Integra, Alucard, Walter, and Seras (who had run up from the lower levels to see what was going on) ran outside to the front gates of the manor and saw a swarm of strange looking creatures heading for them. The swarm looked like smoke, but they could tell it was made up of individual creatures because each one was writhing and twitching toward them in a huge mass. There was no smoke from the explosion they heard, only these creatures were present.
"What are they?" Seras asked.
No one answered. They had never seen anything like it before. The creatures were just a huge dark mass rolling swiftly, almost like a storm cloud in a strong wind. The group noticed an odd thing as the mass went through a shadow. The creatures that hit the shadow disappeared. They were visible in the sun, but not even Alucard could see them in the shadows.
Seras involuntarily took a step back.
"They're shadow Demons." Megami spoke up.
"What?" Integra said out loud.
Seras turned to the Hellsing leader.
"What Sir?"
"Er, nothing." Integra replied, waving it off.
"It's what those creatures are called." Megami continued. "Shadow Demons. As their name suggests, they blend with the shadows and become invisible. They're also extremely fast. Light slows them down considerably, but they're still very deadly. They're killing machines. Let me out, I can handle this."
"Let you out? How?"
Integra made sure to think her response this time.
"Clear your mind of all thoughts. Relax and don't worry."
"Don't worry? There's a huge swarm of these "Shadow Demons" less than a mile away!"
"I know, but please just try."
Integra sighed heavily and closed her eyes. As Megami expected, Integra was able to clear her mind easily. Megami knew Integra was strong and had trained herself well, mind, body and soul, to be able to do virtually anything she put her mind to.
Within a few moments, Integra grew shorter until she stood about 5'2" and her hair turned blue with bangs that fell into her still closed eyes. When her eyes opened, her left was eye blue and her right was green. Seras, Walter and even Alucard stared at her dumbfounded.
"What the hell?" Alucard growled. "Where's Integra, girl?"
Megami turned to him, cuffing up the pants and jacket of Integra's too big suit. She smirked at Alucard, stuffing Integra's glasses into the suit coat pocket.
"She's still here."
Megami glanced at the swarm of Shadow Demons then back to Alucard.
"Introductions will have to wait, I think." She said.
She stepped passed the front gate and muttered something then spread her arms wide. A white flash came from her hands and surrounded the manor and shot upward toward the sky. It looked like a huge white window, but it became clear in moments. Megami then returned to the others.
"That should buy us at least a little time." Megami said to them. "I'll quickly explain a few things. Those creatures are known as Shadow Demons. They come from another world. The explosion you heard was them breaking through the dimensional portal. Of course they had help. I'm almost certain the man that attacked Integra four days ago let them through."
Seras, Alucard, and Walter stared at the girl in Integra's suit that was too big for her, not really believing anything she had said, but not having a choice at the moment either. They were going to have to trust the strange girl until these creatures were gone.
"All right. So what do we have to do to get rid of them?" Walter asked.
"Anything will kill them. The hard part is doing it before the sun goes down or it will be difficult to find them to kill them." Megami explained.
They turned to the sunset. The evening was fast approaching. They needed to act fast.
"Let's do this." Alucard said taking out his Casull and Jackal.
Walter readied his wires as Megami and Seras ran into the mansion and returned with Integra's saber and the Harkonnen.
The creatures had reached the barrier Megami had created and within a few minutes broke through. Alucard immediately fired both guns at the creatures wiping out a good number in the front of the mass in a burst of blood and pieces of flesh. Walter rushed forward and took out more with his wires slicing them into bits. Seras blasted quite a few with her Harkonnen, showering even more blood everywhere on the front lawn and Megami had charged into the mass and was busy slicing through the Shadow Demons quickly and efficiently.
This display lasted for a good fifteen minutes before the four of them noticed a drastic reduction in the demon's numbers. Unfortunately, the sun would be gone entirely within the next few minutes and there still were hundreds of Shadow Demons left.
Nothing could have prepared Alucard and company for what happened next.
"Master! The sun is almost completely set!" Seras yelled over the boom of her Harkonnen.
"I'm well aware of that." Alucard replied reloading the Jackal.
"Just keep attacking!" Megami shouted as she swiped through several Shadow Demons with her sabre.
Walter said nothing as he continued to slaughter the demons with his wires.
Every time their numbers seemed to be dwindling, it would seem like more appeared out of thin air.
The four of them didn't give up though and continued to kill the creatures.
Suddenly Megami stopped. She looked around. The front yard was swarming with Shadow Demons and the sun was set. She seemed to be the only one able to see them now, but, the demons had stopped advancing as much. They slowed down their assault. Megami sensed another presence in the area and instantly knew why the demons were retreating.
"We've got bigger trouble..." Megami said.
The others stopped and looked on as the cloaked man that attacked Integra appeared floating above them.
"This was just a warning." he boomed. "Interfere in our plans again, and the consequences will be far greater."
Before anyone could attack him or say anything the cloaked man disappeared as did the Shadow Demons.
Walter, Alucard, and Seras turned to Megami to find out what was going on, only to discover that she was Integra again.
"What the bloody hell happened here?" Integra growled, surveying her front yard.
The gate was smashed, blood coated the grass, and the pathway was torn up. At least nothing happened to the manor.
The three Hellsing members stared at Integra for a moment before Alucard spoke.
"I'll explain inside." He said as he turned into mist and disappeared into the mansion.
"Damn it Alucard!" Integra shouted.
"Sir, we'll clean this mess up." Seras said.
"It will be as good as new in no time my Lady." Walter added. "Now, go to your office. Alucard will explain everything."
Integra sighed, defeated. She had absolutely no idea what happened after that Megami girl told her to close her eyes. After that everything had gone black and she ended up in a dark place where she simply floated alone. She couldn't see anything but darkness and she couldn't hear anything. She hated to admit it, but it was a little terrifying. Had she been asleep in her own mind? Hopefully Alucard could explain what had happened to her front yard.
Integra hurried into the house and up to her office. She slammed the door and sat at her desk, reaching into the top drawer to find her cigars. Extracting one, she lit it and placed it in her mouth. The soothing taste of the tobacco was exactly what she needed to calm down at the moment.
Alucard chose that moment to appear before her.
"Master."
"Tell me what happened out there Alucard." Integra demanded, calmer now than she had been outside.
"Gladly."
Alucard seated himself on a chair in front of Integra's desk and informed her on everything that occurred after she had blacked out. It took several minutes and when he was finished, Integra's cigar was burnt out. She snuffed the butt out in an ashtray and leaned back in her chair. Neither spoke for a few minutes. Integra didn't know what to think let alone say. This was all happening so fast and it was all so strange. Who was that cloaked man? How dare he attack her city. Would they have to go to war again? If they did, she planned on going into it head on.
Alucard watched Integra intently. Without his sunglasses, his red orbs could watch her unobstructed. Integra didn't seem to notice. She was to absorbed in processing this information. Alucard could see Integra was having a hard time dealing with it. He dipped into her mind and found a million thoughts running wild. Indecisiveness, worry, and confusion were just a few emotions she was going through. But above all, she was scared.
Comfort. It wasn't something Alucard was familiar with anymore. He never had to comfort anyone after he became a vampire so was well out of practice. Sure every now and then he would do some random act of kindness for his master. That was his own way of showing his affection. But she needed something more now. She needed someone to hold on to, to trust. He had never seen his mater in this state before, even when she was a child, and he wasn't sure how she would react to what he was going to do, but he went ahead with it anyway.
Without a word he walked around the desk to her side. She sat in her high backed chair, her elbows on the desk, head in her hands. He slid his arms around her waist from the side and nuzzled her ear. Integra's eyes widened. What was he doing? She put her hands flat on her desk and turned to him. He looked at her, some unreadable emotion on his face that Integra had never seen before. How strange that he could look and act so... human.
Without warning he quickly closed the few inches between their faces, capturing her lips with his. Integra didn't move to retaliate, though she could smell the blood and wine he no doubt had been drinking earlier, and stared at him through half lidded eyes. He didn't move to deepen the kiss and all too soon it was over. He slowly opened his eyes and pulled away, staring into her deep ice colored eyes, their noses still touching. Finally he smirked again, though not a mocking smirk as it usually was. He was more laughing at her surprise for she hadn't spoken a word yet. Whether it was from shock or confusion, she didn't know, but she was rendered speechless.
Finally she found her voice.
"What was that for?"
"You seemed stressed." Alucard replied, his smirk widening now. "I thought it might relax you. Make you forget about the things going on."
Integra opened her mouth to argue, but found she couldn't. He was right. It did make her forget the things that were happening to her. She sighed.
"Thank you." She whispered after a few moments of thought.
Alucard smiled then, a smile full of warmth she didn't know he was capable of, and placed a soft kiss on her lips before disappearing into the shadows.
"I'm always happy to serve you, my Countess." his voice echoed though he was no longer in the room.
His countess? He hadn't called her that since the war.
Integra smirked and reached for a cigar. Things really were becoming stranger around here, and not just the new enemy they were up against.