"You must come with me." His green eyes are pleading but she knows that this man will not beg. A million reasons not to go rush to the forefront of her mind but then, there are a few quite good ones that say she should. Her sense of duty is aroused, not to mention her sense of curiosity, for the sake of Hellsing, she needs to find out what these people are doing. Her eyes are shaded as she meets his; who is she trying to kid anyway? She cannot help but enjoy the presence of the man. 'Be courageous for once in your life Seras!' She chooses to ignore her mental voice. "Okay." He bestows a huge smile on the unsuspecting fledgling. "Thank you." It melts away almost immediately. "But we must hurry. We will travel as shadows." Her breath catches, "But Csont, I… I can't do that yet." He throws her a smile over his shoulder. "Watch me, feel it. Then try for yourself."
Her eyes are riveted on his dissipating form and a shiver passes through her. The process feels entirely too much like the way her Master coerces thoughts and images into her mind. Suddenly, his voice is all around her. 'Now Seras, you must try.' Nodding, she shuts her eyes as she feels the inky cold that is his body brush against her.
Csont smiles as the fledgling's image before him ripples. Brushing against her, she seems to absorb the feeling of his shadow and take it into herself, her own shadows washing over her in a wave.
Seras doesn't need to open her eyes. In a sense, she is everywhere and nowhere. She can feel herself moved by the tiny variances in the night air and the sensation is… thrilling. 'Csont?' She can feel his grin. 'I am here.' Attempting to move towards him, she finds herself spreading apart, parts of her slipping to his form and others simply staying where she once was. Panic sets in on the young midian. 'Csont!' His darkness moves and she feels disturbingly solid limbs wrap around her form. His deep voice sounds as if it is being purred in her ear. 'I have you Seras, we will travel together.'
Secretly, she is glowing with pride at her transformation. Outwardly, she is waiting for a strong gust of wind to come and end her life. Her traveling companion chuckles. 'A breeze cannot destroy an immortal. You would become a wanderer is all, searching for your scattered essence for all eternity.' Seras makes a disapproving sound. 'Great, even better.' His chuckle answers her but is soon cut short. 'This is the entrance.'
Seras has never been in this part of London before. The streetlights don't shine here instead, they fight desperately against the blackness that threatens to swallow them. Those that haven't been smashed do anyway. He releases her in front of a decrepit building. 'You must stay as you are, I will take us in. whatever you do, you must not make a sound.' His body forms and she realises that the effect on his coat is part of his darkness, he is never truly solid. He turns his flashing green eyes to her undefined form. "I can shield your thoughts and presence from them, but not the sounds you make. Anyone you touch or brush against will only feel a chill." He takes a step forward and rises a hand to catch some of her darkness. The sensation to Seras is as if he has taken her hand in his own. "A seamless transformation." His voice is a murmur. "You are truly his fledgling," A sad smile lights his face, "But so uniquely yourself." Seras wonders briefly if a shadow can blush. "Stay close."
The elder vampire rages through the manor. His progress through the building is easily traceable by the screams of abused house staff. It takes the Master vampire two hours to thoroughly search the manor, his task obstructed by his impeded bond with the disobedient fledgling. By the time he is done, there is not an ounce of patience left in his lithe frame.
His presence swirls dangerously, announcing his arrival in his Master's chambers. Integra has no time for a bored undead. "Out Alucard. I am not going to play with you tonight." The Master vampire does not even twitch at her suggestive words, his voice echoing in a disturbing growl. "Permission to roam Master." She doesn't even look up. "Denied." With a roar of pure rage, he slams his fists down on her desk, the heavy wood cracking under the blow. Integra's head shoots up. 'Blast. I would have preferred a bored vampire.' His eyes are dark and the room is swirling with shadows that hold something unutterably Alucard. "I. Am. Going. Out. Master." Integra's eyes narrow and she chooses her words carefully. Possession of the situation is no longer her own. "Fine. You will not destroy anything though." His darkened eyes do not change but a smirk travels across his face. "I intend to destroy anything that displeases me Master." The knight nervously draws at her cigar. She can feel the weight of the straining seals in the room. "You will destroy no human life." Her monster grins wickedly. "Oh, she is not human."
The hallways are empty and Csont's footsteps echo unsettlingly in the silence. 'How much farther is it?' He does not even glance her way, his facade is perfect. 'Not much longer Seras. There is ademonstration scheduled today, they started about ten minutes ago. I am supposed to supervise them with the research team so they are expecting me.' Seras' stomach constricts, the equivalent of an uncomfortable looking swirl in the shadows. 'What are they doing to these creatures?'
"You're late." Consecro's dark grey eyes narrow at his colleague. Csont simply frowns. "It is of no consequence. Have we begun?" The other nods and pushes aside the men in white coats to make room for himself and his collaborator. "What are the results so far?" Csont questions one of the coats. "Sir, control has reached optimum. The last few subjects have displayed one hundred percent obedience." "And the compatibility problems?" The coat pauses, "I believe we have worked out the bugs. They have been few and far between, affecting only the strongest willed subjects." Csont absorbs the information in silence but his companion growls. "That's not good enough. It is the strong willed ones we need." He throws a threatening glance around all of the scientists for good measure. "We will not be using civilian ghouls, if the formula is unreliable then our plans will be set back again." A smirk crosses his face. "I trust you all remember what happened the last time?" Seras, who is watching quietly from a corner of the cramped room, catches the distinct vibe of terror emanating from the scientists. Some of them seem human while the majority are undead. A thought drifts loudly from one of them. 'If we lose any more we won't have enough men to finish the research.'
Csont holds up a hand and steps between the two parties. "Enough. We are all aware of the consequences of failure." He turns to the scientist, "Show us the latest subject." The coats nod and busy themselves at control panels that dot the tiny room. Suddenly, a screen lifts and Seras realises that one wall is actually the back of a double-sided mirror. Through it, she sees a Hellsing soldier. Her breath catches and she has to restrain the small sound of distress that threatens to escape her throat. A scientist steps to the front of the window. "This subject was brought to us several nights ago from a successful raid to the north of the city." Seras recognizes the tag on the Ghouls shirt as being from the fifth battalion. They were deployed a week ago and due back in a few days. The man presses a few buttons and a small opening appears in the window. "He is of average will expected for a soldier turned by an artificial. His creator was terminated in a raid several days ago and he, along with his brothers, was brought to us. This one has displayed the highest will of the group and has become our main subject." The ghoul stumbles blindly around the small, sterile room. "The drug was administered ten minutes ago and he regained consciousness in five minutes forty seconds." A grunt from Consecro draws Seras' eyes. "At least you've improved something. I want it faster than that though. It's still not good enough." The mortal looks uncomfortable but continues. "We have been perfecting this batch for some time and I believe that it is ready. The fine motor control displayed has been superb and we've had breakthroughs with some of the weaker willed subjects speaking on command."
One of the coats steps forward, a blonde, and Seras receives the strongest sense that he is an old vampire. The scientist continues. "This vampire is of an average skill, about ninety years old and is fed adequately. He will demonstrate our latest levels." Seras watches the blonde vampire as he takes up a standing position near the opening in the glass. The vampire concentrates and suddenly the ghoul stop, turns, and stands to attention a couple of meters from the glass mirror. A table and a chair rest in the room and, in a display of the most coherent movement Seras has ever seen performed by a ghoul, the Hellsing soldier pulls out the chair and sets it down in front of the mirror, taking a seat. If she were in her usual form, she would be gnawing hard on her bottom lip. The soldier no longer looks like a ghoul. He looks more like a prisoner. Its face contorts in pain and Seras realises that somehow, it is trying to fight whatever the blonde vampire is commanding it to do. He speaks in quiet tones under his breath. "Now then. Do as you're told." The ghoul's hand lands on its knee and slowly, painfully, it drags its fingers along the limb. It tears up the cloth of its tattered uniform in one pass. Seras watches in horror as the ghoul does it again, this time tearing out its own flesh. 'Oh God.' She watches its fingernails gather fetid tissue until both hands are shredding at its limbs, ripping chunks of gore away until Seras can see the bone. Csont cuts in, his voice strained. "This is all very good but I don't see any utilization of fine motor skills. You have a fair way to go." The blonde vampire grins and Seras can hear the other inhuman scientists malignant chuckling. "Oh, but I saved the best for last with this Hellsing dog." Seras feels her stomach drop and she knows that she cannot stand by and watch. She throws herself through the crowd of people and against the glass as the ghoul renews its vicious self mutilation. 'No.' Pushing desperately she wishes with all of her being that she could phase through the glass. For a moment, she feels her solidarity waver, but then it is gone. She watches in helpless revulsion as the ghoul lifts a hand full of its own flesh to its face. His mouth opens. Seras screws shut her eyes as she feels blood tears spill from deep inside her. No one could deserve this fate. She feels a hand on her and, looking up, she finds that Csont's hand is resting on the glass, a comforting presence on her body. His eyes are hard as he watches the ghoul consume its grisly meal. "I must go." He glances at the others in the room. "Keep me updated on any changes." Turning, he leaves, his hand wrapped tightly around Seras' as he drags her from the room.
The blonde vampire turns back to the screen and grins at his associates. "I think he was actually pleased." Consecro's face pulls a measured frown, his eyes still on the ghoul. "Tell me, why has it stopped." All eyes turn to the ghoul in the room. Its hands, fingertips scraped raw, hang limp at its sides. The ghoul has stopped eating, its mouth is covered in blood. It isn't the fact that itis no longer lunching that draws their attention. It is the great, fat tears that roll down its rotting face.
The second they reach the outside of the building, Csont shifts into shadows and, engulfing Seras' trembling body, he guides them both back to the Hellsing Manor.
On arrival, he solidifies. "Seras?" She hasn't said a word the whole time and, even now, she does not answer. "Seras, I didn't want you to see that but… you needed to understand what they're doing." She does not speak, refusing even to allow her body to take its proper form. Csont looks sad. "There was nothing you could do. That glass is made to keep the undead on one side of it." He pauses and she feels him probe gently at her mind."Call for me… when you are ready Seras." His eyes are drawn back to the manor and an unreadable look crosses his face. "Good bye."
She travels as shadows through the Hellsing Manor, sometimes dissipating into mist. The fledgling is silent, brooding in her thoughts.
Alucard resists the urge to pounce on her the second he feels the bond reawaken. He growls low in his throat when he finds that she is near the outskirts of the grounds. 'So, you have been gallivanting my fledgling.' Instead, he fazes his hat and glasses away and settles back in her chair, feet propped nonchalantly on her table. This time, he will not let his anger get in the way of his need for answers.
Alucard watches as black shadows seep from beneath her doorway. His senses prickle and his body tenses, ready for any intruder. 'Master?' her voice sounds in his head and he blinks. She has spoken directly to him. "What is the meaning of this Police Girl?" She sounds tired as the shadows gather around her coffin. "I…" He watches with interest as she struggles hard to solidify, obviously unpracticed. His eyes narrow as her shape flickers. He stands with a low growl and steps to her side. Looking down, he speaks. "Concentrate Police Girl." Twin points glow blood-red in the midst of the trembling shadows and the light strengthens as her body appears.
He catches his foolish fledgling as she falls.
Well, that's chapter ten. I didn't think I'd actually get so far and I want to say a big thanks to my regular reviewers for encouraging me the whole way. Thank you kindly to Sanvean, Dragonlance, DaysOfTheNight and tickles for all of your support. And thank you to everyone else who pushed the review button and added their thoughts, I really appreciate them all.
DaysOfTheNight, and anyone else who wondered about Csont. His name is a mix of Latin and Hungarian. In Hungarian it literally means 'bone' and in Latin, it is an adaptation of darkness or blackness. It is pronounced in Hungarian as 'Chon' but I see it as more of a silent c like 'Sont'. Dark bones
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