Hellsing Fan Fiction ❯ Fare ❯ Nature ( Chapter 4 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Artemis_Vampiress 
Apparently there are things Integra doesn't know about vampires.
Anime/Manga: Hellsing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Horror / Action | Type: Fanfiction Sequel | Uploaded On: 03.30.2008 | Updated On: 10.31.2008 | Pages: 3 | Words: 2.1K | Visits: 497 | Status: Work In Progress
Apparently there are things Integra doesn't know about vampires.
Anime/Manga: Hellsing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Horror / Action | Type: Fanfiction Sequel | Uploaded On: 03.30.2008 | Updated On: 10.31.2008 | Pages: 3 | Words: 2.1K | Visits: 497 | Status: Work In Progress
Jonathan's death had caused more problems than it fixed, more problems than Integra was prepared to deal with at the moment. She wished she could blame Malakai, but it wasn't as if he'd been really thinking when he'd done it. She supposed even vampires were occasionally prone to emotional rampages. But right now, she was tired, annoyed, and, though she'd never admit to it, grieving; she needed to place the blame somewhere. What made the whole situation worse was the disappearance of Jonathan's body. Sir Integra had ordered a few of her men to go and collect the body, but upon arrival to the place it had fallen, had found it missing.
A lesser person than Integra would have thrown their hands up in defeat at this point. The questions and demands of the other Knights (who were not happy about the control of Hellsing being in her hands again) were unceasing, and aggravating. Honestly. It wasn't as though she was a novice to this game, and certainly she wasn't an idiot. For the first time in her life, Sir Integral wished that the other Knights would stop seeing her only as a woman in a man's place and give her a little credit. God knew she'd saved their lives more than once, and let's not forget the whole of England had also been rescued from the clutches of the filthy undead FREAKS by Hellsing, under her leadership.
But Sir Integral Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing could not be a lesser person. She would, as she always had, tackle the mess before her with the precision and efficiency, even if it meant gritting her teeth and listening to ignorant, soft-handed morons prate on and on about how she wasn't worthy to lead Hellsing and, oh, how far the great organization had fallen.
Alucard had already confirmed the involvement of vampires in the disappearance of the corpse. It saved her a lot of unnecessary investigation into suspected human organizations. The few institutions that dealt with the undead were being closely watched by Hellsing, and other than the usual attempts to create an unstoppable army through the power of vampires (so easily dealt with), there had been almost no activity. But if . . . no. There wasn't an if. Alucard was never wrong. Vampires were involved. But why?
After Jonathan's death, she had ordered his body found only after she'd had her office cleaned and the window repaired, trying to convince herself that he was not important. She had succeeded, but at what cost?
Worse still, Malakai had gone missing afterwards, and no one but Alucard knew where he'd gone. And the dark-haired vampire wasn't telling. And what Alucard didn't want to tell . . . well, suffice it to say that there was a possibility that she'd never know. Victoria seemed to have an idea of where Malakai was, but the vampiress wouldn't give voice to her thoughts. She'd seemed deeply troubled when she'd heard that Malakai was gone. Occasionally, she felt the female vampire reach out with her mind, but the connection stretched out so far that Integral couldn't tell where it led to.
The look on she'd last seen on Malakai's face - a mix of fury, disbelief, and, strangely, heartache - haunted her, though not nearly as much as the one that followed. The look of a man with no heart, no emotion. He'd disappeared only moments after killing Jonathan. They'd held a brief memorial service for him and then Integral had begun pestering her pet vampire, trying to uncover Malakai's whereabouts. But either he'd sworn not to tell, or, more likely, Alucard had simply decided that it was none of her business.
None of my business that a vampire could be loose in the world causing God only knows what kind of hell, Integral thought absently, tossing a crumpled letter onto the cluttered desktop, Only Alucard would think such a thing. I suppose it's beyond him to remember that I am the commander of an entire organization dedicated to destroying these undead. And Malakai being his oldest friend . . . I don't think my vampire will give him up unless under a direct order . . . and it's not as if I'm going to give such an order.
Why not, Master? It would ease your troubled mind a great deal, wouldn't it, knowing that he was tucked away inside his coffin, slipping away into a dark, deep vampire's sleep from which he might never wake? Alucard's voice purred.
Is . . . that what he's doing?
No, Master. He's currently off in Romania killing some poor little humans that just happened to be camping in the wrong place at the wrong time, Alucard replied calmly.
God, let him be joking.
You aren't serious? He wouldn't-
But he would, Master. He's a vampire, every bit as dark inside and every bit as violent and every bit as bloodthirsty as I am. It's a glorious thing, to be standing under the moon, drenched in the hot blood of humans, laughing at the sky because you know that no one and nothing could stop you . . .
Please, please, God, let him be joking.
But he isn't . . . Integral asked cautiously.
He wishes he was, Master. But it's so lonely, hunting alone . . . he's been begging me to join him . . . I've endured more temptation in the last few hours than I've ever felt in all my years . . .
Relief washed through Integral like a tidal wave . . .
Well, tempting though it may be. You do know I'd never allow it.
Of course, Master. I know the rules of this game. We've been playing for many years now.
Does it seem that way to you?
Yes. The way a vampire experiences time is not so different from the way a human does.
Integra shuffled some papers around on her desk.
I want to speak with him.
No response.
A blur of black and red materialized into a frowning Alucard before her desk.
“I can't force him to come here simply because you wish him to, Master. He's not your dog,” Alucard told her.
“I know that. But I want to speak with him and quite frankly, you are the only one he'll pay any mind to,” Integra replied.
“Very well.”
And then he was gone.
Hours passed, and Integra's never-ending headache was not dulled by the passage of time. Whispers seem to echo through the room, whispers of maids and soldiers eternally criticizing her. Why was her son dead? Why weren't they going after the monster who'd murdered him? Why was she wasting time on the bastard who'd done it in the first place? She couldn't answer those questions. Which was why she needed to speak with Malakai.
As if on cue, a soft voice spoke from beside the heavily shadowed wall to her left.
“You wanted to see me?”
“Yes. Please sit down.”
Malakai dropped into a chair in front of her desk. His dark blood-colored eyes were narrowed as he looked at her.
“Are you angry with me?”
No response.
“I take that as a yes.”
“I wouldn't make assumptions like that, dear knight. Just because I choose not to answer foolish questions, doesn't mean that there is an affirmative answer waiting behind the silence,” Malakai replied.
There was a hard edge to his voice that had not been there before.
“You are angry. I'm not deaf, vampire, I can hear the tone in your voice easier than you think. You are not so great an actor that you can hide your emotions completely. I suggest lessons from Alucard,” Integra told him icily.
A mocking half-smile curved Malakai's mouth and he replied, “I've tried. He is not a good teacher. He is more emotional than you'd think; he's just not as human about expressing himself.”
“That's perfect. Then humans like me will be the only ones who can't tell that you're irate even if you deny it.”
“I've every right to be angry with you.”
“Why?”
“You humans can't do anything on your own. You have to send others to do your work for you.”
“What are you trying to say, vampire?”
“Exactly what I did say.”
“I've done nothing to make you angry with me.”
“Precisely. You just send Alucard to do it for you.”
Integra's icy blue eyes narrowed.
“And what exactly is that supposed to mean, vampire?”
“You could have just called my name, and I would have heard you. Instead you send Alucard to drag me from my home, commanded me to come speak with you. I'm not one of your soldiers. I'm not your dog.”
“I wasn't aware that you'd hear me if I called you, otherwise I would have. We've been trying to reach you for days with no response,” she replied coolly.
Malakai blinked, his expression becoming perplexed.
“You didn't know that?”
“No,” Integra said, taken aback by his sudden change in attitude.
“You mean, Alucard never told you? Ever?”
“No, he didn't.”
He frowned. It was no wonder, then that the irritable dark-haired male had come so rudely into his domain and dragged him out, irritated. Alucard probably didn't realize that she didn't know.
“That's awful!” Malakai said, “I was so ready to be angry with you. And all the time you didn't even . . . how could you not know?”
“Yes, yes, I get the point, I didn't know, and it's odd.”
“But, I can't believe he-”
“Enough.”
“All right, all right!”
Malakai stuck his long tongue out at her.
She gestured for him to sit, and he did, perching on the edge of her desk, brushing papers and files aside.
“So, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?”
“How are you?”
“Shit.”
“I'm serious. I want to know. You stormed off and disappeared for days. Alucard said you-you were upset.”
“Did he now?”
Malakai's crimson irises searched her face intently. She was so lost in the intensity of it that she didn't realize till it was too late that he had buried himself inside her mind.
“It would seem to me that you're lying. He said I wanted to hunt, he said that I was not to be disturbed, but I don't think my being upset ever came into it.”
“Not directly, but the implication was there.”
“Mmm.”
“Are you trying to say that my assumption was incorrect?”
Silence. That was all the answer she needed.
“I'm in hell because of what you've done, Malakai. Don't make your actions out to be anything other than what they were. Revenge. Emotional distress,” Integra said.
“You really think I'm capable of such things?”
"I didn't."
"But you do now?"
"I do. You weren't thinking when you killed him, though I'm sure you'd have done it anyway. I saw the look on your face. As I said before, you only think you're hiding your emotions," Integral said.
Malakai sighed.
"I'm tired, dear knight. I am sick of loneliness. I'm sorry that you lost your son, but I'm not sorry I killed a murdering, traitorous bastard who took something precious from me. I am also sorry that his body has gone missing. I hope you find it soon," Malakai replied grimly, standing and turning to leave.
What the vampire did not know, could not know, was that his actions had caused events to be set in motion that would end life at Hellsing as they knew it.
A lesser person than Integra would have thrown their hands up in defeat at this point. The questions and demands of the other Knights (who were not happy about the control of Hellsing being in her hands again) were unceasing, and aggravating. Honestly. It wasn't as though she was a novice to this game, and certainly she wasn't an idiot. For the first time in her life, Sir Integral wished that the other Knights would stop seeing her only as a woman in a man's place and give her a little credit. God knew she'd saved their lives more than once, and let's not forget the whole of England had also been rescued from the clutches of the filthy undead FREAKS by Hellsing, under her leadership.
But Sir Integral Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing could not be a lesser person. She would, as she always had, tackle the mess before her with the precision and efficiency, even if it meant gritting her teeth and listening to ignorant, soft-handed morons prate on and on about how she wasn't worthy to lead Hellsing and, oh, how far the great organization had fallen.
Alucard had already confirmed the involvement of vampires in the disappearance of the corpse. It saved her a lot of unnecessary investigation into suspected human organizations. The few institutions that dealt with the undead were being closely watched by Hellsing, and other than the usual attempts to create an unstoppable army through the power of vampires (so easily dealt with), there had been almost no activity. But if . . . no. There wasn't an if. Alucard was never wrong. Vampires were involved. But why?
After Jonathan's death, she had ordered his body found only after she'd had her office cleaned and the window repaired, trying to convince herself that he was not important. She had succeeded, but at what cost?
Worse still, Malakai had gone missing afterwards, and no one but Alucard knew where he'd gone. And the dark-haired vampire wasn't telling. And what Alucard didn't want to tell . . . well, suffice it to say that there was a possibility that she'd never know. Victoria seemed to have an idea of where Malakai was, but the vampiress wouldn't give voice to her thoughts. She'd seemed deeply troubled when she'd heard that Malakai was gone. Occasionally, she felt the female vampire reach out with her mind, but the connection stretched out so far that Integral couldn't tell where it led to.
The look on she'd last seen on Malakai's face - a mix of fury, disbelief, and, strangely, heartache - haunted her, though not nearly as much as the one that followed. The look of a man with no heart, no emotion. He'd disappeared only moments after killing Jonathan. They'd held a brief memorial service for him and then Integral had begun pestering her pet vampire, trying to uncover Malakai's whereabouts. But either he'd sworn not to tell, or, more likely, Alucard had simply decided that it was none of her business.
None of my business that a vampire could be loose in the world causing God only knows what kind of hell, Integral thought absently, tossing a crumpled letter onto the cluttered desktop, Only Alucard would think such a thing. I suppose it's beyond him to remember that I am the commander of an entire organization dedicated to destroying these undead. And Malakai being his oldest friend . . . I don't think my vampire will give him up unless under a direct order . . . and it's not as if I'm going to give such an order.
Why not, Master? It would ease your troubled mind a great deal, wouldn't it, knowing that he was tucked away inside his coffin, slipping away into a dark, deep vampire's sleep from which he might never wake? Alucard's voice purred.
Is . . . that what he's doing?
No, Master. He's currently off in Romania killing some poor little humans that just happened to be camping in the wrong place at the wrong time, Alucard replied calmly.
God, let him be joking.
You aren't serious? He wouldn't-
But he would, Master. He's a vampire, every bit as dark inside and every bit as violent and every bit as bloodthirsty as I am. It's a glorious thing, to be standing under the moon, drenched in the hot blood of humans, laughing at the sky because you know that no one and nothing could stop you . . .
Please, please, God, let him be joking.
But he isn't . . . Integral asked cautiously.
He wishes he was, Master. But it's so lonely, hunting alone . . . he's been begging me to join him . . . I've endured more temptation in the last few hours than I've ever felt in all my years . . .
Relief washed through Integral like a tidal wave . . .
Well, tempting though it may be. You do know I'd never allow it.
Of course, Master. I know the rules of this game. We've been playing for many years now.
Does it seem that way to you?
Yes. The way a vampire experiences time is not so different from the way a human does.
Integra shuffled some papers around on her desk.
I want to speak with him.
No response.
A blur of black and red materialized into a frowning Alucard before her desk.
“I can't force him to come here simply because you wish him to, Master. He's not your dog,” Alucard told her.
“I know that. But I want to speak with him and quite frankly, you are the only one he'll pay any mind to,” Integra replied.
“Very well.”
And then he was gone.
Hours passed, and Integra's never-ending headache was not dulled by the passage of time. Whispers seem to echo through the room, whispers of maids and soldiers eternally criticizing her. Why was her son dead? Why weren't they going after the monster who'd murdered him? Why was she wasting time on the bastard who'd done it in the first place? She couldn't answer those questions. Which was why she needed to speak with Malakai.
As if on cue, a soft voice spoke from beside the heavily shadowed wall to her left.
“You wanted to see me?”
“Yes. Please sit down.”
Malakai dropped into a chair in front of her desk. His dark blood-colored eyes were narrowed as he looked at her.
“Are you angry with me?”
No response.
“I take that as a yes.”
“I wouldn't make assumptions like that, dear knight. Just because I choose not to answer foolish questions, doesn't mean that there is an affirmative answer waiting behind the silence,” Malakai replied.
There was a hard edge to his voice that had not been there before.
“You are angry. I'm not deaf, vampire, I can hear the tone in your voice easier than you think. You are not so great an actor that you can hide your emotions completely. I suggest lessons from Alucard,” Integra told him icily.
A mocking half-smile curved Malakai's mouth and he replied, “I've tried. He is not a good teacher. He is more emotional than you'd think; he's just not as human about expressing himself.”
“That's perfect. Then humans like me will be the only ones who can't tell that you're irate even if you deny it.”
“I've every right to be angry with you.”
“Why?”
“You humans can't do anything on your own. You have to send others to do your work for you.”
“What are you trying to say, vampire?”
“Exactly what I did say.”
“I've done nothing to make you angry with me.”
“Precisely. You just send Alucard to do it for you.”
Integra's icy blue eyes narrowed.
“And what exactly is that supposed to mean, vampire?”
“You could have just called my name, and I would have heard you. Instead you send Alucard to drag me from my home, commanded me to come speak with you. I'm not one of your soldiers. I'm not your dog.”
“I wasn't aware that you'd hear me if I called you, otherwise I would have. We've been trying to reach you for days with no response,” she replied coolly.
Malakai blinked, his expression becoming perplexed.
“You didn't know that?”
“No,” Integra said, taken aback by his sudden change in attitude.
“You mean, Alucard never told you? Ever?”
“No, he didn't.”
He frowned. It was no wonder, then that the irritable dark-haired male had come so rudely into his domain and dragged him out, irritated. Alucard probably didn't realize that she didn't know.
“That's awful!” Malakai said, “I was so ready to be angry with you. And all the time you didn't even . . . how could you not know?”
“Yes, yes, I get the point, I didn't know, and it's odd.”
“But, I can't believe he-”
“Enough.”
“All right, all right!”
Malakai stuck his long tongue out at her.
She gestured for him to sit, and he did, perching on the edge of her desk, brushing papers and files aside.
“So, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?”
“How are you?”
“Shit.”
“I'm serious. I want to know. You stormed off and disappeared for days. Alucard said you-you were upset.”
“Did he now?”
Malakai's crimson irises searched her face intently. She was so lost in the intensity of it that she didn't realize till it was too late that he had buried himself inside her mind.
“It would seem to me that you're lying. He said I wanted to hunt, he said that I was not to be disturbed, but I don't think my being upset ever came into it.”
“Not directly, but the implication was there.”
“Mmm.”
“Are you trying to say that my assumption was incorrect?”
Silence. That was all the answer she needed.
“I'm in hell because of what you've done, Malakai. Don't make your actions out to be anything other than what they were. Revenge. Emotional distress,” Integra said.
“You really think I'm capable of such things?”
"I didn't."
"But you do now?"
"I do. You weren't thinking when you killed him, though I'm sure you'd have done it anyway. I saw the look on your face. As I said before, you only think you're hiding your emotions," Integral said.
Malakai sighed.
"I'm tired, dear knight. I am sick of loneliness. I'm sorry that you lost your son, but I'm not sorry I killed a murdering, traitorous bastard who took something precious from me. I am also sorry that his body has gone missing. I hope you find it soon," Malakai replied grimly, standing and turning to leave.
What the vampire did not know, could not know, was that his actions had caused events to be set in motion that would end life at Hellsing as they knew it.