TITLE: And Hell Followed With Him

DISCLAIMER: All things BtVS belong Joss Whedon, the Hellsing universe belongs to Kouta Hirano, nothing is mine, only the extremely twisted idea...

AN: For this fic I will be blending both the anime of Hellsing, along with the Manga / OVA storyline… the anime left plenty of holes large enough to drive a truck through that I can fit them both together with the minimum of fuss lol

July 14, 1999

London, England

04:47

"Xander!"

He heard the scream and turned around, bringing his gun up to aim and protect her as he did, only realising half a second in that it wasn't a scream for help, but was a scream of warning. The first hand grabbed his gun before he'd even had chance to bring it up to defend himself, lurching his arm outwards as it was pulled from his grasp but the strap around his shoulder pulled him forwards as well, right into the hand of the attacking vampire.

Staring between the gaps in the fingers it seemed like an age as he looked death in the eyes, the glowing red eyes reflecting the destruction around them, the destroyed buildings, the fires that burnt from the Tower of London to the heavens lit up the night sky with its warmth. He heard the scream again but it was useless, his gun was held firm in a grasp far stronger and more vicious than he could ever be. The scream came a third time as the grip on his head tightened, bringing him in close as the blonde vampire opened its mouth, the pointed teeth around his jaw glittering in the night and already dripping with blood from his previous victims.

"Xander!" A third scream came out, this time from the side, Buffy. He couldn't even turn his head to see, but the fear in her voice told him she was facing the same FREAK problem as he was.

"Let go of him you bastard!"

He watched as the blonde vampire turned, his pale skin almost glowing in the moonlight from the fires around them, he actually even gave a half smile as he saw his new opponent coming towards him and interfering with his meal, the vampire Seras Victoria, servant of Alucard, already bloody and messed from the evenings battle.

"You're a servant, like me." He whispered, the hand around Xander's head growing tighter as he lifted him nearly a foot off of the ground, his fingers pushing in and gripping around his forehead and temples like a vice. "Why do you fight who you are?"

"She's nothing like you!" Xander ground out, fighting back the urge to scream as the fingers tightened around his head.

"I am true undead." Seras whispered back. "Alucard gave his blood to me!" She shouted. "Now, let him go!" She screamed the last with finality, bringing her absurdly large canon of a gun around to bare against him.

"Until you drink blood of your own free will, you're just a servant of your master!" The blonde vampire spat back. "Not even much better than a ghoul!" He said the last mockingly, almost laughing before tightening his fingers even more around Xander's head, squeezing like a grape ready to pop.

"Xander!" Seras screamed, watching as the FREAK vampire launched himself into the air, carrying Xander by the head with him as he practically flew up, his clawed hand gripping Xander's head tightly and digging in, blood pooling from his eyes before gripping his head like a bowling ball and throwing his screaming body back to the ground and vanishing into the night again.

Xander's screams were heard all around as he hit the floor, the blood pouring from his eyes pooled around on the grass as he impacted the dirt like a missile, his bones crunched like powder as he bounced off the frozen night soil and was mercifully caught by Seras who had moved far faster than he'd ever thought possible.

"Xander!" Seras whispered out, cradling him on her knee as she slowly crouched down on the ground, laying him there gently as she brushed the blood soaked hair from his face. "Oh god, what did he do?" He asked, seeing the damage for the first time and looking down in horror at the claw marks that gouged up his face where the FREAK had torn his eyes out.

Coughing up blood Xander simply lay there in her arms, writhing as shock set in and the cold seeped into his body, his fatigues now drenched with blood, his gun long forgotten, while the whip that had been masterfully crafted by Walter was still attached to his hip.

"Xander… you… you can't die…" Seras whispered, blood welling up in her eyes and dripping down her cheeks. "You… you're the only friend I've got here."

"S… sorry," Xander coughed out, sickly red blood drooling from the side of his mouth as he spoke. "Forgot these… these FREAKS are… are different." He coughed again, splattering Seras' blue uniform with blood from his lungs.

"They're not," Seras said softly. "They're nothing, worse than nothing." She whispered. "You can't die at the hands of nothing."

"Is…" Xander stopped, coughing loudly as he reached up with a bloody hand and grasped around, trying to feel for Seras until she reached up and held his hand, bringing it to her face. "Was he lying? About… about the blood?" Xander asked, forcing himself to stay awake as more blood dripped from his mouth.

"I…" Seras paused, looking down at Xander's broken body, unwilling to lie to a dying man. "Yes." She whispered. "I'm not even a true vampire until I do." She said softly, as if confessing an ashamed secret to a beloved confidant.

"Then…" Xander groaned, coughing loudly as he felt down to her neck and gripped tightly, using her immovable strength to leaver himself up against her. "Do it." He bit out, leaning his head to one side and baring his neck to her.

"Xander!" Seras balked, the blood in her eyes now streaming down her face where tears should have been. "I… I can't…"

"Do it!" Xander bit out, forcing back another blood splattering cough as he pulled on her neck and brought himself up, resting his head on her shoulders as the strength seemed to leave his body. "Save them, save Buffy…" He whispered. "Save them all."

"I won't let you die." Seras whispered out, looking down at the offered neck and considering her options. "Not like this!" She shouted before arching her head back, her fangs glittering in the moonlight before she brought her mouth back and clamped down on Xander's throat, her supernatural teeth piercing his skin with ease as the warm blood, freely offered and taken, flooded into her body.

She felt his blood, his memories, his very soul pouring into her, everything he was, everything that made him human, was hers for the taking. She watched in her mind's eye as his memories flowed into hers and his pulse started to slow before breaking the lock she had on his neck.

"Nooo!" She screamed out, the blood from Xander's body mixing with the blood that was still in her mouth from the fighting before. She looked down, laying Xander peacefully on the ground beside her, feeling his weak pulse in his neck as she reached down and tenderly wiped the blood away from his mouth.

Her blue uniform was now stained with blood, a mixture of her own from the nights fighting and Xander's, turning the uniform from the pale blue it was to a sodden blood red. She could feel the difference already, the strength, the change in her that Xander's blood had caused. Not just his blood, but the act, the act of freely offering himself, and her act of willingly drinking his blood for the first time since Alucard had transformed her into a vampire all those nights ago.

"I won't forget you Xander." She whispered, looking down at him and bowing her head. Biting her tongue gently and feeling the blood flow into her mouth before leaning down and kissing him, letting the blood flow into his mouth as she remembered Alucard telling her about how he kissed his beloved all those centuries ago.

She felt his tongue twitch as the blood from her mouth dripped into his, then she closed her eyes and concentrated, feeling the flood of Xander's memories warring inside her against her own. "Why, why did you come here?" She asked, leaning back from the kiss and watching as the blood simply pooled around Xander's lips before sinking in and vanishing in his throat.

"Why did you follow her?" She asked aloud, sitting back on the frozen grass as her mind got lost in the stolen memories.

December 12, 1998

08:14

Private Air Strip – London

Being yanked out of a luggage compartment by the collar was definitely not on Xander's hundred best ways to wake up, he feebly grabbed at the hands holding his shirt until his eyes managed to focus on the person holding him. "Giles?" He asked, confused why Giles was grabbing him until it came back to him. "Oh, I can explain…"

"You stupid boy!" Giles bit out, letting go of Xander's collar and letting him slump against the side of the plane. "Of all the reckless things, hiding in the luggage compartment of a private jet?" He shook his head, taking off his glasses as he turned away from Xander in annoyance. "Is Willow in there with you as well?" He asked hopefully.

"No," Xander shook his head. "She tried to talk me out of it."

"There's that at least," Giles frowned as he turned back to Xander. "I don't know what's going on here, but a level one recall would…" Giles trailed off as the sound of a car approaching drew his attention. "Just try and stay out of the way." He bit out before walking towards where the large black car was slowly approaching the jet.

"Sneaking in a jet, pretty ballsy X," Faith whispered with a grin as she came over once Giles had left.

"You could have been killed!" Buffy snapped, slapping him on the chest hard enough to make him stumble a bit.

"I had to come," Xander defended himself. "Giles was all freaked out, this recall thing or whatever. You saw him. Freaked enough to convince your mom that you'd got an offer at a college in England or wherever…" He trailed off, looking around. "England?"

"London," Faith nodded. "Some private landing whatever." She shrugged as Buffy looked at her. "I was listening to the pilots alright?" She snorted as Buffy rolled her eyes.

"Who's that?" Buffy asked, nodding over to where Giles was talking with two people that had got out of the car. One looked to be a stereotypical butler type, a neatly pressed shirt, waistcoat, white gloves and even a monocle in his eye framed his older face nicely, she'd put him a bit older than Giles, but not by much. In comparison, the woman Giles was mostly talking with looked only a few years older than she was, dressed in a smart suit with long blonde hair and round glasses perched on her nose.

"Watchers?" Xander guessed with a shrug.

"He looks the type," Faith nodded. "But she don't look like any Watcher I've ever seen."

"Since when do Watchers carry guns?" Buffy asked, noting the shoulder holster and second gun on her hip as her coat blew back in the wind.

"Wooden bullets?" Xander guessed hopefully, causing both Buffy and Faith to look at him like he was insane. "What? It could work." He grinned back as Giles started to walk over to them, the young woman walking alongside while the older man walked behind them respectfully.

"Buffy, Faith, this is Sir Integra Hellsing." Giles said as he approached them, his eyes fixing them both with a gentle warning.

"Slayers," Sir Integra nodded. "Interesting." She said thoughtfully. "You're lucky you weren't at The Council headquarters yourselves."

"Huh?" Buffy asked, confused what the young woman meant. "What happened to the council?"

"They… they were attacked four nights ago." Giles explained in a low voice. "Quentin must have managed to order a full recall before they got inside the main chambers."

"Probably hiding under a table while he did it." Sir Integra said disdainfully, ignoring the look Giles sent her. "If I'd known you were coming before the authorities tagged your plane entering British air space, I would have told you to stay away."

"I still would have come." Giles said firmly. "The Hellsing organisation doesn't sit above The Council Sir Integra."

"No," Sir Integra had to accept that fact, she sat at The Round Table as equals with Quentin Travers and other organisations around Great Britain, no one man, or woman, at the head and all as equals protecting Queen and Country. "But we know more about what we're facing than you do."

"Vampires?" Giles asked with a frown.

"Two of them," Sir Integra nodded, sliding out a silver case from her inside jacket pocket and opening it before picking out a small cigar. "Commanding an army of nearly two hundred ghouls from what I've been told." She waited for a moment as the older man moved around Giles before lighting her cigar silently and stepping back to where he'd been stood without saying a word. "Your Council didn't stand a chance." She said before blowing out a cloud of smoke in the cold morning air.

"Vampires? Ghouls?" Buffy asked. "Huh?" She turned, looking at Giles for confirmation.

"You've never faced anything like these before Slayer," Sir Integra said before Giles could explain. "True Undead, not those low born demon infested corpses you've been trained to fight."

"There are… several types of vampirism Buffy," Giles explained, choosing his words carefully. "The Watchers Council has been dedicated for millennia to fighting the demonic breed, the oldest form of vampire."

"The weakest you mean," Sir Integra smirked, blowing out another cloud of smoke. "A low born demon setting up in a corpse, a True Fledgling could slaughter through an army of Demon Breed without breaking a sweat." She said proudly.

"True Vampires?" Faith asked in a bit of shock. "You mean we got stuck with the budget vamps?" She asked, looking at Giles in amusement.

"Not exactly 'budget' Faith," Giles shook his head, taking off his glasses and cleaning them on his shirt. "Demonic vampires spread far quicker than any True Undead, and their penchant for destruction and demonic allies makes them far more dangerous in The Council's eyes than the minority of True Undead that walk this Earth."

"So these true vamps, they're badass then?" Xander asked, trying to figure out exactly what had happened and why Giles had flown Buffy and Faith thousands of miles after receiving a single fax.

"And you are?" Sir Integra asked, looking up at him through her glasses as if noticing him for the first time.

"He's… ahem, a retainer." Giles explained quickly before Xander had a chance to answer. "Brings the Slayers food, weapons, helps with research, that sort of thing." He said quickly, fixing Xander with a glare that said simply 'be quiet'.

"Yeah," Xander nodded. "That's me, doughnut boy."

Sir Integra snorted at this with a nod. "Very well." She said, turning back to Giles for the moment and ignoring the three youths. "I have my best men clearing your headquarters, but reports are coming through that no one survived."

"The Council wasn't equipped to deal with an attack from True Undead." Giles said softly, shaking his head. "Thank you though for the assistance."

"Many of your Council were turned into ghouls during the attack." Sir Integra nodded, accepting the thanks for what they were. "Our men put them to rest and salted the Earth. Your headquarters was systematically destroyed."

"No one survived?" Buffy asked, noting how Giles had gone slightly pale at these revelations. "Not anyone?"

"All dead." Sir Integra said coldly. "Dead or turned into ghouls which my forces then eliminated." She frowned, dropping her cigar on the ground and grinding it under her boot. "You have nowhere to go Watcher." She said simply, looking up at Giles.

"Rupert, please." Giles said softly. "I would… I need to see for myself."

"Hmm," Sir Integra smiled and looked closer at Giles, as if inspecting him. "I half expected you to get back on your plane and go running back to the colonies." She said with a snort. "Travers nearly pissed himself at the last Round Table Conference when he demanded to meet the Hellsing family's Legacy."

"Yes, well," Giles frowned, looking back into Sir Integra's cold blue eyes. "I'm not Quentin Travers." He said firmly.

"No, you're not." Sir Integra smiled. "Walter, we'll be heading to The Council Headquarters."

"Yes Sir Integra," The older man behind her nodded sharply. "Shall I have a team meet us there?"

"No need," Sir Integra shook her head. "The building has been sanitised already." She said before turning and walking back to the car. "Shall we?" She asked, not even bothering to turn back to check if Giles was following.

"Very well," Giles nodded, gesturing for Buffy, Faith and Xander to follow them.

"Your retainer can ride in the front with Walter," Sir Integra said with a smirk as she got to the car and Walter opened the door for her to get in, then closed it before moving around the other side of the car to let Giles and the two girls inside. "He can show the American how a real retainer works." She said with a half-smile as the door closed.

"Ohhkay," Xander nodded, moving to the front of the car to wait for the older man that Sir Integra had called Walter.

"Excuse me," Walter said, moving to the door that Xander was stood by. "Unless you want to drive, you'll need to get in at the other side."

"Right, sorry." Xander said quickly, moving away from the door Walter had his hand on and jogging around the car before getting in the passenger side.

"Do buckle up," Walter said with a small smile as he watched Xander get in the car and look around at the expensive dashboard of the custom Rolls Royce that he drove for Sir Integra.

"Oh, yeah." Xander nodded, feeling weird already sitting where the driver should be in the car before his eyes went wide at the sound of the large engine starting as Walter turned the ignition and started to drive. "Wow." He whispered as Walter drove them out of the private air strip at Finchley and out onto the main roads.

The drive had been nearly an hour in silence, and while Xander had been happily looking out of the windows at the city around them, the silence of the ride, reinforced by the soundproofing between the driver and the back seats where Buffy and Faith was, made it feel ten times longer than it should have been as he had no idea what Buffy and Faith were being told in the back of the car.

"Here we are." Walter said with a small smile, turning off a quiet road and pulling the car to a stop outside two heavy gates where a 'Private Land, Keep Out' sign was plainly visible on the tall walls at either side of the gate. "If you'd be so kind." Walter said with a smile, getting out of the car while leaving the engine running before waiting for Xander to do the same.

"Oh, yeah." Xander nodded, getting out of the car and following Walter to where he pushed open one of the heavy iron gates that stood about twice his own height.

"Make sure to put the bar down," Walter explained as he pushed his own gate open, pointing to the bottom bar that had locked the gate in place through a hole in the ground. "We wouldn't want the gates to swing back on the car now would we."

"Uh, no, that'd be bad." Xander said, making sure to follow Walter's instructions and jam the locking bolt down into the hole that had been made for it.

"Close the gates behind us, then meet us at the main entrance." Walter said simply before moving back to the car.

"Yeah, fine, whatever." Xander shrugged, watching as Walter drove the car slowly through the large gates then up the gravel path towards the large three story mansion type building that was at the end of the gravel.

Watching the car with Buffy and Faith drive away he moved around and closed the gates, jamming the locking bolts back in place like Walter had told him. It was just the same here as it was back in Sunnydale, he was being forced out of conversations and fighting, just like Buffy and Giles tried to do before. Only this time they were treating him like a servant instead, not even a friend now.

He simply grumbled to himself as he tried to think of a way to become more relevant again as he walked slowly up the gravel path, kicking some gravel around under his boots as he walked, he was barely half way up the path when something in the bushes caught his eye, a glimmer of metal in the morning sun against the green plants that were neatly cut away from the drive way.

Pushing his way through the bushes to investigate he bit back on a scream as he tripped over something in the grass, landing on the ground and coming face to face with a corpse of what looked like some sort of army guy, still holding his gun in one hand, but his other arm had literally been torn away from the look of the ripped clothing and his throat had been ripped open, but oddly more than the sight of the dried blood and dead body, the sight of the two bullet holes that were planted firmly in the centre of his forehead shocked him most.

Grabbing the gun he pulled it away from the man, some sort of automatic rifle that his fading Halloween memories couldn't even recognise, it took a moment to get it out of the corpse's hand that seemed to have a death grip around the stock, but he finally managed it and fell backwards again away from the corpse.

It was as the corpse fell back to the ground that he noted the patch on the side of the uniform he'd been wearing, a simple red and black shield with a yellow banner across the top that stated 'Hellsing' clearly, moving closer to read the rest of it he read the words aloud off the top left corner of the shield. "We are on a mission from God?" He asked aloud before standing up and carrying the gun at his side.

"Lieutenant Johns,"

Xander span around as the voice broke him out of his curiosity, seeing Walter stood back on the gravel drive and looking over the bushes at him. "I… I saw… from the…" Xander stammered out. "He's been shot." He finished lamely.

"Yes," Walter nodded. "Attacked by ghouls first, turned, and then put to rest by other members of the Hellsing Organisation." Walter said simply.

"You… you can kill them with guns? Not stakes or crossbows?" Xander asked after a moments pause.

Walter chuckled at this, moving through the bushes silently and retrieving the gun from Xander who handed it over without argument. Pulling out the clip he thumbed off one round before handing it back to Xander. "Blessed silver." He explained. "Explosive tipped round, more than enough to put down one ghoul."

"I've… we haven't seen ghouls in Sunnydale." Xander explained. "Buffy normally just stakes the vampires or… you know, demon, research, Buffy slays demon, the end."

"Quite," Walter rolled his eyes at this. "A ghoul is created when a True Vampire bites a member of the same gender, or attempts to turn a deflowered person." He explained. "Relatively dangerous in groups, strong definitely, but hardly indestructible." He explained, loading the clip back into the assault rifle and chambering a round expertly before handing the rifle back to Xander. "Aim for the head or the heart, anything else will simply irritate them." He explained.

"Same as a vamp then." Xander nodded, accepting the rifle back and pocketing the single bullet that Walter had given him to examine.

"As a demonic vampire, yes." Walter nodded. "Cutting off the head will also work, though they are more akin to zombie creatures from myth than the demonic vampires that you're used to facing. Once the master vampire has been eliminated, the ghouls he created die with him."

"Good to know," Xander nodded, filing that bit of information away to tell Buffy later on. "Uh, deflowered?" He asked hesitantly as Walter moved to walk back through the bushes towards the drive way.

"Non virginal," Walter explained as he waited on the gravel drive for Xander to make his way through the bushes. "A human that has had sex." He clarified further for the American. "If a true vampire feeds on a member of the opposite sex and then offers them it's blood, it creates a new vampire, a fledgeling." He explained as he led the way up the gravel path towards the Watcher Mansion. "Otherwise, a ghoul is created to do the vampire's bidding."

"Gotcha," Xander nodded. "Ok, kinda getting why these true vamps don't spread as easily as the demon type ones."

"Indeed." Walter said dryly with a small nod. "Compared to True Undead, the demonic breed are simply an infection that needs to be eradicated."

"But bullets don't work on the demons, right?" Xander asked curiously.

"Hmm?" Walter raised an eyebrow. "No, not to eliminate them." He shook his head. "But there are other ways, as I'm sure you know." He said dryly as they approached the car where Sir Integra and Giles were waiting with Buffy and Faith.

"Walter?" Sir Integra asked curiously.

"Lieutenant Johns," Walter said by way of explanation. "He must have been turned during the battle."

"I see," Sir Integra said darkly.

"He was put to rest by our men," Walter explained. "Alexander simply saw the body from the drive and felt that investigating a possible threat was in order."

"Very well," Sir Integra nodded at this, looking at Xander and the way he was carrying Lieutenant Johns' rifle in a manner that told her he'd used a rifle before but was out of practice with them. "Have the body seen to."

"As you command," Walter nodded as Sir Integra turned back to Giles.

"Shall we?" Sir Integra asked, gesturing for Giles to take the lead up the stairs to the main doors where thick yellow tape had been marked in a cross over them and down the centre of the two large doors.

Giles simply nodded at this, moving up the stone steps quietly and towards the doors, pulling the yellow tape off the doors and throwing it aside before pulling one of the doors open, tearing the yellow tape down the middle as he did.

The smell was the first thing that assaulted them as the doors opened, hot air full of decomposing bodies and dried blood rushed out of the door, bringing flies with it as Giles opened both the doors fully, fighting back the urge to hold his nose as he stepped inside.

"Oh god!" Buffy whispered as she stepped back from the smell, her hand immediately flying to cover her nose and mouth.

"What the hell?" Faith asked, covering her own nose with her t-shirt and holding it in place as she slowly followed Giles inside the mansion.

The entrance lobby used to be white marble, but was now stained with dried blood with splatter leading up the wood panelled walls all around them, bullet holes had chipped away at the floor and walls, and there were several drag marks through the blood where bodies had obviously been moved after the battle.

"It was a slaughter." Sir Integra said simply, the smell not seeming to bother her at all as she walked in to the lobby. "The Council security simply weren't equipped to deal with an army of ghouls like this."

"No, they weren't." Giles admitted, knowing full well that The Council's arrogance would never let them believe that a vampire, even a true vampire, could raise an army against them. In the end he supposed, that had been their undoing. With that said he moved slowly through the lobby area to the main stairs, walking up them and resisting the urge to grimace as the red carped squelched with soaked blood under foot.

"You killed the vampires that did this, right?" Xander asked Walter quietly as they followed at the back behind where Buffy and Faith were following Giles and Sir Integra up the stairs.

"No," Walter answered softly. "By the time we received reports of the attack, the vampires leading the ghouls had already gone." He explained. "Leaving a small force of ghouls for our men to take care of."

"We've got to find them." Xander whispered through clenched teeth as they reached the top of the stairs where more blood was splattered on the floor, walls and even up to the ceiling. "Whoever did this, we've…"

"I… I can't do this!" Buffy gasped out, pulling her hand away from her mouth and running back down the stairs, her face showing the horror and disgust that they were all feeling as they looked around at the remnants of the slaughter.

"I'll stay with Miss Buffy," Walter said as Sir Integra looked back at him. "Go on ahead."

"Very well," Sir Integra nodded as Giles moved to say something but simply nodded as well before continuing on.

"This is pretty fucked up." Faith whispered as Xander moved to walk alongside her behind Giles and Sir Integra. "Even…" She paused, taking a breath before saying his name. "Kakistos wasn't like this."

"Getting the feeling these true vamps are a whole other ball game here." Xander said softly. "They bite you, you turn into one of these zombie things that follows them around." He explained. "Walter filled me in." He said as Faith looked at him in shock. "And get this, they can't turn you into another vampire unless you're a virgin."

"Getting the feeling we should back out and let these guys take down whatever did this." Faith admitted as Giles stopped by two large doors.

"Indeed." Sir Integra nodded as she turned to Faith. "The Hellsing organisation has been dealing with these vampires for generations, we will find the abomination that did this and send it screaming to the pits of hell."

"I'll get behind that." Faith nodded, a bit shocked at the intensity she could see in Sir Integra's eyes as she spoke.

Before anyone could say anything else Giles opened the two doors in front of them, pushing them wide open at the same time and walking through into the room. It was huge, the room stretched on down into the distance with large windows at the side, where several had been shattered from gunfire and splattered with blood. A long table in the middle of the room was equally decorated in dark red blood, with chairs and papers strewn around in chaos.

"The Council Chambers," Giles said softly. "They must have been in session when the… they attacked." He explained, taking off his glasses as he looked around the room in horror. He was about to move further into the room when a muffled sound came from back outside the room, causing Faith and Sir Integra to spin around and face the open door.

"I thought you said your men had cleared the building?" Giles asked as Sir Integra pulled out one of her pistols and chambered a round, watching he saw Xander bring up the automatic rifle he was carrying and aim it at the doors as well.

"They did." Sir Integra said firmly.

"Someone survived?" Faith asked hopefully.

"Against an army of ghouls?" Sir Integra snorted. "Unlikely." She said, stepping forward out of the Council Chambers and back into the corridor, leading the way towards where she heard the sound was coming from slowly, moving her gun around and sweeping every door as they passed it.

Further up ahead at the end of the corridor was a single black door with no handle, as they approached it the muffled sound of walking and something that sounded almost like crying could be heard coming through the door.

"What is this room?" Sir Integra asked, staring at the seamless black door with no obvious way to open it.

"The Black Archive," Giles said quietly as Sir Integra stared at him. "The Council's most dangerous texts and research is locked away inside, only Council members, senior watchers and their aides have access."

"Open it." Sir Integra ordered, stepping back from the black door and training her gun on it ready for Giles to open.

For a moment Giles looked ready to argue, but instead just stepped forwards quietly, placing his hand on the centre of the door at head height. For a moment nothing happened, then a blue glyph under his hand glowed brightly before a heavy latch could be heard and the door swung open.

"Useful," Sir Integra noted, wondering what sort of magic had actually been used to seal the room, though those questions were pushed aside as she trained her gun in the room and stepped in quietly. "In the name of God, impure souls of the living dead shall be banished into eternal damnation." She whispered, readying herself for attack as she looked around. "Amen."

"Amen," Xander whispered from behind her, following her with his own rifle held ready for action before bringing it around when he saw motion out of the corner of his eye.

"Thank god!"

Both Sir Integra and Xander brought their guns around at the sound, readying to fire. It was only the quick motions of the person in the corner of the room, throwing up his hands and dropping glass on the floor that shattered on impact that saved him from being riddled with blessed silver bullets.

"Who are you?" Sir Integra demanded, staring down her gun at the man, he was wearing a soft pink shirt and striped tie loosely around his neck, along with braces holding up his trousers. While his head was messy and he looked like he hadn't shaved in days, he was remarkably clean of blood, someone missing the entire battle.

"Wesley," The man said quickly, staring at both the smaller pistol Sir Integra was holding, and the large automatic rifle Xander had pointed at him as well. "Wyndam-Pryce, I'm…"

"Mr Giles, do you know this man?" Sir Integra asked, cutting him off but not looking away from him as she waited for Giles' confirmation.

"The Wyndam-Pryce's have been on the council for years," Giles confirmed. "Roger Wyndam-Pryce was Quentin's right hand man if I recall."

"My father," Wesley said simply. "Giles, Rupert Giles?" He asked, looking over at where Giles was standing with a young girl. "Then you must be The Slayer, I've heard…"

"How did you survive Mr Wyndam-Price?" Sir Integra cut him off with her question, keeping her gun trained on him. "When the entire council was slaughtered, you survived. How?"

"I… I was… I don't…" Wesley stammered out, looking back at the cold woman pointing a gun at him. "I was doing some research for The Council, you understand, when the internal alarm activated and sealed me…"

"Alarm?" Sir Integra asked, looking at Giles again for confirmation.

"Yes," Giles nodded. "If the Council is under attack itself, there is an alarm that locks away all archived materials and seals the locks for forty-eight hours, or until the alarm has been deactivated." He explained.

"Has it been that long?" Wesley asked in shock.

"Closer to four days if you were in here during the attack." Sir Integra said simply. "You were locked in here while your entire organisation was systematically slaughtered and turned into ghouls." She explained, smirking a bit when he turned several shades paler than he already was. "You and Mr Giles are the sole survivors of The Watchers Council."

"That… that can't…" Wesley stammered out, staring at Giles in shock as he simply nodded, confirming what Sir Integra was saying.

"Lucky you got locked in here," Xander shrugged, lowering his rifle. "Or you'd be dead like everyone else right?" He asked, looking back at Giles.

"Most likely." Giles nodded back.

"You didn't see anything?" Sir Integra asked. "Who did this? Who was leading the ghouls?"

"No… no, not a thing." Wesley explained as Sir Integra slowly lowered her gun.

"Shame," Sir Integra frowned, looking away from him and back to Giles. "We still have no leads on who led the assault."

"Someone who wanted The Council out of the way," Giles said thoughtfully. "Though I'm not aware of any True Undead that would focus their attention on The Council rather than yourselves." He explained. "What were you researching in here?" He asked, walking past Sir Integra towards Wesley.

"A demon," Wesley explained. "We'd received several reports of massacres in Africa, temples being desecrated, someone, or something was looking for artefacts."

"What artefacts?" Giles asked with a frown, looking around The Black Archive at all the knowledge that had been stored away here for thousands of years.

"I'm… I'm not sure," Wesley said softly. "The Council only gave me a name, and told me to prepare a report for them."

"A report on what?" Sir Integra asked with a frown.

"The demon Sett." Wesley said simply, moving to a desk behind him and shuffling together a few piles of paper and placing them in a folder than he closed shut and picked up.

"Sett wasn't just a demon," Giles frowned, cleaning his glasses thoroughly on his shirt. "He was a lower infernal god of the Egyptian pantheon."

"Correct," Wesley nodded. "His corporeal body was destroyed by the Slayer Ah'ri in five twelve during her battles in the Congo. I have her Watchers diaries that talk about the battle in some detail. The demon Sett was destroyed by Ah'ri, though his essence fled his body in a flash of white light and was banished from this dimension."

"But why would The Council want a report on a demon destroyed over fifteen centuries ago?" Sir Integra mused, looking at Wesley and then to Giles.

"We might never know," Giles admitted, putting his glasses back on and holding out his hand for the folder Wesley was carrying. "With The Council destroyed, I'd believe many of their secrets and agendas died with them."

"Hmph," Sir Integra frowned, but nodding in acceptance of what Giles was saying. "Fine." She said shortly, ignoring the look Wesley gave her as he reluctantly handed over the file and diary for Giles to take. "We'll take the investigation from here." She said simply. "Whoever attacked The Council was using True Undead to do so, this attack falls under the purview of the Hellsing Charter, not The Council."

"Not like we could do anything about it anyway," Giles frowned but nodded along.

"Your Council has been destroyed." Sir Integra nodded. "There is little you could have done even if you had been here." She explained, noting the look of regret in Mr Giles' eyes.

"Perhaps," Giles said softly. "But they didn't deserve this."

"No one does." Sir Integra said simply. "With The Council gone, I expect both of you will be looking elsewhere for continued work." She smiled, bringing out her cigar case and sliding one out before lighting it with a simple gold lighter from her pocket. "The Hellsing Organisation would happily offer places for you all."

"The Watchers Council has fought vampires and demons since before…" Wesley blustered but was silenced by a glare from Sir Integra.

"The Slayers you mean." Sir Integra said firmly. "You don't even furnish your Slayers with the proper tools to get a job done."

"Something I have argued several times myself." Giles defended himself at Sir Integra's glare.

"Tradition and…"

"Tradition has no place on the front lines!" Sir Integra cut Wesley off sharply. "I will bring my offer to your Slayers myself, if I were you, I wouldn't interfere." She said sharply before holstering her gun and marching out of The Black Archive, her cigar smoke following her as she walked back into the corridor and back towards the main lobby, leaving Xander, Giles, Faith and Wesley stood behind in silence.

"Uh, think she's got the right idea," Xander said, holding his hand up gingerly. "Money, guns, body armour, that guy outside was carrying more weapons than Buffy ever had."

"Yes, The Hellsing Organisation outfits its teams very well," Giles nodded with respect in his voice. "While bullets wouldn't stop a vampire, there are more than a few demons that could be put down by superior firepower."

"And now you're telling us this?" Faith demanded. "I'm with X, Hellsing's got the right idea."

"The Council has commanded The Slayer for millennia, the Council fights evil. The Slayer is the instrument with which we fight. The Council remains. The Slayers... change. It's been that way from the beginning." Wesley argued back.

"Die," Xander corrected him. "Change," He snorted, sliding the assault rifle strap over his shoulder and letting it hang at his side. "They die, Slayers die because you don't give them guns or armour or teams to back them up." He spat out. "Tradition can go kiss my…"

"Xander!" Giles cut him off. "We will listen to what Sir Integra has to say." He said firmly. "As it is, The Watchers Council doesn't really stand for anything anymore."

"Aside from a bloody mess," Faith shrugged, ignoring the glare Wesley sent her way.

"Quite," Giles said softly, breathing out sharply. "I might not have seen eye to eye with The Council on a lot of things, but as… stuck in tradition as they were, they didn't deserve to be slaughtered and turned into walking corpses."

"Think the Hellsing teams took care of that," Xander said softly. "Laid them to rest right? Guessing that's the Hellsing term for slayed."

"Quite," Giles nodded. "If Sir Integra is offering us chance to fight alongside her against the creatures that did this, I plan to accept." He explained. "You can do what you want." He said, looking at Wesley before turning and walking out of The Black Archive.

"I'm with you," Xander nodded, following Giles out into the corridor.

"Hell yeah," Faith nodded. "They pay better right?" She asked with a smirk as she walked alongside Xander down the corridor, leaving Wesley behind in The Black Archive staring at the books, deep in thought.