Breaking Through

Chapter 1: One hell of a night

When she woke up, it was to a world of pain. What was wrong with her? Wasn't she supposed to be tucked safely in her coffin? Warm and comfortable?

With a moan, she opened her eyes. The first thing that jumped to her eyes was the fact that she wasn't in her room but pressed, no, pinned to a tree. But something that really made her realize she wasn't home was the knife, two actually, imbedded in each of her hands. As she tried to move, pain shot up through her body and she immediately stopped. Craning her head to see her back the best she could without hurting herself, she felt and saw the multitude variety of sharp, dripping red knives. She was well aware her feet weren't touching the ground, dangling in the air instead, her weight being supported by the massive weapons plunged deep within her body.

She rested her forehead against the rough bark and tried to steady her breathing. Now was not the time to panic, she needed a rational mind and think of how she had gotten herself in this mess. Though, the increasing pain each time her chest heaved for air didn't help her concentrate. It's not like she needed to breathe she was already dead. It was just out of habit.

A chuckle made its way into her ears. She stiffened at the sound of it. She only knew it recently but she already hated it.

"Oh my," said the deep masculine voice, "it looks as though you fell unconscious. That shouldn't have happened. It is so boring to play alone, don't you think? Well, that's not going to happen twice, police girl. Is this how he calls you?"

Soft steps could be heard and before she knew it someone was next to her, grabbing her blond hair to turn her head harshly around to face her aggressor. Her view failed her at the sudden movement, but, after a few seconds, returned to normal. Her eyes widened.

"Y-you!" Seras stuttered through pain.

Now she remembered. He was the man, vampire, or whatever he is who attacked her during her stroll! Of course, it was another thing to add to her already bad day.

It started right at the moment she had cracked open her eyes this night.

XXXXXXXX

Flipping open her coffin, she got out. Or at least, tried to. She was still half-asleep and her judgement was a little off. She tripped, desperately hopped on one foot to regain her balance (and miserably failed), slipped on the few steps that permitted access to her bed and crashed on the cold hard floor.

"Ugh, I should have known something like that was bound to happen…" she whined.

Ever since she had been transformed into a vampire, it became harder for her to get up after the last ray of the sun had disappeared. Sure, she had never been a morning person back when she was still human and the thought of real vampires roaming the streets for new flesh to feed on was far from her.

At first, she had slept on her bed at irregular hours, only crashing in her new room whenever she was exhausted and when she wasn't on a mission. Shifting from a daily routine to a nocturne one isn't easy. Then, courtesy of Integral, she was provided a coffin fit for a creature like her. She had trouble adjusting to such a small area to sleep in. Try to get used from a queen-sized bed to a small rectangle. Unable to sleep due to her being uncomfortable, she only had the chance to catch some rest partially during the transportation of troops, in-between missions and in the wooden chair of her room. That's what she called a messed up schedule. No wonder why she was so tired!

Dusting herself off while grumbling angrily, she finally noticed the presence of her master. The bond between master and student reacted and she immediately acknowledged his presence.

"Ma…" she cleared her throat, "Master."

She shifted uncomfortably in his presence and self-consciously ran a hand through her messy hair in an attempt to tame it. She was still, after all, in her pajamas, which consisted of an army tank top and some black feminine boxers. She may be a vampire but she wasn't an exhibitionist!

She suddenly felt a pang of embarrassment flow through her. If he was standing there the whole time then that means… He had seen her fall! Great, just great! As if she needed another lecture about always being alert and being laughed at.

Sheepishly, she looked under her bangs to see his reaction. As expected, he wore his usual smirk along with his big hat and those annoying glasses. She could never read his expression completely with these on. Not that she ever understood him…

"I've never seen any clumsier vampire than you, police girl. I almost regret taking you in my care…" he stated calmly.

Seras was FAR from being calm herself. Just WHAT did he mean by that? You could see her body trembling out of anger and the strain she used to control her first impulse, which consisted of wiping that smile off his face with a jaw-crushing punch. That is, if she could reach him. He was too fast for her. She was only a newborn vampire and didn't have much experience in the battlefield. Sure, she had been in many situations in her police days but she could never bring herself to hurt another. That's why they always called her kitten…

She could just shoot herself for thinking about them! Shaking the thoughts out of her head, she returned her attention to her master.

Ignoring his last sentence, she smoothly asked, "What do you require of me, Master?"

"It seems we already have work for tonight. There is a briefing for the next mission in about fifteen minutes. We will see ourselves there…" and with that he disappeared into the wall.

She thought she could faintly hear him muttering darkly, "I am no delivery boy, why couldn't they have sent someone else?"

Seras felt strangely sad. People were afraid of her. Her abnormal eyes were mostly the reason why humans stayed away from her. Red, the color of blood. Only a few of them could actually stand to be in her presence without being intimidated. Sir Integral, Walter, Pip and some soldiers from his squad, that's it. Hell, even Anderson! Though she's the one intimidated by him and he did almost kill her…

A flash of red interrupted her moment of sadness and a gnawing in her stomach indicated the need for it to be filled. She turned around to see the medical blood lying there in a bowl of ice on her desk, tempting her hunger. Biting her lower lip, she decided to skip breakfast (or whatever you'd want to call it since it is night) and settled for dressing up.

The task done, she went to the briefing room.

XXXXXXXX

The soft humming of the truck woke her up. Stretching her limbs a little, Seras supported her head with her left hand and noticed the empty seats around her. Had they lost that many soldiers? No… they were just cramped in the far end of the vehicle, away from her. Working on an empty stomach didn't turn up to be a good idea. Really not a good idea. She had a major headache and felt weak in the knees.

Her and the selected squad were just on their way back to headquarters. The mission was judged too basic for Alucard and they decided to keep him in case something bigger happened, unfortunately for him who was bored to the bone. They only sent her instead so they wouldn't have an enormous amount of casualties on their hands.

Well, the jackass she had to kill turned out to be a real pain in the ass, as he never stopped making crude comments about her. The guy was a real pervert. But she was getting ahead of herself.

When they reached destination, they marched at the entrance of a forest somewhere on the continent (she hadn't paid attention to the details) and, as usual, they had to fight through a good amount of ghouls to reach the source. Easy. Load Halconnen, crouch, aim, and fire. There goes most of the zombies, oh, and a good part of the trees too.

Going ahead to reach the target, she left the rest of the soldiers to fight for themselves. They were mostly there to buy her some time so she wouldn't be attacked from the rear. Whoops, ghoul at twelve o'clock. Go for the heart, green liquid spurting on her face and then turning to dust. No more ghoul.

Finally, she reached a small abandoned shack. He must be in there waiting for God knows what. Deciding against simply blowing up this pitiful excuse for a house (she at least wanted to vent her frustrations by pummeling something to death), she busted the main door with her right leg, balancing her cannon on her shoulders so she wouldn't fall. Ta-da! And one crazy-looking vampire coming right up!

"What? How did you get here in such a short time? The carnage only started two minutes ago!" he shouted.

Stopping to analyze him, Seras almost snickered at the poor guy. He was…well, short.

Suppressing the urge to laugh, she responded, "Sorry, I do this every night and I…"

"Wait, wait," he cut in, "are you a vampire? Damn, I'm so lucky! Hey baby, wanna go for a ride? You know, with this kind of body you could…"

He didn't get the chance to finish his sentence since a powerful force sent him crashing headfirst through the wooden wall. Seras, legs spread widely apart, panting heavily, stood there with her fist in the air, Halconnen forgotten on the dirty floor. What did he think she was here for? A quick lay?! She was sent here to kill him, damn it!

He emerged from the planks, dust rising in the air to create a light screen of smoke between them. When the particles settled on the ground, she remarked a change in his demeanor. Okay, maybe in his face too. Due to the force she had used when punching him, his jaw was moved three inches to the left. He casually snapped it back to place as if his mouth kept doing this to him every evening.

"Well, princess," she bristled a little at that, "It seems as though you don't like my ideas. I dare you to try that again," he smirked.

"You're asking for it!"

Unwittingly, she lunged at him with the intention to kill. When she was sure she was going to make contact, he disappeared with a gust of wind and the next thing she knew she was thrown on her stomach with someone on top of her, arms crushed under one of his powerful hand. His shortness turned out to be an advantage, he was faster than her.

"What the…! HEY, get off me, you bloody swine!" she yelled at him while struggling.

"If you think I'm going to do that you are sorely mistaken, princess. You know, it's been so long since I last touched a woman. Well, just a week actually, but it seems so much longer than that…" he proceeded to roam his free hand on her neck.

Seras stiffened. She felt weak. She really regretted not taking that medical blood tonight. She had to break free. Where was her cannon? She scanned the area but found no trace of it. That's right… she lost her temper at his taunt and dropped it so she could hit him. How stupid of her!

He interrupted her thoughts when he laughed out of pleasure. The hand now moved lower and lower, tracing her forms until he reached her butt.

"No… No, not that! Please, stop!" she begged miserably.

He bent a little so he could speak directly into her ears, "I prefer women with long hair but I guess I can't be too picky. Besides, your ass makes up for it… Round, firm and soft… just the way I like them…" with that, he squeezed it.

She doesn't really remember the rest. She only knows that something snapped inside of her. She had flashes of blood, yells and her own voice stuck in her head saying the same thing over and over with a sickening screech at the end.

"Say hello to your mother for me, scum." A scream of anguish followed.

When she regained possession of herself, she was sitting in a pool of blood. She doesn't know how long she sat there but it was long enough to hear soldiers searching for her. She numbly stood up with a disgusting 'whoolsh' with all the red liquid dripping from her clothes and started walking back to the truck absently, picking up Halconnen on the way.

Her pupils must've been a mere dot lost in the red sea of her iris because people looked at her as though she had just emerged from the depth of Hell. Or maybe it was just the blood on her hair and face. She thought she could faintly hear herself saying to the man in charge that the target had been eradicated and then climbed in the transportation vehicle waiting alone for it to depart.

And there she was, a towel draped across her shoulders smeared, drenched, with blood. She hadn't felt the urge to drink it now that she thought about it. She probably just shredded the guy into tiny bits of flesh and was too repulsed by his actions to allow a single and tiny drop of crimson down her throat.

She still couldn't understand that part of her... That animalistic quality which was Alucard's heritage. Whenever it would take over her, she would feel liberated... and so insane... How far could it go? Would lucidity ever be possible in this state? Was she... a monster?

The tires screeched to a stop indicating the end of the trip. Unbuckling her seat belt, Seras marched directly towards the captain.

"I think you should fill the report, sir. I am not feeling well." She said wearily.

The man nodded his head vigorously and rushed outside. She sighed and went to her room for a change of clothes, ignoring all the weird looks she got as she walked in the corridors. Walter even managed to intercept her, asking about what had happened. He seemed a little worried. She just shrugged her shoulders and shooed him away.

Closing the door behind her, she looked on the desk only to see a second pack of blood with more ice. She hasn't consumed anything since the beginning of the night and still won't be taking anything. Besides, she'll save them for another time, right? Yeah, that's right… she's just…saving it for later.

"Say hello to your mother for me, scum." A scream of anguish followed.

She rubbed her temple to help ease the headache that had settled there. Removing her fingers, she saw the blood on them. Was it hers or his? Had she hurt herself without knowing it? That would explain her pain, but she didn't really pay much attention to it.

A small pool of red had formed around her feet. Shower. Yes, a shower would be most appreciated. The splattering noises didn't bother her as she walked, mostly because she was still in shock. Or maybe it just didn't really bother her, after all, she was no longer a kitten… She let out a bark of laughter mixed with amusement and bitterness. Which one of these two emotions was real, she didn't know, she didn't care.

Inside the shower, she let the burning water scald her pounding head, the pain making her forget temporarily how she had gotten it in the first place. She just didn't care anymore…

XXXXXXXX

Seras was now refreshed, pain-free and clean. She was also on her knees, wiping the floor free of stains. During her little trek back from the bathroom she had noticed her mess. Walter had enough on his hands and so, she had decided on cleaning it herself since she was responsible. As usual, the passers-by gave her the look. Blatantly ignoring them, she only scrubbed harder.

"Miss Victoria!"

Pausing in mid-scrub, she saw Walter staring at her in bewilderment. She'd be staring too if Integra suddenly decided on cleaning her office.

"Hello, Walter!" she tried to sound cheery, "Don't worry, I'm almost finished."

"Please stop. You don't have to do this," he sounded apologetic.

"I made this mess and I will clean it," she stated firmly.

"You just came back from a hard assignment, you must be tired…" he shot her a knowing look. So, he has heard of what has transpired only three hours ago. News travel fast…

"I'm sure you have better things to do like helping Sir Integra and besides, I'm almost finished," she nodded towards the six remaining bloody footsteps disappearing under her bedroom door.

"Well, if you insist," he said, still uncomfortable with the idea, "I'll just change the water for you."

When he returned, he found her sitting on the floor, gazing into emptiness with a face devoid of emotions.

"Say hello to your mother for me, scum." A scream of anguish followed.

Seras blinked away the burning of her eyes and shifted her attention to Walter.

"You know," he started softly, "why don't you go for a walk? There's a quiet park near headquarters which is ideal for a night stroll."

She smiled a real smile, her fangs poking a little at the corners of her lips, "That's a good idea, thank you Walter."

XXXXXXXX

When Seras got there, she was ambushed by this creep, whose face was more or less hard to describe because of her fuzzy eyes, got daggers plunged into her back as a welcome present and had endured so much pain in a short amount of time that she fainted. Note to self: remind Walter to never give her any more advice!

She was jolted out of her mind when one of the knives twisted painfully into her flesh.

"Weren't you listening to me?!" came the angry voice.

"Sorry, your little speech was so boring that I probably lost myself in my own thoughts," she replied weakly.

His face contorted into a twisted sneer. Despite her predicament, she found the strength to laugh at him, but it was cut short as he flung his fist into her unprotected side. She coughed blood onto herself and she would have passed out if it weren't for that hand slapping her cheeks.

"Poor, poor girl… It isn't polite to leave guests unattended. Here's a little something to help you stay awake."

His mouth was instantly onto hers, licking the remnants of her blood away. She struggled the best she could to no avail and suddenly felt something solid pass between her lips to the back of her throat. Her body reacted automatically and she couldn't resist the urge to swallow. To her relief, he finally pulled away but not without giving her a final lick.

As if reading her mind, he answered, "This small pill's duty is to keep you from fainting. To my great pleasure only."

He reached for what she believed was another knife and he slowly cut the back of her thigh. Seras screamed for all she was worth and tears of pain threatened to fall at the corner of her eyes.

"Oops," he shot her a look of false concern, "Did I forget to mention it enhances pain? Details always seem to escape my mind, I deeply apologize, police girl."

"Well…none…accepted…prick," she spat pathetically in his way.

Her thoughts wandered to Alucard, desperately searching for some kind of hope to cling onto. Where was her Master? Isn't he supposed to save her in times like these? He was always there for her whenever she was in a bad situation… What was so different from all the other times? She gritted her teeth as another wave of pain shot through her body. And when had it gotten so cold? Last time she checked, temperature hasn't ever bothered her. She was repulsed by her weaknesses but she only had herself to blame since she hadn't drunk blood. Who would have thought she'd be assaulted twice tonight? She was feebler than a wounded sheep.

The man viciously grabbed her by the roots of her hair and slammed her forehead against the tree repeatedly, literally shaking the daylights out of her. When he finally let her head roll back, she saw the huge bloody dent it made on the tree and her already throbbing headache became a severe migraine. She thought it was surely going to burst any moment now. Amazing how she was still awake. That pill of his works wonders. What the HELL was she thinking?

He leisurely picked up on her thoughts because after a couple of whacks here and there he said, "It's amazing to see how well this medicine works, no?"

She snorted at that, it was hardly a 'medicine'.

More like the inverse of a painkiller… jackass.

"I heard that. In fact, I hear everything you think as long as it's loud enough."

She tried to pronounce something but only gurgling sounds could be heard and she started another coughing fit with blood flying everywhere. How much had she lost already? It never seemed to stop flowing and her wounds couldn't be healed since those damn swords had probably been bathed into sacred water. Recovering from trying to talk, she remembered why she had wanted to speak in the first place.

"I heard that. In fact, I hear everything you think as long as it's loud enough."

Seras grinned like a mad woman who had escaped from the mental hospital and was attempting to catch an illusionary butterfly with a plastic mug. She steadied her mind and then…

"FUCK YOU, YOU LOUSY BASTARD! I HOPE YOU ROT IN HELL FOR ALL ETERNI…"

She didn't get the chance to finish as he roughly grabbed the back of her shirt, pulled her out of the tree, the hilt of the knives pushing deeper against her back if possible, and threw her unceremoniously onto the dew-filled grass, dead leaves sticking to her skin. She had managed to roll her body in the air so she would land on her left side. The impact caused her flesh to squeeze around the blades and she knew nothing more than excruciating and raw pain. Her brain registered nothing else for about a few minutes, she couldn't even bring herself to scream. She vomited more blood and her body shook uncontrollably.

A rich laughter filled the air. Damn him…

"Not so proud of yourself, now are you, police girl? Hmm… police girl isn't a suited name for you. Your Master," he spat the word ridiculously, "doesn't have the sense of fashion, does he? How about princess?" Another laugh, "If I recall correctly, you rather liked it when that bum referred to you as such. Oh, and the 'Say hello to your mother for me, scum' was simply marvelous!"

She was still too dazed to react, but she had heard him. Yeah, she heard him. So, he had already been stalking her when she was in the forest. She should have drank that goddamned blood she thought easily for the tenth time today.

"Yes," he continued, "I was there the whole time… You really dismembered him though. And I considered myself a professional, but you put my name to shame, my dear."

"Just what…is y-your…name?" she wheezed out.

He stepped into the moonlight as he approached her. Astonishingly, instead of pounding her already abused body, he gently lifted her onto his lap. She could clearly see him now. Red eyes, as expected, a presumably smooth, white face with sharp features and long white or silver hair.

With a smirk plastered across his face he answered, "Blake, but I don't think you'll ever make use of it. You seem so fond of insults."

Seras was too out of it to ponder about what he had said after 'Blake'. She should have expected such a name, so cliché, but his face didn't fit with his name.

Liar…

He pulled out a knife from her and she moaned plaintively, "I spared the heart. I didn't want to kill my plaything, now would I?" Another was taken with a slow and deliberate movement, "If you thought I was going to be quick about removing them all, you were wrong princess. Those small swords are hard to come by. I shouldn't be wasting them on someone who would just throw them away carelessly."

As he finally removed the last one, she finally let out a shuddering breath mixed of pain and relief. How long had she been enduring this? What was headquarters doing? Hello, missing Seras? She may be in danger? Well, she was in danger but the guy just wanted to mess with her. Nothing too bad, just torture and experiment suspicious drugs on his guinea pig which happened to be herself tonight. She felt a wave of anger shudder through her massacred corpse. How could they just forget about her!?

Her anger fueled the last of her strength and she managed to push 'Blake' away and stood up with much difficulty. One of her arms was limp and wouldn't move while the other rested on her biggest wound located on her midriff, uselessly trying to stop the blood from gushing out.

"Still got spunk, can't deny that. But it's pretty much useless since you can't go back to Hellsing by foot, princess."

"Heh, you gave me that… foul tasting pill that will 'keep me awake'. So what," she panted a little, "if I fall, I'll crawl over there if I have to and I just won't give up 'till I'm out cold."

"Well," he said innocently, "considering the shape you're in now, you will only die of blood loss. Let's not forget, it is almost dawn," he looked over to the horizon, "and your present condition won't allow you to endure the sun's rays. You will never make it in time so I suggest escorting the lady back home myself." He made a move to take her in his arms but she backed away a few steps.

He frowned, "Don't play hard to get."

With that, he punched her fiercely in her already abused stomach and lifted her onto his shoulders. She got a small revenge when she spit some more of the ruby liquid onto his, surprisingly enough, clean white vest without him noticing.

She hardly paid attention to her surroundings as she was more focused on the pain the pressure of her weight on his shoulder produced. She gasped every now and then from his harsh treatment. After being manhandled for a while, she thought they had reached the gate because of the shouts the guards made at their sight.

'Blake' shot her a sidelong glance, "You're going to have a very bad day, princess. The pill should stop its effectiveness tomorrow night. Nothing can save you from awareness and pain. I wish you good day."

And she was flung towards the closed gates like a mere sack of potatoes while he fled. During her short 'trip' into the air, she saw the two guards already lying dead in a puddle of freshly spilled blood. The moment she crashed into the gates, it was ripped off its hinges and a stick found itself protruding from her left shoulder eliciting a roar from deep within her throat. In the rubble, she twisted madly from side to side with her hands gripping the iron bar, desperately wanting it to remove itself.

She didn't want her enemy to go without a proper good-bye. Using the last shred of her control over the pain, she sent him a quick but right to the point message.

I'll kill you.