Dropping down, Ciel landed below the fortress on top of the deck of a boat trying to flee. It's passengers quickly attempted to react, but were swiftly dispatched by the bluenette's blade. Upon seeing other boats doing the same, Ciel took out his husband's gun and began to fire, taking out as many people as possible. Unfortunately, he could only do so much where he was standing. Thus, he pressed two fingers to his ear piece and tried to contact the others.

"People are trying to get away by boat." he said, the message being relayed to his teammates. "We need to do something about that and fast."

"Working on it." Elizabeth replied, taking a deceased soldier's gun. Golden threads burst from her back and tightly wove together to form wings as she ran. Once she no longer had any more fort to run on, she took off to the skies, circling the whole thing in search of boats. She was aided by a helicopter that was taking out as many boats as they could. Their missiles were much more effective than her assault rifle, but she had to make do with what she had, getting much closer to the ships than she would like as she tried to punch holes in them.

Soon, she realised that this wasn't working, however, but was far more effective at taking out any passengers that were standing on the deck. When she ran out of bullets, she went back to her sword, and pierced the sides of many ships and caused them to sink. With a swipe of her blade, she sent ships to a watery grave, but when she elevated herself and flew high, she could see the aftermath of this attack. The waters around the base were red with the blood of the Scarlet Order.

It was a horrific sight, with bodies floating before eventually sinking in the water, or simply laying sprawled out on the floors of the fortress. This was merely a battlefield, however. It was simply the way things were.

Then, out of the blue, Elizabeth's attention was abruptly grabbed as a beam of light struck the side of a boat. From the impact area, large chunks of ice began to grow before the weight eventually caused the ship to tip over. At first, Elizabeth had no idea where the light came from, but the light soon was fired again, striking another ship. This time, the angel was able to see the source of the strange phenomenon, spotting a ship flying two flags. One was the union jack, but above it was a red flag with the silhouette of a heart with a dagger through it on it's face. On top of the boat stood a figure, who soon stepped down from the roof of the vessel and back to safety after a moment.

"It's the turncoat ship!" Elizabeth declared. "Watch out for a ship with the turncoat flag as well as England's. Do not fire at it. I repeat: Do not fire. It is an ally."

Swiftly, the Prudentia sailed about, getting extremely close to other ships without drawing suspicion. From there, it's crew would open fire onto the deck and through the windows of the order's ship. For larger vessels, magic was used, and the figure would step up on the roof again and wield their ice magic. The shadow of Elizabeth above them caught the magic-wielder's eye, and they looked up. Upon seeing the angel, the witch guessed as to which side she was on and gave her a thumbs up.

Indeed, this was an ally ship and they were doing a fantastic job at keeping members of the order from escaping. Elizabeth did her best to keep the ship protected from opposing forces, and the pair made a smashing team. Unfortunately for them, however, a storm was coming, bringing with it more ships.

On the horizon, several smaller ships were visible along with a great big one. It wasn't clear, at first, but all members of the team were notified of the threat and told to prepare for combat once more. Airial reinforcements were sent for as it would appear that the final boss was coming.

"It's the Brahmastra!" shouted the witch of the Prudentia. "They're bringing in more ships."

Once she was certain that the angel had heard her, the witch jumped down from the roof and stepped inside of her boat. She was careful not to slip on it's wet surface and ducked below the small doorframe. Quickly, the witch made her way to the control room of the vessel to speak with the pilot.

"Captain!" called the poor man behind the wheel. "Look at the crystal! It's going nuts!" He pointed to a small purple gem that hung from the ceiling by a firmly bound string. Light was emitting from it's surface from all sorts of different angles, but the captain paid no mind and sat down.

"That's because the Brahmastra is coming." the witch informed. "They're bringing company with them. We've got to put a stop to this or it's our asses on the line as well."

Picking up a headset, she put it on and positioned the microphone in front of her mouth. With that, she reached over to the radio and switched it on, waiting for it to warm up before she spoke,

"Prudentia to the Brahmastra; Prudentia to the Brahmastra; this is Captain Wink speaking, do you copy?" She paused for a moment as she waited for a response, and sure enough, she heard a brief bit of static before she heard a voice.

"This is the Brahmastra radio room speaking to Captain Wink; we read you loud and clear, over."

"The Prudentia is currently circling the Maunsell Fort. There is no sign of life. I repeat: There is no sign of life. The water is completely red. Over." she said, nervously looking to her copilot briefly as she waited for a response.

"Captain Preston wishes to inspect the building for the bodies of Doctor Hobbs and Araneus." said the voice. "Can you verify their status? Over."

Wink froze in an instant as she couldn't answer that question. In truth, she had no idea whether or not those two were alive. She actually hoped that they weren't. Yet she knew that they were essential to Preston's plan, so the man would obviously want to check and see if they were alive. Even if she said that they weren't, however, Preston would want the bodies. It was a lose-lose situation. That ship was coming no matter what.

"No." she finally answered. "I cannot verify the status of Hobbs and Araneus."

"The Brahmastra is on it's way over there." the voice said. "Three kilometers and counting. Over."

"Over and out." Wink said, removing her headset and switching off the radio with a sigh. For a moment, she just sat there and stared at the headset in her hands, contemplating what needed to be done.

"Captain?" called the copilot, beckoning her attention. The woman did not speak right away. Instead, she remained silent until she thought of an answer.

"Pull up under the fort." she instructed before finally standing up "Doesn't matter where. Just hide us. I'm going to talk to that angel."

Turning around, she left the cabin and stepped back out on top of the deck and scanned the skies for her angel. Once she spotted the woman, she waved her arms at her, signaling for her to come closer. It took quite a bit longer than she would have liked to get Elizabeth's attention, but eventually, she succeeded. Gently, the angel descended and landed on the deck in front of her with a curious tilt to her head.

"Captain Wink of the Prudentia." the witch said to give the other woman a name to put to her face.

"Dame Elizabeth Midford." the angel replied. "Do you have any information on the Brahmastra?"

"I tried to get them to think that there was no point in coming, but they want to verify that our scientist, doctor Brent Hobbs, and Preston's newest favourite, Araneus are dead or alive." Wink explained. "They're a little less than three kilometers away. They're bringing backup. I can't take out all of those ships by myself."

"I sent for air support. It should be with us shortly." Elizabeth replied. "Any idea what we're up against?"

"Yes. And it's bad..."


A/N: I am sorry about the cliffhanger, but I need to update and my eyes hurt.

Please forgive me.

I'll update soon...

Preston has been getting quite a few questions, lately. They're actually pretty difficult to answer, as Preston is what is known as an "unreliable narrator" (google it) when talking about his own shit. It's very interesting. I can't wait until we actually see him again in the story!

Until the next chapter, my duckies~!


CHARACTER SHET

Question: "Hey Preston, why are you doing what you're doing? I mean it's evident that Ciel and Alois wanted to help you recover, you didn't even feel bad about leaving the other guys behind, why? And aren't you bieng exactly what you're aiming to fight against? Aren't you being tyranic to your own followers, they don't have freedom or liberty or whatever it is that you achieve to have,being with you... won't you say?" by socially awkward

Preston: "None of that matters, now. All that matters is survival and the destruction of those trying to kill us! Why should I feel bad about leaving behind people who abandoned me when I needed them most? They are worthless to me. I don't need them! This is not tyranny, this is doing what's right. This army I have put together is to destroy an evil that aims to keep supernaturals as second class does not exist in my ranks! Once H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. is gone, we will live freely and do as we please! But first I must lead the order. Although sacrifices will be made, it is all for a good cause. I know it is!"