A/N: Do you know what happens when you get 37 degree heat with 89% humidity? You sweat. A lot. I'm over this damned Australian summer! -cries- Please, dear readers, send me some cold down from the northern hemisphere so I can wear clothes again without drowning in sweat!

Anyway, enough about that. Here's the second half to this frankly gigantic chapter. In it's original form its nearly ten thousand words long, but I trimmed about a thousand off it with editing and such. I apologise if this one seems a bit 'choppy', but I'm writing stuff from multiple perspectives here! I promise I'll go back to only having two perspectives per chapter after this!

As always, a massive THANK YOU to everyone who's read, reviewed, faved, and followed this fic. Honesetly, you guys ARE the reason I write this; otherwise I would have given up months ago :)

R&R you lovely people!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hellsing, its characters, or anything affiliated with it. I only claim ownership of my OC's

Chapter 22 - Revelations (Part 2)

Dinner was served at the table; Irving had called for the waiter when Walter had finally been able to compose himself, and Integra had been calmed down enough to not shoot Alucard. The group had exchanged pleasantries and explanations over the appetisers, Amelia and Walter usually taking centre stage in the conversation. Walter couldn't believe Amelia was alive, Amelia couldn't believe Walter was alive, Alucard couldn't believe that the two of them had once made 'sheet music' in a Prague hotel, Seras couldn't believe her master had made such an insinuation, and Irving couldn't believe his mother was a cradle snatcher (Amelia's 400+ years old, and Walter was only in his sixties).

The tender reunion between the two old flames was short-lived, however, as the group became tentatively aware of a not-so-impressed Integra brooding in the background.

Integra had sat in silence the entire time, seething as she endured the babbling conversations around her. She didn't know who to be more angry at, Walter for his young, stupid, and impulsive betrayal of her family's trust, or her father for his callous actions, or the Henderson's for deceiving her about the fact that her island holiday destination played host to a myriad of monsters. They very things she'd been trying to avoid.

The fact that they were on the Queen's payroll was the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back. All conversation ceased at the sound of Integra's balled fist slamming down onto the table.

"So let me get this straight," Integra began, her teeth nearly chewing through her cigar as she directed her attention towards Irving. "Your island serves as a strange interpretation of a sanctuary for non-humans, and you're the friendly face of the company?"

Irving was wilting under her relentless gaze, unsure of whether to be afraid or aroused by her piercing scrutiny; the threatening tone of Integra's voice suggested to him it should be the latter. "That's a basic way of putting it, yes. I'm essentially a human to non-human liaison, and-"

"And you," Integra cut him off and turned to Amelia, who, to her credit, was completely unmoved by Integra's coldness. "You're a four hundred year-old vampire who runs this show behind the scenes, so to speak?"

"Correct." Amelia replied calmly.

"And you," Integra's eyes met those of Walter, and his reaction confirmed to Integra how pissed off she obviously appeared. "You made the foolhardy decision to become physically involved with this vampire," She indicated to Amelia with marked indignation. "Forsaking your vows, and spitting on my father's kindness?"

Walter simply bowed his head, unable to speak under Integra's disapproving glower.

"And after finding out all of these facts, these very large, very IMPORTANT facts, you all thought it would be a good idea to just 'carry on', ignore everything, and have dinner?!"

The silence that met Integra only served to aggravate her further; even Alucard was deathly quiet, though he still held an amused smirk on his face. She wanted to shoot it.

"I can't believe this," Integra growled, turning away from her annoying servant to look back at Walter. His mortified expression garnered no sympathy from her, she was far too angry by this point. "I can't believe you, how could you do this?"

Amelia opened her mouth, clearly in an attempt to defend him, but Integra cut her off before she could even begin.

"No. Actually, I'd rather not hear it," She rose to her feet, stubbing out her cigar on the ashtray before shooting them all a venomous look. "I've had enough nasty surprises for one night, excuse me; I'm going to go and inhale a whole box of cigars."

She stormed away, leaving everyone in stunned silence.

"Well that was a disaster," Integra sighed to herself. She wanted to pull her hair out; what was meant to be a relaxing eight weeks away in a tropical paradise had been rapidly turning into a nightmare.

The dark sky loomed above as she stood out on one of the Royal Pearl's many balconies, trusty cigar in hand, and tried to rein in control of her nerves. Until that point she'd thought it impossible to find a situation more stressful than the running of Hellsing, sadly she'd been blissfully ill-prepared. What the bloody hell had the Queen been thinking when she sent her off to this place?

She sighed, taking in an extra-long drag, and watched the fine smoke mingle with the cool night air as she exhaled. Her mind was wandering aimlessly by this point, having been muddied by half a dozen glasses of scotch. So many questions had been thrust on her at once, and her brain had gone into a sort of 'emergency shut down' mode, rendering her able to do only three things: drink, smoke, and yell at Alucard, and seeing as the latter wasn't around, she decided to indulge heavily in the former two.

Guilt also nagged at her; she hadn't meant to fly off the handle at Walter, the man who practically raised her in the absence of her father. But perhaps that's also the reason why she did it. She knew what happened was a lifetime ago, but she couldn't shake off the selfish feeling of betrayal and a niggling hint of jealousy; all these years she thought him a celibate man, now it seemed that even her butler had enjoyed his youth better than her.

"I think I'm starting to see a pattern here."

Integra jumped where she stood, turning with a scowl to meet the ever present smirk on Irving's face. The man sauntered up to her, holding two tumbler's of what she assumed to be whisky. He handed one to her, and she sat it down next to the other empty glasses on the balcony railing.

"And I suppose you're here to enlighten me?" Integra asked dryly as she flicked a bit of ash from her cigar. Irving didn't reply to her straight away. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a small box, from that he retrieved -to Integra's surprise- a thin cigar and proceeded to light it. "I didn't know you smoked."

"I might not do it as habitually as you, but I do enjoy a good cigar now and then." Irving said as he gently inhaled, Integra found it strangely fascinating to watch. When he noticed her staring she quickly turned away to gaze up at the stars again, feeling more than a little silly.

"You like control," He said flatly after a few moments of silence. Integra scoffed, but didn't outright rebuke him, knowing his words held some truth. "If you're not in control it makes you feel uneasy, irritable, and at times it can cause you to act irrationally. Classic case in point would be when you shot my mother in the face." Integra coughed at sputtered at the words.

"She told you?" Integra groaned, not knowing whether to feel more embarrassed or guilty about her actions. Irving laughed, and Integra felt a little relieved that he didn't appear to be openly angry about what she'd done.

"Oh yes, she told me." Irving said as he stubbed out his cigar into the small ashtray Integra had brought with her. "But don't worry, I'm not upset; in fact, it serves to solidify my opinion of you as the beautiful firebrand that the rumours had painted you to be."

"And my 'control' problem doesn't do anything to tarnish your perfect image of me?" Integra mumbled, carefully sidetracking his flattery in an attempt to keep her face the correct colour.

"Nobody's perfect, we all have our quirks and vices, myself included." Irving shrugged, taking a healthy gulp from his drink. "Though I think you should have gone a little softer on poor Walter in there. It wasn't as if the man had purposely gone out to hurt you."

Integra's head dropped, her guilt eating away at her again. "I know, I realise that. You seem to rapidly forget that who I am, and what I do for a living."

"Does that really give you the right to cast all creatures in the same light?" Irving asked seriously, and Integra wondered whether she had offended the man. She considered him for a moment before she gave an answer.

"I don't know," She sighed. "My father raised me to hate vampires, and fear the supernatural. I suppose since then some of my opinions have changed, especially after Alucard saved me."

"Alucard saved you?" Irving asked with surprise.

"Yes," Integra nodded. "When my father died he had chosen me to take over his role in command of Hellsing. My uncle, Richard, took it as a deep personal insult and tried to kill me. Luckily I found Alucard in the basement and he saved me; if it wasn't for him I'd be long dead."

Irving smiled. "I suppose I'll have to thank him for that. If it weren't for him I wouldn't have the good fortune of your company."

"How did we get onto this train of conversation?" Integra asked, all of a sudden feeling quite exposed after gushing away her life story, albeit only a snippet of it.

"I believe I was telling you that nobody was perfect," Irving said as he drained the last of his glass and set it beside Integra's. "Not even you; and thats why we find people beautiful and fascinating. If you were perfect you'd be far too dull, you're much more intriguing and beautiful with your faults laid bare. Especially when you've got a temper and a proverbial killing machine at your disposal. Honestly it's all rather attractive. Is it true that you once sent Alucard to stop an entire horde of vampires in Chechnya?"

"Why do you keep saying that?" Integra asked as her face coloured, she was thankful that it was dark enough on the balcony for no one to see it.

"In these 'unique' circles, it is difficult not to hear about the exploits of the leader of Hellsing and her crimson clad vampire." Irving replied, gazing up at the sky to see what was so interesting for Integra to look at constantly.

"You know I didn't mean that," Integra admonished but kept her eyes looking upwards. "I meant the other thing you said."

"Is it that hard to accept a compliment?" Irving asked.

"Why even make a compliment in the first place?" She countered, fumbling her thumbs together so that she could restrain the urge to hit him.

"Perhaps it's because I'm a gentleman," Irving shrugged, taking out and lighting another cigar; Integra did the same, and they both noticed it at the same time. "Or perhaps it's because you deserve said compliment?"

Integra blinked at him, not knowing what to say.

Unknown to the humans on the balcony, two pairs of crimson eyes observed them from a distance. Seras leaned gently against her master as they quietly eavesdropped on the curious couple from just inside the restaurant. She'd half expected Integra to slap Irving, but the woman had simply stood there and taken his flattery. That, above everything else that had transpired during the evening, was something that pricked the draculina's curiosity; her master's also.

'She likes him.' Alucard's voice rumbled in her head. Seras nearly jumped, but that reaction was immediately overpowered by the sheer surprise at his statement.

'Are you sure?' She asked, casting quick glances between Irving and her master's master. 'All he seems to do is irritate her.'

'And that's why she likes him,' Alucard replied. 'Who else do you know that's spoken to our master in such ways and lived to tell the tale, besides myself?'

'I suppose you have a point.' Seras conceded.

'She doesn't even know it yet,' Alucard continued. 'But I can feel it through our connection; I think it's why she's getting so annoyed at him, she doesn't know how to process what's going on. The woman has never known those kinds of emotions before, and she's trying to process them logically.'

'That's so sad,' Seras felt a pang of guilt for her leader. 'To live your whole life and not know something as joyous as the first fluttering of affection.' Integra must have been very lonely in her younger years, sure she must have had Alucard and Walter, but Seras did not know anyone else of note, much less any younger men that would have been Integra's own age.

'I can sympathise with her.'

'What do you mean by that?' Seras asked, but Alucard didn't respond. She could feel his mental barriers had been put back up, and it suddenly made her worry. His words had almost seemed sad; she wanted to think more on it, but she was pulled back to present events when he moved away and almost caused her to fall flat on her arse.

Integra had sensed the commotion by the door, and had been tempted to order her two vampires out onto the balcony so she could shoot them. Sadly, they had slipped away before she got her chance, and now she was back with her original, handsome, problem.

'Wait, handsome?' She thought in alarm, realising she'd been staring at Irving for a little longer than what would be deemed appropriate.

Her face immediately reddened again, clearly she'd had too much to drink if she thought the man by her side to be handsome. He wasn't unattractive, or ugly, that much was plain and clear, but Integra had never thought of men to be handsome before. Well, there was this one time in her youth when she 'explored' the internet, but that was it. He wasn't handsome. Was he?

"Is something the matter?" Irving asked, curious as to why Integra had put her drink down so suddenly as if it were poison.

"It's nothing," She dismissed him, trying to think of any excuse to keep his questions at bay. "I think I'm just a bit wired after everything that's gone on this evening...and I think that last scotch was one too many."

"Well then, perhaps we should call it a night?" Irving said, offering out a gloved hand to her.

"What about the rest of our dinner? And the dessert?" Integra asked, she didn't want to be rude and snub her hosts, especially after she'd already shot one of them. She made a mental note to try and attempt an apology to Amelia when she was feeling more, well, sober.

"Oh please," Irving rolled his eyes, though he laughed whilst he did it. "My mother won't care. Besides I'm sure the others will be staying for a while, so she'll be well entertained." He beckoned her with his hand again, but all Integra could manage was to walk close by as they entered the restaurant.

The roads were quiet at night, Integra observed. It was eerily peaceful; she was so used to the busy streets of London that never seemed to calm or quell, but out here she could hear herself think. She felt a little better when Walter had fussed over her leaving so early, she'd been sure she'd upset him with her little spat earlier; but in typical British form it was water under the bridge to him and he'd let her go on her way. She'd been forced to remind herself of the amount of times he'd been on the receiving end of her sharp tongue, and felt foolish for thinking he would have taken anything so childish to heart.

They'd both elected to walk back to the villa, it wasn't a great distance and Irving had estimated it would take no more than an hour; enough time to smoke a few cigars and wait for the alcohol to wear off. To her alarm she was finding the man to be more and more tolerable as the night wore on. She'd tried telling herself that it was fatigue and jetlag taking its toll, but ultimately accepted the fact that he was actually a likeable character once you got used to his quirks. The main one being his innate ability to make her blood boil every five minutes; although she noted it didn't feel the same as when Alucard annoyed her, and that made her nervous.

In many ways the two men were quite alike; she could see why Alucard (to her astonishment) found him agreeable. Irving carried himself in the same confident way as Alucard, taking long deliberate strides as he walked. They shared the same taste in red wines, though Irving plainly preferred whisky as his main choice of poison. He also had the same grin; that cocky, devilish, alarmingly charming grin. She didn't know why it annoyed her so much, but it just lit a fire in her that pushed her to want to shove him into a tree; but she restrained herself. And that shocked her.

Her mind was spinning like a top. She kept running over things again and again. She'd lost count on the amount of times Irving had given her reason to punch, kick, or shoot him during the evening, but she restrained herself. Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing never restrained herself when it came to the advances of men. But was he really doing that? Sure, he was being openly flirtatious, and she'd caught him looking at her when Irving thought he otherwise occupied, but he had done nothing more; yes, that's why she restrained herself. He wasn't being serious. Was he?

She soon realised that they were now walking uphill; Irving had said that it would mark the half-way point back to her villa. Her legs were shorter than his and she found herself trailing behind. After a few moments he seemed to have noticed this, slowing his pace so that she could catch up.

"You look rather pensive," He said as he removed his dinner jacket and slung it over his shoulder. "Are you enjoying the calming stillness of the night air?"

Integra couldn't help but chuckle, he really was a lot like Alucard in some ways; perhaps they were related, albeit distantly? He looked at her curiously, clearly wondering what exactly he'd said that was so funny, and she found herself relieved that he'd shaken her from her deep musings.

"What's so funny?" He asked, though the grin on his face betrayed his attempt to feign offence.

"I'm sorry," Integra waved him off. "It's just that you reminded me of Alucard when you said that. He's always saying something cliché like 'It really is a pleasant night'." She tried to do her best imitation of the vampire's deep baritone voice. Apparently she'd failed in her attempt because it sent Irving into a fit of laughter. Her cheeks flushed and she frowned at him, when he didn't stop she thumped him in the arm. "It's not meant to be funny."

"I beg to difer," Irving managed to say as he continued to howl, earning him another, harder thump.

"Oh alright, let's see you try it then." Integra growled, though she, too, was smiling.

"Okay, okay. Give me a moment!" Irving stopped laughing for long enough to clear his throat, though a boyish giggle still escaped him causing Integra to roll her eyes. He eventually regained his composure and leaned a little towards her, cracking his best attempt at the vampire's Cheshire grin. "It really is a pleasant night, Integra."

The rest of the walk was spent in silence. Irving couldn't help but keep the triumphant smile off his face as Integra walked silently next to him, red faced and pouty. He was definitely related to Alucard, she reckoned. He was far too good at that. Though Alucard could always make the hairs stand on the back of her neck, she now realised that Irving could do it for a vastly different reason.

She hadn't worked out yet whether or not that was a bad thing.

The music had slowed to a lazier tempo; a beautiful melody was played on the strings as the few remaining revellers danced on the floor of the Royal Pearl. The gentle cluttering of plates, glasses and other tableware being cleared away echoed in the background as the cleaning staff swooped in to do their duties. Seras could hear it all clear as day, though she paid it no attention for she was far too busy gushing over the love birds that currently dominated the dance floor.

"Wow, they're really good." She had no idea that Walter was such a proficient dancer. As soon as dinner was over he'd practically dragged Amelia to the dance floor; her master had joked that it was the wine, and he was probably right, but it was very cute nonetheless. They had just concluded and excellent waltz before the music had changed, and Seras had found herself daydreaming of Alucard guiding her across the ornate timber floor one day.

"Indeed, it appears our Butler can still surprise us after all these years." Alucard's voice startled her a little. He'd meant to appear mocking in his tone, but Seras could sense the sincerity in his voice, she always could read him. They were sitting together at one of the smaller tables that had yet to be cleared away; Alucard was resting his chin on the knuckles of his hands, his face neutral as always. She could see through it though, his eyes never left the dancing duo, and she knew he was thinking about dancing with Seras as much as she was with him.

"Would you like to?" Seras asked, surprised at both her courage and the fact that it was usually the gentleman that asked the lady to dance, not the other way around. Alucard looked at her for a moment, surprise flashed across his features before disappearing back to indifference as he rose to his feet. Seras froze when he extended his hand to her, she'd half expected him to scoff and turn down her feeble request, but clearly her master was in a more benevolent mood tonight.

"Come along, Seras." He commanded gently, pulling her briskly to his side and walking out to the open area. Seras noted with a smile the surprised faces of Walter and Amelia as Alucard guided her into a gentle rhythm. "Just one dance," He said quietly. "Then we shall leave, I'm tired."

"But master, it's barely midnight." Seras' voice was barely a whisper as her master held her to his chest. Where the hell did this come from? Master was never so clingy back at the mansion.

"It's the middle of the day in England my fledgling," Alucard reminded her. Seras nearly jumped when she felt his hands running through her hair, gently tugging on her blonde locks as they travelled down to her neck. "Even we creatures of the night must allow our internal workings to adjust to a new time-zone. Besides…" He trailed off, his lips still moving but no sound coming from them. Seras noted for the first time a strange flicker in his eyes, something mixed with adoration and disgust.

"Master, is something the matter?' She asked, being careful to not tread on his feet as he almost came to a dead stop.

"I tire of my master's distractions," He said in a voice quieter than a whisper, it was as if some unknown force was causing his breath to hitch. "Remember that we are bonded, Integra and I, just like I am to you Seras. Sometimes the connection between us causes emotions to bleed from one person to the other...like those dreams."

Seras gasped, it was the first time Alucard had openly admitted to knowing about them. She wanted desperately to ask him about it, but she knew he was not yet finished with his explanation.

"The strength of our emotions can determine how much of it is felt through the bond," Alucard continued as he picked up the pace of their dance once more. "Right now my master is feeling strange...I think smitten is the word you would use."

"Oh I see," Seras nodded as everything began to make sense."Which is why you're so-"

"I swear to God you'd better not use the word 'cuddly'..." Alucard warned.

"-affectionate! I was going to say affectionate." Seras half squealed.

"Good." He said with a sense of finality and freed Seras from his arms. "Now let us go; I want to sleep away my master's fascinating new discovery of emotions before they get the better of me."

"You mean if she gets...then you?" Seras trailed off, realising full well the implications of her words.

"I shall say nothing more on the matter."

"What do you suppose those two were talking about?" Amelia asked as she rested her head on Walter's shoulder. The pair of them eyed the two vampires as they quietly made their exit, Alucard draping one long arm over his childes shoulder.

"When it comes to those two I've not the faintest idea," Walter sighed, remembering for the first time in decades how smooth her hair was to the touch. "Couldn't you just listen in? You're a vampire after all."

"And violate their privacy?" Amelia asked, feigning shock. "No. I know the Count well enough to know when and when not to tread on his grounds."

"I suppose that's reasonable. How did you know Lord Alucard anyway?" Walter asked. The question had actually been niggling him the entire night.

"He freed me from my sire," Amelia said quietly, her voice laced with an unfamiliar undertone of anger. "I'd never wanted to be what I am; and she was a violent, hateful creature. She got what she deserved.

"I see." Walter felt her unease rolling off her in waves. He wanted to ask her more, not least why Alucard (or rather Dracula, then) would go out of his way to save a fledgling that was not his own, but he knew better than to press Amelia now, not after they'd been apart for so long.

The music stopped for a moment as the band prepared their next number for the few couples that still remained on the floor.

"Would you like another drink before we continue?" He asked, and was pleased when he saw her perk right up.

"I'd love one."

Integra was more than relieved when her villa loomed into view. Her legs were tired, she was beginning to sense the start of a hangover, and her walk with Irving was leaving her flustered for more reasons than simple exercise. He was a monstrous flirt, and she frightened herself when she realised she liked it.

"You didn't have to walk all the way here." She said, not knowing how to politely part ways with the man. A part of her inner conscience was almost sad to say goodbye, but she quickly told that voice to shut it and leave her be.

"It's no problem for me," Irving said merrily, though he did sound a little out of breath. "I'm not one to let a beautiful lady walk home by herself in the dead of night."

"I suppose one of your monsters might jump out and eat me," Integra teased, trying to ignore his flattery, although she was also half serious. "Or am I allowed to think myself safe?

"They all live on the other side of the island," Irving pointed to some mountains in the distance. "To the east. Most of our guests come here for solitude. The main resort on this island is mainly here to make the money that supports the upkeep of this place. There's not a lot of them, only twenty-six live her at the moment."

"Will I be seeing any of them?" Integra asked.

"If you wish," Irving replied. "I'm sure we can arrange introductions; perhaps it might change your views on such things? They're all perfectly friendly, if you can believe it."

Integra shrugged. She didn't think it would make a difference, but she decided it would be better to humour the man. "I suppose I might. But no promises Irving. And I expect a proper explanation about this place tomorrow; no more tip-toeing."

He nodded, and they fell into an awkward silence as they approached the door to the villa. Integra suddenly found herself becoming increasingly nervous, and it didn't help that she was getting the occasional snippet of smugness emanating from Alucard's connection to her. Eavesdropping bastard, she thought. He couldn't very well just leave her in peace. Not that she wanted to be alone with Irving, or anyone else for that matter. No, she just wanted her solitude. Yes, Solitude.

Irving pulled out his phone and typed in a quick message before putting it away. Integra looked at him and he shrugged. "I don't want to walk back down, I sent for a car."

"Lazy," Integra said cheekily, immediately realising that not all of the whisky had left her. "Well, I'd better go in. I want to get some water in me before I get a jet-lag fuelled hangover in the morning."

"Very well," Irving nodded. "I'll drop by around eleven-ish, if that's alright? We still have the rest of the island to tour as you get settled."

"Alright then, I'll see you in the morning...Um, goodnight." She said slightly hastily.

"Goodnight." He said, and Integra froze where she stood when she felt his lips brush her cheek for the briefest instant.

By the time she'd regained the ability to move, bringing her hand up to where she still felt the ghost of his breath, Irving was already in his car and halfway down the mountain road.

A/N: Well, ain't that a little bit cute? :3

Thank god this chapter is done. For those of you wondering, YES, I was stuck on this chapter since November. But the demon of writer's block hath finally been slain by my mighty hand!

P.S - I did check this, twice, but I apologise if any errors have been missed.