**Kitten: Hey everyone, this chapter will be the first one to be updated/changed. Each chapter that's updated will have two asterisks before my name from now on. That way you can check if the chapter has been updated before you start reading. I think that should make things a bit easier for you. For those of you who have just started reading – welcome! I am using the manga as reference but because I saw the anime first, Pip's hair will be red – I don't think I could deal with him having blonde hair after seeing his hair that color for so long. Anyway – on with the story!
Disclaimer: I do not own Hellsing... I don't think I could come up with such a genius plot. A 3 sided war between Nazi's, Puritans, and Catholics? Wow! Good job Hirano!
I tried to run quickly, my heart pounding in my throat as I tried to keep up with my parents. My little eight year old legs weren't that accustomed to this type of aerobics yet. Eventually my father took a short few seconds to turn around and pick me up so we could keep moving without me slowing them down. From my position in father's arms, I could see the men chasing us. Two of them. Only two of them. It made sense. I wasn't much of a threat, so they would only need two men to go after us. But I didn't understand the situation.
"Father," I spoke in my thick accent. "Father, why are we running? Bronislav is still at home! And why are those men chasing us?" I asked him as he carried me. I never received an answer. The men were slowly crossing the distance between us, and I knew it was because my father had to stay with Momma. Momma was frail, and could only move so fast. Father had to hold onto her hand and drag her to his pace, but still he would not leave us behind. He told us that he couldn't bear to lose us. I loved my father dearly.
A shot rang out, and the world around me started to fall and spin. I landed on my father's chest as he fell into the snow, a puff of white surrounding us and glistening slightly in the dim light of the day. However, by Father's leg, the snow was turning a light red that was almost pink. I didn't really understand what it was, but I knew it was bad. With Father on the ground, the men easily caught up to us and they peered down on our small family with cold eyes.
Momma picked me up and put me behind her, and I stayed there obediently, watching the two men with curious eyes. Father had weakly stood up by now, the adrenaline in his veins the only thing blocking the pain, and he was yelling something I didn't understand at the men who had essentially cornered us. There was no way of escaping out in the open like this, even though we were so close to the Russian border.
A slew of words were exchanged between the younger of the two men and my father. I didn't understand what they were talking about, but it caused the younger man to bring out a sword. Father had nothing to protect himself with, and the other man was approaching him with that sword. I didn't under stand what was going on. Nothing was making sense.
My eyes widened and Momma's scream echoed through my ears seconds later as fresh crimson splattered everywhere, staining the snow a pinkish red. My ears rang, my body went numb. I threw my head back, opened my mouth, and -
"Nikita! Nikita wake up!" I was shaken awake roughly, my scream of terror echoing throughout the tent and into the night. In front of me was my brother. Being the sweet man he was, he came rushing to save me from my nightmare when he heard me screaming. This wasn't the first time a situation like this has happened, so he wasn't surprised. Only concerned. "What was it about? Can you remember it this time," he asked me curiously, and like every other time before this, I shook my head.
"I'm sorry, dear brother, but I do not recall." I lied easily, knowing that I would give nothing away to show that I was doing such a thing. But these dreams... Brother could not know. It would ruin us. It's bad enough that the male in his mid 30s had to constantly keep an eye on me – a female of 30 years who shouldn't be screaming about nightmares. I felt like such a bother to him sometimes. We were Wild Geese... We were in the middle of a battlefield right now, both sides having gone to rest after the damages done. This was no time for me to be screaming. After all, the other men were trying to rest as well.
"Sister, please do not be afraid," He soothed me, stroking the tears off of my face. "These dreams keep reappearing, and it's hard to believe that something that frightens you so much does not stay in your memory." I already knew that, but the problem was that I could never tell Brother about that dream. From the still pale color of my skin, he must have known that I was not yet ready to fall back asleep so easily. With a sigh, he woke up Timothy, a newer recruit, and sent him out to keep watch. "I will stay with you tonight, so please, sleep well, Nikita."
"Brother..." I reached out for him like a child, and he pulled me into an embrace before laying down beside me and curling his arms around me. I inhaled deeply, taking in his scent before sighing contently. He smelled like he always did. There was a musky scent that was his own personal odor, and on top of that he smelled like dirt, blood, sweat, and cigarette smoke. Most would find that a revolting smell, but I found comfort in it, knowing that this was who my brother was. Sure I had never liked the smell of cigarettes, but it was not my place to tell him to stop. Still this scent was all my brother's, and it calmed me. It took a while, but still I drifted off to sleep again.
I woke up to the sound of war. As the ground shook beneath me, I did my best to stand and face our enemy. The screams of men filled my ears, and I gritted my teeth, holding back a snarl. It wasn't just the enemy's men that were falling. Several Geese who had made it back to the camp after being injured were resting all around me. Why hadn't Brother woken me up? I was the lieutenant, so I should have been woken up as soon as the battle started. I glanced around the wounded bodies, trying to keep my emotions in check. When I couldn't find my brother I dashed out of the tent, picking up my rifle on the way, and patting the pockets of my outfit to make sure I had my knives and magazines. The world was on fire around me, explosions shaking the ground as I ran, and bullets flying past me. I was amazed that I wasn't hit yet, but a moving target was always harder to hit.
I don't remember clearly how long I ran, but it must have been for only 15 minutes. I spotted my brother behind a crumbled wall with two other men, shooting around the edge of it every once in a while. A bullet whizzed past his ear, taking some hair off from under his hat, and causing him to press his back to the wall once more. I analyzed the position Brother and the other Geese were in and noticed a small part of the wall was still intact right beneath the gaping hole that separated me from my dearest sibling. Picking up my speed, I sprinted full out, my boots pounding against the ground. Brother spotted me and shouted my name, telling me to stop, or I would be hit by the spray of bullets. But I didn't care. As soon as I got close to the hole in the wall, I pushed backwards, easily sliding under the hole in the wall, protected by the bit that was still intact. After I came to a stop, I sat up next to my brother, pressing my back to the wall just as he did.
"What the Hell did you think you were doing," he shouted over the sounds of gunfire and canons.
"I don't know. Why the Hell didn't you wake me up when the battle started?" He only smiled at me and in that small instance I knew. He may have had less sleep than I, but he didn't want to disturb me from a dreamless sleep. It was rare that I had a night where that dream didn't wake me up, and he must not have wanted to disturb that. I started to wonder how long I had slept through this war. How long had these men been fighting? Surely I would have woken up at the first gun shot? Yet I don't remember what had awoken me. Was it not the constant thrum of machine gun fire? Was it the canons? Or maybe it was the man that stumbled into the tent, injured and on the brink of death. My mind swirled at the thought of his blood gushing from those wounds. It was so-
No. I could not think of that for my comrade. If I wanted to see blood so much, I would have to shed it from my enemies. My fellow Geese were putting their lives on the line for a little bit of pay. It was my job to help protect them. So it was with a yell of determination that I leaned over the wall, barely avoiding a bullet, and let all Hell break lose from the barrel of my rifle to the bodies of my enemies, relishing in their cries of agony and the sight of blood. After that short moment of fire, I ducked back behind the wall, flashing a grin to my brother. He just smiled lazily back, rolling his eyes when I gave him a thumbs up.
Five Days Later:
I still remember yesterday quite clearly. The ecstatic cheers the Geese made when they found our enemies retreating. Our group had pulled through with only a few of our men dying in combat, but not mourned for because we knew they would want us to be happy. We all were a bit roughed up and bloody, but alive and healing those wounds that would turn into scars. A few bruises remained on my torso from the impact of smaller rock fragments slamming into me when a canon blasted apart a nearby wall. I was a bit stiff, but doing well. Today was the day we would go to collect our pay and then celebrate. We were given the luxury of staying in our employers estate for the time being, and I was able to have my own shower, which I took full advantage of.
In our field of work, we never really had the equipment or the time for even a cold shower. We often had to bathe in lakes or rivers near where we would set up our camp. I was used to it by now, but that didn't mean having the time for a hot bath wasn't amazing. I felt revitalized as I washed my hair from the blood, sweat, dirt, gun powder, and grease of war. My wounds were tended to and bandaged so they wouldn't get infected, and I would get a good night's rest for once. At least I hoped. But no matter what, tomorrow I would get the hard earned cash I deserved for the dirty work of battle, and the Wild Geese would go out to the bar for a little while to celebrate. At least, that's what I thought would happen yesterday.
So how is it, that as soon as we were clean, well rested (most of us anyway – I had a tough time sleeping again), and out the door of the estate with our hard earned money, there was a butler in front of us, asking patiently for our services? I looked over the old man wearily. Well, he didn't look that old. He seemed to maybe be in is late 60s. In a way he seemed to be sturdy and strong yet, like he was just fresh from the war. Maybe he wasn't fresh from the war, but the war with the Nazis ended around 50 years ago. Maybe he was a teenager in the war? He still seemed hard with the pressures of battle. But at the same time, his elderly looks betrayed him. His eyes held a certain iciness to them, but above that there was a warmth that came with age. For some reason, I wanted to trust him implicitly, but at the same time I felt as if I couldn't possibly do that. As kind as he looked for a butler, he seemed dark, as if he had the hatred of the world on his shoulders. It made me curious like always, but also uneasy.
"So, who are you again," Brother asked and I brushed my arm against his. He put his hand at the small of my back, an old habit he had when he would try to relax me. It didn't help this time. The darkness that seemed to surround this man had me on edge, especially the way he bowed to us. It was just as formal as what it would have been in the 1800s. Most would say I'm just being too cautious, but as soldiers we are taught not to trust anyone.
"My name is Walter C. Dornez. I am the current butler for the Hellsing Organization. We are inquiring for your services as Wild Geese." His voice was kind and warm, which set off his dark demeanor. It still had my mind reeling, yet Brother didn't seem concerned with that at all. He stepped forward slowly, easily taller than the old man, but the elder didn't seem to be intimidated at all. On the contrary, he smiled pleasantly at my sibling. "I understand that you are strong soldiers that work for little pay, but I can guarantee you, if you survive, your payment will be a hefty sum."
"What do you mean 'if we survive'?" I took a step forward, raising my voice a little to get the elder's attention. He smiled at me with a look that said, "we can discuss that after payment". I growled lowly, and moved to stand next to my brother, not as tall as the butler, but still menacing all the same. Just as it went with Brother, the old man did not even flinch. "Okay, so if you won't tell me that, can we at least know the sum you'll be paying us, and what we're going up against?"
"Lieutenant, please stand down." Brother placed an arm in front of me, pushing me back a little. I opened my mouth to protest, but he interrupted swiftly. "We will go up against anything you ask. It's what we do, even if we get a bare minimum pay," he told the old butler, and I scowled, crossing my arms in front of my chest. "My only question at the moment," my brother spoke. "Is how are we going to get to where we're going?" The butler's smile widened, and I moved slightly behind my sibling. I didn't like that smile. It seemed like a victory smile more than a polite one. It sent shivers down my spine.
The elder man bowed again, and with a snap of his fingers, two trucks with open backs drove into sight. Brother waved his hand forward and we all shuffled into the back of these trucks, my sibling slipping in beside me. I glared at him and looked away. His arm slipped over my shoulders and I tried to shrug him off before he could make contact with me. But even though I was just as skilled as him, if not more so, in hand to hand combat, he still was faster than me. His arm didn't budge and I glared again. A smile adorned his face and I resisted the urge to make his nose bleed.
"You always consult me before taking a job. You didn't this time. Why?" My voice was harsh and criticizing. His smile vanished and for once in his life he look completely serious.
"Nikita, I know you noticed how odd that old butler seemed. I could see it in your eyes. He made you uneasy. As dense as you think I am, I noticed it too, and I felt that we didn't have a choice but to take his offer. There's something different about that butler, and for obvious reasons I don't want to mess with him. The offer can't be that bad. They'll be paying us a lot, and we always go into dangerous situations. It's nothing we can't handle." My brother was very matter-of-fact with his explanation and I found that in a way, he was right. I couldn't argue with his logic. There was nothing we couldn't handle. We had fought many battles that were called suicide missions and still survived. This job couldn't have been any worse, right?
But that old butler's stare had me thinking differently. It was like seeing a ghost that you had never believed existed before. Yet right there it was, looking you right in the eyes and leaving you speechless. I leaned into Brother's chest and closed my eyes. All of a sudden I was very tired. I remembered that I hadn't slept well again, even though I woke up feeling refreshed. I was soon asleep in my brother's arms, not dreaming, and letting the wind blow my hair around.
"Hello? Are you awake miss? Hellooooooo." A light feminine voice brought me out of my sleep, along with something that was poking me. It felt like a finger. I rolled over, only to meet a wooden floor. A loud rumbling laugh made me grumble as I recognized it as my brother's. Though under that laugh was a small squeal and the words, "are you alright". I sat up onto my knees, holding my head, as it had hit kind of hard. We were still in the back of the truck, and Brother was still laughing at me. I stood up and knocked him on the head, pushing his hat over his eyes with the motion. He tugged on it so he could see again, but I pulled it right back down, forcing him to watch the inside of his favorite hat for a while. A small pout formed on his mouth but I ignored him and turned to see who had been poking me. It certainly hadn't been brother – he knew never to poke my sides. The only other person left was the owner of that feminine voice.
When I finally found the source of that voice, I wasn't surprised to find an astoundingly young woman staring up at me with wide blue eyes. Her blonde hair was short and flipped outwards at the ends, her bangs framing her face nicely. I wish I looked that young still. I admit, I only looked a little shy of 30 myself, but she didn't even look to be in her mid 20s while the size of her chest seemed to say other-wise. There was no way a teenager could have that large of a cup size. I looked down at my own chest, which was only a slight bit larger than average. Her's were bigger than mine even, and it made me blush. Then, to add insult to injury, her body was just as curvy with a tan uniform that said "Hellsing" on the sleeve. I had curves too, just not as prominent as hers. This woman looked like a sex god with an innocent face and a guy's hairdo. My blush got deeper and her eyes widened a bit further.
"Eh... I- I'm sorry for startling you..." The apology was wobbly and embarrassed. She sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck, looking at the ground with a blush, probably understanding full well why I myself was blushing. "Oh, but where are my manners?" The girl stuck her hand out and I took it hesitantly. "My name is Seras Victoria. What is yours?"
"Nikita... Nikita Bernadotte." I replied quietly, giving her hand a firm shake. Most men told me I had a strong grip, but hers was even stronger than mine, and it was a bit scary. Younger than me and stronger than me? I pointed over to Brother. "And this is my sibling, Pip Bernadotte." My brother saluted her with two fingers and I rolled my eyes. Seras bowed her head with a smile.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," she said, moving back from the end of the truck so Brother and I could jump down. "But if you don't mind me asking, are you from Russia?" A question I often received when most met me for the first time. I simply nodded in reply. "Ah! So you're both from Russia? I wonder why you're fighting here in England then..." The next question was something that I would have expected. Brother's hair was the same redish brown as mine, and we both had green eyes. We looked to be around the same age because we were, and most everyone told us we looked like twins. Still, her assumption of both of us being from Russia was wrong, and Pip proved it when he spoke for me.
"Sorry, Missy, this girl may be my little sister but not by blood. I'm a Frenchman. With a little bit of Swedish; and we have our own reasons for why we're here." His sentences were matter-of-fact, yet they put the most curious sparkle in the younger woman's eyes. I couldn't help but assume that she was hired recently. I looked up, noticing that it had taken us all day to get here. Had I really slept that long? Well, when I look back on when I woke up, it had been around 1:30 in the afternoon, and it had taken me a while to get ready to leave. That's what you get after ten days of war. Late nights, early mornings, and when it's all over, early nights, late mornings.
"You'll have to tell me all about Russia then, Nikita! I've never been there before, and since I've been traveling lately, I've been trying to learn as much as I can about different countries." Seras seemed to be delighted that I was there, and when I got into the building, I could understand why. I didn't see another female being in sight. Not even a maid was bustling around here. Was the butler from earlier the only one that actually worked here? I didn't like that thought.
"Seras, how old are you?" I knew the question was a bit rude when I had just met her, but I needed to know. If we were the only two women here, then why not get to know the only other woman? Thankfully, the younger woman didn't take offense and smiled.
"I'm 19 this year. What about you?" The girl sounded innocent, and I knew she probably was, but I couldn't help but turn red. What kind of teenager gets a body like that? I had to work just to keep myself in shape. If I didn't, I would definitely be over-weight by now, and you could see that in my figure. I was almost all muscle by now. If I found any fat on my body it was from what little curves I had. My stomach had visible muscle and my legs were thick. It wasn't obscene like a body-builders, but it definitely wasn't model material. At least, I didn't think so.
"I just turned 30 actually..." I finally replied to her question with a shaky voice, and the teen looked at me with yet another surprised expression.
"But, Miss, if you don't mind me saying, you don't look a day over 20 years! Are you a vampire?" I really had to work to not give her a look that asked if she was stupid or not. I just smiled politely and answered a curt "no" before falling back to follow her wherever she was taking us. She explained that the other men had been shown to another room to wait for us a while, and that we were going to talk to the Master of the house. I was starting to wonder if everyone here was strange in some way. First a creepy butler, then an innocent teen with the body of a goddess who asks if someone's a vampire, and now the Master of the house? What? Did this house still follow the rules of 19th Century England? I didn't want to find out. Soon, we'd be fighting with swords instead of guns!
"Ah! Miss Victoria! There you are!" The old butler, Walter, was headed towards us, a towel draped over his arm, a warm smile on his face. I pulled back to walk behind Brother, brushing against his arm with my own. He couldn't look back at me with his recently injured eye that was now under a proper eye-patch, but I knew that's what he'd be doing if he could. Seras smiled and waved happily at the elder man, and almost skipped up to him like an obedient puppy. "Sir Hellsing has asked for you to go keep watch over the new-comers now. I will lead these two the rest of the way to the office."
"Right-o, Sir." The teen turned to us and actually gave me a hug. "It was nice meeting the both of you! I hope to see you around!" With that, she bounded off in another direction, and was gone. I really wish she would have stayed with us the rest of the way. I didn't like this old Butler... This man named Walter. Brother knew it too, and he kept us at a good distance from the elder until we reached the designated doors that would lead us to "Sir Hellsing". The elegant wood startled me a little. Just how rich was this man? I was about to find out how wrong I was about one tiny assumption of mine.
Kitten: Alright, so not many things were changed in that chapter, but I felt some things needed to be addressed. No major time changes. I'm usually fairly happy with my introduction chapters. I'd like to thank you all once again for bearing with me as I make these changes. You're awesome! Remember to review and let me know what you're thinking. I can make a better story with your feedback. Thanks!