The Grand Scheme

[madimpossibledreamer]

Main Points:
Buffy/Devil May Cry
Chapter Summary: Xander has a plan.
Word Count: 640
Rating: Teen

          “It is highly irresponsible for you to be promising anything to the family at this time,” Morris hisses, following closer than Xander’s comfortable, particularly with Ari attached to him again.
          “Are we moving them to a storehouse?” he asks above the whining, trying to get Alisha’s attention.
          “You riding along?” she responds—they’ll definitely need to split up again if everyone’s going.
          He thinks, then nods.  “Yeah, why not?”
          “There’s nothing sure about this, even if there’s hope—” Morris starts again, and he turns, sharp as Kryvi on his back.
          “Those bastards aren’t getting their claws on the little lioness, and if anyone can pull off a miracle it’s my team.  I don’t care who you are, if you get in the way, you’re part of the problem.  Now, are you going to do something useful, or are you going to just keep doing irrelevant things like judging how I run my show instead of doing all you can to make sure that doesn’t happen?”
          While he stands there, gobsmacked, he pulls Buffy aside.  “Can you stick with your mom for a bit, Ari?  I’ve got something to talk to my friend about.”
          “Okay,” she replies, pouting.
          “He’s trying for full custody,” Buffy starts telling him, and he waves that off.
          “I got the gist.  Here’s what I need you to do.  I need you to see our friends the Wellingtons again and see if their uncle’s pro bono nonprofit would be willing to help.  I need you to get Willow to look up the cult.  I need you to ask Giles if he can think of a spell to keep her in the moment and out of the cult mindset, and make sure to tell him I have absolute faith in his skills.”  He pauses and quirks a smile.  “Of course, the same goes for you.”
          She tries to catch up with that.  “…Okay.  And what will you be doing?”
          “Playing bodyguard.  Pretty sure Kryvi’s got something relevant he can do.  And the hardest phone call, of course.  I’d leave it to you, but he’d hang up on you.”  He’s focused, and from a little experimentation he’s pretty sure she can tell (though it’s not her strongest suit).  She nods.
          “I’ll drive you,” Alisha suggests.
          “You’re coming with us?”  Morris seems on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
          “Do you want to be the one to use the crowbar on the little lioness and then explain to her?”  As if summoned, Ari appears on cue, grabbing his hand in the adorable death-grip she’s got.  The glare isn’t intimidating at all until you think about what would follow if she doesn’t get her way.  Sneaky little thing.  “Because I’m not doing that.”
          “I wouldn’t mind having another person on security detail, and Dowell already hired him.”  Hiedler, the voice of reason.
          “I want him here,” Jane adds, and Morris glares but stomps to the vehicle.
          Yo, Kryvi.
          Yes, Master?, the vampiric ghost responds, not manifesting (the last thing they need is the ignorant cops seeing a ghost in the backseat even as he balances the sword again).
          Mind Hijack worked wonders last time, but it won’t be so useful if we get a whole herd of them at once.  This time I’m thinking—you’ve worked on that Fang Drain thing, right?
          He can feel the approval.  Clever, the spirit purrs.  Goes with th’ whole vampire aesthetic, yeah?  Could push it further.
          Because ‘your Honor, a sword drank my blood’ or even ‘a sword drank my energy’ isn’t a thing in those courts.  He shouldn’t be feeling this satisfaction, he knows.  They haven’t started putting their plan into effect yet, and no plan survives contact with the enemy anyway.  But just like in battle, there’s a thrill in losing the doubt and exploding into motion, having action and a plan.