Youth and Innocence
Chapter 15
Standard disclaimer: All characters belong to Kohta Hirano and his publishers and more power to them. I have no stake in Hellsing or Dawn or any of his Hentai stuff.
15.
Walter was reminded of the ancient Roman gladiators, forced to fight to the death for the amusement of citizens who packed the stadiums. He and Arthur had, in recent years, many long conversations about history and this was one theme they both enjoyed. The parallels between the agents who willingly put their lives on the line and the well trained, but doomed men who chanted "We who are about to die salute you," were multifaceted. Thanks to the twisted souls who arranged this trap, the parallels were more apparent to Walter than usual.
Ghouls seemed to keep pouring into the old nightclub. The "circus" wasn't packed with Romans tonight but there were seven vampires visible on the balcony level that ringed the dance floor. Stairs led up to where there had once been bars for the non-dancers. No doubt the ones up there now were directing their ghouls, trying to move them along like chess pieces and watching as they were ripped apart by wires, knives and blessed bullets. He could hear them cheer or argue with each other as there were periodic dips in the battle sounds on the floor. What he wanted most was to get to the stairs that led backstage. Vampires, with their flair for drama, would likely be hiding behind the closed black curtain. He hoped that was where he'd find Emily and any other of tonight's victims. As he was calculating his killing radius, Walter did a rough estimate of the number of ghouls relative to recent missing persons reports. Not everyone who disappears is reported, of course, and not every missing person turns up a ghoul, but these vampires must've been busy like bunnies. Zombie lifespans were short, probably near three months before they literally rot away. Considering the fifty or so they'd taken out in Scotland, disappearances far outnumbered reported cases. There was a recent bus holiday that went missing near Bath, but that was the only large scale missing persons report in the last month. Then again, this conspiracy held an unknown number of churches in its clutches. A person missing from each could add up right quick while avoiding notice. He made a note to check that theory if he survived.
Watching Dollnez perform his dance of death, Leung felt a new surge of respect for the old rake. A solid kick placed one of the ghouls attacking him into the way of Dollnez's retracting wires and he saw Walter's killer smile flash. "We keeping count?" He shouted at the Trash man, but his words were eaten up in the torrent of moans and yells. Didn't matter anyway Pat grinned, Walter kept count all the time. Hell, he probably knew his lifetime kills if anyone cared to ask. Years ago one of the agents started writing up kills, mainly to tease Walter. They all inflated their numbers versus the actual number on the reports, but it didn't matter, he'd take it seriously and congratulate whoever had the highest number that month. Finally they stopped, it got depressing. None of them ever got close to his count. Leung's attention was brought back to the present with another splattering of ghoul parts across his chest as one of his shots missed the heart of an oncoming ghoul. He slit the charging corpse open with one hand, while putting a round through its temple with the other. The ghouls began a more coordinated assault, apparently designed to push them back under the left rear balcony. He'd been trying to clear a pocket for Walter to run through, but went back to plan B and scattered his shots for maximum damage across the room. Switching out magazines on his modified Glock .45 made him vulnerable, so he signaled to Walter then jumped on the abandoned bar. It was from this vantage point that he saw the rocket-propelled grenade launcher.
The silver haired vampire they'd seen earlier stood dressed in white church vestments in front of the darkened stage, taking aim in the sights of the shoulder mounted RPG. How accurate do you have to be with a rocket launcher anyway? Leung was able to shout exactly two words before the area they were in became a flaming mess and, in retrospect he wished it had been something less profane. Perhaps something useful, like "Run away!" or "Incoming fire!" but at least he lived to regret his choice. He'd lost sight of Walter in the confusion of flaming ghouls, falling wood and steel supports. "Walter!" Though there was sound all around him Leung could barely hear anything, even his own screams were muffled by the damage to his auditory system. In the past, vampires were reluctant to use explosives and weapons that spread fire owing to the flammability of undead flesh, so they didn't expected it, never took precautions. Nothing had seemed normal to Leung since Arthur died. He felt his back muscles shiver and he shook his head, trying to get his ears to work again. The fire did succeed in pushing back the tide of ghouls and for that he was grateful. With his gun reloaded he crouched low, moving along the wreckage as he tried to find the vamp that took out Dollnez. He had the taste of failure in his mouth, but there was still a mission to complete.
Over half a century before he'd put his plan into motion, the vampire king Dracula became interested in the spreading nation of Great Britain. The conflicts in the New World held little interest, but the later wars with Napoleon did ignite his imagination. He watched and encouraged the chaos that consumed Europe during that time. England had flexed its might on the continent before, but this was done with a different tone. They took the role of world protector and they took it very seriously. For his own reasons, he began to take the England equally serious. With decades to study and plan, he learned the language and obtained maps. It was fairly easy therefore, to turn his masses to the west and fly back toward the city of Cambridge. The River Cam is generally agreed to be a thirteen mile stretch of river, though in his lifetime it had been longer. Since Alucard was going on a fragment of Integra's memory of a cryptic statement, he thought he'd start his search in Cambridge where he and Walter had recently traveled. Owing to the perversities of the vampire psyche, he felt confident the cultists would be either in the vicinity of Jesus Green or near the college's church. The Angel of Death in a trap? Pity the ones who catch him, he thought.
The young vampire laughed at the fool charging him. He wasn't very powerful yet but still many times stronger than he'd been as a living man and he was sure he'd been stronger than this old man then. He'd get praises and maybe promoted within the brethren when he brought the body back, minus some blood of course. Confusion crossed his face as he found himself ensnared in wires that burned as they cut through his skin. Too late he reached for the handgun in his waistband. The old man didn't slow down as he charged through the dust cloud on his way backstage.
The element of surprise was the one thing they had lost by walking into a known trap, but now the vampires had given it back to them. Well, he corrected himself, back to him. Pity about Pat. Walter hadn't seen the explosive coming, but was able to dive out of the way due to Leung's warning. Thanks to the confusion, he'd made some headway toward his goal.
A shambling mass of anger came up from behind Walter, tackling him. The inhuman strength in its arms served to break several of the ribs that had finally healed. He cried out in pain and struggled to flip the ghoul over before it could get its teeth around his neck. He owed thanks to his partner for teaching him how to find leverage in such a situation. He also owed desperation for the burst of strength that made it possible. The ghoul was slow to respond to the change in perspective allowing Walter to break its grasp. So much for surprise, he thought as he put a round through the zombie's head. Its vampire master would be aware of him now. He found a narrow staircase and followed it up.
Halfway up he held his side and promised himself that once he got Integra up and running as director he'd retire. With his retirement money plus his savings he could get a nice place, maybe up in the Lakes and tinker about in an old shed fixing things. He laughed at himself and started up again. No, a nice retirement wasn't in the cards for him. He knew too much. Maybe she'd let him stay and train the new kids? Maybe not, he sighed as he reached the top.
Drawn by the smell of dark magic, Alucard stood on the green shore of the river. He could cross moving water, but wondered why the young creatures here chose a location so near a waterway? There were six vampires herding four humans who huddled together out of fear on this warm night. The humans were wet, though their white robes seemed dry. He presented himself in front of strange group. "What have we here?"
The vampires had been focused on getting the people moving but stopped short when they saw him. He made sure they got a full view of his fangs. "Oh, good," said a young one, a leader perhaps? "You're from the church? Did we get those commando blokes yet? Are we to bring this lot back or should we do it here? We put up the screens and baptized the initiates, just like they told us."
Alucard let his grin widen. "By all means, let's hurry back."
The one who had spoken before seemed relieved, "Good. I didn't want to wait too long, but if we did it out here, we'd have to carry these bodies, see?" The bodies in question looked more frightened by the second.
Alucard recognized the scent of Walter's contact, the woman who had wanted to conquer death. It looked like she'd changed her mind. They all had now that the reality was around them; pushing them along like cattle. He walked with them for a minute until they were clearly heading toward a road, then he stopped suddenly. "Can you smell that?"
The vampires stopped, humans knocking into their solid bodies and whimpering softly. Amid the sounds of confusion and questions directed toward him he detected suspicion. The young one who fancied himself in charge was accustomed to the oddities of the elder vampires, so he hushed the others and asked politely, "What do you smell, sir?"
"Fear," Alucard looked at them all seriously, as if trying to teach them something. The young vampires became excited and he reflected that feeling back at them until they all entered a light stage of blood lust. "They fear death, but what of you? What does the Risen fear?" He let his shadows begin to play among them, slowly working the humans away from the vampires. The shadows took on demonic forms with his eyes and features. The Hellsings held the keys to his power and the fullness of it was locked away from him but, if he managed it properly, he could pull on hints of it. This he did under the cover of the cultists masking spell.
Some of the young ones began to understand, "What's, what are you doing?" one asked before Alucard's white glove tore through his chest, ripping the deadened heart out and causing the body to collapse into dust. More of his shadow demons sprouted long arms with gloved hands and made quick work of the poor fools who had fallen for that mockery of religion. His minions disappeared, reabsorbed back into the darkness around him.
Only then did he turn to the humans, held firm by more of his magic. Were it not for her new rule, Alucard could term them suicides. Under the old rules of Arthur Hellsing, that made them food. When they gave up hope, gave up their hold on their pitiful lives, he'd accept them as sustenance and push their souls along to face the terrible judgment that awaited for making the final choice of Judas. Had she not put the restriction on him, he wouldn't give them the next choice. These fools would get another chance to change their minds, though all respect for them was lost. He turned his many eyes to them. "Well, what is your choice? Will you return with me to the pitiful new religion you embraced?" They were safe from him as long as they renounced their decision. He may not be able to partake but he could put dogs down. None of them could speak, eyes as large as owls looked back at him but every head shook back and forth as they clutched one another with frightened arms. Good, he thought, they have learned something tonight. Not that he could let them remember. "Go," he told them, moving sets of red eyes to mesmerize them, "Go to your home. Forget what you have seen and recommit yourselves to your God." He left them, his mission foremost in his mind. Moving in the direction the young vampires had set, he reached out his mind to find Walter.
The overall number of ghouls was down dramatically, Leung sent a prayer of thanks up for that. He enjoyed killing more than anything else... that he allowed himself, but even he had his limits. Dollnez might be in his element among this many ghouls, but he was not. Leung retrieved his last knife from the mass of ghoul jelly in front of him. There was an explosive in his bag, but he planned on using that only as a last resort. Right now he was chasing the fleeting glimpses of silver and white that he hoped meant the priest vamp was near. Hopefully his RPG was not. Leung's ears were still thudding; not something he wanted to go through again.
As he rounded a column, yet another ghoul intercepted him, trying to knock his legs out from under him. He jumped to avoid the hunk of wood in the thing's hands and reflected that most professional athletes would be retired by the time they neared fifty. If only he'd done better in football, he laughed, laying a kick that Best might have envied on the head of the zombie. It wasn't enough, but it gave him space to breathe. The ghoul lunged again, wood aimed this time at Leung's head. It whizzed above the man as he went low, sweeping his leg behind the lumbering creature's knees. The laws of nature being what they were, he let it fall before smashing in its face with his elbow. Though he couldn't hear, his eyes tracked his target vampire walking toward him, brown leather gloves clapping. There were no ghouls around, a minor blessing. Leung pulled his body back into a position to face the vampire. He knew not to look at its eyes, but instead focused on the grinning, moving mouth. Even without lip reading, he could guess at the bombastic, ego maniacal nonsense it would be spouting. He let his Glock answer for him, but the bullets flew off course, as if a shield stood between the vampire and himself. Damn, he thought as he reached around for his backpack. The vampire moved his fingers, uttering words left unheard as the agent's throat began to constrict. He tried to stay calm and reach the timer's trigger. The phantom fingers began to crush his windpipe; his world went dark.
Even human eyes could see that there was nothing in the shadows here. Nothing, dammit. Walter moved across the backstage, trying to sense anything out of the ordinary. Of course, it all was, wasn't it? Vampires don't use shoulder mounted weaponry, they always go for dramatic grandstanding... What was the world coming to? He found a doorway leading to a back room, but from the sounds just starting, the main action was going on back in the front of the club. As Walter crossed back to the stairs, he felt rather than saw that the shadows had changed. Bugger, he thought. Over the many years of his career, intuition was what saved his life. He couldn't measure a vampire's power or know what it could do jut to look at it, but when the hair stood up on his neck, it meant something major was near. He slowed, trying to find a good place to fight from. There would be no hiding from this creature. Red eyes looked at him and the familiarity of them surprised him to his core. It didn't matter the wrapping, they were always recognizable. A smile lit up the shadow. Walter smiled, shook his head and turned. With Hellsing's monster at his back, he walked calmly to the large black curtain leading out to the club, to the audience.
Sitting grandly in the clothes of clergy, oblivious to the surrounding disaster of the flames and falling structures, the silver haired vampire cradled Agent Patrick Leung's body like a doll. "So, you come to me, Hellsing?"
Walter smiled as he jumped from the stage front. Alucard remained hidden, though no doubt detected. "Release him."
"Or what? Will you set your dog on me?" The vampire pointed at the stage, "Who holds the leash on him? You?" There was real curiosity behind the posing. "Or the little girl we killed tonight?"
In his surprise, Walter took his eyes off his foe, searching for Alucard. If he were free...
"Relax old man," Alucard's voice echoed in the club. "She lives," he brushed his mind along hers and felt her strength as she barked orders at the hospital staff. In another city, fresh off her first helicopter ride she was explaining that they wouldn't find Reynolds in their records, that she wasn't his daughter and that they'd bloody well have to keep him alive. "Reynolds barely lives and Draper is dead." He was pleased to see that Walter's focus was back on his enemy. It was unwise to turn away from a vampire, even one as mediocre as this one.
"Release him," Walter decided not to banter with the creature. He couldn't tell if Leung would make it. When the vampire smiled instead of complying, Walter spoke over his shoulder, "Alucard, kindly rip his head off, but do save Pat if you can. We've lost enough tonight, by the sounds of it." To his surprise, Alucard chuckled.
"That is not part of my mission, Walter. I am here only to save you," he wanted to show who he served, though he felt Walter's frustration. Without his help, Walter would have to shoot or shred through the agent. He'd do as Walter wanted, but couldn't help drawing it out, "Do you know what your 'friend' would do to her? I felt his need today. It screamed to me, outshining even my own thoughts for a time."
Walter's face flushed, this was not the place for them to argue! With the enemy sitting there? Smiling as his forces were regrouping and making their way to his aid? "This is hardly- Yes. Stop it! Yes, I have an inkling, but he didn't, did he? He's controlled himself thus far. Can you save him or not?"
"Oh, do try," the silver haired vampire cooed at Alucard as the Hellsing vampire finally materialized on the stage. Leung's body twisted and began to levitate as the priestly vampire stood. Until he had an idea of the pet's power, he had no intention of giving up his protection. He called his minions to keep the deadly agent occupied while the higher creatures played. Lifting his hands, he shot darts upward, shredding Alucard's torso with their needle sharp tips. Dribbles of blood oozed onto the white shirt.
"Pathetic," Alucard spat. His fingers longed for the feel of his Casull, but it was back at Hellsing, out of commission. There were many ways to play with this fool. "Hiding behind a dying deviant? Are you out of ghouls? I've tasted your children, barely better than ghouls. Your Cherry? She died begging for her life." He jumped down and circled the vampire, noting that Walter was looking for a clear shot. The limp body could only serve as distraction for so long.
Three vampires came from behind the rubble with a few ghouls shambling after them. They looked at Walter with hatred, he answered their looks with the calm of death itself. He had hoped to use his wires to rescue Leung's body from between the posing Nosferatu, but turned to face this threat instead. Did she really think he needed saving? He scoffed at the thought as he leaped between the approaching undead, silver imbued strings in motion. His speed was below the best that a vampire was capable of, but these weren't the best of vampires and they were crowding into his killing radius. He smiled and sliced through the body of one of them, separating the vampire's head from his shoulders. He spun about to similarly dispatch the one to his left when he heard the retort of a .9mm revolver. Luckily the vampire had aimed before Walter moved, so the wound was superficial, but it served to clear his thinking. Willing himself into his role as executioner, he pulled his wires, ripping through the two remaining vampires. He stood over the bodies of the ghouls, collapsing as the animating force fled with the life of the vampires that turned them. Walter prayed over them quickly and looked back to see how things stood for Alucard. Pat's body was still elevated, but seemed forgotten to the side as their battle moved into mental attacks. It shouldn't be long now, he thought, but still gently used his cables instead of trying to move closer to the battle. Alucard looked like he was still enjoying himself. This was not a thing Walter liked to witness, the human masks falling off of the vampires and their inner monsters coming to the fore. He shivered as Leung's body slid the last few feet, forgotten in the onslaught the silver haired vampire faced from Alucard. An idea struck Walter as he watched the last of the battle and he called out as the killing blow was about to be delivered.
Alucard stopped himself, but his form quivered with rage. "Dollnez," he picked his words with care, "do not deny me this small pleasure." First he couldn't hunt, now he can't kill?
"Not at all, Alucard, but I think you'll find greater pleasure in this; let us keep him," Walter felt a grin starting.
"Angel of Death, you know me too well," Alucard's face moved from rage to joy as he looked down at the frightened creature in his arms. "Ah, you are in for a treat!" He took a drop of blood from his sleeve, "Do you know who I am?" He spread the drop across the quivering lips of his victim. Involuntarily, it licked the blood away, eyes widening at the taste, but Alucard shushed him, "Shhh, don't bother to speak. Save your strength. We'll make your final trip to Hell a blessing. Rest now." In his weakened state, there were no barriers to the mental blast Alucard used, putting the vampire to sleep. "Mission completed, limited release complete." The girl was unable to acknowledge his report as she was sleeping in a car speeding back to Hellsing, her hand in a soft cast. Alucard looked up at Walter, knowing the human shared at least some of his excitement about the day that was dawning and he knew just the way to thank him.
Walter backed up as Alucard dropped the silver haired vampire and crossed the wooden floor toward him. For a second, he was afraid he would be the recipient of an unwelcome hug, but Alucard stopped at the unconscious agent in front of Walter. He looked down at the man for a moment before kneeling down and touching him with a gloved finger. Leung stirred, coughing as he gasped for breath, his eyes fluttering open and closed. Alucard took off one glove and gripped Leung's face firmly, holding his face only an inch away. Walter trusted Alucard not to kill Pat, though he wasn't sure what recourse there would be if he did. As the vampire had said, their time to fight was many years ago. Instead of snapping the agent's neck, Alucard did something even stranger. He opened his mouth, breathing a black, shadowy breath into Leung who stiffened at the touch, eyes suddenly opened in horror. The man flailed about and Walter came closer to the duo, unsure what to do. Alucard lifted the man, not breaking contact until the flailing stopped. Then he inhaled, made a face and pushed the agent into Walter's arms.
"There," he said, "a gift for you."
Walter let his confusion show, but Alucard turned and lifted up the captured vampire. "What the bloody Hell was that? Did you just heal him?" Pat was breathing regularly, though slumped now and unconscious.
"Don't be an idiot, Walter. Have you been listening to these cultists? I don't heal, I destroy," he seemed to soften his tone after looking at Walter's face. "The shadows will hold his trachea, long enough anyway." He sniffed the air, "Get him out quickly."
"Alucard," Walter called as the vampire started to leave, "fancy a ride? The sun's rising." The vampire continued to walk, but leaned down to pick up a hat from the rubble. With his prisoner thrown over his shoulder, he walked out into the day. "Well, thank you anyway, my friend." He shifted Leung to better carry him and walked toward the rear exit.
An explosion ripped the club in half, more of the balcony structure giving way around the load bearing column where Leung's black bag had been. Good old Pat, Walter thought, covering his nose and mouth as he dodged the debris, vampire corpses adding to the dust level. He left as the roof fell in.