Hellsing Fan Fiction ❯ Darkness and Light ❯ Chapter 5: First Impressions ( Chapter 6 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Chapter 5: First Impressions

Seras stumbled down the stairs towards her room in a fit of exhaustion. She once again had her coat draped over her shoulder and was leaning against the wall for support. She was also breathing heavily as she slowly walked down the hallway towards her room. She felt slightly lightheaded but it was a pleasant feeling to her battered senses. Sleep. I'm so god damn tired. She looked up and cursed softly when she saw someone waiting at her door, his arms crossed across his chest and glaring at her.

She came to a stop before the man and looked up, strain evident across her face. “Can I do something for you Lord Hellsing?” She asked, the man blinked at her appearance and Seras saw his nostrils flare at least one. Probably smells the alcohol.

“Where the hell have you been? I've been waiting for your report since last night.” He paused and waited for her answer.

“Out. I took the night off after we accomplished the mission.” She said tiredly as she leaned against the wall next to him. She looked up to him and wondered lazily why he was so angry.

“Since when do you take time off?” The man asked in disbelief, trying very hard to drop his anger, especially since he knew exactly what she was capable of doing. She sighed and slid down the wall, coming to a stop when her bottom hit the floor. She leaned against the wall with her body but her head slumped forward. The man found himself biting his lower lip to restrain his anger. “You had responsibilities to report back to me after a mission. You know that.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” She said in annoyance, her tone rising in volume as she stared at his face in an expression of anger. Most men, knowing what she was, would've shrunk away from that gaze. The leader of Hellsing however stood his ground and returned Victoria 's glare with one of his own, one that would've sent a lesser man running in fear. “Is that all you came down here for?” She asked in anger, turning her head away from the man as she stared back at the ground.

The man raised an eyebrow as he watched the woman grab her head in what seemed like pain. Does she usually get this agitated? Wonder what's eating her. “Listen up blood sucker—” But he was cut off by the young woman.

“Please William, not now.” Her voice came out tired and annoyed, but surprisingly soft, as if pleading. “I can't deal with this right now, can it wait until tonight?”

Draculina making a request instead of just doing whatever she wants? The man watched her stand up and walk past him to her door but stopped outside of it. She looked up to him with an expression of great pain. He almost gasped but caught himself in time. The man had known the girl since he was eight years old, and not once did he ever see her in such a state. When seeing her face, he relented and let out a sigh. “Victoria , get some rest. Make your report to me when you are fully rested.”

She looked at the man as if surprised but said nothing at first. Finally, after a staring match that seemed to go on forever, he put his hand on her shoulder and his tone drastically changed from anger to a softer one. “Get some sleep, you look like hell.”

She gave the man a genuine smile, the first `true' smile she had ever given him. “Thank you sir.” She said softly as she entered her room. The door closed behind her quietly and Lord Hellsing walked down the hallway away from her room, confused as to what had happened the night before to have such an effect on the female vampire.

& nbsp; ~

Seras stood outside the office door with her hand raised to knock but did nothing. She had woken up to find that her headache was gone and she felt as well as she normally did upon waking. She struggled to find an answer as she walked towards the office of the leader of Hellsing, electing to actually indulge the man's request that she `knock for once before coming in and scaring the hell out of me.' However, upon her arrival, she paused, still trying to understand why she had acted the way she had acted the night before. That was strange. It felt as if a lot of old feelings and memories were rushing to the surface. Hell, it sent me to the bars and I haven't had a drink for at least a quarter of a decade. She finally shook her head to dispel the uneasy feeling and knocked three times on the wooden door.

“Come in.” Came the voice inside. Seras raised an eyebrow at the man's cheerful tone but only opened the door and stepped inside. She closed it behind her before looking towards the desk. She didn't raise her eyes however, her mind still locked in a state between shame and confusion. “Oh, Victoria . I was wondering when you would show up.” Came the voice of Lord Hellsing as he turned in his chair to face her. He then thought for a moment and added, “Thanks for knocking for once.”

Seras stepped forward and was about to speak when something caught her eye. Well, rather not something but someone. Seras stared at the little girl that was standing next to her father, apparently drawing something on a piece of paper. The girl looked around six years old, with blond hair that was drawn back into a ponytail and tied with some red strings. Somewhat surprised by the girl's presence, Seras asked dumbly with her mouth hanging open, “Your daughter?” The girl responded to the new voice by looking up and locking eyes with Seras. Seras bit her lip to keep from gasping when she saw that the girl's eyes were blue and her face looked remarkably similar. She…she looks like Integra.

The man scratched his head in a small bit of embarrassment. “Yes, she decided she wanted to surprise me and drop by for a visit.” The girl looked to her father and smiled a large smile, causing the young girl to look rather cute.

Seras laughed a small bit at the man's embarrassment and the girl's reaction. She looked back to the man and seemed to ask something. Without really thinking about it, the man nodded, somewhat knowing what the woman was asking. He brought his daughter about from behind the desk and stood behind her, his hands on her shoulders. The girl seemed confused but allowed herself to be presented like this. Seras walked forward and bent over to inspect the girl. Seras bent both her knees and stood on the balls of her feet in order to compensate for the vast height difference. “Hello Miss Hellsing. My name is Seras, its nice to meet you.” Seras said, closing her eyes and extending her hand with a smile.

The girl positively beamed at the attention and shook Seras' hand enthusiastically. “I'm Alice . It's nice to meet you too.” Seras chuckled at the girl as she opened her eyes. She almost felt as if she was being pulled into those blue orbs before she stood up with a smile. She playfully rustled the child's hair, causing the young girl to start to giggle.

“Alice , could you go play outside for a few minutes, I need to talk to your daddy.” Seras asked with a small smile on her face.

“Actually, her mother is here to pick her up.” Lord Hellsing said, more to his daughter than to Seras. He bent down and whispered in his daughter's ear, “Honey, don't keep your mother waiting.”

The girl looked up and smiled at her father before saying, “Okay daddy.” She looked back to Seras and said, “It was nice meeting you Miss Seras.” She then ran towards the door playfully and left the room, closing the door behind her. Both of the room's occupants merely smiled at the girls behavior.

“You're a very lucky man Lord Hellsing. She's beautiful.” Seras said with no trace of sarcasm to be found in her voice. In fact, it sounded somewhat like envy or jealousy.

The man walked around his desk and sat in his chair. “I know. She really takes after her mother though.” He said, turning to face the woman.

Seras shrugged, “Could've fooled me. She looks remarkably like your great-great-grandmother.” Seras raised an eyebrow to think if she had added one too many `greats' or not. Then again, its not like many of the former leaders of Hellsing had long lives. This was true to a certain extent. It was as if the Hellsing family was cursed, with the members dying at young ages either from accidents or diseases of one sort or another. One had even died while leading a personal raid on the increasing number of nonhumans. Rather ironic that I've been here longer than a few of them put together.

The man raised his eyebrow in astonishment, “Really? Well that ruins my wife's idea I suppose.” He said with a chuckle. He face hardened up though and the feeling in the room went remarkably cold. “So, will I get your report now?”

Seras straightened up. “Yes sir. I also apologize for my actions this morning.”

He then asked a question, his voice genuinely concerned, “I was concerned about that. I don't think you've ever drank since I've known you. It surprised me to say the least.”

Seras looked away in what seemed like shame. “Yes, I know. I haven't drank since the death of the late Lady Hellsing.” The man seemed to nod in understanding. Seras had really respected the man's mother, and the previous leader of the Hellsing Institution. In Seras' mind, the woman had fit the mold of what Hellsing's leader should be, without being as ice cold as Integra was. In fact, the woman treated Seras as a close confidant, sharing secrets with her and giving orders that Seras would always obey out of respect. In fact, Seras would go out of her way to work with Lady Hellsing to make sure everything went smoothly for the organization. The woman's death in a car accident caused Seras and the Hellsing family to suffer greatly, but no worse than the son who had to be brought into to lead the institution at such a young age with no knowledge of what his family did. I suppose he deserves some respect for coming to this point from that situation.

Seras shook her head to remove the memories that were plaguing her mind at the moment and issued her report. “We arrived and took over the operation from D11 as planned. I don't know the exact time so don't quote me on it. After setting the ground work for the infiltration team's route, I went to the roof and came in from there. The human team eliminated one of the freaks and its ghouls with ease, while I dealt with the other three. The hostages were recovered safely.”

The man nodded and swiveled in his chair a little bit. “Excellent work Victoria .”

The woman shrugged and added, “Also, I was able to extort some information out of the freaks before eliminating them.” She looked up to see that the man was staring at her, urging her to continue her report. “They told me that someone brought them to an abandoned warehouse near the port district and that when the woke up they were freaks.”

The man frowned as he turned away from the vampire to ponder this new development. “I'll have intelligence start looking into it. Even if there is a factory near there, I doubt it'll still be in production.”

Seras nodded in agreement. “I agree, however there may be some remnants of a lab or factory. If we can get our hands on some clues, we may be able to track the trail left behind.” She looked to up see that the man was facing her again, as if taking in all she had to say like a sponge. “Sir, I'm willing to cooperate with intelligence to find it.”

The man grinned and said, “Excellent. The port district is large and full of warehouses so I doubt it'll be a short search. Your assistance will be helpful.”

“Sir, I also highly recommend dispatching some specialists out searching as well, my own range is limited during the day.” Her only response was a rough cough and a small nod.

He then rested his elbows on the desk with his hands across each other and rested his chin on his hands. “What about that other matter?”

Seras looked at the man as if confused then realized what he was asking. “Yes, he definitely has a gift, although he himself doesn't fully realize it yet.” Seras let a smile cover her face, “I'm sure he can be trained accordingly.”

“Oh, are you sure?”

“Yes. He was able to sense how many freaks were in the building. I'm sure with some more training he will be able to even tell ghouls and freaks apart from each other and where they are actually located inside a building.” Seras looked at the leader of Hellsing with a smile and added, “He's Division S class alright.”

The man nodded in understanding. “His injuries will hinder his training I suppose. About another month before he can reclaim active duty.”

Seras shook her head. “Not really as much as you're thinking.”

“Explain.” The man ordered, looking up at the female vampire with a confused look.

Seras explained, waving her hand out in front of her. “Simple. Just have him accompany your infiltration squads but keep him outside with your command unit.” The man was still confused, “Its simple really, I'll talk to him first but he'll try to sense the number of vampires and refine his ability and just compares when the team finishes. Have him keep doing this until his arm heals then we just transfer him to the facility.” Lord Hellsing seemed to understand her idea and was thinking about it while scratching his chin. Seras then added, “While we're talking about it, check to see if any operatives in training are close to stage two or three yet. If we're going to bring Griphten there, I might as well spend my time wisely. At least one of those greenhorns should be at stage three.”

The man nodded and said, “I understand.” He then spun around and faced away from the vampire. There was a short silence and then he asked, “Do you have anything else left to report?”

Seras thought a moment to the previous night where she seemed to have had lost control of herself but shook her head to free her mind. “Perhaps, but I won't comment on it quite yet. I need to figure it out first.” She stated simply.

“Alright then. Continue with your search and destroy orders for the time being. Once intelligence sets up their tactics, I'll let you know.”

“Understood.” The man turned around to add something else but Seras was gone. He frowned and thought, She came in through the door, couldn't she leave through it for once too? He shook his head and opened a drawer in his desk and withdrew a file. It was the same file that had been open on his desk before; the classified file on Seras Victoria , the most powerful weapon that the Hellsing institution possessed. He withdrew the picture of the woman when she was still human and looked at it with great interest. Seras Victoria, former member of the D11 elite team. All traces of her existence were wiped out long before my time. This file contains all that remains of her past life.

The man broke from his thoughts when he heard a knock at his door. “Come in.” He said, still reading over the file. He looked up to see that his confidant Christopher had come in and stood before him with a small white cup on a tray. He was an elder man, with grey hair who stood wearing a tie and suit. He had a smile on his face that reminded anyone who would see him as a grandfatherly figure.

“Would you like some tea Master William.” He asked, holding the tray forward in an offer.

Lord Hellsing smiled and grabbed the teacup with one hand while laying the file down on his desk. “Thank you Christopher.” He drank some of the warm tea and felt its soothing taste all the way to his stomach. “I needed that. It's been a while since you called me that.” He added, letting a chuckle out.

The butler smiled as he brought the serving tray under his arm. “Was the little lady too much for you sir?”

The man looked to Christopher in surprise, “What? Oh Alice , no she wasn't any problem.” He said as he took another sip of tea. He then smiled sadly, a smile that reeked of depressing thoughts and things better left unsaid. “I only wonder when she'll be dragged into this…institution.”

The butler nodded in understanding. He had served the Hellsing family for many years, in fact most of his life. He remembered the late lady Hellsing with fond memories. Her unexpected death hurt everyone, especially the man sitting before him now. Christopher had tried his best to help console the boy and assist him with the family `business' as much as he could, but he could understand Master Hellsing's thoughts. “I don't think you have anything you should worry about. By the time she inherits the institution, she will be ready for it. She will understand the responsibility that you will entrust to her.”

Lord Hellsing shot a look of amusement. “You're pretty confident about an six year old girl's sense of responsibility my friend.” His tone lost its amusement and went back to its previous neutrality that the man normally used when speaking. “She met Victoria today.”

Christopher looked up in surprise at that tidbit of information. He had known that Master Hellsing and the vampire woman have never been on good terms, though he did not understand the reason why. The fact that the woman met her future boss today caused the man to realize that maybe the girl was doomed to this life of hunting either way. “Does your daughter have any idea what she is?”

Lord Hellsing shook his head. “No, she doesn't. I've begun to read her stories about vampires and she loves them. She thinks the stories are, in her own words `really really cool.'” The man chuckled as he placed the cup down on his desk and picked up the file on Seras again. “Its depressing to think that when the time comes, she'll be shocked to know that the lady she met is a blood sucker I think. I know it was a shock to me when I met Victoria . I still remember how she put her fist through that desk.”

Christopher chuckled lightly, recalling the incident that the master was referring to. It was shortly after the death of his mother, and Christopher had brought the young master, at that time ten years old, to Hellsing manor. That had been a…disturbing drive.

Christopher sat in the back of the limo with his left arm around the young boy's shoulders. The young boy looked down in deep sadness, and a little fear. He had learned that he would be taking over the family business, and even someone who was denser than lead could tell the boy was feeling overwhelmed. Christopher sighed and asked the young boy, “Master William, do you know what you mother did for a living?”

The boy looked up, his eyes damp with unshed tears. He wiped his eyes with his right sleeve before answering. “Not really. Mom…never really talked about work. I know it has something to do with an institution.”

The man nodded, looking away from the boy for a few moments of silence. At one point, Christopher asked, “Master William, from what you know of fantasy creatures, which one is the most terrifying?”

The boy looked up, confused by the sudden question. “What?” Seeing the man's serious expression, the boy knit his brow in deep thought. “Umm, werewolves?”

The man laughed at the boy's nervous answer, “Those are indeed terrifying but can you think of any others?”

The boy, feeling more sure of himself answered again, “Vampires?”

Christopher nodded as the car pulled into Hellsing manor. “That is correct master William. Do you know why?”

The boy seemed to drift into deep thought as they got out of the car and walked into the manor. “'Cause they drink blood?”

The man nodded, “That indeed is a reason to fear them, but that's not what makes them truly terrifying.”

“You can only kill them with a stake through the heart?”

“There are other ways to destroy them.” The man said, leading the boy into his mother's former office. The man crossed himself slightly as he walked in.

The boy stopped walking and looked to his guardian. “Why are you asking me this?”

The man sighed, “Master William, for millennia the Hellsing family has…hunted vampires. The institution exists solely for that purpose.”

The boy looked at the man in disbelief and said, “That's a good one Christopher. Seriously now, what does the institution do?”

“Master William, I do not lie to you. Vampires exist, and the institution has hunted them long before we were born.”

“You can't be serious.” The boy said, starting to fear afraid by what was being told to him.

“We hunt creatures of the night under order from the Queen herself, Master William.” He noticed the sun going down and added, “We're going to meet someone here who can describe the actions of the Hellsing Institution much better than I can.”

The boy looked nervous as he walked around the room fidgeting. “Who is it?”

“Someone who worked for your mother, and is probably the best vampire hunter in Hellsing.”

“Well where is he?”

“It's a she and she's probably still sleeping. Sit down and relax Master William, I'll bring you some tea.” The boy nodded and sat down in a chair behind the desk, adjusting himself accordingly. The man chuckled as he thought about how much time the boy would spend in that chair in the future as he went to get the boy some tea. “I hope she doesn't scare the hell out of him.” He said to himself as he prepared the tea.

Christopher returned shortly after that with two cups of tea and handed one to the young master. He took the other for himself and looked out of the office window. The sun had gone down and the moon was slowly rising. He was broken out of his reverie as he heard the boy scream in panic and he looked to see what was wrong. He was met by the view of a young woman with brown hair leaning against the desk looking at the boy with great interest. He swore silently to himself and thought `Damn it Victoria , did you really need to scare the life out of him?'

“So this is the new leader of the Hellsing Institution?” She asked out loud to no one in particularly. Her voice was cold and distant, as if she was reciting something she already knew by heart. She stood up and walked around towards the front of the desk, never taking her eyes off the boy.

The boy had shrunk back in the chair, obviously very frightened of the woman's sudden appearance and cold demeanor. “Who are you?”

The woman gazed deeply into the boy's eyes with her own red eyes and smiled. She then answered, her voice sounding formal but no longer bearing any of the chill that had previously been there, “Good Evening Lord Hellsing. I am Seras Victoria . It is nice to finally meet you. I'm sure we will be seeing a lot of each other in the future.”

Christopher broke out of the memory when recalling how Seras fully explained the purpose of the Hellsing Institution, and showing off why they hunted vampires. Two weeks of nightmares, training, education and a new desk later, the new Lord Hellsing assumed his position.

Lord Hellsing seemed to break from his own thoughts and asked as he held the file out to the elder man. “Have intelligence found out what the hackers were trying to find out about her?”

Christopher took the file and shook his head. “No, as of yet no information is conclusive. What worries me more is that they knew of her existence and where to find the information.”

The younger man nodded, “I agree. Whoever did this knew exactly what they were looking for. Have we taken precautious as of yet?”

“Yes sir, we have isolated the point of entry and I have our best programmers working on finding a way to prevent such a thing from happening again.”

“Not that it really matters,” Lord Hellsing said, “the hackers have what they wanted. It's just the question of why they want to know about her.” He turned back to his mentor and said with a command, “Find out if there is any useful information that could be used against her taken. Keep intelligence on this, I want to know who did this.”

The man nodded in understanding, “Sir, only a few people know of her existence within this organization. The list of suspects cannot be very long.”

Lord Hellsing took another sip of his tea and added, “I know. In fact, outside of this institution, the only other people to know of her are the Queen and the round table.” He paused for a moment, “Most of our soldiers don't know about her though, and none know about this file.”

“You think there is a traitor in the round table Master Hellsing.” Christopher asked.

“Definitely. There has always been those in the round table that detested our use of vampires to hunt their own.” He paused for a moment then asked, “Christopher, is this all the hackers took?”

“Yes sir, it was just the file that we compiled on Victoria that was copied. The rest of our system remains untouched, they didn't have enough time to get anything else. Why do you ask sir?”

The man grinned, a somewhat maniacal expression in its own right. “Reading through my mother's journal, she makes mention to Hellsing's trump card, and where she had been told it was sealed. I was just curious to see if they were interested in that at all.”

“Trump card sir? I was under the impression that Victoria was our trump card in our little war against the undead.”

The man shook his head and stood up and turned to the window. “No my friend, there is another. A card that apparently makes Victoria pale in comparison. It is however a double edged sword, a joker of the deck if you will.” There was silence in the room as the statement hung in the air. “Christopher, continue to look for answers in this matter. Also, have Lieutenant Griphten come to my office later this evening. I need to discuss with him his future orders.”

“Understood sir, by your leave.” The man gathered the empty teacup and bowed before leaving the room. The leader of Hellsing remained, his gaze locked upon the moon sailing high in the night sky beneath the sea of stars. Be on your guard Victoria, this time your enemies aren't just the undead. We have a Judas in our midst.

~DeathLover~