H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. trucks came and took the captives away for treatment. All of them were still human, but suffered from some post-traumatic stress from both being confined, and from having their blood drawn against their will. Minor injuries were sustained and were treated with greater ease, as psychological wounds would take time to heal. Unfortunately, though, a scar would always remain.
There were two other houses like this one that were found during H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G.'s search. A total of sixteen captives out of an estimated thirty were found alive. Two of them were dead. This still meant, however, that there were more victims still out there and that Gentlemen was still at large.
Now, however, they were aware that her majesty's noble beasts were cracking down on them, so their efforts would have to become more subtle. Baldassare had been instructed to locate and decode any new "advertisements" if they popped up. He and his Girasol vampires looked around, briefly, only coming across a few ads written in white spraypaint. All of them said the exact same thing as the ones written in blood.
The search for the missing persons continued, but there wasn't much progress. Too much time had passed, and the trail had gone cold. The dogs could no longer pick up a scent, including Amelie, whose sense of smell was keener. Unfortunately, this left the group with no other choice than to resort to plan "B"; Espionage.
Naturally, Alois was not entirely pleased. This means that he would have to sit back and watch while Ciel got to have fun. It had been ages since the Phantomhive had done an infiltration mission, so he was somewhat looking forward to this. Alois was happy for him, of course, but he didn't like being told to "stay back" in case they needed him as backup. As far as he was convinced, he was perfectly capable of being on this mission. The Round Table, however, was not and their decision was final. All of that aside, it was still very amusing to see Ciel's reactions to the "preparations" that Sir Hellsing had in store for him.
"This is disgusting!" he shouted at the top of his lungs as he sat in a plastic tub that was halfway full with blood. Fortunately, he was permitted to wear swim-trunks as he was soaked, or his discomfort would have been heightened to a new extreme.
The smell was horrible, but that was the whole point. He wasn't a vampire, yet he needed to be one in order to get into Gentlemen's auction house. Vampires can't differentiate species like demons can. Their senses were sharp, but they couldn't sense a soul. Thus, the plan was simply to trick their sense of smell into thinking that he was one of them. Unfortunately, the method in which they had to go about it was less than pleasant.
"It has to be done." Spoke his fair-haired assistant as he dunked a bucket into the tub and poured its contents over his beau's head. The bluenette coughed, gasped, retched, and wheezed at the action before wiping his eyes and seeing the blonde menace wearing a big grin on his face.
"What the hell are you laughing at?!" demanded the Phantomhive.
"A bloody idiot." Alois jested. Yes, this would do nicely, if he couldn't actively join in the mission from the start. The man's grin did not waver as his beau's frown deepened.
"Shut up…" the bluenette grimaced. "How long do I have to be like this?"
"Long enough for the smell to be able to stick even after you rinse off." Alois paused for a second. "What's it feel like, being in a tub-o-blood?"
"It's certainly thicker than water…" Ciel answered. He couldn't help but shudder. "It feels like they warmed up the packets before opening them…"
"Well, yeah, it's smellier that way."
"I hate this job…"
"You love it, and you know it. There's unpleasant bits in every occupation, I assume." Alois stated. His mouth formed a straight line and he wrinkled his nose as the other man wiped a hand on his face. "Ugh! Sick!"
"That's what you get." Declared the Phantomhive. "I'm going to reek for days after this…"
"And I'll still love you anyway, 'stinky'." The blonde stated, dumping another bucketful over his boyfriend's head. "On the bright side, I hear bathing in blood helps you look younger."
"I don't need help with that."
"Well then, I'm out of positive spins. You'll just have to stay grumpy, I guess."
"'Grumpy' is an understatement of what I'm feeling right now." Ciel replied. "You're not sitting half-naked in a pool of other people's blood. It's disgusting…"
"Satan doesn't like bloodbaths. Who knew?" the blonde mused before putting the bucket to the side and standing up. "Alright, you can probably go rinse off, now."
"Finally…" growled the older demon, standing in the tub and allowing blood to drip off of him for a moment. He unconsciously flicked his wrists in order to get some off of his hands and arms. Before he could step out, though, he looked up with his two mismatched eyes to see the blonde gawking at him. "What?"
"I'm not sure how I feel about this image…" Alois answered, causing Ciel to roll his eyes.
"Whatever…" replied the bluenette, exiting the tub before stepping onto the tile. "I'm going to get this stuff off of me…"
Alois simply watched as the Phantomhive made his way toward one of the stalls, leaving bloody footprints on the floor. They were in the H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. soldiers' shower room, as per instruction of Sir Integra. Naturally, there was a sign out front to prevent staff from entering while they were there. That would have been a problematic occurrence. Two demons in the showers, one of them covered in blood with a tub full of the liquid in the center of the room? That was very suspect.
He took off his trunks and tossed them out of the stall with a gross, wet plop. He turned on the water and immediately felt a bit better. He was still covered in red, but at least it was starting to come off. Every time he looked down at the drain, the man immediately thought of the movie Psycho, and he grumbled as he nearly scrubbed himself raw. Meanwhile, his lover was waiting patiently with a towel for him after having washed his own face and hands.
The menace resisted the urge to poke at the bluenette's trunks on the floor with his foot as he waited for what felt like ages, occasionally laughing at something the Phantomhive said while ranting. It seemed that no matter how well the bluenette cleaned himself, he could still feel his skin crawling. Eventually, he had decided that he had been in there long enough and shut off the water, shivering at the sudden burst of cold air.
"You done, Stinky?" inquired the blonde, peeking into the stall. He held out the towel in his hand, prompting the bluenette to dry wrap it around his waist.
"Please don't call me that…" Ciel sighed, pinching a lock of his own hair between his fingers and smelling it. Sure enough, he smelled like iron. He nearly gagged at how strong it was.
"'Grumpy', then." Alois stated, unconsciously taking in the bluenette's form for a moment. It was brief, as there was work to do, but he couldn't resist. The blonde shook his head before ushering the other man out into the locker-room. "Get changed and I'll meet you outside, okay?"
"Fine." Ciel groaned. He pursed his lips as the blonde pecked them, regardless of his disgruntled attitude at the moment before the other man left him to get dressed.
A sigh escaped the bluenette as he opened the locker that he had temporarily left his things in and examined his outfit for the evening. It was a little flashier than he would have liked, but according to Baldassare, Gentlemen liked that sort of thing. So, he put on the white suit, blue dress shirt and black tie and belt with a gold buckle. He then put on the black dress shoes that came with them before grabbing the eyepatch. It was necessary to the disguise, even though he was known for wearing one. He couldn't have his contract showing, after all. Similarly, the bluenette couldn't have them seeing his fingernails, so he had to wear the black pair of gloves that he was provided with in order to hide them.
The eye-cover was white, matching the suit, with a white strap and a small, gold buckle to fasten it to his head with. Upon looking in the mirror of the door of the locker, Ciel came to the conclusion that he looked ridiculous. Kristopherson Miles could put together an outfit, but this one certainly didn't suit the Phantomhive. Still, it was the point to not look like himself, after all. With no other options, he had to close the locker door and leave.
Upon exiting the locker room, he made his way to the lobby of H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. headquarters, where his "escorts" were currently waiting with Alois. Charlotte was there, wearing a nice black dress and some concealer to cover the many freckles on her face and shoulders, to her discomfort. Of course, the skirt was easy to remove and she had shorts on underneath as well as a gun strapped to her thigh in case things got ugly. With her, however, was Ciel's other accompaniment. One who he wasn't entirely thrilled to see.
"Pfft, nice duds, Pooch!" Baldassare snickered, earning a glare from the blonde demon in the room. No one used that nickname accept Alois, after all.
The coven leader was in his "adult" shape, taking the form of a young man in his early twenties. He wore a grey suit with a matching tie that had a spiderweb pattern on it, and a black dress shirt. It wasn't that much different than his usual attire, but since he was "Baby-Face" Baldassare, no one would protest.
"Hello, Baldassare." The Phantomhive sighed, not even bothering to even try to hide his lack of excitement.
"You're certainly cheerful, as usual." The vampire jabbed. "Come on. Take the form we all agreed on."
"Now?" Ciel asked, his eye flickering over to the blonde menace.
"Go on. Do it. We need to check your disguise, and we don't have all night!" Baldassare stated.
With a heavy sigh, Ciel complied, encasing himself in the usual black flames as he shifted his form. He became taller, but kept sort of thin. His face became almost fox-like in appearance with beady eyes and a slightly pointed chin. His expression stayed the same, but with this new face, he somehow looked meaner. The man was sure to change his hair from that distinguishable bluenette hue to a more reddish one, making it somewhat maroon. With his new shape, his clothes adjusted accordingly, fitting him perfectly. With that, his disguise was complete.
"Damn, you look like a nasty fucker." Baldassare stated, placing his hands on his hips. The coven leader proceeded to walk over to the Phantomhive and circle him, making sure that he couldn't be identified. Soon, he got close up to the man, causing Ciel to step back and sniffed, much to the former-bluenette's disgust. Then, Baldassare took a few steps back before folding his arms and nodding.
"Passable." He stated simply, trying a bit too hard in order to not seem impressed. To this news, Charlotte simply smiled while the Phantomhive cleared his throat and stood up straight again.
"Good. Now, we can get started." Ciel replied, his voice sounding somewhat steely. To his surprise, however, his beau walked up to him, holding a piece of paper and a large, black coat.
"Your cover information." The blonde said, handing the paper to the other man. "Your name is Cornelius Wainwright. Don't ask me, I didn't come up with it. Anyways, you're also the newest general in Baldassare's coven."
"Thanks." The Phantomhive answered, leaning down and kissing the blonde's forehead. He pulled back quickly when he felt the slightly shorter man shudder.
"Sorry." He said, making the softest smile he could with his current face. "I forgot."
To that, the menace shook his head, causing blonde locks to bounce slightly. Alois then stood on his toes before squeezing his eyes shut tightly and kissing the Phantomhive on the cheek. While Ciel was surprised, his beau then placed his feet back on the floor and shoved the coat into the other man's chest.
"I-It's fine. Here's your coat." He said, forcing Ciel to take the garment while looking away in embarrassment. He wanted to kiss the man before he had to leave, but the watchdog's current appearance made things awkward for him. Thus, he turned and began to scurry away, pausing as he was halfway out of the lobby.
"I'll be with Amelie and the backup troops if you need me!" he called before making his exit. Ciel draped his coat over his forearm and smiled after him, apparently provoking a small snort from Baldassare.
"Faggots…" muttered the coven leader.
"Excuse me?"
"You're super-gay." Baldassare replied, rephrasing his statement. "How the fuck can a guy like you go to being all soft and mushy with another bloke? Especially a guy like that?"
"Don't be ridiculous." Ciel answered. "I'd love Jim if he were a woman, too. This may come as a surprise to you, but I'm not a heartless monster."
"Obviously, with that crock of 'romantic' shit." scoffed the other man. He turned to Charlotte and continued to jest. "Ya hear that, 'bonnibel'? Big, scary watchdog is totally not a woofter 'cause he'd love blondie even if he had a vagina! What a load of…"
"Shut up." Interrupted Charlotte in a rare act of defiance. She furrowed her brow and clutched at her handbag as she glared at the other vampire.
"Huh?" Baldassare asked, making a face. He walked up close to the girl, invading her personal space in an act of intimidation. "Wha'd you fuckin' say to me?"
He stared straight into the girl's eyes, noticing a small glimpse of hesitation at the action. Charlotte was tempted to back down, but knew she'd regret it if she did. Thus, her expression hardened again.
"I told you to shut up." She answered. "You're making an ass of yourself."
"What?!" demanded the coven leader. "Who the fuck do you think you're talking to, bitch?"
"You're 'Baby-Face' Baldassare, the head of the Girasol coven of vampires." Charlotte said. "That said, you're at H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. headquarters right now, so you have no authority here. If you try to do anything about it, you'll be shot on sight."
She quickly glanced over at the Phantomhive, seeing him smile at her and offer a nod of approval. Even though Baldassare was gritting his teeth and clenching his fists, she was right. There was nothing he could do to her. Somehow, with all of this, she gained the confidence to keep going.
"And another thing: Keep you're shitty opinions about other people's preferences and relationships to yourself. No one wants to hear them." She added, flashing the older vampire a smile. "If you were hoping I would have agreed with you, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. While Sir Phantomhive isn't gay, I am."
Then, she simply turned on her heel and headed toward the car, leaving her temporary associate gaping. A smirk formed across the Phantomhive's new features as he followed her, eventually catching up and keeping at her pace. He put on his coat as they walked.
"That was perfection." Ciel said to the girl. "The look on his face… I wish I had a camera." He added, earning a small laugh.
"If you say so." Answered Charlotte with a smile. "Even though I knew he couldn't really hurt me, I was really scared."
"Most people are." The man replied.
"Even you?"
"No, I'm a complete sociopath." Stated the Phantomhive. Charlotte uttered a small giggle at his jest. "It comes with practice." He clarified.
"I guess you're right." The girl answered. "But you're really not, though- a sociopath."
"Really? What makes you say that?" inquired Ciel, opening the car door for the vampire and prompting her to climb inside. He was genuinely surprised, though, by the girl's answer. She looked at him through the open door and replied with:
"You're too kindhearted."
A/N: 2,739 words. Howzzat?
And so it beginnnnsss~!
Baldassare's a dick. He will/might get better, but he's a fuckin' prick.
Total asswagon...
Questions?
"Random thought, but like a lot of humans do drugs, do demons ever do rosemary for recreational purposes?" by MacaqueAttack713
Nope. The euphoria demons can get from rosemary doesn't even come close to that of eating a soul, so they'd rather invest their time and energy in souls instead, I'd imagine.
"Senpai, can werewolves have children together? And are they immortal?" by CiaranMichaelis
Depends. Two werewolves can't have children together, simply because a female werewolf can't carry a pregnancy to term. Their reproductive organs are fully functional, but a fetus can't survive the shape-shifting. While werewolves can change their shape at will, they still change involuntarily on the full moon, making it impossible.
A male werewolf can have a child with a member of another, similar (i.e. humanoid) species, though, because they don't have that problem.
As for immortality, no, they are not immortal. The reason is because as Alucard put it in Hellsing, "There's no such thing as a true immortal". They don't age, and in theory can live forever, but they can die. If it can die, it's not "immortal".
Until the next chapter, my duckies~!
CHARACTER SHET
Question: "Dan, what do you love about Kris ?and how does it feel kissing Kris? Kris, have you and Dan done any thing yet ? And How does it feel kissing Dan? and By the way you two are super adorable together" by deathbite
Daniel's Answer: "Uh, I dunno... He's just... really good-looking, and smart, and funny, and, uh... I just like him. Kissing him was really nice. His lips are really soft, and taste like fruity candy and it stays on my lips even afterwards and I think he uses chapstick, but I'm not sure what flavour and I can't try to guess it myself 'cause we haven't kissed since then and asking him about it would be kinda weird, wouldn't it?"
Kristopherson's Answer: "We haven't done anything. I'm not even going to hold his hand until he settles things with Anna; so we're also not 'together' or anything. As for how kissing him was... Uhm... It... it was pretty nice, I guess..."
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Question: "Question for Alois- If you and Ciel got married, would you wear a dress? And I'm curious, do you think Kris would make a good bridesmaid?" by BlazeingEcho
Alois' Answer: "I don't really know what a 'bridesmaid' is, but from the sounds of it, there wouldn't be one, since there would be two grooms? I don't know how this stuff, works, really. I've never been to a wedding before, let alone a gay one.
Anyway, I definitely wouldn't wear a dress, though. First of all; I don't really think I could pull it off anymore, but more importantly than that; It's kind of a big deal, so I... uh... I think I'd want to take it more seriously..."
