Let's Play: Vampire: Bloodlines

[The Wizard Who Did It]

Originally Posted by Youwantmilliondollar?!

God I hated that. Died like eighty times cause my stealth isn't high enough. Now I'm so strong I could probably walts in to the place, let them wail on me for a while, and then just cut em up with my claws.

I just got War Form. Anyone got a good pic or screenshot of it? IT's hard to get a good look at the thing. <<

I think I'm the only person who played Toreador, and instead of doing Celerity/Guns I did Presence/Melee, to the point where everything I fought had pitiful stats.

[Vo_OD00]

I started with Toreador, and thus far, this is the clan I like most.

[Youwantmilliondollar?!]

I'll try Toreador next. Then maybe Tremere. Then Malkavian.

And webaz ye who made this thread and is awsome with it!

[DFM]

Saint Sinner



Embarrassing author's note:

So awhile back we got the Odius Chalice from Pisha and I totally said it was a cup but I actually looked at it for the first time and it's totally not a cup at all it's this fucking mollusk looking thing so we're going to just go on like I'd always said it was like that and maybe Helen made a hilarious quip about how it looked like a mollusk.







The Sin Bin's just down the street from Velvet's club, fairly good vantage point for noting who's going into or coming out of Vesuvius. I hadn't expected Velour to blow such a gasket when I offered to burn the place to the ground. Rile her a little, sure, that was the point, but... I wasn't expecting that.

She could have just been playing an angle, but I can't imagine why. It's been decades since anyone appealed to my sympathies and I've never been known as particularly charitable.

There's something wrong with her, something I can't put my finger on. Well, I can put my finger on a lot of things that are wrong with her, but I can't figure out what they add up to.

Whatever her reasons, whatever her game, I'll play it for now. In and out of the target zone, no mess, no witnesses, no disgusting euphanisms.



Great, I fucking love mannequins.



It'd help if there was a back entrance, but I'll have to work with what I've got. At least the actual hit should be easy enough, walk in and... pretend to be a customer? Keep my eyes on the floor? Blow a fake robbery and kill the hunter on accident? Start munching on someone's neck and get the hunter to chase me into the sewers?

How about stroll through the front doors and stand out from the crowd like Hitler at a bar mitzvah?



I am the greatest assassin the world has ever known.



The Sin Bin isn't a club so much as a one stop porn house. It's grimy, soiled and most of the stock is in disarray. Even the air feels dirty.



That's got to lead to Chastity, hopefully not too crowded. I walk past the front counter and the clerk seems more interested in his computer than someone walking through the door and there's no one else in sight, so hopefully there isn't going to be an accurate police sketch on the evening news.


Then again, I'm not really trying to avoid the cops.



I slip down the stairs as quietly as I can, and for the first time I actually think about what I'm doing. I've killed people before. Most of them had no idea what they were up against, got caught off guard, surprised... dead before I ever pulled a trigger. Some of them knew what I was, knew what I could do but they couldn't measure up when their backs were against the wall.

But, I've never been up against anything that existed for no other reason than to kill me.


An honest to god, Vatican bred, vampire hunter.



Take it easy, first thing's first. If the Hunter's undercover, she'll be dancing in one of the peepshow booths. The stage probably runs right into the employees only door, probable obstacles include disgusting old men drooling at the windows and other dancers working with the Hunter.

Quickest way to get rid of the patrons would be to dam their flow of low class breasts. Most places like this have some kind of last call lockdown in the computer systems, if I can get into the computer system I should be able to activate it.



My best shot at that would be in here. Hopefully it isn't occupied.



I slip inside and close the door behind me. The manager's office is a little spartan, but it's cleaner than the rest of this hovel.



Alright, let's see. Probably not a rocket scientist using this thing so the password shouldn't be too hard to guess. Sin Bin. Sin Bin. Sinnnnn Bin. Hmm.



Beautiful.





There's a beeping from the machine as the peepshow windows lock shut. Patrons are groaning outside and it isn't long before I hear doors slamming and feet shuffling.



I wait just inside the office door until I can't hear anything moving.



Nothing in the hallway, but now that I'm outside I can hear people in the next room. Has to be the dancers. Hopefully I can sweet talk them into clearing out for a bit.



Just one. Black hair, can't be the hunter.


Shouldn't be the hunter.



"Hey, what... uh..." She's confused for a moment. "...can I help you?"

"Maybe. I'm looking for someone, blonde on top, broken heart tattoo on their back? Your manager said she worked here."

"Oh, yeah. That's Chastity, she's on the stage back there. Flynn closed down the shows early tonight so you probably just caught her in time."

Alright, positive ID on the target. Now I've just got to clear the bomb site. Preferably without twisting her brain into a mobius strip.

"Than you, I..." Wasn't there a sitting room back there, just off the hallway? "...I think I'd actually rather spend time with you, if that's alright."

She raises an eyebrow and looks me over, confused. Probably scanning for some kind of glaring flaw she missed the first time.

"Um... alright, sure. There's a room down the hall, but... I mean, it isn't free..."

I smile at her and pretend to admire her grimy figure.

"Obviously not. Could you... wait there for me? I need to stop by the ATM."

"Yeah... yeah, sure."

She puts her cigarette out in the ashtray by the water cooler and leaves the room, looking at me again before closing the door behind her.

Probably could have done without her getting such a clear picture of the last person seen with the victim, but at least she's gone. I glance around the empty break room, more out of idleness than anything. I don't know what to do now. Velour said she wanted it done quietly, so I can't just walk onto the stage and blast her with a forty four. I don't really want to get close to her since I've no idea what to expect and Nines wasn't kidding when said I didn't know anything about how to handle a brawl. The knife in my shoe wasn't anything but a desperate last resort.

I look around the room again and notice something sticking out of a pile of clothes in the corner. I bend down and pull away the shirt its hiding under.



Talk about lucky. Not only do I have a quick, quiet way to take down the hunter, it's one less weapon they've got on their person. Not that I know how many still are, but it's one less.



The bow's already drawn, bolt loaded into place. Only one shot, but it's enough. Assuming I've still got the element of surprise, which I'm almost certain I do. Still...

I clutch the crossbow and concentrate, my skin starting to shift and flex. The ability's saved me in the past and it never hurts to... wait a minute, something isn't right. I pull a hand away from the weapon and glance down at it. Interwoven through the leathery hide are scales of... bone? What the fuck? I glance at the empty mirror behind me before trying to shift my jaw. It moves, but it's definitely working against something. I feel the edges around my face, chunks of bone extending out of the skin, like studs in leather.

I am so fucking sick of this vampire bullshit.

Now I have to call Tung and ask if this is normal or if I'm going to die. I shoulder the crossbow and peek onto the stage.



The money shot. I lean my head down, eying through the sights. She looks tense, like she senses something nearby that shouldn't be there. The hunter turns towards the break room just in time for me to pull the trigger.

A stiletto heel kicks a panel on the wall. The bow twangs straight. A window pops open and a sword falls out. The bolt is across the room. There's a flash of steel. Two pieces of wood strike the far wall.



My jaw's hangs open. The hunter swings her arm wide, a stake slicing through the air and punching into my chest before I know what's going on.

I drop the crossbow and stagger back, the wooden stake bouncing off my armor and shaking my insides. I just start to pull the magnum out when Chastity leaps off the stage and into the break room. Her sword moves in a horizontal slice that catches me in the face as I dodge, cutting through the armor like paper. I finish pulling out the revolver when Chastity twists herself in mid air, sending her follow through right back at me.

The gun slams into the floor along with my vaporizing arm. Pain.

Pain.

I turn and stagger backwards, tripping on the steps and falling onto the peepshow stage. God damn it. God damn it. My armor starts to melt back into skin. Not strong enough to keep it up. She's too fucking fast. I lie on my back and grab the handle of the Mac 10 with my remaining hand. Hit her with a burst and point blank range as she comes up the-

In the blink of an eye, Chastity's over the stairs and slamming her sword into my chest, slicing through my wrist and torso and pinning both to the stagefloor. Fuck. FUCK. Chastity glares down at me, a dagger heel on my stomach and a hand still gripping the hilt of her sword.

"In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." Her voice is quick and quiet, almost cold. She makes the sign of the cross. "I have pledged my soul to the Lord and his cause, to see his enemies scattered and those who hate him purged forever from this earth." She kneels down closer, never taking her eyes off mine. I can't tell if she's talking to me or at me. "As smoke is driven by the wind, so are you driven from his domain. As wax melts before the fire, so the wicked perish and melt at the presence of god."

She stands again, twisting the sword and pulling it away. I'd scream, but I don't have the strength for it anymore.

"Behold, demon, the will of the Lord. Lion of the tribe of Judah, the offspring of David, hath conquered."

She lifts the sword and thrusts downward. I twist my torso as much as I can manage, just enough to shift the submachine gun out of my shirt and onto the path of the slashing blade. The sword bounces and slices through the soft flesh on my shoulder. I have time to catch the surprise in Chastity's eyes before I grab the Mac 10 and raise it up with everything I have.

I don't get out more than a burst before the recoil knocks the gun so far off course I'm hitting the ceiling. Not more than a burst, but it's enough. Chastity falls backwards down the stairs. I drop the gun and clumsily reach for the mollusk in my pocket, the one Pisha gave me. The eye in the center is glowing a bright red, and I latch onto the swinging tendril with my teeth.

The heat rushes through my body before I know what's happening, gallons of blood shooting into my system from god knows where. The bones just off my elbow start extending, twisting and splitting until they form an arm, then a palm, then a hand. Nerves, muscles and skin begin shooting upwards not far behind them. The pain's worse than being on fire. I pull the sword from my shoulder, wound closing almost before the blade is out. I twist upwards until I'm kneeling on my own sickly wet pool of blood.


No more pain.

I grab the Mac 10 from the floor and stuff it into my ruined shirt as I stand. I walk down the stairs, stepping gingerly over the crumpled body of the most dangerous thing I've ever seen.

I pick the forty four up off the ground, tossing the sword onto the clothing pile. I'm going to look suspicious enough without lugging that thing around. I glance around the break room again, now little more than a blood canvas. Not exactly the way I was hoping for things to turn out, but I'm damn lucky to even be alive. Damned if I'm going dwell too much on that, though. I start to slip the forty four into my shirt when I hear steel scrape across tile.



The explosion of the magnum fills the room like an artillery blast. I don't think I pulled the trigger. Chastity falls past me, her face a blurred mess of red, flecks of bone and brain hitting the far wall.





That's it. That's it.



I'm getting the fuck out of here.



The alarm sounds as I throw open the fire exit, blending in with the chorus of sirens advancing through the city. I'm covered in blood, missing a sleeve and my shirt's slashed open in at least two places. I grab one of the more respectable homeless women and throw a hundred dollar bill in her hand for her jacket. I toss it on and hurry down the back streets of Hollywood to Velvet's club.



Fucking shit. Fucking shit that could have gone better.



I near club Vesuvius in time to see a beat cop rushing towards the Sin Bin. Shit.



At least there's no sign of a disturbance inside. The last thing I need is to have all the vampires in Hollywood pissed off at me.



Maybe a few less patrons than usual, but that's probably nothing.



Alright, keep your head and don't start getting hypnotized by whatever sex aura she's projecting.



"Velour, I took care of the-"



"I know. I heard you from here." Her voice is still soft, but it sounds... scared. "All you've done is attract attention to yourself and now you're in my club. Don't you think somebody's going to put two and two together?" She lets out a broken sigh, rubbing her temple. "I don't know if you've helped or made things worse."

I shove my face into hers, not quite hard enough for a headbutt.

"SHE ALMOST FUCKING KILLED ME."

Velour takes a step back, startled. For the first time she sees the blood underneath the jacket and the giant slashes in my shirt. Her eyes go wide for a moment before she looks away.

"I... I'm sorry, I thought..."

"That bitch was hate incarnate! If wasn't so fucking lucky I'd be dead twice over!"

"I'm sorry." She looks me in the eye when she says it this time. She rests a hand on my cheek, a slow warmth spreading across my face. She sounds... sad. "I never meant for you to get hurt, and if I could take it back I would. But... the hunter's dead, you're alive, and you made sure no one else got hurt. That's all that really matters." She smiles and I almost feel my heart twang. "Thank you, Helen."

"Yeah, I..." Fuck, fuck she's doing it again. "...I..." My sentence trails off, her eyes staring into mine.

"That's it." She says after a moment, like a matter of fact as she pulls her hand away.

"What's it?"



"You didn't seem like the bloodthirsty tyrant everyone makes you out to be. Not underneath, anyway. I have..." She bites her lip, almost pensively. "A... knack for... feeling what a person is and you... you were cold, of course. Merciless, probably, but... it wasn't authentic. I just didn't understand what it was until now."

"...what do you mean?"

Her voice is gentle, almost delicate.



"You're scared. I think... you always were. You were scared, so you pretended to be cruel. After awhile you forgot how to stop pretending. I... recognize that look."

I blink once, not quite sure what I'm hearing.

"I have..." She thinks for a moment. "...a favor to ask."

[DFM]

I shake my head. "You still haven't paid me for the last one."

"Oh... that's right..."



"There you go. It's... worth it to know the Hunter's gone and none of the kine were hurt. If you're willing to do me another favor..."

"Tell me what you want and I'll name my price."

"There's a man... David Hatter."



"Poor... poor David Hatter. He's an... aspiring screenwriter and hotel manager. He comes in here more often than he'd admit for... several years now. Poor dear just... well, just isn't very good. But the other day I overheard him talking about his new screenplay with one of my girls."



"It's about secret societies and creatures that find themselves dealing with inner beasts and persecution by elder monsters. Sound reminiscent of something to you?"

I nod. No quips about politics or high schools.

"The details of his story were too insightful to be coincidental. I think someone's working with David, a Kindred who doesn't realize the consequences of their actions."

She sighs, supporting herself on the nearby end table.



"I'm afraid poor David's big break, the screenplay he's worked so hard on, must be destroyed. And his less than silent partner must be... well... stopped. " She pauses for a breath. "I don't think Hatter knows his collaborator is one of the monsters he's writing about, he's no threat to the masquerade on his own. You'll have to take David's screenplay and coax the name of his source out of him. Once you've found out who it is... I won't tell you not to kill them, but if you can find some way to let them walk away and stay quiet... please, take it."



"David works at the Luckee Star motel. He's very passionate about his writing, loves to talk about his craft, I'm sure he'll tell you about screenplay. It might take some persuasion to get him to give up his collaborator's name, however."

"If I do this, I'll need something from you."

"Anything."

"Tell me where to find Ginger Swan."

She blinks at me, confused.

"You mean... the Ginger Swan? I... well, yes, I can tell you where she is."

"That's all I need. I'll be back." I turn to leave and I hear Velvet's voice as I cross the doorway.

"Helen, wait."

I pause, turning briefly.

"...You don't have to be scared anymore. Not with us."




Not with us.


Was she trying to recruit me?



The motel isn't too far from Vesuvius, a trend I'm beginning to like. The siren's have died down, but the Sin Bin must be crawling with police by now. Hopefully the girl I talked to was too wasted to remember my face.



I don't know why, but... part of me wants to... make up for losing control of the situation at the Sin Bin and maybe putting Velvet's head on the chopping block.



So... we'll play things her way. Cool and calm. Hm. That must be Hatter.



"Can I help you?"

"Maybe. Are you David Hatter? The writer?"

He smiles, letting out a wheezy chuckle.

"Writer's such a tarnished term, you know what I mean? It's like... like, every other guy says he's a writer, right? You write a letter, you're a writer, you know? I-it's like... What I do, that's like, that's screenwriting, like, I encapsulate the essences of excellent film in my scripts, alright? Like, I'm a a- I'm like a blackmsith with pens, right; I'm a welder of montage."

I never thought not shooting someone could be so hard. I lean on the counter, just far enough to mildly suggestive. Any more than that would be next to impossible in a ratty, wet leather jacket.

"And what are you writing?"

"Heh. Me? I'm like... looking to redefine the vampire movie, okay. Like, tons of people make vampire flicks, popular characters, you know? But me, I'm gonna be doing the real deal, like, not only is it going to be scary, but it's gonna be like- it's gonna be believable."

"Oh? How're you going to do that?"



"Well, in my story, it's not like about garlic and bats, it's about vampire societies and stuff, you know, like, what would vampires really be all about. How they blend into society without being discovered and stuff."

"That does sound interesting. Do you have a rough script for it yet?"

"A good writer always does in this town. Hey- hey, you- you in the business? Man, I got tons of ideas for movies, in fact, I should give you one of my completed screenplays. This one's still... a work in progress."

"Sorry, David. I'd love to look at them, but my associates are looking for a vampire flick. I don't think they'd be interested in anything else."

"W-Wait you are? You're really looking for one? Man, that's fantastic! I-I can give you my screenplay if you promise to keep it safe."

I hold my hand out across the desk, turning it open.

"Cross my heart and hope to die."

David hurriedly ruffles through piles of papers under his desk before pulling out a large, stapled manuscript and placing it in my waiting hand.

"Wonderful, David. Oh, any supporters or co-writers you want us to stop by and visit?"



"Oh, uh... I can't talk about him. He likes his privacy."

"Come on, David, you'll be famous! Don't you think he wants to be too? After all, that's what this town is all about."

"Well... okay. He's a guy, calls himself Julius. He lives under the pier. In fact, I'm supposed to meet him tonight, he clears his friends out because he likes to meet alone. We talk about vampire film ideas all the time. He's a weird... weird guy, but really creative, you know? I love how his mind works."

"Thank you, David." I wave goodbye, tucking the manuscript behind the Mac 10. "We'll get in touch with the both of you once we go over this script."



He's saying something as I leave, thank you or some other nonsense. Julius. I've heard that name before. Wasn't that one of the thin blood riffraff who hung out on the beach?

I leave the hotel and step out onto the sidewalk.



That fucking cabby is creeping me out.

I get inside and he tells me he'll take me right to the beach. I ask him how he knew where I was going, but he doesn't answer. Vampire bullshit. It's a bit of a drive to Santa Monica, giving me plenty of time to think about what I'm going to do. Think about what Velvet wants me to do. Think about Velvet.



Velvet.




Mmm.



UGH

She's doing it way the fuck out here. I don't believe this shit. The cab stops, pulling over by the side of the road. I jump out and hop down the incline towards the beach.



Julius. All alone. I stride across the beach until he turns his head and sees me. He knows right away why I'm coming. I pull out the forty four as I pass the fire pit.



"W-wh-wh-wha- wh-what de-d-do you want?"

"You know David Hatter."

"N-n-n-na-no..."

"It wasn't a question, Julius. I don't need to ask you any questions because Hatter already gave me all the answers I need. He... doesn't need your ideas anymore."

"Puh-puh-puh-ph-please! I-I-I-I duh- I duh-don-ddinon't know I di- I di-didn't mean... I-I-I-I'm sorry!"

I raise the gun to his face and he jerks backwards, falling halfway into the ocean. He props himself up above the tide, staring horrified at the barrel.

"Nuh-nuh-nuh-no! Oh guh-guh-oh god!"

"No, Julius." I step closer, pinning him against the sand with my foot. "Just us."

He's crying. At least... I think he's crying. He's drenched from the surf.

"Puh-puh-please! F-fi-find your heart! Please f-find your h-heart!"

We're frozen in the pose for what seems like hours. Find your heart. I don't even know what's in my heart. Sam, maybe. Hmm. What would she want me to do? Probably the same thing Velvet wants me to do. If I let him go... I'd be deep shit if he talks again. No reason to take that risk. But... he's not the first person I've let live when they should have died. Well. Alright.

I lower the gun.

"If I let you go, you need to leave LA, and I mean forever. If you come back, they'll shoot you one sight. I'll shoot you on sight. But... if you turn around and run, and never tell anyone... I..." I step off his chest. "I'll let you go."

He pulls himself to his feet, still stuttering.

"Thhh-thhhh-thhank th-th- thanks- thank you! Thank yoU! Oh, thank you!"



I watch him run off the beach, sliding the gun back into my shirt. As he crosses through the access tunnel out of view, I don't know why, but I smile. The radio by fire begins to play their next song.



I'm sinking in the roses
Falling down to fade away
The velvet blade of apathy
Makes the crush so bittersweet

And I, I could have died last night
But I heard the voice of a smaller god
And I, I could have died last night
But I heard the voice of a smaller god

Pfeh.

[Nikose Tyris]

You didn't cap a bitch.

[Jagos]

Awwww... She gains some humanity back...

Other than that, I'm trying to figure out how Velvet is still playing with her mind...

[The Wizard Who Did It]

The Vampire Hunter put the fear of god into Helen? Man, I want to see the chapter with the Werewolf.

[BitVyper]

Originally Posted by The Wizard Who Did It

The Vampire Hunter put the fear of god into Helen? Man, I want to see the chapter with the Werewolf.

Man, I've been saying that since the start. Helen and the werewolf is gonna be awesome.

[Krylo]

It's Helen. She'll just talk him down.