Order 9: Final Battle
Time Stamp: Present
Location: Vatican City, Section Thirteen headquarters
Heinkel and Yumi ran down the hallway, possessed clones hot on their trail. They had found the bosses personal quarters, nothing there other than the place was completely trashed and the mass of troops waiting for them. About five minutes in they figured out that all the bullets and all of Yumi's sword skill wasn't enough to stop all the troops. Typically the two could take out maybe a battalion of normal humans, but considering that these didn't seem to let pain of the body get to them...
R-O9-FB
The gory hill had grown into a sickening mountain. The weight of the recently dead clones began to crush the bodies of the first that had fallen. A pool of human juice had long formed at the base of the miniature mountain and yet the clones still continued to come for the small group.
A few of the clones had managed to get into the train and took several of the troops before they to were killed. The strike had been brief but had done more damage then merely killing several soldiers. The survivor's morale had taken a strong hit. If only a few of the enemy had managed to come in without them knowing, how long would it be before they were overran by them? Only a few turrets were able to fire now. The rest had either ran out of ammo or had malfunctioned and could no longer fire.
Both Walter and William were starting to show signed of fatigue as they continued to wipe their wires around, decapitating anything that got to close to the train. Walter was pouring streams of sweat from his brow as he tried to keep up with the constant onslaught. For the first time the thought of actually dieing on a mission, the army of the undead, the army of evil actually overpowering him flooded his mind. He had found so much out about his family in the past few days, he was not only a grandfather but also a great grandfather. That seemed to give him strength. To not only be able to possibly see his granddaughter but to be able to see great grandson, to be able to meet the boy that his name had been given to.
The thought of seeing his descendants gave him so much strength that he hardly felt the bullet rip threw his side. Only when he looked down briefly and saw his shirt blooded by his own body did he realize the magnitude of his predicament.
R-O9-FB
Nathan flew threw the hallways, chasing after Anderson, his former mentor. In the back of his mind he still worried about Seras but she had insisted that he go. So now here he was, chasing after a man that had power equal to his own, only by man though, he was the genuine article. It must have been a strange site, seeing two beings of flame flying threw a defiled church. Eventually they arrived in a large auditorium, one of the underground training stadium's that Section thirteen used.
Finally the chase had ended, Anderson turned, his body still in flames towards Nathan. "So lad, ye ready to go see God again?"
"Always am, but not before I send you into the abyss." With that threat, Nathan's right arm changed and turned itself into the "device" that would send the demon within the cloned shell into the abyss.
The clone chuckled. "Ye know, even though Anderson had long sense been dead, ah still have his memories. Ah know wha ye fear, ah know wha makes ye tick."
With that, the two charged at each other, Nathan brought his sword to bear as the clone did the same. The weapons clash resounded in the large space as the two used their fire to push against each other. The fire along their bodies seemed to take on life of its own as it went on to attack the other as the host bodies fought.
The two kicked each other back before charging once again, this time they did not lock with each other but merely ran past, there blades doing damage to the other. "Is tha all ye have boy?"
"No, I have this." With a swift motion Nathan retrieved a large gun from behind, how it remained in its form from the intense heat was not on either's mind. Nathan fired the weapon sending a miniature rocket from its barrel. The recoil sent Nathan flying back several feet as he watched the missile fly across the giant room towards the clone. Before it impacted though the clone dodged it. The missile flew past and crashed into the ground, the result was an explosion that sent the copy flying forward and caused him to lose his concentration, forcing the flames to extinguish.
Nathan threw the gun aside having fired its only projectile. Running over to the still form of Anderson he brought his "device" to bear, ready to grab onto the body and force the demon possessing it into the abyss. As he came within arms length however, the copy sprung to life. In a flash of a second the copy readied his sword and impaled Nathan.
R-O9-FB
Yumi and Heinkel took a few moments of breath. Fortunate for them they knew the headquarters like the back of their hand and were able to eventually lose the troops that were after them though they knew it would not be long before they found them and the chase began anew.
"I¼I was thinking, Nathan said that¼.said that he didn't know how he would¼.how he would defeat all the clones." Heinkel said, still trying to catch her breath.
"I know, what¼ what are you thinking?" Yumi replied.
"Pro¼protocol eighty¼. Eighty seven."
"That would level the entire city Heinkel." Yumi said, her voice only a whisper, either from the fear of being found or the idea of what Heinkel had just thought up.
"We can't let this army get out into the rest of the world."
"What about the Pope? The cardinals?"
"For all we know, the Pope might be one of them as well as any remaining cardinals. Yumi, we have no choice."
Yumi thought about it for a minute. Protocol eighty-seven was meant to keep Vatican City from falling into enemy hands. Be them human, undead, or otherwise. The explosion would start at the center of the city and work its way out, destroying each section of the city in succession. After that, silver dust mixed with holy water would be released from hidden locations on the outside of the city as a mist that would enter the city limits and if any undead remained, would be destroyed by the holy mixture.
"Alright, lets go."
R-O9-FB
The copy laid there, still holding the sword, keeping it in Nathan's chest. A beaming smile on its face, at least for the moment. A low chuckle was coming from the impaled body. "Not a smart one, are you?"
Before the copy could react Nathan brought his hand in front of its face. The screams were completely muffled as fire came forth from Nathan's hand like a rocket. A moment later and it was done, looking down he looked at the sword still buried in his own chest. A few seconds later it glowed red before melting away, the liquid metal dripped to the floor, as if it was natural.
Clap, clap, clap. "Well done Nathan, well done indeed. It is indeed a shame that you died not that long ago, your body would have made an excellent host."
Nathan looked around, there, in the bleachers, Maxwell. He was standing there, his body looked sickly, like it was fighting an infection for longer then any body could hold out. He moved towards him, sword ready on one arm, fire burning at the ready on the other.
"What do you think of my army? It took awhile to grow the husks but it was worth it wouldn't you agree?" Nathan remained silent; he continued his approach towards the man.
"Have you figured out away to destroy them yet Nathan? Do you think you can destroy them? All of them? Have you figured out a way to keep them from leaving the city?" Maxwell taunted. "Even a Phoenix like yourself has limits to how many he can, "deport". Even for someone like you, sent back by God himself, has limits. Are you ready to die again so soon after returning?"
"You think that I fear death for some reason, I'm not afraid of where I'm going, but you should be!" Nathan leapt towards Maxwell, ready to settle this with one strike. Only ten feet were between them now when something rose up in between them, no, not something, someone. Nathan stopped in mid air before falling back to the ground, a low growl escaping from his throat.
"Ah, so there is something that does keep you from giving it your all." Maxwell gloated. Seras floated there, unconscious but still in the way, a wooden steak deep in her chest was easily seen. "What, nothing to say?"
"Well demon I would call you a coward but that's an established fact with you already now isn't it?" Nathan taunted.
Maxwell chuckled at the response. "Funny, well enjoy." With that, Maxwell turned and left, Seras' body slowly floated down to the arena where Nathan stood. He watched as her feet touched down. Her head straightened out as she continued to stand for a moment before her eyes snapped open. Her eyes were pure black as she reached for the stake in her chest and pulled it out. She smiled, her fangs fully extended.
"Oh shi…"
R-O9-FB
Walter continued to fight, despite the extensive blood loss. He had reserved himself with the knowledge that he would die here, but he was determined to be at the back of the line when he died. His vision was starting to get blurry and he felt light headed. To him, things started to slow down and then speed back up as he continued to whip the wire from his gloved hands into the gory mass that had become a hill.
'I wouldn't have it any other way' Walter thought to himself, it might have been strange to most, but he wanted to die doing what he loved for a while now. Fighting the armies of the undead and evil itself.
The few remaining soldiers had joined himself and William on the roof of the train, their expert marksman ship taking down their enemies with a single shot to the head, even then they had to allow their enemy to get close to them, to ensure the one shot one kill ratio.
William couldn't help but smile as he uttered the order to his men, "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes!" The irony seemed however, to be lost on his men as they did just that.
Walter could see the darkness at the edge of his vision. It wasn't a question if he would die now, no amount of treatment could save him, but it was a question of when, and how many he took with him.
R-O9-FB
Heinkel and Yumi ran down the hallway. The sound of the possessed clones not that far behind them. They just needed to get to the control room, set the device and figure a way out... assuming one existed for them.
Doors, they weren't that far from the room. Yumi punched in a command code while Henkel turned and opened fire, buying Yumi some time. The door opened with a hiss. Wasting no time, Yumi raced in, Heinkel stepping back in while firing at the same time. Locking and securing the door, the two finally turned and looked at what was in the room.
The device was a huge cylindrical looking device. Wires ran from it to the wall, most likely to the others just like this on threw out the city.
"So..." Heinkel said.
"Yeah..." Yumi replied
"I just didn't see this in my career." Heinkel answered.
"... You saw fighting an army of clones possessed by demons as something in your future but you never saw destroying Vatican city?" Yumi asked in disbelief. Heinkel just gave a look towards Yumi.
"Yeah me neither..." Yumi admitted. There was silence for a minute, and then they broke out in laughter.
"Okay, well now that that's out of our system lets get to work." Heinkel said after catching her breath.
R-O9-FB
Nathan dodged Seras' punch, only to be side swiped by her leg. Flying several feet across Nathan landed hard into the wall, the impact left a crater in the wall. He began to pant from all the fighting, needing the air to sustain his fire. "So, you going to introduce yourself or not?"
Seras just stood their, waiting for the next move, not saying anything. Nathan finally caught his breath, he knew what needed to be done, bringing his right arm to bear, he charged at her.
R-O9-FB
Walter collapsed. His breathing was shallow at best, not existent at worst. He saw his son William; continue to fight against the never-ending swarm with the remaining soldiers. He wished that things had been different, that Williams mother had not left without saying anything about being pregnant. He wished he could see his granddaughter, and his great grandson who bore his name. Things started to slow to a crawl for him as he felt the life drain out of his body. Looking up at the sky he saw the plumes of smoke slowly rise, colored by the flames below. Slowly that to began to fade as well, and then, silence and nothing.
R-O9-FB
"Ten minutes, set."
"Set."
"Auto destruct set for ten minutes." A voice said over the comm. as the two last agents of section thirteen Iscariot destroyed the keyboards, preventing anyone from deactivating the system with command codes. Finally they looked around the room, realizing there was no escape.
"I wonder who would have constructed this room with no way to escape!" Heinkel shouted out in frustration.
"Most likely the same guy that didn't expect the room to be used, or the only way out to be blocked by murderous blood thirsty clones possessed by the forces of darkness." Yumi replied.
Heinkel was about to say something when the reinforced door moaned. Whatever the clones were doing, it was having an affect on the door and might just be able to kick it down. Bringing their weapons to bear, they steeled themselves against what would be their last enemies in this world.
R-O9-FB
Nathan rushed towards Seras, his right arm raised and ready to impale the demon within. Just as he was about to strike, she dodged, jumping up into the air she turned into a swarm of bats. They all descended on Nathan, scratching and biting. Some of them were burnt by the flames along Nathan's arms before combining once again to form Seras right behind Nathan. Grabbing onto him, she began to squeeze, ignoring the pain from the fire.
Nathan felt his power begin to fade; the air was being forced out of him and so the flames that needed to be fed from that air began to die as well. With the last bit of his strength he forced his elbow into her stomach, forcing Seras to release him from her steel hold. Pulling air into his chest he felt the fire along his body grow once again. This wasn't going to be an easy fight to save her, she was a vampire, a former guardian.
Closing his eyes he felt the fire along his body fly off and into random locations, opening his eyes he saw the room in a new way. He could see all the angles, Seras, everything at once. The little flames flew around in random places, making it impossible to extinguish them. Suddenly, several of the little flames swooped down towards Seras, as they flew past they grazed her body, leaving slight burn marks.
In return, she screamed out in anger, the flames continued to dive-bomb her before she too turned into a swarm of bats. The two forces began to engage each other, like some sort of twisted and demented aerial dogfight in the room. The bats attacking the flames while the flames latched onto their attackers, searing them. Finally after the two had fought in this fashion both bat and fire fell to the ground, each side collecting themselves they reformed into their original bodies.
Seras stood there on wobbling legs; the burn marks had already disappeared but left her in a weakened state as she stared down her adversary. Nathan stood there, the fire along his body equal to the flame of a matchstick, even Phoenix's had their limits in fights, and he was vastly approaching them. The thought of what would happen if he reached them entered his mind before he quickly pushed it aside; he had to end this here and now.
With his remaining strength he felt his arm once again become the instrument of sending demons into the abyss. He charged at her and her to him, hidden eyes watched as the two raced towards each other to make the killing blow. They met, Nathan's arm embedded into Seras' chest, and her arm in his. Nathan fought against the pain and the draining sensation as he forced found the demon within her. With the last amount of strength that he had he felt the gate open and the demon being sucked into the abyss.
Both Nathan and Seras fell back onto the floor. Seras was the first to revive. Jumping to her feet she tried to remember how she got here, and why Nathan was laying right next to her with a gaping hole in his chest that was rapidly closing, fire shooting out of the wound. Bending down, she tried to see if he was, well, alive. Not knowing much about how a phoenix would operate her first instinct was to check for a pulse, neither Nathan's wrists or neck gave signs of a beating heart or pulsing blood.
"Nathan?" Seras asked, starting to shake him. Was he dead? She started to shake him more vigorously, only for his shoulder to break off and turn to ash in her hands. Seras shrieked out in horror as Nathan's entire body and cloths turned into a pile of ash. Tears of crimson began to flow from her eyes, losing him once was bad enough, but a second time!
"Self destruct in five minutes." A voice boomed from out of no where. Seras didn't care, this was just to much, if she wasn't dead her heart would have given out on her. "I don't care…."
As she was sulking she didn't see the slight glow coming from the ash, or the body forming back into Nathan. She did, however hear the sharp sound of air being sucked into someone's lungs. Looking up, she saw Nathan standing their, a smirk on his face. He chuckled, "Miss me?"
She was speechless. There he was, standing their like nothing had happened, an all to familiar grin on his face. "Self destruct in three minutes."
"Well, I guess its time that we leave Seras, still have to pick up the others." Nathan said nonchalantly. Taking her hand, both Nathan and Seras disappeared in a fury of fire.
R-O9-FB
The door finally gave way as the clones walked into the room. Heinkel and Yumi held their weapons, ready for the last fight of their lives. The timer counting down, only thirty seconds left and then it would be all over. Just as the clones began to charge a wall of fire separated them from their prey. Without warning the two disappeared from view as well as the wall of fire. The timer read fifteen seconds.
R-O9-FB
William and the remaining soldiers had resorted to using anything they could to keep the clones at bay. That meant using their rifles as clubs or anything else that was effective. Out in the distance they heard the sound of explosions, not a relativity good sign for them whatever the explosions were coming from. The clones were now climbing onto the train car. "Well men, looks like this is it. Don't forget to say four when you hit their heads off!"
Just as the first group of clones set foot on the roof fire appeared out of no where, blocking them from their prey. A column of fire opened up on the center of the car, standing there was Nathan and the others. "Need a lift?"
"No we were just starting to have some fun. Come back in an hour or so." William said as the team of soldiers grabbed Walter. They stood there, no quite sure what to do next before William walked into the column. The rest quickly followed in as it disappeared with the last of the soldiers entering the strange portal.
R-O9-FB
"Five…four….three….two….one." The explosion was instant. The first to go was Iscariot head quarters along with the surrounding area. A moment later the other explosive devices went off, consuming all the clones and city. Unnatural screams would have been heard by anyone listening, as the clones died, the demons being forced from their hosts.
A few beings remained standing as the explosions continued, the fire having no affect on them. Blue jets of color grabbing onto whatever demon they could, sending them into the abyss. They could never hope to catch them all, but at least they would send some into the void.
R-O9-FB
Time Stamp: Present (three hours later)
Location: London, Hellsing manor
Integra sat in her chair, watching the monitor as reports of what seemed to be explosions that destroyed Vatican City. "The first scouting team is going into the city to get a first hand look and to possibly search for survivors. No official word as to the cause of the explosions have been issued but initial findings are leaning to carefully placed explosives…."
Integra turned off the monitor, she had enough, not even her cigar that burned softly in the ashtray was enough to calm her. An entire city destroyed, not sense the dark ages had entire well-populated cities been wiped off the face of the earth in this underground war with the undead and unholy armies. Yes the city was home to a rival organization bent on even killing her, but her mind couldn't help but wonder about all the innocence lost this night.
And what of her team? They had lost communication with them the moment they hit the city limits nearly a day ago. Everything seemed to center around that area, even the Freaks and true undead seemed to have their eyes on Vatican City as evident by the total lack of activity. Integra couldn't help but feel that a turning point had been reached in this war; whichever side the point favored she didn't know.
"Sir Hellsing, a column of fire has just appeared in the rear driveway." The secretary in place of Walter said of the comm.."
"What? Dispatch any troops that we have to its location, the freaks might have decided to take advantage of this time after all." Integra barked into the comm.. Grabbing her pistol from its place she exited her office and headed towards the rear gate. Her cigar still burning in its ashtray, forgotten by its owner.
R-O9-FB
About fifty soldiers in all were already surrounding the strange column when Integra arrived, their weapons all pointed at the strange event. A minute later a group of figures stepped out of the fire, it was the team they sent to Vatican City. Almost instantly the soldiers dropped their weapons and raced to help their wounded comrades.
As medics tended to the wounded Integra approached Nathan and Seras. The only two that looked unharmed. "Mission, complete Sir Integra." Seras said, fatigue in her voice.
Time Stamp: two days later
Location: London, Hellsing manor
"I never really knew my father until recently. I can say though, that I am proud of what he did in his life." William said, his head was bandaged and his organic arm in a sling. He wore formal clothing, long sense soaked by the rain. The entire Hellsing organization stood in the graveyard as the funeral progressed. In all, only one third of the original team made it back.
As everyone went around, saying a few words for Walter Integra fought the tears that threatened to shatter her maiden of steel composer. Walter was among those that didn't come back. When it came time for her to say something, her voice broke. Walter had been practically her father when hers died. She stood in the rain as the casket was slowly lowered into the ground, thankful that the rain hid her tears as they finally fell.
R-O9-FB
"Well then, what do you plan to do now?" Integra asked the two operatives standing in her office.
"William was able to hack the section thirteen computer before we left for the mission. He retrieved a list of all the operatives that were away at the time and their last known location. Nathan has shown how to extract the chip safely and we can the remove the demon ourselves." Yumiko answered.
"Your not planning on resurrecting your organization are you?" Integra asked, malice in her voice to warn them without having to come out right and say anything.
"No, the least we can do is free our brothers and sisters. If they choose to bring Iscariot back, then its their choice, I'm done with this crap." Heinkel said, the signs of exestuation was still on her face, most likely the collective force of being in service of Iscariot all those years.
Sitting back in her chair, Integra let out a breath, this had been an especially difficult time for her. Walter had been like a father, and now he was gone. The mansion felt empty without his presence, the smell of the tea that he would be brewing at this time was painfully absent. But she had to press on. "Alright, you may conduct your operation unhindered by the Hellsing organization. So long as you do not interfere with our affairs."
"Thank you Sir Hellsing." And with that, they turned and left.
As the door closed, she turned her chair to face the window, it was still raining, as if England herself felt the loss of Walter and now wept for her fallen loyal soldier. As she took the time to remember Walter she didn't notice the sound of the office door opening, or the footsteps. It wasn't until the ruffling of papers and the sound of a tray being set down on her desk did she turn to see who had dared to enter her office unannounced. As she turned, steaming tea was poured into a cup and gently placed within arms reach. Instead of shouting at the man she remained silent as William eerily went threw the same paces that his father would do everyday when tea time arrived.
Without a word William finished setting the small meal of sandwiches on her desk and turned to leave, before he closed the door he turned and nodded his head, as if to agree to something unspoken between them, with that, the door closed with a soft click.