I have slept in some pretty bad places in my life, but still, waking up butt-naked in a bathtub just like that ? That's cold, and I don't mean the temperature of the room or the tub. Pale green tiles on the wall, some checkerboard pattern on the floor. I don't remember the place like this. The only reason I'm not too alarmed about the whole thing is the broad-shouldered guy with the buzzcut, the 'Red Power' shirt and the missing right hand who's been watching me stir to life from the corner next to the door. I see the handle of the nightstick he has hidden it under some towels. I pretend I didn't see the thing and he pretends he didn't notice me spotting the thing. Guess we're both glad he didn't need it.

"Hey, Tiff."

Comes out pretty croaky. Well, spending some time as a desiccated corpse does that to your voice, I guess.

'Hey yourself. Happy to see everything worked out, we were a little concerned you'd go nuts on the place when you wake up again.' "That bad, hm ?" 'It can happen. Dixie proposed we just cover you and the tub with coconut oil and watch you flail around helplessly until you're in the driver's seat again properly.' I search for a few choice words to throw at that fuck for a little, but mind feels too foggy for that. "Thanks for not doing that. I really appreciate it." Tiff grins. 'It was a close call, you know...' I try to do some numbers in my head, but they don't add up to anything that resembles some sort of close call. Thinking hard isn't easy right now. I start to make an attempt to get out of the tub.

Tiff extends the hand he still has and I take it and climb out. Standing works, even if my legs are still a little wobbly. As I still got his hand handy, I pull Tiff into the tightest hug I can manage at the time. "I'm damn glad to see you, Tiff !" After a while, he pats my back and I give him a little space. "Arm's all better, I see ?" 'Yeah, came back pretty well and far as I can tell, everything works, too.' "What about Tiffany ?" Tiff pulls up the sleeve of his t-shirt and exposes the tattoo of the pin-up in her little red dress that gave him his nickname. 'All good. If I'd lost her, I would've had to rip a lot of folks new assholes that can accomodate their heads.' He tries to sound humourous, but I know enough about how much Tiffany means to him to know that he's dead serious. I wobble around a little but settle for the rim of the tub for a seat.

"Ssssso... I miss anything important ?" 'You could say that. How about you get a shower and get dressed, then I'll give you the details.'

Shower sounds good, even if I don't think I strictly need one.

"Fair enough, lets do that. Be with you guys in a minute."

...

Say what you want, but some cold water and fresh clothes help a lot in getting a clear head. Worked well, back in the day. Still does. As I open the door, I see a pretty cramped living room. It's nothing like the old hideout. So yeah, something must've happened. Looking around, first folks I see is a pair on the couch at the table playing cards.

'Got any 8's ?'
'Go fish. You got any 4's ?'
'Go fish-Hey, morning, Snow White, how was the nap ?'
"Snow White had black hair. The one you mean is Sleeping Beauty, you dumb fuck."
'Perhaps if you'd have gotten fangerized ten years earlier, sweetheart. As is ? Nice try.'

I give Dixie the finger while I walk closer to them. The woman with the short black hair next to him holding her cards and giving me a small wave with what looks like apprehension on her face ? I know I've seen her before, but I can't for the life of me remember the name.

Having bridged the distance, I bend over the table, supporting myself with my knuckles on the table's surface until my face is inches away from his. "So, coconut oil, eh, Dixie ?" He doesn't even try to evade. 'Thought it was a good idea, but Sean just had to be the buzzkill. 'f course, would've been even more fun if we'd got Skittles in there with you, but all were against that, whyever that was.' He chuckles, but doesn't budge and holds my gaze.

Skittles... Of course ! I'm not completely back just yet, but the name rings a bell and slowly, some details seep back. She was the new kid on the block when everything went to shit.

Dixie puts the cards down and holds out his hand. 'Good to have you back. Lugging you around was a pain in the ass.' I let his hand hang in the air a little. Dixie is an asshole who thinks he's way funnier than he really is and if I'm really honest, I think he is the one we could all do way better without, but here he is, and we have been through some shit together, so I shake his hand. "Your ugly mug is a pain in the ass, Dix. I'm just glad it wasn't you I woke up to, or you might have needed that oil." 'Next time perhaps.' He gives me a wink and picks the cards up again and focuses back on Skittles.

'So, got any 7's ?'

I'm done with this and turn around, but I see movement that indicates Skittles has one. I spot Tiff at the fridge. He waves and holds up a plastic bag for me too see before he puts it down on the kitchen counter. As I take a seat he fills something that looks like processed blood into a mug. "Where's Sean ?" 'Getting the lay of the land.' " Lay of the land ?" 'Yeah, baby steps, so: What's the last thing you remember before going splat ?'

I think about that. I remember how it all had started... The Iudex and the Invictus hardliners allying with the Bishop of the Lancea and leading a coup against the Prince and the other Invictus moderates. Them going to war with the Circle and putting us under supervision. The outcry in Carthian Elysium and the decision to go to war if necessary. The secret defensive alliance with the Ordo... But that is what kicked all else off, not what landed me in that tub.

"We ran into that blonde Gangrel bitch with some of her Lancea underlings on patrol. That Inquisitor's childe, can't recall her name, you know who." 'Mayfield ?' "Thats the one. Pretty messy stuff. Got slammed into a wall by some car, then I wake in the tub over there. That's about all I can remember. I guess the Heathens still only came out second-best after all, seeing how we're talking. So what happened after ?"

Tiff snorts in amusement. The bad kind of amusement, though. 'Forrester wanted to go on the offense and we got cut off because the Ordo refused to support anything other than defensive operations. We got mauled bad and Forrester went more Stalin on us the worse things got. At that point, McGovern was torpid, Parker and McPherson were MIA and they had found enough parts of O'Neill to conclude she was dead, so resistance was getting weaker and when the first 'no step back' directives came ? Hell, Dixie and me weren't going to go through some Khe Sanh shit again just so that bitch and her cronies can glue themselves to the chair and purge all undesirables when the conflict is over.' He raises his voice a little. 'Ain't that right, Dix ?' 'Fuck that !' Dixie promptly calls across the room. A lot to take in really. Even hearing Tiff tell it like all the folks we had left behind had it coming, leaving like that feels wrong. Not that I don't get the point, but still, it reeks of expediency and opportunism. But then, no use crying over spilt milk... 'So we packed up our gear, a few others and left as long as that was still possible.' "Fair enough, I guess. That's where you picked up Skittles, too, then ?" 'Sure did. She's a bit prickly when it comes to vehicles. 'A car is a car, not one of your damn tanks, Tiff.' 'Tiff, how do you even fuck up a transmission like that ?' 'I'm a motherfucking vampire, I should do vampire stuff and not have to spend two nights fixing a busted differential just because you can't drive for shit.' He returns to his normal voice and chuckles. 'That kid is alright, you'll get along swimmingly.' "You already voted her in ?" 'Nope, she's still on probation, but she's doing well. So far, she'd have no issues getting voted in. But we wanted to wait for you vote of confidence. As the other Nos, you know.' Yeah, thanks for bringing that up... "So where the hell are we, anyways ?" 'Far enough away from most people who might actually like Forrester, but not remote enough to have to count as some hamlet in the boondocks. At he moment we're waiting in the barrens until the ones in charge give us the clear to enter the city proper.' He walks over to the window and pulls the curtains aside.

I look at the buildings outside.
I recognize the area.
Well... this will be fun, I guess.

Fuck.

Didn't read the instructions properly, but still thinking about the stuff was fun enough not to bin the stuff.