Game was 11/21/20. Although the group separated (and Andee didn't get to play Anita at all), the two stories went very well and both have altered the status quo.
Leta and William return to the Troy household a little after 10:00 o'clock in the morning. They walk in to find Josh caring for Abby while Ray is slumped in William's chair, staring blankly off into space, and Mick is in the backyard cleaning up the last of the debris and what is left of Anita's wards. William and Leta are unsure of their next move but decide to leave Josh and Abby alone. William heads into the kitchen to make breakfast while Leta sits down in the living room and remains unobtrusive. Sadly, Veltis is unchanged.
The hunters gather for breakfast at about 10:30 AM. As they eat, Mick recovers from his hangover very quickly while the food helps Ray refocus and grounds Abby; after all, eating is a activity for the living. Ray asks, "Anything weird at my parents' house?" Leta writes down, "No life," but William hastily explains, "No, there was nothing unusual, but we didn't see a sign of anybody at all." Leta writes, "We're not the duo who should be wandering around the neighborhood!" Ray snorts in agreement while Mick vigorously nods.
Ray decides to skip the texting and just calls his parents' house. No one picks up so he hangs up and frets, "That should have gone to voicemail, at least." Ray starts freaking out a bit, but now that he is sober, Mick starts planning. He points out, "I am an active member of the Northampton Police Department. I could go up there as part of a wellness check." William considers the idea and then points out, "Technically, I'm also still an active cop." That settles it, but Leta insists on going as well. This would leave Josh and Abby alone in the house, something no one is truly comfortable with. Leta writes, "Should we call Polly? The pack? Awoo?" Mick jokes, "Definitely not Peter Sweets; he's probably dead of dehydration!" Leta snickers but Josh says, "I know who we can call!" He pulls out his cell phone and then calls Richard McLeod!
MacLeod has spent the past few days enjoying his training with Task Force: VALKYRIE; he marvels at all of the advanced technology, although the RFID chip they implanted in his hand is a little weird. He definitely wants a gun with ghost bullets, but also covets one of the plasma cannons he saw in the armory. Sadly, Director Templeton has refused to commit to anything, His phone rings, and he answers it immediately. Josh greets him and says, "I need a favor. I need a babysitter for a while." MacLeod demands, "What am I babysitting you from?" Josh dodges the question, so McLeod declares, "Give me fifteen minutes and I want an explanation when I get there!"
He immediately heads out to the parking lot to start Isabelle and to his joy he discovers that someone has installed the bracing for a plasma cannon in Isabelle's bed! As he heads for the Troy household, he calls Vandernoot's phone and starts singing! Vandernoot does not say a word; she simply hangs up. This amuses MacLeod even more, but he sobers immediately as soon as he pulls into the Troy's driveway and sees the tarp covering the front of the house. He mutters to himself, "Oh, shit," as Mick comes out to greet him.
As soon as Mick gets to Isabelle, MacLeod leans out and asks, "Anyone dead?" Mick replies, "Not anymore," and when he sees MacLeod's confusion he adds, "That's on the curriculum for week two!" He then notices the bracing in the back and gripes, "I wanted a Mjolnir-class plasma cannon!" MacLeod grins and says proudly, "Chief Vandernoot is already mad about it!" Mick grins but then sobers and gives MacLeod a more comprehensive debriefing.
MacLeod follows Mick into the house, and he greets everyone, although he does note Abby's eyes are a deep, deep purple. He asks Josh, "Do you need anything?" Abby immediately asks for wine - in French! MacLeod shrugs and heads into the kitchen to make a phone call. He calls an old contact of his, who currently works at Stop & Shop, and says, "Benny, I need a favor! Any chance you can make a delivery for me? I need some cleaning products and French wine at 76 Sovereign Way in Northampton." His friend Benny immediately agrees but says, "It'll take me at least an hour to gather everything and get out there." MacLeod assures him, "That's fine, I'm kind of babysitting out here anyway. Get here when you can. Thanks!"
William, Leta, and Ray get into Josh's Ford Explorer while Mick hops into his own car. Mick follows them back down Route 66 around the Smith College campus to Route 9 and then finally to 23 Dryad's Green. They pull into the driveway and William notes that there's now about an inch and a half of snow on the ground, and the flurries don't seem to be letting up. Mick steps out in full cop mode, clearly treating this as an official wellness check. He takes the lead and heads right to the for the front door. He knocks, and then calls out, "Northampton Police Department! Is anyone home?"
No one answers, so Mick tries the front door and finds it unlocked. They walk into Ray's home to find it cold; no one has turned on the heat. Leta gently pushes Ray behind her to protect him while Mick and William continue to call out; their voices echo throughout the large house. They then spot a small figure peer carefully around the corner from upstairs and then suddenly that small figure barrels down the stairs and runs directly to Ray! The hunters quickly get out of the way as Ray's little brother Dean slams directly into him with enough force that Ray's head bounces against the front door!
Little Dean starts babbling excitedly at Ray and says, "Mommy and Daddy are asleep, and I can't wake them up! But at least Elisa Mae is home! She is sleeping now in the basement!" Leta scribbles down, "Take him to the car! Josh has granola bars in the glove box. Go! Protect Dean! Car now!" Ray has clearly hit his limit, but he obeys. William hands Ray the keys and as the two boys step outside, Mick whispers to William,"Is there still a hand in the engine block?" William shrugs but watches carefully as Ray leads Dean out to the Ford Explorer, unlocks it, and helps him inside. Ray then clambers into the driver's seat to start the car and the heat. Ray then opens the glove box to find the snacks, which he promptly pulls out and divides for him and Dean.
Once the boys are safely in a locked, running, and heated car, Mick turns to Leta and declares, "I'm definitely glad you're here!" William nods in agreement and then the hunters decide to check on the parents first. They had up the wide stairs to the second floor and find the house is tastefully decorated, but seemingly out of a catalog. There's no personality present except for the boys' rooms, which appear to be the standard mess expected of a 10-year-old and a 15-year-old, and the father's old-fashioned, European style office.
They get to the master bedroom and carefully open the door. The master bedroom is almost entirely pitch-black, with all the curtains drawn, but they do spot two figures in the bed. They move over to the bed quickly, and all breathe a sigh of relief when they realize that Mr. and Mrs. Curran are breathing, albeit shallowly. Both adults are very pale and Mick mutters, "That definitely looks like a sign of blood loss." Leta writes, "I bet she couldn't bring herself to drink her brother or kill her parents."
Mick states, "We need to call a bus!" William agrees but points out, "We need to check the basement first. If Elisa Mae is down there, that's going to be problematic for any EMTs." Leta nods in agreement and Mick reluctantly concedes the point. They exit the master bedroom and head back down to the first floor. They find the staircase down to the cellar and slip down quietly. Once in the basement itself, Leta vanishes into the gloom while William and Mick proceed carefully. The basement is large and fully finished, with multiple rooms. The main room seems to be a game room with a large television hooked up to multiple video game systems; Mick mutters, "I bet this is the summer living room," and William agrees.
Leta rematerializes from the gloom and they find Elisa Mae in an inner guest room with no windows. The young woman is sprawled across the bed, and for all the world resembles nothing more than a corpse! The hunters creep in carefully, very much aware that they are on her turf, and Leta notes proudly how her skin is terribly discolored where Veltis hit her with hellfire. Somehow Elisa Mae senses their presence and wakes up! She sits bolt upright in the bed and William steps out of the room and takes a few steps down the hall to grab a club from a golf bag lying against the wall! Leta calls upon her infernal heritage and her eyes turn red, normal-sized horns erupted from her forehead, and barbed claws extend from her fingers.
Mick fires the pistol he had ready and green flame erupts from the muzzle to strike Elisa Mae! The vampire frenzies and runs out of the room past Leta and Mick, right towards William! William lashes out with the golf club and cracks Elisa Mae right across the face! The vampire is flung backwards and lands on her back, so Leta charges in with her claws extended and rips Elisa Mae apart from her armpits upward! Elisa Mae suffers the Final Death, but as she is such a young vampire, her corpse remains. Leta forces herself back into human form while Mick stares unhappily at his ruined gun! William rejoins them and eyes the pistol; Mick explains, "Experimental TFV tech. Essentially a plasma bullet."
The hunters head upstairs and vigorously wash their hands. Leta furiously scribbles, "What do with her? Get a broom or a garbage bag?" William says, "We need to get the boys away first." Leta and Mick swiftly agree so William leaves them and heads out of the house to Josh's car. He opens the driver's side door and Ray scoots over to allow him room. William gets in and closes the door. Aware he needs to prepare Dean for future interrogation, William tells the younger Curran, "We found your parents, but they are hurt. We're going to call someone to help them. We didn't find any sign of your sister, though, and the officer is going to stay behind to wait for the people coming to help."
William shoots Ray a pointed glance and then he puts the Ford Explorer in reverse and pulls out of the driveway to get the boys some lunch. Back inside, Leta packs a bag for each Curran boy and then helps Mick gather Elisa Mae's corpse into a garbage bag. They quickly bring the corpse out to Mick's car and stuff it in his trunk. Mick then calls for an ambulance and reports, "Officer McManus, 10-85 urgently needed, 10-20 23 Dryad's Green, two 10-84s!"
Back at the Troy household, Josh focuses on Abby while MacLeod reads one of the binders he brought with him. Abby remains slumped against Josh, seemingly uninterested in moving. They hear a car pull into the driveway and then the driver kills the engine. They then hear a thump, and MacLeod swiftly gets to his feet and heads for the front door. Josh is a few seconds behind him, but MacLeod does not allow him to go open the door. MacLeod looks out the small window and stares in horror at his friend Benny, who is lying on the Troy's driveway, his throat slit and missing his eyes!
MacCleod quickly sees what appears to be a wizened old woman with no eyes spin around to look at him, her face and chest covered in Benny's blood! He nearly retches when the old woman lifts up her hands and he sees several of her fingers ending in eyeballs, with Benny's eyeballs are at the end of her pointer fingers! He croaks, "Eyeball lady?" to Josh. Josh flings open the front door, but before he can move MacLeod charges out with his weapon drawn! He yells, "Freeze!" as Josh follows him outside into the cold.
Josh stares at the corpse in his driveway and then gets angry. He pulls out a small knife and slices the tip of a finger for a drop of blood. He then screams, "Helen! As your blood, I demand a deal!" Although MacLeod's gaze never wavers from the old woman, he does snap, "What the fuck, boy?" Behind the two men, Abby steps out of the house to join them; they both see her eyes are now a solid purple and she has a pair of silver straight razors in her hands!1)
Helen eyes her great-nephew and wheezes, "You wish to make a deal?" MacLeod hisses, "Don't do anything stupid!" Abby cocks her head and says - in a voice that's not completely hers - "You have met him, right?" MacLeod curses but does note that all six finger-eyes are on Josh. Abby steps next to him while Helen's attention is firmly fixed on Josh. Abby growls, "Shoot her if he does something stupid?" MacLeod nods in agreement, his gun still firmly pointed at Helen. Abby then shifts to the other side of Josh, who moved slightly to accommodate her; they all see Helen follow him with her fingers.
Helen croaks, "What do you want, great-nephew?" Josh replies firmly, "I don't want people's lives and their wellbeing to be the cost of your protection."2) He tries to form a rapport with his great-aunt and listens when she starts ranting about all of the obstacles she has faced in her life; abandoned by her family, being forced into the Northampton asylum, and then her abduction by the True Fae.
Helen demands greater access to her family; a condition Josh is willing to accept. However, MacLeod hisses, "There is a corpse on the ground! I have to bring her in!" Helen eyes MacLeod warily for the first time but Josh calls upon all of his social graces to declare, "I am willing to discuss you discontinuing your 'acquiring resources' in exchange for greater contact and no incarceration." MacLeod immediately vetoes that idea and Josh attempts to negotiate with him, calling for delayed justice. He points out that Helen is desperate to reconnect with her remaining family and MacLeod will know when she is with them.
MacLeod feels his resolve weakening a bit and steps aside while Abby remains laser-focused on Helen. MacLeod pulls out his TFV-issued cellphone and texts Mick, "Problem at house." He surreptitiously snaps a picture of Helen and sends that along. At the Curran household, Mick gets the text and pic and shows them to Leta. Leta curses and Mick calls MacLeod directly. MacLeod asks for guidance, which leaves Mick flat-footed as he realizes that when dealing with the supernatural, he is the veteran and MacLeod is the novice. Mick thinks for a moment and then says, "If you have a shot, take it."
Back at the Troy household, MacLeod acknowledges the order and hangs up. He still has his gun in his hand; it's not pointed at Helen anymore, but he is waiting for a shot. Josh notices that Abby and her geist Petite are finally united in a singular goal: killing his great-aunt. Realizing the situation is incredibly fraught, Josh asks Helen, "We will need more time to discuss the full terms of the deal, but is the basic framework acceptable?" Helen shifts her attention fully back to Josh and MacLeod realizes this is his opportunity. He whips up his gun and fires; his aim is true, and the bullet strikes Helen's knee!
Helen staggers but activates some fae magic and hits them all with a miniaturized, weaponized blizzard! All three hunters take damage and Josh stumbles forward to try to salvage the situation, but Abby unlocks the Cold Wind Rage Manifestation and summons another hurricane! It strikes Helen dead on and rips her from the ground and flings her on to the roof! Helen lands heavily and slides down the roof, leaving a bloody smear! Luckily, she catches the gutter on her way down. The gutter rips free from the house but does arrest enough momentum that Helen falls to the ground, unconscious and with broken bones… but still alive.