Something was wrong.
It was this nagging feeling inside of Seras, as if there was something important she had forgotten. She paused and took a moment to contemplate.
All the ghouls are dead…almost all the vampires…What am I missing?
Her thoughts were interrupted by the annoying whimpers of the mutilated vampire at her feet. In one fluid motion Seras sliced her in half to stop the noise. She immediately regretted it. That woman had been the last vampire left and Seras had been experimenting with different types of torture. It was like art; so many new methods to discover and the only limit was Seras' creativity.
She irritably scanned the room hoping to find another victim. There was no such luck. Every person in the room was already dead except Seras.
Well, I'm dead too, come to think of it.
She smiled at her own joke. A pity there wasn't someone here she could tell it to. Again that nagging feeling returned. It wasn't until Seras picked up the scent of virgin blood that she remembered.
Integra!
Thoughts of torture and bloodlust quickly faded to be replaced with compassion and concern for her master. Moreover, the memories of where she was and why she was here returned. It was as if Seras had been trapped in a dream of slaughter and was only now returning to reality. She looked around the room, shocked at the carnage she had wrought, and finally saw Integra's limp form on the ground.
Seras quickly ran to her master's side. Integra lay on the ground motionless, a pool of her own blood forming around her.
"Integra!"
There was no response. Blood continued to pour out of a wound in Integra's chest. Seras willed her shadowy arm to take on its human shape once again so she could try and stem the flow of blood. But even as she placed her hands on the wound, she knew it was hopeless. Integra was dying and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
How had Integra been injured? There were no ghouls or vampires near her, and the injury didn't look like it was inflicted by claws or teeth. Seras winced as she felt a sting of pain in her hands. Her eyes widened as she realized what this meant.
Oh God.
It couldn't be. Seras carefully dug her hand into the wound, dreading what it might reveal.
Oh God please no! Oh God.
Her worst fears were confirmed as she pulled out a silver-cored bullet from Integra. It burned in her hand, but with her restraints released, not even blessed silver could truly hurt her. What hurt her infinitely more was that it meant she'd been responsible for Integra's injury.
Seras put the pieces together in her mind. As the group of vampires had overwhelmed her, Integra must have been coming to save her. Instead, she'd been shot when Seras wildly fired her weapons. Integra was dying because of Seras.
She fought down a wave of panic. She was brought back to the Hellsing mansion attack, as Pip died trying to save her. She had hopelessly held him in her arms as his life ebbed away. Now the same was happening with Integra.
I'm not going to let her die as well!
There could be medical supplies back in the car! Without a second thought Seras gingerly picked up Integra and sprinted for the exit. This entire underground lair looked the same; with winding corridors that could lead in wildly different paths. Seras didn't have the luxury of knowing where each turn could lead her. Instead, she merely followed the corpse-ridden trail left by her previous battles.
Seras was a blur as she dashed through these macabre landmarks at an inhuman speed. Yet for all the distance she covered, Integra's life was still fading away. She finally managed to reach the tunnel leading to the surface. The rocky incline was all that was keeping Seras from the surface.
She carefully climbed the rocks and earth towards the exit. Finally, she could see the light at the end of the tunnel.
The light?
That wasn't right. Streams of light flowed into the tunnel from the surface. Stronger than the sun, yet it shouldn't be morning for a few more hours. Seras could feel Integra's pulse weaken. There was no time to hesitate. Strange light or not, Seras leaped out of the tunnel.
She was immediately assaulted by a cacophony of noises. She heard weapon's safeties being unlocked, the buzz of helicopters and the shouts of men in alarm at her arrival. All she could rely on was sound. Seras felt as if the sun itself stood in front of her, even with her full vampiric powers she had to avert her eyes. The light was far more than an irritant, and Seras had no doubt that a lesser vampire would be writhing in pain right now.
"Hold your fire!" A voice rang out from the chaos.
Colonel Parker stepped out of the light, flanked by two soldiers, weapons trained on Seras. When the soldiers recognized a fellow Hellsing soldier, they relaxed. One of the men spoke into his radio and the lights dimmed.
The clearing in the canyon had been transformed into a military camp. There must have been at least a dozen squads there. Some were unpacking equipment, setting up a perimeter or engaged in some other military task while a few paused to watch the activity at the tunnel entrance. Two helicopters were landed as well, unloading additional soldiers and equipment. There was even a tank; Seras hadn't even known Hellsing had one. This was undoubtedly the largest military operation she'd ever seen.
The only people who seemed to notice her arrival were the Colonel and his escorts. It was unusual for Parker to be out in the field, especially near an active vampire lair. It was almost as if he'd been waiting just for Seras.
She remembered to avert her eyes from the Colonel. Form had no meaning to a true vampire and while her body resembled that of a human, she could do nothing about her eyes which were orbs of blood. One look at them and her true nature would be recognized.
"Corporal Victoria" The Colonel's uniform seemed brand new and spotless while Seras was covered in blood and dirt. "I thought I might fi-"
"Integra's hurt!" Parker seemed annoyed at the interruption, but when he saw Integra in Seras' arms he immediately understood the urgency of the situation.
"We need a medic here now!" he shouted into his radio. "Tell me what the hell happened?"
Seras paused. What would she tell the Colonel? She considered lying but realized that there was no explanation she could give that would satisfy him. How could she explain walking out of a vampire lair, her uniform soaked in blood, carrying Integra Hellsing?
"I…I can't sir…"
"Of course you can't." He didn't sound surprised. The expression on Parker's face was one of disappointment, as if Parker had expected the worst and gotten as much, but Seras thought she saw something more in there. Was it contempt?
Just what is Hellsing doing here?
Integra would have known what to do. She would have known what to say but Integra was cradled in Seras arms as helpless as a newborn child.
Just then the medic arrived.
"Sir, what's going…" Valerie's voice faded as she spotted Seras. Her eyes widened as she saw all the blood. "Seras? Jesus Christ, are you alright?"
"I'm fine! Sir Integra needs help!"
It felt like everyone was moving in slow motion. Couldn't they see every second mattered? Valerie's eyes only widened more as she spotted Sir Integra in Seras' arms. She was finally face to face with the infamous leader of the Hellsing Organization, although not in a way she had ever expected.
"What's she doing here?" Seras jumped at the voice in her head. It took her a moment to realize she'd read Valerie's thoughts. That was new. Since Integra had been injured, it was as if the restrictions of Seras' powers were being lifted.
Valerie's moment of confusion passed and she was back to being the professional medic. She instructed Seras to place Integra on the ground and began patching up the wound. Seras watched in a mix of fear and dread as Valerie gave her assessment.
"She's lost a lot of blood. I don't know if I can save her…"
No!
Seras fell to her knees; she knelt over Integra, tears flooding in her eyes. She couldn't bear the thought of losing Integra, not when so many others had died. Even worse, was the thought that Integra's death would be because of Seras.
"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry" Seras desperately watched Integra's face. Hoping for some sign of life, but it was as if her master was asleep.
"What the fuck?" Another stray thought from Valerie. Seras looked up and met Valerie's gaze.
She was transfixed by Seras' eyes. They were no longer the innocent blue eyes that Valerie was used to, but were the crimson globes of a vampire. Seras didn't even care. So what if Valerie could see her vampiric eyes? So what if she saw that Seras' tears were made of blood? All that mattered was Integra.
"Please, help her" Seras begged.
Valerie froze; her mind racing. Seras could sense her confusion, and her suspicions, but Valerie was too good of a soldier to let that keep her from working. She returned to the task at hand, focusing single-mindedly on saving Integra.
Her deft hands quickly assessed the injury without causing further damage. She ignored the blood seeping into her uniform and the noise of the camp. It was as if Valerie were in another world. It was just her and the patient.
"It looks like a single bullet wound to the chest. I'll patch it up as best as I can but I don't know if she'll make it."
Parker's didn't even seem to flinch at the news. His face remained carved in a scowl as he towered over the three of them. Seras only become more overcome with emotion. It really was her fault. It really had been because of her.
A single bullet from my own gun!
Seras couldn't take the guilt. She hid her face in her hands and silently sobbed.
"This is all my fault…"
The world seemed to fade away, leaving Seras alone with her sorrow. She was going to lose Integra, just like how she'd lost Alucard and Walter and Pip and her friends on the police force and the former soldiers at Hellsing and…and…
My parents…
Suddenly she was pulled back to reality. Seras felt something metal placed on the back of her head. It took her a moment to realize it was the barrel of a revolver. Behind her, she could hear Colonel Parker's voice.
"I know."
And then he shot her.
AN: This is where I begin to touch on the main character development I wanted for Seras. I always felt that the anime never fully addressed previous losses, nor delved into her true nature as a vampire. She always fought monsters, and was arguably a hero. I wanted to place her in a situation where she was alone, fighting humans and faced with her own past. This is where that plot really starts to take form.