Sorry everyone for the slow update, Iv'e been super busy with schoolwork and work, also half of this chapter deleted and it took me quite awhile to rewrite and edit. Every chapter actually takes quite awhile to write and longer to edit, the whole process takes several hours so updating isn't something i'm able to do as frequently as i'd like.

Im not dropping this story I've just been really shitty with updating, sorry!

xxyangxx2006- yeah I think the same, it would be sure to cause many problems, however the next few chapters will determine the outcome :P. And I'm sure that her usual paint stained clothes wouldn't have left a good impression.

shadow12177- yeah I think I may have gone a teeny bit overboard with the coldness lol.

also I've tried writing the accent because why not, I know it's not perfect but oh well

I noticed that millennium mixes German and English together sometimes, so here are some translations (from a phrase book)

guten tag= good day/evening

Danke=thanks/thank you

und=and

Nichts zu danken= no problem/don't worry about it

ja=yes

thanks for reading, please enjoy!

The ornate halls inside the palace were more of a maze then the Hellsing manor, each corridor identical to the next. Integra confidently led the group down the hallways as if she knew the place like the back of her hand, while Walter followed closely behind her. Seras and pip exchanged idle chatter in the form of cautious whispers, occasionally exchanging small fits of quiet laughter. Following behind the pairs were Alucard and Victoria who remained completely silent that was until her phone begun ringing loudly. Immediately everyone stopped and turned around to look at Victoria disapprovingly, "shit, sorry guys" she apologized over the loud Ghostbusters theme ringtone. She quickly pulled out the phone and paled, "guys I'm really sorry, go ahead I'll catch up, I really need to take this" she muttered her cheeks flushing red.

"Hurry up" Integra barked before quickly pacing away, Walter, pip and Seras following obediently behind. However Alucard hung back and glared at her with irritation,

"Who is it?" He demanded.

Fumbling with the device she quickly answered the call before quickly speaking into it, "hold on a sec" she rambled before pressing the device to her chest muffling the receiver. "It's Alex, you should go ahead" she murmured before pulling the phone back to her ear. "Hi Alex, whats wrong?" She asked while pointing towards the slowly disappearing group.

Alucard opened his mouth to protest but snapped it shut when Integra called him through their connection, he nodded softly to Victoria before phasing through the wall in a mass of shadow. 'so weird' Victoria noted watching him disappear, suddenly she was snapped out of her thoughts when Alex's tone grew loud and demanding,

"Did ya hear what I said? Are ya even listening?!" She asked angrily.

"Ah sorry I was doing something can you repeat it real quick?" Victoria replied in an apologetic tone.

"I was thinkn' that your story doesn't match up, ya hate cleaning! And Scott said he saw ya leaving your apartment with some guy? And-" Alex rambled her voice growing irritated.

Suddenly Alucard phased back through the wall and pointed to the phone, "end it, the meetings starting" he stated coolly.

Nodding Victoria begun following him down the halls while hurriedly talking into the phone, "Sorry, I'm really sorry but I'm about to go to a very important meeting I can't talk right now".

"Wait what? Why tha' 'ell does a cleaner need ta go to a meetin'!? Your lying to me! Tell me whats going on!" Alex demanded.

The pair reached the door leading to the meeting and Victoria sighed, "I'm really sorry okay, really really really sorry, I have to call you back" she muttered apologetically hanging up before the bluenette could protest.

XxX

Everyone's eyes flickered over to her and she awkwardly walked over to where Seras and Pip stood, Seras muttered a soft greeting while Pip glanced at her with a disdained look. From the other side of the room Integra glared at her intimidatingly while several other people at the meeting glanced at the woman before talking amongst each other in hushed whispers.

"Im sure you all know who the vampires are" Integra announced to the table before gesturing to Pip and Victoria, "Pip, is the leader of the wild geese, the mercenaries in our employment. And Victoria, our new medic and investment".

'investment?' Victoria questioned internally, 'what exactly are they investing?'

"the Queen is waiting" Integra called to Alucard, "remove your glasses".

The elder vampire did as he was told and slowly approached the Queen who sat at the head of the table, the whole room was silent and the atmosphere was tense. He stood in front of the sitting woman and he looked down at her with curiosity, "its been a long time vampire, come, let me get a closer look at you" The Queen requested he kneeled before her and a eerie smile split his pale face, Victoria watched with mild interest as the old woman slowly reached out and placed her wrinkled hands on either side of his face, "all these years and you haven't aged a day" she remarked in awe, "unfortunately, time hasn't been as kind to me".

Victoria lent over and whispered to Seras, "do they like, know each other or something?"

"i'm not sure, he hasn't mentioned her to me" Seras replied flatly, not amused at the fact he kept this from her as well.

the vampire and elderly woman's conversation had become a series of hushed whispers and Victoria struggled to hear what they were saying, however after several seconds the queen let out a small chuckle and Alucard stood up slowly, his signature grin still plastered on his face. Victoria lent over to Seras who now had a light pink tint on her cheeks, "what did they say?" the artist whispered.

"I uh, didn't hear" the blonde lied not wanting to repeat the conversation.

"Tell me your report vampire" the queen requested loud enough for the whole room to hear, Alucard turned around with the same grin on his face, the memories still fresh in his mind.

"some fifty five years ago a deranged Nazi major attempted to breed a vampire army, however Walter and I laid waste to their operation. It seems they refused to die" Alucard recalled exchanging a knowing glance with the butler. "They've returned with replenished numbers, and are attempting to complete their previous goal."

The table exchanged worried glances and were whispering amongst each other with concern, Integra sat alone and silent, deep in thought. However everyone snapped out of their chatter when a voice was heard from the doorway, "ah it seems zhat Tublacains blood must have given us away, za major sure blew zhat one" Schrodinger announced cheerfully. Immediately half the table pulled out their guns and pointed them at the cat boy and the room resounded with clicks as the gun's safeties were switched off. Immediately he put his hands up in defeat and slowly and cautiously walked towards the table, "don't shoot za messenger, im not here to fight anyvone" he explained carelessly, before setting a small box down on the wooden table.

Integra looked up at Walter furiously, "how did he get in here" she demanded coldly,

"my apologies, i'm not sure how he go past security" the butler apologized, a confused expression adorning his face.

"security is useless against me, im everyvare und novhere" Schrodinger boasted,

While Victoria was staring at the ears atop his head she wondered whether they were real or not, that was until they twitched and she sighed internally, 'oh I get it, Schrodinger's cat, clever' she noted. "hey you guys kinda look alike" she whispered to Seras.

"we do not!" she protested looking at the boy curiously,

Suddenly he turned around and stared at the fledgling for several seconds until his face split into a small grin, "Guten tag" he remarked politely in German.

Seras paled and stared at the floor in embarrassment, "guten tag" she replied meekly.

Schrondiger smiled at the woman before turning back to the table, "to za gatherd representatives of za Vatican und Great Britain, my commanding officer, za glorious Major, has a message for all of you, please attend carefully" he announced cheerfully. Pulling the remote our of his pocket he clicked the button on only to find the video not working, he continued mashing buttons while everyone looked on eagerly, awaiting the message.

"uh try changing the source to visual?" Victoria suggested shyly,

The boy looked at her with a confused expression before doing as instructed, causing the screen to flicker to life, "ah Danke".

"Nichts zu danken" she replied softly earning her a hard glare from Integra. The screen lit up and showed an image of grinning a overweight man dressed in white, in the background pleading screams could be heard as well as the tearing of flesh and cracking of bones.

"Major it looks like you've got your hands full" Schrodinger chirped,

"no things are going vell, it feels as if a weight has been lifted from my shoulders" he replied cheerfully, before the image panned over to a area completely covered by shredded body parts and internal organs splayed everywhere.

"hello Major" Alucard addressed casually as if greeting an old friend,

"ah Alucard, Im so happy to see you again, it's been far too long!" the Major replied with an unusual amount of enthusiasm.

"What is it that you want" Integra demanded calmly, glaring at the screen,

a grin split the Majors face and he bowed, "ah face to face with the Fraulein herself, Miss Integra Hellsing, its a pleasure to meet you".

"whats the purpose of this? what are you trying to accomplish?!" Integra demanded coolly,

Victoria watching the exchange noted how Millennium seemed to be far more cheerful and carefree than Hellsing, where everyone was serious and gloomy all the time. Not the mention the fact that the cat boy and Major seem to be rather polite. 'maybe i'll run off and join them' she thought amused.

"what a silly question, a question which you already know the answer. But to put it in the simplest terms, our purpose is a total absence of purpose" the major explained as the screen changed to show a hoard of gouls tearing apart several restrained people.

"your insane, all of you" Enrico commented dryly, eyeing the video with disgust.

"did I just hear someone from Iscariot questioning my sanity? Im insane? how foolish, you didn't have any objections fifty years ago" Major reminded earning a grimace from Enrico. "but enough of that, you may ask who my enemy is, Britain? The Hellsings? Well yes, but really it's that man laughing in the corner back there!"

Alucard was consumed by a fit of dark laughter and his husky booming laugh echoed through the room,Victoria eyed his actions with confusion, 'a whole army threatens to kill him and this is how he responds?' she noted.

"I accept your deceleration of war, I can't wait to destroy you again" the vampire replied with excitement,

"no matter what you do we will never give up" Major announced confidently, "this time around, we will win".

Integra had grown tired of the situation and could feel the beginnings of a migraine, "Alucard, kill him" she commanded softly.

Alucard was more than eager to obey and before Schrodinger could protest the barrel of a gun was roughly shoved into his mouth and was fired instantly, fracturing his skull into fragments and tearing the soft tissue from his bones. The cat boy fell backwards onto the ground in a twitching heap and Victoria looked away in disgust, "holy shit" is all she could choke out.

"fine shoot the messenger if this is what you've come to" Major sighed, "I look forward to seeing you on the battle field fraulein" he remarked calmly before he was cut off by the screen being shot to pieces courtesy of Seras.

The room was silent and everyone had a look of either horror or deep though on their face, Major's announcement had affected them all. Suddenly The Queen cleared her throat and made an announcement, "Alucard, Sir Hellsing...Destroy them".

XxX

"Major your so slow! In zhe time it took you to valk down one hallway, I went to London, got my head shot off und came back!" Schrodinger rambled, "maybe you should go on a diet" he teased.

"oh no I couldn't do that" Major chuckled shooing the boy away from his chair before taking a seat, "have zhey arrived yet?"

"yes, zhey are coming in now" Doc explained looking over his shoulder to see a short, stout red haired man entering the room, behind him a lanky man with dirty blonde hair followed cautiously. Both stood before the Major, grinning, showing their newly grown pointed teeth.

"are you sure we need zhem?" Doc asked anxiously eyeing the pair,

"Ja of course! zhey know zhat woman, its always the ones you know zhat hurt you" the Major snickered, "now, your objective is clear, to break zhat girl und cause the release of za vampire" he instructed. "zhen bring her back here, no delays now".

"How do you know it will work?" Schrodinger asked, "I saw her today, she didn't seem all zhat ill".

"ah not on za outside but za inside! Our source informed us she was close to breaking, she just needs und extra push!" Major explained cheerfully, confident his plan would work. "now, be on your way, i'll instruct you when to start phase one" he instructed the men before him, the nodded obediently before eagerly walking out of the room.

As soon as the men left Doc voiced more concern, "vhat are you planning to do with her?"

"it seems that Alucard is still alive und well, zherefore we can use all the help we can get" he explained reluctantly, "I thought you'd be excited for a new subject to study"

"ja of course, but what makes you think join us?" Doc asked with doubt,

a grin split Major's face and a glimmer of excitement flashed across his face, "Well of course she'll be drawn to destruction! Und we vill present the most irresistible offer"

"Offer of?" Doc asked,

"Revenge!" Major announced, "she'll want revenge, und we will offer it too her, in exchange for her loyalty".

"what of the men?" the doctor persisted, "how do we know zhat they will play zhere parts?"

"they have been promised a reward, it ensures they keep their end of za deal"Major explained,

"so sneaky Major!" Schrodinger snickered, "tricking people like zhat"

"well it will be worth it in the end, Millennium will have a vampire to rival Alucard" Major boasted proudly, "Fraulein Victoria will be our most powerful pawn"

XxX

Integra strided out of the large room in a hurry, her ideas and expectations of millennium more confused then ever. Walter didn't say a word and kept his distance behind her, sensing that she needed space, especially from him. Seras and Pip were deathly silent and followed behind the pair stiffly while Victoria kept her distance from Alucard who trailed behind slowly. Watching him shoot the boy further ground the idea into the artist's mind that he was in fact a monster, the image of the cat boys head exploding into a bloody shrapnel kept playing through her head like a macabre movie while the sound of the gunshot still rung through her ears.

"Are you alright?" Seras asked softly slowing down to meet with Victoria, "I'm sorry you had to see that",

Victoria shook her head dismissively "I've seen people shot before, it's alright".

"You sure? You look kind of pale, and shocked" the blonde pushed, "if you need someone to talk abo-"

"It's fine" Victoria snapped cutting her off rudely.

"Oh um, yeah alright, sorry" Seras replied shortly before walking back to meet up with pip hurriedly, the two exchanged hushed whispers and glanced back at the woman. Victoria scowled and looked at the floor, 'she was just trying to help, no need to snap' a voice in her head echoed, unfamiliar to her own. Frowning further she clenched her fists and jaw, refusing to lose her cool here, it was a relief when the main doors leading to the driveway approached.

XxX

"Bad day?" Walter asked softly pouring the hot tea into the delicate china cup,

Victoria sighed and pulled out the various pins and ties holding her messy hair, letting the dark locks fall over her face. "You have no idea" she sniffed taking the cup from Walter gloved hands and staring into the reflection blankly.

"I can fetch Seras or Alucard to keep you company if you wish" the butler offered setting the tray down,

"No thanks... I messed up with Seras, and I don't want to see him right now" she confessed averting eye contact.

Walter gave a slow nod in understanding and sat in the chair adjacent to the woman, "Alucard? Because of what happened at the meeting?"

"Well yeah but... It's more than that" Victoria sighed trying to make it sound as not simple as it seemed. "I don't want to bother you with it, but to put it simply I don't think we are right for each other".

"I'm sorry to hear you feel that way" Walter commented awkwardly,

Victoria ignored his commented and took a sip from the ornate cup, "Yeah well, with the whole Katja thing I don't really have the time and energy to put into fixing him".

"Is she putting a strain on you then?" Walter asked with mild interest, "Katja?"

"Yeah, I'm exhausted and weak, apparently it's her doing. She thinks that all she has to do is mess my up psychologically and that'll be it, but i'm sure Integra told you" she explained bitterly tapping the cup anxiously.

Walter raised a brow and stood up suddenly, "Yes, I was informed awhile ago. Well I must be taking my leave, but I'd recommend you spend some time outside, it's rather warm today and you've been inside too long" he offered placing the tray back onto the cart hurriedly.

Ignoring his strange rushed behavior Victoria lent back in the chair and stared at him with a skeptical look "Not afraid I'll run away?"

Walter smiled "We would catch you" he muttered softly, Victoria not missing the warning tone in his voice. "I'll come back later with dinner" he noted pushing the cart out the door.

"Don't worry, I won't be eating" Victoria called as he left, "I'll see you tomorrow"

"Untill then" he called back closing the door behind him.

XxX

The warm rays of golden sunshine broke through the trees and warmed Victoria's body, 'he was right, it is rather nice' she noted looking at the setting sunset. Looking down at her sketchbook she looked at the half finished landscape drawing with disappointment, 'well I was never much good at landscapes'. She eyed the the cup of tea in front of her and stared into the golden liquid that acted as a mirror, squinting she noticed her reflection was different, looking closer she saw her normal dark eyes were a crimson red. Victoria took a sharp inhale in surprise and quickly pushed the cup away from her, 'your tired, your seeing things' she reassured herself shakily looking back into the sunset.

"It's for drinking" a voice commented softly from beside her,

She knew who it was without looking, and she didn't want to see him, "you shot him" is all she could force out after several seconds of silence.

"He was the enemy" the vampire reminded, "I was protecting everyone".

"He looked like a kid" Victoria huffed,

"He was a monster created in a lab" Alucard remarked sternly.

"But he was alive" she growled looking at him from the corner of her eye, seeing if her words had any impact at all. To her surprise he had a look of discomfort on his face, as if the conversation upset him.

"And he still is, I didn't kill him, I merely scared him off" he explained, "we are in a war, weapons in the form of living creatures will be common".

"Whats going to happen to me?" Victoria muttered, "will I be in this war?"

"No, you won't" Alucard reassured her, figuring it was better if she didn't know. The artist nodded softly, satisfied with the answer and looked back into the distance, before letting out a long sigh, "Sorry about earlier, I didn't mean to call you that" she apologized softly.

"Yes you did" Alucard insisted coolly "you meant every word",

She was taken aback and her mind scrambled to form a coherent argument, "Well, yeah, but.."

"It's how you think of me" the vampire cut off, staring at her intently with his exposed red eyes.

"...yeah" she admitted, "but I was pointing out all the bad things, you do that in an argument" the artist defended. "You'd do the same".

"I don't see any negatives apart from your attitude" he stated in a gruff tone, "but I can understand how I may be partially to blame".

"Partially?" She snorted,

Ignoring her comment he continued, "for that I also apologize" he muttered. Victoria sighed knowing that it was as much as she'd get, seeing as she'd never actually seen him apologize before.

"It's okay" the artist replied flatly, "I don't hold grudges". Ignoring her comment he sat down in the other chair beside the small table, picking up the sketchbook he examined the drawing before setting it down gently,

"its nice" he noted.

"thanks, but I cant draw landscapes" she sighed looking again at the image, 'Neither could I' the strange voice within her head replied. Shaking it off she hoped it was a result of stress and being extremely tired, "stop it" she muttered to herself.

"stop what?" Alucard asked looking at her confusion,

"no...its nothing.. I was just talking to myself" she mumbled in embarrassment, "anyway, pick a new topic" she requested.

"The police girl is upset" He stated flatly,

Victoria knew it was her fault so she tried to change the subject, "I told you not to call her that".

"What did you do?" the vampire asked persistently,

"I just love how you assume it was me" the artist drawled.

a small smile pulled at his lips, "Wasn't it?"

"It was, just don't assume" Victoria explained, "I snapped at her earlier" she confessed.

A look of disappointment crossed Alucard's face and he scowled "that's all? well she needs to get over it, we have a lesson later",

Victoria sighed at his rough demeanor but couldn't be bothered scolding him, "How is she going with them?"

"There is improvement" he replied shortly,

"Good to hear" Victoria remarked, "How is she going with the whole blood thing?"

"she will only drink it if it is mixed with some horrible liquid from a can" he scowled in disgust,

"ah that was my idea, but i'm glad to hear it's working" she replied, "and don't you dare mess with it, if it works for her leave it" the artist warned.

"I have no reason to" he shrugged, "although I suppose I must thank you for it",

"I did it to help her, not you" she reminded sternly.

"thank you regardless" Alucard replied sincerely. Victoria responded with a awkward smile before pulling out her buzzing phone,

"ah shit, I have to take this sorry, i'll see you tomorrow" she apologized before packing up her things and tucking them under her arm while she quickly drained the tea. The vampire scowled and looked at the vibrating phone with distain, Victoria quickly picked up the device before he had the idea to throw it off the balcony. "hello?" she spoke into the receiver, "yes this is" she replied walking away leaving him alone.

XxX

Walter set the tray down on the desk and dumped the overflowing ashtray into a nearby bin, "something troubling you?" he asked softly, after several seconds of silence Integra sighed softly,

"Millennium, I expected them to be more..." she trailed off thoughtfully,

"weak?" the butler offered.

"no, strong" she replied, "it seems a majority of their army is freak vampires, far less competent and strong than a actual vampire" she explained still deep in thought. "I'm not sure we will need Katja after all" she confessed.

"confident are you?" Walter chuckled, "are you sure your not underestimating them?"

"no, Alucard and Seras are enough, Katja could cause more problems than solve them" the Hellsing leader reasoned,

"is it your decision to make? Katja seems eager to escape" Walter reminded.

"I'm aware there is only so much she can do with a human vessel", Integra lit another cigar and shorted out her thoughts, "as long as Victoria remains human the vampire can't do much of anything" she concluded.

"should we inform Alucard?" Walter asked softly, "Surely he'd be pleased",

Integra looked up from the desk in confusion "pleased? Why? he won't be reunited with Katja after all"

a small smile split the butler's face "I have the feeling Katja isn't on his mind anymore".

XxX

"Try harder" Alucard commanded, "your over complicating it",

"master i'm trying" Seras whined pushing her hand against the cool stone, "it won't go through"

"you were progressing well until now, do it again" he muttered disappointment lacing his voice,

"it's been an hour and we are getting nowhere, can we try again tomorrow?" she pleaded tiredly,

"well who's fault is that" the elder vampire snapped, "show me you've learnt something then you may leave" he compromised.

"anything?" she asked softly,

"it has to relate" he clarified, "you have 30 seconds".

Seras panicked and tried to find anything that would fulfill his criteria until an idea popped into her mind, "oh i've got it!"

"well?" Alucard replied gruffly, "what is it?"

"heightened sense?" Seras offered unsurely,

the elder vampire pondered her answer and decided she could use it, "tell me what everyone in the manor is currently doing".

"oh uh, alright" she muttered before closing her eyes and focusing to finding everyone in the manor, "Sir Integra and Walter are talking about something, but I can't tell you what, they're too far away. uhh Pip and Kane are in the kitchen I think? everyone else is in the barracks I think." she finished proudly, glancing at Alucard to see wether he was satisfied with her answers.

"Victoria, What about her?" he demanded,

"oh uh.. she's erm.." the fledgling trailed off concentrating, she could hear a series of sniffing and sobbing coming from the west side of the upper floor, "crying, I think she's crying".

Alucard sighed and stood up suddenly, "very good, I see you've learnt something after all, you're dismissed" he praised hurriedly before rushing off to Victoria's room.

"I hope she's okay" the blonde muttered to herself.

XxX

Victoria took another sip of the whisky bottle and wiped the steady stream of tears from her face, she glanced over at the phone which had begun buzzing again, a picture of Alex filled the screen causing more tears to spill from her eyes. "I can't I'm s-sorry" she sniffed dismissing the call before taking another long sip from the bottle before slamming it down on the bedside table and crawling under the sheets. Fresh tears continued to fall and it felt as if her chest was going to collapse from the pressure, outside Alucard pressed his ear to the door and confirmed that she was indeed crying, he knocked twice on the door and heard nothing in reply. Slowly he twisted the knob and walked into the darkened room, shutting the door behind him he could now hear the crying more clearly, the smell of alcohol also hung heavily in the air. The vampire cursed and walked closer to see the contents of the bottle had been almost emptied,

"go away" a muffled voice growled from under the thick sheets.

"why are you crying?" he asked sitting down on the corner of the bed,

underneath the sheets Victoria curled into a ball and shuffled away from him "im not, im allergic to...spring".

"you like spring" he recalled,

"yeah.." she admitted accompanied by a hiccup.

"come out" he demanded softly,

"no.. no i'm fine here" she hiccuped, "you can leave, i'm fine"

"you come out or I come in" he pulled at the covers gently exposing the top of her head,

after several seconds of silence she eventually complied, "okay" she sniffed throwing the covers off.

"what happened?" he asked eyeing her with a stoic expression,

Victoria sat hunched over and reached for the bottle again before taking a large gulp, "my mom, she died, the pneumonia got 'er" she sniffed wiping her eyes again.

"my condolences" he offered awkwardly before handing her a handful of tissues he'd found on the way to her room,

"it's not 'er dyin' that makes me upset, i'm glad she's not sufferin' anymore" she sniffed holding a pillow to her chest in comfort, "when 'er dementia got bad, I stopped visiting the nursin' home because she didn't remember me anymore, so I always put off vistin', last time I visited she didn't even remember who she was" Victoria wiped the tears out of her eyes but couldn't look at Alucard in the eyes, a mixture of shame and embarrassment filled her. "it didn't matter if I was there or not".

"you regret not spending time with her then?" He concluded,

"yeah" she hiccuped, "I always put it off, just because she forgot who I was, I forgot about 'er".

The vampire gently pried the bottle from her hands before putting it out of reach and replacing the covers back over her body, "go to sleep" he commanded gruffly, "you'll feel better in the morning".

"okay" she sniffed pulling the sheets up around her body, "you can go if you want",

instead she felt the bed dip beside her and something soft dug under her hand, she rolled over to come face to snout with the familiar face of his dog form. "Thank you" she mumbled running her cold hand over the soft dark fur, while tears continued to fall from her closed eyes. Eventually he felt the movement stop, signalling that she had finally fallen asleep.