Rumor has it that there's a big "Grandaddy" vampire to end all vampires somewhere on this earth... spoiler alert, it ain't me. Trust me, I think I would have figured it out by now if I was. Legend has it that he got his powers by making a deal with the Devil himself, which had some stipulation that only he knows about. Legend also has it that if someone were to kill him, every living vampire would have their humanity returned to them. For a while, I was convinced that he existed. In fact, I was so convinced that he really was out there, just straight boolin', that I had created a special unit of vampire trackers just to find him, back in the good ol' days. But after a while, I lost hope of ever seeing him. After all, it's kinda hard to convince yourself that someone is still alive... when no one's seen him in the last two thousand years.

-excerpt from the Vampire Journals

Chapter 10: Catching Up

After a quick call to the mercs, Alucard quietly lead Seras back to Anderson's safehouse. Alucard was eerily silent the whole trip, and Seras was beginning to wonder if she was in a bit over her head here. If this person was important enough to make Alucard this upset, then chances were, the whole situation was rather personal... or worse, impossible for her to intermediate. There might be no stopping a mass slaughter this time.

Just before they made it to the room, Seras decided to ask, "So, why did you call the mercenaries?"

Alucard looked at her with a weird expression on his face, as if he had been lost in thought before she had pulled him back to reality.

"They're running screen", Alucard told her. "They're gonna check and see if there aren't any more werewolves close by while I get some rest."

"While you get some rest", Seras echoed questioningly.

Alucard stopped at the door, his hand on the knob.

He heaved a great sigh, and turned back to her with that strange expression, saying, "I need to get my mind right. I do that best by sleeping. Besides, we're probably all going to need some rest for what's coming next."

He turned the knob, and strode quickly into the room. Seras followed behind him, baffled by what she saw.

Alucard stood in the center of the room, next to what appeared to be a coffin. Seras had seen the coffin before... actually, now that she thought about it, she thought that she may have flown in the cargo compartment of an airplane in this particular coffin... though how Alucard had managed to get it into this room, much less lug it around America all of this time without anyone noticing, was a complete mystery to her. He waved a hand at the coffin.

"It's a novelty, really", he told her, "but sometimes I really do think I sleep better in it."

After getting over the fact that there was just a coffin sitting on the floor in the room, Seras decided she needed some clarity.

"So", Seras asked, "you want me to sleep too?"

"Sure, if you want", Alucard told her, "but you take the bed. It's harder than it's worth to have sex in a coffin."

"Yuck" Seras commented, and moved towards the small bed next to the coffin.

Alucard stopped her with a raised hand.

"Police Girl", Alucard told her, "while I'm in a deep sleep like this, everyone else will be defenseless. It's up to you to protect them, understand?"

Seras nodded conservatively. While the others were gone and the sun was still up, she wasn't certain that they were so much her responsibility. They were grown men; they could take care of themselves.

With a start, Seras realized what Alucard was telling her; he was vulnerable. And he was counting on her to keep an eye on him.

"I'm a light sleeper", Seras told him.

"Excellent", Alucard told her.

With that, he stepped into the dirt-filled coffin, and laid himself out straight, crossing his arms over his chest. Within a few moments, he had stopped breathing all together, and he became unnaturally still. Seras watched him for a moment more. When she finally decided that there was nothing more to see, she stretched out along the small bed, and closed her eyes.

...

"Seeeeeeeraaaaaaaas..."

Seras' eyes snapped open, but she didn't move. She lay completely still, still drinking in the sight before her. There lay Alucard, still in his dead state, and yet, his head had turned and his eyes had opened. They had a glassy look to them, as if whoever owned them was not quite alive.

He was looking directly at her.

"Seeeeeeeraaaaaaaas..."

She was fairly certain that he was talking in his sleep, but there was something in his gaze that seemed entirely different, entirely new and original, and it beckoned Seras forward. She sat up in the bed, and gently pushed her feet off the side and on to the floor. Standing at her full height, she slowly and quietly began inching her way towards the coffin. When her feet were almost touching the lip, Alucard's hand closest to her began raising. It extended itself out to her, almost as if Alucard wanted to shake her hand.

She hesitated, staring at the hand, unable to think of a situation where something like this ended well. If he had some kind of night terror, he might crush the bones in her hand to dust... or cut her arm right off her body.

Suddenly, she realized that she had never even considered not taking his hand as an option.

"You said you wanted to learn", Alucard told her, in a drawn-out, dreamy voice that wavered and refracted in ways she had never heard him speak in before. "Why don't you learn about me?"

Learn... about him? That didn't make any sense. Why would he share anything about himself with her? He had taught her to learn about her enemies, not her friends.

And yet again she realized that he wasn't really her friend, that he was just using her for some unknown purpose. She was a puppet in his little show, just like everyone else in his life, even little Alley, who he used to garner information. A wave of sickness came over her, and her face twisted into a frown of disgust.

She made up her mind. She would learn about Alucard, learn maybe why he had made the decision to make her this way to begin with. Maybe then she would learn how to free herself from this curse.

She gently reached her hand out, lightly grasping the outstretched one. For a moment, nothing happened. The grip was firm but fragile; if she needed to, she could pull away from it easily. Alucard let out a long exhale, his eyes rolling into the back of his skull.

Suddenly, she was no longer in the room with Alucard. Instead, she was gazing upon a large forest filled with tall trees. Her vision was brought down, and she was sitting on a large rock, and next to her was a little boy, with curly, chestnut-colored hair, and deep oaken eyes. He looked like a very bright child, and he looked like he looked up to whoever he was looking at.

Suddenly, Seras felt her mouth open, and a voice that belonged to a small boy came from her mouth.

"Three miles from here", she said, in the boy's voice, "is a river, Radu. You know what this is?"

Radu, the other child, nodded, still smiling, and still staring at Seras. She noticed that the child seemed to have a deep, rich accent, some Slavic type. She wasn't good with accents, but it sounded like a Romanian man's accent that she had heard before, so she thought maybe that was what she was hearing.

"One day, my dear brother", the small child's voice continued, "I will build us a boat, one strong enough to sail down that river. And wherever it takes us, we shall go! We shall leave this place forever!"

The scene changed to a small, metallic, clearly sterilized room. In front of her was a small table, covered in blood, candles, and a weeping child in a white dress. She recognized her as Alley.

The voice became Alucard's, and the voice shushed her, in a soft, gentle way.

"I'm scared", the little girl said, in a surprisingly open way.

"Me too", Alucard replied, completely genuinely. Alucard knelt down in front of her, and asked, "Want to know what I'm afraid of?"

The scene changed again, and Seras couldn't quite recognize what she was seeing at first. Above her was a cobblestone ceiling that was rather hard to see in the low light that the small torch in the corner provided. She caught a glance of her left wrist; naked, and chained to the wall by heavy iron shackles.

The wrist, and the hand attached to it, were small; she was a child only a few years older than the one she had been before.

And she was horribly malnourished.

She noticed that she heard sobbing, but she couldn't tell where the sobbing was coming from. She realized that she kept staring into a dark corner of the room. She stared and stared, and the sobbing continued. Her eyes began to drift shut, and she was overcome by a sense of drowsiness, one that indicated that the boy she was hadn't slept in days. Suddenly, a large, black dog, with saliva drizzling from its bared teeth, lunged towards her. It was stopped short by a chain around its neck, the saliva flinging off his teeth in long arcs, and it gave a brief whimper, but it was quickly overshadowed by the loud, roaring bark that it gave off.

A gate rattled off to her right, but she didn't look towards it. A figure appeared in the corner of her vision, wearing a white robe and a turban on his head. He threw something to the dog... a meaty bone, by the looks of it... and the dog pounced on it, tearing into it with his teeth.

The man with the turban turned towards Seras, and a wicked grin spread across his face. Whoever Seras was, they knew what was happening. They shook their head furiously.

The man pulled a lace on his robe, and it fell to the ground.

"No."

The voice had come from her. And with that, she realized that the sobbing was coming from her as well. It occurred to her that she was the boy from earlier. And the worst part about it; what he had said didn't sound like resistance... it was a reaction, and no more. This child knew what was happening, and he knew that it was going to happen, whether he wanted it to or not.

The man moved forward, and the boy continued to shake his head. The man straddled the boy, the wicked grin burning into his vision.

The scene changed again.

Seras became a man, kneeling to pray in front of a crude statue of Jesus on the cross.

"Dear LORD", Seras said, in the same accent, but thicker, richer and older than the child's, "I have suffered unimaginably. I am broken."

The scene changed again, to a man who had a crown on his head, and a cross on his necklace, and long, vampire canines. He was sauntering slowly towards Seras, with a confident smirk of imminent victory on his face.

"I would not be able to survive this Hell", Seras continued, in that thick, rich, deep Romanian accent, "if it were not for the tender love, the gentle mercy, and the immeasurable strength you have shown me."

The man with the crown crept closer, a wicked grin spreading across his face.

"To you, I shall give all of the glory", Seras said. "For your Kingdom, I shall storm Hell, and kill every demon twice. And in return, I ask only that you spare my people the Hell that I was misfortunate to live in for ten years of my life."

The man with the crown knelt down next to him.

"You saved my mortal soul", Seras continued. "What better gift to give than my life?"

The man with the crown opened his mouth wider, and leaned in towards Seras' neck.

"And to you", Seras concluded, in her thick, rich, deep Romanian accent, "I give it gladly!"

"NO", Seras yelled to a knight, as she stood over the withered remains of the man with the crown, "I am Vlad Tepes no more! I am... I... I am..."

Seras could almost feel the man she was searching for a name so vile as to perfectly capture what man he had become. Suddenly, she was a small boy again, looking up at a man who sat on a throne, with a bottle in his hand.

"You are my son", the man exclaimed belligerently, "The son of a Draco! A son of the Order!"

"No", the boy shouted, "I hate your Order! Your Order is not of GOD!"

"Mind your tongue", the man said, throwing the bottle at the boy, smacking him in the face. The boy clenched his face, and the man said, "and remember that you are the son of Dracul! That makes you-"

"-Dracula", Seras finally decided, spitting it at the knight almost as if it tasted vile in her mouth.

The scene changed again, to a pale man, with long, straight black hair, staring off into the distance, looking away from her. He was clad in knightly armor, but it was tinged black, as if Death itself inhabited it, with sharp, pointed ends protruding from every opportune angle. It seemed strange, as if what she was witnessing was not from a memory of someone, but an out-of-body experience.

Her vision was overpowered by a tidal wave of blood smashing over the landscape the figure overlooked, destroying everything in its path. Screams, cries of anguish, and visions of gore flashed through her mind, as the figure continued to stare at the carnage below.

And suddenly, everything was soft, and light. Before her stood a woman, with a halo of light around her, reddish gold hair on her head, sharp blue eyes, and the most gentle, comforting smile that Seras had ever seen. She wore a long, plain dress, one that looked like it had seen years of use on other women's bodies.

She held out her hand for Seras. She didn't even hesitate; she took it instantly.

A horrific vision assaulted her eyes, one of nine knights, long dead, horribly maimed and smeared with blood, their mouths agape with fear, all trying to drag the red-haired woman away, as if trying to protect her from something.

From Seras.

The knights disappeared, and the woman held out her other hand. Seras took it, and this time, the knights did not assault. The woman gazed almost longingly into Seras' eyes, and Seras gazed right back, enraptured by those beautiful crystal blue eyes.

The soft sounds of a piano being played upon rang gently to her ears. Even though she had never heard it before, she recognized the song as Chopin's Spring Waltz.

The woman tugged on her gently, and the two began to twirl around each other. Seras had never danced before, certainly not like this, but every motion she made felt entirely natural. The entire time that they danced, Seras couldn't tear herself from those beautiful blue eyes.

They ended in a position where Seras looked down upon her, as the woman stretched beneath her. Seras leaned forward, as if to kiss her lips, and the woman closed her eyes, beaconing Seras to do the deed.

A sound like a small, heavy object tinking to the ground caught Seras' attention, and she snapped her gaze away, looking to her right. Off in the darkness, a figure was perched up against a wall. He wore a brown leather duster, dirty from travel, but the rest of him looked well-maintained, including the large revolver that he held in his hand.

He perfectly fit Braum Stoker's physical description of him, a man of medium height, strongly built, with shoulders set back over a broad, deep chest and a neck well balanced on the trunk as the head was on the neck. The poise of the head struck at once as indicative of thought and power. The head was noble, well-sized, broad, and large behind the ears. The face, clean-shaven, showed a hard, square chin, a large, resolute, mobile mouth, a good-sized nose, rather straight, but with quick, sensitive nostrils, that seem to broaden as the big bushy brows came down and the mouth tightened into a frown. The forehead was broad and fine, rising at first almost straight and then sloping back above two bumps or ridges wide apart, such a forehead that the reddish hair could not possibly tumble over it, but fell naturally back and to the sides. Big, dark blue eyes were set widely apart, and they had Seras fixed with an accusing glare.

Seras didn't know how, but she knew that she was staring at the legendary Abraham Van Helsing.

Suddenly, shadows grew all around them, other people dancing in time to the keys being thrummed on the piano, and the world seemed much smaller, and far less bright.

Seras returned her gaze to the woman, who returned a soft, questioning gaze towards her.

"What's wrong, Gideon", she asked, in a light, jovial, Romanian voice.

Seras knew the name she had spoken wasn't her name, and that fact disgusted her.

The scene changed again, and she and the woman were overlooking the setting sun, the sky painted beautifully by God's great brush. But all of God's creations paled in comparison to this woman who was leaned on the parapet next to her. She was an Angel, a beautiful Angel, who deserved to be bathing in God's Light in Heaven, not trapped on this terrible plane of existence, stuck between being a queen to her people and a warrior for her family.

Finally, the woman spoke the words that Seras dreaded to hear.

"Gideon Ananias, I love you more than anything in the world. I only love God more than thou", she said, in the most genuine, heartfelt way that she could.

For a flash, she could have sworn that she had seen the man watching the blood roll across the land again.

"And I know you feel the same."

And she did. Seras loved her with everything in her heart and soul. And yet, the name was not hers. She would never have this joy.

There it was again, the man in the black armor watching the blood destroy all.

The woman took Seras' hands, and pulled her closer to her, closing her eyes, and pursing her lips.

The man watching the blood turned his gaze of glowing red eyes to Seras.

She leaned in closer, and closer, wanting nothing more than to feel the woman's soft lips on her own.

The man opened his mouth, revealing wickedly sharp teeth, and a red vapor escaped his lips, as a roar of rage bubbled up from between them, and he lunged for her.

Seras shrieked, jumping away, bringing her hands up to shield her face.

"WASSIT", Alucard shouted, sitting up with a .454 in hand. "WHO WANTS SOME!"

Alucard turned to see Seras, her hands covering her face, and gave a big, loud yawn.

"Shieeeeeeet", Alucard berated, "don't wake someone up like that. That's how people get shot."

He leaned back down, and laid out straight, muttering, "Damn, dudes can't get no sleep these days..."

He went back to that dead state, unmoving, immovable. Seras covered her mouth, for fear that she would scream again, and sank to the ground. Tears spilled from her eyes as a wave of emotions flooded her, and she tried to process what she had just seen.

She was fairly certain that she was seeing things from the perspective of a single person, but she couldn't be for sure. Was it Alucard? It would be fair to guess so, but she had only seen him once that entire time. Could it have been the legendary Dracula? She had heard his name at least once.

Another examination, and pushing aside whatever false intuition was leading her on, revealed that she had seen several different stories from several different people... but they were all important, and they were somehow connected... unless Alucard was a shapeshifter... which wouldn't make any sense, because she had never seen him change the entire time she had been with him, even when he had suffered further death.

So, multiple people... and numerous questions.

Who was the woman? Seras was certain that the feelings she had felt for her were not her own, and were an extension of whoever she was spectating, that Gideon man. Yet she felt unnaturally at ease as the woman's figure entered her mind, and she drank in every portion of her with an almost vigorous fervor...

She shook her head. She needed to focus on what was important. The woman was important, the woman herself, not how Seras felt about her.

Who was Gideon? He seemed like an impostor. If what she had felt was an extension of what he had been feeling, then she was almost certain that he was not who he said he was. And furthermore, if he was an impostor, he had ultimately failed, because he had fallen in love with the queen he was supposed to be spying on.

Not that she could blame him. She was as straight as an arrow, but...

She shook her head, bringing her thoughts back in order.

That man in the black armor. She was fairly certain that he was somehow connected to the man who had proclaimed himself to be Dracula... yet she couldn't be certain.

Three... maybe four different people. Somehow, they were all connected.

A mystery, perhaps one suited for a Police Girl?

...

She didn't remember falling asleep, but when she woke up on the floor, Alucard was already up, with a cell phone in his hand. Clearly, she had awoken right at the start of the conversation.

"This time you've gone too far, Integra!"

"How was I supposed to know", Integra Helsing said simply over the phone. This close to Alucard, Seras could clearly hear her voice with her enhanced hearing.

"You did know, didn't you", Alucard yelled, seething with rage. "Admit it!"

"Alucard, I didn't know", Integra replied, her voice neutral.

"Bullshit", Alucard yelled. "Integra, you don't know what's at stake here! You're pretending like this is some kind of romance novel or something! Real life doesn't have storybook endings!"

"Not if you continue to ignore what needs to be done", Integra answered cryptically.

"WHAT NEEDS TO BE", Alucard began. He inhaled deeply, and then began again. "Integra. Pull me out of this Op. Now."

"Not an option", Integra responded coldly. "If what you're saying is true, then you're the best asset to deal with it. Furthermore, after your little stunt with the cameras, even the Round Table is starting to cut aid for us abroad."

"So, I roasted someone on live TV", Alucard responded, throwing his hand in the air. "Big whoop. That's not what we're talking about right now, though, is it?!"

"You know her better than anyone else", Integra told him. "You're the only one who can break this cycle. You said so yourself."

"I WAS DRUNK", Alucard yelled. "People say things when they're drunk!"

"Do you see anyone else alive from that time who is in any position to help you?"

Alucard held his tongue for a moment. Then his lips curled into a sneer.

"You did this. You had to have done this. You knew all about it, you lying rotten whore!"

"That's quite hurtful, Alucard", Integra said neutrally over the phone.

"You know what's hurtful, Integra", Alucard said, bringing the phone around to the front of his face, "DIGGING UP FRESH GRAVES!"

Alucard threw his phone into the wall, making a huge dent, and embedding it almost up to the bottom tip of the phone. Alucard huffed for a second. Then he regained his composure. He walked back over to the phone in the wall, and pulled it out, gently brushing it off. He put it back up to his ear.

"I'm sorry, Integra", he said in a voice that was heavy with regret. "I know you're just trying to help. But this is not the way to go about it."

"Is there any other way", she replied.

Alucard fell silent once again.

"Then you have to do it."

Alucard remained silent. He turned about the room slowly, until he caught sight of Seras. They locked eyes for a moment, and it was clear from Alucard's expression that he could tell she had heard the whole conversation.

"I've gotta go", Alucard said distantly. "The Police Girl just woke up."

"Probably because you smashed the phone into a wall", Integra pointed out. Apparently, she had witnessed this before. "Don't hang up, actually. Give her the phone. I want to talk to her."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Why?"

"None of your business."

"Oh, no, no, no. We are way past the realm of 'none of my business'."

"I miss her. Put her on the phone."

"Fine", Alucard said, tossing the phone in her direction. As Seras struggled to catch it, he commented nonchalantly, "I'm going for a walk."

Before she could protest, he was out of the door. Seras put the phone to her ear.

"H-hello?"

"Oh, Police Girl", Integra said in a relieved voice, "good to hear the voice of someone who isn't mad at me today."

That was assuming quite a lot, but she played along anyway.

"Rough day, Mum?"

"Always", she admitted. "I enjoy the hunt, much as Alucard does. All of the bureaucracy is just jargon in my ear. I'd much rather be shooting a vampire than explaining to a group of old, out of touch farts why shooting that vampire will better the world. And today, I have quite a few bureaucrats in my ear telling me that I'm shooting the wrong things for the wrong reasons, and I don't even have the luxury of pulling the trigger."

"Sounds torturous, Mum", Seras responded sympathetically.

"Indeed", Integra replied. Seras could practically hear her taking a drag on one of her cigars, as she said, "Well, as Alucard often says, 'haters gonna hate', so I suppose I should have known what I was in for."

"If you ever need someone to talk to, I'm always here", Seras offered.

"Oh, thank you, Police Girl", Integra said, with something akin to relief in her voice. "Whenever I try to talk to Alucard about it, he just flaunts the fact that he's not the one who has to deal with it. But I'm a big girl, and I can handle myself. Sometimes I just need to bitch a little."

"We all need to bitch a little, sometimes", Seras said with a chuckle.

Integra grunted softly over the phone, adding, "And Alucard's not helping my mood at all."

Seras decided to butt in with a question.

"Why is he so upset, Mum?"

"I'll let him tell you that", Integra said cautiously. "Clearly, I'm in no position to speak on such matters."

For a moment, she remained silent. Then, what sounded like barely contained sobs ebbed through the phone.

"He called me a whore, Seras! I haven't heard that word leave his mouth since I was fifteen! He used to say that he would call me names because he thought highly of me, but if he ever called me a whore, it was because I deserved it!"

"You're not a whore, Mum", Seras said softly. "Whatever he thinks you did, it can't be any worse than anything he's done. Frankly, I don't see him having any moral high ground to stand on when he speaks to someone like you!"

"Oh, Seras, if only that were true", she said, pulling herself together. "Then his words wouldn't hurt so much."

Seras was so utterly stricken by the sounds of Integra having a meltdown over something Alucard had told her. She always seemed so stoic, like a boulder in the ocean, waves crashing against her, water ebbing about her, but ultimately unable to crush her. Hearing her like this would have crushed most people's faith, but Seras was just glad that Sir Integra really did have human feelings inside her human body.

"Oh, I'm sorry you had to hear me make a fool of myself over the phone", Integra told Seras.

"No, no, it's ok", Seras affirmed. "Everyone needs a moment like that in their lives. I'm beginning to learn that myself."

"Good", Integra told her. "It's a lesson that is taught through time. Of which, you seem to have plenty, Seras."

For a moment, the line was silent.

"Seras", Integra said hesitantly, "have you ever seen the movie Troy? With Brad Pitt of all people as Achilles?"

"Um... no, ma'am. Is it a good movie?"

"It omits lots of Homer's troupes and plot devices, but yes, I would say it is an alright movie. But there's a speech that Achilles gives in the movie, about immortality, and how everything seems beautiful when you're doomed. You can't blame Alucard for lashing out. To him, the world has lost its luster. Who wouldn't be angry?"

Seras thought about those words, and realized that they made sense. To live as long as Alucard had... five hundred years, apparently... you would have to witness and live through all of the wrong in the world many lifetimes over. Who wouldn't be angry?

"That doesn't excuse him from calling you a whore, though", Seras said with a frown. "He should apologize."

Integra laughed over the phone, a sound like baritone bells ringing. It was quite relieving to hear, actually. Integra quickly reigned it in and turned it to chuckles.

"Now that's a good joke", Integra affirmed.

Integra seemed to be in much higher spirits after their initial discussion. But she switched topics at the speed of a locomotive.

"I did ask Alucard to pass you the phone for practical reasons", Integra admitted. "I need you to corroborate his mission report so far... for paperwork's sake."

"Of course, Mum", Seras said neutrally. She began to recount her experiences with Alucard, leaving out... some of the more emotionally charged parts. Integra only stopped her once.

"So, James Braid, the famous hypnotist, you saw him die?"

"Uh, no, actually."

"Why not? Did something block your view?"

"Actually, I left shortly before the fight."

"And why is that?"

"Master and I had... um..."

"Had what?"

"A, um... a falling out, I suppose."

"A falling out? Over what?"

"I... well... I can't really... I was just asking about Alley when-"

"Hold on", Integra said sharply, and left the phone.

This was rather unprecedented. She hadn't mentioned Alley up until now, but as soon as she did, Integra had stopped the conversation. That was rather odd of Integra. A moment later, rather loud opera music began playing. Seras heard the phone picked up again.

"Ah, yes, that sweet little girl. You may continue."

"Oh, um... well, Alley, you see, I just wanted to know what her role was to him."

"Ah, but see, you're asking the wrong question."

"I-I am?"

"The question you should have asked was, 'Who is Alley to you?' Did you speak to Alley much?"

"Um, only for a moment."

"And what did she tell you about Alucard?"

"Well, she seemed to greatly admire him, and to that effect, she called him 'Daddy' almost exclusively."

"Well, then, isn't that more cut-and-dry?"

"Well, no, not really."

Integra sighed.

"Police Girl, are you in any capacity aware of the Helsing Rules of Vampiricism?"

"Um, no... I kind of wasn't taught those."

"Oh... well, shit, what do I have all of these manuals for then?"

"Manuals?"

"Oh, right, I keep my vinyl's in them. Well, I should have given you one of these, because they explain the situation that Alucard faces with Alley rather nicely."

"Situation, ma'am?"

"As an act of good will, Abraham had drafted... and Alucard signed... the Helsing Rules of Vampiricism, which dictate how Alucard is allowed to operate. Apart from apprenticing another vampire for the express purpose of hunting, Alucard is allowed no exceptions when it comes to siring anther vampire."

"I see."

"And for siring a child, the consequences are rather... dire."

"But Alucard didn't sire Alley!"

"And Arthur knew that. Yet he locked Alucard away, because the unnamed third party dictated in the manual had determined Alley to be his sire, and him, therefore, in violation of the Rules."

"I don't understand", Seras admitted. "Who is this 'unnamed third party'?"

"Someone I hope you never have to meet", Integra responded cryptically. "That being said, they are a vital asset to the Helsing Organization, and they currently have a listening device in my room. Hence the music."

"But if Alucard already served his sentence", Seras said, "then all is forgiven, right?"

"Not exactly", Integra explained. "Alley is now registered as a sire of Alucard, and is therefore still a viable threat to the Helsing Organization code of Conduct and Morals. To that effect, there is still a 'kill' order out on Alley."

"Kill", Seras almost leapt up. "Someone is trying to kill sweet Alley?!"

"Not from our side", Integra assured her, "not anymore."

"Not from our side", Seras echoed, "what does that mean?"

"You see, Police Girl, Alley was sired by a vampire cult. They still consider her to be their property. So, every weekend, they send a party out to hunt her down."

Every weekend. Seras felt like a complete and total idiot. Alucard came to see her every weekend.

To protect her.

"Why only on the weekends?"

"I assume that's when they're all off work", Integra said, bemused. "Perhaps they think the gods Saturn and Ra will guide them. I really don't know. Cults are strange."

Seras felt like she wanted to cry. She had been so mad at Alucard, thinking he was just an unfeeling machine, but in reality, he had dedicated himself to this child that wasn't even his. If he could do that for her...

What would he do for his own Apprentice?

"Police Girl? Still with me there?"

"Oh, yes, Mum!"

"Good. Does that answer your question?"

"Yes, it does."

"Excellent. Now, tell me about this werewolf."

"Wait, actually, it doesn't."

"Well, how can I clarify things for you, then?"

"It's just... shouldn't this third party be dead by now? I mean, that was so long ago."

"Ah, but that's the beauty of-"

Integra paused, as if she were listening to something. Suddenly, her tone became flat.

"Actually, I'm not supposed to talk about that."

"Why not?"

Most leaders would have left her there, simply telling her, "because I said so". Not Integra. She understood the power of knowledge.

"'Alucard, and anyone he sires, is to know nothing of the identity of this unnamed third party.' That's a direct quote from the manual. To that effect, Alucard can't sway said third party to make a decision out of fear or bribery. Plausible prevention, in a sense."

"I see", Seras conceded. "Still seems bloody knackered, though."

"On that, I cannot agree", Integra admitted. "While I personally know that Alucard's character is sound... eh, when he wants it to be... I understand how he must look to the outside world. Or, at least, the outside world who knows about him. They don't know his intentions, his goals, or his story; all they know is that he runs around shooting up pre-schools and sucking people's blood through crazy straws. They want guarantees. That was what the Rules of Vampiricism were supposed to give them."

Seras could sort of understand it now. But on the topic of guarantees...

"Mum... earlier today... I saw something I couldn't explain."

"And what would that be?"

Seras told her all about the vision, and the conclusions she had reached from it. When she went silent, Integra was quite silent on her end as well.

"That sounds a lot like Memory Sharing", Integra said, sounding rather impressed. "It's a rather advanced power, especially for someone so young. If you perfect your power, it could be a wonderful addition to the Helsing fold, indeed, spanning to nearly any creature or event with enough focus and a firm nexus."

"So... what I saw were memories?"

"Possibly", Integra said, pausing momentarily. "It is possible that it was just as you claim; a vision, or perhaps Alucard put you into a dream-like state, and you saw an extension of his own dreams. I personally think that what you saw sounds an awful lot like memories."

"Well", Seras asked, "what do you think about it?"

"You said it was a mystery, perhaps one suited for a Police Girl to solve?"

"Yes Mum."

Seras could practically hear the smirk on her mouth, as she told her, "I agree."

…

About thirty minutes later, Alucard returned. The humor had gone from his face, and instead of lavishingly announcing his presence, he simply sat down on the edge of the bed. He remained dreadfully silent, his face set as if cast in stone.

"So", he finally said. "Is Integra still mad at me?"

"Not as mad as you seem to be at her", Seras offered half-heartedly.

Alucard grunted, but offered nothing more.

Seras wanted to ask him what this was all about, but whenever she tried to open her mouth, she found her body fighting against her brain. She still wasn't sure about Alucard or his intentions with her. For all she knew, she was expendable.

One wrong word could be her end.

And she hadn't been turned into a vampire just to die needlessly again.

Integra's words had helped, sure. But she knew nothing about Alucard and Alley's relationship, except that he had known her for a long time, and that for some reason, he found her worth protecting. When Integra had told her that, initially, she had begun to hope that there might be a bright future in store for her. But the look on Alucard's face was draining that hope faster than any negative thoughts could.

"Are you still mad at me", Alucard finally asked.

"Mad", Seras said, trying to sound guffawed. "Me, mad? I don't-"

"Playing stupid is unbecoming of a former police officer", Alucard told her flatly.

Seras felt a knot growing in her throat. Everything here felt overwhelming. Her entire existence may very well hang in the balance. And it all depended on what she said next.

She tried to swallow the knot in her throat. That helped a bit, but her eyes were still beginning to water. She glanced away.

"I'm not mad", Seras explained. "I'm just confused."

"That's normal", Alucard told her, in a surprisingly sympathetic way. "And it's normal to be mad, too. I hated my sire."

Seras snapped her eyes back at him.

"You were sired, too?"

"Well, of course", Alucard told her, a bit of mischief creeping into his voice. "Do you think I just sprang up out of the ground one day, screaming, 'Sup, fuckers?! I'm here to fuck bitches and suck blood!'?"

Actually, Seras had begun to believe something along those lines. Initially, Integra had introduced Alucard as "the first vampire", and she had wondered for a while where he had come from, and why he was the first.

"Ah, Integra's been feeding you that shit again, hasn't she", Alucard said, with something akin to disapproval in his voice. "I told her not to hype me up like that. The term 'nosferatu' had been around for thousands of years before my time."

"So, if you're not the first vampire, then who are you?"

Alucard glanced at her, the life draining from his face. Once again, he was set in stone, an immovable object.

"Who I am isn't important", Alucard told her, "what I did? Now that's important."

Alucard leaned back somewhat, closing his eyes.

"But even that pales in comparison to who Anna is, and what she's done."

"So, tell me", Seras demanded gently.

Alucard was silent for a moment.

"You see", he finally said, "I've heard that the best way to tell a story is to start at the middle, then to jump to the beginning, then to jump back to the middle, flash to the end, and then go back to the middle, and end it there, so-"

"Oh, for crying out loud", Seras yelled, "just tell me!"

"Ok, damn", Alucard said. "Romania, the eighteen hundreds. It was a wild land, filled with war torn countryside, armies clashing for dominance, and broke-ass peasants. Everyone was so broke, actually, that almost nobody could afford the modern weaponry that was being fielded in combat elsewhere. Skill with the sword, therefore, won the day. I had an army-"

"You had an army?!"

"Do you find that surprising?"

"That anyone would follow you? Yes, yes I do."

"Hilarious. Anyway, my army had been at war with the full might of Turkey... in fact, my army was the only thing keeping Turkey out of Romania at the time... and a Christian family called Valarious, who had made some pact or something that their entire family line wouldn't go to Heaven unless they put a stop to me. Nine generations had stood against me, and as I struck down the only son of the eighth offender, I met Anna Valarious for the first time, clutching her father's sword in her little hands, ready to kill me to defend her brother."

"Now, the sword she wielded was no ordinary sword. This sword had been specially commissioned by the first Valarious Knight, and it was made with the sole intent to destroy any vampire with a single touch. This sword was a stylized Longsword, a common sword type during those times, and for good reason, because it was damn effective at both offense and defense. It was made out of steel, interlaced with silver, triple-quenched in holy water, and then blessed by seven different holy men from seven different nations. I mean, what kind of fucking asshole goes through all that trouble just to kill a vampire? Just stab them, you fucking pussy."

Seras picked this moment to interrupt, asking, "What kind of sword did you use?"

Alucard chuckled, saying, "Indeed."

Alucard reached down to his left hip, and withdrew his sword. He held it out in front of him, allowing Seras to examine it. Seras hadn't seen many swords outside of the movies, so this one looked rather unfamiliar to her, though it looked rather ordinary for a general or king or whatever's sword. It didn't have much of anything fancy on it at all, minus a few engravings on the blade, and a handle wrapped in red leather.

"It's a Magyar saber, traditionally used in one-handed combat. If you know anything about swords, you'll notice that this particular one has a much less accented curve than a traditional Magyar, resembling more of a katana-style curve than a... well, I can tell you're lost. Just know that it works differently from Anna's sword. Her sword promotes a two-handed grip... though, if you're a badass like her, you can use it one-handed... whereas my sword is specifically designed for one-handed combat. One form isn't better than the other, but two-handed swordplay is far easier than one-handed. Now, back to Anna."

He sheathed his weapon slowly and carefully, with a practiced ease, treating it like a ritual that was sacred to not just himself, but countless others.

"Anyway, basically, I murdered her entire family line, stole her childhood from her, and haunted her nightmares for the rest of her life, and we're only into when we met. First dates, amiright?"

"Of course, I'm not a fucking animal, so I let her go home with her brother, even though I knew I'd face them on the field of battle some day. She and her brother immediately started training, being coached by the best swordsmen in their military, and educated in battlefield tactics and other boring shit. Her brother ended up being the nerd of the two, and she ended up being a hot badass, kinda like Laura Croft, if Laura Croft was Christian. And led armies. And killed vampires; she was so much cooler than Laura Croft."

"Anyway, while she and her brother were growing up, I was building my army. My plan was to use select vampires whom I trusted implicitly to raise me a fodder army of ghouls, at least ten-fold stronger than my current forces. Then, I would unleash the fodder army to weaken enemy defenses, and after they were exhausted, send in my vampire vanguard to eliminate whoever remained and raise another ghoul army. It wasn't quite the tactics that I had used in previous warfare, but I had never been out to conquer before, so I had to start somewhere."

"The second time I met her, she struck a trek into Turkey for more ghouls that I was leading personally. This one's a bit more uneventful, but she killed several seasoned warriors, demonstrating her status as a threat to me, or however that fucking troupe goes. Also, we fought briefly, but got broken up by a big explosion, kinda like in that one movie that one time."

"Anyway, word reached me through 'anonymous means'... I ate someone who knew... that Anna's brother, Christopher, was searching for a 'Be All, End All' cure to vampires, specifically, me. So, of course, I had to fuck with him. I started this rumor that the only way I could be killed was by a werewolf bite, and I went all out with this prank, like, I switched Vatican records around I went so hard with it. So this dumb motherfucker, he doesn't just believe it; he starts trying to tame live werewolves! And of course, he gets eaten, dumbass."

"So now, I've also taken her brother from her indirectly, so Anna's mad, right? Like, she 'boutta roll up on my block mad, but she's smart, so she doesn't go around trying to siege my castle or tame werewolves; instead, she calls for help."

"Enter Abraham Van Helsing, the craziest motherfucker to ever not be born in a Slavic region. This guy eats lightning and shits out more lightning that hurts even worse, and now I'm in his sights. So, he starts planning, and he starts gathering supplies, and Anna starts getting soldiers."

"Anna and Abraham's relationship was strictly professional, but it was an intimate kind of professional, you know? Like, they knew just about everything there was to know about each other, they ate together, prayed together, and trained together, but Anna never had eyes for him. Anna was only ever after some dickface named Gideon."

"But he's not important. What is important was that on September the Eleventh, 1841, Abraham and Anna, along with every soldier who was still loyal to the Valarious house, attacked my Crib, and deleted a big portion of my army. Then, they nearly got me, too, until Anna made a very big mistake."

Seras perked up again, asking, "What was that, Master?"

Alucard grimaced.

"She grabbed me from behind."

"That... that's it?"

"I was still dealing with some childhood trauma. We'll leave it at that."

"Oh... wait a minute, they got really close to beating you!"

"Oh", Alucard said with a corner of his lip turning up, "why do you assume that?"

"If they got far enough past your army to reach out and touch you, then you must have been in serious trouble! Especially because Van Helsing killed Dracula!"

Alucard raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? Did he?"

"Yes, he did! He defeats him in every movie he's in!"

Alucard seemed to consider this for a moment, and then slowly nodded.

"Yes, they came really close to defeating me. But they just couldn't pull it off. Anna got smashed into a weapon rack and impaled, and Abraham... well, I took a little biblical verse and ran a little too far with it."

For a moment, the room was silent.

Hesitantly, Seras said, "And then you sired Anna?"

"Yeah, sort of."

"Why?"

"Because", he paused. "I wanted to punish her. She had spent her whole life hunting down my kind, and now she had to live as one. I thought it seemed fair."

Seras was horrified by this answer. Alucard would sire someone just to punish them? Make them walk for eternity because... because why? Because of his pride? Because of some twisted sense of justice?

Because he just wanted to?

Seras must have looked completely stricken, because Alucard asked, "What?"

"How could you?"

The words came out of her mouth before she had meant for them to. Alucard drew back, as if he had been struck, and bared his teeth.

"What do you mean", he demanded sternly.

"This whole time, I thought that there was a reason for why you sired me!"

Alucard raised an eyebrow, confusion drawing across his face.

"What do you have to do with this?"

"Exactly! I wish I fucking knew!"

"I don't understand-"

"If you want me to find a nice corner to go rot in, that's fine, but I don't want to be your puppet anymore!"

Alucard narrowed his eyes.

"Puppet?"

"All you do is punish and use people! Don't you feel anything? Were you born without a soul?! Or do you just hate anything with a pulse?! Is that it?! You couldn't stand to see me alive, so you shot me and made me your-"

"GOD DAMNIT, I LOVED HER!"

Seras fell silent.

"Is that what you wanted to hear?! That I made a stupid decision based off of some stupid desire that I don't even understand?! God fucking damnit, nobody's ever fucking satisfied with the simple explanations! I loved her, alright?! And I couldn't stand to watch her die and go to Hell because of me! There, you happy?!"

Seras curled herself up further, dwelling on those words. Thoughts that she had been having on the plane ride over were suddenly rushing through her head again; Master tries very hard not to be vulnerable. But no one can fight it forever. Everyone has to be vulnerable. Because that's what living means. And as much as death has become him, Master really is still alive.

She sniffed, wiping away the tears that had begun to well up.

"Actually", Seras said softly, "yes. I am happy."

"Well, hoo-fucking-ray. I'm gonna go call the Mercs back in. We're leaving tonight."

Seras looked up at him, questioningly.

"To go where?"

"That werewolf Anna thought she was talking to", Alucard reminded her. "She told him to meet her at the Monk's Café tonight at nine. That's where we're headed."

Alucard held out a hand to haul Seras up to her feet. She took hold of it, and yanked down on it, not moving him, but at least holding him still. Hope had been restored, somewhat. But she still had questions.

Now wasn't the time to ask questions. Clearly, Alucard was not in the mood to answer anything. Eventually, she would get her answers, one way or another.

But right now, she needed a guarantee.

"From now on", she said, "please be honest with me."

Alucard simply blankly stared at her for a moment. Then he hauled her to her feet.

"Well, if I'm being honest", he told her, "I could really... really... use a drink right now."

A/N: Unfortunately, due to complications with the Spanish Flu part 2, I have to move to a different house without a computer. This change will be for the foreseeable future. I apologize for the inconvenience, but more than likely, there won't be any uploads for some time. I know this comes at the worst possible time, with most of you being in quarantine without anything better to do, but that's the way it has to be. Soon as the situation changes, however, I've got some reserve chapters that'll go up quick. Until then, I will continue to write, and I will finish the story... unless the world ends.