Merry Christmas to all of you. :D A couple chapters left in this long fic and we are COMPLETE!

Composition by Adrian von Ziegler.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Reign of the Dark

Splitting up should cover more ground, but it seemed that the ANBU was doomed from the start.

There were men strewn gory and torn to pieces across the floors, the stairs, the remains being before bloody splatters on the walls - having been the cause of those freaks which broke their defenses and overrun to finish them all off. Hanaru wondered how much more of this her bowels could take, but her friends were thinking and feeling the same.

I thought I had been prepared...but this is more than I could have handled.

One man's head severed and stuck to a wall by a dagger was something she would have in her personal nightmares, or should be seen only in the movies.

Smoke was in all their nostrils as they gunned down freaks and turned most of them to dust and others into butchered rubbish...all the while the leader of these units was entering free and wielding the lethal scythe. If Hanaru Uzumaki and Sakura Uchiha together would sense the waves in the air again, they would be ready to attack together.

But neither of them anticipated that the voodoo-enhanced man had in tow another figure who wasn't made for fighting, but was skilled in other areas, such as catching prey to bring to their master.

"Captain, we're in the shit down here!" shouted a voice in the earpiece before it was static on that one's end as well as more gunshots being fired with a vengeance. And then another screeched in his place that they were not going to make it upstairs, and this was where Choji and Temari were off with Commander Hatake!

Uzuki barked into the speaker. "Listen, asshole, I don't care if you have to crawl. Fall back to the main conference room; that's an ORDER!" She lowered her voice to tell him as well as the rest of the lot, counting Hanaru, around her. "This is the easiest spot where we can hold out for a little longer."

"Those men are just sitting ducks out there," Sakura said dejectedly. There was hardly any time for her to even heal anyone with the speed they were going at in depleting numbers; the toll was being shown on her. Just as much as having to close that damned barricade was doing so to the captain herself.

"I hate to go against your orders, Captain," Shikamaru said with a rub of his temple, "but perhaps we should trust them all, if small numbers remain, and we have to close those doors with this table even. Detective Uchiha and Commander Hatake are both our last hopes..."

Right, because having a vampire among their ranks is bettering the odds.

Yūgao scowled at him for questioning her, but on the other hand, she was forced to accept that fact. So it was ordered: every single one of them had to pick up that long table and bring it to the double doors where Senju and its allies and representatives would meet long before this apocalyptic night. And then, in that moment after the deed was done, they HAD to have someone to wuss out when this became too much for all of them. "It's useless!" the guy screamed. "We're all gonna DIE! Tsunade and Itachi Uchiha sold us all out! We're gonna lay about and end up being more lambs for the slaughter! The commander and Sasuke are toast as much as we are!"

His paranoia enraged Sakura as much as it did Hanaru, but the pink-haired vampire snapped at him to shut the hell up. "What do you think you're yelling about, punk? There is NOWHERE to go, and you're all fine as long as I am here, too."

"Yeah, face the facts," Captain Uzuki said, pushing back her amethyst hair. "All of you, listen to me, your captain: this is going to be our grave. This mansion is our gravestone, set up by the bitch Tsunade herself." Oh, no way in hell you all have the right to speak of my grandmother like that! "And our epitaph states this: here lies the badass ANBU Black Ops. They kicked vampire and zombie ass for people and country." Her eyes hardened as did her tone. "But I highly doubt they'd write any of that. Because thanks to you -" Her gaze rested on the outspoken chicken shit who was quivering where he was. "- it's going to read: here lies those gutless pansies who liked shitting themselves and crying like schoolchildren." And what she did was sensational when she picked up the wimp with both hands and hoisted him up, bellowing into his face which made both Hanaru and Sakura snicker behind their hands.

"MAN THE HELL UP, BITCH, BECAUSE YOU'LL DIE WITH HONOR IF I HAVE TO TIE YOU DOWN TO YOUR POST!"

Because before, the ANBU took money because they liked it, fought because they liked it, but now...now, they were all going to die because they LIKED it.

"Alright, I've had enough of this," Hanaru exploded, lowering her weapon to her side and stepping forward by one. "No one said dying was a sure thing, especially for us! But my grandfather sacrificed himself as you all heard, my grandmother as well as my brother and my best friend's brother are out there fighting, and we're gonna do their example! I have no soldier's training, and nor do my friends, but we are here because it was fate!" she shouted, feeling her face burn as a release of tension amidst this bloodbath. She paused to take a few breaths, looking ahead at Uzuki who winked at her.

"So, Captain, your orders so we can finish that barricade."

Meanwhile, as they did more of the work, they could hear what was going on, and it seemed Sasuke was having the hang of everything more than the rest, impressive speed and shots not missed in play. And it seemed Commander Hatake was alive and well, for now. There was also frequent exploding, which meant many rooms on that floor must be nothing but debris and flames licking away what was left...even all our rooms and what we possessed.

That must have meant not only her grandmother's office, but the rooms she and her friends shared - counting the paintings SHE put her heart and soul into. This was nothing but a cruel form of "out with the old, in with the new".

And with all that bellowing and firepower from Sasuke who was one man alone, she'd think herself he would get here in time.

However, it would never come, because the barricade they put their back and muscles into was overrode by a bomb that went off on the other side; those sons of bitches had them good!

The eruption to the back of her head made her scream, the sound fading in her ears as her vision turned white and slowly darkened to black.

~o~

The fires continued to burn until there was nothing left, or remnants of a once prosperous town. The darkness had won the battle, but the fight was still far from over. Thank God you finally decided to come, Itachi, when we have won our round.

They had all but exterminated the seven mutated monsters as well as the freak forces, and now they were on their way back to the headquarters, and when they finally got there - Shizune drove the car to the aircraft Itachi had been entrusted with, and the pilot being the Uchiha while the rest of them traveled on foot - Tsunade heard herself gasp in mortification as she saw her beloved family estate split in half as well as burned out in nearly every part of the lower floors. All of them were now standing together before what remained of fires and destruction, much of it standing but the rest ash from the flames.

The ANBU is overrun.

It had really come to this, but did they kill the enemy? "Looks like nearly everyone in the Senju unit is exterminated," Naruto said through his teeth, sensing everything in his mode, "except a handful. There's your commander, Sasuke and Sakura, even my friends." Then his face as well as Gaara's lit up with this knowledge, but for Tsunade, relieved as she was, she felt herself fall inside at the thought of all those men and women - including Captain Uzuki, she was sure - who were nothing but meat and bones in the place where every member of her family and friends honed themselves, submersed in history and trained each other as well as their soldiers...it was dust that was going to help new life grow after all of this.

Commander Hatake, Sasuke and Sakura, and Naruto and Gaara's friends were well, but - "What about your sister, Naruto?" Itachi demanded before she could speak.

His eyes bulged when he got the answer, and it was enough to make all of them freeze in their tracks. "N-no. Temari is there, but I don't see Hanaru. She's been...taken, I think." Then he gasped sharply and backed into Gaara who ordered him to get it together.

Tsunade had to keep herself from grimacing with anger and fear, but it was too much for her to bear. Her granddaughter was still alive, but she was taken away. Who had her and why -?!

Itachi's seething was evident in his words, and it was more than that of a protector. For that, the Senju head could do nothing about it, and she found herself thinking about alternatives that she would rather not dwell on; it meant she had no choice but to trust Itachi on this, though he was hiding it outwardly yet struggling on the inside.

Madara has her.

Itachi's bloody red eyes blared fire with the realization, and for that, they swirled into the pinwheel. I like that look in your eye. Tsunade thought this with a sinister smirk that was going to have that devil blown to kingdom come.

~o~

My brother...

...our friends...

...Grandma Tsunade...

...Itachi.

All those names were swirling through her head as she slowly came to. Strangely, her cranium didn't hurt, so did someone tend to her injury before she came to -?

Wait, she wasn't in the mansion anymore. Cringing, she opened her eyes to see red lights about, vision blurred at first before clearing, and Hanaru found she was in some kind of military operations center...no, wait, she was aboard a dirigible. Someone abducted her while she was unconscious, after the bomb blew up the door she and the gang blocked. Wincing, Hanaru managed to sit up on her knees only. Thank God she was still wearing her uniform, and that her necklace was safe beneath...but then she saw her WATCH from her grandfather was missing. Must have fallen off in the middle of the blow up.

She felt herself tear inside; it was like she lost Grandpa Jiraiya all over again.

"You're awake."

Hanaru jerked her head behind her, remaining where she was, and hissed when she saw the man sitting in that chair like a king, dark shadows resting over his being, except the red eyes which showed an unusual yet similar pattern to Itachi's Mangekyo. "I know you," she hissed, feeling her lips pull back in a snarl. "Madara."

The head bowed in acknowledgement. "Madara Uchiha, at your service."

"Why do you have me?!"

He chuckled. "Because you are the final piece of the puzzle after everything else has been complete. You must know who I am referring to, and not because of your family and what remains of the Senju Organization," he stated, leaning forward a little, and now she saw more of his face. He looked like the Uchiha brothers, and yet not. That hair marked him different than the boys.

He was saying that she was bait to catch the bigger fish, and that was Itachi - his former sired ward and apprentice who turned on him, his views of the world and his plans. And was fighting his war he created himself. "Why? If I'm Tsunade's granddaughter, then I should have been killed already -"

"Ah, that is where you are half right. Yes, I could have had your entire family obliterated, but that would even spoil the fun. It is actually between Itachi and I. I know that he is not only your protector, which makes it that much more enthralling to see him lose in the worst manner possible. What can be better than striking a blow to the heart if not with a stake?"

You're using me to get to Itachi.

Madara went on, gesturing to someone behind her. "You're wondering how I managed to get another to bring you to me. The answer is simple: the one you recall who delivered my message."

"The messenger himself," Hanaru spat, wondering why she hadn't thought of it if not that voodoo-hoodoo guy. The ancient vampire smirked to one corner of his mouth. "What about that other one I shot to save myself and my friends?"

"Oh, and that was quite the admirable blow you gave Hidan." So that's the walking doll's name. "I had a great feeling Kushina Uzumaki's daughter would break the spell just like the insusceptible Sakura would. But never mind; you asked what became of your friends with Hidan after you fell unconscious and Tobi took you when no one noticed." The messenger in that weird pumpkin mask. "To keep a long story short, my dear: Sasuke arrived in time to open fire to blow every last one of my creations led by Hidan, except the unit leader himself. Perhaps I should have counted that my old protégé's rebellious brother would be there. Through all the interconnected chips, I had the events recorded for quality assurance."

Hanaru's blood was nearing to the boiling limit, about to explode like Mt. Fuji.

"Long-range rockets were fired, of course, since you can't always be lucky to rush head-on for the target. That was enough to break the barrier you and your friends had set, but since you don't know what happened, Sasuke's healer mate charged to fight Hidan - only to have her arm sliced off in the process. Prior, Sasuke had his hands bearing arms also cut off, but you need not fear," Madara said slyly. "You're well aware vampires can heal themselves, although unfortunately, it takes quite some time when it comes to their own limbs. The grave issue was that Sakura was going to help your friend, the captain, when she suffered debris struck to the middle of her body yet thought she could still take the upper hand and kill Hidan herself...but she didn't stand a chance. Her weapons were useless. The captain ended up becoming one with the dismembered remains of the last of the Senju soldiers - she went down valiant as the rest - though the surviving remainder of your friends were lucky to make it through, as soon as Sakura went on a rampage and lopped off Hidan's head with his own scythe, then set about bashing it into the ground with her might until there was nothing left." He sniggered at the images that must be going through his head at the very moment.

My friends are all alive and safe, thank the gods. Sasuke and Sakura were both severed of certain body parts, but while they rejuvenate, it took longer than it did for that monster to...

She couldn't bear to finish the thought in her head.

Yūgao Uzuki, the last of her family who had been mercenaries for eight generations - who lived a man's world with two iron fists - died right then and there, because she believed in dying for a cause greater than money and thrill-killing...for all of us. And her men: said various stages of dismemberment that their internal organs spewed if partially remaining in their bodies. Hanaru could see it all, and for that, she wished she had the strength to fight this man and get the hell out of here.

"You...bloodthirsty...demon! You ought to be in hell licking the devil's ass for this!" she screamed, eyes burning as her heart was thundering.

The ancient Uchiha's tongue clicked. "Such language. But as to that, amusing as it is, hell is what I am living but have always made the best of. It's a shame Itachi wouldn't even do so, not even with you while he had the chance."

Oh, he j-just - he just said WHAT?!

"Precisely what I said," Madara told her as he knew what she was thinking, his eyes peering into her soul. "But it is like him to make up for his loss of humanity, being as clean and decent as he can be by refusing to let someone else he loves be tainted by this so-called curse we are consumed by. But I was just like him millennia ago, and sooner or later, you have to accept it. The way life is, it's all up to us to make something out of it, and that's what I'm doing."

"By butchering an entire town, then what? Collect the remains for a feast fest? Then do the same to every other? Itachi and Senju won't let you get away with it, and you know it!"

Fingers drummed on one arm rest of the chair he sat in.

"You are indeed on the mark, and yet no; the entire town won't be exterminated as you can see -" Oh, yes, it was all on those monitors, which was an extended version of the Senju mansion. "- but we do need feeding material if I am going to make this world for our kind a much better place. Humanity will never accept vampires as their equal, and to reach a compromise will take far too long, but even so, one side will be dissatisfied, and that will apply to my people. It will also be a chance for someone like Itachi to be unbound to human masters, though he refuses to see it the way I do. Which is why he stands in my way as does his brother and sister-in-law."

Which was why she was here now: she was going to be used to lure Itachi for one final fight to the death, and she might die for sure. If she ever imagined her death, this was NOT it.

Hanaru reached up to put a hand over her heart, turning her back to the devil who was leering as he viewed the remnants of the massacre he orchestrated. She felt the heavy weight of her necklace against her heart which had only become just as heavy. She could really use the spirits' help, if only she could get a message out to him...

~o~

This was the work of a madman who shouldn't live any longer in this world. Once he knew where Madara was, he was going to destroy him and get Hanaru away. Nearly all of the undead army was destroyed, so there were one or two things left to do.

The darkness reigns for the moment, but that will soon end. I'm all that is left in his way.

He was standing here, but now so were his brother and sister-in-law, his mistress and her aide, Naruto and Gaara, Temari, Shikamaru and Choji, and what came of the Hyuuga clan tonight: Hiashi Hyuuga, both daughters and Neji who had come back after being on the scout to try and see if who he caught could tell what happened to Hanaru Uzumaki.

"Ah, it's you," Tsunade hissed when she stood beside her loyal servant. "The messenger I would have had killed had your master not stepped down before tonight."

"He just happened to be nosing about, on his master's orders, but he did provide that your granddaughter is in Madara's custody," Neji explained, face tight and scowling. "But wouldn't say anything else, like where she is exactly."

Hinata and Hanabi both hissed while Naruto growled like a demon. "Bastard, you'd better talk, or Gaara and I shall break every single bone in your body if that's what it takes to make you yap. And once you do, Sasuke and Sakura will finish tearing you limb from limb -"

Itachi cut him off harshly. "Enough, Naruto."

It wasn't the young man's rants that had to be stopped before they went too far, but a tremor rocked the air, and it seemed to reach all of them. Only someone with great mental skill could transmit a message without direct electrical communication, and Kushina Uzumaki had been the last one to do that...until now.

Itachi...anyone...if you can hear me...he has me. I'm aboard his dirigible, but I don't know which one. We're circling above as I speak...

Thank you all for surviving, but the ones we lost - I'm praying for them as you are.

Looking up, he saw where it was, and it was the only aircraft to be seen, but knowing she was there - it was all he needed, and just how to get up there was something else. He and Madara were going to take it in the air, but he would NOT let her remain trapped up there. He had promises to keep to her friends, to her brother and to her grandmother who were all counting on him. They, along with his brother and sister-in-law and the Hyuuga had a lot of work to do, and that involved the last numbers of Senju and any survivors who hid in this poor town.

Itachi Uchiha did the deed of throwing off the cloak that he always wore. The sky was a lighter shade of black, turning to gray, but dawn was not yet approaching. Either way, when the sun would start to peek over the horizon, he had the first of what was left of his injections on his being, the rest in possession of Tsunade and Shizune. That was vital to save during this bloody night.

Now he was here, trench coat gone, but his weapons strapped to his belt, and his tied hair swaying in the wind. He turned his eyes upwards to where he assessed two powerful presences - one to kill and the other to save.

I'm coming, Hanaru...my beloved. Just wait for me a little longer.

"You'll burn in hell for eternity; there, you can lick the devil's ass!" One of Alucard's brilliant one-liners from the normal Hellsing. XD When he faces Incognito in the final episode.

Ugh we had a good Christmas, but there were a few presents that hadn't arrived yet, so we might open them all tomorrow. Either way, everything has been good. :) Peppermint hot cocoa, turkey dressing and sweets, and Christmas film classics!

Review please! :3 Not much longer now...