CLOSED ♔ suddenly i will play my ace

[behindcloseddoors]

♬ eyes on fire - blue foundation

WHO || Elena, Spike, Archer, ??
WHAT || Elena strikes out to try and learn the truth about what she is - by walking straight back into the lion's den.
WHERE || Chicago, the Waldorf hotel
WHEN || July 11th/12th, middle of the night
HOW || Actionspam

[ It's amazing, the things that can slip through the cracks. The team is so focused on Vi's suspicious desire to speak to Keijen or the drow god haunting her nightmares, that they're all expending their energy keeping an eye on her so that she doesn't sneak out at night, when in fact, she's not the one looking to go march straight back to the bad guys.

That would be Elena.

It's easy, therefore, for her to get out of the hotel room without anyone even questioning where she's going. ]

Comments

[bigbad]

[Of course, getting out is only half the battle when one of your teammates is lurking right outside the entrance and smoking. Not that Spike NORMALLY makes a habit of harassing his teammates when they try and leave. But this is a special case. He remembers how Elena reacted to hearing about the doppelgänger. He's been wondering what's going on with her.]

Been wondering when we'd have a chance to talk.

[notaroundme]

[Elena's shoulders tensed because, wow, totally busted. And here she thought if she could make it out the doors, then the hard part would be over.

Maybe she can just...play it off like she was going to go for a walk.

Yeah, probably not.]

What did you want to talk about?

[bigbad]

[Don't worry, Elena, he won't stop you.]

About how you've been acting strange ever since we met that doppelgänger. [He watches her carefully to see how she reacts.]

[notaroundme]

[(will save 11) She doesn't quite contain her flinch at the word, and she doesn't even sound like she believes herself when she says...]

It's not important.

[Because clearly leaving your friends to do something suicidal is something you do when it isn't important...]

[bigbad]

Well, that's obviously bollocks. [He drops his cigarette and stamps it out, stepping towards her.]

What's wrong, pet?

[notaroundme]

[Yeah she was...expecting that. She sighs and runs her fingers through her hair. At the very least, if anyone could understand how she was feeling? It was Spike.]

I don't think I'm human.

[bigbad]

Really? [Spike's fist jabs out to try and punch her in the face (atk 14) though he's pulling his punch way too much for it to actually hurt much, and she can pretty easily step aside or block.]

[notaroundme]

[Elena turns her body sideways at the last moment to get out of the way of his fist, her eyes wide before she relaxes a bit and frowns, confused as she pushes his arm away.]

What are you even doing? You weren't even actually trying to hit me.

[Wisdom 16]

[bigbad]

Yeah, I was. [Though not particularly hard. Still, it was a legitimate attack.] And I didn't get a headache from it. Guess you're right about not being human, pet.

FASTFORWAD YAY

[notaroundme]

[Elena's mostly silent as they drive, and she instructs Archer on where to park (close enough that it's not a huge hike but far enough away that they aren't just...pulling up in front of the fucking doors. Hopefully he listens.

After he shuts it off, she makes her way out of the car, taking a deep breath as she looks up at the building.]

I should...probably let you know why we're here, huh?

[She glances at Spike, then back at Archer.]

I'm going to try and talk to the doppelganger.

[isisagent]

[Archer gets a look like that word doesn't register at all...]
The who?

[notaroundme]

The doppelganger. The shape-shifter we ran into the last time we were here.

[Was he around when there were two Spikes? Herp derp I don't remember...but they still talked about it back at the hotel so.]

[isisagent]

[lol, he wasn't there, but he should have overheard at the hotel. He's just being classic Archer... Suddenly a spark of recognition creeps into his eyes.]

Ah... we come to finish the job that Blondie couldn't?

[He shoots a grin Spike's way.]

[notaroundme]

[Oh right, he was killing...bone walls. It was late last night oops.]

No, like I said before, I want to talk to them. For personal reasons.

[Okay, it's probably better to get this out before rather than after so if he has one of his...outbursts it's not in the middle of a potentially crowded hotel.]

I think I might be the same as them. I need to figure out what that means.

[bigbad]

You could always just wait in the car. [Spike would have killed that doppelganger if Myri hadn't stopped him. He doesn't particularly like Archer's insinuations. Besides, bringing Archer on a mission where the main goal ISN'T to kill anything seems like a recipe for disaster.]

Or better yet, just go get a drink.

[isisagent]

Those are both... actually very appealing options, but someone needs to make sure you don't mess this up again, Edward.

...Get it? Like, that one totally gay vampire? God normally these insulting nicknames take some effort, but you, man... This vampire thing is too easy.

[Archer laughs, exasperated at his own cleverness, as he grabs a Mint Julep from the drink mixer in his glove box, and gets out of the car, before quickly inspecting his weapon loadout... Pistols, shotgun, ammo, Omicron Spymaster... check, check, and.... checkity check.

[notaroundme]

You don't need the shotgun. We're going in there, I'm doing the talking, and then we're leaving. Pistol is for defensive purposes only, clear?

[Because holy hell maybe this was a really bad idea after all.]

Please?

[notaroundme]

[With one last look to her very brave and handsome entourage (o3o), Elena follows after the now blonde woman, wondering if this was a very, very dumb idea.

Probably, but she's already set on this path, and she'll see it through.]

[imposturing]

[ she sashays down the hall ahead of elena, earning a doubletake from a man walking past, which she mostly ignores, save for an enigmatic smirk. she stops at room 107 and slides the card, gesturing for elena to go on in ahead of her. once they're inside, she flicks on the lights and shuts the door behind them. ]

So what exactly does your friend think I'm going to try, now that I have you here all alone?

[notaroundme]

We're not exactly working on the same side.

[And things have been somewhere between tenuous to downright violent between the two groups.]

Worst case scenario, you could try to take me hostage or something. Or kill me and try to take my place.

[Just being honest.]

[imposturing]

[ amusement flashes in her eyes again ]

Do you have any idea how rare it is to encounter another of our kind in this world?

Do you even understand what you are?

[notaroundme]

I'm not even from this world, though I was told that's what the books say.

[So no, she doesn't know.]

That's why I'm here, but I think you knew that already. I don't understand it at all. I don't remember.

[imposturing]

[ she fixes elena with a canny look as revelation strikes her ] You never even suspected until we met. You thought you were just one of them.

[ she bubbles out a laugh, walking past elena to perch on the edge of the bed ] Oh, that is a treat.

You're wrong, you know, about the sides that we're on.

If you're a changeling child, you'll have to come to understand your nature eventually, and the most important part of that is what the greatest lie of them all is.

[notaroundme]

It's not funny.

[R u d e.]

Am I? [Could have fooled her.] You say that like it's set in stone.

[Her brows furrow, as if she probably isn't going to like what comes next, but can't help asking anyway.]

What lie is that?

[imposturing]

Nothing is set in stone.

Identity. It's the greatest cage of them all, and every other species is a slave to it. They celebrate it, because they can't escape it, so they have to deceive themselves into thinking that it's desirable.

But every last one of them longs for freedom, never realizing identity is the thing stripping them of the chance to ever reach it.