Integra: Alright Alucard, spit him out.
Alucard: Oh all right. (vomits up Hedgehog of Time)
HOT: YES! I AM BACK BABY! WOO HOO!
Integra: (Points gun at him) Yes, now get back to work.
AN: I have returned! I was suffering from some serious writers block but now I'm back and better than ever! Hope you lik this chapter. Remember, reviews are food for writers!
Chapter 7: An Old Darkness Returns and a New Light Emerges
The Major was not pleased with the way that recent events had played out, no he was not pleased in the slightest.
In all his life, he had never expected Hans to betray Millennium like this, the FREAK Chip was supposed to be the ultimate control device, and yet now he had gone over to the enemy, freed Walter from Millennium control, and made him a werewolf. Now they had Alucard AND Hans, both creatures of almost equal power, to deal with, not to mention Seras, the fledgling Draculina, and Hans's new whelp, Walter, their former secret weapon.
No things were not going according to plan.
The Doc seemed nervous, and rightly so. His so called "fail-safe plan" had failed, and Hans had gone from their greatest warrior to their worst nightmare, next to Alucard himself of course. This was what some called, "panic time". This level of failure usually warranted being fed to the troops, or given to Zorin as a plaything or something along those lines. The thought of being given to that sadistic bitch was enough to make even the God of War tremble in fear.
Needless to say he nearly pissed himself from terror when the Major called him to his side. "Y-yes Herr Major." said the terrified scientist as he approached the short and fat yet somehow incredibly terrifying man. They were in the control room of the Millennium base, looking out over the hanger and the damage that Hans had done to the hangar doors.
However, the Major did not seem angry at all, merely slightly concerned as was his way. "Herr Doctor," began the Major. "I am concerned vith ze current change in events. Nein, I am not pleased at all."
"I-I apologize Herr Major." said the Doc, trembling in his boots.
"Give it a rest Herr Doctor." said the Major with a dismissive wave and a slight scoff. "I am not going to have you killed, you are too valuable an asset." The Doc mentally breathed a sigh of relief, an immense ton of pressure alleviated from his mind. "However, ve need a replacement for ze Captain. Someone of equal strength or at least very close."
The Doc opened his mouth to say something, but a cold laugh cut him off. It was a dark, humorless, emotionless laugh, a demon's laugh. "So, you need someone to fight for you do you Nazi?" asked the voice which boomed like thunder, and scratched like a metal file over stone. It also had a vague accent, perhaps Russian or some other branch of Slavic. "I think that I just may be able to foot that bill." With that two figures stepped out from the shadows and into the light, both radically different but both incredibly terrifying.
One was a very tall man. He wore a long black priest's cloak embroidered with golden symbols. Around his neck hung an inverted golden cross hanging next to an ivory wolf claw. His long black hair fell to his shoulders, free and unbound save for the braid in the center hanging all the way to the ground. His face was covered by a blank porcelain mask shaped like a wolf's head. His crimson eyes peered from behind the mask and glowed with a dark evil intent, and something else, something infinitely more sinister.
Behind him and to his left was a teenage girl, about as old as seventeen. Her curly auburn hair hung to just past her shoulders, and her skin was a lovely cream color. She wore a long beautiful white dress which made her look like some sort of fairy princess. Or at least, she would be one if not for the insane look in her crimson eyes.
"Und who might you be?" asked the Major as though things like this happened everyday.
The masked man chuckled. "We are the answer to your prayers my friend, but you may call me Light. And this lovely lady is none other than Princess Anastasia, the daughter of the last Tsar of Russia." Anastasia gave a flourishing curtsey.
The Major chuckled. "Oh ho! So she iz ze little girl of ze Tsar eh?"
"That is for me to know, and you to find out." said Anastasia in a seductive voice.
The Major gave an all out laugh this time. "Oh my dear! Tell me, how powerful are ze two of you?" he asked eagerly, leaning forward in his seat in an almost hungry manner. He was eager to see if this pair was all they claimed to be.
"Well, that would be telling now wouldn't it." said Anastasia flirtatiously.
"Now, now Anastasia dear." said Light. "The nice man deserves a demonstration of our powers." With that, Light held up his hand and it dissolved into shadows. Instantly, five massive Hellhounds sprung from the shadows which his arm used to be and attacked the Major's twelve guards. The blood and guts flew everywhere, results of the Hellhounds ripping apart the soldiers in a matter of six seconds. The Doc had thrown himself behind the Major's chair, quivering with fear at the slaughter before him. He was used to blood, but Hellhounds were very messy, not to mention unstable. However, considering what they were, instability was not surprising. Hellhounds, the Doc knew, were werewolves, consumed by powerful vampires and bound into eternal servitude to their undead masters. If a vampire was not skilled, the Hellhound could rampage fueled by rage and fear. Needless to say the Doc was terrified.
The Major however leaned forward in his chair, a wide smile on his face, his eyes gleaming maniacally. "Stupendous!" he cried as the Hellhounds finished their unholy feast, trembling in sick pleasure at the carnage before him. The demonic lycanthropes glared at the Major, fighting Light's control, longing to tear into the short fat man. But Light's control proved stronger, and the beasts returned to their master.
"So, do we pass the audition?" asked Light casually.
The major smiled an unholy smile. "Oh yes, herr Light, you pass. Velcome to Millennium, ze Last Bastion." the Major stood and walked towards the vampire pair. "But before I make official members I must know, do you know how to deal vith verevolves?" asked the Major, stopping just in front of the masked demon.
Light threw back his head and laughed. "Werewolves?! Bah, I have dealed with far worse in my time, werewolves are nothing to me, just fodder for my Hellhounds." He looked down at the Major. "No, what I want is someone else, someone far more powerful. I want Alucard, the No Life King. I want him."
The Major smiled. "Und he shall be yours herr Light. Or should I say Captain Light. Velcome to Millennium"
None of them noticed Rip Van Winkle slip away into the shadows,cradling her musket like a teddy bear.
Hans, Seras, and Bard hauled the unconscious wolf-form of Walter onto Hans's bed, causing the unfortunate piece of furniture to groan and creak in protest. Seras and Bard drew in a deep breath, putting their heads between their knees, sucking in deep breaths of air. Both were an exhausted wreck from hauling the giant wolf to the dungeons while Hans looked no worse for wear. "Zank you for your help." said the werewolf to his two co-workers.
Bard straightened up and cracked his neck. "All in a day's work mate." said the Scot. "Now if yer done hauling bloody demons from the fiery pits o' Hell around I need to check on Sir Integra. Poor lass must be dog-tired tryin' to keep those bloody idiots up there from pissing there fucking pants." he said stretching his arms behind him.
Hans nodded. "Aye, you do zat." said the werewolf to the cook. Bard saluted the two and walked off to check on Sir Integra leaving Seras and Hans.
Seras wiped her brow. "Well, is Walter good now?" asked the draculina.
Hans nodded. "Aye, he should be fine now." Hans yawned and stretched, easing his way into his couch. "He should be out for ze rest of ze night." Hans shook his head, fighting off the exhaustion. This had been the first time he had ever transformed since he was ten without the FREAK Chip. He had forgotten how taxing they could be, and the power of the inner wolf. He had been careless and let it take control. He innerly berated himself for being so weak. 'Fool!' he thought to himself. 'You could have killed Bard und Seras!'
Seras looked at him with concerned eyes. "Hans... how did you lose control earlier. You've always seemed to have a lid on this werewolf thing."
Hans sighed and took off his cap. "I vas stupid und careless. It von't happen again." he said in a hard voice, not looking up from the ground.
Seras furrowed her brow at the werewolf. "Look, Hans, you seem exhausted, get some sleep. Transforming, killing a bunch of ghouls, and fighting Walter must have really done a number on you." she said sympathetically.
Hans shook his head. "Nein. I need to keep an eye on Walter until he avakes. If he avakes before ze sun rises he could lose control again."
Seras sighed and sat next to him. "How about you get some sleep and I watch Walter." she sighed patting him on the back.
Hans looked up at her like a dehydrated man looking at a canteen of cold water. "Vould you? I vould much appreciate it."
Seras smiled and nodded. "Yes, yes, now get some rest."
"Zank you so much." he said lying down on the couch. He closed his eyes and was immediately asleep.
Hans looked around his dream scape, calmed by the fact that he had no body to get hurt. He floated in the sky till he drifted over a scene he didn't full understand.
Two figures faced each other atop a grassy hill, the sun setting in the west casting an unearthly feel to the land around them. A slight breeze swayed through the grasses, giving the impression of dancing.
Both figures were garbed in Roman Legionnaire armor. For all the world they could have been the same person, a mirror of the other. Both were tall and imposing men, with dark hair and olive skin, their hair even cut in the same fashion, long and unbound. The only difference was in their eyes. One had jade green eyes filled with sorrow, and the other had blood red eyes filled with much venom and hate.
"How did it come to this Remus." said the green eyed one sadly.
"You know damn well how it came to this Romulus." hissed Remus. "I asked you, nay, begged you to stand beside me in my vision, and you cast me aside. You betrayed me." He drew his sword. "And now you will pay for it in blood."
"Remus." said Romulus stepping forward a step. "Please, it doesn't have to be like this, you can still come home, you can still let it go."
"And forever live in a world where our people are forever second to humans, never. We are not human Romulus. We are werewolves, and demigods at that! We are superior to them, more advanced." snarled Remus. "Don't you see brother, this is where it begins, the salvation of our race, the Empire of the Wolf!"
Romulus shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry brother, but I understand now. You never grew up, you only got older. You're still just a spoiled child." Romulus drew his own sword. "And I will end you."
"I'd like to see you try." sneered Remus. There was a still moment, shattered by the simultaneous roars of the two brothers shifting into black furred werewolves. With a snarl, the two attacked each other.
The scene melted away, and now Hans found himself in a dark world filled with drifting mists. He had no form, merely floated around as a cloud of mist.
"Now do you see?" asked a voice that seemed to emanate from the walls. "How my children fight. Romulus brought order to them for the time of his life, but he perished, and chaos returned to your kind. My children need a king. Go Hans, go to Stonehenge. Claim your destiny."
"Gee, I hope I'm not interrupting anything." smirked a voice dripping with sarcasm and overconfidence.
Seras blinked awake and realized she had fallen asleep next to Hans, or more precisely with his head in her lap. Seras blushed furiously and shook Hans. The werewolf blinked awake, realized his position and quickly sat up, both of their faces blushing bright red. Seras looked in the direction that the voice had come from. Her mouth fell open as she realized that it was Walter, but it was not the Walter she knew.
It seemed that overnight Walter had aged backward to eighteen years old. His messy black hair hung loose rather than done up in his usual style. His glasses were gone, and his blue eyes gleamed with mischief. His wrinkles had completely disappeared, and he had made a drastic wardrobe change. He wore a black and red version of his butler outfit and a gray felt fedora adorned his head. He wore fingerless black gloves on his hands, and black combat boots covered his feet. He whipped a pack of cigarettes out and lit one up, blowing a smoke ring. "Well ain't you two just an adorable couple." he chuckled.
"Walter you're... you're young." said Seras breathlessly.
"No shit Sherlock." said Walter taking out his cigarette "What was your first clue?" he said sarcastically.
"No need to be snotty about it." said Seras in an annoyed tone.
"Vell, it seems zat zee transformation had zee desired effect." smiled Hans as he stood up.
Walter gave a wide grin. "That it did Chief, I should have gone werewolf a long time ago." he said putting the cigarette back in his mouth.
"Be careful Walter." said Hans. "Zis euphoria you are feeling iz an after effect of ze transformation. Be careful, you might az vell be drunk." For all the world he sounded like a stern father talking to a naughty child.
"Ah don't be such an old woman Hans old buddy!" laughed the butler. "Anyway, Bard called, he says that we've been asleep for twenty four hours and Sir Integra wants us to meet her on the third floor to help break in the new recruits. Well that was what I weeded out from the cursing at any rate." he shrugged.
"Twenty four hours!" cried Seras standing up. "Why did no one wake us!" she cried.
Walter shrugged. "Guess they figured we could use the sleep. Now come on, let's get going, Sir Integra doesn't approve of tardiness." Hans nodded and secured his cap to his head and made for the door, Walter following. Seras brushed herself off and went with them.
As they walked up the exit of the dungeons Hans couldn't help but ponder the dream he had heard in the dream. He knew the legend of the founding of Rome, that Romulus and Remus were raised by wolves, but never did he suspect that they had been werewolves, and what did the voice mean by 'seizing his destiny'? The whole thing sounded fishy to him.
He continued to ponder as they walked up the stairs to the third floor to Sir Integra's location. Sir Integra as it turned out was in a large parlor addressing a group of mercenarys. When she heard their footsteps she turned and gave a slight smile at their arrival. "Ah, it's good to see you three up and about. You're right on time as well. All well and good, come here, I'd like you to meet the newest agents of Hellsing." she said gesturing for them to enter the room.
Inside were at least thirty men dressed in khaki uniforms standing around like they were an arrangement of 'bad boys'. One sat in front of them all in a backward ornate chair facing Sir Integra. An eye patch covered one eye and he wore an Australian slouch hat over his long brown hair which was loose, save for a long braid down the back. His slouched position and amused look made him look like a pirate more than a soldier.
"Walter, Hans, Seras, these are the Wild Geese, a group of mercenaries subcontracted to replace the soldiers we lost earlier this week. The seated man there is Captain Pip Bernadotte" She said curtly. Turning to the seated man she said, "This is Seras Victoria, one of our top operatives, Walter C. Dornez, the butler to the Hellsing Estate, and Captain Hans Gunsche. You will be required to work with each of these people, and you will listen to their orders. I know that you lead the Wild Geese, Mr. Bernadotte, but now that you work for us you will take orders from me, Walter, Ms Victoria, and Captain Hans. Is this understood?"
Pip Bernadotte took out a cigarette and lit it. "Vith all due respect mademoiselle." He said in a heavy French accent. "My men answer to me, and not to vilthy Nazi krauts."
Hans moved faster than thought, grabbing the Frenchman by the throat and hauling him into the air, "Say zat again und I vill break you in half." he said in a cold voice, red eyes blazing. He was suddenly aware that every member of the Wild Geese had their guns trained on him, and Seras had her gun on the Wild Geese and Walter's wires were out, his teeth turning into fangs and his eyes flashing dangerously.
"Alright everyone." said Integra walking forward. "Let's play nice here, we can't have our agents murdering each other it would reflect badly on the Hellsing Organization. Hans, put down Captain Pip. Walter put away your wires. Everyone else, put down your guns." she said in a stern voice. Hans sighed and dropped Pip to the ground on his but, the Geese put their guns away still glaring at Hans, and Walter made his wires disappear while Seras holstered her gun. "Very good. And Captain Pip," she said turning to the Frenchman, "You had best attempt to not get on Captain Hans's bad side, he is a werewolf after all."
Her words left silence in the room as Pip stood and stared at her like she was insane. "A werewolf? Are you kidding me mademoiselle?" he said in a shocked voice.
Integra cracked a small smile. "Oh Lord no. After all, we are a monster hunting organization." she said. "Vampires, werewolves, demons, any supernatural creature that threatens England has to deal with us, the Hellsing Organization."
"And zis German iz a werewolf?" he asked incredulously. He clearly didn't believe her and had a skeptical smile on his face.
Integra shrugged. "Captain Hans give them a demonstration." she said to her German subordinate.
Hans shed his coat and hat leaving him bare chested. Seras took a moment to notice that Hans was exceptionally attractive without his coat on. With a roar Hans shifted into his bipedal wolf form, growing an extra foot and his body growing massive amounts of muscle, sprouting fur and his head turning into that of a wolf's. He let loose a bellowing roar, spittle flying from his sharp teeth. Pip and the entire Wild Geese screamed in terror, unbelieving of the sight of the nightmarish monster before them. His roar finished, Hans shifted back into his human form, putting on his coat and hat once more, idly noting that the Wild Geese continued to scream. He walked back to Seras and Walter. Seras was giggling and Walter was barely holding back a grin.
It was, Hans decided, one of the few times he had taken the perverse pleasure in scarring the living daylights out of someone by changing.
"Stop screaming!" roared Integra. Like magic the Wild Geese stopped, clearly more terrified of Sir Integra than they were of the werewolf. "You will be expected to work with not only Captain Hans but also with Ms Victoria who is a vampire and Walter who is also a werewolf."
"Vait, ze mignonette there is a vampire?" said Pip in a near hysteric voice.
"Your damn right she is." said the deep masculine voice of Alucard which seemed to come from the walls around them. "And she is my fledgling." with that the red garbed man emerged from the wall like a ghost, his eyes glittering with amusement. "Police Girl may be the lowest of the low, but I am a true vampire. Forget the werewolf, I am the one you need to worry about if you step out of line." Alucard's words along with his natural aura of fear and darkness made the Wild Geese shrink in their uniforms.
"Oi, Sir Integra!" cried Bard barging into the room, shattering the spell of fear. He saw Walter and laughed in his throat. "Looks like that werewolf juice did wonders for you buddy." commented the Scot. He turned back to Sir Integra. "I got a letter here." said Bard pulling a letter out of his pocket. "It's got the Vatican's official seal on it."
Integra ripped the letter from his hands and tore it open. She read the letter quite quickly, and started to laugh. "Sir Integra?" asked Walter in concern.
Integra finished her laugh. "Oh yes, it's just the letter is from our dear old friend from Iscariot, Enrico Maxwell." Hans scoffed, no wonder Integra had been amused. He had told Integra all about how the Vatican had aided Millennium's escape from Hellsing in hopes of one day using the information of their whereabouts as a pressure point against Hellsing. "It seems he wishes to meet and exchange information." commented Integra.
"Cashing in his chips is he?" asked Alucard in an amused tone. "I expected as much from the weasel."
Integra nodded, but froze the moment she read the final sentence on the page. She felt a cold chill crawl up her spine as she read it. Sensing her discomfort Alucard turned to her. "Master, what is the matter?"
'There's no way he could know, it's impossible!' she thought to herself furiously. "It says, bring the werewolf."
Integra admired the paintings in the hallway of the art gallery where Maxwell had arranged their meeting. Behind her were Walter who was blatantly ignoring the no smoking signs on the walls and Hans who paced nervously. Alucard was somewhere in the gallery seeking out potential threats and Seras was steering tourists away from their locations in case things got ugly which was more than likely considering the nature of the meeting.
Thoughts were racing through Integra's mind at how Iscariot could have known that Hans was part of Hellsing. Sure he had saved Seras from the insane priest in Ireland, but how did they know that he was a werewolf? To her knowledge Hans had not shifted while in Ireland, so how did they know? Did they have a man on the inside or something?
Her thoughts were interrupted by the entrance of Maxwell and his lackey Father Renaldo in tow. "Ah Integra it has been too long, you are no longer the little girl I once knew. Look at all the lines on your face." he said in a smug tone.
Integra swallowed her trepidation and faced her Catholic counterpart. "Yes it has Maxwell." said Integra in a forced tone. "Look at all the brown on your nose, how is the Pope doing?" she asked with false sweetness.
Maxwell chuckled. "Oh Integra, I have missed your sharp tongue. But we have a matter to attend to first." he turned to Hans, that barely visible smirk on his face making the werewolf want to rip his head off. "I take it that you are the werewolf known as Hans Gunsche correct?" asked the Bishop. Hans said nothing only nodded slightly, never taking his eyes off of Iscariot's director. Maxwell's smile widened. "Ah, well, my dear friend and underling Anderson told us about you, and requested you be here for this meeting." Hans felt a chill crawl up his spine at Maxwell's words.
As though on cue quiet footsteps filled the room, and Hans's nose told him immediately that Anderson was coming. Hans tensed, preparing for a fight and could see Walter doing the same. After a tense moment, Alexander Anderson, the Monster of God stood at the end of the hallway, blue eyes glowing and looking over Hans. Hans remained alert, but was surprised to see no murder in his eyes, only kindness.
"Werewolf," said Anderson coolly. "This is the first time we have spoken face to face, but I believe that we have a friend in common. But before I introduce this friend, I must ask you; are you the son of Ambros Gunsche?" he asked with a hint of eagerness in his voice.
Hans grabbed the priest by the throat, rage in his eyes. "How do you know zat name?" snarled the werewolf.
To his credit, Anderson's eyes betrayed no fear. "Because, furry heathen, we have a common friend." Anderson twisted his head as best he could with Hans still gripping his neck tightly and called out, "Come in, it's really him!" he cried with a mixture of relief and joy in his voice.
When she walked in Hans dropped his hand from Anderson's throat and stared at the woman who had entered the hallway. Though decades had passed since they last saw each other, and they had both been children at the time, Hans would have recognized the white haired, red-eyed woman anywhere. She wore the garb of a nun, and tears filled her eyes as she gazed upon the one she had thought dead for so long.
"Hans... little Hans." she said in a choked voice.
"Sis- sister?" asked the shell-shocked werewolf feeling a tear on his cheek.
"You- you look just like father." she said, tears now spilling down her pretty face. "Little brother, you've grown so much."
Hans couldn't believe what he was seeing even though he desperately wished to. It was impossible that his sister was standing before him, there was no possible way that she was still alive and standing before him.
Maria walked forward towards her catatonic brother and produced something from her pocket. "Do you remember this little brother." she said gently as she sowed him the object in her palm. Hans looked down and saw the object in her hands. It was a small wooden Star of David, hastily crafted and obviously done by an ameture. "You made this for me on mein birthday even though I vas not Jewish. You said that you made it for me so zat in zome small vay-"
"-mein Gott vould vatch over both of us az vell az yours." he said, his tears now flowing freely. "Mein gott, sister, iz it really you?" he asked in a choked voice.
"It iz little brother." she said tearfully. Before she could say more, her brother wrapped her in a tight bear hug, a sob in his throat. The affection and love in the simple gesture caused Maria to break completely, sobbing uncontrollably. After so long believing that they were alone, after so long never dreaming of finding each other again, against all odds they had done it. Brother and sister had found each other once more. Both could feel the jagged hole that had been left in their hearts begin to fill up, and felt that some shard of ice buried in their soul was finally gone. At long last, Hans and Maria had a family again.
Reactions in the room were mixed as those gathered beheld the scene before them.
Integra appeared as stoic as ever, but on the inside she felt her heart melt at the heart warming scene before her. Though she had only known the quiet werewolf for a short time, she had already developed a strong liking for the man. He was strong and loyal, not wasting words on anything. She knew of the losses he had suffered and had seen how he valiantly lived with the grief and sadness. IT pleased her to see her underling reunited with his sister. As she watched the tearful reunion she nostalgically remembered her father and his untimely demise. Though she and her father would not be reunited till Integra's own death, she was happy that Hans had found his family in this life, and could spend it with her.
Renaldo, while touched by the scene before him, felt above all a profound sense of disappointment. Not in the reunification of brother and sister, but in his student, Anderson. He had believed that Anderson had told the truth about not finding a female werewolf all those years ago, and now he knew that the man he had raised had lied. Renaldo couldn't help but feel betrayed by the incident and made a mental note to confront Anderson later.
Maxwell was absolutely livid. Anderson, his underling, had kept important knowledge from him, knowingly and willingly. There were a hundred ways that Maxwell could have used the female werewolf. He could have extracted her venom, experimented on her, countless advancements that could have been made in monster fighting technology. All those chances were gone now, and all because of Anderson's bleeding heart. His fury was unmatchable. Maxwell was a man who liked to be in control, and now that control was no longer in his grasp.
Walter himself found he was touched by the situation. Hans was his alpha and his sire, and because of that a deep bond had been forged between the two. Walter was happy his boss had mended some of the grief in his heart, and secretly thought that his sister was incredibly hot. He quickly vowed to never allow Hans to know he thought that, assuming that the werewolf would rip his head off if he ever did learn.
Anderson himself only smiled slightly. He could not have recalled being happier than right now, seeing the woman he loved with her long lost brother. But for as much joy he felt he felt just as much grief. He knew that it was unlikely that he and Maria would ever see each other again. His heart ached that he might be losing her for good, but he knew that he had to let her go. To do otherwise would be selfish and unbecoming of a man of God. This was the right thing to do, never mind how much it killed him inside. Despite his grief, Anderson was happy for the brother and sister, they finally were no longer alone.
"ANDERSON!" bellowed Maxwell. "What is the meaning of this?! Why have you been keeping this from me?!" he demanded. Anderson ignored him and walked over to the reunited siblings who had finally broken their hug.
"Many blessings to you both, may the good Lord watch over ye." said Anderson kindly, attempting to hide the sadness in his voice.
Hans turned to him, tears of joy in his eyes. "How- how can I repay you for this kindness?" he asked.
Anderson raised his hands. "This is my redemption werewolf, and while it does not erase the things I've done, I hope that this means something." the Judas Priest turned to Maria. "Farewell Maria, many happy years to you." he said, wishing he had the courage to pour out his heart to the girl. But he held his tongue, he did not wish to damper her joy with his words of love which would only complicate the situation.
"Goodbye Anderson my dear friend." said Maria in a emotion filled voice. "Thank you for this, thank you so much."
Anderson turned to the still fuming Maxwell. "I'll be returning to Rome now Bishop Maxwell, I've taken care of my business." With that the Soldier of Iscariot turned to leave the hall.
"Anderson vait!" cried Maria behind him. Anderson turned, foolishly and selfishly hoping that Maria had realized her love for him and had chosen to go with him. "Anderson I- I- I forgive you." she finally said, sincerity filling her words.
Anderson felt hot tears sting his eyes as he wheeled around to leave, not wanting her to see him cry.