Timeskip - 1 day - Maria's Bedroom
"Mmmmmmmmhh…" The sounds of mumbles came from a familiar succubus who was beginning to wake up due to her internal clock and her body saying 'enough sleep'. This happened rather abruptly, like her body knew EXACTLY when to wake up in the morning despite the lack of sunlight or other indicators to inform her of the time of day.
She groaned for a while, trying to fight the urge to awaken from the land of dreams until finally she lost that battle as her consciousness begun rousing her. Briefly tightening themselves, her eyes slowly fluttered open after a moment of blinking several times.
Finally, Maria clad in her purple Pyjamas slowly opened her eyes completely to the sight of her vision rapidly clearing to a crystal level. Briefly stretching her arms upwards in an odd angle, the Succubus then slowly rolled onto her side and lifted herself up from her bed by placing her arm on the bed and using it as a support pilar.
One could easily tell that her hair was a right mess, perhaps a slight case of bed hair that Maria wasn't that unused to, since it had happened multiple times before. Her mother used to help her take care of it when she had been younger, and ever since she had been put under Hellsing custody Maria had to care for it herself leading to several hours worth of prep time.
A Succubus has GOT to look her best for the day, after all! It was a point of pride for her!
Nevertheless, combined with the number of feelings swirling inside of her and Maria could say for certain that she had quickly lost the urge to roll back into bed. Heck, for a brief few seconds the Succubus actually had a happy demeanor to her at the thought of getting ready for the rest of the day…
Keyword being BRIEFLY.
Just as quick as it had come, Maria's joy soon vanished as something MUCH more unpleasant took hold. The Succubus, who had now stood up from her bed with her arms stretched up to the ceiling, soon lowered them till they fell limp by her sides. The girl hung her head forwards, allowing her hair's bangs to cover her eyes in shadow with a sense of gloom, depression and remorse soon exuding from her normally cheery, perverted self.
There was something else that quickly dulled the girl's mood, evident by how she clutched her shoulders with a frantic shudder travelling down her spine, phantom sensations of hands travelling across her skin. Some of those feelings came from the recent dream she'd had last night… or perhaps nightmare would be a better way to describe it.
(Dream)
"Kyaaaa-aaa!"
"Shut it, wench! This is my time, so be an obedient little slut!"
Loud cries constantly spewed from her mouth as she plummeted onto the mattress of a dimly lit room, a classic nobleman's bedroom with a king sized bed at the back. The bed had various curtains hanging around it's frame for privacy's sake, but right now they bore the sight taking place to the entire room around it. The crimson blankets had been hurriedly tossed aside along with extra covers and most of the pillow cases, save for one which the Succubus' face got buried into in a rather painful manner.
Her throat felt starved of air that she desperately tried to fill her lungs with, though that became harder to do than necessary thanks to the hand that grasped her head in a painful vice-like grip. As well as the other hand which dug its fingers into her neck from behind like a falcon grasping it's prey. Her cries, muffled between gasps and sobs, filled the bedroom and mixed with the audible sounds of flesh smacking against flesh. The stench of sweat permeated the atmosphere, shoving itself right through her nostrils like the activity she was partaking in… though not of her own will.
In any other circumstance she probably would have enjoyed the rough treatment… not this time though, nor any of the times this had happened over the last few years.
"Ugh! Shit! Fuck! You succubi bitches definitely live to your reputation! You sluts are tighter than a vice!"
The one doing this to her, pinning her down to the bed with his weight in the most crushing, uncomfortable position possible for her, howled in twisted delight with an expression she could only see through the corner of one of her tear-filled eyes. His expression resembled an asylum patient, utterly insane and drunk on the power that his dominance gave him over her, his large, almost tomato-shaped body practically a weight atop her back that threatened to break her in two. It was likely that the man hardly exercised and his body odor made him smell absolutely putrid… yet she could not get away from this act she had indulged in many times, utelizing the succubi's talents to do her best to fulfil her end of things despite how revolted it made her feel.
"Yes! YES! SCREAM FOR ME! HOW LIKE A BITCH IN HEAT! BREAK FROM MY COCK SMOTHERING THAT SLUTTY TWAT OF YOURS! A WHORE LIKE YOU SERVES NO OTHER PURPOSE THAN BEING BROKEN! THAT IS YOU AND YOUR RACES PURPOSE,ALL YOU WERE BUILT FOR AND ALL YOU SHALL EVER BE!"
Eyes like dots, tears ran down her cheeks like two streams alongside trails of saliva as Maria gasped and howled to make it seem like she was trying to enjoy this walrus-like person ravaging her frame, her Succubi wings and Tail fluttering wildly in response to the sporadic motions her body got rocked by, or was that the sounds of the bed creaking as it shifted from the force the man, a Devil, was using on her? Maria wasn't sure, her mind felt way too mushy to form too much of a coherent thought process.
In her current loli form, this man seemed almost like he would break her in half with the way he roughly used her to sate his own desires, an act that would likely go through the rest of the night.
She could only hope that Mio wouldn't wander too far that she wouldn't be able to track her down via her energy signature…
(Dream end)
Not willing to recall more lest she become sick, Maria shook her head to try and get rid of the images in her mind although the phantom sensations still persisted. She even felt like she was still being pinned under fat bastard Devils, still on the run and more alone than ever even though those incidents had long since passed.
Those had happened many times in the past since she and Mio became runaways, and were the source of many of Maria's nightmares in the past. She never wanted to think about those times again, but there were always times when those things came back to her whether she wanted them to or not. Worse still was that times she felt jealous that Mio got to remain 'pure' while she had to get 'defiled' for her protection, a dark side of her that Maria REFUSED to bring to light and loathed with every fibre of her being. It had all been for Mio's sake in the first place so she shouldn't be complaining.
Nevertheless, those incidents definitely had a lasting effect on her, and ever since Maria had repeatedly come close to her breaking point during those sessions where she would have 'broke' and been reduced to what they always described her as: a lowly, useless little slut who had no other uses aside from letting her body be used as a cum dumpster. If she hadn't years of getting used to this kind of stuff, she would have definitely fallen into that rabbit hole shortly into her years as a runaway.
But even so, Maria could not escape the nightmares they brought her, nightmares that came constantly and vividly to the point where she could hardly differentiate between reality and memory. Even after they ended and she awoke from those accursed moments, Maria still felt the phantom sensations of their disgusting, filthy hands wrapping around her like she were their possession, their fucktoy, their slave.
Therefore, one could see and understand why she didn't often get a good night's sleep. She'd done her best to hide it from everyone, ESPECIALLY Mio who she had never wanted to learn of her sacrifices. She'd kept her eyebags from sleep deprivation from showing via magic and makeup, she made sure to select the room with the most sound insulation so nobody would be able to hear her, making it one of the few places where she could let her guard down. She'd kept up the act around everyone, fooling them all into thinking she was just some cheery perverted succubus (which was normally true somewhat…) without any burdens of her own. All the while she had kept dealing with these terrors on her own…
Until that time Theseus found out and comforted her.
Thinking back to that moment she watched the recording sent a wave of joy, warmth and affection through Maria's chest. Her lower lip trembled as a smile threatened to break out at the memory of seeing Theseus pull her into his embrace, warming and comnsoling her in the first ever display of true genuine affection she had received from a male. The Succubus briefly placed a hand over her heart as she briefly felt the stirrings of the characteristic lust of a Succubus briefly pulse after being dead for so many years, before falling silent once more. Maria lifted her head and wiped the tears that had been building in her eyes with her sleeve as she begun changing out of her pyjamas into her usual dress.
As much as she wanted to experience that heavenly bliss again, perhaps even for eternity, she couldn't. The male is already in deep pain and suffering right, the doctor even said he was lucky to be alive to begin with. Imagines of his broken face…and that scar of his.
Fighting back to hold back more of her tears, this time ones of frustration and fury, Maria bit her lips as her mouth quivered. All kinds of chaotic emotions flooded her brain like a violent river. .
KNOCK-KNOCK!
"Maria?" Someone knocked her door, causing her stop her inner feelings which Maria found to be a blessing for her. She shifted her attention to her room door, of which she could hear a familiar voice that came from the other side. That voice was clearly that of her mother's, a voice she warmly welcomed hearing right now. "Are you awake?" Sheila asked from behind the door.
Wiping her tears away, Maria once more put on her usual facade and nodded her head. "Yes mom. I'm up." She responded to her mother.
"Thats good, dear. I was about to come and wake you up." Shelia commented as she opened the door and stepped inside.
Pouting while pulling a stocking up to her thigh, Maria let out a pitiful whine. "Come on mom, I'm not a little kid anymore." she moaned, much to the older Succubus' amusement.
A small chuckle escaped Shelia's lips that she covered behind the tips of her fingers. "I know you are Maria. But its no excuse to be a lazy bum, I sometimes wonder the last time I had to come and wake you up was." she mused, her smile becoming wistful as she closed her eyes and hummed, thinking back to some better memories of the past.
Her daughter did NOT share these sentiments however. "Mooomm! Stop trying to embarrasse me!" Maria whined in protest, pulling up the other stocking before covering her rapidly reddening face.
At THAT, Shelia's smile turned into a full-blown grin of amusement as she watched her daughter put in the finishing touches on her usual apparel. "Oh? So you don't want to remember when you were little that you kissed a frog because you thought he was a prin-"
"I DON'T WANT TO REMEMBER THAT MOM!" Maria shouted at the top of her lungs, her face now completely red and steaming. The memories her mother dragged up could compete for the title of one of her most embarrassing moments of her entire lifetime. Even beating out the times she managed to get caught redhanded by Theseus whenever she tried sneaking into his room.
Absolutely ADORING the look on her daughter's face, Shelia once more released a ladylike giggle that could only come from age and experience. "Hehehe. We have a lot of catching up to do Maria, so I'm making sure I don't waste any of it." she spoke, her eyes glimmering with mirth that she would DEFINITELY be enjoying this.
"MOOOM!" Maria screamed at Sheila, trying so hard to not be so embarrassed from her mothers teasing. But somehow she kept failing, but more than that she hoped to any lucky deity that her mother wouldn't tease her in front of Hellsing, or else her reputation will REALLY go down to the drain.
Sheila chuckled for a while before she adopted a frown face and interlocked her fingers together. "Maria, Meredith is calling everyone in manor for a discussion. She sent me to make sure your there."
Hearing that, Maria widened her eyes and immediately tensed up at the mention of the words 'Meredith' and 'discussion', a shiver of dread travelling down her spine. She had a GOOD feeling about what that discussion was going to be about and she did not look forward to it any.
Sheila adapted to a worried expression on her face. "You don't have to go if you don't want to. I can assure you-"
"No mother. I HAVE to go." Maria interrupted Sheila from finishing her suggestion. "You don't know much about Meredith mom, but she's someone who doesn't take no for an answer. She was trained by the one who controls the King of Vampires, the leader of Hellsing." She said in a grim tone, speaking serious about Meredith.
The moment she heard those names, Shelia's features lost a lot of their color as the stories she had heard about those individuals reared their ugly heads. Suddenly, she felt a lot more apprehensive towards this upcoming meeting. "But who knows what will happen. Maria these people are dangerous!"
Maria nodded her head, knowing perfectly well how her mother was feeling at the moment. She had just reunited with her daughter and already they were going to be meeting with forces far beyond their abilities. Not to mention the thought of what Maria had to do in the near future must be terrifying for Shelia, considering the implications. Nevertheless, there's no way out of it, not like Maria intended to in the first place. "I know mother, but what choice do me and Mio have? It was either to be on the run…or submit under a monsters will."
"But still-"
"Mom please, I can handle it." Having had enough of her mother's worrying remarks, Maria put her hands over that of her mothers, holding them between the two while doing her best to give an assuring squeeze. "I've lived with them for a few months now, and if Mio can get through this Hell, so can I." Maria said to her mother with affirmative tone.
Sheila looked very worried over her daughter, she stared into Maria's uncompromising eyes for some time before she put her head down in resignation, knowing that there wasn't any way out of this. Instead, she offered her support in the form of her going and hugging her daughter. "Let us hope so Maria because if it doesn't..." Sheila trailed off, tightening the hug before pulling back. "Hellsing is well-known for leaving trails of blood wherever they go."
Maria remained silent, having known all too well what her mother meant and that she wasn't wrong. Hellsing were known for the two aspects of their reputation:
Fear and terror.
Two main compartments that made people submit, as well as convinced ANYONE to think twice when dealing with an entity like the UK faction… and right now Maria would be facing that entity.
For now all could Maria and Sheila hope for is that Meredith is merciful to the silver haired succubus.
Later
Inside of Meredith's office, the said woman sat cross-legged behind her desk interlocking her fingers together in front of her. She leaned forward, hiding her mouth behind her clasped white gloved hands while retaining a stoic gaze. Behind her, the windows shone brightly from the morning sun rays which also had the effect of darkening her form and adding to her rather imposing demeanor. In her hands was a cigarette, emitting smoke from it's tip to indicate how she was smoking.
She wasn't alone, though, as all of Hellsing's members were inside of her office, including Arthur who returned from his search of something that is related to his lineage.
Kuroka was currently sprawled lazily atop a nearby couch like a cat, her tail swishing abut in a similarly lazy manner Nevertheless, she may not have looked like it but the trained eye could spot how she also had hear ears twitching, implying her true intention of focusing on the situation taking place.
Vali and Kuroh sat together atop a separate single side couch with the letter having his legs crossed on top of one another while having his new blade leaning on the couch's armrest, the same sword he had gotten from the notorious night lord Talos: A spoil of war one could call it. He also had a ciggarate on his lips.
The former on the other hand didn't have any cigarette or anything of the like, yet he looked just as intense as his comrade with how he had one elbow on the opposite armrest, it's fist closed for him to rest his head atop of. One foot lay atop his thigh while a stern frown dominated his lips.
Karasuma and Hijikata was sitting side by side on a double sided couch. Hijikata also had a ciggarate on his lips compared to the former soldier who simply sat with his arms crossed beneath his chest, levelling a similar gaze to the silver haired hybrid.
Finally, there was Mio who was sitting on a european chair with her hands interlocked atop her lap, looking like she were a lab rat being scrutinized beneath an observation glass. Her form could be seen shuffling in discomfort from the intense atmosphere permeating the office. Beside her was a still unconscious Theseus, who had been cleared for moving by the doctor once sufficient treatment had been done to stablize his condition. As for said doctor he had declined coming to this meeting, citing that he didn't care for the reasons and instead needed to take a rest after one of the most intense jobs of his life.
Nobody could blame him for that one, Mio could still hear his ranting in the back of her mind.
Almost everyone in the room was smoking, not something meant for anybody. Like the intro message from a certain game about Devil hunting hybrids, smoking was indeed bad for one's health especially since it toxified the lungs. Nevertheless, it also helped to relieve all the stress and the intense emotions one felt inside especially after a trying incident like a life or death experience. The last few moments definitely qualified for this.
Before long the silence dominating the Office got broken by the sounds of mechanisms working, sounds which came from the opening door at the opposite end of the office. From there, both Succubuses entered the room which had an IMMEDIATE effect on the situation thanks to how everyone cast their collective gazes onto the duo… but mostly on Maria.
Sheila looked at her daughter one more time before walking away from her. Maria's mother knows what she needed to do and for the following task, she needed to be braver than she'd been in a long time. She walked away and eventually sat beside Hijikata, the man having politely offered her the seat.
As for her daughter Maria walked forward until she was in front of the queen's granddaughter. Maria had her head down while Meredith stares at her intensely. Her face shadows and her eyes glint, sharpened aimed at Maria in front of her.
"..."
There was silence in the room and no one spoke for a while. Not a single word or sentence came out of anyone's mouth.
Eventually the silence was broken when Maria finally spoke. "Where should I start…?" She asked Meredith.
"From the beginning." Meredith immediately answered, wanting to know everything from the start. From how Theseus didn't contact her up till the events that resulted in him being in the state he was in right now. She put her hands down and leaned closer at Maria. "I want to know from the beginning. I don't want to hear any lies, I want to hear the truth Succubus. I will not tolerate any excuses." Meredith's harsh words made Maria flinch, but the woman didn't care at the moment. Her entire being radiated an aura that screamed 'mess with me, I dare you to see what happens' right now, something which terrified Maria to the core no matter how hard she tried to hide it. "So tell me succubus….why didn't you tell the rest of Hellsing when we could offer you aid?"
Maria remained initially silent, still having her head down for a while. In her mind, thoughts swirled around like a whirlpool for her task of choosing her words carefully, knowing the delicacy this situation required. Before long, she began her speech. "Two days ago after…the doctor showed…that sweet side Theseus had…. It threw me for one hell of a loop, how he….was mean on the outside but sweet in the inside. Afterwards, I decided to contact Theseus, to bring him to my room and tell him everything…" She stopped several times during that speech but this one lasted longer, the silverette taking a deep breath and continuing in a similarly grim tone. "That I was collaborating with Zolgear."
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG!
Killing intent immediately got released into the air, mostly from Vali. He had his sacred gear deployed, blue lights shining from his Divine Dividing. He did not like what Maria just told them. "You…were working with Zolgear? Behind our backs?!" Vali growled, getting ready to get up from his seat. "After what we done for you and you have the gall to betray us-"
"Vali! Enough!" Meredith puts her hand up, stopping the silver haired boy from outlasting at Maria.
Vali looked at Meredith with his eyes slit and a fury expression. "Meredith didn't you hear what this bitch said?! She was working with a devil! Behind out backs! She was obviously planning to betray us all!" he roared, throwing a thumb in Maria's direction even as her mother made to say something but refrained at the last moment.
While this mostly originated from the fact that she knew it wouldn't have helped matters, Shelia also noticed how the auburn haired woman didn't seem to be effected by Vali's outburst and calmly spoke. "Maria must have had a reason for why she was with him in the first place." Before Vali could respond to this statement, Meredith shifted her attention towards Maria with an eyebrow arched. "From what I can guess, it must have had to do with your mother correct?" she questioned, though her tone basically stated that she firmly KNEW this to be the case.
Like Sir Integra had taught her many times, she had skillfully thought ahead before the meeting. She had gone over what little evidence she had about the situation, as well as the current scenario and what few verbal reports she got from those at the scene. From that info, she could tell that There was a strong connection between three people: Mio, Maria and Shelia. The third party was likely the main motivation for her judging from how Maria acted when seeing her, and also she'd heard from Hijikata how the woman had been imprisoned within Zolgear's castle. That raised enough flags for her to come up with a hypothesis of the situation, but she wanted to confirm everything with the Succubus first.
Her hypothesis was gaining increasing evidence with how Maria nodded her head and continued her speech. "Yes. Zolgear had my mother captive since about 5 weeks after we were taken in by everyone. I had to do whatever he asked me to do in order to keep my mother safe. I had no choice, it was either that…..or my mother will suffer the consequences."
Now, THIS convinced Vali to calm down and sit back down on his seat like his rage hadn't even existed. The male had a conflicted expression on his face all the while thanks to this newfound revelation, he felt torn inside between understanding of the reason why Maria was planning to betray Hellsing, and the loyalty he had towards one of the best bros he'd ever had. This had not been an easy choice for Maria, he could see that now. It was basically choosing between her comrades or her family member.
He… honestly wasn't sure if he could make such a choice himself.
Sheila looked sadly at Maria, knowing how much her daughter had to go through a lot by Zolgear's hand. 'And to think, there is so much about to come to light in this meeting…' the woman worriedly thought to herself behind her closed eye poker face. When she thought of the history and lore about to be brought forth regarding the Succubi race, it unnerved her since much of it had been kept a closely guarded secret, with only just enough people being aware to keep their resources stable, and their plans on schedule. So for an entity like Hellsing to learn of this as well, considering their reputation… yeah.
Unaware of the roubling thoughts in her mother's mind, Maria continued. "I spoke to Theseus about this, telling him about my connection to Zolgear. He reacted the same as you Vali, nearly had me fed to a bunch of his water sharks." At this, despite the dark topic a bitter chuckle escaped the succubus's lips at the memory of he absolutely MURDEROUS look that crossed onto Theseus' face at the time. Between the two, she could admit that Theseus felt a LOT more terrifying than Vali when pissed.
She wouldn't say that out loud though, knowing how competitive the silver haired male was regarding him.
"Yeah, I can see that." Vali admitted reluctantly with a sigh, retaking his former bored position yet his gaze remained as pointed as ever.
Maria nodded her head in his direction before her gaze fell back onto Meredith's. "He calmed down when I told him about my mother being held captive, also like Vali. He understood and did not erase me from the spot. I didn't know what to do or how can I save my mother from Zolgear, but Theseus thought of a plan, a plan to lure Zolgear out from his hiding spot. Doing so would give me the opportunity to save my mother and kill him, basically killing two birds with one stone."
Meredith narrowed her eyes and leaned forward, having picked up on one detail Maria missed. "If thats the case then I will repeat my question. Why hasn't Theseus contacted Hellsing for help? Why didn't he tell us ahead?" She asked Maria.
Immediately the succubus answered. "I asked the same question and he told me its because your quite busy dealing with the aftermath of the Night Lords incident, as well as the potential fallout from the Shinto Pantheon. He didn't want to interrupt or ruin your preparations for that diplomacy meeting." she explained
Meredith almost barred her teeth due to how tightly they were grinding against each other. Almost immediately she was about to rebuke that statement and declare that she would have diverted all her attention to aiding him, but kept her silence at the last minute.
As much as she hated it, Alucard's apprentice was right to think that way. There were apparently two main reasons why Theseus didn't contact or plan anything with Hellsing, one was them being that they were still recovering from the aftermath of the night lords attack. They were still dealing with the survivors and making sure they got the adequate psychological therapy they'd need to help deal with the trauma inflicted upon them. It may have been a costly move for her, but Meredith felt it necessary to show that she did indeed hold Kuoh's people in high priority. It had also been an easy and almost natural thing to do for her, for Sir Integra had given her some of the most important advice a leader could ever have:
If a King doesn't lead, how can he expect his subordinates to follow?
Something that most novice leaders have to learn the hard way.
Seeing the conflicted expression on Meredith's face, Maria hurriedly continued on. "Theseus told me he would contact several men suited for infiltration and sneaking in without being spotted."
Hijikata raised his hand. "That would be me and Karasuma." He added in to Maria's explanation. Hijikata began to explain his part in Maria's explaining. "When the shark boy contacted me and Karasuma, he told us about a hostage situation, that person being Maria's mother."
Continuing on from the warrior's ending, Karasuma interjected as well. "It took a while, with some tracking and some backstepping. The devils being on our way but we managed to get through." Karasuma finished explaining before turning to the blonde haired male. "Though I would hardly say it ended well for Theseus."
Maria explained further. "He also spoke with Lars and the plan was to kidnap Mio. Theseus would act like he was unaware of what happened and have Lars injure him, making it look like Lars killed him." At this point, Maria lowered her head down and her voice began to crack. "But that was the plan… that scar w-w-wasn't supposed to happen. Zest smashing the boulder at Theseus face…it wasn't part of the plan. Lars didn't knew about it as well, neither did I."
"Zolgear must have wanted extra measures to get rid of Theseus. L-L-Lars was only able to save him due to his durability a-a-and his connection being the descendent of his ancestor Theseus, the son of Poseidon." She was close into tears and breaking down in front of Hellsing, something she very nearly did if she hadn't regained control of herself at the last minute. She did not want to make herself look pathetic in front of Meredith and the group. "It wasn't supposed to end this way." she whispered to herself at the end, sounding like she had lost a major war. Maria glanced at the now masked boy.
Meredith closed her eyes, processing the explanation the succubus has told her regarding Theseus' plan. From what she could remember Alucard almost didn't taught his student about tactics but he did gave him some useful tips about when dealing with an impossible situation or how to minimalize casualties.
She did recall how Alucard had once been a ruler, a leader himself until his defeat at Hellsing's hands. It had been such a long time ago that Meredith had almost forgotten that period of his life, something which she chided herself for mentally. Alucard may be seen as a horrific monster to all and rightly so, but the people he once ruled over regard him as a hero due to how he ruled as a leader. He'd been cruel, yeah, but he'd also ruled fairly and knew when to punish someone when they committed criminal acts. His ruthless punishing of criminals acually contributed to the nation's security and stability, providing people with an assurance that they could confidently do business while living under his rule.
There was once a scene in a manga she had read about a guy commanding a fleet of 3000 females. He mentioned that yeah he was an 'evil dragon', but that evil also assured people that his fleet could protect their interests and guarantee good business. Something which swayed a LOT of people over to his side.
One might be labelled as cruel and ruthless in the history books, but people LOVED the comfort it brung if utilized correctly.
As for the matter at hand, it would seem that those tips from a time long since passed were able to make Theseus a better leader on the battlefield.
From what she had learned Theseus had decided to go in with a small force like a spec ops operation, consisting of people who had expertise in infiltrating enemy strongholds while he himself would be the decoy that drew the enemy's attention away. He likely chose himself for this role due to believing in his own abilities as a fighter, as a one-man army… and how he usually conducted solo missions.
It had been a decent plan, him being severely injured to the point where the enemy thought he was dead, using this to his advantage when the enemy lowered their guard.
However, sometimes the enemy can be unpredictable like when they suddenly decide to add in some extra measures. Essentially every plan had a risk of failing due to some unforeseen element.
With the extreme amount of injuries he'd suffered, Theseus was lucky to even survive to begin with.
For now, all Sir Integra's protege can do was sigh and close her eyes. "I see. It was a very reckless and very risky plan Theseus devised. But as much as I hate it, his tactics were admittingly quite efficient despite the several risks involved. It's likely due to dumb luck that he managed to pull through." Meredith spoke in the evaluation of Theseus' plan. She praised Theseus for his taking the most reckless and dangerous task all by himself, something close to his teacher's level.
Nevertheless, she couldn't praise the fact that he hadn't prepared for possible foreign elements to the plan but she couldn't judge him for that since she had made that mistake herself during that shinto meeting.
Maria took this as a sign to nod her head before quickly walked towards Theseus and squatting in front of him. Mio glanced at Maria with no hatred but understanding, knowing full well why Maria had to follow Zolgear's orders like this.
Briefly closing her eyes, the redhead then opened them when she remembered one crucial fact, something that she needed to report to her teacher.
Apparently said teacher had an inkling of this, as Meredith had already looked at her after Mio shifted her attention to her. "There is also another matter. After you returned from that castle, you told me that you had the pleasure of meeting your father correct? The lord of evil itself?"
"?!"
"What?"
"Did I hear that correctly?"
"Nya! The spooky guy?!"
"What the?"
"The devil itself?"
Several comments and surprised reactions were heard throughout the office.
Vali and Kuroh widened their eyes in shock, quickly losing their previous poses to lean forward, their stunned dismay evident towards the newfound interest they had in this conversation.
Arthur almost stepped back, looking like he'd been surrounded by ghostly demon nuns who wanted to possess him.
Kuroka jumped from the couch, her back arched upward like a cat.
Karasuma and Hijikata almost fell from their own couch had it not been for Shelia who helped keep them steady.
At all the attention now suddenly focused on her, Mio wiggled around in discomfort before she nodded her head in confirmation. "Yes…..I have." she replied, her voice barely above a whisper.
With this confirmation, Meredith got up from her seat and walked around her desk looking like she had just come out from a meeting with someone she wanted to squash like a bug. "How in Gods name is he still alive? Several witnesses from during the great war specifically saw him perish during the battle with God in the Umbrial plains." Narrowed her eyes while facing the rest of the group. Before shifting her attention to Maria again. "You told me that Mio is Satan's direct daughter when she should've been hundreds of years old but doesn't look anywhere near that age. I know it because Michel was able to identify her age." Meredith had her aura out in intimidation. "What secrets are you hiding succubus?"
Here it was, the moment of truth that she had been afraid would come for some time now. Maria had a conflict expression on her face. She felt torn about whether to tell her the truth or avoid from telling them, mostly since this information pertained not only to Maria and her mother, but her entire family. By family, she meant a family large enough to also be considered a 'clan' like that of the 72 Pillars. The information surrounding Mio's origins, something that not even the girl herself completely knew of, could very well shake the world's foundations to their core as well as condemn her family (no, she'd rather call it a 'clan' considering how little help they provided her and her mother after a certain incident).
But, in the end she didn't want to lie to these people anymore, Maria honestly felt tired and sick of keeping all these secrets to herself. Even as she idly glanced at her poker face-wearing mother, Maria briefly closed her eyes and exhaled deeply. This was it, this would be the moment that Mio's true past was revealed and she would likely be condemned along with her entire clan. Nevertheless, she didn't feel nearly as bad about it as she should have, something Maria noted to herself making her think that she was simply doing this out of spite for those who only watched them suffer. Them being herself, Mio and her mother.
Just when she was about to take a deep breath, Sheila interupts her. "Perhaps I can explain it." gettin up from the couch, she walks forward in ladylike with her hands interlocked before stopping at Meredith desk. She glance at Maria. "You weren't born at that time but I know you only know of it partially. I can explain it more better."
Briefly looking like she wanted to object, in the end Maria nodded her head in acceptance.
Now that she had pacified her daughter with her 'mom gaze', Sheila paid attention to everyone in the room.
"..."
She stayed silent for a while, not speaking a word for a while before Sheila finally spoke. "When Satan, our lord was on the verge of defeat thousands of years ago, he refused to accept death so easily, especially from the hands of his nemesis the God of the Bible. So he devised something else. A plan to sire a child of his own to ensure his line continued. Satan conceived Mio by capturing and raping her mother, a human woman from one of the villages his forces had razed to the ground. Records of her have since been lost to time." She began, knowing this to be one of the more brutal parts of the story, especially for the one in question.
Both Vali AND Kuroh started radiating killing intent when they heard that, killing intent that got shared with the rest of the group while Mio looked on in horror at what she had been born from.
Although, she couldn't say that she was surprised considering who her father was. Perhaps deep down she had been hoping that she at least came from a happy union, only for that little fantasy to be ruthlessly crushed by reality.
After being gestured to continue by Meredith, Shelia did so. "He made sure she had inherited his power by infusing her with a portion of his own. This would guarantee that her power would be LEAGUES above that of other Hybrids of her kind, even the so-called monstrously powerful Lucifer. What you all saw her do back there was merely a fraction of its full might, thanks to her only being recently awakened. In time, her power would be one of the things which the Power of Destruction wouldn't be able to effect, not even Sirzechs's when she grows accustomed to using it. Furthermore, her power's growth would be exponential, and by the time her teenage years hit she would be able to sink continents with ease." Shelia explained.
Now THIS stunned everyone into silence as they regarded Mio with weariness, something which she honestly couldn't blame them for no matter how much it stung her.
According to her history lessons, Sirzechs was amongst some of the top 10 strongest beings in the world with the other three Satans being quite the powerhouses in their own right. Heaven itself feared what would happen should any of them try to solo invade their realm, of which it had been calculated to be well within their power to do so. These beings held the power to shift entire continents and landmasses with their power, with the one called Serafall being capable of easily turning the entirety of Japan into a freezing tundra if she ever so desired.
So to hear that her power had the potential to match beings as monstrous as them in the future felt absolutely NUTS to her… and she couldn't even refute this since she herself had sensed the possibility after regaining control over herself. During the fight with Zolgear, Mio had gotten the distinct impression that there was much more to her power than she could see on the surface. If she had that much power, and Satan had successfully possessed her…
The redhead shuddered at the carnage that could have followed, especially at the thought of a second great war between the three factions.
Looking down at her lap, Shelia's frown deepened. "One problem arose however, and that was the fact that Satan got tipped off by one of his spies within the enemy ranks, someone who I distinctly recall originated from the Astoroth Clan, that the original Satans and God were going to ally themselves temporarily to take him on, which made him even more paranoid than he usually was. Although Satan could certainly be a match for them and come out victorious at that point of the war, the ensuing battle would certainly take a lot out of him and he wasn't sure of his chances of survival post that fight. He had been aware that God could be a crafty foe when he wanted to be and didn't want to risk being victimized by whatever plans he concocted."
"Astaroth…" Lars scowled at the mention of that name, which got shown completely thanks to his lack of a mask. It may not be something he was entirely used to yet, but the thought of that family line didn't sit well with him. Worse still he heard of a Devil from that clan who had been almost notorious for seducing and violating nuns as a part of some sick fetish he had, and although he had never met this person Lars felt grateful for that.
Shelia apparently knew who he was thinking of too, judging by how her eyes briefly darkened at the mention of that name before she returned to her previous demeanor. "Being even more paranoid than before when he'd created this child to ensure that the world would still fear him through the said child, Satan decided to speed up her development within the womb using his power and…" At this part she REALLY grew squeamish, holding her hands over her abdomen where a SPECIFIC organ lay within her. An organ which gave her so much pleasure and joy. "...then rip the child out of her mother's said bodypart, killing the mother."
…
…
…
…
…
…
"...Ok, that's messed up." Hijikata whispered in stunned disbelief whilst Karasuma looked like he wanted to smoke right now from all the shit he had just heard about Devils. He began to feel stupid for even feeling sorry for them if their progenitor was capable of doing shit like this.
All the women in the room collectively shuddered and held their abdomens, even Maria who held that area with a gained look on her face as memories of certain Devils played through her mind. Devils who she knew DEFINITELY would have done that if she had gotten impregnated by them, something she'd taken steps in ensuring never happened.
The older succubus nodded her head in complete agreement. "I agree, such a fate does not need to befall anyone. As a mother myself, I feel sympathy for that poor soul, may she rest in peace. As for Satan, he finally sealed Mio away within a pocket dimension, one which he built to last and nourish the child until she came of age, like a makeshift womb. Inside this dimension, time for her would be slowed incredibly so by the time she DID turn into her teenage self, thousands of years will have passed since his demise and thus, Satan believed that knowledge of him would have long since left the minds of other factions. Then, she was intended to be infused with his knowledge and his purpose, so she would continue where he left off in case he were to somehow be defeated."
Leaning back on her desk, placing her backside against its edge, Meredith hummed in thought as she cupped her chin with her right hand. "I'm assuming then that Satan indeed got defeated, but the location of his child remained an unknown mystery to everybody." she mused, getting a nod from Shelia.
"You are correct, lady Meredith. At that point, nobody was aware of said child's existence... save for one family. A family of Succubuses. That's us." she revealed, gesturing to herself and Maria. "Our family of succubi, or rather a clan considering how big it's gotten, were some of the most loyal retainers to Satan during the great war. We acted as his special forces, his assassins, his agents, everything to do with manipulation or sabotage we were experts at due to our abilities to entice the other side. It's one of the reasons why we have the reputation that we do." she explained, thinking back to the times when she had been a little girl many centuries ago when she had been reading books about her ancestors.
The things that they had accomplished her, although slightly exaggerated like any wartime hero in history (looking at the finish 'white death' over there) had stunned her as someone growing up in an era in which no Succubi had come remotely close to matching.
Pulling herself out of her reverie, Shelia's gaze lightened a little although it remained grim. "Originally, the Succubi were exceptionally loyal to Satan, believing in his cause and thus, would guard the dimension Mio resided in till she would be ready to wreak havoc in her father's name. However, as time passed and new generations took place of the old, their ideologies began to shift as well, changing to instead wanting to protect Mio from the harshness of the world as well as ensure that she would never adhere to her father's purposes. I myself aligned with this ideology, especially when I became a mother for the first time. Though some still believed in Satan's cause which would cause conflict within the family of succubi."
Vali scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Tch, yeah I can see it. Times change and ideas also change. But one constant thing in this shitty world is that war never truly changes." He commented, getting nods of agreement from the rest of them. He even had to hold an arm out to keep Kuroka from ravishing him like she usually did.
For a moment, Shelia stopped speaking as her expression turned increasingly conflicted. This drew everyone's attention back to her as the woman debated on how to word this next part. Fortunately, this didn't take very long and Shelia started up again. "That is until one day, when out of nowhere Mio's power grew increasingly violent and uncontrollable. So much so that it ripped a hole right through Satan's pocket dimension, through time and space itself. Although by this time, the dimension had begun to weaken thanks to the power of time, Satan may have intended for it to last but he wasn't good enough with time/spatial magic. As a result, Mio slipped out into the world... but as a small girl, not her teenage self."
"?!"
"Huh?!" Now THIS finally caused Mio to snap as the bucketload of information drove her to the breaking point. The redhead stood up from her seat and gestured towards the succubus with a frustrated look on her face. "Now hold on a moment, didn't you say I was in stasis for like hundreds of years? Then how the heck did I come out as a baby instead of you know, an adult?" she exclaimed.
Her question pretty much parroted everyone else's thoughts, as Arthur himself clutched his chin and tried to come up with an answer "Spatial magic, by my own experience, is inherently fickle and can often lead to unintended consequences. Our understanding of such magic has increased over the centuries, but it must have been barely understood back then." he mused, thinking about the studies he had to undertake before taking on the role of wielding Caliburn.
"It is as you say, young man. And Mio my dear, your confusion is absolutely justified. In fact, this caused QUITE the confusion throughout the succubi family, with many trying to figure out why Mio apeared the way that she had since they had calculated that Mio would have been a preteen already. One of them correctly assumed that Satan injecting his power into his unborn child may have been the cause, for that kind of power on top of her already impressive amount, combined with her unnatural birth, meant that Mio's body would need more time to get accustomed to it, hence why her development would take longer than expected." she explained.
Kuroka hummed thoughtfully as she finally interjected into the conversation. "Ohhhh, I think I get it. Its like someone already struggling to hold a lot of weight up suddenly having more on top of it. They would need time to steady themselves and regain their balance." she summarized.
This earned a nod of understanding from Meredith as Kuroh furrowed his brow. "That makes sense, its also similar to my Gravity power. Normally people would have to walk while exposed to earth's gravity, which they can do so with ease. But add in my own and they have to take a while to adjust." he commented, looking over to the Succubus. "I assume then that this interrupted the aging process?"
Shelia nodded. "Indeed, and because of it Mio had been freed from her 'womb' as a young baby, unable to tell what was around her. This created a problem for the succubi who struggled to decide what to do with her. These complications meant that they wouldn't be able to use her to fulfuil her father's desires like he had intended when starting all of this, whereas some didn't care and wanted to turn her into a mindless killer anyways. However, this didn't sit well with the newer generations of Succubi in the family, resulting in a civil war between the two which wiped the majority of them out, leaving few remaining."
NOBODY got surprised by that info, each of them had well and truly accepted that wars could be fought for petty if not stupid reasons. Heck there was even one war that almost happened between the US and the UK over the shooting of a damn PIG of all things.
"In the end, it was decided for Mio to be left in the care of a pair of foster parents in the human world while the succubi keep a watchful eye on her from the shadows, making sure to keep her unaware of the supernatural world till she was ready. They even inserted false memories into her so she would believe herself human to better assimilate into their world. Eventually, Maria would be chosen to serve as Mio's bodyguard who would be there to guide her on her path to becoming what her father had wanted of her: the herald of ultimate destruction and chaos."
Mio blinked several times at this, slowly sitting back down as the influx of knowledge that her memories were actually fabricated wipd out what traces of anger and frustration remained within her. "My memories… were a lie…?" she whispered, looking down at her lap in sheer shock, unable to comprehend what she had learned. Her parents, her home, her life, everything that she had regarded as normal had been founded upon a simple lie generated by the supernatural world.
She felt… gross. She felt sick. She just HATED the fact that this world just LOVED to screw with her.
Seeing the state that the redhead had been reduced to, Maria quickly sped over to assure her things were alright, but it wasn't like Mio was having took a good while for Mio to calm down, but the way her gaze looked showed just how much damage that had been done.
"Unfortunately, things turned sour once again, because a certain Devil we have had our… fair share of experiences with, got wind of all of this through his many liaisons with one of the older generations of succubi during the civil war. He eventually tracked down and found Mio's location alongside the potential she had inside of her. Thus, he sent minions to try and capture her by force, to bring her back to him so he could steal that power for his own ends. Naturally, her human parents resisted till the end and wound up getting killed as a result. From there, Maria was told to make herself known to Mio and they escaped together, becoming runaways for the next set of five years."
"And here we are now." Vali stated, referring to their current dilemma.
Sheila was silent, neither did she refuse nor rebuke Vali for the situation they were currently in right now. The rest of Hellsing did not know what to say either, having been caught speechless thanks to everything that had been revealed. The revelations surrounding Mio's true birth stunned all of them into this intense, uncomfortable silence, like the titanic hitting an ice berg.
This was the type of secret that needed to be kept hidden from the world so it didn't cause the ramifications that it potentially would cause, especially when one considered how many wanted to cause a new Great War within EVERY faction. Not just the Devils, but the Angels and Fallen Angels. Each of them could very well imagine it, the Devils would claim something similar to the American 'manifest destiny' bullcrap by proclaiming their right to dominate the world and the underworld due to their progenitor still being around in the form of his child.
The Angels could make any claims they wanted about Mio being too dangerous of a threat before she could even defend herself, condemning her when she'd hardly even known about the supernatural. It would be like the countless human crusades against 'enemies of god' only on a more biblical scale, Heaven would stop at NOTHING to ruin everything Mio ever loved, labelling her as the villain to make themselves look better.
Heck the Fallen Angels could do the same as the Angels, while also adopting the manifest destiny mentality of the Devils due to their innate belief in their own superiority. This belief mostly came from the fact that they were like a mix between Devils and Angels in a way, as while they could still use light powers from their purer counterparts, there was a little known fact about Fallen Angels that separated them from normal ones: their affinity for corruption. In short terms, Fallen Angels could potentially wield 'other' means of power that normal Angels would be poisoned by. This had inflated their already massive ego upon discovering this during the Great War, hence why they had a stronger sense of imperialism compared to the other two Factions.
Sitting on her desk in a more proper, ladylike manner akin to the motherly Succubus, Meredith placed her hands on her lap while angling her stocking-clad, high heel-wearing legs to the side. The auburn haired woman could see why Maria was so insisting in avoiding the truth about the redhead girl and boy she was regretting it right now. Sometimes when she wondered IF she was capable of being a leader like her teacher, this could come up as one of the mistakes she had made. One of the lessons was to never dwindle amidst a dangerous situation beyond one's reach because if one stared too much into the abyss, it stared back at them.
However, no one was more shocked than Mio herself. She just didn't know what to think about all this anymore. The truth about her age and how she was literally thousands of years old chronologically (If she was, she wondered what she looks like if she's older) and how her childhood life was all just a lie. From her birth, to her entire life up till her current situation she actually was connected with the supernatural all her life.
But even through all the feelings inside of her that she couldn't sort out quite yet, Mio gathered what courage that remained within her and asked one last question. Something that had been plaguing her mind since this whole thing began. "Can you tell me….who my mother was?" She asked Sheila, she wondered if her mother loved her.
Sheila moth formed a thin line before she spoke but in a weary tone. "I know very little of your mother Mio, no one save for most of the eldest Succubi knows who she was. But from little records of what Satan wrote…..." She stops for a while as if she didn't wanted to say but she forces herself to speak. "You probably know her from the bible as…..The Whore of Babylon."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...Oh. Well, shit." No one spoke save for Vali said anything. Each of them knew VERY well what that title meant and with Vali saying similar to Mio… one could wonder sometimes if fate was fucking with the poor girl.
But yeah, it became pretty obvious that the group feeling was now quite complex right now.
Kuroh shook his head in tiredness and disgust at what Mio's mother was called, the whore of Babylon. As much as the title revolted him, he could see Satan picturing her as such considering who he was but the man could only BEGIN to imagine how this would affect Mio's life in the future. Worse, he shuddered at the thought of what THESEUS would do when hearing this, if someone were to call the redhead that in front of him… he could very well imagine how the pain and torture he inflicted upon Devils would be like a BLESSING in comparison.
Kuroka had a stoic expression but she knew what the word whore meant, almost insulting and something most women take offense to, spreading their legs for other men and doing debauchery. It didn't help that the majority of the supernatural world valued strength and there were many women who acted like such when trying to attract mates of such power. Even she herself had acted in such ways in the past, especially when she entered heat during her mating seasons.
Meredith really wished she didn't indulged into these secrets, learning things she shouldn't know. Her cigarette was almost running out due to how much she's smoking now and her head-turning sideways. Hijikata really has no time to deal with this shit and wanted to leave, get drunk and forget all this.
Karasuma, who just recently joined the supernatural, now knew what the weapons dealer had meant by even a strong-willed man can become broken the longer he's in the supernatural. This shit… he'd seen shit like this before back when he was working as a soldier in the military, so he knew that seeing this enough would break a man. At least, he had thought he'd known enough to prepare himself for whenever he got exposed to it… turned out that wasn't nearly as true as he'd hoped.
Arthur and Lars kept their emotions very well hidden behind their usual poker faces due to their experiences and demeanor, but there was a slip of expression from their mouths almost turning into frowns in sympathy towards what Mio's mother had gone through that led to her ultimate unfortunate fate.
For Maria…..well she got up from her seat and said the following. "May I be excused Meredith?" she asked the auburn hair girl permission to leave, her tone flat and completely unlike what she usually expressed.
Though not blaming her for this in the slightest, an understanding Meredith waved her hand. She may not have looked like she was paying attention, but one could just look behind the gaze within her eyes to see her understanding towards what Maria is going through. "Your excused."
Almost like a switch had been flipped, Maria instantly walked to the door, twisted the doorknob to open it before exiting out of the room, leaving the group behind.
Hellsing rooftop
After having escaped the suffocating atmosphere that she could hardly bear anymore, Maria had retreated to one of the few places she could think of for some peace and quiet: the Hellsing building's rooftop. Casting her gaze towards the afternoon scenery, her hair fluttering due to the wind, Maria inhaled as much air into her lungs before exhaling it deeply, relishing in the freshness it provided her. Sometimes when people are a building rooftop they have a sense of calmness or like viewing the scenario, a sense of similarity.
She stretched her gaze across the view before her before her eyes slowly shifted downwards, so did her head as well to reflect the rising guilt bubbling within her chest. '...Darnit… The way Mio looked back then… it's all my fault…' the Succubus thought with a slightly trembling lower lip.
Thinking back, she shouldn't have allowed herself to be controlled by Zolgear, if she hadn't then Theseus wouldn't have gotten hurt and Mio would have spent her life without the knowledge of her true origins. Yet the stuff Theseus had gone through had just as big an impact on her as the way her charge had been rattled by everything. That scar on his face, it all came from her own selfish desire to rescue her mother from captivity. The image of the said male's unconscious form pushed itself into existence within her mind, making the Succubus wish she should've disobeyed the blonde's order and come rescue him the exact MOMENT that Zest had inserted herself into the situation. But her logical side argued that she couldn't have even if she did know of the woman's intentions. If there had been even the slighted hint of any betrayal from her end, then Zolgear would've done something horrific to her mother.
He may have never specified WHAT he would do to her, but the old Devil didn't need to. The threat alone was more than enough.
Inner dilemma and inner conflict raged violently within her mind, so much so that her brain threatened to explode into the mother of all headaches as the Succubus gnashed her teeth together. Her eyes begun to sting as she tightly shut them, amidst the slight wetness massing within them.
What should she have done? How could she have prevented this from happening? Disobey Theseus order and prevent Zest from smashing the boulder on his face, but allowing her mother to suffer? Did she make the right choice of following Theseus's instructions to the latter?
"Its not your fault Maria. You don't need to blame yourself."
Suddenly, Maria sharply lifted her head with eyes wider than saucers when she heard a familiar voice. She abruptly glanced behind her towards the rooftop entrance so fast her head could have snapped off, seeing Mio having entered the scene while she had been un her own thoughts.
The redhead stared at her for a second before strolling over to stand beside her and look out towards the scenery before the two of them.
This baffled the Succubus, but she did do the same thing as her charge.
It was like this for a while before Maria finally spoke. "If you have something to say against me, now is the time Mio."
Mio shook her head in response. "I don't have anything to say against you Maria. You did what Theseus told you." She whispered under her breath, though thanks to the silence surrounding them and her supernatural hearing Maria heard every word.
Looking down at the ground again, Maria remembered hearing what had happened from Zest herself when she reported the incident to Zolgear. She'd gotten no clue as to how bad it had actually been till she'd seen the damage done for herself. "He shouldn't have had his face crushed by that homunculus bitch. It was going so well until she brought out that big rock." Maria sneered under her breath.
Mio glanced towards her, noting the way that her companion had started slightly trembling. "No one even knew she was going to be there Maria. We're not able to predict the future." She explained, trying to reason with Maria using the point of view of a tactician. She'd learned it from Meredith, that plans usually didn't pan out the way one expected them to. There was always going to be a risk factor involved.
That did NOT sit well with the Succubus however, proven when she made the following statement in an eruption of emotion. "But we should've! I didn't want Theseus to suffer because of my incompetence! I should've been there, with him at his side." she raged, memories of what happened after Theseus had left returning to the forefront of her mind.
It had been like a whole switch had been flipped inside her noggin. All the sadness, rage and frustration she'd boied up inside exploded into a raging, wrathful firestorm that got reflected in the gaze she sported and aimed towards Zest. Apparently the rage had been so immense that it even caught that hommunculus creation of Zolgear's off guard, something she'd taken a bit of twisted satisfaction as Maria had literally WIPED THE FLOOR with her ass. Her emotions ran high, making her ignore any and all wounds that Zest managed to inflict upon her, allowing her to return them with 10 times the force and damage. One could say she acted less like a Succubus and more like a vengeful spirit, like those spirits of scorned women who dragged men to their graves as a form of revenge against their unfaithful partners.
By the end of it Zest had been barely recognizeable, beaten to a bloody pulp that she'd then teleported back to Hellsing's dungeon. That was where she was currently, awaiting judgement from an organization not known for mercy. It was a fate she deserved, as far as the Succubus cared.
Eyes softening as she heard how fragile, weak and helpless Maria's voice was, Mio turned to face her completely whilst ignoring the scenery for the moment. "If you didn't follow his instructions Maria, Zolgear would've done unspeakable things to your mother. I don't blame you for when you kidnapped me or causing Theseus to be scarred for the rest of his li-"
"But you should!" Unable to contain it any longer, Maria shouted at the top of her lungs, glancing over to Mio whose eyes shot wide open like dinner plates. Especially when she noticed the tears building in the corners of her eyes amidst the angry yet distraught expression she wore, completely out of character for her. Just went to show how badly her screwup had affected her mentality. "I almost caused Satan to return to the world! Almost caused the genocide of billions of people and I would have been the cause of the total destruction of many civilizations! It would've been…..all my fault, Mio. All of it would have been because of me." At this point, Maria couldn't stay standing any longer, it felt nothing like her current feelings. Standing tall didn't represent how weak she felt right now, so to rectify that the Succubus bent down and curled herself into the fetal position, whispering to herself the following words. "How am I supposed to rest easy when I almost unleashed chaos onto the world?"
Mio stared silently down at her companion, somewhat struggling to comprehend the sight before her. Satan's daughter could easily tell Maria was blaming herself for everything that has happened to both her and Theseus. Not just them but also to the entirety of Hellsing, since because of her they had practically stumbled into a potentially cataclysmic crisis if they didn't handle it properly. From what she'd heard, this was actually Meredith's first shot at actually leading a branch of the organization, and yet something THIS big had fallen onto her lap right after the massive fallout between her and Theseus. One could only imagine the stress piling on the woman's shoulder right.
"You should be able to rest easy girl. Don't try and be like a sad wimpy bitch."
"?!"
Right as Mio felt like throwing in the towel for the time being after being unable to think of a way to cheer Maria up, a muscular voice spoke from behind the two girls filled with nonchalant annoyance. It was very familiar to the duo, with both girls widening their eyes before Maria sharply turned her head 90 degrees. 'That voice… its…!'
Because of this, Maria and Mio saw the familiar visage of Theseus standing close to the entrance, his coat fluttering in the light breeze whilst his hands were pocketed inside his pants. He honestly didn't look all that different save for his mask that was placed on his face, in fact the dude just strutted like he owned the change.
Maria widened her eyes at his sight before sadness resumed dominance over her features "Theseus…..I-"
"Tut-tut-tut…" making some sounds similar to clock ticking, the male put his right hand up to stop her from speaking further. "Shut up for a moment and let me say something." he bluntly said to he, walking up to the duo and stopping on the opposite side of the Succubus. His hands moved inside his coat pockets, keeping his coat fluttering in the breeze.
For a moment nobody spoke, until the male addressed the Succubus without glancing down at her. "Do you know why I asked you to continue with the instruction and allowed myself to suffer?" Theseus asked her before he said his own answer. "Its because I did not wanted you to lose your family, your mother to suffer your consequence. I understand why you were planning for a potential betrayal, family comes first before anyone else." he told her.
Having just recently awoken from his time as an unconscious strain on the Hellsing healthcare system, much to his internal humiliation, Theseus had quickly asked what had happened to Mio and Maria after he'd received the rundown about what he'd missed. Fortunately, Maria had already told him a lot of it before this shit started, but the blanks had been filled in by her mother.
Still didn't excuse the behavior he was seeing now, though it wasn't unexpected for him since he'd predicted this would happen when he'd learned from the others where she had gone.
Another emotional outburst erupted from her as Maria shot up to her feet once more. "But I almost condemned the world Theseus! I almost caused Satan's ressurectio-"
"Who gives a shit about the world? You barely know anyone in this god forsaken planet, and you feel down just because of some uneasy feelings about dying innocents? Innocents that haven't actually died? Hah! Everyone dies in this world, Maria. We're in the worst part of the world where the strong live and the weak die. Innocents die as casualties of war or, in most cases, if they were on our way." Theseus snapped, his voice stern, cold and harsh like the arctic waters of the north pole.
Maria looked at Theseus bewilderment, before she spoke. "You sound like you give a shit about who gets to live or die." she remarked in confusion… and a little unnerving anxiety.
The male merely shrugged his shoulders at this observation. "Meh, comes with surviving in this death world covered by a layer of ecchi bullshit." Theseus immediately answered Maria. "My master Alucard slaughtered countless 'innocents' that got in his way, because he knows that not everyone in this world is innocent. He installed this lesson into my very brain: we don't choose who lives or who dies. In the human world, you live out your life easy while knowing you won't die any time soon, but there is also the worst side of humanity that many unfortunately experience. That goes for the supernatural as well. Its a doubled-sided coin, girl."
Theseus stopped his rant due to being out of breath, inhaling and exhaling deeply before looking out towards the horizon. "The point is, that you had to think selfishly in order to achieve what you wanted most. Yourself, your mother, selfishness isn't inherently a bad thing in fact it's a part of nature, both human AND in the animal kingdom. You'll stop at nothing until your mother is safe and sound." Theseus stop for a moment before he spoke once more. "You didn't want your mother to die, and to be frank I respect that."
"But I didn't want you to-"
"Maria." Once again Theseus stopped her, putting his hand on the succubus's head, turning his attention to her so she could see his mask-covered face. "I don't hate you, I don't despise you. I'm not a hypocrite who believes that you ruined my face. I planned this out and knew there were still risks. It was reckless, sure and Meredith will probably lecture me to hell about that, but at least we saved your mother, got rid of Zolgear and hell Mio got a huge boost to her arsenal thanks to that new form of hers." he tilted his head to Mio. "I'm not going to say I hate you, instead I'm thanking you for doing your part as per my instruction. Without you, none of this would've happened NEARLY as smoothly. Remember what I said before, family comes first as always." he finished his lecture.
Maria stared at Theseus face for a while, eyes beginning to release tears as she felt her depression slowly ebbing away. In it's place, she felt the warm touch of happiness, joy and relief.
The words that came out of Theseus's mouth felt like a calming ocean, a relaxing sensation born from tranquil waters. Her mouth slowly formed from a thin line into a smile, apparently those words had been instrumental in lifting her mood.
If that wasn't enough, then the home run came when Mio added one last comment from her end of things. "Don't feel so down Maria. Me, Theseus and the rest of Hellsing are with you. You don't have to hide anything anymore….Well except for some secrets." she puts her head at the side with some uneasy emotion before shaking them and continued to speak. "Just remember. We're with you the whole time."
This has finally broke the camel's back for the Succubus, the girl bursting into tears after trying for several seconds to hold them back. In an instant, she threw her arms around Mio's body arm and leaned against her shoulder, wailing her eyes out to release all the pent up emotions smouldering inside of her.
Mio, understandably, looked surprised and bewildered by this sudden and unexpected action from her companion. This didn't last long however, as her eyes softened like a mother hen overseeing her young, prompting Mio to put her arms around the girl and hug her back, dropping any previous pretenses to support her fellow girl.
Standing off to the side, Theseus suddenly felt like a third party as he shuffled awkwardly on the spot, not being used to such a pointlessly sappy melodrama. Was this how girls usually acted with one another? This shit seemed way too much like what he'd seen in those magical girl shows that Kuroka sometimes watched, forcing Vali and him to watch too… the two of them being tricked into being in the vicinity by Kuroh most of the time. Of course the duo got their payback every time it happened, but still.
'Would have figured she tried to make a move on me or something like that… bah, whatever. As long as she's going to be doing better through all of this shit then its all good…' Theseus thought to himself, looking to the side to hide the smile of satisfaction that formed on his lips. His job here had been completed, so he didn't mind simply heading off back to his room for some shut eye, or perhaps he could go do some training real quick.
However, before he could do anything else…
"?!"
In an instant, two arms shot out and grabbed onto him by his shoulders. One came from Mio and the other came from Maria, the two girls quickly yanking the male back to them and into their embrace to make it a three way hug.
Immediately, Theseus' face turned redder than a tomato at the sudden physical contact, his form practically frozen in place.
'Holy fucking shit…I'm so fucking glad the boys aren't here to see this, they'd never let me live this down…'
Theseus didn't know what to do when he was hugged by both sides. This is like some romantic comedy films Kuroka watched sometimes or when he was at a movie theater to watch those whole scenes where the vampire was said to strike against couples during the cinematic movie…mostly as a punishment for losing a bet against his homies.
Normally it would be like some wimpy cowards who just doesn't know what to do when they are hugged unexpectedly to the point where they couldn't respond to the girls' actions. Such actions would make him look like a whole ass unappealing, unattractive beta male to make them more of a blank slate for lonely 13 year olds who want to imagine themselves in that slate's position.
But not this guy.
A couple seconds into the hug, Theseus' brain rebooted as he hardened his eyes. 'Oh fuck it. I'm not going to let this rattle me...' He thought, immediately responding to the situation by hugging the girls back. His arms wrapped around the backs of each girl's neck, resting on their shoulders to add his own contributions to the three way hug.
They stayed like this for a while, enjoying each others warmth though for Theseus, his is cold due to being unconscious for a while. Yet that cold began to rapidly ebb away to be replaced by the combined warmth. During this whole thing, Theseus glanced towards each girl before looking towards the horizon. 'You know…..this doesn't feel bad alright. This almost feels like…mothers.'
Flashbacks of images of when he was young and his mother hugged him played in his mind, making a tired and weary expression appear on his face. He does not push them away and instead tightened his hug and noting how the girls did the same.
This feeling was just like when he enjoyed his mothers hugs.
How he missed her even after so long…
'Mom.'