The Raising
folder
BtVS AU/AR › General
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
2
Views:
1,602
Reviews:
1
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
BtVS AU/AR › General
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
2
Views:
1,602
Reviews:
1
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BtVS), nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Part 2
Part 2
Darla lay, cowering, in the center of summoning circle, looking in fear at the three figures who surrounded her, and the infinitude of reflections of her naked body which stared back at her from the room’s mirrored walls.
Cautiously, Madelyn stepped into the summoning circle and placed her hand over Darla’s face, her fingertips lightly touching what suspiciously reminded Dawn of Star Trek katra points. “Souvenez,” the girl said, then stepped back out of the circle.
“Thank you, Madelyn,” Dawn said. “You too, Andrew. You can leave now.” They quickly exited, leaving Dawn alone with the naked woman.
“Hello, Darla,” Dawn said, keeping her voice gentle for the moment. “Do you know who I am?”
The woman shook her head.
“I’m Dawn Summers. Do you know what that means?”
“Her. The Slayer. You’re her sister.”
“My sister was a Slayer,” Dawn corrected. “Things have changed while you were dead, Darla. There’s no longer just one girl in a generation with the strength and skill to hunt the vampires. There are hundreds. Any single girl is expendable, easily defeated by her sister Slayers. Now the true power lies with the woman who commands the Slayers. With me.”
“You’re a Watcher.”
“No,” corrected Dawn. “I’m the Watcher.” She paused. “I know you may be confused. How much do you remember?”
“Everything,” the woman gasped. “Wolfram and Hart. Angelus. Our child.”
“And do you remember the people you killed, Darla?” Dawn asked, stepping forward and letting her voice grow colder. “The men, the women, the children? Do you remember the monsters you created? Angel? Elizabeth? James? Penn? Drusilla? Spike? Do you remember serving the Master, trying to bring hell to Earth? Do you remember attacking my mother?”
Dawn grabbed Darla by her hair, pulled the woman to her feet. Darla tried to resist, lashing out, but Dawn quickly twisted Darla’s arm behind her back.
“Don’t be a fool,” said Dawn. “You’re used to having demon strength and agility, to using your mouth as a weapon. All your instincts are wrong in a human body. Whereas I’m precisely trained to all my strengths and weaknesses.”
She dragged the woman over to one of the mirrored walls. “Look in the mirror, Darla,” she commanded. When the woman tried to look away, Dawn pulled her hair, hard, forcing her head up. Reluctantly, Darla stared into her eyes.
“That’s your face, Darla,” Dawn said. “It’s the face of the monster which did all those things. And now you have to look into the mirror and see your face and remember.” She let go of Darla, turning away from the woman but still watching her in the mirrors.
“Why am I here?” Darla asked. “Why’d you bring me back?”
Dawn smiled, but in the mirror she could see how absent of mirth the smile was. “Because we need you, Darla. The Order of Aurelius is fragmented, destroyed. The knowledge they once possessed has passed into oblivion. And yet the Tradescan Codex contains a reference to ‘the living blood of Aurelius.’ No one knows what it means. We need you to remember what once was.”
“Why not go to Angel?” The hatred in Darla’s voice was palpable, but so was the desperation.
“Angel is gone. As are Spike and Drusilla. We’ve been unable to locate them ever since a fateful night thirteen years ago. We don’t even know if they are still alive—well, undead. But you, we knew about you. You were dead. So you were available.”
“That’s what this is about? Information?”
“Yes and no,” answered Dawn. “For us, it’s about information, It’s about you using your abilities and knowledge for the good of the Watcher’s Council. It’s about having one more skilled operative in the field.” Dawn paused. “But for you, Darla, it’s about atonement.”
Darla laughed. “Now you sound like him.”
“You have a choice. I’m sure Angel told you that. You always have a choice. But I doubt he put the choice in such a clear perspective as I’m going to do.
“I can throw you into a cell, naked, where you subsist for months, insane, until you finally die of syphilis. Or you can work for us. You can begin your atonement. You can help the hopeless and begin to make up for what you did during your unlife. Our best healers will purge you of your disease.”
Darla stood in the center of the mirrored room for a moment, silent. Finally, she whispered, “Let me help.”
And Dawn led the woman who had once been the vampire Darla out of the Temple of Janus and into the moonlight of the English night.
Darla lay, cowering, in the center of summoning circle, looking in fear at the three figures who surrounded her, and the infinitude of reflections of her naked body which stared back at her from the room’s mirrored walls.
Cautiously, Madelyn stepped into the summoning circle and placed her hand over Darla’s face, her fingertips lightly touching what suspiciously reminded Dawn of Star Trek katra points. “Souvenez,” the girl said, then stepped back out of the circle.
“Thank you, Madelyn,” Dawn said. “You too, Andrew. You can leave now.” They quickly exited, leaving Dawn alone with the naked woman.
“Hello, Darla,” Dawn said, keeping her voice gentle for the moment. “Do you know who I am?”
The woman shook her head.
“I’m Dawn Summers. Do you know what that means?”
“Her. The Slayer. You’re her sister.”
“My sister was a Slayer,” Dawn corrected. “Things have changed while you were dead, Darla. There’s no longer just one girl in a generation with the strength and skill to hunt the vampires. There are hundreds. Any single girl is expendable, easily defeated by her sister Slayers. Now the true power lies with the woman who commands the Slayers. With me.”
“You’re a Watcher.”
“No,” corrected Dawn. “I’m the Watcher.” She paused. “I know you may be confused. How much do you remember?”
“Everything,” the woman gasped. “Wolfram and Hart. Angelus. Our child.”
“And do you remember the people you killed, Darla?” Dawn asked, stepping forward and letting her voice grow colder. “The men, the women, the children? Do you remember the monsters you created? Angel? Elizabeth? James? Penn? Drusilla? Spike? Do you remember serving the Master, trying to bring hell to Earth? Do you remember attacking my mother?”
Dawn grabbed Darla by her hair, pulled the woman to her feet. Darla tried to resist, lashing out, but Dawn quickly twisted Darla’s arm behind her back.
“Don’t be a fool,” said Dawn. “You’re used to having demon strength and agility, to using your mouth as a weapon. All your instincts are wrong in a human body. Whereas I’m precisely trained to all my strengths and weaknesses.”
She dragged the woman over to one of the mirrored walls. “Look in the mirror, Darla,” she commanded. When the woman tried to look away, Dawn pulled her hair, hard, forcing her head up. Reluctantly, Darla stared into her eyes.
“That’s your face, Darla,” Dawn said. “It’s the face of the monster which did all those things. And now you have to look into the mirror and see your face and remember.” She let go of Darla, turning away from the woman but still watching her in the mirrors.
“Why am I here?” Darla asked. “Why’d you bring me back?”
Dawn smiled, but in the mirror she could see how absent of mirth the smile was. “Because we need you, Darla. The Order of Aurelius is fragmented, destroyed. The knowledge they once possessed has passed into oblivion. And yet the Tradescan Codex contains a reference to ‘the living blood of Aurelius.’ No one knows what it means. We need you to remember what once was.”
“Why not go to Angel?” The hatred in Darla’s voice was palpable, but so was the desperation.
“Angel is gone. As are Spike and Drusilla. We’ve been unable to locate them ever since a fateful night thirteen years ago. We don’t even know if they are still alive—well, undead. But you, we knew about you. You were dead. So you were available.”
“That’s what this is about? Information?”
“Yes and no,” answered Dawn. “For us, it’s about information, It’s about you using your abilities and knowledge for the good of the Watcher’s Council. It’s about having one more skilled operative in the field.” Dawn paused. “But for you, Darla, it’s about atonement.”
Darla laughed. “Now you sound like him.”
“You have a choice. I’m sure Angel told you that. You always have a choice. But I doubt he put the choice in such a clear perspective as I’m going to do.
“I can throw you into a cell, naked, where you subsist for months, insane, until you finally die of syphilis. Or you can work for us. You can begin your atonement. You can help the hopeless and begin to make up for what you did during your unlife. Our best healers will purge you of your disease.”
Darla stood in the center of the mirrored room for a moment, silent. Finally, she whispered, “Let me help.”
And Dawn led the woman who had once been the vampire Darla out of the Temple of Janus and into the moonlight of the English night.