~O~
IV
Singing for the Pope was a great honor.
The young future soldiers of Iscariot performed "Dies Irae" for His Holiness. Enrico lead the performance, clearly proud of being at the center of attention.
Yumiko glanced at Heinkel, smiling while she sang along.
Heinkel met her gaze and smiled back.
The sound of activity below earned Heinkel's attention. The waterfall parted and Heinkel watched in amazement as several soldiers rushed out, chanting in streams of German.
"We need to move now." Manuel said.
"That's right. You do."
The two quickly turned, coming face-to-face with a tall and thin man. He had green eyes, silver hair and a thin, brown mustache. He was wearing a brown suit, vest, and wide-brimmed fedora with a blue tie. And white gloves. Overall, he looked entirely too overdressed for the jungles of Brazil.
Tubalcain Alhambra. The Dandy Man.
Manuel backed away a step and Heinkel noticed the gesture.
"Alhambra..." Manuel hissed.
"Manuel, what are you doing?" Tubalcain asked, smiling thinly. "Siding with Iscariot? I mean, I've known you to be stupid, but this is a step beyond the borders of stupidity."
Heinkel aimed her pistols at the man, but Manuel took a step forward.
"Heinkel, no." he said. "I can handle this."
Tubalcain let out a raucous cackle. "You can handle me?" he sneered. "Manuel, you have never been good at handling ANYTHING. You're just a petty delivery boy, crying about the wife he sentenced to death."
Heinkel glanced sidelong to Manuel, who seemed to wither at those words.
"I've changed..." he said.
Tubalcain smirked, showing rows of fangs. "Men do not change, Manuel. They simply discover knew ways to lie."
Manuel looked at Heinkel. "Go. Go get your girl..." he whispered.
"Manuel." Heinkel protested.
"Go!"
Heinkel didn't have a chance to react when Manuel pushed her directly over the waterfall edge. She yelled the entire way down and he watched as she surfaced below. Smiling sadly, he returned his focus to Tubalcain.
"Trying to save the women won't matter, Manuel," Tubalcain told him. "You know that."
Manuel reached into his pants, removing the silver knuckles he'd used before. He stood in a fighting stance and Tubalcain sighed with disgust.
"Such a waste of flesh," he said. "You know you can't beat me."
"I know I've won eighteen street fights against bigger meat than you," Manuel told him, smiling nervously. "I can certainly try. You won't get them."
Tubalcain removed a deck of cards from his coat and Manuel watched in shock as he spun them around his body, like they were a shield.
"If you want a quick death, I have time to oblige." Tubalcain sneered, showing his fangs.
O
Heinkel noticed the path into the waterfall and slowly made her way inside. She looked around warily, searching for signs of Yumiko as well as vampires.
"Yumie?" she whispered. "Yumie!"
Meanwhile, Raizo was alone with the nun and they stood across a table from one another. Her sword was laid out in front of her, just within reach.
"You know there are more ways to the Berserker than you can possibly imagine, Yumiko." he told her. "I can educate you on them. You can push the boundaries of your own body in ways not even your father could."
"My faith cannot be wavered, Raizo." Yumiko said, with great defiance. She didn't even see him as her uncle. He was a stranger.
Raizo smiled. "I know. Iscariot certainly worked hard to ingrain their ideals into your head."
Yumiko's fingers itched to take her katana from the table, but she didn't know what Raizo was capable of. He could have been a Berserker too. A vampire Berserker...
"So tell me, Yumiko..." Raizo said. "Why fight against us? What do you gain?"
Yumie awoke then and smirked at him. "Maybe I just get great pleasure in watching you dead, heretics of God bleed!"
"Hm." Raizo was slowly inching his hand toward the table. "Perhaps less pleasurable and far more costly than you think!"
Yumie moved and Raizo moved in that same instant; Raizo had drawn his own sword and it came down upon his niece, seconds when she had taken her blade and raised it up in defense.
Raizo grunted with effort, struggling to push her further backwards. "Ah, you're strong." he hissed, grinning. "Much more than your father!"
Yumie twisted, forcing him back several paces.
Raizo gave a fierce roar, charging for her in an inky red smear, much like she could. Yumie shouted with effort, charging in a violet swirl. Both combantants collided, smashing through the wall. Yumie was tossed into a jukebox in the next room and it began to play "Shadow Man" by Primitive Reason.
Raizo smiled and paced a little while she regained her footing.
"Come on, Yumiko!" he challenged. "Let me show you what a Berserker can TRULY do!"
The music continued to play while the two fought.
Meanwhile, Heinkel was taking out vampires in her way as she continued into the base in her search for Yumie. She made it to the training hall when she could make out a soft groaning. Heinkel turned, just in time to see a bloodied Manuel collapse beside her.
"Manuel!" she gasped.
"Mother...fucker!" he hissed, spitting out a stream of blood.
"Manuel, how did - " Heinkel began.
"Those fucking cards..." Manuel groaned, holding his arm.
His body was slashed in many places and his clothes were soaked with his blood. Heinkel had no idea how a simple human could have stood up to a vampire and got out of it the way he did.
"Hand us a cloth, sim?" he hissed.
Heinkel nodded and removed a small handkerchief from her robes. She offered it to him and he tried to stop some of the blood flow on his neck. She made a face. That hardly seemed helpful.
"Manuel, how did you escape?" Heinkel asked.
Manuel coughed, sending blood spurting from his lips. "Dandy Man's cards cut deep. But my silver knuckles hit just as hard." he laughed. "He's out like a damn light. Not for long, though."
"Dammit!" Heinkel hissed.
"Hey! Hey, I fucking see you!" a vampire shouted on the other side of the training hall. "Stick your head out! I dare you!"
Heinkel sighed impatiently. "Give me a second..." she told Manuel.
She pointed her arm over her cover and took a shot. Without even looking. Manuel, despite his agony looked impressed as the vampire crumbled to the floor, bullet hole in his head.
"You need to go," Manuel hissed, "There will be more. And I don't know how your girl is doing..."
Heinkel nodded. "Thank you, Manuel. I suppose I overlooked how useful you really were."
Manuel laughed weakly. "Well, that tends to happen, mina."
Heinkel started to go, but Manuel stopped her. "Wait."
Heinkel frowned. "I have to keep-"
"Before you go...can you...do one last thing for me?"
"...What is it?"
"I want you to pray." Manuel said, choking. When Heinkel stared at him in confusion, he continued to explain. "Alhambra was right. It was me. The only reason I was able to live...was because they were too busy feeding on my wife."
Heinkel sighed heavily. Of course. That made sense.
"Please...I don't deserve it, but I beg for forgiveness..." Manuel mumbled. "I don't know what Iscariot is, but you are soldiers of God, yes? Priests of His Divine Will. Could you pray for me?"
"I...don't do that. I am a soldier. I don't spend time praying for the damned."
"...I see. I suppose that's what I get." Manuel laughed weakly again, blood gushing from his mouth. "Find Yumie. I'll hold them off as long as I can."
Heinkel stood up and retrieved the soldier's gun before offering it to Manuel.
"For them, or for you." she said.
Before she departed, she returned moments later to pray.
He at least earned that much.
O
Raizo cackled with glee, watching Yumie surge for him.
They had taken the fight to the holding cells, where several Ghouls remained.
"You're good, my dear niece," he said, "But I think it's time we take this up a notch."
He closed his eyes and began to mumble a hurried mess of words. Yumie watched him in confusion, but noticed the Ghouls began to react to him. They turned and stood at attention. Much to her shock, several vampires were also being held in the cells, restrained by silver bands.
They began to scream, thrashing their heads about.
"No! No, stay out of my head!" one of them wailed. "NO!"
Yumie backed away once, just as the cell doors opened, allowing the Ghouls to be free. The silver bands were also opened and the vampires made their way out, heads thrashing and eyes flaring red. They looked disoriented.
"Mental Manipulation is one of my greater skills, Yumiko," Raizo said, with a cruel chuckle. "Let's see how well you handle this one!"
Yumie was getting exhausted, but she charged through with a fierce yell.
Meanwhile, Heinkel made her way into a room filled with documents. She took a moment to explore and picked up a folder. Frowning curiously, she opened it up, uncovering documents regarding the arrival of Nazi war criminals. Paging through them, she uncovered information regarding an organization known as Millennium.
"Millennium?" she pondered. "Who are they?"
A scream pierced the air.
It was Yumie.
Heinkel gave a frightened shout. "Yumie!" she cried, rushing toward the sound. "Hold on, I'm coming!"
She arrived at the corridor where the Ghouls and vampires remained lying in piles of bloodied flesh. Standing among them was Raizo, holding Yumie's unconscious body in one arm. Heinkel snarled and raised her guns, but Raizo laughed and brought a needle from behind his back, aiming it at Yumie's neck.
"Hold it." he warned. "I know you love my niece, so I'll make this brief."
Heinkel looked down at Yumie, uttering several furious, frantic gasps.
"She's one of us. She doesn't belong with you." Raizo said. "But she has spirit and believes you are good for her. It should make for a fun test, don't you think?"
He plunged the needle into her neck.
Suddenly, Yumie's eyes flew open and she uttered a strangled cry. Her eyes changed to a frightening red. Raizo backed away, smirking and muttering the same words he had used before.
Yumie staggered to her feet, retrieving her sword. She took a deep, thick inhale and faced Heinkel.
Those eyes were a frightening shade of pinkish-red, her pupils narrowed almost to pin-pricks, wide and unseeing. She looked like a lifeless marionette on strings.
"Kill her for me, yes?" Raizo said.
He backed away slowly, smirking at Heinkel.
"What did you do to her?!" Heinkel shouted.
"Oh, you don't really know, do you?" Raizo said, "You see, human beings have the capabilities of pushing themselves to further reaches of experience. But for Berserkers? We can push beyond even that. What I gave her? It functions like adrenaline, but it's far more potent. Keeps us going for a while."
He smiled at Yumie. "Go on, my dear. Finish her."
Yumie began to pant, the veins around her eyes pronounced. She clenched her teeth and stalked toward Heinkel, katana at the ready.
"Yumie? Yumie, stop!" Heinkel ordered, backing away.
Yumie simply blinked rapidly, groaning with effort as she made her way toward her, not pausing in her advance. Heinkel looked like a shadow in her field of vision, reaching out beseechingly. Her voice sounded far away and garbled to the nun.
"I'm not going to fight you, Yumie." Heinkel spat.
"You don't have a choice, Vatican dog." Raizo said, smiling.
Yumie raised her katana and charged for Heinkel. The other woman jumped to the side, narrowly missing the blade as it cut through the air, inches from her face.
"Yumie, stop," Heinkel pleaded. "Please!"
She ducked when the nun swung her sword again. She didn't dodge quickly enough and the tip of the blade cut into her side. Heinkel winced in pain, stumbling back as Yumie charged relentlessly for her, katana whistling through the air in a mad flurry of violent swings.
Her features were emotionless with each attack.
Raizo just laughed softly. "A Berserker can continue on in battle for a long time, Miss Wolfe." he said. "You'll tire out long before she does."
Heinkel aimed her guns at him and fired, but Yumie stood between them, swinging her katana in a way that knocked the bullets aside.
Heinkel backed away as Yumie advanced. She stumbled and fell flat on her ass, just as the nun took her sword in both hands, raising it high in a final motion to bring it down upon her friend.
"I'm not fighting you, Yumie," Heinkel told her, defiant to her fate. "And I know you won't fight me either. You're stronger than this. He's gotten into your head, but you can fight it! I know you can!"
Yumie remained in that position, sword arm slowly starting to shake. She grimaced, squeezing her eyes shut. Her pupils seemed to narrow and dialate a few times as she struggled to resist Raizo's mental command.
"Ah, incredible!" Raizo remarked, watching her drop her katana. "Still resisting! I've never seen my quarry resist as well as you, Yumiko! I suppose I'll need to work a little harder than."
His eyes widened and flashed red and he whispered those same words again. Yumie thrashed her head with a shriek, struggling to resist it. She grabbed her head in both hands, staggering away from Heinkel.
Raizo looked mildly concerned before he frowned, increasing the strength of his spell.
Yumie collapsed, squirming and groaning in a futile attempt to resist. But eventually, her pupils narrowed once more and her eyes became wide and unseeing.
She reached for her sword and slowly stalked toward Heinkel once more.