Tea with Lilith, or coffee, or whatever.

Daniel sat just outside En Detante and smiled wistfully, That huge meal or blood had gotten him nice and sloshy and to tell the truth, a little euphoric. Gone were the days when he would go out and get drunk with the sailors in the pier. But he did miss those days sometimes. Lilith was due any minute and Daniel wasn't acostomed to waiting no matter who it was. Still, he'd only just got off his flight so he'd have to be leanient.

Victoria sat with her face in her coffee, a look of absolute hopelessness on her face. Daniel had hoped that their little seperation time would have made her happier but no, her body was still in its teenage years and this was likely to continue for days. Oh well, this wasn't going to dampen his spirits: He was meeting Lilith after such a long time. It was only his work that kept him in the shadows, he'd organize this sort of thing every week if he could. But alas, life didn't allow this and he had to have fun with his hunting. He enjoyed a gas with Lilith. She was patient last time he'd seen her, but sometimes personalityies change over time. He knew this all too well.

It was a beautiful evening: the moon was out along with the stars, her soft glow illuminating the Iffel Tower. It was so nice to be here again, France was a lovely country really. He'd been everywhere as well. And he meant everywhere.

He heard a scraping and a clunk as Victoria slipped into her seat, falling fast asleep. Daniel didn't mind, Victoria had a habit of falling asleep when she was nervous. But this was at night, what kind of vampire was she?

Daniel sighed and leaned back in his seat, pulling his hat over his eyes as a group of humans passed. It was funny, that the High Master of Vampires and a generic killer met in a place almost swarming with humans...when he said swarming, he meant two or three passing every hour. Still, human was human and he settled down to wait for Lilith.

Lillith strolled down the street, taking her time getting to En Detante. She was in no personal rush and she was feeling quite content with herself and most things around her. Having just fed, she supposed that that was bound to be the case, but she had never felt such a feeling of ease within herself. Usually, there was an inner turmoil over something, something that often needed her immediate attention so it could be resolved quickly, efficiently, and easily without further issues or incidences. The fact that she was back within the comfort and beauty of France certainly hadn’t hurt, either, and she felt that old appreciation for the country that was one of the most human things she still possessed.

She was swathed in clothes that weren’t her typical wear, something that matched the other people that passed her on the street. Lillith was known for wearing dresses and dresses alone – certainly not the jeans, sweater, and hat she wore now. But what she typically wore was at odds with the occasional chase and capture she had to do with her victims. Seducing all of them could only work for so long before she grew bored and finally made it to a game of catch the canary. And it certainly didn’t take much to guess who was the cat and who was the canary. She was the cat, always, and she always caught her canary. Some fed her well, and other failed to do much for her, thus causing her to hunt another. But this one...This one had satisfied her quite well – perhaps it was he that had placed her in such a mood? It was a probability, but his emotions had also been quite high and readable, so she had fed on not only his blood, but his mood.

Ah, so that’s what it was.

Her eyes roved to the restaurant that she was meant to meet someone at and she turned, weaving amongst the tables and coming to stand next to the chair. Her eyes turned curious at the sight of a sleeping woman vampire, but she said nothing. Seating herself, she leaned forward in her seat with her elbows resting on the table, fingers clasped together. She was smiling, actually smiling, and they were about to discuss matters that didn’t really warrant a smile. Interesting, she thought, but it didn’t bother her. Too many years of such things had passed for something so trivial to bother her.

“Hello, Daniel,” she greeted, her gaze on him before it flickered to the other vampire briefly.

Daniel pushed his hat out of his eyes and grinned broadly as he saw Lilith. He leaned forwards and kissed her on the hand politely. He wasn't sure if she still liked that kind of thing, he was getting old. Not as old as Lilith but he had more than half a mind to lock that up before her curious ability could seek it out.

"Lilith, it's been too long m'dear." Daniel smiled. It wasn't a natural smile, it was more of a skull's grimace than an actual expression of joy. He never was one to show emotions too outrageously. "I see that you've met Victoria. Alas, she cannot talk herself but we shall continue regardless." Daniel leaned back and sat casually with and arm over one chair. "Now, the Freaks. I trust you received my letter informing you that they're hybrids? Yes...I received your reply so I might continue now?" Daniel, his usual impertenance animating, took out a photograph and placed it before Lilith. "This is a Freak. As you can see the mutation is horrific and they're insane. I killed this one last week and buried her remains in a charcoal pit, just ion case: They all have varying vampire power. Some heal, some are too insane to notice a bullet in their chest." Daniel shook his head, a sad look on his face. He pulled a cigar from the man opposite and flung it into the drain. "Do you mind? I could smell that thing a mile away!" Daniel rocked on his chair then took out another photo and placed it before Lilith. "This is what I did to Infestus before I removed her face." Daniel observed, not a trace of remorse on his lips or in his eyes. He ran a hand through his long hair then tied it back. He set aside his tea and grinned with a slight humour as he took out a picture of the process and handed it to Lilith. "Haven't quite got it right have they? We need to stop this or we'll end up with a lot of second-rate newbie vampires. That'll be fun...I don't want that, no vampire pride at all."

Victoria stirred and looked up at Daniel. She rubbed her eyes and grinned at him.

"Hasn't she shown up?" She asked haughtily. Daniel snorted and pointed to Lilith. Victoria looked round then exclaimed a profanity loudly. Daniel just gripped the bridge of his nose exasperatedly. Victoria spied the pictures and gagged slightly at them. "What the hell have you two been talking about?" She asked nastily. It was then Daniel slapped her. Hard. Across the face.

"Remember who you're talking to wretch!" He growled, an angry vein pulsing in his head. Daniel, still muttering to himself, took from his pocket, something that looked strongly like a pistol except it was smaller and had strange markings up the side. "I found this on Infestus. It belongs to my friend...Shane Lightning. Promise me that you'll find these freak shows and kill them Lilith. I've been doing it for months and I need someone to send a proper task force. Point me and I'll shoot. But...If there's one thing that I must impress, it's this: If Shane's alive then I'm going to personally dig up Infestus and turn her into a Freak then shoot her. She can burn in hell for what she's done." Daniel growled. Victoria rolled her eyes: He'd been talking about Shane since she and he'd got together. It was rather funny, the way he cared for him more than her. And she was his own blood! Literally! She had his blood flowing in her veins. She felt a sudden and irrational surge of jealousy. She hated that moment. Because then she had to admit that she loved him. She wasn't sure in what way, but that was a truth.

Lillith returned his smile, but otherwise said nothing else. They had come to discuss business and her countenance suggested nothing lesser. It was very serious business, at that, for someone or perhaps someones would need to be killed in the end. But wasn’t that always the way...? Certainly seemed as though it were, as far as Lillith was concerned. Things were never simple because vampires and lycanthropes and humans refused to make them such due to greed, the desire for power, and was greed mentioned already? It was precisely why nothing was simple, why nothing was ever simple within this world that they inhabited.

By force of habit, her glance slid sideways to either side simply to ensure that no one was listening too closely. It was standard procedure for the vampire, but her eyes caught something rather interesting from the corner of her eye. A person quite a few seats away was simply sitting there, staring at her and her companions for a moment before they turned away as though they could feel her gaze on them. Narrowing her eyes slightly, she directed her attention back to Daniel, whom was now presenting her with a photograph. She reached a pale hand across the table, sliding it closer to her so she could see it clearly. She had to admit, a Freak was unlike anything she’d seen before and a vampire as old as herself had had quite a lot of time to see many things.

Anything Lillith might have been about to say was cut off by the interruption of Daniel’s companion. Lillith personally didn’t know who the woman was, for she seldom paid attention to whoever didn’t matter to her in an immediate situation. This woman meant nothing to her and was probably some sort of servant to Daniel. Though why he held an immortal as a servant, she couldn’t begin to guess at. Whatever the logistics behind it were, she did not care to ponder them; instead, she folded her hands under her chin once more, waiting for their banter to recede so that business could be discussed as they’d planned in the beginning. Patience, however, was never her thing regardless of how content she was at having fed just a few minutes previously.

“Remind me again what Infestus has done, Daniel,” she demanded quietly, pondering through her mind. Infestus, she was sure, had a record that was far more than a mile long and any one thing could have gotten her killed. Looking to the table where the lone person had been sitting moments before, she noted that the table was empty but her thoughts were no longer on that person. At that moment, she was putting together a guard, of sorts, to send to kill these Freaks. A few people came to her mind at once for the task, and she nodded to herself as though giving approval. “I already have a few people in mind that I can send. Where was the last known location? What more information can you give?” No longer did she look almost bored and disinterested – she was leaning across the table a bit and her attention was focused solely on Daniel.

Daniel surveyed Lilith. She hadn't changed much. But this was a bad time for humans and Daniel wanted to make it worse. They were thankless and selfish.. No more than castle to those of superior standing.

"Simple:Walter, the biochemist from a few years back, decided that in order to survive, the humans must evolve and fast. He stole some of our blood and used it to make an army of these things. He was too scared of what he created and stopped before it got out of hand. Hellsing took them in and used them as their own private army. I fitted into this when Infestus asked me to do her a favour, she tricked me into signing a contract that gave her control over me until she died. Didn't quite think it through." Daniel said nastily. He looked round and saw the kissing couples. His throat started to burn. He got up suddenly and whispered something to Victoria then departed suddenly. Victoria groaned and went to sit in Daniel's seat.

"I can fill you in from here." Victoria said, straightening her skirt. "He met me when they found that Priest. I was sent to kill him by Hellsing but was trapped and almost killed. Daniel saved my life by turning me." Her eyes softened when she came to respect this solid truth. "He and I killed the scumbag and Infestus came running at us with her Freaks. We, Daniel and I, decided that we should do some research on our way over here.We found out that the Vampires in Texas are disappearing and we think that it's because of this sideshow experiment of Hellsing's. We planned to go see what's up when Daniel decided that he wanted to see you. So here we are." Victoria finished somewhat Lamely. She looked at the alleyway where Daniel had disappeared and saw him staring. She looked determinedly in the opposite direction.

Daniel returned with a look of horror on his face soon after. His eyes were streaked with red and a dark aura seemed to glow around him. His eyes had a dead look to them that made him look slightly insane. His frown exposed several of his fangs and he was shaking with suppressed rage. He looked so angry that one word could set him off.

"Catacombs....Moscow...Freaks....Kill them." Daniel spat through gritted teeth. He walked over to the table and grabbed a mug of coffee then threw it fiercely against a wall. Victoria recoiled in surprise as a great black serpent rose from his back and struck a nearby human. She convulsed a couple of times while the venom acted on her then she died with red froth on her lips. Daniel was still breathing hard and looking for more things to bite when Victoria buried her head in his chest. He looked down then wrapped his arms around her.

"They've got him...Shane. Not just got him...they made him a Freak like the rest!" Daniel roared, another human fell to his rage. He was so angry that his body was arched, a hand over his face and more serpents bursting from his back. "Lilith....Permission to take my control down to Level 0?" Daniel asked through gritted teeth. His sorrow and anger made him bound out into the darkness before he'd received an answer. Victoria looked after him, a sad look on her face that made her look her actual age of seventy. Victoria sank into a chair and put her face in her hands, quaking with sobs as she realised just how pointless she was to Daniel. He had no love for anyone...not even for her. He just felt the rage of four hundred years and acted upon that. What if her whole existence had just been a mistake? What if he'd just saved her because he wanted a pet? A...servant? Victoria's eyes pricked with tears. Daniel's howls of grief and rage could be heard from the Tower as he climbed it to catch some humans hiding at the top. He wanted every human to pay for what they'd done to him and his friends. Maybe he'd lost the ability to love now. All he had was hate and rancour the living as he sought a revenge upon those who never deserved it. He'd corrupted his mission in life and so became an absolute monster. He'd become what he'd hated.

Victoria looked up at Lilith. She twisted her skirt and sniffed.

"I'm so sorry...crying in your presence like a baby. I should show you more respect then that. You must forgive Daniel. He's never been this angry...." Victoria burst into tears again, thinking on what she'd just said: He'd never been that angry when her life was in danger. He was such an insensitive jerk! Her sorrow soon turned to hatred as Daniel's footsteps were heard as he returned from the tower, his red coat splattered with dark blood.

(OOC: and to round things off nicely! Strong language used once!)

Daniel's eyes weren't dead now: they were alive with a fury that made him look more frightening then ever. Victoria's rage not only matched his but exceeded it tenfold. How dare he? How dare he asume that because he created her that she wasn't worth as much if not more than him. She drew her thirty calibre cannon and pointed it at Daniel. Daniel instantly dodged the bullet, a hole appearing in his coat. Daniel drew his pistol and shot Victoria through the shoulder. She had to thank god that he wasn't using his incendiary rounds. But a shot to the heart or head would kill her easily. She loaded another bullet and shot at Daniel. He dodged that one as well by flipping over sideways. He then touched down and straightened his hat. The look on his face made Victoria drop her gun to the ground. She stared down the barrel of Daniel's gun and waited for the end. She couldn't hurt him, he was too precious to her. She turned around and shouted to Lilith for help. But she found her vocal cords obstructed by a large knife that was in her throat.

"In the name of the father, the son and of the holy ghost...Eh?" A dark, silky voice chuckled. Daniel turned to see a man of huge preportions with blonde spiky hair and a crusifix. He was human and stood with a pair of DeathStrikes in his hands. Daniel saw Victoria fall in slow motion. The bullet was in the Slayer's head before she'd even touched the ground. He was dead and bleeding, an insane grin frozen onto his dead lips. Daniel rushed over to Victoria and cradled her head in his lap. His face was so tender...almost fatherly. Victoria was glad to see him this way. She coughed up blood and smiled up at him lovingly. Daniel's face wa suddenly thrown into shadow. His body was rock steady as he stood up and left her on the ground. She was a vampire...she had to recover. Daniel turned away from her and started to walk away. His hat was on the floor in a puddle. He bent down and took the crusifix from the man and scrunched it into a ball. A fake. Not even blessed, he was low in the Hellsing organisation. Daniel then discovered that he was Russian by the accent. He'd been sent to stop him...or bait him there. Daniel would rise to this bait. He turned to Lilith and took off his sunglasses.

"Take care of her Lilith. They have interfered with my plans and this is now personal. Infestus may be dead but her father still lives. So do the Freaks. I want them dead and they're in the moscow catacombs. I'm goin there to kill them. Send men if you wish but I will not slow down for any of them. I hope it's not another two hundred years before we meet again. " Daniel said emotionlessly. His dead, flat voice unerved Victoria. He'd never seen him like this. She understood so little of this ancient vampire and this made her unduely angry. She tried to get up but flopped back down onto the ground.

"I'm comin' too!" Victoria yelled. Daniel surveyed her with an uninterested glare then turned. Victoria dragged herself after him, her legs had given out and blood was dripping from her throat as she tried to follow Daniel. "You owe me! Don't leave me...!" She saw that he wasn't stopping and cried into the sidewalk, Daniel's footsteps showing that he had no emotion for such a little vampire. His foosteps stopped for a momment then he spoke.

"While we're apart...grow up." Daniel shot at her, then carried on walking. Victoria's eyes brimmed with tears of rage. She pulled herself to her feet and limped after the much faster form of Daniel.

"Get back here...you bastard..." Victoria swore through gritted teeth then fell onto the path again.