A/N: First of all, I apologise in advance for any spelling mistakes. I wrote this chapter on a simpled DOS program, not the usual microsoft suit.
Secondly, I'd like to thank everyone, on and off the internet, for thier reviews, follows, faves and feedback :) It certainly motivates me to keep going.
This chapter was a tough one to write, I still don't really like it but hopefully some of you will. It's definately informative though and sets up a few things for later chapters.
R&R as always :D
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Hellsing, its characters, or anything affiliated with it.
XXX
It was around 4am when the master of Hellsing was once again woken by that darkest of demons, jetlag.
With a muffled grumble Integra rolled over in her bed and cast a glance to the clock on her bedside table, the little green digits flashed '4:08' at her in a light far too intense for that hour of night.
"Seriously?" Integra asked the clock, though she knew such inanimate objects were incapable of speech. Though there were a couple of old statues back in the mansion she wasn't so sure about.
Conceded to defeat, she lifted herself out of bed and made for her cabin door, not caring for the rest of the plane seeing her in her spotted purple pyjamas. On the way out she grabbed a cigar from the open pack on the table and lit it up.
The main cabin of the jet was dimly lit; the lights were in their night-mode and only emitted a faint yellow hue. On one of the folded out chairs was James, snoring away like a wounded bear, obviously Walter was at the controls. Seras lay across from him, also sleeping; it would seem that jetlag affects vampire too, for she was asleep in the dead of night.
Alucard was nowhere to be seen, probably in the cockpit with Walter. Loathe to admit it Integra didn't feel like spending the whole morning in the silence of the cabin; with a sigh of apprehension she made for the front of the plane. As she approached the cockpit door she could hear muffled voices, the deep baritone of Alucard's voice was clear, though she could not discern the words he was speaking. Every now and then Walter's voice pipped up in response to something Alucard said, but then quickly faded; obviously they were having one of their usual one-sided conversations.
For a few moments she waited, assuming the pair was having a private conversation. Though both Alucard and Walter were one way or another employed with Integra, she still valued their needs for privacy at times.
Her ears pricked as she noticed that the volume of their conversation began to climb, slowly at first but it started getting loud, quickly. Alucard was always one to have a short temper but it seemed that Walter was raising his voice too.
'What on earth would those two be arguing about at this hour?'
It didn't take long for her to deduce the reason; however they were bound to wake up the others at this rate and James needed his sleep before flying the jet back to England. She had to shut them up.
Integra placed her hand on the handle of the cockpit door, hesitating for just a moment before opening it and stepping inside.
"Am I interrupting something, gentlemen?"
XXX
20 Minutes earlier…
He woke to the sight of a brilliant dawn; the sun was red, a brilliant ruby sitting amongst the pearl-like clouds. He had seen this dawn many times before and it was always the same serene feeling that took over him, robbing the man of his stoic demeanour.
He was standing in a corn field, as far as the eye could see there was row upon row of golden stalks standing to attention, ruffling only when the slight breezes wafted over them. The fields were well kept, and surely the farmers who toiled on them would be proud of the fruits of their work.
Keen to avoid damaging the fragile crops the man treaded carefully between the corn rows, heading towards the rising sun. The dazzling brilliance did not impede his vision, nor did the radiant glow warm his cold skin; this did not faze him, the man simply imagined the sensations, and that was enough to please him.
He walked for hours, perhaps days even; time did not have dominion in this land, for the sun was still frozen in its place just above the horizon. There were still corn fields as far as the eye could see; the only difference was the small puffs of clouds floating overhead.
The man stopped for a moment to gaze up at them, intriguingly they did not move as normal clouds should. They swirled and billowed against the wind, rather than travelling with it. He walked a bit more and then gazed up again, the clouds were still there; they seemed to be following him.
He stood, frozen to the ground in a mixture of incredulity and fear. Above him the clouds began to coalesce and gradually darken; before long they had formed a deep blanket which extended outwards, eventually blocking out the sun and plunging everything into darkness.
It was then that a single droplet landed perfectly on the tip of the man's nose. He lifted one of his thin fingers to gently wipe it away, as he did this another droplet landed on his wrist. His eyes quickly widened with panic when he realised it was not rain, but rather blood that was falling from the sky.
What began as just a few drops eventually evolved into a torrential downpour of crimson. The blood quickly began to pool in the fields, overflowing from the ploughed troughs that would normally irrigate the corn. The blood was cold, stale and stank of rot; everywhere the corn began to wither and die, turning black and washing away in the torrent.
Eventually pure adrenaline freed the man from his frozen stance and he erupted into a mad dash, praying to whatever god that lingered above to end his torment. He soon realised his prayers was falling on deaf ears, for no matter how swift his sprinting the rain was ceaselessly pursuing him, like a hound would chase a pheasant.
Something struck his head and dropped to the blood-soaked earth, he looked down; it was a hand. It was rotten, writhing with maggots and produced the foulest stench imaginable. The man pushed down the vomit which was already making its way up his jugular; he did his best to cover his nose to keep the stench at bay.
It was then that something else landed not far from him; upon closer inspection it was a leg, only in the sense of the word because it had been mauled almost beyond recognition. Then another leg dropped nearby, then a head, then another leg, then two heads, fours hands, several eyes, intestines, livers, hearts and every manner of human matter and detritus.
That was it, he couldn't move anymore, fear had completely overcome him. His legs gave way and his knees ploughed into the blood soaked mug beneath him, he began to weep.
'Please, please, end this torment. It is too much! I can't go on any further!'
He buried his face in his palms as tears rolled down his pale cheeks and blended with the pools of blood beneath him.
It seemed like an eternity had passed before the downpour suddenly stopped. Although he did not open his eyes, the man knew the sun was again shining upon him. Strange.
The last thing he remembered was the slight pressure of a warm hand being placed on his shoulders.
XXX
"Nngh….GAH!"
Alucard's eyes shot wide open in alarm. However his panic quickly abated when he realised he was back on the Hellsing jet. With a sigh of relief he allowed himself to fall back into the comfort of the fold-out chair.
"Again, another nightmare" He mumbled as he wiped away a single blood read tear from his face. "They're getting more frequent now."
It was then he realised that an unfamiliar weight lay on top of him. Looking down Alucard observed that a thick blue blanked had been placed over him. He cast a quick look across the cabin, James was asleep on one of the other chairs and Seras was asleep on another; however he could tell by her ruffled blanket that she had been up quite recently. She must have placed the blanket over him, had she sensed another one of his night terrors again? Alucard hoped against everything that she hadn't, but he knew better than that. Their connection was growing on a daily basis, although he would never admit it the very thought of Sera's knowing his torment terrified him. Alucard was always Hellsing's rock, the one thing that never wavered, no matter how dire the situation was. He had to be a strong and emotionless monster for his master, and to set a strong example to his fledgling.
Anger welled up inside him, to even allow such a thing as fear to cloud his mind was an abhorrent thought. Alucard shook his head to banish these putrid thoughts before rising up from his seat. He was too aggravated to even attempt to go back to sleep, a pass-time that he was beginning to increasingly hate due to the nightmares.
He needed to entertain himself, something, and anything to put him in anything that slightly resembled a better mood. With everyone else asleep he deduced that Walter must be at the controls of the jet.
'Hmph, I suppose I can go annoy him for a while'
He walked to the front of the cabin and opened the heavy cockpit door, his nose immediately tingled from the strong aroma of freshly brewed coffee. Walter was sitting in the pilot's seat, a cup of coffee in one hand, and his phone in the other.
"Keeping your hands on the wheel, Walter?" Alucard sneered.
"You know there is such a thing as autopilot, Alucard." The butler grumbled before taking a small sip from his coffee.
"Now, now; no need to be testy" Alucard chimed, "I take it you didn't get much sleep my old friend?"
"What between jetlag and doing back-to-back flying with James, it's almost impossible for an old codger like me to get any decent." Walter sighed.
"You and I both know that age is only a number." Alucard stated. Why people pity themselves was beyond him, then again he couldn't say much on the matter given recent events.
"Yes, well that's easy for you to say." Walter mumbled quietly. "You don't age, I do."
"Fair point" Alucard conceded.
The cockpit grew silent. Alucard was many things, but being able to engage in a conversation where he wasn't at its centre was never one of his strong points. He also didn't know much about consoling a colleague, or in Walter's case, one of the few people he's ever considered viewing as a friend. When you've been emotionally dead for several centuries these skills tend to get a bit on the rusty side, plus Alucard was already struggling with the emotional development that had only recently begun between him and his childe.
Several more awkward minutes passed before Walter turned away from the controls to face Alucard, a strangely concerned look on his face. Alucard's eyes immediately narrowed.
"What?" He snarled.
"I know I'm not the only one having trouble sleeping" Walter stated flatly.
"It's none of your business." Alucard retorted quickly; since when did Walter know about this? If that irritating little blonde told him there would be hell to pay when they land.
"Actually it became my business when the whole jet was woken in the middle of the night by you hissing and screaming in your sleep. You're lucky Sir Integra sleeps in a sound-proof room Alucard." Walter spoke sternly, but Alucard still sensed that irritating undertone of concern. Unable to come up with a good enough reply, Alucard simple kept his mouth shut and quietly growled at the old butler.
"Would you care to elaborate?" Walter asked. "Or do I need to get Sir Integra to order you?"
"I don't take threats kindly" Alucard growled, his voice rising with every word. "Although I consider us compatriots, friends even, this is a line I advise you to not cross."
"It's a little late for that don't you think?" Walter replied, a little angrily. "I've always done my upmost to stay out of your personal business, out of respect. But when you pose a potential threat to those around you I'm duty-bound to step in."
"What threat? I've never laid a hand on any of you! Do you not trust me?" Alucard hissed.
"Well when you hear somebody screaming things like 'I will kill you', or 'Disembowel your rotten corpse', or 'They will never contain me', it tends to raise a few alarm bells. Don't you agree?"
"…"
"Well?" Walter snapped at him.
"I did not think I was that vocal in my sleep" Alucard mumbled.
"Well you scared the living daylights out of Miss Victoria and myself; we couldn't wake you up, however Miss Victoria offered to sit by you to keep an eye on things." Walter took another sip of his coffee, which Alucard noticed had grown rather cold. "To my surprise you seemed to settle rather quickly afterwards."
"Hmph, so she was the one who put that blue sheet over me?" Alucard stated matter-of-factly.
"Is that a problem?" Walter asked.
"Yes. One, I'm technically dead so the blanket is useless to me. Two, she shouldn't show such compassion, it is unbecoming of her."
"Unbecoming of her? Or just not living up to your high standards for a companion?" Walter said behind gritted teeth.
"You're treading on thin ice, Walter." Alucard snarled darkly, glaring daggers at Walter.
"I don't care." Walter fired back, this time his voice raised. "Your remarks about Miss Victoria, at times, are completely unacceptable. You boast so often about being the 'dark gentleman', always courteous to your master and employer, yet you treat the thing that matters most like she's of no consequence."
"I don't always act like that!" Alucard boomed.
"No, of course not, you are sometimes uncommonly kind to the girl. But over eighty percent of the time you are far worse than disagreeable!" Walter retaliated. "If you really do want to build some semblance of a relationship with her, as you said to me in the airport yesterday, it wouldn't hurt to change you bloody attitude!"
*CLICK*
"…!"
"…!"
"Whatwasthat?" Alucard asked, already knowing who it was as the distinctive aroma of cigar smoke filled the room.
"Am I interrupting something, gentlemen?"
The pair turned, wide eyed to see Integra standing in the doorway to the cockpit, red-eyed, in her signature purple pyjamas, cigar in hand. Not exactly a graceful sight, however she still had that why-are-you-yelling-at-each-other-at-four-in-the-morning look. Much like a mother would give to a pair of squabbling children.
"Nothing to interrupt, Sir Integra." Walter replied cooly, not taking his icy gaze of Alucard, who simply scoffed at him. "Just some friendly banter between old friends."
"I don't believe you" Integra murmured impatiently, rubbing her eyes. "However I'm far too tired to argue the matter now. How long until we land, Walter?"
"We're only about an hour away ma'am." Walter smiled, relieved at the change of subject.
"Good, I'll go get us some more coffee. Alucard, go and wake Seras. Gently."
"Bu-"
"But what? Afraid of waking up a little blonde now are we?" Integra snipped, her voice dripping with tired sarcasm.
"Where'd you get that stupid notion from?" Alucard growled.
"The fact that you've been avoiding her like the plague on the past two flights despite the fact of our little conversation yesterday."
Alucard grimaced at her words; Walter cocked an eyebrow in amusement.
"Fine" Alucard spat. "I'll go and wake up the 'little blonde', but as soon as we land I'm heading straight for whatever accommodation they have on that backwater of an island."
"Suit yourself." Integra said as she moved to allow the brooding vampire out of the door.
'You'll be in for a fucking shock when we get there, backwater my ass.' She cursed inwardly.
When the door shut Integra sat herself down in the co-pilot's seat next to Walter.
"Did you talk to him?" She asked.
"About Seras? Yes" Walter replied.
"Anything else?" Integra asked suspiciously.
"No, nothing else Ma'am." Walter hated lying, but he deemed it better to fill Integra in on the details once they'd landed and all had some rest.
XXX
It had taken almost all of Alucard's willpower to keep him from clocking Walter in the face, but in the end he had, sadly, resisted the temptation to do so. Usually the butler didn't try his nerves like this, but all of these recent incursions into his own personal space were testing their usually easy friendship.
The fact that Walter dared to chide him on how he treated his fledgling was borderline unforgivable, had Walter been any other man Alucard would have probably thrown him off the plane. Christ, he was fucking tempted to do it anyway.
Alucard re-ented the dimly lit cabin and cast his watchful gaze over to Seras. She was asleep and dead to the world (as always), although she had rolled over to avoid a puddle of drool which had formed on her pillow. He couldn't stop his lips curling slightly upwards at the sight. The police girl always had a way of being childish, even in the depths of slumber.
He slowly crept over and knelt down beside the chair she was dozing on, she seemed to be smiling in her sleep, probably having a good dream. At least somebody on the damned plane had the pleasure of that.
Alucard spent several moments sitting there in silence, listening to the mechanical sounds of the plane as Seras slept. He could hear Integra and Walter talking about something in the cockpit, probably him no doubt. James was still snoring away and Alucard was amazed at Seras's ability to sleep through that alone, the man clearly needed his sinuses checked out.
He eventually allowed an irritating thought to gestate in his mind, if only a little. As much as he hated to admit it Walter was partly right about him, the doucheness part that is. Alucard knew he could treat Seras far better than he had, but he wanted to make her strong and that would never get done if he treated her with kid gloves. Seras would always be a second-rate vampire unless she observed and learned from her sire, eventually destined to drink his blood and ascend to her full strength and potential.
'Hah, fat chance of that happening anytime soon.' He thought to himself; it wasn't out of spite, but he knew that Seras would not be ready for a long, long time.
He gave a start when Seras suddenly sighed, luckily she was still asleep. He knew he would have to wake her, but perhaps he should let her sleep another ten minutes. It could count as a step towards being a bit more caring for his fledgling, as Walter had suggested.
His mind was now too occupied with Seras to notice a pair of ocean blue eyes staring at him from a creak in the cockpit door.
XXX
Integra smiled in triumph, she should have never doubted her assistant to begin with. If anyone was going to talk some sense into Alucard it was Walter, and he sure can work magic.
"You doubted me?" Walter asked mockingly, noticing the surprised gleam in his masters eyes.
"Not at all Walter" Integra smiled, before turning to the door and frowning, "Him on the other hand…"
"Yes well…Alucard can be a bit of a blunt instrument when it comes to matters of the heart." Walter nodded.
"I don't think he has anything that closely resembles a heart left in him" Integra sighed. "If he does I hope he puts it to good use, instead of keeping it buried underneath his monstrous façade."
"Hmm." Was all Walter replied with. He turned back to the controls and switched the auto-pilot off. "We will be beginning our decent soon, if you would like a coffee sir then now is the time. I would happily brew one for you but sadly this old girl won't fly herself."
"Don't worry Walter, I can do it myself sometimes you know" Integra chuckled as she made for the cockpit door.
Her eye twitched in irritation when she noticed that Seras was still asleep, though her irritation quickly faded when she realised Alucard was now sitting across in another seat watching her.
"I thought I told you to wake her up Alucard." She stated with a frown.
"She will wake as soon as we touch down, my master" Alucard whispered darkly. "Then within a few hours she'll be asleep again when daylight comes, the extra rest won't hurt her. Be grateful I'm being lenient; after all isn't that what you want from me now?"
"Hmph, I suppose you're right. Annoyingly" Integra sighed, before walking past him down the aisle of the plane. She cast a stern gaze back at him before returning to her quarters. "Try not to spend the whole of the next six weeks skulking, that's an order."
Alucard cast a weary gaze to his master; Integra could tell he had submitted to her request.
"By your command, master."
A/N: Hope you guys are liking this so far. I'm TRYING to keep everyone in-character as much as possible, however that will have to change in futuer chapters for obvious reasons.