The Seldom Seen
AN: And we hit my random number of three reviews in the same day for early update of last part, thanks to VanquishLithium.
Part three, yay! I seem to have a theme going with my multi parters of first part being the longest, then middle, with the end being shorter. Oops? Heh.
But I hope y'all like this mini installment nonetheless.
I have the next pre-Hellsing chapter ready and waiting already. Muahahaha. And, really, feel free to offer up ideas. Ideas feed my muse just as much as reviews do!
19: But Satisfaction Brought It Back (p3)
Seras' mind screamed at her to run, but she couldn't take her eyes from the mad priest and his blood soaked bayonets. Shuddering, she began inching backwards from the holy man and hit a wall. Her eyes widened as she realized she couldn't phase through it and she leaped to the left with a yowl as a flurry of the blessed blades shot towards her. 'MASTER!'
Her throat burned with phantom pain from her first meeting with the paladin. And he hadn't been trying to kill her then! Growling nervously and baring her fangs, Seras was forced to do a backflip as more swords embedded themselves in the earth where she was standing mere seconds previous.
Another volley of Angel Dusts' glorified cleavers shot at the still airborne tigress and impaled her legs. Roaring in pain, she collapsed in a pool of her own blood, struggling to get her feet back under her.
"Anderson." Her Master's voice called and she could have sobbed with relief. Thank god! Or whatever entity listened to the damned.
"Ah should have known et was you." The priest snarled as he turned from his disabled target to face the looming vampire at his back.
"Yes. Me. What are you doing here, Paladin? You have no jurisdiction on British soil."
"Pffah! I go where I am needed, and these bloody ghouls originated on Scottish ground. Good and honest Catholics died here, ye monstrous beast, and Ah am a blade to do God's holy will."
Seras winced and jerked her head back as the blessings on the blade burned her mouth. Grimacing and baring her fangs behind the paladin's back, she braced herself for the searing pressure of holy magic trying to purify her unclean flesh as she yanked the blade out of her right foreleg. This hurt a lot more without hands, damnit!
"The Almighty set me t' purify the unclean, an' Ah aim t' do just that." Anderson continued and began a prayer as he was want to do when facing her Master in battle, more bayonets sliding down from his sleeves into his hands like holy claws. He charged Alucard with a roaring 'Amen' and leapt into the air, flinging his handful of blades at the monster before him. Alucard laughed and shot the blades out of the air with the Cassul, Jackal at his side ready and waiting for the right moment. "That's what I love about you, Anderson, you're so tenacious and unyielding."
As though to emphasize his point, Alucard's lips twisted cruelly as he swung the Jackal up in the scant moments between the paladin's hands being empty of more weapons to shoot his arms off at the shoulder with a resounding explosion of noise and blood. The Paladin howled in outage and landed in a crouch on the blood soaked earth with a snarl. Kicking one of his blades up, he grabbed the handle between his teeth and charged Alucard in a blind rage, the Regenerist's shoulders began to bubble disgustingly as his limbs sought to regrow.
Seras growled lowly as she pulled the final blade from her hind leg, prowling restlessly about the edges of the battlefield as she observed the fight. Her feline side purred to see her Master playing with his food before the kill, and Seras blinked at the thought. Well, that was one way to look at it, really…
Alucard laughed as he dodged the charges, his coat fluttering like a matador's cape, and Anderson the enraged bull.
"You have to grow stronger still, Paladin, if you hope to defeat me." Her Master stated, and with the cruelest look she'd seen on his face in months, he blew the priest's legs off at the knee. Ouch, that had to hurt.
The now immobilized Judas Priest swore blackly and swung his head to launch his last blade at Alucard. Surprisingly, it hit, but he simply smiled and pulled it out of his shoulder with a flick of his wrist and planted the smoking blade in the dirt before the disabled man and turned to walk off to collect Seras and leave.
"Until next time, Judas Priest."
Seras noticed then that the leash was still attached to her collar, and grumbled inwardly about the indignity of it all as she sat at her Master's feet to be swallowed by the portal.
She felt a little disappointed… she'd wanted to sharpen her claws on some ghouls and revel in the hunt.
Her Master chuckled lowly and patted her head in a condescending manner. "Now, now, Seras, there's always next time."
With some shock she realized that she was human again – or as human as she could be when she was technically undead – and still wore that infernal shadow collar. "Master..!"
His answering smirk sent shivers down her spine, and he sat himself down on his throne chair – apparently they'd reached his rooms, she hadn't noticed – and tugged the leash to yank the blonde girl into his lap. "Come here, Police Girl, it's time to further your education in what it means to be a vampire." He crooned as she stumbled and toppled off balance to land awkwardly across his legs.
"Yes Master…" She grumbled, grasping his shoulder to pull herself up in a more comfortable position. Blowing her bangs from her eyes, the fledgling shivered again, in pleasure this time, as a hand clapped possessively over her hip and tugged her closer to his chest.
One of his many books floated off the shelves to land in his open hand and he held it so that they could both see as he read aloud.
"3 May. Bistritz.-Left Munich at…"