Disclaimer: All characters, settings, and plots belonging to the Hellsing manga or anime are property of Kouta Hirano. I am not profiting from this fiction and am merely writing it in tribute to a series I fully appreciate. Appreciate indeed.

Authors' Note: The following fiction is and will be posted in no less than (200) two-hundred and no more than (1000) one-thousand word chapters, which will range from shorter or longer depending entirely upon what type of brick my muse hits me with beforehand. As I do not have a beta at this time, please feel free to let me know of any grammatical errors if they happen to slip by me.

Oh, and children! Review, Review, Review! We writers have egos to feed...the Ids hunger often.

Shattered Melody: The Prelude

Many years ago, when England suffered the brunt of the Thousand Year empires' remnants, we lost many allies and enemies alike. The 'we' consisting of Sir Integral Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing, Knight of the Round table and young leader of the Hellsing organization, which empowered by our departed majesty the Queen, was in place to protect our crown and country by hunting and slaying the unnatural and damned creatures of the earth. Alongside Integral, myself, Seras Victoria: a young police woman turned vampire, Commander to Sir Hellsing's army. We lost our citizens, our soldiers, our mercenaries, our Captain and our Retainer, but most importantly, we lost our Count.

My Master.

Her servant.

More than any other loss, his was felt the greatest. Sir Integral lost her knight and I lost my savior.

Yet there was no time for mourning, no time to linger in the details of what could have happened. I still felt my Master, lost as he was, and so reassured of his imminent return I continued on. Sir Hellsing, with her iron will, made her way back to the Hellsing estate to await word from the Queen as her duty dictated, and I scoured the city destroying left over FREAKS per my orders.

If either of us faltered, it was in private. If either of us wept, it was in solitude. If either of our thoughts darkened on unwelcome paths, it was in the confines of our own minds. There was no time or room in the reconstruction of Hellsing, of England for that matter, to show weakness as Integral and myself suffered in the aftermath of our first war.

So as the days, weeks, months, and eventually... years, passed and Sir Integral lost all hope in the return of the Count while busying herself with the organization and all its affairs, I waited.

I took watch, stepping into the role of my Master, and trained myself. I pushed myself to limits to show my worth upon his return. I would not fail Sir Integral while he was away. I would protect her so that no further treachery ever poisoned the veins of the Hellsing machine. I would not fail my Master.

And so far, I haven't.

"Mas...ter...!"

"...Mast..er...!"

"MASTER!"

Crimson eyes opened slowly, focusing in from the daze of a sleep that was thought to be impossible. Dark hair framed a pale face and strong features as a soft smile played upon deathly lips. Unconcerned, this figure stood suspended in darkness watching through a single portal his set destination.

"It's been a long time... I wonder..." His smile widened marginally before breaking into a face shattering grin. "A long time, indeed..." Voluminous laughter filled the void as the figure stepped through the portal and into the night for the first time in thirty years.