He practically filled the doorway; he stood taller than me by a few inches, with a solid build and dressed in a gray trenchcoat over white priest clothing. His yellow hair was cut short much like mine. Round lenses sat in front of angry green eyes. A large scar ran from mid-jaw to beneath his eye on the left side. He held a shining bayonet in each hand.

"What're you doing? It's too dangerous here! Run!" I implored him.

He didn't seem to hear me and waded into the mass of ghouls with relish. The bayonets whirled and darted this way and that. Wherever the blades went, ghouls fell. Well, I guess this guy can take care of himself. I whipped Boomstick out and blasted every ghoul in sight. I took a few seconds to reload and when I looked up, there wasn't a single ghoul left. My jaw dropped and I choked in shock. This guy's good!

"Man, that was sweeeeet," I marveled.

I stepped over to him and extended my hand in greeting. I heard the doors behind me crash open and I saw Mistress dash in.

"I've met up with C & E; they've sustained substantial injuries but fatalities stand at six. How've you done with the..." Mistress stopped mid-sentence and examined the priest. Recognition and fear swooped over her face; she raised her left hand to finger a large scar on her throat.

"Heh, it's been a while, draculina. How's ye're neck?" he asked mockingly.

"What's goin' on? This guy's on our side isn't he? He put the smackdown on a whole room full of ghouls! You should've seen it! He was like--"

"NATE, GET AWAY FROM HIM NOW!" Mistress nearly screamed.

Before I could obey, I felt, heard, and saw one of the priest's bayonets enter the right side of my back and exit through my gut. I had just gotten over the initial shock when the wound began to burn with an intensity beyond anything I'd ever felt. The priest's maniacal laughter assaulted my ears as I dropped to my knees. My only thought was to get away. I scrambled on all fours over to Mistress and she helped me stand up.

"What the heck was that?" I gasped. "I didn't do anything to that guy and he stabbed me in the back...literally!"

Mistress yanked the bayonet out of me and explained. "He's a special agent for the Vatican Section XIII; Iscariot. He's called Paladin Anderson. Alucard and I've encountered him before. He gave me this scar." She pointed at her neck and shuddered. "Alucard beat him before, but he survived somehow. Watch out, those blades he carries are blessed."

"If the she-freak's finished with her hist'ry lesson, I'd laik tae start killin' ye."

I felt a vein pulsing in my forehead. "Care to repeat that one again priesty? Nobody but nobody talks that way to Mistress and lives."

"Mistress, eh? So ye've been makin' more abominations have ye missie? There's nae way im ging tae allow that. I'll stop ye right now."

"Shut up and fight," I spat. With a roar I sprang forward. I swung Hackmaster horizontally but Anderson dodged easily. He threw a bunch of knives at the floor in a circular pattern around the both of us. Each knife had a sheet of paper similar to the one I had passed on my way in. I'll worry about what those things are later. I've got a beating to deliver.

Anderson attacked with an overhead slash. I parried, but his other blade stabbed straight at my heart. I twisted aside and avoided being skewered, but still getting cut on my chest. Using my twist to build momentum, I swung Hackmaster at Anderson's waist but he leapt back and held his bayonets in a cross.

"Come on, is that the best ye ken do? I'd expect a little more from ae real Midian."

"I'm just getting warmed up cat-lick. Let's have another go."

"Speak insults all ye like; ye'll jest die more painfully."

"Nate, get out of there now! He's almost as strong as Alucard; you'll be killed!" Mistress pleaded.

I didn't want to back down from the fight, but I knew I couldn't beat this guy and I had been given an order. Unwillingly, I backed away, keeping Anderson in my sight. My back bumped into what felt like a wall of searing fire. I sprang away with a grunt. What was that? I looked behind me and all I saw was empty air and one of Anderson's papers knifed to the floor.

"D'ye like me barriers, monster? They keep dark creatures raight where I want them. I ken keep ye from runnin' away and slice ye up nice 'n easy," Anderson gloated.

Well, that limits my options. I can either plead for mercy and die crying, or attack all-out and maybe take him with me. I don't want Mistress to see me cry, so I'll go with option number two. With a maddened battle cry I ran forward. I cut diagonally and Anderson leaned back just enough to evade. Instead of finishing my swing, I stopped at about chest-height and changed to a stabbing attack. Anderson twisted quicker than I thought possible, so I missed his heart. Hackmaster's tip instead met the flesh of his shoulder and pushed him back.

"All right!" Mistress cheered.

"Take that! Now you can't use your left arm. Surrender and I'll let you go."

"Heh heh, I dinnae think so. I'm gonna rip ye tae shreds."

I was perplexed by his bravado until he pulled my sword from his shoulder. Except for a hole in his sleeve, there was no evidence that I had hurt him at all. Impossible! I felt the blade go in, I saw and heard it go in! What is he?

"He's a Regenerator! He heals himself almost instantly," Mistress shouted.

Well, this is a fine kettle of fish. Anderson took advantage of my shock to pierce each of my thighs with a bayonet. I fell to my knees, unable to block out the agony. He chortled darkly and kicked me in the face so hard I fell flat on my back. I tried to get back up, but he drove a blade through my sternum into the floor.

"AAAAAAAAGH!" I howled.

"Laik a bug in a museum. Ye're nae much fun, so ah'll finish ye off later." With a stomp on the stab wound in my gut, he sauntered towards Mistress. "Somethin's diff'rent aboot ye draculina. Did ye finally get the courage tae drink yer master's filthy blood? Maybe ye'll put up a decent fight this time."

"You don't scare me." Mistress tried to sound confident.

"I'm sure. Ye must be shakin' from excitement then."

After that, all I heard were sounds of fierce combat. I lifted my neck as far as I could, but I still couldn't see the battle properly. This is really going to hurt. I pushed myself up with my arms and slid up the bayonet, feeling every inch of the blessed metal burn and cut my chest.

The fight wasn't going well for Mistress. The quarters were too tight for her to use Harkonnen and she didn't have a melee weapon. Anderson was toying with her. Gotta get up, Mistress needs me. Gotta get up. I swallowed hard and thrust my torso upwards with all my might. The blade slid through my chest, followed by the, thankfully slender, handle. Gasping for air, I looked back at Mistress and Anderson. He had managed to grab her by the throat and push her against the wall.

"Even with ye being true Nosferatu, ye're no match fer me. Maybe Alucard'll come after me and I can get a real fight." He raised a bayonet for the Coup De Grace.

Boomstick flew into my hand. I took aim at Anderson and hoped my blurred vision wouldn't cause me to hit Mistress. I gritted my teeth and pulled the trigger. My bullet seemed to float through molasses until it impacted Anderson's bayonet and shattered it.

"Whit the..." Anderson snapped his head around.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to hit girls?" I snarled.

"Shut yer hole, monster."

Without responding, I pointed Boomstick at each of the knifed papers and obliterated them. Now that I was free, I gripped Hackmaster tightly and ran at Anderson madly. He procured another pair of bayonets and sprinted towards me. After we attacked, and stood apart with our backs to each other. I turned around to see what damage I'd done. Anderson had a broad gash across his stomach that, to my dismay, was closing rapidly. The only evidence that I'd hit him at all was his shredded robes.

Ha! He didn't even scratch me. I opened my mouth to gloat but stopped when a trickle of blood ran through my field of vision. What the... The trickle became a gush.

Half my sight was obscured in red. I clapped my hands over my left eye in an effort to stop the bleeding.

"AAAAAAAGH!" I shouted.

"Whit, nae smart-aleck remarks? Ah think ah'll end this," he whispered darkly.

"ANDERSON!"

I glanced back at Mistress and saw that Sir Integra had stormed in, her face crimson with fury. "What do you think you're doing? How many times have you attacked my soldiers without provocation? Don't you understand the meaning of a nonaggression treaty?" Sir Integra raged.

"Ah'm jes' doin' me job," Anderson replied weakly.

"Your job is not to kill my soldiers. Maxwell will hear of this."

"Y'dinnae scare me, heathen wench. Ah'm leavin'. We'll finish this later freaks."

Without another word, he marched out the doors. I waltzed over to Sir Integra, grinning despite the pain and bleeding. Before I could thank her, she turned on me.

"What exactly happened here? Two vampires, one true Nosferatu, and they can't even handle one, ONE human Regenerator!" Sir Integra fumed.

I looked away, embarrassed. I glanced back at the battlefield. Blood had splattered everywhere, mostly mine. I went over to where the bayonet that had nailed me to the floor still stood in a puddle of my blood. I grabbed the handle and pulled it out of the floor. You don't get stuck to the floor like that every day; I'll take a little trophy.

"All targets neutralized, Sir Integra! Mission accomplished; let's all go home." I smirked. Before she could yell at me more, I took two more steps and blacked out.

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Sorry about the wait folks! The reason I say Anderson is Irish is because Ireland is a predominantly Catholic nation (91) whereas the major religion in Scotland is The Church of Scotland (a Protestant faith). That's the way I see it. Thanks once again to all who R & R; please keep telling me what you think!