[The trip back from Purgatory was long, but it gave him and Wynonna a chance to work out some of the remaining kinks in their relationship. Things almost feel back to normal, and after picking up Waverly just outside the city, he drives the two of them out for their first Underground Thanksgiving.
The hideout has garnered itself a full spread for a variety of different diets, this meal being more of a potluck thank a traditional turkey and sides. Long tables stretch through the room, and when the three of them arrive, they’re just about to kick off the festivities with appetizers and drinks.
He scans the tables, looking for empty seats that it would make sense to place the Earp sisters. Crash is conspicuously missing, but perhaps that’s a good thing (no one needs to know what confectionary horror they’d dug up out of America’s long history), but he does spot Alys with some empty seats nearby and leads the two women in that direction.]
( The trip got a little too existential for her taste, but Wynonna worked through her demons so-to-speak. Maybe she would feel different if Doc and her's Montana love would have ever gotten off the ground, or stuck the landing - whiskey caught her between the two explanations, but she was reminded that she has a life and a daughter and he never went anywhere and he upheld his part in it. She let him know he's not worth the grudge. And then, well, he's very worth the grudge but she's done with it. Except. The Grudge. Which she promptly plays in their hotel room, their ward for the week asleep in its' bed?
She never got an answer to gender, but that's not why they were there.
And what awaited them was a happy ending and a heretofore untapped power so she! and her family could live in peace.
Still, Wynonna's brand is usually bombshell, so she keeps the t to a minimum and accentuates the a. And she kind of sparkles. But so does Waverly!
They exchange pleasantries and Wynonna makes a joke about keeping his eyes on his own paper, before giving him every reason not to (it's not a very ladylike scan of the room, at all).
Alys has been helping Abernathy and Serena coordinate the Siberia returns and went on her own trip to Amish country with Cordelia. (That was a combination.)
She greets the Earp sisters with a smile, remembering both. )
It spreads far. Help is needed nearly everywhere and we've spent decades building a true network. The Underground is actually a series of organizations of all kinds, under one umbrella meant for one purpose. To keep those safe that can't do so for themselves.
( Wynonna nods along, but is suddenly touched by the effort made - years at keeping people safe. Emotions don't mesh well, though, so she takes a sip of her nearest - white wine. She shrugs, takes another. )
Our stronghold is simply Dispatch. Most operations run through ours and we have representatives from dispatch in and out of where they're needed. But, we call everything The Underground for simplicity. You understand.
("Totally," Wynonna said. "We followed all of that." Every word. )
We don't just take anyone, but we find that people tend to seek us out. Or, stumble in, usually while running away from something else. It's an unspoken rule, but nobody is ever exclusively found and asked to join. The cause finds them. That way, we know where they stand.
( She does smirk, though. )
And of course, they're vetted. Their minds read. But, we've only ever had one - or two - not pass an evaluation. Or, not accept it. They may say different.
[She frowns as she considers. Some of those options are not going to really solve the issues she's having at Black Badge.]
The organization I work for is mostly military fed, while a lot of them are good people, we're having some problems with ... people who are losing sight of the mission, let's say.
( Her sister assumes this to be the right description of what's going on in the military facility her sister now runs. But, still. That's Wynonna. Cuts through like a blunt knife. )
( For the first time, she lifts her glass of wine and sips, thoughtfully, like he need to choose her next words, carefully. Especially in the presence of a woman who throws our her words like errant spells, or a stray bullet. )
Our dealings with Black Badge improved when he became our primary.
( Black Badge moved differently before he took over, and before Waverly, apparently. )
Dolls mentioned her, too. It's been a long time since there's been another Alice in the conversation and with such proper spelling.
She looks down at her phone. They always have it at the ready, being in the underground. It's a bit like being a doctor when you're on call. )
I apologize, I need to answer this, but, please enjoy and I'll be back as soon as I can.
( It's her polite way of saying, if shit hasn't hit the fan. Especially from Donna Paulsen.
"I feel kissed off," Wynonna says with a shrug. She doesn't know her amazing daughter. It's fine. But that was abrupt. "Dolls, how's your first Thanksgiving back with the Earps. Regret inviting us yet?"
Aalys steps away from the tables and moves up the metal staircase away from the speakers down below. As they waft Fall Out Boy's "Thanks For the Mmrs", she answers. )
["Hardly. You haven't even started any fights yet." By Earp standards, this is relatively tame. But holds up a finger. "That was an example, not a suggestion."
Donna sounds tired, but and there probably should be pleasantries, but she has to say this part or she won't be sure it's real:]
Brannigan's dead.
[Saying it the way Rusty said it, straight and to the point, doesn't actually make it any easier. It's still hard to believe, but that doesn't make it less true.]
( She catches Wynonna with a fork full of mash, held up, ready to fling it at Waverly. She eats it instead. He almost started it. Technically.
Very quickly, Aalys' world spins off its' axis as her hand finds the railing and she lowers herself down. She hits the edge of one step, sliding down to the next. She takes the call hunched over, phone to her ear.
The good and the bad swirl as this sinks in. Brannigan was not a good man, but he was a fair man. He did things in his way. He loved in his way. He also hurt many along the way.
She does have to ask after the others. The elite. She will ask how in a moment. )
Weren't involved from what I can tell, so they should be fine.
[She takes a deep breath, because really she doesn't know how this is going to fall out in the end.]
Wallace and Corsair put him up to taking a run at the Slayers. They blew up the castle in Scotland. Unfortunately for them, Buffy Summers survived, and probably has something to do with Brannigan's untimely demise.
[She doesn't know that the Butlers were there - Rusty left that part out.]
( Mixed feelings leak like a salve as she nods, head coming up, facing forward. )
Why would Wallace and Corsair... ( Almost opposite from her sinking down a second later, that strong arm pulls herself up to her feet as she heads back down, carefully, her heels clattering. She doesn't think Abernathy has joined them down here yet. ) The Gauntlet. But, they aren't witches.
Members of the Inner Circle are being picked off. Kirsanov and Hernandez are both dead already. I think they might have been under the mistaken impression that the Slayers were involved.
[Which, maybe there's a word where they could have been right. Instead ...]
Now they are involved. They're planning to hit the Riverboat.
( She knows the he to which she is referring as she crosses the warehouse floor. ) And now he has a pissed off slayer in his pocket. Wallace and Corsair ordered a suicide mission? They served Brannigan up on a platter, I don't what they think they were doing. They're getting desperate, which means every other witch will be right behind them. ( Drama aside, she has to check in, under the neon yellow light of the entryway. ) Are you okay?
They didn't do no damage. As far as I know, Buffy may have been the only one to make it out.
[But that's a question to sort out later. For right now, she tries to sort out how she's actually feeling.]
I can't believe he's actually dead.
[Not because she cared about Brannigan by any means, but because he's been such a fixture in her life that she doesn't know what to do with the empty space he left behind.]
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everyonelives2025-03-12 08:39 pm
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The hideout has garnered itself a full spread for a variety of different diets, this meal being more of a potluck thank a traditional turkey and sides. Long tables stretch through the room, and when the three of them arrive, they’re just about to kick off the festivities with appetizers and drinks.
He scans the tables, looking for empty seats that it would make sense to place the Earp sisters. Crash is conspicuously missing, but perhaps that’s a good thing (no one needs to know what confectionary horror they’d dug up out of America’s long history), but he does spot Alys with some empty seats nearby and leads the two women in that direction.]
Alys, you remember the Earps.
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She never got an answer to gender, but that's not why they were there.
And what awaited them was a happy ending and a heretofore untapped power so she! and her family could live in peace.
Still, Wynonna's brand is usually bombshell, so she keeps the t to a minimum and accentuates the a. And she kind of sparkles. But so does Waverly!
They exchange pleasantries and Wynonna makes a joke about keeping his eyes on his own paper, before giving him every reason not to (it's not a very ladylike scan of the room, at all).
Alys has been helping Abernathy and Serena coordinate the Siberia returns and went on her own trip to Amish country with Cordelia. (That was a combination.)
She greets the Earp sisters with a smile, remembering both. )
Xavier. Wynonna. Waverly. Please, join me.
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[She and Dolls slide into seats at the table, and she looks around at the full room of people.]
Wow, this operation is huge. How wide is your reach?
[Waverly, it's Thanksgiving. Why are you talking shop?]
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( Wynonna nods along, but is suddenly touched by the effort made - years at keeping people safe. Emotions don't mesh well, though, so she takes a sip of her nearest - white wine. She shrugs, takes another. )
Our stronghold is simply Dispatch. Most operations run through ours and we have representatives from dispatch in and out of where they're needed. But, we call everything The Underground for simplicity. You understand.
( "Totally," Wynonna said. "We followed all of that." Every word. )
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[Better to have a larger organization at your back an umbrella to hide behind, when you may not have the numbers to fully defend yourself.]
Strength in numbers, right?
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( And they recruit so they aren't spread thin. )
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How do you deal with people who ... misrepresent the mission? Or I guess ... use your mission to their own ends?
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( She does smirk, though. )
And of course, they're vetted. Their minds read. But, we've only ever had one - or two - not pass an evaluation. Or, not accept it. They may say different.
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[She frowns as she considers. Some of those options are not going to really solve the issues she's having at Black Badge.]
The organization I work for is mostly military fed, while a lot of them are good people, we're having some problems with ... people who are losing sight of the mission, let's say.
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( Her sister assumes this to be the right description of what's going on in the military facility her sister now runs. But, still. That's Wynonna. Cuts through like a blunt knife. )
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Dolls shakes his head as he brings over some drinks.]
None taken. I don't work there anymore.
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( Alys tries following. She has known several languages over her lifetimes, but there was just used - four times?
"And Waverly runs... one of -- the there - s?" )
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[And because she's deciding she should be significantly less cryptic.]
Black Badge. I work under Jeremy Chetri at Black Badge.
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( For the first time, she lifts her glass of wine and sips, thoughtfully, like he need to choose her next words, carefully. Especially in the presence of a woman who throws our her words like errant spells, or a stray bullet. )
Our dealings with Black Badge improved when he became our primary.
( Black Badge moved differently before he took over, and before Waverly, apparently. )
He rambles.
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[Is that a warning? Is Aalis' point a criticism? She couldn't tell so might as well float that out there.]
And he's tempered it some, since he became he director.
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( Or, when it tends to swirl around the obvious and then twists around a nonsequitor and finally settles on someone's point.
She finds it endearing, Waverly. )
How long have you worked under Dr. Chetri?
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Ten years or so? I started working there after Alice came back to Purgatory.
[And as they're sitting there chatting, Aalis's phone starts ringing, showing a call from Donna.]
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( "And my kid," Wynonna confirms.
Dolls mentioned her, too. It's been a long time since there's been another Alice in the conversation and with such proper spelling.
She looks down at her phone. They always have it at the ready, being in the underground. It's a bit like being a doctor when you're on call. )
I apologize, I need to answer this, but, please enjoy and I'll be back as soon as I can.
( It's her polite way of saying, if shit hasn't hit the fan. Especially from Donna Paulsen.
"I feel kissed off," Wynonna says with a shrug. She doesn't know her amazing daughter. It's fine. But that was abrupt. "Dolls, how's your first Thanksgiving back with the Earps. Regret inviting us yet?"
Aalys steps away from the tables and moves up the metal staircase away from the speakers down below. As they waft Fall Out Boy's "Thanks For the Mmrs", she answers. )
Donna?
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Donna sounds tired, but and there probably should be pleasantries, but she has to say this part or she won't be sure it's real:]
Brannigan's dead.
[Saying it the way Rusty said it, straight and to the point, doesn't actually make it any easier. It's still hard to believe, but that doesn't make it less true.]
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Very quickly, Aalys' world spins off its' axis as her hand finds the railing and she lowers herself down. She hits the edge of one step, sliding down to the next. She takes the call hunched over, phone to her ear.
The good and the bad swirl as this sinks in. Brannigan was not a good man, but he was a fair man. He did things in his way. He loved in his way. He also hurt many along the way.
She does have to ask after the others. The elite. She will ask how in a moment. )
What about Byrne, Behan and Balfe?
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[She takes a deep breath, because really she doesn't know how this is going to fall out in the end.]
Wallace and Corsair put him up to taking a run at the Slayers. They blew up the castle in Scotland. Unfortunately for them, Buffy Summers survived, and probably has something to do with Brannigan's untimely demise.
[She doesn't know that the Butlers were there - Rusty left that part out.]
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Why would Wallace and Corsair... ( Almost opposite from her sinking down a second later, that strong arm pulls herself up to her feet as she heads back down, carefully, her heels clattering. She doesn't think Abernathy has joined them down here yet. ) The Gauntlet. But, they aren't witches.
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[Which, maybe there's a word where they could have been right. Instead ...]
Now they are involved. They're planning to hit the Riverboat.
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He can't be working alone, Donna.
( She knows the he to which she is referring as she crosses the warehouse floor. ) And now he has a pissed off slayer in his pocket. Wallace and Corsair ordered a suicide mission? They served Brannigan up on a platter, I don't what they think they were doing. They're getting desperate, which means every other witch will be right behind them. ( Drama aside, she has to check in, under the neon yellow light of the entryway. ) Are you okay?
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[But that's a question to sort out later. For right now, she tries to sort out how she's actually feeling.]
I can't believe he's actually dead.
[Not because she cared about Brannigan by any means, but because he's been such a fixture in her life that she doesn't know what to do with the empty space he left behind.]
And I don't know what the old man is going to do.
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