everyonelives | i'm leaving you my last curse

[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!"]

( Damon slips out of the way, with Brannigan just sounding desperate. (21)

"What are we, chopped liver?"

Buffy chases after the witch and her fireball and attempts a running tackle. (nat fucking 20) )

["Oh, you're next. But the Slayer is the goal."

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.]

Edited 2025-06-14 02:00 (UTC)

( 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. )

Or, did you not mean to you. Talk. Fast.

["I'm just doing as I was told! Brannigan got asked to handle it by the higher ups. You don't say no to the Inner Circle."

Danny moves to hover over her, eyes narrowing.]

Which part of the Inner Circle?

["Wallace and Corsair. They said that someone was hunting them and they figured that the Slayers were probably involved. And even if they weren't, they wanted to prove a point."

And we'll just drop out of initiative because Wes has got Witch One handled, so they can just chat with whoever.]

Even if they weren't?

( Well, she doesn't like them. )

Wallace and Corsair. Well. We have names. This ties back into the Gauntlet?

( she asks Danny, looking back, but holding the male witch's wrists down.

Rhett makes the connection, but leaves Rusty's name out of it. For now.

"Sloppy work without evidence, if you ask me," he says, pulling a kerchief out to wipe his hand with. "You've proven a point and pissed off Buffy Summers." )

And killed innocent girls. Who have nothing to do with whatever crusade your bosses have against them or their friends. What's your name?

["Christa." She swallows hard as she glances between all they eyes staring down at her. "As I said. You don't say no to the Inner Circle. If it was a choice between getting used as a plaything by them or getting killed by you, I'd take the latter."

She doesn't really care much about the lives she took in between. It's a kill or be killed world, and she's just doing what she has to do to survive.]

Careful what you wish for Christa.

( Damon takes a few steps forward, joining the conversation, and blocking her in.

Buffy sits back, eyeing Melanie and Rhett as she climbs off of Christa and offers her a hand to stand up.

"Were you paid or intimidated?" She's more and more familiar with witches being used by vampires, ever since a new species of vampire was discovered. )

Edited (also html) 2025-06-14 02:37 (UTC)

["More the latter, but neither really. It's the price you pay for being part of the coven."

She takes that hand up, though she's definitely scanning around looking for exits, wondering if she might be able to slip her way out before things get really bad. Her odds are not looking high.]

( Between all of them? No, Christa. Not high. )

Which coven?

( "The Colony?" Rhett muses, asking for a friend, really. But, needing confirmation. He will need to make a call if indeed this is them. )

[She nods at Rhett's answer, rubbing the back of her neck as she does. "My family's been part of it for a while. Once you're in, you don't really get out."]

And, for the cheap seats in the back, this whole attack is pre-Gauntlet. ( He addresses the group. ) There's a lot of that going around. ( Looks back to Christa. ) Early discharge.

( Hunters everywhere. Now witches and vampires in league working with each other.

Buffy makes a face, looking away. She gets his point, but, graphic. Back on topic.

"So, the Inner Circle, Wallace, Corsair, partnered with the Ivory Tower. Are they still working together?" )

["Wallace and Corsair have been rubbing elbows with the Ivory Tower forever. They're basically in charge of maintaining that relationship for the Colony." She glances over at Brannigan's body on the ground. "I don't they expected Brannigan to get taken out."

She then pauses because something Damon said sticks out to her. "It's not pre-Gauntlet, though. Two Inner Circle members are already dead. All of the heirs have been accounted for and informed. The Gauntlet is in progress."]

Edited 2025-06-14 02:50 (UTC)

( Damon's veins ice over. He has a friend who's a witch. This kid's a witch. He steps closer to Rhett, looks at Wes. He doesn't know who knows what. He knows he and his brother were caught in the crossfire. )

So, this is your opening salvo. Kinda sucked if you ask me. ( A sigh. ) You should know I wasn't even involved. Peripherally. Maybe. But, now? Oh, I'm very involved. ( She gives a sympathetic look before starting to walk away. ) But, you won't be. Come on, Danny.

( She doesn't want to hear it. Doesn't need to. If they let her go, she will report back. Or, bring reinforcements. She puts an arm around Danny's neck, letting her eyes close just for a second. One of the vampire will do something. She doesn't need to see it.

Not far up ahead, she sees one, two, three figures she recognizes. She's not even limping anymore. )

Hey.

Edited 2025-06-14 02:56 (UTC)

[Danny lets Buffy lead him away, because yes, he knows what's about to happen but that doesn't mean he wants to see it. He may be the leader now, but he's also still a kid. And he feels like there's been enough carnage today.

But he also understands why they can't let her walk away.

He also takes in the shapes coming closer, and his eyes widen with relief when he sees one of them.]

Bonnie.

[Stefan cuts ahead, holding out his arms to Buffy as Danny moves past him, pulling her in close and holding her tightly. She's okay. He knew she would be but part of him was still worried.

"Dawn's okay. She's got a broken leg but Isaac took her to the hospital so she should be fine."]

Stefan.

( Bonnie holds Danny close, hand around his head, breathing him in.

Buffy takes the bruising-on-both-sides hug and leans back. )

Thank you. ( Hurt, but okay. She kisses Stefan quick, but ends it in time to hold a hand out to Faith. )

You don't want to go back there. Damon, Rhett, Wes, and Melanie will be along shortly.

( She will enter general mode once they're above ground. )

And everyone else?

Edited 2025-06-14 03:12 (UTC)

[Scarlett does not care about the carnage so she will slip past to go see her family. Stefan glances past her over her should and decides that no, he doesn't want to know.]

Clara and Lee were sent into town with Isaac and Dawn. Lindsay and Beck found Whitney and got her out too. But ...

[He doesn't want to tell her this, because these are her girls, and he knows she takes a lot of responsibility for them. But at the same time, she needs to be prepared.]

Beyond that, not a lot of survivors.

( Faith turns right back around, almost as if on a dolly, hands coming up. Not at all her circus. She pats a hand on Danny's shoulder.

"Good to see you, Harry."

Buffy takes that in. Twenty-odd exceptional women unable to live their lives because of a vendetta that had nothing to do with them. She leans forward again, giving herself a moment to grieve in his arms.

Bonnie leans back. ) Are you okay?

Edited 2025-06-14 03:29 (UTC)

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[Wes sees that look from Damon, wiping some of the blood from his lips as he takes a breath, before rubbing his eyes. He doesn't actually have much information. But he knows enough to know that if the Inner Circle's involved ...

They pass the witch off to Melanie - she's still not completely one hundred percent, and once he's sure the girl is dead and isn't going to carry this information elsewhere, he turns to Rhett:]

Talk to Rusty lately?

Not in a the last decade.

( Maybe longer. A few decades. The years tend to bleed together. )

But, he's not involved.

( "Hi. Hello." Damon whistles. "Vampire. Party of one. Sitting in the clueless section. Who's Rusty and how might he be of help and not the person responsible for Slayerfest 2031?" )

Rusty ... it's complicated but he's got a big score to settle with the Inner Circle.

[He's not going to spill the whole sob story, it's not really his to tell.]

I think you should call him. Find out how not involved he is. Because while I agree, he didn't plan this attack, she said two Inner Circle members are dead. Do you really think he's not involved in that?

[He likes Rusty, he really does. But he also knows he's wanted these people dead for a while.]