A/N First I want to apologize for my very long delay… I had some medical issues that took me out of commission for a while and then my computer died. I could not afford to purchase a new one and did not know how to upload from my phone. I am very sorry!

The woman known only as Raven waited patiently as she watched the meeting take place between the Vatican and the head of the Hellsing order. She had gotten as close to the group as she possibly dared but was still unable to hear the conversation taking place. She cursed under her breath, her superior would not appreciate the lack of information that she was about to present him. She was about to take a step forward but stopped short when she felt then saw the eyes of the bandaged man staring in her direction. Far better to have little information than to risk discovery and the plan. She would just have to tell her Master what she knew and hope for the best.

XxXxX

For once Seras woke without the sound of her familiar pounding on her coffin. She quickly dressed and gulped down the provided bag of blood trying not to gag on the taste of plastic and headed up to where the Hellsing troops were training. As she approached she found Pip in discussion with some of his former men, giving feedback on what appeared to have been an exercise involving the obstacle course they had set up. She crumpled the empty bag of AB+ and threw it in the nearby trash can before approaching the group.

"I was wondering where you had gotten to," She addressed Pip as he spun around to face her.

Even when he wasn't her familiar it always seemed that he could sense her presence, and now that he was technically a part of her he was even more sensitive to where she was.

"Ahh, yes, Ma chere, I apologize for not being there when you awoke from you slumber. Perhaps to avoid it in the future I should sleep with you in your coffin?" He smiled warmly as his former men laughed at his suggestive comment.

"I don't think so, Captain, with the way you snore I wouldn't get any sleep!" She joined in on the laughter that her comment caused, glad to feel the comradery.

"I do not, nor have I ever snored!" Pip blustered back.

"Next time I'll have to record it then," Seras smirked back at him enjoying the sight of him caught off guard for once.

It only took a moment before Pip's face returned to his own smirk, "Since when have you been watching me sleep?"

"I…I didn't! It wasn't on purpose… I just so happened to be walking by you room one night!"

Luckily she was saved another of his sarcastic comments due to the arrival of her Mistress with several of the men from the arms development team. She waited till the men had stopped their laughter and were paying attention before speaking.

"We've just developed a new patch that will be worn by all those under the command of the Hellsing organization." She nodded to the men who had followed her as they began to hand out the new patches. "These patches are loaded with a lethal dose of silver. If you are bitten and survive you will be expected to deploy the patch injecting yourself with the dose and thus preventing your transformation into a ghoul. If your comrade is bitten and he does not survive you are to deploy the silver before he is turned into a ghoul. If you are unable to prevent ghoulification you are to proceed as normal and exterminate the threat with the usual tactics. You will place these on your uniforms without delay. Is that clear?"

"Yes, SIR!" was the combined response of the entire group.

XxXxX

Chief Makube paced in his office, showing his agitation in his movements, muttering curses under his breath. Heinkel stood patiently waiting allowing the Chief to have one of his rarely seen moments of annoyance.

"That protestant COW!" he smacked an object off of his desk and didn't even miss a step when it shattered on floor. "I thought we had her this time! After all how was she going to defend herself against an unprovoked attack on the Church by her own men!"

"I still say that her men and her are responsible, she has to be lying! Please let me strike back for our lost comrades, we cannot abide this outrage!" Heinkel was shaking with barely kept fury.

The Chief gradually stopped and took a seat behind his desk, calming himself before speaking. "No… we can't afford to be rash. She will be expecting it… We need to plan this carefully… At least we can be thankful that her pet dog has not returned to her. One cursed vampire is enough to deal with… And at least she does not share all of her Master's qualities."

XxXxX

If Mr. Brennan had looked unkempt when he was alive he looked even worse now as a ghoul. His clothes were even more ragged then before and deep slashes were torn into his jacket and pants where it looked like he had been attacked by a wild beast. And that would not be far from the truth as he had met up the Master vampire he had betrayed. His handkerchief, his one prized possession given to him by his wife, fluttered from his pocket to the dirt covered floor of the large dark room, covered in blood. He bumped into the ghoul standing in front of him and groaned in response. The rest of the room echoed from the multitude of ghouls as they joined in.

The army was ready…