CHAPTER TWO ♔ a sigh escapes from heaven and worlds end

[savemyself]

♬ The Dream Within - Lara Fabian

WHO || Rafael Giovanni, Burt Becksworth, Isabella Alessandro, Finnick Odair, Myrilandel de Tanos, Buffy Summers, Spike, Elena Gilbert, Dawn Summers, Desmond Descant, Jeanne Gar, Kat Samcelot, Mark Sandazhard, Violet Fiore, Sterling Archer
WHAT || CHAPTER TWO: Following the traumatic and tragic events of Finnick and Rafael's concert, our heroes are taken to be interrogated at the police station
WHERE || Concert Hall > Chicago Police Department, Chicago, IL
WHEN || July 3rd, 2013 [ forward dated]
HOW || Actionspam

Nothing is okay.

What was meant to be the Knights' triumphant collaborative effort to cut off Chad Becksworth's bid for total control of NOVA Records, allowing them to follow the trail elsewhere, has descended into chaos. Rafael's songs triggered some kind of reaction in Jade that allowed her to regain her lost memories, only to have their reunion cut tragically short by the actions of a hitman who took her hostage on stage, demanding her necklace. While Myri and Violet attempted to convince him that the necklace did not lie with her, Jade signaled to Rafael that she meant to utilize the distraction to break free - but things went out of control and Rafael's bullets struck Jade instead. The Knights felled the hitman, as the world watched, and Rafael begged a distraught and enraged Des to end his life. Meanwhile, a mysterious figure that only Buffy & Spike could see assisted Myrilandel in healing Jade enough to hang on for a little time more...

Time for people to say goodbye.

In the meantime, the police have arrived, arresting Rafael, Archer, and Des (or attempting to), and preparing Jade to be taken to the hospital. Everyone else is being ordered to head outside to be taken down to the station for questioning. It's a hectic scene, but people can finally snatch a few moments amid the chaos to try to make sense of what just happened...

Comments

[nothingsodivine]

[Des glares, because there is absolutely nothing worse in his mind than being ignored. And since no one is being shot at or killed, he slams the door shut as if to petulantly alert Anderson to his existence.]

Not to cut off the sermon before the choir can get out their hymnals, but he has to get convicted first.

[judaspriest]

[ anderson finally stops making murderous bedroom eyes at raf long enough to acknowledge des' existence ]

Oh, that's a done deal. Don't ye worry yerself about that.

[nothingsodivine]

Oh yeah. You wanna wager on it? [Des starts pacing around the other side of the car.]

[judaspriest]

[ no one from hellsing should ever look this happy. it bodes ill. ] An' what do you think you can offer me?

[nothingsodivine]

Don't get ahead of yourself. [Des is still pacing around the car, slowly edging his way towards Anderson.] I win? Rafael walks. You and your people leave him alone- for good. You win, on the other hand, then Rafael rots in jail and you get something else for your troubles. [He holds that in suspense for a few seconds, finally coming to a stop about three feet from where Anderson stands.] You get a man who can't die. [(Diplomacy 26)]

1/2

[romanticidal]

[ well that is like almost a triple-take from rafael right there ] What do you think you are doing?

[judaspriest]

[ wow i have to use this icon again, he's just SO PLEASED. and basically cuts rafael off. ] You have a deal.

[nothingsodivine]

Nice doing business with you. [He makes a shoo motion with his hand.] Now get away from my car. Please.

[judaspriest]

[ everything counts - depeche mode

anderson easily steps to the side, cutting a grin at a still somewhat in shock rafael. ]

With pleasure.

[nothingsodivine]

[Des salutes and opens the driver's side before turning to look at Rafael with an expectant look.] You gonna get in the car now?

[romanticidal]

[ rafael stares down anderson for a moment, but then looks to des, and finally, slides back in and slams the door. he stares straight ahead through the window until des' door shuts as well, before speaking up. ]

What were you thinking?

[nothingsodivine]

[Des starts the engine.] I was thinking about karma, actually. And how much worse yours is gonna get if you don't make some attempt to clear your name and drag some poor schmuck into the mud with you, right after he put himself on the block to save your scrawny ass.

[romanticidal]

[ he looks over at des, brow furrowed ] Why does it matter to you that I clear my name?

[nothingsodivine]

[The engine's humming, but Des's hand lingers over the gearshift as he considers the question.] Because she loved you and she doesn't remember me, so all I can do for her is make sure the man she loved gets his shit together. [He pulls the gearshift down into drive and pulls out onto the road.] This is all I can give her.

[romanticidal]

[ ... twenty ... wisdom check...

mexican standoff - elbow

rafael's eyes don't leave des' face for a second, especially because now he seems ten times more interested in the guy as one can actually physically see the pieces clicking into place in his brain.

ruh roh.

his tone is very precariously balanced at the edge of being neutral as he says carefully: ]

Because you loved her.

[nothingsodivine]

[Des sticks his tongue in his cheek and keeps his eyes on the road.] Don't get tense, Fluffy. I loved a shadow, a dream. Whatever I could have had with her died when you put that whammy on her. [He doesn't sound okay with that. There are parts of him that will never be okay with that, but he doesn't exist in a state of perpetually harping on the past.]

[romanticidal]

[ there's a beat as he sort of processes this, and then the words come out clearly despite his best attempts to bite down on them: ] And what about her.

Did she love you?

[nothingsodivine]

Do you really want to know the answer to that question? It doesn't matter. There at the end, it was all you- she didn't know me from any guy on the street. And now she's dying in a hospital somewhere and if there's a thought in her head at this very moment, you're probably it.

[romanticidal]

[ he looks away finally, face darkened by heavy thoughts ] It does matter, si. [ the words come quietly, and there's more guilt there than any trace of anger. ] ... She truly did not remember any of you, after her past came back to her?

[nothingsodivine]

No. [Des grips the steering wheel tighter.] She thought everything after she lost her memories was a dream.

[romanticidal]

[ he falls silent again, but the fact that he's deeply troubled by this is pretty readily apparent. finally: ] You didn't answer me. Before.

[nothingsodivine]

[It's almost a full thirty seconds before Des finds it in himself to respond.]

Yeah. She loved me.

[romanticidal]

[ your ex-lover is dead - stars

a muscle tics in the side of his jaw, and that heavy silence falls between them again.

they're rounding onto the hotel's street when he finally says, voice laden with grief: ] I never meant to take from her any measure of happiness she had found. I never thought-- [ and he stops himself, unable to vocalize that thought, and then says, with great sincerity: ]

I am truly, deeply sorry for what I took from you. I will not ask your forgiveness, or even your understanding, I deserve neither, but you must know that I had no idea--

[ almost mumbled: ] I imagined things going very differently. It is only easy now, looking back, to see how foolish my hope might have been.

[nothingsodivine]

[Des sets his jaw in a hard line and pulls into the parking garage without saying a word. It's another tense silence before he finds a spot, puts the car in park and turns in his seat to face Rafael.]

Like I said, you fucked up. And she wasn't mine to lose. And that's it. That's all there is. All we can do is what we're doing. Just remember what I said about walking away when this is over. It's not too late to be the man she wanted you to be.

[He starts to get out of the car, only to stop and slam the door shut again.] And don't break Buffy's heart any more than you have to or I really am gonna bust one of your kneecaps.

[romanticidal]

Buffy? [ the complete level of bewildered in that one word and the confusion on his face communicate untold volumes about how much gatsby over here is really truly and completely blind to gay nick carroway buffy's life, even right now. he obviously doesn't see the connection between the two conversations, and struggles to fill in the gaps. ] I swear to you, I mean her no harm. [ he frowns deeply and reaches for the door handle with his adorable wisdom roll of 3 ] I owe her much for her friendship. [ yep. and he opens the door and gets out. /keywords ]