Chapter 19 "The Count Gets His Wings"

Author Note: Sorry about the delay, I got lazy and a bit discouraged when a script of mine was...things just didn't work out. Here's a free life lesson, make sure the rest of your team is invested in your ideas as you are.

I managed to get those…things to disperse by shoving a large Rasengan enhanced with natural energy into the thickest part of the crowd. Their bodies seemed to shimmer and they screamed when the slightest amount of the light touched them. They started to flee the light and we ran through the hole in their mass that formed. I kicked the door open and let Integra through it before I did a few quick seals and yelled mentally, "Sage Art Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" I felt the chakra heat up as it filled my cheeks before I released it and it ignited, the nature energy covered flames did even more damage to the creatures and bought us time to climb the staircase up to our allies' last known position. I took a moment to listen for the creatures and instead heard a struggle upstairs, I quickened my pace. I could tell they were in danger, Katsuye's heartbeat was erratic and Seras' had been just as bad until a few seconds ago. But, now Seras' heartbeat was almost nonexistent because it was so level and quiet like she was...dead. I burst through the door to their floor and rounded the hallway's corner only to see Katsuye on the floor and Seras panting a few meters ahead of me. I started to speak up, but she charged towards a tall muscular figure at the end of the hallway before I could make a sound. I noticed a large group of Millennium troops came around the corner behind the figure and fired in our direction. Seras seemed to disappear under the hail of gunfire. Seeing this, I tensed up and started to fire at the grunts, killing as many as I could with one magazine. Seras reappeared as I started to reload and swung her arm, which seemed to be covered by a black substance, through three vampires' heads so fast that her arm resembled a thick black laser pointer. A split-second later and she was further down the hallway gunning for the muscled figure and the three vampires' skulls cracked open, spraying blood.

I kept firing around Seras but eventually stopped, I couldn't see where she'd be the next millisecond without wasting chakra on my Sharingan and I didn't want to hit her. I bolted over to Katsuye and pulled her into a loose hug to comfort her. "It's okay…it's okay." I whispered into her ear as I tried to coax her back into being conscious of her surroundings as I looked at Seras. She killed the last of the Millennium guards before she ran up to the figure that I identified as a female after my eyes had adjusted to the darkness in this room. Zorin attempted to speak before Seras grabbed Zorin by the bottom of her jaw roughly with her pale arm and slammed her temple against the wall and kept slamming until she started to bleed. Seras started to run down the hallway, dragging Zorin's face along the wall until she died as most of her head burned away or was crushed. Seras dropped Zorin's body as it started to ignite like the other vampires, she panted for a few seconds but remained standing upright. I approached slowly, guiding Katsuye along when I noticed Pip's corpse. I remained silent and turned to Seras to speak, her eyes were as red as Alucard's and her hair seemed to be a few shades lighter. "S-…Seras." I choked out, a bit startled. She smiled sadly and looked at Pip. "I…I…" She said with a voice that started to crack before I hugged her awkwardly with my free arm. "No, that bitch did it. You did what you could." I said as reassuringly as possible like I did with Hanten or Mazeru. I couldn't see her face, but I felt her tense shoulders ease up and she lightly hugged back. "He said he loved me." She muttered, my mind's eye turned to one phrased I just wanted to forget, "...because you called me beautiful…" I swallowed hard and shoved down the emotions that appeared and said, "tell me how warm and fuzzy it makes you feel later. We got to figure the hell out what to do next." I said as I released Seras, she nodded back at me before looking down at Pip. I looked over to Integra to speak and I saw darkness start to come down the hallway toward the slightly older woman. I panicked and carried Katsuye before I called out to rush the two blondes to follow me. "There are things in the dark, violent and they can't be killed." I said to the vampire as I moved my mottled green eyes with slitted irises towards the darkness only to barely make out a line of children walking, with the shortest in front, as if they were taking an amazingly grim family portrait. Once, the pair moved past me I exerted a thin but powerful wave of chakra, making sure not to manifest it as any particular element so I wouldn't waste it, and the crowd of monsters retreated once again. I pressed my seal to summon Miso and once he arrived he grew to the size of a pony. Integra pulled herself on his back and I slung Katsuye on his back in front of Integra. I gave the signal to run and jump out the three-story window and we all did so. I landed with ease and was a bit surprised to see Seras did the same, she was different. "Integra! Where do we go?" I asked as I got some water from my small pack and rubbed it on Katsuye's face to wake her up. She jolted awake and I did my best to calm her and get her to drink as Integra was lost in thought. Figures clad in black started to surround us by standing on the roof of the manor and darkness started to drift out of the main entrances. I got ready to fight until I saw Alexander Anderson was standing above the main entrance and lit a large candle that was in a glass case. "I knew I smelled something that reeked of the adversary." Anderson exclaimed as loudly as ever as other priests started to light lanterns and place them by all opening of the mansion. The light from the roman candles stopped the darkness from getting any closer and the monsters in the dark hissed at the Iscariot priests through the windows, it looked like a small pale face was in every window of the manor. I would have been relieved at this if the priests didn't proceed to point their guns at us.

The citizens of London were being slaughtered by the soldiers of Millennium. The vampires killed, ate and paraded the corpses of all that stood in their way on their rifles with bayonet attachments, regardless of age or gender. Those they partially devoured but left able to move were reborn as ghouls and ate the rest of London until all hope was lost. Then the lights appeared, dozens of helicopters entered the skies of London, a few carried a glass container with cables. In the case was the Archbishop of the Iscariot Chapter, Enrico Maxwell, the man had sworn that he'd come to London's aid when Millennium attacked. Enrico had his men fire large flares into the air, lighting up the sky and making those on the ground believe that they were angels sent by God. Enrico then exclaimed with a manic expression, "we have come to rescue you, but you have been damned from birth! You can only seek atonement in purgatory! Weapons of God, I am the Archbishop and I have been tasked by the Holy Father to deliver the punishment of the Lord to those that I see fit. I see monsters committing the atrocity of living while dead and filthy, unholy heretics that are disgracing the name of God himself. Kill the vampires, kill the protestants, kill those that bear the crest of Hellsing!" He then raised his hand and the members of Iscariot began to launch a barrage of gunfire on the ground as the bulk of the fighting force started to rappel onto the ground en masse. Meanwhile, a sight unseen for over a century was in the sea.

Once, a vampire came to England and his ship glided over the waves for a woman he had claimed prior. Everyone aboard the ship was dead and their souls, stolen, but the ship still flowed in the fog. Such a ship, covered in shadows that formed sails in the shape of an inverted crucifix, carried the ghost ship. For the second time a ghost ship, carrying a coffin filled with Transylvanian earth, reached London.

Alexander turned towards the burning city as the screams of innocent permeated through the air. Most of the priests visibly looked troubled as they pointed their weapons at us and looked towards the city as well. "Alexander, what is the meaning of this?" I said as Yumie held her blade up to my neck and Heinkel pointed her guns at Seras. The older man didn't respond which infuriated me and made me take a step forward to turn him around and force him to speak. As soon as my leg was lifted to walk I felt all the guns in the vicinity point on me, it seemed I had made an impression on them earlier today. "Don't move." Yumie ordered in Japanese and I scowled at her before addressing all the priests present in English. "I thought your god is merciful and loving and crap. Yet you kill all these men, women…and children just because they worship him a bit differently. Are you all..." I yelled before Integra put a hand on me and motioned for me to stop as Heinkel snapped at me. "Shut up, we are doing our job! This is what we swore to do! Follow orders!" She said in a tone that made it seem that she was trying to tell that to herself this as much as she was telling us. Alexander kept looking outside and listening to the carnage and gunfire. "I don't like this, this isn't what we do." Yumie turned to Alexander in shock. "But that is what the Archbishop asked of us…" Yumie said. Alexander Anderson wasn't a person who questioned his orders, he didn't hesitate to kill the corrupt, but he also was a holy man, even though he also knowingly sinned every day was a Judas Priest. "That boy has always been eccentric and extreme, but I never imagined he would do something like this," Anderson said with a somber tone. "Then let me do something about it!" I said with a bit of actual emotion, the thought of all the people losing the people they love as every single second. I could feel my canine teeth lengthen and my irises dilate as well as gain a feral edge. I knew my whisker marks would most likely appear on my face and that my hair was starting to stand on end. "We need to protect them," I said with a dark, serious tone before another Judas priest spoke up. "Shut up you damned monster. Archbishop Maxwell ordered us to kill Integra and her underlings and that is exactly what we're going to do. Fire!" He said before he cried out in pain as his severed hands carrying his pistols fell to the ground. Alexander lorded over the whimpering man then pointed his blade at the street and all those Iscariot members in the way moved. "I agree, this isn't what God wants, it's what Maxwell wants. Move out." Alexander said as he let Integra, Seras, Miso and I walk away, with Miso carrying Katsuye. Yumie and Heinkel stood in the way, "stop, we were given a direct order Father Anderson!" Heinkel said, seemingly unsure of her orders herself still. I looked towards them and activated my Sharingan for a few precious seconds, casting a genjutsu. They were suddenly facing hundreds of SS vampires and fighting for their lives, but it was not real, he had basically hypnotized them in a manner similar to Zorin did to Seras.

I turned to Alexander and satiated his worries, "don't worry, Alexander, it is only temporary. I will end the illusion when we are a good distance away." I said before the sound of metal being forced to move filled the air. We all turned to the source of the sound and saw a large mass approaching from the harbor, it was a ship and the crow's nest had been fashioned into a rudimentary sail with...shadows that started to recede. The darkness began to collect at the front of the ship and I could see Alucard waiting to get closer with a huge grin and his hands covering his eyes. He then got ready for battle with his pistols in hand and his jacket in tatters before he leaped off the ship, traversing hundreds of meters of open water and land. We ran for where Alucard landed at various speeds, Miso and I traveled together but Seras went off carrying Integra and Anderson started a teleportation spell. When I finished climbing a nearby building by running up the side with Miso, I saw that the majority of the Papal Knights and Millennium soldiers had gathered in this block and Alucard was in the center. He started to unlock some levels and his body started to decay into shadows, one last large Millenium soldier jumped to the ground as Anderson appeared ahead of the Knights. I used my own shunshin to appear in front of Alucard. Integra landed on a building by Seras and yelled orders, "Alucard, massacre everyone here, stain the ground with my enemies' corpses! Release restriction to level 0, Sing!" Alucard's face morphed into a subdued serene smile before he bared his canines and said, "The bird of Hermes is my name…" I sensed the hostility in the air and the instinctive fear everyone felt from Alucard's presence increase. "...eating my wings…" Alucard continued before Alexander threw bayonets into his ribcage and chest, the commanding Millennium soldier delivered a punishing roundhouse kick and the soldiers of both armies began to shoot Alucard with fully automatic fire. His body was reduced to tendrils of fiery shadows until enough collected for him to finish, "...to make me tame." Alucard then started to cover the entire floor of the block and the forms of all he devoured appeared, Luke Valentine, Rip Van Winkle, the Dandy Man and the soldiers of armies from the medieval era.

I bit my lower lip, I was witnessing a true monster slaughter people...they were misinformed but not evil...they didn't deserve this. I looked at Integra and she was just stone-faced and then I looked to Seras, but she was no different. Seras looked back at me as I removed the badge of Hellsing from my shirt and dropped it, I mouthed that I was sorry before I let my body start to fall off the roof. I closed my eyes as I did so and said mentally, "you better have enough chakra for this…" I hit the ground and a cloud of dust was kicked up that got the humans, vampires, and apparitions' attention. When the dirt parted they saw me in a low crouch with my arms crossed and my eyes locked on Alucard. "I am not pro-Millennium or your church…" I said as my eyes became red and slitted. "...I don't hate Hellsing, I understand everyone's reasons for being here…" Congealed globules of red chakra began to flow out of my stomach seal and cover my body, forming tails. "...Knights, I get your orders, but you are weak men for following them when you know they are wrong. Millennium...I am going to kill you…" I continued as the mold of seven fox tails formed in my chakra cloak. "...Alucard, I'm not going to let you hurt these men." I finished as my body started to suspend in the orange chakra that resembled a large fox with seven tails and humanoid hands. "All I see around me are dogs, dogs of war and the cloth but what are you, Uzumaki!?" Alucard bellowed. "A man?" He said as he appeared in the shadowy mass as a man covered in armor with a cape, armed with a longsword. His skin was pale and his black hair was borderline curly and came to his lower back, he also had a small beard on his chin and his eyes were almond shaped. Alucard was surrounded by undead soldiers on horseback from the middle ages which split up and charged at the flick of his hand towards the two armies and me. He drew his blade, "...or a beast!?" Alucard started to dash towards me madly as his horsemen moved in front Alucard in a roughly triangular pattern before they lowered their pikes. I slammed my clawed hands into the concrete to anchor myself in place and smacked my tails into the crowd of undead behind me, both Alucard's army and Millennium's ghouls, and caused a shockwave to destroy them and part of the buildings behind me. I let out a low rumble from my throat that escalated to an ear piercing roar as my chakra shroud began to spew white-hot flames at the horsemen before swiping low and killing the rest before I howled and jerked my shroud's head back to look Alucard eye to eye. "Both."

Chapter End