Circle of Blood

Disclaimer:



Disclaimer: Weiss Kreuz, Hellsing and/or any of their characters
do not belong to me. You got that, fiends from the seventh circle
of hell AKA lawyers...

"......." Speech
//......// Thought's

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Circle of Blood - Chapter 1 (Beginning in White, Red and Black)
By: Azrael's Wing

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Tokyo, Japan - 1996

In Tokyo there is a skyscraper no different from others. A
mountain of steel and glass bearing no glowing signs or letters
of neon. No symbols to mark it apart from other such buildings
filling most of the great cities. None the less, this one is
different somehow. For within it houses a company different from
others.

An organization veiled in false fronts and it's purpose dedicated
towards goals differing from most and often nebulous as it's
leaders mind. This man's quest for whatever he seeks would be
deemed evil for the methods, he uses. Then again, most of those
that work for him are blissfully ignorant of the true motives
behind their leadership and sleep their nights in blissful dream
of ignorance.

For those that know what they're doing and what for it is
different. They are his servants, his soldiers. The eyes and ears
that do his bidding from the shadows. Highest of them are known
as The Triad, and though those of lesser knowledge may not know
of their motives like all most lesser beings, they do recognize
power and know to respect it.

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Now, one of those who serve him from the shadows is going to meet
his master. Nataku Yusanori is his name but among those that
serve him he's more often known as White. A nickname for them but
in reality it is indeed also his title in The Triad.

As the title would suggest, the man is dressed in spotless white
business suit and matching white shoes. As much as they are a
fashion statement they're the uniform for his title. Looking at
his face, one would think him to be in his early thirties. A
handsome face with black hair trimmed short with slight styling.
In over all he could be seen as quite attractive man if not for
the strange coldness... or perhaps soullessness that seems to
radiate from him. Even his eyes, steel gray and framed by simple
re gre glasses are uncomfortable to look at, for their apparent
lack of humanity seems to stare back at the beholder. If one
would have time or even desire to look in to those eyes more
closely, that observer could almost see little wheels and gears
turning behind them and imagine hear ing the soft ticking sounds
of a clockwork ee. Te. That someone could almost believe that he
were some lessless machine rather than a being of flesh and
blood.

As Yusanori walks through the corridors he notices a fly buzzing
around him. For a long time he gives it no attention, deeming it
unimportant as he thinks of the details in the meeting ahead. Fly
simply continues to hover around him, as if it would have some
greater intelligence behind it's close interest on him. For a
moment he looks at it bit more closely as it passes by his face.
Seeing no apparent reason for it's interest he simply turns his
attention away from it, and back to the plans in his mind.

His attention back at the matters at hand, he aims his steps
towards the lobby of the building. Soon he finds himself standing
near the main elevators of the building. Before it stands
security post, and behind it sits a man guarding the entrance to
them. Noticing who is approaching, the security officer raises
from his seat and greets Yusanori politely as he steps in front
of the desk. "Good evening Yusanori-san, going up?" He
asks while holding out his hand to him.

"Yes." Is the only answer as Yusanori pulls a key card
out of his pocket and hands it over to the guard.

The Guard takes the card and pulls it through a reader. A small
light besides it flashes green and a clinging sound can be heard
coming from the small elevator beside the bigger one. The Guard
hands the card back to him while bowing lightly at Yusanori as he
walks to the elevator.

When he gets in front of it two other persons appear besides him
seemingly out nowhere. He just nods to them as he steps into the
elevator. They simply step in and stand in front of him. Only
after he dials the pass code in pushes button labeled M he turns
to observe his companions.

One of them seems to be a man apparently in his late fifties. A
slightly overweight body, balding spot in his greying hair and a
face you wouldn't remember if you'd run into him on a crowded
street. Dressed in a stylish red suit tailored to hopefully
improve his fading figure he doesn't seem anyone special. One
would think of him as a simple business man or such were not for
the sharp anngerngerous gaze within his eyes. That slight hinting
that maybe he was not someone that ordinary after all.

Normally one couldn't find much to hint of his overt emotions
from the face of this man but today it wasn't so. His eyes were
shifting, looking around the small compartment as if he were some
kind of captured animal and his face showed clear signs of
discomfort. He also seemed to be sweating profusely, his armpits
showing dark spots from the sweat and he seemed to be wiping his
hands now and then drying them up. Something was surely bothering
this man. Ichijou Nobuo, the normally calm and collected man also
known by the title Red was disturbed by something and it must
have been serious.

Filing this tidbit into his mind, Yusanori continued to observe
the troubled man for a while in hopes to find some reason for his
apparent worries, something that would give him an edge in the
coming meeting.

Nobuo's apparent feelings of disquiet seemed to aggravate him
badly indeed, and when a fly buzzed nearby he reacted
accordingly. Hand moving with unexpected speed for someone of his
physique, he swatted it against the wall with his bare hand. This
sudden violent act brought him under the attention of the third
passenger on this lift, and with all their attention on each
other no one seemed to notice that there was no splatter on the
wall but neither was there any fly around either...

This third one in the lift was a woman. She was perhaps in her
late twenties or early thirties, it was hard to tell. Dressed in
a black dress, stockings and elbow length gloves, she was a sight
to behold. To finish the look she wore matching stiletto heels.
The dress was obviously designed to her personally, hugging her
body from just the right places but enabling her to move
unhindered. It showed just enough of her tanned skin to incite
lustful feeling in most humans regardless of gender. Her
beautiful face and long platinum blonde hair should have made her
quite irresistible for nearly anyone, were not for her eyes.

Eyes are to said to be the mirrors to the soul. If that's true
then what one would see in hers would be twisted like a funhouse
mirror. These eyes seemed to have terrible hunger in them, as if
there was some bestial desire she needed to satisfy but never
could. It was look no sane human should have and for now that
hungry gaze was directed towards Mr Nobuo. His clearly apparent
weakness and distress seemed to draw her attention to him like
honey to a bee. One could almost imagine her as a tigress
stalking a wounded prey instead of a human woman. This animal in
a human guise was Helena Fleisch. Othervise known as Black, she
was Yusanori's fiercest rival in the games of power these men and
women played amongst themselves.

...And of these three was observing the strange little insect.
Hanging in the ceiling by it's legs as if it had never been
swatted at all, mocking them all by it's continued existence. If
any them could have known to look at it more closely they could
have seen it glowing briefly until fading like some strange
obsidian shadow.

Finally a sudden clinging sound informed the passengers that they
were finally at the penthouse of their master. Acting like a
single mind they step out of the elevator and walk to a door at
the end of the hallway. Finally reaching it they all pause for a
moment, perhaps to consider what to say and how to respond in
front of their master. That moment doesn't seem to last for long
though, as the man in red opened the door with his shaking hands
and the stepped through the doorway, the others following close
behind. And as they pass the threshold to their masters sanctum,
they never notice the shadow of a fly that passes through the
door right behind them silently...

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As one steps into this room, first thing to see would be the
countless monitors and screens that decorate the walls
surrounding it. They seem to showing many things, ranging from
the latest news to chilling occult symbols, runes out of history
and pages of text written in languages long forgotten. At the
center this room, surrounded by the screens is a table cluttered
with obscure instruments, remote controls and paper... lots and
lots of paper. What space there might have been is filled with
books, letters, pieces of perchament and rotting manuscripts.
Behind that mountain of research material and dead wood is a
chair, though throne would probably be a better description.
Sitting on it like a king of the old is a colorless shade of a
man, illuminated only by the flickering light of the monitors.

This shade, calling himself Lord Gabriel is the master of those
who come to see him. Being this withered husk he shouldn't by any
chance have right look imposing or menacing, but none the less it
was those feelings that his presence invoked among those who
entered. Even Yasanori, the calmest and perhaps most 'inhuman' of
them could not help but to feel stirrings of unease when
confronted by their master.

Because for all the tubes and wires, coming and going into him
from the numerous machines around the r anr and making him look
like he should drop dead any moment, Gabriel Müller is none the
less a man whose presence inspires awe. For all physical
frailness he has, one needn't but to look in to his eyes to prove
you otherwise. Those eyes were perhaps the only thing of color
left in him and that color was bloody crimson red. In them seemed
to glow a fire far greater than any human could or perhaps even
should posses. It was fire for power, desire for control and most
important of all, it was a flame of one who desired to live, no
matter what the cost. It was the fire that had kept him alive far
longer than anyone even with his heritage should have lived and
he wasn't about to give up anytime soon, no matter what he would
have to do.

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

As the trio walked towards him Müller looked at each of them
closely. When they finally reached the table before him, the man
in red stepped forward, apparently acting as their spokesmen due
his seniority. Bowing deeply at his Lord he greets him politely.

"I hope are you well today, Lord Müller."

The response clearly isn't what he hoped, but instead what he
feared. "As well as can be expected, Mr Nobuo."
Gabriel's answer comes in a tone so dry that you could imagine it
causing droughts. His tone clearly indicating lack of interest in
small talk, the members of The Triad in most part patiently wait
for him to start this debriefing. After a small pause as if to
collect his thoughts, Gabriel starts his speech with the same dry
voice but now he has managed to put a good dose of venom in it.

"The reasons I have for called this new 'meeting' so soon
are quite simple." He says, pausing for a moment. "Last
time when you were here I gave you some quite simple orders. You
were to put in motion plans that I had designed with some care.
They were to work in my... and therefore at the end to your
advantage." He pauses to give them a brief mocking smile.
"But from what I've read from the reports gathered at my
desk, most if not all of them have failed, for one reason or
another. Now I have you here to tell me in detail, what exactly
went wrong with these plans? And perhaps in the end we will find
out who I am to blame for this unholy mess we're in."

Gabriel spits the last words out with such malice in his voice
that even Yusanori has to suppress a shudder for a moment. That,
however was the only reaction from him. The on the other two were
far more satisfying though. Lady Fleisch does seem have strong
control over her body language when she wishes so, but her
widening eyes clearly show that she had been taken over by
surprise. She obviously hadn't been expecting all this despite...
or perhaps indeed due her careful plans.

The same impressive use of control could not be seen at Mr Nobuo.
As soon as he hears the word 'blame', it seems as if his bowels
had been turned into jello... From the obvious look of panic and
fear in his eyes, the tremble of his hands and perhaps his entire
body it is clear that he is well aware of these troubles their
Lord speaks. And in his mind it is obvious who Gabriel is going
to blame for them.

After that brief pause of observation he continues his speech
while looking sharply at Mr Nobuo. "It's common knowledge
that the one blamed for such things is usually an underling,
someone who been obeying orders poorly. Or perhaps it someone who
managed to mess his the orders when giving them onward. That is
the way these things usually go, isn't it? In this particular
case it cannot be so though. For now we are dealing with plans so
complex that no faceless, or for that matter witless minion can
be blamed for all these failures."

"It was clear to me that one of you had the supreme
authority and therefore responsibility over these matters in
question Mr Nobuo. The Summoning, project the elders were to
perform for me was one such thing. There was also the job of
preventing Kritiker involving with our business while giving them
false leads and clues. Mainly to prevent untimely deaths in the
Takatori family by actions of the Weiss, while at the same time
allowing them to take care of the most useless of the corrupts
officials and other maniacs. It is clear that the most important
part of this mission was a failure. That failure gave Weiss the
necessary information to hunt down and kill all known members of
the Takatori clan."

"This mistake clearly has put the project 'Dh-T3' back
innumerable years, perhaps even forever as the things stand now.
Years that we, or more importantly I might not have. All these
mistakes are becoming quite troublesome for me, and I would like
to have some clear and solid explanations for them, from you Mr
Nobuo Ichijou, Red of the Triad!"

While the speech gone on, the man in whom the blame seemed to
rest upon had attempted to keep some kind of a facadé of
calmness, but whatever calm he might have had was soon gone for
good as time progressed. When Gabriel finally finished this
speech of his and made the demand Mr Ichijou was shaking where he
stood. Now pinned under Gabriel's needle sharp gaze he was
terrified out of his mind. His Lord was clearly waiting for an
answer, but at this moment the man in red suit could only stare
at him fear radiating from every spore. Finally, with a obvious
and excessive display of willpower he steels his nerves and
begins his defense concerning the accusations of Lord Müller.
Starting loudly and boldly trying to summon some amount of
righteous indignation to his voice he begins:

"Finding one to blame these mishaps and who's fault they
were is of course important my Lord, but I find it curious and
disturbing why it is I that should be the one to blfor for these
mistakes, Lord Müller. Failures such as these are obvious
results of mistakes by the other members of Triad and their
underlings. It was the Weiss assassins that killed Takatori and
his heirs, and were they not also the ones that interrupted the
summoning and stole the sacrifice? They were clearly under the
jurisdiction of Mr Yusanori."

Pausing for a moment to gather strength he continues. "And
was it not the assassins of the team Schwarz whose job was to
guard the Summoning. They were also the ones responsible for
protecting Taka- ...A-a-aargh!"

Suddenly right in the middle of his speech, Mr Nobuo suddenly
screams and falls to his knees grasping at his chest as if it
were on fire. Lord Müller had obviously grown bored to Nobuo's
feeble posturing and this did not go unnoticed by the remaining
members of the Triad for the obvious display of power.

While Nobuo Ichijou was kneeling on the floor trying to make his
body work, rest of Triad looking raptly at Gabriel as he fixes
his burning gaze upon the shaking and moaning man. When Gabriel
begins to speak again, the remaining duo of 'servant's' listen at
him very keenly indeed.

"I expected much better from you Mr Nubuo, but it seems that
you are not half as intelligent as I hoped you to be when I
raised you into your position. Wasn't it yourself back then that
told me: Weiss and Schwarz are tools and weapons, far too
important to be discarded because of mistakes made the those who
might wield them, even if they were kill someone important to our
cause. That was you, was it not Mr Nobuo?"

"A sentiment to witch I agreed upon when Ms Fleisch brought
up certain troubles with a politician killed by Weiss. They are
but tools, wielded by your partners and you. But in the end it
was YOUR job to make sure that these sharp weapons of ours would
be pointed somewhere else than our entrails, for it might have
been White's and Black's job to wield them, it was yours to
direct them. Therefore I cannot see blaming the other members of
the Triad saving you from the reckoning."

"Your dismal failure on that account alone should have been
enough to make you step down from your position at the top. It
was your other mistakes, mainly those with Kritiker that make it
quite obvious that your 'stepping down' should be quite
permanent. Failure to obtain the control of the leaderless
Takatori enterprises, capturing two rogue Kritiker agents, Manx
and Birman and the other mistakes like these make it quite clear
that there is no place for within our ranks."

"So, without a further notice Mr Nobuo Ichijou, you're
fired. You may die now." Gabriel finishes with a vicious
smile.

These words said Gabriel directs the full force of his mind on Mr
Nobuo as he kneels on the floor. Amplifying force of his will
over the weak minded fool the effects are seen immediately. As
Ichijou shakes at the floor in a seizure Gabriels eyes start to
glow brighter like miniature suns. For those observing the event,
it would seem as if behind those eyes were fires of hell itself.
The effects on Nobuo could be seen easily. His body became rigid
as if in throes of a premature rigor mortis, stiff as a board and
incapable of any rational movement. As his body starts to break
down internally, small but slowly growing streams of blood start
to seep out of his eyes, ears and nose. Making it look like he
was weeping blood for a penance for his mistakes.

As the soon to be ex-leader of the Triad starts to bleed to his
death at the floor, Gabriel turns his attention towards to the
two remaining members and speaks. "Both of you must be aware
by now why this organization of ours exists. It is for a single
purpose, immortality. To achieve that goal you must keep it in
mind and not to be fooled by delusions of power you may get. Late
Mr Ichijou felt empowered by his apparent control of Kritiker and
others. The feelings of power he had made him careless and at the
end he made a fool... a dead fool of himself. His foolish actions
doomed him, and now he is history and for now you the
future..."

"Now that your in mind, would two of you care to tell me
your reports on your current projects? Mr Yusonori, Miss
Fleisch?"

Fleisch was first to react for Gabriels not so subtle prodding.
She soon began to inform him on matters under her jurisdiction,
such as monitoring and of manipulation of Schwarz and manufactured did distribution of the V-chips needed by projects of their
allies.

While the debriefing goes on, the corpse in front of the desk was
apparently noticed a certain insect. It hovers for a moment and
finally lands into a pool of blood given by the bof def dead Mr
Ichijou. Strangely enough there seemed to be no change in the
pool of blood this it went on. It was as if it the fly wasn't
there at all...

All this wen't unnoticed though as Miss Fleisch latest topic
caught Mr Yusanori's attention as well. "...and it seems
that the members of the Schwarz are starting to find some
disturbing evidence of the fact that they may have been
manipulated, before and after the failed Esset summoning. Mr
Crawford especially has always been highly intelligent and due
that those powers of his make him somewhat of risk to us.

"In my opinion Mr Crawford should be taken out of picture
for a while. Some careful conditioning within our facilities and
a nice mind swipe should take care of his... far too curious
nature, for a while at least. We don't want a precogs poking with
their minds somewhere they shouldn't, wouldn't you agree upon
that, Lord Müller?" Her last sentence was spoken with a
such soft voice it seemed almost if she was purring like a cat.

Hearing that tone of voice made Gabriels lips to form almost a
smile and when he finally answered there were traces of amusement
within his voice.

"I see, Miss Fleisch. And perhaps you would like to be the
one taking care of his 'conditioning' personally, hmm? ...of very
well, take care of him in if you must but please do keep him in
one piece... or at very least alive through your 'sessions'. He
is a quite useful tool after all, and it would be waste of good
material to ruin him as such."

As Miss Fleisch hears those words her eyes seem to glow with a
feral light. Soon she seems to withdraw into her own world while
grinning madly like a kitten that had just gotten her cream.
Gabriel smiles briefly at the sight and turns his gaze to
Yusonori.

"And now for your report, I trust that things are running
smoothly on your side of the field."

As Mr Yusanori starts explain the progress of his current
projects with his calm monotone Gabriel must wonder not for the
first time, is that man really a human being? The saying 'to lack
a soul' seemed to be much more than just a mere metaphor for him.
Those that knew his first name must have wondered weather his
parents were clairvoyant, or perhaps the gods indeed have a
strange sense of humor. To name a child after a soulless god and
have him turn he did.

When finally finished detailing the situation with Weiss and
their recent activities Yusanori pauses for a moment. After
mentally collecting himself he continues.

"There are certain things that have come into my attention.
They would have been in the area of interest and of late Mr Red,
but I'd imagine that they might be of some interest for you Lord
Müller."

Face emotionless Gabriel motions him to continue on the subject.
There were only a few things that Yusanori could deem so
interesting and though he might not show it he quite curious.

"There are two things really. One is related to the control
of the Takatori Entepraises. It is of lesser importance but none
the less somewhat vital to our efforts."

"What about it? Have you found out the reason for our
failures on controlling the company?"

"The documents we have obtained indicate that the rogue
agents Manx and Birman are apparently pulling the strings behind
scenes. They were Persia's must trusted aides and logically they
would know a great deal of late Reiji Takatori's business empire.
We haven't yet located them or their allies, but it's only
question of time and effort on our part. As for why they have
taken such steps, that is part of my second piece of information
as well."

Gabriel simply continues to act as if he were bored and comments.
"I hope the other matter is of more importance than the
first one Mr Yusonori. You wouldn't want to waste my time on such
simple matters as that. As it is, Kritiker or their agents,
former or not are no longer a threat to us. Their limited control
of Takatori's company is a matter of minor annoyance. In few
months we'll have Takatori Entepraises within our control by
means of simple corporate takeover. Only a legally proven heir of
the Takatori Clan could prevent that from happening and due the
mistakes of your former leader that is quite impossible."

Yusonori takes the reprimand in stride and continued on as if it
had never happened. "That second thing, one I suspect you
are quite interested of concerns that as well, my Lord. You see,
among the documents our agents have managed to discover from the
remains of Reiji was found something quite interesting, a file
concerning life of Mamoru Takatori, his youngest son. You see, if
a one thing could be said of Reiji Takatori it would be that he
was a perfectionist. Therefore he would keep all his files up to
date, and that would strangely include the previously mentioned
document. From it's 'updates' we could deduce that Takatori
bloodline is still active."

Those calm words seem shatter Gabriel's apparent boredom in
instant. His face suddenly shows an emotion rarely seen upon it,
utter shock.

"How can that be? As we know, sons of Akira Takatori are
dead by now. Reiji's three son's are all dead as far as we know.
His only daughter is dead as well and his brother Shuichi never
had any children. How can there be anyone left of the
bloodline?"

Yusanori's answer is filled with a certain amount of smug
satisfaction. As much emotion Gabriel has ever had heard within
Yusanori's voice. "Yes, the common knowledge is that. But
close examination of the documents now in our possession was
quite enlightening. Comparing them to other related documents as
well the one I mentioned was even more revealing. It would seem
that most if not all of the facts that we took granted were
nothing but false assumptions."

"Reiji's youngest son, Mamoru Takatori is still quite alive,
under a different name though it seems. Also, instead of being
son of Reiji he was really biological son of his brother. It
would seem that Shuichi and Reiji's now dead wife had an illicit
affair and Mamoru was the direct result. That was presumably also
the reason behind Reiji's lack of desire to the ransom for Mamoru
when he was kidnapped. After all, why to pay ransom if he was
aware of the fact that Mamoru wasn't really his own son. That
kind of ruthlessness would have suited Reiji just fine."

Gabriel interrupts Yusanori's monologue impatiently. "That's
all fine to know but it matters little to us unless we can locate
that missing child. Are you so certain that the kidnappers didn't
just kill him? He could by dead for all we know."

"Due the fact that Reiji was apparently aware of Mamoru
current name and that it was written into the document are quite
clear indications that he is still alive. Reiji would have kept
all his documents up to date, it was part of his nature after
all."

"Would you spit it out already Yusonori, I have little
interest in these verbal games you play, but I WOULD like to know
where to find our missing Takatori heir." An impatient
demand interrupted Yusanori. Gabriel was starting to get
impatient and Yusonori's way of giving information in small
pieces was obviously starting to irritate him.

Not apparently chastised at all Yusonori continues calmly.
"It was really quite obvious when we figured it out. Who is
better suited to save him than his REAL father. For that mattero beo better to raise him as well. It was thaderader of the
Kritiker, the man who called himself 'Persia' that rescued and
took care of young Mamoru. Raising him to be the founding member
of Weiss and never ever figuring out that he made his own son a
killer.

"You mean..."

"Exactly, our missing Mamoru Takatori is none other than
Weiss team's Bombay, Omi Tsukiono."

"Has he gained any awareness of who or for that matter
'what' he really is?" Gabriel asks with a sudden interest.

"By now he is likely to know his true name but that's all.
He has no real knowledge of his heritage and even less knowledge
about the secret behind their bloodline. The knowledge that their
dark history went even beyond Akira Takatori was hidden from
everyone. Even Reiji himself. He still uses the false name given
him by Persia as an identity and thinks that Reiji was his real
father. In truth he is still in dark concerning most things
regarding his heritage.

"Perfect, we have no time to lose then. Have him captured as
soon as possible and taken to the Alfa lab. I want Dh-project
re-started as soon as possible. Coordinate the capture of Oracle
with Lady Fleisch within your operation as well, Mr Yusonori. It
would be useful diversion to us to have the teams active against
each others again. We have no time to lose and a conflict to keep
them off our backs for a while would give the time needed to the
laboratory finish the experiments I need."

"As you command, Lord Müller." A clear and emotionless
response from comes from Yusonori and a similar words can be
heard from Fleisch though they are filled with more emotion than
Yusanori's.

With that Gabriel apparently decides that the meeting is at end.
His final words held clear dismissal in them and they bow to his
direction and turn towards the door. As they reach it and Fleisch
reaches to the door Gabriel suddenly calls out for them for last
time.

"When you get down please tell the guard to send carpet
cleaners up here. I don't do not want blood stains on my floor
and that corpse would eventually start to stink. Mr Yusonori...
YOU are now the new head of the Triad. Congratulations, I will
send Nobuo's replacement to your office tomorrow morning."

Nodding numbly for their Lord's last words the two members of for
now former Triad quietly walk out of the room, both puzzled by
the strange note of cheerfulness in Gabriel's voice. That was
something they had never heard from him before...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The confusion Gabriel's last words caused in his underlings
seemed to amuse him somewhat as he relaxed in his 'throne'. A
small bitter smile formed upon his face as his mind drifted into
his memories.

The alchemical experiments performed in his youth, the Summonings
and their consequences. Those and countless other attempts in
between. For more than three hundred years had this 'man' lived
but at last the keys to the immortality would be in his grasp...
after having lost them too many times before already.

Caught in the web of his musings of future and past he failed to
notice the other, rather unusual occupant still in the room. The
fly was still in there, seemingly feasting on pool of blood on
the floor. Without a sound it started to raise from the still
warm blood and flew to look at Gabriel. For the moment it would
glow red and if it had a mouth you could have been sure it was
grinning. Then, as suddenly as it had appeared in the building it
fades into the air as if it had never been there. The room
remains as if it never had been there, all that's left in it is a
old man dreaming of a crimson future...

==============================================

In a hotel room in Tokyo...

Alucard raises from his sleep like trance, and can not but laugh
at the foolishness of that vampiric wanna be. "Heh, Gabriel
Müller probably has enough blood to fill a bat and yet he thinks
himself as a Lord, Master... What a joke!"

Eventually he banishes these from his head and reviews what he
learned from his spy session. //So, we finally know where those
little freaks come from. Integra should be pleased about that.
Though recently she has been far more irritated than usual,
declarations of war and armies of Nazi vampires might do that
humans, I suppose. I do wonder what she makes of this business
with the Takatori clan. It sounds a pretty interesting game...//

Alucard had been bored for a quite a while for now you see. Even
after the war had started the things hadn't improved that much
for him. Integra had kept Hellsing out of the conflict so far,
giving normal military chance to make fool out of themselves and
that they had done indeed. It was a shame in his way of thinking,
so much potential but so little fun for him. Then again most
would say that this wasn't exactly a sane attitude. Alucard
didn't mind though. Sanity was highly overrated according his
point of view. Most of the mankind... or foat mat matter nearly
anyone knowing him would agree upon that about him.

The outfit he was wearing was good example of that thinking. An
elaborate suit of red velvet, silk gloves and a huge red hat. The
round yellow glasses were just the icing on the cake and the mad
grin on his face would complete the picture. It made Alucard look
like something out of a nightmare, a strange one but a nightmare
none the less. He would probably look out of place anywhere but
no doubt that was likely his intention. Perhaps it was
originality above anything else, even sanity, only he would know
the truth of it. No one seemed to ask him that for some reason...


Right now he was thinking of what to report though. "I don't
wan't her screaming at me again. Headache this spell gives me is
nasty and I don't need anything extra for top of it. Sometimes I
think that she's half of a banshee for all I know. She does have
a impressive voice, no doubt about that though."

"Hmph, I guess it's time to pay the piper." He mutters
while pulling a cell phone out of his sleeve. Phone lays in his
hand for a while as he looks at it through slit eyes. If looks
could kill the phone would be six feet under, no matter that is
an inanimate object. No such luck at hand he simply gives it a
nasty look before dialing. Almost as soon as the number is in the
phone he is answered.

"Yes?" An irritated feminine voice answers from the
phone.

"It's me Lady Integra."

"Its about time, I wouldn't think a simple surveillance
mission would take that long. I assume everything went according
to the plan?"

"Yes, I did as you ordered. Quite boring really. I could
just go in and take care of them now without a problem, good
riddance to bad thrash..."

"What part of word 'order' you don't understand Alucard! The
point in this operation is to get information, not to alert every
agent of the third millenium of our intentions! If you go there
guns blazing we'll never the the chip plant or possible
infiltrators, no matter how many people you slaughter!"

Alucard grimaces and holds his head for a moment before
answering. "Fine, no need to yell. It was just an offer. To
see face of that half blood wannabe would be priceless though.
Anyway, I did what you ordered, right mistress?

"Feh, you never really change, do you Alucard? Tell me then,
are we on the right track on this?"

"Yes, our information was right about this, they are the top
researchers and suppliers of the chips. I couldn't find out much
about the location fo the plant besides something about brazil,
if it's any help..."

"Very well, we'll direct our efforts to that direction, I
hope you got it right. Was there anything else of interest?"

"Oh yeah... The old man did seem to have a fixation on
Takatori's and especially some kid named Mamoru...

"What! Was it Mamoru Takatori by any chance!"

"Mamoru Takatori, yes I think so... What do you want me to
do about it Integra?"

"Find him and keep an close eye on him. Do not interfere
unless it's necessary to save him. Use your discretion, if you
have such a thing. Alucard, I hope I'm not going to regret
this..."

"Heh, as you command. No need to worry, I handle it as
discretely as I can Lady Integra."

"That's what I'm afraid of... Do your job!" *click*

As soon as the line goes down Alucard contemplates on closing his
fist around the phone crushing it instantly. Deciding against the
action he simply mutters in a quiet voice. "Infernal
machines, these things. Heh, I'm not really suited for these low
profile missions but as she commands I must obey I
suppose..."

//I hope that kid doesn't mind it too much when we fuck up his
life royally. I really hate dealing with children. Victoria is
enough of a burden for me now with her new fixation. Then again,
those fools are likely to do it before me anyway so I shouldn't
need to worry about it too much.//

That happy thought mind Alucard walks out of the room and fades
in to the dark shadows around him and the empty corridor echoes
with faint sound of maniacal laughter...

==============================================

London, Great Britain

Within London there is a mansion of a high class, building owned
by a family whose history reaches back centuries. It is the home
of the Van Hellsing's. A family whose name has long been known
for their fight against the supernatural evil. The building is
old and filled with many secrets and hidden parts not known to
outsiders. Those are not what matters now though, for there is
one room that is of imp importance. It is a not hidden but it's
under protection of guards none the less. The two soldiers that
guard it are strong and fit, clearly veterans by the look in
their eyes. Upon their arms they bear symbols uncommon for those
of the usual military knowledge. The shield and the marks in it
show that they are Knights of the Hellsing organization. Those
that would know of it would also know that these are men that
have seen hell it self in their fight against evil and would
respect them for it.

The room behind them is decorated sparsely. The walls are bare
apart from a large picture of an elderly man, a man whose name by
the plague appears to be Abraham Van Hellsing. There are no
bookshelves by the walls or pieces of art to decorate this room.
But the room isn't what they're guarding after all but the person
in it. For by the single window at the end of the room is a
table. On the table apart from the usual phone and such stands a
bottle of fine brandy and a glass, beside them an opened box of
thin cigars.

Behind the table sits a woman. Perhaps in her late twenties,
dressed in austere but well cut clothing. On her cold but
beautiful face are delicate reading glasses and her blond hair
comes to her shoulders. Her name is Integra Van Hellsing and she
is the leader of the Hellsing Institution.

For a one with her responsibilities there is always something to
worry about and right now her mind is concerned with a certain
'eccentric' vampire. //Leading a para-military organization such
as Hellsing would be a complicated job even without loose cannons
like Alucard. That 'man' is a walking hazard to anyone around
him. To think that I had to send him to mission that required
subtlety... I must have been out of my mind. But then again I
didn't have much of a choice did I? Victoria has her own
'recruitment' mission to complete and Walter is required here at
the mansion. Alucard was my only option, may god help us all...//

As she sips from the half filled glass of brandy her mind turns
back to the phone call she just had. //So, Herr Müller was the
one behind the chips after. It is a shame I can't allow Alucard
to take care of that problem for now. It would solve some of our
problems but in the end it would just ask for a counter offensive
from the one above him. That damm idiot doesn't realize that, or
perhaps he does but doesn't care. For him it's just a game to
challenge his limits. Perhaps I shouldn't expect anything more
from him, Alucard is whatever he is after all, and I don't think
anything can change that.//

Finally Integra's mind turns away from Alucard and into the one
whose folder she holds in her hand. She opens it and at the first
page she sees a picture of a young man in his late teens. Blond
hair, cute face and a happy smile would make it seem he's nothing
but a ordinary teenage kid. But for a one used to reading people
there seems to be something about the picture that is off.
Perhaps the smile seems bit of a fake or his eyes seem to glint
at strange way. Whatever it is, it screams to Integra that this
boy is not what he seems but a predator instead of a prey. And
the first page of the opened folder proves it...

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Name : Omi Tsukiono MamoMamoru Takatori
Codename : Bombay
Age : 17
Profession : Florist / Assassin
Organisation : Formerly a Kritiker team Weiss, now presumed to be
member of the same team but independent since Kritiker
destruction.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

//Hmm, I hope that our actions make him an ally instead of an
enemy. We have enough of latter ones already. Hopefully you know
what you are doing Alucard. We don't need professional assassins
after our heads as well. Blood crazed nazis are enough for
now...//

==============================================

At same time in a flower shop a young man is sneaking out.
Dressed in black trench coat he slips out of the building and
fades into the shadows around him. Heading towards his favorite
nightclub, his mind is filled with scrambled thoughts regarding
recent events but he forcibly pushes them out of his mind for the
moment.

"Time to have finally some fun. It's been a while since I
last visited Melting Pot... I wonder if there will be any newbies
to play with?" Omi smirks evilly as he starts walking to his
destination. A fleeting thought crosses his mind while walking.
//I wonder if someone has been thinking about me. My ears have
been ringing the entire evening...//

==============================================

To Be Continued In... (Omi just want's to have fun... or was it
'A Night of Bloody Revelations'... ^_
=
==============================================

Afterwords:

I. This fic assumes that Weiss and Hellsings story lines happen
at somewhat same time, just to make things a bit easier for me...


II. Alucard's spy trick isn't in the anime or for that matter in
the manga so it probably isn't canon. Heh! The guys supposed to
be goows ows how old so he must have more than one trick in those
big sleeves of his... For that account, in my fic he isn't
Dracula as the manga gives more leeway on that account.

III. Conserning that, I base things on my fic mostly to the manga
witch I've read to the beginning of the fifth book. So the anime
story line will only work as far as to the Valentine brother
assault to Hellsing headquarters. After that things tend to
change quite a bit...

If the style seems strange, remember this IS my first fic. It may
change or perhaps not, who knows. I for sure don't... Feedback is
of course appreciated. Like this or not, some kind of response
would be nice (love it, hate it, wish to burn me (and the fic) at
stake on the next full moon O_o;;;), that kind of stuff. Flames
will be laughed at, but I may post the silliest of them to a web
site where everyone else can laugh at them as well.

- Azrael's Wing

Till next time...

If I could drop dead right now, I'd be the happiest man alive.
Samuel Goldwyn (1882 - 1974)