Campus Vigilantes

[Misaat]

" That's the thing. I don't expect you to stop feeding. But the ways you are doing it are going to bring you trouble if not with us then with other hunters out there... Listen... That guy said that feeding felt really good for the person who you are feeding from. If that is true i can think of a good handful of... particular people that might be willing to let you guys have your fill as long as you don't drug them or try to tamper with their minds...."

Then Matthew takes a step forward towards Maria and smiles.

"Me included "

[-Sentinel-]

Then Matthew takes a step forward towards Maria and smiles.

"Me included "

Maria showed surprise, then suspicion.

"Oh, several weak-willed mortals do volunteer already. But every mortal who knows about us is a threat to the Masquerade. That's why we must feed either in secret or on people we control utterly. We can't bring enough mortals into the Masquerade to feed every one of us, especially with you hunters around."

Her voice was growing bored, as if she was tiring of the conversation.

"Um... sorry to interrupt," Christian called, "but we still need the key over here."

A fleeting smile crossed Maria's face. "Sure," she said, "catch." She threw him the smart key. It was a low, clumsy-looking throw, and the key ended up at Christian's feet. The rookie bent down to grab it.

"Speaking of Masquerade," said Maria, "AHORA!" she yelled in Spanish.

And suddenly it turned out Karen's hands were not bound behind her back. In her right fist there was a flash of metal—brass knuckles. With a chillingly blank expression, not unlike Vic's, she aimed a sucker punch at Christian's face while he was reaching for the key.

Simultaneously, Vic hefted his baseball bat and went straight for Maxwell.

It was surely no coincidence that the ones who had proven the most dangerous at the Starbucks were being attacked first. Just as Matthew was processing that thought, he turned back to Maria in time to see the edge of her machete racing towards his throat.

OOC:

Spoiler

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Surely you weren't expecting an anticlimax, were you?

Roll Wits + Composure vs surprise. If you get a success or more, you can act this round when your turn comes. (Most likely, you'll be drawing a weapon.) If you get no successes, you have no defense during the surprise round.

Wits + Composure vs surprise
Christian: (5d10)[5][3][5][4][5](22) (estimated, since his sheet went poof)
Vishakha: (4d10)[5][9][7][9](30)
Maxwell: (4d10)[4][10][3][3](20)

I'm letting you roll it yourselves, in case you want to spend Willpower.

Initiative
Maria: (d10+8)[9](17) (Fast Reflexes)
Vic: (d10+5)[9](14)
Karen: (d10+4)[10](14)
Matthew: (d10+5)[2](7)
Leon: (d10+5)[4](9)
Christian: (d10+5)[2](7) (again, estimated)
Vishakha: (d10+5)[4](9)
Maxwell: (d10+4)[4](8)

I might as well warn you that this is the Boss Fight of the story. Spend as many Willpower points as you want... You're gonna need 'em!

[-Sentinel-]

Moving like a blur, Karen struck Christian twice in lightning-fast succession just as he was grabbing the smart key. The first punch landed hard on the side of his jaw while the second sank in his stomach, almost causing him to drop the key. The rookie swayed on his feet, his eyes glazing over from the amateur boxer's surprise attack... He had to put a hand on the car just to keep his footing. A normal person might have collapsed unconscious at this point, but Christian was tougher than most.

Vic swung his baseball bat at Maxwell. The student quickly spread his feet in a defensive stance, but was a split second too slow to dodge. The blow connected with his temple; thankfully it was not the skull-cracking kind.

Matthew had just the time to twist out of the way of Maria's machete. The blade whistled mere inches from his ear.

[Misaat]

"What the hell... We had a deal!"

[ToySoldierCPlus]

"Does this really surprise you? This is why I wanted to go back to base!"

Leon draws his knife, readying himself to strike someone nearby.

[-Sentinel-]

OOC: Rounds 1 and 2 mixed a bit for narrative purposes.

"What the hell... We had a deal!"

"Don't give me that. Remember how you treated our last deal?" snarled Maria, slashing at him again. Her machete missed him by over three feet when he dodged. She hissed in frustration.

Near the rear of the car, Vic swung his baseball bat at Maxwell again, but this time he had lost the advantage of surprise. The thespian ducked with practiced ease, yet did not try to fight back; he was a fencer, not a brawler, and he knew better than to open himself to enemy attacks with a pathetic attempt at a punch or kick.

Christian looked for all the world like he was barely able to stay on his feet. Karen threw back her fist again to finish him off with one decisive punch to the solar plexus, when Vishakha placed herself in front of her and seized her by the front of her leather jacket.

"Karen, please," she begged, staring deep into her roommate's unfocussed grey eyes. "It's me... Vish. You're not yourself. If you can hear me, stop fighting."

Something ressembling an emotion passed through Karen's face. Her fist, still ready to punch, trembled slightly and began to unclench.

[ToySoldierCPlus]

As Vic is distracted attacking Maxwell, Leon steps up behind him and drives his knife into the brute's back.

Spoiler

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Attack rolled in OOC thread, got a single 10, so: (1d10)[2](2). Attack did 3 damage, barring armor.

[-Sentinel-]

(OOC: Again, events described out of Initiative order for narrative reasons.)


The knife slid across Vic's spine, drawing quite a lot of blood but failing to hit anything vital. The brute turned away from Maxwell to face the more obvious threat and swung his baseball bat at Leon, who reflexively raised his arm to protect his face and was hit on the elbow. It hurt like hell, but there was no sound of cracking bones, at least.

Maxwell made good use of the timely distraction: "Christian! Open that door! I need Beatrice!"

Christian blinked, wondering who the hell Maxwell was talking about. Then he remembered that Beatrice was the name of the rapier, still lying on the back seat of the Lexus. First, his eyes darted to Karen to make sure she was not about to hit him in the next five seconds. Vishakha had taken her roommate by the shoulders and was still talking to her softly in an attempt to snap her out of whatever mind control she was under. There was no telling how well it was really working, but at least Karen had stopped trying to kill them. For now. Good enough, thought Christian as he pressed a button on the smart key and opened one of the rear doors for Max.

"Thanks," said Max breathlessly. He reached into the car, grabbed his rapier and flashed his sh!t-is-about-to-go-down grin.

Meanwhile, the increasingly frantic slashes of Maria's machete were still missing Matthew by a long way, to the vampire's growing annoyance. Still, Matthew had to wonder how long he could keep dancing if no one came to his help soon...

[Misaat]

Drops of sweat where falling from Matthew's neck as he could hear the whistling Maria's blade around him... He felt it... He would not be able to keep dodging forever.

" Emm... Guy's? A little help over here?! "

[ToySoldierCPlus]

Cursing under his breath due to bat-to-funny-bone, Leon presses his assault with the knife. "I'll be there in a second, Matt!"

Spoiler

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Another 2 damage to Vic. Hopefully Maxwell can take him down next, and then we can focus on ending Maria.

[-Sentinel-]

With a supreme effort of will to stay conscious, the weakening Christian pulled out his handgun and aimed at Vic, trying not to hit Leon. He fired once, almost bursting everyone's eardrums (see, that's why we wear earplugs during interior target practice), and managed to graze Vic's scalp at the temple.

Maria whirled at the sound of gunfire, alarmed. "Karen, I told you to deal with the gunman fir-"

As she watched, Maxwell charged headlong at Vic, drove his rapier to the hilt into the brute's left lung and pulled it out with a sharp twist. Vic crumpled to the ground, coughing up copious amounts of blood. It was only then that fear flickered across Maria's face; one of her minions was down and the other was just standing idle, staring into Vishakha's eyes.

"Karen, listen to me," Maria said, her voice soft and seductive, yet full of authority. "You're mine, remember. You can't live without me. For me to feed you good vitae, you must kill them."

Karen slowly turned her face towards Maria. "Kill... them," she mumbled.

"Don't listen to her, Karen!" Vishakha begged. "You're not with them, you were always your own person. Come back to us."

"Vish..." whispered Karen. Her brow creased. She looked... conflicted.

[ToySoldierCPlus]

Do I leave an untrained woman and an injured rookie alone with a vampire's minion? Eh, they'll be fine. Leon turned and dashed toward Maria and Matt. "Maxwell, keep up! Vish has Karen under control, we need to help Matt!"

[Misaat]

Matthew takes advantage of Maria's sudden distraction to pull his new revolver from his pocket.

[-Sentinel-]

Maria's eyes widened slightly when Leon and Maxwell sprinted in her direction with their blades drawn. Her fear turned to near-panic when Christian fired at her and put a bullet straight in the center of her (generous) chest. She staggered back a step, then made one last desperate effort to bring Karen back on her side:

"Please, Karen! They're killing me! You're nothing without me, and you know it!"

"No, Karen, you must-" Vishakha began.

Karen shoved her aside roughly, lunged at Christian and punched him twice in the abdomen, slamming him hard against the car. Her face was twisted in a mixture of bloodlust and confusion, as if she thirsted for the kill but had no idea why.


OOC: You are now in range of Maria, who has no defense this round.

[Misaat]

Matthew points at the Vampiress and squeezes the trigger.

[ToySoldierCPlus]

Leon reaches Maria, and slashes at her with his knife.

Spoiler

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Oh right, no defense. Oh well, I rolled sufficient dice. Anyway, 4 lethal to Maria.

[-Sentinel-]

Matthew's bullet hit Maria's side with very little obvious damage. The vampiress threw him an annoyed glare, and that was just the opening Leon needed to drive his knife into her abdomen. Before she could even try to fight back, Maxwell slashed her across the forehead with his rapier. Her eyes full of her own blood (or whatever that sticky black stuff was called), she staggered backwards.

Near the car, Christian called upon his last reserves of strength to catch Karen's oncoming fist and immobilize her entire arm in an elbow lock. Not wasting a second of the brief respite, Vishakha took Karen by the other arm and spoke to her again, fervently:

“Come on, Karen, you know who you are. Remember, you were trying to protect me when you got involved in all this. We're still friends, right?”

Karen stopped struggling at Vishakha's touch. At the cost of a terrible effort, she opened her mouth to speak. “Kill... Maria,” she gasped. “She's fµcking with my head. Quick, before I lose control again.”


Maria was not one to fight hopeless battles. Alone against three foes, bleeding from four wounds, both of her minions out of the fight, she did not take long to figure out she was beaten. She darted into the gap between Leon and Maxwell and sprinted towards the only exit of the underground parking lot. She was quite a fast runner.

“I don't forget,” she warned over her shoulder. “You haven't seen the last of-”

Lillian drove into her at forty miles per hour.

Maria's body rolled to the side like a rag doll, hit one of the walls and remained unmoving on the asphalt, her legs twisted at an abnormal angle. The car screeched to a halt in the middle of the parking lot and Lillian came out, followed by Neil.

“Not this time, miss,” said Lillian in a nonchalant tone.

Lillian and Neil took in the scene of the battle; Vic's inert body, Max and Leon's bloodied weapons, and Karen being restrained by Christian, who looked like he had just tumbled down six consecutive flights of stairs.

“You were taking a bit long, so we thought you needed help,” said Neil. “I take it the negotiations turned heated?”


OOC:

Spoiler

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As I said in the OOC thread, I'm cutting the fight short because it was just a matter of who killed Maria first. You are no longer in combat time. Act freely.

[Misaat]

" We need to get Christian to a Hospital.... And about them..."

Matthew said looking back and forth between Maria and Gregory's body he then looked at Leon.

" Still need those test subjects?... Because i made a promise to fulfill i just need to get a camera ready. "

He said with a cold voice.

[ToySoldierCPlus]

Leon wipes his knife on his already bloody shirt, sheathes it, and returns it to his pocket. "Yeah, I still need them, and yes, you could say that. Remember when we ambushed them at Starbuck's? She pulled the same crap. Tried to turn Karen into one of her puppets. Did a pretty poor job, if you ask me." Leon walks over to Karen, takes her chin in his hand, and turns her face to his. He looks intensely into her eyes for a moment before releasing her. "You should be fine, given that you were able to regain some control. You'll have to forgive me if I ask that you allow me to document your control and recovery from it. I'll want to know everything; how she brought you under her control, what it felt like, what allowed you to break free. ...Once we get back to base, of course." He then walks over to inspect Maria's and Gregory's bodies. "Somebody put a stake in Maria, and put them both in the trunk. They haven't decayed yet, and I would very much like to actually study the things that go bump in the night so we know how to better handle them next time." Leon then moves back over to Vishaka and Karen. "As I said earlier, the things that go bump in the night actually exist; you've both been victimized by just one variety of the beasties what come out after dark. The thing about them is, and this should be fairly obvious by now, they try their level best to put on a brave face, to make us think that they're so far above us, so much more powerful than us, that we're no threat. They treat us like cattle, tell us that we're nothing but prey to them. But they go to lengths like this to hide. They hide from the light of day, they hide from the human eye. It makes me wonder why? Why, if they're so much mor epowerful than us, if we pose no threat, do they hide? Why cloak their actions in secrecy, threats, and mindcontrol? Why don't they just go out into the night, hunting and feeding and killing with abandon? After all, there isn't much they can do to stop us. Unless... Unless they're afraid of us. And you know what? That's exactly what it is. They fear us. They want us to think they're better than us, that we can't touch them. But we can see they're wrong. And they know it, too. Deep down in their cold, unbeating hearts, every single monster knows that humanity is a threat. Sure, they're predators, and the lion doesn't fear the single gazelle. But what about a bunch of gazelles? What if the gazelles decided they didn't want to be eaten anymore? I get the feeling there aren't very many of their kind. We humans must outnumber them vastly. That's why they hide in the shadows, that's why they prey on drunks at nightclubs. Because they're easy prey. They tell us to be afraid of them, tell us we can't hope to hurt them, but I know their secret. They're afraid of us, of what we might tell people. ...Of the people who'll believe us. That's why they took you hostage, Vishaka, that's why they lured us out here. That's why she brainwashed you, Karen. They don't want any witnesses, because they're afraid of the retribution that's coming for them. Oh yes, coming. They tried to take us out tonight, and they failed. Miserably. Believe me, one day, they may succeed. They may kill us, but they'll never get all of the Hunters. We're out there, and we're not the prey anymore. So, Karen, Vishaka. What do you say? You've seen what they do, you've been victimized by their depravities and predations. You know what they're willing to do, what they're capable of. You know they're out there now, and there's no forgetting that. So there's just one question you have to ask yourselves. Can you go back to your old lives, live quietly and pretend that the monsters under your beds aren't real, forget everything that's happened to you? Or do you have to fight back, to stake your claim on the night and the world, to prove to the monsters that you're not prey, that you're not the hunted, that they're not your predators anymore, that now, YOU are the predator, and THEY are the prey? Ask yourselves. Are you hunted, or are you Hunters?"

[-Sentinel-]

Christian, his eyes still unfocussed from the beating he had suffered at Karen's hands, interrupted Leon's speech a third of the way through to say: "If it's all the same to you, I think I'll pass out now."

He promptly did.

A long silence followed Leon's words. Wordlessly, Karen lurched over to Maria's body, took hold of the fallen machete and, in three quick blows, beheaded the vampiress in a spray of sticky black blood. It was savage, vicious work, and it looked very personal. When she was done she gave the severed head a furious kick and fell on her knees. She let out a deep breath, as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

She stared at the bloodied blade for a moment. And then began licking it clean with a frantic, desperate thirst, like a traveler finding a spring after trekking the desert for days.

"Karen, what are you doing?" said Vishakha, horrified. "You're not... one of them now, are you?"

Karen did not answer until she had cleaned the blade. By then she had vampire blood all over her face. She was shaking, as if scarcely believing what she had just done.

"I... the bitch did something to me," she breathed. "She fed me her own blood while she had me. And... y'know, I've tried heroin and cocaine and other sh!t like that, and... that was caffeine compared to this. I... sorry, I couldn't help it. I just needed it."

Her eyes remained on Maria's body. She looked sorely tempted to lick the vampiress' wounds as well. Thankfully, Vishakha wrapped an arm around her and dragged her away from the corpse.

"So now you... you need blood to live?" asked Vishakha, worried.

"I... I don't think I need human blood," croaked Karen. Her eyes were haunted. "Him, over there, Vic... I don't feel like drinking his blood. But he needed Maria's blood, too... I saw her feed him some. The vampires... they drink our blood to live, and then make us drink theirs to enslave us. That's horrific, Vish... She made me not just obey her, but love doing it. Like it was the only thing I lived for."

Karen turned to Leon. There was a quiet, unshakeable determination in her bloodshot grey eyes. "I'm not a prey. You bet your ass I'm gonna hunt them. If I must spend every minute of my life hunting those bastards, I will. I'm not letting one motherfµcking one of them do to others what they did to me."

[Misaat]

" Okay then... how about one car takes Christian to the hospital and the other goes back to campus with the bodies in the trunk?"

Matthew asks the others.

[ToySoldierCPlus]

Leon's mouth turned into a grim smile, and he extended a hand to Karen. "Welcome to the club." Turning to Matt, he nodded his agreement. Yeah, Christian's pretty clearly in need of better medical treatment than we can provide. What about you? How's your gunshot wound?"

[Misaat]

" The blood clogged already... i'll be fine... i wanna document whatever you do to these things... i'll have it checked later "

[-Sentinel-]

Vishakha took a close look at Christian's injuries. "Wow, it's... pretty bad. I don't know if anything's broken, but you damn near killed him, Karen."

"...Sorry," said Karen. A ghost of a smile appeared on her lips. "Heh, you know, last spring I was itching to beat the crap out of him when he almost got me expelled. [link] Guess I'll now have to call it even."

"Don't laugh. He'll need a few days at the hospital. They'll ask lots of questions, so we'll have to find a good lie..." Vishakha sighed. "Listen, guys. I owe you a lot. So if one of you ever gets hurt and you can't go to the hospital without making the police curious, just call me. But... I'm not hunting monsters with you, that's for sure. I'm glad to help, but I'm just not cut out for danger."


OOC:

Spoiler

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Remember that Vishakha is a medical student.

By the way, it's very likely that my next update will be my last. Then we get to the epilogue, the XP and stuff.

[ToySoldierCPlus]

"That's understandable, Vishaka. The medical help will definitely be appreciated." Turning and looking at Christian, Len strokes his chin, thinking aloud. "Car could do this much damage, but that would prompt an investigation. Maybe a mugging? He was walking home from the bar, got jumped, beat up, and we showed up just in time to stop them from stealing his stuff? Plausible, and Christian doesn't have to press charges. Or we could just say he and Karen got in a fight. Attribute it to intoxication on the parts of both participants, Christian refuses to press charges, police and hospital think it's a little weird but ultimately ignore it because college kids. Sound good?"

[Misaat]

" I think it's better if we go with the mugging... Even if it's under intoxication Karen would still be taken in for aggravated assault... "

Matthew answers to Leon and then goes towards Vishaka.

" That's great. I'm sure we could use your help in the future. Likewise if you ever get into trouble again you can give us another call "

Then he gets a little closer and whispers.

" I'll make sure to wear a flak jacket next time ^^ "

He says with a smile. Then he turns towards Karen.

" By the way. Your Motorcycle's still outside those guy's Bar. Doesn't seem like they did anything to it thankfully. "

[-Sentinel-]

" By the way. Your Motorcycle's still outside those guy's Bar. Doesn't seem like they did anything to it thankfully. "

"Yeah, I'll get it back," said Karen. "As for your excuse for Christian's injuries, say anything, but make sure you tell him about it before the cops question him. Nothing puts a hole in a testimony like the victim not knowing what the hell you're talking about. But he's a cop in training, right? I think that gives him some credibility."

They dragged Christian into Neil's car. Maria's body and severed head went into the trunk of the Lexus, while Gregory's body had to be sat on the rear seat.

"You got a freezer to keep those, right?" Vishakha asked Leon.

"And a good lawyer if someone finds the severed head in your freezer," chuckled Lillian.

By 1 AM, the two cars emerged from the parking lot. One headed for the nearest hospital, the other for Maxwell College. Police and ambulance sirens wailed in the distance. A car alarm could be heard a few blocks from here. Dogs barked. Tires screeched. An airplane passed overhead. Music played from every direction; car radios, nightclubs, a homeless man's lonely guitar. People walked, sat, drove, ate, drank, talked, argued, worried, suffered, loved, lived, died.

Inside their cars, the vigilantes of Maxwell College felt numb, both of body and of mind. They had seen death from up close, had fought horrors most people saw only on TV, had been injured, had killed. Some of them were wondering if they would ever sleep well again, or experience a moment of perfect peace and contentment.

But out there, in the streets of Chicago, life went on, uncaring.

The end.

.