Anthony's screaming continued to bellow out through the lodge as Robin continued to chant his incantation, the pain shooting through the trapped Tremere increasing by leaps and bounds. His entire body was being changed, his undead flesh being ripped apart and the vitae drained from it to make something new. He knew well this ritual and knew he had to stop it. Fighting against the pain, Anthony managed to pull from his sleeve a very old piece of paper.
"A-Abite!" He managed out through clenched teeth. The effect was instantaneous, a wave of energy exploding from the paper and knocking back Robin as well as knocking over the other three Tremere who had been trying to counterspell the protections on the Maw of Lotan. Anthony dropped from the wall, the pain instantly alleviating. He looked down to see the slip of paper burning to ash in his hand, one of the pieces of the Malleus Maleficarum that would never again see the light of the moon. Hopefully, Primogen Brook wouldn't be too upset with him, provided that he was ever able to locate her again.
He moved quickly to press his advantage against the four, drawing from his coat a pistol. Knowing it was loaded, Anthony quickly fired two shots into the fallen form of Robin, who howled in pain and was temporarily distracted as Anthony approached and fired three shots into each of the respective Tremere, even managing to get a headshot in on one. Anthony grabbed the Maw and began to quickly chant.
"Obstinatae spiritus tenebrae! Hanc insidiosa forma perire te appello! Rejice eam in profundum Oblivionis ubi erat-AH!" Anthony's incantation was cut off by a loud crack at his back as Robin had gotten up and gotten over to him, hitting him across the back with a table leg that had been wrenched off of its source in the wave attack.
"Did you really think you were going to win this?!" Robin asked. "The arrogance!" He raised the table leg, ready to jam the wooden rectangular prism right through Anthony's heart. "I'm going to drink every last drop of your blood, Anthony... every. Last. Drop!" The leg began to descend, only to be caught by a bulky hand. Namely, that one of Sheriff Jacques.
Blackjack looked far, far less than pleased as his hand actually made the wood crack and finally splinter. As the pieces started to rain down on him, Anthony rolled away and Blackjack slammed an open palm into Robin's chest, forcing him back.
"Kill him!" Robin spat and the other three Tremere advanced. Blackjack, with a gauntleted hand, drew a sword from his belt that Anthony did not recognize. As soon as it left the sheathe, however, he felt the urge to back away from it. Something about it felt... wrong. This was proven as the Sheriff ran the first Tremere to advance on him through, and the man began screaming in pain as his body began to rapidly decompose, burning to ash originating from the wound. Within seconds, only a pile of dust remained to mark that anyone had ever been there at all.
"He's got a holy blade!" One of the two remaining Tremere shouted.
"It's just a weapon!" Robin shouted back. "Don't be a coward!" The remaining two looked to each other and then quickly began to move for the door. Blackjack let them go, seemingly content with Robin remaining. "COWARDS!"
"They were smart." The Sheriff said. "You are not." Doing a bit of a flourish with a flip of the blade in his gauntleted hand, he advanced on Robin, who quickly raised his hands and began to channel his vitae. Anthony recognized that he was attempting to extinguish the Sheriff and had other plans in mind. Raising his own hands, Anthony began to do to Robin as he was trying to do to the Sheriff. Seeing Robin beginning to falter, he knew that he had succeeded. The rogue Tremere dodged the Sheriff's strikes with the blade, not wanting to suffer the same pain of Final Death as his fellow.
Anthony once more lifted his pistol, firing shots at Robin to further keep him off-balance. This came to an end, however, as a blade slammed into his wrist and knocked the gun from his hand. As his pistol clattered to the floor, he looked to see a brunette woman in leather standing in the doorway, her hand at the back of the neck of Primogen Gray, a stake driven through the Gangrel's heart. The thing that got Anthony's attention the most, however, was the Thaumaturgical symbol pained on the woman's forehead in blood. He knew well what it was and he felt his vitae running cold at the thought.
Dark Thaumaturgy.
"Alright..." Astaroth said. "How about we all put down our weapons and talk this over like civilized monsters?" She asked with a sickeningly sweet voice twinged with a dark edge. Blackjack started to move toward her and she lifted her sickle, pressing it to Nathaniel's neck. "One wrong move and you're looking for a new Primogen, Sheriff. Back off!" The Sheriff's face was twisted into a scowl as he slowly sheathed his weapon.
"Mistress, I-" Robin began.
"Be quiet, Usurper!" Astaroth spat at him with more vitriol behind her words than she'd reserved for any of her opponents. As they spoke, Anthony slowly moved to where the Maw of Lotan had fallen. "Get that chalice and get it now."
"Yes, Mistress." Robin said, standing to where it had fallen to the ground only to find that it had moved. And so had Anthony, now standing at a nearby mirror with the cup grasped in one hand. "Give that to me, Anthony."
"Sorry. Must dash." Anthony said, his other hand lowering and Robin able to see vitae dripping freely from it.
"NO!" He screamed out just as Anthony slammed a hand against the reflective surface and both he and the Chalice disappeared from sight.
Samuel's car rolled up to what remained of the Rabbit Hutch. There wasn't much left to the burned out structure. Even before he'd pulled it into park, Sybil was already opening the door and getting out.
"Sybil, we need to call Ben and the others. Get back up." Grace said.
"We're already down one person, I'm not going for two." Sybil said, loading another magazine into her pistol. "Feed Hope some vitae and get that wood out of here."
"I don't think I want to touch that-"
"I wasn't talking to you." Sybil said, looking to Samuel.
"Oh! Oh, right. Yeah, sis. Sure." Samuel said, cutting off the engine and getting out to tend to the still torpid body of Hope in the backseat.
"I'm coming with you." Grace said.
"We're going to have to go through a sewer. You okay with that, bestie?" Sybil asked.
"I'll live... or I won't. Either way, yes." Grace said. "And don't call me that." She, too, readied her pistol and the two made their way into the remains of the structure, Sybil moving quickly to the basement access and down the steps into it, and then into the sewers. It was the place she'd been attacked by a Glazier before, thus how she knew of where this place was. They'd been trying to drag her away to it. Now, she was going in willingly... and with backup, nonetheless. As they got to where the water was deep enough to dive under, Sybil quickly turned as she heard footsteps not far off, turning her gun on-
"Big brother!" Sybil said as she saw the face of Ben.
"Do you mind not pointing that thing in my face?" The Gangrel asked, raising a brow.
"Wait, what are you two doing down here?" Grace asked, seeing Angel was with him as well.
"Saw some cultists. Decided to investigate." Angel said. "Who are these guys?"
"Remember the guy who tried to buy your orphanage and sent all those goons to harass you?" Grace asked. "These were the guys he was trying to stop."
"Wait... so you guys accidentally aided a cult trying to... do what? Get keys?"
"Yes." Sybil said. "Keys to open a door that should not be opened. Can't be opened."
"So what's the problem?" Ben asked.
"They have them all." Grace said.
"What?"
"Hope had the last one. She fought, but they eventually got the best of her."
"Is she-?" Angel started to ask.
"Her stomach needs to be put back in her... well, stomach, but she ought to be fine." Grace said.
"We need to move. Now." Sybil said. "If they have the keys, they're going to let Him out."
"Who? Who are they letting out?" Ben asked.
"He That Sleeps Below. He Who Will Repair The Mirror." Sybil said, heading into the water and diving without further comment.
"Let's go." Ben said, diving in as well, followed quickly by Angel. Grace hesitated for a moment and then quickly pulled off her coat and cast it aside.
"Gonna ruin this outfit..." She lamented before leaping into the water as well.
They soon came out into a large chamber where water ran through in pipes. Torches had been lit and were attached to the four support columns of concrete that were immediately visible. In between those four columns was a large, circular disk that reminded some of them all too much of a certain set of keys that had been menacing them. The metal and the symbols upon it were a perfect match... and three of those keys sat in three of the locks, a fourth one still unoccupied.
"Oh, this is bad..." Sybil stared in horror, shaking her head at the sight before her. "This is very, very bad..."
"Watch yourselves." Ben said, anyone who looked at him would see his eyes blazing an unearthly red color. "They're here..."
"You see well, Wolf." A voice came out of the darkness, a form seemingly to be born out of it as it stepped forward, one of the Glaziers in their robes and mask. "I am Legion, for we are many."
"Pretty sure that's the wrong line for this evil cult." Grace muttered, still wary.
"The time has finally come to release our master." The Glazier spoke to them. "Decades of planning and it finally culminates in this."
"How did you get all four of the keys?" Sybil asked. "It makes no sense... we only ever found the two."
"The third was taken from the home of one Preston Wilson after his meeting of the Final Death. The fourth was... willingly given."
"Given by whom?"
"It does not matter." The masked man waved them off. "We have them all now. And the time for raising our master is nigh. Praise be to Lamdiel!"
"Praise be to Lamdiel!" The sentiment was echoed from seemingly every direction, the four of them were severely outnumbered.
"Lamdiel..." Ben said, the red light fading from his eyes as they widened. "Oh... oh, god, no..."
"You see what I mean?" Sybil snapped at him, turning her gun on the Glazier. "Give me the key."
"I'm sorry, sister?"
"Are you deaf as well as crazy?" Sybil asked, the safety already clicked off. "Give me the key." She was trying to channel the power of Dominate, but it seemed to have no effect. The Glazier who had stepped out tutted, shaking his head.
"I'm afraid there is only one voice that I listen to, sister. And that you listen to as well." He said. "Now, it is time for him to free us and to set things right!"
"Hey, why are we talking to this guy instead of shooting him?" Grace asked.
"Good point." Sybil said, opening fire with her on the figure, who took the seven shots from both women and fell right over onto the concrete floor, severely beat down by the experience. Behind him, however, was another Glazier and the one who was now hunched over the wide portal. "No! Get away from that! Ben, stop him!"
Ben rushed forward, his fingers elongated into claws as he intended to cut the man down. He snatched him up in one, pulling him away from the door. With the click of four locks at once, though, Ben glanced down to see the fourth key had been placed into it and was now turning.
"You're too late." The Glazier that Ben now had grasped within his claws said mockingly.
"Too bad you won't be here to see it." Ben said, his other claw slicing right through the Glazier's neck and taking off his head. The body began to crumble into a sickly, raw meat-looking sludge as Ben dropped it, backing away from the door.
"Praise be to Lamdiel! Praise be to Lamdiel! Praise be to Lamdiel!" The other Glaziers chanted as they emerged from the darkness, surrounding the four.
"Oh, boy... not good. Not good at all..." Angel said.
"Whatever happens, we stick together." Ben said. "We go out, we're going out swinging."
"Or we could just... not." The voice of someone else caught their attention. In a pool of standing water nearby, the four made out the form of a familiar Tremere.
"Anthony? How did you-?" Grace started to ask.
"No time. Let's go." He slapped at the water under his feet. In his hand, they saw the Maw of Lotan. Something terrible had very clearly happened. The four quickly moved as the door began to rise from its hole, splitting into four separate pieces that were beginning to pull away into the floor. Anthony, vitae dripping into the water, touched it once more. The five Kindred disappeared from sight... but a certain Chalice clattered to the floor.
The five emerged on the city street outside, all collapsed to the concrete in a heap.
"What the hell was that?" Angel gasped out, her body still reeling from the sudden experience. "I feel like I just got thrown for a mile!"
"Thaumaturgy. Had to do it from memory, only seen someone do it once." Anthony said, channeling his vitae and sealing the wound on his hand. "I'll need to feed soon..."
"We got bigger problems than that." Sybil said. "We need to get to the Prince, we need to warn everyone."
"Warn them about what? Who is Lamdiel?" Angel asked.
"He's a Methuselah. Very old, very powerful even for one of his kind." Ben said. "One of the ones that the Sabbat would have absolute glee at destroying."
"If they even can..." Sybil said solemnly.
"You know, I think I preferred the jibbering insanity..." Grace commented, but was ignored.
"Uh... so, hey..." The voice of Samuel got their attention, the Malkavian standing awkwardly outside of his car, having just seen the five of them seemingly emerge from his driver's side mirror. "Why do I hear... nothing?" Sybil listened to, hearing... nothing. The voices in her head were currently missing, gone.
"He's out. We need to move." Sybil said.
"Oh, shit..." Samuel said. "I tried to help Hope, but it's not working. I've fed her vitae, but she's still not moving. Hasn't healed."
"...did you pull out the stake?" Sybil asked.
"...yes. Of course."
"Idiot."
"I'll... help." Anthony said. "I was a doctor before all this, or I was going to be, anyway." He quickly moved to the back seat of Samuel's car, beginning to inspect Hope's body.
"Okay," Sybil said, "I'll ride with them." She looked to Ben and Angel. "You guys follow."
"In what?" Ben asked. Sybil pointed over their shoulder to a van. "...really? Grand theft auto on top of everything else?"
"I'm pretty sure the owners aren't coming back, if that helps you." Sybil said. "Just hotwire it. I've got a guy who can make keys later."
"I don't know how to hotwire a-"
"I do." Angel's voice caught Ben's attention, him looking at her incredulously. "I wasn't always doing social work, Ben. C'mon, I'll drive."
"Where is Primogen Turner?" Wren asked, sitting in her chair, grasping the edge of it tensely.
"Right here, your Grace. I apologize for my tardiness. I was... preoccupied." The man who appeared to be in his mid-40s spoke. Dressed in a crisp, black suit and a midnight blue tie, he stood before the Prince with his hands in his pockets after a low, respectful bow.
"Get unpreoccupied quickly, Turner. There is a crisis." Wren asked.
"I am aware, your Grace." Turner said. Of course he was, most of Seattle knew by now what the Tremere had been desperately trying to keep secret. "I am afraid that the trouble has gone deeper than you know."
"I am aware of the Baali activity among the clans." Wren said. "We are going to see that dealt with. Unilaterally."
"I'm afraid that won't be happening this night, my liege." Turner said. "Already, the Hounds have turned against their Master. Others will soon follow suit." Wren regarded the man curiously. One of the oldest of the Malkavians in Seattle, he had long since been a source of advice that she called upon, just as Telucti had done before her.
"What other Hounds?" Wren asked. She was certain that Jacques could handle himself, particularly with the new boon he had been given. For now, her concerns were more immediate to their current situation. This had to go off perfectly for it to stick.
"The Devils have sworn an oath to give your crown to your attendee. The one closest to you." Turner said.
"Name him." Wren said.
"He stands apart from you even now." The Malkavian turned and pointed. "Michael Jenkins."
"W-What? This is absurd!" Jenkins protested. "Prince Blanchard! I have only ever served you faithfully!" Wren was standing, her dress billowing a bit at the ankle as she regarded her seneschal.
"The prophecies of Turner have never been wrong before, Jenkins." Wren said. "Why would they be so now?"
"I... I cannot..." Jenkins was tripping over his own words before he stopped and his entire expression seemed to change. "To hell with this..." He reached into his pocket and produced a detonator, the switch already primed. "Back off... or I'll blow this entire room straight to Kingdom Come!"
"This room...?" Wren asked.
"I have prepared for this, Prince." Jenkins said. His usual, neurotic demeanor seemed to have disappeared completely. This was a far more confident, driven individual than she was used to dealing with. Perhaps this had always been his true demeanor. "So many nights cowtowing to your whims... fulfilling your tasks and your plans..."
"You walk a dangerous line, Judas." Turner said, starting towards him and only stopping as Jenkins once more raised the detonator.
"The Baali have promised me what you could not, would not give me." Jenkins said. "For decades, I have been doing the job of the Prince without the crown. As you haven't had the decency to roll over and die, I have chosen to help you to your grave."
"Then it's time for you to die." Wren said. Her eyes locked onto the other Ventrue and she commanded. "Give me the detonator." Jenkins proceeded to laugh at her.
"That's not going to work!" He laughed.
"Very well." Wren said, her face not changing expression in the slightest. "Combs, take his head off."
"What the-?" were the only words and the very last words that Jenkins got out. He hadn't seen the appearance of the Nosferatu seemingly from nowhere and with a precise slice from the monster's clawed hands took the head completely off of the man. Jenkins, more than a few decades old, began to crumble into dust on the spot.
"Nicely done. Thank you all." Wren said. She looked to Hugo, who was standing up from over the ashes. "Mr. Combs, I thank you for your aid and for disarming his little fireworks display beforehand. I do believe there is a position as a Hound in your future."
"If the Sheriff were to select me, I would be honored." The Nosferatu said, bowing to the Prince.
"I think you will find I can be quite persuasive with him." Wren said, Hugo nodded and then immediately began to comb the room. She then turned to Turner. "As for you, Primogen Turner, it appears that there is an opening in my organization. For your valiant efforts in aiding my protection, I grant you the rights, duties, and privileges of my seneschal."
"My lady, you honor me deeply." Turner bowed, then suddenly stopped and stood up, his eyes widened. "... he is awake."
"...Turner, what are you on about?" Wren asked, looking at the Malkavian in confusion.
"He is awake... his time has come..." Turner said. "The burdens will be lifted... the Mirror repaired... praise Lamdiel. Praise him!" Wren stared at her new seneschal in abject horror, the look that Michael Jenkins had wanted to wring out of her was now there for a very, very different reason. She looked to Hugo, who glanced back just as confused and more than a bit worried as Turner continued to chant this strange mantra.
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