The modified stealth bomber, specially designed and outfitted to carry Iron Tager, slowed down, indicating to him that they were nearing their destination.

Throughout the entire flight, as usual, there had been radio silence to avoid detection by the NOL. However, unlike with most missions, this one had been so secretive that Kokonoe didn´t even tell him about the mission parameters before they took off. Like a loyal soldier, he didn´t question his superior`s decision, but it was getting on his artificial nerves that he had no idea what he was getting into. Supposedly, he would have to wait until his deployment until he knew what was going on.

The red light in the cargo bay turned green, and with a flip of a switch, the bomb shaft opened and released him downwards, jettisoned by a small explosive charge. For the next twelve seconds, he closed his eyes and prayed for the best, before another explosion caused the jetpack he carried on his back to kick in, and all he received was a gentle nudge downwards as he landed.

Throwing his empty jetpack aside, he immidiently turned on his radio to call his home base.

"Kokonoe, this is Tager. Do you read me?" He asked, the answer came promptly.

"I hear you, you bucket of bolts. You`re thirty minutes late, what the hell happened?" The angry voice on the other end of the line was obviously Kokonoe, not in the best of moods. He sighed.

"There was some turbulence, we encountered it in mid-flight and there was no way around it, so the pilot slowed down to avoid any mechanical problems. Deployment and landing was executed without problems."

"Good. Do you see a large building nearby?" She asked, still not explaining anything.

Tager looked around; all he saw with normal sight mode was trees and some wild meadows. On the farther sight mode however, the ruin of a fairly large building complex was evident. Scanning it further revealed a heavily fortified base of similar size and build quality as the Pentagon. Land mines and traces of metal everywhere in the ground suggested the same thing – this used to be a military base of epic proportions.

"I see it. Is that what I think it is?" He said, without believing to hear a positive answer.

"Unless you peeked into my mission profile, no. Listen, we have no evidence supporting that any of the land mines were deactivated. Try to find a break in the pattern- that has to be where the road used to be. That should be your safest way to the mansion." Tager grunted in response to this. "What's the matter, you big pile of scrap? Tired already?!"

"No, but I think it would be time for some mission parameters. The first rule of robotics applies here, Kokonoe- Even as a cyborg, I`d like to know why I endanger myself of being destroyed." As much as Ars Magus was little more than discomforting to his ablative armor, century-old landmines were a different story. Losing a leg or more was a definite possibility here.

"Guh... fine. But remember, this is first class top secret activity. Don´t talk about it to anyone, even after completing the mission, until I tell you." This really had to be something important. Otherwise, this method of secrecy would be simply ridiculous. "I understand." Tager responded truthfully. "Okay, so listen up. Recently we`ve managed to bring one of the old GPS satellites back on, something we do every once in a while to get a better picture of what the world looks like today without having to endanger ourselves with seithr. Thing is, near the old ruins of London, we`ve discovered a speck of land which should be just part of the forest… instead, there`s this huge military fortress you see before you. Judging by the location and the general layout, this might be the abandoned headquarters of the so called Hellsing Organization, a group of specialized vampire hunters who operated until 2078, where the government declared it was against the universal rights of species to hunt down vampires the way they do. But not only did Hellsing have access to England's most advanced technology, unlimited funds and resources as well as universal rights to act accordingly, they also supposedly kept vampires as their slaves to fight other vampires. One of them, named Alucard, was claimed to be among the most powerful vampires to ever walk the earth, capable of leveling cities entirely on his own." Tager listened carefully, as he detected another string of madness and lust for power in his creator's thoughts. The most powerful biological weapon ever, her slave… if this wasn`t a wet dream of hers in some way, he didn´t know what would be. "Your brainwave spiked there, Tager, but I can tell what you´re thinking. No, I don`t intend to take control over him. He`s been missing for nearly two centuries now… instead, focus on anything useful. They had a whole private library on vampires and methods to detain them, an arsenal of anti-vampire weapons, technology, and vehicles. Your job is simply to see what kind of shape the building is in and determine what we can salvage from it, if anything at all, and to clear a safe passage to the building if possible. That's it."

This sounded more reasonable, though he couldn`t stop thinking that she just wanted to get rid of Rachel Alucard. "Understood. But... what about the second vampire?" He asked, partially just curious.

"We have no idea what happened to her. Probably killed, maybe she escaped and hides somewhere. Maybe they buried her alive there to make sure she doesn`t fall into the wrong hands. Listen, she`s not a mission priority, but if you can salvage her, do it." Tager sighed again.

"Understood, even though that gives me a bad feeling inside... TR-00001 begins the mission."

A way through the minefield was easily cleared with his large steps, as the mines were sparse and some even nonfunctional. A clear pathway however was missing, probably intentional to let the resources stored in the mansion stay in the mansion. At the large portal gate of the building, Tager had to apply serious force to open it, as it had been barred with two solid steel beams from the other side and no windows were in reach to enter otherwise. Eventually, the hinges of the doors broke before the beams did, and the portal came crashing down on the other side.

"Kokonoe, this is Tager. I`m inside, but they really wanted to keep people out." He reported on his radio, stepping further in. "I`m detecting various traps inside the building, tripwires and automatic turrets. The minefield outside is completely closed, whatever path they usually had is closed off… in addition to that, the door was barred with carbon steel beams." A giggle of delight was heard from the cat girl, making him shiver. Why was she so happy about this?

"Alright, go ahead, but be careful not to trigger anything. Try sweeping the building from the bottom up, chances are the lower levels are in better shape than the rest."

With these clear instructions, Tager had no intention to object. He moved towards the small staircase, big enough for one person, which led downwards. He sighed, realizing he would have to squeeze his massive body downwards… and eventually, back up again.

"This is a bad idea… oh well. Orders are orders." With that said, he started to move downwards sideways, slowly and carefully not to slip or break off a stone, which the ancient stairs consisted of. Either would spell disaster, as it would cause his 550 kilograms of mass to roll down and crush whatever might be at the end of the staircase. At the same time, he had to avoid being stuck inbetween two walls, as well as getting a claustrophobic panic attack.

After what seemed to be hours, he finally arrived on solid ground, deep below… a giant, empty hallway stretched on before him, ending with a solid wall that seemed like a door to him.

The other doors led to empty bedrooms, most of them meaningless as nobody lived here anymore, but the door intrigued him. Although implausibly weak, he detected a lifesign behind it.

"Lifesigns behind a wall of solid rock..?" He asked himself, but Kokonoe listened in as well.

"Tager, can you break through that thing?" She asked, seemingly out of breath. He knew why, this was, scientifically speaking, impossible. Tager nodded as a response. "I think so, but that would seriously compromise the structural integrity. The room might collapse if I do that."

"Risks aside, do it. We can still retrieve you should that happen." What a comforting thought that would be, being buried under tons of rock waiting for Kokonoe`s men to dig him out, Tager thought.

Shrugging it off, he brought his power reserves up to 50% and activated one of his magnetic fists.

"FIST OF STEEL!" He shouted, unleashing a power similar to a car crash, which shattered most of the wall. The walls surrounding him didn´t move an inch, however the dust of centuries greeted him upon entering the sealed chamber.

"Activating nightvision." He said to himself, as the room was tinted green for his eyes. The only thing in sight was a simple book on a stand, as well as a wooden coffin, big enough for an adult person. No doubt the lifesigns he picked up came from that. "I`m activating my scanners…. Hm. That's strange. No brain activity whatsoever, the radiological decay brought radiation down to the unmeasureable, the temperature of the body is at ten degrees Celsius… but it metabolizes. It's like it's alive, even though it's not."

Kokonoe audibly nodded. "Sounds like a vampire to me. Are you able to salvage it?"

Tager cringed at the thought of climbing the staircase with the coffin in his hands, but agreed. "I think so, yes. There`s also a book nearby, but otherwise the room is completely empty. Must be something important if they hide it here."

"Got it. Take it with you; it might be a manual or something. Great job, Tager, we`ll pick you up as soon as possible… we`ll have to secure her before the library finds out about it."

Well, that was a short mission; Tager thought to himself whilst looking at the coffin. With contents, it was probably two-hundred kilos heavy and with its size, lifting it over his head was the only option to bring it upstairs. He probably had no time to climb the staircase a second time, so for now, he stuck the book between his teeth while carrying the coffin over his head, slowly inching his way upstairs… another nightmare for claustrophobics followed.

As he arrived on the ground level, he was sweaty and twitching from holding the heavy coffin for far too long. His arms ached, but he carried on, now finally able to lower them again. The next challenge was to get this package through the minefield, as he could hear the stealth aircraft landing nearby.

"Please let this work…" He said to himself, having placed the book on the coffin now to prevent himself from drooling on it. One foot at a time, he followed the exact same path as before, while one wrong step could potentially detonate both him and the dead body he was carrying. A click caught him off as his foot sunk into the primer of a mine.

"Shit…!"

Nanoseconds of fear followed, but eventually, nothing happened. A dud, gone bad after two hundred years. Tager exhaled deeply, then carried on, as two men, copilot and loading officer, approached him.

"We`re taking the package, Tager. " The officer said, but Tager looked at him with a dumbfound stare.

"I don`t want to insult you, but this thing weighs more than you do. Let me carry it to the plane myself." This convinced him instantly as he stepped back in surprise. Slowly, he nodded, leading him to the parked aircraft. "Kokonoe is expecting you back too. You`re too much of a beacon to their scanners, we don`t want any attention."

Tager switched on his radio. "Kokonoe, not that I want to judge you, but is it wise to send me back this early? Who knows what else we can salvage right here and now."

An angry grunt was heard. "You have your orders, Tager! Get back here ASAP! Shebalves have been started to investigate our spy airplane… we need to leave now or they`ll find it!"

"Got it. Aborting mission." With this, he loaded himself and the coffin into the airplane, which closed its cargo bay almost instantly. The two men boarded it as soon as he was in, and with a rough quickstart, they were off. Radio silence ruled once more.

The bomber still rolled into its position, but Kokonoe already ran up to the loading bay to receive her present. Tager, after opening the doors, carried the coffin out and onto a trolly for easy transportation before handing Kokonoe the book.

"There, i´ve done what I could, but I really couldn´t salvage anything more." He said, but Kokonoe grinned in response.

"Heck, there`s not much more you could`ve gotten. Most likely they`ve taken everything that was valureable as they abandoned the base. Anyway, you can take a break now, we`ll try to recover whatever´s left later… and i´m going to get a good look on my specimen here." With that, she looked at the coffin, a plain old wooden box with a metal cross on it; Nothing that would be used in a burial, unless it was meant to be burned and turned into ashes. Slowly, she opened the lid, having to apply force due to the wood rotting together over the years… the sight was something she expected. A female corpse, half decomposed into the state of a mummy, with whitened hair and clothes that also seemed like they`ve seen better days.

"Okay, bring that thing to lab number three, and get me a few blood bags. No idea how many i`ll need to bring her back to life… and a change of clothes, she`ll need it." Kokonoe ordered her men around, while she already went through the options in her head. Either she would have to destroy her, or she would be killed, or she was unwilling to help, or she would help to fight Terumi.

Personally, Kokonoe hoped for the last option.