Alucard hadn't enjoyed a plane trip like this, ever. Could there be anything more comical than being on a chartered commercial jetliner filled with Section XIII killers, with their crazed leader sitting across the aisle, and a tightly wound newly-turned vampire acting as their nanny? He laughed and Anderson's narrow glare of hatred only provoked a louder burst of merriment.

He watched Walter move in to attempt to smooth things over. Alucard paid no attention to what the Angel was saying to Anderson; instead he watched their body language. Walter instinctively kept a polite distance from the tall priest, but Alucard could see it wasn't necessary. Anderson's rage at vampires was still there, but it was tightly controlled. He was radically changed from the man he'd encountered in Brazil whose self-control had been virtually nonexistent.

Alucard didn't know whether he should be disappointed or not.

Anderson belonged to the Morrigan. He had forsaken his one God. He might claim to be loyal to the Catholic cause, but how could he be? Monotheism was something of a necessity with Catholics. They wouldn't want to share their paladin with a vampire demi-goddess. His lips twisted around a smile, or maybe not. Voodoo had adapted Catholic monotheism without a hitch. Maybe Anderson would be the father of a European version of voodoo with Morrigan as the substitute Mary.

Thoughts of the vampire who called herself the Morrigan fouled his good humor. He didn't move in his seat, but he could feel his mood spreading itself through the airplane, infecting most of the humans with his bleak temper. He could hear them shift in their seats as his discontent settled in their minds.

He pulled out of his contemplation of his enemy and her servant when Walter's face obstructed his vision. "Alucard, you need to rein yourself in. Not everyone here can withstand what you're putting out."

Walter. Why hadn't he thought of it before? His companion flinched when Alucard's eyes locked on his, but Alucard had more years behind him and the element of surprise. He broke through Walter's weak mental barriers (I must work with him on those, later,) and traveled to the depths of the vampire's mind, hunting the trail he knew he'd find. There!

Walter jerked away from the snarl on the other vampire's face. Without conscious thought, his wires were spread between his hands, ready to tangle themselves around Alucard should he attempt to move. Walter watched, waiting to see if Alucard would calm himself or if his short unlife was going to end in a moment.

"Put the wires away, Angel. You won't be using those against me and we both know it," Alucard sneered.

Walter carefully retracted his wires and moved slowly back to his seat on the lid of his coffin. He moved with the exaggerated care one might use when confronted by a growling dog. "Would you care to explain what that little display was about, Alucard?"

There was no humor in Alucard's smile. "If you'd give it just a little thought, you'd know what precipitated my little show of temper. I'll give you a hint, what did Seras and I have in common before today?"

"The only thing that has changed between the two of you that I am aware of is that she is no longer your servant." Both vampires ignored Anderson's indrawn breath. "And what does Seras have to do with your temper?"

Alucard shook his head, "What do you and Seras not have in common?"

Walter grimaced, "Socratic method is not your strong suit."

With an exasperated sigh, Alucard turned his attention to Anderson. He'd been watching the exchange between the two vampires and had obviously understood the import of Seras' freedom from Alucard. Would he understand what Alucard had learned? "What do you and the Angel of Death have in common, Judas Priest?"

"I have nothing in common with Hellsing's servant, and ye know it."

"I know nothing of the sort."

"Alucard, I would appreciate if you would stop playing games with us. If you have information about me that I don't have, do us the simple courtesy of telling us." Walter's tone was even, but Alucard could hear the undertone of anger building.

"No. I am not going to encourage you and the apostate in your intellectual laziness. I've given both of you ample information to see what I've seen."

Anderson understood first. He had the deciding piece of information that Walter did not. Seras Victoria had been released from her servitude by her Master. Walter did not have that in common with her. Walter and Anderson had one thing in common – their Master. The Morrigan was the mother of all of Millennium's vampires through injection, but she was the direct sire of Millennium's elite – Walter included.

"Oh dear God in Heaven."

"Shouldn't you be praying to your Goddess, apostate? You should keep her in mind should you ever feel like planting one of those bayonets in your brother's heart." Alucard's mood had shifted mercurially and he was amused once more.

"Would one of the two of you care to explain this to me? I am most decidedly not amused by this."

•••

In the end, it was Alucard who had told Walter. Anderson still refused to speak his shame aloud. Walter had never hated Alucard before, but the pleasure in his old companion's eyes made him hate the vampire in those moments. That Alucard could take pleasure in what, to Walter, was yet another violation of his soul - it was more of a demonstration of his monstrousness than the man was able to take.

He had thought he was free after breaking loose of Millennium's locks on the zeppelin, but it just an illusion. He kept feeling around in his mind, trying to find the leash that held him to a vampire he'd never seen, but he couldn't find it. As far as he could tell, he was as free now as he'd been while human. Knowing that, even though he couldn't feel the chains, he was still a slave made Walter ache to be free.

The remainder of the flight passed in silence. Walter took an empty seat a few aisles away from the two men. As far as he was concerned, they could kill each other and rip the plane out of the sky for all it mattered.

When the airplane hit the tarmac in Italy, he could see a number of personnel carrier-style lorries waiting at the edge of the strip. He assumed those were their transport to Rome.

As they taxied off of the runway, Anderson stood and moved to the front of the plane. He braced his hands against the overhead bins and addressed his warriors. "We have returned to Italy. Our country is overrun with the minions of Midian. Expect anyone to be an enemy. Traitors are everywhere and even someone ye've known since ye were a babe in arms could have been seduced by the devil's promises. There can be no mercy for those who would profane our holy land.

"There are weapons and ammunition awaiting us in the lorries. When the plane stops, get out and get moving immediately. I want us on the road to Rome in the next ten minutes. May God be with us as we cleanse our land of the demons that have invaded. 'Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, and to his people.' Amen."

The plane had barely shuddered to a halt when an alarm sounded. When Walter looked around, he saw that Alucard had opened the rear emergency exit and leapt out onto the tarmac with his coffin already balanced on his shoulder. The sound of gunfire cut through the blaring alarm and Walter raced past the rising Iscariots to join Alucard as he lowered his coffin to the ground before returning fire.