new orleans ♔ there's always a siren singing you to shipwreck

[dragonsclaw]

♫ Butterflies and Hurricanes - Muse

WHO || Buffy, Alainn, Rose, Sam, Dean, Faith, Felicity, Isabella  [closed]
WHAT || The Ex-Knights of Failboat head off to interrupt an auction for Rafael Giovanni's life...
WHERE || New Orleans, LA
WHEN || A couple weeks post-LA
HOW || Actionspam

Held in the grasp of the Knighthood's enemies for a stretch of time that has been an aching splinter in the heart of the ones who love him, Rafael Giovanni's life now stands up for auction.  Having made a number of powerful enemies in his days as the vigilante assassin The Black Scourge, including the secret Vatican police known as Iscariot, Draken Crombe's organization sought to capitalize on the many who sought revenge by sending out word that Eterna Jade was not, as his trial had seemed to prove, the Black Scourge at all, and offer the chance to kill or torture Giovanni to whoever would pay the largest sum.

The Knights, being made aware of this, did what they could to stymie this auction from coming to pass, and Buffy Summer and Jack Chessing managed to at least thwart it several times, leading to its cancellation and inevitable rescheduling elsewhere.  However, none of this led to Giovanni's actual location. 

The capture of Draken Crombe finally allowed them to learn of the latest plans for the auction - to be held at a location in New Orleans, a temple of some sort.  It seems that Crombe's other followers still intend to follow through with ridding themselves of Rafael, making it clear that even with Crombe in Knights' custody, the villains still have some organization or leadership.  Tia Ellison rattled out the plan by invading Crombe's mind, learning of the way that he had been psychically manipulated by the Mind Master for years, and doing what she could to start to heal his shattered psyche.  

Jack Chessing, eager to see Rafael rescued after their many efforts, cautioned however against sending too many on what might be a mission from which there is no returning.  To that end, they've tried to split the forces of their magic-users, fighters, and researchers.

Now, it's up to a few to save their friend... without losing any more.

Comments

[familybusiness]

If you've got this here, I'll get down and help Faith.

[And then he's gonna wiggle on out of this vent since she's staying put, landing back on the ground.]

[savemyself]

You do not have to tell me twice. [ isabella snaps somewhat testily at dean's words, immediately drawing her own weapon and making a beeline towards the back door unless someone stops her ]

[attollores]

[Alainn will follow Isa, pulling out her own gun and readying a spell in her mind as they run up to the door. One quick glance up and around shows her Fede in the trees above the complex, ready to be the teams' eyes and ears as they're inside.]

[likedillinger]

[ dean doesn't wait another moment, looking to rose and nodding at her that he intends to go in there, before drawing his own gun and heading after alainn. ]

[klep]

[Felicity just settles in to get comfortable, keeping quiet and watching as things play out to see what she can feed the rest of the team.]

[behindcloseddoors]

[ the door from the auction hall into the hallway where sam and faith are waiting opens, and two figures step through, snakeblooded bald men wearing long white robes. they stop when they see sam standing in the middle of the carpet, which will allow faith a sneak attack... ]

[msattentionspan]

[Faith catches sight of Sam dropping out of the vent and nods at him, then at the door - sort of giving him a bit of a heads up that someone is COMING IN HOT (and it's not her). The doors swing open and two figures slip through. Thankfully, Sam is pretty un-missable and they look right at him. Faith moves in with her sneak attack and hits the one closer to her first (atk 37 / dmg 19) and moves from that guy to the second one and tries to get in a hit to him too. She figures with this moving toward a full-on attack, she might as well not take her time with this. She steps in past the guy she had just struck and makes her move on the second one, clearly losing her sneak attack advantage (atk 25 / dmg 17).

With those two attacks delivered (or not), she glances behind them to the open door to see if anyone else is headed this way.]

[familybusiness]

[No one else has headed this way, or even noticed thus far (spot 27), so instead of surging forward and following Faith's lead by attacking these guys, he reaches out with his mind instead, using Far Hand to pull the door to the large room shut as quickly as possible with a jerk of his head.

The longer it takes for them to get noticed, the better, he figures.]

[littledhampir]

[ Dean doesn't even need to wait for confirmation, her stake is already drawn and she's moving as one with Alainn and Dean (Declaring In Harms Way for Alainn as she goes )

/insert tension building montage as it's gonna take a full round to get there ]

[likedillinger]

[ /TENSION ACCELERATES as dean also skids around the corner towards the scene. he's gonna pull up short next to sam, however, pulling his gun up to take stock of the situation/start aiming at the dude still standing ]

Don't move.

[msattentionspan]

[With one down and one left, Faith reaches to grab the standing guy by the back of the neck.]

I can easily let you join your friend or you can tell us what we want to know.

[slay]

[ Buffy too doesn't need telling twice. She tears off after the others. It's reassuring, honestly, to see Sam and Faith already in the thick of it — she trusts them to handle it more than just about anyone else involved here. ]

[attollores]

[Alainn sees that they seem to have this guy handled at least, so she will keep a lookout, casting See Invisibility upon herself. Gonna make sure that they are seeing everything there is to be seen around them.]

[klep]

[As the rest of them get into it with the guards outside the door, Felicity is keeping her eye on the room in front of her. In order to better assist, should it come to that, while keeping her cover, she deftly tries to get the grate out of the way so that she could shoot out of her little hidey hole if needed (disable device 29, move silently 37). If the grate pops out, her hand quickly snaps forward to attempt to catch it and tuck it into the air duct with her (reflex save 24).]

[savemyself]

[isabella, having taken a headstart of starts, shoves in front of buffy and rose to see into the hallway, right as felicity carefully removes the grate from the duct, attracting zero attention from the thrumming room full of auction attendees. with that gone, it's easier for her to see more: and she sees plenty. the room is swarmed with more of those cultists in white robes with shiny bald pates, but in between them are littered groups in tuxes, catholic priest robes, military uniforms...

it seems like rafael truly has made his fair share of enemies.

the cultist in faith's grip swallows thickly, staring down the barrel of dean's gun and a ton of other armed people making their way towards them. he mutters something in a sibilant language that none of them can understand, making no move to resist or break away from faith, but his forked tongue licking his lips nervously, and slitted eyes darting between them all. ]

[familybusiness]

[Sam will hold his action, turning to Buffy instead.]

I don't think he's in there. They've gotta be keeping him somewhere else. I don't think they know we're here yet, but we probably don't have much time.

[Someone will miss these two guys soon. He turns to the cultist.]

Prisoner. Where?

[He holds his hands up as if they were handcuffed together, then motions around vaguely, hoping to get his point across. He's hoping these two were the ones sent to retrieve Rafael before they ran into Faith's fist.]

[littledhampir]

[ With a quick survey of the immediate threats in the room, Rose is also going to hold her action and try to pick up on what's going on beyond this room. (Listen 32)

LBR. If the plan is diplomacy you don't want Rose 'helping'. ]

[likedillinger]

[ the man glares back at sam, but dean keeps the gun leveled at him and snarls angrily (intimidate 22): ] Answer the man!

[ and he stammers finally: "You are too late. They are bringing him now."

what rose hears seems to attest to the fact. there is a sudden hush falling over the room inside, the conversation dying down, as a loud voice announces: "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the moment you have been waiting for~!"

above, felicity can hear the voice as well, which seems to be coming from the far end of the room, and indeed, everyone has turned to look that way, which is at least in the opposite direction as the hall they are all in. but from here she cannot see the stage. ]

[msattentionspan]

[Faith is pretty sure this isn't the outcome they were looking for. Having the auction take place was the one thing they were trying to stop and here it is... starting.

Faith knocks the guy out with her elbow (atk 33 dmg 19 // just in case - atk 31 dmg 13) and moves to catch him and slump him against his partner. Glancing to the group, she knows that she'll follow whatever they decide, but they probably need to decide quickly.]

So are we going to make a scene or try to grab him after they pay for him?

[slay]

[ Buffy's answer is nonverbal, but nonetheless clear and communicative.

She rushes into the auction to make a scene aka get up towards the stage. She didn't come all this way just to lose him again. She's faced down regenerators and worse and survived and she's not going to be afraid of a room full of priests. She's not this close for nothing. ]

[attollores]

[Alainn's hand shoots out to touch Buffy (Reflex 25), not in an attempt to stop the other woman she's not stupid, but to cast Protection from Arrows and Bullets upon her. As that is her full round action she can't cast another one yet, but she will turn to Rose and say- ] "I have a spell for you as well Rose, don't go too far."





[**The spell will give Buffy the maximum amount of damage reduction possible- 100 hp. Once the 100 has been met, it will be dispelled.**]

[klep]

Shit. I can't see the stage.

[And she's going to try and quietly twist her body around in the duct, seeing if she can quietly change the angle she's looking and get eyes on Rafael (dexterity 23, move silently 30).]

[savemyself]

[ ♫ i'd come for you - nickelback

as buffy books it out into the main room, she finds herself facing a room scattered with tables facing a stage on the far end of the room. two cultists are heading down to flank the bottom of the steps, after apparently delivering their charge, who now kneels next to a snakeblooded priest standing over him in front of a pulpit.

rafael's head hangs so that only the matted curls are visible, but his outline is unmistakable, even with the slump of those shoulders, hands evidently tied behind his back. he barely moves, even as the priest begins announcing that they will be starting bids at eight hundred thousand dollars...

no one, it seems, is expecting the slayer to come booking it into the room, and given that they are all taken by surprise, she makes it about halfway across the room before they start reacting, exchanging looks, and reaching for various weapons. she makes a quick circuit around a table that looks packed with mafioso types, making a beeline straight towards the steps. felicity squirms in place just enough to see everything as well, and to realize what buffy has decided to do.

meanwhile, out in the hallway, isabella jerks her head after buffy's fleeing form. ] What is she doing? [ and without another moment of thinking about it, she draws her own blade and rushes out, fast on the slayer's heels, rapier flashing in the light.

by this point, however, the three mafia guys have pulled berettas, and fire them off towards isabella and buffy. the first guy, wearing a pinstripe suit and red tie, finds his gun stuck and curses in italian, slamming it with the palm of his hand. a second sends two shots after the slayer, which come nowhere near her, and the third focuses on isabella, one shot grazing her hair, but not making contact.

meanwhile, the cultists in the room begin to converge on them, clearly hoping to stop either of them from reaching the stage, as two others block the steps. one cultist draws an uzi and fires at isabella, and she quickly avoids the hail of bullets. another follows closely after her and tries to seize her but his hand closes just short of her. another comes around the table the other way to follow buffy, attempting to strike her from behind, but again, unable to keep up with her incredible speed.

while most of the tables seem cluttered with businessmen who didn't come prepared for a fight, the three in catholic priest robes at another table across the room are another story entirely. one dark haired man with a long scar down his cheek stands and casts flame strike, a column of divine fire roaring down abruptly right where buffy and isabella stand (41 dmg, ref 20 for half). isabella, unfortunately, was not expecting the sudden blast of flame, and takes the full brunt of it. a second priest draws two guns, firing across the middle table towards them with a barrage of bullets. one of them strikes isabella (penetration damage, 16 total) right in the shoulder, the other shattering various glasses on the table he shoots through. the third priest moves towards the stairs as well, clearly en route to intercept them if possible.

meanwhile, the orator waves a hand, crying "Heretics!" and an immobile, vertical curtain of whirling blades shaped of pure force springs into existence surrounding the stage. ]

[familybusiness]

[Sam mutters a swear under his breath as Buffy and Isabella both charge in, followed by the sounds of fighting and gunfire. He takes a brief glance back at Rose and Dean before he charges in as well, hoping his disguise is enough to make him recognizable to a handful of the people in there, and moves to the bottom corner of the room.

He uses his move action to become psionically focused, then lines up several of the attendees straight ahead of them (MMCI), before raising his hand and focusing inward, sending a ray of cold energy blasting from his fingertips through them (53 cold damage, fort save dc 25 to halve).

The effort leaves him dazed until the end of his next round, a line of blood oozing from his nose as his hand lifts to his head. Whoops.

At Brooke's request, Rose is going to hold her action until Alainn casts her spell and then follow Sam and Dean.]

[likedillinger]

[ clearly none of them were expecting that, as evidenced by the way they all failed their fortitude saves, getting hit with an arctic chill that leaves them covered in little icicles, but still on their feet. dean glances over at alainn, and then at rose, clearly feeling some relief that she's going to wait to get the spell cast on her before charging out. that doesn't mean he's going to wait, however, especially not when sam heads out the door. ] Sammy! [ he starts to push past where faith stands over the two unconscious cultists, and freezes in the doorway as he watches his brother channeling incredibly powerful psionic energy that leaves him bleeding and stunned. dean's eyes follow the line of cold and then trace back to sam's face with horror, but there's no time to chew him out now, and instead he comes out and gets in front of sam, raising his gun in a protective gesture. he won't be able to fire this round, however. ]