When we last left our heroes, their worlds continue to fall
apart as the Vanishers begin to make their move against them…
Drake barely has time to press his panic button before the
flash grenade blows, shattering the windows, and mayhem ensues. He is immediately knocked out, blind and
deafened by the explosion. Morgan,
similarly addled, is able to register a hood being thrown over her head before
she is able to call upon her Glamour,
using the wind from the broken window to create a protective barrier of air
around her. As her hearing returns, she
swears she can hear the choppy whir of propellers. Her attackers shock her with something, and as she passes out, she swears the propeller sounds change to
machine gun fire.
Down in Central Park , Goom
lurks in the shadows, watching the pandemonium at the building Morgan had
entered, unaware that Drake lives there.
A helicopter hovers outside, rappelling ropes dangling, and flashes of
machine gun fire erupt from within it as the window shatters, showering the
street below with debris. Goom begins
running toward the building. The ropes
have been swung into the building, and two body bags are being hauled into the chopper
as more men rappel in and out. There is
a SWAT van in front of the building, and the street and park have been blocked
off on all sides by police cars; police officers shout into phones giving the
indication that this is not something that was planned. Goom goes under ground.
Wally is still in Jimmy’s squalid apartment, watching TV
while Jimmy fries eggs on the stove.
Local news breaks in to the broadcast:
In the penthouse of Charles Drake, a firefight has broken out among NYPD
SWAT, Drake’s private security, and an unknown group of mercenaries with a
helicopter. Jimmy
recognises the building, and yells, “God damn it! There goes my paycheck!” The story continues that the SWAT team was
there to serve an arrest warrant to Drake for the death and dismemberment of a
young woman, a possible prostitute. Wally shouts, “What the even fuck?” as a
picture of Meagan appears on screen. It
is unconfirmed if the mercenaries in the chopper are on Drake’s payroll, or if
he has been abducted along with new billionaire celebrity Morgan Jones. Another shout of “The ever-loving FUCK?!”
from Wally, who rounds on Jimmy, getting him to explain what he knows, learning
that Jimmy’s boss was contracted by Drake to snoop on Wally and others. After a while, the news breaks regarding
Meagan St. Paul, whose body parts started showing up months ago, but was
apparently spotted recently in upstate New York going by the name Melody, and
was declared missing earlier that day by her parents. There is an interview with someone working
for Drake’s company who swears that about four months back, Drake changed,
almost a different person.
Alia and Gareth, who is riding high, return to their bar of
choice just in time to see the Meagan/Melody story break. Gareth is with it enough to comment to Alia
that this is their friend from the support group who had gone missing. They continue to drink.
Morgan and Drake awaken in pain, in the Chrysler Building
Jimmy’s phone rings, causing Wally to jump. It is Charles Drake, panicked and
hyperventilating, imploring him to contact the others he had been watching and
tell them to get the hell out of Dodge.
The line goes dead. Jimmy passes
the message along to Wally, who nods and leaves.
Still at the bar, Gareth’s phone rings, an unknown
number. Despite Alia shaking her head at
him not to answer, he picks up. A man’s
voice tells him that Mr. Drake says to get the hell out of Dodge, and the call
ends. As he tries to wrap his addled
brain around it, Gareth’s phone buzzes again, this time with a text message
from Goom, who tells them to meet at the Ramble. Gareth and Alia both know the Ramble to be a
spot in Central Park , and head out.
His high starting to abate as they enter Central
Park , Gareth is jittery, rambling on about a dealer he used to buy
from who would do business around the Ramble.
Alia admonishes him to be quiet, since they don’t know if they’re going
to actually meet Goom, whom they hadn’t seen in weeks, or if it is a trap. Hiding in the shadows, Goom sees his friends
approach, but before he can hail them, he notices movement in the trees. Alia sees it as well: vines creep out along the ground and around
tree trunks, forming a gateway. Alia
grabs Gareth, pulling him along, as she shouts, “Goom! The church!”
 |
| I will festoon my bedchamber with his guts! |
As he passes Goom, he makes eye contact,
addressing him as “Private”. Goom
returns the nod, acknowledging the giant butcher as “Totenkopf”. The thing ambles up the path, though clearly
not following Alia and Gareth, who slow their retreat once they realise they
are apparently in no danger. Goom
catches up to them and leads them to what he refers to as Goom Lair Alpha. As they walk, they can hear shouts and
gunfire in the direction the Butcher went.
Alia wonders if they should help.
“When,” Gareth asks, “have you ever known us to actually save
anybody?” They continue on.
Wally wanders until he locates one of the few remaining
phone booths in the city with an intact phone book. He flips through it, looking for his parents,
to see if they still live in Queens . He finds a name and address that match, and
hails a cab.
Back in the Chrysler, Drake and Morgan watch on television
as the giant Butcher comes out of the park and annihilates a cop with a swing
of his knife. Gunfire erupts and he
swings at more officers before the picture cuts to a very ashen news
anchor. Madame Butterfly comments
“Either tonight we will have our answers, or that is the face of your killer.”
Elsewhere in the city, Alex and his daughter Debbie are
recovering from the trauma of their two Fae visitors earlier that night. Amidst the sirens wailing throughout the
city, they both go to bed, Alex never thinking of turning on the television.
Goom is about to start explaining what he’s been up to
recently, when a white van rolls up along side them, side door opening to
reveal black-clad men inside. With
Gareth spouting a litany of “No, no, no”, they rabbit, with the van
pursuing them, though they swear the guys inside are gesturing for them to come
in. Goom manages to smash through a
storefront door with the butt of his gun, and they make their way to a restroom
with a sewer opening. Goom leads them to
a sub-level, an old tunnel made of old wood planks, and he explains that these
are old cow tunnels that were used to bring cattle into Manhattan at the turn of
the century. They arrive at a heady
wooden door, the entry to Goom Lair Alpha.
Inside, they can hear a girl sobbing.
When Goom obviously doesn’t know what’s going on, Alia pops her claws,
and they enter with caution.
Sitting in an arm chair is Meagan, but different. Her hair is short and blond, her face
streaked with tears. Goom and Gareth
both notice that the neck tattoo their friend Meagan had worn is still present,
but on the opposite side – this is not their Meagan. When the girl sees Goom and his large gun,
she screams, toppling out of the chair.
Gareth cautiously approaches her, saying that they are friends of Meagan’s,
and the girl relaxes. She introduces
herself as Melody, saying that Meagan is dead.
Before she died, however, she’d given Melody a dream-catcher necklace
which would help her find friends that could help her. Knowing that Meagan thought Madame Butterfly
was after her, Melody panicked when she saw an unmarked van outside of her
dance studio earlier that day, and she ran, somehow making it all the way to Manhattan without the
police noticing, even though they were looking for her as well. She says that the necklace just sort of let
her know where to go, and that’s how she ended up down here; the necklace seems
satisfied now that they’re with her.
Gareth comforts her, offering a cigarette, and they both
light up. As the group tries to decide
what to do next, they notice a sudden influx of roaches into the lair, and the insects gather together to spell out “PRIVATE”, a picture of a
butterfly, and “NOW”. Their decision
made for them, Goom provides Melody with a Kevlar vest and hands both Alia and
Gareth each a gun. They return to the
street and proceed to the Chrysler.
As they approach the building, they hear gunfire and
helicopters. About 500 yards down the
road, they see the Butcher, slowly ambling towards them, his knife dragging and
sparking along the road. He is flanked
by helicopters with search lights turned on him, and although he’s being
peppered with automatic gunfire, he doesn’t react. In a panic, Gareth, Alia, and
Melody follow Goom into the building.
The lobby is full of Madame Butterfly’s heavies, but since the group is
familiar, they are let through to the elevator without incident.
Press play before reading on...
When the elevator starts rising, Alia demands that Goom
explain himself, and why didn’t that thing out there attack them. He stops the elevator and starts
talking. He asks if they remember the
pacts that they’d made with Madame Butterfly and with each other
previously. Alia and Gareth nod. Goom continues on that M. Butterfly has
transgressed against the Fae, what she calls the Vanishers, and that they are
coming for her. There will have to be a
sacrifice, and we are that sacrifice. He
has made a pact with the Butcher, although before he can go into detail, the
elevator doors open to reveal the Butcher.
He has shrunk himself to about seven feet, still formidable,
but able to fit in the lift. Gareth and
Melody cower in a corner. The Butcher
acknowledges them each by name, but he raises his knife when he sees Melody,
saying that he does not know her. They
all defend her, confirming to him that she has value to them, and he lets it
go. He stays standing in front of them,
right at the doors, with the four standing behind.
As they ride up, the Butcher says, “Remember, Private, on
pain of death.” Goom nods. The Butcher then advises them that they’d do
well to get to the side, which the four do, ducking and covering as the
elevator doors open on Yuri-ko’s office suite.
The elevator car is bombarded with bullets, but the Butcher just wades
into it, blade swinging.
Eventually the hail of bullets stops, the area quiet except
for the occasional low moan, and the group in the elevator cautiously step
out. The hall is awash with blood and
dismembered bodies. Alia and Gareth
instruct Melody to keep herself hidden behind the receptionists’ desk while
they do what they need to do. The
Butcher is coming back down the hall, knife dragging and sparking, and gestures
to Madame Butterfly’s safe room, instructing, “Private, you first.” Goom takes the lead, entering the room alone,
Alia and Gareth just on the other side of the doorway, and the Butcher behind
them just out of sight.
Goom is greeted with twelve muzzles pointed in his direction,
the tigers growl. Madame Butterfly asks
if he is with them, and Goom noncommittally replies, asking if he is the
sacrifice, or the whole group perhaps.
Yuri-ko wants to know if she should kill Goom or not, and Drake informs
her that he’s the only idealist among the group, and that he’s clearly made
pacts. M. Butterfly asks Goom if he’s
made pacts with the fae, but he won’t give her a definitive answer. Meanwhile in the hall, Alia grabs Gareth’s
arm and, with no resistance from the Butcher, begins backing them away from the
door.
Drake and Madame Butterfly’s heavies open fire upon
Goom. As his body hits the floor, the
primed flash grenade he’d been concealing rolls out of his hand, and detonates
in the middle of the group of soldiers.
While they’re distracted, Alia steps in and pulls Goom’s body out of the
room, and she and Gareth prepare to give him what aid they can. As he’s about to enter the room, the Butcher
asks if either of them would care to make a pact. They adamantly deny him, and he shrugs,
saying it was worth a try; he enters the room.
He greets Yuri-ko by name, and the tattooed man asks for
his, which the Butcher gives as Totenkopf.
Totenkopf the Butcher asks for the Oathbreaker, chiding, “Yuri-ko, you
expect me to step into your silly cage?
We have been merciful with you, but we can turn our attention back to
you.” He turns to one of the tigers,
which is straining at its collar and chain.
He raises his knife, swings, and the chain is severed. The tiger sits docile at his side. Drake tries taunting the Butcher, hoping to
entice him closer, but Totenkopf only grins at him, and releases the other
tiger. Still grinning, the Butcher steps
forward to engage the twelve soldiers, and that’s when the other set of iron
bars drops down from the ceiling, blocking the doorway. The guards, now trapped in a cage with the
Butcher, look back at M. Butterfly nervously.
The Butcher addresses Drake, saying, “You have chosen your
allies poorly. Are you aware that she is
the one who invited me? She framed you
for the murder of your friend.” Drake
asks why Morgan is here then, but the Butcher doesn’t know, saying that she is
merely collateral. He does offer her a
deal, presumably for her safe passage, but Morgan won’t take the bait. He asks her that since they’ve got plenty of
time, and since they’re not going anywhere, can’t they negotiate? Drake steps in saying that if she deals, she
dies. Totenkopf offers to change the
odds, and he swings his knife, beheading six of the guards. The remaining six open fire, filling him with
bullets, but he doesn’t react. Drake and
Morgan share a look of understanding, and Drake aims his gun at her. Totenkopf kills the remaining guards. “This box of yours is imperfect,
Yuri-ko. What is your intent?”
Madame Butterfly says that she will give him Drake, but in
exchange he must send her back, back to before all of this happens, back to
when she was beautiful. As her tirade
rises, the massive window behind her bursts open, the wind at the high
elevation sucking and whistling. The
vine creature, which had previously appeared in Alex’s apartment, climbs into
the room, casually tossing the tattooed man outside. It grabs Madame Butterfly, and without
hesitation, twists her head right off.
It breaks off several of its branches and drops them to the floor along
with her head. It then makes like a tree
and leaves.
 |
| Ain't nobody fucks with tree man. Ain't nobody. |
Drake is able to reach through the bars, pressing a button
that will release the first set of bars, allowing the Butcher to leave, but
keeping himself and Morgan out of harm’s way.
He waits until he knows the building is cleared before releasing the
rest of the cage.
Out in the corridor, Alia and Gareth have managed to tend to
the worst of Goom’s wounds, and Gareth calls upon his glamour to revive his friend.
Goom is in pain, but no longer hemorrhaging blood. The
Butcher approaches them, telling Goom, “Consider your deal honoured,
Private. If you want to help your
friends further, I recommend you partake of the Death’s Head blossom.” Goom nods weakly, and the Butcher leaves,
entering the elevator and riding down.
Wally’s taxi pulls up in front of his childhood home, and he
asks the driver to wait. He knocks on
the door and is greeted by his mother; it looks as though she’s been
crying. “I was told to expect you,” she
says, letting him in. Wally says he isn’t
surprised, but asks who told her in the first place? She merely says, “He’s waiting inside.” As they walk through the hallway, Wally sees
evidence of a life that isn’t his – framed pictures and documents line the
wall, giving a glimpse of all the things the other Wally has done—shaking hands
with President Obama, awards, ceremonies.
After 2008, his mother no longer appears in the pictures, and around the
same time the family pictures just change to press releases clipped from the
paper. The last item is a letter accepting
him as a professor at Perdue. Wally
notices that his girlfriend from his old life, Allison, never appears in any of
the pictures.
Before they go into the sitting room, his mother comments
that he’s very different from her boy, which he acknowledges. “Are you a good man?” “Maybe,” he replies. “I don’t know any more." His mother replies, "I don't think my son is," and they walk in. Sitting on the couch is the
blue boy with compound eyes and gossamer wings.
It buzzes at Wally, “Ah, welcome.
The time has come to answer the question…”
At some point in the night, Alex awakens with the sense that
something isn’t right. He goes into the
hallway to Debbie’s room, noting that the street sounds are loud, as though a
window had been left open. Her bed is
empty, but there is a large lacquer box with a red door inlaid. Alex calls for his daughter, but there is no
answer. Inside the box is a letter,
which says “The time has come to answer
the question,” and a map of Central Park
with a location indicated.
One. Session. Left.
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