Title: Family Matters

Author: DhampyrX2

Genre: X-over

Series: Impure Souls

Rating: PG-13, just to be safe

Summary: Xander has hidden family. Xander discovers them. Xander's life gets turned upside down in a way that will hopefully help everyone evolve a bit.

Timeframe: After Graduation, but before the College crap starts.

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. Don't sue me, I'm poor.

As Xander unpacked his gear into his temporary room, one that was far too opulent compared to what he was used to, he had to wonder just /what/ he had truly gotten himself into. This whole situation seemed alot easier and far more comfortable when it had just been about him and Seras. Meeting the Hellsing family 'weapon', Alucard, or Dracula if you wanted to get technical, was anything but comfortable.

Although, it was uncomfortable for reasons he had not anticipated as he thought about this meeting over the last couple of days. It was not the glistening fangs, or red eyes, or even the larger than life persona of the No Life King that worried the young man once erroneously referred to as the 'Zeppo' of the Scoobies. It was it felt for him to meet the monster.

Xander had been certain that as a Belmont, and as a vampire hunter of sorts in his own right, that there would have been some kind of internal revulsion to the most feared (and rightly so) vampire in existence. The one to truly earn the title 'No Life King' in a matter of centuries should set off all kinds of mental alarms as far as Xander was concerned. It didn't matter that he hadn't felt like that toward Seras even as he backed off when he first saw her eyes. She was Seras. This was /Dracula/. The Prince of Darkness, Lord and Master of Castlevania; an unholy plague feared throughout the demon hunting community. And being near him felt...nice?

No. Not nice. Being in Alucard's presence felt /right/. It felt like...home. That scared the White Night to no end. How could he feel so good about meeting a vampire like Alucard, when so little of Xander himself was vampiric to begin with? He was only 1/16 mideon, after all. And he never got this sensation around his fellow Belmonts. The fact that they're fat, lazy, degenerates that think they're too good for you and have forgotten the darkness you're devoted to fighting against might be adding to your alienation from them. his mind supplied cheerfully, mocking his concerns from the depth of his subconscious.

"Quiet brain, or I'll stab you with a Q-tip." Xander muttered angrily under his breath, eliciting a giggle from Vicky, who was waiting patiently for him at the door to his room.

"Someone's seen too many of those Simpsons cartoons you showed me on the telly the other night." she chided gently.

"D'oh." Xander replied comically, giving her a lop-sided grin, as he put away the last of his clothes. He looked everything over, including the Beretta in its holster on his bed. After a moment's contemplation, he tucked it back into the small of his back where eh had taken to putting it, and said, "Well I guess it's time to have the big talk with the big 'D'. And I don't mean Dallas."

Seras nodded pleasantly to him, as she walked over and took his arm to lead him to the library. "You think you'll need the sidearm against Master?" she inquired, more curious than worried. Sir Integra was not above shooting Alucard when he got too spirited, and he was none the worse for wear over it. The only real concern was how Master would take Xander trying it. And Xander was Hellsing as well, so that should be no reason to worry. Right?

"I doubt it would help, Kitten." Xander replied wryly. "But after the encounters in Oxnard, I just feel better being armed. From what you said this place isn't immune to trouble. I don't want to become a burden because I got caught with my pants down."

A good policy, young one. Although I imagine the Police Girl might not mind seeing you with your pants down in the future. came a mental response in both their heads as they reached the outside of the library doors.

"Master!" Seras cried out indignantly as she blushed crimson.

"Yes Police Girl?" Alucard asked with faux innocence from where he looked over the collections of leather bound classical literature with his back to them.

"Um, I don't suppose there is a way you could warn me you're listening in like that, is there?" Xander asked timidly from where he stood beside Seras looking at his all too real and dangerous ancestor. Alucard had set aside his coat, hat, and glasses on one of the small tables in the room, making him look a bit more as one would picture the stereotypical 'Dracula'. Even if his hair was still wild and unkempt, much as Xander's usually was.

"In due time, Alex. In due time." Alucard replied with a small chuckle of anticipation.

Xander winced at the moniker the vampire had used for him. "Un, could you kind of not call me that? Please? I've never liked being called Alex or Alexander. I usually go by Xander, or a shortening of it like Xan, or Xand..." he asked.

"Or X, if you asked that Slayer Faith before she was put into a coma a few months ago." Alucard interrupted. He paused dramatically as he looked Xander over again. He certainly was born with the Tepes feature to him. "Normally, I would refuse, if not for sheer amusement, then to teach you that thinks like names are mostly useless things of little concern that you should be above getting concerned over. Since you share the name of a priest I enjoy annoying, however, I will give you that. After all, I of all people can appreciate a bit a play on words when names come into question." he answered with a toothy grin.

"Thanks, Gramps." Xander replied nervously.

"You're welcome, /Xander/." Alucard responded with a predatory smile. "Now, if you can bring yourself to remove your arm from where the Police Girl has made it her personal squeeze toy for between her breasts, then please take a seat. We have a great deal to cover, sonny boy."

The pair let each other go rapidly, and it took all Seras had not to cry out in embarrassment at her Master's teasing again. She had to admit she was a bit worried for Xander, and was holding him close to her instinctively, but that was reason to get rude and pick at her like that.

Xander took a seat at another table away from where Alucard's coat rested, making certain he kept his attention on the vampire at all times. For all he knew the sense of comfort he was feeling again, one that had never really receded since the vampire first touched his mind, was some kind of way to lull him into complacency before an attack. After all, he was supposed to be in training, right?

"You're concerns are admirable, boy. They show that being around Slayers hasn't completely dulled your mind yet. Then again, if you had been fully corrupted by that 'only Slayers can fight demons' mentality they spew; you would never have taken out Mayor Wilkins at his recent Ascension. They never realized how different military training was from building a fertilizer bomb, did they? Or how much research you did to make certain the blast imploded in on the demon, instead of exploding out and killing all the people you were trying to save? You really do have a sharp mind, in spite of your test scores." Alucard said as he paced in from of Xander.

Seras just stood in the background and tried to stay out of the way. She knew this was most likely family stuff coming up, and she wasn't certain where she fit in with it. If either of them wanted privacy, they would ask for it, she knew, but she didn't want to cling to Xander like a frightened child and make a bother of herself.

"I don't know whether to be flattered, or yell 'hey'." Xander admitted after Alucard had finished speaking.

"I imagine my Master has the same problems, without your penchant for bothering to voice them. She just grits her teeth and turns a delightful shade of red." Alucard replied with chuckle.

"I'll have to take your word on that for now." Xander responded with a little grin of his own. He could picture G-Man with similar reactions. Maybe annoying the British to the best of your abilities runs in the family? He thought idly.

Maybe. Alucard replied in his head. His ever-present smirk grew when Xander did not flinch, and seemed unbothered by the intrusion. The child was learning already. "Of course your test scores are a concern unto themselves." the vampire said finally, as he moved the conversation along. "You are obviously bright. You would be dead now of you were dim, and I know you come from good stock. That implies you're just lazy." the vampire judged with a look that seemed like a disappointed schoolmaster to Xander.

Seras looked on in open-mouthed shock at her Master's words. He had never acted like this before!

At the vampire's rebuke, Xander looked up annoyed as he cried, "Hey!" He composed himself a bit as he defended his record and said, "I've been helping Buffy and getting like no sleep since sophomore year. Of /course/ my grades sucked after that. It was only the ones before I met Buff that sucked because I was lazy!"

The mirth in Alucard's voice was clear as he replied, "So I can see. That explains why they improved a bit after you stumbled into your family's line of work. Regardless, I doubt Integra will be impressed with them, and one of the things you'll do here is improve them with some private study. No child of /my/ line will be accused of being dim."

Xander wanted to argue that with all of his heart, but he knew enough from the look in the ancient vampire's eyes to know it would be fruitless. "Fine." he responded with a sigh. "Speaking of my cousin Integra, when do I get to meet her?"

"Well, I suppose I could teleport you to her cell, but I don't think that is the best approach here. Instead, after we've hashed some things out, I'll give you a bit of...advice on the best way to convince the guards to let you visit her. After all, as a Hellsing, it's your right to see to your poor cousin." Alucard answered with a shark's grin that made both of the younger people in the room smile as well. Nobody in the room was pleased with Integra's imprisonment. Somehow, Xander had a feeling Alucard's advice would get her out that much faster.

From there things degenerated into some more general point of what was expected of Xander as he trained at Hellsing, and what his schedule would be up until Walter was active to add his own training into the mix. Once that was done, the trio moved to the kitchen for a meal, where Alucard thought it funny to have the staff give Seras gazpacho and Xander /her/ cold red liquid. The vampire had to admit it was /fun/ to be yelled at by someone in his own line, but still born with that Hellsing fire Richard had always lacked.

After the mess that was their meal, Alucard sent Seras to prepare for alight patrol that night, as he took Xander with him for some 'male bonding', as he put it.

Xander was more worried by the glances back at him the Police Girl gave him, as if she were afraid she'd never see him again, than he had been by the initial suggestion. Once she was out of sight, he tried not to gulp in apprehension as he asked, "Now, what?"

"Now I show you something not seen by any eyes but my own in a very long time." the vampire replied solemnly as he put his hand on Xander's shoulder and they appeared to be eaten by a nearby shadow.

The rematerialized in the vault Alucard had been in before. Xander looked the windowless room, a room lit with sources he could neither find nor identify with muted awe. He could feel the power and history in the room. It practically /sang/ to his senses. "What is this place?" he asked in hushed tones.

"The vault. My vault, actually. Abraham had it built shortly after I to his service. It is beneath the lowest depths of the manor, and is accessible only be vampiric teleportation by those of our line. This is where I keep the few personal effects I was allowed with me in my captivity. You can think of it as my sanctuary. The place I go to remember." Alucard explained as he looked over the various portraits on the walls. "You are the only other person to ever be here, except for Abraham van Helsing himself, in the last century. In fact, you're the first to know of its existence since van Helsing's passing. This is your family. Your legacy." the No Life King said wit somber reverence as he pointed to each portrait on the wall.

"That was my bride, Ilona Elisabeth Szilagy. My darling Lisa. You're great great grandmother. I never knew a kinder, more perfect woman. She had in her the pure heart to tame the monster I was. For every evil, shadowed, oily drop of darkness in what passes for my soul, she was light, and yet she loved me as I loved her. She was the angel to my devil. The gate that kept me at peace and earned the love and respect of my subjects." Alucard said with long ago tears tainting his voice. His countenance grew hard as he continued. "She was a healer, always concerned with her fellow man. She ventured out beyond out borders to tend to and heal plague victims. Once she had nursed them back to health, the backstabbing filth tried her for consorting with dark forces and burned her at the stake for loving me and bearing me my son. Even as she burned, she begged Adrian to forgive them, and protect them from my rage. She knew me well. Knew that I would make the whole damnable species pay for their crime. That day, though I had been nosferatu already for years, the last of Vlad Tepes prince of Wallachia died with his wife. And the No Life King Dracula rose from her ashes like a phoenix, then spread as a plague to make humanity suffer."

Xander said nothing as he watched his ancestor compose himself in the face of his memories. The accounts in the Belmont family diaries were not nearly as sympathetic to Dracula's plight, nor were they complimentary to Lisa. Suddenly Xander understood a great deal more about what made the creature in front of him, and could not help but feel he would have done the same in his place. It was a sobering thought.

After Alucard had calmed himself a bit, he pointed to a portrait of an aristocratic looking man with white hair, with a wicked looking sword in his hand. Next to him was a buxom young blonde in leather armor with a whip in one hand, and a cross in the other. "Of course Adrian could not refuse his mother's last request, and opposed me for most of the following years until my captivity. At least he did when I tried to wipe out the human race in my overzealous grief. Along the way, he picked up that young woman, Sonia Belmont, sister to Simon. Well, rather she pestered him until she bedded him. Belmonts in general are pushy, and her womanly charms gave her an unfair advantage against the boy. I blame myself really, I raised him to understand the workings of a vampiric court, rather than a courting human that would literally follow him into his coffin to bed him. He never stood a chance." Alucard continued, his voice regaining some good cheer as he ripped into Sonia's personality.

"Not that you're biased against Belmonts for coming after you or anything." Xander said, as he spoke for the first time since his history lesson began.

"I have no problem with you being part Belmont. It's a handicap you've overcome remarkably well. You certainly inherited their stubbornness, I'll admit, but that runs well with the Hellsing and Tepes blood in you. You have more in common with Simon and Richter, who I respected even though I hated them, than with those idiots that bear the Belmont day today. Can you honestly say you want to be associated with /them/?" Alucard asked indicating the current Belmonts like Rigby.

"Not even if you paid me." Xander replied immediately, his own thought growing dark at the thought of his snobby relations.

Alucard smiled proudly as he walked to the next portrait and gestured to it with his right hand. "From my beloved son and...pushy daughter-in-law came Trevor, your grandfather. When I raised trouble about a century after his mother's death, he came back to the village that had banished him for being too different and powerful and, with his father's help, sealed me away again. Most of the artifacts in this room were either his or Adrian's. Once you are properly trained, they will be yours."

"Cool." Xander replied, stunned. Although he had to ask, "Um, just out of curiosity...why do you have so much of their stuff here?"

"Adrian updates his arsenal with more and more powerful items where he can. What was his here was left behind in Castlevania as he no longer needed it. As for Trevor's...we lost him to an assassin from the Order of Teraka in 1846. I kept some of the mementos from his battles against me to remember him by. Well, after Adrian and I taught the fool a lesson."

"And here I thought I hated them enough for trying to kill Buffy." Xander spat in agitation. He the bug man was creepy, and he had no love for the order, but a new fire burned in his chest at the thought of them striking at his family.

Alucard nodded in agreement as he pointed out other notable Belmonts and their allies on the wall, before he turned to the opposite wall and pointed out portraits of Dracula's vampiric family and servants.

"Countess nutjob looks better in her picture." Xander said as he glared at the painting of Elizabeth Bartley with his arms folded in front of him.

"She should never have attacked you like that. She knows I would never permit it. I promise you those who brought her back will be found and dealt with." Alucard replied with cold fury. "And then /I/ will resurrect her if they have not already done so and I teach her place once more."

"Wish I could claim that bothers me. Really I do. Strangely though, I can't seem to care. Seras and I almost died, and I really hate people hurting my friends." Xander replied with equal anger.

"That is something we will always agree on, Xander." Alucard replied with a sinister smile at the painting of his niece.

After all the history that could be covered within the vault had been covered, Alucard returned them to the library. It had bee a couple of hours and Seras would surely meet them there to check on Xander if nothing else, before she went on her patrol of London.

"Thanks for showing me all that, um Alucard." Xander said.

"I imagine Abraham's addition of my son's hunting moniker puts you off a bit." Alucard replied with dry humor. "You may refer continue to me as grandfather, or any of the versions you've used on occasion if you like. You'll find I'm not easy to throw off balance with something so easy."

"Thanks, Gramps. I appreciate it." Xander replied with a cheeky grin.

Seras had to wonder what Master had done to her Xander when she arrived and saw the pair sharing a disturbingly similar laugh. It was down right frightening to see them getting on so well so soon.

"Ah, Police Girl. You're right on time. Get the boy here outfitted with some gear and take him on patrol with you. I'm sure you're due for another date, and I can't think of a more perfect evening than taking out the trash." the vampire said with a smile and a wink that made both youths feel embarrassed.

Xander figured free time with his Vicky was time well spent as he moved toward the vampiress and called out over his shoulder, "Good idea, Grandpappy. We'll see ourselves out. Don't wait up."

All Seras could think as they headed toward the armory was Oh dear, less than a day together and Master's already corrupted him. Sir Integra will not be pleased at all with this.

END PART 9