Nicholas stood at the entrance of the manor. Aware that the Knight and Oni were escorting Intergra. The issue was he hadn't actually sent them. Without realizing it, Intergra had begun tapping into the unsaid benefits of their contract.
A flash outside brought his attention back to the present. The Battle Zeppelin was burning and crashing. The Wild Geese were set up to resist the impending attack. Soon explosions and bullets would raining non-stop.
He sat down on the center of the stairs. The Executioner and Nemesis were standing in at the bottom of the stairs, and Singularity and Dredge were patrolling the rest of the first floor.
Soon, the gunfire and explosions began. It went on for a couple of minutes, then it stopped and the screaming began. Zorin Blitz had begun her illusion attack. The killers were unaffected. In less than a minute the screaming stopped but that was all the time the attackers needed to make it across the mine field. As the first group burst through the windows, Nicholas's killers began their offensive.
The Millennium Soldiers were being overwhelmed, and Nicholas was there to see it all. Of course, if one wasn't aware of how his connection to the killers worked, then it could be understandable if an outsider saw that right before every attack Nicholas's eyes darted towards that particular killer. Then they would assume that Nicholas was directly controlling and directing the killers like they were his personal puppets.
Like Zorin did. When she saw Nicholas casually sitting on the stairs with his eyes darting over the fight. She moved carefully avoiding his sight. She figured if she could get control of him then she could turn the killers against the other defenders.
Nicholas felt a presence coming and turned his head just in time for Zorin's hand to make contact with his face. Now a piece of Nicholas was nervous, but he was mostly curious. After all, as far as he was aware no one had attempted to enter his mind before now. He wondered what Zorin would experience during this time, would it be like entering any other mind or would she experience something else.
As he calmly looked at Zorin, he saw her eyes go from sadistic and smug, to confused and uncertain, and then finally desperate and afraid. She pulled her hand away and slowly backed away.
With a smile, Nicholas grabbed her by the hand and pulled her close. Zorin sputtered, then she started begging to be let go. A far cry of the sadistic individual she was portrayed in the anime. With his free hand and acquired abilities, he pulled Zorin's chip from her head without any resistance or notice.
Her eyes widen as she saw the only hope of death in his hands instead of inside her head. Then he said, "You and I are going to have a very in-depth discussion about what you experienced while rooting through my mind. But that's for later."
Nicholas let go of Zorin's hand. She immediately pulled back, obviously intending to flee but was swallowed up by the black fog instead. As the slaughter came to a close, Nicholas had a random attacker set on fire. As a way to obscure the fact their commander was missing.
He turned his head when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Seras was coming down, rifle in hand. Well, more cannon than rifle. Definitely not for indoor close quarters use. She looked at the carnage and said, "So, it appears you taken care of everything."
Nicholas responded, "It appears so. I hate to think of the bill for the clean-up crew who has to clean this up but that's for later. My watchers inform me that Sir Intergra is in trouble and is currently trying to walk back to the manor. Of course, she still has a way to go and without transportation or assistance, she won't be able to get back until noon at the earliest."
Seras immediately began walking towards the door saying, "Then let's go." Nicholas didn't argue, he just collected his killers and followed.
....
Intergra wasn't sure how to process what was happening. In front of her was Father Anderson and several members of section 13. Probably their entire group if she was being realistic.
Standing between them were the Knight and Oni. Father Anderson's blades have already proven ineffective against her bodyguards. And Intergra found it disturbing that she understood the why. It wasn't just their armor but their nature as well.
Anderson broke the silence by asking, "So, what devil did you make a bargain with? Were your vampire pets not enough of an offense for you?!" The other priests had their weapons drawn.
Tired of this standoff, Integra replied, "These two are simply my bodyguards escorting me home since my butler is otherwise occupied and the rest are guarding my manor. It's dangerous for a lady to walk alone at night with monster about."
A priest started talking to Anderson, but after a few words Intergra realized that one was actually a woman wearing priests' clothes. Well, she like wearing pants when she was working so to each their own. She was talking about their mission, how they were supposed to capture her, then the nun suggested tying her up wall the other said she wanted to shoot Intergra and burn the monstrosities.
Intergra interrupted by saying, "So, the plan is to either tie me up or shoot me. What's your opinion of this, Father Anderson?" Anderson immediately responded about how those options were only viable to vile brigands who were planning to defile her. His blatant statement left the others speechless.
Intergra then said, "I have my escorts, but I can't stop you from following." She began walking and as she predicted they followed. A little defeated but still followed none the less.
....
Seras was riding on the back of a motorcycle; she was curious how Nicholas managed to literally pull one out of thin air. But such questions were quickly forgotten when she saw London burning. The Vatican had chosen this moment to launch a surprise attack. Not just on the invaders but the remaining citizens as well.
The devastation was horrible, but as Nicholas continued driving uninterrupted, Seras began to wonder how he knew where they needed to go. Then she asked him and he casually revealed that Intergra made a deal with him. So, he can tell where she is at all times.
Seras was mortified by this fact and asked, "How could Sir Intergra do such a thing?" Nicholas responded, "Desperate times means desperate measures. In the end it just means when I leave, she'll leave with me. But why do you care? You were set to outlive her by a very long time anyway. And before you do anything stupid, since Intergra chose to be bound to me if I was destroyed and banished from this world she would still leave with me."
Seras was conflicted, she wanted to strangle the man in front of her, but that wouldn't help Intergra. She swallowed her pride and asked, "How can I help Sir Intergra?" He was silent for the longest minute of her life. Then he said, "At this point, the only way to do that would become her guardian."
With curiosity she asked, "How?" He said, "There's an entire process, but we really don't have time for that. So, if your serious I need you to kiss me." Seras felt her face get warm as she asked, " You mean on the cheek, right?" Even though she expected what the answer was she hoped it wasn't. He responded, "On the lips. And you have to kiss me if I kiss you it won't work."
A hundred different thoughts were pouring through Seras' head. She realized with him driving she didn't have to drag it out. She leaned forward and adjusted his head and gave him a quick kiss. It lasted less than a second, yet her head was spinning. So intense was it, that she didn't notice Alucard's guiding voice fading away.
....
Things had progressed rather quickly, Nicholas was sitting on a roof with Intergra and Seras. Alucard had unleashed his horde and they were running rampant through the streets while he was standing at ground zero with a growing number of impaled bodies. Since he used his hands to repel Yumi and Heinkel when separating Intergra from Iscariot, they were technically his without them realizing it. They honestly thought he was going easy on them.
He had everything he could take so all that was left was to find his anchor. All signs point to it being on the same blimp as the major. Part of him wondered if he should interfere with the plan to poison Alucard with the blood of Schrödinger. In the end he decided it didn't matter. All the same he had his Doctor began looking for a man who was everywhere and nowhere, and who's ability relied on having a sense of self. Then a voice was being carried by the wind. As Maxwell's chopper was sent crashing, Nicholas could hear the original Latin speech for last rites.
Then Anderson made his move. After putting Maxwell to rest he attacked Alucard's horde. However, instead of the horde bursting into flame they gently turned to ash. No slow burn just dust. Another thing that changed was Walter. He wasn't going to wait until Anderson was defeated. He revealed himself as the traitor and Intergra reinforced her standing order. The three of them were fighting each other at once. As Intergra entered the blimp with Seras, Nicholas had entered through a different section. He decided as a rouge actor, why bother sticking to the script.
....
Intergra stood there on the bridge. A thick sheet of bullet proof glass separates her from the Major. She would like nothing more than to put a bullet into the man's head but instead she is forced to watch Alucard fight for his life against two deadly opponents.
His only advantage was that they were not working together. Seras joined a little later having dispatched the Captain. Then something happened she wasn't expecting, music started to play.
[Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger - Daft Punk]
She turned trying to identify the source when she spotted Nicholas walking down the hallway. An ax in one hand and a severed head in the other. He dropped the head and said, "Sorry, this fool tried to run away with research papers and an old corpse. On the bright side, no more knock-off vampires and their lab is up in flames." Intergra realized that this one must of been responsible for the Millennium Group's vampire research, the one referred to as the Doctor.
Then he looked at the Major or rather above the little man and muttered, "A picture frame this time." Intergra followed his gaze to a painting above the Major's head. The painting was low grade obviously the work of an amateur. Then it clicked, the music was coming from the frame the picture was in. Then her attention returned to the monitor just in time to see the fight's conclusion. Anderson's body was falling apart, apparently, he hit his limit. Walter wasn't in any better shape; he looked like a teenager and was missing an arm and a leg. Alucard was on his knees looking at the rising sun. He looked young, a teenager like Walter but other than that no apparent injuries. However, the look on his face said he was dying. And that he was at peace with it. The Major started laughing talking about how incredible this war was. She wanted to scream but Nicholas said something that quietly comforted her. He said, "Nobody will think of this as a war, just an exchange of bullets."
Then some twisted figure with a giant pyramid for a head appeared and struck its blade into the ground. A red path appeared going pass the glass right to the Major. Twisted, rusted metal began jutting out of the red path. The glass cracked and the Major was pinned. But no path had been opened to finish the bastard off. Until Seras pulled out a howitzer cannon and fired. Once the smoked cleared, Intergra saw the glass shattered and the Major missing the upper half of his body. That's when she learned that in order to live this long without becoming a vampire he replaced his insides with metal and oil. In the end he wasn't even human anymore. Then she heard Nicholas say, "Nice shot Seras, unfortunately you were a little high. You broke the anchor."
Intergra remembered the painting Nicholas remarked about earlier. The picture itself was already a pile of ash, but the frame was only missing the bottom half. However, cracks were forming, growing out as if the frame would explode at any moment. Then it occurred what the implications of that statement truly meant. She said, "So, time to collect your debt." He nodded and said, "I'm sorry you didn't get a chance to say goodbye or at least get your affairs in order."
As fog began to form around her feet, Integra noticed it was forming around Seras' feet as well. A brief moment of confusion until she remembered the terms of her deal. She sighed and said, "I'm sorry Seras, I've seemed to have dragged you with me." She smiled and said, "I have no regrets." Then the fog enveloped them.