New Moon of Yharnam
A World of Darkness x Bloodborne crossover
Chapter Three
When they pulled up to the apartment building in question, Gavlan and company filed out of the van. Eileen, Velia, and Gavlan, in order to hide their identities were given a number of large coats, which they wore over their clothing. Gavlan was also made to wear a cloth mask, which was supposedly handed out for protection against the plague. Eileen and Velia wore one as well, the former having hidden her beaked mask and hood, exposing her blue eyes and graying hair while Velia was made to wear a pair of glasses with black lenses to hide the fact her eyes were surgically removed to begin with. The Executioner also had to let Shannon and James cut his side burns, leaving his cheeks and upper lip clean shaven.
As the Executioner looked over at a pair of men in a strange uniform, he saw and recognized the bio-hazard sign on their shoulders and realize they were one of the CDC teams sent into Los Angeles. Then he looked around the dilapidated and run-down parts of the area around them, he took a quick note of all that he could see around him. After he did so, he entered the Skyeline Apartment building, which was a small square orange and white brink building which looked to be about six stories high, and was surprised by the state of the lobby he found it in, or rather lack thereof. The walls were covered with a drab wallpaper, and was just barely lit by lights shaped like sticks.
Two steel doors were shut with some kind of panel with buttons on them were place at a hall to the left. He looked straight ahead and saw a guard standing off in a corner next to a regular door, not bothered by the unkempt floor which a pile of dirty papers on it, indication of how long it had gone unswept. A set of plain and basic green cushion couches, table, and chairs were placed next to some kind of janitorial bucket with a long stick in it and a steel can, where the other hunters gathered around with their bags.
Looking to the right, he saw a couple of machines that glowed rightly, which Philip deposited a few coins into, then pressed a button on one. A clunking was heard, and a small white and red can fell out of the yellow one. Gavlan watched as he pulled on a tab on it, and began drinking the contents within. Interested by this, he went and pulled out a coin from Yharnam, then remembered that it likely wouldn't accept this particular currency. While everyone else was distracted, a groan brought his attention to a Messenger that had appeared, carrying a coin of some kind in one of its hands. As it set the small coin down, Gavlan picked it up, and then saw a note was being shown to him by two more.
Cheers to any who has want of a drink. If thou seek me, I'm hunting the sewers for potential vermin.
P.S. I have discovered that one should not allow thy drink from this machine to be shaken in any manner, save after the machines here dispense it. Also expect it to be rather bubbly and make your mouth tingle.
-Valtr, High Marshal of the League
Upon reading it, an outline appeared of the man bowing in courtesy of any who read the message. After examining it, Gavlan turned around and put it into the machine, then pressed a button at random. A moment passed, and he got his own drink, which he found had a purple design. After opening it, he took a sip after pulling his mask up enough to expose his mouth, and felt a tingling sensation as it poured down his throat. As it tasted similar to grapes, he smiled, and then heard a chime. His went silent, and turned as a man walked out of the steel doors in plain unassuming clothes. He looked at the group, and his eyes widened in surprise.
"We might need a few more sleeping bags. Also four of you are sleeping on the floor." he said. Gavlan stood back, he quickly drank the rest of the canned drink he bought.
After Gavlan finally came up to the second door of the third floor on the left after the others, he walked in to see that about three more of the Imbued were living in the room, and had been for awhile yet. As Eileen and Velia already made themselves comfortable, Kayla left to speak with what he assumed to be the leader of this second team. Philip could be seen speaking excitedly with Shannon, James, and Maurice about the battle at the motel, which the Executioner didn't give much attention too due to wanting to find a spot for the night. He then looked at the man who came to let them know where they were staying in for now as he approached him with something in his arms, then spoke up to his host.
"So what is your name, and what exactly will we be doing tomorrow?" Gavlan asked.
"Jameson, and I'm not among the Imbued, so I wouldn't know." the man said. Upon seeing Gavlan raise an eyebrow, he sighed. "I was someone who had been given the opportunity to join the Hunt, but I was a coward that ended up letting an innocent life be killed. As a result, I lost the powers the Heralds gave me as punishment for not taking any form of action against the creatures I saw, becoming a Bystander, an Imbued term for those like me. Since then, I have been acting as a host for those like you and the others and assisting in other ways." Gavlan nodded.
"Well, then you have my thanks for doing that much." the Executioner replied. Jameson nodded, smiling slightly as he gave Gavlan the thing, made of yet another textile he did not recognize.
"Your welcome. This will be your sleeping bag for the night." Jameson replied. Gavlan walked over to a spot on the floor that was relatively clear, and laid it out. It took a moment for him to figure out how to open it so that he could go into it, but he left it open as Kayla walked up to him with the other three Imbued.
"Hey Gavlan." the Executioner looked up at the four who approached. "So this is Gavlan, who came here with Eileen and Velia." Kayla introduced the man to the trio. They were clearly familiar with each other for awhile before they became Imbued as opposed to Kayla's team who was a hodgepodge of random individuals, each with visible bulk to their bodies as well as olive colored clothing and stoic expressions. "Gavlan, meet Eric, Matthew and Derick. They were part of the Marines, but later learned about the monsters we hunt at night while on a mission."
"Nice to meet you." Eric said, holding out his hand. Gavlan grasped it, and then noticed a tattoo of some kind on the mans arm. Waving it off, he gazed at the man before him.
"And to you as well. I'm surprised there is only three of you." Eric nodded distantly.
"We lost a few of our own, and I had to take charge since then. We were only able to come here to Los Angeles due to convincing our superiors to let us have some time on leave. Tomorrow, we are waking up at ten hundred." Gavlan looked at Kayla, his eyebrow raised.
"He means at ten o' clock."
"Ah."
"So, how did you end up joining the Hunt?" Eric asked of the Executioner.
"I was recruited by Eileen and Velia, and became a part of an organization that was formed by non-Imbued groups to fight the beasts which stalk mankind. Vampires, Werewolves and the like. Though Shannon did mention 'Frankensteins' as she called them, something I have not heard of." Eric frowned, but caught himself and changed it back to stoicism. "You don't like them?"
"No, no. From what I know and heard about them, they mostly seem content to not bother people too much, and tend to self-regulate themselves when one does get out of line. In fact, my team and I became Imbued in Afghanistan due to finding one of them fighting something we call a Fear-Eater as it apparently had been stalking civilians on the road, and the Frankenstein was pissed when it found the thing chasing a kid and her mother. Apparently when it caught someone, it would drag then screaming into a cave and..." at that he paused, as though considering what to say next. "...well nobody knows, but the Frankenstein, like us, found that something was wrong, and went on a personal man-hunt after it, and with our help promptly proceeded to beat the beast to death with its bare fists."
"And the Frankenstein?"
"Ran off without a word save for explaining what happened, and how it was on its own quest to discover what it was and find some sort of purpose. After that, we returned to rest at camp, only to discover our commanding officer was another Fear-Eater, and had been abusing several of our colleagues for decades. From that point on, we ended up joining the Hunt and whenever possible taught survival in the wild and how to properly shoot a gun to any who approached us." Eric replied. "So, when we wake up, we'll have plenty of time to look around the neighborhood, get your bearings and explore the area. There is a Catholic group calling themselves the Society of Leopold, but they think we are possessed by Demons, but at least they are not the Ashwood Abbey."
"Who is the Ashwood Abbey?"
"A group of rich kids in England who joined the hunting of monsters solely for the fun of it, and in some cases are just like them based on what a few Imbued Cells found out after they found out several members had been torturing a woman in one of the many properties they keep through the area. And of course, the offenders managed to weasel their way out by throwing their money to cover it up. Not everyone who is aware of the Supernatural becomes an Imbued, but most of those organizations who should be our allies have a tendency to be either just a bunch psychotic goons like the Ashwood Abbey, have their own skeletons in their closet or have any number of reasons in general to go after us. Always watch your back." Eric said.
"Thanks." Gavlan replied.
"Your welcome. Oh, and you should probably get a change of clothes. Jameson has been setting up everything to be washed up by the time we are up and ready, though we will be dressed in civilian clothing." Gavlan looked at his uniform, and saw how dirty it was.
**Some time later**
As Gavlan awoke within the Hunters Dream lying on his back, he immediately greeted by the sight of Queen Yharnam herself on his, looking down at him with a neutral expression, while Clemont was across from her to Gavlans' right. Upon seeing her black, star-lit eyes meeting his own, the Executioner knew what it was about.
"Well, Gavlan, Her Majesty wishes to speak with you. In private." Not arguing the point, Gavlan got up from the ground, and proceeded to follow the Pthumerian alongside his superior. As the Queen walked towards the Rebuilt Workshop, Clemont leaned over to whisper in the Executioners ear. "What happened down there? At some point, the Queen came to me in our Workshop with a rather displeased face, and said that she required you to come to her." Gavlans' mouth screwed up tightly before he answered.
"I had been stopped by her in the Waking World before I had made the foolhardy decision to break Faunas' commandment to not perform Blood Ministration." Gavlan replied, much to Clemonts' chagrin.
"Damn it. And now Fauna and Yharnam is angry with us." he said. "In either case, I managed to convince Her Majesty to let me come along as well to assuage anybody that may be concerned about what is going to happen." Clemont replied. "I'll do what I can to lessen any punishment that she wishes to impose on you."
"Thank you." Gavlan said. It was then they reached the door to the Rebuilt Workshop. Yharnam entered the Workshop, where Gavlan saw the Plain Doll sitting in a chair with a number of Messengers gathered around the table in the Workshop. Gavlan noticed that the Workshop was built in a manner that he heard of what Pthumerian architecture looked like. He also noticed that there was second chamber, which he could not see into, then realized should be visible from outside based on what he saw of the Workshop, implying therefore that it was bigger on the inside unless there was some other feat of architectural engineering he was not aware of. There was also a door on said chamber, carved with stone which shimmered like pale starlight upon a lake, etched with the Caryll Rune for 'Lake'. Clemont and Gavlan bowed as Yharnam made a gesture to them as she spoke, her voice carrying the authority of one who was touched by the Great Ones.
"It is time. Executioner Gavlan, dost thou know why you are here?"
"Yes, Your Majesty." he said, staring at the ground. "I am guilty of approaching a man with a Blood Vial, with the intent of injecting it into his veins to purge his body of a cancer which had been eating away at his body." Clemont shuffled nervously, as Yharnam turned to him. The Plain Doll simply watched on, blank and expressionless.
"Doctor Clemont, do you have anything to say?"
"No Your Majesty, save that I was responsible for putting him out on the field. I am at fault for not taking the time to let him become acclimated to our new circumstances, and learn just how heavy this commandment truly is."
"Fauna and I are aware Clemont, however I shall let him speak for himself. Gavlan, doth thou understand what you were told, and why?"
"Yes. I was aware." Gavlan muttered softly.
"Executioner, you and Clemont may need not be ashamed. I was but testing thine humility and whether thou were truly ready." This left them befuddled. "Arise." The Queen said, as she got up from her seat and approaching them. As she walked up to Gavlan, the man had to look up as she gazed at him. "Thou may go now. While thou wast to break his commandment, thou were quick to recognize the severity doing so was, and were quick to submit thyself before me. As such, thou mayst return to the Waking World, but remember Fauna is always watching over thee. You are free to go now. As an additional aside Clemont, there are a few words I would like with you and the Choir in private, if Gavlan is willing to rely the message."
With that, the two Hunters bowed before Queen Yharnam, and Gavlan left the Workshop. As he did so, the man quickly ran down to the Healing Churchs' Workshop. As he entered it, he saw a bunch of his fellow Hunters were gathered around discussing some manner of the arcane or other. Velia looked at him, then walked up to the Executioner.
"Gavlan, you're back already?" she asked.
"Her Majesty Queen Yharnam has sent me. She wishes for the Choir to assemble at the Rebuilt Workshop, as she wants you to speak with her and Clemont." Gavlan responded. Velia and two other Choir members looked at each other, then she turned to Gavlan.
"Alright, thank you for telling us." she said. "So, are you going to be doing anything, like offer prayers to Fauna?"
"I suppose so. I'm also going to tend to my equipment." the Executioner replied. As the Healing Choir left, Gavlan walked up to the second floor, where the Hunters of the Healing Church created a shrine to Fauna. As he came upon the door, he gazed at the Caryll Rune that was dedicated to the name of the Great One. Upon opening it, he entered a room which was decorated with censors hung from the ceiling, and the scent of its incense drifted out from the room, offerings left by his peers to the Great One to waft down to the first floor and throughout the rest of the Workshop. The center of the room was bare save for the mosaic tile patterns of Lumen Flowers and symbols of the Old Ones, but the blue and white stained glass window at the other side gave way to a view of the Rebuilt Workshop, and it was lit by candle light.
WhenGavlan walked into the room, he walked along a rug that was laid out upon the finely polished wood floors. It was a crimson red, and embroidered with silver thread at the edges. An altar which had a Loch Shield set upon the sides facing Gavlan and the window rested with a golden ritual bowl set upon it, and had a red cloth with a floral print on it draped over it.
When the cloth was pulled away, he saw it was filled with what he recognized as Ritual Blood, a form of blood which did not coagulate and contained a significant amount of arcane power that was used in many a ritual as well as have communion with Fauna, thus its name. For now, he only grabbed a stick of incense that laid next to it, and dipped one end of it into the Ritual Blood. When he pulled it out, he made sure that not a single drop of blood fell onto the floor by holding it above the bowl until it stopped dripping.
As it did, he turned and grabbed a censor that was laid next to the altar, and placed the incense within it blood-soaked end first. Then he lit the incense, and knelt in supplication. As he began to speak, his voice was low and quiet, barely an echo left within the shrine room. As he knelt, Gavlan stared in the Loch Shield. Made of blue glass, it was shaped to invoke images of a lake, and it seemed to ripple under the reflected light of the candles.
"Lord Fauna of the Moon, child of the Great Ones, I thy servant offer unto thee an offering of incense, and ask naught but forgiveness for my transgression upon thee in seeking to contradict thy will. I was meant to serve as but an Executioner of thine will, and will return to the Hunt. Great One, grant me the strength and the wisdom to walk and do right by thee, and the will to see to it that my Hunting of the Beasts of the Waking World be fruitful and righteous. Let my fellow Hunters also receive thine blessing, that they may Hunt with thine hand to guide them. By the Blood of thy Kin was I borne an Executioner, and by thy Blood undone."
Having concluded his prayer, Gavlan got back up and replaced the cloth that was draped over the Ritual Blood, and walked out the shrine and down the stairs to the armory. As he did so, he looked over to the library, which was place across from the shrine. Currently it was empty, save for blank books for the Church Hunters to record their findings, marked by having white spines with no ink on them. There was also a laboratory, which was where the Healing Church Hunters stored their supply of Quicksilver and ritual materials.
A few of his fellow Hunters were currently seeing to the refinement of the Old Blood, and filling the vials they brought in with the substance, and tested extensively to make sure that they were not tainted in anyway. The batches of Blood Vials were then placed into crates, to be taken throughout the Dream to the other Workshops who had their own designs and facilities. Gavlan went into the armory and began working on his Threaded Cane, inspecting the individual blade links for wear and tear. After seeing that there was no need, he proceeded to collect more Quicksilver, and decided to wait out the next few hours playing Solitaire on a table in the Workshop lobby.
**POV SHIFT: New World Order**
While the Hunters slept, outside the apartment building they were lodged in a small insect flew outside of their window, which was shut up and dark, indicating the people in the room were all asleep. At first glance there was nothing amiss, however a closer look revealed that it was actually a machine, one that was made to resemble a fly. A small camera was placed where its head should be, and it had wings which made an unnatural buzzing as they propelled it towards the glass. It then settled on the window pane, its legs sticking to the glass as the camera swiveled to look into the room.
Designed by its masters, the experimental drone could see more then heat and light, and its existence was kept a close secret as it could never function if the sleeping masses its masters had dedicated themselves to watching over them learned about it. Indeed, as it sent what it saw to its masters, two men stared at a computer screen in a skyscraper that was several miles away, going over the data while eating the pizza they bought just a few minutes ago. Both were dressed in black suits, and had neutral expressions, further hiding their thoughts were their black shades.
Ever since the Void Engineers detected and watched a Deep Umbrood Migration Event that happened several months ago, the Technocractic Union and its Conventions were rife with activity, believing that something was going on. Throughout the world a new variant of strange inter-dimensional aliens resembling small, pale and emaciated humanoids that dwelled in Earths Umbral shadow, and due to their consistent moving through the various alternate dimensions and looking about, as though searching for something. While non-hostile as of the moment, the presence of the Watchers caused a stir within the Technocrats, as they were followed by the discovery of what is currently believed to be another Umbral Realm connecting to the world.
This was something that did not sit well, as the Technocractic Union had proclaimed itself the guardians of the Unenlightened Masses when it was first founded during the Medival Age when a group of Mages calling themselves the Order of Reason gathered together with a mission to overthrow what was known as the Council of Nine, also known as the Traditions. Mages were humans that developed the talent to bend reality itself to their will, and it was discovered that a Mage was limited by only two things: his or her own imagination, and the belief of the Masses, referred to as Sleepers by Mages.
The Council, in the eyes of the Order of Reason and its followers had allowed the supernatural to rule over the Masses, as they sought to elevate mankind. While many Mages had fought over the same idea of leading what they dubbed at the time the mass Mass Ascendance, what made the Order of Reason successful in the modern day was that they shared a common goal of doing so with what they termed Enlightened Science. Among the first things they did, the Order spread the idea that 'Magic' as the Traditions called it was a farce, and was never actually real to the Masses, steering what was the mass belief of the common man known as the Consensus to make it so. The Council tried to fight back, but with the growth of the phenomenon that was Paradox, their attempts to do so began to fail spectacularly as enchantments failed, attempts to openly wield magic backfired with often lethal results.
Today in the modern day, the Order of Reason was now known as the Technocractic Union, while the Traditions, known and referenced with contempt by it in the modern day as 'Superstitionists' along with the Supernatural in general with the umbrella term of 'Reality Deviants' has found that its own developments are also struggling to function alongside their enemies magic, and had also grown corrupt, though most do not say so openly. So when reports came to the leaders of the Union, known as Control, it was thought that this was a plot by the Council of Nine to undo what was started in the Medieval-Era, until the New World Order, the Convention which was founded on maintaining the Consensus confirmed that even their superstitious rivals seemed to be unaware of what was going on.
So as a result, the New World Order and its agents have been tasked alongside the Void Engineers to find out what was the source of the arrival of these Watchers, and what their impact on the Consensus would be, leading to the current situation of a team of them examining a group of Reality Deviants in the Skyeline Apartment building in Los Angeles.
"So what is the Eye-Fly mark 2 seeing?" one of them asked, turning to a third man who was wearing a gray suit, and was sitting in a chair.
"Well, they're the Hunters that lit up the motel parking lot outside the highway a few hours ago alright. I also still maintain the opinion that 'Eye-Fly' is a stupidly basic name. Couldn't Ralph in Q Division come up with a better name?"
"I heard that Bob!" someone said outside the cubicle the men shared called out.
"Moving on..." the first Blacksuit said, his teammate not moving or saying anything to add to the conversation. "...Should a H.I.T. Mark be called on them?"
"I'd like to hold off on that. As far as we know, they aren't aware of us, and came here picking a fighting with the Vampire pop. Further surveillance is called for before I'd get the Progenitors to roll out the H.I.T. Marks on them. It will also do us good to know what they are here further by seeing what tricks they got up there sleeves." the Graysuit named Bob replied. When an alert came up, the two men looked to the computer screen, to see the Eye-Fly was grabbed by something. "What?" he said, as a face of one the creatures that had come from the Migration Event, holding onto the Eye-Fly and staring at it with a single milky eye. As the thing opened its mouth to reveal it had no teeth, it let out a groan and its other hand appeared, reaching out to the Eye-Fly. The crackling screech of it being crunched and crushed in the corpse things' hands reverberated and made Bob jump and cry out, while his companions stared at the man.
"What just happened? Did my Eye-Fly just get destroyed?!" Ralph yelled. "I told you what would happen if-"
"Ralph, quiet down. The damn thing was a Consensus violation and was considered questionable anyway in how useful it would be by Control." someone else spoke up, a woman who then appeared, wearing a white suit. "What happened down there?"
"Well, you know those Watchers that have been cropping up lately? One of them snuck up on the Eye-Fly and attacked it." Bob said, rewinding the footage that they had been sent by the Eye-Fly, then muted it before the drone was crushed once again. "Have there been cases of them showing violent behavior like this before ma'am?" the Whitesuit shook her head.
"Not to my knowledge. Up until this point the Watchers seemed to only look about and appear at random, and even then the only reason they have not been dismissed as a rumor due to only certain people seeing them was because everyone in the Technocractic Union who reported seeing them had some level of education in both Dimensional Science and Psychodynamics. So far until now, they hadn't done anything or interfered with our work, and shied away if anybody approached them. So they must definitely be related to these people here, but I'll advise caution around them, better for you to make it back alive then get yourselves killed you hear?"
"Yes ma'am." the Operatives replied in unison.
**POV SHIFT: Gavlan**
Some time later
As Gavlan awoke, the first thing he smelled was the scent of bacon and eggs, something that immediately caused his stomach to rumble. As he crawled out of the sleeping bag, he inspected the slightly too large black and blue shirt he wore, combined with a pair of pants that he quickly buckled up to ensure they stayed around his waist. As he got up, the Executioner saw Eileen, Velia and the Imbued also getting up. The three Marines were already awake and alert, even earlier then Gavlan himself was apparently while the others were various states of half-awake messes. Eileen was inspecting her Blades of Mercy, while Velia was standing by the window, watching the street below and out to the skyline where a bunch of towering spires of glass and steel stood. The Executioner walked over beside her, and tried to followed her gaze.
"Do your eyes within see anything concerning the other world?" he asked. Velia gestured to the view of Los Angeles in general.
"Not much. It is as though I'm trying to gaze through a grime and filth-ridden window. I suspect it has to do with the barrier in between this realm and the realms hidden in plain sight being stronger. Earlier on the way here, I looked into the forest with my eyes opened and could see clearly. It was an, interesting sight, as the trees seemed larger then they should be, and spirits of some kind were gazing as we passed by. Now, I can just make out what is there, but it is currently all undefined and blurred."
"Hmm..." Gavlan replied, as he stared out at the street. While he was aware of the things the Choir worked with, he was not trained in the mystical and otherworldly aspects that the Choir dedicated itself to studying. "...I found a note that Valtr left at the entrance of this building.
"I'm aware of it."
Is he also here?" Velia shook her head.
"No. Though last I heard, he and the League have organized themselves in tracking and hunting the nests of 'Shapeshifting Vermin' as he called them, which are to take the form of rats and rat-man hybrids. If we end up in the sewers, we might run into him if he is around, or at least his League Confederates, since they have been exploring the sewers and filthy places of major cities for such creatures." the Chorister replied. "He likely wasn't even interested in the Vampires here, hence why he has not joined us." Gavlan nodded at that, then turned around when someone tapped him on the shoulder. As he looked to see who it was, he saw it was Maurice.
"What were you looking at and whispering about?"
"Just idle chat between us about our future Hunt." the Executioner replied. When he looked over Maurices' shoulder, he saw that the last preparations for breakfast were being made. "Ah, thanks for letting us know breakfast is being finished Maurice."
"Your welcome." he replied, as the three walked over to the table. As they were eating at the table, Gavlan, Eileen and Velia stayed silent as they ate, while the Imbued shared information and entertaining stories with one another. Gavlan listened intently as they did so, listening with interest as he ate. Currently, Shannon was recounting a story of her role in finding a regular human turned into what Gavlan thought of was a supernaturally possessed personage called a Slasher. From what he understood, Slashers were the result of serial killers developing abilities that made them dangerous and destructive beyond what mundane murderers were capable of.
"So this was one ugly Slasher with a grudge against people who she were viewed as pretty but shallow, so Kayla and I came up with the idea of baiting it out into a trap by having us dress up and put make up and starting talking about James on a phone."
"Oh god." Kayla muttered, as she blushed and face-palmed, much to the snickering of her peers, who also ribbed the surgeon as he withdrew into his plastic cup full of milk. "I knew I should've said no to that plan. This Slasher was the one with the ripped up face right?"
"Yeah. So she had this birth defect I think where she had these growths that made her resemble a witch or something, and also had a number of disgustingly shaped claws on her fingers. And to summarize her backstory, she was treated badly, and went off the deep end because of it."
"I never really listened to what she had to say." Philip said. "Just because people were jerks to you, does not mean you have an excuse to rip their spines out and suck their eyeballs out."
"You remember that much." Shannon noted.
"That was the point I frenzied and stopped listening."
"Yeah, so eventually, Philip raged out at her, and came out swinging from his hiding spot with his baseball bat lit up like torch, and proceeded to fight her one on one, even though the original plan was for all of us too dog pile the Slasher. She was one tough one as well, as she held her ground long enough to slash and tear one of his legs. It was a nasty cut, as I couldn't walk for months afterward."
"What do you mean?" Eileen asked, her face exposed after taking off her mask to eat. She was surprisingly younger then Gavlan guess from her voice, at least around her late 30s in appearance. He supposed it was the result of the stress of the Hunt that she seemed to have an aged voice.
"Well, I have an ability that lets me heal a person, at the cost of getting their injuries. When I used said ability after shooting the Slasher in the side with a handgun I had hidden in my purse, I kicked her in the face with my shoe, which has a steel toe hidden underneath the fabric. You can imagine the look on her face when I sent her teeth flying, and then healed the guy she tried to murder by transferring his wounds to my body." Philip smiled at that.
"Yep, then I fought her in a round two, which ended with Maurice and James slaying it while Kayla showed up with a first-aid kit." he finished.
"Is there any possibility we might encounter a Slasher during our time here?" Eileen asked. Kayla was the one who replied
"Wherever people are, everything else is, so yes, there might be. It was a good thing we got her while she was just starting her spree, given how the government loves it when Imbued and Slashers are running around in the same area, given the Arch-Angel Complex is a thing."
"Arch-Angel Complex?" Gavlan asked.
"I rather not go into detail now, but they are basically what happens when an Imbued becomes zealously dedicated to their role in the Hunt." Kayla said, as she finished up the remains of her food before turning to the Marines. With a simple nod, Gavlan left it at that, and continued eating.
After he finished with his breakfast, the Executioner decided to help Jameson with washing the dishes, as he was a guest and thus it was generally good to establish yourself as someone your host wants to keep around. As he did so, the Imbued drew up a plan for their scouting out the Vampire Nest that was discovered, as well as uncovering well the Vampire or Vampires could rally support from when the Hunters launch their attack. After the Bystander gave his thanks, Gavlan walked up to Eileen and Velia. With them was James and Philip.
"So, have you paid attention to the briefing Gavlan?" Eileen asked, while the others left the apartment.
"Enough to hear that we were splitting into three groups, but not where each group was going." the Executioner admitted.
"Alright. To make it quick, Maurice and Philip will be coming with you to check on some abandoned buildings and plan out an exit so we can make a quick escape after we escape the Nest. Kayla and Shannon will try to sneak into a local blood bank with me, see if we can dig up dirt on them, since it will no doubt be dealing blood out to the Vampires and spill if we threaten to go public with said information." James said, as the two Imbued that were mentioned loitered near the door.
"Why would you keep blood around?" Eileen asked, her eyebrow raised slightly.
"Blood transfusions are good at helping a person fight off disease, though they often become targets for Vampires to slip in a corrupt agent or two to make a few bags 'disappear' every now and then to feed their hunger instead. If someone swipes an ID card off one of the personal, combined with my uniform..." James revealed a white jacket with light blue clothing, "... I can pass as someone new and get the information needed. Your group is going to do a general patrol of the area, see if there is any suspicious activity in the neighborhood and break a view fangs. Any place you can hit to ruin the Night for the Vamps is always welcome." James explained.
"And the Marines?"
"Going to see if some contacts they got will be able to cause some havoc for us, as well as acquire some heavier firepower just in case things fall apart." the surgeon said, as he shook Eileens' hand. "In the meantime, good luck."
"Thank you." she replied, and with that, the Hunters set out to begin their patrol, and left the apartment.
**POV SHIFT: Mercurio**
Venture Tower, a few hours ago during morning light
"Ah, Mr. Mercurio, what can I do for you?" a portly security guard wearing dark glasses asked of the Ghoul known as Mercurio. The man who had come to the tower was dressed in a blue dress jacket and pants, with a purple shirt made of silk, and appeared to be in his twenties with a heavily chiseled face that one would associate with sophisticated individuals. Of course, being a Ghoul meant that Mercurio only looked to be around twenty years old, having been serving LaCroix since he first drank his drought of Vitae in 1974. As Mercurio walked up to the guard, he showed him the chilled Styrofoam package that he had brought with him.
"I'm here to make another delivery for LaCroix." Mercurio replied, giving the faintest hint of a smile as he saw that there was nobody else around. "Oh, and there is no need to inspect it." he added, locking eyes with the security guard.
"There is no need to inspect it." the man replied, as he grabbed the package and pressed a button that would have one of the 'employees' of LaCroix make sure that the package was taken care of. After he put the package away, the guard turned to Mercurio.
"I also got a letter from LaCroix that he had something for me. I was meant to come here last night, but had been otherwise... preoccupied." the Ghoul said, keeping himself from letting the feeling of dread that was crawling through his spine show. His Vampire master Sebastian was not one known for his patience, but thankfully his offering and completion of his bi-monthly duty should at lest convince the Prince to soften his punishment. In response, the security guard went to a letterbox after checking his computer desk to see what it was, and having Mercurio sign some paperwork seeing he got it.
"Well, he did have something in mind, I was told to hold onto this letter for him until you get here." With that, the security guard handed him a dark purple envelope, which had a pale blue wax seal with a staff on it. Mercurio nodded as he received the letter, no doubts in his mind that it was going to be a written tongue lashing on proper etiquette and the failure on his part to make his delivery on time. Thankfully the Ghoul still had some of his masters' Vitae left over for a blue moon like this, so the next month of not getting any more was going to be uncomfortable, but he won't need to worry just yet.
"Thank you." the man said, then turned around and left to go home in Santa Monica by taking a taxi.
Santa Monica, Santa Monica Suites, current time
"Alright, here we go." the man whispered to himself as he got a letter opener, and broke the seal. Currently sitting in a chair while relaxing in his admittedly extravagent apartment, Mercurio pulled out a blank sheet of paper from it. In case of the message being written in code, the Ghoul kept the envelope by the paper instead of tossing it into the fireplace he was sitting across from as he got a bottle of lemon juice, a blow dryer which he plugged into an outlet and a paint brush.
Mercurio then dabbled the paint brush into it, then proceeded to paint the lemon juice onto the paper, and turned the blow dryer on. After a few minutes passed, a message appeared in slightly dark brown which he read as follows:
Dear Mercurio,
As you are currently reading this, a number of rather important issues have come to my attention, and while I am currently most displeased with you at the moment, I'm aware that you may yet earn my forgiveness once I have awakened come nightfall. It has come to my attention that a group of potentially supernaturally gifted Hunters ambushed and slain a possible pack of Brujah who have allied themselves to the Sabbat.
While I would normally would give no care to the issue, this happened just last night, when I was listening to a radio broadcast. Not only that, but the Malkavain Baron Mrs. Voorman had been disturbed by the incident, and while the Lunatics are known for their being... handicapped in the department of lucid thinking, the timing of her flash of insanity has given me cause to offer you an opportunity for receiving my forgiveness.
I want you to collect the Blood Hounds, starting with the one down the street from you calling himself Stanley Gimble, and Vandal, that medical clinic worker that was bound by a Vinculum to Mrs. Voorman. Once you have acquired them, you are to bring them to me, where you will await for further instruction. Do this for me, and you will be forgiven for your tardiness. That is all, and I'll see you come the night. -LaCroix.
Mercurio frowned at the mention of Stanley Gimble, having had to do business with that psycho always made him cringe. When he heard rumors of the prosthetic surgeon having more then a few screws lose, Sebastian had Mercurio investigate Gimble for possible induction into the Blood Hounds, which were a type of Ghoul that was created when particularly viscous serial killers and psychotic murderers were forced by the Camarilla into drinking Vitae. The result was a force of assassins that the Camarilla could keep around to track down and kill Hunters like the Second Inquisition and the Society of Leopold, and were more then useful against the Hunters LaCroix described. After checking the envelope and finding that he missed a list of addresses along with a card to show, he nodded to himself and got a handgun, a revolver in case he needed it.
As he prepared to leave his suite, Mercurio tossed the letter into a fire he lit in the fireplace in his living room, and left to go collect Gimble and the other Blood Hounds. As he was about to grab a set of bullets in a drawer, he heard something that sounded like muttering and stopped.
The fuck was that? The man thought as he turned around and looked about the room, but saw nothing there. The fire continued crackling, and its light shone and illuminated the room. Knowing of the kind of powers the creatures that lie out of sight from those not aware of their existence, Mercurio did not take it for granted that he was simply hearing things and cocked the hammer back on his gun, and slowly made his way to his bedroom.
After opening the door to it while still looking in the living room, the Ghoul quickly checked the room, then inspected a safe and mini-fridge he kept by his bedside, both of which had locks on them. While on the lookout for anything sneaking up on him, Mercurio took out a key and opened the safe. Upon seeing that contents of it were undisturbed, which were a list of contacts he kept for acquiring things that were... not on the public market, a ledger to keep track of his 'inventory' and at least several thousand in cash, he moved on to the fridge.
Opening it revealed several empty blood packs, and one that was about half full with Vampire Vitae.
After grabbing the blood bag, he shut and locked both the containers and walked out into the living room. Upon drinking what was left of it and putting the bag in a recycling bin, the man looked around and saw that the fire was still going. Before he left, Mercurio went ahead and put out the fire now that it would've burned the letter to ash by now along with its envelope. He then put the revolver away in the holster he wore around his chest, then locked the door to his suite behind him.
As he exited the building, the Ghoul looked about the sun lit beach-side property of Santa Monica. Looking around the area for anyone following him, he turned and walked downed the street, until he passed a crossroads. Upon sighting an out of the way set of stairs with a sign saying 'Gimbles Prosthetics' Mercurio walked down it until he came upon a door with a buzzer next to it. When he pressed it, a light and cheery voice spoke up.
"Yes, can I help you?" the voice of the man known as Stanley Gimble asked.
"I'm here to set up an appointment." Mercurio replied bluntly, and waited patiently for the man to reply.
"Alright, I'll let you in, and we'll discuss setting up a time and place in my office." Gimble said, though his voice had dropped a bit, a hint of annoyance as he clearly recognized his guest. After a moment passed, a buzzing sound could be heard followed by the door swinging open, allowing Mercurio to enter. As he walked in, Mercurio came upon a plain room, within which the man known as Gimble himself stood waiting to greet Mercurio.
"Ah, good day Mr. Mercurio, it's always a pleasure to see you! For what purpose have you come today?" Gimble asked, staring at Mercurio with a gaze that could kill while his mouth was smiling widely. His white shirt had its sleeves rolled up, a sign that he was partaking his obsession when the Vassal interrupted him. Along with his gray tie, Gimble wore a matching set of dress pants. His right arm was replace with a prosthetic, which ended with a white hand like hooking mechanism.
"Well Gimble, I just got a message from LaCroix. Apparently Therese was spooked by the events that transpired last night outside Los Angeles. He has as a result decided that it is time for you and the others to gather at his place tonight." Gimble frowned at that.
"Are you sure?" he asked.
"Yes, I also am getting Vandal on the way over." Mercurio said. After sighing, Gimble relented.
"I'll go pack up a case and bring along some medical supplies and tools. Feel free to follow me, you might find something you might like." the prosthetist said, as he opened a door leading to his work area with Mercurio following him. At first, it seemed like a normal clinic, with rooms that were organized and cleaned to a polished finish. However, deeper within, one could see the occasional spot of blood under some of the doors and in the hallway, where Gimble had not finished cleaning up after himself after having indulged in his vices. At one point, Mercurio looked into a room with a door that was left ajar, and saw a medical bench, and it and the room it was in looked like something from a horror film from all the viscera and blood covering it. The Ghoul held his tongue from pointing this out to his host, as there were areas on the wall that showed the man was in the middle of cleaning the room.
Mercurio remembered his first encounter with Gimble, as a one point the psycho kidnapped him, only to learn a very personal lesson about how deep a rabbit hole he found himself in. During this time, the man had not known about the Camarilla, and the nature of Vampires and their Ghoul Vassals, so Mercurio was able to free himself easily and capture the man to be brought to LaCroix. Due to Mercurios' connection to Sebastian as one who was regularly given his blood to drink, he held the power to use lesser versions of LaCroix Disciplines of Dominate, Auspex and Presence, powers used by Vampires that were fueled by Vitae, the liquid which blood was converted into to sustain their race as well. As a result, when Mercurio looked at Gimble with Auspex, he learned that he was captured by a Slasher, denoted by the fact such individuals had auras that appeared with a dark, and deep black halo with red veins on the auras edge.
As Gimble made the mistake of locking eyes with Mercurio at the time, he immediately used Dominate to force the psychotic bastard into releasing the Ghoul and bring himself to LaCroix for the Prince to evaluate whether or not he was worth being bound by a Vinculum and made a Blood Hound, a permanent blood-bond that was formed when one drinks Vitae from the same Vampire three times. Obviously, the Prince decided it was worth the risk, since he was clearly able to capture Mercurio to begin with, and also preferred to stay low and let his victims come to him, presenting a minimal risk to the Masquerade. However, since he was a Slasher, instead of developing intense feelings of euphoria, Stanley instead had an equally great rage towards his enslavement, as the Vinculum meant all it took to stop him was a simple verbal command.
When they came to a steel door, Stanley opened it to reveal where he kept people imprisoned and out of sight to satiate his urge to kill by cutting them apart. Ever since his becoming a Hound, Stanley also was given the secondary task of taking any Hunters, Anarch or Sabbat-aligned Ghouls, or others affiliated with non-Vampire supernaturals like Werewolves and Mages the Camarilla that had the unfortunate luck of being captured alive within Santa Monica. Currently, several of his cells were occupied, and as Stanley walked in a voice cried out.
"Oh god, he's back!" a man cried out. Stanley chuckled, as the sounds of several people waking up and realizing that their jailer had returned.
"Oh, don't mind them. Just a few riff-raff that came looking where they should not have poked their noses in. Remind me to let Vandal know that a few may make for great... donors if he is looking for any. Though he'll need to claim them quick, I'm not going to keep them fresh for long." Gimble said, as Mercurio followed him in.
"What? Dude, do something! This guy is crazy, and keeps taking chunks out of people! He has been keeping me and McGee here for a day now as well, and the others have been here longer. Let us out!" the Ghoul Vassal simply shrugged his shoulders as he turned to the man speaking to him.
"Sorry, but he is going on a business trip with me. Nothing personal, but I'm here to help."
"No..." the man replied, as he had a look of despair on his face.
"You sick bastard!" a woman shouted. "When my girlfriend finds this place, you better hope she doesn't catch your scent!" upon hearing this, Mercurio turned to Stanley.
"You didn't capture anybody affiliated with Werewolves did you?"
"I'm pretty sure she is. And don't worry, I made sure not to leave any evidence, so no need to worry about any of that. Though I will admit, that one is a tough nut to crack, and has yet to yield any useful information." Gimble replied, as clattering could be heard from him accidentally dropping a bone saw, which was followed by the splatter of what looked to be a weird crystal heart hitting the blood-soaked floor like it was a regular one. As it did so, a bright pink fluid burst and sprayed out of the organs' aorta until the heart deflated.
"Damn, I was going to sell that to that one group, Chieron I think they are called? Yes, the Chieron Group is what they're named, ironically enough." after saying that, Gimble grabbed a set of small bottles of clear fluid along with a needle. After closing it, he turned to Mercurio, holding the bag to his side. "Alright, lets go pay Cleaver a visit."
Authors Note: Alright, finally got this chapter written, ending with Mercurio and Gimble going on a trip to Downtown L.A. So far, this seems to be starting to get attention though I have noticed a couple complaints about the length of my writings. So far, people were talking about my paragraphs being too big, so I split a few of them up in the previous chapter, but I so far am not sure if that was what was meant, or if they also meant the chapters were too long. Hopefully this should be less of a wall then my previous uploads.