slayers_desire | trying to make the pieces fit ((Buffyverse plot))

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trying to make the pieces fit ((Buffyverse plot))

There was a small gathering of people in the room, doing things that might seem normal. Drinking coffee. Reading a book. Checking sites on the computer. Talking with their neighbor.

But this wasn't a normal day. And despite appearances, these people were all preparing to help save their world.

Most of the 'Scoobies' were here... Xander, Connor, Wes, Lorne, Spike and even Willow had come down for the event. There were others there too... Victor Allen, Clark Kent and Edward Elric.

They were all here to figure out how to create a new Seed. They already had a few clues to go on... but there were still a lot to discuss.

The most recent revelation came after Illyria had deceived the group, and put Clark and April right into the heart of the White Room. Where their memories were taken from them. They had fought free... and now April was more determined than ever to find a way to save her world.

((posting order: April, Clark, Victor, Ed))

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Ed's eyes widen in shock when he sees the darker April, but he doesn't move to attack; at the moment, he can't bring himself to. It's April, but... at the same time, it's not. He has to remind himself that if it comes to violence... this will be like fighting Sloth, the homunculus he and Al created when they tried to bring back their mother. This woman may look like April, but she's not, no more than Sloth was Trisha Elric.

"I remember you..." DarkApril speaks softly to Clark. She steps forward. When he touches her mind, she only lets him in at the surface-level. There is much darkness there that hides underneath.

"Who are your friends?"

He's cautious when he feels that from her, but he still doesn't see that he would need to resort to violence with her. "Friends of yours," he says, hoping that deep down, at her core is the April that he knows, just different.

Violence is definitely a last resort for Victor, given that she's about a hundred times weaker than anyone else here. She's got her friendliest face on, and the most casual tone, just two buddies talking here, nothing to get tense about. She stops reaching for her defense tools, uses her hand to wave instead. "Hey, I'm Victor. A buddy of yours. So... howdy. Nice to re-meet you."

Ed's still tense, but he won't resort to violence unless the others do. "I'm... I'm Ed," he says, uncertainly. "Edward Elric... can't you remember me?"

"I have never met either of you..." DarkApril states simply to both Victor and Ed. Her eyes, it should be noted, aren't the normal blue that April has. Instead they are a grayish-blue that almost glow sometimes.

Clark notes that DarkApril is suspicious. She doesn't know if this is a trap or not.

She looks at her other-self, the real April, who is still holding her head and on her knees. "I bring her pain."

Clark wants to go to his wife, to somehow make this stop, but all he can do is face the challenge that the Mother has given him. And after having experienced the altered memories where this was April... it's easier for him to see her as a part of her, even if she's not how she is supposed to be. "It's not your fault." He doesn't think it is, at least, and he hopes he's telling the truth.

"Yeah, this has gotta be an alternate universe thing. But, y' see, I care a lot about that April right there, and that means I care about you. Heck, I'd probably care about you anyway. I'm a friendly person. We're here to fight for her, but I don't think that means we have to fight you. I think it means we have to come to some sort of understanding." Soothing, assertive, she doesn't move forward but she doesn't back away either. "So, what makes you two different?"

Ed manages to loosen up some of the tension in his body and to remove it from his voice. "We're not going to hurt you," he assures her, holding his ground as well. "None of us would ever hurt you."

"You care about me?" That makes DarkApril very suspicious. At Victor's other question, DarkApril just looks at her other self. "She found the Nexus."

"She did. And I'm very, very sorry that you didn't." Clark keeps at least the surface of his mind open, so she can see that he's being honest with her.

"Hey, man, check out my brain. I care. I care a lot. Compassion and understanding for all things, all that jazz."

And at what the other April says, her face softens. If she'd never found the Nexus, she would have stayed this kid who got the snot beat out of her on a regular basis. But she'd never have gotten her scars, so thick on her arms and legs and body that she hardly has an inch square of clear skin. But she'd never have her kids, her loved ones. She'd never be a hero. It's a fair trade.

"One difference changes a lifetime. But you still have the freedom to be whatever you'd like. It's never too late."

One tiny little difference that changes everything... Ed never actually stumbled upon the Nexus on his own, but it was thanks to two of his friends that he met April. If Yugi and Yami hadn't introduced her to him... where would he be then? Would he even know that Al was okay? Would he know about their Soulmates' Bond? How long would it take before they were reunited again?

He closes his eyes for a moment, then opens them again. "Yes, we do; we all do. Look inside my mind, too," he says, opening his mind to her just as the others have done.

When they start opening their mind to DarkApril, she takes another hesitant step back. Real April starts to feel less pain herself, and slowly is calming her breathing.

She knows her darker self is scared. "She is scared of love. That she won't ever be truly loved."

"It doesn't matter to me what you've done, what your life has forced you to become. Everyone deserves a second chance." She said that she remembered him... he wonders what else she remembers. Whether she has all the memories that April did, when they faced each other with their altered memories. "Do you remember when we met before?"

"I used to think the same thing," she says. "I used to think that when people complimented me, it was just because I was nice, and people like to think nice things about nice people. That if people loved me, they were stupid or misguided. That I was trash. Worse than trash. That I was a nobody, and everyone was out to hurt me. It's just... it's paranoia. No one thinks that much about another person, to create a conspiracy where they'll pretend to be good to you. People weren't too stupid to understand how useless I was; they were smart enough to see past my crummy self-esteem. You're beautiful, April. You're cared for and loved. You're smart, and creative, and you can be whoever you want. You can find love. You can find anything."

"Love is never something you should be afraid of, April," Ed tells her. "Everyone deserves to find love," he continues. "Everyone, including you."

"I remember you..." DarkApril responded to Clark. "Xander brought you into our world. You..." She touches her lips for a moment. Then shakes her head.

April stands to her feet, still shaking slightly. "Long ago... I accepted the vampire side of me. I never thought about other aspects of me. The darkness that could have been my life is scary..."

"But there are people who would still fight for me, even if I had never know them. They would accept this version of me... They would love you. Me."

DarkApril flickers slightly. "I will be gone."

"No. Not gone," Real April replies. "You are a part of me."

"I love all of you," Clark tells both of them. "Not just the parts that you show on the outside, or share with me. And when you chose to use your powers for the good of the innocent in my world, I was so proud of you. I still am."

She limps forward carefully, leans in, and gives the second April a kiss on the cheek. "You're gonna be just fine."

Ed takes a step forward too, stretching out his left hand to the second April, and his right to the first. "We all have darkness in us," he says quietly. "The people who truly love us are those who can accept that, and accept every part of us. We all accept this part of you, and every part of who you are."

Surrounded by friends, DarkApril glows slightly. The pain that was caused by her presence for real April is gone, so she steps forward to also take the darker-counterpart's hand. There is a glowing light that surrounds them...

And when it fades, DarkApril is not there, but April is holding a glowing pink gem. Her powers are back, the voices are almost comforting now. And having her bond completely back is also a great comfort.

The gem in her hands glows with love.

"The search for the seeds is now complete." The mother speaks behind them.

Clark smiles in relief when he feels the bond, as strong as it was before, and immediately reaches out to her in reassurance and confirmation that it's there. Welcome back.

She relaxes, even laughs in relief, face tilted up to the strange not-strange sky. Another test. Another test. She knew it couldn't have been that easy.

Ed smiles too, and steps forward to hug April for a moment. Then he steps back again, and turns to the Mother. "What happens now?" he asks.

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