Dispatches from the War: Epitaph 3: the More Things Change (PG)
I feel defensive of this, so be fairly warned - it's a piece of self-indulgence, expositiony, waaaay too dialogue-heavy and purely insider interest for the Rulesverse. But this turned out to be part of unwinding the war in my brain, and I hope it's of interest to some of you. It also might lead on to something more about immortality, which I've had in my back brain for a while and may yet acquire a plot. One more epitaph to follow this, which should be more reader-friendly.
There's also passing reference to another Rulesverse baby. I was getting defensive about the number of kids in the verse too till I worked out there are seven kids (possibly eight, depending on how many Gunn has), from five relationships, in a verse that covers 18 years so far and stars a bunch of people throughout their twenties and thirties. In comparison with my RL, I'm drastically underselling the fertility rate. (Also, the schmoop bingo prompts were *very* demanding...)
Epitaph Three: The More Things Change
October 2016
Rated: PG13
Starring: Willow, Dawn, Illyria, Oz, Talia, Vi, Wesley
So, there was a deity, a Key and the most powerful witch in the world who mingled their essences… and, yeah, this isn't actually a joke.
The Slayer Council had discussed the situation, a couple of weeks after the world was saved.
"Willow needs to come back to humanity. We can't just leave her with the magicks. She doesn't want it."
"She does want it. That's why she mustn't have it. You know what happens when Willow gets deep into magic."
"But Dawn and Illyria have been keeping the brakes on. She's still Willow, they're all in control of the magicks."
"Yeah. And isn't that scary if you think hard about it? All three in control of the magicks."
Which was all very well, though remarkably repetitious of older debates. Thing was, there were four human beings (well, a Slayer, a werewolf, a warlock and yes, an actual everyday human) with an interest in the outcome.
They were an odd group. Wesley and Oz had barely met since Sunnydale, a time which hadn't endeared them to each other. Talia still regarded the world of the Slayers as fairly surprising, though she quite liked Vi, whose edge of geekiness seemed to reassure. But they wanted their womenfolk back, and that was enough.
Something had changed between them in the war.
"I think they enjoyed it." Vi mused one day, over a conspiratorial pot of tea. "It must be way powerful, all that intermingling."
"Well, quite, but do we think it's a positive thing? Illyria is… amazing… but I'm not sure she's quite…" Wesley was rather obviously straining not to badmouth his lover. Others did more than enough of that.
Like Talia, in the nicest possible way. "I'm just… I'm not sure this connection is a healthy one. For Willow. Maybe for any of them."
Oz nodded. Which said plenty.
"So," said Talia. "What are we going to do about it?"
Sometimes, it's the human beings who really freak you out with their wacky ideas. Do something? Not just talk? Good lord.
Wesley moved slightly, drawing the group's attention. "I'm pretty sure they're still wandering in and out of each other's brains. Even at Gunn's funeral, I thought Illyria was more than just herself."
"Yes. I've had that feeling too at… certain times," said Vi, her ears going red. The group coughed. Yes, they had all had that icky feeling at intimate moments - moments when barriers came down, and magic showed itself.
"Has to stop," was Oz's contribution. Which sealed things. They'd do a thing. When they'd thought of what it might be.
*
A couple of days later, Vi invited the other three up to R&D. "So, I have an idea. You know how there are interventions, when everyone gets together and tackles an issue with one person?"
Various nods. Unenthused. Unsurprised, Vi continued, "But there are too many of them - we go up against all three, they might get defensive. Worst case, we drive them closer together. Maybe too close."
Talia nodded. "So you think we talk to them separately? Divide and rule."
"Nope. We need this to get the whole issue resolved together. So…" Vi paused long enough to signal that what followed was going to be off the wall. "How about we get into their minds. Together."
"We can't do that," was Wesley's response. "I might just manage it, but I'd be alone. I don't think any of the rest of you have sufficient spellcasting ability-"
"But we bring other things. Talia brings humanity, Oz brings calm, I bring a sense of quiet style." She grinned. Everyone carefully didn't scoff. "So we all go in. Together. As one."
Everyone scoffed, after all.
"No, listen guys. There's a spell Willow did years ago, it uses the essence of the First Slayer to bind four people-"
Wesley tutted, "Indeed. And then the First Slayer comes and tries to kill us in our dreams. I've heard about this one. Giles was very vivid in his descriptions."
"Been there. Met her. We can take her," said Vi, simply.
Talia was shaking her head. Oz put his hand on hers. "We want Willow back. It's worth a shot." Oz always had a way with short sentences.
So it was that Talia the heart, Oz the spirit, Vi the hand and Wesley the mind conjoined their essences in full knowledge of the likely repercussions. They picked a day when Illyria, Dawn and Willow were openly sharing their minds. The hybrid, wearing Vi's face, moved as one, into the scary world of the mind.
*
The scary world of the mind turned out to feel oddly like real life. The hybrid, or parts thereof, was freaked by that. Slightly reassured to find there was a blue-green tint over everything to signal that this was not, in fact, reality. Except for the parts that were.
"Hey guys," was Willow's response. "Didn't expect to see you here."
"Why not?" asked the hybrid. "We love you. We want you back. We need you to stop this connection. This seemed like the best way to get your attention."
"They want me to keep the magicks. I need Dawn and Illyria for that." Willow was defensive. Not a shocker.
The hybrid shrugged. "That's up to you, and the Council. If you're going for it, go for it. Whatever. But having you three randomly wandering and out of each other's brains? That's freaking us out."
Illyria scowled. "We are higher beings-"
"Yeah. Not so comforting. What we need here," said the hybrid, "Is a procedure."
The component parts of the hybrid didn’t know each other well. But they were finding that they could work together. A little of Talia's emotion; a whole lot of Oz and Wesley's calm and planning; a soupcon of Vi's ability to find solutions no other rational person would suggest… It was leading the hybrid into interesting places.
Illyria continued to look hostile. "We have considered the need for control. The witch does not feel she can control the magic if she retains it, for she is a weak mortal. Therefore, we believe that the Council's strategy has merit. A containment box is the answer, but no longer a childish physical vessel which requires physical presence and separation. We have designed a box inside the Willowbrain. A box for the magicks, that only she can open."
"And she can only open it if we two agree," added Dawn.
"Nope, sorry," responded the hybrid. "Make that we three."
Dawn frowned at them. "You mean four. There are four of you."
"Sorry," said the hybrid. "We mean you, and Illyria, and me. Or us. We four-in-one are the third person."
Dawn blinked. "This is getting weird."
Willow's sotto voce "Getting?" was heard by the hybrid. On the whole, it felt optimistic that Willow was joking about this.
Part of the hybrid was made up of people who did exposition. "So, Willow can only access the magicks with Illyria and Dawn agreeing in her brain, and with us collectively represented too, at times of great need, lots of checks and balances, yadda yadda. And otherwise everyone stays the hell out of everyone else's brain, okay?" (Exposition-hybrid was slightly mingled with wacky-sidekick hybrid. It showed.)
There was a pause. Then the hybrid added, "Oh crap. No, it doesn't work. What if someone dies? Magicks would be all locked up."
Willow shrugged. "Not a problem for me - I die, magic dies, no issue."
Dawn shrugged. "I'm pretty much immortal. Flesh withers, glowy green ball thing lives on and can consent to stuff. Probably. There's a Key, anyway."
Illyria scowled. "The Shell is tough. It will outlast you all. It is only you who are the problem."
Back to the hybrid, who sighed. "Okay, you can swap us out if need be, since we're such squishy ephemeral types. But there have to be four mortals who love you three, with a First Slayer spell to link them. That ought to do it." It paused. "You really are total freaks, you guys." But it was smiling.
"We are who we are." Dawn was surprisingly grim. "We're magic. We live long. We don't breed, to outlive our offspring's offspring. We save the world for others' future hopes."
One quarter of the hybrid tried a psychic hug for its love, because that was bleak enough for any length of lifetime.
One quarter strenuously tried not to think anything at all.
One half of it thought, "Uhm. This would be a really bad moment to mention that it looks like Willow's gonna be raising a baby in about seven months' time."
Unfortunately, in Willow's mind, there was limited privacy. The rest of the hybrid heard. So did Willow.
The world of Willow's mind was a weird place already. Now the blue-green tint strengthened, till they seemed to be underwater. She didn't speak.
Dawn and Illyria waited, baffled, while Willow and the hybrid communed. For a while.
Eventually, the Old One broke, "We cannot attend you indefinitely while you converse in silence. Is there a reason to keep the magicks free?"
"No," said the hybrid. "It's a reason to come back to humanity."
*
Note: There's a footnote I wanted to write into this but didn't fit. If you know the Rulesverse well, think about what Wesley was trying not to think about, and consider whether the rest of the hybrid could hear him trying not to think about it. Then think that Oz is probably a good guy to keep secrets, and Talia probably doesn't care. But Vi?
Epitaph Four and the end of the war are here
There's also passing reference to another Rulesverse baby. I was getting defensive about the number of kids in the verse too till I worked out there are seven kids (possibly eight, depending on how many Gunn has), from five relationships, in a verse that covers 18 years so far and stars a bunch of people throughout their twenties and thirties. In comparison with my RL, I'm drastically underselling the fertility rate. (Also, the schmoop bingo prompts were *very* demanding...)
Epitaph Three: The More Things Change
October 2016
Rated: PG13
Starring: Willow, Dawn, Illyria, Oz, Talia, Vi, Wesley
So, there was a deity, a Key and the most powerful witch in the world who mingled their essences… and, yeah, this isn't actually a joke.
The Slayer Council had discussed the situation, a couple of weeks after the world was saved.
"Willow needs to come back to humanity. We can't just leave her with the magicks. She doesn't want it."
"She does want it. That's why she mustn't have it. You know what happens when Willow gets deep into magic."
"But Dawn and Illyria have been keeping the brakes on. She's still Willow, they're all in control of the magicks."
"Yeah. And isn't that scary if you think hard about it? All three in control of the magicks."
Which was all very well, though remarkably repetitious of older debates. Thing was, there were four human beings (well, a Slayer, a werewolf, a warlock and yes, an actual everyday human) with an interest in the outcome.
They were an odd group. Wesley and Oz had barely met since Sunnydale, a time which hadn't endeared them to each other. Talia still regarded the world of the Slayers as fairly surprising, though she quite liked Vi, whose edge of geekiness seemed to reassure. But they wanted their womenfolk back, and that was enough.
Something had changed between them in the war.
"I think they enjoyed it." Vi mused one day, over a conspiratorial pot of tea. "It must be way powerful, all that intermingling."
"Well, quite, but do we think it's a positive thing? Illyria is… amazing… but I'm not sure she's quite…" Wesley was rather obviously straining not to badmouth his lover. Others did more than enough of that.
Like Talia, in the nicest possible way. "I'm just… I'm not sure this connection is a healthy one. For Willow. Maybe for any of them."
Oz nodded. Which said plenty.
"So," said Talia. "What are we going to do about it?"
Sometimes, it's the human beings who really freak you out with their wacky ideas. Do something? Not just talk? Good lord.
Wesley moved slightly, drawing the group's attention. "I'm pretty sure they're still wandering in and out of each other's brains. Even at Gunn's funeral, I thought Illyria was more than just herself."
"Yes. I've had that feeling too at… certain times," said Vi, her ears going red. The group coughed. Yes, they had all had that icky feeling at intimate moments - moments when barriers came down, and magic showed itself.
"Has to stop," was Oz's contribution. Which sealed things. They'd do a thing. When they'd thought of what it might be.
*
A couple of days later, Vi invited the other three up to R&D. "So, I have an idea. You know how there are interventions, when everyone gets together and tackles an issue with one person?"
Various nods. Unenthused. Unsurprised, Vi continued, "But there are too many of them - we go up against all three, they might get defensive. Worst case, we drive them closer together. Maybe too close."
Talia nodded. "So you think we talk to them separately? Divide and rule."
"Nope. We need this to get the whole issue resolved together. So…" Vi paused long enough to signal that what followed was going to be off the wall. "How about we get into their minds. Together."
"We can't do that," was Wesley's response. "I might just manage it, but I'd be alone. I don't think any of the rest of you have sufficient spellcasting ability-"
"But we bring other things. Talia brings humanity, Oz brings calm, I bring a sense of quiet style." She grinned. Everyone carefully didn't scoff. "So we all go in. Together. As one."
Everyone scoffed, after all.
"No, listen guys. There's a spell Willow did years ago, it uses the essence of the First Slayer to bind four people-"
Wesley tutted, "Indeed. And then the First Slayer comes and tries to kill us in our dreams. I've heard about this one. Giles was very vivid in his descriptions."
"Been there. Met her. We can take her," said Vi, simply.
Talia was shaking her head. Oz put his hand on hers. "We want Willow back. It's worth a shot." Oz always had a way with short sentences.
So it was that Talia the heart, Oz the spirit, Vi the hand and Wesley the mind conjoined their essences in full knowledge of the likely repercussions. They picked a day when Illyria, Dawn and Willow were openly sharing their minds. The hybrid, wearing Vi's face, moved as one, into the scary world of the mind.
*
The scary world of the mind turned out to feel oddly like real life. The hybrid, or parts thereof, was freaked by that. Slightly reassured to find there was a blue-green tint over everything to signal that this was not, in fact, reality. Except for the parts that were.
"Hey guys," was Willow's response. "Didn't expect to see you here."
"Why not?" asked the hybrid. "We love you. We want you back. We need you to stop this connection. This seemed like the best way to get your attention."
"They want me to keep the magicks. I need Dawn and Illyria for that." Willow was defensive. Not a shocker.
The hybrid shrugged. "That's up to you, and the Council. If you're going for it, go for it. Whatever. But having you three randomly wandering and out of each other's brains? That's freaking us out."
Illyria scowled. "We are higher beings-"
"Yeah. Not so comforting. What we need here," said the hybrid, "Is a procedure."
The component parts of the hybrid didn’t know each other well. But they were finding that they could work together. A little of Talia's emotion; a whole lot of Oz and Wesley's calm and planning; a soupcon of Vi's ability to find solutions no other rational person would suggest… It was leading the hybrid into interesting places.
Illyria continued to look hostile. "We have considered the need for control. The witch does not feel she can control the magic if she retains it, for she is a weak mortal. Therefore, we believe that the Council's strategy has merit. A containment box is the answer, but no longer a childish physical vessel which requires physical presence and separation. We have designed a box inside the Willowbrain. A box for the magicks, that only she can open."
"And she can only open it if we two agree," added Dawn.
"Nope, sorry," responded the hybrid. "Make that we three."
Dawn frowned at them. "You mean four. There are four of you."
"Sorry," said the hybrid. "We mean you, and Illyria, and me. Or us. We four-in-one are the third person."
Dawn blinked. "This is getting weird."
Willow's sotto voce "Getting?" was heard by the hybrid. On the whole, it felt optimistic that Willow was joking about this.
Part of the hybrid was made up of people who did exposition. "So, Willow can only access the magicks with Illyria and Dawn agreeing in her brain, and with us collectively represented too, at times of great need, lots of checks and balances, yadda yadda. And otherwise everyone stays the hell out of everyone else's brain, okay?" (Exposition-hybrid was slightly mingled with wacky-sidekick hybrid. It showed.)
There was a pause. Then the hybrid added, "Oh crap. No, it doesn't work. What if someone dies? Magicks would be all locked up."
Willow shrugged. "Not a problem for me - I die, magic dies, no issue."
Dawn shrugged. "I'm pretty much immortal. Flesh withers, glowy green ball thing lives on and can consent to stuff. Probably. There's a Key, anyway."
Illyria scowled. "The Shell is tough. It will outlast you all. It is only you who are the problem."
Back to the hybrid, who sighed. "Okay, you can swap us out if need be, since we're such squishy ephemeral types. But there have to be four mortals who love you three, with a First Slayer spell to link them. That ought to do it." It paused. "You really are total freaks, you guys." But it was smiling.
"We are who we are." Dawn was surprisingly grim. "We're magic. We live long. We don't breed, to outlive our offspring's offspring. We save the world for others' future hopes."
One quarter of the hybrid tried a psychic hug for its love, because that was bleak enough for any length of lifetime.
One quarter strenuously tried not to think anything at all.
One half of it thought, "Uhm. This would be a really bad moment to mention that it looks like Willow's gonna be raising a baby in about seven months' time."
Unfortunately, in Willow's mind, there was limited privacy. The rest of the hybrid heard. So did Willow.
The world of Willow's mind was a weird place already. Now the blue-green tint strengthened, till they seemed to be underwater. She didn't speak.
Dawn and Illyria waited, baffled, while Willow and the hybrid communed. For a while.
Eventually, the Old One broke, "We cannot attend you indefinitely while you converse in silence. Is there a reason to keep the magicks free?"
"No," said the hybrid. "It's a reason to come back to humanity."
*
Note: There's a footnote I wanted to write into this but didn't fit. If you know the Rulesverse well, think about what Wesley was trying not to think about, and consider whether the rest of the hybrid could hear him trying not to think about it. Then think that Oz is probably a good guy to keep secrets, and Talia probably doesn't care. But Vi?
Epitaph Four and the end of the war are here