If her heart still worked... Well, that would mean she was still alive, not a vampire practically jumping for joy at the thought of summoning bloodshed once more. Nevertheless, if it worked, it would be racing with a mix of fear and thrill. She wasn't sure what Millennium had in mind for her and the Wild Geese, but they weren't holding back, it seemed. Then again, neither would she.
Someone is eager for the kill, came that familiar baritone, this time in her mind.
Master? Is that you? Seras replied, unsure if it was actually him or just some warped memory.
Yes, he purred into her ears.
She shivered, the ghost of a hand gliding along her arm.
You're supposed to be taking care of the carrier, she reminded him as she strapped her favored rifle to her back. She considered the Harkonnen in the corner of her room, tempted to bring it with her for the battle.
I already have, Police Girl. Now it's your turn, he teased, I simply wish to see your fun. Do try to make it entertaining for me, won't you?
She pouted, unamused by his tone. Once she felt his presence fade into the background, she disappeared into the walls, leaving the cannon behind.
There were better weapons in the armory if she needed them anyway.
Her grip on her scythe tightened as that deranged feline appeared in front of her.
Zorin's men were antsy. Even she couldn't contain her desire to jump in and go for the kill. The mansion in the distance was a grand feast on a silver platter. The order. Was it finally time for the slaughter?
He cackled, imagining her reaction as fear rather than the obvious anticipation. Schrodinger turned from his view of the building below and finally addressed her with a confident smirk. His cat ears twitched.
"You may begin, the Major commands. He also sends his regards, to who he didn't specify." He shrugged. "Probably to Fräulein Victoria. Perhaps you should tell you before you kill her?"
Baring her teeth in annoyance, Zorin's body tensed. So the mad bastard didn't even bother to tell her face to face? Didn't care who won? Had he no confidence in her abilities? The fool. She had powers no other vampire could measure up to. The Hellsing manor would be rubble under her boots before dawn.
"The little bitch deserves none of my pity. He can tell her in Hell," she snarled in response, stamping the end of her weapon against the floor. A few vampire soldiers behind her saluted before hurrying off to the others down below.
"Your attitude leaves me tempted to stay and watch your battle. However, the Major awaits Alucard's return and I must be prepared for it. Such a shame. Also, try not to die so easy like the hunter did, yes? The Major would be very disappointed to see Seras out there without so much as a scratch." He rocked on his feet, his smile turning dark and mischievous right as he disappeared.
Zorin scoffed, "She won't be able to walk out there, once I'm through with her."
Seras finally understood why her Master was so fond of staring at the night sky. There was something so genuinely lovely about it.
A full moon looming over her in the distance. The stars scattered about reminded her of faces in an audience, when the spotlight wouldn't allow for one to clearly make out the expressions. One was only aware that they were all watching, waiting. It felt like a full crowd tonight.
A full crowd of demons from hell, forcing her to dance for them lest she be tossed into the wicked, red flames licking the horizon of her stage.
"Shut up," she hissed, putting a hand on her head.
"What was that, ma chère?" she heard through the headset. She hissed, her hands gripping her rifle a little closer.
"Nothing, Mister Bernadotte."
The blimp tempted her spotlight, eclipsing it and daring to muck up her next performance. She wanted to destroy it, tear it to pieces, and kill everyone inside. Perhaps then she'd get a standing ovation from her Master if she did so.
Her body reacted before she did, shooting a body falling out from the blimp.
"What the hell was that?" Theo's voice came through this time, dumbfounded.
"They're going straight for the doors. Not even bothering to shoot our way even once. Pathetic," Pip grumbled. He fiddled with a cigarette, waiting before taking pleasure in the stick's effects.
Theo slumped into his seat, gulping. "Sir, we're facing off Nazi vampires. Shouldn't that be enough of a concern? Why would you want them to fire at us?"
"Kid, you really should get on the front lines more often. It's better to weaken the enemy from a distance before jumping in for the kill, whenever you can. At least, that's what we're about around here." Deciding the Police Girl was fine with handling things, he passed the radio speaker to Theo and relaxed, kicking his boots up onto the monitoring station's table.
The younger mercenary groaned, watching the screens for the enemy's next move. His leg bounced slowly, not entirely in a rhythm, but in anticipation of the attack.
"They're so close."
The sentence was followed by multiple shots, more corpses falling from the airship like limp dolls.
"Miss Victoria?" Theo called through the radio, his words filled with fear.
"So hungry. So fresh. Out there in the fires of hell."
The voice sounded feminine, like a whisper, but wasn't Seras' voice.
Pip was just about to light his cigarette, but placed his lighter to the side and let his boots thump to the floor as he straightened in his seat. He snatched the speaker back.
"Cher, can you repeat what you said? We couldn't... understand it through the... static?" He wasn't sure what to call that voice and the way it spoke. It certainly wasn't normal. Then again, he was talking to a vampire.
More bullet fire, more bodies, followed by a nervous whine.
"Seras?"
"What?"
"Is there someone with you?"
There was a pause, with some shuffling.
"They're coming out to play. How adorable. You can't play in a slaughterhouse, children. Don't you know it's dangerous?"
"Oh God," Seras murmured. Her voice sounded distant, as if she'd removed her headset. "You... Captain?"
"Hm?"
Theo gulped next to him, and Pip was surprised to admit that he was also just as confused and terrified all of a sudden.
"She's... back. And different now." As vague as the words were, Pip knew it was Seras and not that anomaly.
He grit his teeth, hearing the nervous giggles and more movement.
"Their deaths will be so sweet. Blood sounds so delightful when you haven't eaten fresh in so long, doesn't it? Feels like ages."
"God, no. Shut up!" Seras whimpered, her voice cracking.
"Captain, what is she going on about?" Theo asked.
Pip slammed his hand on the desk, the conclusion finally coming to him. He sat up and looked to the monitors, hesitation lasting half a second before he shouted into the microphone, "Fall back, cher! We can handle them!"
"But they'll-"
"Do it, Seras! Trust me!"
She dropped the headset, her now free hand holding her head to quiet the wild voices in her mind.
The madness was growing stronger. This vicious, new voice was tempting her with insanity. The shadows inside her were like tiny flickering flames, creeping out and dancing along her exposed skin. They weren't listening to her anymore.
Holding her rifle tighter to her side, she fell through the roof, dropping to the first floor of the mansion. There, she slumped against one of the walls, holding back the desire to consume the fresh blood beneath her on the ground floor.
The Wild Geese were starting to sound like the meal she'd been told they would be. Cooked Geese, though raw sounded much better to her primal instincts.
She struggled to push away the temptation, despite how tantalizing her thoughts made it out to be.
Her fangs dug into her thumb, tasting her own blood on the tip of her tongue.
This was impossible!
"Go on! Feed! Kill them all. Leave nothing but bloody stains and empty corpses for the maggots to eat."
She almost twisted the hand extended her way right out of its socket. The scent of human blood was right under her nose, her body wracking with craving.
"Whoa! Cher, relax!" the Captain said, definitely taking a few steps back. He wasn't losing an arm trying to keep the vampire sane.
"Captain," Theo spoke, "maybe we shouldn't-"
"Oh, Mister Bernadotte," Seras interrupted, scrambling to her feet and pressing her side against the wall. "She won't stop! She won't shut up! She's gone mad!"
"Who, Seras? Who?"
"The voice! The one that tried to stay human. She won't shut up and die already!"
Pip already knew she'd say that, but he'd hoped it wasn't the case.
"Good lord..." he heard Theo mutter to himself.
"Alright, Seras. Do you think you can calm her down before my men run out of ammunition?" he tried, taking just one step closer.
Her gaze immediately shot to the window in front of her, once an explosion rang out. The two mercenaries looked out as well.
"L-Land mines?" she sputtered, walking closer to get a better view, the madness distracted by the splatter of vampire blood and body parts across the yard.
"That's the signal." Pip turned to the rookie poking his head out from the corner of the window. "Theo, go tell the others to start shooting some grenades up these bastard's asses. We can't let them through the yard right now." He subtly motioned to the unaware vampire next to him.
"R-Right! Yes, sir!" the boy replied with a nod before running off down the hall.
"No! You're letting it get away!"
Seras' hungry eyes barely missed Theo's retreating form, then looked to the remaining mercenary. "Why do you have him on your team? He's not exactly what I'd call a merciless soldier for hire."
"Eh. He means well." Pip shrugged, glad to see a small smile form on the vampire's face. "Reminds me of myself when I was a kid. He shoots and kills for money, but isn't used to the guilt yet. He's pretty good with a sniper when he's not thinking too much, unlike myself. Came to us one day and said he needed money, then we decided to keep him around a little longer."
"Gracious. Normally that kind of soldier dies quick."
He flinched at how casually she'd said that, not much out of shame but fear. "Well-"
"I mean, just look at me," she continued with another nervous chuckle.
"You're so much more than what he thinks you are."
Pip noticed now the faint hazy aura surrounding her, like a shadow hovering over her skin. Her eyes were a perfect crimson color, somehow glowing within the darkness. Her body was tense, and he was sure if she held his arm, she'd break through the bone without much effort.
She was a dangerous predator, and it was only their mutual respect in each other that kept him alive. At least, that's what he liked to believe. He wasn't sure if it was the case at all.
"Don't let them live. All of them, even her. She must die. Leave her to me. I'll kill her. She'll be begging me for death by the time I'm done."
Tempted by the voice, he asked, "Who is that, really, Seras?"
Her eyes widened as she looked to him again. For a second, she wasn't sure what he meant. She'd already said it was that voice that had once faded into obscurity. Wasn't it? Yes, it was. It didn't sound exactly like her, but things had changed since then. Since she first tasted blood, the voice was quieter. The more she gave in to the hunger, the less it spoke, or rather, the less she heard it speak.
With dozens of others inside her, she wasn't entirely sure.
"I don't... know," was her only answer, her body suddenly relaxing.
Her gaze returned to the view of the aircraft, Nazi soldiers dropping from it without hesitation. Now that she wasn't shooting them down, they were racing towards the entrance of the manor, trying to evade the hail of explosives and blessed bullets.
One of the vampires that fell didn't look like the rest. With her enhanced vision, Seras could tell that the figure was a tall woman with tattoos covering half of her exposed skin. She held a scythe of all things.
Right as the odd vampire landed, she seemed to notice Seras at the window and grinned.
"There you are."
Seras froze, realization striking her.
Pip seemed to notice her reaction, but nothing more. "What is it, Seras?" He leaned closer and followed her gaze, but couldn't quite see what the vampire could.
"I'm going out there," she declared, stepping away from the window.
"What? Are you crazy? There's still a bunch of those Nazi fucks waiting for an opening and you're just jumping into the middle of them?" Pip admonished her.
"You don't know what's out there, but I do. She's out there. Waiting for me."
"Good god, woman! Do you hear yourself? Theo was right. You're insane." He had hoped she would've calmed down from this crazy talk if she thought things through rationally, but clearly he was wrong.
"Yes, yes," she replied quickly, "Irrational, I know! But I also know what I'm doing, Captain. Can you trust me?" Seras straightened, holding herself and her weapon like a confident soldier, or the facade of one, to him.
He watched her unwavering stare, wanting to deny her, but knowing better. His men wouldn't hold forever, that was true. But was it wise to send their leader out there in a wild charge with nothing but her rifle and wit?
"I can do this, Pip."
After a short silence, he said, "Then go."
She smiled and turned to run.
"Seras Victoria, if you don't come back, I will personally hunt you down in Hell and never let you go."
She looked over her shoulder, a little surprised to hear that from the human. Then her smile brightened and she giggled. "Don't worry. I already promised I'd return."
With that, she hurried off, slipping through the floor and down past the front door.
She heard a few of the mercenaries behind her gasp through the rapid fire and explosions. That hesitation couldn't last. She motioned for them to keep going, giving a few of the nearby ones a knowing glance.
"Try not to hit her, guys. Especially you, kid." Theo's scoff followed a few chuckles. Things could thankfully still be high-spirited, even in such frightfully bleak times. She was grateful for that.
The firing quickly resumed and Seras darted into the fray, dodging each and every bullet with ease. The mad little voice inside her flared with excitement once more and this time, she embraced it, deciding to follow her Master's advice.
Once the first Nazi vampire landed in her line of sight, she sprang at him, ripping his head clean off and drinking up the blood spurting from his neck.
A few others dared to shoot at her from afar, but she played with them much like she did the Wild Geese, avoiding each shot. Without a second thought, she bounded up to them like a wild animal and broke through one of them, his chest specifically.
These idiots were almost as bad as the ghouls that tried destroying the manor previously. At least they were smart enough to attempt dodging her attacks. She slashed at another, tearing off his arm, then again, slicing a third across the waist. The latter of the two collapsed, unable to hold himself up, while the former fell back in a sniveling heap.
There was one left nearby, trembling as he held his gun up.
"Die and go to hell, bitch!" he cried out, only to be silenced by a sharp squelch. He slumped to the ground, his body riding a thick line of blood that had shot out like a dagger at her command.
The blood followed her as she continued towards her goal.
Now closer to the blimp, she could see the moon once more, just as perfect as she remembered. The familiarity brought with it new understanding. The stars and the darkness surrounding them seemed to morph from hidden faces to hundreds of eyes, thousands of them, really.
All watching, waiting.
Comforting and familiar.
Part of her powers sensed around for her Master, curious to know if he was still lurking around. Surely he found her performance satisfying, right?
"Seras Victoria."
She barely even flinched at the guns pointed at her, a line of enemy soldiers standing between her and the strange woman, the one with the tattoos, who dared to speak her name.
"Who are you?" she asked, calm despite the circumstances. She was genuinely intrigued by this unique creature.
Definitely a vampire. Beyond her keen senses telling her of power unimaginable, Seras could see fangs in that confident grin. Her threatening, hungry gaze, eager for bloodshed.
The woman chuckled, wielding her scythe proudly at her side. She stepped closer and presented herself confidently. "I am Lieutenant Zorin Blitz, if that's what you plan on focusing on before your death. Fine by me." She snapped her fingers, the men pulling the triggers on their guns immediately.
Seras' body fell back into the large pool of blood that had followed her.
"That's it?" Zorin sneered. "She didn't even put up a fight. Her men fought better than her. I didn't even touch her." She cackled, holding onto her scythe to keep herself steady. What a sight. It was almost too easy.
She froze, looking back at the body.
Yes, that was... Far too easy. Impossibly so.
"Shoot her again!" she commanded her soldiers.
None of them moved, spoke a word, or even looked at her.
A purr of excitement echoed in her ears. Zorin stumbled back as the Nazi vampires suddenly turned and pointed their guns at her instead.
"Tricky bastard. Not entirely wrong, I suppose, but not right either." Seras sighed as she stood again, half her face still partially shadows and blood. She clicked her teeth together as her jaw reaffixed itself. Her eyes gleamed once they were both back in their sockets. "Oh well. I guess he didn't want me getting ahead of myself."
"H-How?" Zorin questioned, baring her fangs.
"Hm? Don't you have some master vampire to teach you these things? I certainly do at least. I stole this neat little trick from him." Seras pointed to the large holes in her head healing as she spoke. "I'm certain he won't mind if I use it. It's quite satisfying to see the look on your face, that's for sure." She giggled and snapped her fingers.
The Lieutenant jumped back, only to notice right away that none of the somehow possessed soldiers fired at her. Instead, they fell to pieces, limbs falling into a scattered pile and blood pooling at the girl's feet.
Seras laughed.
Finally having enough of the girl's attitude, Zorin swung her scythe, roaring with anger.
Seras ducked, picking one of the guns off the ground and shooting the Nazi woman in the leg before scurrying away from a wild grab at her neck.
Zorin used her scythe as a crutch as her bullet wounds healed, but barely missed a beat when Seras shot at her again, dodging to the left and slashing down this time.
Seras jerked back, grinning when the blade dug into the pool of blood.
"Oh no you don't!"
Zorin used the leverage to quickly pounce on the Police Girl, forcing away the gun and choking her.
Seras hissed and scratched at the arm at her neck, before her eyes widened and she grinned before disappearing into the ground.
"What?" Zorin darted her gaze around the bloody little arena they'd created. She stood and grabbed her scythe, holding it tighter.
What kind of powers were these? When the Major and the Doctor had mentioned abilities she and rest of the elite vampires wouldn't be able to have thanks to the experiments, she was sure they weren't anything like her own power.
Wait a minute! That's right!
She slammed her hand into the ground, the symbols tattooed into her body glowing as she chanted her spell. Her whole body soon glowed a mix of purple and green. The runes on her arm slipped off her skin and onto her shadow, a mad grin on her face as she called out, "Try fighting this, bitch!"
Seras reappeared from a mass of blood a few meters away, confused as to what the woman meant. It was only when the purple shadows formed a familiar silhouette did she begin to cower.
The form took one step, then another, then darted at her, pulling a gun out of his coat.
No. No, no, no, no. No!
"M-Master!" she cried, springing out of the way.
"Kill her, Alucard!" a familiar voice commanded, Seras whimpering as fear suddenly clung to her mind.
No! Integra had trusted Seras to take care of the manor! Why would she order her Master to attack her?
What did she even do wrong?
Well, she could think of a few things.
"As you wish, my Master," Alucard spoke as he took his other gun, the Jackal, out of his coat as well. He aimed them both at her and fired twice.
The resounding explosion at her feet was so startling, she barely had time to avoid it, and it was absolutely painful. The blessed bullets seared into the flesh of her thighs and she screamed as she was tossed up into the air, falling face-first onto the ground and writhing in agony.
A rough hand grabbed her hair and she stared down the barrel of the Casull. She squirmed and whined, looking at her Master's conflicted expression and begging him to spare her. Once her legs began to heal, much slower than she liked to admit, she kicked at the ground to find her footing, her hands moving to her rifle.
She barely felt it on her fingertips when a bullet shot through her shoulder, the torn flesh itself screeching. Those damn bullets hurt and she couldn't heal fast enough to knock his gun away or grab her own.
"Let me go!" she yelled through the pain. With her good hand, she scratched at his arm, unable to do much else as agony and fear coursed through every part of her body.
She'd die here, on Integra's sudden order to kill her, by her Master's hand.
Her gaze flickered to him as he growled and pressed his gun against her head.
"M-Master?" she whispered, unsure.
After all he promised to her, and she in return, this was how it would end? No! This couldn't be right! Why would any of this happen while she–
It was then she remembered what she'd been previously doing.
Fighting through the pain, she wrenched the gun out of the fake's hand, snapping through bone. Despite pulling the trigger multiple times, the gun didn't even make a shooting sound, much less fired anything.
She tore off the other arm, charging her head into the illusion's stomach until he was flung away.
Her gaze shifted from the beaten fraud to the spellcaster, growling like a savage beast. Without hesitation, she charged at Zorin, breaking the woman's concentration and completely shattering the illusion.
Fangs dug into the tattooed arm, threatening to rip it off. Zorin snarled and punched at the girl's head, but only served to beat her teeth deeper in.
Seras pulled back, her hand working to twist the other arm off as well. Once the Nazi started kicking, she bounced back and pounced in from behind, easily maneuvering around the startled vampire.
She bit into Zorin's neck, tugging at the woman's short hair just enough to make room.
"Get the fuck off me, you vampire whore!" she cried out as she tried to get a hold on the psychotic fledgling. It was no use. She was starting to feel the energy leave her.
Seras let go and hissed, kicking Zorin to the ground. She reached behind her back for her rifle, only to realize it wasn't there. She saw it near where she'd fought the fake Alucard, further away than she liked. Searching for the nearest weapon, she saw Zorin's scythe, discarded and forgotten.
Picking it up, she eyed the blade, deciding to go with her gut instinct and bringing it down.
With a slick slicing sound, the tip pushed through the small of Zorin's back, almost pushing out of her chest. She gasped and trembled, immediate shock pushing past all other thoughts.
Thrill and curiosity playing in her expression, Seras tugged the scythe out and tried again, this time slicing sideways, through a leg.
Zorin screamed out in pain, suddenly aware that she could attempt escape and doing so.
"That's it?"
She yelped as a shoe slammed right onto her back, pressing her to the ground.
"You didn't even put up much of a fight. Your men fought better than you."
That mocking tone, even trying to mimic her accent, would have been annoying to her, if she wasn't being crushed like a bug under a boot. Her voice practically echoed through her skull.
"This was almost too easy," Seras said, spinning the scythe in her hand. She looked down at the whimpering creature, then sighed. "I was honestly hoping for more of a challenge, not underhanded tricks pretending to be one."
She knelt down, her full weight further digging into Zorin's spine. "Oh well. I suppose I'm getting ahead of myself. Maybe now you can show me what your sire taught you, hm? Some hidden talents or unique perks I should be aware of?" When all she got were screams and grunts, she rolled her eyes. "I'll find out for myself then."
She snapped her fingers and the blood from the entire battle swarmed Zorin's body like thousands of hungry rats, consuming her until she was nothing more than a memory, trapped like all the others.
Slowly, the blood collected itself into Seras' shadow, eager to please.
Once it was all gone, she dropped to the ground, sitting and leaning her weight on the scythe still in her hands.
Sighing, she jerked as all the pain she'd previously ignored came flooding back. Her shot shoulder burned. Her legs were still reforming skin and bone in large spots with raw burn patches. She could feel the dull ache in her muscles from stress. Her head pulsed with the strain of madness pushing against her skull.
Her gaze shifted to the aircraft moving past her, the soldiers clearly deciding to avoid her and go straight in.
"Time to get back to work."
She stifled a whine, wishing that she didn't have to deal with this anymore. This war, the death, the blood, and especially the insanity of being a vampire.
"Time to fulfill your mission."
Seras held her head in her hand, gently, not strained. Blood tears began to fall down her cheeks and it took some effort not to scream. Her body shook with each sob.
"Time to help your men."
She was tired. So very, unreasonably tired.
"Time to kill."