( There was a time Rhett Butler, skeptical, but grateful, entertained the company of Brannigan. He purported himself to be the soul vampire that put Scarlett O'Hara back together after the war. It was one of his progeny that brought Scarlett in. Brannigan liked the pretty and he liked the broken.
Brannigan said one thing to Rhett's, Melanie's and Damon's faces, and made attempts at poisoning Scarlett toward them. He prayed on Damon's weakness and his inner hatred for what he was. He prayed on Melanie's pathological devotion to a family where she would always come in third. He prayed on Rhett's jealousies and foibles. At the end of it, Rhett was only a man.
Brannigan was the kind of leader that believed he was above everyone, that he could do anything. He was big on physical touch. Idle threats. Subtle disrespect.
Scarlett liberated herself. The three of them don't know how, or why, but she came to her senses. Realized she was above the manipulations, petty jealousies, and superiority. And brought Wes with her.
The three of them, Rhett, Melanie and Scarlett had developed a soft spot for the boy. He was a favorite of Brannigan's and not in the way anyone wanted to be anyone's favorite.
Her final quip was about the Ivory Tower hiring a fashion coordinator.
They were not hunted, or followed. The Ivory Tower wanted loyalists. When you no longer were one, you were out.
Initiative for mine follows:
Rhett (8)
Damon is hidden well with his nat 20, he will drop down when he's ready. )
With Melanie breaking the stalemate, One goes for Rhett, fangs bared as he tries to reach for the other man's neck (17). Two turns on Melanie (3 vs. 15), but Melanie twists out of the way and retaliates by borrowing a move Bonnie used on a compatriot of his (4 vs. 5), but he just barely manages to twist out of the way.]
( Rhett barely leans back as a snarling mouth snaps at him.
Instead, he attempts to grapple the vampire who's lunched at him, (5), but in his haste at avoiding teeth gnashing out at him, he likely misses the vampire altogether. )
[Yeah, One turns that grapple on him (nat. 20), taking the arm and wrenching it behind his back. But, since Melanie seems to be handling well enough on her own, Wes zips up behind One, and reaches up to snap his neck (19 vs. 3). One has no hands to defends himself, and the arms holding Rhett in place immediately go slack.
Two glances over at the sound of a snapped neck, and shouts back towards the mouth of the tunnel. "Boss! We're kind of outnumbered here!" He then attempts to grapple Melanie similarly to how One had had Rhett (17 vs. 10), using her as a vampire shield between him and the rest of the group - at least the ones he can see.
Somewhere in the distance Brannigan sighs. "Come on, darling. Seems we have to do everything ourselves."
Melanie tries to wrench herself free (3 vs. 5), slamming her foot down towards the instep of the other vampire's and he growls. "Stop that!"]
( Damon drops down, (15) to land a hand into Two's chest cavity from the back. Like Wes, like Damon today. And (13) as he adds himself to the initiative line-up.
Rhett nods to his son, thanking him, and charges forward, speeding to tackle not Brannigan (21) )
[Two zips out of the way (18), still holding Melanie against him as he whirls around to face Damon. Brannigan (11) takes a full Rhett to the chest getting bowled over as he and the witch enter the initiative so new count:
Two 17 Damon 13 Melanie 12 Rhett 8 Wes 7 Brannigan and witch 5
Wes moves to flank Two on the other side of him, reaching forward to grab the top of his arm to bring his elbow down (14 vs. 1) and there's a satisfying crack! as the arm breaks and he loses some of his grip on Melanie.
Brannigan grits his teeth and tries to throw Rhett off him (16), and snarls. "What the fuck are you doing here?"
His witch starts to call some flame to her fingers, twisting and throwing a fire bolt in Damon's direction (18).
Two tries to keep his grip on Melanie (11 vs. 14), but she slips out, eyes zeroing in on the one living person in the room: the witch.
[Damon manages to get a hold of Two (18), but he gets a hold of Damon's arms, keeping him from following through with the snap fully.
Melanie in turn zips towards the witch (19 vs. 20), and the witch just barely manages to dance out of the way, starting to summon another fire bolt to keep the hungry vampire off her.
"You weren't even supposed to be here," Brannigan snaps back. "Since when do you spend time with vampire Slayers?"]
( As he struggles, he attempts to fling Brannigan at the wall as he rolls them both over (12), but the struggle with keeping him prone is probably not going to succeed. )
[He does not (17), and they'll just continue their wrassling.
Wes moves to pick up a nearby piece of rubble and chucks it at the witch preparing to set Melanie on fire (15 vs. 1), and the witch screams as it lodges in her side.
Branningan wrenches up an hand to wrap around Rhett's throat (15), before preparing to flip and pin him.
Witch tries to recover and recast her spell at Melanie (6 vs. 7), but Melanie ducks as the ball of fire flies past her.
Two twists to try and throw Damon over his shoulder (3), but probably mostly ends up scrabbling.]
[Two braces himself and takes the blow, but manages to twist so he doesn't hit anything too vital (18).
Melanie zips up closer to the witch and sinks her teeth into the girl's throat (14 vs. 3). The witch lets out a scream but can't shake the vampire off.
"We sent ourselves," Brannigan snaps in return, but it's not his turn so that's all he does.]
( He tries one more time, but this time, he attempts to pull himself up and back before launching Brannigan further down the passageway (12). Unfortunately, he's still working on self-righteous fury and surprise than finesse. Still, he tries. )
[Brannigan draws on the fact that he is older than Rhett (19), and uses it to hold his ground.
Wes grabs another piece of rubble and fishes out a piece of wood, before zipping over to where Damon is holding Two and shoves the stake into the vampire's heart (20 vs. 10).
Brannigan starts to shout a command to the witch but glances over to only see Melanie licking her lips as she pulls back from the body, blood smeared across her lips. He grits his teeth, before shoving Rhett away from him (8), before trying to retreat further into the catacombs.
( Damon speeds behind him, in an effort to keep him close. He attempts to shove Brannigan straight into the wall, but Brannigan is older (and is familiar with Damon), so he might miss (4) )
[Brannigan stumbles (1), allowing Damon to catch him to the side, and slam him into the wall, He grits his teeth, fangs bared, ready to tear into the man in front of him when another voice filters around the corner.
"Hey, boss. Look what we -"
Witch One's voice trails off as he steps into view, he and his partner dragging Buffy and Danny along with them. But instead of Brannigan and his squad of vampires, he sees a dead vampire, a vampire with his neck snapped that Melanie uses her turn to helpfully shoves a stake into, and a dead witch comrade who's blood Melanie happens to be covered in.
"What the -"
And with that we resort initiative again:
Buffy 18 Danny 17 Damon 13 Melanie 12 Witches 11 Rhett 8 Wes 7 Brannigan 5
The witches raise their hands, starting to launch some fireballs, one at Melanie (3 vs. 5) that she dodges, and one at Damon (12).]
[Brannigan is busy (3). Witch One is also focused on the carnage (8), but Witch Two does catch sight of him (16), and follows his retreat with a new fireball in hand, but it's not her turn.
It's Wes' turn. Wes zips up towards Witch One and cracks him across the face (6 vs. 4), trying to break his concentration on Buffy and Danny's binds if he's the one holding them. He succeeds (2)! So Buffy, at least, now has her hands free.
Brannigan tries to shove Damon back (5), before shouting at the witches: "Kill the Slayer, you idiot!"]
Witch Two tries, but she can't help but go down hard, losing her line of sight on Rhett and her fireball. And her hold on Danny (2).
Danny feels his hands come free, and his magic does not like any of this scenario, rising up around him and moving to fill the space. The two witches see entangled, so he turns his focus to the head of the snake, sending over an aneurysm spell (6 vs. 3) and Brannigan gives a cry of pain as he grips his head.]
( Damon doesn't want to give him any chance to survive, so he does his best to grip Brannigan's shoulder and shove his hand inside his chest. The angle is shit, considering he's doubled over from his aneurysm. (8) )
[Brannigan does manage to twist away from him, but unfortunately he manages to give Melanie an opening as she zips up behind him with her new favorite stake. She shoves the stake towards his back (18 vs. 11), sinking it in as Brannigan screams, and she glances over her shoulder towards Rhett.]
Do you want a piece of this?
[She can twist it up and make sure she gets the heart, but she knows that Rhett and Brannigan have history.
Witch One spins some fire towards Wes (16 vs. 6) which doesn't catch enough to kill but it does force Wes back away from him.
Witch Two takes a swing up at Buffy (4), but she's swinging blind and probably doesn't connect.]
( the swing actually connects, (4), but it doesn't bring with it a lot of power. it feels more like a flailing fist. not that buffy likes one square in the jaw.
Rhett steps out of the shadows, sauntering through the chaos to Brannigan on his last legs. He undoes the cuff on his right sleeve, flexing his right hand. )
I don't know why you decided to run an assault on a castle full of slayers during an American holiday, but I find myself not at all caring. I've wanted to do this for a long, long time, comrade.
( His hand pierces Brannigan's chest from the back, making sure to let his heart beat a few times in his hand, relish that he's the one that gets to do this. )
Scarlett sends her regards.
( And then he rips that heart back out, yanking his hand back, the desiccating immediate. )
[Wes tamps the flames out with his hands before baring his fangs and charging back towards Witch One, looking to sink his teeth in (9 vs. 4). He can't get a satisfying bite, but he definitely has his hooks in.
Witch Two watches as Brannigan goes down and her eyes widen, not sure how to scramble out of this beyond: "Wait, wait. Hold on - "]
( Buffy sits up, pushing down Witch 2's wrists back, but not attacking, that said, she still has slayer strength (18) and she's gotten her fight back. )
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everyonelives2025-03-12 08:39 pm
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Brannigan said one thing to Rhett's, Melanie's and Damon's faces, and made attempts at poisoning Scarlett toward them. He prayed on Damon's weakness and his inner hatred for what he was. He prayed on Melanie's pathological devotion to a family where she would always come in third. He prayed on Rhett's jealousies and foibles. At the end of it, Rhett was only a man.
Brannigan was the kind of leader that believed he was above everyone, that he could do anything. He was big on physical touch. Idle threats. Subtle disrespect.
Scarlett liberated herself. The three of them don't know how, or why, but she came to her senses. Realized she was above the manipulations, petty jealousies, and superiority. And brought Wes with her.
The three of them, Rhett, Melanie and Scarlett had developed a soft spot for the boy. He was a favorite of Brannigan's and not in the way anyone wanted to be anyone's favorite.
Her final quip was about the Ivory Tower hiring a fashion coordinator.
They were not hunted, or followed. The Ivory Tower wanted loyalists. When you no longer were one, you were out.
Initiative for mine follows:
Rhett (8)
Damon is hidden well with his nat 20, he will drop down when he's ready. )
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Melanie 12
Rhett 8
Wes 7
Damon can join whenever suits his fancy.
With Melanie breaking the stalemate, One goes for Rhett, fangs bared as he tries to reach for the other man's neck (17). Two turns on Melanie (3 vs. 15), but Melanie twists out of the way and retaliates by borrowing a move Bonnie used on a compatriot of his (4 vs. 5), but he just barely manages to twist out of the way.]
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Instead, he attempts to grapple the vampire who's lunched at him, (5), but in his haste at avoiding teeth gnashing out at him, he likely misses the vampire altogether. )
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Two glances over at the sound of a snapped neck, and shouts back towards the mouth of the tunnel. "Boss! We're kind of outnumbered here!" He then attempts to grapple Melanie similarly to how One had had Rhett (17 vs. 10), using her as a vampire shield between him and the rest of the group - at least the ones he can see.
Somewhere in the distance Brannigan sighs. "Come on, darling. Seems we have to do everything ourselves."
Melanie tries to wrench herself free (3 vs. 5), slamming her foot down towards the instep of the other vampire's and he growls. "Stop that!"]
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Rhett nods to his son, thanking him, and charges forward, speeding to tackle not Brannigan (21) )
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Two 17
Damon 13
Melanie 12
Rhett 8
Wes 7
Brannigan and witch 5
Wes moves to flank Two on the other side of him, reaching forward to grab the top of his arm to bring his elbow down (14 vs. 1) and there's a satisfying crack! as the arm breaks and he loses some of his grip on Melanie.
Brannigan grits his teeth and tries to throw Rhett off him (16), and snarls. "What the fuck are you doing here?"
His witch starts to call some flame to her fingers, twisting and throwing a fire bolt in Damon's direction (18).
Two tries to keep his grip on Melanie (11 vs. 14), but she slips out, eyes zeroing in on the one living person in the room: the witch.
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"Really, the Varvatos?"
Damon zeroes in on two, attempting to grip his head (19) in favor of a neck snap.
Rhett has no turn, but does have a voice. )
You tell us, you phillistine. You blew my family up.
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Melanie in turn zips towards the witch (19 vs. 20), and the witch just barely manages to dance out of the way, starting to summon another fire bolt to keep the hungry vampire off her.
"You weren't even supposed to be here," Brannigan snaps back. "Since when do you spend time with vampire Slayers?"]
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( As he struggles, he attempts to fling Brannigan at the wall as he rolls them both over (12), but the struggle with keeping him prone is probably not going to succeed. )
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Wes moves to pick up a nearby piece of rubble and chucks it at the witch preparing to set Melanie on fire (15 vs. 1), and the witch screams as it lodges in her side.
Branningan wrenches up an hand to wrap around Rhett's throat (15), before preparing to flip and pin him.
Witch tries to recover and recast her spell at Melanie (6 vs. 7), but Melanie ducks as the ball of fire flies past her.
Two twists to try and throw Damon over his shoulder (3), but probably mostly ends up scrabbling.]
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Damon barely holds steady (5), but instead, tries speeding him back-first into the wall hard (11)
Rhett struggling, "Who... sent... you?" )
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Melanie zips up closer to the witch and sinks her teeth into the girl's throat (14 vs. 3). The witch lets out a scream but can't shake the vampire off.
"We sent ourselves," Brannigan snaps in return, but it's not his turn so that's all he does.]
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( He tries one more time, but this time, he attempts to pull himself up and back before launching Brannigan further down the passageway (12). Unfortunately, he's still working on self-righteous fury and surprise than finesse. Still, he tries. )
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Wes grabs another piece of rubble and fishes out a piece of wood, before zipping over to where Damon is holding Two and shoves the stake into the vampire's heart (20 vs. 10).
Brannigan starts to shout a command to the witch but glances over to only see Melanie licking her lips as she pulls back from the body, blood smeared across her lips. He grits his teeth, before shoving Rhett away from him (8), before trying to retreat further into the catacombs.
Witch and Two are dead so it's Damon's turn.]
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"Hey, boss. Look what we -"
Witch One's voice trails off as he steps into view, he and his partner dragging Buffy and Danny along with them. But instead of Brannigan and his squad of vampires, he sees a dead vampire, a vampire with his neck snapped that Melanie uses her turn to helpfully shoves a stake into, and a dead witch comrade who's blood Melanie happens to be covered in.
"What the -"
And with that we resort initiative again:
Buffy 18
Danny 17
Damon 13
Melanie 12
Witches 11
Rhett 8
Wes 7
Brannigan 5
The witches raise their hands, starting to launch some fireballs, one at Melanie (3 vs. 5) that she dodges, and one at Damon (12).]
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Rhett does his best to hide as people join and Brannigan is distracted by -- newcomers. (12) )
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It's Wes' turn. Wes zips up towards Witch One and cracks him across the face (6 vs. 4), trying to break his concentration on Buffy and Danny's binds if he's the one holding them. He succeeds (2)! So Buffy, at least, now has her hands free.
Brannigan tries to shove Damon back (5), before shouting at the witches: "Kill the Slayer, you idiot!"]
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"What are we, chopped liver?"
Buffy chases after the witch and her fireball and attempts a running tackle. (nat fucking 20) )
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Witch Two tries, but she can't help but go down hard, losing her line of sight on Rhett and her fireball. And her hold on Danny (2).
Danny feels his hands come free, and his magic does not like any of this scenario, rising up around him and moving to fill the space. The two witches see entangled, so he turns his focus to the head of the snake, sending over an aneurysm spell (6 vs. 3) and Brannigan gives a cry of pain as he grips his head.]
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Do you want a piece of this?
[She can twist it up and make sure she gets the heart, but she knows that Rhett and Brannigan have history.
Witch One spins some fire towards Wes (16 vs. 6) which doesn't catch enough to kill but it does force Wes back away from him.
Witch Two takes a swing up at Buffy (4), but she's swinging blind and probably doesn't connect.]
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Rhett steps out of the shadows, sauntering through the chaos to Brannigan on his last legs. He undoes the cuff on his right sleeve, flexing his right hand. )
I don't know why you decided to run an assault on a castle full of slayers during an American holiday, but I find myself not at all caring. I've wanted to do this for a long, long time, comrade.
( His hand pierces Brannigan's chest from the back, making sure to let his heart beat a few times in his hand, relish that he's the one that gets to do this. )
Scarlett sends her regards.
( And then he rips that heart back out, yanking his hand back, the desiccating immediate. )
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Witch Two watches as Brannigan goes down and her eyes widen, not sure how to scramble out of this beyond: "Wait, wait. Hold on - "]
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Or, did you not mean to you. Talk. Fast.
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