Live The Question
Feb. 11th, 2007 10:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sevendeadlyfunPairing: Various (none this chapter)
Rating: NC-17 overall (PG-13 this chapter)
Warnings: small bit of violence
A/N: I know, I know. No sex yet. Trust me, we'll get there. Just not for a chapter or two. Thanks tokidcyclone for her beta work!
The title is taken from the Rilke quote, “Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions”
Rating: NC-17 overall (PG-13 this chapter)
Warnings: small bit of violence
A/N: I know, I know. No sex yet. Trust me, we'll get there. Just not for a chapter or two. Thanks to
kidcyclone for her beta work!The title is taken from the Rilke quote, “Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions”
“Fire, rain, screams…yep, it’s officially an apocalypse,” Xander yelled as they blinked into the alleyway. “Can anyone remind me why we keep renewing our subscription to the End Of Days Gazette?”
Willow snickered, and began to repulse the hordes of demons threatening to overrun their position. Trust Xander to find the comic side of world endage. Of course, Xander thought that “King Ralph” was funny, so his sense of humor? Always suspect.
Faith dove in; the patented hack and slash maneuvers pulling her deeper into the melee. She decapitated two Fyarls, and gutted a Chaos demon, all the while screaming out for Angel and Spike. She poured her fear and anxiety into the fight, becoming a dark blur, Nemesis personified.
Xander saw it first, the pieces of white flashing in and out of view. He screamed for Faith and ducked under outstretched tentacles, axe swinging wildly in an attempt to both evade and destroy. He managed to stop the overgrown octopus-like demon with a hefty dose of sharp and pointy to the head. As it fell, he jumped and ran pell-mell towards the scrap of white.
Faith saw it, and unstrapped her second sword. Beginning a graceful spin, she held both weapons out from her body. This slice and dice tactic was risky, but the only way to reach the beleaguered vampires without wasting time. Plus, she conceded, it looked wicked cool.
Xander got there first, sliding in under Spike’s rapidly moving fists like a runner hitting home. He scrabbled upwards, hands colliding with a solid form that groaned weakly underneath his grasping fingers. Rolling the body slightly, he saw Angel’s face, pale and perspiring.
“Deadboy,” he acknowledged as he reached for his medical kit. “Gotta say, I’ve seen you looking better. The hair…”
Angel grinned weakly and Xander leaned down to examine the slumped body. Scratches and claw marks covered most of Angel’s body, and what wasn’t leaking blood was covered in various shades of demon blood. At least, Xander hoped it was blood. Funny how most demonic bodily fluids looked pretty similar in color and texture.
“Not to worry, Dark and Dead. Doc Xander has the finest in Scooby medicine right here. Now open up and say ahh, “ Xander instructed, pouring a pint of Slayer blood into Angel’s mouth.
Angel’s eyes widened as he gulped frantically. Xander smirked, guessing that Angel’s thoughts ran along the Who What How line. The Council kept a supply of donated Slayer blood on hand for emergencies. No point in bothering the Red Cross every time a Slayer got injured. If they did that, they’d empty out those blood reserves pretty quick. So, every Slayer donated a pint of blood once a month, to be kept on ice at Council Headquarters. Xander figured at least one vamp would be low on fuel and appropriated a few dozen pints in a good cause. Plus, the look on Angel’s face? So worth minor blood theft.
“Don’t worry, Angel. It was all donated. So, how’d you get so beat up? Did you tell Cordy she looked fat? Cuz that’s not always the wisest move, “ Xander cracked, pushing another pint down Angel’s throat.
“Cordy’s…dead,” Angel breathed. “Died…month ago. Evil goddess.”
“Oh man, Angel. I’m sorry. She was special, “ Xander replied, grief written on his face. Another Scooby down and he hadn’t known. Well, mid-apocalypse was no time for tears so he pushed it aside for later.
Faith finally twirled her way through the crowd and took up position next to Spike. She flashed him a winning smile and tossed him a sword. He seemed not to register her presence, fully focused on keeping back the onrushing demons. He fought like the demon he was, possessed and vicious. A glance at Xander assured Faith that Angel was in good hands, so she too gave herself up to the fight.
Willow wandered through the carnage, picking off demons here and there. Magic in the city was different. With no life but that of the beings that inhabited it, the energies were different. The concrete and steel absorbed the energy of those beings, warped and reflected it the way they warped and reflected sunlight. Part of her previous problems had been Hellmouth related, but the other part was the lack of connection to the land. Cities and magic just weren’t meant to go together.
Willow tried hard, focusing her own energies and pulling in the energies around her, but she struggled. These grounds had felt a thousand thousand shuffling feet and still the energies didn’t flow. She cursed softly, willing the energy to come. She invoked Shakti, Taranis, Mithras, Hike and Ninazu, and the flow eased a bit. The power of the gods steadied her steps and she fought her way through, feeling rather than seeing the influx of dark energy ahead of her.
A snippet of blue appeared, floating in and out of Willow’s peripheral vision. The blue moved quickly, easily, through the crowd and wherever the blue was, the demons ceased to be. The blue seemed to be on an intercept course, but Willow didn’t alter her path. Friend or foe, it hardly mattered. Willow didn’t kid herself anymore. She could handle herself, even as the world tumbled down. Still, she recognized that there were forces more powerful in this world than even an upstart Hellmouth witch. So, in the end, it still didn’t matter. She’d win or not, no point in screwing up the energies even more with pointless freaking.
The blue came to rest in her path and Willow gasped. It was…”Fred?”
“You know the shell,” the blue being said flatly. “You are…Willow. The witch. You babble and your power is miniscule. Come.”
“Well and hello to you to, “ Willow responded tartly. “I’d ask if we could catch up, but I have a feeling the story would take longer than the apocalypse.”
“I am Illyria. The Fred you knew is gone. I obliterated her when I took over the shell. I am tired of this world and wish to leave it. You will help me. Now.”
“Wow, and here I thought that we’d settle down together after this craziness was over. Darn, “ Willow mocked, snapping her fingers and imploding a large group of Boretz on her flank. “Oopsie.”
“Cease your prattle, Witch. The Wolf, The Ram, and The Hart seek to enter this domain. Upstarts, grasping at glory that can never be theirs. You shall stop them,” Illyria ordered.
“Stop…Illyria, I’m not up for taking on gods. I did that before. It didn’t end well, “ Willow protested.
“Of course it didn’t. Foolish human, you cannot comprehend the power they wield now. You shall simply serve as my vessel. I will destroy them and they will know that it is Illyria, God-King of the primordium who has bested them. This world was and shall be mine,” Illyria explained.
“Ah, “ Willow replied. “Umm, vessel?”
Illyria grabbed Willow’s hands, and the blue body began to pulse violently. Willow felt a strange and disturbing energy force its way into her body. As Illyria’s body fell bonelessly to the ground, Willow’s eyes glowed an eerie sky blue and she turned to face the portal. Three figures were visible in the fringes of the crackling energy.
“Time to crank it up, “ Willow murmured, as her fingers weaved complicated figures in the air. The three shadowy figures stopped their movement, and stood transfixed in the bright blue lightening bolts that issued from the witch’s fingers.
“Wolf, Ram, and Hart, meet Illyria. She likes long walks on the beach, romantic dinners by candlelight, and completely destroying her enemies. Her favorite color is blue and she prefers death to destruction. Now, let’s tell our lucky contestants what they’ve won, “ Willow intoned, feeling the might of Illyria flow through her body.
The power whipped and tossed the three shadowy figures through the portal, and the acrid stench of burning flesh stung Willow’s nose. Slowly, the power Illyria gave her left her body and the portal closed, leaving behind a few ragtag demons and a lot of random energy. Willow considered pulling it in and using it to dispatch the last remnants of the apocalyptic A-Team, but figured it was an unnecessary risk. Faith and Spike seemed to have everything well under control.
As the final demons went down, Spike seemed to come back to himself. He knelt down and put his forehead on Angel’s, asking softly, “Anybody home, pet?”
When Angel nodded, Spike relaxed a bit and turned to see just who had been fighting beside him the whole time. When he saw Faith, Xander, and Willow, he groaned.
“Bloody Hell! A Scooby rescue, complete with light show,” Spike complained, pointing to the electric leftovers of Willow’s merge with Illyria. “Do you lot ever sit out an apocalypse?”
Xander smiled, eyes bright and punched Spike lightly on the shoulder. When Spike scowled, Xander tossed him a packet of blood and replied, “We missed you too, Fang Face. What’s say we get Captain Broody out of here and do some quality chilling indoors? As I recall, you and the sun aren’t real close.”
Spike smiled, and nodded. Tucking the blood in his waistband, he threw Angel’s arm over his shoulder and stood, the two of them unsteady but still mobile. Willow pointed towards the Hyperion and Faith moved to Angel’s other side. Supporting the weakened champion, they moved off, leaving the carnage behind them.
Willow snickered, and began to repulse the hordes of demons threatening to overrun their position. Trust Xander to find the comic side of world endage. Of course, Xander thought that “King Ralph” was funny, so his sense of humor? Always suspect.
Faith dove in; the patented hack and slash maneuvers pulling her deeper into the melee. She decapitated two Fyarls, and gutted a Chaos demon, all the while screaming out for Angel and Spike. She poured her fear and anxiety into the fight, becoming a dark blur, Nemesis personified.
Xander saw it first, the pieces of white flashing in and out of view. He screamed for Faith and ducked under outstretched tentacles, axe swinging wildly in an attempt to both evade and destroy. He managed to stop the overgrown octopus-like demon with a hefty dose of sharp and pointy to the head. As it fell, he jumped and ran pell-mell towards the scrap of white.
Faith saw it, and unstrapped her second sword. Beginning a graceful spin, she held both weapons out from her body. This slice and dice tactic was risky, but the only way to reach the beleaguered vampires without wasting time. Plus, she conceded, it looked wicked cool.
Xander got there first, sliding in under Spike’s rapidly moving fists like a runner hitting home. He scrabbled upwards, hands colliding with a solid form that groaned weakly underneath his grasping fingers. Rolling the body slightly, he saw Angel’s face, pale and perspiring.
“Deadboy,” he acknowledged as he reached for his medical kit. “Gotta say, I’ve seen you looking better. The hair…”
Angel grinned weakly and Xander leaned down to examine the slumped body. Scratches and claw marks covered most of Angel’s body, and what wasn’t leaking blood was covered in various shades of demon blood. At least, Xander hoped it was blood. Funny how most demonic bodily fluids looked pretty similar in color and texture.
“Not to worry, Dark and Dead. Doc Xander has the finest in Scooby medicine right here. Now open up and say ahh, “ Xander instructed, pouring a pint of Slayer blood into Angel’s mouth.
Angel’s eyes widened as he gulped frantically. Xander smirked, guessing that Angel’s thoughts ran along the Who What How line. The Council kept a supply of donated Slayer blood on hand for emergencies. No point in bothering the Red Cross every time a Slayer got injured. If they did that, they’d empty out those blood reserves pretty quick. So, every Slayer donated a pint of blood once a month, to be kept on ice at Council Headquarters. Xander figured at least one vamp would be low on fuel and appropriated a few dozen pints in a good cause. Plus, the look on Angel’s face? So worth minor blood theft.
“Don’t worry, Angel. It was all donated. So, how’d you get so beat up? Did you tell Cordy she looked fat? Cuz that’s not always the wisest move, “ Xander cracked, pushing another pint down Angel’s throat.
“Cordy’s…dead,” Angel breathed. “Died…month ago. Evil goddess.”
“Oh man, Angel. I’m sorry. She was special, “ Xander replied, grief written on his face. Another Scooby down and he hadn’t known. Well, mid-apocalypse was no time for tears so he pushed it aside for later.
Faith finally twirled her way through the crowd and took up position next to Spike. She flashed him a winning smile and tossed him a sword. He seemed not to register her presence, fully focused on keeping back the onrushing demons. He fought like the demon he was, possessed and vicious. A glance at Xander assured Faith that Angel was in good hands, so she too gave herself up to the fight.
Willow wandered through the carnage, picking off demons here and there. Magic in the city was different. With no life but that of the beings that inhabited it, the energies were different. The concrete and steel absorbed the energy of those beings, warped and reflected it the way they warped and reflected sunlight. Part of her previous problems had been Hellmouth related, but the other part was the lack of connection to the land. Cities and magic just weren’t meant to go together.
Willow tried hard, focusing her own energies and pulling in the energies around her, but she struggled. These grounds had felt a thousand thousand shuffling feet and still the energies didn’t flow. She cursed softly, willing the energy to come. She invoked Shakti, Taranis, Mithras, Hike and Ninazu, and the flow eased a bit. The power of the gods steadied her steps and she fought her way through, feeling rather than seeing the influx of dark energy ahead of her.
A snippet of blue appeared, floating in and out of Willow’s peripheral vision. The blue moved quickly, easily, through the crowd and wherever the blue was, the demons ceased to be. The blue seemed to be on an intercept course, but Willow didn’t alter her path. Friend or foe, it hardly mattered. Willow didn’t kid herself anymore. She could handle herself, even as the world tumbled down. Still, she recognized that there were forces more powerful in this world than even an upstart Hellmouth witch. So, in the end, it still didn’t matter. She’d win or not, no point in screwing up the energies even more with pointless freaking.
The blue came to rest in her path and Willow gasped. It was…”Fred?”
“You know the shell,” the blue being said flatly. “You are…Willow. The witch. You babble and your power is miniscule. Come.”
“Well and hello to you to, “ Willow responded tartly. “I’d ask if we could catch up, but I have a feeling the story would take longer than the apocalypse.”
“I am Illyria. The Fred you knew is gone. I obliterated her when I took over the shell. I am tired of this world and wish to leave it. You will help me. Now.”
“Wow, and here I thought that we’d settle down together after this craziness was over. Darn, “ Willow mocked, snapping her fingers and imploding a large group of Boretz on her flank. “Oopsie.”
“Cease your prattle, Witch. The Wolf, The Ram, and The Hart seek to enter this domain. Upstarts, grasping at glory that can never be theirs. You shall stop them,” Illyria ordered.
“Stop…Illyria, I’m not up for taking on gods. I did that before. It didn’t end well, “ Willow protested.
“Of course it didn’t. Foolish human, you cannot comprehend the power they wield now. You shall simply serve as my vessel. I will destroy them and they will know that it is Illyria, God-King of the primordium who has bested them. This world was and shall be mine,” Illyria explained.
“Ah, “ Willow replied. “Umm, vessel?”
Illyria grabbed Willow’s hands, and the blue body began to pulse violently. Willow felt a strange and disturbing energy force its way into her body. As Illyria’s body fell bonelessly to the ground, Willow’s eyes glowed an eerie sky blue and she turned to face the portal. Three figures were visible in the fringes of the crackling energy.
“Time to crank it up, “ Willow murmured, as her fingers weaved complicated figures in the air. The three shadowy figures stopped their movement, and stood transfixed in the bright blue lightening bolts that issued from the witch’s fingers.
“Wolf, Ram, and Hart, meet Illyria. She likes long walks on the beach, romantic dinners by candlelight, and completely destroying her enemies. Her favorite color is blue and she prefers death to destruction. Now, let’s tell our lucky contestants what they’ve won, “ Willow intoned, feeling the might of Illyria flow through her body.
The power whipped and tossed the three shadowy figures through the portal, and the acrid stench of burning flesh stung Willow’s nose. Slowly, the power Illyria gave her left her body and the portal closed, leaving behind a few ragtag demons and a lot of random energy. Willow considered pulling it in and using it to dispatch the last remnants of the apocalyptic A-Team, but figured it was an unnecessary risk. Faith and Spike seemed to have everything well under control.
As the final demons went down, Spike seemed to come back to himself. He knelt down and put his forehead on Angel’s, asking softly, “Anybody home, pet?”
When Angel nodded, Spike relaxed a bit and turned to see just who had been fighting beside him the whole time. When he saw Faith, Xander, and Willow, he groaned.
“Bloody Hell! A Scooby rescue, complete with light show,” Spike complained, pointing to the electric leftovers of Willow’s merge with Illyria. “Do you lot ever sit out an apocalypse?”
Xander smiled, eyes bright and punched Spike lightly on the shoulder. When Spike scowled, Xander tossed him a packet of blood and replied, “We missed you too, Fang Face. What’s say we get Captain Broody out of here and do some quality chilling indoors? As I recall, you and the sun aren’t real close.”
Spike smiled, and nodded. Tucking the blood in his waistband, he threw Angel’s arm over his shoulder and stood, the two of them unsteady but still mobile. Willow pointed towards the Hyperion and Faith moved to Angel’s other side. Supporting the weakened champion, they moved off, leaving the carnage behind them.
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on 2007-02-12 04:25 am (UTC)no subject
on 2007-02-12 07:08 am (UTC)no subject
on 2007-02-13 05:00 am (UTC)no subject
on 2007-02-13 05:02 am (UTC)I'm glad you liked it!
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on 2007-02-14 06:28 am (UTC)no subject
on 2007-02-14 07:37 pm (UTC)*hugs*
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on 2007-02-15 04:13 am (UTC)no subject
on 2007-02-15 04:18 am (UTC)no subject
on 2007-02-15 09:27 am (UTC)thanks a million hun and yeah ill be makin more :D
hee!
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on 2007-03-20 02:11 am (UTC)no subject
on 2007-03-20 06:05 am (UTC)