madimpossibledreamer

Main Points:
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure/Buffy the Vampire Slayer AU
Chapter Summary: Severin, Fugo, and Buffy get the news about the Mask.
Word Count: 1332
Rating: Teen (Buffy|Jojo's level violence)
Note: HERE THERE PROBABLY BE BUFFY/JJBA SPOILERS

        Fugo seems to be upset with being knocked out of the fight early. He seems like the type of person to take everything personally, even when it’s not particularly her fault. (Not like she has any experience on that front, at all.)
        Severin’s ignoring him like he doesn’t even exist anymore. Just keeps addressing her about strategy, with a slight condescending air. He probably doesn’t think she notices, but she does, and from Fugo’s expression, so does he. Severin’s getting worse, and she doesn’t even know him enough to know if he’d lost it because of the loss of his girlfriend, or if this isn’t natural. She’d hoped she could avoid this whole thing, but then, she can’t always avoid her visions, particularly when other people are involved. They tend to be a little unpredictable.
        Fugo opens his mouth to say something, only his phone rings instead. He answers, and though she can’t understand the Italian, she knows instantly who’s on the other end of the line solely by the deferential air Fugo immediately gets when he answers. Severin listens intensely, and, well…she hadn’t wanted to doubt him about that, too, but he might have a better understanding of Italian than he claims. The main question is why he would lie about that. Some of the other stuff, sure, that makes sense, but Italian?
        “Yes, she’s here.” The sudden English catches her attention, cutting through her contemplation. Fugo pulls the phone away from his ear, looking meaningfully to her. “You want to talk to him?”
        “No, that’s okay.” At least he hadn’t given her away, that she’d contacted him separately. Severin really seemed to prefer the idea that she was rebelling, striking out on her own because of how unfair she’d been treated. To be fair, that probably wasn’t the best solution, but she needed something drastic to shock Giles and, honestly, herself, out of their complacency, and she couldn’t think of anything else that would have worked. She’s not entirely sure why—well, no, she has some ideas. It’s easier to control her, manipulate her, or kill her if need be if she’s alone.
        Fugo stares disbelievingly but probably relays that in Italian, judging by the anger and disbelief in his tone. Giorno, though, seems like the type to understand, even if Fugo doesn’t, and the conversation ends fairly soon after.
        “What the hell was that about?” Fugo went from zero to a hundred in seconds again, right after hanging up.
        “I’m trying to do things on my own.” She’s not used to that. Before she became a Slayer, she’d been the popular kid, and so doing things on her own was unthinkable. Then she’d became the Slayer and had Slayers on her side, and after that point she’d been in charge. She associates alone with weakness, not strength—and yet, she’s anything but weak. She can accomplish cool things on her own, but it’s even better when she’s doing it with friends.
        Fugo raises an eyebrow, glancing between himself and Severin, and, well…that’s not wrong, but that hadn’t been planned, at all.
        He sighs and crosses his arms when she doesn’t answer. “I’ll tell you something I wish someone had told me. It’s rare you get a good group, and rare that anyone gets respect from Giorno. Don’t abandon that so easily. Together, you can achieve the impossible.”
        “I didn’t abandon them. I’m just taking a break. We haven’t really had that chance to think about how we treated each other.” She could explain more about how it’s not healthy, about how this is good for them as a team, that they’ll maybe work through their problems and talk about things and come out of this stronger, but she’s not sure that she wants to say that in front of Severin, and Fugo doesn’t look like he understands anyway.
        “What did this ‘Giorno’ say about the mask?” Severin interrupts, and it seems like Fugo’s noticed, too. Then again, Severin’s stopped being as subtle, which is not a good sign. Either he’s stopped realizing he’s being more obvious, or he’s stopped caring.
        Fugo snaps, barely missing Severin with a dagger. He’s buried it in the wall behind Severin’s head, and is breathing hard. Montreux doesn’t move. He doesn’t even blink. Fugo looks away, trying to get his breathing back under control. He eventually tugs the dagger out of the wall and glances back toward the other man, anger still burning in his eyes but at a much lower level. “You said it was easy not to repeat your rude behavior, but you’re a liar.”
        For one long moment, Buffy wonders if her companion is going to even respond. He doesn’t seem like he’d even heard. Surreptitiously, Buffy readies herself to fight, because if it’s gone this far, he might be ready to make his move. But then Severin shakes his head, as if he’s coming out from a pool of water back to the world of dry reality.
        “Sometimes I get too focused on revenge, but that’s the past. I don’t live there, as much as I would love to be there again.” He glances back up with an apologetic smile. “It’s too easy to keep seeing it everywhere, in every situation, haunting every step I take. The truth, however painful, is that no one could have prevented her death, not even with knowledge. That no one is that perfect being I would wish into being. That no one is infallible, least of all me, and small mistakes now aren’t the end of the world.”
        That’s easy for him to say. If the Ascension is successful, it may well be the end of the world. No pressure, right? But he has a good enough point. There’s no use in throwing up their hands, insisting that they’ve already failed and there’s reason to try again, and then partying like there’s no tomorrow. “You need to stop thinking about the past and start thinking about the future. Because honestly? That’s where action, the doing of things that might be useful, comes in.”
        Montreux nods gratefully, and even Fugo seems a little pumped by her speech, if a little confused about her sentence construction, which is great. Good to know she’s still got the Leader Pep Talk down. She’ll keep an eye out, still, be ready for the smiting style of judgment should it be needed.
        Fugo still opts to address her directly, rather than speaking to them both. “Don Giovanna just received news he thought should be relayed. Apparently, the vampires already handed off the mask before we’d even arrived. Representatives of Wolfram & Hart already picked it up, and transported it to an office in England. More Stand Users from one of our newest allies missed that one. Enemy Stand Users, like the one we encountered, were sent to clean up the scene.” He bows, getting her to crack a smile. “Unfortunately, I’m needed elsewhere. It seems we’ve started a war.” He trails off into more Italian that is likely not complimentary.
        “You can’t stay and help us retrieve the Mask?” Severin asks, and…well, at least he’s asking and sounds vaguely humble and isn’t ordering, or she’s not sure Fugo would manage to miss next time.
        “Unfortunately not, given that the exact location hasn’t been discovered yet. They kept detailed files, but deciphering them will take time. No doubt the Don will contact you when that is done.” He glances back at Buffy. “Are you sure neither of you want to come with me?” It’s as close as he’s going to get to ‘do you know what you’re doing?’
        She’s tempted to glance at Severin, but she already knows her answer. “I think we have to have another discussion about strategy before we can make that kind of decision.” ‘Trust me, even if you don’t trust him.’
        “We’ve just been going in circles. I’d rather the enemy be reacting to us,” Severin agrees, and after another searching look Fugo nods and leaves.