Alucard's eyes snapped open only for him to face the top of his coffin. He felt refreshed even after just a short rest, and his mind immediately went to the task at hand. He opened the coffin with a gentle push and stepped out, his hand moving to clasp his coat that was draped beside it. He shrugged it on, leaving his hat and glasses there, as he moved out of the nave to the door that led downstairs. The constructors had built it so it seemed to be part of the wall. The nave's pews were covered with dust, cracks mixing in with the intricate designs on the wood.

He moved down the stairwell slowly. Not for any need of silence, but because he could faintly hear a voice coming from below. No one could've gotten past him, and even if, by some miracle, they had, there should have been no way possible for them to have found the lower level. Even he only knew about it from having to free a member from the early days of the Hellsing Organization many years ago. As he got closer, he began to make out what was being said…or rather, sung, in a sweet, yet almost shaky voice.

"…In tears our last farewell was taken,

And nos in tears we meet again,

Yet even then,

While peace was singing,

Her halcyon o'er land and sea…"

It was an Irish folk song; at least two hundred fifty to three hundred years old. Written by Thomas Moore, Alucard thought, although he couldn't remember where he heard that from or why he knew it. He paused on the last steps, hiding in the shadows, waiting for Alaina to finish.

"…Or how shall I, who love, who bless thee,

Invoke thy breath for freedom's strains,

When e'en the wreaths in which I dress thee,

Are sadly mixed, half flours, half chains."

He waited, but that was it. Not wanting her to think he had been there the whole time, he stayed in the same spot for about five minutes, and then began walking down to Alaina's cell. She didn't seem to notice him approaching at first, and when he glanced her over, she seemed a little…unstable. Her hands were fastened to her upper arms, her nails digging into the cloth. It looked like she was either trying to keep warm or trying to pull herself together.

Instead of fading through, he pulled out a set of keys and unlocked the cell, then Alucard gripped Alaina tightly by her wrist and began hauling her upstairs. "Let's go," he said bitterly.

The rest of the night consisted of an intensive interrogation- with little to no decent information gained- and round after round of torture. This included slowly impaling her through her shoulders, with small stakes taken from broken furniture.

She tried not to scream, she really did, but often a few shrieks of pain would burst from her. And she was punished for her weakness as well.

After hours, Alucard practically had to drag her back to her cell, tossing her in with little concern and despising her for her fatigue and terror, although she had gained a little of his respect for her strong will. He spun on one heel and began to head back upstairs, promising more pain later on. He heard the thump that signaled Alaina had fallen heavily on the floor, her body tired and abused, her mind the only thing keeping her from caving in. Even with her regeneration ability, it did nothing to take away her weariness.

He had just come through the door and sealed it shut when he heard a voice sneer above him, "Finally, you're back. We were beginning to think you'd disappeared. Dunstan," the voice called out, "It seems I owe you dinner; your sense hasn't failed us…yet." Looking up to the high, worn out rafters, Alucard spotted three figures. They all appeared about the same age; early twenties. A girl- the one that had called out- had short and curly black hair tinted green, a navy eye, and wore a dark emerald Lolita dress with knee-high black socks and Mary Jane shoes. She also wore a matching collar around her neck and clasped a shiny, coal black flute in one hand. The designs of the flute were ancient-looking, and the symbol of witchcraft was clearly engraved in the middle of its shaft.

The other two were a pair of young men, each with a sturdy, strong build. The one referred to as Dunstan wore an Aussie slouch hat- making it hard to see the close-shaven ashen blonde hair underneath, a solid white tank, and denim jeans with work boots. One eye was a pale greyish-blue. The second male had a hazel eye, and wore black dress shoes, a plaid sweater vest over a black shirt, the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, and slacks. His light brown hair was well-groomed and he had a small beard coming along.

All three of them were extremely beautiful and handsome. All three of them were also hybrids, currently in their vampiric state.

The girl hopped down, landing gracefully, followed by the other two. She was the first to speak up, pointing to the hidden door behind Alucard, "Is that where you're keeping the little brat?"

For a moment- although he didn't show it- Alucard was confused at the insult given to Alaina. These were members of her own kind. What had she done to earn their resentment?

"You may as well stop playing stupid," she continued, "We know you killed Polaris- not that she was much of anything anyway- and we know your keeping Alaina here. So the question is how much has that sad excuse for a leech told you about us?" Her words were full of hate. Whether or not they were directed to Alucard or his prisoner, he couldn't tell. It was probably for both of them though.

"First things first; how did you find her?" Alucard asked calmly, grinning at the girl's question in order to keep up the masquerade of him having any solid knowledge about them. He could probably ring out more information if he played this right.

"It wasn't all too hard. Mother keeps track of all her children. You should know of that telepathic connection, vampire." The girl smirked, "Yes; she's told us about you too."

The well-groomed male butted in, "Reine, I'd be careful what I said around this one. Although, he doesn't look quite like what Mother described."

"Shut up, Nogah! I know what I'm doing!" growled Reine before returning her attention back to Alucard, who kept a cocky grin on his face, confident in himself, "Alright, where's sister dear?"

"You mean that pile of blood and gore? I believe I left it downstairs, lying in a corner," Alucard stated impassively. He wanted to have them think Alaina was dead, so their attention would be on him. "You wasted your time, coming here to salvage what's left of her ruined form."

The trio laughed evilly, "That's fine, we'll just take the corpse. We've been in the mood for a late-night bite anyway," said Dunstan. When there was no reply, he smirked, "What? Do you really think we'd come all this way to save that runt? Even when in our hunting pack, she never did catch much to come home with. Not the toughest thing either. Heck, the only reason she lived this long was because Mother was waiting for the right time to kill her. Not much use in her if she can't hunt like the rest of us. Kinda sad, if you ask me; sis was a pretty thing and could've reined a bunch of idiot human males in for the kill." he frowned, "Then the little brat had to go ahead and ditch us, just before it was time. To her credit, she did manage to bring a few good meals in later on though."

"Yeah, when rigor had already set in," Reine muttered.

"So, you're just planning on taking it and being on your way?" Alucard asked, raising a brow and grinning.

"Oh, no, you murdered Polaris; not much of a killer, but still one of our best lures and huntresses. So now," Each got into a fighting stance, teeth bared, "Mother wants your head as well."

Alucard laughed, "If she was one of your best, I shudder to think of what you three are capable of." He pulled out both his pistols.

It was Dunstan that made the first move, pulling a whip of the same design and color as the Reine's flute from his belt. He used it to quickly the Casull out of Alucard's grasp and sent it flying to the other end of the church.

Nogah pulled out something from his pocket; small array of sewing needles attached to a glimmering black thread. These also had the symbol of witchcraft on them. With a delicate flick of his hand, he sent them flying at Alucard. They pierced his chest and came right out the other side, sticking into the wall. Alucard tried to faze through them but couldn't escape, no doubt whatever black magic was used to craft them was at work.

Very well, looks like this fight just got more interesting, Alucard thought wickedly, that insane smile he normally possessed when finding an entertaining fight creeping upon his face.

Alucard fired at all three of the hybrids repeatedly with the Jackal. While they were busy dodging the bullets, he quickly turned and fired, shooting the needles free from the wall, but unfortunately not destroying them.

Dunstan was the first to regain composure enough to use his weapon once more. Alucard scored an explosive shot in his chest, which stalled him for a moment until his healing ability kicked in. He used his whip to this time ensnare the hand that clasped the Jackal. It had the same effect as the thread and with ease Dunstan pulled Alucard's wrist downward. He was surprisingly strong for a half-blooded vampire.

Nogah came in to help. He telekinetically lifted his hand upward, and the needles rose from the floor. As Alucard was busy fighting Dunstan, he had the needles swiftly fly back to their quarry and wrap around him, entangling him in the deadly thread and pinning his arms to his sides. Dunstan took this time to pull Alucard's hand clean off his wrist with the use of his whip, taking a great amount of glee in seeing it come off and flop to the ground in a bloody heap.

"I'm not impressed, considering my brothers can beat you without my help," Reine said, examining her nails passively. Alucard glared up at her, but not in anger, more like a lunatic would. It unsettled her, but she didn't let it show. She flipped the flute around in one hand and made an insane, cruel smile of her own. "Now it's my turn to have some fun." With that she began playing the flute.

It started off, low and soft, but soon grew into the haunting, shrill tune that it was. She and the other hybrids stood there, unaffected, but Alucard felt a sudden pain in his skull he didn't think was possible, practically torturous. It came as a shock because he hadn't felt such pain in years, not since the days of Abraham Van Helsing. Whatever these weapons were, they were strong with dark magic and witchcraft.

But, as Alucard had said more than once, it took a man to kill a monster.

"Approval recognized. Commencing the Cromwell Invocation. Releasing Restriction Seals Two…One… Releasing Control Art Restriction Systems to Level Four."

"Nogah, do you have a clue what he's babbling on about?" asked Dunstan. Nogah shook his head 'no'. Reine continued playing, unfazed and thinking their opponent had merely gone insane with pain. That he would be dead soon.

If she only knew just how deeply in trouble she was.

When Alucard opened his eyes again, the shined far brighter than they had earlier, nearly flashing in his blood rage. With ease, he snapped himself free of the thread like it was nothing. He then used the abilities he gained from Schrödinger to make himself appear in two more places in the room. The trio of hybrids watched in shock for a moment before they finally got enough sense to put up a fight once more.

The fight was very short from there. And Alucard savored every scream that was made, almost every drop of blood he spilt.

He saved the still dripping with blood, decapitated head of Nogah, wanting to show it to his prisoner. Dying to see what reaction she would take to her "rescuers" having been slaughtered.

As soon as he pushed open the door for the second time and began descending down to the lower level, he knew something was wrong; he smelled the overpowering scent of fresh blood. Which was odd because he was certain he had removed the girl of all weapons while she was unconscious and that there was nothing she could cut herself with down there. What could she be doing? Alucard questioned as his eyes narrowed. He swiftly moved down the steps.

The candle had burned out earlier, but with he could still see clearly. What he saw mildly surprised him.

Alaina had removed her helmet now, so all of her hair, parts of it clamped together with sweat and dried blood, was visible. She still sat curled up, knees drawn in front of her, and one hand tugged tightly to her hair, as if she was afraid of losing her mind. Her vampiric appearance had returned, and her eyes seemed distant and hungry, yet focused at the same time. What was startling was that she hand the lower half of her free arm in her mouth, the sleeve rolled up to the elbow. She was biting into it and draining her own blood from the wound that tried to heal all the while. Her fluid sprinkled down to her hand, off of her finger tips, and to the floor. On top of all this, she was crying silent tears of thinned-out blood- a mix between the thick, crimson liquid and water- that only added to her look of madness.

Like lightning, Alucard dashed to Alaina, yanked her arm out of her mouth, gripping it painfully as he pulled her to her feet and stared her down, "If I had known you were pathetic enough to attempt suicide, I would have killed you before now." he practically growled at her.

Alaina felt his red eyes bore through hers and down into her soul. Her arm, now free of the burden of her fangs, healed completely, as if nothing had happened. She had done this many times before in her existence, however, feelings of shame still washed over her like a wave for having to resort to it in the first place. Rather than showing anymore of her pain, she snapped at him, "I was hungry, but I can control myself just fine!"

Alucard released his hold and shoved her into the wall, "From what I saw, it didn't look like you could in the least. I've seen fledglings with more self-control than you." Finally, he noticed the red tears streaming down her face. Whatever hatred towards him reflected in her eyes, the hurt from her own actions and being caught in them was evident.

They had each other at a standstill for a while, glaring at one another. Alaina was the first to break away their eye contact, looking down, loathing him and disgusted with herself. "No one else seemed to care whether or not I drank my own blood," she muttered. She repeated something in a quieter tone, "I was just hungry…"

Her voice made it sound like she really did feel that she wasn't doing anything wrong by drinking her own blood. Like a child's, if they steal a treat before supper and then are chided by their parents for it. It was this innocent tone that made Alucard want to take a step back. Perhaps, she really didn't know any better. Even if could control herself from drinking herself dry, there was still a big risk in her actions.

"Explain yourself," Alucard stated, not allowing her to dissuade him. She didn't answer at first, so he added, "And I know about Mother and the other insects that are your kin, if they are involved in this." He leveled the Jackal to her shoulder, pressing the barrel down hard.

It took a slap in the face and another jab with the gun to get her to start talking, "When I was little, we were taught how to capture and kill, taught how to hunt for food and have a lust for blood," she looked down, avoiding his gaze, "When we were really young, before puberty, we were sent out as lures for the other, stronger and older hybrids. People might try to kidnap us as we walked alone, or try to trick us so they could…satisfy themselves, but we never gave them the chance; the others would make the kill before the humans even had any idea what happened. I was ok with everything then; we would do anything to please Mother. We felt we were doing right by feeding her the corpses these people, especially so since they had tried to take us…" Her voice drifted, and her eyes took on that distant look again, "In return, we earned the right of her love and to feed as well.

"Then, as we grew older and our bodies began maturing during adolescence, we were able to watch the other young brothers and sisters set the traps as we went in for the kills. Foolish young men and women, innocent people wooed by the others, were tricked into our reach. When I turned sixteen, it was my turn to charm and slaughter…

Was it Alucard's imagination, or did she seem to cry harder during the next few statements? "…He was a handsome man, two years older than I, well built, and being a low-paid, traveling musician trying to make his way to fame, he wasn't well known amongst others; a perfect candidate to hunt. I took my chance of opportunity to prove my worth and bring back fresh meat to my family after one of his concerts. I flirted as I had been instructed to do, but gained no favor with him, just a sly smirk and a, 'Nice try, but I'm not that kind of man, sweetheart.' He told me if I wanted him, I would need to quit the act.

"I pursued him relentlessly, determined to get him as a matter of pride. When he didn't know it, I would follow; learning everything I could about what my target fancied. The next time I approached him, I acted casual, friendly, and a little flirtatious. He treated me to a burger, allowing a "first date", and spoke with me as a companion. Anytime I seemed too fake, he would warn me he would take his leave.

"Never did he compliment me on my hair, my clothing, my figure; only my actions, talents, and thoughts. He seemed to search on a deeper level than that. If I ever shared something real about me with him, he would gratefully return the kindness…

"Then, finally, came the day where he kissed me and professed his love. What was the surprise was that I-I returned it. He wasn't like the men before, that would attempt at rape or murder," Alaina made a choking sound, "I tried talking to my sisters, to help me understand this. They said it was childish fancy; that men only sought beauty and nothing less, that he was exactly the same as the rest and was lying to me, and now that I had this one in my grasp, it was time to finish what I had started."

"I-I led him back home, and he came willingly…trustfully… I won't forget the look he gave me when I showed him to Mother... I was told to make the kill, and when I couldn't, Mother did. I recall someone holding me by my arm in case I tried to save him…All I could do was stare in horror…

"I didn't eat that night, knowing who would be on the menu. I stayed in isolation for days. When they ordered me to return to the hunt, I refused, and was punished by not being allowed to eat and slowly starve. I got a small cut one day, during my hunger…That's when I found it tasted just as good as any other blood. Best of all, it was mine to have.

"When I did hunt again, it was never humans, never the innocent. I brought in animals from the woods. It was frowned upon, but food was food. However, there were still days they refused to let me eat, in attempt to turn me back to murder. I would then just turn to my own blood to feed. I left home as soon as I good, wanting to forget all I had grown up to become. I tried to fit in with the human world, but it was never easy.

"Other hybrids before me had left to start their own lives somewhere else- including other countries- and find new hunting grounds, making our kills seem random and not leaving much room for suspicion on who we were and where from. My family kept contact with me, expecting this and thinking I was doing what was wished of me. To keep up the ruse, I joined the SWAT team. I needed to find a way to bring back food to Mother, when and if she told me to by telepathy. Corpses of criminals that were executed became my targets, and once they were delivered, I would disappear from my kin again."

Alucard had no idea how to take this. This story seemed to be true, if her reactions were anything to go by, along with what her brothers and sister said about why they were after her. A thought went through his mind that she wasn't entirely sane, the weight of her past and the loss of her lover taking a heavy toll on her grasp of reality. Even now, she wasn't paying attention to him anymore; just staring into space and occasionally glance back to her bare arm in hunger.

He turned for a moment, returning with the head of Nogah that he had dropped in his haste. That grabbed her full attention. "What did you do?" she nearly shrieked.

"Your idiot kin decided to pay me a visit, and it didn't end well for any of them."

"They were the oldest and most experienced of us- nearly two hundred years old each! They were the most capable killers! If you think Mother is going to allow you to get away with killing five of her children, you're wrong! She'll be after you soon, and she won't show mercy! You'll be dead within an hour of her arrival!" Alaina yelled angrily.

"No more than you will be," Alucard replied calmly.

"What are you talking about?" Her tone was bitter.

"Apparently, your ruse didn't cover as well as you think. She wants your blood to feed from now." The irony of this amused him.

Alaina stared, dumbstruck, "You're lying!" she shouted defiantly. Still, a hint of doubt and denial wavered in her eyes, "Mother loves all of her children. She cared for me. She would never-"

Alucard backhanded her across the face, the force behind it enough to snap her head back and send her backing into the wall, "Do not accuse me of lying, you pathetic lout. If she loved you, she never would have put you at risk or let you starve. Quit deluding yourself! You don't believe me? Then drink the blood, see for yourself!" With that, he shoved the head at her.

She stared at Nogah's head in her hands, his lifeless gaze still holding the intelligence that fabricated thousands of plans and traps. To be honest, she was still hungry, but she didn't think she could do this. Not to her own brother, even though he had bullied her sometimes, but every one of her siblings did.

Finding that her need to know the truth wasn't enough of an incentive, Alucard pulled out the Jackal again and shot her in the leg, sending her falling to the floor, groaning painfully. "Do it!"

As her leg healed, Alaina worked up the nerve to spit on Alucard's boot in defiance, and was once more shot at.

They were at something of a stalemate and stayed like this for a while. Eventually, hunger and the desire to prove this man wrong, that Alaina's family did care about her, won over. She bit into the nub that was Nogah's neck, drank, and…

And nearly burst into tears from what she found out. Her entire body felt numb. Nogah's head fell out of her mouth and rolled off to a corner.

Alucard smiled devilishly upon seeing that the girl found out he was right, "Don't expect any leniency to be shown the next time I catch you doing something stupid. I still need you alive for now, and I will restrain you if I have to. Believe it or not, the position you're in can be more unpleasant." Alucard said. He lifted a hand to her cheek and felt her go tense as she looked up at him again. Alaina's face spoke a silent order: Don't you dare touch me! He smirked and continued to brush away her tears, allowing his hand to scrape against her skin slowly; a way of reminding her that she was a prisoner here and how very weak she was compared to him.

With the same glove, he wiped away the remaining blood from the second gunshot wound that was almost finished healing. Making sure she was paying attention, he licked it off and chortled, "As sweet as your blood tastes, I can see why it'd be hard for you." He flashed a toothy grin as he saw her go rigid at his words.

"I have one, final question for you, then we're leaving," Alucard continued as he turned to unlock the cell.

"Leaving?" Alaina asked. She figured this cell would also serve as her tomb.

Ignoring her, he continued, "When I first captured you, you said I had no idea what a real monster was like. Why is that?"

This had not been the type of question she had been expecting at all.

"I asked you a question, insect. Or do I need to shoot you again?"

Her voice was quiet as she spoke, "...You've tortured me. You've killed my squad, my friends, and my siblings, and I know soon you're going to kill me too. But we attacked you first. You only fought back. You've only killed the killers," she paused, "However, we, my family and I, we're some of the real monsters. And there are even some humans who are like that too. Killing and hurting others without a purpose, without need. That's why you're no monster…not compared to some of us out there…"

Alucard stood silent, stunned into it by her words. He had been called a monster for many years, had known it himself, and now…now someone was denying that claim.

It was a nice change, but the girl was an idiot to believe that. Alucard had had his share of innocent blood as well.

"Come on, we're leaving." Alucard stated, moving out of the cell. He knew Alaina would follow. She knew she had to, or she would more than likely be knocked out and dragged to wherever they were headed. Alucard collected his pistols and holstered them as Alaina tried to ignore the carnage left from the battle.

Placing one hand on his coffin and gripping tightly to Alaina's wrist with the other, Alucard envisioned a certain place that was well known to him. They were teleported there in an instant by his ability to exist wherever and however he wished.

They appeared in a dark dungeon that he might've once considered home.