1926, April 20th
Eastern Front

Lieutenant Viktoriya Ivanovna Serebryakova had managed to survive the Rhine, the Major's- rather, the Colonel's training, Operation Shock & Awe, and even Tiegenhoff: only to die in a ditch fighting the bloated corpse that her homeland had become.

Federation soldiers and armour poured onto their encircled position while AA and the American mages ensured not even the mages could escape. The Empire was doing everything in its power to break the encirclement from the other side, but the Russy were somehow smart enough to do a front-wide push against Imperial forces, preventing them from being able to spare the resources to save them. Tanya, somehow, confirmed that that animal from Tiegenhoff wasn't here. Viktoriya remembered the mangled body of that animal in human skin, practically begging to be put out of its misery, and the look of pure exhaustion and pain across Tanya's. Tanya still wouldn't talk about what had happened in the church in Tiegenhoff, but Viktoriya could only wish one of them had been able to finish her off before she was retrieved by her companion. Still, even without the Sioux girl here, it was clear to everyone that they were doomed.

Viktoriya looked over to her commanding officer inside the trench bunker, and a smile crept onto her face. While she had managed to survive so much, truly it was all thanks to Tanya. The Republic can call her the Devil of the Rhine all they want, Viktoriya couldn't see her as anything more than the Empire's very own Angel of Death. And, although she'd never say it in front of Tanya, the slightly pouty face Tanya had when she was thinking made the grim situation far easier for Viktoriya to face. The slight twitching of what Tanya called an ahoge only added to the bubbly adjutant's delight.

The defeated sigh the Lieutenant-Colonel let out, however, had everyone in the room looking over to the pint-sized officer.

"I don't… maybe..? No, no…" Tanya was muttering to herself. That was never a good sign. That meant she wasn't able to outthink her opponent, but didn't think brute force would work either, and so kept trying to think of a solution despite knowing it was futile. The last time this had happened was in North Aferia, when an enemy mage battalion kept outpacing the 203rd, running us in circles. Viktoriya could see Tanya was becoming increasingly agitated as her ideas all failed in her mind's eye, and so she placed a hand on the former major's shoulder. She let out another sigh as she leaned her head ever-so-slightly onto Viktoriya's hand. Viktoriya'd never seen her do that before.

"Very first deployment of the Salamander Kampfgruppe, and I just about get everyone killed… still, it would be dereliction of duty as your commanding officer for me to not keep searching for a way out. That being said…" Tanya trailed off, looking away from the people in the room.

"I can't order you to do this, but… if the Federation are going to capture you, you should kill yourself. Their methods for extracting information are… inhumane doesn't even begin to describe it, from the reports I've read." A collective shiver was felt by everyone in the room, followed by a series of quiet "yes ma'am's."

The air of melancholy failed to disperse with time. They were going to die, and there was nothing any of them could do. This position wasn't even supposed to come under attack, not at least for another week.

Tanya suddenly stood. She quietly made her way out into the trenches, not even sparing a glance to her subordinates. After a few moments of hesitation, Viktoriya followed suit, and shortly after the rest of the men in the room followed her as well. While Tanya was the highest ranking officer there, there were several other company and battalion leaders who weren't technically under her command. The Salamander Kampfgruppe had been deployed to assist the forces further east from their current position, but they ended up encircled before they could even reach the forward point they were meant to be at. They had linked up with the retreating remnants of the forces they were meant to be saving. How ironic that now they too needed rescuing.

Except no-one could help them.

Tanya looked out at the frozen wasteland, tilting her head every now and then to dodge a stray bullet here and there. One even managed to ping her passive shield, but she didn't even react to it, too lost in her thoughts to register it. She looks down at her Type 95, and Viktoriya quickly places a hand on her shoulder to stop her. When Tanya had seemingly gone mad after a battle, she had been restrained by the 203rd for some time. Two days after activating the Type 95 she came to, and the general staff made her explain what had happened. Apparently, the energies of the Type 95 were so intense that they actually drove her insane while it was active. She claimed that she had to spend eighty percent of the computation jewel's energy just to be able to identify friend from foe. Worse yet, it turns out that she had believed they had already been informed of this since doctor von Shugel, the inventor of the Type 95, had told her he'd informed them. It took everyone working together to calm her down and keep her from outright murdering the man. Doctor von Shugel was reprimanded, but otherwise punishment was to wait until the end of the war. Meanwhile, the general staff had decided that she could keep it on her, but only so long as it was an absolute last resort. The 203rd were tasked with keeping an eye on her whenever she used it.

"What else can I do?"

"Would even fifty percent save us, Tanya? We're going to die, there's no need for you to drive yourself mad beforehand."

"A hundred percent might-"

"Tanya, no! Even if it actually worked, you'd be just as much of a threat to the Empire as you would be to the Federation. Please, Tanya…" A deathly silence hung over the two women as they looked out across the half-frozen and bombed wasteland. The white cape of Tanya's dress uniform billowed behind her, her entire body somehow an embodiment of imperial grace in Viktoriya's mind. Tanya had done the math some time ago, and found that her passive shield was so strong that it really didn't matter what she wore; anything that could get through her passive shield would get through even the Empire's best armour. Instead, she chose to wear the full dress uniform in order to inspire her ment. Viktoriya had to admit, it certainly was a striking image, and many near-routs had been turned around at the mere sighting of the White-Silver above them, often accompanied by rousing speeches about saving the Empire and crushing those who sought to destroy us. Viktoriya hoped she'd hear one of those great speeches of hers one last time.

"Lieutenant Colonel, ma'am!" A runner broke the both of them out of their thoughts.

"Speak, soldier." The sharp, precise tone of her commanding officer's voice cut through the sounds of ongoing battle around them.

"All officers of their respective groups have coordinated on a message for you, ma'am: death before dishonour. Our forces are prepared to make a suicide charge against the Federation advance, ma'am. On your order." Tanya blinked a couple times before turning to the officers around her.

"You all as well? You all knew of this?" They nodded.

"I'm quite certain the 203rd is ready as well, ma'am. We'll follow you into the pits of hell if we must!" Viktoriya said as she saluted her. Tanya looked Viktoriya up and down, as though studying her, before her gaze rested on Viktoriya's neck. She wasn't sure what to make of that, especially when a sombre expression took over Tanya's face.

"You would truly do anything for me, Viktoriya?"

"Without question, nor hesitation, ma'am." Tanya walked over to her, using flight spells to walk up to eye-level with her, as though she was walking up stairs.

"Then close your eyes, Visha. Close your eyes and… brace yourself." Viktoriya didn't know what that meant, but she followed orders dutifully.

And then teeth sunk into her neck. Her eyes shot wide open as sharp pain fired throughout her body. She felt Tanya grab her, forcing her back into an upright stance. A choked gasp left Viktoriya's mouth as she felt herself being drained of blood.

The Lieutenant Colonel was drinking her blood. Only after she was practically thrown back by Tanya shoving her did she notice the moon had turned red, bathing the ground in faintly red light.

And then everything went red.

A great pillar of red light erupted around Tanya, blinding most there. Even while woozy from the blood loss, Viktoriya used optical spells to see what was going on. She saw Tanya recoil in agony as her ears slowly became pointed and her already exaggerated canines enlarged into full, supernatural fangs. Blood dripped from her mouth, especially from the tips of her new fangs. Then, seemingly appearing from nowhere within the red pillar of light, massive bats spiralled up around the pillar, furiously screeching as they did. Their fur was so black that, were it not for the bright red light of the full bloodmoon, the hundreds of monsters that had appeared would have disappeared into the dark of night. From a glance Viktoriya would say that each bat was about as large as her entire torso, ignoring the wingspan, but truly she could hardly tell one from another they were so densely clustered. The moment they cleared from around Tanya, the Lieutenant Colonel thrust out her now clawed hand and dispelled the pillar of bloody light.

Viktoriya could hardly believe what she was looking at. Fangs, claws, red eyes faintly glowing with eldritch power, and a look in Tanya's eyes that spoke of utter fury and hunger. Viktoriya barely noticed how her bite wound had sealed itself cleanly, or how she no longer felt drained.

"T-Tanya…?" The words came trembling from Viktoriya as she looked at her superior, the power of her magic pouring off of her in waves. She froze when a low growl came from Tanya.

'Is sh-she going t-to..?' but Viktoriya's fears were never realised as Tanya rocketed into the sky to join the monstrous bat creatures that appeared when Tanya changed, cracking the earth beneath herself. The bats swarmed around Tanya, furiously screeching as they all began flying towards the Federation's lines.

"She changed herself to… to fight the Federation. To save us." The words were barely a whisper, but the battlefield had quieted since the moon turned red. Everyone heard her as they turned to her.

Viktoriya moved quickly. She took up position against the wall of the trench, taking a pair of binoculars and combining it with her optical spells in order to see what was going on. The bats had engaged the mages, and although they were going down in puffs of bloody mist, there were hundreds of them and only so many mages. She then pointed the binoculars at her superior, her bright white uniform almost blending into the snow-covered ground. If not for the golden hair flowing behind her and the massive amount of mana pouring off of her, Viktoriya would have struggled to find her. Viktoriya gasped at what she saw. Tanya pounced on a Federation soldier and, without hesitation:

Ripped out their heart, held it over her head, and then crushed it in her hand. The blood from the organ poured down into her mouth, staining herself in blood. Shortly afterwards, Tanya rushed forwards and ripped another man apart with her bare hands, and again and again Viktoriya watched the White Silver stain herself red as she fed on the Federation forces. Soon, runners were reporting that massive swathes of the Federation line were being redirected to stop her, even as Viktoriya watched her lift a T-34 and drop it on an unlucky soldier who had tripped. It wasn't long before Tanya began receiving fire from all around her as she wildly lashed out at every enemy she could find. She was slowing down, Viktoriya could see that, As hundreds of rounds began impacting her shield, and she had to start dodging rounds from tanks that had begun firing on her, Viktoriya began moving to mobilise the Empire's forces. She wasn't sure what had happened or what Tanya was doing, but she knew the hero of the Empire needed help. Viktoriya had to help her. The 203rd was gathered below her in short order. While she technically wasn't in command of any unit, the 203rd all respected her enough to treat her as though she was second only to Tanya, even if rank didn't reflect it. The officers of the various infantry groups were also gathered, and the distraction of Tanya had temporarily disrupted the enemy's jamming, allowing Viktoriya to be heard by every single soldier that had been encircled. She had been hoping to hear Tanya give a speech; now she was going to have to give one.

"What are we waiting for?!" Viktoriya was nervous, but didn't let it show. Tanya had taught her much of how to hide her emotions.

"Colonel von Degurechaff is out there fighting to save us! I don't know what she did, but I can see that it came at no small cost to herself." Viktoriya made that last part up. She had no idea what that red light had done to Tanya. It didn't matter.

"Time and time again she has sacrificed for this Empire, and now she is ready to make the ultimate sacrifice- so what are we doing, hiding behind her? We are soldiers of the Empire, and no half-trained commie bastard could hope to best any one of us!" None of this felt natural. She was trying her best, but Viktoriya had no idea what she was doing. She only hoped trying to think like Tanya would be enough to make a convincing speech.

"The Argent's given us a window of opportunity unlike any other- I say we use it! Strike out now and crush the enemy while they're distracted! No matter what comes, we must stand with her! With the White Silver, the Ace of Aces!" She threw her fist into the air, and found it joined by every soldier there.

"For the Empire!"

"For the Empire!"

"For Tanya!"

"For Tanya!" The battlecry that followed seemed to deafen the heavens themselves. Viktoriya and the rest of Tanya's mages pushed for Tanya's position, while the other mages turned west to break the Federation lines there. Viktoriya soon saw the blood-soaked hair of her commanding officer, fighting off a veritable tide of Federation soldiers. Just as she was knocked to her knees by an unexpected round and she was surrounded, Viktoriya and the other mages all crashed onto the enemy soldiers. Imperial soldiers wildly charged at the enemy, many using whatever ammo they had left before relying on melee. Some took out grenades and simply charged in suicide attacks, others beat soldiers to death with shovels. The Russy Federation's forces were struggling, and with the volunteer mages losing against the bats in the sky, and many terrified of the supernatural nature of the entire thing, a rout began. Federation soldiers fled for their lives, trampling their comrades and maddened Imperial Soldiers gave chase. Tanya, still in a berserk state, ripped off the hatch of a tank and dove inside, to which a handful of screams shortly followed before being cut off.

After eight hours of further fighting, the red tint to the ground vanished, and Viktoriya looked up to find that the blood moon, which had shown no signs of moving since it had changed, was now not only the normal colour but would be setting soon. Viktoriya looked to Tanya as she crawled out of yet another tank. She was breathing heavily. Her formerly white attire had become almost completely red, having been so heavily soaked in blood. Her hair was a striking crimson, with only flakes of gold remaining, and her eyes still burned a bloody red. That being said, the hunger and fury that was once there was now gone. The imperial grace that Tanya normally had slowly returned as her breaths shallowed. Tanya gazed at the sky listlessly for some time, before Viktoriya approached her.

"Ma'am, the enemy is in full rout. Their forces are fleeing in terror of y- of the might of the Empire, ma'am." Viktoriya thought it best not to point out the obvious quite yet. Tanya's eyes turned to her, and Viktoriya felt a shiver run down her spine.

"That's… good… Visha… Tell- have we broken through in the west? We need to get back to the Empire." Viktoriya nodded, and worked quickly to contact the rest of the 203rd. The response was swift, and relief flowed through her as she heard Koenig explain that the enemy had begun surrendering in mass after killing their commissars and the other officers who wouldn't surrender and that Imperial forces were meeting up with them. Tanya reached for her own computation jewel and clicked into the conversation.

"Lieutenant Colonel von Degurechaff here. I'm… back, so to speak. It looks like the Longest Night is at an end… have all of our forces begin retreating to link back up with Imperial Command. Let them know that… that what just happened was my doing. I need to find shade, and quickly." Just as Tanya was about to move, Viktoriya reached out and grabbed her shoulder, turning Tanya to face her.

"What are you doing, Visha? We need to move."

"Tanya, what… What did you do? What even… are you?" Viktoriya needed answers, and she needed them now. Even if they were what she already knew, there was at least a chance she was wrong, that the Argent hadn't-

"Isn't it obvious? The fangs, the blood, the bats. You all would joke about me being one; now it's real." Tanya brushed Viktoriya's hands off of her shoulders, and took a few steps back, drifting into the air with supernatural grace as she did. Viktoriya didn't want to believe, couldn't believe it. That the Argent, the Darling of the Reich; that Tanya von Degurechaff was… was…

"I am Vampire."