The Monster's Loose
Compassion's Curse
Sanguinius perched on the bluff overlooking the ocean. The crashing waves below mirrored the setting sun as high above the first, brightest, stars began to shine through the growing twilight. He was struck by the strangeness of it all. He recognised the constellations, knew the names of all the stars of old, but they were alien to him.
The sky clear of ships, of orbital platforms and of pollution. Only a scattering of primitive aircraft. This was not the Terra he knew, this was not his Father's world. It might never be.
Yet he was here and things were already shifting. Like the sands of his old home, Ball secundus. Only the endless deserts of that war blighted moon were now water.
It was perhaps a mistake to go to the Hellmouth. It's eldritch energies had sped up the process. Young Xander, despite his bravery, was not prepared and as his body underwent the final changes Sanguinius's true personality awoke. As much as he tried to preserve the young man Sanguinius could feel, even now, the last few whispers of Xander Harris fade.
Like the finest sands through an hourglass, time slipped way. It was inevitable, a mortal human mind like Xander's could not begin to comprehend the wealth of information available to a Primarch. Knowledge of science, culture, history, philosophy. All gathered for thousands of years and gifted on a genetic level. Then there were the senses, many times that of mortals. A Primarch could taste things in the air the most sensitive detection equipment could not. Could feel the movement of the ground and even see beyond visible light. Into the infrared and ultraviolet should he chose to.
Finally there were those gifts and curses unique to Sanguinius. All twenty brothers were given just a portion of their Fathers amazing powers. A touch of what he had, be it implacable strength, boundless wisdom or even psychic talent that broke the rules that governed reality. For Sanguinius it was not just his wings, but something even greater. He could see through the vail of time. Indistinct, often cryptic, he could still see the path ahead.
Sanguinius was originally a master work, created by the most brilliant minds tens of thousands of years in the making. The perfect fusion of eldritch knowledge and gene forging. Now he possessed those gifts once again. It was no wonder the young man's mind crumbled under the weight of all that.
While it was inevitable perhaps if he had been able to convince the boy to leave the enormity of his existence would have had time to creep up on the others. Then again, perhaps not.
The gentle crashing of the waves below measured time like the constant ticking of a metronome, giving Sanguinius something he had very rarely had. Time to reflect. He thought back on his actions.
It was right that he told them. They would have found out eventually. The Slayer did not trust him now, but in time his honesty would provide a foundation. As powerful as he was even he was going to need allies in this strange world. The Slayer was as good as any. Would it be enough?
Buffy winced, and instantly regretted it. The knot of a bruise on her head throbbed.
Stupid. She'd been stupid.
The thing had bragged about how powerful he was, caught the bolt out of the air like it was nothing. Of course he was fast! She should have seen that. Instead she'd gone after him, hard. He hadn't even broken a sweat kicking her butt.
So now she was hunting him down and the only question she could ask was what then? What was she going to do once she found a twelve foot tall vampire with wings? Teach them a cheer routine?
Five, seven, eight! How many people have you ate?
Buffy shrugged, she'd heard worse. Turning a corner she was about to call the whole thing off, that or maybe steal a tank from the new military base that opened over the summer, when she saw her boyfriend.
"Angel!"
"Buffy, thank god!" He dashed up to her. She practically threw herself into him. "Angel! What are you... Were you looking for me?"
"I came by the Library, Giles filled me in. That... thing I saw last night. That is, was Xander?"
"You saw him?" She asked, surprised.
"Yeah, when all hell broke lose I went to your place. It was madness, then I saw... him I guess. What was he? What happened?" He pleaded
"We all became our costumes. Xander went as that thing, when the spell broke Xander was gone and he stuck around." Buffy explained quickly. She was sure there was more but those were the highlights "I'm going to kill him."
Angel reached out and brushed the bangs of hair from her forehead, revealing the bruise she'd gone to a lot of trouble to try and hide. "Giles said you already tried that."
"Yeah, but I'm betting on a TKO in the second round. Winner me." Buffy couldn't even sound convincing to herself. The look Angel gave her told her she hadn't convinced him either. "Won't be easy, I get that."
"Where do we start?"
Buffy struggled with an answer eventually she pointed in a random direction. "Let's try that way."
And so it went on. The mismatched pair must have crossed the town half a dozen times, never catching sight of the monster The Slayer was hunting.
The night slowly passed, as all must and the day's promised arrival eventually hung heavy in the early morning air. Dewdrops gathered on Sanguinius's wings, collecting in the hollow between them.
He waited. It was almost time.
The lull of the sea and peace of distant stars has helped the Primarch find a hollow sort of peace. He knew that there was much to do, but more important than action was the timing. Knowing where to strike was less important than when.
He had watched, with eyes beyond mortal sight, The Slayer. He spent the night struggling to divine her future. soon his reluctant ally. He saw pain, sadness, grief, sorrow and loss. The fires that forge a martyr. He also saw joy, humour, triumph and most importantly love. The water that turns martyrs into heroes. Only there was too much of one and not enough of the other.
Accurately predicting the future was impossible. If you got details right you almost always missed the context. Take in the bigger picture and you miss the smaller points that made it happen. Sanguinius sighed as he forced his attention back to more immediate matters.
During his sojourn he had seen many things, the Slayer's fate was just a thread in the tapestry of time after all. Sadly another of the threads needed attention at this moment. Ignoring the tension that had struck his muscles the Primarch pulled himself to his full height and turned around.
"I know who who are. I know what you've done and I see what you have suffered." He told the figure that stood before him. "I have but one question; what is it you want of me?"
They were pale as new snow. A shaft of moonlight, gaunt and hollow, dressed in white and topped with fathomless black hair. A dammed creature. They shared the same gift as him, but much like his cursed brother Konrad, tormented by despair. Only seeing the darkest fates.
Wordlessly they curtsied before bowing deeply. "My lord." she said breathlessly in wonder.
Sanguinius resisted a sigh. "Rise child." He ordered gently. "I am not your master, Drusilla."
"But you are." She objected, swaying in the wind "The very sky sings your name."
"The sky sings, but it is I that am named for it." He countered. "I ask again, what is it you wish here?"
The mad vampire searched his face. He'd seen the same in mystics and so called seers where he had come from. Fate twisted strangely around his kind. "To understand." She admitted eventually.
Sanguinius smiled grimy. "Understanding is a journey. The destination is not the goal, just the eventual conclusion." He drew his borrowed sword. "Each journey must be one's own, but I can end yours if you wish it."
Drusilla was a monster and a victim. He recalled the tale told to Xander, of her creation, her madness and her actions. Her destruction would be a mercy. One thing stopped him. Konrad, his brother shared his gift, he'd made so many mistakes with it and Sanguinius had been helpless. Forced to watch as the madness infected him. Driving them to do the most horrible things.
In this poor slip of a demon he saw the same madness. The same curse, if it wasn't to late for her...
"Do you truly wish to understand?" He asked.
End Compassion's Curse