Your name was Alucard, and you were having the absolute time of your life. Or unlife, as it were. Still, you think you may have had an inkling of actual excitement when the engines behind you had started up, sending a rumble through the plane as the speed started to build on the runway. Luckily, you've consumed more than a few pilots in your time, and you had someone tell you what the important buttons do. Besides, it's not like you needed to know how to land this contraption. You chuckle at the thought. Honestly, destroying priceless and complex instruments by using them as a basic bludgeoning tool was getting therapeutic. Like hitting someone in the face with a Ferrari.
You shake yourself out of thoughts about your fun new habit, and focus on where you're going. That Japanese woman had raised valid and important points about the wisdom of your current strategy, and as a former military leader, you could respect that. But, you thought as your fingers tightened on the steering wheel thing that this jet has, you really really didn't care. Just the concept of seeing your old enemies again, back to challenge you after fifty fucking years, sent a thrill of excitement through you that you just could not suppress. So you laughed, long and loud.
Then the ship came into view, and you could already see its weapons turning to fire on you. But you just grinned in wild abandon, and prepared to follow through with the plan. Forty years spent locked in a coffin, starved of blood and comatose, and then an entire decade hunting second rate vampires. Too long, even for an immortal.
As you pushed the wheel, sending it into a straight nosedive. As the anti-air weaponry tore through the craft, you just kept grinning, because this was what you had been waiting too long for. A fight. A fight that would tear you apart, and keep grinding you into the dirt even as you clawed away at your enemy's throat. In a matter of moments, you would crash into the deck and enter into a battle like no battle before. You are going to die, again and again and again and again and again andagainandagainandagain. And you were going to love every second of it.
You smash into the deck, and the world explodes.
Okimoto Ieyoshi rubs at his perspiring face, as he runs down the hallway of his base. After the call from Kochika, a call had been sent out to gather all the vulnerable targets to protect them in one place. It may have been a futile gesture, with the power that Schrödinger had displayed so far, but it would be inexcusable to not try to protect them. He would fight and kill the monster a hundred times, before he let it lay a single hand on those he was sworn to protect.
"Guten tag!" Ieyoshi cried out in pain as he felt a blade stab into his leg just above his knee, wrenching his leg out of the way before it could penetrate deeply. It still sent him tumbling to the tile floor, but he turned as he fell and swung his knife out of a side sheathe to cut through the jugular of the smiling cat boy. "You die first, knife man." There's a displacement of air as Schrödinger appears above him, but Ieyoshi slides bodily out of the way while stabbing into one of the major arteries into the impossible child's leg. He disappears once more, and Ieyoshi scans the area wildly as he shifts to get into a position where his back is against the wall, and he can see all avenues of attack.
"Come on, Nazi scum. I will kill you until the day I cannot lift my weapon before I shame the honor of my country, or fail those whom I protect. And then I would kill you with my bare hands. So come and face the indomitable will of Japan." He waits warily for several seconds, before he starts to think that Schrödinger may have left for easier targets. Then the cat boy appears upside down, falling right in front of him. The surprise is enough is that Ieyoshi doesn't even notice the engraved knife until it's piercing his military fatigues and sinking deep into his lung. The shock of the blow and the collision with Schrödinger sends him tumbling to the floor, where he leans against the wall and wheezes out a breath. The nazi child's head connects with the floor with a sickening crack, and his body flops down dead. With another soundless teleport, the Nazi stands before Ieyoshi and giggles.
"Ah, silly knife man! Fighting me iz impossible! I am everyvhere and novhere. Zhat was a very nice speech though. It'z too bad your "indomitable will" only extends so far. It seems to me zhat it can be stopped vith a knife to the lungs." With a cry of rage, Ieyoshi rushes off the wall and stabs Schrödinger in the heart. In response, the nazi child vanished again and stabbed deep into Ieyoshi's knee, crippling him. As the military officer fell to the ground again, the fall sent him into a series of hacking, bloody coughs. Despite his injuries, he simply leveled a glare at the child through his pain.
"It may not be me. It might be *hack* someone else. But someday you're going to be killed… and you'll… stay dead." Then his struggle to breathe overcame his needs to threaten his enemy, and he focused on that. Above him, the cat thing giggled again.
"Vell, i'll be sure to think of you vhen it happens. Until then, i'm sure you can occupy yourself with struggling to breathe. Die wheezing, you Imperial shit. I have a baby to kill and a family to devastate. All in a day's work, you understand." And with that, the nazi teleported away, back into existing somewhere else. And all Okimoto could do was thumb at his radio to let the rest of the personnel of the incoming threat. Sometimes, he reflected as he spat out a mouthful of blood, he really hates his job.
You decide, as you stride onto the burning deck with your Jackal in hand, that you really do love your job. Carte Blanche to commit terrible acts of violence, and the occasional battle that's actually worth anything? Well, the burning wreck of a plane impaled into the ship behind you attested to how much fun you were having. Still, there was no one to greet you now that you were here, and it kind of pissed you off. If they really did drop you onto an actual abandoned ship, then by god you were going to make sure each and every Nazi died slowly and painfully.
"Well, is anyone going to greet me? I know that you all didn't go to all this trouble just to draw me out for an empty ship. Why, that would just be rude, don't you think." Quietly, one of the doors to the inside of the ship creaked open, barely heard over the crackling flames consuming the ship. And from the portal walks a giant. Bald, you estimate that he must be at least three feet taller than you and practically bursting with muscle, but that's not what draws your attention. He seems to be wearing some kind of large loincloth, which fell to his knees at least, and seemed to be made completely out of eagle feathers. That and the spear connected to a short club he was holding pointed to a rather tribal background. The more insidious demonstrations was the extensive network of scars etched into his bronze skin, like someone had marred half the surface of a statue with scar tissue, and the fact that his mouth and hands were absolutely covered in blood. A flash of bared teeth reveal that his teeth are as well, and rivulets of blood flowed from his mouth down his chest.
"Are you the challenger that the white men set for me? i was promised a challenge, but you appear to me as if I could snap you like a twig. But, if you are all the world has to offer me, it will have to do. I insist that at least you change to your most powerful form. I observed your fight with Tubalcain, so don't disrespect me by attacking with anything less than your best." The light of the fire shined over the scarred bald head of the giant, and you could clearly see that his eyes were completely blood red, and without pupils. But unlike the vampiric red of a vampire, his seemed to actively glow with that vibrant red light. Everything about this creature screamed violence, and you smiled eagerly as you weighed your options. You could go straight to unlocking level one now, but that might make this fight a bit too short for you to enjoy.
"No introductions? I'm familiar with the Nazis, but you look to be more of an outside consultant. And because of that, i'll forgive you your foolishness. Since you've never faced me before, personally, it's clear that you don't understand your request. This fight will be far too short if I transcend to that level." The giant takes a thundering step forward, and the deck crumples under his foot. Then there's a blur, and he shatters your torso with a backhanded blow. You're sent flying into the bridge structure of the ship, where your ribs snap back into place as you grin. You shove yourself out of the indent you had made into the hull, and look at the hulking tribal.
"I am Huitzilopochtli, the god of the Aztec people. I am violence incarnate, the idol of sacrifice. I have feasted upon the hearts of every soul upon this ship, and drank their blood in an endless river of gore. Where once I was weak, sacrifice in massive quantities has made me divine again, for I have cleansed myself in a bottomless ocean of slaughtered life. Where I once may have fallen like Tubalcain, I now stand leagues above you. Bow, mortal undead, for you stand in the presence of a god." You don't bother to answer, simply pulling back the slide of your gun in preparation for the monster to attack once more. Then you think on it for another moment, and decide to grant his request.
"Releasing Cromwell Restriction Level One." With a burst of smoke, you manifested your black straitjacket and long hair, and you could feel your power skyrocket. You grinned a wild grin at the false god. With power like this, he was as easy to kill as any Nazi could be. But you would take great pleasure in teaching him of his arrogance. "Well, false god? Are you prepared to die here?" The creature stared silently at you before throwing away his club and the spear attached to it.
"I was incorrect. You are not worthy of being struck by my atlatl. The Macuahuitl will be enough to destroy you." With that, the giant reaches behind his back to withdraw what looked like a large paddle with obsidian sticking from the sides. It was easily as long as his leg, which was not short by any measure. And then he is upon you.
The God Of Bloodshed: 100 vs. The True Vampire: 1
He moves impossibly fast, but you put up your arms to block his blows. To your surprise, the strange club smashed through your arms like they were paper mâché and swept through to tear off your head too. You reform immediately, but then he tears through you again. So, you grit your teeth and go onto the offensive. But he just tears apart your limbs and teeth each and every time. It feels like forever before he's torn you apart enough that your regeneration slows. Staring at the formless mass of shadowy darkness you had become, the giant pulls a shotgun out of nowhere, before cocking it and aiming with one hand to blow apart a hand pulling itself back together. With the other hand, he grabs the shapeless mess you had become and starts dragging you in a bloody streak to the edge of the deck. He pumps the shotgun and fires another round into you.
"The Mossberg 500 shotgun. I considered the Benelli for a time, but I ultimately decided I preferred this one. It has a good feel to it." Throwing the gun away, he heaves you up and hangs you over the water. You attempt desperately to reform, but the monster simply kneads you in his hands like he was making pastries, your bones cracking under his fingers like they were made of dough. "I could drop you into this ocean, you know. It would end this fight, vampire, with you stuck rotting at the bottom of the ocean. That's what I did to those who betrayed the crew of this ship. They smuggled me onto the ship, and as a reward I threw them down to the ocean, to die forever. For such is the fate of traitors, that I refuse to even eat their hearts in my time of Ascension. You have been a disappointing opponent in every sense of the word. Give me a single reason to postpone your demise." He waits for you to reform your head and vocal cords so you can respond.
"Well, I have nothing to prove to you. But I will say that I underestimated you. I thought that you were a common grade monster, and I was wrong. Let me reform fully, and I'll give you a real fight. And that, my arrogant madman, is a promise." You grin at him, because this was really more than you had ever expected. You were aware that there were other monsters in this world, but to think that they could be this strong. You were sitting here, or hanging as it were, in serious danger of your unlife. You could get out of this still, of course. Summon Baskerville and fight back, but you were actually rather curious as to what the monster across from you was looking for. Was he as desperate as you, raring for a fight he's never had the chance to fight? Or was he simply going to give up and throw you into the sea. Wordlessly, the giant reached up and crushed your head in his palm, before throwing your bodies into one of the many fires onboard. You move out of the way to land securely, and take the few seconds of reprieve to completely return to your former form.
An Idol of Sacrifice: 44 vs. The Vampire Count: 99
"Well now, thank you for the reprieve. I'll make it worth both of our whiles, i'm sure." With that, you immediately begin firing your Jackal at him. Caught off guard, a bullet catches him in the shoulder, and breaks through his skin to erupt in blood. Barely breaking stride, the creature digs his fingers in to yank the bullet out of his muscles, while you dash in to unload a full clip into his rib cage. He stumbles a bit as the bullets tear through his body, but he straightens up and swings his paddle club again. Now that you're cognizant of just how much power he picks into his swings, you take great pains to avoid the weapon of murder as much as you can. As soon as he manages to slow you down, you know that he'll capitalize to utterly destroy you again.
"Ah. Now this is a more worthy battle. No longer weighed down by hubris, perhaps you may bloody even a god, corpse. Give me your worst." You blink as he stumbles and spits out blood against the deck. Was this all the endurance he had? A few bullets and that was the end? But to your surprise, he just pushed his hand down his throat and pulled out a heart riddled with bullet holes, which he threw over his shoulder. As soon as it left him, every wound on his body healed immediately, and he was back to peak condition. You chuckle at the challenge this represents. He had said that he had eaten the heart of everyone on board. How many times would the two of you kill each other before it stuck. You couldn't wait to find out.
"Do you stay silent, coffin dweller? Come and face your doom. The God of sacrifice desires your heart, and I shall have it before the sunrise." He punctuates his challenge by drawing a minigun, the barrels beginning to spin as he aims it at you. You simply reload your pistols and smile. This was going to be more fun than you've had in ages.
---MEANWHILE IN JAPAN---
Your name was Renko Noritoshi, and you had some significant problems. Your wife was still cold to you, after the royal clusterfuck that was that one family dinner just a couple of years ago. Your youngest daughter hated you, and was probably not going to invite you to her wedding. Your son was wary of you, in a way he hadn't been before that mess. And that wasn't even touching the utter wreck that was your relationship with your oldest. At the very least, your granddaughter loves you. You wouldn't make the same mistakes with her that you had made with your own children.
What was tragic, you thought, was that you could hardly describe how proud you were of Kochika. You were aware of the fact that she was disadvantaged in the japanese workforce as a woman, and yet she had clawed her way to the top of the religious hierarchy and become one of the most important priests in the nation, and so young too. She was everything you had dreamed of her accomplishing when she was a child. You were not an idiot. And while you appreciate the value of tradition, you liked to think it didn't blind you. So you made sure to research everything you could on homosexuality and transgenderism, and all you could really think of now was how badly you had mishandled it.
There were a thousand excuses you could give for how you acted. That you found out from that jackass coworker, that your daughter hadn't told you, the fact that your own father would spit on the ground at the mention of a gay person. But you would prepare a thousand times over for any sensitive business dealings in your company, and the fact that you had eschewed the same balanced caution in exchange for reckless anger was inexcusable.
And then she gave you a chance to be there for the birth of your first grandchild. You thank the kami every day that your children learned kindness and forgiveness from their mother, because you feel like you would be drinking the pain away far more often than you do otherwise. This was all that you had time to reflect on, how proud you were of your children, and your own regrets on how you had failed them at the final, crucial moment, before reality rushes in, and you're left facing an insane Nazi youth with cat ears and a knife in hand.
"Ah, you are Fraulein Renko's father, ja? My name iz Warrant Officer Schrödinger, and I am here to kill the baby in your arms. Though I suppose I could kill you as vell. And your vife. And the rest of ze Renko family. Honestly, I'm likely just going to kill all of you." Your heart hammered in your throat as you looked around the room for an escape route. You could likely hand Aimi to Maiko and have them escape while you held off the feline lunatic in front of you. With a physique like that, your aged body might be able to take him down to boot. But unfortunately, the only way out of the hotel-like room was right behind the crazed child, and you saw no other than recourse except plan B.
"Yes, well. As the grandfather of the infant in question, i'll have to tell you that you can go fuck yourself before I let you lay a single hand on her." The Nazi lets out a giggle and looks like he's about to say something, but you don't give him the chance. Instead, you shove Aimi into Maiko's surprised arms, and then you rush the blond creep with your shoulder. Ramming it into his sternum, you slam him into the wall with all the force you can muster. You think you may have heard a crack, but it definitely knocks all the wind out of the cat boy. With that accomplished, you yank open the door and turn to have Maiko run through it. But you immediately stop at the sight of Maiko with that little Nazi fuck's knife held against her throat.
"Ah ah ah, not so fast. You can't escape from me after all. I am everyvhere and novhere. So I have already won. Now…" And as he says that, the knife drifts to be aimed at the sleeping toddler in Maiko's arms. Frankly, it was a miracle that she was still asleep after the ruckus you had made, but you found yourself paralyzed. You knew monsters existed, but some sadistic little shit like this? Kami, you felt sick. "...I am here to deliver a very specific message. Maybe I should leave you two alive after all. Maybe she would blame you for this. That would be a very addition to this little bout of tragedy, hmmm? Well, i'll decide that after." And with that, the knife was raised and plunged downwards. Maiko shrieked and threw herself over Aimi, but you could see that it was still aimed to kill, this time your wife. You rushed forward, but you knew that you wouldn't make it. All you could do was pray harder than you had ever thought possible. Anything, you would give anything, just so long as the kami saved your family.
Does the Higher Power take Notice?: 97
Do they Act?: 84+15(???)=99
"Stop." Everything in the room seemed to freeze, as a voice sounded through the room. It was commanding, as if there was no possible way for you to deny it. Despite that affect, the voice spoke at a normal volume, and seemed rather melodic. Suddenly able to move, you almost gave yourself whiplash at the speed at which you turned to look at the source. Standing there was a blonde woman with her hair up, wearing a severe black suit with gloves. Her eyes were a startlingly bright shade of blue, and everything about her seemed to glow slightly. The closest thing you could describe her to was the sun coming down in person. "I have been in your presence mere moments and I already tire of you. No words, just disappear." With that, the woman crosses the room in a flash of light and seizes him by the neck. As the flesh underneath her hand begins to sizzle, the nazi child screams.
"Aaaaaah! Let me go you japanese bitch! Aaaaah!" As you watch, the burned skin under her hand starts to spread, covering his neck and upper chest with similar burns. Slowly, they creep up his neck and towards his jawline as well. There's a yowl that seems to transcend what you can comprehend, and then he seems to… glitch, for the lack of a better word. Like he was suddenly three people at once doing different things out of sync. Then he disappears again, you whirl around wildly for him to show up hideously uninjured, but nothing happens. You let out a breath quietly.
"What… what was that?" You whisper to yourself. It took a matter of moments, but no matter how many times you replay it in your head, you can't make sense of it. Behind you, the golden woman clears her throat.
"I was erasing him, but then he cut off the part of him that I had grabbed hold of. He is incomplete now, and he'll never be whole again. It's a shock that he was able to comprehend himself enough to escape in such a condition." Leaving the explanation at that, she turned to look at Aimi, who was still sleeping in peace in Maiko's shaking arms. Nodding in satisfaction, she turned to nail you down with her eyes. "If he ever enters Japan again, I am aware of him now, and I will kill him. No one attempts to hurt what I own. That is all. Goodbye." And just as she promised, she vanished in a flash of light.
"Oh my… oh kami, Noritoshi." Turning around, you immediately run to comfort your traumatized wife and sleeping granddaughter, while a rampant question runs through your mind. Later, when Tanyu and Kinuko show up and help calm down your wife, you're still wondering.
What the fuck just happened?
---MEANWHILE IN ENGLAND---
By now, Alucard should be at the boat, and night was approaching. Worried about the possibility of the attack coming soon, the strategy committee was meeting for further discussion. Integra also plans to talk about how the discussion with the fey went as well. The Russian operative was also going to show up for the meeting, so you could finally meet her and get a sense of her capabilities. Integra is bringing Walter and leaving the Captain and Seras at the Manor. Who of your entourage do you bring to the talks?
[] Tomi
[] Yanagawa
[] Akuma
[] Miyako
[] Kagutsuchi
Who do you leave behind to defend the manor?
[] Tomi
[] Yanagawa
[] Akuma
[] Miyako
[] Kagutsuchi
AN: Remember, you're going to talks, not to war. Don't elect to bring all of your swordsmen to the talking meeting, think IC.
Anyway, I'm going to be real upfront with you guys. This is where the real butterflies kick in. The zeppelins and bombers are still going to happen. The crusade is happening. But everything else will be different, whether by a lot or by a little. This is where I stop referring to the OVA in what to write and how to write it. Keep that in mind.
Also, relatively quick updates! Who knew?
