Agh late again, curse my full schedule.
Thank you to everyone for all the support and being so patient with my inconsistent schedule.
I've received a couple of really good notes on how my writing can improve, and I'm eager to apply it to future stories, I considered doing a full edit/rewrite of this story, but I most likely won't, I'd prefer to move onto other stories. But thanks to everyone who shares their tips!
ScrewballBRaine haha I know what you mean, everyone has their own way of painting and everyone thinks its the 'right' way.
I am also now officially a Beta reader on this website, I am a better Beta reader (and more frequently updating one) than I am writer of a story, trust me. If you are interested check out my Beta profile and shoot me an email :)
thanks for reading everyone, please enjoy!
The world seem to swim around Pip as a loud ringing pierced his ears, he looked around the room, his comrades littered the floor, ceilings and walls, mangled masses of flesh were everywhere, no longer recognizable. The searing pain controlled Pip's mind and the shock from the explosions and trauma caused a haze to wash over him, Adrenalin and pain flowed through him. He did however notice Zorin standing in the center of the room, cackling madly, taking great pleasure in her army easily destroying his.
She approached him slowly and with an air of arrogance, "still alive are ve? Hm, you are tough", she raised her weapon above her head, intending to cut him cleanly in half, a sinister grin splitting her face, she took too much joy in the massacre.
He looked up at the weapon, she was hesitating, savoring the moment, thoughts flashed through his head, 'come on move idiot!' his body wouldn't co-operate, bones had been shattered and joints dislocated, too broken and in pain to move he closed his eyes peacefully, it was the end.
Time seemed to slow down in Pip's mind, but he was too scared to open his eyes, in fear it would catch up and he would be greeted with the sight of a large blade coming down between his eyes. One day he would die in battle, but he assumed when he was older and slower. Not now, not while he was young. But he was surrounded by his men, as mangled and torn up as their corpses were, 'we will be together', that brought him comfort.
He thought of Seras, how he failed her, how he wouldn't see her again, how she would cry for days after he died. That thought brought some comfort, he would be missed.
XxX
The beeping of familiar machines and an aching pain in her arm, an IV needle no doubt. There was something warm and comforting covering Victoria's body, which ached terribly. Her eyelids felt too heavy to lift, but as she heard the door open and people entering she was thankful she kept them closed anyway, there was no way she had the energy to speak.
"So you found her under all that rubble?" Integra's voice muttered,
"Yes, she was bleeding heavily, for some reason her body refused to heal" a gravelly voice replied. 'Alucard' Victoria noticed, her chest growing tight, 'did they get my letters?'
"And what of Katja?" She asked,
"Impossible to say until she awakens, however because of the damage she sustained it's possible that they have split, Katja believing she may have died".
Victoria ran his words through her mind, not believing what she was hearing, or what she wasn't hearing, there was no hint of Katja's voice. 'Katja? Are you there?' She asked, after several long seconds and no reply, she could feel her chest tighten further. However whether she was happy or sad she couldn't tell. However, she could feel the presence of eyes upon her, she was being watched.
"Is she still a vampire then?" Integra asked lowly,
"Yes, but weaker, she will have to relearn, assuming Katja taught her anything". Alucard noted quickly, anxious almost, "what will you do of her betrayal?"
"I'm... not sure, she didn't contribute to London's destruction, it seems she only wanted to know where Jake was" Integra muttered, "but betrayal is betrayal...".
"Master, we have lost too many people already..." He stopped himself, Victoria noticed a tenseness in his tone, "we need everyone possible".
After a long heavy pause Integra grunted "For once you have a point" she replied stiffly, "I understand why you want to keep her but she left us in our time of need, that cannot be forgiven, she will be punished."
"Yes, I understand" he replied lowly,
"meet Seras and I in my office in half an hour" Integra commanded before leaving the room shutting the door behind her. Several minutes after the door shut and the woman's footsteps faded from her sensitive hearing, a coy smile split Alucard's face.
"I know you are awake" he muttered taking the seat by her bed,
Victoria cracked open an eye and turned her head in his direction, "how?"
"I can tell when you are asleep and when you aren't, you are a bad actor" he replied in amusement, "how do you feel?"
"Tired, and sore, but never mind that" Victoria sighed, "how are you all? Did everyone survive? Did we win? Where's Seras?"
His smile faded slightly, 'bad news' she thought.
"We did win... although London will take much time to repair, everyone is fine, except for the Major, his army, Pip and the Geese".
Victoria frowned, "Pip died?" she asked lowly, she never liked him too much but she knew Seras loved him, and she loved Seras, 'poor girl, she must be a wreck' she thought, her chest once again constricted. Victoria slowly reached for the lever beside her bed, the whirring of the machines raising the top half, allowing her to sit upwards. "Much better" she muttered, her voice dry and weak.
"The Major, his whole army is dead? What of the Vatican? Them too?" She asked,
The vampire chuckled lowly, "quite,
He handed her a thin file, "it's not yet complete, but there is a summery" he offered,
She lifted a heavy trembling arm to retrieve the papers before flipping open the file, only to find sheet after sheet of random letters and symbols, jumbled into and incoherent mess. "I can't read this" she muttered, "...oh no I can't read this!" She cried.
He reached out and squeezed her hand softly in reassurance, "Your head was damaged severely it may take time".
She gently pulled her hand away and looked into his eyes, lifeless and unblinking. "Now it makes sense, it's a dream, I'm dreaming" she whispered feeling tears pool. "You can't read in dreams, Alex told me that, she told me that. I knew it was too good to be true" she muttered. "The war isn't over, I'm not free of Katja, Integra won't have mercy on me, I won't see you guys again, I will wake up buried under a pile of subway rubble".
"What is this nonsense you are talking about?" He scoffed irritated at her outburst,
"You aren't real, I don't know if the real you would forgive me, but I still miss the real you. I miss the real everyone, except Katja, I made a mistake, I don't want to die, I want to make it up to everyone" she rambled tears sliding down her cheeks. Alucards expression remained blank as she swung her legs over the side of the bed, noticing she was wearing the clothes millennium provided. "I have to go help them, I have to go" she mumbled limping over the door, "I have to stop it".
"You could stay" he offered suddenly, "here with us, forever, you won't have to return to reality, we will love you, forever".
Victoria turned back to him, his kind gaze fixed on her, "no, it's not real, it's unsettling here, too perfect, I have to accept what I've done, I have to face my mistakes".
"They will never forgive you, not like us" he argued,
"I'll make them, maybe it's not too late" she replied placing a hand on the door knob. "I'm going to fix everything I've done".
Once again his expression changed suddenly, "you are foolish to think you can do that",
"I will try, they mean so much to me and I threw them away so easily for the chance to kill Jake, killing him won't bring Alex back, I'll... make sure no innocent humans are killed by vampires ever again".
"Optimistic" he noted with a cold tone, "best of luck, Victoria".
She swung the door open, past it's blinding light she could see it leading back to the subway, "thank you, I will need it".
XxX
As Pip waited for the impact, for his death, the sudden sounds of the vampires gargled screams and heavy bodies hitting the floor filled the room. He opened his teary eyes to see Zorin look around in horror, a majority of her army dead or dying on the ground. "Sniper!" she screamed, the vampires quickly panicked and ran around blindly in horror as bullets flew into the room.
'An aim too accurate to be human' Pip thought as bullets hit the vampires and whizzed harmlessly past him, hope swelled within his chest, 'Seras?' he wondered.
No sooner had the thought ran through his head the familiar blonde vampire, in her skimpy mustard uniform appeared from the dust and debris, a furious expression on her face.
"Seras" Zorin begun slowly, her tone bitter, "You are the only one left...and are such a pain in my ass!" she roared. Before Seras could raise her weapon again the cursed images filled her mind, Zorin had activated her illusion, she wasn't about to let Seras lay a hand on her.
Images flashed through Sera's mind, short clips of her life, her orphanage, her police training, the night she became a vampire, nothing she couldn't handle, she fought back as hard as she could rejecting the images. 'It's just and illusion, it's not real!' she reminded herself.
Then something else appeared, Zorin had dug deeper, to her worst memory, her parents murder. It was like she relived the night all over again. She was there laying on the blood soaked carpet ground, staring blankly at her parents bodies, she had just been shot. From her semi-conscious state she had to watch the men rape her mother, over and over. It was enough to drive anyone insane.
XxX
Schrodinger watched from atop the blimp the terror that was unleashed on London city. It had just gotten interesting according to the Major, as the Vatican troops had just landed as well as Millennium's newest round of Vampire super soldiers. The show that Major promised wasn't as entertaining as he thought, he could hear his mad ravings and rantings to Doc, he seemed to enjoy the show, but Schrodinger paid little attention to him. It seemed the long the war went on the more insane he became, suddenly something caught his eye, a Vatican helicopter was fast approaching, "Uh Major" he started nervously, the helicopter came from behind remaining unnoticed by the pair, the soft beating of its propellers going unnoticed. "Major there's a-!"
The Major quickly cut him off, "not now! I'm listening to the music, the melody of war...it truly is an art isn't it?"
Schrodinger scowled, they never listened to him, "there's a Vati-" before he could finish the blimp was hit with several missiles from the back, jolting the airship forward and puncturing the balloon. Slowly the air was let out as they begun their descent,
"We need to land immediately!" Doc cried in panic. However before Schrodinger could let of a snide, 'told you so', the assaulting helicopter was cut clean in two, even the pilot inside hadn't been spared. Schrodinger watched the glimmer of metal that had been the culprit fall from the sky, "such precision" Doc muttered in surprise.
"A job well done butler, I knew that you would be the perfect member for our army!" Major replied gleefully,
Walter nodded softly in acknowledgment taking his position at their side, "when did he get here?" Schrodinger knew about his activities on the ground, something was pestering him. "Can I speak to you?" he whispered,
with hesitation the butler agreed and the pair made their way to the other side of the airship. The Major and Doc too engrossed in their conversation as they slowly descended, "what is it?" he asked flatly,
"you spoke to Victoria and Katja..."
"Yes...we were supposedly on the same team, she seems to have defined the Major's orders".
"She is free game for anyone then I suppose.." Schrodinger replied, "how is she?"
Walter raised an eyebrow, "why are you so interested?" he asked suspiciously,
"it's my job to check on everyone stupid" he snapped, "I haven't found her yet" he lied.
"She is fine" he replied shortly, "apart from the obvious shock and disgust concerning my new form and alliance, she is still searching for the vampire".
'Jake' Schrodinger noted, "okay...thanks". Walter merely nodded in reply and took his leave.
Schrodinger had been thinking about her offer, it was very tempting, he was doubting anyone else from Millennium would survive this ordeal. 'And she is kind, and caring and...' he stopped himself, 'I was made, I never had a mother...' he looked over at Doc, 'is he a parent? No'. He had never had any love or affection in his lifetime, "maybe i'll find that with her", he was hopeful and optimistic, someone cared about him.
XxX
She couldn't take it anymore, it wouldn't stop, it played over and over in a loop, "it's not real this time, it's not real, IT"S NOT REAL!" she screamed at the illusion, she ripped her mind away from the memory and awoke with a jump, her body coated in sweat. She was on the ground almost convulsing, tears ran down her cheeks as panicked eyes darted around the room. she spotted Pip, barely alive, his heartbeat and breathing was extremely slow, she crawled over to him, taking his hand in her own, "Pip...Pip wake up" she begged through tears, "please".
Zorin rolled her eyes at spat at her feet, 'I must be getting weak for her to escape so easily' she thought, she had her scythe buried in the floorboards, waiting for the perfect moment to kill Seras, "no time like the present" she muttered pulling her weapon from the floor".
His eyes slowly slid open, a small smile pulled at his lips, "I knew you would come back".
"Pip, we might die here...I am too weak... I can't go on" she admitted as she begun to sob uncontrollably, Pip moved to wipe away her tears, as much pain as it caused him.
"As long as we are togezher I would be okay" he admitted meekly, "but, you are stronger person, er, vampire zhan I, you can and will continue, don't let zhat bitch ruin everything we have worked to protect."
"it's all gone, we failed already" she sniffled, "there's no point, I can't find Integra, Walter, Victoria or master, I...I"
"No Seras... no more crying" he said firmly, she looked up at him with watery blue eyes, "we haven't sacrificed all zhis to lose, we need you now more zhan ever, kill her, bring down Millennium, burn zhem to the fucking ground'
"I-I can't!"
"you can!" he replied sternly, "and you will, zhe woman I love is strong, and would do anything for her family, don't let her hurt your family"
"what about you? You are dying!"
"well... hurry up then"
Zorin noted this too, she was hoping for him to die before her, perhaps fueling a rage inside the blonde and creating an interesting fight, but he seemed to hold on.
XxX
Victoria awoke with a gasp, the dusty air causing her to cough and wheeze, "holy shit" she muttered in a thin croaky voice, "I didn't die", she didn't know whether to be sad or happy at that fact however. She had been pulled out from under the wreckage and lay against a tiled wall. She reached to her head which pounded painfully, a bandage wrapped around it. The dried red trails of tears on her cheeks, had been smudged.
"Quite the injury you had" a voice muttered,
Victoria quickly spun around, causing her head to swim, Alucard sat on a bench not far away, his tired gaze fixed on her. "You dug me out? How did you find me?" she asked softly,
"I just know" he replied lowly, not wanting to elaborate, "You were bleeding very badly, I pulled this from your skull" he held up a short metal bar covered in blood, "a lesser vampire would be dead".
Victoria nodded slowly, remembering the dream she had, so vivid, so pleasant, but unsettling. She noticed the silence in her mind, "Katja?" she muttured, no reply, her head was filled with her own thoughts. "Katja, she's gone..."
Alucard raised a brow in surprise, "It that good or bad?" he asked,
"good for me, bad for you.." she replied, "I can't believe she's gone, I'm free!" she grinned and clambered clumsily to her feet, leaning on the pole.
He walked over to help her walk up the subway stairs, "for now I suppose...why is it bad for me?" he asked,
"I don't know, I thought you loved her, she is your wife" she shrugged,
"was my wife" he corrected, "she has changed, I detest her, you on the other hand...I've missed" he admitted.
Victoria felt her cheeks redden, "yeah, me too".
XxX
Blood and various parts of Zorin's vampire army was strewn everywhere, Seras remembered little except that she did it all, it was all in a vague haze, like it was a memory that wasn't hers. She had changed after drinking Pip's blood mid battle, but it wasn't in vain, she was now a fully fledged vampire. It was a long tiring battle, she did remember Pip saving her from the Vampire's blade at one point, but he was quickly cut down. The man's already weak body only able to move her to the other side of the hall.
She wished she could've seen him once again before he died, but her eyes were injured, even after the fight they were still hazy. She moved over to his bloody mangled body propped against a nearby wall, a pool of blood was nearby, hers. He saved her by giving her his blood. 'He was so content to die for me' she recalled looking over at him once more.
She couldn't stand to look at his body, a man so lively and cheerful now dead and still at her feet,
"No...I won't let him die" she snarled falling to her knees and pulling his still warm body over, all she could do was sit there, cry and cradle his body. "I can't do this without you here" she wept, "come back" she begged, "I've lost too many people already".
Seras pulled the knife from his pocket before jabbing is through her hand, the dark crimson bubbling to the surface of her skin and running down her hand, "please" she begged, "please let this work".
XxX
It had been several minutes but it seemed like hours, no sign of life, or un-life appeared in Pip. Eventually she had to accept failure, that he wouldn't come back, that she would never see him again, hear his voice, feel his touch. The thought stung to think about, but it would hurt much more later, when she wasn't so numb.
They were still in the middle of a war, she had a job to do, "he wouldn't want me to sit here and cry" She placed his body back gently on the ground, dry tears still staining her cheeks, she didn't have the energy to keep crying.
Not when she had to find Integra and the others. She placed his hands over his chest and swept the crimson stained hair from his face, 'he looks at peace' she noted, the vampire grabbed a nearby curtain before shaking off the dust and covering the body, she would make sure to be the one to bury him.
XxX
Integra watched the rain of fire hail down from the Vatican helicopter in horror, "those are innocent people! You've betrayed us Maxwell!" she cursed.
Anderson sighed and glanced at the flock of helicopter in the sky, "Don't play the fool Integra, deceit and betrayal are abundant in war, it serves to be commended when it against heratics-" he stopped his rant, "but...this is different, I detest how he is indulging in his new power and dominance, using it for evil. He is a disgraced servant of god, he had used his power for his own self indulgence".
Integra was surprised to say the least, this man was one of the more loyal servants she had seen, to see him say such things about Maxwell was shocking. She was glad he spoke softly to her, she didn't want to be in the middle of another fight.
Heinkel stepped forward, "Father Anderson, we have received word from Archbishop Maxwell, he wishes for Integra to be detained and not escorted back to her manor"
it was eerily silent as weapons were cocked and raised, all pointed in Integra's direction, it made her slightly nervous to look around and see down dozens of gun barrels pointed at her, especially since the Vatican were prone to trigger finger.
"No, lower your weapons, I don't like this" Anderson muttered, "I won't have any part in it"
"but we have order!" Heinkel protested, at these words there was an immediate divide, some lowered their weapons hesitantly, others keep them high as before.
The atmosphere was tense and Integra sensed there were many divided opinions on whether to side with Anderson or not, an argument was bound to break out, she hoped it would work to her advantage and would allow her to get away.
She was no sooner able to complete her escape plan when the beating of chopper blades was accompanied by armored Iscariot soldiers falling to the ground, surrounding the woman. She only saw a flash of red cloth and the figure darted around before stopping to guard her.
"Seras Victoria?!" several voices called in shock, by their tone she was sure they didn't expect her to survive.
"It is good to see you Seras", Integra was extremely relieved she had come to her aid, there was little chance of her escaping the Iscariot. "What of the manor?" the blonde asked softly,
"We took the brute of the attack...we've managed to wipe out Zorin and her army, but it came at a cost.." she trailed off, "the manor is in ruins, the Geese dead'.
"Pip?"
"Yes...all of them" it still hurt to admit and the thought threatened to bring back tears, but now wasn't the time for emotions, she promised herself that she wouldn't be a cry baby, not anymore.
The Hellsing leader noticed the dark swirling mass coming from her arm, much like Alucard's, but with more curves and swirls, "you are now a fully fledged vampire" Integra remarked,
"yes Sir, it feels good" she admitted, "I am not sure why I waited so long".
Weapons were once again raised, although with much uncertainty. "Stand down" Anderson sighed, "she could not be overpowered even if you were all to take her on as a whole, to try would be suicidal".
"Sir Integra, you should know that Alucard has returned" Seras muttered quietly, Integra raised a brow in surprise,
"how can you be sure?"
"Trust me, I know".
XxX
The pair were now above ground, in the sight of the clouded sky and destroyed towering buildings that threatened to fall at the slightest breeze. Alucard and Victoria stood in awkward silence for a several long seconds before Victoria cleared her throat, "so uh, what's next?"
"we win this war, and go home, I am in desperate need of sleep" he yawned, "I'm sure you are too, proper sleep in a coffin, not a coma".
she laughed nervously "ah yeah, but I mean... immediate plans, I'm guessing you should meet up with Seras and Sir Integra".
"ah yes, I don't doubt they have been winning the war without me" he muttered, "do you know where Walter is?"
"no" she lied smoothly, "I haven't seen him".
Alucard shrugged, "I suppose he is accompanying Sir Integra... Which direction are they in?"
"I don't know" she admitted, "I wasn't with them...I was looking for Jake", she felt guilty about lying but figured it was at least somewhat true. "you haven't seen anyone but me yet?"
"no.."
Victoria breathed a sigh of relief, 'he hasn't gotten my letter then', "alright well, you go find them and I will catch up"
"what?" he barked, pulling her back as she walked away, "you are injured, where are you going?"
Victoria considered not killing Jake, after her dream she had come to several revelations, but the thought of what he did to Alex still angered her, she wouldn't let him get away with it. It wasn't about revenge it was about justice.
"I'm...uh...going to look at the manor, see if i can find any clues on where they are",
"I will go with you then" he offered.
She sighed in frustration, there was no point lying, "ok, look...I'm going to find Jake, I need closure on her death, he has to pay".
he nodded slowly, "I will go as well".
"No" she replied flatly, "Integra and Seras need you, I don't know if you've noticed, but there are Vatican helicopters everywhere, they need your help. I will be fine."
"I just got you back, i'm not going to lose you again" he snarled, pulling her back once again,
Victoria sighed and pulled herself from her grasp, slowly backing away from him, "listen...i'm sorry, I need to do this and you need to trust me!" He couldn't spit out another argument before she sprinted off, looking back to see him standing there, staring at her with a annoyed frown.
She would be lying if she said that killing Jake was her only motive for splitting up, the artist also wanted to avoid the shame and guilt that would come along with meeting up with Integra again, and her telling Alucard of her abandonment. She grit her teeth in frustration, "I just keep digging myself a deeper hole".
She ran until she felt she was far enough away from Alucard, and came to a shaky halt at the front of a supermarket, she felt her stomach rumble, 'if only they sold blood' she thought grimly.
"Victoria?"
The vampire quickly spun around to see Schrodinger standing atop a pile of rubble making his way towards her, "the cat boy... what do you want?"
"Listen...I've been thinking about your offer and, I think I'd like to take it" he admitted,
'my offer? Oh god my offer', "uh that's great! But we are in the middle of something" she gestured to the city, waving her arms around, "a war".
"That's why I want to help you, I think I can trust you" he admitted, before digging in his pockets for a small tablet device, "when Jake and Scott were re-made by Millennium.."
"I knew it" she hissed lowly, "continue",
"well, they had a tracking chip placed in his skull, so they always knew where he was, and with this device you can see exactly where he is" He beamed handing over the device proudly, like a cat presenting a dead animal.
Victoria slowly took the device from his hands and looked at him with a puzzled expression, "why didn't you give me this earlier?"
"I didn't know if I could trust you" he admitted, "but I hope now we can trust each other?"
Victoria pressed a button and the screen lit up, a small red dot flashed on the map, it was still and not too far from their location, "wow, I don't know what to say, thank you.." The boy stared at her smiling hopefully, "you guys will take me in?"
"I'll talk Integra into it" she replied softly, even though she was almost certain she wouldn't allow it.
Schrodinger continued to hang around though, his pink eyes fixed on her expectantly, 'he wants something else' she noted before leaning over and giving him an awkward one armed hug, which he savored, "thank you" she whispered, "i'll come back for you". She quickly dashed off once again to follow the signal, this time he couldn't hide.
VERY long chapter haha, sorry if there any Grammer/spelling mistakes, my normal editing website hasn't been working for a few days and I didn't want to wait any longer to put this chapter up.
On the bright side, this fic is almost very complete, only a couple more chapters left!