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Oh My Alucard	By : Fish_and_Chips Category: Hellsing > Het - Male/Female Views: 5648 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: No profit is being made with this story and I do not own Hellsing, it belongs to Kouta Hirano

Chapter List
- 13
- 14
- 15
URGH. I hate this chapter.

Mad Men

"…A…Alucard…?"

Ruby took a meek step backwards as the vampire began to advance towards her. She swallowed down, her eyes never leaving his form.

"Alucard, stop that." She stammered, "Y-You're scaring me."

"…Ruby…" He hissed out. Even his voice had changed to a more deeper tone. "My darling bride…Come to me…Let me taste you…"

She shook her head.

For a split second, their eyes met and then he had lunged at her. Ruby screamed and ducked away from him, but Alucard reared back up, a maniacal grin on his face as he pursued. She screamed again, scrambling back up. Her heart thumped furiously; where to run, where to run? The rooftop sealed her off and Alucard was standing in front of the door that led back into the hospital. She could jump, but…it was seven stories high and she was very likely NOT to survive…Ruby screamed once more when he dove for her; she sprinted to a corner of the rooftop but Alucard intercepted her – his grin widened considerably and she stepped backwards, rushing to another corner, only to have him block her off there, too. It felt like a heavily unequal match of cat and mouse.

"You have nowhere to run to, my bride."

"Don't do this, Alucard. Please."

No, this was not Alucard.

He had gone… berserk, somehow.

This was his hunger speaking.

He leapt off the ground, pouncing on her like a tiger hunting its prey and Ruby fell backwards. Her head slammed against the ground painfully and her vision went slightly blurry. Nevertheless, she could still mak out Alucard's outline hovering above her. She saw his fangs bared, ready to bite down on her neck any moment and his eyes were entirely red; even the whites of his eyes were dominated by a glassy crimson hue, crazed with hunger.

"NO!"

He grabbed the back of her neck and forced her to look upwards, exposing her neck.

"No…" She was weeping now.

He tore away at the collar of her shirt, his fangs elongating…

A strangled scream escaped the back of her throat. "ALUCARD!"

He stopped - inches away from her neck.

Then, he let go of her, and Ruby was left panting and shaking. She opened one eye to see that he had pulled himself away, gazing at her, momentarily frozen in his actions. Without thinking twice, Ruby scrabbled back up and away from him and began running as fast as she could to the door. One of her shoes slipped off but she didn't stop to pick it up. She pulled open the door and began thundering down the stairs, tackling two steps at a time.

Don't look back don't look back don't look back don't look back whatever you do just don't look back.

Was he following?

She forced herself to shakily turn round just for a weight to press onto her back and she tripped over the flight of stairs she had been rushing down. They tumbled onto the landing, and Ruby's ankle gave a loud 'crack' when she landed flat on her stomach; in her agony and pain, she could not muster the strength to gather herself back up, still pinned underneath by Alucard. A puddle of blood also began to form underneath her, dribbling from her wound.

Straddling her back, he bent down and licked her blood on the ground, before he grabbed her by the top of the skull and forced her head to the side. She squeezed her eyes shut, her fists clinching as she lay helpless on the cold ground. Before he could sink his exposed fangs, Ruby heard the ominous squelch of flesh being torn apart. And Alucard roared; it was a monstrous sound, a sound that did not seem to be made from a man. He let go of her, shaking and flailing wildly, and behind him, Ruby opened her eyes; she could see a man. He was dressed in a suede suit and if Ruby didn't know any better, could have mistaken him as a solicitor of some sort.

"Run!" yelled the strange young man.

Ruby abruptly rolled away from under him, her breaths shallow and ragged with fear. But she did not run. She looked back up just to see the man pull out the blade he had used to stab Alucard. It was dripping with Alucard's blood, running all over his hand and the handle. The knife gave her a worrying feeling…

"I told you to run."

She shook her head.

"Alright, fine. Just stay behind me." The man said, as he moved to stand in front of her protectively.

"Don't hurt him."

"He was about to kill you."

The two glanced back up to Alucard; the vampire was swaying, his fangs grating as he growled and snarled at the strange man. His hand flew up to clench at the wound on his back, his eyes returning back to the normal reddish shade. He let out another bellow and began tearing at his himself, clawing frantically, as if unable to control himself. The strange man stood in front of Ruby, holding his knife out in front of him cautiously. Alucard stopped in his berserk mode for a moment and craned his head over, "…R…Ru…Ruby…" He growled out, still snarling and growling. He took a step forwards, his hand reaching out for her.

The strange man moved forwards too with his gleaming blade but Ruby stopped him by shooting a hand out to grasp at his arm. "That's enough! I think he's okay now!"

"He's out of control!"

"It's alright - He's fine! Look - " She pointed to Alucard, who was now panting heavily. His fangs had retracted, and he was hunched over, crouching down on one knee with one hand over his face.

"…R…Ruby…" He hissed out again, eyeing the two beadily. His eye whites were beginning to recover.

"Can't you see he's trying to regain control?"

"You can't go over to him, not yet."

Alucard looked up, slowly removing his shaking hand. His mate was standing beside a man. Morris. It was Morris. It was Morris who had stabbed him. Stopped him. Morris was giving her an incredulous look. In his hand, he was wielding a knife. That knife. Where had he seen it before? It was no ordinary knife; it hurt him and he was still bleeding. And Morris… Morris…what is he up to?

"Master!"

A voice calling. From the corner of his eye, he could see Police Girl running up to him. She always had that anxious expression on her face…

"Master!"

And he blacked out again.

…..

"The Bowie knife was inherited by Frankie Morris…"

Distorted voices were murmuring to each other.

"What's the Bowie knife?"

"…To defeat Dracula, four weapons were used: Abraham van Helsing's silver cross and stake…Jonathon Harker's Kukri knife…and Quincey Morris' Bowie knife. After it became defiled by Dracula's blood… it became no ordinary knife…But that's just a myth."

The voices were becoming clearer. "Are you kidding? He's been out for hours." It was Ruby.

"Why are you so concerned about the vampire, Miss Ashcroft?" This time, it was Morris speaking. "He would have killed you if I hadn't come. Sir Irons asked me to help Hellsing, yes, but also to keep a close eye on the vampire. I had my suspicions too, but I did not know it was true. A human and a vampire… and to think Integra has not even put her foot down once in this matter… It will shame my honour as a vampire hunter if I cannot protect humans from the very source of evil itself."

Integra said, "Morris. No matter what we say or do, Alucard can't be stopped in pursuing whatever it is he desires. It will be his decision, no-one else's. He will take full responsibility."

"A-Anyway, you shouldn't be concentrating on Alucard, but on those Black Flame Knights! They were the ones who stormed the Harker's residence and the hospital and went after Joshua!"

"Yes, but first, can you clarify to me what the relationship between you and Alucard is exactly."

"…I – " The girl paused. "…I'm his…mate."

There was a silence, then –

"No. You can't be. There's no such thing. Do you know what he is, Miss Ashcroft? Do you know what he has DONE? He went after Lucy Westenra and Wilhelmina Murray. He had three brides. Don't you get it? Women have always been his passion. It is his nature. He has merely ensnared you, seduced you, and he has you under his spell."

Another lengthy pause, but then - "I'm not under any spell. And… Alucard's different now."

"Is that what he told you?"

"Alright, that's enough, you two." Now, it was Integra's voice he could hear. "He's stirring."

He slowly opened his eyes.

"Alucard."

He was in a room with bright lights.

"Alucard?" Integra was by his side. She was smoking a lit cigar, her hands clasped together as she gazed at the poster of a mother and her newborn baby on the wall of his room. "Are you alright?"

"Yes." He replied, "Ruby is…"

"I'm here." She was hogging a spot at the far end of the room near the door, with Morris standing beside her.

He bolted back upright; Morris was standing beside her. He hissed, narrowing his eyes at the man. But when he turned to Ruby, he realised she was supported by crutches, her right ankle and shoulder bandaged thoroughly. Integra got off her chair but did not move from her spot. "Morris stopped you with his Bowie Knife. Seras came to see you but you were still unconscious. I'll tell her the news. For now, I can only suggest you reconsider your situation, Alucard. Whatever you choose will be entirely up to you; it will be your responsibility." Then, she left.

Morris turned to Ruby consequently. "Will you be alright, Miss Ashcroft?"

"I'll be fine, thanks."

"Very well. I'll be outside if you need me – " He turned to Alucard, and nodded, then stepped towards the door, "Wait up, Integra."

The room fell silent when Ruby turned to face Alucard. She limped over to him and sat down on the seat Integra previously occupied, with much difficulty, and sighed.

"I broke your ankle." He said.

"Yeah." She said, gazing at her cast. "You got me out of practical work for weeks. No more graveyard shifts."

"I frightened you."

"I-I think I'll be okay." Yeah, like maybe after a month of therapy.

She had stammered. That gave it all away. "It will never happen again." He said; he moved towards her and reached for her hands, holding them tightly. She stared at her small hands enclosed in his. "I swear to you. You have my word."

Ruby said, "…It's funny how…you keep saying that you won't hurt me." Then she slid her gaze to her ankle again. "But I know you didn't want to hurt me. I suppose I…I kinda realised that something like this might happen one day. Sir Irons was right."

Alucard let go of her slowly. "If you wish to leave, then…I shall let you go. We will part ways."

She gaped at him in shock then. "…Are you serious?"

"I almost killed you, what else is there to contemplate about?"

And all this time, she thought he could be quite the selfish man. But no…He was serious. Without another word, Alucard got off the bed he was lying on (He hadn't lay on one for ages, favouring coffins for recuperation) and began to manoeuvre to the exit of the room until Ruby pushed herself off the seat, limped over to him and seized the end of his cloak. "Wait!"

There was a silence. Ruby slowly let go of his cloak as he turned round to face her; the silky fabric slipping away from her shaking fingers. "Wait?"

"You…You don't have to go, Alucard." She stammered out; she was unable to look at him, keeping her eyes trained on the polished floor instead.

"Give me a reason." He spoke quietly, his voice almost reduced to a whisper.

She blanched. "…Reason? …Well, I…know you didn't want to hurt me."

He stepped closer to her. "I may lose control again."

"Y-Yeah, you might, but…" She began to mumble. "Do...Do you want to leave me? Because I…I…I don't want you to leave me." What? I know he didn't want to hurt me, but hestillalmost killed me. And everytime we're in each other's presences, I'm the one who's always running the opposite direction. I'm the one who's always refusing him! But nowI'm…sayingthis stuff. What the hell is wrong with me?

"You…"

Ruby turned away from him immediately. "…I shouldn't have said that. I should not have said that." But…when Sir Irons told me I was to have nothing to do with Alucardanymore,Iwas so upset. Like…someone practically ripped a chunk out of me.

"You love me."

She whipped back round to him, frowning. "No I don't."

"Why must you lie to yourself, my bride?"

"Lie to myself about what?"

"Your feelings - " He reached over himself and grabbed her by the arm. " - For me."

"I-I don't have feelings for you." She stammered. She was being stubborn - again. It was really annoying him. He had never met such a stubborn woman like her. Stubbornness was fine at the beginning – he could tolerate it – it was what humans called 'playing hard to get', but now, after all they had been through, it was downright irritating. "I just don't want you to start blaming yourself for hurting me or-or whatever."

"You lie. I almost kill you yet you still do not want me to leave you?" Alucard snarled at her, "What kind of fool are you?"

Ruby's fist clenched. "YES! I'm a fool! I'm an idiot! I'm a bloody stupid idiot! I'm the worst kind of fool there is!" She screamed at him, "Yes, you broke my ankle and you frightened me and you chased me around and almost killed me back at the rooftops…even though Integra warned me and Sir Irons told me I was to never to see you again…and that guy called Morris just told me all sorts of things about you about Lucy and Mina and your three brides! I'm the biggest, most stupidest idiot on earth for not wanting you to leave me! But I don't want you to leave me just because you lost control! I don't want the fact that you might lose control…will…will…" She was starting to calm down, "…will make me lose you."

Alucard watched her; she was panting heavily, glaring at him bitterly. But then the anger withered away and her expression softened. She looked lost. Ruby turned her head away, then tried to limp back to the chair. However, before she could he grabbed the sides of her face and forced her to look at him.

"Let go."

"No."

"I said let - " She was interrupted when he suddenly pressed his lips against hers so fiercely that she dropped her crutches amidst her shock and she tumbled backwards; he fell on top of her on the bed and broke off the kiss, gazing at her from above. "Wh…What…" She croaked, her lips tingling.

"…Do you want me, Ruby?" He breathed as she blinked at him wide-eyed; he let go of one side of her face to caress her cheek and hair affectionately.

Her jaw dropped open slightly, "Wha - ? What kind of question is that? Do I want you? You don't ask girls that! And – "

He intervened with another kiss. "I want you."

She stared at him wide-eyed. Then, she ultimately went red from chin up.

"I expected too much from you." His voice was suddenly whispering in her ear, "You are still young, Ruby. There is much for you to learn. I have become impatient, and I lost my temper with you that day. …It will not happen again. I did not mean to hurt you..." He grasped her face with his long fingers and made her look up at him, their lips almost touching as he used his other hand to slowly caress her jawline. Ruby gasped and inhaled a sharp breath, her trembling eyes becoming lost in his. "You are so special to me, Ruby." He was murmuring, "…I don't want to let you go. If I…Should I lose you, I would not know what to do."

Whatever he was doing, it was working. "…I-I wouldn't know what to do, if…if you weren't here, either." She mumbled.

He smirked and clasped his hands to each side of her face again before pressing his lips over her forehead, her temples, and brushed them over the sides of her face. "You are so precious to me…" Hs lips began mouthing against her skin as he kissed the side of her neck hungrily, "So very precious…"

Ruby shivered all over. His affections were overwhelming for her that she almost melted if he hadn't given her a tight squeeze as she lay limp in his arms. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and finally regained some sense of herself. He moved up to her lips; her mouth parted somewhat to accommodate the contact that hadn't even happened yet. She trembled slightly, and he smirked, his lips pulling back widely with satisfaction at the realisation that Ruby was at his mercy compared to before.

Things certainly have changed…

Outside.

Clutching his gaping wound, Luther struggled through the woodland and eventually collapsed, his knees giving way. After the vampire became preoccupied with the girl, he managed to pull himself off the pipe and make a silent escape. On the ground, he rolled to lie on his back and pulled off his mask, along with the coiled tube that was attached to his mouthpiece. Blood began seeping out, like water from a leaky hose, but then gradually disappeared, little drops soaking into the ground underneath him. His supply had run out. Staring up at the moon, he felt oddly at peace.

However…His jaws hurt. Luther lifted his black-gloved hands to his mouth, wiped the blood and saliva from his chin and felt around before opening his jaws, where his fingers came in contact with ragged, splintered rows of teeth, identical to the jaws of a deep-sea angler fish. The only sound that could be heard was his jaded breathing and his deformed teeth scraping against each other.

"Luther?"

A shadow appeared beside him. It was Caelum. He stared down at the albino vampire from above and smiled.

"There you are."

Luther eyed Caelum beadily, as he gave him his hand. He helped Luther back up, who hastily moved to crouch down on one knee in front of him.

"I'm surprised you are alive. No-one has ever faced off against the mighty undead King and survived. This must go into the Vampire Guinness Books of Records or something." Caelum laughed at his own joke.

Luther remained deathly silent, his head low.

"You saw her, didn't you?" Caelum mused as he glanced at his subordinate from the corner of his eye. Then, he burst into raucous laughter. "But can you believe it? Alucard'smate. She's a pretty little thing, isn't she?"

"…" Luther did not move his head but glanced up at him from under his long bangs.

There was a rustle of bushes and suddenly, in came Joshua, sprinting towards them, gasping and panting. He stopped in his tracks, skidding to a jarring halt on the heels of his converses, and stared wide-eyed at the vampires in the forest clearing. He recognised these two figures. They were at his home! They killed his family! And they took the Kukri knife. He had a much better view of them this time; Luther - the vampire hitman sent after him - was the one kneeling on the ground. He had silvery-white hair that reached to the middle of his back, his bangs were long and covered most of his eyes. However, he could tell the hitman had pale, pinkish-red eyes. Perhaps the most startling feature that Joshua stepping backwards in fright was that Luther's mouth was gruesomely misshapen. The vampire was eyeing him cautiously, emitting a low hiss from the back of his throat.

"Ahhh, did Luther scare you, Joshua? You shouldn't judge people by their looks, you know. Just because he looks scary doesn't mean he is scary. He's actually really nice - aren't you, Luther?" Caelum turned to the vampire beside him, who continued to growl at Joshua. "And he won't harm you unless I tell him to."

Joshua took a step back in response just as Luther snarled at him, his mouth splitting open that his lips went way back to his ears, showing more and more of those awful teeth. "Y-You know my name." Why does everyone know who I am? Even that nurse back at the hospital…

"Of course I do. Victor's told me everything about you. It's nice to finally meet you."

"You know my father?"

He nodded. "I was the one who told him to open the vampire bar. How else do you think he would get the money for all that?"

"What are you talking about? What bar?"

"You don't know? While you were away, Victor opened a vampire bar. Alucard killed him. Your father was a horrendous man. He was kidnapping women and selling their blood. He had to be stopped."

"Wh…What…? T-That's impossible, dad was a policeman, he worked to protect - "

"When people get desperate they'll do anything."

"No, he can't…he couldn't have…"

"Here." Caelum tossed him a small object. It was a vial, filled with a strange red liquid sloshing inside…

"What is it?" Joshua found himself asking, eyeing the vial in his hand worriedly.

"The least I can do for you, since you've just been orphaned."

Joshua gritted his teeth. "Sorry, I don't accept things from strangers." He said, and he lifted his arm to smash the darned thing until Caelum stopped him.

"Are you sure you want to do that, Josh? Don't you want to know what it is first?"

"…No." He spat out, "I'm not interested."

"But it's the cure."

"What cure?"

"You don't have to be a vampire anymore, Joshua. Drink it. That's all you need to do. But you need to ask yourself first – do you want to become…normal?"

Normal? Joshua stared at Caelum. "I don't believe you!"

"It's your choice. But your father was working extremely hard to buy that for you. It was his last wish, to earn enough money to get it, and see you revert back to a human." He said, "We do need to talk though, Josh. Luther was meant to bring you to me, but you put up such a struggle and got so many innocent humans involved…"

Joshua shook his head. "No, you just want to finish the job; you stole the knife, killed my family and - "

Caelum's eyes immediately narrowed dangerously. "Family?" His lips widened and he threw his head back, his maniacal laughter echoing through the woods. "You make me sick, Josh. The fact that you call those germs your family… that's disgusting."

"They treated me like – "

"Like what? One of them?" Caelum snarled at him, "Don't be a fool, Joshua. I was exactly in the same predicament as you hundreds of years ago. Don't make the same mistake I did. Don't trust them. In the end, they'll betray you and destroy you. They'll hunt you down like animals!"

"Not all of them are like that! The Harker's weren't!"

"So? They're not here anymore. What are you going to do? Ahhh Joshua Joshua Joshua…Where will you run off to now? Run, run, run…that's all you're good at, isn't it? But where will you go? To Hellsing, or to us, where you rightfully belong?"

"I-I'll…I'll never go with you!"

"Then you'll turn to Hellsing? They might kill you too. You're the son of that monster, after all. It's their duty to eradicate all things evil. Don't get it, Joshua? You're far much more than them. You don't need them! They'll only drag you down to their level!" Caelum remarked, "Humans are the worst. Whatever they don't understand, they ostracise and fear and do everything they can to stop the truth from being uncovered. They can't accept that vampires are an advanced race, and will slowly, but surely, take over..."

Joshua was staring at the ground now, "…It was you, wasn't it?"

"Whatever are you accusing me of, Joshua?" A smile had appeared on Caelum's face.

"You sent a vampire to bite me all those years ago."

"Do you have any proof?"

"I don't know how you did it… and I don't know who or what you guys are, but…but I know you aren't the good guys!" He stammered, before he spun round and disappeared back into the woods.

The albino vampire made an attempt to follow him but Caelum stopped him. "Leave him, Luther. Joshua is still a child; he needs someone to help him fetch blood. He will never muster the courage to do it himself. Without us or Hellsing to look after him, he won't last long."

Later.

"Ruby? Can I speak to you in private, please?" The doctor held open the door for her, and Ruby limped into the x-ray screening room. He gestured her to sit up on the chair, and she did as she was instructed, hopping up onto the chair and easing herself into the seat.

"What's up?"

"…I'm afraid I have some bad news." He said, "You see, I re-checked the x-ray. Your story of how you fell down the stairs doesn't exactly match the injury it inflicted to your ankle."

"But I did fall down the stairs."

"Yes, yes, I know, however…it's more like, someone pushed you down. A weight pushed you down. A very heavy weight, at a very high velocity. The equivalent of your injury is almost identical to someone being hit by a car. Falling down the stairs on your own accord couldn't have done this much damage to your ankle. Why don't you tell me what really happened?"

She turned away and glanced to the side; she seemed anxious now. However, she said nothing. She didn't want to say anything about what had truly happened. He decided to back off, noticing how quiet she'd grown. "Alright, I won't force you, but I just want you to know that your ankle may take around ten to twelve weeks to heal – "

"T-Twelve weeks?" She gasped, shooting upright in the chair. She couldn't afford to be in bandages and plaster casts for twelve weeks… "B-But I can't… I have so much work to do – "

"It'll be alright, but you absolutely, cannot place any more strain on it." He explained, "If there is any more injury on your ankle... I'm afraid it's going to be permanent."

"What do you mean? It's going to get worse…? How much worse?"

"You see, when you landed – " He demonstrated to her the way how she landed, with his arms out and his knee slightly bent, " - you also fractured your patella slightly. Just like your ankle, it's at a very delicate stage at the moment and will also need some time to recuperate. But if you get into another accident, then you're going to be stuck with – "

"A permanent limp..." She finished for him. Sometimes, she really hated being a nurse.

"I'm sorry, Ruby."

"No." She said, shaking her head. "No…No, no, no! I-I still need to finish my course - I've not even passed my First year yet; I still want to be a nurse!"

"…I'm really sorry, Ruby. But you're going to have to really look after yourself from now on."

Ruby stepped out of the examining room, depressed. She sighed and limped over to an empty waiting chair and sat down, placing her crutches to the side for the moment. Well,did I honestly believe I'd come out of that without a scratch? She stared at her hands silently. But...a permanent limp?

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard someone come over only to see Seras. "There you are, Ruby! I was looking all over for you. Sir Hellsing wants to properly introduce us to Frankie Morris," said the blonde as she bounded over to her; she dropped her smile as soon as she noticed that Ruby was pale and had a rather sordid expression on her face. "...Is something wrong?"

For a moment, Ruby wondered what might happen if she told Seras about her predicament. However, as she contemplated more about her situation, she realised she didn't want to tell anyone; after all, there were far more important things than her leg. There were the Black Flame Knights to think about, the theft of the Kukri knife, the attack on the Harker's...and finally, the missing whereabouts of Joshua Sloan.

She shook her head and stood up, collecting her crutches. "No, I'm good. Let's go, Seras."

…..

"My name is Frankie Morris. It's nice to meet you all."

Finally, proper introductions were made. Hellsing were a strange bunch – consisting of the king of all vampires himself, a draculina with limited vampire-hunting experience, an old butler, Integra, and now this… human nurse girl? Back in America and he had a mixed team of old and young soldiers – most of them were volunteers. He put them under the care of his most trusted first officer before leaving. Hellsing seemed to have so few forces on their side. As he met the rest, shaking their hands and saying 'Nice to meet you' and 'Let's kill vampires together', Morris eyed the nurse worriedly from the corner of her eye as Alucard stood beside her with his arm wrapped around her shoulder.

Ruby Ashcroft was a quiet girl.

It was the quiet ones who he always looked out for. She had long brown hair and blue eyes, nothing out of the ordinary, really; she looked perpetually tired but that was because it was around 5am in the morning. Her ankle was broken, and her shoulder and arm, wounded. But here she was. Still alive and well. Perhaps Ruby Ashcroft had nine lives, even though she was a human. Morris was human too, of course, but he'd lost a finger in his left hand during one vampire hunt and had it replaced with an artificial one. A finger was priceless, after all. He was also partially deaf in his right ear. Despite his disabilities, he never let it get to him. He trained hard to get where he was now, and his disabilities never got to him. Nobody would even notice until he told them.

But Ruby, he had heard, had been through several vampire attacks and had survived them all, coming out of them just with grazes and skin wounds. She was indeed, a lucky girl. Integra told him she was a single child, born to two doctors named Samuel and Dahlia Ashcroft. She accidentally got into Hellsing's affairs after Alucard found her in the hospital she worked in; said hospital was under attack by a vampire.

"Morris will be our forensics expert from now on." Integra said, before realising Morris was still watching Ruby. "…Morris?"

"What seems to be the matter?" Alucard growled at him, his eyes narrowing at the young vampire hunter "…See something you like?"

"Huh? What? Oh. Um, no." He snapped out of his staring stupor and turned away. "I'm sorry, Integra, what were you saying?"

Integra gave him a somewhat sympathetic look and shook her head, "As I was saying…Morris is a professional; he is trained in various forensics disciplines to aid in his vampire hunts…"

He sounded like a genius, he thought, as he listened to her speak. Having been born into a family that had always hunted vampires, even centuries before his generation, meant Morris had a path already constructed for him to follow. When he was 8, when little boys were playing in mud puddles or pretending to be their favourite comic book hero, Frankie would be reading Dracula and training in his backyard with his father, shooting fake rifles at strawmen. When he was 15, when boys would be worrying about getting dates for dances or sitting through their high school exams, Frankie was more concerned with how to analyse bloodstains and spatters to identify victims of vampires. And when he turned 20, his father betrothed to him the daughter of a vampire hunter who lived next door to them. Of course, he'd fled then, for arranged marriages had never really been his thing.

And now Frankie was here. He was requested on behalf of Sir Irons, a powerful man with a powerful presence in America. The man was always closer to the Morris family compared to the Hellsing family, which was a surprise. Arthur Hellsing had been close too, but after his death, communication between their families had been a little loose. Maybe it was because subsequently after his death, news spread that a young Integra Hellsing had killed her Uncle for the position of director, and had awakened Alucard in the process. Morris had heard stories about Integra; he'd played with her when they were younger, too. He knew she had her reasons for her Uncle's death, and he did not think less of her. It was just then he realised -

He turned round to Integra and said, "By the way, you look different."

She blinked at him behind her glasses with her icy blue eyes, which then narrowed into slits. "What are you talking about?" She snapped at him with a frown. But it was true. Integra was happy then. She smiled. She glowed. Now she…well, it was like someone had replaced her with somebody else. Some kind of wooden puppet on strings, or so he thought. This Integra was serious. Stoic. Solemn. Disciplined. Almost everything she wasn't when she was 14 years old.

"You've changed a lot." He added, "A hell lot."

"That's nice to know," came Integra's flat response. However, her expression did not change. "So have you. Now that everyone is gathered, let's discuss the attack at Harker manor and the attack at this hospital, shall we?"

"Joshua Sloan is the only survivor." Alucard said, with a wicked grin, still holding Ruby close to him away from Morris.

"Yes." Integra rifled through some documents in front of her on the table, sorting through them. "Joshua Sloan was taken in by the Harker family. We have been unaware of their movements because the Harker family has very loose ties with Hellsing; in fact, Harker wished to bear no affiliation with Helsing and they soon lost contact. This does not mean, however, that they did not participate in any vampire-hunting activities."

"Why would they adopt Joshua Sloan?" Seras asked, with a raised hand.

Integra glanced down to the papers on her desk. "…Pity, perhaps." She lamented, "We need to focus on larger matters at hand here - Jonathon Harker's tomb was disturbed by the Black Flame Knights, and his kukri knife, stolen. Something that intrigues me is that none of the Harker residents have been bitten."

"Then they are not interested in creating more vampires or ghouls." Alucard replied.

"But no blood was drunk, either."

" - except from the half-eaten corpse we found in the basement." said Morris; Integra gave him a look, but he shrugged in response. "Even then, we discovered that the victim had already died from a slit throat before being feasted on."

"Then they only wanted to kill the residents."

"Actually, it was self-inflicted. Perhaps she wanted to avoid her fate by another's hand and so mercilessly brought it upon herself." Integra cleared her throat and added, "Also, Alucard fought a vampire tonight. From Miss Ashcroft's testimony earlier on, the vampire was sent after Joshua Sloan. He is still alive. Miss Ashcroft. You said his name was 'Luther'?"

Silence.

"Miss Ashcroft?"

Ruby looked up. "Sorry?"

Integra glanced to the side, then sighed gently. "…Never mind. You should retire for the night. You must be exhausted."

"Oh…right…okay." Ruby nodded absent-mindedly as she strode to the tent flap and lifted it up, just in time for a soldier to come clambering in.

He saluted upon arrival and kept his head high as Ruby brushed past him without a word. "…The hospital has been secured, sir!"

"Very good." Integra replied, "Let's pull back for tonight."

"Yessir."

Integra then turned to the rest as soon as the soldier began to leave to tell the other troops that they were returning to Hellsing. "You are all dismissed. Morris, can I speak to you for a moment?"

"Sure."

While everyone left the tent –Alucard went after Ruby, and Walter and Seras left to discuss silently about their predicament - Integra was left alone with Morris. "You must have questions about Alucard and Ruby. I will do my best to answer them."

Morris scratched at the back of his head awkwardly. "Is he using her?" was his first question, and in response, she shook her head. Morris added, "He actually… loves her?"

"They're fond of each other."

"Aren't you worried?"

"I was." Integra replied, "But it is as I said, there is no use in attempting to stop Alucard from pursuing things that is of his interest."

"Then what about you?"

"…Should anything go wrong, then I shall intervene."

"Okay. Fine." He replied. He was staring at his Bowie knife which he'd cleaned free of Alucard's blood earlier on. "…As long as you're thinking that, I'm fine."

"Fine?"

"Yeah, I'm not like Sir Irons, I'm…uh…I'm a very open-minded guy. You know, I'm just open to everything, I like to think outside the box… those kinds of stuff. Anything's possible." He said, forcing a wry smile from Integra, and he turned round to leave, but then – "By the way, when did this start? The two of them, that is. And…what do you think will happen should they…you know…mate." He coughed into his fist.

Integra did not budge in her seat. "I thought you knew."

He blinked blankly at her. "I don't. But I have theories."

"Theories?" She said, and he nodded, "Even my ancestor did not know."

Morris replied, "Of course, Abraham van Helsing never attempted it before. That would defy human nature. It's an abomination to even think of doing so..." He finished his conversation with Integra and hurriedly left the tent, and stood outside, watching the sunrise with an uncomfortable sensation surmounting in the pit of his stomach. The rest of Hellsing were now preparing to return to the manor. He made his way back to the van Integra had provided for him until a figure stepped in front of him.

It was Ruby Ashcroft. "Can I talk to you, Mr Morris?" She said.

"Talk? Oh, of course, Miss Ashcroft." He stopped outside one of the black vans, sliding the door open. He said, a tad awkwardly. "You, uh…want to come in?"

She blinked as he gestured to his van; Ruby peered in and saw a large assortment of vampire hunting gear – crossbows, shotguns, rifles, submachine guns, bayonets and daggers. Even a fisherman's pole was standing proudly beside a katana. "No, I'm good here." She said. Besides…if Alucard saw her going into Morris' van by herself, he might get angry.

"Will you be okay?" He pointed to her crutches. "You sure you don't want to sit down inside?"

"I'm fine."

There was something odd about this girl. She gave him a weird vibe. He wasn't sure if anyone else had picked it up. "Okay. What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Um, well, first…Thanks for saving me."

"You're welcome. But I really am sorry about your ankle."

She glanced down to said broken ankle. "…I also heard the conversation between you and Sir Hellsing. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to eavesdrop." She said sheepishly, scratching at the back of her elbow, "…You really don't know what will happen if…a vampire…mates with a human?"

"Eh…Technically, no." He shook his head, "I'm sorry. But… if it makes you feel any better… I do have theories. Vampires are basically dead beings." He explained, "When a human becomes a vampire…they have to die first."

"Like Seras."

"Yes, exactly like Miss Victoria…She died the night she was shot by Alucard, but the main difference is that she was bitten before she died. Therefore, she died as a human, yes, and then she was 'reborn' as a vampire."

"I see." Ruby said, "But what about Joshua Sloan? Alucard said he was turned during his sleep."

"Then Joshua Sloan was perhaps bitten during his sleep and died from the blood loss." Morris replied, "Then when he woke up, he was already a vampire. That's usually the way how humans become vampires."

Ruby inhaled a shaky breath at that point. "…When I heard about Joshua, I was so upset for him. But when I met him tonight, I didn't know what to say to him."

"There are some things that are better left unsaid, Ruby."

She whipped her head up to him in shock. She had said almost the same thing too once…

"Therefore," He exaggerated the word with an eyebrow raised, "…Going back to our topic now about vampires and mates...Vampires cannot produce offspring. Their only offspring… are the humans they turn into vampires. Draculs…Draculinas…Midians. Do you get it now?" When she nodded, he added, "By the way, if you don't mind me asking…will you…become a draculina? For him."

"Oh, right." She caught his drift; however, her expression did not change at all. "I really don't know."

He actually hoped she would've said 'No'. However, he patted her shoulder gently in an attempt to reassure her. "When the time comes, I'm afraid you might not have a choice."

She did a double take. And what's that supposed to mean?

"Well…" He let out a yawn, "I'm tired, so I think I'll get some shut-eye before we return to Hellsing manor. See you later." Without another word, Morris retreated back into his van and slid the door back shut, leaving Ruby standing by herself.

She had mixed feelings about Morris. He was eccentric, but useful. Informative. And suddenly, she was apprehended by an arm swooping around her and she was lifted off the ground and into someone's arms, bridal style. She squeaked, her crutches falling and clattering to the ground. She wondered if Morris could hear, but all she could hear from his van was snoring. He was asleep already? Ruby looked up to see none other than Alucard grinning down at her. He picked up her crutches, gave them to her to hold for the time being, and turned away from Morris' van and began to walk out of the hospital parking lot, which was filled with black Hellsing tents and more black vans. Soldiers passed them but did not say anything, although they were subjected to odd glances now and then.

"I gave you some time to be alone as you requested… I did not realise you would go and seek out the vampire hunter."

"I just wanted to ask him something." She replied, staying limp in his hold. "Ahhh, mind the foot, mind the foot…"

He shifted her in his arms so he was holding her at a better and more comfortable angle. "And he has answered your question, so I am taking you with me."

"…What are we going to do now? You know, about the Harker's and the knife being stolen…"

Alucard flicked his red eyes to her languidly. "'We'?" He chuckled, "I do not wish for you to get involved in this any longer."

"What? Why not?"

"It is dangerous."

"But I want to help."

"Your help? What can you possibly do?"

"I'm not useless, Alucard."

"You may as well be. Right now, you are in no position to argue your case. It is a fact; this concerns forces larger and far more dangerous than perceived. I cannot guarantee your safety all the time, Ruby."

"But I still want to help – "

"Ruby," He reprimanded her; although his tone was not harsh or cruel, it was enough to make her wince, "Why must you defy me? Why are you not obedient?"

"I've got to be honest and say I won't listen to you all the time."

Alucard watched her for a brief while, then smirked. "That's very naughty of you." He purred, and he reached over and began nuzzling her neck.
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Oh My Alucard