Hi everyone!

I am so so sorry this chapter took so long. I have been helping my mother move house and she has a lot of belongings to pack! XD

This chapter may be short but I have a big chapter I am working on over the next few days :)

Hope you all enjoy let me know what you think

much love

NQ

XX

Chapter 21: Stigmata

Integra POV

The British services were still clearing the rubble from the city. The death toll was high, too high. As I looked over the documents on my desk I felt my heart sink. Would my father have allowed such a loss of life to happen? Was I a disgrace to the Hellsing family name? All manner of thoughts flooded through my head. Taking a long drag of my cigar I felt sadness inside; everything was so different since the battle of London. We had gained two new members to the Hellsing team but I never felt as alone as I did now.

Sighing I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes. Thinking back on happier times, there were many even if at the time I had been to blind or preoccupied to see it. I was pulled from my daydream by a knock on the door. After a moment Walter and the Captain strode in; both looked tired from their trip. At least they had the decency to clean themselves up.

"Walter, Captain you have returned, I assume you have your report?" I ask as I turned my chair to face the two men.

"Yes, Ma'am" Walter replied as the white haired man nodded. Not a man of many words I had come to the conclusion he was either a mute or extremely shy. Time would tell which it was. Taking another long puff of my cigar I listened to the report which was being given by my butler.

"Upon arrival to Portugal we located the coven of vampires. Nothing out of sorts with them particularly, what was interesting however was the jewellery we found on them. Wooden pieces of jewellery with a symbol carved into each piece." He explained as the Captain passed me a small brown package. Slowly I unwrapped the paper coating and a thick wooden dog tag fell from the packaging, it hung from a long black chain, not silver or gold which would have been fatal to a vampire. I could not pinpoint the material first hand but it did look familiar.

"I see, do we know what this marking means?" I asked as I looked over the pendant. The marking was a hexagram which had a green jewel in the centre. Nothing I had ever come across before, it wasn't like the pentagram on Alucard's gloves, nor the demonic pentagrams we had seen before…I was perplexed.

"No ma'am not yet but we will investigate the marking if there are any more pieces found in the future." Walter replied with a bow.

"Very good, for now it is nothing to worry about" I stated as I placed the jewel back in the packaging and placed it in my draw.

"Walter, I would like you to go and be seen by one of our doctors. Your new form is not fully demonic and not fully human – I want to know why this is. I believe there's more of your kind out in the world and we need to know what we could be dealing with if we have an enemy of your kind." I said as I stood up from my chair. The two men straightened up and bowed.

"Yes Ma'am I will go there now" The butler bowed once more. Turning to the white haired man I leaned on my desk and addressed him. I was still not completely trusting of the two new members of staff. They had been our enemies for so long, to now have them on our side was a bit strange but then again Alucard and Avery were once our enemies too.

"Captain I would like you and Schrödinger to go to our doctor as well as our organization have no records of either of your kind on our system" I ordered receiving a silent nod from the mute man.

"Very good. You may both leave now." I finished as I turned away from the men and motioned them to leave. Taking a deep breath I walked over to my drinks cabinet and poured myself a large glass of scotch. I had been turning to the drink a fair amount since the events of London. This was how my father had coped with his role; I suppose it is only correct for me to follow in his footsteps.

As I sat down and nursed my drink I was rudely interrupted by the sound of the main manor phone ringing. After a little while no one had answered it. I snapped up the phone and barked a greeting into it.

"Sir Integra, this is Military Governor Sir Thomas Blackwell. I am contacting you directly as I need to arrange an urgent meeting with you about our current state of affairs following the attack on London please wait for a letter from myself to your new address details further instruction."

He hung up on me. That man hung up on me! Before I could even answer him, what a rude man; taking a long breath and a gulp of my scotch I sat back in my chair as anger started to creep its way into my mind.

Avery POV

The children at the orphanage were the sweetest little things I had ever seen. Damn my unresolved affection for children! There was still a soft spot in my heart for children after all of the centuries so working at the orphanage would not be so bad. Even if it meant having to see Alexander 'Eunuch' Anderson every damn day; he was in charge of the orphanage after all; I suppose there was no option or getting away from him.

I had spent the afternoon getting to know some of the children in my group. One young boy, a sweet brown haired, blue eyed boy called Marcell had been glued to my side for about two hours now. He was a complete darling; he wore a pair of blue jeans and a white and red striped jumper. His brown hair spiked up with gel.

The young boy had spent the last two hours introducing me to every child in the room, making sure to tell them all I was new and to be extra specially nice to me whilst I was there. Such a kind child, Sister Mary Joan has asked him to show me my new room so without protest he ran off down the corridor dragging me alongside him. I had noticed the Scottish priest glance over at us a few times with a funny look on his face. He must have thought I was planning on massacring the children for some reason. He really did think of me as a monster even now.

As we walked to the end of the corridor I noticed it split into two pathways, left and right. On top of the corridor entrance there were two oak blocks with the letters A and B carved onto them. I made a guess that down those corridors were the children's dormitories. At the far end of the corridor there stood a big oak door. Marcell approached the door and handed me the key with a smile.

"This is your room Nanny Avery" Marcell chirped happily as he almost pushed me into the room with excitement.

As I opened the door I was a little shocked. Was this where I was meant to be staying? The room was larger than the small brick room I had been staying in. The first thing I noticed was the fact that there were windows, this made me very happy as I ran over to open the wooden shutters, I looked out of the window and could see directly onto the grassy area where children were playing. I could work with that, it was better than silence and damp.

Turning to look at the rest of the room, it was simple and modest but still very nice. The walls were plain painted cream and the floor was wood, the room was set in a deep red colour - so much nicer than damp wet bricks and damp walls. A small double bed sat against one of the walls, an oak wardrobe and draw sat against the adjacent wall. The only issue I had with this room was the over indulgence or religious imagery, there was a wooden cross above my bed, a picture of the virgin Mary by my door and as I pulled open the bedside cabinet I noticed a little book of prayers and a rosary chain – I winced a little as I shut the draw back up and turned back to Marcell with a smile.

"Do you like your room? You are right down the hall from me!" he exclaimed happily as he plopped himself on the end of my bed and dangled his feet off the side. I chuckled at the little boy and carried on looking around the room.

My word, they really were trying with this whole conversion thing. I chuckled to myself as I walked over and pocked my head into the bathroom; there was a small toilet and a shower all quite modest looking. It was nothing extravagant, nothing like Hellsing. I sighed as I thought back to my lovely bathtub which I would have jumped in if I was still at Hellsing.

"This is a very nice room Marcell I am happy with this." I smiled over at the child as I shut the door to the bathroom and made my way over to the child.

"I sleep with my four roommates in room 7B. Do you want to come and see?" he jumped up from me the bed and pulled me over to the door.

"Alright, show me the way young man." I laughed as I was pulled from my room down the hallway to the B corridor. "Follow me!" He shouted as he pulled us down the corridor. He came to the room which was marked 7B opening the door he walked in and stood in the middle of the room proudly. It was the same size as my room but the room was full of furniture, I suppose that would be the case if it had to house four children. I felt slightly bad that I had a room all to myself when these children were cramped up in here.

"This is my room, it's not very big but it's nice enough that I get to be with my friends." He said happily as he moved and sat on the end of his bed.

The room was neutral in colour, cream walls and wooden flooring the same religious imagery decorated the otherwise blank walls. I was a little confused when I didn't see a door to the toilet. I presumed that there would be communal toilet for the children which Marcell confirmed as he pulled out his bathroom caddy from next to his bed. Walking into the room I took note of the bunk bed which sat on the far end of the room, a smaller child's bed which sat on the opposite end of the room and a small crib which stood next to the small child's bed.

I must have looked a bit perplexed as Marcell smiled at me and explained that due to the high numbers of children that come to orphanage the elders thought it was better for the younger children and the older children to mix. That way the older children get to learn how to be responsible and the younger children have a protector in the older children. It made sense I guess.

"Do you have lots of friends Marcell?" I asked with a smile as I leaned on the bunk bed.

"Yes, everyone here is very friendly. Me and Tom we fight a little bit but Father Anderson has told us we need to play nicely or we won't go to heaven. So we don't fight anymore." The young boy said as he thought back on the occasion.

"Oh is that what he said?" I chuckled. I am guessing that would be something Anderson would say to children.

"Yeah, he says there is no fighting between friends and that violence is only ok against heathens and monsters." I let out a small laugh as I shake my head imagining the words coming from the Scots mouth.

"Heathens and monsters is that so?" I smiled down at the child who nodded happily. "Yes, that's what Father Anderson said." I sat down on the bed with the younger boy and smiled.

"How old are you Marcell?" I asked as I looked over the small child. "I am six Nanny Avery" He replied proudly with a grin.

"Well how about this, you don't worry yourself about fighting with monsters or heathens for a few more years? You can leave the fighting to the adults." I smiled down at the child who nodded happily.

"I guess you're right." He laughed as he scratched his head.

"What do you like to do for fun Marcell?" I asked as I looked around the room. For a children's bedroom I expected there to be at least a few posters or toys but there was nothing except a few books and a bible by each bed.

"We like to play outside; we play football and race each other for fun." Marcell explained as he pointed out to the window.

"See that sounds like fun! Do you normally win at football?" I chuckle as the boys face lit up. "I am normally in goal; I am not bad I only let a few balls pass me." He said proudly with a grin. "That's very good!" I laugh as I messed the young boy's hair causing him to giggle. "You should come and play with us!" he exclaimed as he stood up from his bed.

"Once I am settled in I will come and play with you all for sure but you may be too good for me I am not very good at football…" I mock sigh as the child jumped around on the spot excitedly. "We will go easy on you Nanny Avery!" he reassured me as he pulled on my arm causing me to laugh. "Thank you Marcel, you are such a gentleman!"

Looking up at the clock I notice that it is starting to get later into the afternoon. I was told to move my stuff over from the dungeon cell before nightfall. Standing up I decide it would be best to start now.

"Alright, I have to go and move my things into my new room. I will see you in a little while Marcell. Thank you for showing me around you have been a little angel." I smile down at the child who also jumped up from the bed; he was very jumpy for a six year old.

"Oh let me help you! I will get some of my friends and we can help you move your things!" He squeaked happily. I smile down at the child; he was warming my heart I had to admit.

"I don't have very much to carry you don't have to help Marcell." I tried to reassure the small boy as he shook his head in protest. His mind was made up; it seemed I had no choice.

"No, I am gentleman A good man does not let a woman carry boxes. Come on then let's go!"

3POV

Sir Integra, Seras, Alucard and Walter had travelled to secret location in the north of England to attend a meeting held by government official Sir Thomas Blackwell. There was an air of unease about this meeting, Alucard and Seras waited outside the main office room whilst Walter attended as the butler. They had all discussed the possible repercussion of the battle of London. Walter felt partially responsible for the mass loss of life, he had stood by and watched as Avery had torched buildings of innocent bystanders and he had done nothing to stop the mass murder of innocents under the orders of the Major. He thought that maybe if he had done something to stop them that the loss of life would have been much less.

As the two waited in the room, Integra sat herself in a chair facing a large black desk. Taking out her cigar she motioned for her butler to light it. As the two waited in silence for their host they ran over options in their head. Was this a trap? One way to get rid of Hellsing and to deal with the loss of life would be to kill of the party which failed to protect them.

The two looked to the metal door farthest from their position. A tall, lean blond man walked in. He was young for someone of his position, could not have been older than a man in his forties. He was not an unattractive looking fellow by any means but there was something about him which Integra did not trust. He walked with a confidence which matched her own.

"Good afternoon, I am sorry to have kept you waiting I had some other matters to see to." The man spoke as he made his way over to his chair which sat behind the desk, facing the two Hellsing members.

"Sir Thomas, what is the meaning of this meeting?" Integra snapped coldly as she sat up in her chair. She did not have time to spend listening to idle prattle from a jumped up school boy.

"Very quick to the point – grandfather was right about you." He chuckled before shuffling in his chair and pulling out some paper from his desk.

"Ah yes, the late Sir Thomas I remember your grandfather." Sir Integra nodded as she recalled the old man. He had been a good friend of her father for years; they had worked together on many a case. Sir Thomas was able to pull strings in government and Sir Hellsing had the vampire Alucard at his disposal. They made a very agreeable team.

"Yes, well the family baton has been passed down in light of recent events. You understand?" The young Sir Thomas stated coldly as he looked over the papers and bit his tongue. He had taken the attack in London and the fact that Hellsing had not managed to save his grandfather as a personal attack on his family. The Thomas family had been there to aid the Hellsing family for decades and in their hour of need Hellsing was nowhere to be found.

"My condolences Sir. I -"

"-Sir Integra I am glad to see you are safe but in light of recent event we have come to the conclusion that it would be best to keep the notion that you and your staff are dead as gospel." Sir Thomas began darkly, his tone had changed. He was no longer the gentleman that had walked in the door a few moments ago.

"…we still do not know what repercussions of the battle of London are." Integra began in her defence.

"3,708,917 casualties have been recorded so far, the battle wiped out the entirety of London every living thing was killed and what was not was burned to the ground by your Fury." Sir Thomas snapped back.

"Yes, it is a huge loss." Integra sighed as she lit up a new cigar.

"A huge loss? Sir Integra it is the biggest recorded loss in battle in the world!" Sir Thomas barked as he also pulled out a cigarette and lit it. "Hellsing was the leading organization after the Vatican which was employed to deal with attacks such as these and both of your organizations combined were still useless against the forces which ruined London."

Walter moved forward to respond to the males comments but was motioned back by his Master.

"My agency worked as efficiently as they had been trained to, I will not stand here and listen to this tattle Sir Lucas. My men and women fought and gave their lives same as yours." Integra growled back at Sir Thomas.

"The majority of your men and woman are already undead Sir Integra. That is hardly something to boast about." He snapped back coldly as he lowered the papers onto the desk.

"What did you want to conclude from this meeting Sir Lucas. You are wasting my time. I am aware of the figures of the battle." Sir Integra growled back. Taking long puff of her cigar the young woman was getting tired of this conversation. She had been told there would be an update and information that Hellsing needed to know. So far this man had been drooling out idle prattle that she was no interested in. She knew the figures and the loss of life which had been caused by London. She was not about to sit there and be blamed for the murders of people when all her organization did was help.

"Sir Integra, we want you and your remaining men and women to go off the radar. You will be given new identities and will be moved into a secret location under a new name. You will continue hunting demons that is a given but you will not longer be doing it under the band of Hellsing." Sir Thomas stated coldly, Sir Integra and Walter both opened their mouths in shock. This was a great insult to the Hellsing Family – who did he think he was ordering her to do this.

"Pray tell me, what the new name shall be? The Hellsing organization has been my family legacy for centuries!" Integra snapped as she stood up from her chair.

"You will operate under the new title of Stigmata. For the record, you no longer have a choice. You are no longer the leading specialist in demonic matters. The atrocious ending of the battle of London has brought shame upon your family name." Sir Thomas snapped as he also stood from his seat and handed over some files.

"How dare you!" Walter barked from behind his mistress.

"You can be silent butler! How dare you stand here and act like half of the causalities were not your fault!" Sir Thomas shouted back at the butler who bore his teeth in rage. He was not about to stand there and get the blame thrown at him or at his master; they had tried as hard as they could. They had all lost people dear to them.

"Hellsing saved as many lives as they could!" Integra snapped back in her butlers defence.

"Well it was not good enough was it!"

"You will take your team and you will move into a new manor, we will print out images of your dead bodies and send them to all the newspapers and leading groups. The Hellsing Organization will be as good as dead from now on. Until we decide that your team is good enough to be brought back you will operate under my instructions from now on. Do you understand?" Sir Thomas said calmly as he straightened himself out and sat back down in his seat.

"You insult my family Sir." Integra growled as she leaned over the table.

"I don't care – You will accept these conditions or you will find a new job Integra Hellsing." Sir Thomas stated coldly as he stubbed his cigarette out in his ashtray.

"I can't listen to this. I will not give up my family business there is no one else that can deal with demons like we can. If we stopped our work you would all be dead or worse. You ungrateful fucking toad!" Sir Integra barked as she slammed her fists down on the table in front of her. Sir Thomas looked up from his chair and sighed. "I will send instructions to your manor in a week. Prepare your staff for the changes. Remember you answer to me now." He said darkly as the two Hellsing members stormed out the room.

"I can't fucking believe this!" Integra barked as she stormed out of the building and down into the car park.

"We could go back and tear that man limb from limb my master." Alucard purred as he followed the blonde out to the parking lot.

"Yes Sir Integra. He can't insult is like this! We did all we could to help London, the whole of England would be in the same state of London if we had not done what we did!" Seras whined as she followed her two Masters to the parking lot.

"Both of you be quiet. Nothing changes; we will do what they ask of us. The Queen had ordered it. We shall do our duty for England but make no mistake, this family built on blood and honour will rise once again and when it does I will make sure Sir Thomas is the first to be dealt with." Integra said darkly as she played with the pendent in his pocket. Perhaps it was time for a new way of dealing with things.

"Yes my master."