[ PHONE CALL TO RAFAEL GIOVANNI ] [MAY 28TH]

[slay]

[ until now, there's been a pattern; she makes sure to call him at reasonable hours on weekends so that it doesn't interfere with whatever burt has him doing, and it's regular enough that they can keep up to date with each other.

that's what makes this phone call so odd: just before 8 in the morning PST on wednesday, rafael gets a call from buffy. ]

Comments

[romanticidal]

[ he doesn't answer right away. or, in fact, at all, but as she's going to leave a voicemail, he comes in on call waiting calling her back. ] Buffy?

[slay]

If you have any good news, now is the time. Like right now. Possibly sooner than now.

[romanticidal]

Has something happened?

[slay]

It's been happening. We just didn't know until—[ where does she even start ??? ] Elena got promoted yesterday.

[romanticidal]

[ his voice hardens immediately, ready for the worst. except not b/c lol no one is ready for dis ] Tell me.

[slay]

[ the tone of voice keeps her from falling apart. she wants to lose it, and genuinely cry and allow herself to be scared and hurt and guilty for everything that's happened, but rafael's all business—she can be, too. all the same, her voice wavers as she says it, thick, watery emotion making its way in despite her attempt to steady her tone by drawing on her anger. ]

Myri's been on Andres Isle since she left during your trial. A few weeks ago, they grabbed Spike, too. They sent in that doppelganger to keep any of us from realizing they were even gone.

[romanticidal]

[ there's silence on the other side of the line, but it seems to simmer with anger somehow, as if he's fighting to find his voice. ]



... How?

[slay]

I don't know. I don't know; we should have seen it, but with the way things have been here lately, it's just—We were falling apart. We couldn't get away from each other or this mission fast enough—it used that. Tried to drive the wedge in deeper, tried to rip us apart.

[ she scrubs her hands over her face, dropping her phone on speaker on top of her bed. ]

He would have done it. If they hadn't come back, if they hadn't gotten off that island, it would have worked.

[romanticidal]

[ his voice is still low and laced with simmering anger, but he sounds determined as shit as he says: ] You know this means they understand what makes you strong. That you have each other. What you can do together.

[slay]

I know. And I'm—I'm trying to hold onto that and remember that the only reason this happened is because we spooked them, but none of that changes what they put Spike and Myri through. And Elena— [ she rubs her hands over her face, shaking her head. ] You know it's really too bad this creep wasn't in the elevator that Thomas dropped. That's all I'm saying.

[romanticidal]

[ he hesitates for half a second before he asks: ] What did they do to them?

[slay]

Experiments.

[ she wants to leave it at that, because even acknowledging that much causes her chest to tighten. this is rafael, though, and he needs to know. ]

They wanted to figure out Myri's empathy, so they made her watch while they hurt other people to provoke it. With Spike, they cut his head open to get at what kept him from attacking humans—it was some chip.

[romanticidal]

[ he swears in italian so at least it sounds pretty ] How did they escape this?

[slay]

Thomas and Jack broke them out, but they got their hands on Thomas. Dimitris sent Jack with a message—he wants all of us to come to Andres Isle.

[romanticidal]

And straight into a trap, naturalmente.

[slay]

He has Thomas.

[ she says it like it's an answer, an inevitability. they don't have a choice. leaving thomas to die is not an option; they will knowingly walk into this trap—they will all lay down their lives and burn with him before merely giving up and letting one of their own die. ]

[romanticidal]

He will not be keeping him. [ they're speaking the same language, clearly ] Perhaps there is some way I can come, when you go.

[slay]

If there is, we sure wouldn't turn away the help. Dimitris put a ban on any knights that haven't already been digging into this coming to the isle—we bring more, he kills Thomas. Puts kind of a cramp in our offense.

[romanticidal]

They do not know that I am not a Knight. Gar says not all of you live and work at the castle always.

[slay]

Gar's right. Between that and the distinct non-knight loophole, that's pretty much why Des is coming too. [ at least, she assumes he's coming. good luck to wynn trying to stop him. ]

[romanticidal]

The Talisman... It is meant to be on this Island as well, si?

[slay]

Yeah, Thomas and Jack were trying to circle it for that very reason until ... well. You know. [ myri and spike. ] Figures that when we finally go it's not to smash and grab.

[romanticidal]

Do you think they will have moved it, knowing now that the Knights were on the Island?

[slay]

I—I don't know, i hadn't thought about it. [ wHY ARE YOU ?? ] We don't have the luxury of worrying about that talisman right now; we're going in there to get Thomas back.

[romanticidal]

Is Des going?