(This is meant to cement a few details.) [edit] The next chapter has already been posted. So this is:
The Origin of BOB
…
...
It began on the first floor of the girl's dormitory. From there, it only escalated.
Walter had not been permitted to visit his darling granddaughter, but in addition to this, he had been unable to prevent the elderly supervisor from sending one of the fourth floor's monitors to fetch his darling granddaughter.
And this led to a last ditch effort to get rid of John.
That 'effort,' of course, consisted of checking to make sure the hallway was clear, and then chucking the boy out the door and telling him to run.
Afterwards, Alucard would refuse to blame himself for not ordering the fool to take the stairs.
When the elevator doors opened for John, who else could he immediately butt into other than the fourth floor's monitor? And of course, the monitor had brought along the other fourth floor monitor, in addition to the third floor monitor, who happened to know John very well, and immediately informed the others and the woman at the desk downstairs, that John was bad, and she meant bad, news.
It didn't take long to gain a bit of information that would connect John to Alucard. One false, at least outdated, trail led to Harriet. Once accused, the brunette threw a wild screaming fit, traumatized the floor monitors, and readily divulged John's inappropriate relationship with the much too young "red-eyed bitch." From there, matters were handed over to the vice principal and those she assigned to the 'case.'
The only good news was that Sir Integra and Walter made it home before the 'storm' hit. So Alucard was not sent home with his mother.
Yes. His 'mother' was thankful to be spared that car ride.
Poor Mr. Bernadotte. He was quite envious of Integra's luck. An enraged Alucard was not a very pleasant passenger. And the mercenary took a long time to realize that he was driving a Herse, and that Alucard could be shut away in his coffin. But with the vampire currently in the form of a little girl, Pip was at a loss regarding how he was supposed to communicate with him/her, or break through his/her incessant rage.
The rage itself was a bit of a novelty for Pip. Overall, Mr. Alucard was acting very odd, as Pip pointed out to Integra. And yet Sir Integra seemed to be of the opinion that vampires could not PMS, and that Mr. (Miss) Alucard was simply sleep deprived and starving.
Pip begged to differ.
…
In the face of the recent horror concerning John, everything had led to the question of Seras' whereabouts that fateful evening. Alucard was the first to interrogate her, since he was present at the moment of her return. Alucard spoke using a deceptively cool tone, "Police Girl."
The girl started, and became immediately rigid and uncomfortable. Seras glanced in his general direction, but would not look at him directly.
Alucard was perched on the side of his bed. His legs were crossed, and his hands were folded over his knee when he asked, in the same chilling tone, "Where were you?"
It was an hour before midnight. For five hours, Alucard had been sitting on his bed, waiting for her.
The startled and exhausted fledgling cringed as her thoughts fluttered and she sucked on her lip. Seras dropped her backpack onto the floor, although she had wanted to toss it on her bed. "Uh-" she hesitated.
Alucard stared, and never blinked. "Why did you leave the door unlocked?"
He looked like an incredibly creepy, life-sized doll. Seras smiled timidly and played with her fingers. "Uh, Master. Wh-which door exactly?"
"Our door!" Alucard snapped, startling Seras and causing her to become increasingly distressed. "The only door we have! THAT door. That one right there." His finger jabbed at it, and the girl flinched at each stabbing motion. "Police Girl! Why? You could've brought a key. I never need a key, so there's no reason to leave it unlocked."
Seras looked around, ruffled and worried as she tried to figure out what a burglar, or some sort of thief, had been able to steal thanks to her absentmindedness. Was it his blood packets? She couldn't imagine someone trying to lug around a suitcase filled with blood. And she couldn't picture someone taking off with one of his oversized Cassuls.
Alucard hissed, taming his anger as he needed her to be calm and cooperative, rather than terrified, panicky, and inoperable. "Stop trying to avoid me," he growled as the girl looked helplessly about the room.
Seras bumbled, "I'm not! I'm just trying to figure out-"
"WHERE WERE YOU, POLICE GIRL?"
In the silence that fell afterwards, Alucard sighed and bobbed his foot in the air, which made the bed squeak. Much more calmly he asked, "Why weren't you picking up your phone?"
After a prolonged vacant look, the girl winced as she realized what had happened. She scrambled to get her phone out of the backpack. Unzipping the bag and leaving it open, she clutched the phone in her hands, against her dead heart.
Seras thoroughly apologized for all of the trouble, and was sorry to say that her lead had hit a dead end, and that she had spent the evening having dinner with one of the girls she'd wanted Alucard to talk to earlier. Her fingers meanwhile tapped at the phone. And all of her texts were deleted.
There was a forceful, artic chill in the room. And suddenly Alucard wasn't on the bed anymore. Alucard pulled Seras down by her sweater so that her baby blue eyes stared into his molten gaze. "Never lie to me again." She swallowed, her eyes wide and uneasy, as the heavy male voice of her master filled the room. "You can't lie to me, Police Girl. And don't insult me by trying." He released her, and she hung her head and sniffed, frustrated and ashamed.
But she wouldn't tell him more, except that she truthfully didn't think the two girls would be of much help. Well, at least one of them definitely wouldn't. Francesca still had a shot.
Alucard was too tired to interrogate her, and knowing of the impending fiasco his lovely lying fledgling was still ignorant of, he fell asleep without bothering to hunt the elusive target that night.
…
When it hits the fan… it really hits it, hard.
Ultimately though, on Friday after school, Alucard was told he would be suspended. He would be going home on Saturday, and could return the following week. This was not a decision made based on John alone. Everything that could be used against the vampire had been gathered up, and now Integra and Walter had to find another way to keep Alucard on school property while he was supposed to be at home.
So they got Alucard a job. The only application that received an immediate response, and with some string pulling, bypassed a face-to-face interview and settled for an interview over the phone, was building maintenance.
Alucard got a new navy blue uniform, which did not include a skirt, and a spiffy white nametag. He stared at the box with the folded uniform, eyeing the nametag that nestled comfortably in the blue cloth. The box sat on Integra's desk, and the Hellsing heiress was smirking from her chair. Walter stood nearby, eyes shut, calm, but wearing a faint smile.
"No." Alucard concluded.
Integra laughed, "You have no say in the matter. Van Hellsing renamed you, I don't see why I can't temporarily bestow a new name upon you." She was enjoying this to no end.
Alucard pinned the nametag to his trench coat to make a point. However, Integra wouldn't stop laughing long enough to listen to him, so the nosferatu scowled and threw the hated nametag back into the box. He would start work on Sunday. So for half a day, Seras was on her own.
Her new 'sanctuary' was Harriet's bedroom, where the girls rather liked the idea of having a sleepover. Seras claimed she was lonely, and that was all she needed to say; even if it didn't make any sense, given the source of her loneliness should've been a source of celebration.
Harriet should have been overjoyed. But the news of what had happened, and the rumors… all of it, left her nauseous. She couldn't stomach food, she was quiet, and she clung to Seras more than ever.
…
Thus, out of the chaos, Bob rose up like a blue, mop wielding phoenix. And his weeklong expedition began.