Stranded: Chapter 5

A/N: Konnichiwa Everyone!!! Sorry That It's Been So Long Since I Last Updated, It Was Mid-Term Time At Our School So I Was Kinda Busy Studying ^^ Anyway, Just A Warning…There Is Some Slight Integra X Major Content In This Chapter. Happy Reading!!

Montanna Max opened his eyes and met only blackness. He had a brief moment of panic, have I gone blind? He thought nervously, until he realized that he was sleeping with a book on his face. He reached up, plucked the book off of his face, and set it down on the table with a small "Thud." The sudden noise caused Sweeney to look up from the book that he was thoroughly studying.

"Ah. You're awake."

"…Ja…vhat time is it?" Montanna Max asked groggily, rubbing at his eyes.

"Hm…about…" Sweeney looked up, no doubt calculating from the last time he looked at a clock. "About...two or three O'clock in the morning."

"Really? How long have you been avake?"

"I can't remember…" Sweeney said quietly. Montanna Max stood up.

"Tell you vhat," He said, walking over to where Sweeney was sitting. "Vhy don't you go upstairs and try and get some sleep, and I'll try and finish taking notes on these laws. OK?" Sweeney smiled warmly and stood up,

"Thank you." He said, heading towards the stairs. "Good night Max." He said sleepily.

"Gute Nacht, Sweeney." Montanna Max said, already diverting most of his attention to the books in front of him.

The next morning, Sweeney walked down the stairs and wasn't surprised to see Montanna Max sleeping with his head resting on his arms. Just like that night… Sweeney thought nervously, heading toward the table. He was however, surprised to see that Montanna Max had finished almost two whole books. On top of the one that he himself had finished, Sweeney was sure that they now had all the information that they could possibly need for properly disposing of the judge.

He thanked Max silently and sat down at the table across from him, checking over the plans. He was about half way through the first page when Montanna Max stirred.

"Good Morning" Sweeney said happily.

"Guten Morgen" Montanna Max said quietly, running a hand through his messy yellow hair. "Vhat time is it now?" Sweeney looked out the window behind him and peered at Big Ben's face.

"Nine-Thirty."

Montanna Max leaned to the side of his chair.

"Vhat are you looking at?"

"Big Ben…It's a-"

"I know vhat it is…" Montanna Max said, a tone of regretful anxiety in his voice.

"What's wrong?" Sweeney asked.

"Erm…It's nothing…"

Sweeney sighed,

"I know that you're lying."

"It's just that…that clock is on my list of things to destroy in the future…"

Sweeney chuckled,

"Oh don't look so upset, I hate the damn thing!"

"You do?"

"Yeah, it's always distracting me when I'm working on a customer!"

Montanna Max smiled,

"Mr. Todd?" Sweeney looked up from the notes. "Vhat exactlyis your job?"

"I'm…a barber…"

"And?"

"And what?!" Montanna Max rested his chin on his left hand and smiled.

"There's more than just that…tell me, you vouldn't happen to…dispose of your customers on a regular basis vould you?" Sweeney started out of his chair,

"How on earth did you figure that out?" He yelled.

"I didn't." Montanna Max said smugly, "You just told me!" Sweeney sighed and slumped back down into his chair.

"Damn you and your mind tricks." Sweeney said sulkily, eying the Major with ill-contempt.

"I suppose you have something to tell me?" Montanna Max said, tinting his fingers in an imitation of Sweeney. Sweeney sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"But…answer me this…" He said slowly, "How did you come about thinking that I would kill my customers on a regular basis if you had no evidence to justify your idea?"

"It's simple really," Montanna Max said, "You're the type of person that vould kill simply to cause someone else pain and suffering, and to make your own pain disappear in the moment. And what better vay to do that than by slitting a throat? And besides," He said smugly, "If you remember correctly, I happened to valk in on you and an unfortunate customer vhen ve first met. I can assume that he vas not your first."

Sweeney was baffled. Thousands of questions filled his mind, but before he could ask them, there was a loud crash from upstairs.

"Vhat vas that?" The Major asked, looking up at the ceiling curiously.

"It sounded like it came from my shop!" Sweeney exclaimed, running up the stairs with Montanna Max behind him. Sweeney threw the door to the barber shop open loudly. Mrs. Lovett shrieked and dropped her duster.

"Oh," She breathed, "It's only you Mr. T!"

"What was the crash?" Sweeney asked irritably, walking into the shop.

"Erm…It's nothing…I was just doing a little dusting and I accidentally knocked over a picture is all…"

"What picture?" Sweeney growled, advancing on Mrs. Lovett.

"What? Oh don't worry about it love…" She said nervously, hiding the picture and frame behind her back. Sweeney grabbed her arm and gave it a sharp pull; Mrs. Lovett cried out and dropped the picture onto the floor again. Sweeney released her arm and dropped to the floor to pick up the photo. Mrs. Lovett scurried over to the other side of the room and waited silently. Sweeney gingerly picked up the ruined photo and cradled it in his hand. Mrs. Lovett quietly walked up behind Sweeney.

"Erm…Mr. Todd?" She said nervously.

"Get out" He whispered, still cradling the picture.

"Mr. T, I'm so sorry…" She stammered, tears welling up in her eyes.

"GET OUT" Sweeney roared, standing up and looming over Mrs. Lovett's shaking form. Tears fell from her eyes as she ran out of the shop and down the stairs.

Montanna Max took a step forward. He noticed that blood was trickling from Sweeney's palm. He cautiously walked up and placed a hand on Sweeney's shoulder.

"Sweeney…your palm is…" He motioned towards his bleeding hand. Sweeney looked at his hand and stepped back. He slowly opened his hand and winced slightly. Montanna Max walked up and gingerly held Sweeney's hand in his own, palm up. Sweeney blushed and tried to pull away but The Major held onto his hand firmly.

Montanna Max gently lifted the crumpled piece of paper from his bloody hand and set it aside. When the picture had fallen on the floor, pieces of glass from the frame had shattered and pierced the paper, tearing a diagonal line down it. Some fragments of glass had clung to the paper and when Sweeney had crumpled it in his hand during his little fit, glass shards from it had pierced his palm and fingers. Blood had started to trickle down onto the floor.

"Ve're going to have to stop the bleeding somehow…" The Major said; a note of worry in his voice.

"And how do you plan to do that?" Sweeney growled.

"Hm…ve're going to need something to use as a bandage…give me your vest."

"What?!" Sweeney yelled, clutching his vest protectively.

"I need to tear a strip off to use as a make-shift bandage."

"Fine." Sweeney grumbled, taking his vest off and handing it to The Major. He took the vest and paused to admire Sweeney's toned, muscled chest through his under shirt. He snapped out of his thoughts when he realized that Sweeney's hand was still bleeding. Montanna Max tore a small strip off the vest and gingerly wrapped it around Sweeney's hand.

"How did you figure out what to do so quickly?" Sweeney asked, pulling his hand out of The Major's. Montanna Max smiled.

"I live on a zeppelin vith a mad scientist…you learn these things." Sweeney didn't know whether to laugh or just drop the subject. He decided on the latter. Montanna Max turned and picked up the old, crumpled piece of paper and un-folded it. Sweeney growled and snatched the paper out of his hand.

"Don't touch that." He said angrily.

"Who are they?" The Major asked, "They're beautiful."

"Lucy and Johanna" Sweeney said mournfully.

"Your vife and daughter?" The Major asked, not taking his eyes off the picture.

"Yes…" Sweeney said sadly.

"You must miss them a lot…" Montanna Max said quietly.

"Oh please," Sweeney growled, "You have no idea what it's like to loose someone you love…" Montanna Max dropped his head, staring at the floor, his hair covering his eyes.

"You're wrong…" He whispered.

"What? You? Really? Who?" Sweeney bombarded The Major with questions. Montanna Max inhaled deeply and exhaled it in a shaky whistling sort of sound.

"I haven't exactly lost her but…" He paused, trying to choose the right words. "But she'll never love me…"

"Why not?" Sweeney asked, forgetting about the throbbing pain in his hand for a moment. "What's her name?"

Montanna Max leaned against the window and took another deep breath.

"Integra." He breathed out. "Integral Fairbrook Vingsgate Hellsing."

"And why won't she love you?" Sweeney asked, sitting down in his chair.

"Because," He said quietly, "Everything she stands for is…is exactly vhat I hope to destroy. She stands for honor and justice and respect…and I stand for chaos, violence and death. She despises me to the core of her being, she sees me as a heartless monster and nothing else…that's vhy ve could never be together…"

He trailed off, tears welling up in his eyes. He felt disgusted with himself, crying over something so trivial; but despite the mental beating that he was giving himself, a few tears managed to fall from his eyes and trail down his cheek. He quickly wiped them away and spoke up.

"Erm…Sweeney?" He asked in a shaky voice.

"Yes?"

"Do you mind not telling anyone about vhat just happened? It's kind of hard to rule a battalion vith an iron fist if everyone knows you cried over a girl…" Sweeney laughed,

"Of course, don't worry about it." Montanna Max smiled.

"Thanks."

Sweeney was just about to tell The Major that they needed to head down to the old bailey sometime that day, when he was interrupted by the door to the shop being violently thrown open.

Both men turned and simultaneously gasped

A/N: Cliff Hanger Alert!!! Well? How Was This Chapter? I Would Appreciate Some More Reviews Or I Might Not Be Motivated To Keep Going…;) Keep The Reviews Coming People!!!