didn't know what. Enslaved and enhanced the angel walked the night with little memory of whom or what she was before. One of the few recollections of her time before was a vivid memory of a tall proud old soldier calling her Victoria. And she wasn't even truly sure that was actually her name, all she knew is that the man and the memory were her only link to her unknown past.
Her 'master' and she refused to call him thusly, told her that before he and his team captured her, she'd been a wild beast that killed indiscriminately, without remorse. She scratched at her right wrist, looking down at the gold cuff there and its match on her other wrist. According to her 'master' these innocent looking gold cuffs were all that kept her from becoming the monster again.
The cuffs were supposedly Egyptian in origin. The legend surrounding them was that the God Sokar gifted three cuffs to one of his great generals to tame/control one of the greatest of the demons of Netu. It was by the same means that she too was controlled.
The two gold cuffs were placed on the one in need of control and the third cuff, which was identical to the gold cuffs except that it was silver, was worn by the ruling general.
Although her master could control her through the cuffs, she was still able to win small liberties for herself. The most important of which to her was being allowed to address her master as 'My Lord' rather than 'Master' as he initially demanded. That had been quite a contest of wills but she fought because she felt she had to.
She couldn't explain why to him or even herself, but she couldn't stomach calling him master. When she tried to explore the feeling behind the revulsion of calling him master she would feel a great well of shame or a flash of red. She knew the two were related, but the reason why eluded her.
Not only did the cuffs bind her to her human lord and help her maintain her control against the beast; they also increased her power. When the teen-like Vampire allowed herself to feel too much anger, the cuffs would glow with a golden light. She quickly found that this was devastating weapon against her own kind and the filthy ghouls that served them.
In using this power, she very quickly she earned a nickname. They called her the Demonic Angel and it was an image that she used to her advantage. Even to the point that she dressed only in white.
Victoria knew she couldn't continue to put off making her report, she'd already delayed it for forty-five minutes. It was such a beautiful night. She just couldn't help, but sit atop the steeple of the old church her Lord had based their operations out of. She allowed herself to smile slightly enjoying the view as she thought, 'The lights of London are so magnificent.' Maybe she would allow herself just a few more minutes.
Upon her return to the church she found that her lord was angry with her. While she was out hunting that night, she had observed a troop of soldier's wearing a black and red crest. If they had seen her they made no indication. It mattered little to her who defeated the vampire, as long as it was not allowed to spread its evil. She quickly discovered it mattered a great deal to her lord.
"Foolish Vampire!" He yelled as he backhanded her across the face "You have ruined everything."
"I don't understand, my lord, what I have done wrong?" Victoria pleaded. The vampire was killed, true she had not done it, but it had been done.
"You have let that damnable Hellsing, and her organization claim a kill that should have rightfully been mine!" Her lord replied moving behind her and kicking her roughly in the back of the knee's causing her to fall forward. He then proceeded to kick her several more times. Inwardly, he was cursing the incomplete binding on the cuffs. He was anxiously waiting for the time when that would be complete and she would be under his complete control. No more compromises, no more free will, she would be his to control utterly.
Bearing up under the onslaught, Victoria had learnt that it was better let her lord beat her and work out his frustrations. At least when he beat her physically, he would grow fatigued quickly. If he wished, he could use the ruling cuff to send indescribable pain throughout her body. He wouldn't become fatigued then, the cuffs did the work for him. He could and had in the past kept that up for seemingly unending hours of pain.
Soon, as Victoria had predicted, her lord grew tried.
"Hellsing!" Victoria flinched when she heard the name again and a flash of yellow crossed her mind, as her lord continued unaware of her reaction, "…can not register more Non-human kills then me. I will win the Queen's favor!"
"I know that name." Victoria whispered as she wiped a trail of blood from her lip. She looked up at her lord. He was the epitome of a wolf in sheep's clothing, his face was fair, handsome even, in the traditional sense, but underneath that was the boogey man that all children were taught to fear.
"I care nothing for your remembrances." Her lord ground out contemptuously, "And lower your eyes, their color sickens me." Victoria quickly obeyed, not particularly wanting to look at him, either.
"Unless you wish to risk my displeasure," he hissed tapping the silver cuff he wore. "You will find and kill at least two Vampires before sun rises."
"It will be done my Lord." Victoria said as she stood and turned away from her lord
"Vampire," her lord never called her anything except that. "Should you came across the soldier's of Hellsing again, kill them." Her Lord's tone sent a chill down her spine.