Chronicler: Julie

Episode Synopsis

Danny, Darrek, and Henry hurry to the Cathedral of Learning to attempt to beat the Sabbat vampires to the Night Stone. They quickly realize the Cathedral is locked up tight, and that they have no idea where the entrance to the steam tunnels is located. Darrek uses his powers to Jedi Mind Trick a Pitt cop, who deactivates the security system, unlocks the door for them, and tells them to head for the basement. Darrek tells the officer to forget they were ever there and have a lovely evening. The cop wanders off, very confused. Danny shifts upon entering. As they descend into the maze of tunnels, Danny senses a weird sort of tainted-ness and has a moment of déjà-vu that he can’t quite place. They can hear the sound of voices coming from further down the tunnel.

Hilda and Yun Xun arrive at the Conclave at Club Inferno. There is a large sign on the front door which proclaims, ‘CLOSED FOR PRIVATE EVENT.’ Everyone who is anyone in the supernatural community is present. They spot Amara, as well as representatives from the Gifted Covenants, who nod in acknowledgement. Recent events in the City and involving the Hellmouth are discussed, and a coming apocalyptic event unlike anything ever seen before. Someone then stands and blames Blake Investigations for what is happening, leading to the entire room erupting in argument. The Other calls for order.

As they descend deeper into the tunnels, Danny, Darrek, and Henry can all sense Sadicas, and have the definite feeling of something moving, but only see shadows dancing on the walls. They also hear the scratching sounds of clawed feet. Danny suggests that they follow the weird energy rather than the voices, having a hunch that that it might lead them to where the stone is located.

[[:matthew | Matthew] returns back to Pittsburgh and checks in with Anita. After their meeting she sends him to back up Danny, Darrek, and Henry in the tunnels.

At the Conclave, many of the members of the Gifted Covenants speak up to defend Blake Investigations and the long-held peace they have maintained in the City and at the Hellmouth. Those arguing against them bring up their past failures, referencing the Covenant War and the barely averted rising of a Mad God, and blame Anita, stating that she, “fraternized with a dark priest." When Yun Xun and Hilda (who have no idea what they are talking about) say nothing, they demand to know why the representatives from Blake Investigations will not speak up to defend their employer. Yun Xun explains that she cannot speak about the past but she can say that there was no malicious intent behind their recent actions. Someone declares that Blake Investigations is not taking the Conclave seriously. Two demons then stand up and lunge at Hilda and Yun Xun. Both women move to defend themselves against the attack, and a free-for-all brawl erupts. Amara and several other attendees scream at the Other to put an end to the fighting so that the discussion can continue.

Meanwhile, in the tunnels, Danny hears the sounds of growling werewolves. All three men then hear terrified screams coming from the direction of the voices and run into a larger room where several tunnels converge to see several Sadicas-infected werewolves facing off with a group of five vampires. Darrek does a double take and quickly realizes that the “vampires” are actually mundane Goth kids wearing fangs. One of them is already dead when they arrive in the room. They defend the rest of them against the werewolves. Unfortunately, another one of the Goth kids meets their demise when one of the werewolves attacks and eats him. Suddenly, Matthew bursts into the room wielding a glowing blue sword and decapitates one of the werewolves. Henry casts a spell at another one of the werewolves which misfires and hits Danny. Flames erupt all around him. Darrek starts putting the fire out with the edge of his trenchcoat. After the group defeats the werewolves, Darrek snaps at the shocked Goth kids to go home and stop playing at being vampires. Still stunned, they leave. The sounds of chanting begin to echo in the tunnels. As the group heads towards them, shadows reach out from the walls and try to wrap around them. Matthew cuts right through them, while everyone else manages to dodge out of the way. Five Sabbat vampires appear and attack.

One of the shadows bashes Danny into the wall, while another vampire rushes at him, impossibly fast. Matthew trades blows with one of the vampires who is also wielding a large sword. Another vampire grabs Darrek, who lets out a scream as his flesh twists and he feels as if he is being reshaped from the inside. He calls upon every ounce of will he has and unleashes a blast of blazing blue energy which blows the vampire off of him, down the hallway, and into a wall. Henry casts a spell that causes flames to erupt around all of the vampires, and then manages to successfully deflect a spell one of the vampires casts at him. Danny decapitates one of the vampires and takes off running. Darrek blasts one of the shadowy vampires with soulfire, and then runs after Danny, who is heading down the tunnel in the direction of the chanting. Henry follows Darrek. Matthew finishes off the vampire he is facing, and brings up the rear.

During the brawl at the Conclave, Hilda has a moment of realization that the fight is a diversion and begins backing up to take up a defensive position in front of the Other. Amara comes up behind her and says, “That’s not the Other,” who is then revealed to be a large, bald vampire with tattoos covering its face. The vampire leaps down and takes off into the back area of the club. Hilda and Yun Xun pursue him, kicking in doors along the way, which reveal conference areas, lounges, and even bedrooms. They come to a staircase descending down, and can hear the sounds of chanting, and a male voice, moaning, coming from below. They run down the staircase and burst into a room, where a hooded figure lays spread-eagled and shackled to a table, and four Sabbat are clearly performing some kind of ritual. One of the vampires has a ritual knife. Hilda stabs him through the heart with a makeshift stake. He pulls the stake from his chest and then attempts to stab Hilda with the ritual knife. He also casts a spell at her. During this, Yun Xun manages to free the Other, but then goes down as the other vampires unleash their brutal attacks upon her.

Running into another large room where multiple tunnels converge, Danny is stabbed in the back by an invisible vampire, and then grabbed by the vampire who attacked Darrek. He also screams as the vampire unleashes its terrible power and his skin begins to twist and shift. Darrek bursts into the room behind him and again blasts the vampire with soulfire. As the vampire slides down the wall, dazed, Darrek then dives into the center of the room and grabs the Night Stone, which is sitting in the open. One of the vampires attempts to cast a spell at Darrek, which he dodges. Henry volleys a spell cast by one of the vampires right back at him. He bursts into flames. Darrek announces that it’s time to go, and the group begins heading back towards the Cathedral basement.

Now free, the Other rises and uses sorcery to wrap the vampires up in shadowy tendrils of dark energy. They rise up off of the floor and are crushed to death with a sickening crunch. The Other then removes his hood and is revealed to be Harold Lamont. He goes upstairs and orders everyone out of his club. There are multiple dead bodies scattered across the floor which are discovered to not be demons, but more of the tattooed vampires. Hubert then heals Yun Xun, who remains unconscious. He thanks Hilda for saving his life, and says that he owes them a favor.

As Danny, Darrek, Henry, and Matthew emerge from the Cathedral and begin walking back to the Hive Arcana, they spot another group of vampires heading towards them. It is Sebastian Powell, the Prince of the City, and a group of Kindred. He explains that he received a phone call saying that the group might be in need of some assistance. They stare blankly at him. He then asks if they were able to recover the Night Stone. Darrek indicates that he has it, but makes it abundantly clear that he has no intention of giving it to Powell. The Prince nods and says, “We’ll talk about that at a later time.”

While they walk to the Hive, Henry apologizes to Danny for his power getting away from him and unintentionally causing harm. Danny readily forgives him and says he understands; however, Darrek is less forgiving and wigs out on Henry, saying that losing control of his power is unacceptable. The group then arrives at the Hive to debrief with Anita. Darrek pulls the Stone from his coat pocket and sets it on her desk in front of her. Anita comments that he looks exhausted. He sinks into a chair and she goes on to say that she needs to speak with him, urgently. Henry goes downstairs to make coffee for everyone.

While the group is filling Anita in on the events at the steam tunnels, Hilda arrives with Yun Xun slung over her shoulder, still unconscious, but with no visible injuries. She tells the group about what happened at the Conclave, and that Robert Hubert is the Other. Anita is quite surprised at this revelation. She then turns to Darrek and says, “Look, there’s no easy way to say this, so here it is. Alan’s back. He’s off the grid. And he’s more powerful than ever.” Darrek is clearly shocked. After a long moment of stunned silence, and the other members of the group asking who Alan is, Darrek explains that he was a Rosicrucian who became corrupted by Taint, almost succeeded in raising one of the Mad Gods, Leviathan, and was the engineer behind the war between the Covenants in Pittsburgh. Looking at Henry, he says softly, “He was also my teacher.” Yun Xun regains consciousness, and Anita asks her if she has a way of contacting Klaus, as she needs to send him a message. Amara stops by briefly and assures the group that the Prince of the City will not be bothering them regarding the Night Stone. Anita then tells everyone to go home and get some rest, congratulating them on a job well done on all fronts.

Memorable Quotes and Great Moments:

“We are the most inept heroes, ever.”-Darrek

“I excel at doing crime, actually.”-Henry

“We are not letting a locked door stop us from saving the world.”-Danny

“Go fight demons, they said. Save the world, they said. It’ll be fun, they said.”-Henry

Re: Danny suggesting they follow the sense of tainted energy
“So…we’re hooked on a feeling?”-Henry

Re: Running back towards the sounds of terrified screaming
“I guess we are good people.”-Henry
“Yes, we are.”-Darrek

“So we run towards the sounds of screaming, because we’re big damn heroes.”-Henry

Re: seeing a pack of Sadicas-infected werewolves and a group of vampires
“I’m not sure who I want to help.”-Danny

“What do the demons look like?”-Tom (Hilda’s player)
“Demonic.”-Jason

Re: Henry’s spell misfiring
“* String of expletives deleted *” -Henry

Re: Henry’s spell misfiring and setting Danny on fire
“Stop, drop, and roll!”-Darrek

Re: the Sabbat using the Night Stone to blot out the sun, and the subsequent vampire feeding frenzy
“You’d think in this age of green initiatives and environmental awareness they would realize that isn’t a sustainable food source.”-Henry

Re: Matthew joining the rest of the group in the steam tunnels
“So…it’s so nice to see you! Glad you could make it!”-Darrek

Re: Attending the Conclave
“Yun Xun has two facial expressions: stony silence and GET OUT OF MY STORE!” -Mike D. (Yun Xun’s player)

Re: the sound of a man groaning
“That sounds promising.”-Yun Xun
“They’re overrated. Let’s head for the chanting!”-Hilda

Re: the Sabbat beginning a ritual involving the Other
“Oh nononono.”-Hilda

Re: Yun Xun helping to free Hilda from being grappled by a vampire
“The murder machine is unencumbered. I’m happy.”-Mike D. (Yun Xun’s player)

“The vampires with tattoos on their faces come at you . They’re whirling swords around.”-Jason
“Sweet. I’m so gunna die.”-Mike D. (Yun Xun’s player)

Multiple jokes about the vast range of human size.

Re: the Tzimisce
“Bad touch! No means no!”-Henry

“Darrek…that was, like…hard.”-Henry
“What the bloody hell did you expect?”-Darrek

Re: the Night Stone
“I thought you could use a paperweight.”-Darrek
“And that’s going in the vault.”-Anita

Re: The Conclave
“Leviathan rising was so not my fault…but I did, um, fraternize with a dark priest.”-Anita
“Oh, so that’s what we’re calling it, now?”-Darrek
“Okay, so maybe fraternize doesn’t exactly cover it…”-Anita

“Fraternize? That’s a funny way to pronounce ‘tentacle rape.’” -Robert (Henry’s Player)

“So, what’s up?”-Darrek
“Alan’s back. He’s off the grid. And he’s more powerful than ever.”-Anita
Gives Anita a long, blank, shocked stare “No, seriously, what’s up?”-Darrek