Disclaimer: Hellsing belongs to his respective author. I get no money for making this. Duke belongs to me, that's all.
(Re) Building An Empire
Onset Of The Eight Year
"Seeeeraaas!" The walls in Hellsing manor trembled when Integra found what the Draculina's new pet dog had just done. Around Airitech, was what she once called her wardrobe, now reduced to a pile of rags; and the furniture in her room that had belonged to her family since Van Helsing's times, was broken beyond repair. Of course the puppy was joyfully chewing of her favorite pair of shoes. Not that she used the same model and had several identical pairs didn't make those specifically the most comfortable. Since the arrival of this new family member, the expenses have multiplied. They weren't dealing with a dog, either a wolf. When it realized how foul was its master's master temper, the beast turned into a no older than two years human baby. He made such look the most repented as plausible, lip trembling added to the picture; that Integra had to give up with a sight.
Seras came up straight to the basement, the girl had also learnt to delay her arrival just enough for not having to argue with the boss. She picked in her arms her new charge while looking around at the mess.
"I'm sorry, Sir… you can take what he broke from my payment?" she suggested playfully, for she didn't get any money at all. Airitech pushed his face on Seras' chest like he wanted to merge with the vampire girl. The baby turned back just seconds to freeze under Integra's glare and whine. Seras rocked him back and fro while calming him down "Shhh, shhh… easy…"
"We have to do something with him."
"You have told me it was a good idea to keep him."
"I said I was proud of your decision to do not kill him, that has nothing to do with you taking him home with us."
"That doesn't make any sense!"
Integra knew she was being inconsistent, she was only complaining without having a real solution to the problem. If Seras didn't eliminate Cas Corach's son, they had to find a place where to leave the pup. She had already discarded a host family, the wolf boy didn't know yet how to control his transformation, and leaving oblivious parents to deal with a non human son would bring more problems than solutions. Neither they could release the beast in the forest, soon or later someone would pick up sight of a feral boy and bring child service. Much to her dismay, here seemed the most suitable place for the creature. After all, she had managed to keep faithfully concealed an ancient powerful vampire, and now his childe were running about the place. No one could get hurt by adding a werewolf at the mixture. No one except her oak's bed!
"Besides, you wouldn't toss someone this cute out in the streets, would you?" Seras defended her position raising the pup to eye level, little Airitech had taken a shape in the middle of his both forms and looked like a hairy kid, dog ears ghostly covering his human's and a white smoke forming tail that dangled from the hole made in his very loose green and yellow scottish patterned pajamas. That was in no way cute! Nevertheless she wasn't the one to argue about it, for Duke had been saying it since the pup's arrival weeks ago.
The kid bowed happily and panted to make clear he was not human. She didn't like children, neither did puppys. She accepted Baskerville's presence as long as Alucard didn't used to annoy her; but this time Seras couldn't simply absorb the creature and living with it was troublesome. Integra shooed with the hand the baby; one thing was dealing with weird because one never got any other option, the other was wanting to deal with weird. And she was definitely for the first since the early years of her life.
"Will it learn to talk some day?" The boss pulled a cigar from her pocket box, dangling it on her lips until her servant understood the message and lit it for her. The baby scratched his nose in clear sign that the smoke was upsetting his sensitive nose, however this was something she wasn't going to stop doing only for an unwanted resident's sake. Seras put him on the floor where he whined for being picked up again.
"I don't know… don't even know if they talk…" Making a mental replay of what they had lived with the Nazis, the Colonel Hans didn't produce a single line through the battle. Seras looked at the now at the wolf pup that scratched its nose at her hip with apprehension; another reason to fear it in the place of care for it, was that even as a baby, the creature was bigger than a great Danish pup. And while seeing a furry wolf wearing pajamas was funny, they wouldn't find fitting clothing for him in a given time.
"Clean this mess and join me in the office, at least we will find a way to train him." Intergra turned back to work.
"Yes, Master!" The Draculina bubbled, knowing she had won in some way the argument.
Just before leaving, her boss stepped into something soft and slippy. Looking at Sir Hellsing's stained sole, Seras couldn't do but flinch in anticipation.
"SEEERAAASS!" The little Airitech made chorus with a growl.
"Integra?" Duke pulled reluctantly to peer through the office door, getting sure Airitech was nowhere to be seen; he gathered some courage to enter. The lady behind the desk glanced up from the usual pile of paperwork and case studies to find a very peaky man in pajamas. For an instant, Integra thought it was work of her imagination, like the scene of her first meeting with Duke was repeating; soon she snapped to reality and ricocheted her head towards her charge.
"For god's sake vampire, what have we talked about your nourishment?" Being angry was sometimes the only way of showing she was worried. Integra knew it was a sign that something was going wrong with the eccentric vampire.
Duke flinched with fright.
"I know, sorry." He fidgeted before daring to continue with what was surely a complaint. "It's just that the… werewolf lives in the kitchen."
A ridiculously long pause followed the conversation, as Integra managed to put two and two together. She had been so busy with this new case of the masked hunters that recently appeared in Australia that never cared why the older vampire had concealed himself in the basement since they had returned from Ireland. So far, Integra thought that as long as the investigations continued being issued by mail, it didn't matter if the vampire preferred working in his own room. But remembering that particular flight back to London; Duke hadn't gotten any rest in the plane because Seras was sleeping in her coffin with the pup. And kept pleading, set aside the notion of personal space, to get rid of the beast. The reason behind his seclusion was that he was terrified of sharing a room with a werewolf. And since his arrival to this house, Airitech had found a room in the kitchen… which meant Duke hasn't entered ever since.
"We can't keep the dog." Integra said this more to herself, but she could see the vampire's face almost glimmering from relief. "And you can't keep starving yourself."
She stood up resolute to get solution for this problem, even if she hasn't figured out one yet. To expect Duke to follow her along now that she was heading the kitchen was an impossible, that's why she was stunned the vampire walked alongside with her. His hand inches from hers, like asking for permission to hold it. Which of course she never allowed.
Slamming doors for a dramatic entrance, she found Airitech doing what a puppy likes the most when is out of supervision: chewing the furniture. This time, the victim was an aluminum chair, bent under the fangs of the inhuman child as if it was low quality cutlery. Not feeling shame for his acting, Airitech paused his task to stand up and jog towards Integra, a bit of smile plastered in that dog face that couldn't imagine what his presence would trigger.
A high pitched whine from the pup reached her ears before her eyes decoded what she was seeing. Duke had panicked, and in a desperate effort for keeping the dog far from him, he had unleashed the seal for strangling the kid with what looked somewhat an elongated arm. There were pearls of sweat falling by his forehead; even so his expression was completely the opposite, the one of a cold blooded killer just doing his job.
Integra didn't have to deal with the moral implications of one member of Hellsing killing another, for an ace of shadow passed right in front her eye before cutting loose Duke's arm. The kid fell on the floor alongside with the limb, softening the impact by becoming smoke. It was clear that Airitech never had been at any risk to begin with. But now she had an injured vampire oozing blood all around her shoes, who had lost in a blink the common sense and despite his lacking arm attacked back. Seras of course had turned too powerful to deal with, so she dodged easily to pin her brother with such a strength that left tiles of the ground.
Seras was putting way too much pressure against someone that hadn't eaten in months. However, Duke was distracted for the werewolf behind his Master's legs, being trapped in the verge of death was the less of his worries. Little Airitech's barking gave him unexpected strength to throw Seras the other side of the kitchen.
"Stop you two!" Integra started yelling, but the battle had gone behind her grounds. She pulled the seal in both fruitlessly, as the siblings struggled now in an immaterial form over the counters, creating a mess behind them. "Stop, now!"
The control art restriction reached a dangerous level. She didn't want to seal Seras' familiars, but the vampires weren't giving her an alternative… until the doorbell rang.
Duke and Seras stopped abruptly, both their bodies regaining shape in an odd position.
"Oh goddess!" the oldest vampire exclaimed, untangling clumsily to get down of the stove "Where is my mind, I completely forgot you have guest today."
"Guest?" This time was Integra's turn to raise an eyebrow.
"You agreed a visit from Sir Penwood' son today. You've mentioned more than once last month."
Seras was ashamed every time the bloodlust made her lose composure. Letting things cold out, she picked the puppy to dissolve through the wall.
"Hum… sorry, Duke." She floundered with her pet coming back in by the same way, this time hands empty. "I promise to find a better place for Airitech out of the kitchen."
"Nah, I'm sorry too. I know the pup has never harmed anyone, it's just it can't be helped." His expression showed more despair than the lassitude he wanted to express.
"Is it today?" A new rang from the doorbell answered her question. It had completely slipped her mind; dare to say considering how excited she was for it. Lory was coming to talk about finances, and a recent agreement they had with the Crown for founding. The arrangement for teaching little Gregory fencing was Duke's idea, but it worked for appease the everlasting friction that the Hellsing household had with the Ministry of Financial Affairs. The older vampire had already vanished from the room, which meant he had gone answer the door.
Integra wasn't in the mental shape for greeting guest, but she had to make the effort to look presentable before finding Lory and his son in her office. She changed of clothing in fast forward and combed her hair. Soon she was at the door of her own office where she wished Duke had thought of cleaning up the desk mess before letting the invitees enter.
"Sir Integra." Sir Lory gestured his hand prompting her to take a seat behind her very desk. "It's been a while since the last time we see each other." It had been only months since the last session of the Round Table, but avoiding eye contact ever since meant it had been years. Integra hadn't notice how much she saw from Mister Shelby in Lory. Only difference was the leaner body and lack of mustache, out of it, the son was starting to look pretty alike. When he didn't stand up upon seeing her, she knew the resentment in this man heart was too much for forgiving her. However she had long ago decided she didn't care what Penwood's family thought of his sacrifice, it had hurt Integra almost as losing her own father too, and witnessing it first hand, was enough burden for her.
"Lory Penwood, how's business?"
"Not bad, not bad." He looked around the office, nearly evaluating the price of every piece of furniture "Especially since I got the new that the government of Ireland gave you a good payment for your recent services-"
"Which you already deducted taxes." Integra deadpan stopped him, knowing what was coming next.
"That doesn't exempt you. Either you donate that quantity, or you can say goodbye to the monthly income your organization gets. Remember that you are in the borderline of administration, nonetheless you belong to the crown like all of us do."
Next to Lory, there was a little kid wobbling his lanky legs on the too-tall-for-him chair. He was dressed like a small businessman, almost like he was more a secretary than a relative, he kept silently taking notes in an agenda the rest of the meeting. However, Integra could notice how the kid kept sending curious glances to her eye patch the entire session. His hair was darker than Shelby's or Lory's, and his big eyes had a glimpse of sadness that wasn't supposed to exist in someone born after the London's massacre.
"Firstly, why don't I give the class to…" Integra addressed to the boy, even if she already knew his name, she wanted to break some ice.
"Gr-gregory." He trembled and resumed to scribble randomly in the agenda.
"In fact, your secretary agreed to leave the child with you for two weeks." Lory corrected. Integra flinched so slightly she hoped he hadn't noticed. "My wife is in New York getting founding for her ONG, and his private tutors have asked me to give them vacations... which leaves me time to analyze your proposal for artillery, and to elaborate a proper plan. Given that the result of this little experiment shows the expected performance, I'd say."
"I can assure you it will work out." Integra shook his hand, swearing mentally this moron who was leaving his only son with the person he despised the most, for the sake of getting rid of the responsibility a couple of weeks. She looked down at the kid, behind his hunched shoulder she could see what he had been writing in the agenda. A rough drawing in red ink, of Lory being attacked by dogs.
"Game, set!"
Gregory was a good learner. From the moment he had put his suit on; he was already practicing the stances by himself. Integra could see a little of her in that boy; when she was a child, she peeked into material way too advanced for her in her father's library. It was this avid curiosity what she appreciated the most, and facilitated her fencing teaching. However, a constant doubt kept her from enjoying it. Something nudged in the back of her mind and she would have loved to ask Walter if kids were supposed to act like Gregory. Even though put such effort in every stockade that an adult would envy, but there was an everlasting despair aura around him. It was like the boy was a steam pot, suppressing all anger and frustration and not allowing them come out even once. Any other debutant would respond negatively with Integra ordering to do the same stand for the umpteenth time, but not this boy. He continued trying, and falling, and getting hurt without a single whine. Almost as if Integra was teaching a robot. And far from what she was expecting, the perfect student was raising in her some inner tension.
"Aren't you listening? You are grabbing it wrong!" She ended up yelling at him without notice. Gregory didn't even flinch, his soul somewhere else from where his body was. He simply nodded to pick the sword in the correct way. Integra was frustrated as the next time he'd left the grip, he'd picked it back in the wrong way.
What was more frustrating was she was trapped two weeks with this abeyant seven year old. The house was big enough for sleeping in a different room and not repeating once for about a month; however she was sure that leaving a kid by his own was a severe violation to the law, not to mention that if something happened to Gregory, Lory wouldn't buy her a new helicopter.
"Touché." She was clearly flabbergasted when Lory left the boy without a second thought. "Touché, again!" All the luggage left in a room even before she had given her accord, the father also forgot to say goodbye to his son. "TOUCHÉ! ... Are you all right?"
The boy had butt landed, the ball in the point of the sword had hit directly on the heart. Any other kid would be crying by that moment, the protections were not so resistant to a true ghoul-beating hit, and Integra knew she had gone way too far for a first day of practice. Instead, Gregory stumbled to stand up, not a single complaint. He regained his stance, the one he had been practicing nonstop and the single one he had learnt in the first day, ready to be beaten over again. If the Integra of ten years ago had met a kid like that, she wouldn't had mind to continue beating him into pulp for another couple of hours, but years had given her some consideration towards others. Arriving to the conclusion that if she usually pushed herself to the limit, it didn't mean she had the right to do the same with the others.
"That's all for today." She removed the helmet, her new apprentice did so. Gregory had already a bruise under the right eye; God knows how come he had gotten that with the protection on. Gregory stood there, looking around frantic for what to do next. "Go and tell Duke to prepare you a bath, and tell him to give you some cream for the blues."
Gregory rolled his big baggy eyes and went in the search of Duke. Sometimes the kid was too educated to say out loud what he was thinking, so it was difficult to figure what that expression meant. Eventually Integra mentally faced palmed, it was six in the afternoon. Duke was getting his well deserve sleep time and so did Seras, there was no one else in the mansion. Integra had stopped hiring base housekeepers, probably since last attack to the mansion two years ago. She didn't like paying burial fares and her line of job meant a serious threat to any of her employees, that was the reason of why only a cleaning service came once a week. She had already pretty much failed cooking skills, so the cleaning ones were even dustier. Only three people lived in a house meant for fifty guests, and the word 'living' was an overstatement for the two vampires who used only a basement room each, which left her alone with the entire charge of her own. Gregory was already heading towards the basement when she caught him up.
"Take your uniform off and come with me." An idea in mind, she put on back her clothes and headed to the office. Saying she was the only in the mansion was a blatant lie. Pressing the intercom, she dialed room numbers until someone the other side of the line picked up the speaker.
"Hello?" A male voice answered hesitant.
"Emmanuel, I need you to come to my office." The doctor seemed the sole member of the soldiers that haven't gone to Australia, long ago she had learnt that it didn't matter if all the troops left the household, it was safe as long as Seras stayed.
"Should I bring my equipment?"
Integra looked at Gregory's body, which was matching with the bruised face. She didn't remember being that fragile as a kid, but it couldn't be helped. From Seras' favorite couch, he was strongly staring at her eye patch until he felt busted, then he lowered the eyes.
"Yes, please. It's not something serious, just some external injuries."
"Roger." And he hung up.
Five uncomfortable minutes later, the old mercenary was entering the office with his signature crutch. Being a soldier used to the treats of war, he had long forgotten the wheelchair and now he walked clumsily from his private office in the mansion to wherever he was needed. Gregory was also staring with eyes wide open at the lump that once was Emmanuel's leg. The old doctor didn't seem to mind, despite of how much it discomforted Integra. He rubbed some dark ointment on the boy's white skin that made him look more bruised than before.
"This is a very simple remedy." Emmanuel finished the last bruise and addressed to Integra "For it to make effect, he's not supposed to take a bath in a while."
"…Very well" She should have asked before, now the kid looked bruised and dirty, if Lory'd decided to suddenly pop out she wouldn't be able to explain the sorry situation of her guest. Gregory was the kind of kid that stood before the endurances of life without saying a word.
"Mister? Did you lose your leg in the war?"
"Yes my boy, and what a war!"
"Was it the same war where grandpa... I mean, my grandfather died?". For a seven year old kid, the war was nothing but a word, the explanation he had gotten upon seeing mutilated people. A conflict denominated in three letters followed by four numbers, sometimes a place added in between. War of London 1999 was a single noun compiling all the massacres, all the lost lives, all the pain of thousands of people, everything without the charge to deal with them.
"Your grandfather died a hero." A sorrowful expression was reflected in the ex Wild Geese.
"What did he do?" Gregory's eyes reflected some life when he lean wanting to hear more. Emmanuel didn't expect his comment would trigger the admiration of the kid, and he no longer had idea of what to say to the little one. He peeked to Integra, who was as surprised as her subordinate. She cleared her throat and set a foot on the couch vigorously.
"Your grandfather was in the first line of action. He battled ghouls with nothing more than his very sword! His heroic deeds became so well known that an entire platoon of Nazis retired upon hearing he was in the way, but he ambushed them while driving a tank. He was certainly the best strategist that will ever exist!"
"Noo way, you are lying..." the kid wanted to believe the flabbergasted tale, he was trying.
"It's the truth, right Emmanuel?"
"It is Sir Integra" He nodded, putting his best face while mentally guffawing.
Only with the approval of the veteran soldier, Gregory nodded. He sat down on the couch, half smiling with fulfillment.
"That's awesome. Please tell me more; dad never wants to speak about the grandpa."
As sad as the implication was, neither Integra nor Emmanuel were going to deprive the kid for knowing who had been Sir Shelby M. Penwood.
"Let me tell you the story of you grandfather," Integra sat down beside the little boy "he and my father were very close friends..."
Author's Note: I don't know in which corner hide to apologize for my long absence. I've recently moved back to a new country and the cultural shock is giving its toll. For time lapses' sake, only the second half of this chapter is new.
I had a particular problem with this arc since I had no idea of how to portrait Gregory, it pissed me so much that several chapters were discarded before deciding to upload it. If there's a still person reading this fic, thank you and I'm sorry for the long delay. I can't assure that new chapters will come as often as they used to be before the long hiatus though.