Topic: Ebony, Black and Darkness (BtVS #5) (Read 1,022 times)
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Re: Ebony, Black and Darkness (BtVS #5) « Reply #105 on Dec 28, 2006, 11:47pm »
Rachel was fighting for her life as she cycled her legs at the invading vampires, kicking with all that her body could give her. She finally managed to trip one of them and was starting to regain her feet, when one of them slammed an uppercut into her jaw, spilling her back onto the ground. She blinked away the tears of confusion and fear, then grabbed a hand full of grass and slammed it into the vampire's eyes as it tried to follow-up the attack. She then grabbed him with both hands and used her legs to sling shot the vampire over herself.
She turned to admire her handiwork, forgetting about the vampire that was at her back and was now advancing without her knowledge.
“Look out!” Liz yelled, running towards Rachel and shoving her out of the way just before the vampire could grab her.
Tree branch at the ready, the tiny Slayer kept running, ramming her weapon into the vampire’s chest. He collapsed in the usual pile of dust. The other vampire Rachel had managed to throw aside was just about to join the fight again but wasn’t ready for Liz’s onslaught. He felt a horrible stab of pain and looked down at the branch that was lodged in his chest.
“Ooh shi…”
Dust.
Liz flicked a strand of hair out of her eyes and walked back to where Rachel was trying to remain standing. “Are you all right?” she asked, barely out of breath.
To a Slayer, the event was nothing more than a typical workout. But to any normal human, it would have been utterly exhausting. Liz knew this, and could tell that Rachel wouldn’t be able to last much longer if any other vampires attacked.
"I've been better... but I've also been worse... I think," Rachel replied between pants for breath as she looked up at the Slayer and slowly got to her feet beside her former rival.
Liz reached out her hand to steady the blonde. “I think we should head back,” she said quietly. She glanced over at Ebony who was still fighting the other vampire, continually beating it again and again. “Jesus…”
Without another word, Liz stormed over to Ebony and grabbed her roughly, flinging her away from the vampire. She ignored the girl’s exclamation and lifted the branch, slamming it down into the vampire’s chest.
“I had him! Why’d you do that?!” Ebony was screaming at her angrily.
Liz turned on her heel, glaring at the other Slayer. “What the hell are you so angry for?!” she snapped. “I told you to help Rachel, not beat the utter shit out of a vampire! She could have been killed!”
“Well she wasn’t! She’s fine!” Ebony retorted, matching Liz’s glare. “And I had it under control!”
“You didn’t have anything under control at all!” Liz exclaimed incredulously. “We’re supposed to slay these things, not beat them to a bloody pulp, especially not when there are other people who need help. We were outnumbered. I just had to take out three of the damn things by myself!”
“Well you did it, didn’t you? So what the hell are you getting in my face for?!” Ebony spat back.
Liz stalked towards her, throwing the branch to the ground. “I’m getting in your face because I gave you an order, and you didn’t obey it. You just ignored me and pounded that vampire instead of staking him and then helping Rachel like I told you to do. I don’t know what the hell you’re playing at, but in our team, we help each other, you got that?!”
Ebony stared at the other Slayer, clenching and unclenching her fists in a bid to calm down. “I… I did it because…” she started, trailing off.
“What?” Liz asked shortly.
“He… I’ve had to deal with him before. He was one of the vampires who killed Josie, but he got away…”
Now it was Liz’s turn to stare, and she stepped back slightly, unsure of what to say. “Be that as it may…” she murmured after a moment’s silence. “… you should have just killed him and helped Rachel…”
Ebony lowered her head. “I know. I’m sorry. Please don’t tell Giles, I want him to know he can trust me,”
Liz bit her lip. “I won’t… just don’t let it happen again…” she replied. Ebony’s admission had well and truly knocked the angry wind out of her sails, which she figured wasn’t such a bad thing really, given her track record with anger and magic. She turned away and walked back to Rachel, gripping the blonde’s shoulder tightly. “Come on… let’s get back…”
Rachel had just stayed quiet and stared dumbly at the two Slayers as they had talked heatedly, sucking in air by the gulp full as she tried to get her breath back under control. As Liz came back to meet her, she continued to look at the smaller girl, and then nodded and turned to follow her back to the Mansion. She needed a warm bath to relax her aching muscles.
There was a slight rustling in the trees that could easily have been mistaken for the breeze which had picked up, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. Without warning, another vampire came bursting out, heading straight towards Liz and Rachel. Ebony’s eyes widened and she began to move forward. “Liz! Behind you! Look out!”
Liz and Rachel turned just as the vampire was about to grab them. He had only managed to lay his hand on Liz’s arm when suddenly a tremendous blinding light shot out from the Slayer, hitting the vampire and sending him flying back into the trees.
“What the hell?!” Liz exclaimed, staggering backwards. She shielded her eyes from the light, lowering her arm when it finally lessened in intensity. Her chest felt like it was on fire.
“What did you do?!” Ebony yelled as she raced towards them. “Did you just use magic on him?”
“No…” Liz murmured, blinking.
There were cries from other voices, most likely more vampires, and pounding footsteps as though they were running away. The call of “Let’s get out of here, she’s a witch!” was heard before the sounds faded and eventually disappeared.
“Your necklace is glowing,” said Rachel, staring at the dark-haired Slayer in shock.
“My what?” Liz shook her head, looking down at the diamond. It was glowing more brightly than it ever had. “Holy shit…”
Ebony stepped towards her slowly, staring at the necklace. “That’s the one Chris gave you, the one with the protection spell on it?”
Liz nodded. She was feeling rather strange. “Yes…”
“So that’s what it does…” Ebony breathed in awe. “That was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen. That vampire barely touched you and then this bright light just shot out and sent him flying. I think it gave the others a bit of a scare as well,”
Liz swallowed, the strange feeling subsiding. “That was so weird. I’ve never seen it in action before. But that must be how it works. It detected the threat of that vampire and reacted. Incredible…”
More running footsteps echoed in the distance, getting louder as they pounded towards the group. Chris appeared out of the darkness, racing into the dim light of the street lamps. “Girls! What happened, are you all right? I saw this bright flash of light, like a bolt of lightning!”
The diamond continued to glow, getting brighter as the Watcher neared and finally stopped in front of his Slayer. “What happened?” he asked again, staring down at her.
“The necklace did its thing,” Liz said quietly. “A vampire was about to grab me but the diamond reacted and that’s what the light was. It hit him and he went flying,” she turned slightly and pointed towards the tree-line.
Chris’s jaw dropped, and he lowered his gaze to the necklace. “It works…” he breathed, a smile running across his weary features. “Incredible, it really works!”
“Oh it works all right,” Ebony commented. “Whatever you did to that thing, it worked like a charm, so to speak,”
“Absolutely incredible,” Christ murmured, glancing briefly at the other Slayer before looking back at Liz. “I wish I could have seen it in action,” he said softly, leaning forward to give her a tight hug. This time he could feel the heat radiating from the diamond. “Doesn’t the heat bother you?” he asked, pulling away.
Liz shook her head. “Not really, well, not now. It did when the light shot out of it, like it was on fire, but it went away pretty quickly afterwards. It was so weird, though. Weird… but comforting…” she shrugged. “But we can talk about this later. Right now, we’d better get back to the mansion. Rachel needs a bit of medical attention, I think,” she looked over at the blonde.
Chris nodded. “Of course,” he replied, stepping over to Rachel and offering his arm. “Do you need some support to walk?” he asked quietly.
Liz couldn’t help but smile. Always the gentleman… she thought, waiting to see if Rachel would appreciate the gesture.
"I'm alright... really," Rachel said with a smile at Chris as she straightened up, the wind finally starting to come back into her at a regular interval. The excitement and fear of the moment had worn off. "Thank you for the offer, but I think it's more the intensity of the real thing and me getting back used to it. I'll be fine," she said, wanting to make sure that no one thought her weak, but more importantly, that she hadn't brushed off the concern of the others.
“Well if you’re sure…” Chris shrugged, and moved closer to Liz instead. “I saw that girl you called me about. She ran straight into me actually. It took a bit of time to convince her I wasn’t another vampire, heh. I ended up describing you three to her and she agreed to let me walk her home. I didn’t quite like the idea of her being alone, she was quite shaken up,”
Liz nodded. “Yeah, that’s good to know. Maybe she’ll be more careful when she goes out now,”
“Hmm… perhaps she’ll learn the importance of safety in numbers,” Chris replied with a small smile, starting straight ahead to avoid the looks Ebony was giving him. He glanced back at Rachel. “So how did you go?” he asked her, genuinely interested to know. “Was it anything like you imagined?”
"Yeah... I think I had a nightmare like it a year ago," Rachel replied with a laugh to hide her own discomfort. "I think I did alright. I managed to take one down on my own, although Liz gets the assist for throwing me the stake to put the finishing touches on him. I even applied some of what Sally and Olly had taught me about deception and using tactics. I faked like I was hurt, and then when he came in to try and finish me off, I got him with the stake...and the pooofffff!" she exclaimed with a look of contentment on her face. She couldn't really look at Ebony yet, or think too much about the necklace that Liz was wearing. That was just too weird for the moment.
Chris smiled. “That’s good to hear. I’m sure Sally and Olly will be happy you’ve taken their advice on board and used it successfully,”
“Yay I got a mention with my stake throwing,” Liz put in, punching the air in a mock cheer. Her flat tone of voice didn’t quite suit the words, making her sound sarcastic, even though she hadn’t meant to be.
There was a brief moment of silence as they walked, the magical cloud around the Council building clearing for only them to see.
“Well. Here we are.” Liz murmured, hastening her pace. She could feel the tension and wasn’t particularly interested in hanging around for any more small talk.
“Here we are indeed,” Chris replied with a sigh of relief. He pushed the front door open and held it for the girls, waiting until they’d all stepped through before he followed. “I’d better go and let Giles know how it all went. Good night,”
“Uh yeah I’ll go with you,” Liz said quickly, falling into step behind her Watcher as he continued on his way up to Giles’s office, thus leaving Ebony and Rachel alone in the main foyer.
"I better go and see Olly and Sally... and then have a bath to work out these kinks. Night," Rachel stated, not wanting to be alone with the overly violent and somewhat troublesome Slayer at that moment.
Ebony just shrugged. “S’fine. I’m going to take a walk to clear my head. See you ‘round,” she replied, and headed back out through the front door, closing it behind her.
Sailor Earth Administrator Slayer member is offline
Joined: Feb 2004 Gender: Female Posts: 3,445 Location: South Australia Karma: 667
Re: Ebony, Black and Darkness (BtVS #5) « Reply #106 on Dec 28, 2006, 11:47pm »
General Reflection
Liz and Chris walked the rest of the way to Giles’s office in silence, however both knew what the other was thinking. The tension had since subsided, Slayer and Watcher feeling more comfortable in each other’s presence without Ebony and Rachel to distract from it.
Chris knocked on the office door and opened it after hearing Giles’s response. The Head Watcher was quite surprised to see them, but not unhappy.
“Aah, you’re back! So how did everything go?” he asked, smiling and gesturing for them to sit down.
“Yeah not bad, we encountered a heap of vampires,” Liz replied. “We weren’t really expecting that many, but we got through it,”
Giles nodded. “And how did Rachel go?”
“She managed to take one down, using the advice Sally and Olly have given her, so that was good. She did get into a bit of a tight spot though but I got her out of it,”
“Good, good. And Ebony?”
Liz hesitated slightly before answering, something Chris picked up on but Giles seemed to miss. “She was pretty good too. She really got into it,”
Well… that wasn’t a complete lie…
Giles smiled. “I’m glad to hear it. Do you think it’s about time I let Rachel get back into the team activities with the Looking Glass then?”
“It couldn’t hurt,” Liz shrugged. “She seemed to really enjoy the action. Maybe pitting her against vampires so soon was a bit much, but sometimes being thrown into the deep end has its benefits,”
“That’s certainly true,” Giles nodded in agreement, then arched his eyebrow. “Liz, are you feeling all right? You look a bit… uneasy…”
Liz bit her lip. “Oh… no, I’m fine, really…”
Chris nudged her gently with his elbow and looked pointedly at her necklace, which hadn’t stopped glowing.
“Oh right,” Liz put her hand to the diamond, attracting Giles’s attention. “My necklace had a bit of action too. A vampire tried to grab me but when the diamond realised it was a threat, this really bright light came out of it and hit him,”
Giles stared at the glowing jewel and glanced up at Chris. “Is that so?”
“Yep, tis so,” Liz shrugged. “It was pretty weird, but cool at the same time. It scared off all the other vampires. Oh, by the way, it might be an idea to keep an eye on the area we found them in, there were quite a few,”
“Yes…” Giles murmured, his eyes moving from Chris’s unreadable expression back to the necklace. “Well I’d best let you both go for now. Ben is waiting in your room for you, Liz,”
“Aah good, thanks for letting me know,” Liz replied, casting the Watcher with a smile. “Good night then!”
“Good night,” Giles said, returning the smile as the Slayer left the room.
Chris moved to follow but Giles called out for him to stop. Chris paused. “Sir…?”
“This necklace…” Giles arched his eyebrow. “I hope you know what you’re doing with magic like that…”
“Of course I do, I wouldn’t have had the spell cast if I didn’t,” Chris replied, only just managing to cut out the irritation in his tone at such a question.
Giles just looked at him with a rather unsettling stare before waving a hand. “All right. Good night,”
Chris just nodded and slipped through the door to find Liz in the hallway waiting for him. He felt his heart flutter and he couldn’t help but smile. “You waited for me?”
Liz grinned wearily. “Of course. Actually I wanted to talk to you about something anyway,” the grin faded.
“What is it?” Chris asked, leading the way towards the Slayer Wing.
“Ebony… she’s… weird…” Liz frowned. “I wasn’t totally honest with Giles before. I told Ebony to help Rachel but she just beat the crap out of one of the vampires instead, even though it should have been a quick dust. Then when I had a go at her about it she told me he was one of the vamps who had killed Josie but got away, so she was passing it off as some kind of revenge,”
Chris stared at her as they walked, almost losing sight of where they were headed. He stopped in mid-step to avoid walking into the corner of one of the walls. “What?!”
Liz shook her head, stopping with him. “I don’t know… it was strange. I didn’t know whether I should believe her or not. But anyway. She’s totally into you. It’s so obvious. She isn’t exactly Little Miss Subtle about it,”
Chris was glad he’d stopped in his tracks at this point. “She… what?” he repeated, making a face. “Into me?”
“As if you hadn’t noticed,” Liz smirked. “Come on. The looks, the comments. Why can’t I get a hug from the Dream Watcher and all that jazz. She even asked me about the Chrimbo decorations here and if we had mistletoe. I’d watch out if I were you, don’t let her corner you in a doorway,”
Chris continued to stare at her. Of course, he had noticed. It was quite disconcerting to him actually. Ebony was rather attractive, but her connection with Josie was what shook him the most. And after what Liz had just told him about the vampire situation, he was beginning to feel even more perturbed - This combined with what Giles had told him earlier about Ebony's past. “Stay out of doorways, check…” he murmured slowly.
“Well, unless it’s someone good you find yourself stuck in one with,” Liz added, winking. “I intend to do that a lot with a certain person, hehehehe,”
Chris was sure he felt himself blush but he knew she was referring to Ben with her comment. “And I’m sure he’ll try to get himself in that position himself,” he replied, wondering why Geri and co. hadn’t started decorating yet and suddenly wishing they had, and that he and Liz were caught in a doorway at that very moment. Then he realised a situation such as that had bad points to go with the good, so he shook the thought from his mind.
“Another weird thing though,” Liz was saying, playing with the necklace in her fingers. “When this shot out its light, I felt really strange afterwards,”
Chris looked at her sharply. “Strange? In what way?”
“Oh, a good way,” Liz looked up at him. “Sort of comforting, like I was being watched over and kept safe. It’s hard to explain,”
“How peculiar…” Chris murmured, leaning down to get a closer look at the diamond. It was glowing more brightly than he’d ever seen it, starting to take on something of a green hue that was similar in colour to Liz’s eyes. He remembered the comment Jonathan had made at the time of casting the spell and held back a laugh. … when a human is the catalyst for that charm to work, the gem always turns the eye colour of the one he or she loves…
Liz looked at him. “Are you ok?”
“Oh, yes,” Chris smiled, feeling the blush again and standing up straight. “Sorry. So you say it made you feel safe?”
“Yeah, safe and secure. Is that what it’s meant to do?” Liz frowned. “It’s a bit confusing,”
“The charm is a bit of an odd one, actually,” Chris conceded. “Jonathan assured me it was tried and true, though. He told me the basics of what it would do. I just didn’t realise how effective it would really be in the case of a threat. That’s why I wish I could have seen what it did against that vampire, to get a better idea,”
Liz nodded. “Aah, well, I’m sure you will at some stage, given our lovely line of business,” she smiled at him. “I have to thank you again for giving it to me. It probably saved my life, and Rachel’s too for that matter,”
Chris dipped his head slightly. “I’m sure you would have escaped harm, Liz, you always have your ways of getting out of a tight spot. But I’m still very glad that it works. It’s added insurance, really,”
“Insurance is good, hmm hmm,” Liz nodded, then glanced around the empty hallway. “It’s weird that this place gets so quiet sometimes, especially with all the people who live here. Or is it just that time of night when people are either in bed or the Slayers are still on patrols?”
Chris frowned. “I’m not sure, but it is strange at times. I have to admit, I do prefer the quiet. It makes things a lot less stressful,”
Liz smirked ruefully. “Yeah, that’s true. I have to say I think I’m the same, loudness just gets to me. Aah well. Guess I’d better not keep Ben waiting,” she made a jerking movement with her head and the two of them started walking again. “So, you have a fangirl,” she added, grinning up at the Watcher.
“Lucky me,” Chris replied with a roll of his eyes. “I couldn’t be more happier. Please note the sarcasm in my tone,”
“Aaw, I’m sure you love it,” Liz winked. “You must have had a few in your time,”
Chris shook his head. “Not really. Not since we set up the new Council and had all these Slayers come to stay, at least,”
“Aah, you know what they say, you’ve become better with age, like a fine wine,” Liz remarked. “Young girlies just love men like you, hehehe,” her face started to burn, and she suddenly felt like a complete idiot. Shut up, dingus! she thought to herself. You bloody had a thing for him yourself! ‘And probably still do…’ echoed another voice that sounded curiously like Faith’s.
Liz’s eyes widened slightly and she looked up at Chris, relieved to see he hadn’t noticed her blush, as he had a rather obvious one himself that he was trying to hide.
“No, I uh, don’t really like the whole fangirl concept,” he mumbled awkwardly. “Not in my case anyway. Well I guess it’s flattering, but, it is a bit peculiar, and unsettling, especially coming from Ebony,”
“I hear that…” Liz murmured, arching her eyebrow. “She was kind of creeping me out before, with all those looks she was giving you. Which is a shame, she seems like a nice enough person, but after tonight’s fun and games, I’m not so sure what to think now,” she lowered her voice as they entered the Slayer Wing, wary of anyone overhearing their conversation. She hoped Ebony was somewhere else at that moment.
They wandered over to their bedroom doors and paused outside. “Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow,” Chris said quietly, feeling strangely anxious all of a sudden. He didn’t want to say goodnight just yet, silently wishing Ben could have been elsewhere so he and Liz were able to spend more time together. He instantly cursed himself afterwards for having such thoughts, and forced a smile.
Liz nodded and leant forward to hug him. Chris closed his eyes, feeling the necklace’s warmth against his chest. It seemed so much more intense after its little light display – ordinarily he wouldn’t have felt the heat. He wondered how Liz coped with it, but she didn’t seem at all troubled.
“Yep, see you tomorrow. Can we have another training session or something? I felt good after today’s run, I wouldn’t mind going through the same moves again,” she smiled.
Chris nodded. “That sounds like a marvellous idea. What time suits you?”
“Eh, any, just come and get me and I’ll be ready,” Liz replied with a shrug, backing towards her door. “Good night!”
Chris smiled and watched as she opened the door and slipped inside, closing it again. He heard Ben’s voice and then a giggle from Liz, a sound that delighted him whenever he heard it.
He sighed and entered his own room, greeted by a soft “mew” from Holly who had chosen his domain as her own for the night. Chris smiled and bent down to pick her up, stroking her black fur as he walked towards his bed and sat down.
“It’s been a rather… odd day, Holly,” he murmured, staring into space. “I wonder what tomorrow will bring?”
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