AHP: And here it is at last. The next chapter of 300 years! Sorry for the long wait. I work and study full time so I write whenever I have both time and inspiration. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Hellsing or Trinity Blood.

CHAPTER TWO: Interesting Meetings

Abel Nightroad was officially freaking out. He had been making his way through this forest for more than two weeks when he had suddenly been ambushed by vampires. They were not strictly Methuselah, but their blood had worked in reviving him. He had inspected one of the corpses after the fight and found that they had been transformed from Terrans by using a microchip which, in his former time, would have been seen as lost technology. The microchip infused the victims with the vampiric virus as well as monitoring their health and status.

It wasn't as complex as the technology that had been available during the time of the Red Mars Colonisation Project, but it was the first step towards that same technology. This was highly disturbing to Abel, but not more so than the other piece of information he had managed to gain. He had, for some reason, gained an ability during his sleep. He was now able to access all information known to the creatures whose blood he had drunk. It was also possible that it was a side-effect of those microchips.

The worst of all this was the fact that he had found out exactly how long he had been asleep. He had been asleep for 300 years! While his thoughts were occupied registering this disturbing information, his body went about the motions of gathering everything he would need. He decided to change his clothes as he doubted wearing his normal attire would pass unnoticed. Fortunately the vampires seemed to be travelling and he had found some extra clothing amongst their belongings. He had changed to long black leather pants which were surprisingly comfortable, a black tank top and a black cloak for warmth. He had managed to find a black ribbon for his hair, and he wistfully thought of his glasses which he vaguely remembered being destroyed by Cain.

He decided to burn his old outfit. The less he left behind the better. After he finished gathering what items he believed would be useful, he made his way towards the city to which he now knew the location. He forced his thoughts into silence. This wasn't the time to be thinking about this. His head lifted as he heard something from the direction of the vampires who had attacked him.

Acting quickly, he sought shelter in one of the large trees around him. He carefully suppressed his presence as far as possible. What now?

Alucard sighed inwardly. As expected, his master had sent him on another hunt looking for some small-timers who had escaped their previous raid and made for the ancient forest on the outskirts of the city. He was making his way through the forest when he smelled something unusual. Blood. And not just any blood. Vampire blood. He hurried forward and came upon a scene which he was surprised to see. It looked as if he might have some fun after all. The vampires they were hunting were lying torn apart on the ground. From what he could tell it didn't seem to be the work of the Vatican section XIII. It wasn't their style. He smiled in his insane way and watched as Seras approached the scene. She clamped a hand over her mouth as she observed the scene of carnage.

"What in the world happened here?" Alucard felt his smile widen.

"That's what we're going to find out." He swiftly made his way through the forest as he smelled something unusual. It was something similar to a scent he had found around the corpses. He quickly followed the trail. The bodies had been fresh, so whatever killed them had to have been close. Another unusual thing he had spotted had been a raven black feather. He was fairly certain that no bird would have approached the vampires, but he also didn't understand the significance. He finally reached the end of the trail and he frowned deeply.

He quickly dispersed himself into a flock of bats and flapped his way through the forest, determined to find either the creature who had caused the carnage, or a witness to it. Spotting something strange on the ground he quickly reformed and approached one of the larger trees. He found another black feather resting against the bark at the bottom of the ancient tree. He smirked and jumped into the higher branches of the tree.

As he landed, he was surprised to find a pair of ocean blue eyes looking at him in a way that mirrored his own shocked look. Blinking quickly, Alucard took a good look at the person in front of him. Shimmering silver locks fell around thin shoulders in a tail tied with a black ribbon, falling to a slim waist even while fastened. His figure appeared both lithe and powerful, somewhat like Alucard's own. The man appeared to be fairly tall, but he couldn't tell quite how tall as he was crouched slightly on the tree branch he was perched on. Much as he hated to admit it, he found the man attractive. The man appeared to be studying him in turn which intrigued him. Normally humans were afraid of him, as he made no secret of his vampiric traits. He was even more surprised when the man spoke as if in thought.

"Not Methuselah, but also not Terran." The words were softly spoken, and he immediately knew he had not been meant to hear the other speak.

"You use very strange terms. Methuselah and Terran are very old ways of referring to vampires and humans. In fact, if I wasn't so old, I might not have known what you were talking about." Alucard could see the others mind turn over the information he had been given.

"How old are you then?" Alucard was slightly affronted by the stern tone of the other's voice, but curiosity won out.

"I am a few hundred years old." The man smirked at him.

"You are a mere fledgling." This flat statement gave rise to an interesting question.

"A fledgling? How old would that make you then? And what exactly are you." The man smiled slightly.

"I am more than a millennium old. I suppose most of that doesn't count though." Alucard tilted his head slightly.

"That still doesn't tell me what you are, and why don't all those years count?" The stranger levelled him with a strange look.

"For your first question, I am a Crusnik. A vampire that feeds on the blood of other vampires. For your second question...I don't feel like answering that." This was said with such a sweet smile that Alucard had to blink a few times to make sure of what he was seeing.

"I thought Crusnik's were extinct." A grim smile was his answer.

"You almost thought correctly. Three hundred years ago there were only three of us left. I don't know whether my brother and sister are still alive though." Alucard continued to stare at the other man.

"Why are you telling me all this? Aren't you a bit too trusting?" The strange man merely smiled serenely at him.

"I don't feel any particular threat from any of my surroundings, so it isn't likely that you're going to attack me, and even if you do...I have lived for a very long time, and in this time sorrow is the only lasting thing I have found. I am beginning to think that dying would be a mercy for me." Alucard continued to stare at the man who had made himself comfortable on the tree branch.

"If you are unhappy, why do you continue to smile?" The man looked at him vaguely as if looking through him.

"That is something I have no intention of telling you." Alucard watched as blue eyes disappeared behind long lashes. Alucard continued to watch this strange man in silence as his long silver hair floated gently in the breeze, even while confined to that black ribbon. Reaching forward slowly, he waited until his hand was almost touching those silky locks before quickly jerking the ribbon free.

Blue eyes flew open in surprise and Alucard suddenly realised how close he was to the other.

"My name is Alucard."

"Abel. Nice to meet you." Alucard watched as those blue eyes crinkled slightly in another of those sweet smiles. He leaned forward slightly and watched as the smile slid off the other man's face. He suddenly jerked backwards and looked around when he heard Seras calling for him. He grimaced inwardly.

"Will you come with me?" Abel looked at him, head tilted slightly to the side.

"Very well." Alucard looked at him one last time before jumping out of the tree to the ground in a single leap. He was inwardly surprised when he saw Abel land next to him gracefully a second later. The man looked so human; it was easy to forget everything he had learned about the other. He made his way towards where he had heard Seras.

What had happened back there? He quickly shook these thoughts from his mind. He would think about this later. Right now he had other more pressing matters to deal with. He stopped abruptly as something occurred to him.

"Do you have any vampiric characteristics? Sharp teeth? Strange eye colour?" Abel looked at him strangely.

"Yes I do. My Crusnik state looks a lot different. I do get a different eye colour and grow fangs in that state." Alucard thought for a moment.

"Can you make you fangs stay on the outside permanently?" Abel nodded slowly.

"Good. Let your fangs out and leave them that way, then I can say that I turned you. That way we at least have a reason for you to stay or my master will become difficult." Abel nodded slightly before closing his eyes. A moment later fangs grew out resting lightly on his bottom lip. Alucard also noted the way Abel's lips turned dark. He observed the colour and decided that it would pass without too much notice. He nodded to himself as he saw Abel's blue eyes open once more.

Before he realised what he was doing, Alucard had compared the blue of Abel's eyes to those of Seras. When he realised what he was doing he gave himself a mental shake. He felt like face-palming when he realised that he found Abel's eyes more attractive. Another more forceful mental shake allowed him to put these thoughts behind him. He saw Abel look at him questioningly and he made a motion for the other to follow him before continuing onwards.

It didn't take them long to reach Seras. When she saw his approach she ran towards him, stopping short when she saw Abel. Alucard knew what she was thinking without even reading her mind. She was obviously wondering who his companion was. Even though he knew her thoughts, he skimmed them anyway, and nearly reeled back in surprise at what he found.

'He's cute. I wonder who he is.' Nobody was more surprised than Alucard when he felt a growl well up in his throat. He squashed the impulse to snap his teeth at his fledgling when he saw her eyeing Abel. He wasn't quite sure why he was reacting this way, but he was certain of one thing. He didn't like it...

Abel was wondering whether he had lost his mind. At first he had wanted to kick himself, because he had dropped a feather when flying into the tree, but that was soon replaced by surprise when the other raven-haired man had jumped onto the very same branch he was crouched on. He felt the man's eyes run the length of his body and he returned the scrutiny. The man had long raven hair swept under a red hat. Yellow sunglasses covered his eyes, and his tall, lean body was encased in a long red coat with two guns strapped to his sides. He picked up an unusual scent from this man, and once again he had wanted to kick himself when he thought aloud. However, Abel was slightly surprised by the questions and answers provided by the other man. He had decided that being somewhat forthcoming with information would be the best way to obtain information he did not yet have.

In spite of this, even he was surprised by how much he had divulged to this stranger, though after some consideration, what did he really have to lose? He felt unspeakably comfortable in this man's presence, and so when the other asked him to accompany him, he didn't think twice before accepting, even after their uncomfortably close moment. He was sure that if they hadn't been interrupted the other would have kissed him. As soon as the thought occurred to him he disregarded it. Who on earth would want to kiss him?

He was fairly surprised when the other asked him to keep his fangs out, but his reasons seemed solid. Although he didn't show it, he was also vaguely surprised by the fact that this wild creature had a master. Either he cared a great deal for his master, or he was forcefully bound. Only time would tell which. When they reached Alucard's companion Abel felt her gaze on him. He watched as she studied him in silence and was floored when he heard Alucard growl at her. She seemed equally surprised and shot a curious look at Alucard who didn't seem to even acknowledge her. He shrugged off this strange behaviour and smiled at the girl. He hadn't missed the hint of her fangs or the scent she had that was so similar to Alucard.

Now that he thought about it, Alucard had not yet told him what they were. He decided that he would ask that later when the blond girl wasn't around. After all, if they were going to pass him off as whatever type of vampire they were he would have to appear to know something about it.

"Police girl! I found this man half dead in the forest. I believe he was saved by whatever killed those vampires, but I wasn't able to find it. I then turned him." The blond woman looked at Alucard and nodded. She seemed vaguely fearful and Abel frowned at his harsh tone. For the first time, Abel wondered whether he had made a mistake. Alucard seemed to have major mood swings and that could spell trouble, but it was too late now.

"Yes master. Shall we go then? We need to report back." Alucard nodded shortly and started walking towards the armoured car which had dropped them at this location. Abel fell into step with the blond girl behind Alucard. He smiled at her gently.

"Hi! It's nice to meet you. My name's Abel Nightroad." The blond girl smiled shyly at him.

"Hi. My name's Seras Victoria. Nice to meet you too." From there they fell into a comfortable conversation. Abel saw Alucard's eyebrow twitch and he felt a twinge of concern for the raven. He seemed a bit tense. Maybe he was stressed about the meeting with his master. At this thought Abel felt slightly guilty. If he had known it would cause problems for Alucard he never would have accepted to come with them. Little did he know...

AHP: There you have it. Review and let me know what you think!