They had somehow tapped into the seal. Walter was dead, as was Seras, leaving Alucard and Integra in the Hellsing office. Magic, to think that a cult of wika uses and vampires would be able to topple the Hellsing organization. Delving into the seal, they left the vampire paralyzed in agony on the floor as a man held a knife to Integra's throat, her wrists bound with her own tie. She listened quietly to the fate the users of magic gave them.
Alucard would come into their possession and Integra would be locked away, her life sustained for the purpose of using the vampire.
My God. How could this have happened? Alucard was immobilized and we fell apart? Were we really that unstable? That weak? Walter was old, Seras weak and inexperienced, the mercenaries were humans with bullets against humans with magic and vampires. And now what was it that held Alucard back? It was Hellsing…it was the seal… God. We were so useless?
Her sight was fuzzy as her glasses glinted on the other side of the room, but she could see Alucard trying not to scream, paralyzed as he tried to mask his suffering. All this time…he has been Hellsing. He has been the strength. He has been all that mattered. Her eyes dulled, her mind set.
She pulled away from the blade, causing the hand to bring it closer to her. She pulled further until she shook with the strain. Her face was empty of the struggle though and she was deaf to the taunts she received.
"It's useless. You can't…"
Integra closed her eyes when the tip of the blade pricked into her throat, just as she had planned. She threw her body forward, hardly feeling the blade rip through her throat and blood poured down her chest.
"FUCKING BITCH!"
The hand fell away from the handle and sight became darkness. As the final light faded and her body fell forward, Integra's blue eyes turned to the vampire whose lost expression was the last memory she held. Integra Wingsgate Hellsing fell forward, resting on the floor her predecessors had often walked upon. She was dead…as was the seal.
As if the devil had opened a portal into Hell, the air in the room burst into flame, incinerating the mages and the few vampires among them, leaving the body of the dead woman untouched. The orange flames turned blue and then black before they were withdrawn into the vampire who swallowed the souls so that they could rest in the Hell of his damned soul.
Alucard stood in the lifeless mansion and looked upon his Master's peaceful face. He stepped forward silently and took up the body into his arms, cradling it against his empty chest.
Rain was pouring from the blackened heavens, dripping down the icy pale cheeks of the nosferatu. Blood mixed with the tears of Life, dripping onto the body in Alucard's arms. Light suddenly broke into the darkness, pulling the vampire into an empty void.
Anderson paused, making his rounds past the children's rooms with one of the nuns at the orphanage. He turned and walked to the spiral staircase that led to the entrance. Sister Margareta found his sudden distraction out of character but she finished the round before following him.
The priest stopped at the door, clearly feeling a presence. Anderson opened the door and caught the body that fell towards him without thinking, but as he secured his grip, he saw the red coat. Shock stole his reason, and he continued to hold up the vampire from falling to the floor. Against his chest, Anderson felt another form.
"Jesus bloody Christ."
The nun heard him from the stair and she gasped at the language. "Father Anderson?" she stammered and her foot left the last stair. She lost the motion of moving forward when she saw that the priest was lowering a body to the ground. When he stood up and positioned himself to removed the woman from the black haired man's arms, the nun somehow moved to his side.
"She's dead. Integra Hellsing is dead." He was whispering as he picked up the body and rose to his feet. There was a second in which time stopped so that the events could solidify in the moment. Anderson turned and walked past the nun. "Call Maxwell, Sister." He murmured as he went to the left, towards his room. "And close the door, but don't touch him."
The poor nun trembled when the door to the priest's room shut down the hall and she walked unsteadily to the door, locking it. A phone was in the kitchen and she forced herself to the leave the body on the floor.
Father Anderson laid the cold corpse on his bed, forgetting that the woman wasn't Catholic purposefully. He observed her eternal slumber, feeling his heart pounding in his chest, echoing in his ears.
The priest could hear the nun's voice from the kitchen when he returned to the entrance. Soon the sound faded but the nun didn't return. Maxwell had probably advised her not to expose herself to the situation, Anderson thought numbly when he stood over the vampire. For several minutes, he couldn't bring himself to do more than stare in disbelief.
"Why did you come here?" the paladin whispered and leaned down to look at the vampire's face that was veiled by strands of ebony hair. Chewing on his lip, Anderson tried to grasp the situation. His teeth bit down and a trickle of blood flowed down his chin just as blood was slipping like tears from the vampire's eyes, onto the floor. A door shutting on the upper level snapped him back into reality and his looked up at the ledge above him as a small face came into view. The child's eyes widened and he rushed to the stairs. Anderson met the child before he reached the last step and picked him up, carrying him back to his room.
"What happened, Father? Who is…?"
"Hush, Michael. Go to sleep and do not get up again tonight."
"But…"
He opened the door and shut the boy inside.
The vampire was the same as the priest had left him. With a growl, Anderson acknowledged that the vampire couldn't remain there, but he didn't have it in him to put the creature outside in the rain. It felt wrong, just in general, to do such a thing under such cercumastances. He slowly knelt to pick up the vampire, but realized how heavy the drenched coat was. Removing it, he let it fell to the ground by the door. He awkwardly pulled the vampire into his arms, just as he had done for Integra, and he moved to the seclusion of his room. Once inside, he didn't have any other choice then to place him on the rug that stretched out from under the priest's bed.
Anderson withdrew from the room and met with the starch nun, ushering her to bed. He remained by the window at the entrance where he could see the door to his room. Several cars pulled up and Anderson recognized two Iscariot members and then Maxwell, overlooking the other faces.
Heinkel Wolfe opened the door and led the number of priests into the orphanage. Yumie Takagi walked in with Maxwell who was smiling slightly. He looked down at the droplets of blood on the floor and his teeth were revealed in an unpleasant grin.
"So she's dead?"
Anderson nodded.
"So that means the nosferatu is gone as well." Maxwell's chuckle was cut short when Anderson glared at him, frowning.
"You should not laugh at the dead, Maxwell."
"But I have reason to, with the death of Alucard…"
"The vampire isn't dead."
The members of Iscariot went rigid as Maxwell stiffened. "What?" he choked. "The woman said that there were two corpses. A man wearing red and then a blond woman with a wound on her neck. Are you telling me he's here…?"
"He's in my room, unconscious." Anderson's voice broke for a moment. "He passed out at the door."
Maxwell stared with wide eyes as the others instantly went to the paladin's room. Their footsteps drew out the other nuns from their rooms, but Anderson told them to go back as he tried to get into his room before it filled.
Heinkel gaped at Integra's body and then the vampire, stopping in the middle of the room. Yumie passed the other nun, drawing out her katana.
The blade slashed downward, but was halted when Anderson gripped the nun's wrist. Her eyes emerged from behind her bangs and she looked questioningly at the priest.
"Don't." he said quietly. "This is not the place for such a thing." He let go of her and motioned for someone to come take Integra's body. The shadow of the Iscariot priest fell over the vampire's face as he went to the bed and then left the room. A hush fell over the silence when a few gasps broke it. Father Anderson had bent down and was now carrying the vampire out of the room. Maxwell blinked when the two past by, but he hurried out the door when Anderson continued towards the cars.
"Anderson? What are you doing? What in God's name are you thinking?" his voice was weak and he mumbled his words as he followed the priest, watching the vampire's face, expecting Hell to break loose at any moment.
"He can't stay here."
"I know that!" the bishop hissed, scowling. "Why haven't you killed him?"
Anderson was quiet and he stopped beside a black car door. "Can you open it?"
"No! Kill him, Anderson! Kill the demon!" Maxwell stepped back as Heinkel brushed past him to open the door.
"Heinkel, Yumie, we're going." Anderson moved the vampire to the other side of the backseat as the two nuns got into the front seats. Headlights turned on in front of them and a car drove off. Anderson ignored Maxwell and got into the car and closed the door. The bishop hit the window in frustration before the car started, following the other.
Maxwell kicked at the concrete, snarling as the car faded into the night and water dripped from his white hair.
The priest ran his hand over his face, under his glasses, before he noticed that Yumie was peering at him from the passenger seat.
"Honorable Father." She said and her eyes moved to the vampire. "Why are we doing this?"
"It was not the time nor the place to kill in such cold blood."
"But he's…" she abandoned the topic as she saw the priest's solemn face.
"Monsters can't cry."
The Japanese nun's eyes widened in surprise and confusion. "You mean to say, Father, that…"
"Yes."
The car fell into silence and the priest's green eyes reflected in his window as he watched the vampire in it. The rain beat steadily on the pane of the glass, rainclouds cloaking the moon's face.
The car stopped behind the identical car that was already parked before the building. The Iscariot were not stationed in the Vatican, but rather outside the city, in a part of Rome unvisited by tourists. It was discreet and humble, but it served as HQ for the paladin's and nuns. Father Anderson carried the vampire up the stairs, behind the nuns who were to open the double doors for him.
Heinkel inquired to where Integra had been placed, and the paladin brought the vampire into a room neighboring hers.
"Why did we bring her body here?"
Heinkel looked at Yumie and then Anderson after the other nun asked the question.
"We don't know what happened, or who might still be after her. A morgue is not a safe place for her body to rest."
"Why, though. Really why are we helping them?"
Once again, the priest left her question unanswered.
The vampire did not wake up that night, or the following day as the nuns watched him in shifts. Anderson remained in one of the two rooms at all times, seen as the only one that would have a chance if the vampire chose to attack.
Night fell again without the rain lessening, and Heinkel's hand rested on the curtain as she parted it to watch the rain. It was midnight and Yumie had retired, though her shift would begin at five.
"A nun dressed as a priest."
The nun instinctively pulled out her pistols and aimed them at the red eyes that watched her from the bed. She scowled at him but couldn't help but ponder his words. "How did you know that I'm a woman?"
"Integra dresses…." His voice tailed off and his eyes widened. The abrupt movement of his sitting up caused the nun to fire, the shots alerting Anderson and the Japanese nun, both of whom broke into the room, blades drawn. Anderson had arrived before the nun and he stepped before the bed.
Alucard was staring blankly at the sheets, still sitting upright as blood flowed back into his chest, oblivious of the bullets that had just ripped into his body.
"What happened?"
The Iscariots froze at the question. Anderson lowered his bayonets. "You showed up at my orphanage…in Rome, vampire. We moved both of you to the Iscariot…"
"Where is she?" Anderson stepped back as the vampire suddenly appeared before him, grasping his grey cassock roughly.
"Hellsing is dead, Alucard. She was dead when you brought her…" Anderson's eyes were wide as they looked down at the vampire's warped emotions.
"I know that she's dead."
The whisper stole the paladin's words and the nuns shifted uncomfortably, though Yumie was still glaring at the vampire with cold antipathy.
"Where is her body?"
Anderson looked at the face and turned to the door without glancing at the nuns. The vampire followed him into the next room, but passed him, reaching the bed first. He looked down at her, his eyes reflecting the cleaned wound on her neck. His fingers brushed her cheek, making the Iscariot's eyes widen at the gentle gesture. His fingers lingered for a moment before pulling away into a tight fist that fell to his side.
"What happened, vampire?" Alucard looked at the paladin over his shoulder and his eyes moved to the wall to their left, finding it a bare white.
"It was the seal."
The Vatican opts were quiet.
"We didn't even know who they were. Suddenly these humans that could use spells and even a spare vampire or two attacked the estate, killing off the mercenaries on arrival. I confronted them next, but they had somehow could manipulate the seal that bound me to the Hellsings…triggering it."
"What do you mean?" Anderson said frowning, and though the vampire seemed to be speaking to himself, a quiet voice answered.
"Pain. In the beginning I was manipulated by pure agony when Abraham was my Master. They used that to immobilize me. They killed Seras Victoria, burning her body to ash. Next they killed Walter. They were going to take her alive…to keep the seal in existence so that they could use me…for God knows what." A mirthless chuckle filled the room, but left when an ironic smile twisted Alucard's face. He laughed once more before continuing. "They were after me. That's what it was all about." His eyes were empty as he laughed at the absurdity.
"But why would they kill her if…?"
"She killed herself." Alucard's eyes darkened and he snarled turning from the wall. Anderson saw his anger leave him as he looked down at the body. "She killed herself to prevent them from taking me. Feh." The vampire grew quiet.
Heinkel went to Anderson's side, holding her pistols towards the vampire. "Then that means you're free." The words made Anderson and Yumie stiffen. "The seal died with her then, as you said."
"Yes, Nun, I am free from the Hellsings. My powers are no longer restricted."
A bullet buried itself in Alucard's shoulder.
"What are you planning on doing with her, Judas Priest?"
Heinkel blinked as he stood, unfazed, and the priest had to stop her from shooting at him again.
"We'll return the body to England. Who can take care of the funeral?"
"I'm the only one left." There was a pause. "The Queen can, I've known her long enough and Hellsing has served her for over a hundred years…she can spare me a favor or two. But…" Alucard moved to face the priest and the nuns. "You had no reason to help."
"You have no reason not to slaughter at random now, yet you aren't. You haven't drawn your pistols once since you arrived."
"That means nothing, though…" the vampire glanced at his clothes. "…they were in my coat, which seems to be missing."
Anderson blanched, alarming the nuns. "Those guns were in it?" he put his bayonets away and turned to the door.
"What is it, Priest?"
Anderson stopped at the door, looking back at the stares. "I left it by the door of the orphanage…for all I know one of the children might find it before the nuns do."
"Your orphanage is just outside the Vatictican…we are in Rome right?"
Anderson hesitated. "You should know…"
"I didn't remember going to your orphanage, I don't know where it is and how I was able to cross the ocean and reach Italy in a single night, without grave dirt, carrying her. It should be impossible."
The realization shocked the room into a mute silence.
"I'm returning to England, I can reach relations to the Hellsing organization." Alucard walked to the bed.
"Your guns…" the Iscariot members stared as the trench coat materialized on the vampire.
Alucard lifted one of his pistols but put it back in his coat. The macabre action of the vampire taking up the dead body stole anger from the room. Anderson watched in silence while Heinkel grimaced. The body was stiffened. The vampire's empty, and remained so when Anderson stopped him.
"You can use a phone here. Leave her until everything is settled." Alucard set down the body in response and Anderson brought a phone from the corner of the room.
The vampire dialed a number and the silence prompted the nuns to replace their weapons. Alucard listened to the secretary's recording and chose the option for individual extention number. "Extension 34590Hellsing." The phone rang three times before someone answered, clearly trying to be alert.
"Hello?"
"Mr. Penwood."
The voice paused. "Sorry, who is this?"
"You were an aquantance of both of my previous Masters. Both were known to be quite demanding, so my request should not seem so."
"Hellsing? YOU HAVE A CONNECTION WITH HELLSING?"
The Iscariots heard the voice and looked at the vampire whose face was unreadable.
"Yes, you know me, though we have never met."
"Walter? No…" the voice became sad. "He's dead…Integra! WHERE IS INTEGRA! WHO IS THIS?"
"This is the vampire Alucard."
"Oh thank God! The she's…!"
"Mr. Penwood, my Master has passed away."
There was silence, then a sob. "No! How? But…" the voice choked. "You're that vampire?"
"Yes."
"There was the theory, how they were killed…by the vampire. You would have died if you were pro…"
"What exactly do you think you are accusing me of?"
Anderson jerked as he realized what had happened.
"I did not kill them! I could not have attacked the mansion! I was bound to the Hellsings and I would never have killed my own fledgling!"
"So, Seras Victoria is not with you?" the nervous voice calmed Alucard to some extent.
"No, her ashes should by near the area where Walter's body was found…but I have somehow found myself in Rome, outside the Vatican. I want a way to bring Integra's body back to England."
"Rome? How? Uh…A ship would take a day or more…I can get you a jet, but perhaps not a pilot…"
"I don't need a pilot, as jet is perfect."
Mr. Penwood gave the details of the airport and promised to give his approval so that the vampire could take the jet without trouble. The time was set at five a.m. the next morning.
Alucard hung up the phone while Mr. Penwood was suddenly overcome by the identity of the man he had been speaking to…the Hellsing vampire…he shivered as he dialed the next number.
"I'll assume you heard my plans?" Alucard handed the phone to the paladin.
"We can provide transportation to the airport." Anderson said as he but the phone on its charger. "It's eleven now."
The vampire was silent, looking out the window whose curtains were drawn back.
Anderson alone drove the vampire and his Master to the airport where a jet and a pilot awaited them. Before closing the door of the backseat of the car, Alucard paused.
"Thank you."
Anderson flinched when the door shut and he looked out his back window to see the vampire walk away. Months later he was walking outside, watching the children play after their midday meal.
"So this is your everyday life, Judas priest?"
Anderson found the vampire standing before him.
"What are you doing here?" the paladin growled, glancing at the children.
Alucard noticed but ignored his hostility. "I've found that I have idle time to spare."
"What of the order that attacked…"
"Dead. I massacred them."
Anderson's eyes narrowed but he said nothing.
"I came to visit."
"It's day…and it's not easy for vampires to cross bodies of water."
"I have a jet."
"The one from…"
"I bought one of my own."
Anderson stared at him.
"I was the soul inheritor of the Hellsing fortune, Anderson. I don't need it for anything as money for blood has always come from the Crown. As long as I kill vampires I'll be welcomed in England."
"You took over the organization?"
"Not officially, I hunt independently, as my only attachment would have been for transportation, but I fixed that."