A/N: Final clip. Much more dramatic than I expected it to be. I thank everyone who followed this tediously long tale.

Final Exam

The group in the mansion's foyer watched as first one, then two figures loomed out of the shadow vortex.

"Sarah!" Seras yelled as she saw her friend shoved out of the portal by one of their fellow students. She would have ran over to her companion had Hans not stopped her with an arm. "But what's he doing with her?! How can he even do that?!" she exclaimed.

"He's a vampire!" Sarah explained just as the pudgy student clapped a hand over her mouth.

"That's quite enough" he mused with a wide, chubby grin. The look would have been playful on a child, but the look in his eyes spoke of more than fun. "Where is Alucard, Walter?" he spoke in almost a teasing voice. "I'm sure your master is somewhere near."

"Perhaps" was Walter's elusive response as he looked disdainfully at the uninvited guest. "But the master doesn't wish to see trash at any hour."

"Trash sounds like an admirable idea, should he not show himself" the student replied as he looked around the manor. "His decor was always lacking" he noted.

"Let her go!" Seras interrupted as she flung off Hans' arm and glared at their opponent. "What are you doing with her?!"

"A hostage, of course" the man replied with a wide grin. "To broker a deal in patricide."

"Patricide?" Pip repeated in confusion.

"Indeed" the other answered. "Our 'father' is no doubt watching us right now, waiting to see how his 'children' play" he informed as he looked up to the rafters. "Will you come out and play, also, 'father'?" he mockingly asked.

Meanwhile Seras' eyes were locked on her friends, who stared back in a terrified but composed gaze. The young captive appeared to be formulating a plan as she looked up at her captor, and then back down to the hand clapped over her mouth. She peered back at Seras and blinked several times, as if telling her to be ready.

Seras' eyes widened in horror.

No she silently mouthed as she shook her head, but Sarah blinked slowly as if in apology.

"No!" Seras screamed as Sarah opened her mouth and managed to bite down hard on the man's hand.

The surprise attack caught him off guard and he released his hold as blood came forth from the wound. He snarled at the girl as he cradled the profusely bleeding hand while an amount seemingly impossible rained down upon the floor. Sarah gagged on the cold liquid as she staggered out of his grasp and toward her friends.

But something was horribly wrong.

Sarah didn't make it more than a few yards before she clutched her stomach and gasped. She collapsed to the ground as Seras raced to her side.

"Sarah!" she called out in terror as she moved to hold her friend in her arms. "What's wrong!?" she questioned as she looked for any signs of wounds, but nothing appeared through the blood splattered over her face. She looked up as Pip and Hans came to their side. "What's wrong with her?" she begged to know.

"I-I don't know" Pip replied as he furiously checked her body. "I can't find a mark on her."

Their worry was interrupted by a short, low laugh, and they all looked to where the man stood. He was facing the ground, his hand barely leaking now, but they could tell his body was shaking from his amusement.

"She must certainly feel the pain by now" he murmured, more to himself then to the group. "The feeling of infection, of slowly dying."

"No!" Seras exclaimed as she held her friend closer. "That can't be!"

"How!?" Pip demanded to know as Hans' eyes suddenly widened and his lips curled up in a snarl.

The silent friend stooped down and pointed at the blood which lay around her mouth, then he mimed the act of drinking and looked to his otherwise healthy companions.

"His blood..." Seras surmised as she shook her head. "His blood is like ours" she understood as a few loose tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Not quite" the stranger interrupted, though the glee was leaving his voice as he raised his wounded hand. "He didn't finish the process. I am not complete, but I soon will be" he added as his wide, demonic grin returned.

"I believe...we won't allow such an end" a voice suddenly spoke, and all eyes turned to the main doors as they banged open against the walls. Integra stood in the entrance with Harry at her side, and both appeared to be quite out of breath. She smirked at the man's scowl upon their appearance. "You can't run, Max" she threatened.

"Sarah!" Harry exclaimed as he rushed from the entrance to his friend. He slid down to the floor as he looked astonished at her pale face. "What's happened?" he asked of his companions.

"Later" Pip ordered as he slowly stood to his feet and glared at their maniacal foe. "We have to deal with zis guy before we can help her."

Hans nodded his head, and Harry reluctantly stood to his feet and turned toward their adversary. His gaze, however, was still retained by Integra as he smirked at the young woman.

"You look much like your father" he commented. "But do you have his strength?"

"I don't need strength" Integra countered as she pulled out a strange orb from one of her pockets. "I merely need this."

"A ball?" Max asked with an amused but interested grin. "What will you do with your toy?" he inquired.

"This" she explained as she kneeled to the ground and softly nudged the ball toward him.

Max watched as the container slowly rolled in his direction. He appeared unimpressed until the ball was within a foot of himself, and then he raised his arm and a portal appeared.

Integra scowled as the ball disappeared into the abyss.

"I don't have time for games right now" he calmly informed her with a shrug. He began slowly moving toward her as she defiantly stood her ground. "Perhaps another time" he suggested as he raised his healed hand and a long, sharp blade protruded from his skin.

"Perhaps not" Seras interrupted as she focused on the point the ball had vanished.

Max turned around at her voice and his eyes widened as the ball suddenly appeared through a small portal not more than a few inches from where he stood.

And it had changed directions.

The vampire had little time to think of a plan before the silver ball softly struck his shoe. Nothing appeared to happen for a moment before a sudden blinding light exploded from the shell.

Max raised his arms to cover his face as the brightness hit his body. A blood curdling scream erupted from his mouth and echoed off the walls as his form began to melt against the light. His hair was immediately burnt away as his skin melted upon contact. His clothing even burst against the internal force of heat within his body as he quickly burnt away.

The three infected friends turned away against the sun's imitation as each felt their skin heat up against the strange weapon. Fortunately the blast was focused and thus limited to a small area, probably to create a larger impact on the intended target.

Soon the light died down and all gaze at the spot where Max had stood. Only a small pile of smoldering clothing and simmering ashes were all that was left of the psychotic vampire.

"Thanks" Integra called out to Seras, who only turned back to the friend she closely held.

For a moment all was silent, and only the soft, staggered breathing of Sarah was heard above the quiet of the hall.

"What a list of guests" the occupants suddenly heard, and the voice appeared to come from the stifled air of the manor. "How shall I show my appreciation for a wonderfully exciting night?" the amused voice inquired.

"Alucard!" Integra yelled above his sudden laughter. "Show yourself!" she demanded.

A faint shadow appeared in the darkest corner of the room close to the staircase. Out of the blackness stepped the monster at her bidding, but he first moved over to the smoking ashes which were once Max.

"He could never become a full vampire" Alucard murmured as he looked upon the mass in disgust. "His body rejected my blood even as his mind wished for that impossibility."

However, he soon turned his attention to the group of friends who hovered around Sarah, but addressed the lone student.

"What are you going to do now, Integra?" he suddenly questioned of her, but his eyes still held on to the companions.

"You are my last objective" she simply stated as she slowly pulled out a small hand gun which had been hidden in her shirt. She pointed the barrel steadily at the creature. "With your destruction, everyone will be free" she commented as her own gaze wandered to the group.

"You forget the dying girl" he noted with a clicking of his tongue. "The blood in her veins is ill, and even with her sire gone the mutation will not stop." Now Alucard turned his full attention to the young woman who so surely held the weapon. "Will you kill her to save yourself, or will you allow her to live?"

"You are not offering her life" Integra spat in disgust. "You are merely offering her a way to escape the pain of death" she commented.

"So much like your father" Alucard mused to himself.

"I get that a lot" she returned as she cocked the gun.

"Stop."

The quiet, firm voice came from the group as Seras slowly handed her dying friend to Harry and stood to her feet. She looked to the two arch enemies who faced off, then back to her pale companion. She shook her head, and then returned to the two with a strong glare.

"You two make me sick!" she exclaimed as she stalked over to stand amidst them. "Here you are talking about your lives while my friend is dying!"

"Seras, move" Integra commanded.

"No" Seras refused as she shook her head. "I won't until you listen to me" she informed as she looked to Integra. "You know destroying him won't cure us, don't you?" she asked, and the young woman turned her eyes away. "You know it's too late for us, don't you?!" she insistently questioned. "We've drank too much!"

"Seras" Pip softly spoke as he stood and stepped over to her side. He settled his hands on her shoulder and looked to Alucard. "The damage iz done" he stated rather than asked. "We cannot return to our human selves" he calmly informed, and Harry looked stunned as his head whipped up. "Alucard" he questioned as he looked toward the vampire. "Can you save our friend?"

"In a way" he evasively answered, but they knew what the cost entailed.

"We can't just let her die" Seras objected as she turned toward Integra. "Please let us save her in any way we can" she pleaded.

Integra looked to the two friends, and then at the monster who waited patiently for her answer.

Finally she lowered her gun and deeply sighed, and her head shook at her stupidity. Her eyes turned toward the two companions who stood in her way.

"Do you truly know what you're asking?" she questioned.

"More than you can guess" Pip calmly replied.

Harry cradled Sarah in his arms as a few loose tears strayed down his cheeks. Her breathing was more labored then when he had arrived and her skin was now cold to the touch. She began to shake in his hold, regardless of the warmth he tried to provide to her.

However, a shadow fell across them both which caused him to look upward. Alucard towered over the Sarah and him, his red eyes staring down at the couple with an intense gaze. He kneeled down so that he was eye level with Harry, and then he raised one of his hands with the palm facing upward.

Harry shrunk back as he slowly raised a fingernail and cut a thin line across his wrist. A small trail of blood trickled from the wound, very much different from what had happened to Max upon his wounding.

"She will die for a time" Alucard informed as he looked to Harry.

The man understood what was being done to save Sarah, and he firmly nodded his head. Harry straightened her to a seated position and Alucard set his bleeding wrist above her mouth. The cold blood poured over her lips and most escaped into her mouth as she tried to breath through the pain.

After she swallowed some drops the change was almost instant.

Sarah's breathing became more even and her body stopped shaking from the cold. Harry noticed, however, that her skin still grew colder and her heart beat was slowing to a dull pace. Soon there was no sound and her lips did not move from the effort of inhaling air. She hung limp in his arms, and he held her closer as Alucard stood to his feet.

He turned to face Integra, Pip and Seras with a grin on his face.

"An entertaining night, but I believe we must go" he announced.

"We?" Seras asked as she stepped closer to Pip.

"Indeed, my child" he explained. "The night will not last much longer, and we must do more traveling before the sun rises." He looked to Integra, and gave her a deep bow. "Perhaps another time, Miss Hellsing" he suggested.

"Not perhaps" she corrected. "When."

"I look forward to it" Alucard agreed as he snapped his fingers.

A large portal appeared against the staircase of the grand manor.

"Walter, if you will show them the way" he asked of his servant who stood off to the side.

"Certainly, Lord Alucard" he obeyed as he moved to Hans and Harry, who still held Sarah. "This way, if you please" he instructed as he gestured to the portal.

"What's through there?" Harry suspiciously asked as he slowly stood to his feet with Sarah in his arms.

"A long future" Alucard interrupted with a chuckle as he raised an arm. A sudden gust of wind began to blow through the halls of the manor. "And a closing chapter here."

The companions stood their ground for a moment until they heard the stones outside begin to topple. The windows shattered from the force of the wind and the ground shook beneath their feet.

The mansion wall falling apart.

"Seras, we have to go" Pip spoke as he took her hand and led her to the portal. "Zere is nothing for us here now."

"I guess" she agreed as she looked back to Integra, who watched them move toward the portal without herself flinching. Seras lifted her hand and waved back to her. "Thank you!" she yelled against the great noise.

Harry, Sarah and Hans were the first to be led through the opening with Walter as their escort. Alucard stepped up to the doorway as Seras and Pip hesitated a moment at the door to their new un-lives.

"This should be an interesting adventure, my children" Alucard encouraged with a wide, toothy grin on his face.

The couple looked at one another and then both plunged deep into the portal.

The eldest vampire looked one last time as the roof began to shake with the force of the tornado he had created. He could see Integra still standing at the entrance, and he scowled as she stubbornly stood her ground till the end. With a wave of his hand he let loose a blast of wind and knocked her back out of the door and far into the lawn.

One more glance and a final bow, and then he, too, entered the portal.

Integra watched the final moments of destruction as the manor caved in on itself. The blocks crumbled to dust upon impact with the ground and the wood appeared to rot nearly instantly. The foundation faltered and collapsed, creating a large whole which swallowed what remained of the structure's fragments.

Then even the noise no longer existed as she was left solitary amidst the green grass. She looked for a long moment at the destruction, pondering the significance of the night, until the sounds of people and cars crept to her ears.

Integra turned her steps toward the forest and was soon in the depths of the trees. As she neared town she could see a fire blazing at the end of one of the streets, quite possibly the house Alucard had rented.

The young woman broke out from the woods and melded into the growing throngs of locals and people who were stuck between going to the mansion or watching the fire burn. She ignored their presence and instead wandered away to her rented room, her mind elsewhere as fire trucks and police cars sped by.

There would be nothing for them to do, and nothing for them to save when they reached their destinations. Only smoldering piles of rubble, ash, and ruin awaited the onlookers and rescuers. The inquest would no doubt find some mundane reason for both, possibly some shortage of wires or strange natural phenomenon.

But Integra would know the truth, and she would work off what she knew to find them again. It would no doubt take years from her life, but she was willing to sacrifice them for her cause.

And for another look at the companions who stood together even in the face of a fate worse than death.

Their master was expecting her, after all.

The End