In the end it was Alucard and Anderson who did the job for him. Those two monsters eliminated pretty much every remaining member of Millennium and the Vatican's forces between them. Harry stood on a rooftop and watched as Alucard fought Anderson, the priest surprising him when he turned himself into a monster in an attempt to kill the vampire, eliminating all the bound familiars Alucard had manifested throughout London.
Harry was tempted to interfere, but his insight into the No Life King told him that it would not be appreciated at this point. So instead he watched, and prepared to fight if either combatant turned their gaze on him.
Things got weird when, after Alucard beat Anderson, Walter appeared looking young and healthy to fight him. And even with his unique knowledge of Alucard's inner workings, seeing him shift his form into that of a young girl just to fuck with Walter had him blinking owlishly.
"Harry, are you there?" Cortana's voice asked from his earpiece.
"I'm here, Cortana. What's the status of the rest of our forces?" He asked in response.
"The Remnant faction are gathered together under Lara's command and going through that crashed Millennium zeppelin with Integra and Seras in search of the Major." Cortana reported. "Most of the Wild Geese survived, though Pip unfortunately was one of the casualties. Alice is fine though, and she's one of the reasons they acquitted themselves as well as they did. Chief and Beast Boy are currently en route to your location. What's your situation?"
"I'm fine." Harry said. "I'm watching Alucard fight. Father Anderson is dead, and his faction of Iscariot have withdrawn from the field. I've let them go since it seems they were as disgusted with Maxwell's actions as the rest of us. As long as they don't cause any trouble for us or any civilians they come across, let them leave." He said firmly.
Soon enough Beast Boy and Chief landed beside him, the changeling having been in the form of a small dragon and carried the super soldier in his claws.
"You alright, dude?" Beast Boy asked as he tried to catch his breath after carrying the immensely heavy armored man through the air. Said soldier had moved to the side of the roof, looking down on the destructive fight happening below.
"I'm fine." Harry said as he turned back to the fight, Beast Boy moving to join him once he'd recovered enough. "I dealt with the Vatican forces and most of the Grimm."
"We noticed." The green boy said.
Chief aimed a scoped rifle at Walter's head, finger on the trigger. "I've got a shot."
"Stand down." Harry said. When Chief turned his head to look at the teen in an obvious question Harry explained. "There's no guarantee you could kill him as enhanced as he is now, and even with aura I can't see your armor holding long against wire that can slice through buildings like they're wet paper. At the very least you'd suffer severe damage that even I might take a bit to fix. Let's let Alucard handle this. It seems personal anyway, and I'd rather not deal with a bitchy Alucard because we interfered when he didn't want us to. We'll move in if he loses and deal with Walter then."
Chief kept his rifle aimed at the traitor, though his finger shifted from the trigger to the guard. Beast Boy looked at everything seriously as he watched Alucard and Walter fight. "You sure he'll win?"
Harry nodded. "I'd lay money on it." He smirked slightly. "After all, as Alucard is fond of saying, only a man can kill a monster. And Walter no longer qualifies as the former."
The three men were surprised when, after a blistering fight, the blood surrounding Alucard began to flow towards him, being absorbed into the vampire's body. They watched as the streets of London became literal rivers of blood as every drop that had left the millions of people and monsters who had died in the attack was drawn to the No Life King, adding to his power.
"Holy shit." BB said hoarsely as he watched, Chief shifting his aim towards Alucard in case the vampire proved to be a threat considering what he was doing.
Harry felt an itch in the back of his neck as he watched and looked around at all the other rooftops, looking for what had set his instincts off. He spotted what he was looking for some distance away.
Focusing he saw what seemed to be a boy younger than himself in a Hitler Youth uniform. The oddest thing about him was that he had cat ears unlike Blake's sticking out of his blonde hair. He was smirking over at them, crimson eyes amused, before looking down at the river of blood flowing below him. As Harry got ready to intercept whatever the Nazi was going to do he was surprised when the boy drew a dagger and plunged it into his neck before the dimension hopper could react. Within moments the catboy's head had been completely removed, and he'd fallen into the stream of crimson, a smirk still on his disembodied head.
Harry quickly turned his attention back to Alucard, preparing himself to warn the vampire of whatever Millennium had planned. He was too late, however, and could only watch in shock as Alucard disappeared after the last of the blood was absorbed.
The three on the rooftop were silent for a long stretch before Beast Boy spoke. "...The hell just happened?"
Three days had passed since Millennium's attack had ended, and the team was still recovering after the gruelling events in London that would likely haunt them for the rest of their lives.
Harry sat in Integra's restored office, going over what had happened now that things had calmed down enough that such conversations could be had. London was still, for the most part, burning, however it was now somewhat under control, with emergency services from all over the country and even others such as France pitching in to deal with it. The British government had also stabilised enough that they didn't need Integra to be available every moment of the day, though she still took many calls and sat in a large amount of meetings.
Said blonde sat behind her desk, a cigar in her mouth as was usual, her eyes narrowed as she stared at nothing after hearing Harry's report.
Behind her stood Seras, the now True Vampire standing ready, her left arm gone and a black mass much like Alucard's now pantomiming one, the former police girl having lost her original one in the attack on Hellsing HQ. She looked more sure and confident in herself than Harry had ever seen her. The event's of Millennium's attack had wrought a deep, but in some ways welcome change in her.
Integra sighed out a breath of smoke. "What a mess." She said tiredly before her gaze focused on Harry. "Thankfully we have begun the process of spinning this into an act of insane terorrism rather than an attack by a group of Nazi vampires intent on starting World War Three. To be fair, however, the fact that the truth is as absurd as it is only helps us. So at the least that madman failed at reaching his objectives."
"I assume that means you don't want me to go around restoring London like I did Hellsing Manor." Harry said, arms folded.
Integra was silent for a moment. "As much as I'd like you to undo the damage as a final 'fuck you' to Millennium, in the end it wouldn't be adivasable. This is not the sort of thing that can be covered up." She let out another puff of smoke. "Still, thank you for restoring my home. And, of course, for you and your teams' actions during the battle."
"How are they coping?" Seras asked curiously, looking at Harry with interest.
Harry sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Honestly? The teens from Remnant are going to need a lot of time with Alice. The rest of us are used to us or them struggles, though only Chief has been part of something of that scale before. They're having trouble sleeping, and they jump at every noise, but I think they'll recover." He shook his head. "Still, that was a lot even for me. Hopefully we won't find ourselves in that sort of situation again for a long time to come."
Seras and Integra nodded in understanding. The head of Hellsing was a hardass, true, but even she was sympathetic to the kids having been through what they had. The fact that she was only five years older than most of them was lost on her.
"Now the only question is how long it'll take Alucard to get back to us." Integra said, leaning back into her seat as she tapped her cigar into an ashtray. "Seras can take his place as our exterminator, but that isn't really the point."
"You're pretty certain he's alive." Harry said with a chuckle. He knew the vampire wasn't dead as well, but that was mainly because he'd checked using his unique assets.
Seras grinned as Integra shrugged. "Can you really see him dying like that?" Bringing her cigar back to her lips she took a puff. "No, he's alive. There is no way Millennium's plan would have killed him. He'd never allow it."
"True." Harry said with a nod. "Without knowing exactly what he needs to do to get back, though…" He shrugged. "Well, all you can do is wait."
Integra nodded. "Yes." Then she changed the subject. "You're leaving soon, then?"
"Cortana said we'll be able to make the jump in two more days." Harry said as he leaned back in his seat. "No offense, but I think most of us want to be well done of this world. We've done our part, and the threat is dealt with. You don't need us anymore, so there's no point in us staying anyway."
"I see." Integra said with another nod. "While I won't lie and say I wouldn't like to have people of your capabilities on the payroll indefinitely, you upheld your side of our deal admirably."
Harry nodded back with a smile. "Maybe one day, when we've obtained the capability of selecting our destination for ourselves, we'll pop back in to say hello and see about setting up something more long term."
Integra smiled, something which had been rare of late. "I look forward to it."
Two days later, as expected, the offworld group were gathered in one of the Hellsing Manor's gardens. With them were Integra, Seras, and most of the members of the Wild Geese wishing to say farewell.
"I suppose this is goodbye." Harry said as his team made final preparations in case they ended up somewhere hostile once again.
"Yes." Integra said before holding out her hand, her eyes locked on Harry's. "Good luck and safe travels, all of you."
Harry took her hand and shook it firmly. "Tell that annoying bastard I said goodbye as well." Integra simply chuckled in response.
After the rest of their team said their goodbyes, Ruby moved to Integra and handed her a portable hard drive, causing the Hellsing head to raise an eyebrow. "And this is?"
"Details on the basics on mechashift weapons." The young reaper said with a smile. "I had Cortana help me put it together. Figured you could enhance your arsenal so you can be ready for any more fights."
Integra blinked before smiling back and handing the hard drive to one of the Wild Geese who was performing the job of her assistant now that Walter was gone. "Thank you, Ms. Rose. I'll make sure it's put to good use." Ruby beamed before rushing back to her sister's side.
Once he was satisfied that everything that needed to be said had been and they were all prepared, Harry took hold of the Lance and focused his energy into it, the portal to their next destination opening in front of him. Everybody hesitated for a moment before rushing through the yawning opening in reality, Beast Boy providing the team's parting words.
"Live long and prosper!" The changeling said with a laugh, hand held high in a vulcan salute before he disappeared through the portal.
The rain was pouring down on the streets of Manhattan as night fell, the people walking through under umbrellas as they tried to keep from getting soaked.
Through this downpour ran a man in a damaged, bloody suit, a brown bull terrier keeping pace with him at his side. The man had a neat beard on his slim, handsome face, which was marred by several small wounds and scratches. His dark brown eyes darted around as he kept track of everyone that passed him.
He glanced down at his watch, seeing the minute hand ticking passed the forty minute mark. Due to his distraction he bumped into somebody walking in the opposite direction. "Sorry." He muttered, about to continue running.
"No problem, Mr. Wick." The person he'd bumped into said in a British accent. "I realize you're in a bit of a hurry. I hope you can take a moment to talk, though. I'll make it worth your while."
John Wick froze before turning to see a teen with messy black hair and bright green eyes standing there. He wore a long black coat that reached his knees which seemed to be made of some sort of odd leather, a white shirt with the image of a taijitu on it, and some simple yet sturdy jeans. He was looking at John with a small smile, emerald eyes intense.
John was experienced enough in the ways of the world that he didn't discount the young man as a threat simply because of his age. "The hour isn't up." He said simply.
"I'm not affiliated with the Continental or the High Table, Mr. Wick, even though I'm aware of them. I'm actually hoping to screw them over by helping you survive this little mess you've made. Are you willing to hear me out?" The teen said calmly, still smiling.
John hesitated and considered his options. He could take a chance with this kid, or he could go on with his original plan and keep heading to the New York Public Library to grab his 'ticket'.
He glanced down at his dog, who looked back up at him from where he sat at his feet. Finally his gaze turned back to his prospective benefactor. "Fine."
The teen's smile widened. "Excellent. Follow me, please." He turned and headed down a side street, his pace unhurried, John following along behind him.
A couple of minutes later the two had taken a seat inside of a small, warm cafe. The waitress had initially refused to let the dog in, but the kid handed her a couple of hundreds to allow it just that once. John and his new companion had just placed their orders when the teen leaned forward on his elbows, looking at John seriously. "Alright, a bit of information on me so you know why I want to help you. My name is Harry. And I'm not normal." He glanced to the side as a couple of people took a seat at a table near theirs and lifted his hand, waving his fingers oddly.
"What do you mean?" John asked as he rubbed his hands, taking the chance to warm himself up.
Harry picked up one of the napkins from the holder and waved it slightly in front of John like a magician about to perform a trick before setting it on the table. Then he waved his fingers again and the napkin suddenly transformed into a small replica of the dog sitting at their feet lapping at some water. John jerked back in shock, eyes wide as the small dog began to scratch itself right there on table.
"Wha-?" He looked around to see what the other patrons' reactions were, but nobody even glanced in their direction, the waitress seating some more people being the most activity in the room..
"Relax, Mr. Wick. I set up a field around us to keep anything odd from being noticed." Harry said with a small smile. "As far as they're concerned we're just having a light conversation about travel destinations that would be nice to visit."
John stared at the tiny dog, which let out a yawn, and reached down to pick it up, making it squirm in his grasp. It felt real, like an actual dog in miniature. He looked up at Harry, confused. "What are you?"
"I'm your ticket to a hopefully long, fulfilling life free of the world you tried so hard to get out of." Harry said with a smile. Then he reached over and plucked the dog out of his grasp, turning it back into a napkin as the waitress came over with their drinks.
"I'm sorry about the wait." The girl said with a smile as she set the coffee down. "More patrons than usual trying to get out of the rain."
"No problem." Harry said with a smile, taking a sip of his caramel mocha. "This is great, thanks." She gave them another smile before turning to attend other customers, prompting Harry to turn back to John.
"How do you intend to do that?" John asked once she left, taking a sip of his black coffee..
Harry sat back, cracking his neck. "If you know anything about comic books or sci-fi, then you've heard about the multiverse, right?"
"Something like that… My wife liked Doctor Who." John said softly, feeling a pang in his heart at the reminder.
Harry looked at him sympathetically. "Right. Well then, essentially, me and my friends have gotten lost through the multiverse. We've been travelling from universe to universe, looking for our home, or something that will let us choose our destination, since we're travelling randomly at the moment. All of us have some sort of power or ability, so while we're in a universe we try to help the locals." He took another sip of coffee. "Say we wind up in a universe where Earth is being invaded by aliens, for example. We'll usually throw ourselves in to the fight."
"So you want to recruit me?" John asked, catching on.
Harry nodded agreeably. "Yes. You're incredibly skilled, Mr. Wick, and we have the ability to give you a power of your own to boost your combat capability. This power is called 'Aura' and it enhances your abilities, gives you a sort of forcefield that protects you from a certain amount of damage, and carries the possibility of unlocking some skill or ability unique to you."
"What do I get in return other than this 'aura'?" John asked, part of him not believing what was happening, sure he was going nuts but unable to deny what he'd already experienced.
"You get away from the High Table, not needing to live in fear. And as we travel, if you find a world that you like and want to live the rest of your days in, we'd part ways amicably, giving you some resources to make your way with."
John sipped his coffee, thinking furiously. It sounded too good to be true. Finally, after a couple of minutes and a check of his watch he spoke again. "I'll need another demonstration of your abilities. Something more substantial."
The minute hand above the register of the cafe reached twelve as Harry nodded. "That can be arranged." He said with a smile and hard eyes over the sound of multiple chairs scraping against the floor. Then he launched himself at the closest man in the cafe, who was pulling a pistol out from under his coat, his hands emitting darkness as his hair ganed white streaks and black markings appeared on his skin, fangs showing as his lips pulled back in a snarl. John followed suit against another assailant, a butter knife in hand.
Mayhem followed.
HOLY SHIT IT'S FINALLY DONE!
This is my worst chapter of this fic by far. Probably the worst chapter of any fic I've written. I really, really hate it.
I've been trying to get this chapter done for ages, but I had severe writer's block for how to end their time in the Hellsing verse. And when I say severe, I mean severe.
When writing a chapter feels so much like work I literally dread doing it there's a problem. I started writing the first chapter of Dragon Walking with Demons way back when because I was excited, interested, had an idea begging to get out, and I wanted to see if other people thought the concept was as cool as I did. This was… not that.
So I apologize if you felt the ending of the Hellsing arc was lackluster, because it really was. I feel like I worked on the writing team of Game of Thrones. But at least now that this hurdle has been cleared I know what I'm doing next and things will go more smoothly.
I bet a lot of you thought Seras would be joining the crew when the fight with Millennium was over. That was considered briefly at first, but it was never seriously in the cards. I stated when they started world hopping that not every universe would include a new companion. Some might have a new weapon or item, or a new skill or power. Or just be thrown in for kicks. This universe gave Harry a new power that he hasn't used yet but that will be supremely important in the one they're heading to after John Wick's world.
As is obvious, by the way, yes, they're picking up John Fucking Wick, the Baba Yaga. Support was so strong for that omake that it is now canon, as you see above. That omake has been cleaned up and changed slightly to take its place in a chapter proper. We probably won't be in his world for longer than one more chapter. They'll be bloodying some noses, causing some chaos, and then jumping again. There's not really much of a point to them staying longer than needed to pick up John and his dog. Because obviously the dog's coming too.
I'm taking suggestions for the dog's name, by the way. He never got one in the movies proper, and I can't keep just calling him 'John's Dog'. So leave your suggestion in a review and I'll choose the one I feel most appropriate. Nothing absurd though, please.
I don't think there's anything else to say, so as always I'll remind you all that you can have a say in what I write by donating to my Pat A Ron. Each dollar donated counts as a vote in my monthly poll, and this month's poll ends soon. So that's at Pat A Ron dotcom /athanmortis.
As always, thanks for reading, stay safe, and please review. Till next time.