It had been about a month since they'd moved into the Hyperion hotel, and he and Kat had continued whatever relationship was starting between them. Perhaps, something more than just friends. Perhaps something brewing from centuries ago that they'd never acted on, because he hadn't had that ability to love centuries ago. Not until his soul had been returned to him. In the midst of this, Darla had surfaced as a human, having been brought back as a human. And after weeks of trying to get her away from Wolfram and Heart, they finally accomplished it, but found out what was happening to her.
"Maybe it's about time I had a chat with her. You know what it's like being tormented by the memories of your past, but she's human, and she clearly can't deal with that. Maybe I can help her. I've been in a situation similar to hers. When you've been a vampire for as long as I was, being human isn't a gift. It's a curse. Everything you knew is gone, and now you're stuck in what feels like another world. Right now, what she needs is another someone that knows what it's like on the human side of things," Kat explained and suggested to Angel, as they stood a distance from where Darla stood in front of a window, just silently looking out of it.
"I know her a whole of a lot better than you do. I think I can handle this," he replied.
"Yes. You know her well. But you knew vampire her. This version of her isn't the person that turned you. You've been trying for a while, and you haven't had much progress. Right now, she's in a similar state that I was when I first got turned back into a human. I didn't want to be human, so, against everything that vampire me stood for, I tried to kill myself. And then I was reminded that a part of me was still here. That I'm not worthless as a human like I thought I was. Darla needs that reminder, just as I needed it. Please," she replied.
After a few minutes, he made up his mind that she was right.
"Fine. Do it," he told her, believing that she could help in the areas that he just couldn't. He was a vampire turned into a human now too, but he didn't fully understand her and Darla's situations.
Kat approached, where Darla sat on a window seat, still looking out the window, and she stood by her.
"Nobody knows what it's like, you know? One moment, I was one of the most feared vampires that walked the earth. Then nothing. Then I woke up like this," Darla said, still looking out the window, knowing that Katherine was there.
"You're not alone, Darla," she assured her.
"Darla. Such a bland name. You know, I wasn't always Darla. I was a vampire for so long, I don't even remember what my name was. What am I now?"
"You're human," Kat reminded her. "It doesn't matter who you were the first time you were a human. The only thing that matters is the kind of person you are now. You're still Darla, even without your fangs and abilities."
"How can you know that? I don't know who I am anymore," she replied.
"Look, when the cure for vampirism was shoved down my throat, the first thing I did was try to end it, because I thought the same thing. Who am I without vampirism or my abilities? Who would even care anymore what happened to me? I've always had enemies everywhere. If enemies didn't get me, someone or something else would. So, I tried to kill myself. Someone I care for...someone I turned...he found me and saved me. Reminded me of who I am, and that I still have a purpose. And now, here I am. My eldest, Damon, has forgiven me, and I work alongside Angel helping people. You have a purpose Darla, whether you feel like you do or not. You'll find your way eventually, but it's up to us to help you through this."
"I'm dying of syphilis, Katherine. Whatever purpose I have, it doesn't matter anymore. I'm dying one way or another. I know he wouldn't do it, even if he was still a vampire, but I want it. I need to turn back. I can't stand this anymore," she replied, and finally looked at her.
"Even if he was still a vampire, he wouldn't be able to do it. His soul wouldn't allow him. Just try to hold on for a little longer. I could find a way to help you or save you. Whichever one comes first."
"I just want this pain to end," Darla replied to her.
"I know. Eventually, it will. Just give us a chance to help you," Kat suggested.
"How? How can you help me? It would take a miracle if I still believed in them, which I don't. I stopped believing in them centuries ago," she wanted to know.
"We'll figure out a way, but you have to be strong. Even if I have to ask Damon to give you what you want, we'll figure out a solution. For now, you can't be just wandering around, trying to get any vampire to turn you. We'll find a way, one way or another, but until then, you'll stay with Damon and myself at my apartment, where we can keep an eye on you. You might not feel like you need a babysitter, but it's better to be safe," Kat replied to her. "I know Angel thinks he can help, but he doesn't know what it's like. I do. And Damon can kind of relate, too. The only reason he wanted to be a vampire centuries ago was to spend his existence at my side. Things just didn't go according to plan. When he thought I was dead, he couldn't bare to live without me. He wanted to die. Kind of like how I did when I got turned back into a human. The best way that you'll get through this would be trying your best to be strong. If I can do it, so can you."
That night, Darla was sent to stay with Damon and Kat at Kat's place, Kat hoping that the two of them could help her. But since Kat was still kind of on duty with Angel, Damon was the only person there to babysit her. But Damon didn't mind it, since it wasn't as bad of an experience as it had been babysitting a newly turned back human Katherine. She'd been a pain in his ass, even when she'd almost killed herself for good. He could relate kind of to Darla, her not wanting to live as a human. He didn't want to be human himself, and he'd probably be in the same mindset if a cure had been shoved down his throat like it had with Katherine. He had everything going for himself as a vampire, but nothing as a human. His only usefulness as a human would be his fighting skills and smarts. Kind of like Katherine. But Katherine had found a life. He didn't think he would if he'd ever gotten turned back into a human. Kind of like Darla. But Darla had a reason. She was dying anyway. And the disease had gotten her so bad before she'd been first turned that now, back as a human, it was embedded too deep for a modern cure or medication to even work, if at all, on her. He understood why she'd rather be a vampire. She liked that she couldn't die as a vampire, apart from being turned into dust via stake or sunlight. But he knew better than to go against what Katherine wished, so he was doing what he could to not let Darla force him to turn her. He'd learned that she could be quite persuasive. Almost like Katherine, but in a different kind of way.
Meanwhile, Kat and the others were still trying to find a way to save Darla. Kat and Angel both didn't want to stop looking until they'd found a way. And they could both be stubborn in their own way. For Angel, a part of him cared, despite all she'd done back in Sunnydale, but he also still felt some kind of connection to her. Something that told him that he had to try, no matter the cost. For Katherine, she cared, but also because it reminded her of her own situation when she'd first gotten turned back into a vampire.
Several weeks later, they were still trying to search for a way to save Darla, but still no luck. There were only two solutions that Katherine could think of. One was asking for help from a witch in New Orleans. She knew there was a way to reverse aging. Maybe with a critique spell, a friend of hers there could do that. If she was still alive. Or if Freya had reunited with her siblings, she thought of maybe a crystal that would keep her young once the disease was cured. But those weren't fully reliable, despite her having full faith in them both. The other solution that could help was to have a vampire she trusted to turn her. Maybe if they were lucky, her kind of vampire turning her would keep her soul intact. She knew the first plan Darla would hate, since she didn't want to stay human. The last plan, she knew Angel would hate, because he was all about saving people's souls. And he'd always seen being a vampire, as long as he'd had a soul, as a curse. He wouldn't want to subject her to the same fate that, in his eyes, she'd been saved from. Kat decided after thinking everything over, assuming Angel would eventually forgive her for this, that she'd ask Damon to turn Darla back into a vampire behind his back. Right now, it was the only safe option she could think of.
Kat returned home with Damon, since while she'd been at the hotel, he'd had to go off to feed for a little bit. When she'd gotten off, they'd ran into each other, and had decided to head home together. When they entered together, Kat recognized that he smelled something that she couldn't, and figured that something was probably wrong.
"What is it?" she dared to ask, closing the door to the apartment.
"Blood," he informed her, which told her that Darla had most likely done something while they'd been gone. Since this was an apartment, there weren't many places Darla could go, so Kat headed for the room she figured Darla had probably gone to. The bathroom.
Damon followed at Katherine's side and pace, smelling the blood.
"Darla?" Kat called through the door of the bathroom, trying the knob. Unlike what she probably would've done, it was unlocked.
The human doppelganger opened up the door, only to see the scene, and rushed over to her, kneeling by her. She could tell that she'd slit her wrists, trying to kill herself via razor blade. She was nearly there, too.
"Well, this is the best time as any," she commented to him, as Damon knelt on the other side of Darla. He knew what that meant. It was time to turn her himself. He couldn't just heal her, since she wasn't alive enough for his blood to just simply heal her. But it was enough for it to get into her system before she died.
Damon bit his wrist, putting it to Darla's lips, making it go down her throat, while Kat positioned her head for it to be able to go down her throat.
When she awoke, she felt different, which told her that she wasn't human anymore. She was also in one of the Hyperion hotel rooms, Angel seated on her bedside.
"Darla?"
"Angelus," she greeted with a smile.
Kat approached, standing not far from Angel.
"Damon turned you, but you're not fully a vampire quite yet. You're about to be Damon's kind of vampire. We can get you someone from the street. Or I'd be willing to let you have a taste until you can truly feed. Right now, you're between the living and dead. We call it being in transition."
"Thank you," Darla replied.
"It wasn't much of a choice. It was let you die or turn you," she replied.
Darla sat up.
"I'll do it," Angel told them both.
"You do your part then. Then Damon and I will need to do ours," Kat replied to him.
When Darla had fed from Angel, completing the transition, Kat informed her, "You have a choice to make now. I offered this to Angel once, long ago, and he refused. He didn't think he deserved it. Now, I'm offering it."
"What?" Darla inquired.
"I know witches that can make what we call daylight rings or even a daylight bracelet. Whatever your choice to wear. With it, you can walk in the sun like a human. You can pretend to be human all you want, even in the sunlight, without bursting into flames."
"I don't want it. I've always done well in the darkness. Why would I want it now after 400 years and then some?"
"Well, if you ever change your mind, it's open. Now, how about we head to a club. Damon and I will teach you things about being our kind of vampire. Something you've never had the ability to do, or knew you could ever do. We'll teach you compulsion. I can't show you as a human, but Damon can. And we'll show you much more. After tonight, you can decide your next move," Kat replied.
"Sounds like fun," Darla replied, getting off the bed.
"Great," Kat replied with a smile. Teaching other vampires had always been a blast for her as a vampire.
After they'd taught her everything their style, her being a fast learner, she was ready to move on. And so, she left the city for bigger, better things. If a vampire like her could find something like that. Not every vampire always succeeded, after all. But Darla had never been a huge dreamer as a vampire.
