ic Meeting the Master

[Tiffany Korta]

Lucy stroked the cover of the book it felt like leather of some sort, though book like this was traditionally bound in more esoteric things normally human skin. She had some dealing which such necromantic matters, though thankfully mostly for good purposes.

“So our Vampire Master wishes to start again, maybe he should convert to Hinduism. I know some people who might help.†She gave a smile “I might be new to the 21st Century but I’m not green, I know enough about this book to know the risks. Did you expect a reward for dealing with his troublesome get?â€

[Supercape]

GM

The ancient butler gave a smile.

"I see you are astute and cautious. As far as religion goes, I believe the Master has studied every religion, madam. He has certainly had the time to do so. And I believe he has had little to suck, if you pardon the phrase, from theology. At least the conventional kinds..."

He dusted of the tome in front of him.

"As for this book, if you wish to peruse it, you are welcome to. You are right to be cautious. It is dangerous. But it is also his notebook. The choice is yours..." he shrugged.

"And as for you being troublesome. I don't believe you have caused him any trouble. I believe he finds you more and more fascinating. At least, since your return..."

"But if you do not wish to view his writings, perhaps you wish to view his work? there is more to see...."

[Tiffany Korta]

She still wasn’t quite sure about the ancient Butler. HE seemed to want to help, but he was still loyal to his Master. Still he was her only way to try to find out the Master plan, if only by reading between the lines.

The book offered some clues, but it was dangerous and would take time to digest all the details. And she wasn’t sure exactly how long she had before the Master would return, he might be here already. Plus she knew people that could make much more sense of the book than she ever could.

“I want to see it all, but for now the book can wait. Why don’t you show me what else he’s been up to?â€

[Supercape]

GM

"Certainly. I don't blame you..." he said, his voice trailing off, perhaps with a flicker of dissapointment. He put the book away, carefully.

At a slow pace, for the man seemed to have difficult walking, he took Revenant to the side of the complex, and once there, typed a number into a keypad. A panel slid open.

"Extra security..." he said, as he waved an arm showing Revenant the additional room.

"I am afraid this is where I say goodbye. The chamber beyond is dangerous. It is where the Master experiments on the dead, the living, and the souls in between. It is, I understand, the work of his tome made real. It is why this chamber is sealed off, and I am afraid that I have no desire to enter here today. I hope you understand...." he smiled generously.

"The door code is 1383. I believe it is the Year of the Masters Birth. His second birth that is...."

[Tiffany Korta]

Lucy gave the Butler a friendly smile. “Thank you for all you help. I do appreciate it.â€

She couldn’t help but feel a slight pang of guilt at tricking the old man, even if he was probably tricking her as well. From the little she had learned about the Master she hoped he wouldn’t punish the old man. It helped a little that she couldn’t shake the feeling that the Master was still playing her and she was doing exactly what he wanted.

Taking an unnecessary breath, as a way of calming herself, she typed in the code and went through the door mulling aver this new fact about the Master.

[Supercape]

GM

The secret room within a secret room was made of reinforced steel. It had abandoned the slick interior of the research area...whatever this cordoned off complex was for, it was built so that nothing could easily get in. Or more importantly, out.

The lighting was dim. Whilst not pitch black, there was only a soft, pale blue-purple glow, faint and dull, making it hard to see anything. Revenant could only make out forms. Grisly forms, corpses, restraints...tools...medical equipment....

In the centre of the room were a few chairs. She could just make out some figures in them, and one around them...

[Supercape]

GM

...

"Well wot do I have 'ere? De lil' missy?" laughed the familiar voice.

The Hiatian was no different, dressed in a white suit, with white shoes, bald, and blazing black eyes. He had that look of wiry strength, both skinny and healthy at the same time.

"De Bossman says you would be droppin bye to see De wares...com, com, see de work...it fascinatin!" he said, beckonin her close.

"I bin dancin' wit' the spirits of de dead a long time, lil' missy. I bin' seein' some strange stuff, like yerself. And you get me all curious. And then de Bossman com a-knockin'. Well, he says he wants to be a learnin' from me. And I guess he did, but truth be aways that I be learnin' more from him. And everybody knows that be so...com...com...."

He showed Revenant the four men strapped to chairs. They were alive, with shallow, hollow breathing, and a thin film of sweat. They had pipes and tubings, of arcane and mysterious nature, tied to them.

"Distillin' of de life' 'tis but de other side of death. See, 'de master not interested in death. He interested in life!"

[Tiffany Korta]

She had been dreading the Haitians returned, her own Faustian deal that hung over here every time she did a good deed.

“I’d like to say it’s nice to see you, but that would be a lie. I though his impromptu takeover attempt has your smell about it. So the Master wants to become a real boy, and you’re more than happy to help him.â€

She made a few steps toward cautious that he could be as much a threat as the Master. She wanted to release the poor souls that the Haitian was experimenting on, but right now wasn’t the time.

“You know I never did get your name or a name at least. You and this master, you both have me at a disadvantage.â€

[Supercape]

GM

The Hiatian gave her a toothy smile, with perfect pearly white teeth.

"You and me both, lil' mis deady!" he grinned "I don't know his name, and I guessin' he be to full of de smarts to give it to somebody like me".

He grew serious for a moment. This was a man full of confidence, who had clearly faced down some powerful forces in his time.

"I a strong man, missy, and I a smart man. I not Baron Samedi, but I not a parlour trick man makin up lies and usin' de smoke and de mirrors. Dis you know..." he said, referring to their previous encounter.

"You can call me Mr. White..." he said with a bow.

"But I tell you dis' I know de ways. I know how to move de spirits and dance de dreams. And I look into many eyes, many souls, and I look back at them, and say - you not scare me! I have de wits over you!"

He gazed at Revenant long and hard.

"I tell you this Little Miss Deady. The Master, I no play him for a fool. I no mess with him. All I do is give him what he wan' and hope he don' mess with me!"

"And as for you guessin what he be wantin' de Master, he be like de Onion. You peel one layer away, there is only another underneath. He be interesting in de life, but I don' be thinkin' he wanna be just a normal life. 'Im, 'e never be jes' normal..."

[Tiffany Korta]

“You probably know more about him than I do, Mr White, but I suspect he wouldn’t put himself into a position where he would become weaker. It’s ironic that that’s the exact circumstances that lead to my birth.†She gave a grim little smile

“But I suspect you see thing much the same way, you obviously drawn to people of power. So which are you a prisoner of circumstance like Nora or a willing participant like Stoneheart?â€

She wandered around the room try to look as innocent as possible, all the will looking at Mr White’s victims for a way to free them from there bounds.

[Supercape]

GM

"I am, let us say, interested...." say Mr. White.

"Perhaps you could say I am a bit of both. He asked me to help, and, I, knowing of 'im, felt inclined to say yes..." he smiled, almost hissing. His teeth really were as pearly white as his eyes.

"He is a genius, and I don't say that lightly, little miss dead. He borned you, and that was no little trick. As for Nora, and Stoneheart, the first was just a flawed first draft, all the power, non of the finesse. The last, had both, but something was missing. The soul, you see....I think he may be a thinkin' you had that, even if you was a flawed in other ways..."

"And he wants to get it right..." he pointed at the men. They were strapped down in leather, faint, perhaps drugged, perhaps from loss of blood, perhaps from loss of something more esoteric.

"The dead, you see..." he smiled. "The thing about the dead, is they ain't livin' and that be what he wants...."

He fingered the tubes that belched and swirled, draining the men.

"And that's be what he is takin'!"

[Tiffany Korta]

“I think we differ on whether I’m flawed or not. I see them as strength’s not weaknesses. Then again I’m seen some dead people who are full of life, and some alive people who were dead inside.â€

She took a position behind one of the chair, away from Mr White, and casually observed how the victim was bound.

“That’s the problem sometime with book learning; you forget that there are people involved. And people tend to break the rules, you’ve got a whole city full of rule breakers right outside the door.†Despite herself she gave a little smile “You know I’m caught at a bit of a conundrum. You know I’m going to have to stop you, but whilst he’s bad, this Master is almost family. So there is a part of me hope he’s in some way redeemable.†Her face took a grim look “And I haven’t forgotten our deal.â€

[Supercape]

GM

"You see, I always have da plan..." he grinned at Revenant at the mention of their pact. He actually seemed to quite like her.

"I will be walking out of here, if I see the need. One of three, one of three. But methinks not to be so hasty just yet...." he grinned.

"The deal was you let me walks away if I asked, and I'm not asking quite yet!" he said, clicking his fingers in a jocular fashion.

"Shall we see what these men can do. You see, wit' me, and others, it all about life, or death. There be no inbetweenin... I make de dead dance, and they keep movin sometimes, but dat don't mean they not dead. Now de Master, you see, he bin' at a 'ole new level. For 'im, you see, e' balancin' it. Walkin' d'line, dis' way and dat..." he chuckled.

"Not nobody I knows can do that, no me, not Samedi, not nobody. But that's him, you see, he always comes at from a new angle!"

"So, let's see what de men can do..." he said eagerly, unstrapping the barely breathing victims from their chairs...

[Tiffany Korta]

Revenant face was still grim, she wasn’t really a fan of Mr White. Mostly because of the deal she had to make. Despite herself she still held the faint hope she could somehow talk her out of this situation, though she suspect she’d have to take more direct action.

“Just because something hasn’t been done doesn’t mean it should be done. The century I missed is filled with horrible things that shouldn’t have been tried.†Despite herself she had to know exactly what was happening “So what have you done to these people?â€

[Supercape]

GM

"Me?" smiled Mr. White, showing his pearly whites.

"I ain't done nothing. The master tho', I think e'is distillin!" he said, a long finger pointing at a bubbling piece of chemical glassware that connected up to the four men. In it, there was...something, not quite blood. Not quite liquid even. More like a ghostly ooze.

He snapped his fingers and the four men jolted up, a swift spark of electricity hitting them all through the chair.

"I be guessin he would quite like to inspect his wares too. And I don't mean these stiffs!" he said, looking straight at Revenant.

"I be thinkin he wantin to be strappin you down and takin' a good look!" he said, pointing at her.

Almost in unison, the four men turned, as if drugged, and lurched towards Revenant.

[Tiffany Korta]

She carefully backed up into the corner, making sure she had all five of them in her sights.

“You see that the problem with great minds, they tend to see in black and white while the world is shades of grey.†She shook her head sadly “The thing is I would have allowed him to examine me, I’m as curious as he is as to what exactly my nature is.â€

She crouched down keeping them all in sight.

“And maybe some of my weaknesses, my compassion and my humanity, would have rubbed off on him. Oh well I guess this is where we find how the mighty fall.â€

At with that she hit the floor with all her strength sending shockwaves through the ground.

[Supercape]

GM

The mighty shockwave crushed the ground beneath her, denting and splintering the concrete. Everyone was tossed inot the air, and three of the men landed squarely on their backside.

Mr. White landed on his feet, more by luck than judgement, and looked rattled.

The alchemical apparatus was also thrown up, and what comes up must come down. It shattered on the floor, releasing the ethereal ichor it contained into the air.

Revenant could only describe it as concentrated life, the pale green fumes infusing her. It would perhaps be invogating to an alive person, to her it was like a wrench, hurting and searing her as it burn on her skin.

As the Zombies picked themselves up and lurched towards her, also burning with the life-ichor, Mr. White sidled off to the door.

"Master won' be happy with that..." he said, worry crossing his face. He gave Revenant an evil stare, and she could feel her limbs seized with a deaden weight under his gaze...

[Tiffany Korta]

It was rare these days to feel pain and it seemed to have a strange reaction on Lucy giving her a rush if energy not unlike adrenaline. Maybe she was more alive than either of them thought?

Using her new found energy she spun around laying into the four zombies, only to find that they were tougher than she reckoned with. Part of her wanted to chase after Mr White and attempt to throttle him, but ironically she was worried about these pitiful creatures. They seemed to be affected by the glop almost as much as she was.

“If you leave right now that counts, and I’m one step closer to taking you down.†She couldn’t help but smile at that thought.

[Supercape]

GM

“If you leave right now that counts, and I’m one step closer to taking you down.â€

Mr. White spun round just as he was about to leave earshot through the doorway.

"Bah! I was hoping little miss dead wouldn't be saying that....!" he cursed, stamping his foot in irritation.

"I best be cleanin' up this mess 'den, stop de Master getting all upset...so you best be stoppin...stoppin!" he continued, giving Revenant a glare with his bulging white eyes. Once again, she could feel his psychic force threading itself into her limbs, making them feel leaden and slow.

Meanwhile the four men, burning in the ichor, neither alive nor dead (or rather, struggling between the two), lurched in a crude but fast way at Revenant, their limbs full of power and speed but not, fortunately, elegance.

[Tiffany Korta]

Now she had the measure of these “zombies†she found facing them a much easier prospect. With a series of blows she managed to dispatch the four foes making sure she scooped each on onto her shoulder. She didn’t want to see these poor thing destroyed until she knew there was no hope for them.

She then stood there looking at Mr White a wicked little look on her face.

“Well it look like I broke all your toys. And in a minute I’m going to come over there. So now it’s your choice how do you want this to end?†her voice had little malice but contained her normal stubborn determination.

[Supercape]

GM

“Well it look like I broke all your toys. And in a minute I’m going to come over there. So now it’s your choice how do you want this to end?â€

Mr. White looked angry for a moment, but then broke in a laugh.

"Dem aint my toys anyway, little miss deady!" he chuckled, his guffaw whole hearted and almost infectious. "Ah mey have played wit' dem, but I no man 'o books like de Master...I know what 'e do is wrong, even by my standards. I play and dance wit' de souls of de dead, de spirits...I bring 'dem back, I swap em round, but de dead stay dead and the livin' stay livin' and 'dats de way of it. 'Im..." he jerked a finger upwards to the Masters house "...'E dances a step to far even for me, even for 'de Gods of Death demselves...the voudoun will not be likin' his dances..."

He flashed a broad beautiful white smile.

"I am growin' to like you, little miss deady, even if you are dead. Ahn now, I think I be walking away, jes' like we agreed...I gets to walk away three times, and 'de number of the walking be three. So 'dis be the first time, little miss deady, and sum'tin tells me 'wont be de last!"

He laughed long and hard, as the ichor around the basement chamber flared and evaporated.

[Tiffany Korta]

After making sure that the poor creature were safe from harm, and that if they woke up they couldn’t harm her, she considered what to do next.

Her first thought was the book that the butler had pointed out and she actually moved over to the book case to look for the tome. Then a thought came to mind someone like the Master, who considered himself a master strategist who liked to control everything, wouldn’t allow an encounter to happen at random. NO he would be around somewhere monitoring the entire situation. To the room at large she declared

“So how did I do, am I up to high standards?â€

If it didn’t work well no one was around to hear her, and there were always other options.

[Supercape]

GM

There was no answer, just the echo of her voice in the halls.

Mr. White shrugged at Revenant.

"I think he gone, little miss deady...." he said, a smile on his lips. "But I reckon 'e got a good look at you and what you could do, eh?"

He strolled around quietly in the main underground chamber, and picked up a white envelope, with a carefully written "2" on it.

"This be for you, I guess? if you want to be openin' it...." he asked, chuckling to himself.

"De Master, always one step ahead. I know 'dis, I know if I dance wit' him, I end up checkmate..." he said, resigned to his fate.

The letter, Revenant was sure, had not been there before.

[Tiffany Korta]

Yup he was an old master manipulator, next time she’d have work on that.

“Oh I thought you’d cleared off already.†She snatched the letter from Mr Whites hand “I’m feeling generous so I suggest you leave now. Unless you want to try again, but you already walked away so that would count.†Suddenly he didn’t seem that important.

She sat herself down in the corner looking at the envelope Mr White all but forgotten. What exactly would he write, did she want to know?

Lucy cursed herself, how could this man she barely knew have so much power over her. Was it that important to know everything couldn’t she just be happy with what she knew?

As she went through this she almost automatically opened the envelope and took out the letter.

[Supercape]

GM

Dear Ms. Harker

It was a delight to finally meet you, in your current form. Of course, I am more than familiar with you, having been instrumental in your creation.

You have already met my other works. Nora was just the first draft, a whimsical experiment. Flawed, but useful.

The good lady Stoneheart was next, a perfection of form, all strength and wit, but this time I had gone too far, her soul lost.

In retrospect, it seemed that you were the best balance I had achieved, having retained something of your life within your dead shell.

Do not take this as insult. I have lived long, and lived hard. I tired long ago of the petty plots and intrigues of life. The tiny insects that crawl upon this earth, build its cities, its monuments, its art, and live, and die, and breed, are of no matter to me.

What I am, is dead. I embraced the power this gave me but I know that I am hollow. I wish life to flow through me once again, real emotions rather than the shadowed imitations that now flicker in me. But then, I am not willing to become just a man. I want something more.

You may be the key to that, you may not. It seems you may be my greatest prize but also my worst foe. I have thus kept to observing you, carefully. And today, I met you, and you lived up to all my expectations. I watched you save a man on the street. A petty thing, but telling.

Forgive my guise. I gave my real butler the day off. A valuable and loyal servant, and not without his uses. Today, I took his place, and greeted you into my house, watching you all the time wearing the face of the poor elderly butler.

Yes, you have much to learn in the art of subterfuge. And I have forgotten more than you will ever know...

Your disruption of my experiments is not without regret, but then, I can continue to observe you. I begin to grow convinced that the secret lies within you...