Chapter 36: Obligatory Sewer Exploration

The Fiend was waiting for them on the stairs. The crimson robe he wore was at least a few centuries out of date, but that was the most normal aspect of his appearance. There was no telling how wrong things looked under the robe, but what was visible was strange enough. He was nearly seven feet tall, with odd, mottled purple skin that looked like it belonged on some sort of exotic lizard. Bone spines protruded from his head in an arrangement that almost looked like a crown. His bright amber eyes shone with malicious amusement at the sight of the three of them. Grey tightened his grip on the sledgehammer.

"I see you found Anneke's little project," the Fiend said. His accent was hard to place, though it was vaguely Eastern European. That figured. "You are welcome to keep it. She will only grow tired of it within a week or so. Ah, but she is talented, I cannot deny that. You have already seen some of what she did with the rest."

"Who are you?" Grey demanded.

The Fiend smiled. "Ah, forgive me. I am Andrei, and this-" he made a sweeping gesture to the empty basement. "Is my home. Welcome."

Dave glanced at Grey nervously. Michael seemed unable to focus on anything, much less the Fiend, and as long as Dave was holding him there would be no help from either.

"I see the fear in your eyes," Andrei said, still sounding vaguely amused. "But fear not… I have other plans."

"Plans?" Dave said. "What sort of plans?"

Andrei chuckled. "I could strike you both down now and claim your blood-" he only looked at Grey as he said it. "But that would not be sporting. I want to, eh… 'see what you're made of', as they say."

"And then what?" Grey said.

"Then…" Andrei trailed off, the smile on his reptilian face broadening to show rows of sharp teeth. "Then we shall see."

"So it's a game of cat and mouse," Grey said.

"Ah, so gauche," Andrei said. "Call it that if you like, but I'm giving you a fighting chance, which is far more than you deserve after invading my home and destroying so many of our hard-wrought creations. I'm interested to see how you do against those below…" He gestured to the open door and the tunnel beyond.

Grey silently cursed. He had hope to avoid taking that route out. They could have lied and told Isaac the way was already blocked and leave it at that. But with their host blocking the only other way out, they had no choice.

"The sewers are choked with some of my finest work," Andrei said. "Anneke's too, though her own style lacks… finesse."

"But why?" Dave said.

Andrei smiled at his naivety. "To gouge out the eyes of the Camarilla, of course. Without the Nosferatu, they will be blind the movements of the Sabbat."

"And you're just going to let us go, knowing that?" Grey said.

"No, I am going to let you experience our power for yourself," Andrei said, all the false mirth melting away. "And should you survive… Well, it is inevitable that our paths will cross again. When they do, you will find I am not so, heh, merciful as I am being now."

"You call this mercy?" Dave snapped.

Andrei smiled at Dave. It did not reach his eyes. "Our creations will offer you a fast and comparatively easy death… So, yes."

Grey found himself wondering if the dead Tzimisce, the same one that had turned his hand into a tentacle, was of any relation to this one… And if Andrei knew about Grey's involvement in his death. Surely not. Besides, Nines had done the deed. All Grey had done was scream.

"Now go," Andrei said. "And should you see Anneke down there… Tell her I am very disappointed in her."

He watched them from the stairs, his arms folded behind his back, as Dave and Grey reluctantly made their way to the broken sewer main. They moved backwards, facing him all the while, but the Fiend made no move to attack. There were odd noises echoing from further down the pipe. Grey recognized them as the heavy, rasping pants of the same monsters they had found in the porn studio.

"He expects us to die down there, you know," Dave whispered. "He wants us to die."

Grey glanced back and saw Andrei was still watching them, his expression now one of supreme patience.

"Lots of people do," Grey muttered.

Their descent into the sewers was made all the more awkward thanks to Dave dragging Michael along after him. The fledgling Nosferatu was nothing but dead weight, a liability that would only make their chances of surviving the gauntlet even slimmer. If they were lucky, Michael could be used to distract the monsters long enough for them to get away… But what then?

Grey found himself glancing back at Dave. He mentally kicked himself.

Dave was right. He was really slipping.

"Slipping?" Paul's voice seemed to echo all around him in the pipe and in his mind. "Ha! You started slipping a long time ago, buddy. Now you're in freefall. It's bad when you have to be told you're an inhuman monster, isn't it?"

Grey grit his teeth and forced himself to continue on in silence. The light at the end of the pipe was getting larger, but the feeling of claustrophobia was only getting worse. He tried to move faster.

"You know what you have to do to stop…" Paul said. "You're going to have to start actually giving damn about other people, for one thing. No more of these empty, bullshit gestures."

"I really don't need a lecture right now," Grey muttered through clenched teeth.

Dave didn't say anything. Perhaps he'd finally learned not to question it when Grey started talking to himself.

"You're right," Paul said. His face suddenly hovered into view at the pipe's end. He smiled unpleasantly. "You need a lot more than that. Time's running out. This has to stop, or we're both fucked- and Dave and his little dog, too."

"You can't control me," Grey hissed.

"Oh, I can," Paul retorted. He moved to the side as Grey crawled out into the sewers. "But I won't. It's time you made the effort on your own."

He disappeared just as Dave crawled out and pulled Michael along with him. The anger Grey felt at the taunting was short lived. They were right- both Paul and Dave were right. He had fallen far in a very short amount of time, and if he didn't do something it would only continue until there was nothing left but the Beast. And what then? He'd be put down like a mad dog, and Dave would be on his own. Pretending to care about the fate of a melancholy Toreador wasn't enough. Some genuine effort was required if he was going to save himself.

So where did he begin?

The first step, naturally, was surviving the damn sewers.

There was barely any time for them to get their bearings before yet another fleshcrafted monstrosity turned the corner. It panted and wheezed as it scrambled towards them on all fours. As it drew closer, its fang filled maw yawning wide in anticipation of tearing into their flesh, Grey saw that it had no legs. The additional arms attached where its legs should be explain the odd way it walked, but after dealing with so many of the things Grey was beyond feeling any shock or revulsion for what the Tzimisce had wrought. As he readied the sledgehammer and waited for the thing to move into range, all he felt was annoyance that there seemed to be no end of these creatures.

The monster leapt, Grey swung, and the blow he dealt to its chest staggered it. The monster fell just short of the water- if that was what it could be called. It was still struggling to push itself up when Grey walked over to finish the job. Its head cracked open like a watermelon, splattering blood and worse all over the bricks- and Grey's new jeans. He muttered a curse.

Michael groaned at the sight of the blood. Of course, it wasn't likely the women who experimented on him had bothered to feed him. That was all they needed, a ravenous fledgling on top of everything. He wanted to smack Dave.

"You're welcome to it if you're that hungry," Grey said as he stepped over the corpse. The desire in Michael's bloodshot eyes was painful to look at. His legs trembled fiercely as he attempted to stand on his own. Any moment and his knees would buckle, allowing him to lap the mess from the bricks. Instead Michael shook his head fiercely and turned away. It would have been far more noble if he hadn't toppled over at the second step. Dave caught him, but Michael refused to let him carry him again. They continued through the tunnels with Dave supporting Michael like a drunk too blitzed to walk.

The silence that fell between them was broken on by the occasional groan of pain from Michael. Grey knew Dave was intimately aware of what the poor bastard was going through. He couldn't even imagine. His own embrace had been painful in a different way, but feeling yourself go insane was far removed from feeling your body slowly twist itself into some grotesque parody of human.

The relative quiet only helped to remind Grey that his mind was disturbingly absent of the cacophony he had grown accustomed to over the years. The cobweb was quiet, with only the occasional whisper to reassure him that he had not yet been cut completely free. It was as if every mind in the network was trying to go unnoticed. Fear vibrated across the strings, and Grey had no idea why.

"So," Grey said. He was unable to keep the note of desperation from his voice. "What were you doing there, anyway?"

Michael looked surprised at the attempt at conversation. So did Dave. Grey didn't care, so long as it filled the silence. He longed for another of the monsters to show up, but the tunnels apparently weren't as clogged as the Fiend had promised.

"I wanted to make up for what happened at the hotel," Michael said. He at least had the sense to keep his voice down. "The others blamed me for what happened to Eddie. It was his own fault, but… They were right, I should have stopped him."

"The others…" Dave said. "They were mages too, right?"

"How could you- Ah!" Michael pressed a hand to his stomach.

"It's complicated," Grey said. Back then, he had known all sorts of things he shouldn't have. Now he was walking blind. "The point is we know."

Michael fell silent for a few paces.

"Paradox," he said at last. "It is God's wrath. One draws it if they pull against Creation too much."

"I don't understand," Grey said.

"I told you before, you could never hope to," Michael said coldly. "Vampire or no, you were still untouched by the divine before you were damned."

"Oh, I don't know about that," Grey said. "I had visions even before."

"Visions?" Dave said. "Seriously?"

"Sometimes," Grey said, realizing he had given away too much. He hadn't even told Dave about them when they were both still alive. What was the point of hiding it now? "I was quiet about it… Didn't want people to think I was crazy."

He smiled bitterly at that.

"It's… It's not unheard of," Michael said, bemusement mixing with the pain. "There are those able to perform wonders without the assistance of… of…" He stumbled. Dave was quick to catch him. "Ugh… Christ! W-why won't it stop?"

"It shouldn't last that much longer," Dave said, still trying to help him along. "I mean, the pictures were taken over several nights, right? And I'm pretty sure it lasts like a week, tops… I think… I'm not sure, I wasn't exactly with it when it happened to me. Hell, you're doing good if you can still walk and talk and think about anything but blood."

Michael uttered a terse laugh. "Only those strong of will can move Creation. This is… This is nothing."

"Then humor me and focus on something else," Grey said. "Why did you go to that house?"

Michael fell silent for so long that Grey began to worry if he was going to answer. Every lapse in the conversation was a painful reminder of how quiet the cobweb had grown. All he could feel was the tension. Countless others were straining to hear but afraid to speak.

"I wanted to redeem myself," Michael said at last.

"How?" Dave said.

"It wasn't just Eddie's death," Michael said. "It was that my faith had failed me… I couldn't turn you away. I couldn't harm you. I was cut off… All because I had begun to doubt my place in God's plan. I had for weeks, but you… You were proof of how far I had fallen from His grace."

"Sorry," Dave said.

Now good and wound up, Michael continued. Grey almost regretted pressing him.

"The house on King's Way seethed with corruption. When I sensed it, I was ecstatic. I thought it was my chance to prove myself again… If I cleansed the place, I would prove my devotion. I convinced the others to come with me, hoping I could show them I was still a good leader in the process."

"But it all went wrong…" Dave said.

"Did you honestly think that would do it?" Grey said. "You kill a few vampires and a heavenly choir descents to say all is forgiven? Please."

"It was a foolish idea, I admit. Michael said, his voice growing strained. "But I was desperate. The others mistook it for zeal. They followed me into the abomination's lair…" He closed his eyes. "There were so many of them. And during the day! It was more than any of us could handle, and in the chaos there was little time to do more than shoot wildly. I was sure we would die, but no… All the commotion woke the ones we sought to destroy. We were trapped. The tall one gave us over to the woman to do with as she pleased…"

"What did she do with the others?" Dave asked.

Michael shook his head. "I don't want to talk about it."

"It might help," Dave said.

"No, it won't…" Michael looked grim. "Nothing will change what happened. I deserve to suffer for what I did… For what I brought upon them…"

"Is that why you went with us?" Dave asked.

"I don't know," Michael said. "I suppose I… I…"

"What?" Dave said.

Michael reached a trembling hand up to his mouth. "Something's nah… righ…" The last words were mangled as his tongue seemed to loll out of his mouth of its own accord. It was clear something was terribly wrong when it writhed and grew out several inches beyond his chin, the color darkening to a bruise purple as spittle dripped from it. Dave, shocked at the sight, let his arm slip.

Michael fell to his knees, futilely trying to push his grossly elongated tongue back into his mouth. Grey grabbed Dave by the shoulder and dragged him backwards just as he reached out. Trying to comfort him now was useless. All they could do was step back and watch, safely out of his line of sight, as the changes unfolded.

Dave looked to him desperately, but he knew better than Grey that there was nothing either of them could do to help.

Grey readjusted his grip on the sledgehammer.

"You can't!" Dave cried.

"Don't be stupid," Grey snapped, keeping his voice low. He peered around the tunnels warily. "He's going to lead them right to us if he starts-"

And, right on cue, Michael started screaming.

"Crap," Dave said quietly.