Yaaaaaaaay! My reviewers are back! VengeTheWolf has reviewed again, twice! Only flameslavier and drizzt are missing. They are MIRA. (Missing in reviewing action) DX I hope you guys come back soon! I miss you! I would PM them, but I don't know if that would be getting a bit pushy or not. (Also I kinda don't know how*looks sheepish*) Okay, we've hit the 40 mark, thanks for that. We've even gone to 41! Ideally, I would like 55 reviews, because that's how many I got for my last one, but I'm pretty sure I won't, because it's probably not going to be as long as my other one. Also two of my reviewers are gone. I'll probably be lucky to get 50. Try for me? Thanks!

Zara's POV:

I sat in a daze, feeling dizzy and sick. Jackal's scent had lasted all the way to a parking lot several miles away, then stopped. Alucard had gone in, pushing me down on the bench and ordering me to stay there. A shadow fell over me, and I looked up to see him standing in front of me, looking concerned. "A van with several people in it matching the description of Vatican agents pulled out from here a few minutes ago." He said, waiting for me to stand up. I did, wobbling a little. "Are you alright?" he said, leading me towards a car Integra had lent to us. I stared at him as I buckled myself in.

"The bullet's gone." I said, wondering what he was talking about. He looked at me out of the corner of his eye. "No, I mean, are you alright?" I blinked. Alright…what does he mean? I'm fine… I think… I stuck my head out the window, sniffing for any trace of Jackal's scent, or anyone I knew from the Vatican. After a few minutes I caught a whiff of sword, candles, altar dust, blood, and silver. "Yumie and Heinkel ." I said, pulling my head back in. Alucard swerved to avoid a vehicle driving the opposite direction. "You sure?" he rumbled, baring his teeth. I nodded. "Yumie smells bloodier than Yumiko. Sadly. Yumiko might have been reasoned with. Yumie isn't reasonable." Alucard swerved again. "Heinkel?" he said, ignoring the "One way street" sign completely as we barreled down the highway.

I shook my head. "I don't know. He seemed reluctant to fight me before, but that was before I hacked his chest open. And they all hate your guts." He nodded grimly, narrowly avoiding a semi. "Since when have you wanted to negotiate?" I said after a moment's silence. He grinned, showing every single one of his fangy teeth. "I don't. I want to know who will hesitate before they shoot." I nodded. Perfectly reasonable. There was another silence, and he gave me a worried look. "Well?" he said, obviously expecting me to say something. "What?" I said irritably. "Aren't you going to try and ask me to spare their lives? Witty sarcasm on me being a killing machine?" he said, looking at me in surprise.

I shrugged again, not answering. He blinked, then resumed dodging other cars. I traced small circles on my window, wanting to be close to Jackal now. My mind was a whirl of conflicting emotions. I wanted to rip Heinkel and Yumie apart. I wanted to spare them. I wanted to collapse and cry on the curb. I wanted to smash something into a million pieces and pretend it was Maxwell's head. I wanted to blame myself for being weak and giving into pain. I wanted to berate Alucard for leaving us. I was lost in a whirl of spinning and churning emotions. Fear, pain, worry, suspense, anger, helplessness, rage, confusion, all swirling together inside my head, along with a cheery thought of. Am I finally going crazy?

Alucard's POV:

I was worried about Zara. She had been silent all through yesterday, and now it was almost sunset again. Even when she was unconscious or sleeping, she had never been quiet that long. When I questioned her directly, I got a grunt or a shrug, not even monosyllables. Her mind barriers were eroding, crumbling, and I could sense emotions now, something I always had to rely on smell with her before. It was a cornucopia of negative things, and bruised somehow, like she was in shock. Jackal's kidnapping had clearly affected her greatly. I understood a little, she was only a young teenager, and a mother of a supernatural creature at any age is not easy on the body. The stress might have been getting to her. Now he was gone, her motherly instincts were in full force.

That might have explained it, but something was not right about that explanation, much as I wanted it to be the right one. I reminded me a little of the way her brother's mind had felt, and that was making me extremely uneasy. The car was running on fumes when we stopped at a hotel and gas station, and I checked in. Zara dragged her luggage to the room, dumped it in a corner, and plopped down on the bed, clearly intending to sleep. I had other plans. "Kitten?" I said, waiting for her anger to spike at the name. No answer. Her emotions swirled in a sullen mess, reminding me of a sleeping volcano. "Kitten, what's wrong?" I said, sitting on her bed.

She rolled away from me, not saying anything. "Kitten…" I said, a warning clear in my tone. "Nothing." The words were said without emotion, dull and mechanical. She didn't turn back around. I reached over, turning her around so she was facing me. She didn't resist at all, and that bothered me even more. The Zara I knew would have growled, shoved at me, struggled, and stabbed me when I finally got her to turn over. Not meekly accept it. "Something's been wrong with you ever since the party." I said, folding my arms. "Why aren't you telling me what it is?" She shook her head, not answering. I snarled, but that didn't faze her at all. She mechanically replied "Nothing's wrong."

"Is it because of Jackal?" I said, sensing I wasn't getting through to her. She blinked. "No…" I felt a trace of satisfaction when I heard some emotion in her voice. Her face crumpled up, and she curled up into a ball. My satisfaction vanished. She hiccupped, and I saw tears running down her face. "I…I…" she sobbed, and I hugged her, pulling her close to me and rocking her. "Shhhh…" I hummed, sensing she was very near to some kind of breaking point. "I think I'm going crazy!" she sobbed, tears pouring down her face. I blinked in shock. "I don't want to hear voices in my head anymore! I don't want my son to hear voices like I do!" She wailed. I wondered what she was talking about, feeling a bit guilty because I was occasionally a voice in her head as well.

I hate feminine hysterics. Usually when something like this happened I had another female to dump the person on, but now it was just me and her. Not that I was complaining. "He'll be fine." I murmured into her ear. "He's strong like his mother." She sobbed harder. "That's my point! What didn't kill me made me stronger, but it drove my brother crazy! It's driving me crazy now too! I don't want it to drive Jackal crazy as well!" I made an understanding sound. Now I get it. "Don't worry about it." I said, rocking her and crooning to her softly. "He'll be fine. You'll be fine. Everything will be alright." She nodded, already trying to be strong like she always was.

Despite her newfound resolution, it took me an hour before she was calm enough to try sleeping. When she actually tried, she fell asleep almost instantly. I walked over to my coffin, but didn't get in. My gaze wandering over to her, cradled in the blankets and humming softly, then back to my coffin. I shouldn't. It would be too much of an intrusion. She needs her space right now. I sighed in longing. Those two nights I had spent with her warm body pressed against mine were the best ones I had in ages. My eyes locked on her body, rising and falling rhythmically in sleep. I shouldn't.

I got up, walking outside into the hallway, trying to think. She wouldn't understand. I don't really want to anyway. My coffin is much more comfortable than a mattress with rusty springs. Unconsciously, I began to pace back and forth. I don't want to. I don't want to. I don't want to. I don't want to. I took a deep breath, convinced I had mastered the impulse. I phased back inside, glancing briefly at her, then looking back at my coffin. I shook off a faint sense of regret and lay down, sighing deeply in content.

Zara's POV:

Warm. My thoughts were monosyllabic at best after I woke up, a welcome relief from the jangling emotions I was struggling with last night. Soft. I muttered happily, snuggling further into the covers. Content. Even the thought of Jackal being kidnapped was distant, but I was still too asleep to worry about that. My eyes slowly opened, and I realized dreamily that someone was in the bed with me. Hmm? I was pressed snugly against the person's chest, and one of his legs had been draped over mine. His arms were wrapped around me, and in spite of this clear breach of personal space, all I could muster was a feeling of slight annoyance.

The fact it was Alucard, who should have known better, especially should have made me mad. But again, all I felt was a slight annoyance, maybe confusion. Why is he with me? He's got his coffin. I sighed, and he twitched, but didn't wake up. Maybe he fell asleep in my bed? No, he left before I went to sleep. While such an action was very touching, the fact the fearsome No-Life King was the one doing it made it a little more uncomfortable. He's only slept in the same "bed" as me twice before, and once it was only a couch! Does he enjoy it, or is he just messing with me? Is he…thinking of other things?

He moaned softly and twitched again, and I would have jumped had I been vertical. Even when he's asleep he's still freaking me out. I studied his face, since getting out of his grip before he woke up was impossible. Even with his eyes closed, he was someone I would have pegged as a vampire on the street without question. He had that sort of face, and just that indefinable look of agelessness, that turned on alarm bells in my mind. He rolled over suddenly, so I was now underneath him, although he was still asleep.

I wiggled, trying to wake him up. "Jerk." I said softly, growling a little in my throat. He stirred and muttered again, but didn't wake up. Ideally, I would have stabbed him several times, but I was effectively helpless under him right now. I sighed, resigned to the fact I was staying here for an extended length of time. Then something wet touched my throat, and I twisted my head to see him kissing it, mouth locked on my skin. I made a face. Weirdness factor just shot way up. I hope he doesn't give me a hickey or whatever. He started moving his mouth up to my jaw line, which was good because he wasn't sucking on just one point anymore, but bad because I didn't know what he was going to do before he woke up.

He reached a point just below my ear, and paused for a second. Then he started nibbling it, and I blushed bright red. I really do not want to know what he's dreaming about. "Alucard, back off now." I said as sternly as possible, but he was still asleep. Bang went my theory he was awake and just messing with me. "Please, stop." I said, trying to see if he really and truly was asleep. Nothing. I bit my lip hard, trying to think of a way to wake him up before he did something really creepy. I tasted blood, then froze. If I crossed my eyes, I could see a thin red spot on my lip were my teeth had broken the skin. Alucard twitched all over, letting go of my ear and growling.

Please wake up, please wake up, please wake up, please wake up. I silently begged him, then prayed silently that whatever he would do wouldn't be too much weird for me to handle. He moved so suddenly I squeaked, and his mouth fastened on my own, sucking hungrily at the tiny spot of red on my lips. I blushed bright red again, but apparently he was still too asleep to care. His tongue lapped at the miniscule wound, most likely healing it instantly. He growled and tugged at my lip with his teeth, obviously trying to find more blood. I gasped, realizing that he had been doing this for several minutes, and I was rapidly running out of oxygen.

This was not on his list of sleep-weirdness concerns, because he didn't need to breathe himself, he saw no reason to pull away from an apparent blood source that just happened to need air. I thrashed, desperately trying to suck in air, and some icy cold, dusty air surged into my lungs, and I almost hacked. Apparently his lungs still have some leftover air in them. Eww. Breathing air that was stuck in someone else's body, not to mention a dead someone's, felt a lot like resuscitating a dead body while their ghost was watching. It was just weird. Eww, and weird, and wrong. God forbid he ever sleepwalks, if this is what he's like laying down!

With just as little warning as the first time, he suddenly rolled over, so I was at least not directly under him, although he was still holding me down. At least he wasn't kissing me anymore. Enough was enough. I cupped my hands together next to his ear. "WAKE UP! TIME TO LEAVE! LET'S GO BATBOY!" he jerked, finally opening his eyes. "There's no need for petty insults." he growled, sounding extremely tired. I would have put my hands on my hips, but he was in the way. "There is if you've been awake the last five minutes like me." He blinked, obviously not getting it, and I wasn't going to tell him, because repeating what just happened would have been way too embarrassing.

Jackal's POV:

I woke up, peering blearily around the room I was now in. Then I blinked and straightened up. My hands were free, but what really got me was the fact I was in something like a schoolroom, albeit a very Christiany one. Crosses and bible quotes were all over the walls, and a permanent one was inlaid on every desk. A bible was tucked under every desk, including the one I sat at. A man with glasses and a really big trench coat was sitting at the teacher's desk, boot's kicked up on it. "Hello?" I murmured, trying to get some human contact. The man twitched, then put his feet on the floor. "You'd be the wee Jackal then?" he growled in a heavily accented voice. I nodded.

He raised an eyebrow, staring at my eyes. "Mm. Well then, what's this for?" He tossed me a cross, a silver one, like the ones all over the classroom. I caught it easily, staring at the shiny surface. "It's a cross." I whispered, and he made an impatient sound. "I know that. But what's it for?" I stared at him blankly. "Umm…mommy has one she uses sometimes." I said quietly, a tear sliding down my cheek as I thought of her. He looked incredulous. "Oh she does, does she? What does she do with it?" I couldn't help but smile at the memory, even when I was this depressed. "She bonked daddy on the head with it for punishment once." He choked, and then took a deep breath. He stood up, walking over to me, and I cowered in my seat as his full height was made apparent to me. He was huge, almost as tall as daddy.

He grabbed the cross back and let a book thunk down on the table. "What's this for?" he growled, walking back to his desk. I flicked it open, staring at the tiny, cramped handwriting and lengthy dialogue. "It's a bible?" I asked, looking at him. He nodded gruffly. "Uncle Techno plastered daddy's room with the pages of one once, and he was put on flagpole duty for a month." I said, wincing at the memory. The man frowned. "Flagpole duty?" I squirmed. "Every morning he has to run back and forth between the flagpoles, putting them up and putting them down every three runs, with the Wild Geese firing at his feet. And he has to do it again at night before he goes to bed."

One corner of the man's mouth twitched, but he didn't smile. "How far away are these flagpoles?" I shrugged. "Dunno. At either end of the manor. Integra had them put up a few weeks after Techno dumped coffee on her files." He sighed. "We'll have a long way to go. I'm Alexander Anderson, and I'll be teaching you." He held out his hand, squatting down so he wasn't towering over me as much. I gingerly shook it, wondering what he meant by "long way to go". "Okay." I said in a small voice. He smiled at me reassuringly, letting go. "How many people have gone on flagpole duty?" He said, sitting back down at his desk. I giggled. "Just Techno so far. He's done it twenty times this month."

Don't worry, I'll explain everything next chapter. We'll see more of Alucard's weird sleep habits in my one-shot fanfic. REVIEW. I will put you on flagpole duty if you don't! Thanks for the positive encouragement thus far, but I need one more push before finishing and going on to my Soul Eater fanfic. Out of flameslavier, drizzt, VengeTheWolf, xVentressx, and flamelalchemist103, who's even heard of Soul eater? (My rantings do not count) Please tell me! Review, Request, Rcomment. Auf Wedersien!