My first fic above a spamfic :-) but not by much.
Comments, criticism welcome.
RMH
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The characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the Slayers are
not mine (Much as I would wish otherwise). I write this merely
for enjoyment and to shut up that damn voice in my head that keeps
flashing these images :-)
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The Slayer(s)
"Willow, I wish to go on record as strenuously objecting to what you
are about do!" A tall, older man spoke in an English accent. He
quickly stepped out of the way of a girl with red, shoulder-length
hair, who was busily arranging stones and lighting candles upon the
rooftop. She crouched over, altering the spacing of three small
stones, pulling them farther apart, then returning them to almost, but
not quite, the same position.
"Sorry, Mr. G, but this gives us a chance to stop her once and for
all. She'll be a lot less of a threat without," a quizzical
expression appeared on the red-haired girl's face, "without her
Slayerness, that's it!" A small smile then quickly back to work. The
laser pointer made aligning things so much easier. Candles were
shifted marginally, symbols painted into the floor, and finally, a
sigh of completion.
"There, all done. Now just to wait until moonrise, and we can get
started."
"The spells of the Council were not designed for what you are
planning, Willow - Listen to me. The ritual will only affect a Slayer
once, and even then - " An upraised hand came from Willow.
"Trust me, Giles, I've been practicing this spell and checked all the
books in the library for over a month. And you're watching to make
sure nothing will go wrong, so it won't." She turned to look out,
over the city, "We don't have any time, anyway. This is the last
night that Faith will be vulnerable." Giles opened his mouth, but
before he could speak, "At worst, nothing will happen, and we'll go
home."
"But what about -"
A glare from Willow, "Buffy does NOT need to know about this. I hate
doing this behind her back, but she'd try to stop us -me. And we
really need the power of two Slayers, together, if we're going to be
able to beat the mayor."
"Very well. I can see I'm not going to change your mind about this.
I'll just stand over in the corner and try to pick up the pieces when
this all goes wrong."
"No negative thinking! Now, this is going to work. Giles, say 'it
will work', please?"
"Oh bloody-"
"Come on, 'it will work'," a puppy-dog look was in Willow's eyes,
"for me?"
"Very well. It Will Work. Are you happy now?" Sarcasm as only a
proper Englishman could accomplish.
"Yes." She glanced at her watch. "It's time to begin." Willow
moved to the center of what was a large, intricately drawn circle upon
the rooftop. Giles moved back to one corner, beside the doorway to
the stairs.
Almost against his will, Giles was drawn into the steady, continuous
chanting from Willow. Despite the girl's confidence, this was a
powerful spell that had many, many possible points of catastrophe.
The Council ritual that they'd adapted would only negate the power of
the Slayer for a single night - the new spell that Willow had created
would seal Faith's power permanently, or send it to another, as if
Faith died. Willow had been very closed-mouthed about exactly what
the effects would be, other than Faith would no longer be a Slayer.
He sighed, I should have quizzed her much more carefully about this
spell before letting it be cast. Unfortunately, it was too late; he'd
have to be ready if it all went to pieces.
"Yo! Willow! I've got the tapes - Uh oh..." Came a male voice from
within the house, immediately followed by a series of crashes and the
minor thunderclaps of falling books and other items. Giles just shook
his head as he quickly moved to the doorway onto the wide rooftop
Willow had chosen to cast her spell from. Well, not really chosen, as
it was the outer balcony of her boyfriend Oz's apartment, and the only
rooftop that they had easy access to.
Unfortunately, the voice he's just heard was not Oz's - Oz was
currently safely on the other side of town, playing with his band.
The voice in question was that of Xander, another of the 'Scooby-doo
detective team' - God, how he hated that name, especially since
Buffy'd taken to using it an exaggerated amount in the last week.
Giles stood beside the door, waiting for it to open. He would make
sure nothing happened to this ill-conceived little event, despite the
fact that it looked as though nothing was going to happen at all.
Willow was building to a crescendo, a culmination, and he still felt
or saw none of the 'special effects' true magic had shown before. The
door opened, and Xander stepped out - almost. He caught his foot at
the small step to the rooftop, tripping and face-planting into the
rooftop. Giles started - Xander had been carrying some items that now
went flying - directly towards Willow and the mystic circle in which
she stood.
It was almost anti-climatic, but the sense of doom he'd felt the
entire night was finally satisfied. Giles dove, blocking most of the
tapes, video tapes he could now recognize, but one crossed into the
circle just as Willow appeared to finish. Bolts of energy, crackling
green and red arced through the circle, building, building, as Willow
spoke the final words.
"... transfer the power of the Slayer to me!" A satisfied tone of
voice came from Willow. Giles was going to have a long talk with her
after this; Willow had made no mention of this to him when she
originally described the spell!
"What happened?" Willow glanced at the circle. She didn't feel any
different. The sense of physical ability that Buffy'd always
described didn't fill her. In fact, she didn't feel anything other
than really, really hungry. And why was there a melting video tape in
the circle? She could see the energy leaking out, arcing to Giles and
Xander as she watched. The entire circle appeared to be coming apart
now, spitting out green lighting bolts across the building and arcing
into the sky. She wasn't going to hear the end of this for months
crossed her mind as the circle exploded.
"Ohhh, my head," Xander rolled over. He felt the shape of shoe
pressed against his right check. What happened? He was bringing over
the tapes for movie night, and something was happening on the roof.
He'd stepped out, and something blew up in his face. A shoe against
his face? Maybe it was time to open his eyes.
Giles was sprawled out in front of him, his shoe against Xander's
face. The tapes were scattered out in front of him. Willow was
sitting, leaning against the wall around the rooftop. Xander slowly
stood, his face and back killing him. The others appeared to be
breathing, so he tried to wake them up. Xander walked forward to
shake Giles, and felt something at his hip, an unusual weight. Why
did he have a sword at his side?
"Uh boy," seemed appropriate. He bent down over Giles, who appeared
to be waking himself.
"Hey, hey!" Lightly smacking Giles face, "Common, wake up Giles! I'd
like to know what you dragged me into this time." Several more slaps,
then an iron grip grabbed his arm. "Ow!"
"Stop that, now, Xander." Giles was glaring at him, something in his
eyes making Xander feel uneasy. And why was Giles' hair off-color...
almost purple.
"OK, OK, what happened up here? I come over for movie night with
Willow, find out your doing magic without me, and something blows up
in my face," Xander glanced across the rooftop, then focused on the
melted remains of the video tape. "Oh hell! Russ is going to kill me
for losing his tape!" He then examined Willow, "And why is Willow's
hair longer?" It was well past her shoulders now. A closer
examination began as Xander crossed the rooftop - carefully avoiding
the circle - two weeks of neon orange hair had taught him that. He
could hear Giles standing up behind him.
"Giles, I know this is a really personal question that will probably
get me slapped if Willow finds out I asked it, so I'll ask before she
wakes up." A quizzical eyebrow from Giles. "Is it just me, or does
her... bust look smaller?"
"That is a secret," Giles stated, pointing his finger at Xander, "and
she's been awake for the last minute." Now why did I say that, Giles
thought to himself, and yes, she does look 'smaller'.
"This is going to hurt, right?" Xander looked down with a sheepish
expression.
"Xander! How dare you!" Willow was angry, angrier than she'd ever
felt before. How dare he make fun of her 'bosom' - a faint blush
crossed her face - even though something did feel slight wrong.
Strange words and gestures filled her mind, and she found herself
duplicating them without thinking. The final words she spoke.
"Explosion Array!" And as she and Giles watched in shock, Xander
flew backwards, through the windows of Oz's apartment to crash inside.
"Wha... wha... wha..." Willow just looked down at her hands, then up
at Giles.
"As I said that is a secret," I just want to go home and get this
mess over with, Giles thought to himself. And a second later, Willow
watched as Giles vanished with a faint pop. Her eyes rolled back in
her head as she slumped back to the ground. Giles, meanwhile, was
doing the same thing in his apartment kitchen.
*******************
Buffy was in the start of patrol - just after sunset. She enjoyed
this part of the patrol, seeing people still walking about the town,
enjoying the sunset. At times like this, she was able to forget what
she was there for. She turned down an alleyway, one that was a common
vampire hunting area that she'd hit before, but they never learned.
She felt a momentary dizziness, and put one hand against the wall, to
hold herself up. She never, ever got sick anymore. Was that some
sort of attack? Buffy resolved to stay hyper-alert tonight. The
mayor might be trying something new this time. The wave of dizziness
passed, and she went on about patrol.
Twenty minutes later, the faint sounds of screaming could be heard,
coming from the east side. Buffy started running that away, leaping
to avoid obstacles. Distractedly, as she focused on the sounds, this
seemed a little easier than before.
Wouldn't people ever learn? It was just two teens necking in the
graveyard again, being threatened by a pair of vampires. A mental
start - that wasn't right! Buffy blushed a moment, then shook her
head. That was nothing to be embarrassed about, besides, if she
didn't do something quickly, they wouldn't be necking, ever again. A
quick glance over the area - telephone poles are too far away, no,
wait, that monument is perfect! A quick bound from her hiding area,
landing on the head of a statue, ten feet above the ground, then a
second leap to the top of the monument, a full 25 feet above the
cemetery. A second of scrambling, then she was set. It was perfect!
"Hold Foul Vampires and Evil things! I, Buffy Summers, will not
allow you to terrorize the fair city of Sunnydale anymore!" What was
she saying? Buffy couldn't control herself, "now evil creatures, who
interrupt the making out of teenagers," a new blush across her face,
"heh... and terrorizing the city, I will not forgive you!" Buffy
raised her fist above her head, "now prepare to face my fists of
Justice!" I am GOING to talk to Giles after this. She then noticed
the faint glow about her hands. Definitely talking to Giles after
this.
Buffy leapt from the monument, arcing towards the vampires, a feeling
of contentment and rightousness within her heart. Then a moment of
panic as she overshot the two, impacting into a gravestone, shattering
it into powder, and burying her arm into the base up to her elbow.
She pulled back, to free her arm, and it wouldn't budge. She looked
at the stone remains. Who uses triple-reinforced rebar for a cemetery
marker?
The vampires looked at the teens, then Buffy, then one another.
They turned their backs to the teens, who'd fled with no further
urging, to smile at the trapped Slayer. She weakly smiled back, then
frantically started jerking and pulling, trying to free her arm. The
vampires loomed over her. This was not good. Buffy began to yank
harder -- she could feel and hear the metal starting to give. A hand
gripped her free arm tightly. Almost automatically, the vampire went
flying into another tombstone as Buffy broke it's grip and sent in
airborne.
"Pretty good, Slayer. But we've got you now."
"Only two of you? I can beat you with one... arm... behind..."
Buffy hadn't noticed the arrival of the other four vampires. This
would be a good time for some divine intervention, she thought, I
don't ask for too much, do I? Buffy began to pray, to try and
remember the few prayers she'd could. Maybe she'd be lucky, and the
vampires would fall for the religious phobia. Wait a sec - the words
she spoke weren't right - the next words should be 'pray the lord my
soul to take,' NOT 'Ra Tilt'! And her arm was glowing blue? Buffy
pointed her free hand at the group of vampires - and a bolt of light,
of power, sprang forth to strike the vampires. Buffy could feel the
rush of energy throughout her body; she absently bent the remaining
scraps of metal away, freeing her arm.
"Whoa," seemed to be an appropriate comment. Vampires were still
raining down... six blocks away. Buffy ran forward, to reach the
vampires before they could get away. As she ran, she could see some
of them already standing, looking her way. They'd scatter in a second
and she still wasn't close enough! A voice in her head - almost
familiar now, and she completed the gestures and words.
"Ray Wing!" She was moving much quicker now that she was flying...
flying? Buffy stopped dead in mid-air. She was at least twenty feet
above the ground, and not falling! She definitely had to talk to
Giles now.
The vampires were fleeing in terror - the Slayer was after them, and
they were definitely too weak to take her on. Especially since she
just vaporized three of them with a... something or other blue thing.
That wasn't fair! The Slayer was supposed to fight up close, where
they could potentially mob and kill her if they had forty or more
there. Not this gesture, and get thrown through a building stuff!
One of the vampires looked back for the Slayer, and stopped. She
wasn't bounding after them, stake in hand - which was very, very
nice - but floating in the air. The vampire ran headfirst into the
corner of building, falling flat on his back. He quickly scrambled
back to his knees, dashing down the alleyway. A running Slayer one
could potentially get away from (at least, maybe, Peter from the docks
always claimed he'd managed to run away from the Slayer and survive,
but the vampire hadn't heard of anyone else doing that - and Pete
claimed he could walk in the sun, too), a flying Slayer just wasn't
fair!
*******************
Giles glanced down at his hands. They, at least, seemed normal.
Feet, legs, rest of body seemed fine. A faint exhalation of breath -
he was just trying to avoid it. Giles looked up, into the mirror.
His face seemed the same, thankfully, but his eyes and hair - they'd
both become a more purple shade. He'd done what tests he could in his
apartment, and they seemed to be natural. Perhaps he could explain
the hair away as an accident, or practical joke. The eyes, however,
could be more of a problem. Giles adjusted his glasses - except that
his glasses weren't behaving normally either. Light kept reflecting
off the lens so he could not see his own eyes - but it did not
interfere with normal vision. He had to get to the library, and soon!
Giles heart almost stopped in his chest. He was in the library...
but how? He'd somehow teleported, for lack of a better idea, from his
apartment to the school. He vaguely remembered thinking he'd jumped
from Oz's apartment home, but put that off to the spell accident and
someone dropping him off at home. But this, this was definitely
something that could not be put off by shock or a blow to the head.
Giles had been deep in the stacks for several hours when he heard a
knock at the library door. I wonder who that is? Giles stood, closed
the grimoire he'd been inspecting, with no luck, and walked to the
door. As he came closer, he could literally 'feel' the emotion
radiating from whoever was on the other side. It was familiar, and
they were upset, very, very upset. For some reason, Giles also felt a
little boost, as it were, the closer he came to the door. Yet
something else he needed to investigate.
As Giles came out of his office, he could see Buffy standing outside
the library. She appeared almost panic-stricken. Giles couldn't
remember her looking this upset since the first few months when she
became a Slayer. Quickly walking to the door, he opened it; Buffy
rushed in, gesturing and talking almost as fast as she could.
Unfortunately, Giles couldn't make the slightest sense of what she
said.
"Giles, you won't believe what just happened - I was out on evening
patrol when these vamps jumped me, which normally wouldn't be a
problem, but something went wrong - like, my Slayer powers were
behaving different, and I screwed up, but then I blasted them with
this big bolt of white that came out of my hand and when they ran
away, I started flying after them and -" Giles grabbed Buffy's arms
and shook her, slightly.
"Calm down, Buffy, calm down. What exactly happened?" Giles could
still feel how upset she was - and it still felt good. He had the
feeling of sitting in front of a warm fire, with a good drink in hand,
and all being right with the world. As he held her, he could feel
Buffy calming, regaining control of herself, and he felt the fire dim
down. He wanted to return to the fire, much more strongly than he
wanted almost anything else before, and that was terrifying him.
Buffy looked up at Giles.
"Why is your hair purple?"
"That is a - damnit, that is NOT a secret," Giles growled, primarily
to himself, then stepped back from Buffy. "Willow had an idea for a
spell to help us against the mayor, and it did not work quite as
expected."
********************
Warmth. Birds chirping. Curtain must have fallen from the window
again. He'd enjoy the sun warmth a little longer before getting -
Sun?! Angel sprang from the bed, chest heaving. That damn curtain had
fallen again, and he'd been in sunlight! He was in safe shadows, once
more. Wait a second... warmth... he'd been in the sunlight for
several minutes! He should have woken to a flaming, melting face.
Angel reached up, to make sure there was no damage, then stopped. His
hand, no, both hands, were a green-gray, and seemed to have small...
stones... imbedded in them.
The door exploded outward, as Angel ran from his room. He tripped,
slipping into the pool of sunlight coming from one of the many high
windows in the mansion. Angel landed with a clatter, slamming his
head into the wall. He quickly rolled back out, but there was no
pain, no flames from the sunlight. Angel lay gasping upon the ground,
then rose once more, a strange blend of hope and terror - was this a
new permutation of his curse? He'd been happy, to be able to see, if
not to hold Buffy. Was the Gypsy curse trying to take that from him
as well? He had to get to a mirror -- NOW!
Angel stumbled into the den, staggering with his hand along the wall.
His sense of touch was... off, was the best he could describe it. It
felt as though he'd been wearing gloves, as he touched the wall with
his hand. He could feel things, but not to the same level as before.
Also, he should have at least felt a little bit of pain from his crash
in the hallway. He healed from injuries incredibly fast, but he still
felt the pain when they occurred. He should have at least a headache
from the initial impact - he did crack the wall after all.
There was the mirror - one he'd had for a very long time. It'd had
been part of family furniture, before he'd become a vampire. It was
the first thing he'd seen after he'd finished killing his family, oh
so many years ago, showing the monster he was. After coming to
Sunnydale, he'd decided to see if he could track down any of the items
from his mortal home - he hadn't known why then, and still did not
know even now. It was surprising to actually find a surviving piece;
he would have sworn they'd all have been destroyed a hundred years
ago. Angel cursed, first softly, then louder, letting his voice carry
throughout the mansion. Again, the mirror showed him a monster, but
not the monster he'd gone to bed as, but a gray-skinned thing! Angel
raised his hands, feeling his face, confirming the 'stones' were in
his face as well - at least they were symmetrical - and then cupped
his hands over his face. A moment passed, then the faint sound of
prayer, not for himself, but that Buffy would not be caught up in
this. Angel sighed, lowering his hands to his side, staring at
himself in the mirror. It was a shock, indeed, but two hundred years
of life had given him the perspective, and wits, to know when to rail
against the Fates, and when to curse and deal with it.
He'd finished changing clothes almost twenty minutes ago - the change
was the entire body, he did not look forward to Xander's comments --
but he still remained in the mansion, safely in the shadows. He only
traveled during daylight under extreme, life or death conditions.
While this was extreme, he appeared to be alive and well (at least a
far as he usually felt 'alive'), and while there were no ill effects
from momentary exposures to sunlight - including the five minutes he'd
held his hand in front of his bedroom window, two hundred years of
terror and caution kept him stationary.
Thinking back to the brief call he'd made to Giles, Angel felt his
resolve firm. Giles hadn't sounded quite normal, and the agitated
voices in the background - including Buffy - meant something serious
was up. Angel pulled the hood of the jogging suit up, the least
protection he'd ever worn into sunlight, even if it was primarily to
hide his face. A deep breath, then Angel stepped into the light.
*******************
"Xander, What was on that tape?" Giles was more than a bit upset,
"We have Buffy not able to fight without making speeches, Angel has
some sort of skin condition, which is making him even more surly than
usual, Cordelia has developed a split personality, Willow has been
chased from every all-you-can-eat buffet in town, and I'm finding
myself unable to give a bloody straight answer to anyone in the bloody
school without saying 'it's a bloody secret'! And stop waving that
damn sword around! You've already cut three bookcases and principal
Skinner's car in half!"
"Huh, what Giles?" Xander immediately turned back to the glowing
blade, "this is coool!"
"Xander!" Giles shook his head - the boy was almost impossible to
get through to now.
"Oh, yea, the tape. Some anime thing I borrowed from one of the
geeks in science class. He wouldn't give me any of the good hen-"
*Thwock!*
"Ow!" Xander rubbed his head - he didn't see where Giles pulled that
staff from, there hadn't been one leaning against that desk he could
see. Giles concentrated, focusing on Xander. He, on the other hand,
was NOT going to try and figure out where that staff came from,
especially since he KNEW there had not been a staff anywhere within
the library.
"The tape, please."
"Some fantasy series called Slayers, I think." Another pass with the
blade, and the table collapsed into eight sections. "This is totally
cool! Oh, yea, the table - I'll clean this up after class Giles.
Giles?" Xander quickly backed out of the library. He'd clean up the
mess, but after he tried some more stuff with the sword. That was
another thing - all the really powerful swords had names, his should
too. Xander stumbled slightly as he went down the stairs - what
would be a good name? He completely ignored principal Skinner, and
the amused chuckles of fellow classmates as he almost ran the said
principal down. Killer, StormBringer - no that was taken, Fred,
Caleborn (too English - especially with Giles around), what was good?
"Alright, troublemaker - I know you had something to do with the
damage to my car. Now -" That little troublemaker associate of that
Buffy Summers was just waving him off! Him, the principal of the
school. That little brat would learn to mess with - why was there a
draft? And what were the rest of those juvenile delinquents laughing
at. Skinner stopped, and looked down. The last few scraps of his
pants drifted to the floor.
Xander exited the building, still examining the hilt of the sword,
though no blade was currently there. It glowed white, it cut through
anything and everything he swung it at -- sword of something? Sword
of white - no, no - but that seemed almost right. No one was around
as Xander glanced about him - he reached into a pocket, grabbing the
items within, and hurling them into the air. A blur of motion and the
marble halves hit the sidewalk before him. This was just so cool!
Now there was absolutely no way Buffy could say he couldn't come on
patrol. Mr. Useless was now Mr. Useful, heh.
"G-glowing sword.... Gah..." a voice behind him. Xander slumped,
shoulders dropping. Now how could he save this, he thought as he
turned. Two boys, one looking like he was a teen, the other eight.
The teen - maybe fourteen -- was just looking at his sword, mumbling
to himself. The eight year old was wide eyed, also looking at the
sword.
"Hey mister! Is that a lightsabre?" That was it! Sword of Light was
perfect!
"No, kid. But it is really, really neat. I'll show you some of the
stuff I can do, but only you can know about it. Don't tell anyone
else."
"Sure!" Now to talk to the older one, and all would be well. Maybe
he could give him some tips to utilize the Xander Charm for the boy to
get a date. Yea, that was it...
"Slayers?" Giles still stood in the library.
********************
"Where is he?! I'll kill the little bastard!" An enraged voice came
from the hallway, outside the library. Giles raised his head in
momentary alarm, it was late at night, as well as guilty pleasure -
the emotions he drank in, the pain and suffering felt sooo good - but
the voice was familiar, Angel's. A second hint of guilt and
pleasure - the pain he felt came from Angel. Giles moved quickly to
the door, to see what had their 'hybrid' vampire (he still had some
vampiric traits, and at least part of him was golem, odd as it may
seem, but the rest?) so angry. He'd made it almost to the door, when
a form blurred through, knocking him against the wall.
"SorryGilesgottagoorI'mdead!" A crash, as the form went through one
of the exterior windows. That was odd, that sounded like Xander, of
all people? Giles stood back up, just in time to catch one of the
library doors - how was he going to explain that - across the face,
sending him flying back against the wall. Maybe it would be better to
stay down here on the floor, he thought, watching another figure storm
in the library, crackling energy dissipating from his fist. Oh bloody
hell, Angel was royally pissed, what happened now?
"Giles! Where did Xander go?" An arm waved in the general direction
of the stacks - what little of the arm that could be seen under the
door. "Thank you."
A moment passed, then a female voice spoke, tentatively from the
doorway.
"H- hello? Angel? Xander dear? Is anyone here?" Giles groaned in
reply.
"Who... Giles!" The girl, long black hair and high quality clothing
standing out the most, knelt down by Giles. "What are you doing here,
Giles?" A faint glow appeared around her hands - then an explosive
curse from Giles as he vanished from under the door, letting it
clatter to the floor.
Damnit Cordelia! I've told you before, do NOT use your healing magic
on me - it just does NOT WORK!" Giles visibly calmed himself,
straightening his glasses.
"Well, sooorry! I was just trying to help, with all the uproar here.
I thought you might actually be hurt or something. Anyway, I thought
you could do that 'teleport' thing, so why were you under that door?"
Cordelia stood, hands on her hips, "Anyway, I've got to go find Buffy
or someone to help me stop Angel from killing Xander-dear." Cordelia
turned, to head back down the hallway.
"Angel kill Xander? As much as that does appeal to me, what brought
that about?"
"He finally heard about the tape in the circle. Xander can't keep a
secret to save his soul sometimes. Now I must go rescue poor Xander
from the monster, for which he'll be properly appreciative and - "
Cordelia stopped walking, a dreamy tone coming to her voice, " -- I'll
make sure he never, ever hears the end of this entire mess he's
caused!"
"Why me? Was I truly such an evil person in a past life?" Giles
grabbed the single coat laying across one of the tables. "Let's go,
Cordelia. Let's see about keeping yogurt-brain's head intact."
*******************
Oz closed the door of his apartment, leaned against it, closing his
eyes and rubbing his temples with his fingers. He just managed to
talk Willow into staying at the school and researching magic again
tonight, but just barely. He wasn't sure if it would be possible
another night, but then again, he only had one more night left this
month. He'd been avoiding the others over the last few days, which,
admittedly, he usually did at this time. No use reminding everyone
about the resident party animal, especially at full moon. They didn't
worry too much about it, anymore, since they'd established the routine
of cage, chains, and drugged meat. But this was the third month he'd
not used any of those items, and the gang would want to know why.
He'd thought being a werewolf was bad... Oh, how he'd been wrong!
Just going wolf overnight, with little or no memory of what occurred,
was looking better and better. Now, he remembered everything. Even
now, he could start to feel the shifts in form beginning, and the
urge... starting. He would hold it in as long as possible, but he
always failed. Fortunately for him, the upper 2 floors of the
building were still empty, else someone would have already called the
cops.
Damn, he'd almost completed shifting while thinking... he needed to
get into the bedroom and unlock the wardrobe. He'd hidden it all, and
locked the wardrobe when Willow found the boots. He loved her dearly,
but her jealousy had gotten a bit more explosive lately, and cost him
a new couch. He'd managed to convince her a crazy fan had left them,
and he had no clue why they were there.
Balance was so much... harder now. He felt way too top-heavy, but at
least the change made him taller, he did like that. * Click * The
wardrobe was now open, and it was revealed in all it's leather glory.
And he was running out of time. Oz quickly changed clothes, not
looking at himself more than the minimum needed. The last of the
skull buttons snapped, and the gloves adjusted. He could now relaxe.
No one was around. He inhaled deeply.
"Oz?!" A voice, female, came from the rooftop doorway. Oh hell!
Busted by Buffy... but maybe he could convince her to keep quite, but
he had to release it first, to give in to the urges. He'd fought them
as long as humanly possible, he just had, had to let it out.
"OHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!"
**********************
"Buffy! What is going on here?" a plaintive lament from Joyce,
Buffy's mother. Her daughter, the Slayer (as much as she hated the
idea and danger), had just charged through the front door. That was
not too uncommon, but usually she opened the door first. A mournful
cry could be heard from outside, the sound of animals baying and
howling, and it was getting closer.
"Sorry Mom, but I got jumped by some demons and hellhounds during
patrol," Buffy dashed upstairs, "I need some more stuff from my room
to take them." A crash, another shattered door, and the sounds of
items being tossed about a room. Joyce's eye began to twitch.
"Uh oh." Echoed from upstairs.
"Uh oh, what, Buffy dear?" A parental shaking of head at the errors
of one's child.
"I left them at Gile's again." Buffy quickly moved to the top of the
stairs. "Mom! Look out!" A shambling, hunched figure leapt through
the shattered doorway, it would rend this mortal woman's flesh from
her bones, then it and the others would kill the Slayer. However, the
mortal woman was not going to oblige it with dying quickly and easily.
A quick spin, the woman ducking under the creature and punching
upwards with her fist. By the Seven Fiends, a mortal's blow should
not - were the creature's last thoughts before it flew through the
roof of the building.
"Mom?!?"
"Did I just do what I thought I did?" A smile, unseen by her
daughter, crossed her face. If she could do that to a monster, she
could keep Buffy from patrolling and getting into dangerous things
every night. Or at least go with her, and keep these things from
attacking Buffy. Was this what Buffy felt when she became the Slayer,
the feeling of power and strength? She could see more why Buffy
continued with this 'Slaying' business.
Buffy vaulted down from the top of the stairs - she didn't usually do
such things around her mother, but things weren't quite normal, or at
least as normal as her life ever got. Buffy glanced up at the hole in
the roof. At least it went through the guest room. A noticeable
growling came from outside the doorway. Buffy could see at least five
more of the demons standing outside.
"Mom! Come on, we have to run," a futile tug at her mothers arms. It
shouldn't be that hard to move her, should it? And why was her mother
smiling?
"Oh, go on Buffy. I need to take care of some rude guests that really
don't know when they're not wanted." Buffy watched in shock as her
pulled away from her grip, and calmly walked out the door.
"Now, please leave, and noth -" One of the dog-like figures sprang
towards her. Before she'd even realized she done it, a spinning kick
sent the creature up and through the neighbor's garage.
"Since you're going to be that way about it..." An elbow to the head
of another hound-demon, causing it to impact with enough force to
shatter the driveway.
"HOUSEWIFE STRIKE!"
"PEACE AND TRANQUILITY OF THE HOME KICK!"
Within minutes, the remainder of the demons were either dead, or fled.
Joyce looked at the holes in the neighbor's houses, the damage to
their own. She began to mentally contemplate the story they'd use for
insurance this time. She glanced back at Buffy, who was still
standing in the doorway, mouth open.
"Dear, please close your mouth. And go clean up your room. I heard
the mess you were making!"
"But, but, but..." A slightly shell-shocked Buffy Summers turned to go
into her house.
"Now, now, Everything will be all right, Buffy. I'll just start
coming with you on your 'patrols'." A glance around at the damage to
the front door, "I know where to get replacement doors, but do you
have any idea about what to do about this hole in the roof?"
"Talk to Giles, he knows all the construction companies in town," came
a distracted reply. Buffy made a visible effort to pull herself
together, then sighed as she looked at her smiling mother.
"OK, Mom, if, and only if Giles says you can come," her mother's smile
widened; Buffy winced to herself, this could be bad, especially with
the way Giles had been acting, "but we are GOING to talk about those
battle cries."
"What? What do you mean? I thought they worked quite well."
"Mom!"
************************************
"Come on, guys, I know what I'm doing!" Willow lamented to the
others, "I've been practicing with the other stuff, and I know how to
do that well, and I promise I won't hurt anyone, and it would be a
great spell to use against the bad guys, and -" A burst of voices
filled the school library.
"That would not be good, Willow, the damage could be a bit...
extreme, regardless of your practice," Giles glanced down from the
ladder he was standing upon, "And besides, even if the spell goes off
perfectly, with nothing unusual occurring, how the bloody hell do you
plan on explaining the mile wide crater that would be left behind!"
"What he said," Xander looked up from the glowing sword in his
hands, "if you do that, they might find out and take away my sword!"
"Xander, I've told you three times in the last hour, no activating
the Sword of Light during school hours!"
"But it's so neat!"
"Xander!"
"Oh, all right," The glowing blade of white faded from view, "just
because it's a little more obvious... yea, mister teleporting
librarian," a low grumble from the back of the library.
"Hey! I was the one talking here! Besides, I can explain it all away
perfectly. We just happen to be close to a really, really big meteor
strike. That'll take care of everything!"
"Willow, you're a great friend, and I love you like a sister. But
you'll cast a that spell over my dead body."
"Well, I know Cordelia's been wanting to try some of those high power
healing spells - "
"WILLOW!" A loud chorus of voices erupted.
"OK, OK, OK. No need to be so mean about it."
*******************************
Late at night, just past midnight, a single light was still burning
in the mayor's office in City Hall. The mayor sat, behind his desk,
caressing the large chest before him with his eyes. Covered in arcane
runes, the chest appeared to be made of some sort of red metal. The
metal almost appeared to flow or shift under the dim light within the
office. The mayor stood as the door to the office opened; James, a
promising flunky led in a dark-haired girl, one the mayor knew quite
well.
"Welcome, welcome back, Faith," the mayor gestured to the seat before
the desk, "please sit down and relax. I've got a whole new box of
those chocolate candies you like." Faith started pacing back and
forth before the desk, dagger in hand - almost the image of a caged
feline - powerful, dangerous, and unable to do anything about it. A
sigh came from the mayor.
"I assume the poisoned arrow didn't work?" He turned to look out the
window, "And I had to divert the Christmas festival money to get
that.... Shoot. But then again, Christmas won't be coming next year."
Mayor Wilkens turned back to Faith. "What happened?" he demanded,
this time a serious tone.
"Goddamn bunch of -" An extremely pissed off Faith began.
"Faaith,"
"The goddamn arrow bounced the hell off! The damn thing's enchantment
wasn't enough to get through his skin, damn it! And little miss Goody
managed to get off one of those damn fireballs again." Faith glared
down at her clothes, scorched and cracked in numerous places. If it
wasn't for her Slayer abilities, she could have been killed! Buffy
was definitely going to pay for this. Faith clamped down on the
slight trace of fear still within her. Before, she and Buffy were
equals in abilities, and Faith the more powerful in practice - she
didn't have the restrictions Buffy put upon herself. But, this, the
'magic,' that she and the others had gained... that had pushed her to
almost the bottom of the pack. Even Xander could put up a fight with
that sword, and Willow... Willow was starting to scare her more than
Buffy.
"Well, no matter," Wilkens declared, "I didn't expect the poisoned
arrow to work anyway. He's different enough on the outside that I'm
not sure if an anti-vampire poison would work on him anymore, anyhow.
Besides, this changes everything." The mayor smiled as he patted the
red chest with affection. A faint, almost imperceptible hum began.
"What's that?" Faith stopped pacing to glance at the chest. "It's
not full of bugs, is it?"
"No, no, heaven's to Betsy, no. This is a chest created in early
1200's by a religious order called the Red Brotherhood. They made
this, and six other chests - which I've been unable to find yet - to
contain the divided portions of a Demon God, the dark lord Shabrigaav
something or other, "a wave of the hand, "we couldn't find out the
exact name, but no matter. If I use this in my ascension ceremony, I
will gain the additional power of a fragment of a demon lord. There
will be nothing that Buffy and her friends will be able to do!"
Wilkens was almost roaring. Faith winced, hands over her ears,
rolling her eyes. The mayor looked about the remains of his office,
all glassware in shattered remains.
"Oops."
**************************************
The Ascension was almost over - The mayor had assumed his new form, a
massive serpent, as Buffy, Angel, and the rest of the team did battle
with his minions. As the minions fell, the red chest was opened
before mayor Wilkens, and he changed, morphed, altered yet again. The
overall impression was of serpent, but a six-armed, three-headed
serpent, raising itself up, rearing upon its tail. Massive horns
sprouted from all the heads as the figure grew. Initially, perhaps 40
feet long, the new version of the demon-mayor looked out upon the city
of Sunnydale from a height of over 100 feet.
"I HAVE ASCENDED!" All glass within a mile radius shattered with the
basso roar, "NOW YOU WILL DIE!" The massive form glared down at the
small group before it.
"Giles, Willow, somebody... I dust vampires and the occasional small
demon on occasion, but I AM NOT GOING TO TRY AND KILL GODZILLA!"
"Easy, easy. Buffy. The great swordsman Xander will take care of
this. Monster slaying is a specialty." A massive leap into the air,
sword in hand, then an ear-piercing scream as a tail the size of a bus
knocks him into, and through, a building before impacting into the
street behind the others.
"XANDER!" A dark haired form leapt from hiding in the doorway.
Within a moment, a faint glow of white came from her hands as she
placed them on Xander's chest. Cordelia couldn't make up her mind
anymore if she hated Xander or not, but she was NOT going to let a
demon kill him. She'd reserved that right for herself, for her
Xander-darling.
"It's just Cordy - she'll take care of him. Now, Giles, what do we
do! And if you say ' that is a secret' one more time, I swear I will
stuff your crossbow where you do NOT want it."
"Ah, Buffy, I should be in complete terror at what's going on, but
this chaos seems so invigorating, no plans, just thinking on one's
feet and trusting it all to one throw of the dice. What to do, you
were asking? That's already been taken care of. I suggest you duck
behind something." A pop, and Giles was no longer there.
"What do you - Giles damnit! I really hate that!" A quick glance
around the ruins of the street and school, "what did he mean it was
being taken care of?" A grayish hand, appearing to be encrusted with
stones pointed over her shoulder. Buffy shivered just a bit, his were
the changes that were the greatest physically, at least not during the
full moon, and strangest -- she hated the furthering of the distance
between them it caused.
"Up there." Angel said.
"Up whe - oh shit." Buffy was looking at the ruins of the clock
tower, the top sheared off just moments before. A red-haired figure
was standing amidst the ruins, a figure she knew well. "Willow."
She could see her beginning to gesture, but it was not one of the
spells Buffy'd seen her use before. Willow's hair began to blow
behind her, as though in a breeze, but Buffy could see the treetops
around her were not moving. The Mayor had noticed her, as well, and
was starting to turn towards Willow. Buffy could faintly, just barely
hear Willow as she began to speak.
"Darkness beyond Twilight, Crimson beyond Blood which flows...."
**************************************
This is entirely due to talking to a friend about fanfic after being
picked up after my car blew. Most of it was written while waiting for
said car to be repaired.
I'm thinking of adding one or two group scenes - to see the combined
Chaos of the entire cast, but dunno. If anyone has any suggestions
for someone to fuse Faith with, please email me :-) Not Martina
though -- I've already been threatened by a friend who'se a Faith
fanboy.
RMH