Buffy made her way into Mercurio's house, having retrieved some morphine from the hospital after dealing with the local Cordelia. Maybe, just maybe it was possible that there were alternate universes involved, or maybe she'd seen Cordelia around somewhere and incorporated the woman into her hallucinations as a face to use for a friend. Of course, that didn't quite follow with Cordy knowing her. Of course, that could also have been something to do with her blood. Knox hadn't been exactly forthcoming on what it meant to be a ghoul other than his increased vitality, healing, etc. Frankly, the man had reminded her perhaps a bit too much of Owen with his enthusiasm for it. Whoever his vampiric master was, he or she must have had his or her hands full. It's always difficult when the unknowing leave the nest.
Maybe Mercurio would know more about ghoul status, assuming he was any more healed than before. Of course, given that he'd managed to drag himself from wherever Dennis had dumped him, (off the cliff with that fool) Buffy was certain that he'd probably be in somewhat better shape when she managed to get to him, even if he still was on that couch. Buffy pushed open the door to Mercurio's living room, and she frowned. Mercurio laid face down on the couch, unmoving from the bloodstain there, but it looked like a few of his wounds had stopped bleeding altogether. His breathing seemed to be quite a bit steadier as well, but it was possible that the man had passed out rather than deal with the pain.
Buffy took out a bottle of the morphine and a syringe. There really wasn't any helping it. After pulling the sterile syringe out of its packaging, she withdrew some of the morphine from its bottle and moved closer to Mercurio.
"Fleet-footed God guy, you awake?" Buffy frowned. She knew his name. She wanted to say his name correctly, but somewhere between her brain and her mouth, it kept getting changed. It's not like she actually thought the guy was Mercury or Hermes, (which would be kinda neat, mind), but it was almost like a compulsion to not refer to him correctly. "I've got something for you…"
Mercurio stirred on the couch, pushing himself back into a posture that let him look at Buffy. Choosing to ignore the smell of blood, among other unpleasant smells, Buffy injected the morphine into the likely ghoul's arm. Mercurio breathed out a sigh of relief.
"Sweet merciful Christ, that's the stuff," Mercurio said, a genuine smile ending up on his face. "So, you have anything else?'
"The explode-y goodness? Yeah, I've got it." She'd had to do far too much to get it, but she got it.
"Yeah? Did you waste those sons of bitches?"
Buffy felt torn between wincing and preening with pride. The men had deserved everything they got, but she'd lost control. It felt way too good to do that. She wasn't entirely sure what she'd need to do to keep control, and without a sire around, she really didn't have anyone who had the responsibility to teach her. Jack had helped in a limited manner, but it wasn't his job.
"They felt like shark hunting. I used them as bait," Buffy said. Might as well give the illusion that she didn't actually care about killing them. Maybe she wouldn't.
"Good, I hope it was painful. You uh, didn't happen to get my money back, didja?"
Buffy reached into the leather jacket, pulled out Mercurio's wallet and tossed it to him. "There. Try not to lose it again."
"Oh, good… I'll be able to get some new kidneys with this. Thanks, fledge, you're a lifesaver."
"Buffy." She crossed her arms.
"Huh?" Mercurio looked a bit confused.
"My name. It's Buffy."
"Fine. Buffy." Mercurio looked her over. "Wait, weren't you wearing something different earlier?"
"Messy work, dealing with your mess. So, the explosives. What's the what with them?" Buffy just wanted to get this done and over with. Whatever Lacroix had planned, whatever job he needed done, she just wanted it done so she could have the jester out of her hair. Right now, she wasn't so sure she wanted to actually slay the guy, but she was certain that if she had to interact with him much more, that would probably change.
"Ah, right… The astrolite. Basically that stuff's about twice as powerful as TNT. Instant demolition. You want to be really far away when you engage the timer. You need to make a place disappear—a warehouse. It's supposed to be some sort of Sabbat interest."
"So I'm after the sad bats again. Okay. Where do I go?" Buffy cocked her head. The voices seemed to be whispering in unison, but she couldn't make out anything clear at the moment. Not more than a feeling. "Or you… really don't know, do you?"
"Not really. But I know who does. There's a guy, he's like you. I never met him, but I've heard a lot about him through the grapevine. If there's anyone in the city that knows more about it than me, it's him." Mercurio shifted on the couch, trying to push up a little more.
"And do you have a name and location for this man of mystery, oh God of Messengers?" Buffy asked.
"Name, yes. Location… not so much. His name's Heinrich Nest, but it seems like he's in hiding right now for the moment."
"Why?"
"He's managed to piss off Therese… Therese Voerman, you know her?"
"Club owner, right? Asylum? Jeanette's sister?" Buffy tried not to let her anger with the Light Daughter of Janus overshadow any information she might be able to obtain on the other one.
"Yeah. Her. Word on the street says that she and Nest are feuding for some reason, and she's called some sort of blood hunt on him. Nest has gone underground and I don't think he'll come back up 'till Therese calls it off."
Buffy rubbed the bridge of her nose. "So I can't find out where this warehouse is unless I get this feud called off."
"Well… there might be another way," Mercurio said. "Nest supposedly has a group of friends. They might know where to find him. Occasionally they go into the Asylum as well."
"Friends." Who befriends a vampire? Other vampires perhaps? But were they actually friends or where they just allies? "And do you have information on these friends?"
"Not much. They're like you, but they keep to themselves mostly. I wish I could tell you more about them, but I've only heard about them. Your best bet is probably convincing Therese."
Buffy nodded. Nest could probably be helpful, but she needed to get him to the point where he could actually help her. It seemed like she'd be dealing with Jeanette a lot sooner than she'd thought. Maybe she'd be able to figure out just what that vampire did with her friend.
"So, what's your story?" Buffy asked. "Why are you here?"
"Eh, not much to tell. I can get anything that anyone wants at any time… It's something I've always had a talent at, 'til the astrolite anyway. Well, back east, some major shit went down. Big Apple, can't go back. Christ, I hate L.A., but whatta you gonna' do?"
Buffy nodded. "Well, if I need anything, I'll know who to ask. Thank you."
Buffy left Mercurio's house with a destination in mind this time. The night still had some time left yet before she'd have to return to her haven and sleep. She'd head to the Asylum, vent some rage onto Jeanette and then talk to her sister. Therese had to be the more reasonable of the two, and this Nest guy could come out of hiding. Of course, something twigged her about the name. Heinrich Nest. Something was far too familiar about that name. Maybe if she managed to find one of his allies, she'd be able to actually find him, but Mercurio had been spectacularly unhelpful in giving them shape. Masters hide within holes. Under the ground, trapped within.
Buffy glanced along the street as she walked to the Asylum, keeping an eye out for her father's car. When she'd passed it earlier, she'd been worried. Maybe her parents had gone into the club to look for her, and knowing what she did now, she definitely hoped that they'd made it out okay. Given that the car she'd seen earlier, her father's Matrix, no longer sat in the parking spot, she could reasonably assume that they'd given up for the evening. Given that Knox guy had mentioned Sammy asking about her in the club, it was safe to assume that she'd made it home okay the previous night, but Buffy still had a bone to pick with Jeanette along with some questions to ask. Hopefully Sammy had gone home. Buffy didn't want to have to explain her new condition to her friend. Not yet. Not until she had Lacroix off her back.
When Buffy had been at the Asylum as a human, she'd noted the differences in aesthetic between what she'd been to before in her hallucination and the real world, but she'd left with Julia before the club had gotten too crowded. Tonight, however, she was arriving closer to the middle of the night, and she could see the difference. She could feel the difference from the moment she stepped inside. The music thrummed through her, its beat neatly echoing through her body, giving her the approximation of a still-beating heart. While there really weren't all that many more people, they felt like they were more real. Perhaps that came from her new sense, the smells, the tastes, the sounds. The club was full of food, of people, and she could sense them.
Of course, the moment she crossed the threshold into the club proper, she spotted a familiar face, pulling away from the crowd of people. She still had her hair in pigtails, and she wore a red choker. Tonight she wore a white blouse that was open far enough to see the red bra she wore underneath, and she sashayed over toward Buffy on heels that were high enough that they could almost be considered stilts. They showed off her bare legs that poked out of her miniskirt. When she got close to Buffy, she smiled.
"Well, what do we have here? Cutie, I barely recognize you, fresh out of life and in my club… You smell so new, like fresh morning dew made of pineapples and roses on newly planted blossoms. Buffy, right?"
"You remembered," Buffy said, her fingers twitching at her side. Buffy glanced toward the bartender, frowning. He was Kindred as well, and if she just attacked Jeanette here, there was no guarantee he wouldn't join in. No, she needed to be subtler. Decking Jeanette right here would accomplish nothing. "Miss Light Daughter of Janus herself remembers. Do you remember my friend, too? The girl whose neck you were sucking that night?"
"Ooh, yes, she was all dolled up for someone she liked. It was too bad she didn't receive anything in return until I came across her. What were you waiting for with her, anyway? A more open invitation? Let me tell you, gorgeous, that girl was deliciously sexy. We got along just like fire hoses…"
"Fire hoses," Buffy said flatly.
"Wh—"
"You don't have to explain it, Jeanette. What did you do with Sammy?" Buffy asked, crossing her arms. She couldn't let herself get sucked in by this girl, nor could she let Jeanette piss her off enough that she attacked her here and now. No, there'd be a time for that later, and she could feel the power that the other vampire had. It seemed greater than her own, yet not quite.
"Oh… a little of this… a little of that… I think the better question is what didn't we do. That girl was freaky and awesome, and I had her screaming with delight. All… Night… Long… but when she got up afterward, the only thing she could do was worry about her crazy friend who disappeared on her. Now, how could her friend do something like that?" Jeanette asked with a smirk, glancing down at Buffy. "Oh, not that I'm condemning you, cutie. I think you're better off."
Buffy clenched her hands into fists, and very carefully did not take a swing at Jeanette. She couldn't do that to her yet. No matter how much the club owner deserved it. "What happened to her?"
"Oh, Mister McDonald drove her home after speaking with Therese. Speaking of, I really do have some business to attend to. As riveting as this conversation is, and as much as I'd like to do to you, cutie… we'll have to put a rain check on that. Toodles." Jeanette turned from Buffy with a flick of her hair and started toward an elevator in the corner. Judging from what she saw, that had to be what led to the office level. The Light Daughter of Janus consorts with kine and unclean things.
Gritting her teeth, Buffy made her way over to the bar and took a seat. The bartender hadn't seemed to notice her yet, but she was sure he would eventually. Buffy needed to get up to talk with Therese to see about dealing with Nest. She felt someone approaching, but she was still focused on what she wanted to say to the bartender.
"That woman, lass, is just fifty pounds of crazy in a ten-pound bag," a male voice said near her, Irish accent prevalent. Buffy clenched the counter for a second. She recognized that voice, even if the accent was thicker than she'd ever heard from him. "But then, I've always enjoyed the lunatics. Malkavians always seem to be the most interesting conversationalists."
"Angel…" Buffy breathed out as she turned to the man… the vampire. His long dark hair was pulled back into a braided ponytail, likely with some gel to hold it in place. He wore a lightly colored collared shirt and a dark sport jacket with dark slacks. Two buttons of his shirt were undone, revealing the top of his pale chest, which matched his equally pale face. She felt this one's presence, and he felt much like Jack had in power. The one with the angelic face stands before thee. Does he hunt, does he sleep?
"Now that's a new one," the vampire said. "No, no, lass. The name's Liam. You're that new fledge that Julia sired, yeah?"
"… Yes, I am," Buffy said. "She is me. I mean, I am she. And we are we, and here are we with me and… Okay, I'll stop that…"
"Got away with you there, did it?" Liam smiled. "Shame about your sire. Awful shame. And you're already running errands for the Camarilla, eh?"
"The jester prince calls it 'mercy.'" Buffy shrugged. Cordelia was already real here, why not another thing from her hallucination. Even if this wasn't Angel, he was close… "He wishes to consolidate his power with me as an example."
"Mmm… So, what now?" Liam asked.
"I need to talk with Therese Voerman about some sort of blood hunt thingy…"
"On the Ma—on Nest?" Liam asked. "Good luck. I think they're both up there at the moment arguing. You can probably take the elevator up there, lass."
"Buffy." Buffy said. It didn't sound right to have Angel calling her 'lass' when he should know her real name.
"The poof should call you Slayer." Spike's voice echoed around her, but he didn't appear. She looked up to try and see, but he didn't seem to want to appear.
"Right, Buffy. When you're done talking with Voerman, maybe you can come talk with me some more. There are some people I'd like to introduce you to." Liam placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. "Give you a little more perspective on things."
"You'll tell me more about Julia?" Buffy asked.
"If you want," Liam said. "Now, you should probably go while you can still catch her. I'll get you clear with the bartender."
"Thanks a lot…" Buffy said, and she stood, heading to the elevator. It was time to talk to another daughter of Janus. Beginnings and endings, light and dark, smooth and creamy, or is that just peanut butter?
When this finished, Buffy would make sure that Jeanette understood exactly how displeased she was with her. The Light Daughter of Janus didn't need to die, but she definitely needed to suffer a bit. She would. Buffy'd make sure of it.
