Subject: [OTL]: (CampingCon challenge; Illyana/Buffy) Nightgust (PG-13) Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2002 20:40:32 -0700 (PDT) From: Phil Hartman will1@earthling.net Nightgust by Phil Hartman DISCLAIMER: Illyana and related characters are Marvel's, while Buffy and Giles are Joss Whedon's. The setting is mine (see below), while the first line belongs to the CampingCon crew (thanks !). No money is being made off of this. Please don't sue. NOTE: Alternate Earth, near-future (roughly two weeks ahead of today, actually). The rest will be explained soon enough ... NOTE 2: I was going through Andrea's challenge, and that one line from Illyana just leapt out at me. The rest clicked together ... ;) -------------------------------------------------------- "You can't even imagine, can you?" Illyana glared, breathing heavily, the ice-mask broken. "I can imagine hell on Earth well enough," the middle-aged white man who had cast a binding ward around Illyana Rasputin replied in a bitter English accent. "You've caused quite enough trouble, Ms. Rasputin." Illyana just scowled again, refusing to give Rupert Giles the satisfaction of struggling against the mystick "chain" holding her in place. The blonde teleporter/sorceress sat on the chair provided for her in the X-Mansion of the library and gave Giles' newest protege a questioning glance. Until 24 hours ago, Illyana and Buffy Summers had been the same age, if not the closest of friends. All that had changed when Illyana had taken up the Soulsword she'd rejected in 1994, to save her friend Kitty Pryde-Wisdom's infant son Aaron from the sword's power and influence. Illyana had aged from 14 to 28 in the space of instants, regaining her memories of her past as Queen of Limbo. It also put her in indirect conflict with Buffy, who was the newest Slayer of their timeline. #And Slayers are dedicated to fighting the forces of darkness, which I just happen to be tied to,# Illyana thought grimly. Buffy looked at Giles and asked, "Is this really necessary ? She was trying to save an innocent." "By accepting the corruption of half of her soul ?" Giles replied without malice. "Buffy, I know that you are new to being a Slayer. But moral quandaries are not a nicety you can afford. I'm not suggesting that Illyana be executed as you would a vampire. But her supernatural side must be confronted, at the very least." Buffy met Illyana's gaze and shook her head. "'Strange bedfellows,'" Buffy replied, standing and walking over to Illyana. "The Soulsword is still glowing silver, Giles. That means that Illyana isn't totally corrupted. What's the point of fighting this 'war' if we take out possible allies ?" Giles sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose as Illyana interjected, "The girl's got a point, Watcher. I'm the Gatekeeper, remember ? The Watcher of Limbo. I remember Inferno, and why I gave up my darksoul and the Soulsword. I failed before. I won't do it again." Giles scowled, and Illyana rolled her eyes. "There's more Chaos in Limbo nowadays," she continued. "Something's churning up raw entropy over there. It'll start tearing at the dimensional walls, half-demon sorceress queen or not. You'll need someone who knows Limbo to keep an eye on it." Buffy crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "I'm going to bat, but don't make me have to swing it at you," she said with a half-smirk. "Hey, you clocked me a few days ago when I let that N'Garai out of the Hellmouth by accident. I don't want to risk getting a realized Slayer on my hiney," Illyana laughed. "Believe it or not, I'm not your enemy." Giles looked aghast at Buffy and breathed, "She's possessed - !" "Corrupted - partially - maybe," Illyana replied calmly. She nodded at the locket around her neck and shrugged, adding, "There are three Bloodstones in there again. I know about the risks of all five manifesting - I become the Darkchilde, unleash the Old Ones on Earth, making Inferno look like a Cub Scout outing, yadda yadda yadda. But push me away and I WILL go bad. I need human contact, y'know." Giles rubbed his cheeks; it was these kinds of devil's deals that tended to come back to bite him. Memories of his own youth tampering with the occult flickered before his eyes, and he sighed deeply once more. From his pocket, he produced a glowing key, with which he unlocked the eldritch chain around Illyana. "Thank you," she said, standing with a grin and stretching out her arms. Illyana smoothed the black and white spandex of her costume and opened a stepping disc, then said, "You need help, holler. I've usually got at least one scrying crystal attuned to this plane." "The thought is comforting," Giles said dryly. Illyana blew him a kiss and teleported away, closing the stepping disc behind her. "I'll add monitoring Ms. Rasputin's activities to your responsibility list," Giles told Buffy in a low tone. "This would give the Council fits if they found out." "Which they won't," Buffy said matter of factly. "Which they don't need to, until it becomes a problem," Giles corrected. Buffy patted his shoulder and headed out of the library, as Giles pushed his glasses higher on his nose. "'She has charisma and wits, as well as physical prowess'," Giles wrote in the diary he'd had open on his desk when Illyana had appeared. "'But will this Slayer have the necessary wisdom ?'" -------------------------------------------------------- To be continued in Summerswind ... --------------------------------------------------------