The Lost Priest
Chapter 10
Envy Green, The Golden Truth, A Black Past
(A/N: I was hoping for a few more reviews for my last chapter but as I said in one of my earlier chapters, "beggars can't be choosers." Well, I hope you all like this one. I've worked on it really hard.)
SOUNDS/sounds
Thoughts
Telepathy
(Last Time)
"Tell me if this sound right to you. CARDINAL Caterina Sforza?"
"'Cardinal Caterina Sforza?' Where did you hear that?"
"Tres, Hugue, and Astharoshe were sent to fetch Abel by a Cardinal Caterina Sforza and an Empress named Augusta Vradica. A female cardinal, Alucard? Any ideas?"
"Heinkel dresses like a priest, so… But you do have a valid point. I guess we'll just have to figure it out. If you'd allow me to go back into action… let's say, right now, for instance…" He grinned at her like begging child would do to his mother.
"If you weren't dead, you'd be dying to fight right now. Fine. Your sentence has been lifted. But do NOT start another fight. Am I clear on that, Alucard?" She bit out in a huff, blowing smoke out of her nose.
"As you wish, Master," Alucard smirked, bowing to her as he slipped back into the shadows.
"Something tells me this is going to be a long night," Integra muttered, massaging her poor, nicotine abused nose.
(Present Time)
Thump!
"Shit…"
"Duchess Astharoshe Asran, we are being followed," Tres said in a low tone.
"I'm fully aware of that," Asta sighed, continuing to follow Tres. "She needs a lot more practice."
Asta stopped, as did Tres, a couple steps later. The Viscountess turned around on her heel and crossed her arms as she gazed over the darkened shipping yard. She knew that Seras was following them; Seras was about as quite as a trumpeting elephant with bells on.
"You can come out now, Seras," she called out into the darkness. "We know you're following us."
Seras' head peeked out from behind a large crate, along with the tip of her cannon, which was strapped to her back. Asta made a 'come' gesture with an index finger as Seras sheepishly grinned, moving towards them. She stopped eight feet away, rubbing the back of her head.
"If you're going to trail someone, try not to knock everything over and curse about what you've done," Asta snorted, turning her back on Seras. "You are welcome to accompany us. It's no skin off my nose if you do."
With that, Asta and Tres started to walk off as Seras brought the up rear, still feeling sheepish about being caught. The smell of ozone was strong again; she looked forward to seeing Asta hold her own nose. No doubt Abel was nearby. Asta took off in the blink of the eye; her feet weren't even touching the ground. Seras wished she could move that fast, but every time her master would try to teach her she'd always fall flat on her ass. Tres was running now; he was faster than a human, that was for sure, but not as fast as a vampire.
Seras quickly took off running, just a little faster than Tres. The hair on her body was standing on end again as she neared the place Abel was. She suddenly saw someone stop in front of her and quickly hit the brakes, only to slam into an icy spot and slide right into the person, knocking the person down on his stomach with her on top.
"GET OFF ME! NOW!" Hugue yelled, glaring angrily at Seras.
"Sorry, sorry, sorry!" Seras said as she got up in a hurry and ran away from him before he could pick himself up off the ground. "I didn't mean to do that! I just slipped and—"
"SHUT UP! Don't you ever touch me again, vampire," he bit out.
"Hugue, it wasn't on purpose," Asta said, walking up beside Seras. "He's just a cranky ass. Better watch your back though. He's already tried to kill me four times."
"F-f-four times?" Seras gulped, looking at Hugue.
Hugue just narrowed his eyes at the two female vampires as Tres finally caught up to them.
"Where's Nightroad, Tres?" Hugue asked.
"348 feet to the right," Tres replied as Hugue ran off in said direction.
"Then let's not dally," Asta said, speeding off again.
"If you wish to continue with us, Seras Victoria, please hurry," Tres said, running off as well.
"Right," She said, catching up to him in no time before passing him. I still don't understand this whole mess. These three are after Abel to bring him home? But where is this 'home' anyway? I wish I could figure this out!
Just keep doing what you're doing, Police Girl. We'll figure it out.
Master? What are you doing here?
Watch what you're doing!
Seras came to a stop, just missing Hugue, who glared daggers at her. The last thing she needed to do tonight was lose her head via angry, righteous Father. She quickly stepped away from the irate priest, only to run into a wall of red fabric. She looked up to see a pair of red eyes looking down at her from under a set of orange tinted glasses as she finally heard Tres run up and stop beside Hugue.
whistle… "Well, well, Abel, you're looking mighty fine this evening," Alucard smirked as Abel dropped the rest of mangled vampire corpse. "Don't tell me you were holding back the other night?"
"Like you weren't," Abel hissed, his back still turned towards his new companions, as Alucard chuckled.
Abel suddenly gave out a painful moan and started to fall to the ground. It had been a while since he had last ingested the Methuselah virus, and the incident the other night had weakened him as well. Nosferatu blood was dead blood to begin with and not what he should have taken in. His nanomachines were having fit about it, and now his whole body was in pain. But before he hit the ground, he felt someone catch him. He looked up with red eyes now fading back to blue to see a pair of worried amber eyes staring back at him.
"A-Asta," he moaned with surprise as she gently laid him down on the ground and put his head on her lap. "What are you doing here…?"
"You idiot. We're here to rescue you," she huffed, reaching into her coat pocket. "Here, Abel, this is the best I can do. It's not the freshest but it should quiet your thirst for a while. You better be able to hold it because I'm not feeding you."
Abel smiled weakly at the remark as she pulled out a bag of transfusion Methuselah blood, her own, and opened the plastic straw, putting it into his hand. Seras face was turning slightly red and bitterness showed in her eyes. She then felt a sharp jab in her side from her master.
Hahahahaha! Jealous, Police Girl? Now, Seras, he is a priest after all. You wouldn't have gotten far with him to begin with. But I must say the look on your face is quite hysterical! Hahahahahaha!
I'm not jealous! And stop laughing at me! Seras glared venom at her master as he just grinned at her with his laughter echoed in her head. "I said, STOP! I'M NOT JEALOUS OVER THOSE TWO—Oh my God!"
Seras wrapped her hands over her mouth; her face changing from red with anger to pink with embarrassment. Everyone was now staring at her with odd looks on their faces. Seras removed her hands and twisted the skirt of her uniform with her tight fists. Suddenly she found the frosty ground to be an interesting study as her lips curled into her mouth and she began sweating heavily. She wished she could vanish right now like her Master could to get out of their gaze.
"Awkward," Hugue said, turning back around from her, pulling a blade from his walking stick.
"Finally, some fun," Alucard smirked, pulling out his guns as Seras pulled the cannon from her back and loaded it. "Hahaha! Remember to aim for the heart or head, Police Girl!"
"I know, I know," she moaned as the ghouls started come out of hiding, climbing over crates and coming out from behind them. "I don't need to be reminded!"
"Abel, lay back down," Asta snapped, pulling the Crusnik back down. "You're in no condition to fight! Let us handle it!"
"Yeah, but—" he tried to argue.
"Dammit, Tovarish, you're too weak right now," she said, picking his head up from her lap and setting his head back down as she stood up. "You're not up to fighting, and that's final!"
"ASTA!" he called out as she pulled out her spear and held it out in front of her.
"Do as I say, Abel," she snapped, looking at five ghouls coming straight at her. "It's my duty! So shut up and let me do what I have to do!"
Abel watched as she blasted the small group of ghouls to dust. He looked beyond her to see Hugue cut his way through them as Tres and Alucard got trigger happy. Seras was doing a good job with her cannon as well. Abel felt useless at that very moment. Everyone else was fighting and he was lying on the cold ground, watching them. Despite Asta's orders Abel sat back up and pulled out his revolver yet again, and loaded it with the last of his bullets. Asta heard a gun go off behind her and the groan of a ghoul. She whipped around to see Abel back on his feet, holding a smoking gun.
"You bloody moron, what are you doing," she barked. "I said not to—"
"I'm fighting whether you like it or not, Asta," he said, pulling the trigger and hitting a ghoul right behind her. "I have my own duty and orders to carry out."
"Just—just don't over do it! You hear me?" Asta snapped as Abel smiled at her.
The small group took down every ghoul they came cross that night. Once Abel's gun ran out of ammo he was promptly handed one of Alucard's. Abel had heard about the major kick the Caswell gun carried, and he was a little worried about pulling the trigger. He finally did pull the trigger and found just how hard the gun did kick back; needless to say, it wasn't his favorite gun, but he did use it.
By the time Hellsing Organization finished clearing the shipping yard, the moon was low in the sky and faintest bit of sunlight colored the eastern horizon in a deep purplish red. Finally, an all-clear was given around the area for everyone to pack up and move out. At last, the long night drew to a close.
Integra had long since met up with her troops. She saw that Maxwell had a nice sized bandage around his head, was strapped down to a stretcher, and was out cold, not that she cared what happen to that git. All she was missing now was Alucard, Seras, and Abel. And knowing her luck, they were most likely going to bring company. Troublesome company.
Sure enough, she saw Alucard walking towards her with a grin on his face with Tres behind him, followed by Father Hugue. She waited to see when Abel and the two blonde vampires would show up. It didn't take long, but what she saw almost made her drop the cigar out her mouth. The Duchess Astharoshe had in her arms (bridal style) an unconscious Abel and an envious looking Seras brought up the rear.
"Do I even want know what happened?" Integra asked as Asta looked down at the Abel she was holding.
"He overexerted himself and fainted," Asta muttered, readjusting his weight.
"I was right; I didn't want to know," Integra sighed, rubbing the temples of her head. "Get him on a stretcher. My men can handle him from here, Duchess."
Asta set Abel down on the stretcher, and sure enough, he was wheeled off into one of the medical trucks. The sky was brighter now, and Asta was getting a little nervous about it. She'd burn to a crisp out here unless she could get to a safe place before the sun came out fully.
"Master, if it's not an inconvenience, I believe we should give the Viscountess and her party sanctuary back at the mansion," Alucard grinned, watching his master's eyes narrow. "After all, they did help us tonight. It would be rude not show them any gratitude for their hard work." Not only that, but we can question them there as well.
"Since you put it that way, Alucard, I suppose it would be the best form of gratitude we could give them," Integra sighed, blowing out a little smoke. "Then if we want to beat the sunrise, we should make haste."
"Thank you, Sir Hellsing," Asta bowed, followed by Hugue.
Why does she have to come back with us? Seras growled mentally, crossing her arms as she glared at Asta. Little miss rah-rah." I'm of noble ranking so I can do whatever I want" attitude. She's nothing special. Hmph! I could have carried Abel myself!
I never thought of you as the jealous type, Police Girl! Careful now. You're turning green with envy! Hahahaha!
SHUT UP! I'M NOT JEALOUS!
Now is that anyway to speak to your master?
The look Seras threw Alucard that could kill ten bull elephants in one pass. Alucard only laughed at her as she marched off in a huff away from him and into one of the trucks, slamming the door shut. The soldier beside her in the driver's seat turned a ghostly white and swallowed the knot in his throat as she muttered angry curses beside him.
The day slowly moved back into night. A wicked wind had picked up from a cold front that started to move through, bringing hard rain. Every now and then, sleet could be heard tapping on the windows. Integra sat in her office with Alucard to her right and Seras to her left as Walter opened the door and escorted Asta, Hugue, Abel, and Tres inside. There were four seats in front of her desk for them.
Abel was the first to sit, followed by Asta, Tres, and Hugue. Integra stared at her odd companions from behind her glasses; a Crusnik, a priest, a vampire, and an android. She let out a deep breath and cleared out her throat.
"Good evening. I'm sure you all know that by now that I have grown very suspicious of everything that happened last night. I want straight answers, and no beating around the bush," Integra said clearly. "All in all, I have been very tolerant as to what has been going on. Now I want to the whole story, straight from the beginning to the end. Nightroad, let's start with you. Seeing on how it seems it was you that started this whole mess."
"Uh, the whole story? Um, well, you see it started with my brother, Cain. I know it sounds odd, but yes, I do have brother named Cain," Abel began, looking right at Integra, who raised an eyebrow. "Ironically, he is trying to kill me. He is the leader of the Rosen Kreuz Orden, a group very much like the Neo-Nazi Millennium, which also enlists vampires to do its dirty work. Their motto is 'Igne natura renovatur integra'—"
"'By flames shall Nature be reborn pure'," Alucard spoke up. "What a quaint little saying. However, they are very strong words."
"Yes, they are. Cain also goes under the alias 'Contra Mundi'. His underlings call him 'Mein Herr Contra Mundi'," Abel continued. "He wants to destroy the world and remake it into what he wants to be. My brother is mad, and that's the bottom line. He is also a Crusnik, and a very powerful one at that. He will hold back at nothing to get what he wants. After his attack on Albion, nearly destroying the capital city, I and a close friend of mine, Ion Fortuna, took off after him to destroy him once and for all."
"'Albion?' Just how long ago was this fight with your brother? Albion is the ancient name of Great Britain," Integra asked, taking cigar out of the box.
"Actually, I think it would be best if I explained this little bit to you first so you can get a better idea understanding where – and when – we're from. You can believe us if you want, or you can just call us crazy. We are from a post-Armageddon era over a thousand years in the future. The year 3061, to be exact. We shouldn't even be in this time to begin with. If you're having trouble believing me, then tell me, How do I know all that information on Iscariot when I'm clearly not in any of the Vatican's records?
"So, to answer your earlier question, Albion is not only the ancient name of Great Britain, but Great Britain will become Albion once more in the distant future. Like I said, you can believe me or not; it's all up to you. I was yet again in another fight with my brother when he found a device crated by one of his deceased followers, named Isaak Fernand von Kämpfer, a genius in all terms of the word. It was an idea that apparently worked. Think of H.G. Wells's story 'The Time Machine', if that will help you. He managed to throw me into a large ring and flipped a twitch before I could even stand up. The only thing I remember after that was a bright light and waking up on the side of the road with a terrible headache. I walked down the road for hours until night and came across St. Peter's Church, From there you know what happened, Sir Hellsing."
By this time Abel had three awestruck people before him. All were wide-eyed and had their mouths hanging open slightly. Alucard haphazardly chuckled for a couple of moments. Then there was a long silence in the room, except for the ticking of a clock, the rattling of the windows from the wind, and small tapping from the sleet and rain outside. No one could think of anything to say. It was just too far out there and awkward for any one to come up with anything to follow it.
BUUUUUURP!
Everyone was now staring at Hugue who now had his lips pressed tightly together and trying not to turn a shade of pink. Regardless of the situation he was in he tried to remain regal and keep his compose even though he could hear the giggles and chuckles build up in the throats of those around him. All he could do was count his blessings that it didn't come out the other end.
"Well, good evening you, too, Father Hugue," Integra said, trying to keep a straight face about it.
"I give that 8.5 out of 10! Ahahahahaha!" Alucard laughed as Seras put both hand over her mouth trying to keep her laughter in.
"It's not funny," Hugue growled, clenching his fists together. "Stop laughing."
"It's alright to laugh every now and then, Hugue," Abel spoke up. "I've worked with you for years and I've never once seen you smile. Awkward moments like that are the best the laugh at. I mean, it's not like your face is going to shatter into a thousand pieces if you do."
"If it does, I can always pay for the cosmetic surgery to replace it," Asta smirked sarcastically as Hugue's eyes darkened. "Don't give me that glare! It was a joke, Hugue. Don't you even know what a joke is?"
"You're really asking for it," Hugue snapped.
"Alright, that's enough now," Integra's voice sounded over the chuckles in the room. "Now that all of us seem to be knocked out of our stupor, I think it would be wise to continue on."
"Of course. After I left your organization I ran into good old Anderson, who wanted to kill me. I managed to talk him out of it. Later that night, I was greeted by a young Jezebel. She was all like— and I was like uh-uh." Abel said, getting looks from Asta and Seras. "She didn't like the brush off, but a moment after that I hear her scream and discovered she was being attacked by a FREAK vampire. Before I could pull the trigger, Tres showed up and did the honors for me. The following night we end in the warehouse at the shipping yard, where you found us."
"And that's all you know or remember, Abel?" Integra asked as Abel nodded. "Okay, now who will speak for you three?"
"I'll do it," Asta spoke up. "Ion returned back to the Empire to report that Contra Mundi had made Abel disappear, just flat out disappear. Her majesty, Empress Augusta Vradica quickly ordered a search party out for Abel and contacted the Vatican to get in touch with Cardinal Caterina Sforza about the situation. She too also sent out her own search party for him; after all, Abel does work for her. Someone also alerted the Queen of Albion, Esther Blanchett, an ex-nun and ex-AX member, an organization which Abel, Tres, and Hugue are a part of."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Let me get this straight. In the year three thousand whatever there is a nun who is queen," Integra forced out as the group of four nodded their heads. "How? Isn't Albion Protestant?"
"Well, actually, Catholicism kinda was the only one to—to stay together after Armageddon." Abel said, looking a little sheepish. "Yeah. Sorry. Hehehe…"
"Anyway, Esther sent her own troops to look for Father Abel. The Empress ordered the machine to be moved from its hidden location to the palace," Asta began again. "The orders were carried out and the machine was studied within palace walls. Two months had passed since Abel has disappeared."
"Two months? But I've only been here just shy of two weeks," Abel choked in surprise. "How could it possibly be two months?"
"Let me finish! The best scientists and engineers of the Empire, the Vatican, and the Albion worked on it to figure out what it was and how it worked. Needless to stay they were stunned to figure out the machine was nothing less than a time machine. They quickly worked on finding what time and place Abel had been sent to. They also made smaller versions of the machine that could be carried on a person to retrieve Abel. They managed to come up with four portal devices.
"From there they just needed some volunteers to go back and find him. I volunteered, as did Ion but his grandmother told the Earl to do else wise. For some odd reason, Father Hugue was assigned to go with me, along with Father Tres. We arrived in England about ten to twelve days ago. Somehow, during those days, Tres wandered off. He must have picked up Abel's identification signal and tracked him down. Then, of course, we met up last night, and you know the story from there on," Asta concluded with a yawn.
"So, this is nothing more than a rescue mission," Seras spoke up.
"Basically," Asta nodded.
"So, when are you planning on leaving?" Seras asked, looking more at Abel than at Asta.
"We were planning on leaving tonight, actually," Asta said as Seras looked like her heart was going to be crushed. "But… I think we can stay a little bit longer if it's alright with you, Sir Hellsing. I would like to get a chance to see what the pre-Armageddon world is really like."
"I don't wish to stay, Asran," Hugue bit out, looking around Tres to glare at her. "Let's go."
"You can go then. I don't care about what you want," Asta snapped back. "I want to see what this world has to offer!"
"I'm not going back alone," Hugue huffed.
"Why, because it will make you look bad?" Asta smirked as Hugue jumped to feet followed by Asta. "What's the matter? Did I hit your ego somewhere, priest!"
"Astharoshe Asran and Father Hugue de Watteau, please sit back down," Tres said, brandishing his guns and pointing them at Asta and Hugue. "I was ordered by Cardinal Caterina, Queen Esther, and Empress Augusta to take actions upon you both if you try to fight or kill each other."
"Oh, so, that's why Tres is here," Abel mused as Asta and Hugue sat back down. "He's playing peacekeeper." Glad he has that job and not me.
"Asta, if I were to permit you to stay, how long would you stay?" Integra asked as Asta turned from Hugue to her.
"About four days, max," She said. "It's long enough for me to get some sights in and short enough that Hugue can't really complain."
"I wasn't complaining," Hugue muttered.
"I suppose four days couldn't hurt," Integra nodded, finally lighting her cigar. "I'll have Walter prepare a supper for you all."
"Oh, Viscountess, may I ask you a question?" Alucard spoke up as the Asta looked at him. "I couldn't help but wonder something. You call yourself a Methuselah. Just what is a Methuselah?"
"I suppose I am different from what you are and what you fight," Asta said bluntly. "Although similar, a Methuselah and Nosferatu are also quite different. Nosferatu are quite rare nowadays. A few live in the Empire and act just as we do. While your vampirism is contracted by a curse, ours is by a virus."
"A virus, you say?" Alucard mused, taking off his sunglasses. "Please tell me more if you can."
"The virus was brought back from Mars centuries ago," Abel spoke in her place. "The bacillus was used by the first colonists to help them survive in the Martian environment. When the colonists on Mars discovered that Earth was in wreck and ruin, they returned to help, but the Bacillus mutated on Earth. They become sensitive to sunlight, silver became toxic, their life was prolonged, regeneration was increased, and the virus began to eat away at their blood, making them crave it. Because of that, the humans feared them and they were branded as vampires. They were hunted and shunned by the very people they had come back to help.
"Earth became another battlefield; now, humans and Methuselah were against each other. However, the Methuselah had an advantage. Their technology was advanced, while Earth's technology was crippled. The war lasted for years; finally the Earth was divided, with the humans to the west and the Methuselah to the east. Although the main fires of war had died years ago, there are still hot embers that are just waiting for fuel. And my brother Cain is that fuel. Igne natura renovatur integra."
"Abel, you speak as though you were there," Asta, Integra, and Seras said simultaneously.
"I was," he said, lowering his head. "I even helped started the war with Cain. We were pulling the strings behind the Methuselah."
"YOU DID WHAT??!" Hugue shouted, getting to his feet, grabbing Abel by the front of his clothes, and pulling him to his feet. "YOU BROUGHT THEM HERE?"
"Father Hugue, release Father Nightroad at once," Tres said, point his gun at Hugue's head. "That is an order, Father Hugue de Watteau. Release Father Abel Nightroad at once or I will have to take action against you."
"Do you have any idea what the Methuselah did to my family at all, Nightroad?" he snapped, tightening his grip on Abel's clothes. "They murdered my family and kidnapped my sister! And now I find you and your damn brother brought them here!"
"Hugue, let him go," Asta shouted, pulling out her spear. "Dammit, Hugue!"
"Last warning, Father Hugue de Watteau. Release Father Abel Nightroad at once," Tres ordered one last time.
Hugue pushed Abel back down into his seat with enough force that the chair tipped back, sending Abel to the tiled floor. Hugue then marched out the room and slammed the door shut. Abel rolled over onto his knees with his back to everyone.
"The promise Anderson mentioned the other night to never kill and protect as atonement for your sins, you were referring to that dark time," Alucard asked, walking up to Abel. "What made you change your ways?"
"Someone who lost her life to my brother's madness. She was the oldest Crusnik. In our younger years, we looked up to her as our mother, though she wasn't much older than Cain and myself," Abel said in a hushed voice, lowering his head even more. "Lilith was the only Crusnik to fight for the humans, while we fought against them. To make a long story short, Cain lured her in for peace talks but killed her instead. In a fit of rage, my sister and I dropped Cain from the spaceship through Earth's atmosphere, but he merged 100 percent with the Crusnik as he fell and burned. It was the only thing that saved his life.
"Other then Caterina, I have never told another about it. There have been so many times before where I just felt like I was going break or just wanted to tell someone, but I couldn't let them know what I was really like all those years ago. It was hard enough just get that little bit out. Even now, I withhold information from you. I'm ashamed of what I did and I cannot forgive myself. And the promise I keep is to Lilith. Never to kill or allow anyone to die."
The room grew quiet once more with only the sounds of the clock and the weather outside pounding on the windows. No one could come up with much to say after Abel gave that statement. Abel still knelt on the floor as the others stood behind him, looking at each other.
"Abel…" Seras began. "What happened has happened. I know you can't change it; no one can, but you shouldn't keep trying to push yourself to make everything right in the world. Bad things are going to happen, whether you're there or not. That's just how the world works, Abel. You've just got to take it with a grain of salt and live with it."
"She's right, Tovarish," Asta broke in. "You can't keep beating yourself about the past. You've got to look at the here and now, regardless of what happened all those years ago. I've heard My Lady mention Lilith from time to time. She sounded like the kind of person who could forgive most easily. I'm sure Lilith has forgiven you by now."
"Hmm, you sound little like my sister," Abel said, taking off his glass and rubbing the small, salty drops from them before getting back up. "Thanks. Now, Sir Hellsing, about that dinner..."
"Glad to see your appetite hasn't wavered any," Integra moaned, rubbing the bridge of her nose where her glasses sat as Alucard chuckled.
(A/N: That was chapter 10 I hope you all enjoyed it. I did put a lot of work into this. Could I see a few more reviews for this chapter than the last I would really like it.)
Millie M. Banshee
Beta: 2stupid
(BN: Please please please please please review! I did this while I was supposed to be doing homework, so please make my sacrifice worthy! I risked my future for this! Yes, my grades are that low. Don't laugh.)