A/N: So, there was a rather large SNAFU with the original version of this chapter, which is why it's being reposted. For those who have been reading along for a while, you'll want to go back to look at chapter twelve again, since it's been edited. What happened was that I had almost identical scenes in twelve and fourteen, so I added the additional bits that were in fourteen to twelve, took the duplicate scene out of fourteen, and then added a few scene to the new version. So here you go.

Violet Turned Red
Chapter Fourteen
New Toy

Duo found it strange how much his training with Alucard and with the Geese became daily routine, and how much he was sometimes reminded of the three years he'd been learning to pilot under G or'd been learning everything else from Howard's Sweepers. G and Alucard. Now there was a terrifying comparison. Now if he could only figure out where Walter fit in all of that. Or Integra, the fiery ice queen overseeing it all. If anything, she was like a sane version of Colonel Une, but since he hadn't known Une then, she didn't fit in the set.

Speaking of, the woman was giving him a rather unimpressed look at the fact that he wasn't paying as much attention as he should have been. Duo gave her a bit of a sheepish grin and turned his focus back on her. "Sorry, got distracted. You were saying?"

"I would put any other soldier on unpaid leave for that disrespect," Integra informed him flatly, tapping her pen on the top of the desk in irritation.

"Ah, but you don't pay me," Duo said, giving her a wink. If he irritated her enough, he might get shot, it would be worth it. "So it'd just be a few days off from... not doing all that much."

With the way that the lady knight's fingers tightened on her cigar, she was pondering bullets too. And it wouldn't be the head atop his shoulders that tasted lead. Or silver, if he was reading her right. "That, Maxwell," she gritted, "would be my reason for calling you in here. My servant is under the impression that you're ready to take a trial mission."

He was quick to cover up his surprise at the news, hiding it behind an eager grin. "About damn time. From the sound of things with Mum, he had her fighting within the week."

"Miss Victoria wasn't a public figure before her death," Integra said with a raised eyebrow. The fact that her newest vampire was was the reason they needed him to be as trained as possible before they allowed him in the field. "Also, we wanted to be sure that you would be able to handle melee fighting."

Said vampire echoed her expression as he looked at her. Sure, he'd been wondering why Alucard had had him playing with a scythe of all things (and there was no question that their training was play, no matter how violent), but with the old man, who could tell why he did anything? "So, this mean that I'm getting a shiny toy like Mum's?"

"Walter's designed a weapon for you, yes," Integra said, a hand coming up to rub the bridge of her nose beneath her glasses. It just wasn't worth correcting him, not when he obviously took after his uncle so much. "He seems to be under the impression that it's one you'll be rather suited to."

"Sounds like it'll probably be a fun one then." From the look of Alucard's twins and Seras' toy, anything coming from Walter was bound to be good, and possibly huge.

Not for the first time, the woman had to wonder if his skills were worth the amount of frustration he put her through. Surely it would be easier to let Alu- no, the vampire liked the boy. As did her butler. There would be no help from her servants. She'd have to shoot him herself.

"You'll find out once you meet with Walter in the armory," Integra replied as she tried to keep from going for the revolver in her top drawer. But it was a close call. She waved a hand towards the door. "Dismissed."

"Aww, I don't get to keep the lovely lady company anymore?" Duo asked with a cheeky grin, vanishing in a wisp of shadow just as a bullet embedded itself in the door behind him. He reappeared right outside the armory, knowing better than to startle the old man. It sounded about as smart as sneaking up on G. Which... was about as dumb as sticking your tongue in a light socket.

The vampire rapped on the door with his knuckles before pushing it open, immediately looking around for what he hoped would be some really awesome toy- ahem, weapon. But all he saw other than the usual was Walter setting something that looked a lot like a flute case on the work table. Huh?

"Just in time, Mr. Maxwell," Walter said without needing to look up. Someday, Duo would find out how he did that accurately without fail, every time. He gestured for the younger man to come over, nimble fingers flipping the case open. "I believe this will suit you quite well."

Far from being the gun that Duo had expected with a small case, there was what looked like three lengths of a pole, except that the shorter two had indentations for fingers. At Walters prompting, he picked up the longest pieces and turned it over in his hands. Subtle buttons near each end, several other tubes inside visible from both. Duo raised an eyebrow at the thing and lightly pressed the buttons, only for a grin to start forming when extensions shot out from each end.

"Very nice," he said softly. Duo twirled the rod in his fingers, making note that it was weighted on each end, and there were two grooves where he assumed the handle pieces fit in. Easy to stick in, simple catch to remove. Now he just needed to figure out what the pair near the top were for...

Walter took a small step back to give Duo room, a small and tightly controlled smile on his face. "Might I suggest compressing the button at the end of your forward handle? And do hold it ports facing away from yourself."

Giving him a curious glance, the former pilot moved the pole to face away from him like he'd been told and pushed the button. If his grin had been happy before, it was nothing compared to the wide smile on his face now. He couldn't help but to laugh. "A thermal scythe. You made me a fucking hand-held thermal scythe."

By the time Duo was finally cleared for the 'trail mission' that Integra had mentioned, the young vampire couldn't help but to think that it was about damn time. Gundam pilots didn't do too well cooped up for long periods of time with little to do other than training. He needed to be able to actually do something. Therefore, he was probably the most cheerful person in the back of the Geese filled truck, lovingly checking his new toy over to make sure despite the fact that he'd done so before leaving.

"You're sure relaxed," Pip said with a finger tipping his hat up to see the younger man better, his own weapon leaned back against one shoulder. "Old fang face hasn't been taking you on missions behind our backs, has he?"

Duo laughed, flashing the other men a grin. "Na, I'm just glad to be back in the action. Too much time sitting on my ass and twiddling my thumbs makes for a twitchy shinigami, ya know? Plus I want to try out my baby properly."

The mutters from the other men questioning the vampire's sanity just made his grin grow. Hey, he never actually claimed to have any. Pip didn't look nearly as surprised, snorting at his old friend and shaking his head. The Kid would never change. Hundred years down the line, and he would probably be just as nuts.

They chatted idly until the truck rolled to a stop and the back was opened to let them out. Duo barely needed to inhale to smell the amount of death in the area. So this was what Teggy considered a little mission, hm? Well, that was sure interesting. He jumped out of the back and extended the pole, attaching the handles with a few quick movements. Tossing a salute to Pip over his shoulder, Duo started running after Alucard, who was already headed towards what had to where the vamp they were hunting was hiding. Seras and the Geese would keep as much distance as they could, but the two of them were going to be getting up close and personal.

Even though he'd smelled the rotting flesh and been told about the ghouls, the first sight of them caught him off guard and Duo's eyes flew wide. They had to be fresh, because they still looked so human...

"Should have known it wouldn't exactly be Hollywood, Duo," he muttered under his breath, extending the glowing blade of his scythe. He'd killed men before, this wasn't any different. Except that these were already dead. He'd be giving their families something to mourn, and stopping their master from taking any more lives. This wasn't like the war. Swallowing the reluctance to kill things that looked so much like civilians, he fixed a grin on his face. "Come to shinigami, my little kiddies."

The god of death was out to play again.

When Seras caught up to her childe at Alucard's call for them (to take care of stragglers and clean up, mostly), she had to stop and stare at him in something akin to horror. The young man was covered in the blood and gore from the ghouls he'd been fighting. But the terrifying thing was that he was still grinning, eyes almost glowing as he kneeled down on the ground. She couldn't even tell in he was in full bloodlust, or if he'd actually been having... fun.

"Duo?" she asked hesitantly, glancing around for some sight of her master. Seras had seen Duo training. She knew that he was already too strong for her to take down if he attacked.

To both her relief and that of the Geese standing behind her, Duo blinked away the glow and straightened up, leaning against his scythe pole as he deactivated the blade. He still looked like he'd been through hell. "Hey Mum."

"Are you alright?" Seras asked. Now that it looked safe, she walked up to lay a hand on his cheek despite the blood splatters. It wasn't like she didn't get her fair share of it on her sometimes. The former police officer wasn't really Duo's mother, but she could definitely worry about him enough to be.

He gave her a crooked smile, raising a hand to scratch the back of his head and grimacing at the sticky feeling met by his fingers. "Nothing wrong that a good shower won't fix." Duo pulled his braid forward to squeeze out. "Make that a few showers."

The lady vampire relaxed and chuckled, doing her best not to focus on the gore as she gave him a friendly push towards the back of the building. There had to be a hose there. "Let's start the first one before you get back into the truck. Sir Hellsing doesn't want you talking to the local authorities in case one of them recognizes you."

"Yes ma'am." Duo gave her a salute, keeping his smile firmly on his face. He'd figure out how to react later once he'd cleaned up and had some privacy. If his brain decided to freak out, Duo didn't want to do it in front of people.