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

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

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."

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[Wow this conversation gets better and better. Des would side-eye Vittorio over there but he did the same thing EXCEPT NO WAIT. HE WAITED UNTIL JADE WAS ALREADY DEAD. SIDE-EYEING THE FUCK OUT OF YOU HOMIE.]

I can see where that might provoke an extreme reaction.

[ any surprise winks out of her expression in an instant the moment jade’s name is invoked. of course it comes down to jade. for once, buffy begins to understand how isabella could love rafael but hate her so. it’s not the first time buffy has realized that his feelings for her could sometimes hover near the toxic, but it’s the first time it’s actually made her nauseous.

sometimes, it’s entrancing, to realize he could love someone so much, with his whole being. not now. now, it just looks like a disease that consumed him, burning away who he could be, who he was. the man he was without jade wasn’t the happy man he’d pretended to be in italy with her, wasn’t the man he’s become now. he was a husk, hollowed out and misshapen by something that called itself love, but only destroyed everything it touched. jade, rafael, vittorio—god knows how many others that rafael had once called friends, had once fought beside.

that’s not love. that’s tragic. ]

I can guess.

[ buffy answers, turning to look at des when he speaks. she can remember, what both she and rafael did to him after the trial. she can remember crumbling and lashing out because of what des had done to hurt rafael, to the woman he’d loved. she’d lost control of herself, seen a traitor where he’d been her friend. she remembers how it was only myri’s screaming that had stopped them from sending des to hell, however temporarily. if myri hadn’t been there … ]

Except [ vittorio interrupts gently ] we did not conspire against Jade out of fear of losing you to her, Rafael.

[ raf looks back at him, bewildered. ] There were things that if we'd told you directly, you never would have listened to. We know you loved Eterna, but we also saw what that love did to you. How it blinded you. To you, she was perfect, your angel, that seeing her for the real woman that she was ... [ he trails off, finding it hard to say that out loud without sounding really insulting. ] We knew what would happen, if we tried to tell you the truth. How you would dismiss us to preserve your fantasy, the dream you held to so tightly.

But the truth, Rafael, is that we could not watch you forsake everything you had fought for for a woman who was so actively betraying you.

[Des snaps to attention, looking livid at the implication. Not as badly as Rafael would take it at the height of his love-induced insanity, but not well. Jade had never been perfect to him. Jade had just been Jade- a sad, lonely girl in a club with a chip on her shoulder, which was barely a fraction of what she could have been with that chunk of her memories missing, but still. When he saw her on that stage with Rafael, he believed that whatever the hell those two were to each other, it was real and he'd held himself to that belief.

For someone who spends a lot of time lying to people and screwing up and sort of backhandedly betraying people through the power of good intentions, Des is surprisingly cowed by this revelation. Not enough to make him doubt her feelings for him- those came from a girl who couldn't remember actively betraying anyone. And he didn't have half of Rafael's clout. She couldn't get anything from him that she wasn't capable of doing herself, so selling him out was a moot point.

That doesn't make the shock that she was capable of that any less upsetting. No one wants to hear their friends are capable of actively betraying the people they love. He should know. He got put through a table for that, and his intentions hadn't been selfish.]

What? [explain pls.]

[ oh yeah just shake his world view up a little more over here. the last bit at least distracts him from indignantly refuting the rest. ]

What are you talking about?

I am sorry to be the one to deliver this news, my friend. But Jade was having an affair.

[ he holds up a hand, shaking his head ] And again, I know what your heart will try to convince you. But I was the one who learned of it. Saw it, in fact, with my own two eyes.

Her heart was never wholly yours, Rafael, and that she let you believe it was enraged all of us, knowing what it would do to you should you learn the truth.

[ w a t.

buffy’s attention turns quickly to vittorio, then to des, searching his eyes for something, anything. the notion that jade could love someone who wasn’t rafael, or that jade was someone who pretty much … did what she wanted with her romantic pursuits isn’t surprising. she’d chased after des like a cougar, i mean, you had to be blind to miss that. but she’d seemed just as in love with rafael as he was with her on that stage. she had a hard time believing that a woman that passionate would also be the type who’d stray.

i don’t know why this is more shocking than rafael murdering his best friend, but buffy’s brain really can’t process it. maybe because she just watched rafael kill people before hearing that news; she definitely didn’t just watch jade having sex with anybody. ]

An affair? With— [ wow you know what you don’t ask right in front of the fucking murderer jilted ex-boyfriend? who the affair was with. she stops herself at least … yeah she’s looking back at des like man i really should have left. ]

[Des is looking at Buffy like maybe you shouldn't ask that question in front of both her ex-lover and the guy who never got to hit that. That is probably bad form, girl.

However, he seems to have deflated a bit from his indignant rage, because wow that's it? He's not even as shocked as Buffy, because he damn well knew something was a little wrong in paradise if Jade's mom wanted her to cut contact with Rafael. Everyone's focusing on Rafael's delicate princess feelings and how Jade brought out the crazy person inside of him, but what about Jade? What about what he brought out in her?

Of course this is coming from the guy who was The Other Woman in the epic love story of Rafael and Jade, so this is just... a thing to him.]

Does it matter?

[ buffy’s answer comes quickly, with raised eyebrows, scolded expression, and hands raised in a pacifying gesture. ]

No! [ she drops her hands and continues. ] No, of course not. I just—[ how do you even react to that? she shakes her head, speechless, and turns to look at rafael, studying his expression and … wondering if she maybe should have taken his other gun too. it’s always kind of a toss-up with how he’ll react, worse where jade’s concerned. #emotionallyunstableboyfriendproblems. ]

[ from the look of utter horror and anger on rafael's face

it might matter

to him, at least.

although his anger and horror might be directed at vittorio right now, actually, given that he balls one hand into a fist and says tightly: ] You were right about one thing, Vittorio.

I do not believe you. Whatever you saw, or think you saw, you saw wrong.

Eterna would not - could not - have been lying to me.

And I knew you would say precisely that. That is why I have evidence, which I stored in a safety deposit box in Venezia before you -- paid me a visit.

I'll give you the account information and you can go see it for yourself. No tricks, Rafael. I think we're both long past such a point.

Edited 2014-06-09 17:19 (UTC)

[Des puts a hand on Rafael's shoulder, because he probably seriously believes that he is going to KILL HIM AGAIN and he's a good bro.]

We need to get out of Rome before we do anything. Iscariot's not gonna take what happened lying down and they'll be expecting us to take the most obvious way of escape back to London.

[god he hopes.] So field trip to Venice sounds like a great idea to me.

[Not because he wants to crush Rafael's soul, but because he doesn't want to see another priest as long as he fucking lives and hanging around a Rome airport sounds like a gr8 way to cause a scene. let's not stay in rome guys. let's just not.]

He’s right.

[ someone mark the fucking calendar i guess. this round to des. she looks to rafael, wary and alert, but sympathetic. she’s … not entirely sure he won’t freak out on vittorio now, even though she’s hoping he won’t. buffy’s a firm believer in “prepare for the worst, hope for the best.” ]

I think you owe it to him to see this through. [ like homie he lET YOU KILL HIM over this it’s time to do some repenting. did you think stepping into the light was going to be easy? because sometimes it will blind you. ] And you owe it to yourself to have all the information.

[ he looks down at des' hand, and then at the ground, before finally dragging his gaze up to buffy and nodding dully ] ... Si. I will judge this with my own eyes.

Good.

[Des looks up at Vittorio.] Think you can get us out of here before they sic the dogs on us?

I think we'll all feel a little safer with a few hundred miles between us and our favorite psychopaths. [ she looks to vittorio. ] I'll understand if you don't want to come with us, but here's me asking if you will, anyway.

[ he gives a sad smile, looking down ] I'm afraid, signorina, that someone must stay here to fight the fight in Roma.

Edited 2014-06-09 23:56 (UTC)

Thanks for the save. Any friend Rafael previously executed is a... [he makes a face] well, that started well, anyway. [He claps his other hand on Rafael's other shoulder and because they're precious and the same height, he only has to lean a bit on him so he can say in his ear:] I'm driving.

No one ever lets me drive.

[ her name never even enters the running ;o; her nose crinkles a bit at the admission, but she transitions easily to a sympathetic smile at vittorio. ]

Well. In that case, no offense, but I kinda hope we never get cause to cross paths again. My next trip to Rome will be too soon. [ she starts to head for the door, then turns back for rafael and des. ] Do we need to have the room for Jesus talk again? Yeesh. [ stop cuddling. ]

[ raf looks over at her in confusion. is this an iscariot reference??? ] ... I think we have heard enough of Jesus for today. [ yeah, that happened. gently disengaging now. or not so gently. who knows. he moves to vittorio and claps him on the shoulder. ] You may find this hard to believe, my friend, but I have never been so relieved than to know this is a mistake that has been unmade.

I'm with him. [He gets the reference and even then he still looks like if he hears anything else about Jesus today, he's going to hurl.] In fact, if I ever hear the words [and he proceeds to launch into a decent Scottish accent that admittedly sounds more like Sean Connery than Anderson, but he was a Celt what do you want from him:] Jesus, the Lord, heretic, Satanist, Amen, or any related phrase [he drops the accent], I'm gonna lose it.

[He looks at Vittorio.] Also I'd set fire to that limo, if I were you. We're gonna need a different ride. Raise your hand if you wanna add casual carjacking to your lists of sins today.

[Just moving on.]

[ buffy holds her hands up in silent apology. SHE DID NOT EXPECT Y’ALL TO HAVE SUCH PTSD, OK, get over it. learn coping mechanisms like humor and sarcasm. the little roll of her eyes stops short at the suggested carjacking. ] Oh, come on. You know, some of us have oaths to keep. The kind of oaths that don’t exactly support car theft. What's wrong with the train? Or a rental.

[ vittorio returns the shoulder clasp before looking to buffy ] Iscariot might be monitoring rentals, especially if they're looking for you. Their resources are more vast than you might realize. I've a car you might use. [ and he'll pull out the keys and hand them to des, pausing with them in his palm to say: ]

Don't stop until you reach Venezia.

If it'll get me out of here faster, I won't even stop for pedestrians.

[IS HE KIDDING????? we just don't know, but he closes his hand tightly around the keys and takes the lead.]

And here I was hoping we'd at least get to make a pitstop for beef jerky to make up for the almost-being-executed. [ her nose crinkles in dissatisfaction as she follows after des. ]

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

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