Emerald Dynasty
"...And she would walk down the path, as had so many of her ancestors. From the prime, the first of their mighty family, to her sister, who had walked there only yesterday... She would feel the power and force of her eternal forefathers, their strength would enlighten her, and she would walk down that path again, bejeweled with emeralds, glory of her dynasty."
Prologue
From grave to grave she moved, from hollow ground to greater palace, same damned soil, still broken hope, but yet she lived after so much time in hell
Night came on, and the moon rose higher over the city where demons never slept. Hell had unleashed upon this town over the years innumerable times, in unknown ways, rotting its population into its grave. But still the little town, Sunnydale by day, Hellmouth by night, was full of life: as always, denial enlightening the hearts of the mortals that dwelled in it.
But once this city had a hero, one that now did not exist in peaceful Sunnydale anymore. She-- born to this world to protect humanity. She -- the chosen one, who would stand against the vampires, the demons and the forces of darkness. She--The Slayer. Once, her name was enough to scare the demons into hiding, but now they roam free, very few remembering the small blonde who had wreaked havoc among them only a few years back.
The town itself had changed since the slayer's departure. Sunnydale High stood, now, proud and new, on the ruins of the old. Houses were built, some were torn down, and some were rebuilt. And many new people had come here, half demons, half mortals, attracted by the simplicity and massacre Sunnydale represented.
And somewhere between houses, very much alike, there was one particular one, abandoned, the 'for sale' sign still lying on the front yard, beaten by time. Abandoned, haunted by memories, dust on furniture left untouched, so impersonal, locked away in time. The Summers home. Stripped of its inhabitants and their most treasured possessions, unvisited and ignored for years, the house still stood proud.
Elsewhere on the Hellmouth, the UC Sunnydale campus was still full of life, even by night. With fraternity parties, lone students studying in halls… and vampires stalking their victims.
And somewhere, up on a hill, in a graveyard, between the cold tombs and the freshly risen vampires, lay a lonely grave, surrounded by willows. The grave of the person who had 'saved the world, a lot'. But, though her body lay still under the earth, Buffy Anne Summers walked, and talked, and lived among humans, somewhere else, far away from Sunnydale.
A cold breeze blew, the willows moved their branches in the wind. The moon shone down. An unnatural light surrounded the grave, or rather, the area next to it, until from under the earth, a spirit rose, a primordial creature that stared at the grave in confusion. Its form shifted to human, female features, though her translucent body, and her glowing dark eyes, would scare anyone mortal.
"She's...dead?" a ghostly voice fitted perfectly with her features. "No" she answered herself, as her form shifted to that of a small girl, her big blue eyes shining, her skin white as flour, her blond curls falling freely around her round face. "She's alive. Somewhere. Out there," her head turned towards the horizon, her immortal gaze seeming to search for the dead slayer. "But where?" her form shifted to that of a young Asian girl, with long black hair, and a brilliant white kimono surrounding her slender form. Her black eyes pierced the night finding no answer.
A cold wind blew through the small garden in the back of the house, bringing an unnatural chill in the summer night. The branches of the willows tugged at the windows of the lower level, making an eerie sound, like if someone was knocking on the glass with their fists.
Inside the house, the little girl, standing in front of the fire place, playing with her stuffed bear, suddenly turned her head towards the window. She thought she had heard something, but no, it was only the willows scratching at their windows like always. Her mother loved those willows, but she didn't understand why, no one else had willows in their garden except them. When she had asked her mother why she loved them so much, her mother had told her it was because they reminded her of eternity. She didn't understand what she meant, she was only four years old. "Forever?" she had asked her mother, and she had just smiled at her. "Like daddy?" Her mother had thought about it for a minute before answering her, "Yes. Like daddy." That sad smile had washed over her like always and she had leaned down and kissed her on her forehead.
Turning back to her stuffed bear, the only gift she had from her father, she thought she heard her name being called from outside like it was whistled in the wind. Mesmerized, the little girl stood up again, taking the bear in her arms and heading for the window. No one was there, only shadows in the dim light of the moon. The little girl saw the shadows, but she could see beyond that as well. She saw a glowing figure waving at her from the back of the garden, calling her. And she knew who it was, she had felt that presence somewhere else, and she knew she had to meet it. She wasn't scared. Not bothering to even put her shoes on, she went towards the back door. Sliding open the fragile glass door, she stepped outside, her feet touching the grass and the hard earth under it; she didn't seem to care, she just walked on.
"Fatima..." the frail voice called to her. The little girl smiled seeing the figure even closer. It was so familiar, something that seemed to start somewhere deep inside, in her roots, deep implanted in her soul; it was a call she couldn't deny her blood. She was too young to understand it, but she didn't need to rationalize, she just needed to feel it. "Fatima," she was finally in front of that ghostly figure, but she didn't fear it. She saw the figure smiled at her, before they disappeared into the night.
Back inside the house, her mother came from the kitchen, smiling, carrying in her hand a cup of cocoa.
"Who wants cocoa?" she asked, but her smile faded as she saw the girl was missing from her place in front of the fireplace. "Fatima?" she put the cup down on a table before going into the living room to see if her daughter had sneaked in there to watch TV. No one was there.
"Fatima?" she climbed upstairs, though knowing deep inside she would've heard her if she had gone up to her room. As she expected, it was empty. A deep panic and fear overwhelmed her. She went back downstairs. "Fatima!" she yelled in the empty house, no one was there except her.
The willows tapped at the windows, demanding attention. She turned towards them and then realized Fatima could be outside. Yanking the glass door open, she stepped outside. The chilly breeze surrounded her. "Fatima!" she yelled again.
She looked out across the backyard. Since when is it so big? she asked herself. It looked endless, like it lead up towards a hill and into a forest somewhere, though normally it was only a small garden surrounded by a high fence. High upon that distant hill, she saw what she thought was her daughter, a curly blond child, staring back at her, seeming helpless.
"Fatima." she let out a relieved cry as she ran towards the girl. Her relief dissolved, however, the closer she got to the small figure. It wasn't her Fatima, but a ghostly shape of a child with mystifying, blue eyes that glowed, her blond curls hiding a flour like skin and an unnatural presence. "Who are you?" she asked when she stood in front of the spirit-child. "No…" the small creature answered and shook her head. Her shape shifted to that of a black girl, the ghostly appearance remaining. "…who are you?" she continued the sentence of the blonde child.
"Where is she?" the mother asked menacingly of the spirit, understanding that it must've taken her girl. The spirit just stared at her in disbelief before turning to walk away.
"Wait!" she yelled, but the spirit didn't turn, it disappeared beyond the hill, leaving her surrounded by the fence of her backyard. Her hands gripped the wooden fence as she closed her eyes in despair and after a moment the wood broke under her strength.
She ran inside and dialed a phone number. After a moment it rang, only for a metallic voice to answer. "The number you are trying to reach has been disconnected" and as the voice started to repeat its message, a blind anguish seemed to overthrow her, as she slipped the phone back on its hook. Tears started to fall down her face as she stared blankly at the phone before picking it up and dialing a different number.
As she waited for the ringing sound she looked at herself in the mirror, wiping away her tears. Soon, the ring of the phone was heard. Then the machine said "Hi, this is the Harris" -- "That sounds lame" Anya's cheerful voice said, followed by Xander's voice in the background. "No it doesn't!" and then Anya's voice was heard again. "If you say so... We're not here right now, so please leave a message, after the beep. Bye!" then a beep.
She put the phone down. She crouched next to the wall, she felt so lonely...She picked up the phone again, there was one more person she could call, she dialed a LA number. After a few moments it rang and a cheerful voice answered. "UCLA campus, may I help you?"
"Yes. Could you tell me the phone number for room 231? I'm looking for Dawn Summers", her finger nervously tapped on a small table, as she tried to gather herself. "Of course... for your information though, she's in 256. Just a moment please" the cheery voice said and returned, after a minute, to tell her a number.
Hanging up, she immediately dialed the number she had been given. After two rings, a machine started. "Hi, this is Merry, Cecile and Dawn" three different voices said one after the other. "We're not here right now, so please..." the message stopped abruptly as the phone was picked up. She sighed and closed her eyes trying to hold back her tears. A giggling voice on the other end said, "Hi, is this Todd McMyers? Dawn's not here right now," a commotion was heard in the background as if someone was trying to grab the phone from the girl who was talking. Then a "Merry!" was heard followed by more giggling.
"No, this is her sister. Is she there?" she asked and the giggles on the other side of the phone stopped.
"It's not him!" the voice on the phone had turned towards the room in obvious disappointment. "It's your sister. Since when do you have a sister?" the voice asked and another voice answered her "Umm, I'll explain later," before that voice came to the phone.
"Hello?" Dawn asked into the phone picking it up.
"Dawn?" a weeping voice asked.
"Buffy, what's wrong?" she asked worriedly.
"Fatima's gone," Buffy said trying not to sob, though her voice was shaking.
"Gone? Did you look everywhere? Maybe she just went next door to play --" Dawn tried to calm her sister down.
"She's four Dawn, she doesn't go next door alone. Someone, something took her," she said trying to make Dawn understand.
"Something, like what?" Dawn asked confused.
"Something like a demon or a ghost...I'm not sure" Buffy said trying to remember the pale, shape shifting figure.
"Oh, that kind of something. I thought you quit" Dawn said while she twirled a curl of her brown hair between her fingers.
"I did," she said. "I just... I don't know what happened," she admitted. "Look, I'm sorry I called. I just needed to talk to someone and-and everyone else is busy."
"Buffy, it's okay" Dawn assured her. "Did you call the police? Oh… wait, I guess they wouldn't be so helpful in finding a ghost, huh? So how are you going to find her? Do you think she's still in the city?"
"I don't think so... I just don't know who I should turn to. My first impulse was to get Giles, but he's not around anymore. And Will... I don't want to bother her or put Xander and Anya and their kids through this. I..." she trailed off as she felt her tears falling down her face again. She was so helpless.
Dawn quietly motioned for one of the girls to hand her, her purse. She held the phone under her chin as she searched for something, finally pulling out a calling card. "I just might know someone who could help you," she looked down at the card that said Angel Investigations.
End Prologue