Disclaimer: I do not own Hellsing... yet.

So, my little readers... what shall happen today in the chronicles of time? (ooh, that sound pretty good... maybe I'll use it and create a whole series of time travel ficlets) Anywho, you'll be pleased to know that this is my longest chapter yet, and for AxS fans, I have a feeling you'll like the note on which things end. Every character is included in the chapter, including Scipio (I missed him) and Vanya (no, he's not dead), so, in other words, the gangs all here. But what will they do when a new problem arises, something they weren't expecting? R&R!

"Masssster. Time to vake up. I am getting bored."

Seras flinched, rolling over in her sleep.

Shut up, she thought angrily. I'm busy.

"Masssster, if you do not vake, I vill have to ssseek entertainment elsssewhere, perhapss by toying vith that sssilly fledgling of yourssss."

Seras sat up quickly her eyes snapping open as she shouted, "You lay one of your filthy claws on him and so help me I'll..."

She trailed off as she suddenly realized that she was face to face with a very bewildered Dracula.

She chuckled nervously, leaning back against the pillow as she muttered a hasty apology. "My daiv," she explained uncertainly. "He was saying things while I slept."

Dracula, who had been sitting at the edge of her bed, leaning against one of the four posters as she slept, got to his feet and made for the door. He caught her questioning look and said, "I'm going to wake my other half."

"Why?" she asked, following him curiously with her eyes.

"Because he threatened to use my bowels to redecorate the castle if I didn't," Dracula said with a shrug. "Strangely enough, I believe him more than capable of it."

"B-but he couldn't kill you!" Seras protested, a little confused. "That would destroy him, too."

"That wouldn't be enough to kill me. It would just be very, very painful. So, for the time being, I will be true to my word."

"How long have I been out?" Seras asked, yawning sleepily.

"A little more than a week."

"A WEEK?!" Seras was sitting bolt upright, struggling with the covers as she tried to jump to her feet. "B-but what about Vanya? Is he alright?"

Dracula moved back to her side so quickly that she actually jumped with surprise. He used a gentle, yet forceful hand to lower her back onto the bed, saying, "The other part of your master's threat was to make sure you didn't hurt herself, so for the time being, I'm going to ask you to stay still. Your wound is still healing. You almost died, you know."

Seras let her head fall, feeling a wave of depression overtake her. She did not want to see her master. She didn't want to see the revulsion in his eyes when he looked at her.

Dracula, seeing that she was no longer protesting, rose from the ground and walked to the door once again, phasing through it when he reached it.

Vanya, Seras thought quickly, maximizing what time she had before Alucard joined her. Vanya, are you alright?

Yes, Master, came his quiet response in her head. I'm glad you're awake. It's been lonely while you recovered. I... I'm sorry.

Sorry? Seras repeated. For what?

You almost died to save me, all because I couldn't defend myself.

Seras laughed softly, recognizing the feelings he felt. All fledglings must go through similar stages, she realized.

Vanya, it is not your fault that happened, she replied. What you must understand is that my master is the most powerful vampire in the world. There are none who can contend with him, especially not a freshly made fledgling.

Yes, Master.

Vanya still felt guilty; she could sense it in the link they shared. He would have to overcome that on his own, as she had. But she was going to be a better master than Alucard was! She was going to produce a fledgling so strong, even he would be jealous.

Alucard still had not made an appearance. Perhaps he was waiting for her to mentally call to him, to confess that she wished he was with her. Well, she would not humor him in such a way. She had other business to attend to.

"Scipio!"

There was no response.

"Scipio!" she called again, a bit of venom in her voice.

"I vill not anssser to that 'uman name," he replied firmly.

Oh, yes you will, Seras replied. If you ever want to eat again, that is.

"You are crueler than your masster," Scipio replied, materializing at the foot of the bed. The wooden legs creaked under his added weight. "He vould never have made me anssswer to ssuch a 'orrible name."

"Aw, poor puppy!" Seras said sarcastically. "Maybe you should just go follow him around like the dog that you are then! He treats those loyal to him with such respect after all."

Scipio's sharp red eyes ran across her figure, lingering on the place where he knew she had been stabbed only a week before. "The vay you talk, Masster, I vould think you didn't like me," he said after a brief pause.

"Then stop complaining," she returned, rolling onto her side so the she could see him better.

"Of courssse, my massster," he purred adoringly.

"Kiss up," Seras muttered, shaking her head.

"Leave."

Seras jumped at the sudden sound of her master's voice, collapsing flat on her back as she saw him towering over her.

"Still so skittish," he mused, looking down at her. "You didn't sense my aura, Police Girl?"

"Maybe I was just ignoring it," she suggested bitterly. "And I'll thank you not to give orders to my daiv, Master. Scipio," she said, turning to face him once more. He lifted his head slightly to show that he had heard her. "You are to stay where you are. It's not as if you can interrupt, anyway."

"Mossst amussssing, Masster," he said, laying his head across one of his massive legs and closing his glittering eyes.

She turned back to her master, a glare already etched into the lines of her face as she stared up at him, awaiting his reaction. He looked down at her, his body unmoving as he said, "You should know that I would never intentionally hurt you."

Seras scoffed. "Because killing someone I cared about wouldn't hurt me at all, would it? Just because you've never felt any sort of attachment to anyone or anything doesn't mean I don't. There are a few unforgivable things you could do to me, Master," she told him, her hands balled into fists. "Strangely enough, killing me isn't one of them. You could beat me to a pulp and I would still follow you with unending loyalty and admiration. But trying to kill my fledgling... that's the only thing I'm really angry about."

She flipped onto her side so that her back was turned to him, partially because she didn't want to look at him, but mostly because she didn't want him to see her crying.

Her tears came hot and fast, dripping down to the bed sheet beneath her and staining it red. She felt terrible, like she wanted to be sick, conflicting emotions raging in her mind.

I hate him, I hate him!

Hardly, said another part of her brain. You just hate that he has the power to completely destroy you, emotionally and physically.

No, I hate him!

"Seras."

She did not face him, even as she felt his hand rest on her shoulder.

"Seras, look at me."

"Leave me alone," she mumbled, turning further away from him. His grip on her shoulder tightened slightly.

She felt unwanted goosebumps erupt up and down her body at his strangely affectionate touch.

"Master, will you please go?"

"If you look at me, I will."

"Fine," Seras sighed, flipping over to face him. She shrank back into the mattress when she realized how close he was, sitting right beside her on her bed.

"Seras, I was... wrong... to attack your fledgling," he said slowly, as if he had never used words like "I" and "wrong" in the same sentence. Seras was staring at him incredulously. Was this an apology?

Alucard glared down at her, having heard her thoughts. "It's not an apology," he said bluntly. "Just because I was wrong doesn't mean I regret it. I simply... underestimated the bond between a master and a fledgling."

"Then you will let Vanya live?"

"For the time being," he said, obviously disgruntled by this resolution.

"Thank you, Master!" Seras said with true happiness. And, even knowing it was inappropriate, she threw her arms around his neck and held him fiercely. Alucard stiffened initially, but then relaxed and allowed her to burrow into the folds of his shirt, his hands wrapped securely around her back.

Seras finally went to release him, but his arms held her tight against his body. "M-Master," she said nervously, feeling herself blush as she tried to wriggle out of his grasp.

"Yes, Police Girl?"

The return of her old nickname signified that he believed himself to have done enough to be forgiven. Strangely enough, Seras couldn't help agreeing with him. Still, she continued to try to disentangle herself from him.

"Master, could you please..." she said, pressing her hands flat against his chest and pushing against him as hard as she could. Alucard released her abruptly and she flopped back against the bed with surprise, only to have her shock doubled when he leaned over her, one hand on either side of her head, his black hair falling around her face.

"Master?" she asked tentatively as he stared down at her with his red eyes shining ominously.

"Police Girl, I've been thinking," he said, running his fingers through the shoulder length blond hair, a slight grin finding it's way onto his lips. "It would have been a pity if you had died. I may even have regretted it."

Seras cocked her head to the side, looking up at him questioningly. "You... would have missed me?"

"A human term," Alucard said scornfully, momentarily annoyed. Then, his expression softened, and the amused smile returned. "Regardless, the "attachment" you spoke of in reference to your fledgling is not unique, my little draculina."

Seras felt her face growing hot. She was all-too aware of how close her master was to her, and the things he was saying were making her very self-conscious.

"Thank you, Master," she said quietly, for lack of anything better to say.

"Police Girl?" he said, moving his face closer to hers.

"Y-yes, Master?" she asked, shrinking into the mattress.

"Do you know what else I was thinking?"

"No, s-sir."

He grinned, leaning in closer to her so that she could feel his breath on her skin as he answered, "It would have been a pity if you had died a virgin."

Seras' terrified squeak was muffled by his lips as he pressed them to hers, placing his hands on her wrists to keep her from struggling.

Her protests did not last long; he had not expected them to. Seras was very unguarded in her dreams and he had seen enough to ensure that she would not resist him.

Within seconds, she was returning his kiss hungrily, as though he was her sole source of life, her fists closing on the bed sheet as she leaned upward to be closer to him.

Alucard grinned to himself; her reaction enticed him, made him want her all the more. His lips slid from hers and moved to her neck, eliciting a gasp from his little fledgling. He finally released her wrists and wrapped one arm around her back, pulling her tightly against him. Seras entangled her hands in his hair as he trailed his tongue along her smooth skin; she tightened her fingers convulsively when he licked the spot where he had first turned her, where her blood pulsed so close to the surface.

"Master," she whispered breathlessly as she felt his free hand working at the buttons of her uniform.

Just then, the door banged open and an exhausted, panting Vanya stormed into the room, skidding to a halt as he caught sight of the scene before him. Seras felt herself turn redder than she had ever been in her life. Alucard, on the other hand, looked ready to attempt to destroy her fledgling for the second time.

"Vanya, what is it?" Seras asked, trying to remove herself from Alucard's grasp. He only held her tighter than ever, staring challengingly at Vanya as if to say "mine."

Vanya swallowed, turning a little red himself as he found an interesting crack on the ceiling to stare at before relaying his message. "D-Dracula sent me. He says he senses trouble, or something. He said something with a bad feel was coming."

Alucard lifted his head, as if listening for something no one else could hear.

Figures, Seras heard him mentally grumble, setting her down at last and rising from the bed.

"What is it, Master?" Seras asked, looking concerned.

"We'll find out soon enough, won't we?" he pointed out, holding out a hand to help her from the bed. Seras took it and allowed him to pull her to her feet, feeling a little worried.

"You don't recognize it?"

"Police Girl, if you recall, we are not of this time. It has been many years since I was this age and I am not familiar with all the presences." Though, he added softly, for only her ears, if I am not mistaken, and I rarely am, it is not so much something bad as it is something good; something too good.

Seras fought hard to interpret his sentences. Something too good... You mean like a priest? she asked curiously.

Perhaps, Alucard replied. But I think this will be a bigger problem than that. He phased through the floor, saying as he left, gather your servants and meet me in the entrance hall. I will discuss the situation with my younger self in the meanwhile.

Yes, Master, she replied loyally, turning to her sleeping daiv.

"Scipio," she said firmly. "Wake up. I've found you some entertainment."

"Oh?" he asked, baring his fangs in a wicked grin. "You mean that little disssplay between you and your masster vasss not enough?"

Seras colored. "I thought you were asleep."

He shrugged, rising from the bed and stretching. "I vassss until you sstarted making sso much noissse."

Well, maybe if you're lucky, we'll give you a show later, she thought waspishly as her daiv walked to her side.

She heard her master's amused voice in the back of her mind. I look forward to it, Police Girl.

Her blush deepened. "Come on," she said hurriedly, taking hold of her fledgling. "Let's go see what all the commotion's about."

And she phased them through the stones of the floor, Scipio right on her heels.

Dun-Dun-Dun... I really need to come up with some better scary music, ah well, they'll be plenty of time for that later. For now, let's talk Hellsing. So, I hope everybody really liked that chapter. Things are finally heating up, eh? And the next few chapters should be very interesting- I think this next adventure will be the last (please note: I have no idea how many chapters it will take to complete) but if I get good responses, I'm sure I'll make some sort of sequel. Doo-de-doo... I hope you're all reviewing, by the way; don't make me get out my frying pan! Well, anyway, check back tomorrow! And review! ... seriously. My frying pan is very heavy.