Hellsing Fan Fiction / Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Beyond Mortal Blood ❯ Takatori, Takatori! ( Chapter 7 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: sadak0 
"You are."
"Don't allow him to become a weakness. He may be immortal, but that does not mean he cannot be used against us, and you, in other ways. This so called ‘punk' is one of the keys in the project that Estet is in charge of. He knows a bit too much about you, and about this organization. Unlike you, he feels pain and could easily have the information tortured out of him if he were captured."
Alucard chuckled, "He's much too stubborn for that."
Integra's stony expression lit up with anger. "An eternity is a long time to remain stubborn, Vampire. You forget that."
Anime/Manga: Hellsing Fan Fiction / Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Hentai / Action / Romance | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 04.21.2006 | Updated On: 06.08.2006 | Pages: 4 | Words: 10.0K | Visits: 724 | Status: Work In Progress
"You are."
"Don't allow him to become a weakness. He may be immortal, but that does not mean he cannot be used against us, and you, in other ways. This so called ‘punk' is one of the keys in the project that Estet is in charge of. He knows a bit too much about you, and about this organization. Unlike you, he feels pain and could easily have the information tortured out of him if he were captured."
Alucard chuckled, "He's much too stubborn for that."
Integra's stony expression lit up with anger. "An eternity is a long time to remain stubborn, Vampire. You forget that."
Anime/Manga: Hellsing Fan Fiction / Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Hentai / Action / Romance | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 04.21.2006 | Updated On: 06.08.2006 | Pages: 4 | Words: 10.0K | Visits: 724 | Status: Work In Progress
Welcome back, our faithful readers! This is Kay here to bring you the next chapter of Beyond Mortal Blood. Now, unfortunately in this chapter, there is no AxA lovin'. Isn't that sad? I thought it was. However, this is an action packed installment, and I hope everyone enjoys it.
Sadako would like to apologize for any OoCness with Alucard, like she usually does, even though we're pretty sure she keeps him awesomely in character. And onto my notes.
Notes from Kay: Alright, with this chapter I'm going to say you're just going to have to go with the flow. There is some twisted stuff in this chapter, and I did some powerful manipulation to make Aya immortal in this crossover, and the fruit of my labors begin to appear in this installment. How, you're thinking? Well, get to reading!
Don't forget to review! We love feedback.
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Hours had passed, and finally, Alucard had risen from his sleep, position maintained perfectly. As he rose, a lock of hair fell into his eye, and he brushed it away nonchalantly, stretching and moving to onto his feet. He would have yawned, if he had needed to. He realised night time was most likely approaching now, and Integra would be sleeping soon, but perhaps Aya would be awake. If it not for the constant workouts he got by simply fighting, then Alucard's body might have ached from the sex, but instead, it felt rested, relaxed. He turned out of the room, not forgetting his hat. He fixed it on his head and shifted toward Seras' room, opening it without any expression on his face. He pulled upon her coffin with no effort, leaning down towards her face.
"Wake up," he murmured.
She stirred slightly, but only slightly.
The male Vampire leaned closer, his face millimeters from hers, and with a giant grin gracing his lips, hissed into her ear, "Wake up."
She jerked and opened her eyes, coming face-to-face with Alucard's blood red optics. Her expression faltered and Alucard straightened, cackling.
"The night is young, police girl! Make the most of it!" he called as he exited the room.
Alucard heard her moan in displeasure but ignored it. He was still disappointed that she sometimes had yet to come to terms with what she truly was – but there was always a Vampire like her every so often. Within moments, he found himself outside the punk's room, leaning against the door.
He contemplated last night. Or, rather, this morning. But he had always considered darkness night. If light had began to bleach the sky, then yes, it was becoming morning, but the birds had just started chirping when he had left. It was night. And it had been one of the greatest nights, in a long, long time. The blood and sex combined had been the closest to heaven he was getting. He contemplated opening the door as he had done Seras, but not even bothering, Alucard simply rapped on the door.
"Come," he ordered darkly, "death awaits."
The redhead stirred slightly from his lying state upon the bed. He had been deep in thought before Alucard had interrupted him. It was of no consequence, he had considered his situation into the ground, weighing it and observing it from every possible angle. He had separated the pros from cons of his condition, and the information was tucked away in his mind should he need to think of it again. Lithe movements allowed him to slip off the bed without a sound, and he tugged off the orange turtleneck he wore, favoring the sleeveless black garment he wore upon his missions.
Quietly he slipped on his boots, socks already donning his ivory feet. His next priority was looping his blade's sheath loosely upon his hip, finally drawing the heavy crimson trench over his shoulders. Deft fingers buckled it quickly, and he pulled open the door to "his" room. That was an idea that still unsettled him. So used was he to Japan that he perhaps had a case of homesickness, or it might only be that he wished to be by his sister's side once again. Violet eyes turned to gaze up at Alucard, brow arched lightly as he stepped past the man and out of the room. The gentle white hands slipped into the pockets of his coat. There. He was ready, and it had taken him little over seven minutes to get fully prepared.
"Hn."
Alucard snickered slightly, but his feet carried him up the stairs, creaking gently under his boots. The Vampire scaled the steps, and, figure erect, and upon reaching it twisted the knob to Integra's office. His hat removed respectfully, as always, when he entered, his signature smirk painted on his features. Alucard strode to her desk, and she waited there, patiently as always. She no longer needed to inform him of when a mission was to be assigned. No, it was just something he knew, whether it be from telepathy or any other frightening power he possessed. It was not a rare occasion that he would speak to Seras from within her mind, and at first, it bothered her, but now Alucard believed it had simply become second nature, as if she was slowly accepting her status as a draculina.
The Vampire smiled.
"Give me an order, my master," he spoke, voice low and smooth.
Integra, smiling slyly from beneath her spectacles, took a drag of her lit cigar and pushed forward a picture of a run-down building, an old shack.
"Our target resides here with an army of ghouls... a member of Parliament, it seems, sadly enough. Adam Lamb. The ghouls are obviously incredibly low in strength, so it's likely that the punk," she paused, icy blue eyes gleaming with mischief at Aya, "will be able to take out the majority of his supporters. The head Vampire is rumored to be notably stronger than the last target, Alucard."
The Vampire scoffed, frowning, "I certainly hope so."
His expression turned within a split second, fangs gleaming in a psychotic grin. "I've been dying for a good fight."
Integra's expression remained stony and she took another drag of her cigar.
"The shack is not far away. It's walkable." The woman relayed to them the coordinates, and finished with, "Now get out of my sight."
The Vampire merely smiled and turned, grabbing his hat on the way out.
"You heard the woman," he called to Aya. "Let's make a man into meat."
Aya followed after him, saying nothing as he walked behind the Vampire. It seemed punk was becoming a common nickname for him, and not only used by Alucard it seemed. No matter, it wasn't as if he went by his real name anyway. Though the chosen name Aya was used for a reason, it could still be thought of as a nickname. One hand reappeared from the folds of his coat, tapping against the ear piece. Quietly he spoke as a voice registered his signal, telling the agent on the line the coordinates, and abruptly his footsteps stopped.
Within his mind echoed a single name.
Takatori... Takatori.
That bastard Reiji had been located in that shack as well! His blood boiled at the simple thought of the man's pompous face, as he carelessly instructed his driver to run Aya-Chan down. The name fell from his lips, cold and distasteful, like he was trying to rid his mouth of poison. This trip would not be wasted, now he was sure of it. He would not let that man slip through his grasp again, and with Schwarz back in Japan and Crawford out of commission, he'd have no one to protect him from the assassin's wrath. Revenge would finally be his! The thought made him sick with some strange kind of pleasure, and he picked up his pace, now quite eager to get this mission started. Integra had been right, following the coordinates, the shack was not far off from Hellsing - a relief for the redhead about to implode with anger. To his left motion caught his eye, and in a fluid movement he had brandished his sword. A being moving so quickly, and whatever it had been had already entered into the shack.
Aya was not reckless as he slipped to the entrance, back pressed to a wall before he entered. It was dimly lit, and the violet eyes quickly readjusted to the poor lighting. About the space was littered crates collecting dust, and distinctly he felt upon him eyes. Many of them. But there was only one man that he was searching for, and after a bit of stealth searching, he'd located him with a man Aya had seen in Integra's office in the form of a photo. There it was - proof that Takatori was in on this conspiracy, but that was no surprise. Slightly concerned that he had not already been attacked, he took a moment to consider something was amiss... He dashed to the side, silver blade catching a thin beam of light breaking through a high window. The flicker of brightness brought Takatori to his attention, looking around nervously.
"Takatori..." the redhead growled, amethyst eyes gleaming with murderous intent.
"Takatori!" he howled, leaping from his vantage point upon the man, forcing him away from the target as he drove his sword through his gut.
"Crawford!" the man shouted, voice desperate. "Help me!"
A low chuckle escaped from a shadow as the man bid stepped out.
"No, I think it's time our little assassin got his revenge. Besides, Estet no longer has a need for you."
Aya drew back, allowing the dying figure to slide down the wall, bleeding profusely.
"We knew bringing him here would heat your blood," Brad commented, smiling wickedly.
He glanced towards Adam, brows furrowing. "You will not touch him, do you understand me? If you want true immortality, you'll leave him alone. He's the key. Estet gave you this chance, do not disappoint them."
Alucard perked his head at Brad's words. So they were the ones fabricating Vampires? It had been his Master's mission for him, not specifically on this one, but mentioned to him much earlier. "Search and Destroy." And here they were in front of him, blatantly discussing their plans. Of course, he must obey his Master under every circumstance, regardless of Aya's feelings, which he knew would be ill towards him – after all, he was positive the young man desired to fight his own battles. However, the assassin's importance paled in comparison to Integra, whom he had served for ten years. The Vampire stepped forward, trench coat fluttering gently. His face wore a grin, teeth gleaming in the dim light, wet threads of hair sticking to the sides of his face.
"Crawford, is it? You work for the organization that is manufacturing FREAKs? Wonderful, my name's Alucard. I'll be the one who destroys you all. First, however," he announced, and with that, he pulled out Jackal, the black encasing of the gun ominous – spelling out death for all that opposed it.
His eyes lit up in madness as he fired it into Adam's head, one fluid movement, sending the man forward as blood covered the area surrounding him. The FREAK, however, refused to remain down and used his arms as leverage, forcing himself from the counter.
He called out to the Vampire in a ugly Cockney accent, "I'm stronger than the other ones! You cannot defeat me so easily!"
Alucard grinned. This is when they asked for it. He rushed forward, his movement a red blur, and reeled his arm backward, sending it forward with all the frightening strength he could muster within his body. His hand went through the man, causing him to scream in disgusting agony, the mortal body twitching in pain as Alucard pulled his arm from the center, sleeves and jacket covered in blood.
His grin was psychotic, as expected. The man looked up toward him, face twisted in pain. Alucard cackled derisively.
"What's wrong, Adam? Aren't you stronger than this? Transform your body! Heal your wounds! Grab a weapon and get up and fight!" he cried, echoing the words, "Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!"
Adam choked, blood dribbling from his mouth. "Bastard... monster..." he croaked.
Alucard merely smiled, and drove his elbow down, crushing the man's skull, turning the body to dust on the ground. The Vampire turned to face Brad, raising his gun. "You're next."
Aya was positioned carefully in front of Crawford, an invisible force holding him there.
"Am I really?" he inquired, brow arched. "Go ahead, empty your gun into Aya. He won't die." He glanced at the redhead, smirking. "Isn't that right, you immortal brat? You're just like that sister of yours. You don't know how to die, because you can't."
A young boy stepped from the shadows, followed by two other men - one's hair bright orange, the other's a steely grey. Violet eyes glared toward the black haired boy, who held him where he stood.
"Or, maybe you didn't know? Is this a surprise to you, Aya?" Schuldig drawled, slowly, laughing quietly.
The assassin remained quiet, no answer to their questions on his lips.
"Your little trick the other night was clever, but it was because of the blood in my mouth that we found out. And your mission to destroy FREAKs? How ironic that you're the missing piece to the puzzle. To hell with your sister. We don't need her if we have you."
Nagi cocked his head to the side, "Crawford, we should be going. The sooner we use him, the better, don't you think?"
Schuldig cocked his head to the side, grinning.
"Alucard, was your name? You look like you enjoy a good challenge. Don't worry, in a day or two every FREAK in England will be a challenge. They'll be just as strong as you are. All thanks to Aya."
He turned to the follow the rest of Schwarz out of the shack, insanely quick - it must have been him that Aya had seen entering.
Alucard frowned – actually frowned – but only for a moment. In fact, a grin was soon covering his face. They seemed cocky. Did they honestly think that any mortal could craft a Vampire powerful enough to conquer him? The sheer ridiculousness of it all. He contemplated a chase, but knew it would only end in failure (a word he did not particularly enjoy), as they had taken Aya with them and to attempt to find them in the millions of places they could have escaped to, with that speed, was a waste of his time. No, he had only allowed himself failure twice. The first being when he was sworn into the Hellsing family, the second was his attempt to break the contract – ending in his silence, his body tied to the walls of the cellar for twenty years. And the mere thought of failing as he did, when Van Hellsing and conquered him sent a tingle of anger through him. He twitched only slightly when remembering the intense pain of the stake shoved through his chest, near his throat.
There had been even a sharper, more immense pain when the man had ripped him forward, causing him to scream in agony as his body was torn apart due to the stake's augmentation in size at the end. He recalled the blood running down his face in hot thin rivers, the man screaming into his face as gasped for life.
"You have nothing left, Count!" Van Hellsing had hollered. "You poor ‘No-Life-King... You have nothing left."
Alucard lowered his eyes in anger and turned out of the shack, his feet carrying him back to his home. Schwarz had taken Aya with them but he found himself hardly putting a second thought to it. No, he was too absorbed in the past. He remembered the dream he had experienced a few years ago about that one moment in his life. At that time, he found it ridiculous that he still dreamt, but learned to accept it.
Still, the ones he did have were mostly empty and meaningless, like the one he had experienced on the plane when Aya awoke him. He considered it important that he was dreaming, yes, but the dream was certainly empty of meaning. Ah well. What was the use. Such nonsense. As he opened the doors to Hellsing, he made his way to Integra's office. The woman must have been sleepless. He removed his hat and stood, posture perfect as always, speaking with low, dark tones.
"The target was completely silenced – however, the punk was captured by another group – it appears Aya's acquaintances tie in with us more than we expected. His enemies are now our enemies, as there is a head organization – Estet, I believe – that is creating the FREAKs. And Aya is the key to perfecting the chip – he is immortal," his voice was utterly calm.
Integra smiled, "Naturally, you're not concerned."
"Of course not. No matter how they try to perfect immortality, they can never match my power," he said, grinning.
Integra had seen a demonstration of his power first hand and did not question him... she had known him for ten years, after all. She merely took a long drag of her cigar. "Very well. We'll start a search for them."
Alucard turned to leave and she added, "Alucard, I heard you laid waste to an entire building of armed guards."
The Vampire grinned. "You know that I don't back down from a fight," he chuckled.
Integra smirked. "Out of my sight." He took his hat, and soon, his form had disappeared from her office.
Aya was led though back streets, invisible fingers wrapped about his throat that dared him to try to escape. They might not be able to kill him, but they could certainly make living miserable. For most of the way, his eyesight was hindered from noting landmarks, should he escape from their hideaway. At his back remained a gun at all times, and he stayed silent.
"It's a pity we never thought to use you before," Schuldig commented, hands resting at the back of his head as he took the lead. "We might have saved ourselves several losses. And Crawford might have been spared his last ass-whooping."
A growl escaped the man behind Aya, for apparently the eldest member of Schwarz did not like being reminded that he'd lost.
"Cheer up, Crawford. You'll get your revenge."
Nagi let out a sigh, shaking his head. "Honestly. You two should be quiet. He's the enemy. Unless Estet plans to bring him over to our side."
He cocked a brow - that idea had merit. He'd have to mention it to Estet. At long last they arrived at their destination, pulling open a trap door to usher Aya in down below.
"Why are you so quiet? Are you still shocked that you're immortal?" the orange-haired man questioned, leading them down a corridor before taking another staircase further down into the complex.
Still Aya did not respond, eyes narrowed as he was placed before three people. They were old in age, but about them was a feeling of striking intelligence. These three were wise, and no plan went by them without being considered carefully.
"You must be the leader of Weiss," one began, gaze scrutinizing.
As the minutes rolled by without a reply from the man, they continued on. "It appears you're just what we need to perfect FREAKs, and consequently ensure that we might rule the world. Though, I must admit, no chip could ever create such pure immortality as your own... Perhaps even more perfect than true Vampires. Even they have to sacrifice their lives to become immortal. You. You merely lived, and were. However, we do need to test this theory. As such, Schwarz. Have at him. We shall see if he dies."
Violently Aya was thrown to the floor, and Schwarz upon him like a swarm. It first started with beating, Nagi hurling him into the wall with sheer thoughts, Farfarello brandishing his knives. The trench coat was thrown away from his shoulders, his shirt following. Deadly blades cut into the alabaster flesh, splashing blood against the tiled floor. Schuldig snickered, fingers pressing over his throat.
"It would seem as if our silent friend has been a Vampire's bitch," he stated, wickedly, hands moving down to smear the blood.
For a moment, to Aya, it seemed as if they had proven he would not die, but a bullet embedding into his shoulder told him otherwise. The shot was followed by another, until Crawford had emptied his entire magazine into the redhead. The bullets traced a fine path across his chest, bidding rivers of blood to mingle with the waterfall still cascading from the gash across his abdomen.
"Nagi, let him go. We want to see if he can stand," another member of Estet commanded.
Dutifully, the young boy released Aya, and he collapsed to the ground, coughing violently as blood poured from his lips. Truly his blood this time, there were no blood caps this time to trick them.
"Stand up," Crawford ordered, kicking the pale skinned assassin.
He barely moved.
"Boy, I suggest that if you don't want any further harm to come upon you that you stand up and prove your worth."
Aya, slowly, began to stir, arm reaching to the cracked stone of the wall - it had broken when his weight had been thrown against it - and with a great deal of effort he pulled himself to his feet, chest heaving painfully. Upon the floor, the blood was a pool, too much of it there for him to be standing and bleeding profusely still.
"Just as we thought..."
Alucard turned into Aya's room, after leaving Integra's office. Everything was how it was left, obviously, and the room seemed so serene despite what had taken place several hours earlier. The redhead was forced to abandon his things here. Left behind was the equipment such as the laptop, but anything that could be of Alucard's use to locate the punk was left behind – and he wasn't about to begin mindlessly searching for programs on the laptop to help him locate the assassin. Unless... He thought back to the night before (or was it this morning?), when he had been showering with Aya. Kritiker had heard everything through Aya's earpiece. The young man had yet to remove the tiny bit of technology, to his knowledge. Could that be used as a tracer, the key to Aya's location? Pulling the laptop onto his legs, he switched it on, reluctance in every movement. It was not something he truly felt like doing, as such work was usually given to Integra's other soldiers or employees, whatever one wanted to call them.
But what was the use, the quicker he was located, the quicker that the organization would be disestablished once and for all. Clicking around, it was simple for him to locate the program within the laptop, a rather blatant name. As he switched it on, it took him several moments to discover how to configure the damned thing, and as it clicked, he grinned slightly. On the screen was a familiar map, displaying the laptop's location with a bright red dot. Miles away was another bright dot, though this was green, blinking with a steady pulse. Alucard grinned. The punk was not an unreachable distance away, though not walkable, to his displeasure. Ah well. Taking note of the location, he switched off the laptop and left it on the bed, sauntering to Integra's office once more. The search would need to be canceled.
"My Master," he began as he entered, hat removed as usual, "you can stop the search."
She cocked a thin silver brow. "What do you mean?" she asked, voice slightly demanding.
Alucard smiled. "I've located him myself. The technology in his room provided me with answers..." the Vampire relayed to her. "However, in order to reach him, I'll need transportation by the helicopter."
Integra nodded ever so slightly. "Very well. Tell Walter to get ready to pilot," she replied solemnly. And it was all she had to say.
Alucard turned, placing his hat gingerly atop his sable locks, and descending the staircase, passed the butler.
"Hey," he called.
Walter turned, a questioning look on his face, "Yes?"
Alucard smiled, "You're piloting the helicopter for me. Let's go."
The butler smirked at the Vampire. "As you wish."
On the way to the pad, they were silent, and as they got in the helicopter, Alucard mentioned to him the location. The old butler merely smiled. And Alucard could not help but think on the way what death would await him. Oh, they would see that no matter how hard they tried, true Nosferatu were much too powerful to recreate. He had spent a century training himself for things like this. There would be a bloodbath, if needed.
In the time it had taken Alucard to locate Aya, his wounds had been gingerly cleaned and wrapped, to prevent infection. Profuse amounts of blood had also been taken from him, to be used in creating a much more powerful FREAK chip. One might think it unlikely that the redhead had not fought back, but in his weakened state his mind had succumbed to Schuldig's control. Usually so strong willed, incessant beating had broken him enough for the Mastermind to violate the man's thoughts.
Redressed, Aya was brought before Estet again, violet eyes cold and unforgiving.
"Speak," they commanded of him. "Who do you work for?"
The question was answered by a chilling voice, "Estet."
The group was pleased, "Excellent! Schuldig, you have done well. Now get him out of here - no doubt Kritiker is searching for him at this very moment and we can't afford to be found."
Schuldig nodded, "Come on, Kid. It's time you infiltrated Kritiker for us."
Aya moved forward, as bade, his eyes falling into listless dull purple, no longer the shimmering amethysts they commonly were.
"So, tell me, do you think your Vampire friend will come after you?" Schuldig asked, hands in his pockets as he led the redhead on to the trap door entrance.
"Alucard?" Aya pondered the question for a moment, before shaking his head. "Not for me," he replied.
The name was awkward to his lips, for he had never spoken it before.
"Well, out you go."
The assassin was pushed through the doors, and they were shut behind him. Aya, Schuldig still lurking within his mind, was left in the alleyway alone, and he headed toward the road, head tilted down. His mind screamed for freedom, but he could not shake the control over it... His body was still too battered and weak. Surely Schwarz did not expect to keep him under their control, once he grew stronger. No, at that point he would be able to fight for his mind, and win. His feet carried him down the street, and into another alley, where he began to slow. His wounds were aching, and in moments he had sank to the ground, arms hugging at his abdomen as he closed his eyes.
"Get out of my mind," he gritted angrily, shaking his head.
Tsk, I don't think so. You're our puppet now. It was Schuldig's voice that answered him, quite amused. Silly boy. Mere words aren't going to save you from my power.
When they had arrived to the area Alucard had located, the Vampire looked eagerly out the cockpit window. As the blades beat loudly above his head, slowing as it touched ground, he turned to Walter, grinning madly. He could hardly contain himself.
"Wait for me," he mentioned.
Stepping out from the helicopter, his trench coat flapped behind him in sharp folds, whipped around by the now-slow churning blades of the helicopter. Entering the building slowly, it only took him moments to be attacked by ghouls, their mouths hanging open and drool making waterfalls across their rotten teeth. The Vampire chuckled, and both his guns were brandished deftly, and as several of the monsters charged him at once, the triggers were pulled, bullets sent slamming into the foreheads. They dissolved instantaneously, and the spread effect killed the rest in succession. The Vampire cocked his head backward, pleased, but suspicious. Only ghouls? None of the high-security, well-trained vampires he was expecting? Certainly an organization such as Estet would not be so foolish as to allow him penetrate this deeply already. And he had just barely walked in the door.
No, something was definitely wrong, and there was no need for him to delve further into a situation that was not worth his time. With a scoff, he fired a few more bullets into the darkness and turned on his heel, stalking out from the building, an aura of anger building upon him. Walter, surprised to see the Vampire return so quickly, cocked an eyebrow.
A curious questioning eye was hidden by a monocle, as he asked, "What happened?"
"They left," Alucard spat.
He was perturbed, but excited. This only meant that there would be more of a chase. No matter how far they crawled, he'd be the one destroying them. As they raced above the land, the blades spinning wildly, Alucard turned his mind to Aya for a split second. If Estet had left, where had they taken the punk? He supposed he'd need that tracking device once more. He turned to Walter. The younger man (an old man in his own right, but essentially, much younger than Alucard) had a connection to Integra with the microphone at his mouth.
"Walter, they can find the punk's location using a program on his laptop. It's simple to find. If we find where he is, the easier the organization will be able to be located."
The butler quickly relayed the information back to his boss, circling above the land in the helicopter. It took several, silent moments to pass as they rode the winds in repetitive schemes before an urgent report came through on Walter's earphones.
He nodded and turned to Alucard, "He's not too far from the original location. It will take us only a few moments to reach him."
Alucard nodded, smirking only slightly. They descended rapidly, the Vampire sitting upright against his seat, arms crossed, head down. It was an odd location, seemingly in an alley way of some sort. Had the punk managed to escape – surely Estet wasn't that simple. If that was the case, he had made a mistake turning back.
He shifted. They were nearly fifty feet above it, and falling further. As they made twenty feet, he could see the people below him, their faces wide with confusion and perhaps fear.. He wondered what they were doing out at such a late hour, but shrugged, as London was full of fuck-ups and weirdos like any good city.
"See you, Walter," he called back as he fell from the helicopter, the red fabric violently fluttering in the wind.
He held his hat tightly to his head, and hit the ground with a thick, hard thud, straightening himself immediately. There had been no pain in that landing like some humans would have experienced. A grin creased his face. In front of him, crumpled and in pain, was the redhead himself. Alucard laughed, choking back a greeting and merely towering over the young man.
"Get up, punk."
Aya's head lifted, slowly, violet eyes staring up at Alucard with no sign of recognition.
His lips moved, forming words that he would not speak were he himself, "Sorry, hun, your sex toy isn't quite himself right now. His body doesn't seem very enthusiastic about standing, either. With good reason, of course. And I assume if you found him, you've already realized that Estet is well on their way to escaping. It will take more than that to catch us."
Pale hands moved to his head, clenching at it violently.
"Get out...!" Aya snarled, only to have his own voice chuckle in response.
"Tsk, look at that. Seems he's still stubborn. But before I go I'd like to commend your taste in men. Aya is a deliciously good fuck, even in rape. Oh, and how he shouted - it was delightful!"
A wicked grin touched the stony face, before he fell into silence. The hands holding his head moved, fingers gripping the wall to pull himself up. Half-way standing, he paused, breathing heavily as one hand moved his chest, bandaged beneath his clothes. He could feel the moisture of blood seeping through, but it was not profuse. The worse the wound, the quicker his body tried to heal it, Aya had noticed.
Slowly his legs straightened, and he used the wall to brace himself in the upright position. He lifted his head, amethysts gleaming in their previous luster. It appeared he was himself again - Schuldig had released his hold on the redhead's mind. It was of no consequence, he'd been fighting the man the moment he'd built up enough strength to. The assassin glowered, clearly disgusted at the words that had spilled from his mouth at Mastermind's command.
The Vampire had watched Aya struggle with an amused expression, until he had heard the words ‘Aya is a deliciously good fuck.'
What was this? Had the man who was perpetrating Aya's mind control raped him beforehand? Alucard's eyes narrowed in irritation – he had yet to become completely angry, if such a thing was possible. Now, he knew he certainly felt something for the young man, he had fucked the assassin thrice. He hadn't cared enough to pinpoint the emotion, but having done such things essentially, in his mind, rendered the redhead his property. And this man, whomever he was, had intruded on his property, his belongings? It was like his coffin – no person worthy of it was able to touch it, and perhaps Aya was not even as important as his coffin, not yet, but there was certainly a feeling of attachment that come along with the sex.
He frowned, eyes empty, and stared at the young man. And this punk had let it happen. For such a strong-willed, stubborn individual, it was nearly infuriating that Aya had not halted the rape. In such sense, was it truly rape? Perhaps he had given himself willingly to this man, which was absolutely unacceptable. Aya belonged to him. But, calming himself down, he realised that such a train of thought was much too irrational and he grabbed Aya by the collar, lifting him up high and pressing him against the wall the redhead used to prop himself up. His eyes held a distant, burning anger, one that had yet to gain strength, and his lips did not perk upwards as was their usual stance.
"You pathetic creature. First, you fail at stopping that man from raping you, and now I find you folded on the ground straining to stand. Didn't they say you were immortal? Then what's your problem? You'll live. If you're truly immortal, start acting like it!" the Vampire barked, punctuating his sentence by slamming Aya against the wall once more and letting him fall to the ground.
A slight breeze ghosted by and caused some of Alucard's hair to cover his face, a cold, unfamiliar expression etched into his face. He looked utterly displeased as he loomed over the young man.
"Now get up. Walter's up above ready to carry us back to Hellsing, though you might as well be useless. I can't imagine what happened to you that caused you this much pain – and even if it was truly horrible, there's no reason for you to be acting like this."
"Why the hell do you care who rapes me or not?" Aya growled, getting to his feet again.
A bit of anger in him made the task easier. He was tempted to rip away his shirt and bandages to show Alucard just why he hurt so damn much, and why he hadn't been able to prevent rape. But, no. Alucard would probably find it unacceptable, and since when did he have to answer to the man? After all, it'd only been sex with Alucard, right? Or, so he'd thought but the anger the Vampire was displaying made him question such a thing.
"Immortal or not, I'm still human," he growled, before adding at the end, "Bastard."
Right now, he hated Alucard - and he wasn't even sure why. Was it because he'd wanted the Vampire to save him from the rape earlier? He had remembered uttering the beginning of a name 'Alu-' before he'd screamed as a dagger was buried into his shoulder. Not only had he been fucked, he'd had onlookers abusing him when he refused to cry out in pain. He was only mildly surprised Schuldig hadn't mentioned that he'd been calling for Alucard, but it was probably best this way. That way Alucard wouldn't have something else to hold over his head.
"If I'm useless, then I'll go back to Kritiker, and spare myself your scorn," he added testily, turning away from the Vampire to walk out of the alley.
Heaven forbid that he could get some rest to build his strength back up. At the branch of Kritiker in London, he just might be able to - without being bothered. The only question was if he could make the trip completely on foot without getting lost or passing out along the way. Still, he couldn't bear to be near the dark-haired man, and any place away from him would be a reprieve.
Evidently, Aya did not have the same plans in mind that Alucard had. The Vampire was nearly tempted to let the young man go, but abstained. Aya having his mind controlled earlier was a testament that there had been more to Estet's plan, and that was something that certainly was not allowed to be carried out in any form. If Aya had his mind bombarded once more, and reigned control of, it would spell out a threat for anyone in his organization who was unknowing. As such, he turned swiftly, grabbing the punk by the collar once more, wordlessly throwing the redhead against his own body with enough force to at least knock the wind out of him. He held Aya tightly against his chest, waving his hand high in the air, mind not giving a second thought to the others around him. The helicopter that spun its blades fell slowly in the air, and with his other hand the Vampire pinned his hat to his head as the stale wind around him picked up. As it hovered feet from the ground, Alucard clambered in, sitting in the passenger seat.
He positioned Aya on his lap, as there was too much equipment in the back of the copter to allow another to fit at the moment. The Vampire slammed the door closed and gripped Aya's body with care as they ascended at a startling pace, surely shocking all those who had just witnessed the event. It was no matter, though, surely the wanderers at this time of night were much too concerned with getting high or drunk. Fools. They flew madly over the streets of London, and as the lights of the city below bedazzled, Alucard was much more concerned with the closer he had become with the lights above. Though it was not much of a height increase at all, the elevation he had gained from the others down below seemed to him, to bring him closer to the stars that glimmered above his head.
Not that he had never been on a plane or helicopter at night. Oh no, quite the contrary. But that did not mean that he would never cherish the moment. His eyes faded to the distance, glazed with a look that showed how far off he was. He noted sub-consciously the strength that he clenched Aya's body with tightened only a little, and only for a moment, before he was knocked back into reality as they made their landing on the pad of Hellsing's HQ. Alucard smirked lightly, and slid out of the helicopter, he and Walter walking side by side as they made their way inside. He had yet to release his strong hold on the young man, and didn't feel that he wanted to, until he passed Aya's room and finally, let him go.
"What you do now is your decision," he mentioned casually, and ascended to Integra's office.
Aya, slightly ticked off at Alucard for refusing him his return to Kritiker, pushed open the door to his room, shutting it behind him angrily. Fury in his hands as he ripped off his shirt, caring little about tearing it apart with sheer force. Following the article of black was blood stained dressing, and violet eyes stared at the wounds, still pulsing - blood dribbling down the tender alabaster flesh. Eyes slipped shut as he fell back on the bed, taking steady breaths.
He had made it so much worse for himself, just by challenging and testing Schwarz.
You call this rape?! I've had sex willingly that hurt more than this! he had yelled, eyes cold and furious.
You like it rough, then? Well, hey, you're immortal, why not make the pain worth your while, you little bastard. Schuldig had commented, nodding towards his companions.
Nagi had taken no part in it, aside from holding Aya in place so that he could not run, but Farfarello and Crawford... They had jumped at the chance to abuse him endlessly. And then he had refused to cry out in pain...
Scream! he had been told.
Alu- his own shout echoed in his mind, dagger buried into the very wounds the Vampire had left.
Against his chest fifteen bullet holes grimaced at the world, and with them a lengthy gash from a jagged knife. There was no denying the fact that he was indeed immortal. Simply no human could have survived all of that. His mind swirled with thoughts, reprimands that he hadn't fought back harder and had let them get the best of him. He contemplated why he had been so ready to call for Alucard, when he couldn't even figure out how he felt for the man. Eventually such thoughts exhausted him, and slipped into slumber... But not one so normal. No, this was deep sleep, almost as if he'd fallen into a coma.
The Vampire turned into Integra's office, and the woman, who seemed to have been expecting him, looked as if she had been roused from a short sleep, and even appeared slightly irritated. He cocked his head and grinned slightly.
"It seems they fled from the area. However, I did manage to find the punk. He's in his room as we speak," he informed her, gesturing over his shoulder.
Integra pursed her lips, thin lines creasing her forehead. "Alucard, this poses a serious threat to Hellsing. These monsters are blatantly threatening Her Majesty and defying all that the Protestant Church holds sacred. It is Hellsing's job to abolish all the unholy beasts world. These fools are no exception. When we get a hold of them, you will show them no mercy, understand?" she told him, anger hinting at her voice.
The Vampire smirked – he loved her determination, her strength. How she never gave up. Sub-consciously, he realised these same qualities were in Aya, but it was pushed into the far corners of his brain.
"Until tomorrow night, then," he chuckled, and took his place outside her doorway, making his way into his room.
He found waiting for him a packet of medical blood, the dim lighting making the scenery slightly creepy. A bag of blood in a bowl, on a high, finely carved cherry wood table. Alucard sat in the large, high-backed chair, next to the table, one that he had modeled after the old days as prince... and as he drank, the sweet crimson life dripping down his throat, he almost drifted into something of a sleep, though he was certainly not tired enough to. No, it was simply a ruminating state.
Over and over again his mind replayed the past events, the ones that had involved Aya. Such developments in the world in such a small amount of time. God, how he loved being one of the Undead. There would be such blood in the future and that was something he certainly could not miss out on. He supposed it was one of the reasons he had decided to become what he was to that day. A Vampire. Already he had a predisposition to rain gore down upon any thing that opposed him. As a Vampire, it was something he would be able to do for an eternity, and he did not regret it. No, not for one instant.
Aya's body took time now to rest, laying immobile upon the four-post bed. Against his ribs rested one hand, the other laying at his side. The only thing that did not sleep was his mind. It swam with troubled thoughts, before molding into a sort of hallucination. The assassin was floating within an abyss of nothingness. Oh, but it was only that for a moment. Soon about him floated visible memories, playing before him like a thousand movies all at once. They ranged from his earliest childhood memories, to his last conscious moments.
"Ran! Don't run so fast, you'll hurt yourself!" the scornfully gentle voice of his mother as he ran along the concrete sidewalk leading into a park he had spent much of his childhood in.
And then he gazed at large violet eyes as he stood upon his tippy-toes as a young boy, trying desperately to look over the hospital bed at his new baby sister. His father picked him up, smiling.
"Mommy, what's her name?"
"Well... Your father and I were thinking about naming her Aya." A bright smile appeared on his face as he reached out for his sister's little hands.
"Aya-Chan!"
The memories continued on, through the horrific ones of his parents death, and his sibling's coma, finally reaching some that had happened only days' previous.
"Now tell me, being that you've been with me the entire night, what is your name... punk?" The voice rumbling through his mind, haunting.
Then came the memories of their intimate meetings, and he was quite perplexed to be on the outside looking in. So wrapped up in them, he jumped as a soft voice murmured his name.
"Ran... Brother," the images before him were replaced by an ivory carved girl, thick hair bound in pigtails.
"Aya...?" he inquired, brows furrowed in confusion.
"What are you doing here, brother?"
He shook his head, "I... I don't know."
A delicate hand lifted as she stood upon her toes to touch his forehead.
"You've retreated into your own mind, Ran. You should not be here..." Midnight colored eyes turned to his chest, and then her hands were there. "You're hurt, Ran," she whispered, head tilted to the side.
"Aya, why are you here?"
The girl only smiled at the question, giggling lightly. "You keep me alive, of course. You and I, brother, we share a great deal - blood, one mind..." Her hand touched his chest, and her smile softened. "One heart..."
She turned to stand beside him, memories once again reappearing, but these started with Alucard and only contained the Vampire.
"Why do you pretend that you hate him? I feel how deeply woven into your heart he has become."
The redhead bit his lip, hands clenched at his sides.
"It's complicated, Aya."
The girl shook her head stubbornly,
"Ran, your emotions are pure. There is nothing complicated about them. You hated Alucard at first, I felt that - but you don't anymore, yet you still act as if you do, because you have always been too stubborn to admit the truth."
The Vampire allowed the last of the crimson life to dribble down his throat before standing. He was still a bit hungry, but he would endure until tomorrow. He would simply ask Walter to double the amount. It was of no consequence. He looked up at the ceiling, and simply stared for quite a while. He didn't know how long, but found his head lifting gently to the sound of a knock at his door.
"What?" he called, a bit perturbed.
Integra was the one to open the door, and he smiled.
"Thought I said I'd see you tomorrow night. Or have you come for another reason?" he queried, teasing.
Her eye twitched in annoyance and her face hardened. "I heard you this morning," she informed him, irritation clear in her voice.
"Oh, so it was morning," he replied casually, looking off into the distance.
This only inflamed her. "Alucard, this wasn't the first time this has happened. Am I correct?"
"You are."
"Don't allow him to become a weakness. He may be immortal, but that does not mean he cannot be used against us, and you, in other ways. This so called ‘punk' is one of the keys in the project that Estet is in charge of. He knows a bit too much about you, and about this organization. Unlike you, he feels pain and could easily have the information tortured out of him if he were captured."
Alucard chuckled, "He's much too stubborn for that."
Integra's stony expression lit up with anger. "An eternity is a long time to remain stubborn, Vampire. You forget that."
Alucard laughed. "Maybe so, my Master. Maybe so."
The woman turned, tossing over her shoulder, "I advise you to watch yourself," and left, shutting the door behind her.
Alucard folded his hands in his lap, leaning back, his legs crossed comfortably. As if Aya would become anything like a weakness for him. For a moment, he reconsidered. He recalled the anger he felt when he found out that Aya had been intruded upon by that man, whatever his name may be. Hadn't that been because Aya was simply property? Of course. Of course. He may have had a crush, yes, but crushes did not affect one in an important situation. He forced an angry sigh.
"Whatever," he growled at himself.
"Aya, what happened to force us into this kind of life?" The redhead asked, now sitting in the darkness of his mind, sister along side of him.
"I suppose it was fate. But perhaps our enemies are the ones controlling that fate."
"Our enemies?" he inquired.
"I told you, Ran. You and I share a great deal. It was hard to accept, at first... All the hate brewing in you - I'd never seen you like that, until my accident. The first time you donated blood to me, and they put mine in return, I was scared. Suddenly I was caught up nightmarish thoughts, carved in blood."
Violet eyes widened, and Aya shook his head.
"You saw those things...? All of them?"
Aya remained in conversation with his sister for a long while, and slowly he fell into a relaxed state about her. No longer was he awkward and uncomfortable around her. It was easy to catch back up, discussing all the things she had seen within his mind, living there - alive in his memory as he intended her to be, just not in the literal sense. With a sad smile, Aya-Chan stood, reaching out a hand to him.
"Come, brother... It's time that you woke. You have rested long enough."
Alabaster met ivory as he took that delicate hand in his, almost afraid that he might break it in his grip.
She leaned close to him, planting a gentle kiss to his cheek.
"For all the kisses you've given me that I couldn't return..." She smiled, features childish and loving.
"Will I see you again, like this?" he almost didn't want to ask, afraid of the answer.
"Perhaps, Ran. Perhaps."
She clung to his hand, tears spilling forth from her eyes, bidding even Aya to shed the salty substance from his eyes.
"When I wake up someday, introduce me to Alucard. Don't let him go."
The siblings clasped hands for a few more moments before Aya shut his eyes, warmth against his cheeks as tears continued to fall.
"Wake up..." The voice was distant.
"Wake up..."
It was getting louder, until finally, "Aya! Answer us!"
He was startled awake, sitting up. His hand went to his ear.
"I'm here," he replied quickly, mind befuddled.
Had that been... Real?
"Are you alright?" a young boy's worried voice said from the transmitter.
"I'm fine. I'll get back to you in a little while."
Before Omi could utter a complaint, he shut off the device, slender fingers moving to his cheek. Upon them tears still glistened.
"Aya..."
The Vampire had spent the rest of his night pondering, and the day sleeping, as he should. When he awoke, he pulled himself up from his coffin, stretching slightly and sauntering languidly out into the cellar hallway. It was night time once more. He felt a bit hungry and as he passed Seras' room he pounded on her door and asked her to tell Walter that he needed a bit more medical blood than last time. Her response was meek but he continued walking, standing straight and tall, a slight grin across his face. Alucard admitted that he was possibly a bit perturbed still over last night, but pushed it away, there was simply no reason to dwell on such things, such foolish things. No, things such as killing, as blood and death were the most important in his life. Despite the fact the Vampire had loved before, and had the capacity to do so again, in his heart, drowning himself in gore and the screams of the innocent would always be his first mistress.
He found himself on the first floor, whilst still in thought. Everything seemed so surreal for the moment. The moonlight pouring through the windows covered the cool, stony floors like a pearly blanket, silhouettes of statutes seemingly coming to life within the caress of the silken rays. Alucard was entranced by the beauty of it – how he loved the night so. And turning, he heard a cry from the punk's room, something so soft it would not have been audible – it was fortunate his senses were keener than those of a human's and that silence accompanied the serene setting. A few steps carried him to outside the assassin's door, and not giving a second thought to privacy, he wrenched open the door, finding the young man's cheeks stained with tears. His face contorted in no specific way and he simply stood there, watching. He refrained from even making a comment Alucard was not concerned, but rather intrigued, and preferred that Aya explain himself now that he had interrupted what appeared to be something special.
The crown of red snapped up, violet eyes staring at Alucard for a moment filled with raw emotion, before they settled back into nothing more than beautiful stones. The amethyst orbs narrowed slightly as he sat upon the bed, looking at Alucard in silence. The tears, thankfully, had subsided, leaving only trace remains. Certainly he had not expected the Vampire to intrude upon such a private display of emotions, but he figured he shouldn't be surprised - Alucard showed up at inopportune times.
Alabaster fingers brushed away the tear stains, as he turned his head away from the Vampire. Still upon his chest gleamed the ugly wounds, a story of their own held within.
"Leave me alone," he muttered.
Was that weariness in his voice? Two times before he had asked the Vampire what he wanted upon coming to him, but this time he was in no mood for such questions. Alucard had invaded into a part of his emotions only Aya-Chan managed to penetrate, and he felt too vulnerable to have the older man around. The assassin needed time to recompose himself - redress his wounds of shame - before he could stand to be in the same room with Alucard. It seemed his dear sister's words had not phased the way he acted about the man, but such things took time... In Aya's case, it might possibly take him several years. At which time he wasn't even sure if he'd still be in contact with the Vampire. It did not matter that Aya-Chan, in her own way, had told him not to let go what made him happy. He did not feel it was his decision to make - then again, the rest of Weiss believed happiness was forbidden for killers such as themselves. Why should Aya be any different?
The Vampire did not heed the boy's request, and still, merely stood, ignorant (surprisingly enough) to what was occurring outside the walls of the Hellsing mansion.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Ohh, what's happening outside of the Hellsing Mansion? Well, you'll have to wait to find out! I'll give you a hint, it's really good.
Reader response time!:
GlassShell: Yes, that portal technique would prove rather... Cliche. No, no. Aya takes a plane, just like every normal person does. I was technically supposed to update the story last night at Sadako's request, but I got a little sidetracked and then went to bed. But here's what you've been waiting for! Please let us know how you like this chapter too.
As for the rest of our readers, who don't review, we still love you. ^_^ You should drop us a review sometime. We promise to reply to everyone that drops us some feedback. We love our fans.
And speaking of our fans, we would like to thank you all for 1000+ hits. That's right, BMB has 1000+ hits. Isn't that awesome? We started to realize, when we got a fanbase that size, that what we're creating is something to be proud of. And we are deeply grateful to all of our fans that have been with us. We're planning on drawing you a gift, as a thanks to for the hits that we've received. We couldn't have a better fanbase, I think. ^_^
Sadako would like to apologize for any OoCness with Alucard, like she usually does, even though we're pretty sure she keeps him awesomely in character. And onto my notes.
Notes from Kay: Alright, with this chapter I'm going to say you're just going to have to go with the flow. There is some twisted stuff in this chapter, and I did some powerful manipulation to make Aya immortal in this crossover, and the fruit of my labors begin to appear in this installment. How, you're thinking? Well, get to reading!
Don't forget to review! We love feedback.
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Hours had passed, and finally, Alucard had risen from his sleep, position maintained perfectly. As he rose, a lock of hair fell into his eye, and he brushed it away nonchalantly, stretching and moving to onto his feet. He would have yawned, if he had needed to. He realised night time was most likely approaching now, and Integra would be sleeping soon, but perhaps Aya would be awake. If it not for the constant workouts he got by simply fighting, then Alucard's body might have ached from the sex, but instead, it felt rested, relaxed. He turned out of the room, not forgetting his hat. He fixed it on his head and shifted toward Seras' room, opening it without any expression on his face. He pulled upon her coffin with no effort, leaning down towards her face.
"Wake up," he murmured.
She stirred slightly, but only slightly.
The male Vampire leaned closer, his face millimeters from hers, and with a giant grin gracing his lips, hissed into her ear, "Wake up."
She jerked and opened her eyes, coming face-to-face with Alucard's blood red optics. Her expression faltered and Alucard straightened, cackling.
"The night is young, police girl! Make the most of it!" he called as he exited the room.
Alucard heard her moan in displeasure but ignored it. He was still disappointed that she sometimes had yet to come to terms with what she truly was – but there was always a Vampire like her every so often. Within moments, he found himself outside the punk's room, leaning against the door.
He contemplated last night. Or, rather, this morning. But he had always considered darkness night. If light had began to bleach the sky, then yes, it was becoming morning, but the birds had just started chirping when he had left. It was night. And it had been one of the greatest nights, in a long, long time. The blood and sex combined had been the closest to heaven he was getting. He contemplated opening the door as he had done Seras, but not even bothering, Alucard simply rapped on the door.
"Come," he ordered darkly, "death awaits."
The redhead stirred slightly from his lying state upon the bed. He had been deep in thought before Alucard had interrupted him. It was of no consequence, he had considered his situation into the ground, weighing it and observing it from every possible angle. He had separated the pros from cons of his condition, and the information was tucked away in his mind should he need to think of it again. Lithe movements allowed him to slip off the bed without a sound, and he tugged off the orange turtleneck he wore, favoring the sleeveless black garment he wore upon his missions.
Quietly he slipped on his boots, socks already donning his ivory feet. His next priority was looping his blade's sheath loosely upon his hip, finally drawing the heavy crimson trench over his shoulders. Deft fingers buckled it quickly, and he pulled open the door to "his" room. That was an idea that still unsettled him. So used was he to Japan that he perhaps had a case of homesickness, or it might only be that he wished to be by his sister's side once again. Violet eyes turned to gaze up at Alucard, brow arched lightly as he stepped past the man and out of the room. The gentle white hands slipped into the pockets of his coat. There. He was ready, and it had taken him little over seven minutes to get fully prepared.
"Hn."
Alucard snickered slightly, but his feet carried him up the stairs, creaking gently under his boots. The Vampire scaled the steps, and, figure erect, and upon reaching it twisted the knob to Integra's office. His hat removed respectfully, as always, when he entered, his signature smirk painted on his features. Alucard strode to her desk, and she waited there, patiently as always. She no longer needed to inform him of when a mission was to be assigned. No, it was just something he knew, whether it be from telepathy or any other frightening power he possessed. It was not a rare occasion that he would speak to Seras from within her mind, and at first, it bothered her, but now Alucard believed it had simply become second nature, as if she was slowly accepting her status as a draculina.
The Vampire smiled.
"Give me an order, my master," he spoke, voice low and smooth.
Integra, smiling slyly from beneath her spectacles, took a drag of her lit cigar and pushed forward a picture of a run-down building, an old shack.
"Our target resides here with an army of ghouls... a member of Parliament, it seems, sadly enough. Adam Lamb. The ghouls are obviously incredibly low in strength, so it's likely that the punk," she paused, icy blue eyes gleaming with mischief at Aya, "will be able to take out the majority of his supporters. The head Vampire is rumored to be notably stronger than the last target, Alucard."
The Vampire scoffed, frowning, "I certainly hope so."
His expression turned within a split second, fangs gleaming in a psychotic grin. "I've been dying for a good fight."
Integra's expression remained stony and she took another drag of her cigar.
"The shack is not far away. It's walkable." The woman relayed to them the coordinates, and finished with, "Now get out of my sight."
The Vampire merely smiled and turned, grabbing his hat on the way out.
"You heard the woman," he called to Aya. "Let's make a man into meat."
Aya followed after him, saying nothing as he walked behind the Vampire. It seemed punk was becoming a common nickname for him, and not only used by Alucard it seemed. No matter, it wasn't as if he went by his real name anyway. Though the chosen name Aya was used for a reason, it could still be thought of as a nickname. One hand reappeared from the folds of his coat, tapping against the ear piece. Quietly he spoke as a voice registered his signal, telling the agent on the line the coordinates, and abruptly his footsteps stopped.
Within his mind echoed a single name.
Takatori... Takatori.
That bastard Reiji had been located in that shack as well! His blood boiled at the simple thought of the man's pompous face, as he carelessly instructed his driver to run Aya-Chan down. The name fell from his lips, cold and distasteful, like he was trying to rid his mouth of poison. This trip would not be wasted, now he was sure of it. He would not let that man slip through his grasp again, and with Schwarz back in Japan and Crawford out of commission, he'd have no one to protect him from the assassin's wrath. Revenge would finally be his! The thought made him sick with some strange kind of pleasure, and he picked up his pace, now quite eager to get this mission started. Integra had been right, following the coordinates, the shack was not far off from Hellsing - a relief for the redhead about to implode with anger. To his left motion caught his eye, and in a fluid movement he had brandished his sword. A being moving so quickly, and whatever it had been had already entered into the shack.
Aya was not reckless as he slipped to the entrance, back pressed to a wall before he entered. It was dimly lit, and the violet eyes quickly readjusted to the poor lighting. About the space was littered crates collecting dust, and distinctly he felt upon him eyes. Many of them. But there was only one man that he was searching for, and after a bit of stealth searching, he'd located him with a man Aya had seen in Integra's office in the form of a photo. There it was - proof that Takatori was in on this conspiracy, but that was no surprise. Slightly concerned that he had not already been attacked, he took a moment to consider something was amiss... He dashed to the side, silver blade catching a thin beam of light breaking through a high window. The flicker of brightness brought Takatori to his attention, looking around nervously.
"Takatori..." the redhead growled, amethyst eyes gleaming with murderous intent.
"Takatori!" he howled, leaping from his vantage point upon the man, forcing him away from the target as he drove his sword through his gut.
"Crawford!" the man shouted, voice desperate. "Help me!"
A low chuckle escaped from a shadow as the man bid stepped out.
"No, I think it's time our little assassin got his revenge. Besides, Estet no longer has a need for you."
Aya drew back, allowing the dying figure to slide down the wall, bleeding profusely.
"We knew bringing him here would heat your blood," Brad commented, smiling wickedly.
He glanced towards Adam, brows furrowing. "You will not touch him, do you understand me? If you want true immortality, you'll leave him alone. He's the key. Estet gave you this chance, do not disappoint them."
Alucard perked his head at Brad's words. So they were the ones fabricating Vampires? It had been his Master's mission for him, not specifically on this one, but mentioned to him much earlier. "Search and Destroy." And here they were in front of him, blatantly discussing their plans. Of course, he must obey his Master under every circumstance, regardless of Aya's feelings, which he knew would be ill towards him – after all, he was positive the young man desired to fight his own battles. However, the assassin's importance paled in comparison to Integra, whom he had served for ten years. The Vampire stepped forward, trench coat fluttering gently. His face wore a grin, teeth gleaming in the dim light, wet threads of hair sticking to the sides of his face.
"Crawford, is it? You work for the organization that is manufacturing FREAKs? Wonderful, my name's Alucard. I'll be the one who destroys you all. First, however," he announced, and with that, he pulled out Jackal, the black encasing of the gun ominous – spelling out death for all that opposed it.
His eyes lit up in madness as he fired it into Adam's head, one fluid movement, sending the man forward as blood covered the area surrounding him. The FREAK, however, refused to remain down and used his arms as leverage, forcing himself from the counter.
He called out to the Vampire in a ugly Cockney accent, "I'm stronger than the other ones! You cannot defeat me so easily!"
Alucard grinned. This is when they asked for it. He rushed forward, his movement a red blur, and reeled his arm backward, sending it forward with all the frightening strength he could muster within his body. His hand went through the man, causing him to scream in disgusting agony, the mortal body twitching in pain as Alucard pulled his arm from the center, sleeves and jacket covered in blood.
His grin was psychotic, as expected. The man looked up toward him, face twisted in pain. Alucard cackled derisively.
"What's wrong, Adam? Aren't you stronger than this? Transform your body! Heal your wounds! Grab a weapon and get up and fight!" he cried, echoing the words, "Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!"
Adam choked, blood dribbling from his mouth. "Bastard... monster..." he croaked.
Alucard merely smiled, and drove his elbow down, crushing the man's skull, turning the body to dust on the ground. The Vampire turned to face Brad, raising his gun. "You're next."
Aya was positioned carefully in front of Crawford, an invisible force holding him there.
"Am I really?" he inquired, brow arched. "Go ahead, empty your gun into Aya. He won't die." He glanced at the redhead, smirking. "Isn't that right, you immortal brat? You're just like that sister of yours. You don't know how to die, because you can't."
A young boy stepped from the shadows, followed by two other men - one's hair bright orange, the other's a steely grey. Violet eyes glared toward the black haired boy, who held him where he stood.
"Or, maybe you didn't know? Is this a surprise to you, Aya?" Schuldig drawled, slowly, laughing quietly.
The assassin remained quiet, no answer to their questions on his lips.
"Your little trick the other night was clever, but it was because of the blood in my mouth that we found out. And your mission to destroy FREAKs? How ironic that you're the missing piece to the puzzle. To hell with your sister. We don't need her if we have you."
Nagi cocked his head to the side, "Crawford, we should be going. The sooner we use him, the better, don't you think?"
Schuldig cocked his head to the side, grinning.
"Alucard, was your name? You look like you enjoy a good challenge. Don't worry, in a day or two every FREAK in England will be a challenge. They'll be just as strong as you are. All thanks to Aya."
He turned to the follow the rest of Schwarz out of the shack, insanely quick - it must have been him that Aya had seen entering.
Alucard frowned – actually frowned – but only for a moment. In fact, a grin was soon covering his face. They seemed cocky. Did they honestly think that any mortal could craft a Vampire powerful enough to conquer him? The sheer ridiculousness of it all. He contemplated a chase, but knew it would only end in failure (a word he did not particularly enjoy), as they had taken Aya with them and to attempt to find them in the millions of places they could have escaped to, with that speed, was a waste of his time. No, he had only allowed himself failure twice. The first being when he was sworn into the Hellsing family, the second was his attempt to break the contract – ending in his silence, his body tied to the walls of the cellar for twenty years. And the mere thought of failing as he did, when Van Hellsing and conquered him sent a tingle of anger through him. He twitched only slightly when remembering the intense pain of the stake shoved through his chest, near his throat.
There had been even a sharper, more immense pain when the man had ripped him forward, causing him to scream in agony as his body was torn apart due to the stake's augmentation in size at the end. He recalled the blood running down his face in hot thin rivers, the man screaming into his face as gasped for life.
"You have nothing left, Count!" Van Hellsing had hollered. "You poor ‘No-Life-King... You have nothing left."
Alucard lowered his eyes in anger and turned out of the shack, his feet carrying him back to his home. Schwarz had taken Aya with them but he found himself hardly putting a second thought to it. No, he was too absorbed in the past. He remembered the dream he had experienced a few years ago about that one moment in his life. At that time, he found it ridiculous that he still dreamt, but learned to accept it.
Still, the ones he did have were mostly empty and meaningless, like the one he had experienced on the plane when Aya awoke him. He considered it important that he was dreaming, yes, but the dream was certainly empty of meaning. Ah well. What was the use. Such nonsense. As he opened the doors to Hellsing, he made his way to Integra's office. The woman must have been sleepless. He removed his hat and stood, posture perfect as always, speaking with low, dark tones.
"The target was completely silenced – however, the punk was captured by another group – it appears Aya's acquaintances tie in with us more than we expected. His enemies are now our enemies, as there is a head organization – Estet, I believe – that is creating the FREAKs. And Aya is the key to perfecting the chip – he is immortal," his voice was utterly calm.
Integra smiled, "Naturally, you're not concerned."
"Of course not. No matter how they try to perfect immortality, they can never match my power," he said, grinning.
Integra had seen a demonstration of his power first hand and did not question him... she had known him for ten years, after all. She merely took a long drag of her cigar. "Very well. We'll start a search for them."
Alucard turned to leave and she added, "Alucard, I heard you laid waste to an entire building of armed guards."
The Vampire grinned. "You know that I don't back down from a fight," he chuckled.
Integra smirked. "Out of my sight." He took his hat, and soon, his form had disappeared from her office.
Aya was led though back streets, invisible fingers wrapped about his throat that dared him to try to escape. They might not be able to kill him, but they could certainly make living miserable. For most of the way, his eyesight was hindered from noting landmarks, should he escape from their hideaway. At his back remained a gun at all times, and he stayed silent.
"It's a pity we never thought to use you before," Schuldig commented, hands resting at the back of his head as he took the lead. "We might have saved ourselves several losses. And Crawford might have been spared his last ass-whooping."
A growl escaped the man behind Aya, for apparently the eldest member of Schwarz did not like being reminded that he'd lost.
"Cheer up, Crawford. You'll get your revenge."
Nagi let out a sigh, shaking his head. "Honestly. You two should be quiet. He's the enemy. Unless Estet plans to bring him over to our side."
He cocked a brow - that idea had merit. He'd have to mention it to Estet. At long last they arrived at their destination, pulling open a trap door to usher Aya in down below.
"Why are you so quiet? Are you still shocked that you're immortal?" the orange-haired man questioned, leading them down a corridor before taking another staircase further down into the complex.
Still Aya did not respond, eyes narrowed as he was placed before three people. They were old in age, but about them was a feeling of striking intelligence. These three were wise, and no plan went by them without being considered carefully.
"You must be the leader of Weiss," one began, gaze scrutinizing.
As the minutes rolled by without a reply from the man, they continued on. "It appears you're just what we need to perfect FREAKs, and consequently ensure that we might rule the world. Though, I must admit, no chip could ever create such pure immortality as your own... Perhaps even more perfect than true Vampires. Even they have to sacrifice their lives to become immortal. You. You merely lived, and were. However, we do need to test this theory. As such, Schwarz. Have at him. We shall see if he dies."
Violently Aya was thrown to the floor, and Schwarz upon him like a swarm. It first started with beating, Nagi hurling him into the wall with sheer thoughts, Farfarello brandishing his knives. The trench coat was thrown away from his shoulders, his shirt following. Deadly blades cut into the alabaster flesh, splashing blood against the tiled floor. Schuldig snickered, fingers pressing over his throat.
"It would seem as if our silent friend has been a Vampire's bitch," he stated, wickedly, hands moving down to smear the blood.
For a moment, to Aya, it seemed as if they had proven he would not die, but a bullet embedding into his shoulder told him otherwise. The shot was followed by another, until Crawford had emptied his entire magazine into the redhead. The bullets traced a fine path across his chest, bidding rivers of blood to mingle with the waterfall still cascading from the gash across his abdomen.
"Nagi, let him go. We want to see if he can stand," another member of Estet commanded.
Dutifully, the young boy released Aya, and he collapsed to the ground, coughing violently as blood poured from his lips. Truly his blood this time, there were no blood caps this time to trick them.
"Stand up," Crawford ordered, kicking the pale skinned assassin.
He barely moved.
"Boy, I suggest that if you don't want any further harm to come upon you that you stand up and prove your worth."
Aya, slowly, began to stir, arm reaching to the cracked stone of the wall - it had broken when his weight had been thrown against it - and with a great deal of effort he pulled himself to his feet, chest heaving painfully. Upon the floor, the blood was a pool, too much of it there for him to be standing and bleeding profusely still.
"Just as we thought..."
Alucard turned into Aya's room, after leaving Integra's office. Everything was how it was left, obviously, and the room seemed so serene despite what had taken place several hours earlier. The redhead was forced to abandon his things here. Left behind was the equipment such as the laptop, but anything that could be of Alucard's use to locate the punk was left behind – and he wasn't about to begin mindlessly searching for programs on the laptop to help him locate the assassin. Unless... He thought back to the night before (or was it this morning?), when he had been showering with Aya. Kritiker had heard everything through Aya's earpiece. The young man had yet to remove the tiny bit of technology, to his knowledge. Could that be used as a tracer, the key to Aya's location? Pulling the laptop onto his legs, he switched it on, reluctance in every movement. It was not something he truly felt like doing, as such work was usually given to Integra's other soldiers or employees, whatever one wanted to call them.
But what was the use, the quicker he was located, the quicker that the organization would be disestablished once and for all. Clicking around, it was simple for him to locate the program within the laptop, a rather blatant name. As he switched it on, it took him several moments to discover how to configure the damned thing, and as it clicked, he grinned slightly. On the screen was a familiar map, displaying the laptop's location with a bright red dot. Miles away was another bright dot, though this was green, blinking with a steady pulse. Alucard grinned. The punk was not an unreachable distance away, though not walkable, to his displeasure. Ah well. Taking note of the location, he switched off the laptop and left it on the bed, sauntering to Integra's office once more. The search would need to be canceled.
"My Master," he began as he entered, hat removed as usual, "you can stop the search."
She cocked a thin silver brow. "What do you mean?" she asked, voice slightly demanding.
Alucard smiled. "I've located him myself. The technology in his room provided me with answers..." the Vampire relayed to her. "However, in order to reach him, I'll need transportation by the helicopter."
Integra nodded ever so slightly. "Very well. Tell Walter to get ready to pilot," she replied solemnly. And it was all she had to say.
Alucard turned, placing his hat gingerly atop his sable locks, and descending the staircase, passed the butler.
"Hey," he called.
Walter turned, a questioning look on his face, "Yes?"
Alucard smiled, "You're piloting the helicopter for me. Let's go."
The butler smirked at the Vampire. "As you wish."
On the way to the pad, they were silent, and as they got in the helicopter, Alucard mentioned to him the location. The old butler merely smiled. And Alucard could not help but think on the way what death would await him. Oh, they would see that no matter how hard they tried, true Nosferatu were much too powerful to recreate. He had spent a century training himself for things like this. There would be a bloodbath, if needed.
In the time it had taken Alucard to locate Aya, his wounds had been gingerly cleaned and wrapped, to prevent infection. Profuse amounts of blood had also been taken from him, to be used in creating a much more powerful FREAK chip. One might think it unlikely that the redhead had not fought back, but in his weakened state his mind had succumbed to Schuldig's control. Usually so strong willed, incessant beating had broken him enough for the Mastermind to violate the man's thoughts.
Redressed, Aya was brought before Estet again, violet eyes cold and unforgiving.
"Speak," they commanded of him. "Who do you work for?"
The question was answered by a chilling voice, "Estet."
The group was pleased, "Excellent! Schuldig, you have done well. Now get him out of here - no doubt Kritiker is searching for him at this very moment and we can't afford to be found."
Schuldig nodded, "Come on, Kid. It's time you infiltrated Kritiker for us."
Aya moved forward, as bade, his eyes falling into listless dull purple, no longer the shimmering amethysts they commonly were.
"So, tell me, do you think your Vampire friend will come after you?" Schuldig asked, hands in his pockets as he led the redhead on to the trap door entrance.
"Alucard?" Aya pondered the question for a moment, before shaking his head. "Not for me," he replied.
The name was awkward to his lips, for he had never spoken it before.
"Well, out you go."
The assassin was pushed through the doors, and they were shut behind him. Aya, Schuldig still lurking within his mind, was left in the alleyway alone, and he headed toward the road, head tilted down. His mind screamed for freedom, but he could not shake the control over it... His body was still too battered and weak. Surely Schwarz did not expect to keep him under their control, once he grew stronger. No, at that point he would be able to fight for his mind, and win. His feet carried him down the street, and into another alley, where he began to slow. His wounds were aching, and in moments he had sank to the ground, arms hugging at his abdomen as he closed his eyes.
"Get out of my mind," he gritted angrily, shaking his head.
Tsk, I don't think so. You're our puppet now. It was Schuldig's voice that answered him, quite amused. Silly boy. Mere words aren't going to save you from my power.
When they had arrived to the area Alucard had located, the Vampire looked eagerly out the cockpit window. As the blades beat loudly above his head, slowing as it touched ground, he turned to Walter, grinning madly. He could hardly contain himself.
"Wait for me," he mentioned.
Stepping out from the helicopter, his trench coat flapped behind him in sharp folds, whipped around by the now-slow churning blades of the helicopter. Entering the building slowly, it only took him moments to be attacked by ghouls, their mouths hanging open and drool making waterfalls across their rotten teeth. The Vampire chuckled, and both his guns were brandished deftly, and as several of the monsters charged him at once, the triggers were pulled, bullets sent slamming into the foreheads. They dissolved instantaneously, and the spread effect killed the rest in succession. The Vampire cocked his head backward, pleased, but suspicious. Only ghouls? None of the high-security, well-trained vampires he was expecting? Certainly an organization such as Estet would not be so foolish as to allow him penetrate this deeply already. And he had just barely walked in the door.
No, something was definitely wrong, and there was no need for him to delve further into a situation that was not worth his time. With a scoff, he fired a few more bullets into the darkness and turned on his heel, stalking out from the building, an aura of anger building upon him. Walter, surprised to see the Vampire return so quickly, cocked an eyebrow.
A curious questioning eye was hidden by a monocle, as he asked, "What happened?"
"They left," Alucard spat.
He was perturbed, but excited. This only meant that there would be more of a chase. No matter how far they crawled, he'd be the one destroying them. As they raced above the land, the blades spinning wildly, Alucard turned his mind to Aya for a split second. If Estet had left, where had they taken the punk? He supposed he'd need that tracking device once more. He turned to Walter. The younger man (an old man in his own right, but essentially, much younger than Alucard) had a connection to Integra with the microphone at his mouth.
"Walter, they can find the punk's location using a program on his laptop. It's simple to find. If we find where he is, the easier the organization will be able to be located."
The butler quickly relayed the information back to his boss, circling above the land in the helicopter. It took several, silent moments to pass as they rode the winds in repetitive schemes before an urgent report came through on Walter's earphones.
He nodded and turned to Alucard, "He's not too far from the original location. It will take us only a few moments to reach him."
Alucard nodded, smirking only slightly. They descended rapidly, the Vampire sitting upright against his seat, arms crossed, head down. It was an odd location, seemingly in an alley way of some sort. Had the punk managed to escape – surely Estet wasn't that simple. If that was the case, he had made a mistake turning back.
He shifted. They were nearly fifty feet above it, and falling further. As they made twenty feet, he could see the people below him, their faces wide with confusion and perhaps fear.. He wondered what they were doing out at such a late hour, but shrugged, as London was full of fuck-ups and weirdos like any good city.
"See you, Walter," he called back as he fell from the helicopter, the red fabric violently fluttering in the wind.
He held his hat tightly to his head, and hit the ground with a thick, hard thud, straightening himself immediately. There had been no pain in that landing like some humans would have experienced. A grin creased his face. In front of him, crumpled and in pain, was the redhead himself. Alucard laughed, choking back a greeting and merely towering over the young man.
"Get up, punk."
Aya's head lifted, slowly, violet eyes staring up at Alucard with no sign of recognition.
His lips moved, forming words that he would not speak were he himself, "Sorry, hun, your sex toy isn't quite himself right now. His body doesn't seem very enthusiastic about standing, either. With good reason, of course. And I assume if you found him, you've already realized that Estet is well on their way to escaping. It will take more than that to catch us."
Pale hands moved to his head, clenching at it violently.
"Get out...!" Aya snarled, only to have his own voice chuckle in response.
"Tsk, look at that. Seems he's still stubborn. But before I go I'd like to commend your taste in men. Aya is a deliciously good fuck, even in rape. Oh, and how he shouted - it was delightful!"
A wicked grin touched the stony face, before he fell into silence. The hands holding his head moved, fingers gripping the wall to pull himself up. Half-way standing, he paused, breathing heavily as one hand moved his chest, bandaged beneath his clothes. He could feel the moisture of blood seeping through, but it was not profuse. The worse the wound, the quicker his body tried to heal it, Aya had noticed.
Slowly his legs straightened, and he used the wall to brace himself in the upright position. He lifted his head, amethysts gleaming in their previous luster. It appeared he was himself again - Schuldig had released his hold on the redhead's mind. It was of no consequence, he'd been fighting the man the moment he'd built up enough strength to. The assassin glowered, clearly disgusted at the words that had spilled from his mouth at Mastermind's command.
The Vampire had watched Aya struggle with an amused expression, until he had heard the words ‘Aya is a deliciously good fuck.'
What was this? Had the man who was perpetrating Aya's mind control raped him beforehand? Alucard's eyes narrowed in irritation – he had yet to become completely angry, if such a thing was possible. Now, he knew he certainly felt something for the young man, he had fucked the assassin thrice. He hadn't cared enough to pinpoint the emotion, but having done such things essentially, in his mind, rendered the redhead his property. And this man, whomever he was, had intruded on his property, his belongings? It was like his coffin – no person worthy of it was able to touch it, and perhaps Aya was not even as important as his coffin, not yet, but there was certainly a feeling of attachment that come along with the sex.
He frowned, eyes empty, and stared at the young man. And this punk had let it happen. For such a strong-willed, stubborn individual, it was nearly infuriating that Aya had not halted the rape. In such sense, was it truly rape? Perhaps he had given himself willingly to this man, which was absolutely unacceptable. Aya belonged to him. But, calming himself down, he realised that such a train of thought was much too irrational and he grabbed Aya by the collar, lifting him up high and pressing him against the wall the redhead used to prop himself up. His eyes held a distant, burning anger, one that had yet to gain strength, and his lips did not perk upwards as was their usual stance.
"You pathetic creature. First, you fail at stopping that man from raping you, and now I find you folded on the ground straining to stand. Didn't they say you were immortal? Then what's your problem? You'll live. If you're truly immortal, start acting like it!" the Vampire barked, punctuating his sentence by slamming Aya against the wall once more and letting him fall to the ground.
A slight breeze ghosted by and caused some of Alucard's hair to cover his face, a cold, unfamiliar expression etched into his face. He looked utterly displeased as he loomed over the young man.
"Now get up. Walter's up above ready to carry us back to Hellsing, though you might as well be useless. I can't imagine what happened to you that caused you this much pain – and even if it was truly horrible, there's no reason for you to be acting like this."
"Why the hell do you care who rapes me or not?" Aya growled, getting to his feet again.
A bit of anger in him made the task easier. He was tempted to rip away his shirt and bandages to show Alucard just why he hurt so damn much, and why he hadn't been able to prevent rape. But, no. Alucard would probably find it unacceptable, and since when did he have to answer to the man? After all, it'd only been sex with Alucard, right? Or, so he'd thought but the anger the Vampire was displaying made him question such a thing.
"Immortal or not, I'm still human," he growled, before adding at the end, "Bastard."
Right now, he hated Alucard - and he wasn't even sure why. Was it because he'd wanted the Vampire to save him from the rape earlier? He had remembered uttering the beginning of a name 'Alu-' before he'd screamed as a dagger was buried into his shoulder. Not only had he been fucked, he'd had onlookers abusing him when he refused to cry out in pain. He was only mildly surprised Schuldig hadn't mentioned that he'd been calling for Alucard, but it was probably best this way. That way Alucard wouldn't have something else to hold over his head.
"If I'm useless, then I'll go back to Kritiker, and spare myself your scorn," he added testily, turning away from the Vampire to walk out of the alley.
Heaven forbid that he could get some rest to build his strength back up. At the branch of Kritiker in London, he just might be able to - without being bothered. The only question was if he could make the trip completely on foot without getting lost or passing out along the way. Still, he couldn't bear to be near the dark-haired man, and any place away from him would be a reprieve.
Evidently, Aya did not have the same plans in mind that Alucard had. The Vampire was nearly tempted to let the young man go, but abstained. Aya having his mind controlled earlier was a testament that there had been more to Estet's plan, and that was something that certainly was not allowed to be carried out in any form. If Aya had his mind bombarded once more, and reigned control of, it would spell out a threat for anyone in his organization who was unknowing. As such, he turned swiftly, grabbing the punk by the collar once more, wordlessly throwing the redhead against his own body with enough force to at least knock the wind out of him. He held Aya tightly against his chest, waving his hand high in the air, mind not giving a second thought to the others around him. The helicopter that spun its blades fell slowly in the air, and with his other hand the Vampire pinned his hat to his head as the stale wind around him picked up. As it hovered feet from the ground, Alucard clambered in, sitting in the passenger seat.
He positioned Aya on his lap, as there was too much equipment in the back of the copter to allow another to fit at the moment. The Vampire slammed the door closed and gripped Aya's body with care as they ascended at a startling pace, surely shocking all those who had just witnessed the event. It was no matter, though, surely the wanderers at this time of night were much too concerned with getting high or drunk. Fools. They flew madly over the streets of London, and as the lights of the city below bedazzled, Alucard was much more concerned with the closer he had become with the lights above. Though it was not much of a height increase at all, the elevation he had gained from the others down below seemed to him, to bring him closer to the stars that glimmered above his head.
Not that he had never been on a plane or helicopter at night. Oh no, quite the contrary. But that did not mean that he would never cherish the moment. His eyes faded to the distance, glazed with a look that showed how far off he was. He noted sub-consciously the strength that he clenched Aya's body with tightened only a little, and only for a moment, before he was knocked back into reality as they made their landing on the pad of Hellsing's HQ. Alucard smirked lightly, and slid out of the helicopter, he and Walter walking side by side as they made their way inside. He had yet to release his strong hold on the young man, and didn't feel that he wanted to, until he passed Aya's room and finally, let him go.
"What you do now is your decision," he mentioned casually, and ascended to Integra's office.
Aya, slightly ticked off at Alucard for refusing him his return to Kritiker, pushed open the door to his room, shutting it behind him angrily. Fury in his hands as he ripped off his shirt, caring little about tearing it apart with sheer force. Following the article of black was blood stained dressing, and violet eyes stared at the wounds, still pulsing - blood dribbling down the tender alabaster flesh. Eyes slipped shut as he fell back on the bed, taking steady breaths.
He had made it so much worse for himself, just by challenging and testing Schwarz.
You call this rape?! I've had sex willingly that hurt more than this! he had yelled, eyes cold and furious.
You like it rough, then? Well, hey, you're immortal, why not make the pain worth your while, you little bastard. Schuldig had commented, nodding towards his companions.
Nagi had taken no part in it, aside from holding Aya in place so that he could not run, but Farfarello and Crawford... They had jumped at the chance to abuse him endlessly. And then he had refused to cry out in pain...
Scream! he had been told.
Alu- his own shout echoed in his mind, dagger buried into the very wounds the Vampire had left.
Against his chest fifteen bullet holes grimaced at the world, and with them a lengthy gash from a jagged knife. There was no denying the fact that he was indeed immortal. Simply no human could have survived all of that. His mind swirled with thoughts, reprimands that he hadn't fought back harder and had let them get the best of him. He contemplated why he had been so ready to call for Alucard, when he couldn't even figure out how he felt for the man. Eventually such thoughts exhausted him, and slipped into slumber... But not one so normal. No, this was deep sleep, almost as if he'd fallen into a coma.
The Vampire turned into Integra's office, and the woman, who seemed to have been expecting him, looked as if she had been roused from a short sleep, and even appeared slightly irritated. He cocked his head and grinned slightly.
"It seems they fled from the area. However, I did manage to find the punk. He's in his room as we speak," he informed her, gesturing over his shoulder.
Integra pursed her lips, thin lines creasing her forehead. "Alucard, this poses a serious threat to Hellsing. These monsters are blatantly threatening Her Majesty and defying all that the Protestant Church holds sacred. It is Hellsing's job to abolish all the unholy beasts world. These fools are no exception. When we get a hold of them, you will show them no mercy, understand?" she told him, anger hinting at her voice.
The Vampire smirked – he loved her determination, her strength. How she never gave up. Sub-consciously, he realised these same qualities were in Aya, but it was pushed into the far corners of his brain.
"Until tomorrow night, then," he chuckled, and took his place outside her doorway, making his way into his room.
He found waiting for him a packet of medical blood, the dim lighting making the scenery slightly creepy. A bag of blood in a bowl, on a high, finely carved cherry wood table. Alucard sat in the large, high-backed chair, next to the table, one that he had modeled after the old days as prince... and as he drank, the sweet crimson life dripping down his throat, he almost drifted into something of a sleep, though he was certainly not tired enough to. No, it was simply a ruminating state.
Over and over again his mind replayed the past events, the ones that had involved Aya. Such developments in the world in such a small amount of time. God, how he loved being one of the Undead. There would be such blood in the future and that was something he certainly could not miss out on. He supposed it was one of the reasons he had decided to become what he was to that day. A Vampire. Already he had a predisposition to rain gore down upon any thing that opposed him. As a Vampire, it was something he would be able to do for an eternity, and he did not regret it. No, not for one instant.
Aya's body took time now to rest, laying immobile upon the four-post bed. Against his ribs rested one hand, the other laying at his side. The only thing that did not sleep was his mind. It swam with troubled thoughts, before molding into a sort of hallucination. The assassin was floating within an abyss of nothingness. Oh, but it was only that for a moment. Soon about him floated visible memories, playing before him like a thousand movies all at once. They ranged from his earliest childhood memories, to his last conscious moments.
"Ran! Don't run so fast, you'll hurt yourself!" the scornfully gentle voice of his mother as he ran along the concrete sidewalk leading into a park he had spent much of his childhood in.
And then he gazed at large violet eyes as he stood upon his tippy-toes as a young boy, trying desperately to look over the hospital bed at his new baby sister. His father picked him up, smiling.
"Mommy, what's her name?"
"Well... Your father and I were thinking about naming her Aya." A bright smile appeared on his face as he reached out for his sister's little hands.
"Aya-Chan!"
The memories continued on, through the horrific ones of his parents death, and his sibling's coma, finally reaching some that had happened only days' previous.
"Now tell me, being that you've been with me the entire night, what is your name... punk?" The voice rumbling through his mind, haunting.
Then came the memories of their intimate meetings, and he was quite perplexed to be on the outside looking in. So wrapped up in them, he jumped as a soft voice murmured his name.
"Ran... Brother," the images before him were replaced by an ivory carved girl, thick hair bound in pigtails.
"Aya...?" he inquired, brows furrowed in confusion.
"What are you doing here, brother?"
He shook his head, "I... I don't know."
A delicate hand lifted as she stood upon her toes to touch his forehead.
"You've retreated into your own mind, Ran. You should not be here..." Midnight colored eyes turned to his chest, and then her hands were there. "You're hurt, Ran," she whispered, head tilted to the side.
"Aya, why are you here?"
The girl only smiled at the question, giggling lightly. "You keep me alive, of course. You and I, brother, we share a great deal - blood, one mind..." Her hand touched his chest, and her smile softened. "One heart..."
She turned to stand beside him, memories once again reappearing, but these started with Alucard and only contained the Vampire.
"Why do you pretend that you hate him? I feel how deeply woven into your heart he has become."
The redhead bit his lip, hands clenched at his sides.
"It's complicated, Aya."
The girl shook her head stubbornly,
"Ran, your emotions are pure. There is nothing complicated about them. You hated Alucard at first, I felt that - but you don't anymore, yet you still act as if you do, because you have always been too stubborn to admit the truth."
The Vampire allowed the last of the crimson life to dribble down his throat before standing. He was still a bit hungry, but he would endure until tomorrow. He would simply ask Walter to double the amount. It was of no consequence. He looked up at the ceiling, and simply stared for quite a while. He didn't know how long, but found his head lifting gently to the sound of a knock at his door.
"What?" he called, a bit perturbed.
Integra was the one to open the door, and he smiled.
"Thought I said I'd see you tomorrow night. Or have you come for another reason?" he queried, teasing.
Her eye twitched in annoyance and her face hardened. "I heard you this morning," she informed him, irritation clear in her voice.
"Oh, so it was morning," he replied casually, looking off into the distance.
This only inflamed her. "Alucard, this wasn't the first time this has happened. Am I correct?"
"You are."
"Don't allow him to become a weakness. He may be immortal, but that does not mean he cannot be used against us, and you, in other ways. This so called ‘punk' is one of the keys in the project that Estet is in charge of. He knows a bit too much about you, and about this organization. Unlike you, he feels pain and could easily have the information tortured out of him if he were captured."
Alucard chuckled, "He's much too stubborn for that."
Integra's stony expression lit up with anger. "An eternity is a long time to remain stubborn, Vampire. You forget that."
Alucard laughed. "Maybe so, my Master. Maybe so."
The woman turned, tossing over her shoulder, "I advise you to watch yourself," and left, shutting the door behind her.
Alucard folded his hands in his lap, leaning back, his legs crossed comfortably. As if Aya would become anything like a weakness for him. For a moment, he reconsidered. He recalled the anger he felt when he found out that Aya had been intruded upon by that man, whatever his name may be. Hadn't that been because Aya was simply property? Of course. Of course. He may have had a crush, yes, but crushes did not affect one in an important situation. He forced an angry sigh.
"Whatever," he growled at himself.
"Aya, what happened to force us into this kind of life?" The redhead asked, now sitting in the darkness of his mind, sister along side of him.
"I suppose it was fate. But perhaps our enemies are the ones controlling that fate."
"Our enemies?" he inquired.
"I told you, Ran. You and I share a great deal. It was hard to accept, at first... All the hate brewing in you - I'd never seen you like that, until my accident. The first time you donated blood to me, and they put mine in return, I was scared. Suddenly I was caught up nightmarish thoughts, carved in blood."
Violet eyes widened, and Aya shook his head.
"You saw those things...? All of them?"
Aya remained in conversation with his sister for a long while, and slowly he fell into a relaxed state about her. No longer was he awkward and uncomfortable around her. It was easy to catch back up, discussing all the things she had seen within his mind, living there - alive in his memory as he intended her to be, just not in the literal sense. With a sad smile, Aya-Chan stood, reaching out a hand to him.
"Come, brother... It's time that you woke. You have rested long enough."
Alabaster met ivory as he took that delicate hand in his, almost afraid that he might break it in his grip.
She leaned close to him, planting a gentle kiss to his cheek.
"For all the kisses you've given me that I couldn't return..." She smiled, features childish and loving.
"Will I see you again, like this?" he almost didn't want to ask, afraid of the answer.
"Perhaps, Ran. Perhaps."
She clung to his hand, tears spilling forth from her eyes, bidding even Aya to shed the salty substance from his eyes.
"When I wake up someday, introduce me to Alucard. Don't let him go."
The siblings clasped hands for a few more moments before Aya shut his eyes, warmth against his cheeks as tears continued to fall.
"Wake up..." The voice was distant.
"Wake up..."
It was getting louder, until finally, "Aya! Answer us!"
He was startled awake, sitting up. His hand went to his ear.
"I'm here," he replied quickly, mind befuddled.
Had that been... Real?
"Are you alright?" a young boy's worried voice said from the transmitter.
"I'm fine. I'll get back to you in a little while."
Before Omi could utter a complaint, he shut off the device, slender fingers moving to his cheek. Upon them tears still glistened.
"Aya..."
The Vampire had spent the rest of his night pondering, and the day sleeping, as he should. When he awoke, he pulled himself up from his coffin, stretching slightly and sauntering languidly out into the cellar hallway. It was night time once more. He felt a bit hungry and as he passed Seras' room he pounded on her door and asked her to tell Walter that he needed a bit more medical blood than last time. Her response was meek but he continued walking, standing straight and tall, a slight grin across his face. Alucard admitted that he was possibly a bit perturbed still over last night, but pushed it away, there was simply no reason to dwell on such things, such foolish things. No, things such as killing, as blood and death were the most important in his life. Despite the fact the Vampire had loved before, and had the capacity to do so again, in his heart, drowning himself in gore and the screams of the innocent would always be his first mistress.
He found himself on the first floor, whilst still in thought. Everything seemed so surreal for the moment. The moonlight pouring through the windows covered the cool, stony floors like a pearly blanket, silhouettes of statutes seemingly coming to life within the caress of the silken rays. Alucard was entranced by the beauty of it – how he loved the night so. And turning, he heard a cry from the punk's room, something so soft it would not have been audible – it was fortunate his senses were keener than those of a human's and that silence accompanied the serene setting. A few steps carried him to outside the assassin's door, and not giving a second thought to privacy, he wrenched open the door, finding the young man's cheeks stained with tears. His face contorted in no specific way and he simply stood there, watching. He refrained from even making a comment Alucard was not concerned, but rather intrigued, and preferred that Aya explain himself now that he had interrupted what appeared to be something special.
The crown of red snapped up, violet eyes staring at Alucard for a moment filled with raw emotion, before they settled back into nothing more than beautiful stones. The amethyst orbs narrowed slightly as he sat upon the bed, looking at Alucard in silence. The tears, thankfully, had subsided, leaving only trace remains. Certainly he had not expected the Vampire to intrude upon such a private display of emotions, but he figured he shouldn't be surprised - Alucard showed up at inopportune times.
Alabaster fingers brushed away the tear stains, as he turned his head away from the Vampire. Still upon his chest gleamed the ugly wounds, a story of their own held within.
"Leave me alone," he muttered.
Was that weariness in his voice? Two times before he had asked the Vampire what he wanted upon coming to him, but this time he was in no mood for such questions. Alucard had invaded into a part of his emotions only Aya-Chan managed to penetrate, and he felt too vulnerable to have the older man around. The assassin needed time to recompose himself - redress his wounds of shame - before he could stand to be in the same room with Alucard. It seemed his dear sister's words had not phased the way he acted about the man, but such things took time... In Aya's case, it might possibly take him several years. At which time he wasn't even sure if he'd still be in contact with the Vampire. It did not matter that Aya-Chan, in her own way, had told him not to let go what made him happy. He did not feel it was his decision to make - then again, the rest of Weiss believed happiness was forbidden for killers such as themselves. Why should Aya be any different?
The Vampire did not heed the boy's request, and still, merely stood, ignorant (surprisingly enough) to what was occurring outside the walls of the Hellsing mansion.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Ohh, what's happening outside of the Hellsing Mansion? Well, you'll have to wait to find out! I'll give you a hint, it's really good.
Reader response time!:
GlassShell: Yes, that portal technique would prove rather... Cliche. No, no. Aya takes a plane, just like every normal person does. I was technically supposed to update the story last night at Sadako's request, but I got a little sidetracked and then went to bed. But here's what you've been waiting for! Please let us know how you like this chapter too.
As for the rest of our readers, who don't review, we still love you. ^_^ You should drop us a review sometime. We promise to reply to everyone that drops us some feedback. We love our fans.
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