Seras stared down at her hands unblinkingly, like she had been for about two hours since her rude awakening. Her vibrant crimson eyes were wide with a mixture of shock, confusion and pure, undeniable horror. She was sitting cross-legged in the furthermost corner of her freezer, the limbs in question laying palm up and open in the cradle of her lap.

Had she not been alone, anyone would have found the sight peculiar, to say the least, but at a closer distance they would undoubtedly be able to see what so avidly drew her attention.

From the light she had seen outside the freezer door in her quick peek into the chaotic surroundings of her temporary home, the young vampire made the day to be at least partly over, the sun still high in the afternoon sky as it glared down at the earth. Seeing no-one in possible sight, she had left the door open so that she may see her newly acquired room.

When she had looked again at her new living space, she had been utterly horrified. The steel on the walls literally peeled away from itself in sheets and layers or rust, the mould on the floor seeming alive with the microscopic life teeming under its surface. It was slick and shiny in the faint light, a vibrant emerald green that almost seemed to glow in places.

But this was the only place she had to go, and so this is where she could be found as the day around her died into the darkness she had acquired with her masters bite.

The thought of her master bought with it a pang of guilt and anger. He didn't have to be so rude to her all the time. Maybe if he had been a bit kinder towards her during the earlier days of her unlife she wouldn't be so put off about drinking blood. But instead he had forced it upon her with sharp reprimands and cruel taunts, always reminding her of how much of a disappointment she was to him.

But what had he said in her mind as she slept?

And why do you think you're a disappointment to him? You could be wrong.

Could she be wrong? But if she wasn't, why was he always so cruel? Why was he always telling her how much he resented the fact that she never drank her blood to become strong like him? Why was he always trying to get her to drink from him and walk alone? Like him.

So alone.

Seras wasn't ready to be by herself for the rest of eternity. She was already flat out trying to keep from being by herself at Hellsing, where the only person she could rely on for company without being looked at like a monster was the elderly retainer. And even then, chance of just hanging around with him was scarce as he was always on order and command of Integra.

But now, she thought sadly, there is no-one here for me at all.

At that thought, she felt something warm and wet trickle down her cheek only to land with a small crimson-dropped splash in her palm. A tear, no longer that of a human, but of a Nosferatu- a vampire.

And her hand. Not her own anymore either. It was a killers' hand with a victims' blood coursing through it, flowing black and misty beneath her pale skin. Flowing endlessly inside her body, or at least until she stopped it.

Shakily, she traced the veins in her wrist with one finger, following the dark line until she could see it no more in the centre of her palm. She was horrified by it. Black, her blood was as black as midnight, running smooth and untainted like the night sky.

No. It is not my blood, it never was. It was their blood, and I took it, without reason or cause.

More tears splashed down onto her palm and she closed her fingers around the small puddle. It scattered from under her crushing fingertips and flowed over the side of her hand, landing to stain her already irreparably damaged uniform. The uniform that she would have wear for the rest of her undead life. Or did she?

Did she really have to stay I her uniform and live like a rodent in a decaying building? Couldn't she go and get some new clothes, find somewhere where she could live properly?

"Yes," she breathed excitedly, finally tearing her eyes away from her hands. "Of course." She looked around at the crumbling steel walls around her. There was no way she was going to sit and wallow in this place forever. She was a vampire, after all, and by God! She was Alucard's vampire! She could do everything he could, if only with a little practice. And that was all she needed. Practice and time. Time to be what he wanted her to be.

An overdue sense of pride came to her then. She was the fledgling of a very powerful vampire, and even if he doubted her and regretted making her, she was now intent on making him proud. If only to rub it in his face.

She wasn't as weak as he thought, and she was going to prove that!

She got to her feet, back straight and face set like steel, her every thought bent on escaping the hell she had forced upon herself. She turned to start striding towards the door of the freezer when she stopped dead, her blood running cold in her blackened veins. She gasped and began to breathe harshly, her breaths short and painfully constricted with fear.

Silhouetted in the now open doorway was none other than her master, grinning like the Cheshire cat, his long crimson coat swaying in the slight breezes pushing at him. In his hands were his guns, both Jackal and Casull, gleaming in the light of the setting sun, both pointed directly at her.

"You should learn be careful with your thoughts, Police Girl. I could hear them a mile away," he said with an evil chuckle.

Seras' face flushed first with embarrassment, followed quickly by a pale wash as she realised he had probably heard everything. The fact that he knew that she planned to prove him wrong about her seemed to not only spoil her fun, but also make her tremble with fear at the prospect of him taking a very severe revenge for such an act. And the fact that he knew she knew he knew made it all the worse because it was just entertain him more.

Involuntarily, she started to back up to the wall behind her, wondering and hoping if the wall would give way under her if she pressed hard enough. As soon as she felt the decaying metal through her clothes, she pressed the flat of her shoulders against it. It didn't give at all. And she began to panic.

She turned around, eyes frantically running over the surface to see if there was a weak spot in the wall, any sign that an area might be coming loose or becoming weak, any space she might be able to escape through.

"What are you doing Police Girl?" came a whisper from right beside her ear.

She shrieked and jumped away from the wall, stumbling and falling to her knees, leaving her prostrated in front of her master like a slave to royalty.

She got hastily to her feet, scrambling to erect herself before Alucard decided to end everything right here and now. Her eyes locked onto those of the elder vampire and she froze, bent double in the act of standing up straight. He was staring at her intensely, his ever-present grin only barely visible in the dark.

But even in such scant light she could see his long, pointed fangs rearing down out of his mouth to gleam like daggers as he continued to smirk down at her from his impossible height. His eyes were hidden as always by his red tinted glasses, and his hat was tipped low in the brim. Out from under it flowed his masses of his black hair, writhing with a life of its own.

She made a small squeaking sound, knowing full well that he was planning something. And whatever it was, she wasn't going to come out of it unscathed, not in the slightest. She could practically feel his power emanating off him in crashing waves and she shuddered back at the vast expanse of it as it broke against her form.

"M-Master…" she breathed fearfully. His response was a low growl in the back of his throat, a deep, menacing sound that vibrated hollowly in the decaying chamber.

Her legs started to wobble under her and she stepped back again to lean herself against the wall for support. It was then that she remembered her resolution. She was not going to be weak around him; she wasn't going to cower in his shadow any longer.

A little more confidently than she felt, she straightened herself again, pushing herself off the wall and stepping away from it, her jaw set and her face defiant. This was her moment to get away, to make him proud, to make him realise that she wasn't going to stand for this anymore. But why did she feel so bad about doing it? Guilty, regretful? It wasn't as if he cared about her or anything. He was always looming above her with threats and jeers, but only when she went against him did he notice her. Only when she defied his commands to drink and fight like a proper vampire did her cease his taunting of Integra for long enough to reprimand her.

With these thoughts in mind to anger her and set her resolution in stone, she stepped forward again, straight into the raised barrel of his gun.

A/N: Ooh, another cliffy! Well, you know what to do if you want another chapter! insane laughter (Heh, don't ya just hate me now?)

I'd like to say a BIGSPANK YOUto all my reviewers! I was so thrilled to get such a response! And yes, that was Alucards voice in the last chapter. As for continuing this fic, I wouldn't stop if my life depended on it! I love writing it (and writing in general) too much! So not to worry, this fic will continue at its stately pace! (Hey, is it really my fault if "stately" is rediculously slow? No! It's my teachers!)

Okay, something that's gonna make you all scream at me like crazies: I'm putting this on hiatus for a quick while so I can do my assignments and write a one-shot sequel to my Sing for Absolution fic. PLEASE DON'T HATE ME! cries

Love y'all,
Spanks for the reviews my lovely xFall Childrenx,
Snake Bites,
Jinn.

xxXXxx