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

[slayers_desire]

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))

Comments

[kalel_ofkrypton]

Clark isn't sure if April wants this conversation to be private or not, so he stands nearby, turned towards them a little as he watches the others with Lorne. It's been a stressful day, and just being able to stop and unwind has great value right now.

[victormakesart]

Victor totally wants to hear him sing, too, so she nods emphatically. Hedgehog running circles on the table.

"Oh! You asked before... haven't named him yet, I'll let the kids do that. I'm not really an animal person as such. I'm a robot person."

[fmalchemist160]

Ed's a bit surprised by the hug from Lorne, but he returns it, and adds, "If... you want to read me while I sing, I'm okay with that too."

Then clears his throat again and takes a few deep breaths, wavering a bit on what he's going to sing before he decides to go for the most... telling choice of song.

A few more deep breaths, and he starts to sing his and Al's leitmotif:

"How can I repay you, Brother-mine?
How can I expect you to forgive?
Clinging to the past, I shed our blood
And shattered your chance to live

Though I knew the Laws, I paid no heed
How can I return your wasted breath?
What I did not know has cost you dear
For there is no cure for death

Beautiful Mother, soft and sweet!
Once you were gone, we were not complete
Back through the years, we reached for you
Alas, 'twas not meant to be!

And how can I make amends
For all that I took from you?
I led you with hopeless dreams
My Brother, I was a fool

Don't cry for the past, now, Brother-mine
Neither you nor I are free from blame
Nothing can erase the things we did
For the path we took was the same

How could I expect to call you wrong?
How could you be blamed for what we've done?
Both of us were fools in our desires
As we flew too close to the Sun

Beautiful Mother, soft and sweet!
Once you were gone, we were not complete
Back through the years, we reached for you
Alas, 'twas not meant to be!

My dreams made me blind and mute
I longed to return to that time
I followed without a word
My Brother, the fault is mine!

So where do we go from here?
And how to forget and forgive?
What's gone is forever lost
Now all we can do is live..."

Ed's got a decent singing voice on the high end of the tenor range, and this song... it's one of the few he can sing with genuine passion and emotion. It's his and Al's song, after all; and while he doesn't feel quite right singing Al's half of it, he does so anyway, because the song just isn't complete without both of their parts.

((The video I linked is missing the verse that begins with 'How could I expect to call you wrong?', but that verse has the same melody as the one before it. Also, the singer in the video is Ed's voice actor Vic Mignogna, so that's what Ed's singing voice actually sounds like :).))

[slayers_desire]

April is glad that Victor and Ed are enjoying their time on stage. And it sounds like the songs are deeply personal to them. That there were still some emotions from their trials that needed to be expressed.

They are not alone in that.

"I think seeing her again was a shock. There was so much I wanted to say. And ask... but couldn't."

"It's alright pet. You don't need Dru's approval. Never did in my books."

[kalel_ofkrypton]

Clark edges a little closer to the doorway, catching some of the sunbeams. He doesn't technically need it right now, but the warmth of sunlight is comforting and relaxing, and that's doing him a world of good.

"She might not have been able to answer your questions anyway," he says to April, and he's a bit regretful about that. He's gotten the chance to spend time with clones of both his birth parents, even just for a short amount of time. Drusilla was broken, and not a good mother by any means, but he still wishes April had at least had the chance.

[victormakesart]

"Woah, dude. That was awesome! And sad." She nudges his shoulder with her head, briefly, then sits up straight again.

[fmalchemist160]

Ed grins and laughs a little. "Thanks... That song's, uh... actually about me and my little brother, Alphonse. First half of it was mine, second half was his." He gives her a bit of a lopsided smile and notes, "You're a Voltaire fan, huh?"

[slayers_desire]

April smiles slightly, see her husband basked in the light that nourishes him. "In a way... when the Mother was testing me at that very end, telling us that I was just The Key... I saw a lot more of Drusilla then, than the other mother's in my life."

"You feel like you were a disappointment to her, pet?"

"A little. But I was able to face that today."

Lorne selects "All For Love" from his songs, the one sung by Sting, Bryan Adams, and Rod Stewart. Then gestures for both Victor and Ed to join him on stage.

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"You've never been 'just' anything," Clark tells her, reaching out across the bond, like he's making sure it's still there so he can reach her. "Drusilla never got to know that. But maybe in a way, now she does."

[victormakesart]

"Yeah, I was involved in the scene for a while. I love Voltaire." She gets up (a bit shyly), offers Ed her hand. "C'mon, one more song?"

[fmalchemist160]

"Voltaire's awesome," Ed agrees. He grins, the expression a bit sheepish, his face a bit red, and accepts her hand. "Okay... can't guarantee I'll know the words though." Aside from Voltaire, Ed mostly listens to a lot of rock and metal, especially the symphonic sub-genre—which, to him, is kind of like a mix between the kind of music he grew up listening to (classical) and his two favourite Tau'ri music genres... a little bit of the old and familiar mixed with a bit of the new and awesome.

[slayers_desire]

There is a soft smile when Clark reaches over the bond, she can sense he is still worried that the bond wouldn't be there. I love you. You are amazing... and so supportive of my life.

[kalel_ofkrypton]

I love you too. The one thing I want more than anything is that you be happy.

[victormakesart]

"We can stumble through together." She gives his hand a gentle squeeze, then leads the way up onto stage. She has to take the stairs kind of slow, but there you have it.

[fmalchemist160]

Ed chuckles again, squeezes back, and follows her lead, not minding the fact that she has to take the stairs slowly. He decides to help her up the stairs a bit, in fact.

[slayers_desire]

((I think we can end the thread here. Thanks everyone!))