flight ♔ pride can stand a thousand trials

[dragonsclaw]

I'm Kissing You - Des'ree

WHO || Failboat [closed]
WHAT || The Knights return in the wake of the Keijen Blade concert, much worse for the wear
WHERE ||On a plane
WHEN || Directly after the concert
HOW || Actionspam or prose

The mood is darker than it's ever been as the Knights' plane takes off from the blackening skies above Los Angeles, which continue to spread out after them.  They expected a trap, they expected the worst, but what actually happened dwarfed even those dire expectations.

Painful revelations about their teammates themselves, followed by the separation of Vi from the team, and then being forced to watch Blade enact a dark ritual in the concert-hall-turned-dark-temple that culminated in the sacrifice of hundreds, including the deaths of those who had been on the mission back-up team were only the beginning.  Realizing at the last moment that Crombe still had no understanding of what Blade was truly doing, the team made a last minute bid to change his mind and get him to stop the ritual, but it was far too late, and as things escalated quickly, the Nightmare God Malaak'a was freed from his prison, the seal broken with the final step - Nadia's death.  The god himself appeared before them, and Blade stood triumphantly behind him - only to use the dagger soaked in Nadia's blood to plunge into his father, and usurp his power for his own, ascending to some sort of deity-like powers himself.  

This scene lies further and further behind them now, the images forever etched in their minds, and the silent forms of two of their teammates - one mysteriously incapacitated, the other dead, act as haunting reminders on their journey back towards the castle of what has befallen and what may be to come.

Comments

des

[nothingsodivine]

[This is literally the most useless prompt, because Des is, for the most part, just sitting in tense silence beside Elena, making no noise and not forcing anyone to engage with him, and not particularly wanting to engage. As flippant as he's been, he definitely seems drawn and upset by everything that has just unfolded.

But he's not gonna shut anyone out if they approach him and Elena... Or just him if Elena has stepped away to stretch her legs.]

& elena

[bigbad]

[Spike doesn't approach until partway through the flight and several drinks. Not that they do much to help. Vampire stamina, not always a good thing. Still, it's been long enough since everything that he can at least act like he has his shit together. As much as anyone does.]

I've got questions. Lots of them.

[nothingsodivine]

We can't tell you what Hell is like or anything like that.

[Des sounds so done with life right now.]

But if it doesn't involve those things, shoot.

[doubletake]

[She simply gestures for Spike to speak. If she can't answer, she'll say so, but she seems open to listen to what he has to say.]

[bigbad]

[......Spike wasn't planning on asking about it but now that he knows the topic's forbidden he's desperately curious.] Really? You can't talk about what it's like? That sort of rule's not going to do anything for your tourism numbers, you realize.

[doubletake]

[She rolls her eyes gently, sighing.]

It's Hell. Whatever you're imagining is likely close enough and yet only a fraction of the real thing.

[Her eyebrows lift expectantly.]

What is it you actually want to know?

[bigbad]

[Which is not a very helpful description, but she's right, he doesn't actually want to know that.]

Like I said. Lots. Starting with what bloody pronouns your... person uses [He jerks a thumb at Des] and going straight on to why the hell did you keep this from us for so long?

[nothingsodivine]

[Des stares at him for a long time, completely stunned by the pronoun question.] Both... All of them. Look, it depends on what body he's in at the time. Usually, he's a guy. [He sputters incoherently for a second.] Why does it matter? He doesn't care!

[Spike you are... such a breath of fresh air, and yet. He pinches the bridge of his nose.] 'Cause an hour after I did it, Buffy nearly murdered me because I committed perjury on the stand at Rafael's trial. I kinda figured I was not in the presence of people who would understand why I did what I did.

And from there on out, there was no way to explain it in terms anyone would get. There was a slow process to all of this over the course of four years, and sometimes I'd drop hints here and there or I'd push my luck or I'd get careless or scared or whatever, but finally I just stopped trying.

[doubletake]

We've all had our secrets over the years, Spike.

[Some of them may have been more intense than others, but it was the truth nonetheless.]

This one happened to be ours. If you've noticed, knowing the truth hasn't actually made things better.

[bigbad]

[Spike looks at Des, then back at Elena, and he looks... old, mostly. Sad. He's lost friends today. He doesn't want to lose more, but the group is tearing apart in front of him.]

You lied to us for years, then showed up ready for us to condemn you. Are you really so surprised we lived down to your expectations? If there's a reason this isn't as bad as it looks, I'd love to hear it.

[He really, really would.]

[nothingsodivine]

I'm not surprised, Spike. I didn't expect anything else except maybe to be given some credit for our intelligence. If we had some agenda, we had ample opportunity to put it into motion. I'm sure you can imagine the damage we could have done in years.

[He lets that sit there and then exhales slowly.] I get it. We lied. We can't be trusted because of the people we associated with and I don't care about that. You can hate us all you want, and I'm not gonna say it's better than it looks, 'cause it isn't and even if it was, you'd never be able to convince anyone otherwise, so why would I waste my breath trying to convince someone of it?

But here's the thing. People are dead- Nadia is dead the same way Jade would have been, which means we stopped nothing. We just passed the mantle onto another poor girl. People are missing. People are hurt. And who the fuck knows what the hell Blade even is now. All I want right now is for everyone's priorities to stay in line with the big picture here.

[He scowls.] But that's exactly what a big bad monster would say to make people look the other way while he sticks another knife in your back. God forbid anyone expect anything less from Des, the selfish bastard.

[Okay, he's done ranting now. Sorry, Elena. He's a little worked up.]

[doubletake]

Of course, we were ready to be condemned. What you may see as surprise is more likely to be exasperation. If we hadn't been concerned about our very safety, we would not have needed to keep a secret like this. And yet, if you look around, you'll find at least a couple of you who would be happy to shove a blade through my heart and be done with it. You may feel betrayed, but I did not stray from our mission together. I simply found another cause I also stood behind, one that I've chosen to dedicate my existence to.

[She doesn't sound as if she's upset about that. It's simply a matter of fact, one that she's not happy about but has seemingly accepted.]

If you're looking for guilt, Spike, you won't find it here. Any guilt that was felt over this I worked through a long time ago. I care enough to be here, to risk my life for all of you, but I'm not going to apologize because I'm not sorry. Not for this.

[She tucks a lock of dark hair behind one ear.]

I'm doing exactly what I was born to do and I live with no regrets. However you want to feel about that is up to you.

[bigbad]

Not looking for guilt, pet. I'm looking to understand.

[He looks at both of them, frowning slightly.]

I don't care about demons or devils or whatnot. I'm an unholy creature of the night, remember? I may have a soul, but healing magic still burns me. If I know anything about good and evil, it's that it's not simple. I care that you lied, but it's a bit too late to do anything about that now.

You're my friends. I'd like to believe there's more to the story than you two simply up and deciding to be villains. That's what I'm asking for. The rest of the story. From you.

[shootfirst]

[ guess who can't contain her questions to a whispered convo with rose? that's right, it's loudmouth mcgee over here. she can only spend so much time trying to comfort fred jr. over leaving wynn behind, because she's just not built for that kind of thing, so she's gonna wander back to the bathroom and stop to hassle des. ]

You know, all those times people told you to go to hell, they weren't exactly being so literal.

[nothingsodivine]

[des has his arm draped dramatically over his eyes, but it doesn't hide the fact that he visibly winces when she speaks to him.] I mean I hear it so often, is it any wonder I got mixed signals?

[he lets his arm drop and sighs, before looking up to hold her gaze..... and he falters. Kat breaks his stoic badassery.] I meant what I said about it not being personal. If I had really been fucking with you guys this whole time, I feel like I could've done better. I wouldn't call myself chivalrous, but I definitely haven't been diabolical.

[he twists his expression.] And I'm not saying that to make you think I'm not a jackass, because I am, and I'm not sorry for my choices. But the best I can give you is maybe you can look back on everything before now and think "well that part was real anyway."

[a shrug.] It's up to you whether you believe me.

[shootfirst]

I don't make a habit of believing people who've been lying to me for... years.

[ she pauses, still, arms folded tight across her chest ] When? When did you start all this?

[nothingsodivine]

Yep. I deserved that.

[he leans back and stares at the ceiling.] After my testimony at Rafael's trial, I kinda figured I'd done all I could. I was ready to leave and everything. Jade brought me back from a ledge I'd been standing on for years. When she died, I was right back again. I took the first offer that promised me a way out, and I came back because I couldn't leave the job unfinished. From there on, it's a longer story, and it's not even my story to tell.

Things just... escalated.

[shootfirst]

It's your fucking life, Des. How is it not your story to tell? [ a beat ] So I guess you deserved getting thrown through that table after all.

[nothingsodivine]

[he covers his face with his hands and laughs, a little brokenly.] Because I was cursed, Kat. Everything about it is just as much about the people involved with it as it had to do with me. I was just stubborn and idiotic for too many years.

[he doesn't lift his hand up.] You'll notice that I never once bitched about being beaten nearly to death for perjury... but it was a good incentive to keep my mouth shut. That was actually really painful.

[shootfirst]

So was finding out two of your so-called friends worked for Satan.

[nothingsodivine]

[he almost says something about the S word, but chooses life instead.] Fair enough. I can't really sugarcoat that one.

Hopefully, everyone is done having a go at me with their fists and stabbing implements, but I'm not holding my breath.

[shootfirst]

And it doesn't make you think there's something a might bit shady about the scenario that your fiendish boyfriend or girlfriend or whatever waited until you were at the sharpest edge of desperation to swoop in?

[nothingsodivine]

Yeah I do.

[so matter of fact.]

But I think he realized after four thousand years, that might be the only way he'd ever get me to listen. Don't make it less shady, of course. I can't even begin to make it less shady. I still stand by it, because it's complicated, and it's between me and him.

[shootfirst]

Look, I'm the last person to lecture somebody about claiming they hate somebody forever and then winding up with them, but then again, I'm not dating somebody with horns and a tail.

[nothingsodivine]

He doesn't have horns and a tail. [he scoffs lightly.] That's ridiculous.