Hellsing - Blood Heritage

Yeah... this is another of those chapters that was kicking my ass. I have no excuse. I've just been lazy lately. And I'm tired of re-writing, so.... yeah. ~clears throat~ I will remind you that I HATE writing battle scenes, so if it doesn't come off well, I apologize. It's one of those things I have to work on...

And I am not an expert at German or any other language, so if I screw something up, please tell me! Remembering to write the accent is enough to screw with my head, so I wouldn't be surprised if I screwed some words up along the way... . ~looks down in shame~

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"Vell?" the German officer demanded. "Vhere ist it?"

The guide, who was practically quaking in fear, pointed toward a path leading into the mountains. "Th..that way."

The officer sneered at the man, then motioned to the group of soldiers behind him. He jammed the barrel of his rifle into the man's back.

"Lead the vay."

The terrified man lead the soldiers down the worn dirt path, stumbling when they pushed at him for being too slow. They were surrounded by nothing but the forest and sounds of nocturnal creatures calling to one another in the darkness. After what seemed like ages, they came to a stop in front of an ancient looking church. The stone walls were crumbling from centuries of disuse, and it looked like it might collapse at any moment. The bronze cross which had formerly graced the top of the building now lay forgotten on the ground - worn and mossy with age.

The soldier at the front of the group studied the building carefully, then pointed his gun at the guide's head. "You are sure this ist it?"

Cold sweat beaded on the man's forehead as he nodded. The soldier's lips pulled into a cruel smile, and his finger tightened on the trigger.

"Ve'll haff none of that officer." a cold, feminine voice called out. A tall, heavily muscled woman with short spiky hair and tattoos running the length of the right side of her body stepped forward and pushed away the gun's barrel. She narrowed her eyes at the soldier. "Ve still need him."

The officer immediately backed down. "Ja, Oberleutnant."

That dealt with, she turned to the guide and shoved him toward the church. "Take us to it, maggot."

The man scrambled toward the entrance and led the group inside, then down a flight of crumbling steps to a lower level. He fumbled with a lock on a heavy wooden door before pushing it open. Beyond the door lay a room, not unlike a dungeon cell. It was completely barren except for a stone sarcophagus laying in the middle of the floor. Upon seeing it, the men jumped into action. They crowded around the tomb, breaking the cement seals holding the lid in place. They removed the lid with a great deal of effort, then reached inside to lift up what was contained within. Several of them leap backwards, hissing in pain when they made contact.

"It's lined vith silver you fools!" the woman spat, glaring at them like they were idiots. "Get the vench!"

The men scrambled to do as they were told. Minding their hands, they attached ropes to whatever lay inside, then hoisted it from the tomb. It was a large coffin plated with silver. The sides were decorated with engravings of a battle scene, and on it's lid lay a tarnished seal bearing the image of a dragon with two chalices, one on either side of it's great wings. Once they got it lowered to the ground, they used rags and bits of clothing to protect themselves as they pried open the lid.

What lay inside the coffin was nothing less than horrific. A dried up corpse of a man who had been buried alive. His face and limbs were twisted in agony and long, deep scratches could be seen on the interior of the box - a testament to his efforts to get out. Other measures had been taken to ensure the futility of escape. Heavy chains, also silver, wrapped around the body and vicious black scorch marks covered the areas where they touched skin.

"Remove the chains und get him out of there."

They used bolt cutters to slice through the chains, then lifted the mummified remains and laid them out on a pallet on the floor. Once the soldiers' task was completed, the tattooed woman grabbed the guide by the scuff of the neck and dragged him over to the corpse.

"Millennium thanks you for your services. Now for your payment."

She pulled out a large bowie knife and slit his throat before he could even think about trying to get away. She shoved the gurgling man so that he was doubled over the corpse, his blood running into it's gaping mouth. It took some time, but slowly the twisted remains began to rejuvenate - new life flowing into it from the slaughtered man's 'sacrifice'. The dried skin became supple and smooth, the clenched fingers and limbs relaxed, and the long, snow white hair faded to a charcoal color. Suddenly, the corpse shot up and grabbed the dying man - sinking it's fangs into his already ravaged throat. When the creature finally released the drained shell of the guide, it looked passably human. A very weak, starved human, but human none the less.

It's crimson eyes glowed with ferocity as it looked around the room, taking in it's audience. When it spoke, it's voice was hoarse and gravelly from centuries of silence.

"Cine esti tu?"

The woman's eyes narrowed. "Ve don't speak your language. The maggot's blood should give you memories of English."

The creature faltered for a moment, as if trying to understand what she had said. Then, it's voice crackling with effort, it spoke in heavily accented English.

"Who are you?"

"Ve are the Letztes Bataillon of the Millennium group." She replied. "Mein commanding officer has a proposition for you."

His eyes narrowed, trying to figure out whether these strangers could be trusted. "I know nothing of this... Millennium. What do you want?"

The woman smirked, an evil, sadistic smile that would send waves of panic crashing over any human that saw it. "Ve vant the same thing you do. If you come vith us, Herr Major vill explain all you need to know. But first..."

She snapped her fingers and two of the soldiers dragged a screaming girl into the room. She couldn't have been more than 15 or 16, and her shoulder length brown hair was plastered to her face, her eyes red with tears as she struggled against their iron grip.

"Please!!!" she screeched. "Please!!! I haven't done anything! Let me go and I wont tell anyone!! I swear!"

The tattooed woman ignored the girl's pleas. "You haff been locked avay for a long time, Voivode. Ve haff brought you a snack."

The man's eyes lit up with hunger as he looked at the screaming girl. With some effort, he pushed himself up from the floor and stalked toward her.

"Destul de putin lucru. Sange miroase delicios." he murmured in his native tongue. He wrenched the girl free from the men's grip and sank his teeth into her throat. She let out a high pitched wail, then quickly fell silent as the life and blood left her. When he dropped her lifeless body, he looked a thousand times better. No longer starved, he actually had quite a handsome face and luxurious black hair that spilled down his back in soft ringlets. Even his eyes had changed. Rather than the vivid crimson they had been when he first awoke, they were a bright amber color, flecked with gold. He would have looked like a prince if it were not for the rags he wore.

He turned back to the soldiers and their leader. "I'm listening."

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"Ah rain. You remember the last time we had an assignment in a place where it rained?"

"Non." Bernadette replied, glancing sideways at the man who asked the question. "We spent zo long in zhe desert eet's hard to believe zhat rain exists."

"I heard that." Another piped up. "Shame such nice weather is waisted with hunting monsters... I was looking forward to a shower."

Pip saw Integra walk in and motioned for the men to stand at attention. Syn and Seras, who had been packing guns into transport crates, got up from their work and stood back against the wall. The knight marched to the front of their ranks and clasped her hands behind her back.

"We have a situation in Lancashire." She reported. "Homes situated on the outskirts of Clitheroe have been attacked and all family members murdered. The majority of these attacks have taken place in areas surrounded by forest. Our intelligence reports show that the vampires responsible are moving the ghouls created from these attacks into densely wooded areas for some unknown purpose. Your mission is to hunt down these monsters and eliminate them before they do any more damage. Use whatever means you think necessary. "

She gestured to where the girls were leaned against the wall. "As we do not know the exact numbers of the ghouls, you will separate into two groups. Captain Bernadette will take command of one, First Officer Victoria will lead the other. There are at least two vampires on the scene - possibly three. You will engage the vampires ONLY if you encounter them. Your primary focus is taking out the ghouls. Do you understand?"

The Geese all straightened their backs and nodded. Once Integra was sure they understood their orders, she turned to Syn. "You're going with Alucard. If the vampires prove to be difficult to track, you will lure them out."

The redhead inclined her head in understanding. "Yes Sir."

"Very good." the knight said, glancing over the group as a whole. "You have your orders gentlemen. Search and destroy. And may God and Her Majesty be with you."

They filed into the transport trucks, lifting the gun crates in after them. The truck that Pip and his group rode in also carried a large silver motorcycle - the one that Syn would be using. They had watched the girl practice shooting while riding the thing for the past several days. She climbed into the truck, followed closely by the biggest black dog any of the men had ever seen. What a dog was doing coming on the mission none of them knew; but the redhead didn't shoo him off and no one else commented about it. Once all the men and equipment was loaded up, they took off for their destination.

About an hour into the ride, the dog started pacing in front of the back doors, as if he had caught the scent of something interesting and wanted to go after it. Syn looked at him then loaded up her gun and began strapping on her gear.

Pip's eyebrows knitted together. "Iz eet time to go?"

"You guys have a drop off point further ahead." she replied, not looking up from tightening the bracers on her legs. "I get off here."

It was a perfectly acceptable answer except for the fact that she hadn't requested the truck to stop. The dog pawed at the doors and let out a low growl. The redhead finished with her gear, then climbed onto the motorcycle and cranked the engine. She shot a look at the men closest to the back.

"Open the doors and keep your legs out of the way."

The men looked at her like she was crazy. "Are you barmy woman?! Do you have any idea how fast we're going?"

The dog whipped it's head around and growled at the soldier who had spoken. The man instantly shut his mouth, sensing that the animal would become dangerous if he said anything else. A small smirk touched the girl's lips.

"The doors, if you please."

The soldier looked warily at the dog, then swallowed. "Yes ma'am."

They threw open the back doors, then pressed themselves against the walls of the truck to stay out of the bike's way. The dog leaped out into the downpour. Syn revved the engine, then followed the animal, leaving a set of stunned Geese behind her.

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The closer she got to the site of the latest attack, the less she liked this mission. It was an old farmhouse - much like the one she had lived in as a child. That, along with the rain and the darkness, was enough to stimulate memories she really didn't want to deal with. The last thing she needed was to loose her focus having flashbacks.

With all the wind and the rain blowing into her face, it was nearly impossible to see Alucard. Of course, he would choose to take a form that blended in perfectly with their surroundings. She had to rely entirely on their connection to maintain a sense of direction. She didn't like not knowing exactly where she was headed. Alucard wasn't running at his full speed, but keeping up with him forced her to go a lot faster than she felt comfortable going with no visual cues.

'I don't suppose you could change back now.' she sent out mentally. 'I can't see a damn thing.'

'Follow my signature. You don't need to rely on your human senses.'

'Damn it Alucard! I'm not your fledgling! I'm still human, and humans like being able to see what they're following! I'm still not used to going this fast, and if I make a mistake...'

She could almost see him arch a brow in challenge inside her head. 'I suggest you don't make any mistakes then.'

Syn gritted her teeth together, but didn't say anything else. She imagined this was a new way of testing out what she could do; to see just how far she would push herself. Not surprisingly, Alucard veered off toward the tree line. He was going to force her into the forest to dodge trees.

'Evil bastard.'

She knew something was up when they came upon one of the vampires. It came right for her, like it didn't sense Alucard at all. She might be a magnet for the undead, but there was no way in hell it didn't notice the imposing No Life King's presence. It had knocked her right off her bike too, almost as if it were 'waiting' for them...

Her motorcycle skidded, riderless, into a nearby brush. Syn struggled in the vampire's grip, trying to get herself into a position where she could reach her gun.

" 'ello love." the thing cooed in an almost pleasant sounding voice. "It's a horrible time for little girls to be wandering around in the woods."

At the sound of the words 'little girls' Syn decided she wasn't going to kill this vampire. No, she was going to torture the damn thing until it screamed like a baby. She was sick of this 'little girl' bullshit. When the vampire's grip on her throat tightened, she looked around frantically. Where the hell was Alucard? She hadn't been far behind him. Surely he had seen the creature attack her.

She thrashed and spit and kicked, doing everything in her power to throw the vile thing off of her. But her strength was nothing compared to his, and the vampire laughed at all her efforts.

"Oh, I am going to enjoy this..."

It leaned down and sniffed at her neck. Syn's blood ran cold when she realized the thing was actually going to bite her. It was a possibility that she had run through her mind - but actually having the vampire they were hunting pinning her to the ground and grazing it's fangs across her neck was something entirely different. It was enough of a shock to her system that she somehow managed to maneuver her legs up between them and kick him away. It didn't do the vampire any damage, but it was enough to get herself up off the ground and into a more defensible position. She jerked Lasher out of her side harness and took aim.

"No asshole." she spat at him. "I don't think you're going to enjoy this at all."

She waited for a flash of lightning to illuminate her target, then squeezed off the trigger. Syn let out a satisfied snort when the vampire crumpled to the ground and turned to dust. Still, something nagged at her. Fighting a vampire shouldn't have been as simple as that. It hadn't been much of a struggle compared to what most vampires were capable of.

She heard Alucard's footsteps behind her, then his derisive snort.

"What happened to your fantasies of torture? You could have at least made some sport of him."

Syn shot a dirty look over her shoulder, then glanced back at the pile of ash. The rain was beating down heavily, mixing the vampire's remains in with the mud.

"This was too easy." she said, more to herself than him. "Something's not right..."

Once again, Alucard snorted in disgust. "Vermin like that are unworthy of being called Nosferatu. Weak, pathetic children who kill with no sense of honor. Still..."

He paused, his attention caught be something only he could hear. His change in attitude reminded Syn of a dog with his hackles raised. Sensing that something important was going on, she turned to him expectantly.

"Wha..."

"Quiet woman." he snapped impatiently.

Syn crossed her arms over her chest at the command. She would have argued about it if he didn't look like he was focused on something else. Perhaps he had picked up the scent of the other vampire...

Suddenly, she got the sense that he found something incredibly intriguing. Exciting even. Like a hound that had just picked up the trail of a fox or something.

"It appears that our targets are more crafty than we expected." he drawled mysteriously.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the radio attached to her belt came to life.

"Requesting backup at area A-4! Repeat, requesting backup at area A-4! We've got two vampires and a large group of ghouls moving in from all sides!"

Syn started at the transmission. A-4 was Captain Bernadette's unit. Without sparing Alucard a second glance, she dashed past him to her bike. Seras and her unit were no doubt busy with ghouls in their area. It would take too long for them to get there. She pulled the motorcycle free from the brush, then sped off toward the area they had indicated. It would be near the farmhouse she had passed earlier. She raced through the trees, ignoring the violent assault of the rain, which had begun to fall harder. When she reached the farmhouse, she skidded to a halt and surveyed the scene in horror.

"Oh my god..."

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Oberleutnant - first lieutenant

Cine esti tu? - Who are you?

Destul de putin lucru. Sange miroase delicios. - Pretty little thing. Your blood smells delicious.

Hmm.... I wonder what that opening bit was about? Sounds like the Nazi's have dug themselves up a possible ally. Literally! Who is he and why did they hunt him down? Well... that's for me to know and you to find out! I'm just evil that way. XD Honestly, it's probably not that difficult to figure out, but I'm still not saying anything else about it. ~zips lips closed~

Yes, that's right. After spending so long putting this together, I DID leave it a cliffhanger. Sorry about that. >.>

~reads what she wrote above~ Damn. I'm turning into a sadistic b**** I need to work on that, or I'll scare everyone away....

REVIEW!!! please and thank you!