Successor (BTVS)
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[X] Even though it's been hard, Buffy still wants to stay and make it work. If she moves out after this, they might keep drifting farther apart.
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[X] Buffy resolves to move out of 1630 Revello Drive. It's not like she'll stop seeing her mom, but the gulf between them is starting to feel too big for it to be every day.
In another fanon living with Joyce might be more beneficial, but this version is a pretty suspicious take on the character, and I expect more psychological damage if we stay than if we go.
In another fanon living with Joyce might be more beneficial, but this version is a pretty suspicious take on the character, and I expect more psychological damage if we stay than if we go.
S4.0E4: Fellowship I
DeAnno
Sometimes words have two meanings
[X] Buffy resolves to move out of 1630 Revello Drive. It's not like she'll stop seeing her mom, but the gulf between them is starting to feel too big for it to be every day.
S4.0E4: Fellowship
"Banthasnap says that the metal cylinders are not befitting of warriors, and will bring ill-luck in the battle to come," CyberWillow translated neutrally. The Great One's uncle grumbled some more from his position slouched in the corner, his guttural language still sounding a little slurred. "He also objects to being translated by a machine spirit, however I only qualify for five of the seven necessary criteria of that specific designation."
"Maybe we could just let him have his way on that one," Skip said. "No offense or anything. But we won't be able to take her with us anyway, right?"
"If we had another few weeks I could maybe figure out how to thread a connection through a pinhole portal," Willow said pensively. "You're sure we can't wait? I didn't even feel great about not being with you in person in LA, and now I won't be any help at all."
Buffy shook her head. "Skip's right. It's been too long already. But this is still a huge help. Without you guys, we'd be skydiving with no parachute."
Between the assault team itself and the people gathered to see them off, there was enough of a crowd that it spilled out of City Hall's clean room. Bantha was going to portal them to Mog'tog'og from there, and Willow was working with Andrew to set up the runes on the walls and floor to record the event and possibly even replicate it. Hopefully that wouldn't be needed, but just hoping for things to go right on the hellmouth wasn't a good way to stay alive.
Banthasnap had been surly since he arrived, and refused to leave from the clean room once they told him this was where they'd leave from. Buffy wasn't naive enough to leave him alone with Willow and Andrew, so she was down here too, and others had been filtering in and out. Mostly out, since the snacks Cynthia had helpfully laid out were in another room.
"I'm really not sure how this is going to work," Andrew said. "The recording isn't going to have as many dimensions as the actual portal does."
"They're wrapped up dimensions, though," Willow disagreed. "At least, mostly wrapped up. Like, the biggest one is a femtometer wide, tops."
"Even if you guys can't do the whole portal again, you should be able to just summon Skip, right Andrew?" Buffy would miss Andrew's having firepower available, but that one backup option was a big reason he'd ultimately be staying behind. Skip could be a way to send a message back if everything went wrong.
"If he can get outside a heavily warded area? As easy as Warp 1, Warp 2, Warp 3," Andrew said mysteriously, then went back to working on the runes with Willow.
"You really don't sound too confident our plan is gonna work," Skip commented. "It could make a guy worry."
"I'm just covering all the bases," Buffy said. "Don't get your spikes in a knot."
Skip shrugged. "I think I'm going to have another donut. Never know when it'll be your last." As he left the room, Harmony came in.
"All this blood lately has me feeling so bloated," she complained. "I feel like a whale." Harmony was usually pretty reluctant with the pigs blood, but she needed to heal now, no ifs and no buts. She still hadn't gotten back all her strength, and a thin scar was still visible under her chin, just a shade paler than her normal vampire pallor.
Buffy gave her an exaggerated inspection up and down. "I can definitely verify, no whales here. But you missed a spot." She wiped a little of the red off the corner of her mouth without thinking about it very hard. Then she noticed her finger had gotten all messy. "Better clean this up, huh?" She ran it across Harmony's lips and-
An annoyed snort from the corner shattered the moment. Harmony growled back at Bantha, and he just scoffed and looked up and away, at the ceiling. Buffy rolled her eyes.
"I really don't trust this loser," Harmony said, still glaring at him. "If he was worth anything wouldn't he be the demon king or whatever it is?"
"That's uncles for you, I guess," Buffy said.
"I could still go," Harmony argued. "Between him and those two new watchers, you're gonna be surrounded on all sides!"
Buffy sighed. "I know it kind of sucks, but-" She thought about how this whole problem was due to trying to be too diplomatic with the wrong people in the first place, but if she thought like that all the time she'd never get anywhere. Responsibility face. "We need to be able to work with these people. Watchers, mercenaries, even Bantha over there. We have enough enemies already, and holding down the hellmouth, it's just too important."
Harmony frowned, but then smirked. "Well, if there's a rescue mission, you can't stop me from coming on that!"
"Wouldn't have it any other way." Buffy leaned against a less magically active part of the wall and Harmony slotted in next to her. This might be the last tame moment she'd get before a new round of chaos and confusion, and she tried to just relax a little. Willow and Andrew's work with the runes was oddly hypnotic, and kind of reminded her of Lion-Willow working with those glowier runes in her Oz dream. She idly wondered if real Willow could set up the same kind of chain reaction, given the chance.
But eventually, she felt a little tingle down her neck, and reluctantly turned to face the door just as he was coming in.
"Buffy."
"Angel."
It felt even harder trying to talk with him in person than it was over the phone. Had he found out yet? Should she try to keep things professional until they were done with the whole raid thing? Or maybe try to at least do it in a private room? She still didn't want to leave Bantha alone with the others though, even if having him lurking in the corner for this was a total creepshow.
She almost convinced herself to postpone the inevitable, but then she noticed Harmony tensing up out of the corner of her eye and decided to just do it. The worst that could happen was that Angel would leave.
"Did you hear about me and Harmony yet?"
"Huh?" His eyes scrunched up in confusion.
"We're together. It's a thing."
"You're kidding," he said it like he really believed himself.
"She's really not," Willow said from across the room, not bothering to turn away from her work.
"Did I…" Angel's face ran through a gamut of expressions really quickly before it settled back on confusion. "Did I give you the idea?"
"What?" Harmony half shouted. Bantha snorted again in the background.
"No," Buffy said. "It was kind of already going on then. Sorry I couldn't tell you, but it was sort of a huge secret, with the election and everything. Your advice was helpful though."
Angel hesitated, then spoke, "I'm not sure what you want me to say here."
"You don't have to say things," Buffy said.
"Wait, what advice did he give?" Harmony asked, troubled.
"The talk we had after Dracula," Buffy clarified. She wasn't sure she wanted to mention that Cynthia was Harmony's backup moral compass in the open.
"Oh," Harmony said. "I guess that's fine then."
"I'm not angry or anything," Angel clarified. "It's just a shock."
"We should get ready to go," Buffy said, trying to move things along. "Time is all funky in their dimension-"
"Ten times speed, I know," Angel said, seeming to agree to let the matter rest. "I had a day, got some review done."
"You've run into Mok'tagar before?" she asked. "Have you been to, what is it again-"
"Mog'tog'og," Willow and Andrew chorused.
"I've fought a few in my day, but never been there. I've got something special for the regeneration though," Angel's expression looked a little excited as he opened his coat up and showed off an elaborate sheath strapped inside it, then pulled out what was inside.
It was either a really long dagger or a really short rapier, thin and wavy and uneven, and it had a dense leaf-like pattern etched into the blade.
"Cool," Harmony said.
"Something tells me you didn't pick that up at the corner store," It was an impressive piece, but even though Angel lived in LA, Buffy didn't think it came from Ivgol; it was totally the wrong style.
"I figured that Sunnydale's starting to be a magic weapon kind of town," Angel said, gesturing to Buffy's giant warhammer. "It's a kris, I got it from Achard the Tribune. Healing wounds made with it should be a lot harder."
"Can I get one too?" Harmony asked, puppy dog eyes on display.
Buffy smiled a little at her antics. "You do have that bow."
"I suck with my bow," Harmony said frankly.
"Practice makes perfect?" Buffy tried.
"Says the girl whose power is that she barely has to practice to be good with weapons," Harmony replied.
"She's got you there," Angel said. "If you go find him though, make sure he doesn't convince you to buy a horse."
Harmony considered that for a second. "I like horses."
"Horses don't like you anymore," Angel said.
Harmony looked horrified, "No, that can't be true! That's-"
"-impossible," Andrew said happily and Willow dejectedly. She continued, "You really don't have to say that every time." Buffy was getting the sense she'd had a lot of exposure to the nerd squad lately.
She was about to rein the conversation back to somewhere vaguely sane, but the rest of the attack group showed up before she did. Skip was back, along with Jonathan and the two watchers, carrying four of the stripped-down scuba sets between them.
"I want you two to come back in exactly two pieces, OK?" Cordelia was there too, bringing up the rear.
"I've been through worse," Skip said. "Jonathan must be touched though." The boy in question blushed a little.
Cordelia blanched herself at the implication, "I'm just being practical! They say the show must go on, but without either of you the rest of filming for Lights would be way choppy. I'm not gonna get my debut ruined over some interdimensional invasion gone wrong."
"Not worried about either of us?" Buffy asked playfully, indicating Angel with herself.
She rolled her eyes. "The drama factory that you two are couldn't be stopped by any force in or outside this universe."
Buffy took her oxygen cylinder and strapped it on, as Skip got Bantha started on casting the portal and Jonathan took out the new magic bone he'd gotten from somewhere (maybe Wilkins' stash, Buffy didn't remember) and started waving it around. It was Go Time.
"Are you two ready with the rune recording thingy?" Buffy asked.
Willow shrugged. "It's as ready as it's gonna get, probably." Then she looked Buffy in the eye, a little more seriously. "Remember the rule."
"Don't die," Buffy quoted dutifully. "OK everyone, listen up. Once I put this breather in I'm not going to be able to talk, so Skip's in charge until I take my pill."
"The vote of confidence is appreciated," he said dryly.
"Don't make me regret it," Buffy replied.
Nigel looked like he already did. "Are you sure we should be taking direct orders from a demon?"
"Angel doesn't know the place or the mission specifics well enough. Would you rather be taking orders from Banthasnap?" Buffy said.
"I don't suppose you know international sign language?" Nigel tried.
Buffy shook her head, but Angel answered. "I do. I'll keep an eye out for your hands and translate if I need to."
Nigel didn't quite know what to say about that, but Phillip continued the conversation for him, "Military sign too?" Angel nodded. "Good chap."
Right before she got the breather in, Harmony put her hand on her shoulder. "For good luck?"
"Sure." She gave her a quick peck that Harmony managed to extend a little, and then reluctantly stuck her regulator in. It felt weird, but she wouldn't have to fight with it on, at least. She definitely didn't want to try superspeed with it. She put the scuba mask on too; all this would be for nothing if the weird poison got in anyway. It was majorly annoying that simple gas masks wouldn't work instead, but apparently whatever was magically wrong with the air was beyond Earth's means to filter.
"Bring me back a trophy!" Harmony said.
Buffy nodded playfully. It was nice that Harmony was here, and she didn't have to think as much about her mom being not. It wasn't like she thought she was going to die on this mission or anything, but they'd left things in a nasty place. She'd just have to put it out of her mind.
Something happened, but it didn't seem important.
"OK, I think I've got it ready," Jonathan said, sounding a little ragged. "I'll trigger it once we're on the other side." He had … something in one of his hands, and he was trying to put his scuba gear on one-handed. Buffy wasn't really sure what was wrong with him, but she helped him out anyways. Hopefully he would get his act together once the mission started.
Bantha's untranslated chant seemed to reach a crescendo, and then the floor distorted with what looked almost like a liquid overlay, a counterclockwise vortex opening up a little off-center from the runic diagram.
"Of course he couldn't even aim it right. It'll be so much extra work." Willow grumbled, poking dejectedly at her laptop as it bleeped with readings. Bantha seemed to get the idea and snapped something that sounded rude back at her before jumping in and disappearing before Willow's muttered, "Jerk." could be heard.
"Well, after that auspicious start, last one in's a rotten egg," Skip declared, before jumping in himself.
Buffy didn't dawdle any longer; if anything went wrong on the other side she wanted to be there for it. The last thing she heard before the clean room disappeared above her was Andrew saying, "May the Force be with you."
Buffy had only been to a hell dimension once before, and the portal there had looked a lot more stable than this one, so she expected a bumpy ride. It was, but not really in the way she imagined. As the whirling silver colors spun around her she felt very slightly battered, but more than that she just felt weird. Like she was putting on a shirt that didn't quite fit right at the store. Before she could think about it too much though, the portal spat her out and she landed ankle-deep in muck, just barely managing to keep her footing in spite of the strange sensation that hadn't quite gone away.
Bantha and Skip were already talking in Mok'tagar ahead of her when she got her bearings. A bigger splash behind her heralded Nigel's arrival, and she looked back to see Phillip helping him up out of the muck. Angel landed next, and scrunched up his nose; it must smell pretty awful out there. Jonathan was last, and he would've probably fallen in too if Angel hadn't caught him and kept him upright.
As expected, they'd landed outside the City State, and she could see it rising up into view over the shallow swamp they were currently in. In the past week she'd learned that all the independent City States of Mog'tog'og were set into extinct volcanoes, and this one was no exception, with large collections of buildings visible, clumped together on plateaus. The magic to block incoming portals was linked to the mountain itself, so they'd have to sneak past the walls, all the way up the path, through the city, and then down into the castle, built into the dead caldera.
Buffy was momentarily worried; she didn't know how they would manage to do it. Maybe Bantha had a secret entrance? Or Phillip might have some idea, he was supposedly an covert ops expert. It was a huge hole in her plan though, she felt like she'd majorly dropped-
A wash of something that felt very important passed over her from behind, and Buffy remembered Jonathan's spell. Well that was a relief. She turned and gave Jonathan a look that was supposed to say 'I don't remember you telling me about that part', but he just shrugged his shoulders at her apologetically. Well, at least it was strong, and the side effect was over with now.
"So, I guess that was the Veil, huh?" Skip confirmed, and Jonathan nodded. "Banthasnap says this is definitely the right place and he doesn't think we were detected, so let's get moving. It'll be a walk."
The marshy alien landscape was dominated by low, ground-hugging trees and thick stands of violet reeds that bifurcated as they rose up from the water. The sky was a dim, dusty orange, uniform and cloudless, and nothing was visible over the plant life aside from the nearby mountain. It was a little warmer than the California fall they'd left, and had the humidity one would expect from the environment too. The colors and the temperature made it feel a little like things were closing in around her, and the loss of peripheral vision from the scuba mask didn't help.
There were some gaudy winged insects darting through the air, and she could spot tiny little red fishes whipping past her feet as they walked, but no other animal life was visible. She'd expected more demons from a literal hell dimension, but instead this felt almost like a natural setting, if an unsettling one. Still, the soaking wet terrain all on its own would've been nightmarish without heavy boots; luckily they'd come prepared.
Except for Angel, who'd finally noticed their choice in footwear. "A heads up about the swamp would've been nice," he said dryly.
Buffy felt an urge to mock him a little about the 'review' he'd been so proud of, but she couldn't, so she just turned to him and raised an eyebrow. Then she remembered it wouldn't be visible behind her mask, and wasn't sure what to do.
Before she could make up her mind on how to successfully emote, Angel got the idea anyway. "I wasn't really looking out for a description of the surroundings, I didn't expect us to be landing out here in the boondocks."
Luckily, they didn't have much farther to go. The land started sloping upward and quickly dried up, transitioning into a bleak plain of black rock approaching the jagged volcano. The natural ascent looked steep enough that it'd be almost impossible for the unpowered in the party, but they deflected from their previous route towards a large gate built into what looked like a pass. They knew from Bantha this was the conventional way in and out of the city, and that it led to the road network everyone lived on.
The gate was made of more of the same black stone they were walking on, and it was built solid and tall; twenty feet high, and by Bantha's account, a couple feet thick and hinged to open out on either side. A pair of Mok'tagar guardsmen stood at the top looking bored as they kept watch, occasionally exchanging some muttered words or calling down to someone else below, inside the walls. Buffy could probably destroy the gate with her hammer if she really wanted to, but such an action would undoubtedly break the Veil they were under and bring about two hundred new Mok'tagar-shaped problems into play.
Instead, they were going to go over it. Phillip had a grappling hook and some knotted rope in his pack, and as long as they didn't bonk anyone over the head by accident Jonathan had figured that would get them by safely. Once they were over the wall it'd hopefully be pretty simple to waltz up the road towards the entrance to the castle lair.
It was weird to see the guards' look right over their big obvious group walking across the open space, but Buffy's instincts weren't on edge, and Jonathan seemed confident in the spell. This would be a serious killing field if they'd had to assault it the normal way; Mok'tagar preference for melee or no.
They reached the foot of the wall, and Phillip had his gear out and was taking a better look up at the top. (During planning Buffy had checked to see if she'd be better for making the throw, but the weapon skills from her powers didn't agree with the grappling hook too well.) It looked like he wanted to aim for the right corner. Buffy could see it was at maximum distance from the guards, and it was also somewhere the rock face of the mountain and gate came together; it'd probably make easier climbing for the likes of Nigel and Jonathan.
He spun the hook around lightly, going for a steady toss, but before he did, there was a dull grinding noise, and the gate started to open! Had they been noticed somehow? Buffy readied her hammer in alarm, and to her sides she noticed Angel pulling out that nasty dagger and Nigel whipping out a rapier.
Then the first thing out through the sliding doors was… a human? Kind of a broken down one too.
Bantha said a few words, then started making an annoying chortle that was probably a laugh.
"It's just some foragers, Bantha says big parties like this go out to the swamp and back every day." Skip said. "So let's not get trigger-happy, rookies."
The doors never opened more than partway, and many more followed the first one out, all of them looking worn down and unhealthy, almost like medieval peasants. They were all wearing stuff that was just one step up from rags, and had worse footwear for the environment than Angel did. Buffy had known about the plight of the humans living here, but seeing it up close and personal really brought it home.
Incongruously, they did have a couple hovering air carts shepherded between them, presumably to carry things back to the city, as they were all empty now, except for a couple long sticks in each. The carts didn't move themselves, but seemed easy to push, and all of them kept the same even distance above the ground; it looked like a little less than a foot. They didn't exactly look nice: they were made of weather-beaten metal, full of dents and even the occasional hole. Still, the functionality would be impressive, especially out in the swampy terrain that would make wheeled carts impossible to use.
"We should be able to get through if we move fast enough," Angel said. No one disagreed, and just after the last of the peasants were out of the way Buffy's party squeezed by and through the walls. None of them so much as batted an eye even from less than a foot away. Buffy moved through last, giving the people heading out one last look as she went through. There was nothing she could do about it now, but she resolved to lean on Bantha after all this was over to make things better here.
Once inside, she was surprised not to see a big pulley system to operate the gate; instead there was just a wheel built into the wall. Another indifferent Mok'tagar started to spin it, and the gate began to slide shut again. It was ridiculously massive, maybe a hundred tons of rock, but he didn't seem to be exerting a huge amount of force. There might be some gearing buried inside to help, but Buffy thought it was more likely magic from how easily he was doing the job.
As the gate slowly slid shut again, Buffy joined the rest of her party, and they started making their way up the snaky, cobble-paved road. The path had clearly been cut directly through the rock, with big walls rising up on either side, and Buffy was again acutely aware of how well-defending this approach could be in a crisis, with Mok'tagar throwing their javelins from above.
Occasional structures that looked like dwellings were built right into the walls, and Buffy noticed some demons lurking inside. Their lot seemed better than that of the humans, though she couldn't really understand why they were living next to the road or what purpose they served here. She was a little concerned about the sheer variety; it was possible one or another would see through Jonathan's spell with some esoteric ability. If any did though, they didn't make it obvious, and they continued up the path.
The relatively narrow road forked a couple times, each with Bantha waveringly choosing a path, and each time the road seemed to wind around to go farther upwards. She knew the other roads led to other neighborhoods, part of the same city state but built lower on the mountain. They needed to go to the one near the top though; it was the only one with access to the castle. They saw one Mok'tagar patrol of two pass them by as they went, but the vast majority of the traffic was made up of other demons, or even the impoverished humans.
Instead of it getting cooler as they rose, the heat that had been merely noticeable before became more and more oppressive, and the scuba gear really wasn't helping. Jonathan had really gotten into better shape over the summer, but the stress of the spell was on him too, and she could see he was taking it hard. After a little while he noticed her looking, and she could see he tried to put a braver face on it.
The road got wider and wider, and the buildings built into the walls surrounding it got more and more elaborate, until eventually they broke out into what looked like a cross between a downtown and a market square. Tall freestanding buildings rose up everywhere, some many stories tall, and lining the space between them were crowded stalls selling all kinds of wares. The ruling Mok'tagar class was thicker on the ground here, but still vastly outnumbered by everyone else. Buffy was concerned about people from the crowd running into them, but they all seemed to somehow be able to avoid collisions, even without actually noticing her team.
More of the hovering devices were in use and on display, these ones mostly shinier and newer than the ones she'd seen with the humans and on the road leading up. There was plenty of other stuff too; exotic-looking clothes and foods, bizarrely-shaped furniture, and other things she couldn't readily identify.
"It's a shame we don't have the kind of numbers for some real pillaging," Skip said idly. "The accumulated wealth in this place is immense, they've been trading in and out of here for a long time."
"I thought we were supposed to be here to protect Sunnydale?" Angel said, troubled.
Skip raised an eyebrow. "Of course, of course. But well, if you're going to make an omelet you might as well break some eggs, right?"
Before Angel could respond, there was a shout from Bantha, as he pointed at an immense, demonic horse that appeared from around the corner of one of the big buildings. It was at least ten feet at the shoulder, with smoky black insubstantial-seeming skin and a mane of fire. It definitely stood out from the other amassed demons, none of which seemed all that special, or that large, in comparison.
"He says it's a Cauchemar," Skip translated. "Some kind of Mok'tagar bogeyman."
"I don't think the rest of them can see it," Angel noticed. "See? Some of them are even brushing through the sides, as if it isn't there." It wasn't really paying much attention to the passing demons either; instead it paced steadily towards their party, neighing loudly and grinding it's black hooves on the cobbles.
"I think it can see us," Skip agreed with Buffy's conclusion. "This probably isn't good."
Bantha kept shouting, and was backing up now, his earlier confidence shattered.
"He calls it an eater of dreams," Skip supplied. Then he exchanged some words with Bantha in his language. "It isn't supposed to be in the waking world though. He's pretty shook."
The giant demon horse kept approaching, seeming more and more angry. It skidded forward for a second only to stop, then reared up and came down hard on its front hooves. It was an obvious threat display, and it was doing its job; Buffy definitely felt threatened. Harmony and Angel's earlier argument about horses wasn't so funny anymore.
Buffy glanced around at the rest of her party; Jonathan and Nigel both were wide eyed, and the latter was making hand gestures. Thankfully, Angel followed her gaze, and started translating. "Nigel thinks it's the Veil spell, and the foreign dimension. Letting us see the Cauchemar."
"Probably letting it see us too," Skip added. "Not the luckiest magic interaction I've ever been a part of, that's for sure.
Jonathan nodded his head, agreeing. He poked around on his bone a little bit, but it didn't seem to do anything.
The Cauchemar reared again, its hooves more than twenty feet in the air before crashing back down. The total lack of concern from all the demons and people walking around unseeing would've been comical if the whole mission wasn't in jeopardy. Maybe they could beat it, but would fighting it shatter their Veil? Buffy definitely didn't know, and from the look on Jonathan's face as he looked between the big horse and his magic bone, he wasn't too sure either.
Vote: Buffy can't exactly give orders right now, since she has a scuba regulator feeding clean oxygen into her mouth. You started with two hours in the tanks, and it's been seventy minutes so far. What do you want to do about that?
[] Buffy pulls out her oxygen supply and pops her pill, then gives orders on what to do. You should stunt a plan, including if others should use their pills.
[] Buffy keeps her oxygen in, but takes some definitive action. You should stunt what she does, but she can't really communicate with the others this way.
[] Skip's a pretty experienced operator, and Buffy put him in command during the approach for a reason. Let him decide the course of action.
S4.0E4: Fellowship
"Banthasnap says that the metal cylinders are not befitting of warriors, and will bring ill-luck in the battle to come," CyberWillow translated neutrally. The Great One's uncle grumbled some more from his position slouched in the corner, his guttural language still sounding a little slurred. "He also objects to being translated by a machine spirit, however I only qualify for five of the seven necessary criteria of that specific designation."
"Maybe we could just let him have his way on that one," Skip said. "No offense or anything. But we won't be able to take her with us anyway, right?"
"If we had another few weeks I could maybe figure out how to thread a connection through a pinhole portal," Willow said pensively. "You're sure we can't wait? I didn't even feel great about not being with you in person in LA, and now I won't be any help at all."
Buffy shook her head. "Skip's right. It's been too long already. But this is still a huge help. Without you guys, we'd be skydiving with no parachute."
Between the assault team itself and the people gathered to see them off, there was enough of a crowd that it spilled out of City Hall's clean room. Bantha was going to portal them to Mog'tog'og from there, and Willow was working with Andrew to set up the runes on the walls and floor to record the event and possibly even replicate it. Hopefully that wouldn't be needed, but just hoping for things to go right on the hellmouth wasn't a good way to stay alive.
Banthasnap had been surly since he arrived, and refused to leave from the clean room once they told him this was where they'd leave from. Buffy wasn't naive enough to leave him alone with Willow and Andrew, so she was down here too, and others had been filtering in and out. Mostly out, since the snacks Cynthia had helpfully laid out were in another room.
"I'm really not sure how this is going to work," Andrew said. "The recording isn't going to have as many dimensions as the actual portal does."
"They're wrapped up dimensions, though," Willow disagreed. "At least, mostly wrapped up. Like, the biggest one is a femtometer wide, tops."
"Even if you guys can't do the whole portal again, you should be able to just summon Skip, right Andrew?" Buffy would miss Andrew's having firepower available, but that one backup option was a big reason he'd ultimately be staying behind. Skip could be a way to send a message back if everything went wrong.
"If he can get outside a heavily warded area? As easy as Warp 1, Warp 2, Warp 3," Andrew said mysteriously, then went back to working on the runes with Willow.
"You really don't sound too confident our plan is gonna work," Skip commented. "It could make a guy worry."
"I'm just covering all the bases," Buffy said. "Don't get your spikes in a knot."
Skip shrugged. "I think I'm going to have another donut. Never know when it'll be your last." As he left the room, Harmony came in.
"All this blood lately has me feeling so bloated," she complained. "I feel like a whale." Harmony was usually pretty reluctant with the pigs blood, but she needed to heal now, no ifs and no buts. She still hadn't gotten back all her strength, and a thin scar was still visible under her chin, just a shade paler than her normal vampire pallor.
Buffy gave her an exaggerated inspection up and down. "I can definitely verify, no whales here. But you missed a spot." She wiped a little of the red off the corner of her mouth without thinking about it very hard. Then she noticed her finger had gotten all messy. "Better clean this up, huh?" She ran it across Harmony's lips and-
An annoyed snort from the corner shattered the moment. Harmony growled back at Bantha, and he just scoffed and looked up and away, at the ceiling. Buffy rolled her eyes.
"I really don't trust this loser," Harmony said, still glaring at him. "If he was worth anything wouldn't he be the demon king or whatever it is?"
"That's uncles for you, I guess," Buffy said.
"I could still go," Harmony argued. "Between him and those two new watchers, you're gonna be surrounded on all sides!"
Buffy sighed. "I know it kind of sucks, but-" She thought about how this whole problem was due to trying to be too diplomatic with the wrong people in the first place, but if she thought like that all the time she'd never get anywhere. Responsibility face. "We need to be able to work with these people. Watchers, mercenaries, even Bantha over there. We have enough enemies already, and holding down the hellmouth, it's just too important."
Harmony frowned, but then smirked. "Well, if there's a rescue mission, you can't stop me from coming on that!"
"Wouldn't have it any other way." Buffy leaned against a less magically active part of the wall and Harmony slotted in next to her. This might be the last tame moment she'd get before a new round of chaos and confusion, and she tried to just relax a little. Willow and Andrew's work with the runes was oddly hypnotic, and kind of reminded her of Lion-Willow working with those glowier runes in her Oz dream. She idly wondered if real Willow could set up the same kind of chain reaction, given the chance.
But eventually, she felt a little tingle down her neck, and reluctantly turned to face the door just as he was coming in.
"Buffy."
"Angel."
It felt even harder trying to talk with him in person than it was over the phone. Had he found out yet? Should she try to keep things professional until they were done with the whole raid thing? Or maybe try to at least do it in a private room? She still didn't want to leave Bantha alone with the others though, even if having him lurking in the corner for this was a total creepshow.
She almost convinced herself to postpone the inevitable, but then she noticed Harmony tensing up out of the corner of her eye and decided to just do it. The worst that could happen was that Angel would leave.
"Did you hear about me and Harmony yet?"
"Huh?" His eyes scrunched up in confusion.
"We're together. It's a thing."
"You're kidding," he said it like he really believed himself.
"She's really not," Willow said from across the room, not bothering to turn away from her work.
"Did I…" Angel's face ran through a gamut of expressions really quickly before it settled back on confusion. "Did I give you the idea?"
"What?" Harmony half shouted. Bantha snorted again in the background.
"No," Buffy said. "It was kind of already going on then. Sorry I couldn't tell you, but it was sort of a huge secret, with the election and everything. Your advice was helpful though."
Angel hesitated, then spoke, "I'm not sure what you want me to say here."
"You don't have to say things," Buffy said.
"Wait, what advice did he give?" Harmony asked, troubled.
"The talk we had after Dracula," Buffy clarified. She wasn't sure she wanted to mention that Cynthia was Harmony's backup moral compass in the open.
"Oh," Harmony said. "I guess that's fine then."
"I'm not angry or anything," Angel clarified. "It's just a shock."
"We should get ready to go," Buffy said, trying to move things along. "Time is all funky in their dimension-"
"Ten times speed, I know," Angel said, seeming to agree to let the matter rest. "I had a day, got some review done."
"You've run into Mok'tagar before?" she asked. "Have you been to, what is it again-"
"Mog'tog'og," Willow and Andrew chorused.
"I've fought a few in my day, but never been there. I've got something special for the regeneration though," Angel's expression looked a little excited as he opened his coat up and showed off an elaborate sheath strapped inside it, then pulled out what was inside.
It was either a really long dagger or a really short rapier, thin and wavy and uneven, and it had a dense leaf-like pattern etched into the blade.
"Cool," Harmony said.
"Something tells me you didn't pick that up at the corner store," It was an impressive piece, but even though Angel lived in LA, Buffy didn't think it came from Ivgol; it was totally the wrong style.
"I figured that Sunnydale's starting to be a magic weapon kind of town," Angel said, gesturing to Buffy's giant warhammer. "It's a kris, I got it from Achard the Tribune. Healing wounds made with it should be a lot harder."
"Can I get one too?" Harmony asked, puppy dog eyes on display.
Buffy smiled a little at her antics. "You do have that bow."
"I suck with my bow," Harmony said frankly.
"Practice makes perfect?" Buffy tried.
"Says the girl whose power is that she barely has to practice to be good with weapons," Harmony replied.
"She's got you there," Angel said. "If you go find him though, make sure he doesn't convince you to buy a horse."
Harmony considered that for a second. "I like horses."
"Horses don't like you anymore," Angel said.
Harmony looked horrified, "No, that can't be true! That's-"
"-impossible," Andrew said happily and Willow dejectedly. She continued, "You really don't have to say that every time." Buffy was getting the sense she'd had a lot of exposure to the nerd squad lately.
She was about to rein the conversation back to somewhere vaguely sane, but the rest of the attack group showed up before she did. Skip was back, along with Jonathan and the two watchers, carrying four of the stripped-down scuba sets between them.
"I want you two to come back in exactly two pieces, OK?" Cordelia was there too, bringing up the rear.
"I've been through worse," Skip said. "Jonathan must be touched though." The boy in question blushed a little.
Cordelia blanched herself at the implication, "I'm just being practical! They say the show must go on, but without either of you the rest of filming for Lights would be way choppy. I'm not gonna get my debut ruined over some interdimensional invasion gone wrong."
"Not worried about either of us?" Buffy asked playfully, indicating Angel with herself.
She rolled her eyes. "The drama factory that you two are couldn't be stopped by any force in or outside this universe."
Buffy took her oxygen cylinder and strapped it on, as Skip got Bantha started on casting the portal and Jonathan took out the new magic bone he'd gotten from somewhere (maybe Wilkins' stash, Buffy didn't remember) and started waving it around. It was Go Time.
"Are you two ready with the rune recording thingy?" Buffy asked.
Willow shrugged. "It's as ready as it's gonna get, probably." Then she looked Buffy in the eye, a little more seriously. "Remember the rule."
"Don't die," Buffy quoted dutifully. "OK everyone, listen up. Once I put this breather in I'm not going to be able to talk, so Skip's in charge until I take my pill."
"The vote of confidence is appreciated," he said dryly.
"Don't make me regret it," Buffy replied.
Nigel looked like he already did. "Are you sure we should be taking direct orders from a demon?"
"Angel doesn't know the place or the mission specifics well enough. Would you rather be taking orders from Banthasnap?" Buffy said.
"I don't suppose you know international sign language?" Nigel tried.
Buffy shook her head, but Angel answered. "I do. I'll keep an eye out for your hands and translate if I need to."
Nigel didn't quite know what to say about that, but Phillip continued the conversation for him, "Military sign too?" Angel nodded. "Good chap."
Right before she got the breather in, Harmony put her hand on her shoulder. "For good luck?"
"Sure." She gave her a quick peck that Harmony managed to extend a little, and then reluctantly stuck her regulator in. It felt weird, but she wouldn't have to fight with it on, at least. She definitely didn't want to try superspeed with it. She put the scuba mask on too; all this would be for nothing if the weird poison got in anyway. It was majorly annoying that simple gas masks wouldn't work instead, but apparently whatever was magically wrong with the air was beyond Earth's means to filter.
"Bring me back a trophy!" Harmony said.
Buffy nodded playfully. It was nice that Harmony was here, and she didn't have to think as much about her mom being not. It wasn't like she thought she was going to die on this mission or anything, but they'd left things in a nasty place. She'd just have to put it out of her mind.
Something happened, but it didn't seem important.
"OK, I think I've got it ready," Jonathan said, sounding a little ragged. "I'll trigger it once we're on the other side." He had … something in one of his hands, and he was trying to put his scuba gear on one-handed. Buffy wasn't really sure what was wrong with him, but she helped him out anyways. Hopefully he would get his act together once the mission started.
Bantha's untranslated chant seemed to reach a crescendo, and then the floor distorted with what looked almost like a liquid overlay, a counterclockwise vortex opening up a little off-center from the runic diagram.
"Of course he couldn't even aim it right. It'll be so much extra work." Willow grumbled, poking dejectedly at her laptop as it bleeped with readings. Bantha seemed to get the idea and snapped something that sounded rude back at her before jumping in and disappearing before Willow's muttered, "Jerk." could be heard.
"Well, after that auspicious start, last one in's a rotten egg," Skip declared, before jumping in himself.
Buffy didn't dawdle any longer; if anything went wrong on the other side she wanted to be there for it. The last thing she heard before the clean room disappeared above her was Andrew saying, "May the Force be with you."
Buffy had only been to a hell dimension once before, and the portal there had looked a lot more stable than this one, so she expected a bumpy ride. It was, but not really in the way she imagined. As the whirling silver colors spun around her she felt very slightly battered, but more than that she just felt weird. Like she was putting on a shirt that didn't quite fit right at the store. Before she could think about it too much though, the portal spat her out and she landed ankle-deep in muck, just barely managing to keep her footing in spite of the strange sensation that hadn't quite gone away.
Bantha and Skip were already talking in Mok'tagar ahead of her when she got her bearings. A bigger splash behind her heralded Nigel's arrival, and she looked back to see Phillip helping him up out of the muck. Angel landed next, and scrunched up his nose; it must smell pretty awful out there. Jonathan was last, and he would've probably fallen in too if Angel hadn't caught him and kept him upright.
As expected, they'd landed outside the City State, and she could see it rising up into view over the shallow swamp they were currently in. In the past week she'd learned that all the independent City States of Mog'tog'og were set into extinct volcanoes, and this one was no exception, with large collections of buildings visible, clumped together on plateaus. The magic to block incoming portals was linked to the mountain itself, so they'd have to sneak past the walls, all the way up the path, through the city, and then down into the castle, built into the dead caldera.
Buffy was momentarily worried; she didn't know how they would manage to do it. Maybe Bantha had a secret entrance? Or Phillip might have some idea, he was supposedly an covert ops expert. It was a huge hole in her plan though, she felt like she'd majorly dropped-
A wash of something that felt very important passed over her from behind, and Buffy remembered Jonathan's spell. Well that was a relief. She turned and gave Jonathan a look that was supposed to say 'I don't remember you telling me about that part', but he just shrugged his shoulders at her apologetically. Well, at least it was strong, and the side effect was over with now.
"So, I guess that was the Veil, huh?" Skip confirmed, and Jonathan nodded. "Banthasnap says this is definitely the right place and he doesn't think we were detected, so let's get moving. It'll be a walk."
The marshy alien landscape was dominated by low, ground-hugging trees and thick stands of violet reeds that bifurcated as they rose up from the water. The sky was a dim, dusty orange, uniform and cloudless, and nothing was visible over the plant life aside from the nearby mountain. It was a little warmer than the California fall they'd left, and had the humidity one would expect from the environment too. The colors and the temperature made it feel a little like things were closing in around her, and the loss of peripheral vision from the scuba mask didn't help.
There were some gaudy winged insects darting through the air, and she could spot tiny little red fishes whipping past her feet as they walked, but no other animal life was visible. She'd expected more demons from a literal hell dimension, but instead this felt almost like a natural setting, if an unsettling one. Still, the soaking wet terrain all on its own would've been nightmarish without heavy boots; luckily they'd come prepared.
Except for Angel, who'd finally noticed their choice in footwear. "A heads up about the swamp would've been nice," he said dryly.
Buffy felt an urge to mock him a little about the 'review' he'd been so proud of, but she couldn't, so she just turned to him and raised an eyebrow. Then she remembered it wouldn't be visible behind her mask, and wasn't sure what to do.
Before she could make up her mind on how to successfully emote, Angel got the idea anyway. "I wasn't really looking out for a description of the surroundings, I didn't expect us to be landing out here in the boondocks."
Luckily, they didn't have much farther to go. The land started sloping upward and quickly dried up, transitioning into a bleak plain of black rock approaching the jagged volcano. The natural ascent looked steep enough that it'd be almost impossible for the unpowered in the party, but they deflected from their previous route towards a large gate built into what looked like a pass. They knew from Bantha this was the conventional way in and out of the city, and that it led to the road network everyone lived on.
The gate was made of more of the same black stone they were walking on, and it was built solid and tall; twenty feet high, and by Bantha's account, a couple feet thick and hinged to open out on either side. A pair of Mok'tagar guardsmen stood at the top looking bored as they kept watch, occasionally exchanging some muttered words or calling down to someone else below, inside the walls. Buffy could probably destroy the gate with her hammer if she really wanted to, but such an action would undoubtedly break the Veil they were under and bring about two hundred new Mok'tagar-shaped problems into play.
Instead, they were going to go over it. Phillip had a grappling hook and some knotted rope in his pack, and as long as they didn't bonk anyone over the head by accident Jonathan had figured that would get them by safely. Once they were over the wall it'd hopefully be pretty simple to waltz up the road towards the entrance to the castle lair.
It was weird to see the guards' look right over their big obvious group walking across the open space, but Buffy's instincts weren't on edge, and Jonathan seemed confident in the spell. This would be a serious killing field if they'd had to assault it the normal way; Mok'tagar preference for melee or no.
They reached the foot of the wall, and Phillip had his gear out and was taking a better look up at the top. (During planning Buffy had checked to see if she'd be better for making the throw, but the weapon skills from her powers didn't agree with the grappling hook too well.) It looked like he wanted to aim for the right corner. Buffy could see it was at maximum distance from the guards, and it was also somewhere the rock face of the mountain and gate came together; it'd probably make easier climbing for the likes of Nigel and Jonathan.
He spun the hook around lightly, going for a steady toss, but before he did, there was a dull grinding noise, and the gate started to open! Had they been noticed somehow? Buffy readied her hammer in alarm, and to her sides she noticed Angel pulling out that nasty dagger and Nigel whipping out a rapier.
Then the first thing out through the sliding doors was… a human? Kind of a broken down one too.
Bantha said a few words, then started making an annoying chortle that was probably a laugh.
"It's just some foragers, Bantha says big parties like this go out to the swamp and back every day." Skip said. "So let's not get trigger-happy, rookies."
The doors never opened more than partway, and many more followed the first one out, all of them looking worn down and unhealthy, almost like medieval peasants. They were all wearing stuff that was just one step up from rags, and had worse footwear for the environment than Angel did. Buffy had known about the plight of the humans living here, but seeing it up close and personal really brought it home.
Incongruously, they did have a couple hovering air carts shepherded between them, presumably to carry things back to the city, as they were all empty now, except for a couple long sticks in each. The carts didn't move themselves, but seemed easy to push, and all of them kept the same even distance above the ground; it looked like a little less than a foot. They didn't exactly look nice: they were made of weather-beaten metal, full of dents and even the occasional hole. Still, the functionality would be impressive, especially out in the swampy terrain that would make wheeled carts impossible to use.
"We should be able to get through if we move fast enough," Angel said. No one disagreed, and just after the last of the peasants were out of the way Buffy's party squeezed by and through the walls. None of them so much as batted an eye even from less than a foot away. Buffy moved through last, giving the people heading out one last look as she went through. There was nothing she could do about it now, but she resolved to lean on Bantha after all this was over to make things better here.
Once inside, she was surprised not to see a big pulley system to operate the gate; instead there was just a wheel built into the wall. Another indifferent Mok'tagar started to spin it, and the gate began to slide shut again. It was ridiculously massive, maybe a hundred tons of rock, but he didn't seem to be exerting a huge amount of force. There might be some gearing buried inside to help, but Buffy thought it was more likely magic from how easily he was doing the job.
As the gate slowly slid shut again, Buffy joined the rest of her party, and they started making their way up the snaky, cobble-paved road. The path had clearly been cut directly through the rock, with big walls rising up on either side, and Buffy was again acutely aware of how well-defending this approach could be in a crisis, with Mok'tagar throwing their javelins from above.
Occasional structures that looked like dwellings were built right into the walls, and Buffy noticed some demons lurking inside. Their lot seemed better than that of the humans, though she couldn't really understand why they were living next to the road or what purpose they served here. She was a little concerned about the sheer variety; it was possible one or another would see through Jonathan's spell with some esoteric ability. If any did though, they didn't make it obvious, and they continued up the path.
The relatively narrow road forked a couple times, each with Bantha waveringly choosing a path, and each time the road seemed to wind around to go farther upwards. She knew the other roads led to other neighborhoods, part of the same city state but built lower on the mountain. They needed to go to the one near the top though; it was the only one with access to the castle. They saw one Mok'tagar patrol of two pass them by as they went, but the vast majority of the traffic was made up of other demons, or even the impoverished humans.
Instead of it getting cooler as they rose, the heat that had been merely noticeable before became more and more oppressive, and the scuba gear really wasn't helping. Jonathan had really gotten into better shape over the summer, but the stress of the spell was on him too, and she could see he was taking it hard. After a little while he noticed her looking, and she could see he tried to put a braver face on it.
The road got wider and wider, and the buildings built into the walls surrounding it got more and more elaborate, until eventually they broke out into what looked like a cross between a downtown and a market square. Tall freestanding buildings rose up everywhere, some many stories tall, and lining the space between them were crowded stalls selling all kinds of wares. The ruling Mok'tagar class was thicker on the ground here, but still vastly outnumbered by everyone else. Buffy was concerned about people from the crowd running into them, but they all seemed to somehow be able to avoid collisions, even without actually noticing her team.
More of the hovering devices were in use and on display, these ones mostly shinier and newer than the ones she'd seen with the humans and on the road leading up. There was plenty of other stuff too; exotic-looking clothes and foods, bizarrely-shaped furniture, and other things she couldn't readily identify.
"It's a shame we don't have the kind of numbers for some real pillaging," Skip said idly. "The accumulated wealth in this place is immense, they've been trading in and out of here for a long time."
"I thought we were supposed to be here to protect Sunnydale?" Angel said, troubled.
Skip raised an eyebrow. "Of course, of course. But well, if you're going to make an omelet you might as well break some eggs, right?"
Before Angel could respond, there was a shout from Bantha, as he pointed at an immense, demonic horse that appeared from around the corner of one of the big buildings. It was at least ten feet at the shoulder, with smoky black insubstantial-seeming skin and a mane of fire. It definitely stood out from the other amassed demons, none of which seemed all that special, or that large, in comparison.
"He says it's a Cauchemar," Skip translated. "Some kind of Mok'tagar bogeyman."
"I don't think the rest of them can see it," Angel noticed. "See? Some of them are even brushing through the sides, as if it isn't there." It wasn't really paying much attention to the passing demons either; instead it paced steadily towards their party, neighing loudly and grinding it's black hooves on the cobbles.
"I think it can see us," Skip agreed with Buffy's conclusion. "This probably isn't good."
Bantha kept shouting, and was backing up now, his earlier confidence shattered.
"He calls it an eater of dreams," Skip supplied. Then he exchanged some words with Bantha in his language. "It isn't supposed to be in the waking world though. He's pretty shook."
The giant demon horse kept approaching, seeming more and more angry. It skidded forward for a second only to stop, then reared up and came down hard on its front hooves. It was an obvious threat display, and it was doing its job; Buffy definitely felt threatened. Harmony and Angel's earlier argument about horses wasn't so funny anymore.
Buffy glanced around at the rest of her party; Jonathan and Nigel both were wide eyed, and the latter was making hand gestures. Thankfully, Angel followed her gaze, and started translating. "Nigel thinks it's the Veil spell, and the foreign dimension. Letting us see the Cauchemar."
"Probably letting it see us too," Skip added. "Not the luckiest magic interaction I've ever been a part of, that's for sure.
Jonathan nodded his head, agreeing. He poked around on his bone a little bit, but it didn't seem to do anything.
The Cauchemar reared again, its hooves more than twenty feet in the air before crashing back down. The total lack of concern from all the demons and people walking around unseeing would've been comical if the whole mission wasn't in jeopardy. Maybe they could beat it, but would fighting it shatter their Veil? Buffy definitely didn't know, and from the look on Jonathan's face as he looked between the big horse and his magic bone, he wasn't too sure either.
Vote: Buffy can't exactly give orders right now, since she has a scuba regulator feeding clean oxygen into her mouth. You started with two hours in the tanks, and it's been seventy minutes so far. What do you want to do about that?
[] Buffy pulls out her oxygen supply and pops her pill, then gives orders on what to do. You should stunt a plan, including if others should use their pills.
[] Buffy keeps her oxygen in, but takes some definitive action. You should stunt what she does, but she can't really communicate with the others this way.
[] Skip's a pretty experienced operator, and Buffy put him in command during the approach for a reason. Let him decide the course of action.
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- Location
- Vancouver
Indeed, we've saved a bunch of time here. I think with all the time we saved we might be good to go for the pills now even with this thing, the problem is just in dealing with it quietly.
The trend has truly begun, magical weapons will proliferate out and fill the hands (and paws and claws) of everyone we see! I could see leaning into this trend with our best people and Harmony getting pretty expensive, but if monsters of the week follow Angel's lead as well then we might have to, and if that just happens to lead to Harmony being sold a horse well I would find that hilarious. @DeAnno Does Archard sell unicorns?
Also, Angel getting a weapon focused around hurting people and keeping them from healing is just so amazingly on brand for him that it must be killing him to use it.
Also, Angel getting a weapon focused around hurting people and keeping them from healing is just so amazingly on brand for him that it must be killing him to use it.
DeAnno
Sometimes words have two meanings
Probably, but you'd have to ask to find out. This is not a path unladen with obstacles.
Definitely think it's time to pop the pills. Not sure what to do about the demon horse though. Maybe we could try to communicate? Getting into a fight before even reaching the castle could turn ugly.
[X] Buffy pulls out her oxygen supply and pops her pill, then gives orders on what to do. You should stunt a plan, including if others should use their pills.
-[x] everyone take their pills
-[X] Buffy leads the team down an alley or side street with fewer demons then attacks the horse.
--[X] Jonathon recasts the veil afterwards
-[X] if the veil breaks with no harm done to the horse try to hide for a handful of minutes before recasting
-[x] everyone take their pills
-[X] Buffy leads the team down an alley or side street with fewer demons then attacks the horse.
--[X] Jonathon recasts the veil afterwards
-[X] if the veil breaks with no harm done to the horse try to hide for a handful of minutes before recasting
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- Location
- Before the Ninth Gate
[X] Plan unusual allies
-[X] Buffy pops the pill, others keep their pills in unless a fight starts.
--[X] Offer the Cauchemar Tapparich and other, non-Bantha, slaving Demons as a bribe, and if very lucky get the pony as an ally.
---[X] Try treating the Horse like a combination of a horse and a predator. Respect it's space, but try bribing it with food (read: slaver demons)
--[X] If it works, great, have fun storming the castle with a murder pony.
--[X] If the Cauchemar has no response, retreat and try to go around it.
--[X] If the above fails or the nightmare tries to attack us, try to kill it in a place that's out of sight.
---[X] if the veil fades and we can't see the demon anymore, use the glamer if possible.
---[X] If the veil fades and we can still see the demon, kill it or redirect it to cause chaos with other people, then veil again.
[X] Plan unusual allies, going around first
-[X] No one pops the pill.
--[X] Buffy motions to back up, and try to go around.
--[X] if this isn't understood, only Buffy pops the pill and explains.
-[X] Retreat and go around the Horsey, making sure to grab Bantha (make him less fearful so he doesn't attract the Cauchemar.
--[X] If it works, success.
--[X] Offer the Cauchemar Tapparich and other, non-Bantha, slaving Demons as a bribe, and if very lucky get the pony as an ally.
---[X] Try treating the Horse like a combination of a horse and a predator. Respect it's space, but try bribing it with food (read: slaver demons)
--[X] If the nightmare tries to attack us or won't let us through after trying another path, go to an alley, and try to kill it.
---[X] if the veil fades and we can't see the demon anymore, use the glamer if possible.
---[X] If the veil fades and we can still see the demon, kill it or redirect it to cause chaos with other people, then veil again.
-[X] Buffy pops the pill, others keep their pills in unless a fight starts.
--[X] Offer the Cauchemar Tapparich and other, non-Bantha, slaving Demons as a bribe, and if very lucky get the pony as an ally.
---[X] Try treating the Horse like a combination of a horse and a predator. Respect it's space, but try bribing it with food (read: slaver demons)
--[X] If it works, great, have fun storming the castle with a murder pony.
--[X] If the Cauchemar has no response, retreat and try to go around it.
--[X] If the above fails or the nightmare tries to attack us, try to kill it in a place that's out of sight.
---[X] if the veil fades and we can't see the demon anymore, use the glamer if possible.
---[X] If the veil fades and we can still see the demon, kill it or redirect it to cause chaos with other people, then veil again.
[X] Plan unusual allies, going around first
-[X] No one pops the pill.
--[X] Buffy motions to back up, and try to go around.
--[X] if this isn't understood, only Buffy pops the pill and explains.
-[X] Retreat and go around the Horsey, making sure to grab Bantha (make him less fearful so he doesn't attract the Cauchemar.
--[X] If it works, success.
--[X] Offer the Cauchemar Tapparich and other, non-Bantha, slaving Demons as a bribe, and if very lucky get the pony as an ally.
---[X] Try treating the Horse like a combination of a horse and a predator. Respect it's space, but try bribing it with food (read: slaver demons)
--[X] If the nightmare tries to attack us or won't let us through after trying another path, go to an alley, and try to kill it.
---[X] if the veil fades and we can't see the demon anymore, use the glamer if possible.
---[X] If the veil fades and we can still see the demon, kill it or redirect it to cause chaos with other people, then veil again.
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- Location
- Vancouver
[X] Buffy pulls out her oxygen supply and pops her pill, then gives orders on what to do. You should stunt a plan, including if others should use their pills.
-[x] everyone take their pills
-[X] Buffy leads the team down an alley or side street with fewer demons then attacks the horse.
--[X] Jonathon recasts the veil afterwards
-[X] if the veil breaks with no harm done to the horse try to hide for a handful of minutes before recasting
-[x] everyone take their pills
-[X] Buffy leads the team down an alley or side street with fewer demons then attacks the horse.
--[X] Jonathon recasts the veil afterwards
-[X] if the veil breaks with no harm done to the horse try to hide for a handful of minutes before recasting
- Location
- Germany
[x] Skip's a pretty experienced operator, and Buffy put him in command during the approach for a reason. Let him decide the course of action.
@DeAnno If we were to order Jonathan to drop the Veil spell and cast the glamer instead, would he be able to do it? Or is it too late at this point?
My thinking here is that if it's the Veil allowing the Cauchemar to see us, our best option might be to abandon it entirely and fall back on the other concealment option, as I don't think it's likely we'll be able to kill this thing without causing a spectacle.
My thinking here is that if it's the Veil allowing the Cauchemar to see us, our best option might be to abandon it entirely and fall back on the other concealment option, as I don't think it's likely we'll be able to kill this thing without causing a spectacle.
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Sure. Why not.
[X] Plan unusual allies
[X] Plan unusual allies, going around first
[X] Plan unusual allies
[X] Plan unusual allies, going around first
DeAnno
Sometimes words have two meanings
Casting the Glamer is easier than the Veil, though you can't make a direct transition (you'd need to hide somewhere, drop the Veil, and then Glamer if you didn't want it to be super obvious to the big crowd.) As with before you would want some kind of explanation or lie, and it might be a little complicated by the fact that you're a party of 7 that nobody noticed coming in.
- Location
- Before the Ninth Gate
For Pony!
And we are tied for the lead. Come on people! Ride into the sunset with a vampire girlfriend on a monstrous pony that eats slaver dreams. What could go wrong?
But honestly, this pony is acting as an animal, not as a angry demon that wants to murder everything. A predatory animal, sure, but still an animal.
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[x] Skip's a pretty experienced operator, and Buffy put him in command during the approach for a reason. Let him decide the course of action.
[X] Buffy pulls out her oxygen supply and pops her pill, then gives orders on what to do. You should stunt a plan, including if others should use their pills.
-[x] everyone take their pills
-[X] Buffy leads the team down an alley or side street with fewer demons then attacks the horse.
--[X] Jonathon recasts the veil afterwards
-[X] if the veil breaks with no harm done to the horse try to hide for a handful of minutes before recasting
I'd prefer to make an attempt at communication first, but I admit that's pretty likely to fail. So, I guess falling back on the old standard 'Buffy Smash' strategy will have to do.
-[x] everyone take their pills
-[X] Buffy leads the team down an alley or side street with fewer demons then attacks the horse.
--[X] Jonathon recasts the veil afterwards
-[X] if the veil breaks with no harm done to the horse try to hide for a handful of minutes before recasting
I'd prefer to make an attempt at communication first, but I admit that's pretty likely to fail. So, I guess falling back on the old standard 'Buffy Smash' strategy will have to do.
- Location
- Before the Ninth Gate
Friends, Questers, Svers, lend me your eyes! We have a chance at greatness, if only we strike now! Imagine what we can do with a nightmare horse. The slavers not feeling safe in their own beds. Buffy cutting a dashing figure with her hammer on horseback, playing the most menacing game of polo ever seen! Most of all, a girl wants a pony. Who could deny that?
Vote for greatness, vote for style, vote for Pony!
Vote for greatness, vote for style, vote for Pony!
WyldCard4
Unregistered
Feeling pretty sick so less sure of my vote than usual.
[X] Buffy pulls out her oxygen supply and pops her pill, then gives orders on what to do. You should stunt a plan, including if others should use their pills.
-[x] everyone take their pills
-[X] Buffy leads the team down an alley or side street with fewer demons then attacks the horse.
--[X] Jonathon recasts the veil afterwards
-[X] if the veil breaks with no harm done to the horse try to hide for a handful of minutes before recasting
[X] Buffy pulls out her oxygen supply and pops her pill, then gives orders on what to do. You should stunt a plan, including if others should use their pills.
-[x] everyone take their pills
-[X] Buffy leads the team down an alley or side street with fewer demons then attacks the horse.
--[X] Jonathon recasts the veil afterwards
-[X] if the veil breaks with no harm done to the horse try to hide for a handful of minutes before recasting