When a vampire dies, a lot of things happen.

When a vampire in power dies, even more things happen.

In that way, vampires didn't differ that much from humans.

But some of the specific things… are different.

Mercurio was about to find out.

When the news hit, he had already slumped on his ruined couch. Even before that phone call, he knew. There was this… ache in his chest. Like that ache you feel when someone important in your life was gone.

But LaCroix wasn't one of those people. At least not to his heart. Or so he wished…

"Damn Blood Bond…." He muttered. It was almost like a catchphrase to him. The only real way to voice his discontent with the situation that didn't turn his stomach into knots. That would probably be over soon, though… And he would feel like this for someone else.

Probably.

What were the plans for him in case LaCroix' Final Death, anyway? That never came up. LaCroix, while paranoid, always felt like someone who figured he'd live forever. So a plan for when he would bite it was something that wasn't there. To his knowledge at least. Not much he could do about it besides wait… He hated that.

A knock on his door. Soon, a group of vampires entered, nobody he knew by name, but he saw them a couple of times. Probably here for business or explaining what would happen.

"Hey." Mercurio casually greeted them. "Anything I can do for you folks tonight?"

"Just the guy we're looking for." Their leader said, before pulling a gun and wasting no time shooting at him. Mercurio, luckily or unluckily, was used to being on his toes and dashed away behind his couch almost immediately.

"The fuck!?" He couldn't help but exclaim as he got out his own gun. "What did I do?!"

"There's a Blood Hunt on your head."

"The fuck?" Mercurio simply repeated.

"What? You figured you could sell merch to a neonate that used it to kill the Prince?"

"Hey, I'm just trying to make a living, okay?!"

"Whatever." With that, they started firing again and Mercurio soon realized his couch wasn't going to offer much cover. Trying his luck, he shot a few round at his window and bowled through it. It worked… to a degree as Mercurio pulled himself off the grass right as the vampires in the house recovered from the slight surprise. Running, or scampering more like, he felt a sharp pain in his upper left arm. A hit… No time. He had to get out of here and… and then what? He had no idea where to go.

He could hear the sound of an engine, and all of a sudden, a motorcycle stopped right in front of him. Wait a sec, he knew that garishly red leather jacket…

"Alex!" Mercurio exclaimed. The neonate that killed LaCroix. He remembered liking the kid and the feeling was mutual, but now….

"Get on." He said.

"Like hell I am, you did this to me in the first place!" Mercurio shouted.

"You can spit venom at me once we're somewhere safe, okay?!" Alexander said, tossing his helmet. "You need this more than I do." Mercurio just shot him a glare, before taking his offer and sitting on the back of the motorcycle. Alexander immediately sped off, the sound of gunfire flying overhead making Mercurio duck.

"You pissed of the entire town, didn't you?" Mercurio couldn't help but mutter.

"I'll tell more when we've got time to breathe." Alexander said, making a sharp turn in order to escape their pursuers. It seemed to work as the gunfire stopped and the two men were off to wherever.

Turned out 'wherever' was Hollywood. Mercurio liked Hollywood, even if it was 'enemy' territory for him. Especially now that shit seemed to have hit the fan. Still, they managed to get into a small room at the Luckee Star Motel surprisingly easy. There they took a quick break, so that the most human of the two could get some adrenaline out of his system by pacing up and down insistently.

"So, uh…." Alexander started after a while. "Want me to tell what happened?"

"No need. That news spread so fast even a Ghoul like me knows what's happening. You lit up that tower like a fucking birthday candle." Mercurio started, not ceasing his pacing.

"To be fair… that wasn't me." Alexander admitted. "I just left LaCroix for dead. I have no idea what caused that explosion."

"That doesn't really make things better for us. You… You killed a Prince. Even with as little power as he had, that's going to fuck things up."

"Would you calm down? You're making me nervous." Alexander asked.

"And they figured out I gave you the means and decided to place a Blood Hunt on MY head, too." Mercurio kept going.

"That doesn't sound entirely fair." Alexander tried.

"Ya think?!"

"Hey, I didn't know they'd do that, alright? They're pretty cool with you dealing with Anarchs."

"Romero never killed a Prince!" Mercurio shouted. "And I think that the Camarilla top brass also knew he needed to keep those zombies in." He ran a hand through his hair for what felt like the thousandth time. "Why would you… why would you even do this?" This made Alexander cross his arms.

"What can I say? Everyone's been pushing me to the breaking point and I had just about enough." Alexander explained. "Camarilla… Anarchs…. They all just want to put me on their leash and I've had enough of that."

"So you figured all of them wanting your ashes above their fireplace was a better option?" Mercurio asked.

"They wish." The vampire boasted. "I'll keep going whether they want me to or not."

"With what?" Mercurio asked, this… didn't get an answer as Alex just looked away. "You don't even know?!" He held his head again. "You caused all this chaos, and you didn't have a plan?"

"Never was one for plans…" Alexander tried, sounding somewhat sheepish.

"So lemme guess. No plan for how to get out of the blood hunt, right?" Mercurio couldn't help but snark. Alexander just smiled somewhat apologetically. "Christ…"

"I thought about skipping town. I mean, I know it's not a local thing, but I get the feeling that would help somewhat." He said. "That said… I want to help you out first. Like, it's not fair you should be hunted for what I did."

"Like what? I doubt you can just… walk up to someone and ask if they need a spare Ghoul." Mercurio said, as Alex' forehead creased in taught. Mercurio also looked down, trying to come up with a solution. "Unless you need one?"
"What?" Alexander replied, somewhat incredulous.

"You're a vampire. I'm a Ghoul in need of one…" Mercurio said, sounding hopeful.

"No." Alexander said before Mercurio was even finished.

"Why not?"
"Because I can't." Alexander crossed his arms, looking away.

"What do you mean you can't? You're a vampire, aren't you?"

"I just can't, okay?!" Alexander roared, face contorting in an ugly, feral mask. However, he recovered in less than a second. "I can't… I'm dangerous to be around. Let alone be bound to."

"I can handle it. You weren't the only one LaCroix sent on suicide missions." Mercurio said.

"It's not just that… I… My blood it's… It-It drives people mad with obsession,"

"First experience was a bad one, I gather?" Mercurio asked, though some sympathy shone through.

"Her name was Heather…" Alex said, looking away; "I first saw her in a hospital, bleeding out. I just learned about what vampire blood could do and I… I figured I could help her, y'know?" He grabbed his arms. "She became… obsessed with me. Like, unhealthy."

"Your blood must've been really potent. Probably also why you tore through Venture Tower like some sort of action hero at your age." Mercurio said. "So what happened? Did she...?"
"The Sabbat got a hold of her. Killed her. Right in front of me. I tried to help her but…." Alex looked at his hands. "I wasn't fast enough."

"Not everyone's cut out for this world." Mercurio tried. It was the wrong thing to say.

"I shouldn't have introduced her in the first place. It's all my fault…"

"Probably wasn't. Life of a Ghoul's not exactly easy." Mercurio said. "She'd probably be dead sooner or later, seeing how you met her."

"Still, I can't… I can't do that again. You saw what happened by just helping me out."

"But if I were bound to you… that would make things so much more easier for the both of us."

"I doubt it. What if… what if I found someone to, like, adopt you? Is that the right word? I might've pissed a lot of people off, but I made some friends along the way. Surely one could use someone like you."

"I guess…" Mercurio said, before looking out the window. "Dawn's almost here. Want to get some shut eye?"

"Sure. How 'bout you?"

"Don't worry about me." With that, Alexander fell silent as Mercurio looked away. He wasn't used to people caring. Let alone vampires. An uneasy silence fell.

"How long you got?" Alexander eventually asked.

"Six days. That is, if I survive that long." Mercurio answered, looking down. "Vampires are lucky if they survive with a bloodhunt on their head. I got no chance."

"I'll figure something out." Alexander said, before getting comfortable on the bed. "Trust me." And with that, he was out.

"Wish I could do that." Mercurio said, knowing that he'd very likely wouldn't catch any sleep that day.

And he was right. It was sunset and despite nothing of note happening, Mercurio hadn't slept a wink. Too afraid that would be the end of him, even during the day. He was tired, though and he made his way to the small bathroom and splashed some water in his face to at least pretend to be fully awake.

"Evening." He could hear after a while as Alexander woke up. "Could I get some time in there after you? Got a bad case of bed hair over here."

"You always have bed hair." Mercurio said.

"You wound me, Mercurio." Alexander quipped back as Mercurio just sighed, taking one last look in the mirror.

A look that kept lingering as he noticed something in his hair.

"Oh come on, it was just a joke." Alexander said, coming in after Mercurio hadn't answered for a while, finding him staring into the mirror. "Uhm, Mercurio?"

"What the fuck is that?" Mercurio called out, pointing at his hair. Alexander just raised a confused eyebrow.

"What the fuck is what?"

"Is that a gray hair? Is that a fucking gray hair?!" Mercurio said, pulling it out.

"It's not. Just a little lighter than the rest. Don't freak out." Alexander tried, taking a hold of Mercurio's shoulders, who immediately shrugged him off.

"Don't tell me how to feel." He snapped, grabbing his head. "I-I need blood… Fast. Or I'll shrivel down to a fucking raisin!" He looked down at his hands, they were shaking… and he couldn't stop it. "Shit! Shitshitshitshitshit!" Alexander didn't say anything else as he just took a panicking Mercurio's hands and held them.

"It's okay…. It's okay." He said. "Just breathe." He softly said as Mercurio felt a presence coming over him, convincing him to listen. Soon, he was a lot calmer. "There…"

"You're not going to hug me, are you?" Mercurio asked, causing Alex to laugh.

"Only if you want me to." He said as he let go of Mercurio's hands.

"This doesn't fix the problem." Mercurio said. "I… I need a Master." He looked down. For some reason, the feeling that overtook him was shame. He hated being so dependant on blood. To have to basically sell himself to survive.

"We'll find someone. I think I'm still in fair standing with Isaac." Alexander tried. "You like Isaac, don't you?"

"He's an Anarch. I doubt he'll want me." Mercurio simply said.

"Work with me a little, will you?"

"You're not working with me, so why should I do the same?"

"And people say I'm stubborn…" Alexander said, sighing in frustration. "It's the only thing I got so I'm going for it. Just stay put, alright?"

"No, I'm coming with you."

"Are you going to do the opposite of everything I ask?"
"Well, you have a solution if you don't want that, now do you?"

"Just don't get yourself killed." Alexander said in a frustrated manner as they left.

Hollywood, as it turned out, also was in chaos. A lot less so than Santa Monica, but you could just feel the air of things having gone horribly wrong.

"Let's just lay low and head for Isaac's." Alexander said.

"Hey you!" Someone called out the minute they got out of the Motel's front door, followed by gunshots that both of them quickly dodged.

"Never mind." Alexander sighed before getting out a sword.

"You're seriously going at 'em like a Goddamn samurai?" Mercurio asked, taking out his gun.

"What can I say? I like to take them out with style." Alexander said, approaching the people firing on them and soon, they weren't firing any more. "Also; it's effective."
"Let's just go." Mercurio said, getting up. However, as he did so, one of the defeated vampires aimed his submachine gun up at him.

A small burst of gunfire.

A small, pained noise as Mercurio's eyes widened and he hunched over, clutching his stomach before looking at his hands. The amount of blood on them showed him this wasn't just some shallow wound that would heal over fast. The fact his vision started to blur and he was struggling to keep standing sealed the deal. Despite the distance between them, Alexander was there to catch him before he fell down completely.

"No… Nonononono…!" He could hear the young redhead shout. "I can't let this happen… not again!"

"Well…" Mercurio tried weakly. "You have a way to fix this." This made Alexander look away. "P-please…" Mercurio begged, raising a hand he barely noticed was stained with his own blood and brought it to Alexander's face. "I don't… I don't want to die." He touched the pale face, staining it as red as the young man's hair. Alexander turned back to him, a glint of determination in his eyes.

"You won't." He said, leaning down as Mercurio's world started to darken even more. This was it...

This was new. It wasn't the first time he recovered from near Death… but usually he came to right away when being given blood was involved. And… that was what happened, right? Alexander wouldn't just let him die in his arms, right?

When he eventually came to, he felt… different. Dizzy and lightheaded, not all there. What was going on?

"Here." He could hear someone say as he shakily sat up from… wherever he was, as something was held against his lips. Blood. Almost in reflex, he drank deep. Soon he felt much better. "Better?"

"Better." Mercurio said, getting up from the bed he was laying on. They were back in that small motel room."Am I glad you changed your mind. Not a moment too soon by the looks of it." He said, seeing the large stains on his shirt and smiled, feeling much better than he did in days.

"Not exactly, but you can't argue with results." Alexander said, which made Mercurio look at him strangely.

"What do you mean by that?" He asked, before things started to dawn on him. "You didn't…?"

"Not what you taught, anyway?" Alexander said, smiling as if he cracked some sort of code. This filled Mercurio with dread.

"You didn't!"

"I did!" Alexander proudly proclaimed. "You're a vampire now!"

With that Mercurio punched him with enough force to knock him off his feet.

"The hell, Mercurio?" Alexander asked, but whatever else he said was stuck in his throat as he saw the downright devastated look in his friend's eyes before he turned around and ran off. "Mercurio! Wait!" Alexander called, getting up and following him.

He eventually caught up to Mercurio, who seemed to be heading to the graveyard for some reason.

"Are you mental? We're wanted men, remember?" He said, taking the other man's arm, who violently shrugged it off.

"That's why I'm getting the fuck away from you." He hissed. "You've got no clue what you're doing."

"Oh come ON. Is that the way to thank someone who saved your life?"

"A cursed life! Even more so than before. And I already got in deep shit because of things you did and now you Sired me without permission on top of that. And I don't have some Anarch going 'This is Bullshit!' at my trial. Which I won't even get." Alexander tried to interrupt, but Mercurio wouldn't have it. "Have you ever taught anything through in your life?!" Mercurio shouted. "This… this isn't what I wanted!" He sat down on the sidewalk, head in his hands. "You keep going on and on about how much you care, but in the end… I'm just another puppet to you."

"Mercurio, I swear that's not how I see you." Alexander tried, hands going through his flaming red hair. "I just… I didn't want someone dying in my arms again…"

"Well I DID."

"Going for the semantics, huh?" Alexander said, though there was no venom. Just the same, puppy-dog voice he had the entire conversation. "But… isn't this better?" He tried after that. "You don't… I'm not your Master. You're your own. Isn't this much better than being someone's servant?"

"It's not." Mercurio said, calmer, but still upset. "At least then I could… I could pretend that I was still human." Mercurio said, sitting down. "Pretend that there might be a chance of returning to what I once was…"

"Mercurio…"
"I knew it was impossible. But you gotta… gotta have something to hang on to, you know? Even if it's just… a comfortable lie you tell yourself. And now I don't even have that." With that he just stared upwards at the sky silently.

"I'm sorry." Alexander softly said. Mercurio didn't answer for a while.

"So I guess it's goodbye to the sun, huh?" He eventually muttered. "And something tells me all-night binge-drinking is off the menu, too."

"Actually, you can cheat with that." Alexander said. Mercurio sighed. "Can't do anything about the sun thing, though."

"Let's just go. I don't want to get shot any less." Mercurio said, getting up.

Soon they found themselves on Isaac's doorstep. Here, Alexander hesitated.

"Telling to go fuck themselves really coming back to bite you, isn't it?" Mercurio said.

"You're not helping." Alexander snapped back, making Mercurio flinch. Despite not being Ghoul and Master, the Sire and Childe bond also seemed to have some sort of effect. "Sorry. But it does look I have to bite my tongue…. Not my style at all." With that he opened the door.

Isaac was sitting at his desk, hands folded and looking at the two men entering with an unreadable look.

"Isaac. How's it going?" Alexander said, walking up to the man confidently. Isaac didn't answer or even move. Just looked at them with piercing eyes. "I got a favor to ask."
"And why in the hell do you think I will grant you one?" Isaac asked, calm but with a deadly ask.

"Come on. After all I helped you with, this is the response I get?"

"Seeing as you plunged the entirety of L.A. in chaos for seemingly nothing but spite, I think it's the appropriate response. That and 'Where do you get the nerve to bring in one of LaCroix's old puppets?'" Isaac said, setting his gaze on Mercurio, who couldn't help but back away slightly.

"What was I supposed to do? Leave him to his own devices because of my actions? That's not how I roll." Alexander spat back. "Just because I kick the hornet's nest doesn't mean I want anyone else to get stung."

"Still, to come in and ask for help after what you pulled…!" Isaac got up and Alexander couldn't help but put a hand on the blade at his side.

"Don't think I won't." He whispered.

"I can't believe I'm the one saying this but can you both just take it easy?" Mercurio interjected. "The last thing we need is another dead Pri-... Baron." This seemed to work as Isaac set down and Alexander's hand went back to his side. If he was still breathing Mercurio would sigh in relief.

"While I appreciate you took a rather big thorn from my side, you still threw L.A. in chaos for seemingly no other reason then because you could. Even if you decided to side with us, I wouldn't have welcomed you with open arms."

"I get that. But this isn't about me." Alexander answered, looking at Mercurio. "I messed up and someone I care about got caught in the crossfire. Now, I don't care if you and every other vampire in L.A. hates me. But I… I need Mercurio to be safe. He's the only person in this goddamn city that I trust and I don't want him to die because of me. I won't let that happen again." Alexander said, sounding unusually modest. "I can't let that happen again."

"Is that also the reason you Sired him?" Isaac asked and Mercurio could hear… sympathy? Alexander nodded with a small 'uhu' noise. There was a silence as Isaac closed his eyes in taught. As he opened them again, they were on Mercurio. "Mercurio."

"Yes?"

"You're not a total stranger to me. Is it true that you 'can get anything anyone wants at any time?'"

"That is my calling card, yeah." Mercurio answered.

"Think you can do that as an Anarch?"

"Don't think that will be an issue." Mercurio said, knowing a favor when he saw one.

"Good. I think that's a risk I'm willing to take." His gaze shifted to Alexander. "And you."

"Yeah?"

"Just get out. Out of my office. Out of Hollywood. Out of L.A.."
"Wasn't planning on staying." Alexander said, smiling mischievously before turning around. As he looked at Mercurio, he couldn't help but giving him a hug. "Take care."

"C'mon… this is a bit much…" Mercurio said, but he couldn't help himself as he returned the hug. "Just don't piss off any more higher ups, 'kay?" He whispered as Alexander let go.

"No promises." He said, grinning as he exited the office.

"Quite the figure, isn't he?" Isaac said after a while, suddenly appearing much more relaxed as he gestured to a chair. "Go on. Have a seat." He said.

"Uh. Sure…" Mercurio said, sitting down.

"I'll send the word out that, at least in the Anarch's eyes, you no longer have a Bloodhunt on your head. That might take awhile so I suggest you stay put for now. Get used to what your body can and can't do now." Isaac reached down and took out two glasses and a wine bottle out of his desk. "Also, I like to get to know people that will work for me with a nice glass of AB." He said, pouring Mercurio a glass. Mercurio took it with a smile. Maybe this new life wouldn't be so bad.

"Don't mind if I do." He said.

"Now. Tell me a little about yourself…"