It was Halloween night and Alucard was bored, as is usual in these situations. He had no one to 'hang' with, nor pester the crap out of. Walter had been employed to help Integra set up for the annual celebration, because, unlike normal belief, his master did indeed celebrate these pointless holidays. So while they strew fake cobwebs and black lights and other necessities (he'd be employed to produce the creepy Halloween shadows later), Alucard sat around trying to entertain himself.

Also, Seras was nowhere to be found either. She'd left earlier in the day before he got up, as she'd done a few times during the beginning of the month. But unlike those other times, she hadn't been back by the time he'd gotten up this night. He'd thought nothing of it before, but now that he actually thought of it, Alucard couldn't fathom a reason why she'd do such things. It was a bit odd. She didn't do things like that, not unless she had a mission, but then he'd know about it.

Is she seeing someone?

A quiet, low growl escaped the confines of his vocal cords, unbeknownst to him.

No. That's not it. I'd know. Just from her mind or from the smell.

Now he was truly baffled.

Where could that girl be? Ah! If I weren't so bored I wouldn't have evened bothered getting myself on this topic. Damned overdeveloped sense of protectiveness.

Standing up, off the couch he'd been relaxing on in the lounge, Alucard shifted his way to Integra and Walter. Where he was sure he'd get the answer to the question that wouldn't let him be for now. Walter was chuckling whilst standing before a huge pile of red, orange, yellow, and brown leaves that seemed to be hiding Integra. That was until Alucard popped up.

"Ah. Hello, Alucard. Enjoying yourself," Walter asked the annoyed NoLife King, a hint of laughter still touching his voice.

"No. I'm bored. Do either of you know where Police Girl is?"

"Seras? I saw her earlier. We were talking about Halloween before she left the manor," said the moving, and apparently talking, pile of leaves, eliciting yet another chuckle from Walter.

"So she's not anywhere here…"

"Nope," yet another response from the vegetation.

"Very well."

Turning about face, Alucard started walking back towards the house before turning about face again and asking Integra another question.

"Do you know where she went?"

Her answer wasn't very much help to him though…

"Nope."

Thinking for a second, Alucard changed positions and headed in the direction of the Wild Geese's barracks. And Pip Bernadette.

"Oh. And Integra. Get out of those leaves. You're three-and-twenty. Act you age."

Alucard's demand was met with a snort from the leaves on his use of words describing her age, and a very mature hand gesture.

To that he said, "Oh. How very American of you." Which brought her arm down quite quickly and full out laughter from Walter, as Alucard had not even seen the raised finger.

"Yo, Cap'n. Looks like ya got a visitor. What'd ya do ta Seras this time to get 'im to actually come afta ya?"

"Huh?"

Looking up rather quickly at his comrade and the others, all of which had an amused yet surprisingly sort of scared look on their faces, Pip quirked an eyebrow and looked over his shoulder in the direction they were staring. There, coming towards him, Alucard swaggered, looking very much at ease in the moonlight, like a big cat on the prowl.

As Pip was standing up and turning to greet the infamous Vampire, running through his head was everything he'd done today. Trying to remember if he'd offended Seras or touched her or even said something that would provoke her psychotic master to come and, at the least, mentally pain him. Nothing came to mind. He didn't even remember seeing Seras once today.

What could bring him here then? Why seek me out?

Stopping before Pip, Alucard waited a moment, sizing him up from behind his yellow shades. Seeing as how he towered over the tall mercenary because of his inhuman height and Pip was, on top of that, human, Alucard saw those attempts as a waste of his time. So giving him a stiff nod, Alucard began,

"Mercenary."

Pip followed Alucard's example, trying to play it safe.

"Vampire," he said with a stiff, curt nod of his own.

"It's no time to be pert, Mercenary. I'm here to ask you a question."

"Very well. What is it then?"

"Being…close…with the Police Girl, do you know where she is?"

"…No. I haven't seen her all day actually. Where'd she go?"

"Now if I knew where she was, why would I come and ask you?"

"Okay. Okay. Sorry I asked," Pip replied, his hands up in a submissive gesture.

"Humph," Alucard said as he started to walk back to the mansion.

"Hey. Ya going to look for her," Pip called after him.

"No. If she was dead or hurt, I'd know."

"You don't even know where she is?! Aren't you suppose to protect her?!"

"If you insist on pursuing this conversation, you must know that I'm going back inside."

Pip, watching the world's deadliest creature walk away, made up his mind and took off to catch up with Alucard. He'd stick around with him because as much as they interacted, whether because of Seras or just their jobs, Pip decided it was time to get to know more about him and about the vampires' master-servant bond. He wanted more enlightenment. And things were just a bit too awkward between himself and Alucard, and Pip didn't do awkward. Sure. He did odd; but awkward? No. And so the two 'hung out' for a while until Alucard was called outside to supply the 'shadow goods'; and the awkwardness between the two didn't really go away, but it did dissipate a little.

Starting at six o' clock, Alucard had stood outside with Walter and Integra for six hours straight while they handed out candy first to the small kids who came tottering up with their parents, and later to the teens. Now that's when it started to get interesting for Alucard. At around seven all the little kids and their parents went home and the teens started coming out in big rowdy crowds. These kids soon became Alucard's 'prey' of the night. He'd lie in the grass and pour a blood packet all over himself, tear his clothes a bit (his coat left inside), semi-cover himself in shadow, and then wait for his unsuspecting victims.

Every time, they'd walk past him laughing and smirking, then after they'd passed him he'd get up and follow them up the steps and right as they were all reaching for the bowls full of tempting candy that the smiling Integra and Walter were holding on to, Alucard would release his psychotically evil cackle from right behind them and the words "Welcome to your doom!" or something along those lines. For some reason, it always seemed to get the kids. They'd all jump and scream while swiftly turning around only to behold him and all his inhumanness and size.

His fangs flashing in the moonlight and his eyes gleaming demonically, he'd bend down toward them. And that's when they'd scatter like roaches when a light comes on, leaving him laughing into the night with Walter and Integra.

But it never ceased to amaze him that twenty minutes later the same group of kids would come back and retrieve the candy they'd originally came for the first time. He found it hilarious, so as the group would come back up the drive, looking all shifty eyed, he'd change his hiding spot and wait until they were leaving again. Once they were right upon him, he'd morph out of the shadows and walk towards them, his hair devilishly in his eyes and his face-splitting smirk in place. They'd once again scatter before his eyes and he'd turn and follow them all the way to the end of the drive and his boundaries.

But then that extra hour came. The one that proclaimed him to have been outside for seven hours with his master and her butler; and soon Integra voiced her opinion-slash-demand that they retire after one more group of teens. That made Alucard droop a bit, but he couldn't resist a direct command of hers, so he begrudgingly agreed.

The next mass of kids was the exact same as the others. Except for maybe its size, it was loud and rowdy and extremely annoying now that he was to go inside after it. But there was also another difference.

He played his tricks as usual. Different then the one before it as that one had been from the one before it. And all the kids jumped and screamed and scattered too. Except for one. A small, shapely, black-haired, blue-eyed girl dressed up in an outfit that seemed to be an exact replica of his usual attire, just solid black. Instead of taking off screaming like the rest of her friends she stayed long enough to grab her candy and smile knowingly at Integra and Walter. This caught Alucard's attention right away.

"Do you know her," he asked as he turned back toward Integra and Walter who were cleaning up their area.

"Her," Walter asked, looking up at Alucard.

"Yeah."

"Oh…She lives…close by," Integra interrupted quickly, sending Walter a warning glance that did not go unnoticed by Alucard.

Not questioning it though, he just turned around. Just in time to catch the sight of a black cape-tail slide around the side of one of the big trees within the manor. Narrowing his eyes, he started to advance toward that particular tree only to be stopped by Integra asking him what the hell he was doing. Turning, once again, back to Integra, Alucard caught the scent of hairspray and felt the movement of the wind disrupted by a fast moving object play with his hair.

Whatever it was was moving toward the mansion and he had an idea as to what it was. Snapping his head in the general direction of the house, Alucard scrutinized the building, completely ignoring Integra who was sending Walter surprised and questioning glances. Near the corner of the wall there past a figure cloaked in black. Watching the corner, Alucard saw two blue eyes peek around and look directly at him before widening and then hiding back behind the wall.

That was all the encouragement he needed. As soon as the eyes looked at him he took off toward them, leaving his master and her butler standing behind, mouths hanging open. Rounding the corner, Alucard heard the sound of a door slamming shut and feet running. Closing in on the door he could already hear the feet starting down the steps to the basement. Now his grin came out, full-fledged. They always go down, down to his domain. And it was always their first, and one of their last, mistakes.

Thinking that since the girl knew he was coming after her already, she'd head to a safer destination in the 'basement' instead of going to his room, Alucard decided to shadow to Seras' room. Getting there, he saw that the room was completely and utterly empty. It looked as plain and simple as usual. But there, in the air, he could smell the intruder's hairspray-deluded scent. Something about it was familiar but he was too busy thinking of his new 'game' that his attention was quickly shifted to the small, black replica of his coat that the black-haired girl had worn. Clearly she thought she'd have time to come back and retrieve it.

How very presumptuous this girl is.

Also, within the room, was the bucket of ice that contained Seras' 'dinner'. The only thing was…it was empty. This irritated him. How dare they steal nourishment from his fledgling? And when she's not even there to defend herself. Glaring all the way, he shadowed himself to his room. Oh, he'd show that masterless child who she was really messing with.

But in his room, like Seras' blood-bucket, it was empty. Nothing moved or seemed to be disrupted in the least. All except, once again, the air. It only made sense though; the girl was a vampire after all, even if she was a lowly one at that. Her sent was just a strong stream of hairspray. Not very pleasant, but great for covering her true scent. Though, he was still able to follow it to its source. And the source came from his table where a large pillowcase laid.

Quickly, Alucard grabbed the bag and poured its contents onto the tabletop. Masses and masses of chocolates and red lollipops came tumbling out of the case. He was flabbergasted. Almost nobody knew he had an obsession for chocolates and lollipops. Not even Integra knew that. Only two others knew, both only by accident.

The first one was Walter, and he only knew because he was the one that introduced Alucard to lollipops and reintroduced him to chocolates; more like stuffed them down his throat when he was fourteen. Later on, only about a month or so before this actually, Seras had found out. Alucard and Walter had been talking in the basement kitchen, when BAM! Walter pulls out a lollipop. Alucard couldn't control himself and snatched the candy away from Walter and then stuffed it into his mouth. Then he heard Seras' "God, Master. I didn't know you liked lollipops. Or that you'd kill Walter over one." And so her comment called for an explanation. And since Alucard couldn't do it because his mouth was otherwise occupied, he sent a glare at Walter and sat down next to Seras at the table to listen to Walter's 'Lollipop Tale'. Thus Seras learned of his obsession.

Then how did this kid know about him liking chocolates and lollipops? Shrugging, Alucard picked up a large red candy, twisted the wrapper off the stem and stuffed it into his mouth. The girl had gotten away with her life and Seras' blood but she left him with a hefty peace treaty that he couldn't ignore. So after chomping down on his lollipop, Alucard shadowed back to Integra and Walter who were now on the stairs, heading for the office.

"Did you get her," Integra asked, giving a weird look to Alucard's lollipop and a glance at Walter who had started chuckling to himself as soon as he caught sight of the lollipop within the clenches of Alucard's jaws.

Integra's question was only met with more chuckles and a shake of a head accompanied by a finger pointing toward the bobbing white stick high above her head in her vampire's mouth.

"Good."

Alucard raised an eyebrow at her comment, which meant that he'd bug the hell out of her if she didn't spill.

"She's a nice girl. And she lives very close by. She didn't mean any harm. She's a friend of mine."

"Humph."

Not pushing for more information, he followed them up the steps and closer to the office. The closer they got, the stronger the scent of hairspray got. Alucard's spine stiffened and his eyes locked on the door to their destination. Stepping in he took a quick look around. Everything was completely normal, say for the smell and the little specks of black-hairspray-paint on the desk and a few papers.

"She wa-"

SPAQUISH! "Damnit! The water didn't work! Quick! Get her!" BAM-BAM-BAM!

Alucard was interrupted by the sounds of the Wild Geese running through the manor. Then a door slammed shut followed by the sound of feet running around outside. When that finally quieted, the sound of angry footsteps on the stairs could be heard before Integra's office door slammed open.

"Integra! Those stupid men tried to use 'Holy water' on me and now the paint's running! Try to do something nice for Master and this is how I get-"

SUTHUMP!

"thanked," the girl croaked out as best she could with Alucard's hand wrapped around her throat, holding her up against a wall.

She was soaking wet. Her hair, which was quickly turning a different color then it had previously been, was dripping blackened water droplets; her blue eyes were widened in fright, sending a pleading glance over to Integra and Walter over his shoulder. Alucard snarled at her from around his lollipop, his teeth sawing into the stick. His cruel, crimson eyes burned into her own.

The torture was interrupted though. By the sound of barley heard giggles and loud, deep laughter. Looking over his shoulder, Alucard beheld the sight of Integra trying to suppress more laughter, losing miserably in the battle to control herself, and Walter bent over crying with more laughter. Halloween truly was his favorite holiday within the year.

As you might presume, this sight wasn't very encouraging to Alucard. Integra, leaning against Walter, lazily waved Alucard off of the 'nameless' girl and relieved herself of the built up laughter within her system. Slowly, Alucard lower the girl before releasing her throat. This caused a huge coughing fit to come out of her mouth, leaving her gasping for air and just triggering more laughs from the two humans. Scowling at them, Alucard turned back to the girl, receiving a hard smack on the face.

"DAMNIT MASTER! What the fuck is your damn problem?! I was just trying to do something nice for you and you go and strangle me like a fucking rag doll!"

"Seras," Alucard asked, rubbing his face as if it really hurt.

"No. I'm Cleopatra Hollingdale."

"I sense that to be sarcasm…"

"No shit, Sherlock."

Alucard was left speechless. And Seras' outbursts had no better effect on Integra and Walter who had stopped laughing a little while ago but had recently been restarted by the look on both the vampires' faces. One completely blank, lost in aw-ism. The other, red with rage. But then Seras was gone in an irate manner. A few minutes later though, the group of three heard her irritated footsteps coming back up the stairs.

"Doing something nice and I get drowned in water, then chased after by stupid idiots with silver loaded guns, and then I get slammed against the wall by my own master holding onto my throat thinking I'm some dumb random scumbag he needs to kill. And all because I went through the trouble of getting him his damned favorite two candies…"-The door opened to allow her into the room. But instead, only Alucard's candy bag came flying through the doorway, to collide with his chest-"Here. Take that and enjoy it."

And before anyone moved to go after her and apologize, morning came and the fic ended.

I'll admit, this isn't my best fic.
It's been my 'when I'm bored and have nothing else to do on the comp.' work.
So...It's not that great but it's something right?
Not to mention, who doesn't love Halloween?
lol Well I hope you enjoyed this, non-the-less.

-Lizz