The Gift of a Family Chapter 9. Dreams and Destiny.
A.N. I know I promised Jack in this chapter unfortunately that didn't work out. I am so sorry! The good news is at the end of this chapter Jack is almost there, he is like walking up her driveway or something. So he should most definitely be in the next chapter. I really mean it this time!
This chapter was longer than planned and it took a lot out of me to write it. It is almost two chapters long. I hope you enjoy it. There is some dark imagery so this is a warning if that stuff bothers anybody. I am also sorry that it took so long (R.L. issues), so I made it a longer chapter.
Once again thank you to Sulien for being my beta reader. For this story and for Urgos Return as well. You are the best sweetie!
Daniel sighed as he turned the page. Finally getting his hands on these books was a mixed blessing. There were so many interesting stories and prophecies. He wanted to read them all, in full, and really consider the ramifications of what they revealed, but he needed to move on to the next book before he could truly satisfy his hunger for knowledge. He longed to take the time to finish reading all of these intriguing things, but they had a limited time to find out about this ritual in order for Buffy to stop it. To Daniel, it was like letting a starving man smell the feast of Thanksgiving and letting him have just a taste of the wondrous bounty, then taking it away. He was even more hungry than when he started.
Glancing up at Buffy, Daniel found himself enchanted. She had fallen asleep on the couch while she had been reading and he took a moment to watch her sleeping. The sunlight from the late afternoon embraced her, highlighting her in a golden glow. A soft, affectionate smile graced his face and lent a sparkle to his eyes as he looked at the tiny blond. She was every bit as intriguing as these books he was reading.
Daniel had a feeling that life with Buffy would never be dull. Even after such a short time of knowing her, Daniel knew that he could spend a lifetime learning about her and still find himself fascinated by her. Buffy was such a mix of extremes, powerful and delicate at the same time. He was very glad that he had the chance to meet her. He hoped and prayed that he would have more time to get to know her. She had shocked him more in one day than he had been in the past four months of working at the SGC combined. Granted he had been on medical leave for a while, healing up from his stay with the guerillas in Honduras. Even so, surprise was almost a daily occurrence at the SGC.
Daniel smiled as he considered the latest shocker she had given him earlier that afternoon after they had started researching. He had once again found himself amazed by the petite blond woman in front of him. She was better at the other languages than she had claimed. She knew some that he didn't and he was pleased to note that they looked like some of the languages he had been trying to figure out on several artifacts back at the SGC. He couldn't help but be a little impressed that she had done so well as he looked over the translations. He also couldn't help the snicker when he had read one of her incorrect translations.
"Go ahead and laugh, but I think I did really good for a girl who only knew English and Fyarl Demon this morning."
Daniel had felt truly chastised. He hadn't meant to laugh at her or her translating abilities, it was the mistranslation that he was laughing at. He would never want to discourage someone from expanding their vocabulary, and the only way she could do that was if she practiced and allowed herself to make mistakes.
"I'm sorry Buffy. I didn't mean that the way it sounded." He had apologized sincerely, then froze as her words really sank in. "What do you mean you only knew English and Fyarl this morning?" He asked.
"I seem to have suddenly learned a few other languages today. Some better than others." She had said, looking at the one about the demon Grishnak again.
"That is incredible, what could have caused that?" And can I get some? He had thought to himself.
"Well, a spell I guess, but I don't think that's it. I had a vision yesterday. My sister came and told me that I'd been given new gifts. I'm guessing the language thing is one of them."
Daniel hadn't known where to begin in responding to that and had imitated a fish for a moment. His reaction had brought a giggle and a brilliant smile to Buffy's lips and all rational thought had fled. It had taken him a few moments to recover and ask about her sister, and sorrow had welled almost instantly in her eyes when he did. It had made him wish he hadn't.
"I'm sorry. You don't have to talk about it. I know what it is like to lose someone you love with all of your heart." Daniel had said.
"It sucks." Buffy stated holding back her tears and trying to hide them.
"Yes, it does." Daniel stated simply and hugged her, breathing in her scent of sandalwood and exotic flowers. It was sexy and feminine, and Daniel couldn't help but wonder what perfume she was wearing. He quickly turned to business to distract himself and Buffy from how much he enjoyed holding her.
Now she was sleeping peacefully in the warm afternoon light. Daniel knew she hadn't gotten any sleep the night before and was glad that she was finally able to get some. She looked like Sleeping Beauty and he wondered what she would do if he woke her with a kiss. He shook his head to dispel the romantic and distracting thoughts. He felt a little disconcerted that he was so attracted to her so soon after getting to know her, but after learning her new title he understood why. He hadn't just met her, he had known her while they were ascended. It explained so much. I wonder how she would react if I told her that we had already met once before?
Turning back to his reading, Daniel nearly choked when he read the words et semel ascendi interfectrix. Daniel's world had been rocked many times before, and he had no doubt it would be rocked many times in the future. He found he knew that this was one of those Earth shattering moments when nothing would ever be the same again after reading the rest of the prophecy.
Taking a deep breath, Daniel slipped away into the office and made a copy of the prophecy he had found. Then he returned and started looking again for the information about the ritual. He had no idea how he was going to talk to Buffy about this, or General Hammond. He now realized that his coming with Jack was more than just a happy circumstance. It was destiny.
Buffy stood at the edge of a cliff face. Behind her, red sand dunes, sage brush and Joshua trees dotted the landscape to the horizon. The sun was hot and beat down upon her small frame. She knew she was dreaming, but none the less she could feel the heat from the scorching sun and feel the sand beneath her feet, powder soft and slightly gritty.
The sand was surprisingly cool and she found herself digging her feet deeper into the soft, red sand. Taking a step forward, she stood on the rocky edge of the cliff itself and looked down to the abyss below.
There at the bottom of the cliff, instead of a stream or rocky ground, was a darkness that no light could penetrate. The morass of darkness churned and rolled like a blackened, storm-tossed sea. Only the sea was alive and hungry. It would devour anything and everything it could touch.
"Not a pretty sight, is it B?" Faiths' voice asked.
Looking up, Buffy saw Faith standing on the opposite side of the chasm. "Am I dreaming that you are here, or are you dreaming this too, Faith?"
"How the hell should I know, B? You know I never paid attention to all that Slayer Guru crap. I was more of an action kinda gal. I thought that this was my dream, I was wondering if you were really here."
"Sometimes I wonder if any of us are really here," Buffy answered back.
"Don't get all metaphysical on me, B. Powers sent me a little message through the creepy guy with the bowler hat."
"Whistler. Last time I saw him, I threatened to tear his rib cage out and wear it as a hat. Did you do any threatening?"
"Nice visual, B. I'll have to remember that one. I just threatened to kick his ass into next week."
"Did the powers tell you about how they are reassigning me?"
"Not exactly. They said it was time for a change of the guard for the Hellmouth. Whistler said it was time for me to step forward and either embrace my destiny or fall into the abyss."
"I'm sorry, Faith. I know what it's like the guard the Mouth. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy."
"Isn't that what I am?"
"I don't look at you that way. I did once, but not anymore. We both have a choice. What is yours going to be?"
"It's really dark down there, B," Faith said, motioning to the swelling and churning darkness below. "It scares me but sometimes I can't help but think that is where I belong."
Buffy looked at the darkness below them then looked back to Faith's chocolate brown eyes. "Our powers may be rooted in darkness, but that doesn't mean that we are creatures of darkness. We have to be stronger than that. The Powers chose us. I have to believe that it's because we can overcome that darkness within."
"Shit, B! I'm not a perfect little girl who happened to become the Slayer. That darkness down there was a part of me long before I was joined to that beast. The darkness isn't just the Slayer, it's me."
"You think I'm some perfect ray of sunshine? Not too long ago I was boinking the un-dead just so I could feel something."
"You and Angel found a way around the curse?"
"I didn't say it was Angel."
Faith just blinked at Buffy. "Did some other vamp get a curse that I don't know about?"
"No, he only had a chip."
"Shit, Buffy, what is with you and the male members of the Scourge of Europe? So how was Spike? Give me some details so I can make with the vicarious thrills."
"We have gotten so, so, way off topic here. The point is, Faith, that I have my own inky black just like you do. Now look up."
Faith looked up. There in the sky were twin suns, one a little brighter than the other, but both were blazing brightly in the azure blue sky. They were both blinding and dazzling.
"There is light and darkness in all of us Faith. Sometimes it's easier to notice the darkness and sometimes it's easier to notice the light, but it is there. The choices we make are what define who we are, whether we are creatures of light or shadow."
"I'm scared, Buffy. I don't know if I can do this. What if I fall or fail."
Buffy blinked in surprise, Faith almost never used her given name, and always liked to pretend that nothing frightened her.
"If you fall, then you have to get up or give up. We all can only do the best we can at anything we do. Giles used to tell me that the winners aren't people who have never fallen down, they are the ones who get back up again. The real truth, Faith, is that I'm scared too."
"Will you meet me halfway?" Faith asked. Her voice sounded like a frightened child pleading for help.
Buffy nodded and took a deep breath at the same time that Faith did as she tried to settle her fears and gather her courage. Together they stepped forward off of the cliff. Neither one fell down, they both walked toward each other and met halfway over the top of the gaping chasm.
"So now what? Do we get to pick up an ugly cup, drink from it and live forever now?" Buffy asked sarcastically. It was just too much Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade not to make a comment about it.
"Funny that you should say that." A man's voice said from behind them, he had a slightly Chinese accent but it was hardly noticeable. Turning around, Faith and Buffy found themselves in a darkened cave. Shadows danced around them from the flickering light of torches. There stood a man who was clearly oriental. He had darkened skin, black hair, and dark eyes that seemed to be black in the darkened shadows. He was about Buffy's height, but was lean and carried himself like a true fighter. He was the Dragon.
"Say what?"
"After what you have done, you do not deserve the great gift that I plan to give you."
"I hope you kept the receipt, 'cuz I'm thinking that anything you have bought me I'm going to want to return. And just what is it that I am supposed to have done?" Buffy asked.
"Naughty slayer," A familiar and feminine voice stated from the darkened shadows. "Stole what was mine, then threw him away when you were done with him. Broke my childe so he cries because of what once was. Now he won't return to us, now that the glowing light is his again. He won't come back to us, not unless... Miss Edith knows what will bring him back. She told me the secret, whispered it in my ear, she did. Spike will come back if his sunshine is turned into darkness," Drusilla stated as she walked out into the flickering light.
"As if our Slayer dreams weren't confusing enough on their own, now we have to listen to the crazy ho vampire talking about what a doll told her," Buffy turned to tell Faith, but she wasn't there anymore.
"You will be my gift to my sire for disobeying him. You will bring him back to the fold," the Dragon said.
"My Spike was always ruled by his heart. Pit-a-pat pitter-pat." Drusilla stated, then twirled about dancing into and out of the light from the many torches.
"The Scourge of Europe will bring forth the Scourge of America, and then the World. Behold, the ritual is almost ready." The Dragon then motioned toward the center of the cave where five obelisks of black stone stood at the five points of a pentagram, a human sacrifice was chained to every stone, but one. Buffy watched as a ghostly mist seemed to fill in the spot for the 5th person. Each sacrifice cried out in pain as they were slashed by an unseen menace. She tried to move forward to save them, but she was frozen in place with no choice but to watch as the blood leaked down to flow onto a silver seal. The seal started to glow with a black light and suddenly a fountain of blood spilled up from the ground flooding the cave. Somehow Buffy knew the blood wasn't going to stop, it was going to fill the cave and then the world.
Buffy turned to run so she wouldn't drown once again, but found herself in the arms of the Dragon. "You drove Spike to seek out his soul. It left him a pathetic, empty shell." Buffy desperately tried to fight him, but he was far stronger than he looked. Far stronger than your regular vampire.
"You're saying Spike has a soul now?" Buffy asked as she struggled in his grasp.
"He got it for you. I'm betting he will destroy it for you as well. Welcome to the family, Buffy." He stated just as he lowered his fangs into her neck.
"Buffy," Faith's voice called to her from what seemed to be miles away. "I was paroled not very long ago. I didn't know what to do with myself until Whistler came and I had this dream. I'm coming to Sunnydale and I will be there as soon as I can."
"Faith, help!" Buffy cried out just as the Dragon's fangs pierced her flesh and she was filled with both pain and pleasure.
"NO!" Buffy shouted as his bloody wrist was thrust into her mouth. "Please God! No! I don't want to be a vampire, I want to go back to heaven!" She cried out, tears streaming down her face.
"Buffy!" Daniel's voice called to her from the darkness. "Wake up!"
Buffy opened her eyes to find herself on the floor in her living room, the light from the afternoon sun shining brightly through the window. It lit Daniels blue eyes that were looking down at her worriedly.
"Daniel?" Buffy asked, her voice coming out scratchy, and she realized that she must have been shouting for real.
Daniel pulled her into his arms and held her gently. "Thank God. You scared me to death, Buffy. You were dreaming peacefully, then all of a sudden you screamed and fell off of the couch.
"Can I just say I hate Slayer dreams like that!" Buffy stated.
"You were having a Slayer dream?" Daniel asked, suddenly worried again. "Buffy, are they always true?"
"There is always truth in them, but no, they are often cryptic warnings. This one was a little worse than others." Buffy shivered as she stood up and sat back down on the couch.
"Sorry I fell asleep during research mode, find anything interesting while I was out?" Buffy asked hopefully.
"Yes, it's something I'll need to talk to you about later, but it has nothing to do with what we are looking for right now." Daniel stated. For a moment, Buffy wondered if she was still dreaming her cryptic Slayer dreams.
"I do have something I would like you to take a look at, it has one of those languages that I can't read mixed in with what I can," Daniel continued and Buffy figured she would worry about it if things started to get freaky again; until then she would assume she was awake again.
"All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream." Buffy whispered thinking back to her conversation with Faith when she admitted that sometimes she wondered if anything was real anymore.
Daniel heard this and smiled at her. "You just keep surprising me. Now you're quoting Shakespeare."
Buffy made a noise. "It comes from having a Giles around, and occasionally sharing his brain with you."
"Er, what?"
"Oh, it was this spell, Giles was the brain, Willow the spirit, Xander the Heart, and I was the hand."
"I...um ...see." He really didn't, but he wasn't sure he wanted an explanation about how four people were different parts of a body.
"We did it so we could defeat this Frankenstein's Monster thing. It was a combination of computer, human and different demons. It would have been impossible to defeat otherwise."
"Something impossible to defeat, so like Don Quixote you had to dream the impossible dream?" Daniel quoted.
"Something like that," Buffy stated, remembering how she was able to turn Adam's grenades into doves. It certainly seemed like an impossible dream. "Just promise me you won't go attacking any Windmills, ok?"
Daniel laughed. "You have a deal."
A.N. Ok, so Drusilla is out of the bag I was going to keep her presence a secret for a little while longer, but with the whole dream sequence I actually felt ready to take on Dru's character. (A frightening thing for me because she always makes so much sense while not making any sense at all.)