Part 32: XXXII - Carnival of Death

The thread has decided. We are heading back to Santa Monica to wrap up the serial killer quest.



Sure, why not?



But while we're there, let's check in on a few friends. The first is Mercurio, our great weapons supplier. We last asked him to check with his contacts, see what he could get for us. That was a while ago, so he should have something now.



There's a problem, however. We can no longer enter his apartment. Opening the doors does nothing -- the game just doesn't load the appropriate area. We're stuck. I attribute this to installing the 9.0 version of WESP5's patch.



So we have to use the console to teleport into the area. Finding the right combination of commands to use took more time than I would have liked, by the way. There's changelevel, and then there's changelevel2. The first removes all of your equipment and money upon teleportation. That's not all, however, since there's also sm_apartment_1, and then there's sm_apartment_1b. Teleporting to 1b, using either changelevel or changelevel2, removes all of your items and money. It's only the combination of changelevel2 and sm_apartment_1 that does the trick.



Uh... or not. It's all dark. Did Melissa suffer her final death? Is she dead, Jim?



Oh, no, she's not. We just spawned waaaaay below the actual level geometry. We have to noclip up.



Wait, what's that room off to the side?



Yes, that is who you think it is. In every area where you can turn on the news, the anchor is spawned somewhere outside of the regular geometry.



Back on track, here's Mercurio. He was only on the beach to meet us before we shipped out to the Elizabeth Dane. Now he'll be at his apartment from here on. I guess he never bothered to clean the blood away for old times sake. "The first time I met Melissa". Okay, maybe not.



Last time we asked him about a bunch of different weapons. He came through on one. Not selling him out is totally worth it.

Let's see it.



This is (probably) the best shotgun in the game. Very lethal at close range. It has a semi-automatic function, in addition to single-shot, but that's only useful for boss fights and the like. We're buying it and filling up our ammo supply. There's a reason why I have money saved up, and that reason is that there's nothing else to buy. Let's chat more with Mercurio.



You're lucky. Can I ask you about the sheriff?

Big, silent, stone cold palooka. Never seen 'im in action but I hear things. Hear he's the last thing you see if you get on LaCroix's bad side. Say he fights like the devil. Not the kind of guy I'm gonna look in the eye, you know what I mean?

How about Nines?

Nines? Nah, I never actually met him, but I've been hearin' about him for years. His operation's crude, but those anarchs are mad-dog vicious when they need to be. City's full of 'em. They're none too friendly with the Camarilla, so be careful around 'em.

Understood. Tell me about Hollywood.

Hollywood's been good to me. Lot of my business comes from Hollywood. Guy named Isaac runs the show. Real legend. Camarilla's got no presence to speak of there. Stop by the graveyard. Good customer o' mine works it.

Nothing we didn't already know. Thanks, Mercurio. We'll check back in with you later.



The next person(s) are at the Asylum.



Therese still has the gun in her hand, even though she supposedly gave it to us back in part 12.

Good evening.



What's going on in Santa Monica?



Oh, let me tell her!

Be my guest.

Therese has officially sided with the Camarilla. Could be a prince, one day. And I -

- just happened to find the pendant from the Ocean House.

Congratulations. If you ever need a favor, find me. Goodbye.

Nothing particularly new with them. We knew that Therese had Camarilla aspirations from the beginning. It was only a matter of time until she acted on them.




The last familiar face we're going to see is Bertram Tung.





He doesn't have anything new to say, but for some reason, we can now interact with his computer.



We could have done this earlier in the game, before we ended his feud with Therese, but that required a lockpicking skill higher than we had at the time. Usually with Bertram here, we can't interact with his computer. I'm not sure why we can now. Maybe it has to do with WESP5's 9.0 patch.

We're checking his email first. The password is tung. Well, nobody said he was original.




If he did go, Bertram Tung might have used his... nevermind.


Jeanette sure like ellipses. Just the like the teenager she pretends to be.



The other section of Tung's computer is his notes on Santa Monica. The password is obfuscate.

asylum posted:

Run by vampiric sisters. I like Jeanette better than Therese.

That's how a Nos would've entered the gallery, using those pipes.

Anyway, now to the main event.



Our man apparently left his business card at the last scene of the crime. Why he did this, I don't know. We'll just have to ask.



Remember, we met this guy back in the diner. He's a vampire. Why would he do this? Kill people so gruesomely? He's breaking the masquerade, putting us all in danger.



Wha--





:wesp:



This small building really has nothing to it.



Somebody must have had fun coming up with these magazine covers.



Outside, there are two stereotypical junkyard doges. WESP has trapped them behind a locked fence.



Behind us, the path lies blocked with crates -- the biggest foible of any video game protagonist.



Jumping up to look beyond the crates, we find the Santa Monica Slasher!



He kicks the car body in the air, crushing the crates. Getting hit in the wrong way here can result in instadeath.

We continue the chase...



...and the slasher kicks another car, another attempt at killing us.



Another failure.



And another.





He then kicks a stack of car bodies at us, yet this too fails to damage us.

Up ahead...











An explosion. He knew we were coming. No way he just had that trap lying around.



Regardless, we continue unscathed.



His final trap thwarted, the Santa Monica Slasher stands silently in wait.


(Here, half the time, a moment triggers where the player no longer controls the protagonist. The PC walks slowly to the left, then, and the Slasher runs forward to meet them. Here, that didn't trigger, so we walk up to him and speak.)



"Vampire"? He must be caitiff.

Tell me why you did it.

Why the hell do you care? I don't give a damn if you understand.

All the same, I'd love to hear your explanation.



Come to think of it, have we heard anything about his motives?


That explains why the kills were so brutal -- it was personal. Yet, the fact that they were such an open display of a vampire's power only endangers other kindred that had nothing to do with whatever happened.

You broke the Masquerade and risked the safety of every Kindred.

You think your bullshit vampires rules means a goddamn thing to me? Nothing matters to me.

Don't you want someone to know your story? Tell me.



So killing people made you feel better?

Not one of them paid! My whole family dead, my life gone. I'm supposed to let that happen!?!

I understand.

I tracked them down. Hunted them. One by one, caught them all. The one you saw in Hollywood, he was the last of them.

Muddy. Kilpatrick had a bounty out on him, and a job for us. No way we can report it now. It's also worth mentioning that this message:


was sent by the Slasher. Same voice. He set them up -- hunted them like prey. All for revenge.

And so your revenge is complete.

Revenge. Justice. Whatever you want to call it. All I thought about is taking these evil animals, ripping them to shreds and licking their blood from my claws.

Justice. A vigilante. A serial killer that only kills killers. We're dealing with a vampiric--

Let me step in here.

Dexter! What are you doing here?

Oh, you know. Just here to offer some advice.

...

...

...Which is?

I think you should go easy on the Santa Monica Slasher, here.

Huh? Why? See yourself in him?

What? Not a chance! Much to sloppy. Too public. Too open. Rule number one, remember? Harry would never approve. Still, he was just doing what he thought was right. For his family. ... Don't be too harsh.

Oh yeah, Harry and the code. Hey, wait a minute, didn't you have a revelation at the end of season 2, where you--

SURPRISE MOTHAFUCKA!






Don't any of you motherfuckers dare post Dexter spoilers, in or out of tags. I just finished season 2. Don't tempt me.




You got them. It's over. You can get on with... life.

I don't know. Butchering those bastards was the first time I've felt anything since my family was torn from me. I'm sure there are others out there whose crimes have gone unpunished.

That's the Beast talking. It has a hold on you.

At least I put it to use! How many vampires have used their abilities for a just cause? At least I did something!

Maybe, but you lost control... and have to be dealt with.

Believe it or not, we actually gained humanity from that last option. This only makes sense in context--the third option was to attack the Slasher unprovoked.



There are really two ways this can go: peacefully, or a bloodbath. The third option actually makes us fail the quest, ending it immediately without any experience gain. No sense in doing that. I'm letting the thread decide the ultimate fate of the Santa Monica Slasher. He did it for justice, to avenge his family. And we might be able to convince him to stop entirely. But remember, this is what his justice looks like: