Alright, I know there was an update yesterday, and this is kind of out of character for me but I just felt like uploading. (I totally want you guys to know what happens next, I'm so excited about it xD) So, new chapter. And hey, it is Monday! So no worries there. Yay!
I just realized you could call the entire Hellsing series (and my story) "Fun with accents". Dang, so many different countries xD (I enjoy writiing them, but especially Anderson is incredibly hard.)
Thanks to kinniget & catsvsdogscatswin for the reviews!
Chapter 23: The Dogs of War
Hellsing mansion, outside London, September 22nd, 0.45 am
A rocket shattered the right edge of the roof. Plaster rained down on the men (and one woman).
"Some of zeir troops are descending from ze zeppelin!", Edouard announced. He ducked when another rocket hit the mansion right over their heads. He looked through the binoculars again and his face went even more ashen than before. "Zey're approaching! Mon dieu, zey're fast!"
"What are these guys?", Pete asked. His voice was trembling. Pip rolled his eyes and waved his hand at Seras. He had been skeptical about Pete to begin with. The man was a coward. But they had given him a chance like they gave everybody a chance.
The Captain and his fiance watched the men on the screens in the command center.
"Alright everyone," Pip announced. "Ze time to pee yourselves is over! Get to work!"
"YES SIR!" The men split up, to their positions.
The first vampires reached the yard in front of the mansion. About five hundred feet separated them from the entrance. Then the ground beyond the feet of the first vampire blew up. He was ripped to pieces right there. Pip lit a cigarette and smiled. The group stopped, looked around in panic.
"Zey're standing still. Detonate."
"Silver bullets on C4. What the hell are we doing here?", Seras murmured. Her fiance stroked her cheek. "You heard Lady Hellsing. Hell, you saw what zat kid could do."
"Don't let him hear that," she joked weakly. Well, he was a bit creepy. But she would be more than glad to have him here now. Or Lady Mira, for that matter.
"Zey're monsters," Pip said, like he wanted to confirm her thoughts. "Zey 'ave superhuman strength and reflexes. Zey're animals. We fire at zem, an zey rip your 'ead off before you even know you missed. Face to face, we don't stand a chance. But we Geese 'ave our way of fighting, don't we?"
Seras smiled. "Thanks for the summary, Captain." The vampires at the front were ripped to pieces right on the spot and the silver bullets got most of them. The others stopped dead and dragged their wounded comrades out of the mine field. Then the Geese in the upper-floor windows began to shoot at them with automatic grenade launchers. The vampires retreated and the first victory shouts went through the house.
"Now, ladies, don't be preposterous. We barely scared them. Zey'll come back."
"I hope Lady Caitlyn will be alright," Seras said. She just couldn't forget how their supposed leader seemed to have no idea whatsoever how to prepare for whatever was coming their way. Walter had led the preparations, as he had showed them around the premises in the beginning, and supplied them with everything they needed. What did London look like right now? She wasn't sure if she wanted to know.
"She's got ze vampire boy with 'er," Pip tried to calm her. The room shook. "Ah, merde. Francesco, 'ow many are zere?"
"A shitload. No idea. We more or less trapped them behind those hills, but-" There was an explosion and a scream, then silence.
"Francesco? Fils de pute!" Pip frantically searched for a fitting surveillance camera. "Status report!"
"Pip, look." Seras' voice almost broke. One of the outside cams was aimed right at Hellsing mansion. A rocket had ripped a big hole in the main building, right where the men had been positioned to hold back the ground troops of the Nazis.
"How long can we hold out?", Seras asked quietly.
Pip leaned back, shut off the radio and pulled her on his lap. "I really 'ave no idea, ma chére. Without zat airship we might 'ave a chance. But as long as zey keep striking us wi' zose missiles? A few minutes, top." They just hugged for a long time, while more rockets tore Hellsing mansion to pieces. Their men had their orders, but everybody (of those who were still left) knew it was too late. Hell, they had never had a chance to begin with. That damn airship.
Seras jumped to her feet. "Wait here. I've got an idea."
"Where are you going?"
"Walter said something about an experimental defense system we could use."
Pip stood up and followed her. "I'm coming with you." She stopped him in the door.
"Don't be silly. The others need their orders. Besides, if we're lucky Iscariot arrives and helps us out."
"Seras, zey're Catholic assassins. Are you sure we can trust zem? You saw zeir leader at ze conference."
"Lady Caitlyn said it was okay."
"Lady Caitlyn was barmy in love, ma chére. Are you sure she can 'andle zis?"
Seras didn't look at him. "Can we?" He didn't answer. "I have to check on this. I love you." They kissed and she pressed her face into his jacket while Pip rested his chin on her head for a moment. Seras pulled away and raised her hand, almost like an order. "You see this?", she asked. "This ring means we're gonna marry. I wanted Lady Caitlyn as my bridesmaid. Maybe even Mira. I'm not going to die beforehand and you won't either. Comprends?!"
He stared at her and then laughed. "Bien sure, ma chérie. Stay safe." She kissed him again and then ran along the corridor. Most of the Wild Geese were out front, where the enemy was, and only a few took care there was nobody sneaking up the back door.
"All clear on this side?", she called to Stefan, standing on the window with binoculars, but didn't stop. The mansion was freakishly large, it took an eternity to get everywhere. And Caitlyn was more or less alone except for the two vampires. You had to be a bit crazy to stand that.
"Yeah. Where are you going?"
"Upstairs. I need to check on something."
"I'm not sure if-", Stefan called, but she had already reached the stairs and sprinted upwards. The building shook again. Pip was right: Iscariot was dangerous. The Wild Geese were a mixed group, it didn't matter which religion you practiced or from where you came, what you had been and done before. Everything that counted was how skilled you were. If you fit into the team and could protect your comrades. But Iscariot was different. You only got in with one hell of a lot of skills, but the main criteria was fanaticism. Lady Caitlyn might trust in them. Seras didn't. If she hadn't talked Pip into this, they'd probably sit in some desert hole now, fighting for any possible side in a random war. But that was still a lot better than facing an army of crazy Catholics and even more crazy vampire Nazis. If, if, if. If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. Get going.
She reached the roof and almost tumbled into the floor below. The rockets had ripped huge chunks out of the building. In the distance she could see the zeppelin hovering over the very edge of the vast premises belonging to Hellsing. Who the hell mowed that much lawn, anyway?
The grass was ripped to shreds in a lot of places, where rockets had missed. The men in the higher-up floors were keeping the ground troops busy with constant fire. They had sought shelter behind a group of trees, Francesco had told them before the rocket ended his life.
There was a movement in the distance. Seras squinted, but she had no binoculars and couldn't make out what they were doing. "Pip, they're up to something," she said into her radio.
"Oui. I would be surprised if not. 'ave you found what you were looking for?"
"Not yet."
"Be careful."
"You too," she murmured, distracted by an unfamiliar sight: Somebody had placed something on the roof, she couldn't see what it was. There was a blanket draped over it or some kind of milky foil. She grabbed the edge of the foil and pulled. It was heavy and she had to put in all her weight to move it. But slowly, it started to slide off. Then it got caught on something and Seras' feet were pulled out under her. Her head hit the ground and stars exploded in front of her eyes.
It took a while until she could sit up. Her head was still swimming, but her vision finally cleared to see hell. The airship had turned and cleared the horizon. London was burning. The flames licked at the sky, bright and greedy. She thought to hear the roaring all the way from the city. There were other lights too. Bright, golden lights instead of the dark orange of the fire. Seras had seen her fair share of pyrotechnics in her short career. They were good for effect, for intimidation. These were formed like winged beings. Angels. Looked like the Catholics had arrived. She could hear the typical sound of helicopters. Many helicopters.
"Pip, the Catholics are here. In London, I mean."
"Zen let's just 'ope zat Caitlyn was right about zem."
"London is in ruins," she whispered.
"Yes, ma chérie. You know, I never liked London. It was old-fashioned. But zere were nice people. Ze little club we visisted. Ze bartender always talked shit about France, but he was nice and the beer was good. And zis old lady at ze corner shop who always gave me fish and chips without asking. Zey tasted 'orrible, but I always ate zem, just for 'er. All zese people had nothing to do with zis war. Not with 'ellsing or Millennium or zis Section 13."
"Nice little speech." Seras heard Pip gasp and the chair spin.
"Who are you?", he snapped. But there was nobody. The voice had come from the radio.
"Sir, there are intruders on the back side!", Stefan called. "We can't catch them."
"Is that how you treat all of your allies?" Seras spun, grabbing for her guns, but felt the tip of a blade on her neck and froze. The metal was coated with dried blood and shimmered a bit brighter on the edges. Silver? The woman wore the dress of a nun, her black hair fell in her face. Then she lowered the weapon and grinned. "Yumie Takagi."
"A-Are you from Iscariot?", Seras stuttered. The more obvious question was: How did you get up here without being noticed?
"You tell me," she said and sheathed the sword. No, it was not even a sword, but a katana. Who were those guys? Yumie looked out over the premises to where the zeppelin was hovering. "You really got into a bit of trouble here, did you not?" She had a Welsh accent, Seras noticed. The Iscariots certainly were just as mixed as the Geese, it seemed.
"Looks like it. So... you'll help us?"
"We kind of made a deal with your boss." She shrugged. "Seriously, I don't get it. But Father Anderson decided this. We'll help you defeat those freaks." She grinned again. It looked too insane to be really comforting.
"Good. My name's Seras Victoria, by the way. Help me with this, okay?" Seras disentangled the foil and started to pull it off the – weapon? It looked like the lovechild of a grenade launcher and an old-fashioned cannon. There was a letter taped to it.
Harkonnen II
30mm semi-automatic cannon
Maximum reach: 4000m
Red button is for firing two big missiles. Only for emergencies.
Careful with the recoil.
~W.D.
God bless Walter Dornez. He really was one hell of a butler. Seras checked how it was fired, but it was really easy. She just needed to start it and they were ready to go. Take that damned zeppelin down. There had already been too many deaths by their rockets. The explosion would rip the vampires inside to shreds or at least burn them alive.
"Hands off." Seras didn't listen. The colossal cartridge belt was already in place. She aimed right at the zeppelin. Icy, bloody metal touched her wrists. "Hands. Off," Yumie repeated. "Or you lose them." Her voice was just as sharp as her blade.
Seras carefully pulled back her hands. "What are you doing?"
"We're not shooting down that zeppelin."
"Well, thanks." Seras blinked, then realized that voice was on the radio as well. It was a woman, but she sounded a lot darker than Yumie and was only whispering. "Would be great if you could wait with that until we're out."
"Are you Heinkel Wolfe?", Seras asked carefully. "Caitlyn told us you were coming."
"Yeah..." Pause. "Where is she?"
"I don't know, she was on a CB radio. Where are you?"
"On the airship, so don't blow it up. Yumie, you take care of those kids, right?"
"'oo are you calling kids?", Pip complained. He didn't get an answer. Because then a giant attacked the mansion. It was a muscular woman with short red hair, one side of her body full of tattoos. She raised a giant scythe. Her words were blur, the voice barely a growl. "Show me your pain!"
Pictures flashed in front of Seras' eyes. The night when she was little and her mother put her into the closet. The night that changed her life forever. How she came into the orphanage. She saw Yumie grimace and fall to her knees, then she was lost in her own horrific past.
Tokyo, 1997
It was cold, very cold. Yumiko shivered, but not because of the cold. She clutched the katana tightly, but it seemed to slip her grip any moment now. And then they would punish her again.
"Pay attention, musume. One day, you will have to lead this clan."
Yumiko swallowed hard and readjusted her hands. "Yes, okaa-sama."
The boy in front of her was very pale, sweaty, and crying. His father stood at the side of the room, tied up and gagged, though Yumiko did not really understand any of this yet.
"Discipline," Yumiko's mother said. "Discipline is everything. This boy has none of it. His family has none of it. Traitors are death to every family. So to protect the family we must bring death to the traitors. Do you understand, Yumiko?"
She nodded slowly. "Death to the traitors," she repeated. "To protect the family." Her mother's fingers had dug into her shoulder so hard she wanted to scream, but she had learned not to. Now the older woman let go.
"Pay close attention." At a wave of her hand, the man was dragged to the middle of the room. The little boy, he was about Yumiko's age, struggled and shouted his father's name. He was shut up with a slap that probably broke his jaw.
Yumiko's mother pulled her katana. She whirled around her own axis and cut the man right through. With a gurgling sound he stared at them. Yumiko did not look away. Looking away would make okaa-sama angry and Yumiko knew what that meant. The parts separated and crashed to the ground, spraying red liquid everywhere, but still staring. The boy howled.
Okaa-sama turned around and looked down on her daughter. "Now you."
Yumiko drew the katana and took a step forward, then hesitated. She really wished her friend was here. Yumie was never afraid. "Can... Can I go see Father when I do this?" The answer was not a slap like she had expected, but a paper thin smile.
"You can go see him right now." She held up a hand and stepped aside. "I wanted to wait with this, but well." The door slid open and another man was pushed in.
"Father!", Yumiko beamed. Her smile fell when he collapsed to his knees. He pressed one hand to his chest. Or where his hand should be. There was nothing but an even surface, white and red, from where blood seeped into his shirt.
"Hello, dear," he whispered. "Is Mommy good to you?" His eyes, dazed with pain, wandered over her small, slender body, the bare arms covered in cuts and bruises. "Obviously not."
"You had quite the nerve to come here again, Alan. I told you, kumo no musume-tachi do not allow entrance to outsiders."
"She's my daughter," Alan managed. "It took me long enough to find you. Yumie, darling. Don't worry. We'll go back to Wales and nobody will hurt you anymore."
"She is a Daughter of the Spider. But you coming here saved us quite a bit of trouble. Masume, this is your new target. Finish him." Yumiko stared at him. She remembered vaguely, a far away land, happiness, no pain. Then she had been taken away. Her Father. She had kept a photograph of him, secretly, so okaa-sama wouldn't find it. She did in the end and burned Yumiko for it, but she knew what he looked like. She remembered his voice.
Okaa-sama's fingers closed around her arm again. It was still a bit sore from when it had been broken a while ago. Yumiko clenched her teeth. "Do it."
"Why?"
"Because a daughter kills her father. That's what we do. You can never be strong with him running after you."
"I think I can." Okaa-sama grabbed the little girl and lifted her off the ground.
"Oh, do you? Well, I tell you something: You will go into the room for a week. If you don't kill him, you will not become one of us. And you know what that means, right?"
She dropped the girl. Her knee twisted and cracked loudly. Yumiko screamed in pain. Tears blurred her sight. Why was her friend not here when she needed her?
"Discipline is everything," Okaa-sama repeated. Her katana was a thin silver line in the air. Then Alan's other hand dropped to the floor. He gasped and was only held upright by two men in the shadows. "Everything." His eyes rolled one last time, seeming to plead to his daughter for help, before the head fell off. The katana fell out of Yumiko's numb fingers, clanging on the concrete. The blow took her off her feet and smashed her into the wall.
"I should have known from the beginning. You are weak." She hit the girl again. "You have no discipline. You are a disgrace!" She grabbed her hair and dragged Yumiko to the fallen katana. "Take it and kill him!", she demanded and pointed at the boy. When the child didn't respond she shook her like a rag doll and dropped her to the floor.
Yumiko stared at the parts of her father lying on the floor. Then at her katana. Okaa-sama would kill her and she didn't care. She would not have to endure more pain, or hurt others.
Yumiko. She looked around. Everything hurt. The world spun. Yumiko, it's me. Don't be scared. I will take care of it.
- She is stronger than you.
No she is not. Don't worry. Father will be proud. Yumiko felt her hand close around her katana. She closed her eyes.
Nobody forces me to anything. I am free. The Lord is my shepherd.
"Don't worry." She wanted to struggle when the owner of the voice picked her up, but he just held her tightly, but not too tightly. "You're safe. God watches over you now, dear."
"Daddy?", she whispered. A sigh.
"No, darling. My name is Marco Renaldo. Do you remember what happened?" They were walking. She could hear sirens, but they left them behind. Yumiko looked up. The man had brown hair, glasses and a mustache. He smiled at her and suddenly she liked him.
"Yumie took care of them," she said.
"Yumie?"
"She's my friend. She talks to me sometimes."
"You have to tell me more about her. She sounds very nice." Renaldo had a sword himself, Yumiko noticed.
"Are you from kumo no musume-tachi?"
"No, dear. I'm here to bring you home."
"My father is dead," she whispered.
He sighed again. "Yes dear. But I know somebody who will take care of you. You don't need to be afraid." Yumiko stared at him, then at the street, where the rain had flooded the asphalt. She had rarely been out since she came here. Yumiko buried her face in the fabric of the strange man's coat.
I am free.
Hellsing mansion, September 22nd, 2016, 1 am
Seras screamed when she woke up. Pip was standing over her, the worry in his face decreasing as her thoughts sharpened. "What happened?", she gasped. She remembered. More than she wanted to. Her parents. Their death. The faces of the attackers, their laughter. Every last detail of the scene that haunted her since her childhood. She forced herself to calm down. You got them. The bastards got what they deserved. As a policewoman that would not have been possible. And you never would have met him. Pip pulled her to her feet and she pressed her face to his shoulder for a moment.
"Zat wild nun woke me up. Ze vampires were putting us under some kind of spell. Ze others are still knocked out."
"The Iscariots too?"
"Except for 'er. Come on, we 'ave to do-" An explosion shook the building. The roof under their feet began to grumble, like it would fall apart at any moment. Pip and Seras quickly ran for the stairs, but the shaking stopped. The Harkonnen II still stood firm. The question was if the roof could withstand the recoil if they fired. They should have shot down the zeppelin when they had the chance. For someone who was supposed to help, the Iscariots had done remarkably little so far.
"Damn," Seras hissed. Her gaze had fallen away from the looming zeppelin onto the ground, where hundreds of knives stuck out of the soil like a swarm of weird animals come to rest in the yard. "They figured out the mines!"
"Zey must 'ave stormed ze front porch! Let's go." They sprinted down the staircase. The moon shone through the huge hole in the wall and the smell of fire and death from London was blown in their faces. The men that were left were kneeling or lying in the fetal position, groaning, some were even crying. Whatever nightmares they had, they were just as bad as Seras' visions. She stopped. "Come on, you need to wake up! It's just an illusion!" She shook Pete, who was wiggling desperately, his open eyes staring at the ceiling. "No, no! Please!", he whimpered.
Pip grabbed her arm and pulled her along. "I already tried zat. It'z no use." They ran on, through the second to the first floor, then to the stairs leading into the entrance hall. The smell of blood hit them like a hammer. It was smeared over the floor and walls. There was a head nailed to a painting, just that, with knives through his eye sockets. Seras gasped when she recognized Sergej. The group ordered to keep an eye on the entrance had been ripped to pieces. Their bodies were piled up in a bloody heap, flaps of soaked fabric, body parts unknown who they might belong to, and their useless weapons. The vampires had settled into the pile of corpses and talked in German. Seras knew rudimentary German, after having been there half a year once and tried hard to understand what they were saying.
They talked about how stupid it was that they had to wait for their leader and the rest to go on and get all the yummy prey whimpering above their heads. One said it annoyed him how boring this had turned out to be. Hellsing was by far not such a threat as they had thought. Just a bunch of whimpering kids. And the leader wasn't here either. In the meanwhile, the others got to have a large fill in Central London. That was really unfair. Somebody wondered why they didn't get any more instructions from the zeppelin.
"Because Zorin is not on ze zeppelin, idiot!", another one replied in English.
The first vampire laughed it off. "Vhatever. I have a bet for you: I can tell you which type of blood one has wizout looking it up."
"As if," the other one spat. "Prove it!"
The first one picked up Jose's head and let the blood run into his mouth. Seras felt sick, but her hand closed around her gun. Pip stopped her. "We don't 'ave a chance against zem!"
The head thumped on the ground in a splash of blood, along with the hand holding it. The vampire stared at it for a second, before the pain set in and he tried to scream. He didn't, because then his head was separated from the body. The other vampires gasped and stumbled to their feet. They were inhumanly strong, and fast, and blood-thirsty. That was the nature of vampires. But their long stay in Brazil had made them slow and used to having the upper hand.
The long blade cut one vampire in half and decapitated another. The others groped for their weapons. One lost his arm before he could pull the trigger, then his head. "Bring back the head of an enemy or you haven't won. That was the codex of the samurai," Yumie said. She had blood splashes in her face. It had to be a miracle her long dress didn't get entangled with anything. There was not even blood on it.
She whirled on her toes (she was wearing tough black boots, Seras saw) and let out a short, effective battle cry when she slashed through a vampire sneaking up on her. She didn't see the half-dead Nazi lieutenant on the other side. He had lost one arm and half his leg, but he pushed himself upright and darted at her throat. Seras shook off Pip's hand, a warning cry on her lips. Yumie ducked under the attack and sliced the already torn body from the shoulder to the hip. Seras winced and whipped out her gun, even pulling the trigger in surprise. If it had been a vampire, they would be dead. It was a young Iscariot agent with platinum blond hair. He winced and drew his pistols, but didn't shoot. The bullet had missed him by inches.
"Jesus, be careful with that, okay?", he said in a Scandinavian accent.
Yumie landed at the top of the stairs, preferring to jump instead of walk normally. She sheathed the katana after making sure most of the blood had run off the glistening metal. That had to be some kind of lotus effect. She pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the red drops off her face.
"Thanks for the warning. He might have gotten me otherwise," she said and grinned. The way she just seemed happy, despite having been rescued by a "heathen" made Seras suspect she had just said this to be nice. Which was something at least.
"Nils, what about the others?", the paladin asked the boy.
"Most are waking up, but the mercenaries are still out of order." He shrugged his shoulders. "Are there no more vampires?"
Yumie looked down at the mess. "They were just the vanguard. There are more to come."
"What is this, anyway?", Seras asked. "Why... did we see all this?"
"Oh, that's probably their leader, Zorin Blitz. She has some talent that can show you your worst nightmares." She said this casual, as if it was no big deal. Seras stared at her, and suddenly felt pretty useless, her body shaking with adrenaline. The Vatican had known all of this? And they hadn't bothered to tell their allies, like Oh, Millennium has a fighter that can knock out a whole unit without weapons or even coming close to them, by the way? Not that the Round Table had been any help in gathering information, as far as Seras knew.
"If her concentration gets broken, she'll stop. You don't happen to have a sniper here?"
"I can do that," Seras said immediately. At least she would be able to do something useful now. Yumie nodded. "Grand. Let's go." They followed her to the second floor, where the giant hole began. Seras wondered why the zeppelin hadn't continued firing at the mansion. They must have seen the Harkonnen II on the roof by now. One more reason to bring the mansion down.
Yumie handed her a sniper rifle, the newest of its kind, fully equipped. The owner was staring listlessly at the air, seeming mildly confused, nothing more.
Seras adjusted the rifle and put down the feet on a horizontal ledge of the hole. There she was, the original to the giant that had somehow disappeared while she had been in trance. Even trough the periscope, the woman's eyes could be seen glowing a radioactive green. One hand, the tattooed side, was pressed to the ground, shimmering violet. The other held a scythe.
Seras was no particularly good sniper or anything, but she had experience in the field and they didn't have a lot of other choices. The wind was blowing hot in her face. One gust could make the shot go wherever. "Just break her concentration. I'll take care of her afterwards." Seras clenched her teeth. These Iscariots just thought they were the best of the best and acted like it. Well, she would show them. She might not need to, but she would kill this vampire bitch, right here and now. Some things should stay in the past.
She pulled the trigger. The shot missed. Seras cursed and aimed again. From the spot the bullet had hit there had to be wind blowing from the side. She adjusted her aim. Seras fixed her eye on the target, that woman that had ordered her beasts to slaughter the men in the front hall. That had slaughtered her parents, in a more metaphorical way. Her breath flowed out of her, very softly.
Zorin was punched off her feet by an invisible force hitting her right in the chest. The force gnawing at the edges of Seras' mind vanished.
"What happened?", the owner of the rifle asked as he sat up, rubbing his face. Seras straightened and gave him back his gun. "Thanks," she said and walked over to Pip. "I got her."
Yumie giggled. "I doubt that." Seras' mouth dropped open when the woman with the scythe actually got to her feet again. She made an angry gesture and the vampires joined her.
"Silver bullets are unfit for long-distance shots," Yumie informed nobody in particular. "And you obviously didn't hit her heart. Get your people and barricade somewhere."
"You want us to 'ide?", Pip asked, unsure if that was ridiculous, offensive or a joke.
The nun grinned, while the men woke from their trances. It looked less sane than Seras liked. "No. I want you to be the bait."
Zorin crushed the bullet she had pulled from her body between her fingers. This little bitch!
"You'll pay for shooting me down!", she growled. It had been the blond Hellsing girl, she had seen that. The one with the cop father. What an unfortunate story. Zorin grinned and stretched, her scythe painting a glistening semi-circle. The pain in her chest disappeared. She would get her revenge. And when she was done, she would go and find that blonde Iscariot she had met in Minnesota. She was here somewhere. Someone like her missed no big fight. Zorin couldn't wait to see what she was hiding, from her friends and from herself. She would beg for mercy before she died slowly. Nobody shot at Zorin Blitz and didn't get punished.
"Ve're going in!", Zorin announced. "Vhat about reinforcements?"
"First lieutenant, ve haf not heard from anyone on ze zeppelin in several minutes."
Zorin grinned. She had just found who she was looking for. But the mercenary girl came first. "Doesn't matter. Ve're going in!" She went first, jumping easily over the knives and arriving at the front porch before the mercenaries inside could set off the mines manually.
"Get going!", a voice with a French accent shouted upstairs. The girl's companion. Ah yes, that bug needed to be taken care of as well. In the hall lay a pile of mercenary bodies, but also of their vanguard. Zorin frowned. It was not the losses, who cared about that, but how they had been destroyed. A grin spread on her face. "Vell, vell, looks like somebody has just my hobby."
"Vhere are zey?", somebody in the back murmured.
"Hiding like ze insects zey are!", Zorin announced. "Spread out. Destroy zem. Paint zis mansion with their blood!"
The soldiers dashed off except for a small group that stayed with their leader. From further away, there was panicked gunfire and then the lovely smell of blood. Zorin wiped over the hole in her shirt. The wound was almost closed and only hurt faintly. Definitely less than the mercenary girl would hurt when Zorin was done with her. The little bitch would pay.
The vampires slowly walked down the lobby to the central staircase. "Come out, come out, wherever you are," Zorin chirped. From the right, there was static from a radio, then a frightened man's voice. Seemed like the others had missed a little rat hiding behind a corner. Zorin didn't blame them. She got to have a little fun, too. Of course, her main toy was still running around, but a little snack was never a bad idea. These tiny insect underestimated a vampire's fine senses.
"Captain, we're spent," the man said, sounding desperate, but somewhat resigned, too. "We're a mess, most are as good as dead, me included. We can't retreat." Zorin raised her hand to keep her men from attacking. She had something more amusing in mind. She touched the wall and felt familiar warmth spreading through her body while the violet wave soaked the corridor.
Cillian Underwood had been a mercenary for a good twenty years. He had never moved to another flat, but he was never there anyway. Even if he had the time, it was not more than a place to crash if he really had no other choice. But he recognized his own living room, where he had lived for so long. Where they all had lived.
"Welcome home dear." He almost dropped his gun. They were standing there like nothing had happened.
"Stana. Michelle," he stammered. "That's impossible. You- you're dead."
"What's wrong, Daddy?", Michelle asked, laughing. His little girl, with her tooth gap smile and fluffy brown hair. "You look awful."
"Now don't be rude, darling," Stana said mildly and stroked her hair. "Cil, you have been away for too long. This is not good for you." Cillian fell to his knees. "Oh, oh God, it's another illusion, isn't it?" He let the gun drop to the ground and put his arms around his daughter. She was slender and warm and smelled of her blueberry shampoo. "Dear God, why do you look so real. Michelle!"
"Because you're a sentimental fool." That was not Stana's voice. It was the witch. Cillian looked up and saw Stana's pretty face change. Her teeth fell out, her long golden hair, her skin turned to leather and her bones withered. She turned into a mummy in the matter of seconds. Michelle giggled as the same happened to her.
"They're wormfood, but don't vorry. You'll join zem soon." Zorin raised her scythe, the unfortunate fool frozen in place, the shadow of his long-dead daughter in his arms. Minds were so easy to trick. Humans were weak. A grin betrayed the ecstasy of killing surging through her body, even if it was nothing physical.
"Lieutenant!" The vampire was cut off in a splash of blood and suddenly the scythe was slapped out of her hands with a metallic clank. Something slammed into her and flung her into the wall. A normal human's skull would have been crushed, but all it accomplished is making her see stars for a second. Looked like the Hellsing's vampires had finally arrived. That would be fun. Emily hadn't done all too well, but she had been a child, and Rip had been a coward anyway, but nobody matched her. But that was not the vampire's voice. It was that damned nun again.
"Normally I wouldn't bother to help a heathen, but I have my orders." There were a few shots, then silence. Zorin got up, her head spinning. Her men had been reduced to a blood heap. The mercenary was gone, as was the nun. Zorin snarled and retrieved her scythe. There was a scratch on the shaft she didn't recognize. Something sharp had hit it and cut out a narrow line. She cursed herself for not looking more closely at the girl's memories. They hadn't seemed interesting, just the usual mistreated-child-boringness. She would have to correct that mistake.
They would pay. These arrogant mice, thinking they could outsmart a tiger. She could smell them all over the place. They would go out screaming for the mercy of death.
"Lieutenant Blitz!" She turned around. The group from the West Wing was back. The men looked at her fallen comrades with confusion and an uneasiness she didn't like. "Ze mansion is almost empty."
"Vhat do you mean, almost empty?," Zorin snapped. "Eizer zey're here or zey're running like the ants zey are."
"Zey have barricaded zemselves in ze Round Table room on ze zird floor. It looks like a trap." Zorin giggled, an utterly absurd sound, like a small girl instead of the woman she was.
"Ants under a rock. I knew it. How many Panzerfäuste do ve have left?"
"Two, Lieutenant," she was informed. "Ze ozers are still on ze zeppelin."
"Ve can't get a connection," Fritz said. Zorin rolled her eyes. He had always been a coward. And something like that called himself Waffen-SS vampire.
"Ze Iskariot organization has probably tried to take over and our men are still fighting. I'll take care of it once ve're done here."
She wanted to cut the man who asked the next question to little shreds, from the feet upward. "Is Alexander Anderson with zem?" Zorin controlled herself. Cowards and fools. Was she the only one with a hint of bravery? But then again, she had known this seventy years ago. Men. Typical.
"No. And even if, you don't have to vorry about him. Let's finish zese bugs before ve take back our airship." She waved them onward and climbed to the third floor. The office door was barricaded, but there was a small space so they could shoot. The corridor was empty.
The vampires were greeted with automatic gunfire from behind the heap of furniture. Zorin heard the bugs curse. They were almost out of ammunition. "Panzerfaust," she ordered in a low voice. Didn't want to spoil the surprise, right?
Siegfried did as he was told, aiming right at the top line of the barricade. With a bit of luck, the Panzerfaust would fly into the room and explode there. If not, it didn't matter either. "Ready to fire, lieutenant!"
"Get away from the barrier!", a soft Scandinavian voice whispered.
"Vait!", Zorin said. Siegfried took his hand from the trigger again. Zorin grinned. A good heart was always wasted on the fools. Or only fools were soft enough to retain a good heart. She dashed to the left and grabbed the boy before he could react. It was a young man in the attire of a paladin. So the Iscariots had split up, one part here, one part on the zeppelin. Lovely. More fun for her.
The boy was pale and blond, with bright blue eyes. The perfect Aryan, if you followed Hitler's ridiculous ideas. Nils Svensson, she heard his name in his thoughts. She only needed a few seconds to access the darkest corner of his past. His parents dying screaming in a burning car in the middle of the Swedish woods, only managing to save him. The boy wandering about the woods for days until he was found and taken in by a secluded convent led by a retired paladin. There was never a doubt where his future lay.
Nils tried to bring his guns up, but Zorin just squished his hand to a pulp. The boy screamed in pain and dropped his weapons. Zorin held him upright with her illusion hand on the throat and looked around. "Is nobody going to help him? Yumiko, maybe? You saved a heathen but von't help your companion? Are you scared or zat merciless because he screwed up?"
"Damned heathen mercenaries," he hissed. His face was streaked with tears, but his eyes were still burning with determination. An astoundingly strong will, she had to give him that much.
A turmoil behind the barrier. "You bloody -"
"Feuer!", Zorin ordered. The Panzerfaust hit right at home. It didn't destroy the barrier completely, but there were screams and curses. The delicious smell of blood flooded the corridor anew.
"Get 'im away from zere!", the French leader snapped. Then, finally the girl's voice. She sounded wonderfully scared. "Pip, you're bleeding." Oh yes, and he would bleed even more before he was allowed to die under Millennium's boots. And then Seras would suffer so much she forgot about him over the agony. Mind tricks were one thing, but nothing beat physical pain.
She turned back to the Iscariot boy. "How careless of your people to leave you here alone." She dropped him, then stomped on his back as he lay crouched there. His spine broke with a snap. He gasped, but didn't have enough air to scream.
"Uhm, Lieutenant, are you sure he's alone?" Zorin hissed and the vampire stumbled back.
"Vhat does zat matter?", she snapped. "Zey're just humans. Prepare ze second Panzerfaust." She raised her scythe. The kid was becoming boring.
"Amen," he whispered, just before the blade dug into his heart. A pool of blood gathered under him. Zorin kicked the lifeless body away, disgusted by the serene expression on his face. Religious fanatics.
Then he exploded in her face. For a second, she was blinded, her skin almost bubbling in the heat as she was thrown off her feet and against the next wall. She landed on her knees, smoking from the explosion. But the only thing burning really hot was her rage.
"I suppose you von't go to paradise zen," she said with a forced smile. Her men looked around, standing in a wide semi-circle, just not too close to the burning body. "Shoot zem!", Zorin snapped. "Destroy zat barricade and rip zose so-called holy varriors to pieces!"
Siegfried was handed the second grenade. "Ready to -" A bullet took his head off. The vampires spun. Zorin stayed where she was.
"We're the legion of Judas Iscariot, the Vatican's secret and most unholy weapon," a female voice said. "We are His representatives on Earth, his agents of divine wrath."
"Feuer, verdammt noch mal!", Zorin snapped. Bullets flew past her, a few reflecting off the blade of her scythe. Otherwise the men held them off. If the mercenaries started to fire now, Zorin's troop would be caught in the crossfire. Zorin turned around and started walking. Of course. It had to come to this. The paladins let her through without trying to stop her. She could have killed half a dozen of them in one swipe, but she didn't. The God-whore was awaiting her, katana drawn, not a splash on her dress, with a wide grin on her face. That dress would be her doom, Zorin suddenly decided. It had no place in a fight.
"How charming, using the kid as bait," Zorin mocked her. There was a hint of sadness in the nun's violet eyes, but her voice was calm.
"Limbo awaits all of us sooner or later."
Zorin snorted a laugh. "Limbo? Really?"
"You won't understand of course. You'll burn in hell soon enough." Zorin grinned, and attacked. A ridiculous human challenging her, Millennium's strongest vampire. The scythe blurred to a glistening silver semi-circle and cut through the air where Yumie's feet should have been. A boot hit her face and the flat side of her scythe clashed with metal. That little bitch was fast.
Zorin rolled away just as a blade grazed her leg even through the thick fabric of her trousers. She scrambled to her feet again, blood seeping into her boot. "Not bad. Really. But how about this?" She slammed her right palm on the ground, the illusion eye searching seeing, showing her the worst pains and memories.
"Discipline, masume. That is all that matters. You do not question orders from up high. You don't make mistakes." Yumiko looked down, wondering what her arms would look like without the colors. She vaguely remembered a time they had been smooth and didn't hurt, but that was far away. She didn't have to hurt others back then.
A movement in the corner of her eye, barely a flicker. Katana and scythe clashed. The girl was strong, and not stupid enough she could win head-on. Speed was her advantage. She jumped back and changed the grip on the katana. Zorin gaped at her. She should be paralyzed!
"Leave Yumiko alone," Yumie said. "Nobody hurts her as long as I'm here." Zorin hissed. A split personality. She should have seen it from the start. Well, that was certainly interesting.
Yumie dodged the next swing and the katana opened a cut on Zorin's arm. The vampire hissed and punched her in the face. Oh look, she didn't expect that. Yumie stumbled back and Zorin got a grip on her with the illusion eye. If she couldn't hurt the main personality, she'd have to take down the guardian first.
"HEINKEL!" Yumie stared up at the roof of the factory. A deep river separated her from the hall. She couldn't get there in time, let alone on the roof. Her friend had retreated to the very edge of the roof, balancing only on the narrow gable, the vampire right in front of her. It would be a deep fall. Or she got bitten, which was worse. She didn't even have her guns. Why she had given them to Yumie was a mystery. All she knew was that she was scared for her friend and angry about being so helpless. The blond paladin took another step back. The vampire stroked her cheek and then grabbed her collar to expose her neck. Heinkel grabbed his shirt. They wavered for a moment, and then fell.
A fist hit Zorin's face and she crashed to the ground. The scythe flew whereever again.
"Heinkel finished him off in the water," Yumie said, panting. "Vampires are weak to that, remember?" Zorin managed to dodge the katana's swipe, which would have taken her head off, but she was still dizzy. Her power had a certain backlash she had thought she gotten rid of decades ago. Zorin had never encountered someone that mentally strong. Her hand closed around the scythe and this time she hit. The tip slashed right across the whore's stomach. Yumie gasped and fell to her knees, blood running on the floor in a hot, sweet stream. Before Zorin could finish her off, a bullet hit her in the shoulder. Another one took off two fingers of her left hand. She turned around, snarling in rage and pain. Iscariot had dealt with her men, it seemed, though they hadn't gone unscathed either. The Major would be severely pissed. Or it had always been his plan. Would fit him. Either way, time to make a tactical retreat, no matter how much it stung. She would regroup on the airship and then come back to finish them off.
"I'm not done with you!", she snarled. She snapped her fingers and for a second, the paladins were put off by a sudden cloud appearing from nowhere. They didn't want to risk Yumie's life by just shooting. The next moment, the vampire was gone.
Millennium airship "Graf Zeppelin III", September 22nd, 2016, 1.30 am
"Was zat it?", Francois asked. About half their group had gathered in the command center of the zeppelin and the others were arriving back from their various routes of searching the zeppelin for more enemies. Once it was clear, they would either figure out how to use it against Millennium, or if that wasn't possible, just burn it down.
Heinkel walked in a bit too fast to appear calm. The others turned around. Angelo looked worried. "Something wrong?"
The Wolf hesitated and took a deep breath. "Has anyone seen Victoria? You know, my trainee who sneaked in for some reason without my knowledge?" Her words were sharp with tension. Many of her colleagues looked guilty. They had let it pass after all without so much as informing her. Not knowing better was no excuse.
"What happened?"
"We got cornered in a hallway and were separated. I couldn't find her anywhere after that." Heinkel tried to stay calm. She had trained the girl herself. Vicky was a good fighter, more than good enough to pass the exam months ago. But she was worried, alright. She couldn't help it.
Angelo nodded. "We'll search for her once everybody else arrived. She'll be fine."
"I suppose," Heinkel sighed. "What about the others in the mansion?"
"We're trying to reach them, but they're probably still fighting." Speak of the devil, their radios crackled, including the ones belonging to the zeppelin. A young woman's voice asked: "Hello, Iscariot? Can you hear me?" Seras Victoria, the girl Heinkel had spoken to briefly. She raised her hand to shut the others up.
"Hello?"
"Miss Wolfe?", Seras asked. The paladins erupted into snickers, at least trying to be quiet. Heinkel ignored them. When was the last time anyone called her Miss Wolfe? God, that sounded weird.
"Paladin. Nah, forget it, call me Heinkel. How's the situation?"
"The vampires here are all dead, but their leader escaped. She's on her way to the airship I suppose. Be careful, she's really dangerous."
Wait, if Blitz had escaped... didn't Yumie want to take her on? "Casualties?" She had a really bad feeling. Somebody else took the radio. His voice seemed a bit strange for some reason, but after a second Heinkel realized it was only Giorgio.
"There were more casualties to the mercenaries, around fifteen or so. They're pretty battered and their leader is injured quite bad." Heinkel rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything. What did she care about those guys? She had more urgent things in mind. She wouldn't put it past Vicky to run off alone.
"We lost Nils, Maxim and Issak. Yumie got injured by the leader, I'm not sure if she can -" he was interrupted. The noise indicated the radio had been snatched from him. Yumie sounded strained.
"Don't be ridiculous, I'm fine."
"Bullshit, you don't sound fine," Heinkel said harsher than planned. First Vicky disappeared and now her best friend was injured. Great night.
"'Tis but a scratch," Yumie joked. Heinkel couldn't fight a smile. It was quickly wiped off when somebody in the background muttered "Yeah, almost seeing one's guts is just a scratch". Was it that bad? She tried not to let her worry show. Yumie would kick her ass if she behaved like a cat over her kitten.
"Don't you start with that too." Enrico had begun using what seemed to be Shakespearean expressions since he met the director of Hellsing. What was up with her, anyway? Enrico was not the right type to fancy a woman that badly. He never had any woman, not romantically, as far as she knew and they'd been friends since their childhood. For a while through a few hundred miles, of course, but nevertheless, Heinkel thought she knew him pretty well. And it worried her how he had behaved in France. At least Lisa was with him to step in if things got really bad. If he got really bad.
Yumie laughed and that didn't sound good. Her voice seemed rusty. She had to be in a lot of pain to be off the rails that much. "Sorry. That damn monster got me for a second. You didn't exaggerate her powers. Be careful."
"I will. And you do nothing stupid. Rest a bit, we'll handle this. I'll fetch you once that bitch is nothing but a pile of ash."
"When do we do something stupid?", Yumie joked. "Aside from what the chief says." The others laughed and Heinkel laughed with them. So Yumie thought the same thing about their old friend.
"Bye." The connection was cut and Heinkel felt like she had been eavesdropped on during a private call. The others were back. All except for three. Including Vicky.
Angelo turned to her. "Connor and Abe didn't make it. Nobody saw Victoria."
Heinkel clenched her fists. Her hands hurt by now from pulling the trigger. Even she was not used to such long fights. "I'll go look for her. I might have an idea where she is. Give me ten minutes."
"We'll wait here and contact you after that," Angelo confirmed. Heinkel nodded and ran out. She could be grateful for their understanding. After all, she hadn't made sure Vicky stayed home, or had not trained her to obey orders enough. Whatever happened, it was her fault.
From the main corridors in the gondola, there was a door at the far end that brought her into the zeppelin itself. The gas chambers were full and silver over her head. She found a ladder that brought her to a walkway right through the horizontal axis of the zeppelin. There was a maze of gangplanks on different levels and sublevels, where ammunition and other cargo was stuffed. They certainly didn't dream small building this thing. Here and there were piles of ash where the paladins had destroyed Millennium's monsters.
Heinkel had to walk almost all the way to the back until she found what she was looking for. There was another ladder climbing all the way up to the top of the zeppelin, where the hull was broken by a trapdoor. And the lock had been recently opened.
She began her journey upwards, checking on the different levels for enemies the others might have missed. She could expect either a pissed-off or devastated Vicky either with or without dead vampires around. Heinkel was lucky she had just set her feet on the semi-solid ground of an intermediate level when she collapsed.
Munich airport, June 19th, 2008
"I've got something for you. Actually, it was intended for your birthday, but I want to give it to you now." He gave her a small packet wrapped in colorful paper. "Come on, open it. I want to see your reaction."
"It's unlucky to wish a happy birthday beforehand."
"Only in Germany," Chris said with a laugh. Heinkel complied and opened the wrapper. The box was the size of a photograph. That was also what was in it, a photo of him and her. That had been on the Rise Against concert last year, she realized. Her blond hair was in a ponytail, with only a few strands falling in her eyes, but not enough to hide the scars. But in those moments it hadn't mattered. Chris' dark hair was even more messy than usual and his blue eyes were sparkling. They were smiling like there was nothing bad in the world able to touch them. Heinkel took out the photo and a silver cross blinked at her. Not the small kind, either. She lifted it out of its box carefully. It was simple, but quality work. On the back were three words and three letters.
God is love. H & C
She could only stare at it for a moment. "Oh God, are you crazy, that must have been super expensive!" She hugged him.
"So what? It's for you, after all. Want to put it on?"
"Sure." She turned around and held her hair up so he could fasten it around her neck. She touched it, feeling the small weight against her chest and knew she probably wouldn't take it off anymore for quite a while.
"Thank you." She laid her arms around his neck and he put his hands on her waist. "I love you."
She hated the sting in these words. It was true. But that didn't keep her from considering leaving Germany behind to become an Iscariot. Yumie would, and Enrico too, even Lisa. It felt like she had a duty to God. But it would also mean leaving behind her best friend, and the man she loved. They had fought over this too often. In the end, Chris left the decision to her, and that made her love him even more, and the decision all the more difficult.
"Flight IT-7105 for Rome is leaving in twenty minutes. Please check in your luggage."
Heinkel put the box and the photo carefully in her bag. She took his warm hands and closed her eyes leaning her forehead against his. Did she really want to give this up? Yes, she loved fighting, and she wanted to help defeat evil, like the evil that had killed her parents, or heretics like Klaus Wagner, but couldn't she do this with Chris at her side?
"I have to go," he said softly. She opened her eyes and looked into his. They kissed. "Maybe I'll even run into your Father Anderson. Would surely be an interesting conversation."
She laughed and let go, although she didn't want to. He should stay here. With her. "Yeah, you do that, globetrotter." She watched him go through security and check in his bag. Suddenly, she found herself running to the cordon. It was so easy, she wondered why she had been brooding over it for so long. She knew exactly what she had to do.
"Chris!" He stopped and turned around. "I've made my decision."
He smiled at her, not betraying if he was happy or feared it. Probably both.
"Then I can't wait to call you."
Munich-Neuhausen, June 20th, 2008
"The reasons for the crash are not known yet. The pilot is in the ICU and not available for a statement. The co-pilot seems to be in a shock and has been brought into psychic care. The blackbox shows a sudden drop, maybe due to winds or a technical failure. We only know Flight IT-7105 crashed near the Italian-Austrian border. Rescue teams were there half an hour later. So far, there are three dead, including an 18-year old German student. The number of the injured is not known yet. Official press-"
Heinkel shut off the TV and the room went silent. She touched the cross, looking at the glistening already so familiar. She saw her own face, the long blond hair, green eyes and the bright scars. They seemed to glow. The only thing making them disappear had gone on to another world. The cold metal hurt on her warm skin.
"Are you alright?", Alessia asked. Heinkel didn't wince, but her eyes focused again. She nodded, not saying a word and stood up to return to her room, leaving her younger sister to puzzle what had happened. She grabbed her hunting knife – she never had been hunting, but that was what it was – and locked the bathroom door behind her.
Twenty minutes later, her mother got a little shock when she saw her daughter coming down the stairs. It was not even how pale she was or the fact that she had cut off her beautiful hair. Her eyes looked just like they had after the incident in the jewelry shop. Dead. And furious.
"Heinkel, what the-" The girl ignored her. She went to the phone standing in the living room and dialed. It didn't take long for someone to pick up. She switched to English.
"Hello Father Anderson. Yes, I've made my decision. When can I come over?"
Graf Zeppelin III, September 22nd, 2016, 2 am
Heinkel blinked up at blood-splattered black boots. Why was she lying on the ground? Her face was tear-streaked. She only remembered... Oh, God, she remembered.
"Lovely story." Heinkel wanted to jump up, but a wooden rod pinned her down. The hilt of the witch's scythe. The vampire grinned down at her. "Really, that was one of the best I ever saw. Movie-like. That would be your precious cross, then?" She grabbed the silver cross and jerked it off. The chain broke with a sharp pain as it dug into Heinkel's skin.
She groped for her weapons, but Zorin laid the tip of the scythe against her throat. She examined the pendant. That cross should burn the bitch to cinders, but she was only touching it with the glove on her left hand. She had lost two fingers already, but that didn't stop her from holding it up and examining it. "H & C. How romantic. Tell me, what was your decision? Before he unfortunately became wormfood, I mean."
"Give that back, you bitch!", Heinkel spat.
"Make me, o mighty paladin," Zorin said, bending down to meet her furious eyes. "Look at you, lying on your back like a bug, crying like a little girl over some idiot from years ago. You would be dead already if I wanted to. But as it is, I left you a little present. I'll go back to London now. If you want, come and find me, so I can finish you off. Ciao~"
And with that, she jumped off the platform and vanished, Heinkel's cross in hand. The paladin gritted her teeth. It took all of her willpower not to scream after her. Instead, she made contact with Angelo. The older paladin sounded relieved.
"We were already worried after you didn't respond."
Heinkel checked her watch. She had been out for almost twenty minutes. "I'm good. The leader was here. She got away and is on her way to London. I'll join you after I've checked on something. Oh and... if you happen to find a silver cross, that's mine. I dropped it in the fight." She didn't want to know how blatant that lie was.
"No problem. How long do you need?"
"A few minutes, tops. I'll be right back." She shut off the radio. There was nothing else around, so there was only one possibility where the vampire could have left the "present". Heinkel climbed up the rest of the ladder and pushed open the trapdoor. Up here, the wind was surprisingly strong. She could see London burning. The crusaders had arrived, every helicopter a tiny star. The zeppelin seemed to stretch into eternity before it ended in the tail fin. Heinkel froze. The ground seemed to dissolve under her feet and she fell into eternal darkness.
"God," she whispered. "Oh God, no."
Yeah, cliffhanger again. I'm not sorry xD I had problems planning out this chapter, but in the end, it turned out kinda awesome, I think. The power of positive thinking! Or fanaticism. I'm doing barely anything else than writing right now. ...Good for you, right?
When I read over parts of the story again, I realized our favorite katana-wielding berserker had next to no screen time so far. I had to change that! She's such an interesting character. For her past I went with the theory that she's got a split personality because seh ws abused as a child by some cult. Please don't ask how I got the idea of "Daughters of the Spider". Musume means daughter, okaa-sama means mother.
So more and more backstory. What do you think? Did I nail it?