{dollhouse} sleeping beauty in repose
Title: Sleeping Beauty in Repose
Author: aaronlisa
Fandom: Dollhouse
Pairing/Characters: Alpha/Echo (mention of Victor/Sierra)
Rating: FR13
Disclaimer: Dollhouse belongs to Joss Whedon and company.
Prompts: Written for 500themes - #65 (jumbled truths)
Notes: Set during Season Two.
Summary: Alpha goes to save Echo when she's interred in the Attic.
Word Count: 1082
The Attic had once been his destiny until he managed to rewrite that destiny with blood shed. Yet it seems that his destiny has been thrust upon Echo and he's here to save her from it. There's a trail of bodies in his wake and now Alpha's hesitant, unsure of what he must do in order to save her, his lovely Sleeping Beauty.
Alpha's not sure of how long he stands there just drinking in the sight of her. Echo looks like some techno geek's twisted fantasy of that ancient fairy tale. He's not familiar enough with the original Grimm Brothers' version so he casts Echo as his Aurora from the Disney cartoon that someone in his head remembers. (Sometimes he has to tell himself that he's the only real one in his head and that the others are just fragments of real people jumbled up together to make one whole.)
This is your fault.
The accusation is voiced by Karl's insidious ghost who Alpha can't seem to purge even after destroying every wedge that had ever held.
If you had listened to me, she would have been ours forever.
Alpha trembles as he grips the edge of Echo's case. The others in his head run down the labyrinth of his mind to find Karl's ghost but they all fail. A groan from one of the technicians on the floor makes Alpha hyper-aware. Normally he's not this careless. For a moment, he thinks of keeping the tech alive to help him awaken Echo but he doubts that the tech would be of any help. The task is far too complicated for the mangled tech so Alpha merely leans down and hushes it.
He moves so that he 's at the head of this box that Adelle Dewitt has placed Echo in. He had thought that with Dominic safely encased up here, Echo would be safe from it. But apparently Echo and her friends (one of whom just happens to be Adelle's favourite play thing) weren't safe. The equipment causes him to tremble. There are very few extractions from the Attic, even less that are successful. He could kill her in his attempt to save her. Somewhere inside, Karl shudders in obvious pleasure at the thought of Echo's death.
Alpha pushes it all away and ignores the mocking voices as he leans over and kisses her. He stands upright immediately annoyed at the discovery of the casing that covers her. Someone (not Karl) laughs at his expense. He had been careless and had forgotten all of the details. Things aren't going as smoothly as he had planned. There's something about the Attic that terrifies him.
When nothing separates her from him, Alpha leans over again, this time his lips connect with the softness of Echo's lips. He knows that this isn't a fairy tale and that the power of his kiss won't awaken her like she's some sort of Sleeping Beauty. So when her body jerks, Alpha stumbles backward, surprised to find her sightless eyes wide open. The voices in his head (even Karl's) fall silent as he watches in horror.
Echo's eyes snap shut and her body stills for a moment before it starts to seize up. The monitors flash alarms that would surely cause a tech to attend to her (that is if he had left any of them alive) until she flat lines.
"No!" Alpha screams. (Somewhere Karl is screaming as well.)
This wasn't supposed to happen. (Karl is horrified. She was his.)
Before Alpha can move to her, Echo awakens. Alpha doesn't understand but when she recognizes him, he springs to action, helping her to pull the tube out of her mouth before helping her out of her box. She stumbles into his arms (much weaker than Sleeping Beauty had been in the movie when she had woken up) and the look of determination written on her face tells him the truth.
Adelle hadn't imprisoned his Echo, the pair of them had joined forces to continue Caroline's work against Rossum. A stupid noble war that Echo can't hope to win. Still Alpha helps her with Sierra and then Victor. (He would have left them behind if he had his way but he knows that they'll keep her safe as they fight her war together.) A part of him feels betrayed by how easily Echo partners with Adelle Dewitt (she will always be his enemy.) He doesn't trust her but he has learned that Echo doesn't appreciate him making her decisions.
At the stairs that lead down towards to the dollhouse the four of them pause. Sierra and Victor radiate nervousness and he is momentarily tempted to taunt them. He stills when Echo puts her hand on his arm. Words hang unspoken in the air between them until she nods at the others. He wonders what she's seen or has decided and if he can be strong enough to live by her resolutions. Alpha realizes that his kiss did awaken her, just like it always does.
"I won't fight your war," Alpha tells her.
Victor starts to say something when Sierra stops him. She knows that this moment is only between Echo and Alpha. Yet he recognizes the anguish in Victor's eyes and he wonders what they had to do to disconnect from the Attic's mainframe. Echo and Alpha watch as the couple descend down the stairs, giving them the illusion of privacy.
"I won't," Alpha whispers.
"No, not now but eventually you will," Echo gently tells him.
"You're going to try to find Caroline aren't you?"
"I have to, it's vital."
He smiles at her even though it feels as if his lips are stretched along his teeth. It hurts but he feels some relief in the fact that he has destroyed Caroline. He's murdered her (just as he did with Karl, all that's left is a ghost and Echo won't have any use for a ghost.)
"Good luck," Alpha tells her, seeing no need to admit what he's done.
"Don't interfere," Echo orders.
"I'll try not to," Alpha offers.
She sighs as she looks at him and he somehow knows that she can read him far better than he thinks that she can. Still he'll let her waste her time searching for Caroline, at least it'll keep her safe for a little longer. With a brief press of her lips against his, she's gone. And it makes him wonder how he ever could cast her as Sleeping Beauty.
((END))
Author: aaronlisa
Fandom: Dollhouse
Pairing/Characters: Alpha/Echo (mention of Victor/Sierra)
Rating: FR13
Disclaimer: Dollhouse belongs to Joss Whedon and company.
Prompts: Written for 500themes - #65 (jumbled truths)
Notes: Set during Season Two.
Summary: Alpha goes to save Echo when she's interred in the Attic.
Word Count: 1082
The Attic had once been his destiny until he managed to rewrite that destiny with blood shed. Yet it seems that his destiny has been thrust upon Echo and he's here to save her from it. There's a trail of bodies in his wake and now Alpha's hesitant, unsure of what he must do in order to save her, his lovely Sleeping Beauty.
Alpha's not sure of how long he stands there just drinking in the sight of her. Echo looks like some techno geek's twisted fantasy of that ancient fairy tale. He's not familiar enough with the original Grimm Brothers' version so he casts Echo as his Aurora from the Disney cartoon that someone in his head remembers. (Sometimes he has to tell himself that he's the only real one in his head and that the others are just fragments of real people jumbled up together to make one whole.)
This is your fault.
The accusation is voiced by Karl's insidious ghost who Alpha can't seem to purge even after destroying every wedge that had ever held.
If you had listened to me, she would have been ours forever.
Alpha trembles as he grips the edge of Echo's case. The others in his head run down the labyrinth of his mind to find Karl's ghost but they all fail. A groan from one of the technicians on the floor makes Alpha hyper-aware. Normally he's not this careless. For a moment, he thinks of keeping the tech alive to help him awaken Echo but he doubts that the tech would be of any help. The task is far too complicated for the mangled tech so Alpha merely leans down and hushes it.
He moves so that he 's at the head of this box that Adelle Dewitt has placed Echo in. He had thought that with Dominic safely encased up here, Echo would be safe from it. But apparently Echo and her friends (one of whom just happens to be Adelle's favourite play thing) weren't safe. The equipment causes him to tremble. There are very few extractions from the Attic, even less that are successful. He could kill her in his attempt to save her. Somewhere inside, Karl shudders in obvious pleasure at the thought of Echo's death.
Alpha pushes it all away and ignores the mocking voices as he leans over and kisses her. He stands upright immediately annoyed at the discovery of the casing that covers her. Someone (not Karl) laughs at his expense. He had been careless and had forgotten all of the details. Things aren't going as smoothly as he had planned. There's something about the Attic that terrifies him.
When nothing separates her from him, Alpha leans over again, this time his lips connect with the softness of Echo's lips. He knows that this isn't a fairy tale and that the power of his kiss won't awaken her like she's some sort of Sleeping Beauty. So when her body jerks, Alpha stumbles backward, surprised to find her sightless eyes wide open. The voices in his head (even Karl's) fall silent as he watches in horror.
Echo's eyes snap shut and her body stills for a moment before it starts to seize up. The monitors flash alarms that would surely cause a tech to attend to her (that is if he had left any of them alive) until she flat lines.
"No!" Alpha screams. (Somewhere Karl is screaming as well.)
This wasn't supposed to happen. (Karl is horrified. She was his.)
Before Alpha can move to her, Echo awakens. Alpha doesn't understand but when she recognizes him, he springs to action, helping her to pull the tube out of her mouth before helping her out of her box. She stumbles into his arms (much weaker than Sleeping Beauty had been in the movie when she had woken up) and the look of determination written on her face tells him the truth.
Adelle hadn't imprisoned his Echo, the pair of them had joined forces to continue Caroline's work against Rossum. A stupid noble war that Echo can't hope to win. Still Alpha helps her with Sierra and then Victor. (He would have left them behind if he had his way but he knows that they'll keep her safe as they fight her war together.) A part of him feels betrayed by how easily Echo partners with Adelle Dewitt (she will always be his enemy.) He doesn't trust her but he has learned that Echo doesn't appreciate him making her decisions.
At the stairs that lead down towards to the dollhouse the four of them pause. Sierra and Victor radiate nervousness and he is momentarily tempted to taunt them. He stills when Echo puts her hand on his arm. Words hang unspoken in the air between them until she nods at the others. He wonders what she's seen or has decided and if he can be strong enough to live by her resolutions. Alpha realizes that his kiss did awaken her, just like it always does.
"I won't fight your war," Alpha tells her.
Victor starts to say something when Sierra stops him. She knows that this moment is only between Echo and Alpha. Yet he recognizes the anguish in Victor's eyes and he wonders what they had to do to disconnect from the Attic's mainframe. Echo and Alpha watch as the couple descend down the stairs, giving them the illusion of privacy.
"I won't," Alpha whispers.
"No, not now but eventually you will," Echo gently tells him.
"You're going to try to find Caroline aren't you?"
"I have to, it's vital."
He smiles at her even though it feels as if his lips are stretched along his teeth. It hurts but he feels some relief in the fact that he has destroyed Caroline. He's murdered her (just as he did with Karl, all that's left is a ghost and Echo won't have any use for a ghost.)
"Good luck," Alpha tells her, seeing no need to admit what he's done.
"Don't interfere," Echo orders.
"I'll try not to," Alpha offers.
She sighs as she looks at him and he somehow knows that she can read him far better than he thinks that she can. Still he'll let her waste her time searching for Caroline, at least it'll keep her safe for a little longer. With a brief press of her lips against his, she's gone. And it makes him wonder how he ever could cast her as Sleeping Beauty.
((END))