The path to the basement took them by the courtyard where the bulk of the fighting was occurring. Seras witnessed with her own eyes the bloodletting and her hunger was like a wave reaching its crescendo.
"Pip," she said. "Bon appetit."
The mercenary formed from the ground like mist rising from a lake. He was corporal but his edges were unclear like the passing of time in a dream. He wielded dual AK-74's and was eager to get some firing practice in.
"Anything for you, mademoiselle."
Seras, with Pip engaged, thought about what to do. She had traveled down several flights of stairs from where she had been interned or what now appeared to be the clocktower. From this overlook, she noticed that the British troops were losing, the defenses of the Iscariot compound too strong. Pip, however, would change the tide.
She was about to join the fray herself when several bayonets pierced the side of her head, neck, and chest.
Seras fell to her knees in surprise. It wasn't painful so much, as she was still numb from whatever experiments they had done to her. She slowly reached up to the bayonet through her throat which specifically prevented her from speaking, but before she could finish pulling it out, a gunshot rang out and her hand was blown to pieces. This time, she released a whimper.
"I knew this day would come. And I am always left to pick up the pieces." Heinkel Wolfe walked towards the downed vampire from the parapet across the way. "I truly am sorry for what they did to you, Seras Victoria. It is a wrong which I intend to rectify right now.
Without her hand, a black tentacle emerged from Seras and emptied the clip of the MP7 towards Heinkel who used her enhanced speed to dodge right and left, the majority of the bullets passing harmlessly by.
Heinkel then fired her own pistols, a fusion of the Browning BDA and 1911, at Seras, but the vampire evaded just as easily. Seras' shadow removed the offending bayonets from her body, and Seras was able to speak. "Maybe you should be down there, Heinkel, putting a stop to your own organization or did you agree with killing millions of innocents?"
"Do not test me, vampire. Luca Jessup will pay. But not before I put you back in the hole where I found you."
Seras ordinarily would stay and fight. But Sir Integra was out there, and she needed to ensure her master's safety. "Another time, Heinkel. I look forward to our rematch."
A swell of black birds whooshed between the combatants, forming an opaque wall, and when the air cleared, the vampire was nowhere to be found.
"Damn that vampire," Heinkel muttered, looking up at the clocktower. She supposed it was time to pay a certain bishop a visit.
Seras had jumped over the edge of the wall and she found herself sprinting through the carnage, past a fountain, and into the main hall of the Iscariot building. She mentally commanded a few birds to scout ahead, looking for any door or passageway that looked like it could lead to the lower levels.
One of the hallways her birds explored felt colder than the rest. She took off in the same direction, making a few corners before crashing through a large wooden door. It was a dining area and huddled in the corner were several children being guarded by a nun.
They instantly shivered at the sight of the vampire, her eyes red with power, and her clothing streaked with her blood and the blood of her enemies.
The nun was brave and raised a kitchen knife in defense, despite knowing the futility against an opponent such as this.
Seras' first instinct was to feed, but she stopped herself, and in its place, she was sad and angry that things had come to this. She vowed to make whoever was responsible pay. Too many people were suffering because of greed and ambition. Well, she would show them what it was like to want water as they suffered in hell flames.
Still, it broke her heart to see how they looked at her. She was no longer human, she had accepted that long ago, but the desire still remained, to blend in with them and to experience the things she never had a chance to.
"Wrong room," Seras told them.
It was the next room over which featured by the fireplace a narrow slit in the wall, barely large enough for a human to fit through. "Found ya."
"Well, this is interesting," Integra remarked while in cover behind a concrete barrier. They were in a large underground parking garage, and on the other side, dozens of machines were ambling closer to them.
"It appears the Catholics have a few tricks up their sleeve," Alucard replied, standing beside her, not particularly concerned about cover.
"Don't they look an awful lot like that "terminator" movie Seras watches sometimes?"
"Not very creative," Alucard acknowledged, his cheek being blown away by automatic rifle fire. "Stay here."
The machines continued to advance, but Alucard advanced as well. The FN P90's he was issued by Hellsing, however, did little to stop the enemy. Still, he emptied the magazine before taking the fight to them on a personal or impersonal level, seeing as they were just walking hunks of metal.
Normally, his bones would not be enough to crush their bodies, but he hardened the blood in them, providing for a suitable bludgeoning instrument.
Integra meanwhile was able to disable a few with her P226 as it contained explosive ammo. One got particularly close, and she tossed a grenade at its feet.
Before long, all the automatons were retired, and Alucard was feeling quite pleased with himself. Even though the machines had no blood, they were fun to tear apart.
"This camp is turning into a circus. What else does Iscariot have lying around?" Integra stood up from where she was crouching and lit a cigarette.
Alucard's head twisted to where the terminators had emerged from. "I think you are about to find out, my master."
A female voice echoed across the empty room, quiet from this distance but still legible.
"I feel like John Connor is going to jump out any corner. Those machines looked malicious, birdie...no, malicious, not delicious."
It was the unmistakable voice of her other vampire. Seras Victoria appeared at the bottom of the steps leading into the parking garage, toting a rocket launcher. A crow flapped beside her, sometimes circling the vampire and overall keeping her company.
"Hmm, it seems we do have a casualty," Integra grimaced. "Seras' sanity."
"Ah, Master! There you are!" Seras started sprinting towards the large red figure, who by now had repaired all his clothes.
"Oh! And other Master!" She stopped and looked excitedly at Integra. "So glad you made it!"
Somehow Seras was able to maneuver them closer together and give a big group hug. "Sorry, I was just talking to myself...sort of."
Integra politely created some distance, Alucard chuckling. Seras was the only person she would permit a hug from, but even then, she was never comfortable with close contact. "Um, yes, Senior Officer Seras Victoria. Report!"
"You see, the birds, they're me. But they're not me. They got their own personalities and-"
"No, the battle. How are we doing up top? I assume you came from there?"
Seras perked up. "Of course, sir! We were losing. There were too many turrets along the perimeter. But then Pip showed up and started taking out the key positions. Right now- (she appeared to be thinking)- your soldiers are making their first foray into the interior. Pip is providing air support."
"Good! I told you Alucard my plans never fail."
"Indeed, you never leave me disappointed."
Integra stomped out her cigarette. "Now, let's go find who's responsible for all this and give them a piece of my mind."
Seras brought her fingers together, unsure about how to break the news. "I know the guy. He's in the Basilica. My birds can't even get close."
Integra paused. "I see." She ruminated over this predicament. "Alucard, have you ever tried to enter those premises?"
Alucard, his smile not faltering, merely shook his head. "I can, Master, but I will not have my powers. I'm afraid I would be no more useful than a human to you." He glanced at his fledgling. "The same goes for Seras, though she would feel weak."
"We have a real problem then. Any second now, more reinforcements are bound to show up. We could defeat them, but our forces would be decimated. We need to draw him out." Integra looked around. "They have no cameras down here. They do not know of your presence, Alucard. We can use this to our advantage."
"Found you, Jessup." Heinkel stepped out from behind a pillar, her hand itching for her pistol. "Of course, you'd be here, away from the danger that you have brought to our most holy city."
The archbishop from where he was preening in the center of the room, multiple monitors displayed in front of him, merely glanced back. "Heinkel, in order to achieve great things, concession is required. It is the modern way."
"Looks like you're losing."
He shook his head. "All was foreseen. There is the final trump card, so to speak. For so many years, Hellsing hung that beast over our heads, daring us to provoke them. But this time, it will be me who wields the ultimate piece." He fully turned to face the regenerator. "I noticed you let Seras Victoria escape."
Heinkel tensed.
"Good. Let's just say we installed some security measures."