Too many people have forgotten their history. For instance, people are quick to recognize Germany as the aggressor of both world wars, but they are quick to forget that during the First, Germany was surrounded, without any chance for aid or relief, unless they had struck first. In the same way, people forget about what happened to Vlad the Impaler as a child. In fact, the main stream has gone so far as to quite nearly cover it up, and have instead given the people Dracula. It's quite vindictive of the times. They have forgotten their history, and, by extension, they have forgotten that heroes exist, and in their desperation for guidance, they have turned to their villains.

-excerpt from the Vampire Journals

Chapter 6: A Night on the Town

Standard procedure required them to be mobile until the threat had been eliminated, a task which was simple on paper but would be wildly difficult to accomplish in person. For one, no one knew where James had vanished to, which already made things complicated. For two, they had no idea where he was staging from, which further complicated things. For three, they were more than likely being hunted by his brainwashed minions even as the Mercs were inspecting and cleaning their new gear as best they could with what they had.

And to top it all off, Seras wasn't getting any better. She had been leaned up against the window, quietly crying, for the past three hours, and showed no indication of stopping anytime soon. She stared out the window, as if she were staring into the past, reliving the murder she had committed on repeat.

Alucard had watched her the whole time, uncertain of how to resolve the situation sitting in his lap. Or, more accurately, the one sitting in the seat next to him.

No, that was a poor way to put it. She wasn't the problem. It was completely normal to regret killing what was essentially an innocent man.

What wasn't normal was her not having anyone to help her through such a troubling time.

And as he continued staring at her, still clad in her swimsuit, he noticed that she had started shivering.

And he made a decision.

"Stop the car."

Pip threw on the brakes. He hit them so hard that one of the Mercs was actually thrown from his seat. The car came to a screeching halt in the middle of a residential street, and someone screeched past them, laying on their horn.

Alucard opened his door, stepping out into the road, and yelled to Pip, "I'll be back soon."

He slammed the door behind him, and began walking back in the direction of the Hotel.

...

He returned thirty minutes later, with several duffels in tow, along with Seras' rolling bag. The whole car was tense, save Seras, who was still out of it, until they saw Alucard. He popped open the trunk, and threw everything in, save for something folded up under his arm. He closed the trunk, and walked around to his door, and swept inside, shutting the door behind him.

Seras didn't look over at him, but he didn't expect her to. Pip did turn around, however, and, with his mouth agape, began;

"H-how-"

Alucard knew how it had gone down.

"What? You gonna shoot me?"

"Maybe I will."

"Do it then, dumbass! Shoot a police officer, see what ha-"

BOOM!

"OW, HOLY SHIT! WHAT THE FUCK!?"

"You told me to shoot you."

"YOU BLEW MY FUCKING EAR OFF!"

"Don't fuck with government officials, bitch."

"Let's not talk about that."

Pip paused a moment, and finally accepted it, nodding slowly, and turned back towards the road. Alucard turned back towards Seras, who was still leaned up against the window, and cleared his throat. She didn't even turn. He patted her shoulder. She turned slightly, turning her eyes in his direction.

He took out the object tucked under his arm, and stretched it out towards her.

It was her Helsing uniform.

She looked down at her uniform, and stared at it for nearly half a minute. Then she turned her eyes up towards him.

"You look cold in that swimsuit", Alucard told her, "and this looks better on you anyway."

She looked at him for a while longer.

"Have you ever killed an innocent man", she asked.

"No", he told her. She turned away from him. "But I did kill an innocent woman. Actually, I've killed two. And each time it hurt."

She didn't look back at him at first. But after a moment, she turned and looked at him again. She didn't say anything for a moment, and then she eventually asked the question he hoped she wouldn't have.

"You've done this before?!"

"Yes", Alucard told her. "Yes and no. Yes, I've killed another innocent woman before. Yes, I sired her to save her. No, she wasn't my apprentice. No, it wasn't worth it. If she's not dead, she's plotting her revenge against me as we speak."

Seras took a moment to digest this.

"It... wasn't worth it?"

"No, it wasn't."

"And... I'm worth your trouble?"

"Every ounce of it", Alucard told her with a grin. "Because you actually pull this uniform off."

He thought about what he'd said, and then added quickly, "In a non-sexual way."

She looked back down at the uniform, lost in thought. Alucard didn't break the silence. The next part was all her.

Finally, she looked away, saying, "Well, I'm not bloody changing in here."

"That's the spirit", Alucard told her. "No room for hidden cameras in a car this crowded."

...

A stop at a gas station, and everyone changed into "work clothes" later, Pip finally decided to ask, "So, where are we going to go now?"

Alucard thought for a moment. The Helsing Organization hadn't had an active safehouse in America since the 1950's, and checking into a hotel simply wasn't an option, given how easily James Braid had found them the first time. Alucard had considered telling them to sleep in the car, but the more he thought about it, the less that sounded like a good idea. One good machinegun sweep and finding the best cheesesteak in Philidelphia would be the last of their problems... literally.

The only safe option would be to go out of town and find a campground, but that wasn't exactly an ideal situation either. For one, Philidelphia wasn't exactly known for its lovely near-town campsites... so far as he knew... so getting to and from one would take time, of which, they didn't have much while being hunted. For another, they didn't have any camping equipment with them, because Alucard would have had to check it on their flight and that would have been a hassle.

But that was the safest option there was. If they kept driving around until morning, a time at which James' operators would surely still be operating, everyone would be tired, and that was bad all around.

He was about to open his mouth to debate this with Pip at length... maybe one of the Americans knew another option... when his phone began ringing.

Yes, a lap dance is so much beeeeetter when the striper is cryin'.

"Oop, hold on", Alucard told Pip, holding up a finger, "Gotta take this."

Alucard flipped open his phone, saying, "Mmyellow?"

"Alucard, ya back-pockin snake", Anderson said in his Scottish mumbo-jumbo.

"'Sup, papist?"

"So, I heard ya gots yourself in a wee bit 'o trouble", Anderson said coyly.

"Now, where would you hear some misinformation like that", Alucard asked.

"Oh, you know the church, ol' boy", Anderson told him. "We've got ears ev'rywhere, especially on a certain pain in our arse who shoots police officers' ears off!"

"You shot a police officer's ears off", Pip asked, stunned.

"Ear", Alucard corrected, then turned back to the phone. "I admit, I may be in a slight amount of trouble, but it's quickly resolving."

"Ah, but how quickly, though", Anderson rebuked, "'cause it just so seems to me that you're resolvin' things at a snail's pace!"

"And how would you know something like that?"

"'Cause I'm getting' gas at the pump across the way from you."

"Of course you are", Alucard said, turning in Anderson's direction.

There he stood, next to an old drop-top Cadillac, his trench coat hiding his outline in the dark, but unable to hide the white face, his green eyes covered by rounded glasses, the blond hair atop his head, or the long, pink scar across his cheek.

Or the big shit-eating grin, which showed almost every tooth he had.

Anderson waved at him. Alucard, being polite, waved back. Anderson put his phone back up to his mouth.

"Tell ya what", Anderson told him. "Since we do have a truce and all, and it is kinda getting' late, I may have lodgin's for the night, if ya'd take me up on the offer?"

Alucard turned to Pip, who shrugged.

"He did say we have a truce, didn't he?"

Alucard nodded, putting the phone back up to his ear.

"I'll take you up on that offer. What'll it cost me?"

"Well", Anderson began, "I was going to do it out of the kindness of mah heart, but now thatchya mention it... I'm givin' a little sermon this Sunday, and it would just make my day if you attended in the flesh."

"In the flesh?!"

He had pulled a stunt like this before, only, instead of actually going, Alucard had left a laptop in the front row of pews facing Anderson. To be fair, he had been watching the whole time... whilst also streaming hentai at full volume. Needless to say, while Anderson had had a great time, the rest of the Priests, and everyone else attending Mass, hadn't. Someone had "accidentally" spilled Holy Water all over the laptop halfway through the sermon. Alucard could think of more than one way to ruin a sermon, however, and being there in the flesh happened to provide him with even better opportunities.

Of course, he couldn't show up naked... that would be too easy. Anderson would probably point him out as a "Wayward Man" and have someone donate him a XXXL Beavis and Butthead t-shirt. He had to get creative.

"Well, if it's for the sake of my soul... aw, what the hell. Sure, I'll be there."

"Excellent", Anderson said. "Now, gather up your little pride parade and follow me."

"Pip", Alucard told the Frenchman, who had heard the whole conversation and had wrinkled his face in protest, "go get everyone back to the car. And tell them to make it snappy."

...

Where Anderson had ended up taking them was none other than the St. Patrick's Church of Philidelphia. As soon as Pip turned the car off, Anderson jumped straight out of his car, not even bothering to open the door, what with his roof down. Anderson walked straight up to their SUV, a wicked grin across his face. As soon as Alucard got out of the car, he clapped him on the shoulder.

"There's a kind of apartment near the church", Anderson told him. "You little shites can have it for the night. I've got stuff ta do anywho."

"Ooh", Alucard probed, "fun stuff?"

"Nah", Anderson said with a sigh. "Got arses ta kiss."

"Well", Alucard pondered, "are they good-looking arses?"

Anderson laughed, shouting, "I bloody wish! Now get your ugly arse into that buildin'! Here's the key."

Anderson slipped a metal key into his hand, and then disappeared into the night. The man practically vanished. Alucard grasped the key, and made his way to the small apartment complex. He figured out pretty easily which room it was, room number 7, and opened it up. Surprise, surprise, it was filled to the brim with garlic flowers.

Seras recoiled in terror, and, in a way, it was kind of cute. Alucard trotted over to her, and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Come on, now, Police Girl, it's just garlic! Just a good-natured prank by Alexander Anderson!"

"D-doesn't garlic k-kill vampires", she asked, fear causing her voice to tremble.

"Of course not", Alucard assured her. "Whoever started that rumor was a liar who was kidding himself. All garlic does is help fight off infections... in case of a botched bite."

Seras looked up at him inquisitively.

"Actually", Alucard thought out loud, "come to think of it, this may not be a prank at all. More than likely, our good friend Anderson is fighting off a cold!"

Noticing that Seras was still hesitant, he gave her a hard shove, and she stumbled into the room. When she didn't drop dead, she began to relax, but her knees still knocked together like crazy. Alucard walked into the room behind her, and inhaled deeply.

"Smells like mom's cookin'", he said in a botched Scottish accent.

Seras began chuckling a little, and the knees stopped knocking.

It was quickly decided that Seras, who still needed sleep, was to get the one small, shitty bed, and the men were to get the floor. Alucard, however, had unfinished business outside, and told them not to wait up on him.

Alucard walked out of the apartment complex, and started his way down the path the he could smell Anderson heaviest. He followed the scent down to an old, "abandoned" warehouse, and, with his enhanced hearing, could already hear some heated back and forth going on. He could hear Anderson shouting in defense of some people that he referred to as "good folk", and could hear someone screaming in Italian that these "so-called good folk" were ruining the Vatican's overall plans for America and that someone had to draw the line.

The argument got to a head point when Anderson shouted, "So, are ye pissed off at 'em doing our job fer us? Or because you'd rather let the monster's they're keepin' off tha streets continue their ghoulish work?!"

Apparently, that really pissed off whoever Anderson was talking to.

"The Vatican has a design, Father Anderson, and his grace the Pope expects that you would follow it in humble servitude!"

"Well, mayhaps the Pope would shed some light on why the Vatican would allow abominations ta curse the ground we walk on with their very feet?!"

"The Pope does not need to explain himself to the likes of you!"

"Oh, but I thought the Pope loved everyone", Anderson countered, "and was a holy man of God who would put himself before the people! By that logic, anyone can ask him anything!"

"Tread carefully, Anderson", the Italian voice warned, "what you say borders on heresy!"

"And what do you do when the heretic-hunters become heretics themselves", Anderson prostrated. "Not for a lack of belief, but for a lack of actionable intel?!"

"This conversation is over", the Italian roared, "you will-"

"You're right", Anderson interjected, "the conversation is over, and therefore I make my leave!"

Right around this time, Alucard felt someone creeping up on him. He reached into his holster, withdrew a .454, and turned towards the source. Who else could it have been but Seras. She jumped visibly at the sight of him pointing a gun in her direction, so he immediately lowered it.

"When I said 'don't wait up'", Alucard chastised, "I also meant 'Don't follow me'."

As he finished his tirade, a hand clapped down on his shoulder. He didn't bother turning a gun on it; there weren't many humans in history who had the ability to sneak up on him, and even fewer still were alive today. Even though the man preferred a more straight-forward approach to subtlety, Alucard immediately knew who was behind him.

"Alexander", Alucard began, in an almost apologetic tone, "if that ass-chewing was about us, I hereby formally say that I'm sort of upset about it on our behalf."

"Ah, no bother", Anderson told him, "that wasn't about you anyhow."

This got Alucard to turn his head.

"It wasn't?"

"If the Vatican knows you're here", Anderson explained, "they've certainly made a point to not inform me. Which usually means they don't care. Methinks they think you'll uphold our ceasefire agreement or somethin' outrageous like that!"

"The Vatican, overlooking me", Alucard asked, with a drawn-back figure, yet still retaining his toothy grin. "I almost feel like a lost child in a Walmart; abandoned, forgotten, sad beyond belief. Is it because I've gained weight? Is that why they don't want to see me anymore?"

"Well", Seras pipped up, "if they weren't talkin' 'bout us, then who on earth has gotten them this mad?"

"A fair question for a pet", Anderson taunted. "How abouts I just show ya?"

"By all means", Alucard responded, his wicked grin widening.

...

The trio found themselves in the rafters of yet another warehouse, although this one didn't look abandoned. In fact, it more or less just had really poor security. Not that anyone was stealing from it, because it must have solely contained boxes full of washed-up soundcloud rappers' mixtapes. That thought brought some semblance of a grin to Alucard's face, as he shifted his position to get a better look at what happened below him.

Below him were a group of around five vampires doing a weapon's deal with another group of three vampires. This would be alarming in and of its own accord, simply because vampires banding together had been nearly unheard of since the Fall of Dracula. However, that wasn't everything bad about what was happening.

The weapons they were dealing in were military grade, all select-fire, as the group of three had done a demonstration to ensure their buyers knew all about it. That was quite alarming when combined with the fact that these vampires were clearly trying to create some kind of alliance. And all of that by itself would have been quite awful indeed.

But wait, it gets worse.

Leading the group of three was a Nephelimic giant, easily fifteen feet tall, bearing a large, bronze-age sword. He was tall and thin, but there was no disguising the fact that he could tear a man in half with his bare hands. He had six fingers on each hand, six toes on each foot, and double rows of teeth in his mouth, that showed when he laughed despite his best efforts.

Frankly, Alucard was a bit surprised that the creature hadn't smelled them, but there could be a plethora of reasons why he hadn't yet, or didn't care. Alucard was afraid to open his mouth, just in case the thing's reasoning was the former, because with the echoes of this warehouse, he would definitely hear them.

That thought couldn't possibly have occurred to Seras, but she had kept her mouth shut this entire time, able to read the tense atmosphere well enough. Alucard was still wondering what Anderson had been talking about, and quietly tried to get his attention without drawing unwanted eyes. Anderson glanced over, and Alucard shrugged. Anderson held up a single finger, wait a moment more, and then turned back to the deal.

"Well", the giant bellowed, "I think our business here is concluded!"

Alucard couldn't hear what the leader of the other vampires said, but there was a lot of nodding and smiling involved. The four other vampires trudged forward, each grabbing a box, and turned to leave.

They froze in their tracks. Alucard hadn't even seen him come in, but standing in the doorway was a man decked out in every single conceivable piece of modern body armor, most of it patchwork, complete with a Russian Maska helmet, one that looked like it was a Kevlar and steel combination. In his left hand, he held a personal shield, and not the riot kind either, something new, entirely of its own accord, and in his right hand he held a heavily modified AR-15.

For a moment, the two parties stared at each other, no one uttering even so much as a word.

Finally, the giant pushed past the first group, yelling, "Human! Have you come to die?! You've come to the right place!"

The human lifted his right hand, and pointed his finger at the creature. He uttered angelic words, Alucard guessed that it was the giant's name. Either way, the tall creature stumbled, a look of bewilderment on his face.

"The LORD YAH has not forgotten you", the human continued, his voice booming, even in a place this big, and behind a steel faceplate. "Though you say in your heart, 'The LORD has not eyes for me'! He has sent me, a Warrior, to tell you that the time has come for your physical body to pass away, and for your immortal soul to be judged!"

The giant threw his head back and laughed, screaming, "And what hope do you, a mere mortal, have against the peak of your evolution?!"

It was a question Nephilim often asked, although it was a misleading one. They were not human, but hybrids, born from humans who had been impregnated by the wicked Fallen Angels. And when they got the courage to creep out of the caves and crevices and holes that they lived in, they flaunted like their shit didn't stink. Alucard hated them.

The human answered without missing a beat.

"You are of living matter", the human retorted, "and that which lives can also die. Such as my predecessors, the Hebrews, wiped out your kind in battle after battle oh so long ago, such as David bested Goliath with not but a stone in a sling, you too, shall cease to live! And by the LORD's hand, not mine, shall your life be taken! Make no mistake, abomination, your death comes not from me, but from the ONE TRUE GOD! The Great I AM! Perish, now, in JESUS' name!"

Strangely enough, the three vampires the giant had been buddied up with fell over dead on the spot, the life flowing from them so quickly that their skin shrunk to the bone, and their clothes that had only recently fit perfectly now seemed oversized on them. The giant, however, remained standing; he seemed like he was absolutely taken aback. If the human was smart, he would strike now.

Apparently, the human wasn't smart. The giant regained his footing. From there, him and the human began going back and forth in their Dragonball-Z dialogue

It was about this time that Seras tapped Alucard on the shoulder.

"What in the bloody hell is going on?"

"See that guy right there", Alucard said, pointing to the giant, "that guy is Nephilim. They're fucking difficult to deal with when they don't want to kill you, and they're the biggest pain in the ass you're ever going to fight, save maybe a Fallen Angel... not that you'll ever fight one. Even I haven't done that yet."

"Ah've done that!"

"Shut up, Anderson, you just broke an' you just hatin'. Where was I? Oh, yeah, the guy in UwUgaloo armor. That guy is Remnant. They're a sign of the end-times, I think, and they're completely un-special. You'll probably encounter those guys every once in a while, and if you do, run. They're all chosen by God or some dumb shit like that, and they've got access to power like no one else, through what I can only assume is a direct line to God Himself. I've personally never been able to kill one."

Seras looked stunned by that revelation.

"You haven't?"

"Like I said, they've got a direct line to God, and from there it's Rock-Paper-Scissors logic, except rock beats everything and paper is the earth that the scissors cut up... I've lost you, haven't I? Basically, don't fuck with Remnant guys."

Around that time, the five vampires started to stand aside, and the giant moved forward, pulling his sword off of his belt. The Remnant man fired his modified AR on full auto, aiming for the giant's face. The creature almost didn't seem fazed, and as blood gushed down its face, it brought its sword around in a sweeping arc. The human raised his shield, taking the brunt of the attack. The shield folded in half, and the human flew away from it, into the opposing wall.

The human obviously had his left arm broken; it was dangling at an awkward angle. Nevertheless, he stood up, and reached around to his broken arm with his other one. He yanked on it, resetting the bone. Then he pulled a bronze knife from his belt, and advanced on the giant that had nearly killed him only moments before.

Seras was at once taken aback by the man's courage. More on the matter, his complete disregard for his own safety was telling in his actions, and the fact that he was willing to reuse an arm that would be pronounced completely useless by others. The man was nothing if not determined.

She breathed out a "Good God", and turned to see the others' reactions. Alucard wore a huge grin, and seemed to be trembling with excitement. Anderson seemed to be even more hyper, sharing in the grinning and tapping his foot on the rafter as quietly as he could.

She turned back to see the giant swinging his sword, and watched the human duck under the slash, and push the knife up under the giant's huge kneecap. The creature howled in pain, and as the human spun on his heels, producing a small pistol, the giant swung his sword around, hitting the human with the flat edge. The human flew into the wall again, the pistol clattering to the ground.

The giant wiped blood from his face. As he did so, he felt the holes in his face, and all of a sudden, his demeanor completely changed. Seras looked back over at Alucard to watch him grin big and wide.

"Smart motherfucker", he whispered, "he used solid copper rounds! They're poisonous to Nephilim; I don't know the science, but it stops their wounds from healing. Hit 'em with the regular shit or with lead or steel, and their wounds will just close right up. This guy knows his shit!"

"What about silver", Seras asked.

Alucard opened his mouth to continue talking, but he shut it right up at the sound of a small motor starting up.

The giant continued to wipe blood from his face, trying to get it out of his eyes. He was denied the image of the human, blood seeping from underneath his armor, using his broken arm to hold up an industrial chainsaw, and using his right arm to rip the cord, and coax the machine to life. It roared its fury, and the man, with his broken arm leaking blood from his greave, held it above his head, screaming like a wild banshee.

"You cannot possibly fathom", Alucard whispered to Anderson, "how incredibly erect I am."

"Not just you", Anderson commented. "I've got a stiffy meself!"

The human charged the giant, and in response, the giant swung his sword in his direction. But the blood in his eyes made aiming difficult, and he swung high, leaving his side exposed. The human plunged the chainsaw in under the Nephilim's armpit, throwing blood that was already congealing out onto his ruined body armor. The giant howled in pain, and fell to his knees, shivering.

The human, with his incredible courage, mounted the creature's back, and revved the chainsaw, trying his best to unclog the inner workings, and then pushed the blade into the giant's neck, tearing up sinew and muscle, and throwing up even more blood. The creature made to scream, but it became a gurgle as the chainsaw ripped into his throat. Eventually, the blade of the machine poked out the other side of the creature's neck. By this time, it had ceased making sound all together.

Just to prove how in the know this human was, he double tapped, and rammed the chainsaw into the giant's huge cerebral cortex, punching through the skull into the brain, and kept holding down the trigger until the thing jammed from all of the brain matter that was stuck in its engine. The man gave the chainsaw a hard shove, and the giant's whole head tumbled onto the ground, its eyes glassy and lifeless.

The human jumped off the creature, landing on his feet, and gave a roar that would put lions to shame.

"A man after mah heart", Anderson said, with something akin to awe in his voice.

"I totally creamed myself", Alucard informed him.

The human, however, was fading fast, and it was apparent to everyone. His body had received too much damage and lost too much blood. Nevertheless, when the five remaining vampires cautiously advanced on him, he drew another knife from his belt.

"Who's next", he said, through a raspy, wet cough. "Maybe you?" He pointed to the vampire closest to him, who backed away in sheer terror. "How about you", he asked the next closest.

"C'mon, look at him", one of the vampires told the rest of the group. "He's barely able to stand, much less fight. Let's just finish him off and grab our shit!"

Alucard had heard enough. With the crash of his .454, the vampire's head turned into red paste on the ground in front of him. Alucard left his perch from the rafters, floating gracefully down in front of the human, shielding him from the other vampires.

Slowly, he withdrew his other pistol, and crossed the two over his chest, telling the new fodder, "I won't kill you in the name of Jesus, but I can send you all straight to Hell!"

The way the light caught him in that instance, he appeared to be the embodiment of evil itself. His trench coat covered just enough of his crouched form to shade him in, leaving only his red-tinged glasses and his teeth reflecting, with the soft hint of red outlining his hunched figure.

Anderson landed on the ground superhero style on his left, and rose to his full height, withdrawing a pair of sharp bayonets, which were reflected in the overhead light along with his bared teeth, and silver rosary which dangled and swayed from his neck. He didn't need to say anything, his form said it all.

To his right, Police Girl had taken a bad fall, and with a shout, she belly-flopped on the right side of him. She picked herself up in an ungraceful manner, and held her hands up in a pseudo kung-fu pose.

"Fuck this", one of the vampires yelled. He turned, and ran for the open doorway out into the night without looking back.

"I'm out", another one yelled, and as he turned, the vampire next to him turned around as well, and they both sprinted for the cover of darkness.

That left only one. Before he could make a decision, however, his mind was made up for him, as a bayonet flashed through his head, leaving brain matter in its wake. The corpse fell flat on the ground.

Anderson stood back up to his full height, chuckling.

"You got one", he explained, "I got one. Fair's fair."

"Sure thing", Alucard told him. He turned around, facing the Remnant Warrior, and followed up with, "What isn't a sure thing is whether this guy is going to pull through."

"The", the man tried to say through ragged breaths, "the... the LORD... will... provide."

With that, he collapsed on the ground. Seras moved to help him, but Alucard threw out an arm to stop her in her tracks.

"Don't touch him", Alucard told her. "Chances are, you'll burst into flames."

Seras looked at him, bewildered.

"Really?!"

"How the fuck should I know", Alucard told her, and then turned to Anderson.

"Can't take that guy to a hospital."

"The smart and vengeful will be searching the registries, I know."

"You got a plan?"

"I've got people", Anderson told him, as he squatted down next to the Warrior. "And they're on their way. Which means you should get lost."

"Sound advice", Alucard echoed. He turned to Seras, saying, "Come on, Police Girl, let's get out of here before we have to explain all of this to the police."

The two of them turned to leave, but a cough drew their attention. Seras turned all the way around, and Alucard looked back over his shoulder.

"The LORD... will bless you... for this", the man told Alucard.

Alucard looked at him for a long, tense moment. The humor was gone from his face. He stared icy daggers into the man's eyes, which he could barely see through the slits of his face shield.

"No He won't", Alucard finally told him. "He had the chance to bless me with a quick death five hundred years ago. And now I'm abandoned."

"You're wrong", the man choked out. "I see... a soul... amongst... your... vessel... blackened... though it... is."

Alucard continued to stare daggers at him, and finally told him, "You're seeing your own reflection. There's no soul in me. Certainly not one worth saving."

"Was... Rahab... not-"

"I don't give a fuck about a prostitute from Jericho", Alucard told him. "Take your Sunday School lesson and shove it."

With that, Alucard turned, and marched out of the warehouse, making his way towards the apartments. Seras, after a moment of looking down at the broken man who only moments ago had destroyed a monster from man's worst nightmare, stared at Alucard's back with tears in his eyes, turned and followed. Quietly, on the wind, Guns N' Roses' Civil War played.

And, as quietly as he could, Alucard mourned.