Disclaimer: Hellsing is not mine, everything I invented is.

Authors note: Kiki, thank you so much for your encouragement and good wishes. The cookies were delicious and I plan to leave the crumbs somewhere in this chapter...just for you.

Chapter 18

Two nights had passed, and he knew that the time had come; his children were beginning to awaken. They came crawling from their cells, first on all fours, then standing as strength returned to their limbs. For a while they milled around the corridor in confusion and then followed the feelings that drew them to the man at the end of the hall. He welcomed them into his arms, all of them – men, woman even a child.

But with their returned strength, came an overwhelming need. A compulsion that they felt down to their core, indeed it became the only thought in their minds.

*thirsty, thirsty, thirsty*

He could feel their distress and confusion surrounding their need and smiled gently. He smoothed hair here and caressed a hand there. There would be ample sustenance above, and he would show them how to sate their terrible thirst.

Sarah, the night duty nurse wondered why it had gone so quiet down the cell block. Indeed, in her four years of service, she had never heard total silence. For a moment, she considered calling one of the orderlies to accompany her to do a visual inspection and then she gave into her timidity and decided to just enjoy the peace while it lasted.

It lasted for all of three minutes.

With spine chilling shrieks, a formless shadow ripped the barrier gate off its hinges and rushed into the nurses' station. Sarah screamed in terror as she was seized by sharp nails and rough hands. For a moment she thought that the inmates had found a way through and then she realised that there was something monstrous about what was holding her. Then she didn't think at all because she was dead.

He watched his children feast on the remains and knew that there would be no stopping them now. Striding over to the elevator, he used the security card that he had removed from the body before it had been dismembered. They followed, crowding into the small chamber and the new fledglings panted eagerly as they sensed their prey above them.

PING!

The elevator doors opened and they flooded out, moving too fast for anyone to react. Patients and staff alike fell to their fangs and claws. Almost no-one had time to hide, and those that managed were dragged out and feasted upon.

And so the night progressed. He and his horde going up the full five storeys of the hospital, slaughtering everything in their path – floor by floor.

Integra looked through the reports again and ground her teeth in frustration, unknowingly mimicking her servant who was doing the same thing in the basement. She knew that there was trouble brewing but there just seemed to be no damn trace of where it would come from.

She felt Alucard leave the mansion abruptly, and knew where he was headed. Indeed, she always knew where he was. The bond between them was something unnerving and yet strangely comforting at the same time. She knew that there was some part of him that despised the system that bound him, just as there was some part of her that was repulsed by what he was. But these were small parts, and very easy to ignore. After all, it was only human to have those kinds of feelings.

*And Alucard is a little more human than he cares to admit* she smirked around her cigar.

She turned her attention the production schedules and budgets and saw another memo from Mr Clarke, the head of finances. He was concerned about the sheer weight of silver that Jane had ordered and how much it was going to cost. Silver from religious artefacts was not easy to come by and never came cheap. Integra raised an eyebrow when she saw the figures, and wondered where all that metal was going to go. She made a note to have Walter look into it.

Re-reading through the report that the information retrieval section had prepared, made her uncomfortably aware that she had an unknown threat, and so she sent a memo to Major Ferguson to have the reserve troops brought in from the outlying barracks, to be bivouacked in the London camps. She'd rather have soldiers sleeping in tents on her lawns than be caught unprepared.

She dipped her hand into the in-tray for the next inevitable piece of paper and realised that she had worked her way through everything. This was a rare occurrence and immediately she wondered if there was something that she had missed. Shaking her head at herself, she stood up and decided that the night was still young enough for her to take another run at the firing range.

Walter knocked on the door to Seras's room and heard a mumbled response. Entering, he found her sprawled out on the bed, nose deep in a book. He deposited the tray on her table and turned to her.

"Your dinner, Miss Victoria."

"Thank you Walter." She replied, her eyes alighting eagerly on the chilled blood pack. She scrambled off the bed and came to the table, turning the pack over, so she could read the label.

"Who's for supper tonight?" she mused aloud.

Walter gave a small snort of amusement and she realised that he was still there.

"Oh," she stammered, her cheeks blooming with colour. "I only meant..."

"No need to apologise." He smiled. "Indeed I was wondering how long it would take for you to start noticing the differences between the donors."

"So this is a normal thing?" she asked. "I mean, normal for my kind?"

Seras had to come to realise that Walter was a veritable font of information regarding vampires, and she could ask him questions that she felt silly asking her master. He never mocked her ignorance, and in some way, seemed to be encouraging her to find her way in her new life.

"It is normal. In fact, before you joined us, there were some soldiers that weren't asked to donate, as Alucard couldn't stand their taste. Being as old as he is, I imagine his palate has become spoilt for choice, as it were."

"So I get his leftovers." She grumbled.

"Not at all." He reassured her. "Your packs come from the same sources. It just takes a while to become accustomed to the different types. You, most definitely prefer B negative blood, whereas Alucard prefers A positive. I try to allot them accordingly."

Touched by his solicitousness, Sera's could only smile and blush.

Walter gave a small bow and turned to leave, only to turn back at the door. He gave one of his wicked half-smiles and said:

"Wait till you start realising that your squad members are beginning to smell a little like they taste."

Her eyebrows hit her hairline but before she could say anything, he was gone and the door had softly closed. She thought it had been her imagination but his sly remark had confirmed it. She was starting to pick out people by the smell of their blood. It had unnerved her for a while and then she decided that it was just another facet of who she was now. In a way, at least she knew who was coming around the corner...

Walter bustled round the small kitchen that he used to prepare tea and vampire snacks, putting things away and wiping up. Indeed his actions were superfluous, as he was meticulous in every way while in the kitchen. Sitting down to his own well deserved tea, he had treated himself to a few cookies and enjoyed them as he read through the same media reports that Integra had seen earlier. Finishing his treat and the report at the same time, he put it on the table and frowned at the little pile of crumbs that he had managed to leave on the otherwise spotless tablecloth.

Josh was leaving the factory when saw Alucard arrive. Although he had been told about him, seeing him in the flesh was an all together different thing. He was still deciding if he should say anything, when the lanky vampire sauntered up to him, looked him up and down and said lazily:

"So you're Jane's other half, as it were."

Looking him square in the eye, Joshua replied:

"I am her brother, yes. It's nice to finally meet you; my dad told me stories about you when I was a kid."

"And do I live up to your expectations?" was the sardonic reply.

Red eyes challenged brown and then a particularly hard glint came into Joshua's eyes.

"You're everything he said you were. But you need to remember one very important thing."

"Go on," Alucard drawled in an amused tone. He had an inkling of what was coming next and he wasn't disappointed.

"I know that you're on our side, one of the good guys. But that's my sister you're keeping company with, my sister. "

The words came with a wealth of implications behind them, promising dire consequences for Alucard, should he step out of line.

He gave a throaty growl of amusement and flashed a one fanged grin at Josh. He admired the human's courage; even if there was no way that he could live up to any threat, implied or otherwise.

"Don't worry Mr Smith, Jane and I are getting along...quite nicely."

He stayed a moment longer then gave a curt nod and sauntered away into the factory entrance. Josh stared after him, thankful that his trembling knees were not visible to anyone passing by.