Author: Arkham500

PREVIOUSLY, ON DEATH BATTLE….

Seras Victoria, a vampire agent from the Hellsing Organization, was suddenly warped to a strange world ruined by an ongoing World War.

She was instructed by Being X to head to the war-torn city of Amiens, where she was to assassinate a child soldier named Tanya Degurechaff.

Only after Tanya’s death would Seras be allowed to return home.

Despite her fiercest efforts, Seras failed to defeat Tanya, and only survived thanks to her vampire healing factor.

The Hellsing soldier was later found by Jean and Amelie Rousseau, two members of a secret Partisan group seeking to liberate Amiens.

However, Seras’ moment of rest was cut short when thunderous artillery strike rained down on the city.

The artillery was sent by the 44th Republic Infantry, led by the bold Captain Pierre DuPont.

For months, the Francois Army suffered a number of humiliating defeats against their enemy, the Empire.

Outnumbered and outgunned, they’ve launched a desperate surprise attack to retake their beloved city.

Tanya and her feared 203rd Air Mage Battalion race to the frontlines to hold off the invaders.

With nowhere to run, Seras is forced to fight for her life in a war she never asked to be in.

With all these key players in place, what will the following battle unfold for all of them?

THE SECOND BATTLE FOR AMIENS HAS BEGUN

OPENING MOVIE:

CHAPTER 1: FRONTLINE

DuPont

1815 Hours (6:15PM)
Ameins, Francois Republic
Market Square

<Translated from German>
(Translated from French)

The 44th Republic Infantry cleared the first line of defense. Captain DuPont and two other men looked up at the sky, noticing small black figures hovering above.

(“Do you see that? What is it?”) Said one soldier.

(“Is it one of our Air Mage squadrons?”) Said another.

Captain DuPont looked harder. His eyes widened when he realized who was flying above.

(“IT’S THE 203rd BATTALION!!! GET TO COVER, NOW!!!”) DuPont and his men hit the dirt!

<“Line up your shots!”> Tanya commanded. <“Ready!……..Aim!………Fire!”>

The Air Mages fired a thunderous barrage of artillery rounds at the ground. Several Francois troops were killed instantly, either by impact of the explosions or the resulting fall.

One stray artillery round sent DuPont flying thirty feet forward. His body hit the muddy street, and his face splashed into a puddle. He blacked out for a few minutes, struggling to open his eyes. His ears were filled with the music of gunshots, mortars, tank cannons, airplanes, screaming soldiers, and explosions. DuPont breathed painfully as he struggled back to his hands and knees. He coughed hoarsely to expel the dirty water that he accidentally swallowed. The Captain was lucky; aside from some minor bruises, he was okay.

Captain DuPont took a good look at his surroundings. It was hell on earth all around! Blue-coated Republic soldiers fought savagely against the green-coated Imperials. Most of the soldiers carried bolt-action rifles or pistols, while others used submachine guns and heavy LMGs. Other soldiers were blown to pieces by grenades of varying shapes and sizes. They were fighting in the Market Square, at the eastern end of Amiens. Many buildings that used to be stores and warehouses were reduced to crumbled walls and piles of rubble. This was the enemy’s first line of defense. When this sector falls, the Republic would have a clear path to the rest of the city.

BOOM-WIIIP!

DuPont flinched as a bullet buzzed right past his ear! He looked forward and saw not one–but three enemy soldiers shooting at him! The Captain dodged the gunfire and scrambled behind the closest sandbag he found. DuPont aimed his RSC rifle and killed the foe on the right with a shot to the chest. The two remaining Imperials continued firing at DuPont’s flimsy cover.

Though he was pinned down, the Captain kept his cool and waited for the enemies to reload. The soldier in the center ran out first and he hid next to a building to reload. His comrade cycled down to his last bullet, only for his rifle to jam. DuPont saw his opening and shot the enemy soldier in the shoulder, causing him to fall to the ground in pain. His ally reached down to help, only to die instantly when DuPont shot him in the head. As he lay bleeding on the ground, the last enemy ignored his shoulder wound and unholstered a revolver. He shot wildly at DuPont, but missed all six times. The Imperial soldier met his end when DuPont shot him through the heart.

DuPont rose and ran further towards the Market Square, but was cut short when he saw dozens of Imperial troops right in front! The Captain hid behind a broken wall of what used to be a flower shop. To his left were two other Republican soldiers also taking cover. One was armed with an M97 Shotgun, the other a Chauchat LMG. The captain peeked around the wall. His men were fighting through a dozen-or-so Imperials up ahead. Farther down, an enemy machine gun was tearing down any Francois soldiers that came within 20 yards. They were defending the first objective, which was nothing more than a pile of rubble that used to be a warehouse.

He called to the soldiers beside him: (“You two are with me! We need to take out that machine gun, or this assault ends right here!”)

(“How, sir!? There’s only one way forward and not enough cover!”) Replied the shotgunner.

DuPont peeked around the corner and saw a narrow path with a few abandoned vehicles providing decent cover. At the end was an armored truck that could be used as a machine gun position. The Captain asked the support gunner, (“You! Will you give us covering fire if we get you to that truck?”)

(“Yes, captain!”) Cried the machine gunner.

(“Then let’s go!”)

DuPont and the two soldiers rushed down the sidewalk towards the truck. As they charged, the Captain plugged three rounds into one enemy soldier, and rammed his bayonet into the stomach of another. The guy with the shotgun blasted down three Fatherland troops in quick succession at point-blank range. A fourth enemy tried to bash in the shotgunner’s head, only for the latter to block the attack and blast him through a window.

As they reached the end of the path, the support gunner took position and readied his Chauchat. He opened fire at the enemy machine gun, forcing the enemies to take cover and stop shooting.

DuPont and the shotgunner threw smoke grenades at the objective. A cloud of thick gray smoke slowly engulfed the enemy, completely blinding them. DuPont’s men had their opening.

(“Go, they can’t see us!”)

The Captain blew his whistle and rallied his men. They charged in and stormed the objective, killing the occupying enemies while they were still blind. As the Republic soldiers entered, the battle devolved into madness. Soldiers on either side were caught in terror and confusion as they could barely see past three feet.

Bullets flew wildly in random directions like hornets. Corpses were trampled by men or blown apart by explosions. Men tore each other apart with knives, maces, bayonets, and trench shovels. Those without weapons simply used rocks, bricks, or even their bare hands. Some men were even killed by friendly fire in the confusion. Simply put, it was hell on earth, just like in the trenches!

Captain DuPont had it no easier than anyone. In this chaos, his life could end in the blink of an eye. From behind, a screaming Fatherland soldier charged at him with a shovel! DuPont turned and buttstroked the enemy to the ground before bayoneting him in the throat. Another soldier sucker punched DuPont to the ground and kicked away his rifle, before moving to finish him off with a pickaxe. The Captain quickly drew his Mauser and shot three rounds through the foe’s body, killing him.

DuPont got back to his feet and drew his cavalry sword, slicing down any Fatherland soldiers that got near. Meanwhile, the shotgunner grouped with a couple of allies and held their own. When his M97 ran out, he switched to his revolver and kept shooting. The Chauchat gunner stayed outside the smoke, instead shooting at the enemy soldiers surrounding the objective.

The smoke lifted little by little, and the area became more visible. Though they’d taken several casualties, it was clear the Republic were winning. Most of the Fatherland soldiers were dead; the ones that weren’t were beginning to retreat. The final blow was when three Renault FT tanks rolled in, their thundering cannons scaring the enemies into retreat.

All at once, the guns and explosions fell silent. The ground was littered with dead soldiers and dropped weapons. Only a few Republic soldiers were left standing, including DuPont. It all ended in five minutes.

(Stop Music)

They had taken the first objective. The Captain sat against a crumbled wall to catch his breath. His face and uniform were stained with splotches of blood. The shotgunner reloaded his weapons before reaching for a cigarette. The Support gunner dropped his Chauchat when it ran out, and picked up an MG-15 from a dead enemy soldier.

The Captain stared blankly at the ghastly sight before him. When he survived his first battle months ago, DuPont was so horrified by seeing so many men die that he vomited. But he and his friends had seen it so many times they’d become desensitized–a fact DuPont hates more than he cares to admit.

But now wasn’t the time to dwell on that. There were at least three more sectors to capture, and a whole town of enemy troops protecting them. They had a long night’s fight ahead of them.

Suddenly, a fellow soldier rushed towards DuPont’s squad on a borrowed bicycle. When he got close, the trooper ditched the bike and ran up to the Captain, tired and out of breath.

(“You picked a hell of a day to run a marathon.”) DuPont said dryly. (“What’s your name and unit, soldier?”)

The young soldier saluted, (“C-c-corporal Michel, B Squad, sir!”) He panted. (“They sent me here as a runner. Our battalion has secured the old chapel a few blocks west from here. The Bosche* are falling back to the city!”)

DuPont smiled and patted the young man’s shoulder. (“Very good, Corporal. This is exactly the news I needed to hear.”)

DuPont turned to give his men their next orders: (“SOLDIERS!!! The first sector is ours! We now have a foothold into Amiens! But there’s little time to rest! We need to use this momentum to keep the Bosche* on the retreat! Remember, we’ll be fighting through narrow streets and buildings. This battle will be much different than what we’re used to in the trenches, so stay sharp!”)

(“Yes, sir!”) The men replied.

DuPont turned to the Corporal. (“Michel, you stay with us for now.”)

(“But sir, my squad–“)

(“Has more than enough men to keep fighting.”) DuPont finished. (“I need you here in case we need a runner to send messages.”)

Michel sighed and nodded. (“Yes, sir. Of course.”)

In a few minutes, a few dozen troops and tanks who survived the first charge caught up with DuPont’s position. With his reinforcements ready, they quickly abandoned the Market Square and marched further into Amiens.

*(Bosche: French slang for a German soldier. Synonyms: Kraut, Jerry, Fritz, etc.)

CHAPTER 2: DOGFIGHT

TANYA

Meanwhile…..
500ft above Amiens

Far, far above, Tanya and her 203rd Battallion watched as the battle unfolded below them. They were so high above ground, the advancing enemy soldiers and tanks looked like ants to them. The Imperial Air Mages could tell they were already on the losing side of this battle, which made them very uneasy.

Visha spoke to her Major Tanya, who was right beside her: <“Major Degurechaff, it looks like the Francois Army has already breached our first sector. Should we go after them?”>

<“Negative.”> Tanya replied in a cold, almost bored tone. <“We still control at least three more sectors, and our ground troops vastly outnumber theirs. Like I said, the enemy’s invasion is nothing but a futile, desperate–.”>

<“Aw, shit! Tanya! We got a problem!”> Warren Grantz shouted. The 2nd Lieutenant was holding a set of binoculars and facing the set of clouds behind the team. The panic in his voice was palpable.

<“Warren? What’s the matter?”> Visha asked her friend worriedly.

<“I just saw a whole squadron of enemy fighters! Dead ahead about 200 meters away!”> The other Air Mages besides Tanya looked in the direction Warren was facing, their faces contorted into shocked and fearful expressions. Warren looked through his binoculars again.

True to his report, there was indeed a squad of enemy attack planes soaring through the twilight sky.

<“You see the enemy planes? What are we going up against, and how many?”> Tanya demanded.

<“They look like SPAD S.XIII’s! I see about…..ten? Twelve? No, thirteen! I also see a few Republic Air Mages flying alongside!”>

Tanya moved in front of her battalion to get a better look. There was indeed a squadron of attack planes and Air Mages all heading for them. Each aircraft was a classic bi-plane with wooden wings and fuselages driven by a spinning propeller in the front. They each were flown by a single pilot handing both flight controls and the machine gun.

The Air Mages meanwhile, were astride floating horse-like vehicles, each propelled by a magic engine on the bottom. Each soldier wielded an RSC  rifle like the one Captain DuPont used, except they contained explosive magic rounds.

While her subordinates looked on with apprehension, she remained as calm as ever, carefully planning how to deal with this new annoyance. In a way, Tanya was happy about this.

Before now, she had to deal with nearly getting killed by that blonde bitch from last night, followed by the humiliation of getting yelled at by an officer. Now Tanya had something to take out her frustrations on.

With a cocky smirk and a chuckle, Tanya said: <“It looks like the Francois Air Force has shown up fashionably late! I say we show them a very good time! Split up and use the clouds for cover; we’ll wait here and ambush them! When the first plane falls, you go out and shoot down the rest!”>

The members of the 203rd split up in different directions and took position in several large clouds. Tanya did the same, hiding in the bottom of a large cloud with three other soldiers. Together, they waited for the enemy planes to fly in, fatally unaware of the trap waiting for them. Each passing second, they just got closer…and closer…and closer…

Tanya took aim at the lead plane with her Mondragon rifle, its magazine charged with explosive magic rounds. She curled her finger on the trigger, anxious to make the first shot. The child Major smiled like a ravenous panther ready to tear its prey to pieces. This was gonna be fun.

“Here it comes! Three…….Two…….One…….!”

BOOM!!!

Tanya’s bullet sliced through the lead airplane! It exploded into a roaring fireball that swallowed up the pilot flying it! The shocked Republicans jolted and swerved their airplanes and Air Mage gears to avoid getting caught in the flames and debris. All at once, the 203rd Battalion fired their rifles at the hapless enemy.

Magic bolts of cyan-colored rounds ripped through the sky–some on target, others missing. Four more planes were shot down, either exploding instantly or falling to the ground in spinning, flaming wrecks. The Francois Air Mages had some protection thanks to their magic shields, but were in mortal danger.

The eight remaining planes were forced to fall back and split up in teams of two. The horse-riding Air Mages panicked and did the same, retreating in several different directions.

This was so easy that Tanya almost laughed! She and the 203rd quickly broke through the clouds and gave chase to the fleeing enemies. As Air Mages, they were much smaller and more agile than the larger attack planes. And since there were so many of them, they could easily overwhelm the enemy squadron.

But Tanya didn’t concern herself with the airplanes. Taking them out would be far too easy and boring. She wanted her prey to be more…….challenging.

<“Mages! Split up in groups of three and shoot down each of those planes!”> Tanya ordered her Battalion.

“Jawhol, mein Major!” Replied Weiss, who was flying alongside Warren and Visha. <“What about those Republic Air Mages?”>

<“Leave them to me!”> Tanya boosted ahead and dashed in the direction of the five retreating enemies. They turned around and halted, barely having time to notice the tiny flash of light heading towards them. They were totally helpless.

Of course, Tanya could simply shoot them. But why waste the ammo when it was much more fun to slice open their guts up close? She magically charged her bayonet and prepared to swing!

Her first strike sliced clean through an enemy’s head and his Mage Gear! The dead soldier’s ride sparked and fizzed from the damage until it disappeared in a fiery explosion! The four survivors backed off, both out of terror and to avoid the blast.

Tanya halted in midair before preparing to charge again. The enemy Air Mages wildly fired back, only for their rounds to harmlessly bounce of Tanya’s magic barrier. However, it did stagger her long enough for them to fall back.

(“Holy shit, did you see that!? Paul just died right before our eyes!”) Cried one panicked Republican.

(“She just sliced through him like a piece of steak! That little girl is a demon!”)

(“We’re fucking done for! That bitch is gonna kill us all!”)

(“QUIET!!! Pull yourselves together, soldiers!”) The Captain shouted to snap his subordinates out of their fear. (“There’s four of us and only one of her! She can’t kill all of us! We’ll split up and attack her from different angles!”) The enemy Mages quickly carried out their orders and flew into different directions of the sky.

Tanya calmly watched as the enemy forces scattered. “Interesting. So rather than attack me all at once, they’re planning to wear me down by surrounding me. Smart. But it only means I’ll kill them one at a time!”

Tanya immediately chased after the soldier who was directly above her. Perched on his floating horse, he aimed down and desperately shot at Tanya. His comrades tried their best to cover him, but the fast little girl was a hard target, especially from a distance.

Tanya ignored the crossfire and took three shots at the prey above her. The first one missed, but the other two pierced through the enemy’s Mage Gear. The vehicle exploded, vaporizing the unfortunate soldier before he even had time to feel pain.

Tanya quickly set her sights on the idiot towards her lower right. Instead of charging in, she used her mana to project a targeting computer and locked onto him. She then powered her Mondragon with magic and fired! Shockingly, the round actually split into four beams of light! Like guided missiles, they curved on the position of the target.

The Francois Air Mage fell back in a panic! He swerved his “horse” left and right to dodge each projectile, but one caught up and pierced through his stomach. The soldier died immediately, and his body and vehicle both plummeted to the ground.

The third soldier lost his cool and charged into Tanya, enraged. “Vous enfant psychotique! Je te ferai payer le meurtre de Jacob et Victor!” Ignoring his Captain’s orders to stay put, he fired wildly at Tanya without aiming properly. “This is pathetically easy.” Tanya thought as she switched to her trusty SIG MKMS.

She quickly dodged the horse-riding Air Mage and let him pass her above her, before opening fire. The explosive bullets tore holes through the enemy’s back and his ride, destroying both instantaneously.

Now there was just one last victim–the Captain. Though he’d just lost his entire squad the grizzled vet kept his cool and fought pragmatically. Rather than charge in recklessly, he kept his distance and kept Tanya at bay with well-aimed shots. The magenta-colored rounds slammed into Tanya’s barrier, threatening to pierce it.

Tanya shot back with her SIG, but her foe quickly dodged downwards and resumed firing. Tanya smiled a little–this guy clearly wasn’t as careless and impulsive as his subordinates. Maybe he can giver her the challenge she wanted.

Tanya retreated, daring the enemy Captain to chase her. He took the bait, but kept at a distance far enough to shoot. It went this way for a few minutes, with each soldier firing and evading each other’s shots. Eventually, Tanya took a Model 24 stick grenade from her ammo pouch. She cooked the grenade and released it, letting the wind drag carry it backwards.

The grenade exploded in midair, which startled the Captain and forced him to fly through a puff of black smoke. His eyes and lungs stung by explosive powder, the Captain lost sight of Tanya–and now he was the prey. By the time he opened his eyes and saw Tanya wasn’t there, it was too late.

(“What the–where did she–“)

SQUELCH!!!

“GAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!”

<“You looking for me?”>

The unfortunate Captain looked down and saw Tanya’s bayonet piercing his heart from the back. He turned around, and the last thing he saw was the girl’s twisted smile behind him. The dying soldier gave Tanya his venomous last words: “Va te faire foutre…Vous petit diabolique enfant!” 

Tanya removed her bayonet out of the dead man’s body and kicked him off his ride, sending him on an unceremonious trip to the ground. She decided to take the Captain’s Air Mage gear for a joyride, using her magic to keep it flying.

With all five of her enemies conquered, Tanya decided to see how her comrades were holding up. From the looks of it, they were doing quite well! There were only three planes left! Although at this distance, it was impossible to tell how many of her own men she’d lost.

Either way, it was just a matter of time before her side won this dogfight. Tanya would just be content to kick back and watch her inevitable victory come–but she wasn’t gonna miss out on her chance for three more kills!

Meanwhile, the last three Republican planes were losing desperately. The rest of their squadron were all shot down by the 203rd. The pilots were proficient, but they simply had no training or experience with fighting Air Mages. Even if they could, their planes weren’t designed for the task anyway. If they tried to retreat, they were surrounded on all sides, and were too slow to outrun the smaller, faster Mages. In short, they were screwed. But if they were going down, they’ll go down fighting!

“Meurs juste, vous salope Bosche!” Shouted one Francois pilot, as his plane was chasing one of the Air Mages, Visha. 

This deadly version of tag was anything but fun–if Visha slowed down, she’d either get shot by the machine gun or chopped to bits by the propeller. The brunette swerved left and right to force the airplane to miss every shot. The pilot gritted his teeth in frustration. How does this bitch keep dodging his bullets!?

Eventually, Visha turned around returned fire with her rifle. The bullets struct the engine, causing the propeller to sputter and smoke. The engine was damaged, but still had enough power to keep the plane flying. But it hardly mattered since the smoke blinded and choked the pilot as it whipped his face.

Visha got clear of the plane, while her partner Warren swooped down and sliced off its portside wings with his bayonet. The loss of its wing sent the airplane and its pilot on a long, downward spin to a fatal crash. Two more to go.

Warren caught up with his female ally. <“Hey, Visha! You all right?”>

Visha nodded. <“I’m okay! Thanks for the sa–“>

WHOOOOSH! WHOOOOSH!

Two more aircraft buzzed right past Visha and Warren! These last two were a pair of twin-seated Salmson 2 attack planes, each with a pilot and a rear gunner. They were both chased by two teams of five or six 203rd Air Mages. Vice Commander Weiss led the team attacking the left plane. The pilot of the aircraft jerked the flight stick upwards and spun into a barrel roll to avoid enemy fire. The constant rolling threw the rear gunner off his aim.

(“Stop rolling us, you asshole! I can’t get a clear shot!”) The frustrated gunner yelled at his pilot.

(“I’m trying to keep them putting holes in us, you idiot!”) The pilot snapped back. (“Suck it up and keep firing!”) The gunner almost wanted to punch him, but he kept his focus on the Air Mages behind him. Thankfully, he was at least managing to keep the enemy from getting to close. Unfortunately, that was the end of their luck.

Tanya joined the pursuit on her stolen Air Mage Gear and caught up to the plane. They flew side-by-side and just a few feet from each other. Tanya looked at the two pilots with her implike grin, while they looked at her with stunned disbelief.

“Guten Abend, meine Herren!” Tanya mockingly greeted them. <“My, that’s such a fine aircraft you’re flying. But I think it’ll be even more beautiful when it goes down in flames!” Before the two could retaliate, Tanya threw another grenade into the pilot’s seat.

“Putain de merde! Sortez!” Shouted the pilot as he and his gunner jumped out of the airplane. They fell and opened their parachutes right before they would be blown to bits along with their plane. The two men sighed with relief–they lost their plane, but at least they would have a slow, safe descent to the ground……

….Which was what they thought right before Tanya cut their parachute strings! The pilots were screaming as they both fell 500 feet to their deaths. <“Enjoy the trip back to the ground! Don’t worry–I’m sure they’ll find your bodies before the rats do!”> The Air Mage taunted as she watched the two men fall.

Just one more to go. The last attack plane shook off its pursuers and attempted to avenge its fallen ally. The ferocious Salmson 2 flashed its machine guns at Tanya, while the latter charged in head on. The red-hot 7.7mm bullets tore up Tanya’s flying horse, but she didn’t care. Her personal shield would keep her safe from any real damage. She just needed to keep flying.

“Closer…..closer…….closer……NOW!” Tanya jumped off her vehicle as it headed straight for the airplane! Her ride collided with the plane, causing a massive explosion that destroyed both. The pilots were killed, and the plane was reduced a falling pile of burning wood and steel.

The skies were clear. The dogfight was over. The 203rd rallied behind Tanya, taking in the glorious sight before them.

<“Holy shit! Did we really just do it?”> Said Warren, laughing with excitement. <“We actually wiped them all out!”>

<“We really did it! We just destroyed the whole enemy squadron!”> Visha cheered.

The rest of the battalion shouted cheers and cries of victory, while Tanya looked on ahead with her sadistic grin. She looked back at her men and decided not to scold them. Small celebrations like these are good for morale. She would let them have this one. The child major smiled eagerly as she wondered what her next challenge would be.

“Alright, you baguette-eating bastards. Who’s next?”

CHAPTER 3: LA PARTISANE

SERAS

Meanwhile…..
Downtown Amiens

“How the hell did I get into this mess!?” Seras thought as a few enemy bullets bounced off her cover.

If someone told Seras before she fell asleep that she would wake up in another dimension without warning, be sent out by a talking nutcracker to kill some magic Nazi 10-year-old girl, and end up fighting for her life in a bizarre version of World War One, she would think that person was either joking or crazy.

But no. This was real. This was happening. Seras Victoria–former London cop and apprentice of Alucard himself–was stuck in the middle of the streets, fighting a war she has nothing to do with, against an enemy she’s never seen, in a world she doesn’t even belong to! How the hell did it all come to this!?

The vampire soldier took cover corner of a building. She was armed with a Lebel 1886 bolt-action rifle–a decent weapon by all means, though it wasn’t her trusty Harkonnen cannon. On the other side of the street were a few squads of Fatherland stormtroopers in their olive-green uniforms and Stahlhelms.

Some were armed with bolt-action rifles, and others with machine guns. Seras didn’t know exactly how many there were, but she guessed there was around 20. Even as a vampire, it would be idiotic to charge in alone amidst so much heavy fire.

Thankfully, Seras wasn’t alone. Fighting on her side were the Partisans, civilian soldiers who took up arms to liberate their town. Though they were mostly male, several women also fought alongside them. Their ages ranged from teenagers too young for war to adults old enough to be their parents or grandparents.

The Partisans were armed with weapons they scavenged or stolen from the enemy, as well as homemade weapons like Molotov Cocktails. They were mostly dressed in normal clothes, with their only uniform being a blue cloth tied around their left arm. 

Seras was dressed the same way. Instead of her Hellsing uniform, she now wore a brown leather jacket with a white shirt underneath, and a pair of dull gray pants. A blue cloth was also tied around her upper left arm, just like the others. Like it or not, she was one of them now. They were her only chance of surviving this battle and getting home alive.

Seras carefully peeked around the corner, ignoring the bullets buzzing all around her. She used her enhanced vision to get a better look at the enemy troops. She aimed her rifle and fired, hitting one stormtrooper through the neck. The soldier fell over clutching his neck as he bled and asphyxiated to death. She fired two more times, hitting one man through the eye and another one in his lung. Even without her Harkonnen, Seras was one hell of a shot!

As she fought, the other Partisans were each playing their own part. Jean Rousseau was feeding bullets into a Vickers machine gun while his ally used it it keep suppressing fire. Jean would use the gun himself, if his arm wasn’t still broken. His wife Amelie was tending to wounded soldiers at the rear, but she kept a double-barred shotgun in case she needed to fight. A pair of captured field guns were firing explosive shells at the enemy, each manned by a single Partisan.

Although the Partisans were strong and resourceful, they were still civilians. The Fatherland soldiers were better trained, equipped, and more experienced. The sergeant in command ordered two riflemen to take sniping positions on the third floor of each side. They did as instructed, and immediately fired at the machine gunners first.

Two soldiers were killed, and two more instantly rushed to take their places. Another sniper shot at Jean’s spot and clipped his partner in the shoulder. He ducked down to help his wounded comrade while another bullet just missed his head.

Rousseau held up his hand and cried, “SNIPER! SNIPER!” The rest heeded his warning and kept their heads behind whatever cover they had. The enemy snipers kept the Partisans pinned down, allowing the other stormtroopers to advance.

Seras heard Jean call out to her: “SERAS! GET OVER HERE NOW! KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN!” The blonde raced over to Rousseau as a sniper’s bullet came so close to her head, she could hear it. She crouched low to the sandbags right next to the machine gun. 

“Rousseau, what’s the problem!?”

“The Bosche just sent a sniper into one of those buildings! Take him out quick before we’re overrun!”

“Roger!” Seras replied. She went prone and placed her rifle just above the sandbags. Her eyes turned bloody crimson as she used her vampire sight to zoom in. But just where was the bastard hiding!? He gave away his position when another missed shot landed in the sandbag. The shot came from a third-story window on the right-side building.

“There you are, you wanker!” Seras growled as she opened fire.

Her first shot hit the window, but the sniper dodged it in time. He fired back, hitting the pavement right next to Seras’s hip. The sniper went downstairs and reloaded before smashing out a second-floor window. Seras saw the broken pieces of glass and fired twice. She hit the enemy once in the shoulder and again through the head, killing him instantly.

“Yes!” Seras cheered. “Rousseau, I got hi–” Her celebration was cut short when another bullet whistled past her.

“Fool! Stay focused!” Rousseau scolded her. “There’s another sniper!”

“Where is he!?”

Jean peeked over just enough to see the glint of the sniper’s scope. “There! He’s at the third-floor window! Left-side building!” He pointed at the foe’s approximate location.

“Got it!” The female went prone again and shot at the enemy’s window. But instead of the target, Seras only hit a crude decoy wearing the foe’s helmet. The real sniper was taking aim at Seras’ head from the fourth floor. Right before he shot, Amelie manned a machine gun and held him back with suppressing fire. 

“Woah! Thanks, Ame–”

“Hurry up and shoot the bastard!” The older woman barked at her.

 Seras fired two more shots at the sniper, the second wounding him in his leg. When she cycled the next round and pulled the trigger…

CLICK!

…She was empty. 

“Seriously!? Come on, I almost had him!” Seras crouched low and opened the bolt of her Lebel, but she had no idea how to reload it. And even if she did, the rifle’s internal tube magazine meant that each bullet had to be loaded one by one. It also didn’t help that Seras’ fear and adrenaline made her hands shaky.

“C’mon, c’mon! How do you reload this stupid thing!?”

When she dropped a bullet and reached down to catch it, she noticed on her left a dead Partisan clinging to a field cannon.

That gave Seras an idea. She sprinted towards the weapon and apologized to the dead man before pushing him off it. Lucky for her, a single-shot field gun wasn’t all that different from Seras’ own Harkonnen rifle. She loaded a fresh shell into the cannon and aimed it right at the sniper’s spot! The enemy’s eyes went wide in horror when he found himself on the wrong end of a field gun!

“Snipe this, you son of a bitch!” Seras roared as she fired the cannon! The exploding shell obliterated the sniper and took down a huge chunk of the building. A flood of bricks, wood, and glass rained down and crushed the hapless soldiers beneath them. The lucky survivors were left off-guard and disoriented from the falling debris.

Rousseau and the others laughed and cheered. “Great shot, Seras! We’re lucky to have you on our side!” Seras smiled appreciatively, but it wasn’t time to celebrate yet.

The Imperial sergeant ordered his remaining allies to throw smoke grenades forward to cover their advance. Under the blinding cover of smoke, the enemy made one last desperate attempt to destroy the Partisans.

Rousseau called out to the Partisans, (“They’re charging in! Everyone, we must hold this line no matter what!”). 

He looked over to Seras and cried, “Seras! Get on the machine gun, now!”

Seras immediately manned the Maxim MG and took aim at the cloud of smoke in front. Without hesitating, she jammed her thumb hard on the firing button and never let go. Every enemy that got within range of her MG was torn to shreds in seconds. With each soldier killed, Seras drew closer and closer to her bloodthirsty vampire side. Her eyes grew redder. Her fangs sharper. Her muscles stronger. Her heartbeats faster.

“Come on, then!” Seras thought. “I don’t care how many of you bastards try! You’ll never kill me! Not today! Not tomorrow!……NOT FUCKING EVER!!!!”

Eventually, the lucky few enemies who made it to the Partisans’ line began fighting them up close. It inevitably turned into a confused, chaotic brawl with soldiers on each side tearing each other apart. Jean and Amelie stuck closely and defended each other, the former with his revolver and the latter with her twin-barreled shotgun.

One soldier in a Gaede helmet kicked Seras in the face and knocked her off the machine gun. “Du wertlose republikanische Saumensch!” The soldier cursed at her in German. He came down with a knife to stab Seras in the chest, only for the latter to grab it. 

“I’ll carve your fucking heart out!”

“Not today, asshole!” She opened her mouth and bit hard on the soldier’s arm. Her fangs tore deep into the cloth, flesh, and bone with a sickening *CRUNCH!* The stormtrooper screamed in shock and pain as he uselessly tried to push Seras off his arm. The vampire forced him to the ground and immediately went for his neck. She dug her teeth into his neck, draining the blood out of the poor bastard’s until his body went cold and dead.

Seras stood up and wiped the blood away from her mouth. Her enemies and allies all stared at her, horrified that she just devoured a human being! But Seras didn’t notice or care about that. Her focus was on the two sorry bastards who were about to die.

The vampire dashed forward and drove her arm through the chest of one enemy and clawed the other’s face off with her fingers. A third stormtrooper shot at her in the back with an MP-18 submachine gun, but all it did was enrage Seras even more. She turned around and sliced the soldier’s arm off and before finishing him off with his own weapon.

Seras turned the MP-18 on more Fatherland soldiers, mowing them down before they had a chance to attack or retreat. Over time, Seras’ bloodthirsty scowl became a maniacal smile. Somehow, she was enjoying this! The thrill of combat! The joy of reducing her enemies to piles of meat. It almost made her feel like……

“So, this is what it’s like to be Master Alucard! It feels! So! Good!”

“Sie ist ein Monster! Verdammt, erschieß sie!” A panicked soldier cried as he and two others shot at Seras desperately. The vampiress plunged her gun’s spike bayonet into the lead soldier and blew a few rounds through him. She threw the left trooper into a street lamp and shattered his spine before kicking down the right one and stomping down on his skull.

The brutality was too much. Only a handful of enemies were left. The sergeant blew his whistle and ordered his remaining men to withdraw. “Es ist hoffnungslos, Kameraden! Rückzug! Rückzug!” 

Seras continued shooting at them as they retreated. When her machine gun ran out, she dropped it and switched to a Colt M1911 pistol. She fired. And fired. And fired.

“Where ya goin’? Come back and fight, you cowards! I’m not finished with you! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!”

Amelie grabbed Seras by the arms and tried to restrain her. “Stop firing! We’ve won already!”

“Get the hell off me, bi–”

(Stop Music)

SLAP!

Amelie slapped Seras hard across the face. “That’s enough! It’s over!”

Right then, Seras came back to her senses. Her human side returned. She placed her hand where Amelie slapped her, looking at the older woman like a confused child.

“A–Amelie?” She said in a quiet, wistful voice. 

“What in the world has gotten into you!?” Amelie shouted, her voice a mix of horror and anger. “We may fight our enemies! We may kill them! But we don’t eat them!” Amelie pointed at the pile of mutilated soldiers left by Seras. 

The vampire girl turned around, horrified at the carnage she’d left behind. She then took a long look at herself. Her gloves, jacket, pants and boots were all smeared with the enemy’s blood. Her M1911 was also stained with blood, its magazine fired empty. Seras couldn’t believe the terrible thing she just did.

“What have I done?” She thought. “I completely lost control of my vampire side. And it caused me to kill–no, butcher those men! I devoured them. Tore them limb from limb! What in the world have I become!?”

Farther away, the Partisans stared at Seras in fear and bewilderment. Some of them began pointing their guns at her. 

“N-no, please! Don’t shoot!” Seras protested. “I’m not gonna hurt any of you!” She knew at least Jean and Amelie understood English. And clearly it worked, because Jean actually stepped in front of Seras protectively. Amelie looked at her husband, confused and concerned for his safety.

(“Put your guns down! All of you!”) Rousseau shouted at them.

(“Rousseau, what are you doing!? Get away from her!”) Cried a Partisan named Andre.

(“She’s only a child, Andre! She’s no threat to us!”) Amelie protested.

(“No threat!? Look what she did to the enemy!”) 

More angry and scared voices clamored up. (“How do we know she won’t turn on us!?”) (“What if she’s an assassin sent from the Empire?”) (“We should hand that bitch over to the Republic Army so they can execute her!”)

(“QUIET!!! ALL OF YOU!!!”) Jean roared at his comrades. (“Seras is no threat to us! And I know this because she saved my life the other night! This young woman risked her life to carry me out of a burning house under heavy gunfire when she had no reason to! And I have the wounds to prove it!”) He showed them his right arm, which was bound to a cast after it had been broken by falling, flaming debris.

(“After that…”) he continued, (“She stood alone atop the clock tower and killed seven of the 203rd Air Mages. Seven! And she nearly killed Tanya Degurechaff! I don’t know what Seras is, but I know what she is not! And she is not our enemy! So if anyone still wants to kill her, you’ll have to shoot through me.”) Rousseau stood firmly in front of Seras, daring the others to shoot him. His wife did the same, inspired by his courage.

Andre and the other Partisans hesitated, and eventually backed down. They walked away quietly, and got to work collecting the dead and wounded. Seras sighed in relief. 

“Thank you, Rousseau.” She said. “I may not speak French, but whatever you told them really saved my life.”

“Actually, I think I saved them from you.” He said with a smile.

“Yeah…you’re right about that.” Seras looked at Amelie, who seemed to have calmed down.

“Well, I still have my concerns.” The older woman said. “But you did save my husband’s life. And if he trusts you, I trust you. Sorry for slapping you.”

“No, don’t be. I think it was necessary.” 

 Amelie smiled warmly like a mother towards her daughter. “Why don’t you take a rest, cherie? You’ve fought very ha–”

(Stop Music)

*BOOM!*

What the Hell was that!? An explosion just knocked all of them off their feet! Seras looked up. The field gun she used earlier was destroyed! The blast killed or wounded any of the Partisans within range of it.

“For God’s sake, can’t I get one break!?” Seras screamed in her mind.

“CONTRE-ATTAQUE!!!” Jean shouted at the others as they scrambled back to defensive positions. He and Amelie lifted Seras from the ground and the three of them ran back to the line. Another explosion blew apart a portion of the sandbags, leaving a hole open in their line. Just what was going on!?

Suddenly, Seras felt the ground shake beneath her like a miniature earthquake. She heard a mechanical noise like a slow-moving truck coming towards her. She used her vampire vision to look past the vanishing smoke. Seras couldn’t believe what she saw!

“No! No, you have got to be kidding me!” She said. “THEY HAVE A TANK!!!”

CHAPTER 4: A7V

A monstrous tank called an A7V Sturmpanzerwagen approached them!

The vehicle was built with bolted steel plating all around its hull. It had a boxy, rectangular shape, giving it the appearance of a giant, moving refridgerator. The tank’s weapons included a powerful 57mm Maxim-Nordenfelt cannon on the front, and several MG08 machine guns on the sides and rear. Its moving treads were almost completely hidden by the steel plating at the bottom. Inside the tank was a crew of 18 soldiers, including engineers, gunners, a driver, and a captain. 

Not that the Partisans would know. To them, this A7V was just an iron monster ready to devour them all! They panickedly fired their rifles and machine guns, but their bullets were like pebbles against the tank’s steel hull.

On the left, Andre took shots at the tank from the intact field gun. But the poorly-aimed shells merely ricocheted off the vehicle’s sloped armor. The tank turned its main gun at Andre and fired, destroying both him and the field gun.

The moving fortress crawled closer to the besieged Partisans. Its heavy treads crushed and flattened any corpses in its way, uncaring as to whether they were allies or enemies. The tank captain opened the hatch on the narrow roof of the vehicle. A cold, malicious smirk drew across his face as he saw how helpless the enemy were. A cannon was too kind for them. They deserved a much painful death.

“Voll voraus, Fahrer!” He ordered the driver. “Wir werden dieses Ungeziefer direkt unter unseren Panzer!” The captain climbed back inside and sealed the hatch above him.

“Rousseau, what’s he saying?” Seras asked.

“He just told them to run us over!”

“FUCKING HELL!!!” Seras cried. “EVERYONE, FALL BACK!!! YOU’RE GONNA GET RUN OVER!!!”

The Partisans didn’t need to understand English to know they were in danger. They all ran for their lives right before the tank trampled the sandbag wall behind them! The cannon fired at the road, the explosion killing or wounding several fleeing soldiers.

The shockwave caused Seras to trip and fall to the ground. She layed helpless on her back as she witnessed another Partisan gruesomely mulched to pieces beneath the A7V’s treads. 

The iron monster crawled closer and closer to Seras, who just froze and screamed in terror as she waited to get run over. Fortunately, she was safely pulled away to a nearby alley by Jean, Amelie, and another Partisan.

They retreated down the alley as the tank’s broadside machine guns flashed behind them. The bullets killed the random Partisan while the other three ran into a nearby building for cover. 

They entered through the rear door of the building, safely away from the machine guns. Rousseau called out for one of his men. 

(“Victor, are you here?”) Rousseau noticed Victor was missing. (“Victor? Where is he!?”)

(“He must have been killed outside!”) Amelie answered.

(“Shit! He had the explosives!”) Rousseau groaned. He turned to Seras and told her, “Seras! Victor has a bag full of explosives on his body! You need to go outside and get it!”

“And let myself get killed by machine guns!? No way!” Seras cried.

“Wait until the tank pulls forward enough for you to advance! Now go, before we all get killed!”

Seras followed Rousseau’s orders and went outside the house. She hid behind the corner, and waited until she was safely out of the tank’s line of fire. When the path was clear, Seras ran forward and picked up a leather satchel from Victor’s dead body. She carried the package back inside the house where Jean and Amelie were waiting.

“I got the explosives, but I don’t know if it’ll be enough!” Seras said.

“Let’s just hope!” Amelie said as she checked the bag. Inside were six captured stick grenades and a bundle of dynamite attached to a detonator. One of the grenades in particular had several explosive heads tied around the center, giving it an almost mushroom-like appearance.

“That’s it!? That’s all there is!?” Seras cried in disbelief.

“It’ll be enough, trust me!” Jean reassured her.

“You’re nuts! Even if you can get close to that thing, you won’t have enough explosives to destroy it!” 

“We don’t need to destroy it!” Jean said. “We just need to disable it long enough for our friends to retreat! If we damage the tank, the Bosche will be forced to stop and repair it! That’s when we’ll hit them!”

“Are you sure it’ll work?” Seras replied.

“We won’t know until we try it!” Amelie chimed in. “If we just sit around, all of our men will be slaughtered by that monster, and then we’ll be next! They need our help, and we need yours! So, will you help us or not?”

Seras bit her lip. Of course she didn’t want to go anywhere near that tank again. But she couldn’t just let more of the Partisans die. After all, she might not be alive now if Jean and Amelie hadn’t come to her rescue. 

“All right! Let’s bloody do it!” She shouted.

The three of them ran to the second floor and took position at the windows facing the street. The tank stopped right below their position, totally unaware of their presence.

CHAPTER 5: SACRIFICE

Amelie manned a Lewis machine gun that leaned against the far left window. The chunky Anti-Tank grenade was hanging by her belt. Rousseau handed Seras the dynamite and plunger before manning a Madsen MG on the right.

“Okay! Seras, listen up!” Jean shouted. “Amelie and me will damage the tank as it pulls forward, and we’ll fire down at the crew as they come out! While we draw their fire, you plant the dynamite on the tank’s main gun and blow it!”

“No problem, mate!” Seras replied.

“One other thing,” Rousseau continued. “After you destroy it, run away from here and catch up with the others! Don’t wait for us, just go!”

“Rousseau, that’s horseshit! I’m not leaving you two behind!”

“This isn’t your war, Seras! You were dragged into it by accident. An innocent girl like you shouldn’t have to die here! Besides, we’ve seen how well you can fight. You’ll survive just fine without us!”

“We’ll be okay, chérie! You don’t need to worry about us!” Amelie said with a reassuring smile. Seras sighed heavily. It was clear that the Rousseaus were going to stay behind to protect her. As much as she hated it, she had to leave them behind.

“Here it comes! Amelie, ready the grenade!” 

Amelie opened the window and cooked the AT grenade. She threw the explosive down at the rear of the tank, where it got caught in the netting holding spare gears. The grenade exploded with a loud, metallic *BANG*, and blew a wide, flaming hole in the A7V’s aft section.

Some of the unfortunate crew inside were either killed by the blast or burned to death. The survivors pushed and shoved their way out of the vehicle in panic. They had no idea they were in the crosshairs of two Partisans.

“We’ve got them!” Rousseau cheered. “Let the bastards have it!” 

Jean and his wife opened fire and rained bullets down at the Imperials, who died instantly. The ones who were still inside the damaged tank were forced to stay inside for cover.

“This is it! Seras, go!” Jean shouted.

“Alright! Good luck, and thanks for everything!” 

Seras raced downstairs into the street and towards the tank. She placed the sticky dynamite against the A7V’s nose cannon and sprinted in the opposite direction. The gunner, who was unaware of the bomb, aimed the cannon at Seras.

Right before he fired, Seras detonated the bomb, causing a massive explosion that blew up the entire front section of the tank! Both the gunner and driver were vaporized in the explosion. 

“THAT’S IT! YES!” Seras cheered when she saw what she’d done. 

She looked up at Jean and Amelie, who were still holding off the remaining Bosche. “It’s all up to you guys, now. Please don’t die on me!” 

The blonde ran farther away towards the crowd of fleeing Partisans in front.

Meanwhile, more surviving soldiers clambered out of the heavily damaged tank, though they were badly wounded. The tank captain pushed through his men. His dark green uniform was burned, and his silver blonde hair was badly singed. He had a deep cut on the right side of his head that bled down his eye. But he ignored his pain enough to shout orders to his men.

<“Those Partisan vermin are on the second floor! Get upstairs and kill them!”>

The tank crew ran into the building and up the flight of stairs that led to the second floor. A soldier in the rear aimed at the windows and shot Amelie through the stomach! The woman gasped in sudden pain and fell to the floor. She clutched her stomach, which was bleeding uncontrollably. 

(“Amelie! NOOOOO!”) Jean cried as he saw his wife mortally wounded. 

Before he could get to her, Rousseau gunned down a couple of tank soldiers who’d entered their room. His Madsen had run out of bullets. 

Jean tossed the gun away and kneeled next to his wife. He pressed his hand on her wound hoping to stop the bleeding, but all it did was make the pain worse. Amelie’s vision faded in and out as she stared at her husband’s panicked face. She didn’t have much longer to live.

(“Amelie! Stay with me, darling! I’m gonna get you out of here! Do you hear me!? You’re going to be okay!”) Jean almost started sobbing as his words came out. 

Amelie smiled weakly and took one last look at her beloved husband. (“Please…don’t be sad, Jean. Dying isn’t….such a bad thing. Because…..you’re the last thing I get to see. And that alone makes it more than worth it.”)

(“Stop that! You’re not going to die! Do you understand!?”) Jean practically wept as he spoke.

Amelie’s vision was weakening. Her eyes were half-closed. (“That girl. Seras.”) She almost whispered. (“She’s so strong. So much stronger than all of us. She will free this town, I just know it.”)

The woman placed a bloodied hand in Jean’s and gave him a farewell kiss. “Adieu, mon cœur. J’aimerais toujours–” 

*POP!*

A pistol round landed in Amelie’s head, finally killing her. Jean turned around and was shot three times in his chest. The bullets pierced his lung and stomach. He fell to the floor in agony as blood spilled out of his wounds and mouth.

Very soon, Rousseau would be dead too. By mere luck, he landed next to the bag of explosives that still had several grenades left. He snuck one in his left hand and unscrewed the cap.

The tank captain stood above him, holding a Luger pistol with a smoking barrel. He was flanked by three other tank soldiers, each aiming their rifles at Jean. 

<“I’m sorry, was that woman someone precious to you? A sister? A wife, perhaps?”> The tank captain mocked Rousseau in German. He and his minions aimed their weapons at Jean again to finish him off. <“Well, don’t you worry, my friend! You’ll see her again very soon!”>

<“Yeah….And you’re coming with me!”> 

The Partisan cooked the grenade and threw it along with the rest of the explosives at the captain! He then pulled his revolver and killed the three surrounding enemies. With his last strength, he tackled the tank captain and pinned him down with the explosives. Rousseau looked at him with fury, while the captain looked back with a pathetic look of terror.

“Vive la République!” Were Rousseau’s final words.

(Stop music)

Outside, Seras caught up to the other Partisans. She fell over hands on knees, completely out of breath. 

“You! You’re that girl from earlier!” Said the Partisan closest to Seras. “What happened to Jean and Amelie?”

“We–*pant*–we stayed behind–*pant*–to hold off the tank.” She answered. “They–*pant*–told me to–*pant*–run and catch up with you, while they hold them off.”

“Wait, so you left them alone to save yourself!?” Another soldier said in an accusatory voice.

“Piss off! It wasn’t my choice!” She replied angrily. “They told me to–”

*BOOOOOOOM!!!!*

The building where the two Partisans stayed behind exploded! Flaming pieces of wood and glass rained all over the street surrounding the heavily damaged A7V tank. The blast triggered a chain reaction that caused the tank to explode in an even greater fashion. The resulting shockwave caused the entire front section of the building to crumble and avalanche onto the street.

Seras covered her mouth, horrified to speak. The Partisans were also stunned to watch their friends go out so horribly. Eventually, one soldier cried out, (“What are you waiting for!? They might still be alive! Dig through the rubble and search!”) Seras and the other rebels ran back to rescue their friends.

But out of nowhere, a green metal canister fell from the sky. The strange object impacted the ground multiple times with a loud *CLANG.* Several more objects of the same kind fell as well, some nearly hitting the Partisans in the head. The soldiers stood a cautious distance away from the devices, fearing they might be grenades.

They were right. But instead of exploding, the grenades opened from the top, releasing thick clouds of yellow-green mustard gas into the air.

“GAS!!! GAAAAAAS!!!” One of the Partisans cried! All around, the soldiers were trapped inside a fog of blinding, suffocating toxic gas.

Seras was also dangerously exposed. She started coughing painfully from her lungs, and her eyes watered as the gas burned them.

“Crap! Must’ve inhaled some!” She thought. I need to get safe before I pass out!”

Seras wandered blindly in front with one arm outstretched, looking for a safe place. She passed by several other Partisans who were choking, gasping, and vomiting to a slow, painful death. 

Seras found a door leading to an abandoned townhouse. She ran inside and slammed the door behind her. She’d only inhaled a small dose of gas, but it made her very weak and sick. 

There was nothing she could do to save the others. If she stayed outside any longer, she would die with them. 

Seras fell to the floor, dizzy and losing consciousness. Through the window, she could see the evening sky through the green cloak of mustard gas. The last thing she saw before passing out was a group of small, black figures flying far overhead.

CHAPTER 6: CASUALTIES OF WAR

9:38PM
THREE HOURS LATER…

Seras awoke to the sound of light rain and faraway gunfire. She fought to open her eyes, which were still burning red from the poison gas attack. The blonde saw through the window that it was nighttime. The gas lifted away and dissipated. The sky was dark and covered in long, stormy clouds.

By some miracle, Seras was still alive. Either she stayed in cover long enough to avoid any fatal damage, or her healing factor had kicked in just in time. Either way, she was still weak and delirious from inhaling the gas. It took her almost fifteen minutes to find the strength to stand up.

She almost felt like she had the flu. Her stance was awkward and shaky. Her lungs and throat were sore and heavy. Her head pounded like it was about to explode. The acrid stench of mustard gas still lingered in her nose. Seras limped towards the door and went through. 

What she saw next would haunt her for the rest of her life.

“Oh, my God…”

Everyone was dead.

Everyone.

Men and women.

Young and old.

Allies and enemies.

The street was covered with fallen Partisans who all died of gas poisoning. Their bodies were contorted in horrible, unnatural ways. Many of them died with their eyes wide open, with expressions of sheer terror and agony.

These soldiers fought so bravely, so desperately to free their town. And yet they all died so quickly, so easily, so pointlessly. 

As if to add to her horror, Seras noticed the body of a Partisan woman outside of the door she took cover behind. The dying woman was forced to crawl to the door because the gas made her too weak to even stand. When she couldn’t reach the doorknob, she desperately clawed and scratched at the door until her fingernails cracked, leaving deep, bloody marks against the wood. Seras left that woman there to die. She killed her. 

Seras was so sick to her stomach that she could vomit. She was reminded of the gruesome pile of dead soldiers she’d woken up to when she started this whole adventure. But while that was merely horrifying, this was far more devastating.

These people saved her life. She fought alongside these brave men and women. Killed enemy soldiers for them. Went Full Vampire for them. Even blew up a tank for them! And all that just to watch helplessly as they died torturous, meaningless deaths like cockroaches.

“I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry!” Seras fell to her knees and grabbed both sides of her head. She was on the verge of crying. 

“How? How did this all go so wrong!?” She thought. “Ever since I came here it’s just been one misadventure after another! That burning house. The clock tower. That fucking tank–”

……The tank! Jean and Amelie! Maybe they were still alive! Seras forgot her grief for a moment as she sprinted back to the two’s last known location. But when she got there, reality immediately shattered her spirit.

The A7V was nothing more than a pile of ruined, burning junk. The building beside it was demolished. Anyone in the surrounding area was either caught in the blast or crushed beneath several pounds of wood, brick and rock.

Seras knew it was childish to think anyone could have survived that. Still, she had to try. She climbed up and dug deeply into the pile of debris, pushing away anything that wasn’t her two allies. 

Seras was overjoyed for a brief moment when she found Jean’s arm, still wrapped in its cast, though all ripped up. She reached down to pull him out–only to discover that his arm was the only part of him left. The rest of him was completely destroyed in the explosion. Seras covered her mouth to keep herself from screaming in anguish. 

“No! Damn it, no! Rousseau, why’d you have to–” Seras held back her tears and resumed digging. “Maybe Amelie’s still alive down there! I have to look!” It was naive at this point, but she had to hope that at least one of the Rousseaus was still alive.

Her last frail hope was crushed when Seras found Amelie with several bullet and shrapnel wounds all over her body. Even if she survived those, she would’ve been crushed to death from being buried alive for hours. The Rousseaus gave up their lives to protect their comrades. They had sacrificed themselves for nothing. 

Seras couldn’t contain herself any longer. She completely broke down and started crying. Though she only knew them for a short time, they were the only allies–the only friends–Seras had made since she came to this insane world. Now that they were gone, she was all alone again.

The rain was coming down harder. Seras needed to find cover. She took shelter in a nearby trolley, where she continued to weep.

“Why? What’s the point of all this?” She thought. “They push. We push. And we all end up dead in the end! And for what? What’s the use of all this senseless killing!?”

Why would Being X put her through all this? Ever since Seras got dragged into this war, it’s just been one disaster after another. 

“…..No. That’s how it’s always been for me.” She realized. “For my entire life, ever since I was young.”

“Watching my parents murdered in front of me.”

“Getting kicked out of the orphanage.”

“That psychotic priest who tried to turn me into a Ghoul.”

This was just the latest in a long history of catastrophes. At least in her own world, she could rely on the help of her friends: Master Alucard. Sir Integra Hellsing. Captain Pip Bernadotte. Even their butler Walter Dornez. Now, they would have no idea where she is or what happened to her. 

Seras was lost and alone. With no plan. No hope. No way home.

“I just want to go home. I just want to go home. I just want to go home.”

CHAPTER 7: DESERTERS

Seras heard something! Voices? From outside? Were there survivors after all? 

The girl got out of her seat and ran to the front of the trolly. She brushed away the tears in her eyes to get a proper look.

It was very faint, but there were definitely human voices several yards ahead. Seras used her vampire vision to see whom they belonged to.

To her disgust, the people she heard weren’t Partisans. They were a gang of four Fatherland soldiers. The enemies were looting from the bodies of the dead Partisans. They were perfectly healthy, having somehow avoided the gas attack.

Seras couldn’t understand their language, but she could tell by their laughing and smiling that they were enjoying themselves.

<“Man, these poor bastards. The gas extinguished each and every one of them.”> Said one young-looking soldier.

<“Better them than us, Dieter! It’s not like they’ll need all this food and ammunition anymore.”> Another soldier named Erwin replied as he stuffed his bag full of food cans and ammo.

The third soldier, Karl, was greedily picking rings, pocket watches, and other valuable items. <“Maybe with enough cash we can buy some boat tickets and sail our way out of this war!”>

The tallest soldier was opposite him, robbing from the corpse of a Partisan woman. <“Ah, it’s a shame that the women are dead too. Otherwise we could have had fun with them!”>

<“You’re such a pig, Johann.”> Said the younger soldier Dieter with disgust. Johann simply brushed it off and continued.

“Monsters! Fucking monsters!” Seras thought as her sorrow turned to rage and disgust.

“Those men aren’t survivors. They’re just cowardly vultures chewing on the remains!” 

Seras felt herself turning to her vampire side again, but much more willingly this time. 

<“Crap, I gotta go take a leak. Be back in a minute.”> Johann muttered. 

<“Just do it where we can’t see you, you dog.”> Erwin replied.

<“Eat shit and die, Erwin.”> Johann flipped him off and walked away from the group. 

Seras watched him as he approached the trolley where she was hiding. She reloaded her M1911 and crouched behind a seat, ready to ambush. Johan unzipped his fly and relieved himself on the ground.

Right as he finished peeing, Seras grabbed the helpless soldier by the face and neck and dragged him inside the trolley. She held him to the ground without giving him a chance to break free.

Seras held Johann’s mouth shut to prevent him from calling for help. All he could do was stare at the blonde girl in terrified confusion. Seras opened her mouth and sank her fangs into Johann’s neck. His screams of dying agony were muffled as the vampire girl tore him to pieces. 

A few minutes passed. Johann’s friends were becoming worried about him.

<“Johann’s been gone for a while.”> Dieter said. <”I sure hope he’s okay.”>

<“You know Johann. It’s probably just another stupid joke.”> Said Karl, who didn’t even look upwards as he kept his focus on his corpse-looting.

<“Come on, kameraden. Let’s go see if the idiot’s okay.”> Erwin ordered the others. 

The trio walked towards the trolley, using the flashlights attached to their rifles for guidance. Erwin saw the piss stain Johann left behind. He then turned right, and to his shock, saw Johann’s body mutilated. His throat had been slashed several inches open, and a fountain of blood spilled out. A massive hole was clawed into his stomach, as if he’d been mauled to death by a wild tiger. 

<“Shit! Johann!”> Dieter cried out!

<“What the hell was he attacked by!? A wild dog!?”> Said Karl. 

<“Whatever it was, it’s probably still around this area.”> Erwin ordered the others. <”Both of you fan out and find whatever it was that kill–”>

*BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!*

Erwin took several .45 ACP rounds to the chest and face, and fell over dead. The two remaining soldiers looked to their left. Standing at the rear of the trolley was Seras, who was pointing a smoking Colt 1911 at them.

“Lookin’ for me, you bastards?”

<“My God! Who the fuck is she!?“> Dieter shouted.

<“Does that really matter!? Just shoot her!”>

Dieter and Karl immediately shot at Seras with their rifles. It turned out to be useless because Seras’ agility had grown to the point that to her, the bullets approached her in slow motion. She dodged every gunshot at lightning speed, completely bewildering the two human soldiers.

Seras circled the two and lunged at Karl, holding him against the trolley by the face. She plugged her last two pistol rounds into his stomach before throwing him to the floor. The vampire tossed away the gun and wielded a short trench shovel that she took from Johann’s corpse.

She repeatedly smashed Karl’s skull in with the flat end of the shovel. Each strike caused multiple bloody bruises and shattered bones all across his face.

“Die! You! Son! Of! A! BITCH!!!” Seras’s final strike broke the shovel’s blade off of its handle. Karl was dead, his face smashed into a faceless, bloody pulp.

Only Dieter was left. He dropped his rifle and tried to run away, but Seras was far too quick. She grabbed him by the jacket and held him against the outer wall of a building. The panicked soldier begged for his life.

“Nein! Bitte! Ich gebe auf! Bitte, töte mich nicht!”

“Do you speak English?” Seras growled at him.

“W-was?”

“DO–YOU–SPEAK–ENGLISH!?” Seras pressed Dieter harder against the wall. Her face was mere inches away from his.

 “Yes! I can speak! A little!” Dieter cried.

“Why did you do it? Why did you try to kill all of us using poison gas!?”

“The gas? Th-that had nothing to do with us, I swear!”

“Bullshit! Don’t you dare try to play dumb with me!” The Vampire hissed. “You sent those gas grenades at us so you could loot our bodies after we died! You disgust me!”

“What we did was wrong! I know that!” Dieter said. “But we weren’t the ones who killed them! We’re deserters! We only came to surrender to you to get out of this war! And then those gas grenades fell out of the sky! The four of us hid inside a motel for hours until the gas dissipated. When we came out, we saw all the food and items those Partisans had, and thought maybe they wouldn’t need them anymore! That’s the truth, I swear it!”

“Well, if you didn’t do it, who did? Huh? ANSWER ME!!!”

“I–I remember looking up and seeing a group of Air Mages in the sky. One of them was this little girl with long, blonde hair.?”

“A little flying girl with blonde hair?…..You mean Tanya!?”

“Yes! That’s the one! Tanya Degurechaff!” Dieter almost smiled.

Seras couldn’t believe it. She’d spent so much time fighting that she forgot the whole reason she was here in the first place.

“Where did she go? Tell me!” Seras’ tone sounded more desperate than angry.

“Oh, come on. I don’t know…” Dieter whined.

“Mate, you have no idea of all the horrible shit I’ve been through since yesterday. I’ll be lucky if I’m ever able to sleep again! If you don’t want to end up like your friends I just slaughtered, you’ll give me something NOW!”

Dieter needed to give an answer right now. “She’s–she’s probably headed to the church!”

“What church!?”

“The Amiens Cathedral! On the west side of town! It’s our last line of defense! The Republic is trying to take it back from us! Degurechaff is probably on her way to stop them! If you hurry, you might catch up with her!”

“And where can I find this cathedral?”

Dieter pointed to his right to a set of railroad tracks in a pit. “There! Follow the railway! It’ll lead you in the same direction! The church will be on the right side!”

“How do I know you’re not lying?”

“What would I have to gain by lying?” Dieter pleaded. “You’d find me again and butcher me like you did my men. I swear to God it’s the truth!”

Seras paused and took a long look at Dieter’s eyes. Somehow, she knew he wasn’t lying. She let go of the soldier and dropped him on the ground.

“Go! Get out of this town and away from this war!” She ordered him. “Run as far away as you can, and don’t come back! And if I find out you’re lying, there’s nowhere in the world where I can’t find you! Do you understand!?”

“Ja! Ich verstehe!” Dieter replied. “You won’t see me again, I promise!” Dieter ran far down the street until he was out of Seras’ sight.

The vampire followed Dieter’s directions and walked alongside the train tracks. She now had a new objective.

 But more than that, she now had a plan. 

She had hope. 

She had a way home.

“Rousseau. Amelie. Everyone else. I swear to you all, I won’t let your deaths be in vain. I won’t rest until every single one of those Kraut bastards is dead! 

“I will avenge you!”

“I will get home!”

“I. WILL. KILL HER.”

CHAPTER 8: DESPERATE ASSAULT

DuPont

10:00PM
400 meters from Amiens Cathedral

(“Come on! The final objective is within our reach!”) Captain DuPont shouted to his regiment. 

The 44th Republic Infantry fought through checkpoint after checkpoint, driving back any Imperial forces in their way. After many exhausting hours of battle, they’d finally backed the enemy into a corner. Only one objective remained: the Amiens Cathedral. If they took that, nothing would stop them from securing the railway and reclaiming Amiens. Victory was in plain sight.

However, there were three major problems in the way:

First, the street was narrow and blocked on either side by buildings. Flanking was impossible, and the only path leading to the church was fortified with machine guns, barbed wire, and heavy amounts of cover. The Imperials had enough troops to stall the Republic’s advance under constant gunfire. Tanks were the only thing capable of breaching the enemy’s defense, but most of them were either destroyed or stopped for refueling or repairs. 

Second, the Bosche used the church as a strategic defense ever since the occupation. Over two weeks, the building became a virtual fortress, with hundreds of soldiers defending it. Even more dangerous were the massive Flak 88 artillery cannons that were placed around the perimeter of the church. Not only were they lethal to infantry, but each cannon had enough firepower to blow apart a whole tank in a single shot! As long as they were intact, those cannons were a major threat.

The third and most critical problem–DuPont was running out of men. This battle had taken a huge toll on his invasion force. He started this assault with roughly 200,000 men and 40 tanks. In just hours, he was down to around 80,000 and only a handful of tanks. He had enough men to continue fighting, but they were still heavily outnumbered and outgunned by the enemy. And even then their numbers didn’t matter as long as they were pinned down. Without those tanks, this whole attack was stalled.

He kept his head low beneath a pile of sandbags, with two other men beside him. He already sent out his runner Corporal Michel to get an update on when the tanks would be ready to fight again. Without them, they couldn’t push their attack any further.

The Captain lost his RSC rifle earlier in the battle. He was now using a submachine gun called a Beretta Automatico 1918.

A weapon of Italian design, it was basically a normal carbine modified into a machine gun. The Automatico had a short barrel with a bipod and bayonet attached at the front. A long 25-round clip jutted from the top, using gravity to push the bullets down. This gave the gun an excellent rate of fire, but also made it difficult to control. DuPont didn’t really care for this gun, but a weapon was a weapon.

He stayed close to the ground to avoid the whizzing gunfire above him. When the enemies got close, he sprayed the Automatico’s bullets to hold them back. The shotgunner and LMG soldier were also doing their best to defend their positions. Right now, their situation was increasingly desperate.

“Damn it! Where the hell is Michel!?” He thought. “I need him to get me a report on those tanks!”

About fifteen minutes passed. Michel came into sight riding a horse to DuPont’s position. He dismounted at a safe position and ran the rest of the way on foot.

(“You took your sweet time getting here, corporal!”) DuPont greeted Michel. (“What’s the update on those tanks?”)

(“Sir! We’ve lost about half of our tanks! The rest are still under maintenance!”)

(“How long will it take them to finish?”)

(“They said in about thirty minutes! That was before I came back!”)

(“We’ll all be dead in thirty minutes if we have to wait any longer! What about our air support?”)

(“We have no air support, sir!”)

(“WHAT!?”)

(“WE HAVE–NO–AIR SUPPORT!!!”) Michel shouted. (“All of our planes and Air Mages have been shot down! Every last one!”)

The captain grimaced. The loss of their air power could only be caused by that bitch Tanya Degurechaff. With no air support and no way to contact their tanks, they were on their own.

(“What do we do now, sir!?”) Michel panicked as he hid beneath the sandbags.

(“We stay here and fight! To the last man, if we must!”) The Captain said as he reloaded his Automatico.

And they did just that, without hesitation. Whether it was by courage, desperation, or stupidity, the 44th never backed away. They kept their guns hot and fired relentlessly at the Boshe. But as minutes wore on, more of DuPont’s men were getting killed or critically wounded. To make matters worse, the enemy decided to push their attack.

(“The Bosche bastards are closing in! Hold them back!”) DuPont roared. 

The Captain rested his gun on his cover and opened fire. The Automatico was a terror at close range, but eats through bullets like candy. After only a few bursts, DuPont was forced to reload. But just when he reached for a clip, one of his men men cried out (“FLAME TROOPER!!!”)

“Flame trooper!? Oh, you can’t be fucking serious!” DuPont thought as he peeked over his cover. To his horror, there was indeed an armored enemy soldier wielding a Wex Flammenwerfer.

Dressed in a thick fireproof suit and a terrifying gas mask, he looked more like a demon from Hell than a man. His flamethrower was a long metal hose attached to a doughnut-shaped tank on his back. The weapon breathed fire intense enough to burn men down to the bone at a range of 330 feet. The flame trooper’s squadmates took care to stay back in order to avoid getting burned.

DuPont rarely panicked in the sight of death, but this time he couldn’t help himself. (“FALL BACK, OR YOU’LL GET BURNED ALIVE!!!”)

The Captain and his men retreated as fast as they could. Some were caught in the trooper’s hellish flames and died horrible, burning deaths. DuPont and Michel took cover in a building on their right and ran to the second floor. They looked through the window, and watched the pyromaniac wreak havoc on the ground. He was indiscriminately setting both his allies and DuPont’s men ablaze. 

(“This bastard’s burning his own men, too!? Doesn’t he even care about them!?”) Michel said in disgust. 

DuPont shushed him and calmed himself down. He paid close attention to the fuel tank the flame trooper held on his back. Maybe that was a weak point!

(Michel! If you can still shoot, aim at that lunatic’s back!”)

(“But if we shoot him, he’ll know we’re up here!”)

(Damn it, we have to try! If we don’t kill him, we’ll all be incinerated!”)

DuPont and Michel aimed their weapons and shot at the trooper’s round tank. Shooting it caused the flamethrower fuel to ignite out of control. By the time the trooper realized what happened, it was too late.

He tried in vain to remove the tank before it blew up. His screams of terror were muffled by his mask. Finally, the tank detonated, killing the flame trooper and any surrounding men and objects.

DuPont and Michel ran away from the windows to avoid the explosion. Minutes later, they went downstairs and back onto the streets. They were relieved to see that nothing of the flame trooper survived.

(Stop Music)

There was a temporary quiet. Either the enemy were caught in the explosion, or they fell back to avoid it. Either way, this was as good a chance as any to rest. Some of DuPont’s men who hadn’t been burned or blown up regrouped with him. Their blue uniforms were tattered and scorched, no doubt after almost getting immolated.

(“What do we do now, Captain?”) One soldier asked.

(“Looks like the Bosche have fallen back for now.”) DuPont said. (“Let’s use this time to rest and prepare a counterattack. Gather our dead and wounded, collect the enemy’s weapons, and meet back here to–”)

(“Oh, shit! Everyone, look!”) Michel pointed up at the sky. Far above in the distance was the vision of their worst nightmare: the 203rd Air Mages. And of course, Tanya was leading them.

DuPont and his surviving men were stunned with dread. There was no way they could survive another artillery barrage by the 203rd. If they tried to attack, the enemy was too far out of range. If they retreated, the 203rd would outrun them. If they took cover, the Air Mages would just collapse the buildings on top of them. There was literally nothing they could do, except wait to die.

The Captain thought back to his life before the war began. Back to when he lived in the capital with his wife Helen. They had only been married for a year, and lived a simple, happy life working at his wife’s bakery. By the time war was declared, Helen was six months pregnant with their first child. Pierre was forced to leave them due to the Republic’s conscription of all military-age males. 

Before Pierre left, he promised his wife, (“I will come back to you, my love. I’ll write to you every single day. And I will return to see you and our child when this war is over.”)

And now, he would never make that promise. He would never come home to his wife. He would never have a chance to meet his child. He would never lead his men safely through this campaign. He was going to die a pointless, cruel death like so many others in this war.

“It’s over. The battle is lost. We’re finished.”

CHAPTER 9: TRUE VAMPIRE

TANYA

Tanya and her battalion hovered high over the battlefield, observing the carnage below. While her subordinates looked on in silent mourning, Tanya was as cold and unemotional as ever.

The Imperial defenses managed to hold out for this long, despite taking huge casualties. As for the Republic they proved to be more troublesome than Tanya expected. Had the enemy finally managed to send some decently trained soldiers to fight, or had her own forces become lazy and incompetent over the past two weeks? In any case the Imperial defenses managed to last this long, despite taking huge casualties.

“I’m impressed how our ground forces managed to hold out with such a shoddy defense.” She thought.“Really, what idiot commander decided to send a flame trooper in such a narrow, crowded spot? It’s gonna be a logistical nightmare cleaning the mess left by all this.”

Oh, well. At least now that they’re present, they can finally end this absurd battle.

<“BATTALION!!!”> The blonde called out to her men. <“The enemy has made a valiant effort, but their assault ends here! I believe it’s time we send them a clear message! Amiens belongs to the Fatherland! And it will stay that way for however long we wish! If they want to die for this town, let’s grant them their wish! Ready your weapons!”>

The 203rd loaded their guns and charged artillery spells.

<“AIM!!!”>

They all paused to aim and awaited the next order.

<“FI–”>

<“WHAT!?”> 

Tanya couldn’t believe what she saw! Without warning, they were just suddenly attacked by a huge barrage of gunfire! She and some of her men managed to evade the shots, but many were torn to pieces in an instant!

<“Just where the fuck did that even come from!?”> Tanya cried. <“All of you, find where those shots came from, now!”> The Air Mages looked around frantically to find this new enemy.

DuPont and his regiment were confused as well. Right when they were on the verge of death, they were saved by some unknown soldier? Just who came to their rescue?

The answer for all of them came after the firing stopped. Tanya heard a familiar voice that chilled her spine.

“OI! LITTLE MISS KRAUT! DOWN HERE!”

“No……No! This is a joke, right? It can’t be her!”

SERAS

“Yeah, that’s right! You remember me, don’t you! Last night at the clock tower–you shot me in the head! Well, guess what–I got better!” 

Seras was standing on one of the rooftops just right next to the battlefield in the street.

Seras looked like a completely different person. Her skin and hair had dulled to an almost-white shade. Her eyes were now permanently blood-red. Her Partisan uniform had changed to dark crimson and black, as if they were soaked in blood. What was most frightening was the aura of rage and bloodlust she seemed to give off. In other words, Seras was now a True Vampire.

Everyone who looked at her was stunned, but for different reasons. To DuPont and his men, she was their avenging angel come to save them. To the Bosche, she was a raging demon coming for their blood. To Tanya and the 203rd, she was a ghost coming back to haunt her!

Tanya’s men were lost in fear and confusion. 

<“Isn’t that the Partisan spy from last night? I thought we killed her!”> Warren said.

<“The Major shot her in the head! How did she survive!?”> Visha replied.

“No! This isn’t happening! Why are you here!? WHY ARE YOU STILL ALIVE!?” Tanya screamed at the top of her lungs.

“Ah, so you do remember me. Good!” Seras said with a cocky smirk. “A little birdy told me I’d find you buzzing around this sorry place. I guess he was right! I don’t know what army would be sick enough to send little girls to fight, but they’re the most bloody pathetic one I’ve ever seen!”

Seras paused for a second and continued, “I’ve heard a few people call you the ‘Devil of the Rhine,’ or some bollocks like that. Well, I’ve seen the devil! I’ve served him! Fought with him! Seen him tear humans, ghouls, and vampires limb from limb! And you haven’t earned the right to compare yourself to him! Without your friends protecting you, you’re just a sad little girl with a few magic tricks and delusions of grandeur!”

The Vampire used her enhanced vision to close in on Tanya’s face. The Air Mage was so infuriated that her whole face turned red. Good!

“So come at me! All of you! Bring all the magic and bullets you got at me! It won’t matter in the end! Because you’ll never kill me! Not today! Not tomorrow! Not fucking ever! And one last thing–we have a saying at Hellsing Manor.”

“BITCHES LOVE CANNONS!”

No more words were spoken. Seras loaded her Harkonnen II’s for another salvo. Tanya and her 203rd prepared their weapons as well. A short, heavy silence broke between them. Each side was ready to fire until every last bullet was spent.

This was the beginning of their final battle.

DuPont looked up at this bizarre turn of events. A single girl with two gigantic cannons was taking on the entire 203rd Air Mage Battalion! Somehow, he gave a small smile.

“That girl just saved this war for us!”

TO BE CONCLUDED IN PART 3

Edward: Excellent! We’ve compiled the research, analyzed the fighters, and came to our final conclusion! There’s only one thing left to do!

Louis: Without further ado, it’s time to go to war!

Edward: Seras Victoria or Tanya Degurechaff? Which of these courageous soldiers will win in a historic duel between two European empires?

Louis: The outcome of this great war is once again centered on this website. Prepare your weapons, hone your courage, and now……….IT’S TIME FOR A DEATH BATTLE!

OPENING MOVIE:

CHAPTER 1: BEING X

SERAS

2138 Hours (9:38PM)
No Man’s Land

“Wh–what the? This isn’t my–“

The first thing Seras felt was the cold rain pelting against her back, and the wet, muddy ground beneath her chest, The harsh smell of fire and gunpowder filled her nostrils. The blonde vampire woke up slowly, her eyes filled with the sight of what seemed to be a damaged artillery cannon.

At Seras’ foot was the fallen body of a young man in a blue uniform and a bowl-shaped helmet holding a bolt-action rifle. The soldier was killed, his death made evident by the three massive bullet wounds through his back.

Seras backed away in terror and turned around, only to see that the ground was littered with more young soldiers killed in similar fashions. Some wore light blue uniforms like their comrade while their enemies were dressed in olive green, but they were all dead the same.

Their bodies twisted in grotesque positions, and their injuries ranged widely from bullet wounds, to stab wounds, shrapnel wounds, gas burns, and so on. Also among the dead were horses with their riders shot off of them, pigeons who were carrying small messages, and dogs who died protecting their handlers.

All around, the land was wracked in ruin and destruction. The ground was covered in huge, wide craters like a lunar landscape. Trees were stripped of their branches and reduced to tall spires of burnt wood. A tall windmill was found with a big, gaping hole in one side. Beside the structure were the broken husks of airplanes, tanks, and armored cars, now serving as the coffins of the people who drove them. A thick, black blanket of clouds covered the sky so much that one couldn’t even tell night from day.

Seras Victoria froze in fear as all these terrible sights hit her at once.

“Just where the Hell am I!? Is this some kind of battlefield?”

The rain came down harder, making the mud too liquid and sticky to traverse. The vampire girl climbed out of the trench and walked on solid ground. The merciless rain pelted her hair, face and clothes, but she was too lost in her thoughts to notice.

“None of this makes sense!” She thought. “Just what the bloody hell is going on!? Last night, I was asleep in my coffin in Hellsing Manor just like always, and now….What am I doing in the middle of a warzone!?”

Maybe this was some sort of nightmare. She had been suffering a lot of those since becoming a vampire. But…….her nightmares usually involved something strange and cartoonish, like her being chased by ghouls, or speaking to her Master Alucard. This felt far too real and far too grim to be the case.

Seras felt sick with a knawing feeling in her stomach. All around her, she saw nothing but death across the silent battlefield.

Desperately, she tried calling out the names of her friends:

“MASTER ALUCAAAAAAAAAARD!!!!!!!”

“SIR INTEGRAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!”

“WALTEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRR!!!!!!”

“CAPTAIN BEEEEEERNADOOOOOOOOOOOTTE!!!!!!!!”

Her voice echoed for several yards ahead, but no one answered. “Anybody?” Seras squeaked, before she finally realized she was all alone.

With no guide and no destination in sight, all the frightened 19-year-old could do was find a place to take shelter from the rain. Seras aimlessly wandered the battlefield for what seemed like twenty minutes and just when she was about to give up hope, she found a small church with its roof blown open and its windows shattered. At least the walls were still intact.

She raced towards the small structure, but cautiously crept through the doors. Without speaking, she peeked inside, and found that it was completely vacant. No soldiers–not even dead ones–were inside. The interior was a gloomy blueish-black, the benches and statues vastly damaged by what seemed like gunfire from the outside.

The vampire girl was alone, but at least she’d found a place to rest and get out of the rain. She picked a dry spot away from a hole in the ceiling and sat on the floor. Her body was shivering, her hair and clothes soaking wet from the freezing rain.

Her mind was racing through a forest of questions: Was she still in England? Had she gone back in time? Was this some alternate world where the Millennium Army had taken over Europe? Or maybe it really all was just a bizarre nightmare?

“It’s gotta be a nightmare.” Seras concluded in her mind. “It’s just got to be. I’ll just close my eyes, and go back to sleep. Next morning, I’ll be awake in my coffin at the mansion, and everything will be normal again.”

Ignoring the cold across her body, blonde girl yawned loudly, and lied on the rocky floor in a fetal position. She closed her eyes, and calmed herself back to sleep.

The world around Seras turned pitch black, devoid of any objects or people. Except for one. Seras noticed a small wooden nutcracker on the floor. The strange toy was painted like a Royal British soldier from the 18th Century. Such a thing seemed wildly out-of-place for someplace like this. Maybe it was another part of her nightmare?

Seras picked up the toy and looked at it closely. It seemed like an ordinary nutcracker, with its bright red paint, its white felt beard, and its wide, toothy mouth. It looked so normal, in fact, that Seras wasn’t prepared for what would happen next.

“SERAS VICTORIA.” A thunderous voice boomed in the dark place. Seras yelped and dropped the toy in shock.

“Wh–what the Hell!? Who’s talking!?” Seras frantically looked around for the source of that voice, until she looked down and realized that it was coming from the nutcracker itself!

“FEAR NOT, MY CHILD. FOR I AM THE GOD OF THE WORLD IN WHICH YOU STAND.” The nutcracker spoke without moving its mouth. “BUT YOU MAY ADDRESS ME AS……‘BEING X.’“

“First minute, I wake up in a warzone in the middle of nowhere, and the next minute God’s talking to me!? Now I know I’m in a bloody nightmare!” Seras shouted in her mind.

“HEED MY WORDS, YOUNG SERAS, FOR I HAVE BROUGHT YOU HERE TO COMPLETE A TASK OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE.” The god disguised as a nutcracker said.
“YOU WILL TRAVEL WEST TO THE RUINED TOWN OF AMIENS. THERE YOU WILL FIND A CHILD SOLDIER WITH BRIGHT YELLOW HAIR AND CRYSTAL BLUE EYES. MANY KNOW HER AS THE “DEVIL OF THE RHINE”, FOR THE ABHORRENT NUMBER OF LIVES SHE HAS TAKEN DURING THIS WAR. SHE IS AN UNFAITHFUL CHILD WHO CONTINUES TO FORSAKE ME AND CAST DOWN MY NAME. THE TIME HAS COME FOR HER JUDGEMENT. DESTROY THIS WICKED CREATURE, AND I SHALL RETURN THEE TO THINE PROPER WORLD. NOW, GO!”

All of a sudden, a bright flash emanated from the nutcracker, and Seras covered her face she was overwhelmed!

“AHHHHHHH!!!!!” Seras woke up shrieking, her eyes shooting open in terror. Looking around, she saw that she was still in the same crumbling church in the same battlefield under the same heavy rain. However, one thing was different: Seras’ hand was resting on one of her weapons–the semiautomatic Anti-Midians rifle. And slung on her back was her own Harkonnen I Anti-Tank Rifle! Where did they come from? She didn’t bring them with her!

On top of that, she was instructed by a damn NUTCRACKER that the only way to get home was to kill some girl she doesn’t even know! Was Seras going insane!?

“This–this is no nightmare.” Seras realized to her horror. “This is all real. It’s really happening!” Still, she had no other leads or ideas to go on. If she was to get home, her only chance was to go west and find this “Devil of the Rhine.” Whoever she was.

CHAPTER 2: AMIENS

TANYA

Two hours later….
Amiens, Francois Republic
5 miles west

Amiens was once a beautiful and lively town, known for its delicious food, grand cathedrals, joyful people, and colorful architecture. But as the war found its way to the Francois Republic, all of that faded away.

The city had come under attack by the Empire, a warring neighbor of the Republic. The Republican soldiers were courageous, but no match for the Empire’s fearsome squads of elite Air Mages. After long months of fighting, the Republicans were pushed far back into Amiens, and their city fell under control of their enemies.

Weeks passed, and Amiens was a shadow of its former self. The town’s food became rations for Imperial soldiers; their churches and hospitals were used as barracks; the colorful atmosphere became dull and gray due to bad weather; and the people grew scared and resentful of their enemies. All in all, Amiens was now a town of misery.

Along the narrow streets was a small squadron of Imperial Air Mages, their dark green uniforms hidden beneath the heavy raincoats they are forced to wear due to the storm. They were members of the 203rd Battalion, a team of proud and elite Air Mages who had scored more victories for the Empire than any other unit. They were also part of the expedition that captured Amiens. For two weeks the Republican town was under their control, and now they ran the duty of patrolling it. It was long, tedious work that constantly put them under the harsh weather, but someone had to do it.

Currently, the young men of the 203rd had dealt with a group of armed partisans who tried to ambush them. With their outdated weapons and lack of training, the 20-or-so rebels were easily defeated by the more experienced Air Mages. Their leader ordered the surviving eight ambushers to be executed as a warning to any future troublemakers. Though the men of the 203rd did their best to appear stoic and professional, they were actually very uneasy with carrying out such brutal orders.

The commanding officer, Tanya Degurechaff, had no such remorse. In fact, she carried out most of the executions herself. The girl’s short blonde hair and cold sapphire eyes were hidden beneath her raincoat. Her coal black boots were soaked up to their ankles in the half-flooded streets. The thundering staccato of gunfire pounded her ears, but Tanya felt nothing. Despite being only eleven, Tanya was a loyal Air Mage for almost three years, and was no stranger to the carnage of war. She looked on in cold satisfaction as the foolish dissidents were being swept away like the trash they were.
With that finished, the child commander turned towards her squad.

<Translated from German>

<“Alright, men! We’re finished here! Prepare to resume patro–“>

All of a sudden, everything stopped! The raindrops halted in midair, the troops’ movements froze, and the water stopped flowing. Tanya grew an enraged, paranoid look on her face…She knew exactly what–or who–was about to show up.

In another bizarre twist, one of the dead partisans shifted its eyes to Tanya and began speaking. “TANYA DEGURECHAFF.”

Impulsively, Tanya immediately fired at the talking corpse and blew its head off.

“Being X! You worthless piece of shit! Did you come back to haunt me again!?”

“MY CHILD…” Being X spoke to her from another corpse. “WHY DO YOU CONTINUE TO CURSE MY NAME? I, WHO MERCIFULLY GIFTED YOU WITH A NEW LIFE IN ORDER TO ESCAPE DEATH?”

“A ‘new life!?’ Don’t gimme that crap!” Tanya hissed. “You brought me to this shithole of a world just to strong-arm me into worshiping You! All my life, You’ve done nothing but torment me, and You caused this whole war just to satisfy Your ego!”

Tanya shot at the corpse, before Being X found another one to possess.

“DEAR CHILD.” The deity spoke. “WHO PROVIDED YOU WITH THE POWERS AND WEAPONS TO SURVIVE THIS WAR? WHO WAS IT WHO BLESSED YOU WITH MAGIC? ALLOWED YOU TO BECOME A SOLDIER? BECOME FEARED AND COMMENDED AS THE EMPIRE’S MOST LETHAL WARRIOR?”

“Screw You! I did all those things in spite of You!” The blonde soldier screamed. “My powers and rank are just the means to accomplish it!”

“GIFTED WITH THE POWERS OF GOD HIMSELF, AND YET THOU CONTINUE TO DEFY ME. SUCH A DISAPPOINTMENT. BUT I WILL TOLERATE THY ARROGANCE NO MORE! THE TIME HAS COME FOR THY JUDGEMENT! FOR I HAVE SUMMONED A WARRIOR FROM ANOTHER WORLD. ONE WHO POSSESS WEAPONS AND STRENGTH FAR BEYOND THINE. SHE IS AN AGENT OF MY WRATH, AND SHE WILL BRING ABOUT THY DEMISE.”

“I don’t care how powerful she is! This isn’t the first time you sent some deranged believer out to kill me, and it never worked! I’ll defeat your ‘agent of wrath’ just like all the rest! AND I WILL NEVER, EVER WORSHIP YOU!!!”

Tanya emptied her clip into the last corpse until it became a pile of bloody, severed parts. She noticed a few seconds later that time resumed its normal course. She looked around and saw her men’s faces staring at her in confusion.

<“Major? Are you alright?”> Lieutenant Viktoriya spoke to her.

<“I–I’m fine, Lieutenant.”>

<“Who were you just talking to?”> Asked another soldier.

<“No one! It was no one! I’m just tired. That’s all.”> Tanya replied.

The Air Mages decided to drop the subject and leave their commander alone. Tanya looked to the raining sky and scowled.

“I swear, Being X. Someday, I’ll be the agent of Your judgement!”

CHAPTER 3: THROUGH MUD AND BLOOD

For the past two hours, Seras trudged through miles of mud and blood in search of her target. Her clothes, face, and weapons were caked with multiple stains of soggy dirt. Even the constant downpour of rain did little to clean it.

“This is disgusting. She thought to herself. “When this is over, the first thing I’m gonna do is take a long, hot shower.”

Seras traveled west to Amiens for what she guessed was about 4 miles, with only her vampire stamina keeping her awake. Her only guidance was a few wooden signs vaguely pointing in the town’s direction (and it didn’t help that they were all in French). Would it have killed Being X to give her a map and a compass?

Despite this, she somehow managed to find her way to the weeping city. But Amiens proved to be no better than the trenches–and in some cases, worse. Aside from being bogged down in rain, the streets and alleys were constantly guarded with soldiers and tanks roaming around. Other soldiers were posted on machine guns behind sandbags or onboard trucks, and some were snipers who camped in tall hotels and church towers. The town was also littered with debris from buildings and vehicles, and the streets pitted with holes caused by explosions. Getting around this town was another headache in an already unpleasant experience.

Using the training that Captain Bernadotte gave her, Seras kept to the dark, avoiding any patrolling footsoldiers or snipers who could see her. She crept through shadows like a rat, crawling through large holes left in several abandoned homes and shops. It would help if she learned how to transform into a bat like her master Alucard. Even so, Seras managed not to draw any attention to herself from the numerous patrolling guards below.

Seras found her way into a second-story apartment that looked like a little girl’s bedroom. To her right was a set of windows, through which she saw a group of soldiers in olive raincoats on the streets. Around them were the dead bodies of armed men, presumably victims of an ambush or execution. Though the soldiers’ hoods obscured their faces, Seras was close enough to the ground to make out a few of them.

Out of the dozen-or-so soldiers, there were only two women. One was a somewhat-tall brunette teenager around high school age, with large ocean blue eyes. The other was a much shorter girl with blonde hair and azure eyes who looked young enough to be in Middle School. Even though she was only a child, she carried herself with the same authority and intimidation felt from any adult.

Seras remembered Being X saying that her target was a blonde, blue-eyed girl. Sure, it wasn’t much to go on, but how often does one see a 10-year-old in the military? Let alone as a patrolman? With nothing to lose, Seras decided to go downstairs and confirm whether or not this girl was the so-called “Devil of the Rhine.”

The Hellsing agent exited through the first floor and took cover behind a ruined half-track. From their behaviors, she could tell that none of the soldiers had noticed her–yet. “Good. Let’s keep it that way as long as possible.” She thought.

The blonde soldier shouted in a commanding tone to her adult comrades: “Luftmagier! Wir sind fertig mit diesen Partisanenschweinen! Überprüfe deine Waffen und bereite dich auf die Patrouille vor!”

“Jawhol, Major!” The soldiers replied while saluting.

“Germans. Great.” Seras groaned. “Next they’re gonna be doing the ‘Heil Hitler’ salute while singing the bloody Horst Wessel Song.” She remembered her nightmarish encounters with the Millennium Army and wondered if these Germans were anything like them. They didn’t act like vampires though, since they weren’t eating their victims.

While she was busy looking at the soldiers, Seras didn’t notice the wet, rainy air filling her nose, causing her to sneeze. “Ah–AHH–ACHOO!!!”

The Germans noticed. They snapped towards Seras’ cover and ordered her to come out in her language.

“Shit! Way to blow your cover, Victoria!” Seras chastised herself for sneezing.

“Raus!” Shouted the little blonde girl holding a rifle. “Komm langsam raus mit deinen Händen über deinem Kopf! Lass alle Waffen fallen, die du hast!” She fired a warning shot at Seras’ cover, the bullet whizzing right past her hair. “RAUS!!!” She roared again.

“Okay! Okay! I’m coming out!” Seras cried. She didn’t speak their language, but she could tell they wanted her to reveal herself. She placed her weapons on the ground and came out with her hands raised.

Smiling nervously, she tried to speak what little German she knew. “Uummmm, Guten Tag?

Mein Name……Seras Victoria? Ich bin ein police girl. Looken for ein blond girl, yah?”

The soldiers looked at each other confused, while the girl, Tanya, looked unimpressed.
The tall brunette, Viktoriya asked her, <“Uh, Major. What is this girl talking about?”>

<“She has no idea what she’s saying. She obviously doesn’t speak our language.”> Tanya replied as took a long, careful look at the stranger in front.

She was wearing a light tan uniform that didn’t belong to any army Tanya’s familiar with. She wore her short blonde hair in a ponytail, and her eyes were a deep ocean blue like her own. Something was definitely strange about this new soldier. Was she the “agent of judgement” that Being X told her about?

“Identify yourself! State your name, rank, and unit!” Tanya commanded Seras in English.
“She speaks English! Thank God!” Seras thought. At least something was going her way. “My name’s Seras Victoria. I don’t belong to any army. I’m just looking for someone. Do you happen to know somebody called ‘Devil of the Rhine?’ “

Suddenly, the blonde German girl’s face gave a look of shock and rage. The soldiers behind her were muttering to each other. What could this stranger possibly want with Major Degurechaff?

<“Men! Report back to HQ at once! Tell them to send a battalion to this location!”> Tanya ordered her squad in her native language.

Viktoriya looked at her Major in confusion. <“Uhhh, Major? With respect, ma’am, we’re not under attack. What purpose would we have for sending–“>

<“This girl is an enemy! She’s a Partisan spy gathering intel for the Republic! If we let her go, she’ll tell them the locations of our key strategic points in this town. I’ll stay behind and make sure she doesn’t escape!”>

<“But, Tanya–“>

<“YOU HAVE YOUR ORDERS, SOLDIER! NOW, DO AS YOU’RE TOLD!”> The child

Major’s outburst surprised everyone, even herself. Luckily, experience taught her men that it was never a good idea to get on her bad side.

<“You heard her comrades! Back to HQ!”> Shouted Matheus Weiss, the squad’s 2nd-in-command. The loyal Air Mages activated their Flight Gears, powered by the glowing crystal orbs on their uniforms. They levitated quickly and shot up into the rainy sky, flying away in a forward direction.

“Holy shit! These people can fly!?” Seras thought as she witnessed the spectacular feat above her. Her attention was brought back to Tanya, who pointed her rifle at the supposed spy in fury.

“Good. Now it’s just you and me.” The Air Mage leader said with cold fury.

“Just who are you? What did you just tell your men?” Seras queried.

“That’s irrelevant! The real question is who the Hell are you!?” Tanya snapped. “But I already know–you’re the one Being X sent to kill me, aren’t you!?”

That confirmed it. If this girl claims to know who Being X is, she must be the one Seras is after! Still, she couldn’t let her know that. “L-look, love, there’s been a misunderstanding. I don’t know who Being X–“

“Cut the bullshit!” Tanya hissed. “You’re another one His deranged cultists out to do His bidding! Well, it won’t work! That pompous bastard sent two religious lunatics to kill me before, and both of them failed! You’ll be no different!”

*BANG!!!*

Tanya fired a shot that landed in Seras’ stomach! The Brit shrieked and collapsed to her knees, clutching her bleeding wound in pain.

The Major looked on pleasantly surprised. She knew she was more than capable of killing this girl, but she didn’t expect it to be this easy. “Really, Being X? This pathetic Saumensch is the best you got!? I’d almost feel embarrassed for her if it wasn’t You who sent her!” But Tanya soon found her pride was short-lived.

“Y’know…..I’ve been shot through the chest once or twice before.” Seras said, her pain fading away. In what could only be described as a miracle, the vampire agent got back to her feet.

“Guess what?…I got better.” Her bullet wound closed up and vanished like she was never shot.

Tanya couldn’t believe her eyes! What was this!? Any other person would be bleeding to death from a wound like that! Was this another trick by Being X!? No matter, Tanya thought. She would just have to play with her enemy for a while till she finds a way to kill her.

Seras grit her fanged teeth. Clearly, this psychotic little Kraut had every intent to kill her.

No amount of talking would get her out of this–this was a fight now.

CHAPTER 4: THE FIRST SHOTS

Seras rolled to her left and crouched behind the ruined APC. She grabbed her Anti-Midians rifle and opened fire. To her surprise, a blue barrier sprang up and shielded Tanya from the bullets. The child major looked unimpressed and returned fire with her Mondragon rifle.
Seras crouched back into cover, doing her best to keep her head down.

Lucky for her, the rusted tank provided adequate defense against the powerful German bullets. Being a vampire, Seras had the advantage of a strong healing factor, but that didn’t mean she liked getting shot. She lifted her gun over her shoulder and blind-fired at Tanya, hoping to disrupt her fire for a bit. Like before, she could do little but wear down her enemy’s shield, but Tanya knew better than to let that happen.

The Imperial Air Mage activated the crimson Elenium Crystal on her uniform and took to the skies. Ignoring the droplets of rain whipping her face, Tanya dashed forward and rained down magical shots at her target.

“Bloody Hell!” Seras shrieked as she ran to avoid the deadly blue beams. She ducked her head and scurried away as the shots pounded the street around her. Though she did her best to run, the slippery, rain-soaked streets made that difficult. Each shot from Tanya’s rifle exploded like an artillery shell, causing large craters in each place they hit. Seras tried to shoot back with her semi-auto rifle, but Tanya was too small and fast a target to hit reliably.

Already this odds of this battle were in Tanya’s favor. Her crystal gave her an enormous edge in both flight and speed. All she had to do was wear Seras down to exhaustion, and then finish her when she became too tired to retreat. She continued peppering the ground with artillery bullets, each shot exploding like a hand grenade.

On the ground, Seras was blown forward several feet and crashed face-first on the hard pavement. If she were still an ordinary human, that would already caused her some major damage. She tried to shoot with one hand while crouching, but was so dazed that her shots missed Tanya by several feet.

“Pathetic! You’re making this way too easy!” Tanya laughed as Seras’ shots misssed her. The blond soldier rocketed towards the sky, around 300 feet above the city. Tanya charged her bayonet, its metal blade glowing blue with magic. Tanya dove downwards and charged at Seras, swinging her rifle like a halberd. The bayonet cut a deep gash into Seras’ arm, nearly severing it. The Hellsing agent didn’t even have time to scream as Tanya charged again, this time slicing her left torso.

Seras cried loudly as she suffered more lacerations along her chest, face, limbs, and stomach. Each wound leaked a frightening amount of blood, which would’ve already killed Seras were she not a vampire. She fought the pain across her body and struggled back to her feet.

Tanya gave a smile of sadistic glee as she watched her opponent. “This Saumench can’t possibly have any fight left in her. I’ll give her a mercy killing.”

The Air Mage dashed forward and kicked Seras in the chin, sending her flying several feet back on the street. She landed face-up and too dazed to stand; she’d also dropped her rifle in the attack. Tanya stood on top of the vampire and held her rifle like a spear, ready to pierce Seras’ heart! The police girl shook off her dizziness and grabbed Tanya’s rifle by the bayonet before it could skewer her. Tanya’s knife inched closer and closer between Seras’ breasts, nearly touching the buttons on her tan uniform.

“Bollocks to this! I am not gonna die to some fucking pre-schooler who thinks she’s a soldier!” The blond vampire thought while giving a look of angry determination.
She poured her strength into her arms and slowly pushed the enemy’s knife away. The wounds in her legs started to heal, which gave her the strength to stand back up.

Roaring with fury, the vampire pushed the rifle further and further back, as her enemy Tanya was losing all her momentum. The child soldier’s joy turned to fear and confusion. “What is this? How the Hell could she have healed this soon already!?”

“You will not kill me! YOU–WILL–NOT–FUCKING–KILL ME!” Seras finally regained her ground and yanked away Tanya’s rifle while she was off-balance. She then kneed the child soldier in the gut and sent her flying with an uppercut.

Tanya was shot up above the rooftops like a mortar shell, but quickly regained her balance with her Elenium Crystal. A gunshot crashed into Tanya’s personal shield, nearly penetrating it. The Imperial soldier looked down and saw Seras taking aim with the stolen Mondragon.
“That bitch! How dare she shoot at me with my own weapon!”

Feeling insulted, the Air Mage pulled out another weapon–her prized SIG MKMS submachine gun. She sprayed several bullets down, who didn’t even flinch as the bullets exploded all around her. Tanya’s clip quickly ran out, forcing her to search for a fresh one.
But before she could reloaded, she again took gunfire–not from Seras, but from armed civilians hiding in a nearby house!

The surprise attack caused the Air Mage to drop her magazine and race back down to the street to recover it. She was forced to take cover behind a set of sandbags next to a building across the street.“Partisans!? Why now of all times!?” The Air Mage snarled as she kept her head beneath cover.

She looked in frustration as her target had enough time to retrieve her lost rifle and run in the Partisan house. She even had the nerve to take Tanya’s gun with her!
A few minutes passed. Tanya prepared to throw a smoke grenade to throw off the Partisans’ aim.

Suddenly, a voice crackled to life on her radio. <“Major! This is Vice Commander Weiss! We’re coming to provide backup! And we’re bringing the battalion you ordered!”>

Tanya peeked out of her cover and saw her teammates were indeed coming, along with a truck of the promised infantry. Inside the truck, she saw at least three troopers in heavy gear and gas masks, carrying what looked like flamethrowers. Seeing those gave Tanya a sinister idea.

“Flamethrowers. We’ll burn her out.”

CHAPTER 5: BURNIN’ DOWN THE HOUSE

Seras was glad she took advantage of her lucky break.

“Thank God she didn’t get my heart, or I would’ve been finished.” The police girl thought. “Although, I’m not sure ‘God’s’ the one I should be thanking.” After all, Being X was the reason Seras was in this hellhole in the first place.

She hid behind an old couch with her two rifles, waiting for her wounds to heal. Her healing factor wasn’t quite as robust as her master Alucard’s, but it still knew how to put her back together.

The interior was completely ruined–its walls, floors, and furniture covered in dust and ash. The windows were barred in with wooden planks. No one was on the first floor. But above, Seras felt the ceiling rattling with the noise of gunfire and furious shouting. Didn’t matter. She was safe as long as no one knew she existed.

The vampire peeked through the windows, and saw a big armored truck carrying uniformed men with guns.

“Just my luck.” Seras groaned. “As if one of these bastards isn’t hard enough to deal with.”

The good news was, the gunfire from upstairs was holding them back. If Seras was careful, she might crawl her way out of the house before the Imperials have time to notice her.

Suddenly, a small object broke through the window above and landed on the floor. The object was small and metal, and oddly shaped like a potato masher. Seras knew exactly what it was.

“Shit! Stick grenade! I’m finished!” She shut her eyes and awaited the inevitable explosion……..except there was no explosion.

*HIIIISSSSS!*

The grenade released a harmless cloud of white smoke.

“Phew! Just a smoke grenade.” Seras sighed in relief. The Hellsing agent threw the non-lethal explosive through the window and carried on. Outside, the white smoke filled the area around the front of the building. The gunfire upstairs halted, the attackers blinded by the smoke. Seras looked nervous–she felt like she just made a grave mistake.

She heard Tanya’s voice shouting to her comrades outside: “Der Partisanenspion flüchtet mit ihren Verbündeten in diesem Haus! Nimm deine Flammenwerfer und verbrenne sie! Verbrenne sie alle auf den verdammten Boden!”

“Whatever she’s saying, it doesn’t sound good.” Seras worried. She kept her head low continued crawling……

…..Until a huge stream of fire blazed through the windows right above her!

“CHRIST!!! A bloody FLAMETHROWER!?” The vampire shouted in horror. As much as she wanted to run, she needed to keep to the ground to avoid getting burned or inhaling smoke.
The flames scorched the wooden walls and furniture, ravaging the hallway. The vampire crawled as fast as she could, but before she knew it, another flamethrower fired through the window in front! And then another the window further down!

“Oh, gimme a fucking break!” Cried Seras. The whole house became a blazing inferno. The flames raced their ways into the living room, the kitchen, and the bedrooms. The police girl dodged the second flamethrower in the middle, and later the third one at the end. With all three deathtraps cleared, now was the time to get the hell out of the building!

Seras frantically raced up the stairs, dodging flames and falling wood along the way. She reached the second floor, which wasn’t on fire yet, but covered in thick smoke. The blonde coughed painfully, and covered her mouth to avoid inhaling more smoke. Seras needed to find an exit, but she could barely see five feet through the thick smoke.

On her right, panicked men in civilian clothes crashed through the door, whom Seras assumed to be the Partisans. The rebels raced down the hallway, too terrified to notice Seras. The vampire girl followed the men as the inferno burned away at the house’s foundations, weakening the second floor. Flaming debris fell, crushing two of the soldiers beneath it.

The guy on the left was killed instantly, while his companion on the right cried out for help: “Aidez-moi, s’il vous plaît! Enlevez-moi ça! Je ne veux pas mourir comme ça!”

“Hang on, mate! We’ll get you outta there!” Seras and the other Partisan rushed to his aid and began lifting the wooden beam off of him. The former used her vampire strength to lift the heavy plank while the latter grabbed his friend’s hand to pull him to safety. But suddenly, a storm of gunfire tore through the ceiling and tore the guy on Seras’ left to shreds.

Seras covered her head in shock and then looked up through the hole that in the ceiling. Far above, Tanya and two other Air Mages were aiming their rifles down.

<“Concentrate fire! Collapse the house on top of them!”> The Air Mage leader commanded. As ordered, they fired down at the flaming building, each magic round tearing through every room and item inside. Sure, it was a needlessly destructive plan, but Tanya could always use the excuse that they were ambushed by Partisans.

Seras barely rescued the last surviving Partisan and carried him on her back.

“Don’t you think this is overdoing it, you bloody PSYCHOPATH!?” Seras screamed as she raced through the halls, dodging flames and gunfire. Fortunately, she found her exit in the form of a large hole blown in a window. The Hellsing agent poured her vampire speed into her legs and jumped out of the house!

BOOM!!!

(Stop Music)

A huge explosion rang out of the hole in the window. Just a second too late, and Seras and her ally would be burned to a crisp. The house rapidly crumbled into a pile of burning wood, glass and stone. Seras decided to flee the area quickly before her and the Partisan would be found.

About ten minutes passed. Vice Commander Weiss approached his leader Tanya with a report: <“Major, we’ve discovered two enemy corpses buried beneath the rubble. However, we’ve found no trace of the female spy.”> His face quivered a little in fear of his commander’s response.

Tanya snarled at him, <“Then she’s not dead! Double your search!”> The child soldier barked at the older man.

<“Ma’am. With all due respect, why are we wasting our time trying to kill one spy?”> Asked Warren Grantz, a younger member of the battalion.

In a sudden fit of rage, Tanya punched the blonde man in the stomach and grabbed him by the jacket.

<“We just tried to burn an entire house on top of her, and somehow she escaped! And that was after I riddled her with bullets and sliced her with my bayonet! Who else knows what she’s capable of!? As long as she lives, she poses an enormous threat–not only to ourselves, but to the Fatherland itself! Now follow your orders and keep searching!”>

<“Y-yes, ma’am! Sorry for questioning you!”> Warren grabbed his aching stomach and resumed his search. His comrades all did the same, not wanting to anger their leader further.

Tanya bit her thumb. “Scheisse!” She cursed in her mind. “This girl is becoming a pain in my ass! What kind of monster did you send against me, Being X!?”

Meanwhile, Seras and her new friend took cover in a small but elegant dress shop. The two hid in a dressing room, away from any windows or doors.

“Are you alright, love?” Seras asked the wounded man.

“I’ll live.” The Partisan grunted. His right arm was broken thanks to the fallen debris. Seras found a dress hanging by the mirror. She tore a few strips of cloth and fashioned a sling for his arm.

“Merci beaucoup, jeune fille.” The soldier thanked her in his language. “I won’t forget you for saving my life.”

“You’re welcome, sir.” She responded. “And……I’m sorry about your friends back in that house.”

“Emil and Raphael were good men.” The older man said. “I will miss them dearly, but now’s not the time for grieving.” He stuck out his good arm to shake his rescuer’s hand. “My name is Jean. Jean Rousseau. And you are?”

“I’m Seras Victoria.” She replied, shaking the man’s hand. “Nice to finally meet someone who’s not trying to kill me.”

The man named Rousseau chuckled softly. “Sadly, things in Amiens haven’t been the same since the Imperial occupation. Many of us have either gone into hiding or took up arms against the Bosche.” He paused.

“I’m sorry–the ‘Bosche’?” Seras gave a look like she’d never heard that word before.

“Our word for those Fatherland bastards.” Rousseau answered. “Like the ones who were just trying to kill you. So, tell me, you’re from the Allied Kingdom, are you not? I’ve never heard of them taking female soldiers.”

“The Allied–” The blonde vampire sputtered. “N-no, I’m–It’s hard to explain, but I’m not with any army. But there is someone I’m after.”

The Partisan was curious. “And who is that, exactly?”

“The little girl with the blond hair. The one who tried to turn us into a human barbecue.” Seras answered.

“Tanya Degurechaff? The Devil of the Rhine?” Jean answered with surprise. “You must have a death wish if you’re going after her!”

“Trust me, I wouldn’t even think of trying to kill her if I didn’t have to.”

“Well, if you truly must, there is an old clock tower just a few blocks east of here that you can use as a vantage point. But if I were you, I would get out of Amiens as soon as possible.” Rousseau advised.

“Why’s that?” Replied Seras.

“I heard that the Republican Army is planning an attack to liberate this town. It’s gonna be hell on earth. Stay too long, and you’ll be caught right in the crossfire.”

“SHIT! As if my day wasn’t bad enough!” Seras thought as she gave a terrified look. “Thanks for the warning. What about you?”

“I’ll stay here for a while until the patrols die down. You get after that evil bitch Degurechaff. Bonne chance, Miss Victoria.” Jean said as he saluted Seras.

The Hellsing soldier returned the salute. “Good luck to you too, Rousseau.” She cautiously left the store and looked upwards. Tanya’s group flew right overhead towards the eastern part of town. Luckily, the hadn’t noticed Seras on the ground. She silently followed them.

CHAPTER 6: CLOCK TOWER

SERAS

20 minutes later…

True to Rousseau’s word, there was indeed a clock tower just a few short blocks to the east. Seras stood right at the base of the tall structure and looked up. The massive tower stood at an impressive 11 stories high, with an enormous white clock face on each side. The antenna at the very top almost seemed to dare to pierce the dark clouds above it. From the directions the clock arms were facing, Seras read that it was around 12:30–almost three hours since Being X kidnapped her to this world.

Seras was reminded of her time as a rookie cop in London, passing by Big Ben every day on her patrol. Life seemed so much simpler before she became a vampire.

“Alucard. Integra. Captain Bernadotte. Do any of them know I’m gone?” Seras wondered, thinking of her friends in Hellsing Manor.

No. This was no time to be nostalgic. Her mission right now was to get to the top of the tower and find a good sniping position.

She’d lost her two weapons in the earlier housefire, but luckily she managed to retrieve her enormous Harkonnen I Sniper Rifle. The weapon was longer than Seras was tall, and weighed a crushing 120 pounds. It fired 30mm uranium shells, powerful enough to punch a hole through a tank. Were Seras a normal human, there would be no way she’d be able to carry the thing, let alone fire it.

The Hellsing soldier ran up to the wooden door at the base of the tower. Fortunately, it was unlocked. Seras stepped inside the clock tower. The interior was dark and silent, with no windows or decorations along the four stony walls. The endless tick-tock of the gears echoed with each passing second. Along the edges of the wall was a long, winding staircase that led up to the balcony of the tower. It all reminded her even more of home. All the more reason to get this over with.

Seras didn’t look forward to climbing all those steps, but she didn’t have a choice. The Hellsing soldier took a deep breath and began her long ascent up the stairs. She turned corner after corner, climbing her way to what she hoped would be an exit leading to the balcony. “They couldn’t have been bothered to put a damn elevator in here!?” She thought in frustration.

Halfway up the tower, Seras could see the numerous intricate gears and motors that powered the clock. She took it as a sign she was getting closer to the top. Seras looked into her pouch to see how much ammo she had for her cannon. She counted eight armor-piercing rounds and four incendiary ones. Twelve rounds total–not a lot of ammo to use. Seras had to make her shots count.

Finally, she reached the top of the staircase, and came across a door leading to the clock tower balcony. Before she stepped through, Seras looked to her right and saw……..an elevator that could’ve saved all the time she took taking the stairs. “Nice, Seras. Always taking the hard way when the easy way is bloody obvious.”

Ignoring her frustration, Seras slowly opened the door and stepped out on the balcony. Right in front she saw a man dressed in an Imperial uniform, holding a bolt-action sniper rifle. The sniper was facing the streets away from the tower–he hadn’t noticed the woman coming through the door behind him. The man was lazy, bored, and judging from the empty bottle behind him, drunk.

Seras crouched and quickly grabbed the bottle. Slowly, silently, she walked up to the soldier, preparing to bash the bottle against the man’s skull to knock him out. The soldier had no time to turn around.

SMASH!!!

The bottle shattered against the sniper’s helmet! The sudden impact caused him to fall limp over the railing and plummet to his death. Seras froze in shock at what she’d accidentally done. She only meant to knock out the man, not kill him! Then she quickly shook it off and checked her surroundings.

After determining that the coast was clear, Seras took position and loaded her rifle. She aimed the weapon skyward, but her vision was blocked by the opaque rainclouds above. Even if she could see, her target was a tiny flying girl who was several miles away. On top of that, her Harkonnen I wasn’t equipped with a scope–but Seras didn’t need one. She was the scope.

“Calm down, Seras.” The blonde whispered to herself. “Remember what Master taught you. Breathe. Focus. Imagine there’s an eye in the middle of your forehead.”

Seras closed her eyes and exhaled deeply. She imagined her eyesight extending beyond the heavy thick clouds and into the dark night sky. Even through the rainy darkness, Seras could see just as clearly as though it was daytime. Far off in the distance, she saw ten–no, twelve humanoid figures in the sky. At the very front was the psychotic little blonde girl who tried to burn a house on top of Seras.

When Seras opened her eyes, they turned from their normal ocean blue to a vampiric blood red.

“Gotcha!”

BOOOOOOOM!!!

CHAPTER 7: LADY SNIPER

TANYA

Meanwhile…
2 Km. east
600 feet above Amiens

The sky was dark. The air was cold and biting. Any view of the grieving city far below was obscured by the enormous storm clouds that covered the night sky. The endless noise of thunder and rain was followed by the occasional flash of lightning. The only illumination came from the distant full moon that glowed like a pearl in the sky, and the small collection of stars that surrounded it.

Tanya and her squad of Air Mages flew through the darkened skies above Amiens, heading towards the eastern edge of the city. They’d found no sign of the suspected spy in the burning house, but were forced to abandon their search for the time being. The 203rd were ordered by Imperial command to report to the eastern defensive line immediately. Apparently they were suspicious that their enemy, the Republic, were staging an assault to retake the town.

Of course, Tanya wasn’t happy having to leave behind someone who was out to kill her, but orders were orders. Hopefully something would come up that would give her an excuse to put her orders on hold.

Behind Tanya were eleven of her fellow Air Mages. She’d split up her wing into four separate squadrons to continue their patrols while hers carried out their orders. Among them were the brunette female Visha, the tall blonde male Warren, and a large, rotund man named Rhiner Neumann.

Neumann, who enjoyed the extra sauerkraut and beer or two, was the fattest member of the battalion, but still a capable soldier. However, he wasn’t exactly known for his brains. While the other Air Mages knew it wasn’t wise to bother the Major when she was deep in thought, Neumann decided to ask her a question.

<“Excuse me, Major. Permission to ask a question, ma’am?”>

Tanya barely cast an eye at Neumann, doing her best not to show her irritation. <“Speak.”> She replied coldly.

Neumann gulped. <“D–do you really believe that the Republic are planning an atta–“>

<“Ask yourself this, Lieutenant.”> Tanya interrupted. <“Why did we capture this town in the first place? What was our objective?”>

<“Well–it’s b-because….”>

<“Because Amiens has a vital railway station that leads to the capital.”>

<“With this town under our control, we can move our troops north to Paree, and force them to surrender. With the Francois Army stretched as thin as they are, they won’t have the time to rally a strong defense at the capital. That’s why they can’t afford to lose this town. A counterattack was inevitable.”> Tanya explained her theory with a chilling calmness and professionalism.

“Just another way for Being X to fuck with me.” She told herself.

Visha and Warren overheard the conversation. They looked at each other nervously. Their battallion had enjoyed two weeks of relative peace, and now they would soon be in battle all over again. It was a scenario none of them wanted to happen.

Now it was Visha’s turn to ask questions. <“Ma’am, do you think that spy had anything to do–“>

BOOOOOOOM!!!

A thunderous noise like a tank or artillery cannon rang out!

The shocked Air Mages stopped and searched for whatever the hell made that sound! Tanya looked past her soldiers and noticed something coming through the clouds behind. A silver metal object rocketed through the clouds! It soared past the Air Mages who moved or ducked their heads! It was heading straight for Tanya!

Tanya could only watch in horror. She was about to die!

<“Get out of there, Major!”> Cried Neumann as he rushed forward and pushed his commander away from danger.

(Stop music)

CRUNCH!!!

Almost as if in slow motion, Tanya witnessed Neumann’s horrible fate. The bullet pierced the sides of his torso. Two massive holes formed where his heart, lungs, and ribs used to be. Neumann’s corpse fell like a meteor and vanished into the clouds.

<“RHINER!!!”> Warren shouted as he watched his comrade’s sudden death.

<“What was that!?”> Cried Viktoriya. <“Was it the Republicans?”>

<“Did the invasion start already!?”> Said another Air Mage.

Tanya was dazed from having literally dodged a bullet. “If Neumann hadn’t pushed me out of the way, I would be–.”

No! There was no time to think about that! She was alive, and she would take advantage of that!

<“I don’t know what it was, but now’s not the time for mourning!”> Tanya rallied her men.

<“Spread out and find whoever fired that shot! Don’t let Neumann’s sacrifice be in vain!”>

“JAWOLH, MEIN MAJOR!” They shouted at once. The 203rd Battalion descended rapidly from the clouds and back over the rooftops of Amiens. They couldn’t afford to have their vision obscured by heavy clouds and rain. As they nosedived, another shot rang out. It missed Tanya and killed a random Air Mage on her left.

“I can’t just keep losing men like this!” She snarled.

The battalion dropped down to the rooftops of Amiens and continued their advance.
<“Spread out and use the buildings for cover! Don’t give them an easy target!”> Tanya’s men obediently carried out their orders and took cover in different parts of the town. The child soldier dashed forward alone, the tiny droplets of rain stinging her eyes. Tanya had to stay focused if she had any chance of living.

A third shot boomed out. Tanya swerved just in time for the massive shell to miss her and blow a massive hole in a building behind her.

“Again, that nearly got me! Just what the hell is going on!?” The child soldier thought. “These shots are way too accurate to be random artillery fire! Only a sniper would be so precise! But their weapon was powerful enough to pierce Neumann’s magic barrier! This sniper would have to be superhuman to use something like–no. It can’t be.” Tanya’s paranoia grew when she realized who she was up against. “That bitch from the burning house! Not her again!”

SERAS

Back at the clock tower, Seras got to work reloading her Harkonnen. It could only fire one shot at a time, so reloading cost several precious seconds.

“Dammit!” She cursed. “I almost had her! If only that fat bastard hadn’t got in the way!” Now she had to do this the hard way. Seras had already spent three rounds, and a whole squad of Air Mages was hunting for her.

“Okay, Seras. Relax! You got this!” She reloaded her Harkonnen and scanned the area east of the clock tower. She saw Tanya racing down the streets at inhuman speed. Aiming carefully, she fired another uranium shell, only for it to crater the street as Tanya dodged it.

“Shit! She’s anticipating my shots!” This situation was getting more and more frustrating. Sooner or later, she’d have to deal with a whole squad of flying soldiers! However, the blonde sniper had one advantage: She was atop one of the tallest buildings in Amiens, and the enemy had no idea where she was. As long as Seras held the high ground, she was fine.

She slammed her fifth round in the Harkonnen. This time she fired at a building just a few feet in front of Tanya. The uranium shell screamed and slammed into the front of the building, causing it to crumble to the streets.

Tanya was forced to halt her movement to avoid getting crushed. She then flew upwards over the rooftops and scanned her surroundings. Just where were those shots coming from!? Tanya noticed that the sniper was firing very slowly. There were about 3 or 4 seconds between each shot.

“She must be using a single-shot rifle.” Tanya thought. “Meaning that as long as I keep moving, I’ll survive!” This gave Tanya an idea.

About now, Seras was halfway out of ammo. She had three normal shells and four incendiaries on stand-by. If she didn’t make any of these count, she was done for. She prepared her rifle once again, and fired at Tanya’s position. Shockingly, the round passed right through Tanya like she was made of thin air!

“What the Hell!? That was a direct–“

BOOOOOOONG! BOOOOOOONG! BOOOOOOONG!

“What the–NO! Not now!” The clock bell rang out! A startled Seras looked up at the clock face which read 1:00. This couldn’t have happened at a worse time. “That damn bell is gonna give away my position!”

Down on the streets, Warren and Visha heard the thunderous noise of the clock tower. Behind them were two other Air Mages who followed them. They paid their attention at the tower just a few hundred meters ahead. Visha, the brunette, took out her binoculars and scanned the balcony. She made out a human female crouching behind the railing, holding what seemed to be an anti-tank rifle.

Visha activated her radio and called out to Tanya, <“Major! It’s the spy! The one we were looking for! She’s sniping us from the top of the clock tower! 40 meters high; 200 meters west!”>

Now it all made sense. “You little rat! So that’s where you’re hiding.” Tanya relayed to her squad, <“Converge on the clock tower! Form a perimeter and keep the sniper pinned where she is!”> Hopefully Tanya’s squad and that holographic decoy she placed earlier would buy her enough time to carry out her plan.

<“Roger!”> Visha and her comrades got off their radios and carried out Tanya’s orders.
Seras, who was still lining up her next shot, suddenly noticed four flying figures heading towards her. Their red Eilinium crystals glowed in the dark sky as they zoomed up against the clock tower.

“Bollocks, they’ve found me!” Seras cried. “There goes my only advantage!”

“Da ist sie! Dieser feige Scharfschütze tötete Neumann und Schwartz! Lass sie bezahlen!” Shouted Warrren to his comrades.

The four of them opened fire on the balcony, blasting the floors and railing into rubble. Staying outside was no longer an option. The Hellsing Agent ran through the door and took cover inside the clock tower. Outside, the four Air Mages surrounded the building, blasting holes in the walls and clock faces.

The stone and wooden walls provided some protection, but it wouldn’t hold out forever. Going downstairs was also dangerous because the gunfire crumbled away several parts of the staircase, and there was no guarantee the elevator would get her down in time. Her only choice was to stay and fight.

“This is just great! Seras thought. “I’m exposed. I’m pinned down. My target’s nowhere in sight. And eventually this tower’s gonna fall on me! Fuck this for a game of soldiers!”

Seras looked at the white clock faces above. Through the translucent glass, she saw silhouettes of the flying enemies. Wasting no time, she aimed at one of the shadows and shot a uranium shell through the glass. The speeding round decapitated the poor soldier, and he fell to the streets a headless, bloody corpse.

“Goodnight, you bastard!” Seras shouted in satisfaction.

The other three Air Mages froze, probably stunned by their comrade’s brutal death. She quickly loaded her final armor-piercing round and fired at the next shadow through the glass. The round pierced the Air Mage’s stomach, and he died just like his comrade.

Seras was turning this around! Although her enemies could fly, they were still just humans with average reflexes. As long as she could outrun and outshoot them, she would be fine.

Seras ran back outside. From the balcony, she saw the two remaining Air Mages had turned tail.

“Yes! They’re falling back! But more of them will be coming. If I just hold out a bit longer, I’ll survive!”

She’d run out of normal rounds, which meant it was time to give them a taste of the incendiaries. Another squad of roughly four of five Mages arrived, but this time Seras was ready. Using her vampire sight, she fired an incendiary round at the lead Air Mage. The round found its target, and the fiery explosion that followed killed two of his comrades.

Warren and Visha, the two retreating soldiers, stood in disbelief at what they just witnessed.

<“W–what the Hell!?”> Cried the male soldier. <“She’s just one sniper! How did she take out five of us so fast!?”>

Visha, the brunette, contacted Tanya on her radio. <“Major, this is Serebryakov! We’ve lost Kurtz and Kaufmann! Three guys from Squad 3 were also killed!”>

<“Stand your ground and keep fighting! You must NOT let that sniper escape!”>

<“Of course! Yes, ma’am!”> Visha shut off her radio.

TANYA

Far above, Tanya hovered in place about 300 meters above the city. Though her vision was blocked by clouds, Tanya witnessed the violence happening below her using a holographic screen.

“You filthy bitch!” The lead Air Mage snarled. “Your antics cost me seven of my men! I’m putting an end to this right now!”

Tanya zoomed her magic targeting screen further down. She got a lock on Seras, who once again took a sniping position on the balcony. A sadistic, maniacal grin grew on Tanya’s face.

“Gotcha!”

Tanya had her target. She loaded her SIG MKMS with a clip full of artillery rounds. The explosive force from even one of these should blast Seras to oblivion!

The child major got on her radio: <“Enough! All units fall back. I repeat–fall back! I’ll blow that sniping bitch to Hell myself!”>

Down below, Warren, Visha, and their surviving comrades immediately flew away in different directions.

SERAS

Seras looked on in confusion. “What the–where are they all going? They couldn’t just be giving up?” Something told her this wasn’t at all the case.

Suddenly, the earth lit up as a bright golden glow lit up the sky. Seras looked to the sky, the strange radiance almost blinding her. “Is it sunrise already?” Seras thought. “It can’t be, it’s only 1:00AM!” She used her enhanced sight to get a closer look at who or what was up there.

“It’s that girl again!” Seras exclaimed. “So….those soldiers that came after me–they were just a distraction!?”

Tanya aimed her rifle below, right onto Seras’ current position. Her whole body gave a golden glow with a special, holy power. A power ironically gifted to her by Being X–the one person she despised most. She also chuckled at the irony that she would use this power to destroy the person Being X sent to kill her.

“Oh, what a world we live in. As much as I hate praying to Being X, it’s the best chance I have to destroy this pest.”

Seras was beyond terrified. “Oh, shit! Oh, SHIT! Whatever power she’s using up there, I don’t wanna stay to get hit! I need to get off this bloody tower!”

The staircase and elevator were already out of the question. Seras’ only choice was to…….jump? “No! Am I out of my mind!? A fall from this height would kill me! Even if I lived, would my regeneration heal me in time to make an escape?”

The Hellsing agent looked across the street to her right. Across the gap was a four-story building with a flat rooftop. It wouldn’t be painless, but it was better than a straight plummet to the ground. Either way, Seras was out of time. It was either wait to get blown up, or take her chances with the jump.

Tanya’s next shot would surely wipe Seras off the face of the earth! All she had to do was say a prayer:

“Oh, Almighty Father who governs this world with love and wisdom…
I humbly ask thee, grant me the power to vanquish all mine enemies.
Through me, cast Your swift and terrible thunder down on this unholy demon…
And send her back to Hell from whence she came!”

The artillery round sliced through the clouds like a bolt of lightning! In a few seconds, the clock tower would be reduced to rubble!

“Fuck it! Jump!” Seras poured her vampire speed into her legs and leaped off the tower!
The artillery round pierced the steeple and detonated inside the bell room!

BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!

The clock tower exploded! Countless pieces of wood, stone, glass and machinery flew in random directions!

The explosion propelled Seras towards the neighboring building. She cleared the gap and landed painfully on the other rooftop. Her body rolled and tumbled across the building until it came to a sudden stop. The Harkonnen rifle flew several feet ahead across the ground.
Seras survived, but she was far from uninjured.

The impact of the fall fractured her legs and shattered her ribs. She was bleeding from the forehead, the blood stinging her left eye. Her back was scarred badly from the explosion and a few pieces of wood and glass. The blonde vomited a worrying amount of blood on the ground.

With all her wounds, it was a wonder her heart and lungs were still functioning. Still, that meant at least her healing factor would kick in sooner or later. Being a vampire sure had its perks.

Seras slowly opened her eyes, taking in the sight of the destroyed clock tower. If she hadn’t jumped, she would be vaporized along with it.

“Well…..It could be worse.” She smiled and laughed softly.

A few minutes passed. The next time Seras opened her eyes, she saw a pair of feet. Feet belonging to Tanya Degurechaff.

“It’s worse.”

CHAPTER 8: FAILURE

Tanya touched down on Seras’ current position. The child Air Mage looked down on her like a cockroach that refused to stay squished. Tanya’s battalion formed up around the building, all giving Seras the same venomous glare. Air Mages from other parts of town also arrived, drawn by the commotion.

“It’s really bloody worse.”

Tanya pulled a Luger P08 pistol from its holster, casually waving it like a toy. She knelt closer to Sera’s battered face, relishing the pain she was suffering. Her deranged, childlike grin returned to her face.

“You know, I really must congratulate you.” Tanya taunted. “You’ve made every amateur mistake in the book, and yet somehow you’ve caused me all sorts of trouble these past couple of hours. Honestly, I’m almost happy Being X sent you. You’ve turned an otherwise boring night into a…….mildly entertaining one. But alas, but you were just too weak and too clumsy to defeat me. Thus, our little game ends the only way it could.”

“Fuck!……You! You spoiled little Nazi bitch!” Seras roared between pained breaths. “I’m in enough pain……without listening……to your pretentious bullshit!”

Tanya looked surprised, but only to break out laughing like she’d heard the world’s funniest joke. Her smile grew even wider and more demonic as she laughed. If her subordinates around her were disturbed, they didn’t show it. They were no strangers to their commander’s bizarre behavior.

“Really, ‘Fuck you’!?” Tanya said as her maniacal laughter died down. “Wow! Not many people have the courage to say that to me! I really admire your spirit. Hell, I’d even offer you a place among my battalion. However, you killed seven of my men.”

Tanya lost focus and started rambling on, which made Seras even more irritated.

“Sorry, but that simply won’t do. It costs the Fatherland money to train, arm, and feed soldiers. And Air Mages are sooooooo hard to come by.”

“Oh, bloody hell–if you’re gonna shoot me, just shut up and get on with it!” Seras shouted with whatever strength was left in her voice.

You’re right. It’s only cruel to prolong an animal’s pain.”

The child soldier cocked her pistol and aimed it at Seras’ forehead. This would be the coup de grace.

“Auf Wiedersehen, kleine Arschlecker! And when you see Being X, tell Him he’s next!”

Seras didn’t even blink. “Go ahead, bitch. It won’t be the last you see of me.”

BANG!

Blackout.

CHAPTER 9: JEAN & AMELIE

TANYA

The Next Day…
5:06PM

Sixteen hours have passed since the battle at the clock tower.

Before, there was roughly one platoon every four or five blocks. Now, nearly all of eastern Amiens was flooded with squads of Fatherland troops. Homes, shops, inns, and restaurants were searched for any hiding Partisans. Women, children, elders, and even loyal Imperial officers were interrogated for any treasonous behavior.

This huge crackdown of soldiers was caused by the firefight last night that claimed the lives of one sniper and seven Air Mages. Apparently, the culprit who killed so many troops was just a single girl with a rifle! Even more shocking, the seven dead Air Mages were part of Tanya Degurechaff’s feared 203rd Battalion.

Although the enemy sniper was reported KIA, this was a huge embarrassment to the mighty Fatherland. If the news of this fiasco went outside Amiens, not only would the Empire become a laughingstock, but nearby towns and nations could be inspired to resist.

Tanya was severely reprimanded for her handling of the situation. She spent half the day getting screamed at by a red-faced general who wondered why he left the care of such an important town to a spoiled little girl. It took Tanya everything she had to not shove her rifle up the blowhard’s ass and pull the trigger.

Luckily, her talent for making bullshit excuses sound convincing was enough to save her from a demotion or discharge. However, this made her goal of leaving the frontlines for good that much harder. Tanya walked out of the General’s office in frustration.

“That pompous, blustering pig!” She thought. “Never held a gun in his life, and he has the nerve to talk down to me!? When I finally leave the frontlines, the first thing I’ll do is send that prick there in my place!” Tanya returned to her 203rd Battallion and restarted her patrol around the city.

Despite all this chaos, one building remained untouched by the nervous patrolmen. It was a humble brick motel quietly tucked away in one of Amiens’ many alleyways.

Before the Imperial takeover, most civilians who hadn’t stayed in their homes had already left town. As a result, many of Amiens’ buildings were long abandoned without any occupants. This simple three-story building happened to be one of them–or at least, that’s what they thought.

SERAS

Seras was asleep in a second-story apartment, the windows and blinds shut to conceal her. One tiny sliver of light found its way through the blinds and scorched Seras’ face. The girl awoke in pain and and shut the curtains. As a vampire, even the smallest bit of daylight was like being burned by a hot iron. As she regained her senses, Seras mind was filled with questions.

“What….? Where am I? Am I alive? Did I get home, finally?” Seras took a quick look at her surroundings, and her hopes immediately sank. “No. Dammit! This isn’t Hellsing Manor. I haven’t gone back. I’m still in Amiens.”

She was resting in a simple bedroom with a chair, desk, furnace, and the bed that Seras was in. The door was slightly open, just enough for her to hear other peoples’ voices in a language she couldn’t understand. Was she kidnapped by that damn squadron of flying soldiers? Or some other gang of soldiers looking for some perverted “fun” with a young hot blonde? Or maybe they were good samaritans who saw she was in danger and wanted to help?

The next thing Seras was the multitude of bandages covering her hands, arms, legs, and chest. Her head was throbbing like an unpleasant hangover. When Seras grabbed her forehead, she remembered the “fatal” gunshot given to her by Tanya before she blacked out.

“So these people must’ve brought me here while I was unconscious.” She thought. Thank God for Seras’ vampiric healing factor. Right now, it was the only reason she was still alive. “But still, how much longer can I keep this up?”

A familiar yet friendly voice echoed through the door: “Ah, alors tu es enfin réveillé? Didn’t I say you should get out of Amiens?”

Seras looked up and saw the kind man standing in her doorway. “Rousseau! Oh, my God! I can’t believe it’s you!” She shouted in joy and relief. “I’m so happy to see you, mate!”

“And I you, jeune Seras.” Rousseau wore the same clothes from last night, albeit much cleaner and washed. His right arm was now in a proper cast, rather than the flimsy sling Seras made for him.

Standing at the doorway behind Rousseau was a tall, strong-looking woman with green eyes and auburn hair tied in a bun. She had a friendly smile that seemed to brighten up the dusky room.

“Bonjour! My name is Amelie Rousseau. You’ve already met my husband Jean.” The woman introduced herself with a chirpy voice. She gracefully walked into the room and sat in a chair next to her husband.

“I treated all your wounds when we brought you here,” Amelie continued, “but I see now it wasn’t necessary. It’s really remarkable how fast you healed up. Normally it would take weeks to heal with your kind of injuries.”

“Bonjour, Amelie.” Seras replied meekly, but happily. “And thank you. So where am I, and how did you guys find me?”

“You’re in a Partisan safehouse.” Jean answered. “There’s about eight of them scattered all over town. Amelie and I went with two of our men looking for you at the clock tower.”

“You went out looking for me?” Seras asked, her eyes widening.

“Oui.” Amelie answered. “Jean told us how you risked your life to save him, and he wanted to return the favor. And now I can definitely see why.”

Seras smiled gratefully at Jean. “Thanks, mate. If it weren’t for you two, I might not be alive right now.” The partisan couple nodded in appreciation.

Seras looked down at herself and was shocked to see that she wasn’t wearing her yellow Hellsing uniform. Instead, she was wearing a white cotton shirt and a pair of dark gray pants. A blue cloth was tied on her upper right forearm.

“What the–what am I wearing?” Seras asked. “What happened to my clothes?”

“You mean that yellow dress you were in?” Amelie answered. “We couldn’t let you wear it because it was all tattered with scratches and mud stains. So we changed you into one of our Partisan uniforms. It’s a men’s fit, but I had it tailored to fit your measurements. It suits you well!”

“Wait. Does that mean…..Eeep! They saw me naked!” Seras’ cheeks went beet red when the thought dawned on her. Amelie didn’t fail to notice.

“Is something wrong? You don’t like it?” The older woman asked.

“Uh–No, no, it’s fine!” Seras stammered in reply. “Really, thanks for getting me some better clothes.”

“It was the least we owe you.” Amelie gently held Seras’ hand and smiled at her like a loving mother. “You were a complete stranger, and yet you risked your life to save my husband’s.” She said. “Thank you for bringing Jean back to me. I don’t know what I would do without him.”

“Y–you don’t need to thank me.” Seras said humbly. “It was the humane thing to do. I couldn’t just leave him there to die.”

“Don’t be so modest.” Jean spoke up. “You are a hero, Seras. And not just because you saved me. When we searched for you, the first thing we saw was the broken corpse of an Imperial sniper on the ground. Soon after, we witnessed a whole squad of 203rd Air Mages killed by a single sniper! It was magnificent! When we found you, we realized that you were the sniper.”

At first, we’d thought you were already dead.” Amelie continued. “But then we heard you weakly calling out to us, saying ‘Help me.’ You must have still been clinging to consciousness right then.”

“That’s right. I did call for help a few minutes after I was shot.” Seras remembered. “Wait–there wasn’t a bandage placed on my forehead! Does that mean my bullet wound healed up before they found me?” She winced as her head was throbbing again.

“Are you alright, cherie?” Amelie asked with concern.
“I–I’m alright.” Said Seras as she forced a smile. “All the craziness last night must’ve given me a headache.”

“Well, you just rest here while I bring you some medicine.” The older woman said. “When you’re ready, you can meet our comrades downstairs in the basement.”

“Thanks, Amelie. And thank you both for rescuing me.” Seras’ forced smile became a genuine one.

“Of course.” Jean’s wife smiled and she left the room, leaving both himself and Seras. “So, did you do it? Did you kill the little Fatherland bitch?”

The vampire sighed and shook her head. “Sorry, mate. I didn’t get her. I screwed it up. It was a miracle I survived.”

Rousseau didn’t lose his smile. “Ne perds pas la foi, ma amie. I feel you’ll get another chance soon enough. Sometimes surviving a battle is victory unto itself. Never forget, God is always with you.”

“Yeah, and it was ‘God’ who brought me to this shit in the first place.” Seras scoffed inwardly. “Oh! What did you guys do with my gun?” She asked.

“You mean that enormous rifle next to you? We had to leave it because it was far too heavy for us to carry. I’m sorry.”

“Oh…I see.” Losing her favorite weapon was disappointing, but it wasn’t the end of the world.

“Don’t look so down.” Jean reassured her. “There’s plenty of weapons here you can use.”

“Guess I’ll just have to make do.” Seras said. She looked behind Jean and noticed a brown leather jacket hanging on a coat rack. A blue cloth was tied on its left arm. “Is that jacket for me, too?” Seras asked.

“Yes, that is the main part of your uniform.” Jean answered. “You can put it on after you get out of bed.”

“I see. And what’s with the blue thing tied on the upper arm?”

“That cloth is the same color as our country’s flag. It is our symbol of resistance. Our hope of freedom. When you wear that jacket, Seras, you carry our dreams with us. You’re one of us now. A Partisan.” Jean looked at Seras proudly, 

Seras let out an exasperated sigh. She leaned forward and grabbed her forehead, resting her elbows on her knees. “Bloody hell, what did I get into?” She thought.

Rousseau frowned a bit–not out of disappointment, but in concern. “Seras? Is something the matter?”

“Why?…..Why would you do this?” The blonde asked. “Why would you get me involved!? I’m not a bloody Partisan!” She looked at them with distress and frustration. Jean felt like a father who had disappointed his daughter.

“You and your wife, you have a reason to fight!” Seras continued “You’re trying to free your town, your people, your country! But I have nothing to do with this war! I was forced into it for reasons I don’t even know how to explain! Don’t get me wrong–I really appreciate all the help you guys did for me, but please, I don’t want to get any more involved than I already am.”

Jean sighed deeply. “I understand, Seras. I know it’s unfair for an innocent girl like you to be dragged into this war. But the truth, Seras, is that none of us asked for this war. We don’t enjoy this madness any more than you do. So many of us have our homes, friends, and family because of this.”

The Partisan pulled a pack of cigarettes from his jacket and placed one in his mouth. He handed a lighter to Seras, who lit it up for him. Jean exhaled a puff of gray smoke as he stared at the window.

“Not long ago, Amelie and I had a son. His name was Jacques. When the Bosche invaded, he volunteered into the army against our warnings. For months, we received letters from Jacques, telling us about the war and life in the trenches. The friends he watched die; the enemies he’d killed; the rats; the mud; the sickness; the hell of trench warfare and artillery strikes. And despite all that, Jacques would end his letters with how much he misses us, and how proud he is to serve the Republic.”

Jean closed his eyes, as if deep in thought. “But one day…” He said with a somber tone. “The letters stopped coming.”

Seras gave a worried expression. “My God…What happened to Jacques?”

“In his last letter, Jacques wrote that they redeployed his regiment to defend Fort Vaux after the Bosche overran them position at Verdun. After that, nothing. We feared the worst.”

“He didn’t make it, did he?” Seras concluded sadly.

“He didn’t” Jean said, with his voice breaking. “Weeks later, an officer came and told us that Fort Vaux was under attack. He passed us a certificate of death with Jacques’ name on it. The news devastated us. I couldn’t sleep for weeks, and Amelie spent every night crying. Our only son was taken from us–and we’ll never get him back.”

Tears streamed down Jean’s eyes, as he stared through the window. “So many of us here have the same story. We’ve lost fathers, brothers, sons, and friends to this war. And we’re left to wonder what is even the point.” Jean cleared his throat before he continued.

“So, not long after that, the Bosche came to this town. Many of us have already formed Partisan groups before we were invaded. Amelie and I decided to do our part. Not only for our son’s sake, but for all the young men who bravely sacrificed themselves for us.”

Jean turned back to Seras and looked into her eyes with deadly seriousness. “Now, assume that you decide to leave and go on your own. We’re still under occupation by the enemy. What do you think would happen if the Bosche caught you? What if they learn about what you did last night? Rescuing a Partisan? Killing seven of their Air Mages?”

Seras froze in fear when she imagined the possibilites.

“Would they capture you?” Jean continued. “Imprison you? Lock you in a room at gunpoint, asking you questions you can’t possibly answer? Or would they just execute you as a rebel?” Jean leaned forward, placing his chin atop his hands. “You’re in this too deep, Seras. This is not something you can just leave. As unfair as it is, you have to stay with us and fight. It is your only chance to survive.”

Seras looked disappointed, but she knew Jean was right. Like it or not, there was no easy way out of this. This was her reality now.

“Like you said, Seras, we know what we’re fighting for.” Jean concluded. “Now the question is, what are you fighting for? This is something you must decide for yourself.”

“I….I understand, Rousseau.” Seras said with a saddened, but accepting tone.

“En tous cas, my wife should be back any minute with the medicine. Take as long as you need to rest. À bientôt.” The Partisan left the room, leaving Seras by herself.

The Hellsing soldier crashed down to the pillows, arms folded behind her head. So many things had happened to her at once, she didn’t know where to begin.

“Well, let’s go over the good news and the bad news.” She thought. “The good news: I’m alive, I’m in a safe place with some new allies, and Tanya won’t be coming after me because she probably thinks I’m dead. The bad news: I’m back at Square One. I have no Hellsing weapons, I’m no closer to finding my target, and I’m still stuck in this Godforsaken world in a war I have nothing to do with!”

Still, like Jean said, the fact that Seras was still alive was victory enough. Maybe she would get another shot at Tanya in the future. But right now, it was time for her to close her eyes and rest.

“Oh, well. At least it can’t get any worse.”

(Stop music)

Outside in the streets, a group of Fatherland engineers was busy repairing a captured Mark V tank. One of the young men heard a strange rumbling like a falling meteor behind him. He turned around and looked up, and saw three streaks of white smoke hurtling overhead. The projectiles grew closer and closer to earth, ready to strike his position.

The soldier’s eyes lit up in horror–he knew exactly what was coming.

“Vorsicht, Jungs! Artilleriiiiiiiiiiiiie!!!!!!”

The artillery strike pulverized the ground! The unfortunate soldier and his team had no chance of escape. The impact of the artillery blew up their tank, killing them all instantly. Three giant craters were made in the cobblestone streets. More and more artillery shells screamed their way towards Amiens like banshees.

The shockwave threw Seras out of her bed. She landed face-first on the wooden floor.

“Bloody Hell, I need to stop saying ‘it can’t get worse!'”

Rousseau ran back upstairs to Seras’ room. “Are you alright!?” He shouted.

“Rousseau, what the fuck is going on now!?” The vampire screamed.

“It’s an artillery strike! The Republic Army must have started their invasion!”

“ARTILLERY!? We need to get the hell out of here!”

“If we do that, we’ll get blown to pieces! We have to get to the basement! NOW!!!”

The two of them raced out of the room and downstairs as several other men and women did the same. Amelie was among them. She opened the hatch, allowing her fellow Partisans to pile in. Roughly 30 in total, they all crammed into a spacious basement that served well as a bunker.

The room was dark, the only light coming from the dim electric lighting around them. Each artillery shell rattled the foundations like a miniature earthquake. The Partisans crouched against the floors and walls, praying that their building wouldn’t get hit. Seras also took cover, covering her ears to block out the maddening noise.

“First I get sent to this hellhole against my will! Seras shouted in her head. Then I nearly get killed multiple times! And now I have to fight for my life in some sort of invasion!? JUST HOW MUCH MORE OF THIS  DO I HAVE TO GO THROUGH!?” 

TANYA

In the skies above Amiens, Tanya and her battalion witnessed their comrades below being blown apart. Warren, Visha, and all the others looked on in horror and sadness, but Tanya was infuriated.

“Verdammte Scheisse! How did I fuck this up so bad!?” She cursed herself. “Those Republic dogs! How dare they make my bad day even worse! This is all just another attempt by Being X to break me!”

<“203rd Battallion!”> Tanya called out! <“The Republic has officially begun their invasion! We need to drive them back before they cross our defensive line! Move out!”>

The 203rd Air Mages hurried towards the beleaguered front lines, where the Republic infantry would be waiting for them.

CHAPTER 10: CAPTAIN DuPONT

Republican Army Trenchline
300 Meters From Amiens
5:55PM–Five minutes before attack

In the outskirts of Amiens, the skies thundered with the constant “BOOM-BOOM-BOOM” of artillery cannons. Far overhead, the flying ordinance shrieked through the clouds to pound their targets far ahead.

Captain Pierre DuPont watched the destruction happen miles away with a pair of binoculars. The artillery strike was well-coordinated, for once. Most of the rounds landed on the machine gun and field cannon emplacements, which were exactly what they needed destroyed. His only fear was that some idiot would fire the wrong way and hit his position by accident.

The captain was a tall, mustached man in his thirties, though years of brutal fighting had aged him far beyond that. He wore a dark blue uniform that was once beautiful, but now ruined with splotches of dirt, mud, and dried blood. His head was covered with a blue field cap called a kepi.

His main weapon was a semi-automatic rifle called an RSC 1917–a rare sight in a war where most used bolt-actions. He also carried a cavalry saber on his left hip, and on his right was a holster with a Mauser pistol he took from a dead Fatherland officer. Satisfied with what he saw, the captain lowered his binoculars and turned towards the men behind him.

The long, narrow trenchline facing Amiens was crowded with hundreds of Republic soldiers. They wore the royal blue uniform of the Francois Army, some with kepis and others with steel Adrian Helmets.

Most of them wielded the Lebel 1886, the standard-issue bolt action rifle. Others carried big, heavy LMGs like the Chauchat, trench shotguns supplied by the Unified States, and even some captured enemy rifles and submachine guns.

The young Francois infantry stood at the ready, anxious to hear their leader give the order to attack. It would only be a few minutes now.

(Translated from French)

(“My brothers!”) Captain DuPont spoke loudly. (“Brave and loyal soldiers of the 44th Republic Infantry. This is the day all of us spent weeks of planning and preparation for! Two weeks of victory and occupation have made our enemies lazy, careless, and weak! They’ve had no idea that we were readying ourselves for this assault! By the time our artillery ceases, a huge hole will be blown into the enemy’s front defenses. With their machine guns, soldiers, and tanks blown to pieces, our forces will have a clear path to the city!”)

The soldiers roared proudly, their morale ignited by the captain’s words.

DuPont continued his speech. (“Men, it is no secret to anyone that we’re in a desperate spot. We’ve lost several battles to these Fatherland marauders in the past. Months of failure and death have brought our country to its greatest crisis. Amiens is more than a city–it’s our last line of defense. If we fail to retake it, nothing will stop the enemy from moving towards our capital, Parisii. Then we will have truly lost this war.”)

The artillery fire continued. Only three minutes left.

(“Right now, our forces stand at about 200,000 infantry, 40 tanks, 30 airplanes, and 200 Air Mages.”) Captain DuPont spoke. (“On the ground, the enemy outnumbers us 3 to 1. But while they have the numbers, they’re mostly boys who have never tasted real combat! Our defeats have given us strength, experience, and an unbreakable will! Not only that, but several courageous civilians in Amiens have taken arms and fought the enemy themselves, without any training or experience whatsoever! That is the key to our victory!”)

The soldiers cheered once again, their blood boiling with dreams of victory!

(“Tanya Degurechaff and her army of devils have stolen this land from us! Many of our brothers were slain by that vile witch, and she found sadistic pleasure in their deaths! Now she insults us again by taking one of our oldest and most beautiful cities! Some of you here are from Amiens yourselves or have loved ones here. And so I ask you, will you stand and watch as Degurechaff continues to spill our people’s blood!?”)

(“NO, SIR!!!”) The 44th replied in unison.

(“Will you stand and watch as her jackboots trample the throats of our families!?”)

(“NO, SIR!!!”)

(“Will you stand and watch as our country is swallowed by the the Kaiser’s tyranny as the Imperial banner waves across our land!?”)

(“NO, SIR!!!”)

(“Then steel yourselves, men! Don’t think of the threat of death or capture! Think only of your bayonet in the enemy’s heart! This is the first day of our vengeance! It’s time to send the Bosche back to the Fatherland!”)

The captain checked his watch. Only one more minute. He pulled out his whistle to signal the charge.

(Stop music)

(“Fix bayonets!”) DuPont and his men 44th Regiment quickly attached the long, thin knives at the end of their rifles.

Everyone was silent. Their heartbeats quickened. Their breaths shortened. Their eyes focused on the city just a few football fields away. Their hands gripped tightly onto the weapons they held. Feelings of joy, fear, anger and sorrow ran though them all at once.

Finally, all at once, the guns stopped.

6:00PM

Captain DuPont blew his whistle.

“CHAAAAAAAARGE!!!”

The 44th Infantry climbed over the trench, running and screaming ferociously! The soldiers stampeded across the field, ignoring the mud and dirt that clung to their boots. Every step they took brought them closer to Amiens, and the invaders that they were going to drive out. But they were not the only ones in this assault.

Moving along Captain DuPont’s regiment was a company of Renault FTs–small, agile tanks with rotating turrets. Far above, a squadron of SPAD S.XIII fighter planes darted through the sky like bats. And following them were hundreds of Republican Air Mages, some of whom survived terrible battles against the Imperial 203rd Battalion.

Their forces combined to roughly 200,270 men in total. It was still small compared to the Empire’s 400,000 troops, but they wouldn’t let that stop them.

It was their moment of honor. Their moment of pride. Their moment of revenge. They were going to free this town, or die trying!

On the other side, some Fatherland troops scurried to their trench outside Amiens. They desperately fired their machine guns and rifles to slow down the advancing Francois. While some of the enemy were killed, most were able to take cover behind tanks, rocks or craters in the field.

The Renault tanks blew up the machine gun emplacements while the fighters and Mages above picked off the infantry from above. With their cover and machine guns destroyed, the Imperials were forced to fall back. The ones who tried to fight up close were easily shot, beaten, or bayoneted to death.

Amiens was now only 100 meters away. So far, this invasion was going perfectly……At least for the Republic.

From 400 meters above, Tanya and her watched the chaos happening below. They’d arrived too late. Their enemy was on the verge of breaching the first line of defense. The fighting would continue inside the city.

<“Wow. I can’t believe it’s come to this.”> Warren sighed.

Another Air Mage, Wilibald Koenig complained, <“We just took this fucking town weeks ago, and now we have to fight over it again!?”>

<“There’s so many of them. And it’s not even just the ground forces attacking us!”> Visha cried.

The commander, Tanya, stared down at the battle, thinking about the enemy’s tactics.

“Our forces far outnumber theirs, but they’ve managed to break our defenses relatively quickly. They can’t have that many forces left to spare after losing so many times. They must be relying on surprise and speed to take us our before we can regroup.” Tanya smiled. “What a foolish, futile plan! We’ll send slaughter these buffoons before the next sunrise!”

<“Don’t let these Republic fools scare you!”> Tanya shouted to the 203rd. <“They might’ve gained some ground, but this invasion is nothing more than the desperate gasps of a dying army! We’re the legendary 203rd Air Mage Battallion! We won the war against Dacia in only six weeks! We silenced the insurrection at Arene! We defeated the Entente Alliance at the Osfjord! If we can’t defend this city from a few tired, half-starved soldiers, our reputation and our victories will be forever lost to history! Now let’s make these fools regret they planned this pathetic attack!”>

<“YES, MA’AM!!!”> The battalion cried at once. They surged ahead through the skies, watching the hordes of Francois soldiers below. The Air Mages loaded their rifles, aiming at the enemy below.

From the ground, the 44th Infantry cleared the first line of defense. Captain DuPont and two other men looked up at the sky, noticing small black figures hovering above.

(“Do you see that? What is it?”) Said one soldier.

(“Is it one of our Mage squadrons?”) Said another.

DuPont looked harder. The Mage at the front of the group was the same blonde girl one who led the assault on Amiens weeks ago. His eyes widened in horror.

(“IT’S THE 203rd BATTALLION!!! GET TO COVER, NOW!!!”)

<“Line up your shots!”> Tanya commanded. <“Ready!……..Aim!………Fire!”>

The Second Battle of Amiens has begun.

CONTINUES IN PART 2