We're getting closer to the end of the story, which will be released over the next few days. A special mention to everyone who has left me reviews, which have been lovely and have kept me motivated to keep writing.
She sensed nothing but fear. There was death. Everywhere.
She looked up at the many surveillance screens in the command room, watching the destruction of the city. The bombs were dropped, the missiles fired and the city was soon overcome by fire.
"As of now, this facility is under the control of millennium!" The vampire shouted.
His minions pointed their guns at Integra, herself and Walter, as well as the other human officials in the command room. She knew Integra foresaw this happening, which is why she had asked Ilona to accompany her to the meeting.
"Today is a very good day for vampires. A very good day indeed, considering I've just captured the great Sir Integra." Integra chuckled in response and he pointed his gun at her, getting angrier by the minute.
"I hope you can claim your iron cross from your corporal, in hell," she mocked.
"Shut up!" He yelled, his finger tightening on the trigger.
Ilona stepped forward to make her move but stopped. A silver thread appeared in front of the vampire, moving through his skin as if it was air. The arm and the gun both fell to the floor together with a sickening spray of blood. She looked to its source and found Walter.
"The angel of death," she realised aloud, just as Alucard had told her. Walter nodded in her direction.
"Walter, Ilona," she heard Integra addressing them, "clean up."
She nodded, swiftly removing her white gun, Râs, from the inside of her long dark jacket.
"Die!" One of them yelled, following his call a hail of bullets.
Walter stretched out his wires, protecting himself and Integra from the oncoming shots. Ilona was already on the ceiling as the first shot was fired, moving upside down. Walter changed the direction of his wires, slicing through the men with ease. Ilona dropped to the floor shooting mid-air. She took out the remaining soldiers with ease. Blood spattered on the walls and floors, the scent overpowering her nose.
"This facility should be on their list of targets," Integra stood, addressing the officials. "It's time to leave."
"There are nazi soldiers dropping from the airships!" One of the men stationed at the screens yelled over his shoulder.
Integra slammed her hands on the table. "Sir Penwood," she looked hard into the eyes of the man sitting across from her, the one who till a moment ago she had admitted she suspected of being a traitor.
Sir Penwood refused, telling her he must stay as the commanding officer of the facility.
"There are evils moving against us that only you, only Hellsing, can face," he spoke gravely, looking at the three of them.
Integra reached into her coat and pulled out a silver gun. "It's loaded with blessed atomised silver rounds," she placed it down on the table. "Sir Penwood, best of luck and good hunting."
As Integra moved from the room she and Walter followed behind closely.
"We're leaving, as quickly as possible," she told them both as they walked down the hall.
"As you say, ma'am," Walter agreed.
"It will be dangerous out there, Sir," Ilona spoke.
"We'll take the car. Will that be a problem?" She replied.
"Not in the slightest," Walter smiled.
"Nothing will get in my way. As head of the Hellsing family, I swear it," Integra vowed. Ilona heard the fierceness in her voice and felt admiration towards the woman, understanding why Alucard held so much respect for his human master.
They arrived at the car and she got into the back seat next to Integra, her gun still in her gloved hand. The air was filled with smoke and the streets glowed red from the flames as they drove. She saw bodies, everywhere. It was unlike anything she had ever seen. Walter drove fast down the empty streets towards the Hellsing manor.
"Faster!" Integra commanded. The car sped up. They turned a corner quickly, before they came to a sudden halt. She knew why instantly, detecting a dark presence far off in the distance. A man. Or was he a monster?
"What is it?" Integra shouted.
"Ilona, please take the car and escort Sir Integra back to the manor," he got out.
"Yes, of course," Ilona opened the door and got out, moving to the driver's seat. She had never driven a car before, but she had observed the man and understood quickly how she could manoeuver it.
"What are you doing?" Integra questioned her servant.
"Take the car and go. Do not try to find me and no matter what, don't look back," he replied, not turning around to face them. "The way I am now, I don't know how long I'll be capable of holding out against that man," he admitted, staring down the street.
"Walter, live through this. Consider that an order, understand?" Integra told him.
"If you insist ma'am," he replied.
Ilona shut her door and started the car. She reversed, driving the vehicle back in the opposite direction. She saw the ominous figure walking towards Walter in the rearview mirror, and she hoped he would follow his orders.
She drove fast, dodging the debris on the street. She sensed them coming before their red eyes appeared. They fired at the car and she swerved, a bullet hitting the tires bringing them to a stop with a screech. The women exited the car quickly.
"Integra Hellsing!" A figure jumped on the hood of the car suddenly. "By the order of the battalion commander prepare to-."
The vampire was stopped mid-sentence as Integra sliced through him with her sword, beheading him in one move. Ilona moved to her side quickly, standing face-to-face with the nazi soldiers. Their leader spoke to them, telling them to give up and surrender. Of course, neither of them were going to do that. Integra raised her sword, and Ilona her gun, both preparing for battle.
The leader moved towards them but stopped, a wave of holy swords going through him. She took in the sight of the man who now stood in front of them. The man Alucard had told her she must avoid at all costs. Father Anderson of the Iscariot Organisation.
"Facing down the big scary vampires, sword in hand, bleeding on the street!" he laughed in Integra's face.
He turned to Ilona next. "And what's this? Another vampire added to your collection? You must be the no-life Queen. I would love to see the look on your precious Alucard's face after I destroy you!"
Ilona glared at him. "I would like to see you try, priest," she spat.
"Did you hear that, Heinkel? Yumi?" He shouted.
Ilona looked up and saw two figures on the roof of the building, one man and one woman.
"These women, these people. Who else could be worthy to be our sworn enemies? Our arch-enemies?!" Anderson roared, glaring at them both.
"Father Anderson," the man on the roof, Heinkel, called, "I thought our orders were to do nothing but observe at this point."
"And for that matter, rescuing the Hellsing woman and the vampire Queen, that is a serious breach of orders, is it not?" Yumi added.
"What was I supposed to do? Just sit back and watch. We will be the ones who crush them!" He shouted angrily.
She watched as the man and the woman jumped from the building, landing easily on the street.
"We are the soldiers of Iscariot!" she heard the rest of their group call from the roof, jumping down in the same manner to join the first two. Their small army tore through the ghouls with ease.
They surrounded her and Integra. She took a step in front of the woman protectively. It was then that they saw the helicopters above. The voice overhead she recognised from the meeting at the round table with the Queen weeks back. Maxwell of Iscariot, condemning the city, ordering the shots to be fired as people ran through the streets screaming. He had betrayed them all.
"Maxwell, what you do tonight is not in the service of God! It is in the service of power! You, Maxwell, you've turned your back on God!" Anderson yelled to the sky, his fists clenched.
"Father Anderson," Heinkel spokes suddenly, "You need to focus on your mission, your orders! Maxwell wants Sir Integra Hellsing taken into custody immediately and the vampire Queen destroyed."
The guns were pointed at her and Integra. Ilona took a deep breath and remembered all that Alucard had taught her. Her body dissipated in the blink of an eye, turning into the dark mist. She pushed the men away with a powerful force, watching as their bodies flew through the air. Her dark form made a shield in front of Integra.
It was then that she sensed another presence. A red light shot from the sky, landing next to her. Seras. She had finally become a vampire. Ilona read her mind and realised what had happened. She wanted to console her for the death of Pip, but there was no time.
Heinkel and Yumi raised their guns at both of them.
"Stand down," Anderson sighed. "Even with both your power combined, these two women are too much for you to handle."
"Ilona." She heard his voice, saw him standing on the deck of the ship surrounded by fog. Seras and Anderson felt his presence just after her.
"He has returned," she spoke, gazing towards the river.
He had come back to her.