Hey all, I've decided to combine chapters 2, 3 and of course, the update, chapter 4, so this is a really long one.
Things needed some serious editing and revising, I far more pleased with what I've done now than what I had before. Enjoy!
Chapter 2-
Giles immediately whipped around to see Buffy on her knees, holding her head and whimpering as if in pain.
"I don't want to be here!" Buffy yelled, opening her eyes a bit to see Giles hurrying to her "I want to leave this horrible place!".
Giles held Buffy in his arms and helped her to stand, he was about to lead her out of the temple when suddenly she stopped whimpering and it seemed that all of her strength returned to her.
"It's gone…." Buffy said softly "All of the things I was feeling from this place….. Gone".
"Can you bring yourself to explore the temple still?" Giles asked.
Buffy nodded "Yes, even though I really don't want to be here".
Giles nodded eagerly "We'll do our best to be quick".
With that the two of them continued on into the depths of the plant covered temple, seeing here and there Japanese inscriptions on the walls and crude drawings of creatures, which Giles stopped right away to inspect and he seemed very excited.
"These are drawings are the very first ever willow wisps! They have to be!" He exclaimed joyfully, his hands sweeping over the cold stone wall of the temple, tracing the drawing with his fingers "Amazing, lets, continue".
Buffy followed Giles through the temple, silent as the grave, Giles may have been excited by all this but all Buffy got was a foreboding feeling of dread.
Giles hadn't noticed when he'd been walking up ahead alone and Buffy had found herself before a very well down painting done on the stone wall, a painting of a woman in green and black Japanese priestess robes…….. A woman that looked exactly like Buffy!
Her eyes widened in horror, her look alike's face shone with beauty and unmatchable evil, amused hatred sparkled in her eyes and even in a portrait she seemed to radiate power beyond imagination.
Soon after awhile of Buffy staring at the painting with wide horrified eyes, Giles walked over to where Buffy was and saw the painting, saying only a soft "Oh dear".
Buffy had hurried out of the temple, not looking back, not even as Giles called her name, telling to wait, no, now way in hell was she going to stay in there after seeing a painting of a woman that looked like the personification of beauty and evil and worst off, looked just like her, down to every feature!
"Buffy!" Giles huffed tiredly as he came down the stone steps "There must be some way to explain this, we must not panic".
"Giles!" Buffy shrieked "That woman! The one with the evil eyes, she looks just like me!".
The past few weeks began to weigh heavily upon Buffy, down to all the weird nightmares and now what she discovered in the earth temple.
"Giles……" Buffy said softly, looking towards him slowly "Tell me who she is, I know that you know her identity".
Giles sighed loudly and ran a hand over his tired brow "Alright, her name is Saria, she was the priestess of this temple, gentle, warm and loving, until one day all the sacred elementals turned evil, no one knows how or why, and then shortly after they all disappeared, they had tried to take over the world before they disappeared. No one ever knew what happened to them".
"Why does she look like me? Or perhaps the other way around, why do I look like her?" Buffy demanded, stepping towards him menacingly "Is there any other important info you forgot to tell me".
Giles shook his head "I know nothing else".
Buffy sighed and nodded, then looking his square in the eyes, she said "I'm not going back in there, Giles and neither are you, we are going back to California.
"Buffy" Giles sighed "We must explore the temple, the answers to our questions could be inside".
"Go without me, I will wait out here" Buffy said firmly "I will not go back into that place".
Giles finally agreed after Buffy putting her foot down over and over and said he'd be out in an hour at the most.
While she waited for Giles to return, Buffy sat down on the ground, her back against a strong, large oak tree and closed her eyes, soon falling asleep.
Voices……. She could hear voices………. She somehow knew these voices.
Vicious and cruel laughter……… a woman's laughter.
She saw the source then, there was the woman, Saria, the one that looked just like her.
"Kill them! Kill them all!" She shrieked happily "Destroy each of those stupid, pathetic mortals! May their blood rain from the sky!"
The woman seemed to be throwing some bright lime green balls of energy from her hands at innocent human villagers, delighting in their pain and suffering, laughing viciously as they slowly died before her, confusion filling their eyes before the life finally faded away.
"Saria! Stop this! You must stop!" A male voice cried desperately, heading in a frantic run towards Saria "Saria! Stop! Please!"
Saria turned and smiled coldly, eerily before she lifted an elegant hand to shoot a charged ball of green light at the man, killing him instantly, a satisfied smirk curving her sensual lips as he lay dead at her feet "Poor Adrian, such a fool you were to defy me…"
Adrian…It was Riley! Adrian looked just like Riley!
No! This cannot be real!
Her voice…… My voice…I can hear it… It's different…So sad…
The scene began to change from a Japanese village to what seemed to be the inside of the earth temple in its former glory, lit brightly with torches. This had obviously taken place before the earlier scene of carnage, Saria's eyes were free of malevolence, but instead gentle and filled with sadness and despair.
She could see Saria laying limply upon a wood sette like piece of furniture cushioned with bright spring green vines and colorful flowers, she looked awful, so weak, she was clearly struggling with something, her breathing was haggard and rough, she was sweating drastically.
"Can't fight much more… Someone please… Help me…… Minna-san…… Gomen Nasai… I tried…I tried… Forgive me… Please forgive me"
The scene changed once more
"Quickly brothers! Tie her tightly! Make sure it's the magical rope.
Monks scrambled all around, frantic with fear and dread, hoping they could stop this evil menace once and for all.
"Father Gabriel, all we can do is reincarnate her, you know that, right? It's all we can manage with our power" A monk barely into his late twenties, addressed the head monk, Father Gabriel.
"I know" Gabriel sighed "I know, but at least it's something, and the world will be safe, we can only pray that our magic will hold and Saria's spirit will remain sleeping within the depths her reincarnation.
The Saria in question, was thrashing wildly against her restraints, her whole eyes glowing a furious solid electric lime green.
Saria or Lady Saria as she was worldly known, was a very powerful elemental, she was the most powerful of all the sacred seven, their leader, the earth elemental.
"Traitorous bastards!!!!" She screamed viciously, her eyes still blaring that bright solid electric lime green light "How dare you turn on me!!!!!!!! Release me!!!!"
"It is you, Lady Saria, that is the traitor, you were created by God to keep the world in balance, but for some unseen reason you have betrayed the side of good and turned to evil, you murdered thousands of innocent people for sport, Saria! You have made moves to try and take over this world! You shall be punished! Reincarnated you shall be!" Father Gabriel said to Saria, his voice steady yet powerful at the same time.
"You dare to reincarnate me?!" Saria screamed furiously "This is your fault, not mine! You did this to me!"
"You brought it upon yourself, Saria" Father Gabriel said simply, sadly.
Saria screamed in a furious rage, throwing vicious curses at the monks.
The monks then began their chanting and a bright golden light began to engulfed Saria, swallowing her whole.
"Bastards! I will awaken one day and when I do, I will destroy your descendants and then I will make your precious world mine!!! I swear it!!!! You'll pay!!!" Saria screamed before the light became stronger and swallowed her up and the she was gone.
"Father Gabriel? She can't really awaken, can she?" the monk from before approached Father Gabriel.
"I do not know, it could be possible" Father Gabriel replied somberly.
"And if she does?" the monk asked softly.
"Then God help us all".
Buffy lurched awake, dripping in sweat, her hands flew up to cover her face "Oh god no! It can't be! It just is not possible!".
She removed her hands as she heard footsteps coming down the temple's stone steps and saw Giles, now looking concerned as he saw that he face was soaked with tears.
"Buffy what is it?" He asked, rushing to her side "Are you hurt?".
"Giles……" Buffy said, her voice low and fearful almost like she feared anyone hearing "Saria was reincarnated".
Giles stared at her a moment, trying to understand "And?".
"It's me, Giles" Buffy sobbed, "I am Saria reincarnated! And Riley! I killed Riley! I murdered him!".
****
Buffy sat in the back of the plane, her knees clutched to her chest in her seat, this all made sense, it all explained why she'd always felt something else stirring within her, something dark...
She knew now what it was... What Dracula has claimed her power was rooted to... Saria...
Saria was the reason why Buffy towered over all other slayers, she had to have been unknowingly drawing power from her slumbering incarnation.
Buffy shuddered involuntarily, thinking back on the memories she's received, remembering the wickedness of Saria, the pure evil in her eyes... Such twisted and dark satisfaction at the havoc she was wreaking...
Biting back a sorrowed sob, Buffy brought her hands up to cover her face, she just couldn't believe she'd been created from such horrible evil, it was no wonder why the monks has done all they could to make the world forget her after everything that had happened, Saria had become a gruesome secret of history that never was to be revealed.
Father Gabriel... in the last memory... he looked so sad... he looked as though perhaps he felt he had failed Saria and the other elementals...
That brought on another thought, what had happened to Saria that made her so dark and so evil? What had Saria taken on such a drastic change in personality and moral?
'Why bother wondering, seeing is better, the power is amazing'
Buffy jumped in alarm at the voice in her head, it sounded like her voice, but... it sounded so evil...
"Go away" Buffy said softly, covering her face with her hands "Just go away"
'You know what I say is true, Buffy, you have felt it, you have felt the power we share as one and the same'
"No!" Buffy murmured firmly, not wanting anyone to hear her and think her gone mad, perhaps she was, who knew "I am not like you, whoever you are"
Soft malicious laughter echoed in her mind 'Oh but you are, you are... We are one, Buffy, you are I are one as we always have been, don't dwell in denial... give in Buffy... become what you once were'
"No!" Buffy screamed, not realizing she'd stood and raised her voice, clutching her head as she shook it "Go away!!!"
Giles was at her side in a mili-second, grasping her arms and holding her still, bringing her hurtling back into the here and now.
Buffy immediately broke down in tears, collapsing in Giles's arms, she was grateful for how Giles simply held her and allowed her to cry, saving the questions for later, he obviously knew something was very wrong and that she was in no way crazy.
"Saria spoke to you?" Giles asked gently, closing the door to his apartment "You're sure it was her?"
Buffy nodded shakily "I am positive, it's not possible to mistake someone else for Saria"
"Oh dear, she's stirring" Giles said softly, sitting down into an armchair opposite Buffy "I doubt this is good in any way"
"Giles..." Buffy said softly, hesitantly looking into his face "Is it possible for ones past life to take over their body... can Saria return?"
Giles was stunned to silence for a moment until he saw the fear in Buffy's eyes, and the tears glittering beneath them.
"Buffy" Giles replied softly, but firmly "No matter what you think, you cannot give in to Saria, you cannot allow something so evil to be unleashed upon this world, you have to remember, you won't be there to save the day... you'd be the one destroying it..."
"Is she really that powerful?" Buffy whispered, a tear sliding down her face.
Giles hesitated, but eventually nodded "The only remaining records... the journal of Father Gabriel... said that Saria was of divine creation, she is unstoppable... she cannot be allowed to awaken"
'That old fool thinks my awakening can be prevented? What an innocent fool, mortals never learn'
Buffy groaned and clutches her head "Stop it... Go away!"
Giles looked at Buffy in deep sincere concern "Buffy? Are you alright? Is it Saria?"
Buffy weakly nodded "She keeps talking to me... she's getting stronger ... she's aware of everything and now she's seeking to emerge... Giles... I don't understand this..."
Giles sunk into his chair and ran a hand over his face "Oh dear god..."
That same malicious laughter echoed in Buffy's head 'God cannot help you'
With a frustrated cry, Buffy bolted from her chair and raced out of the apartment, not going anywhere specific, just running, running blindly from something impossible to escape.
'You cannot escape me, Buffy, I am within you, I have always been within you, your powers have always been rooted in darkness... my darkness... it feels good, doesn't it?'
"I won't listen to you" Buffy cried as she ran, ignoring the people staring at her "You've always been silent before, I will make you be silent again!"
Amused wicked laughter echoed in her mind.
'The moment you stepped within the temple, I began to awaken and now there is nothing you can do to stop it, soon you will cease to exist and I will return'
"No!"Buffy shrieked, falling to her knees as she ran into an empty alley, grateful to be away from curious eyes "I will not let you hurt any more innocent people!!!"
'Innocent?' she said, laughing manically 'Mortals are not innocent, the whole lot is corrupt and filthy'
"Shut up!" Buffy shrieked "Just shut up!"
'Aw, poor Buffy, so helpless, you ought to just give in, it will make things a lot easier on you in the end'
Buffy leaned down to press her forehead on the pavement as she wept, Saria's evil laughter echoing about in the recesses of her mind, torturing her... driving her to madness...
"Everyone" Buffy whispered sadly through the tears "I'm sorry"
And with that, a wave of emerald green light with swirls of black appeared and engulfed her.
"It wasn't always like this you know"
Buffy could see nothing by the cocoon of emerald light engulfing her as she lay there on the ground, tears sparkling at the corners of her eyes, her mind of confused and despairing mess, her eyes regaining somewhat attentiveness as Saria's voice continued on.
"You are all fools if you believe this was what I wanted, I did this for you, for all of you…"
"I don't understand" Buffy murmured softly, weakly, trying to wrap her mind around Saria's words.
"I used to be pure and good, once, so very long ago, I sacrificed myself for this world, all of them… The monks… the mortal world… they all abandoned me to this darkness… They never even tried… They will all now feel my pain… my suffering"
Before Buffy could attempt to question her incarnation of her cryptic words, the light encasing her caved in and wrapped around her, she could feel spaces before that had felt strangely empty being filled, as if pieces of her very being had once been stolen and were now being put back, however, these pieces were dripping with ancient darkness and deep heart breaking sorrow, her mind began to fog up then until she finally passed out, she knew though what was happening before she lost consciousness, past and present were merging. Saria was awakening.
****
"No… Oh Goddess no…"
Giles turned around to look to where Willow sat at the kitchen table, her eyes now filled with fear and sadness "Willow? What's wrong? Is it Buffy?"
A tear sliding down the red headed witch's face, she nodded "Yes, Buffy and Saria have been reunited…. Saria had returned…. Though I am confused…. Sure there is malevolence there in Saria's being, but there is also anger and sorrow, an ancient bitterness… also….. The most strange, self hatred? Is it possible that Saria hates herself?"
Xander walked up beside Giles and sighed "This crap just gets stranger and stranger by the minute, first we believe Saria to be an evil psycho bitch, the next it's possible that maybe she dislikes what she's become, if that's so, why doesn't she just stop?"
"I'm not sure that she can" Willow murmured and she stroked her chin "It's strange, I think if we want to help Buffy, we need to learn more about Saria and her past, we need to understand her and what happened to her, that is if we can avoid her finding us and killing us off before we can uncover any of her secrets"
"We are in serious shit" Xander replied frustrated "This bitch is gonna kill us"
Giles glared at Xander and then looked to Willow "First things is first, we need to figure out where in the blazes to start looking for some tid bit that will save out bottoms"
"Hunting down descendants of the monks is useless as the monks obviously did not have the whole story, my suggestion, as dangerous as it is, would be to return to the Earth Temple, intuition tells me what we need just may be there"
"Dear lord, figures" Giles sighed "Alright, we'll leave tonight, before Saria's power has had enough time to recoop enough to track us, she will need at least two days before she is back to full power, I know that much"
Willow nodded "Then we had two days to uncover Saria's secrets and learn to way to defeating her… or better yet… saving her"
Rain had begun to pour down now as if thousands of angels wept from the heavens.
Saria stood there in the shadows of the night, her normally wavy hair hanging straight down, heavy with rain, water streaked down her face and arms as she glared at the dwelling housing those whom sought to defy her "Yes, go to the Earth Temple, learn what happened to me, learn why you deserve my vengeance… Then… Then I will crush you all…"
I hope you all like this extra long chapter, I worked really hard on the new additions as well as the revising on the previous two chapters. I've been really tired lately, so I apologize if this isn't exactly the greatest, I certainly did try though.
~Tom Riddle's reluctant bride