A/N: Here's chapter thirty-nine! At last, some holiday freedom…ah, well, enjoy Jasper's chilling hostility. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Bloodlines, but I do own my OCs.

Jasper's chuckles were endless, no doubt he was proud of what he had done. It was the only white noise provided, during their excursion deeper into the cave. Aside from that, it was completely silent, as two of his travelers were hostages, and one was an enemy.

Basil finally decided to break the silence, maybe he was just sick and tired of listening to the mummies all around them making their grunts and shuffling noises, "So…this plan of yours…if you indeed have one…what is it?" He asked. He deemed it pointless to keep his wings tucked away at this point, as if was uncomfortable and the girls already saw them anyway. They were however, quite tucked in, so he wouldn't accidently flatten someone every time he turned around.

"There's a powerful Elder whose residence is at the heart of this cave." Jasper explained, "She desired sacrifices…not too much trouble, a mere offering, for permission for said Elder's company. I think with two, she'll be ecstatic." He crossed his arms.

"That sounds unnecessary and foul."

He gave a dry chuckle, "You act like humans have some sort of other purpose for us…"

"Was I right or was I right…?" Finley muttered bitterly. Aurora was too busy cowering and squeezing her friend, wondering what her last words to her family even were.

Jasper rolled his eyes, "I know which one is dying first."

"Ha, ha, very funny." Finley growled back, "I'll make sure it isn't easy."

"You have no idea what you're even up against." He smiled, "Trying to take on the likes of me as you are now is foolish. You'll only quicken your death."

"Who is this beneficiary?" Basil asked.

"I don't see why that's any of your business."

"I already have a feeling that I know who it is, anyway."

"Madame Guil."

His eyes widened, "So…so it is her." Basil said, "You've found her…I've been looking for her for hundreds of years, and young arrogant brat like you found her first?!"

His smirk grew, "That's right. I'm going to offer her thee two bags of meat in exchange for an alliance. She could work under Lady Natalia."

"We aren't bags of meat…" Aurora said weakly, "How could you even suggest such a thing…if we were family, would you do something like this…?"

"They're monsters, Aurora, they're beyond that kind of understanding." Finley said quietly.

"You're in over your head, you know." Basil's eyes darted over to Jasper's, "Your plan is doomed to fail."

"Oh, and who's going to stop me, you?"

"Yes." He said bluntly, "I'm only using you to guide me to her. Once that's finished, I'll dispose of you."

He frowned, as a few veins appeared on his forehead, "Awful confident, aren't we?"

"Oh, forgive me, but I do believe the last time we fought, I knocked you off of Natalia's ridiculous tower, did I not?"

Aurora whimpered and held herself, shuddering as she dabbed tears away. "So, what exactly is going to be done with us?" Finley asked, "Are we being eaten or something?"

"Nothing." Basil said, "Whatever this fool has planned, it isn't going to work. The most damage you two will receive is that your plans for the next day might be a little muddled. I will keep you safe from everything and anything he conjures up, and then, you'll be able to forget about the two of us."

Jasper held his hands out to proclaim his mighty answer, "You two are nothing but meals for Madame Guil! Using the two of you, I'll gain her favor and the ability to negotiate an alliance with her! Then Lady Natalia will be so proud of me! I am her most loyal follower! Lady Natalia will always be mine and I will always serve her wishes, to whatever drastic end she so desires!"

Aurora seemed generally horrified, but Finley looked up at Basil, "You have any plans?" She asked quietly.

"I'm afraid not at the moment, mademoiselle, but…uh…to put in terms you would understand…this one…is rather weak compared to me." Basil said.

"This one?" Jasper bristled with rage, "You know…" He calmed down and smiled, "You should really drop the whole goodie-goodie charade…after all…we are monsters…aren't we?"

He closed his eyes, "I'm not foolish enough to be swayed by the opinions of others as you are."

"You misunderstand." He snickered, "I may do whatever I want to achieve my goal, regardless of how horrible it may be. Even as I do these terrible acts, I'll still look the same. The same cannot be said for you, now, can it? I know how Vicissitude works."

He opened his eyes, giving him a questioning look.

"Soon it'll be your skin turning blue, and then your eyes will change colors…and then you'll get horrendous bumps on your body. Your form will twist and arrange itself into whatever it sees fit." He said, "You'll be an unstoppable battling machine, but you'll also be unable to walk amongst the humans anymore. You may say a vampire without humanity can survive just fine…but your base clan is the Toreador, is it not?" He challenged, "And I'm the one who's doomed? You're on a timer, Basil, and every time you use Vicissitude, it gets shorter."

"How long until we get to Madame Guil?"

Jasper laughed, muttering something along the lines of 'ignorance is bliss.'

"You're not a monster when you're ugly…" Aurora said, "You're a monster when your soul is…"

"A preschool teacher and an amateur barista." Jasper growled, "I'll have to apologize to Madame Guil, tenfold."

Basil's eyes widened when he heard other voices, "Is…is that her?" He asked, but he was disappointed, the next room's company were the other serpents of light.

"Jasper's back!" Axle grinned.

"It's about time." Drake said, crossing his arms.

"So, these are the sacrifices." Selina licked her lips.

Jasper grinned, his mummies wilting away, "Good…now that you're here, I don't have to expend my blood."

Drake looked at Finley and Aurora, "Nice sacrifices, boss…"

Basil held a protective arm in front of them, his corresponding wing stretched out as well, "Off-limits."

Drake's expression wilted, "Crap…Basil the Volgirre? What's he doing here?"

"Did he follow you, Master Jasper?" Selina asked.

"This isn't good…" Axle said, "With him here…our plans…"

Jasper nodded, "It's unfortunate, but now he's involved. It's of little consequence. He seems to be content with just watching everything happen. That won't impinge anything."

"Oh, is that right?" Drake smiled at Basil, "You like watching girls die?"

"Hey, maybe they'll get turned instead. That'd be kinda hot." Axle said.

"We'll…we'll be just fine." Selina said nervously.

"Oh, will you?" Basil gave a confident grin, "I sense your fear, all of you. I defeated all of you on top of Natalia's tower, and when the time's right, I'll do it again. I just need you snakes to guide me to Madame Guil, and my centuries of searching will finally be over."

"Finley…what do we do?" Aurora asked, clinging onto her friend.

Her blue eyes looked determined as she looked up at Basil, "The only thing we can do is trust him."

Basil looked at the four Followers of Set, "Onward, you dogs. I came here for Madame Guil, not you idiots. Go."

Jasper faced forward, "Serpents of Light, move out!"

"You know, since you defected from the Sabbat…that name hardly makes sense…"

After another half an hour or so, the large group made it to the heart of the cave, where Madame Guil and Irving were waiting for them.

Irving bowed at Finley and Aurora, "Welcome, o most esteemed vampires…to our humble abode—"

"Irving." Madame Guil snapped, "Those aren't the vampires."

"O-Oh…" He looked over to the serpents of light, "Welcome…o most esteemed vampires…to our humble abode…"

Jasper grinned, "Charmed, I'm sure…Jasper Greenfield, honorary Setite of Lady Natalia." He said.

"Natalia, hmm? You work for Kemintiri's childe?" Madame Guil asked, "How delicious…were I still part of the Camarilla…I would detest her existence…but I have since seen the light in those matters, and I welcome her envoys."

Finley watched on with suspicion as Aurora closed her eyes and shook, clinging on to Finley for dear life. Madame Guil stepped towards Aurora and Finley, "Ah…so these are your offerings…hmm?" She licked her lips, "You know how to pick fine women, I'll give you that…" Finley grimaced while Aurora hid her face in her shoulder. She kept pulling Aurora away, backing them into the wall.

Madame Guil didn't get the memo, she got closer, looking at Aurora, "This one is much prettier…" She said, "But the poor darling's scared stiff…she can't think straight." She smiled at Finley, "This one's much fiercer. She's got a fire in her heart, this one. Very sharp." She said, "Oh, if only I could take this one's brain and place it inside her." She looked from Finley to Aurora, "Oh wait, I can."

Finley stiffened up, holding Aurora tighter, "You stay away from her."

She laughed, "And what are you going to do to me, little girl? I'll turn you both into vampires, and you'll be my slaves!"

"Do whatever you want to me, but let her go."

"Finley, no…" Aurora looked up, her eyes watering, "We'll…we'll stick together…"

A part of the rocky cavern exploded, revealing Sirius and Dragomir. The former lit a cigar, putting it into his mouth, "Alright, bitches, we don't have all night. I wanna go home and please my wife."

"No!" Jasper's eyes shrunk to the size of dots, "The one-eyed snake…Natalia's childe! Sirius!" Basil too, narrowed his eyes in silence, wondering how these two newcomers were going to handle the situation.

Madame Guil glared at Sirius and Dragomir, "What business do you have with me?"

"Burying you." Sirius said, "You Madame Guil?"

Irving scuttled back to the cavern wall, basically hyperventilating at this point.

Dragomir giggled, his hands in his pockets, "If I knew there was such a party here, I would have come to crash it much earlier! Who wants to dance first? I've been told I do a wonderful tango. Someone, quick, fetch me a rose." He snapped his fingers, then his eyes sharpened as he looked at Madame Guil, "Excusez-moi. Peut-être que le Bourree est plus approprié."

Madame Guil glowered at him, "Who is this hooligan?"

"Hey…" Sirius looked at Basil, "Aren't you Sabbat?"

Basil gave him a questionable look, "Aren't you?"

"We need to hurry." Jasper said, "Sirius is almost as strong as Lady Natalia…yet he doesn't follow her ways, this could get dangerous!"

"Ah." Basil said quietly, "So these two could be a fortunate development…"

"I must say, I'm a little disappointed my reputation does not pursue me." Dragomir said, licking his lips in a gaudy display, as always, "That will change after this night."

Another section of the cave exploded, revealing Arthur, as well as about fifty hunters from the Society of Leopold. "Aha…I had a feeling the lot of you would be here…"

"Hunters?!" Madame Guil screamed.

"Aw crap…" Sirius said, "It's that vampire who threw it in with the hunters! He's like…half-LaSombra, half-Baali…or something…"

Arthur chuckled, "There are more high-ranking vampires under this dreadful bedrock than a haunted house, did you really think we wouldn't try to purge you?"

Dragomir laughed and laughed, an undead hyena.

"Uh…I feel like we could run and no one would notice…" Finley said quietly. Aurora was too paralyzed in fear to respond.

"This doesn't concern you." Basil looked at Arthur, "Leave now, your men will surely die if they do battle in here."

"You are not my commanding officer…Frenchmen." He grinned.

Basil scowled, "You English brat…" He clenched his fists, then he calmed down, "No, I don't have time to focus on him…my mission involves her." He looked back at Madame Guil.

"Frenchmen…Englishmen…" Madame Guil said, looking from Basil to Arthur.

"Frenchmen, Englishmen, Hungarian, Indian, it matters not." Dragomir held his hands up, "It's our parents that are the deciding factor, isn't that right, serious one?" He looked over to Sirius, "If not for your mother, you'd have no inclination to join the Camarilla at all, now would you? It was the same tale with my father, I'll tell you!"

Sirius blinked at him, surprised, "I guess Natalia constantly destroying the world did shake my influence a little…"

"These pests all need to die." Madame Guil growled. "First I'll take the sacrifices, I'll drain them dry."

"I won't let you." Basil guarded them.

Her eyes widened, "Those eyes…that voice…"

"Wait…you mean to say…" Jasper started.

"Yes." Basil finished before he could, "She and I…are one in the same clan. Volgirre." He said, looking at Dragomir briefly, "I suppose as you would put it, she's my mother."

Dragomir giggled through his teeth, "How exciting!"

"I've been searching for you for hundreds of years." Basil said, "At first, your heightened status in the Camarilla made it impossible to find you, and then you…up and abandoned it."

"Give me…the two girls…" Madame Guil clenched her fists.

"Was it not enough blood, Madame?" Basil asked, "The French Revolution? That wasn't enough blood for you? All those heads rolling off the Guillotine, that wasn't enough? You want to kill more? How far to the beast have you fallen?"

"It doesn't matter." She fumed, "I'll kill you, and then I'll kill them!"

His eyes slid over to Jasper, "Why you want to associate with a poor woman so far gone like this is beyond me…"

"The truth is…" Jasper said, he and his followers chuckling, "Those offerings for Madame Guil…they aren't for an alliance." He raised his hands in the air, his eyes utterly crazy at this point, "I wanted to lull you into a false sense of security so that I could diablerize you! With all your powers and your potent blood inside me, I would be the perfect king to Lady Natalia's queen, we will lay together forever in her tower and all shall bow to us!" He laughed, "And my plan isn't even on the verge of failure, in fact, things are working out even better!" He said, "Because, what, four other vampires in here want to kill you? They'll weaken you plenty for me to drink your essence! Then I'll be the unchallenged ruler, Sirius and his band of fools won't be able to stop me!"

"You…sniveling little ingrate!" Madame Guil yelled, showing her bestial claws, as blue lightning coated her, "I'll show you, for your putrid betrayal!"

"Try, and try as you might…" Jasper said, as Selina turn into a jaguar, Axle turned into a snake, and Drake activated Potence, getting his daggers out.

Sirius laughed, "Look, my mission here is just to kill Madame Guil, so let's get on with it." He said, transforming into a massive snake.

Arthur lit on fire, then he cloaked himself in shadow, "And my mission is to kill all the vampires in the world."

Irving screamed, cowering in the corner, "These guys are all monsters!"

Dragomir let his bones crack and snap into place as he morphed into his Protean form, pumping Celerity and Potence without hesitation to land the first hit on Madame Guil and make it count.

Madame Guil flashed out of the way, towards the other side of the room, "Nice try!" She cackled, "You're much too slow for me!"

Finley tugged Aurora back, further and further towards the mouth of the cave. They were nearly freed, but a jaguar jumped in front of them, growling.

A black and blue blur flashed through it, the jaguar coughed up blood and was smashed into the wall, as Basil regrouped in front of the girls. He put one hand on Aurora's shoulder and one hand on Finley's, "Let me help you escape." He said, "I'll lead you out of this cave while they're all distracted, and then I'll come back to face Madame Guil."

Finley nodded, thanking him briefly as he guided them out.

Dragomir seemed astounded at first that she foresaw his attack, before he realized his Celerity wasn't really all that quick. Anger boiled in his chest in the form of disappointment, and the Beast inside him opened its eyes. He held his chest and stumbled back, willing the frenzy down. He couldn't get cocky now. Not with so many people watching.

As a few more opening moves were fired, Sirius slithered over to Dragomir, the only reason Dragomir could tell that it was him and not a hostile serpent of light was that the snake had one eye, he quickly morphed back into his human form, "This looks like it's gonna get really ugly." He said, "But I got an idea."

Dragomir's feral eyes darted to his companion's, giving a slight nod as his growl quieted.

With their comrade now flattened against the wall, Axle and Drake ran at Madame Guil, but she was able to dash around and avoid all attacks. "Nice try, but none of you can hit me!"

Arthur started blasting fire at Madame Guil, but he missed too. He looked at his soldiers, "Open fire at all of these vampires!" He ordered, and gunfire lit up the entire room.

Sirius, half-using Dragomir as cover, vomited up his heart, handing it to him, "Keep this somewhere safe. Guard it like it's your life."

Dragomir blinked a few times, then stuffed the organ down his pants. It was somewhere he'd protect with his life, alright. Sirius nodded, running off into the fight.

Selina turned back to her human form, a huge gash in her body as she tried to join the battle, she wearily looked at Axle and Drake, then she hissed, "Basil…he took those two girls…and he's escaping! I don't see him anywhere!"

"What?" Drake asked, "Shit…it barely matters now…let's just kill Madame Guil…or better yet, leave her weak enough for Jasper to kill."

"But…I don't see Jasper anymore either."

"Crap…" He said, "Can you still fight?" He asked.

She nodded, changing back into a jaguar and lunging at Madame Guil, but she was able to avoid all three of the serpents of light and keep them at bay.

Considering Guil was going to take a lot out of him if he focused all his efforts on her, Dragomir turned his attention to Arthur. Lighting things on fire would certainly be a problem anyway. He dashed forward to whack him in the face with a huge mitt, maybe swipe his jaw clean off.

He slashed through a shadow, "Very well then, fire at this one." He ordered, and his soldiers opened fire on Dragomir.

His body glowed with Fortitude, rearing his head back to head-butt him.

Arthur smirked and caught his head with a flaming hand, "Impressive." He drew his sword with a free hand, slashing him, "But I've seen better Fortitude…much, much better…at least your Protean makes up the defense for your weak Fortitude."

Dragomir snarled as he burned, twisting his head and pulling away, morphing back into a human form. "Forgive me, she seemed to put more stock in Protean than all the others. It was hardly existent at all when I got it."

"Ah, yes…the vampire custom of eating each other…you'll have to forgive one. Diablerie, like many other vampire traditions, I don't observe…"

"That's quite alright, you're pardoned." He laughed, "What does that make you then? A hybrid? Half-blood? Enlighten me. You seem so educated on our condition yet so opposed."

"I am part of the Angellis Ater." He explained, "Our order is one with the Inquisition, the society, if you will. It is our job to purge vampires."

"Your blood. Is it dead or alive?"

"Dead, of course." He said, "Or else I wouldn't have access to these Disciplines."

Dragomir laughed, "Now you mustn't chastise me so. If I started yammering on about the synapses and interpreters in our minds I'm sure you'd be just as lost!"

He held his sword firmly, "Enough of this." He ran at him.

Without fear at all, Dragomir raised a hand and caught the blade, blood spraying in Arthur's face. Dragomir seemed unaffected. "Tell me boy. What do you think of the Nazis?"

"The…what?"

"Nazis. What are your thoughts?"

He narrowed his eyes, "I fought against them, all the way. I worked closely with the British military, when the Masquerade permitted me so. I spoke with Mister Winston Churchill a great many times. They were a menace to our country, and to the world."

"What makes you think that?" His eyes narrowed.

"I'm sure you've read in the history books what their ideology was composed of."

"I don't give a damn what some seventy-year-old historian has to say. I want to hear your thoughts." His feet pivoted to grant him more leverage when Arthur pushed harder.

"They were willing to wipe out anything that isn't them." He said, "They wanted total and complete world domination, the very definition of evil, that's why so many world powers came together so that we could stop them."

"Now." Dragomir waved a finger, the one not bleeding, "They attacked their own kind, didn't they?"

"What are you saying?"

"Your purpose is just as pointless and absurd."

"Ha! Preposterous! And what of vampires?" He challenged, "You eat us off the streets, not caring if we survive or not, and if we do, it's just another meal for you for next time. At best, we can become your slaves, or…Embraced…into your cruel brood. Embraced. The word for hugging, sharing emotion, comfort. Your kind have twisted and morphed that word until it's something unrecognizable. You may go ahead and make the great claim that hunting vampires for sport is an inexcusable act. But I'd say that compared to what vampires do to humans, it's justified."

He shrugged, "Do you think those who have been Embraced are to blame because of their condition?"

He hesitated, "I suppose…it wouldn't work that way…"

"What about yourself? You're like a Jewish Nazi!"

"That's not true, I destroy the rest of you monsters before you take advantage of humanity."

"We don't all take advantage of humanity. There are a good many of us, like myself, who do. And a good many, and I mean a good many, who do not."

"So you're all to be burned."

"You'd be burning the innocent."

He held a hand up, shooting fire at him. Dragomir pulled himself away just in the nick of time, "Face it! Your purpose is flawed, counterproductive, pointless! Another purpose is calling, waiting for you, waiting to be dug up and lived out…"

"And what purpose would that be?"

"Seems like something to look forward to."

He narrowed his eyes in thought, then he looked towards the rest of his soldiers, "Concentrate your fire on the other vampires. We'll save this one for later."

A/N: Sorry for the mega-scene, but it is a shorter chapter. Mounds of fluff await on the horizon…Thanks for reading!