Once again, Hellsing and all its characters are the property of Kohta Hirano. (The narrator is mine.)
Any other copyrighted material mentioned without satirical intent is unintentional (Don't sue me, I'm broke anyway!)
I felt an odd tingle all over my body. My stomach was like a writhing mass of snakes and centipedes. I felt like I was being carried, but gently. Faint voices were all around me, some gruff, some frightened, but all sounded like they were talking through woolen curtains.
"What's that, Police Girl?" a rough voice demanded.
"Oh, Master! Uh, nothing, nothing at all!" a nervous voice replied.
"Don't lie to me...You didn't!" The rough voice sounded shocked and angry.
"But Master, I had to, he would have died!" the second voice protested.
"We'll talk about this later, Police Girl," Rough Voice growled.
I awoke in total blackness. I was in a space only slightly larger than myself. I pounded on the panel on top of me, but it didn't budge an inch. I was terrified. I thrashed and pummeled everything I could, until the door in front of me moved away with mechanical slowness.
I stuck my head out and realized that I was lying down. I took my time getting my bearings. I climbed out of the tiny box and stood up. Someone cleared their throat loudly behind me and I nearly jumped out of my skin.
"Nice to see you're awake, Freshmeat," Rough Voice said.
I spun around, as if I had been goosed. There, before me, was an enormous man clad in a red coat and black vest over a white shirt with an ornate red tie. He had brown boots with turned-down tops at mid-shin and black trousers. Looking up, I saw he was at least six-and-a-half, maybe even seven feet tall, with a sharp face, orange shades hiding his eyes, and a mop of black hair capped with a bright red bolero.
Seras, now in a blue uniform with short sleeves and skirt and thigh-high boots, stood next to the man, looking abashed with a bright red face. It wasn't until I looked down that I realized why. I wasn't wearing any clothes! With a rather unmanly squeak, I leapt back into the box I just left. Rough Voice chuckled darkly.
"You will find new clothes on the table next to you," he stated.
Looking at the night stand, I saw a neatly folded blue uniform and assorted other items. I dressed awkwardly, due to the fact that I tried my best to stay in the box until fully dressed.
I laced up the heavy combat boots and, trying to salvage at least some of my dignity, stood and turned to the pair.
"How are you feeling?" Seras asked timidly.
"Good," I replied, "but I'm really confused. How am I still alive after I got shot? I know that shot was fatal. Where am I, who's the guy in red, and what's going on?"
"One at a time," Rough Voice barked. "Let's first start with introductions. My name is Alucard, your name is Nathan, and you've already met Seras Victoria. As for where you are, you are in the basement of the Hellsing Mansion. For your other questions, Police Girl will fill you in."
Seras stepped forward and handed me a mirror. I looked into it and saw the reflection of the room and. . . nothing else. Maybe it was an optical illusion or something, but no matter how I looked, I never saw my face.
"That's no trick mirror," Seras stated. "You didn't survive the attack at the pub. Your injuries did prove fatal. I saw what happened and did the only thing I could to save you." She opened her mouth wide and I saw gleaming white teeth with the long canines prominent, almost like fangs. "I bit you on the neck and drained your blood. I am a vampire and now, so are you."
"Yeah, right. That's rich. There's no such thing as vampires. I really appreciate the elaborate joke, but that's way too far-fetched. I need to get back home now, so if you'll just show me the way out, I'll be going." I attempted to move past, but Alucard's arm shot out and held me back.
"She's not lying. Feel your mouth, look at this monitor and then see what you have to say," Alucard ordered. My fingers felt around my teeth and I found that my bicuspids had grown into fangs. I turned to the monitor and saw immediately that my once silvery blue eyes were now a vibrant crimson. I stumbled back in shock.
"When Police Girl sucked your blood, you became her servant vampire. You still have your own will, but you will obey her and address her only as Mistress. The world of daytime and light is no more to you now. You will know only the night."
I was thunderstruck. Every word was like a slap in the face. There's just no way, I told myself. No way. Vampires only exist in movies and books. This is a dream, just a dream. I'll wake up in my apartment and forget all of this.
"No, you won't," Seras interrupted, "This is reality."
"How did you know what I was thinking?" I asked.
A backhanded swat spun me halfway around. I rubbed my sore cheek and Alucard gave me a look of contempt.
"You will address her as Mistress at all times! Servants must respect their masters," Alucard spat.
"Okay," I said bitterly, "Mistress, how did you know what I was thinking?"
"Vampires and their servants are linked telepathically," Mistress explained. "I can read your mind, but you can't read mine. We can communicate freely with each other over any distance."
I was about to ask more questions when an older gentleman opened the door and stepped in. He was old, but I couldn't guess his exact age. He was of decent height and dressed in a butler's suit without a jacket. His face was pale with a prominent nose, slicked back black hair, and a large monocle over his left eye.
"Good evening gentlemen, Miss Victoria." He made a slight bow. "Sir Integra wishes our new 'recruit' to report to the office posthaste." His voice was oddly gentle, but I could tell that he was anything but a rubber-spined lackey.
Mistress waved for me to follow him and so I did. I trudged through what seemed like miles of hallways and corridors. Here and there would be a painting or a tapestry. The occasional niche in the wall held a priceless vase or sculpture.
"What's your name?" I inquired of my guide, in as much an effort to break the oppressive silence as any real curiosity.
"I am Walter C. Dornez, retainer of the Hellsing family. I serve Sir Integra as butler and advisor. Here we are."
We stopped in front of a massive set of ornate mahogany doors. Walter knocked twice, then opened one of them. Inside was a large, sparsely furnished office with one wall made up of windows. Behind a wooden desk, in a well padded chair was a man with tan skin, long pale hair, olive green suit, and a blue tie with a cross pinned on front.
"Sir Integra, this is Nathan , newest member of your vampire squad and servant to Miss Victoria," Walter announced.
"Thank you, Walter. You may leave for now," Sir Integra told him. "I believe introductions are in order. I am Sir Integra Wingates Hellsing. I am the commander of the Royal Order of Protestant Knights, also known as the Hellsing Organization."
"I'm Nathan . I moved to London from America a short time ago. I work in a video game store," I volunteered timidly, unsure of what exactly to say.
"You're neglecting the fact that you are no longer among the living. You are and will forever be a vampire. This is no joke, I assure you," he stated cooly. He picked up a silver ashtray from his desk and tossed it to me. I caught it in both hands and dropped it soon after. My hands were smoking and burned, though the metal was cool to the touch.
"Ow, that hurt! What was that for?" I demanded.
"To prove a point to you," he replied, "silver is harmful to creatures of the night, and, since you were injured merely by touching it, that means you. If you are still not convinced, look at your hands now."
I looked at my hands and, to my surprise, saw that they were already healed. There was no evidence of the burns that I received not ten seconds ago. While I stared in shock, Sir Integra continued on.
"We, The Hellsing Organization, are a secret force charged with protecting England and its citizens from the undead. Those men you saw earlier were ghouls, mindless creatures that serve vampires. Ghouls are created when a vampire drains the victim's blood and chooses to make the victim a ghoul. You didn't become a ghoul because Officer Victoria chose to make you a vampire," Sir Integra dictated.
"Uh, Sir Integra, I've gotta say that this is all really weird. What exactly did Walter mean by 'newest member of your vampire squad'?"
"Exactly what it sounds like Mr. Nathan. You have been conscripted into the Hellsing Organization. The Hellsing Organization is dedicated to the extermination of all supernatural freaks."
The lump in my throat swelled to twice its original size. My muscles tensed and went slack in turns.
"Mr. Nathan relax. In case you hadn't noticed I employ two vampires. You have nothing to fear from me so don't get your knickers in a twist," Sir Integra assured me. "Your combat training will begin tomorrow night. Take tonight to familiarize yourself with the mansion and the grounds," he ordered.
"Yes sir." I saluted with what I hoped was military crispness. "Thanks for being so kind, I really appreciate it." And with a conspiratorial grin I whispered, "Man to man, how about Mistress, what a babe, don't you think?"
Shock and indignation exploded on his face. "For your information, you ignorant lout, you don't refer to your mistress in such lowbrow terms. Secondly I am a woman!" she fumed.
The lump in my throat returned with reinforcements. I ran as fast as I could, barely stopping to open the door. Behind me I heard the sound of an ashtray hitting the door.
In my mad flight I collided with Alucard, and fell on my backside. "Quite an amusing show there, Freshmeat, but such disrespect for my master merits a visit to my Casull," he growled. As I was wondering where this castle I was, he pressed the barrel of a pistol into my forehead. "This is my Casull .454 pistol; your stay will be short." He pulled the trigger and I heard the hammer click harmlessly.
"Heh, good one, I thought you were really going to shoot me," I panted
"I forgot my bullets," Alucard whispered with a chuckle.
I really hoped he was kidding.
I decided that the best one to show me around would be my Mistress. I could feel her presence in the mansion so I followed it as best I could. After four dead ends and realizing that I was traveling in circles twice, I found her chambers in the cellar, which seemed more like a dungeon.
I knocked on the heavy steel door. "Mistress, may I enter please? I need to speak with you," I requested.
"Come in," she sighed.
Her quarters were spartan in the most extreme sense of the word. A simple wooden table and matching chair stood in the center of the floor. A chest of drawers stood along the wall to my left. The sole extravagance was the large four-poster bed nestled between the far two walls.
Mistress sat in the lone chair, facing a white saucer, champagne flute, and a bucket of ice. In her hands was a small red pouch. When I got closer I saw the words 'MEDICAL BLOOD' stamped on the label. I sensed an incredible sense of anxiety radiating from her. She thrust the blood bag into the ice and turned to me.
"Good evening Mistress," I began, "I need to talk, if you aren't busy."
"No, by all means tell me what's the matter," she told me soothingly.
"Well, I think I just pissed off the two most powerful people in this mansion in less than five minutes. I called Sir Integra a man and I ran into Alucard at full tilt as I ran away." I panted.
"You don't need to worry much about that. Sir Integra doesn't hold grudges about little things, and Master was just joking, he has a rather twisted sense of humor." Mistress said.
"I also need help navigating the mansion; everything looks exactly the same and I can't figure out where anything is, please help me!" I pleaded
"I see no reason not to, let's go!" she agreed.
The tour of the mansion alone took the better part of an hour, even without extensive descriptions of the rooms. The grounds were rather simple; just a motor pool, barracks, and a firing range. I was surprised that we weren't attracting more stares as this went on. Don't these soldiers realize that there are two vampires right here?
"Of course they do," Mistress blurted, "after all, I've worked with most of these people for months and they're well aware of my status. As for you, they probably think you're just a new recruit or something."
I froze. "How did you..." I wondered before remembering our telepathic link. This is going to take some getting used to.
The tour ended with directions to my quarters. I thanked Mistress and headed back for a good night's. . . or rather a good day's sleep. I got my first look at the box I had escaped from earlier and realized that it was really a coffin with a motorized lid. I sighed, got in, and dozed off.