The Venom of Monsters their Wine

Previous session: Whoever Fights Monsters

Brie

At the pool, Brie charges at Chloe the Infernal as she makes a run for safety, and a red blur intercepts the katana-wielding slayer. Brie stabs Emily (the wolf) and Chloe turns around to intervene, jumping on her and starting to throttle her. With Emily skewered, Brie fights Chloe off, but can't make her advantage count before Chloe drags the sword out of the wolf squealing in pain beside her. Chloe cuts at Brie, decapitating her in one stroke, and collapses to the ground, badly beaten.

She regains consciousness a moment later and climbs to her feet, raising the mortally wounded Emily to her feet and dragging towards the school, but she's fading quickly.

Madison, the Witch

In Sister Beatrice's rooms, Lilith is preparing the potion for Oberon's demise. There's a blood-curdling scream from outside, where Maria and Madison the Witch were talking. Maria comes back inside, fangs showing and blood all over her face and throat. She's horrified and shaken, and screams at Lilith
-what did you do to me!
-what I did was save you, my dear. Ingrates, never appreciate what you do for them
Maria runs at her in a rage, she couldn't control her hunger and just killed Madison by drinking all of her blood. But Lilith picks her up with ease and throws her across the room, knocking her out.

She hands the potion to Aster the Fae.
-Don't fuck this up
Aster looks a little sheepish
-What exactly do I do with this?
Lilith looks at him, and moves over to Victor the Ghoul, still tied to a chair
-Why don't we untie you and you can supervise this affair
Victor looks at her blankly
-Do I know you?
and she chuckles, ruffling his hair
-I suppose you don't


As Victor and Aster walk towards the dark pool, they have a few awkward exchanges
-we're going to give a gift to my father...
-...that'll kill him. It's a strange thing to do
-Well, ideally we'd just lock him back up. But if he gets free, it'll be bad for everyone

They see Chloe and Emily coming across the grounds from the forest, Chloe spots them, but is too tired to avoid them and even veers towards them. She ignores their hostile stares and tells them that Brie tried to kill them both, and she needs their help to get Emily to the nurse. They won't help her, and Victor lets slip their plan; Chloe shakes her head, because she knows now that Oberon knows they're coming.

Chloe is dragging the now completely still Emily towards the nurse's office, when Sister Beatrice's door opens and Lilith steps out. Chloe is too tired to argue when she's ushered inside, and can't breathe when Lilith offers to heal Emily if Chloe promises herself to her service.
-I can't, he'll hear me
-Don't worry about him, dear. This is my domain and he cannot interfere.
-Just bring her back the way she was!
-You. You're brighter than you seem
Chloe is too distraught to play games
-It's a low bar, with those two idiots working for you
Lilith's necklace flares with light as she begins to heal Emily. Chloe feels free from Oberon's influence, but at what price?

Aster wishes that Victor didn't just tell Chloe that they were going to kill his dad. He explains how Oberon can listen in on his minions. And then the earth shakes and thunders, they barely make it through the forest, and then they spot Ambrosia covered in blood and holding a gory dagger. Aster is concerned for his sister but she shrugs it off; the blood isn't hers. She looks at the bottle he holds, and asks if it's the potion, and she goes with them

When they reach the Dark Pool, they spot Jimmy's dead body half-submerged at the edge of the water. Victor (only half in jest) wonders
-Did I miss the Rapture?
and they jump into the pool.

Oberon awaits them from his throne. They've interrupted him in the middle of strangling Amanda and he puts her down. Aster bows to him, lifting the bottle to him
-This is a gift for you. Since you are almost free of your bonds, we pay you homage and make amends for our resistance.
Oberon looks at his son and smiles.
-Most generous of you. I'm extremely pleased that you've finally joined me
He leans over and picks up two goblets and pours the wine into them both.
-A toast then, to my freedom!
They clink goblets and both drink deeply...

Swifter than expected, Oberon begins to choke, and collapses from the throne, dying. Aster also collapses, but he rises up again stronger and darker, spitting out blood and wine from his raw throat.
-This is what it takes to balance out what you've done
-You know not what you've done. Wrecked the balance. Allowed her to win...
and Oberon, the Faery King is dead.

As Aster recovers, with Ambrosia freaking out for his safety, he sees Brie's head and body lying in the cavern. Freeing Javi and Amanda from their bonds, Amanda tells Aster that Chloe killed her and the Fae furiously promises vengeance and extracts a promise from Victor also.

Returning to Lilith's they find a handful of slaughtered Fae lying in the clearing where Ambrosia was captured. Victor and Aster exchange glances at this; more dangerous than they thought.

*****

Emily wakes, breathing heavily and wrecked. She glances at Chloe who's still holding her and questions how it's possible. Chloe explains that someone else, not Oberon this time, brought her back, and Emily looks more emotionally wrought than ever.

In walks Aster, bearing the remains of the bottle. Surprised to see Chloe here, he relates their victory over Oberon to Lilith with a smile. Lilith leaves to speak with the awakening Maria. Aster grabs a couple of solo cups and pours out the remainder of the wine into them. Offering one to Chloe in celebration, she doesn't take it.
Chloe can't move, she feels sick. If she could've held out for another half hour, she would've been free. But she looks at Emily and can't imagine letting her die for that freedom.

Victor, seeing that she's not taking it hands drinks Aster's and gives the other cup instead to Emily, who downs it in one gulp. She starts convulsing and as Victor dies in front of them he whispers
-Brie says hello

Emily whispers to Chloe as she draws her last breath
-Please don't bring me back again
Chloe can't believe that they've done this, killing Emily for petty revenge, when Brie is the one who attacked them, but Aster tells her it's because she's weak and dangerous and has to be punished. Chloe rises to her feet, picking up the katana which has lain unnoticed alongside Emily through all this.
-I heard that you have to be intact to become king
and she reverses the katana to slam its pommel into his eye, Aster collapses to the ground in agony and then all of a sudden, Chloe is slammed against the far wall by an invisible force as Lilith reenters the room
-What a mess you've all made!
Aster and Chloe play the blame game, but Lilith is having none of it. She tells Aster that if he can't control himself he should leave. Aster snarls at Chloe
-This isn't over yet
Lilith moves to Emily to bring her back again, and Chloe tries to stop her, but can't even. When Emily breathes again she looks at Chloe and gasps
-Why Chloe? Why couldn't you let me die!
-I know it's shit right now, but how can being alive and having a chance at better things be so much worse than being dead.
But Chloe's sure that it barely makes a dent in Emily's misery.


They go to the Dark Pool with Lilith. Initially she is unable to enter, but summons her magic to breach the barrier. Drawing an ancient tapestry off one of the walls, they see ancient script etches into the stone. Her magic doesn't work on it, so she direct Emily to destroy the gate with Oberon's hammer. Emily resists, and while Lilith is distracted Chloe works her way over to Oberon's corpse to get her mother's necklace back. Stuffing it deep into her pocket she returns and asks Lilith to let her go, she's no use to Lilith now.

Lilith dismisses Emily from her presence and Chloe hefts the hammer up and smashes the wall down, destroying the ancient script of the gate. The ground shakes and Chloe hears ancient (creepy) whispers around her as she heads down a passageway deeper into the earth.

Another, more solid gate await them, with even more arcane script (which Lilith avoids touching when she examines it) and Chloe wonders where this leads to? Lilith tells her they're going to open the gates to Hell and let loose those within. Soon she'll wreak vengeance for the slights she has endured over these past ages.
Chloe's eyes narrow.
-So, you're telling me that you want to destroy everything I hold dear...
Lilith nods and smiles in anticipation
-...and you stand here, in a narrow passageway, with your back to magical writings that you daren't touch, and I stand here with this hammer...
Before the thought can finish, she raises the weapon and smites Lilith in the chest, knocking her back and apparently causing severe pain to her. Lilith grabs her and begins to whisper something, the hammer is thrown from Chloe's grasp. she drives Lilith back into the wall and holding her forearm against Lilith's throat, smashes her fist into...the wall. Lilith has vanished and grabbed her from behind. Tutting with pity in her voice:
-What an impertinent thing to do!
She disappears and Chloe collapses into heap.

****

Aster goes to Cameron, who answers his door on crutches and all beat up. Aster's looking for something to use against Emily and Chloe.
-I hate to ask you for something else, but I need to humiliate Chloe and Emily
Cameron's interested but can't think of anything
-I might know somewhere we can find a bit of dirt on them

They hobble to the library, where they find Amanda behind a stack of books in the classics/literature section.
-Emily's room-mate should know something
Aster moves the books aside, surprising the quiet girl on the other side of them, who drops one of her Oreos to the ground. Telling her what he's after, Aster slowly disassembles the cookie, licking the filling suggestively
-What kind of information are you looking for?
-You know what kind
-They're dating?
Aster sighs. Everyone knows that, right?
-I was thinking of something more concrete, something we can use against them
-Emily's drug dealing?
Bingo! Taking another cookie and standing up to leave
-I'll be back with some more Oreos for you

In the cavern under the Dark Pool, Chloe feels something like magic affect her, but she shakes off the feeling. She's suspicious but can't bring herself to wonder too deeply about it. Grabbing the hammer and climbing out of the cavern, she's freaking out a little bit.

Victor wakes up, alive again and sees Maria reading a book. There's some very poor quality quipping about vampires and zombies, but when Victor gets up to leave Maria tells him that she's supposed to keep him here. When he grins
-You've met me, right?
She leaves him go

Aster has gone to talk to Miss Carter. Despite her emotional state and protestations that it's so late he insists
-Someone's selling drugs on campus. I'm pretty sure it's Emily I thought you'd need to know, I trust you and something should probably be done sooner rather than later.
-Oh, that is serious. We'll need to report it.
She fishes out Officer Dominguez' card (who was here the previous day when Victor killed Mr. Armstrong) and passes along the report. She then calls Sister Beatrice and arranges a search of Emily's room.

The room is empty, and when Miss Carter starts searching under the bed, Aster remembers that someone said the stash was in an old duffel bag, but there's not many places to hide such a big bag. Miss Carter immediately goes to the closet and discovers the duffel bag, stuffed with drugs; mostly weed, but with a supply of Ritalin and other ADHD prescription pills.
Miss Carter shows all to Officer Dominguez and under the watchful eye of Sister Beatrice, Aster tells her some generic made-up story of how he knew of Emily's dealings. Having done his civic duty, Aster leaves to buy another packet of Oreos for Amanda.
As he hangs out in the common room with Amanda watching TV, they see Emily arrested and brought away.

***

Chloe walks slowly across the playing fields towards the school. She phones her mom to check in with her. She hears gunfire and shouting in the background, typical. Luke is playing Call of Duty with his friends like nothing's wrong; he's the only one who had no cause to hate dad.

Her mom tells her that the police found his body in the East River, horribly bludgeoned to death. So now that she officially knows, Chloe should go home for the funeral arrangements. Her mom will send a driver to pick her up. Chloe tells her about Oberon, but the news about the Gates and the hammer mean nothing to her.

Victor is wandering around the grounds, doing some soul-searching about his past and his identity and is feeling unsated. He spots Chloe and walks towards her. She tells him that she knows he has no reason to like her, but can't he understand that they had to kill Brie to defend themselves? But Victor is having none of it. He accuses her of being a piece of shit, who can't even own the bad things she does; just to get the approval of people more powerful than her. At least he gets something out of the terrible actions he takes!
Chloe can't speak, she drops the hammer in the grass and turns towards the car park. She's crushed and by the time she reaches the crowd of teachers watching Emily being driven off in the police cruiser she's sobbing.

Officer Dominguez

Chloe tells Miss Carter about her dad's death, and as Sister Beatrice looks on coldly, she gets a hug and some kind words from Miss Carter. Across the car park, they see the police cruiser has rolled to a halt. Office Dominguez' bloody body falls out of her door, and a hand-cuffed wolf, growling and snarling climbs through the window.
Chloe goes towards the car but the wolf runs past her and after Miss Carter who's attracted her attention by fleeing. Chloe grabs the shotgun out of the cruiser, but when she tries to pull the trigger she can't; she's prevented from taking action by some kind of magical force. She can hear Lilith's triumphant chuckles.

After eviscerating Miss Carter, Emily turns back towards Chloe and as the red wolf charges, Chloe tries to negotiate with Lilith, who won't accept anything less than total surrender along with an abject apology. Chloe won't and the wolf starts to tear into her and she feels her blood pool in her throat.

Emily rises from her, sated for now and turning back into her human form. With the last piece of her willpower drained away, she caves to Lilith's demands and grabs the shotgun again. Talking to Lilith in her mind
-So, do you want me to kill her now?
-No, but I like this new attitude
Emily is amazed
-You're still alive! I don't believe it. I just lost it!
-You'd better run
And Emily escapes into the woods as additional police cars arrive

Emily

Aster is snuggling with Amanda.
-I'll keep you safe from the wolf
-It's weird how you're still here, we're not supposed to have boys stay late
-They're distracted by Emily
-I guess I'll just have to enjoy your company so

In the woods, Victor happens across Emily. She begs for mercy, she's already been brought back three times
-Let's make that four
And he swings the hammer at her head, killing her.

**

When Chloe gets home, she tells her mom everything. 

Victor drops into Cameron, to have a serious chat with him about them overstepping the boundaries that seemed clear enough to Victor previously. Victor was the muscle and Cameron the brains, but Victor doubts that Cameron is all that anymore. When Victor reminds him about their uneasy truce, Cameron doesn't take it in the manner Victor expects
-Duh!
-Don't! Tell me how this is going to be!
Victor backhands him sharply across the face.
Feeling his jaw Cameron says
-Truce
and Victor is happy with that

Aster sleeps over in Amanda's room. They talk about Brie, Amanda thought they were dating, but Aster tells her that she never listens to him. It's hard to be with someone so single-minded.
He takes the bandage off from around his eye. With shock, Amanda gets out the first aid kit and after she re-bandages it, he goes to kiss her, but stops, wondering if Miss Carter will be checking on the dorms tonight. She kisses him then, and Aster asks her not to tell anyone that he ratted out Emily.

In the morning, there's a special assembly as classes are cancelled for a few days and the deaths of so many students and Miss Carter are announced. Just about everyone is looking at Victor at the assembly, but no one saying anything (at least not to his face). Aster is checking around for Chloe and when he doesn't see her, so he heads to the nearest sink and gazes into the Abyss to find her.

He sees a fancy house in a upmarket neighbourhood, and Chloe in a sombre but expensive dress. He sees her mom and his vision goes wonky and he sees her with Oberon, raging at her and then hitting her; she's pregnant and then giving birth to a blue-haired baby; then screaming in agony as her powers are stripped from her...

Victor sees a couple of police officers approaching as he leaves the assembly so he runs and as he's about to get clear he bumps into Sister Beatrice; somehow there when she couldn't possibly be.
-Seems like you found yourself in a spot of trouble
Victor shrugs
-It's Tuesday
-You're a problem right now, that I don't know what to do with
-I hear you're bringing people back
-What is it that you want? What's the point of you right now?
-You tell me
Lilith takes a deep breath
-You do not wish to be subservient to Adam. You are cursed, you murder your brother and you get chance after chance

Victor suddenly remembers family life with Abel, his brother. Lilith, Adam's first wife, who fell in love with Lucifer and they were all punished for that breach of faith. Time after time, he would be reborn after his death. But this latest time, the car crash was different somehow. Instead of triggering a rebirth as usual, he just came back as he was.

-Motherfucker!
-Ah, that's more like you Caine. I wondered if I could bring you back
-It's Victor...
And it's clear he means it. In that moment he doesn't seem to want any of this other identity
-...you know there's no point to me. Did you do this?
-I was curious. To try to break your cycle, if it makes a difference?
-I appreciate it

So Victor brings it back to what he really wants
-So, necromancy. Can you bring back Emma?
-What would I get out of it?
-What do you want?
-Loyalty! My plan is to break the system. Break the gates of Hell. Force Him to change things, and get my boyfriend back.
-Well, I can't do alliances very well, but I can raise hell!
Lilith laughs marvelously
-I do like you.


Post-funeral, Chloe is showing the guests out and then talks to her mom as they clean up. With Luke out of the room, Miranda tells Chloe
-I don't know how to get you out of it. Oberon was terrified of Lilith. You're lucky you survived when you defied her.
-Who's next in line to the throne?
Miranda has a emotional and guilty face.
-Not sure. There's a danger she will see us if we go to the woods to speak to the Fae.

Out the kitchen window, Miranda sees Aster turn up, walking out of the line of trees in the back garden. She drops a dish and runs outside. Chloe isn't sure what's going on and can't see them embrace outside as Miranda rushes out to her long-lost son

-I never thought I'd see you again
-I'm here for Chloe. She's done bad things
-That's my fault. My husband's fault
But Aster brushes her excuses aside
-There's just one person left to pay
-She's already paying for all this
-Chloe's not strong. She keeps running to worse things

As Chloe walks to the back door, she sees her mother collapse to her knees, whispering to Aster
-You're right. I thought I could save her. If she helps Lilith...
-I knew you'd see sense
And he walks towards Chloe
-You've done terrible things
-It's not me.
But Aster isn't even listening to her, and Lilith isn't impressed by Chloe's attempt to foist responsibility onto her. Aster grabs at the nearest kitchen knife and Chloe runs for it, getting away from her half-brother easily and ending up on the street, screaming for help.

Aster goes back inside, where his mother tells him to go back to the woods. They hug and she brings out an ornate sword, which was given to her by her father and is now his.

Chloe finally ends up running into a police patrol, and then bring her back home, where her mother doesn't back her story. Smiling like her daughter has had an emotional day and isn't well, Miranda shoos the police way and brings Chloe inside.

Chloe pulls away from her
-You were helping him to kill me! I thought you loved me! But you're just as bad as dad was. You bitch!
Miranda has the knife Aster abandoned on the counter, and Chloe bares her throat to her mother
-Maybe you should just kill me. It would be easier than this hell-forsaken so-called life I have now!
Miranda puts down the knife, she was almost there, but she says
-You know I can't kill you

And Chloe walks out of her home, still in her funeral dress, and makes her way back to school.

*

When Chloe gets back there, Lilith calls to her. Showing her all of the activity at the Dark Pool
-None of this would be possible without you!
The witches have broken down the 2nd Gate, and Chloe spots Emma Carter there, brought back as a vampire and helping out with the dig. Victor is there fawning over her and she can't stomach his joy. She's tired and beat. Her usual anxiety has fallen off her, she's just beaten and can't even bring any sass to bear.

Aster lurks in the woods beyond. He wonders if it's possible to balance the scales without killing Chloe.

He has a vision of the Fae at court. They would call for old-school, eye-for-an-eye justice. Human values can't win out, only Fae vengeance. He grabs his sword and goes hunting.

Meeting Ambrosia, he notices her new gold tiara, embedded with green stones. She sees the weapon at his side
-That sword has been missing for decades
And in her mind, she connects the dots back to Miranda
-I have to get rid of our half-sister Chloe
-Your half-sister, not mine. As the new queen, I give my blessings to your endeavour.
-Hopefully you do better than Pops did
-Well, the Regent is pissed to hear that the King has officially died, and he has to give up his power.
Aster swears fealty to her, and she heads off to quell the remains of rebellion in the realm.

At the last Gate, as Lilith examines it, Victor and Emma talk about her vampirism. She asks him
-Not what you imagined?
-A blood-sucking fiend, opening the gates of Hell?
-I was weak and spineless. All my good deeds didn't matter in the end. There's no point to bring good. Lilith can be rather convincing
-You mean cryptic and self-aggrandizing?
-Lilith says that humanity doesn't deserve to be here. The legions of hell won't destroy everything, it'll go back the way things were at the beginning. A garden of Eden.
-I'm not a big picture person. But the chance to give God a big "fuck you" would be neat. After all I invented murder! Were you annoyed about Peter?
-I heard about that. You really smashed his head in.
He gives Emma the complete, unfiltered gory details, they kiss and he can feel her fangs.
-I wonder what you taste like
and she bites and drinks deep

Lilith needs to think about getting past the final Gate, and sends everyone home for now.

Walking back, Chloe falls in alongside Maria.
-Can we talk?
Maria shrugs, like she couldn't care less
-Among everyone here, you probably have the best reason to be upset with me. I mean, I almost think it would be nice if you were annoyed with me. Before all this started I was coming to see you to talk about what happened at the dance with Cameron and Jimmy and then Oberon said he wanted you and I couldn't say no to him.
-You were coming to see me about that?
Maria remembers how she felt that night, even though it seems a million years ago
-And then I thought Oberon could give you what you needed, but then...
-Well, how about we wreak some vengeance?
Chloe smiles. A real smile.

As they walk along a narrow forest path, Aster leaps from the bushes, sword lunging at Chloe's heart. But Maria grabs his arm with preternatural speed. She breaks his arm and is on the verge of crushing his neck when Chloe stops her with a glance. She stoops to pick up the sword and places it in the hollow of Aster's throat.
-Listen. I'm not going to apologise for Brie's death, and I'm not sure I can forgive you for Emily, but we're not doing any good with this carnage. Can we just let bygones be bygones and try to forget all the damage we've done? I'll spare your life and you'll stop this hunt.

Chloe looks at Maria and shakes her head at Maria's obvious intent to kill Aster. Maria can see the half-siblings' heartbeats synchronise, as if the sword has brought them together and wants Chloe for the first time.

Aster thinks for what seems like an age. And then he nods. He can do that, some kind of balance will have been restored if he takes up Brie's mantle as Chosen. He takes the sword out of Chloe's hand and leaves them.

Maria walks over to Chloe
-Your emotions are intoxicating
and Chloe surrenders herself to Maria; she can finally relax. She passes out, already drained after a long day. She awakens a Vampire.

Next session: Monsters under the Bed