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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
- 8
- 9
- 10
Psalms
for the Fallen

Chapter
9

I

The
first thing Integral said upon entering the makeshift library was �Alucard, you
know I dislike that form.�

The
little girl in the white mink hat looked up, grinning, her red eyes too knowing
and feral for her childlike form. �My Master.�

Integral
cast her eyes over to Anderson, who had seemingly decided to ignore the both of
them. The priest was writing on a set of foolscap, his handwriting
cramped and small, and the tension bound tight into his shoulders spoke of
festering aggravation.

�Alucard.�

�Merely
making a suggestion to Alex that this would be the best way to travel
undercover,� the girl said loftily, but she slipped off the window seat, her
voice distorting as she shifted shape. �A girl and a guide dog.�

�You�ll
be noticeable whatever damn form you choose, Alucard. Subtlety is not in
your nature.� Integral walked over to the table, peering at the notes. It
had been three days since she�d last checked on Alucard. �I�ve booked the
flight for Friday. How are matters?�

�Ah
dinnae think Ah�ll finish. Seras offered t�help, but she�ll be nae real
help at all.�

�Alucard?�

�Disnae
thinks that there is ae point.�

Integral
sighed. She had rather thought that the case, but had her hands full at
the moment handling England, Romania, the Round Table and �polite� enquiries
from the Vatican, and had rather hoped that Alucard would deign to involve
himself for a while. �You�ll better produce results, Alucard, for your
confidence.�

�Since
when have I failed you, my Master?� Alucard grinned toothily. �I bested
the Wolf of Carthage, and the Ouroboros under the Eastern Sea, more besides,
old monsters. Lamia is an old monster. I doubt you are truly
worried, Integral.�

�I�m
more concerned about what �Dominion� is,� Integral admitted, stalking over to
the books and running a gloved hand lightly over the closest. �I don�t
like not having all the cards in my hand.�

�It�s
probably ae resurrection myth,� Anderson said gruffly. �Two books
referred it. Somethin� about communication.�

�Or
probably ragnarok,� Alucard said dismissively. �Myths are often
such. Calling Old Gods or demons.�

�Ah�ve
heard much o� Father Aglione, but Ah disnae doubt his faith,� Anderson retorted
coldly.

�Father�
Aglione?� Integral narrowed her eyes. �What do you know of his
involvement?�

�Ah
have eyes in my head an� ears that work,� Anderson replied evenly. �And
Ah have heard him mention this once, though it be ae lang time ago.
�Achieving Dominion�. It disnae occur t�me until Ah thought about it ae
little.�

�Why
didn�t you speak of this earlier?� Integral snapped.

�Because
Ah dinnae believe that what he speaks o� an� what the harlot mentioned are the same!�
Anderson growled. �Ah wanted t�make sure o� what she
meant.�

�And
you�re so certain of that?� Alucard asked idly. �This Aglione is as much
a monster as the Lamiae.�

Anderson
stood up so quickly that the chair fell down against the stone ground with a
crash. �He is ae priest. Ae candidate for the Papal Throne.
He isnae ae monster.�

�Oh-h?�
Alucard half-lidded his eyes. �You were twelve, perhaps, even younger,
when they first started cutting you up? How old are you now, Father Anderson,
that you have such a na�ve definition of a monster? Does your
precious faith absolve evil in humanity to such an extent? Is that what you
hope?�

�Alucard.�
Integral slammed her palm down on the table. �And you, Anderson.
Sit down.�

Anderson
glared at her, then at Alucard, and curled his hands tightly into fists, and
whirled instead, storming out of the parlor. Integral sighed, and righted
the chair, settling into it. �If you�ve finished feeling self-satisfied,
feel free to pick up where he left off.�

�
�Your mission is to destroy Lamia�. That is all, wasn�t it?� Alucard
sounded bored. �Whatever else the Vatican sows, the Vatican reaps.
�Destroy Lamia�, so that we can �keep Anderson�. Project Anderson.
Do you truly care who next graces the Papal Throne, my Master?�

�An
Inquisitor would be quite the inconvenience.�

�Inquisitor,
some other priest, Iscariot�� Alucard waved one aristocratic, pale hand
vaguely. �They�ve all no love for you and even less for I. You know
that, my Master. They stay away from England not quite because of
politics or treatises, but because they cannot kill me.�

�So
what is your counsel, servant?� Integral stressed the title coldly.

�Take
our time. Oh, I will battle her, quite willingly. But I do not
think you should change more of that pretty blonde hair of yours to gray by
worrying about another country�s politics. Particularly religious
politics.�

�Are
you not interested in keeping Anderson?�

�Of
course.� Alucard shrugged. �But whether he allows himself to be
kept by so farcical a deal� thirty pieces of silver indeed, Lord
Hellsing. And why should it concern you? He almost killed you in the
past. You still have no love for him, don�t you, save perhaps a vague
interest in him as a matter to amuse me?� When Integral made no answer, Alucard
added, slyly, �Sentiment again, my Lady?�

�Fool.
I am not above sympathy.� Integral narrowed her eyes at Alucard. �And the
Pope knew this, of course. Bloody Father Mikaine handed me their file on
Anderson for some �light reading� while they were arranging matters in the
Apostolic Palace to have me returned to England.�

�Did
it work?�

�What?�

�Did
you truly feel� sorry for him?� Alucard said, his tone almost singsong,
mocking.

�It
irritated me that they tried so hard to manipulate me, certainly. And I
think he will be useful.�

�You
didn�t answer my question, my Master.�

�I�ve
no need to answer to you, servant,� Integral said icily. Alucard
smirked at her, knowingly, lazily.

�Seras
has been tiptoeing around him for days, falling over herself to please.�

�I
noticed. What brought that on?� Integral inquired warily. �Do I
want to know?�

�She
walked into one of his dreams. Silly girl has quite the curiosity.
I suppose she feels� sorry� for him.�

�Seras
is softhearted.� Integral said dismissively. �But in any case, if you
intend to keep goading Anderson throughout the trip, I will replace him
with Seras. I�m not running an institution, but he has placed
himself under Hellsing�s command and is therefore my
responsibility.�

�I
confess myself a little surprised,� Alucard said mildly, with a toothy grin
that failed to intimidate. �Lord Hellsing.�

�Anderson
belongs to Hellsing now. Consider yourself warned.�

II

Anderson
didn�t open his eyes when someone lay down next to him on the grass, though he
could scent who it was, the ashy earth of a Midian, along with the faint but
particular, acrid gunpowder stench that always clung to this particular one�s
clothes no matter what she tried.

�Master
always says whatever he wants,� Seras Victoria said neutrally.

The
priest smiled thinly, his book of psalms cradled in one large hand, curled
around it on the lawn. It had been thrice bound, currently in leather,
its pages delicate and stained at parts: old stains that not even his Midian�s
senses could scent, its presence both comfort and reminder.

�Ye
dinnae like the sun.�

�Yes.�
Seras agreed. �But you looked like you needed company.�

Anderson
wanted to snap at her, drive her off and insist how idiotic that
assumption was, how he, of all people did not need or deserve her sympathy, how
he disliked her ridiculous, patient overtures of friendship, how he hated her
kind and her Master in particular, but to his surprise, didn�t. He
attributed it to the sluggishness he felt from the sun, and said nothing,
concentrating instead on the faint heartbeats he could hear around him, the
whisper of a breeze, the warmth of the sun and the distant sounds of cars, a
dog.

�Sometimes
it�s hard to listen to him. And of course it�s often in malice or without
tact, but-�

�Dinnae
speak about him further.� Anderson managed enough of an irritated growl to
sound threatening. Idly, he wondered if he could yet beat Seras � he�d
improved considerably over the last month � but supposed he wasn�t entirely
sure.

�All
right,� Seras said comfortably. The female vampire shut up for all of
five minutes before murmuring, a little hesitantly, �That book you�re holding,
is it, er� I mean, that dream I heard��

�Aye.�

�Ah�
you�ve kept it all these years� I mean, not that it�s er, strange or anything,
but� er, it�s a bit surprising� I didn�t think you went back to Rome after
London��

�Ah
take it everywhere.� Anderson kept his replies curt, on just this side of
rudeness, but Seras seemed impervious.

�Oh.
Umm� I suppose I see why.�

Anderson
reflected that despite all his attempts to see Seras otherwise, the female
vampire remained, for the most part, staunchly un-vampiric.
Certainly her eyes were now always red, and she moved with the sureness of a
predator other than her usual gawkishness, and she had far more confidence, but
her core of self seemed to remain underneath it all, with a large,
unrepentantly human heart. It confused him, intrigued him, and,
occasionally and much to his irritation, humbled him. He had heard from
Alucard, usually with disdain, about how it had taken the War for Seras to
drink blood, how she had wept when she had first seen him execute humans in
Brazil.

�Why
did ye drink?�

�Drink?�

�Blood.�

�Oh.�
Seras said nothing, for a long while, and Anderson wondered if he�d finally
manage to drive her off, then she said, mildly, �He asked me to.�

�Alucard?�

�No.
Captain Bernadotte.�

That
was a surprise. �Why?�

�To
defeat Zorin Blitz � the Millennium monster that attacked. To
protect. And he was dying.�

To
protect. Strange reason, but before Anderson could comment, Seras
added, wryly, �I love him, you know.�

Anderson
was about to say something about the inappropriateness of present tenses and in
confiding such intensely personal sentiments to someone who had, only a little
more than a couple of months ago, been a mortal enemy, and therefore, sat up.

Which
was why the bullet punched through his shoulder rather than his skull.

The
next smashed into Seras� shadow arm, that she brought up sharply in front of
his face, then the arm turned into a wing, and she was sweeping over the grass,
towards a black van a few hundred meters away.

Anderson
sped after her, grimacing in pain. The bullet had been blessed, like his
bayonets, and he was having a little trouble regenerating. And why had
the Ninth targeted him? Surely they would have known that Seras
would have been a greater threat� unless they had wanted simply to remove any
reason Integral might have to work with the Vatican? No, they would have known
that if anything, killing Anderson would have provoked Alucard into a
rampage.

The
reason became somewhat more obvious when he reached Seras. The female
vampire had already dispatched most of the passengers in the van, who lay
groaning or unconscious on the asphalt, and Anderson recognized their coats,
their somber uniforms. He himself owned a set.

Held
above the ground, struggling with a set of shadowy tentacles wrapped tightly
around her neck, was Heinkel.

�Put
her down!� Anderson snapped sharply. No. Not Heinkel. Not
these men, all of whose faces he knew.

Seras
stared at him, her red eyes unreadable, then she did so, carefully, though the
shadows merely receded into a writhing wing. Heinkel watched his wound
struggle to close, and her lip twisted on the half of her face that hadn�t been
constructed.

�Father
Alexander Anderson.� Heinkel first looked angry, then simply wounded, which was
worse. �Why?�

�Ah
dinnae ask t�be bitten,� Anderson said stiffly, knowing that that
wasn�t Heinkel�s question.

�Why
didn�t you end your existence? Why do you work for Hellsing? Why didn�t
you just come back?� Heinkel snarled. �Father Aglione sent us here
to terminate a turned Catholic Priest, but I would never have thought it was you.�

Anderson
looked away. The accusation in Heinkel�s eyes was painful, a hurt so
startling deep that he was surprised his monster�s heart was still capable of
feeling so. �Killing Alucard. T�kill Alucard.�

�Is
that the monster speaking?�

�He�s
not a monster!� Seras snapped, baring her fanged teeth, �Your Father Aglione
is-�

�Seras
Victoria. One more word,� Anderson said coldly, as Heinkel narrowed her
eyes into angry slits. �When Ah kill Alucard, let the Vatican do t�me
what it wishes.�

�How
long will that take? How can I trust the word of a creature like you? How do I
know you won�t be corrupted � if you haven�t already been corrupted?�

Seras
opened her mouth, but closed it when Anderson glared at her. �Ye wouldnae
ken. Ah dinnae ken. An� Ah wouldnae ask ye t�trust me. But Ah
wouldnae step any further from God.�

�How
can you control that?�

�Ae
promise.� Anderson held up one of his hands, showing the back, with its
Hellsing limiter, to Heinkel. �She wouldnae let me.�

�The
word of a Protestant,� Heinkel said, though her shoulders slumped.

�Anderson
is ours now,� Integral�s clipped voice came from behind them, and the leader of
Hellsing strolled up the road towards them followed by a couple of house
guards, Alucard thankfully nowhere in sight, a thick manila folder in her arms,
marked with the papal seal. �And this is something the Pope gave me to
read, Heinkel. Return it to him when you return to the Vatican.
Read it if you wish. Seras. Pass it to her.�

�Don�t
contaminate such documents, vampire.� Heinkel strode past the female vampire to
take the proffered folder, suspiciously. �What is it?�

�That�s
for you to see.�

�Forged?�

�Verify
the seal at your leisure if you wish.� Integral sounded bored. �I�ll
overlook this trespass, this time. But do not count yourself so fortunate
if there is a repeat.�

�Ah�ll
be returnin� t�the house,� Anderson told Integral, who shrugged.

�You
still have that?� Heinkel said suddenly, and Anderson looked down at his
hand. Rather self-consciously, he placed the book of psalms into the
inner pocket of his coat. He hadn�t noticed he had still been holding
it. �You used to read to us from it. Myself, Yumiko. We asked
you why you didn�t just read from a Bible. You�d only laugh.�

�Aye.
Ah remember.�

Heinkel
took in a deep, wracking breath, then another, squeezing her eyes shut.

�Ah
wish ye dinnae come.�

�Rome.
I�ll see you in Rome, Father Anderson. After you kill Alucard. I�ll
be waiting in Rome. However long it takes.�

Anderson
let out a breath, cold over his lips. �Aye.�

III

�That
was halfhearted,� Alucard mused, as he stroked his tongue slowly up Alex�s
neck, watching the priest moan and turn boneless on the high-backed cushioned
chair that Alucard kept in his chambers. Three bayonets were scattered on
the stone, one embedded in the thick oak door. Alucard hadn�t even needed
to shift out of his human form. �Were you trying to bore me to death?�

�Fucken
creature-� Alex managed weakly, even as he bared his throat further,
invitingly, one leg splayed high on the armrest of the chair, the other curled
over Alucard�s elbow. He had long stripped the priest to only his open
shirt, and Alucard ran a finger over the barely-healed bullet wound. Soon
it would heal completely, without scar, but the toxicity of the blessed metal
still infected it, for now, pricking lightly at his thumb.

�Or
did you want this to happen?� Alucard purred, grinding up against the
fledgling�s rump, smirking as he squirmed. Anderson�s arousal was already
thick and heavy against his belly, but Alucard continued to ignore it,
determined to fully amuse himself now that they had a little time.

Alex�s
eyes flashed, and he bared his teeth, then he groaned instead, his fingers
curling tight in Alucard�s hair, as the older vampire bit down. Did
you want to escape? To lose yourself, even if for a moment?

Alex
tugged briefly and feebly at long black hair, then went limp again, mewling
when a gloved hand pinned his bucking hips to the chair. Or did you
want to focus your hatred? Does it comfort you? Are you trying to
distance me, set me apart? Alucard drew back, lapping at the droplets of
blood until vampiric regeneration sealed the wounds, smirking as Alex made a
whining noise in the back of his throat in protest. �You ran, this
afternoon, Alex. Didn�t you?�

�Ah�
Ah wouldnae run from��

�You
did. But you need your little definitions, don�t you, Alex.
You�ve killed humans before, without remorse, Millennium�s able little
pawns. You�ve felt the thirst for blood, as have I, and you when you were
human.�

�Ye�ve
killed��

�To
eat? Not very often, Alex, and in the last few centuries, only those who have
gone against me. Is what I do so monstrous compared to how your Vatican
produces their toy soldiers?�

Alex
closed his eyes, though he bared his teeth, his mimed breathing shallow.

�I
am a monster, Alex,� Alucard said agreeably, brushing a kiss over the bared
neck, �Because I am a Midian. But the worst of our kind have never been
able to match the monstrosity inherent in some members of humanity.
If killing makes me monstrous, then how am I different from what you were?�

�Yer
nature-�

�Nature,
nature,� Alucard echoed mockingly, �So is a creature more monstrous by the fact
of its bloodthirsty nature, or a creature whose nature, by definition,
is benign? Like a human?�

�Ah
dinnae� Ah disnae wish t-�

�Don�t
run from this, childe.� Alucard said softly, almost tender, if not for
the bright malice in his eyes. �The root of your continued faith in
God. Humans cannot be monsters. Therefore��

�Nay-�

�Therefore,
what happened to you when you were a child, was not monstrous. Is
that what you think, Alex? All things committed in the name of God, are not
monstrous. Is that the conviction from which you have built your
faith? In the name of your God, in human history, more blood has been
shed than the work of any Midian. Can you still hold faith, Alex?
This �faith� that anchors you to what is left of your soul?�

No
answer. Anderson�s teeth were clenched, painfully tight, his fingers
vise-like on Alucard�s shoulders.

�No
wrong in the name of God. So if this Father Aglione were to take another
child, from the orphanages, to-�

�What
happened t�me was wrong.� Alex whispered, his tone flat, dull. �Ae wrong
committed in the name o� God, an� they will be damned fer it.�

�Aye.�

�An�
Ah was ae monster that dwelt in the house o� God.�

�Aye.�

�An�
yet, with all this,� Alex said forcefully, his eyes snapping open, bright and
glazed, as though with tears, �All this cannae break my faith in God.�

Alucard
stared at Anderson, his feral eyes widening, then he began to chuckle, low and
pleased, folding the priest against his shoulder, stroking his arm as Anderson
began to shake uncontrollably. �Aye.�

-tbc-
- 8
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Psalms for the Fallen