Disclaimer: All of Hellsing and its characters are copyright to Kouta Hirano. Any original characters belong to the author of this fanfiction.

HELLSING

EREBUS

Here standeth the Bird of Hermes,

Eating my own wings to make me tame...

CHAPTER NINE

Those Who Are Chosen

Thursday Evening, November 13, 2031, Somewhere in England...

For days, Alucard had been keeping watch of the alley. He had devoured the bodies of those filth, absorbing every last drop. He had been satisfied with his small clean up, not smelling much difference in the area. The vampire had avoided any other contact, as he didn't want anymore complications that could make his job harder than was necessary. The mission of looking into the disappearances of children was proving to be an annoying one. This place reeked of something foul.

The Count had ignored the sounds of men grunting nearby, having their release with the prostitutes that puttered around on the streets. If he had been human, he would have pitied such people. No, they brought this upon themselves, letting themselves go, and choosing to accept the immediate fate. Maybe some of them did fight it, but in the end, they had somehow let go of what made them human. Now they were merely shells of their former selves. Alucard had no interest in helping those that gave up.

Rain pattered against the ground and upon his hat, soaking the vampire, droplets falling from the rim. Alucard had his eyes closed, waiting for anything to happen...then there was a sound. It was so faint, that he had almost not heard it. It was like a flute? No, it was different somehow. Opening his eyes behind his shades, they soon narrowed towards a figure in a hooded black robe, in their hand, a one-handed ocarina. They played this instrument, walking from one direction. Alucard slipped more into the shadows to conceal himself.

The song they played was almost like a dark lullaby meant to lure children out of their beds and into the waiting arms of a demon with the intention of eating them. And sure enough, after a moment of this person playing, Alucard spotted a couple of children no older than twelve and under shambling towards the source of the music. His eyes narrowed, seeing their vacant expressions. One child passed him, then another. Getting an idea, a hand emerged from the wall to stretch out as a little girl came by, white gloves covering over her eyes, the symbol on the back of his hand-wear glowing red for a moment. He emerged fully to catch her falling body.

The moment he overpowered the spell with his own hypnotism, he had looked into the mind of the child, seeing her abuse at the hands of an alcoholic father and no mother to speak of. With her eyes still covered, he leaned in next to her ear from behind, whispering something. When he was finished, the girl went erect again and walked away in a different direction the moment he released her. Silently, Alucard made his way towards this cloaked figure. When the children around them seemed to gather, this person looked up to see a little twelve year old girl with long ruler-straight black hair, wearing a white nightie. Alucard feigned a dazed look, which was easy since his eyes looked dead anyway due to his vampirism.

The figure under the cloak, a woman, spoke softly to the children, "Come...I will take you all away from your miseries. You will be loved, and treated like family. Real family."

Alucard walked amongst the youthful peers as the woman led them all away. The woman then resumed her playing to keep the children docile. The walk was long and took several minutes, the rain growing harder by the minute. Finally, after half an hour of walking, there was a small truck in the distance, just on the outskirts of town. Alucard hid his little grin, red eyes gleaming under his straight bangs. Wordlessly, everybody was helped into the back of the truck, a man also hiding under a hooded cloak lifting them up. The pair slammed the door shut behind the children and the Count, with Alucard glancing up at them before the door closed.

There was no light, but Alucard could see with no difficulty. What were these people doing with children? He had sensed that the woman was a vampire, the man being a human, but didn't see a real point to all this. There was movement after the sound of the engine being started could be heard. For now, he would wait it out to see their motives. The disappearances of kids were now explained, but why? What was it all for? The murders of humans and fleeing the scene, the kidnapping of juveniles, and of course, the desperate need to have Alex's blood.

Vampires had left those murdered families and civilians behind, but they were usually sighted. The witnesses made a vague description of these suspects, but it was enough. There had been other reports of appearances, others' recollections matching the description of said suspects. Eventually, those sightings led to this decrepit town, where there had already been reports of children going missing. That was why he was here now, in the back of a truck with a bunch of kids, disguised as a child himself.

Alucard could do nothing but wait until they reached their destination. The kids still remained dazed and complacent, but he felt nothing for them. He had spared one little girl, merely to take her place. The instructions he had ingrained in her mind may actually bring her some kind of future happiness. To gather all the food and money she could, dress warmly, and run away. Go to the next town. That's what he intended for her to do. Why he did that, he had no idea. Perhaps it was a brief moment of whimsy. The last time he felt such a need to provide a new life for someone was when he met the Police Girl in that damned village of Cheddar. He'd been asked many times why he had her turned. In the end, the choice had belonged to Seras.

After a moment of his random pondering, he took a seat way in the back, leaning against the wall, the two figures at his back. Catching up on some sleep would be the only thing he could do right now. As it was evening though, it didn't come easily, though he had naps at this time before. His thoughts wandered to Alex, wondering what she was doing right now. Perhaps she had taken his advice and was training right now. He could picture it now, with Alex dressed in a Hellsing uniform, probably much like Seras', only yellow. The outfit didn't suit her, but she would have looked fetching regardless. With those thoughts in mind, he slowly drifted off.

They were running again. Vlad and Katarina had stepped into the throne room, only to find Bogdan sitting in his throne, a knife protruding from his chest, mouth and eyes wide open, but he was already dead, a glazed look in his eyes. At his side was Bogdan's son, Stefan, wailing over his parent. Vlad gritted his teeth, anger and shock in his expression.

"Who did this?!" he demanded.

Stefan, barely eighteen, hiccoughed. "It... It was Petru! I'll kill him! I'LL KILL HIM!"

"Petru?" Vlad repeated.

Before it could be elaborated further, a soldier ran into the room past him. "Sire! Romanian forces are coming! What are your orders?"

Stefan just sat there, stunned, grief-stricken, uncertain. He was learning to take over the throne when it was passed down, but now seemed to be too soon. He shook his head not knowing what to do. The boy then looked to Vlad for answers. He greatly respected his cousin simply for the fact that he had escaped the Ottomans. Vlad didn't really have the answers himself, but he knew what had to be done. And Vlad had used his strategic know-how to aid in their battle to defend Moldavia. For awhile, it worked, but after a long night of blood shed, soldiers had come into the palace grounds, taking over the rooms.

Vlad, donning a suit of gold armour, rode across the grounds on a black steed, slashing his sword down upon every enemy he passed. Because of his time spent in this place, he knew the ins and outs, finding a secret passage into the throne room, knowing the main doors would have been reinforced. He dismounted and ran off, going through a tight corridor and out from behind a curtain, finding many archers and swordsman standing by the door and guarding their prince. Stefan was still distraught, Katarina's arms cradling his head in a sisterly gesture of comfort, her eyes firmly on the main doors.

"Katarina, Stefan, we must go. This place is lost to us now."

Stefan's head shot up at this news. "We've...lost?" he repeated miserably.

"You need to live if you want to win your beloved land back! We must go now!"

Reluctantly, Stefan stood while Vlad helped Katarina up. Vlad then led them back through the hidden corridor, his horse still waiting for him outside. Three people on one steed would have slowed down their ride and possibly harm the beast, but they had no choice—and it was a war horse. So he helped up Katarina, climbed up behind her, and pulled up his cousin, and then they were off, just as enemy soldiers had found them, charging towards the trio. They would not stop, and with nowhere else to go, Vlad had no choice.

"Vlad? Where are we going?" asked Katarina. They had stopped to take a break and allow the horse to rest.

Vlad sat on the river bank with a deep frown, barely glancing over at his cousin, who seemed a bit recluse. "Hungary."

Friday Afternoon, November 14, 2031, Somewhere in England...

An abrupt stop had made most of the children fall over each other, Alucard keeping far away from them, eyes slowly opening in the dark, gleaming brightly against the shadows. The sound of doors opening and being slammed shut was heard. The sun was still up, the Count briefly wondering if the woman had burned at all. The truck door slid upwards, revealing that the vehicle was in some kind of garage. Children were ushered out, Alucard coming out last as he, along with the rest, were taken up a set of stairs and into a locker room of sorts.

Through another door, the vampire observed to find human women dressed like servants. Baths were prepared, and like a good little girl he was, he went through the motions. For but a moment, he wondered what Integra would think of all the pampering he was receiving. Then he was soon dressed in surprisingly fine clothes, a black dress made of silk. After a brief playing of the ocarina, the woman seemed to have lifted her spell, the children waking from their daze and looking around in confusion. Alucard was the only one that remained calm while the rest started crying and panicking.

The ocarina woman then removed her hood, revealing a regal appearing vampire with intensely red hair and green eyes. "Please calm yourselves, my little ones. You've been taken from that horrible place. You have been chosen to walk among us—but not yet! You are still young, and only when it is time will you be permitted to walk with us."

"Who are you?" one girl asked.

"My name is Laura," she said with a fond smile, eyeing the girl with a strange perverse glint that Alucard had noticed immediately.

Many more questions was asked but then they were shoved off to a kitchen to eat, and every one of them ate heartily. The fact that these kids were already accepting such kindness from strangers, only proved that humans were such greedy and naive creatures. Alucard ate nothing, staring at the food, shoving it towards a boy when he asked if he was gonna eat that. It was like an orphanage. Although, what kind of orphanage kidnaps children? Alucard could smell blood in the air easily, though it would have gone unnoticed by the children. Not only blood, but vampires. The Count got up from his seat, moving to leave the room, but his way was blocked by a couple of human men. With a flash of his eyes, pupils shrinking, their heads were knocked together by some unseen force, bodies slumping to the floor. He walked over them, slipping away from the room as the children stared in awe after him.

Rather than get caught immediately, the vampire submerged beneath floors, slithering across them like a shadow, avoiding the guards that stood about, most human. His shadow moved away from Laura, who was returning to the children's dining hall. The woman stopped, looking over her shoulder, observing the crates that Alucard had hid himself amongst. Seeing nothing, the woman walked off again, and Alucard went onwards. He found many rooms that were filled with toys and furniture, going by age. The rooms became more mature in appearance throughout the teenage years, and even found a classroom. What a strange place, he thought. They brought children here to adopt them?

However, after going through a secret corridor hidden behind a mirror—much like how his own domain was hidden—the smell of blood grew thicker and thicker, and even the smell of sex was evident. Finally, he found a room that could have been described best as a vampire brothel. The lust was thick in the air, much worse than that town. And along one wall, many children sat, looking pale and like dolls, blood being drawn from them. They were the wine bottles of this little club, providing the patrons with that sweet taste of virgin blood. A man sat at the centre of it all, light brown hair slicked back, blue eyes filled with a thirst for violence, blood, and sex, a half-naked woman cradled between his legs, head bobbing up and down.

"Aw, yeah...use those fangs, just how I like it," he breathed.

Laura soon joined his side, whispering in his ear. "The new batch is in."

"Good, good—oh, fuck—damn, you're good!" he said on a satisfied sigh. "How long before it's time to turn the next one?"

"A couple more days. One is ready now though. She just turned twenty-one yesterday."

He grinned. "Excellent. Bring her in."

The woman smirked. "You're truly insatiable."

"I'd feel better if you sucked me off."

The woman turned away, slight disgust on her face. "I don't go for men."

"Which makes me want you even more."

With a scoff, she left, coming back only moments later with a girl that was barely an adult. Alucard noted that she was nervous, and still very much human. The man grinned toothily at her, pushing off the vampire whore and tucking himself back in. He crooked a finger and the girl hesitantly crept closer, with Alucard hearing the swallow she made.

"Well, you're twenty-one now. You must be pretty excited, knowing that you now have the right to become one of us."

"Y-yes, sir," she stammered.

"A virgin like you, you should feel proud. This is a momentous day for you. Today is the day you receive your immortality. Nervous?" The tone he made was gentle and kind, but the Count smirked in amusement, sensing the undertone of mockery in this male's voice.

The girl nodded. "I am, sir."

"Well, don't be. It's not any different from losing your real virginity. Now...come sit by me." The girl slowly did as he asked, flopping down beside the vampire. "Mr. Bateman, sir?"

"Yes?"

"Is it really alright for me to become a vampire?"

Bateman brows rose in surprise. "But of course it is! All virgins deserve the right to become immortals. It's very difficult to find any of you virgins nowadays. We do this to protect you from the very people that would hurt you. Humans are such selfish creatures. Nobody wants to turn into a ghoul, so we bring you children out of harm's way to prevent anything that would compromise your chance to become a vampire."

"I feel kind of sorry for those who turn into ghouls."

Bateman smiled then. "Don't feel sorry for them. Soon, everything will change, and we'll never have to worry about ghouls ever again." When the girl nodded, he instructed, "Now, lean your head back. Soon, you will wake up as a new you."

As he went to deliver the fateful bite, a deliberate clapping reverberated through the air, the room going silent. The laughter bounced off the high ceiling and Bateman looked around for the source, the girl in his arms looking quite panicked. Laura also looked around, unable to pinpoint the source. The clapping and laughter stopped, only to be replaced by footsteps. Every set of eyes turned to the little girl with black hair as Alucard walked into the room, that evil grin on his girlish features. Every vampire stared, astounded by the sight. How did a little girl get in this room? Laura's eyes narrowed, recognizing Alucard's false form from the new arrivals.

"Well, uh...little girl? Toad caught in your throat?" Bateman asked incredulously. "You lost?"

"Lost?" Alucard said in his normal voice, causing everyone to gasp. "No, not lost. So, this explains all the disappearances. You've been kidnapping children using some kind of spell, leaving them in a dreamlike state until you deem fit to wake them."

"What?" Bateman and his colleagues stared in confusion at this girl. "Who are you?"

Alucard only continued, ignoring the question, grinning, "So you raise them, using them for the occasional drink to earn their right to walk among the dead as," he scoffed, "immortals?" His features took on a deranged expression of delight. "You foolish boy. There's no such thing as immortality."

"Boy?!" Teeth were gritted as this bleeding child insulted him.

"Oh? Have I made you angry?" Alucard raised a hand in a gesture as if to apologize before taking notice of his tiny hand. "Oh, that's right, you're put off by my appearance." The hand dropped. "What you see before you is merely a form I took to infiltrate your little piece of paradise that's supposedly child-friendly. What a joke," he added derisively, that same mocking smile on his face.

"You little shit will pay for your insolence! Kill her!"

Alucard blinked in a very confused child-like manner as guns were aimed at him. "Oh? Well," he uttered, outstretching his arms to welcome the onslaught, "come at me then."

Bateman raised his hand, face contorted with annoyance. However, Laura stared transfixed at this child, feeling something very off. "Bateman, wait!"

Too late. The man had already snapped his fingers, and bullets flew into Alucard's body from all directions, the lone human girl screaming in shock and horror at the sight. Laura gritted her teeth, waiting to see what would happen. Bateman stared still, unimpressed that such a little kid would dare mock a vampire. The nerve of that brat! Another snap was made and the assault stopped. Alucard was slumped over, still on his tiny feet, bleeding out, body twitching. The girl beside Bateman sat there, horrified by the scene.

"S-sir! W-why would you do that?"

"Shut up! The little shit had no right!"

"Big talk...coming from such a weak vampire."

The man's eyes widened, mouth gaping as Alucard lifted his face, blood trails all over him. After making a gleeful expression with his torn face, the bullets exited his body, dropping to the carpeted floor, blood flowing back towards his body as he made a rickety movement to stand straight, long hair and streams of blood flowing around him menacingly The other vampires backed away in shock and fear. Instead of simply regenerating though, a darkness overcame his form, shifting like a jagged shadow made of blood and fire, only his eyes and bared teeth visible.

"Releasing Control Art Restriction Systems three...two...one."

The other undead ran away screaming, running towards the doors, but they shut and locked on their own, trapping them all inside. Bateman shot to his feet, running away, pushing aside all the other vampires to try and break down the doors. As a result, a black oil seemed to drip down the doors, making them all step back in disgust, gasping at the sight of multiple red eyes. They all turned to the black mass in the centre of the room, a pair of black arms with white gloves emerging from it, the symbols on the gloves glowing a bright red.

"Approval of situation A recognized. Commencing the Cromwell Invocation."

The room began to darken, shadows emerging from Alucard's feet. Bateman turned to Laura with a pleading expression. "L-Laura! Get me out of here!" Laura barely spared him a glance, then smiled, and he gave a small sigh of relief, but then she began to sink through the floor. "What?! No! Laura! Please don't leave me here!"

She was gone, and the shadows soon engulfed the entire room. Eyes of different sizes hovered above everyone, watching each and every one of them as they nearly proceeded to piss themselves, had they been capable of it. Cries of terror continued, some of them going mad from the delusions Alucard had inflicted upon them.

"Ability restrictions lifted for limited use until the enemy has been rendered silent." Each word had been punctuated, especially near the end, putting even more fear into the enemies' eyes. He could only laugh at them, "What's wrong?! Are you not vampires?! Come on! You do not need guns! If you're real vampires, summon up your familiars, bring forth your demons! Go on! We're just getting started and you're already pissing yourselves at the mere sight of me!" Then Alucard's form emerged from the darkness wearing a black leather jumpsuit, appendages and torso wrapped in belts, a large red eye protruding from the centre of his chest, his hair writhing about his mad face. "Hurry, hurry, hurry! I want to see what you all can do! Don't keep me waiting with suspense! HURRY!"

With a cry that was music to the vampire's ears, one charged desperately towards him, nails lengthening into white talons. This woman slashed downwards with her war cry, not willing to be intimidated by this monster. A white glove caught her wrist, eliciting a gasp from her. Her reddened eyes stared up into the face of what was truly a monster, akin to the devil himself. With a simple movement, he broke her wrist, provoking another but different scream from her as his other hand went to the side of her face. Eyes widened just before he ripped her apart, his teeth glinting at everybody who witnessed this.

Enraged, more came at him, others firing their guns. Unaffected, the shadows shifted around the vampire like a shield, dog heads with multiple eyes emerging and snarling at the approaching vampires. They faltered at the sight, and before they could back away, the dogs shot towards them like vipers, taking off their heads and devouring their bodies. The armed men screamed desperately, continuing to empty their clips at the threat. Alucard only continued to laugh at their pitiful attempts. Some circled around him and went to jump him from all sides, only to be slashed through in midair by his roaming dogs, the bodily remains falling messily to the floor. Those who survived with their heads still attached to their torsos, began crawling feebly away. Alucard spotted a few from the corner of his eye, the crimson orb gleaming some as his grin widened.

He made a sharp whistle, catching the black hounds' attention, pointing to the barely alive leftovers. "Fetch."

As if they had been given a treat, they charged through the air at the screaming vampires. Alucard listened as their cries lessened, leaving only a handful that stood before him, Bateman included. They, excluding their supposed leader, went to reload their guns, only to find that they were already used up. Alucard laughed and laughed and laughed. When would these lesser vampires learn? The panic-stricken faces only served to amuse him more.

Bateman stared, mouth gaping. "What are you?! What in the hell are you?!"

"The Garbage Man."

"Kill him! Do something!"

"W-we're out, sir!" said one, sweat pouring down their face.

Bateman gritted his teeth before spotting the girl, then grabbing her. "Come here!" Alucard's brows rose some. "One step closer and she dies!"

"S-sir! N-no, please!" she sobbed hysterically.

"That's what you came here for, right?! You wanted to rescue these brats?!"

"No," he said quietly. The answer shocked everyone in the room. "I came here for some answers."

The vampire swallowed hard, gripping the girl even tighter. "T-then...how about a deal? You can have all of them! There's so much virgin blood in this place, and you can have it all!"

Alucard grinned. "Honestly, you'd think that I was a fool. As if I would make a deal with trash." The shadows began to dissipate and shrink, but the room remained as an abyss as he walked towards Bateman. "You kidnap virgins for your own personal wine stash, then turn them into vampires once they are of age. For a vampire, you're not very discreet. You don't just go to that town for every shipment, you've been to loving homes in different cities and towns, draining the families, turning them into ghouls, then kidnapping their youngest. You have so many orphans under your care, and when they are disobedient, as children tend to misbehave, that happens to them."

Bateman watched as a hole in the abyss was opened, revealing the doll-like youth sitting along a wall, completely drained. He gritted his teeth, annoyed that he was being accused, as if he had actually done something wrong. For once, Alucard frowned while looking at the children. The man's last thought disgusted him. How presumptuous that he believed himself above judgement and fault. As much of a monster Alucard was, these kids didn't deserve this. Against vampires at their age, they really were defenceless.

"Why?" he asked.

Bateman sent him a contorted look of fury and defiance. "Like I would tell you!

Alucard grinned then, putting the man off once more. "It doesn't make any difference whether you tell me or not. I'm going to get the answers out of you either way."

Shadows darkened under the men with guns, black arms with glowing red veins emerging and grabbing their legs. They struggled as their bodies sank into the darkness, screaming til they were gone. Bateman gaped, his usually slicked back hair now in disarray from the stress of his current predicament. The girl squeaked when he crushed her tighter to him. Knowing she was useless to him now, he extended his fangs and bit into her, the girl crying out in agony, tears streaming down her face. Alucard watched, looking bored of this predicament. Was he supposed to pity a human that had nearly given away her humanity anyway? He looked into her pleading eyes, feeling nothing.

The body fell, completely empty of blood while Bateman licked his lips. "Well, now that I'm recharged...come at me!"

Pleased that the man had renewed his courage, Alucard grinned, shadows billowing behind him in excitement. "As you wish!"

A/N: Would have wrote more, but I have a standard of making each chapter between 4000 and 5000 words. Besides, the cliffhanger gives me more to use for the next chapter, which will lead to the big reveal as to why Alex's blood is special. Now, I had a completely different memory written for this chapter, but I decided that this particular memory seemed a bit soon to use. I have it saved in a different file for future chapters, so it will be used. Anyway, something I should point out again, is that these memories aren't going to be 100 percent historically accurate. For instance, Bogdan's death didn't occur in his home. He was attending a wedding or something elsewhere when he was assassinated. According to wikipedia anyway. I don't even know if a battle really occurred, I just know that his death put Moldavia in a civil war. I just made his at home, because the walking in to find his son upset seemed more dynamic. Also, writing about weddings makes me feel awkward, especially when I don't know the customs of back then.

I'll give you a few guesses as to who Laura really is. But anyway, that's all I've got to say on this chapter. Chapter 10, the battle continues and then a massacre ensues, and of course, the super-special-awesome big reveal that will supposedly bring vampires to a new age! Yes...that was a reference to YuGiOh Abridged Series. SPEAKING OF WHICH, for those who have a sense of humour, and if you LOVE Hellsing, and of course, if you haven't seen them already... Go watch Hellsing Ultimate Abridged. It's by Team Four Star and the actual HD episodes are located on Takahata101's youtube channel. THEY'RE FUNNY, go watch them now. They only have 3 episodes right now, but we should expect a 4th shortly after Halloween.

Anyway, please leave a review, your thoughts, and any questions. Thank you for reading!