Let's Play: Vampire: Bloodlines

[DFM]

Originally Posted by 01d55

Way back, when Helen was still working for Ms. Split Personality, we met a thin blood oracle who gave cryptic prophecies. She's the one who told us to trust the man on the couch, and presumably there's more available prophesies than we've seen in this LP.

A lot of the update titles have been from her prophesies. "The man with the crest", "A voice in the darkness, Boss." and so forth.

[Vo_OD00]

This is a post.

This is a statement.

[Mirai Gen]

Imminent update I hope, as I see DFM is online.

[Odjn]

Current schedule:

Update will be played through tonight.

Tomorrow will be writey writey.

Hopefully it will be posted then, but who knows. Dee's a jerk.

[DFM]

Big Trouble

When we're out in the street, I hand Kiki my cellphone and she calls her father. I don't listen to what they talk about, but when they're finished Kiki hands me back my phone and tells me that dad wants to see me. She's heading back to their house. She says she doesn't need an escort the rest of the way.


Tong wouldn't try anything after this.



Wong Ho's waiting for me in his office, trying to restrain his gratitude.



"Welcome, my friend! You have returned to me my greatest treasure, and given the Tong into a disgrace they won't forget. You are a woman of great courage and honor."

"I get that a lot."



"You said you had come seeking my assistance. Any help you need, any resources you require, I shall give. I owe you a great debt."

"I'm looking for a man. Someone named Barabus. He went missing somewhere in Chinatown. Xiao said you might know what happened."

"Hmm... what can you tell me of this man?"

At some point it's going to tarnish my personal record if I keep looking for people I know nothing about. Well, let's guess...

"He's into network security, real computer geek. Got a nasty skin condition, so he doesn't get out much. Damn good at sneaking around, though."

Wong Ho thinks for a moment before sliding behind his desk, searching through a series of subdirectories.

"I'd heard of someone... peculiar... being kidnapped by the Tong not long ago. I had assumed him to be one of Xiao's people." He shakes his head, still filtering through files. "I will confess I would have greatly enjoyed watching Xiao tear apart the Tong, but..." He looks up at me, squinting, almost as if I'm out of focus. "...I think you may prove an even crueler fate."

I smile reflexively.

"I'm flattered, Wong."

He clears his throat, returning to the screen.

"Ah, forgive me, I did not mean to... Here." He points at an open folder and I lean around the desk to see. "Police report of a suspected kidnapping. No missing person and no suspects, but a night worker at the Shang-Wo market reported seeing a large man being attacked and thrown into an armored car."

I frown at the report.

"Armored car?"

Wong nods at my confusion.

"Very odd... they must have gotten one specifically for this, but... I do not know why." Wong stands as he shakes his head.



"But I do know who would. I have a... friend... in the Tong, his name is Zhao. He is the one who told me where Kiki was being held, and if the Tong did take your Barabus, Zhao will know where."

"But you said his debt to you was repaid, why would he help me? If the Tong don't already know he's a traitor after Kiki they're sure as hell going to put two and two together if Barabus gets loose."



"Zhao has... his own reasons. He owns an Import and Export warehouse at the south end of Chinatown. I will call ahead and tell him to expect you. If you need anything else..."

"No, thank you Wong. It's been a pleasure."

I pass by the Red Dragon's lounge on my way out the door, in time to hear an old man hoarsely whispering.

"Hey. Hey! Hey lady... lady, over here."

I turn towards the sound of the voice.



"I hear you talk upstairs... I hear you say 'Tong'. You say 'Tong' upstairs?"

"Why do you care?"

"Because..." He takes a shot of something from the bar. "Because lemme tell you about Tong." He spits into the empty glass. "Kids. Kids don't know nothing."

Wonderful. He begins shaking his head, grabbing another glass from the bartender.



"You see them... you see them running in the street... They do crime, crime but not... not organized. Just thugs! Just kids... kids that don't know nothin'. Just yell real loud and break windows. Run down the street, 'Bang!' steal from anybody, steal from same people twice, miss other people all the time, don't know nothin'. Just a big mess. Just a big mess of punks."



"They shooting all the time. Don't even need to shoot at people. Shoot at dogs. Shoot the air. Shoot anything, just so guns are going. Mess. Mess. Call themselves Tong." He slams his empty glass on the bar top. "Call themselves TONG." He swallows hard, murky eyes hiding a glimmer of hardened steel. "Not Tong. Not even gang. Not nothing. Just punks."

Lean against the bar, taking his next shot straight from the bartender's hands and swirling the tiny glass.

"And it was so much better back in the day, wasn't it?"

He leans forward, staring me in the eye.

"You know. Lu Fang see on your face. See in your eyes. You criminal. You kill. You lie, you steal but you organized. Lu Fang knows killer. Lu Fang knows organized. You be like Lu Fang one day. Old and drunk, talk to kids in bar because nobody scared of you anymore. Just old man. Just old lady. Watch punks ruin everything."

"You were part of the Tong?"



"Part of real Tong. Not this rabble. Not these children. Lu Fang..." He glances at the bartender for a moment before deciding he doesn't care. "...Lu Fang was killer. Killer in suit. One of the best. Kill a lot of men. Everyone scared of Lu Fang in suit." He sighs, resting his elbows on the bar and his head in his hands. "Now look at Lu Fang. No suit. No money. No respect. Well... not no money. Got money, but cannot get."

I slip down onto the barstool next to him, sliding the shot glass across the bar.

"Why not?"

"Eh... long time ago, Lu Fang used to have pahdner. Ah. No, not pahdner. Friend. Lu Fang had friend. Ji Wen Ja. Lu Fang and Ji Wen Ja, best friends. Both kill people for money. Both Tong. Good Tong, then. Not like now."



"One time... Tong need man killed. Very hard man to kill. Take both Lu Fang and Ji Wen Ja to kill man. Money goes in safe. Lock with two key. One key Lu Fang. One key Ji Wen Ja." He sighs again, taking the shot I offered. "Things get bad. Get wrong. Ji Wen Ja act funny. Act wrong. Act like he want to kill Lu Fang. Get shifty eye. Lu Fang notice. Lu Fang knows killer. Ji Wen Ja up to no good."

"Did he ever try to kill you?"

"Baah. No. We grow apart after that. No more friends. Just hitmen. Stay away from each other."

It grows quiet for a moment as the old man glances outside the window, staring at the full moon.

"Lu Fang knows you killer. Lu Fang was you. Long time ago." He sighs, rubbing his forehead with weathered hands. "Lu Fang has nothing now. No friend. No job. No Tong. No nothing. That money... all Lu Fang has anymore. You find Ji Wen Ja, take his key... Lu Fang will give you some of the money. Give you twenty percent."

I don't really feel like killing an old man. Especially not after a story like that. I could make him give me the key, but god knows what that kind of mind fucking would do to senile old man. Still...

"Where is he?"

"No more hitman. Now con man low life Ji Wen Ja. He have phonybolony fortune tellah booth in market place. Always keep key on him."

I slide off the stool, leaving the lounge.

"I'll see what I can do."

I walk out of the Red Dragon and onto the crowded street, the crowd flowing around me as I walk, some unseen barrier between me and them. I'd never thought about it before, but seeing an assassin ended by old age... alone and drinking themselves to death in a cheap restaurant lounge...


Was that really where I would have ended?



That must be Ji Wen Ja.



"Look who it is! It the bad ass of Chinatown!" His accent is almost as thick as Lu Fang's. "I see you go into Tong's massage parlor, you and little girl only ones who come out again! How are you, miss superhero? You want your fortune read? Or maybe you want to make some money?"

"Make some money?"



"Oh yeah, lots of cash for little job. Just need someone to disappear. Not like magic show disappear, though. You bring back empty box you no get paid. You get what I mean?"

"...Yeah, I think I get what you mean."

"There some back story to this, take little time to tell..." The man clears his throat.



"You may not believe it, and I don't care, but I used to be big shot hitman. Number one hitman in all Chinese mafia. Someone tells you I was number two, he big liar. They call me Ji Wen Ja, Travel Agent for Underworld, I send so many people there."



"Before I retire, I carry out biggest mission of career: Kill nosy Chinese government official. Too big of mission for one man so I have friend, Lu Fang, assist me. We kill man, but have to hide reward, so much money too easy to trace back to killing. We both have key to open safe box. We going to open it together, many years after hit. But Lu a snake. He kill me as soon as box is open! He get weird. Too quiet. Too jumpy. So we not speak anymore. But I need money. Need his key."

"And you're going to pay me to kill him and take it?"

"That's right. I give you ten percent of money if you kill Lu. You bring me key, I give you money, everyone happy. Everyone except for Lu! Ha ha ha! Stupid drunken Lu!"

"Except Lu Fang's already paying me twenty percent of the money to kill you instead."

His tone changes instantly.



"What!? That snake! Lu liar! You give him key, he go senile! Say 'What deal? I don't know no deal!' Lu a snake and a liar! You no trust Lu! Ji Wen Ja your friend! Hey, you kill Lu instead, I give you thirty percent, yeah?"



"Thirty percent? You think Ji Wen Ja can afford to pay you thirty percent? He need money for child bait. Got to buy comic books and bicycles. Go ask him about his little nephew in bathroom. Go on! Do world a favor, kill Ji Wen Ja, I give you forty percent."



"Forty percent!? Lu evil man! He kill women, children, pets... I only kill other men. He have no conscience! Agh... Okay, okay, I hate Lu so much, I give you fifty percent."



"You kidding me? Ji Wen Ja slimy like worm spaghetti. He pay you in dagger, direct deposit to back. You kill slimy Ji Wen Ja, dog kisser, seller of sister underwear, I give you sixty percent!



"SIXTY? He crazy man! He spend all money on plum wine and cheap beer! I need money for... for orphans. Yeah, that right. I sorry for killing. Want to give back to the community. I sappy TV movie. Ugh. Fine. I give you seventy. Aaaagh, I hate Lu."



"Ji Wen Ja full of hate and lies! And love! Bad love! Love for children, love for kids... eighty percent Lu Fang offer you. Offer you to do good, do right thing. Rid society of Ji Wen Ja menace."



"Eighty? EIGHTY?" He grabs his table and flings it upward, fortune cards and candles flying into the air. "AAAGGH I HATE LU!" He stomps in circles, muttering and ranting in Chinese for at least a couple of minutes before taking me by the shoulder.



"Listen! Lu evil man! He trick you- hell, he try to kill you after you give him key. Ji Wen Ja is your friend. I give you eighty, same as Lu, but he deserve it! Rid world of big, drunken evil! I swear to you, no trick!"

"Oh Jesus fucking Christ would you THINK for a minute?"



"Eh? What you mean?"

"You're giving me eighty? If you work with Lu at least you get half, right now you're getting almost nothing! Are you that stupid? You're just a senile old fool on a street corner, you were never a god damn assassin. You wouldn't have lasted ten minutes with the Tong."

I don't know why I'm throwing the money away, but... it feels like the right thing to do.

"OLD FOOL!? I show you! You get NO money! No more hit! Lu and I will take money and split! That show you! God damn mercenary! Trying to take old man's money!"



For some reason, I think I won't have to trick Lu Fang into making peace with his best friend.



"Ah, hello there. You bring thing I ask you for?"

"Better than that. Ji Wen Ja called off the hit. He wants to open the safe with you."

Lu Fang blinks, disbelieving.

"What? That snake... he up to something. Up to no good."

"You used to be best friends, Lu. Come on, you're too old to worry about things like this." He shakes his head.

"No... too many years between then and now. Ji Wen Ja is different. Lu Fang is different. No friends no more."

"Lu, look around you. Is this really where you want to spend the rest of your life? Say Ji Wen Ja really does want to kill you, isn't it worth the risk to get out of here? Maybe get your best friend back?"

He's quiet for a long time, staring at the bottom of his empty glass.

"...Lu Fang will meet Ji Wen Ja."



Well, that's about all I can do. Hopefully this'll make their last days a little happier. Normally, I wouldn't really care, but... I guess it wasn't too much of a stretch to see me ending up like that.



It's colder tonight than it's been for awhile. Streets are thinning out, must be getting later into the night.



Wong said his friend was in in a warehouse near the south of Chinatown, think I'm heading the right way. I was never great with cardinal directions. After a few minutes of walking through the back alley's, I hit an open street.



Am I lucky or what?



Pretty deserted. Not unusual for a business to be closed this time of night, but I can't shake the ambush flags that are waving madly in my head.



Inside looks mostly deserted, but I can see someone in the upper office overlooking the warehouse. I make my way up the stairs and slip the door open. There's a man in a suit standing and staring at the corner. He never turns around.



"Wong Ho called. You are looking for someone."

I glance behind me, half expecting to see a blackjack.

"Yeah. Computer geek. Barabus. Went missing a few days ago."

"Barabus... yes. I know he was taken by the Tong, but I do not know where. Johnny, the leader of the Tong in Chinatown, will have your answers."

"Okay, slow down. What the fuck do the Tong want with a Nos- I mean, Barabus is..."

"Johnny is at Glaze. It is his club. You will need a password to enter, the code is seven five two. There will be Tong everywhere. Johnny is upstairs."

"I said slow down. Why are you helping-"

There's shouting from below. Chinese. Angry.



"You should go now."

I pull the submachine gun from my jacket and turn, listening to feet slam upwards against the steel staircase. Punks. Don't know nothin'. Ants. Worms.



I can feel myself changing, getting... bigger, somehow. Not in size, but... in presence. In importance. Like the gravity of the room is starting to warp around me, like I'm a walking spark of the divine. I stroll out the door, larger than life, rock and roll super star.

[DFM]

Tong coming up the stairs. They stop when they see me, mouths agape. The blood god descends on them and they know it.



I open fire and cut them to shreds, never pausing as I casually stroll down the stairs. The rest are confused now. They're all scared shitless and none of them know what I am or what they should do.



I reach the bottom of the stairs and unload the rest of the magazine into the face of a motionless thug whose fight or flight reflex got jammed on 'Awe'. Looks like Heather gets to make another run to the dry cleaners.



By now the rest of them are either running or firing back or both. I slip another magazine into the gun as bullets tear harmlessly through long dead flesh.



They're screaming now. "Yaomo! Yaomo!"

The rest is drowned under a sea of violent noise. The torrents of blood are making me starved and it doesn't feel weird anymore.



I suppose it doesn't really matter what they're saying, does it?



I slam another magazine into the empty gun. Someone's screaming just around the corner. I stroll towards it, UZI level with my waist. There's a man cowering against the wall. When he sees me he doesn't even fire. Just stares, pleading. Starts babbling something that sounds more like gibberish than Chinese.



The warehouse is echoing with weapons fire, most of it mine. I slam another magazine into the gun, footsteps hitting the pavement behind me. Close. I spin around and lunge.



His blood's like something from a Chinese trailer park, poor and ill-bred but it's blood and it's hotter than fire.



I drain everything I can and let his empty husk collapse onto the floor. No more noise. Are they all dead? I glance around the warehouse. No movement. The office windows upstairs a shattered, but I can't see Zhao. A loading door is sliding opening. Must be a second wave. I step on a pallet of boxes and launch myself onto one of the giant storage shelves. One hand still holding the gun, I fly up its side like I'm made of air. I want to watch this.



I want to see.



There's only a handful of them. A large one. Bald. A few smaller ones. I can hear them. Shouting at first, then dead quite. They stand in the middle of the warehouse, weapons dropping to their side.

"...What the fuck?"

"No way Zhao did this. Just... no fucking way."

"This isn't... this is a goddamn madhouse, look at this, they were firing everywhere. Some of them never even got a shot off, this... this is bad, this is real bad. We need to get the fuck out of here."

The large one grabs someone.

"You run and I shoot you. We're here for Zhao and we're not leaving until we kill that traitor whore. We're the fucking TONG. I don't give a FUCK how many of us it takes to kill them, NOBODY crosses the TONG AN-"

Gunshot. Three fifty seven. The large man's head now covers the thug he'd been threatening. Zhao ducks back inside the office. One of the bangers turns and runs. The other two fire up at the office. I jump on the one that runs.



My teeth hit his neck before the rest of my body slams into him, wrapping around him and sending the two of us crashing hard into the ground. I can feel his bones snap underneath me. It doesn't take long to drain him, most of the blood's already pooling on the cement. I pull my fangs from his throat and rise up from behind the pile of mangled boxes, the two lone Tong staring in horror.

I can feel blood dripping from my face.



They're torn apart in a single burst.



Silent. No... not silent.




Still.



My muscles begin to relax. My power starts to fade. My presence slips back to normal. No longer the Blood God Incarnate. Just a woman now. Just a woman in a blood stained jacket and a gun with a glowing red barrel.

I head up the stairs to make sure Zhao's alright.



"Anything vital get hit?"

"I am fine. Thank you." He's quiet for a moment more. "Are you a Kuei-Jin?"

"No."

"Hmm." He shakes his head slowly. "...If you want to find your friend, I would move quickly."

"Alright." I step backwards, closing the office door. "Take care, Zhao." I'm halfway down the stairs before I turn around.

"And thank you!"

Before I go, I clean myself up as best I can in the employee bathroom.



It's colder outside now. There's a few empty cars in the parking lot, some fresh tire tracks leaving. Well. Can't kill them all. I'm still hungry. I think that... that scare everyone shitless thing I did must be a lot of work. I should eat soon... bags are out of the question, even if I'd brought any. I could use the chalice, but I'm pretty sure I'd be better off saving that for emergencies. I walk down the alley towards Johnny's club and notice a wannabe banger strutting ahead of me.



Nobody around. Just need to remember not to kill him.



Because murder is bad.



I leap onto his back and sink my teeth into his neck. Mongrel blood. Mongrel blood and it's still better than anything I've ever had living. I need to find some higher class victims. Heather doesn't seem too ill bred...

Shit, he's running thin.



I pull my head away and shove him forward. He staggers a moment before stopping, head hanging in a trance. I wipe my mouth with the back of my sleeve. Wait. Shit, when did I start feeding on people?


I don't... was it the girl in the massage parlor?



I can't remember.


I walk the rest of the way to Johnny's club, punching in the access code and stepping inside. At least it's not another goth metal joint.



I glance around the room, sticking to the walls and trying to stay out of everyone's notice. I see someone who looks important sitting with a group of guards.



Probably Johnny. If it's not, probably someone who can tell me where Johnny is. I slide into the seat across from him.

"Johnny?"

He eyes me warily, something suspicious or off he can't quite place.



"Johnny's upstairs. Nobody goes up to see him unless I say so."

"Then say so. I need to see him."

He lowers his glasses.

"You're going to have to do better than that."

"Then say so. I need to see him."

"Alright, I'll give you the go ahead. Talk to Wen by the stairs."

I slip out of the chair without a word and head back to the entry door and the grand staircase upstairs.



"Hold it right there, nobody goes upstairs."

"I do."



I didn't even need to do that.



By the time I've gone from the stairs to Johnny's office, I've hit every Tong member in the club. The bouncer from the stairs escorts me to the head office, knocking on the door.

"Johnny? The Boss is here to see you."

"What? What the fuck are you talking about?"

The guard opens the door for me and bows, ignoring the inquiries of his former commander in chief.



I think somebody's about to have a really bad day.



"What the fuck is going on? Who the fuck are you?"

"I'm the Boss." I give him a half smile, resting my hands behind my back. "Who are you?"

He gestures wildly.

"What is this fucking horse shit, huh? What the fuck do you want?"

"It's very simple. I want a man named Barabus. I know you have him, don't bother trying to weasel out of that part. If you tell me where he is, I'll grab him and walk out of your life forever without so much as a nasty word. Make this difficult for me in any way whatsoever and I'll tear your skin off with my hands."

He backs slowly against the wall.

"Ba... who... who told you about that? Ho-how-how did you..."



"Don't tell it a thing, Johnny. Shoot it."

The television behind Johnny springs to life. A gray haired man covered in shadows and suit is looking out from the screen. The mob boss turns back to it.



"You told me that guy was a nobody! Now there's some kind of god damn super fed in my office!" He shoves his finger at the screen. "What the FUCK did you get us involved in?"

"Shoot it, Johnny. You'll get a tiny glimpse of your answer." He turns away from the screen and pulls a gun from his jacket.



The bullet hits my temple. A sting. My head jerks slightly. I tilt it quizzically at the poor young man. The wound's closing, already almost healed.



"Wha... no... no fucking way... I... I shot you! You're fucking dead!"

"Yes, Johnny. It's dead. It was dead when it came into your office. It will be dead after it's killed you and it will be dead when it leaves."

"Wha... no..."

The man on the screen turns to me.

"I have Barabus, the one you seek. He's located in my compound on the very outskirts of Chinatown. There. That is far more information than Johnny ever could have told you."

The mob boss turns to the screen, knees shaking.

"What... what the fuck are you doing?"

I pull the magnum from my jacket.

"He's murdering you."

The shot echoes loud enough for every guard on the upper floor to hear.



Nobody comes. I step forward and glance at the screen.

"Clever."



"Wasn't it? I've learned never to underestimate the power your 'Masquerade' holds over your kind. And before you embarrass yourself denying what you are, I'll inform you that I'm monitoring your body's heat signature. Room temperature, of course."

"Of course."



"Come to the Fu Syndicate building where we're holding 'Barabus'. I'm sure we can work out some kind of... mutually beneficial arrangement."



The screen clicks black. All the guards bow as I leave the club, but it suddenly feels out of place.



This doesn't feel right. I'm exposed again. I don't know what's going on. I'm not in control anymore, I just got in control for God's sake...



The Fu Syndicate. I've never heard of them and I'd dealt with all kinds of shady corporations and paramilitary groups. What the fuck are they? This is a trap. This is a major trap. They've got to be vampire hunters. Or... something. I'm not ready for this.






I'm not ready for this.



Hope y’all didn’t mind the wait too bad. Next update is going to be a little… different, but I think it’ll be a lot of fun for everyone.

[Corel]

Thanks as always for the updates!

A bit different hmm? I'm sure that is what happens when someone is subjected to crazy crazy experiments! Judging from your writing probably adding a few of your own in, and not just physical.

[Navilee]

Psh. Still envious.

I enjoyed the back-and-forth of the two hitmen, though. Well, I enjoyed it all, but I particularly enjoyed that.

The Fu Syndicate, though. Fun times.

[Damaged]

I'm loving how our war profiteer is developing into a beautiful and refined predator known as Ventrue. And yet, her own personality and frustrations are still interesting. Just how much of this is game script? I haven't played quite this far yet, and I haven't played that race yet.

[tzimisce]

The two hitmen were out of place, but otherwise a really cool update. I remember the whole scene with the mob boss appearing on the screen in Johnny's office. One of the best moments in the game.