CHAPTER FINALE ♔ cause it's always raining in my head

[narcosynthesis]

♬ oceano - josh groban

WHO || Keijen Blade, Nadia Reichenov, Rafael Giovanni, Buffy Summers, Alainn O'Rourke, Myrilandel Odair, Finnick Odair, Desmond Descant, Elena Gilbert, Rose Hathaway, Fredrick Jr., Jack Chessing, Kat Samcelot, Jeanne Gar, Spike, Sterling Archer, Violet Reedhym, Burt Becksworth, Isabella Alessandro
WHAT || Failboat does the Grammy's, tries to stop Keijen Blade's performance from reaching the masses, and aspires to save Nadia
WHERE || Staples Center, Los Angeles
WHEN || Feb 8th, 2015
HOW || Actionspam. Single thread.

The day has finally arrived: the 2015 Grammy's gather together musical talent at the top of the food chain, which means that NOVA Records will be well represented at this year's ceremony. Unfortunately, this includes performances from Keijen Blade's band, Heatless Passion, and Nadia Reichenov's, Derere, both of whom are working for "Chad Becksworth", aka Draken Crombe, head of the Shadowkind-hating cult, the Church of the Lord's Humanity.  Equipped with some sort of ability to hypnotize large crowds with subliminal messages, Wynn fears what lies beneath Keijen's intended performance, and is sending his Knights to shut down the broadcast, to prevent that message from being spread to millions of viewers worldwide.

Meanwhile, the gang finally has a chance to see Rafael Giovanni again - but what he's been up to in the months since they last saw him, and how his reunion with Buffy will go, remains to be seen.

Several of the Knights have decided that this is their last chance as well to try and break Nadia free from Keijen's influence, now that they've learned the truth about him - that Keijen is in fact Kel'in'hrae, sadistic son of the Nightmare God Malaak'a, likely working to free his father from the prison Sehanine had created for him.  The prison sealed by the relic that the team has been chasing for years, believing it to be an immortality-granting talisman of great power.

The truth, it seems, was worse than they could have imagined.  

One step at a time, however, and stopping the signal is first priority on Failboat's to do list for now.  With an actual plan under their belts this time, maybe this is the turning point they've been waiting for...    

Comments

[nothingsodivine]

[about halfway through the trip, des decides to abandon his heat in the back to sit across the aisle from vi, a look of consternation on his face.]

You thought I was gonna shoot the messenger, huh?

[because really he didn't need the 21 wis check to catch that Vi called him out in particular.]

[graveflowers]

[ she glances up briefly, a flash of surprise that he's come to sit next to her, before she looks down at her game again, free hand reflexively smoothing her shirt down over her belly. ]

You're not known for being incredibly emotionally stable when it comes to Jade.

[ if it had been about nadia she would have worried about spike's reaction, rafael would have given her pause with buffy's reaction, etc, etc. ]

[nothingsodivine]

[des shifts uncomfortably in his seat.]

Yeah. I know. But being an idiot won't undo what was done to her and her mother. It'll just... end in more pain.

[graveflowers]

Well. I wasn't sure you were this enlightened six months ago. [ and she wasn't taking chances with lazarus' life when she'd sworn to protect him. and foisted that same mantle on the baby before she was even born. #parenting. ]

[nothingsodivine]

I don't blame you for thinking it. Hell, I don't know if I was this enlightened six months ago.

[he huffs.] Jade said to protect him. That meant a lot to her for it to be her last words.

[graveflowers]

[ she turns to look out the window, thoughtful. ]

If he dies then the Talisman... He needs to be protected. [ she trusts wynn to be able to continue doing that. ain't not place safer than hogwarts, tbh. ]

[nothingsodivine]

[he looks over at her, sadly.]

Then good thing we've all grown into rational people who think ahead.

[....] Except Archer.

[graveflowers]

Archer could probably take down the Nightmare Lord all by himself, I'm not worried about Archer.

[ though, to be fair, vi doesn't often worry about archer. she's one of the few people who doesn't mind him. he protects elena. and he's hilarious. which they need in their horrible lives. ]

[nothingsodivine]

And if he pulls that off, he can make as many gay jokes at my expense as he wants.

[graveflowers]

Archer is ...something. Speaking of your not-gayness, I saw you tonguing Helen at Christmas.

[nothingsodivine]

[clearly not guilty or shy about it in the slightest.]

That a fact?

[graveflowers]

Invitation to share how that happened, really, but we can go with fact if you're shy.

[nothingsodivine]

Helen and I are friends with some obvious sexual tension. Zarad helped us work that out.

[shrug. if he wanted it to be a secret he wouldn't have kissed her in front of everyone.] It worked out for everyone.

[graveflowers]

Good cupid. If he ever wants a challenge, tell him to set me up with someone.

[ actual fact that no one wants a fat, pregnant widow. :) ]

[nothingsodivine]

I don't even think he'd find that a challenge.

[he's... really good at this.]

You're beautiful, Buttercup. And you're spunky. You're not an old maid with twenty cats.

[graveflowers]

[ she looks at him askance, feeling that familiar warm flutter at the nickname and then feeling inexplicably annoyed by it because it shouldn't feel so familiar. ]

Only because I don't like cats.

[nothingsodivine]

Well, there you go. I hear that alone is a turn-on for most men.

[graveflowers]

[ with a tight smile, she nods. resigned to spending the next millennia alone doesn't mean she likes the idea. ]

Reddit leads me to believe you are, in fact, wrong.

[nothingsodivine]

The Internet lies. This is fact.

[also because he said so. des is the biggest shipper on the team, okay. if he says you will find love, YOU WILL FIND LOVE.]

[graveflowers]

Not about cats.

[ WITH WHO, DES. THERE ARE NO OPTIONS. ]

[nothingsodivine]

[Okay, you've unlocked Words of Wisdom.]

You know I thought before Jade there was never going to be anyone who made me feel alive. And when she died, I thought that light was gone forever. And now.... [he stares at his ring for a moment, unable to process any words that wouldn't seem grossly unfair or rude to someone who isn't in his position.] I was wrong. That's all that matters. And I bet you will be too.

[graveflowers]

[ vi makes a face because she doesn't really want to hear this, but she lets him talk without interruption. at least he didn't say "at least you have the baby" because she would have maced him in the face. ]

I already fell in love with a cupid and that failed. How many chances is one person allowed to get?

[nothingsodivine]

As many as it takes until you're happy. [also not what she wants to hear, but as he is four thousand years and has had his share of lovers, even if they never made him feel like Jade and Zarad did, he figures he has some pull here.]

And I wish that were an easy road, but it never is. And that's utter bullshit.

[graveflowers]

Des, I'm a fat, pregnant widow with chronic seasonal depression and when I'm not pregnant, I'm going to be a widowed single mother with chronic seasonal depression and probably post-partum depression on top of it. That's not exactly prime date-ablility. No one is going to want that. Fuck, I don't even want that.

[nothingsodivine]

And I'm a self-loathing jackass with suicidal tendencies who never thinks about other people's feelings before he says or does things and will constantly, constantly feel the need to fuck something up and then make it right, just so he feels like he has control over the situation. I'm four thousand years old and now I'm mortal and I still don't know how to deal with that. I have barely any sense of moral decency. I drink too much. I'm rude and loud and abrasive and violent... And that perfect, beautiful son of a bitch agreed to marry me anyway.

I'm not measuring bad marriage material dicks here with you, Vi. I'm just telling you the honest truth- it's not impossible. It just feels that way right now, because everything fucking sucks, and it's not spring yet.

[he waves a hand.] So when this is over, remind me to give you this talk again in April.