Note: I decided to go ahead and post the epilogue as well, tonight, since it's so short. And that makes this fanfic complete. Please let me know what you think, everyone. And if you came to this fanfic without seeing Legacy of Hellsing, please check it out.

*HUGS*

Epilogue: Home Again

Alucard's eyes opened in the close darkness of his beloved coffin. Bags of Romanian earth cushioned his back and his hands ached with the pain of third degree burns. Unlike a normal wound, that ache would persist for weeks, maybe even months before it faded. Jus t like before.

A tender smile curved his lips.

He could feel her again, that commanding presence on the edge of his consciousness. Her will wrapped around his like a dog in harness, bent to the will of its master. His master…Integra.

Pushing the lid from his coffin, he rose and stretched, gloved hands flexing. Sweet agony rushed down his arms from where the seals melded with his flesh.

Looking around, he spotted a bottle sitting on his table next to a wine glass. A small ice chest sat under the table, undoubtedly with blood packets inside. A vampire did need the occasional midnight snack.

Heading for his throne, he settled down to pour himself a glass of blood. He sipped at the liquid, a vintage taken from the veins of the various Hellsing personnel. It couldn't compare to the taste of Integra's blood, but it quenched the fiery thirst at his core.

He felt her summons as he finished the last of the blood from the bottle. Grinning from ear to ear, he rose, his red duster swirling about his legs. Striding across his dungeon room, he phased through the wall.

V^^^V

Integra scratched around the edges of the bandage on her wrist. The infernal thing itched. And it made her empty eye socket ache.

Reaching out, she plucked a cigar from the case on her desk. Lighting it, she took a deep inhale and settled back in her chair. The wound in her side twinged, but it had begun feeling better since the completion of the sealing ritual. Her physician attributed it to a reduction in stress.

As she inhaled the second puff of her cigar, Alucard phased through the wall of her office. He crossed the room and knelt before her, head bowed. Integra leaned forward and reached out to remove his hat.

"Let me see your eyes."

Alucard reached up to remove his orange spectacles and lifted his chin to gaze into her blue eye. The look on his face matched the rapture of a true believer laying eyes on a vision of God.

"Are you well fed?"

"Yes, my master."

"We have a situation. Reports of a creature taking up residence in the London district of Lewisham. You will investigate the situation, and if the perpetrator is supernatural in nature, you will terminate with extreme prejudice. Approval to consume verified. Unlock restriction level four."

Alucard's trademark manic grin stretched across his face. He rose from his kneeling position and replaced his spectacles as he retrieved his hat from her desk.

"As you command, my master."

"It's good to have you home in truth, count."

"I am truly home, now, countess."

The End

End Note:

Why 'countess' instead of 'count'? Well…I like it better. The scanlations had it that way, although I later read that the actual, direct translation would not have the feminine adjustment and technically, Alucard calls Integra 'count' at the very end of the manga. But…I like 'countess'. *grin*