A/N: Final installment of the series. A thanks to all those readers who managed to hold on to the very end.

Homecoming

Seras covered her mouth to muffle her scream of fear as she watched Alucard disappear from her view. The report from Integra’s weapon did nothing to help her emotions as she slumped to the ground even as the two hunters rushed to the edge. She could barely overhear the cursing of the other young woman, but she had no doubt the waves from the sea were even now taking his body out to the Mediterranean.

However, the voice in her mind still gave her strength and she gathered her thoughts. With her growing speed and left the cliffs, a final farewell in her memories, and rushed to the city. Within minutes she found herself on the docks and soon her search found the ship, ready to sail and with most cargo loaded.

Seras frantically looked about for signs of the box, and she knew she had found the correct item when she stumbled upon a wooden crate with the tag “Adrianna” labeled upon the side. She smiled wistfully at the nickname given to her mother by Alucard, and with a furtive glance around, stole into the container.

For a moment as she shut the lid, the air seemed tight and she had to fight the claustrophobia which threatened to overtake her senses. However, she quickly realized she did not even need to breath, as her lungs were now still and even the comforting rhythm of her heart was no more.

Thus for the longest time Seras lay still in the makeshift coffin, her ears listening to the cursing of the sailors as they loaded the last of the cargo aboard the ship. She felt herself piled atop many odd boxes, but her own remained on a firm level and the cry of the ship’s whistle was heard as they left port.

With a few tears for the departure, for she had not had time to place any flowers upon Marianna’s grave, she left the homeland of her mother. Fortunately the sun was beginning to rise, and she felt an overwhelming urge to slip into slumber. She unsuccessfully fought the strange sensation and soon she was in a dreamless sleep.

Her rest was needed as the following days were trying for the new vampire.

Seras readily understood she needed to flee from the island as fast as she could, but the way north proved a harsh learning experience. She found she could no longer travel as a normal passenger could because of the risk of discovery, and the harsh burns which were caused by the light of day.

Thus the young woman avoided buying tickets on trains, and instead allowed herself to partake of the luggage compartments. The companionship of humans was of little use for her, for now she held the hunger of the undead and their blood called to her senses.

Seras was able to stifle her feeding habits for the first few days, but as they worn on she found herself growing weaker and more desperate for nourishment. Only the encouraging voice kept her spirits and strength to repulse from her need for human life.

One small glimmer of hope lay in the final destination she had chosen for herself. The lonely woman, in her solitary meditations, could find no other place more welcoming than the comforting smile of the old man she had met in Cologne, Baron Vilhelm Von Lichtenstein. Perhaps in his old age and with his compassion, he would accept her for what she had become.

So the days of travel passed as a dream, one tinged with nightmarish qualities, and soon she found herself stepping off the station at Cologne. She at least liked to give the appearance of normalcy as she called a carriage and paid for the fair to the hotel. Her coffin would arrive and be carried to her room at a later time, but for now she wished to hunt out her old companion.

Seras, her task daunting in such a large city, first paid for her room and then instructed the driver to drive her to the Cathedral square. The young woman was delighted to see the city again, with its ageless buildings and familiar dress of the people. She could hardly hold back her eagerness to see the grand church in all its majesty, but upon arrival she was to be sorely disappointed.

As the carriage rounded the last corner and entered the square, Seras looked out the window and was instantly repulsed by the sight of the large holy shrine. The mere glimpse caused her to recoil and hiss venomously in the building’s direction.

Her unclean eyes could net set themselves upon God’s domain.

“Turn around, driver” she ordered her chauffeur with a weary sigh as she felt horses turn about. “I wish to return to my hotel.”

However, they had not quite come about when the door of the carriage suddenly opened and with a deft leap a familiar person stepped into the moving vehicle.

“Baron!” Seras exclaimed as by habit she made room for him on the seat.

His agility surprised her but his mere appearance more than swept aside such thoughts. With bold movements she threw her arms about his person and gave the elderly gentleman a strong hug. He seemed unsurprised by the strength behind her limbs, and a warm smile crept across his weathered lips.

“I do hope you were not leaving without seeing me” he teased as he returned the gesture.

“Oh, no, Baron” Seras explained as she looked up into his face. “I was here to find you.”

“And what a treat for me to have such a lovely woman searching for me” the Baron mused with a laugh. Then he seemed to notice the absence of a certain person. “But where is your friend?” he asked, and his smile dropped as Seras turned her face away and returned to a seated position.

“I am afraid he has died” she announced with a tinge of sorrow in her voice. “And...and there is something I wish to speak to you of” she admitted with hesitancy.

“Then we shall do so at my home” he replied as he suddenly called out for the driver to go to a certain address. “The room of a hotel is no place to speak of such important matters. But for now, tell me what has taken place since our separation.”

Seras thus retold the tale of her adventures, lying about nothing but omitting important details about the finale along the cliff. The Baron appeared not to notice the gaps in coherency, for he did not interrupt her with questions.

In speaking of her journey Seras failed to notice they had broken free of the city’s boundaries and were even now traveling in the beautiful countryside. Her story finished as the carriage turned onto a private drive which led to a magnificent old manor house. Trees lined the gravel road and as they reached the door they were met by a friendly valet who kindly opened the carriage door.

Seras could not help but notice the pallor of his face and the coldness of his hands as he helped her from the vehicle, but the grandness of the situation took hold of her thoughts when she stepped into the main hall.

Aged sideboards covered the walls along with dozens of portraits, large and small, which were littered about the area. Statues with pleasant faces and some lurid poses were well placed about the room and a staircase went up to the second and third floors of the manor. She turned to applaud her host’s tastes and his wonderful home, but her body froze in fear at the sight she was presented.

The Baron, the kindly old man she had known, was standing beside the closed front doors with a strange smile upon his face. What truly terrified her senses, though, were the fangs which protruded from his lips.

He suddenly crouched low to the floor in a stance of attack, and Seras could do little more than take a step back before he pounced upon her. She shrieked and was pushed back against one of the walls, her unneeded breath coming out in gasps as his face stood mere inches from her own.

Then he began to laugh.

Seras watched in complete puzzlement as the Baron released his hold on her body and took a step backward, his form shaking from the mirthful chuckles which escaped his lips. She could hardly believe what had happened, and may not have had his fangs still not been visible and his eyes not the hard, cold red of a vampire.

“When you reach my age, my dear” he suddenly spoke in humor. “You will find pleasant the scaring of the young, if only for the expressions upon their faces.”

Seras blinked as she took in his words and his calming demeanor, and she slightly relaxed her body. But still, she could not comprehend the sweet Baron as he still appeared to her; a frightening hunter with cold instincts.

“You truly must forgive an old man his amusements” he pleaded as he again stepped backward and bowed in his old-fashioned style. “There is so rarely a time one meets a vampire as young as you are that one must be given some liberties in testing their abilities.”

“You...so you know?” Seras asked with a stutter of shock. “And you! You also are a vampire?”

“Indeed” he spoke with pride as he puffed out his vested chest. “One of the oldest and strongest vampires in the world, a reason I believe your friend detested with jealousy” he added with a wink.

“Then Alucard, he knew as well?” she questioned as she felt her knees buckle with the passed excitement.

The lack of nourishment also did nothing to help her tightened nerves.

“Wait a moment!” the Baron exclaimed as he caught her before she hit the floor. “I see you are one of those few ‘human’ vampires who dislike the need for blood” he chided as he helped her into a nearby chair. “Perhaps you will change your mind, but in the meantime I have some nice horse’s blood in the cellar, vintage 1492.”

The days passed with ease as she became the new tenet in the Baron’s large mansion. She soon learned his night staff was made entirely of ‘lost’ vampires, those without masters who were still too young to survive without guidance. Besides a room of her own, she had also been given a proper coffin in which to sleep, for the Baron had refused to have her slumber in the simple wooden box she had brought back from Sicily.

However, upon her insistence she had kept the box, now used as a chest, as a keepsake of her adventure. Often she would find herself seated upon the crate and looking out the windows upon the lush countryside, dreaming of past journeys and lost friends.

But she had also found an old acquaintance in an unlikely spot, and the credit was given to the Baron for the discovery. He had noticed her faraway glances at some moments, and had asked her what she had been thinking. Upon hearing she had been listening to a soft voice in her mind, he had smiled in understanding.

“What you hear is the soul of Marianna” he had explained, a realization which had made Seras both cringe in horror and smile in delight. “For her sacrifice she chose to become a part of you and to remain with you until you both are released from this existence.”

“So I truly am speaking to Marianna?” she had asked in astonishment.

“Yes” the Baron had answered, and he had noticed her look of fear at the soul’s entrapment in herself. “And remember she chose her end, and by her own words wished for you to be with her. Now she has the chance to be with you always.”

Seras was deeply comforted by the idea of having such an honorable companion within herself.

A few weeks after her arrival, Seras found herself within the city for a short excursion. While the inhabitants of the manor had been kind to her, she somehow felt a great need to visit Cologne on this night.

She could not explain the emotion, but a feeling of great excitement ran through her still veins as she found herself wandering the familiar street which traveled past the hotel Alucard and she had stayed within. For a short time she stopped at the front doors, and a sad hope began to come upon her of seeing her deceased companion come through them with his usual grin.

Her dreams were not to be, however, and after a few minutes she walked further on.

Soon she found herself at the last building which blocked the wondrous view of the Cathedral, and she sighed deeply at her state. The Baron had cautioned her against entering sacred areas, as her fledgling state would not be able to handle such sanctity without assistance.

And so she stood at the edge, her eyes downcast as she looked upon the shadow of the religious building which stretched even to where she stood.

However, from the other side of the building she was against another shadow revealed itself, one tall and thin. Seras blinked in surprise as the edges of the person seemed to twist and bend at the will of the owner, and she longed to turn the bend and find who had such power.

For she hoped she would know the creator of such a shade.

Unfortunately, before she could gather her courage the figure and their shadow disappeared from her view, and she was left with an empty feeling within herself. She slowly leant against the wall at her side and allowed herself a few lone tears to slide down her face.

She was surprised when a cool pale finger reached out to catch them.

Seras quickly turned and with a hidden expression she looked to find Alucard standing behind. He was leaning against the corner of the wall, his customary smirk on his face and his arms crossed over his chest. His young child rose to her feet, her face still a mask of indifference, and she took a step toward him.

“How?” she quietly as her eyes held a hint of curiosity. “How did you survive the cliff?”

Alucard chuckled at her question.

“The cliffs were my refuge from the world” he explained with evident pride. “I merely fell onto one of the many sandbars below and hid in the caves until the hunters had gone.”

Rather than reply Seras simply stepped up to where he stood, and with one swipe of her hand landed a rather harsh blow to his cheek.

His self possession slightly stunned, Alucard was knocked backward but quickly regained his composure.

“I see you are still angry with the fate I have given you” he mused with a grin.

“Have you come for me then?” she asked in a shaky voice filled with anger as her fists lay clenched at her sides. “As though you were a knight rescuing a damsel?”

“Perhaps” he teased in an amused tone which only further infuriated his child. “But perhaps there is time enough for such a crusade when the damsel is more willing to be taken away.”

“Are you willing to wait that long?” she harshly questioned.

Seras, however, was surprised when silently Alucard stepped forward, gallantly took her hand, and kissed the fingers one by one. The young woman was reminded of the days when they had traveled together as fond companions, and his gentlemanly habits had flattered her ego.

She shook her head, though, and freed her hand from his gentle grasp, unwilling to be consoled by his efforts. He would need to try much harder before she forgave his treachery and the journey would be long for both of them, if it were to ever end.

“Not now, maybe not ever” she quietly whispered as she turned her back to the monster who had made her what she was.

“Until then, my lady” Alucard whispered from behind as he suddenly wrapped his arms around her body, which caused her to stiffen. His chuckle showed his amusement at her reaction, and he seemed unperturbed as he possessively pulled her against his chest. “Until then you are still mine.”

The End