Oh my god, I'm actually back. Sorry about the unofficial hiatus again, but y'know how real life can be heh. Plus I've been stuck in a huge depression for the past few months, so that's been fun. The joys of mental illness, am I right? But yeah, thank you so much for your patience as always, and thank you to those who have left comments, and kudos etc. I'm currently in the process of learning digital art, so who knows, maybe some time in the future I could make some digital art of the twins. As always, be sure to check out my DevianArt or my blog for any extras related to my fanfics.
13: The Joys of Motherhood
The sun had finally disappeared over the horizon, but the city of Leeds was still in full swing. Buildings glowed with light, and music blared from street performers. The narrow streets were crowded with people commuting home from work, students beginning a night out, and those who just fancied a bit of late night shopping. Seras eyed every face that walked past in paranoia. She gripped the twins' hands tighter in her own as they too gazed around at everything as they all looked out of the hotel room window, except the two girls were in awe rather than nervous.
Seras had certainly felt less conspicuous as she glanced down at herself. She needed to get rid of her Hellsing uniform as soon as possible. Her master always seemed to change his attire with nothing but the power of his desire to do so. Before getting ready to leave, Seras had spent a solid ten minutes glaring at her reflection in the mirror, willing her clothes to change. However, all the young vampire ended up doing was giving herself a headache. Not helped by the fact that the twins had begun arguing again, this time over what to do for fun now that the TV was broken.
Oh yeah, Seras thought to herself with a loud sigh. Speaking of conspicuous... They had left the hotel room in a bit of a mess to say the least. Glass littered almost the entire room, and the bed was a mess of duvets and cushions. Seras felt bad for the staff at the hotel, but there was no way she had the time to clean it all up; the three of them needed to get moving as soon as possible.
"Okay!" the young vampire announced to the even younger vampires, who stopped arguing at the sudden sound of her voice. "We need to get moving."
"Yes!" the girls cheered at the same time.
Seras motioned for them to be quiet before she peaked her head around the door to their hotel room. The hallway was deserted and quiet. However, Seras' more sensitive vampire ears could pick up the sounds of the reception downstairs. Guests came and went, staff bustled about in the kitchens, a vacuum cleaner hummed from the floor above, TVs echoed from different rooms, as well as the sound of couples...
The Draculina blushed, unsure whether or not Lily and Luna could hear it or not, but decided to cover one of each twin's ears just in case. While there was nobody about, Seras pulled the twins alongside her and began making her way towards a fire exit, deciding that leaving through that route would be the safest. She really didn't want to try out her hypnotism skills again any time soon, and who knew if Luna would be able to pull it off again with how tired she seemed to be lately.
"Where are we going, mummy?" Lily asked.
"Ssssh!" Luna replied.
Lily frowned at her. "You shush!"
"Both of you shush," Seras whispered as she pushed the fire door open as quietly as possible. Thank god, it wasn't alarmed. "We're sneaking out of here."
Both twins giggled but otherwise kept quiet, following their mother's lead. The two girls opted for tip-toeing as Seras moved slightly ahead to check if the coast was clear. The fire escape had lead on to a small metal balcony with steps that lead down to the side street below. The air was crisp, and Seras felt a little bit calmer now that they were on the move again. Nobody was on the street below, which suited them just fine.
Holding both of their hands, Seras lead the twins down the stairs, praying with all of her energy that no one came by and noticed them. To other humans, they probably just looked like a small family skipping out on paying the full bill. The Draculina began to feel even more relieved once the three of them reached the bottom and she was careful to block the girls' path as the alleyway was littered with used needles and broken bottles. The main street was just straight ahead, and the lights from it were almost blinding compared to the darkness of the alley they were currently in.
Seras gulped. She better make this little shopping trip as quick as possible. No doubt Sir Integra had soldiers looking up and down the country for her by now. Stupid bright yellow uniform! Seras had never felt more conspicuous. As they approached the end of the alley, Seras' blue eyes darted to every single face that walked by. Were they a Hellsing agent? Was that couple sat on a bench Hellsing agents? That street performer... were they an agent too? Seras had never felt more paranoid. She unconsciously gripped the twins' hands even tighter. Everything within her wanted to lock them back up in the hotel room. This plan was going against every instinct that was currently screaming at her. It was like a separate creature was gnawing on her ribcage, making her chest vibrate with territorial growls. She was a lioness and the twins were her precious cubs.
But they needed to press on. Seras couldn't let... well... whatever the hell had happened to her back at Hellsing H.Q happen to her again. She needed to remain in control. Though the blonde vampire had never felt more out of control in her entire life...
"I need you two to be on your best behaviour," Seras practically begged as she dragged the three of them out of the side street to join the cluster of humans as casually as possible. "We just need to grab ourselves a few supplies, and then we'll be on our way."
"Supplies?" Luna asked.
"What supplies?" Lily also asked while looking around at all of the humans cautiously.
"Some new clothes, maybe a map or something, I don't quite know. I'm just winging it here." A small drop of sweat trickled down her forehead as one human male looked at them for a few seconds longer that Seras deemed normal. Did he know? Was he an agent? A soldier? The Draculina was practically chewing her lower lip off in anxious suspense.
"We're going to a mall?" Lily gasped as her red eyes twinkled in excitement. "I've never been to a mall before."
"Are they just like the ones on telly?" Luna asked.
"Toy shops!" Lily's voice grew louder and louder, making Seras panic even more.
"I bet they have really big toy shops!" Luna gasped. "I could get some more toy soldiers! Oh yeah, and you could get yourself a new stupid doll or something..." She glanced to her sister.
Lily's bottom lip began quivering as she stared down at her empty hands as if a doll was just going to magically appear there. "I miss my dolly." Blood tears began pooling in her eyes.
Seras shrieked, causing a few passers-by to look at them weirdly.
"Don't cry!" The Draculina begged. Blood tears in public... not good! "We'll get you back to your dolly."
Lily sniffed and smiled up at her mother. "Okay."
The three of them approached a place called the Trinity Shopping Centre, and Seras sighed lightly in relief at the sight of all the clothes stores. This was going to be tricky as she didn't have any money, and the guilt of theft was eating away at her, but needs must. Maybe she could return with some cash if she ever got her hands on any. You're not technically stealing them, Seras, she thought to herself. Besides, this is an emergency. You can't get bogged down in your police girl ways.
With a gulp, Seras entered the first clothes store nearest the entrance. This would have to do. She wasn't doing any serious fashion shopping. She just needed a change of clothes for the three of them and then they would be on their way. She briefly glanced down at the twins to see them looking around with interest before she began pulling them along with her as she browsed. The Draculina was drawn to the plain jeans and shirts; something practical for their travels. Finding her size was going to be tricky though – damn big boob problems!
Some plain black t-shirts caught her attention, and she began sifting through them. The vampire smiled when she finally found her size and pulled it out to inspect it. Her smile soon left her face, though, when she realised how small it looked against her. She should probably try it on first. But that would take up more precious time. Should she just get the biggest size there? Or would that look weird and raise questions? Maybe the more natural she acted, the less likely she was to be spotted by any Hellsing staff that were patrolling the area. She couldn't sense her master anywhere nearby, so surely they were fine for time at the moment? She supposed trying them on would make them easier to steal – errr – borrow. She was just borrowing them!
Lily and Luna were pretty easy to pick for, she just grabbed them a dress each that looked the most comfortable for them. Speaking of the twins, Seras could tell they were beginning to get restless. They would fidget and shuffle along, and the new mother just hoped that their patience would hold out. Who knew shopping with kids could be so nerve-wracking? How did parents do it? Seras was already exhausted and they had only been shopping for just fifteen-or-so minutes.
Shaking off those thoughts, Seras hurried over to the changing rooms, which were quiet, but cramped. There was barely enough room to move. She hung the clothes up on the hooks available before turning back to the twins and pointing towards a small cushioned seat right in front of the stall Seras would be using.
"Please stay here while I make sure this stuff fits me," Seras practically begged them.
The twins sighed and nodded, both taking a seat.
Satisfied that they were doing as they were told, Seras shut the curtain and kept an eye on their tiny feet that she could just about see through the gap in the bottom. The creature inside of her wanted to claw at the curtain for blocking most of her view. Even being barely over a metre away from them was making her heart race. What if somebody grabbed them in the few minutes it would take to try this stuff on? What if they wandered off?
Seras peaked a blue eye out from behind the curtain to see the girls still sat there looking bored. Lily twiddled her fingers while Luna simply stared into space, looking very much like her father when he was in one of his brooding moods. Seras shivered; she'd better be quick.
The shirt was a little tight around the chest area, but nothing Seras couldn't handle. It would have to do. There was no way she would be delaying things any more than she had to. Just being behind a curtain was giving her anxiety. She felt like she was tempting fate by having the twins out of her main line of sight for just these few minutes. Anything could happen! She might not sense her master nearby, but that didn't mean that he couldn't just show up out of nowhere and take the twins from her! Seras had given up keeping track of what types of weird, creepy powers her sire had.
Panicking again, Seras quickly tore the security tags off her new clothes and stuffed her uniform into her arms before pulling back the curtain. Seras blinked. Then she blinked again. And then... she had a heart attack.
"Lily? Luna?" Seras hissed out, looking around frantically.
The seat where two young girls should have been sat was now empty. Seras snapped her head from left to right, but there was no sign of them anywhere. Springing into action, Seras looked desperately behind the curtains of the other stalls, only to find them all empty!
Oh no!
No! No! No! No!
She had only turned her back for one measly minute!
After dropping her Hellsing uniform, Seras darted out from the changing room to search the rest of the store. Maybe they had wandered off and were looking at stuff? UGH! SHE HAD SPECIFICALLY TOLD THEM TO STAY PUT! Why was it so hard for kids to follow simple instructions?! Seras had no memory of wandering off from her own parents when she was kid. She guessed they were their father's daughters alright. Never bloody listening!
Seras froze for a second with a shiver. She was starting to sound like a middle-aged woman who was married and had kids.
Ignoring her growing headache, Seras continued to looking around, trying to hide and suppress her panic as much as possible. The obvious thing to do would be to ask a member of staff or security, but Lily and Luna weren't human... and neither was Seras! The usual rules and norms of society didn't apply to them! And the three of them were supposed to be moving under the radar! Why couldn't the two of them just sit still for one minute!
They were so grounded when Seras got her hands on them again.
If she got her hands on them again...
No! She couldn't think like that!
Seras was pretty sure they were stronger than a regular human, so she doubted a human had taken them by force. Maybe they had been lead away? Surely if it was Hellsing, they would have grabbed her too while they were there. The rational part of Seras' brain knew that they had probably just wandered off because they were bored. However, a part of her couldn't help but jump straight to the worst case scenario.
Biting back a growl, Seras exited the store after not finding them anywhere. She took a deep breath through her nose before freezing in place with furrowed eyebrows. Of course! Their scents! She could smell them! She was a vampire now! And their scent still hung in the air, leading Seras down a short trail towards a toy store nearby. She should have known...
As Seras was about to take a step forwards, a few screams echoed from inside the toy shop and a few families came running out, clutching their children. Other shoppers looked at them like they were crazy, while others shuffled away, afraid of whatever had possibly frightened the small group of people running from the store. Two security guards came running down with their walkie-talkies blaring pleas for assistance.
Seras ran through the crowds of people and was annoyingly slowed down by more people running from the store. However, Seras soon froze when she saw what was going on inside. Ordinarily, she would have laughed if the situation wasn't so dire. A few more nervous customers barged past her, nearly knocking her over, but Seras kept her relieved, yet infuriated, eyes on her little hell-spawns.
"You'll never take me alive, General Luna!"
"That's what you think, Corporal Lily!"
Luna then aimed her Nerf gun and fired. Spongy bullets rained down over a giggling Lily who quickly ducked for cover behind a display case. It looked like the two of them had ransacked all of the Lego sets and had built mini bases for themselves. Toy weapons were strewn about everywhere, and the store was now practically deserted because of their rough play. There were just a few customers left, trapped at the back of the shop. A child was crying and clinging to his mother while the few other people glared scandalously at the twins.
The lady working behind the till tried to be brave and rush forward again, but Luna quickly swung a plastic sword at her and whacked her over the head.
"Civilians are advised to take cover!" Luna barked her orders.
The poor middle-aged lady tried to make a grab for Luna again, but the dark haired child leapt to the safety of a high shelf that was out of reach. Luna then kicked a few boxes down at the innocent woman who had tried to grab her, causing a further avalanche of chaos.
"Luna!" Lily cried out while glaring at her sister. "You're not supposed to hurt civilians!"
"The human's not hurt, she's fine, aren't you?" Luna spared the woman on the floor a fleeting glance. Only her face was visible underneath the pile of boxes. Seras could practically see her eyes spinning with dizziness and confusion. "She says no," Luna answered for her.
"She never said that!" Lily snapped.
"Did too!"
"I never heard her!"
"I read her mind!"
Lily scoffed and Seras chocked when the little blonde began throwing very real and sharp darts towards her sister. Luna ducked, and one dart barley missed her pale shoulder. The other people trapped at the back shrieked at the display, and the security guards finally ran into the store after asking the people outside what the hell was going on.
"Hey! You two!"
"Enough you two!" Seras yelled and both twins froze.
One of the security guards turned to her. "Are you their mother?"
Shit. Now what? Seras bit her lip, realising she probably should have just snatched up the girls and made a run for it. So much for keeping a low profile.
"Your children are animals! You should be ashamed of yourself!" one of the mothers yelled from the back of the store.
"They stole my dinosaur!" her young boy sobbed.
"You weren't using it, you stupid human," Luna snapped back at him. "He was much better off as part of my army!"
Seras cringed at Luna's words, noticing the murmurs around them from confused bystanders.
"They... errr... errr..." Seras stuttered as everybody stared at her. "They have... errr... a rare genetic condition." Seras wanted to slap herself.
The security guard raised an unconvinced eyebrow at her.
"Yeah," Seras continued, "it's called... Alucard-itus. It's very rare, like I said. It gives them... err... behavioural issues." Well... Seras supposed that she wasn't exactly lying with that one.
"Really now?" The security guard still looked doubtful as his eyes appraised her.
The other security guard then spoke up. "I'm afraid the three of you are going to have to come with me." The man then reached up and grabbed Lily, picking her up by her armpits.
What happened next, Seras should have seen coming. All she could do was watch, her chest tight, her eyes glowing red, as Lily screeched in fear and annoyance. She thrashed in the man's arms as he struggled to hold onto her, and when he refused to let go... Lily sank her sharp teeth deep into his arm.
"Ow! Hey!" The security guard yelped, instantly dropping her to cradle his now bleeding arm.
Seras' stomach grumbled, and her fangs began to ache like she had just bitten into a block of ice. His blood smelled so good! The droplets seemed to rain down from his arm in slow motion. Splat, splat, splat. Each drop hit the wooden floor. Seras' eyes remained locked onto it. So... hungry... Her mouth began to water. She wanted to crawl onto her hands and knees and lap at the delectable red liquid that had now spilled out onto the floor. Just one lick wouldn't hurt...
That's when something cold pressed against Seras' head.
"I really wouldn't do that if I were you, ma chérie."
Seras' red eyes faded back to a dark blue in shock.
Captain Bernadotte.
"Especially since we didn't leave things pleasantly back in the garage."
Seras could practically hear the smirk in the French man's voice. How had he found them so quickly? Then again, the blonde vampire shouldn't have been surprised. Hellsing had eyes and ears everywhere, so it had only been a matter of time. Seras knew she should have just grabbed a shirt and made a run for it. She had spent too much time dawdling and allowed Lily and Luna to slip from her sight for just long enough for them to cause a scene and land them all in trouble. Seras' eyes moved back up to her daughters who were carefully watching everything unfold. They had taken a few steps towards her, their eyes narrowed on the gun Pip was pointing at her. Now the two of them no longer looked amused.
"We've all been wondering where you've been." Pip's stance relaxed as he laughed. "Gave us quite the scare, ma chérie."
Seras began to shake.
"Um... captain?" another Wild Goose hidden among the crowd spoke up.
"Quoi?" Pip snapped, annoyed his flirting was interrupted.
But Seras didn't give the soldier a chance to respond. Quick as lightening, Seras had grabbed hold of the barrel of Pip's gun and twisted the metal away from her. Startled, Pip fired a shot, and that's when chaos ensued. Screams erupted all around them as people began running for their lives, most of them never having seen a real gun before. The bullet ricocheted off a marble column before lodging itself into the window of another store, smashing it in the process. Glass scattered everywhere and crunched under people's panicked feet.
"Merde!" Pip yelled, suddenly becoming serious again. He reached into a holster to grab a back up gun, but Seras had knocked the man's feet out from under him before he had even gotten the chance.
"Mummy!" both twins yelled as they ran towards Seras.
The other soldier began firing his gun, causing the girls to stop in their tracks and hunch together.
Seras let out a vicious snarl, all rational thoughts leaving her mind except one: protect her babies.
"Stop it, you idiot!" Pip snapped. "Our orders were to bring them both back alive!"
However, these words failed to register with Seras as she growled and snarled at the two of them. They were going to hurt Lily and Luna! She had to protect them! But just as Seras was about to lunge towards the twins, Pip had grabbed hold of her ankle, tripping her up in the process. The Draculina snarled as she landed face first against the tiled ground. The ceramic tiles cracked beneath the force of her landing, and Pip crawled over to pin her down.
"My my my, ma chérie," he chuckled. "I did not think it would be this easy to get you under me."
Seras raised her knees and kicked him over her head. Pip grunted as he collided with a bench at an odd angle, and the vampire could have sworn she heard a bone snap. The other soldier fired a warning shot, and this made Seras panic even more. With a growl, she turned towards the man who had fired his gun, red eyes glowing menacingly as they locked onto him. She visibly saw him gulp, and the feral vampire couldn't help but smile as she heard his blood beginning to rush faster through his veins. The soldier kept pointing his gun at her, blocking her path between her and the twins. Seras' glowing eyes then turned back towards the two girls.
"Run!" Seras almost didn't recognise her own voice; it sounded so savage and unhinged. "I'll catch up! And do as you're told this time!"
The twins gulped and nodded before taking off in a blur. They disappeared down the other end of the shopping centre, and Seras felt a bit better now that they were away from the trigger happy Wild Geese. The whole place was now deserted as everyone had fled from the building. Pip still lay groaning after having slid down off the bench and onto the floor. Meanwhile, the other soldier continued to shake, seeming unsure whether to dart after the two girls or not. Seras' warning growl, however, made up his mind for him.
"Agent Victoria, you are ordered to stand down!"
Seras frowned at him, her eyes constantly glancing in the direction in which the twins had fled.
The brief stalemate between them was abruptly ended by the sound of Integra's voice from the other side of an earpiece the soldier had been wearing. That was all the Draculina needed to hear before being triggered again. That was the woman who was going to hurt her babies! The vampire hunter! One of the main reasons Seras had fled!
A feral, inhuman, enraged scream escaped Seras lips as she charged towards the soldier. On reflex, the soldier fired at her, and the bullet hit her directly between the eyes. Seras was flung backwards from the force of the blast, and her sense of sight vanished for a second before her brain managed to heal itself. The Draculina pulled herself back to her feet like a creepy marionette doll, her spine the last thing to click itself back into place as she once again stood upright.
"Holy shit!" the soldier shrieked before firing his gun again, oblivious to the Hellsing leader shouting at him through his headpiece.
The silver bullets burned as they pierced painfully through the Draculina, and she hissed with every strike. It was like she was constantly being skewered by a red hot poker. Her flesh sizzled, and this only made the out of control vampire even angrier. This is what they had wanted to use on her babies?! They would pay!
Ignoring the pain, Seras charged towards the petrified man again, knocking the weapon out of his hand. His wrist snapped from the force and he screamed in agony. His hand hung limply, no long held in place by bone, but by pure muscle and skin alone. It flopped back and forth as tears streamed down his cheeks, gazing back at the monster before him in horror. But he didn't remain frozen for long. With a high pitched shriek, the poor man turned and began running in the opposite direction.
Seras smirked and crouched as she prepared to chase after him and put an end to his threat. But her efforts were thwarted as she was tripped upon her first attempt at a sprint. The young vampire then gasped as a familiar, cold tentacle began to snake its way up her leg...
I'M SORRY! I know that I'm sadistic, but cliffhangers are fun and keep you guys coming back for more. I hope that this chapter turned out okay, especially since it's once again been a while, and my brain isn't exactly in the best condition right now. My internet was also playing up when I was trying to upload it, so I hope all of that has gone okay as well. And I guess if you're reading this, that means that it has. Phew. Anyway, please feel free to leave a comment or a review as it always really helps me out. Until next time!
