Previous session: Monsters' Ball
As Aster the Fae and Cameron review their video, they spot Victor the Ghoul leaving the apartment. They record his departure (some b-roll is always useful) when a muffled shot rings out and Victor falls over and lies very still. A dark figure runs out and lifts his body, bringing it back into the woods from where it appeared.
Aster and Cameron are both shocked, but don't leap into action or anything.
They disagree on what to do with the footage. Aster isn't suggesting that they go chasing after that person, but maybe they should show it to the police? Cameron's thinking of just sitting on it, and he needs convincing to do anything quickly.
Aster puts his hand on Cameron's shoulder.
-Look, It's fun but this can go further, You're more willing to see people die than I am. We have to take care of that mysterious person.
Cameron is definitely into Aster
-Yeah, alright. I'll send it tomorrow
-If it goes out tomorrow, nothing else is going to happen tonight.
Cameron gets the hint, and they kiss
Chloe the Infernal kneels beside Emily's body. She's crying as she gently tries to wake Emily. Finally, she wakes up, and wonders what happened, and as soon as Chloe mentions that she was shot, she reaches for her stomach where she was shot, but finds nothing, Chloe tells her that she had no other way of saving her, and had to ask for help. Emily remembers what Chloe said earlier: about a dark force inside her, and has such sympathy for Chloe's plight that they hug.
 |
| Emily, a werewolf and Chloe's crush |
They get Emily's pack from the usual place, get her dressed and head back to the dorm - Emily is Chloe's bitch.
Victor wakes up in a shack in the woods. He's securely tied to a chair, but he sees a dark figure sitting with their back to him. They're scribbling in a notebook. Victor tests the knots, but can't easily free himself.
-You might find I'm not as displeased with this as I might be
-Oh good, you're awake.
The figure turns, and Victor is surprised to see that it's Brie. She gets up and walks towards him
-Right now all I care about is how to kill you. The Devil is in you. When Sidney came to me I didn't believe it, but I checked you and you have no pulse. So what are you.
She wonders about vampires for a while, and Victor interrupts her
-What experiments do you have lined up?
-I think this will be right up your alley...I've so many ideas
Brie is truly relishing this and she uncovers a work table with many and terrible implements on it, from a blow torch to a chainsaw.
Aster is kissing Cameron against the wall of a small alleyway in between two of the school buildings. He doesn't want to get caught on video (or by anyone else using the alley as a short-cut). They go somewhere a little bit more private, and Aster keeps pushing things until they have sex. Afterwards, lying naked together, Aster tries to extract a promise from Cameron
-I don't want this to be a one-time thing.
-No. I don't want to be beholden to anyone
-I'm disappointed, and I wasn't ready for that
-Well, I promise you'll be seeing me again
Aster goes to find Brie, gazing into another impossibly deep basin of water to find her. His vision is confusing and he feels hatred and violence and blood. He sees a red wolf getting shot and go down. He sees Victor getting shot. And then he sees the shack out in the woods.
On his way there, he bumps into Chloe and Emily. Aster sees that Emily is roughed up and a little bit bloodied. He's his usual gallant self, but there's definitely something off about Aster. Offering Emily a handkerchief and his coat, Chloe spots him deftly putting the dagger away. Emily's not impressed by his act, and doesn't play up for it like they see other girls do.
As he's distracted, Chloe gazes into the Abyss once more. And she sees Aster enacting his own ritual and talking to himself about his plan to stop Brie. When she presses him on his plan, he comes across a bit dangerous. He's going to stop her and it seems like revenge for standing him up at the dance earlier.
Chloe struggles with her earlier intent to bring Emily back to her room, but when she tells Aster that she'll go with him and Emily will head back to the dorm by herself, Emily turns on her. They have a tender conversation about how Emily will protect her and that despite her appearance she doesn't actually feel too bad; if Chloe thinks she's going to stop her, she's got another thing coming. So Chloe's doesn't try to stop her and they all head into the woods.
Emily's looking at Aster like she doesn't understands how he smells like he does - like the woods.
******
Victor's not dead again. Brie's amazed.
-Still suffering, but you're dead.
The stabs and burns are fading away in front of her eyes. Victor clears his throat.
-You'll need to bring a bit more than that
-Maybe the chainsaw, maybe that's overkill? Anyway, we've got plenty of time
She goes back to make notes in her second book. This one is all writing, every second leaf alternating between a normal girl's diary and a militaristic journal detailing her operations and torture sessions.
Victor can read some of it from where he's sitting.
A passage about shooting the red wolf, she couldn't confirm the kill up close because she heard someone running towards it.
 |
| Brie, doesn't look like a stone cold killer, does she? Aster's paramour |
-Slow down. You're only 17. And you're in such a powerful position, there's no need to rush things.
She smiles back, maliciously
-I'm not trusting you
And yet she approaches, albeit cautiously. She leans in and kisses him roughly and surprisingly passionately and just as he responds she slides a screwdriver into his gut and then for good measure bites his lip, all the way through.
-Is this what you wanted?
With her straddling him, he accepts the pain and aims to catch her off guard, positioning his feet to tilt the chair all the way back to fall to the ground...
Aster bursts through the door to see Victor biting into Brie's shoulder as they fall to the ground. They both look up (almost as if they've been caught!) and Brie jumps to her feet with alarming speed to grab the chainsaw and start it.
Aster and Brie argue for a minute about Victor's monstrous nature, and when Aster asks him what's going on, Victor shouts that she's just crazy
-I'm not crazy, I'm doing God's will!
and she goes for Victor
From the doorway, Emily dives into Brie forcing her onto the ground and holds her down, with fingers slowly tightening around her throat. If Brie was stronger and faster than expected, Emily's off the charts.
Aster is talking to himself, or maybe no one in particular
-This is why you ditched me at the dance
Chloe walks over from the doorway and leans over Brie.
-You better cool off Brie. Stop trying to hurt us or we'll have you sent back to that lunatic asylum.
Emily glares at her
-Let's not. I just want to kill her right now.
Brie goes off on a tirade about how they're all monsters, but Aster tries to talk Emily down; she's a few ounces of pressure away from crushing Brie's windpipe.
Chloe walks over to the desk and picks up the notebooks.
-With these, you'll be back in a padded cell in no time, and this visit will last a very long time.
Brie screams that she'd rather die than go back there!
-Well, it's your choice. Go back to being your normal bubbly choir girl, or rebellious skank or whatever.
Aster steps over to Brie and helps her to her feet.
-No one's hurt anyone
Brie still doesn't have enough though, and walks over to threaten Victor.
-If you step out of line, I'll be back for you
-Fuck you
spits Victor but Brie is still defiant
-No one's going to stop me next time
She goes up to Chloe; she's looking for her notebooks back. Chloe tells her no way and swings at Brie when she reaches for them. But Brie grabs her and twists her wrist until Chloe drops the books. Brie takes them and leaves, with Aster behind her.
They untie Victor, and he wonders
-What the hell were you thinking!
Emily just replies
-I really want to kill that bitch!
And Chloe is obviously looking at the chainsaw like she agrees with her.
Emily's a bit confused by Victor, here and now, she smells like decay from him. He heads to his room alone.
*****
Emily and Chloe walk back together. Emily's surprised that Chloe didn't stop her, there's something like love in her stare.
-You're a lot darker than you seem at first
Chloe grins
-You could've killed her. You had every right after she shot you, and almost killed you. I swear I was this close to picking up that chainsaw and going after her myself.
Aster and Brie are well ahead of them. Brie staggers a little bit and Aster supports her. He wonders what her beef is with Emily. He can understand with Victor, he's nasty and brutish, but Emily's nice enough.
-You have to put down wild beasts, you can't wait for them to attack
-Retribution is one thing, but preemptive killings are a whole other level.
-You see the good in people, and that's sweet. I hope you're right and we don't regret it.
She kisses him on the cheek. She's still a little weak, so he sweeps her into his arms and back to her dorm room.
-My hero!
Ash isn't in their room, so he lets her down and when she comes back showered and wearing a towel, he takes the opportunity to use the first aid kit to bandage her wounds. Inevitably, one thing turns to another.
Victor gets back to his room and wakes up a bleary-eyed Cameron. He sits up, surprised as hell
-Holy shit!
and lifts up Victor's shirt where he can see the healed gunshot wound.
Victor brushes him off, and wants to talk about the 'Armstrong project'
-I think I caught them
and Cameron shows him a shoddy video of Armstrong and Wells going into his office; there's a cut and then they're kissing and undressing.
 |
| Cameron, general all-round puppet master. Victor's partner in crime |
-I'm going to need you to distribute this like normal
But Cameron wants to wait until the morning, and until Victor explains how he's not dead!
-You're in no position to demand anything since you just left me high and dry at the dance!
Victor imagines smashing Cameron's head through the window, but restrains himself.
They agree on a quid pro quo, Cameron will upload the video now, and Victor will tell him what he is. Victor doesn't and when he walks to take a shower, Cameron complains that he's going to leave blood everywhere.
When he gets back, he has to dig out the bullet that's still inside him. It's a dull ambient pain that does nothing but annoy him and Cameron helps him take it out.
Victor tells him that Brie shot him, and points to the myriad of stab wounds and burns all over him that she's responsible for as well.
-What the fuck!
There's a moment where this is starting to affect Cameron a little too much, but Victor restrains himself. He likes their dynamic right where it is.
When Chloe and Emily get back to her room, Maria is nowhere to be seen. Probably still out with Madison. Chloe closes the door, setting up a door stop and chair to give them some privacy. When she turns around, she doesn't bother with any preamble, but Emily knows exactly what Chloe is thinking. The worst thing is that, after they have sex, Chloe can't help but think that now, Oberon has his claws into Emily just a little bit more than before.
****
Aster wakes up to see Brie lying naked beside him. She's propped up and is sketching him in her notebook. He can't help himself and poses for her. She turns the notebook around
-Here, gaze at yourself!
He gets her to promise not to take any preemptive action.
Ash walks in. She really didn't need to see an entirely naked Aster posing on Brie's bed.
-I thought you were a good Christian girl now
And then, now that it's daylight, Brie notices that all of Aster's hair is blue. She goes over to him and runs her fingers over his head, and sees that the hair is blue all the way down to the roots.
-That is weird
Ash can't believe what she's seeing. They're so shameless, and she leaves again.
-You're not exactly a normal boy, are you. Your perspective on the others makes sense now.
Brie's obviously struggling with this new information.
She's late for mass and Aster sneaks out after one last kiss.
They're late, so Chloe helps Emily to get dressed for mass. Emily sees that she's not getting ready herself, and wonders why (she'll get into trouble if they don't go).
Chloe says that she just can't stomach it. She knows it's silly, but now that she's in league with, the devil, she can't bring herself to go there.
-I mean, what if I burst into flames when I walk in. The other thing I can't get out of my head is that old movie about that immortal Scottish guy with the sword. The bad guy walks into a church and just goes crazy; what if I do that?
Emily kisses her
-We're going to talk about scary demon overlords when I get back. Cause you're mine now.
Chloe waits until the door closes before she swoons onto her bed.
 |
| Ian, Victor's fashion nemesis |
Around the chapel, everyone is transfixed by their phones. Miss Carter and Mr. Armstrong are nowhere to be seen and the atmosphere is heavy. Then he notices that people are giving him a wide berth (wider than usual), and he spots Ian, who pales and backs away when Victor approaches.
-Do I reek? Why is everyone giving me a ten foot radius?
Ian just shows him his phone; a video of Victor getting shot has also done the rounds.
Victor just sneers and lets Ian go. He heads to Chloe's dorm room.
Aster gets to the chapel to find that the staff are confiscating the student's phones. He's not fooling anyone when he says he's left his back in his room, and is forced to surrender it. (Apparently the school charter allows them to seize property for any reason deemed suitable by the staff).
Ambrosia is there too, she's obviously tried to dress respectably but has failed spectacularly. Her red dress isn't blending in at all. She draws him aside conspiratorially.
-The pond. His prison is weaker. I must speak with the elders
-He must have someone helping him, I'll find out who.
Ambrosia looks like she's going to say something else, but stops herself.
***
Victor enters the room without knocking, and Chloe's protestations stop as soon as she recognises him. She's not pretending to be unwell for him and sits up in bed. It's obvious she hasn't seen the videos of Armstrong and Wells
-Have you any dirt on him?
-That was it
Victor presses her and she levels with him
-Let me tell you the truth
And she tells him of her showdown with Armstrong in his office. That all she wanted to do was get him to stop having the affair with Ms. Wells and go back to Miss Carter. He laughed at her and then offered her A's. And she accepted that dirty deal from him
-You're sweet, and people trust you. If you tell people that he's be in even more trouble. He needs to be taught a lesson.
Oberon chimes in to encourage her to stir up trouble, but she shuts him down.
-I thought you were supposed to be cold and calculating. I'm just protecting my investment
Victor tries a different tack.
-Listen. You want him to go back to her. She can't turn him away, but it's going to happen again. He needs to be put down.
-How would that happen?
-You call him and give him a time and place. I'll take care of the rest
-I'm not comfortable with that
-I'm going to beat him into pulp
-You're not going to get my help with that. First off, Brie will come after you after sharpening her chainsaw. Second, Mr. Armstrong is big and works out, he will beat you into the ground or just hold you off and call the cops!
Victor is getting angry with her.
-You don't sharpen chainsaws! You're as bad as the rest of them, you're monstrous but you pretend.
-Just because I'm weak, that doesn't make me a monster!
-You're just selfish
-Well, if you do it, leave my name out of it
Oberon warns her
-It's best if you don't make this one angry
After their sprawling argument, Victor is unhinged, and Chloe is prey. It's lasted 45 minutes and people are returning from mass. Emily knocks and walks in, and she's not happy with what she sees. Victor angrily standing over a vulnerable-looking Chloe.
-Victor! What the hell are you doing?
Victor just walks out, and Emily grabs his shirt collar as he goes past her.
-Don't let it happen again
And Victor just keeps going, ripping his shirt a little (showing some of the wound marks on his shoulder and neck.
Victor sneaks out of the dorm like a pro. But he's thinking, maybe Brie was right.
Aster is talking to Brie as they clean up the shack (the groundskeeper is returning on Monday). She has questions, like
-What are you?
-A Fae
-These woods are strange. I hear giggling and see figures flitting through the shadows
-Giggling, that would be my relatives
-And there's that creepy pool
-That should be avoided. It's a prison for someone who shouldn't be left out; which would be very bad for everyone. Lately the bonds are getting weaker. He's getting outside help
-It's got to be Chloe. I've seen her at that pool
-She seems so sweet
-You were the one who stopped that wolf from killing me. But Chloe said nothing.
He gives her the dagger. She's so happy with it! It's perfectly balanced and made with silver.
-We're going to make sure the prisoner stays captured
Brie thanks Aster and they kiss. She shows him into the connected cave, which is full of training gear and equipment. She admits that she's pretty good at hiding her presence here, she mostly moves around at night.
-If Chloe is helping Oberon, we need to stop her. Direct questions mightn't be useful, plus we'll lose the element of surprise.
-Well, this is more your gig than mine. I was thinking surveillance.
She grimaces
-Well, you know what my solution would be. Kill Chloe and Emily as soon as we see them
and she turns to throw her new pointy toy at the target
-Let's just try to stop them before we escalate this any more
**
Victor goes to find Emma at her apartment. As he approaches the door, he hears angry yelling from inside; Emma's voice telling him to get out!
Mr. Armstrong opens the door, suitcase in hand.
-It's really not a good time
-I can see
Victor smiles at him and knocks at the open door as Mr. Armstrong walks away.
 |
| Emma Carter. Everyone's favourite teacher. |
But he enters anyway and closes the door behind him. He's enjoying the fruits of his scheming.
-You look like you might need to talk
-You're very sweet, but you're only 17
-We've both gone through a similar experience. Having painful secret about us spread
Emma looks concerned all of a sudden, seeing his torn shirt and wounds
-Are you ok?
She's remembered the video she saw earlier, before everything else happened, and tries to bring him to the nurse, but he reaches out and moves her hand to his heart
-I'm fine. I have all the time in the world
She freezes as she realises she can't feel a heartbeat
Somehow, Victor convinces her not to talk about this, but to talk about her instead.
-Peter and I are getting a divorce
But she can't not talk about him
-How do you not have a pulse?
-I died. My body just doesn't give up. I guess I'm not the giving-up sort. My parents called me 'driven', in a mean way, but they were right
Emma wants to see where he got shot, and takes off his shirt
-Who did this to you?
-I don't want to get anyone in trouble.
He talks about wanting to punish Armstrong, not needing to take care of himself, that he can make sure nothing like this happens to her again.
-There's more than one way to teach a lesson. Or work anger out.
-It's not your job to defend me
-You can make it my job. I can be at your beck and call.
She kisses him, properly this time.
-You're not a freak. You need to be taken care of. You're not disposable
-I'm asking you to take care of me
And now she's ready for him.
Chloe and Emily are eating in the dining hall. They're talking about Brie, and where she gets this crazy idea that she can just kill people who aren't like her, Chloe wonders about perfect blondes and their egos. Emily is incredibly hungry and Chloe shoves her tray over.
-Got to feed your dog
and she hears Oberon chortle, and then Emily gets that far-away look in her eyes.
Sister Beatrice wants a word with her.
On the long walk to the head office, Chloe starts to tell her that her arm is really sore from last night, and she didn't feel up to making it to mass this morning. Beatrice takes her wrist and turns it enough for Chloe to wince (for real).
Sister Beatrice turns towards the nurse's office, and Chloe wonders to Oberon what her dark secret is
Oberon needs to dig deep
-Oh, very interesting. Seems like Beatrice hates you all, all of you stupid, dirty children. She desires that you should all die
When Chloe sits down on the examination couch, she complains
-See, that b___'s fingerprints are still on me, from where she...
And Beatrice approaches her again.
-What do you mean?
-Well, I don't want to get anyone in tr...
-Miss Spencer. I don't have time for this idiocy
-It was Brianna.
And Chloe's story spills out of her: that Brie is crazy, she was saying that she shot Emily and stabbed Victor, but they're both still ok. She had all these crazy stories and pictures in her notebooks as well, but when Chloe tried to take them, Brie almost broke her wrist to get them back.
-She's really crazy and I'm scared of her
Sister Beatrice is stoic, and her eyes cold
-Tell no one what you've told me
*
Aster leaves Brie to work out, and goes to Ambrosia at her tree to tell her about the progress they've made.
-We think we know who's helping him, but if we could place some surveillance on the pool to make sure.
-It's not pleasant to walk the area, as Oberon's anger seeps out. Maybe the elders can place a spell that alerts us when someone approaches.
Chloe is hanging out with Emily after the nurse has bandaged her up. Suddenly Emily turns to her
-I'm going to save you. I'm going to destroy him and keep you safe from him forever.
Chloe's confused
-He wants me to bring Maria to him, or he'll hurt you. I can't let that happen.
Chloe shakes her head, telling her that if she wants to move on someone, she can't conspire with the other person Oberon can hear. She can't conspire with anyone, she's just got to do it.
-I'll take care of Maria, you don't need to bow to his wishes. He's not going to hurt me. He needs me, because I deliver for him.
Emily wonders how she's going to handle Maria. Chloe laughs, sadly
-I haven't had a chance to see her since Jimmy and Cameron sent that video out last night. I need to give her a hug. And after I'm her best friend, I'll be a bitch. I'll give her a way to get back at them. Emily's sad, and a little quiet at this. But she leaves Chloe off to do what she has to do.
On the way back to their room, she speaks to Oberon about Maria
-It won't be so easy you know. Maria and Madison were going to get revenge a different way. Maria won't be so susceptible to manipulation.
-You think so highly of her. Right now she's sobbing into her pillow.
Oberon doesn't appear to think highly of anyone.
 |
| Maria, the coolest girl. Chloe's room-mate and Madison's lover |
They walk into the woods, and Chloe briefs Maria on Oberon.
-Just ask for exactly what you want. He's an asshole but he always gives me what I'm looking for
Maria is startled as she walks into the pool, and hears Oberon's voice in her head
-Nice to meet you Maria. What do you desire?
-I want Jimmy and Cameron to suffer like I've suffered
-That isn't solely what you wish for though, is it. You want an end to the hurt. You wish it so much stronger than simple revenge!
Maria is engulfed in the water. It doesn't drag her down but enters her and then disappears. She's still and stunned, standing in the middle of the pool.
Chloe steps in and yells
-Undo this bullshit or else I'm cutting you off!
Oberon chuckles at her.
-I didn't expect this backbone from you. I just need one more, and you should be it
A hand of water raises out of the pool to grab her and sucks her into a vortex before she has a chance to think straight. She never noticed the Fae watching from the shadows.
Aster gets the signal, but it's too late.
Maria is in a cage, just an empty shell.
Javi prowls in another and when he sees Chloe, he looks at her with pure hatred.
-You! You did this to me!
Chloe turns to him from her cage, sneering in a tone to match Oberon's
-You should've just gone for the football victory you idiot
Next session: Whoever Fights Monsters
Th amazing as always! Thank you so much for writing these up Donogh!
ReplyDelete