A/N: So... my first ever crossover story. I'm excited, nervous, and a little bit stressed over how this will be received. So I'll go ahead and hand out this warning now: This story will be SLOW GOING. I don't want to cut out anything that I feel is pertinent to it, I don't want to build the plot up too quick, and honestly, I'm thoroughly enjoying writing this. I have somewhere around 20k words written, and I write three times a week, and usually do a section or two.
Some parts are going to be long, others are going to be short. It depends on what I feel I should post with stuff. But I have no real plot in my head yet, I'm just kind of winging it with it. I'm hoping I get the characters write because even though I'm a Buffy and Doctor Who fanatic, I'm not sure if they'll come across right. This is why I'm declaring this story AU. It takes place in the same universe, but yet at the same time... it's different. The characters may act OOC sometimes, although I'm going to try really hard to stick to them and how they would react. Either way, I hope you enjoy!
The Transgression of a Misunderstanding
By BloodAsMyInk
Prologue
London, England
A soft humming could be heard throughout the room as a group of people sat in a circle upon bamboo mats, their legs folded to where their feet rested upon their thighs. To describe it as a room would be a travesty though, as it was not so much a room as a makeshift forest contained in a large circular room with skylights as the ceiling.
Much like a greenhouse, except the plants grew wild about them, the trees curving to the contour of the dome ceiling. Lush forest like blossomed about them as they sat in a circular clearing in the center of the contained wildlife.
A large gem sat in the middle of the circle with various incenses lit and burning around it, the smoke from them creating a kind of cloudy mist in the center of the group. The haze rose from the incense to create a dense cloud across the ceiling of the room they sat in. All sat with their eyes closed, and their faces were relaxed to a point where it seemed almost as if they were asleep. If it were not the humming that they did in chorus with one another, they could have been mistaken as sleeping.
But instead, they were very much awake, and very much aware of their surroundings. A small amount of time slipped by and the humming slowly receded to where only silence was left in the room. As the silence began to stretch on to where it seemed as if it would last forever, one man opened his eyes and stared around at the group of people with him. His light greenish gray eyes observed all of those sitting around him before he spoke, his English accent heavy as he asked, "Let us begin with Anita, what did you see and feel?"
A petite female opened her eyes and stared at the swirling cloud of grayish smoke that hung in the air before them. Her emerald green eyes were glazed over as she began to speak in a monotone voice to begin with, "I saw the world around us, moving it at a pace far faster than it should. They are too busy to notice anything significant that is occurring around them. They do not feel the moan of the earth as they drain her; they do not hear the cries of pain. I felt her pain, the slow aching movements of an elderly woman, but yet it is a woman that is not as old as she feels. She aches and groans because of what we do to her. We are aging her quicker than we should be."
Her face contorted into an angry expression as her voice rose with tones of anger. "I felt her anger at how they mistreat her, and how little they do to try and prevent it, to try and help her to get better. She loathes them for ravaging her forests, her lakes, harming her creatures that can do nothing more than flee from them in terror at what they are capable of. But… she is also scared. She is scared that is not much longer for this world if they do not begin to treat her better. She is saddened that she cannot tell them how she feels, that she cannot reach out to them and show them what they are doing to her. It is beyond her power."
The room falls quiet once more as Anita voice suddenly stops and her eyes fall shut as she falls backward. She lands softly on the pillow that sits behind her and the man's green eyes are filled with sadness beyond his years as he nods and says beneath his breath, "Good job, Anita. You have communed with Gaea on a level that is hard to achieve." Looking around at the others that still sit poised, their faces relaxed and emotionless, their eyes shut, his eyes fall upon one certain person.
"Karma, tell us where your journey took you."
The next girl opens her eyes and her face immediately takes on one of confusion, and the man's attention is caught almost immediately. He tilts his head slightly as she seems to hesitate to speak, and his gray and silver shot hair shines beneath the dim lights. "I saw the destruction of something that threatened her very existence and every living thing on this planet at one time. The crater that mars her surface looks like a bleeding wound, but to her it is a scary from a victory for those who fight to save mankind, the animals, and the very life of the planet – even if they do not know it. I saw the faces of those who were lost and those that are remembered. I saw something that made me feel great confusion, and her to feel great happiness."
Her voice trails off but she does not seem to be done as she struggles to find the words to continue. The man has stood at this point, moving to pace along the outside of the circle of people as he waits for her to say something more. After a moment of her still being lost, he prompts her with, "What did you see that made you feel so confused, Karma? What was it?"
Karma's voice trembles as she says, "It was a sign. A simple sign with words written on it with red ink, and just a tad of black underneath one of the letters. It just said, 'I remember,' and it was placed by someone who brings her such comfort, such happiness, such peace. I do not know who this person is and it confuses me as to how someone who she will not identify can bring her such powerful emotions." Tears stream down Karma's voice as she says this. "She asks for someone to find this person, she beseeches us. She is crying out for whoever this person is and begging for him to save her. She says that he can only be found by the one who caused the crater, by the one directly responsible for it!"
The final ringing tones of her voice seem to echo in the room as she collapses to the ground, her breathing heavy and labored as if she has been running for too long. Her auburn tresses spill out across the pillow as the man kneels down beside her, reaching out to stroke her hair as he whispers, "You have done well, Karma. Do not be confused. We will answer her call for help." Letting his fingers drift through her locks once more, he pulls his hand back and stands up. He looks around at the people for a few moments before clapping his hands twice.
All of those that are still sitting open their eyes and glance around the room in confusion, their gazes coming to rest on the man as he takes his glasses off and cleans them with the white handkerchief he keeps in one of his pants pockets. "I apologize, but something has happened that must be addressed immediately. We will reconvene tomorrow at the same time and continue this practice. All of you will attend other than Anita and Karma who were able to speak of their journeys. I shall see you then."
Without waiting for good byes or questions, he turns on his heel and walks from the room. As he enters the hallway, he turns to the right and enters a room that is two doors down on the left. It is a small office, with nothing more than a bookshelf jammed full of books and a desk. The man reaches for the phone and quickly dials in a number. It rings twice before it is answered, and without allowing the other person to speak, he says, "Something has been found that should not be there at the place that is no longer there," before hanging up the phone and reaching up to rub one of his temples.