Chapter 6: Child of Darkness

London, sometime, somewhere else…

Shinzo's Group

Shinzo Takanashi steadily walked down the dimly lit streets of London. Lucky for the red and black swordswoman, the sun had already gone down when she arrived, allowing her blood red eyes to shine to their fullest. Xalir walked a few paces behind her, seething with his usual endless rage. The pair had ended up in the great city mere minutes ago, following after the trio that left before them. Whether or not the other group of competitors had wound up in the same world as them, it was still unclear. As the dark pair wandered through the streets, searching for guardians, Shinzo suddenly stood straight up in alarm. Xalir immediately summoned his scepter in preparation for a fight.

"What is it? Is there a guardian nearby?" said the soulless.

Shinzo just stared off into space blankly. Xalir tilted his head in confusion.

"Hey, you alright lady?"

Shinzo's mouth slowly crept into a sinister smile. She turned to face her shorter ally with excitement shining in her eyes.

"I'm absolutely wonderful." she replied.

Xalir just rose an eyebrow and shrugged his shoulders.

"Whatever. Just quit spacing out so we can get going."

Shinzo nodded, and they continued on their way. The swordswoman couldn't help but think back on the feeling she had a moment ago. Her sister was far away, but in those brief few seconds, her younger sibling had succumbed to her inner demon. Whether or not Hisana had joined her amongst the ranks of the damned, it was still unclear. Nonetheless, the very thought of her younger sibling becoming a being of darkness like her filled Shinzo with excitement. She now released her reiatsu to its full extent. If anything even remotely powerful or connected to the afterlife was in the city, then it would be found shortly. Seconds later, Shinzo snapped her head to the right. Her senses had detected something not far away. She smiled sinisterly and drew her twin zanpakutou before heading off in the direction of the disturbance. Xalir also smiled insanely as he took off after her. Moments later, the pair entered a brightly lit plaza. In the center of the plaza stood a tall woman with a violet streak running through her head of short dark hair. The woman wore a full suit of armor, along with a vest and a banner like cape, and in her hand she held a long rapier. The woman was surrounded by small knee high creatures who wore purple cloaks to cover their bodies and wielded a variety of weapons. The woman caught sight of Shinzo and Xalir as they emerged from the shadows.

The woman smirked. "So, you are the girl that everyone is talking about. The one who singlehandedly slew two guardians." she said in a very French accent.

Shinzo returned the smirk. "That's correct. Will you allow me the pleasure of knowing your name before I destroy you, guardian?"

"I am Fiora, grand duelist of Demacia. I have chosen to enforce Marluxia's rule in this world so that I may face you." Fiora pointed her blade at Shinzo. "From what I have heard, you are a worthy opponent."

Shinzo brought her blades into their shikai form. "It appears that you and I favor the rapier. Care to make this interesting?"

"I'm listening."

"To show you how skillful I am, I will use only the pair in my hands, and will not call upon the powers of a soul reaper. As for you, feel free to use any technique or power that you possess. Sound fair?"

"Very well. I accept your challenge."

"Good. Xalir, go play with the little ones. Leave the guardian to me."

Xalir just roared in response and charged toward Fiora's minions.

"Good boy."

Shinzo and Fiora approached each other. Both duelists bowed their heads and readied their weapons. They stood glaring at each other for a moment, waiting for one of them to make the first move. Fiora grew tired of waiting, and with a declarative shout of 'en garde!' thrust her sword forward, beginning the duel. Shinzo easily parried the thrust and slashed with her dual blades. Fiora somersaulted backwards out of the way, then charged forward, blade first. Shinzo barely had time to step aside and avoid the attack. As Fiora stood up, Shinzo lashed out at her, thrusting both swords forward. A quick flash of silver went over Fiora, and Shinzo's blades went veering off course upon touching her armor. Before Shinzo could recover, Fiora sent a quick triple slash at her opponent. Shinzo backed away a few steps, injuries already healed. Fiora didn't give her time to prepare a counterattack and rushed forward, rapidly swinging and thrusting at high speeds. Shinzo struggled against the initial strike, then quickly matched Fiora's pace. The duelists began weaving around each other in an endless exchange of blows, their blades whistling and clashing in an almost musical rhythm. Both fighters wore a look of amusement and joy on their faces, both excited at being allowed to fight an opponent with similar abilities and strengths. But they both knew that no matter how much they enjoyed their duel, it would eventually have to end with one of them either broken or dead. After one final exchange, Fiora and Shinzo leapt apart from each other. The red-eyed girl had no visible injuries, though she had been struck numerous times. Fiora on the other hand had very noticeable scars along her arms and waist, as well as a couple on either cheek.

"Incredible. You are even more talented than I had heard." the Demacian admitted. "Are you certain you are upholding your promise? I do not see a scratch on you."

"I can honestly say that I have kept my word. I have not once used the power of a soul reaper during our duel." Shinzo replied. "I happen to have an abnormal healing ability, and I cannot suppress it no matter how hard I try. Do not think this makes me invincible, you simply haven't given me an injury serious enough to be fatal."

"So what you are saying…is that I must hit you as hard and as precisely as I can?"

Shinzo nodded. "Pretty much."

Fiora smirked. "Very well then. If you would be so kind as to hold still…"

Before Shinzo could reply, Fiora became a silver blur and disappeared. All of sudden, Fiora reappeared above her and thrust downwards. Not even a second after, Fiora was running her blade through Shinzo's chest. Then she was at her back, then at her right, then her left, until she once again struck from above. Fiora then reappeared in front of Shinzo. The red-eyed girl stood still for a moment, then blood exploded from several areas on her body. Shinzo fell down on one knee and hung her head low. Fiora closed her eyes and sighed.

"It is a shame that our duel must end like this. You were the greatest opponent I had ever faced."

"Also…" a voice said suddenly from behind her.

Fiora's eyes shot open in alarm. She turned around quickly to see Shinzo standing right behind her, completely unharmed.

"…I am the last opponent you will ever face."

Fiora glanced back to where the red-eyed girl had been kneeling a moment before. The only thing there was a small puddle of blood. Readying her sword again, Fiora returned her gaze to Shinzo.

"How? How did you survive?" the Demacian questioned.

Shinzo chuckled and slowly walked toward her. "You weren't strong enough."

Before Fiora could even try to move, Shinzo ran both of her rapiers through her chest. Fiora sank to her knees, dropping her sword and vomiting up blood. Her vision began to blur, but she could register the hungry glow of Shinzo's eyes as she lifted her head up by the chin so that they were gazing into each other's eyes. Shinzo leaned close to Fiora and inhaled sharply. She licked her lips as the scent of freshly spilt blood filled her nostrils. Shinzo leaned in to whisper in the Demacian's ear.

"Sweet dreams." she said seductively.

It was the last thing Fiora heard before rows of jagged canines tore ravenously into her neck. Fiora gasped once, then her eyes rolled back and she was still. Xalir finished off the last of the minions and looked over at his partner. He watched as she drained every last drop of Fiora's blood from her body before standing up and letting the corpse fall to the ground in a crumpled heap. As Shinzo licked the last bit of blood from her lips, he sighed and kicked at a dead minion. Finished, Shinzo returned her zanpakutou to its original state and began walking over to him.

"Did you enjoy playing with the little pieces of trash?" Shinzo asked snidely.

Xalir scoffed. "They were boring as hell. The only thing they had going for them was the fact that there were so many of them." the blue haired boy groaned. "What about you? Did you enjoy eating the only decent opponent?"

"Indeed I did."

"Well now that you've had something to eat, can we move on?"

"That depends on whether or not the old man who's been watching us is a guardian…" Shinzo turned and looked to the side. "or just a careless observer who can't mind his own business."

Xalir followed her gaze and saw the silhouette of a tall man in a long coat and hat standing on the roof of a nearby building. The man wore a pair of glasses with bright red lenses that reflected off the moonlight. The man's pure white teeth shone from the darkness caused by his hat.

Shinzo stared at the man indifferently. "So, which are you? Friend or enemy?"

"Me? I am just a humble observer enjoying watching the results of his actions come to fruition." the man said in archaic and deep voice.

He leapt down from the building and stood before Shinzo. Now that he had entered the light, the deep crimson which covered nearly all of his clothing could be seen. The man was taller than Shinzo by almost two feet, yet she did not seem fazed at all.

"I am glad to see that you have grown into quite the vampire, Shinzo Takanashi." the man continued.

Shinzo's eyes widened slightly. "You know my name?"

"Oh, I know much more than that. Since the day you were born, I have kept a close watch on you, carefully monitoring your progress towards becoming what you truly are."

Shinzo now showed genuine surprise. "Who are you?"

The man took off his hat and glasses, revealing black hair and eyes that were as red as hers.

"I am the one who gave you your power. I am the one who turned Yomi Takanashi into a vampire." the man pursed his lips into an all-knowing smile. "My name is Alucard."

To say the Hellsing estate was a prestigious place was an understatement. From the moment she laid eyes on the building, Shinzo underwent a rare feeling of inferiority. The building was simply enormous, with hundreds of acres of grassy fields in every direction. Alucard had insisted that Shinzo come with him back to the estate, on the pretense that he would completely explain his connection to her. Xalir took off in some inexplicable frenzy to go after his other self, so she decided that she might as well accept the offer. Who knows, the ancient vampire might lead her to another guardian. Shinzo followed Alucard as he lead her down one of the many long hallways of the estate. At the end of the hallway was a door with a nameplate that read: 'Sir Hellsing'. Alucard turned around to face the younger vampire.

"Before we go in, I must ask that you behave yourself to the fullest. My master doesn't take kindly to vampires she doesn't know. Then again, she doesn't really take to anyone." he let out a small chuckle.

Shinzo composed herself and stood up straight. Alucard nodded in approval, then opened the door. Stepping inside, Shinzo found herself staring across the room at a tan woman with long blonde hair and glasses wearing business attire. To the right of the woman was another woman with shorter blonde hair, red eyes, what looked like swirling darkness in place of her left arm, and a crimson police uniform who stood leaning against a wall and inspecting a rather large gun. The blonde with a gun was the first to notice Shinzo, and gave her a childish look of curiosity, shortly before switching to a deathly glare and pointing her gun (or rather, a cannon) at Shinzo. The action caused Shinzo to instinctively reach for her swords and return the glare.

"Before they blow the room apart, would you mind introducing your guest, Sir Alucard?" the woman in business attire said, looking up from the paperwork on her desk.

"Of course, master." Alucard glanced at the armed blonde. "Stand down, police girl. You're practically pointing that thing at family."

The blonde shot him a puzzled look, but lowered her weapon nonetheless. Shinzo made a similar expression as she let go of her swords.

"Family?" she said.

"I'll explain in a bit." Alucard gestured a hand toward the short girl. "Allow me to introduce Shinzo Takanashi, daughter of Yomi and Ebony Takanashi, the saviors of the multiverse."

The woman on the other side of the room stood up from behind her desk and walked over to Shinzo. Now that she was close, Shinzo could make out the woman's blue eyes and intelligent smirk as she held out her hand.

"I am Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing. A pleasure to meet you, Ms. Takanashi." she said.

Shinzo returned the gesture and shook the woman's hand. "The pleasure is mine, Ms. Hellsing."

Alucard then looked at the other woman in the room. "Police girl, introduce yourself."

The blonde nodded and walked beside Shinzo. With a bright smile, she held out her regular hand.

"My name is Ceras Victoria, nice to meet you." she said in a high voice.

"Likewise."

Ceras scratched the back of her head nervously. "Sorry about earlier. Force of habit."

"It's no big deal."

Integra turned to Alucard. "I believe you owe us some explanations, Alucard. Why is this girl here, and what did you mean by 'family'?"

The ancient vampire smiled sinisterly. "I was just about to get to that. Everyone, please make yourselves comfortable. I have a lot to say."

Once everyone in the room was either seated or leaning on a wall, Alucard continued.

"I have brought Ms. Takanashi here to tell her some things about herself that she would be most inclined to know. Such as the reason why I called her and police girl 'family'. In case you haven't already guessed, Shinzo is a vampire, just like the police girl and me."

"That explains the red eyes and the leftover blood stain on her lip." Integra noted.

Shinzo ran a finger over her lips and saw that there indeed was some of the life giving liquid leftover from earlier. Without a second thought, she licked the fluid from her finger.

Alucard cleared his throat before continuing. "Yes. However, unlike most vampires, she was not turned into what she is now. She was born a vampire. The reason for this is most likely because I turned one of her parents, Yomi Takanashi. She must have inherited Yomi's vampirism, and as a result she is an extraordinarily powerful vampire. Possibly even more powerful than me."

A dread silence fell upon the room at the last sentence. Both Ceras and Integra stared wide-eyed at Shinzo, who sat looking at the reflection of her eyes from her sword.

"You must be damn powerful to make a statement like that, old man." said the swordswoman. "But I have a whole lot of questions for you. Let's start with why I didn't notice I was a vampire up until a fem months ago, a little after I turned three."

Ceras's jaw practically dropped to the floor. "You're only three years old?!"

"Well I'm certainly not thirty."

"But you look around my age!"

"It's a side effect of the method used to conceive her and her sister." Alucard explained. "She develops into adulthood at a much faster rate, so even though she's technically only a three year old, she has the body and brain of a fully grown adult. Now as for your question, it is probably best if I explained that to you in private. You can ask me anything you want as soon as we're alone."

"But why can't I know anything, master?" Ceras asked, pouting.

"I agree with Ceras, what is so secret about her that you must keep it from even me, Alucard?" asked Integra.

"Let's just say I'm respecting a good friend's last wishes." Alucard said with a smirk.

Integra just sighed. "Very well. Just don't make a habit of this."

"No guarantees, master."

With that, Alucard and Shinzo left for the guest room, where Shinzo was told she could spend the night. After they were behind closed doors, Alucard immediately dropped his sly expression for a much more serious one.

"How much do you already know?" he asked in a menacing tone.

"I know that I'm more than just a vampire." Shinzo replied in an equally cold voice. "I know that Hisana and I are special...in more ways than she realizes."

"Do you know that the two of you have enough power inside you to rival that of a god?"

Shinzo smirked. "Well, I wouldn't say that powerful..."

"True, for the blood is more potent in you than in her. But..." Alucard loomed over the short girl, and reached out toward her. "Do you know...that this face is only an illusion?"

The ancient vampire ran his fingers down the girl's cheek. Her skin turned ghostly pale at his touch, and her hair began to lose its color. Shinzo swatted his hand away, and her features returned to normal.

"Don't touch me." she growled. "I don't know exactly what I am, but I am well aware that it is not human."

"Does Hisana know?"

Shinzo shook her head. "No, she's barely begun to discover her power."

Alucard sighed. "They had hoped that you would never find out. They wanted you and your sister to have normal lives."

"They?"

"Your parents, Yomi and Ebony. They knew full well the possibilities of their children becoming monsters, much like them. Neither Ebony nor Yomi wanted that for either of you, so Yomi put a charm to hide your true forms. But there is a way to break the spell, though I do not approve of it."

Shinzo was curious. "How?"

"You must drink your sister's blood. The taste of your twin's blood will cast off the illusion."

"I see..."

"Now for the big question..." he stared straight into the girl's eyes. "Do you have feelings for your sister?"

Shinzo froze for a moment. Unsure of how to respond, she looked away from Alucard. "That's...not important..."

"I think you'll find it is very important!" Alucard yelled, startling her. "It could quite possibly determine the fate of the multiverse! Now tell me, do you love Hisana?"

Shinzo glared furiously at the ancient vampire. "Yes! I'm in love with my own fucking sister! Are you happy now?"

Alucard stepped back, placing a hand on his forehead. He sank into a nearby chair and pinched the brim of his nose.

"It's already happening...I thought we had more time..."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Alucard rested his head in his hand, tightly gripping the arm of the chair with the other. "I once knew a man by the name of Shosetsuka. He had the power to see the fates of others. He saw your birth mother's fate...he saw your future...he saw what would happen if you and Hisana were to mate...if you were to conceive a child...and the only word he could use to describe it was 'tragedy'."

Shinzo paused. She clenched her fists as rage built up inside her. "Just what exactly...are you saying?"

Alucard glared at her. "Don't you understand? You cannot pursue those feelings! There is darkness in your heart, greater than any I have ever seen. If what you desire comes to pass...then you will undoubtedly unleash armageddon on us all!"

Shinzo grabbed Alucard by his tie and bared her teeth. "And who are you to speak of reason and morals? You are a creature of darkness as well! Isn't annihilation something you should crave?"

"What I want and what is best for the multiverse are two different things! I crave blood and carnage, and I will exploit my world toward that end. But I will not sacrifice other worlds just for the sake of more bloodshed, no matter how sweet it may be!"

"I can't fucking believe this...I thought of all people, a fellow vampire would understand me. I don't want to bring destruction to the multiverse, and nor do I wish to have Hisana bare my offspring. I just want her to love me!"

Alucard bared his own teeth. "She cannot love you. You don't understand-"

"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO DOESN'T UNDERSTAND!"

No longer able to contain her rage, Shinzo slapped Alucard as hard as she could. The ancient vampire could feel his face stinging with pain as a mark grew. Shinzo let go of his tie, and opened the door.

"Get out." she growled.

Alucard glared at her before standing up and exiting. Just as he was about to go down the hallway, he turned around one last time.

"You can't run from the truth." was all he said before he disappeared.

Shinzo slammed the door shut. She stood there for a time, still seething with anger. "I don't care..." she whispered.

Her rage slowly turned to depression, and soon tears were streaming down her face. She fell onto the guest room bed and buried her face in the pillows. For the rest of the night, the sound of quiet sobbing rang through the halls of the Hellsing estate.

When evening came the next day, Shinzo resumed her search. The heated exchange from the night before played like a broken record in her head, forcing her to bury it deep within her mind so she could focus her full attention on the task at hand. Luckily, she felt a large fluctuation of power nearby, giving her a much needed distraction and quickening her progress. Shinzo hastened toward the source of the disturbance, but when she arrived she found only a bloody mass of purple, insect like limbs and wings, with Xalir's foot planted on top of the mess. The blue haired soulless looked over with his one red eye as a disappointed Shinzo approached.

"Look who finally decided to show up. I got to fight this thing all by myself. He had the weirdest name too. Kha'Zix or something like that. Guess that makes us even, doesn't it?" said Xalir.

"Whatever. As long as the guardian is dead, I don't give a fuck who kills it." Shinzo responded coldly.

"Geez, what's got you so pissed off?"

"None of your damn business."

Xalir shrugged his shoulders. "If you say so."

"Let's just hurry up and look for the last guardian. The sooner we kill it, the sooner we can leave. I just hope we won't have to look far..."

"Oh, y'won't have t'worry about that, lass." said a very Scottish voice.

Shinzo and Xalir turned around to see a very tall man with short blonde hair, glasses, and a cross hanging from his neck. He wore a long jacket, and held a bayonet shaped sword in either hand. It only took one glance to know that he was the final guardian of this world. Shinzo drew her weapons, which instantly went into shikai form.

"Who the hell are you, guardian?" demanded the swordswoman.

"Father Alexander Anderson, ye devil." the man responded.

"He's a priest?" questioned Xalir.

"Aye! A servant of the lord devoted to riddin the world of yer heathen hides!"

Shinzo stepped between Xalir and Anderson. "Xalir, back off. I'll take him by myself."

"Again? I don't think so-"

"Xalir. I said..." she turned and glared at him with a fury that rivaled his own. "BACK. OFF."

The soulless was so surprised at the anger in his partner's eyes, that it took him a moment to register that blades were clashing and the fight had begun. Anderson was just as fast as his short opponent, making it difficult for Shinzo to catch him off guard. After exchanging blows for a few minutes though, she saw an opening and sliced both her swords across the priest's face. Anderson fell to the ground, motionless. Shinzo scoffed and made to sheathe her blades.

"Well that was easy..." she muttered.

"It ain't over yet, lass."

Shinzo leapt back just as a trio of bayonets flew past her. She turned in surprise to see Anderson standing up again, with no traces of his previous injuries. The vampiress grit her teeth in annoyance. The priest had regenerative abilities, just like her. Anderson became aware of this as well when he sent a barrage of bayonets that stabbed into Shinzo's chest and stomach, but didn't seem to have any effect.

"Well how 'bout that, lass? Ye and I have the same kind'a protection."

"It looks that way. At this rate, the battle will carry on for ages."

"Aye. So t'save some time..." Anderson readied his blades and burst toward Shinzo. "Fight with everythin you've got, ye devil!"

Shinzo met the first blow with one of her own, the began to attack with all the speed and strength she could muster. But no matter how hard she fought, no matter how hard she tried, it was still not enough. The priest simply would not die. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of exchanging blows, her inability to overcome Anderson caused her to take several injuries, from which she was actually forced to stagger back and catch her breath.

"Give it up, lass. Yer no match for me." Anderson stated sternly.

Shinzo shook with rage. "Shut up!"

She charged at him, and once again Anderson beat her back.

"This is becomin sad. Don't embarass yerself any further."

"I said shut up! You're in the way...all of you are always in the way! All anyone ever does is tell me that what I want is impossible! That having the love I yearn for will only end in destruction! Well I...am...SICK OF IT!"

A bright red aura erupted around Shinzo, and she let out a monstrous roar. Her rapiers began to become a hellish fusion of flesh and steel, transforming into a demonic pair of longswords. Her eyes became completely red, and radiated an ethereal glow. The center of her breastplate broke off, and the exposed skin began to darken and become demonically twisted. Spikes grew from her shoulders, ripping apart the armor that previously occupied the space. Anderson watched in genuine shock as the nightmarish transformation ended, with the red aura still raging around Shinzo.

"Rrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaahhhhh!" Shinzo roared as she exploded toward the priest.

Anderson barely stopped the blades from crashing down on his skull. He soon found himself struggling to keep his opponents transformed swords at bay, and felt his arms begin to weaken under the strain. Somehow, the transformation had granted Shinzo with an enormous new level of strength, and she pressed down so hard on her enemy's weapons, that the priest's arms snapped and broke in half under the pressure. As Anderson's arms fell to the ground with a thud, Shinzo plunged her swords into his gut. She then let go of her swords and drove her fingers into the priest's chest.

"Insolent priest! Give me your blood! Give me your soul!" Shinzo screamed.

There was a terrible ripping sound as the enraged vampiress tore open Anderson's chest. As blood began gushing form the wound, Shinzo reached into it with her mouth and clamped her canines down on the priest's heart. There was a grotesque crunch, then Alexander Anderson saw no more. Shinzo withdrew her mouth from the priest's chest, swallowing a chunk of the vital organ. Anderson's bloody and mangled corpse collapsed to the ground. Shinzo let out a bloodcurdling scream before bursting into a fit of insane laughter, blood spilling onto the pavement with each chuckle.

"All those who try to keep me from my beloved Hisana will die! If anyone stands in my way, I will destroy them and devour their remains! Ahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahaha!"

On a rooftop some distance away, Alucard watched as the vampiress proceeded to continue feeding on Anderson's remains. A single, regretful thought went through his head. I tried to set things right...I tried to change the course of fate...and yet I feel that I have only ensured our doom.

33 Guardians Remaining...