Chapter 5 - Assault
Under a tranquil, starry sky, an armored personnel carrier stopped right outside a temporary command post, a ring of tents set up right beside the forest of note.
As Pip Bernadotte and the two shipgirls stepped off the back of the APC, a group of men emerged from the tents. Pip met them first - with a glowing crimson string attaching his back to Seras - and saluted them.
The soldiers saluted back, and the lead man gave his report. "Good evening, sir. As per your orders, we have set up a perimeter around the fortress with landmines, as well as some scanning spots. If the vampire gets out of this place, you are going to hear him, and that's a guarantee."
"Oh, Sergeant? I hope the vampire doesn't do that - it would make the hunt much less exciting." The Frenchman smirked, and the soldiers shared a chuckle. "Nevertheless, good job. If you don't mind, the two ladies behind me need to come off here now, so don't make a fuss."
"Of course, sir. Happy hunting." Pip turned around and faced the two shipgirls."
"As per the plan, you are going to wait here until our signal. So, I suggest both of you talk with some of the men here - most likely you will be working with some of them in future."
Warspite replied with a "Understood." while Illustrious simply nodded. Pip got back into the APC, and it drove off, to the other location.
The Sergeant greeted them with another salute. "I believe you both are Warspite and Illustrious, are you not?"
"I'm Warspite, and she's Illustrious." Warspite pointed to herself and Illustrious.
"A pleasure to meet you both - its not everyday you get to see the Valkyries of our nations in the flesh." Warspite blushed slightly at the faint praise from the soldier, who was wearing a smile on his shaven face. "My name's Sergeant Thomas, formerly SBS. As what the commander said, I shall be directing all the sensory data we gather around the forest - although we have nothing about the interior itself, though, but I believe that's your problem."
They entered the small camp. "Other than that, we don't really have much to do - so do you want to sit down and have a talk with some of us soldiers, before your operation starts?"
Warspite shook her head. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to refuse. I will need to prepare myself for land combat."
"Oh well, how about you, Illustrious?" The armoured carrier simply shook here head. "Well, bloody hell, I guess we will just have to find something else to do."
"I don't think so - I believe you are going to get a performance already." Warspite readjusted her plume of dark red hair, and stretched her hands out. "I do suggest you step back."
The soldiers surrounding them stepped back, and around the two shipgirls, a soft white glow surrounded them as they summoned their rigging from a different dimension. Warspite's 4 turrets of miniaturized 15-inch cannons rotated dramatically as they appeared, and her gunners readied their weapons.
As for Illustrious, she retrieved her weapon - an English Longbow - and took out an arrow from a quiver attached to her side. Cocking the arrow and drawing the bow back with grace, she pointed the ancient weapon into the sky, and released. The arrow shot out, before glowing and seperating into a squadron of fighters - 5 miniature Seafires with their characteristic round wings, rising and banking around the two shipgirls.
At the impromptu performance, the soldiers began to 'ooh' and 'aah', with the Sergeant and more hardened ones simply giving a round of polite applause.
"Hello, hello, are you two ready?" From the two shipgirls' radios came the accented voice of their commander.
"Yes." "Aye." Both shipgirls replied in unison.
"Alright. Well, let's begin."
Warspite and Illustrious walked up to the forest's edge, the former resisting the urge to 'slide' along the ground like she would do on the ocean. The battleship also took the time to observe the forest itself - tree trunks were planted at regular intervals away from each other, with little foliage to block their vision.
As she observed the forest, the buzz of Illustrious' fighters reached her ears as they flew above her head.
The two shipgirls looked at each other, and they nodded. Getting the unspoken signal, Warspite charged into the forest.
Seras jumped onto another tree for what seemed to be the umpteen time. As her right arm unraveled into mutiple tendrils to grab the tree's trunk, she found herself wondering how long it would take to flush out the monster.
A uneasy feeling in her that had been growing for the past hour increased yet more. I have not been able to sense any 'vampiric' presences around me, at all even after entering this forest. This can't be - either the fugitive is not a vampire, or he can conceal himself very, very well.
She stopped at her perch instead of advancing further, and spoke into her mic. "Have you found anything yet, Warspite?"
"Nothing. How far can such a troublesome creature hide?" Sounds of discontent came across the airwaves.
"How about you, Illustrious? See anything yet?"
"My planes have spotted nothing of note so far."
"Damn." Seras dropped from the tree, landing on the ground with practised grace and superhuman ability. "Mr. Bernadotte, do you have any clue yourself?"
The Frenchman emerged from her arm, holding a tablet in his hand. "Well, in fact, between Little Ms. Racist and you, we have almost covered the entire forest. The target could be continously avoiding us, or have some strange power we haven't encountered in the past, being able to keep dodging us like that."
"Concealment? Teleportation?" Seras threw out suggestions.
"Anything's possible. Remember our old friend the Nazi cat-boy, who had some sort of quantum immortality power? Or the fucker that killed the Wild Geese with her fucking illusions? I'm willing to bet that this sucker we are chasing has something similar."
"Urgh." Seras recalled the one who had been responsible for her Master's disappearance with distaste.
"Yes. Pip walked ahead as he thought. "So, how shall we flush him out - WHOA!"
Suddenly, Pip Bernadotte disappeared downwards with a yell.
"Mr. Bernadotte! Are you alrigh-" Seras ran over, only to see a patch of grass where her friend was.
"Huh." Drawing out her power, her eyes flashed red. Almost instantaneously the fake grass disappeared, revealing a groaning Pip who was muttering a series of curses in French. "Ow...thought that being a thrall would at least remove the pain..."
Seras jumped down, but not before telling Warspite to head to her location. Landing beside her commanding officer, she pulled him back into her body, before looking around.
A room was attached to the hole, filled with the light moonlight from above. Entering it, the vampiress surveyed it with her vampire-enhanced vision, and -
-found some children sliently lying on the floor, their tiny bodies barely covered with fabric.
"Mon dieu." whispered Pip, as Seras checked on their lifeforce.
"They're still alive - so this must be the vampire's den -" Seras began, but was cut off as a sight appeared right in front of her.
A tiny humanoid figure, naked with dragonfly wings on its back, and a pair of alien, bug-like eyes, with its skin painted a crystal blue.
As she stared, the 'face' of the humanoid suddenly opened up sideways, a pair of jaws inverted at a right angle, and it started screaming with an unholy shriek.
Seras staggered away, reeling, while the shrieking increased in volume as hundreds of similar beings appeared from other places.
Before the vampiress recovered, the hundreds of tiny beings rushed her, a chorus of terrible voices filling the night air.