New Moon of Yharnam
A World of Darkness x Bloodborne crossover
Chapter Two
"So, what was your... oh, you're already going to bed." Philip said, noticing the Executioner Gavlan already fell asleep, the Executioner felt his mind wander back to the Hunters' Dream, but could feel what Eileen and Velia meant about it not being as accessible as it was in Yharnam. As he felt the Messengers reach out to him, his entire being wrapped as though it was pressed against a wall, but it quickly passed as he found himself staring at the Plain Doll. Immediately he got up, and then performed the bow taught to male members of the Healing Church.
"Good night Doll." he said, as the Plain Doll returned the gesture with a curtsy. As he looked back, he saw that Eileen had not arrived yet.
"Executioner Gavlan, I see you have made it safely to your destination. Do you have any thoughts of this world?" she asked. "As you can see, there was much that the other members of the Healing Church never told you about." Gavlan nodded.
"So there is. Is there anything you want to add?"
"No, save that you have been brought early enough that they themselves only know slightly more then you, so they thought it best that until enough time has passed for them, it would be best to not yet discuss the Waking World and its marvels, lest they get their information wrong. So then, Executioner, know well that we are all in the dark, so be vigilant, and return safely." the Plain Doll said. Gavlan nodded, when he looked at her doll hat and realized he could see a hairpin underneath it. The Executioner, upon seeing it, spoke up.
"What's the story behind that hairpin?" he asked. "I don't remember you wearing one when Gehrman was the Host." the Plain Doll smiled.
"It was a gift from Fauna, he found it in the Eternal Dream in the old Workshop hidden from prying eyes, and there found the hairpin. After he returned, Fauna gave it to me. It was, and still is one of my most precious memories, Executioner." the Plain Doll replied. "I see your insight is yet keen, and not withered in your time at Cainhurst." at that, Gavlan shifted in his posture.
Noticing this, the Plain Doll frowned. "Have you been offended?"
"No, it was just something that was not a... comfortable thing, my imprisonment."
"I'm sorry for the discomfort."
"There is no need Doll, you never meant anything by it." the Executioner said.
"Well, in either case, I shall yet pray that you and the others shall be successful in the hunt, and for your health Executioner." the Plain Doll said, her voice a comforting one as Eileen spoke up.
"Ah, I see you're already getting reacquainted with the Doll." she said, as Gavlan turned to the Hunter of Hunters. Eileen simply stretched in placed, as she yawned.
"Hunter Eileen, it is always good to see you."
"And you as well. So Gavlan, how quick were you to fall asleep?"
"About as soon as I laid my head down. One of the first lessons that was taught to new members of the Executioners was how to fall asleep within seconds, and awaken just as quickly, then maintaining an awareness of your environment similar to that of being awake when exposure to learning small bits about the Great Ones has begun granting insight. It is helpful in the event you had to sleep in the open street, or in similar situations that resting would not be ideal." Gavlan explained. "Though this does come at the cost of you generally not waking up any more alert and refreshed then when you first enter that state, so when you're at the point that you are barely awake, it is not as useful."
"Really?" Eileen asked, her mask tilting to the side with interest. "I have heard stories about the Executioners being strangely aware of what happens around them while asleep, but I assumed those were just Yharnamites saying stuff that the Healing Church spread as propaganda at some point."
"Not all of us use it, and I wouldn't be able to access the Hunters' Dream and speak with this lovely lady here." Gavlan answered, gesturing to the Plain Doll. As he spoke, the Doll smiled slightly, and brushed away some hair. After that, Gavlan concluded that he was done, and bowed in farewell to the Plain Doll, and left for the Healing Church Workshop. As he walked down the road, he looked over to where the Healing Workshop was. As he approached the door, he could hear shouting from another Hunter outside the window.
"-he entire reason we are not using the Old Blood is because of something someone else did wrong! We were gifted the Old Blood for a reason, and that was to aid those in need of it! Besides, you yourself participated in the experiments to become a Great One." the voice said, as Gavlan stopped in front of the door to the entrance of the Workshop.
"Damn it Benjamin, how many times do I have to tell you? I was a different man back then." Clemont muttered, his voice soft and low compared to the loud and feverish Benjamin. "Laurence may have genuinely wanted what was best for Yharnam, but he let power get to his head. And I may have been brought here and ordained as the head of this Workshop, but that does not mean Fauna has forgiven me for any of my sins. I was a fool who played god on those people, and the Beast Plague was the price for my arrogance."
"And? Fauna is proof that your research was not in vain! The Beast Plague was a fluke, the result of sabotage by Flora, something we don't need to worry about with Fauna who used to be one of us."
"Which is why I refuse to even consider the idea of request him lifting the ban on administering the Old Blood. We are allowed to conduct our research into the Blood, but it is clear we must needs be watchful that we do not repeat history. I am not trying to tie you down Benjamin, I'm trying to warn you to exercise caution and wisdom." As Gavlan opened the door, he saw Clemont and a man dressed in a black Church uniform, the latter having his back turned to the Executioner. As he walked in, he noticed the other Church Hunters were nowhere to be seen, likely performing some form of research or other. "Ah, Gavlan!" Clemont exclaimed, "I didn't know you were here."
"I came here to report that Velia and I made it safely to our meeting with the Imbued ahead of schedule, and also to see if you have anything you wish me to convey to my charge." As Gavlan spake this, Benjamin left, his frustration clear to Gavlan. "So what was going on with Benjamin."
"He was a student of mine back before the ruination of Yharnam. The two of us were part of the experimentation into understanding the nature of the Great Ones. Our goal was to transcend to their level, but as you can see with Fauna, it is indeed possible. Benjamin has become, elated that our research was not something that was done in vain, but neither does feel like we should be barred from performing Blood transfusions." Clemont explained. "While he is as yet contentious about the issue, I worry of what he might do if not dissuaded from this path."
"Is there a reason you have not done anything to ensure this doesn't happen?" Gavlan wondered, to which Clemont nodded.
"It's mostly personal, but also because Fauna is a Great One, and thus he knows the consequences in our order for defying their will. Most of us may not be happy about his ban upon the giving out of the Good Blood, but it is what it is."
"Alright then, I will be leaving, unless you want to give me any further orders?"
"Hmm, other then getting samples of the Vampires you are soon going to be hunting, no. And by samples, anything will do for giving something for us to examine." Gavlan frowned.
"Vampires turn to dust when they die, based on what I have heard from the Imbued that is currently with us."
"Damn."
"I will gather any artifacts I can however, and bring them back with me."
"Thank you." Gavlan turned around and left the building, though he noticed someone in the corner of his eye had been watching the two, but ignored it for later. The rest of his time spent sitting next to the Plain Doll with his legs crossed, looking out from the borders of the Hunters Dream. There was nothing but an expansive fog, from which the tops of trees, or at least a representation of trees could be seen. It was not long before Velia appeared behind Gavlan. Upon tapping his shoulder, the Executioner got up and then took a deep breath, allowing his mind to fall back to the real world.
"See you on the other side." she said, bowing as he left the Dream. When he found himself in motel bed, the Executioner slowly got out to avoid disturbing Philip. As he stepped out in the living room, the man hid his Repeating Pistol in his coat, and carried his Threaded Cane with him, and made sure he still had everything he had entered the room with, including his supply of Blood Vials. It was definitely cloudy, as the man could not see the stars. Looking around, Gavlan found an umbrella that was left next to the door, and picked it up on the way out. As he looked at the motel parking lot, the Executioner kept his Cane from tapping anything as he walked around the area, looking back and forth along the road. The Executioner stood out due to his being the only one besides a single man, the one who registered the Hunters when Philip went to pay for the room. He was holding a paper stick in his mouth, which was lit at one end. As Gavlan approached, the man turned to look at the Executioner.
Upon looking closer, Gavlan could see that his skin was a pale tan, with blonde hair which stood out in the blue light of the glowing sign. Currently he was dressed in a simple plain blue collared shirt and black pants, though Gavlan noticed some kind of rune on his left arm which the Executioner couldn't identify, along with some form of aura which he couldn't place. If he had to guess what the mans' age was, it was around 40.
"Couldn't sleep either huh?" the man asked. As he spoke, a cloud of smoke billowed out of his mouth and nose. Gavlan could recognize the scent of tobacco, but it was laced with something that made his entire being as a Hunter squirm and recoil at the smell. Gavlan quickly suppressed himself, as the man gave him no reason to attack him.
"Yeah." Gavlan said going along with the questions. "I decided to take a breath of fresh air, then saw you were out here as well. Then I decided that now was likely as good a time as any to meet you." the man chuckled at that, then offered a hand.
"I suppose so. The name is Micheal." Gavlan looked at it for a second, before grabbing, then the man shook it.
"Gavlan."
"I'm guessing you are not from around these parts."
"That is true, my colleges and I are strangers in a foreign land." Micheal made an amused chuckling. "Is something funny?"
"Just that I watched a movie with a similar line. Where are you from?"
"I came from a small, isolated country called Yharnam." Gavlan said.
"Never heard of it."
"And you likely won't, it suffered from an outbreak of a plague that was thought gone. Upon it being proven I didn't carry the disease, which is similar to rabies, I was allowed to move to here."
"Oh, what makes it different from the rabies virus?" assuming that virus was a type of disease classification, Gavlan replied.
"Simply put, the person infected actively seeks to drink blood, like a vampire. They also acted like one as well, avoiding sunlight and becoming sickly and pale like a corpse as a result." Micheal seemed interested in this, but did not pry further, instead drawing another drag from the thing he used like a pipe.
"I would get out of there as well. So you are looking for a better life in LA, the 'City of Angels' as many like to call it I would guess."
"Yes."
"Well, good luck with that." Micheal said, as he put the stub of the stick he was smoking from into an implement built in a trash receptacle that acted as an ash tray, then pulled out a box with more of the sticks in them. As Gavlan looked, he saw the box was labeled 'Circinus' and gave off an aura with the same disgusting smell he felt from the mans' breath. "Would you like a smoke?" Gavlan shook his head and turned down the offer. As a member of the Healing Church, he was to keep his blood pure, and not sully it with things like drugs and overindulgence of alcohol, and it helped he felt repulsed by the item Micheal held. Micheal smiled, and muttered "I gotta admit that's a choice I wish I first made when I was offered my first cigarette." as he pulled out another stick.
"How come?" Gavlan asked, which made the man look at him, then the man chuckled. When he fell into a fit of coughing, Gavlan grew concerned. "Sir?" Micheal placed a hand on the Executioner, and leaned on him as he caught his breath.
"Ever heard of cancer?"
"Yeah." Gavlan replied. Micheal then held up the Circinus cigarette box.
"Guess how I got it." Upon seeing Gavlan raise an eyebrow, the other man sighed. "Believe me, I tried to quit, but Circinus has got a hold of me tightly a long time ago. That, and my last doctor said I only got about five months left."
"How long have you been smoking these?" Gavlan asked.
"Since I was 15. To keep it short, always take care of your body, and thanks for speaking with me." Micheal said, his voice slightly hoarser in tone.
"Is there anyway I can assist you?" Gavlan requested.
"No, no. Just stay safe out here in the night, as it is the time of freaks and psychos." Micheal responded. As Micheal walked away to wherever the man slept, Gavlan looked around, then reached for a Blood Vial, stopping his hand just short of one of the pockets he kept them in. Gavlan knew that he shouldn't, but it would be so easy to just cleanse the man by pouring the Old Blood in his throat, and let it purify his dying body of the corruption within it.
Thou shalt not perform any form of Blood Ministration upon those who are not a Hunter, even if their life may be saved. A female voice intoned in the back of his mind, and Gavlan swallowed back the lump in his throat. He felt as though a weight had been put upon him, and his heart began to beat in his ears as Gavlan comprehended the full weight that commandment carried. After a moment, he relaxed, and pulled his hand away from the pocket in question. Just as Gavlan was about to head back into the motel room, he saw something in the corner of his eye, and saw it was a set of lights, similar to that of the car Philip had. When he brought up a monocular and gazed through it while channeling his Insight, Gavlan saw there was more then one vehicle, each made more like caravan wagons then Philips' sleek vehicle.
Upon looking at the driver of the lead vehicle, Gavlan saw that the pale corpse of a man behind the steering wheel was smiling maliciously, barring a pair of sharp canines as he glared at Gavlans' general direction. Without pause, Gavlan lowered the monocle, and pulled out a small bell with a blue glow to it. Taking a deep breath and then exhaling to prepare for the fight to come, Gavlan rung it once, then twice as he hid himself from view of the Vampires that were on their way with a nearby building.
*Ring... ring...*
The bell was barely audible in the Waking World, but it was not meant to be heard in this realm, as the sound rippled across space and time to the Hunters' Dream for Eileen and Velia to hear, though it was likely anything sensitive to the arcane would hear it as well. To prepare for the coming attack, Gavlan walked into the parking lot, then turned his back and made it look as if he was walking back to his room. As the others appeared from their room, Eileen and Velia looked around, then the two approached Gavlan with the former gesturing by looking around with arms wide open. As the trucks pulled up squealing behind Gavlan, Philip came out and ran to Eileen and Velia, and whispered something. Whatever it was, they drew their weapons, while Gavlan reached into his garb to grab the handle of his Repeating Pistol. As he heard the pattering of someone running behind him, he whipped around and shot his would be ambusher in the head, that had apparently intended to hit him with a shovel to the back of his head. Due to the spacing of the barrels, the Quicksilver struck the foul beast in its eyes, and blasted out through the back of their skull. Instantly the Vampire burst in a cloud of flame, their death-scream followed by a burst of ash as the Quicksilver traveled onward, hitting another Vampire who had just came out of the truck in the stomach, then the shovel struck the ground.
As the second Vampire cried out, Gavlan charged at the Vampire crowd with the speed of a rabid animal, noticing that only a few matched the description of Vampires Philip gave him and the other Hunters. When he hit one of them hard enough to break the bones in the arm, this one a man, he screamed in pain as the various motel attackers jumped back in shock and terror at the sight of their companions arm snapping in response to the strike, and the speed by which Gavlan rushed them.
"WHAT THE HELL?!" a female member of the group wearing a sleeveless vest made out of leather screamed, her face half-hidden behind a bandanna. Before she could react, Gavlan swiped at her with the Threaded Cane, and smashed the top of her head with it. However, instead of bursting into ash, she simply fell dead like a normal human, and blood sprayed out all over those next to her who got hit as well, and onto the ground from her eyes and nose.
"HUNTERS! IT'S A TRAP!" Someone yelled, which was followed by a hail of gunfire. Gavlan ducked just in time, causing several dropped dead from friendly, though he felt several more shoot into his body. Thinking quickly to take advantage of his position, he grabbed a Numbing Mist he 'borrowed' from Velias' supply, took a deep breath, and slammed it into the ground, allowing the rushing fog to cloud their minds and slow their reaction time as Eileen and Velia rushed to aide him, and also ending the hail of bullets shredding his body, allowing him time to inject a Blood Vial before he exhaled. Philip was on his phone, likely sending a message to his comrades to get here swiftly.
"Hey! EYES ON ME!" Gavlan turned to see a fist fly out, and punched him hard enough to break his nose. The Executioner cried out as it hurt enough to make his vision black even with the Numbing Mist dulling his senses, and was then assaulted by a rapid flurry of fists impacted his body as though they struck him all at the same time. The combined force of their strikes sent the Executioner flying back into the trunk of a car, this one a lime green one that burst in a shower of glass that flew like silicate hail over his companions and him. As he looked around, he saw Eileen stab his arm with a vial before death caught him, as a Vampire dressed like the woman that was helping them stepped out through the fog, along with seven or so more of their kind including the one shot in the stomach dressed like some form of gang. As the Mist cleared, there were at least twenty or so men and women who clearly on the ground, writhing on the ground as the Mist addled their minds as the Hunters realized they were normal humans.
"Wait, why are they not affected by the Numbing Mist, and who are those people helping them?" Velia cried out. In the background people within the motel were either running in terror, or trying to barricade the door, due to the noise of gunfire awaking them.
"Vamps don't breathe, so of course they're not going to be experiencing whatever those bastards serving them are from that gas your friend here released!" Philip shouted. Eileen split her Blade of Mercy as the Imbued turned to them. As Gavlan crawled out of the car, he felt his vision swimming while his nose reset itself in place and felt the various lead bullets in him being pushed out, but remained standing as they clattered to the ground. Philip stared with confusion and mouthed 'What?' as he saw the Executioner was back up like nothing happened.
"You think you Blood Bags can kill one of us and get away with it just because of some cheap gimmick?!" one of them said, snarling as he pointed a finger at Gavlan and the others. "Get these Kine, and show them their place for messing with our plans!" he screamed with an outstretched hand, which caused the other Vampires to surge out at the Hunters, their fangs bared and ready to plunge into their necks.
"Buy these people time to get out!" Eileen yelled, as she engaged with three of the Vampires at once swinging her blades with blinding speed that made their siderite cores sing and whistle, each of whom carried various improvised weapons like an iron tool of some kind and two bats similar to Philips' own, as the Imbued clashed with a single Vampire, this one thinner then his peers and recoiling instantly from being struck by his opponent. Velia pulled out a Flame Sprayer, and the two that ran at her stopped. When a gout of flame burst towards them, one of them howled and ran away, screaming gibberish as he slammed past two of the recovering mortals that were aiding him, while the other screamed as his body was set alight. As he succumbed to the purifying flames of Velias Flame Sprayer, the other Vampires recoiled at the fiery wrath of the Choir Hunter, and Gavlan noted this as he watched.
He then quickly rushed at the group of Human servants, his Cane smashing and bashing into them rapidly, forcing another one of the Vampires to turn and face the Executioner and snarl. While he was still feeling the effects of inhaling the Numbing Mist, Gavlan was conscious enough to dodge the incoming fist, which slammed into the side of one of the wagon cars and bent it. When a second swing was thrown at him, Gavlan deflected it, or at least tried to. Instead of pushing the arm away from him, he was the one that was shoved, knocking the Executioner off-balance, where he was quickly struck with a knee to the stomach. With him pinned against the car the Vampires came in, it tried to grapple him, and when he saw it bare its fangs as it exposed his neck, Gavlan responded by elbowing it in the chin.
As the snarling beasts' teeth clacked, the Executioner kicked one of its legs, and as it fell punched it in the jaw with enough force to knock it out of alignment. When he turned to where Eileen was, he saw the Vampires that she was fighting were trying to flank her, as the Hunter of Hunters weaved in and around them, slashing and cutting into them. As he heard a moan of what sounded like pleasure, he turned to see the Vampire that attacked him holding one of its mortal servants, and drinking the mans' blood right out of his body.
"Oh. That's why." Gavlan muttered, as he saw the Vampire was healing its wounds with each sanguine drought it took. Without hesitating, Gavlan pulled out the Repeating Pistol and shot the beast in the mouth, causing an explosion of blood that covered the beasts' face, and blasted the mortal mans' head off. As the Vampire turned and growled in anger, a loud blasting sound was heard, and a hole was blown through the Vampires' chest, and the creature turned to his attacker, only to become a pile of ash as a second shot struck his heart. Gavlan turned to see it was Micheal with a scoped rifle of some kind, and as he pulled a bolt back an empty shell came out and landed on the ground, loading another round and turned it on the mortal servants of the Vampires, using a car for cover as he shot one of them in the head. Philip was running to assist Eileen with his bat and smacked one of the Vampires in the head with it, while Velia ran toward the gang that was meant to work alongside the Vampires in attacking the scattering crowd of people evacuating the motel.
"What the- SHOOT HER, SHOOT HER NOW!" one of them, a man with a white sleeveless top and jeans with a bandanna cap yelled as he pointed a pistol and shot the Choir member in the shoulder and torso, which she ignored save for a grimace from her lips. As the entire group pulled out their guns, it was too late as Velia ran up to them, and raised her Flame Sprayer. When it spewed out a gout of fire which washed over them, their screams filled the air alongside the smell of burning flesh and orange light. Gavlan turned to help Eileen, tapping his Cane onto the ground and activating its Trick Form of a whip with blades attached to it. As Eileen focused on one of the Vampires now that she had breathing room from Philip providing a distraction for her, while the third Vampire had its back turned to Gavlan, clearly confused. Gavlan also could see the Vampires were in a panic as they were realizing they were all that was left of the original group.
When his Threaded Canes' whip struck one of the beasts in the back, it cried out and turned around. Gavlan whipped the Cane around a second time, and when the Vampire raised its arm to block it, the whip bit into both the limb and the Vampires' face as the end of it slashed the beasts' left eye, before wrapping around its arm. Gavlan pulled, and the Threaded Canes' whip blades tore off the flesh of the Vampires' arm, causing the severed chunks of dead flesh to turn into dust as the Vampire cried out. Growling, the Vampire screamed, and when it charged at Gavlan with the speed of a charging lion, he dodged to the left, only to realize he did so too early when the creature swerved and adjusted to grab him by the ankle. It then crushed it, making the Executioner cry out as it slammed him into the concrete of the sidewalk, and he proceeded to scream when he felt it break his leg. Upon him crying out, the fighting stopped as the Hunters turned and saw the Executioner being held by his throat, with the Vampire holding his Repeating Pistol, something Gavlan only processed after the haze of raw pain stopped blinding his vision.
"Listen here freaks!" it yelled, pressing the handgun against Gavlans' head. "Whoever you little shits think you are, your nonsense ends here. Lay down your arms, and I promise your deaths will be swift, and we'll do what we came here for. Do not, I'll blow this mans' brains out, and make you suffer as we do what we came here for in front of you, and then die knowing we'll find your families!" it threatened. Gavlan chuckled at that, as he reached into his pocket, and pulled a rough, coarse fabric that resembled sandpaper.
"You really are beasts." he said, before anything else was said and done. "Unfortunately, only one of us might have a family, and that is not something I'm privy to." One of the other Vampires turned, and their eyes widened upon seeing Gavlans' hand.
"Bart! Look out!" he yelled as he pointed at it, only to be swiftly decapitated by Eileen. However, before the Vampire holding Gavlan could process the shout, the Executioner took advantage of the sudden flinch of the Vampire holding him hostage, and smacked the Repeating Pistol into firing into the air. As the two fell, Gavlan grappled the beast into hitting the ground first, and slammed the rough paper onto its face, and swiped it down to its stomach. The Vampire shrieked as the Firepaper lit up, and set the creature ablaze, while the last one was set upon by Velia, Philip, and Eileen all attacking it at once.
As the Vampire that took him hostage burned to death, Gavlan fell back away from the flames, and took a Blood Vial. Getting up to get even further away from the screaming creature, Gavlan walked over to Eileen and Velia, and then Philip ran over to the trio. As the Imbued spoke up, Gavlan could already feel his attention slip away due to intoxication from the Old Blood as his heart slowed its beat, and also noticed that Micheal disappeared.
"What are you guys packing?" Philip asked, as he turned to look at Gavlan staring ahead blankly. "And what's his deal? Man got thrown into a car and his leg stomped on, but he looks good as new with exception to his currently becoming high right now."
"The substance we used to heal Gavlan is a drug that is good at regenerating ones' body in battle, but has a few side effects." Velia said. Philip looked over at Gavlan who was beginning to feel a buzzing sensation along his spine that made him shudder. He began to see a gray mist around him, and also noticed that the world shifted, but not in a manner that he recognized as being from his usual high when the Old Blood entered his veins. Upon hearing a muttering noise, the Executioner looked and saw that the Messengers were gathering around him. He then waved them off, though the Messengers still stayed near him.
"It's not made from Vamp blood is it?" Philip asked, looking back to Eileen and Velia.
"No,why?"
"Because the stuff is addictive, and Vampires often make people drink their blood to enslave them, like those gangsters you burned to death. Oh hell, people are calling the police, we better get out of here and lay low."
"I assume if the 'police' as you call them arrive, it will alert the Vampires of our coming. Not only that, they will detain us, leaving unable to defend ourselves if the Vampires arrive to kill us to keep them being discovered." Eileen guessed. While their voices were distant the Executioner understood them, and Gavlan could see a crack form in the ground, and as he gazed into it, he saw what appeared to be a wolf shape running along what appeared to be a thread like unto a spiders silk. As the creature ran away, he looked at the Hunters as they continued talking, and noticed that while Eileen and Velia had a shadow which surrounded them, Philip barely had one, but a small light was on his chest, which connected to four others into what was either a cross or a sword, he wasn't sure which.
"They're likely going to find out now regardless but yes, leaving now just stops us being held by them for the Vampires to pick us off and learn about Hunter Net. There's almost certainly going to be a thousand news articles by the time morning comes. Best to find a clothing store now, and get some new threads... clothing." Gavlan then noticed the crack he saw was exposing more of the thread that went through the ground, and to the small building that Micheal used to interact with those entering the motel parking lot. As he got up, the Executioner then walked over to it. "Gavlan?" Gavlan turned to see that Philip and the others noticed that he was distracted by something, and had been approaching the building.
"Do you see something?" Eileen asked.
"Yeah, I just noticed something leading from somewhere in there..." Gavlan replied, following the thread with a finger from the front building to Los Angeles. "...to the city."
"Is hallucinations one side effect of the Old Blood?" Philip asked. Velia was the one who answered, while Gavlan and Eileen looked at her.
"Yes, one of them. Gavlan, just go pack your stuff up, we're leaving." Gavlan, playing along with Velia, protested.
"What about Micheal, the owner of the motel? We should at least recompense him."
"Well he ran off somewhere into the building, but check on him after we get everything, alright?" Philip requested. Gavlan nodded. After running back to their room, the Hunters quickly gathered their things, and after setting up to quickly run away, Gavlan ran into the front building, where Philip gave him a wad of green slips of paper that were used as this countries economy.
"Micheal?" he asked, looking around the area but finding no trace of the man that was around. However, he followed the line he saw to a device he recognized as what Philip called a computer. He noticed that it looked strange, as though a web covered the screen. Due to the short time he had, Gavlan simply left the money next to the computer, and looked to see a camera looking at him. "Bugger." he cursed silently after a few seconds upon remembering that they record something called a video and store the information for others to see it. And he was the only one who had his face uncovered. When he ran out, Gavlan called out to the others. "I had erred greatly. A camera saw my face." he said.
"Alright, its' not the end of the world yet." Philip said, "Just stay low for a bit and change your hair. You only need to worry if they find out what you sound like as well. Now come on, I'm gonna double back and meet up with the others and ditch the car on the road, which is bigger anyway. People are going to talk, and 'They' will be on a look out for it. Though it is going to be uncomfortable taking all of us along." He said.
Thirty minutes later
As Philip pulled over to wait for the other Imbued in his Cell, and as they waited the Hunters removed the cars' license plates to take with them to make it harder to identify, and then at the behest of Philip, Velia helped him siphon the fuel still in it into a red container for use later on. It was not long before a 'van' Philip called arrived, and when it stopped, the man confirm that it was theirs, and the Hunters got into it. Gavlan opened the right door for Eileen and Velia, while Philip ran over and entered from left, quite rudely in the Executioners' opinion since a man should let the woman through first. Though he knew not what the social customs of this land were, and so kept his mouth shut.
While the van began to drive once more, Gavlan looked about, and saw that Cell had four other members, and looked to see that surprisingly there was still a seat for him in the back, which was between a woman wearing a bright yellow jacket along with a pink shirt that exposed her midriff and a short pair of jeans which covered her thighs, but only halfway to her knees and a man wearing a suit and tie who was sitting to the right. The empty seat was in between the two, which left very little room for him and the other two. The van was arranged so that there was seven seats, in which a woman with dark-skin that was driving the vehicle with a man at the passenger seat with a similar skin tone holding a handgun at his lap. Both of them were dressed in a manner similar to Philip, though the woman wore a gray shirt with blue glasses and the man wore fingerless gloves.
"So, was is your name?" the woman asked in a flirtatious manner, leaning against her side of the car. The man made a groaning noise, while Gavlan swerved his eyes to the woman.
"Gavlan... what is yours?" the Executioner asked, earning a snicker as the woman replied.
"Shannon. I noticed you were quite the gentleman, unlike Philip there. It is always quite a charming thing." the man in question shifted his head, his body language conveying annoyance and frustration. Shannon then turned to the man sitting on the other side of Gavlan. "Want to introduce yourself?" she asked with a slight smile, which made the well-dressed man sigh.
"James." he responded, not saying anything else as he continued to stare out the window. As the woman looked towards Eileen and Velia, they gave similar responses. After they did so, the driver identified herself as Kayla and the man called himself Maurice. A moment of awkward silence passed, as nobody said anything else to each other.
"So... how did you all end up joining the Hunt?" Eileen asked. "My associates and I got involved together due to delving into secrets best left untouched. As a result, we have been trying to find out what we are up against."
"Well, I became a Martyr after a took a hit protecting a man from being run over on accident by a car that a Frankenstein was driving." Shannon spoke up. "I got hit, and would still be in the hospital if it weren't for James here, or dead if the Frankenstein did not call 911."
"Frankenstein?" Velia asked.
"You know Frankensteins monster?" Shannon asked. Upon the Bloodborne confirming they did not, Shannon facepalmed herself. "What rock did you guys live under? Basically there are weird creatures who are undead just like Vampires which we call Frankensteins, since they resemble the Frankenstein monster, a creature from an old story about a madman who built a creature from the different parts of several corpses." Gavlan stared at Velia, who shared the look of curiosity this gave him about such a story.
"Hmm... I found out about Shannon being involved with the supernatural, and made sure she recovered through my Edge given to me by the Heralds as a Defender." James said. "most of my time since has been mostly keeping her from getting herself killed or maim like how she got injured during her Imbuing. I became one during my time as a surgeon, doing everything I can to protect my patients before getting picked up by Kayla along with Shannon."
"I found out what the supernatural was like, and began to look into what we were dealing with. Over time, I assembled our little team you have before you, and was made a Visionary to lead us along." Kayla spoke up, as a number of cars with red and blue lights passed by. "Hmm, looks like we better hurry up before they get curious." It was after she said this that Maurice spoke up.
"My story in a nutshell could be summed up as helping a woman who was abused by a Vampire that forced her to drink its blood, and made her do all sorts of... stuff, while most people that are made to drink a Vampires' blood don't always want to serve them after a certain amount of time or drank its blood willingly, they can never disobey any order given to them by said Vampire." he said. "Many of the things she was made to do included killing people that got to close in discovering the truth about Vampires, and even act as its personal blood bag. I became a Judge upon resolving to bring it to justice, and save her from it as well."
"So with that out of the way, how did you guys become, the way that you are?" Philip asked, then turned to Shannon and James. As he spoke, his voice grew slightly too excited for a normal person. "You should have seen these guys! Eileen for example fought off three Vampires and held them off for the entire battle until me and Velia could get them off her through a bunch of crazy kung-fu knife play stuff, like the kind you would find a Jack-Kun film. Gavlan also apparently has some crazy fire-bending power along with a whip... cane... thing, and he lit-"
"Remember when I mentioned that we discovered things that we best left unknown?" Eileen asked. "Our... talents were one of them. At first we thought them harmless, but the price we discovered happened to be... costly on a personal basis, that I would rather not discuss." the Hunter of Hunters intoned, her mask turned to stare at the man. As they processed it, a nod showed that Philip understood, and he settled down.
The next few minutes passed with small talk being exchanged between the Imbued, while their guests mostly stayed quiet for the ride. Gavlan closed his eyes and began to meditate in a manner that brought him close to sleeping, but used his insight to maintain an awareness of what was going on around him. While he was not as dedicated to the Arcane like Velia was, his time in the Executioners of Logarious meant that he was aware of the Great Ones and it was a requirement to practice some amount of blood magic. As a result, he had a passing insight into the true workings of the world around him. He was sure he just viewed one of the nonphysical realms of existence, which the man decided to ask Velia about when they had the time and privacy to do so. During this, Eileen asked about the general history of Los Angeles. In short, the name meant 'The Angels' in Spanish, which explained the reference Micheal made to it. It was a coastal city which was famous for its fashion and extravagant styles of clothing.
However, a recent surge in crime and terror attacks has led to the city becoming more and more degraded, and currently the Hunters there were working together with those from a place called San Diego and a group called the Society of Leopold, who were dedicated hunters of Vampires, Werewolves and other such creatures. After some time passed, Kayla spoke up. "Motel coming up." she said. "You three should act natural. If we don't panic, we won't draw attention. Hopefully." Gavlan opened his eyes, and due to mentioning his face being seen Shannon offered him a hat, which he put on and angled to obscure his face. As he did so however, he found that something was brushing up against him, and he realized it was Shannon.
"What are you doing?" he whispered, as she draped his arm around her.
"Selling the act more." the woman said, as Gavlan stared at her. After the space of about five minutes passed, Kayla looked back to the two.
"Alright lovebird, get off him. We've passed the motel." Gavlan released Shannon, who winked at the man.
"Lucky bastard." Philip muttered, as Gavlan took off the hat he was given, and handed it back to Shannon. When he looked back, Gavlan could see that the perimeter of some kind which had been set up by the police. As he looked around it, his eyes focused on a pair of men in black suits that were watching the van in the distance, and his senses felt put off by them.
"I don't think we completely avoided being spotted."
"The two men in black suits?" Maurice asked.
"Yes, I felt something was off, like they could sense us." Gavlan confirmed.
"Well crap, they might have been Warlocks then." Philip muttered. It was then that Velia spoke up.
"Warlocks?"
"Yeah, to summarize fighting them, don't. Sneak up on them, then try to kill them in one strike before they can strike back. They're humans that have learned to perform magic, but most tend to view the rest of us as little more then pawns and toys to do with as they please. And if somehow the Warlock is alive despite your attempts to kill them, run." Philip said. The next hour was spent in explaining what Eileen said to Philip at the motel, with the Hunters on alert for any potential threat on the road. As the van traveled down it, a number of spires could be seen in the distance, and Maurice turned around to everyone in the back.
"Alright everyone, we're here." Kayla said, as Gavlan tried to look through the windshield. "Maurice was able to get in touch with another Cell in Downtown Los Angeles, which was where they know of a particular building suspected to be a Vampire nest for some time. Eileen, you said there was a plan you had that also involved raiding one of them, according to Philip?" The Hunter of Hunters turned upon hearing the ask her the question.
"Yes. Do you have a description of the building?" Eileen asked, as she showed a folded up piece of parchment.
"Better, I was sent a picture of the nest." Maurice replied, showing his phone to her. As Eileen grabbed it, he noticed that the woman was angling her head so that the lenses of her mask could see the screen, due to the beak tapping against it. "If you take the mask off, it will help you see better when trying to examine something."
"I'm aware, but I have my reasons for still wearing it."
"Ok then." Maurice said, as Eileen handed back the phone.
"That is indeed the same building. Located nearby the Venture Tower, the Last Round, and the Hallowbrook Hotel." she confirmed. "Where is the second Cell that will be aiding us in the raid?"
"Located in the second floor of the Skyeline Apartments building. There had been a recent plague outbreak, and one of things the people infected had in common was that they showed signs of being bitten by a Vampire." upon hearing the word 'plague', Gavlan stiffened, something which did not go unnoticed by Shannon and James.
"What symptoms did the plague have upon those infected with it?" Velia asked.
"Well, the disease was confirmed to be a bloodborne pathogen, but I'm not familiar with the details. We think the open hostilities between the Vampires in the city is the result of the plague becoming newsworthy, as the people infected seemed to have experienced lapses in their memory before testing positive, a sign they were bitten but not drained to death by a Vampire." Maurice explained.
"So Vampires don't always kill their victims?"
"No, as they have an ability to erase the memory of encountering them, as well as healing a persons' bite marks to hide their presence, something they are damn good at. Not only that, but the government sent the CDC, a government agency into Los Angeles investigate it, which is why the Vamps are angry with each other. From what we know about them, Vampires often actively avoid feeding on the sick as they might end up transferring the disease to those that they feed on after said sick victim. With the increased attention to Los Angeles by the government now turned on those that are dying to the plague and showing signs of Vampires attacking them. So one of them has done the Vampire equivalent of shitting where they all eat, and they're pointing fingers at one another since now the spotlight has become that much closer to shining on them." The Hunters listened intently, as Maurice told them all of this.
"Everything alright Gavlan, me and James noticed you flinch at the fact a plague was mentioned." Shannon asked.
"I had experienced a sense of deja vu, that was all." the Executioner replied.
"Alright then." the woman said, leaving the Executioner to his thoughts.
Anarchs
The Last Round
As the pub known as The Last Round stood closed for the night, several Vampires of the Sect known as the Anarchs cleaned up the last pieces of a game of Axes and Arcana as the final hours of night time came. Among them was a red-head woman dressed in cargo pants with a shirt and beret that sported political references to the Cuban Revolution, who put everything away in a series of cases that she kept in a trunk. As she got back up, the woman turned to two of the Kindred she had been playing the nights' session with, one of which was a man with skin with slightly more color to his skin then her pale white tone who lived during the Depression who wore a blue jacket with a blank white t-shirt and red pants, the other a black man who wore a green hoodie and black jeans.
"Nice use of Magic Missile Nines, that was an awesome combo with Skelters' critical!" The woman said to the former as he did a fist bump with the latter, then she turned to a fourth Vampire with a mangy black crop of hair and beard, vest without a shirt underneath and simple blue jeans wrote down some final notes about his character. "Jack, you got everything written down?"
"Yes, GM Damsel." Jack said, passing his character sheet over to her. "So, how was the trip to the Asylum after Miss. Voerman invited you Skelter?" the man in question shuddered, as the others frowned at the mention of Baron Voerman. When the new Prince of the Camarilla Sebastian LaCroix came to power, she and the other Barons actively sided with him, which Nines suspected was for the power. The Anarch Revolt was the result of the Elders of the Medieval-Era throwing the younger generations of Vampires at the Inquisition when it discovered the existence of the supernatural. Eventually the Anarchs were founded to over throw the Elders, but when they gathered together to form the Camarilla in 1435, and they began their pyramid scheme by pushing back all threats to them, starting with the Anarchs who were forced to make peace with them in the Convenction of Thorns in 1493.
"Yeah, she always gave off that vibe after I learned what the Malkavains are like back when I was sired back in 1654. So, was it Jeanette, or Therese?" the former pirate asked, stroking his beard as he awaited a response. As he did, Jack smiled widely enough for his fangs to be visible.
"...Jeanette." Jack chortled at Skelters' response. "God, why did it have to be the horny one every time I'm the one she asks over?"
"Guess she wanted that-"
"Jack, no." Nines admonished the eldest among them sternly, while Damsel glared at the back of 'Smiling' Jacks' head with daggers. The man laughed off the tone the unofficial leader of Downtown LAs' Anarchs gave him. "You know how the Malkavains are. Besides, as much as I don't like the fact that half the Barons have turned on us, Dealing with the Sabbat takes first priority." With that, Skelter cleared his throat, drawing all eyes to him. "Sorry Skelter, so what did Jeanette have to say?"
"Well, from what I understand, she heard some kind of bell ringing that she thinks is the coming of more Hunters. Or at least claims so." the Vietnam veteran said. "What makes these Hunters different, she claimed, was that they were, and I quote 'Cut by the blood of the unknowable gods, and last memories of the City of the Underground Queen.' or some other bull along those lines. She also claimed that you, Damsel and Jack would feel the death cries of several Vampires belonging to the Brujah Clan by the time I get back, and that we should consider meeting her when she pays a visit to Max." others were silent, as they stared at their Gangrel friend.
"...We did feel several Brujah being killed off, but shrugged it off as somebody picking a fight with a Werewolf or something like that. Why would we need to speak with that Tremere-" Damsel was interrupted as the radio she had set to a news station made a jingle announcing that a story was currently breaking. As the reporter spoke, the Vampires went silent.
"This just in! Local police calls to the L.A.P.D. and the Highway Patrol had come in not just a few hours ago, of a possible gang, or even terrorist-related fight at a motel outside of the city on the I-405 Freeway. What happened was that a group of-"
"Jack, get the big TV..." Nines said, as Damsel looked back at him. They then ran down the stairs to the first floor of The Last Round, where the bar and thus several small screen TVs and a larger one were placed. Upon turning the larger one on, Jack switched the channel from an American Football rerun to a news channel. When they saw that there was footage of a large number of shovels and burned bodies, it was immediately put together that the Sabbat tried to perform a Mass Embrace, where they kidnap a large number of the Kine, the Vampire term for unturned humans, and turn them into Vampires after beating them over the head and burying them underground. This tactic was the Vampire equivalent of amassing a mob of Vampires to wear down their enemies through sheer numbers.
"-t is currently believed that the convoy that drove up to the motel with the intention of attacking the people in the Angels Rest motel, when several strangers were reported to have intiated their own attack upon the convoy. After somehow killing all 25 or so members of the convoy, the strangers left the scene and driving away quickly in a red Chevrolet, which was found several miles down the road. It is suspected the people are armed and dangerous despite their fighting to protect the motel however, as one was reported using a hand-held flame thrower during the battle. A BOLO has been put out for these three individuals, who were sighted showing up before the attack began." As the new report came up, the sketches of a woman wearing some kind of tricorn hat and blindfold, a plague-doctor, and a man who could only be described as looking straight out of the American Civil War appeared on the screen. While the man giving the report continued on, the Vampires looked at each other.
"...You gotta be shitting me." Nines muttered. "I can already hear that prick LaCroix in the Venture Tower plotting on exploiting this for his own gain."
Authors note: And we are done with this chapter. Often thanking you all for your support and following this story, I should also note that there is another shout-out to another author, Manwithaplan113. He helped me with coming up with Gavlan, and his backstory in the last chapter, as well as the general area of sorting out the Bloodborne side of things for this crossover. As a result, it would've been more fitting to put it last chapter. On that note, one of the reviews, asked by AKIRA MITSUYA was if this was a World of Darkness crossover, or a Chronicles of Darkness one. My answer is that I'm planning to have a fusion of both settings with most of the lore being World of Darkness lore, since I like stuff such as the Prometheans and Hunter organizations that were in Chronicles, but like the World of Darkness when it comes to setting more.