Author's Notes: They say there are seven stages to dealing with grief. Poor Integra is about to experience them all in rapid succession.

Disclaimer: I do not own Integra, Dracula, Carmilla, or Hellsing. I also do not know if I can make the ending worth reading, but all good things must come to an end.

"You cannot be serious," I whispered, though I hardly knew what I was saying.

To say that I was in shock would be an understatement; I was numb, breathless; I hardly knew what to say or what to think, or if I was saying or thinking anything at all. Everything felt so unreal, as though I were in a dream; and I half-expected to wake at any moment, or for Alucard to appear from the arched doorway, as she had, before the General struck at her. My breathing came out in deep, yet shallow gulps, and I touched the back of my hand to my forehead just to feel that it was there.

"Young lady, I am serious as the grave," the good General said. "Now begone from this place, and may you never see or think of it again."

"How can I not see or think of it," I challenged, breathlessly, "When this very castle, this very girl, has been part of my life for so long?"

"Foolish child!" the General shouted, and turned to look at me, "Do you really expect to stay here and be swallowed up by the very evil that wishes to do you in, just as my poor niece had? To be feasted on, and discarded when there is nothing left, like a corpse to a heartless vulture? Take heed, young Integra, and use your good sense to flee now while you still can!"

As he spoke, the physician I have told you about entered the chapel at the door through which Alucard had made her entrance and her exit.

"The very man!" exclaimed the General, advancing with manifest delight. "My dear Abraham Van Helsing, how happy I am to see you, I had no hope of meeting you so soon." He signed to my father, who had by this time returned, accompanied by my uncle, and leading the fantastic old gentleman, Abraham Van Helsing, to meet them. They introduced each other formally, though they had all been acquainted in one way or another, and they at once entered into earnest conversation.

I felt immediately indignant at having been so pointedly ignored, especially by my own grandfather, who hardly seemed to notice that I existed; but Walter was by my side in an instant, and was urging me to sit down, saying that I needed to recover my strength. So he led me back to the fallen pillar, and dabbed my face with a handkerchief, while I focused intently on the gentlemen ahead.

The General's sudden good-will toward Abraham Van Helsing seemed rather odd to me, since he had described him in not half as flattering a terms over the course of his story; but as I listened further, I found that it had been he who had instructed the General, through various letters and telegrams, where and when to hunt for the vampire. Every major city, castle, and location the General had travelled to search for the "monster" over the whole summer had been, in one way or another, from the recommendation of Doctor Abraham Van Helsing, whom he had been in constant contact with since the death of poor Seras Victoria.

Currently, the doctor took a roll of paper from his pocket, and spread it on the worn surface of a tomb that stood by. He had a pencil case in his fingers, with which he traced imaginary lines from point to point on the paper, which from their often glancing from it at certain points of the building, I concluded to be a plan of the chapel. He accompanied his lecture with occasional readings from a dirty little book, whose yellow leaves were closely written over.

"I was in this very castle, nigh fifty years ago," I heard the good doctor say, briefly, before they walked again out of my hearing range. "Long before I settle down in England to care for a beloved God child; long before my foolish Arthur, who had been dead to me on account of his many scandals, join the Austrian service and finally settle down in this fine region. Long before my unhappy Richard gave up making his own way and join his brother here in Transylvania; long before the beloved God child expired, and I took the job I have now, travelling the four corners of Europe.

"The last noble to reside within these walls was a fearful creature, both hated and revered by the tenants that attached themselves to his fiefs. Bored with ruling this backwater region, he called forth a solicitor and soon after moved to England, wherein he hoped to 'blend in' with its 'teeming millions.' Not too long after he begin menacing beautiful Miss Westenra, who was much beloved by several men, including a former student of mine, who summon me to see to her, before her untimely end. He then begin harassing the solicitor's wife, Madam Mina, and would have taken her as his own if we did not force him back to his lair and slay him where he stand; in that very tower."

He pointed to the highest tower, wherein the priest had mentioned the head vampire being killed in his story.

"The pattern is the same, I recognize it anywhere; first with the death of poor Seras Victoria, and now the declining health of dear Integra. I do not know if it be the same creature, which long since expire, for perhaps one of his own descendants, who wish to carry on what his master start with, and send a beautiful young girl ahead to avoid detection. One thing I know for certain; it is secrecy that give these creatures power, to slip behind out attention and do as they wish undisturbed. But once the secret is blown, they cannot slip undetected anymore, and we may find where they are, where they hide, and do away with them once and for all. Come, let us find the likely hiding place."

With the assistance of the priest, who soon returned, they sauntered together down the side aisle, opposite to the spot where I was sitting with Walter, conversing as they went. Then they began measuring distances by paces, and finally they all stood together, facing a piece of the side-wall, which they began to examine with great minuteness. At length they ascertained the existence of a broad marble tablet, with letters carved in relief upon it.

As I watched them all gathered together; the General, the Doctor, my father, my uncle, and the priest, talking strategically about their surroundings and planning accordingly, I realized all at once that they were not a group of learned gentlemen consulting together about how to find a cure for a sick girl, but an army of able-bodied men set on searching and destroying a monster. My Alucard.

"You cannot be serious," I said again, and stood and reached for them with a trembling hand. "You cannot possibly be serious!"

The gentlemen looked at me with mild surprise, as though they had forgotten I was there, and with grave concern, and annoyance.

"Your daughter is getting delirious," the General said to my father, "I suggest you send her home before she does harm to herself."

"You cannot seriously tell me," I said again, paying no heed to his words, "that you think Alucard is the monster that has plagued poor Seras and myself all this time?"

"My dear," the General said gruffly, turning to me, "I do not think it; I know it. I saw that very girl by my dear niece's bedside on the night of her murder, and I have seen her here, in this chapel, right before she slipped through my fingers; and by this time tomorrow, I shall see to it that no one shall ever behold her again."

"But you cannot!" I cried, "You cannot! You simply must be mistaken! It cannot be her, it simply cannot!"

"Integra," my uncle snapped, "Get a hold of yourself at once! You're making a scene."

"Yer daughter is becoming hysterical," the priest said, with grave disapproval. "It's best if ye take her hoome before she becomes possessed."

"Integra, dear, please be reasonable," my father said soothingly, "We are only trying to do what is best for you; to find what is causing your illness, and put a stop to it once and for all."

"Besides which, I saw that very beast attack my darling niece mere seconds before she expired!" the General yelled savagely, "And you dare to tell me it was not the one?"

"You don't understand," I cried, and I could feel my face flush with passion, and I began to tremble and shrug away from Walter, who tried to lead me away. I searched my mind frantically for some sort of explanation of Alucard's innocence, some sort of proof that she was not guilty. "I saw what attacked me," I cried suddenly, "the night that my illness began!"

"What?" my father cried, and the others murmured fervently.

"I saw who did this," I continued, more confidently than before. "The swelling black mass, the great black beast with many eyes, the needles that pierced my breast, the icy feel of cool water from a stream; I remember it all! And when I awoke, a gentleman was standing there, tall and dark, and before I could utter a scream, he slipped out."

"Babylon!" the priest cried, and they all began to whisper and shout furiously among themselves.

"It is the father of her natural child," my uncle said, "The very one that wretch Alucard told me of your having."

"Uncle," I cried, truly exasperated by that time, "For the last time, there is no unnatural child; that was merely a jest on Alucard's part!"

"Does she often make jests on the conditions of young girls," the General said, with barely concealed disgust, "especially the daughter of Arthur?"

"I cannot say," I murmured, and I felt very warm at that moment, as though a terrible fever would consume me in an instant.

"My dear Integra," my father cried, as he approached me. "Why did you not tell me any of this?"

"I did not think it important," I said, too tired to give a proper answer. "I thought it just a dream, or perhaps a trick Alucard conjured up."

"A trick that Alucard conjured up?" the General cried, flushed red in such a passion that I was afraid he would have a stroke. "Indeed! You know that this lilitû is capable of great deception, yet you insist that she cannot be the monster that feasts on you!"

"That's because I know her," I cried, growing increasingly upset as the conversation went on. "Alucard has been nothing, if not honest, with me since I first met her, and if I believed she was capable of such an atrocity, I would know it; I would simply know."

"She does have that look about her as one who has been seduced by darkness," the priest said, with a horrible glint in this eyes that I had thought only existed in my nightmares. "An she does seem very desperate to proove her friend's innocence, despite the evidence shown against her. Perhaps tae defend her demonic friend, whom she may wish to join?"

"No!" my father cried, and he stood between me and the other gentlemen defensively. "My daughter is a good Christian girl; she would never succumb to a vampire's wiles."

"Are ye sure about that, Arthur?" the priest asked, "This girl seems rather attached to the monster that we seek; almost unnaturally so. How can we be sure he is not in league with it already?"

"That is because you do not know Alucard as we have," my father said, "She really is very charismatic, and my poor Integra was quite taken with her; it will take time, I'm sure, for her to come to accept what we know about her now."

"Come now Arthur," my uncle retorted. "That daughter of yours has been smitten with that devil since she first laid eyes on her; if Alucard were to crook her pretty little fingers, your daughter would come running!"

"Richard, that's enough," my father said. "I will not have you saying anything more about my daughter. She was taken with Alucard, it is true; we all were. But now she is very shaken, it will take time for her to get accustomed to Alucard's true nature."

"The vampire take many shapes," Dr. Van Helsing said, speaking up for the first time. "It how he snare his victim. He works through secrecy, trickery, and deceit; he never come out and declare who he is, saying 'I am a monster, now fear me!' He much more sneaky than that. He walks among his prey, disguised as his prey, like a chameleon, or a mantis, so that they do not fear him, or suspect him. Often he may take one step further, become what his prey want most; perhaps a beautiful girl, a handsome prince, or a faithful dog. Ha! But sometimes he may not appear as such, and must send others ahead for further trickery, and they hunt together in packs like wolves."

The good doctor said this so calmly, yet so smoothly, that we all forgot our panic at once, and began to mull over his words thoughtfully.

"And so you are saying we have more than one monster on our hands?" the General cried, and let out a cry of rage. "We will never exterminate them all!"

"We will exterminate them all," the good doctor said, "for there is only one place they gather, only one place they hide, during the daylight hours. When we find it, during the daytime, when they are at rest, we will smite them as God smites sinners, and the earth shall be cleansed."

"Amen," the priest said.

There was a round of murmuring agreement among the gentlemen, who, for the first time since the start of the meeting, were beginning to feel calm. They felt optimistic that they knew what the source of the danger was, and all they need do was hunt it and behead it, and all the madness would cease and all would be well again.

For myself, I felt worse than ever. It was as though everything I had ever known, ever trusted, ever loved had been tossed on its head, and I no longer knew what to believe or think. As it was, I was far too weak, too confused, to stand, let alone think, and so much had been said over the course of the evening, about me and about Alucard, that I could not bear to think on it anymore, and felt myself very nearly begin to swoon under the weight of my thoughts and emotions.

"As for dear Integra, perhaps it best if we take Integra in for the night," the good doctor said, "She look near faint as death, and will need her strength to fight Death until He give up on her come morning. His servant, the monster, is gone now, and we will not find her until we find the place she rest during daytime. Come, let us leave now, and confer our plans for a later date."

The old General, though not I fear given to the praying mood, raised his hands and eyes to heaven, in mute thanksgiving for some moments.

"To-morrow," I heard him say; "the commissioner will be here, and the Inquisition will be held according to law."

Then turning to the good doctor, whom I have described, he shook him warmly by both hands and said:

"Doctor, how can I thank you? How can we all thank you? You will have delivered this region from a plague that has scourged its inhabitants for more than a century. The horrible enemy, thank God, will at last be tracked."

My father led the doctor aside, and the General followed. I know that he had led them out of hearing, that he might relate my case, and I saw them glance often quickly at me, as the discussion proceeded.

Normally, I would have been curious over what they were saying, but I was too drained by what I heard over the course of the evening to inquire, or even care, what they were discussing, and only wished with all my heart that they would stop conferring so that we could go home, where Alucard would be waiting, as sweet and impertinent and harmless as she ever was, and we could all drink coffee and chocolate and tea in the drawing-room and talk about petty subjects like war and politics, and go on to bed and forget this dreadful night.

At long last, my father came to me, kissed me again and again, and leading me from the chapel, said:

"It is time to return, but before we go home, we must add to our party the good priest, who lives but a little way from this; and persuade him to accompany us to the schloss."

The priest in question was standing aloft, covered, as I thought, completely in shadows except for his round spectacles, which glinted brightly in the moonlight, so that I could not see his eyes. I felt terrible misgivings about bringing him along. He was a very tall man, perhaps no less than seven feet, and had a very broad build, as one is who is accustomed to hard labour instead of kneeling in prayer. He possessed a very strong jaw, with a great scar on one side, which gave him the appearance of a soldier rather than a clergyman.

His eyes glittered terribly when I saw him looking my way.

I gulped, and nodded hesitantly, yet remained close to Walter for the entire journey.

In this quest we were successful: and I was glad, being unspeakably fatigued when we reached home. But my satisfaction was changed to dismay, on discovering that there were no tidings of Alucard. Of the scene that had occurred in the ruined chapel, no explanation was offered to me, and it was clear that it was a secret which my father for the present determined to keep from me.

The sinister absence of Alucard made the remembrance of the scene more horrible to me. That she was charged as the source of my illness was distressing enough, but her conspicuous absence made her guilt all the more apparent to her ardent pursuers.

The good doctor and my father promised to take Alucard's possible innocence into consideration, but were determined to search for the culprit, regardless of who it was, and if she happened to be involved with this dreadful affair, then so be it.

Somehow, I felt little satisfied by this assurance, and slowly walked out of the room to prepare for bed, acutely aware that I would not be doing so with Alucard tonight, and longing for her more all the more.

The arrangements for the night were singular. Two servants, and Walter were to sit up in my room that night; and the ecclesiastic with my father were to kept watch in the adjoining dressing-room.

The priest was performing certain solemn rites for that night, the purport of which I did not understand any more than I comprehended the reason of this extraordinary precaution taken for my safety during sleep.

I saw all clearly a few days later.

As I passed by her old bedroom down the hall—the one with a broken door—who should I see standing outside the window, but my beloved Alucard?

Feeling so profoundly relieved to see her again, for reasons I can never explain, even now, I threw all caution and common sense to the wind and threw the window open; and kissed her and embraced her again and again.

I did not see her expression, though I supposed at the time that it was amusement, and she returned my kisses with answering passion; clutched my waist with her sharp little fingers and drew me to her in a trembling embrace that was familiar, ever and anon, from her amorous fits that I had once found so distasteful. I was exhausted, breathless; I clung to her, kissed her with as much passion as my condition and inexperience would allow; I craved her, wished more than anything that I could go beyond the limitations of flesh and become one with her, body and soul.

"Oh Alucard, the most dreadful thing has happened," I whispered breathlessly, "The General has returned, and he claims you are the one responsible for his poor niece's late illness, and my own."

She was silent for a moment, only held me. "What would you say if I was?"

The voice that uttered this was too deep and low to ever come from a young girl, even Alucard.

I started, looked at her, and was horrified to find the familiar glow of red eyes from her unusually harsh, angular face.

At that moment, my father and the good doctor emerged from the next room; and, upon seeing us standing there together, exclaimed my name in fear and ran toward us. But at the same moment, the same frightful change underwent Alucard's features, and she leapt from the window with her arm around my waist, and the last thing I saw was their terrified faces before the world went black.