Jan 16th 2014 - 7:06 PM

Comment Back  |   Send Message   |  Block User

And the universe changed.  Several universes in point of fact.  Glory and the Key, extracted from Dawn, were ejected to Glory�s world, which ironically, is what the almighty Glorificus wanted all along � perhaps confirming that true Gods always get their way.  But Lilith was trapped, temporally and dimensionally, locked in stasis in 2001 by Cordelia�s dead man�s blood.  And not just her 2013 self, but the Lilith from 2001 and every version of herself that existed in every other dimension.  Which meant that everything Lilith did after that moment when Buffy Summers jumped from the tower in 2001 was erased.  Lilith wasn�t there to infect Bill Compton and Eric Northman with her blood.  Lilith didn�t kill Dean and send his soul to hell.  Ruby never worked with Sam to increase his demonic powers so he could kill Lilith.  And Lilith never concocted a plan to resurrect the Old Ones.  Never distributed the so-called vampirism antidote.  So there was no need for Angel and his crew, Buffy Summers, or the Winchesters to come to Louisiana.  The crisis had not been averted, it never happened. 

The cascading butterfly effects of those events that transpired on the tower in 2001 were driven by changing the past, but also by a paradoxical temporal implosion.  And paradox is a messy business.  It is akin to a werewolf taking a swipe at the tapestry of time and fate.  The torn edges are ragged, some threads end abruptly while others are long and pendulous, becoming entangled with other threads, or not, but ultimately forming novel arrangements that heretofore never existed.  The tapestry does not remain in disrepair, but rather quickly mends itself, seeking a new equilibrium.  But the intricate, detailed picture that forms from the mended threads never quite matches what came before.

Many things about the world in 2014 are subtly different from the world before Lilith�s entanglement in Cordy�s net in 2001.  But others remain the same.  Paradoxically, Cordelia was still there to help Angel and the gang extricate Fred from Pylea.  Jasmine�s short reign of power still came to be, but she was not born of Cordelia.  And Cordy and Conner never got together - Jasmine found another way to infect the world.  Yet, the thread of the tapestry that led to Cordelia�s untimely death was still intact, and Cordy passed into the higher realm.  But the dead man�s blood that Cordelia used to trap Lilith had a dire consequence on Cordy herself � a disturbingly consistent characteristic of dark magic.  It relegated her to hell. 

In 2014, Angel and his crew find themselves back at Wolfram and Hart instead of the Hyperion.  Sam, Dean, Rachel, and the others of the Winchester crew are at the home base of the mysterious Men of Letters, rather than Wallis� Place.  In Bon Temps, many things are different, but no one realizes it because they are living in an altered reality.  This then is the stage upon which our next Crossover story will be acted out.  

Jan 16th 2014 - 10:25 AM

Comment Back  |   Send Message   |  Block User

Jan 16th 2014 - 10:02 AM

Comment Back  |   Send Message   |  Block User

For Glorificus, the annoying leather-caped, peroxided twin vampires were but a brief distraction from the main course.  They lay at the bottom of the tower, bloodied and broken, perhaps dead.  Really dead this time. But it had set Glory back a couple of minutes, and things kept happening up on that platform that she didn�t fully comprehend.  Two others were up there now, and she could feel the power coming off of them in waves.  What the hell?  The Old One, Illyria, was bad enough.  Now there were two other mega powerful super bitches up there jockeying for position.  What the hell?

Who the cumslut did they think they were, anyways, to muscle their way into Glory�s ultimate powerplay?  This was Glory�s moment to shine, not anyone else�s.  Although still not back to a 100 percent on account of being pummeled by that troll hammer and then smashed by a wrecking ball, Glory nevertheless was able to speed up the stairs faster than lightning.  When she arrived at the top, she quickly assessed that things were worse than she could have ever imagined.  Mousy the Vampire Slayer was running for the edge of the platform.  If she jumped, Glory knew that her blood would close the rift between dimensions, and potentially the game would be over, lost.  Then there were the two interlopers, the super sluts.  But one had just been flung off the platform like a rag doll.  The other sprouted wings and took flight to soar with the dragons or whatever.  Glory didn�t get it, but whatever had happened between them was over.  Which was fine and dandy. 

But Illyria still held the glowing dagonsphere in her hand.  It made Glory queasy just to look at its light.  She�d smashed one of these things already tonight.  But she sensed that this one was different.  The Marlboro man had just read a spell.  Whatever that was about, it couldn�t be good for Glory.  She saw one chance for herself, one opportunity to uncluster this clusterfuck.  She had to grab the dagonsphere while leaping to catch Buffy Summers.  As she trailed off the platform with the slayer, she would carry the girl, the dagonsphere, and herself into that other dimension.  She would be home, the slayer would be dead, and the power of the dagonsphere would be completely under her control.  So she leapt towards Illyria and the glowing sphere, pushing the Marlboro man and the slayer�s idiot watcher off the platform as she went.  But, almost in slow motion, Glory recognized that she was a millisecond too late.  The Old One�s grip tightened and the sphere shattered before Glory could get to it. 

�Oh shit.�

Then the world dissolved. 

Jan 16th 2014 - 2:54 AM

Comment Back  |   Send Message   |  Block User

Holding the dagonsphere in her hand, Illyria watched as events played out in front of her, still weighing the decisions of crushing the orb or not. Looking from face to face she wasn't seeing much to convince her save the day, but then she met Wesley's eyes once more. Like always he had a power over her, even if he didn't fully realize that. From the day she met him, she was drawn to him. She at first thought it was just Fred's memories doing this, but after time she realized it wasn't just that. No, she loved him. And that love was still present.

Jan 5th 2014 - 1:25 AM

Comment Back  |   Send Message   |  Block User

Jan 4th 2014 - 10:21 AM

Comment Back  |   Send Message   |  Block User

A timber snapped on the tower far below Giles� feet and the platform upon which they were all standing canted a few degrees to the left.  But Giles wasn�t concerned for his own safety.  He knew this would end soon, one way or another.  What had caught his attention was what the woman said � the one who had recently appeared on the tower with another Spike.  She and that Spike, who looked identical to the Spike from his time, were likely from the future, too.  But she had said �You have to break it when Buffy jumps.�

�When Buffy jumps?�  He looked to Wesley, who would not meet his gaze. �When Buffy JUMPS!?!�  Something Wesley had said just a moment ago came rushing back at him � �The tear between worlds will only close when the blood stops flowing.  When Summers� blood stops flowing.� Summers� blood � either Dawn�s or Buffy�s.  Giles suddenly felt betrayed, maneuvered into this position by these supposed time travelers, these people who claimed to be here to save his world and theirs.  But if Buffy dies, this world is shattered, and all is lost.  It doesn�t matter what happens to Glory or the key. 

Amidst the growing electrical maelstrom in the skies above, Giles saw Buffy saying a few words to 2001 Dawn.  He could not hear what was said, but Dawn was close to tears.  Buffy glanced over her shoulder at the end of the platform; she had that determined, fatalistic look on her face that Rupert knew so well.  Dear God, she was going to do it, she was going to sacrifice herself.  �BUFFY!  Listen to me!  You DO NOT have to jump!  That is why these people are here.  They have found another way. Let them complete the spell!  Let them destroy the dagonsphere!�  Giles didn�t know if what he said was true, but he didn�t care.  The worlds be damned, he would not watch his Slayer jump from the tower.  

Jan 3rd 2014 - 10:52 AM

Comment Back  |   Send Message   |  Block User

They weren�t going to spend the last moments of this powerplay in some bladdered damp, moldy forest in the Cotswold.  If there was a chance they could tip the balance somehow and help save the world, they would.  Didn�t matter what Fred had told them.  So Kat and Spike made the jump to Sunnydale, to that rickety tower that Spike remembered so well.  Buffy had closed the rift between worlds and stopped Glory, but at what cost?  He knew that Buffy would be back, and everything would be ok, but this was a moment he really didn�t relish reliving.  What was the likelihood that Fred was right, that they might just tip the balance in another way � too much paradox?  Hadn�t she said something about the world going kabluee?  Or maybe Kat thought she had a magical mojo fix for that.  He followed Kat up the stairs to the top of the tower, which was about as crowded as a mosh pit at a Sex Pistols concert.

The tower creaked and swayed in the night breeze.  Something cracked below them.  The tower wasn�t gonna hold up much longer.  Buffy might not have to jump, they might all get dumped off this damned Rube Goldberg stairway to hell. Maybe Kat and Spike were tipping the balance in yet another way that just had to do with physics. There was another Spike up there on the tower, and he was staring in amazement at his twin.  And he was glowing, little blasts of light shooting off of him like a pinwheel.  Spike from 2013 looked down at himself.  The same thing was happening to him.  �What the hell?�  Up above, the skies were alive with the crackling of electricity � not just lightning � this was sparks, like really big ones. It hadn�t been this bad last time, there hadn�t been this light show, or not to this degree.  Was it the paradox?  Something caught Spike�s eye below.  He glanced down the stairs.  It was Glory, pounding up the stairs.  �Oh bloody hell!  Isn�t she supposed to be dead by now?�  Giles was supposed to have killed Ben, which should have trapped Glory in the kid�s dead body.  Spike spoke to his other self, �Come on mate, we got us a God to stop!�  The two Spikes headed on down the stairs to confront the Skank Queen.  He hoped that Kat would be able to do whatever needed to be done here, and that it all came together before the worlds went paradoxically kabluee, the two worlds merged into one, again causing the world as he knew it to go kabluee, or the tower fell over making everything go kabluee by default.

Jan 3rd 2014 - 2:56 AM

Comment Back  |   Send Message   |  Block User

�You certainly know how to get a girl�s attention,� she uttered to Spike as they stood in the lot adjacent to the tower.  Staring up at the top of structure to see Buffy was already standing there embracing her sister. The others were there too. Wesley was calling out to her encouraging her to jump. She hoped they weren�t too late. The pair bolted towards the stairs running up them as fast as they could to join up with the others. �Wes the sphere,� she breathless blurted out as they reached the top and the former watcher came into view.  As she attempted to catch her breath she saw it, but he wasn�t holding it. �Is in Illyria�s hands,� frozen uncertain about this latest development. Which side was the goddess on? And would she do what needed to be done? No one seemed to be attempting to stop her from handling it. �Did I miss something? Is this a good thing?� she whispered where only her husband could hear.     

�You have to break it when Buffy jumps,� she proceeded to give Wesley the message like she hadn�t caught sight of the orb. Then she gave Buffy an awkward glance. The slayer was going to die and she had to let it happen. It felt wrong but this was the past. It was the way it had happened once before.

Jan 3rd 2014 - 1:42 AM

Comment Back  |   Send Message   |  Block User

Even though Illyria thought she was letting go of all her human attachments, seeing Fred and Wesley together tore her up inside. Jealously. She was jealous of a ghost. Fred had been Wesley's true love, a love that was torn away from him. Illyria knew the only reason he felt anything for her was her resemblance to that true love. He was Illyria's true love. If Fred was alive he would pick Fred over and over again. That simple fact hit her like a ton of bricks. And made the decision she was going to have to make easier.

Taking the dagonsphere Illyria turned her blue eyes down and focused on it's increasing glow. Wesley didn't have to finish his sentence in order for her to understand. Only she could destroy the orb and it had to be done when Buffy jumped. Though Illyria didn't care about Buffy or Dawn, or really anyone that was there. Just Wesley. She couldn't help but wonder if he was strong enough to survive in a world that was ruled by the Old Ones. If she decided to not smash the orb and remake the world she would do her best to keep him safe but the memory of her last day in her former body did not escape her. The Old Ones killed her. How could she protect one mortal when she failed to protect herself. More and more smashing the orb seemed like a better idea.

Jan 2nd 2014 - 9:47 AM

Comment Back  |   Send Message   |  Block User

     �Fred?�  As she turned to leave, Wesley reached out with the hand not holding the glowing dagonsphere.  He could almost feel the rich texture of her hair, almost.  But her lithe form simply dissolved away in front of him.  Wes was taken away for a moment, the crisis nearly forgotten, as he bathed in the revelation that Winifred Burkle had somehow survived after all, that the last remaining essence of her did not reside within Illyria.  Illyria was watching him, no doubt reading his every nuanced response to Fred.  He returned her gaze.  At first, Illyria had been just a surrogate for Fred, a reminder of what he�d lost.  But over the years their relationship had grown and blossomed, setting down roots in both of them that could never be torn loose. 

     Fred had delivered a message, and with no time to spare.  Wesley had been on the verge of making a fatal mistake that would have doomed his world and set the world of 2001 on an unalterable trajectory to disaster.  Once again, he�d gotten ahead of himself, thought he knew all the answers.  Overconfidence was once a hallmark of Wesley�s personality.  He�d been so bloody pompous and foolish in his early years after the Watcher�s Academy.  It�s a wonder he survived those years at all.  But he thought he was past that.  Apparently not.

     Yes, he knew that the dagonsphere must be destroyed at precisely the moment Buffy�s feet leave the platform.  Wes had thought he could simply throw it at the platform and it would break.  But he�d forgotten what Lilah had told him about it.  Hadn�t she nonchalantly tossed it to him, laughing as she did?  She said it was made of raw diamonds or something.  It was tough.  It wouldn�t break easily.  He glanced at Illyria again.  But Illyria possessed the physical strength to crush it.  In fact, she might very well be the only one here that could smash the dagonsphere � the final step to release the Key from Dawn and send it, Glory, and Lilith from this universe. 

     But there was another reason why Illyria was the only one who could complete the spell.  She and the dagonsphere shared something in common � they were both unique in this temporal dimension.  Illyria in the form of Fred did not exist in 2001, and at that time this dagonsphere had been in the higher realm from which Lilah had recently retrieved it.  The power of the spell was rooted in paradox, and only someone neither subject to paradox nor of this time frame could smash the dagonsphere and finalize the spell.  Even if Wes had the strength to destroy it, the paradox of his presence here in 2001, when a younger version of himself was in Los Angeles, would counteract the spell. 

     Wesley handed the dagonsphere to Illyria.  It glowed even brighter in her grasp.  �Its up to you, Illyria.  You must smash it at precisely the moment that�� He nodded towards Buffy, not wanting Giles or Spike or anyone else from 2001 to hear that Buffy must die for their worlds to be saved.  

     The irony of the situation had not escaped Wesley.  These things always came down to hard choices, didn�t they?  It was up to Illyria now.  She could save this world and preserve the status quo in 2013, or restore the Old Ones, remaking the world as if their rule and her place as a God King had never come to an end.  Even though Wesley and everyone else Illyria had come to know these last few years probably would not exist in that world, or if they did, they would likely be slaves or worse.    

     Illyria would decide one way or another.  There was nothing more Wesley could do.  So he completed the reading of the incantation, �Prin puterea Dagonsphere �i i�ele de paradox, scoate�i cheia �i alte rele din lumea asta!�