I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Hellsing. They belong to Joss Whedon and Kouta Hirano respectively.
Warning: Some of the things said are not kind to Buffy. They are the opinions of the characters involved and do not necessarily reflect the worth of Buffy Summers.
An American Scooby in London
Sunnydale Memorial Hospital
Sunnydale, California
March 3rd 1998
"You're going to die, and I'm going to be there." The moment was truly delicious. He could smell the fear coming off the boy just as surely as Angelus could, but he could also smell something else… Determination, will, intent… That trio were difficult emotions to cultivate and the boy had all three in spades. Yes, he was very impressed.
The leech slapped a bouquet of flowers into Xander's arms. "Tell her I stopped by."
Alucard sneered as he watched Angelus leave. Normally he'd just end the insect with one bullet, but he couldn't help but watch instead. Not that Angelus was anything special. No, it was Harris that intrigued him so. "Well done."
Xander, who hadn't realised he was being watched before, immediately speared Alucard's location with his gaze. "Who are you?"
The No-Life-King offered a death's-head grin before speaking. "Someone who was very interested in your defeat of that leech. Angelus, was it?"
Xander shrugged self-deprecatingly. "That wasn't a defeat. That was me bluffing him."
The Transylvanian laughed mockingly. "My boy, I have been in wars long before you were crawling. Allow me to assure you that the lines of victory and defeat are rarely cut and dry. Also keep in mind that not all battles have bloodshed, though the best ones do. What you had there was a battle of wills, and yours proved the stronger. Take that for what you will…"
Xander stared at the strange man for a long moment before responding again. "Who are you?"
"No one of consequence, my young friend. I have a boss who might be interested in a man of your talents. I don't think you are ready to accept her offer. When you are, I will return. Then, I believe, we shall talk again…"
Sunnydale High School
Sunnydale, California
January 26th 1999
"I like the quiet." Oh the chill in the air when the boy said that had been delicious. Staring down a zombie over a ticking bomb, knowing all the while that you could be blown to kingdom come at any moment.
Alucard grinned maniacally as he watched the zombie lose his nerve to a supposed lesser mortal and disconnect the bomb.
"I don't want to see you around school anymore, Jack."
Alucard watched the zombie running and telekinetically freed the werewolf. No reason to let that sort of trash escape while he talked with the boy. "Very impressive, Alexander. My master would have been impressed, I think."
Xander locked eyes with the strange being for a long moment and then attack, an attack that Alucared slapped aside almost carelessly. "Oh come now, Xander. There's no need to kill yourself. I am here only for you, not your so-called friends."
Xander's glare was fierce. "I will not become a vampire, sir. Of any breed, soul or none. I swore on the grave of a man who was all but my brother that I would end the vampire scourge, not join them."
Alucard allowed an almost fatherly smile to cross his face. "I have no wish to make you a vampire, Alexander. As a human, you could grow to be a fierce opponent. As a vampire, especially of my kind, you could grow into an opponent that is far more terrible then even I. No, better that you serve my master then you serve me."
The quirk of Xander's brow suggested a confusion that his words soon clarified. "And who is your master, mideon?"
Alucard's lips quirked in a faint smile. The boy wasn't a researcher by nature, but when called upon he was apparently quite capable of doing the job. "My master is Sir Integra Hellsing, of the Hellsing Organisation. I have served the Hellsing family for generations, ever since my battle with Abraham."
Recognising the name Abraham, Xander frowned. "Dracula…"
"Alucard, if you please. That is my name now. It has been many, many moons since I have answered to any other."
"What does your master want with me?"
"At the moment? Nothing. I have not told her of you, as yet. But I will. You have within you the potential to be a great warrior. You lack training and polish, but you possess the intangibles already, things that are far more difficult to train a person in."
"What about Buffy, or Faith?"
"What about them? Do you honestly think this 'Buffy' knows the first thing about combat? Slayers are children, given powers they can scarcely comprehend, and pointed at vampires by a group of cowardly old men with little more then a wooden stake to protect her. Slayers are little better then fledglings, they carry little experience. This Buffy is even worse then the average. She has no drive to become more then she is. She wants to curl up in a hole and be normal. Normal? Bah! A cheerful ideal of the weak-minded. Nothing more."
Xander couldn't help but silently agree with the statement, even as the tiny fragment of his soul that was still attracted to Buffy rebelled at the idea. "What do you want from me?"
Alucard smirked. "When the school year ends you plan to go on a road trip. Invest in a plane ticket to England instead. Come to Hellsing and present yourself to Sir Integra. I believe you will come to benefit."
Xander nodded slowly. "I'll consider it."
Alucard bobbed his head and spun on his heel, grinning like a loon. He wondered silently if Xander would ever realise that Alucard himself was behind 'the fluke'. The Chase girl hadn't been appropriate for Alexander. Nay. Alucard had someone much more appropriate in mind. Still, he doubted it would still Xander's rage if he ever realised how he had been manipulated…
Heathrow International Airport
London, England
June 30th 1999
It had been months since Xander's last encounter with Alucard, but he still couldn't get what the vamp had said to him out of his head. 'You have within you the potential to be a great warrior'.
The sad fact was that Xander had never had anyone give him that kind of encouragement before. His parents had only ever demeaned him. His friends, while not generally demeaning, had never really gone so far as to suggest that he might be worthy. And that whole fray-adjacent thing had really not helped at all. In many ways Cordy was the worst of it, though Xander didn't think she meant it badly, at least not until 'the fluke'. Dweeb boy, Dork, Geek boy, Zeppo… All of those names cut into his self esteem like a knife.
Ironically it always seemed to be the enemy that appeared to respect him. Angelus had been the first. It was ironic that the evil vampire's snide remark about Xander being Buffy's white knight had actually made Xander more confident in himself. Alucard was not precisely an enemy, but he was of the same origins and he had once been THE enemy. It certainly put the vampire's comment in a weird sort of perspective.
Xander moved up to the luggage carousel and lifted a U.S. Army duffel, that he'd bought at a surplus store, over his shoulder. The ticket to England had been pricey at over a thousand dollars, but he'd managed to scrape up the money. Now he just had to find Hellsing Manor.
Hellsing Manor
London, England
June 30th 1999
The soft chime of the doorbell alerted Walter to the presence of someone at the door. Mindful of his duties as Sir Integra's butler, Walter walked up and answered it. Walter had been the butler and armourer or Hellsing Manor for many years and a veteran member of Hellsing's forces before that. It was a very rare thing for him to be surprised by someone. Today was the exception.
Standing at the door, calm as you please was a man wearing American military fatigues from the waist down. The young man's upper body was covered in a OD green t-shirt and a brown, leather bomber jacket. He bore a military duffel on one shoulder and had a stake and a jackknife concealed on his body. Still, it wasn't the manner of dress that unsettled Walter. It was the pure, unadulterated calm that the young man wore like a cloak. People visiting Hellsing were rarely calm. "Can I help you?"
The calm look gave way to a quirky, oh-so-Californian grin. "Yeah, I had a visit a few months ago from an agent of yours. He mentioned that his master might be looking for new recruits. He strongly suggested that I volunteer. Given what little I know about the nightlife, I thought he might be on the right track, so to speak."
Walter didn't know what to think. The sheer and utter recklessness of flying halfway around the world on the word of a vampire simply astounded him. After all, from the sound of things it was Alucard who had extended the invitation. "Did it not occur to you to call first, young man?"
Xander shrugged as if it didn't matter to him at all. "If Sir Hellsing is not interested in my services, I'm sure I can find something else to do in London. I just figured that an organisation that knows about the real world might have a use for me. I'll be going." Xander couldn't help but silently berate himself for not thinking things through better. He's had over six months, after all. He should know by now how much worth there was in the word of a vampire.
"Wait a moment, please." The words were out of his mouth almost before Walter had realised it. Perhaps there was the slightest hint of kinship he could feel for the boy. "Where are you from, lad?"
Xander stood still for a long moment before he turned about and locked eyes with Walter. "La Boca del Infierno, California."
Walter's spine stiffened at the name. The Hellmouth. Perhaps Agent Alucard had been on to something. "Come in, please. I'll see if Sir Integra is busy."
Integra's Office, Hellsing Manor
London, England
June 30th 1999
"Sir Integra?"
The commander of the Royal Protestant Knights glanced up from her day's paperwork to lock gazes with her faithful family servant, Walter. "Yes, Walter?"
Walter appeared to hesitate for a moment, a very odd expression on the older gentleman. "I was wondering if you had time to meet with a perspective new recruit."
Integra's brow arched in curiosity. "I wasn't aware that we had any new recruits scheduled for today."
"We do not, Sir Integra. The young man in question is from far outside our usual… labour pool."
Integra's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Is he at least a professional soldier?"
Walter definitely looked a touch chagrined at that. "I'm afraid not, but…"
"Then why are we even wasting our time with him?"
"He's from the hellmouth."
Integra paused for a long moment. "Intriguing, but hardly that inspiring, Walter. The hellmouth tends to attract the lesser breeds. We tend to hunt more difficult game…"
"He comes highly recommended…"
"Exactly how highly?"
"Agent Alucard was the one who suggested he seek us out."
That was intriguing. Alucard, while prone to strange pranks and capers by times, was not one to go for something as elaborate as misleading someone into a journey to another continent just for his amusement. "Send him in."
"He's just outside. I'll…"
"I meant Alucard, Walter. Send in Alucard. I wish to talk with him. In the meantime, keep this American company, would you?"
Walter nodded. "As you say, Sir Integra."
Training Room 23, Hellsing Manor
London, England
June 30th 1999
Walter walked along with Xander, side by side, as the former gave the latter the nickel tour. Walter had decided that Integra's request to keep Xander company might be interpreted as a request to give the lad a tour of the facilities. Besides which, Walter just wanted to see what the lad could do.
The firing range had been a real eye-opener. The lad was either a natural marksman or he already had a fair bit of experience under his belt. He'd proven quite capable with most of the pistols and even showed proficiency with various larger firearms, most notably the MP-5. His accuracy was not at Sir Integra's level, or even Walter's own, but he was still impressive, especially for someone who was fairly uninitiated.
Walter removed his jacket, his vest and his tie and placed them aside before turning to the younger man. "I thought we'd try hand-to-hand now. Prepare yourself."
Xander offered that irritating grin and tossed his bag aside, laying his stake and knife on top of it, followed by his leather jacket. "Okay, Wally. Let's try this, shall we?"
Walter nodded and then moved with a speed that bordered on freakish to anyone who was unused to supernaturally speedy opponents.
Integra's Office, Hellsing Manor
London, England
June 30th 1999
"You bellowed, my Master?"
Integra pierced her primary attack dog with a cold glare. "Who is he to you?"
"Who is who, Master?"
"You know damn well who, Alucard! This American, Alexander Harris. Who is he to you, you damnable vampire?"
The vampire in question smirked smugly. "He is as you are, my Master. He is one of the few interesting humans in existence. You can trust me when I say that he is precisely what you need."
Integra considered the vampire's point, completely missing the hidden double meaning in Alucard's words. She eventually reached the conclusion that she should give the vampire's words some consideration. "Do you know where Walter took him?"
Alucard's smug smile grew. "The Angel of Death took Alexander on a tour. I believe they are currently inspecting a training room."
This time Integra caught the hidden meaning. "Hand-to-hand combat evaluations? Who is Walter testing him on?"
"The Angel of Death is trying Alexander's skills personally."
Integra's eyes grew round. For Walter to try someone personally was a testimonial to how skilled he felt they were… or how thoroughly they irritated him. "Let's see how they're doing, yes?"
Training Room 23, Hellsing Manor
London, England
June 30th 1999
Integra was shocked. Alexander Harris was a bloody mess. That wasn't too surprising, given who he was fighting. In fact, it was the fact that Xander was still standing at all that was cause for her shock.
It was immediately obvious that Walter was trying to put the kid down pretty hard now. His typically crisp white shirt was transparent in places from the effort the old man had been putting in.
Alexander, on the other hand, looked pretty worked over. He was bleeding in a few places, was sweating even more heavily then Walter, despite more appropriate clothing, and had a nasty tear in his t-shirt.
All in all, it was a typical match for the Angel of Death where he wasn't actually trying to kill his opponent. Except of course for the fact that the other man was still standing. Integra was absolutely certain that if this had been a death match, Walter would have won it handily. As it was, Walter was winning anyway. Still, the younger man was definitely interesting. She nodded in satisfaction as she entered the room.
Walter immediately stood straighter. "Sir Integra. Might I introduce Alexander Harris, of La Boca del Infierno."
The younger man stood straight and showed the faintest hint of apparent surprise at seeing her for the first time. "A pleasure, Sir Integra." He extended his hand.
Clasping Xander's hand in a firm grip, she was mildly shocked when he didn't attempt to squeeze her hand in some macho attempt to prove himself her better. "You thought I'd be a man?" She asked, not allowing a hint of judgment to enter her voice.
An immature grin crossed his features. "Actually, your name suggested you might be a woman. I was actually more surprised to find that you're so young."
A quirk of her eyebrow was all she allowed him to see of her reaction. "You are even younger then I am, are you not?"
Xander offered her a guileless shrug. "True, but I'm applying to be recruited into your organisation, not to lead it. I'm not questioning your capabilities, Sir Integra. I'm merely surprised that you are as young as you are."
Integra stared long and hard at the man before deciding that he had genuinely meant no offence by his statements. Instead of replying further, she turned to Walter. "Arrange accommodations for Mr. Harris in the troop barracks and speak to the right people about extending him a work visa." She then turned back briefly to the American. "Welcome to Hellsing, Mr. Harris."
As Integra strode away, Alucard grinned maniacally. Oh yes, this was going very well…
The idea here is that Alucard is trying to set Integra up with someone he considers appropriate for her. He has chosen Xander. Will the prospective lovers agree? Will the people Integra answers to? Will Cordelia, if she ever learns of Alucard's interference? You decide.
Anyone who'd like to pick up this plot please drop me a line via reviews.
Jasper