Traditional spoiler-space verbiage... there are spoilers to worry about, 
here, from the last episode.

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

Leifker presents...

Do Not Go Gently

A Hellsing fanfic by Nicholas Leifker

Hellsing created by Hirano Kota.  I don't claim these characters as my 
own.  What rights I do have are reserved.  Please don't post this work 
or any part of it without the author's written permission.

***

I raise the glass to my lips, and grimace - again.

Walter would weep at the sight before me.  The steak is underdone; the 
chardonnay is too acidic for my tastes.  The atmosphere is even worse; 
the musty smell of five hundred years of dust, sweat, and other human 
odors can�t quite leave the place, destroying any palate I may wish 
for.  Overall, the chef has much to improve on.  Not that he would care; 
I don�t imagine he has many repeat customers.  People who come to this 
restaurant usually don�t leave.

Sighing, I push away from the table.  Not like starving for a few hours 
is going to kill me.  No, the small room they have set up at the end of 
the hall will take care of that.  A cocktail of poisons and sedatives 
awaits - after-dinner drinks for the condemned.  Not the enemy I 
expected to finish me off, but a formidable one nonetheless.

For some reason, I�m reminded of words my father said long ago as he 
rested in front of the fireplace after battle, as his face twisted with 
pain and loss.  �People who do good things for Queen and country are 
given medals.  People who do great things for Queen and country are 
persecuted - or dead.�  I did what was my birthright - defended the 
country against the dark forces that would tear it asunder.  We all did 
great things for Queen and country; every member of the Hellsing 
Organization answered the call to the best of his or her ability.  And, 
true to my father�s word, all have paid the price.

Except me - and my time is tonight.

On autopilot, I walk to my cot and light one last cigar, my thoughts 
barely registering the sweet taste of the tobacco and mint.  Was the 
sacrifice worth it?  Hundreds of Britain�s finest died ignominious 
deaths - or worse, weren�t allowed to rest in peace - all so that some 
spoiled politicians and aristocrats could live on.  The Hellsings 
guarded their existence since Victoria�s time - and the thanks we get 
is...

No.  Can�t think like that - won�t think like that.  We did it for 
country as well as Queen.  Even if the motives of the Round Table were 
suspect, the hopes of Britain�s subjects are not.   For the children of 
the United Kingdom, our sacrifice of life and honor is worth it.

At that point, my blood runs cold.  Our sacrifice isn�t enough, not by 
half.  If I die tonight, no one save the Iscariots will have the 
wherewithal to stop this invasion - and their cure is worse than the 
disease.  I have to keep on fighting, keep to the duty my 
great-grandfather swore to Queen Victoria, to the duty I swore to 
Elizabeth II, and see this struggle continued.  If I don�t, people - 
perhaps even the nation - will burn in fire.

The name comes to my mind; I open my mouth - then instantly close it 
again.  I won�t say it; I can�t say it.  I know the price for saying 
it.  If that one word comes out, then I... accept what was, and what may 
be.

�Keep on fighting, even if it costs you your life.�  More words, drilled 
into me by Father�s unrelenting lessons... the creed of any vampire 
hunter.  Dying here, now, would be giving up, letting those same freaks 
destroy my land.  These monsters must be stopped - Britain must be 
protected - at any cost, by me.  I am the honor of the clan Hellsing, 
and I will not let Britain fall.

But at that cost... did Seras face such a choice?  Did Father, perhaps, 
long before I first drew breath?

I always hated being weak.  The name comes out, more a breath than 
anything vocalized.

�Alucard...�

A cold feeling grips my heart as blood seeps through the cracks of 
stone, the cold futility of death I haven�t felt since I first saw his 
face.  The blood coalesces by the table and reshapes itself into a 
familiar form - my protector, my lieutenant, my faithful servant.

My nightmare, my death, the bane of my family for generations.  The 
Impaler.  He smiles down at me, with that Cheshire grin of his; 
sometimes, in the shadow, it�s all I see of him.  He picks up the 
chardonnay and swirls it around in his fingertips.

�What are your orders, Sir Integra Hellsing?�  The glass crushes 
suddenly in his grip; wine and blood rain down on the cold stone.

In that instant, I know - and I know he knows, too.

�It�s your choice, you know...�

Unconsciously, I smile.  He always was one for melodrama.  I let go of 
the grip around my knees, and raise myself to a standing position.  
�I...�

A last call for humanity stops my voice.  I cannot commit, not yet; I 
must be Integra Hellsing for at least one more minute.

�What is the status regarding the artificial vampires?�

His smile fades to a disgusted sneer.  �Seras and I encountered one 
yesterday.  The Army was unprepared for it; unfortunately, Anderson 
discovered its existence before we could finish, and eliminated the 
target before we had a chance.�

A cold smile crept on my face.  �And you and Anderson fought afterwards?�

He nodded slowly.  �He is... a fight to enjoy, Sir Hellsing.�

The news wasn�t what I hoped for; however, it was what I knew deep 
inside.  I take a ragged breath, and rest my hands against my thighs to 
keep them from shaking.  �Alucard...?�

�Yes, my Master?�

I can hear the glory in his voice.  He�s been waiting for this for a 
long time.  �I... have one more order for you - only one.�

He remains silent; the gaze of his red eyes touches my neck.  I reach my 
hand up to my collar and unclasp the silver cross pinned to my scarf; it 
falls to the ground with a soft tinkle.  The scarf is untied, and falls 
to the ground; the button quickly removed, exposing scars I�d sought to 
hide.

In all my years with him, I�ve never been more vulnerable.  �My family 
has protected these shores from vampires for over a century, Alucard.  I 
must protect my Queen and my country from these artificial monsters.  
That is my duty and my calling.�  I look away; the rest is almost too 
bitter to speak.

Almost.

�Even if it means... becoming one myself.�

His eyes relax slightly, backing away from their usual fire.  �You 
realize what you are asking for, of course.�

I nod almost imperceptibly; a small move of the neck exposes the scars 
Bubbancy gave me.  I shudder as he moves toward my neck, then blink at 
the upward tilt of his head.

�As you wish.�  He pauses for an instant longer, perhaps to give me one 
last moment of life, then sinks his teeth into my jugular.

Strange; I feel absolutely no pain.  Even under that witch�s trance, I 
felt pain, more than I ever thought possible.  Now... I am totally 
lucid, totally calm - and yet his bite feels like nothing.  I can feel 
the blood seeping out of my body, sense the mixing of his essence with 
mine, hear the roar of my own slowing heartbeat, see the dance of stars 
as my vision fades...

�Sir Integra.�

His voice calls me back to attention; I feel a subtle force behind it.  
The power.  If I still had a heartbeat, it would be racing.  �Yes, my 
Master?�

He holds out his bloody hand to my lips.  �Drink.�

A drop of the blood touches my lips, and I nearly pass out from shock.  
His is the finest vintage of wine - spicy, slightly metallic-tasting, 
but with a clarity and purity I never thought possible.  My eyes widen 
as I stare into his scarlet gaze, and I know.

For fifteen seconds, I was his servant, just as he was mine for fifteen 
years.  Now, we are equals, beyond mates... soul-bonded.

And, as I revel in the taste of his life, I find I am whole.

I reluctantly let go of his hand, and straighten to my full height.  
Part of me wonders what Father must be thinking now... but part of me 
wonders if he�d meant for this all along.  He was the one who first 
bargained with Alucard, after all...

*Come... Integra.*

He touches my mind, and teaches me; together, we sink back into the 
stone.  The night is young, the enemy is active, and I have a job to do.

***

Nicholas Leifker
nightelf@thekeep.org
http://www.thekeep.org/~nightelf/fanfic
April 20, 2003


             .---Anime/Manga Fanfiction Mailing List----.
             | Administrators - ffml-admins@anifics.com |
             | Unsubscribing - ffml-request@anifics.com |
             |     Put 'unsubscribe' in the subject     |
             `---- http://ffml.anifics.com/faq.txt -----'