That group actually did quite well. Most of them stayed on target, asshole included, and showed they might have what it took to be a Hellsing soldier. If nothing else, no one else in that group questioned if there were real vampires among them. Matthew assisted with the rest of the day's training, even giving the final briefing to a group or two.

Once back in his room, Matthew stopped by his computer long enough to start up some music and went to lie on his bed. Before he could make it, there was a knock at the door. He paused mid step and turned to look. "Come in," he said.

The door moved inward, and Walter entered the room. "Greetings, Mr. Jemeth."

"Heya, Walter. How're you?"

"Quite fine, Mr. Jemeth, thank you. I have something for you in the armory, if you would join me?"

Matthew stood and walked over to him. "After you."

Walter and Matthew walked over to the armory. Valkyrie sat on a nearby table. Matthew walked up to it and hefted it. The change was easily noticeable. It's nylon strap had been removed and replaced with a series of metal snap hinges with a clamp at the end. Beside it sat the backpack. "I assume this clamp attaches to the top rail?"

"Correct." Walter attached Valkyrie's clamp to the rail and demonstrated how it would slide from one side to the other. "When you have it in position over your shoulder, simply pull back and it will snap in place. It may even help stabilize the weapon when you fire. Of that I'm not certain, so you may want to test fire it first."

"Hey, as long as it isn't worse than before, I'll be fine." He opened the top of the backpack. Slipping into his British accent, he said, "Shall we load this up, then?"

"Certainly." Walter grabbed two boxes of ammo and helped Matthew load them. "You'll note that this pack holds more ammunition than before. It holds twenty rounds each of slug and shot rounds. If the next mission is as difficult as I fear it will be, you may need them."

Matthew nodded. In his normal voice, he replied, "Every chance of that. Thanks, Walter."

"Oh, and one more thing. I have a new holster belt for you as well." Walter grabbed a belt and set it on the table. "As you can see, it has several more places for magazines. I've modified them so that when you press an empty pistol onto each, the magazine will be pushed into it by a spring. It should decrease your loading time."

"Rather dramatically, at that. Thanks, Walter. This'll help more than you know."

Suddenly, a voice came into Matthew's mind. 'Matthew, come to Integra's office.'

Matthew thought back. 'On my way, Seras.' He turned to Walter. "Gotta run, Walter. I'll be back for the weapons in a bit. Something tells me we'll be launching on this mission as soon as possible."

"Quite possibly, Mr. Jemeth. I will be here when you return."

Matthew jogged through the corridors and clambered up the stairs to Sir Integra's office. He was the last to arrive, but no one said anything about it. Sir Integra simply nodded to Fargason to begin. "We have decrypted a fair amount of the information gathered in our last mission. I believe we have enough to launch a mission." He cleared his throat before continuing. "We have learned where Shalrik has been building his forces; the ruins of Cheddar."

Seras noticeable tensed on hearing the name. The group looked at her. She waved them off. "Sorry. Please continue." Matthew decided to ask later.

Fargason continued. "We can't be certain of how many forces he has there, but based on our last mission we can guess they are extensive. We'll worry about the actual plan in a moment. We have another rather important piece of information. Shalrik has been running experiments on enhancing vampires and ghouls through use of a chemical additive injected on biting. The early experiments only created more violent vampires, which explains the earlier increase in activity. Recently, however, his experiments have been turning out improved vampires. Stronger, faster, and with resistance to silver and mercury."

Now Matthew tensed. "How long has Shalrik been running the experiments?"

Fargason gave him a solemn look. "About two months."

It was several seconds before Matthew spoke again. His words were carefully selected and spoken without inflection, "Continue, Commander." Seras watched him for a little longer before returning her eyes to Fargason.

After a pause, Fargason continued. "A majority of the remaining information is recruitment; information to be sent out to vampires around the world to draw them to him, or even to convince humans to join his cause. There is no way to tell how much of this got out into the public, so there is no way to know how many have been drawn in."

Alucard, again standing at Integra's side, spoke. "Enough that he feels ready to face us." He turned to Integra. "Send in none of Hellsing's troops. Only myself, Seras, and young Jemeth. For surprise's sake, we will contact Iscariot and have them send the Regenerator."

Sir Integra glance at him turned a few degrees colder. "You don't make the orders around here, Alucard."

"Then consider it a suggestion you should follow. I know Shalrik, Master. He only makes moves like these when he knows he can handle as great an attack as can be mustered. If all our troops go, they will be killed or turned into ghouls and vampires, only increasing Shalrik's strength. He is counting on that to build up his final defenses against us. If only the four of us go, and go now, he will be unprepared."

Integra started to consider this. Matthew's mind was only half concentrating. Connections were being made in his mind, and they were both frightening and maddening. Before they could boil over, Integra replied. "Fine. Mission approved. Leave when you are ready. We will make the contact and give you Anderson's ETA when we know it. Dismissed."

As they started down the stairs, Seras caught up to a fast moving Matthew and gave him a concerned, questioning look. "Later," he said in a 'drop-it' tone of voice.

She nodded. "Let's get to the armory and pick up our weapons. Cheddar is a long way from here."

"Right. Let's move."

Matthew said nothing else during their descent to the armory. Seras strapped on her back mounted ammo box, hefted her cannon, and grabbed a pistol for a backup weapon. Matthew steadily grabbed each of his weapons or collections of ammunition and put them in place. By the time he was done, he looked like he was preparing for doomsday. The activity had calmed his mind a bit. In an attempt to keep it that way, he turned to Seras and asked, "So, which small country should I take out next, oh fearless leader?" Seras gave a soft laugh, and Walter cracked a smile. Yeah, that did help him feel a little better.

Walter wished them both good luck, and Seras and Matthew departed. Cheddar was a good distance away, so they were led to the roof helicopter pad. Alucard would not be joining them. He had other methods of transportation. As the pair unloaded their gear into the helicopter and strapped in, word came in from Sir Integra. Anderson would arrive at Cheddar in the evening. Matthew was curious how the Paladin could arrive so quickly, but didn't question. Hopefully this wouldn't turn into some of the horror stories he'd heard from Seras…

The helicopter lifted off in the setting sun, turned north, and started away. It would take some time to reach Cheddar, and there was no time to loose. Most of the trip was in silence, but in time Cheddar appeared in the distance. It was difficult to see from that range, but Matthew's expression still hardened. Seras spoke up. "Matthew, what's wrong?"

Matthew looked at her. "Sharik has been running experiments for the last two months; experiments which started with overly violent vampires. Fargason's pause in telling me told me one important thing: the vampire in that London mall on that fateful night now two months ago was one of Shalrik's first experiments. Because of that vampire, I was turned. If not for him, I wouldn't have gotten shot. If not for Shalrik, I would have gone home." His red eyes burned with rage. "Alucard had better not kill Shalrik before we can get there. I'm going to tear that bastard apart with my bear hands. He stole my life from me, and now he will pay." Matthew never yelled, but his voice carried an intensity he'd never heard from himself before. 'What have I become…?'

Seras obviously picked up on that thought and responded in kind. 'You're a vampire hunter with your target in your sights. Don't hesitate to shoot.'

'I won't.'

Below them, the ruins of Cheddar became more clearly seen. Decaying buildings and bits of rubble showed in the strange red light of the full moon. It was as if the world knew what was coming that night, and was preparing an appropriate scene for battle.

Seras looked out the window. Quietly, she said, "This is where is all started for me."

Matthew's anger was cut down as his concern for Seras jumped up in his mind. He joined her. "This is where you were turned?"

"Yes." She pointed to a building. "In that church, actually. Being back brings back memories, and not too pleasant ones."

"I can imagine." Matthew lifted an arm and grasped her shoulder. "Well, maybe by silencing some vampires here you'll get some closure with this place. Maybe."

"Yes, maybe." Seras sat down, and the rest of the trip was made in silence.

There was a clearing a short ways from the town. This is where the helicopter set down. Having already grabbed their gear in the last minutes before landing, Seras and Matthew quickly slipped from the helicopter. The pilot wisely made haste in departing. He would fly several miles away and wait to be recalled. For the briefest of moments, Matthew envied the pilot. Shaking the thought from his mind, Matthew turned to follow Seras through the woods.

Their rendezvous point, set by Alucard before their departure, was about 500 meters outside of town limits. As they arrived, Seras quietly called out, "Alucard, are you here? We're in position."

There was no reply. Alexander hadn't yet arrived either. With half their party missing, Matthew and Seras simply found places to stand and wait.

But something interrupted their wait…

The scene before Matthew's eyes changed. Suddenly he could see the happenings somewhere else in Cheddar. The room was indistinct, but he could recognize the pair in the room. On one side stood Alucard. On the other, Shalrick. 'Damn him! He didn't wait for us!'

Alucard spoke. "After all this time, Shalrik, we finally end this. I've always considered your skills to be that of a grade A vampire. It's been some time since I've had a worthy opponent. I hope you don't disappoint me."

Shalrik gave a cold chuckle. He spoke with a very deep voice. "These decades have only allowed me to increase my skill. I think you'll find me more than a match for you." He smiled; the same smile he'd given Matthew. "I have more power than you could ever imagine. Why don't you make the first move, my old opponent."

Alucard smirked. 'Go for it, Alucard,' Matthew said in his mind. He heard something from Seras, but couldn't tell what it was. Now, Alucard spoke to Shalrik. "Very well, but I'd better not get bored fighting you." He took a combat stance. "Releasing control art restriction system to level three. Level two. Situation A release level one. The Cromwell Approval is now in effect. Hold release until target is silenced." Shalrik chuckled at the display, but his smile faded at what happened next.

Alucard's arms dissolved, reforming into a pair of large black blobs with many red eyes on them. His hat disappeared, letting long black hair fall free. His arm blobs started to form into something… but the view cut away before Matthew could see what they were becoming.

The view was back on Shalrik. "Very impressive, Alucard. How about this?" He let out a long, loud yell. But, that human yell slowly turned into an inhuman screech. Matthew's eyes went wide as Shalrik started to morph. He dissolved into a red blob… A blob that quickly grew to massive size. Rough appendages started to form, revealing powerful limbs, power jaws, powerful tail… The form solidified, enlisting a startled gasp from Matthew.

Shalrik had become a red dragon. He screeched and let loose a breath of fire…

…And suddenly, Matthew's view was back in the forest near Cheddar. In the distance, a ball of fire flared above the town. "Alucard…" he said silently.

He heard Seras quietly call out to him. "Master…" Matthew looked over to her, and was stunned. Seras's expression slowly turned from one of concern and fear to one of anger and rage. Her eyes were colder and harder than he had ever seen.

It was enough to make him draw back a step. "Seras… Are you all right?"

Her voice carried what her eyes showed. "I'm going to him, and I'll kill anything that stands in my way."

A flash of metal came between them, stabbing into a nearby tree. Seras jumped. Matthew turned fast to see where it had come from. The large figure of Paladin Anderson stood there, one arm outstretched after the throw. He chuckled.

Seras said nothing. She stared venom at Anderson a moment, then turned and started walking toward Cheddar bringing Harkonnen to her hip. Matthew brought Valkyrie to his left shoulder, loaded a slug round, and followed. Anderson grabbed his sword and brought up the rear. Matthew suddenly wondered if it was wise to let the Paladin be behind them, but it was a little late to switch the lineup.

Cheddar had been a simple English town until a vampire disguised as a priest came. After the vampire was defeated, no one came to repopulate the town. The town remained largely intact since it had been abandoned. Most of the buildings still stood, but those remaining showed the signs of the battle that led to its abandonment. Broken windows, bullet holes in walls, and a pair of burned out buildings stood as testament to the valiant efforts of the police's efforts in stopping the vampire and his ghouls. But it had been for naught. That vampire had left no survivors in the town. It was that vampire that had held Seras hostage, forcing Alucard to do to her what she had done to Matthew two months ago.

They approached the entrance to town, with many roads heading towards the center. Another ball of fire leapt above the buildings and flared out. "You know," Matthew said, "this is just a guess, but I think he's that away." Matthew pointed. Seras lightly grasped his arm, showing her appreciation at his attempt at humor.

"We're splittin' up," Anderson said. "We'll cover the most ground, and I won't have to look at ya any more than I have to."

Before Seras could provoke the Paladin into doing anything, Matthew took his attention away. "You're not too pretty yourself. But you've got a good idea about splitting up." He looked to the other of their party. "Seras?"

She nodded. "That should work fine. We'll meet up on the far side." Without another word, she started off. Matthew knew she wanted to be around Anderson as little as possible.

The Paladin started for another street. After a moment, Matthew spoke up. "Anderson." He looked back. "Watch yourself. Shalrik souped up some of his forces. He's got ghouls that can give orders and vampires with resistance to silver."

"I can handle myself, vampire." He added emphasis to 'vampire', making it an insult. He turned away and continued off.

Matthew sighed and shook his head. He had to try it once. Turning to a third street, he started off.