I slashed endlessly, the glittering edge only narrowly missing the dancing figure in front of me. The abomination laughed, twisting and dodging away from strikes that seemed to move in slow motion. I will not give in. He darted behind a stone column, and the sword met it with resounding force. I gritted my teeth, fighting off the sickening impact of metal on stone. Sparks flickered over the sleeves of my green coat, leaving small scorches in the already worn cloth. Well, nothing new there. The phantom mirth filled the air once more, echoing off the high cathedral walls.

"Give it up, Iron Maiden, or we'll be at this all night."

My only reply was to swing the weapon in the air where he'd been a moment before. He chuckled, and I felt my eyes go cold. That MONSTER! He stood in the open, daring me to come to him with a devilish smile. Bastard. I'd have to go.

I ran at him, bringing the instrument of destruction around in a whirling arc. The undead moved as a blur, ducking below my strike and grabbing my wrist. I only had time to blink before he'd broken it, forcing me to drop the weapon.Sweat ran down my brow and I gritted my teeth against the pain as he snarled in my face.

"Well, Sir Integra Wingates Fairbrook Hellsing, it seems you are in distress. What a bloody pity."

I growled, and threw my hand into my coat, searching for my revolver. He looked alarmed when the gun emerged. He had a right to be. Oh yes, he did. I had it pressed to his forehead in a flash, and his skin sizzled from the silver plating. It was gone the moment my finger tensed on the trigger. The gun clattered to the floor, the ringing thud resonating in the empty space. Damn. My mind raced, running over a thousand reactions and having too little time to process them all but one: Alucard.

"Fool!" He clamped onto my other wrist with a grip like iron. "Did you really think that you, a mere mortal, could destroy me? Pathetic! Where is your pet now? Is he coming to save you?" I did not answer. Actually, that's the crux of the problem. I didn't have a clue where he was. I had intended to do this one on my own. "Stupid mortal. No better than an enraged bull."

But my eyes betrayed the falsity of that statement.

They glared with a fierce intelligence and distain, the blue afire with righteous anger. Any idiot could see they unnerved the vampire. His eye twitched, and he growled, softly, "Stop that." He doesn't like it? All the more reason to continue. At least until Alucard comes. He'll never let this go.

Outwardly, I increased the intensity of my stare. Inwardly I called. -Alucard-

"STOP IT! WENCH!" He dragged me behind the altar. I flinched as he slammed me into it. "I SAID STOP!" And again. The pain crept up my back, slowly overwhelming my senses.

-Alucard! -

The monster roared, and lifted me up. The cross rose tall behind him, flanked by twin stained glass windows. The entire mess was very elaborate. Hardly a place to fight. I met stone again, and my thoughts became more and more frazzled. He towered over me, black form blotting out the holy symbol at his back. "I told you to stop, YOU INSOLENT WHORE!" Whore? I'm a bloody virgin… he can smell that. Idiot.

He reared back, and my eyes shifted to the vision behind him, the first hints of dawn breathing life into the many paneled art. The glass began to sparkle, the solemn figures lost in prayer lighting up with the coming morn. Faint color poured over the unholy being's back, and brushed the edge of my coat. The stone cross began to brighten from black to grey, and then the claws came down…

… And I saw no more.

-ALUCARD! -

My eyes burst into flame, the intense pain shutting down my mind. Blood and something heavier gushed down my face, and I cried out in agony. I could hear laughing, but only faintly. Every other sense was overcome by the hurt… and panic. I can't see I can't see… I yelled in pain, my voice strangled and thin. The thing laughed at me in delight. "Yes, bitch, cry out."

-ALUCARD! -

There was a creaking crash, like wood shattering. Oh, thank God. The vampire still held my aloft by one wrist, and it felt like my arm might leave its socket. But that would be nothing compared to what I felt now. My world was black, completely black. No swirls of color danced on the inside of my lids. Just pitch.

The monster spoke. "Ah, Alucard." I was dropped, and hit my head on what I presumed was the altar on my way down. My skull was numb, and my face slowly followed suit. Slumped against the cold rock, I cradled my wrist in my hand, head bent over it. Warmth was running over my swollen wrist. What in God's name…?

"Finally, No-Life King, I was waiting for the bitch to give in and call you."

"What have you done to my Master, you little shit!" The voice sent warmth down my spine. He was here… Oh, thank God, thank God. Funny I should thank God for sending the Devil…

"Why does it matter? Come and face me!"

Alucard made no reply, but the sound of his heavy boots thudding on the cold stone floor filled the air. It grew closer, ever closer. Hurry. Please. I struggled to move, but my muscles didn't want to co-operate. The heat filled my lap, and my arm was sticky with it. What is…? I felt air moving above my head, displacing a few of my hairs, and then there was a soft thud in front of me.

"Master…"

The undead trash chimed in, "What is it, Nosferatu? Something wrong?"

I managed to twitch, then moved my lips with great effort. "Alucard." I opened my mouth to speak once more, and fell. I hit the ground with a thud, and my skull seemed to explode. I groaned, a moan of pure despair. What has happened to me? So weak…

"Master!"

And then… nothing.

The boom of the Jackal brought me back to the surface. Blackness, nothing but blackness. Pain seared in a line across my eyes, ripping my mind to shreds. I lay huddled against what still seemed to be the altar, cold, hard stone at my back. I was cold, so cold. All of me, except my hands and thighs. They were burning, covered in warmth. I lifted my head, and felt heat slide down my cheeks like liquid. It is liquid. I reached my good hand up, and smeared it on my fingers. It's blood. I caught something thicker in my fingers, and rolled it between them. This is… Jesus! I threw the piece of my eye onto the floor, and rolled over, retching. My chest heaved, and I felt the pull of the straps against my breasts. So real. I focused on that firm hold of the buckles on my aching back. The coughing subsided, ending in only a thin stream of thick liquid at the corner of my mouth.

The pain was like nothing I had ever felt before. My spine sent lightning signals of distress all the way up to the back of my neck, ending in the throbbing of my skull. I let myself melt into the floor, reducing into a limp collection of flesh and cracked bone. My hand rose to wipe away the wetness at my mouth. My gloves came away blood tacky. Oh, no. I'm bleeding internally… I need medical help, now. What the hell is Alucard doing? As if I summoned him with my thoughts, (which I probably did) arms wrapped themselves around my shoulders, lifting me into a sitting position against the altar once more. "Master… what has he done to you?"

"My back, and my eyes, God, my eyes… Servant, my eyes?" A cloth covered finger and thumb tilted my chin up, and I heard a sigh. Is my face ruined that badly? I could imagine his wine-dark eyes, wide in shock and revulsion….

"You need help, Integra." My first name, which was never a good sign. It was a faint whisper, laced with despair. I had never heard such a thing from him.

"Tell me."

"No, Master." One strong arm slipped under my legs, and another encircled my shoulders. The pain in my back made me gasp, and I heard Alucard grunt intelligibly. -My Master, everything will be fine. Sleep now.-

The nothingness grasped me again, and I fell away from the world once more.

I awoke with a start.

I was lying down, in something soft. I moved a foot, and hit something hard. A bedpost, I think. There was a pressure on my face, and I lifted my hand to examine it. Cloth, soft cloth. The tightness went all the way around my head in a circle under my hair, which lay in a tangle about my face. I could feel the soft strands brushing against my cheeks. I must be in my room. I shifted my hips and felt silk slide over them. I must have changed into a nightdress. I only owned one silk nightdress, a white number I never wore. Why would I pick such a thing? I ran my fingertips over the soft bandage over my eyes. My head was still throbbing, and my world was dark. Damn bandages. Why are they there? Where am I?

My fingers searched the smooth top of my night table for my glasses. I stopped mid search, and nearly laughed at myself. What good are my glasses if I have that gauze over my eyes? Am I injured, perhaps? I slipped my thumb under the edge of the bandaging and lifted it over my right eye. Pain erupted in my eyelid when I tried to open it. Shakily, I felt my eye. The eyelid was concave, and rough thread sealed it shut. I dropped my hand and screamed, "WALTER!" He'll know. He will be able to tell me what the hell is going on. I rose to my knees in my bed, and grabbed the nearest wooden column of what seemed to be my own four-poster bed.

That's when it hit me. I remembered everything. The vampire, the cathedral, Alucard, my eyes… "WALLLTTTEEEEERRR!" There were some thuds, and then there was a loud crash.

"Sir Integra! You're awake!" It was Walter, finally. "Your bandage, what did you do to it?"

"I wanted to know what happened. I didn't remember until now." I swung my feet over the side of the bed, and stood up, I swayed, and strong hands caught me. "Sir Integra! Please be careful, you're not well enough to be up and about yet." I grunted in reply. My condition was not important. There were things that needed doing, and some I could do until my sight came back. I am Sir Hellsing, damn it all. "When will my vision return to normal?"

There was silence, and I felt the hand that steadied me stiffen. "What is it, Walter?"

"You won't be regaining your sight, Sir Hellsing." I felt the blood drain from my face, and I collapsed onto my bed.

"What…?" It was the shadow of the whisper, the specter of a breath.

"I'm sorry, Sir Integra." I heard him choke on the sentence.

Dear God… Help me.