August 9 - Calm Before the Storm (BtVS/Sweet Valley)
Title: Calm Before the Storm
Author: GlitterAngelEm
Fandoms: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Sweet Valley
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,014
Summary: Dawn the twins reflect as they prepare for the final confrontation.
Author's Notes: Got some pretty terrible news today, so this might still be pretty rough, as I didn't have the energy to reread what I wrote.
Dawn stifled a yawn as she closed the back door, closing her eyes as she leaned against it. The last five hours had been a master class in Prepping for Supernatural Baddies, as it seemed once the Wakefield twins visitors had interacted with them, even if it was a brief greeting, each of them had been entwined into this mutation of the spell. Thankfully, there weren’t any other that turned into Slayers - how could the twins stay special, after all, if there were other Slayers in their group - but now all of them had innate knowledge of vampires, witches, ghosts, and other demons that stalked in the night.
Thankfully, Willow had put a kibosh on the spell before it turned any of the newcomers into actual baddies. Though one of the guys was actively avoiding all mirrors in the house, so that would have to be looked at.
Also, they all de-aged until they were the same ‘new’ age as the twins.
It was bizarre, even for them.
Still, they now had all the newbies housed in the Slayer Barracks, with a number of Slayers a a few members of the Coven there to act as protection. And as guards, in case the spells called them to help Alice and Todd when they arrived.
The rest of the Slayers and Coven members were patrolling designated areas, to watch for any disturbances. Willow, Buffy, and Faith were in a meditation session, prepping for the battle ahead. None of them believed Alice would go down without a fight. Not if she’d been manipulating so many lives for over 30 years, if Willow’s estimates of spell timing was correct.
Now, it was the calm before the storm. And Dawn had every intention of taking quiet time for herself.
Pushing off the door, she headed into the living room and flipped on the lights, jumping in surprise as she saw Jessica and Elizabeth sitting silently on the couch, Jessica’s head on Elizabeth’s shoulder, eyes red in a clear indication they had been crying. Both looked over at her, identical stormy eyes meeting hers and she silently sighed as she knew her quiet time was doomed.
Still, everything they believed about their lives had been torn apart just a few short hours ago. Dawn could relate to that.
“Hey,” she said, sitting down in one of the chairs opposite the couch. “On a scale of ten, how much does this all just suck?”
That startled a laugh out of Jessica, and even Elizabeth gave a weak smile. With a half smile, Jessica said, “Well, we may have found out our entire life has pretty much been a lie, but at least I look younger, prettier, and have cool powers. So…seven of of ten?”
“Eight,” Elizabeth disagreed. “There’s still the aftermath of the construct our…mom created. What did dad know about it? Or Steven? Did they know anything? Clearly no one else here knew about it, but did she have any other help along the way?”
“Ugh. Boring details,” Jessica complained, rolling her eyes as she took her head off Elizabeth’s shoulder, flipping her hair over her shoulder as if she did not care. The clench of her jaw told otherwise, and Dawn’s heart broke a little bit more for them.
“I get it, in a way,” Dawn admitted. “I wasn’t originally Buffy’s sister. Some creepy dudes decided I was the key to them bringing back their god, and they overwrote my previous life and wrote me into Buffy’s. As far as all of our memories go, I was always there. Since their spell changed my blood, gave me Summers blood, Willow said it wasn’t possible to trace who I was in my previous life.”
She always felt slightly bad telling people the half-lie, half-truth backstory the Scoobies had created, mostly because remnants of Glory’s cult appeared every few years or so, but knew it was for the best. It gave just enough of the real story, with the fake story, to make it believable. And in a case like this, it was good to have a cover story, to let them know they weren’t alone.
Theirs weren’t the only lives that had been manipulated.
The twins stared in shock at her, before Elizabeth ventured, “Does it get easier? I just feel like my whole life has been a lie. I think, partly, we knew our lives were over the top, but to find it our mom purposefully kept changing different times of our lives to fit into…whatever she wanted…I don’t even know what to do. How do I know that when I make a decision, I’m actually the one doing it, and not some spell coercing me to act in a certain way?”
“It takes time,” explained Dawn. “Every day going forward, you know what you are living is real, that you belong in that life. But some days…some days it hurts. Knowing a spell changed everything. Not knowing in the emotions it created will fade. But having people around you to support you is so important. And you both, at the very least, have each other. And everyone here will help where we can.”
“I know my first decision I’m going to make after we end the spells,” Jessica said, giving her sister a sly look. “I am going to go into your closet and burn all of those ugly ass clothes you own.”
Elizabeth gasped in shock, giving her twin a shove. “My clothes are perfectly fine! Just because some of us want to dress with decorum, doesn’t mean desecration is warranted!”
“You bought some of the most basic khaki shorts and polo shirts. I mean, at least get a skort so you can play the preppy golfer girl look,” Jessica shot back. “How we are related with your lack of a fashion sense, I will never know.”
As the twins descended into good natured bickering, Dawn couldn’t help but smile. Even after all they’d been through, their relationship was clearly strong without the use of a spell. They would overcome this.
Author: GlitterAngelEm
Fandoms: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Sweet Valley
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,014
Summary: Dawn the twins reflect as they prepare for the final confrontation.
Author's Notes: Got some pretty terrible news today, so this might still be pretty rough, as I didn't have the energy to reread what I wrote.
Dawn stifled a yawn as she closed the back door, closing her eyes as she leaned against it. The last five hours had been a master class in Prepping for Supernatural Baddies, as it seemed once the Wakefield twins visitors had interacted with them, even if it was a brief greeting, each of them had been entwined into this mutation of the spell. Thankfully, there weren’t any other that turned into Slayers - how could the twins stay special, after all, if there were other Slayers in their group - but now all of them had innate knowledge of vampires, witches, ghosts, and other demons that stalked in the night.
Thankfully, Willow had put a kibosh on the spell before it turned any of the newcomers into actual baddies. Though one of the guys was actively avoiding all mirrors in the house, so that would have to be looked at.
Also, they all de-aged until they were the same ‘new’ age as the twins.
It was bizarre, even for them.
Still, they now had all the newbies housed in the Slayer Barracks, with a number of Slayers a a few members of the Coven there to act as protection. And as guards, in case the spells called them to help Alice and Todd when they arrived.
The rest of the Slayers and Coven members were patrolling designated areas, to watch for any disturbances. Willow, Buffy, and Faith were in a meditation session, prepping for the battle ahead. None of them believed Alice would go down without a fight. Not if she’d been manipulating so many lives for over 30 years, if Willow’s estimates of spell timing was correct.
Now, it was the calm before the storm. And Dawn had every intention of taking quiet time for herself.
Pushing off the door, she headed into the living room and flipped on the lights, jumping in surprise as she saw Jessica and Elizabeth sitting silently on the couch, Jessica’s head on Elizabeth’s shoulder, eyes red in a clear indication they had been crying. Both looked over at her, identical stormy eyes meeting hers and she silently sighed as she knew her quiet time was doomed.
Still, everything they believed about their lives had been torn apart just a few short hours ago. Dawn could relate to that.
“Hey,” she said, sitting down in one of the chairs opposite the couch. “On a scale of ten, how much does this all just suck?”
That startled a laugh out of Jessica, and even Elizabeth gave a weak smile. With a half smile, Jessica said, “Well, we may have found out our entire life has pretty much been a lie, but at least I look younger, prettier, and have cool powers. So…seven of of ten?”
“Eight,” Elizabeth disagreed. “There’s still the aftermath of the construct our…mom created. What did dad know about it? Or Steven? Did they know anything? Clearly no one else here knew about it, but did she have any other help along the way?”
“Ugh. Boring details,” Jessica complained, rolling her eyes as she took her head off Elizabeth’s shoulder, flipping her hair over her shoulder as if she did not care. The clench of her jaw told otherwise, and Dawn’s heart broke a little bit more for them.
“I get it, in a way,” Dawn admitted. “I wasn’t originally Buffy’s sister. Some creepy dudes decided I was the key to them bringing back their god, and they overwrote my previous life and wrote me into Buffy’s. As far as all of our memories go, I was always there. Since their spell changed my blood, gave me Summers blood, Willow said it wasn’t possible to trace who I was in my previous life.”
She always felt slightly bad telling people the half-lie, half-truth backstory the Scoobies had created, mostly because remnants of Glory’s cult appeared every few years or so, but knew it was for the best. It gave just enough of the real story, with the fake story, to make it believable. And in a case like this, it was good to have a cover story, to let them know they weren’t alone.
Theirs weren’t the only lives that had been manipulated.
The twins stared in shock at her, before Elizabeth ventured, “Does it get easier? I just feel like my whole life has been a lie. I think, partly, we knew our lives were over the top, but to find it our mom purposefully kept changing different times of our lives to fit into…whatever she wanted…I don’t even know what to do. How do I know that when I make a decision, I’m actually the one doing it, and not some spell coercing me to act in a certain way?”
“It takes time,” explained Dawn. “Every day going forward, you know what you are living is real, that you belong in that life. But some days…some days it hurts. Knowing a spell changed everything. Not knowing in the emotions it created will fade. But having people around you to support you is so important. And you both, at the very least, have each other. And everyone here will help where we can.”
“I know my first decision I’m going to make after we end the spells,” Jessica said, giving her sister a sly look. “I am going to go into your closet and burn all of those ugly ass clothes you own.”
Elizabeth gasped in shock, giving her twin a shove. “My clothes are perfectly fine! Just because some of us want to dress with decorum, doesn’t mean desecration is warranted!”
“You bought some of the most basic khaki shorts and polo shirts. I mean, at least get a skort so you can play the preppy golfer girl look,” Jessica shot back. “How we are related with your lack of a fashion sense, I will never know.”
As the twins descended into good natured bickering, Dawn couldn’t help but smile. Even after all they’d been through, their relationship was clearly strong without the use of a spell. They would overcome this.