What Should Have Been

Ketti: Since JuJu is visiting me for the week, I'm finally writing stuff like she's been telling me to for forever. Admittedly, I've written more than you guys know about, but I'm not posting it because none of the new stories are finished and I feel bad never finishing them. Like the summary says, this is what should have happened in this story. Some of you might notice entire chapters missing. Hopefully you'll like the rewrite as much as I do. As I told JuJu on our walk to the swingset, think of this as the OVA version. All the chapters will be longer, except maybe one or two that were originally long in the first place, and truer to the 'original story', which in this case means what should have happened. There were be a lot less chapters, but each one will be longer. I think that's a fair trade off considering the mess WCHB became.

Seras Victoria stirred, a frown tugging her lips, her hand reaching out plaintively and finding nothing. A low whimper bubbled from her throat and her weight shifted to roll over, but a hand on her shoulders stopped her. Stilling instantly at the touch, she settled obediently back into her former position and drifted back into the void of darkness.

Faintly, she thought she heard a 'clickity clack' sort of sound, and her bed seemed to vibrate in time with the noise. But her brain just wouldn't wake enough for her to deal with these oddities and she turned her head to pillow her cheek on her arm.

Muffled voices sounded in her ears and she frowned, squinching up her face as she turned her head the other way. The voices persisted and she growled, flinging her free arm up to wrap around her head and cover her other ear. She just wanted to sleep, damnit. There was a pause, and then a low rumbling sound that reminded her suspiciously of her Master's laughter, before the voices continued in softer tones, and then something was lifting her.

Startled almost into waking fully, she squirmed, uncomfortable with the thought of being carried. A warning growl vibrated against her back and she went rigid in alarm, "Police Girl, stop your infernal squirming or I will drop you."

Struggling against the groggy haze that seemed to cover her body like a shroud, she forced her eyes open and stared up at her Sire from a disconcertingly close distance. Oh god… Why was he holding her? Where were they? The questions ricocheted around in her head like super balls, banging into each other and wreaking utter havoc on her mind.

To be completely honest with herself, she was intimidated by the aloof man who had changed her into a vampire a few months ago; the only times he'd spoken to her were to berate her for not drinking the blood and impersonal commands during the few missions Sir Integra had sent them on. He never called her by name, either, and while not openly hostile… she was sure he didn't like her. But maybe that was all in her head? Confused, she lay stiffly in his arms as he carried her through what appeared to be a train.

"Where are we?" She asked, and as he tilted his head down to look at her, she saw herself reflected in his yellow glasses. A chill traveled up her spine, "Sir." She added hastily.

A fang filled smirk was her answer as he continued walking, his long legs eating up the distance easily. Wariness filled her and she glanced around again to confirm they were indeed in a train, "I can walk, you know." She muttered under her breath, and yelped as he dropped her and she landed painfully on her rump, her head banging the edge of an empty seat. "Owww…"

"Weakling." He spat the insult casually as he bent over at the waist to hook his fingers in the back of her shirt and haul her upright. Swaying slightly on her feet, feeling disoriented from the impact her skull made with the metal rim, she stumbled after him weakly.

My head hurts.

Gaining some of her balance back, she had to quick-step to keep up with him, and the thought struck her that this train was strangely empty. She was sure she heard voices earlier, though, so that was odd. A moment later they exited the train into a busy looking station and she felt unease roiling in the back of her mind.

"Master… I don't remember hearing about any missions..?" She asked tentatively, steps beginning to slow as she lagged farther and farther behind the red clad man, trying to gain her bearings.

"That's because there wasn't one, Police Girl." He answered coldly, turning to look at her over his shoulder.

What..? But, but… "Won't Sir Integra be angry that we left?" The blonde asked in a near whisper, stopping completely in her tracks. The woman may only be human, but she is damned scary.

He halted as well and turned fully to face her with an odd expression that raised the small hairs on the back of her neck, "Integra is dead, Police Girl."

Confusion slapped her in the face and she balked, at first unable to comprehend those few simple words. Then fear edged into the equation as her eyes flitted to his hands and noted with some horror his gloves were missing. With Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing dead, nothing restrained the ancient male vampire from doing what he pleased. She opened her mouth with the intent of barraging him with questions, when he slid his glasses down his nose and glowing red eyes pierced her very soul.

"Don't question me, Police Girl."

His words resonated in her skull, and she felt weird, kinda… dizzy… Swaying on her feet, eyelids drooping, the blonde's facial features went slack and her right foot lifted to continue walking as his next words throbbed between her ears and behind her eyes like a drum; "Come here, Police Girl."

"Yes, Master."

She walked to him, and his right hand came down on her shoulder and pulled her flush to his side as he led them through the crowds to another train idling in the dark, waiting for passengers to board. Muffled voices and a myriad of smells tugged at her senses as they walked through the corridor until they reached a particular compartment and her Master slid the panel back, escorting her inside and setting her down on the bench seat opposite him.

"This is the third time I've had to quiet you on this journey, Police Girl. If it happens again I will be angry."

She stared at him blankly, her sluggish brain supplying her with half forgotten memories of … of … Losing the thought, she simply nodded and dropped limply to her side to lay across the bench and close her eyes.

Faintly, she thought she heard a 'clickity clack' sort of sound, and her bed seemed to vibrate in time with the noise. The word 'déjà vu' came to mind and her features scrunched up in distaste.

Nng…

Squirming restlessly, she stilled as she felt a weight shift near her head and something warm settle atop her head.

Pet… Pet… Pet…

Purring, she leaned into the touch and felt more than heard the vibration of a deep chuckle as her head was moved and she found a new pillow. The pillow wasn't quite as soft as her upper arm, and felt a little rough, but the petting continued so she nestled her cheek into the cloth and drifted back into sleep quiescently.

"Good girl."

Seras' dreams were filled with blood and screams and she jerked awake with a choked cry. Shuddering violently and wrapping her arms around herself, the blonde blinked and canted her head to the side curiously. This…wasn't her room. She'd grown accustomed to the windowless basement dwelling and the sparse furnishings; it wasn't too different from her own time in orphanages and her spartan apartment… aside from the lack of windows, that is. But this… there were thick curtains drawn across the window and she lay upon a very plush king sized bed. "What?"

Vague recollections teased at her thoughts; something about… a train, and her Master. Leaving London? Rubbing her forehead as though to massage the memories into place, she felt her stomach tighten in hunger and her throat burn with thirst.

The thought of drinking the blood scared her. She didn't want to become a monster like the creatures that ravaged the village of Cheddar, like the FREAKS Sir Integra sent her to hunt, like … like her Master who was so blood crazed and inhuman.

"Now. now, Police Girl, it isn't nice to think such things about your Master." His voice cooed from the doorway and she jumped in guilty surprise. "M-Master…"

When he approached she flinched and he clucked his tongue in amused disappointment, "Are you scared of me?" The prospect seemed to amuse him.

"N-No, of course not." She muttered, refusing to look at him as she stared off to his right and above his shoulders. "Where are we?" She asked abruptly, eager to change the subject.

"Paris, but we're not staying long."

A vague memory tickled her thoughts and she frowned, "Sir Integra is dead, isn't she?" It wasn't even really a question as she recalled his words from earlier on the train and further back of blood… the stench of decomposing flesh, the feeling of dead hands grasping at her flesh, pinning her to the floor, touching her… then nothing but red. Red, red red… Shuddering violently, the blonde wrapped her arms around her middle, "What happened?"

"A miscalculation. When the loud mouthed one reached the conference room he shot Integra in the chest before the other Round Table members put him down with blessed silver. You, little fledgling, were caught in a blood rage and rekilling the ghouls that used to be Hellsing troops." Her Sire looked down at his gloveless hands with a strange look upon his face, "The Hellsing line is dead, Police Girl, and nothing remains to bind me to the church or crown of England."

"What will you do now, Master?" She asked uncertainly, peeking up at him through her bangs.

"Whatever I please."

"Why am I here?" The question burned for an answer, lighting her ocean blue eyes with an urgent need to know.

"Because you are mine, Police Girl. My fledgling, my responsibility, and I will see you raised as a proper vampire outside the control of humans." There was a threat implicit in his words; whether you like it or not.

"If you say so, Master." Seras muttered, rolling off the bed and making her way to the bathroom. She might as well take advantage while she had the chance.

"Master?" The girl asked a while later, jean clad knees pulled to her t-shirted chest as she sat upon the hotel bed and stared out the window, while the elder vampire lounged beside her, reading a book in a language she didn't recognize.

"Yes, fledgling?" He murmured, flipping the page with a flick of his finger.

"I want to see the city."

He lay the book against his chest and looked at her over the rims of his glasses, dark brows arching into his hairline. "Not alone you won't, Police Girl."

Seras pursed her lips and exhaled through her nose, "Will you come with me, then, Master?"

Alucard's features took on a considering look as he sized her up, "Do you know any languages beside English, Police Girl?"

She considered fibbing, but thought better of it instantly, "No, Master."

"You will, time is a good teacher. Come, then, we have time until the next train is scheduled to leave." As he sat up his clothes changed; the red coat bleeding out color until it was black as night, his charcoal suit changing to more modern dark jeans and a fitted shirt, and shiny silver grommets appeared in his riding boots. He looked hot.

Banishing the thought with a slight flush of her cheeks, the blue eyed blonde stared at the shaggy raven haired male with ominous red eyes and dressed rather like some of the Goths she'd seen at Trafalgar Square. He slid his yellow glasses into his front coat pocket and placed the book on the bedside table, his usual fedora tossed carelessly over the back of the chair near the window.

The pair exited the hotel moments later and Seras shivered at the strange feeling of the wind in the foreign city, stepping closer to her Master instinctively. Something felt… off about the breeze, she couldn't quite put her finger on why, however. Alucard began to walk and she followed doggedly, keeping at his heels to not get lost – how embarrassing would that be? – and because she had a feeling he wouldn't let her get very far alone in any case.

Seras lost track of the time they spent walking with her reveling in the pretense of freedom, taking in the sights of a city not her own. Alucard stopped abruptly and she bounced off his back with an 'oof', scrunching her nose and rubbing it with the back of her hand. Ow.

Stepping around her Sire to stand beside him, she blinked and cocked her head to the right curiously, rather baffled at the strange sight before her. They were at the edge of a graveyard and there appeared to be a silver haired woman clad in a much too large button up shirt dancing… with a corpse. She was doing the waltz, even! After a moment Seras' ears caught the sound of the mad woman's humming as she cradled the decomposing body to herself and guided the dance around the grave markers, Seras also took note of the other's bare feet. "…What?"

"She does this at least once a week, and no one's sure of her name. She's running out of cemeteries, though, so from what I know she'll be moving on to somewhere new." A red eyed ravenette clad in black leggings and a rather provocative white blouse, with a little too much jewelry that strangely reminded Seras of the pirate movies she saw as a kid spoke up, leaning on the wrought iron fence. Seras saw a few others lining the outskirts of the bone yard and the shifting breeze brought the scent of darkness and undeath, alerting her confused brain that she was surrounded by vampires. Alucard, being Alucard, began to laugh, and Seras wasn't quite sure if his mirth was aimed at the dancing duo or her reaction to it.

The reverberating baritone of her Sire's amusement caused the silver female to drop the corpse as she turned and bared her ivory teeth in disconcertingly shark like grin. A grin she'd seen many times on her Master's face when he got to kill something. Seras swore she hadn't blinked or looked away from the other, but the strange woman was suddenly there and her mismatched gaze of ruby and sapphire bore intently into the fledgling's before shifting to the male at her side. A curious expression crossed her visage before she grinned and made a great show of using the hem of her much too large shirt like a skirt to courtesy to Alucard. "You smell of blood and power." The female purred as she pressed herself up against the amused male's side, rubbing her cheek against his shirt.

Seras felt a twinge of …something unpleasant when she saw the mad female fawning over her Sire in such a way. And speaking of smells… Lord! Had she never heard of bathing? Grave dirt, stale copper, mint, and something cloyingly sweet, with an underlying sourness, lined the back of her throat like wet cotton. It reminded her of the time her power went out and the meat went bad in her fridge…

Shuddering in disgust at the thought, the blonde stared at the pair. Her Sire made no attempt to remove the female from his person, and the uncomfortable feeling grew more intense. Without consciously realizing it, the fledgling curled her lip and growled, catching the other's attention away from Alucard.

"Oh? A new dance partner! Mr. Bellingsworth was quite stiff about it, not enough to drink." Seras was startled as she found herself flung in a circle by a firm grip on her wrists, the mad woman swinging her about like a child would dance with a stuffed animal.

Alucard laughed. What an ass.

From his example, perhaps, the other surrounding vampires joined in a chorus of jeering amusement at her expense. Damnit all to hell.

"Such a pretty thing you are. So young and tender…" The mad woman's voice purred, sickeningly sweet like honey dripping from a poisoned spoon. Something eerily familiar glowed in those eyes as they loomed closer and closer, making Seras feel a bit nervous. Pleadingly she turned her gaze to her Sire as her body was manipulated like a puppet to the whims of the stranger.

"And mine." Alucard's voice broke the spell, or whatever it was that held her limbs numb and Seras reacted in an instant to swing her foot into the mad woman's side and bolt back to the nebulous safety of her Master's shadow.

"And wicked kings never share." The response baffled Seras as she stared at the crumpled heap against the black fence, tangled hair covering the other's face and most of her body. "But alas, I was no swimmer, so I lost my Clementine." Giggles chimed like discordant bells as the crowd began to disperse around them, leaving only the trio at the edge of the cemetery.

"Be gone harridan, you no longer amuse me this night." Alucard growled as he lifted his goggle sided shades from his pocket to slip over his nose and shield his crimson gaze. A heavy hand clamped over Seras' shoulder as he led them away from the crescendoing shriek of shrill laughter, tainted by madness and untamed darkness. Seras again lost track of the time until they found themselves atop the Eiffel Tower, gazing down at the maze like paths od darkness betwixt the myriad lights of mortal fear for the unknown. It was strange, Seras had never considered street lamps and other such illumination in such a manner until her eyes were opened to the true world of the night, or as much of it as she allowed herself to see, anyways.

"Master..?"

He grunted, which she took to mean 'go ahead and speak'. So she did.

"What was… wrong with that other vampire? She seemed off." Seras struggled to find the right words without flat out saying that she thought the bewildering female to be bat shit crazy.

"As you thought, fledgling, the girl is mad. Powerful, old, and mad." Sparing half a glance in her direction his lips peeled back in a show of fang, "And to answer your unasked question, no, she is no threat to me for multiple reasons. Reasons I will not get into at this time. We've seen the city, Police Girl. It's time to return to the hotel."

Seras sighed resignedly, "Yes, Master."

A swirling maw of darkness appeared beneath them and she shivered in instinctive unease of the mockery of the laws of the universe and its makings, "Master? Will we meet others? Like tonight, ones we don't need to kill on sight." She questioned as his hand clamped over the back of her neck and pulled her to his side.

"Perhaps, Police Girl. If you behave."

With that, they disappeared into the void and vanished from the streets of Paris.