Hey guys, so surprise, another chapter. I like this one, although Im glad it's over. Writing Seras alone is a little difficult sometimes, maybe I'm just biased towards Alucard and their flirtation. Sorry for slow uploads, student life is still sucky, but I guess thats just how its gonna be for a while. Hope you're all keeping safe and happy. Thank you all for the lovely reviews and comments, they really make my day. Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter and that I'll see you next time. Ciao xx.

Chapter 14

Seras had been walking for what felt like hours. Feidelma had been giving her instructions on which turns to take, and how to avoid walking into the guards that patrolled the caves. The twisted labyrinth refracted sound peculiarly, often making things seem far closer or more distant than they actually were. Despite her hearing being one of her few powers yet to abandon Seras, she could not rely on it to guide her. Some parts of the caves were even taken over by unnatural silence, leaving her dependant on Delmas assistance.

"How much further till we find my men?", Seras asked Delma, her voice fraught with impatience.

"Not long now dearie. We would be there sooner, but you're not moving awfully fast, and your men keep wandering in circles. It's a wonder they haven't been spotted by the guards yet".

Seras let out a tense sigh and continued to stagger down the hall, her one good arm holding her weight against the wall. Her wounds had mostly closed by now, but they weren't healing like they should be. She needed blood, and soon.

Ahead of her there was a loud crash, followed quickly by the sounds of yelling and bullets. She instantly recognised the sound of her men in battle. Her eyes widened and she pushed herself off the wall and ran towards the sounds, guided by the skull beneath her arm.

When she finally turned the corner, she felt her chest swell with combatting emotions. Her team was here, and they were all alive, but they were injured and currently fighting some hideous creature. It looked like a horrific amalgamation of a bear, wolf and the very stone that surrounded it, its mottled grey fur covering rippling muscle and powerful arms. Its jaw was filled with grotesquely sharp teeth, and jagged rocks protruded through its flesh along the spine and down to its temples. She watched as it absorbed bullets and took a swipe at one of her men, sending him flying against a wall with a sickening crunch. He didn't get up.

Before she could stop herself, she dropped the skull to the floor and launched herself at the beast, latching onto its shoulder. She could smell the fresh blood from its wounds, and her clawed fingers tore at the creatures fur, desperately trying to find flesh to sink her teeth into.

Her men were clearly confused, and their voices sounded nothing more than a symphony of fear to her now. The creature had forgotten them, sensing the danger of the creature on its back. She was far too great a threat to ignore, the humans were nothing but flies compared to her.

It slammed her against the wall, its own body suffering damage from the impact. She felt the gash on her head burst open, and fragments of her skull splinter against the stone. She was disoriented and foggy, but her instincts new prey when they saw it and she stayed latched onto the creature. She had pulled enough of the fur away to reveal raw and blistered skin. Veins filled with blood pulsed along the surface, serenading her with every beat of the beasts great heart. She lurched forwards, sinking long fangs into the skin. Rich blood flooded her mouth. Its taste was earthy and salted, not sweet like a humans could be. She drank deeply, feeling it replenish her body, her wounds slowly pulling together, healing with new energy. Beneath her the beast howled in pain, writhing around the enclosed space desperately trying to shake her off.

It began running at full pace towards a particularly jagged group of rocks, clearly aiming to impale her, and possibly even itself. Seras was forced to release her grasp, unsure if she could survive such damage on so little blood.

She rolled harshly along the ground as she jumped off, the creature fighting to stop its collision now that it had forced her off. She pushed herself up and watched as it swung itself to the side, claws piercing the ground as it used the momentum to spin itself around to face her. It snarled at her. She snarled back.

She heard the sound of gunfire, and she turned to see her soldiers firing at the beast, taking advantage of its fixation on her to hit it where it hurt. She gave them a vicious smile, blood dripping down her chin and sliding past her teeth. This was good. They had their prey on the back-foot.

Someone managed to land a few shots on the creatures face, ripping an eyeball from its socket, along with much the left side of its face. It let out an ungodly scream, forcing her men to cease fire and protect their ears. Seras cackled, the sound beautiful to her. She advanced, sprinting with claws outstretched.

She collided with the creature with all her weight behind the attack, pinning it to the rocks it had tried to skewer her on. She watched as a long rock protruded through the beast's neck, severing its vocal cords and shattering its spine. It lurched and twitched, desperately clinging to its life. She didn't bother to watch it die as she ripped open its chest and tore away its flesh. It finally died as she jerked the large heart out from its ribs, feeling the organ twitch as it pulsed for the last time. She bit into the heart, drinking the blood deeply, before eating the flesh along with it. She scrabbled forwards, drinking the blood that poured from the animal and pooled at her feet.

She felt her skin slowly closing around her injuries, her ribs reforming where the fall had cracked them. Her splintered skull began the dull ache of healing itself, and she began to notice all the small placed she'd injured herself. She heard, and felt, some of her finger bones set back to their original place. The healing was slow and painful. Even with all this blood, something was still slowing her powers down.

Her shadows flickered faintly at her feet, soaking up every drop of the creature, gorging on the bloody meal. Behind her she was briefly aware of a soldier approaching her, and she jaggedly held up her hand, knowing if they got to close she may jump at them. Whoever it was, quickly stopped and watched as their commander savaged the beast that had attacked them.

It was Blake who had approached her. None of the troop had expected to see their commander down there, but they were thankful that they had. He was certain that without her some of them would have died. But now, as he looked to his saviour, he couldn't help but question if he was fighting the real evil. She was covered in blood, some of it hers, most of it the creatures. She had appeared, looking beat-up and damned to hell, but here she stood, wrapped in shadow and revelling in the kill. She didn't look even remotely human now. Her eyes glowing a hellish red, and her carnivorous smile splitting her beautiful face like a knife wound. He was terrified. But she had told him to stop. She had stopped herself from killing him. Perhaps she was still redeemable, even like this? He heard a loud, wet crack, and watched as her hand snapped back into its socket.

He watched as the shadows around her dissipated, and the blood was cleaned from her skin. Her eyes dulled and became focused on her surroundings, and she turned to look at him, a small frown playing on her soft features. Her body was still healing itself, ang he could see her spine was curved at an impossible angle, likely broken from one of her many falls or fights.

"Ma'am?" he asked nervously, his hands raised in a sign of submission. He, alone, stood forward from the group, the rest either tending to their wounds, or too afraid to approach her. She looked over to him, her glassy eyes looking straight through him. She didn't respond. She barely looked awake. He heard another bone crack into place.

"Captain Victoria, are you okay? Where is Big Red?". At the mention of her master, she seemed to focus more, sadness creeping into the edges of her eyes.

"I don't know, I fell…". She wandered back towards where she had appeared from. Her speech sounded distant, and Blake could hear the fatigue in her voice. He felt sorry for her, right up until the point that she picked up a human skull from the floor and cradled it under her twisted arm.

"Sir! What the fuck!?". He couldn't keep the fear and repulsion from his voice. He stepped back from her, walking right into another private. His yelling caught the attention of a few others, also alarmed by their Captain supporting a skull in her arms. Behind him, he heard the reassuring tones of Sargent Coleman.

"Captain Victoria! Explain yourself. Why are you carrying a human skull? Stand down!".

Seras immediately halted, eyes wide and shocked, she watched her team. They stood in silence, waiting for her answer. They all knew what Coleman had really meant when he yelled, his un-asked question hung in the air like a foul smell.

Was that skull the product of her feasting on a human? Had she finally snapped and killed someone, leaving nothing but their bones behind? Was this some sort of prize? A trophy from a kill? After what they had witnessed none among them could deny she was capable of such an act. Seras could see it painted on their faces, the irrefutable fear and disgust. The image was made worse as her skin knitted over her wounds nauseatingly slow, her spine slowly cracking itself into place, vertebrae by vertebrae. She hardly even seemed to notice as her back jutted and crunched into place. They were seeing her for what she was. A monster.

Private Isabelle Hicks was the first to break the silence.

"Coleman…Sarge- I don't think it's that. She has an explanation. Don't you mum?". Whilst Isabelle had no doubt that Seras was physically capable of killing a human, she didn't believe she was spiritually capable of it. Their vampire commander had more humanity in her little finger than most full blooded humans she knew. She wouldn't doubt her Captain now, they'd all been through too much together. There had to be another reason.

Seras, who was relieved to see someone still had faith in her, let out a small breath.

"Yes, sorry. This skull…it's…I found…". Seras looked down at the skull she held in her arms, desperately trying to find the words to describe Delma, a thing she barely understood herself. "I found her, when I fell into one of the chambers. She wants to leave this place. She spoke to me. She's helping me get out of here…". She looked up, hoping her words wouldn't sound completely insane.

Her team blinked back at her, confusion marring their faces as they looked between her and the skull. She felt an acute pang of panic ripple through her chest. Her team was doubting her. Probably thought she'd lost the plot, just like her master had. Seras had to admit that when Delma had first started speaking, she had faced the same quandary herself, but she didn't want her team to believe it.

"I know I sound mad, but I promise I've not gone wacko just yet. I'm not my master". Coleman nodded, seemingly satisfied with her explanation, but still seemed to watch her with a careful eye. She tried a reassuring smile, and the members that knew her better seemed to be reassured by this. Others still looked at her with contempt.

"Did you say the skull talks mum?", It was a Corporal Stewart who spoke, a mixture of amusement and practiced worry in his eyes. She could tell he was right on the edge of teasing her, but she still fell for it.

"Honest to God, I was fighting with Alucard, and then something pulled me underground. I had to dig my way into this cavern, fell into a magical pool of water and swam out, only to find Delma, screaming and yapping away at me!". She tried to keep her voice from becoming pitchy.

"Delma?" Stewart asked, clearly confused.

"Delma, Feidelma really. It's what the skull calls herself." She looked down to the offending cranium I question, "Isn't it that right Delma?"

The skull remained quiet, even the fires in her eyes seemed missing. Seras frowned. Had she picked the wrong skull back up?

"Yes, of course mum. We can call her that if you like." Stewart seemed to be accepting the apparent loss of her faculty with a little too much aplomb for Seras' liking. She scowled at him.

"And you found this…Delma… after falling into a magic fountain?" Stewart, genuinely seemed to be holding back amusement now.

"Magic pool! It was a pool, Stewart. Completely natural body of water!" She waved a finger at him already riled by his teasing. "And it was a ruddy cold one too! Salty and pitch black! If I could drown I certainly would have!". At this point the pair had come within spitting distance and were beginning to fire snide barbs at each other.

"Sorry to interrupt you, Captain, but you mentioned Alucard and you were fighting something, at the ruins?". The gruff tones of Coleman interrupted the pairs bickering. Seras wasn't overly bothered, better to remain focused on the mission than on an argument with Stewart. She turned away from the infuriating man, trying to salvage some semblance of her dignity.

"Yes". She crinkled her nose at the memory of the fight. "there were these horrific rat monsters. The boggarts had been corrupted by something, it's like they were melting into each other.". She shivered, just thinking of them made her skin crawl. "I was separated from Alucard during the fight. I suspect he finished them off, they seemed less of an issue for him…". She looked down, feeling the skull move against her slightly. No one else seemed to notice its movements.

She watched as the small fires grew in its sockets, flickering up to look at her. 'I knew I picked Delma up! Wonder why she didn't speak earlier?'. She thought to herself.

"Can you call him down here? It's not like you two to be separated on a mission. I'm sure he's very keen to get his hands on you mum.". Stewart cut in again, interrupting her train of thought, his tone clearly mocking her now. A few of the privates snickered at his comment, others began to look uneasy..

The question had been edged with just enough sarcasm that Seras was forced to confront him. Seras had no doubt he was alluding to her masters flirtations and manhandling they'd all witnessed in recent months. Stewart was testing his boundaries, seeing if she'd rise to the bait, testing her resolve as a leader. She clenched her teeth, biting back the urge to punch him in the throat. She knew having Alucard around would make her men question her authority, especially when he treated her as nothing but a dog. But knowing Stewart had the confidence to do so to her face made her blood boil. At least a few of her comrades seemed to still be on her side.

"Watch your tone Corporal! I won't hesitate to see you demoted to ghoul duty for the rest of your miserable sodding life. You'll be good for nothing when I'm done with you" Her icy tone was enough to make his stupid smile falter at the edges. Seras took it as a small victory. She'd come up with a suitable punishment if they both managed to survive this evening.

"Since you're so interested, no I can't call him down here. The creatures that attacked us drained a lot of my blood, and I sustained a lot of injuries down here. Feeding on this creature has allowed me to heal, but something is still blocking my powers down here." Absently she tried to call out to her master again, pushing hard against the resistance that surrounded her. She felt as though she might be close, recognising her master's aura somewhere close, but she was unable to reach it. Alucard's aura was chaotic and unstable at the fringes of her mind, his manic and un-organised mind thrashing against itself. It often looked like this in battle, and she wondered if he were still fighting the boggarts. She desperately wanted him close, she was tired; her team questioning her. For once she actually wanted him to save her, not just leave her alone to work. Sighing, she o let the connection go, resolved to her fate.

"I can sense he is close, but I cannot open any communication ,or get his attention. Something very powerful is keeping us apart. Get me back to the surface if you want to call him.".

Coleman grabbed Stewart's arm, turning them both away to have a hushed conversation. Normally she would have been able to eavesdrop, but the sound of bones-reforming in her skull was so loud that she only got every-other word. From what she could tell, Coleman was irritated and Steward dismissive. She turned her attention elsewhere; they clearly didn't want her input.

A few members of the daylight team had been recruited for this mission, but her second Rodgers was not with them. She felt another pang of sadness pass through her. He would have known she was no harm; he would have stood up for her against Stewart. She suffered his absence as keen as her masters.

"Rodgers must still be at base camp" she muttered to herself, not expecting to be heard. To her surprise, Delma took this moment to speak, replying to her quiet statement.

"Then I shall have to meet him later my dear. I doubt he will come her without good reason". Seras stiffened, feeling the sudden silence like a knife in her skin. All of the eyes of the soldiers were locked on to the skull in her arms. Delma had spoken just loud enough for most of them to hear, despite their conversations. Seras frowned. She'd been a little too loud, come to think of it. She glowered down at the skull.

"You did that on purpose! You wanted to unsettle them!" she accused the cranium loudly.

"Oh nonsense! Why would I do such a thing? I am dead, and therefore above such childish behaviours". Seras snorted, knowing perfectly well that being dead put no limitations on foolish behaviour. Her master was a testament to that fact, and he had been killed many times over.

"Oh that's a load of horse-shit" Seras replied, her words crackling with irritation. "You've spent hours teasing me and purposefully terrifying me! Admit, it, you have fun scaring people".

If the skull could have shrugged in a nonchalant manner, Seras highly suspected she would have. Instead it simply answered her.

"Maybe, but only if you admit that you like getting into arguments and fights for fun".

Seras actually gasped, her mouth hanging open at the suggestion. She heard more than one of her men snicker again and she turned to them with no small amount of fury in her eyes.

"I do not!" she argued, likely proving her point wrong with those three same words. "I am a calm, patient and peaceful person! I do not enjoy arguing with people!".

Her protests were only met by more laughter, and even a well-worn smile from Coleman, who was old enough to know denial when he saw it.

"To be fair Mum, you just spent the past twenty minutes arguing with that tosser" One of the men pointed at Stewart, who had enough arrogance to looked shocked.

"We always assumed that's why Big Red likes you so much, Mum. You're always arguing with him, if you get a chance. We recon you both must enjoy it more than normal." It was Hicks who had spoken. Beside her Thompson and Blake nodded in fervent agreement, juvenile smiles lighting up their faces. All traces of fear and doubt had been wiped from their faces, instead they were filled with mirth and amusement for her discomfort.

Seras relaxed a little, knowing they must not truly fear her if they could laugh at her like this. She giggled a little herself, admitting she may have enjoyed the odd argument or two.

"You may have a small point, but I'm not going to fully agree there." She held the skull up so her troop could see her properly. "I suppose I should introduce you all to Delma. She who can guide us out of here. She had been imprisoned by the women who live down here, the same ones who I think are responsible for the attacks on the village. They are incredibly powerful, suppressing my powers and creating the horrific creatures we have found down here. Despite this, our mission remains unchanged. Find and destroy them all."

There was a brief uprising of concern amongst the lower ranks, Coleman and Stewart were still whispering, although looked a little concerned now faced with a new enemy. She let everyone calm a little before looking over the group. All of them seemed healthy, a little worse for wear in some places, but over-all still fighting fit. The young man who had been thrown against the wall was the only exception, suffering from bruised ribs and a mild concussion. Luckily his vest had taken the brunt of the impact, but not enough to save his head from being cracked off the wall.

"Right. As I see it we have two options to go from here. One is return to the surface the way you came in; we call for back-up, re-group and form an attack. This will give us numbers, but may cost us time and the element of surprise. They'll likely notice the beast we killed is missing by then, and will be on high alert. Option two is to forge ahead from here, Delma can guide us directly to them, but we have an injuries and no contact to back-up or to Alucard. We lose in numbers and attack force, but gain the element of surprise."

She looked to Coleman, hoping he would have insight into the choice. She was more partial to number two herself, having fed she felt strong enough to fight, and she was hesitant to seem reliant on her master in front of her own team.

"We'll go with you Ma'am. Your choice has never served us wrong in the past." Colemans answer was suitably cryptic, and unhelpful, but the team all seemed to agree with him.

"Fine, Option Two it is. We fight our way out." She turned to the injured member. "I don't expect you to know your way out on your own, and you won't be good for fighting for a while. Stay in the middle of the group so we can keep an eye on you, and when you're able to hold your gun steady we'll let you fight. Until then you're in charge of ammo supply. Everyone else, you've got two minutes before we move out. Get your arses in gear."

Seras watched as they began to shuffle about, refilling ammo and tending to the last of their wounds. Turning down to Delma she began working out the route they would have to take to get to the so-called "ladies' who owned this place.

It wouldn't take them too long, maybe about an hour to get there, but they would have to approach quietly to not be spotted and killed before they could reach them. Seras was dubious of the skull's honesty in certain matters, but had no other option than to trust it. It was certainly holding something back, but Seras couldn't pin-point exactly it was.

"Are you sure there is nothing you aren't telling me?" She asked, hoping a more direct approach might aid the situation'

"Most definitely, but there are certain things I cannot reveal to you. Despite my wishes otherwise I am a slave to the ladies, and they have forbade me from speaking on certain things. Just as you are unable to break your connection to your master, I cannot be free of them until they die."

"So you were always hoping I would kill them?" Seras asked.

"Oh yes, although simply putting distance between us would have been nice. I get so bored locked away in that box. Centuries in there has become a tedium beyond belief. But death is, of course, preferable"

"Of course"

Seras shook her head and smiled a little. One of her men had given her a small satchel she could put Delma, so she could keep her hands free. They also gave her a shotgun and some shells, so she wasn't completely unarmed. Her own guns had been lost back at the ruins when she fell through the ground. She felt a pull of guilt, knowing Sir Integra had gifted her the guns from her personal collection. She really hoped Alucard had picked them up

They were a few turns away from the chamber where Delma claimed the ladies would be housed, when Seras felt something press against her mind. She held up her hand, signalling for her troop to wait. For a while she had noticed that the pressure against her powers was growing, the limited freedom she regained from the beasts blood was all but gone now. Her shadows only wavered slightly, not becoming corporeal or effective in any way. Her telepathy was all but gone, and she had no idea if she would be able to heal if she were injured again. She hoped it wouldn't come to that.

"We're almost there, I want you all to keep an eye out here. My normal tricks aren't working in here, so don't rely on me to save your arses. Coleman, you take the two day team members and fan out to the left, Stewart, you take our three from the night team and fan out to the right. I'll take the centre, and distract the combatants if necessary. You see something, shoot, ask questions later. That clear?"

"Yes Sir!" They approached the hall as quietly as they could, the arched doorway was large, and the room beyond was well-lit. That afforded them some decent amount of shadow to hide in, although Seras was certain whatever was waiting for them already knew exactly where they were.

The room through the door seemed oddly plush compared to the rest of the Labyrinth. Where all other rooms and corridors had been cold and spartan in their decoration, this was full of soft pillows and colourful woven rugs. There were series of almost Grecian looking columns and low walls encircled the centre of the chamber, good enough for her men to hide behind. She motioned for her team to split up and take their places in Seras hung back, the last to enter the strange space.

Walking into the light, Seras didn't bother take cover. Her eyes stung against the warm light and heavy incense that filled the space. Now inside she could see how it greatly resembled the cavern she had first fallen into. Carved walls arched high over a large pool of water with intricate designs carved into the relief of the walls. This room, however, had been tiled with beautifully coloured mosaics, statues of gods stoop above carved inscriptions and the rudimentary blue flames were now captured within a plethora of colourful glass lamps. Someone clearly used this room regularly, and from the crushed cushions and freshly lit firepit, they had been very recently.

A distant booming caught her attention and she whirled to face the far wall. It sounded like something large was crashing against the other side, trying to break through. The water in the large pool began to ripple, and Seras slowly moved towards it, turning her back on the booming noise. Peering down she swore she could see something move underneath the surface. The shape seemed oddly human looking, but it shone like silver.

"What the?"

As soon as Seras spoke the silver creature's eyes snapped open, sparkling like emeralds and full of hatred it met her gaze. It lunged at her.

Seras couldn't move back fast enough. The thing broke the surface of the water supernaturally fast, long, icy cold fingers wrapped around her neck, choking her. Horrific banshee-like screaming filled her ears, and Seras found for the second time that evening, betrayed by her sensitive ears. As a reflex she savagely kneed the creature in the ribs, forcing it to roll aside and release her.

She heard her men gasp when they saw what had attacked her, and when she fully beheld it, she had to stifle her own. Stood before her was a giant woman, her body was shimmering silver, the texture of a roughened snakeskin. Her hair was slicked back and icy white. She would have been considered beautiful, but half of her face was raw and peeling, her silver skin shedding away, revealing bleeding muscle underneath.

The silver woman screamed, her mouth opening to reveal rows of pointed teeth, protruding through swollen gums. Her breath stank of brine and something oddly spicy. Before Seras could place the sent the silver woman lunged at her, sinking her rough talons into Seras' shoulder.

Seras fell backwards, twisting enough not to land on her head for the third time that evening. With the woman pinning her down, Seras' arms were trapped to her side, the shotgun pointing up at both of their faces. Leaning her head back as far as she could, Seras stole her courage and pulled the trigger.

The shell exploded into the silver woman's shoulder, sending her flying backwards. Seras heard the symphony of firearms explode around her as her men shot at her attacker. The blast from the shotgun had singed the skin on her face, likely taking some of her eye-brow with it. Her left eye stung like a bitch, her vision becoming blurry on that side.

She pushed herself up, and re-loaded the weapon as fast as she could. The silver lady had been hit a few times by her team, but they were only glancing blows. She was fast, jumping around the room faster than their human eyes could follow. She was incredibly nimble, despite her injuries, using her large claws to jump up to high points on the columns and ceiling to avoid their fire. She had them on the back-foot now, retreating back to the archway as she attacked them from above.

Acting on instinct Seras took a deep breath and focused. With her powers being suffocated it would take a lot of her energy to move at the speed she needed to keep up with the attacker. One of her men screamed, the silver lady had dislocated his arm completely, and was wrenching at it feverishly, enjoying causing him pain. She wasn't even trying to pull it off fully, she just wanted to cause him pain.

Seras let out a cry, furious to see her men being toyed with. The woman turned to face her, a sickening smile on her face, before ripping the man's arm clean off, using it to beat him down, as well as his comrades who tried to aid him. Seras boiled over with anger, leaping forwards at the sickening looking creature, shotgun extended. She managed to sink one shot into the creatures stomach, before the gun was knocked away by the woman's flailing arms. Seras used the silver woman's confusion to pull her to the ground, using her own talons to gouge at the shotgun wound in the creatures shoulder.

Beneath her the silver woman screamed in pain, and began swatting and kicking at her, dropping the man's arm in the struggle. The pair rolled around on the floor, screaming at each other. Seras was vaguely aware of her men crawling out of the chamber when the wall above her exploded, showering them both with rubble and dust. The explosion knocked her sideways, allowing her opponent to scrabble upwards from her. Seras growled and pushed herself to her knees, throwing herself forwards and snagging the woman's ankle. She Pulled. Hard.

The silver lady tried to catch herself before falling, but her wounded shoulder made her weak, and she cracked her chin on the floor. Seras heard the bone snap, and felt the woman's whole body go rigid in pain. The dust around them dried out the woman's silver skin, making it painfully peel and tear under Seras' grip. It felt scaly and slick between her fingers.

'What is she, some kind of fish person?'. Seras wondered, peering closer at the wounds. Unfortunately, her brief victory was interrupted by a second, louder explosion, this one fully destroying the wall above them. Seras let go of the woman, binging her arms down to cover her head, protecting it from the larger pieces of falling debris, feeling the falling stone dust coating her body.

She saw the rock splinter above her, freeing a large, car-sized boulder from the wall. She jumped back to the edge of the pool, desperate to not be crushed. The Silver woman either didn't care, or notice and continued to approach the wall, clearly attempting to go through the hole that had now been crated. Unfortunately for the silver woman, this pre-occupation prevented her from noting that the large boulder had worked free enough to begin fall. Seras watched as began its decent, hovering briefly above the woman's head, before it smacked down on her body, sending fragments of flesh and bone flying through the air.

The silver woman's legs were all that remained of her, now stuck out from the single large boulder, blood slowly pooling around them. It trickled through the other rocks, smelling like ammonia and fish guts. Seras coughed and held back bile at the smell.

After a moment, the dust in the room began to settle, but the sounds of battle still continued. Looking up, Seras saw two silhouetted figures battling on the other side of the ruined wall. One was tall, masculine and oh so familiar, his wild hair flying out around him. The other was an equally tall female, rocky spikes protruding from her spine. She watched the man catch the woman by the throat, empty a full magazine of bullets into her chest before throwing her in Seras' direction. The woman screamed in pain; her voice broken from the crushed trachea. She landed next to the remains of the silver woman, shrieking at the sight of her eviscerated body. The young vampire barely took notice of the woman, she was looking to the man who had thrown her.

He walked forwards, the smoke and dust settling around him. Seras couldn't believe her eyes, she almost cried in relief.

"Master!"