Game was 8/17/19.

Still angry, Anita starts demanding Abuela stop at IHOP for breakfast. Abuela is initially resistant, but Del suddenly starts chanting from the backseat, “Pancakes, pancakes, pancakes!” Anita eyes her younger sister – and then joins in. Abuela starts swearing in multiple languages, but the sisters do not relent. Grumbling, Abuela caves and drives them to the West Springfield IHOP for breakfast. They eat, and Abuela pays and drives them home. Anita staggers upstairs, strips out of her Sunday clothes, and crawls back into bed.

William forces himself awake at 6 o’clock in the morning, and then endures a full body spasm that has him grip his crucifix so tightly that it leaves an imprint in his palm. He gets up anyway, listening as Josh continues to snore, and stumbles into the bathroom. One he’s finished in there, he heads for the stairs, but has another full body spasm at the top. He grips the banister and grits his teeth, and once the shaking stops he gingerly starts descending the stairs, refusing to call for help from Mick. Unfortunately, he has another spasm halfway down the stairs and falls! Mick comes running and luckily, William didn’t injure anything other than his pride. Mick helps William up and to the couch, falling back on his training and treating William like a civilian. William notices but understands, and he gets on to the couch without quibble. He sees Mick occasionally glance into the kitchen, but he then falls asleep again quickly.

Leta wakes up around 7:30 AM and decides to go to work. She showers and dons her Dunkin' Donuts uniform before walking to work for 8:00. She helps with the pre-church rush but at 9 o’clock, she spots several police cars with sirens blaring speeding up Route 9 towards Smith College. At 9:10, the pieces fall into place and she mutters, ‘Oh.” The pre-church rush ebbs around 9:45, and her staff prepares for the post-church rush, which is even bigger. Polly strides in around 10:05 with a list, looking very tired and confused. Leta takes her order, which is a long list of food and drinks for her and her fellow cops.

Polly then hisses quietly, “Where did you leave her?” Leta replies softly, “The library. Why?” Polly grumbles, “Then we’ve found someone else. Left by the lake. Dropped in front of the boathouse like discarded trash. And I assume with the name Angie Nakamura, she isn’t white.” Leta shakes her head and replies, “No, she wasn’t.” Polly curses but then her radio blares and the dispatch declares, “10-80 Smith College.” Polly mutters, “They found her,” while Leta yells to her staff, “Speed it up for the detective; she’s on the clock!” Her staff complies, and Leta hands Polly her order. Polly pays and departs swiftly, back in full "cop-mode." Things slow down for a bit, and then the post-church rush hits.

William and Josh wake up at 10 o’clock with full bladders, and both men dash to the bathrooms to pee. Much to their consternation, it comes out lime green. They wash up and come out, and Mick sniffs and notices they both smell strongly of citrus. They notice the chair blocking the cellar door, and Mick defends his paranoia for all things Hedge-related as William mocks him and moves the chair. William opens the door to see his cellar stairs, so Mick gathers his things and departs to grab a nap at home. William settles on the couch to watch football, while Josh does homework in the kitchen. Clouds roll in at 10:30, and then the sky opens up fifteen minutes later. Josh texts Polly for an update, but she doesn’t reply. He also texts Cain, who replies, “The vamp got away.” When Josh asks about the creature that turned into a swarm of bats, Cain reminds him, “We can’t fly.”

At noon, a truck pulls up into the Troy’s driveway. William gets to his feet and looks out; he sees that the truck sports the R&R Windows Contractors logo, and two men are getting out. William is immediately suspicious, as it’s Sunday, and he didn’t call anyone for repairs. The two men come to the door and he answers. Both are burly Caucasian men, and introduce themselves as Ethan Rowley and David Whitney of R&R, and they’re here to start work. William lets them inside, where they start taking measurements. Ethan then tells William as Josh comes out of the kitchen, “This looks to be a two-day project. We can get started now, and stop at 6 o’clock, then come back tomorrow around 9 and finish up.” Josh cuts in, “Can you make it 5:30? We have dinner guests coming over.” William nods and Ethan is amenable.

As Ethan and David get their tools, Josh asks William, “When did you set this up?” William sidesteps the question, but Josh does offer to drive him somewhere. William refuses to leave the house, so when the contractors return and move the couch into the middle of the living room he just settles back in and plans to continue watching football. As he’s clearly injured, Ethan and David don’t make a fuss, although they look really confused when Josh calls William, “Grandpa.” David erects a plastic tent over the window from the outside to protect their work, and he stays outside while Ethan works inside. William refuses to consider the implications of their presence, and Josh watches them work.

Anita wakes up around 1 o’clock in the afternoon and sighs when she hears the ongoing rain. She eats lunch and putters a bit, but then spends the day relaxing. Del is in her room doing God-knows-what, while Abuela is so angry that she’s actually cleaning the craft room and muttering to herself; Anita stays out of her way.

Leta also departs work around 1 o’clock, and walks home to find her apartment covered with Veltis’s crap. She grumbles, especially when Veltis yells, “If you hear something meow, don’t look at it.” Leta pulls out some chocolate butter crumb donuts for Veltis, stating she took them while children wanted them, so they’re extra special. Veltis happily accepts the treat.

Leta starts studying for the GED test and pesters Abby, who is reading another German book while curled up on the couch. Abby refuses to divulge what she’s studying, so Leta decries, “You’re deliberately being mysterious and annoying me.” Abby retorts, “Yeah, I learned it from watching Veltis.” From the kitchen, Veltis yells, “Hey! I… can’t argue that.” Leta grumbles, but Veltis starts cooking dinner here; he intends to just pop it into the pocket when it’s done.

Meanwhile, Sarah visits Flo at her condominium at 1 Florence Street #7 in Leeds. They go over their strategy for tonight, and Flo decides to arrive unannounced at 6:20; Sarah snorts but agrees. She recommends bringing alcohol, so later on Flo walks her dog and cat and buys an expensive bottle of red wine. She returns home and relaxes; she lives alone other than her pets and her parents and older brother live in Connecticut.

Back at the Troy residence, David and Ethan run a little over and pack everything up for 5:45. Ethan confirms they’ll be there for 9:00 AM tomorrow, and will need until 4 o’clock to finish. They depart, and a few minutes later the rest of the cell begins to arrive. Abby, Leta, and Veltis are first – and seemingly empty-handed. William asks, “Did something change?” Veltis replies, “Nope,” but says nothing else. Mick arrives next, followed by Dr. Ranjip and then Anita. Dr. Ranjip performs a quick exam on William and Josh while the others notice the citrus smell; Dr. Ranjip admits, “I wasn’t expecting that side-effect as the fruit was a cross-breed.” However, he is satisfied that they recovered safely, and offers the fae bandages for William’s legs. Having seen the side effects twice now, William politely refuses.

Polly staggers in at 5:59:38, still in uniform and looking utterly exhausted. She eyes the empty table in confusion, but Veltis insists they all sit down. The hunters comply, and then Veltis hops up on the table – and pops the appetizers out of his dimensional pocket! The appetizers are bacon-wrapped pheasant, and the hunters happily dig in. As they eat, Polly tells them that the NPD found Angie’s body – after they found another exsanguinated corpse on campus. Polly explains, “Her name was Tanya Morris, she was a CS major in her sophomore year. No defensive wounds at all, but she was discarded by the boathouse like a fucking Burger King wrapper.”

The doorbell rings, and William gestures for Josh to go see who’s at the door. Josh complies, and opens the door to find Sarah and Flo from Cooley-Dickinson. He greets them politely and they hand him alcohol. Sarah says, “We’d like to join you. We have more questions for you, and more information to share.” Josh begs a moment of their time and heads back into the dining room to alert the others. Veltis snaps, “We’re out of appetizers,” but William shrugs and replies, “I guess they’re already here.” The others raise no objections, so Josh returns, lets the women inside, and takes their coats. He leads them into the dining room and departs to grab more chairs. The hunters eye the two TCG women carefully, and note Flo has a slim physique, shoulder-length black hair, and is in her thirties. She doesn’t wear glasses. Sarah and Flo put their offerings on the table: the expensive red wine, and a bottle of fifteen-year-old scotch.

Josh returns with the chairs and the two women awkwardly squeeze around the table. They eye the empty table in confusion, especially once they see Veltis. Leta suggests, “We should get dinner from the oven,” but Veltis growls, “Fuck it.” Sarah gapes at the talking rat, while Flo manages to conceal her shock. Leta interrupts, “You need to move the bottles.” Flo asks why, and Leta replies, “They’re in the way.” Flo shrugs and grabs both bottles, and then steps back as Veltis pops various dishes out of thin air! Duck l’Orange and duck confit are the main dishes, with potatoes, collard greens, and homemade bread and butter as sides. Veltis flips the women off after he’s done, and they say nothing as they stare at the spread of food.

Josh proudly tells the women that Veltis also cooked the food, which they find weird. William mutters, “I still find it weird,” but Josh insists Veltis is a wonderful cook. He’s also happy Veltis got his spices back, and the tiny rat gives him a high-five. William ignores the strangeness and asks pointedly, “So what brings you to dinner?” Sarah replies, “We wanted to reach out and share some information with you. We’ve learned of a vampire threat.” The cell plays dumb, but William and Josh still have the bandages on their necks. Sarah looks back into the living room at the partially repaired window and mutters, “Contractors on a Sunday?” William shrugs and replies, “It’s hard to describe.” Sarah asks pointedly, “Was there a vampire here last night?” Josh replies, “Yes.”

Sarah and Flo share a look and then Sarah carefully describes how most vampire myths are purely bullshit; crosses don’t work, garlic is useless, and they can wander wherever they want without an invitation. William wryly replies, “That we learned last night.” Sarah pauses and then adds, “Rather than cover ground you already know, why don’t you share what you’ve learned about vampires?” The cell admits they know very little, and William and Josh describe the attack at 3 o’clock in the morning. When they mention the creature that turned into a swarm of bats, Sarah curses violently. Anita asks, “Do vampires’ eyes flash blue?” Sarah frowns and replies, “Not that we know of.”

Sarah takes a deep breath and then explains that the vampires have different sects, some aping human religion, and that a sect war broke out in Springfield right after World War II. William frowns and dimly recalls an upswing of violent crime at that time, although he was a teenager then. Sarah explains that a few years into the war, the warring religious sects discovered the secular sects were manipulating them, and called a truce. They drove out the secular sects, and then ratified a sixty-year compact. For those sixty years, a tenuous peace reigned in Springfield but the compact expired in 2008. Everyone expected another war to break out in two years’ time, but everything changed a few months ago when Obadiah, a 400-year-old vampire, woke up.

Sarah reveals that Obadiah once ruled Springfield as a vampiric prince, but he vanished around the Civil War. The vampire in the silver mask is the Monseigneur; he served as Obadiah’s chief enforcer, and vanished a few years after Obadiah. ¹⁾ Sarah sidetracks and explains that the more powerful a vampire grows; they reach a point where they can only feed on other vampires. Once vampires reach a certain age, they tend to vanish to sleep for years until they can rise again, able to feed on humans. Obadiah slept through the entire 20th century, but the expected vampire war is on hold as the vampires try to consolidate their holdings to defend against an elder. However, Obadiah has relocated from Springfield to the Northampton area.

Sarah also reveals a common practice where older vampires waking up after a century often abduct and turn a mortal to act as a guide in the new times; Leta grudgingly concedes, “Makes sense.” William asks, “Why would they come after us?” Sarah replies, “You’re the most powerful hunter cell in the region. You’re a primary target.” She then segues into the Night Stalkers and the Ashwood Abbey; Anita looks lost until Mick roughly outlines their history with the Abbey. Sarah reveals that the Abbey was the primary supplier of weapons to the Night Stalkers, a gang-like compact of hunters who target vampire specifically. Anita knows of the Night Stalkers by reputation, but only as a gang. Sarah warns them that the Night Stalkers are still nursing a grudge against their cell.

Sarah switches topics and informs Josh, “You were correct.” Everyone – including Josh – looks completely confused, but Sarah reveals they sent a team into the strange hallway at Cooley Dickinson after Flo rapped on Dr. Chapman’s head. She also admits, “They went in, but didn’t come out.” Josh asks if the team is still there. Sarah eyes him and growls, “Does he not get euphemisms?” Anita replies, “It usually takes three times before he gets it.” Sighing, Sarah clarifies that the entire team died; Josh looks stricken and asks Flo, “Are you ok?” Flo replies flatly, “No.” Sarah adds, “We need more context from you. What you saw, what you felt, smelled, etc.”

Leta demands to know why they believe the team died; Sarah readily reveals, “We had heart monitors and head-cams.” She describes how Dr. Chapman’s voice called out, “Intruders detected in the lab. Countermeasures deploying. Have a nice day!” She describes the gunfire, and how the camera feed cut out. Frowning, the hunters accept that and try to recall anything relevant from Friday night. They tell the two women everything they know, including Josh who recalls the ceiling felt like machine-grade smooth plastic, the smell was laboratory-grade antiseptic, and the slightly metallic tang on his tongue from the air. Sarah and Flo note everything down.

Veltis pops out dessert – multiple pies – while Leta warns Josh not to try to befriend a vampire. Sarah agrees and tells Josh, “No matter what relationship you cultivate, at the end of the day you’re still food.” William asks about the Seekers of Hell; Sarah admits she knows very little about them, but they could be pawns of the vampires. She alludes to over two dozen vampires active in Springfield alone, and more in the surrounding area. Leta demands, “Why have you been keeping tabs on us?” Sarah replies, “Because you are the most powerful cell in the area? One with potent alliances?” The hunters go around with that for a while, and Josh insists they only want to protect the people in their territory.

Sarah counters, “I understand that. Hell, I don’t have an issue with how you’ve conducted yourselves, but look at it from an outsider’s perspective. You have dominated the local area, and dealt with all your enemies.” She mutters under her breath, “Sometimes, those enemies are picked out of werewolf shit.” Leta decries that as unfair, and challenges Sarah and Flo as to who they are. Sarah implies they also use the supernatural to help fight monsters, and then asks Flo, “Do you want to show them your eyes?” Flo agrees, and tilts her head back. When she opens her eyes, she activates her Devil’s Eyes endowment, allowing her to see their auras. For their part, the cells sees her eyes are now golden compound orbs.

Josh’s aura is primarily pink for compassion, but tinged with swirls of orange and purple for fear and aggression respectively. William’s aura is primarily a pinkish-red, marking his inner nature as a protector, but with swirls of purple and orange. Both men’s auras read as completely human though, as do Polly’s and Mick’s. Anita’s aura is pink, but washed out and with hints of a second aura present. Likewise, Abby is a washed-out red, but again with hints of a separate aura. Leta’s aura is a jagged, spiky purple, representing her aggressive nature and her infernal heritage.

Flo deactivates the thaumatechnology implant before she gets a good look at Veltis and Dr. Ranjip, although she can tell the doctor’s aura is a kaleidoscopic nightmare and Veltis’s aura is black hole. Sarah says flatly, “Like it or not, you’re now at war with the vampires.” Leta asks what other supernatural creatures have flashing bright blue eyes; Sarah admits, “I don’t know. Sorcerers, maybe?” The cell debates the question, but Veltis offers to ‘pocket’ Del until her trial to keep her out of trouble. Anita considers the offer but rejects it – for now.