We were silently looking at the plane doors. The jet was very small with no weaponry, at least apparently; it was, though, a very technologically advanced aircraft, a prototype very likely. It bore no symbols or flags at all.
"You go and check inside." said Alucard to me.
"Why me?"
"Because i'm your Master. Simple, isn't it?"
Would've been with us any person except Rip, i'd have said 'and why not her?' but luckily and unfortunately she was the only other on the ship and she seemed quite scared, too, so i approached our potential doom or salvation on the jet.
I walked the metallic walkway and looked at the inside of the plane: it looked empty. I knocked on the wall.
"Is there anyone there?"
From i don't know where something jumped on me. I felt a sensation like a headache, just multiplied a billion times. I realized something had been stuck between my eyes, where i couldn't see it well. I focused, a second too late. The katana was being already extracted from my head and with a single, incredibly rapid motion my adversary jumped over me and stabbed my back.
I fell on my knees and rolled down the plane's walkway.
Alucard was already shooting at our opponent, who dodged all the blows with preternatural speed. As i got to see more clearly, i understood who was that.
A berserker nun.
The one berserker nun.
"It's the Vatican!!"
I stood up, only to be taken down again by the fire of two guns. I rolled and hit with telekinesis the hands of Heinkel. I had done this to her lots of times every time we met, and i mean quite a lot of times, but she always let herself cheated this way: the handguns fell and she lost balance.
Alucard was taking a lot of damage. Well, actually he couldn't take any damage at all, but he did take a lot of hits. Yumie was so quick that she even dodged Rip's magic bullet, before it took another course and flew inside the plane, followed by notes of opera. The horrible sound of a bullet cut to halves was heard, and Rip silenced suddenly. We all stopped while the two halves of the musket ball rolled out of the plane's door.
A few footsteps were heard.
Then from the door burst out an amount of bayonets much bigger than the plane could've lifted.
Alucard shoot Yumie, clear proof of the fact that he was letting himself be slashed for pure fun, and ran to the jet. I jumped on Heinkel and threw her over the banisters. She grabbed it and jumped over, taking one of her guns from the floor. I was about to transform , when a bayonet from Anderson nearly cut my head off. For the thousandth time in the day, i kissed the ship's deck.
As i rose up, i saw Anderson taking more than a few hits from Alucard, and Yumie who stood, while the silver bullet was ejected from her body. So now they all were regenerators. She attacked Rip, while avoiding the second magic shot.
I jumped on her back, violating her throat. She turned the sword around and stabbed my back, piercing her own with it, like a contrary Hara-Kiri. She was transfixing herself to hurt me: her fanaticism was a even more powerful weapon than the Regeneration Device.
I didn't give up. I tried once again to turn to the dragon shape, but Anderson was watching me. I barely had time to see multiple bayonets approaching, and a second after i was stuck on the wall, crucified by three blessed blades.
Papers of interdiction were nailed all around me. Pain pervaded my whole body, a pool of blood was growing under my feet. On the whole deck there was probably enough of it to feed all the world's population of mosquitoes and leeches, but it was out of range for me. I could only watch the scene.
Heinkel and Yumie attacked Alucard contemporaneously, while Anderson, disengaged, provided Rip my same treatment. She was blocked on the floor, meters away from me.
The No-Life-King stood alone.
He shot around with both his guns, the slides frenetically running forward and backward. The Jackal depleted its magazine firs, the Casull a few seconds later. To reload, he jumped so high to be unhittable, and then landed, after loading both weapons, precisely on the psychotic nun, knocking her off.
One out. They were in advantage for one.
Alucard fired at Heinkel, behind him, unloading again the whole Jackal magazine. She fell in an explosion of red splashes.
Two all.
The last ones standing studied each other for a few seconds, walking in circles.
"So this is it, Anderson? The last duel?"
"Fer ya this is it fer sure, hellspawn."
"So let us begin! This is definitely going to be fun!"
"Nay." Anderson bowed hid head. "I hav' ordars."
"What? You won't fight?!"
The priest rose his head, with a grin which ran from ear to ear.
I didn't understand much of what happened after. I saw an impossible amount of bayonets bursting out of Anderson's hands and an equally impossible amount of bullets crushing them. The explosions and the frenetic moves of them both puzzled my sight, together with all the wounds in my head. Sooner or later, Alucard must've lowered his guard, because he was taken by surprise. Barrier-papers covered and tied him, while blades pierced his limbs.
Three to two. Iscariot wins.
I got wrapped in blessed papers and fell unconscious.
I woke up much later, on a jet in motion, aching and numb.
I tried to move my limbs. They answered, more or less, but i didn't seem to be able to stand up.
"Don't move, don't move, wait, let me have a look at you." an over-solicitous voice woke up my ears, reminding me of all the pain in my head. My eyes were barely focused, but i realized there was Rip opposite me, we were both leaned against the plane's walls. It wasn't her who spoke though. When i focused on a closer distance, i saw the nun who was bandaging my arm. Most of my wounds had been treated already. And i also understood what prevented me from standing: a magic barrier just above my head was sparkling with energy.
The nun kinda looked like Yumie. I figured the killer priestess kindly healing someone. No. Definitely this one couldn't be her. Maybe she had a twin sister, or something like that.
Now. Situation. I am on a plane, locked by magical barriers, with a lot of Iscariots and i have no clue about where's Alucard.
Nor about where are they're bringing us.
The plane shook like if it met the worse of turbulences. The magic field kept me like safety belt.
"It seems our special passenger is a bit nervous..." said Heinkel, as she entered my visual field.
"You are treating him well?" asked the nun "We shouldn't hurt him or..."
"Yumiko, he's the most powerful vampire on earth. Satan's personification. Would you at least try to feel some loath towards him?"
"No creature is so loathsome not to deserve kindness..."
" Instead of worrying about him,why don't you have a look at my arm? I think it's not regenerating."
The two went in a nearby room. I tried to rise, again uselessly.
"Rip! Can you move?"
"No... these... things... they block me! What are they?"
"Some sacred magic. I hoped you Millennium vampires were immune by them..."
"I am not an artificial vampire. He turned me into one."
"You mean..."
"Him!"
"Ok, i get it. Have you seen Him on the plane?"
"They... kinda mummified him, then brought him in a hold. He hasn't stopped screaming and shaking for hours..."
"Hours?! How long have i been asleep?!"
"I don't know, i slept too... i heard them say we've been travelling for four hours, but it was some time ago... i don't know how much."
"Oh gods... four hours... this can mean one thing alone..."
"They're bringing us to..."
"...to the Vatican."
The plane landed not much after in a small airport in Rome, under a heavy rain. The situation didn't prevent me from thinking that i had seen not a single drop of rain while i was in England and i caught it just as i was back in Italy.
The Iscariot priestesses tied me and Rip with silver handcuffs, blocking our arms behind our backs and lead us to the doors.
A whole platoon of swiss guards was lined up on two ranks on the sides of the runway. I counted sixty of them, all with bullet-proof vests and heavy weapons. They stood motionless, upright in their traditional uniforms. Usually, those ancient looking clothing looked ridiculous, but now they were simply threatening.
Maxwell approached, walking in the middle of the two ranks, followed by two soldiers in back body armour. The guards presented arms to him with martial plasticity. He walked slowly, his eyes fixed on us, faintly grinning.
"So, it seems finally our most... fastidious enemy is in our power. And what a wonderful gift have you brought us..." he caressed Rip's chin, his evil smile widened.
"And, as if it was not enough" the Archbishop continued "Even the fiercest entity of evil has, at last, met a worthy enough opponent to be tamed... This is a grand day for the knights of God! Of course, we will arrange so that you never see light again. But fear not... your end will not be a quick one. Your tainted soul will be sent to Hell only after we'll have gouged out of you all the informations we may need against the Protestants... and shown you all the pain which derives from disobedience to the Lord!"
He leaned towards me, with an insane gaze and saliva on his mouth. I could hear his laboured breath.
I tried to bite.
A jolt from the handcuffs stopped me, a crippling pain running through all of my body.
He started to laugh. He laughed like a madman, convulsing and shaking. The he pulled himself together.
"Their personal belongings?" he asked Heinkel. She brought him a pile of all our items: Alucard's hat, glasses, guns and coat, Rip's musket and glasses, my own coat. The archbishop nodded to a man from his escort to take them.
"Bring forth the cages."
Three metal crates, barely big enough to fit a man in were brought to the plane's walkway. On their sides were inscribed, in Jewish and Latin characters, all possible anathemas and spells, with the All-Seeing Eye in the middle.
They opened the cages' doors, i tried to shake but, again, uselessly. Two of Maxwell's men were throwing me into the cage. Light disappeared, as the heavy metal door closed behind my back, preventing me from moving. I couldn't even hear any sound from outside.
All was dark.
Yeah, Heinkel and Yunie can regenerate now. I'll explain that in the next few chapters. I have slightly modified my character description in chapter one, so you might want to give it a look.
Some reviews please?