Dragon Ascendant
A Virtual Buffy "Webisode"
Buffy's dangerous cat and mouse game with the Immortal is complicated by two jealous exes. Meanwhile, Dawn returns to a "rebuilt" Sunnydale High for information from the new librarian.
First, the obvious disclaimers: This is a work of fan fiction, which by definition is written by a fan. The characters and world portrayed herein are the creations and intellectual property of Joss Whedon and his associates at Mutant Enemy. They are also the actual property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and Fox. I am using these characters without permission for nothing more than my enjoyment and hopefully the enjoyment of others.
Second, this story is a sequel to the following "webisodes", listed in order: Daughters of Caliban, One Less Martyr, Primitive, and These Are Your Lives. It would be helpful for the reader to read these stories first, but of course, I will be appreciative of anyone who simply reads this one and (hopefully) finds it enjoyable.
This is my version of a virtual season 8 that is based on my imaginings of what was going on with the Buffy crew during the excellent season 5 of Angel. With the official Dark Horse and IDW comic book series for Buffy and Angel, this storyline is pretty much moot, but, I thought I would finish it out.
With that in mind, here are some useful tidbits that might help to orient you to what is happening.
Buffy is the reincarnation of the original slayer, the Primitive. The Primitive was created not by the "Shadow Men", but by the mating between a "higher being" and a man from a now extinct species of humanity. The Shadow Men murdered the Primitive, stole her power, and infected a hapless young girl with a portion of the Primitive's power (thus creating the first "called" slayer). When other slayers die, Buffy feels their deaths, and their power "returns" to her. Buffy is now much, much stronger than she used to be.
Dawn, it turns out, was a potential after all; but not just a potential slayer. She is now simultaneously a slayer, a witch, and a watcher. She can acquire any language she is exposed to, living or dead, effortlessly. In other words, as a result of Willow's activation spell Dawn has become the ultimate polymath: She can become whatever she wants to be.
Willow's powers have continued to increase. She is becoming a Goddess (much to her distress), and if that weren't enough, she is also the world's newest tech billionaire.
Xander became a millionaire when an outfit known as Sunset Development purchased all of his old Sunnydale contracts. Recently, he won the "All –Seeing" Eye of Odin through a trial of courage and resourcefulness. He can not see through the eye, but the eye can tell him what it sees if he asks it the right questions. Sometimes the eye tells him things he really doesn't want to know.
Giles runs the new Watcher's Council. He has a girlfriend, a 45 year old slayer (and mother of two other slayers) named Lyssa McGrath. Lyssa McGrath's oldest daughter, Karyn, was one of the former potentials in the Battle of the Hellmouth, and is Dawn's best friend. Lyssa's younger daughter, Caitlyn, was the little girl at bat during the softball game at the end of "Chosen".
Faith turned herself in to the authorities after the Battle of the Hellmouth. However, Buffy pulled strings to get her in with the Initiative as an alternative sentence. She is already one of Riley Finn's most trusted agents. She is also engaged to Robin Wood.
Riley Finn is not only a soldier/spy and Faith's boss; he is now a wizard. Really.
The original Watcher's Council was evil. Its mission was to use slayers to protect the seeds of a new Hell on Earth by thwarting invasions from other hells. The original Watcher's Council was a sister organization to Wolfram and Hart and the Circle of the Black Thorn. The Shadow Men, a.k.a. the Wolf, the Ram, and the Hart, and their minions, are this season's Big Bad.
The same apocalyptic prophecies that predict a pivotal role for the "vampire with a soul" also identify that the forces of Hell will be opposed by a female trinity; the Warrior, the Goddess, and the Adept (a.k.a., Buffy, Willow, and Dawn).
This "webisode" takes place simultaneously with the Angel episode "The Girl in Question", which originally aired on May 5, 2004.
Finally, this story is written in a present tense format that is designed to describe the action as one might see it on a television screen. In other words, I am really trying for a feel of a virtual television show. With all that in mind, here we go.
Note: As with the other "webisodes", this will be a longer and more detailed recap than what would really be seen on a television show. For those of you who have read the previous "webisode", about two months have passed.
Giles' voiceover: "Previously, on Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
Rio de Janeiro, by the smoking remains of the Slayer Academy, and the headquarters of the New Watcher's Council in Devonshire
Willow is standing by her land rover, in front of the still blazing rubble of the Rio Slayer Academy. She is speaking into a cell phone.
"We've had 6 slayers report in who were either out shopping or visiting their families," Willow says. "Other than them and Kennedy, though, we have to consider the other 72 slayers lost."
We then switch to Giles, who is standing in a large atrium. He is on a speaker phone. Surrounding him are several young watchers in training, including Andrew. Also standing among them is Caitlyn McGrath, Lyssa's 12 year old daughter (although she looks even younger). Caitlyn is among the youngest of the new slayers.
"Is there any chance that some of them survived the attack, and are buried under the rubble somewhere?" Giles asks.
Willow shakes her head sadly.
"You aren't seeing what I'm seeing, Giles," Willow says. "Nobody who was in the Academy could have possibly survived. It's a total loss."
The headquarters of the New Watcher's Council in Devonshire
Giles runs into a room and finds Willow, her hair and eyes black and her face lined with black veins, standing and looking at an enraged Kennedy standing over a sobbing Lucy Westenra (the fourth bride of Dracula).
"Good Lord," Giles whispers. "Willow?"
"It's OK, Giles," Dark Willow says. "I haven't gone over to the dark side again. I'm still in control. But considering what happened, what was done to us, I thought I'd unleash some of the badness on someone who deserved it."
Dark Willow then approaches and takes a sobbing Lucy by the hair and pulls her upright.
"My very good friend here lost the woman she loves just as they were about to begin a beautiful relationship," Dark Willow says. "And we've both lost people that we loved and felt responsible for. We're really, really pissed."
Dark Willow jerks her head towards Kennedy. Kennedy jams a wooden stake into Lucy's heart yet again. She turns grey, but as Kennedy removes the stake she once again turns back to normal.
"Kennedy and I can keep this up for a long time," Dark Willow says. "And when she gets tired? Ripper and I can get real creative."
Lucy turns to look at Giles. He has taken off his glasses and begun to polish them. His gaze is flat and dangerous.
"Now, Kennedy asked you a question, and I suggest you answer it," Dark Willow says. "Who or what burned down the Rio Academy?"
The Headquarters of the Circle of the Black Thorn:
Dracula is suspended upside down in chains over a flaming pit. Most of the flames are blue.
"Kennedy, Giles and I found out what destroyed the Rio Academy," we hear Willow say in a voice over.
"What was it?" Dawn asks, also in voice over.
Then, we see something absolutely huge emerge out of the pit. First a head emerges: A giant reptilian head. Then the wings emerge, and we realize what we are seeing.
Shall we begin your torture in earnest, Count? the Master of the Circle of the Black Thorn asks.
"It was a fire breathing dragon," we hear Willow say in voice over.
Devonshire, the headquarters of the New Watcher's Council
Giles and Andrew are standing next to each other in front of a damp stone wall, and behind and above them a wall torch flickers. They are obviously in a deep, damp stone cellar. Giles' expression is impassive, while Andrew's expression is one of horrified fascination. We hear a hideous scream of despair.
"So, why are Dracula and his brides so different from the other vampires?" Andrew asks. "Why can't they be killed?"
"Actually, they can be killed," Giles says. "They just don't stay dead. They always come back."
"Why?" Andrew asks.
"Because they aren't vampires, not really," Giles says. "They're living curses upon humanity."
"Living curses?" Andrew asks. "Really? Cool! I bet Dracula was cursed with an eternal thirst because he was so, so evil as Vlad the Impaler!"
Giles sighs and puts his thumb and forefinger to the bridge of his nose as if he is fighting off a terrible headache. The screaming is getting louder yet. There are the sounds of an increasing struggle. We hear a familiar voice curse and yell "Stay down and shut up, bitch!"
"Andrew," Giles says. "Vlad Tepes was killed in battle with the Turks, and his head was sent to the Sultan, who had it publicly displayed. That's why watchers like myself disregarded the Dracula story as the imaginings of a 19th century Irish author. Beheaded corpses do not become vampires. What we didn't realize is that there was another Dracula. The reason for the shared name, I now suspect, goes back to the etymological meaning of the name 'Dracula'."
As Giles speaks, our viewpoint shifts so that we see what he and Andrew are watching. Lucy Westenra is bound in garlic laden ropes and a cross is smoldering on her chest. The fourth bride of Dracula is hissing at the slayers who are forcing her into an open, chain draped coffin. The slayer doing most of the forcing is a very, very angry Kennedy.
As our view shifts back to Giles and Andrew, we see that the younger man, for once, is silent as he waits expectedly for Giles to finish his revelation.
"Dracul, dragon," Giles says. "The name 'Dracula' means son of the dragon."
The living room of Buffy's and Dawn's apartment in Rome.
Buffy and Dawn are sitting on the couch. The lights are low, and their faces are illuminated by the flickering light of a television screen. We hear low voices coming from the television. Alert and viewers familiar with old movies may recognize the bantering voices of William Powell and Myrna Loy from The Thin Man. There is a bowl of popcorn between them.
"I remember this movie," Buffy says.
"From when?" Dawn asks. "I don't remember seeing it."
"From the movie theater, when it first came out," Buffy replies.
Dawn hand, with a handful of popcorn, stops midway between the bowl and her mouth. She turns and looks at her sister with a serious expression.
"Obviously, you weren't Buffy at the time," Dawn says. "You were that girl in Germany. Sonnenblume, right?"
"That's right," Buffy says. "The movie was dubbed in German. I'd forgotten that."
Buffy turns and looks at Dawn, her expression matching her sister's seriousness.
"I'm not who I used to be Dawn," Buffy says.
"Because you now remember who you were," Dawn says.
"Yeah," Buffy says. "I mean, those women weren't me, and I'm not them, but I was them, y'know? It's like, I'm Buffy, but I'm also this ancient, immortal being who has lived over three hundred lives. And, I'm back to being the 'one girl in all the world'. I mean, let's face it, I am never, ever going to have a normal life, in this one or any life to come."
"Did you ever think you would, even after the other girls were called?' Dawn asks.
"Maybe not, but I was thinking maybe I could have a life beyond averting the next apocalypse, y'know? Take vacations now and then. Punch in a time clock and work in shifts with the other slayers. Maybe even settle down with someone…even had someone in mind, if I could've gotten him to notice me like he used to."
Dawn looks very uncomfortable upon hearing her sister's words. Buffy doesn't seem to notice.
"I mean, what kind of guy am I ever going to find now?" Buffy says. "Where's a guy who can understand someone with centuries of memories. And don't even mention Angel or Spike. I'm done with that."
Somewhere in Rome
A handsome, young looking man is being attacked by six vampires in a winding Rome alley. Suddenly, Buffy drops among them and in rapid succession stakes four of the vampires.
"Back off, slayer!" one of the remaining vampires, a formidable looking one standing over six feet tall and probably weighing around 250 pounds. He speaks with a German accent. "Or I tear this boy's head off!"
The "boy" then throws the large vampire over his shoulder. Before the large vampire can even sit up, Buffy stakes him. The last vampire, who is even larger than his companion, implodes into dust after the young man pulls a wooden stake out of his jacket pocket and stabs the vamp in the heart.
"Uhm, it looks like you were already prepared for vampire pests Mr…." Buffy says.
The young man, who very sharp eyed viewers would recognize as the Romance cover man Buffy rescued in "Once More with Feeling", smiles, takes Buffy's hand, and kisses it.
"Immortal," the man says. "I simply go by the name of The Immortal."
Venice
Willow, Xander, and Buffy are riding in a Gondola.
"OK," Xander says to Buffy. "Isn't it my job to be suspicious of your new boyfriends?"
"I just want you to give him the old 'Odin eye'," Buffy says. "I mean a guy who calls himself the Immortal just happens to be out for a stroll and just happens to be attacked by a pack of vampires? And I swear, the whole thing gave me a major feeling of wiggie deja vu."
"Yep, it's a suspicious coincidence Mr. Immortal Wonderful just happened to cross your path," Xander says. "On the other hand, Dawn knew about the guy as soon as you moved to Rome and had Willow check him out. Right Will?"
"Yeah," Willow says. "Did a deep search on him, and from everything I've found he's not necessarily a good guy, but he's not really a bad guy either. He's like the Switzerland of the supernatural set."
"Maybe he's just curious," Xander says.
"And he's just what you've been looking for," Willow says. "Talk about a perfect fit for your new dating profile."
"New dating profile?" Xander says. "What new dating profile? Why wasn't I consulted for this new 'dating profile' (so saying, Xander makes quotation marks with his hands)?"
"Hush sweetie," Willow says. "This is a girl thing."
"But you're into girls," Xander protests. "That makes you like one of the guys. Why would she confide in a guy like you and not a guy like me?"
Willow shakes her head sadly while Buffy gives Xander an odd look.
"That's not really how it works, Xander," Willow says. "I may like other girls, but I'm still a girl, so I'm still the only one qualified to be the girlie BFF here."
"You're right Willow, he's exactly what I was looking for," Buffy says, her serious expression and tone stopping the banter between Xander and Willow. "That's the problem. He's just a little too perfect a fit for me since my little past lives memory regression exercise.
"So please, Xan, come on up to Rome and give him the once over for me, OK? For me and my own peace of mind?"
"Fine," Xander says. "Even though I do not get the girlie details of your love life, for you I and my eye will search for the turd in the punchbowl of your lovelife."
Willow says "Gyugh!"
Buffy squeezes her eyes shut as if trying to shut out something very unpleasant.
"Ewwwwww!" Buffy says. "Never, ever use that analogy again."
Buffy's and Dawn's apartment in Rome
Dawn is sitting in front of a computer screen. Willow and Buffy are looking over her shoulder.
"The column to the left is my translation from the Sumerian," Dawn says. "That was easy."
Behind Dawn, Willow and Buffy give each other yeah right looks.
"But the column on the right is my translation from the ?'krevlonian, and that was hard," Dawn says. "I could use the Sumerian to figure most of it out, but there were passages in the ?'krevlonian that appear to have been lost by the time the Sumerian translation was written, and this was a language that hadn't been spoken in 30,000 years. I really had to go back to some other ?'krevlonian documents that had been translated into languages I know, and they weren't easy to find."
"But you finally figured it out…" Buffy says.
"Well, yeah," Dawn says. "At least I think I did."
"So what did you find?" Willow asks.
"Confirmation that we are the female trinity, I think," Dawn says.
"I thought we'd pretty well already established that," Buffy says.
"Well yeah," Dawn says. "But this pretty much removes all doubt, if I did the translation right."
Willow and Buffy look at each other.
"So what's it say, Dawnie?" Willow asks.
"Hey," Buffy says. "How come she can call you Dawnie and I can't?"
"Because she's not an annoying older sister who was found in a box of howler monkeys," Dawn says. "The passages say that on the eve of the apocalypse, the Goddess will call the Warrior and the Adept to stand at her side."
"So, it's talking about the activation spell," Buffy says.
"That's what it looks like," Dawn says.
"But…but…that was Buffy's idea!" Willow says. "Maybe she's the Goddess!"
"It may have been my idea, but you're the one who did it, Will," Buffy says. "Besides, you're the most powerful of the three of us, so of course you would be the Goddess."
"Maybe before, but not now!" Willow says, her voice actually starting to sound a little desperate. "I mean, Dawn knows just about everything and you are now strong enough to leap tall buildings and beat up locomotives. I bet you guys could take me! I still say Buffy's the Goddess."
"Uhm, Willow," Dawn says. "The passage says something else."
Willow turns and looks at Dawn.
"What?" she asks in a small voice.
"It says that the Goddess will call the sisters, the Warrior and the Adept, to stand by her side."
Willow's New York loft
Buffy and Willow are sitting at a table eating. Behind them, a huge window looks out at the New York skyline. It is night.
"I'm seeing someone," Willow says.
"Really?" Buffy exclaims happily. "That's great Will! Who is she? Is she hot?"
"Not that kind of someone," Willow says. "I'm seeing a shrink. The Devonshire Coven recommended her. She's also a witch, so I can talk to her freely. I had Xander check her out, you know, after the mess with Althea. She's smart and nice and she's helping me a lot with working out the issues on this whole 'Goddess' thing."
Willow pauses for a moment.
"And yeah, she is kinda hot," Willow says.
The New York office of Dr. Lilith Stevens
Dr. Stevens is a lovely woman with almost black hair and a dark complexion. She looks to be in her late twenties or early thirties.
"Well, Willow," she says. "I have considered everything you have said and I think your problem is one of lack of acceptance."
"Of what?" Willow asks.
"Of coming to terms with your becoming a Goddess," Dr. Stevens says. "Because let's look at the facts. You have engaged in the darkest and the lightest of magicks, you have brought someone back from the dead. Twice."
"What?" Willow exclaims. "You know about Miss Kitty Fantastico? I didn't say anything to you about that."
"No," Dr. Stevens says. "But it's hard to miss a spell of that magnitude being cast. And she is making that refuge family very happy."
Dr. Stevens leans forward.
"Willow," she says. "Once you start operating at a certain power level, the power starts to change you. It has to so that you are able to contain it. You have no say about it. The power and the physical ability to contain it have become part of your nature. You are now divine. You are a Goddess. That's just who you are, who you have become."
"No!" Willow exclaims, standing up. "I can't be a Goddess. Look at what I almost did. I almost destroyed all life on Earth in a tantrum!"
"Willow," Dr. Stevens says. "You've come a long way since then."
"And then there's my family," Willow says. "My mom and dad, they're pretty much what you call secular Jews, but my Great Uncle Abraham?"
"The rabbi, right?" Dr. Stevens says.
"Yeah," Willow says. "I mean, he's had enough trouble with my being a lesbian and a witch. If he finds out I am now a Goddess, that will be the last straw!"
So saying, Willow makes a cutting motion with her right hand.
"Willow, look at me," Dr. Stevens says.
Willow turns and looks, and her eyes and mouth go wide. Our viewpoint switches to Dr. Stevens, who is now standing up herself. Dr. Stevens looks different. She seems to glow, and her dark hair has a glossy shine that makes it look like black liquid. But most striking of all, there is a glowing third eye floating just in front of her forehead, and two other, semi-transparent images of Dr. Stevens standing and looking out at right angles from the solid Dr. Stevens.
Our viewpoint moves back to encompass both Dr. Stevens and Willow. Willow's own hair is turning white, and her eyes are starting to glow blue.
Willow falls to her knees.
"Hecate!" she cries. "You're the great goddess Hecate!"
'How else did you think I understood what was happening to you?" Hecate a.k.a. Dr. Stevens says. "And please get up. It's bad form for one Goddess to be kneeling to another one.
"Although you know, you do look kind of hot down there."
Buffy and Dawn's apartment in Rome
Buffy, Dawn, Karyn McGrath, and Willow are sitting in front of the TV, sharing popcorn and watching a movie. Willow's hair is back to its customary red, but if you look closely you will pick up some small white streaks. The light flickers on their faces. In the background, we again hear the voices of William Powell and Myrna Loy, this time Thin Man fans might recognize dialogue from the third Thin Man movie, Another Thin Man.
"Xander gave my new beau the look over," Buffy says.
"And?" Willow asks. Dawn and Karyn continue to munch popcorn and watch the movie. They have obviously heard this before.
"The eye says simply that he's 'The Immortal'," Buffy says, frustration creeping into her voice. "Basically, that's what everyone else in Rome says: 'He's The Immortal', like that says it all."
"Huh," Willow says. "Maybe it does. He simply is what he is. You know, like a god or something."
"Everyone has an agenda, and I am gonna find out his," Buffy says. "And in the meantime, while I am figuring him out, the sex is the best I've ever had."
"Hey, little sister in the room," Dawn says. "Do I have to hear about that?"
"I don't mind," Karyn says. "But then, my little sister isn't in the room."
"He's important, and he has a role in the upcoming fight," Buffy says, ignoring Dawn's and Karyn's comments. "I can sense it."
"That's not all you're sensing," Dawn says.
"Why don't you just leave?" Buffy asks her sister, her voice exasperated.
"'cause we're the one watching the movie," Dawn says. "You two are the ones gabbing about your sex life."
"Y'know, I'm seeing someone," Willow says.
"You're not talking about your shrink this time, are you?" Buffy asks.
"Well, yeah, I am," Willow says. "Except she isn't my shrink anymore."
"Willow!" Buffy, Karyn, and Dawn exclaim together.
"Let's go," Dawn says to Karyn as she starts to get up.
"I'm not going anywhere," Karyn says. "This is waaay juicy."
Buffy ignores them as she looks at Willow.
"Well, you said she was 'kinda hot'," Buffy says.
"Actually, she's way hot," Willow says. "And she matches a dating profile that I didn't even know I had."
Buffy and Dawn's apartment
Dawn and Xander are sitting next to each other on the couch eating Chinese food. Xander looks a little uncomfortable.
"Something just isn't right," Dawn says. "I mean, what makes me the Adept?"
Xander turns and looks at Dawn.
"The Eye just says that's who you are," Xander says.
Dawn turns and kisses Xander quickly on the lips.
"Hey! Hey!" Xander exclaims. "Two more months! None of that for two more months!"
"Less now," Dawn says, looking into Xander's eyes and smiling.
"Still, not yet!" Xander says. "Not until you're eighteen. We agreed!"
"OK," Dawn says, turning back and taking another mouthful of noodles. She chews, her expression thoughtful.
Suddenly, her eyes widen.
"Wait a minute," she says after a hasty swallow. "I have another question for your eye."
Dawn turns and looks at Xander.
"Ask it if Dawn Summers is the Key's first human incarnation," Dawn says.
Xander stops, then his eyes widen in evident surprise.
"The Eye says no," Xander says. "There was another."
"I knew it!" Dawn exclaims as she stands up. "Come on!"
"Where are we going?" Xander asks.
"Home," Dawn replies.