Hellsing - Blood Heritage

Disclaimer: I don't own Hellsing, and I'm not making any money from this.


Big thank you to marora, who continues to endure my madness for the sake of making this story better. I seriously need to bake her some cookies or something...

--------------------------------
When Alucard first told her about the plan regarding the trip to Rome, Syn had thought - hoped even - that he was just joking about it. Unfortunately for her, the vampire had been deathly serious.

"Are you sure about this Sir Integra?" She questioned the female knight several days later. "I mean, if you're going into hostile territory, maybe you should take Alucard with you..."

The woman snorted. "Bringing a vampire into the heart of Vatican City would be the equivalent of a war declaration. And if Father Anderson happens to be present, the two of them would tear each other apart. It's better this way."

The red head took a deep breath. She understood Integra's logic, but that didn't make her feel any more comfortable with what she was being asked to do.

"Sir... while I appreciate the vote of confidence, I'm not sure that I'm qualified for..."

Integra stopped her with an icy look. "Are you questioning my judgment, Miss Newsom?"

Syn's mouth snapped shut instantly. Whenever Integra referred to her as 'Miss Newsom' it was a sign that she wasn't going to tolerate an argument. Period. But if the woman expected her to play bodyguard while in Rome, she felt it was her duty to inform her of her perspective about the matter.

"Sir, I would never question your judgment." she said honestly. "But your life is valuable, and if something were to happen..."

"If Enrico Maxwell is foolish enough to attack us, Alucard would reduce Vatican City to rubble in a heartbeat." Integra said, her manner completely confident. "Which is precisely why I want 'you' there. Alucard could find you anywhere, no matter how well hidden it may be. Iscariot wants a show of good faith on our part - but I will not walk into a den of vipers without the assurance that I will walk back out again."

'And I'm the assurance.' Syn thought. Her brows furrowed. "And the Captain, Sir?"

Integra's face softened slightly and she leaned back into her desk chair. "Captain Bernadette needs an assignment like this." The blonde woman stated, her voice plain and calm. "He volunteered to go, and I won't stop him from doing so. And I would prefer Walter to remain at the house in the event something should happen in my absence."

Syn nodded, more to herself that to the knight sitting in front of her. When emotions ran high, it was sometimes best to keep busy. That's what she tended to do for herself anyway. The gunsmith found that it kept the mind from spiraling down into a depression. With everything they had learned recently, having the leader of Hellsing's armed forces in a constant bad mood wasn't something that needed to happen. Pip was such a naturally good-natured guy, it was almost painful to think of him acting any other way.

"We leave tomorrow afternoon." Integra reported, returning to her usual business-like tone. "Pack whatever you need for a two day stay, then report downstairs at 1800 hours."

"Yes Sir."

--------------------
Syn knew Alucard was up to something when he didn't make an appearance that night. Not that she was particularly worried about being left alone for once - but it was... odd. She knew that he had been spending more time with Seras since she had finally been released from the hospital wing. Apparently the draculina had broken down and asked him to teach her how to use some of her powers. But she still had the feeling that he was planning something.

Sure enough, the next afternoon as she was getting ready, the vampire snuck up behind her and pressed her up against a wall.

"Alucard!" she exclaimed, trying to twist around so she could glare at him properly. "What the bloody hell are you doing?"

No matter how hard she struggled, she couldn't compete with his strength. Alucard let out an enigmatic chuckle at her surprise and pressed his nose into her hair. "You didn't think I would let you sneak away without saying goodbye, did you?"

Syn turned her head to shoot an irritated look over her shoulder. "I wasn't 'sneaking'. And you haven't been around, so I..."

Her statement came to an abrupt halt when he whirled her around and sank his teeth into her throat. The red-head's eyes fluttered as sharp pain, then unbelievable ecstasy rushed through her veins. Alucard's bite was always a force to be reckoned with. A dark aphrodisiac that made her want to drop to her knees and submit to anything he might have in store, no matter how terrible it might be. She didn't know if it was something all vampires could do, or if it was just one of his many talents. Syn's willpower was strong enough to fight it off it she chose, but that didn't mean that it wasn't incredibly difficult to do so.

"A...Alucard..." she said haltingly, finally finding her voice when he pulled away. "I... have to meet Sir Integ..."

His lips muffled the rest. They moved possessively over her own and Syn didn't even register that he had bitten her tongue until she tasted fresh blood well up in her mouth. It was enough to make her forget was her argument was. She whimpered against him and twisted her fingers into his hair to pull him closer. The moment he felt her encouragement, he released his grip with a breathy sounding laugh.

"So everyone knows who you belong to." he said in a low, silky tone.

And then he was gone. Syn blinked at the sudden brightness of the room in his absence. 'When the hell did the dungeons get so much light?' she wondered. It took several seconds for her to realize that the change in light quality wasn't due to Alucard leaving, but was brought on by a complete change of scenery. She was standing in the middle of the garage where she was supposed to meet Integra - her baggage laying neatly at her feet. It took only two seconds more for her to catch sight of the others in the room. Integra and Walter both looked up from the quiet conversation they had been having, while Pip's task of loading things into the car halted at her sudden appearance.

She flushed a bright red when she realized what she must look like to them. Not only had she appeared out of nowhere but if she resembled anything close to what she felt, she probably looked like she had just had a good roll in the hay. And since blood was still dribbling from her mouth and her neck, there was little doubt as to whom that 'roll in the hay' had been with. Her hands balled into fists as righteous indignation welled up inside of her.

'I 'hate' you Alucard!' she sent to where ever the bastard was hiding.

She could almost see his proud grin inside of her head. 'Good. Hate me. Loathe me with your entire being. I love it when you surrender to your passions...'

'Fuck you.'

'Right now?' he asked, sounding incredibly amused. 'I wasn't aware you were an exhibitionist...'

Syn threw up a mental block right there. She didn't want to deal with the lecherous vampire right then. Integra quirked a brow as the red-head moved to pick up her bags. The knight didn't say a word to her, choosing to glance sideways at her butler instead.

"See to it that Alucard understands that he is confined to the dungeons while we are away." she said in a clipped tone. "No exceptions."

If Walter was amused by the situation, he didn't show it. "Of course, Sir Integra. Please have a safe trip."

---------------------

The flight itself went off without a hitch. They arrived in Vatican City at a quarter past 7:00 that afternoon and were met by church officials who led them to the quarters they would be sharing during their stay. It was a suite of rooms in a building not far from the one where the meetings with Iscariot would take place. As they were quite literally in the heart of enemy territory, Integra ordered that the doors between the rooms be left open. Pip and Syn would take shifts at night so that at least one person was awake at all times. The three members of Hellsing were taking no chances at being caught off guard by anything the Vatican might throw at them.

Once all of their belongings were unpacked, Pip scoured the rooms for bugs or cameras that Iscariot may have planted to keep them under surveillance. Syn decided to take it one step further and call in an 'outside source' to make sure that the Catholics weren't up to anything. She pulled her gun free from it's shoulder holster and set it down on the dresser in front of a large mirror.

"Lasher, I have a job for you."

Apparently Integra had experienced something along these lines with Edmund because she showed no visible reaction to her talking to a mirror. The one time Syn had done it in front of the Captain was in a dark barn during a mission. She honestly didn't expect him to remember it or realize what she had been doing.

The black haired boy popped into the reflective glass instantly. "Is we's in Rome now? Lasher has never been to a new country before!! Can we's go shopping for fun stuff?"

Lasher was nothing if not interested in new and exciting things. Syn shook her head solemnly.

"We have a very important job to do first." she told him. "I have to keep anything bad from happening to Sir Integra while we're here, so I want you to keep an eye on the priests and let me know if their up to something."

Lasher's eyes went wide at her words. "Mistress wants Lasher to be a spy?! Like in the movies?!" he asked, sounding completely entranced with the idea.

Syn had to fight the urge to roll her eyes. Whenever the spirit pestered her too much, she set up her laptop so he could watch movies. It was a nice way to keep him out of her hair - but the adolescent boy tended to obsess about anything he watched - especially when it came to old James Bond films.

"Yes Lasher. Just like the movies." she said. "Can you do that for me?"

Lasher gave her a toothy grin and bobbed his head. "Yes ma'am! Lasher will spy on the priesty men and tell mistress if they is up to no good!"

The spirit vanished in a swirl of colors. Behind her, Integra cleared her throat.

"Well, on that note I'm going to get ready for the meeting tonight." she allowed her eyes to wander over to the Captain, who was still staring at the mirror. "I trust the two of you can survive without me if something should happen?"

Pip looked away from where Lasher had appeared to address the woman. "...yes Sir."

The lady knight left to go do whatever it was she needed to do to get ready; leaving Syn and the Captain alone in their section of the suite. Syn noticed the odd look he was giving her and arched a brow.

"What?"

Pip glanced quickly at the mirror, then back at her. "Are you zome kind of... 'witch' or zomezhing?"

The redhead blinked, then burst into laughter when his words sunk in. "Why?" she asked, wiping a tear away from her eye. "Are you afraid I'll turn you into a frog?"

"Well, wizh everyzhing I've seen lately, I wouldn't be surprized..."

From the expression on his face, he looked completely serious - as if he actually believed that she could do such a thing if she chose. Syn shook her head and returned her gun to it's holster.

"Nah, I can't do anything as exotic as that." she admitted. She shot the captain a sly look. "But if I 'could', I promise I would come up with something more creative than a frog."

A small ghost of a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "But zhe frogs are zhe one's who get kissed by zhe fair maidens, oui? Zhat wouldn't be zo bad..."

Trust Pip Bernadette to find a way to turn being cursed into something perverted. "I'll remember that, Captain." she drawled mysteriously.

Syn had to repress the urge to giggle when a nervous expression crossed his features. 'Maybe this is why Alucard enjoys torturing people so much...' she mused. She couldn't deny that there was something incredibly amusing about making people nervous. She decided to keep up the mysterious routine so the captain would be on his toes about what she could or couldn't do. Even if it was simply to have something to dangle over his head.

--------------------------

Iscariot had ways of making meetings with foreign dignitaries intimidating enough to scare them into complying with whatever the church wanted. They seemed to think that the same tactics would work with Hellsing as well. While Integra had only Syn and Pip acting as bodyguards, Maxwell had called together an entire 'army' of priests to watch his back. They stood stiffly, lining the walls of the conference room with their calculating gazes focused entirely on the female knight and her two companions. Despite the show he had elected to put on for them, the Director of Iscariot himself took his sweet time in arriving to meeting.

When he finally decided to grace the room with his presence, he was followed closely by three more guards - two priests, both blonde but one much taller and stockier than the other, and a rather fierce looking nun. Syn was uncomfortable with being so heavily outnumbered in a room that would be impossible to escape from in the event of a conflict. Yet had she not actually been in the room, she would have found it laughable. This Maxwell person either believed that he needed this many people to protect him from the three of them, or he was pitiful enough to try to scare them into submission with superior numbers.

"Sir Integral Hellsing." he greeted, extending his hand in a poor imitation of politeness. "It is truly a pleasure to finally see you in person."

Integra narrowed her eyes at the priest, not bothering to take his hand before speaking.

"Maxwell." she hissed, her dislike of the man plainly obvious by her tone.

When he realized that the female knight wasn't willing to play along with his attempt at being civil, Maxwell withdrew his hand and straightened. He shot a quick glance at Syn and Pip.

"You've left your pet abominations at home I see..." he commented, sounding pleased.

One of Integra's brows went up slightly. "And you've called out every member of your organization to be in attendance. Really Maxwell, is a woman with two guards that intimidating to you?"

The priest's only outward display of irritation was a flaring of his nostrils. He gave the knight a long stare before clearing his throat to address the others in the room.

"You may go." he said dismissively, flicking his wrist toward the door.

Several of the men exchanged quick glances, as if they weren't certain about leaving their commander in the room without them. When Maxwell barked at them to get out, they finally pushed away from their perches against the walls and left through the heavy oak doors. Only the three clergy members who had come in with him remained behind.

When the two leaders sat down on opposite sides of the conference table, the tension was so thick you could almost see it hanging in the air around them. Syn understood now why Integra hated this man so much. Though everything he did was perfectly controlled, there was an air about him... something in his aura that gave her a queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. The three standing guard behind him didn't make her feel much better. They all stared her and Pip down like they were the scum of the earth - not because of anything they had done, but simply because they weren't Catholic and they were associated with Hellsing. The nun bothered the red-head the most. Her eyes were locked on her the entire time, as if she could smell something different about the gunsmith and was waiting for an excuse to leap forward and slit her throat.

When Pip passed the documents he had recovered to Integra, Maxwell arched a brow at the water stains on them. He didn't bother taking a closer look before making a snide comment.

"Ah yes, I heard you had a bit of trouble with this." he said, his expression sadistically cruel. "What a pity. I am always sad to see the death of heathens by any hand other than ours..."

The captain bristled at the priest's words, and Syn prepared herself to grab him in case he decided to do something stupid. Pip took half a step forward, pushing up his sleeves as if he meant to break the man's nose for his comment. The red-head quickly grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him back, but the movement made her hair spill away from her neck. The dark bruise from Alucard's bite was laid bare for everyone in the room to see. Suddenly, Syn found herself slammed up against a wall. The nun pressed the blade of her katana against her throat, a furious expression darkening her features.

"Vile, heretical piece of 'filth'!" the woman screeched.

Maxwell's guards started in surprise, the shorter of the two men stepping toward her. "Yumie! Vhat the hell are you doing?!"

Yumie shot a look over her shoulder at the priest. "Stay back Heinkel. This one is 'mine'."

Syn coughed as the woman pushed the blade of her sword harder against her throat. Her skin stung as the metal pressed deep enough to draw blood. The nun had attacked her so fast, she hadn't had a chance to pull her gun. With the way she was now, there was no way to reach for it without having her throat ripped open first. The gunsmith glared down the insane woman, trying to decipher the best way to get out of the dangerous situation. Thankfully, one of the priests grabbed Yumie from behind and jerked her away.

"Heinkel!" the woman shouted in outrage. "Get your hands off me!!"

Bernadette quickly stepped forward and pulled Syn behind him as the nun fought wildly for her freedom. As Heinkel attempted to drag her back to their side of the conference room, the woman twisted out of his grip and shot a venomous glare at the red-head.

"Whore of the Devil!!"

Whatever trepidation Syn may have had about getting into a fight with these people instantly vanished when she heard those words. Hot fury flooded through her veins, making her willing to fight a whole army if they decided to show up. 'No one' talked to her that way. 'Ever'.

She shoved Pip out of the way then stalked toward Yumie, fully intending to flay the bitch alive with that sword of hers. "I don't think so bitch!" she exclaimed.

Syn had no idea which of them attacked first, but the two women were on the floor in seconds. They punched and clawed and ripped at each other's hair, trying to dole out as much pain as possible before going in for the kill. Someone grabbed Syn from behind just as Yumie landed a solid strike to her jaw. The red-head elbowed her unknown assailant in the stomach, then punched the nun square in the face. She felt the bones of her nose snap under her fist, and a sick rush of satisfaction ran through her when she saw the blood pouring from woman's nostrils.

Yumie was stunned by the hit and fell back, clutching at her face. It was a scant few seconds of inaction, but enough for the others in the room to pull them apart. Pip recovered from the blow to his abdomen and wrapped his arms around Syn's waist, dragging her up off the floor before she had a chance to claw the bitch's eyes out. As she fought to free herself from the captain's hold, the red-head could see Yumie trying to fight off the two priests acting as her captors as well.

"Let me go!" Yumie screamed in outrage. "That monster's whore has no place here!!"

Syn grit her teeth in fury, and would have attempted to leap at her again had Integra's icy voice not stopped her.

"ENOUGH!!"

The female knight's shout was enough to bring everything to a screeching halt. Integra shot a warning look at Syn before slamming her palms down on the table before her.

"I will remind you that we came here on good faith, Enrico Maxwell." she said, her voice deadly and full of intent. "But if you insist on picking a fight, I'll damn well give you one."

The preist remained seated, looking calm in the face of the violence that had broken out in front of him. "And what makes you think you could 'win' such an altercation?" he asked smugly.

"I think the assassination of a foreign dignitary in the heart of Vatican City would speak for itself." she said. "You are treading on dangerous ground, and we both know you can't handle the consequences."

Maxwell's expression never changed, but his eyes flickered with uncertainty for the first time. It was as if he suddenly recognized the powerful threat the woman posed if he allowed anything to happen. He knew that there was far more than politics involved here. He took a deep breath, then motioned to his guards.

"Get Yumie out of here."

The nun gaped at him in disbelief. "Father Maxwell!" she protested. "You can't let these people..."

Maxwell cut her off with a sharp look. "I said 'leave'!"

Pip finally decided it was safe to let Syn go when Yumie stormed from the conference room in a huff. The red-head couldn't help the feeling of vindication that bubbled up inside of her when the door slammed shut.

Integra continued to shoot icy barbs at Maxwell as she returned to her seat. "Let's get on with this little farce, shall we?"

---------------------

When the conference between the two leaders finally came to a close, the clergy members acting as Maxwell's bodyguards watched as Integra and her two companions walked out of the building.

"I say we wait until they're alseep, then kill the lot of them." the nun said venomously, fingering the hilt of her sword. She hadn't liked being forced to wait outside during the meeting, and was ready to kill the little heathen slut responsible for it.

The larger of the two preists shot a reproachful look in her direction. "Nae. Tha' woman is right. We cannae touch them while they're here."

The woman's eyes narrowed, and her wild hair was a swirl of blackness as she whipped around. "Did you not SEE the bruises on that girl she had with her?" she demanded in outrage. "She had 'bite marks', Father. That woman brought the Devil's own whore into the Holy City!! You expect us to just stand by and do nothing?!"

"Aye." he stated firmly. "They came by 'our' invitation, Yumie. We cannae do a thing unless they attack first."

Yumie grit her teeth together in a fierce looking snarl. Without another word, she turned on her heel and stomped off.

"Keep an eye on her, Heinkel." the paladin said to the shorter priest. "We dinnae need her causing trouble."

Heinkel glanced at him, looking just as upset about the current situation as the nun had been. "Yumie ist right, Anderson. Ve can take them out vithout a problem if ve act now..."

"I said 'nae'!" Anderson bellowed, beginning to lose his temper. "I dinnae like this any more than ye, but they are outnumbered here. It is nae 'right' to kill them when they cannae fight back! We do tha' an' we're nae better than common thugs on the street."

The younger man faltered. Anderson had a point. But he still didn't like the idea of letting their most hated enemy stay within their walls. Heinkel let a resigned sigh escape his lips, then turned to go find Yumie and help her calm down.

-----------------

I hate Anderson. The way he talks is the hardest thing in the world to write. EVER. I was constantly referring back to the manga to make sure I got his accent right, and I still hate the way it turned out. Hence why he didn't talk much in this. :( The only redeeming quality he has is that out of all of the Iscariot people, he's probably the only one who has a sense of honor - however small and twisted it may be. ~shrug~ The only reason he behaved himself in this chapter is because there weren't any vampires around.

Though it may appear I have an overwhelming hatred for Yumie - I really dont. She's a cool character to write. I just figured that she would be the one most likely to go apeshit crazy, since she's (quite literally) the most insane member of Iscariot. O_o

Heinkel confuses the hell out of me. She's a woman in the Crossfire side-comics, but she apparently had a sex change before her/his appearance in Hellsing. Since I'm not 100% sure whether Crossfire is considered Hellsing cannon, I'm going with Heinkel's appearance and portrayal in Hellsing proper.

For the sake of being completely random - if you haven't seen the flash animation 'Ze End of Ze World' I order you to go to youtube right now and watch it. It is absolutely hilarious, and I am shocked that no one has made a Hellsing version of it yet. You know it would be funny as hell to see something along these lines happen:

Pip: Shit guyz, zhe missiles are coming! Fire our shit!

Seras: But I am le tired...

Pip: ~pouts~ Well, 'ave a nap... ZHEN FIRE ZHE MISSILES!!!

Meanwhile....

Integra: About that time, 'eh chaps?

Walter: Right-oh.

>_< It could happen....

........................

... nope. Not going to say it. ~zips lips closed~

See? I'm getting better about the review thing! Aren't you so proud?

... CRAP!!!