Episode One: Diary
Chapter Three: Redefinition Party
A gang causes terrible ruckus in an abandoned building all the way down crumpling stairs, and into a decrepit basement where an iron door in the back stands immortal. Like something consumed to the bone, the basement held nothing of interest but that door. As if we have not seen enough leaders already, another one emerges from this distinct group of sloppy vampires. Clothed with neat regard, his garments are substantially outdated, yet not deprived of charm. A French aristocrat would have worn the same blue coat adorned of old gilded button locks all across the outline of the opening, if ever he was in the Renaissance. With his intoxicating provocativeness, one might think this lad of striking long blond hair and alluring ocean blue eyes would be victim of his own self, falling in the realm of narcissus. But how could he? The symbol of one's own physical truth, the mirror, cast nothing upon his every examination. However, he was not idiotic. Over the years, he observed with keen awareness how the charisma he innately possesses could easily be used to obtain all he wished with a simple lustful eye. Smooth traits, miraculously perfect skin... desirable man he was. To anyone.
Marching on the frontline, showing distinct authority... he is undeniably their commander. As he knocks with a particular order on the door, his undead henchmen exchange eager grins behind him. A rusty visor slides open, emitting a noise similarly awful as scrunching. Party goers were heard blaring through the opened panel.
Guard: Yeah?
He who led spoke out, the words were something of a foreign language, possibly even unknown to mortals. No one had asked and no one was about to. His voice didn't echo, although his tone proved he possessed along the lines of an unshakable self-confidence. The visor slides shut in a quick motion following the opening of the impenetrable door, letting the undead clan into a vampire bar/party.
Men, women and children were hung from the ceiling in the middle of the spacious factory-like setting, right above a circular counter, tubes having been distastefully lodged into them, the demonic clients demanding the blood of specific body parts while the barmen hectically whooshed all over trying to supply demand.
The guru signals his gang without never looking back. Knowing all the codes, they immediately scattered throughout the bar. A familiar African fellow follows the leader weightily to the counter...
Gautier: (To Barman) Two Kidhearts for me and my friend here.
Barman: You got expensive taste tonight. What's the occasion?
Gautier: Tombstone here deserves a little celebration.
The wide black slave from the flashback is with the head of the forsaken society, part of his gang of forever troublesome hoodlums. He carries on a new pair of pointy teeth and a new name: Tombstone. Intrigue settles in, as a crucial missing part of the puzzle leaves his story incomplete.
Garbed in old torn up clothes, he looks poor down to his missing soul. The rings of sweat had stained his apparel and dirt had incrusted the fabric of the thin tissue, making solid evidence he had worn those during his time as a slave. As a matter of fact, what he wore considerably looks like a worn-out version of what he was given when working on the Stone property.
Now he is among his own, but he does not feel belonged. In a sea of beige, he is this lace of black. Truthfully, no discrimination would apply like in the human world, now belonging to one and only new race; the vampires. Back in that corner, she wasn't Jewish, she was vampire. Drinking that old lady, he wasn't Italian, he was vampire. As an undead, Tombstone was sadly still displaced, just like a discarded porcelain panther. Fragile, yet ferocious. Wearing a glance of shame and forlornness, none cannot find himself pitying the thing. None except the heartless, which he is surrounded by.
Darla, Drusilla and Spike come in the same building and approach the same heavy iron door the apparent sect came to. Darla leads and comes knocking with no particular order. The visor opens and before she can say a thing, it shuts. Men's grave laughs are slightly heard through the thick metal door.
Spike: May I?
Spike, approaching the impervious entrance - stubbornly stagnant - with a mighty will to defy Darla by all means, proudly executes the knocking code upon the door without any trace of diffidence, and then carries on with the password. The door objects to its forced opening and the broad guard lets Spike and Drusilla come in, but stops Darla with his massive hand. She slowly raises her head to him, leaving him no choice but to look at her intense, offended glare.
Guard: Sorry ma'am, but not you.
Darla: But--
Spike snatches Dru's hand and drags her in the bar, looking back on Darla to shrug unknowingly at her. Spike corners a smile.
Darla: Spike!
(The man cannot contain his proud smiles. Drusilla dances slightly to the music as they both go deeper into the bar. Spike grabs Dru and pulls her close to him.)
Spike: (To Dru) So who is it hun'?
Drusilla: (Looks around and points at the previous gang leader sitting at a table) There!
Spike: (Disgruntled) You sure?
Drusilla: Yes-s-s.
Spike: Let's pay Gautier a visit then.
Spike and Drusilla head for Gautier's table, but they are interrupted by two gang members. One of which obstructed Spike by pushing a hand to his chest.
"That's close enough."
Spike chuckles and looks down at the member's manus. As quickly as he jerked his head up from its downward position, he broke the vampire's neck vertebras. A second assault by another member urging to strike Spike failed, the attacker quickly heaping down into dust also. Spike comes to the boss, Gautier, with Drusilla reluctant to follow. He sits on a chair which he turned backwards. Gautier plays in his drink with his fingers, fully knowing what is happening, simply unthreatened.
Spike: Hello, mates. Havin a lil' chat? Hope I didn't intrude, 'cause that would be very rude, wouldn't it?
Gautier: Yes. It would Spike.
(Spike pays no attention to Tombstone next to him and talks only with Gautier.)
Spike: My love had a premonition. (To Dru) Didn't you my lamb? (Back to Gautier) And for some reason, you're my grand-grand-mother's new candidate as her new bitch. So, don't fuss around and follow us nicely.
Gautier: (Laughs shaking his head in disbelief) Angelus gone, Darla needs a new protector. Pathetic...
Spike: (Serious for a split second) Something along those lines. (...) So you gonna come or do I have to make you?
Gautier: Spike... I dare you to make me.
Spike: (Sighs. Overacting, he pretends to be disappointed.) Fine.
(Spike flips over the table and grabs Gautier firmly by the shirt. Gautier chuckles.)
Gautier: You didn't think I'd come here by myself, did you?
Spike: I ain't scared of your half-pint gang.
(Gautier laughs again even more)
Gautier: Tombstone, Spike. Spike, Tombstone.
(Spike turns his head to the left, right where Gautier was staring)
Spike: Wha--?
Spike didn't see the fist coming, but he certainly felt it. He was thrown a few feet away by the large war machine that is Tombstone before he rolled down two little steps. Darla is at the entrance, who just finished dusting the guard with her hairpin when the ruckus catches her attention.
Darla: Hum. Strong.
She approaches without flinching from the dust still clouding her nor taking her eyes off the fight. She comes next to Dru, putting her hands on Dru's shoulder, then resting her chin ever femininely on them. Both the she-devils interchange playful glances of complicity. All the while, Spike stands up quickly, enraged to have received such a powerful punch in his... pride.
Spike: Big man you are. No I don't think we met. I'm Spike, and you—well, you're dead.
Tombstone: Stop talking, weird man.
We hear him speak for the first time, doing so not very articulately and with a distinct African native accent. Spike retaliates impetuously against the dark beast, only to see his fists clothed one after the other with Tombstone's giant paws. His brutal force drove Spike down on his knees. A couple of bones began to break as the pressure intensified. He screams, agonizing.
Now he realized inflicting pain procured him with some wicked pleasure.
Darla: That's enough, Gautier. Tell your thing to back out!
Gautier: Hmm... why?
Darla: (Thinks for a second) Oh just let the puny man live his puny life! He's young.
Gautier: All the more reason to teach him a lesson. (...) Ok Tombstone, let him go.
Tombstone lets Spike free and the injured vampire is stroking his badly bruised hands. Drusilla comes to help her lover.
Drusilla: Poor Spike got hurt. (To Tombstone) You'll be strapped, you! Naughty boy! Naughty!! Naughty, bad boy!!!
Tombstone: He was hurting my master.
Gautier: So Darla... how's Angelus?
Darla: (Understands his game) Burning in heaven I hope. But don't underestimate me, Gautier. I can not always be a lady.
Gautier: You know I know. (Soft snickers) So... your devotee told me you wanted me to follow you in your stupid crusade? Please!
Darla: Drusilla indeed brought us here, but I assure you that I'd never ever want YOU to join us. It would disgrace the Brethren. Plus, considering a crusade is a Christian belief, I very much doubt we are doing that.
Gautier: Well one might wonder. You might have wanted to get a soul, too.
Darla: Like I said Gautier... don't underestimate me.
Gautier: You can choose who you want to have in your silly elite, Darla, but what kind of idiot would?
Spike: (Playing the game, he interrupts the hostile conversation) Oh wait! Now I think I figured out why Dru thought he'd be you.
Darla: (To Gautier of course) That! That is an insult to your family! You already are a disgrace to us all!
Gautier: Poor Darla, there is no longer a family. Look around; we are a race now! Our understanding makes us the future; The Bloodshedders gang roars while you meow! You... and your pathetic and lost fools grasping at the tiny bit of what's left of Aurelius' testimony. Tell me Darla... to what extent your stupidity reaches? The sky? Or is it the moon?
Darla quickly spun Gautier backed against her chest with her nails ready to slice his throat. Gautier's men growled and got ready to attack.
Darla: (Whispering in Gautier's ear.) I will not be made a fool, Gautier. Never.
Knowing her slim chances against Gautier's men, Darla pushes Gautier onto Tombstone. He turns around, turns his vampire face on, straightens his clothing and walks back slowly to Darla.
Gautier: You know, Darla, just because--
Darla vamps out and slashes Gautier in the face. The vampire gang also turns fully vampire and, on their leader's command, marched towards Darla, Drusilla and Spike. The guards of the place came in between and stopped the coming fight rather violently. Darla heads out without adding anything. She walks in the bar cautiously to not stain her robe, disgusted by the filthy place. A drunk vampire melts on her like a blob, so Darla takes her hairpin out again to dust the over-affectionate creature. The she-vampire, the first to come out of the building and into the streets, is infuriated. She turns around to look in the eyes of the loving couple who is laughing impressively of the past events.
Darla: You think that's funny? I'm taking you out right here, right now for what you did, Spike!
(Darla threateningly approached Spike more and more as they were talking)
Spike: Ease up, now. No need to get cranky.
Darla: (To Drusilla) And you! You're sure Gautier was the one??
Drusilla: I never said it was Gautier.
Darla: So we almost got killed and it wasn't the right person?!
Drusilla: Stop yelling-g.
Darla: I should have known! We needed something fresh - a human - to receive my purer blood. Why did I choose to follow your visions instead of taking the first guy that comes my way? (Looks at Spike repulsively) Oh... right. (Sighs) Dress up, we have another ceremony to attend. And please... behave this time Spike.
(The gang followed Darla in the streets, walking on ahead. Spike talks with Drusilla)
Spike: What exactly did you see in your vision then, love?
Drusilla: Wolf leader and black stallion.
Spike: Ooh yes! The Tombstone guy. (Mocking and sarcastic) Very original. At least he would have made granny often relax in a very big way! (Laughs)
Spike and Drusilla come to a dead stop when they nearly bump into Darla, frozen still right in front of them.
Spike: What?! Can't take a joke?
The Bloodshedders came out of everywhere, languorously surrounding the three vampires. Gautier leads his gang with Tombstone by his side.
Gautier: You didn't think that was the end back there, did you?