To Kill the Usurper or Succumb to Failure [tw]

“Simeon has been following his own rules for too long,” Kashya admitted, looking down at the ground. She barely seemed to react to Buffy’s hand on her arm except glancing at it shortly. She kept their pace fast but not noticeable or out of the ordinary. Drawing attention to them was the last thing she wanted. “Is there some other way out than the main entrance?” She asked in a hasty tone, feeling like a thousand eyes were on them, though when she looked around no one was looking. But just because she couldnt see them didnt mean they werent there. “Simeon probably had you followed. Or someone here waiting for you to resume your studies. He’s always been keen on keeping tabs. You cant be here. He’ll use you to get to him,” she then explained, frowning deeply.

[Baal:] Come home.

She missed the whisper but either way, she had a hard time believing that the fenix would outrun any daemon that had been assigned to follow her. Buffy’s plea made her frown. Even though she knew she wouldnt make it, didnt mean that she was willingly going to give herself up like that. “I.... dont really have a choice,” she mumbled, closing her eyes for a second. She let go of Buffy to let her go ahead before walking to a firealarm. Holding her breath she cracked the glass and pressed the button, sending a high pitched warning tone coursing through the echoing halls. The noise was unbearable for most and the sole monent of surprise would allow the fenix to slip out unnoticed. It took a few seconds for the alarm to be shut off and Kashya hoped that Buffy had spent her moment wisely.

“You’re smarter than you give yourself credit for,” he argued in a calm tone, but before they could say or do anything more, Alyssa arrived. His eyes fell to her bleeding arm making him frown a little before he shook his head at her words, “I wish it was simple endeavors,” he mumbled, running his hand down Buffy’s back. The three empusa’s stepping in wasnt something he was comfortable with but he had to trust his sister’s words - Or at least trust that she wanted to overthrow Simeon more than she’d want to harm Buffy. He looked down at Buffy when Alyssa said it was time to go. He didnt like being away from her, but so far he knew nothing of what plans Simeon may have had, and Buffy had only given him limited information. “You’ll be safe,” he told the fenix, kissing her forehead. “We have our bond,” he mumbled on her skin, but it was more like he was trying to comfort himself.

He looked down at his hand on the bump, nodding at her words. “Of course I will,” he assured her, running his thumb over the fabric of her shirt. He clenched his jaw a little at her words because it felt bittersweet. Like he might not make it back. The thought made him uncomfortable. “I love you too,” he whispered, swallowing hard as he looked into the green eyes with the flame behind. Alyssa spoke again and he kissed Buffy’s forehead one last time before he followed his sister. He looked back at the house before getting into the car. “What happened to your arm?” He asked instead of wanting an elaboration on what her mumble meant. He didnt know of any claim that Simeon had laid on anyone, but then again wasnt it too surprising that he hadnt kept up with the gossip flowing around the daemons. He made a deep sigh as he looked at her hand, grabbing it before he looked at her with serious eyes, “It wont hold in the blood if you dont fold it right,” he just said before unwrapping her hand to then wrap it as he meant it should be wrapped. It wasnt really a sign of affection, she just wouldnt be much use to her own cause if she bled herself to exhaustion.

He nodded at her explanation but he couldnt simply sit by and watch her do an improper wrapping of her arm. He took over and kept his focus on that, making sure it would sit nicely around her arm. He nodded again when she assured him of her purpose. He raised an eyebrow at her, tilting his head a little, “You must really hate him,” he said in a neutral tone, letting her have back her arm. “But I dont disagree,” he said with a sigh, leaning back to look out the window. “If he finds out that Buffy is pregnant, he will take the child and kill her. I cant risk that happening,” he said, mumbling the last part before he frowned a little absentminded. He knew he had told Buffy that they would figure it out together and he didnt like the fact that he was just running off and leaving her behind like some damsel in distress. But with her stomach showing, even as little as it was, bringing her was too risky. Didnt make him feel less like he was feeling though and it showed.

He was surprised to hear her tell him all this information. A part of him wondered if she felt like she had needed someone who would listen, even if she tried to tell herself otherwise, or if it was just to fill out the otherwise silence that was. He didnt know what to say, she had never spoken up about something as serious as this. He sighed. “I dont know if killing him makes a wrong right. There must be method to the madness of what he’s doing, the forced marriages and controlled births,” he said with a shrug. “It’s absurd in every sense, it takes the humanity from us when we’ve been gifted the ability to feel as well as others,” he said with his brows furrowed in a pondering state. “I’m sorry for what you have been through with Simeon,” he then said before he felt like he had discarded her whole story. Looking down at his hands doing a little fiddling, it was clear he wasnt very good at this - Bonding. Or even really conversing about sentimental things with people that werent Buffy. Once it had been only Daniel, but he didnt want to talk to the lycan if he could avoid it. “So your son isnt his?” He then asked, thinking that the boy had looked a lot like Simeon. But maybe that was purposefully.

He just listened as she went on to explain that Simeon wasnt the father. Frankly he was surprised, but not nearly enough as he would be in a bit. He had seen the kid a few times, a young boy that had looked like he was just up to nothing good. But before his mind could wander further on his opinion on the boy, she spoke and nonetheless about their past encounter. “Only because you knew and you never said anything,” he argued with a frown, meaning their blood-relation. She had knowingly gone into offering them both relief when she knew all along - It could spin around in circles and give him a headache eventually. He looked down when she said she hadnt ever forced him to anything. That was true, but he couldnt help but not feel nauseated. Back to the child again, he began to wonder the shifts of topics till she finished her sentence with words he hadnt ever hoped to hear. He’s yours rang in his head a few times, his eyes darkening as his eyes fell down and the sheer surprise was written all over his expression. “He’s my son?” He asked but he wasnt sure he wanted the answer. Running a hand through his hair he clenched his jaw for a second. What was he supposed to tell Buffy when she found out? He couldnt hide such a thing, he knew that. He looked up at Alyssa with a frown before shaking his head. He begged in his mind that it was just a cruel joke. “Does he know? That I’m his father?” He then asked with a more serious tone.

He made a deep sigh and nodded when she confirmed that the boy knew. He placed his elbows on his knees before holding his own head. Even if he was only just a donor in their eyes, it was still his dna and blood walking around. He wasnt exactly too bothered by it but the thought of Buffy shunning him or think of him as something disgusting was haunting him. “I cant just keep a secret like that from her when she’s carrying the child I’m going to have with her,” he argued, gritting his teeth a little. He looked up and frowned, shaking his head. “Cant get sidetracked now. Whatever scheme Simeon is planning, we have to end,” he then said, stepping out of the car as he looked at the temple. He felt his hair rise on his neck but he figured not being scared in a situation like this would be a mistake. He still had no idea what it was that Simeon was doing but it clearly wasnt anything good.

The temple was surrounded and Baal wouldnt think that anything could go wrong. It seemed too good of a prediction to be true though. They didnt know what Simeon was doing inside, but Baal could almost feel the empowerment of sacrifice inside. “I’ll be fine,” he told Alyssa before they entered the underground. No other creature than a sacrifice could enter this place and if a person was here to be sacrificed, their soul already belonged to Bael. He had never liked that about his own kind, how they gave the blood of innocents to soothe the chaos their creator bore. But he never did anything to stop it or even utter his opinion to anyone. “I feel odd,” he mumbled when he started to feel a bit lightheaded moving closer to the altar. “He’s stronger now. He has prepared by ingesting a lot of souls,” he added to his mumble, looking at Alyssa with a frown. Entering the altar room, it felt like a trap of sorts. Simeon stood and waited patiently, turning as he smiled at the siblings with his slick proud smile. “Glad you could make it,” he said, turning his eyes to Alyssa first. “Love of my life, I’d suggest you keep yo...” - “Let me go!” A boy yelled as he was pulled forward, fighting the grip of a pureblood before he looked at his mother. Frowning to himself he fell silent and looked down. “Well, you know the precautions I would have to make to stay safe,” he said before nodding at the pureblood to move the boy out of sight. “As much as I like Amadeus, his blood is as pure as it can be. Call it a backup, of sorts,” he said with a shrug, looking the way the kid was dragged away. “I wouldnt want to hurt him, but I wouldnt hesitate,” he said, sounding quite serious. He had helped raised Amos as much as Alyssa had allowed him, even claimed fatherhood to keep them safe after she had broken his rules over and over with her lovers. He looked at Baal, “You could save your kid by making this process so much easier for all of us,” he said. Baal just looked down as he seemed to consider the options.