(IC 2) San Francisco by Night: A Requiem in Fog

[Thundercracker]

Anna, wishing for nothing more than her sword so she could carve the Sheriff into kindred fillets, moves to the dead fat ghoul and the fallen machine gun.

“Schultz is here!” she yelled again, “help!”
Edit: she will pick it up this turn as well, if she can.

[Bennosuke]

(OOC: My apologies for the delay. I don't know if my post got eaten or what, but I thought I responded like yesterday morning. )

Anna continues moving, ignoring the Sheriff who had just a yard from her snarling, and skidding and turning as she bends down to pick up the automatic rifle. Schultz roars at Anna, his wicked eyes glowing a wild yellow in the firelight.

Anna calls out to her allies, the other Kindred who had spread out over the two blocks leading up to her burning haven. But this time her warnings were heard as nearly ten Kindred turned to look at Anna and the skirmish occurring on the periphery of D'Agostino's property.

(OOC: Lillith's turn)

[Ladorak]

With her gun reloaded Lilith hesitated before she fired again. Schultz had taken so many bullets at this point, and showed no sign of slowly. Terror was slowly creeping up her spine, not the blind panic and brief ecstasy of a gunbattle, nor the fear and trepidation that had led up to it. No, this was terror, an insurmountable growing fear of something that could not be understand, let alone fought. The fear of something ancient and supernatural, mighty and evil. Fear that would have turned her bowels to water if she had any and screamed at her to flee.

The only other time she had felt like this was when she was beneath her bastard of a Sire, that is what gave her the courage to go for a seemingly impossible kill. She pulled the trigger and sprayed bullets,, her scream, equal parts anger and fear, was utterly drowned out by the hail of fire.

Spoiler

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Sorry I'm away from books. long autofire is +3 I think? Roll for me if im wrong about that.

dex - untrained + autofire long + another WP (2 spent)
1-1+3+3
(6d10)[4][9][2][3][2][9](29)
10 again
(6d10)[8][3][4][5][9][7](36)

[Bennosuke]

Lillith's gunfire tears holes into Schultz's face and neck, opening up bloodless wounds that expose meat and pull skin away from shattered bone. The fiend howls in pain at the wounds, exposing teeth that have been cracked by gunfire and a mouth filled with clotted Vitae. The Sheriff that now stands before the Kindred is a shambling mass of shredded tissue, the corpse somehow still upright despite the terrible punishment it has experienced. But Schultz does not fall. His wrath filled eyes focus on Lillith, and he is no longer smiling nor laughing.

(OOC: Lillith does 4 bashing damage. Having already used his chance, Schultz can soak this damage. It is now Karl's turn again)

[Daishain]

Briefly waving for the other kindred finally aware of the fight to come help, Karl painfully drops to a knee, reloading his weapon.

Spoiler: OOC

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Spending 1 BP to reverse 1 more lethal damage, and reloading his weapon. That occupies his turn I believe.

[Bennosuke]

Deep inside, Karl can feel the tissues inside his chest knitting back together; but not fast enough. As he bends down to reload, he can feel the bones in his chest shift, and one even pops either into or out of place; either way it sends an arc of pain lancing into his temples.

Nearby, Anna turns to fire on the Sheriff, only to realize that he has followed. He swings the butt of his shotgun so quickly that Anna barely has time to react, his eyes filled with firelight as he cackles madly.

(OOC: Schultz' attack will hit doing significant damage, though Anna can use Celerity to interrupt or move ahead in the initiative que and act before the Sheriff can).

[Thundercracker]

Anna reacted on instinct alone, slowing the world around her as she moved away from the danger. She sprinted down the road and away from Schultz, towards the allied Kindred who had heard her shout previously, and ducked behind whatever cover she could, a car, or a tree, or a house.

[Bennosuke]

The Sheriff's blow was powered by the unnaturally potent blood that flowed through his veins, and the shotgun's shoulder stock parts the air with frightening speed. But Anna was faster. Her movements were ethereal like a shadow, and as Schultz' strike whizzed through the empty air, Anna blurred into existence over 10 yards away.

(OOC: Anna's Blood Pool is down to 4. It is now Lillith's turn)

[Ladorak]

Lilith continues to fire on the Sheriff, more in hope than expectation. Once again she held down the trigger until the mag ran dry

Spoiler

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I probably should have asked earlier but how much ammo does Lilith have?

medium burst
(2d10)[8][4](12)
10-again
(2d10)[8][7](15)

[Bennosuke]

Lillith's spray hits the mark, putting more wholes into the seemingly invincible Sheriff. But this blast seems to catch Schultz off balance, knocking him over onto all fours as he drops the shotgun.

(OOC: Lillith does three more bashing damage. Now all of Schultz' boxes are filled with damage. Lillith should have 5 bullets left, ie enough for one more medium burst. The Sheriff is prone and disarmed, it is now Karl's turn).

[Daishain]

Seeing an opportunity, Karl painfully moves towards the fallen sheriff, firing again at the kindred's legs.

Spoiler: OOC

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Spending another BP to heal a point of lethal, should no longer have a penalty now at least. Moving up enough that Karl's in position to snatch that shotgun off of the ground next round using celerity and get away again, assuming at any rate that its still there.

Medium burst, called shot to the legs (4d10)[3][5][4][8](20)
ten again (4d10)[1][2][5][7](15)

[Thundercracker]

Anna clambered on top of a parked car to get a better angle and unloaded on the Sheriff again, this time using the machine gun she picked up.

Spoiler

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dex 3 + firearms 1 + long burst 3 (7d10)[9][9][9][4][3][2][4](40)
10 again: (7d10)[6][7][1][9][9][5][7](44)

[Bennosuke]

Anna's gunfire tore into Schultz, even before Lillith's shots dropped him. Shreds of flesh and tattered cloth literally go flying off of the Sheriff before he is dropped to the ground.

Now reloaded, Karl continues shoot at the prone Sheriff, praying that his assault will be enough to keep the Elder Vampire down. He rakes the dropped corpse with gunfire, and the bullets can be heard pinging off the manicured pavement.

As Karl's gunfire ceases, Schultz screams. It is not the yell of pain, but more of deep internal agony, and the scream continues, echoing over the sounds of gunfire and the crackling fire. "Damn you Freidrich," the Sheriff howls in English as he pulls his mangled body up from the pavement. He is now unarmed, the shotgun remaining on the ground. He raises a pointed finger towards Karl, a look of utter hatred burned into the lines of his pale face. His dark brown eyes peer with fury over his hooked nose, and he screams, "You are the evil one! You are the usurper Karl, not me! Your party condemned millions to death unjustly. It's not fair! I did nothing but obeyed my Prince, enforced his justice, protected his people. Do you think things will be any different under D'Agostino!" He shambles forward, his body not much more than a flailed corpse. Bones stick out of the fabric of his pants in both legs, and yet somehow he continues to stumble forward, towards Karl, a single finger pointed with accusation.

(OOC: So it is back to Anna, since her last turn was technically us resolving the prior round on an error. The Sheriff is technically still up and running. That said, anyone can feel free to "converse" with the Sheriff should they so desire.)

[Thundercracker]

“the main difference is d’agnostino doesn’t want to eat me,” Anna thought.

She kept up the fire, not wanting to give the sheriff a chance to escape.

Spoiler

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Attack: (7d10)[4][2][2][2][4][10][6](30)
10 again; (7d10)[5][9][10][7][10][9][2](52)

Ooc I really want to find out about the mirror and any backups of videos the sheriff has, but IC Anna would be blasting away. If she knows she can delay until Karl gets a chance to talk, without there being a risk of Schultz running, she will, but otherwise she just wouldn’t risk it.

[Bennosuke]

Anna's bullets tear into the side of The Sheriff, nearly knocking him off his feet a second time. This time he does cry out in pain, though his voice has taken on a softer, breathless quality due to the severe damage to his lungs. In a moment of relative quiet, the air can actually be heard wheezing out of his chest wall as he howls in pain. "Damn you all," he cries, "Damn you all", but still he presses forward slowly towards Karl.

(OOC: Lillith's turn)

[Ladorak]

Inspiration can come from the strangest of places. Watching the Sheriff drag himself along the grass, trailing slick dark blood in his wake, it was like watching God himself brought low. How else could one describe such a immortal creature? Not immortal like her, no, one that could ride a hail of bullets as a normal enraged kindred rode bee stings. To see him destroyed and yet still carry on relentlessly, it was breathtaking (If she had any). This would be her next masterpiece, she was sure of it. She could not bring herself to end the tableau in such a tawdry way. First she shouted to her allies 'Whatever he did to you, he's more use to us alive!'
To him she shouts 'Its over Schultz, whatever point you wanted to prove, you did it. Give it up while you can, is this really how you want it to end? And for that guy?'

Spoiler

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Lilith holds her action until after the sheriff's, however she will open fire if he does anything other than surrender
Assuming he doesn't surrender I'll roll the attack now:
(2d10)[2][6](8)
10-again
(2d10)[3][5](8)

[Bennosuke]

The Sheriff does not respond to Lillith's please, his focus and rage drawn still to Karl, who he continues to stalk.

(OOC:So if Lillith is deferring her turn till after Schultz, we go back to the top of the initiative order with Karl's turn.)

[Daishain]

Karl cannot resist taunting the sheriff in return, "I did nothing but obey my Fuhrer, enforce his Justice, and protect his people. The men we once were are dead Schultz, and we both became someone else. I chose to let who I once was die and to become someone new. You? You chose to become the man I once was, and promptly began to unjustly send Innocents to their deaths. It is good that we both agree that the man I used to be was evil and deserved to die, so let's take care of that now shall we?"

Karl opens fire again. A twinge of guilt coils around his no longer beating heart, but he refuses to let it stop him from ending this.

Spoiler: ooc

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Once again, medium burst called shot to the legs (4d10)[9][9][5][3](26)
Ten again (4d10)[7][2][1][2](12)

[Bennosuke]

Karl's words seem to set something off in The Sheriff's mind. His eyes light up with a wild fury, his lips curling back in a terrible snarl as his jaw opens wide to bark and growl at Karl like a crazed animal. He hunches over, as if about to drop onto all fours to continue pursuing Karl, still howling with wild fury.

Karl's bullets tear into Schultz, the roar of the rifle deafening The Sheriff's bestial frenzy and knocking him backwards and over. Schultz' corpse hits the pavement with a thud, the body quickly darknening. Within a matter of seconds, the skin has pulled tight against bone, darkening and drying as if cooking in an oven. Then the dry flesh crumbles, the corpse dissolving into a large pile of ash and a few chunks of charred black bone. Schultz' feral howls can still be heard on the wind for one final moment, before that too is silenced and the air hangs heavy and empty like the smoke from the cotiere's haven.

The militia of D'Agostino's vampires is still collecting itself, giving Karl, Anna and Lillith a moment to collect themselves. The west side of the haven still burns heavy with flame, putting out black smoke and white ash into the night's sky. Miraculously, there is still no sign of sirens, and the rest of the houses on the block (few and far between as they are) have black windows with no lights.

(OOC: I'm giving everyone a beat for this. Karl gains an additional beat as this was an aspiration of his.

EDIT: And Karl actually gets a third beat for having taken damage into his third right health box. Updating this now)

[Daishain]

Karl lowers his gun and sways on his feet. In spite of his efforts to heal himself, the holes torn into his body remain, open and oozing. He mutters, more to himself than anything, "You should not have threatened my grandson Schultz."

[Thundercracker]

Anna jumps down off the car and looks for a ghoul that’s still alive, to sate her now very insistent and growing unbearable thirst.

[Bennosuke]

Looking around, Anna can find many downed Ghouls. Some are probably dead, but others are likely just unconscious or dying. It wouldn't be too hard to find a living corpse to feed from, but given the fact that other Kindred are likely going to start slaking their thirst, I'll have you roll perception +2 to find a still living corpse to feed from. Anna can of course feed from a dead corpse, but the blood will be less nurturing.

[Ladorak]

Lilith has no need to feed, while the others pick through the bodies she stands over the Sheriff, staring down, her manged face a mask behind which complicated feelings roiled 'The whole world will remember you Schultz.' She says at last, then she turns away. Assuming the Prince was equal to his former officer she'd need a lot more ammo, she picked through the dead and the dying, deftly stepping over horrid injuries and wisely avoiding the feeding Kindred.

Spoiler

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Lilith spends her time collecting ammo until the rest are ready to go.

[Bennosuke]

Anna moves quickly through the streets, her ears quickly picking up the racing drum of a nearby ghoul's heart. She comes upon a young male with too many face piercings, and an abdomen that appears to have been raked open by a blade. The man's eyes are a faded blue, and they stare up at Anna with a desperate pleading. He moans and grits his teeth as Anna approaches, his hands pressed close to his belly in a vain attempt to keep his bowels in place.

(OOC: Anna can probably drink her fill, but she may risk killing the the ghoul, which would be a three dice breaking point; accidental killing is 2 dice with a +1 modifier because he's your enemy and desperate times)

Karl's mind still turns over everything that happens, perhaps The Sheriff's words still echoing in his head, and the hunger in his gut raging like an inferno. The Mekhet moves more like an animal on the hunt than like a man after a meal. The Beast howls for food, for life! And suddenly Karl finds himself crouched over a familiar figure; the pig-man. Karl can recognize the foul ghoul by its greasy piggy stench, and corpulent habitus. But the one thing Karl can't recognize is the ghoul's face, which has been nearly blown off, leaving a bloody hole of bone and shredded tissue. Karl's ears are filled with the pounding and arrhythmic shudder of the ghoul's heart beat as it fights desperately to maintain adequate perfusion.

(OOC: Karl will be able to get up to 5 blood points by certainly killing the ghoul. Due to Karl's starved nature though, I'm gonna have you make a Willpower roll if you want to avoid killing the Ghoul though. As with Anna, killing the Ghoul will be a three dice breaking point, because you're still humanity 5).

While the other Kindred scavenge for blood, Lillith hunts for ammunition. She easily finds a fully automatic assault rifle, as well as three full clips for the weapon. She also picks up a nasty looking bowie knife from a beheaded Ghoul.

[Thundercracker]

The Beast roared for blood, but Anna remembered what it’s like to feed from a struggling victim. She made an attempt to make the Kiss a pleasurable experience.

“Shh,” she said, drawing close and speaking quietly, “I’m going to help you, relax.”

She used one hand to smooth the pierced ghoul’s hair and went for the carotid artery on the neck.

Spoiler

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anna will take three, and if that kills the ghoul then at least she eased his passing. Not sure what to roll exactly.

[Daishain]

Karl looks down at the pig man and bends down over him, perhaps a little less smoothly than normal. He doesn't bother being gentle as he tears into the disgusting ghoul's artery, draining him until the heart gives way.

When done, he wipes off his face with his ragged overcoat and looks around for the rifle he had dropped or an even more powerful long distance weapon if one could be found. He'd had more than enough of being close to a foe for one night.

Spoiler: OOC

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Taking it all
humanity roll (3d10)[10][5][3](18)
ten again (3d10)[4][10][7](21)

[Bennosuke]

Anna sinks her fangs into the man's neck, letting the extended teeth tear through the man's jugular. The man's body goes rigid, as he moans with the pain; clearly resisting the sweet invite of Anna's Kiss. But he is too weak to push himself away, too busy holding his belly together to fight back. Anna closes the wound with the preturnatural skill of her tongue, her lips quick to savor the last oozes of sweet blood that escape the constricting punctures.

As she rises, she is pleased to see that the man is still breathing, however weakly. She can hear his heart beating hard and fasting, fighting desperately to maintain his life.

(OOC: Anna refills 3 blood points without killing her target. She now has 7/10 blood points)

Karl takes every last drop he can from the dying ghoul. Though partly blinded by the raging hunger of the Beast, he is still aware of what he is doing, purposefully loosening the choke collar enough to indulge his inhuman appetite. Perhaps there is satisfaction in the cold revenge that Karl has wrought on his enemies, or perhaps there is a sense of guilt in everything that has happened.

When Karl pulls his mouth away from the ghoul's neck (stifling the urge to begin tearing chunks of flesh from the corpse like some monster from Greek Mythology), he feels unsettled, but thankfully not numb. He finds his mind questioning the kill despite his willpower. And somewhere, in the most primitive corner of Karl's consciousness, he can hear the Beast rebelling, howling at him to let go and kill again.

(OOC: Karl fills up 5 blood points killing the Ghoul. He is now at 8/10. Karl passes his breaking point (nice roll btw), and does not lose humanity. Karl is able to find another Automatic rifle with a full clip. However, I would like you to take either the Bestial Condition, or the Competitive Condition. Bestial would help represent Karl's struggle to control the urges of The Beast that continue to rise to the surface under the violent stresses of tonight, while the Competitive Condition would better represent Karl's struggles to process this feud that somehow developed between him and The Sheriff, and now seems to be coming to a finish)

[Thundercracker]

Anna

No longer starving but not yet sated, Anna forced herself to pull back. Maybe he would survive with medical attention, it’s better than he deserved.

She then checked how much ammunition she had for the machine gun and looked around for more. Depending on how much ammo she had she might need to switch to an assault rifle. She missed the weight of her Jain but until she had a chance to go retrieve it she’d be sticking to firearms.

[Bennosuke]

Anna is also able to collect a full clip's worth of ammunition after her feeding. She does remember that she left her Jain at home, in other words, in the burning building just down the block from where she now stands.

[Ladorak]

Lilith heaved the Bowie knife around, practicing with a few short swings. It suddenly occurred to her them really shouldn't have the time to scavenge or feed. She quietly approached Anna and asked in a low voice 'Sheriff aside, did that seem way too easy? I mean if I was the one who just burnt Elysium... We shouldn't have rolled over them like this, right?'