Thanks for the reviews and i hope you enjoy this chapter. And just a quick note - I know this chapter is called 'The Truth', but it might also apply to more chapters later on.

WARNING: Lemony stuff, violence

The Truth

Alucard woke up, with stakes lodged into his chest.

Normally, these silly wooden toothpicks had no effect on him; their effect were identical to pins on skin, but he was overcome with agony. It was almost like the time that Judas Priest slammed two bayonets into him during their first meeting in Ireland. Not only was this experience new, but he realised he was also lying beside someone.

…Ruby?

She was lying to his right, her eyes closed. Throwing his fist to grasp one stake, he eased it out of his flesh, one after the another, grunting the entire time whilst discarding each carelessly to the side. There were at least ten. By the time the last stake was removed, he was breathing heavily and he rolled over to his mate and inspected her briefly, before burying his face into her chest, exhausted.

After a few seconds, he forced himself off her, but she did not stir. Her eyes were still closed and he pressed his ear against her chest to make sure her heart was still beating…

"Don't worry, she's alive. I just knocked her out, that's all. I couldn't possibly kill her now, no. Not when I finally have such a fine specimen in my grasp."

And there stood Mordecai Rosenthal, gazing at the two with a clipboard in hand. Alucard glanced up to inspect his surroundings more carefully; he was in a cell - a box-shaped brick-walled room with iron bars, like a jail cell, which sickened and disgusted him.

"Specimen has woken up." The doctor murmured, writing in his notepad with a blunt pencil.

"You – " Alucard stopped when he realised he felt…odd. He was warm, oddly energetic, inexplicably excited, feverish…maybe even a little achy. He cast his gaze over to the unconscious girl who was lying underneath him in the cell they were locked in and shuddered when she let out a piteous moan under her breath. She rolled from her side and onto her front, where he could see that the flimsy shirt she had been wearing was unbuttoned to a large extent and revealing an ample view of her chest and the strap of her bra. Alucard groaned and turned his head away from the sight.

Outside their cell, Dr Rosenthal said, "Just to let you know, I've injected you with a powerful vampire aphrodisiac… Since earlier on, you seemed to show an intense interest in my lovely assistant. If you don't mind, I'd like to monitor your responses. If you ever do engage in coitus with her, I'd like to see what happens."

What? Had he heard right? The goddamned human had injected him with a drug and was now waiting for them to mate? He felt insulted he'd allowed such a thing to happen. When did he even consume something that would stifle his defences and knock him out? Hell, what on earth was strong enough to knock him out in the first place? It was then he recalled accepting a drink of water from the doctor earlier on.

"What did you put in the drink?" He demanded consequently.

"Oh, nothing really…just a drug that's got a kick strong enough to make ten elephants fall over like dominoes. It hits your immune system when you don't expect it." Rosenthal explained cheerfully.

He should have known there was something odd about this doctor. There were all sorts of people out there who wanted to bring harm to him and his mate and this man was no exception. "Who are you."

"I am a doctor." Rosenthal replied, adjusting his spectacles, "But I have been investigating vampires after the Hellsing group came here years ago. At first, I did not believe vampires existed until one was brought down from the mountains and led away."

"Led away." Alucard repeated.

"Yes. They came in a white van and this group of men went up the mountain, then came down with this young man in tow and drove off with him. Apparently the man was a bloodsucking monster. But he was so ordinary looking…he was just a man!" He exclaimed loudly. Cradling his hands, Rosenthal's voice went softer, "…Nobody talks about it anymore…no, not after they found out the vampire raped my sister-in-law. They cast her out like a leper."

Raped? Emilia Rosenthal was…raped? Alucard raised an eyebrow.

Mordecai seemed eager to talk despite Alucard's silence. "…She came to me one day, sobbing. 'I've got a vampire's baby!' She wept, 'Get rid of it, please!' Of course… she only came to me because I was the only one she could turn to, knowing that…well, I've never performed abortions before, only minor surgeries."

"What did you do?"

He shrugged. "I had to cut open her womb and – hmm, what's the proper term? Oh, yes, a caesarean."

Keep him talking, Alucard thought. Keep this blabbermouth babbling on until he was sure of the situation. He said, "What did you do with the foetus?"

Mordecai smiled an eerie, twisted smile. "I put it over there." He pointed to a pickle jar sitting atop the shelf near his desk.

"Is it…?"

"Dead? Oh, yes. It was only in its embryonic stage. No head, or eyes or arms or legs. Poor thing; it looks a bit like a tadpole."

"What does this have to do with me and Leanne?"

"Well…since then, I'd never been able to get vampires out of my head. And after I found Leanne with the vampire fang, I knew straight away she had been in contact with a vampire, and that one would come for her. It was merely a matter of time and patience."

Alucard was about to lunge at him; if the puny human doctor believed these steel bars would keep him in, then he was sorely mistaken. He was only stopped in his actions when he heard the girl emit another uncomfortable noise. "Why do you insist on calling her Leanne?"

"Because that's what she called herself." Rosenthal said, "When she woke up, she told me her name was Leanne Van der Linde, and she had been in a fire. When I asked about her parents, she said they were dead. Funnily enough…even if she was in a fire, she has no scars."

Leanne Van der Linde? A fire? Dead parents?

He didn't quite understand. But Mordecai was right. Ruby/Leanne had no scars on her body. He'd seen her naked...well, almost. He'd seen enough to know that she had no scars. Turning back to her, he saw her stretch slightly, her top riding up her stomach, unintentionally revealing more skin than he could handle. He groaned again. No…must focus…kill the doctor… The cell would not stop him, but…the drug…the vampire aphrodisiac…this was his first time hearing of such a ridiculous thing but it seemed it did, in fact, exist and it was also working… His mind was hazy, his shaft throbbed in his pants, and he suddenly had an overwhelming desire and want for her. He longed to touch the sleeping girl on the bed. They'd only been separated for five days but it felt like eternal torture…

He withdrew his shaking hand that was reaching to cup her face, to touch her hair, stroke the curve of her cheeks. He could not give in. Touching her…doing anything to her when she was unconscious would be against her will. It would be a shameful, disgusting act to commit. A heinous, atrocious act…especially towards a woman, but…

Out of his control, Alucard found himself clambering over the girl despite every fibre of his undead wellbeing screaming at him. Just a touch. A quick touch. Maybe a kiss. Yes, he would steal a kiss. An innocent kiss on the lips. Then he'd tear the doctor apart. Kill him. Skin him. Dice him. Chop off his arms and legs. Feed him to stray dogs. Yes, that would do. No, wait. He should do it now, before anything else happened…threaten him for an antidote… but Alucard found himself placing his hand on Ruby's stomach and inhaled a hiss from the contact. She did not stir; she didn't even seem to be aware that he was touching her. He couldn't help himself. His hands seem to have a mind of their own and they were swimming underneath her clothes. Breathing erratically, he leant down and kissed her gently, his hands gliding further up her stomach and under her bra to her breasts, cupping them. Her breasts fit neatly into his palms; they were not too large or too small.

They were…perfect.

Rosenthal pulled over a foldable stool from the side and sat down, watching the pair with his notepad in one hand over his knee, scribbling down more notes. "Vampire specimen displays keen interest in female anatomy." He was murmuring to himself.

Alucard kissed her hungrily; it felt so damn good, to feel her soft lips against his. The weak moans she emitted only spurned him on, and he caressed and squeezed her soft breasts, enjoying how they yielded under his working fingers; her expression scrunched a little but she did not awake, even when he began to trail long, passionate kisses down to her jaw and neck. Oh god, he wanted her so badly. But the doctor. The goddamned doctor. The doctor was watching. He should kill him now. Yes yes yes. Get out of this cell. Take Ruby…no, Leanne…Ruby(?)…no…what was her name? Fine, he'd call her Leanne for the moment… and escape. Speaking of Leanne, he didn't realise he'd even begun to grind against her.

"Vampire specimen demonstrating strong signs of desire to mate with the female. Innate or environmental? Requires further research."

That brought the vampire back to reality and he stopped; it was disgusting a human was witnessing them like this and taking down notes. With a roar he tore himself away from the girl and focused his attention on the current situation before he melded himself into the shadows, away from prowling human eyes.

"What the - ?" Rosenthal spluttered as he sat up, the chair falling to the ground. "Where did he go?"

He was answered when a grip seized him and he was suddenly in the air, flailing, his glasses flying askew from his nose. "You chose the wrong specimen, doctor." Alucard growled as he re-appeared behind him; he had grabbed Rosenthal by the neck, hoisting him up.

Rosenthal gagged and spluttered, choking and rasping helplessly, "P…Please don't kill me! I'm just an honest man doing honest work! I just want to find out more about you!"

"The key to the cell." Alucard demanded. "Give them to me."

The doctor rammed a hand into his pockets and began rummaging, then shakily protruded out a small iron key. "H-Here."

Alucard grabbed it and with the doctor kept in his grip, he moved to the cell containing the unconscious girl and unlocked it for the time being. Whatever Rosenthal had inflicted him with, it was still working; Alucard could not concentrate properly.

However, now that he was out of his cell, he noticed that the rest of the room (it looked more like a basement) contained an operating table, a desk with more stakes piled on top and a half-empty bookshelf with several jars standing in the middle shelf. The basement was also built with various cells similar to the one he and Ruby/Leanne had been locked in, all harbouring strange creatures inside. Upon closer inspection, he realised they were actually prowling Ghouls. The once-human creatures were padding around directionless in their confined spaces, with most cells containing two Ghouls at least. "What kind of experiments were you conducting here below the surface, doctor?" He demanded, when he saw a skeleton lying in one of the cells.

"…T-They are interesting…Not human…but still…look like humans…" Rosenthal croaked out.

"Tell me more."

"N-No!" He screamed, and Alucard's grip increased on his throat subsequently and the doctor began to gag and splutter uncontrollably. "A-Alright! I'll tell you…They…display…no levels of human intelligence…even lower than animals. Their instincts are to k-kill…only to kill…and feed…"

"And those are human remains. Explain."

"…I-I took and locked them in with the ghouls…just to see what…happened."

"You killed them."

"For the sake of scientific discovery…think of all the things I could have discovered…" The doctor whimpered helplessly.

"Yet you killed humans. She thought highly of you, and you betrayed her trust." Alucard growled as he threw a quick glance to Leanne, but Rosenthal merely shook his head.

"Sacrifice is necessary in the name of science."

Alucard watched him in steely silence. "What happened between your sister-in-law and the vampire? Tell me, or else."

"They…They were…well…Em-Emilia was…she was…" Mordecai reluctantly spoke, squeezing his eyes shut.

"She was WHAT?"

"…She was engaged to my brother, Anthony…And everyone in the village knew… But then…but then I found out she was actually going behind my brother's back with the vampire."

"Because she came to you for an abortion."

Mordecai nodded feebly, trembling.

"Did she not love the vampire?"

The doctor fell silent.

Alucard decided he needed more persuasion and his fist closed tighter over his throat.

Immediately, Mordecai began that useless trembling again and spluttered out, "N-No. She begged me not to tell anyone…but I told my brother anyway. What was I supposed to do, goddamnit? He's my brother! So I told him what had happened. He was angry…because…well, vampires live in the mountains, but they've never come down and hurt us before, until…you know. So he…he…called experts, reporting the vampires as though they were some kind of rat infestation. Like pest control."

Alucard knew the rest of that story. Anthony Rosenthal called Hellsing. To get rid of the vampires. for final.

Mordecai continued, "Black vans came and then all the vampires were gone. Just like that."

"What happened to your brother and his wife?"

"He still wanted her, even after all that. They left the village together."

With a nod of satisfaction, Alucard realised he had everything he needed to hear. Caelum and Emilia Rosenthal were once romantically involved…but then he raped her… she went to Mordecai for an abortion, and then her fiancé Anthony found out. They contacted Hellsing, which prompted Arthur Hellsing to come kill the vampires. Following that…Caelum was captured (not by Hellsing – that needed some more research, possibly it was the corporation that experimented on vampires) and Anthony and Emilia relocated somewhere else to escape the nightmare of Bal'allan…

Now...what should he do with this scumbag doctor?

With a growl, his hand clenched around Rosenthal's neck so tightly that the man was only capable of emitting feeble croaks and undecipherable gasps as his face turned to the colour of paste; Alucard considered snapping his neck. It would quick, and he was burning with an insatiable desire for Leanne at the precise moment. But this doctor, this terrible human…what he did was far beyond forgiveness. And it was then he remembered he was still under the effects of the drug the doctor had administered him earlier on which he had managed to keep at bay whilst interrogation the doctor, until now.

Alucard growled out, "Where is the antidote."

"O-Over there."

Dare he trust the scoundrel? Alucard reached for the item the doctor was pointing to - a small vial with a clear liquid inside - at the same time there was a sharp pain in his leg and he realised Rosenthal had a hidden syringe lodged up his sleeve and pushed down, injecting the contents into him. With a loud roar, Alucard dropped to the floor and let go of the blasted human who scrabbled away to grab the closest wooden stake off his desk surface.

His vision began to blur again, the room was beginning to spin too; he turned round just to see the doctor about to slam the stake into him, but –

"Get away from him!"

The foldable stool Rosenthal had once been sitting on was suddenly slammed against the back of his head, temporarily stopping him in his attack and making him stumble slightly; Alucard glanced up to see Leanne, who had now awakened. No, he thought, he could not let Leanne do this… it was too dangerous…she wouldn't be able to stop the doctor…he tried to shake off the effect of the drug the doctor had just injected into him but to no avail. It was too fast acting.

She dumped the stool to the side and rushed over to help him up, a hand on his arm, but he was somewhat unresponsive. "...Mr B! Mr B, oh god, are you alri – " She was cut off when a palm clamped around her mouth from behind, jerking her head backwards, exposing the front of her neck. A blade was put to her neck and in one messy but quick motion, the blade stretched across her throat and her eyes went wide.

Alucard stared, as the blood spewed freely forth from her slit throat, and the hand let go of her mouth. She dropped to the ground, her eyes open, unmoving.

And there was Dr Rosenthal, who had now recovered with blood dribbling from the top of his head from where she hit him. In his bloodied hands, he was holding the blade.

But then his hand that had been grasping the blade flopped to the floor in a messy spray of blood, having been sliced clean off the wrist by an unseen force. With a yelp, he began clutching at the bloodied stump of his wrist with his intact hand; what had happened? He threw his glance down but the girl was motionless…which could only mean it was…

He shakily turned round to see the vampire rising off the ground, but something was different about him this time…a dark, foreboding miasma was engulfing his body, and Mordecai Rosenthal gulped down, upon realisation what he had just done. For what he did to Leanne, Alucard was going to slaughter him.

Rosenthal's screams were music to his ears.

"Will it hurt?"

"Only when a human doesn't want to be bitten…"

Huh?

"…All these years…I have waited, just for you. I held everything back until I was raw and dry of emotion."

"I am fond of you, Ruby."

"It is the truth. You have stirred…feelings within me…And I will never let you go. You are mine. Do not forget that."

Mr Brenner? Is that you?

"…Do you want me, Ruby?"

"Wha - ? What kind of question is that? Do Iwant you? You don't ask girls that! And – "

"I want you."

Two voices. A man's voice and a woman's voice. Sounds a lot like…me…and Mr Brenner? Yes…he said that to me once. I remember now. We…we were together, and his name's not Brenner. It's…

It's…

"…You know…Mr Morris said that women were your passion."

"You are my passion now, Ruby. I crave no other woman but you. In fact, I…It pains me that I cannot spoil you as much as I could. I was once a Prince. A high ruler. Voivode of Wallachia. I could have given you everything you wanted: diamonds, emeralds, rubies."

That's right, he is…no, he was a Prince… He was alive so many centuries ago and then he became a Count…

"Do you wish to live forever, Ruby?"

"N-No! I don't want to... I-I don't want to become a vampire! And why do you want my blood so badly anyway? If I'm…If I am your…er… mate, isn't that… enough?"

"It is a passage of rite. The Passage of the Blood."

Oh yes. He's a vampire…and his name was Dracula, but now he is called…

"Hey, Alucard?"

"Yes, Ruby?"

...Oh, and I'm his mate too and at first, I really didn't like him because he was scary and forceful but as time passed I realised there's more to him than that, and he really is lovable and nice and sweet and gentle in his own way, but I...

I…
I…

He held her in his arms.

After his hellhound devoured Rosenthal, he immediately went to her side.

Alucard could feel her pulse weakening. She was unresponsive to him, but he knew she was dying slowly and painfully in his arms.

His fangs lengthening, he respectively opened his mouth wide and steady above the desired area of her neck, as though bracing for impact; he could hear her pulse weakening, the blood slowing down…he had to do it now…she would be his eternally, a draculina…turning her was a dream he dared to even think to come true as he inwardly was apprehensive because of the reasons and causes as to why he would have to turn her in the first place…and often he would also be consumed with trepidation that he would not have the courage to bite her...but this was real. The past would have to be put behind him, and all fears would have to be faced head on from now on…

Without further ado, he threw his head down and stabbed his fangs into her flesh.

He held her firmly in his arms, his fangs still deeply embedded in her vein, and her blood, her life, was seeping into his system. It was too much… her blood was delicious…he'd drank from other women before but they were incomparable to her on many levels. She was far too exquisite, too delicate and elusive…a taste too rare to be enjoyed in minutes, but rather, to be taken in pleasure for hours. He suppressed a shuddering groan but slowly found himself losing control. He was feeding off her with complete abandon; he embraced her intimately and let his body relax over her entirely, his eyes rolling to the back of his head as he continued to drink.

"...Alucard…" She suddenly croaked out, seemingly regaining consciousness. Was she turning already?

He didn't hear, engrossed in his endeavours. He continued to suck at her neck, her succulent, rich blood flowing into him like a rush of adrenaline, a shot of ecstasy.

"...Alucard, what are you doing...? You're taking too much…"

Again, it fell to deaf ears; he moaned, moving his head for a better angle to drink the sweet, saccharine ambrosia that would be his forever.

Her hand was grasping at his shirt now, her little fingers gripping the fabric tightly, "…A-Alucard…" She gasped out breathlessly; her eyelids were drooping as her breath became short and strenuous, then her hand fell from his shirt to her side, her fingers going limp.

As she finally died in his arms, he inadvertently invaded a memory...a distant memory of Ruby Ashcroft, a hidden memory…A memory of how she became what she was, and what she had been…

And what she was no longer.

…..

...It's… hot…

What is…
What is that smell?

Fire…?

…Mum?

Dad?

Where are you?

Wait.
There's someone there…standing in the middle of the room…

A man.

I don't know him.
I've never seen him before. He's covered in blood…
He has…red eyes.

Why is he staring at me?

The fire is…the fire isn't hurting him?

He's coming closer.

I can't do anything. I'm just crying and crying. I can't touch the bars of my cot because it's too hot. There's an awful smell and its really hot. This man…he stops in front of me and tilts his head to his side, then he picks me up and smiles, with me bundled in his arms, then he begins to rub my back.

I stop crying.
It's comfortable…

As he walks out of the room, a hand grabs his ankle.

He pays no attention to it.

…..

When I wake up, there are two people in front of me. A man and a woman. They're both young and in white coats. I've never seen these people before. I don't recognise them.

The man who saved me from the fire, the man who is carrying me - Red Eyes - he hands me over to the woman.

I start crying and hold onto him, my little arms reaching for him, but the woman takes me off him despite how louder I cry and bawl. "Aww, it's okay, sweetheart. Mummy's got you…"

No. No. You're not my…

Mummy?

"Darling…stop crying…" The woman coos, and she begins to sing gently to me while holding my small hand in hers.

"What will you call her, Samuel?" asks Red Eyes.

"…I…" The other man, who has been silent, but has been looking at me the entire time, he hesitates, "It's up to Dahlia."

"Ruby." The woman carrying me replies, with a smile, "Her name will be Ruby."

Notes:

1. I've been wondering what Bal'allan village might look like. so far, I just keep thinking of Nibelheim from Final Fantasy 7
2. UPDATE 2013. I have changed the events of this chapter; Ruby/Leanne was originally killed by multiple stab wounds by Rosenthal. This time, she died from a slit throat. Horrible I know XO