Authors notes: Thanks to those who reviewed so far. I love this pairing too, especially with the latest manga developments. There were some elements that I borrowed from the wonderful author, Christopher Golden for this chapter. The Gospel of Shadows, certain characteristics of vampires, and the character of Peter Octavian referred tobut not in this fic, are his creation and appear in his Shadow Saga series (a set of four books starting with Of Saints and Shadows). This is not a crossover - I'm just borrowing the idea of the Gospel of Shadows and the involvement of the church because it seemed to fit in with this plot and explain why blessed items had no effect on the vampires. None of the characters from The Shadow Saga will be in this fic. Special thanks to Thess for her suggestions on changes/wording.


Integral Hellsing looked over at Father Anderson as she poured the wine into two cups. She could not deny that he was a handsome man. If things were different, she not a Protestant and he not a Priest…well who knows what could have been. Integral almost laughed out loud at that though. The two of them together – ridiculous. She did admire his strength and integrity. He wasn't merely an Iscariot puppet. The priest had gone against orders to save her life, to do what he thought was right. The priest had balls.

"Alexander – do you have any idea why your weapons and mine are not working?" Integral asked as she inhaled slowly on her cigar. She hoped that her supply of them did not run out.

"Well, not exactly but I think I may know how to find out. If only my injuries would heal, I could look for the book that could tell us exactly why."

"A book? What kind of book is it that you have?" Integral thought this was a most interesting development. How could a book explain what the powers of the new vampire clan?

"I've never seen it myself – only those with positions of power in the Vatican ever lay eyes on it. Father Maxwell just told me of its existence. He hinted about the contents and it may give us information that we need."

"What is this book called, Alexander? I can go look for it."

"The heretics called it a gospel – the Gospel of Shadows. "

"There is a gospel? How interesting. Where would it be located – do you have any idea?"

"Yes, there is a small locked room just outside these doors but…Sir Hellsing – I mean, Integral, you can't go out there. It is too dangerous." Anderson looked at Integral Hellsing. She was so strong but her body was that of an ordinary woman.

"Alexander, that book may save both of our lives. Too dangerous, you say? I am the leader of a vampire hunting organization and the Master of a powerful vampire. I am not some frail woman who you must protect." Integral was offended. How dare he act like this – when he was the injured one?

"Aye, Integral, that I know. I witnessed it myself. It's just these beasts are not ordinary vampires. If you must go, bring a gun. It seems to slow them down."

Integral took another sip of her wine. She would not have another glass, now. The Hellsing needed her senses to be unaffected by the alcohol. Father Anderson handed her the keys and showed which one opened the room. He also described in great deal the Gospel of Shadows. If she was to be quick, Integral would need to find it right away. While Anderson watched Integral walked out the door, gun in hand, he said a prayer for her – the Protestant would need it.

Integral slipped out of the door and bolted it back up. There was no way to know how long she would be. Integral just hoped she would not have to get back in the room in a hurry. i At times like this I really miss Alucard. And where is Seras Victoria? I do hope she has survived. /i Integral made her way to the room, it was about twenty five feet from her on the left. She did not see or hear any vampires nearby but in the distance, Integral could heard the faint sound of vampires feeding and the whimpering of their victims. No matter how many times she heard the brutality of vampires, it still chilled her all the way to her bones. Integral opened the door and shone the flashlight on the walls. It was nothing but wall to wall books. i Oh boy, this is going to be fun. /i

She shone the flashlight on each book spine. It was a struggle to read some of the titles as they had worn off the spines. It was taking more time then she liked. The sounds of vampire activity was getting closer, she had to hurry. After going through nearly every book, Integral sat down at a small desk and…there it was. The Book of Shadows. She looked at the outside of it. The book was bound in worn leather and looked nearly 100 years old. The spine was made of what looked like silver and the title was engraved in Latin. For the first time in her life, Integral was happy that her father made her learn the language as a child.

Integral tucked the book under her arm and headed back to Anderson. As she walked out of the door, Integral was attacked by a single midian. He was a weak one – just barely a teenager. i Damn, you were probably an altar boy. /i She shot him fast in the head with the back up gun she had brought. This one was filled with mercury charged silver bullets. This time it silenced the vampire immediately. i Finally – a weakness. /i She heard the sound of footsteps. i Damn, they heard the gunfire. /i Integral hurried to the other door and started fumbling with the locks. Integral did not bother turning around to see if her enemy was coming. She knew that they were. The Hellsing just hoped that she would get the door open before they reached her.

As Integral pulled the lock off of the door, she felt ice cold hands around her ankles. She pulled out her gun and shot the vampire in her head without hesitation. It had been a nun and the site of a woman, dressed in a nun's habit, with red eyes and fangs had been downright disturbing. Integral wondered if every ordained member of the Catholic Church at the Vatican had been turned by now. Several more vampires, an odd collection of priests and nuns were less then 100 feet away. Integral got inside and slammed the door shut just in time. She had almost dropped the book. "Damn!"

"Integral?" Father Anderson called out for her.

"Yes, Alexander, I got it – I think." Integral walked back to where Anderson was. She almost felt sorry for him. i It must be hard for someone who is so strong to suddenly become weak. /i Integral sat down next to him on the floor and handed him the book. Is this it? It looks about a thousand years old."

Father Anderson held the book as if it would fall apart or disappear at any second. He could not believe he was holding this book in his very own hands. When Anderson was in seminary school, one of his teachers had told him the history of the book. It was, in fact, that teacher who had influenced him in his lessons about demons, so much so that he chose to go into Section XIII. Anderson continued to stare at the book for a few minutes in disbelief.

"Alexander! Are you simply going to stare at the outside of it – or are you going to open it? We are running out of time."

Anderson blinked and smiled sheepishly. "Aye, of course. I've heard so much about this bloody book. It is somewhat of a legend in the Church. Supposedly, all of the secrets to a vampire are written down in here." The priest started to page through the book.

Integral wasn't buying it. Hellsing should have known about the book if it was that important. She smirked. "Like what, their mating habits?"

Anderson glared at Integral as his face acquired a solemn expression.

"This is no joke, Integral. The secrets to their weaknesses, their powers. They are all in here."

His statement piqued her interest. "Oh, really? How has the Church kept it hidden for so long? I've never even heard of it."

"Only a select few even know if its existence. Fewer are permitted to see it. Less still ever lay their hands on it."

"What language is it in? It looks like Latin." Integral could read a little - just enough to get by but she doubted she could decipher what was in that book.

"Aye, Latin it is - the language of the church. Do you understand how to read it?" Anderson was praying for Integral's answer to be no. He wanted to be the one to reveal the reveal the hidden truths that even her own vampire kept hidden from her.

"I know just a little bit. My father had me learn it when I was a child. I doubt I know enough to read that book."

Father Anderson paged through the book, wondering what kind of secrets it held. "I shall read it and see if I can understand its meaning. Some of the language in it looks very old and the words can be difficult to comprehend."

Integral nodded. She had no reason to mistrust the priest and he needed her as much as she needed him. Besides, Integral was tired as hell. She could get a little sleep while he read over and translated the text. "Okay Alexander, I need you to translate the most important parts – the things that will help us defeat these new vampires. There is some paper here on the table." Integral handed him a pad of paper and pen.

"Thank you, Integral." Alexander Anderson mumbled, already engrossed in the book. He looked at her as she leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes. i She really does look as innocent as an angel when she sleeps. Amazing how deceiving appearances can be. /i The priest returned his attention to the book. As he read the words, the tension built up in Anderson's muscles. If what he read was true, everything that Anderson had been told about vampires, every belief he had about them was a lie. And the Church at least shared the blame in driving most of them to a life of evil.

Anderson poured himself a glass of wine as he started writing everything he had learned.

Most of the weaknesses that vampires had were not real. The church had fabricated lies for thousands of years about the effect of things like blessed objects, crosses, holy water, and even sunlight. After a few hundred years, even the vampires themselves started to believe them. The vampire's fears took hold of them and the lies became self fulfilling prophesies: blessed items burned them, sunlight made some vampires weak and the truly weak ones died, and holy water hurt like hell.

Anderson swigged down a full glass of wine. It was all too much for the priest. His reality was shown to be fiction. He read about one vampire who was now a man, Peter Octavian. He had been a vampire and discovered The Gospel of Shadows, the very one that Father Anderson was holding. Peter had discovered that vampires were not inherently good or evil like they had been taught. They were like men, some good and some evil. The power they held corrupted many vampires' hearts. Anderson shook his head as he read about a war between two groups of vampires: One that did not attack humans and another that reveled in killing and feeding from humans. The Church had joined with the evil clan and defeated the good clan known as shadows. The rest as they say is history. The surviving vampires attacked and fed from humans. The church hunted as many of them down as they could. The two groups had been in a constant state of a covert war with each other. And there was no sign of it ending. Ever.

Anderson laid the book down and grabbed the bottle of wine and threw it hard against the wall. The sound of it shattering helped soothe his nerves. He was furious at everyone in the Church that knew. If he were to believe what the book said, and he had been taught that it was as true as the bible itself. What he had been doing a soldier of the church, was wrong. Everything that Section XIII stood for was wrong. His whole life had been a lie. Sometimes finding out what is real can destroy you. At that moment, the truth was destroying the person that Alexander Anderson had been. He grabbed another bottle of wine from the case. Alexander considered throwing it but decided against it. i Perhaps a little wine will soothe my soul. /i The priest did not bother with a glass and poured the wine down his throat, nearly choking on it. The wine calmed him a bit but could not destroy the rage. The priest limped over to the table and slammed his fist through it, breaking the top in half. As he heard Integral start to stir, he felt bad about waking her up. Anderson opened another bottle of wine and took a swig.

Integral woke up, rubbed her temples, and tried to focus her eyes. It had to be a hallucination. Father Anderson was drinking wine straight from the bottle like he was a God damn whino!

She sat up and addressed the priest. "Father Anderson! What in the bloody hell are you doing? I thought we agreed that we couldn't get drunk. We have to fight the intruders." Integral walked up to the priest and grabbed the bottle from his hand.

Anderson tried to get up and grab another bottle but Integral pushed him down. It wasn't hard at all because of his drunken state This was not good. She needed Anderson awake and alert not in a drunken stupor.

The priest began to talk, his words slurring together. "I'm sorry, Integral. It's just-just-just...I learned it's all a God damn lie!" He threw the tablet towards her. "Read it, Integral. Everything we've been told is a lie. If this is true, it makes you a murderer too."

Integral looked at Anderson like he was crazy "What are you talking about?" As she started to read the words, her mouth dropped open in disbelief. Integral Hellsing knew now why Anderson had chosen to lose himself in a bottle of wine for she had the sudden desire to join him.