tampered | Log; Ongoing

Log; Ongoing

When; "What Might Have Been" Curse (September 19)
Rating; R? There's blood everywhere, after all!
Characters; Enrico Maxwell (

chief_judas), Integral Hellsing (

steeldame), Alucard (

thekingofpain)
Summary; Maxwell, suffering from his death wounds, seeks solace in the Cathedral. While he sits bleeding, he manages to contact a Catholic Integral van Helsing and insult the Count Dracula (Alucard). Maxwell fends off Alucard at the Cathedral until Integral comes to his aid.
Log;

Enrico Maxwell clutched vainly at the wounds in his chest. They had appeared around midnight--the sign of a curse--and had been bleeding since, though the flow had slowed considerably. Enrico was glad he was dead, because otherwise he'd have fainted from lack of blood. He gazed down the main aisle of the Cathedral and watched the lights dance on the red stained marble.

He was expecting Death. He was sure the Count was headed in his direction, ready to impale him. Still, Enrico smirked; he was dead, and another wound in his body would do very little to ail him. Meanwhile, the Count still lived, even if it was an unholy charade.

Enrico reached out and picked a multi-pronged candle holder from the floor. If he was to face Death, he would not be weaponless.

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The stained glass window darkened from the light filtering in. One might think an eclipse was happening, until the windows shattered, slivers of colored glass falling in a rain around Enrico Maxwell as thousands of bats rushed inside.

The bats swirled around the ceiling of the church, dipping down and attempting to take nips out of Enrico's flesh before finally coalescing into a writhing mass before the former Archbishop. The bats pulled together and from them, Dracula stepped out, fangs glittering in the light of the moon filtering in from the shattered window.

He tipped his head, long black hair falling in slight waves around his shoulder, hands crossed over the top of his cane. "What a nice night for a drink."

Enrico hadn't expected Dracula to simply walk through the front door, but the bats did catch him by surprise. He swung the candelabra at the descending cloud, struggling to fight even as his exertion caused his wounds to spit more blood.

The bats fell back and merged into the Count.

"You dare defile this House with your presence?" Enrico spat, the flames of his weapon pointing at the vampire.

Impossible! Count Dracula was still alive? Either the undead was delusional or lying. While she speeded up her pace towards the Cathedral, Integral van Helsing thought both were strong possibilities. She could spot at the distance the bats going through the stained glass.

Enrico!

Armed with a long rifle filled with silver bullets, the hunter barged inside roughly, hoping her manners in the House of God were forgiven due to the circumstances. She saw the forming Count and opened fire, aiming to his left side.

“Begone, demon!”

Much to his chagrin, Enrico was actually pleased when he heard Integral's entrance and declaration. He sidestepped a few paces in her direction, keeping a fair distance between himself and the Count. He needed to better cover or a better weapon, and quickly.

"Integral! Do you have a sidearm?"

Dracula side stepped Integral's bullet easily, he knew when she leveled her gun what the trajectory of the ammunition would be. "You must be Miss van Helsing," He addressed. "My pleasure."

And offered Integral a half bow, though when he straightened, his eyes were on Maxwell's, amusement in them. "Fire? How novel." And reached out, making a gesture with his hand so the candle flames flared and melted the hot wax down to Enrico's fingers.

“The pleasure is all yours, imitator,” Integral snapped venomously, glaring ice daggers towards Alucard’s direction. She approached Enrico with equal caution, her index finger tensed ready to fire again if she must. She did so when the flames flared on Maxwell’s hands.

“Inside my coat,” Integral commented, recharging the ammunition. “Take one of the firearms as I maintain the defense.” She could no lower the guard to give the Archbishop a gun; he would have to take it as she kept the vampire occupied. “What happened to you, Enrico? You look… dead.”

Enrico dropped the candelabra; it rang against the marble floor and rolled away, still melting. He balled his hands into fists, tensing them so they quivered. His fingertips had burned, but he wasn't ready to admit that to the vampire.

"I am dead," Enrico replied as he retrieved the gun. He quickly ducked behind a pew to check if it was loaded. "But I'm not undead, per se... I don't know how to explain it, really." He stood up and fired two shots at Dracula.

Dracula chuckled and shifted to mist, bullets passing through him from both Integral and Enrico's firearms. "Are you keeping track of how many rounds you have?" Integral had fired two rounds, on a rifle, that meant she would be reloading.

"Now children. . prepare to be educated. I am no imitator and you, my dear, have chosen poor company in that of the walking dead," Dracula clucked his tongue at Integral, surveying Maxwell's condition.

Dead. Integral's attention shifted to Enrico. He did look the part but kept moving as a person not a ghoul.

"How? Has this monster done something?" she asked, narrowing her eyes as her gaze shifted to focus on Dracula. She would put Enrico in holy rest after taking care of the vampire. That was the least she could do for a friend. "His company is better than yours, monster."

Enrico could not stop from smirking. "Yes, actually. He impaled me. As for why I still 'live'... I do not know."

He dashed across the main aisle to the other row of pews. He wasn't too experienced in fighting vampires--even when he performed missions for Section XIII, he was always pitted against humans. He knew that even with the City's gift of regeneration, he wasn't as well-equipped as Father Anderson was, and he though he'd read books and reports about vampires, he knew that knowledge would be little use now. He had to rely on Integral.

Vlad's brow furrowed to Enrico's untruth, "Why you mewling little worm. . I am not responsible for those wounds. Had I impaled you, I would have done so in the classical sense and you would still be writhing on whatever it is I would have used. You see that the Hunter might turn against you as well and try to manipulate her."

Then chuckled, "If she is truly of Madam Mina's line, it will not work. Mina was compassionate, yes, but shrewd."

Enrico wasn't worried about having to manipulate a Catholic Integral, but he was worried about the approaching midnight. He hoped to flee to safety before then in case Integral and Alucard returned to normal and attacked him.

"Believe what you will, Count," he remarked, "but I speak only the truth."

Integral fired at Alucard’s head in hopes to hit. Without looking the result, she strode fast on the opposite position where Enrico was, trying to give the vampire the illusion of being trapped from both angles. Kneeling, she regained her guard while using a pew as shield.

“I know him since I was young, vampire. He has no reason to manipulate me,” answered Integral dryly. “We are friends. And you, vampire, are an enemy.”

"You, my dear. . " He purred, "Are my future winepress. ." the bullet took him in the temple and he hissed in pain, flesh sizzling where the silver scraped it. Blood poured from the wound as he dove behind some of the pews as well, clawing at his flesh.

The male, there was something skittish about him. Eyes narrowed, blood smeared over his face, tongue lapping at it, then spatting it out in disgust with the taste of silver tinged in it.

Shifting to mist, he poured himself around behind Enrico and reforming, "I have never tolerated liars."

"And I have never tolerated demons!"

Enrico whirled around and fired twice more: once at the Count's head and another at his heart. He dashed to Integral's side. "Quick, we need a strategy," he hissed. "There is little silver in this cathedral, except maybe the crucifix above the altar. We can't do much with that unless we make him eat it."

Integral was concerned. That creature did intent to take her as his own? A shudder of disgust shock her body. While Dracula was occupied with Maxwell, Integral reloaded the rifle. She did not count with many shots left but hoped it would be enough to bleed the Midian into incapacity.

“Silver will only stop him,” she said, keeping an eye on the vampire. “For a while We must pierce his heart with wood and then cut his head off.” She paused, considering Enrico. “Are you truly dead enough to stake him when he comes close enough?”

"Speaking of me as though I am not here. ." Dracula chuckled. "If he is dead, my dear, then I shall put him to rest." And withdrew the sword from his cane, blade glittering like liquid silver in the light of the church fires.

His movements were quick and Enrico was slow, Dracula dodged the bullets and charged forward, leaping up to attempt to land behind them and take off Enrico's head with the blade in the process.

"I will try--"

Enrico felt the blade against his neck. He put one hand against the sword to fight it, and his other hand pointed the gun at Dracula. The priest shot blindly, but the near proximity of the vampire ensured that Enrico wasn't missing. He grit his teeth against the bite of the sword in his neck and hand.

He hoped to God that the City regenerated lost body parts.

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Log; Ongoing

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