Part Five: The Forgotten

May 2000

"How are you doing?"

"I'm fine."

"You're sure? I thought I heard some scurrying or something a couple hours ago. There might be a rat problem here."

"…not anymore."

That brought a smile to Darwin's lips in spite of the ache in his back from leaning up against the metal bars of his prison.

Not two minutes after K'Shahl fell from the cliff, Darwin and Emily found themselves surrounded by newly invigorated Watchers and Enforcers, all heavily armed. Unbelievably, they read them the same "rights" they had back at Philip's house and tossed them both into another section of cells until they could be "tried and sentenced before the Council".

Mercifully, they'd allowed a medic to come in and tend to Darwin's leg and other smaller injuries. But they refused to treat Emily so Darwin had to convince them to leave the medical supplies with him and he'd had to treat her awkwardly through the bars.

That was two weeks ago. Other than random food deliveries—to Darwin only—they hadn't heard anything.

"This is bloody ridiculous," Darwin complained and not for the first time. He'd be pacing, but his leg was still in enough pain to make that too uncomfortable a gesture. "We saved their lives and they're treating us like criminals."

"They're still rebuilding themselves," Emily said in a subdued voice. "Once they've figured everything out, they'll deal with us."

She was sitting on the floor behind him with her back against the bars. The sword wound had closed, but it was still very tender—she felt more comfortable when nothing was pressing against it. But she'd hardly slept all this time and what little food she'd managed to scrounge up wasn't doing her any benefit with all those injuries.

Darwin sighed, rubbing at the bridge of his nose against a migraine. "I never should've brought you here. The smart thing would have been to duck out in the middle of the day at one of the motels we stayed in along the way."

She let out a small laugh. "If you thought that would have been enough to keep me away, then you don't know me very well, Mr. Holtz."

"Stop calling me that. You shouldn't hold me in such high regards—for God sakes, Emily, you're four times my age."

"I know. It's just… I don't feel my age when I'm with you. It was like that with Zikomo as well—he had a way of making me feel just like a child. It's endearing from you, but infuriating from him."

He looked over his shoulder at her. Since they weren't completely back-to-back, he had an almost clear view of the side of her face despite the uneven locks of hair that threatened to obscure. Her hair had grown exponentially over the past two weeks; the longest sections were nearly halfway down her back already.

"I just can't help, but feel that you're going to die because you came here with me," he confessed. "Back in the States you said everyone you care about always dies. Well, the same could be said for me as well. And… and I doubt I can survive it happening again."

Emily glanced across at him, but he wouldn't meet her eyes so she turned back to stare at the walls of her own prison.

"I ended up at Zikomo's shrine purely by accident. I stumbled across his granddaughter, Seiko, fleeing from a vampire. I'd never fought one of my own kind before, but I couldn't simply let the girl die. It was fairly embarrassing, looking back, but by some miracle, I killed the vampire and brought her home.

"Zikomo immediately realized what I was, but was intrigued by me much the same way you were. He told me fate brought me to him—that I was meant for greatness. So I agreed to his training.

"I remember he had this bamboo stick that he always carried with him. If I didn't perform a task correctly or to his standards, he'd hit me with it as hard as he could. It drove me absolutely crazy.

"One night I got so sick of it that I grabbed the stupid stick and ripped it in half right in front of him. I about tore his throat out—part of me wanted to. And he wouldn't have been able to stop me.

"But he wasn't afraid. No… he just smiled and said, 'there you are'.

"When I asked him what he meant by that, he said 'this is the girl I met that first night. The girl whose strength and courage are immeasurable. This girl can overcome any obstacle and defeat any foe. I'm glad you were finally able to meet her'."

Emily turned around and smiled gently at Darwin. "My entire existence I've always been a victim. Zikomo was the first person who didn't treat me as one. He found the warrior in me… just like you.

"After I lost Vincent, I broke inside and reverted back to that victim. And if you hadn't stopped me, I would've eventually returned to Eve; I have no doubt. You brought that girl back. Even if they decide to kill me, I'd rather die as this girl than live for eternity as a victim."

Darwin wished so much for these bars to disappear—he wanted to hold Emily in his arms again. He settled miserably for taking her hand.

At that moment, they both heard the sounds of the lock turning. Odd, they weren't due for a food delivery for another few hours.

Darwin frowned his question at Emily, but she didn't look at him. Her expression was utterly blank.

Darwin's blood ran cold.

Six men stomped into the room—some carried crossbows while others held chains that rattled as they moved. One or two held crosses in trembling grips as though through sheer determination they could reverse Emily's immunity.

Enforcers.

"On your feet," one ordered Emily aiming a bolt at her. "Slowly. Any funny business and I won't hesitate."

"What's all this, then?" Darwin demanded, rising as well. "Where are you taking her?"

The sound of his own cell door opening startled him. "Same place as you, mate," another Enforcer informed him. "To stand before the Council."

"Are those really necessary?" Darwin gestured to the heavy chains as they were wrapped around the frail vampire. "The girl can hardly stand as it is!"

"It's alright," Emily told him, wincing as the Enforcers manhandled her out of her cell.

"No, it damn well is not alright!"

"Mr. Holtz, please."

Staring at her earnest expression extinguished some of the fiery rage within Darwin. He kept silent as they dragged Emily forward and escorted him after.

There was no surprise where they were taking the two. Back to the same place Darwin had activated the Ad Finem Ultimum. The Enforcers opened the doors and ushered Emily and Darwin inside.

The room had been cleaned up more or less. Large wooden boards had been placed over the hole Darwin and the others had created and a cherry wood table sat in the center filled almost to capacity with Watchers, all eying their guests cautiously.

"Have a seat, Mr. Holtz," an older man offered, signaling an Enforcer to pull out the only empty chair available.

Darwin limped to the chair, lifted it up and set it down in front of Emily. He helped her sit, the layers of chains making it hard to move properly.

A general chorus of disapproving tongue clicks and throat clearings echoed throughout the table. Darwin could care less about the offended expressions thrown his direction. He moved to stand beside Emily, showing them all precisely to which side he was loyal.

"First, we'd like to thank you for coming to meet with us," the first gentleman spoke up again.

"I wasn't aware this meeting was voluntary," Darwin pointed out.

"Yes, well…" He cleared his throat. "I suppose you have many… concerns you'd like us to address. Such as—"

"Such as what you plan to do with us. Such as why we've been held captive for more than a fortnight with no word or news whatsoever."

The Watchers all glanced at one another—some looked angry at Darwin's audacity while others were simply uncomfortable.

The next person to speak was a woman sitting near the closer end of the long table. "Mr. Holtz, we understand your frustrations—"

"No, I highly doubt you do. My companion and I came here at great risk to ourselves to warn you about an oncoming threat. After which we were attacked and detained and when the attack happened exactly as we said, we were the ones who took to task and stopped them. Instead of thanking us for saving your collective hides, you've locked us away like common criminals. So once again I fail to see how any of you can empathize with our frustrations."

The woman shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "Well, as you can imagine, this is a very delicate situation."

"You know what the beauty of no longer being employed is? I no longer have to give a flying rat's ass about internal Council politics. You're embarrassed by this entire situation and I understand that. However, as I just stated, I happily don't have to care. All I want to know is what you plan to do with us."

Silence fell weighted all across the expansive table. Eyes flickered across to eyes; everyone was waiting for someone else to begin. It was utterly infuriating to Darwin. Really, it was any wonder how this lot got anything accomplished."

The first man was the one to finally address Darwin's inquiry. "The Council agrees that were it not for your altruistic actions the loss of life would have been much more astronomical than it was. And regarding the destruction of many rare and irreplaceable artifacts and research material, we feel it to be a small price to pay for the preservation of this Council.

"In light of all this, we, the Council of Watchers, hereby absolve you of all your crimes against the Council. We will no longer actively interfere in your affairs provided you return to America and never set foot on English soil again."

To finally be freed from beneath the black cloud the Watchers had put into place this past decade, never being allowed again to his native land seemed a bargain. This hadn't felt like his home for quite a long time.

Only he couldn't help, but notice they were solely addressing Darwin.

"And what of Emily?" he asked, waving a hand at the bound vampire next to him.

The gentleman blinked, genuinely confused. "What about it?"

Darwin ignored the "it" comment. "Do you intend to release her as well?"

"Release the vampire, are you daft?" another Council member piped up. "It has extensive knowledge of trade Council secrets—it could pass this information to our enemies! We could face an even greater attack than this!"

"Not to mention, it cannot be affected by holy items," a younger spectacled woman near the back pointed out. "That in of itself is most disturbing."

"You, Mr. Holtz, are free to leave," the first man told Darwin. "But the vampire must be turned over to us for extermination."

Instinctively, Darwin moved to stand in front of Emily. "And how can you possibly justify that? After all she's done for you! Were it not for the selfless actions of this girl, all of us—all of this—would have perished that night. The only reason I was ever able to come here was because of this amazing person. I owe my life to her as do every last one of you here!"

"But the treat is—"

"Oh come off it!" Darwin snapped. "We all know the sole reason you are so quick to execute her is so you can save face, you cowardly prats!"

He wanted to say more—well, throw more insults—but he felt a tap against his foot. Emily, trying to stop him from digging his own grave, no doubt. He knew her well enough to know she was more than willing to allow them to kill her if it meant he could go free.

Over his dead body.

"You know… he has a point."

The speaker was the older woman near the front. "We cannot ignore the accomplishments of this… this remarkable creature."

"I hope you're not suggesting we simply ignore the facts," the first man said, throwing a very reproachful look at his comrade.

"What I am suggesting, Quentin, is that we ignore nothing. In order to make the most appropriate decision we should put all the facts on the table."

"Madelyn, " The way Quentin said her name made it clear he'd preferred to call her something else. "The Slayers have already turned this Council into a laughing stock. If word gets out that we needed a vampire to save us it'll be the end of everything we've worked so hard to build here. We may as well have let those demons have their way with us that previous night."

About now Darwin was calculating just how quickly he could leap across this bloody table and throttle this Quentin before the surrounding guards managed to stop him. Even with his injured leg he'd probably manage a few good dozen blows before they yanked him off.

"But there's another option, yes?" Madelyn said, evenly.

"What are you talking about?"

"We invoke The Archive of the Forgotten."

An eruption of murmurs and whispers broke out. It was very obvious this was the first time any of these people had heard about The Forgotten Archive in a serious discussion and not simple passing gossip.

"No one outside of this room will ever know about the attack," Madelyn raised her voice just enough to be heard over the din. "It will be as though it never happened."

"Be that as it may," another Council member began, agitation coating his tone. "That doesn't make this demon any less of a threat." He aimed a finger at Emily.

"She," Darwin emphasized, trying to gain control of his anger. "is no more a threat to you than I. She has a soul."

"Of course she does!" a woman exclaimed exasperated from beside Quinten. "Every vampire has one now apparently! But that doesn't mean we can simply change the rules that have been put in place for centuries before our time! We've already come to this conclusion!"

"And where did that conclusion lead?" another Watcher challenged. "Slayer-less and defenseless. Perhaps we need to open ourselves up to the possibility that not all things are as they were in the days of old."

More arguments broke out amongst the Watchers. Only Quinten remained silent, staring down at the polished surface of the new table deep in thought. He allowed them to continue quarreling for another few moments before he raised a hand, commanding for silence.

"Clearly, there is a lot to consider. Both sides are, in certain ways, correct just as both sides are, in certain ways, wrong in their ideals. I think we all can agree there really is only one way to settle this."

And then the man called Quinten spoke the two most terrifying words to ever reach Darwin's ears. Hearing these words brought on a familiar agony that he'd been dreading since the very moment he entered this room.

"We vote."