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Diclaimer: Nope….Hellsing is still not mine.

Chapter Five

There was nothing left. It was like anything that had ever made me smile, laugh, or cry had all been sucked away. Replaced with ice and pain and shadows. Was that Master's voice that had called out to me? I don't even remember…

The darkness continued to squirm and twist around inside my mind. I saw flames, scorching the land surrounding the forest. Battle cries and death were the inhabitants of this place. Or were, anyway. And then so many bodies, high up above the ground. Their bodies arched up into the bloody sunset. They were impaled. Everyone. All except the man walking beneath the corpses. His face was not that of a crazed beast, but of a man in pain. Tormented from the inside out. Slowly I began to recognize that it was my Master. The man before my Master had changed.

As if becoming aware of my presence in the memory, the man stopped and looked around. I suppose he couldn't see me then. I approached him and spoke in his ear. Of course, he didn't even flinch. This was my Master after all, human or not. "Who are you..?" I asked. "What pained you so greatly that you would do this to so many people..?"

A long moment of silence passed before he turned around and spoke through me, to the wind. "My name is Vlad…" he started, his features strangely calm. "My wife is dead. They say she jumped. But I knew her better than that. They killed her in an attempt to get to me. And I never even found the body. They hid it from me, in the Dark Woods. No one in their right mind goes there. But I suppose, I am not in my right mind anymore, am I?"

Then he started to walk towards the forest, but could not. Weak from the emotional torment and the battle, he collapsed. Then the scene changed, and I witnessed an ax being lifted right above his head. As it swung down I shut my eyes firmly. When I opened them again I was somewhere all too familiar. I was at my house from years ago. Sitting in my closet with my knees drawn up. Watching in horror as they shot my father, his body falling to the ground with a sickening thud. And then my mother. I clamped my hand over my mouth to keep from screaming. Or vomiting. I watched as ghoul after filthy ghoul raped my mother. She cried and sobbed and screamed. When she finally died, her eyes were open and staring under the closet door at me.

Again the scene changed, and if I could feel my body I'm sure it would have been shaking uncontrollably. But I could not. Still not enough? Came a slimy voice in my head. We will devour you yet…

My mind was thrown into the far past once more, and I saw my Master when he was a boy. He didn't even look 14 yet. He was being dragged down the hall by a large, burly man, his legs cut by the stones of the floor. Then the man pulled him into a room and threw him on the bed. Violently the man began ripping off the boys clothes, and my Master merely clutched his cross in front of him, trying his hardest to fight back the tears. Master…. I began to sob. The tears slid down my cheeks and to my chest, and I realized I could feel my body again.

Opening my eyes, at first I saw nothing. Then I began to make out the forms moving about. Their skin was completely black, but they had the shape of humans. But the faces….there were no eyes…no noses…no ears…just mouths filled with sharpened teeth. I tried to stand up but found I was tied down to the ground by thick roots. Then they all stopped moving and stood still. Their mouths opened wide and they laughed. It was a dry, empty sound like dead leaves. "What the hell are you?!" I shrieked. "And what do you want with me?"

You are of the undead. But your blood…it is so pure…yes, so pure…we are the Sirens of the Black Forest. We reach into the recesses of minds and find what will torment them the most. We had to bring back your humanity before we could drink it up…the voice in my head stopped and they began cackling again. One at a time, they drew closer to me until I was writhing beneath the branches, trying to get away from their slimy touches. We will devour you…

"No!" I screamed, but my voice was lost in the shadows.

I will not die here. They cannot take me. I will not let this happen…I belong…to my Master! With a new surge of determination, I thrashed against the roots and knocked a few of them away. But they only came cackling back. "Master! Master Alucard!!! Vlad!" I shouted until my voice went hoarse, but the creatures had frozen in place.

She said his name..she called him here…that man…Vlad mustn't come here..must not…I realized with a slight smile that they were afraid, and that filled me with pride. Then they slowly stepped away from me and I saw him. My Master was here. He stood between the trees grinning at me, but it was furious. The anger emanated around him like daggers. Then he spoke, his voice low and almost a growl.

"Seras Victoria…is MINE."