Disclaimers in Chapter 1

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Destinies

by Slayerbelle


Chapter 2
"The Dark Side"


"I'm sorry you're not sleeping right," Aurora said.

"It's not yet sunset anyway, the light doesn't need to be bothered." Wesley replied.

"What?"

"It's not all sand and sea, the ground also seeps into the moon."

She picked up a handful of sand from the floor of the red velvet room and dumped it in front of him, who was now sitting cross-legged as she was. "Take what you need, I only want what I have."

The sand trickled between her fingers and they both watched the grains glisten like little stars.

"Do you know how to swim?" she asked him.

"I am light. I float anywhere."

Aurora squinted. "Wesley?"

"Yes, Aurora?"

"Why are you here?"

====

Wesley was jolted awake because he heard something. Soft cursing by the hotel's front desk, which they were now using as Angel Investigations' head office.

"Cordelia!" he quickly stood up and rushed to her aid. "What do you need?"

He found her still on the floor, her forehead cut and bleeding a little. "Table..." she said between clenched teeth. "Damn table..."

He opted to help her up first as she gulped for air. "You're bleeding, Cordelia."

"I said it was the damn table," she said, touching her forehead and getting blood on her palm. "Damn! Ow."

Supporting her, they both limped to the couch. Wesley heard footsteps coming down the stairs. It was Aurora, the racket had woken her up, and she quickly went for gauze and alcohol while he helped Cordelia into the couch.

Was it his imagination, or were Cordelia's vision attacks getting worse? He knew it was always painful and if she was at the wrong place at the wrong time personal injury could definitely ensue, but he seemed to be picking her up off the floor a lot recently. It was actually a relief that she'd only hit her head somewhere this once -- the uncontrollable force she was rocked with seemed to leave her completely helpless to external objects with sharp corners like tables and desks.

Cordelia was still trying to breathe right when Aurora came with the gauze -- he didn't even tell her where it was but count on her to know anyway.

Wesley took the role of medic and gently swabbed Cordelia's temple. It was thankfully just a cut, but it was long and was like a slash across her forehead. "What did you see, Cordelia?"

"Ow! Easy on the cracked skull, Wesley!" Cordelia snapped, wincing under his touch for a second. He knew better than to take offense at that -- she was just being the bitch princess. And then she got her breath back. "A kid. Swimming. Some kind of white thing grabs her from under and pulls her down. Eeew."

"Do you know when this is going to happen?"

"I think right now. It -- It was daytime."

"Angel's not back yet?" Aurora observed. It occurred to Wesley that she must have had such a strong sense of Angel's presence -- she had just woken up and knew that Angel was nowhere in the building. Or maybe she was just guessing, and he was reading too much into it.

He really needed more rest.

He shook his head. "Angel's out. On a case."

"An actual paying client," Cordelia said, her voice muffled a little from a bit of gauze flapping against her mouth. She spat it out and winced a little again; the alcohol was stinging. "Besides, he's not going to survive the daytime swim anyway."

"I'll go," Wesley said.

Cordelia exhaled, now showing genuine concern. "Are you sure? You could barely keep a coffee cup on the table this morning."

"I... I've had a few hours. It's not a big deal. Where is this white demon and the child?"

"Um, Malibu. Looks like Whitey had some sightseeing to do."

"The beach?" Aurora suddenly asked. "I'm going with you, Wesley."

He hesitated. Angel would have his head if he ever let Aurora out of the Hyperion, and they all knew it.

"I had a vision earlier. While I was sleeping. I'm to perform some kind of spell." Aurora said.

"He'll be very angry at me if he finds out I let you out of here."

She crossed her arms right then, staring at him defiantly. "Wesley," she hissed.

And then it was that time four weeks ago all over again, they were having this same conversation and he let her win, but only because he trusted her. Now her life was more seriously in danger and he didn't want that on his head.

"Can't we compromise on this?" he asked. "Teach me how to do the spell."

"And you'll perform it as you're swimming in the ocean to rescue the girl. That's a first for multi-tasking."

"Help me out here, Aurora. I'm supposed to be keeping you safe."

"You're not supposed to be doing anything for me." she said softly. "And Angel's not the boss of me."

"Well he signs my paychecks," Wesley said, shaking his head. "And he was also known as the Scourge of Europe. Aurora, I'm going to have to advise against you stepping out of this place anytime soon."

"I have to perform a spell to destroy the demon Cordelia saw. I'm supposed to do this."

She seemed as sure of it as anything, and he felt himself relenting again. While he didn't want to get in the way of the Powers accomplishing their work, he berated himself for not having a spine.

"All right," he said. "Cordelia, I'm taking the car."

====

He didn't realize the water was so *salty*.

"Wesley!" He could hear Aurora scream, somewhere on dry land. "You have to bring it to the shore!"

Easier said than done. He was sure he had the little kid by the arm, but the salt water was stinging his eyes and he couldn't open them, hence having no clue in which direction to swim. The water was choppy despite the rest of the ocean being calm so he knew the white Gvifer demon was somewhere swimming after him, probably going to take a big bite out of his leg any second now.

The little girl grabbed on hard to his shirt and he felt pulled down into the water deeper -- he had his eyes closed and the lack of breath was choking him. He could still hear Aurora's muffled screams -- as well as those of the girl's horrified mother -- and all he wanted to do was take a deep breath and open his eyes. Except he'd get an eye- and lungful of salt water and that wasn't an option right now.

There was a loud sound like a clap of thunder, a bright flash of white like lightning, and Wesley felt himself being pulled up very quickly. He grabbed the girl in his arms as they were sucked up into the day. In a second they broke the surface, his vision cleared and he gasped for air.

He saw Aurora on the beach, glowing a scary yellow, very much in concentration. When they made eye contact, she made a labored gesture with her hand, asking him to get to the beach. The Gvifer demon was right behind him, a little pissed at the aborted meal-taking, and Wesley quickly swam beachward, girl in tow.

Adrenaline really *did* make you stronger. In what seemed like seconds, Wesley was at the beach, dragging the girl and running to Aurora. She had collapsed on the sand, probably from the effort on the spell she'd just performed, and was slowly pulling herself up.

The demon quickly followed them, crawling onto the sandy beach with its octopus-like body and slimy arms. Wesley threw his arms around the girl and her mother -- who had jumped on him to claim her child -- and watched as Aurora picked up a concoction of sand and water she'd made earlier.

She closed her eyes, muttered something softly as the creature came closer. There was power radiating from her, Wesley could feel it scorching the air and rippling a mild heat. When she opened her eyes they were as yellow as her whole body was a minute ago.

"Never again!" she screamed, and threw the sand at the creature. Only what she threw ceased to become sand but showered over the demon as a grainy blue substance that stuck to its slimy body. It hissed, and seconds later imploded in what he thought was a beautiful blue light.

Aurora fell into the sand again, dropping to her knees. Wesley realized he had just done the same, distractedly accepting the thanks of mother and daughter, but too occupied with catching his breath and feeling the adrenaline fading away.

Suddenly he felt really tired. So tired. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a man approach Aurora, who was lying on the sand, exhausted but still conscious. It was a man he didn't recognize, and alarm bells quickly went on in Wesley's head.

It had to have been one of her family. Jenny Calendar's side or hers, he wasn't sure.

He stretched out his hand and tried to say something, but he passed out on the sand a second later.

====

It was already sunset by the time the old man left, but the work day was only beginning for Lindsey.

He gave the girl five minutes to collect her thoughts. He noticed that she returned to her sitting position on the sand, watching the sunset silently. The British guy was still unconscious beside her, and she made no move to wake him up yet.

Lindsey was sitting in his car, had been sitting there for some time, waiting for Aurora to finally be alone. He'd seen the old man approach her. He'd seen her kneel in front of him as he put his hand on her forehead. The waters rose at the sudden mystical disturbance.

He busied himself by reading the file on her, a thick folder lying on the passenger seat next to him. Aurora Halley. It hadn't been this thick until he had taken over the case. The file on her had been opened eight years ago, when there had been unconfirmed reports that a young girl had commissioned a demon to convince the Vampire With A Soul to seek out the Slayer in Sunnydale. At that time the file only listed a description, (brunette, five feet four inches tall, no more than 20 years of age, of Kalderash gypsy descent), and a short list of magical capabilities (simple telekenesis, possible clairvoyance, et cetera). In the month that followed his rediscovery of it, he was able to collect more information and gain a much more comprehensive view of who she was and what she was doing.

Lindsey had first come across the file when he had begun clerking for Wolfram and Hart, and was intrigued by the lack of information on the girl, and the apparent diversity of her magical abilities.

And then when Ralph, his doomed associate at the firm, showed up claiming he had been staked by Angel and healed by a girl, bells rang in Lindsey's head. A quick stalking, a few background checks, some anti-cloaking spells later, and he had her. He knew he had her.

Five minutes. Lindsey timed it. And then he got out of the car and walked.

Aurora brushed away a tear with the back of her hand as he approached her. She just looked up at him, and he knew that she recognized him.

"If you wanted to see a breakdown, you should have been there when Angel lost his soul." she said dryly. "That had more tears and hair-pulling."

The girl didn't deserve the usual b.s. She knew more than anyone thought she should and he had to talk to her straight. But that didn't mean he couldn't be nice about it. Lindsey took a seat near her on the sand, putting her in between him and the prone British guy, and they both faced the sunset.

"You know who I am, don't you?" he said, just being sure.

She laughed a little. "Of course. We have the same job, essentially. Different employers." She let that light moment pass, and then, "He hates you, you know."

"You mean Angel. I wonder why that is."

She gave him a lopsided grin. "Aside from the working for the devil? You refuse to be helped." She sighed. "We have that in common."

"Not anymore."

Aurora opened her palms and looked down at them. "You're right."

They were powerless hands now, and she looked at them like she was missing a finger, and there was a sadness in her eyes that he didn't like. "Aurora, you have to remember that this was done to Angel, not to you."

"That's not true," she retorted. "This was done to *me*. You realize you took away all that I do... that I live for."

"It's an ax that was going to fall inevitably, you know that. And I wanted it to fall because of me. So I could have the right to offer you something."

"What's that?"

"A job."

She looked at him like he was, well, a lawyer working for the devil. "You're insane."

"Do you know what the Kalderash do to the traitors they catch, Aurora?"

This caught her off guard, and he realized she didn't know. It figured she didn't know. They probably never tell them, these girls they "choose" to join their crusade. They don't tell them what's at stake, and they lead them to slaughter.

Or worse.

It made him angry, inside. She still thought she was doing the work of the righteous.

"They make them into vampires, Aurora. And lock them in coffins. They're never fed, never attended to. They stay there forgotten only they never die. They'll turn you into the monster you harbored -- only worse because ... I don't have to tell you why."

He watched her face change as he told her this. She had probably imagined already the million ways she would die -- and not once thinking it would be like this.

She exhaled. "Well," she said. "I guess that's what they would consider poetic justice."

"I personally think it's cheesily Anne Rice." He reached out for her with his good hand and felt her arm, skin still glowing a little. She looked like she had just performed a powerful spell. "But we can protect you from that, Aurora. If you come work for us."

She shrugged off his arm, like he had burned her. "My powers are a divine gift -- for the protection of Angel. Without that I'm nothing. Not a witch, no powers. No use to you."

Not only did they throw her into this suicide mission blindly, they also undermined her capabilities beyond what they gave her. These people may call themselves the forces of good, but Lindsey knew that no one was above an ulterior motive.

"Not true. You were Angel's protector for eight years. Only one other person's done that for longer, Aurora. You are powerful, and in a unique way. Only your kind -- protectors of Angel -- are the kinds of witches versed in not just one kind of magic but any and all kinds. Do you realize how rare that is? Rare enough that they don't want you knowing you can do it on your own."

He saw now that she seemed to be naturally stoic -- probably a result of years of hiding in the shadows. He didn't know the kind of effect his words were having on her. But he meant them, it wasn't a sales pitch.

Aurora's divine calling gave her the power to protect Angel through any means necessary -- and that gave her access to all kinds of power. Most witches train years to master one aspect of their essence -- Aurora was trained to learn all as they were needed. Her adaptability was her best skill and she didn't even know it.

"You don't have powers now, but that can be a temporary problem. You know we can help you with those kind of... resources. You can see why we're willing to invest in you, Aurora. There's a special kind of witch in the world, and right now you're the only one."

The corners of her mouth twitched. "And do I get a pool along with my condo in hell?" she said. "You don't seriously think I'll choose being a witch over who I am."

"That's the point, you're no longer that person. And admit it, this is the best choice you have right now."

She shook her head. "I have Angel."

"You think you do. But he can't protect you like we can. You can live on, do other things. Your life doesn't have to end here."

"It doesn't have to," she echoed softly. "Someone's going to replace me, you know. As we speak. Angel will be protected for as long as he has to be."

"Yeah, well, I just want to take these things one day at a time."

Aurora looked off into the horizon, which by then was completely dark. "Yeah, so did I."

Wesley twitched on the ground, making small muffled noises.

"He's going to come to in a few minutes," she told Lindsey. "You'd better leave."