The Obersturmbannfuher stepped outside from the main building into a cobblestone courtyard. Its original beauty long gone, spoiled by the war. The fountain that once gurgled a soft stream of water from the mouth of the angelic figure, as children romped and splashed in the pool below with their incessant screeching, it was all gone. The children now replaced by groups of soldiers as they leaned their wary bodies against what remained of the now barren fountain that had found itself in the crossfire as the Schutzstaffel stormed the compound. The marble body full of grotesque bullet holes, the face closer representing a gargoyle rather than that of an angel. Karl Ruprecht Kroenen turned away, the sight itching at an irritable nerve. War lacked the purity he worked so hard towards with the master, Grigori Rasputin. Kroenen recognized his own impatience and irritation stemmed from being thrown back into the field, even temporarily on an order that came directly from the Fuhrer; a specialized mission no doubt one that suited only Kroenen's talents for discrete and effective killing. 'The top assassin in the Fuhrer's military' was what Kroenen would over hear as he walked through the halls as he soared through the ranks of the Schutzstaffel. A killer he was, it all came naturally to him, his medical training from University and self teaching only made him that more deadly, but the world where science and the paranormal collided; in dark uncharted territory was where Kroenen belonged; following the Master into the depths of Armageddon to restart the world anew and untainted.
First to finish the gateway leading to the crystal prison of Ogdru Jahad - the seven gods of chaos,then Project Ragna Rok will be able to put an end to this war of the impure. I cannot complete my work if I am being thrown to the whim of the Fuhrer's lust for temporary, mortal and mundane power.
The initial blast that jarred Kroenen out of his thoughts was exceptionally loud, only comparable to a thousand bomb sirens blaring all in unison in the small condensed courtyard. It was an intense deafening sound Kroenen had never experienced even on the battle field. The force that hit next took everything with it; unable to ground himself in time Kroenen was lifted off his feet and slammed against the compound's exterior wall before sliding limply to the ground. Thankful for the full gas suite he wore at all times, protecting Kroenen from the fine shrapnel of crushed cobblestone, glass and metal. Temporarily disoriented Kroenen grabbed for his Luger P08 pistol that was strapped at his side, focusing on his own breathing and the click each breath made though his gas mask attempting to gain back a sense of bearing. It was enough to focus what was going on just outside the walls of the courtyard.
Impossible.
A ten foot clockwork nightingale stormed towards the compound screeching a horrible murderous and bastardized version of a Mozart's aria. It charged in a wild and twitching stride towards the disabled German troops and the tank that was once on the other side of the road on its morning patrol had now found itself lodged between the pillars of the courtyard entrance in the initial blast. For the first time in a long while Kroenen was tossed deep into his memories, a place that was on the brink of being forgotten for good. Looking around the majority of the troops had been knocked unconscious or bloody heaps of flesh. A young man tinkering with his metal creation into the late hours of the night. Quickly Kroenen took cover by what remained of the surrounding wall, what soldiers who were conscious followed him without hesitation. Obsessing over and perfecting his creation for days. Kroenen slipped through a hole off to the side leading out onto the road, out of the line of sight of the clockwork beast that had begun to relentlessly tear away at the tank's exposed underside. The few soldiers piled out onto the road behind him and to Kroenen's annoyance, it was in no way quiet.
What the fuck is that?!
Is this the Allies new weapon of war?!
How are we supposed to fight that?!
Where are the supporting troops that were supposed to be here hours ago?!
Polishing away the grease stains on a finished a 3 inch clockwork nightingale that played the aria, absolutely perfectly.
Kroenen heard the footsteps running at his backside, his katar daggers flashed out of his trench coat sleeve as he braced for the initial contact.
"Put that thing away you Nazi asshole." A young man ran up to Kroenen's side. His weapon in the crook of his shoulder as he moved to fire on the beast. Staying arms length away, Kroenen inspected the weapon he had never seen before in his life. It was something that had only been dreamed of in his lifetime. Futuristic. The sound of the firing weapon was almost elegant compared to the grotesque Schmeisser. The only other characteristic Kroenen noticed of the boy before he advanced on the enemy was the flaming, unnatural red hair that was tied back into a small ponytail.
"Obersturmbannfuher?" The voice was not one of a soldier, confident, but soft and feminine. Watching as the boy organized what looked like his troop of three other boys, the blonde, black and violent blue heads bobbed in and out of cover as they began to engage with the clockwork monstrosity. Kroenen glanced down at the girl as he swiftly recoiled away from her touch as she must have grown impatient and placed her hand on his shoulder for attention. Her appearance took Kroenen by surprise, she was in no way dressed for combat, no helmet or armour or even a small side arm for protection. "Please we need to move you away from your tie."
Tie? what is this about.
"It won't stop coming at you when you're so close, it's strength comes from your data - or memories I should say." The girl bit down on her bottom lip as her gaze peeled away from the battle that was unfolding in front of them.
Ah thats why she is not included in the fight.
Even behind the tinted vision of the gas mask Kroenen could see the cloudy white of the girls eyes.
She must be blind or slowly losing her eyesight.
"It will not make one bit of difference Q, the thing is too strong even for Castiel and his friends upgraded weapons."
Just how many are there - Kroenen's irritation was rising, he absolutely despised being caught unawares, especially when he had no idea where this fight had come from. It was not the Allies, then who? Kroenen swivelled to see a small boy in bright blue clothing that reminded Kroenen of his own early years. Behind him a tall figure which judging by his attire, Kroenen could only place as a butler.
"Hmph. This is something new." A twisted grin slowly spread across the child's lips as Kroenen caught the boy's glance as he stepped next to the girl whom Kroenen now assumed was Q.
"Yes, quite. An intense aura is pulsing off the beast." The butler finally spoke, his voice was unnaturally calm and composed. As if he had seen this a thousand times before.
"Evil?" The little boy questioned, as he continued he stare into the fight in front of him.
"I can't be certain."
"Sebastian. Finish that grotesque heap of metal. I do not want to linger here much longer."
"Yes. My lord." The butler, Sebastian, leaped to the nearest remains of the compound wall and with inhuman speed headed towards the nightingale.
"Lysander," Q placed a finger at her ear, pressing a button to some device that was lodged in her head. Q's voice faint and almost drowned out amidst the grotesque howling of the creature as Sebastian and the boys continued their relentless attack. "We need an extraction now, the virus is already locked in - Yeah we found him." Kroenen glanced down at the girl growing uncomfortable in the situation, knowing she was talking about him, but what was this virus she was talking about? The creature? "No the virus hasn't found his files yet, we got here just in time. We'll fill him in later there is literally no time to do this gently. Its balls to the wall, you remember how it felt we need to get him out now… 10-4."
"How much longer?" The little boy asked, sounding, almost bored with the situation as it folded infront of him. The older boys had begun to get pushed back, the clockwork bird had become frantic in its attacks, making its movements hard to predict, Good judgement to fall back… Kroenen mused.
"1 minute, Its going to be an air extraction. Kentin took the jeep and fell back to the gateway withe the sentinels to keep it secure until we can get there." The girl's voice wavered.
"Ah, another rough exit." The boy grimaced as the older boys at the front threw what initially looked like a grenade but quickly burst innocently into a blue dust cloud, enveloping the clockwork bird, the bastardized aria wailing and screeching; its tempo increasing to match its rising panic and jerky flailing.
"Rough exit? Ciel what's happening?" The girls voice squeaked, panic stricken as her head swiveled about, straining to see anything. It was odd to watch, most people who was born without eyesight or lost the ability at a young age gave up on trusting what their eyes would have been able to tell them and instead relied on their remaining senses. This girl had no scarring or had any sign of physical trauma to her eyes to suggest that her sight was taken recently. Yet she looked about, expecting her vision to guide her.
"Sebastian is pulling the others back, Alexy lit a flare marking the creature and signalling for an airstrike from Lysander."
"A-Airstrike?" Kroenen had stayed in the spot where he had stumbled out of the compound only a few moments ago, it was only then he realized the few men that had crawled out of the pit with him had vanished. The street that was once littered with the pieces of soldiers were empty save for the debris of the tattered town. Kroenen slowly scanned his surroundings ignoring the girl. "Kroenen!" His head whipped around to face Q's, shocked at the sudden use of his last name from a girl he happened upon without introductions mere moments ago. "You need to come with us."
"Why would I do that." Kroenen could hear his own difficulty with the english pronunciations more so with the 'w's but his linguistic training as a child saw to it that he was at the very least comprehendible; even with the hindrance of the gas mask that distorted his voice.
"I-I-" She was taken back Kroenen could see it, she was not expecting an answer?
"Stop gawking and grab cover!" The black haired boy yelled as he jumped behind a turned over truck a few feet away, smiling and apparently enjoying the destruction. "Hey Q! No need to play Battlefield when we get home!"
The girl scoffed, "Good I'm sure Castiel didn't want to play with your cheating ass anyways Armin!" She yelled over, her apparent fear gone, replaced with a mocking smirk as a loud cackled came from the boy behind the overturned truck.
"What. The. Fuck. Are you still doing in the open? Grab cover the both of you!" The redhead was running at them, Kroenen could hear the deafening beating at the air behind them. The air strike. In an instant a black flash dropped next to the boy, Ciel, and rebounded off behind a partial wall of the compound. The temperamental boy grabbed Q by the elbow and just about threw her over an abandoned truck. "That rocket Lysander is about to fire would blow your antisemitic ass into the next century. I'd advise you get behind the damn truck." The boys breathing was ragged sweat sliding down his brow as his eyes glared at Kroenen with an intensity he by no means appreciated. Unfortunately, he was right. Any air strike meant the area was going to be razed to the ground and Kroenen had no intention of dying before he had a chance to tinker with the technology the boys were wielding like toys. In a single fluid motion Kroenen slid across the hood of the trunk and took cover behind the truck a foot or so away from Q and the red head boy.
"Castiel, seriously you need to-"
The helicopter that hovered a couple of feet from the ground made the ones Kroenen had seen transporting medical supplies in the field looks like children playthings. He barely noticed the missiles that fired from the two barrels on the sides of the craft before they shot past, too fast for Kroenen to even begin to estimate the payload. The blast jostled the truck and the sound of a hundred piano chords tearing apart all at once pierced the air as the monster's body shattered sending shrapnel in 360 degree blast radius. The truck was hit by a few pieces of metal but nothing that would have cut it apart to tear away at Kroenen and the two others on the opposite side.
"Clear!"
"Clear!"
"Clear!" Castiel shouted as he stood up dusting his knees off from where he sat. As Q had done before, he raised a finger to his ear pushing into it like some button as he looked up at the helicopter. "Nice shot Lysander." His other hand reached out, grabbing the hand from Q that was searching the empty air for guidance.
"Thanks. But like I was saying you need to-"
"Don't tell me to relax, I told you I didn't like this idea. Are you even aware of what time we have been thrown ass first into? Shitville. That's where we are, and do you know where Shitville is located? Nazi Germany. Don't tell me to relax you didn't have to grow up listening to old folks talk about how World War Two - This war. Beat the living shit out of your country's land." The boy stormed off into the direction of the ladder that roll down from the helicopter and started to climb, followed by the other three boys. Ah there it is. The French accent was barely there but Kroenen easily picked up on it.
"Q, are you alright?" Ciel and Sebastian strolled up next to her and Kroenen, she simply nodded running her hand through her long hair with an exhausted sigh. "Obersturmbannfuher?" A wry smirk pulled at the corner of the boy's lips as his eyes scanned the desolated area before looking up to meet Kroenen's stare, "How about your sanity? Is it holding?"
Kroenen too looked around, the road in shambles, an even worse state then what the army did to the town in the process of taking command of the area. "I am no stranger to the oddities of the unseen world." Kroenen turned to face the three in front of him. "Its been my job for the past four years to research it to learn how to access it and harness its power. My sanity, little Lord, is not easily broken."
"Then you'll come with us?" Q spoke, her unexplainable excitement apparent in her every movement.
"No. I have work to complete here."
"You can't," her voice sombre as she toyed with the hem on her sweater.
"You, a simple girl is going to attempt to hold me against my will?" He could hear the anger in his tone, instantly trying to keep his composure as he pulled his shoulders back, slowing his breathing.
"N-No. Its just that you seriously can't." Q bit down on her lower lip, pausing as if to think before she said anything else offensive. "The system is corrupt. You can't stay here or you will be lost in the de-frag. Its a clean sweep; something the Stooges have to complete before this dimension is lost. That means it will be restarted back to any moment that wasn't infected by that virus. That could be 1 second before it arrived or all the way back to before you were born. It buried deep and was here infecting the dimension for too long way before it reared its ugly head. The damage is probably deep and we need you as you are right now."
Kroenen was taken back and almost forgotten how to breathe. He might be forced to eat his own words as he felt his sanity dancing about his head jeering and mocking him. Karl Ruprcht Kroenen, head of the Thule Occult Society had researched, discovered and came face-to-face with many things or beings in relation to the supernatural, he had been certain he had come across most of what this world could throw at him, but this? The talk of dimensions and beings that could erase an entire dimension or restart it from scratch? Only a God to do such things. "Explain to me everything you know."
"A smile played across Q's lips. "Sure but you have to haul ass into the chopper. Castiel is about ready to leave us here."