#w:jade

[natusvincere]

What If I'm the Monster (That's Been Here All Along) || Jade and Vic

TIMING: A few months ago, at the start of the surge LOCATION: Deersprings, just outside of Vic's home PARTIES:@highoctanegem and @natusvincere SUMMARY: In the middle of the night, Jade happens upon a very suspicious looking Vic, doing some very suspicious looking things. Jade tries to stop her before it's too late and Vic does something she'll regret forever. CONTENT WARNINGS: none!

Jade made it back from the cemetery around 3 a.m, a little earlier than usual. Was it a particularly good shift? Um, she pleaded the fifth. (It was a stinker, who was she kidding? She’d never pleaded the fifth in her life.) But at least she didn’t have to ponder on the few spawns that turned to dust under her stake and whether they also had the potential for goodness in them, cause she was home to her beautiful bone partner and her adorable fur babies and she could continue to act like she wasn’t a flop and the family disappointment all wrapped up in a cute baby blue ribbon (her favorite color).  

She was locking her motorcycle when she heard the shuffling steps near her. Jade glanced up at that, creeping closer to her delivery box on the back of her bike, where all the weapons for the night were stashed away. Now, who would be out so late at night just walking about in… Oh, never mind. Her suspicions deflated before it could even inflate, even. She wasn’t surprised to see that familiar figure pacing in the distance, not really. Vic, obviously. Doing the rounds or whatever she called her excuse for snooping around other neighbors. Jade rolled her eyes with a little more warmth than she should’ve considering what she was and what Vic was. (Extra proof that she was flopping left and right). One thing was being civil, another completely different was… this, being pals. Buddies. But that’s exactly what they’ve been doing, right?  

It was Vic’s fault, actually. Cause she was surprisingly funny despite being power hungry in a way that made all Karen hunker down in fear. Jade thought it was hilarious, and so the knowledge that she kept interacting with a vampire continued to slip to the back of her mind each time the other nagged her about something in the town’s code of conduct. And then there was Rosie. (There was Rosie, and it turned everything into a big ball of crappy). “Are you out here judging lawns again? Did you bring out the measuring tape? Cause we mowed ours like…” okay, she didn’t remember the last time, but it still looked cute and “proper” so, “never mind, we’re Gucci here. Nothing to see, except for my peppers. They’re growing super cute after the first batch,” she thumbed her garden, a proud grin blooming on her face. 

But Vic’s movements were a little… less refined than normal. Sus. Like her posture didn’t rise a perfect 90 degrees from the ground, and her hair was a little messier. If her eyes weren’t fooling her, she would’ve said she had just been talking to the woman quickly crossing the street. Jade had a joke about the other spending the night elsewhere and this being her walk of shame, but she held back, her skin prickling suddenly in that telltale undead way. “Um, what’s… going on?” Jade tilted her head, palming down her jeans to take inventory of her blades. Just in case. Vic didn’t usually ‘bleep’ for her, so this was super weird. Well, except for the first time they met, but Vic had gotten really good at charging her bracelet or whatever she had to do with it to remain hidden. So… what was this about? The vibes were incredibly off.

—

Vic never got hungry.  It was something she prided herself on: always being stocked up with enough spare, ethically sourced blood to keep herself fed. Even before Rosie, she had spent years perfecting ways to keep herself satiated, never having to worry about the what-ifs her monstrosity forced onto her.  And now, with the addition of Rosie, it was utterly imperative that she kept these systems up, maybe even three times as much as she had before.  And so she was never hungry; always in control.

That must have been why the shift felt so sudden.  Had she been in her right mind, she might have questioned it- the way bloodlust jolted through her like a shock, rather than the slow, gentle but growing gnawing that it should have been.  She would have known to go home, to use the blood neatly packed in the fridge in the basement, and then figure out the cause of the hunger and plan and replan until it never happened again.   

But she wasn’t in her right mind, not with the bloodlust, and what should have been a journey home turned into a hunt before she even realized what was happening.  The darkest parts of herself were enjoying it: the way it felt to creep behind the woman in the shadows who suspected something was amiss but chalked it up to superstition.  The way it felt to know she was the one instilling fear, the power it gave her, the satisfaction that would finally come when she sank her teeth into her neck. 

Then, all of a sudden, she heard this agitating, grating voice.  Jade was easy to ignore, most of the time.  Especially now, when her senses were hyper focused on the prize a few yards down the road.  “Ubers aren’t allowed on this street, Sweetheart”, she mumbled, watching the girl anxiously look down at her phone.  What the girl didn’t know would end up killing her, but Vic didn’t mind.

Ugh, but again, there was Jade, jabbering on about grass and goings-on and what not.  She shot her a look, her eyes flashing angrily.  “Do you mind?  You’re going to give my location away, you cretin.”  She shoved past Jade with her shoulder, the thrill of the hunt overtaking any semblance of social self-preservation she might have had left. 

—

Okay. Alright. Okay! Vic didn’t pass the vibe check. Jade had (reluctantly) come to enjoy a little bit of harmless bickering between two pseudoenemies. It was fun, and exciting. Vic could always keep up with a verbal smackdown, and she knew deep down there was a little bit of mutual respect after escaping that clan’s headquarters unscathed. So this? Threw Jade for a loop. Vic wasn’t normally this aggro with her. Not even when she passionately chastised her for the length of their grass. And she was never this creepy, approaching anyone who was caught misbehaving. For seemingly no reason.   

Unless… 

Even before she could reach a conclusion, before she could confirm the tiny little hunch itching her brain, Vic’s bloodshot eyes locked with hers and yup. That would do it. Shoot. First Metzli, now Vic. Randomly acting all erratic. And out of the two, this was way worser (worser, yup). Like, Metzli knew about control, but Vic was an entirely different ball game. She had contingency plans B,C,D all the way to Z. (And then probably like, the Greek letters, too). She was prepared. She had to, for Rosie. There wasn’t a shadow of a doubt in Jade’s mind that there was nothing more important than Rosie’s safety.

Nope, this was bad. Vic simply would’ve never let anyone catch her slipping. Let alone Jade, that would’ve been like, a humiliation ritual for her. “Cretin?” She scoffed when she got shoulder-checked, but Vic was out of her mind if she thought that would dissuade her of all people. And, the situation was still under control, for the most part. No need to overreact and scare the poor passersby. All she had to do was to keep Vic from pouncing on the lady. And what was she, if not an expert at distraction?

“Hey, don’t make me tackle you to the ground, Vicky…” she spoke lowly, mindful to make this look casual. “How expensive is that coat? There’s no point in ruining it,” she figured, if Vic had been in her right mind, that would’ve made for a decent argument. Maybe somewhere inside that bloodthirsty beast, she could still appeal to her fashionable self. “Come on, let’s get you back inside, granny,” she motioned toward Vic’s fancy mansion, while her hand inched closer to her belt, toward her trusted dagger. 

—

Vic cracked her neck right, then left, shaking out her shoulders to relieve any tension there.  Hunting required tact, skill, and concentration, and all three of those were completely muddled when a Bloodworth was nearby.  More like Bloodworthless.  “I’d like to see you try”, she snarled, not bothering to look away from her prey.  The woman, for her part, was still desperately tapping at her phone, as if an uber chariot were about to whisk her away to safety.  She almost laughed.  But then Jade was running her mouth again.

“I have more money than god, Sweetheart.”  The nickname was sarcastic, and sickeningly sweet.  “I’ll just buy a new one after my meal.  Rosie and I can be matchies.”  Rosie. Hmm?  Something was gnawing in the back of her mind about Rosie.  Was Rosie hungry too?  No matter.  She turned back to her prize, waiting for the perfect opportunity to go racing toward it. 

She had a plan, now, one her sire taught her in the beginning of the end.  Her slow, quiet stalking would end soon.  It would be replaced with a run at her top speed.  This left two options.  One, her victim would be so shocked by the sight of a woman running toward her at an alarming speed in the middle of the night that she’d freeze, and Vic would overtake her with ease.  Two, and much more appealingly, the woman would try to run.  It wouldn’t last long, of course, but there was always fun in the chase.

“You’re going to want to look away now, bestie”, she said, pulling off her coat.  Absolutely not because Jade was right or anything, just because it would impede her speed.  “This isn’t going to be pretty.”

—

The neck cracking was a little too much, wasn’t it? Jade appreciated the dramatics, the flair of it all, obviously. She’d be on the edge of her seat if this were a movie villain ready to strike. Sadly, she had yet to transition into a fictional world, so this meant Vic’s actions would have actual consequences on the poor lady who chose this night to grab an Uber near an out of control vampiress. She scoffed at the use of her least favorite pet name, almost positive that Vic was doing that exactly to egg her on. “Well, then… get three! That way we can all be matchies,” not that she wanted to be matchies with Vic. But matching baby Rose did sound all kinds of cute. Like one big coat and one tiny coat? Adorbs. That little girl needed someone cool to actually influence her.  

Vic was done chatting, though. (So no matchies?) Instead, she removed her coat and prepared to pounce. Jade let out an annoyed huff, cause Vic should’ve known better than to make it that much easier for Jade to tackle her. Like, she of all people should’ve known. Didn’t she see how good of a tackler she was when they stormed the warehouse? It was her signature move! She could’ve made it in the NFL. (You know, if she weren’t a woman, or three apples tall, or busy trying to save the world.) (But other than that? The world would’ve been her oyster.) 

And she was off. Moving with the intention of a predator, not a dainty suburban momma. She wasn’t surprised, by any means. She’d actually seen Vic transforming into an action hero (or villain?) before. That time she took down a buncha vampires on her own still lived rent-free in her head. (It was a really nice memory to have in the back of her head for when she was tempted to push Vic’s buttons a little harder than normal.) But right, there was a human in danger, and Jade still knew what she should do. She speedwalked first, almost like she was simply trying to catch up to her “friend”, but when it became impossible to disguise Vic’s action as anything but an attack, she sprinted toward her.    

She tackled her from behind, and their toppling to the ground didn’t sound pretty at all. Her knees got the brunt of it, not that she had much time to feel the pain, cause Vic wriggled underneath, ready to make her escape, barely thinking of anything but the sweet, sweet blood she wanted to drink. Speaking of! Amid the struggle, Jade got to look up and confirmed that the human, had in fact fled the scene after seeing the commotion. Good! Jade could see her scurrying in the distance. Until an elbow hit her face, that is. Right! Cause… Vic wasn’t deterred. And the prospect of chasing her prey was probably even more exciting for her.  

Jade knew she wouldn’t have much time to overpower Vic. Again, she remembered vividly how the other dealt with those vampires in the warehouse. Nope, she was not some frail Karen then, and she wouldn’t be now either if she was being controlled by some even more supernatural urge (s…urge) (wait, did she do something there?). She flipped Vic, trying to restrain her hands from aiming at her face again. Her legs pinned the woman to the ground, but it was hard to reduce Vic’s movements. She really was hungry, wasn’t she? “Rosie,” Jade gasped, right as a hand landed on her belly. Luckily Vic didn’t have that much range of motion to actually punch her there. “Rosie,” she repeated, hand reaching for her belt and plucking a… stake (cause…force of habit). She was conscious enough of her movement by the time she saw the wooden material. She would’ve preferred a knife. 

She knew not to plunge it right away. Instead, she pressed the pointy end to Vic’s chin. “Rosie,” she hoped this wasn’t like Bloody Mary, and saying three times ended up summoning the kid. Jade squeezed her legs tighter, her free hand still trying to swat away Vic’s attempts at… probably gouging her eyes or something. “Hey… hey. If she looked out her window, it would be her mom and auntie Jade just… frolicking in the front yard,” even if technically they were far away from any garden. But like, kids still counted tussling as playtime, right? “But if I let you go, if I… it’ll be her mommy covered in the blood of an innocent woman,” she pressed her stake deeper, not yet drawing blood. “This isn’t you,” and Jade actually burst into a cackle as the words left her lips. “I’m actually… not sure I’ve ever gotten to say that before,” she huffed, trying to blow a few loose strands of hair off her face. (Actually, a lot of their current position felt like fan service, also. But well, she was here to serve.) “You are the we have food at home type, what is this?” Jade knew what this was, though, she knew it was less about bloodthirst and more about the thrill of the hunt. Whatever those surges were, they were reducing supernatural folks to their most primal state. 

—

Speed was integral to her mission, but so was stealth.  Being sneaky wouldn’t get her anywhere if the target was able to slip away.  But still, alerting the woman to Vic’s presence would have the same damning effect.  This game of back and forth wasn’t new to Vic, and despite the centuries it’d been since she’d hunted down some lunch, getting back into it felt much like riding a bicycle.  It fit her, this quick, quiet pace, even as much as she tried to deny it all those years ago.  She could almost hear her sire’s antagonizing words in her ear.  For a moment, she stumbled.  It was something she would have been able to come back from, usually, but before she could right herself, she was being toppled to the ground.  

It didn’t take Vic long to figure out what happened, and even as they were tumbling down, she fought desperately to be freed of Jade’s grip. Most of the time, she was trying to forget Jade existed (at least, that’s what she told her), but forgetting her now was a serious miscalculation.  She’d admonish herself later.  For now, she needed to get out from under her, before her prize got away.  And her prize was definitely trying to get away.  She looked over with a grunt, realized Jade was doing the same, and reared back to elbow her in the face.  She’d have to thank Jade when she got free, because chasing the meal would make the outcome even more sweet.  She’d been waiting for this.

Ugh, Baby Bloodworth was strong.  She went to hit her again- maybe if Jade were knocked out she’d leave her alone for once.  She went for it once, and then twice, but Jade was dodging shots left and right, and it wasn’t long before her hands were incapacitated.  Then, she tried kicking, but there was only so much strength she could muster beneath her captor.  Jade would tire out eventually, she was sure, but Vic could smell her meal fading away, escaping further and further by the second, and she actually heard herself growl as she struggled to get free.

Maybe she would have gotten away.  Maybe she might have even done something awful to Jade, if it weren’t for the one word her captor uttered that gave her pause.  ‘Rosie’.  It was like a shock went through her body.  She barely registered the stake to her chin, only the thought of Rosie sleeping soundly in her new big-girl bed.  She blinked, and then what felt for the first time that night, she made eye contact with Jade.  Was this what it felt like when people talked about ��sobering up’?  And Jade was asking her questions, and nothing made any sense, and she felt a lump form in her throat.  What the fuck was she doing?

Everything that she’d been feeling- all those awful, monstrous feelings that had been surging through her, they were why she’d turned against vampires in the first place.  She hadn’t felt them since she’d first been turned, and even then, the blood never seemed nearly as satisfying as it felt just moments ago.  She shook her head and swallowed.  “Something’s wrong”, she croaked, her eyes finding the stake now.  “This isn’t… I wasn’t…   I just ate, after she went to bed”.  She looked toward Rosie’s window, her nightlight glowing softly above a perfectly manicured lawn.  “I was just taking the trash out when I saw her, I…”  Her eyes found Jade’s again, horror laced with confusion dancing through them.  “Jade, if you hadn’t stopped me, I might have…”  She couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence… she could barely bear the thought of it.

—

The third time was the charm. It was as if Jade had actually threatened to plunge the stake into her chest, judging by the striking difference on Vic’s face, now that her murderous daze was on the outs. The vampiric red in her eyes took on the darker shade of Vic’s regular eye color, and her expression became much easier to read: Shame, where pride had shone plenty of times before. This wasn’t exactly the type of humbling that Jade found entertaining. She removed her stake from Vic’s chin, preventing her from scratching herself when she shook her head in disbelief at her actions. And then came a rush of apologies, which Jade wanted none of. She understood too well, it had been ingrained in her even before she could do complicated math, that once a vampire lost control to their hunger, there wasn’t much that could be done to bring them back. 

“I know,” she appeased softly, words that sounded a lot more like, I believe you. Cause she did, didn’t she? Cause Jade knew the Spark Notes version of Vic’s story. Cause she’d betrayed her kind for decades, cause she despised what she’d become with a degree of self-hatred Jade could now sympathize with, cause she’d fought a swarm of vampires alongside her just for a chance to get back to her baby. Cause in her own, annoying way, she tried to make sure the neighborhood was a safer place for her Rosie to grow up in. Nuh uh, no way, Vic wouldn’t jeopardize any of her progress for one (nice as that lovely lady might have been) common meal. “Your bracelet is pinging again,” she warned her, cause… that was something she did now. Look after vampires. Cause there was an adorable baby not too far from where they were, who depended on this one vampire staying in one piece. And something about mothers or daughters, right? (She really wanted to call Ruby right about now, reasons unknown). 

She leaned back, sitting on the pavement while she gave Vic room to gather herself. She’d only gloat about besting her in combat when she confirmed that killer instinct was snuffed out for realsies. “It’s not the first time I’ve seen someone losing it either,” she huffed, stashing her skate back into a knife sheath. It made her own conflict a lot more layered, all the more tricky, didn’t it? Cause if she was abiding by the just harm what’s dangerous motto that was so far the consensus among those who didn’t want Jade to go full-on gay villain, then she had to consider whether or not those dangerous vampires were now victims of this strange surge. (Victims) (Thinking too much about the wording of things was gonna give her a headache). She watched Vic’s face go on a journey from confusion to disgust and finally settle in horror. Oh, okay. Yup, she got exactly what this could’ve meant for her. “Well, good thing I stopped you then, there’s no point in thinking about the what ifs, is there?” That was so rich of her considering how her daily mental monologue went these days, but Vic didn’t have to know she was a big ol’ hypocrite. She just had to look confident while saying it, and she’d buy it. 

“It’s done, over. You really should do something about your bracelet, though,” cause not every slayer Vic might encounter was a girlfailure tackling every moral dilemma there was to tackle. Some might actually be pretty decent at their jobs. Which wouldn’t be good for anybody involved. “I don’t think I feel comfortable leaving you yet,” Her mind briefly drifted to Metzli (ugh), and their encounter in the alley. It would’ve been wiser to stay there and make sure another surge didn’t get to them, but… her urge to bolt had been stronger that night. Here though, when her house wasn’t far, when Rosie was at the forefront of her mind, the way Vic would’ve wanted it, Jade figured she could do the whole… aftercare thing. (Probably also not call it that, but). “And like I was saying, you’re not the first vampire who snaps like this.” She hadn’t seen Metzli per se, but this painted a really good picture anyway. “Something’s going on… with the magic or something’s coming out from underneath, maybe fumes… who knows,” she shrugged, looking at Vic. “Maybe you might wanna use those HOA powers to get to the bottom of this.” 

—

Back when she was first turned, Vic would spend hours of destruction after her sire had goaded her into feeding.  It would cycle like this often- Vic with the monster instincts overtaking her and turning her into a murderer, the guilt and rage that came after manifesting in her destroying their home, or a local market, or anything she could get her hands on.  More guilt, more goading, more feeding.  And so on.  And she hated herself for all of it.  Now, as she sat under Jade, she couldn’t believe how quickly all of those feelings came back- how much her guilt over what she had almost done wanted to turn into rage and destruction.  How she had to fight, even now, to stop herself from ripping down the stop sign that sat ominously above them.  If only she’d seen that earlier.

But Jade said she knew, and was looking at her with eyes that help empathy instead of mocking, and Vic wanted to crumble away and cry.  She looked down at her bracelet at the mention of it, because of course it was, and sucked her teeth, her head falling back with annoyance.  “Is that how you found me, then?  Because you could sense me?” 

For some reason, the thought of that brought a whole wave of embarrassment over Vic.  She let herself adjust a little as Jade moved to the side.  She looked at her with confusion, waiting for clarification on what she meant.  Other people were freaking out too?  She looked around the street they were on, suddenly realizing how busy her last few nights had been.  “I’ve had to clean up way more supernatural bullshit this week than I think I ever have.  You don’t think… could it all be related?”

She sat up more, dusting her legs off and considering the possibility.  If something was affecting the supernatural beings in town and making them act erratically, that was certainly dangerous.  “You haven’t had any discussions about this in your Slayer newsletter or anything?  Or perhaps Bloodworths R Us?”  It wasn’t the time to be making jokes, but being so vulnerable with Jade for so long felt foreign and uncomfortable.  She had to change the tone.  But what if Jade hadn’t been there?  What if the loss of control had come up when she was inside, with Rosie, instead of outside with a stranger?  She swallowed, unsure, at Jade’s supposed optimism.

As much as she didn’t want to admit it, and as much as her embarrassment wanted Jade to go away, she knew she was probably right.  It was a bad idea for her to be alone right now.  She shook her head, standing up and offering Jade a hand to do the same.  “Well, regardless, we can’t sit out here on the grass together like a goddamn Hayley Kiyoko music video”, she said, citing her recent youtube fixation.  She wondered, briefly, how many vampires Jade was hanging out with.  “Your other friend… were they fine after their first snap?  If not, perhaps you should come in for some tea, just in case.  I’m sure your boney girlfriend would understand.”

There it was again, this idea that something might be going on with the supernatural.  She sucked in a breath, wondering what the consequences of that might be, or how she could solve it if it was clearly affecting her as well.  For the first time, she wished her home owner’s association actually had an association other than her.  “I’m going to need you to tell me if you see something like this happen again.  If it’s all connected, we need to know if there’s a trigger.”

—

“Actually, nope. Well, okay… sure, technically, your bracelet was the first warning. But it’s done that before and I haven’t followed you to see what you were up to, cause I could see you were still… you,” Jade gestured dramatically at Vic. Whatever that meant. “But now your whole body language was off. And not off like that time when you got mad cause our grass was point three inches too long, which is basically nothing, come on now. I mean… You were moving strange, like…” a predator she would’ve said. But she figured if anyone would get context clues, it would be one Victoria Larsson. She followed her line of sight, staring at the bracelet with a pensive look. Whatever power it had, the environment was affecting it. Or hijacking the reception. 

It turned out Vic had also become aware that something was definitely off with the town itself (even more off than usual), and Jade was gonna have to prod a little more to figure out exactly what Vic had seen or helped with. The same way she’d been asking Owen, or Eve, or even Metzli. This was totally gonna be a group project, as much as it sucked for some people. But she held off a beat cause Vic was trying to pull a classic Bloodworth move by lightening the mood with humor. And, okay, weird. A little Freaky Friday, but also, she got it. Vic had been caught red-handed doing something she shouldn’t have. Shame was eating away at her. Jade had been there before, when she promised not to touch the snacks until the movie was on, but she always caved. (All those freaking intro credits were way too long, okay?) (Oh, cause… nothing else had brought her shame this month, obviously.) (Yup).

But right, Vic made a quip, which Jade did find a little funny. “No way, the Slayer newsletter is mostly about different shades of black popping at any given time, cause you know how some love their goth aesthetic. I believe it’s obsidian this week for your information, by the way. Or the coolest stakes of the week, or even sometimes, some salacious stories about forbidden love,” she explained with a straight face. And Bloodworths R Us? Well, let’s just say that was a little harder to joke about. Especially considering the situation she’d found herself in, helping both human and undead. Prioritizing the undead in question, even. Nope, the sibs probably wouldn’t dig that too much. She wasn’t sure she even dug that, to a point. (A point that used to be the size of a planet but now felt like a little drop of obsidian black ink). Funny how that worked, actually (not funny, haha, mind you, but someone somewhere would find the humor in her conundrums), the way she’d been taught sympathy for those like Vic, who were saddled with a burden, a curse, a sentence. Those beliefs, those feelings ingrained in her mind and heart by the same people who would now look at her funny for acting on those feelings in a different way. For giving it a little twist. But actually, how much of that sympathy had been manufactured artificially, from fake materials, slathered like sauce all over the cause to try and conceal the real taste of duty. (And okay, she was hungry)(The food analogies had started).

Luckily, she didn’t have to think too long about the turntables, cause Vic had offered a hand to stand up, and Jade took it, ready to snap out of her daze. Her eyes lit up in a way that could’ve powered the entire street when she heard Vic’s reference. “WAIT! Did you actually go over the list I sent you?” she gasped, in a way that she knew would elicit an eyeroll from the other woman. But her excitement was too much to contain. She didn’t expect Vic to actually do anything about the list of queer artists and media she’d DMd her in an attempt push her into the 21st-century gay scene. (Cause the whole sad Victorian gay had its appeal (hello portrait of a lady on fire?) but it couldn't be the end all be all for Vic). And sure, she had wished for Vic to go the Chapell Roan way, but maybe she was too titillating for her yet. Baby steps. A win was a win. And those didn’t come around often for Jade these days. 

She pondered Vic’s offer of tea (tempting, cause she was hungry), but she actually didn’t know how Metzli had fared after she patched them up. “I’m not sure about following snaps.” They hadn’t mentioned any other surge right after, that was pretty much all she had. And it could always be the case that Metzli had hidden it, cause well, past beef. She turned to Vic with a devious smile. “But that’s really sweet of you to invite me to tea… at 3am. I’ll take it, you better have snacks though,” she shrugged, looking back at her motorcycle to make sure she’d left it parked correctly, then turned her attention to Vic. She burst into laughter at the bastardization of the term bone partner. “My bone partner won’t mind. But I’m texting her anyway. She’s probably asleep, but I miss her,” They hadn’t kissed in like… some hours. No one had ever suffered more than her in history, actually.

And so she tagged along behind Vic first, then in step with her toward her big fancy mansion. The knowledge that she continued to fraternize with undead weighed heavy on her shoulders, but a little lighter on her chest. 

[natusvincere]

Bloodbound Alliance, Pt. 2 || Jade and Vic

TIMING: Following Bloodbound alliance pt. 1 LOCATION: Storage room. PARTIES: @natusvincere & @highoctanegem SUMMARY: Jade and Vic find the time to hash out some differences. CONTENT WARNING: Medical blood (only references to part 1). Head trauma.

Recap of part 1: Jade shows up at a warehouse to investigate what shady things a clan of vampires is allegedly getting up to. Vic is also there, because she wants to leave behind her old perceptions of undead and is looking to make more friends. She heard good things about the folks hanging out there! Except, there wasn't much of a plan from either of them going into this. They end up working together to get inside despite their different purposes. Once they succeed, they go inside and leave their weapons behind, going around a very maze-y place looking for 'the main event'. Before they can reach it, Jade spots an open door, so obviously she goes to investigate, Vic tagging along. What she sees inside is not good, humans are hurt, and convinces her that action is needed immediately. Unfortunately, Vic has drawn the wrong kind of attention, so a group of vampires comes down to capture them. The two fight the vampires and when it looks like things are going well and they'll get to escape unscathed, Jade gets knocked unconscious. Vic is faced with a disadvantage in numbers, so she fares a similar fate. The pair are brought elsewhere, because they seem to be valuable to the clan…

Jade’s head was throbbing in a way it hadn’t since the Fall of 2013. Except, she was positive she hadn’t attended any college parties recently. So why, did it feel like something had split her head? Which actually, she knew exactly what that felt like, so for once she wasn’t being hyperbolic. (And nope, she wasn’t expanding on that in this particular episode). She blinked, sluggish, her eyelids resisting the effort and actually, she almost wanted to give in to that heaviness. Nap a little longer. And then she could get back to like, homework, or class or whatever was scheduled next. Why did the back of her head feel sticky?

Wait.

But didn’t she graduate like, six or seven years ago? Wasn’t she cruising the country with Roxie recently? Nope, wait a little longer. Didn’t Regan come back from Ireland a few weeks ago? Ooooh… was she waking up from a sex injury? (It would’ve been a good way to go, if that was the case. No doubt, no doubt). 

She willed her eyes open, just cause she had to make sure Regan knew she was up for round… what was it? That she only needed a beat, but the blurriness before her eyes gave way to… welp, definitely not the cabin. Huh. And Regan was also, definitely not around (she couldn’t smell her, what a crime). So she was back to being super confused. But then she felt a presence behind, a hard shoulder against hers. Jade tried to crane her neck to get a better look, but something restricted her free movement. 

Zip ties. (What?) Alright. Okay, The recap was finally ready to roll, and everything flashbacked so fast it almost made her dizzy. (It could totally be the headache’s fault, also). Crap. The warehouse, the vampires, the human blood bags. The dim-lit room she was currently stuck in. Fu…dge. She almost had those goons before she got knocked out, didn’t she? Even Penny was like, kicking a little butt, she thought they had it in the bag.

Except… Penny. That’s who she felt against her back. Captured, the both of them. So humiliating. Jade squirmed, trying to stir the other woman awake. If there was someone who would hate to be trapped with her, it would be Penny. So maybe, this wasn’t so bad. If only for the pettiness of it all. Ignoring her pain, Jade jumped straight to assessing their situation. If they hadn’t been killed yet, then they were a little bit important, right? (To the plot, always, but she meant like… for this particular clan). So they should take advantage of that and free themselves and then like… make a run for it. (She would head back to that room, with the two men being used as drinks for the night. And Penny could… do whatever she felt like doing) (Maybe in the scuffle she’d get staked… whoopsie!). 

She nudged Penny’s shoulder some more, finally waking her up from her beauty sleep. “Hi girly… So, guess what?” 

—

Vic had forgotten sleep.  Sweet, restful bliss, away from the world’s judgment and noise.  How long had it been since she actually slept- not just meditated or thought or stared at the ceiling until she counted every crack she saw there 100 times? But then- sleep never came without nightmares, not even when she was still alive, and the throbbing in her head told her this wouldn’t be any different.  Hadn’t she just recovered from a ton of injuries?  But, despite the threat of nightmares, she still didn’t want to succumb to waking up, not if the voice that was gnawing in the back of her mind was real.  It was like the worst, most annoying alarm. Worse than those cheery tunes, or even a foghorn. Perhaps a wake-up call from Jade was the nightmare in itself.  Why was Baby Bloodworth in her bedroom, anyway?

Maybe she could put Jade in a sleeper hold, shut her up for just a bit longer while the thoughts in her head sorted themselves out.  Yea, that would be nice.  Except Vic could barely move her hands and the realization that they were bound made her head shoot up, confused.  Suddenly, the events of their evening came flooding back to her, and Vic instinctively looked around the room they were in for a way out.  “How long have we been out?  I need to get back to R-...”

She stopped herself, rolling her eyes.  Jade still didn’t know either of their real names, and she preferred to keep it that way.  Especially when it came to Rosie.  As soon as the initial panic about her daughter washed through her, she was greeted with an undeniable scent behind her.  She forced her eyes closed to will away the temptation.  Should she tell Jade she was bleeding, or just let the unspoken linger between them? It must have been obvious to Jade, right?

“I guess that you’ve found a way to get us out of here, because I can’t think of another reason you would possibly think it appropriate to call me ‘girly’ in a situation like this.”  Her head ached, and she let it fall forward in frustration at the hopelessness she felt.    “I’m assuming your hands are bound too?”

—

Jade didn’t know who Penny had to get back to, but her brain was fully operational (eh…) by the time the other woman rolled that mysterious ‘r’. So did Penny have a partner too? Probably like, a husband. One of those who were never around but provided all the money. And wait, didn’t she mention something about a husband that time in the park? Right, yup, yup. The math was mathing. Vic had to get back to R…yan. And little Sammy too, obviously. Which, wasn’t it weird that Penny would first mention her guy and not her literal baby? But okay. She would've loved to get to the bottom of that ‘r’ mystery, but they had like… some other important things to get to. 

It was so funny that Jade couldn’t see Penny’s face, but still heard her eye roll. She stifled her laugh, just in case there was like, someone guarding the door. And she knew her laugh had a way of waking up creatures within a mile radius. So ya know, caution. She was so good at that, it was almost her middle name. (Who cared if she was currently captured with a vampire by her side?) “Well, it’s not like you’d let me call you babe, would you?” she argued, still twisting her neck trying to get a better look at Penny. The back of her head throbbed, reminding Jade of why, now that she had the whole picture. That one vampire knocked her out with a blow on the head. Was she bleeding? It felt like that. And it was a good thing that Penny probably hated her enough not to snack on her. Besides the whole, tasting a little rank for vampires. Sometimes, luck was really on her side.

“Yup. They tied us up,” Jade sighed, nonchalantly. In a display of great maturity, she held off from joking about the restraints. Penny might murder her on the spot if she did. And she kinda didn’t wanna get murdered. Not by the goons keeping them captive, nor the Karen trapped with her. She looked focused on her wrists, tied behind her back, trying to wiggle some space in them. They weren’t the normal kind of ties. Cause both of them could’ve gotten out of them with their enhanced strength, right? These were super tight, but she felt a little opening where she could insert a knife. She went over her remaining weapons in her head. She probably had the blade in the sole of her boots. And her stake, stashed… yup, she felt it. It was a pretty empty inventory, but maybe there was a way for them to escape before the big baddies came in to “talk” to them. 

“I’ll think of something,” she reassured Penny. (Not that… she didn’t care whatever emotions Penny was going through, she just felt like saying it. That was all). “But hey, if we’re alive… not that you… I mean, if they haven’t,” she whistled, to represent the slice of a knife, “it’s cause we’re still relevant somehow. They were… they mentioned a leak. We’re probably not the only ones trying to infiltrate this place,” and for good reason! She clicked her tongue, “why were you even here. Don’t you have like, a kid to protect from… all of this?” it was the most serious she’d heard her own voice sound in a long, long while. She felt no desire to access her endless supply of jokes with a human life on the line.

—

“Let’s get one thing straight.  You don’t call me anything.  That way we won’t have any confusion.”  At this point, Vic wasn’t even sure that Jade was aware she was given a pseudonym (probably not, if their conversations online were any giveaway). But it felt disingenuous to be asked to be called Penny, even though she definitely didn’t care about being disingenuous to a Bloodworth.  

Despite her activities as of late, Vic wasn’t exactly used to being in situations like this.  That was probably why Jade’s reassurance that she’d find them a way out felt sort of comforting, because a hoodlum like her definitely got into all sorts of shenanigans.  Of course she’d be able to find a way out, it was probably like riding a bike to her at this point.  But then, something Jade said brought a pit to her stomach, one that had been worming its way in since the weird looks from the crowd as they were walking in.  She’d been trying to ignore it, because it was easier than facing the inevitable, but now, with more time to think on what might be going on, she was thinking of the inkling of a possibility more and more.  “That’s actually… Our… my relevance to them worries me.”

At Jade’s question, Vic felt an anger rise through her chest, quicker than she anticipated.  She didn’t get to mention Rosie.  She didn’t get to question anything when it came to her child, because she knew nothing. “Who exactly do you think you are?  You think you just get to ask about her? You think you can make up nicknames for her and suddenly you know her?” It wasn’t lost to Vic that in Jade’s mind, Sammy had been the only thing she called her, but the ire she felt didn’t let her care.  “Mind your own goddamn business, Jade.” Jade had mentioned Rosie plenty of times before, on the internet, when they met at the park, but none of those mentions stung more than this.  Was there a worry, somewhere deep down, that Jade was right?  Because really, what was she doing here, trying to become friends with beings she had known up until three years ago were monsters?  How could she think involving herself with a group of them would have been a good idea?  Especially after what happened at the Keep?  Was her journey to self-redemption putting her child in danger in the long run?

—

As far as anger aimed at her this was like, expected. Warranted even. (Like it was growing up too, right?). Maybe one day Jade would like, sit down and really dig into why that reaction aimed at her rarely fazed her, but today wasn’t the day. Cause she had priorities. Plus, Penny was probably planning her murder and stuff. Maybe that would be incentive enough to get out of those ties. But anyway, this wasn’t about Penny, she could get killed for all she cared. (Honestly like, these vampires might do a better job than she could at this point). It wasn’t even about Jade, even. Or well, it was like twenty five percent about her, cause all things were. But it was mostly about the fact that she could never just mind her business, especially when there was a little girl in the middle of it.  

“I thought,” she began in a quiet voice, coaxing Penny to keep this contained. “I thought a woman who ran with her kid to safety the second a slayer was near would…” she exhaled, weird allergies prickling her nose. Was it so strange to imagine (or hope, really) that Penny might have been a better mom than this? Her head was really starting to hurt now, and she didn’t think it was cause of the blow. “I don’t get it, this. You, undead with a child. But… it’s not like I couldn’t see you loved Sammy that day in the park…” she had seen it, cause she used to yearn for that kinda look day and night. Or maybe, it had all been projection? “I thought it was real,” it still could be real, by the way Penny jumped to defend her baby’s privacy, but…

Again, Jade didn’t think she cared about the Penny of it all, cause that was a whole mess she hadn’t dealt with yet. This was about a kid’s main emotional support, and how reckless it was put that in jeopardy for what, cool vampire friends? “A little girl would want her mommy to come home safe, wouldn’t she?” She didn’t know. Those were the kind of scenarios that remained part of her imagination, instead of being her lived experience. She didn’t wanna think about her mom. But something stirred in her belly (the taco she had before coming here, probably. Nothing more).

She figured she was once that kid tossing anxiously in bed too, hunter juice making it extra hard to feel sleepy, waiting to hear the front door open each night Ruby went out to hunt. Only being able to close her eyes once she heard that click. Or sometimes, when her belly or her chest were bad enough, she’d sneak out downstairs to catch a glimpse of her eldest sister. (She was rarely covered in blood. Cause she was like, an actual beast of a slayer) (But also, what if she made sure to come back clean cause she knew her baby sister was waiting for her at home?).

And like, she hated being attacked by random memories she’d shoved so deep into the messy compartments of her mind. Why now? What about Penny’s actions could’ve possibly triggered it? 

Her point was, if Jade (unwanted Bloodworth spawn), had been enough for Ruby to make sure she wasn’t traumatized at a young age (at least in that front) (not that she was…anyway), wasn’t Sammy enough for Penny to wanna be the most careful person in the world? Wasn’t that little girl enough to wanna return home safe each night? Jade knew that guilt-tripping moms was like, so rude. Cause all of them, or well, most of them, tried their best. Nope, she wasn’t here to do that. (In fact, she couldn’t do what she was here for, since she was tied and all). But well, she was gonna be a little bit judgy. So she took the brunt of Penny simmering guilt, once she had she said her peace.

She didn’t think she wanted to linger too long on personal stuff anyway, cause like… one of those beefy vampires would come back and they would’ve had to be untied by then. “What did you mean… when you said you were worried about your relevance? Did you like, try to give ‘em citations for jaywalking or loitering or something?” Why would a murderous clan care that much about the picture perfect of a suburban mom. She had to be like, squeaky clean, right?

—

There was something strange rising within Vic at the words coming from Jade.  The feeling was deep and uncomfortable, something like a mix of guilt, shame, and stubborn pride.  Jade’s voice was low, in a way that almost felt taunting, and Vic felt her fists tense behind her, surely turning her knuckles white.  She slammed her feet down, a loud thump emanating from them.  She hated the feeling of being tied down, especially now, as her motherhood came into question… as her love for her daughter was made to seem like it was all for show.  Suddenly she whipped around, an impressive feat when her hands were still zip tied behind her.  

“It is real”, she insisted, unexpected tears pricking at the corner of her eyes.  Jade was playing a dangerous game, one she probably didn’t even realize, for these very thoughts had been plaguing at the inner workings of ’s nightmares ever since the moment Rosie was placed in her arms.  She knew, then, that a monster like her wasn’t capable of love, even if Rosie’s birth parents couldn’t see that at the time.  There was always a worry, then, that her selfishness was what decided to keep her, not the inability of other options that Vic had explored for months.  And even as Vic grew to realize that her species was not as inherently evil as she’d spent nearly three centuries believing, there was always a worry that some true nature might one day rear its head.  The most optimistic parts of her knew everything with parenting Rosie felt right, and fateful, and pure, but the most innate parts of her wondered when her nature would ruin it all.  

She heard the pop of the ziptie before her back before she even realized she had been pulling her hands apart in frustration and anger, dying to escape.  It was all she could do to stop herself from putting her hands around Jade’s neck, ending Jade’s outpouring of Vic’s own worst fears for good  (she would of, too, if she didn’t know they were probably being watched at every angle by their captors.  She kept her hands safely behind her back, for now).  “It’s easy to assume what I was doing here is incredibly wreckless when you think all vampires are a monolith of evil.  Trust me, I know exactly how you feel.  And how idiotically daft that point of view is.”

She wanted to scoff at Jade’s perception of who she was, but she realized the vibe she gave off since Rosie came into her life was exactly the opposite of beforehand.  As if citations for jaywalking was the worst she could do.  “Not quite.  It’s actually more likely that I betrayed their clan for money.”  She let the confession linger between them for a moment before she looked out the small window, trying to remember if any one of those vampires seemed even remotely familiar.  

—

Penny wasn’t too pleased with her assumptions, but at least Jade brought up like, an honest reaction out of her by questioning the love for her little girl. Or well, it felt honest anyway. (What could she know about honest motherly love, amirite?) “Okay…” she accepted, in an uncharacteristically small voice. What else was she supposed to say? That she had a funny way of showing it? Probably, but that opened a different can of worms and it didn’t change the fact that Jade knew Penny was being for realsies. They could sit there and point fingers at each other (metaphorically, cause their hands were tied), but it didn’t change the fact that they were stuck in some crappy storage room and they had to think about an escape plan. 

If something popped behind her, Jade didn’t register it, too busy rebutting Penny’s words. (Right, so much for coming up with an escape plan). “Evil and dangerous are two different things,” she pointed out, cause still, no matter what people thought of her, she firmly believed they were two different things. Maybe some vampires were both (like the ones currently keeping them captive), but all of them had the potential to be dangerous, whether they wanted it or not. And…UGH. She hated Van just a bit for planting the annoying seed in her head, but if she looked at it from the other perspective, wasn’t she also dangerous without meaning to be evil? (Some might even disagree on the second part! But she knew her heart). Penny talked like she understood what was going through her mind, which was all kinds of hilarious. Why would a vampire side with a hunter’s perspective? She was like, a little curious though. (Nosy, always nosy). “And, what…you can’t say trust me and not spill a nugget or two of lore.”

She kept wiggling her wrist, finding a little bit of space, but not enough for anything, really. Plus, there was still the fact that they were behind her back, so she couldn’t exactly see what was going on. And her head… oh, it was pounding so hard now. She wished she could close her eyes a bit and just take a little nap. Would that be so bad? Penny distracted her from all that with some vital info about why she suspected she was relevant to this clan. Jade’s eyebrows shot up (her head went ouch). Well, well, well… “Oh. That’s totally juicy,” she agreed with a smirk, realizing that they were definitely in a pickle now. They wouldn’t be able to pass as two innocent ladies stumbling into the wrong place. “There’s more to you than meets the eye then, huh?” So like, did she scam vampires to save for Sammy’s college fund or something? She admired that. Did that mean, paired with her other comments, that she was against vampires? So what, was this infiltration her trying to stop what they were doing? Suddenly, Penny was a lot more interesting.

Jade hoped she dumped as much helpful info on her as quickly as she could, cause she was pretty sure there were footsteps approaching outside. 

—

Jade backed down, and Vic nodded, satisfied.  It was better for everyone when Jade minded her own goddamned business, herself included, apparently.  But there she was, digging again.  This time, Jade’s questions didn’t feel judgemental, not like the ones she was asking about Rosie.  Plus, there was less shame built around what she was about to divulge, maybe because there was a small part of her that still believed in it all.  “You know the majority of us didn’t ask to be turned”, she started, shaking her head.  How could she tactfully explain without making herself vulnerable?  “My whole life felt like a prison, from maybe even before I can remember, and I was so ready for release, from… well, from the world”. The confession felt embarrassing to say out loud, because someone like Jade was not meant to know the deep down, secret parts of her.  “And then I was turned and ushered into a prison even worse than before.  You heard stories about monsters, you know?  Stealing people away in the middle of the night and draining them of their life for fun, but you don’t understand the thoughts that go through your head when you’re desperate to feed, or what it looks like when someone actually enjoys someone else’s misery.”

Vic knew the words she was saying were only confirming what Jade thought to be true about vampires, but she needed her to know just how much she understood.  “My sire was not kind.”  There was nothing else to say on the matter, because it was a simple fact.  “...and through her teachings I knew what evil creatures vampires were.  Myself included.  There was nothing to describe them except as a monstrosity.”  It was still hard, even now, for Vic to refer to vampires as ‘us’.

She watched Jade, curious how she was reacting to this new information, knowing it might be a shock.  These days, most people saw Vic as a curmudgeon, stay at home mother.  And maybe she liked it that way, because what she was before was much worse.  “I spent about 10 years under my Sire’s thumb before I decided to do something to make the world a better place. After I …got rid of her…”, she wondered, briefly and ridiculously, if Jade might think that bit of information was cool, “...I spent the next 200 years or so charming vampires and then selling them out to slayers.  It’s how I met your sister, actually.  I don’t know if she even knew I was one of them.”  That, for some reason, made her chuckle, despite the guilt she felt about all the damage she’d done now.  “But then I arrived in Wicked’s Rest.  And this town has a weird fucking way of making you question everything you’ve ever believed, doesn’t it?”

—

Of course Jade knew nobody asked to be turned (but maybe there was a niche for that kinda people), like duh… it was one of the first lessons Onyx ever imparted. Literally the 101. No human deserved the fate of unlife. And they shouldn’t be judged for what they’d done in order to survive. Mercy. It should always be about mercy. She’d grown up with acute sympathy for the horrors undead endured in their transformation and the ways the beast slowly peeled away what made them human, what made them safe. To be reduced to a monster that only craved blood and couldn’t be reasoned with? Jade always felt super bad about it. So obviously, why wouldn’t she want to help those who suffered? Her family could do it. They’d been doing it for decades and decades. Preventing others from falling into the curse of unlife. So, despite what she may or may not be feeling about the Bloodworth approach (the jury was still out), she knew culling would always be needed. Protecting humankind would never be out of the equation. 

Jade sympathized with the human Penny was before all of this, wondering how crappy life could’ve been for her to wish… if she was born centuries ago, then probably pretty stinky. Like, probably Taco bell didn’t exist back then. Or indoor plumbing. And it sounded like she’d gone through a bit of self-hate journey too, the way lots of undead did. She got that too (or maybe she thought she did. At this point, nothing fell in line with what she was taught at a young age). The words coming out of Penny’s mouth were laced with a hatred she rarely heard verbalized. Jade had seen it, in the eyes of those that turned to dust with the swipe of her stake. She’d made a habit of forgiving those who’d committed atrocities before her weapon halted their second chance at life. (Cause it was her duty, right? Cause, despite everything, undead didn’t deserve to go hating themselves). 

The mention of a sire brought Metzli into her mind (and that whole mess with Chuy), but thankfully only for a beat, cause Penny’s tea was piping hot and she couldn’t be focusing on other unrelated stuff (there were enough mental tabs already opened, like the one playing Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting). About three things Jade was absolutely positive. First, Penny was a vampire. Second, she killed her sire. And third, she sold vampire secrets and boned her sister. Whew. That last one felt like a sucker punch. (And not the underrated Snyder gem from 2011). She bristled, cause welp, she wished she could erase the part about her sister from her memory, but if she had been able to turn around she would’ve regarded Penny with a proud look over the rest. “Okay, I’m not gonna pretend like you snitching on vampires wasn’t cool, I mean… it probably made our jobs way easier. So thank you” What changed? She didn’t ask cause… Sammy happened, so everything changed. For some, a child’s love was worth changing your ways. For some, a child's love could break centuries of tragedy and horrors.

Penny’s final question felt like a prompt, though. Like sure, why don’t we make our potentially last minutes on earth a super introspective affair? No thanksies. Regrets? Zero. None. (MMA came to mind) (Not mixed martial arts; Monty, Mack, Ariadne). She’d never questioned anything she’d ever believed in, not until… forget it. So she was not down for this lore-dropping session, as much as her nosy butt was gobbling all the juicy nuggets Penny offered. Plus, they had to focus on how Penny’s actions kinda put them in a super bad position with their captors. The footsteps continued echoing closer and closer, until a sharp twist of the knob revealed a brand new foe. He looked far less human than any other vampire they stumbled into so far, and he had all of the vibes of a true villain. Pale skin with a gray hue that was two months away from growing scales, and eyes sunken so deep Regan would’ve loved how much he resembled a cadaver. A shiver would’ve run up her spine if she was the kinda person who experienced fear, but it didn’t, cause she wasn’t. Instead, she pressed her back closer to Penny’s, evaluating their situation. 

“Vic Larsson. A traitor of your caliber... crawling back for forgiveness?” Um, Jade’s eyebrows pinched together in confusion. Did they grab the wrong person? Penny’s twin or something? “Or is it intel you’re after? You always find yourself within the right crow…” he sneered, barely casting a glance at Jade. And she was starting to feel a little bit like a secondary character in her own story. “Haven’t you filled your pockets selling our kind to slayer scum enough to last you a few lifetimes?”

The math was… She was pretty sure she got the wrong exercise, but she was working it out anyway. Penny was Vic. Super clever to go with a false name, if she said so herself. The vampire boss dragged a metallic chair toward them and took a seat. “Was it you, who sold our secrets to the highest bidder at that trashy hunter bar?” A leak. Right… they mentioned a leak earlier. So like, did they suspect Penny slash… Vic was to blame? Wait! Was Jade literally here cause of a wrong place wrong time type of thingy? Could she claim innocence then? She was literally just vibing right now, but the vampire had it for Penny, a long, yucky finger tracing the lady’s cheek to taunt her. “It’s time you finally understand that betrayal of your proportions has consequences”. 

—

Vic was straying off topic, because what she really wanted to was to make one thing clear to Jade, who was probably going to find what she was about to say totally counter to all that she’d revealed before.  “We didn’t ask to be turned.  But that doesn’t mean we should have to die for it.”  And Jade definitely would have answered, too.  This might have been a huge aha moment for Baby Bloodworth, the kind that took Vic nearly 7 years in Wicked’s Rest to come too, but before her epiphany could arise, their captors did.

Her full name (her real name, the one that Jade hadn’t yet associated her with) sent a particular kind of pit to her stomach, especially when accompanied with such a familiar voice.  And suddenly, everything started to come flooding back.  Vic, when she had just arrived in Wicked’s Rest, had a particularly easy time gathering information from this clan, so much so that she had heard how many of them had fallen victim to slayers thanks to her information, she’d walked around town with a proud smile for nearly a month afterwards.  Now, after nearly 10 years, their deaths were just a drop in the bucket to the ocean of guilt Vic was carrying around.  It was no wonder that she’d forgotten about them.

But it was no wonder those who were left remembered her.

But as the information came back into focus, a million thoughts were running through Vic’s head.  She’d found the clan herself, in a much smaller location, after overhearing conversations at the slayer bar she was working at.  She’d been welcomed in fairly quickly by a group of misfits who thought she was their friend.  The leader, Simon, she was remembering, had sired a few of them, but the rest had come from all around to admire his viciousness.  He was not good, not for anyone, and there was no doubt that those under his thumb feared him.  He liked to walk around with a stake hanging from his belt, ending someone’s afterlife at a moment’s notice just for inconveniencing him.  Her eyes flashed to it now, his fear tactic clearly unchanged.  When she sold their information at the bar, he was meant to be the main target, but Simon managed to get away with a few stragglers.  Vic had never heard about them again, so she assumed they’d migrated somewhere far away with their tails between their legs and a lesson about humanity, but she was realizing now they had been taking up the time to once again grow in numbers… and in brutality.  Even more alarming than the memory of the stories, though, was this: 

When she’d first been invited to the clan, she’d given a fake last name.  She knew so, because she made a habit out of it after some dicey situations back in Europe using her real one. But Simon came in, confident as ever, and called her Vic Larsson.  If he knew her real last name, that meant that they had been studying her.  And if they were studying her, then there was no chance they didn’t know about Rosie.

She didn’t let her face change as she processed all of this information.  Instead, she stared ahead, stoic as ever, like she’d trained herself to do for years.  Behind her back, she wrung her fingers together, twisting and pulling to stop herself from showing even a trace of emotion. She stared ahead even as Simon’s disgusting finger traced her cheek, willing herself not to pull away and back towards Jade.  Simon was a powerful figure, one who was used to people cowering to him, so her assumed apathy must have pissed him off.  “Of course, if you’re not ready to atone for your sins, we could always send for the little one to come and join us, couldn’t we?”

Vic’s eyes shot to Simon’s, wild and enraged, and he smirked, pleased with himself.  “Ahh, yes.  I think that will do just fine, won’t it?  What was her name again?  Ros-?” 

Simon didn’t get a chance to finish. With a yell, Vic yanked the ,metal chair out from under him, effectively sending him toppling to the floor without a moment’s notice.  She held the chair in the air, climbing on top of Simon and whacking him over the head with it a few times.  She didn’t have much power over him other than surprise, so she used it to her advantage.  Vic could hear herself grunting, uttering threats in both Swedish and English, but she sounded more like a wild animal.  From behind the door, she could hear his followers clamoring to get inside.  Just as the door opened and they came barreling in, she reached for his stake, now strewn on the floor, ripped it from his belt, and stabbed it right through Simon’s heart..  

He turned to dust beneath her in a flash, but before she had time to celebrate, she was being attacked from all sides by the others who’d poured into the room.  At first, she felt like she was effectively fighting them off- a whack thrown to her right, or a well placed kick to her left, but it didn’t take long for them to overpower her.  She scratched at their faces and pushed at their chests, but it was becoming clear rather quickly that she could not fight them all.

—

Jade was positive she had just witnessed one of those, ‘top ten displays of the indomitable human spirit’ or whatever. Like the ones where the adrenaline rush hits so hard it makes people stop cars, fight a bear, or leap Olympic levels distances to save someone. She had been piecing the rest of the puzzle (Mr. Vampire and Penny went way back, and not only that, he had tabs on her kid) (Who was also not called Sammy, apparently) when all of a sudden, Penny pounced on him like a wild animal, clattering to the ground like something that came out of Animal Geographic. She went full mama bear on him, but not only that, she had her WWE routine locked in, bursting with that metallic chair that was only missing John’s Cena’s intro to make the real deal. Jade was pretty sure none of this would've happened if he hadn’t brought up her child. And like, she had questioned how deeply Penny or, um, Vic could love her child like five minutes ago, but this? Just unaltered rage fueled by love? Yup, she knew this. She’d felt this, not too long ago, and she knew there was nothing and no one who could rival that kinda energy. (She would’ve murdered Regan’s granny, if she’d ever been given the chance).

As if it wasn’t already clear that Penny was not a suburban mommy cosplaying as a Karen, she had to go on and maul the guy. She was as deadly as the rest of her kind, and she handled her enemy like he was a wuss who just turned yesterday and not a dude two meals away from sitting at the elder table. If Jade were a person who knew when to feel fear (or well, if she hadn’t desensitized herself to the point where nothing scared her), this would’ve been it. She watched Penny climb on top of the vampire, howling threats in a different language that she didn’t get but actually did get, in a way, by the grit in her tone, and then snapping him into dust in the blink of an eye. Thanos got nothing on her. Geez. Jade was shook for longer than it was wise. Cause another flock of vampires was quickly approaching and she couldn’t be tied when they came. The problem was, she had nothing to cut her ties with. And Penny was a little too busy with the incoming group to give her a hand and untie her. So… should she try going all hulk on it? It seemed to have worked with Penny…

The vampires barrelled in while she was trying to snap the ties, sparing basically one look at her before pouncing on Penny. Jade stopped fussing, and got thinking instead. Couldn’t she just… get away with this? Like, she had zero stakes (haha) in this after all. It was Penny the goons were after. Penny would be dealt with, Jade could play dumb and pretend she had no clue what was going on. And return another time to tackle the big fish frying downstairs. Cause right now, only one of them looked totally guilty of what they were being accused of. 

Jade couldn’t make peace with that plan though, as sour as her relationship with Penny was. Cause there was a kid involved. A little girl, waiting for her mommy to come home safe and sound. And little girls? Oh, they loved their mothers in the most visceral of ways. Even when said mothers couldn't love them in return. Little Sammy was lucky hers was willing to fight tooth and nails to get back to her. And Jade couldn’t be the person who took that from Sammy forever, even as ugly jealousy simmered in her chest. (She couldn’t stop herself from realizing she had been that person before) (How many Sammys had been left waiting for their loved ones before Jade turned them into dust?) (Wasn’t that a little sick and twisted?) She’d vowed to protect humankind, right? Tonight, at least, that looked like defending one vampire with everything she had.

Fine. Fine. She would deal with the moral conundrum later, provided they made it out. 

Somewhere in the scuffle, Vic had lost the stake and it had rolled on the floor. Jade dragged her butt toward it, concealing it behind her, ready for grasp once she got out of her ties. “Help!” She cried out at the vampire closest to her, who had a very obvious blade poking out of the sheath on his belt. He looked like a lackey, anyway. Cause the big guns were all up in Vic’s business. And she was being a total girl boss about it, but that wasn’t gonna last long. When she got his attention, Jade pouted. “She like, went totally crazy… I told her not to go all stabby! I thought she was cool with you guys,” she scooted on the floor, a demanding look on her face. “I don’t wanna be stuck with this crazy chick. If you wanna murder me, fine. But can you do it in a different room? Somewhere with a better vibe, please? You kinda owe me after hitting me in the head for her crimes.” The vampire had no clue what to do with her, it was a little funny (if Vic’s pained groans weren’t totally distracting she would’ve had more fun with it), but he leaned down to help her stand either way. And when he did? The epic fighting music finally blasted in her head. 

With a pop, the ties flew off her wrist and Jade lunged forward, pushing the vampire to the ground with her palm pressed down his chest, keeping him in position. It felt a little bit like a flopping fish, with her legs tied and all, but anyway, she took the knife from his sheath and stabbed him in the throat, sinking the blade to the hilt. He gargled in pain, blood pouring out of his mouth, while Jade seized the stake behind her. Two beats later the piece of wood struck his heart, a pile of fine dust the only evidence he was ever there. There was no time to take a breather, cause her little trick garnered some attention (as it should). She cut the ties on her ankles and twisted just in time to face the second vampire surging toward her. The stake sank deep in his chest an inch before he could shove her to the ground. The problem was, that dust from his body exploding went up her lungs and mouth, and she choked on it. 

A third vampire took advantage and tackled her. Her eyes were irritated, a blur of tears while her enemy climbed on top of her. She evaded the incoming blade, but it whistled right next to her ear. (Whew, that would’ve resulted in a weird haircut). Her palm hit the other’s wrist, disarming her and using the momentum to roll them over. The woman clawed at Jade’s arms, then her shoulders and finally tried gouging her eyes. Jade managed to avoid the most serious cuts with decent success (it was her face on the line, nothing was more important than that), but tiny little bright stars twinkled before her where the woman had put pressure on before Jade could grab her hands and pin them over her head. She palmed her pockets for the… Oh crap, Vic’s stake had slipped out at some point.    

She still had one, though. Her fingers slipped under her shirt, to the bewilderment of the woman below her, finding the secret fold quickly and pulling out the stake as smoothly as she could without poking herself. (Was it possibly a safety hazard? Maybe) (Was it comfy? No freaking way, but who was laughing now, huh?).

The vampire was laughing a little bit, actually. Jade kinda appreciated the theatrics. “You keep following us around, don’t you?” The vampire spat in a taunting rasp. Huh? Okay, pause. “You won’t be getting out of this one. Should’ve stayed in Roseville where they can bail you out, you little—” And Jade kinda wished in that moment that slaying wasn’t so mechanical, cause her body moved on its own accord, hand already in motion, stake gripped tightly as it sank down between the woman’s ribs before she could finish that sentence. 

She jumped to her feet, shaky for more reasons than the blood dripping down her temple. What did that mean? A blast from the past, obviously, but she had no idea who she just… wait! Vic.

Vic was pinned to the wall with a knife to her throat, needing two whole vampires to reduce her movement (okay, girly!). As much as Jade wanted to sit down and start drawing an L-Word type chart of connections, it was kinda a little inconvenient right now. So she reluctantly put a pin in her own issues to go help… nope, she didn’t wanna finish that sentence. Just cause she was doing it, it didn’t mean she was proud of it, or had the conviction to voice it more than once. Think of Sammy, was the only incentive Jade needed and it was a powerful one. She stepped toward the trio, with a knife in one hand and the stake in the other. It was a good thing Vic was still putting on a show, cause it allowed Jade to slip undetected. The knife slammed forcefully into one of the vampire’s sides, and when he predictably flinched in pain, offering a lot more of his flank to Jade, she struck where she was meant to, reducing the number of active rivals down to one. (And a half. Vic was… She… Something)  

She ducked to avoid the incoming jab from the final vampire, who had to decide between keeping her knife right against Vic’s throat, or using it to kill Jade. Obviously, she ended up going for the cutie with the wooden weapon, cause some people just hated to see her win, but Jade was ready for it. (Head pounding miserably, breath catching every now and then) (But ready for it). This vampire wanted a little more of a fight, she was obviously of higher ranking in whatever hierarchy they had in this warehouse. Jade neutralized the precise swings of the knife, absorbed the hard punches and kicks, looking for an opening to strike. And when she least expected it? Vic came from behind providing a chokehold that turned Jade’s job into a piece of cake. The dust that filled the room might as well feel like confetti for Jade when she plunged her stake one last time.  

She panted, trying and failing to suppress the celebratory smile as she glanced at Vic. Fine, it was a little badass of them. She didn’t have to make a big deal out of it. Not that there was any time to unpack what had just gone down in the storage room, cause the music was still blasting in her head, danger was still right around the corner, literally, steps approaching in a hurry. “Barricade the door,” she heaved, picking up the metallic chair, and pointing at the desk behind them. 

—

Beneath the chaos, Vic couldn’t do more than flail aimlessly.  What had, at first, felt like a fight she was winning was quickly turning into an overwhelming mess of limbs seeking vengeance for her crimes.  She could take one or two people at a time, sure, but six or seven?  There was a moment, small and fleeting, where she almost let them win.  It would be easy to stop fighting, to let them overtake her, to let them think they won (and maybe they should have, because she deserved it).  But then she thought about the ‘puppy’ pancake kit Rosie had picked out, waiting at home for breakfast tomorrow, and the load of laundry in the dryer still waiting to be folded, and the sweet, strong, baby girl that had no one else in the world but her.  There was not another moment of doubt or submission from Vic after that.

Especially not when it seemed like the numbers attacking her were actually dwindling, even if only slightly.  Jade must have done something to warrant her attackers (or said something to warrant them, because boy did she know how to invite annoyance), but not surprisingly, she was handling them with a sort of athletic grace only a trained hunter could manage.  For a moment, Vic’s thoughts flashed back to Rosie, and the slayer blood that flowed through her.  But the badassery, and the fact that less vampires were on her, spurred a new surge of energy within her. 

She felt around on the floor with her free hand, looking for the forgotten stake, the other busy grabbing a vampire’s ponytail from above her and using it to pull his head down hard against the cement. Apparently with enough force to knock the weakling out.  She couldn’t help but grin at the victory as she turned over to stand up.  It would have been cause for celebration, too, if four hands hadn’t grabbed her before she could have and slammed her against the wall, one pressing a knife to her throat. Shit.

Now these vampires, she recognized.  They had been around for a long time, since well before she’d infiltrated their lot, but they weren’t part of the original group she’d manipulated.  Instead, these two always seemed to have it out for her, and were (rightfully) suspicious from the moment she entered Simon’s graces.  The years had not been kind to them.  “If I could remember your names, I’d ask if you’ve heard of this incredible modern invention called skincare”, she spat, her chin rising higher to avoid the sharp coolness of the blade.  In her peripheral vision, she could see Jade overcoming yet another fight, and (after an apparent millisecond of hesitation), walking toward them with an expression Vic didn’t quite recognize.

As they briefly made eye contact, Vic couldn’t help but wonder- was she joining Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum in their revenge quest, or was she coming to save the day?

She figured it wouldn’t hurt to be optimistic for once (what she was about to say would be really embarrassing if she was wrong).

“It’s a shame my buddies didn’t finish the job here all those years ago when they had the chance, but I guess Bad Breath Bertha gets to take care of that now”, she hissed.  And in the knick of time, Jade proved her optimism right (thank GOD), and took down Tweedle Dum faster than she realized who Bad Breath Bertha even was.  With one of her captors dead and the other distracted, Vic used the free moment to look around the room, for an out- or for anything that might grant them one, when she noticed a grate in the corner wall, one that had been hidden by the care she maimed Simon with earlier.

When she looked to tell Jade the good news, she was reminded that they were, in fact, still in a fight, and it didn’t look like Jade was doing too hot either.  Without hesitation (embarrassing), Vic jumped on the vampire’s back, wrapping an arm around his neck and giving Jade an out to finally finish the job.

She hated that her first reaction was to smirk as she and Jade finally looked at each other.  Should they hug?  High five?  Someone really needed to write a book about the proper way to react when your lifelong (okay, 5 months-long) enemy suddenly became the most adept fighting partner you ever had.  

Before Jade’s instructions even came, Vic heard more footsteps trying to cautiously approach them, and she knew instantly what they had to do.   “No”, she said, getting to work on her other task, the one that might actually get them out of there for good.  “You do it”.

She didn’t wait to see if Jade got to work, instead going over to the small grate, yanking at it to no avail.  She looked around the chaos the fight had left behind, spotted a wrench, and whacked the grate as hard as she could, finally watching as it bent to her will (what was this, Half Life?).  She whacked it again and again, until the grate was so warped that she could pull it out easily.  She peaked inside, seeing a vent system with seemingly no end.  But it didn’t smell bad, and she swore she could hear water running on the other end of it.  

Taking the wrench, she went back over to Jade, helping her lift a table and a few more chairs in front of the door, buying them at least a few extra minutes of thugs trying to figure out the best way through.  With a grunt, she forced the wrench between the door handle and the door, an smiled proudly at their work.  “You work fast”, she complimented, then gestured toward their exit.  

“Hope you can swim…” she said.  Truthfully, she had no idea what was waiting for them at the end of the vent… weather it b a disgusting river of waste, a dirty old highway, or even the rest of Jade’s Bloodworth crew.  Anything had to be better than this.  She gestured for Jade to start crawling through, figuring it’d be better if she were in the back, in case the thugs happened to get through and figure out where they went.  The question, though, would be if Jade would go for her plan.

—

It would’ve been so freaking easy to overreact when Penny (Vic, get with the program) told her no. Like, getting snippy with each other was just how their dynamic went. That didn’t change cause Jade kept a few pointy stakes away from her. But she trusted the process, trusted that if Vic said no, it was cause there was another option that would save her life. She trusted the vampire’s survival instinct (which, given she’d lasted a few centuries, it must’ve been a good one) (far better than hers). So when the woman went her own way, Jade turned to the task of barricading the door. She got the chair, then stacked a few boxes on top and around it. All in all, they got lucky it was a storage room. Cause she got as many things as she could against the door. Even the small little decorative cactus on top of the desk. 

Behind her, she could hear Vic struggling with something. Something that required physical strength by the sounds of it. Jade glanced back just once, and spotted Vic whacking something in the corner. Did she find an exit? See? Trust the process. She might dislike Vic just a little less right now, actually. Cause they had a chance to get out, potentially. She didn’t know what was on the other side of the grate, but it had to be better than nothing. Better than being stuck in a storage room letting time pass until another flock of vampires got the best of them. So she continued throwing everything she found at the door. It would take minutes for whoever came around to push it open. A few minutes were all she and Vic needed anyway. 

Something metallic clattered to the ground, and Jade knew Vic had slammed the grate open. Which was further confirmed when Vic rushed to the door and helped her with the table. The wrench was forced into the door handle, adding a few extra seconds to stop the incoming crowd. She was so deep in slayer mode that she didn’t even register Vic’s compliment until a few beats later, when they moved toward the grate. “Well duh, you were… pretty okay out there too, or whatever” she shrugged, hand waving whatever warm moment Vic was trying to launch, cause they were about to be stuck in some sort of small space together for the foreseeable future. She didn’t want things to feel weirder than they should. (She wasn’t fooling anyone anymore. Not even herself, which was… tragic) (But she was knee deep in a life or dead type of quest right now and she didn’t wanna unpack everything she was doing for another vampire).

She peered into the hole, seeing nothing but darkness ahead. And some splish splash very, very far in the distance. Vic was guessing the same thing as her. “I wish I’d know… I would’ve brought my hottest swimsuit,” she sighed dramatically, pausing when she realized Vic wanted her to go first. Jade was not stupid, and again… she couldn’t fool herself anymore. A few months ago (actually, even a few weeks ago) she would’ve joked about how Vic wanted Jade to go first cause that way, she could be the first to face a potential death at the end of the vent. Obviously. Cause Vic was a coward or whatever she would’ve said then. Now though, having seen the other woman fight her own kind to get back to her daughter, she couldn’t see her decision to go last as anything but a protective measure. Which was… ew. So weird, why would… Why did she have to think about this stuff? It was also stupid, anyway. Cause… didn’t Vic’s life have way more meaning than Jade’s? Despite her lack of heartbeat, she was the one with the white picket fence, and cute hallmark life. Zara Larsson’s Symphony probably played in the background too, with the gay dolphins and the rainbows.  

“Fine, don’t stare at my butt, though,” she grumbled with an eyeroll, just as a loud thud came from the other side of the door. Shoot. Jade kneeled and began crawling down the vent. “And put the grate back on, at least it’ll give us another few seconds before they figure it out,” she pointed out, slipping inside with ease. It was hard not to think about worms wiggling their way to freedom. Which made her think of Regan, which spur her on to get back home as fast as she could. They both had something important waiting for them. And, despite what she’d been led to believe her whole life, she thought it was fair that both of them got to have it. (Just this once, for the record. It was called an exception. Her D was still…functioning) (Three exceptions still counted as exceptions, right?). She heard Vic behind her, trying to seal back the vent as best as possible with the whacked grate. Meanwhile, the sounds of struggle from the vampires trying to get in intensified. But that didn’t matter anymore. Jade tasted victory, the soundtrack in her head had skipped forward from fight scene to escape montage. And they were off…To what was probably going to be a super wet landing. But that was alright, that was all good. Jade preferred it that way.