[X] Buffy rejects Visser Three's offer, saying she'd rather not get directly involved in the war between the Yeerks and the Andalites. He'll probably be pretty angry, but what's he really going to be able to do? She won't tell Elfangor about this, and she'll still have a non aggression pact with the Yeerks.
S4.0E15: Deeper Magic
Buffy could tell that the team around her wasn't sure what to expect, and part of her regretted that.
There was a part of Buffy that had been slowly growing inside her, one that considered jumping into a demon war not because it was the right thing to do, but just because she thought she could and there was a huge payday involved. Maybe that part wasn't totally wrong all the time; after all, it was a nasty multiverse and she had to look out for Sunnydale. It was her sworn duty, even legally speaking.
But here, now? She couldn't do this. It wasn't right. Especially not after Elfangor had trusted her.
"I appreciate your consideration," Buffy said diplomatically, ending the long pause that had stretched as she wrestled with her thoughts. "But we're going to have to say no to this one."
This instigated another pause, not as long, but much more awkward. From the look on Skip's face, it definitely wasn't the answer he'd have guessed.
<You can't be serious,> Esplin said flatly.
"It's not you," Buffy reassured him (even though it kind of was,) "It's us. Sunnydale's already involved in all kinds of trouble. We just can't afford an extra full scale war."
She felt Esplin's stolen power blare as he dead focused on her with four of his freaky eyes. <You're a death goddess. How could you possibly be in too many wars?> She noticed his form subtly shifting again, presumably demorphing back from Elfangor.
CONFLICT
A lot of his comments had been rubbing her the wrong way, and she finally reacted to this one, "I'm more than just my power."
<This. This…> Something way darker than usual passed over his face, and for a moment Buffy understood where his bad reputation came from. That to people who weren't her, he didn't just seem like a dramatic goofball. <This must be treachery! You're in league with him!>
KILL
Had they given it away, or maybe his domain let him figure it out somehow? Either way, she had to force herself to stay calm, to act natural. "With Elfangor? That's crazy! I just told you I wanted to stay out of your war!"
<A preposterous lie! You must think me to be a grand fool, Buffy Summers.> Something weird started to crackle in his eyes, and his skin was shifting like melting wax, more than it had been before.
"You should be aware that Visser Three is morphing again." CyberWillow started.
Harmony jumped in at the same time, getting into Esplin's face, "Hey! I don't know what's going on, but the Mayor told you she wanted to stay out! Don't push your luck!"
Esplin's dangerous tail was starting to shrivel, but he shoved at her with a newly thickened arm, sausage-like fingers blossoming out of it. Even though he barely made contact, Harmony flinched back of her own accord.
"Yeouch he's hot!" she shrieked, frantically checking at where he'd touched her blouse. "And not in the dishy way!"
<Keep your pet vampire under control, or she might hurt herself,> Esplin taunted.
KILL
"Stop your morph, right now." Buffy ordered, getting herself forward and into the way. Her hammer was in her hands.
There was the musical peal of three distinct notes, and a giant scorpion materialized in the shadows near the edge of the tent, not moving yet, but obviously ready. She could see Andrew had backed up to do his summon; he obviously thought things were about to go bad.
Willow obviously agreed with him. She'd gotten her Myco out, and also had a pair of knives unsteadily floating up behind her.
CONFLICT
Even in the face of all that, Esplin was still visibly morphing. <Yes, of course you would like me to stop, and what, trust in your good graces?> She could feel the mental sneer from the Yeerk, even if it didn't show on his bizarre face, halfway between two different demons. <For all I know Elfangor is hiding in the shadows, ready to close the jaws of this trap.>
Was it bluster, to give him more time to morph before an attack? Or was he the one afraid of them? Her instincts tempted her to attack, but it was enough to make her hesitate.
CyberWillow's voice was as cool and controlled as ever. "His rising infrared signature and emerging bone structure indicates the morph is a Luminar demon. They are powerful mantles notable for their pyrokinesis and excessive durability."
By contrast, Anya sounded frantic, "Everyone! Let's all calm down before we do anything D'Hoffryn will make us regret!"
"As much as I like a good brawl, she has a point," Skip agreed. He was much more laid back, but Buffy could tell his stance had subtly shifted, readying himself to jump forward. His extreme resistance to fire would be a big deal if this turned into a fight.
Esplin was quick to latch onto their point, despite being the one to provoke everything in the first place. <Yes, yes! Your advisors speak sense. Surely the god of vengeance will punish you, even if you escape my own wrath!>
Maybe he really did think they were the ones about to betray him. She had to try to defuse this, it'd be too much of a disaster to end up at war with the Yeerks.
"How could this be a trap?" Buffy waved her free arm in frustration. "You're the one who came here and surprised us! You're the one who's morphing the fat fireman from hell! If Elfangor really is here and we all want to kill you, why haven't we already attacked?"
<As you said, you did not expect me here. Perhaps you've signaled him covertly, and are delaying for his arrival.> He was still arguing with her, and the finishing morph was making the room hotter by the second, but he did sound more rational now and less like some psycho supervillain.
"So in this story we just decide on the spur of the moment that it's time to piss off both D'Hoffryn and Pan for the sake of the Andalites?" She continued. "And to get ourselves even more blacklisted by breaking the treaty with you? What could they possibly give us that would be worth that much?"
<Your dimension is primitive, and you control but a tiny city directly. Your lack of resources->
She cut him off, "Sure, you know we're in the poorhouse or whatever. But if it was just about money, why wouldn't I spill to you, right now, and go for your plan instead, so I can get rich without all the extra hassles?"
<Elfangor has a history with humans,> he tried.
"I was there when she volcanoed Mog'tog'og-Klantar," Skip said casually. "It wasn't any kind of deception or misunderstanding, just a bloody massacre. Does that sound like the kind of person a goody-four-shoes like Elfangor makes friends with?"
Esplin stopped shifting now, the morph done. He'd converted fully to a humanoid shape, looking kinda like seven feet of chunky extra-evil sumo wrestler. Heat pulsed off of him in waves and his skin glowed a dull red as lightning crackled between giant fangs. But he didn't move or attack, still holding himself tense and still in the standoff. Buffy had seen enough wacky demons not to get distracted by his terrifying appearance. She could tell he was uncertain, maybe even afraid.
"Walk away," She said, stepping off to the side, deliberately slowly, and using her empty hand to indicate the tent's flimsy door. "I won't stop you."
He stared at her for another long moment, before taking a slow step towards the exit. The rest of her people followed her lead, making sure to get well out of the way. Harmony in particular was staying well back, and Buffy was thankful that her pride wasn't overwhelming her sense. Even if this turned into a fight, she was the last person Buffy wanted fighting a fire monster.
After that first step, there was another, shorter pause, and then, <If you truly are not in league with him, then perhaps you should reconsider? I could->
KILL
"No."
He shrugged in return, the motion rippling over layers of fat. <Your loss.>
He didn't say anything more as he started moving again, but he didn't let her out of his sight, eventually just backing away. When his back finally reached the door there was a tiny crackle of fire and part of it burned away, giving him space to leave without turning around. After another few steps, he was out of their field of view. The inside of the tent started to cool again, the small fire by the door puffed out, and most of them let out a relieved breath.
"So, that happened." Harmony said, scooting back over to Buffy. "But anyway, I really think you should wear the cape for the party. Please?"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
"This is a total blast! We should do this more!" Harmony shouted over the roar of the music.
"Totally!" Buffy agreed. Under normal circumstances, she'd feel more guilty that they didn't.
WILD
But right now, she was feeling Pan's party have its way with her. Sort of literally, with Pan's domain hanging in the air, practically pulsing to the beat. It was much less insistent than it had been back during the fateful Dance Battle in August, and she could've just thrown off the effect if she felt like it. But she was losing herself in the dance instead. It was fun.
As far as she could tell, the rest of the team were enjoying themselves too. They'd all hung together at the start, through a mix of paranoia and good old fashioned social awkwardness. They'd grabbed food from the open bar, staked out a table, and followed the standard Bronzing procedure. But then Halfrek had swung by and peeled Anya off to gossip. Andrew had struck up a conversation with some fish people. Skip got into a drinking contest with a rock troll.
And then there was Willow, who'd wandered off to the dark edges of the tent with Kyle the Thricewise. Buffy had semi-deliberately lost track of them a few minutes ago, if only to defend her fragile sanity. While she was indulging in the party spirit with Harm, there were definitely a lot of people indulging … more, and she kind of suspected that was Willow's plan tonight.
Did it count if you used a robot?
Harmony interrupted her mental catalog by twirling around behind her, pressing her assets against her cape, and ghosting teeth along her neck.
"You worry about too many things," the words were cold against her ear.
"Wasn't worrying," she half-lied.
"Was too," Harmony disagreed, sneaking her arms around the bare skin at Buffy's waist, between the top and bottom of her two-piece.
It was too hard to deny her. The caped getup she'd ended up wearing was evidence of that. "Maybe a little bit."
WILD
"They'll all be fine," Harmony said. "It's a party, just let it go."
She waved at the edges of the room significantly, knowing Harmony could see into them better than she could, "Think I'll pass on giving the public a show."
"You sure about that?" Harmony's arms drifted up, and one of her hands started to sneak under her top.
"Yes. No." Buffy groaned. "You're impossible."
"You're loving it," Harmony whispered, moving on to what basically amounted to a full molestation right on the dance floor.
She usually wasn't like this. It was all about Buffy making moves, and that was comfortable. Reassuring. Pan's pervasive magic was definitely at fault.
Buffy still couldn't quite bring herself to stop it.
All too soon though, the song stopped, and instead of another one starting, there was a loud interruption.
"Hear ye, hear ye, all who walk above our earth and beneath our sky!" The haughty sounding voice was familiar; she was pretty sure this was the leader satyr she'd met back in August. "Pause in your festivities to take breath, and be among the first to hear tidings from the great god Pan himself!"
Harmony disengaged (mostly,) and they turned to see Pan standing up and waving from the big central table where he'd been holding court. Alongside some of the more familiar satyrs, she noticed one of the seats near him was empty now, and there was one of their radios sort of hanging from the top in an improved sling. She didn't have any time to think about what it meant though.
"As you all know it's tradition at these Olympics for one event to be chosen to stand above the rest," Pan started, his affable tone a sharp contrast to the overformal toadie. "It's always a real stumper to figure out which it should be: it has to symbolize the spirit of the games, find the true elan, and be something that I know our proud Olympians can bring their very best to."
There was the tiniest hint of a wink as he said that last part, and Buffy was pretty sure he was looking at her.
He continued, "So, after days of careful consideration, I'm proud to-"
"It's Deeper Magic," Eris cut him off, her voice ringing out from across the huge tent as she strode through the entrance, her 'Agents of Discord' following her dramatically. "Obviously. It's one of the only ones D'Hoffryn takes seriously. He probably even made Pan choose it, as one of the conditions of supporting this in the first place."
"No, no, it wasn't like that!" Pan complained.
"So is the main event not Deeper Magic?" Eris asked innocently.
"Well it is, but-," he tried.
"There you have it then," she smiled. "So if we're done with all the boring talking now, let's party!"
With that, the band started playing again, and Pan shook his head and sank into his seat, looking surly.
"What was Deeper Magic again?" Harmony asked.
"I'm not sure," Buffy said. "But our team's probably got a pretty good chance there, with all the spells?" It seemed like Pan had thought so, at least.
"Whatever," Harmony shrugged. "Let's keep dancing!"
Buffy found herself swept back up into the music, but this time her worries weren't so easy to sweep away.
Pan was grumpy and sulking, and that was bad. She knew that someone like Eris would thrive on that kind of social weakness, and he needed to get back on his game. She wasn't sure if a pep talk would help, but it'd be as good a time as any to feel out the demons at his main table and see how serious the situation was for herself.
Meanwhile, Eris and her people were bouncing around the party, probably causing trouble. The whole team she brought was pretty capable, but Lethe in particular was trouble, not the least because she could only remember that she had to be wary of her now that she was back in the same room. Even though she'd gone against her personally in numerous events already. The goddess of forgetting stuff was annoying like that.
Then there were all her other friends to consider (or carefully not consider) and what they were getting up to. Some of them might have a better idea what was going on, or know what 'Deeper Magic' entailed exactly.
Or she could just keep dancing with a friskier-than-usual Harmony, and handle problems if they made themselves more apparent. That idea definitely had a certain appeal.
Vote: What does Buffy do next? While the option with the most votes will be the main focus, other popular options may influence her actions as well, especially if they also have over half the votes. As this is still Pan's party, you want to be at least a little WILD, so add stunts liberally.
[] Go to Pan's table.
[] Keep track of Eris' group.
-[] Focus on Eris herself.
-[] Focus on Lethe.
[] Track down one of her teammates again.
-[] Which one?
[] Keep partying with Harmony. Let any trouble come to her.
