Chapter Text
Something new yet again I have been sitting on a cyberpunk idea for a while so here goes. This is just a feeler chapter of sorts, it will not be pure world of darkness setting either as it currently stands I am only interested in vampires I will not have werewolves or mages or changelings or any other supernatural entities really. I incorporate VTM 20th edition lore with more requiem aligned disciplines and concepts, so knowledge of the game books is not necessary as I take time to put things out in notes.
Revised as of 11/9/2023
He knew it had been a bad idea to come here... Despite knowing Doc for years, he had a predatory way about him and right now David knew the man could smell blood.
He knew he was desperate, knew about his mom, and that was why he was trying to cheap out on him. He had seen Doc do it to other folks hundreds of times, he shouldn't be shocked yet, he was... they were chooms weren't they?
"Bullshit Doc! you gotta cut me some slack! I've always done right by you choom, I sold your black market BD's edited them for you and everything can't you do me a solid just this once?" He all but shouted barely managing to keep the rage out of his voice.
Doc looked down at him and flashed him a toothy grin, his too dark eyes glimmering slightly "No can do Davey, way of da world these days can't afford to be fair not even to you choom."
David felt what little patience he had left simmer out and burn away, blood boiling in his veins he rocketed to his feet "Fuck that Doc! and fuck the way of the world! I always had your back! Don't give me that shit!"
Doc looked at him silently for a moment his eyes peering down at him coldly. He resisted the urge to back down staring back up at him defiantly.
After a moment Doc sighed a low chuckle escaping him before he leaned back against his chair.
"Look, Martinez, that is my final offer for the sandevistan..." He paused and David was about to cut him off only stopping when he held up his hand.
"...But I can other you something other than eddies if you like?"
David looked up at Doc as he swept back his white hair andgrinned down at him with his eerie too dark eyes. "What do ya mean choom?" He decided to ask trying to keep the desperation from his voice.
Doc just shrugged "I've known you for a while kid, I put dat Sandy in you chances are you would flatline before leaving my table, no offense intended. You look mad enough to try just dat."
David shook his head, "I ain't planning on dying any time soon...." He knew it sounded weak but he did not really have any other options.
He grinned again the sight of it setting off alarm bells in his head. "Never say never choom, Hear me out for old times' sake yeah? You are right, I don't have to play by dis world's rules. You give me dat chrome and I will give you a real gift, something for the long haul."
He felt more confused and lost then he had when he came to the office. "What do you have?"
Doc tapped his long fingers on the countertop "Tell me choom, have you ever heard of vampires?"
David had, they were creatures of folklore and scary movies, inhuman predators with a taste for blood and a penchant for biting their victims.
"Yeah I've heard of em, hollywood shit from the old days couple of vamp implants float around too, who hasn't?"
Doc Borg leaned in over the counter his eyes glowing faintly as his smile turned from toothy to something very different had his teeth always been so sharp?
"Ain't just Hollywood shit choom, and I ain't talking chrome, I'm talking about real live fucking undead, real magic, real powers, real creatures of legend."
He felt a chill run down his back, a coldness seizing him. "You're shitting me?" he whispered, he had to be, right?
Doc Borg grinned wide and he saw it then, vicious fanged teeth, "Dead serious choom," he laughed at his own joke as David felt his legs turn to water and almost collapse beneath him.
He tried to correct himself but he stumbled and fell back.
David landed with a soft thud on the office floor staring up at the office lights. Doc lifted him with one hand effortlessly, as if he weighed nothing at all, and sat him back on the table.
He felt numb, like he was having an out of body experience, but he was very much alive. "Are you fucking nuts?" he croaked.
"Shit, you should know better choom, I never leave dis shop, I scam, I kill, I record and rip awful shit and no one ever comes and puts me down." David could feel the ice creeping into his guts.
"I have ripped tech off of all the gangs in night city, I don't have any guards, think for once in your life Martinez, think about what I'm offering you here, how much is the Sandevistan worth to you now?"
David swallowed hard, he didn't have much else to go on did he? His mom was dead, Arisaka had fallen through... the credits he got with the sandie would have only been a temporary fix. "What do you want?" he asked trying to sound tough but feeling as if he were falling down a dark well.
"The Sandevistan, in return I will give you my gift David, either way I will get it now and either way you will not be leaving here alive, only difference is one way you will leave here walking."
David looked up at Doc Borg then down to the chrome and back up again "And the other way?" he whispered.
Doc Borg grinned again showing the wicked fangs and David felt something break inside of him. "They will never find your body the other way... Your fault for catching my interest choom."
David closed his eyes for a moment, this was crazy, he couldn't be serious... but then he remembered how he had lifted him with one hand, the pallor of his skin, the stench of blood that clung to him, the doc was different. David knew the other man was not like him and it scared him to think about it...
"Why me?" he asked finally "why do you want me?" he opened his eyes and met the doc's gaze, there was a feral gleam to it that chilled him to his very core.
"You are a good kid, always sold and bought my shit, fair and square, not squeamish around blood, and you brought me quite the gift, you have a passion to you too... I saw it just now, you are hungry, and angry, looking to lash out, I don't need any more reasons." Doc Borg told him.
David swallowed again trying not to vomit, he felt dizzy "How much?" he asked "How much will this other gift cost me?"
Doc grinned and it was all teeth, "We are square Martinez, that sandie is mine, and my gift is priceless, free of charge, just remember how I helped you, and one day you will help me." David saw a flash of those teeth again as Doc Borg leaned in close. "It's a small city after all..."
David felt his stomach drop as he felt his head clear a little he tried to push Doc away but the man lashed out and held him down, there was a sharp pain on his neck and then indescribable pleasure, he felt like he was falling, falling, falling, and then there was nothing but darkness.
As he lost himself he saw something horrid, he could swear he saw a light only to be pulled away into the darkness, by something that was and was not himself, the being in his dream had darker eyes and paler skin, as he focused on its features it struck him as unnatural, terrible, the being that was not him... it walked up to him and he saw the hunger in its eyes. Terrible fathomless hunger, the thing wearing his face grinned, showing bloody jagged teeth and then there was nothing.
He came to sometime later, the first thing he noticed was his heart wasn't beating, the second thing he noticed was that he was soaking wet, he blinked and turned his head slowly he was laying on his side in water and filth, naked... his hair was plastered to his head and he could taste blood in his mouth, he looked down at his chest and saw no visible wounds or blood. "What?" he said softly as he touched his neck and found nothing but smooth skin.
"Welcome to unlife David, I've made you one of us." Doc Borg was sitting on a bench in the small back room of the office, it looked like a blood bath had been going on, the walls were stained dark with still wet blood and in the corner was a mangled human shape, or at least half of one.
David felt a bit sick then "What? What the fuck happened where am I?" he asked keeping his voice level though his body was beginning to shake.
Doc ignored his questions. "We are alike now, you and I. I made you a vampire, You have been out for a few minutes, you lost all of your blood, I needed to stabilize you before we finished the change."
David looked down at his hands despite the low light of the back room he could see perfectly, his skin was a little paler than it had been before but there was no sign of any wounds or cuts he noticed he was certain that his heart was silent. "You took my heart?" he asked numbly.
"Nope, it is still their just atrophied, like the rest of our organs." Doc Borg told him, "They are not really necessary for our kind, there are a few things you should look out for though."
He stood up and walked over to David as he sat on the tubs edge in front of him. "Fire, full body destruction, and complete dismemberment. Those things can kill you now." he said as he picked up a bloodstained rag and began to wipe off his hands.
David felt like his head was going to explode. "Well they could have probably killed me before too Doc..." he snapped as he tried to stand and fell back into the tub with a groan.
Doc laughed then and David again saw the fangs and knew what he now was... sure enough as he ran his tongue over his teeth, he felt his own fangs. Sharp vicious things a tell-tale sign of what he had become.
"Yeah, true enough, also no sunlight big no no." he smiled wider though there was no mirth in it "It will not kill you right away, but you will wish it did."
David shook his head. This was too fucking much to deal with, he felt the damn room spinning... "I thought you gave me a gift?" he asked barely containing his disgust.
Doc shook his head in reply "It is a gift Martinez, no sunlight is a small price to pay in Night city, lots of people work nights, especially wannabe criminals like you were going to be, immortality and being as hard to kill as a borg should be more than a fair trade. Sides with all the smog half of the day is night anymore..."
David felt like he was going to puke again, "What the fuck am I supposed to do?" he asked weakly.
Doc shrugged, "Anything you want, live, die, kill, hell make hundreds of monsters just like you. Whatever, that is up to you." he told him.
David groaned again, "This is nuts..."
Doc smiled, "Well there's a few things I forgot to mention." David could feel the heat in his eyes as he looked up at him. "Like I said before, it's a gift, but you see our friend over there?" He asked gesturing to the mutilated corpse in the corner.
David felt squeamish despite himself but he forced himself to look at the mangled body. "Y-yeah?" he stammered.
Doc Borg grinned again showing his fangs, "Yeah, you did that."
David stared at him in shock, he felt like he was going to pass out again, or maybe vomit... "W-what?"
No, no way in hell...he wasn't a murderer.
Seeing his apparent horror Doc explained. "You see David, the turning often requires a sacrifice most fledglings go into frenzy upon receiving the embrace, after the monster inside of you consumes your own blood and the vitae used to animate you, it compels you to hunt as it makes the changes to your body, so you rip and tear at others until you've had your fill. I've seen it happen more than once, it's ugly and very hard to clean up."
David stared at him in horror "That's not what happened!" he gasped, "I didn't do that!" he shouted in anger.
Doc shrugged and waved his hand dismissively, "Well you are sort of right you didn't do that but your new friend in your head did, that's the beast, the primal hunger that compels us to hunt for blood, and to feed our insatiable appetites." he grinned wider showing his teeth, "Don't worry though, you will learn to control it and harness it as well." he told him. "Or you won't either way it will be interesting." he laughed.
David stared at him in shock. "So, if I don't learn to control it I'll go crazy and eat people?" he asked numbly.
Doc shrugged again, "Yeah, basically, it's called a frenzy, happens when we lose control of our appetites. Or our tempers..." he said, "Once that happens the only thing left in us is the hunger, you will want to feed and you will hunt and consume whatever blood you can get your hands on until you are satiated or until you are dead."
"Keep yourself fed and it will be no problem, and if you don't?" David saw the humor in his eyes as he grinned again, "You will become a ravenous, uncontrollable monster, a monster that will do anything to get more blood."
David felt numb. He had to push on though learn what he could. "Anything else I should know?" he asked finally.
Doc shrugged and looked down at him "We aren't like the myths, we don't burst into flames when touched by holy water and we don't sleep in coffins unless you really want to... Most of it you will figure out yourself, it is in the blood really, everything we need to know about our kind is in our blood and the beast, time will tell what traits yours has."
"Traits?" David asked as he struggled to stand again.
Doc grinned again "Oh yeah, the blood takes many talents three are always inherited, as a mark of clan, speaking of which welcome to the Brujah, The blood of savage scholars. Through the blood you will learn many things and from my blood you will learn a little more, you will learn to be quick, strong, magnetizing, and nearly unkillable."
David looked up at him again and saw the hunger in his eyes. "I see." he whispered.
Doc shrugged a patronizing smile spreading across his face. It pissed him off.
"You don't, but you will let me break it down right quick Davey, Brujah, have three disciplines or tricks of the blood, Potence, is superhuman strength the stuff legends are made of. Celerity, it makes you faster eventually able to do what this Sandy can. Majesty is well... fuck you remember rocker boys yeah? Like Silver hand and his fanatics, yeah you can do that. I have been around for quite some time as well, so you also likely inherited my talent of fortitude, fortitude makes you hard to kill, really hard to kill, even more than most vampires, tank a clip from a rifle, take buckshot to the noggin, run through fire that kinda thing."
David stared at him. "And what are Brujah really?" he asked trying to keep his voice steady.
Doc laughed, "Well that one is easy you're going to be a fucking blood sucking predator, not too many of us, not many kindred in general these nights, one in every million or something like that, we are either solitary or pack hunters, majestic and quick to anger like the beast and strong and fast as they come."
David felt like he was going to throw up again, he looked down at himself then back at Doc, he had to keep it together. "Where are my clothes?"
Doc pointed vaguely behind him "over there in the office, the change involves voiding your bowels, nasty work, figured I would save you from waking up in your own shit." he laughed. "Anyway, clothes are in the office go get dressed if you want."
David stood up and felt a little woozy but managed to stumble over to the office he opened the door and walked in it was clean, but everything was covered in blood. "Jesus..." he whispered as he found his pants in a pile and began to pull them on. He found his shirt and his mother's EMT jacket, he grabbed it too, it was all he had left of her.
He found his shoes near the door and then he made his way back into the office where Doc Borg was still sitting on the table waiting for him. "Feel better lick?" he asked with a grin.
David looked up at him with cold eyes, "Much." he said in a flat voice, "What do you want Doc?" he asked again.
Doc shrugged "Trades done, I even gave you some pointers for the trouble, you are on your own Martinez, nothing more to do now." he told him as he stood up. "Go on, get the fuck out of here, get yourself something to eat you are still thirsty, got to feed young blood, and soon." he waved his hand towards the door.
David walked slowly to the door and as he reached for the handle Doc spoke up again. "Oh, and David?" he said with a grin. "There is no such thing as Santa Claus."
David looked back over his shoulder at him with cold eyes "Just in case you were thinking fairy tales were true choom!" Doc laughed again. "I'll be seeing you kid, enjoy your new life."
David slammed the door on the way out, he made his way out of the alley and into the street, as he went everything seemed more vibrant, the neon-stained sky more vivid and the colors on the buildings were so much brighter.
As he walked down the street he saw clearly and smelled things he hadn't even noticed before, the blood in the gutters, the drugs on the men that passed him in the street, and the cheap perfume... every scent lingered, longer and further than it had before. As he looked down at the ground he saw his reflection in a puddle on the street he stared into the puddle of dirty water and saw himself but it was not him, finer flawless skin, sharper darker eyes, there was something off about him, something terrible in his eyes.
He didn't feel like himself, like he had ever even been himself... he felt at once more and less than himself, the young man that he had been seemed almost distant and unreal now and David wasn't even sure what he was anymore. He stood there for a few minutes just staring at the reflection in the puddle, trying to make sense of it all. It was no use, he felt so confused, so lost, so alone.
Worse, now that his nausea had passed, he had never felt better in his life, his body was positively overflowing with energy, with power, no matter how far he walked he did not feel any pain, even when he began to run his lungs did not burn. He felt stronger, quicker, better.
David shook his head, he had bigger problems, he still needed money, shelter. All those things and more were far more important than his new predicament. And so he began to walk down the street again, trying to think of where he could go. He had no place to call home, if he did not make rent he would be on the street, homeless... and he did not want to end up like those people he passed on the street. Especially not now.
Now that the sun would kill him.
It was dark now and the lights were on in the small food stalls as David walked past them the previously appetizing smells seemed to disgust him, even the thought of eating nauseated him. As he walked past an alleyway he caught a scent on the breeze and as he stopped, he found that it had taken over his senses.
Blood... Something within him called David stood there breathing in the scent of the blood and he could hear it in his head, see it, feel it, taste it. His mind was racing, was this what Doc had told him about, the hunger? Was this what he meant when he had told him that he was not himself now? This primal craving was overwhelming and David felt like he was losing himself to it, like he was drowning and being dragged down to the depths of his own mind.
David began to run down the alleyway he no longer cared about his problems or his wants, he had only one desire now, one goal. Blood, all he could smell was blood and he felt so hungry, so thirsty, so desperate. He didn't care where he was going anymore, all he wanted was to find the source of the blood and consume it. He didn't care who it belonged to or what it had been used for he only knew that he needed it now.
As he reached the end of the alleyway he ran straight into a man, a tall man with dark hair, he looked to be in his thirties or early forties, but as he looked up David saw his cybernetic eyes, his face deformed by all the chrome he had implanted, a maelstromer if he had to guess.
David snarled as he smelled the blood on his skin and clothes and began to snarl louder, the man was just standing there and as David looked down at his bloody clothes, he felt his hunger grow.
"Fleshbag what are you growling at?!" the gonk asked as he pulled a wicked looking blade from the small of his back. "Do I know you?" he asked him coldly, "If you don't get outta here kid, I am going to do something you'll regret."
David had no idea who this gonk was, or why he was bleeding but all he could see was red, all he could smell was blood and all he wanted was to sink his now itching teeth into his neck... he didn't even care about his knife he just wanted to drink the man's blood and see his face as the life drained from him.
He couldn't stop himself, that dark part of him couldn't bring him to even want to.
As David bared his teeth and leapt at him the gonk spun out of the way, his blade arcing through the space between him as it connected with his flesh the blade cut through him like butter but to David's shock he did not lose any blood nor did he feel much pain at all, spurred on by his newfound resilience he went after the gonk as he lunged and tackled him to the ground, the man was trying to crawl away but David held him down with one hand and with the other he scratched his face with his fingers as he bashed his skull against the pavement.
The thug in an act of desperation drove the blade into his chest this time but once more it did little but stagger him for a second before he continued beating on him.
The man began to scream, he tried to push him off of him, but David was too strong, he grabbed the man by his long hair and tore into his neck, biting down into his flesh, he felt the hot blood flow into his mouth as he tore open his throat and began to drink deeply.
Euphoria... As he drank the man's screams grew softer and softer until they stopped altogether, David felt something deep in his mind go quiet, like the calm at the eye of a storm he felt the raging hunger within him calm and be soothed by the blood flowing down his throat, his heart which had until then had been silent seemed to beat once more in tune with the man's pulse.
Until far too quickly the man's heart skipped a beat, and then another, before falling still.
David sat back on his heels, the man's lifeless mechanical eyes staring up into the sky up at him almost condemning him, he ran his hand over his face and wiped the blood from his lips, he felt so much better, so much more content than he had before, it was amazing how good the blood tasted on his tongue... he had never tasted something so wonderful before in all of his life, it was as if he had been starved all his life and now had finally tasted real food.
The thing in his head the beast seemed to roar in triumph, David saw his hands covered in blood and he looked down at his chest and saw that the man had stabbed him a third time but with a little pull on his blood the wound had already begun to close over, his body was healing itself faster than he had ever seen before.
Reaching out tentatively he removed the blade from his chest watching in fascination as the wound closed completely, leaving not even a scar on his skin. Even when he had been stabbed he had barely felt it, it had been like being punched by a small child...
"Jesus..." he whispered in amazement.
David stood up slowly, pocketing the knife as he did, his hunger had calmed and his mind was still, but the beast was still there, he could feel its approval of what he had just done, its desire for more blood. As he looked around the alleyway David realized that he had killed the man in a blind rage and that he had lost himself to the beast, to the hunger.
As he stared at the dead man on the ground David realized that he had killed a man, he had enjoyed the act of hunting, the power and the hunger had made him do it. "Oh god..." he whispered as he fell to his knees again beside the man's body, he tried to find some remorse but there was none there, only that feral satisfaction in his mind, and the thought that he would like to do it again.
It disgusted him, this thing was changing him.
David shook his head again, he didn't want to feel this way, he wanted to feel bad, he wanted to be upset, to mourn what he had just done. There was nothing there... was he so desensitized from the braindances over the years, or had his new nature made him like this? David didn't know, and right now it didn't matter. He stood up again and walked away from the body of the thug and as he walked, he found that he could still smell the blood on the body, on his clothes, and on his hands.
As his head cleared and the euphoria faded he felt it, the beast receding into the back of his mind and when its presence faded remorse bubbled up within him, stalling his steps and making him gag on nothing. He felt sick with himself, how could he do that? He knew the man was a thug, had smelled the blood on his hands, and felt him attack him, but he had killed him. He had enjoyed the feeling of drinking the man's blood, and worse the beast... what he could only describe as a presence, had seemed pleased with the kill too, had encouraged him to continue and take more and more, and as the realization set in David felt his legs give out beneath him as he fell to his knees.
He was a murderer, and worse a part of him, or whatever the beast was had enjoyed it, he had enjoyed it!
"No!" he shouted at himself. "NO!"
He slapped his cheek with one hand and felt it sting. "This isn't me... this can't be real..." he muttered.
But as he looked down at his bloodstained hands and arms, and then the blood on his clothes and finally his lips. He knew it was not a nightmare, no dream he could ever have would taste or smell this visceral. This was real, and it was all happening to him. He looked around the alleyway then at the body, he had to move, someone may have heard the commotion...
"Come on Martinez..." he growled, berating himself as he stood to his feet, he had to get out of here and fast.
As he turned down the street, he stopped to wipe the blood off of his hands as best he could, he didn't need anyone to stop him right now. As he continued on down the street he began to walk faster, his feet seeming to move faster and faster until he was running again, faster and faster, until he felt like he was flying.
As he ran David realized, that he did not even need to breath as he ran through the streets, his heart had stilled again but he could still feel it in his chest, strong and powerful. Despite himself he felt elated by the feeling of speed and freedom he had as he ran down the street. As he stopped on a corner he saw himself in the window of a small corner store, his clothes covered in blood, his eyes were dark and wild, he looked like a monster... but he felt free, stronger, better than he had ever felt before, more alive than he had ever been before.
David saw himself reflected in the window he almost swore his reflection smiled back at him with dark too hungry eyes like pools of shadow. He turned away from the window his elation forgotten he continued to run down the street, there was only one place he wanted to be right now. Home. And if he could still remember where it was, it would be soon enough.
When he arrived at his mother's apartment it was just before dawn, he had been running all night, no matter how much he ran he had never felt any fatigue, never felt like he was out of breath. As he arrived at the front door, he had to stop himself from rushing inside he took a few deep breaths and pushed the door open slowly.
As he stepped inside, he was hit by the smells of the apartment, he smelled coffee, food, the dried flowers his mother had loved so much, and he saw the photos she had always kept on her table, the small analog clock she had since he was a child.
It was the smell of home, and as he looked around the apartment David felt his eyes grow hot with tears. For a moment he had almost forgotten that she was gone, that she had been taken from him by the city, and then he had remembered. It was hard to forget when he still smelled her, these senses as great as they were made him ache with the memories of her and what she had done for him.
David moved to her table and sat down in the chair looking down at the urn with her ashes in it, she was there, but she was not there. "Hey mom." he said softly, "It's me, I came back."
"I... uh I am in deep shit right now..." he whispered.
As he stood up again, he began to cry softly, the tears running down his face as he looked around the room again. "I miss you." he sobbed wiping his tears the back of his hand.
His hand came back covered in blood...
David looked up in surprise and saw the blood on his face he turned his head slowly and stared into the bathroom mirror, his eyes were black, the reflection in the mirror looked almost monstrous, red tears running down his face, his hair was a mess, his clothes were filthy and covered in blood, he looked like a monster from a horror movie poster. "Jesus..." he whispered as he wiped his face with his sleeve again. "Shit, this is bad." he said to himself.
David stood there staring into the mirror until his vision began to swim and he had to look away, he didn't know what to do or what to think. How was he supposed to process any of this? David shook his head again, he would just have to figure it out as he went, right now he was too far gone to worry about anything else, the sun was not quite risen yet, but the thing in his head the beast was already trying to urge him to prepare, he had to close all of his blinds and shut the drapes, he had to go to bed.
David went to the bathroom and quickly showered off the blood, washing the stench of it from his skin and hair, he dressed in fresh clothes and sat down on the bed again looking up at the ceiling and trying to think of what to do next. There was only one thing he could do now, he needed more information, he needed to find out everything he could, if he was going to survive, he had to learn about the way of the undead... he had to become a vampire.
David felt tiredness take hold of him and he stood up and looked out of the window towards the rising sun. "Fuck." he said as he quickly shut the blinds and pulled the curtains shut, the sky was just beginning to brighten and as he pulled the curtain down, he felt something else within him begin to wake, a burning desire to flee from the light, a terror of the sun, a primal terror that he did not even understand.
David felt a shiver run down his spine and he stepped away from the window quickly shutting the curtain tight and throwing a blanket over the rod for good measure. As he stepped back a wave of tiredness overcame him and he fell backwards onto his bed, his eyes heavy, his mind foggy. "So tired..." he mumbled as his head hit the pillow, before he could even begin to consider the implications of what was happening to him his exhaustion took hold... he had never been so tired in all of his life and he was falling into an exhausted sleep, one he never wanted to wake up from.
Oh yeah and here are character sheets so folks can see before and after embrace.