Immortality's Gift (The Alternate Version)

Author's Note: Sorry for the lateness of this part, but I've been preoccupied with Real Life.
Author's Note 2: (nervously) Heh, I do hope this exceeds everyone's expectations on Illyria's return. I know I surprised myself! (crosses fingers)


Part 22: Possession

In the Donan Woods, Cassandra lay on the floor of the cottage. Her thoughts were chaotic as she tried to comprehend what was happening to her. Hours had passed since she had awoken and started convulsing ceaselessly, and the sun was near to rising. Her Immortal healing had finally seemed to kick in, and had given her a much needed respite.

She knew instinctively that it would not last long.

Her breath ragged and short, she slowly turned onto her side and stilled, shuddering. She lay there unmoving for long moments as her insides twisted and churned, feverish sweat dripping off her body to land in the cool water puddled about her. With the cessation of ever-increasing levels of pain, the ability to think returned to Cassandra, and with thought came realization.

The sarcophagus must have been cursed, she thought with no surprise as she opened her eyes, looked towards her sleeping area with determination, and then began to move.

Unable to sit up, let alone stand, she dragged herself over to her bed, gasping with each movement she made. Upon reaching the bed, she thrust one shaking hand underneath it, and fumbled around for something. After a moment, her hand bumped against a cool, hard object, causing a metallic scraping sound, and sobbed with relief as she pulled her sword towards herself. Using the weapon as a crutch, Cassandra sat up. Once sitting upright, she maneuvered the sword until the hilt was resting in the joint between floor, bed, and wall where it couldn't be moved. That done, she then placed the blade's point against her chest, directly over her heart.

She only knew of one way to stop what was happening to her at this point, and that was to die. She had had curses placed on her before, and had found the only way to end them when magic didn't work was to temporarily cease to live, and allow her body to reset itself, as it were. With this thought firmly in mind, the Immortal drew in a ragged breath, and forced herself forward with all her strength and might against her sword.

The blade arched with the sudden pressure, unable to penetrate the skin, then shattered.

Cassandra's head impacted heavily with the wall as she continued her forward motion, causing her to cry out. She then moaned in horrified despair as she lay in an awkward position on the floor, her folded body pushing forward and down on her face, which was jammed into the corner above the bed. With some effort, the Immortal pushed away from the wall to fall onto her back. She remained where she was as stars swam and flashed about in her vision.

As she lay there, a sensation she had felt only once before moved through her. A feeling that happened when the sarcophagus had been opened by her touch. Her breath caught, and fear consumed her. But as quickly as the fear flared to life, so was it extinguished. Resolve filled her instead, as she understood what was happening.

She was being possessed, her physical self consumed from within, and her Immortal body was fighting it as no mortal possibly could.

There was only one thing left for her to do. She must fight this invasion on her own ground, in the realm where she excelled. Drawing in a steadying breath, she allowed her eyes to roll up into the back of her head as she closed them, then pushed her consciousness within until it touched her subconscious and weaved itself with it. Feeling as though she were too large for her body, she pushed her awareness outward into the spirit realm.

All physical sensation was gone as she now stood in the midst of a void of nothingness. With senses that were far greater than those of the physical body—as they were not limited by their environment, she knew she was not alone in this place. The other's presence was powerful, and she comprehended that this was the entity possessing her.

The Immortal spoke, demanding, "Who are you that invades my body?"

For a long moment, nothing happened, then the presence seemed to shift closer without moving, and twisted itself around her. In a voice that thundered with power in the vast nothingness that contained their essences, the apparition spoke.

"Who are you to question me, filth?"

Firmly standing her ground, she answered, "I am Cassandra, the one you seek to destroy and possess!"

Immediately, the presence tightened painfully about her, power flooding her senses beyond the point of bearing. Dimly was she aware of the creature speaking contemptuously, and what she heard filled her with sudden fury.

"You are nothing, worm, and will soon no longer matter. Your body will be mine."

Rage burning bright within her, the Immoral summoned forth the one weapon she possessed against this being. In a blaze of pale blue light, her Quickening surrounded her spirit like a shield. The creature withdrew from her with a bellow of pain. At last able to see in this place, she shuddered with revulsion as she viewed her opponent.

The creature filled the void in a never-ending coiled mass all around her that constantly moved and shifted, yet never left its position. Out of this indigo-scaled body, about fifteen feet of length meandered on the floor towards her. Upon this length, a torso and head reaching twenty-four feet high rose weaving back and forth in a slow hypnotic fashion. The part of the body that stood possessed a crimson underbelly and four arms along its sides. In the bottom set of clawed hands, the creature held two huge serrated swords of black iron away from itself, as its upper hands clasped between them a ball of midnight dark light. Its head was snake-like, yet possessed attributes that were vaguely humanoid, such as eyes that were human shaped and lidless. Within those orbs, acid-blue fire shone, and expressed great age, knowledge and power. Its gaping maw was open in a constant hiss, showing many jagged teeth and a pair of three-foot long fangs. A slim yet long tongue hung out of its mouth, excess venomous saliva dripping off its pronged end.

The overall impression Cassandra had of this fell creature was that of a demonic cross between a Naga and an Ouroboros.

As she stared up at this entity, Cassandra recalled the words on the sarcophagus, and found herself saying in a strangely calm-yet-dry tone, "You are Illyria, I presume."

All she had the impression next was that of a blue and red blur, before she was flying backwards through the air. Her back impacted heavily with the scaled body of the demon as the Immortal heard Illyria roar with fury, "YOU DARE SPEAK MY NAME? You have not the right!"

Cassandra stepped away from where she had landed against the demon's form, ire filling her. Her Quickening brightening further about her form, the Immortal replied, "I have every right. It is my body that you seek to have!"

A low rumble filled the void, and took Cassandra by surprise as she realized it was laughter.

Its tone once more condescending, Illyria said, "My freedom was planned, but not who's form I would take. That task was left to my most devoted followers. You, scum, were the one they chose. 'Though, why they chose a human, I cannot guess."

Irritated, Cassandra snarled, then demanded, "If you find my form so repulsive, then why don't you leave?"

Scorn and disbelief shimmering in its eyes, the demon answered, "Once the process of possession is started, vessel, it can not be stopped...even by me. Your body will soon succumb to take on some of my appearance, and once I have defeated your spirit I will consume you to complete my awakening."

Determination and fury battled for domination within her as Cassandra snapped out, "You may possess my body, but you will never have my soul, demon!"

"We shall see," Illyria hissed, an unholy light shinning within its eyes.

Those words were all the preparation Cassandra had before finding herself completely surrounded by the demon's many coils. The suddenness of the attack had caused her Quickening to suppress itself, and she had been left in what would have been suffocating darkness in the physical realm. This was not the real world, though, and much that was impossible was now probable.

With a feral scream, the Immortal summoned forth her Quickening again, and allowed it to fully encase her form as an armor of pale blue lightening bolts. The result of this was instantaneous as Illyria bellowed in pain and the coils about her drew back until they were safely away from the Immortal enough not to feel pain.

For a moment, nothing else happened, then the endless tail of the snake shifted until Illyria's head and torso were before the Immortal. Pointing one of its great swords at her, the demon demanded, "How is it that your light can repel me?"

Summoning forth the astral equivalent of the sword that had been shattered in the physical world, Cassandra answered coolly as she kept the weapon down at her side, "I am Immortal."

Illyria reared back in shock, and exclaimed while lowering its sword, "You are of the bastard children of my kind!"

Confusion and alarm swiftly filled her, causing Cassandra to ask sharply as she took a step back, "What do you mean by that?"

Shock still evident, the demon inquired curiously, "How can you know not what you are? Have the teachings of your origins become so lost?"

Wary of what she might hear, Cassandra explained and asked, "All that Immortals know about our origins is that every one of us are foundlings. We do not even know if we are born or simply come into existence out of nothing. How does this relate to what you know about us?"

Disgust in its voice, Illyria replied, "Then Immortals have lost all knowledge of what they are. Very well, vessel, I will tell you what your kind has forgotten.

"In the beginnings, there were the Greater Powers and the true demons. In time, the Greater Powers withdrew Their presence from the physical realm to watch all around Them, to influence all things in the way They wanted it to be. This left my kind to do what they wished to the lesser creatures. We wreaked havoc on the world, but soon tired of such simple play and turned on ourselves.

"In our battles we destroyed not just the body of our opponent, but the spirit as well. We did not want to risk the resurrection of an enemy similar to what is happening now. My kind alone could destroy our souls, but that same destruction was not complete.

"Fragments of the decimated souls escaped our attention, an oversight we would come to regret with time. These soul-shards varied in strength and power, and constantly sought a way to take physical form again. The Greater Powers saw this, and were intrigued. Gathering these soul-shards to Them, the Powers asked then what they would give to have a body. Their answer was unanimous: anything.

"The Greater Powers were well pleased with this response and declared that the soul-shards would be allowed bodies...but They alone would choose the form and how it would come about. The soul-shards readily agreed to this condition.

"Much debate happened then among the Greater Powers, and various factions formed. The two greatest sects argued between making them lesser demons or human-like. Neither side would give ground. In the end, They divided the soul-shards between them. The Powers that preferred the shadows made the lesser demons, while They who delighted in light created timeless humanoid beings they called Immortals.

"This, then, is the beginnings of your people. What have you to say to this, vessel?"

Cassandra's mind reeled, and she found herself asking dazedly as she desperately grasped onto what she could comprehend, "How do Immortals come into being: born or created, then placed with those that don't know what we are?"

Amusement, then disgust, was heard in its voice as Illyria responded, "Created. Humans, for all their weaknesses, are very powerful creatures. Only their being unable to access this power has kept them from becoming gods. This is why our kind despise humans so. All that potential...wasted in their short lives."

Cassandra frowned, and reluctantly agreed silently to what had just been said. Before she could comment, though, sensation overwhelmed her. She stiffened in place as she felt the pain of her body, then ruthlessly pushed it away. Her physical form was once more battling against Illyria's invasion, but she knew the demon was right. Her body would soon succumb to Illyria, but it would be up to the battle in this place that would decide who was in control. Resolved on her course of action, the Immortal raised her sword, pointed it at Illyria, and declared, "Enough talk. The time draws close for one of us to claim possession of my body. Let's get this done!"

Once more the demon laughed, this time in delight and anticipation, before stating as it raised its swords to the ready, "I like the way you think, Immortal. In another lifetime I may have allowed you to live, but that time is not now."

With these words, Illyria struck, a blur of motion in the void. Instinctively, Cassandra raised her sword to stop the fatal blow from happening, and dropped to her knees from the sheer force of the demon's attack. Her Quickening flared to stop her opponent's other weapon from striking her.

With a low growl, the Immortal slowly rose to her feet. As she held off the demon, she created a sword made out of her Quickening, and struck Illyria with it. The demon reared back with a bellow of pain before lashing out.

As Cassandra defended herself against the demon, the Immortal thought. There was only one other person alive who knew she could fight with two swords, and that was her teacher: Methos. He had taught her the demonic language and blade fighting at the same time in secret. They had never told the other Horsemen what they were doing when they left the camp together. She was aware now that this had led to Kronos' jealousy, and her subsequent escape.

A sharp pain, a glancing blow on her arm, brought her attention back to the present. Cassandra stepped back, knowing that such an action in this place meant nothing, and kept up her guard. As she blocked each lightning fast strike from Illyria, she began to realize that the demon was playing with her.

A snarl curled one side of her lip as anger started to flare a little bit brighter within her. Obliterating her swords, the Immortal moved across to the far side of the void with a thought. Summoning a ball of pure Quickening between her hands, Cassandra snapped out, "Illyria! Our weapons do naught in this place but irritate us. You will now learn my true strength here!"

At these words, the Immortal flung the ball of power at her opponent. As the energy struck Illyria, Cassandra summoned all of her Quickening to the void and encased the demon in it. The reaction of the other to this was instantaneous, as Illyria writhed in agony. Minutes passed before the demon, with a bellow of triumph, cast the Quickening from itself.

It lay still for long moments, before stirring and rising once more. In fury, Illyria said in a low hiss, "Not even those who killed me caused me such pain. You will pay for your actions, vermin!"

The demon reared further up into the air as its coils moved closer to the Immortal. As this happened, the orb of black light it held grew greater in size. When the bottom of the orb reached the top level of Illyria's coiled mass, it began to flatten and spread out until it reached the edges of the entwined body of the demon.

All that could now be seen by the faint flickering of Cassandra's Quickening was the black malevolent light above, and the many coils round about her. The Immortal prepared herself as best she could as the black mass of power began to descend towards her. Seemingly quicker than thought, Cassandra suddenly found herself surrounded by Illyria's energy. The crush of that power was like nothing she had ever known.

As Cassandra fought to free herself from this darkness, she felt her form begin to fray. She knew, then, that she was doing far more than she needed to in this place, and had been unwittingly playing by Illyria's rules. Closing unneeded eyes, the Immortal allowed the image she had taken in this place to dissipate, her awareness and essence now filling every part of the void not taken up by the demon. Her senses were everywhere, and told her everything that was happening in the void and to her body.

Assimilating the flood of information she was receiving from her senses, Cassandra began to realize that something was terribly wrong with her body. Through her senses, Cassandra knew that her physical self had succumbed to the curse that was preparing it for Illyria's occupation, but what had been done so far was not what should have happened.

From what she could sense of how the curse should work, her insides were meant to liquefy as her skin hardened into an impenetrable shell to house Illyria's essence after the demon consumed her spirit. Her body had become the shell as it was meant to. She knew this with undeniable certainty, but what had unexpectedly happened was that her insides were still there. Rather, they were present, but changed. Eating and sleeping would now be on a much lower point of necessity's scale, and would only need to be done once a week and monthly, respectively. Her stamina, as well, would now be near limitless.

These changes were all acceptable to the Immortal's body. What was not allowable was the twisting and writhing of her and Illyria's power in a shell that was not meant to contain such amounts of energy. Cassandra knew that her physical form would soon begin to fracture until it couldn't contain their essences anymore. She knew instinctively that the power released from that event would be catastrophic.

This knowledge firmly in mind, Cassandra was overcome with a vision of what would happen should this event take place. The British Isles would be obliterated, and the shock and tidal waves would cause death, destruction, and the coming of an ice age that would allow demons to once again rule the earth. As the vision faded away, Cassandra knew that at all costs this mustn't happen, but she did not know how to go about it.

For a second, despair overwhelmed her, then as she studied the two powers in her body, the inkling of an idea came to her.

Knowing that she had very little time left to avoid certain disaster, Cassandra summoned her Quickening once more, then slowly and surely pushed the demon's dark power into its essence. Remaining intangible, the Immortal thundered into the void, "ENOUGH OF THIS!"

Illyria stopped what it was about to do, and asked imperiously, "Why?"

"If we continue to battle with our powers, the body which you seek to possess will be destroyed. It is near to doing so already," Cassandra answered, her voice at a more normal tone.

The black light the demon was calling forth immediately disappeared, as Illyria demanded, "How then do you propose we settle the domination of this vessel, Immortal?"

Cassandra's essence began to gather together, no definite form evident but a blue light, as the Immortal replied, "I propose we combine our powers into one whole. The power of my Quickening coupled with your demonic force can allow us to live in my body indefinitely, but only if we join our powers. If we do not, and you take me over completely, you will perish in a short time...and destroy thousands in the process. What do you say to this, demon?"

Illyria hissed in displeasure, and stated angrily, "I care not about any but myself, Immortal, and I do not share! There will be no us. I will destroy you and claim your body as my own!"

Cassandra despaired. Illyria would not listen. The way the demon was acting was unreasonable, and she now knew that she would have to do what she did not want to do.

Calling her Quickening and essence to the center of the void, Cassandra began to take on a shape that had no resemblance to her human one. Instead, the Immortal formed into something she had done only once before in this place: a wolf. This was no ordinary canine, though, and now that she knew the origins of Immortals, she understood why she became what she did before.

Her image slowly came into focus, revealing a shape that was vast and magnificent. She stood at about four to five stories tall, and was as long as a football field if not longer. Her coat was pure white, and she had silver eyes that glittered with the power of her Quickening. Claws that seemed to glimmer with a metallic sheen and were razor-sharp were on each paw. Fangs that were longer than Illyria's could just be seen peeking out between the closed lips of the wolf. The only strange thing that marked her as other than wolf and as demon in this form was the great white ram horns protruding to either side of her head from her brow. That, and the webbed silver wings on her back that looked strong enough to brake through titanium.

As her form finished coming into being, Cassandra looked down at Illyria, and saw what could only be shock and wonder on the demon's face, and a growing elation in its eyes.

Its emotions echoing in its voice, Illyria exclaimed, "You are Ardnassac's get!" The shapeshifted Immortal tilted her head to one side in confusion, her expression clearly asking for clarification as she remained silent. Seemingly lost in memory, the demon continued speaking, saying, "Ardnassac was my last and longest lover. That one's death enraged me, and I sought vengeance on they who killed him. My retribution lasted millennia's, and caused my downfall."

Illyria seemed to come back to itself, a look in its eyes that made Cassandra decidedly uneasy, as the demon stated, pleased, "Perhaps your choosing was not so strange after all."

Cassandra stepped back and crouched down warily, before asking, "Why?"

Moving almost sensuously towards the other, Illyria responded in a low intense tone, "Why, you ask, Immortal? I will tell you the reason. It means that my followers sought to find the one it would be pleasing for me to possess. Through you I am reunited with my lover."

The wolf bared her teeth, alarm flashing through her as she exclaimed, "I am not this Ardnassac! What can you possibly gain from the knowledge of my essence's origin?"

Illyria moved back and studied its opponent, before commenting, "You still do not understand. Ardnassac was a god on this world, and I its god. We were bonded together as no other demons could. Ardnassac's death consumed me, and I could not think of anything but revenge. Even after avenging my bonded was my fury absolute, it could not be stopped. This world knew only my wrath, and in desperation, all others that existed then sought to destroy me. They succeeded, but at a price. They could only destroy my body, for my essence they could not touch. It was too great."

Cassandra had been strangely drawn into this tale. She sensed the truth of the demon's words, and asked quietly, "What happened next?"

Illyria's eyes burned as it responded, "My followers saved what was left of me from being despoiled by my enemies. They then placed me in a casket that only my kind can be imprisoned in. Not long after, I was sent to the Deeper Well." The demon paused thoughtfully, then said, "I remember now: before I was taken to that place, my followers made a vow to me. They swore to find the essence of my bonded, and that I would be awakened to be with that one when I escaped the Deeper Well."

Gazing up at Cassandra with eyes that seemed to glow with fervent desire, Illyria concluded, "You may not be my Ardnassac, but you are of that one's essence. You are correct in saying the vessel cannot withstand both our powers. We are too strong. You cannot destroy me, nor I you...and I do not even wish to now. There is only one way for us to resolve this: we must become one entity, our essences combined."

Looking down into those gleaming acid-blue eyes, Cassandra inquired, "How shall we do this joining?"

The many coils of Illyria's body began to shift and move to settle behind the demon as it explained, "As the vessel was yours before my coming, you must consume my essence and incorporate it into yourself. Once that is done, we will most likely awaken in the physical realm of your world."

"Most likely," Cassandra repeated apprehensively. "You are not certain?"

"No," the demon admitted grudgingly, before adding, "Only one thing is certain: if we do not do this, we will be destroyed."

"Then let's get this done," the shapeshifted Immortal stated, determination in her eyes.

Illyria reared up, and said before moving forward with lightning speed, "You must take into yourself all of me. Not one speck must remain behind."

Cassandra braced herself as the demon lunged towards her, then leaped forward and opened her jaws wide. The moment Illyria passed her mouth, the Immortal felt power explode within her. Immediately, she collapsed, stunned. The power was great, stronger than the greatest of Quickenings she'd ever taken.

It was too much, but she remembered Illyria's warning, and did not close her jaws to the demon's essence.

As Illyria's power continued to flow into her, Cassandra struggled to her feet. Once standing, she shuddered, then began aiding the demon by swallowing. She mentally howled at the power painfully searing through her. She prayed to whatever deity would hear that this would end.

It seemed her plea was answered when she swallowed and encountered no more energy flowing into her essence. Cassandra sighed in relief as she felt the power settle within her as she stood on trembling legs. A moment later she stiffened and threw back her head as the power stirred, then screamed as it surged out of her spirit form and filled the void, obliterating her image.

The energy swirled and twisted about, before slowly collating and reforming into two forms of equal size: a demonic wolf and snake. A rope of blue light connected the two prone forms.

In the physical realm, the sun rose to shine upon an unconscious blue-hued Immortal Old One.


Author's Note 3:

Just for the record, this will not turn into a Cassandra/Illyria romance! (grimace)

Next Part: Just how do those in Sunnydale plan to deal with everything that's going on?

A Request: At a suggestion from my Beta over a recent chat, I'm sending a call-out to any photomanip/digital artists. I would like to have pictures for my stories (any of them!). They can be a scene or description I've written that catches your fancy, even a character sketch! Send them my way, and I'll post them on my website (look in my bio for the link). You will receive proper credit for your work, and may even find them tucked into the appropriate scene of the story you did!