VII: He's a Curious Case

As Integra was in the middle of a conference call with the Round Table, her butler entered the room with an unusually flustered appearance. Knowing not to take lightly anything that would make the retainer wear that expression, she quickly muted her end of the conversation. The monotone voice of Sir Islands droning on could be heard faintly in the background. "What is it, Walter? What did you find?" she asked, setting the phone onto the table.

"It's what I didn't find that leads to concern, Ma'am," he said, handing her a single sheet of paper.

"What is this?" Integra asked, skimming over the words. The question here actually was, "What does this mean?" She had seen this particular kind document more than enough to know precisely what sort of paper it was. This was a report written over the latest mission, filed by none other than the men who had to observe the aftermath. Her trained eyes skimmed past the list of casualties and went directly to the description of the bank afterwards. "Nothing left of it," she murmured, massaging the bridge of her nose before covering her forehead and eyes in her hands, jostling her spectacles slightly in the process. "It burned completely to the ground."

"And nothing could be salvaged," Walter added with a sigh. Integra never thought this before, but Walter for once truly seemed his age in light of these circumstances. On any normal day there was youthful but restrained vigor in his step, but she had been running him ragged as of late; gathering intel, taking Alucard to the doctor (where they had immediately denied an MRI scan due to the possibility of silver remnants still residing in his skull), and now this. He had to conduct a proper investigation, speaking with all the soldiers present to witness not only Alucard's battle with the vampire he had thankfully dispatched, but the events afterwards regarding his loss of memory. "I might have a suggestion."

Integra looked up from where her face had been buried in her hands. "Anything."

The butler smiled fondly. In his eyes, Integra always appeared much older than she actually was, due to how collected she had always been in the face of adversity. Her desperation almost seemed to bring out the childish, almost petulant side of her. "May I ask, from what you told me via telephone this morning, what could have led to Alucard's regression?"

Integra considered him curiously. "I haven't the foggiest clue. I suppose it may have something to do with the book I lent him."

"Then you know what I'm suggesting."

She nodded slowly, suddenly itching for tobacco. "You want me to show him another book published about his life, because it may help him regain his former identity," Integra said, pulling the drawer to her desk open and plucking a cigar out from the box that lay within. Walter dutifully offered a light, and she gratefully drew in the smoke. It was a habit she had acquired almost out of necessity to relieve the stress of her workday. "I've considered the same. But let me ask you something, Walter. With every new character he assumes, I've had to face my possible demise. When he first lost his memory, he acted upon instinct; and just recently, he acted on his former Wallachian voivode pride. Normally, the fact I would be placed in jeopardy would not hold so much weight, considering my line of work, but these matters are much more difficult to ascertain the correct approach. What do you suppose might happen if he remembers what it's truly like to be a free vampire?"

The old butler's steely eyes glinted with wisdom. "Well," he replied slowly, "I'd imagine he'd want to reclaim all he had lost, and act on avarice. But I think you're forgetting the most important part."

"And what is that?"

Walter smiled devilishly. "He always loses to Hellsings."

0o0

The poor girl damn near fell over, she was so shocked by this new adjustment. He had to catch her before she did just that, then pulled her up, all while incredibly amused. "Whaaa…?" she murmured, so incredibly confused that (ironically) she was the one who couldn't properly speak English.

He grinned toothily, pleased with himself. "I believe I've just had a revelation of sorts. It took a while to happen, but tonight's mission has actually been quite useful to me after all."

"Are… Are you normal again, Sir?" she asked.

Alucard withdrew from her and shook his head. "No, I'm not back to the person you knew before, if that's what you're asking. But, it seems I made some progress." Funny. If one listened closely enough, his voice carried a trace of an accent.

Seras hummed in thought. "What do you remember?"

He dusted himself off and stood to his full height, looking about him with a sense of wonderment. The vampire he had recently devoured had transformed into naught but dust. "Everything I've learned since yesterday evening. My life as a human in the fifteenth century. A little more about history. Snippets of this dead bastard's life," he nodded towards the ashes at his feet. "Really, it's not much, but it's a start."

"I wonder why drinking his blood could have possibly triggered this turn of events," Seras murmured. "Do you think it has something to do with his memories?"

Alucard shrugged. "I don't know. Perhaps it may have been a combination of that and the fact Integra lent me a book on my life prior to death the other night. Or maybe it was just the healing properties of his blood."

Seras beamed up at him, immensely relived to at least be able to reason with her master. "Well, I'm glad you're feeling better! You had me really worried all day: I thought you would stay that way forever."

Realization hit him like a sack of bricks. Seras, though resilient, was not like Integra. Her heart was not yet cast in iron. No, far from it. The girl exuded an air of innocence, a trusting naïveté that was unique to the organization and even to the rest of the world, especially given her age. From what little interaction he'd had with her before, she was timid, especially around him. He had resolved to at least attempt to bond with her before regressing to his human mindset. Now, it almost seemed as though he had retraced his steps. He had made an internal vow to get the girl to open up a little more, and screwed that up in less than twenty-four hours.

"Forever is a very long time, Police Girl," he said carefully. "I don't think I'll be stuck this way forever."

She smiled. "I know, sir! I have faith in your recovery. But come along- we should probably share the great news with Sir Integra. I know she'll be thrilled that you're normal… er, not… in your old mindset."

That question at the back of his mind was back again as she led him out of the room, her posture positively radiating optimism. Why did I turn you?

0o0

Integra was immensely grateful when her servants returned. The mission had been a success, Alucard had proven that he was recovering, and Seras was unharmed. Everything was working out splendidly. Once Seras had given her report for the evening, which Alucard confirmed with short phrases here and there, the draculina was dismissed to enjoy the rest of the night. He, however, was not.

Integra once again sat across from him, the two completely alone in the voluminous room. The silence between them seemed so oppressive that Alucard almost felt claustrophobic. Integra observed him from behind a plume of cigar smoke, calculating blue eyes glimmering with something foreign. It wasn't malevolent, but it certainly wasn't benign either, and he couldn't help staring with profound interest.

After Seras's footsteps faded into silence (and he sensed she was out of earshot), Alucard took the initiative. "Am I in trouble?"

She snorted. "No, you're not in trouble." Could he act any less his age? "It just seems… odd. Interesting that you've remembered so much so easily."

"So…" his lips twitched, threatening to break his solemn façade, "I am in trouble."

"I haven't lied to you."

"You think my amnesia is a sham." There was a hint of offense in his statement.

"I think your amnesia is interesting," she corrected delicately. "I've never heard of a case like this."

"Well I would imagine that most cases involve humans, Integra. And as you can clearly see-"

"Yes, yes. But why? Why is your case so strange?"

From the tone of her voice, he knew something drastic was about to happen. "I have a feeling you have some conjectures."

She took the cigar from her mouth and fiddled with it, turning it over and over in her hands. "Let's say, theoretically, there may be a way to get you back. The old you."

"Meaning there is a way."

"It's not exactly orthodox, but… yes. Drinking fresh blood allowed some sort of recovery. You adopted your past character, and then merged it with your post-injury self. You said you recall your death?" To this, he nodded. "But nothing past that. So if we repeated a similar experiment in jogging your memory (a.k.a. another book), focusing on your later faux life, we should expect similar results, correct?"

"Correct." He regarded her thoughtfully. "There's something holding you back."

"I have explained to you before that your position here at Hellsing is not optional." She crushed the end of her smoke against a nearby tray, smothering it.

Understanding gleamed in his scarlet eyes. "I see. You have no means of enforcing it. Where once you had leverage, you now have nothing." He cocked his head. "Are you scared of me?"

"I wouldn't use that word."

"No," he agreed, smiling minutely, "I suppose you wouldn't. So here is the dilemma you now face: you may recover my memory by getting me to read this book, but if this happens, I will inevitably become a threat. But if you don't, you chance my disloyalty. The only thing keeping me from mass destruction is my willful following of your orders (among other things that lie within my free-will). Correct?" he joked.

"Correct," she repeated again, amused.

He leaned in over her desk, smile growing sharper. "You know, I thought I saw something in your eyes earlier, but I didn't know what it was. Now I think I do."

Shadows danced excitedly behind her field of vision, which remained fixed on his gaze. She did not back down; rather, she leaned in too. "And what's that?"

Alucard laughed quietly. He felt tempted in that moment to brush the flaxen locks from her face, but repressed the feeling in favor of proper conduct. The situation was complicated enough as it was without giving away that he found her so damnably attractive. It frustrated him to no end. Was it this way before his incident? "Why, I saw a challenge, my dear. I look forward to whatever you decide."

And of course, which choice did Integra Hellsing make?

Sorry for a delay; had a little trouble articulating here where exactly I wanted to go with the story, but hopefully you enjoyed it! Next update will probably be much sooner!