A/N: Here's chapter twenty nine! BIG chapter, sorry if you like to binge read these and this chapter is so fat that you have to take twice as long…enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Bloodlines.
Since she wasn't on the ground floor, Slade let himself up into the VIP room, seeing VV sitting on her couch, a man standing in the corner and smoking a cigarette. At first he had no clue who this intruder was, then he recognized him from a movie Tess had been watching one night when they were still human. He remembered her calling him Ash Rivers.
"Slade." VV smiled as he walked in, "How are you sweetheart?"
The man who either was Ash or his lookalike stared down at Slade with a scrutinizing look.
"I'm fine, VV." Slade said, "Everything okay, here?"
"Of course…" She said, "This is Ash." She motioned with a hand, "Your Uncle, I suppose."
"Ash Rivers?" Slade asked, "No way. I'm Slade." He held a hand out.
"Yeah, I know. Everyone knows." He said with a quiet and deep voice, nothing like the voice he used on screen.
"Shake his hand, Ash."
Ash gave a burning look to VV before he shook Slade's hand, "Can't help but feel pity for the next generation of nightwalkers that came into the world through a twisted set of morals."
VV narrowed her eyes, "Perhaps you should see your way out, Ash."
"Why, because I'm right?"
"Ash…"
He sighed and sulked out of the room.
"I'm sorry about him." VV said after he had left, "As you can imagine, being Embraced wasn't exactly the highlight of his career."
"Eh, it's better that he's gone." He sat on the couch with her, giving her some space, "I had a question for you…that…would be better if only you heard…"
"Mmm hmm…?"
"So…Kindred…drink the blood of kine…"
"Mmm hmm…"
"…have any of them ever drank the blood of other Kindred?"
"Have they?" She asked, "Yes…it…it is possible…" He sensed a strange tone in her voice.
"Is it?"
"Mmm hmm…so…why has it piqued your curiosity…?" Her voice was laced with nervousness.
"I heard a few punks talking about it…" He said, "It…made me curious…seeing as how no one told me about it before…does it actually have a benefit? Or is it just, the same as drinking from a human?"
"Oh no, it's very different…I should have told you earlier." She said, "It's called diablerie, the draining of a Kindred by another Kindred…usually it's done in haste by the Sabbat, or performed by power-thirsty young Kindred to an older Kindred." She said, "If the consumer drains the Kindred of all their blood, as well as their soul, then they gain the disciplines of the late Kindred, they gain the power of the late Kindred, and they share a piece of them in their mind…." She said, "So…for instance…if I were to diablerize a two-hundred year old Malkavian, my Auspex would be extremely powerful, I would gain the ability to use very powerful Obfuscate and Dementation, but I would develop insanity."
"Hmm…interesting." Slade said, "It almost sounds too good to be true."
"Of course…there are many downsides." She said, "In the perspective of kine, it would be considered the same as cannibalism…if the moral misconduct isn't enough, it is illegal and punishable by death by the Camarilla. The sin goes without hiding as well. Any clan with Auspex can see the aura of a diablerist is a different color than the aura of a normal being. They are usually hunted and killed if they are young, and if they're older, they're feared."
"Jeez…" He swallowed hard.
There was a slight pause, "I'd like to ask again…why is it you need to know this…?"
"I was curious. I overheard a few punks talking about it while I was doing useless bullshit for LaCroix. They were probably Sabbat then."
She gave him a look as if she was about to call him out on it, before she smiled, "That's a relief. How have you been, Slade?"
"Fine…LaCroix wants me back to work tomorrow though…so…there's that…"
"You poor thing…" She said softly, "When you get the time off, you can always come here…I have blood and room for you to rest."
He gave a small smile, "Thanks VV."
"Of course." She rested her head against the wall as she closed her eyes, "Did LaCroix say anything about a Mister Fitzroy?"
"No, but I haven't seen him in nearly a week, so…I'm arguably out of touch with him…"
"Please do tell me if he has plans…Mister Fitzroy is an Anarch…a close friend of mine…and he's responsible for numerous deaths recently over the loss of his little sister..."
He nodded, "Right. The second LaCroix reveals anything to me, you'll know."
"Thank you, Slade…" She wrapped her delicate arms around his waist, "Keep paving the road clear…my shining North Star…"
"Of course." He gave her a light hug back, "I'll do my best."
Clutching the necklace close in the palm of her hand, Tess slowly opened the door to the Last Round, feeling bombarded by the loud grungy music.
She saw people standing around towards the bar, buying drinks and laughing at old jokes. She headed towards the staircase, but was caught by Damsel.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Her eyes were like venom, "Who the hell are you?"
"T-Tess…" She said nervously, then showed the necklace, "Nines…he wants to talk to me…"
Damsel's eyes turned to the necklace, surprised, "Where the hell did you get that…?"
"He gave it to me so I could go upstairs…he said I should use it if someone gives me trouble…"
"Gives you trouble, huh…?" She asked, then she marched up stairs, "Hey, Nines!"
Tess followed her upstairs, relaxing a bit as she saw Nines leaning up against the wall, and didn't sense any heartbeats from the people on the second floor.
Nines' attention turned to Damsel as she kept yelling, "What the hell is this about?" She took the necklace out of Tess's hand, "If someone gives her trouble? Is it bad that I give the capes trouble? Want me to welcome them in here, give 'em a cup of tea or something?"
"She's a friend, Damsel." Nines said.
She scowled, "You'd go and befriend the Prince too if he didn't look the part, wouldn't you!" She scoffed, "Why the hell are you going around bring Cammies over here for?"
"She isn't a Cam." He insisted before he looked back at Tess, "Right?"
She nodded once, swallowing hard, "Y-Yes…"
"She's lying." Damsel said lowly.
"Just go back downstairs and let us handle things from here." Skelter said.
"Fucking bastards!" She roared as she went downstairs.
Nines sighed and turned back to Tess, "Sorry about that."
"It's quite alright…" She said slowly, looking around at everyone before she walked closer to Nines, "Why did you save me…?"
A slight pause, "Anyone who would jump out of a hundred-story tower just cause of the Prince is a friend of mine."
"But…I don't understand…why? Why didn't you just let me die…?"
"Do you want to die?" He raised a brow.
"No…" She said softly, "I just…never expected anyone to care about me so…selflessly…"
"That's what happens when you get spoiled by the Cam." He said, "You don't know what good is anymore. Being a Kindred isn't about sucking up to your elders and following some bullshit set of laws, it's about standing up for yourself and taking things into your own hands." He said, her eyes widened like a child in awe, "But I'm not going to stand here and give you some kind of speech about how high and mighty we are."
"How long have you been here…?"
"The Anarchs…?" He asked, "That sounds like something Jack would know. I didn't create the Anarchs. I'm not in charge, I don't run anything. We're just a group of Kindred who know right from wrong. Seems like a foreign concept to them, upholding the Masquerade and keeping our morals about us at the same time without someone holding our hand along the way."
"Then…why does LaCroix act like you're the Prince of the Anarchs?"
"Keep your voice down. You say shit like that and you'll get your head clobbered in. There is no Prince of the Anarchs. The Prince brings up my name for two reasons." He looked out the windows, "Because I'm not afraid of taking what's ours and sticking it to him, and cause he needs someone to blame. He needs someone in charge of the Anarchs. Someone to blame for all our 'mistakes'." He looked back at her, "He can't handle the idea of equality."
She nodded slightly, "I…suppose I have noticed that."
He stood away from the wall, "I have to go handle something, kid. You take care of yourself."
Tess nodded again, reaching out and taking his hand as he started to leave, the other Anarchs looked on with either amusement or confusion, "Wait…" She said, "Can…can I come…?"
He turned over his shoulder, "Tess…maybe…maybe next time, alright?"
She nodded as she let go of him, then she turned around to the others, looking a bit frightened. She was about to leave before Skelter grabbed her by the arm, "Look, if no one else is gonna say it, then I am." He pushed her up against the wall, her eyes wide with terror as her head thumped against the rough wooden surface, "We don't let measly fucks like you work with us. You say you can't make up your mind, you say you're thinkin' about killing the Prince, well all that's bullshit. You think we don't know how you Toreador bitches work? You're just gonna stab us in the back, and I ain't gonna sit around and let that happen."
"It's fine, Skelter, let her go." Anastasia said.
His eyes darted over to Anastasia before he let her go, "You're lucky she said something, lick, or I'd have your ashes ground into the floorboards."
She shuddered and hugged herself, looking at Anastasia with wide, thankful eyes.
"What'd you say your name was again?" Anastasia smiled.
"Tess…"
"Right. I'm Anastasia." She held a hand out, "Nice to meet you."
Tess smiled and shook her hand, "Nice to meet you too…"
Jack snickered, "Where the hell would we be without you, Anastasia?" He said as he pat her back, "We oughta call you 'Stasia the Mediator."
"Hey, I'm welcome to it." Anastasia laughed.
"Hey, guys!" They heard Damsel's voice, "Nines found the guy who killed Lark!"
"What?" Anastasia said, heading down the stairs first.
Everyone flooded after her, even Tess ran after them to help.
They ran down the street into an alleyway, Dragomir stood against Nines, an unconscious prostitute crumpled on the ground in the corner. Dragomir had a few bullet holes in his flesh that were slowly healing. He adjusted his sunglasses, "Ah, there are the reinforcements…"
"Dragomir?" Tess's eyes were wide.
"Hello, whore." He snickered, "What brings you to my alleyway?" She shook her head with a mixture of hopelessness and amusement.
"Why don't you let me handle 'em?" Jack asked. Nines put his gun down and stepped aside. Jack cracked his knuckles as he stepped forward, "So, you killed Lark, eh?"
"Yes, I killed your little birdie. So sorry."
His fists lit up with an insane amount of Potence before he dashed forward with the speed of lightning and smashed his fist into Dragomir's chest, pinning him up against the wall. The cracking of his ribs was heard as he coughed up a mouthful of blood onto Jack's coat, his head hanging limply.
"Huh, look at that." Jack stepped back as Dragomir fell to his hands and knees and wheezed, "You're the first sucker in a while that's survived a hit like that."
"Dragomir!" Slade said as he ran over, clenching his hands into fists, as he drew both his swords and stood protectively in front of Dragomir.
Jack stepped back, "Looks like we're not the only guys with reinforcements…huh?" He had a good laugh.
"You want us to handle him?" Skelter asked.
"Nah, you kids go back to the Last Round." He swatted a hand, "I'll handle things from here."
"By yourself? No fucking way." Damsel said, "We know you, Jack, we know you'll let them go."
"Nah…c'mon….I wouldn't…do that…" He scratched the back of his head.
"Enough of this." Skelter's body transformed as he lumbered forward to slash into Slade.
An orange glow surrounded Slade, he did what he could to sponge some of Skelter's attack as he stabbed both his swords into him, "Ganging up on the poor guy? Jeez…how fucking noble…if I didn't know any better I'd say you're all glorified bullies…"
Skelter gave an incomprehensible grumbling sound as he kept slashing at him before Jack pulled him away, "Oh, c'mon man, kid's got a point, leave him alone!"
Slade coughed up blood, looking back at Dragomir, "Dragomir…you…you need to get the hell outta here…I'll…I'll take care of this guys…" He spit more blood to the side, glaring at Tess, "I should've known that you orchestrated this entire thing…just…conducting in the background…"
"Clearly that's what's going on." Tess crossed her arms.
"It is. Don't bullshit me." He snapped, "If you want to prove me wrong, get on my side instead of theirs. Don't just…abandon who you were as a human at a drop of a hat. We…we went through high school together…you really want to team up with a bunch of strangers to take Dragomir out that badly? To take us both out?"
"This isn't about Dragomir!" She spat, "This is about the Prince letting Julius get murdered by someone in the Camarilla! I'm not working for a company where its own members kill each other!"
"Mmm, sounds fun." Jack snickered, Nines rolled his eyes as he watched Skelter pull from Jack's grasp like a dog on leash.
"Pfft…you hump partner died…what a shame…" Slade coughed, "You made the Camarilla sound like the most wonderful thing in the world yesterday…just goes to show that you don't know any better than me about any of this shit. You can't tell a good vampire from a bad one, and if you're naïve enough to blindly follow whoever gives you attention for five seconds, then they're really giving it to you."
She chuckled, "Like you know what you're doing? You'll die before I will Slade, because you have no clue what subterfuge is, you don't know how to deal with people, how to get power and survive. You follow your morals like they'll lead you in the right path, but the world doesn't work that way. Maybe as a child, that's how it was, but this is reality. Look in these dark streets, look at the corpses and neglected. Do you really believe a good set of morals will get you any further than they are?"
"Yes."
She chuckled darkly, "I rest my case."
Slade looked back at Dragomir, "You need to run. Now. I'll give you a window." He said, the Anarchs had no idea what he was talking about, as the quarters were tight and he was outnumbered at least ten to one. Slade's Presence was renewed with a bright orange glow, and his eyes glowed red, he dashed at Tess, with a Celerity just as fast as hers. Slade gave a battle cry, as the blood in his body pumped drastically to give him a boost in his strength and muscular physique. He slashed at Tess with both swords, slamming her into the nearest wall.
The Anarchs stepped back at the sudden outburst. Dragomir pounced and bounded out of the alleyway, grabbing Slade by the back of the collar and running off with him like the madman he was.
"God dammit!" Damsel screamed as she started chasing them. Skelter bit Jack's hand and tore after them as well.
Nines sighed as he watched them run, "Damn idiots…"
Meanwhile, Dragomir turned over his shoulder and screeched as he saw they were being followed. "Slade, where the hell do we go?" He barked.
"You go." Slade looked back, "I'll stay. I'm on a roll."
He gave a nervous nod and picked up with considerable speed, scampering off into a different alleyway. Damsel skidded back and fired countless shots at Slade's head, where Skelter caught up and jumped forward to pounce on Slade.
Slade darted around, avoiding their attacks, "Bet you regret letting a little shit like me live, huh?"
Skelter snarled as he tried to pounce again. Slade then realized that Protean was just harnessing the Beast inside to follow competent commands, but even then, it seemed Skelter's actions were compelled by the Beast itself.
Damsel stepped back as she reloaded, "The hell are you taking advantage of us for, you fucking rat?" She asked, "You wouldn't be anywhere if it wasn't for us! So why the hell are you doing this!?"
"Oh, I'm so thankful that you guys have me working for LaCroix now. Really, it's such an honor. Such a pleasure." He narrowed his eyes, "Dragomir is my friend. So if you fuck with him. You'll have to kill me. Go on. Try. Kill the person you wasted time saving."
"Your friend killed our ally because he's a fucking loonie!" She exclaimed, "Haven't you ever heard to shoot Malks in the head before they get like that!? It's for their own good!"
Skelter stepped back and held out a clawed paw, a pair of blue wolves jumped out to sink their teeth into Slade.
Slade stumbled back, coughing up more blood as he tried to fight of the apparitions, "Oh, great, you guys are fucking racist too." He struggled to get up, "I refuse to believe that he just…killed someone for no reason. And if you tell me that's what happened, then you're bigger liars than the Camarilla."
"We're not lying!" She spat, "He came into our bar asking for blood, when we told him we didn't have any, he went batshit crazy and chickened out of there with Lark!" She fired a few more rounds at his head.
Slade felt weakened, like his blood pool was vastly shrinking and that his time for using his enchantments were just about done. Nevertheless, he looked livid. "How dare you lie to me anyway, you piece of rotten filth. Pfft, I guess I shouldn't expected as much from a bunch of roaring savages masquerading as boy scouts. Can't even kill a bumbling fledgling." He used the last of his blood to power Celerity and escape into a nearby manhole entrance to the sewers.
She growled as she kicked the top of the manhole, "Fucking Cammy douchebag!" She screamed, before a car slowed forward and honked at her. She turned to the car and aimed her gun at the windshield, "What the fuck do you want, prick?"
The car beeped before the driver cut the wheel and drove off, leaving screeching skid marks on the road. "Yeah…that's what I thought…" She spit on the ground and turned around, sulking back to the Last Round. Skelter put his Protean down and eyed the streets one last time before he followed after Damsel.
The scrutinizing glare from the CDC workers was far from comforting as Tess stumbled forward, an arm around her ribcage as she limped down the sidewalk. If her clothes weren't so expensively tailored, she was sure they'd grab her and throw her in a body bag. She felt a light wheeze escape her lungs as she sat down against an iron fence, closing her eyes and resting her head against the posts.
She heard the sound of dress shoes walking across the pavement, opening her eyes to see a man standing before her with a concerned look on his face. He was wearing a gray dress shirt with a beige vest, a golden chain peeking out from the pocket of the vest. A very dark brown tie was tucked into the vest, pinned with a pristine golden clip. His khakis fit just right, and his sleeves were rolled up slightly unevenly at his elbows. He held a hand out, a few dazzling rings on his fingers. If his extensively pale skin wasn't a sign that he was Kindred, his eyes were.
As she stood and faced him, he gave a handsome smile, his glowing amber eyes framed by golden-rimmed glasses softened a bit as he met her gaze. He combed his nimble fingers through his black pompadour. "Can I help you, miss…?"
"Miss Perry…" She said softly. He was attractive, of course, but there was something missing. The allure she felt when she spoke to Julius was gone, any sort of humanistic connection was absent. "I…" She lowered her voice, "I need blood."
"Ah, I see." He said, his voice was naturally low and quiet, the type she imagined a librarian would have, "I have some I would be willing to share, seeing as you're in need…"
"Please…that would be wonderful…"
"Of course." He said as he started walking, "Do…you need me to help you make it there?"
"I should be fine…" She stumbled forward, "So long as it's in reasonable walking distance."
"It's just around the corner." He said as they started walking.
Tess scoured her mind as she tried to remember what sort of apartment complex was just around the corner, then her eyes widened as he gently knocked on a green door of a rather large looking building. This is an apartment complex…?
The door peeked open just a hair, enough to see a bright ruby eye and the brim of her hat. "Leonardo, no visitors."
"She needs blood, Delilah."
"No visitors." She said as she looked at Tess.
"Please, Delilah."
"I'll tell the Regent."
"Fine. I would rather deal with punishment then watch her wither away on the streets."
Delilah's eyes narrowed as she stepped back and let Tess and Leonardo inside. Leonardo closed the door and gently took Tess's hand, "I'll take you to my room."
Delilah gave a slight chuckle as she walked down a hallway to another room.
Tess followed Leonardo upstairs, her eyes wide as she looked around, "What is this place…?"
"The Tremere Chantry." He said as he opened the door and let her in.
Slowly stepping into the dimly lit room, she saw the walls were painted bright purple, the floors covered by abstract but colorful rugs, mostly made up of hues of green. The reddish wooden ceilings almost seemed supported by bookshelves that lined the walls, only spared where there was a small bar to the side of the room, with three barstools. Beside a black armchair was his desk, with stacks of books on it, as well as a candelabra and laptop. In the center of the room, there appeared to be an alchemy station, with a huge stone cauldron and ancient pedestal lined with smaller white candles, their wax dripping onto the red and white marbled floors that occasionally peeked from under the rugs. There was a book on the pedestal, open to a page of text Tess couldn't read in the slightest. Next to the pedestal were dozens of books the same size, with different colored bindings. There was a couch to the side near the windows that were covered by velvet curtains, the material looked soft and was a dark emerald shade. Finally, his bed was tucked away in the corner, large enough for two people and covered in red satin sheets.
Her deep purple eyes scanned the room as he picked up a few books and stuffed them into a shelf, "Apologies for the mess."
"Oh, it's quite alright…this room is fascinating…." She said as she sat on the sofa.
"Why thank you." He approached the bar, opening a mini-fridge and taking out a blue blood pack. He brought the bag to Tess and handed it to her, "If you need more, don't be afraid to ask."
She took the singular blood pack, wondering if it would be enough as she gently sunk her teeth into the bag and drank from it, closing her eyes as she realized how filling it really was. Her injuries started to close up and she gave a soft sigh, releasing the bag only once every drop was cleared out. "I've…never had blue blood before…"
"I can tell." He chuckled lightly as he sat in a chair across from her.
"What was your name…?" She asked softly.
"Leonardo." He said, "But…I suppose you could call me Leo, if you'd like."
"And you're a Tremere…?"
"Yes, that's right."
"I haven't met many Tremere before…are you rare…?"
"Rare…?" He asked, "Well, I think that is a rather foolhardy question…that's like asking if polar bears are rare in California."
She let out a relaxed giggle. At least he had a sense of humor. Some of the tension in the room seemed to be lifted as well, "I suppose California isn't really much of a place for scholars…"
"No, you'll find more Toreadors or Brujah in California. Hence why the Camarilla struggles with numbers…clans we rely upon such as the Tremere and Ventrue aren't usually Embraced in areas like these."
She let out a soft sigh as she looked out the warped glass windows, "The Camarilla…" She said softly, "My sire died…the Prince didn't have a care in the world…I'm not even sure I fit under that title any longer…"
He seemed perplexed, "I had no clue you associate with the Camarilla…or associated, I should say."
She nodded, "I planned to climb my way up the ladder…but…"
"Who was your sire?"
"Julius Lorcan."
"The…Toreador Primogen…?"
She nodded, "And the Prince didn't care…"
He crossed his arms in front of his chest, "Well, the Prince doesn't necessarily represent everything the Camarilla is."
"…he doesn't? I thought he was the representative…?"
"The Prince of L.A. He's just that. That's where his power is limited." He let out a small chuckle, "What, did you expect the Prince to be the Prince of the entire Camarilla? That's far too much power for someone so smallminded…"
"I suppose so…" She smiled, "So…I can be Camarilla…and…disagree with the Prince's approach…?"
He looked like he wanted to add something, but he kept his idea silent, instead he nodded.
She sat back in the armchair, "Perhaps I'll have a word with him, then."
"The Prince?" He asked, "What a sense of courage you must have….I stepped foot in his penthouse once when I was sired…I thought I was going to be killed…never again have I made it to the upper floors of Venture Tower…"
She stood up again, "What was your surname?"
He looked a bit nervous, but told her anyway, "Lockheart. You aren't going to…tell him about me, are you…?"
"Of course not." She said with a smirk, "I just wanted to hear how the name Tess Lockheart sounds. I like it." She handed him the empty blood bag as she left his room.
LaCroix looked up as there was a gentle knock on the door. "Come in." He didn't need to see who it was, "I was under the impression you've formally resigned."
"I'd like to…revoke my resignation."
He looked up at her, a look of unadulterated amusement on his face, "Just who do you take me for…?"
"What?" She asked.
"I am not a blind Prince sitting upon a throne of money, Miss Perry."
"…I don't see…where…-"
"My Nosferatu have seen your…affiliation, shall we put it, with Mister Rodriguez."
"Mister…Rodriguez…" She asked quietly, "He…he saved my life…"
"Yes, it seems he has." He sat back from the documents he was reading, something about mummies, it seemed, "So much so that he has charmed yet another fickle mind into making a regrettable decision."
"Sir, I am not an Anarch by any definition of the word." She insisted.
"Oh, is that so?" He asked, before there was another knock on the door. "You may enter."
Slade walked in, looking a bit confused at seeing Tess in the penthouse again after the big speech she said against the Camarilla. "Uh…I…I think my reprieve is over sir…I…I just wanted to report back…"
"Yes, of course." The Prince stood up and paced back and forth a few times before he turned back to face them, "Have either of you met or heard of the Malkavian Primogen?"
"Uh…Primogen?"
The Prince chuckled slightly, "I suppose I'll chalk that up to Miss Rivers giving an inaccurate summary of how we operate…" He said mostly to himself, "The Primogen are Camarilla representatives for each Clan, responsible for keeping order over members of their clan, handling political affairs, other such matters. Just a few hours ago, I held a Primogen meeting, but it seems the Malkavian Primogen has gone missing as of late." He said before he turned out the window, "Either he's forgotten how to answer the phone, or has gone missing." He turned back around, "I need you both to find whichever bed he's chosen to hide under and report back. But do be careful, he's been on a bit of a paranoid bent recently. I wouldn't want two of my fledglings to suffer any sort of…defensive means of his…whatever they may be."
"We just have to find him?" Tess asked.
"Yes." He turned back to Tess, "And if you do manage to…redeem yourself with this task, I'll consider allowing you to operate under my Camarilla."
Slade gave Tess a look, no doubt he wasn't exactly thrilled to work with her, nevertheless he turned back to LaCroix, "Alright. We'll do it immediately. Where does the Malkavian Primogen live?"
"In a secluded mansion in Hollywood hills, is where you will find Dr. Grout. Do be careful."
"Yes sir." Slade nodded.
"Very well. I wish you the best of luck."
Tess turned and followed Slade, a shallow sigh escaping her lips as she trailed after him.
"I didn't know you played janitor, Nines." Damsel said as she sat in a barstool, leaning back onto the stained wooden counter.
Nines grabbed three more empty bottles of beer that the kine left on the counter, "Shut the hell up." He muttered as he threw them into the recycling.
She winced as she watched his aim, "Good thing you don't play basketball, huh?" He threw one of the bottles at her, she laughed and barely caught it, "So about your little girlfriend Tess…?"
"What is it?" He faced her as he crossed his arms.
"Jeez, you don't have to fucking lecture me…I was just gonna say something's up with her."
"Yeah, I think there's something up with everybody. Some people are just better at hiding it."
"C'mon, don't give me any of that deep bullshit. She's a Cammy, Nines. A little lost, a little frightened, but when that little frightened puppy gets their tail lobbed off, they'll run home. She's not going to come here when that happens, you know that, right?"
"Why wouldn't she? If she were smart, she'd know we'd take better care of her than any of them would. I thought she'd figure that out after they killed her sire."
"Would the puppy stay in the streets if their mommy and daddy at home beat them? No, they'd still go home. You have to think about instinct, and the instinct of a Cammy can be picked up from miles away. Besides, she's a fucking idiot. What the hell would she know about picking sides? Hate to break it, Prince Charming, but half the Toreadors we get are here cause of you."
His gaze flittered out the window, "What the hell is all that noise…?"
She rolled her eyes, "Ugh, ignore me as you always do, lazy asshole." She laid back on the barstools, "Sometimes I wonder if I'm the only smart person here! You just go around welcoming in every other Joe out on the streets, Kent spends any of the money we get on shoes, Skelter breaks some sort of alliance we have every day over and argument about fucking paperclips, Anastasia would let someone rob the place cause she's too damn easy-going, and Killian's ass hasn't shown up once since Lark's died. I'll be damned if he ever shows up again…"
"Damsel, c'mon, there's something outside." He said as he headed to the door.
"Ugh, and don't even get me started on Jack. You think you're a pessimistic dreamer? That fucking airhead's got a sense of 'justice' so corrupted, he could fucking bring an entire goddamn horde of Cammies in here and not give a fuck! As long as they ain't Ventrue!" She said in a false deep growl.
"Damsel!" Nine snapped.
"What?" She sat up with a scowl on her face, "Truth hurt, Nines?"
He opened the door, giving her his usual cold glare, "I'd kill to slap some sense into you right now, but I don't think now's the time for games."
She looked out the door, "….the hell…?"
A horde of bikers were driving right past the Last Round, gunning people down indiscriminately, before they sped off.
Nines checked his belt for his grenade before he started running, "C'mon!"
"Alright, alright, I'm coming!" She said as she grabbed a shotgun from behind the counter and ran after him. The wild goose chase eventually led them to the exterior of some kind of meeting hall in a back ally.
"Sister Esmerelda!" One of the gangsters yelled as they dismounted from their bikes, "Some Kindred tailed us here!"
Esmerelda gave a loud cackle, crossing one leg over the other as she was sitting on a mound of dead bodies. The corpses didn't look as though they had a painless death either, they were all riddled with dirt and disease, "Ah, I see mister Nines and miss Damsel have finally come to join our communion within the Ninth Circle!"
"Ninth Circle…?" Damsel asked.
Nines took out his Desert Eagle, "What the hell is this all about? All this disease?"
"It is the end of the world, Rodriguez." She snickered, her eyes beginning to glow a sinister red color, "Now, of course, the famous question comes as to whether you'll die from my gift that I spread throughout the masses, or through some lead poisoning."
"Not another fucking lunatic…" Damsel growled, "You think they're connected?" She looked up at Nines.
Nines ignored Damsel and put his gun down, "What gift?"
"Why, the festering relief of leaving this world, of course." She pulled out a pistol of her own, "What are your choices, sweetie-pies? Communion? Lead?"
"I'll leave the choice to you." Nines pulled his jacket aside so she could see his grenade, "Life or death is a little cleaner cut than any of the bullshit you're playing on me."
Esmerelda scowled, "Kill him!" She shot at Nines.
The distinct sound of Uzi fire was heard next, as her gang opened fire, using their motorbikes as coverage. Damsel held a hand out before Nines grabbed his grenade, "These are a bunch of shovelheads, Nines, save it for something that matters!"
He nodded and grabbed his Desert Eagle instead. The pair stood back to back, Nines aiming clearly for their heads, Damsel aiming for the chest as she fired her shotgun at them. As numbers dwindled, Nines put his gun away and dashed around at an incomprehensible speed, his fists lit up with blue static as he punched them around.
"The Brotherhood of the Ninth Circle will not fall!" Esmerelda screeched, unable to properly aim for Nines, she aimed at Damsel next.
Damsel grunted, "Fucking bitch, come at me!" She gave a completely unfeminine screech, running at Esmerelda with her bare fists. Esmerelda grit her teeth and held a corpse up to shield Damsel's punches, trying to shoot her in the head. Damsel grabbed the body and threw it at Esmerelda like it was nothing, then tried to claw her eyes out.
Esmerelda stumbled back, landing on her bum and firing more shots at her, scooting back each time Damsel got closer. Damsel grunted with each shot that hit her, kicking at her with feet coated in lightning. She screamed in pain, convulsing and coughing a bit before she stood up. She reloaded briefly before firing again. Her Auspex certainly wasn't making any of the shots less painful.
Damsel grunted and fell back on the ground, her hat tumbling off to the side. She moaned and held a particularly painful shot in the shoulder. One of her eyes peeked open before she saw a shadow grow over her. She covered her face and cowered a bit, before she looked past her hands and saw it was Nines. He aimed his Desert Eagle at Esmerelda's face and fired without hesitation.
Esmerelda flinched and coughed up blood, firing at Nines. He grimaced, then reared a leg back to kick her in the chest. She caught his burly, lightning-infused leg, shaking with pain. With her free hand she kept firing off at him.
Damsel let out a growl as she saw Nines struggle for balance, so she grabbed her empty shotgun and reared back to hit Esmerelda over the back of the head with it.
Unable to take both sides of the attacks at once, she collapsed and turned into a pile of ash.
Damsel panted and combed her fingers through her hair, "Where'd my hat go…?"
Nines picked it up from the ground and tossed it her way, "You alright?"
"Uh huh." She put her hat on and adjusted it properly, "Damn, that bitch took forever to die…"
"I thought Skelter and Anastasia already wiped out the plague bearer.."
"There must be more." Damsel said, "Question is, how many more?"
"No clue. It was lucky enough we ran into one in the first place." He said as he looked around the area, "We better get out of here."
"Yeah…" She grabbed her shotgun and followed him back to the Last Round, "So…I guess we'll have to get Skelter and Anastasia to keep sniffing around."
"Yeah, if they're up for it."
She looked up at him, "You don't like Tess, do you?"
He cocked a brow.
"You know…like…"
He shook his head, "Do you think I have time for that kinda shit, Damsel?"
She snickered as she reached up and wiped a bloody scratch from his cheek, "I didn't think so." Her voice was slightly soft, "She'll lose interest as soon as she figures that out…don't invest anything in her, alright?"
He seemed to be considering her words, "Alright."
"Hey, I know it's hard." She elbowed him, "Not everyone's as perfect as you are." She smirked, "Especially her. She'll use you if you let her."
He simply nodded as they entered the Last Round again.
A/N: Lots of Anarchs in this chapter, wonder if that'll last… Thanks for reading, let me know what you thought with a review!
