Hellmouth Ascendant Trilogy Book 1 Dusk: Chapter 15 Army of Children
by Deacon Rayne
Chapter 15
Army of Children


Giles, Marlena, And Buffy rushed from the dark room, down the mirrored corridor and into the great hall.
To find that the battle was well underway.
Some sort of gang, clad head to toe in black clothes and masks were wreaking havoc on the Estate defenders. Some on bikes, others on dune buggies, and unless Buffy was hallucinating, some that were FLYING, were attacking the Estate’s defenders. Some wielded machine guns and swords, but others seemed to be throwing fire, lightening, ice and other impossible magics. Buffy turned to Marlena,
“Who are they?” she yelled. Marlena sighed,
“The Spaarti Tribe,” she sighed shaking her head is dismay. She looked up to see Buffy and Giles giving her desperate pleas for information, “Warlocks, witches, mages, a nomadic tribe of magic-users,” she explained, “They try to raid the estate every now and then for the power. Their leader, DeGanon, has orchestrated several raids of chantries all around the world. They seek out the most powerful sources of magic and pillage them. Grigori estate is one of the few he hasn’t sacked. Yet,” she turned away from the window frowning, “It’s odd though, he just tried to raid this place three months ago, it’s too soon for him,” she pondered as Buffy and Giles followed her,
“Our friends are outside the gate, we’ve got to get them into the compound,” Buffy cried. Marlena shook her head,
“I’m sorry, NO awakened mystical beings are allowed onto the Estate grounds,” she leveled a stern gaze at Buffy, “You were allowed because you are the slayer,” she shifted her glance at Giles, “and you were, because your arête has dwindled to the point that any impact it may have on the convergence would be insignificant,” she turned back to Buffy,
“But the witch, the half-demon, the vampires,” she shook her head “Their personal resonance is far too disruptive to be allowed within the manor grounds,” she shook her head sadly, “I’m sorry, your friends are on their own,” Buffy’s eyes narrowed to slits as she approached the older woman, her stance lethal,
“So you won’t lift a finger to help my friends who are trying to save the world which, incidentally includes your precious little mystical hotspot?” she hissed angrily. Marlena shook her head,
“The rules are clear. I cannot deviate from them,” she replied. Giles took Buffy’s arm and tried to lead her away,
“Buffy we have to-“ she shook him off and stepped right into Marlena’s face,
“Well then as far as I’m concerned,” she whispered, her voice hard as steel, “your claims to being a slayer died when you did,” she finished, her eyes flashing with rage. Before Marlena could utter a world, Buffy spun round and gather Giles up with a look,
“Come on, Giles, we’ve got some mystical ass that needs kicking,” storming out of the main hall, she nearly plowed over Onyx, “Out of my way, gravel heap!” She snarled as she exited the building.


“Well, this…” Dusk started, lashing out with a pair of darkness tendrils to knock another warlock off the roof of the R.V., “…is fun,” he finished. He, Faith, Xander, Spike and Angel were busy fighting off the mages that had just…APPEARED over a sudden, draped in black complete with domino masks, hurling fire and lightening. Willow had gotten a protective spell up sealing the bus off with herself, Dawn and Anya inside. Spike unable to engage in physical conflict with humans due to the chip in his head, resorted to hurling Molotov cocktails made from his whiskey stash. He and Dusk were standing on top of the R.V., Spike hurling his bombs and Dusk covering him with cracking darkness whips. But they were badly outnumbered. Both Faith and Xander were nursing some bad burns from a pyromaniacally inclined mage and Spike’s arm was still numb from a blast of mystical ice that would have killed him had he been alive.
“These odds suck,” Dusk commented dryly as he lashed out, catching another of the masked mages across the face, knocking him from his bike. Spike snorted,
“Poof,” he commented before heaving another whiskey bomb off the roof of the bus, it crashed and exploded against the ground sending a blaze of fire roaring up and causing a dirt bike riding mage to veer sharply away and topple off his bike, wiping out hard. Suddenly, Dusk’s eyes widened in inspiration, leaning down over the roof, he tapped the glowing force field causing it to hum and crackle. Willow looked up as Dusk pointed to the burning patch of earth caused by Spike’s bomb. She looked at it then back at Dusk, confused. He traced a circle in the air with two strands of darkness. Willow nodded hurriedly in understanding and dug into her bag manifesting a lighter. She held it up for him to see, he smiled and gave her a thumbs up before righting himself back onto the roof of the bus. He turned to Spike,
“Watch this,” he muttered as he dodged a lightening bolt thrown by a flying mage. “Angel! Faith! Xander! Close ranks!” Dusk yelled. They looked up at him, and moved closer to the bus. Spike shot him a quizzical look,
“What the hell are you do-” and with a whoosh, the fire burning on the ground blazed up suddenly, catching the lightening-bolt tossing warlock across the head. There was a scream as the mage plummeted to the earth. Dusk grinned as he pointed to the flame,
“Look!” he whooped. Spike followed his glance and his eyes widened by what he saw. The fire had elongated and had begun to complete encircle the bus in a roaring wall of fire. Spike whistled,
“You DO have her cycle memorized, right mate?” he quipped lightly. Dusk grinned then his face morphed into one of alarm, he pointed,
“Spike! On your left!” Spike whipped around just in time to see a flying mage, completely immersed in flame and out of control slam hard into him. Spike yelled in pain and plunged off the bus, straight towards the burning wall of flame.
“Spike!” Dusk cried, he lashed out with a tendril and caught the vampire by the foot just as his the hair on his head came into brief contact with the flaming wall.
“Bloody Hell!!” Spike cried, slapping the fire out. The darkness tendril untangled from his foot as he sent Dusk a grateful salute. Faith helped him to his feet, Dusk sighed in relief and turned…just in time to see a warlock that hadn’t been there before smash his fist into his face. There was a flash of light as Dusk toppled from the camper roof, hitting the ground hard. He coughed, spitting out sand before looking up at the warlock. The mage put his hands together and slowly pulled them apart, revealing a wicked looking blade made up of pure light and with a war cry, leapt from the bus, the blade aiming straight at Dusk’s heart. Dusk tried in vain to roll away or shadowport but he had no room to maneuver. The blade descended…and with a vampiric roar, Spike clotheslined the warlock HARD, sending him sprawling away. Spike grabbed his head and groaned in pain, but waved Dusk off when he tried to help,
“I owed you, mate,” he replied through gritted teeth. Dusk nodded and turned back to the mage who had gotten to his feet and once again put his hands together.
“I’ve seen this trick already,” Dusk commented and with a growl leapt out with a flying kick, a flowing bolt of darkness erupted from his foot sped towards the mage, slamming hard into his face. The mage spun around, dazed as Dusk landed and proceeded to pummel the mage with a rapid-fire barrage of punches and kicks. Spike saw this and grinned,
“Kick his ass!” he cried. Turning he saw Xander struggling with another mage. Snatching up a handful of dirt, Spike yelled out, “Hey Merlin!” the mage stopped to turn to him and Spike dashed the grit into his eyes. The mage released Xander to wipe at his eyes, and Xander slammed a fist across his head, sending him spinning away.
“Thanks!” Xander yelled out, Spike nodded and turned to the next fight. Meanwhile, Dusk had finished a particularly brutal combination on the energy mage, ending with a wrench to the mages arm, dislocating it with a snap. The mage cried out in pain, and Dusk frowned,
It was a woman’s cry.
Jerking the mage up, he ripped the mask from the mages face revealing a girl of no more than fifteen. She had short blond hair and a nose ring. A pair of teardrops tattooed crudely on her face. Dusk frowned in puzzlement,
“What the-“ he began. The woman took advantage of Dusk’s momentary surprise and slammed an elbow into him. Dusk grunted in pain and released her as the woman put her hands together. Her teardrop tattoos started to glow as she conjured another energy blade. With a roar, she charged the dazed shadowmancer,
“Now that wasn’t very nice,” a voice came from Dusks right, he turned just in time to see Angel come barreling in and tackle the young woman hard. The woman fell to the ground, Angel on top of her. Angel quickly turned her over to and reared a fist back, then froze. The woman’s mouth sagged open like a fish, blood trickling out of it, her face freezing into a death grimace. Angel looked down, and with a start realized that she had fallen on her own energy blade. A hideous burn blazed right over her heart; the organ had been seared in half. He looked up at her in sudden comprehension.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered hoarsely. The young girl didn’t respond, merely with a trembling hand pointed at Angel’s face.
“Angelus,” she croaked in horrified recognition, then adding something in a language that turned Angel’s blood cold. The hand fell away and the girl shuddered once and lay still. Angel, in shock got off her, his expression completely stricken.
“It was an accident, I didn’t mean to,” he whispered to himself mantra like. Dusk suddenly grabbed his arm,
“Angel! She’s dead!” Dusk’s words brought him back to reality like a bucket of cold water. Angel turned to him, his brown eyes wide,
“It was an accident, she was just a child,” he whispered hoarsely. Dusk nodded,
“I know, but we need to move. Now!” he shoved Angel towards the burning wall of flame still surrounding the bus, “Go get Buffy and Dad!” Dusk cried. Angel nodded, and wrapping his long coat around him took a running start and leapt through the fiery wall. He landed on the other side and rolled, stripping away the burning jacket and throwing it away. A hand fell onto his shoulder heavily. He spun around fists at the ready,
“Angel!” Buffy cried. Angel lowered his hands in recognition.
“Buffy,” he sighed, “Where’s Giles?” Buffy jerked her head towards the complex,
“He went back inside, said he was going to try to wrangle up some help. Nobody in there is willing to come out and lend us a hand, though,” she spat out. Angel nodded,
“Yeah I noticed that. Duck!” he yelled, Buffy did a split and Angel slammed a hard fist into another mage that had come up behind her, before grabbing his shoulder and propelling him through the fire. He heard the mage collide hard with the metal R.V. he smiled grimly.
“Who are these guys?” he asked, looking around at the chaos surrounding them.
“Group of renegade wizards. They’re after the Estate, something about them going for the most powerful source of mag-“ she stopped her eyes widened, “Dawn,” she whispered. She spun on Angel, “They’re after Dawn!” she yelled. Wasting no time, Angel gathered her up in his arms, and covering her with his body, leapt back through the flame, they rolled on the ground and came to their feet before Spike, Faith, Dusk, and Xander.
“They’re after Dawn!” Buffy repeated. Dusk’s face tightened into a mask of cold rage,
“Oh I don’t think so,” he growled, his voice about as lethal as Buffy had ever heard it. With a growl, Dusk leapt to the top of the R.V., his eyes dissolving into pools of roaring pools darkness.
“Alec!” Buffy yelled after him. Dusk raised his arms high into the sky and his coat exploded into a huge rolling darkness, flaring out behind him like huge rippling wings. The tips of the vast blackness fell into the flame and ignited and Dusk became a human flamethrower. With a roar of rage, Dusk lashed out with the flaming wave of darkness, it exploded past the fiery wall to sweep across the warlocks. The sounds to the dying and the stench of burnt flesh hung heavy in the air. Dusk concentrated, fanning his fiery cloak back and forth. Faith grabbed Buffy’s arm and gestured to a flying mage careening towards Dusk. Without hesitation, Buffy snatched a rock up from the ground and hurled the missile at the mage. It struck him in the forehead with a crack and he dived to the ground, slamming hard into the R.V. where he lay still.
Suddenly the flaming wall died, as did the flames from Dusk’s cloak. He slumped to his knees exhausted from the effort. Buffy spun around to see Marlena’s hands outstretched, blue light hitting the fiery wall, putting out the flames. She smiled at the slayer as she and Giles went back to leading a menagerie of stone animals against the remaining warlocks. Onyx pounced on one rending him with his stone claws. Buffy turned to Faith,
“Help him,” she instructed her, gesturing at the exhausted Dusk. Faith nodded, and clamored up the side of the bus to assist the drained young man, Buffy ran over to Marlena,
“I thought you weren’t going to help!” she yelled over the sounds of the battle. Marlena shrugged and gestured to Giles, who was busy pounding all hell out of a masked mage,
“He reminded me that being a slayer meant amongst other things, having a healthy disregard for rules,” she flashed Buffy a smile. Buffy returned it and turned to survey the battle. The fighting was still fierce, but between Dusk’s fire trick, Marlena’s stone army and the soldiers from the Estate leaving the grounds to engage the enemy, it was also becoming pretty one sided. The renegades must have realized this too because they began to beat a hasty retreat. Faith came over to them, with Dusk leaning hard against her, his face stained with soot, his clothes smoking.
“Alec,” Buffy came over to him, “You all right?” she asked concerned. Dusk coughed out a black cloud of smoke, the stench of brimstone rising up from out of his nostrils,
“I’m a little crispy but yeah, I’m okay” he looked up at Marlena, “Hi,” he greeted weakly. Marlena frowned at him,
“That was you? With the flaming cloak?” Dusk nodded wearily,
“Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time,” he grinned a little shakily at her. Aeon came lumbering towards them; Marlena helped him sit upon the ruby tortoises back. Giles came over to him, smiling slightly,
“I see you’ve taken my request to show more cautionary behavior in combat to heart,” he chided his son gently. Dusk raises a sooty eyebrow,
“Don’t start with me, Dad,” he growled. Giles laughed and shook his head. Dusk looked up questioningly.
“Dad?”
“Yes son?”
“Can I ask you a very important question?”
“Yes son?”
“Was I hit on the head or am I sitting on a big red turtle?”


“So what were they after?” Anya asked as she helped bandage Xander’s burn, everyone was seated in a circle outside the bus, Buffy and Giles having explained their encounter in the asylum. Faith had offered to stay behind with Dawn, on the bus. Buffy wasn’t sure she wanted Dawn to hear everything they’d be discussing. Marlena shrugged,
“The Spaarti tribe,” Marlena explained, “Renegade mages, they come up from the city ever six months or so and attempt a raid on the estate,”
“They’re children,” Angel put in quietly, everyone turned to look at him, “I got a good look at one before…” his voice trailed away and he looked down. Buffy put a comforting hand on his shoulder. Dusk had filled them all in on what had happened,
“It wasn’t your fault,” she whispered fiercely, her voice full of compassion. Spike did his best to ignore them…and ignore the growing discomfort right where his unbeating heart lie cold in his chest. Angel sighed and shook himself,
“They’re also Romani,” he looked up at Buffy, “One of them recognized me as Angelus, the cursed. She spoke in the gypsy tongue,” Giles frowned,
“Gypsies? From Jenny’s tribe?” he asked. Angel shook his head,
“I don’t know, but if they were then they might have been after me, for vengeance against…things,” he finished quietly.
“The gypsies are big into the whole ‘eternal vengeance thing,” Willow put in softly, resting against Dusk. They both looked like they needed a serious nap. Marlena sighed,
“It could be any number of things. Angel, Dawn, the estate, the point is, is that they’ll be back and probably in larger numbers. We’ve never had a problem fighting them back before. But they’ve gotten a lot stronger lately,” Marlena shook her head, “I don’t think you should stay here anymore,” she turned to the horizon which was beginning to lighten. Spike and Angel were already on their feet, Spike only stopped to place a kiss on Buffy’s cheek, who smiled and patted his hand before he followed Angel onto the bus. Marlena smiled wryly,
“I see the trend of slayers falling in love with vampires hasn’t changed,” she commented wryly. Buffy regarded her surprised,
“I was always under the impression that it was just slightly unusual for the slayer to be dating her immortal enemies,” she quipped sardonically. Marlena smiled and shook her head,
“Not at all, in my youth I was quite taken with a young vampire named Marcus,” she smiled slightly at the memory, “He was six-feet of tall dark and brooding,” she smiled wryly and gestured to the bus, “I’m sure you can relate Buffy,” she added knowingly. Buffy smiled and bit her lip,
“Yeah, I can picture it,” she replied non-committaly. Willow and Xander snorted slightly in disbelief but didn’t say anything. Marlena continued,
“He was a vampire, don’t get me wrong. He could be pretty brutal, but he was also a poet, and a romantic and a gentleman,” she smiled at casting Buffy a sisterly look, “You should have seen our bed, covered with roses every night,” she informed the younger slayer. Buffy smiled,
“That sounds romantic,” she commented, “So what happened?” Marlena sighed and shook her head,
“He died along with everyone else in the Hellmouth, that day,” she wiped at her eyes a little, as Giles frowned,
“There was a vampire amidst the order?” he asked disbelievingly. Marlena composed herself and responded,
“Yes. He served as their guide in the Hellmouth, he lead them to its resting place,” she smiled softly, “you should have heard the fuss the crusaders put up when they heard a VAMPIRE was going to be leading them to the mouth of Hell,” she shook her head, “Several centuries of dogma is not an easy thing to shrug off,” she commented before falling silent, lost in her own memories. “Anyhow, after he died,” she finally spoke after a long silence, “I was a lost soul. His death, combined with the death of my order and the horrors of the Hellmouth,” she frowned as if trying to remember a detail she’d forgotten, she shook her head, “Anyhow, after I died at the asylum I spent several quiet centuries alone, I had my work, my magic and my patients but I still missed Marcus terribly,” she smiled slightly, “And then HE came,” she shook her head wryly and turned to Buffy, “You would think I had learned my lesson after becoming involved with ONE vampire,” she chuckled self-deprecatingly, “But those eyes and that accent,” she closed her eyes and shuddered deliciously, suddenly looking very much like a young teenager in love instead of a thousand year old ex-slayer turned witch risen from the grave, she sighed and opened her eyes and Buffy regarded her in shock,
“You don’t mean…DRACULA?” she asked aghast. Marlena smiled,
“The prince of darkness himself, though he always did insist on being referred to as ‘Count Dracula”, she grinned as her voice became a pretty good impression of the regal vampires accent, Buffy shook her head in awe,
“You got wild with Dracula?” she repeated. Marlena grinned naughtily,
“Apparently the Count made it a point of honor to seduce the slayer of each generation,” she blew a lock of silvery hair from her face, “Men with their conquests. Living or dead it’s all about what they can brag to their friends,” she commented sardonically.
“On behalf of my gender: Hey,” Xander put in. Dusk snorted wryly as Giles cleared his throat,
“The Count told us he was unaware of the location of the estate,” he ventured. Marlena snorted and shook her head in a gesture of one parts affection, one parts gentle exasperation,
“Well that sounds like Vlad, all right,” she turned to Buffy, “He LOVES to play mind games. Riddles, puzzles, he’s not happy unless he’s got a woman’s mind in knots and her heart in the same shape. He’s like a child in that way” she grinned, “I love and adore him, but I wouldn’t trust that evil creature within fifty feet of the Key,” she advised. Dusk frowned,
“Odd that you say that,” he commented, “he was the one that send us on this merry romp to begin with,” he regarded the ex-slayer with dark eyes, “He seems pretty intent on seeing the Hellmouth eradicated. Claimed it posed a threat to his homeland,” Marlena snorted gently,
“Vlad always was a patriot at heart. Some things never change,” she sighed softly. Buffy spoke up,
“So hold up, Dracula tries to get freaky with EVERY slayer he encounters?” she asked disbelievingly, perhaps a little irked that she had not been alone in the charming vampire’s affections as far as slayers went. Dusk was apparently having the same thought because he flashed his sister a weary grin as Marlena resumed speaking,
“Yes. During his breathing days he fell deeply in love with a slayer,” she began, “and when Vlad fell for someone-WHOO!” she exhaled hard, “Elisabeta was his whole world, when she was killed,” she shook her head sadly, “Well, Vlad didn’t have much left and the transition between living and undead was not a drastic one,” she sighed, “Anyhow, he spent centuries searching for slayers, hoping that one of them might be the reincarnated spirit of his lost love. Vlad was obsessed,” she added mournfully, “and every time, it would just be another disappointment. He’d leave, usually leaving them heartbroken, or he’d turn them into vampires,” Buffy gasped,
“He KILLED them?!?” she asked, aghast, Marlena nodded.
“Those three vampire brides he travels with? Each one of them was at one point a slayer,” Marlena explained. Giles blanched, remembering his own encounter with the amorous vampire women,
“Those were slayers?” he asked aghast. Marlena nodded,
“He keeps them around because they most resemble his lost love. I think he keeps them around just to torture himself,” she sighed and turned to Buff, “Usually the romantic vampires are also the professional martyrs,” she commented. Buffy nodded, still a little stunned,
“Yeah, I can relate,” she replied softly. Willow piped in,
“So did Sasha tell you where the Everstone was?” she asked. Buffy snapped out of her reverie and shook her head,
“Only in the most cryptic of ways,” she bit out as Giles rooted around in his pocket for the firestone. He handed it to the witch. The instant her fingers came in contact with it, the stone flared to life as the odd design appeared over her hand, unlike with Buffy, it flowed smoothly, its image unwavering and crystal clear. Willow peered at it as it morphed and shifted hypnotically,
“I’ve seen something like this before,” she said thoughtfully, frowning at the flowing geometric design. Buffy frowned at it,
“It would barely work for me, and it wouldn’t work at all for Giles,” she commented. Marlena spoke up,
“It reacts to magical power,” she told them, “the stronger the magic-users arête, the clearer the image is,” Willow tore her gaze from the swirling image and frowned questioningly at Marlena,
“ ‘Arête?” she asked puzzled. Marlena nodded,
“Arête is the measure of a magic-users power. It’s their connection to the weave; the place where all magic resides. The more arête a person possess, the more powerful magics they can perform,” she gestured to the swirling design hovering above Willow’s hand, “The fact that it’s flowing and shining as brightly and smoothly as it is, suggests you must be tremendously gifted, especially given how young you are,” she commented appreciatively. Willow beamed and turned to Dusk,
“Did you hear that, Alec? I’m tremendously gifted,” she reiterated, her tiny form swelling with pride. Dusk chuckled and strokes the girls hair,
“No questions about that,” he smiled indulgently. Buffy frowned,
“Hang on, this thing worked for me too,” she tilted her head, “It worked about as well as Giles’ old Citereon but it did work,” Giles glared at her as Marlena smiled, “I’ve never cast any magic before,”
“No but I’m willing to bet that you’ve had powerful magic cast upon you once or twice. That can leave just enough of an afterglow to get a spark,” Marlena replied. Buffy nodded, remembering being turned into a rat and much later, Willow’s enjoining spell that summoned the prime slayer, Marlena shook her head,
“Besides, what makes you think it was reacting to you?” the older woman asked. Buffy frowned,
“The fact that I was holding it in my hand sort of suggested it,” she responded dryly. Marlena frowned and turned to Giles’
“She really doesn’t know?” she asked in disbelief. Giles frowned, not understanding. Marlena threw her hands up in the air, “What are you people TEACHING the slayer? The etiquette of scones and tea?” she demanded. Giles just took off his glasses and pinched the skin above his nose, sighing.
“Excuse me?” Buffy put in, “What is it that I’m supposed to be clued into here?” she demanded. Marlena sighed and turned to Buffy,
“The slayer is not just one woman, Buffy, rather she is, like a living collection of all the slayers that came before her,” she explained quietly. Buffy’s eyes bulged out of her head in shock,
“Come again?” she demanded breathlessly, Marlena nodded.
“To every generation, a slayer is born. When that slayer dies, the next one is called, whether that next one is four, fourteen, or forty,” she explained, “the strongest traits of the slayers that came before her, become a part of her, infusing her with their strength and stamina, as do their memories and sometimes their magic” gestured at the stone that Willow held, “hence the stones reaction to you,” she turned to Giles, “Hasn’t the Watcher council noticed that the slayer gets stronger with every generation?” she demanded incredulously, Giles shook his head,
“It’s never been brought to my attention that this is so,” he ventured carefully, “Although I have to admit, my relationship with the Council has been strained as of late,” Marlena sighed disgustedly,
“Those IDIOTS!” she declared loudly, earning stares from everyone, except Buffy who looked shaken right down to the core of her soul. Marlena reached over and placed a warm hand on Buffy’s shoulders,
“I’m so sorry, dear, you were supposed to know. I can’t even begin to fathom what the Watcher’s Council was thinking by not telling you any of this,” she sighed and elaborated, “The Awakened slayer has all the memories, and the powers of all the slayers that came before, along with one or two of their personality traits,” she turned to address the group, “This is what Vlad is seeking so desperately, a slayer who possesses enough of his lost loves memories and feelings to qualify as his Elisabeta reincarnated,” she turned back to the group, “but they’re all buried deep in the slayers soul, like a safety deposit box,” she gave Buffy a sympathetic look, “Dealing with just one lifetime of memories can be brutal, dealing with several upon several can be downright excruciating, so the powers remains dormant, till at or about the slayers eighteenth birthday. Then the Council administers the Cruciamentum,”
“That was done,” Giles chimed in. Marlena snorted,
“It’s an outdated exercise in cruelty, it should have never survived past the dark ages,” she bit out. Giles nodded, remembering telling Quentin the very same thing, Marlena resumed,
“In any case. The slayer is stripped of her powers and forced to fight a powerful vampire in adverse circumstances. Then upon succeeding, the Council performs the ritual of Awakening and then the slayer is suffused with the power and memories of all the slayers that came before her,” she shook her head in bewilderment, “I don’t understand what went wrong,”
“This ritual was never performed,” Giles replied, “Buffy killed the vampire on her eighteenth birthday, without her powers, and all she received was ‘Good show, well done girl’ from the council,” he smirked slightly, “I also got fired,” Marlena shot him an inquiring look,
“On what grounds?” she demanded.
“I revealed what had been happening to her in regards to her loss of power and then assisted her against the vampire, who had killed two other watchers, changing one of them,” he explained. Marlene’s eyes narrowed to slits,
“They fired you…for that?” she demanded quietly.
“Yes,” Giles added cautiously, unclear as to the ex-slayers redoubled fury.
“Are they INSANE?” she yelled. “You should have been PROMOTED, not fired!” she cried. Buffy looked up in shock,
“What?” she asked. Marlena calmed down with a visible effort,
“The Watcher is supposed to strip the Slayer of her power, this is true, to make sure the poor girl can stand on her own two feet, so to speak,” she explained, “But it’s not supposed to be a secret!” she exclaimed, “That would be a complete violation of the slayers trust by her watcher, Their bond of trust would be shattered!” Buffy nodded, remembering when Giles had revealed the cause of her weakness, and she’d threatened to kill him if he tried to come within five feet of her,
“It almost did,” she commented quietly. Giles sent her an aching look; it had not been a pleasant experience for him either. Marlena growled in frustration,
“I don’t believe this. I suppose they told you that you WEREN’T supposed to fight by the slayers side, right?” she demanded turning to Giles. He nodded and Marlena sighed in disgust, “That is a complete perversion of the Watcher’s Council original code of rules. During the Cruciamentum, the slayer’s watcher is SUPPOSED to fight along his or her charge, it’s meant to be an exercise in trust, to bring the watcher and slayer closer together,” she shook her head in exasperation, “How could things have gotten so twisted since my time?”
“Dad? Have there been any mention in any of the Watcher diaries about this ‘Awakening ritual?” Dusk asked suddenly. Giles shook his head,
“Not in the ones I was sent,” he replied. Xander snorted,
“Yeah because that would put a serious crimp in their ‘Conspiracy O’ Silence’ regarding the slayer,” he commented bitterly, he looked up at Giles, “Your office buddies are real bastards,” he stated simply. Giles nodded very slowly,
“I’m beginning to see that,” he whispered, his voice soft and dangerous. Dusk turned back to Marlena,
“There’s no record of the Awakening being performed after the eleventh century, just after you died,” he told the older woman. Marlena seethed. Dusk’s eyes suddenly widened, a horrible thought occurring to him,
“Marlena? How long did the average slayer live? I mean, back in your time?” he demanded. Everyone looked up at him; there was something in his tone that suggested very dire things. Marlena frowned and shrugged, puzzled by the vehemence in his voice,
“No longer or shorter than anyone else’s, I suppose. It depends on the amount of battle she sees. Why?” Dusk just sank back against Willow, pale as a ghost.
“The average lifespan of a slayer is now thirty,” Giles commented quietly. Marlena whipped her head around in shock,
“What?!? How?” she demanded.
“Because the ritual of Awakening hasn’t been performed since your time, Marlena,” Buffy finally spoke, her voice broken. Marlena sagged against the R.V. stunned,
“That ritual is vital to the slayers survival. It supplies information about times past, it imparts talents and abilities of the slayers before her and it fortifies her mind and heart against corruption,” Marlena whispered, “Without these powers, any vampire with basic level mind control can-“
“Can kill a slayer,” Buffy finished, remembering Kendra’s death at Drusilla’s hands and her own at the Masters. The council had a LOT to answer for.
“You said the Awakening fortifies the slayers mind and heart against corruption?” Willow asked, Marlena nodded, “What did you mean by that?”
“Well, being the protector of the entire world is an incredible burden to bear, it can also be terribly isolating, since the slayer is usually unwilling to put any innocent people at risk with her presence,” Buffy snorted slightly.
“Yeah, it’s a lonely gig,” she whispered softly. Dusk put a sympathetic hand on her shoulder,
“Not anymore, sis,” he replied fervently. She smiled softly up at him and placed a hand over his. Marlena gestured to the two,
“See? This is rare. I mean it’s great, don’t get me wrong, but usually the slayer operates alone. Cut off from the world and without her mind and heart supernaturally fortified,” Marlena shook her head, “It would be incredibly damaging,” she finished. Buffy looked up at her,
“Faith,” she responded quietly. Eyes widened in comprehension as Marlena frowned,
“And Faith is?”
“Another slayer, one that went psycho and began killing a lot of people,” Buffy replied. Marlena’s pale face grew a little paler.
“TWO slayers?” she breathed before shaking her head, “That’s not possible,” Dusk spoke up,
“Buffy died, just like you said, against a master vampire with mind control. But Xander here,” he gestured to the younger man, “was able to resuscitate her. But for a while, she had died,”
“Thus activating the next slayer,” Marlena sighed, putting a hand to her head.
“Kendra,” Buffy told her, “She died too, killed by another vampire with Jedi mind tricks,” Marlena snorted and shook her head in disbelief.
“Anyone notice a trend?” Dusk asked mirthlessly, people nodded. Buffy continued to speak,
“After Kendra died, Faith was called. At first things were okay, but she became-”
“Bitter?” Marlena finished not looking up, her hand still over her eyes. “Full of rage and isolated?” Buffy nodded,
“Yeah, it got pretty bad. I wound up stabbing her and putting her into a coma, she wound up taking over my body and nearly killing me,” Marlena just hung her head,
“Through their ignorance, the Council has not only violated the laws of the Powers That Be, with two slayers. But they’ve managed to nearly get them BOTH killed,” Marlena sighed disgustedly, “Is it any wonder that the Hellmouth has picked now to arise from its realm,” she sighed and got up and looked at Buffy with a newfound respect, “You must be a very formidable young woman to have endured all that you have, especially considering the Watcher's grievous errors,” she complimented Buffy. Buffy smiled a little at this,
“Yeah well, I’ve never played by rules very well,” she offered. Marlena snorted gently,
“I imagine not, but be that as it may, without the Awakening, you, and every slayer since myself, has been fighting the forces of darkness with both hands tied behind their backs, so to speak,” Willow spoke up,
“I don’t get it, if the Awakening is supposed to make the slayer into Supergirl, why wouldn’t the Watchers perform it since you died?” she asked pointing at Marlena.
“Control,” Dusk replied quietly. All eyes turned to him. He looked up at Marlena, “Did you ever get any orders from the council?” he asked. Marlena shook her head,
“No, never. The council was always there to guide and advise, never enslave,” she replied. Dusk nodded,
“That’s it then,” Xander looked confused,
“Okay, somewhere between point A and point Z, you lost me,” he commented. Dusk leaned forward to address the group,
“It’s very simple,” he began. He turned to Marlena, “you said that the slayer, after she undergoes the Awakening, has access to all the knowledge possessed by the slayers that came before her,” Marlena nodded,
“Yes, that way the collective experience wasn’t lost with the slayers death,” she explained. Dusk nodded,
“So after the transformation, does the watcher stay with the slayer?” Marlena shrugged,
“Usually. By then, especially right after the Cruciamentum, watcher and slayer have bonded in such a way that they are as kin,” she smiled slightly, “My own watcher, Marius, was the one that introduced me to the Order of Saint Michael,” her smile became sad, “He went back to England and died later that year, I miss that old man,” Buffy gave her a sympathetic look as Dusk continued,
“So there it is, your watcher stayed with you because he CHOSE to, not because he HAD to,” Giles’ eyes lit up in understanding,
“Marlena no longer required a watcher after Awakening,” he breathed, “Possessing the knowledge of all the past slayers, such a position would be rendered obsolete,” Dusk nodded,
“I think someone along the line figured that out and decided to make sure that such circumstances didn’t arise again,” he looked up at Marlena, “I’m willing to bet after your death. The watchers council began to make some pretty drastic reformations. The Awakened Slayer was probably far too precious a commodity to be allowed to join ‘futile’ crusades with renegade holy warriors and get herself killed fighting things like Hellmouths,” he commented, “So rather than allowing the slayer that opportunity to receive the power of the Awakening-”
“They kept them vulnerable and dependent,” Marlena finished, her face now an ashen gray, “With only her own lifetime of experience to rely on, the Slayer would become dependent on her watcher throughout her career, therefore assuring the Watcher’s Councils’ continued existence,” she sighed and shook her head in dismay, “They’ve been sealing these poor girls fates, keeping them shrouded in ignorance and dependent,”
“And once the Awakening ritual was eradicated, the death toll for slayers skyrocketed,” Dusk finished, “which isn’t that big of a deal for the Council since as one slayer dies…”
“…So is the next one called,” Buffy finished in a dead voice. She looked up at her brother, her face tight with horror.
“An inexhaustible source of warriors, to throw against the forces of darkness,” Dusk concluded, “Who would forever be dependent on the Watcher’s council. An organization that had no compunctions about sending unprepared girls to die, all the while firmly convinced of their own self-righteousness while assuring their organizations continued survival.” Dusk finished with a grim look, “But now that’s changed,” he gestured to Buffy, “She’s defied the council, as has her watcher and they’ve both completely disregarded the council completely,” Marlena's eyes widened,
“They just let her go?” she asked amazing. Buffy shook her head,
“Not exactly, after Giles was disbarred, they sent another watcher, Wesley,” Buffy smiled slightly, remembering the cowardly watcher, “From what Angel’s told me, Wesley’s been disbarred as well, for helping Giles and me fight against the Mayor rather than hunting down Faith and dragging her back to England for the Council to be tried,” Marlena snorted,
“In other words, for doing the right thing,” she bit out disgustedly.
“Marlena? Does the hospital have a web page?” Willow asked suddenly. Marlena frowned,
“Of course it does, how else could we let people know that-” she froze, understanding dawning.
“There’s no reference of the Grigori estate anywhere on the net,” Dusk informed her, “The Council has somehow managed to erase every reference to it from public record reducing it to urban lore,” Dusk sent Willow a grim look.
“Why?” Xander asked, puzzled.
“Because they don’t want slayers having a place they can turn to if things get too rough,” Buffy answered, “If the council offered us alternative sources of information and support, their own power over us would slip from ‘triple latte’ to ‘decaffeinated,” she looked up at Giles, “We’ve been played,” Giles nodded slowly.
“Travers has a lot to answer for,” the older man growled. Marlena got to her feet,
“I always wondered why no other slayers came here,” she puzzled aloud.
“The fact that this place is billed as a demonic lunatic asylum may have something to do with that,” Willow chimed in, gently taking Dusk’s hand, “Some seriously bad P.R.”
“Courtesy of the Watcher’s Council,” Dusk added. He turned to Giles, “At least we know why we couldn’t get any pertinent information from the diaries,” Giles nodded thoughtfully,
“Travers would have made sure that any reference to Marlena Esperanza or her awakening would be erased,” he sighed and shook his head, “The Watchers were meant to aid the chosen one against the forces of darkness, by arming her with knowledge. Now to discover after all this time we’ve been sabotaging their efforts…” Giles looked down as Buffy walked over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder,
“THEY have been sabotaging, not YOU” she reassured him firmly. Giles looked up and nodded, placing a hand over the slayers squeezing it tightly. Buffy nodded and turned, grinning,
“Well, at least we know why I’ve had such a thing for vampires,” she gestured to the older ex-slayer, “You’re two cents, I suppose?” Marlena grinned,
“Perhaps,” she replied, “It should be interesting to see what the next slayer will inherit from you,” she observed wryly, Buffy frowned,
“Wouldn’t that have been Kendra?” she asked, Marlena shook her head,
“No, until you have Awakened, your contribution, just as every contribution from all the slayers since myself, is held in limbo,” she smiled at Buffy, “I guess in a way, the most recent person to influence your personality would be me,” Buffy grinned,
“I guess in a way, that makes you a mom to me,” she smiled. Marlena mirrored the reaction,
“Well, an aunt anyhow, and as an aunt, I can tell you right now,” she placed warm hands on Buffy’s shoulders, “That no one could be more proud of their niece, than I am of you,” she gathered the younger slayer into a tight embrace, Buffy smiled held the older woman tightly. Dusk smiled wryly as they parted,
“Does this mean you’re my aunt as well, after all,” he gestured to Giles, “he’s my father, and he has a fathers love for Buffy, which makes her my sister, in a way,” Marlena smiled at the dark youth and walked over to him,
“I’d be honored to call such a dedicated and devoted young man my nephew,” she smiled and wrapped her arms around him. Dusk, who had never known a mothers love, smiled and held the older woman tightly,
“Awwww….” Willow cooed. Dusk smiled and released Marlena. He smiled over at Willow and placed a kiss on her head, Buffy came over to stand beside him, Giles behind her. Marlena regarded them all,
“Brother and sister, with a loving father watching over them both, just as they watch over each other,” she smiled gesturing to the three of them “THIS was what the Watchers Council was supposed to supply to the slayers. A sense of love and of family,” she smiled warmly at them and gestured at Dusk,
“There’s great power in you, young man,” she observed, Dusk shrugged,
“Thank a keeper demon for that,” he replied. Marlena shook her head,
“The keeper demons are the most discriminating of any and all other demons. If one chose you to bond with, your soul must be something truly special,” she smiled slightly as Buffy regarded her brother with deep affection,
“It’s Alec the Vampire Slayer,” she quipped. He smiled as she kissed his face affectionately. Marlena nodded,
“That’s not an altogether inaccurate analogy, Buffy,” she gestured to Dusk, “His resonance echoes loud and strong, just as yours does. The only difference being his is a thing of darkness whereas yours is of light. I sense he is meant for great things just as you are, Buffy,” she smiled looking up at Giles, “You must be a very proud father to have had a hand in making such a son,” Giles nodded,
“I am,” he replied, his voice thick with paternal pride. Marlena smiled at him,
“You also, have a strong resonance Rupert Giles, your eyes shine with a clear sense of destiny. Your path is far from concluded and you will accomplish many great things,” Giles blushed slightly at the praise. Marlena smiled and regarded Willow, who had cozyed up to Dusk,
“As for you, young spell-weaver,” Willow looked up at her, “I tell you this now. There are people of who walk the well lit path,” she looked at Buffy who grinned, “and those who prefer the comfort of Luna’s gentle light,” she shifted her gaze at Dusk who smiled slightly, inclining his head before Marlena turned back to Willow, “But some chosen few, bring with them their own light, enriching both the lives of day-walkers and nighttime wanderers,” she pointed at Willow, “You, my dear, are such a light-bearer and thus enrich the lives off all those around you,” Willow smiled, deeply touched. Dusk kissed her head softly as the young witch wrapped her arms around his waist, squeezing him tightly.
“What about me?” Xander piped up, bounding over to the group of friends. Marlena’s face broke into a wide grin,
“You, young man, you are that which fuels the fires of nobility, you and yours are laughter, joy, simplicity, the very things that a slayer fights to protect. You must never lose your love of life Alexander Harris, for it will be both your salvation and the salvation of those around you,” Xander grinned threw an arm around Anya,
“You hear that honey? I’m going to be the salvation of everybody!” He told her, his chest swelled with pride. Anya rolled his eyes as Marlena laughed and pointed at Anya,
“And you, my dear, will have to make sure that his heart remains as big as his mouth,” she informed the ex-demon. Anya smiled and patted Xander’s chest.
“Yes, he has all kind of big parts,” Anya assured her, “he’s got a big mouth, a big heart, and you should see his-”
“Anya!” Xander cried, Marlena threw her head back and laughed, a sound of pure life and gaiety as Xander blushed furiously and those in the group exchanged wry looks.
Buffy chuckling, turned back to Marlena, “So, what about this weird design thingy? How do we figure it out?” Marlena gave her a sympathetic look,
“Don’t ask me to try and unravel one of Sasha’s messages, suffice it to say, I’ve learned that his predictions are rarely inaccurate,” she frowned thinking, “I’ll try to talk to him, meanwhile, I imagine the lot of you are fairly fatigued,” she turned her head and pointed. Buffy and Giles turned to look at Dusk and Willow curled up together, resting against the side of the R.V. sound asleep. Buffy smiled and yawned,
“Yeah, I’m wiped. Let’s go find a nice rest stop somewhere and call it a day. We can try to puzzle out Sasha’s crypt-o-gram later,” smiling she turned back to Marlena and reached gave her a tight hug,
“Thank you so much,” she whispered. Marlena smiled and released the girl, stroking her face affectionately,
“You are more than welcome, child,” she smiled teasingly, “Do you still believe I don’t have any right to the title of ‘slayer’?” Buffy blushed, embarrassed by her harsh words earlier,
“Trust me Marlena, you’re ALL slayer,” she replied. Marlena grinned,
“If you have any other problems, please don't hesitate to give me chant. Remember,” she leveled a finger at the slayer, “You are not alone. You are Buffy Summers yes, but you are also the slayer and every slayer that has come since. When the time is right, they will come to your aid,” Buffy nodded, smiling as she turned and headed up the stairs leading into the R.V. Giles came over to Marlena,
“Thank you for everything Marlena, You’ve made things much clearer for us all,” Marlena smiled and placed a warm kiss on Giles’ cheek, he blushed as Xander whooped, waking up Dusk and Willow,
“Check out the G-man, smooth with the ladies!” he laughed. Giles cleared his throat and sending Marlena a smile, followed Buffy into the mobile home. Xander and Anya said their goodbyes and Willow and Dusk were following when Marlena put a restraining hand on Dusk’s shoulder,
“A moment please,” Dusk turned and frowned, then gestured to Willow to go on ahead. She did so and Dusk regarded the older woman,
“What’s up?” he asked. Marlena smiled a secret smile at him,
“You love her, do you not?” she asked. Dusk looked up at where Willow had been.
“Willow? Yeah. More than I thought was ever possible” Marlena shook her head, smiling,
“Not Willow, though this too, is true. I was referring to the Key, the one called Dawn,” Dusk’s eyes bulged in surprise,
“What are you ta-” Marlena held up a hand silencing him.
“Know this, Alec Giles, this love you hold for Dawn is not sinful nor does it betray the love you hold for Willow in any way. One you love with your heart, the other you love with your soul, and thus, theses two loves shall save all hearts and all souls,” she told him. Dusk shook his head, not understanding,
“I don’t understand,” he told her. Marlena smiled and stroked his cheek affectionately,
“You will, nephew, now go. Your destiny calls, and it is a LOUD summons,” she grinned as she gave the dark young man a hug and a kiss on the cheek, before sending him on his way. The door closed and the R.V. pulled away from the estate. Dusk sat next to Willow on their bed,
“What was that all about?” she asked curiously. Dusk opened his mouth…and, to his own surprise, closed it again. There was no reason not to tell her, Willow had certainly proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was completely secure in the knowledge of his love for her. And yet, he felt a strangely compelling reluctance to do so. He turned to look at Dawn, who was awake and currently griping with Buffy about something inane before turning back to Willow.
“Aunty stuff,” he said at last. Willow smiled and kissed him,
“Okay, well good, you need a strong maternal presence in your life,” she grinned at him, “aside from me,” Dusk snorted,
“Unless I have a SERIOUS Oedipus complex, I don’t think I regard you as a mother figure in my life, lover,” Willow grinned and nuzzled against his chest. He held her and gently drifted off to sleep.


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