CLOSED ♔ don't know what the country's coming to

[behindcloseddoors]

♬ on an evening in roma - dean martin

WHO || Rafael, Des, Buffy, their best pal in the world
WHAT || An unexpected incident
WHERE || Rome
WHEN || June 7th, 2014
HOW || Actionspam. Single thread.

Who knows how long unconsciousness has them all swallowed in its grip. But when it finally allows them to resurface, they'd notice the smooth motion of a car indicating they're... still riding in a vehicle. A wis check of 14+ might recognize it's a different limo, however, and it doesn't take a wisdom check to recognize that they are all crammed together on the same side of the seat now. With... hands cuffed to the seat between their legs.

Across from them, a large figure sits grinning manically... wearing a familiar gray cassock. Oh hi. :)

A single glance out the window at the bustling city outside is enough to recognize that is sure as shit ain't London. And Anderson will be quick to clear that up for y'all, waving one hand at the view.

"Well, now. I hope you all enjoyed your rest. Let me be the first t'bid ye welcome... to Rome."

Comments

[slay]

Des.

[ you know they all might have lived longer aka had more time to get out of this if you hadn't spoiled the surprise. buffy just sounds pressed as fuck. ]

[trumpcard]

[ beside him, heinkel speaks up ] Oh, ve have somezink very special planned for you, Herr Descant. You vill have the chance to cleanse yourself of your crimes by serving the Lord God vith all your heart.

[nothingsodivine]

But I don't even like the guy that much. [There's a broken note in his sarcasm. As much as he's fronting to make up for his breakdown in the car, all that PTSD is still there. He finally spares a glance at Buffy for the first time since he woke up in the limo and the look he gives is fifty kicked puppies worth of apologetic.]

[slay]

[ hahahahahahahaa nope.

des is in some serious fucking doghouse level shit right now as far as buffy's concerned. not only was he too self-absorbed and panicky to participate in her own freakout, but he lied to her about azrael, and his lie is at least partially contributing to this very moment.

really. she thought they were past this.

but with heinkel's remark in mind, her evasion of his gaze is dual purpose. keeps her from being explicitly pissed at him, and also tries to search a way out of this. the last thing they need is to hand a fucking immortal to iscariot. so she'll just scan their surroundings as they enter, looking for weak points in security or anywhere she could pick up a weapon (spot 26). ]

1/2

[romanticidal]

[ there are swiss guards stationed all over town as they head through the halls, toting pikes, and it seems that heinkel probably isn't the only vatican paladin armed - yumiko carries a big old samurai sword, for example. and we all know anderson keeps a million weapons up his butt. other than that, she doesn't see anything hanging around unattended. 8|

meanwhile, rafael, upon hearing what they intend to do to des, seems to have had the wind knocked right out of his sails. his eyes scrape the ground, as he tries desperately to think past the... haze of despair. ]

2/2

[judaspriest]

By th' time we've finished wi' ye, ah've no doubt ye'll see the light.

[ they reach a fork, at which point he stops abruptly and turns to look at them. ] If ye've goodbyes t'say, now's yer chance t'say 'em. He's comin' with me. [ he jerks his head at des ] An' you two have a date wi' Maxwell.

[nothingsodivine]

[Des swallows hard and ducks his head, composing himself, before looking at Buffy.]

The only thing you need to know, Buffy, is I wanted to tell you. There ain't been a day that's gone by that I haven't tried in every way I could think of besides directly and I couldn't- I just couldn't do it.

[He opens his mouth to say something else and all that comes out is a strangled:] I didn't know.

[He runs his tongue along the inside of his cheek and casts his eyes downwards.] And I guess it doesn't matter anymore.

[slay]

[ it’s unfair. everything about this is unfair, but what des is trying to do is the top of the list. some last-minute absolution for a crime that buffy hasn’t remotely had time to come to terms with and genuinely process. he wants that last-minute assurance that it’ll all be okay, that all’s forgiven. as much as she wants to withhold that because it’s unfair or hard or feels impossible, she can’t. it doesn’t matter if it’s the hundredth time: she’ll still forgive him. it’ll kill her, but she’ll forgive him anyway. ]

If you wanted to tell me, you would have done it. [ betrayal reigns supreme in her voice, with hurt playing second fiddle. ] It has always been lies on top of lies with you—no matter what happens, you just can’t help yourself.

[ if it were the first time, maybe. if it were the second, even. but there comes a point where she can’t keep track of them anymore, and he’s gone well beyond only hurting himself with them. if he were going to change, it would have happened. ]

I don’t know why you couldn’t trust us, after everything we’ve done. [ she shakes her head, voice wavering at first but growing stronger. ] You might be a liar, but I’m not. So save the deathbed apologies and trust me now when I say this isn’t over. This is not how it ends.

[ she’s never looked more confident with her will save of 25. ]

I’m going to see you again, Descant. [ it’s got a wry edge to it, like what she’s really saying is that he’s not getting out of this one so easily. ]

[judaspriest]

Even yer own friends know what a charlatan ye are. [ tsk tsk ] Now what does that tell ye?

[nothingsodivine]

No one asked you, Scotty. [Grumbled petulantly.]

Just one more thing- both of you. If you're wrong, Blondie.. if we don't. If this is the end. Even though He doesn't deserve it... Try to forgive Him. [He looks up at the ceiling, indicating, you know. That Guy.] He's a dick and half of everything both of you have gone through is crap, but if there's a chance... Just try to realize it wasn't all shit.

[He swallows again and nods at Rafael.] I couldn't keep that one damn promise to her. [he laughs, painfully.] Figures, right? All I ever do is lie. [He takes a shuddering breath.] I love you both. I loved all of you. [another breath.] Except Archer. [annnd here come the waterworks.] And maybe you're right. Maybe this'll work out, but on the off-chance it don't... that's one thing I'll be honest about. Maybe it's too little, too late. I just don't know.

[he turns away, sniffing, but he manages to get some force in his tone when he addresses Anderson.] Let's get this over with before I decide to spew pea soup all over you, you miserable sonuvabitch.

1/2

[romanticidal]

[ ♬ from my hands - vnv nation

rafael manages to drag his eyes from the ground to affix des with a pained, hurt, emotional look of his own, although it's clear as he speaks that his own pain comes from his own sense of fraternity to the man. ]

Des... [ wow words are hard. ] Whatever it is they make of you, whatever they should try to turn you into...

That is not who you are. Neither are these lies, whatever you would believe about yourself. We have seen glimpses of the better man inside of you.

That is the man Eterna saw.

[judaspriest]

Tha's enough o' that. [ he puts a hand on des' shoulder and turns him down the opposite corridor from the way heinkel indicates for raf and buffy to go. ] Time t'face God, Desmond Descant.

[slay]

I’m pretty sure He isn’t the god any of us should be praying to right now.

[ y’feel? buffy’s just saying there are others who are pretty damn invested in these three, so it might not be such a bad plan to … hope for a favor at this point. but she doesn’t expect to get more than that in, so she just backs off, turning to follow the direction of heinkel.

she keeps step close to rafael. ]

We need a plan.

[ she shoots heinkel a sidelong, suspicious look. maybe she could still take her ??? but … then they have to get out. ]

1/2

[romanticidal]

[ rafael only nods very tightly, eyeing her up from behind as they walk. yumiko keeps several paces behind them, as they head through the hallways of the basilica. ]

[trumpcard]

His Holiness himself should be here to see this, but Father Maxwell does not vish to give you another chance to slip out of our hands, Herr Giovanni.

I cannot say I disagree vith him.

[slay]

Who knew the Vatican was so sloppy? Rushing out executions just because you don't have faith that you can hold onto your prisoners. No wonder you needed to recruit Des.

[ she'll just be here making snide comments. ]

You know, in America, where the civilized people live, we give inmates a decent meal and a good night's rest before murdering them.

[trumpcard]

You've had your nights of sleeping on silk sheets bought vith your blood money. [ yeah she probably... assumes you're an assassin too buffy. this is a beautiful pile of assumptions building up. ] Tonight, you sup with the Devil. I hope you haf brought a long spoon.

[slay]

Oh, we're—we're not actually ... [ she looks awkwardly over at rafael. this is 100% the time/place. ] I—I mean they're different silk sheets. Because we're not ... sleeping in them ... together. [ ANYWAY. ] Did I mention the demon-slaying thing? I don't think the Devil's really gonna pull out the good china for this one. I'm sure there's some understanding we can come to and avoid this whole messy execution altogether. [ diplomacy 31??? ]

1/2

[romanticidal]

[ ♬ fragile tension (peter bjorn & john remix) - depeche mode

rafael looks right over at her at ... her rambles about their sex life or lack thereof. his expression is somewhat difficult to read, but he does just sort of stare at her. it might be a lot wtf tho. ]

Perhaps we can speak to this Maxwell. He is in charge of Iscariot?

[sisteract]

Father Maxwell is the head of Section I, yes. It was under his orders that you were brought here. I doubt he will care what you might have to say.

[slay]

Okay, I'm vibing a lot of doubt and negative energy off of you right now, and I thought this was supposed to be a religious thing. Holy place. Whatever. If you're sure so sure he won't care, what's the harm in a little sit-down?

[trumpcard]

Zat is for him to decide. [ they emerge into the main floor of st. peter's through the left transept, and it's easy to see that the nave is completely empty of its usual tourists. the papal altar ahead is massive, and pacing upon it is a very tall, slim man with a white ponytail to rival wynn's. ] Your Grace.

Ve have the prisoners here.

[slay]

Yeah, and feeling severely imprisoned. Thanks for that, by the way.

[ she scowls, but the chatter is mostly to distract from her getting a good look at how far away yumiko is with that samurai sword and if there are any handy dandy windows nearby if they decide to run for it. stained glass isn't really ideal, but in a pinch ... (spot 25). ]

[zealotry]

[ sever gunfight at the hill of casualties - yasushi ishii

yumiko is about 5 feet behind her, but there's not a lot in the way of escape routes. as in any, beyond the doors of the place, which are... probably guarded, and also like a football field away. the only windows in the place are at the opposite end of the doors, but also ridiculously high up. most of the light filters in from the dome.

maxwell turns to face them with a slowly growing smirk, a look in his eyes that hints at the sort of unhinged that only true zealots can possess. but when he speaks, he sounds distinguished, with a slight italian accent of his own. his eyes light up as he looks at rafael, but her comment draws his attention to buffy. ]

Why, hello, hello. I trust you have not been, how to say, mishandled at least, in your delivery to us? Anderson can be quite over-exuberant at times, in carrying out His Holiness' orders.

[slay]

[ so basically, they’re fucked. the color drains a little further out of buffy’s face.

no weapons. no powers. no exit. no reason.

it’s becoming even more difficult to see the way out that she’d promised des. now is a good time to at least try to start slipping her handcuffs but no that escape artist check of 10 is just not going to happen. so she’s mostly just fidgeting impotently with them. #superhero. ]

If you’re gonna kill us anyway, what does it matter how Anderson roughed us up en route? [ she looks to rafael. ] I’m beginning to regret the talking thing. Like, do we really need to suffer first? [ her attempts to keep her cool are creeping away, and the dread is apparent in her eyes as she meets her hubby's gaze. ]