"You've got a bit of blood on your face." Alois said, licking his thumb before wiping his husband's cheek with it. The blue Phantomhive just stood and allowed him to do it in the middle of a floor coated in the substance with bodies scattered about. It made for a strange sight for the other two operatives on the mission. It was so domestic, but there was so much death.

"Oh. Thanks, dear." casually answered Ciel. It was bizzare that the blonde would even bother, given the fact that the Watchdog's shoes and shirt were covered in spatter, but the man didn't seem to notice this. Instead Ciel's focus was on Alois and not where it should be.

"We should focus on the mission, for now." reminded Seras Victoria, unsure as to how to separate them. She looked to their butler for assistance, but the man only stared blankly ahead, having mastered the art of ignoring his masters' lovey-dovey tendencies. Thus, it was only Seras focusing at the matter at hand. Yet, even still, she couldn't help but feel sad for those who were dead at their feet.

They moaned and groaned as they advanced with sadness and fear warping their expressions. There was hostility, yes, but while some saw the group as a potential meal, others extended their arms and cried out for help with words they no longer had. Something happened to them. Something horrible and cruel. Most vampires could at least act human. They were still people, not monsters. These were neither. They were more animal than anything. They cowered, they snarled, and they howled. Yet, they could still feel the pain that so blatantly ruled their worlds. In their eyes was revealed to be more despair and sadness than any normal person's heart could bear. Killing them wasn't cruel. It was an act of mercy. That is why the Phantomhives did not feel bad. Once a person's spirit is completely broken, it can sometimes be impossible to repair it.

Onward, they marched, continuing this process with many more cornered animals. They had to get to the bottom of this. They simply did not understand it! How on earth could something like this happen?! Under HELLSING's watch! It should be impossible, yet here it was right in front of their faces. They continued on, hoping that at the end, they will find an answer. What happened here? What made these people this way? Why is everyone dead?

The air grew heavier and heavier, the more they progressed, forcing their pace to slow down as they pondered what could be the cause. It was concentrated ahead of them in the corridor, but poured into the air around them. It was a familiar feeling. All of them knew it. It was a swirling blackness that was easily recognisable.

Malice. Hatred. Loathing.

"A demon..." Ciel observed, taking on a fighting stance. "Prepare for combat! Seras, I want you to take the first shot."

"Right!" the woman answered, lifting the massive weapon while the other two fell back behind her. What she had in her hand was the Harkonnen Anti-Freak Canon. It is essentially an anti-tank rifle that fired exploding anti-freak rounds. No human could wield this beast of a weapon. Her absurd physical strength allowed her to do amazing things. In truth, she could probably handle the beast all on her own.

"Something isn't right..." Sebastian observed. His expression was rather serious, which didn't help the others at all.

"What is it?" the menace questioned.

"I'm not sure." answered the butler. "This feeling is too dense..."

"Well that's just fan-fucking-tastic, then!"

"Trying to concentrate..." passive-aggressively reminded the others. Her tone was cross, as the talking was hindering her ability to aim. "Should I shoot it now?"

"You have it in your sights already?" Ciel asked. After a moment of hesitation, Seras answered.

"Yes..." she said with a touch of sadness in her voice. She could see the demon clearly and it was not a pretty sight. It was just like the others, warped beyond all recognition.

Demons often have a distinct lack of complete personhood when they stay in this world for too long. It is natural for them to lose themselves, but this was something else entirely. It no longer had a human shape. Instead, it crawled with it's long arms along the floor, dragging its massive, broken frame along behind it. Black horns scraped the ceiling and knocked over lights, adding to the shattered glass that was already on the floor, slicing up its hands. Its face had human aspects, yes, but it was anything but. Tears fell from it's eyes until they were completely red and then it cried some more. It cried. It wailed. It begged for help. Seras had a clear shot, but she had trouble pulling the trigger.

"Fire." Ciel ordered. "It's in pain. Put it out of its misery. Like the others, its suffered long enough."

"Right..." The woman said, pulling the trigger. The blast could be heard throughout the entire complex, undoubtedly alerting others of their presence, but the round did what it was intended to quickly.

Right between the eyes. The massive hole that took out part of the beast's skull was enough to make it fall in one shot. The group could hear the loud thud as it hit the ground, shaking the floor.

"Let's keep going." cooly said the bluenette before advancing.

"What?"

"We have to find what we're looking for. Let's go."

"Don't you feel sad?" questioned Seras, standing up and following regardless. "They're all in so much pain!"

"I know. That's why we need to eliminate them." the man continued. "They're too far gone. You know that."

"I know." Seras sighed. "Sometimes, it gets harder than usual. There's so many of them and obviously, there's something wrong. Something we don't understand."

"Fear of the unknown is a powerful thing." the bluenette stated. "Are you hopeful that there is a cure?"

"No. I saw them. Their minds are completely gone. All they can do is scream..."

"Whatever caused this, we will stop it." Alois piped up. The expression he wore appeared to be slightly more involved than Ciel's, but do not be fooled. Both cared about the mission. They cared about what was happening to these people and they wanted to stop it. "I think we might have found the source of your hostiles, though, Sebastian."

"'Hostile' doesn't quite seem like the right word anymore." confessed the butler. "I'm not sure what exactly would be accurate, however."

As the group advanced down the hallway, they came across the demon that had been dealt with, only to find a form that did not match the one that they had seen before. "It" was actually a "she," as the form of a naked woman was lifelessly sprawled out on the floor. The hole drilled into her head by Seras's bullet was significantly smaller as her size decreased, but her eyes were still reddened from crying while still staring blankly ahead. Her face was contorted into a scream, but no sound came out.

This is how death was in the world of war and murder. No one looked like they were merely sleeping like they did at viewings in funeral homes. It was ugly and frightening, not at all like on TV.

"She has stretchmarks." Seras observed upon getting a closer look.

"Think she's the mother of that bat monster?" questioned the menace, causing the woman to shrug.

"Stretchmarks don't just come from pregnancy, so who knows?" she responded.

"A demon shouldn't get them. The skin should adjust to the sudden change, unlike a human's. Even if they did, they would regenerate away." Sebastian speculated before pausing. After saying that, he realised that he wasn't exactly an expert. "Then again, the human body is severely weakened during pregnancy. Perhaps it's the same in demons..."

"You don't know?"

"I have never seen it before. Demons have no need for sexual reproduction."

"Comforting." Ciel absent-mindedly commented. It was amazing how much sarcasm could drip off of one single word.

"You and Master Alois are both male, my lord." The butler took the opportunity to jab at his master with a rather nasty smile. "I don't think you will have to worry about that."

"Focus on the mission, Sebastian."


A/N: This was sort of a strange chapter to write. Originally, I wanted it to just be shooting and killing lots of monsters, but it ended up being something else. It's very narration-driven. Not at all the sort of back and forth banter I wanted between the characters. I feel like this is more fitting, though.

I do feel like we're heading back to the "is it a man or a monster" days of DLTD. Only this time, it's not very philosophical. I want to look at hopelessness, helplessness, grief, fear, and in some cases, hatred. Later on, I want to look at all of this along side it's collective opposite: apathy.

Should be interesting. I'll do my best!

This is also strange to write because for once, I have all of the details about the characters thought out except for their appearance! Usually, I doodle a character and make it up as I go. This time, I'm having trouble figuring out what these people look like.

Then again, I'm not one for really describing people's physical appearances, huh? Most of the time, I just give you a name and leave it up to the audience to fill in the blanks. Sometimes, I wonder what my tumblr followers think, having read the story, come up with their own images, only to see me post a picture of the character there. Is there ever surprise? Do you ever just want to say: "I like my version in my head better, so I'm gonna ignore your drawings?" It's fine by me, if you do!

Until the next chapter, my duckies~!