Rating: PG
Feedback: That would be very nice, thank you. Melpomenethalia@aol.com
Spoilers: Up to "The Gift"
Distribution: Here. If you're interested, please let me know.
Summary: My take on what happened to Buffy after diving into the portal.
Disclaimer: All characters are owned by Mutant Enemy (Joss Whedon), a wonderfully creative company whose characters I have borrowed for a completely profit-free flight of fancy. Kindly do not sue me, please, as I am terrified of you. Thank you.
Part 8
"You talk to her through her doll, don't you," Buffy ventured tentatively.
"Yes. In a way, you could say that I am Miss Edith," Drusilla said as Darla managed to support her own weight again. The experience of the feeding was still making her queasy and weak, but she was starting to recover. "Unfortunately, even that way, things turn out rather garbled. As often as not, when I tell her something she doesn't want to hear, she just pouts that I'm 'speaking out of turn' and ignores me."
The three souls were now leaving the alley and meandering down the Vegas Strip. It was quite an interesting trip, to say the least. Glitz was completely stripped away, and instead, all Buffy noticed were the lights of the human souls around her. After awhile, she became aware of yet another strange occurrence.
"Some of them are brighter than others," the Slayer remarked as she studied the passing figures.
Darla nodded in response. "They've all got souls, but some of 'em are stronger than others. It varies from minute to minute, too. Try looking at the scene over there with regular vision first."
Concentrating once again, Buffy closed her eyes and opened them on a none-too-pretty view. A heavily made-up prostitute boldly flirted with a man in a business suit, a group of suspicious-looking teens hung around the entrance to one of the casinos, and a family of four strolled the sidewalk, eyeing their surroundings with distaste.
"What do you see?" the blonde asked Buffy quietly.
"Hooker. Probably a gang. Vacationers with 'mug me' practically tatooed on their foreheads," she replied.
"Now try looking again, this time the next level up," Darla suggested, a knowing smile crinkling her eyes.
Taking a moment to change her viewpoint, Buffy was stunned. The brightest soul on the sidewalk belonged to the prostitute. The others all had varying degrees of darkness, but the so-called "gang" seemed quite angelic compared to the benign-looking family's mother.
"Not always the way you think it's going to be, is it?" Darla murmured as she reached out a tendril of her own light and used it to gently caress the streetwalker's aura in passing.
"No, I guess it isn't," the Slayer agreed quietly.
"I'm growing concerned about our William," Drusilla suddenly interjected. "He's been gone a terribly long time."
"Have any idea what's up with him, Dru?" Buffy asked, the nickname slipping off her tongue as though the two had been friends for ages.
"I have my suspicions. It most likely has to do with, well, the recent events in Sunnydale," Drusilla tactfully suggested.
"You mean me dying? What would that have to do with William?"
"You know, for a kid who managed to survive a lot longer than most Slayers, you're not too bright sometimes," Darla said with a roll of her eyes. "Think for a second. What happened the last time Spike lost somebody he loved."
"You mean when Drusilla left him? He got all gloomy and depressed and then he tried… to…" Her words drifted off as she remembered Willow telling her that the witch had walked in on Spike attempting to stake himself. "Oh, geez, you don't think the bleached idiot would do something, well, idiotic?"
The other two females exchanged looks that did nothing to reassure her.
Locking eyes with Drusilla, Buffy half begged, half demanded "Where is he?"
"Giles's home. But Buffy, I don't think it would be wise for you to…"
The rest of Drusilla's words were lost as the sheer force of Buffy's will transported the three of them back to Sunnydale. When her hazel eyes opened, the first thing they beheld mystified her completely.