Hellsing: Resurrection (WIP)

Chapter 25: Peace and Pieces

Seras stood stiff in front of the broad desk, arms behind her back like she was bracing for a lecture, though Integra hadn’t said a word yet. The room smelled of gun oil and faint cigar smoke, curtains drawn just enough to let in a slice of London’s overcast morning. Integra sat composed as ever, gloved fingers steepled beneath her chin, steel-blue eyes unreadable as they lingered on Seras a beat too long. Seras hated how the silence made her fidget, hated how childlike she felt under that gaze, until Integra finally spoke, her voice low, clipped, and cold enough to make the space between them feel like ice.

Integra’s eyes narrowed just slightly, a flicker of something unreadable, nostalgia, maybe, or suspicion. “We’ve received a very interesting mission,” she said at last, voice low and deliberate, as if weighing each word. “One we haven’t had in a very long time… perhaps not since before my time.” With a fluid motion, she drew a weathered envelope from the desk drawer and laid it in front of her, its parchment brittle at the edges, its seal an unfamiliar sigil pressed deep into blood-red wax. Seras leaned forward without meaning to, drawn to the thing like it hummed with old magic, but Integra’s fingers remained on it, firm, unmoving. “This didn’t come through normal channels.”

Seras stayed quiet, eyes flicking between the envelope and Integra’s expression, trying to read beneath the surface. Integra finally lifted her hand from the seal, but didn’t push the letter forward. “It’s from a community of vampires,” she said, almost like the words tasted strange in her mouth. “Friendly, or so they claim. My grandfather had contact with them once, only once. They don’t reach out. Ever.” Her gaze drifted to the window for a moment, then back to Seras. “Which makes this all the more curious. And all the more delicate.”

Seras tilted her head slightly, brows knitting as she studied the seal. “I’ve only ever come across a handful of vampires who were actually friendly,” she said, voice low with a trace of doubt. “Most keep to themselves, and the ones who don’t usually want something... or someone.” Her eyes flicked up to meet Integra’s. “Even back then, it was rare. Real rare.” There was no edge to her tone, just quiet honesty, shaped by years of blood-soaked nights and hard-earned instincts.

Integra gave a soft, dry scoff, more breath than sound, and reached for her cigar, though she didn’t light it. “Rare, yes,” she said, turning the unlit cigar between her fingers, “but perhaps not as rare as we assume. The world’s large, Seras. And we’re not omnipresent.” Her eyes met Seras’s with something faintly resembling a smirk, though it didn’t soften her tone. “You and Alucard, despite your... particularities, aren’t the only vampires who’ve held onto some shred of morality. There are likely others. Quiet ones. Careful ones. Ones that know better than to draw our attention.”

Seras’s eyes lingered on the envelope, then lifted to Integra’s face. “So what do they want from us?” she asked, suspicion threading through her voice. “Why reach out now?” Integra’s gaze didn’t waver, but her shoulders shifted just slightly, the closest she came to admitting uncertainty. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “The letter didn’t say. No names. No plea. Just a set of coordinates.” She tapped the envelope once with a gloved finger. The wax seal had already been cracked, split clean down the middle, evidence enough that Integra had read whatever was inside and found it lacking. “They want us to come to them.”

Seras frowned, a hint of tension in her jaw. “Why not send Alucard?” she asked, not accusing, just curious. Integra’s smirk returned, subtle but sharp, and she leaned back slightly in her chair. “Because Alucard chose you,” she said simply, like that answered everything. “And I happen to agree. You’re vampire enough to handle it, if things turn... less than friendly.” Her voice carried that familiar steel, but there was something else beneath it, trust, measured and deliberate. “This is your mission, Seras. You’ll be our eyes. Our teeth, if need be.”