A/N: Thank you to all who have not given up on me. So sorry for not updating sooner, but AP tests are coming up and I have to focus on that…Anyway, on to the story.

Oh, one more thing. I should say this: maroongrad did hint to me that I needed to have Integra call the Council back in session, so thank you maroongrad!
And I hope you can understand Heinkel (heads up, she sounds like she did after getting shot by the Captain with his leg-long kruger O.o)

Disclaimer: I do NOT, in any way, own Hellsing or the characters in it. It is owned by Kohta Hirano, Dark Horse Manga, and any other business or people who assisted in creating these fascinating characters!

Lethal Locutions

"She has arrived!" one of the agents exclaimed, jumping up from his seat.

A group of young men accompanied by a few women rushed forward and to the outside of a gated and protected church. They seemed exuberant at the woman's arrival, each craning their neck to see the evidence that Section XIII had gained something, possible their dignity back after so many years. The younger woman was walking up the ivy-painted road with a knapsack slung over her shoulder. She nonchalantly strolled up with a grin on her face, a trademark these days among youngsters new to the sport of killing heathens.

Heinkel, who was still sitting comfortably on a bench in the lovely side yard, casually bit down on the casing of a bullet while she polished her special 10mm anti-heathen pistol. She made no attempt to congratulate the young woman now inside the gates. Swarms of agents crowded her, complimenting her and praising her for the amazing task she had done. And she had come back to Ireland in one piece, despite confronting a vampire in England. After several minutes of basking in her praise, the young woman was able to break free of the crowd and walk over to her superior, Heinkel.

"Hupid hid," Heinkel muttered, "Hhe're all hust hyoungsters hese hays."

The girl strolled to a stop, tossing her hair lightly aside, though it was an act of defiance. She had bright red hair and electric green eyes, something she took after her grand uncle. A side of her even reminded Heinkel of Father Anderson; that insane grin and that maniacal laughter. But she was still so young, and had to learn much on the subject of killing the damned. Heinkel waited for her to speak, though not seeming too interested as she continued to clean her gun.

"Ahm back an repoortin far duty," she stated in a light voice.

"I hee hthat, Meredith," Heinkel said without looking up at her, this time putting the pieces back together.

"Soo, what dya think? Did Ah do well?" Meredith's eyes sparkled.

Heinkel paused for a moment, still refusing to look up, but then continued piecing her gun back and gather bullets up to load it. There was no dignified response that Heinkel would or even could give to that question. Meredith didn't even deserve any kind of answer to that. But the pause grew weary and thin on the youngster's nerves as she shifted from foot to foot. Heinkel looked up and sighed, knowing she wouldn't leave without an answer.

"No, hyou hidn't do hwell. Hwhat hould hossibly hake hyou hthink hyou hid hwell?" Heinkel frowned disapprovingly.

"But Ah was able tae strike tha' Hellsin girl. Ah struck her wi' a bayonet an' she fell tae the floor. Oor enemy, and Ah was able tae make her fall!" Meredith built her case with wild enthusiasm.

Her superior's facial expression hadn't changed. "Hand htell me: hid you hill her? Hid you hstay hand hee hif hyou had hilled her? Hid hyou heven hstay haround hto fight her? No, hyou hust habbed her honce, and hthen hyou hled hthe hcene like a howard!"

Meredith's eyes dropped and her face changed to hurt with every advancing word. It was true: she had only stabbed that Hellsing girl at the gates. She had turned and fled, not checking to see the damage. And it was cowardly of her to not stand and fight after provoking the Hellsing vampire.

"Hupid hids like hyou hare hinexperienced hen hit homes hto hetting hcross hith hthe Demons hand Heathens," Heinkel resumed taking apart her gun once more.

Meredith looked down at the ground, her foot trailing the outlines of the cracks in the pavement. "Ah'm sorry. Ah failed ye. But next tayme, Ah'll kill all o' them," she promised and walked back to the church, no one accompanying her.

After a moment, Heinkel looked up and smiled. She knew Meredith would never give up until every single vampire on the earth was dead, by her hand or not. Their sole purpose in life, their mission from God, was to exterminate the infection of the vampire, to purge and cleanse humanity. Heinkel knew that if anyone could do it, it would be Meredith. But a slight pang of possession filled within Heinkel as she saw where Chief Makube* had assigned Meredith.

"Heras his hine hto hill, not hers. I hil hill Heras Hictoria, hnot her," Heinkel muttered to herself as she rose from the bench. "Hall he have hto hdo his hawait Chief's horders. Hthen, hits hilling htime," she smiled and walked back to the church, admiring the cloudless day and the summer breeze.

"Yes, we know that he needs to become stronger once more," Integra practically groaned. The meeting argued back and forth between council members who wished Alucard back and council members who wished him to head back to Hell. She had tried to make it productive, forever reining them back in like a carriage of horses trying to gallop off. If Sir Integra could not get their support, she feared that the king and queen would not side with her either.

"Do you have any idea of what this means? Count Dracula is back. Who knows what happened to him in the past thirty years. Has he changed? Have his ideals changed? Is he the same vampire we once knew? Does he still equate the fact that he is powerful but also your servant?" Sir Hayworth asked.

Integra took in one deep breath. "Yes, Sir Hayworth, to everything you just said. Not only is Alucard back and willing to help us in killing the rest of vampires throughout Britain, he is much weaker than you believe."

Sir Penwood shifted uncomfortably in his seat, grabbing it his collar, "What do you mean, Sir?"

Integra grinned, "You gentlemen do remember what happened to him, right?"

"Of course we remember," Sir Norrington scoffed, "Some of us were trying to evacuate the Queen."

"Well," Integra lit up her cigar and drew in a long and much-needed whiff, "Upon our vampire's return, Alucard informed me that he had to kill each and every one of his familiars. That way, he could tell himself apart from the others. Now, he has no reserves, no back-ups, no familiars. He is a normal vampire with just some basic skills with a gun."

"What?" the group asked in unison.

Integra grinned again, "In simpler words, no familiars: no outstanding powers. You see, gentlemen, in order for the Cromwell Effect to release, there needs to be enough familiars to sustain his energy for the transformation. It takes endurance to maintain his shapes and forms; just being a normal vampire is not enough force to sustain and maintain all of his powers for long. Think of his familiars as personal generators: without them, he cannot draw forth the energy that is needed in order to release the Art Restriction Levels."

The members whispered in hush tones to one another and to themselves. Uncertainty befell the room. To make matters more uncomfortable, each member still did not look satisfied, even after talking for four hours. Integra rubbed at her temples, knowing exactly what would come out of their mouths.

Integra continued, "Furthermore, Alucard acquired some powers while murdering Schrödinger. He stated to me that he is able to be everywhere and nowhere. Now, this means that he was able to obtain Schrödinger's powers and harness them to fit his own needs."

"Sir, it's not that we don't trust you, we just don't trust your servant. Isn't Seras enough?" Sir Hayworth asked, ignoring her previous statement.

"No, you don't trust my judgment. You think that because I've become old I've lost my touch, lost my keen sense of ethics and morals. You think that because I have aged, my lines of what is right and my personal gain have blurred together," Integra spat.

"Now, Integra-" Sir Penwood started.

"And what's more? The fact that killings have risen despite what Hellsing has done over the years. The people are becoming angrier, and there are whispers that there will be a strike," Integra stubbed out her cigar angrily.

"A strike?" Sir Norrington raised an eyebrow.

A knock startled the group. Albert, who was sitting quietly at the edge of the table next to Integra rose and shuffled to the door. He opened the door and a pause entered the room when the members looked over their shoulders. Integra tried not to laugh at the amusing action of paranoia. A dainty hand shook the butler's as a tall figure stepped into the room with wide eyes of concern and a blade of sorts in her hand.

"Sir Integra, I was going to wait until after your meeting…" Seras began.

"It's quite alright," Integra reassured her, thankful for the interruption, "What is your report?"

Seras gulped down, her head facing the ground, completely aware of the heads now turned to her. She knew she would be blushing at all the attention, had she been alive.

"W-well, there was a protest outside the Hellsing gates at approximately 3:00PM this afternoon. I was called into duty in case anything got out of hand. One of the protesters…well I got too close to the gate and when I wasn't looking, a woman grabbed me by the shirt and stabbed me with something silver," Seras paused.

It was immediately filled with questions, to which Integra held up a hand. The room quieted down again, letting Seras's eyes fall on Integra's. Seras, locking eyes with her master of thirty years, became calm once more and continued the story.

"I pulled it out…and…well…" Seras took it off from her belt and placed it on the table, ready for examination.

Sir Integra and Albert peered over the wood and at the object. Albert picked it up lightly, balancing the blade on one hand and the handle in the other. He flipped it over agilely and pointed to the hilt. Scripture was engraved all throughout the silver blade in twisting and elegant writing along with prayers not foreign to Integra. She shuddered openly at the writing that was so clearly exposed, so proudly exposed, to her.

"Section XIII," she whispered and took the bayonet from her butler, "This is a Section XIII bayonet…"

"WHAT?" Sir Hayworth exclaimed.

"You mean to say that Section XIII is back? We haven't even seen them for at least ten years now. And their killings have been sporadic to say the very least. Few in number since their last crusade fiasco," Sir Norrington sputtered with anger.

"The only person who carried bayonets on his person was Father Anderson himself," Sir Penwood raised his voice along with the others.

"Yes, yes that was Father Anderson wasn't it?" Sir Hayworth's eyes narrowed at the memories of him, "My word, I haven't heard that name in ages."

But more members started to panic. The younger men in the room who were not alive or present at the time shifted uneasily in their seats as the older men discussed their memories of the psychotic regenerator priest. With each sentence, more voices overlapped and the room started to vibrate. Albert, attempting to keep his master in the best mood possible, looked at Integra and exchanged a hopeful smile. She did not return it but instead shook her head in disgust at their evident panicking. It soon was rightly justified as she suddenly felt the presence of another in the room. A dark presence.

Gasps echoed the room as laughter emanated from the walls; laughter that had a stinging familiarity to it. Each member gulped and looked around in paranoia, hoping that what each had heard was just an auditory hallucination. But the laughter rang in the room again, causing their table glasses to shake as a dark figure materialized next to the door.

"Everyone is here; how splendiferous," Alucard purred, rubbing his hands together.

"Alucard," Integra opened a hand to the members before her as a gesture of mocking good-will, "I present to you, the new and improved Convention of Twelve."

"Mmm, and so they think my existence naught. Shall I prove to them how valuable I can be?" he turned to her.

"It will not come to that," Integra stated as frightened eyes met her calm, intellectualizing ones.

"Very well, my master," Alucard whispered, his tone disappointed.

"Gentlemen, this meeting is, should we say, adjourned?" Integra stood up. The entire room rose anxiously with her but stood their ground.

"But Sir, what about our discussion?" Sir Penwood objected, looking around the room for support. Unfortunately, all eyes were on a monster who'd returned.

"Sir Penwood, it has come to my attention that protests have started outside of my gate, which has not happened for some time now. Also, Section XIII has made a statement saying that they are not lost to the wind and are, in fact, preparing. Now, would you say that accepting Alucard back into Hellsing is understandable and practical, or am I going to have to tell the king and queen why our best vampire-midian expert is sitting idle while more innocent people die when they could be saved?" Integra asked, completely knowing she had won the argument the moment his words slipped out.

"Oh..w-well of course. My mistake," Sir Penwood lowered his head and proceeded out of the room.

The others followed, some unable to not stare at Alucard, some refusing to look at the monster. They were so close, so close to ridding the earth of him forever; but now he had to come back to watch the world burn once more, laughing every step of the way, understanding the outcome. Some of the members were grateful and weary of his return, hoping that, now that their trump card was back in place, they would finally be able to curb and stop the rest of the vampire killings. Grateful or ungrateful, every council member knew and understood that for five years after Alucard disappeared no vampires ventured into Britain. It was the most peaceful, albeit silent, years of her history. Each man stepped out of the room, fitting their overcoats and tipping their hats, however grudgingly, to Integra as they left. One by one, until the room was completely silent. The Hellsing Director let out a sigh and plopped back down in her chair.

Alucard chuckled, "Throwing down the gauntlet and running away like the cowards they are. Section XIII hasn't changed one bit, since I left."

"Any provocation against Hellsing will be met with instant punishment," Integra murmured so softly, only her servants hearing. They all grinned in response.

"My, my. And you haven't changed either, Integra Hellsing," the elder vampire looked her slim figure over with hungry eyes, "And still a maiden, I smell."

"OH SHUT IT YOU BLOODY FOOL!" She threw the blade at him, just missing as he phased to another part of the room. "Thank God I got a break from you for thirty years, or I would have died by now."

"Yesss," Alucard grinned, considering the thought, "But not as a virgin."

This response made Integra's vein in her neck pop out as she roared in anger and stood up with her pistol in her hand.

"Say. That. One. More. Time," she threatened, her posture unflinching, "If my calculations are correct, I aim at your heart, and you turn into dust."

Alucard phased right at the tip of the gun, gently pressing his chest to it. Integra lifted her eyes, if only to see his expression. His eyes were…begging her. They were begging her to pull the trigger; begging her to send him away; pleading for his rightly-deserved damnation for eternity in the depth of Hell; pleading to feel something again, after being numb for five hundred years.

"My master," he breathed, inhaling her delicious scent, completely at her mercy.

Integra's eyes widened as a slight pang of fear crept in. She never would. He called her bluff. There was no way she could ever kill her servant, not after so many years without him. He abandoned her; and she was ever begrudging of it. She never wished for him to leave, never again. Never again.

"No," Integra whispered, her voice almost breaking, "Not after what you put me through. I would never do that. You're too valuable as it is, now more than ever. For Britain; she calls you forth in her hour of need again, Alucard. What will you do?" she challenged.

Alucard grinned, gently pushing aside the gun from his heart, "Am I a human, or am I a dog, my master?"

Integra returned the grin, "Aye. I'm glad to see you back."

Seras suppressed a giggle as she looked at Albert. He returned the smile, also suppressing laughter. She never quite understood the relationship her master and Sir Integra had, but they had survived so many years together. Integra had grown up with him at her side; he was, and will always be, a part of the Hellsing family. Above all, Seras especially missed her master's dark humor. Even if it was a bit too much at times, she was ever thankful for the fact that he was strong for her…for everyone.

Albert cleared his throat and Integra looked up half-startled, as if the butler had caught two lovers in the act of foreplay. She almost blushed and quickly put her pistol away, glaring at Alucard's smirk. He got her. He'd won this time.

"My lady," Albert said soothingly, "May I show Alucard and Seras the new models I've made for them?"

Integra's eyes brightened, "You've made the adjustments already?"

"Of course, sir. They are ready for inspection. And the suits are on their way, almost ready for testing for our SAS soldiers. A hydraulic system that I personally installed should do the trick for them," Albert's eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Yes, you can show Alucard and Seras right now, if you so desire. I, unfortunately, must retire to my chamber. This day has left me quite disheveled," Integra rose and waved a goodnight to her servants as she walked out of the room.

"She's in a hurry to leave," Alucard muttered.

"Have you seen the way she's been sleeping lately?" Albert inquired.

Alucard turned from him to his servant with a disgusted look. Albert took offense to the action but only showed it by straightening his matching cravat and exhaling sharply. Seras cleared her throat, realizing that the remark was directed for her to answer.

"Umm, Sir Integra has been sleeping very well since you-" Seras paused as she saw a grin appear on his face, "Since everything went back to normal," she changed her ending, not wishing to give him the power of using it over Integra's head in the future.

Alucard still remained, grinning at Seras; but it changed from a grin of power to a soft smile, still predacious, of course. Seras raised an eyebrow and returned the smile, though hers was genuine. A warm feeling crept inside of her again at seeing him so happy, at noticing herself so happy. Never had she felt so…so safe in the mansion. Before Alucard arrived, and for thirty years, she was the top vampire, Hellsing's trump card. She had to make sure that everything was in order, that everything was running smoothly, that everything was completely and utterly under control with no threats targeting Hellsing. Every day she had to do this, and it soon became a dull routine filled with hours of worry and looking over her shoulder. Eventually, Seras got used to it; but when her master suddenly showed up, she was glad to step aside and become number two. The young woman wasn't entirely sure why, but she knew it felt right to be his servant again, even if she was old enough to become her own Nosferatu. The young Draculina felt as though there was still so much to learn, still so much knowledge that she needed to soak up.

"Yes, well," Albert interrupted, "If you would follow me, I will show you your new weapons," he opened an arm for Seras, which she politely accepted. The butler then proceeded out of the room with his head held high, stealing Seras, and not caring if he thought he heard Alucard softly growl.

~There's the next chapter for you! But I must warn my readers that AP testing is coming up and I will be updated less often. I will try to update at least once a week, but I'm afraid that I won't be updating once every two days as I have been. Hopefully, you can adjust to my new schedule; it shouldn't last for very long~

To Vyliss: You know what? You're right. I'm done trying to cater to people who won't like what I write. If it's not their style, if it's not to their liking, then fine! So be it! I've got everything I need. And I am doing a great job. You're right. This is a damn good story, and if people can't handle the fact that humans know the existence of vampires, then they can just stop reading. I…I've just had to explain myself constantly, and because I'm literally continuing the story right from where it ended, I feel like I have to explain a lot more than if it were an OC or something. You know? Just to be fair to the reader and to my own process of thinking. To be faithful to my readers more than anything. And I WILL give it justice. Time and patience with this is all I ask. And thank goodness for readers like you who have unflinching doubt in me. Really, I had quite the dramatic day today, and your words brought me to tears of joy that at least something went right. If there's anything that I always lack, it's confidence in my writing. Too many past memories of people not liking it. It's a huge scar on my psyche (or whatever you wish to call it) and I've decided to use this site to mend it, and cauterize the infection. I am a good writer, thank you for reminding me of that.
And I'm shocked that you would go so far as to put them right next to the rest of Hellsing's chapters! Hahahahaha! Really, that good? NAW! Can't be! :)

To Animefan111: I'm so thankful that someone noticed that I'd brought Pip into the story. It seemed to fit in PERFECTLY. It just came to me :D And yes, I love playing with the notion that Seras has grown into a much more confident and secure young woman, comfortable in her flawless vampire skin. I'm soooo glad I made your day! That's quite the accomplishment, I'd say! Hopefully this next chapter was just as good!