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Psalms for the Fallen	By : anyasy Category: Hellsing > General Views: 3357 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Hellsing, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Psalms
for the Fallen

Chapter
1

I

�Impressive.�

The
morning sun in England was a gray, lifeless blanket in winter, even in
Cornwall, but it still made him feel sluggish. Alexander Anderson didn�t
bother to get up or acknowledge the voice, remaining where he was, lying on the
grass with his head cushioned on his arms, the dew fresh over his coat.
In his peripheral vision, he saw Sir Integral Hellsing pause over the grass,
and then circle him, her gait fluid, catlike, noiseless. She wore her
power like a cloak, unassailable, distant and cold, beautiful like Minerva,
maiden, aloof and human, and vaguely, he envied her the lifeblood that
still pulsed in her wrists.

�How
long has it been since you were turned? Two months? And you can withstand the
sun, turn to shadow, shapeshift to a wolf, and all without taking blood.
Impressive, Paladin Anderson. Were you ever freed to become a true No
Life King, you could become one of the most powerful vampires that have ever
existed.�

Integral
continued to talk, and despite the sunlight, his heightened senses gave him an
overload of information � the rich ashy earth of her cigars, the faint vanilla
of her perfumed hair, the starch of freshly pressed shirts, kippers, coffee,
oats. If he closed his eyes he could hear her heartbeat, loud and
thudding; below, half a metre under the soil, a shrew, a beat high and thin as
it scurried; the wet slow pulse of worms; high above, the light patter of
gulls�.

�Nae
langer ae Paladin.� His voice sounded weak and thick to his ears, and he
coughed, cleared his throat. �As ye ken, Protestant bitch.�

His
sire�s Master merely chuckled at the insult, harsh and mirthless. He
could scent the gunpowder under her suit, the greasy oil of the
derringer. �Alucard told me why you chose to follow Hellsing, Anderson.�

�Ye
would tread upon the lion an� cobra; the young lion an� the serpent ye will
trample doon.� Anderson closed his eyes under his glasses and quoted the
psalm from memory, heard and scented the grass crushed under her heel as she
turned to regard him.

�Personally
I think it unwise to hire another creature possibly as insane or as rabid as
Alucard, but I do not care, Anderson. We need your blade, for now.
And the moment you overstep your bounds, the moment you become any more of a
monster than you already are� we will kill you. That is my word to you
and my promise.�

�Aye.�
Anderson opened an eye. �If Ah take another step awae from God, cut me
doon, Sir Integral Hellsing. If ye promise me that, Ah will follow ye.�

Integral
smirked. �I understood that that was your wish without having to
be told, Paladin Anderson. But it did surprise my servant � as much as he
can be surprised. Are you here in the sunlight because you know he hates
it and will not follow?�

The
fallen priest did not respond, listening to his mimed breathing, instead, of
habits of living that he could not break, in silence with Hellsing�s
master. One cigar was smoked to nothing, and he heard the guillotine snip
as she prepared another for her lips, as she turned to leave. The buzz of
the insects and the heartbeats under the soil became a roar in his ears, as he
turned himself inward and out.

�Someday,�
Anderson mused then, as Integral circled to return to the mansion, the wind of
winter pulling her long coat tight over her narrow hips, �Someday, Ah will step
across the border, an� take my true death as Ah see it. Before God.
At the place o� my birth.�

�When
we no longer need you, you are free to do what you wish. But not one more
step will you take away from God.� There was some pity in Integral�s tone,
between one breath and the next, then her voice was harsh again. �Not
another step, Alexander Anderson.�

�For
Ah know my transgressions, an� my sin is e�er before me.� Anderson closed
his eyes again. In the sunlight, under Heaven, even tainted, unclean and
forsaken, his monster�s heart was briefly at peace.

II

The
dead do not often dream when they sleep, and therefore, Alucard was somewhat
annoyed to find himself standing in the ruins of the Great Court of the British
Museum, his vision blurred around the edges as they would not have been in
reality. About him, faceless men and women walked, circling the Court to
the upper levels, occasionally stopping to admire the frescoes, in utter
silence, their movements measured, identical, doll-like.

Alucard
frowned. He could not smell anything but stone, and he was fairly sure
that the last he was at the Museum, its Great Court had not been covered by
intricate frescoes of beautiful, semi-naked women clothed in clinging white
tunics devouring men and children. If it had been, he would have
been more amenable to visiting it even during normal opening hours.

Now
he forgot his irritation at the dreamwalking for a moment, admiring the detail;
here, an impossibly beautiful blonde woman drenched her silken locks in the
blood from a severed wrist; there, a blinded woman with heavy breasts and a
snake�s half beneath her waist wept crimson tears as she curled around the bodies
of broken children. Curious. Very curious.

He
pushed past the crowd a little further, to read an inscription on the walls
that seemed to hang just off the stone, shimmering in gold.

Neu
pranse Lamiae vivum puerum extrabat alvo.

Stone
and ashes and sand, old magic, the devouring of one�s children. Alucard
closed his blood-red eyes for a moment and remembered a time where he had been
curious about the existence of others as himself. One of the oldest of
his kind, the No Life Kings.

�Meroe.
Queen of Libya. Lilith. Scylla�s mother. The Witch
Queen. Lamia.�

�Yes.�
A voice agreed, echoing around the silent halls is parchment dry but feminine,
amused, ancient, speaking not so much in English, but to blood-memory, in his
mind. �Vlad Tepes. Once, you sought me out, child, do you
remember?�

�Only
to find an echo of your voice encased in a fragment of obsidian within a buried
temple in Libya, my Lady. You said that your body was lost, your power
shattered.� Alucard smirked lazily. Child. He had not been
called that for almost four centuries.

The
world trip to find others like him had been illuminating. He�d killed
those that were weaker or bored him, spared some, crippled others; but all the
Old Ones had long vanished into myth, perhaps having never existed at
all. He had found evidence of the remains of a handful, and of all the
artifacts he had located, only Lamia�s had echoed to the touch of his blood.

�I
thought my body lost, yes, yes. But you, you, child, lovely child, you
have awakened me.� The serpentine whisper took on, for a moment, the veneer of
maternal approval.

Alucard
thought back on his recent schedule, filled with the menial boredom of
annihilating one pocket of ghouls after another, and drew a blank. He
didn�t quite remember playing with ancient seals, magic, items or artifacts of
late, by accident or by device. �I do not recall doing so, Lady Lamia.�

�The
fragment of my body lay in this building within which you stand now in your
dream, Vlad Tepes. Sealed within a sculpture of a hydra, its Holy Writ
weakening over the centuries, until it reacted to the strong blood magic you
invoked and was destroyed.�

Ah
yes. The sack of London. Alucard smirked lazily. �I am glad
to be of service, my Lady. I hope you enjoyed your stay in London.�

�This
city of death� I like it, Vlad Tepes.� A papery laugh echoed around him.

�England
is mine,� Alucard growled, shifting in a moment to shadow, reddened eyes
winking up like jewels in his writhing darkness, menacing, but the laugh only
deepened, playful.

�Do
not worry. I do not intend to linger, and I do know our kind are so very
territorial� especially the males. It has been so long since I was free�
so very long, child, and this new world amuses me. You can have your
�England� when our kind once again bestride the earth.�

�No,
we are-�

�But
first, Vlad� first of all, here is a gift, my repayment to you.�

Pain
seared through his palms, white fire that seemed to consume his hands in the
dreams, ravenous and flickering, and Alucard snarled, surprised by the assault,
clawing his way back to consciousness, the echo of papery laughter beneath him,
then silent as he flowed out of his coffin in shadow and coalesced atop it.
And stared.

The
gloves he wore were now pure white.

Van
Hellsing�s seals were gone.

III

Anderson
sat up sharply as he felt a sudden jolt of power through the blood-link,
looking about wildly. He recognized that for what it was � for some
reason, Alucard had deactivated the binding seal upon himself � but he did not
see or sense any ghouls, nor had he ever felt such a massive surge. It
seemed as though Alucard himself did not care to contain such power: it leaked
out into Anderson despite the priest�s frantic attempt to dampen down the link
and avoid further contamination; he was shadow before he knew it, writhing in
the sun, blasted out of his human form by the backlash.

Pure,
raw power sang in his veins, fierce and wild and uncontrollable, he was losing
himself and he couldn�t� Anderson was aware that he was laughing, hysterical
and insane as he clawed blindly at the grass, his fingers shadow then human
then clawed, a sibilant hissing in his ears like the slither of a hundred
serpents, the surge of power both ecstasy and agony and everything in
between. He was invincible, endless, immortal, greater even
than a-

Then
he jerked back as pain seared through his head, his undead flesh feeling as
though it was suddenly on fire, heard, now, the distant, dull clink of a casing
hitting the ground, the deeper, mechanical boom of the Harkonnen being
reloaded.

And
he was himself again, stunned, staring at his hands as his flesh healed.
�Wha�� the hell?�

Squinting,
panting as his senses slowly returned, he noticed the policewoman at the
doorway to the mansion, her massive weapon leaning against her shoulder, her
expression frightened, and she pointed upwards, wordlessly.

What
he had thought at first to be a passing cloud was a storm of bats, which milled
for a moment in the sunlight as though undecided, then swarmed away, to his
east.

Towards
London.

�Alucard?
Wha� the hell did that bastard do?�

�Anderson-san?�

He
didn�t need to be called twice. Irritably, he picked himself up from the
grass and sauntered back to the mansion, pausing when he passed Seras.
She was shaking uncontrollably, her shoulders bowed, and from her arm sheathed
in black leather, shadows boiled in a scythe-shaped, restless wing that only
returned to her flesh when she caught him staring. At that, Seras smiled
weakly, one of her hands going to the back of her head as though embarrassed by
her weakness.

�Integral-sama
has summoned us.�

�Aye.�
Anderson paused, then, more gruffly, he added, �Thank ye.�

Seras
blinked at him for a moment, uncomprehendingly, then she brightened.
�You�re welcome, Anderson-san.�

They
floated up, through the stone, until they reached Integral�s office.
Within it, the master of Hellsing paced, her hands tight behind her back,
smoking fitfully, not even pausing when Seras saluted. On her desk was a
mahogany box, bound in silver chain, the lock at the top polished and carved
intricately with writ. It hurt his eyes to even look, and he noted
that Seras avoided even trying.

�Alucard
has broken the seal,� Integral began curtly. �That which binds him to
Hellsing as a servant.�

That
explained the surge in power. �How?� Anderson demanded,
appalled. Alucard was the most powerful vampire currently in existence,
even in Iscariot�s extensive files. Freed to do whatever he pleased �
London�s bloodbath could well be considered a minor disaster in
comparison. And also� God forbid� the monster would truly be free to
exert all of his considerable, unfettered will on Anderson himself.

That
thought disconcerted him, angered him at the same time. He would not
become the plaything of an insane monster. Even now, in the sin and shame
the creature inflicted upon him on occasion, Anderson could preserve his core
of self, going through the motions, meditating afterwards or reflecting on the
Holy Writ. He was not sure how long he could hold against an Alucard with
no limits, and Anderson shuddered, remembering the heady surge of pure power he
had felt out on the lawn. It had been addictive, even that taste,
so very seductive, tempting him to lose himself to it.

If
Seras had not shot him, had not forced his sense of �self� back together in
that moment of agony, Anderson did not know what would have happened.

�I
do not know,� Integral said sharply, her stress surfacing for a brief,
snappish moment, then she calmed herself with a few angry drags of her
cigar. �It occurred while he was sleeping.� Another agitated
circle, around her desk, then she paused, her blue eyes narrowed. �The
both of you��

�Were
knocked flat by the backlash, but otherwise� fine, Integral-sama. Though
Alucard has gone to London.� Seras added, as an afterthought.

�I
could see that.� Integral scowled out of the window. �Che. What
timing. And why London? There is nothing in London now.� Tensely, she dug
her fingers into her suit. �I will report this� this disaster to the
Round Table. And then I will set off to London myself.�

�Integral-sama��

�That
leaves the matter of the two of you. Seras Victoria, Alexander
Anderson. You are both his childer.� Integral faced them,
seemingly unarmed, and yet Anderson could smell no fear. He smirked,
slowly, realizing what she meant, while Seras had to blink.

�Ye
think we�ll be turnin� on ye.� Anderson drawled. �Now that Alucard is
free.�

It
was a tempting thought. With her gone, he would indeed be
free. Again, even within Iscariot�s files, the Hellsing family was the
only one born with the sheer accident of bloodline that allowed them, with
rituals and strength of will, to place bindings upon the monsters known as the
No Life Kings. Research into why this was so was mere speculation:
the family�s ancestry before Abraham Van Hellsing was scattered at best.

Then
he realized that it was the monster within him speaking, which tempted him, and
with some effort, forced his eyes back to the blue of his humanity. When
he looked back at Integral, he noticed her watching him, and she smirked,
faintly, before turning to regard the other vampire.

�Integral-sama!�
Seras sounded horrified. �I wouldn�t.�

�Alucard�s
will is strong, and now he is unfettered.� Integral said coldly. �Perhaps
it would be a matter of time before he takes over what remains of both your
wills.�

�So
what d�ye suggest?� He could guess.

�Neither
of you have drunk Alucard�s blood, which means that neither of you are yet free
of his influence.� Integral tapped the box. �But by my bloodline I can
bind you to my service. It won�t break your bond with your Master, but if
Alucard exerts his will on either of you, perhaps it would serve as a
counterbalance to prevent you from losing yourself.�

�But?�

�But,�
Integral glared at Anderson for the interruption, �It will limit your
abilities. Confine you to the form nearest to human. You�ll need to
know the casting for release that will contact me for permission.�

�An�
if we refuse?�

�Then
I destroy you both now.� Integral said, her gloved hand on the hilt of her
blade, her eyes narrowed and still unafraid. �Damage control. One
freed vampire is already a disaster. The fact that the two of you appear
unaffected, that he has left the both of you here without a word, can only mean
a handful of things.�

�One.
Something has happened in London that broke the seal, and he has gone to
investigate. Two. He broke the seal himself, and has fled the area
for now to regroup his thoughts. Either way, you are both now liabilities
to Hellsing, especially if your Master remembers to call you.�

�I
trust him,� Seras said, doubtfully. �He was loyal to you, Integral-sama.�

�You
can imagine I need reassurance,� Integral said evenly, staring hard at Seras,
and after a moment, the policewoman�s shoulders drooped.

�Maa�
of course I will accept the limiter, Integral-sama.� Seras sighed. �I�m
disappointed that you even thought I would refuse.�

Integral�s
gaze swung to Anderson, who grinned, feral, pleased. �Evil will slay
the wicked; the foes o� the righteous will be condemned. Much as Ah
dinnae like this� ye promised me, woman. One step from God.�

Seras
looked between them, uncomprehending, but Integral nodded slowly, and drew a
key from her pocket, unlocking the box. Within it was a dull stone, that
flashed briefly to amber when Integral picked it up. �A stone from
Golgotha, stained with His blood. With this I bind you, as my ancestor
once bound the Impaler.�

IV

Alucard
hated the sunlight. It made him sleepy, and he wanted nothing more now
than to return to the cellars and lie in his coffin to wait for dusk. As
it was, he was having a little problem concentrating on keeping all his bats on
course to London; some flagged, or were worried away by the winds, and it recalled
to Alucard all the myriad number of reasons why he never traveled like this
save where necessary. There was nothing more embarrassing than realizing
several miles later that parts of oneself were still flapping frantically in a
tree somewhere, not to mention nothing more undignified than having to
scour underbrush and the crowns of trees for little black patches.

He
was sleepy, it was cold, and the wind was annoyingly strong for a cloud of bats
attempting to reach London in a single group, and the only thing that kept his
mood up was a certain malicious pleasure at how pissed Integral had to be at
this moment. Alucard had to admit that he liked his �Master�,
enjoyed needling her and being at the brunt of her foul moods, but freedom� to
have freedom was a joy he had not experienced for far, far too long.

He
would seek evidence of Lamia in London, and then call his little pets to him
and depart for Romania, Alucard decided. Out of this gray little country
with its distressing fogs and miasmic rains. As a favor for Integral he
would contain England from Lamia, perhaps, but it was a secondary thought,
unimportant. Give her sixty years or less and she would, after all, be
dead from age, if nothing else, though he did so wish her bloodline well.
They tended to be all so very entertaining, the Hellsings.

So.
London. British Museum, if only to confirm that he had not somehow
started hallucinating since yesterday. And then summon Seras and Alex
when night came, take care of any remaining business, retrieve their coffins
and hijack some means of conveyance to Romania so that he did not have to
fly. Seras could, but Alex was rebellious enough that having to carry the
priest to Romania would be a hassle. A train, perhaps. Or a
carriage, if he wanted to be nostalgic. The first class carriage of the
former would be an infinitely more comfortable place to celebrate by first
having a glass of fine wine � a Chateau D�Yquem, perhaps, or a bottle of
Dom P�rignon champagne. And then fucking dear Alex through the
nearest flat surface.

A
wicked chuckle echoed through the unnatural swarm of bats. He was looking
forward to that indeed. Sweet, delicious, predictable Alex. The
priest was very unlikely to enjoy Romania, and he would certainly object
strenuously to the change in roles, from servants of Hellsing back to proper
dominion, but he would likely accept it in time. As to Seras, Alucard
knew the female vampire would follow him, even with her newfound strength of
will.

Still,
Alucard knew that before all of that happened, he had to make some effort to
speak with Lamia about her ambitions. Humankind was too numerous now, and
united, too strong for the old ways. Even in Romania he had not tried to
rule overtly; and even so, ruling in the shadows, he had been defeated. A
vampire that called too much attention to itself would eventually be defeated
by a human, and the fallout of a Holy War directed against their kind would be
inconvenient.

He
was not too concerned about himself � he had learned since his defeat to Van
Hellsing � but his little fledgelings were not only inexperienced and young but
also prone to the strangest little human eccentricities. Alucard would
not put it beyond Alex to give himself up to the Inquisitors, or Seras to try
and stay by Integral�s side. Perhaps they already had. No doubt
they would have sensed his freedom.

The
consideration disturbed him for a moment, enough that the cloud of bats halted,
indecisively, then turned again towards London. He had more pressing
matters. But just to be safe, he sent a summons through the blood-link to
the both of them, to meet him, and was astonished to feel something wrong.

The
links were there, but they were now unclear. He could feel his childer,
but could not force his will down the links. Irritable, he examined the
threads of the interference in his mind, as he flew on, and recognized the
twisted, runed pentagon signatures of the Hellsing line.

His
next laugh was insane, pleased, and malicious all at once. Trust Integral
to act so quickly! His �Master� was worthy indeed. Still, with the amount
of power he had now, it would only be a matter of time before he shattered any
interference, but it would delay him in London.

Perhaps
that was her plan. Delay him long enough so that she could bind him
again.

Unfortunately,
he now had the benefit of a century of Hellsing manipulation and engineering,
and he was more powerful than the vampire her ancestor had faced. He did
not wish her harm, but he would not hesitate if she stood in his way.

But
first � London.

-tbc-
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Psalms for the Fallen