Leaving the city of London, the helicopter that carried Johnathan Beattie traveled far. He wanted to create as much distance between himself and HELLSING as he could. The demon was a traitor and the organisation would undoubtedly come after him as soon as Ciel and Alois were able to alert them. While he had rather hoped that the bluenette would die, Johnathan knew better. It was going to take a lot more than just a human hopped up on demon blood to kill him. He had seen the man at his maximum power before. His allegiance had been swayed then, too.
He couldn't work alongside the Phantomhive family any longer, however. Not after learning the truth. Heinrich had held on to his life just long enough to inform the Beattie of just who killed not only him, but also the demon's father and also the Johnathan himself. How could the demon work with someone who could do such a thing? Not only murder him and everyone he cares about, but also lie to him about it? Truly, Johnathan wanted to believe that Ciel was a good person, but he could not deny the truth, either.
Heinrich wanted to take revenge for all of them until his dying breath. The only reason why he chose to work at HELLSING was so that he could not only avoid the alternative of rotting in prison for the rest of his days, but also to get close to Ciel and to learn his weaknesses. If there was any place to learn how to kill a demon, it was at the HELLSING organisation.
But then, things became complicated. Johnathan returned and Heinrich knew that he could not betray HELLSING while he was there. Johnathan looked up to Ciel, unaware of the fact that the Watchdog was his killer. Telling him the truth and betraying the organisation that they both swore allegiance to would crush the boy. So, Heinrich decided to care for him while he debated on his next move. The two of them were close with Heinrich acting as an adoptive parent, almost. Johnathan had known the man since Heinrich himself was a teenager, so they were family in every way but blood. Yet, because he was so loyal to the boy, he could not die without him knowing the truth. He had to tell him. Just as Heinrich had feared, it shattered the man's entire perception of the way the world was.
The person who he had helped save at Krampus' Castle killed him, his father, and now Heinrich. He killed them all and felt seemingly no remorse. In fact, he blamed Johnathan for his own death without his knowledge! He didn't even tell Johnathan and pretended like they were allies. What an unbelievable farce.
So, Johnathan ran. He fled far away so that he can process all of this and decide what must be done next. Yet, he also knew that by the simple fact of running, he could not return. From the seeds of ignorance, hatred was starting to grow in its place, nurtured by the sorrow and confusion he felt. Anger is a secondary emotion. It is a response to being saddened or hurt in some way. Even while holding a gun to the head of the pilot, his face was contorted with pain as he did his best to stave off tears.
"Land here." he finally ordered. "This is far enough."
"It won't do you any good." the pilot boldly replied, despite sweat drenching his brow. "HELLSING has tracking devices in these things. They'll find you."
"I know. The distance will just make it harder." the demon stated. He was no fool. He knew the limitations and abilities of this technology perfectly well. Even if he wasn't certain that this machine could be traced, he had the sense to assume.
The roaring of the engine and the sound of spinning blades began to die as the helicopter made a successful landing. Once everything was turned off, the pilot put his hands up in the air and made no sudden movements, doing everything in his power to remain calm. He could tell that his captor was conflicted, so there was still a chance for him to escape if he played his cards right. At least, that is what he hoped what would happen.
"Alright." he said. "We've landed. Now what?"
Johnathan didn't quite know. He paused, adjusting his grip on his weapon as he thought about it. If he stripped the operative of his weapons and valuables, he could just strand him out here, ultimately letting him live. Or, he could kill him, removing any risk of him interfering or trying to follow him. The demon would have blood on his hands if he did it that way, however. While he had killed on missions before, he had never killed his own before. At least, not to his knowledge. His expression laid all of his fear and uncertainty bare for all to see. His glowing red eyes showing signs of hesitation and weakness.
This weakness was picked up on by the pilot, of course. He was a trained HELLSING soldier. At one moment, the demon even avoided eye-contact, and that is when the pilot struck. In a flash, he drew his own gun and pulled the trigger before Johnathan could react, blowing a hole through his abdomen and causing him to yelp as he fell backwards.
Clutching at his stomach, Johnathan sat up and tried to assess the situation, only to see his opponent lining up another shot. Without thinking, the demon raised his arm and pulled the trigger of his own gun. The bullet punched a hole in the roof of the helicopter and sprayed it red with blood as it exited through the back of the pilot's head. The man's body fell to its knees before collapsing with a hollow thud on the floor. All that Johnathan could do was continue to sit partially upright on the floor and look at it with eyes wide and mouth agape as his actions slowly sank in.
There was absolutely no going back now. There was no hope of ever returning to his life at HELLSING. He was a wanted man and could never explain this away. No more would he have a stable roof over his head and people to return to. No more would he be safe and sound from danger. Johnathan was alone, now- completely and utterly alone. His family was gone and his friends would not have him any longer. He was doomed to wander and flee from the forces that he had previously allied himself with.
His legs didn't want to move, but he knew he had to. He didn't know where he needed to go, he just knew that he needed to. He didn't know what he was going to do, but he knew that he needed to do something. Thus, his wobbly, gelatin-like legs tried to make him stand up. The only sound that could be heard was the sound of him standing, walking out of the helicopter, and breathing. Reaching the door, he placed a hand on its frame as he looked out into the night. It wasn't raining anymore. The air was cool and the sky was clear. Johnathan was far enough from the city that he could see stars in the sky.
The demon practically fell out of the helicopter, stumbling on his feet as they touched the ground, only to fall. His hands and knees caught him, preventing him from landing face first into a puddle. It was only looking at his reflection, however, did things truly sink in.
Despite the tears that silently fell from his eyes into the water, mixing with it and warping his image, he knew that this was the face of a killer and a traitor, just like Ciel Phantomhive. He was someone who was willing to abandon people who he was supposed to be allies with and was willing to kill those who got in his way. In Johnathan's mind, that made them the same and that's anything but what he wanted to be. At last, all of his emotions came bubbling to the surface and he sobbed openly and uncontrollably.
He was horrified at his actions, afraid of his predicament, angry at Ciel Phantomhive, saddened by the loss of his life as he knew it, and in agony as he mourned the loss of the last of his family. He mourned Heinrich and missed him deeply despite only a few hours having passed. Never again would he be able to see the German again or hear his voice. They would no longer laugh together and when Johnathan now cried, he would do it without Heinrich at his side to reassure him.
Glowing red eyes stared back at him instead of his usual dark ones as he peered at his reflection. He was killing people and he hadn't aged a day since his death. It was absurd. How old was he again? If he was in school with the demonic duo, then he shouldn't look like a child anymore. How could he have continued relying on Heinrich so much? Johnathan realised that he was still acting like a naive little boy, allowing the people around him to worry about the big picture without ever looking behind the curtain himself. If he had been more observant, then maybe things could have turned out differently. Then again, maybe not.
Johnathan was no longer able to rely on others in the way that he has until now. He was alone. He would have to depend on himself. No one was going to do anything for him. Clenching his fists in the dirt, he watched as his reflection stilled as his tears had ceased. No longer, would he rely on others the way he had thus far. No longer, would he not know what was beyond the curtain. He would remove it with his own hands and make something of himself. Whether he would get revenge on Ciel Phantomhive or not, whether he would avenge the deaths of himself and the people he loved, was undetermined. For now, he would have to focus on bettering himself and becoming a stronger, wiser person.
As he crouched there on all fours, black flame began to flicker on and around his body. Slowly, he stood up and it began to engulf him entirely, swirling and raging in the dark while sapping up what little light there was. They grew to be much taller than he was, but then, they weren't at all as they began to die down again. Soon, there was none left at all, leaving the visage of a grown man in its place. Opening his mouth, white smoke escaped between Johnathan's lips as he stood there, taking everything in.
Looking up at the moon and stars, Johnathan made his decision. No longer, would he stay a child who didn't know anything. It was time to grow up. No one could protect him from the real world anymore. It was time to face it head on. HELLSING was coming. It was coming after him at that very moment and he needed to be ready if they caught up to him.
Turning back to the helicopter, he began to walk back to it. His now larger frame loomed in the doorway with moonlight pouring in around him as he looked in. The helicopter was not just an escape during the mission. It carried supplies. Medical supplies, knives, bullets, and guns were all inside. All of them were at his disposal, now. The threads of his diabolical garb began to unravel and move under his command. With them, he took everything he could find a use for that he could, sewing them into the fabric so that he could have them just in cause he was caught up to. Deadly weapons and more anti-freak bullets than one person could possibly use on their own were all his. Assault rifles, shotguns, pistols, and more. By the time he was done, the place was practically destroyed.
Stepping out into the night air again, he looked back one last time before taking off. He didn't know where he was going. He didn't know where he would turn up. He just knew that he had to go and leave it all behind. Everything he knew. Everything and everyone.
"Come at me." Johnathan said, his voice deeper now than it was. "If you can catch me, that is..."
A/N: I thought people might have forgotten about Johnathan in all of this. So, we visit him once again. With this, the night ends. Thank you for reading.
This is weird because he doesn't know if he actually wants revenge or not. I don't, either. He might be a foe or an anti-hero. Who knows?
The future is uncertain, as always...
Now I can finally work on the other subplots! I can't wait to get started~! I better hurry, though... My vacation is almost over...
Until the next chapter, my duckies~!
