Once again, I do not own Hellsing.

For more information about some of the mythological referances made in this chapter, you can read The Secret Arts.

"I send them to eliminate the undead occurrence outside Rochester, and they return with a priest."

"Well, milady, apparently, he is the only survivor."

Integra held a cigar in her right hand. She tapped it thoughtfully against the desk. The team she'd sent on their latest mission had just returned. With an extra person. She frowned and glanced momentarily at Zane, who stood uneasily to Walter's left. Alucard could be found by the far wall. Seras and Isabella were nowhere in sight. Integra now turned her attention to Alucard, whom smiled wickedly as her eyes met his.

"You seem displeased, Integra," he said. "Is there something wrong, my Master?"

"Don't start." She said curtly.

"What am I starting, Master?"

Integra's grip on the cigar tightened ever so slightly. She took a small breath. "What did you learn from that vampire in Rochester?"

An evil sneer played on Alucard's lips. He was silent, but then began to speak dutifully.

"She was like the first one in Exeter. They both seemed to have sworn allegiance to some 'master.' Again, there were references to some 'ring.' There was little else to find."

Integra pondered over this before nodding at her other servant. "Walter?"

The manservant held up several documents. "I ran a search, Milady, with the term 'ring' as a focal point. After disregarding the standard finds of jewelry and antiques, we were able to come up with about three references to a 'ring and master.' Four, if you count Tolkien."

"Who?"

"Tolkien, an author. There are many fans of his Lord of the Rings books here in England." Walter said lightly.

Integra scoffed. "Aside from that, what have you found?"

"There are three sects here in Europe devoted to worshipping pagan and archaic runes." Walter replied. "However, our sources indicate that these groups are peaceable, and often seclude themselves from the public."

At this, Integra leaned back in her chair. "Then we have nothing." She said plainly.

Walter nodded apologetically. "Yes. However, I shall investigate again, Milady. Perhaps we shall find more, things we may have overlooked the first time around."

With a bow, Walter swept out of the room, leaving Integra with Alucard and the new arrival. Zane squirmed uncomfortable when Alucard turned in his direction. The powerful vampire frightened him terribly, as did Integra.

"What of the Priest?" Alucard asked, his eyes hidden beneath thick glasses.

Integra looked over at the young cleric. "What in God's name made you bring him here?" she asked Alucard.

Alucard chuckled lightly. "It was a whim of Isabella's, Integra, not mine." He said.

Integra snorted in slight disgust. "Don't tell me she wishes to turn him. This house has no need for another undead."

Alucard's grin grew. "A vampire priest! Wonderful."

Zane's eyes grew wide in terror at this turn in conversation. He hoped earnestly that the two were merely jesting. "Y-You don't truly mean that, d-do you?" he asked meekly.

The two looked to the speaker. Integra clasped her hands underneath her chin and frowned. "No," she said seriously. "I do not."

"What are you going to do with me?"

"That is the question." Integra said thoughtfully.

"I..." Zane looked down at his feet. "I can't return to Rochester. There's nothing left for me there." His voice trembled. "I've lost everything...please don't make go back there..."

The silence that followed this statement was shattered by a dry, sarcastic voice.

"Oh stop, you're going to make me cry."

Zane looked up abruptly, just in time to see Isabella glide in through the pair of heavy doors. Her pale arms were crossed over her chest, and she seemed annoyed.

"I didn't save you from those ghouls so you could sit around and extol your woes." She said coldly. "I gave you a chance for vengeance. Had I known you'd be crying and moaning instead, I would have left you to Amelia and her servants."

Zane's mouth opened in protest, but closed a moment afterwards, he was at a loss for words. He cringed as Isabella regarded him balefully.

"Look at me, Priest." Her voice was hard. "Stop whining. Get up and strike back at which destroyed your life. Dance upon their graves when all has been said and done."

"No..." Zane sighed in resignation. "Such a thing...where is the sense? 'An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.' Vengeance is inhumane. I'm sorry. But," he forced himself to look straight at Isabella. "If this is what you rescued me for, then you probably wasted your time. I cannot return one wrong with another. Where's the humanity in such a thing?"

Though her temper flared, Isabella remained calm. In one swift, fluid movement, she pushed Zane roughly into a wall. She moved her face so that it was barely inches from his. Her mouth opened wide to reveal milk-white fangs. Her breath smelled thickly of blood.

"You're not dealing with people, Priest." She spat harshly. "We're monsters. They're monsters. Humanity is beyond us. It is an idea that the weak cling to. I'm sure Amelia didn't sing of humanity as she ripped the life from those you loved."

Zane trembled as Isabella bared her fangs at him. His gaze shook, fighting desperately to meet the vampire's crazed eyes. With one rough movement, Isabella shoved him away from her. Her face was contorted with fury and disgust.

"Do not forget that." She said over her shoulder as she left the room.

As the female disappeared from the room, Integra stole a glance over her shoulder at Alucard. Beneath the wide-brimmed hat and thick glasses, he looked amused by the events. Zane, on the other hand, was quite shaken. His shoulders drooped, eyes pointed at the ground. Integra sighed.

"You will stay here at Hellsing." She said. "There is little sense in sending you to Rochester. Captain Bernadette will see to it that you receive weapons training."

Zane looked up. "W-weapons training?" he stuttered. "You mean firearms? But I..."

Integra raised a quizzical eyebrow at his response. "Is there a problem?"

A chuckle from Alucard's direction made Integra turn to her left. The crimson-decked vampire reached into his voluminous coat. After a moment, he withdrew a pair of long, thin knives, their blades stained with dried blood. Alucard threw the two weapons deftly at Integra's desk, where they landed with a dull metal thud.

"I found these after I killed the vampire in Rochester." He said with a slight tone of amusement. "They've been blessed. Perhaps the Priest prefers these trinkets over guns."

Zane moved slightly at the sight of his weapons. His eyes gazed at them in wonder, as though he hadn't expected to see them again. Integra noted this reaction and shrugged.

"To each his own. Walter will show you to your quarters. Bernadette will come and fetch you later for training." Leaning forward, Integra picked up the knives and tossed them at Zane. "You're dismissed."

Zane bent over quickly to retrieve them. "T-thank you...milady." He said, and quietly made his way out of the room.

Integra watched the doors close behind the cleric. Settling back in her chair, she reached for her cigar. As she lit the cancer stick, Alucard laughed.

"Magnificent." He remarked. "Simply magnificent."

"What is?"

Alucard smirked and looked out a nearby window. "That vampire in Rochester, she was nothing more than a servant. Worthless, really. Perhaps we shall see if her master is any different."

Integra gripped the cigar stiffly between her lips. She peered inquisitively at Alucard. "And do you have an idea of what is entire debacle is about?"

Alucard shrugged, chuckling quietly to himself. He approached Integra's desk, placing his hands upon the polished wood. His glasses gleamed as he faced his master, swirls of smoke from Integra's cigar weaving around his pale features.

"Doesn't it excite you, Master?"

Integra's lips pulled down into a frown, and she took the cigar out of her mouth. "What are you talking about?"

"It's simply devastating, this anticipation." Alucard's lips pulled up grotesquely. "The calm before the storm, the deep breath before the plunge...the silence which preludes chaos."

Integra had the grace to roll her eyes. "What in God's name are you babbling on about now?"

Alucard leaned a bit closer, his voice a dead whisper. "We're not looking for some master or lord, Sir Hellsing." He said cryptically. "The 'Ring' is the key."

"Go on."

"It is so obvious, the answer has been dancing in front of us for so long, we just simply refuse to read it."

Integra placed her cigar upon the desk calmly before speaking. "Actually, a certain servant of mine is dancing in front of me with the answer," she smiled thinly. "He just simply refuses to reveal it without playing his games. Like a child who has solved a riddle, but wishes to bask in his glory before telling all."

"Hahaha." Alucard reached up and gently took off his glasses. "Do you really want the solution, Master?" he asked mischievously. "Or would you rather combat with the unknown?"

"Enough." Integra pushed him away. "Tell me what you've discovered, or hold your undead tongue."

Alucard grinned and replaced his glasses. "The vampires in Exeter and Rochester all seem to serve some 'master'. However, we should be searching for the ring they worship so much. Find the 'ring', and we find the master."

"Yes, yes," Integra said impatiently. "You've already said this..."

"It was something the latest vampire said which made me come to this conclusion; "The winds are ours, this plain will soon follow." The winds."

"Go on."

"It was like fitting pieces of a puzzle together. Perhaps Amelia meant this literally. A ring that could control the winds? Who knows? Do you?"

Integra furrowed her brow. "There's no such thing, Alucard. That is shear..." she paused as a thought dawned upon her. "Oh."

Alucard nodded with satisfaction. "Exactly, Master." He said. "We're dealing with far more than undead. We're dealing with something almost as old and arcane."

"The ring of power itself." Integra said, eyes riveted on Alucard. "Solomon's Ring."

"Indeed." Alucard said. "And that, my dear Master, is the solution to this expansive puzzle."