"Master, are you sure this is where we're supposed to be going?" Seras asked.
Alucard just continued to smile. "The blood memories of Severen are telling me to go here." he replied. "I must admit, his master did indeed plan this very well. He was very specific to give him only just enough information to send us here. I assume we will receive another clue here."
Seras blinked. "But that means that he expected Severen to fail."
Alucard chuckled. "Don't you see, Police Girl, this is just a game to him. Severen was a player. Just a pawn for us to crush. It seems as if this master wants to see if I can be defeated. Since Severen failed, he is now useless. He was expendable. And if my assumption is corrected, another minion will meet us here with more information on finding our master."
Seras understood that, but she was still confused about something. "But why send us here?"
She looked around. They were in a public park. There were people around, going about their lives, completely oblivious to the world she now belonged in.
"Isn't it obvious?" Alucard asked. "In the past, Sir Integra wouldn't allow us to show our true nature to the eyes of public. Now that she is no longer here to give us that order, he wants to see if we will still fight with innocents around."
Seras gulped. "Will we?"
She received no response, but she knew the answer. Of course he would, and he would expect her to as well. He may not go hurt innocent people just for the hell of it, but he wouldn't let anyone stand in his way should the situation to fight suddenly rise.
'And Sir Integra isn't here to stop him. I may have control over the locks on his power, but I have no control over him.' Lost in her thoughts, Seras didn't realize that Alucard had stopped walking until she crashed into him. "S-Sorry. But why'd you stop?"
"Because we're here."
Seras blinked. She didn't see anyone "We are?"
A chuckle came from up above. "Actually, you're 20 minutes late."
Seras looked up to find a woman watching them from on top of a streetlight. She eyed the two of them hungrily, a slight blush appearing on her cheek as she looked at Alucard.
"You certainly took your time getting here." she said, running a hand through her long red hair. "I knew you would defeat Severen, Alucard, and I see that your little pet survived as well."
Seras' eye twitched in irritation. "Pet?"
Alucard just smirked. "Didn't have much confidence in your ally, did you?"
The female vampire just grinned, showing off her fangs. "It's not that. Severen was indeed very powerful, but compared to you…" she smiled more broadly, giving the vampire king a look of admiration, "he was nothing."
"How flattering. And just who might you be?"
The redhead leapt down from the streetlight. "My real name is a secret I keep to myself, but I am known as Bloody Mary to my companions." She eyed the ancient vampire up and down. "I have admired you for a long time, vampire king. I have longed to taste your blood for a while now. And you are very handsome."
Seras felt a twinge of jealousy. Was this Bloody Mary hitting on her master? She was liking her less and less. And when the redhead turned to her, she had no trouble showing her that she was disgusted.
Bloody Mary chuckled. "What's wrong, young Seras? You seem irritated."
Seras just growled lightly. "Where's Sir Integra?"
Bloody Mary sighed, shaking her head. "Do you honestly expect me to just tell you? Where's the fun in that?" She eyed Alucard again. "But if you want to have some real fun, Alucard, ditch the blond and come to me. I would love to experience your flesh."
Seras was now grinding her teeth together. 'She's offering herself just like that? How shameful! What a slut!'
Alucard just smirked. "If I had wanted to take my pleasure of you, I would have taken it, with or without invitation."
Bloody Mary licked her lips. "Ooh, kinky. I like rough, dominant men. My brother is really dominant in bed. But I'm betting you'll be better."
Seras' mouth dropped open in shock. 'Her brother? Tell she didn't mean what I think she meant.'
"What do you say?" the redhead continued. "The Police Girl can join us if you want."
There was still no sign of interest from the vampire king. "You are beginning to bore me. Play your games later, but do what you're here for now."
Bloody Mary shrugged. "Oh well, maybe later then, the offer's always on the table. But if you really want to get started," she snapped her fingers, "let's get this show on the road."
From out of nowhere ghouls began filling the street. They came out of bushes, off of trees, and from behind statues.
"Where the hell was she hiding them?" Seras cried.
Bloody Mary laughed. "These ghouls are very hungry. And there are lots of people in this park. So you better make your choice. Follow me to possible find the next clue to find your master, or save these poor innocent people and let me escape. The choice is yours." She gave Alucard a sexy smile and blew a kiss at him. "Ciao."
She all but disappeared in the darkness as the ghouls went on the attack. The screams of innocents filled the sky from all directions as Bloody Mary's deadly game began.
"Master, what do we do?" Seras asked.
Alucard didn't seem concerned by the innocents being preyed upon, yet he said, "I will follow Bloody Mary. You deal with the ghouls."
Seras' mouth dropped open. "What? Me? By myself?"
She received no answer as the vampire king disappeared, just as Bloody Mary had. Seras was now left alone with an army of ghouls and very little time to help the remaining people.
"Why always me?" she muttered. She received only growls from the ghouls in response. "Oh, shut up!"
She fired her Harkonnen, blowing several ghouls to pieces. But that only took care of a small amount. They were still coming from all directions. One grabbed her from behind. Seras screamed and flipped it over her head before beating it to a bloody pulp with her enormous gun.
More growls came from behind her. Seras' eyes flickered red before turning blue again. "Come on then." She hissed. Lifting her Harkonnen, she took careful aim, hesitated, then lowered the weapon. "The hell with this."
Tossing the massive gun aside, she charged at the ghouls. Her foot collided with the head of one with such force that she knocked it right off its shoulders. From there she let her police fighting skills take over as she assaulted the ghouls.
Walter was right about these creatures. They were indeed dangerous, aggressive bastards, but they were slow and weak, easy to rip apart. And Seras was feeling a thrill of enjoyment at tearing them to pieces.
"Just die, you bastards!" she shouted, elbowing another ghoul in the face.
Her eyes turned red again and she found herself grinning. Had she looked in a mirror, she would have seen that she had a look on her face very similar to Alucard when he got into the slaughter.
Finally the last ghoul fell. Seras stood there, covered in blood, breathing heavily. Not from exhaustion, but from excitement.
But there were still more of the walking corpses left. She could sense them. Breaking into a run, she burst through some bushes to find several more ghouls gnawing on the flesh of a couple that had decided to go for a moonlit stroll through the park.
Seras hissed like a cat, and the ghouls turned their attention to her. Her eyes turned red and she raced over to the ghouls, ready to rip them to shreds.
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Alucard stepped out of the darkness into an area where no one else was. Well, there was one other person. She was just hiding somewhere in the darkness.
"You wanted me alone, did you not?" He asked the darkness. "Well here I am."
An evil yet girlish laugh came from the shadows. "If I had my way, you and I would be alone for a very long time." She suddenly appeared beside Alucard. He didn't move as she wrapped her arms around him, pressing herself against his body. "I've longed to have you for a long time, Alucard." She purred, running her tongue over his cheek. "We can always fight later." Her hand moved down his chest, towards his crotch. "Lets explore each other a bit."
Alucard just smirked and spun around, breaking out of her grasp, and open fired on her. Bloody Mary's body jerked with each impact of holy ammunition, and she collapsed.
"Be grateful I didn't hit your heart." He told her.
Bloody Mary just chuckled. "Even if you had hit my heart, it would take more than that to kill me. I'm not your average vampire." She rose to her feet. Her body expelled the holy rounds and healed. "That was refreshing. Please hurt me some more."
Ignoring the last part, Alucard raised an eyebrow. "And how are you different from other vampires?"
Bloody Mary tilted her head left and right, cracking her neck. "My master tried many experiments. You know what Father Anderson was."
"A regenerator." Alucard replied.
"Correct. Consider me a regenerator among vampires. I'll heal any injury I take, even if it's from a holy weapon."
If she thought this would please Alucard, then she was wrong. "A vampire regenerator? So you're just another Freak like Millennium's science projects."
Bloody Mary pouted. "Oh, such harsh words coming from you." Then she smirked. "Although I would like it if you talk dirty to me."
Now Alucard was getting impatient. "Enough. I grow tired of your infatuation. Your master sent you here for a reason."
Looking disappointed, Bloody Mary sighed. "Very well." She snapped her fingers and several more ghouls came out of hiding. "Defeat us, and you'll get your next clue."
Alucard eyed the ghouls. Did she really think that ghouls could defeat him? He was hoping for a challenge, but it was just more ghouls. How disappointing. Hopefully Bloody Mary herself will prove to be a somewhat formidable opponent. But these ghouls, they were just a waste of time.
"I'll tear your ghoul army apart." He stated.
"Will you?" Bloody Mary asked. "Even if we have hostages."
She snapped her fingers again and a few ghouls stepped forward, holding two people. They were unconscious, but alive.
"If you fight us, they will die." She told him. "As good a killer as you are, you can't kill us all before we kill them."
Alucard smirked. "You think so? Then you're mistaken. I have The Huntress with me?"
Bloody Mary raised an eyebrow. "Who?"
Snickering, Alucard summoned up one of his familiars. A black aura burst from his body and took form. Rip Van Winkle appeared and took aim with her gun. She fired a single shot, but that single bullet struck one ghoul, then changed directions and hit another, and then another, until all the ghouls dropped dead.
This all happened in less than a second before the bullet finally blew a hole in Bloody Mary's head.
Almost at the same time, they all fell over dead, yet the humans remained unharmed. But Alucard knew it wasn't over yet. If Bloody Mary was indeed a regenerator, then it would take a lot more than that. Father Anderson was a regenerator, and that made him all but indestructible. That meant that Bloody Mary had those benefits, plus her own vampire regeneration powers.
He was proven correct when she rose to her feet, the only indication that she had been hurt was the blood she was covered in. "Very impressive. Your skills are amazing."
Rip Van Winkle turned back into a black aura and returned to Alucard. "I have yet to see your skills other than regenerating."
Bloody Mary gave him a seductive smile. "Oh, you want to see my 'skills', eh?"
Alucard fired several rounds into her chest. "Now you're beginning to piss me off."
"I get that a lot." Bloody Mary replied. She reached into her jacket and pulled out a jagged edge sword. "I guess that means that it's time to get serious."
She suddenly disappeared. But she didn't teleport or turn invisible. It was her speed. She was so fast that she could move unseen even to Alucard's eyes, so fast that she didn't even leave bloody footprints behind.
"Come now, Alucard, can't you keep up?"
Her voice seemed to come from everywhere at once due to her speed. Alucard was actually impressed. He was even more impressed when Bloody Mary's blade sliced his side open without him even noticing.
"Strike one." said Bloody Mary.
She danced around him, moving too fast to be seen. Alucard just remained where he was, waiting for her next move. The next cut was to his hip, nearly severing his leg from his body.
"Strike two."
She struck again, this time across his chest. Alucard dropped to one knee, his red glasses falling from his face.
Bloody Mary stopped moving around a few feet away from him. "Strike three, and you're out." She turned to look at his fallen form. "Impressed now? I hope so. Are getting as big a thrill out of this as I am?" She knelt down in front of him, using her sword to tilt his head up to face him. "Tell me, was it good for you?"
Alucard was grinning like a maniac, excitement shining in his copper eyes. "You think you can thrill me? I'll show you how you can thrill me!"
He rose to his feet, injuries healed, guns raised. Bullets flew from his gun, and Bloody Mary walked backwards, moving faster than the bullets. She stepped out of their path and inspected one that she had snatched out of the air.
"Nice rounds." She commented. "Mercury tips I see. Very nice. Did you melt down crucifixes to make these?"
Several bullets slammed into her back, but she merely stumbled. Her body expelled the holy rounds and healed completely. She turned back to Alucard smirking.
"Attacking while my back is turned? How rude. But your bullets can't stop me."
"Not to worry." said Alucard, wearing his trademark grin. "I still have a few tricks up my sleeves. Card tricks to be precise."
He summoned up another familiar. This one was Tubalcain Alhambra, a.k.a. The Dandy Man. And this creature had a very special trick that would surely catch Bloody Mary off guard.
Dandy Man threw his magic playing cards. Bloody Mary gasped in surprised when they cut through her like knives. But she allowed the familiar to damage her, believing herself to be in no danger.
"Was that it?" she asked, as Dandy Man vanished. "A few razor-edged cards. A child's trick."
"You think so?" Alucard asked, now in total psycho killer mode. He raised his guns. "Then dodge this!"
He open fired. Bloody Mary turned to run away, but her injuries sent her crashing to the ground.
"What?" she gasped. "My… my injuries. Why haven't they healed?" She gave Alucard an enraged look. "What the fuck did you do to me?"
Alucard laughed manically. "Yes, those magic playing cards are indeed powerful. Lets see how long you'll last without being able to heal yourself."
For a moment, fear appeared in Bloody Mary's eyes. Then she jumped to her feet and ran to the two unconscious people the ghouls had dropped. Seizing them both, she rested her sword under their throats.
"Now what will you do?" she asked. "You're trick won't work twice. Try anything and I'll kill them, and no magic bullet can help you."
Alucard stared at her a moment before he began chuckling. That chuckle soon got louder until he was openly laughing.
"What's so damn funny?" Bloody Mary asked, pressing her blade deeper into her hostages' throats.
Alucard managed to control his laughter. "Why, you are." He began to summon up Dandy Man again. "Did you really think that you could stop me with those poor souls? WELL YOU'RE DAMN WRONG!"
Bloody Mary's eyes widened as several more magic cards flew out of Alucard's body.
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When the final ghoul was well and truly dead, Seras approached the people who had been unfortunate enough to fall prey to them. They were dead. Torn to pieces.
All except one. Barely conscious, gravely injured, but still alive. Seras slowly approached them, giving the poor mortal a sympathetic look.
The man's fearful eyes looked up at Seras. The look in his eyes made it clear that he knew he was going to die. Seras had to look away. She knew there was no helping him. He would die, and there was nothing she could do about it. But she could stop him from becoming a ghoul.
"I'm sorry." she said, blinking back tears.
Using her vampire strength, she brought her foot down on his skull, crushing it to a bloody pulp. The man's body twitched in its last instant of life before stilling.
Seras made a small squeaky noise and fell to her knees. She felt bad that the man had died, but she was shocked to realize that she didn't care about him. To her, it felt no different than stomping on an insect.
Shaking slightly, the young vampire looked at her bloodstained hands. They closed into fists as she hugged herself.
'What's happening to me?'
She didn't need to ask. She knew what was happening to her. Her vampire nature was affecting her. Humans were beneath vampires, just as insects were beneath humans. A human felt no remorse for killing an insect, and she felt no remorse for killing a human. Was she actually becoming like the very monsters she and her master were trying to fight?
'No, there's a difference. Not feeling remorse for killing is one thing, but to kill for no reason other than sport and to enjoy peoples' suffering is different. That's what sets Master and myself apart from them.'
Her eyes suddenly snapped open as she remembered. Alucard was all alone. What if he needed help?
She immediately dismissed the thought. Him needing help? Yeah right.'
Yet she couldn't help but worry. And so she grabbed her Harkonnen and ran off to where she knew her master was.
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Bloody Mary lay bloody and broken on the ground, her hostages laying dead next to her. She still lived, but due to the magic playing cards, her body couldn't heal until the magic affecting her faded away.
Through her pain, she heard Alucard approach. And even she lay suffering on the ground, she still couldn't help but to flash the vampire king a seductive smile.
"Do you wish to bathe in my blood?" she asked. "I lay defenseless before you, quite vulnerable to-"
"Silence!" Alucard snapped. "There only reason you're still alive is because I still have use for you."
Bloody Mary half coughed, half laughed. "I can think of many things you can use me for."
Alucard's foot collided with her head, knocking her unconscious. "We'll have enough of that."
He reached down and grabbed her by the hair and began dragging her off to where Seras was. The young vampire met him halfway, covered in the blood of the ghouls she slaughtered.
"Master!"
Alucard grinned. "Well done, Police Girl. You dealt with your enemies nicely." His grin widened. "Did you enjoy the rush? How did it feel to rip those creatures to bits? You enjoyed it, didn't you?"
Seras took a step back, her hand covering her mouth. She told herself that she did this because she was feeling ashamed, but part of her told her that she did this to stop the smile that dared to creep up her face. "I… I…"
Alucard chuckled and tossed Bloody Mary in front of his fledgling. "A souvenir." He stated. "The next piece of the puzzle."
Seras looked at the woman in disgust. "What will we do? Interrogate her?" Something told her that the redhead would just enjoy anything they did to her; especially if it was Alucard doing it.
"There is a more efficient way to get information." Alucard explained. "And you're going to do it."
Seras knelt down and gently probed the unconscious vampire with her finger. "How?"
Alucard grinned. "Drink her blood."
Seras froze. "W-What?"
"You heard me. Drink her blood. You'll find the information we need in it."
Seras looked fearfully at Bloody Mary. "But… I can't…"
Alucard reached down and lifted Bloody Mary up by her hair, exposing her neck to Seras. "Do it!" he snapped, though there was no anger in his voice.
All sound seemed to fade away until the only thing she heard was the unconscious woman's undead heartbeat. Her eyes turned red and her mouth watered in anticipation. And the next thing she knew, she was moving closer and closer to the woman's neck. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, her lips grazing Bloody Mary's neck. A low growl began in her throat as her mouth opened.
Suddenly Alucard pushed her away and tossed Bloody Mary several feet away. The look of excitement he had vanished as he stood protectively in front of Seras.
The young vampire blinked as she came back to herself. She looked at Alucard in confusion and saw him staring at Bloody Mary's still form. "Master, what-"
Bloody Mary's body suddenly burst into flames. The woman's eyes snapped open and she screamed like a banshee as the burning woke her from unconsciousness.
Seras jumped back in surprise, wondering how her master had known this was going to happen. 'It's just like what happened to that one Valentine brother.' She realized.
Bloody Mary clenched her teeth against the pain and looked at Alucard, an insane laugh building up in her. "So you managed to beat me! Guess the master decided that you pass if he's burning me! So here's your next piece of information! Be at the old church at sunset on the fifteenth of next month! There you will be led to our master, and yours!"
Her words died on her lips as the flames went out. All that remained of her was a charcoal statue, which crumpled into a pile of ashes.
Alucard stared at the pile of ashes, grinning slightly. "The old church by sunset on the fifteenth of next month, eh?"
Seras blinked as she looked from the pile of ashes to Alucard. "Um, Master, what's this about? Why make us wait so long?"
"They're buying time." Alucard replied. "Perhaps now that this master knows what he's dealing with he wants to plan a bit more. But I wonder if the fifteenth is meaningful or just a coincidence."
Seras thought about it. She couldn't think of anything that was special about the fifteenth of next month. "Um, what's the fifteenth have to do with anything?" she asked.
Alucard chuckled. "As naïve as always." He said, slipping his glasses back on. "It's the night of the full moon."