(M) The Shadows that walk among Us. (IC)

[Cfavano]

Patches manages to steal a small silver-plated zippo lighter. it seemed to be well made.


Later on, he was able to find out that some very wealthy and influential people were here. CEOs, Billionaires...and he even notices the Vice President.


Sabina on the other hand got brought into a conversation with one of her parents' friends, asking how she was, and how they had a lovely dinner with her mother and father just last night.

[Cupsy]

Gawd, I was so tired. I haven't had a vacation in ages and the excitement of going to the con and prepping my costume had really burnt me out. I just wanted to take a little nap on the bus, but the next thing I know we've arrived and being escorted out to the castle. After settling in, making sure my vampire hunter costume looked perfect and applying my make up I make my way down and mingle with the crowd. The castle was perfect, so wonderfully gothic. The cavernous rooms were better then any of the other venues I had been at for other conventions. The setting gave the whole thing a spooky gravitas that excited me to the bones. When I was told that I was invited to a special party that night my heart almost exploded I got so giddy with the surprise. I could barely hold my excitment and was nearly bouncing off the walls as I waited for the party to start.

When I finally was escorted to the ball room my mouth spread into a huge devilish grin as I walked past the statuary and tapestries. The images of humans and monsters in carnal embraces made the blood in my veins pump with vigor and I realized I needed to meet who ever set this whole thing up. This party surpassed any other even I had ever seen, and as I looked around and noticed I wasn't alone.... the room was full of people! Full of celebrities? My goodness movie starts? politicians? sports personalities? At a con? This just keeps getting weirder and weirder. I look for the nearest bar and lean against it with out thinking, letting my skirt ride up, slightly exposing my ass cheeks and panties.... my usual way of procuring free drinks at cons from all the desperate geek boys.

[Enigma]

"Sabina?" Someone asked, incredulously. "Is that you?"


"Mrs. Shaw?!" Sabina replied, startled when she recognized her. She could feel her cheeks beginning to burn. This was one of the wives of the record company executives - the trophy wife. She wanted to slink away now, out of this room, but the slightly tipsy blonde's grip on her arm was like a velvet shackle."Oh my, I never expected to see you here!" Wife 2.0 gushed, then turned to wave at a nearby clump. "Bert! Come over, you'll never guess who I found!"

Sure enough, the slightly paunchy balding man with the few strands trying to do the job of a toupe and failing miserably turned and smiled, surprised.

"Sabina!" he called out, spreading out his arms like he expected her to run up to give him a hug as he walked over to join them. What she really wanted was to crawl under a table and die. "Incredible to see you! Love that leather look, we should do an album! How's your mother and father? Hey, did you hear their new album yet? I'm tellin' ya, it's gonna go platinum!"

"Hi Mr. Shaw," she managed. "Yes, I listened to it on the way up. Did you come here for the convention?"
"The convention?" the pair laughed. "Naw, we come for the party. I've been telling Grace all about it."
"You've been here before?"
"With Rosie, God rest her soul," he sighed, making the sign of the cross. "Before her accident, of course. Come to think of it, I saw your sister Clare here too, last year!"


"Clare was here?" she squeaked, looking around. "Is she here this year?"
"Beats me," Bert shrugged. "But hey, a sexy sister act where the two of you are out on stage, struttin' your stuff, especially with that motorcycle jacket you've got there, I'm tellin' ya, I'd sign the two of you up now for a contract."
"Oh, my voice...."
"Not to worry babe, we got stuff now that makes autotune look like amateur night. Hey, you need a fresh drink? Waiter! Can we get a couple glasses over here?"

He paused, his attention caught on some girl at the bar, his grin growing wilder. "Now that girl, I can see it now, the two of you together! That's gonna be hot!"

"Huh?" she frowned, glancing behind her. "Now you want to sign her and me to a record contract? Do you know her?"
"Record...?" he asked non-pulsed, glancing at her, then laughed. "Hey, that's funny!"
"Oh, don't mind him," Gloria said, pointing out a guy wearing a sword. "Wouldn't you like to take that to bed?"

Her blush got redder.

[Ma1chbox]

It took no time at all for Patches' word grease to work its magic, as in the span of a few minutes, he'd already had a long list of possible targets. Hell, it almost seemed like he didn't even need to choose! Damn near everyone here seems to be up to their necks in riches! The faces that adorned bustling billboards, corny commercials, and annoying ads now looked like items on a menu! Still, he didn't want to bite off more than he could chew while the night was young and the guests were sober, so he started small at first, like say, old and unwary CEOs who feel all too secure in a high class party.

Speaking of the devil, some old schmuck seemed to be well-invested in a conversation with two women nearby at the moment. The thief immediately put down his glass of champagne and skulked closer to his prey. He tapped the executive on the shoulder to turn him around and facing away from his two female companions before shaking his hand firmly. Leaning in close as if trying to talk over the music served as enough misdirection for Patches to worm his hand into the man's inner coat pockets and fish for valuables (Sleight of Hand).

"Hey mister! I saw you from across the room and I just had to come say hello! I'm a big fan of your work, it's gotten me through tough times and I'm really glad I can thank you in person here today!" In reality, Patches didn't really have any idea who the guy was. He did know that rich folk were suckers for praise, though. As soon as he could snag something from his pockets, the thief palmed it and distanced himself a bit. "Anyway, I know you're a pretty busy man and I won't take up more of your time. Thanks again!" He peeked behind the man and gave the two other ladies a smile and nod. The one with the leather jacket did strike him as somewhat underdressed, though.

In any case, the thief disappeared back into the crowd. A celebratory glass of champagne was in order. On the way though, he almost bumped into some oddball with a big sword talking to what seemed to be a goth chick. Regaining his balance, Patches hovered around them for about half a second, eyeing them down from head to toe. Neither gave off a particularly rich, snobby vibe, but they still might have something on them. Either way, Patches still had bigger fish to fry. Those two were nowhere near the top of the hit list.

Moving to the bar for a quick pit stop, Patches found himself beside a scantily clad lady sitting by herself. Seeing as the bartender was still busy with the other patrons, he decided to make small talk. "Evening miss, I don't know if you've noticed but uhh... You seem to be a little... exposed down there, if you get my meaning. Nice costume though, not gonna lie." Leaning in to get a better look, Patches began checking her out, or her pockets, rather, while waiting for a drink.

[Cfavano]

He manages to pull out, surprisingly, a phial of some red liquid. He couldn't tell what it was, but it was vibrant., and the phial seemed to be made of some fancy crystal instead of glass.

[Cfavano]

The clock suddenly struck midnight, and the music suddenly stops. Of course, even in the massively drunken stupor most of the con guests are in, even they noticed that a man in black robes strode out to a podium on the raised end of the ballroom, and the room was suddenly quiet with rapt attention. His face is sunken and pallid, and his eyes seem to have an unnatural glow. "Brothers, sisters, and most honored guest of Shadowcon. I would like to welcome you to this most special of nights. It has been too long since our family has been together like this, and much planning has gone into it. For tonight is a special feast tht will go down in history for generations, the rebirth of the father of all vampires, Cain!"

It was at that point that the doors loudly slammed shut and locked. The consensus among the more lucid con-goers was that this was an act, but our heroes had an uneasy feeling in the pits of their stomachs that they could not lose as part of the floor opened up and a large stone font rose from it. Set inside was a clay urn Both the urn and the basin had strange writing on it, which, to Sabina's best guess, was very early Samarian. The man walked over to both, and taking out a solid gold hammer, broke the urn, and it was revealed that ashes were in it.

The man begins to speak. " Eum patrem quo affliguntur damnati, accipe sacrificium, ita et resurgent, ut operiant carnem in aeternum tenebras mundi."

The famous and rich people, even the staff at the party, all respond; "Ortum, oriri, ut surgeret de inferno, et portas caeli et gloriosos terræ humiliabo."

The man continues. "Magna eum: interfectorem tui justi Abel, maritus Lillith ut malediceret ex Adam et robigo hominis. Mors orbis terrarum, et reverterentur ad Terram tenebris." At this point he raised a wickedly-sharp looking obsidian dagger. "Lumen exstingueret Deo parere Armageddon!" At that, he brings the dagger across his throat, and his blood sprays out and into the font, wetting the ashes. He balances himself so it all flows in, seeming to be sucked in greedily.

In a few seconds, he fell. There was some applause as a few of the drunker on-goers were sure it was fake. The blood and ashes began to boile, and within moments, a figure rose up from out of it.

The rich and famous people were getting quite raucous, screaming and cheering, and even some were snarling. The figure raised a taloned hand, and a ball of fire appeared in it. Then, a flash, and little motes of flame shout out and smacked into each and every one of the con-goers, leaving behind a bloody and painful brand on some part of their body. Patches got it in the forehead, Pulse on the back of her wrist, Dani on his inner left thigh, Sabina on the top of her right breast, and Garmr on the back of his neck. While people were still reeling from this pained mystery, the figure said one thing: "Feed, My children."


That is when everything went to shit. The rich and famous people changed, their faces became twisted and monstrous, they gained long fangs and long sharp claws...and then they attacked. Some were simply ripped apart, their flesh and blood consumed freely, others were violently rapes as they were fed upon. The bartender was no different. With one hand, he batted Patches away and he went flying and he grabbed Dani and dragged her behind the bar. She an feel his hot, horrid breath upon her. "You know what they say about me? I suck!" and he snarls at her.

Similar things happen to the other heroes, they get the attention of the frenzied monster, creatures which they all have one name for...VAMPIRES!

[Ma1chbox]

While chatting with the lady, Patches' attention was wrenched by the music stopping. A strange robed man appeared on the podium. Part of the costumed entertainment perhaps? The long garish introduction seemed to suggest it. For a moment, even Patches himself was drawn into the speech.

Then, the doors slammed shut. Possibly another fancy element to the show, but Patches gulped and shifted his feet. A weird stone structure with a clay urn and basin emerged from the ground, which the robed man whacked open to reveal what looked to be ashes. The thief once again gulped hard, trying to push down the feeling of paranoia that was now eating at him.

As the robed man began to chant in some strange language, he nervously looked over to the bartender to make small talk and calm down, only to find that the man behind the bar was watching gleefully and responding to the chant as well. Patches turned around just in time to watch the strange man pull out a weird knife and just straight up murk himself, which almost made the thief jump in surprise. He'd seen people get killed before, but this felt much, much different. "I knew it! I fucking knew this was gonna be one of those fucking weird rich people sex parties!"

His head began darting around, frantically scanning the place for other exits besides the ones that closed. He paid no mind to the other costumed figure on the stone font who materialized seemingly out of thin air. The sudden cheers and flash stunned the thief, who suddenly felt like he was shot in the head by a flaming bullet. He recoiled and leaned backwards over the bar counter, clutching his forehead and letting out a long grunt of agony as a mark was seared into his flesh. As the pain was finally subsiding, Patches hissed out a loud "FUCK," coming to just in time to see all the big names morph into, well, monsters. A brief calm fell over the room, and all Patches could do was mumble a constant stream of "shitshitshitshitshitshit" while clambering backwards up the counter.

Without warning, the demons fell upon the ones who remained human, slaughtering them mercilessly. All the little alarms and bells and whistles in Patches head were now absolutely deafening and were telling him to get the fuck out immediately. He reached for his measly little taser, but was shortly met with a strong whack to the side of the ribs from behind, which sent him flying.

He lay winded for a moment before scrambling to his feet, desperate to just stay alive. He spotted a few marked humans trying to hide behind the statues, only to be cornered and devoured, so he knew his first plan was out of the question. Suddenly, his eyes shot back to the bar, which only had the bartender behind it. Hopefully it'll make a safe hiding spot once he was gone. The ugly bastard seemed to have his attention focused solely on the scantily clad lady now, making him a perfect target for a surprise attack.

With a running start, Patches vaulted over the counter, grabbed an expensive-looking bottle of vodka from the shelf, and chucked it hard at the monster's head, hoping to cover it in glass and alcohol. In his now free hand, he pulled out the silver-plated zippo he'd nicked earlier and flicked it alight. It would have been a good time to just burn the damned creature right then, but he couldn't bring himself to do it while the bartender had the costumed lady in its grip. Instead, the thief grimaced and taunted the bartender, but kept the zippo alight. "Come on you ugly fucker, I still have to pay you back for sending me flying across the room!" (set bartender as target for Dodge)

[Cfavano]

The bartender howls in pain, and, getting away from Dani, lunges at Patches. "Fuck you, you skinny fucker!" He says, and slashes at him with his claws, which rips through patches's shirt, but he was able to keep from taking much damage as the claws slash his chest. (1 damage)

[Ma1chbox]

Just as planned, the bartender let go of its victim and came for Patches. He'd read right through the monster's movements, hopping back at just the right time. It seemed he had misjudged the distance by a few inches, though, as the monster managed to give him a few shallow flesh wounds across the chest. Patches yelped, doubling back in pain.

At this point, the adrenaline was already kicking in. Patches lunged at the bartender, knocking over some more expensive alcohol onto the floor as he went. He feigned a strong punch, but instead tucked in his arm at the last moment and let his momentum carry him past the monster and into relative safety. (Tumble) Now crouched in front of the lady the monster dropped, a safe distance from the spilled alcohol, Patches pitched the lit zippo like a fastball right into the bartender's chest.

[Undead_Fears]

Link smiled, happy to hear the praise. "Thank you! I try to be professional but I ramble a lot." At the mention of the party being strange, Link nodded and rubbed her arm. "Yeah, I don't like how I'm feeling... something just isn't right.." Before she could say anything else the music cut off quickly and all attention was on a robed man. As he spoke Link's nerves began to rise more and more, having had a similar nightmare with a figure like that.

She watched as the urn and basin rose from the ground. As the man began to speak she looked around, seeing other party goers chanting with him. As the chanting grew louder she felt anxiety begin to well up, beginning to see the nightmare monster she saw oh-so-often.

As the man slit his neck, Link held back a scream, knowing this performance was no stage act. As the figure rose from the ashes Link felt her heart go cold and her body go numb, becoming frightened of the events that would shortly follow. She then felt a painful sensation on her wrist, holding back a whimper as she looked to the burnt and bleeding symbol on her wrist. She could barely register what was going on before she looked up to see vampires all around her, fear flooding through her veins.

Before she could react she felt someone grab her from behind, trying to pull her down to feast upon her. She remembered the sharp metal accents she put on the ends of her nails, trying to slash at the person to let her go so she could get up and figure out a better way to handle the situation. (set attacker as target for Attack)