Hellsing - Blood Heritage

Everything was so bright and vivid, Syn was sure she was dead. Nothing could be so colorful and cheerful in her world. It was like being in the middle of a cartoon.

“Mistress Syn! I'm sooooo sorry you got hurt! Lasher did his best, he really did! Don't be mad at meee...”

Syn whirled around and found a black haired boy of about fourteen wrapped around her ankles.

“What the bloody hell?!” she exclaimed, struggling to free herself from him. “Who are you?!”

The boy jumped up from the ground and began bouncing around excitedly. “I'm the spirit of your gun, Lasher!” He puffed out his chest proudly. “Lasher is here to help Mistress whenever she needs him!” The color suddenly drained out of his face and he fell down to the ground, groveling. “I didn't mean for you to get hurt!!! Please don't be mad at the Lasher!!!”

A flash of memory hit her like a ton of bricks.

Jonas wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her over to examine a weapon design he had just made. “You must always remember Syn, that a weapon designed for a specific person has a life and spirit of it's own. It's purpose is to serve the will of it's owner.”

The young Syn pursed her lips thoughtfully. “Like the swords in the old stories?”

Jonas laughed. “Yes my girl, just like the swords in the stories. King Arthur would have been nothing without Excalibur. But in today's world, warriors carry guns rather than swords. But the weapon still retains a spirit. The owner must always look after and care for their weapon, and it will take care of them in return....”

Syn shook herself out of the memory and looked down at the boy wailing at her feet. “There there Lasher.” she cooed, patting his head. “You did your best. What happened was my fault more than yours. You wouldn't be able to harm a vampire without silver bullets...”

The boy looked up and wiped his nose on his arm. “Really?”

She nodded reassuringly. “Really.”

He jumped up and wrapped his arms around her in a crushing bear hug. “Mistress Syn is so good and kind to Lasher! We must get some silver bullets for next time, okay?”

“I sincerely hope there wont be a 'next time'.” she said with a frown.

“Oh, but I thought we was going to be hunting vampires now?” Lasher asked with a pout. “The scary man and the cute girl was hunting them...”

Syn's eyes widened in surprise. “What scary man and cute girl?”

Lasher gave her a big smile and started hopping around like a rabbit with a sugar rush. “It was sooo cool Mistress Syn! See, the mean vampires had you on the ground, and was about to eat you, but the scary man showed up, and he was all like: you're stupid and I'm gonna kill you now!!! Then he pulled out this fricking HUGE gun and blew one of their heads off! Then the other two was like: OH SNAP!!! and they ran away, but the cute girl got them and shot them to pieces. Then the scary man took us home with him so he could make you better, and the cute girl was scared, cause their boss might get mad, but the scary man yelled at her, and...”

“Wait a second!” Syn exclaimed, holding up her hands for him to slow down. “You're telling me that this scary guy killed the vampires, then brought me to his house?!”

Lasher nodded, then scratched his head thoughtfully. “You know, I think it's his boss' house. She's kind of scary too. Only she don't have sharp teeth like the scary man. She just has a scary glare.” he imitated a 'death glare' to demonstrate. Just then a butterfly fluttered past his face. “Ooohh! Pretty colors!”

Syn slapped her forehead in dismay. “Dear gods, why does my gun have to be ADD? Isn't my life crazy enough?”

Lasher chased the butterfly around for a while before growing bored and running back to her.

“You should probably wake up now.” he said sadly. “Mistress has been here too long, and there are people waiting for you. You tell the scary man that I'm keeping an eye on him, okay?”

Syn's mouth fell open. “Huh? Wait, what?!”

She wanted to ask him what he meant, but the happy cartoon world faded away, leaving her in a void of nothingness. Everything was dark and quiet. Out of the blackness, a familiar voice cooed at her.

“So you talk in your sleep. How... entertaining.”

Syn's eyes flew open. Her first thought was that she was in a hospital. There was an IV pole with tubing leading down to her wrist. Her other arm was wrapped in a cast. But the bed she lay in was far too comfortable to be a hospital bed. She shifted under the polished cotton sheets. She was in one of those infernal hospital gowns that did nothing but make you feel vulnerable, and her arm was itching like hell.

“Where am I?” she wondered out loud.

“The Hellsing organization.” that same familiar voice chuckled at her.

Syn looked down to see the man from the club sitting next to her bed, his feet propped up on the edge next to her legs. He looked like he had been there for some time, and was watching her with an amused expression.

She frowned at him. “Hellsing...as in Van Helsing?”

He arched a brow at her. “Yes.”

“Oh my god.” She shook her head as pieces began falling into place. She cautioned a glance at him, making sure she wasn't still dreaming. “It's... Alucard, right?”

He smirked, then nodded.

Syn pushed herself into a sitting position. “So... what happened? Did Van Hellsing kick your ass and turn you into a family pet instead of killing you?”

Alucard's arched brow went a bit higher. “Whatever would give you that impression?”

“Well, you're a vampire, your name spelled backwards is Dracula, and this is an organization whose name is a derivative of Van Helsing...” She replied in a cool tone. “So? Did Abe turn you into a pet, or do you just call yourself that to intimidate people?”

The vampire looked at her a moment before letting out a dark stream of laughter. “How splendid! I knew you were intelligent, but no one has ever deduced that from so little information before!” He sounded both proud and delighted that she had managed the feat.

Syn closed her eyes and snorted. “I'm sooo glad you're impressed. What am I doing here?"

"I brought you here." he replied calmly, as if she didn't understand.

She rolled her eyes. "I figured that much out, thank you very much. Why did you bring me here?"

"You were unconscious and injured. I couldn't very well have left you there."

Syn stared at him a moment. He wasn't wearing the glasses she had seen him with last time, leaving his eyes visible to her. They flickered with that same heated intensity she remembered seeing so long ago. Now that she knew he was a vampire - the infamous Count Dracula no less - she could see him for what he really was. An extremely attractive, seductive, monster. A creature that lured it's victims with ravishing good looks and charming words, only to rip them to pieces. Yet... he had saved her life not once, but two times now.

"Why so quiet all of a sudden?" he asked her, almost purring. "Have I said something to make you uncomfortable?"

Syn swallowed. "What do you want from me? No offense, but you dont seem like the type to be concerned about someone's life... unless there was a reason."

Alucard chuckled. "Ah, so perceptive. I see that hiding things from you will be an exercise in futility." He dropped his legs from the bed and leaned forward in his chair. "But it's hardly appropriate to address such a delicate subject when one is recovering from an injury. We must save that particular discussion for a later time."

That didn't sound very good. And from the look on his face, she could tell that he wasn't going to answer, no matter how much she asked about it. Syn resolved herself to simply stare at him, hoping that perhaps she could divine an answer from his face. She couldn't. Alucard seemed to find her attempts to read his thoughts entertaining, and stared right back at her. It was during this staring competition that the door opened, and two men walked into the room. The first who entered was wearing a white labcoat and had a stethescope around his neck - obviously the doctor who was treating her. The other man was older, with strands of sliver at the temples of his pulled back black hair. He wore a monocle over his left eye, which gave him a refined, distiguished look. From his clothes, Syn deduced that he was a servant of some sort - a butler or valet perhaps. He carried a stack of clothing, which looked suspiciously like her own, to a side table while the doctor came over to examine her.

"Wonderful! You're awake!" he said with a friendly smile. "I'm Dr. Corbin, and I've been looking after you since you arrived." He shined a pinlight into her eyes. "How are you feeling?"

Syn winced at the bright light. "Um... I've been better..."

Corbin chuckled good naturedly. "I can imagine. You looked awful when you first came in. Actually, I'm surprised how much better you look. You had a rather nasty concussion." He brushed her hair back to examine the cut on her temple. "Any headaches or dizziness?"

Syn shook her head in response. "My head's a little sore, but nothing awful. My arm itches like hell though."

The doctor frowned. "Itches? You had a pretty bad break there - both bones were snapped clean in two. It's not sore at all?"

She attempted to move her arm, then shook her head at the lack of pain. "It's tender when I move it, but it mostly just feels like there's a colony of ants under this thing."

Corbin looked at her in bewilderment, then glanced at Alucard. "You didn't do anything to her, did you?"

The vampire's eyes narrowed at the man, as if insulted by the insinuation. The doctor swallowed nervously, then looked away. "Right. We'll take some x-ray's of it to see what might be going on." He cleared his throat and went back to his previous friendly manner. "Other than that, do you feel well enough to get out of bed? You'll need to take it slow for a while, since you did sustain a head injury, but if you feel up to it, I see no need to keep you cooped up in here."

Syn breathed a sigh of relief. She hated hospitals and anything to do with modern medicine. "I would LOVE to get out of bed. Please, get this IV out of me."

The doctor laughed at her eagerness to leave. He removed the IV, then hung the tube over the pole before he left. Once he stepped out of the room, the 'butler' addressed her.

"Good evening Miss Newsom. My name is Walter. I hope that Alucard hasn't disturbed you too much?"

Much to Syn's amazement, Alucard actually pouted at the question. "Disturbed, Angel? Why, you know I was only watching over the little goddess as she slept."

"Ah ha." Walter replied, looking unconvinced. "Well, now that your 'little goddess' is awake, there is no longer a need for you to watch over her, is there?" At Alucard's dejected expression, he went on. "And Sir Integra wishes to speak with you privately before her meeting with Miss Newsom."

"Is Master upset?" the vampire asked hopefully.

Walter frowned. "I would say that she is a bit... put out with your recent behavior."

Alucard's eyes lit up with excitement, and Syn had to catch her breath at the sight of it. He looked like a little boy who had just been given a new toy to play with. It was quite odd to see that expression in conjunction with him being told that this 'master' of his was upset with him.

"Ahh... I do so love Integra's little fits of jealousy..." he said with a dark chuckle. Dark tendrils of shadow formed around his body, obscuring him from veiw. When they faded away, he was gone.

Walter sighed heavily, then turned to her. "You'll have to overlook him, Miss Newsom. Alucard has a flair for the dramatic."

Syn blinked. "I've noticed." She glanced at the stack of clothing he had brought in. "Are those mine?"

"Oh, indeed they are Miss. I hope you don't mind me having them laundered for you. I thought you might like to wear your own clothes when you met with Sir Integral."

Syn was touched by his thoughtfulness. "Thank you." she said, giving him a grateful smile. "But... who is Sir Integral?"

"Ah, yes. Sir Integral Hellsing is the director of the Hellsing Organization." he explained. "She wanted to meet you personally once you were well enough. I believe she wishes to discuss a contract for weapons that we have with your company."

Syn froze. Her uncle had mentioned leaving a contract open for her before he disappeared. "So that's what it was about..." she muttered to herself.

"Excuse me?"

Syn shook her head. "Oh nothing. I'm sorry, my uncle told me about a contract he had left for me, but I haven't been able to review it yet..."

Walter patted her shoulder reassuringly. "Not to worry Miss Newsom. We weren't aware that it would be you doing the processing until Master Alucard brought you in. Sir Integral will be more than happy to supply you with the information you need. Now," he gestured to her clothes. "I will wait for you to get dressed, then escort you to her office, if you're feeling up to it that is?"

Syn nodded immediately. If these people were the ones responsible for saving her life, she would be more than happy to supply them with weapons.