DW/BtVS: The Building Blocks of Good and Evil (18/20)
Title: The Building Blocks of Good and Evil
By: PatriciaTepes (AKA Patricia de Lioncourt @ fanfiction.net; PatriciaLouise @ TTH)
Chapter Title: That Eureka Moment
Links to Other Chapters: ONE TWO THREE FOUR FIVE SIX SEVEN EIGHT NINE TEN ELEVEN TWELVE THIRTEEN FOURTEEN FIFTEEN SIXTEEN SEVENTEEN NINETEEN TWENTY
Fandom: Darkwing Duck/Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer:I do not own Darkwing Duck or Buffy the Vampire Slayer or any of their related characters. Darkwing Duck belongs to Disney, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon. Also, I don't own the images used in the art. All is done for fun, not profit.
Author's Note: Okay, I don't outright say it in this chapter, but we all know what caused Dawn's latest attack back in the Negaverse, right?
Chapter Eighteen- That Eureka Moment
The Ratcatcher screeched to a halt outside Macawber Manor as Dawn-who was feeling a bit stronger now-and Gosalyn piled out, turning to help Darkwing with Mindy's lifeless form. But Darkwing only shook his head, taking the dead slayer in his arms.
"I've got her," he said, his voice rough, tight.
The girls only nodded as Gosalyn lead the way inside the manor. The duckling did not even bother to knock as she approached the door, simply turning the knob and walking in. They found themselves in Morgana's living room-the normal amazement Gosalyn felt at the ever-changing interior of Morgana's house gone from her. Morgana sat on the long couch, open tomes all around her feet, and a particularly large one lying open in her lap. It took only a moment for her to realize that the three of them, bearing Mindy, had entered her home. She finally looked up, joy coloring her features… until her eyes fell on Mindy in Darkwing's arms.
"There was-" the Masked Mallard began, the words caught in his throat before he could say them.
And there were a million of them. There was nothing I could do. It happened so fast. She was too young. It was NegaBuffy. It was quick.
I tried.
Morgana stood and rushed to Darkwing, who met her halfway to set Mindy's limp form down upon the couch. Gosalyn stood back with Dawn, whose arms were crossed low across her torso.
"Oh… Mindy," Morgana whispered, laying gentle, sympathetic hands on either of Darkwing's shoulders.
"It was NegaBuffy," Gosalyn said, able to voice the words that Darkwing had already given up on.
He nodded, slowly, in agreement, unable to take his eyes off of the slice of red-stained flesh on Mindy's neck. He clenched his fists and unclenched them. He should cover the wound. It just felt… right. Morgana seemed to read his thoughts because, at the next moment, she conjured a semi-sheer black scarf from then air, gently laying it across the dead slayer's neck. Darkwing's eyes closed. A silent thank you. When he reopened them, the slight, sad smile on Morgana's beak told him that she understood.
"This is all my fault," Dawn whispered, causing all eyes to whirl to her.
"Who are you?" Morgana asked, no judgment in her voice.
"Dawn… Buffy's sister. And it is not your fault, Dawn," Darkwing said, a little too forcefully.
But Dawn shook her head, gripping her arms a little too tight, digging the little bit of fingernail that she managed to keep on each hand into her skin.
"If it wasn't for me… none of this would have happened. If I wasn't the Key…"
"Then it would have still happened," Morgana said, moving to stand beside her. "You can no more control the Key than it can control you. If you had never been made for the Key, this all would've happened anyway."
"It's the Key's fault," Dawn said, sniffling. "And I'm the Key."
"No. You house the Key. That's all there is to it."
Dawn seemed unconvinced, putting her back to the rest of the group and allowing the subject drop. There was a moment of silence amongst the four of them. Then, a loud pop sounded, and Buffy was suddenly standing right before her sister. Dawn's eyes widened, as did Buffy's, as the two saw one another. Buffy lost no time in wrapping her arms around her.
"Dawnie! Dawnie, you're safe! Thank God, you're safe!" she said, burying her face in her shoulder.
"This is all my fault," Dawn repeated to her sister. "All of it. You, Mindy, everything… If I wasn't the Key-"
But Buffy stepped back, her eyes going past her sister. Bringing Dawn with her, unwittingly, she walked toward Mindy's body. She released Dawn only when she reached the couch, bending to take a peek under the scarf. With a deep sigh, Buffy closed her eyes and turned away, dropping the scarf back in place.
"Just like Kendra," Dawn whispered.
Nobody asked who Kendra was. They only stood and stared. Then, as if it had just sunk in, Buffy whirled to her sister.
"You think this is your fault? That you did this?" she asked.
Dawn nodded. "I was hit with another attack at the metal factory, in that other dimension, with the green light coming from me. It was bad this time, worse than the others. I-I couldn't move. If it wasn't for me-"
And again, she was cut off. Buffy's face was hard as she locked eyes with her younger sibling.
"You listen to me, Dawn Summers. None of this, not one bit of this, was your fault. Do you understand me? None of it. And I don't want to hear you talking like that again, got it?"
Dawn seemed to shrink, despite being the taller of the two.
"I was trying to separate the Key, Buffy, from me. So I could hide it… so it couldn't hurt anybody anymore," she whispered.
Buffy shook her head. "That was stupid. It would have transported all of us anyway. And I know what you were trying to do. Willow figured it out and told me. I don't want to hear about this being your fault ever again, got it?"
Dawn nodded, her eyes glassy and wet. With a heavy sigh, the Chosen One turned, her eyes falling upon Mindy.
"She deserves a burial. Morgana, do you mind if we bury her on your land?" Buffy asked.
Morgana swallowed deeply but nodded. "Of course not."
"I need a shovel and something to mark her grave. I'd say we'd hold a little ceremony, but I have a feeling that time's not on our side. We'll hold one when it's all over."
Darkwing's eyes narrowed. "You sound experienced in this."
Buffy's own eyes lowered. "Unfortunately, I am."
As soon as the proper supplies were gathered, Buffy, with Darkwing's help, carried Mindy's shroud-covered body-with Morgana having produced the shroud once again out of thin air-out to the backyard. They were gone for an hour before they reentered, both the slayer and the vigilante covered in dirt. Morgana took the shovel from Buffy, gently transporting it away. It was another one of those long moments before anyone spoke. It was almost as if they had all agreed to save this one moment for Mindy, until they could do right by her memory. Finally, Buffy shook her head.
"Catch me up. How did you find Dawn, and what about NegaBuffy and Negaduck and the list?"
"I popped up in the Negaverse when I tried to do that spell," Dawn said, taking a seat on the couch beside Morgana. "Those four guys helped us escape. I think it was some sort of payback."
"The Fearsome Four," Gosalyn said by way of explanation to Buffy. "Four villains that sometimes work with Negaduck."
Darkwing's brow arched. "And they helped you?"
Both girls nodded. Buffy shook her head.
"Well, let's not analyze our blessings too closely. What about the list of potentials from this world?"
"They don't have a known potential anymore that they can do the spell with," Gosalyn said, a bit of pride edging into her voice.
"What do you mean?" Buffy asked.
Darkwing shook his head, groaning. "Gosalyn's a slayer now. It happened when Mindy died."
Buffy's eyes were wide. A tiny grin formed on Gosalyn's beak.
"Guess you have a reason to train me now," she said.
"What do you mean 'now'?" Darkwing asked, leaning in toward his daughter.
Gosalyn blinked, shrugging at her father. "Um… nothing."
Buffy laughed a hollow, mirthless laugh. "Cat's out of the bag. I was going to teach Gosalyn how to fight, Darkwing. I made her the promise early on. But… now she definitely needs to learn. Slayer powers are dangerous when the slayer doesn't know how use them… and there's the added factor that bad guys seem to just find slayers."
Darkwing stood, putting a protective hand on Gosalyn's shoulder.
"Isn't there anything we can do? She's only ten," he said.
"But… what if I want to be a slayer?"
"There may be a way to have your cake and eat it too," Buffy said as both father and daughter turned to stare at her. "In my world, I made many slayers… I shared the power. I-I struggled with whether I should've told Mindy how… but I was too late. I won't make that mistake with you, Gos."
"Many slayers? How?" Darkwing asked, but Morgana stood, holding up a hand.
"I hate to interrupt, but maybe we should cover this a little later. After all, we have a very angry Negaduck and NegaBuffy coming after our world. Buffy, how did the trials go?"
"Trials?" Dawn asked.
"Like the ones Spike went through to get his soul," she said nonchalantly. Turning to the gathered ducks, she shrugged, adding, "I didn't learn how to restore her soul."
Morgana's face fell. "You failed?"
Again, Buffy laughed her mirthless laugh. Waving a dismissive hand, she said, "Oh no. If I had lost, I'd be dead. No. Rather, the demon saw it fit to give me the spell that we've been searching for. The spell to get me and Dawn home."
"Well, that's one problem solved," Darkwing said.
"Yeah, Dad, but not the one we need."
"But… but this could solve our problem too!" Dawn said, standing. "We could send NegaBuffy home with that spell!"
The Chosen One shook her head. "No. If we did that, there would be nothing stopping Negaduck from bringing her right back here. We need to find a more permanent solution. It's either a soul… or I learn how to fight and beat myself."
Dawn sighed, falling back into her seat. A thoughtful moment passed, not one word being spoken. But, suddenly, the silence was broken. A voice, like that of someone speaking into a tin can phone, sounded inside Macawber Manor. Buffy looked to the ceiling, her eyes narrowing.
"Will?" Buffy asked.
"I've only… one shot," Willow's voice, heavily distorted, said.
Everyone exchanged a quick glance before turning skyward again.
"At what?"
But instead of an actual response, the group in the manor only caught snatches of chanting. It went on for only a few moments until, in a little burst of light, a piece of paper-looking singed around the edges-materialized and floated down from the ceiling. Buffy reached up, snatching it. Without bothering to look, she called out to Willow.
"What is this? Willow? You still there?"
No answer. Morgana closed her eyes, concentrating. Finally, she shook her head.
"Willow's no longer connected to our world," she said.
Buffy gazed down at the paper in her hands, uncrumpling it. Her eyes roved the blue-lined paper. After a moment, she grinned.
"What is it?" Gosalyn asked.
"A spell… One that tells us how to restore a soul, no strings attached."