The Seldom Seen

AN: To put it out of the way ahead of time; yes, I know I'm mixing the manga, the anime, and the OVA in this piece. I thought it flowed rather nicely.
I'm tempted to be mean and say 'no WCHB updates until someone guesses who the human is', as she is a canon character. We'll see. XD
For now, I hope you enjoy the randomness my brain conjures. (It's all Lithi's fault, she linked me to a site to read the manga, and I suddenly felt like writing.)

EDIT NOTE: Due to confusion; the second half of the scene is Alucard, Seras, and Integra, but Seras didn't know their names yet. I guess it was kind of confusing the way I wrote it, sorry.

28: A Perfect Night

Seras Victoria would never forget the first night of her life, though, really, most would probably consider it the last. It was simple, really; sent out with Eddie and Simon to investigate the sick fuck hiding out in the church and murdering the citizens of Cheddar. But it all went so terribly wrong... Heh. Or so terribly right? Well, perhaps she was biased.

The thrill of the adrenaline in her veins, the terror, the trees and lurching shadows. She could still see them; the rotting ghoulish corpses of the hapless mortals that crossed the demon's path and were consumed. Eddie… Simon…

His words echoed in her head, still; "Your little boyfriends belong to me, now, and soon you'll belong to me too."

She'd taken great pleasure in shooting him in the head. Unfortunately it didn't do any good. He'd laughed, and sneered at her. "I look for loyalty in my servants. I wouldn't want a vampire with free will running around." He'd knocked the gun from her hand – the clip was empty anyways – and pinned her arms behind her back. Her mind was racing and despite her struggles, he was too strong. "A pity I can't find a virgin as… lovely as you." He'd mocked, "I'm going to violate you." He slipped his hand lewdly between her thighs, she felt violated, and struggled harder, "I'm going to drain your blood slowly," he again groped at her breast and she jerked, trying to tear free of him. "Then you will join with the rest of my ghouls, my slave for eternity." He'd put his fangs to her neck and she screamed. She screamed and screamed and screamed.

And then he appeared. Her knight in bloody armor. Heh, he'd mock her endlessly for thinking that about him, but it was true. He'd allowed himself to be shot into bloody scraps of meat, allowing the perverse mockery of a priest to think he'd won, and then – oh, she'd thought him so terrifying then, so inhuman – he performed his favorite trick; pulling himself back together to demoralize his foe and flaunt his power. He'd killed the ghouls, taking great pleasure in the tainted priest's shock over the demise of his undead servants. She could recal every single word; "No, how can he be killing them? It's those bullets!"

"The silver cross of Manchester Cathedral was melted down to make these thirteen millimeter exploding shells. Nothing I shoot ever gets back up again." Oh he'd sounded so pleased about that last fact, face hidden by the shadow of his hat, only the glow of his amber lenses and sharp ivory teeth glinting in the moonlight.

The coward had used her for a meat shield, and babbled about making deals, of trading her safety for his life and freedom. The monster in red had ignored the pathetic waste of vampiric flesh and grinned, "Are you a virgin, my dear?"

She was flabbergasted. What?! Her voice was stuck somewhere in her throat, and she heard the priest question what the – then unnamed – other was doing. "I'm asking if you're a virgin."

"Bu-…I…" She could still feel the slight sting of those needle tips against her throat, and she was scared.

Dimly, she heard the coward call the man with the gun a bastard, and the red clad monster snapped at her, raising his gun, "Answer me!" The power in his words throbbed through her very being, and a blush brightened her cheeks, "Y-Yes, I am!"

And then the world exploded.

A ripping pain tore through her chest, and she tried to gasp, but the blood forced its way up her throat and out of her mouth. The copper tang burned as she collapsed like a broken rag doll. Oh god, this felt so familiar, the weakness, the taste of pennies in her mouth, the sickening numbness as her body shut down. Not again.

Somehow, she'd landed on her back, and her slowly clouding vision caught sight of the moon. She stared at it; it was full and bright, mocking her with the height of its life while hers drained away into the unforgiving grass. His shadow loomed from the darkness, then, blocking her view of the ripe moon, the only thing she could truly see of him was the glow of his glasses.

"I had to shoot through you, to pierce his heart." He spoke then, sounding calm and unapologetic, "I'm sorry, but you're dying, and there's no time left." No he wasn't. She knew, somehow, that he'd wanted this from the moment he saw her. "The choice is yours. What do you want to do?"

The choice? Hah! What choice? To die, or become a monster. Somehow… despite the haunted memories floating through her minds eye of her parents (Daddy…Mommy…), she knew it was never really a choice. She didn't want to die, even if death meant finally rejoining her family. Her hand lifted for him as she struggled for air, tears swimming in her diffuse blue eyes.

Just… a bit… further…

The strength left her and her arm collapsed, but he caught her hand, and the sensation of him cradling her limp palm was the only thing still tying her to that dying world.

The moon's glow began to fade and everything turned to black as her breath shortened and her lids began to feel so heavy…

"Police Girl," she heard his words as if underwater, "tonight is truly a beautiful night."

Fire. Fire was burning in her veins, and she choked, gasping for breath. If anything, the oxygen seemed to fan the flames higher and she tried to scream, but the sound came out as a feeble whimper.

"Shh, it'll pass." That deep voice crooned, and she felt the warmth of his gloved hand gently clasping over her mouth, muffling her pathetic noises. Oh god, it hurt, it hurt so bad.

She tried to struggle, but her limbs wouldn't respond, and her eyelids refused to open. She felt scared, trapped in this dark place while burning alive.

After a moment she felt a weight settle atop her head, his free hand, and it stroked from one side to the other, lifting, and resettling, and repeating the soothing motion. Lulled by the petting, she ceased her fight against the fire, and as it consumed her, she felt the heat of the flames ebbing until nothing was left but smoldering embers. "Good girl." He purred, and despite herself, she felt her lips curl into a smile against his palm. His hand moved, and she realized she could feel her body again, and her lashes fluttered before opening and revealing to her a set of eyes that glowed with the same intensity as the fire that just ate her alive and reshaped her as this new being. She stared up at him, transfixed, and felt almost as if she were falling upward into his gaze. He blinked, and the spell was broken – somehow, she felt as though he did it on purpose, though she couldn't say for certain.

She blinked in return, and tried to move, but as soon as she tried a crippling pain shot through her and she cried out hoarsely, collapsing back to the red grass, panting.

"The transformation is not yet complete, Police Girl. Normally, you would sleep it off in a coffin, in fact, I am somewhat surprised you are awake at all." He grinned at her, and his teeth glinted in the silver light of the moon. She got the strangest feeling that, rather than being proud of her, he was pleased with himself for having such good taste in … whatever she now was. Vampire.

"But this will do." He stood then, and moved away from her, and she bit deeply into her lip to withhold the whimper of protest at such actions. What did she care? Confused, and feeling somewhat disoriented still, she drifted in a state of half consciousness, staring at the moon until he returned.

Quite suddenly she felt cold, freezing in fact, and she began to tremble and shake uncontrollably as her teeth chattered and her eyes squinched shut in discomfort. She heard the subtle crunch of his footsteps through the grass and nearly jumped out of her skin as she felt something drape itself across her. In an instant she was bundled up in a light brown cloth and hoisted in the air, her arms trapped at her sides and legs tied together by the canvas like material. She tensed as he cradled her to his chest, and turned to face the moon, his long legs eating up the earth in languid strides.

After a minute of laying stiff as a board in his silent hold, she felt something in her relax and even begin to purr at his close proximity. She hummed softly and learned her cheek against the solid support of his chest, breathing in the smell of earth, of trees, of gunpowder and blood, and a strange wild scent all its own. She felt safe, protected from the world in the cocoon he'd wrapped her in.

Some nagging voice in her head told her to protest his action, to demand answers, to fight and struggle and scream bloody murder. But another, louder, part of her told her that this was perfectly natural, and that she should revel in the closeness of the man that had killed her and then gifted her a rebirth.

She warred with herself internally, and missed completely the smug twist of his lips as he glanced down at her head upon reaching the main road.

The rhythm of his walk changed, and she heard the measured thud of each step across the asphalt as they moved ever closer to the borders of the little village where her world ended ad a new one began. Pulling herself from the mire of her thoughts, she blinked and her ears caught the sound of helicopters, and her eyes caught the flash of lights. Such familiar things recalled her to the here and now, and she glanced out of the corner of her eye to see a statuesque blonde woman standing apart from the chaos of law enforcement gathering around the road block. They were headed straight for her.

The man that was holding her stopped, and spoke to the woman dressed as a man; "Mission objective accomplished. The target vampire has been silenced. The limited power release is completed."

"It took you far too long to silence just one target." The woman spoke coldly, and Seras felt a new chill ripple through her, "What was the outcome?"

"Got rid of the priest. No survivors."

Seras cringed subtly, and tried to hide herself in the man's chest, feeling uncomfortable under the weight of that glacial stare from the female that held some power over the monster in red. The word 'sorry' clogged in her throat, and she remained silent, unsure why she felt the need to apologize.

Some of the men who had loitered near the blonde made confused grunts and questioned the statement, "Huh? What about that girl? Isn't she a survivor?"

The female turned on her heel and gave the gawking crowd a cold stare, and they swiftly retreated. Seras felt that that the other knew exactly what the raven haired male meant. (She wished she knew his name.)

"I'll have someone take care of her." Seras refused to look at the woman, feeling anxiety twist in her gut. Something told her that it would be wrong to be separated from the creature holding her so gently. When she heard the soft tap of shoes, she half glanced at the woman's back, a subtle frown pulling at her lips.

"No." The woman stopped. "I want you to transfer the Police Girl to the Hellsing Organization." The man spoke, and the chill that was threatening to overcome her abated, warmed by his defense and claim of her.

She turned to glance over her shoulder at them, and Seras met her gaze for a brief moment, secure in the arms of the man who killed her.

"You don't make decisions." The other spoke, and Seras could swear that had she any less self control, the words would have been a growl.

"The Police Girl made the choice for herself." He countered smoothly, and Seras tipped her head back to watch him.

Rather than respond further the blonde continued to walk away from them, and spoke only when she reached the line of vehicles blocking the road. "It's time for us to leave." The jeep's headlights snapped on and Seras cringed at the assault of light on her eyes. She watched the woman climb into a helicopter, and said not a word as it took off, leaving them behind.

She glanced back up at the man, and thought she saw a frown on his face as he gazed at the mechanical bird carrying its passengers off into the night. "Um…" She began, feeling compelled to sooth what ailed him, though she didn't know why.

"This was a perfect night." He responded, and tipped his head down to look directly at her for the first time since leaving the clearing. "Right?"

She blinked, and made an unsure sound.

He smirked, and began to walk again, towards the jeep that had its headlights trained on them like a miniature sun. Towards their transport to Hellsing. Towards the future, that no longer offered the mortal joys of humanity for the blonde bundle in the crimson coated monster.

And upon looking back at that night, she truly had no regrets. Not anymore.