Sleeper
"Of Shadows, Sister, and Marcus Vitel."
Episode Three
Vampire 20th Anniversary
The children move away from the dark room, unaware of Diana Pierce who is held and told to remain silent by the Malkavian, Scott Levin. The child stops for a moment, as if sensing her, but then scurries away. Diana realizes this man has somehow cloaked her from the gathering.
*
 |
| Dorian Adams, Ventrue (Bela Lugosi) |
As Diana waits for Alex, however, she starts to wonder about how she avoided those kids. She was alone at the orphanage, after all.
*
The previous night. Mildred Hobbs awakens to realize she is not at her haven. She sees the rich curtains, the bucket of wine, and the immensely soft bed. Opulence. The place makes her think it is one of those five star hotels. Even the floor around the bed is carpeted, while the rest of the floor is hard red wood. A soft tone rings. She walks up to the door and peers outside. A man is waiting outside, dressed like staff. Opening the door, Mildred peers out and asks what the man wants. He walks in after she lets him in and parks a metal tray on the side of the bed. Inside, he pulls back the cover to reveal ice keeping two blood bags cold. He walks past Mildred and begins cleaning the room without ever once addressing her, looking at her, or responding to anything. His movements are rote. Almost pre-programmed. Mildred walks up to the tray, and finds a small card atop one bag. "A welcoming present." Touching the cart, Mildred attempts to see if she can pick anything up with the Spirit's Touch. Mildred drinks the bags down. The waiter hears the sound of her drinking and in response, pulls out a remote from his clothes. Pressing a button, the waiter continues to clean the room as the television set's display changes to reveal a previously recorded video clip of a man who does not look welcoming or friendly. The man's face is marked with scars. A notable break in the skin around the face can be seen. Mildred notes this break in her mind. Scott Levin's voice begins to speak, "You are looking at Razor. The Anarch Malakvian who is known as one of the best Politicians in Washington, D.C. among the Kindred. He has a network of ghouls who gather for him information around the streets. Some of them even utilize graffiti to communicate with each other. He is among the seventh of individuals I have identified to be wearing the name, Razor, to fulfill his duty. As an Anarch, he seeks to break the rule of Marcus Vitel. I have reason to believe we must help him. I am telling you this because I am not an Anarch, but I believe Razor may have uncovered something that we must pay attention to." As Mildred responds to the video, the video seemingly answers the questions she asks. Razor might know about the Black Sisters, who are clearly not Vitel's direct line, having been witnessed to have certain discrepancies that are unthinkable. The video shows a montage of images of different places - a parking lot, a gala, a concert, a party - but in all the images, the Black sisters are never seen. Mildred then realizes, it is because the Black sisters are never seen that is of interest. The sisters might be of the Clan Lasombra, and Vitel may have been Dominated to see them as his daughters. Or worse, have welcomed them into the Clan as Ventrue for reasons they do not know. The last picture shows Marcus Vitel, but his arms are empty. Mildred realizes the sisters are probably supposedly in his arms. Mildred asks if she should work on this alone, and the video responds she should if she thinks that is best. Their best lead so far is how "When there is a city at peril, it is the Nosferatu who are the first to run." The City has not had an active Nosferatu presence in the city, and they must have had some reason to run away. Mildred digs into her pocket for her phone but finds a different phone. Finding it be someone else's phone, the video apologizes to her for not being home yet, and admits this was the safest way to communicate. Levin warns her to avoid the Nosferatu tunnels as there are defenses left there for certain. He allows her back home and she admits she will hit the library next. He warns her of the twenty recently created Sabbat children running around and that the Hound and the Sherrif are certain to be dealing with it. "Now is the time to wake up..."
She opens her eyes. She is back at her own Haven. She decides to prepare for the library. Even the body of the staked former Sherrif is still against the wall.
Elsewhere in the city, David Sullivan feeds on a sleeping bum to raise his dwindling resources. He visits his Nosferatu contact, a tall vampire in a beige trenchcoat and slacks. Named Lawrence George, there are times upon blinking that David sees him change his appearance slightly. He agrees to see the Tremere since they owe the Clan. David admits he's look for Dor and Lawrence expresses in a lot of cuss words how angry he is that the Toreador was rescued and yet is acting as if it was the worst thing to ever happen in his life. They leave the sewer meeting place and walk instead to the Metro, with Lawrence asking what brought about the change of heart given they have been trying to convince the Tremere to join the Nosferatu in the last two years. He asks what tipped him off, and David admits he doesn't not know what he means. Lawrence scratches, then pulls out a marble sized louse. David looks away in disgust, but then hears Lawrence whisper to it, "Do your job," and leave it against the wall. David's eyes widen in realization the Nosferatu must have a network still in the city. They get on the train.
Lawrence berates David for not being here based on what the Nosferatu claim to have uncovered about the Prince. He knows David is trying to get on his good side, given he needs information, and even mutters something about the Tremere losing the Net to the Malkavians. When David admits he'd prefer people weren't overhearing them, Lawrence unleashes a huge silent stinky smell to force everyone else to move to the other cars. "Silent but deadly." Lawrence learns this isn't the Tremere actually finally calling for the Boon, and asks him to say what he wants directly as he hates reading between the lines and all that crap. He tells David the Prince is sheltering two of the Lasombra, Monica and Cynthia Black. They have megabytes of footage and pictures showing neither of the two appearing on any of their photographs and footage. The Prince however has not accepted their investigations, which leads them to suspect the Prince is either Blood Bound to them, Entranced, Dominated, or worse, replaced. David suddenly feels a Summons. He can see Marcus Vitel in his mind. I need you, Hound. Lawrence admits David is in trouble for that. In exchange for the info, David admits to the Lawrence that he has been ordered to replace the Prince with a Tremere. Lawrence is aghast though, claiming everyone knows that the Tremere want to replace Marcus with one of their own! "Give me something useful! What's next, the Toreador want to be pretty?!" David shares how he is also "Brujah," and when Lawrence asks how that happened, David heads out of the train and leaves the Nosferatu to ponder over it.
Somewhere. Dor looks around and sees the accommodations the Nosferatu have attempted to set up for him. There are velvet curtains hanging around and a soft padded bed for Dor to lie on. There are paintings and Dor recognizes most of them to have been reported stolen in the past. The Nosferatu explains they have done what they can to make him feel comfortable, although Dor clearly stresses he does not accept these accommodations in any way. Nathan explains they had rescued him, despite Dor insisting he could have taken care of things himself, like he could have gone to the Prince or something. Dor stands up and tries to be as small as possible. Nathan introduces himself as the childe of Francis Broderick and that he has been loyal to the Camarilla since 1697. This room, he claims, was prepared for any Toreador they would ever have in their area. Dor suggests that a ton of paint and flowers might help make the place better. Might.
Nathan explains the tunnels will not welcome Prince Vitel and his traitorous associates, given he is a pawn of an elaborate game most are not aware to be transpiring around them. He calls for servants and two other Nosferatu come into view. They set up an old television set and a VHS player. Another arrives with a bunch of VHS tapes in his arms. Dor wonders what sort of museum this is. The Nosferatu show the tapes showing their investigations regarding the Black Sisters. Dor uses Aura Perception to peer into Nathan's aura while he talks about the footage being taken since the 80s. Seeing the parts where the women have vanished, Nathan explains the women do not have Obfuscate, but instead it is the Clan curse of the Lasombra affecting the tapes, which use old silver nirate in the film to capture the images. On the smart phone, however, the Nosferatu have confirmed the sisters do appear. Digital, it seems, circumvents the curse. Dor asks if its an iPhone and Nathan admits its a Samsung since they like how, "They can be used as weapons." They leave Dor to go through all the footage from the 80s to the turn of the century. They talk also of a shift in Marcus Vitel's personality towards the women in the footage.
Back to earlier this morning, both Alex and Diana wait for the car in the diner. The diner's walls are all glass, however. The old woman brings down the blinds as she tells the two that they don't like the sunlight hitting them in the morning. Before the blinds close, however, Diana catches sight of one of the vampiric children at the street. Seeing the car, Diana ponders on whether or not to deal with the trouble standing now, or the pressing matter they were tasked to handle. Alex admits it might not be prudent to go after the child today. They enter the car and see its heavily tinted windows. Inside, Dorian Adams greets them and apologizes for wasting no time to see them. As the car drives back to his haven, which Alex knows to be outside the outskirts of the city, Dorian tells them that he had just witnessed the Prince present in one of the events last night when he noticed he was not among the sisters. He looked nervous, scared even, glancing around nervously as if he was not certain. He kept to himself, avoided talking to anyone. Alex wonders if it really was the Prince he saw, and Dorian questions if anyone would dare pretend to be the Prince. Dorian followed the Prince as he ducked into a room away from the rest of the people, and soon reemerged with his hand against his chest, as if he was holding something. Dorian felt the Prince was asking like some kind of spy. He lost track of him for a few minutes, but later saw the Prince again but this time with the sisters, and none of the fidgety behavior. Dorian asks if they ever noticed the Prince act differently in relation to the daughters, and Alex admits he does dote on the two. Dorian believes Marcus Vitel is one of the Sabbat, a Lasombra, just like the sister. "The real Marcus Vitel is dead."
Alex does not react. He asks for evidence. Dorian promises he has evidence to show them. Diana looks out the window and sees the car closing in on a castle. Adams has a literal castle as his haven, which is situated outside Maryland and Annapolis. The car hits the dirt road leading to the castle, and the forest has hints of gargoyles and towers. Those who have broken in have never... emerged again, or so they say. Alex holds back from laughing when he remembers Marcus telling him they sent Adams a box of glitter when a certain movie came out. Adams supposedly never got the joke.
At Dorian's estate, Alex and Diana struggle to stay awake and learn of the group called the Midnight Road which Dorian used to be part of. Dorian shares how all the others had met accidental death and he is the sole remaining member. Alex brushes away all urge to sleep. Diana fails, however, and drifts off many times. Dorain claims he had been allowed to stay alive since he is a joke to the Clan and allows any breach of the Masquerade to be attributed to his presence, which is the weird vampire guy in the city. Dorian admits Diana is correct that his appearance is deliberate to stay below their radar. Dorian admits he wishes he could stake Marcus Vitel and send him to Final Death. Alex apologizes for Diana's questions and claimes she is low on the upkeep - Dorian explains that Cynthia and Monica Black are the Childer of Marcus Vitel. He is Lasombra. And that any Tremere can confirm this. Part of his proof is that Vitel has shown NO dietary feeding restriction, and that the two women - so distant from each other in personality and trait - do not reflect any refined taste the Ventrue are known to have. The Prince and his daughters do not seem to limit themselves in what they feed on. Diana wonders, "So just cause they do not feed only on people who eat grapes..." Alex and Dorian try not to react to the Brujah. Dorian admits he feeds only on helpless attractive women. Alex wonders if Vitel only has a stranger less easily discerned taste. Dorian admits they must be sleepy, and has made arrangements for their accommodations. Alex pushes Diana to wake her, and the shove triggers her Brujah temper enough for her to growl at him, "Don't do that." Dorian asks them to quickly share what questions they have so they can rest. With Vitel having shown no traits of the Ventrue, and the daughters having shown traits of the Lasombra, Vitel must be one too. Dorian thinks Vitel might be using some form of rare Thaumaturgical Ritual to fake a reflection, but has not been able to recreate it for his daughters. Diana finds it hard to believe he would have failed to cover for her daughters with the same Ritual. Dorian thinks it was just the inherent stupidity of people to forget to do things. Or overlook things.
Alex finally asks why Dorian has opted to tell him these things. Dorian states, it is because he is the new Sheriff. Dorian admits he stated these things to the previous Sheriff too. Alex remembers the previous Sheriff supposedly had been keeping things from the Prince. Could it be it was because he was trying to investigate as well back then? Dorian asks them if they need blood, but they say they are well. Dorian admits their actions are up to them now. He dares not act, nor leave, for doing so would tell them he knows and that would make him a target. Diana wishes they had physical evidence to present. Dorian admits the best would be either with footage showing their lack of reflections, with an old camera, or a Tremere identifying their lineage. Diana remembers Karina Dobson's words, stating she knows about 14,000 cameras in the city and nothing happens without her knowing. Diana wonders about the children, and Alex gives her the go signal to share it. Diana tells Dorian of the embraced children at the orphanage, and that there are around twenty of them. The breach on the Masquerade alone... She believes the children are the more pressing matter. The Prince they can investigate slowly and quietly. Dorian goes to the nearest television set and sees the news are showing reports of youth attacking people in the streets and homes. The reports claim it to be a Zombie Drug, some Russian drug that has hit the street market. Dorian wonders who is covering this for the Sheriff. Alex feels panic rush in as he realizes someone is doing his job, and when he pulls out his phone he sees the phones have no signal. Dorian's place is a deadspot. For security reasons. "We need to go. We have a long day ahead of us!" Alex mutters, but Diana has fallen asleep. Dorian tells him Diana can stay with him. Alex takes Dorian's car and asks him to bring him to one of the Elysium.
As Alex is in the car, they soon reach the point where the signal returns. The messages flood in, with Vitel asking for Alex in many ways. Alex eventually sees a message where Vitel says he will handle it himself and Alex will owe him a Boon. The last message reads, "Dobson is handling it. You will owe her as well." They get to the Elysium, a Hotel, and there, when Alex awakens at the hotel, Monica Black is in the room.
"Malkavians," Velvet sighs.
David arrives at a hotel and after going through the usual security finds Marcus Vitel with Peter Dorfman waiting. Marcus smiles, thanking him for receiving the Summons, and Peter even commends David for being the Tremere he would entrust such an immense duty. Vitel tells David that Dorfman suspects the Sabbat are in the city and that his daughters, Monica and Cynthia are working with them. Vitel admits he has not told the Sheriff of this and asks David to conduct an independent investigation on his daughters to know for certain if they are indeed Lasombra. Vitel was warned he may not be able to judge clearly on this as he may have been swayed. When David admits the Nosferatu have made their own investigations, Vitel is surprised to learn they are still in the City. Peter's eyes stare at David, as if to tell him not to admit more. David claims he has been looking for them as well. Vitel wonders if he should have listened to Nathan when he left. He thought the Nosferatu were just swayed by rumors of what lies beneath New York might also have something beneath Washington, D.C. Dorfman reiterates the Tremere will always be loyal to the Prince thus he felt they should know of their suspicions on the sisters immediately. Vitel looks very bothered by this, and he even tells Dorfman that he wishes Peter to succeed him as Prince if anything happens to him. Among all the Primogen, Dorfman is the only one Vitel feels he can rely on. Dorfman reminds Vitel the Tremere Primogen is someone else, but Vitel counters that they all know she is just a figure head.
Peter smiles. David realizes Dorfman seems to be planting himself as a successor very successfully. Vitel states that the Tremere are usually seen as the last one can trust, "But you have earned it." As Dorfman and David leaves, and get into a car, the Pontifex raises a ward and asks David to share what he knows. David explains the Nosferatu have been still hiding in the City and that he had made contact with them. This impresses Dorfman as the last one he sent to make contact with them disappeared with only a hand left behind. David admits he only found one so far though. Dorfman admits there were around forty before in the City, but they've been keeping to themselves since the former Prince was destroyed. With all Hunting Grounds restrained, Vitel keeps the Kindred population in check. David asks Dorfman if they have other evidence of the sisters being Lasombra as he had witnessed Cynthia Black not having a reflection on the glass windows as they walked. Dorfman at first wondered if Cynthia was replaced, until he realized both did not cast any, unlike Vitel. Dorfman even tried contacting older Kindred who claim to have known Vitel during his younger years. They all confirm Vitel's story. David realizes he needs to go to the Nosferatu to try to gain their evidence. But then the car comes to a abrupt stop as the driver halts the car and suddenly steps down to check something. Did he hit something?
David opts to check as well, but as he reaches for the door, he suddenly sees a feral thing leap at the driver and tear into the car! But in an eyeblink, David realizes it was an Auspex vision, and tells Peter to lock the doors! As they do so, the driver is then yanked below the car and they both see the driver's door remains open!
Dor sees other Kindred in the footage, not noticing the sisters' lack of reflection. He asks why show him as no one would believe him. "I mean, I could paint something?" Nathan admits Clan Toreador is the most influential clan to spread the information out, and so they reached out to him for help. Dor reminds them his art is his passion and he isn't the most respected among Kindred. Nathan however admits the Kindred eye will be focused on him and that the Sheriff cannot help as they do not exist in the Camarilla's eye. The former Prince branded them as traitors, and the current Prince has demanded for their leave of the City. Nathan knows they are not the only ones who believe in it, and if others learn a Toreador is now believing it, then the truth becomes stronger with more mouths speaking it, especially if the known rivals of the Nosferatu are speaking of it. Dor asks if they approached their primogen, and Nathan admits they already tried before. Dor spits as he mutters Chas Voyager's name. Another Nosferatu arrives and informs them that a Tremere also believes the rumor, and that Tremere is actually pretending to be Brujah. "Sounds very St. Germaine," he mutters. Dor learns that Tremere is David Sullivan, and that he is now one of the Hounds of the Prince, both being things Dor did not know. Dor at least can see they are reaching out to others.
At the street, Mildred and Velvet consider which sewer to go into.Velvet considers going through the same sewer where Dor's trail was, although that was where they fought the giant gator. Velvet thinks the fact the two aren't answering means they are in the sewers. Mildred mutters how someone on television once said if there's trouble, the first to go are the Nosferatu. Velvet is confused how such a Masquerade breach can happen on television. Velvet asks Mildred to wait and she goes to the nearest convenience store, claiming its best they have back up. Mildred sees Velvet stand infront of the CCTV camera for a few second and learns if the Ventrue Seneschal, Dobson, goes looking for them, the image of her in that store should help lead them here. The two descend into the sewer. Velvet asks Mildred to guide her as she wants to save the batteries of her flashlight til they really need it.
"This way..."
With the driver's seat open, David scoots over to the front to shut the door closed. A young child emerges, shoving the door open as it climbs into the room with his mouth full of fangs bared open! The glass of the window spiderwebs as it slams against it to climb in with its immense strength. David reached out and plants his hand against the boy's skin and uses the Cauldron of Blood to boil the child's blood from within! Rötschreck hits as the boy feels aggravated damage for the first time. It flees. The driver emerges from the front, waving as a second boy, the one attacking him, is flung away. Dorfman reaches forward and the driver is flung into the air, flung into the car, and the doors slam shut. The three look around and see the boys swarming around the car, fangs bared. The driver counts eight. David looks at Dorfman. Dorfman admits fighting those eight without breaching the Masquerade will be tricky. The driver starts the car. The children begin slamming at the car from the outside, shaking the car back and forth. The driver tries to move, but the children begin to hold the car in place with their immense supernatural strength! Dorfman tells them he needs a few seconds as he closes his eyes to focus. David feels helpless, not wanting to do anything. More slam at the windows to cause more cracks to spread on the surface - thankfully the bullet proof glass holds. "Go reverse!" David recommends and the drive complies. The sudden shift forces the children to lose balance for a second, and a fog surrounds the car. David tells him to hit it, and the drive shoves a foot on the gas. Dorfman opens his hands, and fire suddenly erupts out of the fog surrounding them! The car screeches forward and the children feel the fire burn them, forcing them to flee as the car leaps out of the fog and onto the street.
People from the nearby buildings think some kind of explosion just erupted, blind to the burning children running from the fog. As the car drives down the road however, one last child has clung onto the back and clambers atop the trunk. David yells at the drive to hit the brakes. As the car comes to a stop, the kid flies, and hits the road. Dorfman rushes out of the car, with David behind him. Dorfman draws a stake out and asks David if there are witnesses. Seeing none, Dorfman stakes the boy and the two carry the body into the car. "The boy will give us answers. Take us to a safe house."
Dor is to be escorted back through the sewers. The Nosferatu are unwilling to let him take the evidence however, as they need to hold on to it. They ask him to convince David Sullivan to test the blood of the Prince and the daughters. They used to have a vial of his blood but had lost it when the one they trusted turned out to be untrustworthy. Dor promises he will try to do his best. Dor accepts a blindfold (and covers his nose with it as well) Nathan tells the Nosferatu their Clan remains strong despite their lesser numbers. Dor notices there are only five of them. Lawrence ends up being the one who has to escort Dor as the rest fade away from view. Nathan reminds Lawrence, "Seven, eighteen and twenty-one." Lawrence mutters it is good he fed before going home. "And don't complain about walking on water and stuff, cause it ain't water!" As they travel through the sewers, Dor soon learns that the numbers Lawrence was told to remember are Spawning Pools that he has to "replenish" with Vitae, to keep the monsters that feed on them to become ghoul servants that they can control. The Nosferatu network remains strong.
Not too far away, Velvet and Mildred navigate the tunnels. Velvet admits she doesn't think they're wading through water given the orangey color. Mildred uses her Auspex and tastes it, confirming it isn't water. "Urea." Velvet struggles not to vomit. Mildred reminds Velvet they don't have to smell it, by just not breathing. The two soon begin to realize they can see despite the tunnels thanks to phosphorescent glow coming from the lichen. They notice rats staring at them, almost like they're smart. The things don't even run away when they approach.
Dor starts to hear the voices of the female Malkavian and the Brujah bodyguard nearby, as his Auspex helps him detect their echoes in the tunnels. Lawrence grabs one of the nearby rats and holds it close to his face. His eyes glaze over and next thing Dor knows, Lawrence begins to fidget with some rat like activity before his eyes come back into view. He puts the rat down and tells Dor he knows where they are.
Dorfman remembers Helena Taylor telling him David Sullivan can't read minds, and so he tries to read what he can from the mind of the child. When Dorfman's eyes open, David sees they have gone bloodshot. He is still connected. Dorfman begins to speak, though his intonations have shifted to an unfamiliar one, "Yes, you are trying to see if I left anything in my creations... well, here I am! I am Jack and this City is my playground now." Dorfman disconnects and his eyes return to normal. He states the man is an Anarch and is most likely Tzimisce. David realizes if the Sire is Tzimisce, then the boy might NOT have his heart in the normal place! The boy moves, mouth about to plunge into Dorfman's throat. David grabs the stake, twisting it more to try to hit the heart! The boy reaches up, grabbing David's face, and stretching the skin with ease!
Alex stares at Monica from across the bed, realizing she had slipped into the room he was in while he was asleep. He must have nodded off sometime during noon and now, it was evening again. She admits she was wondering where he had gone and was hoping to spend some time with him and another kine to feed on. He admits he had a long day. They talk about the crazy kids on the street, and she congratulates him on a good cover-up. Monica even muses how there are a lot of Youtube videos online of it. Alex asks him why she is here. He cannot help but keep looking around for any reflective surface where he can look if she has a reflection. She accuses him of suddenly becoming so much less fun ever since he started hanging out with the Brujah. She jokes about having fun with the jock they had the previous night, even if Alex is full, and just see if he remembers them. "We can wipe his memory out again after." When Alex remains detached, she starts to ask what's wrong with him. As Alex goes to get ready, he sees the full length mirror in the bathroom and he tries to see if he can see her if he angles himself. Realizing he can see the bed's headrest, he tries to suggest to her to go to the television near the bed, hoping she will be in position enough to see her reflection.
"Could you open the television for me please?"
She switches it on, using the remote control. Alex grunts, frustrated it didn't work. Monica calls room service, asking for the cute guy who carried her bags to head up. Alex considers a new approach. Faking a moment of anger and frustration, he begins yelling out loud as he punches the mirror to shatter it. He picks up a shard of the broken mirror. Monica sees him step out with a bloody hand, and she teasingly asks if she needs to use the wine bottle to protect herself. He apologizes and admits he just feels the stress from the job. As she reminds him to watch his hand cause it has blood, he grabs the opportunity to raise the mirror and peek.
Monica has no reflection.
But before she notices, room service arrives. As Monica goes to answer the door, Alex holds the mirror higher and double checks. True enough, no sign of Monica at all. The bellhop, an attractive man, smiles back at them at the door, asking if there's anything he can do for them. Alex firms his emotions up and tells the bellhop to come in, but his words come out sounding uncertain. Alex instead bites his lip to make it look like it is because the man is that attractive, hiding the fact the tension is from confirming Monica is Lasombra. As Monica turns off the lights to make the scene more romantic, Alex starts to worry about the shadows growing in the room.
With David's face yanked by the child, David uses the Cauldron of Blood once more to try to burn the child and force it to let go of his face! As the blood flares, the child screams and as he tries to pull free, he yanks David's face pulling his cheek outwards into a strange flap that disrupts his perceptions. Dorfman unleashes a touch of fire upon the child to force it down. As the boy howls and screams, he attempts to plunge his hand to David's chest! But before it does so, David unleashes the Cauldron one last time, and the child shrieks as he burns from within, burning away into ashes.
Disfigured by Vicissitude, David tries to use his Vitae to heal the alteration, but it fails. Grabbing a knife from Dorfman, he slices away the meat, knowing the Kindred form should allow him to regenerate it after a night of rest. He feels sick for having to do this, but he at least finishes it with his Humanity intact. Dorfman tries calling the Sheriff but still is unable to make any contact. He calls Helena and tells her to try to find him. He informs her they had just been attacked by the Sabbat. They head for the Chantry for now.
David is recommended to get some rest at his own Haven. He digs through the Chantry Library hoping to find a Ritual that can help speed up healing. He isn't certain if he finds it, but soon, he decides to try to head home to get some rest.
At the sewers, Dor is finally reunited with Mildred and Velvet. Dor is kneed from behind into the muck by Lawrence, who then vanishes into the darkness. Mildred and Velvet find him lamenting his clothing now that is has been ruined. Mildred hands Dor a dirty rag to use to clean himself up. Dor waves it away and begs them to get them out of this place. Mildred holds out the map despite being dark, and guides them to the nearest junction to get out. They emerge onto the street level and find themselves at some kind of street eating thing. The people start to recognize Dor and call out to him. To explain, Dor declares his appearance as "Urban Decay" and the people begin taking photos with their cellphone cameras. The three hurry to get out of the limelight.
Alex finally answers his phone, while Monica lies atop the bellboy. Alex throws out a Summons, targetting Velvet, David and Diana to come to him. He hears Velvet's voice on the phone that moment and realizes it is Mildred on the line. Alex isn't sure who Mildred is, until she explains she was the Malkavian. She tells him she is with Dor and Velvet. Velvet tells Mildred and Dor that Alex is summoning him. Alex tells Mildred to follow them.
Dor admits he isn't sure if anyone would let them in a cab. But the three find a way to make their way to where Alex is, with Mildred skipping along the way.
David sees Alexandria at the haven, who worries over him when she sees his injuries. He admits he got attacked and tells her the wound was inflicted by Fleshcraft. She worries at the thought they would be in the City. He's surprised she's at the haven given her choice to stay with Bjorn. David admittedly is still hurting from the choice she made. According to Alexandria, Bjorn was watching the news and recognized it to be a cover story for a Sabbat attack. David refuses to confirm anything, but admits he doesn't know for sure. The Children are Tzimisce, but he is not sure who is in charge or created them. Alexandria wonders if they should just leave the City, given things are getting too "hot". David does not want to, thinking such an action would just build a reputation. Alexandria however counters that people don't even know she exists!
She admits she came back because she cared about him, but he's acting like some fucked up teenager that is making a fuss over her hanging out with another guy. She walks out on David, leaving him to ponder on his own fate. As he calls Alex, he feels the call of a Summons.
Alex mutters about receiving a lot of calls tonight, hoping to keep Monica from noticing something is up. Thankfully, she's too busy with the bellboy to notice. He answers the call and learns from David that he was attacked and showing up might not be too wise. Unfortunately there is no way to end the Summons. David will have to make do with what he can manage.
*
Diana wakes up, cursing as she realizes she just rose up! She actually was dreaming she was already there with Alex! Getting up, she looks around and realizes the place is not Alex' place. She sees a hunchback moving in the room. Excitedly, she calls out Igor and to her surprise, the man turns and offers to help her. The man, it turns out, is actually named Igor and he goes to prep the car for her ride back to the city. In a coppery suit, a red haired man walks up and offers to call the Master for her. She realizes the man is... probably named Renfield. He insists he is always ready to provide lives for the Master. Diana sees the massive painting of Dorian Adams with a woman in a white gown nearby. She notices the gargoyles and hears wolves howling nearby. Walking to the sound, she discovers they're coming from standing speakers where the howls are coming from. She learns the car is ready. When she asks about Dorian having wives, Igor explains that the Master Dorian is unmarried but has many wives.
And that's when she sees the wives, at least one of them. A woman in a long white gown is seated, fixing something out of view. Seeing Diana, she stands up and glides to Diana, saying she's too early since they normally open at nine in the evening. The place is known as Dorian's Castle and as she steps down, Diana sees the mechanized self-balancing scooter she was standing on. She learns the place is an amusement place. The woman waves goodbye as Diana steps into the car and is driven to where she needs to go.
David sees another vampire child running into an alleyway as he drives to the Elysium. He decides it is too risky and continues to obey the call of the Summons. The child breaks into the window of a nearby place. A woman screams.
Monica mutters that the guy is asleep. Alex looks at Monica, planting his phone down, and they talk about why she never chose to be the Sheriff to have more time. To Alex's surprise, Monica suddenly begs him to stay calm, to hear her out, and to allow her to tell him something: she tells him she thinks the Prince is lying. Monica goes to the bathroom, grabs a broken shard of glass and hands it back to Alex. She reveals she does not have a reflection and admits she thought she was Ventrue. She and her sister Cynthia, ever since their embrace, were always told by Marcus to groom each other. But she couldn't find Cynthia one day and tried to groom herself and discovered her reflection did not exist. Monica doesn't think she's Ventrue, and she tested herself today with the bellboy. She's always been attracted to straight dumb jocks. But today, she fed on an effeminate pretty boy and the blood didn't disagree with her. She isn't sure how far the lie goes, and she thinks Cynthia might be part of it. But the shadows suddenly shift, Monica suddenly falls backwards. Alex stares and realizes she's been... staked? Rushing close, Alex checks and finds a slight wooden point on Monica chest. At the door, with a crossbow in hand, Cynthia tells Alex to tell her what Monica told him. When Alex hesistates, Cynthia fires a bolt into Alex' hand, demanding he talk! Alex, knowing the others are enroute, opts to buy time and tries to get Cynthia to talk.
Cynthia admits she knows Monica has figured it out, and she regrets having broken routine. She does notice Alex is far too calm given he's just learned this friend is Lasombra. She figures he already knew. He throws the question back, asking Cynthia what she expects him to do about it.
At the street, David sees Chas Voyager on the street, playing another musical instrument. The crowd in the street gathers, and starts to stop as they get close enough. David blares the horn to make the people move aside, and they do so. Chas however never notices him and continues to play, with what looks like music illuminating the inside of his eyes.
The driver asks Diana if the owner is really a vampire. He admits he's new to the job, one of the five drivers. When Diana mutters it is the castle of a vampire, the guy admits that sounds pretty cool. Diana admits it is her first time there too. Diana catches sight of a man on the street. The man. The one who cupped her mouth! She tells the driver to stop, hurries down and walks up to him. Scott Levin turns, seeing her, and she claims to have seen him before. He admits it seems the powers of the blood are no longer as efficient as before to stay hidden. "I am usually ignored, as I prefer to be. But things have been changing." He stares at a wall with lots of posters and ads on them. Diana asks where they met before, and with a word, Levin states, "You will remember," and she does. He stares at a poster of a magician for hire and he mutters that of the children they saw, there is less now, but the shadow they leave is great. "Magicians are nice but they are only really better when they do fire tricks." The other poster he looks at shows a plumber service. Diana asks him about the Sabbat. He takes the plumber poster from the wall and admits, "They tried to tell us. But we didn't listen. The italians tried to." Diana does not quite get what he means. "The Japanese own them now." Diana feels more lost.
Levin reminds her her car is waiting. He takes another poster of a motorcycle for sale and mutters, "Vikings is a good restaurant." He smiles, hands it to her, and adds, "Miss Pierce, if my Sire speaks to you, please tell her I tried to help." When Diana asks who his sire is, he simply walks away.
Along the way, Mildred, Velvet and Dor squeeze into a cab. When the driver argues against having them ride because they stick, Velvet tosses the guy out of the car and drives instead. She only hopes the cops don't stop them since she has no license. They approach the hotel.
Cynthia tells Alex how Marcus Vitel did the world a kindness when he adopted two shovelheads who were unable to dig themselves out of the soil during a Sabbat Creation Rite. "If you think you'll turn yourself into a hero by revealing to everyone what we really are, I won't let you!" Cynthia soon even admits she was the one who got the previous Sheriff in trouble when he learned the same fact. Cynthia is doing what she must to protect the Prince from the truth, because she cares for him and all the effort he has placed in keeping the City functional, despite the Anarch and Sabbat presence. She asks Alex if she is with them, or helping the very thing he is fighting by ruining everything the Prince has made. Alex admits he stands by the Prince as per duties and responsibilities. Cynthia then asks him to help her: Monica does not remember because she nightly keeps Monica from remembering that she is actually Lasombra. "I want her to think she is Ventrue. It is easier for her to believe she is part of something greater. Rather than know she is a monster among monsters." Cynthia can erase her memories, but she needs Alex to play his part, given he is part of her recent memories, and support the lie. Cynthia admits the last time she allowed Monica to know the truth, she nearly tried to face the coming dawn. Cynthia hates how the Lasombra are seen as betrayers and traitors and does not want Monica to live her unlife believing she's become something horrible. She rather Monica lives happily than die miserable. Cynthia admits she is old enough to accept life is most of the time, just shit. An existence of never seeing one's own face. Of never being able to face oneself.
Up the elevator, David notices a room service tray set against the wall. He slowly approaches.
Down at the lobby, Diana arrives but before she could reach the elevator, she sees an exotic woman staring at her with a smile on her face. She stands up and approaches Diana, never breaking eye contact. To Diana's surprise, she cannot move at all as if her body had been paralyzed. The woman gets close enough and names her by name, stating she was based in Los Angeles and handling the murders needed. The woman recognizes her and talks to her about her sire, who would most likely soon be in the City given it is ripe for an Anarch revolt. Diana expresses her disgust at being tied to him. The woman finds it quaint that she's pretending to be Camarilla, and she can't wait to see how they will react when they find out the truth. Diana struggles to maintain her composure, knowing they are in a public venue.
"Should I tell him and let him know that you are here?" she grins.
"Tell him what you wish. I do not want to owe her anything!" Diana growls. The woman tells him they will see her again soon. Fernando, Diana's sire, and she are anxious to get started in the City. The woman even quips tonight was a productive night, after a meeting with the Lasombra... and now this meeting with Fernando's childe. The woman leaves, covering herself with her hood as she notes tonight is a very busy night.
Dor, Velvet and Mildred arrive, with Velvet rushing past the others to head up. Mildred and Dor run through the lobby to follow. They do not see Diana just head up ahead of them. Velvet rushes into an elevator, but it closes before Mildred and Dor can follow.
Cynthia asks Alex to hold Monica, and guides him on what to do the moment they remove the bolt. Alex is to reinforce whatever Cynthia tells Monica. David, however, outside the door, considers the right moment to interrupt. He fires at the door with his pistol to break it open. That moment, Alex leaps for Cynthia's crossbow, hoping to knock it off her hands. Alex takes it from Cynthia's hand, and David runs into the room with the pistol trained at Cynthia and fires a shot at her leg. The elevator door opens as Diana arrives at the floor. She pulls out her own pistol and runs for the room. Cynthia screams as blood splatters from her leg from the gunshot. Before Cynthia can react, Diana reaches the room with her Celerity and upon arriving, she sees the people in the room and assesses whom to train her gun at.
Alex hits the ground with the crossbow in hand. Cynthia snarls at David, and her voice echoes as she commands him, "Drop it!" David drops the pistol, unable to resist the Dominate power of the woman. Another elevator door opens, and Velvet arrives. Velvet calls out to Diana as she draws her pistol. Alex trains the crossbow at Cynthia, but the bolt falls to the ground proving Alex does not know how to use it. David rushes across the room to grapple Cynthia by the neck. Diana runs to Alex, hoping to protect him. Cynthia snarls and suddenly fire erupts in her hands! All the present vampires feel the red fear grow within them as they see the flames dance above her fingers. She tells them to stand back, reminding them the floor is a carpet. Diana stumbles backwards, away from the fire. Diana asks Alex to explain what is going on. "Lasombra complications," Alex mutters. Cynthia takes this as a statement that he never was really going to help.
The next elevator opens, with Mildred rushing to the scene. Dor however, walks slowly, still feeling uneasy given the state he's in. Mildred peers in, smelling the burning smell of the Lure of Flames. Dor stops, upon smelling the fire, and waits to see what will happen. He recognizes Cynthia's voice. Alex tries to convince Cynthia he is on her side, but she snarls that he just told them all the secret she is keeping and how she will have to wipe their memories as well. Alex reiterates she is not doing the right thing. He tells her that if she believes the Prince took her in, shortcomings and all, then he has his reasons and she should learn to stand by them. He doesn't believe she should let her sister live a false life. Cynthia's questions if Alex really knows what he's talking about, and if others would ever be open-minded to having a Lasombra in their midst. The others, all in their own way, hear the confirmation to the rumors they've heard that night. Dor steps into view, attempting to seem friendly as he allows Entrancement to reach out towards Cynthia. David asks if Cynthia is antitribu then, one of those of the Sabbat Clans that moved away from the Clan. Cynthia sees Dor, and thanks to the Entrancement, sees him as a friend. She calls out to him, afraid that the others are here to hurt her. Cynthia claims they are Venture! They are not Lasombra. Dor tells Cynthia to put out the fire and come to him for a hug. Alex sees Dor diffusing the situation and remembers Marcus Vitel before telling him that Dor was worth watching. As they hug, Cynthia looks at the others, still wary of them. Diana brings down her gun. Dor tells everyone else to calm down, stating they've all had a terrible day. He stresses he knows he had one, and points to his stinky clothing as proof. David asks Cynthia to choose: Live a lie where everyone will hunt her down, or the life where only the Sabbat will. As only the Sabbat hunt down the antitribu. Dor however hushes David to be quiet, and to let Cynthia rest. Mildred calmly walks into the room, shoves the unconscious kine off the bed, then, unfazed, fixes the bed for Cynthia to have a place to lie down. Alex and Diana help carry Monica to the side. Cynthia asks David if the Camarilla would protect them? David admits they will, but probably not publicly.
Cynthia's phone rings. All the others stare in silence as she takes it and answers aloud, "Sire?" She mentions the Sheriff is with her and that he is making sure Monica and she are safe. Cynthia hands Alex the phone. Mildred shoves the unconscious kine under the bed, and as he rolls under, his eyes open and he mutters to Mildred, "Thanks. It was getting kind of weird being the only one alive." No one else sees that conversation happen because it happens only in Mildred's mind.
Vitel confirms with Alex if his daughters are there. He affirms they are and apologies for his absence. Dobson has tracked 12 attacks in total. Alex promises he will be on it soon. Vitel shares Dorfman believes there should be only one or two remaining and that they are coordinating their efforts. He asks if the Hounds are searching for the rest, and when Alex admits they will be, Vitel gets angry that they actually haven't even started! Vitel asks aloud if he made a mistake in choosing him as a Sheriff and wonders if he should have become instead the Toreador primogen. Thankfully, the daughters being safe seems to be enough a detail to calm him down. "The last thing I want is something coming from the shadows at them." Vitel gives him an address to bring the daughters, and tell him he expects a full report. Alex shares with the others the updates, but Dor insists they can discuss things after they help Cynthia calm down. Dor asks them if they remember the last banquet, with that Malkavian who did the thing. Dor begins to laugh, but no one knows what he's referring to.
With Monica restful on the bed, Alex unstakes Monica. Monica actually continues her conversation earlier without realizing she had been staked. Realizing there are many people, Alex calms her down and explains the situation. Diana tells Alex she will get started on the children. Mildred offers the unconscious kine again for Monica to feed on. Cynthia comes up to Monica, hugs her tight, and helps Alex explain that they got attacked but things are fine now. Monica stares at Alex, with a "we need to talk" look. Alex waves at her to wait, and to talk about things next time. Diana opts to leave, thinking of the orphanage and hoping to see if there are any new clues she overlooked there before. With everyone else calmer, Monica presses Alex for a better explanation of what happened. Alex just tells her she is safe and that is what matters. Monica looks at Cynthia, wondering if she knows. Alex tells her it is fine. Everything is going to be fine. Alex looks at Dor and Cynthia and tells Monica, yes. Monica and Cynthia hug, and promise, "If things go bad, I'm sure Peter will help us."
Sitting and watching the happiness, Mildred wonders about the thing she was supposed to do in the sewers. She stands up, crosses the room to leave, but Alex calls out and approaches her. Alex asks where she found Dor, and Mildred admits it was in the sewers, pointing to her forehead as she does so. Alex looks at Mildred, then at Dor, and decides Mildred might have talents that would prove useful. He asks if she would like to be one of his Hounds, so she can get help when she does things. Mildred asks to get back to him on that. She leaves.
Alex realizes he best shanghai Dor to be a Hound as well in the future.
Later in the evening, while Diana stakes out the orphanage, she sees one of the Children return. As it looks around, she stays hidden and waits. The thing sits on the ground, clutching its knees, and starts to make sad keening sounds. Diana feels some desire to help, but opts instead to use her cellphone to record the sound in her phone. She continues to wait. Night stretches on. Still no one else. Just the child alone, keening.
Diana shoots Alex a message then she moves silently to leave. Peeking at the other windows, she finds no trace of any other Sabbat. Another hour. Still no one. Diana draws her stake, and closes in on the Childe to stake at it. She sees it scared to be alone, hugging itself and waiting. Moving swiftly, she attempts to stake it before it notices her. The first few strikes misses the heart, and after a few seconds tumbling at each other, Diana finally lands on the ground with the childe staked and beneath her. A man arrives, one hand holding an axe, and stops upon seeing Diana. She recognizes Bjorn who is impressed she got the last one. Diana asks if he will take care of it, and he admits it depends if she will take it to her Prince or not. She notices his axe is blood splattered, and decides she will take the childe to the Prince. "Let him know," he asks her, "The Brujah did their job."
At the Chantry, a few days later. Peter Dorfman is with Helena Taylor and the others. She tells them this gross attack on the Camarilla means only one thing: the Sabbat are out there and are calling for their blood. She moves to enact Rituals to raise wards but before she could continue, Peter states as Pontifex he is overruling her recommendation. He does not want the Tremere to reveal its strength. He tasks David to use his ties with the Brujah, given the Prince called them to help during the absence of the Sheriff. This has led to the Rabble asking for a seat in the Primogen Council. Peter looks at Helena who realizes what Peter has in mind: David can attempt to gain the seat of Primogenship for the Brujah Clan as they know him to be one of them. "Two Tremere in seats of power," Peter grins, "Sounds like a plan." Helena nods. She walks up to David and whispers, "You know some people would kill for a job like that." Then walks away.
The Prince calls for a Ventrue Gathering. The Camarilla gather. During the meeting Cynthia throws Alex glances, worried he will chose this moment to reveal their lineage. Monica tosses Alex glances, worried if she can trust her sister. And finally, Vitel throws glances at him for his own reasons. Vitel informs the gathered of the situation of the Sabbat childer and how the Brujah had to be petitioned for assistance given the Sheriff's absence while rescuing Dor. He states Alex Cross' decisions have gained stronger allies among the Toreador. Vitel officially presents Alex as the Sheriff of the City, to the sound of applause. Monica stands up and speaks aloud, announcing her desire to work with the Sheriff from this day on, if it pleases him. Vitel however turns to Alex and he says, "Aren't you already working with Monica?" Alex admits it is on different terms. Vitel has him to choose then who will work with him as his co-sheriff. Alex can read Monica and Cynthia's stares too easily - for Monica it is a chance to investigate her suspicions, but for Cynthia it is a chance to prove she can be trusted. Alex is given the weight of making the decision.
Alex chooses Cynthia. Monica looks down, angry for the rejection. Cynthia stands and admits she is honored to be given this opportunity, to be trusted and to have a chance to show she deserves their trust. Marcus Vitel simply smiles.
Walking home in new clothes, Dor is accosted by fans who love his urban decay. But Velvet intercepts them and tells them to walk on. The two, however, see Chas Voyager further down the street, once more playing music to a transfixed crowd. As they hear the music, however, they find themselves swept away by the performance. The next thing Dor realizes, he has moved infront of the crowd, seeing glimpses of his mortal life - of beatnik bars, of trying to look cool but not, of enjoying the music - and then, as he relives a memory, with the bar crowd cheering the band, a figure sits beside him, almost androgynous. She reaches for his hand and smiles, "Master Roberts. I am Genevieve Orseau." She begins to appear in glimpses of Dor's other memories. She begins to appear in different recollections, she's there, in various moments of his life. She is there. "We know each other," she smiles, "I need of you. I must wake up soon. I need you-"
Chas Voyager has stopped playing the music. Dor blinks his eyes a few times and stares at Chas, asking if he saw her too. Chas merely mumbles "She needs us" as he walks away. Being slightly older than Chas, Dor recognizes the mix of what could have been Presence and Auspex to make one a perfect friend. A perfect... Dor focuses his will to break free from her hold on him.
An elder.
There is an elder in Washington, D.C.
One that is asleep and seeks to wake up.
Elsewhere, elsewhen.
Mildred is at the Library, realizing she has yet to return the map. As she slides it into the map case, with nearby people staring at her. Behind her, a seated figure waits for her to finish. She turns and sees Scott Levin. He asks if her journey in the sewers went well and she admits she needs to do further investigations... she thinks. Scott begins by saying, "Hirsch-" but then switches and says instead, "Mildred, I hope you are enjoying your Nights." She admits relatively she is. He admits they may have to leave the City given the events that have been stirring. One that has been sleeping has begun to awaken.
"The Nosferatu lied to us," Scott calmly explains, "The Nosferatu are said to run when the City is in danger. But the Black Sisters are not the danger they are running from." Mildred agrees, saying the television personality told him that. "Have you not noticed, the Nosferatu have run from the sewers as well. They are not watching the City, they are watching down below." Scott shares that the Nosferatu have been doing what Mildred thought to do, investigate the sewers, and now from forty, they number five." Mildred wonders if they should inform the others. Scott apologizes, telling her this is such a waste of time, but he feels they should go. Mildred does not understand what he means. Scott just wants to leave before whatever is sleeping has drank enough to wake up.
"Wouldn't it just follow us?" Mildred wonders. "Sire please!" Scott suddenly yells out, but stops himself and tries to calm down, "Forgive me, you are Mildred. You are not Hirsch." She asks if it would be better for them to try and stop whatever it is here. Concentrate their forces. Logically, it seems sound to bunker here instead of running away. He apologizes for the outburst, and leaves. Mildred turns around and makes a mental note to inform the others of what she thinks is happening. Or at least what she thinks is happening.
She opens her eyes. She is back at her own Haven. She decides to prepare for the library. Even the body of the staked former Sherrif is still against the wall.
*
Elsewhere in the city, David Sullivan feeds on a sleeping bum to raise his dwindling resources. He visits his Nosferatu contact, a tall vampire in a beige trenchcoat and slacks. Named Lawrence George, there are times upon blinking that David sees him change his appearance slightly. He agrees to see the Tremere since they owe the Clan. David admits he's look for Dor and Lawrence expresses in a lot of cuss words how angry he is that the Toreador was rescued and yet is acting as if it was the worst thing to ever happen in his life. They leave the sewer meeting place and walk instead to the Metro, with Lawrence asking what brought about the change of heart given they have been trying to convince the Tremere to join the Nosferatu in the last two years. He asks what tipped him off, and David admits he doesn't not know what he means. Lawrence scratches, then pulls out a marble sized louse. David looks away in disgust, but then hears Lawrence whisper to it, "Do your job," and leave it against the wall. David's eyes widen in realization the Nosferatu must have a network still in the city. They get on the train.
Lawrence berates David for not being here based on what the Nosferatu claim to have uncovered about the Prince. He knows David is trying to get on his good side, given he needs information, and even mutters something about the Tremere losing the Net to the Malkavians. When David admits he'd prefer people weren't overhearing them, Lawrence unleashes a huge silent stinky smell to force everyone else to move to the other cars. "Silent but deadly." Lawrence learns this isn't the Tremere actually finally calling for the Boon, and asks him to say what he wants directly as he hates reading between the lines and all that crap. He tells David the Prince is sheltering two of the Lasombra, Monica and Cynthia Black. They have megabytes of footage and pictures showing neither of the two appearing on any of their photographs and footage. The Prince however has not accepted their investigations, which leads them to suspect the Prince is either Blood Bound to them, Entranced, Dominated, or worse, replaced. David suddenly feels a Summons. He can see Marcus Vitel in his mind. I need you, Hound. Lawrence admits David is in trouble for that. In exchange for the info, David admits to the Lawrence that he has been ordered to replace the Prince with a Tremere. Lawrence is aghast though, claiming everyone knows that the Tremere want to replace Marcus with one of their own! "Give me something useful! What's next, the Toreador want to be pretty?!" David shares how he is also "Brujah," and when Lawrence asks how that happened, David heads out of the train and leaves the Nosferatu to ponder over it.
*
 |
| Nathan, Nosferatu (Jonathan Pryce) |
Nathan explains the tunnels will not welcome Prince Vitel and his traitorous associates, given he is a pawn of an elaborate game most are not aware to be transpiring around them. He calls for servants and two other Nosferatu come into view. They set up an old television set and a VHS player. Another arrives with a bunch of VHS tapes in his arms. Dor wonders what sort of museum this is. The Nosferatu show the tapes showing their investigations regarding the Black Sisters. Dor uses Aura Perception to peer into Nathan's aura while he talks about the footage being taken since the 80s. Seeing the parts where the women have vanished, Nathan explains the women do not have Obfuscate, but instead it is the Clan curse of the Lasombra affecting the tapes, which use old silver nirate in the film to capture the images. On the smart phone, however, the Nosferatu have confirmed the sisters do appear. Digital, it seems, circumvents the curse. Dor asks if its an iPhone and Nathan admits its a Samsung since they like how, "They can be used as weapons." They leave Dor to go through all the footage from the 80s to the turn of the century. They talk also of a shift in Marcus Vitel's personality towards the women in the footage.
*
Back to earlier this morning, both Alex and Diana wait for the car in the diner. The diner's walls are all glass, however. The old woman brings down the blinds as she tells the two that they don't like the sunlight hitting them in the morning. Before the blinds close, however, Diana catches sight of one of the vampiric children at the street. Seeing the car, Diana ponders on whether or not to deal with the trouble standing now, or the pressing matter they were tasked to handle. Alex admits it might not be prudent to go after the child today. They enter the car and see its heavily tinted windows. Inside, Dorian Adams greets them and apologizes for wasting no time to see them. As the car drives back to his haven, which Alex knows to be outside the outskirts of the city, Dorian tells them that he had just witnessed the Prince present in one of the events last night when he noticed he was not among the sisters. He looked nervous, scared even, glancing around nervously as if he was not certain. He kept to himself, avoided talking to anyone. Alex wonders if it really was the Prince he saw, and Dorian questions if anyone would dare pretend to be the Prince. Dorian followed the Prince as he ducked into a room away from the rest of the people, and soon reemerged with his hand against his chest, as if he was holding something. Dorian felt the Prince was asking like some kind of spy. He lost track of him for a few minutes, but later saw the Prince again but this time with the sisters, and none of the fidgety behavior. Dorian asks if they ever noticed the Prince act differently in relation to the daughters, and Alex admits he does dote on the two. Dorian believes Marcus Vitel is one of the Sabbat, a Lasombra, just like the sister. "The real Marcus Vitel is dead."
At Dorian's estate, Alex and Diana struggle to stay awake and learn of the group called the Midnight Road which Dorian used to be part of. Dorian shares how all the others had met accidental death and he is the sole remaining member. Alex brushes away all urge to sleep. Diana fails, however, and drifts off many times. Dorain claims he had been allowed to stay alive since he is a joke to the Clan and allows any breach of the Masquerade to be attributed to his presence, which is the weird vampire guy in the city. Dorian admits Diana is correct that his appearance is deliberate to stay below their radar. Dorian admits he wishes he could stake Marcus Vitel and send him to Final Death. Alex apologizes for Diana's questions and claimes she is low on the upkeep - Dorian explains that Cynthia and Monica Black are the Childer of Marcus Vitel. He is Lasombra. And that any Tremere can confirm this. Part of his proof is that Vitel has shown NO dietary feeding restriction, and that the two women - so distant from each other in personality and trait - do not reflect any refined taste the Ventrue are known to have. The Prince and his daughters do not seem to limit themselves in what they feed on. Diana wonders, "So just cause they do not feed only on people who eat grapes..." Alex and Dorian try not to react to the Brujah. Dorian admits he feeds only on helpless attractive women. Alex wonders if Vitel only has a stranger less easily discerned taste. Dorian admits they must be sleepy, and has made arrangements for their accommodations. Alex pushes Diana to wake her, and the shove triggers her Brujah temper enough for her to growl at him, "Don't do that." Dorian asks them to quickly share what questions they have so they can rest. With Vitel having shown no traits of the Ventrue, and the daughters having shown traits of the Lasombra, Vitel must be one too. Dorian thinks Vitel might be using some form of rare Thaumaturgical Ritual to fake a reflection, but has not been able to recreate it for his daughters. Diana finds it hard to believe he would have failed to cover for her daughters with the same Ritual. Dorian thinks it was just the inherent stupidity of people to forget to do things. Or overlook things.
Alex finally asks why Dorian has opted to tell him these things. Dorian states, it is because he is the new Sheriff. Dorian admits he stated these things to the previous Sheriff too. Alex remembers the previous Sheriff supposedly had been keeping things from the Prince. Could it be it was because he was trying to investigate as well back then? Dorian asks them if they need blood, but they say they are well. Dorian admits their actions are up to them now. He dares not act, nor leave, for doing so would tell them he knows and that would make him a target. Diana wishes they had physical evidence to present. Dorian admits the best would be either with footage showing their lack of reflections, with an old camera, or a Tremere identifying their lineage. Diana remembers Karina Dobson's words, stating she knows about 14,000 cameras in the city and nothing happens without her knowing. Diana wonders about the children, and Alex gives her the go signal to share it. Diana tells Dorian of the embraced children at the orphanage, and that there are around twenty of them. The breach on the Masquerade alone... She believes the children are the more pressing matter. The Prince they can investigate slowly and quietly. Dorian goes to the nearest television set and sees the news are showing reports of youth attacking people in the streets and homes. The reports claim it to be a Zombie Drug, some Russian drug that has hit the street market. Dorian wonders who is covering this for the Sheriff. Alex feels panic rush in as he realizes someone is doing his job, and when he pulls out his phone he sees the phones have no signal. Dorian's place is a deadspot. For security reasons. "We need to go. We have a long day ahead of us!" Alex mutters, but Diana has fallen asleep. Dorian tells him Diana can stay with him. Alex takes Dorian's car and asks him to bring him to one of the Elysium.
As Alex is in the car, they soon reach the point where the signal returns. The messages flood in, with Vitel asking for Alex in many ways. Alex eventually sees a message where Vitel says he will handle it himself and Alex will owe him a Boon. The last message reads, "Dobson is handling it. You will owe her as well." They get to the Elysium, a Hotel, and there, when Alex awakens at the hotel, Monica Black is in the room.
*
Mildred Hobbs is at the library, pouring over the many maps and charts of the tunnels underneath Washington, D.C. She noticed a familiar face in the place and says hello. Velvet smiles at her, admitting she was looking for the very book Mildred was using that moment. "Why are you looking for the sewer maps?" Mildred admits she was just getting a feel for the place. Velvet questions that Mildred wasn't there when it happened, which Mildred doesn't quite get. She shares with Velvet the map, who then considers the Nosferatu to be at a certain junction that the map shows. Mildred locks the map in her eidetic memory, and Mildred shares with Velvet the thought that the sisters might not actually be of the Camarilla. Velvet stares at her as she talks and tells Mildred to stop. "Didn't you just get here? And you already have this damn conspiracy theory about the sisters being Lasombra?" Velvet admits that her sire once told her that when Malkavians speak, it is either batshit crazy stuff or something true. Mildred asks Velvet if she will accompany her to the tunnels, but Velvet wonders if they should tell Cross about this first. Velvet and Mildred pull out their phones to call him, but sadly neither of them connect. The number cannot be reached. Are they outside the coverage area? Velvet considers trying calling Diana, which Mildred tries as well. Still not reachable. They decide to head for the sewers. Mildred folds the map and stuffs it into her pocket. Velvet stares in shock as Mildred walks off with the torn map."Malkavians," Velvet sighs.
*
David arrives at a hotel and after going through the usual security finds Marcus Vitel with Peter Dorfman waiting. Marcus smiles, thanking him for receiving the Summons, and Peter even commends David for being the Tremere he would entrust such an immense duty. Vitel tells David that Dorfman suspects the Sabbat are in the city and that his daughters, Monica and Cynthia are working with them. Vitel admits he has not told the Sheriff of this and asks David to conduct an independent investigation on his daughters to know for certain if they are indeed Lasombra. Vitel was warned he may not be able to judge clearly on this as he may have been swayed. When David admits the Nosferatu have made their own investigations, Vitel is surprised to learn they are still in the City. Peter's eyes stare at David, as if to tell him not to admit more. David claims he has been looking for them as well. Vitel wonders if he should have listened to Nathan when he left. He thought the Nosferatu were just swayed by rumors of what lies beneath New York might also have something beneath Washington, D.C. Dorfman reiterates the Tremere will always be loyal to the Prince thus he felt they should know of their suspicions on the sisters immediately. Vitel looks very bothered by this, and he even tells Dorfman that he wishes Peter to succeed him as Prince if anything happens to him. Among all the Primogen, Dorfman is the only one Vitel feels he can rely on. Dorfman reminds Vitel the Tremere Primogen is someone else, but Vitel counters that they all know she is just a figure head.
David opts to check as well, but as he reaches for the door, he suddenly sees a feral thing leap at the driver and tear into the car! But in an eyeblink, David realizes it was an Auspex vision, and tells Peter to lock the doors! As they do so, the driver is then yanked below the car and they both see the driver's door remains open!
*
Dor sees other Kindred in the footage, not noticing the sisters' lack of reflection. He asks why show him as no one would believe him. "I mean, I could paint something?" Nathan admits Clan Toreador is the most influential clan to spread the information out, and so they reached out to him for help. Dor reminds them his art is his passion and he isn't the most respected among Kindred. Nathan however admits the Kindred eye will be focused on him and that the Sheriff cannot help as they do not exist in the Camarilla's eye. The former Prince branded them as traitors, and the current Prince has demanded for their leave of the City. Nathan knows they are not the only ones who believe in it, and if others learn a Toreador is now believing it, then the truth becomes stronger with more mouths speaking it, especially if the known rivals of the Nosferatu are speaking of it. Dor asks if they approached their primogen, and Nathan admits they already tried before. Dor spits as he mutters Chas Voyager's name. Another Nosferatu arrives and informs them that a Tremere also believes the rumor, and that Tremere is actually pretending to be Brujah. "Sounds very St. Germaine," he mutters. Dor learns that Tremere is David Sullivan, and that he is now one of the Hounds of the Prince, both being things Dor did not know. Dor at least can see they are reaching out to others.
*
At the street, Mildred and Velvet consider which sewer to go into.Velvet considers going through the same sewer where Dor's trail was, although that was where they fought the giant gator. Velvet thinks the fact the two aren't answering means they are in the sewers. Mildred mutters how someone on television once said if there's trouble, the first to go are the Nosferatu. Velvet is confused how such a Masquerade breach can happen on television. Velvet asks Mildred to wait and she goes to the nearest convenience store, claiming its best they have back up. Mildred sees Velvet stand infront of the CCTV camera for a few second and learns if the Ventrue Seneschal, Dobson, goes looking for them, the image of her in that store should help lead them here. The two descend into the sewer. Velvet asks Mildred to guide her as she wants to save the batteries of her flashlight til they really need it.
"This way..."
*
With the driver's seat open, David scoots over to the front to shut the door closed. A young child emerges, shoving the door open as it climbs into the room with his mouth full of fangs bared open! The glass of the window spiderwebs as it slams against it to climb in with its immense strength. David reached out and plants his hand against the boy's skin and uses the Cauldron of Blood to boil the child's blood from within! Rötschreck hits as the boy feels aggravated damage for the first time. It flees. The driver emerges from the front, waving as a second boy, the one attacking him, is flung away. Dorfman reaches forward and the driver is flung into the air, flung into the car, and the doors slam shut. The three look around and see the boys swarming around the car, fangs bared. The driver counts eight. David looks at Dorfman. Dorfman admits fighting those eight without breaching the Masquerade will be tricky. The driver starts the car. The children begin slamming at the car from the outside, shaking the car back and forth. The driver tries to move, but the children begin to hold the car in place with their immense supernatural strength! Dorfman tells them he needs a few seconds as he closes his eyes to focus. David feels helpless, not wanting to do anything. More slam at the windows to cause more cracks to spread on the surface - thankfully the bullet proof glass holds. "Go reverse!" David recommends and the drive complies. The sudden shift forces the children to lose balance for a second, and a fog surrounds the car. David tells him to hit it, and the drive shoves a foot on the gas. Dorfman opens his hands, and fire suddenly erupts out of the fog surrounding them! The car screeches forward and the children feel the fire burn them, forcing them to flee as the car leaps out of the fog and onto the street.
People from the nearby buildings think some kind of explosion just erupted, blind to the burning children running from the fog. As the car drives down the road however, one last child has clung onto the back and clambers atop the trunk. David yells at the drive to hit the brakes. As the car comes to a stop, the kid flies, and hits the road. Dorfman rushes out of the car, with David behind him. Dorfman draws a stake out and asks David if there are witnesses. Seeing none, Dorfman stakes the boy and the two carry the body into the car. "The boy will give us answers. Take us to a safe house."
*
Dor is to be escorted back through the sewers. The Nosferatu are unwilling to let him take the evidence however, as they need to hold on to it. They ask him to convince David Sullivan to test the blood of the Prince and the daughters. They used to have a vial of his blood but had lost it when the one they trusted turned out to be untrustworthy. Dor promises he will try to do his best. Dor accepts a blindfold (and covers his nose with it as well) Nathan tells the Nosferatu their Clan remains strong despite their lesser numbers. Dor notices there are only five of them. Lawrence ends up being the one who has to escort Dor as the rest fade away from view. Nathan reminds Lawrence, "Seven, eighteen and twenty-one." Lawrence mutters it is good he fed before going home. "And don't complain about walking on water and stuff, cause it ain't water!" As they travel through the sewers, Dor soon learns that the numbers Lawrence was told to remember are Spawning Pools that he has to "replenish" with Vitae, to keep the monsters that feed on them to become ghoul servants that they can control. The Nosferatu network remains strong.
Dor starts to hear the voices of the female Malkavian and the Brujah bodyguard nearby, as his Auspex helps him detect their echoes in the tunnels. Lawrence grabs one of the nearby rats and holds it close to his face. His eyes glaze over and next thing Dor knows, Lawrence begins to fidget with some rat like activity before his eyes come back into view. He puts the rat down and tells Dor he knows where they are.
*
Dorfman remembers Helena Taylor telling him David Sullivan can't read minds, and so he tries to read what he can from the mind of the child. When Dorfman's eyes open, David sees they have gone bloodshot. He is still connected. Dorfman begins to speak, though his intonations have shifted to an unfamiliar one, "Yes, you are trying to see if I left anything in my creations... well, here I am! I am Jack and this City is my playground now." Dorfman disconnects and his eyes return to normal. He states the man is an Anarch and is most likely Tzimisce. David realizes if the Sire is Tzimisce, then the boy might NOT have his heart in the normal place! The boy moves, mouth about to plunge into Dorfman's throat. David grabs the stake, twisting it more to try to hit the heart! The boy reaches up, grabbing David's face, and stretching the skin with ease!
*
Alex stares at Monica from across the bed, realizing she had slipped into the room he was in while he was asleep. He must have nodded off sometime during noon and now, it was evening again. She admits she was wondering where he had gone and was hoping to spend some time with him and another kine to feed on. He admits he had a long day. They talk about the crazy kids on the street, and she congratulates him on a good cover-up. Monica even muses how there are a lot of Youtube videos online of it. Alex asks him why she is here. He cannot help but keep looking around for any reflective surface where he can look if she has a reflection. She accuses him of suddenly becoming so much less fun ever since he started hanging out with the Brujah. She jokes about having fun with the jock they had the previous night, even if Alex is full, and just see if he remembers them. "We can wipe his memory out again after." When Alex remains detached, she starts to ask what's wrong with him. As Alex goes to get ready, he sees the full length mirror in the bathroom and he tries to see if he can see her if he angles himself. Realizing he can see the bed's headrest, he tries to suggest to her to go to the television near the bed, hoping she will be in position enough to see her reflection.
"Could you open the television for me please?"
She switches it on, using the remote control. Alex grunts, frustrated it didn't work. Monica calls room service, asking for the cute guy who carried her bags to head up. Alex considers a new approach. Faking a moment of anger and frustration, he begins yelling out loud as he punches the mirror to shatter it. He picks up a shard of the broken mirror. Monica sees him step out with a bloody hand, and she teasingly asks if she needs to use the wine bottle to protect herself. He apologizes and admits he just feels the stress from the job. As she reminds him to watch his hand cause it has blood, he grabs the opportunity to raise the mirror and peek.
Monica has no reflection.But before she notices, room service arrives. As Monica goes to answer the door, Alex holds the mirror higher and double checks. True enough, no sign of Monica at all. The bellhop, an attractive man, smiles back at them at the door, asking if there's anything he can do for them. Alex firms his emotions up and tells the bellhop to come in, but his words come out sounding uncertain. Alex instead bites his lip to make it look like it is because the man is that attractive, hiding the fact the tension is from confirming Monica is Lasombra. As Monica turns off the lights to make the scene more romantic, Alex starts to worry about the shadows growing in the room.
*
With David's face yanked by the child, David uses the Cauldron of Blood once more to try to burn the child and force it to let go of his face! As the blood flares, the child screams and as he tries to pull free, he yanks David's face pulling his cheek outwards into a strange flap that disrupts his perceptions. Dorfman unleashes a touch of fire upon the child to force it down. As the boy howls and screams, he attempts to plunge his hand to David's chest! But before it does so, David unleashes the Cauldron one last time, and the child shrieks as he burns from within, burning away into ashes.
Disfigured by Vicissitude, David tries to use his Vitae to heal the alteration, but it fails. Grabbing a knife from Dorfman, he slices away the meat, knowing the Kindred form should allow him to regenerate it after a night of rest. He feels sick for having to do this, but he at least finishes it with his Humanity intact. Dorfman tries calling the Sheriff but still is unable to make any contact. He calls Helena and tells her to try to find him. He informs her they had just been attacked by the Sabbat. They head for the Chantry for now.
David is recommended to get some rest at his own Haven. He digs through the Chantry Library hoping to find a Ritual that can help speed up healing. He isn't certain if he finds it, but soon, he decides to try to head home to get some rest.
*
At the sewers, Dor is finally reunited with Mildred and Velvet. Dor is kneed from behind into the muck by Lawrence, who then vanishes into the darkness. Mildred and Velvet find him lamenting his clothing now that is has been ruined. Mildred hands Dor a dirty rag to use to clean himself up. Dor waves it away and begs them to get them out of this place. Mildred holds out the map despite being dark, and guides them to the nearest junction to get out. They emerge onto the street level and find themselves at some kind of street eating thing. The people start to recognize Dor and call out to him. To explain, Dor declares his appearance as "Urban Decay" and the people begin taking photos with their cellphone cameras. The three hurry to get out of the limelight.
*
Alex finally answers his phone, while Monica lies atop the bellboy. Alex throws out a Summons, targetting Velvet, David and Diana to come to him. He hears Velvet's voice on the phone that moment and realizes it is Mildred on the line. Alex isn't sure who Mildred is, until she explains she was the Malkavian. She tells him she is with Dor and Velvet. Velvet tells Mildred and Dor that Alex is summoning him. Alex tells Mildred to follow them.
*
Dor admits he isn't sure if anyone would let them in a cab. But the three find a way to make their way to where Alex is, with Mildred skipping along the way.
*
She admits she came back because she cared about him, but he's acting like some fucked up teenager that is making a fuss over her hanging out with another guy. She walks out on David, leaving him to ponder on his own fate. As he calls Alex, he feels the call of a Summons.
*
Alex mutters about receiving a lot of calls tonight, hoping to keep Monica from noticing something is up. Thankfully, she's too busy with the bellboy to notice. He answers the call and learns from David that he was attacked and showing up might not be too wise. Unfortunately there is no way to end the Summons. David will have to make do with what he can manage.
*
And that's when she sees the wives, at least one of them. A woman in a long white gown is seated, fixing something out of view. Seeing Diana, she stands up and glides to Diana, saying she's too early since they normally open at nine in the evening. The place is known as Dorian's Castle and as she steps down, Diana sees the mechanized self-balancing scooter she was standing on. She learns the place is an amusement place. The woman waves goodbye as Diana steps into the car and is driven to where she needs to go.
*
David sees another vampire child running into an alleyway as he drives to the Elysium. He decides it is too risky and continues to obey the call of the Summons. The child breaks into the window of a nearby place. A woman screams.
*
 |
| Cynthia Black, Childe of Prince (Amy Adams) |
Cynthia admits she knows Monica has figured it out, and she regrets having broken routine. She does notice Alex is far too calm given he's just learned this friend is Lasombra. She figures he already knew. He throws the question back, asking Cynthia what she expects him to do about it.
*
At the street, David sees Chas Voyager on the street, playing another musical instrument. The crowd in the street gathers, and starts to stop as they get close enough. David blares the horn to make the people move aside, and they do so. Chas however never notices him and continues to play, with what looks like music illuminating the inside of his eyes.
*
The driver asks Diana if the owner is really a vampire. He admits he's new to the job, one of the five drivers. When Diana mutters it is the castle of a vampire, the guy admits that sounds pretty cool. Diana admits it is her first time there too. Diana catches sight of a man on the street. The man. The one who cupped her mouth! She tells the driver to stop, hurries down and walks up to him. Scott Levin turns, seeing her, and she claims to have seen him before. He admits it seems the powers of the blood are no longer as efficient as before to stay hidden. "I am usually ignored, as I prefer to be. But things have been changing." He stares at a wall with lots of posters and ads on them. Diana asks where they met before, and with a word, Levin states, "You will remember," and she does. He stares at a poster of a magician for hire and he mutters that of the children they saw, there is less now, but the shadow they leave is great. "Magicians are nice but they are only really better when they do fire tricks." The other poster he looks at shows a plumber service. Diana asks him about the Sabbat. He takes the plumber poster from the wall and admits, "They tried to tell us. But we didn't listen. The italians tried to." Diana does not quite get what he means. "The Japanese own them now." Diana feels more lost.
Levin reminds her her car is waiting. He takes another poster of a motorcycle for sale and mutters, "Vikings is a good restaurant." He smiles, hands it to her, and adds, "Miss Pierce, if my Sire speaks to you, please tell her I tried to help." When Diana asks who his sire is, he simply walks away.
*
Along the way, Mildred, Velvet and Dor squeeze into a cab. When the driver argues against having them ride because they stick, Velvet tosses the guy out of the car and drives instead. She only hopes the cops don't stop them since she has no license. They approach the hotel.
*
Cynthia tells Alex how Marcus Vitel did the world a kindness when he adopted two shovelheads who were unable to dig themselves out of the soil during a Sabbat Creation Rite. "If you think you'll turn yourself into a hero by revealing to everyone what we really are, I won't let you!" Cynthia soon even admits she was the one who got the previous Sheriff in trouble when he learned the same fact. Cynthia is doing what she must to protect the Prince from the truth, because she cares for him and all the effort he has placed in keeping the City functional, despite the Anarch and Sabbat presence. She asks Alex if she is with them, or helping the very thing he is fighting by ruining everything the Prince has made. Alex admits he stands by the Prince as per duties and responsibilities. Cynthia then asks him to help her: Monica does not remember because she nightly keeps Monica from remembering that she is actually Lasombra. "I want her to think she is Ventrue. It is easier for her to believe she is part of something greater. Rather than know she is a monster among monsters." Cynthia can erase her memories, but she needs Alex to play his part, given he is part of her recent memories, and support the lie. Cynthia admits the last time she allowed Monica to know the truth, she nearly tried to face the coming dawn. Cynthia hates how the Lasombra are seen as betrayers and traitors and does not want Monica to live her unlife believing she's become something horrible. She rather Monica lives happily than die miserable. Cynthia admits she is old enough to accept life is most of the time, just shit. An existence of never seeing one's own face. Of never being able to face oneself.
Up the elevator, David notices a room service tray set against the wall. He slowly approaches.
Down at the lobby, Diana arrives but before she could reach the elevator, she sees an exotic woman staring at her with a smile on her face. She stands up and approaches Diana, never breaking eye contact. To Diana's surprise, she cannot move at all as if her body had been paralyzed. The woman gets close enough and names her by name, stating she was based in Los Angeles and handling the murders needed. The woman recognizes her and talks to her about her sire, who would most likely soon be in the City given it is ripe for an Anarch revolt. Diana expresses her disgust at being tied to him. The woman finds it quaint that she's pretending to be Camarilla, and she can't wait to see how they will react when they find out the truth. Diana struggles to maintain her composure, knowing they are in a public venue.
"Should I tell him and let him know that you are here?" she grins.
"Tell him what you wish. I do not want to owe her anything!" Diana growls. The woman tells him they will see her again soon. Fernando, Diana's sire, and she are anxious to get started in the City. The woman even quips tonight was a productive night, after a meeting with the Lasombra... and now this meeting with Fernando's childe. The woman leaves, covering herself with her hood as she notes tonight is a very busy night.
*
Dor, Velvet and Mildred arrive, with Velvet rushing past the others to head up. Mildred and Dor run through the lobby to follow. They do not see Diana just head up ahead of them. Velvet rushes into an elevator, but it closes before Mildred and Dor can follow.
*
Cynthia asks Alex to hold Monica, and guides him on what to do the moment they remove the bolt. Alex is to reinforce whatever Cynthia tells Monica. David, however, outside the door, considers the right moment to interrupt. He fires at the door with his pistol to break it open. That moment, Alex leaps for Cynthia's crossbow, hoping to knock it off her hands. Alex takes it from Cynthia's hand, and David runs into the room with the pistol trained at Cynthia and fires a shot at her leg. The elevator door opens as Diana arrives at the floor. She pulls out her own pistol and runs for the room. Cynthia screams as blood splatters from her leg from the gunshot. Before Cynthia can react, Diana reaches the room with her Celerity and upon arriving, she sees the people in the room and assesses whom to train her gun at.
Alex hits the ground with the crossbow in hand. Cynthia snarls at David, and her voice echoes as she commands him, "Drop it!" David drops the pistol, unable to resist the Dominate power of the woman. Another elevator door opens, and Velvet arrives. Velvet calls out to Diana as she draws her pistol. Alex trains the crossbow at Cynthia, but the bolt falls to the ground proving Alex does not know how to use it. David rushes across the room to grapple Cynthia by the neck. Diana runs to Alex, hoping to protect him. Cynthia snarls and suddenly fire erupts in her hands! All the present vampires feel the red fear grow within them as they see the flames dance above her fingers. She tells them to stand back, reminding them the floor is a carpet. Diana stumbles backwards, away from the fire. Diana asks Alex to explain what is going on. "Lasombra complications," Alex mutters. Cynthia takes this as a statement that he never was really going to help.
The next elevator opens, with Mildred rushing to the scene. Dor however, walks slowly, still feeling uneasy given the state he's in. Mildred peers in, smelling the burning smell of the Lure of Flames. Dor stops, upon smelling the fire, and waits to see what will happen. He recognizes Cynthia's voice. Alex tries to convince Cynthia he is on her side, but she snarls that he just told them all the secret she is keeping and how she will have to wipe their memories as well. Alex reiterates she is not doing the right thing. He tells her that if she believes the Prince took her in, shortcomings and all, then he has his reasons and she should learn to stand by them. He doesn't believe she should let her sister live a false life. Cynthia's questions if Alex really knows what he's talking about, and if others would ever be open-minded to having a Lasombra in their midst. The others, all in their own way, hear the confirmation to the rumors they've heard that night. Dor steps into view, attempting to seem friendly as he allows Entrancement to reach out towards Cynthia. David asks if Cynthia is antitribu then, one of those of the Sabbat Clans that moved away from the Clan. Cynthia sees Dor, and thanks to the Entrancement, sees him as a friend. She calls out to him, afraid that the others are here to hurt her. Cynthia claims they are Venture! They are not Lasombra. Dor tells Cynthia to put out the fire and come to him for a hug. Alex sees Dor diffusing the situation and remembers Marcus Vitel before telling him that Dor was worth watching. As they hug, Cynthia looks at the others, still wary of them. Diana brings down her gun. Dor tells everyone else to calm down, stating they've all had a terrible day. He stresses he knows he had one, and points to his stinky clothing as proof. David asks Cynthia to choose: Live a lie where everyone will hunt her down, or the life where only the Sabbat will. As only the Sabbat hunt down the antitribu. Dor however hushes David to be quiet, and to let Cynthia rest. Mildred calmly walks into the room, shoves the unconscious kine off the bed, then, unfazed, fixes the bed for Cynthia to have a place to lie down. Alex and Diana help carry Monica to the side. Cynthia asks David if the Camarilla would protect them? David admits they will, but probably not publicly.
Cynthia's phone rings. All the others stare in silence as she takes it and answers aloud, "Sire?" She mentions the Sheriff is with her and that he is making sure Monica and she are safe. Cynthia hands Alex the phone. Mildred shoves the unconscious kine under the bed, and as he rolls under, his eyes open and he mutters to Mildred, "Thanks. It was getting kind of weird being the only one alive." No one else sees that conversation happen because it happens only in Mildred's mind.
Vitel confirms with Alex if his daughters are there. He affirms they are and apologies for his absence. Dobson has tracked 12 attacks in total. Alex promises he will be on it soon. Vitel shares Dorfman believes there should be only one or two remaining and that they are coordinating their efforts. He asks if the Hounds are searching for the rest, and when Alex admits they will be, Vitel gets angry that they actually haven't even started! Vitel asks aloud if he made a mistake in choosing him as a Sheriff and wonders if he should have become instead the Toreador primogen. Thankfully, the daughters being safe seems to be enough a detail to calm him down. "The last thing I want is something coming from the shadows at them." Vitel gives him an address to bring the daughters, and tell him he expects a full report. Alex shares with the others the updates, but Dor insists they can discuss things after they help Cynthia calm down. Dor asks them if they remember the last banquet, with that Malkavian who did the thing. Dor begins to laugh, but no one knows what he's referring to.
With Monica restful on the bed, Alex unstakes Monica. Monica actually continues her conversation earlier without realizing she had been staked. Realizing there are many people, Alex calms her down and explains the situation. Diana tells Alex she will get started on the children. Mildred offers the unconscious kine again for Monica to feed on. Cynthia comes up to Monica, hugs her tight, and helps Alex explain that they got attacked but things are fine now. Monica stares at Alex, with a "we need to talk" look. Alex waves at her to wait, and to talk about things next time. Diana opts to leave, thinking of the orphanage and hoping to see if there are any new clues she overlooked there before. With everyone else calmer, Monica presses Alex for a better explanation of what happened. Alex just tells her she is safe and that is what matters. Monica looks at Cynthia, wondering if she knows. Alex tells her it is fine. Everything is going to be fine. Alex looks at Dor and Cynthia and tells Monica, yes. Monica and Cynthia hug, and promise, "If things go bad, I'm sure Peter will help us."
*
Sitting and watching the happiness, Mildred wonders about the thing she was supposed to do in the sewers. She stands up, crosses the room to leave, but Alex calls out and approaches her. Alex asks where she found Dor, and Mildred admits it was in the sewers, pointing to her forehead as she does so. Alex looks at Mildred, then at Dor, and decides Mildred might have talents that would prove useful. He asks if she would like to be one of his Hounds, so she can get help when she does things. Mildred asks to get back to him on that. She leaves.
Alex realizes he best shanghai Dor to be a Hound as well in the future.
*
Diana shoots Alex a message then she moves silently to leave. Peeking at the other windows, she finds no trace of any other Sabbat. Another hour. Still no one. Diana draws her stake, and closes in on the Childe to stake at it. She sees it scared to be alone, hugging itself and waiting. Moving swiftly, she attempts to stake it before it notices her. The first few strikes misses the heart, and after a few seconds tumbling at each other, Diana finally lands on the ground with the childe staked and beneath her. A man arrives, one hand holding an axe, and stops upon seeing Diana. She recognizes Bjorn who is impressed she got the last one. Diana asks if he will take care of it, and he admits it depends if she will take it to her Prince or not. She notices his axe is blood splattered, and decides she will take the childe to the Prince. "Let him know," he asks her, "The Brujah did their job."
*
At the Chantry, a few days later. Peter Dorfman is with Helena Taylor and the others. She tells them this gross attack on the Camarilla means only one thing: the Sabbat are out there and are calling for their blood. She moves to enact Rituals to raise wards but before she could continue, Peter states as Pontifex he is overruling her recommendation. He does not want the Tremere to reveal its strength. He tasks David to use his ties with the Brujah, given the Prince called them to help during the absence of the Sheriff. This has led to the Rabble asking for a seat in the Primogen Council. Peter looks at Helena who realizes what Peter has in mind: David can attempt to gain the seat of Primogenship for the Brujah Clan as they know him to be one of them. "Two Tremere in seats of power," Peter grins, "Sounds like a plan." Helena nods. She walks up to David and whispers, "You know some people would kill for a job like that." Then walks away.
*
Alex chooses Cynthia. Monica looks down, angry for the rejection. Cynthia stands and admits she is honored to be given this opportunity, to be trusted and to have a chance to show she deserves their trust. Marcus Vitel simply smiles.
*
 |
| Genevieve Orseau, your friend (Tilda Swinton) |
Chas Voyager has stopped playing the music. Dor blinks his eyes a few times and stares at Chas, asking if he saw her too. Chas merely mumbles "She needs us" as he walks away. Being slightly older than Chas, Dor recognizes the mix of what could have been Presence and Auspex to make one a perfect friend. A perfect... Dor focuses his will to break free from her hold on him.
An elder.
There is an elder in Washington, D.C.
One that is asleep and seeks to wake up.
*
Elsewhere, elsewhen.
Mildred is at the Library, realizing she has yet to return the map. As she slides it into the map case, with nearby people staring at her. Behind her, a seated figure waits for her to finish. She turns and sees Scott Levin. He asks if her journey in the sewers went well and she admits she needs to do further investigations... she thinks. Scott begins by saying, "Hirsch-" but then switches and says instead, "Mildred, I hope you are enjoying your Nights." She admits relatively she is. He admits they may have to leave the City given the events that have been stirring. One that has been sleeping has begun to awaken.
"The Nosferatu lied to us," Scott calmly explains, "The Nosferatu are said to run when the City is in danger. But the Black Sisters are not the danger they are running from." Mildred agrees, saying the television personality told him that. "Have you not noticed, the Nosferatu have run from the sewers as well. They are not watching the City, they are watching down below." Scott shares that the Nosferatu have been doing what Mildred thought to do, investigate the sewers, and now from forty, they number five." Mildred wonders if they should inform the others. Scott apologizes, telling her this is such a waste of time, but he feels they should go. Mildred does not understand what he means. Scott just wants to leave before whatever is sleeping has drank enough to wake up.
"Wouldn't it just follow us?" Mildred wonders. "Sire please!" Scott suddenly yells out, but stops himself and tries to calm down, "Forgive me, you are Mildred. You are not Hirsch." She asks if it would be better for them to try and stop whatever it is here. Concentrate their forces. Logically, it seems sound to bunker here instead of running away. He apologizes for the outburst, and leaves. Mildred turns around and makes a mental note to inform the others of what she thinks is happening. Or at least what she thinks is happening.
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