This is the end, but still your need is driven on

[liebe_krieg]

WHO: The Major, the Doctor, and their game pieces. I.e. EVERYONE.
WHERE: Throughout the City.
WHEN: The nights of Friday the 6th to Sunday the 8th.
WARNINGS: Violence and death galore.
SUMMARY: The Major and Doctor Einsturzen go to war for fun, and drag the entire City along for the ride.
FORMAT: Whatever works!

Nightfall was marked by fire. The subway station at East 42nd Street and Park Avenue rocked as a series of explosives ripped through the tunnels, setting everything ablaze, lighting up the evening and filling it with the terrified screams of civilians. That was the first. It was starting.

Across the City, there was movement from the underground. Vampires in trenchcoats and gas masks emerged onto the streets, bloodthirsty and vicious. Hounds the size of bears or larger, barely recognizable as what they once were, prowled from the alleys, saliva dripping from their jowls. Children in canine masks darted across the rooftops. All the while, more explosions tore across the City subway systems, as if keeping time for the two monstrous armies marching towards each other.

Anything that stood between them would be consumed-- natives, ImPorts, businesses, homes. Nothing was safe. This war would be winner take all, a prize of bloodshed and destruction to the psychopath left standing. The nights to follow would be long and full of terrors.

Comments

The Third Night

[liebe_krieg]

After sundown on Sunday the 8th: hostage rescue, dead villains, defeated monsters, game over.

Confronting the Major – Seras, Alucard, Bucky and Magneto

[liebe_krieg]

“Remaining forces, fall back and establish a defensive perimeter around headquarters!” Most of the screens were dark now on the Major’s wall of televisions. The owners of those cameras were ash and dust, or prisoners on their way to a very long stay in Superjail. The last two nights had been bloody ones for the Major’s forces, which of course was just the way he liked it.

“The Doctor’s fate is sealed now. We have set the hounds on her trail. All that remains now is for all of you to protect this place with every drop of blood in your bodies!”

In a way, ‘this place’ was where it all began. When the Major had returned to the City last year and concluded with his grand crime summit, he had been out of hideouts. His bunker was in ruins, his mansion’s location an open secret.

But the high-rise apartment building he had started out in back in 2009- that building had been closed and abandoned as its tenants and owners alike moved away from the City’s violence. Being publicly known as a former Nazi lair did not make it easy for a location to attract renters, after all. And so the Major and his forces had moved in, slowly and secretly, like a nest of termites taking up residence in an old tree.

Now it was under siege. The Major might consider Einsturzen’s fate sealed, but she had her own plan. A small assassination force of her little soldiers had found his location and was pushing in hard on his defenses. Looking at his maps, it was clear to him that her other deployments had been meant to clear the way for this stroke, so she could destroy him and win the Wargames in a single blow. It seemed that the heroes had made his position as well, and were closing in to save their friends. All around the building, vampire troops fired out the windows and hurled barricades in front of the entrances to keep that from happening.

The Major didn’t care that his back was against the wall, that he might lose. He continued to conduct his war from the very top floor, surrounded by his guards and maps and screens. In victory or defeat, he was simply having too much fun.

Guess I'll be the one to start this off then

[newbvampire]

Normally Seras thought of chaos as bad thing, but just this once she was grateful for it. With a dragon, heroes and who knows what else trying to get inside the Major's minions were distracted, which them even easier than usual to pick off from the air with the Harkonnen. It also meant she didn't need to worry about the hostages and could go straight for the Major himself.

Swooping past the roof she fired a few well placed rounds, sending the defending Nazis either over the edge, or up into the air in pieces. Turning around she made one more pass to confirm that the roof was empty and then landed. Determined, she started making her way to the door. There was no way she was letting him get away this time!

God I'm so sorry I had this open in a tab and never pressed send

[deadthenred]

What Bucky had said to Tony Stark was the truth— he wasn't here because he wanted to be, he was there because he felt he had to. Stark had gone and posted coordinates to the network so that made the whole thing a stripe easier. He probably could have figured it out on his own. But this way was better.

He was just figuring out the best way to get inside without losing his other arm when he saw the hint Seras swooping in.

It's fine and I'll just be tagging this to keep it going and give us a bit mroe to work with. I hope

[newbvampire]

As she walked to the door, Seras felt something. Below, in the building. It was her Master and he was making a mess of the Major's soldiers. Not that she was surprised, but it meant she didn't have a lot of time. She needed to get down there and fight alongside him before it was all over.

Grinning, she started to run.

okay then!

[deadthenred]

Where was she going? Seras was obviously moving with purpose, but Bucky couldn't tell what it was she was after. He thought for a split second about whether he was really gonna follow a vampire into a nest of more vampires, but before he even realized he thought it, his mind was made up.

He didn't mind following. It was what he was good at. He ran up behind Seras, not sure if she even knew he was there.

Alucard's personal thread :3

[excruciate]

He comes out from the dark places, rising like a morning kissed by fog and sunlight and ash. The false children of the night can sense it, can taste his coming for the promise of genocide it implies. Alucard is the logical endpoint to the Major's mad schemes, the ill will that snuffs out all fires of hatred and war come to flared to life in his presence. Shadows quiver and pulse in his wake, slithering long, and jagged, and strange.

He is come, the thing that walks the edge of twilight.

There is no warning, no heavy-handed declaration of war and holocaust. He enters through windows, through floorboards and mirrors and the still, quiet moments where humans think themselves safe from the dark. Few survive his passing -- fewer still survive his ascendancy, this madcap rush of carnage captured perfectly in every moment his twin guns blaze, in every glint of moonlight caught on the edge of his fangs.

When he arrives at the heart of things, the Nosferatu wastes no time. Guards are torn asunder or left to his Childe, to the vanguard she brings with her in time. Furniture is tossed aside or simply devoured, swallowed wholesale by the legion of teeth and maw he trails behind him as though he were some conquering King.

"You try and you try and you try, little man..." the thing that wears a human form -- but is so obviously, so painfully not -- says, every syllable caught excruciatingly between a snarl and a laugh. "Fight on! Fight! Will your men to devour me, to destroy that which they resemble only in farce! Fight! Hurry! Hurry! I've so little time to waste on foreplay!"

Bullets tear through his frame, and yet still Alucard speaks. "This is your end made manifest, you worthless pile of Nazi shit."

[liebe_krieg]

"You're here! You're here! You're here!" The Major whirls around from the window he had been staring out of. He looks at the jagged, hooked shadows reaching out for him, and he beams. He claps his hands together like a child on Christmas Day, unwrapping the biggest, greatest present of all time. "Nosferatu! No-Life King! Vampire! Prince of Darkness! River of Death! Impaler! Monster! Conquerer! Count! Dracula! Alucard!"

He draws his pistol out of his coat, then spreads his feet, squares his shoulders, balls his free hand into a gesturing fist. He looks like he's spoiling for a fight, this little man (monster) faced with the ultimate killing machine.

"Here we are again, on the battlefield! It's been quite some time for both of us. We are a long way from Poland! A long way from the War! Yet I remember it like it was yesterday- beholding you for the first time. You lovely, hideous corpse! How I adore and despise you and what you represent! The truth of eternal death and the lie of life in the same form." His eyes narrow, those uncanny golden pupils peeking out from between the lids.

"I remember leaving you to face the Captain. He kicked you in two like a sack full of rotten meat! He's not here to sic on you this time. But the result will still be the same as that contest. This is your final defeat! Here, just as in London, is the end of Hellsing and Alucard!" His voice rings out through the room even as his screens go dark one by one, as his maps begin to smoulder from the sparks drifting through the air, as his soldiers die hideous deaths. The Major is breathing the air of destiny tonight- so much the better if it is his last.

[excruciate]

"You insignificant little man," the No-Life King breathes, stepping through the remains of the Major's minions as though the offal were nothing but fog -- and, for the most part, it may as well be. "So wrapped up in your little wargames, so ravenous for death and destruction..."

He purrs the words, almost as though he knows that his voice will be the last thing the Major will hear, as if he almost realizes that this final moment will be their last reckoning. "So much death, and for what purpose? For what cause? Your master is bone, and this world robs you of every victory you may grasp with its mere threat of relocation -- what have you, but fleeting, temporary destruction!"

The shadows snap and claw, tearing away at the floor as Alucard advances. "Tell me, Pig! Tell me, enemy mine! Give reason for your madness lest you go into the next world craving the attention you so deserve! TELL ME!"

Jackal's last bullet only misses the Major by a fraction, carving out an entire section of wall behind him instead.

[liebe_krieg]

The Major shows no fear of his imminent annihilation. Like all monsters from his world, he craves a bloody and final end, and now here it is, looming over him like a thundercloud. "For the sheer joy of it, of course!" He fires back, more for punctuation than anything else, the bullet missing every one of Alucard's shadows by a wide margin. "For the joy you know so well- the joy of rending, tearing, burning destruction! The joy of seeing whole cities laid waste, of seeing enemies driven before you, of hearing the lamenting of their women and children!"

He fires again and again, just to slow the onslaught for a few more seconds. Just time enough to finish one last insane speech. "Everything in all worlds is about conflict. It is the nature of all life to fight and struggle and die. That is why I have brought forth war after war to exult in. It is a celebration of life itself! It is the sublime joy that you and I share, Alucard."

Suddenly his hand plunges into his pocket and takes out a little remote- a far more potent weapon than the old pistol. "No-Life King! Your existence mocks my celebration even as you contribute to it. Monster that looks like a human being! Undying and unceasing! Wonderful and detestable! There is no such thing as an indestructible creature! There can be nothing indestructible in a world defined by conflict! It is to prove that point that I dedicated so much to your defeat. Both back home and here, now!"

He presses a button and concealed demolition charges blink to life around them, warning lights showing from the walls, floor, ceiling. "That is why this building was selected three years ago. I knew that one day you might come for me. That is why this command post was selected, high over the Hudson River- over a waiting grave of running water!"

The charges have been carefully placed for precision demolition. This room and the rooms around it will be blasted straight into the river. Just as the Major once tried to strand Alucard on the surface of the sea, so now will he attempt to trap him in a great body of running water, the bottom of which is said to be like the pit of hell to vampires. Of all the legendary vampire weaknesses Alucard has proven immune to, this one has been tested the least. The Major backs away toward the hole Alucard just blasted in the wall, arms wide open, embracing what's coming.

"One more thing Alucard- you ought to be aware! The last time I saw you back home, you were nothing more than a string of imaginary numbers." He smiles wide one last time, daring him to do it as the charges count down their final seconds. "And the last time I saw pretty Sir Integra Hellsing... I shot her in the head."

Hostage Rescue

[liebe_krieg]

Although no one would say it within the Major’s earshot and he himself would certainly never admit it, by the third night it was generally accepted among the Nazis that the hostage ploy was an absolute failure. The heroes of the City had not obligingly destroyed the Doctor, Nazi casualties were sky-high, and now hostile forces were surrounding the apartment building that served as the Major’s command centre, mostly to rescue those same hostages.

There was nothing for it but to make sure that the rescue ended in bloody, sorrowful failure. While the Major continued to conduct his war from the top floor, the kill order filtered down the ranks. Masked stormtroopers marched through the middle floors in pairs, taking up positions by each hostage’s room. When they were all ready, every one of the Major’s ‘assets’ would be liquidated at once- if they weren’t stopped first.

[onblackwings]

[ She's too large to get into the building without crushing the few people she actually likes, and her human shape is too frail to ever risk sending into a place like that. She could pick some other shape, rush in and cause damage that way — but she reluctantly doubts a single tiger or cockatrice would be nearly as effective as the heroes that have trained for precisely things like this ...Which is sort of painful to admit, but they are useful for rescuing things she values.

So she'll do what she does best, and let them do their parts. For now, that means darting about the building, dodging occasional counterattacks, and snapping up the Major's forces one at a time. Or several at a time, if she gets a tail sweep or wing into it. She's still not sure about her passenger (ugh, seriously, it's Batwoman), but at least they'd constructed a hasty rope arrangement to lessen the danger of falling off with all of Khisanth's twists and rolls. And she can see the value of having an extra pair of eyes in a fight, at least.

She's really not expecting much more use out of her than that, though. ]

[gevurah]

[ Kate still hasn't let go of her reservations, but time is of the essence here and she needs to get to those hostages before the Major puts another round in someone's head. Dick's died once, a fact that actually doesn't help ease her tensions.

Her cape and bright hair billows behind her, the chaos beneath them looking so small. She tightens her hold on the rope as they barrel forward. ]

Get us over to the south side of that building.

[ If she can slip into a large enough vent or through one of the windows, she can get inside the building without much difficulty. She's got a few leftover mini-bombs in her belt from home in case she needs to break down a wall or two. ]

[onblackwings]

[ Listen to her, issuing orders as if she were the Highlord. Khisanth snorts, and doesn't bother turn her head to speak. She trusts her voice is large enough to carry. ]

Not yet. The west side is too volatile to cross. [ She's been keeping track of the gunfire tearing out from the windows on that side, and it's definitely heavier. And bullets, while not lethal, tend to be more painful than arrows.

She does dart in closer though, snapping at the nearest men even if it means coming away with a mouthful of mostly concrete and glass shards. These windows are too damn small. ]

[gevurah]

[ She can't help a scowl. The longer they keep away from the building, the more her patience wanes. ]

I can get in if I'm close enough.

closededed;

[doubleoohbaby]

[Between the restraints, the armed guards and the pool of bubbling acid beneath him, James was beginning to think his luck might have finally run out. He'd tested every knot on every rope that bound him and run every possible escape plan scenario through his head. Even if he could somehow escape the bindings and the chain he was tethered too, he'd still need to avoid the pit and take out two armed guards.

Yup, seemed pretty shitty to him. And as he drew ever closer, head first (he could feel the chemical burn at his face) James reflected on just how fucking painful this was going to be.

And then the noise comes. Enter the dragon, along with others, and James can only imagine the scene outside. Hope swells his chest and while his guards distract themselves with charging for the door in a panic state, Bond opts for yelling out for anyone to get their ass to him.]

Hey. HEY!

[onblackwings]

[ She'd dropped off Batwoman and gone back to her circling, harrying the outside attackers, and going at the building itself when she gets the chance. It's on one of these downward swoops that she catches the sound of an awfully familiar voice.

James. One of her reasons for being here. She twists about sharply in the air and rams herself into the building. Hind feet scrabble for purchase and find it half on a ledge and half buried in the building itself, while her forelegs begin clawing at the stone and mortar of the exterior wall. She'd heard him in here, she's almost sure. And if she'd been wrong, well, she can break down a few neighboring walls on the inside and see if that turns him up.

Try not to fall into the acid while she's digging, Mr Bond. ]

[doubleoohbaby]

[The whole building practically shakes at the impact and James instinctively holds his breath as it causes the chain he's suspended from the creak back and forth. Claws on stone is either very, very good or very, very bad, but hell, either way it's coming straight for him.

There's only one huge ass, black clawed beast he can think of and when he sees the light from outside breaking through, he can't help but encourage her on.] Hurry it up, darling, I haven't got all day.

[Unless it's some other massive black dragon, in which case, wow, coincidental and kinda awkward.]

[redlooksgood]

[Jane's approach is much more head on, as in she jumps through a window hoping her thick skull will break the glass. The place is less organized that it probably wanted to be on account of a big ass dragon doing one hell of a job playing on the defense. Somewhere a smoke bomb goes off and Jane is stuck standing there for a long moment wondering if the hostages are even alive still.

Doors, doors and not a clue as to who is or what is behind them. It takes a few bullets for the lock to be blown off of door number one. Gun at the ready she enters with a grim smile.]

Knock, knock.

[backstabbing]

[Isabela had been kicked around plenty of times before, and she had been extra lippy since her capture. the Major must really not have enjoyed her story, because he and his minions had not gone easy on the pirate wench.

she was bruised, sporting a black eye, and one side of her mouth was puffy and scabbed over from having been hit in the face with the butt of the rifle. her wrists were raw and bloodied and there were probably other various bruises, cuts and marks along her arms, legs, and gut.

but nevertheless, at the sound of a woman's voice she looks up, and there's a devil-may-care grin. she's been through worse.]

About time.

[redlooksgood]

Are you alone?

[Even as she asked Jane scanned the room gun at the ready. Cautiously she moved towards the woman giving her a once over]

More importantly can you move on your own?

closed;

[crab]

[ the upside was that he was free, and thanks to his sylladex, still armed.

the downside was that the place was still teeming with vampires, and karkat was battered and exhausted from the night's escapades. he'd been shunted upward, onto the roof, trying to deal damage while staying out of range of retaliation- with a close combat weapon most suited to grappling, and against creatures much stronger and faster than he is.

difficult.

he gets points for effort, though, screaming every threat and insult under the sun at his former captors when the blade of the sickle bounces off the iron collar around one of the vampires' necks with a clang and small shower of sparks. ]

[onblackwings]

[ Khisanth would have been enjoying this mindless killing much more if she weren't so pissed. She hates that she can't get into the building and grab her humans (and troll) for herself, she hates that she has to stay outside and wait for other people to do it for her. It's the first time her size has ever been a disadvantage, and she's not enjoying it.

So when Karkat makes an appearance on the roof, Khisanth's sharp eyes find him immediately. She folds her wings in, banking into an immediate dive, and doesn't flare them out to catch herself until she's landing directly behind — over, really — her charge. One swipe of her claws knocks away his vampire attacker, a second opens his chest. Body armor just doesn't do very much good against something as large as she is.

Only when that's done does she look down at the troll between her forelegs, angry orange eyes gleaming. ]

Finally.

[crab]

[ dealing with the same vampires he'd been dodging all night was one thing. their attacks were expected.

dealing with a gigantic acid breathing lizard landing near directly on top of him in one move and slaughtering his attacker in the next is another thing entirely and he is totally justified in his reaction, which is to let out a totally composed and dignified exclamation. ]

Holy noxious ass chunks, Khisanth, what the fuck?!

[ actually a pretty typical response to her. ]

open!

[hackeralastair]

When the building started to shake from the dragon attacks outside, some of the vampire troops jumped to carry out their orders a little more quickly than others. The ones keeping Alastair subdued in a mid-level apartment barely checked to make sure no one was coming toward their position before bursting into the room and levelling their guns at him. "Wait," one muttered. "Don't go for the face. I want to feed."

Alastair had spent most of the day in a daze, expecting this very moment, but when he heard them, the tiny flare of courage buried deep under his issues sparked. For all the things he said and thought, he didn't actually want to be killed. When the muzzle of a rifle prodded him in the chest to rouse him - like they wanted him to pay attention when they executed him - he came to with a start of fear and the Oricalchos flashed on his forehead. He looked up at the two gas-masked vampires and began to struggle, and the more he freaked out, the more his power coursed through him. Neither of these two had been around him before, they didn't know what the green occult symbol meant, but they would soon find out. The one who poked him descended on him, casting aside the gun in favor of a knife, perhaps to slit his throat in preface to using him for dinner. Fear turned to rage, and with a scream, Alastair jerked upright and let the Oricalchos do whatever it wanted.

Arcs of green energy exploded around them. The same energy that destroyed the corner three-bedroom of Hell Towers now blasted a hole in the side wall of the building, cracked the vamps' guns in half, and ripped chunks of plaster out of the walls. The pair backed off, not prepared to deal with this. Alastair channeled his hatred of the Major into his power even though he had no control over whether it would destroy what he wanted it to. But two and a half days of being kept prisoner, beaten, and suffering had taken their toll. He had nothing in reserve, and the power sapped what little strength he had left. His uncontrollable rage was enough to send the pair of vampires running for the door, but then it expended himself and he collapsed face-down on the floor. He had managed to rip apart the chains and ropes keeping him bound, but then he fainted and lay there senseless in the middle of the rubble. There was no way he was leaving under his own power.