InsaneJournal

---

Alucard curled into the warmth of the bed and expelled an unnecessary sigh. His essence felt thin, like a weak ale that had been cut with water one too many times. The battle had invigorated him, but at a cost. He could no longer draw upon the strength of thousands upon thousands of souls. Millennium had done their work well, ensuring that Alucard’s legions were decimated in the war back home. After decades spent dispersed across an emptiness Alucard could not adequately describe, he was not the dominant warrior he had been.

Still, the Horseman had been an absolute delight. Alucard wondered if they might meet again. Only time and effort would restore his strength. Would Integra allow him to seek out the Horseman again? Would she, perhaps, give more of herself if she knew that such a creature could be found in this place? Might she even find ways, as Abraham had, to build Alucard’s abilities through arcane experimentation?

---

Despite not having Hellsing’s resources, Integra found ways to keep herself occupied. The entire ordeal with the bespelled costumes kept her interest enough to look into. She missed the well oiled machine that was Hellsing, where she’d just need to pick up the phone and by the end of the day she’d have more than an alias and a possibly already altered face, but the last few years had taught her to rely on herself and Seras. Between the two of them, they had to pull Hellsing back up. The people she’d had in other places she no longer had, so it had been five years of relearning a lot of skills. Not that she’d minded or been not at all grateful for long days and long nights. It kept her distracted.

Work was good to keep worry away, which was why she was happy to look into these new matters. Seeing Alucard as anything but his usual indomitable self was putting her at uneven footing. Too long of seeing him as unchanging she supposed.

So it wasn’t terribly uncommon to return from her ventures to find him on the bed. He looked almost pleased but it wasn’t like his moods were always easy to read. “Must you?” She simply said. She was giving him a lot of leeway and letting him stay, but the point of the argument felt almost necessary. It was familiar, which was good in it’s own right.

---

A mischievous grin spread across Alucard’s face, though he remained burrowed into the pillows at the head of the bed like an oversized cat. “I am tired, my Master, and this is comfortable.” He stretched and turned onto his stomach, dragging the covers with him. They were not as pleasant as when Integra had recently warmed them, but they would do. He’d made a point of stealing the bed as often as possible since he and Integra had arrived. He liked being surrounded by her scent. The void had been torture, leaving him cut off from sensation and the warmth of living souls, Integra’s in particular.

“There is a monster here,” he informed her fangs bared in a pleasure. “I faced him. For once, American ingenuity has created something worthy. Perhaps we should recruit him, should I be able to find him again.”

--

There was a moment she was very tempted to shoot him a few times. There were times where she had. Alucard had the fortunate ability to survive being shot before. But, that had been before his current condition. And of that, she only knew that it seemed to have drained him quite a bit to even become tangible again, let alone anything else.

The Hellsing in her was saying she really ought to quantify and measure this new stage. While true, she’d do it her way. And it didn’t quite push the desire to shoot him away. Instead she just set her fingers on the bridge of her nose.

“What.” She gave eventually before dropping her hand. It wasn’t really a question. “If you’re well enough to pick fights, you can be well enough to get off the damned bed.” She hid her worry behind her aggravation. “And give me a more clear report. What sort of monster?” With that she paced to the table, slung her coat over the chair and with almost the same movement lit up one of her cigars. She was trying to ration them but at moments like this she was fairly sure the vampire on the bed was going to be the death of her, and not the cigars she smoked. “Is this a threat that needs dealing with?”

---

The smile remained, though Alucard did slide off of the bed. He left the covers a mess. Why bother with them, after all? They would only be upset again. The vampire’s long legs carried him to chair opposite the one Integra had used for a coatrack. Alucard sank into it and crossed his legs, his gloved hands folded over his knee. With his features still gaunt and his skin nearer to bone white than usual, he clearly had some progress to make in regaining his old vigor, but he was no longer as weak as he had been.

“I trust you are familiar with Washington Irving. I seem to recall that Abraham had a copy of some of the man’s work in his library.” If Integra desired a straight answer, Alucard would offer one, but only if she worked for it.

--

She sighed and a nerve ticked in her jaw. He was pushing the fact that his state was an unknown, and they both knew it. Instead she made the bed because she’d have some sense of normal in the chaos that was her life. She was listening, putting pieces together and straightening when they folded into the completed puzzle. At least most of it. She poured over the works she knew of and went down the list. He was being difficult too.

“Should we try and fetch Ichabod Crane then?” It was almost sarcastic but honestly in this place there might as well be one of those running around too. She wasn’t discounting anything anymore, not since she’d heard about the enchanted costumes. Maybe it was the actual thing, maybe it wasn’t. If it was, it was a threat to deal with. If it wasn’t, she could continue the steps she was taking to look into this entire mess.

Once she was done she went back to the chair where she’d put her coat and sat down, only then removing her weapon, putting the safety on and setting it down. “What, exactly, happened? This is a case that needs precision. We need a gauge on your abilities and the strength of them. And I need to know what this felt like, as accurately as you can please. The reports of changed individuals has gone down significantly since last I heard of them but if this is a new case of it it’ll be necessary to get as accurate of a reading. Especially because it’s the best lead there will be.” She was irritated at the lack of resources here. She crossed her legs, almost a mirror to Alucard, and studied him. He looked like he’d pushed himself. “How do you feel?” There was honest concern in her voice.

--

“Why in Heaven’s name would we need a school teacher?” Alucard scoffed at the sheer ridiculousness of the idea. Ichabod Crane had been nothing more than lucky in the tale, and if he had been a real individual, “luck” would have been putting it mildly. “We’d have more use for his horse than that poor fool. No. It is the Hessian soldier who has found his way here, the one who haunts Mr. Crane’s tale and, doubtless, his nightmares.” Alucard tapped his skeletal fingers against his knee.

“In truth, I would not mind consuming the creature. It is most extraordinary. I tasted power on it. But it would not be worth the risk unless I can shed the soul currently in my keeping. There is also the small matter of the recent magical disruptions in this place. I cannot be certain if the horseman is a spirit, or something else. He was most powerful, and swift. His sword did strike home more than once. The wounds were nothing I could not close of my own volition, but they did require a certain degree of effort to mend.” Irritated, Alucard bared his teeth in a scowl. “I have not been such an accessible target in a long time.”

--

That hadn’t been the point she’d taken out of the story, but then her education had been peppered with tales like the Sleepy Hollow legend. Humanity facing monsters. Terribly ironic in retrospect. And apt. “Oh good.” She added with actual sarcasm this time. Well. At least it would keep her occupied.

She refrained from commenting on changing tactics. From what she’d seen, he went in guns blazing (literally) only to get shot, and then reform himself. “Your strength needs to regrow.” she gave instead. No more than truth from her perspective. She didn’t feel it necessary to repeat his own point of devouring whatever this was. It would probably be in bad taste if at the end of it they’d have to tell the community at large Alucard had devoured one of them. She couldn’t see it going well.

She leaned back, set her cigar aside and crossed her arms again to think. Once before she’d been goaded into action, only seeing parts of the puzzle until it was too late. She wouldn’t repeat her own mistakes. And she had the luxury of time now. “How did your encounter end, and if necessary do you think you could detain the creature?” She was almost distant, trying to see the pieces and how they fit together. If anything, she’d learned from the Battle of London. If Millennium were to happen again, she’d be much more prepared this time. “Without excessive harm to the creature. Until it can be ascertained what this is. Secondly, I need more leads on the costume case. Anything you could find would be helpful. Until then, this holiday is being skipped by me.” Which was somewhat a shame. Her sense of humor might be odd to consider it somewhat amusing to poke fun at the situation but she wasn’t in any mood to risk what had occurred to others.

---

Though all too brief, the encounter was the most entertaining event to mark Alucard’s time in this world so far. He’d been terribly disappointed to see it end. “The creature disappeared. Perhaps a retreat, or perhaps there is a law by which it must abide that pulled it away.” He steepled his fingers, frown deepening. “As for detaining it … I do not know.”

Alucard’s furrowed brow spoke of his frustration. “Before London, certainly. Now?” He shook his head. “There are too many variables. The damned cat forced me to be rid of some of my most useful familiars. Perhaps I could summon my hounds again, given time. The rest … there is no way to restore them. It would be necessary to resort to other means, since I suspect you will not permit me to dine on the locals.”

The vampire locked gazes with Integra, his eyes ancient and hungry for renewed power. “You may have to resort to Abraham’s methods, my master.”

--

They were both without the resources most familiar to them. Both forces had been gutted, decimated, and were forced to start over. Except she’d had the advantage of home, where she could rebuild without much interference. Here, she doubted people would take it kindly if she resorted to old measures. Even insinuating herself as she was doing was something she was doing with caution.

“Perhaps it just met a match and decided it wasn’t worth it.” She gave a sigh but tilted her head, “Not the locals, no, nor those like us. Enemies are a different story.” As they always had been. Just this time, she’d be more wary about aptly named cat creatures.

She met his eyes evenly. “No. I am not Abraham. Stop holding up that expectation and seeing if I’ll reach it. The path behind me may have been one already walked on, and built on, but if this will be done I will do it on my terms. Not Abrahams. Not my Father’s. And not yours.” She narrowed her good eye, not giving him one inch. There was a truth in it, that they had to quantify his powers as they were now, and build on them. And that none of the old research would be any sort of help. Even in the fact that she was exactly where her ancestor had been when he’d captured Alucard.

The only difference was in who she was. In the sort of things she was, and wasn’t, willing to do. She clasped her hands together and folded them in her lap. “The main question to answer is should you consume anything, would what the cat did happen again? Which will take time, considering. Secondly will be to see exactly how much of your own strength remains, without the benefit of added souls, and how to restore it alongside finding out if what the cat could do, you now can. Do you exist, and yet not like it did. And while I know how my ancestors answered those questions, that won’t be how I will.” She leaned back in her chair and raised an eyebrow. “I have partial answers already, especially concerning your strength. There are few opportunities here to build on that, but in attempting to recover this horseman, without injury to either party, should be one of them. As would seeing if you can find any new leads with the costume debacle.”

Mostly it was for his own benefit. Considering there’d be no Hellsing after her, it would be good if he knew his own flaws and strengths. It was why she was almost obviously not mentioning the wards. There were no more restraint levels, and the old words would no longer mean much. The rest was still there, so she imagined, and didn’t seem like it was something necessary to mess with. Not right now anyway.

--

“Perhaps,” Alucard allowed, tilting his head to the side as he observed his master. She was still a mystery to him despite the years he had spent at her side. Integra had always been stubborn and precocious. She insisted upon forging her own path, no matter how much one attempted to guide her. Alucard enjoyed pushing her to see how far she would go. That was not his intention at this moment, however. He was restless, dissatisfied with the strength and abilities available to him when his entire existence depended upon keeping Schrodinger’s essence separate from any other.

“He is a liability,” the vampire observed of his unwanted familiar. “Far better to excise him as soon as possible. The Major could well have given him a directive we have not yet discovered. I do not like the idea that he may yet act against us. Neither do I care for being unable to kill for you and draw from that life for strength should it be required.” Alucard’s hands fell still, neatly folded in his lap, as he regarded Integra, deep in thought. There were many things he could say to her, secrets to which he had not given voice, though he suspected she had her own means of discovering the truth. Only three other women had held his attention and his loyalty so unfailingly: that wives he had loved as a mortal man, and Mina. Integra might well have a stronger claim than any who had gone before her. He expected great things of her, and proof of humanity’s capacity for virtue.

Theirs, however, was not a life in which virtue could be spared when held against necessity. “You may have to sacrifice your morals,” he said at last, “as Abraham did, and your father. Their methods were often harsh, but effective. Moral superiority will do you little good if the Major’s snare is sprung again.”

--

Since the Battle of London, even before then, the things she’d held as important had shifted. She’d done things she’d previously never would have. War brought out a ruthlessness she hadn’t thought she’d had before it had been necessary. Hypocritical then to now say she had boundaries she wouldn’t cross where previous experience had taught her her own rules were a lot more flexible than she’d imagined.

This though, she felt was different. For reasons he wasn’t going to give voice to.

“I am neither of them.” She gave very calmly, although the anger was undeniable in her tone. “They never came as far as I did. If this creature you hold inside you is a threat, and not as contained as your previous familiars.” If he was going to make comparisons, she’d return the favor “then you’re right it needs to be dealt with. But I cannot hold to previous methods, even if I was to sacrifice my morals for the sheer fact that they wouldn’t exactly work. The two aspects of you are completely different, applying old ways and expecting new things is insanity.”

She rose, too irritated to really sit still. Her anger had always been a bright thing, but it had cost her mistakes before. And while she very much wanted to yell at him, that wouldn’t exactly be productive. “We’ve both seen what the creature was capable of before. Something to keep mind of.”


She turned and paced to the window. “And even without all that, I will bend a lot to do my duty. But never my morals. There will be other ways.” Her father and Abraham both had never really seen Alucard as more than a tool. She didn’t.

--

Brows drawn into a deep V, Alucard leaned back, watching Integra in consternation. She was far superior to her forebearers, even Abraham, whom Alucard had held in as much respect as fear. Why she continued to eschew their methods, he could not properly understand. Alucard could handle the pain. He’d come to a point, in the years with Abraham, where he looked forward to the sessions in an odd way, the power that he would gain from Abraham’s experiments in crafting a more perfect weapon.

Integra stood at the head of an army, Alucard as her sword, yet she refused to hone the blade. It made no sense … and he adored her for it. The puzzle she presented kept the years from becoming stagnant.

“If you insist, my Master.” He sighed. “It would certainly be quicker, but you always have preferred the hard way.”

--

She glanced to Alucard, feeling the anger drain away. It never lasted long anyway, not unless he truly pushed it. “Quick hardly means it’ll be done right.” She offered in agreement to his own statement. “I’ll hold Seras as an example to that fact.” Both of them had pushed the girl, and yet Seras had found her own way. Their similarities were a big factor in why Integra was fond of the younger vampire. If Seras was present, figuring out strengths would go easier, considering both of them only had one soul.

But wishing for what if was hardly productive as well. “Beyond that, there’s still figuring out our current situation and how to adapt with it.” And with that she shifted tracks to more immediate circumstances. She would have to find a way to make some money, which was going to be something considering how specialized she was. “Focusing more on the immediate problems that we can solve will be more productive I think.” She walked to the nightstand and picked up a glass. After a few moments she raised her hand to her teeth, then a few drops of her blood fell into the glass. Without much else she walked back and set it before Alucard. “You look terrible.”

Usually, her blood was something she hardly gave out like this. But, she hadn’t the resources to set up a supply as of yet and there was the fact that it was necessary.

--

Integra never allowed Alucard to set his teeth against her skin. He teased, of course, but never with true intent. His bite carried too much danger for her. No matter how determinedly he tried to lure her into immortality, it was not a choice he could ever force on Integra. Alucard’s control was exceptional; it was not flawless.

Avid, glowing eyes tracked each movement Integra made. Alucard’s nostrils flared as he drank in the scent of her freshly spilled blood. Abraham had sealed the contract between Alucard and the Hellsing family with blood. Even without the magic that had once bound them together, Alucard treasured the gift of Integra’s blood.

“To which problems do you refer?” he inquired, distracted, the majority of his attention on the dark liquid in the glass Integra held.

--

She noted everything and without making too much of it simply offered him the glass. “Drink,” she said simply before focusing on the other question. “The lack of funds is one of them. Unlike your problem of supplies, mine is a little more complicated.” How the mighty could fall, which was ironic considering who, and what, she was talking to. “A bit more complicated to get them, considering I highly doubt Hellsing will be necessary.” Hellsing had resources beyond the funds the Queen allotted, but none of them were present.

“Which means adapting.” She could look around, find things. Learn to stand being told what to do, rather than being the one to tell others what to do. “Also to find better accommodations. This place suits, but it could stand improving.” Once she handed him the glass she crossed her arms.

“Little problems like those.” but comparatively easy ones. Much easier to solve then the entire problem he presented. That would take time.

--

Nimble fingers wrapped around the glass. Alucard hummed appreciatively when he brought to his lips, gently swirling the liquid inside and basking in the aroma the motion released. The affectation was one he had adopted after Abraham had loosened his leash. It allowed him to dine in the presence of humans, if such a thing were required. Remarkable, really, how readily mortals accepted an absence of solid food on the plate when one at least partook of libations.

“I don’t suppose I could lay claim to a portion of proceeds from tourists who trample across my grounds in Transylvania.” Alucard took a careful sip of Integra’s gift and closed his eyes in contentment. There was still some power in her blood, despite the shattered seals. Even a small quantity would go far in restoring him.

“My own talents are largely unsuited to this modern world,” he mused. “In this, I cannot help you, my Master.”

--

“I’m aware Alucard.” She suspected it was habit that he did this, and stayed. He had plenty of other places he could go, without much interference. She’d hunt him down of course, if he caused problems, but instead he was here. But she wasn’t going to turn down that lane of introspection, and just be grateful for the company. “I am not asking this of you. This is a problem I can solve myself.”

“As for tourists, probably not. I doubt they would believe you.” Back home, such things were within Hellsing’s control. The lands had been put in trust, and she’d see them be returned once she passed. Here, she didn’t have that luxury. “Showing them would also be counterproductive.” With that she took her seat again. It showed she had less to do here, because she kept trying to find things to keep herself occupied. She’d spend too long being constantly active, constantly doing something. Even here, she’d find ways to at least keep her combat skills as active as they could be. That might become useful at some time.

--

Alucard traced the rim of his glace with the tip of one thumb, a speculative light in his eyes. “Would you consider renewing the seals?” He could not solve the question of employment or money, not in any manner Integra would accept, but he could offer some additional security and stability to her time in this place. “The process might bring you some peace of mind. It would fill the hours, for a short while. Until you choose the path you wish to walk here.”

--

She blinked her good eye before turning to look at him. He confused her most days, and she took it as naturally as she did whenever he tested her. Without those things she’d probably wonder where the true Alucard had gone off to. Instead she spread her hands. “I could not,” hidden behind that was a wonder why he even wished to be leashed again.

“Do not mistake me, I lack the resources.” She motioned around them. “Nor the place for it. The process to renew them would need both factors, and was the reason the mansion was so secluded.” Mostly, because it was hardly the most pleasant of things, for both parties. There was a lot involved, and from what she read most of it was painful.

There was a long, long silence until she said, very quietly, “You came back, while there was no need. I am grateful for that. And nothing keeps you here, yet you remain. There is peace of mind in that.”

--

“But would you consider it?” he insisted. In a way, he had come to depend on his bond with the Hellsing family. Alucard might have no need of it, but he missed the clear tie to Integra. Perhaps, in a part of him he rarely gave a voice, he feared being without the seals. Alucard had felt their presence in his mind for a century. He felt bereft without them.

“I do not ask this lightly. If I enter into a contract with you again, it will be of my choosing.”

--

One day she might understand Alucard. And even then it was only a ‘perhaps’ at best. “If I had everything required, yes. I would consider it.” In his own way, he was asking and thus she’d at least look into it. She knew the magics behind it like the back of her hand, that wouldn’t be the issue. It’d be everything else.

But, well there was a sorcerer here, and others with magical knowledge. Approach them subtly enough and she could find ways. She wouldn’t include any of them, none of them were Hellsing and her family's secrets would die with her. She wouldn’t trust anyone. The variables were too great.

--

At that, Alucard smiled and set his glass aside. Some vigor had returned to his features following the meal. He crossed the space that separated him from Integra, and knelt before her to rest his head against her knee. Eyes lit with pleasure, he murmured, “Good.”

--

It probably showed, and told, a lot that she hardly said anything when he did this. Instead she just set her fingers against his temple. It allowed her space and time to think, which was both good and bad in many ways. And because part of her couldn’t just leave well enough alone, because she felt like it was important she considered the after. The wards had always been the sort to be transferred to the next of the Hellsing line, the sort of inheritance one never really considered, but considering that after her, the line ended she would need to consider that along with the fact that she wanted no one to be able to warp the wards, or pick them up. In cases like this she wished there was someone she could bounce ideas off of. She felt it might be just a touch cruel to remind Alucard of everything.

--

Choosing to ignore Integra’s worries for the moment, Alucard sighed and closed his eyes, content. He would move when she became sufficiently annoyed. Until then, she was warm, and welcome, the steady rhythm of her human heart a reassurance.

“Tomorrow, I will seek the creature again,” he murmured. “And I will give more thought to how the troublesome cat might be excised.”