Armed with guns, several members of the Scarlet Order approached in speedboats, trying to keep the salty spray of water out of their eyes as they rapidly cut through the waves. As they drew closer, the loaded their weapons and prepared for combat as they tried to get to one of the ladders that lead to the buildings above. It was cold and it was wet. It was miserable, but after today, they will reach what they had been promised. Today was the day.
Alas, they did not see the crew of the Prudentia stationed in one of the towers above, and most were cut down in a hail of machine gun fire. The boats simply fell apart, leaving those inside who were not just as riddled with bullets to fend for themselves. Several of them desperately swam to the base, only to meet the Watchdog in the darkness below. He shot them execution style at close range and left them there in cold blood.
Some boats simply hit a wave wrong while trying to evade and were sent rolling violently against the water's surface until they finally crashed and fell apart. Some were struck down with magic from the Prudentia. The Prudentia, however, eventually decided that they needed to pull up underneath the fortress.
"I have people in here who could be more useful up there with guns." Wink informed the Watchdog as he stood guarding the entrance.
He paused momentarily before asking: "Are they marked?"
"With our logo, yes."
With that, the bluenette did not answer her directly. Instead, he thought about it for a moment before placing his fingers up against his earpiece. "More Prudentia crewmembers are coming up on the base with guns. Which tower is best for them to be stationed at?"
"We have plenty of people over here." answered Alois.
"I need people on tower B." said August over the headset. "I'm currently manning it myself, and there are a lot of boats coming this way."
"Right, Wink, was it?" questioned the bluenette.
"Yes." answered the captain of the Prudentia.
"See that tower right there?" he asked, pointing to the underside of one of the towers. "We need your gunmen to be stationed at it's top. You'll find one of our operatives up there as well. She will keep them posted."
"Alright." the witch said, turning back to her crew. "You heard the man! Let's go!"
Her ship pulled out and moved to the other tower. She sent members of her crew up the ladder with guns to aid August before quickly moving out again. Her crew was essential, as now there were no speedboats making it to the ladders below for the Watchdog to deal with. He did however, snipe drivers of boats as they drove by.
The speedboats were easily dispatched, but the Scarlet Order's fleet was still approaching. They were close enough that the copters could fire missiles, taking out several of them at once. Still, the fleet closed in.
"We've got company!" shouted Wink from the Prudentia. "It's the rose jetskis! Watch out!"
She was referring to one of the order's most vicious bands of marine fighters, a band of witches known as "The Order of the Rose". They rode in on jetskis dispatched from their main ship and would attack boats, killing the crew and taking everything that the ship had to offer for the Scarlet Order. Oftentimes, this included the ship itself as well. Several ships in the fleet were acquired this way from this very band, and they were going to be difficult to dispatch.
They avoided the machine-gun fire with bizarre precision. Occasionally, they would fire back, but the bullets bounds off the metal building. The boat that followed suit was too large for Wink to take down herself. The windows were shattered, however, by the machine guns on the roofs of the fortress.
"They've got guns up there!" the driver of the ship screamed into her headset, alerting her comrades below.
"Meg! Which tower?" called back another as she circled the area.
"It's the one to your left!"
"Don't do it, Dianne!" shouted another. "Don't be stupid!"
Despite the warning, the witch began chanting into her headset and took one hand off of the handlebars. The ring on her hand began to glow as she pointed it at the tower. It grew brighter and brighter by the second, but her speed grew slower. She slowed down in order to take better aim, but this was a mistake. The slower she drove, the more able her enemy was at lining up a clear shot.
Sure enough, a shot rang out from below the fort and struck the witch in the chest. Her hands went up in the air as her body recoiled and fell back before landing in the water. The light from her ring shot up into the air and burst into a spectacle of green light like a firework. Similarly, it died out in an instant like one.
From the roof, the members of the Prudentia could see the shot higher than the wall they were sitting behind. They all paused for a moment and watched the display. This is what they were up against. They had to shoot them down.
The fire came on heavier after that, striking down more of the jetskis. A trio of them were staying close together; it was a tactic they used when attacking ships. They would disperse when they got close and surround a ship, but they didn't have a target. Instead, they were circling around the base, unable to complete their next step, only to be brought down. One of them was shot in the side of the head while the other was shot in the back.
"Susan!" called out the one in front. "Amanda!"
"They're down, Elanor!" shouted the witch in the main ship. "Pull back! We need to get away!"
"No!" Elanor barked. "It's not over yet!"
"You stupid bitch! Get back here!"
Elanor quickly made her way to the underside of the base, zigging and zagging so that none of those firing at her could lock on. A bullet grazed her arm, but she carried on. Once she was close to the ladder, she leaped from the jetski and swam through the blood soiled water, staining her skin and clothes red in the process. With a grunt, she made it onto the metal floor just below the ladder and pulled herself up. She took a moment to make sure she had everything she needed before reaching out and wrapping her fingers around one of the bars.
"Hello, there." called a voice from the shadows, prompting her attention.
She turned her head and her eyes widened at the sight of the Watchdog pointing his gun at her. The next thing she knew, a bullet had torn through her life vest and into her chest before exiting out the other side. Elanor fell back and landed on the floor just below the ladder. As she laid there, she could see the light pouring down from the entrance to the building above. Blood dribbled from her mouth and her vision was getting blurry, but she could see it. She was so close to the next stage.
Her gaze shifted, however, as her killer stepped into view. Standing over her, Ciel assessed the damage before deciding that there was no need for a second bullet. She would bleed out very soon. The witch only had minutes left. Thus, with his foot, he nudged her body off of the platform and into the water. He left her floating aimlessly until she was gone entirely.
"Elanor?" called the witch in the Rose order's ship. She stared blankly at the floor as she tried to contact her comrade. "Elanor?! Elanor, are you still there?! Please! Please answer!"
She did not hear the other woman's voice, but she did seemingly get a response. A sound alerted her attention, and prompted her to climb out from underneath the table in the control room and look ahead of her through the windshield. There, she saw a missile heading right toward her as it launched from the helicopter. Taking off her headset, she stared straight ahead with a stunned expression, completely numbed by what she was seeing. Then, the mircophone fell from her grasp and landed on the floor.
"Preston lied." she mumbled just before impact.
A massive ball of fire erupted from the ship of the Order of Rose, and it was not the only one to meet this fate. Many more ships were sunk in the same manner by the circling helicopters. The more boats that approached, the more that sank. None of them could even launch a counter attack as they were out of range.
Hope was becoming scarce for the Scarlet Order, but the turncoats and H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. rejoiced as home seemed to be coming. The bombs kept dropping and the blood-stained ocean was now bursting into flame. Some ships started to sink, while others just continued to burn until they couldn't anymore. The first wave of forces from the Scarlet order were almost completely wiped out and the boats toward the back could see. Those on the radio were unfortunate enough to hear the last panicked messages of the crewmen on those ships as they went down or as the radio on the other end was destroyed. Hours went by like this, and in the meantime, more helicopters arrived from both H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. and British military forces.
In the bleakest hours of it, some ships of the Scarlet Order's fleet broke from formation and attempted to flee, only to isolate and draw attention to themselves. Very quickly, they were dispatched. Sometimes, other ships on their own side would fire at them for their betrayal. The armada was shrinking fast and no one was convinced that they were going to prevail. Not even the organization's leader.
Preston looked out as he stood on the deck of the Brahmastra. He looked out at his fleet, as they sank, as the burned, as they perished. His brow furrowed and the metal bar he was leaning against crumpled in this grasp. He saw more ships flying the wrong flag as they approached. They flew the flag of the Prudentia, much to his astonishment, and were allowed to pass. Once near the base, Preston saw them circle around and begin to attack his forces. Their comrades! The man's face warped as he snarled and bared his teeth.
"TRAITORS!" he roared at the top of his lungs. He turned around to climb all the way back to the control room in order to notify his remaining forces of the discovery, but then, things took a turn for the worse, for Preston.
The missile traveled so fast that the man could barely see it as it hit. In an instant, the Brahmastra had lost its radio but had caught fire. The pressure from the blast knocked Preston back on his rear, but he could see it. He could see his ambition go up in flames.
"The Brahmastra is burning!" shouted crewmembers of the neighbouring ships, and at once, they began assembling their witches to put out the fire with magic. The Brahmastra had no witches. It was too dangerous for them aboard.
The monsters that were on the ship scrambled as they hadn't the foggiest idea as to what to do. Some tried manning lifeboats, and others shot those trying to get to the lifeboats so that they could take them as their own. Others caught fire and burned with the control room. More still tried to put out the blaze with buckets, but without much luck. Some leaped from the ship and swam to nearby ones to escape. They were pulled aboard by their neighbours and carried on in their mission.
All of this was lost on the Omid as he simply stared at everything in awe. This was not how things were supposed to go. He didn't know what success was going to look like yet, but he knew that this was not it. He never wanted this. He doesn't want this to be the end!
With nothing more to say, he merely howled at the sky like a wild beast. He had no clever remark. He had no backup plan. There were no tricks. There were no trump cards. This was his only hand. This was all that Preston had and it still wasn't enough. It would never be enough.
No! Preston was determined not to die here. Today wasn't the day! He would not give in! He could still fight! This was not how it would end! So long as he was still here, still breathing, it was not the end! The H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. dogs would die!
His yell was cut short as pain shot through him, radiating though his entire body. The black growth on his torso had crawled up his shoulder and covered most of his chest, save for the pentagram-shaped scar burned into his skin.
"Uwooo…!" Air was pushed from his lungs, making a hollow sound as he doubled over. The Black Annis was crawling up his neck and had reached his chin. It began to wrap around his head as it made its way down his arm as well. More growths appeared on his body, tearing the skin and ripping his flesh away. Preston stared at the surface of the deck beneath his feet and saw his own saliva drip as he continued to gasp for air. His body was covering itself in black armour, replacing his skin with the substance.
"AAAAAGGHH!" The back of Preston's head was completely covered and all that remained visible of his skin was his face and ears. He straightened his back, trying to maintain control of himself, but the pain was almost too much for him to bear. The Black Annis growths amassed on his back and grew long, forming two sets of arms just as it did last time he faced the Phantomhives.
It was not over. None of this was over. Only when Preston was no longer standing would it be over. He would fight them. He would fight them all until his last breath. All of the bridges had burned just like the flames to his back as he looked out at his ships; as he looked toward the end! The only direction Preston could move was forward. Onward! There was nothing left for him. There was nothing left of Preston. All that remained with a pitch black, golden-eyed monster who wanted to hold the world in the grasp of his six arms. If he could not have it, the world could burn with him.
A/N: whelp...
Stuff blew up.
I hope more stuff breaks in the next chapter.
Soiler alert:
It will.
I always listen to music when writing, and in the last few chapters, I've been cycling between two. In this chapter, it started with "Symphony No. 9 in E minor" (the Asura's Wrath version) and finished with "Monster of God" from Hellsing Ultimate.
10/10 would recommend.
Also, there's a few questions I've been holding off on because I'll be answering them later in the story. So, if you sent something that's kinda relating to what's going on right now, don't feel bad if I haven't answered it! It's just that we're gonna get to it.
...Eventually...
Until the next chapter, my duckies~!
CHARACTER SHET
Question: "Daniel: How's stuff in Gehenna?" by socially awkward
Daniel: "Super duper. Everything is going swimmingly, other than the horrible stuff I KNOW is probably happening right now elsewhere. Everything is just dandy..."
