Disclaimer: Neither Mika Kyoko nor Sakura Neko own PotO or Hellsing

Disclaimer: Neither Mika Kyoko nor Sakura Neko own PotO or Hellsing. If they did, the world would probably freeze over while the poles burned to ashes. It would be that insane.

Saku-Chan: Hello! I'm trying to get this chapter done in as timely a manner as my schedule allows… I'm actually starting it in one of my classes. Don't be mad at me, I'm done with my work for the day! Honest! I want A's, I wouldn't be skimping.

Anyway, so when we left off Christine was trapped in Hellsing- not by Alucard, but by circumstances. What is going on between France and England? No, that's not foreshadowing. I honestly don't know yet- either I'll make it up or Mika-Chan will tell me.

Also, both Erik and Raoul have started sniffing around Integra's attendance at the show. Anyway, here's chapter number 5, the second chapter I'll be writing on my own. Enjoy, I think that Erik and Raoul will start appearing more pretty soon.

Chapter 5: Friends or Enemies?

The managers had proven most unhelpful. They knew nothing of any of the guests, and showed no real support for his attempts to find Christine. The only clue Raoul had was a name that stuck to his mind- Hellsing. He could not expect help from anyone, not for this. The entire scenario was too unbelievable, and in any case Christine was not important to them. There was no one who cared as much as Raoul did.

Unless…

Raoul clamped down on the idea as soon as it formed. He would not resort to asking help from that madman! He and Erik had tried to kill each other on more than one occasion. Even if that… creature agreed to help, Raoul would have to desperate to even try.

"This is an Opera House, not a prison…" Raoul mumbled sarcastically. Please! Didn't it make sense to check out who came nonetheless? Especially the bigger names, those who could afford private boxes. He had to find some way to check on this Integra character. His family had a good name in France- he might be able to check the flight records, to see where this person came from and who else was there.

Box 3… he remembered seeing someone up in Box 3, where Hellsing was supposed to be sitting. Two women, one in a ridiculous dress. The other figure had been shadowed. He had thought nothing of it at the time- the only reason he remember at all was the dress. But the other figure… was that Hellsing? The kidnapper? He had no way of knowing, but he had to go with his gut instinct. Nothing else was helping.

So, to the airport then. To check the destination of Integral Hellsing. It would be at least a start.

Christine was still sitting alone in the room. She had been trying to make sense of everything, ever since Integra had walked out. She had been kidnapped by a vampire. She was stuck in a strange building in England. She could not go home- there was something going on between France and England.

She was stuck in a building where she knew a vampire dwelled.

She was terrified already.

The worst part was that she could not understand why she had been brought here in the first place. She felt that a lot of time had passed. If she had been meant to become the vampire's meal, why hadn't she died before she had a chance to be rescued? If you could call this a rescue. And why did these people allow a vampire to live among them, without any visible fear or any sort of protection?

It was all too confusing, and it was worse to think about it. But what else did she have to do?

She walked to the door and tried the knob. It swung open easily. Christine grasped the edge of the doorway and peeked into the hall. Empty, with a few other doors. Without warning, the door across from hers opened. A young woman in a police uniform stepped out. The other girl jumped.

"Um, hello? You must be the girl Master brought here. The singer."

Christine puzzled over the sentence for a moment. Her blank stare was beginning to dismay the police girl, but she finally fully deciphered the sentence. "Master?"

"Uh… yes. Long story. You don't speak English well, do you? I suppose that makes sense, since you are from France. You were great in the Opera, by the way. My name is Seras." She made sure to speak slowly this time, giving Christine time to translate.

"You saw the performance?"

"Yeah, last night. Before you were… oh, I'm sorry." Christine had tears running down her cheeks. "Oh, I'm really sorry, I'm so tactless, I didn't mean to… um, were you trying to find something? I mean, you're just standing in the door."

Christine shook her head.

"Are you hungry? I know this place like the back of my hand, I could help you find something…"

Again, Christine shook her head. Still, she couldn't help but smile slightly. Seras looked so nervous, shifting back and forth and wringing her hands.

"I don't know where I was planning to go…" Christine said finally. "Honestly, I wasn't expecting the door to be open."

"Well, of course it was open… I mean, this isn't a prison."

"Then what is it?"

"Um… I don't know what to tell you. What all do you already know?"

"This is… Hellsing. In London. And there's…" Christine bit her lip, leaned closer to Seras and lowered her voice to a whisper. "There's a vampire here!"

"Well, yeah, there is that… I imagine that would bother you."

Christine could not believe her ears. She had just told the girl about a vampire, and she didn't seem to care. Seras continued her explanation.

"Everyone here knows about him… see, he's supposed to be here. He's also supposed to be under Sir Integra's control, but I never quite understood how that worked. Anyway, don't be worried. He's not allowed to drink from humans."

Christine didn't understand why that should keep her from being afraid. She was about to ask Seras what else she knew, but she heard a voice behind her.

"Telling tales, police girl?"

Christine looked behind her, and saw Alucard leaning against the bedpost of her room. She let out a muffled scream and stumbled back. Seras caught her shoulder, helping to steady her.

"M… Master!" Seras swallowed visibly and clenched her teeth. "That wasn't a nice thing to do, sneaking up on her like that!"

Alucard laughed. "Not nice? How childish… and I didn't sneak up on anyone. I just wanted to see how our little chorus girl was settling in. Glad to see you two have been acquainted."

"You know perfectly well she won't be staying long. Sir Integra's going to send her home."

"Are you so certain? I must say, you sound quite confident… it's an improvement. If you could keep it up, police girl, you might turn out to be worth something after all. Now, Integra has agreed to send her home- if she wants to go. In the meantime, she's stuck here one way or another." Alucard grinned widely, proudly displaying his sharp canines. "The timing for this little skirmish couldn't be better."

Seras was blushing furiously, too embarrassed by his earlier comment to respond. Christine, on the other hand, had had trouble deciphering their fast-paced exchange. She did however, get the gist of it- that he had implied she might want to stay.

Shaking her head, she backed behind Seras. "Stay away from me… vampire!"

"Vampire? If that's what you're worried about, I don't see why you're hiding behind police girl… she's a vampire as well."

Christine's eyes darted to Seras, and in that moment Alucard disappeared.

"Is that true? You're… you're a…"

Seras sighed and turned to face Christine. "Yes. I'm a vampire. I'm sorry for not telling you, I didn't want to scare you…"

Christine didn't stay to listen- she ran back into her room and slammed the door.

Seras turned to walk down the hall. "Well, so much for that. Thanks a lot Master."

After a brief discussion with the management of the airport, Raoul was allowed to look through the flight records for Integral Hellsing. It took him several hours, but he finally found the flight. Hellsing had left for London the morning after Christine disappeared. Now the only questions remaining were whether or not Hellsing was responsible… and what Raoul would do about it.

Though he wasn't sure about the answer to either question, Raoul proceeded to ask about acquiring an imminent flight to England. The management explained to him that all flights between France and England were canceled until further notice, because of some sort of classified political crisis. The same went for any boat trips between the two nations.

Raoul left the airport, quietly cursing. He finally found his lead, yet was unable to pursue it. He had no options until the 'crisis' rolled over- and by then, who knew what may have happened to Christine?

He returned to the opera house. At first, his intention was to look for any other information he could possibly use. Then, after arriving, he realized that he may very well be desperate. Perhaps it was… necessary to….

Well, you know the old saying. Side with the evil you know over the evil you don't. Raoul threaded his way to the basement of the Opera house.

Erik had contacted several of his old underground connections- despite years hidden at the opera house, he still had some influence. However, for the time being it did him no good. Though he had a hunch that this Hellsing was responsible, he had no idea where to start looking.

Pacing through his home seemed the poorest substitute for real action- but he had nowhere to start. He could head to England- the name did sound distinctly British- but there were some problems between countries, and would be a waste of time to secure passage through it if it turned out he was wrong.

At the same time, it did him no good at all to do nothing. Which was worse- to not try at all, and waste time, or to try and be wrong and waste even more time? He was still puzzling over it when he heard the sound of moving water.

He glanced around the room, looking around for a handy stretch of rope. His eyes swept past the organ, the bed, his model stage…

Ah. There it was.

Only four people he knew of could find their way through the maze of the opera's basement. One was himself. Christine was missing.

That left Madame Giry or Raoul.

Certainly Raoul would have no reason, no inclination to come down here. But then, the same could be said for the Madame. Had someone else found his hideaway?

He didn't stand idle as he puzzled over the possibilities. He had no time to extinguish the lights, but was able to hide himself in the shadows. He would see the intruder long before the intruder saw him.

Erik didn't have to wait long before he saw who had disturbed him- against all probability, it was Raoul. What in hell would that bastard be doing here? Did he suspect that Erik was somehow responsible? He would soon find out…

"Erik! Phantom! Whatever you want to call yourself, this is important!" Raoul searched around the seemingly-deserted room, his eyes passing over Erik without pause.

"It's about Christine…"

Erik stayed still, waiting.

"Damn it… I think I know where she is, but…"

Raoul set his jaw, turning constantly to watch for a threatening rope.

"Grr… I need your help to find her. You want her back too, don't you?"

Raoul was facing away from Erik now. Erik slipped into a more comfortable seat in the room. "Alright, D'Chagne. You've caught my attention."

Raoul jumped and turned to face Erik. He scanned around, eyes flashing back to Erik every few seconds, possibly checking for some kind of track. Erik had left the rope in the shadows- he was sure that he could overpower the aristocratic boy if it came down to that.

Raoul finally finished his examination of the room. He tried to seem confident, but in the unpredictable presence of the 'phantom' of the opera, memories of less pleasant encounters filled his brain.

"I suppose that you've already invaded the manager's office to view the records?"

Erik could detect the faint quaver in Raoul's voice. He couldn't keep a slight smile from escaping. "Of course."

"I noticed a certain name from the last opera… Integral Hellsing."

Erik raised an eyebrow in response.

"I tracked the person to London, but all transportation is closed off. I have no way to get there."

Erik smiled. "But I do. So, now that you have so freely given me this information, why should I bother to help you? In fact, why should I even let you leave alive?"

Erik had no real intention of killing Raoul, however much he would like to. Christine, if he ever saw her again, would never forgive him. However, it gave him a feeling of power to see a glimmer of fear behind Raoul's eyes.

Raoul, on the other hand, had to fight down the urge to start questioning what had possessed him to come down here. If Erik was serious- and he very well may be- Raoul had to think fast. He had made a mistake in telling Erik what he had learned so quickly. Now he had to find some other reason for Erik not to leave him behind.

"Look… we have a common interest in this. Christine could be in serious danger, and it would be better for her if we worked together in this. You have your skills, I'm sure, but I have influence. How, for example, would you find out any more about Hellsing once you arrived?"

"I'd find some way. I don't see any reason for me to work with you- the very thought of it sickens me."

"I know you hate me." Raoul was growing genuinely confident. He knew he had found the weakness in Erik's resolve. "But you do love Christine. If we fight each other, and get in each other's way, what will become of her? Better to bear the humiliation of working together and sort out our differences when Christine is back in Paris."

Erik's eyes wandered into the distance, concentrating on some unexpressed thought.

"Unless, of course, you don't love her. That would be the only reason you would refuse to do what is best for her sake."

"Fine. I'll help you- but don't think it changes anything. If it weren't for these circumstances, no one would have even found your body." Erik turned and walked over to his organ. "Now, go. Leave me be, I'll find some means of contacting you once I've secured passage to London."

Erik's hands passed idly over the keys, his fingers tracing familiar melodies. At the same time, he listened intently. Raoul had not moved from behind him.

"Do I have your word, Erik."

Erik turned his head slightly, showing Raoul only a glint of his mask. "Of course." Once again, he turned away.

"On Christine's life?"

"What do you think?"

"Just say it."

"On her life. Now leave."

Raoul turned and walked from the phantom's underground tomb.

Saku-Chan: Okay. That was WAY more than a week. I'm so sorry… Mika-Chan is likely to be far more prompt than I. Anyway, nice long chapter… Christine meets Seras, and Erik and Raoul agree to work together. Honestly, I don't really see why Erik agreed to it… Raoul doesn't have much choice, but Erik could leave and Raoul would have no way of following. Then again, Raoul does have a point about his influence. Hopefully it is a decent chapter. What do you think, Mika-Chan?

XFamousXLastXWordsX: About the chapter or the thing with Erik and Raoul? The chapter is great! And Erik may be more fearsome, but Raoul has more influence, like you said. It will be interesting to see how things turn out with that influence…Anyway…So this was Saku-chan's chapter, meaning I'll start the next one. Well, I'll be doing the whole thing, actually. I hope I can do a good job with it and keep the plot bunny from escaping. That would be problematic, huh? And now it's quote time! My quote shall be… "Would you mind if I killed you? Would you mind if I tried to?". Whoever guesses it gets gummi bears! And no giving it away, Saku-chan!