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

[nothingsodivine]

[Des snarls, balling his hand into a fist so that the picture crumples.] He came to her funeral? He told you he cared about her? That's what you're basing this on? Have you met Nadia, Blondie? 'Cause I have. That girl's a scared rabbit, which tells me everything I need to know about how Blade treats people he cares about. And neither of you were in the room with Jade when she talked about that deal she made with Blade- the one that got her that damned necklace. He dragged her into this.

[He drops the crumpled photograph on the floor and stomps on it, digging his heels into Blade's face.] The last thing she said to me before she died was that it needed to end. That the deal she was offered, the power- the same fucking power they probably offered Violet- it was all connected. It's all part of this stupid mess we're all entangled in. You look me in the eye and tell me Blade ever loved her if he could turn around and do what he did to her, because that really isn't love. And I bet she didn't think so either. Not at the end.

[slay]

[ holding up the picture in her hand, buffy remains calm in the face of des’ denial and fury. ]

Does she look scared to you?

[ nadia might be, but jade wasn’t. and nadia is unquestionably under blade’s control, which only further, in her mind, proves that jade was not. she shakes her head. ]

He didn’t say that he cared about her. But he came to warn us about Vi because Jade would have wanted it—that shows me he did. Still does. [ even in her death, the same as both rafael and des. ]

If she hated him for it, really hated him … don’t you think she would have told you then? [ buffy knows a thing or two about still caring for people even after they hurt you, ok. she knows better than to pretend it's that simple. ] She didn’t send you on some revenge kick after Blade, Des; she asked you to look at the bigger picture.

[nothingsodivine]

It's a photograph. [HAVE YOU SEEN THOSE PHOTOS OF SOLDIERS MOUTH-MOLESTING WOMEN ON THE STREET THAT LOOK S-SO KAWAII BUT REALLY AREN'T??? Yeah. He digs his foot into the photo once again for good measure.

But maybe Jade did care about him. Maybe it's real. That doesn't make it real on Blade's end. Blade still dragged her body and soul into something that drained her.] Don't you get it, Buffy? Jade didn't want it. Jade was miserable. She wanted to make sure no one ever got handed the raw deal she took. He was lying to you, and that proves it. You can debate about the rest of the details until you're blue in the face, but the one thing you can't deny is that making that deal hurt her. Nightscape's the proof. That deal was why it became what it was. And if it did that to her, then what do you think it would've done to Violet? Why would Jade want that for her?

[slay]

[ she doesn’t try to stop or interrupt him as he goes, just lowers the photograph and shakes her head, clearly pressed to remain silent. a beat follows his rant before she turns her gaze back to him. ]

Do you feel better now?

[ she takes a step towards him. ]

Have you sufficiently convinced yourself that Jade couldn’t possibly love someone that you hate so much? [ because this isn’t about you, des, and she’d like to draw your attention to the way he is so theatrically making it so. ] Whatever happened, she did love him. Whether you think that makes him a monster for dealing with her or not, they had something real. [ she shoves the photo forward against his chest. ] And maybe, just maybe, this isn’t about the mountain of secrets that you hide behind.

[ she turns away from him in a huff, pacing over to where rafael undoubtedly needs a paper bag to start breathing in. des can get bent if he wants sympathy while, for the second time today, gushing about more things he hadn’t warned them about. more secrets, more lies. at least she has the sense to realize they came here because of rafael and not turn it into a blow-out. ]

[nothingsodivine]

That's an awfully big presumption from a photograph.

[He's just saying, but he's calming his tits. He really is. Look at that wonderful force of will he's exuding to not keep screaming vitriol on the sidewalk. He learned at the wedding that he's going to get nowhere when it comes to this subject. He hates Blade too much.

He treats the photographs he's holding to his chest with the same compassion he treated the one under his boot and digs his fingers into them too, looking over at Rafael to see what he has to say about all this.]

[romanticidal]

[ Rafael's face had been a loading screen while they talk.

Processing...

Processing...

Suddenly he looks up past Buffy at Des, expression dark and incredulous. ]

You knew Eterna made a deal with Blade? That he was the one?

[nothingsodivine]

She didn't name any names, but when he started yapping at the funeral, I put two and two together. The thing with the necklace added up, but it wasn't enough to peg him. It wasn't until the wedding when Buffy explained how bad off Vi was that I realized it was all true and that it was happening again.

And if we hadn't gotten kidnapped, I would have laid my cards on the table when we talked to Vi. Until then? I had no proof. And I didn't want you going off the deep end until I had something more than our mutual disdain for Blade.

[slay]

[ wait. if that’s what was killing jade, if it was her deal with keijen, then des is right: telling vi can only help her. she’s been beating herself up about a battle that they all believed was over, but if they call this round two, maybe it’ll prompt her to—god only knows. something. ]

We need to get ahold of Vi. [ that’s her … begrudging acceptance that ok we’re moving on from the jade affair drama and des’ ranting is officially relevant and he’s not just making it about him. goddammit. ] She needs to know.

[romanticidal]

[ oh right, violet, more important than punching or not punching des. he looks back at buffy. ] ... Si. I do not know, however, if it will be safe for us to make a call until we are out of Italia.

[nothingsodivine]

Maybe we oughta reconvene at Rafael's house until we can get a flight back to London. [he rubs his forehead. this has been a very stressful couple of days and he would like to die now.] And hope Wynn, Zarad, and Burt haven't banded together to form a search party yet.

[slay]

Uh, hello, Thomas? I think Wynn's search party is a little busy elsewhere.

[ but she takes the point. zarad and burt would be unstoppable. she turns to look at rafael as she moves around the car. ]

Home sweet home, huh? [ she pulls open the passenger's side door of the car and rests one hand on the roof, deciding it's her turn to be in shotgun after six hours of being cramped in the back seat (despite being the shortest and therefore most sensible ... back seater ... ] You should probably drive.

[romanticidal]

[ rafael reaches out his hand to des. give him the keys, bitch. ] It will be easier, si.

[nothingsodivine]

[Des dejectedly drops the keys into his hands and awkwardly climbs into the backseat. It better be a short drive, Rafael.]

[slay]

[ INTO THE PASSENGER SEAT. ]

Did you ever get all that damage repaired from the last time we were here?

[romanticidal]

[ he nods as he starts up the car ] I certainly had the money, thanks to Burt. I hired contractors, but I have not yet been to see it. Hiro supervised the reconstruction.

[nothingsodivine]

Let's hope Iscariot doesn't expect you to go home after all that.

[SORRY TO BE A DEBBIE DOWNER, BUT IT'S REALLY THE SECOND PLACE THEY'D STAKE OUT AFTER THE AIRPORT. But he needs to sleep so badly, so he just can't be arsed to care right now.]

[slay]

They never hunted him there before he came back to the States with us. Maybe they don't know the address. [ buckling her seatbelt and getting cozy. adjusting air vents. that kind of thing. ] Or maybe it's against their religion to, like, drag somebody out of their home. [ her nose crinkles. ] Wish we were visiting under better circumstances. [ like marriage. ]

[romanticidal]

They'll be expecting us to get out of the country. Heading back to England, to assure the others we are alright.

It is doubtful they will think there is anything for us there.

[nothingsodivine]

Peachy. [Des rubs his forehead and slumps against the backseat.] Well, if they try anything in England, Hellsing'll be on 'em like fleas on a rat.

[slay]

If they're not too busy with the demon assassins. Am I the only one who thinks it's getting hard to keep track of all the people trying to kill us? [ ugh. seriously. ] That's a fight I'd pay to see, though. Alucard and Iscariot?

[romanticidal]

Alucard? [ NO ONE TELLS ME ANYTHING MA ]

[nothingsodivine]

[Des is just back here laughing. Maybe he just thinks Iscariot vs Alucard is hilarious. Maybe he's laughing because someone has to explain Remedial Hellsing to Fluffy. We just don't know.]

[slay]

Hellsing's pet vampire. Except he's not like Spike is. More ... Dracula. With a side of Blade and something billowy. [ what a great fucking explanation ten points to dragon's hide. ] I met him when Jack took me to meet with Hellsing, and he showed up when Des and I were patrolling in London.

[romanticidal]

[ he just looks away again at the name 'blade' even if he knows you don't mean the one sexing up his ex. while she... wasn't his ex.

DARK THOUGHTS. DRAMATIC LOOKING AWAY. oh right driving. looking out the window. ]

A vampire who works for vampire hunters?

[nothingsodivine]

Best thing to fight monsters is another monster.

[No offense, Buffy....]