Explosions tore apart the air above London as the zeppelins above were smacked down as though by the hand of a furious god. Yet none of it mattered to Alucard, even as he charged through the fiery wreckage of the devastated Heinz Guderian, his one focus was on his target: The Butler, Walter, charging right after him.

His guns lit up the night, yet even as they thundered in his hands they felt inconsequential. Their bullets had been designed to combat humans and manufactured vampires. They had not been designed to so much as impede perfection, and the Butler had made it quite clear that that was indeed what he faced. The rounds were effortlessly swatted aside by the Butler, a wire sliding through each one, sending them into the ground as halves. He needn't have gone to even the slightest effort to intercept Alucard's weapons, having the speed to dodge with ease, yet there was a certain artistry in his moves which Alucard could not help but admire.

The Casull and Jackal pair clicked empty simultaneously, signaling the Butler to close the trap he had been weaving throughout the chase. Without so much as a sound, wires cleanly cut through buildings, street, and even the flaming debris above, forming a net with Alucard at its center. The elder vampire however, simply stopped and gave a quick chuckle before dashing to one of the net's rapidly-closing sides, expertly ducking under and around the near-invisible weapons, breaking free before it became thick enough to ensnare him.

The Butler smiled, detaching the hopelessly tangled set of wires and rearming in an instant. "I'd always hoped it wouldn't be that easy." He said smoothly, with no trace of the age he once carried.

"Nonsense!" Taunted Alucard, while casually reloading his handguns. "We who have given up our humanity seek nothing but the easiest path!" He then lifted his weapons and began to fire again, forcing the Butler to dodge and intercept the rounds.

Alucard smirked as the Butler moved back onto the defensive. "Unpardonable traitor" He spat, "You've given up everything for the power you need to fulfill whatever lofty ambitions have lurked in your soul all these years, yet you and everyone else seem to never find out until it's too late…" The movement of his guns seemed to slow as darkness rippled around him. "Your dreams die with you!" A hellhound familiar sprung from his shoulder, bounding towards the Butler.

Wires caught the hellhound, suspending it mid-leap even as the Butler dodged a pair of shots fired simultaneously. A quick tug sent the beast vanishing into nothingness. "I'm well aware of that!" He replied, finding himself shouting at Alucard. "But there's too much I have left to do! Even if it was against done against my will, I can't just lay down and end it all now that I have the power to do what needs to be done!"

"What needs to be done?" Mocked Alucard. "Your transformation and subsequent treason are required? Nonsense!" He lunged at the Butler, his weapons and coat disappearing. "Your duty is done old friend, the enemy is nearly beaten, and MY master is in good hands. So rest!" His hand shot out to impale his foe, but the Butler was faster, a flash of wires quickly removing the offending appendage.

"No!" Refused the Butler. "My duty to Sir Hellsing won't be complete until I destroy you!" A torrent of wires looped around Alucard's limbs, holding him firmly in place. The servant of Hellsing however, laughed at the predicament.

"Now now," he admonished. "That hardly sounds like any request she's ever made of you."

"It's not an order," the Butler admitted. "But it's necessary! You're too close to turning her and I cannot allow that!" The wires around Alucard tightened, blood seeping through his clothing as the cuts deepened. "Just as when Sir Arthur Hellsing sealed you before, your usefulness to the Hellsing family is once again exceeded by the danger you represent!" Then, without so much as even a grunt of effort, he gave a sharp pull on the wires in his hands, sending Alucard spinning to the ground in pieces.

"Come on!" He taunted, the arrogance in his voice betraying his spoken intentions. "Show me some of that fabled invincibility of yours! Or did that useless Iscariot weaken you so badly that this is all that's left for me?" He stepped forwards towards Alucard's remains, his shoes giving a light splash as he walked through the blood of what was once a London civilian.

Wait a moment, he thought, pausing. The blood below him was starting to flow towards Alucard, pulled by an invisible tide. Other streams soon began to leak from the surrounding buildings, streets, and alleys. Realizing the sudden danger, the Butler leapt back a safe distance from the pool forming around Alucard, sinking his remains.

"You guys are unbelievable!" Alucard's voice boomed down the street. "You throw everything you have against me, and at the same time provide me with such a feast as I have never seen before!" A fist shot out of nowhere, catching the Butler across his cheek and sending him sprawling back.

"Just how do you plan on killing something like me?" Alucard mocked, body reforming from nothing. No, not from nothing, realized the Butler. Blood had permeated the very air around him, drawn to Alucard in the same supernatural way as the growing pool of blood. "Just how do you plan on killing a being that can cheat life and death and consume endlessly? How do plan on killing a monster?"

The Butler responded by raising his wires and launching himself at Alucard.

---

Pip struggled to keep the helicopter stable as the shockwaves from the exploding zeppelins buffeted the small aircraft. Moments later though, the Millennium escorts were nothing more than burning debris; the light given off by their conflagration fading in the helicopter's wake as they drew closer to the massive flagship, slowing down as they gained altitude to land on the top of the massive envelope. A small maintenance hatch half-way across the vehicle marked the best spot to land, Pip expertly guiding the helicopter to a landing on the questionable surface, making sure to match the zeppelin's slow cruising speed. The landing was slowly performed, Pip relying on the helicopter's weight to keep it steady on the light surface.

The side-doors flung open and the first mercenary to disembark nearly killed himself, accidentally slipping on the envelope as he moved to cover the maintenance hatch. Seras quickly followed, effortlessly dashing across the difficult surface to grab and drag back the man before he reached the decline that would take him irrecoverably close to going over the side.

"Damnit!" Scolded Pip, careful to not repeat his subordinate's mistake as he climbed out of the cockpit. "If you're going to get killed, at least have the courtesy of letting the enemy do it!"

"Sorry captain," Apologized the mercenary, turning to follow the rest of the team filing out of the helicopter towards the maintenance hatch. Pickman was the last to disembark, carrying a demolitions bag over his shoulder.

Seras gave the hatch a sharp tug, flinging it open. She jumped inside, giving a quick yell that the area was clear, an oddity when considering that it was the easiest entry to the zeppelin.

If we're lucky, it's because their numbers have been thinned out. Thought Pickman as he climbed down in the middle of the group. After everyone was inside, he, Pip, and Seras stepped apart from the seven Hellsing mercenaries.

"Alright," Briefed Pickman, confirming the plan they'd agreed to. "This will be a combination sabotage/assassination. I'll be leading a team to the engine room, whereupon we'll set enough in the way of timed explosives to turn this zeppelin into a burning wreck. In the meantime, Captain Bernadotte and Officer Victoria will be taking a second team to attack the enemy command center and kill the enemy commander, that Major. The charges will be set for 30-minutes, so considering time to reach the engine room and possibly fight along the way, you have a time limit of about 45-minutes to eliminate the target and get back."

"Is that all clear?" He received a chorus of nods in reply. "Good." He was tempted to add the prayer Commander Fargason had popularized amongst the old Hellsing troops, but decided against it. It was trying to imagine a God that would allow the unspeakable horrors visited upon London to occur. Duty and vengeance would be their only solace in the coming dawn.

Pickman and three mercenaries began towards the rear of the zeppelin; Pip, Seras, and four others trailing them began their trek to the front, where the command center would inevitably be.

---

Integra was beginning to tire as the Major kept up the pace towards his destination. They had traversed deck after deck, heading deeper into the bowels of the zeppelin. They passed small teams of vampires, the remnants of the Letztes Battalion. She noticed that they seemed drained, fatigued in a way that should be impossible for the inhuman monsters they were. Even Second-Lieutenant Wittman, while keeping pace with the Major, seemed sluggish. Finally, they descended a final staircase; leading to what she believed had to be the lowest level of the ship.

"Here we are," Announced the Major, rounding a corner in the hallway. He opened a lone door, a blast of air rushing past Integra and Wittman as the Major descended down a small staircase. Integra followed, the stairs leading down onto a small observation deck, connected to the zeppelin above by a few pillars and the staircase itself. A table was set at the end of the platform, a chair on both ends and a single wine glass resting in the center.

"If you would guard the entrance please lieutenant?" Asked the Major. Wittman saluted and walked back up the stairs, the door sliding shut behind him.

"Are you certain that's entirely wise?" Offered Integra. "Leaving yourself alone with an enemy sworn to kill you?"

The Major chuckled, a broad smile on his face. "I've no reason to fear you. Indeed, I've no reason to fear anything." He gestured to the table. "But please, take a seat." Integra reluctantly sat across from the Major, the table and view of London between them.

"Do you see now?" He asked, his hand sweeping over the ruined city. Fires burned below, innumerable, and the pillars of smoke had solidified into a stream of black. Even Integra could smell the death in the air. "Do you see the manner of devastation we've inflicted, armed with nothing more than a few old relics and the limitless human capacity for betrayal? There is no longer any doubt as to what we are capable of, no doubt of the possibility to create war on a global scale."

"A global scale?" She questioned. "Yet you've squandered your resources to obtain the proof of what you're capable of. Just how do you think you'll be able to threaten the world now?"

"I don't mean to threaten it." Answered the Major. "I mean to ensure that it is embroiled in a war to end all wars, a war on a scale unimaginable."

"And the means to do so? Like I said, you're nearly out of troops and weapons."

"All I need is one weapon." His smile darkened. "And that weapon is my gift to you."

The door slid open, the Doc stepping down the stairs, carrying what looked like a wine bottle in both hands.

"The extraction was a complete success, and the preparations flawless." He reported. "Though as you can no doubt see, time is running short." He sat the bottle on the table, reaching into his pocket for a vial and handing it off to the Major.

"Exemplary work as usual Doc," complimented the Major, holding the vial in front of his eyes, gazing at the contents while the Doc moved to stand behind him. Integra, finally able to see it clearly, realized that it contained blood.

"My dear Sir Hellsing," began the Major. "I take it you were never told of the full story behind the Millennium Project?" She nodded in response. "You see, at the core of our research lies our greatest finding. Indeed, without it our research would have been nothing more than the fevered dreams of madmen. That finding is a vampire. Although She has been the center of our research, what we know of Her is surprisingly little. We found Her sealed, but we know that She is both ancient and powerful beyond even the greatest hopes of our research. Through her blood we began our experiments to create ghouls, then vampires. It took decades, but the technology we work with has expanded to the point of even creating chips to infuse vampiric powers. But still, it's all incomplete."

He held out the vial, offering it to Integra. She took it, feeling a subtle magnetism from the vial. "You see, we could never surpass our original finding. Yet at the same time she remained useless, insane and uncontrollable. Now though, everything has changed. Just as the late Sir Islands proved, Her power can be replicated. Not only that, but our research far outstrips that of your own government, especially in this field."

"The elder vampire Incognito was the base for our first series of chips. With him dead though, it seems that the power in the chips has begun to slowly fade, putting a time limit on the legions of traitors we placed in your midst. We were ready however, to introduce a newer and stronger chip based on Her own power. Yet it seems our lack of control over Her is preventing the chips from taking, except in specific cases, such as Islands' using the Incognito-based chips to channel Her energy and control it, a technique with a very limited lifespan remaining."

"What does your control have to do with abominable devices like those chips working?" Questioned Integra, an increasingly uneasy feeling growing in her as she held the vial.

"It's simple." Answered the Major. "In the early days of the Millennium Project, we turned humans into vampires through rather painstaking surgery. Our mastery of bioengineering is unparalleled, but it's still unsuitable for what we need. The chip could be used to quickly transform humans, and be easy to distribute. However, these vampires are servants to the Master behind the chip they were created by. Their souls are bound and melded with the vampire responsible for their existence. Without that connection, however faint, they are doomed to deteriorate. The simple fact is that She is in no mood to accept that kind of bonding, unlike say, Alucard, who's bound and collected an army around himself, as well as created his own fledgling in Seras Victoria."

"Then you're condemned." Acknowledged Integra. "Thanks though, for saving us the work needed to track the however many chips still remaining in circulation. But why tell me all this?"

"Because we've finally solved that problem." The Major replied with a sudden glee. "This battle is nearly finished and it has served us oh-so-well in verifying our findings. The true nature of a monster like Alucard, the true nature of his master; it all needed to be experienced and confirmed before this final step could be taken. You see, Sir Hellsing, that since we can't control Her, we've no choice but to replace Her. And it's been decided that you shall be our replacement."