"Lift your head, Alucard."

A weak smile etched itself into his face. "Master," he breathed, "it's been so long since I've seen you. Where have you been?"

"Raising children."

If the dracul had been sipping on his cherished Type AB, he would've choked on it. He jerked his head up to her with disbelief. Alucard had only been gone ten years, how could she get it in her head that it was alright to start spawning? His eyes scanned around her, finding nothing more than a few stray blond hairs spilling out to her side-

Wait a second.

The No-Life King leaned in slightly and willed his eyes to look closer. What he saw made his empty stomach turn. Not one, but two little Hellsings stood just behind their mother's legs, gripping onto her fingers. Slowly, he raised his gaze back to meet hers and never made an ounce of an attempt to hold in his anger. "You what?"

Integra's lips curled upwards. "I became a mother, Alucard. Aren't you happy for me?" The smug look spread across her face like wildfire. "No, don't speak. The look on your face is enough for now." The woman reached behind her back to grip onto each of her children. She pulled them foward and stepped closer to the man on the magnificent throne. "This," she pulled on the scruffy young boy's hand, "is Maxwell, and this," she lifted the girl's hand, "is Susan. I didn't want you to meet them until they were older, but for the past few weeks they've been sneaking down here. Now that you've returned for good, I figured they were ready to meet you." She paused then, her eyes glazing over the pair beside her and then looked back up at Alucard. Integra gave a curt nod before turning on her heel and walking towards the exit. "You two do your business," she called over her shoulder, "I'll have Walter pick you up in an hour."

Then the woman's steps disappeared and the sound of the mirror sliding back into place found their way to the children's ears. They each began to sweat, inching closer and closer to each other until they were holding hands. It was easy to tell just how scared they were.

The, very grumpy, vampire sat still in his place. "Who's 'Walter'?" Surely it couldn't be his Walter, the man had died from the explosion of the zeplin.

The twins jumped at the voice, their bodies coming closer together. "W-What?" It was the girl that spoke up first, much to Alucard's surprise, but her voice was so low that even he had to strain to hear it.

Alucard shifted in his seat so that his elbows rested on his knees. "I said, 'Who is Walter?'"

Maxwell looked at his sister, swallowed down hard, and then took his turn to speak. "Walter Dornez, our butler. He takes care of us when Mum is busy." His voice held much more confidence than his sibling, but still not enough to impress the vampire.

"Dornez?" he repeated, the mirth returning to his words. The monster grinned. "He's still alive? The man is nearing eighty by now!" he laughed. "If the crash didn't kill him, his age should have."

The twins exchanged a look of great confusion before turning back to the man.

"Eighty?" pipped Susan.

"You're soft in the head, vampire," spoke Maxwell evenly, "Walter doesn't look a day over thirty."

Susan nodded. "He's younger than Sir Integra."

Alucard looked from one twin to the other as he felt utterly lost at their words. Perhaps his old friend didn't die, perhaps the last ten years of his life were nothing but a dream - maybe he had died and gone to hell! The last thought made the old man chuckle before he turned his attention to the children. "I guess time went backwards," he mumbled, "or just straight to hell." He leaned back into his throne and waved the children off. "Alright, time for you to leave. I'm sure you have an ant to fry or noses to pick."

"We aren't leaving." The curt reply came from the girl. "We aren't done with you and he isn't here yet."

"Done with me?" The vampire looked incredious. "Young lady, if I were you, I'd watch my mouth. If you weren't her child your blood would be the new paint on these walls."

"Don't you talk to her that way, she's a lady." It was the boy's turn to rear up. "You will do no such thing and you will not speak that way to us anymore." Maxwell gave him the best glare he could, which was quite a laughable thing for the dracul. "We may not look like much, but we can put up one hell of a fight."

If there was one thing Alucard couldn't stand, it was a brat talking back at him. One could easily imagine how his blood boiled when he had two of them, locked in his cell with no witnesses, and couldn't lay a hand on their pretty little heads. So, instead of maiming the two, he crossed his legs and laid his folded hands in his lap. He took in a deep breath before speaking again. "Is that so? Well, I should hold my tongue then, shouldn't I?"

The man, Susan noted, was errily calm. It unsettled her somewhat, but she found comfort in the fact that he didn't blow up at them like most adults would. So, feeling somewhat safe, she decided to keep her mouth shut and cease the arrogant charade.

"That would be the smartest thing to do, yes." Maxwell had stopped shaking, he had even let go of his sister so he could take a step closer to the beast. Unlike his sibling, his manners had gone straight down the toilet. "Like she said, we aren't done with you, so don't go into your shell all they way yet."

"What assistance could I possibly offer you, child?"

"You can help me get to know more about you. Tell me what you are."

Alucard smirked. "You don't know? I thought Integra said you two were trying to get your grubby little selves into this place."

"Just because we wanted to explore doesn't mean that we know your life story," replied the boy. "Tell me what you are."

"A monster."

"A monster?" Susan jumped back into the conversation, her tone drowning in consern. "What sort of monster?"

"He isn't a monster, stupid," hissed Maxwell, "There's no such thing."

"Maxwell, don't call me stupid! I was just asking a question."

"God, you're such a little kid!"

"I'm seven years old, you twit. Just what the hell did you expect?"

"Before you two give me a headache," Alucard shouted above the bickering, "I'll answer your question." He looked at Susan calmly and spoke slowly so the child would understand. "I'm a vampire."

The two fell silent, thier wide eyes looking at nothing but the man on the throne. They looked to eachother a moment later, back to Alucard, back to each other, and then gave the dracul one last look.

"Yes?" Alucard's irritation was etched into his face by now. "What is it?"

"Vampires aren't real, dummy," giggled Susan.

"They aren't?"

"Of course not."

The beast looked amused at her disbelief. "Perhaps I should show you proof?" he suggested. "I'd hate to be thought of as a liar."

The girl feel silent and her gaze slipped over to meet her brother's. It seemed that she believed in him - a very small part of her did, but it was much more than her brother - and she also seemed to not want to chance whatever grave they were to dig themselves in if they accepted his offer. She opened her mouth to decline, but her brother's tongue was quicker to act.

"A monster is a better title than a liar?" deadpanned Maxwell. "Nevermind, what sort of tricks did you have prepared for us, Vampire?"

Alucard looked around the bare room, dismayed to find that nothing could really help the brats believe him - not that he really cared, but he still had more than ten minutes to kill before this 'Walter' came to take them away and he refused to spend it with them heckling him about what he was - so he settled for the obvious. His bones, stiff from age, creaked and popped as his body lifted from it's comfortable perch. A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth as he saw the children gape at his hight. "Nothing too impressive, boy," purred the creature as he sauntered over towards them, "but it's enough for tots like you." He stopped his advance when he was a foot away from them and knelt so that he was closer to their eye level. He took a moment to fumble with the glove on his right hand before reaching it out to the children. "Go ahead, touch."

Susan spared no time; her tiny hand gripped a cold, bony finger and gasped. "He's freezing!"

Maxwell rolled his eyes and followed his sister's actions. "So what? It's poor circulation, most people have it."

The dracul smiled then. The boy's ignorance really was amusing. "Aren't you just a treat."

"Maxwell, his teeth!"

"Bad dental plan," he huffed. "He's living in a basement with no windows, do you really expect him to have a decent enough job to cover braces?" Maxwell looked over the man's sharp teeth once more before adding a scoff. "He's poor, not a demon."

Susan let out a frustrated sigh and looked back at the monster with curious eyes. "I think they're marvelous," she said sweetly.

"You're missing three teeth, you don't know anything about a marvelous mouth," snapped the scruffy twin. "Stop oggling him like that. He's daft, and a freak; and if he really is a demon like he claims, then we shouldn't get too close."

The little girl ignored her brother's words and let her hand roam to his neck, the colour draining from her face after a moment or two of lingering there. "Brother," she said, almost out of breath, "he has no pulse."

In that instant, Maxwell grabbed onto his sister roughly before yanking her away from the monster. "Idiot," he hissed, "you don't know how to check it properly, that's all. Let's go, I'm done with him." Susan whimpered in protest as her hands began to paw away the boy's grip. Finally, he threw the girl to the ground. "Fine, stay here and get gobbled up by the basement troll! See what I care!"

"Stop yelling at me, Maxwell! I hate it when you yell." Susan grabbed onto her reddened wrist, slowly pushing herself off the concrete ground. When she stood tall and proud, she reached out and shoved the boy. Hard. "And don't ever push me again!"

He had been caught off gaurd by her retaliation, but it didn't get him falling on the ground. After he caught himself from stumbling, he pushed her again, but this time was much harder than the last. "Or what?" he barked as she stumbled back until tripping on her feet and landing on her rear. "Gonna cry like you always do?"

Alucard let out a heavy sigh as the scene played out. He was in no mood to babysit, especially if the children weren't even his own, but the children seemed to forget to act like adults when things got physical. He rose and was ready to turn back to his seat when he heard a feral growl emit from the child on the ground. His eyes focused on her alone, a small glint of excitment showing up in his eyes when he saw the anger twisted on her features.

Susan let out another roar as she lept from the ground and onto her brother, her left fist colliding heavily to his jaw. The boy fell down in an instand, and she was gripping onto his collar to lift him up to her face in no time. "I'm not going to cry, I'm going to kill you!" she spat. He wiggled out of her grasp and moved hastily towards the steps, not forgetting to mutter a crazy broad under his breath before he was out of sight.

The girl kept her back towards the vampire, fidgiting uncomfortably; she suddenly felt like she was being watched too hard. She barely glanced over her shoulder when she saw the glowing, blood red eyes boring into her. Her body stiffened, but not so much that she couldn't scurry out soon after her brother did. While Susan wanted to be brave enough to wait for Walter, the thought of being alone in a dark room with a real vampire made her skin crawl.

The vampire stayed behind in the darkness of his home, contenplating on what just happened. He knew that Integra would never allow the both of them to control him when she retired her title as master, it would be too difficult getting the clashing personalities to work together in harmony, and while he hoped all of them would die before his master passed, all little part of him seemed to be alright with being under the girl's rule. While she seemed scattered, she wasn't unnessicary violent. And, while Alucard did enjoy violence, the impulsive display of dominance that Maxwell seemed to give off just wouldn't do.

A smirk found it's way to his lips again. "Yes," he said to himself, "I wouldn't mind the girl." He turned on his heels and moved to his 'bed'. "So long as she kept her temper in check."

Why, hello there! Thank you for reading this new chapter I put up.

I've decided to scrap the old story - it was too short and a little bit..

Anyway, it will have the same points as the old chapters did, however this story may go a little slower than the other one.

Constructive criticism is always welcome.

I do not own Hellsing.

1. I'm following the OVA's (very, very loosely, might I add), not the anime.
2. Instead of Alucard being gone for thirty years, I changed it to ten. Susan and Maxwell are both seven in this chapter.
3. Walter is not dead. They found him barely alive in the aftermath of the zeppelin crash, treated him, and now he's aging like a regular human should - he should look about mid-twenties by now.