Blood of The Rose

Chapter 29: Rage Against The Machine

The Last Round, LA

Ruby took the last step back up onto the second floor once more, Weiss close on her heels. The only occupants were Nines, sitting at a table in the far corner now, and another woman standing guard near the staircase. The latter beret-wearing redhead graced them with a sneer as the pair of fledglings walked past, obeying the gesture from the Anarch leader to join him.

As they approached, the brunet Kindred set aside a handwritten piece of paper he'd been perusing, placing it face-down just off to the side. He gave them each a firm nod as they took the only other two chairs at the table and immediately turned his attention towards Ruby.

"Glad you showed up tonight, kid, and not just because you got to reunite with your sister." He turned to Weiss as well, regarding her cautiously but without hostility. "And you, being who you are… It's good you came by, too. Keeping an open mind about stuff is the first step to getting out from where you're chained down."

"Er, yes, sir," Weiss replied, her face an unreadable mask. "I appreciate the invitation."

Nines gave her another nod before settling back in his seat. "Here's what I got to tell you both - and so you know, I don't lecture, I don't rap, I'm no bureaucrat; I'm just a guy out of nowhere came to be involved in something five hundred times bigger than you and me."

Ruby and Weiss shared a glance before the brunette nodded for him to continue.

"You got a right to know the score. The Camarilla - this is the short of it. They operate a lot like a pyramid scheme. There's a bunch of these old timers at the top, with God only knows what plots in mind. They lose their power, they die."

The brunette was surprised to see her partner nodding thoughtfully, ever so slightly, before freezing and reasserting her neutral mask.

"They sired more to carry out their plans, lookin' for a little power, then those Kindred sired for their own schemes and so on and on and on…" Nines rolled his hands in the air on either side of his head, frustration etched into his features. "It hurts my head just thinkin' about the mess. What it works out to is this: Only a few people at the top have any real power."

Sounds a lot like Roman, Ruby mused. Then she thought back to her early conversations with both Ozpin and then Weiss. "But… aren't you… we… all part of the Camarilla, technically?"

Nines snorted and crossed his arms. "Them's fightin' words, newbie - but you're young and stupid so I won't make an example out of you. See, the Camarilla claims all of us are members, even if we don't want to be, which is, of course, the biggest load of horseshit a man ever heard."

"Right, right, sorry…" Ruby ducked her head meekly. "Um, so, then, what are you all about?"

"I learned the way of this world during the depression. Bunch of old, rich bastards screwed the country, but did they suffer? No - the little people suffered. You can't trust the people at the top. The world'd be a better place without 'em."

A frown flickered across Weiss' face before it was gone as if it'd never been there, however, Ruby happened to be looking right at her when it did so.

"All you can do," Nines continued, "is get a group of people together who aren't assholes, find a place to put your feet up, and make some examples of the quote-unquote elite to keep the rest the hell out. Everyone's an equal here, the same thing this country used to be about. That's what LA has been, an Anarch Free State."

"Really? An… Anarch Free State?" While this was certainly the first she'd heard of it, Weiss didn't look to be about to disagree anytime soon.

"The Camarilla… they were kicked out on their asses a long time ago. We, the Anarchs, didn't want to play their politics anymore. Now, La Croix and his crew pop in like they never left… uh-uh, no goddamn way! Their laws don't apply to us."

Alright, well, I get some of the animosity, now. "So, not a fan of the Prince, huh?" she chuckled weakly, trying to interject a little humor into the conversation.

Nines, however, didn't feel like taking her any way but literal. "La Croix represents everything I hate - the Camarilla, stuck-up aristocrats, rich businessmen, crooked politicians… The only place La Croix belongs is in an urn."

"Yeah, gotcha… Um…" Ruby hedged a bit, wanting to ask something yet not wanting to risk the ire of their host. "So, and I don't wanna insult you or anything… Aren't you the leader of the Anarchs here in LA? Kinda like the Prince of Anarchs?"

The latino Kindred snorted derisively, though it was without any real heat. "No such thing. And again, newbie, don't throw those kind o' words around lightly. I've fought to keep LA free since I was Embraced. Long time later, I'm one of the only ones left that hasn't bit it or switched sides, the most veteran soldier on the battlefield."

"Okay, then." Ruby gave him a nod, eyeing her partner who was still as a statue. "Well, I appreciate the time, Nines…"

"One sec, there, newbie." Nines grimaced for only a moment before his face settled into one of resolve. "Normally that's the most I do for fledglings new to the area, give folk the background and let 'em figure the rest on their own, at least give 'em something to think about. But… Since you're Yang's actual sister, I'm gonna give you some extra advice, okay? Maybe keep the two of you intact a little longer."

"Sure, that'd be great!" the brunette replied with subdued cheer.

"Here's what I tell all the new Anarchs. One, you get careless, that blood'll make you into a monster, you rampage 'round here you get put down." Ruby shuddered slightly at the memory of her loss of control. "Two, don't kill when you feed - no reason to. In this city, there's lots of ways to slake the Beast without leaving a trail of dead."

Okay, so far it's kinda like the Masquerade without all the red tape…

Nines wasn't quite done, however. "Three, the Camarilla's full of shit. Four, watch your back, always. And lastly, learn how to fight, cuz a speech ain't gonna save your ass when you're starin' down the barrel of a shotgun."

"Right," the brunette murmured. "Um… I appreciate it, Nines, really I do."

"As do I," Weiss stated somewhat stiffly as she rose from the table alongside Ruby, giving him a polite half-bow. "Thank you for your time."

Nines gave them both another nod. "LA's the school of hard knocks, so keep your friends close," he glanced over at Weiss, "and your enemies in a barbeque pit. Once you square things with La Croix, don't give that son of a bitch the time o' night." He looked hard at Ruby, pale eyes flashing in the dim lighting. "I got my eye on you, kid. See Damsel on the way out, just so you've met all the crew."

"Okay, thanks again!"

As they slowly walked from the table, Ruby leaned into her friend. "You okay?" she whispered.

Weiss only nodded, her features tight and unreadable.

Ruby sighed slightly as they neared the beret-wearing woman. "We'll talk later, okay?"

The platinum-haired girl flashed her a minuscule smile and another slight nod before they ended up in front of the redheaded woman, wearing a tee shirt with some sort of revolutionary print. Her bright, cherry-red lips curled up in a sneer as they approached.

"Sabbat chase you in here, Cammies?" she inquired spitefully.

Well, guess not everyone is willing to overlook that just 'cause of Yang… Doesn't mean I have to keep putting up with it. She recognized a little of herself in this woman, however, and knew that the only way to handle that kind of aggression was to meet it with the like to get to the real root of the problem.

"So what the fuck's your problem?" the brunette retorted, much to the consternation of her partner who pinched the bridge of her nose with a soft sigh of resignation.

The redheaded Kindred's face contorted into a fierce snarl as she chuckled mirthlessly. "Oh, ho, ho… You want to know what my problem is? Alright, I'll tell you what my problem is! You ready? YOU, the both of you, are my goddamn problem. Anyone who would lay it down for some cape in an ivory tower deserves what they get!"

"Um, cape?" Ruby inquired.

"Cape, Cammy. Camarilla elders? The ones that've been around so long they think candlelight's a keen invention? You're doing their dirty work and you don't even know it." Her scowl transferred to Weiss, intensifying if that were possible. "And then this little wannabe cape, here… Ugh!"

"Okay, I get it, you hate the… um… Cammies," the brunette stated. "Look, we're here, alright? Here at Nines' invitation, got the whole spiel… Maybe we're just looking for an alternative?"

"You want an alternative?" Damsel snorted, tossing her head to pull her shaggy red bangs to the side. "Well, like you said, being here, that's a step in the right direction."

"Sooo… I'm Ruby, I think you might've heard that from Yang's talk downstairs…" She indicated the girl standing next to her, stiff as a board while still looking as if she were preparing to fight or flee. "And then this is Weiss, my really good friend, she's saved my life a bunch of times."

"Right…" The redhead sighed, looking off to the side before visibly reigning in her ire. "I'm Damsel, den mother of these mothers and once pissed bitch since La Croix rolled in."

"Really? You, pissed?" Ruby joked, slightly relaxing now that the elder Kindred had calmed somewhat. "You drink some bad blood or something?"

Damsel's countenance darkened again, this time in concern. "Oh, don't even joke about bad blood at a time like this! Don't you know we've got a plaguebearer around here?"

"A plaguebearer?" the brunette queried, turning to the side as Weiss finally stirred.

"The hazmat suits…" her friend murmured before glancing Ruby's way. "A plaguebearer is an idiot who cares nothing about who they feed from. While we, as Kindred, cannot get sick, the kine can, and Kindred who feed upon them can spread disease. If enough of them become sick…"

"...Then you've got yourself an epidemic, got it in one, Cammie," Damsel confirmed, her use of the nickname absent any of the usual venom in it this time. "The CDC's in town as we speak."

"So, then, how do you go about getting rid of the epidemic?" Ruby asked, concern in her own voice now.

"Seen Old Yeller?" Damsel asked levelly. "May sound cruel, but it's necessary. If someone puts together two and two as to the real cause of an outbreak of bloodborne diseases, guess what happens? So the plaguebearer's gotta be found and put down. If the Camarilla really gives a damn, they'll help us out."

"Look…" Ruby glanced between Weiss and Damsel, gathering her thoughts in her head. "So, maybe we don't have to go request help directly from the Camarilla or anything, I mean… The Anarchs have helped me out before, and with Yang part of the group... Let us help with this, okay?"

Weiss nodded firmly in agreement. "This affects all of the Kindred in LA, regardless of political affiliation. Where may we begin?"

The redhead gazed at them consideringly, her perpetual frown easing from her face. "Well," she mused, "one of our boys' ghouls, name's Paul, lives nearby in the Skyeline apartments. Been a stranger lately. Looked like death last time he was here. Said he didn't get bit, but… maybe you can get more info out of him."

"Okay, cool, then we'll-"

"Wait. If Paul's not talking, you might want to start questioning the homeless pop. So many have been dying lately that it takes the city a few days to pick up the bodies."

Ruby nodded. "We're on it, Damsel."

The pair of fledgling took their goodbyes from the turbulent Kindred, Weiss' only slightly forced, and headed back down the steps. Although Ruby was fully intent on pulling her platinum-haired companion into a corner to talk, as soon as her foot touched the downstairs carpet, a cheerful voice called out to them.

"Ruby! Ice Queen! Over here!"

The brunette fledgling grinned at Weiss' resigned sigh. "I'm never going to get away from that nickname, am I?" the other young Kindred complained softly.

"Doubt it," Ruby giggled quietly as they strolled over to where Nora was still perched at the bar. Skelter was leaving, though from his bemused expression it was less to do with the fledglings' company than just being thoroughly done with whatever his conversation with the bubbly orange-haired Kindred entailed.

"Hey, Nora," the brunette greeted her amicably. "Yang back yet?"

"Nah, she takes forever to change, her and that mane of blonde hair," Nora snickered, gesturing the two of them toward open bar stools.

Ruby laughed lightly as she hopped onto the seat next to the Anarch, Weiss sliding onto the one on the other side of the brunette. "Yeah, true, I remember how long she always took to brush her hair out… So, what's up?"

"I need to get your opinions on something," the orange-haired vampire stated solemnly.

"Um, okay, sure… What about?"

Nora leaned in, her pale turquoise eyes shining with suppressed mirth. "Vampire sex," she announced.

"Oh, here we go," Weiss groaned, signaling the bartender for a bottle of warmed blood.

"Wait," Ruby frowned. "I thought…"

"What, that we can't have sex?" Nora giggled. "Sure, we can."

"Yes, however, it's not something we should even worry about," Weiss argued, not bothering to look at the other Kindred. If Ruby had to guess, were she flush from a recent feeding, she just might be blushing by this point. "With the blood-"

"No, no, no, you're missing the point," Nora interjected with the air of someone visiting a favorite subject. "Okay, so, you guys know Kindred can love, still, right?"

"Um, well, I suppose," Ruby mumbled, snatching up the bottle offered to her by a rather sympathetic-looking bartender.

"Right. I mean, it depends on how close you are to your humanity and all… Anyway!" Both fledglings leaned back slightly as Nora thrust a finger upright, a wide grin splitting her face. "So, yeah, sex is fine and all, I mean, we can do it still, messy as hell, what with all of our fluids being blood… and I mean all our fluids…"

"Ewww," Ruby moaned quietly. Why am I here for this conversation?

"But sex doesn't replace feeding!" Nora continued in her lecture. "Now, what if we were to combine them?"

"Er, pardon?" Weiss interjected at the prompting. Involuntarily, if the slight grimace after the words left her mouth were any indication.

Taking the supposed encouragement and running with it, Nora leaned forward once again to amend her opening statement. "Vampire lesbian sex."

Ruby blinked her eyes uncertainly. Maybe she's a Malkavian?

Nora nodded sagely at the blank looks she was getting, using them as license to continue on blithely. "So, Kindred could, without any strenuous activity, survive on one feeding a month, if they got enough blood. I mean, it's not necessary, but it's possible, right?"

Ever so slightly, Ruby's eyes widened as a suspicion began to creep up on her like a boa constrictor on a sleeping mouse. No… No, no, please no…

"Now, a kine's period is basically what would have gone into feeding a uterus," Nora continued, figuratively skipping around the subject once more. "Like, really nutritious blood, I hear it's the cleanest and most sterile blood in the human body. So, there you go, an ironclad case for vampire lesbians having sex with their menstruating kine girlfriends!"

Okay, as… well, yucky as the whole idea is, Ruby mused, still struck speechless much as her partner was, gotta say, I'm kinda morbidly fascinated by the idea.

Nora grinned widely at the end of her spiel, blithely ignoring the stunned looks both fledglings were giving her. "So, what d'ya think?"

Fortunately, by that point, Yang had returned from the basement of the bar and took note of the poleaxed expressions of the two diminutive vampires. With an indulgent sigh, she walked up and smacked Nora lightly upside her head.

"For fuck's sake, Nora, I leave you alone for, what, twenty minutes? And you already broke 'em."

"But I was just-"

"I know damn well what you were tellin' them, it's all you've been goin' on about for the past six months." Yang shot her Anarch friend an amused glare. "You ever gonna pony up and try out your plan?"

"First I gotta find a menstruating lesbian!" Nora replied cheerfully.

"Right, well, I'll let you get on that," the blonde chuckled, taking hold of both of the fledglings' arms and gently pulling them from the barstools, steering them towards the exit. "I'm gonna go rescue what's left of their sanity."

"Okay, bye, Yang!" The orange-haired Kindred waved to the trio merrily. "Nice talkin' to ya, Ruby and Ice Queen!"

Once they were standing on the sidewalk outside, Ruby turned towards her sister. "Yang?"

"Yeah, Rubes?"

"That girl is scary."

"She's disgusting, is what she is," Weiss grumbled.

"Well, yeah, kinda have to agree with that…" The brunette pursed her lips, staring up at the dark sky thoughtfully. "Maybe just… really, really blunt?"

"Oh, yeah, she's that, alright," Yang chuckled, dropping their arms as they now strolled companionably along the street. "Known her since I was Sired, and she's never really seemed to have a mouth filter. Trust me, she grows on ya."

"I'm not so sure about that," Weiss huffed, her arms crossed. "So, what now?"

"Well…" The blonde Anarch took a few quick steps ahead and turned, walking backwards so that she could face the both of them while talking. "So, Rubbles here mentioned you two gotta check out the Elizabeth Dane, figured I'd tag along as help best I can. I mean, I need to stop by Santa Monica anyways and chat up old Kilpatrick. Gettin' kinda late, though… You two got any kind of Haven there?"

Ruby nodded, a smile on her face as she anticipated more time spent with her reunited sister. "Yep, above Tripp's Pawnshop."

The blonde came to a stop, staring at them incredulously. "Seriously? Those shitstains are the best the Cammies can afford?"

"The Camarilla," Weiss intoned with a small frown, "granted Ruby a temporary place to stay during her trials. I'm sure more… adequate accommodations will be afforded once she has earned them. If not…" The platinum-haired girl cleared her throat, looking off to the side. "Well, she may always share my Haven here in LA."

"Really?" the petite brunette squealed, glomping enthusiastically onto her partner. "Aww, you're the best friend ever, Weiss!"

"Ack, Ruby, what did I say about hugging?"

Yang shook her head, snickering as she turned and resumed her walk ahead of the other vampires while they straightened out their clothes. "I hope you at least got a bed there…"

"Oh, yeah, totally! Um, it's only a twin-sized one…" Ruby frowned as she hurried her pace to catch up with her older sibling. "Might have to squeeze a bit with three of us."

"Eh, no worries, Rubes, I've slept through the day in a bathtub before, it's no biggie."

"Well, the place is clean, at least, Weiss did a really nice job with that."

"Really?" Yang arched her brows, giving the platinum-haired fledgling a look. "Ice Queen here cleaned?"

"Yes, I did," she replied with a trace of asperity. "I do not enjoy occupying a… shitstain, as you so colorfully put it."

The blonde snorted out a laugh. "Yeah, you're alright, Ice Queen. Maybe we can use the time to get to know each other a little better, huh? Anyways, we got a little while before sunrise, should feed before bed, yeah?"

"That sounds… acceptable," Weiss returned demurely. "On both accounts."

"Yeah, should definitely stop off for a drink, that bottled blood didn't really fill me up much." Ruby shared a grin with her partner. "In fact, I know just the place…"

A/N: Back again! I think a certain little brunette vampire is eager to see her favorite blood doll again, hmm? Credit for the vampiric sex discussion goes to noone297 and their volumetric knowledge of all things WoD, while the vampiric lesbian menstruating sex convo was picked up from a random Tumblr discussion I came across. That site can be a very strange place at times, and I yet I get the most oddball ideas from there… I did say no shipping. I never said no sex.

So, I got myself moved, computer set up, and internet finally turned on (and yet there is a whole lot of unpacking to do still). Back in business! I won't be churning these out very quickly, however, as I still want to tackle the other story on the sidelines, so I'll apologize in advance for not sticking to a posting schedule. I'll try to keep up with this, though, and the next one will hopefully follow without as much of a gap in between!

One last tidbit to leave you with. March 9th is my two-year anniversary of posting fanfiction when I put up the first chapter of Nothing in the Verse. Doesn't seem like it's been two years, honestly. Over a million and a half words and 53 stories later and still going strong. I love this shit.

Bountiful thanks to my awesome Beta and collaborator, SilvanaCrowe, and hugs to you wonderful readers and reviewers! AntonSlavik020, Natrim, booman118800, Phoenix8221, Sharkdude5, Reaper Whisper, kinigget, RealTerminal, Crescent Sunrise, noone297, TheHollowClown, SixPerfections, Nicodemus Cain, Rimmer Dall, kaiju62, I love hearing from all of you, whether it be a simple "yay", or even further education on the World of Darkness ruleset, thank you all for taking the time to review!

Stay shiny!