The Front Steps/The Judean Square

The thought struck him that these people, a vast majority of them, never knew what else happened behind the great stone walls of his beloved Church. He hadn't known until today, and now he was stepping into a world he knew almost nothing about.

Some part of him was thrilled.

Another was terrified.

As he straightened his jacket a bit - forgoing any chance at the subtlety of his holstered handgun - the man noticed a fellow not quite, well, right. He moved the way someone with confidence in their abilities moves, with an ease only seen in a person well aware of their surroundings.

All of his team members had it. He had it. And so did this man.

When the priest halts next to him, and inquires as to his status, a small smile made its appearance on his lips. "It's been a long time since I was called that." He doesn't look at the priest, instead choosing to finally uncross his arms and stand at full height. "But yes, I am most certainly new."

The man beside him seemed slightly less than eager to be here, so Enzo decided perhaps he should be on his very best behavior; polite and quiet seemed to be in order.

Devlin kept the same expression. "Follow me," Devlin said as he walked out into the square. "This is the Judean Square, our little front yard. You'll be seeing this alot. I assume Father Anderson already told you our mission as Iscariot members?" Devlin said as he walked around the square to give Crescenzo a better look around. He walked to the center of he square and stopped. "Tell me yer name. After that tell me what would be the best vantage point to defend the square?" Devlin said. He did this to all the recruits. It helped him gauge some of their abilities so he'll know what training to put them through. He never did like how Anderson would just figuratively pick people off the street and recruit them to Iscariot, but he couldn't deny that Anderson was always a good judge of character. And that usually produced some of the best that Iscariot had to offer.

He fell into step with the older man, taking in sights he'd only breezed past on his previous trip. Now that he was older, and more well equipped for study, his eyes took in everything and anything about the place, soaking it in as much as possible.

When they stopped, the brown-haired operative slid a hand into his pocket, a habit formed some years ago. It gave him a relaxed appearance, which for all intents and purposes would set others at ease as well. At the mention of his name - and his tactical thoughts on the place - he scratches a slight itch on his five o'clock shadow; he hadn't the time to shave properly before being sent over.

"Crescenzo Salvatici. A pleasure." He didn't think the man wanted to shake hands, or interact in much of any way until he answered the second part of the question. Placing both hands on his hips, riding just over his belt, the operative stares out at the beautiful, large square for only a handful of seconds before responding in his soft, calm tone.

"Defend from what? You have left variables out of the equation that makes it little more than impossible to formulate a defensive plan." He gestures slightly with a hand. "What situation would you like me to respond to? An aerial attack, forward press from ground forces, infiltration, armor support? Daylight or night raid?" He pauses. "All of the above?"

Enzo rubs his chin. "And how many men and resources would be on-site for response? How much time does it take to muster any substantial number of militant members? Conversely, how many would be attacking?"

He drops his hand back to his waist. "Luckily, the situation would be mitigated somewhat by the natural defense of the Square itself, though anything from the air would be problematic. Although, I prefer offense as a means to defend."

The priest had asked him a question, and though it had been open ended, Enzo had answered it to the best of his ability; he wasn't here to impress. He was here to learn.

ooc: I am just going to post as though we are walking through the hallways


Devlin sighed. "So he didn't tell you everything" He muttered under his breath. Devlin began walking back towards the Iscariot Castle. "Well I suppose now is a good time to show the library. There are some things I need to tell you that aren;t necessarily appropriate in this setting" Devlin said. This was going to be an interesting conversation. He hated these conversations, because it usually ended in him making sure they know what they are getting into and making sure that they end up in a good section that suits them best. However, he had a feeling a lesson was all that was needed. He opened the doors and proceeded into the hallways. It was at this point that he took out his ID badge and showed it to the guards and pointed at Crescenzo. "He's with me," He said as they passed the guards.

He began walking through the Hallways of the castles of the castle. The tiled floors and marble columns that they would occasionally walk by. Paintings of biblical moments done by some of the greatest artist in all of history. "Alright I am sure you heard the whole 'We protect the innocent' story from Father Anderson. And he probably told you we fought monsters. He wasn't speaking figuratively when he said that. We also fight to protect all of the Catholic World. We are the our Lord's sword of divine judgement. We strike swiftly and mercilessly when needed. But unlike you and I, Anderson is more than qualified to fight these monsters up close." Devlin stopped and paused. He nearly forgot taht he was suppose to be giving a tour. "By the way these are the Hallways, built and finnished during the Renaissance though we occasionally add new additions"[/color] Devlin said as he motioned at the paintings and continued walking. He walked through the hallways a bit making a couple turns commenting on the different paintings and some of the ceiling art until he stopped at a pair of large oak doors. Here's the library, come on in."


=====> Library

(I will post the topic in the morning unless it is already made...)

The man didn't so much as flinch when the question he'd asked had been thrust back at him. Instead, he breezed right past the subject entirely and began wandering through the main structure, with no hindrance from those on guard. It was both puzzling and enlightening.

Listening as the man spoke, Enzo put what few pieces he already had together, pasting them alongside this new batch; the picture formed was disturbing, but entirely what he wanted to see. Passing under grand structures and illuminated paintings and sculptures of incredible design, the operative couldn't help but to feel that same awe of the Holy as he'd had as a child; perhaps that's why the Vatican looked the way it did.

He doesn't say anything, refraining from speaking until they were out of the halls - somehow conversing about the slaying of monsters while under a frieze of St. Peter felt a touch awkward still.


-------> Library

Enter from Rome Airport (skipping the post there considering it would be an almost pointless one post).

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A car had already been prepared to pick them up from the airport the moment they arrived, so there was no real need to wait after landing, instead quickly transferring from one to the other to begin their trip back to, more or less, home. A certain part of him felt relieved, if that were possible, to be back. He didn't have to worry about Hellsing agents kicking down the doors, or random FREAK's crawling out of the alleyways. They needed a break, or at least Meabh did.

He doubted it, but maybe the two hour plane ride and drive to the vatican gave her a chance to actually rest, even if it was slightly. He didn't like moving her around due to her wounds but it had to be done. The car came to a stop close to the front steps and the he opened his door, and proceeded to help Meabh out of the back by once again picking her up bridal style.

---

OOC: Short is short.

Enter from Hellsing manor via bible page hax. Mikey will exit with Meabh next time she posts.

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The all too familiar sound of pages dancing in the wind soon became audible, storming about the Judean square before they formed a descending spiral, carrying both Veronica and Salvatici gently to the ground before dispersing. The pages fluttered about for a few moments after, neatly putting themselves back into their covers before falling into the Nuns hand, who then placed them into the satchel on her waist.

No sarcastic comments, no priest jokes, and no more talk about comparing Iscariot to a condom. She took a sigh of relief now that the annoying little man wasn't within her care. She might get reprimanded by her superiors for having the man they were suppose to protect die on the job, but she wasn't worried. Occurrences on the battlefield couldn't be predicted even if you knew everything about the opposition. She could of saved Iscariot the entire trip over there by telling them it wouldn't of worked out the way they wanted.

She clapped her hands together again, forming her friendly smile. "Well, thats done with. How about we go have lunch?"

It was both the longest and shortest plane ride of her life. Every bit of turbulence sent tendrils of pain crawling out from her wounds to shock the rest of her body. But thank the good Lord above, in two hours they had arrived, and the Father scooped her up, laid her in a car and allowed her to continue her sleep for a little longer.

When they finally arrived at the front steps of their home, she released a sigh that came from too many years of seeing her own body blown apart. Maybe they would give her a break.

She doubted it.

Once Miles picked her up once more, she clung to him in an unabashed attempt to keep the pain away; his presence was soothing, and knowing he was there kept her calm. Though of course, he couldn't take away the agony still burning through her.

She is entirely at his mercy, and can only go where he leads them. Hopefully, that meant the infirmary.



---------------> Medical aid

[[Meabh is too far out of it to remark on Veronica's dramatic entrance.]]

Michel takes Meabh to the infirmary seeing as how her condition was more important than a flashy entrance.

--------> Exit to infirmary.

The return trip had been...unexpected. Not that he ever expected this mission to be any where close to "normal", but he'd hoped there would be a moment or two of something familiar he could latch on to. Granted, the beginning part, the one where they were charged with protecting a man with his head up his ass, that was in and of itself the most normal thing he'd been a part of on this trip.

Now he was at the front steps of his new home.

He'd flown there.

Not on a plane.

His mind was still rushing to catch up with all that had happened, until it came to a full, abrupt stop on one particular thought: they'd left their charge behind. Not only that, he was fairly certain the nun had been the one to end the smarmy man's life.

Bent over, one hand on his thigh, the other on his hip, the former NOCS operative took a handful of moments to re-orient himself to his surroundings. His mind was stuck on that one thought, not allowing him to focus just yet; there was a monster in that room, one he never thought possible, and it would have killed the negotiator whether or not the nun had. So was she saving his life in some twisted way?

They should have brought him back.

Glancing up at her words, his face darkens. Enzo stands, eyes hard, unable to reconcile his own deep beliefs with her flippant nature towards the situation. He exhales slowly before looking past her, choosing not to engage in a verbal altercation on the steps of the Vatican. Instead, he strides past the smiling nun, intent on being somewhere other than where he was.

She took a moment to take a deep breath, inhaling the fresh air of Rome and her surroundings before exhaling. It was a beautiful day, perfect for eating outside. The Nun turned to face her newest partner to see him bent over, trying to regain his orientation of the surroundings. She did forget to mention that had a very high chance of occurring if it was your first time being teleported; then again it was too late now, but luckily there was no harm done.

Her face remained cheerful even after catching a glimpse of the mans hard stare, and even went so far as to begin following him as he walked away. It was clear the man had some form of problem with what happened, or to be more specific; with what she did. However, it didn't show on her face as she trailed behind him, her hands now by her side. "There's a decent restaurant a little ways up the road. How about we stop there?

OOC: Alright Meabh, I hope you dont mind but I'm going to NPC both Veronica and Enzo the fuck out of the area since some kind of uber mach six destruction is about to occur; say they walked off toward that restaurant on the far ass side of town to have their argument. This post is purely NPC Iscariot agents; 15 in number on guard duty due to the possible threat of Alucard showing up. (Possible....right...)

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It wasn't often members of Iscariot received orders to defend their home; most undead were purged and dealt with, or avoided the place entirely, if not because of all the holy symbols then because of the fear they felt of what might happen to them. However, when they got word that Hellsing operatives, or more specifically their pet, Alucard, had the possibility of showing up they couldn't help but don their weapons and ready themselves. It was to be expected after all; Iscariot and Matthew did kidnap another of their undead abominations to experiment on so it was only logical for them to come and try to retrieve them.

Fifteen priests were spread out amongst the front steps they waited, some were seated, others stood; but all were alert to their surroundings, listening, waiting, a watching. They couldn't let their guard down with the chance of the Nosferatu showing up, they knew all too well what he was capable of, but with God as their witness the monstrosity would not be allowed to set foot within the Vatican's halls, even if it cost them their lives. That much was certain.

OOC: I already got permission from Andy to do this and I get a feeling this is going to be one of the most fun fights I've had in a while so I'm excited to see how this pans out. HEHEHEHEHE! Let's go then!
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A darkness fell over the front steps of the Vatican as rain clouds began to form almost as if by thought. Tour buses had been lined up from earlier exhibits of the pride of the Papal Guard. The flagstone steps were pristine and polished in their holy glory. What happened first was but a drop onto the fountain of the proud twelve apostles. What followed was a downpour of rain and lightning as the clouds began to sing with the creatures of the night. A black mass as thick as the clouds above them flew in low over the buildings and covered them in an unnatural mire. Mist seemed to hang over the sidewalk and the street itself as the rain seemed to condense. What began as a low cloud was followed by a great flapping of many wings as it drew ever closer. Finally within view, the No Life King's servants made their way down into the street and became affixed to one spot, circling with the force of a great tornado which stretched to the heavens themselves. Within the tumult, some of the creature's shapes began to change to that of a black ooze while others eyes seemed to merge into one source of bright crimson designed to strike fear into the hearts of mortal men. The tornado soon gave way to the Nosferatu himself in all of his red magnificence. The ooze meanwhile had changed yet again into his usual sardonic black flames. Upon his gaunt face was first a great satisfaction to meet his challenge head on, the thrill of battle urging him forward.

With a flash of lightning however, Alucard immediately sensed that something was amiss and the force that was the Hellsing operative's relatively well known energy was completely vacant. His face quickly grew cold as the Iscariot men readied their weapons. With a voice as cold as his face, he remarked, "As always, there is absolutely no reasoning with you cretins. You try to steal from my Master and then as soon as we return the favor, you tuck tail and run. You're nothing but cowards; vermin worthy of neither pity or mercy; a group bereft of any reason worth only what their masters give to them. It seems I have only but to keep killing you and leave an indention upon your marred flesh until the message finally sinks in...So be it!"

With his last words, the No Life King's form grew darker still as his flames completely consumed all of him into their fold. Like tendrils, they wrapped around one of the tour buses and began to thicken with thousands of millipedes hidden within their depths. With a loud clap of thunder, a sickening crunch followed as the flames tightened their grip around the bus and altered it as though it were made of bone. The windows on the outside of the bus shattered as it was raised into the sky and was being turned and pulled backwards by its new master. Now level with the tallest building on the street, a flash of lightning illuminated the next events before they happened. The flames near the front of the bus proceeded to tear it open and cut the fuel lines specifically aiming to have it catch fire. Rearing back, Alucard's eyes grew redder still underneath the flames as he began to fling his new found weapon toward his enemies. As the weapon was being released, the flames turned the ignition to give the spark which would completely set it ablaze as it screamed toward the Iscariot agents.

Enter from the Infirmary

OOC: I believe this is deserving of the situation
------

The resulting crash of the flaming bus and the following explosion resulted in nothing but death and destruction for all the Iscariot making their stand. Those that tried to avoid it were consumed by the blaze, others were blown back by the shock wave, and the rest crushed. The front steps were now consumed with flame, smoke, bodies and the remains of a twisted, charred skeleton that used to be a means of public transportation. It was horrible; but such a scene was expected with such an enemy, though this would not go without punishment, it would not go without retribution!

The smoke danced and twirled, filling even the inside of the building to a mild extent; but hidden amongst the blackness were agents of God, his earthly representatives of Divine Punishment which would be exacted regardless of its cost. A snake of smoke outstretched from the burning mass as a shadowed figure launched itself out from what was left of the large front doors, easily clearing the burning remains of those fallen, concealing some earthly form from view. The black cloud that hugged the cyborgs blurred frame was suddenly penetrated by three .50 caliber, armor piercing blessed rounds; sent flying with supernatural precision toward the No Life Kings position before the ball of smoke fully dispersed with a swing of Miles' arms, both of his handguns already in his grasp; loaded and ready for any situation the Nosferatu could throw at him.

He was not alone, however, for his Brothers and Sisters in arms were with him, other members of Iscariot; of the Armed Priest Corps rallied with him. Following his own black mass were fifteen others, adorned with golden crosses and glowing spectacles, and some even surrounded by holy pages of their beloved scripture which illuminated the darkness of the spaces they chose to occupy. Taking position on the surrounding roof tops and behind the cyborg himself, they brought forth their weapons, bible pages flew forth through the streets to purge the taint which was being spread. Miles rose from his knelt position; his body obscured by a black shadow in which only his piercing green eyes and red gems from his crosses could penetrate. They stood before the No Life King, sixteen strong and ready to defend their Holy Temple with their lives.

Michel positioned his arms in such a way that the handgun in his left hand aimed straight toward the ground, and the other was aligned with the center of his face; aiming toward the sky; the left half of his face obscured by a dark veil in which only the glowing green of his eye shone through.

"Our eye shall not pity. It shall be a life for life, an eye for eye, and a tooth for a tooth. You will go no further."

The rage that seethed from Father Anthony was more than he had felt in a while. He was angry about a couple of things. The first being, why had no invited him to the near certain death match with Alucard! The second being. How dare that disgusting abomination of Satan's most unholy minions decide to tread upon such glorious and holy ground as the Vatican!

He calmed himself a second before he teleported to the Vatican. Being rash and stupid would not help him here. He sighed deeply and prepared himself for battle against the No life king.
Waiting only a moment he took out his bible threw it into the air is it exploded into numerous pages and stepped into it.

He appeared a little ways away from the fight. The air was heavy with the presence of the no life king and the smoke coming from the large vehicle which had exploded. He would have to be very careful about how he went about this. One wrong move, let's face it one mediocre move and he would be dead, or worse.

He raised his hand to his fellow Iscariot's. He said to them. "Hello brethren it will be an honor to fight and possibly die with you."

As he said this he pulled out both one of his pistols and his bible which had reformed.

this night no matter what happened would prove to be interesting.

Enter from Infirmary (apparently)

------------------


The golden pages quickly followed the several other Iscariot that rose to meet the plague that had set its eyes on the Vatican, blasting through the smoke and dust in a golden whirlwind as it carried both Sister Veronica and Sister Meabh across the streets, flying overhead toward a nearby rooftop where they concentrated, dropping the two female Iscariot agents on the platform overlooking the scene of destruction and chaos, along with the piece of equipment Meabh requested, though the pages remained; swirling about the two as if forming a protective veil against unwanted energies.

"Alright Sister, here's your stop. I suppose I should lay down some ground work give you a bit of cover." Veronica removed two more of her bibles from the satchel on her back, tossing them into the air where they let loose a hive of golden pages, swirling about with a large spiral vortex before flying toward the street, nailing themselves to the buildings to create a massive holy barrier around the Nosferatu, while a rather large portion of pages remained at their side just in case. They would most likely be needed.

She'd heard of Sister Corvis' abilities, but as she had never actually witnessed them up close, the whirlwind ride was truly an entirely new experience for her. When the pages settled, her feet found solid stone, and the view was slightly different than the infirmary halls.

Below, chaos had already begun its course. Scorched earth was ringed by members of the armed corps, and even from her vantage point - or perhaps because of it - she could see the patterns of a sorely unfair fight about to take place. This was no low-level vampire they were dealing with. This was Alucard, a thing she still remembers unfondly in her dreams. Nightmares.

And here he stands, malice and pure black evil radiating from him in tidal waves of putrid energy. Thanking the Sister with a nod of her head and a muttered, distracted Go raibh maith agat, the redhead takes a knee and hefts the long, ponderous barrel onto the raised termination of the roof; it would be outside of her imposed cover, but she didn't think that would matter after the first shot, anyway. The black bag at her side is opened one-handed, and a large, newly-minted magazine is retrieved, then placed in the magazine well of the enormous rifle. Slapping it home, she reaches back and chambers the first round, all the while keeping an eye on the creature below.

Slowing her heart rate - and forcing back the pain threatening her concentration - she exhales deeply, shouldering the Mechem and sighting in the abomination. Her golden-grey eyes pick up on the movements of the men below, and then Father Miles strode into view. His stance was one she'd only seen a handful of times, and it was a display that meant he would be holding nothing back.

"Sister Corvis, be prepared to move us. Shortly."

Her heat rate was under fifty beats a minute. Her breathing was steady and sure. Her gloveless right index finger curls around the trigger, and for a moment, there is nothing. No sound, other than the screams below. Nothing mattered to her aside from the demon only forty yards away.

No one was firing aside from her partner.

She decides to lend a hand.

The blessed silver, HEI round is expelled from the barrel with a bruising kick, and she immediately chambers another round on reflex. This cold shot was never intended to be entirely accurate. It may miss, if he is quick enough to dodge an unseen shot in the dark - which she was not so certain he couldn't - but it was aimed for center mass. Not a kill shot for him.

A painful reminder that a human was hunting him.

OOC: Alright. Sorry for the long wait. Had some last minute things to take care of outside of the forum.
My car broke down which put a lot of stress on me but thankfully, that's all over and I have a new car so this should make things a lot better. Now, onward and upward!

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It was surprising how quickly things had turned into a complete war zone. The embers and charred wreckage brought even more tenacity to the foul creature's visage as he viewed the destruction he had wrought. All but not to be expected, more men seemed to respond in favor to his open invitation. Watching them all aim their guns sent the creature into a frenzy the likes of which had never been seen. He laughed menacingly as the first bullets came toward him. With sickening precision, all three blessed .50 cal bullets found their mark in the abomination and sent streaks of red current from their new host. Hunching over from the recoil, the No Life King smiled a sickening grin as 9 spectral arms lifted the other bus into the air. More crunching noises filled the sky as the arms proceeded to rip it into two smaller halves. In much of the same motion as before, the arms reared back with their payloads before they were unleashed upon their enemies. The first half was aimed at the remaining Holy Guard soldiers while the other had a slightly different course veered toward the pious machine known as Michel Miles.

As these were screaming toward their target however, a new "soldier" of religious predilection seemed to have joined the fray. The holy pages which seemed to preach their blasphemy had brought with them what might be Iscariot's newest lap dog. With a sneer mixed into his amber eyes, in but a moment's notice, the creature's form seemed to contort and crunch backwards with a sickening lurch as his whole body seemed almost break in half itself. From within the folds of the macabre black flames, the Jackal beckoned forward at its Master's beck and call. At his whim, the gun shined with an unnatural magnificence as it barked three bullets at the new onlooker. Two of the bullets seemed to be aimed at the man's torso while one seemed to be aimed directly for his temple.

Meanwhile, the Nosferatu barely had time to enjoy any victories he might have had before yet two more onlookers had joined the fight. It was at this point that the monster's rage truly seemed to take form. The wall of golden pages and explosions had brought about a new look in his eyes as he watched the sniper take aim and the other pages take their positions and enact their barrier. There was nothing for it. It seemed he would have to muster more of his strength if he was to turn this around.

With that thought, all that the No Life King was turned to a pile of black embers as the sniper's bullet had also found its mark. From the pile rose the creature's shadowy visage crouched on one knee. His outfit had changed from its usual red duster coat into the tight fitting leather which meant the death of his enemies. His white gloves seemed to glow unnaturally as they formed their familiar shapes in contrast to the uproar of the current storm. From within the dark, words were spoken which would soon kick this battle into high gear.

Releasing control art restriction systems three... two... one. Approval of Situation A recognized. Commencing the Cromwell invocation. Ability restrictions lifted for limited use until the enemy has been rendered silent.

From the moment the words left his mouth, a large red eye emblazoned across his chest, released from the lids which kept it prisoner. Scuttling sounds seemed to fill the air as shiny black millipedes poured out of the recesses of the Nosferatu's dark visage and covered the once proud marble in a layer of filth which would bring shame upon even the greatest patron saint. Unsettling growls grew like life from an engine as the Great Hound Baskerville mutated out of their Master's arm as if an extension of the beast himself. The hounds fur shone through with the same spectral black flames of their source as its many eyes grew all the more fearsome. Shuddering forward, Baskerville lunged at one of the remained Armed Corps ripping him apart as his screams and limbs filled the sky with bone and sinew.

Meanwhile, the spectral arms lunged forward at the same time to pick off the remaining soldiers. Two of the soldiers were lifted from the ground and thrust backwards being rammed into two of the walls from which the pages enacted their barrier. Meanwhile, the remaining two were first grabbed by the neck and raised into the air. The soldiers fell lifeless as with a bone splitting crunch, the hands crushed the life out of the men. As with the buses, their bodies were likewise thrown at the sniper and Veronica.

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OOC: So since this was a fairly lengthy and complicated post, I'll also break down the actions for you. I already got Mikey's permission to play with the NPC's at this point and kill them off so I took some artistic license with that but I do apologize for the obscenely long post. I'm sure all of my future posts will be a lot shorter however. Now onto the breakdown.

@Mikey: Two halves of the one remaining bus were thrown, one taking out ten NPCs and the other half was aimed at you. One NPC was eaten by Baskerville.

@Anthony: Three Jackal bullets were fired at you. Two to the chest and one to the head.

@Veronica: Two NPC soldiers were slammed through the wall to take out part of the barrier and one body was thrown at you which will probably be eaten up by your pages.

@Meabh: You get one dead body thrown at you as well.

-5 souls regen

-15 NPCs

Again apologies for the obscenely long post. Hope you enjoy!

The cyborgs figure remained unmoved as the assault he launched had no effect, standing firm in the face of the utter blackness that was Alucard himself; even with the sight of spectral arms lifting the large form of transport into the air, he remained solid, his face void of emotion. He didn't respond to Father Diem, letting it be an unspoken agreement. The same could be said for his companions, however, despite remaining strong in the face of the Nosferatu, they would not survive the next assault sadly. The bus, now split in two, found a course through the air with an unnatural strength that only Alucard could muster. All but five were fast enough to react to the assault, scattering from the impact zone before the large projectile took out ten of their brothers in arms in the wreckage.

Miles would not be joining them in limbo; his solid stance quickly vanished in a blurred motion which bolted to the side, avoiding the large piece of metal which came crashing down into the space he had once occupied with ease, his figure continuing in an all out run to the side with a trail of green light coming from his eyes. The arrival of the golden gospel pages which found a perch on the surrounding buildings and walls signaled to him that Sister Corvis had arrived to lend her aid to repel this vermin, she was the only one he knew who could control so many, but the person she brought with her pages was a comfort to him, despite how he felt about Meabh being in the field so early after what she'd just been through, it was still a small relief to know she would be watching over them with her golden eyes.

The moment Alucard arose from the darkness in his leather outfit, unharmed by their assault, his release to level one was imminent; the cyborg knew this and he was certain the others did as well. The remaining five Iscariot's who stood to protect their home were quickly torn apart by the unearthly abilities the Nosferatu had unleashed. Several managed to fight back, showing the strength of Iscariot, but were quickly overpowered by the unnatural might that was the No Life King. One met the unfortunate fate of being devoured by the hellhound, Baskerville, the others were simply treated as toys by the specter-like arms. Unfazed by the brutal display, Miles brought his guns to bear as he moved, unloading several more rounds in the vampires direction with an inhuman display of accuracy.

Two would find their trajectory in line with where the vampires heart and throat should be, another's path would be in line with Alucards head, and three others were launched toward the No Life Kings limbs and joints; each bringing their blessings and recoil with them to make a new path through their targets with all their might, and possibly remove whatever part they impacted. The vampire was flanked, outnumbered and quite possibly outgunned in this scenario; even if he would not be killed this day he would no doubt remember the bite he received by the fangs of Iscariot.

This fight wold not end well for them. Father Anthony knew this as soon as he got wind of the attack. Did he actually believe they could beat him? Not at all. But it was the fight that was important. That was proven by those Iscariots which had the bravery to go up and fight toe to toe with this monstrosity. Even in the face of death all thirty of their brothers and sisters were willing to stand with honour and die fighting. So long as there was one persn in the world was willing to do that, Anthony believed that light and hope would not fade from this world.

However he certainly might. Anthony saw the sickening unholy spectacle known as Alucard contort into his most abominable form known as the hound of Baskerville.

Anthony while disgusted was not alive because of his stupidity and lack of attention to detail. He saw something summon forth from this diabolical creatures body and to late realized that it was " Gu-Urgk!" Anthony dived for his very life to his left but was not able to completely avoid damage.

The the first bullet shot was able to barely touch father Anthony's right side along the bottom of his rib cage. It had barely touched him and he was wearing a vest even. Ha, that didn't help him. The bullet tore through his vest easily and then his flesh. While it did not tear to the bone it did take with it a good three four layers of flesh and a lot of blood. His rib was cracked from the force of the bullet and before he could get off a worried whisper of gun the air was knocked from him and he was taken off his feet.

On the ground Anthony nearly fell unconscious. Until he saw a hand, it was horribly burnt and clutching a very old rosary that must have been perhaps over a hundred years old. He knew this because the hand that held it was one of his friends and one of the children he had helped to raise and to his horror that hand was still moving. Barely alive from the first bus thrown this Iscariot had been thrown at least twenty feet the other direction. Anthony forced himself to stay awake and he grabbed the hand. He gasped out the words "You have done. well rest in peace my friend." The hand of his sister held on to his firmly and the thumb pushed the Rosary which had part of the crucifix melted and blackened into his. Then with a horrible racking breathe the body fell limp.

He waited for only a moment to shed a single tear. He figured that his thirty brothers and sisters were worth that. He gripped the rosary very hard in his hand the pain felt good. At least somewhere other than his side. His vision cleared he looked at Alucard the same way he had his parents killer. Rage exploded within him. But this time was different this time he could fight back.

Anthony struggled to his feet and shouted out as loud as he could the name "ALUCAAAAARD!!!" He shot two links of blessed pages towards the monster. As he ran at the monster and threw his bible forward he shot off four extremely quick but not exactly accurate shots. As he shot his rounds at the beast he ran into his pages of blessed scripture and disappear far behind him. He shot one more very accurate shot at him before the pages of blessed scripture soared by Alucard and into Anthony where they would once again take him to his desired location.

(ok I have a few problems with my post. One I don't know if I cheeped out on damage from the Jackel. The second I don't know if I have chronologically used to much time in my post. The third I am also not sure if I would be able to do what I have done. If Alucard might decide to fire at him or attack him or the pages I didn't leave a lot of room for that to happen. If anyone has a problem with any of this or more you have my apologies and I will change my post accordingly.)

"Ready and waiting, Sister."

Corvis spoke as the a decent sized torrent of pages swirled around above them, keeping her gaze on the battle below as her golden pages fluttered about the streets. She propped a foot on the ledge, leaning forward as her elbow rested on her knee. A shadow cast its dark veil over her face as she watched the carnage, a stoic and calm demeanor finding itself on her features. Alucard's tossing of the nearby bus did more damage than she'd had hoped it would, taking the lives of many, and neither Father Miles nor Sister Meabh's shots seemed to matter. The abomination simply arose in a new form of black leather and bondage, bringing forth his hellhound. Such a sight was appalling, her brothers and sisters were being eaten and torn apart; she wouldn't stand idly by and watch, but neither would she abandon Sister Meabh in her current condition.

The two bodies which slammed through the wall of a near by building did their job well, breaking part of the barrier that was meant to contain the black prince that stood before them, but it wouldn't last; the pages arose from their place on the ground and reattached themselves to other solid foundations, re-erecting the barrier. The remaining pages, numbering several hundred in number, swirled around the sky, cutting through the black clouds like a flock of angles as the Nun spun to the side, throwing her body weight to the left. The body which was flung toward her was narrowly avoided, the wind from it taking off her veil which resulted in a flurry of grey and silver hair fluttering out behind her before she stomped down to stop herself, her arms raised in an 'X' infront of her.

"And, in their time of trial and tribulation, they had stakes of iron driven through their flesh to restrict their freedom, one in the hands, one in the feet, and three within the body, thus they would overstand the pain of Christ three fold and suffered for seven days, Amen!"

Her arms were thrown out wide, three stakes flying forth from her sleeves and finding their place between her fingers as she brought them back, leaning back slightly before her arms were thrown forward. The six blessed crucifixion stakes were released from her grasp with such force that they were nothing more than brown streaks of metal, cutting through the air with more than enough force behind them to punch through concrete; their goal was not the same as the bullets being fired upon the No Life King; but instead impact him with such force as to knock him down, to pin him the street in which he stood.

These stakes were not alone in their task, in fact, they weren't even allowed to be seen, for a flurry of golden pages quickly surrounded their forms to obstruct any sight of them, to obstruct Alucards sight of them, forming a large torrent of holy Scripture around their bodies which traveled with them, and would do so until the very last moment.

Things Had gone from troubling to…bad. Disaster was to kind a word for what was transpiring down below her eagle’s perch. The thing…threw a bus. A bus. Not something she assumed the No Life King would resort to, but there it was, half of a commuter bus tossed at her partner, the other at their comrades. Frowning, she watches as the creature disintegrates into a mound of inky black, before rising up yet again in bondage garb.

She can’t decide if this is a problem or not.

Still the same monster. Different clothes.

And then a body is tossed her way; to be fair, two were thrown at her protector’s barrier, and then one again at her protector herself. The words pouring from Veronica's mouth sent a slight chill down her spine, an odd response, but one fueled by the feeling of right the words conveyed. Exhaling heavily – and knowing the other Sister to be more than capable of handling herself, Meabh watches as the dead man hurled her direction becomes larger and larger and larger, until she can make out details of his clothing.

Then she fires.

The bullet impacts the close body with bone-shattering force, nearly ripping the man in two, showering them both in a fine mist of blood as the body abruptly falls from its path to eventually land on the street below.

The HEI, blessed silver round didn't stop with the dead man. It continued onward to the abomination, its path set along the same one as Sister Veronica’s stakes, mingling with them until their flight was one and the same.

Their impact would be simultaneous.

But just as the stakes and bullet make their mark, another round is sent his direction, the glass-shattering crackboom of the rifle spider-webbing the windows just underneath their feet. Dropping the mag from the rifle, she snatches another and replaces its empty partner, turning to the Sister in the process.

”Now might be the time, Sister.”

OOC: Sorry for the wait kiddies. I've had a lot of shit going on again and almost lost my apartment. I'm going to need a bit more time away. Jay, you always said you wanted to try your hand at Alucard so if you want to play as Alu in my absence, give it a whirl. Sorry again people and ttyl.

It was everything Miles expected it to be: pointless. No matter how many times they tore his body apart, no matter how many bullets they emptied into his soulless husk, he wasn't going to die. It reminded him of himself to some extend, but those wounds were far above his own capability of surviving. Such a realization would frighten most, but none who stood with him today had such a fear. Continuing in his dash to the side, the cyborg watched the vampires figure be destroyed and reform as it always had done before its spectral arms went to work on the walls that the pages of Sister Veronica occupied, but those weren't his concern. The two lamps that were torn forth from the ground were the object of his attention. He knew what the No Life King had planned for them the moment he saw the beast reach for them. Just as the two buses had been throw about for his amusement, so would these find themselves flying through the air as projectiles of death and destruction.

The one aimed for him missed by a razor thing margin, too close even for him to find comfort in, nearly taking his head off had he not already been in full-sprint to the side. The large lamp post crashed behind him in an uproot of dust and concrete as the the cybernetic priest came to a halt and  brought his handguns into position, emptying the several remaining rounds toward the vampires vital areas, sticking to the trend of targeting the head and heart to maximize his damage output to the living carcass in hopes of getting it to retreat.

His blessed pages which soared by Alucard without trouble hit just in time to carry him away from the telephone pole that would have surely crushed him. From another street light he hung upside down tied to it by his pages which wrapped around his leg. Anthony begin to unload his weapons into Alucard When he ran he would fall from this street light but only for a moment as the pages that held him would unravel and then encircle him taking him once again where he desired to be.

Anthony could not keep this up for ever. Or rather much longer for that matter but it didn't matter right now. The only thing that mattered was hurting this unholy beast who had killed his friends, his family, and was trying to kill more of them

OOC: Okay, doing this now since Alu left and got staff permission. Not letting this carry on any longer.

-----------------------------
The pages above Meabh swarmed around her the moment she made the call, lifting her away into a large arch across the sky and safely transporting her to the nearby roof of the Vatican itself, avoiding the rounds the Nosferatu launched at her, where the swarm of pages broke their formation and allowed her to come into view again with all her equipment. The same time as this was going on the nun stepped off the ledge she was currently on and plummeted toward the ground, also avoiding any shots taken toward her only to be caught by a second group of pages and whisked away toward the ground, where she appeared from the golden sheets in beside Michel.

Watching the onslaught of bullets from Miles and Anthony tear into the beast, Veronica lifter her hand with three more stakes between her fingers as her own pages lowered themselves around not only her, but Miles as well, though not getting in the way of his line of sight or body movement. However, as the black mass known as Alucard reformed from the damage taken the fight was interrupted from a call behind them. It was a scientist from section III, and in his hands was a jar of ash. No doubt the remains of the vampire Miles had earlier destroyed.

"Enough of this... This is what you are here for, correct?"

The scientists words held fear in them, but it was understandable. Section III wasn't responsible for fighting such things, and hardly coming face to face with them unless there were blessed bars splitting the two apart. The scientist hesitantly made his way down the now destroyed front steps with the jar held out, though keeping a fair distance behind the Iscariot agents before him.

"Too much unnecessary destruction over something such as dust. Take it and leave..." 


To be honest, Veronica didn't like the idea of just letting him go, and she was fairly certain Miles didn't either, but given the situation and the surrounding damage it was most likely the best option. It wasn't like they could hold him back forever, and they couldn't kill him permanently either. A page wrapped around the jar in the scientists hands and, with numerous of its sisters, swirled outward in a large arch, carrying the jar over toward where the no life king stood and sat it down before dispersing.

No doubt he likely wanted to continue his rampage, but his orders were, reasonably guessed, to retrieve their captured comrade; and there he was, or what was left of him. Alucard body broke down into a torrent of bats, swarming the jar and disappearing into the sky.


"Well then, that was.... unproductive".

The recent events didn't set right with her, but it was probably for the best. They weren't getting anywhere with this most recent conflict but it was probably for the best The pages that were scattered about the field quickly swarmed together and split apart, each returning to their respective covers before finding their place in her satchel. The way the Abomination tore through her barriers gave her something to thing about...it was almost scary, but now she had a reason to push herself. However, duty came first...the children needed food.


->> Exit to limbo.

[[I am going out on a limb here and say that Veronica didn't make a bitch move and leave Meabh on the roof...]]

Then that happened. A mass of unproductive, messy fighting that had resulted in the needless deaths to Paladins and civilians alike. Standing on the stairs to the Vatican, the sniper breaks down the Mechem and hands it over to a young priest she'd called for just as the fight ended. He fumbles with the weight before getting it all under control, nodding to the redhead as she splits from their common path to head into the infirmary, where she is certain she would need to have a few stitches replaced.

----------------> Infirmary

Mikey follows Meabh.


Exit >>> Infirmary


(Laziness and mikey's overall lack of emotion for anything)