New Moon of Yharnam

A World of Darkness x Bloodborne crossover

Chapter Four

Mercurio opened the door to the medical clinic across the street from his residence with Gimble behind him. The duo looked about the lobby as they saw there was a number of people waiting for one thing or another. As Mercurio walked in, Stanley spoke up.

"Well, this establishment is rather busy today." the Slasher commented.

"Yep." Mercurio replied, as he filled out a form given to him by the nurse at the desk. As the two sat next to each other, Gimble turned to Mercurio. As the Slasher spoke again, Mercurio could see his hand was getting shaky. The Ghoul could also see that some of the people around them were looking at the two with weirded out looks.

"Can I just-"

"Not here, and not now. There is a reason your family and I had to intervene with your smoking. Today is also the day we scheduled an appointment to see how your lungs are progressing." Mercurio interrupted. With that, most of the people in the room looked away, while Stanley kept his mouth shut, eyes seething with nonverbal frustration. The Ghoul had to keep himself from smirking in response, as he knew not to push Gimble too far. When someone tapped his shoulder, Stanley turned to see that it was to see that an elderly man was offering him a nicotine patch.

"Here son, you clearly need it more then I do." he said. "I just got out of my checkup, and heard your brother here. I wish you luck on the road to recovery." Gimble, rather then argue with the man and potentially break the Masquerade, took the nicotine patch and placed it on his arm.

"Thank you." Stanley replied, giving a smile while channeling his abilities of a Slasher to make himself look friendly and hide the glance he gave to Mercurio, who kept a face of stoicism while faking a tear of gratitude. Several decades of service and tutelage under another Ghoul serving a Toreador who was his mentor taught the man well in how to act as someone else in order to get around in public. As the man walked away, one of the clinics' female staff came out and clearly recognized them.

"Mr. Mercurio, if you and Mr. Gimble will follow me." the two agents of the Camarilla got up and walked in after the woman. She then took them down a stair that had a sign that said 'Staff only' on its door. As they came upon the blood bank, the woman turned around and addressed the two men before her. "Mr. Cleaver will be with you in a moment. He is busy processing a donation, and will be back when he is finished with the paperwork and testing."

"That will be fine, we're in no hurry." Gimble said, to which the woman walked away. The several minutes were spent with Mercurio and Stanley sitting on a bench. While Mercurio was checking a handgun and several magazines he carried with a bulletproof vest he got at his place before going to the clinic, Stanley was going through his inventory of drugs, saw and first aid supplies. Eventually however, a tapping sound was heard, and the two saw Vandal Cleaver himself at the reception office.

"Now is the time to see the home of the Iron Crown, while the Hunters of Beasts are yet distracted." Thereses' Blood Hound said, a look of interest in his eyes upon the two as he showed a bag. The man himself had sun-tanned skin with brown dreadlocks, dressed in the same pale green scrubs as the rest of the staff. Mercurio was unnerved slightly, as Malkavian Ghouls were bad enough, but a Slasher made into a Ghoul for one of the Lunatics? You can bet Mercurio was going to keep his distance from such a thing.

"Yeah, LaCroix has a job for us, and it involves Vampire Hunters. We're to meet him tonight."

"Oh, has Mercury given cause for his master to lose faith in his servant?" Cleaver asked, causing Mercurio to scowl at the nickname the Malkavians seemed to love using.

"You are having one of those days today where something has got you freaked out?" Vandal smiled widely, making Mercurio sigh while Gimble stared at his fellow Slasher with a gaze that was far off with memories of the kind of things Vandal cobbled together from the things his clinic was meant to dispose of along with random stuff he found around Santa Monica, typically from abandoned buildings and the former homes of his victims. Mercurio looked between the two, then began snapping his fingers to get their attention.

"Alright, before we get distracted with our current affair, we should get moving." he said, and with that Vandal started to move, before stopping at a cabinet to grab something. Within a few minutes, Mercurio and the two Slashers were walking out of the clinic, and to his car.

*POV SHIFT: Gavlan*

BGM: V:tM Bloodlines OST Downtown theme

"Alright, so this is the Vampire nesting site we are going to be breaking and entering into." Eileen said, while the Hunters stared at the two or three story tall gothic building in question. The lawn out front was not particularly cared for, and to a normal person, the building itself was not occupied. However, when Gavlan stared at it, he could just make out a faint hazy aura around it, centered at a round window from which the haze was going through to enter it. It reminded him in its basic shape of some of the Upper Ward housing in Yharnam City, in fact some elements of the architecture of Los Angeles echoed of being an uncanny mirror of some of the decor Yharnam had, such as stone gargoyles and spires on the occasional roof.

Minor details aside, the Executioner turned to look at his Imbued comrades, and noticed they had different expressions. Maurice was stoic, seeming to be scanning the haze around the building, while Philip was clenching and unclenching his hands. The look in the eyes of the latter made Gavlan give pause, as he recognized it as the same kind of look some Yharnamite Hunters had during the purge that was unleashed upon the Cainhursts while they were frenzied from the smell of the tainted and rotted blood and guts of the Vile Bloods.

Upon putting a shoulder on him, Philip turned to Gavlan. A moment passed with the man staring into the Executioners' questioning gaze, before they settled into calmness. It was off-putting to say the least that the Avenger was that riled up for battle, but the man seemed to still be able to stay composed, so Gavlan saw no need to worry about him going into a rage in mid-battle.

"Does anyone feel like exploring the inside, then get out quickly? We can get an idea of the layout for faster infiltration for when we make our move." Eileen asked.

"No, there's no telling what will happen if we enter. For all we know, the Vampire here might have some form of enchantment to lock intruders like us in until they succeeded in killing us off, given the clear presence of magic around this building in particular." Maurice said. "Lets check out the bar called The Last Round down the street, it has a reputation for being closed in the daytime and open at night. Not only that, but it coincidentally happened to have begun going through renovations when the plague first started spreading. Vampires are lethargic during the day, so we can easily drag out any we find and be done with it like that." Gavlan and Velia both turned to Eileen, who nodded.

"Alright then, to The Last Round it is then." Eileen said. Gavlan stayed quiet throughout the conversation, more concerned with watching the city around them as the sun lowered itself closer to the horizon. On the way there, he saw very little within the people around him, who simply ignored the Hunters as they passed by, save to keep their distance. As he looked around he saw three homeless men, one of which had a hunchback gathered around a steel barrel in an alley, with the men filling it with burnables. When they looked at him, he could feel that something was off about them as he felt an aura of restrained blood lust, with one of them eying his Threaded Cane. That one happened to also have a gash on his face, which currently forced one of his eyes closed, while the other looked at him with an almost furious gaze. As he walked by, Philip stopped upon noticing Gavlan staring at them, and the other Hunters noticed the two staring into the alley. Maurice and Eileen came up to them, and then noticed the men staring at them. One of them bared his teeth at that point, at which point Maurice spoke up.

"Not here." he told Philip, as he tugged him lightly on the arm enough to direct his attention away, while Gavlan moved on without need of Eileen telling him to do so. As the group walked on, Gavlan turned to Maurice.

"Werewolves?"

"Yep. Looked like they had a run in with something, so watch your backs. Werewolves may be a pain to fight, but starting a fight without silver or fire to use on them is a bad idea unless you want that entire alley to painted with a new shade of red." Maurice explained. "Let's just move on and ignore them for a fight that will end in a manner with us being alive."

A minute or so of walking later, the Hunters finally came upon The Last Round, which had a 'Closed for renovations' sign. Maurice and Philip exchanged looks when Velia knocked on the door, and nothing answered. Maurice then approached the door with a door pick, while the other Hunters looked around to make sure nobody saw anything.

After a few seconds of Maurice fidgeting with its lock, the door clicked. He then opened it, a wooden stake on hand while Philip took out a handgun. Gavlan opened up the case he kept his Hunters Ax in and carried it in one hand, and held his Repeating Pistol in the other. They quickly filed into the bar within but a few seconds, where they noticed how empty and cold the place was. The first thing they saw was where the patrons gathered, second a machine that appeared to be some kind of game and more of the TVs that were currently turned off.

It was clear the owners were at least maintaining The Last Round, as the place had only a small layer of dust, suggesting it has been routinely cleaned each night. A gesture to a flight stairs by Maurice, and Philip ran up it, stakes at the ready and flashlight in hand with the others behind him. When they saw there was nobody there, the Hunters lowered their guard. Gavlan was at the rear with Eileen and turned around to go back down the stairs, while Velia looked about the room with the Imbued. After a brief Philip made an exclamation about something about a game about axes and arcane rituals, to which Maurice said something about not smashing things. Gavlan didn't fully catch it as his attention turned elsewhere.

"Remember what happened in San Diego? They probably have your DNA on record because of you beating that Ghoul in a public space damn it!" he whispered loudly, though Gavlan could just make it out from there, and that was when he heard a creaking sound and turned his Repeating Pistol at the same time Eileen rolled for the entrance.

A gunshot followed his own, and he felt a bullet strike him in the cheek, making him grit his teeth and snarl whilst his flesh was torn open, with some of the gore spraying onto the wall next to the stairs and exposing his teeth. He also was sure at least one or two of his molars were broken or cracked as well due to the amount of pain which flared across Gavlans' cheek and in his mouth. He also could taste his own blood gushing out, a sweet and metallic taste that brought back fresh memories of hunting heretical Ministers for the Healing Church in the streets of Yharnam during his teenage years. However, the shooter cried in pain, adding much to the Executioners' feeling of euphoria, then a blur made for the door from the main dining area. Eileen then appeared from the shadows, her outfit serving well to blend into the dark. With her Blade singing, she slashed at one of the would-be ambushers' legs.

The blur made a shouting sound, and fell on the ground face first while the Imbued ran down the stairs, to see Eileen on top of a man with her Blade of Mercy at his throat. As they looked upon his clothing, which was a red jacket with blue jeans with a T-shirt with a logo for a music event, Maurice and Philip both examined him, to which the latter spoke up. As Gavlan looked at them, he noticed their eyes glowed with a golden light for a moment, which made him look at Velia. She clearly saw it as well, as her head was craned to the side.

BGM ENDS

"He's a Ghoul. Sneaky bastard must have been put here to ambush intruders while his masters were away." Maurice said.

"Gavlan, you better take care of that." The Excutioner snapped out of his gazing at the Ghoul upon being addressed by Velia, now acutely aware of the hot dribbling blood pouring out of his cheek, down to his chin and onto his clothing. Quickly he turned and made for a nearby restroom, not caring that the symbol was of a woman as was indicated by it being a figure with a dress, confirmed by it having 'Women' under it in white letters. After approaching a mirror, he immediately grabbed a handful of paper towels, turning his head so that the blood would continue pouring into his mouth while dabbing off the worst of it. Velia appeared, and approached him. When he saw that she had brought one of the bottles of the liquor and other alcohol in with it, a Messenger appeared, making a throaty noise as it stared at Gavlan with what looked like worry.

"What's that for?" he asked, while taking out a Blood Vial and stabbing into his thigh with it. Velia took a swig, swished the alcohol in her mouth for a second, then spat it out into a sink while the Executioners eyes followed her face. As his flesh and muscle knitted back together, the Chorister spoke.

"I am going to be 'testing' to see if the drinks here are tainted with Vampiric blood, since it apparently sends a person into a euphoria similar to the Old Blood. I also asked the others to keep the Ghoul alive for now." she explained, then showed a shot glass that clinked when the Messenger set them on the counter.

"Thank you little one. This drink is safe by the way." she said, pouring a shot. Before the Messenger left, she proceeded to pet its head, her fingers raking the top of the ethereal beings' skull.

"Any particular reason you are wine binging?" Gavlan asked.

"Well, given the fall from grace I have experienced with the force of a Kirk Hammer slamming into the brick wall that was my pride, becoming a drunkard for wine is hardly the worse thing that can happen to you or I... want a glass?"

"No thank you."

"Alright then, suit yourself. I'm going to see if we'll have to make our ghoulish friend cry like a soprano." Velia quipped, earning a small chuckle from Gavlan, then she down the fluid in her glass with one gulp. Gavlan inspected his reflection in the mirror, were he could make out the way the world as it truly was teased him while his eyes grew dilated and bloodshot. Measuring out his breathing, Gavlan could feel a shudder of ecstasy run up his spine which made him inhale deeply, and then exhale with a low growl as the feeling rippled to his brain.

"Give me a moment, if you can." Gavlan requested, as he craned his neck from side to side. Velia nodded, and with one final scratch of her finger under the Messengers' chin, she left with the bottle and shot glass. Gavlan stared at the Messenger, and smiled as he pet it. Once the initial high wore off, Gavlan walked out of the restroom.

When he looked at the others, he saw the Ghoul was tied up to one of the bar chairs, and a gag was placed over his mouth, leaving the enthralled man mute while Eileen inspected a set of interrogation tools. The group stared at the Executioner as he walked over to them, with Philip and Maurice eying Gavlan with what seemed to be concern.

"How is the gunshot wound Gavlan?" Eileen asked, turning to the Executioner.

"Already healed." Gavlan said, showing his cheek to the Hunter of Hunters. The Ghoul stared at him, and stared at the man as he approached.

"How the hell? Who are you, and what is going on here?" the Ghoul demanded. In response, Maurice punched them in the mouth.

"We're going to be the ones asking questions here." He said with a tone that made it clear to the Ghoul that it was in his best interest not to argue. With that, the Ghoul set back with a glare, as Eileen spoke up.

"Now then, we would like you to tell us what you know about this building, starting with who lives in it." she said, putting down a photo of the building they planned to raid. Upon looking at it, the Ghoul swallowed and Gavlan noticed his eyes widen slightly and his lips curl downward in disgust for a split-second. When he composed himself just as quickly, the Ghoul responded with a calm and collected voice.

"Don't know, don't care."

"Bullshit you don't." Philip said. "After a reaction like that, you clearly know who lives there."

"Ugh, fine, it was half true that I do not know, nor care about that place. Frankly, I know that someone important lives there, but I don't their name or nothing, so don't even try. If you plan on breaking in, good luck with that, not that it will save you in the slightest considering what my boss was willing to tell me about them."

"And what was it that your boss said? If we die, nobody will be the wiser, but will still kill your ass anyway for not keeping us from breaking in." Maurice replied to the Ghouls taunt.

"Nice try, but- gah!" the Ghoul cried out as Velia lifted him by his hair, forcing him to look at her blindfold.

"Enough of this. You are lucky we need you alive, but we don't need you to be fed on the substance by which you are sustained." the Choir Hunter growled. The Ghoul stared at her, then scoffed.

"The hell does that mean?" he asked.

"Yeah, what do you mean by that?" Philip asked. Gavlan and Eileen looked at each other, and as the Executioner began to look around, Eileen explained what Velia said.

"You said Vampires feed their own blood to Ghouls in order to sustain them, and that it has an addictive effect right? Since torturing him is not going to be much of an option given the circumstances, but that doesn't mean we don't have a stick to punish him for not telling us anything. Along with an appropriate carrot to match." the Ghoul frowned at what was just said, as Velia began searching his pockets. During this, Gavlan picked up a chair and walked to one of the walls.

"Um no, don't even try that shit with me. Besides, it would be really stupid for the ones I'm with to leave me their blood to drink in case something like this happens." when Gavlan suddenly smashed the chair against the wall, the whole room except for Velia turned to look at him. "WHAT THE FUCK?!"

"And what will they have to say about finding out their haven having had its 'renovations' done early, with a fee taken out of its profits as payment?" Gavlan asked, as he walked up to what looked like a tender machine, and bashed it with his fist. Upon impact, the tender machine made loud ring, and the money drawer shot open. Maurice and Philip realized what was going on as Gavlan began taking out the money and tossed some to them, and the latter smiled as he got his bat out and marched into the kitchen. Maurice shrugged as more crashing could be heard within and Gavlan began smashing the various bottled drinks on display, and the Imbued Judge tore up a picture that was hanging on a wall.

"Now you're talking my language!" Philip called out.

"Dude, stop! What the hell?!" the Ghoul cried out.

"Start talking, and I'll call them off." Maurice said. "And you better hope we don't find out what you've been doing for the Vampires here."

"Alright, I found his wallet." Velia announced, as she pulled it out of his left jeans pocket along with a set of keys. As she rifled through it, Gavlan took out his Hunters Ax, and chopped a table in half with it, sending pieces of wood flying out in multiple directions. It was then Velia pulled out a card, and examined it along with his keys.

"Well then, Paul Anderson, I suggest you start talking. Especially since... well well well, come look at this. Our guard dog happened to have his home in the Skyeline Apartments, same as us." Velia said, then added in that he lived in the fifth floor as Eileen inspected the keys. Upon hearing this, Paul began to sweat, and Philip let out a whooping sound from the kitchen.

"I found the safe to this place guys! Anybody want a crack at opening it?!"

"Philip, leave it be for now, we don't have the time nor the bags to rob them further then what Gavlan took. Just focus on busting this place up." Maurice called out to the Avenger.

"Alright then." Three seconds latter, a loud crashing was heard.

"You alright?!" Maurice called out, as the other Hunters drew their weapons.

"Yeah, it was just me cracking open one of the fridges. I also pulled down an entire set of shelves inside it, spilling everything inside. Should all be spoiled by the time this guys friends show up." Philip replied, as he came out from the kitchen rubbing his ears. Paul meanwhile grew more panicked when he finally caved in upon seeing Philip about to go back inside.

"Alright, alright, I'll talk. Just stop ruining The Last Round! But I ain't going to talk here, take me to my room first." the Ghoul said. A moment passed as the two Imbued went onto Hunter Net.

"Ok, we're going to search Pauls' room on floor five in the Skyeline. Gavlan, have you cleaned up the blood splatter from earlier... never mind its already taken care of." Maurice said as he looked at the Executioner putting away his Hunter Ax and then noticed Velia had a blood-soaked cloth in her hands, as Philip hopped in place.

"Well, we might not have got to kill some blood-suckers, but they're going to be mighty pissed we wrecked their haven."

"Oh god help me..." Paul muttered, as he was cut loose and then lifted up by his shoulder. As they approached the exit, Velia came up to Gavlan, and then gave him the wallet and he proceeded to put the money he removed from the cash register into it.

"Good luck with that. He likely wouldn't be happy with what you have been doing should you be sent to meet him." Philip pointed out, much to the Ghouls' discomfort. As he was taken out of the Last Round, Gavlan leaned next to his ear.

"Scream or call out for help, and your taking another bullet to the back of your skull. For reference of how bad it is to your health, one of the Vampires that attacked me at the motel on the way here had his head blown to bits when I shot point blank with this." he threatened him, tapping his Repeating Pistol against the back of the mans head. Gavlan could tell by the way the Ghouls' neck hairs stiffened that they at least weren't going to test his claim.

It was not long before they assembled in Paul Andersons' room, and while the Hunters made themselves at home, Eileen on one of his couches, while the Ghoul was once again tied to a chair. When Gavlan walked over and placed a set of six blood packs he found in the refrigerator between them, the Hunter of Hunters picked up one of the plastic bags. As she spoke, she showed Paul the blood bag she was holding.

"But what about the thing with the carrot and the stick?" Paul said to Maurice, as Gavlan sat down, and pulled out the money that he took from the cash register. While the Imbued Judge replied, Gavlan began dividing the currency up into two parts while Eileen produced her Blade of Mercy.

"I said we would stop trashing The Last Round, and I'll be making sure you are telling the truth. To make sure you keep talking, my friend here is going to hold onto your blood packs, and will stab them for every lie you tell. If we run out of blood packs, well..." Maurice then leaned closer to the Ghoul, and spoke in an authoritative tone. As Gavlan looked at him, he noticed that Maurices' forehead began to glow with a mark that resembled scales, and his eyes were like pointed daggers staring into Pauls' very being.

"...it won't be pretty for you. Now, who owns the building in the picture?"

**POV SHIFT: Mercurio**

"Alright we're here." Mercurio said, as he drove up and parked in one of the V.I.P. Spaces for the Venture Tower parking lot. As he got out, the two Blood Hounds also came out of the car, and the trio walked into the domain of LaCroix. As Mercurio looked up, he saw it was almost night, which meant soon the Vampires are going to wake up. When the night-shift guard saw them, he was clearly surprised to see Mercurio.

"Here to see LaCroix?" the guard asked.

"Yeah, these two are with me." Mercurio replied to him.

"Huh, is he having a party? Of course he is, isn't he?" the man asked, visibly saddened at the thought.

"...Yes."

"Damn it. Well, make sure to bring me a piece a cake or something, yeah? Unless it has nuts, I'm allergic to nuts."

"Will do." Mercurio concluded the exchange, and with that the three Ghouls walked into the elevator. The journey upwards was spent in silence, and when the doors opened, Stanley and Vandal realized it was serious business. When they walked in, it was to see a fellow Ghoul in the form of a young butler pouring a glass of Vitae from a wine bottle into a set of glasses and took one look at them, and then entered one of the side rooms from LaCroix' suite without saying a word to them. It was made like a corporate office, with a set of windows for the Ghouls to see the last rays of the sun to lower beyond the horizon. A red rug extend from the elevator and ended just short of the desk where LaCroix sat when talking to people in his office.

As the Ghouls sat down amongst the plush leather couches, they waited in silence for the Prince of Los Angeles to awaken. When the last rays of the sun finally disappeared, the Ghouls got up and got into a presentable state, or at least as close as they could in Vandals case. It was then the butler emerged from the door they walked into, and spoke.

"LaCroix will see you now." the servant of the Prince said, then walked in. The Ghouls followed suit, and were surprised to see that that LaCroix was not alone. The room, designed and scrubbed for means of listening in on the conversations of the Prince both mundane and mystical was a study in which the Prince was finishing his glass. And with him were the Primogen, the representatives of the Vampire Clan populations in Los Angeles.

Foremost amongst them was the Primogen of Clan Tremere, Maximilian Strauss. He was dressed in a red robe that resembled a wizards cloak and had a pair of small round glass upon his chiseled face. What skin could be seen was of a grayish tint, and Strauss was reading a report of what Mercurio guessed was about the attack on the motel. Second was the Primogen of the Malkavains, Alistar Grout, who wore a white collored shirt with a pair of jet black dress pants and shoes. When he saw the normally aloof Lunatic seemed distressed about something, Mercurio already knew this was either serious shit, or a prank being coordinated by Grout and Voorman.

Third was the representative of Clan Nosferatu, Gary Golden. The former 1940's actor was dressed the part of a stage actor from the era, with a bow tie and vest around his shirt with a face that could be described as bat like.

The Ventrue and Toreador Primogen were sitting back on a couch in the background, as LaCroix spoke up to the Ghouls. He himself was wearing a suit and tie, with his hair a faint auburn-orange. When the Prince spoke, his voice was one that had faint traces of his French nationality.

"Ah, so you've come Mercurio, and brought the Blood Hounds with you. Good, because we want you to find and drive out the Hunters for us."

"Alone sir?" Mercurio asked.

"No. Thanks to Miss Voorman, the Anarchs from that bar called The Last Round took temporary residence in Strauss' Chantry with Therese Voorman. You'll be there to support them when they engage the Hunters. As for who they're working for, that's is something that I'll be entrusting to Grout and Strauss to find out, as what footage we had acquired via the aide of the Nosferatu do not contain any clues as too who these people are. As for what to do about this, that is why I called a Conclave with the Primogen." LaCroix explained.

"Aright then, is there anything else?" Mercurio asked. It was then Strauss spoke up.

"Let the Anarchs knew we would be most graceful if the Hunters were pushed into fleeing into the sewers, so that way the Nosferatu can take them out without any more attention from the sewers. Quick, relatively clean, and most of all quiet."

"Ok, I will let Rodriguez and his crew know."

"You're dismissed." LaCroix said, as his personal Ghoul left with the two Slashers in tow. The butler opened the door for them, and then closed it once they cleared the room. Vandal made a uncomfortable groan, and began to fidget. When the Sheriff that was normally by LaCroix' side appeared, it was with a crate that had several suits of bulletproof armor, and several weapons, including several shotguns, a light machine gun and a flame thrower. Not one of the little ones that Mercurio was used to in dealing with on the black market, but the kind you see used by soldiers in the army. Upon seeing this Mercurios' eyes widen as he paused.

"Um... excuse me for my French, but what, in the absolute fuck kind of firepower are these Hunters packing for you to roll out the big guns to us?!" Gimble asked incredulously. The Sheriff simply shrugged and held up a recording. When he pressed the play button, the voices of LaCroix and Alistar Grout started playing. However, instead of the usual, somewhat sane monologues Alistar was known for recording throughout his mansion, the Malkavain sounded more like the majority for whom their nickname of the Lunatics spawned from.

"So tell me, Mr. Grout, what is it that makes this bell you claim to have heard so horrific that you had to call me so close to sunrise?"

"The ringing of the bell is the hailing of the Hunters of the Blood-Drinking Beasts! The others who serve as the Kines Hunters are but mere babes compared to the Blood-Cut Ones, their patron king a larva from which they are sustained with the strength and insight that will see to us burning in their wrath! The bloody Hunters whose babes wander this world and next have partook of the most potent drug of ancient blood, and it flows as poison to our fangs, but mana for their veins! It is their life and salvation, and also the vice by which they are cursed. We must send the first strike upon them at once, while their eyes have not opened, or meet the lance of-" the Sheriff turned the recording off, his eyes and frown giving off a strained air at the mention of a lance, then left the crate their as he walked to the safe room.

"...Well shit, we're in deep." Gimble said. Mercurio simply looked at the Slasher, then at Vandal who was looking like he was going to throw a brink out a window or something.

"Oh come on, lets just get this job over with. Even if they have magic blood that doesn't come from Vampires, that means they still bleed, and like what a certain actor once said about an alien that was hunting soldiers in Vietnam..." Mercurio spoke up, getting the attention of the Slashers. "...'if it bleeds, we can kill it.'" Gimble thought about, then giggled. Mercurio already knew what scene Stanley was thinking of, as it turned into a cackle.

"Lets shoot us some Hunters. We might not have the ability to say, blast their arms off, but I sure am going to try."

"That's the spirit. Now suit up, we got a Hunter team to kill." While the other two walked away, Vandel made a sigh of resignation that went unnoticed as he seemed to accept his fate.

After they geared up, the Ghouls exited the building, encased in Kevlar armor suits that had 'Venture Security' on their chests, and armed to the teeth. when they exited the elevator and walked into the lobby, the night-shift guard perked up with confusion.

"What is going on?" he asked, to which Mercurio locked eyes with him.

"Forget." he ordered, to which the night guard only replied by slumping as he stared into space. When they left, it was too see that their car was taken away from the parking lot, and replaced by an armored car with the Venture name on it. When they saw another person was already in the drivers seat, they went ahead and opened the back. Inside was five or six more 'security' personal, all dressed in similar Kevlar armor.

Mercurio got in after Gimble and Vandal, when he got a phone call. As the door shut behind him, he saw it was Gary's number.

"Yeah?" He answered.

"I just got news that The Last Round was hit. If Therese hadn't had them go see Strauss and told them to stay there, they've been sitting ducks. I've already broken the news with them, so they should be calmed down by the time you get there. Wherever these guys are going, you better find them fast." was all the Nosferatu Primogen said, then he hung up with so much as a 'good bye' to the Ghoul. While the van started up, Mercurio proceeded to put his phone away.

"Jack-ass." Mercurio muttered.

"Who?"

"Gary. He hung up right as soon as he told me that The Last Round got wrecked. We better find whoever about to run around the neighborhood, otherwise this will just be the start."

"Oh joy..." Vandal intoned.

"Are you back now?"

"Well, other then the feeling we are going to get smacked hard, I'm feeling just peachy." Cleaver deadpanned.

"I'll take that as a yes." It was then the van stopped, and the back door opened to let Mercurio and his group out. As the van parked and waited for them, the trio quickly ran into the Tremere Chantry. It was awhile before they figured out the layout, but they found the Anarchs in the living room of the Chantry, who were waiting for them. Jack was smoking a cigarette, and there was the tell-tale signs of scorch marks and ash on an expensive couch next to him, despite there being an ashtray next to a lamp on a table by him. Skelter was in the form of wolf, and was busy resting in place on said couch away from where Jack was dumping his ash on it, while Damsel and Nines looked up from their game of cards. Therese was there, and immediately walked up to Mercurio. The Malkavain was dressed up in a grey business suit without any of the make up around her eyes instead of her usual stripper outfit. But that didn't mean anything about her personality.

"Heya, Mercury."

"Mmmh..." Mercurio groaned. "Hi."

"Well since you have not called the son of Ander Damn Sail, it's soon to be time guys, to defend the fort."

"What? Oh... oh shit, I forgot I left Paul there, damn it!" Damsel yelped, when her eyes widened as she reached into her pocket. When she dialed another Ghoul named Paul on her phone she set it to speaker. After a moment of tense silence passed, Pauls' voice spoke.

"Hello?"

"Paul, are you ok?"

"...I'm fine and I'm safe at home, where are you? A Werewolf broke in, but I got out since they focused on the ground floor and I was upstairs." upon noticing how calm and collected he was, the others realized something was off.

"At Strauss' since we were attending to a meeting with him." Therese Voorman interrupted. A moment passed as everyone looked at her.

"Get the fuck out of there, the Hunters are planning to break into-" suddenly a loud gunshot was heard on the phone as the number disconnected, and the Vampires jumped as they heard it come from across the street, something they didn't expect. Nines was the first to catch this, as he looked up.

"Son of a bitch, that means they're-"

"Right here!" Jack interrupted. With that, the Vampires and the Ghouls with them scrambled to fortify the Chantry.

AN: R.I.P. Paul Anderson, Ghoul of the Anarchs of Los Angeles in Bloodlines. And now with the first shot fired, the Hunters of Bloodborne have declared war with the Vampires in the City of Angels.