Harmony lay in a pile of scorched rubble, working her aching body. The first part of her plan must have worked; her skin was pink and unmarred despite the fireball. She felt a little pain from being hit by debris, and that was all.
The trouble was she hadn't had time to run before blowing up in everyone's face. Still, it looked like everyone else was probably dead. Even the Mohra's gem had been shattered in the explosion. So she let herself lie there, wearing a few tattered scraps of cloth that hadn't been burned or blasted off her entirely, and rested, breathing slowly in and out.
Breathing?
Well, sometimes these things became like a reflex or something. You spent your whole life doing them, and still had to breathe to talk. Harmony stopped breathing. Pressure built up in her chest. What the hell was going on? Gasping, she started breathing again.
Harmony felt about on her chest. Something deep inside her was pulsing regularly. Like a heartbeat. An actual human heartbeat.
She was alive?
That was just wrong.
Chapter 42: Twilight Sparkle
"There's no way anyone lived through that," Faith sighed. "Well...anyone else," she amended, stabbing a fleeing Fyarl through the heart with a fallen dinner fork.
"You might have," Gwen said thoughtfully. "She was carrying an Exaltation, right?"
"Not even remotely possible," Five Days' Darkness argued. "The humans-only restriction was implanted at the deepest level. Harm may have broken something, but she couldn't have changed that without destroying the Exaltation itself, and that's equally impossible."
While the others picked their way down into the crater, Faith leapt down from broken stair to jutting pipe to shattered appliance. She wasn't sure what to feel about eviscerated Brackens or sexbots with exposed circuitry, but she did feel a little pity for Jonathan, who seemed to have bled out fast after being impaled on some rebar. Andrew had gotten a lethal shock, by the way his body was contorted.
At the very bottom, a slab of wall blocked off the lowest part of the basement. She took hold of it, straining, but it was more than she could handle. Before she could call for help, a wave of light and force swept past her, taking up her slack and shoving the wall aside. "Thanks, Ames," she called without looking back.
Warren's flayed body was covered in shattered glass, his skin and clothes hanging in tatters. Buffy or Angel would've said they felt a little sorry for him, but Faith could summon no sympathy, even after she noticed his chest still rising and falling spasmodically. There was nothing to be done, except maybe slit his throat. Faith let him lie there struggling in his blood.
At the very bottom, Harmony lay unmoving, wearing only tatters but looking untouched by the blast. Her chest rose and fell too. Was she trying to say something?
Faith reached her and crouched down. Harm's eyes stared fixedly at the sky as if she were catatonic, until Faith touched her shoulder. Then she jerked up to a sitting position. "I, I, I...this isn't right, I can't be, I shouldn't..."
Faith blinked. Harmony's skin had been warm under her hand. "Hey, Harm...you okay?"
"I just...I wanted to heal up...get away...I bit him and he blew up!" Harmony clutched Faith's hand in a deathgrip.
"Warren?" What would make Warren explode?
"No...Mohra demon. Book said 'blood of eternity'...they heal fast."
"Did it say how fast?" Something weird was going on here.
"Enough," Harm said unhelpfully. "Faith, I've lost all my powers. I'm alive."
"Hey," Kate called, "what is all this stuff up here? Swords, gemstones...this looks like a metal bow..."
"Hang in there a sec," Faith shouted back. "Harm needs some help here."
"Very peculiar," Five Days' Darkness murmured. "It's as if the explosion ripped a hole into Elsewhere-what you call the ether. That's not supposed to be possible, but then when one is dealing with Exaltations, impossibility is more of a suggestion than a rule."
Faith hauled Harmony up onto her back. Nothing seemed physically wrong with her, but she was definitely in some kind of shock. "The ether? Where vampires' souls go?"
"Well, yes," the god agreed. "Does that have some relevance to the situation?"
"Live ex-vampire at the bottom of a house-sized crater," Faith yelled. "I'm thinking yes!"
"She's human?" Five Days' Darkness sounded worried.
"Is that a problem?"
"Well," the dark man said, "we should know by the end of the day.".
Faith and Kate helped Harmony into the van. She frowned as they fastened her seatbelt, but she was definitely still out of it.
"If she's human," Shoat asked quietly, "does that mean-?"
To Faith's surprise, Harmony shook her head vigorously at the idea. "It wanted Warren," she said. "Someone smart. It must have left."
Five Days' Darkness narrowed his eyes. "Defiler Exaltation, like Amy's. Just as well Warren didn't get it. I hear he's a real piece of work."
"Pretty bad for a human," Harmony agreed. "Anyway I'm no use to it." She settled back into the seat while Gwen draped a blanket over her.
"Is that how it works?" Shoat asked Five under her breath. "It was already inside her." Harmony either ignored her or didn't hear.
"We had contingency plans for unsuitable Exalts during the Primordial War," the god said, "but they were never needed. Autochthon's guidance systems were too good. But near the end of the Second Age, the Yozis and Deathlords got ahold of some of the Solars and changed them. Both groups sometimes chose candidates...idiosyncratically. They would Exalt people based on revenge, or bizarre philosophical criteria, or any number of strange ideas. We expected, once we heard, that such attempts would simply fail, or that inappropriate Exalts would self-destruct."
"Lemme guess," Kate said. "It didn't happen."
"No," Five agreed. "Some of the crazier sorts failed because they were failures as people. And there was an adjustment period of sorts, when such out-of-the-ordinary Exalts were especially vulnerable. Some of them died then. But by and large, once a few months had passed, the Exaltations brought such hosts up to speed."
"Then Harmony should be...like me?" Amy wondered.
"Unless the Exaltation was broken by the sudden loss of its alembic," Five said, "I would expect exactly that. She'll need extra help for a short time. And then...within a few months, impossible though it may sound, she'll be unraveling Lilah's plans, building weapons, or casting spells. Perhaps all three."
"I don't think I can even imagine that," Faith said, glancing over at Harmony, who didn't even seem aware of the discussion.
"One day," the deity said, "you'll be able to outrun Quicksilver and disguise yourself as the Rock. While naked. Still sound impossible?"
Faith shrugged and traded her bike off to Sam. This she wanted to see.
Harmony perked up as they pulled into the mall parking lot. "Ugh," she muttered. "At least I'm not burnt to a crisp still."
"Or stuck inside Warren's head," Amy agreed. "I thought he was cool once-he was pretty smart-but he's also pretty nasty inside."
"I wasn't so great myself," Harmony said sadly.
"Harm, I could've used a friend, but honestly I didn't want to be part of Cordy's little clique. I didn't mind you rejecting me for that." The van screeched to a rather abrupt stop. "Hey! Kate, what's the deal?"
"Looks like a murder," Kate sighed. "You'd think people would at least realize they live on a hellmouth and plan ahead. Vampires everywhere."
Harm peeked out the window. "Oh, come on. I know you were a cop, but seriously, you think that's a vampire attack?"
Kate raised an eyebrow and pointed to her neck.
"Oh for pete's sake. Somebody lend me some clothes. I'm gonna have to go in anyway."
There was a bit of brief shuffling clothes around-B-bot had the least modesty but her shirt was too tight for Harm-and finally Harmony hopped out of the van muttering about being horribly mismatched.
"They're not going to let us up close, you know," Kate said.
"I can see it from here," Harmony groaned. "The swelling's all wrong. That's a snakebite." She walked a little to the left. "Big one-see there? It crawled away. But someone left tracks over there on the damp pavement-um, wow, nearly six feet tall, definitely guy sneakers. Didn't need the snake. I think he wanted it to look like a vampire attack for some reason. Sending a message to someone. Um. Whoever's in charge here with no Slayer around I think." Kate stared at her; Faith tried to look away so her eyes wouldn't bug out too. "What? You guys are supposed to be the smart ones. Don't play tricks on me, okay? It's mean."
"Nobody's teasing you, Harmony," Sam said slowly. To Kate, she whispered, "Did you get any of that?" Kate shook her head and shrugged.
"C'mon," Harmony said irritably. "I look like a total fashion victim here. Let's go in before somebody decides I'm the vampire who did it."
"Got it," shouted a police officer off in the grass. She held up a huge diamondback rattler, dead or in torpor.
Kate looked at Five Days' Darkness in alarm. Five averted his eyes, stuck his hands in his pockets, and whistled an idle tune.
An hour later it was getting dark, but Harmony was wearing a brilliant pink dress she'd gotten for a steal, and everyone else had their old clothes on except Amy, who'd taken Harm's fashion advice and bought some slacks ahead of the trends. "They're the next big thing," she'd insisted.
"Anyone for a bathroom break? Amy?" Kate hunted through her purse, came up with a makeup case, grunted, and finally located a tampon.
"Haven't needed a bathroom break in a week," Amy said. "I'm not dead, so it must be a thing."
"Must be," Kate said.
Harmony blinked. "So that's what that is! Guys, I'm gonna need some food. I'm hungry for actual food!"
"Wendy's okay?" Amy asked. "We'll just trek down to the other end of the mall."
"Wendy's it is," Harm agreed.
"Demons, demons, demons," Amy grumbled as they left the others behind. "I still don't know why people don't see it."
"Me neither," Harmony said, and began pointing casually around. "Half-Bracken. Lister. Three vampires. Eep! Ethros demon! Thesulac," she added, glancing at what looked like a vacant spot. "More vampires...hey, is he the new big bad?"
"Huh?" Amy stared.
"Lots of bling, keeps looking at his cell phone-vampire who's texting, so either young or smart-I think he's the best-connected guy I've seen all day, honestly." She glanced at Amy. "You don't see it?"
"Harm, could you always read people like this?" Harm still insisted the Exaltation had left the building, but she was acting awfully strange. Not completely different, but definitely much more...aware.
"Well, duh. Of course I could. I may not have much else going for me, but I've still got my keen fashion sense. Ugh," Harmony shouted as they passed a shoe store. "Those pumps are hideous! Who let the designer leave the zoo?"
"Harmony," Amy asked carefully, "who won the Crimean War?"
"Um...why are you asking me? France, Britain, and the Ottoman Empire. Oh, and some place called Sardinia. Where they make sardines I guess."
"What kind of bear do you think Kate turns into?"
"I dunno. Grizzly? Ursus horribilis? They used to live in California, I think. Why ask me this stuff?"
"I still want to try and get my GED. Maybe I won't need it, but it can't hurt." Ah, short line! "What do you wanna eat?"
"Um...just a regular burger. I've got to work out what I like again." Harmony fidgeted with her hair. "Everything feels weird now being mortal again."
"Hey, you ever bite anyone in the femoral artery?" Amy pretended to study the menu; she already knew she wanted a chicken sandwich.
"In the thigh?" Harm looked baffled. "Usually you just go for the jugular or the carotid. If you want a different taste or something you mostly want to change how they're feeling." A frown suddenly spread over her face. "Why the hell are you asking me all this? This isn't anything from the GED. Are you making fun of me?"
"Miss, what would you like-?"
"Just a sec. Harm...I really think you got the Exaltation that was going to Warren. It didn't leave. Maybe it couldn't leave."
Harm shook her head defiantly, tossing her hair all around. "No! That'd mean I messed it up! It was supposed to go to someone smart! I can't-"
"Ladies, can I take-?"
"Harmony, it'll make you smart enough. Five Days' Darkness explained all that. You were just out of it." She put her hand on Harmony's shoulder. "It just needs-"
"Stop it!" Harmony was all but in tears. "I was trying, I really was, but I can't...I can't..."
"Would someone like to order-?"
Amy hoped her idea wasn't as dumb as it sounded. Harm needed to acknowledge what had happened, though. She reached out with her mind, and a ripple of white light burst from her and slammed Harmony into the wall. Around them people began running and screaming. Oh well.
Harmony visibly ground her teeth, and purple light tinged with gold like a sunset burst from her. Amy's grip faltered, and she stumbled forward, falling to her knees. "Stop it!" Harmony screamed. "Stop making fun of me!"
"Harm," Amy whispered, "I promise I'm not making fun of you." She reached out with her mind again, shoving Harmony back against the wall. "This is real, okay? Look at yourself!" Honestly Harm didn't look like an Infernal at all, as far as Amy could tell. But how could she not see-?
Faith burst into the restaurant and tackled Amy.
Faith landed atop Amy, trying to ignore the comfortable softness underneath her. "Ames, what the hell?"
"She's flipping out, Faith! I'm just trying to get through to her. She insists nothing happened!" A ripple of light shoved Faith off her. "Keep an eye on-"
Harmony leapt atop Amy and raised her fist as if to slam it into Amy's face. Faith reached up and caught her easily. "Harm. Not a vampire any more."
"But if I'm like you then why-?"
Faith sighed. "You're not like me, Harm. You're like Amy...I guess. You'll get your strength back. Just not yet, that's all."
"Actually," Five Days' Darkness said, "she's as much like you as she is like Amy." He looked around at the now-deserted food court and sighed. "So much for getting burgers. Harmony isn't an Infernal. She's a Solar. A Twilight specifically, Ignis help us all." He bent down and brushed Harmony's forehead gently.
"How?" Kate wondered. "She was carrying an Infernal Exaltation, wasn't she?"
"Yes," Five said. "But the Infernals were modified from Solars by careless, broken Yozi hands. I told you how the Slayer line's Exaltation was broken. Now we see it again in another form. Harmony was carrying the Exaltation when she suddenly ceased to be a valid alembic and became a valid, if unlikely, host-through a heroic act, at that. She broke the Yozis' modifications. The result was the explosion that destroyed the Mears home."
"Well...that wasn't so bad," Kate suggested. "We have a Solar instead of an Infernal for the price of an explosion."
"Sucks for the Mears family," Amy said. "At least none of them were home but Warren."
"Of course," Kate said, "but it's far from the...the cosmic badness he suggested was possible."
"We should get going," Faith pointed out, "before-"
"Freeze! Everyone put your hands up!"
"Shit."
Kate reflexively reached for her badge; it was gone, of course. She might still be able to defuse the situation, though.
"Officer," Harmony said, "I believe I'm the victim here. I'll be happy to make a statement for you, but I don't want to press charges."
The lead officer frowned and lowered her gun. She must see that not one of them had any weapons out. She gave Harmony a careful look. "Are you sure you're all right, miss?"
"Just a misunderstanding between friends," Harmony said firmly. "Everything's all right."
"In that case," the officer said, "we can probably manage without a statement this time. All right, guys, let's clear out." Of course. It was Sunnydale. If the police took statements every time there was a minor altercation this little town's police department would look like an LAPD precinct. The officers left in good order, if a bit quickly.
"You handled that very well," Five Days' Darkness said to Harmony. "I promise that we will get you up to speed, kiddo." And he patted her on the head.
Harmony glared at him. "I am an adult. I am beautiful and powerful and I don't like it when people act condescending. I'm not that stupid."
"Harmony, listen to me, please. You do not have any reason to be stupid at all, ever again. However unconventional the occurrence may have been, you are now Exalted of the Unconquered Sun." And he went down on one knee in front of her. "You are beautiful. You are powerful. May I please help you acclimate to that?"
"O...okay," Harmony said shakingly. "My head feels really full and busy. It's kind of freaking me out."
"That will pass," Five Days' Darkness said. "Soon you will feel very good indeed."
Harmony breathed a deep sigh.
Five Days' Darkness winked at Amy. "Practice makes perfect," he said.
On the way out they passed a shoe store with dozens of customers returning pumps.
"Hurts," Warren mumbled as Faith passed. Or tried to. Time jumped, stuttered, bubbled. He couldn't be sure of thinking coherently, let alone speaking.
"You would like it to stop. Would you not? I can make it stop."
"Please." The pain faded. Warren looked up into a face that might have been the product of delirium but probably wasn't. Bald man. Fangs. Red fruit punch mouth.
"You were robbed. The Old Ones understand your suffering. They too suffer without end. Would you release them? I can return the power you should have had."
"Anything," Warren breathed. "I'll do anything."
"Lilah, I know you're our finest success story. But in order for our plans to succeed, we need to avoid demons who can become human through any known method.
"So speaks the Wolf."