Disclaimer: Hellsing is owned by Kouta Hirano, Pioneer Entertainment, and others. I have no rights to any of these characters. No copyright infringement intended or implied.

Sophie Part II

December, 1995. Buckinghamshire, England.

Sophie stood and stared for what seemed like forever, at the horrific scene before her eyes. Her legs suddenly felt weak and she had to sit down. She stumbled back into a chair, warm and wet with the blood that had soaked into it. The nineteen-year-old brunette slumped in the chair, and looked for the moment like she was a hundred years old. The colour had already drained from her face, and her eyes were drowning in tears, which broke out and cascaded down her pale cheeks. She cried for the people on the living room floor, tattered and dismembered. And rightly so, for they were her own flesh and blood.

The living room was a terrible scene of death. The three bodies lay in their night-clothes, for they had been attacked in their sleep. They had been dragged out of their beds, taken downstairs and unceremoniously murdered in cold blood. Sophie stared in pain at her mother, father and sister, motionless, stained scarlet, staring back with dead eyes. As she sat there unable to move or speak, all she could do was realise it was all her fault. She had signed the death warrant for her loved ones the moment she buried those silver bullets in the hearts of Alexis and Reagan. She had incurred the awesome wrath of Azrael, who she had hit where it would hurt most, and Azrael had returned the favour.

Her father had put up a fight, Sophie knew that. She had to believe that. He would have, not only for it is the instinctive act of any father and husband to protect his loved ones, but also because he was once a vampire hunter like her. He had trained her to be just like him when she was young, because he wanted her to continue his work. That was how she had met Integra Hellsing, right as far back as she could remember. Her father, George – the poor dead man laying in the floor in front of her – had been a close friend of Integra's father. He had worked for him until some time before the Hellsing's death. He left the Hellsing Organisation when Megan, Sophie's sister, was born. Nevertheless Sophie and Integra became friends, and she was almost family. Sophie enjoyed visiting the Hellsing mansion. Not that the two would sit around braiding each others hair or having pillow fights; Sophie enjoyed learning with deep fascination what Arthur Hellsing and her father did, and, as she grew older, to train there, and hone her skills as a soon-to-be vampire hunter. When Alucard was came into Integra's life, Sophie regarded him with a mixture of delight and horror. She would challenge him to transform into the most frightening form he could, and he would gladly play up to the attention. Integra would often chide Sophie, and remind her that Alucard was a powerful and dangerous vampire, not a playmate. But it was Alucard's dangerous persona that had Sophie quite taken with him, and it would be fair to say that the two had a special relationship that was hard to define.

Sophie left England when she turned eighteen, to hunt vampires alone. Her decision to go solo was in part inspired by Alucard, for he needed no one, and Sophie had quite romanticised the idea of being a lonely soldier against evil. Integra had tried to persuade her to join her organisation, but Sophie declined politely. It was a decision she was now regretting, for if she had stayed in England, she would not have come up against Azrael and his coven of vampires. He was a vicious and powerful creature, and he saw to it that no one stood in the way of his plans to turn his neighbourhood of Paris into a blood-farm. Tired of stalking unwitting prey in the dead of night, he had hit upon the idea of keeping prisoners, barely alive, to harvest blood from. Sophie was the only thorn in his side. His two lieutenants, Alexis and Reagan, were integral to his plans. Without them he would fail. Sure, he had his henchmen, mostly inexperienced grunts, but the two he relied on for his coven to succeed were Alexis and Reagan. Sophie had lay in wait for hours for them to poke their heads out of the door of his lair. Thunk, thunk… She had fired her silenced rifle with deadly accuracy and efficiency, piercing the hearts of the two vampires.

She had done it.

She had smirked with pride as she watched the two vampires simultaneously fall to the sidewalk. Perhaps she had lingered there in self-satisfaction for too long, for unknown to her, Azrael had seen her from within the safety of the lair. He knew what he had to do. His plans were ruined, and this little girl had been the cause of that. He had lost his two most trusted and loved brothers. She would have to pay. Oh, yes, she would have to pay dearly.

And he knew how he would make her pay.

Sophie returned to her apartment, still smirking. She ran her fingers through her long, brown hair, and removed her holster, slinging it casually over a chair. She knew the consequences would be dire if Azrael ever knew she had killed her two lieutenants. She knew she would have to watch her back, every minute of every day, until she finally got close enough to kill him. She smiled at the thought of what her father would say.

She picked up the phone, and dialled home. She kept George up to date all the time, firstly to assure him she was still alive, and secondly to impress him with her achievements. She eagerly waited for George to pick up the phone. No answer. She tutted, and dialled again when she got through to the answering machine. She hated leaving messages. The phone rang again, and still she held on until the answering machine kicked in again. This time she left her message.

'Hi, Dad, it's Sophie. I just wanted you to know I've got some good news… but it can wait. I guess you're out or something. I'll call tomorrow… Love you all.'

She hung up and slumped onto her sofa. She was taking her boots off when the phone rang. Since no one but her parents knew the number, she answered immediately. 'Hey, Daddy,' she sang. But the voice that came back to her was decidedly not Daddy.

'Surprise, little girl!' the voice was menacing, rough. She knew instantly who it was.

'Azrael,' she gasped, 'What have you done?'

'It's called karma, my dear. For every good deed is returned by a good deed, so too is a bad one.' He cackled maniacally.

Tears were finding their way into Sophie's eyes. 'No…' she sobbed.

'Yes!' Azrael snapped back angrily, 'they were like brothers to me, Sophie. They were my family. You took my family from me. So too must I take your family from you.'

'I swear, if you hurt them, I will –'

'Too late!' Azrael sneered.

The phone cut off.

Sophie knew it would be futile, but still she boarded the first aeroplane she could, Back home to England. The flight was an hour and a half, but the panic and the pain made it last for an eternity. It was three hours after Azrael had made the call when she burst through the door of her family home. It was, as he had said, already too late.

Getting to her feet proved much more difficult than she thought. She became suddenly woozy, and fell to her knees. The carpet squelched with the blood of her family. They lay there, still staring blankly at nothing, but for a moment she felt as if they were staring at her. She could hear their voices speaking to her. You killed us, Sophie; they accused her with their dead eyes. She tenderly closed the eyes of her father, mother and sister. Cradling her father's lifeless head upon her lap, gently brushing the hair back from his face, she began to whisper softly to him.

'I'm so sorry Daddy. I didn't mean for this. Any of this. Please, don't hate me.' She kissed him lovingly on the forehead. 'I promise you, Daddy, I will make Azrael suffer greatly for this. I will make him suffer before he dies for this.' She gently laid his head back down and rose to her feet with fresh resolve.

'I love you.' She said to her family, and turned and walked out of the door with bloody vengeance on her mind.

Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing woke to the voice of an old man. What made her quickly sit up in her bed was the urgency in which the man spoke, for he usually spoke so calmly, whatever the circumstance. She blinked the sleep out of her eyes, and fumbled in the dark for the lamp. She flicked it on, and reached for her glasses. She put them on and focused on the tall thin frame of Walter, stood by her bed, looking troubled.

'Sir Integra!' he said, with a fair amount of concern.

'What is it Walter?' she said, still sleepy but trying to switch on. Though nineteen years old, she had already learned to be calm and business-like. Being woken in the middle of the night was a commonplace occurrence for her these days, but she immediately sensed that this time it was different.

'It's Sophie, Sir Integra,' the butler replied.

She could already tell that there was no need to ask if it could wait until the morning, so instead she said, 'What is it? What's happened?'

'Something awful, Sir.'

Integra dressed hurriedly, and met Sophie in the lounge. Normally she would only meet visitors in the office, but Sophie was worthy of the friendlier environs of her grand lounge. Not that Integra saw much of it of late; she was far too busy with the pressing matters of running the Hellsing family business to enjoy a spell in there. Sophie was crying hysterically again. She had remained steeled on the drive up to the manor, but the sight of Walter's caring expression at the door had made her feel able to become vulnerable, emotional, the real nineteen year old beneath the ruthless hunter she had become. Integra sat close next to her, and in a rare expression, placed her arm over the girl's shoulders. Sophie immediately fell to Integra's breast, and cried into her friend's blouse. Her tears soaked the material, but Integra was not about to worry about that.

'Sophie? What has happened?' she said, holding the crying girl close to her heart.

'They're dead…' sobbed Sophie, 'all dead, and it's my fault!' she became angry with herself.

'There, there,' said Integra, 'I'm sure it wasn't your fault, my dear.'

'Yes, it was. I killed his brothers and now…' her face screwed up and launched into spasms of tears and sobs.

'What is it, Sophie? Tell me, please.' Integra urged the poor girl. Sophie looked up.

'He killed my family!'

Dread overcame Integra, and her world crumbled. George? Maureen? Megan? Not sweet little Megan, whose birthday party Integra had taken a few hours to attend. She couldn't accept it. Tears threatened to overcome the Hellsing, but she fought them back, to stay strong for her friend. It would not be the last time she would hide her true feelings to cope with adversity.

'Oh, my God…' Integra whispered.

'I didn't know what to do Integra,' Sophie said, her sobbing beginning to subside. 'I knew I could come to you, I knew you would be there for me… I'm so sorry I got you out of bed.'

'Don't be silly,' said Integra, 'it's alright.'

Sophie welled up with anger. 'That bastard has to pay!' she said through gritted teeth, her eyes read with tears and rage.

'Who?'

'Azrael. He killed them because I killed his people. They died because of me, but they didn't have to. He killed them because he knew it would be a better way to hurt me.'

'That bastard will pay, never fear.' Integra said coldly. She knew who Azrael was. She knew because her organisation had driven him out of England a few years before. He had become the concern of the people of France now. She couldn't help but feel partly responsible for the demise of Sophie's family. After all, she had left him alone once he had fled the country. If only she'd had him assassinated, she thought, then all this would never have happened. She knew what she should do… it wouldn't bring Sophie's family back, but it was justice, all the same.

'Walter,' she called.

'Yes, Sir?' the butler said, walking into the room.

'Get me Alucard.' She said coolly.

'But, Sir, he's out on an important operation, I can't very well – '

'Get Alucard – Now!' she snapped.

'As you wish, Sir.' Said Walter, timidly, and hurried out of the room.

Integra was not sorry to have pulled Alucard out of the operation. She knew how much he loved his fun; killing demons and vampires was a game he relished almost as much as the taunting he gave before he dispensed with them. Besides, Integra often took some pleasure in irritating him by taking away his fun and games. But tonight it was different, because she knew Alucard would jump at the chance to carry out this particular request.

She had requested to speak to him alone. He stood in front of her desk, idly fingering his hat, with a dangerous smirk across his face. He'd assumed he was in for a reprimand of some sort. He didn't know what he had done to deserve it this time, but that did not matter much, as she always found something to yell at him for.

Integra explained told him everything, and Alucard felt a pang of regret for Sophie. It was true that he had been quite fond of the girl. He found her intriguing for her fascination with him, which bordered on a crush in her younger years. And being a close friend of his master, and her parents being close friends of Arthur Hellsing, his former master, he had a loyalty to Sophie, too. Alucard's smirk grew even wider when Integra gave him his orders. He placed his hat on his head ceremoniously, and said:

'Nothing would please me more, Master.'

Integra had Walter prepare one of the guest rooms, and told Sophie that she could stay as long as she needed.

'Integra, you're a wonderful friend,' she said, hugging the Hellsing.

Walter smiled softly, as he had not seen Integra welcome such affection for some years. He left the room, still smiling as he went to prepare Sophie's room. He made a mental note to make a hot mug of cocoa with mini marshmallows, just like when Sophie was the little tyke who used to play within the great corridors of this manor, with the young Integra, driving Arthur and George up the wall. He thought that although she had grown up to be a fierce killer, she would appreciate it, if for one night, she could be Little Sophie again.

'Sleep well, Sophie.' Said Integra. 'I promise you, that in the morning, you will feel much better.'

Crossing water is an unpleasant experience for any vampire, it has to be said. Even Alucard, ancient and powerful, still felt the effects that oceans had on him. But, the flight wouldn't take long, and it would be worth it. Not only for the satisfaction in himself afterwards, but for the look on Sophie's face the next morning. He attempted to sleep the journey off, and forget the sickness. He laughed to himself at the looks of the other passengers and the stewardesses who approached him carefully with offers of coffee. He amused himself when he said to a timid young stewardess, 'No thank you, I don't drink… coffee.' This had unsettled the poor girl, and she never bothered him for the rest of the flight.

Of course there was no way he could take his precious Jackals on the flight, but no matter, he'd probably prefer not to use them any way. He smiled a wicked smile, and leaned back casually. This will be fun, he thought to himself.

He scared the shit out of the poor taxi driver at Charles De Gaulle, who found the tall, dark frame of Alucard intimidating, to say the least. The Parisian was only slightly reassured when his fare politely asked in perfect French to be taken in to the city. In addition he received a generous tip.

The taxi pulled up at the club. It was part of Azrael's empire. A night club in which he would lure young, drunk stupid patrons to their deaths. Alucard was disgusted in these places. Though centuries ago he was partial to inviting guests to his castle for soirees and a 'bite to eat', he found these death traps lacked the style and splendour of the old ways. He had crushed many of these places before, back in England.

The doormen did not quarrel with the tall, fearsome man who marched straight in. The in-house staff did not even attempt to stop him entering the rooms in the back. They all knew who he was, and that to trifle with him would mean nothing but an untimely demise. Alucard faced no resistance on his way in to Azrael's office. He calmly kicked the door in and stepped inside. Azrael stared in disbelief at the Lord of Darkness before him.

'Good evening, Azrael,' said Alucard menacingly.

It was morning. Perhaps some time after nine. Sunlight strained through the curtains, but the room was light. Sophie was awake. She snuggled into the bed contentedly, and stretched. For a moment she had forgotten where she was and why, but soon the realisation came to her. But just as quickly, she remembered Integra's words to her. She also remembered the cocoa Walter brought her, too. It was so nice of him, she thought. Just how she liked it when she was a kid.

She showered, dressed, and cheerfully (well, as cheerfully as one who had lost her parents and sister to a murderous vampire could) made her way into the kitchen. Integra, Walter and Alucard were already there. All were having breakfast, though Alucard had not been sleeping. While Integra and Walter were enjoying a fried breakfast of bacon, egg and tomato, Alucard drank blood from a bowl. There was a cardboard box on the floor at Alucard's feet. They smiled kindly at Sophie, and Alucard put down his bowl and stood up. Sophie half ran to him, and hugged him. He rolled his eyes, but did not begrudge the girl her embrace. He understood how much affection meant to humans.

'Alucard… I missed you.' She said.

'And I you,' said Alucard, much to the surprise of Integra and Walter.

'I'm sorry we had to meet under such sorry circumstances.'

'Don't worry, little one. I have something for you which will help you see things in a better light once again.' He picked up the box and presented it to Sophie. 'I must admit,' he said with a pinch of mirth, 'I had a great deal of enjoyment in getting hold of it for you.'

'Open it, Sophie,' said Integra, 'But… not in the kitchen. Take it into the office.'

They gathered in the office, all stood around the box on the desk. Sophie eyed it curiously. It was a square cardboard box, roughly a foot in width, height and depth. It was sealed at the top, and appeared to be a little soggy at the bottom, as if the contents had leaked. She slowly pulled the tape off, and opened the box, not noticing that Walter, Integra and Alucard were in fact not looking toward the contents inside, but watching her face. She shrank back in alarm as she flipped the lid over and saw the 'gift' inside, but quickly grinned menacingly at the contorted face of the head that sat, torn from the body, wet sinews hanging from the neck. It was Azrael. This time they were his eyes that stared out in death. She felt like laughing maniacally out loud. She looked up and smiled at Integra, Walter and lastly to Alucard.

'Thank you,' she whispered. 'It's the best gift ever.'