chapter five ♔ it'll be a day like this one when the sky falls down

[eldritchweaver]

the blues - switchfoot

WHO || The Knights
WHAT || Failboat returns from the disaster in LA as the Knighthood goes on lockdown
WHERE || The castle, London
WHEN || Directly after this, Fall 2017
HOW || Actionspam

Hasmed's announcement does not brook any rebuttal: all Knights are recalled to the Castle, where they must remain until the Section Heads and Jack Chessing have spoken about the events in Los Angeles that have left the Knighthood without their usual leader.  

The entire Los Angeles area is now covered with a dark miasma that has interfered with any signals that might be sent out from phones, etc., leaving the whole world wondering what exactly is happening down there.  Final images showed horrendous monsters, a panic of citizens, looting and violence from humans and Shadowkind alike.  

Hasmed has warned of extra magical wards on the castle, and anyone arriving will immediately take notice of one very prominent one: above the entire roof of the excessively large building hovers a black and red sigil in the air, a pentagram in a circle surrounded by runes or words in an unknown language, stretching for miles.  

[ This is the social log for post-LA lockdown.  Failboat must complete the top log before being allowed to tag outside of it. ]

Comments

[graveflowers]

...okay. I guess that is what Wynn would want in his stead. [ the excessive bickering loses something in the retelling. ] We need all the help we can get now.

[slay]

They called Hellsing.

[graveflowers]

They what!

[ well okay that is a little shrieky but hellsing is in her home where her daughter lives and that is just absolute garbage. ]

Why? Last time we asked for help Hellsing was a useless piece of shit. [ also she's not keeping her voice down. ] And no one even knew Hell itself was even involved before today. That is their thing: Hell. Not dickhead baby gods with delusions of grandeur and now all of daddy's power.

[slay]

I take it that means Zeus confirmed it. Keijen has the power of the Spider King?

[graveflowers]

I mean he wasn't like 'hey Chrysanthemum, your bedroom intruder now has the powers of your worst nightmare', but he didn't correct any assumptions I made. [ a beat. ] Which doesn't mean I'm right! Just that he had more important things to talk about. I don't know.

[ she throws her free hand up, frustrated. ] I don't know fucking anything anymore.

[slay]

Well, there is one thing I know. Every time we feel like we know how many fronts we're fighting this battle on, more crop up. The section heads aren't going to make this any easier. They're looking to play the blame game, and Hellsing isn't helping matters. Then there's Des and Elena ...

[graveflowers]

[ vi holds up a hand. ] I do not want to talk about Des right now.

The blame should go squarely on the shoulders of the Mind Master and Keijen. They're very broad now, he can handle it

[slay]

Noted. But it's not about blame. It's about being realistic. Rose and Dean are already halfway into planning a mutiny, and the section heads haven't even finished discussing.

[graveflowers]

...since when does Dean get a say in anything? Isn't he just, like, a stray we needed to replace Archer?

[ look last she knew he was the guy tasked with rose to hunt down elena so nah son. ]

[slay]

When I find someone who cares about the technicalities of who's qualified to offer an opinion on this mission, I'll let you know. Right now, it's a free-for-all, and nothing's going to get done.

[graveflowers]

Which is exactly what they want from us! Not they the section heads, but they... the bad guys.

[ a beat. ] Where's Isabella?

[slay]

Already gone, why?

[graveflowers]

Aside from wanting to steal her coat, I wanted to tell her about Raf.

[slay]

We saw the video too.

[ she clearly does not want to discuss said video any further at all ever. ]

[graveflowers]

Just the coat then, [ vi course corrects lamely. ]

[slay]

She was pretty mad. [ the guilt for which only just now sets in. ] Thought we'd shut her out of the search.

[graveflowers]

Not intentionally. [ her nose wrinkles, that sounded lame. ] Out of sight, out of mind, I guess. I would't have even thought to tell her now if I didn't see her... however many hours ago.

[slay]

Yeah. [ she works her shoulders like she's coming around to the reasoning. ] I mean, it's not like we did it on purpose, a-and we were busy. With the searching.

[graveflowers]

And we're kind of buttheads, yeah, but she didn't come to us either. [ vi will drag the two of them personally because yeah, in hindsight, they should have called isabella, but she equally could have picked up a phone and called either of them. they're not the only ones to blame here and it wasn't malicious. they weren't plotting to keep isabella out. ]

[slay]

I just keep thinking maybe an extra head would have ...

[ it's been too long without finding him. she feels like enough of a failure that it's weighing pretty heavy on her.

heavy enough for her to draw a breath and push it aside. ]

I'm keeping you from seeing Lucia. Sorry. That's everything you missed, I guess. With the section heads and everything. [ a beat. ] I, uh, mentioned they're afraid we're all Mind Master'd, right? So watch your step.

[graveflowers]

[ vi leans forward to pull buffy into another hug, strong and sure. buffy doesn't always need to be strong. ]

We'll find him, I know we will.

[slay]

[ for a moment, she tries to just let the hug be a hug.

she inhales deeply, squeezes a little this side of too tight. and she's ready to let go. but something fractures within. the levee gives way. she crumbles, and the tears come. she tries to choke out words between them, but they're fragmented and stilted. ]

They're killing him, Vi.

[ and there's no telling they'll get to him in time. that she'll be able to do anything but watch him die and bury the body. they've lost so many already. in the dragon's light wing, myri and felicity are both laid up, unmoving. how long until that's rafael too? would they even help him, if it happened to him? or would they, as before, tell him good luck and push the gurney out the door? ]

[graveflowers]

I know.

[ vi doesn't try to stop buffy's tears, she doesn't shush her or offer any placating words. buffy had never tried to stifle her grief when luthir died, violet isn't going to act like buffy isn't allowed to break down now. instead she rubs buffy's back, careful not to whack her with the staff. when it feels like the tears are subsiding, vi draws back, wiping a tear away with her thumb. ]

We will find him. I have hope. And I know it's not easy and if you don't have it, that's okay, I'll have hope for the both of us. We'll get through this.

[ somehow. probably not all in one piece. ]

[slay]

Will we?

All of us?

[ she doubts it. already they've lost people. felicity. maybe myri. it kills her, to not know what's happening. to not have control of some kind over it. to be as truly powerless as the mind master made her. ]

[graveflowers]

No.

Not all of us. [ she isn't going to lie to buffy. false hope isn't hope and vi is still realistic about their chances. no one is going to make it out of this unscathed and not all of them are going to survive. they've already had loses at the hands of blade and his family. there will be more. ]

But we will find Rafael and we will keep fighting and the world will be safer. Lucia's world will be safer.

[ vi has to believe that. ]