Have replaced my C&C batteries with Energizers. Still
going.......................................
Elsa Bibat wrote on 11/1/2004, 2:38 AM:
>
>
> Set in the "Pulp Hellsing" timeline _not_ in the "Dances
> Set To The Music Of Time" timeline.
>
> *************************************************
>
> DANCES SET TO THE MUSIC OF TIME
> An Epic History of Humanity
> From The Age of Silver
> To The Age of Crystal
> And Beyond
>
> http://rakhal.com/florestica/elsa-bibat/index.html
>
> Other fanfiction by the same author:
> http://rakhal.com/florestica/elsa-bibat/index.html
>
> Kindly archived by Larry F and
> The Lost Library of Florestica:
> http://rakhal.com/florestica/
> *************************************************
>
>
>
>
>
> -- Attached file included as plaintext by Ecartis --
> -- File: hellp.txt
>
> **********************************************************************
>
> Disclaimer:
>
> Hellsing is owned by Hirano Kouta. All licenses belong to the proper
> people. This is used without permission.
>
> The Shadow was created by Walter Gibson. All licenses and rights
> belong to the proper people. This is used without permission.
>
> This disclaimer also applies to several intellectual properties
> referred to in the text. Please be guided accordingly.
>
> This file can be freely distributed so long as it appears in its
> complete form and proper credit given. No part may be reproduced for
> monetary gain without permission from the author.
>
> **********************************************************************
>
>
> Chapter 3 Dawn
>
> I hate my job.
Ahhh... I'm seeing a chapter-transisition pattern, here.
> "Sergeant Victoria, I believe you've already read the recent
> circular I sent out to all the departments of our organization, haven't
> you?"
>
> Not that a blood-drinking dead girl can have a very big field of
> employment.
Bah. With her looks, Ceres could find work anywhere. Well, okay, most
of those openings would be in work she really wouldn't want to do....
> "Let's take a look at it, shall we?"
>
> I mean, well, my only other work experience is my time in the police
> force and not a very good experience at that. Well, I tried and I
> tried... but they don't exactly give out promotions for trying.
>
> "Reduced coffee intake...hmmm...sparing use of ammunition..."
>
> Besides, I don't think they're taking any of my sort. I mean, a
> vampire cop? Sounds like some queer little series on the telly for late
> night BBC geeks.
CBS, actually, althought the dropped it after the initial
test-of-concept movie, and the whole thing ended up in syndication.
> "Regular blood pressure checks and blood tests..."
>
> I'd be up in arms trying to keep my little 'habit' secret, partnered
> with some curious little bleeder from Liverpool or Birmingham. Probably
> try to find a cure for my little 'condition' with a cute medical
> examiner down the morgue. Using my powers, if I had any, to fight the
> good fight, for Queen and Country-
In Toronto.
> "Ah... yes, here it is. 'All operations will have the standing order
> of keeping itself to a low profile, i.e. limited use of high-explosives
> and heavy ordinance-"
Oh, Integra, *look* at the people you're commanding. You really do
write those things just to hear yourself dictate, don't you?
> The calm-as-a-cat-strung-tight-over-a-roasting-pit voice of her
> superior and her line of thought stopped in mid-sentence as they both
> noticed Ceres was humming 'Rule Britannia' under her breath, an
<running AWAY now!>
> affectation from her time as a member of the living. Alucard's amusement
> for the moment was flooding her link with him and she could feel his
> smile on her lips. The younger vampire would have glared at him if it
> weren't for the fact that she was already in enough hot water.
The worst part is, he can laugh his face of at her without Integra
hearing a thing.
> Ceres noted the almost imperceptible tightening of Dame Integra's
> eyes and knew what was coming. She thanked her vampiric senses for the
> second's warning and, using a little trick she learned in police
> academy, tuned everything out as Integra slammed her hand down on the
> heavy oak table with a resounding smack and the last Helsing opened the
> dam gates.
"Floodgates," perhaps? Or are you deliberately playing on dam/damn?
This is right out of the OP of the anime....
> "-I bloody said 'low profile' and I bloody well meant 'low
> profile'!! And what did you do?! Fire off a high explosive anti-tank
> round in the middle of city!! How is _that_ low profile!? Two words. Two
> simple words. Low. Profile. Two words used in conjunction to bring about
> a particular meaning. Low profile. Are we even speaking language?! I
Sug: "speaking the same language?"
> believe it's called English. English, isn't it?! You know English, don't
> you?! They still teach that in all the public schools, I believe. So
Um. I'm pretty sure that in Britain, "public school" actually means
something different than what I think you're trying to describe. But
I'd have to research it. I'm not sure just what the proper British term
*is.*
> what, in heaven's name, made you go and decide that using what is
> technically an anti-tank weapon in city limits and letting a building
> blown up by incendiary charges were within purview of my express
> orders!?!?!"
<points at Al> "HE told me to do it!"
> Five minutes of watching Dame Integra not breathe as she delivered
> her machine-gun artillery barrage, once a sight that had made her gape
> in awe while flinching in terror, was something she was starting to get
> used to.
Which, sadly, says something about her life lately.
> Ceres almost smirked. Alucard was a terribly bad influence after
> all.
>
> Integra's laser stare jerked her back into reality.
>
> "I am waiting for an answer, Sergeant."
>
> "Reflex, sir," Ceres responded in the military manner, using the
> masculine address. Well, there's another thing to put on my job
> application sheet: period of employment in a covert paramilitary
> organization.
Terminated for injudicious use of heavy firepower. I can think of a
few organizations that would be glad to have her...
> "Reflex?" Integra had composed herself back into her stiffly relaxed
> pose in her high-backed seat. An arched eyebrow above steepled hands.
> "Ah, yes. The reach-for-the-big-gun reflex that seems to plague the
> vampiric members of our organization."
"I can understand what Alucard is compensating for, Victoria, but
what's *your* excuse?"
> The sardonic tone of her voice accompanied the shift of her
> attention. "And what were you doing while all this was occurring,
> Alucard."
I notice she didn't bother putting a '?' on the end of that line.
> Out of the corner of her eye, Ceres felt and saw her Master uncoil
> from his amused stupor like a snake. His relaxed stance and wide grin
> radiated that strange aura of menacing power mixed with bon homme good
> humor. His response was couched in his customary drawling tease.
>
> "Observing, master. Letting my fledgeling deal with the problem."
I can *hear* this in his dub voice, which I always thought was quite
well-cast.
> "And?"
>
> "She handled it well."
>
> "Handled herself well, did she?" Ceres, hearing the slight edge that
> always managed to creep into Integra's voice whenever she had a talk
> with her vampiric charge, had the idle thought about discussing with
> Walter about switching Dame Helsing to decaf. The thought was suddenly
> grabbed and disappeared out of her mind.
>
> Alucard snickered and winked at her. Integra's razor voice sliced
> the air once again.
>
> "How about this report of another vampire on the scene?"
>
> Alucard's smile became as sharp as a sword.
>
> "Not just a vampire, master. A No-Life King and a true elder. He saw
> Rome burn."
But the *real* question is, did he play a fiddle while it was happening?
> Ceres shivered. The shadowy vampire that she had encountered was
> that old? She remembered the burning eyes and the cold touch of gun-
> metal on her forehead. But most of all, she remembered the laugh, the
> mad cackling that had heralded the elder's flight from the building. It
> was terrifying and majestic at the same time, a sight that matched any
> of her Master's feats. To have at least survived an encounter with that
> being, even though it seemed the creature was helping her...
>
> Integra had narrowed her eyes and was in deep thought. Looking up
> she asked Alucard her question point-blank.
>
> "Then why did you not fight? I would think that if the vampire you
> encountered was that powerful, I'd assume that you'd be the first to
> jump into the fight."
>
> Alucard had that look again. Ceres had seen that look every time her
> master was about to play a trump card. Usually the sort of trump card
> that hurt a lot. His red eyes seemed to burn like the fires of hell
> behind his orange-tinted glasses when he answered
>
> "Cromwell's Pact was invoked. The elder did not wish a fight with
> one of the vampires of the Night Guard."
Sug: "battle" for "fight."
Cromwell again, eh? That old Puritan sure did a lot of dealing with
Vampires, it seems.
> At the mention of 'Cromwell's Pact', Ceres watched Integra's face
> harden. Silence reigned in the room for several minutes. Ceres could
> hear the gritting of teeth as the last Helsing leaned back into her
> chair, the smooth sliding of cloth against leather bringing a strange
> counterpoint to the sound of clashing molars and canines.
Hm. Is this just because Cromwell's name is anatema to any Crown
Loyalist like Integra? Or is there something more going on?
> "Victoria. You can leave now. Me and Alucard have to discuss
> something."
Integra always strikes me as the kind of person to have absolutely
perfect diction, even more so when she gets uptight. So I suggest:
"You may leave now. Alucard and I have something to discuss."
> Ceres could only blink as her senses returned to normal. Focusing
> her attention on a particular person always had that effect of enhancing
> her senses concerning that individual. Rather distracting in a way.
Causing a sort of tunnel vision as a side effect?
> "Victoria." Dame Helsing's voice was a sharp stab.
>
> "Yes, sir."
>
> She saluted and executed a sharp about-face. Her heavy steps made no
> sound as she walked out of the room, a peculiar contradiction that
> reminded her of her vampiric condition. As the door closed behind her,
> she was awfully tempted to listen in on the two, her curiosity piqued.
> She leaned in-
>
> Wait for me at your secret place at dawn.
>
> The thought jarred her, no matter how smooth its entrance. Master
> had wanted to meet with her at her secret place at dawn? When did he
> tell her that?
>
> Now, be a good girl and have a little drink.
>
> Ceres blinked. She suddenly had an awful thirst, even though she had
> consumed her blood allowance that night already. Hmmm... must be because
> I'm a growing girl. Growing dead girl. Do vampires grow? Her stomach
> churned and her fangs itched, a peculiarly ridiculous sensation she
> always felt when she was thirsty. Maybe she could cadge a drink off
> Walter, maybe a few pints or so of the red stuff.
Ceres doubtless takes her Bloody Marys "extra virgin."
> With that thought, Ceres Victoria walked down to the kitchen,
> looking for a drink, forgetting anything about listening in to the
> conversation in the office.
Need a scene break of some kind here. I'll admit to being dangerously
ignorant of the pulps, but didn't they use page and scene breaks?
> As the red streaks in the sky appeared, phenomenon unseen to the
> mortal eye, she put on her sunglasses.
Sug: "a phenomenon"
> They were a pair of Ray-bans that were obviously meant for a man,
> the blockish design she had once noted as unflattering on her face.
> Ceres just sighed. Not as if I wear them to look good.
Sug: "a design"
> She didn't even get hurt by sunlight, her skin not even curling up
> and burning like in all those movies. Walter had told her that his
Rep of "even" close together.
> initial warning about sunlight was because of the transition period
> between her living and unliving states. She would have been a bonfire if
> she had gone out in her first few months, but now her body was totally
> dead and the butler had mentioned to her she could stand the light of
> day again.
But can she use the good flatware, now? Or is she still "argentium
contact explosive"?
> That was the day she found this place.
>
> A forgotten tower in the east wing, when Ceres had first entered it
> layers of dust where in residence, it afforded her a perfect vantage
> point for the sun's rise. She opened a window and waited for sun to
> come.
Sug: "the sun"
> And almost had her eyes burned out.
oops.
> Walter had calmly explained to her as he poured blood into her
> burning optics that her eyes were still too fragile for a head-on
> encounter with sunlight and rebuking her lightly that she should have
> told her she wanted a look at the sun. He would have bought her a pair
<ahem> "she should have told HIM." Unless theres something about
Walter you're not telling us.
> of sunglasses if she had only told her, he said in his gravelly voice. A
> thing which he did, that very day.
her/him again.
Gravelly? I don't recall it being gravelly. Unless you're using the
original Japanese voices.
> Ceres had this sneaking suspicion that she hadn't told her on
she/he
> purpose, but she couldn't think ill of anyone and let it go. Alucard had
> only laughed when he heard of her experience.
>
> "Walter is a rough taskmaster in his own way, police girl," the
> elder vampire said in between chuckles. "Be careful about him and watch
> him. You'll learn all you'll ever need to survive."
>
> Ceres took her master's advice and soon she saw all the little
> things that Walter did to inconvenience her. Things that she could
> easily remedy and do herself. Which she did. The cadaverous butler only
> smiled at her actions, winked at her and said a sentence that she would
> treasure for the rest of her unlife.
>
> "Alucard chose well, it seems."
>
> Ceres smiled at the memory, while touching her sunglasses.
>
> "Memories, Ceres, are important for humans. For us, they are not."
Bah. That 'tude is why you keep repeating the mistakes of your past, Al.
> Her Master's voice echoed in the room, seemingly coming from
> everywhere at once. She turned around and watched him ooze out of the
> floor with the shadows. He seemed to be hiding something in his coat. It
> seemed to be wriggling a bit, her Master's iron strength not enough it
> seemed to completely subdue whatever it was under the folds of red
> pseudo-cloth that made up the elder vampire's trenchcoat.
>
> She ignored it as she gazed up at her Master's eyes. They were the
> same lambent red as always, the twinkle of amusement that was always
> present giving them an eerie air.
>
> Ceres just stared at Alucard, almost as if on the verge of saying
> something, then shook her head. She returned her gaze to the slender
> crimson fingers of approaching daylight.
>
> Master always told her things that she wasn't supposed to do, but
> never actually enforced any of them, sometimes actually praising her for
> doing something she was not supposed to do. It was as if he was
> rewarding her for breaking the rules that he set out for her.
Huh. Yeah, that sounds like a teaching method he would use. Probably,
Al can't really respect anyone who doesn't defy him, at least a little.
I suspect this is something he has in common with Integra.
> "Already learning, I see."
>
> Ceres blinked at the elder vampire's statement as her Master stepped
> forward to stand beside her, pulling his hand out from underneath his
> coat.
>
> "I'm pleased. Here. Have a bunny."
...Jer? Jer, is that you? The Minbari finally let you go, I see.
(In case this is coincedental, there's an Undocumented Features
character whose catchphrase was "have a bunny.")
> "Er..."
>
> Her Master was currently holding what was a perfectly healthy
> specimen of species Lepus. Shiny brown-gray fur covered a sleek, svelte
> body. Beady black eyes looked back at her as one long ear flopped
> rakishly across its snouted face.
It's BUNNICULA! Hide your vegetables before he sucks all the juices
out of them!
> To put it mildly, Ceres was surprised.
>
> "Take it, Ceres. It's a ... gift." There was a strange lilt he gave
> to the word 'gift' that made his fledgeling nervous.
Hah. Beware of Bassarabs bearing bunnies. I doubt Al ever does
*anything* for just one reason.
> Wide-eyed, Ceres slowly raised her hands and took the rabbit from
> her Master's hands. The black glass eyes gaze at her face as the snout
> twitched convulsively. It was so cute!
Since this rabbit hasn't been to the taxidermist yet, I'm not sure
"glass" is the right term to use.
> The Master was giving her something! He was pleased! He was being
> nice to her!
Which should make her back away hastily and start looking for other shoe.
> "Master...I-I don't know what to say! This- this is just-"
>
> Her act of thanks was interrupted by her Master baring a fanged
> smile. His feeding smile.
>
> "Well, he's not exactly a gift, actually. More like a snack, don't
> you think?"
Hm. They don't require human blood?
> Ceres blinked. This was getting weird.
>
> "Master, I've already drank twice my blood allowance for the night.
> I can't-"
>
> There was dark humor in Alucard's red eyes as he interrupted her
> once again.
>
> "But you're feeling thirsty again aren't you?" The voice was smooth
> as silk and the question seemed to hang in the air for a few moments,
> caressing her ear before finally being wafted away by an unfelt wind.
>
> "I don't-" Her fangs started to itch. Stupid teeth.
Hmph. Al's a jerk. I fascinating, fun-to-watch jerk, but still a
jerk. Or, perhaps more accuarately, just arrogant as all heck.
> "You're thirsty aren't you? How about a little drink, then?"
>
> "I-" Her stomach churned and she could feel the thirst rising. Ceres
> could hear the thumping heartbeat of the rabbit as she held it in her
> hands. She really was thirsty and it isn't as if it was human...Besides,
> Alucard brought it for her personally...
>
> Ceres bared her fangs and leaned down, ready for a bite when her
> Master once again interrupted her.
>
> "By the way, his name's George."
What, not Peter?
> Pausing in mid-bite, Ceres blinked again. She mildly noted that she
> doing that a bit too frequently for the past few months. Closing her
"she doing"? Missing an adverb there, I think.
> mouth, she gave her elder a suspicious look.
>
> "George?" An unspoken question hinged after that statement. Rather,
> several unspoken questions.
>
> "Yes, George. Ginny loves him very much and will probably cry her
> eyes out when she finds him missing."
>
> "Ginny?" This was just getting better and better.
>
> "Yes. Ginny." Her Master's smile was only getting wider and wider.
>
> "Who's Ginny, Master?"
>
> "Hmmm... Ginny Weasel? Whistler? Weasley? I forget. I wasn't exactly
> paying attention to names when I was looking for little George here."
...I'd be careful there, Al. Harry Potter has as much Authorial Mojo
behind him as you do -- besides, he sells better.
> "But you remembered _his_ name?"
>
> "There was a name tag. Threw it away afterwards. Aren't you
> thirsty?"
>
> Her throat burned at the mention about her thirst. Why does he keep
> on reminding me?
>
> "I can't just kill George!"
>
> "Why?" He honestly doesn't know!
My, Al, how... Socratic... of you. Of course, I'm not sure Socrates
would approve of your, shall we say, "heavy handed" approach?
> "Somebody owns him! Somebody loves him!"
>
> "You mean its perfectly all right to kill someone as long as no one
> loves them?"
Logical fallacy, reasoning fromthe specific to the general.
> "I- Why did you have to tell me all this! You could have just let me
> drink!"
>
> "But, this is a lesson, my dear."
No DUH.
> "What lesson?"
>
> "People have names. People love them. This rabbit essentially is no
> different than any mortal human being. An animal who eats and fucks and
> has living blood in his veins. So, what's stopping you?"
>
> What's stopping you, Ceres? You're supposed to be a bloodthirsty
> monster. Just dig in and suck little George dry.
>
> Come on.
>
> You can do it.
>
> Just a bit of a sip and Georgie won't even feel a thing. I mean, you
> didn't feel a thing when the Master sucked you dry. You enjoyed it. You
> keep on dreaming about it during those cold, lonely nights in your
> coffin.
>
> Yes, little Ginny will cry, but after a few weeks Georgie-boy here
> will be forgotten for the next little cute thing. That's the way the
> world works. We get born. We live. We die and are forgotten.
Bah. That's *part* of the way the world works, but hardly the whole story.
> But _we_ don't die, little Ceres, my sweet little bride. We're
> better than these shit-makers and worm-fodder. You're better than
> George. You deserve this. It's your right.
>
> So, go ahead.
>
> Take a little drink.
>
> "Get out of my head!" Ceres screamed at her Master's face,
> forgetting herself. Seconds afterward, she cringed, waiting for her
> Master to get angry.
>
> "Hmmm?" Alucard's face only showed amusement.
Hah. She passed.
> "I- I won't do it." Her throat was burning and she felt her tongue
> go dry and her itching fangs were driving her crazy.
>
> "Really?"
>
> "Really." She was gritting her teeth and was carefully trying not to
> clench her fist so as not to squeeze George like a toothpaste tube. She
> closed her eyes to avoid looking at the fleshy bag of blood in her
> hands, its heart beating a rhythmic beat into her arms.
>
> "Well, if that's what you want."
>
> Ceres' fangs stopped itching. Her thirst was gone. She opened her
> eyes and stared at George, who was blinking his glassy eyes at her,
> unaware of how close he had been to his doom.
>
> "So, it seems you've decided to pick up a pet, Ceres."
>
> Ceres sighed and she only kept herself silent as she composed
> herself while her Master continued.
>
> "This is totally disappointing, you know. Well, not totally. But,
> disappointing nonetheless. If you were so worried about killing the
> little thing, why don't you just turn him after you killed him? I would
> think Ginny would be quite pleased that her pet would outlive her by
> several centuries."
No comment.
> Yes. A vampire rabbit. Just imagine all the fun of that! The wacky
> hi-jinks, the hunt for a three-foot long blood-drinking mammal through
> the green hills and meadows of the English countryside and, of course,
> the large body count.
But he could be your animal sidekick! You could call him, say,
"Pallas," that's a good asteroidal name.
> Just what England needs: another reason for Integra to shout at me.
Oh. Good point. Better not, then.
> "Master, I'm really tired and the sun's about to rise. I'll think
> about what to do with George later."
>
> Alucard nodded with a smile and turned to the rising sun. Still just
> below the horizon, to vampiric eyes it was as if a thousand rainbows had
> been unleashed in the still-dark sky.
>
> "By the way, we're still not finished for tonight. I still have one
> little gift."
>
> Ceres suppressed a groan.
>
> "Now, now, little Ceres. It concerns your little streak of
> curiosity. I felt you interest earlier in what I mentioned to our
> beloved Lady. You can ask me one question about it."
>
> "Why?" Her Master was acting weird again. Well, weirder than usual.
> Usually, I have to face every abomination, hellish entity and
> catastrophic situation blind. The sudden volunteering of information was
> suspicious, to say the least.
Beware of Draculs bearing data.
> "My sense of the perverse."
<facefault> Ooooh, that makes TOO much sense....
> "Oh." Well, that was another vague explanation.
>
> "Your question, my dear?"
>
> Ceres furrowed her brows. What to ask? About the 'Cromwell's Pact'
> thing? Or maybe about the elder? There were a dozen things she could ask
> about.
>
> No, not those. She knew what to ask about.
>
> "Master, what is the Night Guard?"
>
> Alucard smiled wide. "You are very sharp, Ceres."
>
> "Just answer the question, Master."
>
> "Very well. The Night Guard is the name of an organization. The full
> name is 'Her Elite and Loyal Legion of Supernatural and Immortal Night
> Guards'."
>
> Ceres blinked. She had a talent for word puzzles when she was
> younger and it had remained with her for the rest of her life.
>
> "But that's-"
>
> "Yes. H. E. L. L. S. I. N. G. Beautiful name, don't you think?"
<blink>
> "But, I thought that it was named after Lady Helsing's family?"
>
> "There's only one 'L' in Helsing, Ceres. If you wish to learn more,
> better ask the historian."
But there *has* to be some connection. That's just too close to be
coincidental.
Hmm... so who's the "Her"? Queen Anne? Victoria? Or perhaps waay
back to Elizabeth?
> "Who?"
>
> "Walter, of course. He is probably the most knowledgeable person to
> ask about Hellsing's dark past, other than me and one other. Ask him
> when you two spar the next time, won't you? Tell him I sent you looking
> for answers and I call in my favor. Now, hush, the sun's rising."
>
> Ceres turned to the east and saw the faint glimmerings of the solar
> explosion that had burned her eyes out the first time she gazed on it
> full on. She heard the clasping of glass frames and turned to see her
> Master without his sunglasses.
>
> "Master! You'll-"
>
> "Hush! I am too old to have my eyes burned out." Alucard smiled at
> her. "One day, my dear, you will be able to do this, too."
>
> He was smiling as the sun rose and Ceres just ignored him and turned
> her attention to the cosmic fireworks display that was about to start.
>
> She didn't know why, probably her Master knew, but to a vampire's
> eyes sunrise is one of the most beautiful things in all of creation,
> matched only by sunset.
>
> When she was little, her Dad had rented a video of a Disney movie.
> It was called 'Fantasia'. It was just like that. Some strange musical
Sug: "this was just..."
> symphony that could only be heard by the eyes. Panoplies of colors, the
> hues of the rainbow dancing to a tune that seemed to beat in time with
> her heart. It had burned her eyes out the first time with its searing
> magnificence and even now, her eyes hurt behind the dark sunglasses. Her
> reverie was interrupted by her Master.
>
> "You know, I may not like the bastard. But He sure makes a beautiful
> sunrise."
Now, Al, is that anything for a good Anglican like you to say? (:)
> Ceres could only nod. And as it rose, Ceres could only use simple
> words to convey the magnificence of it all.
>
> The sun was bright and beautiful.
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