Devil's Advocate

 Previous Session: The Devil May Care

She's in Hell again. Lilith's triumphant voice tells her that she's coming back and that the erstwhile Infernal can't escape her forever. She's pulled away from that and in a weirdly realistic setting she sees dead and horribly mutilated bodies lying across the ground. It's freaking her out, and then she hears a growling monster behind her...

that wakes her up. Chloe the Vampire picks up her phone from the bedside locker. She needs some way to stop these dreams and she texts Sidney
~Hey ~I need a way of getting rid of these bad dreams I've been having
A few minutes later
~Try Xanax? ~Do you know what time it is?
~Oh, sorry ~I'll catch you tomorrow
Chloe spots the time, it's 3:47

The door opens into her bedroom. It's her mom, who heard her shout out in her sleep. Trying to figure out what she might have gathered from it, Chloe asks; and Miranda admits that she heard "Lilith!". When Chloe tells her that Lilith is trying to escape and she's been dreaming of her for a while, Miranda's really worried. She didn't think that would be possible. She offers to make her some hot cocoa, and Chloe wonders if she can make it with some O+. That kind of surprises her mom, but she does have a few bags squirrelled away (she still has contacts and sources apparently).


Wayne the Werewolf wakes up alongside Sidney as he hears the texting.
-Who was that?
-Just Chloe
He starts to dig a bit deeper, but Sidney tells him that she's asleep so he lets it go.


Aster the Chosen rushes his breakfast. barely saying "hi" to Miranda and Chloe. He texts Charley that they need to meet up before school, and they agree to miss their first homeroom slot and have coffee around the corner from school.

Miranda remarks to Chloe that he seems busy and pre-occupied this morning as the front door closes.
-You know, he's got...lions and tigers and bears to handle
-Oh my!


Victor the Minotaur sits on the only real piece of furniture in his otherwise empty single-room apartment. He leaves for school, but as soon as he gets outside he gets hit with a thrown brick. Behind him the leader of the monsters gang laughs
-Found ya punk!
-Oh man, and I haven't even had coffee yet!
Victor turns to see the rest of the gang there too and he wonders
-So, now what?
-I figure out how many ways I can kill you!
He lunges at Victor to capture him, but Victor runs for it and gets away from them after a short chase.

When they arrive in school, a surly Luke starts to join Omar and the rest of the nerd (well, werewolf) crowd. Chloe grabs him and tells him to sit with the 5x5s (the last remnant of non-supernatural in their homeroom). He's not impressed and joins them anyway. Chloe takes a deep breath
-I'll come visit you with a big vase of I-Told-You-So's

Aster's at the coffee shop well before Charley, he orders her a mocha (her usual) and starts drinking his cappuccino. She arrives and joins him
-There are way too many monsters at school. Frankly the humans are outnumbered in our class. We need to do something or else they'll be food bags. Let's start recruiting and group together. I think you're the person to lead them.
-Human boot camp?
-We don't want to see them become victims. Secrecy isn't going to work anymore.
-Just to play Devil's advocate for a moment, you could cause a panic
-If we just ignore the problem, it's only get worse
-You might be right.
Charley sighs
-I'll need you to do something for me. I'm concerned about what happened the other night with Victor, and also about Lucy...
-Pretty sure Lucy is not part of the humans only team
-I don't want to say anything against her, cause Lucy is so helpful...


Miss Yates is running them through Hamlet in AP English. She asks Chloe where Aster is and she tells the nervous teacher that Aster had an errand to run, but he said he would be in class. She's disapproving of this, but Aster and Charley arrive just then. Next time they'll be marked as tardy!

After class, Chloe and Wayne argue about Luke and what he did to the rest of them. Wayne dismisses her concerns
-You can't turn him into a werewolf, I can barely believe you've turned the others!
Wayne doesn't show any surprise at her knowledge of this
-They made their own decisions. If Luke wants to join us that's up to him, not you
-He's fifteen! Nothing's up to him
-Well he didn't appear to take your orders this morning

Leroy, fresh werewolf

Behind them, Jordan shoves past Leroy in the corridor, and Leroy takes real umbrage (instead of just keeping his head down as usual). He punches Jordan and the bigger boy goes down hard to the floor. The rest of the pack (as well as Luke) congratulate Leroy and Wayne is beaming with pride and joy. Darcy helps Jordan up to his feet, and then Liz Macintosh spots the kerfuffle.
She asks Chloe what happened, and she turns away from Wayne to wonder
-Does it look like anything happened?
(There may be some kind of eternal disagreement between werewolves and vampires, but she's not snitching to teachers!)
Liz breaks it up
-Leroy. You're going to have to see me after school. Go to the principal's office right now.
As he walks past Wayne, his pack-mate says supportively
-Remember, you didn't start that
and Leroy goes to Principal Washington with his head held high.


Victor spots Charley talking to Mia, who appears to be in full snooty mode.
-C'mon, you're not blind! You know there's a lot of shit going on
-Oh my god! Just keep me out of this!
and Mia starts to walk away
Victor grins at her hungrily
-She's right you know. A lot of people would eat you up, given a chance.
Like he's going to eat her, and not in some kind of metaphorical sense.
-You're a freak!
Maria is looking at Mia as she storms away, sure that the girl would be the easiest of prey.

Charley turns on Victor
-Really? God Victor! You ruined that!
-Fear is a strong motivator
-What happened after that bar-fight anyway?
-You got knocked out during the fight, and they dragged you off to their lair. I followed, got killed there and then Lucy saved the day. We got in over our heads, it happens.
He turns on a dime
-So, you on for tonight?
-I'm not so sure that's a good idea
-You and good ideas may not be a natural fit!
She smiles at that
-We're on, maybe tomorrow night though. But hold off on threatening people?
-If I don't threaten, then someone else will eat them

***

Aster is mustering the normals. The 5x5 table (Laura, Milton, Arthur, Hope & Thomas) along with Jordan and Ian. He's going to catch Luke after school, away from the watchful eye of the pack. Detective Mills has arranged to speak with him in a classroom Principal Washington has set aside for them. In the otherwise empty room, she opens a file for him.
He looks at the photos of dead bodies
-This is a problem. We've had them dropping like flies. Not just vampires, this is something else.

Aster fills a bowl of water, explaining to Mills that he can get some extra meaning through his divination. They have a pattern, symbols carved into them, by Abel and a few others who are dressed in robes and chanting for whatever bizarre ritual they are undertaking.
Asking what religion she is (Roman Catholic), he explains, drawing on the story of Cain and Abel.
-These five were killed as revenge for what happened to Abel thousands of years ago. He's the one in charge and he cam back from hell to exact revenge on his brother, who was cursed to live forever on this mortal plane. I'm trying to gather the remaining humans here so that they can protect themselves. Maybe you could join our meeting as an inspirational figure?
-I'll be there


Wayne is sitting with the rest of the pack. They're going to go out hunting tonight, even though some of them might not be able to turn fully. They're all super excited. Alice is caught up in that and wants to become one of them tonight as well. They're talking in code, not excluding Luke physically from them, but he doesn't really understand the import of what he's hearing. Wayne tells him
-You can come out with us, don't have to do what your sister tell you to. She's trying to keep you on a very short leash.
-I don't know why she doesn't like you

Alice, uber math nerd

Leroy can't make it, he's been suspended from school for the rest of the week. His parents are picking him up and they're so angry with him. Wayne shakes his head
-That's bullshit!
Alice is thinking seriously about the whole thing again
-I don't know about all this violence
-Well, Jordan got what he asked for
-You're right, I guess
And when she asks him for assurances that they're not going to attack anyone he gives it without any second thoughts.


Chloe sits down next to Sidney, apologising for the bad timing of her text in the middle of the night.
-I woke up from a terrible dream, and I just needed someone who I thought could stop them...Lilith has been sending me these nightmares from Hell and it's too much. I had thought that ignoring them might be enough, but we need to stop them entirely.
Chloe tells her the details of her dream, and Sidney shivers a little.
-I'll help, but how is she able to connect with you from where she is?
-Well, she had her claws pretty deep into me back then
-I'll think of some way to break that connection
Chloe thanks her and heads home


Victor and Charley have been flirting, and Liz Macintosh interrupts them to invite him for another session with her later
-Maybe tomorrow?
-OK so, see you tomorrow
He's a bit confused and catched up with her; she's not usually so easy to fob off
-Did you see Miss Carter yesterday?
-Oh yes. She's lovely, isn't she!
He'll get to the bottom of that another time.

**

At home, Aster talks to Luke before he heads out to meet up with Wayne.
-I'm going to tell you some things that'll surprise you. Just don't overreact?
-Sounds ominous
-Promise?
-Yeah sure. I won't freak out
-You know I'm your half brother, Mom had me with someone else before Chloe and you. But we're a lot more different that just that. The fairy tales are true, well at least they're based on reality. All those mythical things exist. I'm Fae, you mom used to be Fae. She was banished to this mortal realm. Chloe is a vampire, and so is Maria. Wayne and your buddies are werewolves. Things are pretty messed up
-You're insane!
Aster's casting around for something concrete to show Luke
-Like, when's the last time you saw me dye my hair? You haven't, because that's my true hair colour.
-You need to be locked up, cause that's crazy!

Luke, Chloe and Aster's
no-longer clueless brother

Aster leads him upstairs to Chloe's bedroom, and he pulls out the icebox she has under her bed. He takes the blood bags out.
-Now, why does your sister have Mr. Robert Paulson's blood under her bed?
-Chloe?
It's starting to dawn on him, and he's more than a little shocked
-You wonder why she's sleeping in. All those stares Maria gives you
-Holy shit!
-Sit down. Take a deep breath. We can do something about it, get you all together so you won't be feasted on one-by-one
-Leroy!
Leroy and Luke are pretty good friends.

Chloe arrives home and as she gets to the top of the stairs, she's bowled over by Luke.
-What's up with you?
-You died!
Chloe's confused, but it becomes clear what's happened when she sees Aster step out from her bedroom. Luke's looking at her fiercely, and on the edge of tears
-Why didn't you tell me!
Clambering to her feet she tries to explain
-I didn't tell you Wayne is a werewolf because I thought you'd see the prospect of getting turned into one as a good thing. Strong and fast and afraid of nothing. I didn't trust you.
-And mom's a Fae?
-Yeah, but I wouldn't bring it up. It's kind of painful to her that's she's pretty much just a normal mortal woman now. You know, like we don't bring up exactly how old she is.
Aster grins
-Though that might be because who really knows how old she was before she was banished here!
-Are there any more Fae around? Do we have more relatives out there?
-We kind of like to keep out heads down, especially after last year. I got banished here after I put my sister on the throne.
-Come one Luke, you must've noticed all the strangeness going on in the old school?
-Sure, but I didn't think it was anything like this.

Then a moment's pause
-Wait! Maria's a vampire too?
-Yeah. Like when I said she'd eat you up, I wasn't being metaphorical in a sexy way. Don't tell mom; she's already entirely down on Maria
Aster is helpful-ish
-And Mia's their blood bag
-That was just me, and that was only one time!
-Oh sis! Score!
-It's not like that either. Anyway, she's way outta my league!

Aster tells Luke about the group he's helping organise with Charley and Chloe looks surprised.
-Human coalition? I guess I'm on your side
-You're so cool Chloe, you're like Angel!
Chloe's not really comfortable with this level of admiration from her brother.  Aster adds one more piece of advice, before Luke's completely overwhelmed
-Don't let Sidney take anything personal of yours. She's a witch
Chloe needs to tell Aster something important, and she fills him in about the dreams and Lilith's intention to escape using these freakily murdered bodies. Aster is surprised, this is a level above what he thought was going on
-That's Abel


Victor hangs out with Charley for a while. Not back to his place, she has to stick around for this meeting with the others. But as he considers his options, she tells him that she'll need some kind of distraction away from all the seriousness. She pulls him into the janitor's closet.

Wayne leads the pack to hunt in the park, and they spread out to cover a wide area; he hears howls and growling as he quickly loses control. There's another werewolf in the park, this one is powerful and mature. It's feeding on someone it's just killed, and when Wayne lays eyes on it, it turns to menace him.

He howls to call in the rest of the pack (Alice is nearby, but having just been bitten, won't be able to join in yet). The big wolf lunges at Wayne and bites down hard. Despite his grounding, Leroy has joined them and rushes in to help Wayne out. The big wolf grabs Leroy and snaps his neck with one savage motion. The others are horrified as Leroy's death yelp rings in their ears, and Alice screams (she and Leroy were dating).

Wayne considers the bigger wolf, it's bloodied and he can't allow a bigger wolf to dominate the territory he's claiming. They all rush in, tearing him apart. Eddy loses it and rushes off. After catching his breath, Wayne leads the others off to track Eddy down before he gets in even more trouble. Soon, Eddy comes across Principal Washington on her way home and he charges her. Wayne catches up just in time to intervene, trying to get in between them. Eddy is too far gone and isn't paying attention to the pack dynamics at all. He tears out her throat...

*

Aster and Victor talk before the meeting; and Victor doesn't appear to be happy with the way things are going
-What the hell is going on?
-Things are getting worse. We need to gather allies. I want to support them, but Charley should be in charge. I'd like you to give a demo of what they're dealing with
-But you're going to get even more killed this way, people like us and mortals! You're war-mongering
-No, I want to show them that they can't kill easily. That if they try, or do what Leroy and the others did they can get killed
-They made that choice. If you're thinking of going public with this, then someone's got to speak for us
-I can't let humans get picked off anymore.
-I've seen too many people die. I don't want any more bloodshed. But there's a part of me that wants all that bloodshed anyway. Now, I guess I have to have my head chopped off.

Inside Aster starts the meeting, telling them that there are bad things out there that they might have gotten an inkling of previously. Introducing Detective Mills, she assures the, that the NYPD is looking out for humans in the city...


Horrified at Eddy's killing of Principal Washington, Wayne doesn't notice the SWAT team closing in until it's too late. Eddy goes down with a couple of tranquiliser darts in him, and Wayne gets in their way, in between them and the rest of the pack: Amanda Kelly and Omar have a chance to escape and he goes down in a haze as the SWAT team restrain him...


Aster asked Chloe to get Mia onside for the big meeting, so she heads over to Mia's place. She's around the corner when she thinks that just arriving at the front door might not be the best approach. So she texts her
~Can we meet up? ~Just to talk
~Are you going to bite me?
~Not even if you want me to ~How about that cafe near your place?
~Nowhere public!
~Your house?

Mia, class queen

When Chloe arrives barely a minute later, Mia's wondering how she got there so fast
-You know, Vampiric super speed.
-OK. Come on in
-I know Charley talked to you about this gathering, and I really think you should consider going. Obviously you've got vampires figured out, but not werewolves and demons and zombies and other weirder stuff
Mia's a bit frightened by the sound of all that
-So I think you need people to help you stay out of that kind of trouble, people who'll back you up when weird stuff goes down

Mia's not entirely convinced, but needs Chloe to promise that she's protect her as well. She'll go along to the meeting, and they have a few hours to kill beforehand. Chloe's surprised when Mia asks her to stick around for a few of the latest Housewives episodes. She just watched them with her mom, but Chloe sits on the couch and enjoys the company. Laughing ahead of all the funny bits she knows are coming, she gets a lot of popcorn thrown at her from Mia's end of the couch.

Chloe walks her to the meeting, and sits outside on a wall to wait for it to finish up.
She gets a text from Maria, wondering what she's up to
~I'm so bored!
~Busy tonight ~Catch you tomorrow?
~Busy with who?
~Mia
~Ooh! *wink*


In the meeting, Charley takes centre stage. Drawing a sword, she tells them that crucifixes and stakes will only get them so far. When you absolutely, positively gotta kill a monster; accept no substitutes. She decapitates Victor, and if the gathered crowd were horrified at that, it's nothing to what they feel when Victor stands back up, picks up his head and sets it on the table to address them.
-What my friends are trying to tell you is that while you're standing around horrified, I could have ripped into you by now. I'd be eating you alive. So try to stay on our good side.


Victor wonders about Liz Macintosh's sudden turnaround. The Abyss consumes his senses and he sees her visiting Emma, all smiles and greetings. Then the vision cuts out and he feels like something is watching him. Pain shoots through his body and he hears a voice in his head, laughing at him...

Wandering away after the meeting has broken up, he's not heading home, but in a dark alleyway somewhere the biker gang are waiting for him...

The Devil May Care

Previous Session: The Devil in Disguise

Chloe the Vampire casts her mind back to the previous night. She, Maria and Darcy are sitting on the couch. Chloe is trying to frame the question to discover what Darcy knows when the girl just blurts out
-You're Vampires!
-We're not going to hurt you. We won't feed on you
-Unless you ask
Maria chimes in (helpfully), as if there's no way that's not going to happen!
Chloe reins in her friend
-We just want to be sure you won't tell anyone about us. Can we trust you?
Darcy gets up, assuring them she won't tell (but she's not exactly convincing) and then as she gets near the front door, she bolts and runs.

Chloe gets to her before Maria does, turning her around and then staring directly into her eyes.
-You're not going to tell anyone about this
But Darcy's obviously not affected and Maria steps in between them, showing Chloe how vampiric hypnotism really works.


Wayne the Werewolf and Sidney are at her place. He warns her about the vampires in class as she tends his wounds. She doesn't seem surprised by that revelation. When he kisses her she freezes though, and stops him after a short while (nicely). She writes
~It's late. I should get to bed. How about another day?
He shrugs and leaves her, as he walks back to his own apartment she enacts a ritual to bind him. Sidney wants to trust him, but she's been through a lot.

The next morning, Chloe has overslept again, and her mom rouses her by sweeping open the curtains (after telling her that she won't call her again!). Chloe protests, but dawn seems to be the worst time of the day for her now. Miranda's obviously trying very hard to connect with her daughter and she's fried up sweet potato cakes: Chloe's favourite. It tastes like dirt to her though, and she stops eating after a few mouthfuls. Aster the Chosen contents himself with fresh fruit, wishing he'd gone for oatmeal.

Their mom drives them to school with Luke, and as the younger boy bounds up the school steps ahead of them. Chloe and Aster pause at the bottom. Aster wonders how she's doing with Miranda, it doesn't seem easy at the moment.
-I just don't get her, she's acting like everything can go back to the way it was before
-I think she's still operating without real remorse, like a pure Fae
Chloe breathes. That would make sense, but it doesn't help her process the hurt. She looks at Aster's face, where his ruined and cloudy eye marrs his clean features. She raises a hand, not quite touching him
-About remorse. I never...I'm sorry about your eye. I don't think I was in a good place at the time.
Aster smiles
-Like I said. We're beyond remorse. We exact revenge and move on. I'd really like for things to be easy at home; Luke doesn't know who he's living with and that's going to cause trouble if things boil over. Why are you so unable to move on with her, when you're getting on with me ok?
-Well, I guess I understand where you were coming from. But for her, I just don't get it.
Chloe shakes her head in disbelief
-Does mom even know I'm a vampire?

Darcy is in at her locker in a haze. She's just bumping into the locker door muttering something about needing her books. Aster grabs her and is worried about her. He walks her to the nurse's office; she's not herself, she's not pestering him with questions. Walking backwards for a moment to catch Chloe's eye with a silent question, she shrugs; she's not putting two and two together yet on Darcy's condition.

Mia is snorting at the state of Darcy.
-Looks like she's had a few too many fruit loops
Chloe thinks this could be a new designer drug she's not heard of and Mia laughs
-Why am I even talking to you!
-I'm a fixer upper?

Maria, wild vampire
and Chloe's best friend

Maria walks in. Not her usual strut, she looks rough and very low key with big-ass shades covering her eyes. She tells Chloe about her werewolf problem last night, and Chloe remarks that it can't be very smart to take people into the park; werewolves like to keep their territory to themselves. Maria snidely points out that she's a lot better at this vampire stuff than Chloe is.
Suddenly she raises her shades and exclaims
-I smell it. It's here in this school!
Chloe gazes into the Abyss, looking for a clue as to the werewolf's identity and she gets a clear vision of Maria's fight with the wolf, and then finally to its transformation into Wayne in front of Sidney.


Victor the Minotaur awakens. Someone is patting his cheek and Victor lunges at the person. His arms are restrained, but his teeth snap at nothing. He gets pushes back by Lucy.
-Shh! They're all sleeping.
Victor looks around. The eight or nine bikers are all sleeping or passed out, and Charley is tied up in a chair against the opposite wall to his radiator.
-You got Charley into trouble
-She got herself into trouble
Lucy gives him a look
-You need to think about what you did.
She frees Charley and lifts her onto her shoulder as if the amazon were as light as a feather. Victor stops her
-Tell her she did good
-Of course she did! It's Charley, she kicks ass!

Victor stretches as far as he can, to deliver a kick to the nearest biker. If the behemoth of a man is not impressed by the kick, he's even more disgruntled at Victor's opening line
-Hey shithead! I'm bored. Who's in charge around here?
-I am, you little runt
-You made a bit show back in the bar, but you didn't get your hands dirty at all. Bet you can't take me on without your mates...
Victor pushes more, that wasn't nearly mean enough
-...Don't know what you did to lead these guys. I've seen them fight but not you. Any of them could be the alpha if they wanted to.

The guy lifts Victor up effortlessly and draws a large knife, cutting the ropes, but before Victor can do anything, he cuts him deep from groin to grin. Victor drops to the floor, bleeding out quickly. The biker-gang leader opens a bottle of hard liquor and drains it, chucking the glass bottle to hit the dying Victor.

****

Waiting for the nurse, Aster interrogates Darcy, who's looking intently at him.
-I'm fine...Your hair is blue...I was hanging out with Wayne, showing him around, but he's into Sidney...so I was bored and I do what I always do when I'm bored...I visit people who I think are bored...like Maria who lives alone
Eventually, Aster has to ask specifically if she visited individual people, and to every question except Maria she answers 'No'
The nurse is pretty uncooperative, unless there's something obviously and medically wrong with someone, she doesn't want to know. Darcy doesn't want to stay there so the nurse shrugs and says that this is above her pay grade. Darcy insists that she has to meet Maria for lunch so she can't go home.

In math class, Principal Washington is delving into the horrors of calculus. Chloe is in the middle of doing the first problem on the whiteboard when Aster leads Darcy into the classroom and to her chair. Chloe's not too bad, she makes a few minor errors which Washington corrects without much fanfare. The principal asks for a volunteer for the next problem, and when she calls on Darcy, the girl is completely unaware of what's going on. Aster explains the situation, and Washington gives them a suspicious look: Darcy's usually pretty good at this kind of stuff. When Wayne gets calls up, he's less than impressive, making some hideous mistakes.
After class, with Aster explaining Darcy's state in detail to Principal Washington, Darcy walks out and in her distraction bumps into Liz Macintosh.

Chloe speaks to Maria outside in the corridor.
-What the hell did you do to her? You were supposed to be good at this. What use is it if she just draws attention to us? You have to fix her, drop the hypnosis
-Leave me out of it. I don't want to fry what's left of her brain.
and Maria shuffles to her next class.

Chloe grabs Aster's eye and explains what happened the previous night. He's not happy obviously (does this count as high on his chart of aberrant supernatural behaviour?) but doesn't want Darcy to get any worse. Chloe tells him
-If you're not willing to take anything worse than a zero-risk option, then we can't help her.


A confused Charley enters the school behind Lucy. Aster is concerned (who knew being in his scooby gang would be so dangerous!) and Lucy explains
-Victor got Charley in trouble, but I fixed it!
Charley's obviously still hungover, and Aster gets her to drink a load of water (and to refill her bottle). The last thing she remembers is the barfight with the bikers. On the way past Maria, she lifts the sunglasses off her head and puts them on. Maria's a little indignant, but after taking one look/sniff tells Charley she needs them more than her
-Just give them back later, right?

Sidney, traumatised witch
 and Wayne's paramour

Wayne and Sidney exchange glances. Omar is rolling his eyes as he translates for her (painfully). Wayne finds Omar's beta routine pretty funny.
-We should hang out after school
Omar gets Sidney's response, but just 'Eww!' and he gets up as Sidney starts laughing
-Not in my job description! I'm just here for your classes!
Sidney moves over next to Wayne and kisses him gently
-I did something. I cast a spell on you
-What kind of spell?
-It binds you. So you can't hurt anyone. I'm sorry. It's very difficult for me to trust you, or anyone.

Wayne pushes up against the binding spell. He wants to get her to undo the spell and there's anger in his eyes. She runs away, and behind her, he start throws things around the corridor and then punches his locker, hurting himself in the process.
Miss Yates, their AP English teacher intervenes.
-What are you doing Wayne? This is unacceptable! Go to Principal Washington's office now. When he gets there, he sees Liz Macintosh talking to her about Darcy (they reckon it must be drugs).

Washington brings Wayne inside her office.
-Well Mr. Lawrence, what is it today?
-Miss Yates just told me to come down here...
She gives him an incredulous look
-...I punched a locker
-That would do it. Why were you so angry?
Wayne stares off to one side and says nothing
-You're already getting detention. If you don't talk, you'll be dealing with a more severe punishment.
-I had an argument with Sidney
-I see. Girl troubles. Detention today will suffice. I'll speak to Miss Yates in case anything else needs to be done. I'm also recommending you see Miss Macintosh.
She writes out a note, specifying an appointment with the school counsellor for after school

***

Victor wakes up. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees a small present. Wrapped in pink and green sparkly wrapping paper with a properly curled ribbon tied around it. He stuffs his guts back inside his body and pulls down his (mostly intact) shirt. One of the bikers is making coffee, but he's oblivious to Victor's movements. Victor opens the present, with a label marked 'To Caine': inside is a purple leather book, inscribed in the otherwise blank book is inscribed 'Feelings Journal'. He leaves as quietly as possible and legs it back to school.


At lunch, Chloe gives Maria her personal responsibility speech. Maria's kind of horrified when Chloe calls Aster over to join them (Darcy is with them of course!). But Maria says she'll try to reverse the hypnosis.
She stares into Darcy's eyes and tells her to ignore everything she said the night before and almost immediately the veil passes from Darcy's eyes. She scrambles back, panicked.

Aster goes after her, but she running and he doesn't catch up with her until they're outside the school. She's collapsed by the wall, a horrified look on her face. Aster calmly settles down beside her
-Hey. Take a deep breath. Be calm.
-I can't be calm!
-Tell me what's going on
-Chloe and Maria are vampires! They're going to eat me!
-They won't eat you. They're not going to eat you
-Maybe you're a vampire too!
-No. I'll keep them from eating you, I promise
-That's what you would say if you were a vampire
Aster tries a different tack
-I'm here to protect people like you from people like them
-Great job! A-fucking plus so far!
-They're why I was trying to get you to stop investigating
-People have to know!

New York's finest
Detective Mills

Aster can't convince her and she crosses the street and heads into the city. He turns to find Detective Mills staring at him from only a few metres away.
-Finally! Someone's giving me straight answers around here
Aster's unsure how to proceed, but then he draws her into a constant bargain with him.
-What do you want to know?
-Vampires huh? There's a lot of stuff to be held accountable for. If these vampires are responsible. We found Cameron's bones on your old school grounds and I need your help.
-I'll answer your questions, but you're going to owe me in the future.

So he answers her barrage of questions; about the murder cabin, his arsenal cave, where they might find Brie's head (inside the pond). The list is long, and he hopes he's giving her a warning in the subtext of his answers that she should probably not mess around in all this.

She tells him that the vampires aren't just in his school. They're all over the city. She wonders if she can arrest them and he laughs
-That's not going to help!
-Well, if you need backup in your efforts
She gives him her card and then a badge; telling Aster that he's been deputised. (I thought that sort of thing only worked on 12-year olds?)


Maria talks to Chloe about the repercussions of Darcy's freak-out.
-Maybe I'll have to go on the lam. You would find it so easy, with your connections.
Chloe reckons that nothing's going to happen. Who'll believe Darcy when she tells people they're vampires?
-Anyway, mostly I'm worried about Darcy, and if she'll be ok after this

Mia wanders by, wondering what's up with Darcy. Maria has that look of hunger on her face, and Chloe waves her back to her seat.
-Let me try again
She follows Mia into the bathroom, leaning up against the door when Mia notices her. Chloe's fangs slowly descend into place as she thinks of feeding.
-Come on. You enjoyed it the first time. You know you want to...
Mia has a look of scorn on her face
-I think that's you projecting
and she walks out. Chloe doesn't stop her or follow; she's feeling completely shut down.


Wayne sits down with his (legitimately bought) lunch alongside the nerdy kids. They make to get up and move away, but he waves them back down.
-Aren't you sick of all these people walking all over you?
Luke challenges him
-You mean like you?
-Yeah, me and everyone else
Omar considers Wayne
-I guess you could say that's just the natural order of things. You make our life hell for four years, and in twenty years or so, we turn the tables
-Maybe the others aren't interesting in hell for that long?
One of the others wonders how
-I have a way out of you being pathetic weaklings
-So, we're hiring you for protection?
-No. I want you to work for me. If they fuck with you, they'll answer to me.
Wayne is planning to turn them all into werewolves, but he can't say that here and now
-I can't explain how, but if you meet me later tonight in the park I'll show you all

He's definitely got their attention. Amanda and Omar seem the most intrigued. Sidney catches a little of the conversation and calls Omar over. They're signing quietly and Sidney's frowning at what Omar's saying to her.

She heads off to look for Aster. She explains that they have a big problem.
-Wayne is dangerous and recruiting
-It's just talk. They're not going to actually do it
-You'd better come armed and prepared

**

Victor tracks down Charley. She's still a bit hungover and is drinking a large coffee alone. She's surprised to see him
-I was worried about you, but then...well Aster told me about you...I don't even know how I got away. Lucy is giggling with Alice, the math geek behind them.
Victor sits down
-I don't say this a lot. I'm sorry about how shit went down last night
-Thanks. I'll process that when my head stops ringing.
-How about tomorrow, we can hang out?

Aster heads over to his arsenal to pick up a bag of werewolf-hunting weapons, including silver-reinforced manacles and chains. He sends a text to Lucy to meet him for a showdown with Wayne.

Victor interrupts Lucy and Alice (agreeing excitedly on who's the best in One Direction). He shows Lucy the book she left him
-My name's Victor. Who told you different
-Now, sure. But not always.
-I appreciate what you've done for me and the team. Just trying to figure out who's dragging my name through the mud
-You do that all by yourself sometimes
-Listen Lucy. I don't care where you got this idea from. It's Victor
As he walks away, Lucy turns back to Alice
-People get so funny about names!

After a boring and compliant detention, Wayne heads to Liz Macintosh's office for some counselling.
-So Wayne, I heard you had a hard day today. My goodness! That locker has a big dent in it. You're quite strong. You need to be mindful of that. Tell me about Sidney.
-I thought we were friends. We got into an argument, not really something we can talk about
-Let's talk about anger so. What do you do when you're angry?
-I throw things and I punch lockers
Wayne's response is somewhere in between a dull non-answer and a question
-That's not acceptable Wayne.
-Well it's better than punching somebody
-Well, we know you have a history of threatening people. Like yesterday with Luke? Think about what else you could do, maybe we could find an exercise regiment that funnels that energy.

They go through some mental routines and coping mechanisms. Anger management 101.
As Wayne's leaving, Victor is waiting for his appointment. They eye each other cautiously as they pass. Is this wariness or mutual respect?

-Victor, let me get my notes. I want us to consider how you don't feel responsible for his grievances. Let's try an exercise where you pretend you're him. I'll be you.
-I've got no idea what's going on in his head
-That you hurt him and weren't sorry?
-That's very vague. I want someone to talk to you about this, but it's complicated. I'm not the best one to bring you up to speed. My old English teacher; she fulfilled a counselling role informally with me. Maybe you could speak to her?
He gives her Emma's number and as he gets up to leave he tells her
-You have this thing where you break it to people gently that your requests aren't just requests. Don't be afraid of ordering people around.
She's taken aback by this bold approach.

Liz Macintosh is really, really fond of apple motifs

Chloe finds herself face to face with Sidney. She's surprised; she hasn't really talked to Sidney since the night the gate to Hell was opened. She feels like she's one of the main reasons Sidney is so traumatised and paranoid.
Sidney tells her what Wayne is up to, and Chloe is definitely surprised that Luke was in that group (firstly that he's a nerd, secondly that Wayne is ignoring their demarcation agreement).
-Well, I guess I have to go talk to him
-Are you crazy?
-Why, what was your plan to deal with this?
-I was going to stay the hell away from it! You're a terrible vampire if you think you can go toe-to-toe with a werewolf
-That's what people say. Anyway, I thought if Aster was going at him, he could use your witchy powers to back him up?
-I've already done a binding spell on him
-Oh wait. Like before this happened?
Sidney nods
-Oh perfect! You thought you'd try to tie down a werewolf, and now you're surprised that he's gone off the rails trying to out-alpha everyone? Gold-fucking stupid-star for you!
-He wanted me, but I wasn't sure if I could trust him with werewolf snuggles
-Listen, werewolves give the best snuggles...
Chloe's smiling despite the painful memories
-...and they're really good in the sack!
Sidney walks away, not particularly happy with where this conversation has gone. She tosses back a scrunched up note, which Chloe doesn't even bother to read before ditching in the bin.


Lucy interrupts Aster as he assembles his werewolf-defeating kit. She's really sneaky.
-Thought you might want some help. Whatcha doing?
-Capturing a werewolf
-Did Wayne do something naughty?
-He's going to turn people into werewolves
-Well, if they want to be werewolves...
-Luke definitely doesn't know what he's getting into
Packing up and on the way to the park, they have a rambling conversation about how Charley is, and how the feelings journal isn't going to get much use, and maybe the best way to find out what he's really feeling would be if Victor and Charley just talked.


Chloe goes straight home. She wants to catch Luke before he goes to the park to meet up with Wayne. She tells him that he is forbidden to go there. She's not explaining why it's a bad idea, just channelling her inner mom. He scoffs and is walking out. Chloe shouts at him
-If you go out there...My girlfriend got involved in stuff like this and it killed her! You're going to come back in a coffin!
-You've been such a bitch lately
and he turns back towards the open door, where their mom is standing.
-Luke. Go to your room right now. You are not allowed out.
Then Miranda turns to her daughter
-Chloe, can we talk?
Chloe is caught, too emotionally vulnerable from her outburst at Luke to struggle and they sit down together on the couch in the den.

*

Wayne meets up with the nerd brigade in the park. There are a few others in addition to Omar, Amanda and Alice. He leads them into a secluded place well away from prying eyes. They're wondering what's going on, but he assures them that he'll have to show them. They're all wary, but with their numbers and in a relatively public place, they reckon they're safe.

In the clearing, he strains to break the binding spell, and that leaves him drained.
-Listen. This will freak you out, but I'm not going to hurt you
He transforms into a wolf in front of their eyes. They're shocked, they weren't prepared for that, and they back off. Then he turns back
-The fuck! How can you do that?
He looks up at the moon shining above.
-You guys can put two and two together? My power comes when I'm a wolf mostly, but some of that strength passes over when I'm back like this.
Amanda's excited
-You're offering to turn us into werewolves? I'm in!
Omar is quiet, and obviously considering the possibilities
-This makes a lot of sense.
-I wasn't much bigger that this kid when I was bitten last year.

Omar, Sidney's interpreter
and leading class nerd

They exchange some glances, and their consensus is that they don't want to be beholden to him. He assures them that he won't be in charge of everything. They won't have to do menial chores for him, and they'll be a part of the decision-making process.
-I don't get to put you down. There are some rules; we don't hunt normal people, only predators. No going off and losing it, or taking it out on a bully just because you can.
They all seem to be on board, and he transforms back into a wolf so that he can bite each of them on their forearms.

Aster steps into the clearing as he begins the transformation, dropping his heavy gym bag and drawing his sword. Wayne steps in between him and the others.
Amanda tells Aster
-We know what we're doing
and one of the other nerds exclaims
-This is so cool!
Aster speaks to them all
-You will die if you do this!
-You're going to kill us?
-No. This process doesn't always work. And being like this isn't safe, you'll be hunted. You'll be unpaid volunteers in a dangerous war for the rest of your life

Wayne argues back
-They're already in danger. This gives them a fighting chance.
Omar joins in
-Look at what happened at your old school!
Aster's losing control of this conversation now
-One of the first people to die at that school was a werewolf! If this is what you want, you don't need me to protect you. You can fight your own battles in the future.
Lucy pokes her head around from behind Aster and points at Wayne
-and you! Stop being so grumpy, mister grumpy-pants!

Wayne turns around to the others.
-He's not wrong. It'll be dangerous. This isn't a cool hangout club. If you're not down for this, you'd better walk.
They all line up, but Alice is nervous and Wayne asks her if she's sure.
-What if this affects our families? It doesn't make any scientific sense! How does this affect our brains, and reproduction and... Maybe after I see how it goes with them, I can make a decision.

After biting each of the others, Wayne sends them all home to rest.


Miranda asks Chloe why they can't seem to get along anymore, they used to be so close.
-I remember when we had that conversation in the car on the way to Oberon's. I was so scared but I was so happy because I knew how much you loved me. But then when Aster showed up, you just pointed him at me and let him try to kill me.
-I made a mistake
-A mistake! That makes no sense!
-What would you have done to stop Oberon?
-He was just going to take over his kingdom again and that would be that!
-You didn't understand him like I did. He was power-hungry and manipulative. He wouldn't have stopped at the borders of his kingdom. I had to make sacrifices to try to stop him
Chloe slumps
-It's not like I didn't make sacrifices to stop Lilith when it came to that, but...
-I thought I'd already lost you. I was wrong, I will always love you! I will try to be better, if you'll accept that?
Chloe nods and Miranda hugs her suddenly and fiercely. Her arms are trapped by her side and then her mom pulls back a bit to ask her

Miranda, Chloe's mom
(and Luke's and Aster's).
Ex-Faery Queen Consort

-Now Chloe. Are you gay?
-That's the least of it
She tells her mom of how she fell in love with Emily, and how she was killed in the chaotic conflict surrounding Oberon's bid for freedom. Chloe thought this would be much more difficult, but supposes that she did some of the hard bit blurting out the details when yelling at Luke.
-Also, I'm a vampire
-You're what! How did that happen?
Miranda begins looking at Chloe's face, and opens her mouth to look at her canines
-Mom! Get away from me! I liked it better when you were just curious about me being gay. And that's why it's so difficult in the mornings, especially when you just open the curtains without any warning!
-OK. I guess we could try homeschooling, and then next year when you go to college, you can take night classes. We need to talk about Maria as well. I don't like the bad influence that girl is having on you

Chloe sighs, she can't have this many difficult conversation in one go, and Miranda reads that and moves on
-But I'm so glad we're talking
The next hug is less awkward, and they settle in to watch some terrible TV and make fun of the characters' terrible life choices.


Victor is texting Lucy
~Hey poopy pants ~Aster's upset ~Those bikers are looking for you
~Avengers assemble! ~Let's clear out that demon nest
~Charley hurt them first ~I'll have to think about it
~What's to think about ~They're dangerous monsters
~You are too
~I haven't killed and eaten anyone recently ~They killed me and they didn't know about my gift
~True ~I have a bag of Aster's stuff!

Aster is frustrated at his failure. He heads off to Darcy to give her the lowdown on everything. She opens the door in her PJs, frowning at him.
-You're practically the only mortal left in class
-By all means, terrify me further!
-You can help me figure out how to defend people like you
-OK superhero. We can't. There's no way to protect ourselves from them.
Gazing into the Abyss, and talking to Darcy for hours, they figure out that using Charley's strength and leadership they can muster unity amongst the remaining mortals to protect themselves, despite the usual cliques. Darcy plans her supernatural gazette!

Wayne texts Sidney that they need to talk, and they arrange to meet in Starbucks in ten minutes.
-Your spell isn't working anymore. I wasn't going to hurt you
-Sorry, I just got scared.
-It could've gotten me killed. That why I was angry. Could you do that kind of thing again?
-Sure, I just need something important of theirs
-I'll get on that
Sidney narrows her eyes
-Who do you want me to do this to?
-We'll see who needs it. There are vampires around, let's start with them
-I'd rather get involved as little as possible
-I'll only ask if it's really important
-Sorry
-I'm still made about what you did, but I think I can let it go

They squeeze hands under the table.
-I trust you
They go back to her place for the night.

Next Session: Devil's Advocate

The Devil in Disguise

Season 2 Intro: Better the Devil you Know 

She's in a damp dark place, all tied up. Lilith comes out of the shadows for her
-You don't think I'll be stuck down here for ever!

Chloe the Vampire wakes up sweating. This is the first time the dreams have included Lilith actually speaking to her. It's time for school, and getting up in the morning is becoming more and more difficult. All those myths about the weaknesses of vampires are slowly but surely becoming true for her.

Chloe refuses a lift from her mom, she intends to get the subway to school. When her mom tells her it makes no sense for her to do that when she's giving Luke a lift as well, she shrugs; she shouldn't drive him to school so. It doesn't even make any sense in New York city! Luke's not very happy with her when she's told to bring him on the subway with her. Whatever.

To change the subject she asks him about Darcy, and he doesn't know what's going on with her. He likes her, and presumably she feels the same way; given what happened at the party. Chloe tells him he should be more assertive if he wants to win her affection. Hell, he should just be more assertive, period.

He wonders if maybe Darcy isn't into him, he could try it on with Maria? Chloe scoffs, telling him that she'll eat him up and spit him out; he grins, cause that doesn't sound too bad. As they near school he surges ahead (he doesn't want to be seen arriving on his sister's coat-tails. But as he walks up the steps, she waves at him and yells that she has his subway ticket to get home later!

In school, Darcy is following Aster around (casually, but not too casually).
Lucy is at her locker, doing her makeup.
Mia shows sudden fear as Chloe walks in and then restores her bitchy look.

Victor's talking to Omar as Luke bounds up the stairs. Chloe's brother tries to be cool with Omar, but Victor's not impressed and shoos Luke away.


Victor the Minotaur stalks into the hallway and is startled by the sight of his brother, Abel standing at a locker. They lock eyes and Victor walks up to him with a tight cold smile.
-What the hell are you doing here?
Abel is distracted, looking around as if he can't quite comprehend this world
-What luxuries and liberties they have!
Victor waves that off
-Are we even now?
-We'll never be even, ever
and Abel laughs like he's not all there.
-Let me put it plain and simple. Stabbing me in the back sneakily won't work next time. I'm inclined to violence; if you give me a reason,
-Oh, you can try brother...

Liz Macintosh, the school's counsellor swoops in
-Oh my goodness! Are you two brothers?
-No
-Yes
They respond simultaneously.
-Well, you should come to my office after school for some conflict resolution, looks like we need it
Victor grimaces
-I've got obligations later on
-Sorry, Victor. I hope you're not under the impression that this is a request.
and she bounces off.

Victor brushes past Abel
-Stop calling me 'brother'. It's 2017.


Wayne the Werewolf arrives just in time to be late for first class, and he grabs the last seat at the back of the room. As he settles down, he inches forward towards Sidney, who's sitting right in front of him. Maria notices, and rolls her eyes
-Geez! Obvious much!
He scowls back, and wrinkles his nose as he wrestles with this unfortunate graveyard-like smell he gets.

Lucy

Lucy is writing in her notebook with her glitter pen. Chloe spots the trail of hearts sparkling out of the corner of her eye and then Lucy smiles at her. This wide and welcoming smile and Chloe asks her how her weekend was. and Lucy relates how her and Darcy had a sleepover with movies and popcorn and a binge-watch of Pretty Little Liars. Then they went to a club and it was marvellous
-You really should come along sometime!
Chloe's idea of clubbing is obviously different from Lucy's though, and she's telling about her weekend (Darcy's listening in from the chair on the other side of Lucy).
-I had this terrible argument with my mom, so I skipped curfew on Saturday night to out with Maria, so I'm still a bit wrecked from that
-I know, I haven't been sleeping. I had this terrible dream, I was stuck in this dark and hot place with screaming!
-Like hell?
-I...wouldn't know

Chloe reaches out towards the Abyss, something she hasn't done in a while and she grasps onto a vision of a hooded and cloaked figure escaping Hell mere moments before Aster shut the gate. When the person reaches the safety of the woods away from the chaos, the hood is lowered and Chloe recognises that it's Lucy.

Darcy chimes in excitedly, about her dream of having Wayne's cylon puppies!

Distracted by the Abyss, Chloe was zoned out and didn't notice herself doodling in her own notepad; she drew most of the sigil which was on the gate into Hell. Lucy smiles, tracing it with her finger
-Pretty
-Sorry, I'm so tired
-You should drink loads of coffee, that's my secret!
-Mom won't let me, I'm going to call child services on her
Lucy's peeling laughter sounds out, but Darcy's not impressed
-Chloe's not funny

Victor texts Aster
~Got something you might be interested in ~Call me 15mins after school  ~Bring the team
~OK ~THUMBS UP


Aster the Chosen intercepts Luke on the way to next class.
-Hey, so you and Darcy. How's that going?
-Not too great I guess. I don't really know.
-Well, what are you doing to win her affection? Or what have you already done to lose it?
-Nothing really
Luke's squirming at this, it's like a parental interrogation session
-Well, I know her and Lucy are close. Maybe I can help, ask me later and I'll get back to you
-Totally, dude!

****

At lunch, Lucy's handing out cupcakes to people, in between gobbling his down Aster asks her what she knows about Luke and Darcy. She's up to speed, she knows all about the party, but isn't sure if Darcy really does like him.
-I mean, Darcy's made out with me, and I don't think she really likes me like that
-Me and Charley have this thing later and I don't want Darcy to tag along. Maybe they could grab a milkshake
-Yeah, Darcy'd get eaten real fast
And then she meanders into what she heard of Sam and Darcy's game of 'never have I ever'...

Mia walks by, and refuses the cupcake (even though she really, really wants it).

Wayne's bullying random freshmen out of their lunch, and then picks on Luke. Luke refuses, telling him to piss off (remembering what his sister told him about standing up for himself earlier).
-What'd you say to me!
-Go screw yourself! Are you so poor you need to steal people's lunch money?
Wayne just throws him against the wall (for real) and his ferocity shakes up the younger boy (who pees a little, wetting his jeans). He takes out his wallet and hands it over, and Wayne takes out the $20 and throws the wallet back at Luke.

Chloe has been watching; she can't intervene (Luke's pride would never forgive her) so she steps in as Wayne walks to the counter and brushes past Luke, spilling her juice over him; no one else notices the pee stain and she gives out to him
-Sorry, doofus
and he runs to the bathroom quickly, giving her a grateful glance as he leaves.

Victor spends the whole day staring Abel down, but in the cafeteria, it's palpable, and bites into his own finger eating his sandwich (not really sure how much he ate after that). Victor's wondering why Abel isn't afraid of him, and considering it a bit more deeply reckons that Abel's seen worse in Hell and survived it. He'll see Victor coming this time.

Aster tells Abel he'll have to learn to blend in a little better. He's not integrating well; just looking at his jello and poking it with a finger.
-You'll have to tone down your attitude. Tension between you two isn't going down well
-I'm not going to start anything. He's the same, still just jealous of me, and my sacrifice.
-Well, if we can keep the chaos to a minimum, it'll be best for everyone
-He's the same selfish, vindictive...cowardly person. You should be wary of him, not me
Aster switches tack
-I can't disagree with much of that. But if that's what you expect, that's what you'll get
-You have a strange outlook on life
-Look, I've been trying to make things better, and Victor can help with that
Abel knows a little bit about the Fae, they were around when he was alive, but they were different, and secretive. Aster's much more audacious
-Just stay away from the jello if it comes in really small glasses, okay?

Chloe is eyeing Wayne, she's timing he walk to the exit to intercept him. Maria notices her interest but all she can think of is how much she wants to eat!
-Nope, not today
-Aw
-How are you always hungry?
-Maybe we can just grab a few juice-boxes after school?
Chloe wonders if she's referring to the freshmen, and is relieved when Maria talks about grabbing some blood bags from the hospital later.

Darcy

Wayne is eating through his third helping when Darcy arrives beside his table
-Hey, can I sit here?
-I suppose, there's a chair, right?
(Unimpressed obviously)
-You're kinda mysterious. Where are you from?
-I was upstate at my aunt's farm for the summer. Before that I was in the mid-west for a bit

20 questions is obviously Darcy's version of flirting; but finally she gets something she can hook onto
-I don't like the city, there's no space
-Well maybe you just haven't found the right places. I could show you around
-Sure
-This is going to be so much fun!

When Chloe stands up to meet Wayne at the door, Maria heads over to Mia's table to flirt with her and mess with her head. Wayne's just wandering and Chloe has to wave her hand in front of his face to get his attention.
-Hey. We don't really know each other, I'm Chloe. That kid you threw against the wall earlier was my brother. Don't pick on him again, you'd better go after other fish
Wayne looks at her, there's no aggression there, but there's a certain steel.
-We have things in common. If you consider him as your territory I can dig that. Just hope you don't take anyone else under your wing, just because.
-He's my brother, he's not going to stop being my brother.
Wayne takes out a $20 and hands it over.

***

As he turns away, Wayne stumbles into Sidney and he manages to grab her before she falls.
-You okay?
She's startled and closes her mouth. She gives him a thumbs up and steadies herself. But she stares at him for a while and then takes out her notepad to thank him. He smiles and rights his phone number on it
-You can text me, right?
So she swaps numbers with him. He shakes hands with her (what is this, 1994?) and as he watches her leave, he gets a message from her
~dork
~LOL
Later he notices that his favourite pen is missing


Victor waits beside Abel in Liz Macintosh's office. He's blank-faced (Daria-esque) and Abel is sullen. There's a basket of various apples on her desk and a couple of apple-themed posters on the wall. It's a warm and inviting room.

Liz Macintosh,
school counsellor

Liz enters, her manner is welcoming, but really she cuts right to the chase.
-I had no idea you were related. When did you get separated?
Abel answers
-A long time ago
-Tell me how that happened. I heard a lot of harsh words out in the hallway earlier
-I'm still angry at him for what happened. He hurt me and I was the one who was punished!
Victor is smiling inside
-How does that work? That doesn't make any sense
-Well, when you were punished for what you did, I was as well
Victor just shrugs, as if can't understand what Abel means. Liz asks Victor
-Do you have any sympathy for your brother? Are you sorry?
Abel stands up, glowering and towering over Victor and says that they're done and walks out, furious at the whole thing

Victor smiles at Liz
-You know, you remind me of someone from my last school. Someone who always saw the best in people...
and (finally!) Aster rings him.
There's a fake one-sided conversation. Victor has to leave immediately, He tells Liz that there's been an accident and he leaves without waiting for a response.


As he's leaving to head home, Chloe grabs Luke and tells him that Wayne won't be bothering him again. He's a bit miffed
-You shouldn't have done that. I can't have my sister protecting me
-Don't worry, no one saw me intervene. I waited until afterwards to tell him. If I was really concerned I would've stepped in, plus I wouldn't be keeping the $20 I forced him to give back
Luke's genuinely surprised at that, impressed really. But his jealous anger kicks in
-Hey, give that back!
and he grabs at her bag
-Touch that zip, and I will break you!
He backs off and grumbles about how he'll be able to buy Overwatch now.

Nearby, Amanda is talking to Lucy, who still looks plagued by what Amanda must have told her earlier at lunchtime. She hands over an old book with some reticence and Amanda goes to her locker. Chloe is standing behind the locker door when Amanda closes it
-I'm curious about that girl
-Lucy's great. She always so happy to help people
-She's helping you with your dark witchcraft project now?
Amanda shakes her head
-Try not to get in too deep with Lucy. We wouldn't want anything to happen to you
-Is that a threat?
-No. Really, I just don't want you to get caught up
Amanda is a bit confused, but seems to take Chloe's words at their face value.
-I wouldn't worry about her. You've got bigger problems.

Behind her, Chloe can see Maria smelling luxuriantly at Mia.
-God, you're such a weirdo!
And Maria grins, showing one fang.

Chloe muses to Amanda
-Who should I protect? Mia can out-bitch Maria any day of the week!
But Chloe calls over to intervene
-Let's not eat our classmates, huh?
Mia slides over to where Chloe and Amanda are (calling Amanda 'Amy')
-Tell your lesbo freakazoid friend to back off!
Chloe looks at Maria
-Well Mia; if you apologise for calling us lesbo freakazoids I'll see if we can put you on a safe list
Mia drops a shoulder in a huff, but turns to look at Maria
-I don't do this ever. But I guess I'll have to do it just this once. I appreciate you, and your weird differences
and she manages what sounds like a real apology, but it's definitely a new experience for her.

Chloe smiles and puts her hand into the crook Mia's elbow, drawing close. She whispers
-I think you liked it, that time you let me feed on you
Mia's heart is pounding and her blood is calling out. She gulps and stares into Chloe's eyes; simultaneously frightened and turned on. Conflicted, she strolls away hurriedly
-Just, next time. No next time!

**

Darcy gives Wayne the tour, pointing out which place has the best tacos, and where the yummiest veggie pizza can be found
-Who'd eat vegetarian pizza?
-I do
Obviously they can't be compatible in every single way.
Wayne's texting Sidney,
~Found a great place for tacos is you want to grab dinner
~Date?
~If you want it to be
~Sorry. I don't date indecisive guys
~Yes. It's a date

The texting is really obvious to Darcy, who powers through the awkwardness.
-Course, Central Park is just awesome
-Wow! It smells so much better than the city
-I love it!
She's showing off all the amenities

Sidney sends him a photo of her outfit, and Darcy sighs
-You're really into Sidney, huh. Well, that's the tour
-Sorry, not really looking for someone to have my puppies
-OMG! How did you hear that!
And poor Darcy rushes off, terribly embarrassed.


Victor and Aster meet up in the car park. Victor's talking to Emma on the phone; she's been really busy positioning herself to be principal when it reopens.
-I'm just crazy with paperwork. Detective Mills has been up my ass with her investigation into all the deaths and missing persons.
-Well, I've been misbehaving. Our very nice guidance counsellor has taken me under her wing. Given your prior experience, can I put her in touch with you. You could put her mind at ease?
-Don't think that's a great idea. I'm a terrible liar.
-Maybe my subtext is a bit too subtle. I want you to meet up and eat her!
-I thought you were capable of cleaning up your own messes
-Well, it's been a while since I gave you a present
-I've just been snacking in nightclubs and not leaving bodies behind. I could try, but I'll need something in return sometime. Give me her number.

Aster's still confused at why Victor had him call earlier, and feels better once he gets the explanation.
They need to talk about Abel before the rest of the team arrives. Victor lays it out for Aster
-He wasn't the best guy to start out with, and now he's been stuck in Hell for ages and he thinks he can just pick up where he left off
-I'd prefer not to have to deal with an ancient vengeance-driven guy
-Well, you might just want to keep an eye on him

Charley

Charley and Lucy show up. Charley's awkward and concentrates completely on Aster (she probably didn't know Victor was going to be there). Lucy's smiling even more when she notices Victor and offers him the last cupcake. Victor takes it and then breaks the creepy mood by lighting up a cigarette.
Aster brings them in
-Victor is part of this crazy-ass world you know about. His brother has come back from Hell
-Abel!
-He's not really my brother
Aster steers back on topic
-He might have a grudge, and he might have assets we don't know about
Victor offers information suddenly
-He's got something, like a ring
Lucy's eyes widen and Aster's attention snaps to her
-You know something!
-No! I don't
She comes over all serious
-I don't know anything. This is stupid and you're worrying about things that haven't happened
and she walks away.

Aster catches up with her before she gets far, and she's still defiant
-I'm going to talk to Amanda
-Listen. Sorry about that, but things are bad and I didn't mean to hurt your feeling. I'm afraid that I don't know enough to stop the things from hurting us and the people we love.
-Okay. There may have been a ring that belonged to Lucifer. It might make whoever wears it invincible.
-I'm just trying to keep people without powers safe
-I should probably tell you: Amanda wants to join up, coz she's into you. She asked me for something to teach here. So I gave her a book. But it'll take her forever to get through; it's in Sanskrit. If she does get powerful from it, she'll be able to help you and you'll be so happy! You'll make the cutest babies!

Charley and Victor stand together, left behind by Aster and Lucy. Victor caves first and breaks the awkward silence.
-Are your bite marks healing?
She wince as she rolls her shoulder
-OK. Still a little bit sore
-I feel bad. Like you deserve some payback
-I'd rather pretend it never happened
-I'm good at that
-Can we talk about anything else, or nothing?

Victor starts eating his cupcake and then about halfway through, offers her the rest. She only thinks for a second before taking it and when it's all gone
-So fucking good! I swear she's putting crack in them
-Any time you want to work out your frustrations...
Charley is turned on, despite herself and is trying to ignore how his trim figure looks as Victor walks away


Chloe and Maria are talking about alternate sources of feeding. They come back to getting blood bags from a hospital. Maria distracts an orderly, while Chloe grabs a few (two each) as tasters. She comes back out to find Maria feeding on him
-Come on!
Chloe prises Maria off the orderly and sits him down, and they head back to Maria's place to check out the samples. They're kind of disappointing. They're spam to fresh blood's honey roast ham. But Maria is inventive and mixes it with vodka and some extras to make a Bloody Mary; which is quite palatable.
Chloe sighs
-Heading to a nightclub every time we're hungry will get expensive
-We'll just hang around outside
-Well, we better stay off the police radar, after the carnage at the school
-You worry too much!
Chloe hears a voice echo in her head, as if from underwater
-Or maybe you don't worry enough
Chloe grabs her coat, she's going home and Maria is getting ready to go out
-Be careful. You know Aster is going to wade in if he thinks you're overstepping the line. I really don't want you to eat any of our classmates. Cameron had it coming, obviously. I said I have your back and I meant it. I still mean it...

There's a gasp (or squeak) from the doorway: Darcy is standing there. As their gaze turns to her, she starts yammering
-I broke in, cause I know Maria lives alone...
Maria gets to her feet and Darcy runs. But Maria catches her easily and brings her back inside. Her fangs are gleaming and Darcy pleads
-I don't know anything!
Chloe grabs Maria
-What did we just talk about. Darcy, come in and let's sit on the couch and talk about this like mature teenagers [giggle]

*

Wayne stalks the Park in wolf form, figuring out who already hunts there. He hears a woman scream and he carefully scouts out the scene instead of rushing in. A hulking man has grabbed her and has silences her cries with hand. Out of nowhere, Lucy pulls him off her, lifting him way too easily in the air. The slight girl slams him into a tree in disgust and the woman runs off. Lucy walks over to him and just crushes him windpipe with a single powerful punch. She turns, noticing Wayne
-Oh, it's you. You were mean to that boy earlier at lunchtime. What're you doing here?
He growls at her, and she raises an eyebrow, not remotely threatened.
-I've got no time to waste on you, unless you're in big trouble!
And she skips off, to return the woman's bag.

Wayne lopes off in the other direction


Aster heads home, he's been living with his mom, Miranda: so with Chloe and Luke. That has its own issues. Aster heads to his bedroom and gazes into the wash-hand basin to divine something about the big bad who's involved:

Abel, with a notable ring, reading an old book...Wayne prowling around a wood...Another portal, a different gateway to Hell...Maria hanging around outside a nightclub...Amanda researching...Lilith in Hell, with a crown and in charge she's doubly scary...Darcy getting into trouble...Lucy skipping away with a handbag

Victor gives Charley a call. Omar and he are heading down to the East Village later. The place is a bit of a dive and don't card really. It's frequently by special people and it might be handy if they want to keep an eye out for cases to pursue...


Wayne is on the other side of the park when he spots Maria and a redhead making out. He rushes them both, taking this as an opportunity to establish dominance over a weaker predator. The other girls, bleeding from her neck, screams and runs and Maria turns to fight; black eyes and fangs bared. She bites deeply into his foreleg and he tears into her, and in a moment the fight is over as they both cut their losses and back off, Maria leaving him claim the battlefield.

Padding back to his place, with his bag of clothes held gently in his teeth, Wayne spots Sidney hanging around. He transforms back into his human form and wiped away the blood with a neckerchief. He takes the cigarette from her and takes a long drag. But his nonchalance doesn't do anything to calm her; she's scared and is backing away now. He gets dressed and says
-Don't worry. I know this is weird, but I'm not going to hurt you.
She looks at him for a minute in complete silence, and then decides that she'll trust him. She steps back in and helps wipe away the rest of the blood, then she leans in and kisses him, taking his hand and leading him back to her place.


Chloe gets home to find her mom cooking dinner. Some crazy Italian pork dish with loads of mushrooms, or something. She goes upstairs to call Aster, and he's so zonked-out when he comes to, she tries to get him to believe it's the morning and he has 10 minutes to get ready before they have to leave for school. The confusion only lasts for 2 seconds, so she abandoned the ruse.

He sits up and goes all serious on her
-You've got to control Maria
-Holy shit!
Chloe knows. She's talked to her friend about this, and thinks she's made progress on that front, but that girl is so hungry all the time. Aster tells her that Maria's kinda low on his priority right now.
Chloe sighs
-You can't trust Lucy. Ask me when you're ready to hear it, and I'll tell you what I know
-What? She's been so helpful to us
So her warning goes unheeded, as she suspected it would.

Luke

At dinner, polite conversation with her mother is maddening. They do complain about their AP English teacher, Miss Yates. Chloe is playing the crazy female Shakespeare character (again!). Luke has no news (-School is so boring), and when Aster and Chloe pile-on about Darcy, he's extra unimpressed.

Despite the bonding between Aster and Chloe, she's still cold towards her mother.


Victor goes out on the town with Charley. The Ard Rí is a dingy bar and its clientele about the same. Charley orders a Manhattan, and after a while, a older gentleman stops at their table to suggest they would be better off leaving. Charley's amused (into her second drink, she's a little drunk) and Victor says
-We decide where we belong.
-It's not safe, I was just trying to do you a favour
And he leaves with the purple lady he was sitting with earlier
Victor wonders
-Maybe he's right, say someone starts some shit
and Charley lurches to her feet
-I'm fine
and she heads over to a argument that's heating up over by the back door between a few motor bikers.

They're more than a little confused that this girl is trying to break them up and wonder what the hell she's doing in this bar anyway.
Victor steps in to back Charley up; these guys look like just the kind of guys he hates anyway. Their jackets are emblazoned with the name of the gang 'The Monsters'.
-Butt out, we're talking to the pretty human
Charley is lapping this up and turns on the nearest guy...
-I really hate assholes like you
...and knees him in the groin
They're doing well, but outnumbered and two of them drag Charley outside. Victor's biting deep into one guy's throat and when he looks up, he sees a car door close with Charley inside. He rushes out to jump onto the roof, and after a few minutes of hanging on for dear life, they stop and he's knocked out.

Next Session: The Devil may Care

Better the Devil you Know

With their old school closed down, our monsters find themselves enrolled in Hastings High School for their senior year. Still in the city, they no longer board and some have been placed in foster homes due to their family circumstances.

Season 1 Intro: Nest of Monsters

Season 1 Finale: Monsters under the Bed

Wayne, the Werewolf 

He has had a rough life. Lots of fending for himself, learning to fight dirty because he was always smaller than those around him. Falling in with the wrongest of crowds, allowing himself to be manipulated to fit in. A summer of working on his aunt Beth's farm has triggered a growth spurt and Wayne has gone through some serious physical changes, all that hard work has finally paid off, surely this has nothing to do with that big dog biting him.

Well after a night out with some friends finds him bloody, friends nowhere to be seen and police looking into an armed robbery and several breaking and entering cases and rumors pointing toward Wayne and friends, aunt Beth decides to ship Wayne off to another relative, the ones with enough money and influence to disperse the allegations and maybe even keep Wayne out of trouble.

**

He's been stalking Chloe; to his mind she's been trying to blend in too hard and that makes him suspicious.

*

He's spotted Lucy doing the same things over and over again; not in an OCD way, more like a ritual.

Darcy is crushing on him so much right now, it's his bad boy attitude.

He got into a big fight with Ian a while back, not for any particular reason, just bruising for a tussle.

Wayne's not sure if he wants to fuck or eat Sidney; she just smells so good, like too many things that he can't get his head round. She's always hanging out with Omar, her sign interpreter and that makes things pretty awkward for him.


Aster, the Chosen

Having been exiled from the Faery Realm the previous year, Aster is getting used to 'normal' life.

**

He's teamed up with Charley and Lucy for his monster-hunting. Initially in tracking down and destroyed the residual zombies (or were those mindless vampires?) who appeared out of the school grounds after the gate into Hell was shut.

Aster first noticed Charley when she was being harassed by a bunch of construction workers on her way home from school. He was going to step in, but she didn't need any help. She talked back to the loudest and when he got physical she decked him with a sweet aikido move. The others laughed at their buddy for 'getting beat by a girl' but her fierce glare made them step back too.

Lucy is a bit of a mystery, she just started turning up to help them; and she just happened to be in the right place at the right time, with the right tool to defeat the monster.

*

Amanda wants to join up with them. Aster doesn't want her to become a victim. but she's trying to achieve power to give her a place on the team.




Chloe, the Vampire

Chloe was saved by Aster a while back. She was being hunted by a bad ass demon and was caught
by surprise and over-matched. Aster and Charley waded in and defeated it.

*

She's fed on Mia recently. Mia's a bit of a queen bee in senior year. It happened just before mid-term when they were both hanging around to get picked up. It was pretty businesslike, but they haven't seen each other or talked about it since.

Chloe hosted an awesome party at her place that night, she's not getting on with her mom and wanted to piss her off with some mundane teen trouble.

Darcy got wasted at the party, and the usually uber-sensible girl went a bit overboard and made out with Luke (Chloe's younger brother). That's super awkward right now.

She's intrigued by Charley, who somehow resisted her powers of hypnotism when she tried it.


Victor, the Minotaur

Victor's living with Omar now; they share musical tastes and his new room-mate's a gifted sampler artist.

**

Victor acts as muscle for Aster, joining the team for particularly hard nuts.

He recently bullied Chloe, just venting frustration.

He had a guilty one-night stand with Charley; and doesn't know how that's going to turn out.

*

Lucy has been giving him orders recently - when a really rough bad werewolf (Mark) hurt Chloe, Lucy ordered Victor to kill him and he did it without any questioning; maybe she tricked him? Because he can't think that he'd jump to Chloe's defence like that otherwise.

He beat up Jordan too. Victor had forgotten about their beef from last year, but Jordan wanted final payback and got his ass handed to him.

Next Session: The Devil in Disguise