{{Continued from: Click here }}


A love song to put you in the mood.  

Relax... it's over, you belong to me I fill your mouth with dirt
Relax... it's over, you can never leave I take your second digit with me...
Love...
You are... my first, I can barely breathe I find you fascinating
You are... my favorite, lay you down to sleep It's all that I can do to stop...
Love...
So blue... so broken, paper doll decays I haven't left you yet
So cold... subversive, your eyes are full of bleach
Tomorrow, I will go away again...
Love...      it cuts us.... no...               you can't leave....






YOU ARE MINE, YOU WILL ALWAYS BE MINE
I CAN TEAR YOU APART
I CAN RECOMBINE YOU
ALL I WANT IS TO COVET YOU ALL
YOU BELONG TO ME
I WILL KILL YOU TO LOVE YOU. (love)

don't look at me...        don't....
             SHUT UP!!
I..can.. smell you on me...
I told you.
You'll live forever.
                        We'll live forever

I fucking told you...  

--Last edited by Mister Hyde on 2008-12-01 21:19:39 --

We're home now my love. Do you like what I have done with the place? I know you can't see it, but I have lit candles for you, and exotic incenses. Drawn pictures for you in my own blood. I found all of this in an old book, written when the world was young, and still believed in love. You believed in love once. Do you remember?

Are you listening? I know you can hear me. But are you listening?

If I would only allow you, you would cause me to destroy myself. I have done things that you could not even fathom, only to expand my threshold of pain, to be able to endure your excruciating love. But even my monumental endurance has its limits.  As much as I would like to believe that neither of us ever intended for this journey to lead where it has, honestly, it no longer matters, because here is where we are, and things can never be the same. There is no going back, the Rubicon is crossed, and now we find ourselves tenuously clinging to a precipice, my love, from which both of us cannot possibly return.

I have tried my love, you cannot deny me that. You told me once that you would always be there when I needed you. That you would never lie to me. Never bare your soul to anyone else. I understand. You just weren't strong enough. But I can be strong for us both. Do what must be done. You leave me no choice but to erase you. To destroy you utterly so that you may be rebuilt. You have proven to me that you cannot do this on your own.

It's okay. I will help you. I can make it possible for you to keep your promises.

I wish I could tell you that this was not going to hurt. But that would be untrue. This is going to hurt more than anything you have ever suffered before, or will again. But it is for the best. Perhaps you will even thank me for it someday.

He remembers almost nothing from the red haze of their battle, he can scarcely recall how they got back here. But the why, the why he remembers all too well.

The stage is set, the room is sealed. Hyde has been meticulously studying the printouts of the ritual he unearthed at the Chantry, he does not really understand the significance of the objects, symbols, words, and gestures the ritual calls for, but he knows enough about the occult to understand that the Will is often all that matters. He has faithfully copied the drawings to scale upon the floor, and placed Beauty's body where the tome demanded. Strange powders and candles burn at key points along the intricate symbols painted around her in blood.

“Everything is ready. My labor of love is nearly complete. Things will soon be as they ought to have been long ago. You and I will become as one. Intertwined for eternity. Our souls inseparable.”

Intoning the last of the strange and blasphemous phrases from the paper he holds, Hyde kneels at Beauty's side, tenderly caressing her face one last time as he turns her head away, exposing the unbroken side of her long neck and sinking his fangs into her flesh. He swears that for just a moment, he can hear her screaming.

11-28 13:37:49 Mister Hyde rolls 7 dice to Ritual (Diff 9) 4,9,7,4,4, 10,2  (2 successes)
11:48:18Mister Hyde rolls 4 dice to Diablarie (Diff 9) 2,4,6,4 (failure) [+5 Potence = 5 Successes]

Hyde drinks as the tome instructed him to, though it is not blood he receives but his Elder's very Soul. With it comes a sensation unlike any other he has ever experienced, more powerful than drinking her venerable blood by easily a thousand fold. Yet the experience has only just begun.

Time ceases to exist as he is drowned in a deluge of memories from a life many decades longer than his own. His head feels as though it will split open, pushed far beyond its capacity, the agony becomes so intense that it gives way to ecstasy unfathomable and back again as the rapture continues. It is as though he were living her entire life -both her centuries as Kindred and her score of years as Kine- all condensed into a single moment. Every failure, every triumph, every shed tear, and every smile slowly become a part of him as the ocean softly, ceaselessly, laps away at the shore, stealing away seemingly insignificant morsels with each breaking crest.

When the tidal wave of experiences mercifully subsides, Hyde finds himself on his hands and knees, hovering over the ashen outline of what once was Beauty, still draped in her tattered black silk dress. He does not know how long he has knelt here. Was it days? Weeks? As he begins to rise from the floor, he realizes that all of the candles still burn, it was only minutes. He reaches down, sullenly grasping the delicate fabric of her dress and slowly lifting it up as the ashes pour out from inside it. For several minutes he works the fabric through his rough hands before deciding he will use it to patch the gaping hole that shotgun blasted in the tattered coat he wears everywhere. The one right where his heart should be.

Everything else, the candles, the incense, what is left of her, he gathers up and tosses into the fire smoldering in his forge. Staring into the rising flames, he speaks to her as though she were right next to him.

“Well, Ol' girl, I am positively famished. 'Ow bout you? Whot say we go an' find ourselves somethin' ta nosh, ay? Maybe then we can go 'bout lookin' in on some'a this hob-nobbing whot's goin' on tonight.”

A voice echoes through Hyde's haven in answer, but it is not Beauty's.

"You'll have to forgive me for putting a kink in your plans Mr. Edwards, but you have a prior engagement."

Standing in the archway leading to Hyde's sleeping chamber is a man with copper skin, a neatly trimmed, white-flecked beard and an outrageously expensive looking black silk suit. A man who was not there only a moment ago. The room is still sealed tight, as far as Hyde can tell.

Hyde slowly turns toward the direction of the man's voice, one eyebrow arched as he scrutinizes the trespasser from head to toe. Had someone taken him by surprise elsewhere, he would surely have launched immediately into an attack; if someone goes to enough trouble to get the drop on Hyde, he can think of no circumstance in which their actions would be benign.

But here? In his Haven? Hyde figures this guy must be really, really good to have made it here at all, much less escaped detection. And he could easily have taken a shot while Hyde was busy chewing on his Elder. So there must be a reason he gave away his advantage just to chit-chat. Unless he didn't actually give it away.

Hyde knows this much at least: the man standing before him not only knows what Hyde is and is unafraid, but he is most likely a witness to Hyde's heinous crime.

This, when added to Hyde's paranoia, territoriality, and nearly empty stomach will make for an altogether unfriendly disposition.

"Listen 'ere chum, I ain't in no mood fer silly games. You only spit out one mouthful of words an' already yer wrong on three counts:"

He illustrates by tallying of each of them on his massive hands, extending and pointing to a new finger with each enumeration. "Me name ain't Edwards, it's Hyde. I ain't got no prior engagement. An' no, I ain't got to forgive you."

Lacing his open fingers together he then arches his hands, the sound of his cracking knuckles is like snapping a bundle of dry sticks.

12-05 12:58:43 Mister Hyde rolls 8 dice to Intimidate 8,5,7,9,3, 4,9,1 ( 3 successes)

"You got about thirty seconds ta convince me why I shouldn't rip yer arms n' legs off."

2008-12-05 13:02:21 Lethargg rolls 10 dice to Not Impressed 6,5,8,4,3, 3,2,7,7,10,6 (6 successes)

The stranger looks somewhat bored with Hyde's brutish display, nonchalantly grooming his fingernails as he leans upon the archway.

“Well, now. Haven't we grown quite brave over the years? You were little more than a sniveling weakling when last we spoke. I can understand you not recognizing me. After all, I wore a different suit for that particular occasion, and I suppose it was a long time ago. At least by your reckoning. Although, just for the record, it is you who are wrong. Your name is Edwards. Henry Albert Edwards, to be exact. And you do indeed have a prior engagement, here and now, with me. But I will concede that you cannot be forced to forgive me. Even so, two out of three leaves me the victor.”

A smug, cruel grin slithers across the man's face for a moment.

“But this is beside the point, and my thirty seconds are nearly up. I am here because we made a contract, one hundred thirty three years, three months, three days, three hours, and...” He looks at his wristwatch before returning his eyes to Hyde. “Thirty three seconds ago. That contract has now been fulfilled. I, am here to collect what is owed.”

He searches Hyde's face for acknowledgment, when he finds it the cruel smile returns, this time nearly splitting his face in two.

"That's not possible." He finally stutters out, his mind reeling with the implications of this man's words. Back then, he never gave a second thought to their meeting, in truth he had nearly forgotten it altogether, but with all that he has seen and learned in the thirteen decades since, the particulars of their conversation suddenly weigh upon him worse than the burden of Atlas. But denial can fix anything. Can't it?

“I don't believe you.” Hyde says, matter-of-factly. 'But let's assume, for the sake of argument, that I do.”

For the sake of speeding this along, we're going over to transcrïpt style.
------------------------------------------------------------

Lethargg:  “Oh, do let's.”

Hyde:  “You are not the man I went to meet, the man who made me what I am now. If you were, I'd see right through your disguise.”

Lethargg:  “I made no such claim.”

Hyde:  “Then who exactly are you claiming to be? What other 'contract' you are referring to?”

Lethargg:  “Really Mr. Edwards, is your memory so poor? Do you not recall our first encounter at the British Museum? I remember it as though it were yesterday.” He reclines his head in a mock-nostalgic gesture. “I remember you lurking in the shadows, spying on an assortment of gentlemen belonging to a certain stone-cutter's guild as they ogled over a new artifact on display. I remember you saying that you would give anything, anything at all for a chance to prove yourself to them. I remember you groveling at their feet like a beaten cur, begging and sniveling.”

Hyde:  “Him? The Guildmaster? You are claiming to be that sorry sonovabitch?”

Lethargg:  “Not as such. Though I did convince him to allow you into the initiation rites.”

Hyde:  “You mean the time they let me in, tortured me for hours, coerced me into making ridiculous pledges, ridiculed me and then threw me out?” Hyde asks sarcastically.

Lethargg:  “I was not aware that you had been there more than once.” The dark man replies, just as sarcastically, obviously enjoying this game.

Hyde:  “You are not very good at giving straight answers are you?”

Lethargg:  “I would submit that it is you who are not very good at asking questions.”

Hyde:  “Right.” He reaches up, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Who the Hell are you?”

Lethargg:  “The Hell, you say? How ironic.” The smile returns, once again.

Hyde:  “...” Hyde simply stares back, with a look on his face which implies that the man is still talking in circles.

Lethargg:  “Spare me the glare, I already know how this conversation ends, so I am simply enjoying the art of conversation. I don't get out much, you'll have to indulge my eccentricity. I always feel a little out of sorts when I borrow a suit.” He says, looking at his hands. “To answer your question, I, am whom you made those 'ridiculous' pledges to. You made a vow, upon your immortal Soul, in exchange for temporal power. I have upheld my end of the bargain, and I am calling in your debt.”

Hyde:  “Ha! So, let me get this straight. You are telling me that you are the Devil, that I made some sort of deal with you, and that you are here to collect my soul? Hogwash! Forgetting for the moment how utterly preposterous that is, what exactly is it that I got out of this deal?”

Lethargg:  “You really don't remember, do you? You are more screwed up than I imagined. Still, I would have thought that it would have made a better impression on you. But I digress. No, I am not 'the' Devil, and what you got, Mister Edwards, is precisely what you asked for, to the letter.”

Hyde:  “I doubt that very much. I do not recall asking to be a hideous freak, or  requesting a life of pain, torment, and misery.”

Lethargg:  “Let me remind you then, what you wanted, and I am quoting here, was:” His voice shifts suddenly, becoming an exact duplicate of Hyde's voice when he was still mortal '...  A long life, free from worry of wealth, health, or social status. Grant me the strength of ten men, that I might do great works. The strength of will to throw off the tyranny of others, be they peasant or king, who would seek impose their will upon me, the clarity of vision to be able to see through the illusions others hide behind. I wish to travel far from home, to have great adventures, to know hidden secrets, and to drink more deeply of Love than any mortal man!'” Just as abruptly, his voice returns to normal. “It was all quite poetic. Greedy, and perhaps ill-conceived, but poetic none the less.“

Hyde:  Hyde lets the words sink in for a moment, trying to remember, trying to get a grip on just how badly he's getting screwed. He does not remember all of the events the man is speaking of, but neither can he deny it happened. There must be some way out of this, some angle he can apply leverage to to get himself out of this. “You...” He begins and stops. “I call bullshit. Even if that is how it went, you still would not have 'upheld your end.'”

Lethargg:  “It was a tall order. I will admit that I had to, shall we say... cut some corners here and there to fulfill your requests. Most people just want something petty; to be ludicrously rich, or immortal, your avarice was remarkable.” He says this last part as if scolding a child, but his amusement with the situation quickly returns. “Pray tell, Mr. Edwards, which supplication do you feel has not been granted you?”

Hyde:  “Well... let's start with the strength, you shortchanged me on that one. I mean, sure, I'm strong, but not as strong as ten men. Five, maybe, but not ten. What do you have to say about that?”

Lethargg:  “I would say it depends entirely on the men. A ninety year old man is still a man, is he not? By that standard, I was being generous in giving you the strength of twenty men. Easily.” He smirks, obviously quite certain he has won this argument long before it ever began.

Hyde:  “Alright. I get it. Nobody ever accused me of being a genius, but I see where this is going. Traveling far from home equates to being transported for life, my wish to experience love equates to devouring my Elder, etcetera, etcetera. Very amusing.” Hyde, is apparently no where near as entertained with this conversation as the other half of this dyad. “So, what now? You just tear my soul out? End me? Is that how this works?”

Lethargg:  The man's lips split his face open, ear to ear, this time bearing teeth. “Why yes, I yank out your soul and drag it back to Hell where you will know naught but torture, hellfire and brimstone for all eternity. You know, lakes of fire and pitchforks, all of that.”

Hyde:  “I think I am getting a little tired of your mockery.”

Lethargg:  “Oh, you think, do you?”

Hyde:  “Right, to hell with this.” Hyde's voice begins to increase in volume “You're not gonna do a BLOODY thing other than sit here and TALK me to death! I think you're full of hot air, you ain't got NOTHING on me! Okay, so you know some details about my past that nobody but nobody knows, that don't make you the Devil, that makes you resourceful. But so am I, and it just so happens that I done a bit of reading recently, on metaphysics, as it were. The soul you bargained for is not the same as the one I now have. Even IF you are what you claim to be, your 'contract' is worthless.” Fortified by the knowledge he found in the tomes of the Warlocks, now it is Hyde's turn to be smug. Reflecting the sadistic grin he has been getting all night like some horrid funhouse mirror, he adds, “Get thee behind me, Devil.” and promptly proceeds to gloat.

Lethargg:  The Arab's face becomes contorted with rage. “No! It's not possible! How could a mindless oaf such as you have figured this out?!” He falls to his knees, pounding his fists repeatedly into the granite floor and causing hunks of it to crumble and scatter in every direction. “NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!” His bloodied hands rise to claw at his own face as he grunts and growls like some raving lunatic.

And then, he falls completely silent and still. A single eye peers through his mangled fingers directly at Hyde, and the smile returns before he bursts into laughter. Soon the whole chamber echoes with it as he throws his head back and cackles, pointing a broken finger at Hyde. When at last he stops, he will rise to his feet again, “It's about god damn time. I was beginning to think it was going to take you all night.” He chuckles again lightly to himself. “Had you going there, did I not?”  The copper-skinned man licks at some of the blood from the back of his hand, seeming to analyze the taste. “Whoo. One thing about borrowing a monkey-suit, all these endorphins! It is amazing that any of you ever accomplish anything more than fucking or fighting.” He brushes granite-dust from his black suit. “But I can see you are confused.” He lets out a long sigh.

“Yes, Mr. Edwards, there is a problem with our original contract, but you are wrong to think that you no longer owe the bank for the mortgage on your home simply because you added a second house to the land. You still owe what you owe, and if you default, I take everything. I am pleased that you found the loophole, I went to no small amount of trouble to ensure you would find it, but this does not mean that your arrears have been nullified, as you presumed. It is merely the currency which has changed.”

Hyde:  Hyde narrows his eyes in scrutiny, as if he were attempting to see the con. “You mean to tell me that you not only planned for me to keep my soul, you saw to it that I would find a way to do so? That makes less sense than anything you've said all night.”

Lethargg:  The man glances at his wristwatch. "On the contrary Mr. Edwards," He says casually with a dismissive wave of his hand "it makes perfect sense. You see, what your kind calls Hell, is no longer my place of residence, nor have I any intention to return there in the foreseeable future. As such, it is no longer in my interests to continue dragging wayward souls back there."

"This is my realm now, thus, you shall remain here as well. The rules prevented me from giving you the information you needed directly. However, making sure that the information was somewhere you were not likely to encounter it, and then giving you a reason to go looking is another matter.”

Hyde:  “This is insane. You expect me to believe that you have orchestrated my fate, manipulated my life at every turn for over thirteen decades? Well I don't. Even if I did, that still does not explain the why. Why would you go to all that trouble, expend that much energy just to turn up here and rub my nose in it? If you really are what you say, then surely you have vast powers at your disposal and have little need of serfs and vassals.”

Lethargg:  The man's lip curls just a bit, his brow furrowing. “You have consistently made the assumption that your belief is actually required. Allow me to assure you that it is not. Faith is to me what blood is to you and more, but the faith of one such as you holds no nourishment, it is fallow and spoiled. You are abhorred by the Almighty, cursed. Your belief is worthless. Your mind and body on the other hand, I can, and will, put to good use.” He relaxes somewhat before continuing. “As for why I chose you, I could give you any number of reasons. I require you to complete tasks which are beneath me. I have far greater concerns to deal with. Or, if you prefer, you may console yourself in the knowledge that you do not have a choice. My reasons for using you are not so different from your reliance upon Mr. Svartalfr.”

A single eyebrow raises briefly. “But honestly, you have become something of a pet-project for me, an entertaining experiment. For reasons I cannot fully divine, you are somehow outside the wheel of fate. I cannot see your line with any certainty. This amuses me greatly. You have no idea how boring existence can become when you can see every possibility, every eventuality long before it ever comes to pass. Mindless thralls are easy enough to come by, but you are unique, an anthropomorphized fleck of chaos, and I find it in my best interest to have you under my control rather than running amok.”

Once again the coppery man looks at his wristwatch, ever so briefly.

Hyde:  Hyde stirs several times during the oration, angry with himself, but quickly becoming resigned to the probability that this man is not lying.

“So, if not my soul, what the he...” He comes to a full stop, making a mental note to stop using that word so much. “What is it you want from me?”  

Lethargg:  He glances at his watch once more. “All in good time, Mr. Edwards. Soon enough I will tell you what it is you must do. Tonight, I simply wanted you to know of me, and of the consequences of your refusing -or failing- the task I set before you when the moment is upon us. You and I both have other places to be.”

Hyde:  “I got no plans to be anywhere tonight, other than trying to scare up some food, seeing as how you have eaten up most of my evening. The dawn will soon break.”

Lethargg:  “I think you will find that you have more than ample time to continue with the plans you were making as I arrived, and that I have sparred you the trouble of foraging for food. Consider it a show of good faith. No strings attached.” The wicked smile returns and the man's eyes seem to flicker with an inner fire for a moment before his face goes completely blank.

Hyde:  “I'm telling you it's too late, even if I don't have to go hunting there is no way I can make it all the way over to the...” Hyde pulls out his own pocket watch to check the time. “Before the sun...” His watch still shows that not a second has passed since the last time he looked at it; before he began the Diablarie. “Huh. Must've stopped working, I know I wound it.” He mutters to himself before looking back up to his visitor.

Lethargg:  As Hyde returns his gaze to the man, he will be preoccupied with looking over his expensive suit as though he had never seen it before. Looking up, completely bewildered as though he has only just realized that he is in a strange place and he is not alone. “Master?” he says to Hyde uncertainly. “Please, Master, permit me to explain; I saw to it that the information would reach Mr. Blake as you instructed, I know that I was behind schedule, but I...”

Perhaps the man has picked up on some subtle cue of confusion on Hyde's face, or it was a lack of an expected response. Either way, he suddenly changes his mind about who Hyde is.

“What is this? You are not the Master. Where am I?”


Continued in: When to Look a Gift-Horse in the Mouth }}  

--Last edited by Mister Hyde on 2008-12-18 20:28:35 --