Warnings: Violence! Language! Stuff inappropriate for kiddies! That will be all.

Caelum's Tournament and a Bride Auction

Morris jerked awake.

His head hurt, his vision was blurry, and slowly, he forced himself to sit up and glance around his surroundings. He had been stripped of his possessions; no phone…no wallet…nothing… His Bowie knife was missing, too.

A wave of panic swept him. He had never been without the knife before, partially because it was his, and he was fundamentally tasked in protecting it. But the first rule was to never panic. Swallowing down, he realised he was failing miserably. Without the knife, he felt vulnerable, he felt useless and weak, and if the knife ended up in the wrong hands, the consequences would be unimaginable…

He tried to remember what had happened before he woke up, dazed and confused and stripped of all his items; Integra asked him to pick Ruby up… she asked if he could take her home and he agreed…he waited in the car with Joshua… What happened to the dracul? What happened then? Some big huge guy came out of the house along three others and they attacked…Morris stabbed one and it turned out the men were vampires…but the huge one was so strong… He was knocked out…

…and now he was here.

He didn't know what had happened to Ruby or Joshua.

"Ruby?" He called, "Josh?"

His response was a groan to his right and Morris scrambled away from a woman he had been lying beside only to bump against another. They were not alone; there were hundreds of people surrounding him, also seemingly 'waking up' at the same time as he. Immediately there was a hubbub of confused voices as soon as everyone 'woke up':

"Where am I?"

"What is this place?"

"What am I doing here?"

Those were the questions Morris should've asked, but others had beaten him to it. Everyone began clamouring against each other in their confusion and panic. The sound of rustling clothes and people moving around had never been so loud before. It reminded him of those moshpit or deathwall in rock concerts. The hall was ablaze with animated chatter; the sound of many voices was deafening until -

"Good afternoon."

Morris looked up as everyone gradually quietened down. The white building containing them all resembled a large warehouse, with no windows. There were at least four or five hundred people crammed in this one place; Morris had no choice but to be squished between random individuals because there was simply not enough space for him to stand. At the far end of the wall was a gigantic TV screen was affixed to the middle of the wall along two speakers, which had now switched on.

He recognised the man on screen. It was the man from the portrait.

Caelum?

A smile appeared on the man's enlarged, pixelated face on the TV screen. "Welcome all." He was saying, "Welcome to my tournament. My name is Caelum; I am the host, and I am responsible for bringing you here."

Morris listened intently as worried and anxious murmurs began to surmount.

Caelum continued, his voice echoing from the speakers on all four corners of the hall, "You are gathered here today to participate in a tournament."

Tournament? This would be the first time Morris had heard such a thing.

"Is this a government project?" One of the member of the five hundred-or-maybe-more audience asked. The singular sound of the voice and the quietness of the crowd was enough for the question to be carried all the way to the front.

However, there was no response to the question from Caelum, and there were a few jeers from the crowd. "It's a fucking recording!" A man shouted angrily, before his irate remark was echoed by others.

It was indeed, a recording. "This is a private tournament, sponsored by my stakeholders. You were not chosen because of who you are, or what you are. You were chosen at random. You are not special and you are insignificant. And no-one will be able to find you here; we made sure of it."

"You kidnapped us?"

"We can't leave?"

The voices of the public were growing angrier with each passing instance.

"No-one will be able to find you because this is a top-secret location. You will have nowhere to run, and you will have nowhere to hide. You will not survive. This tournament is for entertainment purposes. You are the prey."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Entertainment purposes."

"This tournament is for entertainment purposes." The recording of Caelum said, "You are the prey."

Following his remark were mortified gasps and exclaims of disbelief from the crowd.

"I don't believe you! You're crazy!" Someone screamed. "Don't listen to him!"

"This tournament is for entertainment purposes." The recording repeated, "You are the prey."

"This isn't real!"

"I don't believe this, you fucking moron!"

"Yeah! Asshole! Fuck this shit!"

"Who the fuck are you to do this to us? Come out, wherever you are!"

However, the recording seemed to have stuck, like a needle scraping on a record, and Morris began to feel a surge of panic overwhelm him again. "This tournament is for entertainment purposes. You are the prey."

"What an eyesore. They're such a mouthy, violent bunch." Caelum said, his face scrunching up with disgust. "They're even worse than they were three hundred years ago. Remind me to make a new recording."

"Yes, sir." said Ermen.

Caelum left the balcony and sauntered back into the parlour of the castle.

It was called Fort Cassandra; when Gideon and the rest of the Guardians came to the island, they fought off the invaders who had besieged the marvellous, mountainous edifice and threw them over the walls and into the rushing ocean the castle was built next to; a poorly servant girl called Cassandra was the only survivor, having holed herself up in the basement away from the pillagers. The castle, ownerless and empty, became a summer retreat for the Guardians which was rebuilt and re-modified. They added a thirty-foot high palisade, guard towers, turrets, and made the foundations more robust since it was built atop a mountain. Caelum's recent visit had him adding modern furnishings such as the warehouse, helicopter landing pads and control rooms for CCTV. Who could blame him? He had all the time in the world…

Fort Cassandra and the island soon became the official location for the tournament to take place because of its remoteness and the torrid ocean currents that made it inaccessible by boats. The only way to arrive and leave was by air.

Caelum ventured towards the grand hall; he was dressed in this season's Prada suit and matching shoes, while Ermen was in a suit he chose from last year's wardrobe. Luther was nowhere to be seen, but Ermen knew the albino had always despised social gatherings and inwardly, Ermen wished he too could reject invitations so easily.

The president was scrutinising the warehouse scene using his phone with the white earphones plugged into his ears, watching the mob begin to grow angry and rebel and devastate the surroundings of the warehouse. In minutes, the crowd had become an angry throb, a pack of wild animals, and all were destroying the TV and speakers and everything else they came across in the warehouse, and once everything else was destroyed, some began attacking each other while others began to make their escape through the only door of the warehouse.

Caelum pulled off the earphones. "Look at that. It's the descendant of Quincey Morris. He's rounding up the crowd."

They continued to watch Morris push and shove through before clambering up onto the stage and attempt to quieten the crowd. Without the earphones plugged in, it appeared as though Morris was beseeching them. A few laughed at him, the majority did not. Soon, Morris was picking up a crowbar he found amongst the destroyed stage and feeling the weight in his hand. Others too began to follow his lead, picking up anything they could find. The humans who laughed at Morris, began to glance at each other awkwardly before setting off to find their own weapons for self-protection.

"He's good." commented Ermen.

"…There's not much he can do without his prized knife. Let's go in and greet the guests."

"Yes, sir." His henchman repeated, although he sounded a little tired.

"Cheer up, Ermen. I know you don't like parties, but it only happens once a leap year." He switched off the video player, handed it to his associate, then adjusted his tie and pushed open the doors.

Once Caelum stepped in, all the guests turned to him, with their wine glasses balancing in their hands, and began applauding. Ermen entered after him and closed the door behind them, then took note of the countless ladies and gentlemen all dressed in expensive evening wear. There was music; a woman at the far right of the great hall was singing an aria he was not familiar with, her unearthly voice echoing around the walls. Entertainers in demonic-looking masks were juggling with knives and daggers while some were swallowing swords or blowing fire from their mouths earning applause from the watching crowd. Sniggering clowns with daring facepaint paraded and cartwheeled around the room in a circle, while body contortionists in tight, flamboyantly leotards made a grotesquely enchanting display near the buffet.

Caelum sure brought out the big guns this year, Ermen thought as he passed a human buffet. He stared, watching the 'bloodtender'; a vampire in another sparkly costume and mask, who was holding a butcher's cleaver.

"Gather up, gather up! We have all sorts of age ranges, from years 1-5, 10-15, and 15 onwards! Take your pick!" He was exclaiming as other vampires began to gather around. In the cage behind the bloodtender was a group of terrified, naked humans of all ages who were sobbing and huddling in the corner.

He turned away from the sight to concentrate on the rest of this evening's events. The room itself was a vision; with its luscious red carpet, red trimming, and ornate, gold decorations littering the entire room. A grand chandelier hung from the ceiling, glowing and glimmering. The surreality of it all was beyond belief; Ermen sincerely thought this was a waste of money; they could have invested it in weaponry or maintenance, but ultimately, they knew they had to impress.

"Ah! Herr Caelum, ze man who made zhis possible."

Caelum glanced up to see a man of short-stature with slicked blonde hair and thick spectacles. He was accompanied with two odd-looking men and a little boy; one of the men was staring at the buffet sternly; he was tall and silent, dressed in a dark khaki greatcoat whilst the other companion of the Major's was an eerie, ghost of a man, grinning wickedly while his eyes remained hidden by six-lense glasses. He was prodding at one of the swirling olives in his drink glass while the little boy - a blonde boy with cat-ears poking out from his hair - was engrossed in watching the body contortionists.

"…Major?" Caelum uttered, with an eyebrow raised.

"I really do like vhat you have done to zhis place." The short, bulky man said as he walked closer to the president.

"Thank you, Major." replied Caelum, a little warily, "…I didn't expect to see you here considering how busy you were in Germany."

"And miss zees party?" The Major chuckled, "You vere alvays an entertaining man, Herr Caelum. I look forward in vhatever you have planned in ze future."

"…Would you care for some more Delord Freres Amagnac?"

"Chateau Musar, if you have it, thank you."

"You heard the Major. The wine table's over there." Caelum patted Ermen's shoulder, and the bigger man sighed inwardly while Caelum continued to entertain the guests. He carefully manoeuvred towards the wine table so as not to step on the women's extravagant but grandiose, silk bedgowns; it seemed like the romantic reconnaissance era all over again.

"This year's participants are far more livelier." A beautiful woman said out loud; she had dark raven hair fashioned into a bun, and she dressed in a modernized plum-red evening gown with black, elbow-length gloves. Following her remark were murmurs of agreement and laughter.

The rich were surely from another dimension, Ermen thought, as Caelum took a wine glass off one of the waiters and held it up to his awaiting subjects, "I guarantee you all…" The president began, "…this year, it will be a tournament to remember."

3 hours later.

"This is the No-Life King's mate?"

"But she's so plain and ugly!"

"I can't believe the No-Life King's all over her."

"It makes me sick."

"Me too."

Ruby woke up; she glanced around to find herself in an unfamiliar room; it appeared to be a dressing room of some sort, with a vanity desk with various cosmetics, while a stand complete with dresses and hats on the hooks stood in the corner. Ruby herself was sitting on a chair with her wrists tied to the armrests, and her legs were tied to the chair legs in the middle of the room.

She was not alone, for there were a group of inquisitive women surrounding her in a semi-circle, their presences and close-proximity both invading and suffocating. These women were all adorned in fancy dress and with their hair done up in fashionable hairstyles; Ruby swallowed down automatically as they neared. These women were so beautiful, so very nymph-like and eloquently enchanting, with their large eyes and long, dark eyelashes. Their features were strong, but delicate and…ethereal, even, bestowing these women a mysterious quality to them. A sense of déjà vu hit her and she remembered that dream she had of Alucard and his brides; the air and grace of the women who appeared to her in the dream were eerily identical to the women here.

"W-Who are you…?" Ruby croaked out, but the women merely burst into peals of laughter. At her. Never had she felt so confused and out of place before.

"Let's bite her." said one of the beautiful women, and the rest began murmuring their own opinions.

"No, let's cut off her arms."

Following that remark were whispers and mirthless sniggers, "We should cut her face up too." added one of the women in the middle, "The No-Life King won't love her then."

While the rest of the women agreed and giggled, Ruby began to panic, as the women began to close on her – they reached for her, their hands landing on her and their fingers gliding and dancing over the skin of her face and her neck - and as they opened their mouths, the poor girl stared in horror at the sight of their horrible fangs in their jaws; the women were advancing in all directions. It seemed her neck was not even their primary target; they would target everywhere of her, they would bite her face off and -

"Stop! Cease this at once! Leave her alone!" A figure stormed inside and pulled back some of the women, before harshly slapping the vampire who was about to bite Ruby; the vampire hissed at the newcomer, but surprisingly enough, did not retaliate. "Leave this place at once, you witches. Who let you in?"

"Witches?" One of them screeched. "How dare you!"

"No-one must harm her; anyone who does so will have to answer to Caelum." asserted Ruby's saviour. "Now leave this place at once, return to your masters."

"Hmph. We were just curious, that's all…" Without another word, the vampire ladies sauntered away, drifting into the darkness of the room. Ruby let out a shaky breath of relief, and meekly gazed up at the woman.

"…Mary?"

"Oh my goodness, Ruby." Mary wrapped her arms around the girl and hugged her tightly. "Are you alright?"

"Mary, w-what are you doing here? And why - "

Mary let go of her. "I'm sorry; I can't tell you everything just yet. In fact, I shouldn't even be here; listen, I can't help you escape right now, but there is someone who can. For now, you must play along, alright?"

"I-I don't understand."

Suddenly, footsteps could be heard and Mary shot back up. "They're coming. I'm so sorry, Ruby. I'm so sorry it has come to this. Goodbye."

"No, wait, Mary, come back - "

She watched in horror as Mary exited the room from a door to the left, just in time for the door to the right of the room to open, and an old lady came bumbling in and glanced at Ruby, then pulled a brown sack off the table which Ruby didn't notice before. "…God have mercy on your soul when they throw you to the wolves, my dear."

Ruby gasped. "What? What are you talking about? Hey! D-Don't – " The sack was thrown over her head, the drawstring pulled tight around her neck.

Panicking, Ruby glanced around blindly underneath the grainy fabric of the sack. She heard the woman say, "I'll be back soon with the rest of the servants. Stay there." And then she walked away, her footsteps echoing off the flagstone floor.

Amidst her rage and frustration of having to be stuck in predicaments like these and not knowing what was happening, Ruby yelled and screamed and shook her head furiously side to side in a vain attempt to break free and, if possible, throw the sack off her head, as she sat in the chair with her arms and ankles tied to the arm rests and chair legs respectively.

A few minutes later, she heard more footsteps re-approach her and she was carried off the chair and made to lie on what seemed to be a bed, breathing heavily, unaware of what was going on, but then she felt a cold hand on her and heard the rustle of clothes and realised someone was removing her jacket. The hands touching her did not appear sexual or intimate, but she cried and flailed, wriggling around helplessly against her bound wrists and ankles, sobbing. The hands removed her shirt and top, and the slice of scissors shredding through her pants and underwear could be heard.

She lay still and naked as she continued to weep at the humiliating experience, until she was forced to sit up with her hands tied behind her; a garment was forced on her, it covered her breasts and pushed them firmly together. It felt like silk; the garment was tightened around her waist from the back and she could hear the tug of string tightening. Her legs were lifted up and more silk was pushed on her. What she was forced into felt like underwear. Then the hands disappeared and she was left the way as she was, before she was forced to stand up.

The hands guided her through the darkness.

Swallowing down, she had no choice but to follow, stumbling over her own feet along the way.

Eventually, she was brought to a stop, brought into a place with lively jazz music, but the music quietened down and all she could hear were quiet murmurs and whispers. The hands left her arm, and her ankles were untied, and then the bag was pulled off her head. Ruby stared at the darkness, but then a bright light flickered on, and another, and another, and she flinched away from the intensity. It was then she realised she was standing under numerous spotlights.

"And starting off at a bid of one hundred million Great British pounds, Miss Ruby Ashcroft, the very mate of the No-Life King himself!" An energetic voice exclaimed to her right, and Ruby turned to a man standing at a podium with a gavel in hand. "Starting at one hundred million pounds, folks! Do I hear a two hundred million? You there, the gentleman in blue, is that a three? Yep, it's a three… Four? Yes, the gentleman at the far right with the black tie, five hundred, you say?"

She didn't know what was going on, but suddenly she was standing on the stage with her hands tied behind her back and as she threw a quick glimpse at herself, she stared in revulsion to see that she was adorned in nothing but a skimpy, black silk corset embroidered with red ribbons at the front and back, with matching silk panties complete with suspenders and lacy stockings. Her face burned with shame and she tried to cover herself up, earning jeering laughter from the crowd she could not see.

This was a…a…nightmare…this was truly a nightmare… She wanted to run away, but she couldn't see anywhere she could escape to. The stage appeared closed off and she did not want to run towards the crowd.

Instead, Ruby squeezed her eyes shut as she stood helplessly under the spotlight, sobbing.

…

"You're not going to the Bride Auction, sir?"

"No." He replied, having decided to leave the party for now, "Perhaps you should go, Ermen, get yourself a nice bride."

"I'm perfectly fine with Cassandra, sir."

Caelum glanced around, "Where's Luther?"

"I'll go find him, sir."

As Ermen left to look for Luther, Caelum was watching the tournament via the Control room television screens, all showing live footage from hidden cameras set up around the island. One screen showed a group of vampires in the forest feasting on a group of humans who were still-alive. Another screen showed a human trekking through another section of the forest, hacking at trees with a make-shift knife made out a blade sello-taped to a stick. Another screen showed two humans, one man and woman, organising stones on the beach spelling SOS. Finally, the last screen showed a woman being chased through the forest by three shadows before being pounced on. She screamed. The shadows soon revealed themselves to be vampires. Although the screen showed the scene in silence, Caelum could hear distant screaming outside.

Was this happening close by?

He swivelled round in his chair to the window, an eyebrow raised, then turned back to the screen and watched the screen again.

Suddenly, a man sprang out of the trees from out of nowhere and with a crowbar in hand, began attacking the vampires. Caelum watched with intrigue as the man who turned out to be Morris - hacked and slashed away, although he looked weary and dishevelled. He was bloody and bruised, his clothes filthy and slathered with dirt and blood.

Taking on three vampires at once and without the Bowie knife? Upon that thought, Caelum took out said knife from his pocket and gazed at it before smirking. The Bowie knife was different than the kukri knife; the blade was thinner, sharper, and was in better shape than the kukri knife. Over the centuries, it must have passed through various ownerships. He continued to watch Morris stab the rounded hook of the crowbar into one of the vampire's neck before ripping it off, before he turned round quickly before another could attack - he stabbed the sharp end into the vampire's heart and then finally turned to the last, remaining vampire.

The vampire lunged at him, but Morris dodged and rammed the crowbar into the vampire's back, making the creature land face-down into the ground. Before long, Morris began slamming the long metal rod over the vampire's head over and over again relentlessly, hammering the crowbar with so much strength he stopped after three minutes, breathing heavily.

Caelum continued watching. I may have underestimated the vampire hunter a bit…

Nudging the unmoving creature with his foot, Morris watched the vampires disappear into nothing but blood then returned to the woman. He knelt down beside where she lay, turned her round and shook her. A few seconds later of stillness, the woman suddenly sprang at him with a snarl, having been turned into a Ghoul. Morris leapt back and clutched the crowbar tightly before reluctantly swinging the steel into the Ghoul's head.

He used so much force the head flew off the body clean off the shoulders. He watched the head soar, as though it was a golf ball that had been hit by a golf club. Caelum stared as Morris stood motionlessly, with his eyes closed. The vampire hunter shook his head, then clutched at his stomach. Morris was seen wincing, and then he pulled something out from his abdomen – an over-sized claw from one of the vampire's talons. Clutching his bleeding wound, the man continued his trek and disappeared off the camera screen.

The door to the Control Room re-opened; and the president glanced over his shoulder to see Ermen shuffling in. "Where is Luther? You couldn't find him?"

"I'm terribly sorry, sir."

Caelum stood up in his seat abruptly and the door opened, but it was merely one of the servants who had entered. "Where's Luther? He was meant to be here."

"He went to the Bride Auction, sir."

"WHAT?" Caelum and Ermen roared in unison. "He went to the…but why would he – " The president was cut off when another person - a woman - stepped into the room and closed the door quietly behind her.

"Hello, father." She said expectantly, when he gazed at her.

"…Mary?" Caelum uttered, "What are you doing here?"

Meanwhile.

Joshua was in a dark place.

He was sprawled over a cold floor in the Loading Bay, his muscles useless and practically paralysed. He couldn't remember exactly what had happened, but knew now that he was stuck in a cage of some sort and suddenly, light flooded the room, and he stared up at two huge, hulking shadows behind the bars – vampires – and he paled drastically, when they unlocked the cage, stepped in and grabbed him by under the arms.

"Damn boss tells us to look after some stupid punk while others get to go to the Bride Auction." grumbled one of the vampires.

"Did ya hear? The No-Life King's mate is up for sale. I heard she's going at six hundred to seventy eight million pounds at the moment." exclaimed the other.

"Shit! I've been alive for a hundred years and I still don't have that much money. Man, am I a failure or what?"

Joshua made a noise and tried to jerk free, startling the two. They glanced at him, and sighed.

"Sorry, kiddo. Caelum's orders. No loose ends."

He was dragged out and flung over a large wooden block on the floor, his head laid to hang over the edge so he was facing the ground. He tried to move again but this time, nothing happened; perhaps they injected him with some movement suppressant. All he could do was groan and moan whilst one of the vampires strode to the side and lifted up a fireman's axe, raising the formidable blade up and up, higher above his head.

As a last resort, Joshua's arm shot out and he grabbed onto the vampire's legs. He didn't know what else to do; suddenly, all the training Seras taught him flew from his mind, leaving it an empty blank canvas.

"Hey, geroff me, you little bitch." The vampire barked, trying to shake off the teenage boy's grip on him. "Get off me. Bob, get him off me, will ya?"

His associate attempted to pry Joshua's hand off, but to no avail. "Kid's got an iron grip on ya, Lenny."

There was a frustrated growl and a few moments later the axe head went slamming down and Joshua's arm dropped to the floor in a pool of blood, limp. The dracul stared aghast at his own arm on the ground, his fingers still twitching. He had never had an injury this intense before. He had never had his arm chopped off before. His eyes glazed over with fear and terror at the gruesome, unfamiliar sight before he saw the vampire raise the axe again. Surely this was the end of him.

"Hold him steady now. Gotta get the head off in one clean swipe."

The boy closed his eyes when the axe came down again, the thick metal ramming into the back of his neck, and he screamed as the blade whittled its way through his spine and into his throat, and the vampire tried to lift the axe back out, realising he hadn't managed to cut off the boy's head from the single blow. He'd only managed to get it in half-way through. He yanked the axe out of Joshua's torn neck and raised it high once more.

The pain began to manifest; blood tears began oozing from the corner of his eyes. It couldn't come to this… to be killed…getting his head chopped off…execution style…How vile and barbaric...He was terrified…

But the vampire was suddenly screaming and the axe dropped out of his hands, clattering to the ground, before a bullet went piercing through his throat. The vampire was choking, before his chilling eyes widened with fear. With a scream, he eroded away into a puddle of blood.

The remaining vampire immediately let go of Joshua, glancing around warily. "W-Who's there? Show yourself and fight like a – GAAAH!" He was interrupted by a bullet slamming into his face, his head exploding into nothing but blood and tendrils. The body collapsed to the ground before dissolving to the ground.

Joshua glanced up and saw Seras in front of him, with her gun in one hand and a first-aid kit in another. "Josh!" She cried as she slung the gun over her shoulder, rushed over to his side and knelt down, "Are you okay? I'm so sorry, we should've come sooner…Hang in there!"

The dracul could only stare with a hand clutching his head which was threatening to fall off. As Seras hurriedly pulled open the lid of the box and began pulling out all sorts of medicinal supplies, until familiar figures stepped under the light, and Joshua glanced up meekly to see Integra and Walter, along with the implausibly intimidating No-Life King, the very source of vampires and the greatest evil ever imaginable, standing directly in front of him.

"It won't help him, Seras. His injuries are far too extreme; he will have to regenerate." Integra said, as she puffed a whiff of smoke from her lit cigar.

"R-Regenerate?" The draculina gasped, as she tried to stop Joshua's bleeding.

It hurt to speak. All the dracul could gurgle out was throaty, raspy noises. He didn't know how to regenerate. Becoming a vampire did not come with a manual; the boy wept bitterly, clutching at his severed arm and the deep gash of his neck where blood continued to gush out like a running waterfall. Thick, fat blood tears continued to ooze from the corner of his eyes and dripped onto his lap. He was going to die...

There was a hand on his shoulder and he glanced up at Seras. "Josh, you can do it." The draculina said, with a reassuring nod and smile.

He was about to attempt to speak when Alucard spoke. "What's the matter, Sniffer Dog?" The elder vampire said, smirking at the dracul as though his injury amused him, "Are you going to let a measly wound like that overcome you? If you are, then you do not belong in Hellsing after all. We have no need for weaklings."

Joshua tried to open his mouth, but nothing happened; eventually, he merely closed his eyes and tried to concentrate. He had no idea what to do, until he heard Alucard speaking again, his voice echoing in the depths of his mind. "You are a creature of the darkness, the shadows will assist you. Do not fear what you cannot see, what you cannot feel…for you are no longer human…there is nothing that should limit you."

Did he have to speak so cryptically? The advice made no sense… Embrace the shadows? How? It wasn't like shadows could be touched. Joshua summoned all the strength he had, his eyes squeezing tightly, shadows began forming around his severed arm and his eyes sprung open; Seras gasped slightly - his eyes had turned crimson, burning furiously like a raging fire, and with a brutal yell, an arm thrust out of the severed wound, bloody and engulfed in shadows.

Joshua stared in shock, at the new appendage. He was breathing heavily, his eyes returning to the normal dull, bottle-green colour. "...I gave birth to an arm." He groaned, as he stared at his new fingers that were dripping with blood, and then he realised he was speaking properly again. Gasping, he used his hands to plod around the base of his neck - which had healed completely – and he glanced up at Seras, Integra, Walter and Alucard with relief.

"Thank goodness." Seras said, bringing him into a hug while Joshua glanced again at his repaired arm.

Alucard watched the group intently while Walter went to help Joshua stand. "Come, Mr Sloan. Sir Integra has a helicopter waiting."

"Thank you, Mr Dornez. But…where's Ruby? What about Mr Morris? What happened to her parents? How did you guys even find this place?"

"We haven't been able to locate her parents at the moment, but Alucard is able to track Ruby's location wherever she is. She is in the castle, somewhere." Said Integra, as Walter helped Joshua towards the direction of the helicopter pad. Before she turned to leave, the two vampires watched her, awaiting orders. "Alucard, Seras…Search and destroy."

"Yes, my master." Alucard replied, "Police Girl, finding Morris will be your responsibility."

"What about you, master?"

In response to Police Girl's question, Alucard's lips formed into a wide grin, "…There is a certain bride I need to win at the auction."

"Warning. Intruder alert. Intruder alert."

Caelum sat up in his chair as soon as the alarm sounded off. "Intruder alert?"

He went to the computer and began typing quickly, and up popped the internal CCTV screens on display. He saw nothing out of the ordinary…everything was going smoothly… until he caught sight of the corridor leading to the Loading Bay, where he could see a blonde girl in a mustard-yellow suit running past a few large boxes of cargo ware. On another screen, and an old butler and Integra Hellsing were making their way towards a black Hellsing helicopter along with a limping Joshua.

"Damn. They're here." Caelum muttered, before he grabbed the Bowie knife and slipped it into a protective sheath. "Stop them."

"They've breached one of the security gatehouses and helicopter pads on the far side of the castle. We'll never get to them in time." Ermen replied.

"Alright, fine. Leave them. What about the Police Girl and Alucard? They've infiltrated the castle."

"I will send security to intercept them. But what about the tournament?"

"It's going perfectly. Most of the participants will be dead or have been turned into Ghouls anyway. And the guests can look after themselves."

"…Shouldn't we inform them of what has happened?"

"No. That'll just waste time and raise panic. Let's just leave."

"Of course, sir; there is a secure helicopter waiting for you just above the roof."

He chuckled. "I don't need a helicopter, Ermen. When I'm gone, activate the castle's Self-Destruct." Caelum commanded, "You should stay here to look over things; I leave everything to you."

Ermen nodded compliantly. "Yes, sir. As you wish, sir."

Caelum left the chair and turned to Mary. "Mary, I need to get you out of here. You can still remember those helicopter lessons I gave you for your birthday a few years ago, right?" He asked, and she nodded.

"Yes, father. But what about Luther?"

"He'll be fine. He knows the secret passages of the castle; he can escape there and meet us." He watched Mary and ushered her out of the room, before he turned to Ermen who was now typing on the screen to initiate security procedures. "Ermen."

"Yes, sir?"

"…Although we are not blood-related, I have always treated you as my own brother, and you have served me for years. I can't just leave you here by yourself."

Ermen's expression remained unfazed, however, "I am terribly sorry, sir, but I must stay on the island and buy you enough time to escape." He replied, bowing, "It has been a pleasure serving you."

"…Very well."

"Goodbye, Caelum." Ermen watched him leave, knowing that this would be the last time he would ever get to see his brother again as he slammed his fist on the 'Self Destruct' activation device...

Chapter Notes:

1. There's Something About Mary: I hope you remember Mary, who Ruby spoke of in Chapter 8 or sumthink, who was mentioned again in Chapter 18, who finally made a shortlived appearance in Chapter 22, and then was mentioned as the possible daughter of Emilia who was 'stolen' in the previous chapter? YES, the Mary here is THE Mary, the same 30-40-something year old Mary who was also Ruby's carer. Well, she called Caelum 'father'...sooooo I'll leave it to you to think about it!

2. Delord Freres Armagnac and Chateau Musar are vintage red wine from the 200-500 bucks price range. In American currency, this is from 300-900 USD

3. The Major, the Captain, the Doctor and Schrodinger had guest cameos here; they won't meet Hellsing. I won't write it but they have left the party!

4. Influences for this chapter were Battle Royale, Van Helsing and Taken.

5. The Tournament is the main reason for all the missing people which has been mentioned since the Vampire bar incident so that's another mystery solved! They take humans randomly and it was created by Caelum where it occurs on a remote, mountainous island with a fort where rich vampires and stakeholders/investors go to the castle to party and flaunt their monies and win brides; it's like a big formal event where it is sport to watch the 'participating' humans being hunted by participating vampires. I wanted to write more from Morris POV but it was really hard and there was so many other things to write about too.

6. As of this chapter, Caelum has possession over the kukri knife AND the bowie knife. Do not worry! I do know some of you must be thinking why the characters are ignorant. Well, I'd like to get things out of the way one by one as I concentrated on Ruby and Caelum's characters first... um, sorry, just bear with me, please.