16547/Dark Willow: Steps taken.

Dark Willow: Steps taken.
Date of Scene:	24 September 2024
Location:	Harry Dresden's Office, Kingston Falls
Synopsis:	Plans on how to deal with the potential disaster that is Willow's dark persona.
Cast of Characters:	Harry Dresden, Phantasm (Drago)
Tinyplot:	Dark Willow

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Harry Dresden has posed:
Sitting at his desk, Harry scowls at papers. He has a scrying map set up with various things around it. Most of the items appear to belong to a woman. There is no sign of Mouse or Mister that is obvious.

His blasting rod rests on the desk and his walking staff just behind him. Agitation is clear on his features and he mutters to himself.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
And what better way to improve the mood of someone furiously focusing than interrupting them? Surely that'll go over well. Well, be it helpful or not, Harry is presented an opportunity to take a break from the task at hand with the sound of a hand knocking on the door to the office.

As for the offending party, it is none other than Nick Drago! Rockstar. Actor. Phantasm, Spell writer and friend to Scoobies with the occasional call in when the things that go bump in the night are extra noisy!

Harry Dresden has posed:
Harry glances up at the door. He studies the window and then the wards open,"Come." he more or less barks at the door. He starts placing the papers into folders. Not that there is anything terribly sensitive so much as he is done with them.

A half a bottle of Mac home brew sits on his desk. Absently he picks it up and takes a drink of it, waiting for Nick to enter.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
With the invite to come in, Nick lowers his hand to the handle to let himself in. "Hey Harry." Nick greets, pausing after he gets to the other side of the threshold to close the door behind him.

Pale eyes look over to the seated Wizard, the open beer, and then the closed folders that remain on top, "Hope I didn't interrupt anything important." He takes a step from the door, orienting himself to face the desk. "It's... been awhile. So, thought I'd swing by next time I was in town."

Harry Dresden has posed:
Harry grunts and motions the man to take a seat if he wants,"Hell Nick. It has been a while." he agrees and puts things aside so the two can talk. He takes another drink and adds,"Nothing I am being paid for no." he replies.

He leans back in his chair a little,"I don't know if you've seen Willow for a while, but she's...not herself. I can't see what it is happening, but be very careful around her. I don't want to say she is dangerous, but uncertainty can be deadly."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Giving a nod, Nick moves over to the indicated seat, pausing as he hears Willow's name. "Well-"

Nick starts to sit down, "...It's been even longer since I last saw her. But- I'll keep the 'not herself' thing in mind should I run into her again."

The musician frowns slightly, "Is it like the memory loss thing with Buffy or the body swap thing?"

Harry Dresden has posed:
A shake of his head and Harry replies,"I don't think so. I think this is something inside her." he finally admits,"Something I should have seen, Hell I did see and didn't want to accept it."

Looking around the room,"Empty here now. I have Bob in the hands of someone who is on the move and not even in the country. Mouse isn't far from them. Even Mister has taken up residence somewhere else incase she comes back with ill intent."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick's brows raise as Harry lists off those that are more or less in hiding just in case Willow shows up. "THAT bad?" Nick asks, not really expecting an answer to that. He brings up a hand to pinch the bridge of the nose. "...Is this like a bad reaction to the news about the hit list or some other triggering event?"

Harry Dresden has posed:
"Two of the Knights of the Cross were here. I shrouded the conversation and eveyone when it different directions." he tells Nick,"The carrier and I are the only ones who know for sure who has Bob."

A shrug and he admits,"It might have helped tip things. Might not. It was building, but like any breaking point there has to be an impact. I think it was more. Maybe they damed book. I should have burned that thing the first time I saw it."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick nods, thinking back to the last few times he saw Willow. "...Considering the amount of weird shit we all encounter, it's probably going to be hard to pinpoint all the things that contributed if this was building... Did she ever tell you about the time traveling thing?"

Harry Dresden has posed:
"Weird is relative." he mutters and finishes the brew. He gets up, walks to the ice box, retrieves two more, places one before Nick and then moves to sit again,"Tell Mac I have it cold at your own peril." he mutters.

He opens the bottle and shakes his head,"She mentioned going off planet, but nothing about time travel that I recall." he admits,"As for the tipping point, yes it will be difficult to figure out what it was."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"And lose out on the potential for free drinks next time I visit?" Nick asks, taking the offered bottle and opening it.

"...Well, the time travel thing was finding a magic coin that was part of a set. And it ended up transporting three of us to France. 1400s...ish. I think. Main reason I even thought about it was that we had to rescue a woman falsely accused of witchcraft from getting burned at the stake."

He takes a sip, letting potential questions formulate before he contines. "...It was actually her aunt that was the witch. Same house. Wrong person. But that was a few years ago."

A finger taps the side of the bottle in thought, "Not sure what the off planet thing was for her. My times out were dealing with The Brood and helping Tony Stark destroy some of his property."

Harry Dresden has posed:
A nod of approval and Harry takes a drink of the new brew. A sigh and he adds,"I hadn't heard about that no. Going into the past. Apparently she went to Apocalypse to save Superman as I understand it. She's always been powerful, but she just didn't see it and now I think she's getting it in all the wrong reasons."

He considers Nick's comments about off planet and shakes his head,"In space would probably be fatal for me and everyone with me. The power I carry burns out a television, imagine what it would do to a space craft. Not saying I haven't left the planet, just not in the way you might think."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick considers the possibility without space travel. "...Did you cross through via portal?" He wonders aloud, "...Or take a short cut through one of the side dimensions?"

Harry Dresden has posed:
"I travel through the Way Between Worlds. The Never Never. Fae country. I don't advise trying it if you don't have someone to show you the way." he tells Nick seriously,"Imagine all the wild fantasy and cryptid creatures you ever heard of. Some are there and some are worse."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"Ah. Well. I do travel through dreams, not all human ones so- I've seen a lot." Nick admits, "But... Unless the Never Never is another name for Otherworld, the Nexus, or is a variation of a dream realm... I don't have the intention of hopping in on my own."

He pauses. "...Then again I never thought I'd walk into Hell but I did that too. So I'll just make no promises."

Harry Dresden has posed:
He nods and considers. Everyone has a name for things. The idea of Nick travelling dreams causes him to raise a brow,"Anyone's dreams? Any time?" he asks seriously. The gears are spinning,"Safe to you and the other person I am assuming."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick is quiet for a bit.

A long bit. The musician glances to the bottle. "Save for the strongest of minds who don't wish it. Yes. But it is good to take a rest every so often... But, as for safety-"

Nick takes a moment to have another pull of his beer.

"...Just as you say there are those that reside in the Never Never. There are also those that reside in dreams. There are worlds that were formed with the collective dreams of many, and those have a type of permanence to them as a result. Wonderland... Avalon...The Dreaming. The residents there are long lived. And they have minds of their own."

Harry Dresden has posed:
Harry's turn to be quiet. He takes a drink again and finally nods,"All right. I figured it would have risks. Is it possible to find someone sleeping without entering the dream and exposing yourself?"

He looks at the scrying circle and shakes his head,"Whatever she is doing, she is powerful enough to just appear pretty much everywhere. I haven't been able to narrow it down. I don't want you to risk yourself at the moment, but I have a bad feeling she about to do something...drastic."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"You mean dream sight?" Nick asks. "Well, that is a phantasm ability- but I haven't quite gotten to that point yet. I can...tell where the dreams are to hop into them but I still would have to hop in to see what the dream was about. My uncle could but he's in Ireland. And there's this distance rule when not on the Isle."

Nick frowns at not being able to offer a direct solution. If there was just-

"...actually-"
Nick lowers the bottle, "There are some options. One of my in-laws is one of the strongest telepaths i-"

Tone it back Nick.

"-around. And he has worked with Buffy and Faith once or twice before. And if not, we could probably, sort of ask Millie if she's got some info on where Willow's been recently."

Harry Dresden has posed:
Taking another drink, Harry nods and admits,"I knew it was a long shot." he mentions about the dream sight,"I don't think we're quite to that point, but it's fast approaching."

Listening to the alternative idea, Harry strokes his jaw thoughtfully,"Telepath. Not a bad idea." he muses,"I am guessing you trust said in law. Hesitance makes me pause." he adds,"I don't know who Millie is so I can't comment on that."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"I trust him to either recognize a mutual desire for Willow to not be all dark side and offer assistance in finding her, him to politely decline, or for him to give a recommendation to another telepath he knows of to fill in for the job." Nick replies, "But he's been there for me several times. So... Uh, as for the hesitance, that's more in not going overboard with the accolades."

The finger taps along the side of the bottleneck once more. "Millie is...a mirror."

Harry Dresden has posed:
"All right." Harry replies,"Things are a bit...skewed right now. I have a hard time trusting people on a good day and this is not one of them." he admits.

He takes a drink again, finishing the brew, and tosses the bottle into the trash. Looking at a clock he shakes his head,"I need to meet with Molly for a bit. Hard to make phone calls when then phone doesn't survive my presence. Anything else?"

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"Well, I kind of got sidetracked with the Willow talk but...I came over wondering if you guys had any problems from the hit list thing. But I think I got an answer with the Willow situation"

Nick takes a moment to tilt his head back, downing the remainder of the contents of the bottle given to him. Waste not, want not after all.

The rocker stands, walking over to put his empty into the same bin. "I'd say call me but-yeah... Guess, have Thomas call me if you'd like to try the telepath or mirror route."

Harry Dresden has posed:
"Not so far." he replies in regards of the hit list thing,"Granted it is about like an injury. A worse one makes you forget about a minor one." he explains. With that he gets up and gets his duster from his coat rack.

Into the pocket goes his .357 magnum. His blasting rod hangs inside the coat. Muttering softly, the sigils written on the duster glow to life and the protection sets. Lastly he takes his walking staff to hand.

He motions to the door and leads Nick out and locks it behind them. A wave of his hand and a mutter of magic words and the wards move back into position. Offering a wave, Harry walks into the waiting evening. Rounding a corner down an alley way, he vanishes from sight. A moment later there is a flash of magic energy that leaves little doubt he is no longer in the alley.