More Hellsing for today. I tried my hand at whumping Alucard, I'm sorry if it's not accurate to canon, I just wanted to hurt him for whumptober.

For the Whumptober Day 7 prompts "Radio Silence and 'Can you hear me?'

(Title from the BOC song "Tainted Blood")


Eternity is Misery

Alucard has been missing for three days without any word. Integra is willing to tear up the country looking for whoever took her vampire—especially when she sees what they've done to him.

Day 7: Radio Silence, 'Can you hear me?'

It had been three days since Alucard had gone radio silent and that did not sit well with Integra. As impudent as the vampire could be at times, he was still unretractably bound to her and the fact that she had heard nothing from him, and he was now over two days late for his mission report, she could only assume something had gone horribly wrong. And not the kind of horribly wrong that ended with Alucard destroying a whole town or something of that nature. This was more serious and Integra fought not to let her nervousness show as she drove with Walter and several of her best men to the location of Alucard's last mission.

Integra reached into her pocket for her cigars and pulled one out, tucking it between her lips. "I swear, if I find him just sitting somewhere ignoring me, I'll rain hell down on him."

"I'm sure there's an explanation for his absence," Walter said, glancing at her in the rearview mirror. "I'm sure Alucard is aware of how foolish it would be to test your patience."

Integra flicked on her lighter and inhaled as she lit her cigar. "I would hope that he does," she muttered.

But honestly, she genuinely hoped that this was just a case of the vampire being defiant, because she did not want to think about what could have possibly kept him away against his will. If that was the case, and he had somehow been detained by another party, then they had a lot more to worry about than a petulant vampire king.

XXX

It was a seemingly unassuming location but one where suspicious activity had been taking place, leading Integra to initially send Alucard to investigate. What they found when they arrived at the old manor house was silence—too much silence—and yet she could instinctively tell that Alucard was close. His bond to her allowed for that, but it did not feel as tangible as it usually did and that only worried her further. Integra commanded her men to spread out and search the premises as she took Walter with her to search the bowels of the manor.

"I don't like this, Walter," she muttered to him.

"I agree that something does not feel right, Sir Integra," he commented. "Perhaps we should take more precaution…"

Master….Integra….

Integra suddenly stopped as the phantom voice barely whispered in the back of her mind. "Walter," she called and turned down a hallway, heading deeper into the house. There was a locked room at the end of the hall and Integra wasted no time in pulling her pistol and shooting her way in. She shouldered the door aside and stepped into the room, squinting in the sudden bright light after the dim interior of the house, the cause being a giant skylight that currently had the sun pouring in through it.

And below, in the pool of light, lay Alucard.

"Alucard!" Integra rushed over, horror clenching in her chest as she took in the vampire.

He had been stripped to the waist and bound to a table with warded restraints. On top of that, sigils had been carved into his flesh, and multiple silver stakes had been driven through his body, pinning him at the shoulders, ankles, hands, and two through his sides. Integra wasn't sure of the sigils exact function but it was obvious they were binding his powers in some way. He looked horrific, skin burned and blistered by the sun he had been unable to escape for—what? Two-three days, now?

"My God," Integra muttered, already yanking her overcoat off to try and cover his body, using herself to block the sun from his face as she leaned over him. "Walter, call the others in here now."

She could hear the butler on the radio, as she reached down and carefully lifted Alucard's lolling head.

"Alucard, can you hear me?" she called, digging her nails into his jaw. "Answer me, Alucard—that is an order!"

He was unnervingly silent. Integra ground her teeth, hiding her concern with fury. "You better not be playing around, Alucard," she growled out, but was already pulling her glove off with her teeth, biting into her finger until it bled. She lowered the drop of blood to his split and chapped lips, running her finger carefully across them.

"Come now, Alucard. I won't give you any more until you wake up."

Relief washed through her as she watched his lips part slightly, a tongue that sounded as dry as sandpaper darted out to gather the blood from his lips. Eyes fluttered, revealing a familiar crimson light.

"My master…" Alucard whispered.

"That's better," Integra said, fighting to keep the relief from her voice. "What in God's name happened to you?"

A strangled chuckle escaped the vampire's throat. "What indeed?"

The other Hellsing men hurried into the room and Integra shifted around to the head of the table, still shielding Alucard's head with her shadow. "Get him off of this thing now!"

The men swarmed around the table, working at the restraints as Integra bent over Alucard.

"Who was it? Are they still here?"

"No," the vampire whispered. "They've left me to my own devices for the time being. They knew they could not take me at my full power." A slight cough escaped his throat and Integra watched as blood spattered his lips. Likely a result from the silver stakes stuck through him.

She lowered her voice. "How bad are you right now? Do not lie."

A soft chuckle as his eyes flickered open briefly to look at her. "Concerned for me, master? I'm flattered."

"You are an asset I cannot afford to lose," Integra snapped, annoyed by the smirk that turned up his bloody mouth. "So, will you recover?"

"I will need…some time," he said and sounded so tired, so much more tired than she thought she had ever heard him before. Integra could not help the well of worry that settled into her gut.

Alucard flinched with a gasp as one of the men began to pull the stakes from his body.

"Careful!" Integra snapped before she could stop herself.

Another chuckle, wet this time, hissed from his throat. "You are worried about me. How sweet, my Master Integra."

"Shut up and reserve what strength you have left," Integra snapped, fighting the annoyed flush that wanted to spread over her face. Ignoring the terror that consumed her at the thought of losing Alucard, especially to some unknown enemy.

His eyes slid shut, actually seeming to obey her, though he trembled as they finally finished freeing him, betraying his weakness at the moment.

"Walter," Integra called and the butler came to her side instantly. "Help me get him up. Can you stand, Alucard?"

"I will do my best, Master Integra."

She and Walter each took an arm and lifted him up off the table. "Quickly, give him your coats," she snapped at the men.

Several of them peeled off their coats, wrapping them around Alucard's exposed skin and covering his head. It was a slow walk out to the cars, Alucard leaning heavily against Integra and Walter's shoulders. This close, she could feel the tenseness in his body, hear every nearly silent hiss of pain as he moved. His bare feet left bloody footprints behind and Integra realized they had also carved sigils into the soles of his feet. Still, she knew offering to have the men carry him would only wound Alucard's pride. He would recover in time. He always did. She had no reason to worry.

He seemed impossibly weak by the time they got back to the car, slumping into the backseat with a cut off sigh of relief. The car was equipped with well-tinted windows specifically so that Alucard could ride in it comfortably during the day if need be, but he still stayed bundled in the various coats, slumped against the seats, head hanging toward his chest.

Integra turned to her men. "Stay and investigate. I want to know who did this," she said before turning to Walter. "Let's go, Walter."

The butler nodded and Integra climbed into the backseat next to Alucard.

As the car started, the injured vampire lolled his head toward her, eyes opening briefly, peeking out from behind tangled hair.

Integra finally allowed herself to reach for another cigar, lighting it and waiting for the smoke to fill her lungs, calming her.

"Master Integra?" Alucard rasped and the woman raised an eyebrow at him. "Would it be…too bold to ask for a donation of blood?"

Integra plucked the cigar from her lips. "Did I not already give you some?"

A sigh. "It will take…much more than that for me to heal. These sigils…even now they're binding my strength. If I cannot heal them, then I cannot heal the rest of me."

Integra glanced up at him, wondering what else had been done to the vampire during his captivity. He was hunched toward her, head very nearly resting on her shoulder, eyes practically begging. She refused to conjure the image of a begging puppy, and normally she would have told him to sod off, but she had never seen him injured this badly before. He was actually…hurting…and that didn't sit well with her at all.

She took another long draw from the cigar before she stubbed it out and started to roll up her sleeve.

"Very well, but just this once, mind you," she said. "I will not tolerate you getting any ideas that you can ask for more than a drop of my blood any time you wish."

"Of course not, Master," Alucard said quietly, a small smile gracing his lips. "Your generosity is much appreciated."

Integra grunted and pulled a knife from her pocket, bringing it to her forearm. She cut a thin line through her flesh and watched Alucard's eyes fix on the red line of beaded blood, nostrils flaring.

"There, come drink. But only what you need, understand?"

Alucard slumped limply, cheek propped against her arm just like a loyal dog. Integra's eyebrows knitted together with brief annoyance at his boldness, but she did not scold him, simply pressed the arm she had cut to his mouth and allowed him to drink from her veins. He brought one bloody hand up to cradle her wrist in a gentle way as if she were a delicate thing he was scared to break.

His eyes slid shut as he drank, his wounded body relaxing into the seats.

Integra leaned back, watching him intently as his tongue worked against her wound. He was careful not to let his fangs catch on her skin and she realized that he must be exercising an impossible amount of restraint right now so as not to simply drain her in one go.

Something fluttering very close to affection made its way through Integra and she brought her free hand up to rest against the soft, dark locks, unable to resist running her fingers through them.

"Alucard, when we get back, I want you to rest for as long as it takes you to heal," she said decisively.

He stopped drinking her blood and turned to look up at her with some surprise. "But, Master, surely I am needed with this new threat."

"Providing what information you can will be enough, I cannot risk letting them take you again," Integra told him, fingers tightening against the back of his skull to make sure he got her meaning. "I don't take kindly to those who try to take what belongs to me. Your orders are simply to rest up and heal. You will be no good to me in such a weakened state."

A small smile, perhaps more grateful than anything, spread across his lips this time, and Alucard pulled Integra's hand to his lips, kissing it. "As my master wishes."

Integra nodded firmly, her other hand subconsciously stroking his hair once before she allowed him to go back to feeding, already planning the hell she would rain down on anyone who dared assume they could take the vampire from her.