Destiny - Chapters 19 & 20
Nov. 5th, 2003 07:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
psubratAuthor: PSUbrat
Rating: PG-13 Some language and violence
Disclaimer and spoiler warning: These characters belong to Joss Whedon and whomever else he sells them to, I'm just borrowing them for a while. This story is part three of a trilogy and is based upon the alternate universe I created in Reset.
Update List: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Destined_Fic
Summary: A message is delivered to Buffy while several allies arrive in town...
Timeframe: Immediately following "Disruptions"
An old pickup truck, containing three out of place visitors, cruised the somewhat deserted streets of Sunnydale. Gunn looked around the town as he slowly drove through. It was nothing like Los Angeles, which was usually bustling with activity at all times of the day and night. It seemed to him that when the sun went down here, the sidewalks got rolled up and people hid in their homes.
"Are you sure they’re going to be at this magic shop?" He asked Cordelia doubtfully as he continued to navigate the streets. "Cause I’m thinking that I’m gonna run out of gas before we can find Angel. I thought you grew up here?"
Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Yes I grew up here Gunn, but the Magic Box wasn’t around."
"Why couldn’t we just go to this Buffy’s house and wait for them there?"
"Because they probably aren’t there. From what Willow has told me, anytime something big happens, they go to the Magic Box. I’m pretty sure this qualifies as something big."
"I hope you’re right."
"Of course I am. Turn here!" She said excitedly pointing to her right.
"Are you sure? Cause like I said earlier, gas..."
"Just turn here Gunn. I think it might be near the store where I used to work."
With an exaggerated sigh, Gunn turned the truck onto the street Cordelia requested.
"What kind of work did you do?" Fred asked quietly, trying to listen to the conversation as she took in the sights of the town.
"When the IRS caught up with my father, I went to work at one of the best dress shops in town. No one knew, except for Xander and he was gentleman enough to keep it quiet." That had amazed her. Of all the people she expected to revel in her downfall, he had surprised her and done the opposite.
"I can’t believe we’re actually going to meet the Scooby gang," Fred said excitedly.
Gunn laughed at his girlfriend’s remark. "Fred, they don’t sound any different from us and what we do for the man."
"But Charles, we’re going to meet Buffy!" As soon as she said the words, she regretted it. Cautiously she glanced at Cordelia who was now wearing a scowl. "I’m sorry Cordelia, it’s just that..."
"I know Fred. It’s okay. Buffy and I weren’t exactly friends but we were friendly. Things are different now. I’m sure Angel has already told her about us."
"Slayer," Darius began in an even tone. "The Master requests your presence tomorrow night at sunset, you and the rest of the Twelve."
"What if I decide to stay home and wash my hair?" Buffy asked sarcastically. "I mean I am a busy person. Demons to slay, you know the deal. Who’s the Twelve? Is that some kind of new band? Cause I gotta say if it is, it’s a pretty lousy name..."
"I wouldn’t be so flippant if I were you. The Last Judgment is almost upon us. Which side will you be on?"
Buffy turned to Angel and frowned. "Do you understand a word this whack is saying?"
Angel shrugged his shoulders and looked back at the messenger. "Not really, then again I was never one for small talk. Maybe if we hold him down and threaten him, he’ll be able to enlighten us more."
Buffy moved quickly and overtook the vampire in seconds. She stood behind him with one arm around his neck and the other with a stake pressed to his heart. "Tell your Master that Drusilla has already invited us to his little party and we have declined the invitation."
"I’m afraid I cannot do that. You are expected. If you do not show at the precise moment, the Last Judgment shall arrive unopposed."
Anger enveloped her. She pulled him tighter in her grip, breaking the skin on his chest with the stake.
"I’m not afraid to die," Darius declared.
"But you should be," Buffy stated coldly as she pressed the wood deeper into his skin, hoping that it would have some kind of positive effect on him. They needed information to understand what they were going up against.
"Let me take it from here, Buffy," Angel said quietly as he punched Darius in the face, breaking his nose. The young vampire howled in pain as he fell to the ground.
"You must be Angelus," he said behind his cupped hand. "Master has spoken highly of you on several occasions. Do not worry, for you will be back in the order before long."
Angel stared incredulously at Darius. "The order died a long time ago. The Master is a fool if he thinks otherwise!"
"No Angelus" Darius declared still holding his nose. "You’re the fool. The Master will have you as his right hand. You’ll see."
Xander and Anya walked over to the table where Dawn and the demon were sitting.
"Oh! There’s something you don’t see everyday," Anya exclaimed.
"What’s that hon?" Xander asked in a sarcastic tone. "A big green monster with red eyes and horns talking to our Dawnster?"
"No silly," she said, smacking his chest. "A Pylean in our dimension!"
Lorne examined Anya closely. "I’m sorry. Should I know you?"
Dawn giggled. "It’s okay, Anya is our resident ex-demon."
"Vengeance demon. I used to travel dimensions, mostly for business but I went to Pylea for fun once with a tour group."
"And what did you think of my home?" Lorne asked, interested in hearing her response.
"It was sort of fun at first, like the dimension without shrimp. The two suns thing was great for getting a tan but did you know they don’t have music there?"
"You don’t say," Lorne gasped theatrically.
Anya nodded but continued. "Anyway, things were going great until there was this cow uprising, which we didn’t get to stay for since our vacation was over and we had to leave but I heard later that it had gotten pretty intense. Kind of hard to imagine a bunch of cows just deciding to not give milk or something."
Lorne just stared at Anya and chuckled. He liked this girl; she was honest and spoke her mind. He had no doubt that the two of them would get along just fine; however, the young man with her was a different story. "So glow girl, wanna introduce me to your friends?"
"I’m sorry Lorne. Anya and Xander, this is Lorne. He’s one of Angel’s friends and came through the portal with us."
"Nice to meet you Lorne," Anya said smiling cheerfully.
"Any friend of Angel’s..." Xander stated in the same sarcastic tone as earlier. He felt there were already more than enough demons, ex or not, hanging out at the Magic Box this evening and they certainly didn’t need ones from L.A.
"Why do I get the feeling you don’t really mean that?" Lorne asked, studying Xander closely.
Xander shrugged and noticeably bristled when William joined them at the table. "Hey dead boy," Xander snorted. "Wanna tell us what’s going on. You were pretty vague on the phone."
Lorne shook his head. He could tell this Xander person was a self-righteous, pompous, pain in the...
"The pizzas should be here momentarily," William said with a sigh and sat down heavily on the chair. Truth be told, he was exhausted and didn’t feel like dealing with the whelp this evening.
The shrill sound of the phone ringing instantly refocused everyone’s attention. William walked over to answer it, relieved that the phone had saved him from speaking to Harris.
"What do you think Buffy? Should we kill him?" Angel glared at the young vamp that was sprawled on the ground in front of him.
"I’m thinking, nah. We still need information from him."
Angel nodded in agreement. He raised his foot and placed it on the vampire’s neck, slowly applying pressure. "So is there anything else you might think you need to tell us?"
Darius glared at the older vampire.
"Wanna share the details of the Last Judgment with us?" Buffy asked casually as she folded her arms across her chest.
"I will not reveal anything other than my message to you and that I have already done."
Angel pressed his foot harder on the minion’s neck; any more pressure would result in breaking the vertebrae. "You might want to rethink that because the sun will be up before your neck heals, should I break it."
"I have delivered my message. Kill me now if you wish but I will not say anything more."
Buffy rolled her eyes. "Never mind Angel. Let him go. This way we can send him back with a message of our own." Buffy leaned over Darius, grabbed him by the collar and scowled. "Tell your boss that I’m going to find him and when I do, he’s going to have a feeling of déjà vu. Now get out of here!"
Darius leapt to his feet and sprinted off into the night while Buffy and Angel continued on to the Magic Box.
"Watcher, how’s it going?" William asked into the phone, concern coating every word.
"Not the best I’m afraid. Is Buffy there yet by chance?"
"No her and Peach, err, Angel were going to meet us here after their talk."
"I just spoke to them not fifteen minutes ago. They said they were leaving for the shop right away."
William’s heart began to pound in his chest. What if something had happened to her while she was on her way here? Certainly she’d be able to hold her own and with the ponce along with her, she should be safe, right? "I should go look for her then. We ran into Drusilla earlier..."
"Drusilla? Oh my. It’s worse than I thought. Listen to me closely William there isn’t much time. Is Dawn with you?"
"Yeah, Bit’s here, why?"
"I need you to have her open a portal to us in England. As I explained to Buffy, there’s no time for air travel. We need to get there immediately." He hoped that his tone of urgency was getting through to the new watcher.
William waved Dawn over to him. Covering the mouthpiece, he explained to her what needed to be done. "Think you can do it?"
Dawn bit her lip and rocked on the balls of her feet. She had never opened a portal on demand, nor had she done two in one day. If this were a true dire emergency as Spike had told her it was, what would happen if she couldn’t open one? Would they all die? She looked up at the man who had become her surrogate brother. "I don’t know...what if I fail?"
"Bit, all I’m asking is for you to try, okay?"
With tears forming in her eyes, she nodded and stepped out into the middle of the room. She wasn’t sure she could do this, not without everyone watching but she had to try.
"Okay Rupert," William said, his voice wavering. "She’s going to give it a whirl. I can’t promise anything though..."
"Right. Just try to help her out as best you can."
Nodding to himself, he put the phone down on the counter and walked over to Dawn. "Ready?"
"There he is," Fred yelled as she pointed to a spot off to their right, not far from the Magic Box.
"About time," Gunn sighed as he looked down at his gas gauge. The yellow light had come on about a minute ago, signaling that he was almost on empty.
"Angel," Cordelia called, rolling down her window and waving at him. She tried not to look upset when she saw Buffy walking next to him.
"Is that the Fang Gang?" Buffy asked with a smirk.
Angel laughed. "Is that what you guys call them?"
"Well yeah," she replied noticing that Angel had really laughed. Was that the first time she had ever seen him do that? "We’re the Scoobies and you guys are the Fang Gang." She hoped that he could sense that she was being playful and didn’t mean any disrespect by it.
Gunn pulled the truck up to the curb and Cordelia jumped out and ran to Angel. "I was so worried..." she cried as she threw her arms around his neck.
Angel shook his head and took a step back, out of the embrace. This isn’t how he wanted Buffy to find out about them. He squeezed her arm and gave her a slight smile. "I’m okay Cordelia."
A pained look crossed her face as she realized that Angel hadn’t come clean to his one time love. She should have known better. He was always going to love Buffy, wasn’t he? "Right. I just wasn’t sure that you, Lorne and Dawn made it through the portal okay."
Buffy watched the exchange with a smile.
"You must be Buffy," Fred stated in a giddy tone as she extended her hand to the vampire slayer. "Angel has told us all so much about you. Oh, well, it’s not like he talks about you all the time or anything but..." Realizing that she was babbling, she quickly changed the topic. "I’m Fred and this is Charles."
"Hi Fred," Buffy laughed as she shook the girl’s hand and then the young man’s. "I seem to be getting a lot of that tonight," Buffy stated giving Angel a sideways glance.
Angel smiled sheepishly and then looked away. After seeing Cordy again, he had no doubt now that he was still in love with Buffy.
Just as Buffy was turning to greet Cordelia, she heard screaming coming from the shop and then the windows blew out. "What the...?" She turned and started running, only one thing going through her mind, something had happened to Dawn.
Author: PSUbrat
Rating: PG-13 Some language and violence
Disclaimer and spoiler warning: These characters belong to Joss Whedon and whomever else he sells them to...I'm just borrowing them for a while. This story is part three of a trilogy and is based upon the alternate universe I created in Reset.
Update List: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Destined_Fic
Summary: The Twelve come together as the Last Judgment approaches...
Timeframe: Immediately following "Messages & Prophecies"
Wesley stood his ground as he glared at Lilah. Things were finally coming together and he no longer needed her. It was true that part of him had enjoyed the "perks" that had come with this job, but now it was time to move on. He could tell that his glaring was starting to unsettle the woman. Good. He wanted her unsettled; give her a small taste of what it was that she had done to him so many times before. The look on her face was priceless, if he had the time, he would definitely revel in it, but unfortunately, time was something he didn’t have at the moment. It seemed to him that she wasn’t sure if she should be pissed off at him for his expression or if she should turn and run away as quickly as possible.
Lilah shifted her feet. She had never seen Wesley with that type of look on his face. It made her blood run cold. "Wes, what’s wrong? Who was that on the phone?" She hoped that her questions and soft tone would relax him but they didn’t. It seemed to her that his eyes got harder with each passing moment.
"It’s none of your concern to whom I was just speaking to. Now get dressed. We’re going in town."
"Why are we going in town?" She asked him with a frown. What did he need to do in town and why did he want her to go along?
"Just do as I say..."
"I will not," she huffed, her voice taking on a stronger tone than how she actually felt. "Just who do you think you are...?" How dare he speak to her this way and in front of Connor? She glanced over at the boy who was watching the exchange quietly.
"I don’t have time for your attitude. Just do it." His voice was hard, unyielding.
She took a step back, giving him a defiant stare. "Fine but don’t think this little conversation of ours is over..."
Wesley rolled his eyes. He would say just about anything at this point to get her out of the house but he couldn’t chance angering her more than she already was. Softening he stated, "Just get dressed." He watched as she wound her way around the unpacked boxes and into the bedroom. "Connor, it’s time you and I had a little chat about Angel."
Buffy ran at a full sprint towards the Magic Box, the others following close behind. Despite the fact that they had only been a few hundred yards away at the time of the explosion, she felt as if it was taking her an eternity to get there. Had it been Dawn that screamed? She wasn’t sure but it had sounded like her sister and then there was the little thing with the windows blowing out. What could have happened? Her heart was racing and fear had taken over as she reached the door and threw it open.
"Dawn," she screamed as she ran into the darkened shop.
"Buffy we’re all fine," William said calmly from somewhere within. "Just don’t come in any further yet." He knew it would take them all a few moments for their sight to adjust to the darkness.
Her fear had subsided as soon as she had heard her lover’s voice but her worry for her sister continued to grow. She could hear the scuffling of feet and the moving of furniture but she couldn’t see much of anything. "Dawn?" She asked, as the others arrived behind her. She was clearly shaken and her voice betrayed that fact.
"I-I’m fine Buffy," Dawn said weakly.
"Buffy what happened?" Angel asked as he came up behind her.
"I don’t know..."
Suddenly the room was illuminated with a soft glow from a lantern Anya carried out of the basement. "Look at my poor shop," she lamented as she raised the light above her head. "Next time you open a portal Dawn, remind me to have you do it outside."
"Sorry," Dawn sighed. She’d had no idea that this would happen, it hadn’t happened before tonight.
"Everyone here?" Giles asked, somewhat shaken as well.
"I th-think so," Tara stated as she looked around for Willow.
"Okay," Buffy demanded trying to get everyone’s attention. "I’m gonna ask again. What just happened here?"
"Well you see Buffy," Giles began sheepishly as he cleaned his glasses and walked towards her. "Dawn opened a portal and..."
"And boom?"
"Yes, well, something like that," Giles stated as he put his glasses on.
"But everyone’s okay?"
"We’re fine Buffy," William assured her as he walked over to her. He brushed a stray hair out of her face and kissed her gently on the forehead. "Everyone’s accounted for."
"Well if everyone is accounted for and no one’s hurt, who screamed and why did the windows blow out?"
"I screamed," Anya stated with a smile. As all eyes turned towards her, most in mock amazement. "You would have too! Just look what she did to my shop," she retorted. "And to my hair!"
Buffy had to stifle a laugh. She hadn’t noticed it before but the ex-demon’s hair was a frizzy mess. It reminded her of the time that she had been electrocuted in high school...
"As for the windows," Willow replied as she brushed herself off. "I think Dawn just had a little too much power and couldn’t center it correctly." Turning to Dawn and smiling she added, "We can work on that later Dawnie."
"Uhm. Excuse me," Cordelia interjected. "But would someone care to explain what the hell is going on?"
Xander’s head shot up at the sound of the voice. "Merciful Zeus," he cried. "As if this night couldn’t get any better."
Wesley drove towards town, trying not to break any land speed records. The last thing he needed was to be pulled over. Time was at a premium now. He needed to get him and Connor to their destination in one piece. Glancing sideways, he noticed that Lilah was scowling. She hadn’t said one word to them since they had left his place. That was fine by him, the less she talked the less his head hurt. Up ahead the traffic light turned yellow and instead of slowing down, he pressed harder on the gas pedal. It was a damned good thing he had too, because several of the Master’s minions were standing in the middle of the street picking off drivers one by one as they stopped their cars at the lights. It was becoming much worse than he had ever imagined it would.
"Connor," he demanded. "Lie down on the back seat and stay down. The last thing I need right now is for you to be taken."
Connor did as he was told. His mind was racing, more so than usual. Back at the apartment Wesley had insisted that he listen to what he had to say about his father. If what the man had told him was true, then he didn’t think he could ever forgive himself for the things he had done in the name of revenge. He had demanded that Wesley prove it to him; that’s when the former watcher pulled out a file that contained all of the documentation and showed it to him. If it hadn’t been for Lilah’s confession, he would have never believed it. Documents could be falsified.
"Nice to see you showing concern for the boy at least," Lilah spat at Wesley, venom coating her voice.
"I could drop you off at the next traffic light if that would suit you?"
She pursed her lips and clenched her jaw. How she hated him right now. For everything. Folding her arms across her chest, she turned her attention back to the road in front of her. Her eyes widened as she recognized the vampire that was now standing on the road in front of them. "Oh my God," she said almost in a whisper.
Wesley narrowed his eyes as he realized whom Lilah was referring to. Applying more pressure to the gas, he steered the car into Gavin. The force and speed of the hit threw the fledgling vampire into the air and up over the roof of the car. Lilah was screaming now.
"Will you please shut up?" He demanded as he continued driving. "I thought you were supposed to be tough, heart of ice, all that other rubbish?"
She was breathing rapidly, either out of anger or shock, she wasn’t quite sure. Maybe a little of both. She turned towards Wesley and glared at him. "You son of a bitch."
Ignoring Cordelia’s question, Giles walked over to William. "A moment please," he stated using his head to signal towards the back room.
William nodded and followed the older watcher into the training room, leaving the others behind to fight amongst themselves or to clean up the shop, whichever came first.
While William and Giles disappeared into the back, Lorne moved quickly towards Angel. "Sweetcheeks, I gotta talk to you," he demanded in a charming tone, trying not to rouse suspicion from Dawn. "Now."
Angel stared at the demon. It was the same tone he had used on him earlier when he tried to warn him about Dawn. "What? I’m not going to like it, am I?"
Lorne closed his eyes and shook his head. "Afraid not big guy."
"Wait a minute," Cordelia growled at the two of them. "No one’s going anywhere until someone tells me what the hell is going on here!"
"She’s not even back in Sunnydale two minutes," Xander snarked shaking his head. "And already she’s Queen C again. Nice to see some things never change."
"Shut up Donut Boy. I didn’t ask for your opinion, now did I?"
"You can’t talk to my boyfriend like that," Anya shrieked back at Cordelia. "You – you demon wannabe!"
If it hadn’t been for the fact that the world was going to end in less than twenty-four hours, Buffy would have left the two women go at each other. Hell, she would have sold tickets for it, but now was not the time. Sighing, she stepped in between Anya and Cordelia who were now almost toe-to-toe. "Okay you two! That’s enough! Everyone. There will be no more ripping each other’s throats out; the Master will be doing enough of that later. We have big trouble coming, end of the world trouble, so I would greatly appreciate it if you all would just shut the hell up and clean up the shop!"
Cordelia was about to make one of her old patented remarks when she realized that Angel was glaring at her as well. "Fine," she huffed, walking over to a chair to upright it. "But I’d still like to know what’s going on around here."
"I think we all would," Gunn stated dryly as he helped Xander and Angel right the table.
"Do you think they’re killing one another yet?" Giles asked with a mischievous grin.
William laughed. It seemed that Giles only cracked jokes around him, he wasn’t totally sure why but he liked to think that it was because he felt relaxed with him. "Could we be so lucky?"
Giles grinned as he leaned up against the wall and removed his glasses. He felt, old and tired. Suddenly, his tone became serious. "William, I’m not going to lie to you. The next twenty-four or so hours are going to be the hardest we’ve ever faced. I need to know that you’re going to stand by Buffy no matter what."
He tilted his head to the side and gave Giles a look of puzzlement. "I’m not sure I’m following you mate."
"I know that you are involved with Cecily and I need to know that your feelings for this woman are not going to..."
"Relax Rupert. We’re no longer involved."
"What?"
"It’s over. I broke it off earlier this evening."
"Why? I mean..." He was at a loss for words but then it came to him. Hadn’t William kissed Buffy out in the shop? He hadn’t been seeing things, had he? After all, he had his glasses off at the time and...
"It’s simple really," William stated giving him a wide grin. "I love Buffy. She loves me. End of story." He felt good saying it, almost as if the old self-confident, cocky Spike were back.
Giles straightened himself, his eyes searching the blue ones in front of him. "Are you telling me that...?"
"Yes, Rupert. Must I spell it out for you? Draw a few pictures?"
"No. Really. No need. Thank you." He began to clean his glasses at a maddening pace.
William noticed the action and chuckled. He was now sure that he didn’t need to paint a picture for Giles about what was happening between him and the slayer.
When William and Giles rejoined the group, the shop was almost spotless and the pizza had been delivered. Buffy was amazed at how easily a little tension, and some food, could get people to work together. Now if she could only get them to all focus on the impending doom, life would be peachy. Well, maybe not peachy, but less doomy for sure. While they were cleaning, and eating, introductions were made and battle lines were drawn. The Scoobies set up camp at the research table while the Fang Gang milled around the counter area, she and Lorne were the only two that seemed to cross lines. So by the time the two watchers finally emerged from the back room, she was more than relieved to see them.
"Giles," Buffy nervously whispered as she took the man aside. "It’s not going so well out here. Scoobies and the Fang Gang, not really of the mixy variety."
Even after almost seven years of knowing the girl, there were still days when he just didn’t understand a word she said. "Pardon, come again?"
"Tension. Knife. Not even close to cutting."
"Ah, yes. I see. I’m afraid that we’re all going to need to work together on this Buffy, if we want to defeat the Master."
"Can’t we just find Angel’s son, pat them on the back and send them home with cookies? Do we really need their help?"
"We can’t and we do."
"Well I suggest you get cracking with announcements about the prophecy then before we all stare one another to death."
"Right. Very well." Taking a deep breath, he walked into the middle of the room where Dawn had stood only an hour before and cleared his throat.
"It’s about time," Cordelia remarked from her stool at the counter.
"Thank you Cordelia," he stated dryly with a frown in her direction. "Now before I begin, I want all of you to know that you are not here by accident. Forces greater than ourselves have been moving us like pawns in a cosmic chess game."
"This dude is even more English than English," Gunn observed with a grimace.
"Who’s English?" Dawn asked him from across the room.
"Wes..."
"A name we don’t mention anymore," Cordelia replied, scowling at Gunn.
"May I continue?"
"Sorry dude."
"As I was saying," Giles continued. "We’ve all been drawn to Sunnydale tonight for a reason. It has been foretold by the ancients that the Drawing of Twelve would occur on the evening before the Last Judgment and by my calculations, the Last Judgment shall begin at sunset tomorrow."
"Yeah. You’re right about that one Giles. One of the Master’s boys paid Angel and me a visit on our way here. Seems we’ve been requested to attend a not so fun party at sunset tomorrow."
"It was more of a demand than a request," Angel added with a nod.
"Does this prophecy say how to defeat the Master and keep the Last Judgment from happening?" Buffy asked, despite already knowing the answer.
"I’m afraid not Buffy but a part of the prophecy is missing and that part may well contain information as to how we can defeat him."
"Missing?" Xander snorted. "Why does that not surprise me?"
"Because there’s not much of a brain to surprise in that small head of yours?" Cordelia stated sarcastically.
Lorne tired not to chuckle at Cordelia’s remark. He always knew she had a sharp tongue but he never knew her to be like this, perhaps it was the influence of the Hellmouth?
"Cordelia," Xander began. "I see your mouth open but nothing seems to be coming out that’s worth listening to..."
"That is quite enough," Giles growled. "You two are no longer in high school but you wouldn’t know it by the way you’re acting. Now just keep your mouths shut so that the rest of us can concentrate on the problem at hand." He glared at one and then the other, driving them into silence.
Before Giles could begin going into the prophecy in greater detail, the door to the shop crashed open and a harried Wesley appeared in the doorway.
Rating: PG-13 Some language and violence
Disclaimer and spoiler warning: These characters belong to Joss Whedon and whomever else he sells them to, I'm just borrowing them for a while. This story is part three of a trilogy and is based upon the alternate universe I created in Reset.
Update List: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Destined_Fic
Summary: A message is delivered to Buffy while several allies arrive in town...
Timeframe: Immediately following "Disruptions"
- 19 -
Messages & Prophecies
Messages & Prophecies
An old pickup truck, containing three out of place visitors, cruised the somewhat deserted streets of Sunnydale. Gunn looked around the town as he slowly drove through. It was nothing like Los Angeles, which was usually bustling with activity at all times of the day and night. It seemed to him that when the sun went down here, the sidewalks got rolled up and people hid in their homes.
"Are you sure they’re going to be at this magic shop?" He asked Cordelia doubtfully as he continued to navigate the streets. "Cause I’m thinking that I’m gonna run out of gas before we can find Angel. I thought you grew up here?"
Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Yes I grew up here Gunn, but the Magic Box wasn’t around."
"Why couldn’t we just go to this Buffy’s house and wait for them there?"
"Because they probably aren’t there. From what Willow has told me, anytime something big happens, they go to the Magic Box. I’m pretty sure this qualifies as something big."
"I hope you’re right."
"Of course I am. Turn here!" She said excitedly pointing to her right.
"Are you sure? Cause like I said earlier, gas..."
"Just turn here Gunn. I think it might be near the store where I used to work."
With an exaggerated sigh, Gunn turned the truck onto the street Cordelia requested.
"What kind of work did you do?" Fred asked quietly, trying to listen to the conversation as she took in the sights of the town.
"When the IRS caught up with my father, I went to work at one of the best dress shops in town. No one knew, except for Xander and he was gentleman enough to keep it quiet." That had amazed her. Of all the people she expected to revel in her downfall, he had surprised her and done the opposite.
"I can’t believe we’re actually going to meet the Scooby gang," Fred said excitedly.
Gunn laughed at his girlfriend’s remark. "Fred, they don’t sound any different from us and what we do for the man."
"But Charles, we’re going to meet Buffy!" As soon as she said the words, she regretted it. Cautiously she glanced at Cordelia who was now wearing a scowl. "I’m sorry Cordelia, it’s just that..."
"I know Fred. It’s okay. Buffy and I weren’t exactly friends but we were friendly. Things are different now. I’m sure Angel has already told her about us."
******
"Slayer," Darius began in an even tone. "The Master requests your presence tomorrow night at sunset, you and the rest of the Twelve."
"What if I decide to stay home and wash my hair?" Buffy asked sarcastically. "I mean I am a busy person. Demons to slay, you know the deal. Who’s the Twelve? Is that some kind of new band? Cause I gotta say if it is, it’s a pretty lousy name..."
"I wouldn’t be so flippant if I were you. The Last Judgment is almost upon us. Which side will you be on?"
Buffy turned to Angel and frowned. "Do you understand a word this whack is saying?"
Angel shrugged his shoulders and looked back at the messenger. "Not really, then again I was never one for small talk. Maybe if we hold him down and threaten him, he’ll be able to enlighten us more."
Buffy moved quickly and overtook the vampire in seconds. She stood behind him with one arm around his neck and the other with a stake pressed to his heart. "Tell your Master that Drusilla has already invited us to his little party and we have declined the invitation."
"I’m afraid I cannot do that. You are expected. If you do not show at the precise moment, the Last Judgment shall arrive unopposed."
Anger enveloped her. She pulled him tighter in her grip, breaking the skin on his chest with the stake.
"I’m not afraid to die," Darius declared.
"But you should be," Buffy stated coldly as she pressed the wood deeper into his skin, hoping that it would have some kind of positive effect on him. They needed information to understand what they were going up against.
"Let me take it from here, Buffy," Angel said quietly as he punched Darius in the face, breaking his nose. The young vampire howled in pain as he fell to the ground.
"You must be Angelus," he said behind his cupped hand. "Master has spoken highly of you on several occasions. Do not worry, for you will be back in the order before long."
Angel stared incredulously at Darius. "The order died a long time ago. The Master is a fool if he thinks otherwise!"
"No Angelus" Darius declared still holding his nose. "You’re the fool. The Master will have you as his right hand. You’ll see."
******
Xander and Anya walked over to the table where Dawn and the demon were sitting.
"Oh! There’s something you don’t see everyday," Anya exclaimed.
"What’s that hon?" Xander asked in a sarcastic tone. "A big green monster with red eyes and horns talking to our Dawnster?"
"No silly," she said, smacking his chest. "A Pylean in our dimension!"
Lorne examined Anya closely. "I’m sorry. Should I know you?"
Dawn giggled. "It’s okay, Anya is our resident ex-demon."
"Vengeance demon. I used to travel dimensions, mostly for business but I went to Pylea for fun once with a tour group."
"And what did you think of my home?" Lorne asked, interested in hearing her response.
"It was sort of fun at first, like the dimension without shrimp. The two suns thing was great for getting a tan but did you know they don’t have music there?"
"You don’t say," Lorne gasped theatrically.
Anya nodded but continued. "Anyway, things were going great until there was this cow uprising, which we didn’t get to stay for since our vacation was over and we had to leave but I heard later that it had gotten pretty intense. Kind of hard to imagine a bunch of cows just deciding to not give milk or something."
Lorne just stared at Anya and chuckled. He liked this girl; she was honest and spoke her mind. He had no doubt that the two of them would get along just fine; however, the young man with her was a different story. "So glow girl, wanna introduce me to your friends?"
"I’m sorry Lorne. Anya and Xander, this is Lorne. He’s one of Angel’s friends and came through the portal with us."
"Nice to meet you Lorne," Anya said smiling cheerfully.
"Any friend of Angel’s..." Xander stated in the same sarcastic tone as earlier. He felt there were already more than enough demons, ex or not, hanging out at the Magic Box this evening and they certainly didn’t need ones from L.A.
"Why do I get the feeling you don’t really mean that?" Lorne asked, studying Xander closely.
Xander shrugged and noticeably bristled when William joined them at the table. "Hey dead boy," Xander snorted. "Wanna tell us what’s going on. You were pretty vague on the phone."
Lorne shook his head. He could tell this Xander person was a self-righteous, pompous, pain in the...
"The pizzas should be here momentarily," William said with a sigh and sat down heavily on the chair. Truth be told, he was exhausted and didn’t feel like dealing with the whelp this evening.
The shrill sound of the phone ringing instantly refocused everyone’s attention. William walked over to answer it, relieved that the phone had saved him from speaking to Harris.
******
"What do you think Buffy? Should we kill him?" Angel glared at the young vamp that was sprawled on the ground in front of him.
"I’m thinking, nah. We still need information from him."
Angel nodded in agreement. He raised his foot and placed it on the vampire’s neck, slowly applying pressure. "So is there anything else you might think you need to tell us?"
Darius glared at the older vampire.
"Wanna share the details of the Last Judgment with us?" Buffy asked casually as she folded her arms across her chest.
"I will not reveal anything other than my message to you and that I have already done."
Angel pressed his foot harder on the minion’s neck; any more pressure would result in breaking the vertebrae. "You might want to rethink that because the sun will be up before your neck heals, should I break it."
"I have delivered my message. Kill me now if you wish but I will not say anything more."
Buffy rolled her eyes. "Never mind Angel. Let him go. This way we can send him back with a message of our own." Buffy leaned over Darius, grabbed him by the collar and scowled. "Tell your boss that I’m going to find him and when I do, he’s going to have a feeling of déjà vu. Now get out of here!"
Darius leapt to his feet and sprinted off into the night while Buffy and Angel continued on to the Magic Box.
******
"Watcher, how’s it going?" William asked into the phone, concern coating every word.
"Not the best I’m afraid. Is Buffy there yet by chance?"
"No her and Peach, err, Angel were going to meet us here after their talk."
"I just spoke to them not fifteen minutes ago. They said they were leaving for the shop right away."
William’s heart began to pound in his chest. What if something had happened to her while she was on her way here? Certainly she’d be able to hold her own and with the ponce along with her, she should be safe, right? "I should go look for her then. We ran into Drusilla earlier..."
"Drusilla? Oh my. It’s worse than I thought. Listen to me closely William there isn’t much time. Is Dawn with you?"
"Yeah, Bit’s here, why?"
"I need you to have her open a portal to us in England. As I explained to Buffy, there’s no time for air travel. We need to get there immediately." He hoped that his tone of urgency was getting through to the new watcher.
William waved Dawn over to him. Covering the mouthpiece, he explained to her what needed to be done. "Think you can do it?"
Dawn bit her lip and rocked on the balls of her feet. She had never opened a portal on demand, nor had she done two in one day. If this were a true dire emergency as Spike had told her it was, what would happen if she couldn’t open one? Would they all die? She looked up at the man who had become her surrogate brother. "I don’t know...what if I fail?"
"Bit, all I’m asking is for you to try, okay?"
With tears forming in her eyes, she nodded and stepped out into the middle of the room. She wasn’t sure she could do this, not without everyone watching but she had to try.
"Okay Rupert," William said, his voice wavering. "She’s going to give it a whirl. I can’t promise anything though..."
"Right. Just try to help her out as best you can."
Nodding to himself, he put the phone down on the counter and walked over to Dawn. "Ready?"
******
"There he is," Fred yelled as she pointed to a spot off to their right, not far from the Magic Box.
"About time," Gunn sighed as he looked down at his gas gauge. The yellow light had come on about a minute ago, signaling that he was almost on empty.
"Angel," Cordelia called, rolling down her window and waving at him. She tried not to look upset when she saw Buffy walking next to him.
"Is that the Fang Gang?" Buffy asked with a smirk.
Angel laughed. "Is that what you guys call them?"
"Well yeah," she replied noticing that Angel had really laughed. Was that the first time she had ever seen him do that? "We’re the Scoobies and you guys are the Fang Gang." She hoped that he could sense that she was being playful and didn’t mean any disrespect by it.
Gunn pulled the truck up to the curb and Cordelia jumped out and ran to Angel. "I was so worried..." she cried as she threw her arms around his neck.
Angel shook his head and took a step back, out of the embrace. This isn’t how he wanted Buffy to find out about them. He squeezed her arm and gave her a slight smile. "I’m okay Cordelia."
A pained look crossed her face as she realized that Angel hadn’t come clean to his one time love. She should have known better. He was always going to love Buffy, wasn’t he? "Right. I just wasn’t sure that you, Lorne and Dawn made it through the portal okay."
Buffy watched the exchange with a smile.
"You must be Buffy," Fred stated in a giddy tone as she extended her hand to the vampire slayer. "Angel has told us all so much about you. Oh, well, it’s not like he talks about you all the time or anything but..." Realizing that she was babbling, she quickly changed the topic. "I’m Fred and this is Charles."
"Hi Fred," Buffy laughed as she shook the girl’s hand and then the young man’s. "I seem to be getting a lot of that tonight," Buffy stated giving Angel a sideways glance.
Angel smiled sheepishly and then looked away. After seeing Cordy again, he had no doubt now that he was still in love with Buffy.
Just as Buffy was turning to greet Cordelia, she heard screaming coming from the shop and then the windows blew out. "What the...?" She turned and started running, only one thing going through her mind, something had happened to Dawn.
Author: PSUbrat
Rating: PG-13 Some language and violence
Disclaimer and spoiler warning: These characters belong to Joss Whedon and whomever else he sells them to...I'm just borrowing them for a while. This story is part three of a trilogy and is based upon the alternate universe I created in Reset.
Update List: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Destined_Fic
Summary: The Twelve come together as the Last Judgment approaches...
Timeframe: Immediately following "Messages & Prophecies"
- 20 -
Drawing of the Twelve
Drawing of the Twelve
Wesley stood his ground as he glared at Lilah. Things were finally coming together and he no longer needed her. It was true that part of him had enjoyed the "perks" that had come with this job, but now it was time to move on. He could tell that his glaring was starting to unsettle the woman. Good. He wanted her unsettled; give her a small taste of what it was that she had done to him so many times before. The look on her face was priceless, if he had the time, he would definitely revel in it, but unfortunately, time was something he didn’t have at the moment. It seemed to him that she wasn’t sure if she should be pissed off at him for his expression or if she should turn and run away as quickly as possible.
Lilah shifted her feet. She had never seen Wesley with that type of look on his face. It made her blood run cold. "Wes, what’s wrong? Who was that on the phone?" She hoped that her questions and soft tone would relax him but they didn’t. It seemed to her that his eyes got harder with each passing moment.
"It’s none of your concern to whom I was just speaking to. Now get dressed. We’re going in town."
"Why are we going in town?" She asked him with a frown. What did he need to do in town and why did he want her to go along?
"Just do as I say..."
"I will not," she huffed, her voice taking on a stronger tone than how she actually felt. "Just who do you think you are...?" How dare he speak to her this way and in front of Connor? She glanced over at the boy who was watching the exchange quietly.
"I don’t have time for your attitude. Just do it." His voice was hard, unyielding.
She took a step back, giving him a defiant stare. "Fine but don’t think this little conversation of ours is over..."
Wesley rolled his eyes. He would say just about anything at this point to get her out of the house but he couldn’t chance angering her more than she already was. Softening he stated, "Just get dressed." He watched as she wound her way around the unpacked boxes and into the bedroom. "Connor, it’s time you and I had a little chat about Angel."
******
Buffy ran at a full sprint towards the Magic Box, the others following close behind. Despite the fact that they had only been a few hundred yards away at the time of the explosion, she felt as if it was taking her an eternity to get there. Had it been Dawn that screamed? She wasn’t sure but it had sounded like her sister and then there was the little thing with the windows blowing out. What could have happened? Her heart was racing and fear had taken over as she reached the door and threw it open.
"Dawn," she screamed as she ran into the darkened shop.
"Buffy we’re all fine," William said calmly from somewhere within. "Just don’t come in any further yet." He knew it would take them all a few moments for their sight to adjust to the darkness.
Her fear had subsided as soon as she had heard her lover’s voice but her worry for her sister continued to grow. She could hear the scuffling of feet and the moving of furniture but she couldn’t see much of anything. "Dawn?" She asked, as the others arrived behind her. She was clearly shaken and her voice betrayed that fact.
"I-I’m fine Buffy," Dawn said weakly.
"Buffy what happened?" Angel asked as he came up behind her.
"I don’t know..."
Suddenly the room was illuminated with a soft glow from a lantern Anya carried out of the basement. "Look at my poor shop," she lamented as she raised the light above her head. "Next time you open a portal Dawn, remind me to have you do it outside."
"Sorry," Dawn sighed. She’d had no idea that this would happen, it hadn’t happened before tonight.
"Everyone here?" Giles asked, somewhat shaken as well.
"I th-think so," Tara stated as she looked around for Willow.
"Okay," Buffy demanded trying to get everyone’s attention. "I’m gonna ask again. What just happened here?"
"Well you see Buffy," Giles began sheepishly as he cleaned his glasses and walked towards her. "Dawn opened a portal and..."
"And boom?"
"Yes, well, something like that," Giles stated as he put his glasses on.
"But everyone’s okay?"
"We’re fine Buffy," William assured her as he walked over to her. He brushed a stray hair out of her face and kissed her gently on the forehead. "Everyone’s accounted for."
"Well if everyone is accounted for and no one’s hurt, who screamed and why did the windows blow out?"
"I screamed," Anya stated with a smile. As all eyes turned towards her, most in mock amazement. "You would have too! Just look what she did to my shop," she retorted. "And to my hair!"
Buffy had to stifle a laugh. She hadn’t noticed it before but the ex-demon’s hair was a frizzy mess. It reminded her of the time that she had been electrocuted in high school...
"As for the windows," Willow replied as she brushed herself off. "I think Dawn just had a little too much power and couldn’t center it correctly." Turning to Dawn and smiling she added, "We can work on that later Dawnie."
"Uhm. Excuse me," Cordelia interjected. "But would someone care to explain what the hell is going on?"
Xander’s head shot up at the sound of the voice. "Merciful Zeus," he cried. "As if this night couldn’t get any better."
******
Wesley drove towards town, trying not to break any land speed records. The last thing he needed was to be pulled over. Time was at a premium now. He needed to get him and Connor to their destination in one piece. Glancing sideways, he noticed that Lilah was scowling. She hadn’t said one word to them since they had left his place. That was fine by him, the less she talked the less his head hurt. Up ahead the traffic light turned yellow and instead of slowing down, he pressed harder on the gas pedal. It was a damned good thing he had too, because several of the Master’s minions were standing in the middle of the street picking off drivers one by one as they stopped their cars at the lights. It was becoming much worse than he had ever imagined it would.
"Connor," he demanded. "Lie down on the back seat and stay down. The last thing I need right now is for you to be taken."
Connor did as he was told. His mind was racing, more so than usual. Back at the apartment Wesley had insisted that he listen to what he had to say about his father. If what the man had told him was true, then he didn’t think he could ever forgive himself for the things he had done in the name of revenge. He had demanded that Wesley prove it to him; that’s when the former watcher pulled out a file that contained all of the documentation and showed it to him. If it hadn’t been for Lilah’s confession, he would have never believed it. Documents could be falsified.
"Nice to see you showing concern for the boy at least," Lilah spat at Wesley, venom coating her voice.
"I could drop you off at the next traffic light if that would suit you?"
She pursed her lips and clenched her jaw. How she hated him right now. For everything. Folding her arms across her chest, she turned her attention back to the road in front of her. Her eyes widened as she recognized the vampire that was now standing on the road in front of them. "Oh my God," she said almost in a whisper.
Wesley narrowed his eyes as he realized whom Lilah was referring to. Applying more pressure to the gas, he steered the car into Gavin. The force and speed of the hit threw the fledgling vampire into the air and up over the roof of the car. Lilah was screaming now.
"Will you please shut up?" He demanded as he continued driving. "I thought you were supposed to be tough, heart of ice, all that other rubbish?"
She was breathing rapidly, either out of anger or shock, she wasn’t quite sure. Maybe a little of both. She turned towards Wesley and glared at him. "You son of a bitch."
******
Ignoring Cordelia’s question, Giles walked over to William. "A moment please," he stated using his head to signal towards the back room.
William nodded and followed the older watcher into the training room, leaving the others behind to fight amongst themselves or to clean up the shop, whichever came first.
While William and Giles disappeared into the back, Lorne moved quickly towards Angel. "Sweetcheeks, I gotta talk to you," he demanded in a charming tone, trying not to rouse suspicion from Dawn. "Now."
Angel stared at the demon. It was the same tone he had used on him earlier when he tried to warn him about Dawn. "What? I’m not going to like it, am I?"
Lorne closed his eyes and shook his head. "Afraid not big guy."
"Wait a minute," Cordelia growled at the two of them. "No one’s going anywhere until someone tells me what the hell is going on here!"
"She’s not even back in Sunnydale two minutes," Xander snarked shaking his head. "And already she’s Queen C again. Nice to see some things never change."
"Shut up Donut Boy. I didn’t ask for your opinion, now did I?"
"You can’t talk to my boyfriend like that," Anya shrieked back at Cordelia. "You – you demon wannabe!"
If it hadn’t been for the fact that the world was going to end in less than twenty-four hours, Buffy would have left the two women go at each other. Hell, she would have sold tickets for it, but now was not the time. Sighing, she stepped in between Anya and Cordelia who were now almost toe-to-toe. "Okay you two! That’s enough! Everyone. There will be no more ripping each other’s throats out; the Master will be doing enough of that later. We have big trouble coming, end of the world trouble, so I would greatly appreciate it if you all would just shut the hell up and clean up the shop!"
Cordelia was about to make one of her old patented remarks when she realized that Angel was glaring at her as well. "Fine," she huffed, walking over to a chair to upright it. "But I’d still like to know what’s going on around here."
"I think we all would," Gunn stated dryly as he helped Xander and Angel right the table.
******
"Do you think they’re killing one another yet?" Giles asked with a mischievous grin.
William laughed. It seemed that Giles only cracked jokes around him, he wasn’t totally sure why but he liked to think that it was because he felt relaxed with him. "Could we be so lucky?"
Giles grinned as he leaned up against the wall and removed his glasses. He felt, old and tired. Suddenly, his tone became serious. "William, I’m not going to lie to you. The next twenty-four or so hours are going to be the hardest we’ve ever faced. I need to know that you’re going to stand by Buffy no matter what."
He tilted his head to the side and gave Giles a look of puzzlement. "I’m not sure I’m following you mate."
"I know that you are involved with Cecily and I need to know that your feelings for this woman are not going to..."
"Relax Rupert. We’re no longer involved."
"What?"
"It’s over. I broke it off earlier this evening."
"Why? I mean..." He was at a loss for words but then it came to him. Hadn’t William kissed Buffy out in the shop? He hadn’t been seeing things, had he? After all, he had his glasses off at the time and...
"It’s simple really," William stated giving him a wide grin. "I love Buffy. She loves me. End of story." He felt good saying it, almost as if the old self-confident, cocky Spike were back.
Giles straightened himself, his eyes searching the blue ones in front of him. "Are you telling me that...?"
"Yes, Rupert. Must I spell it out for you? Draw a few pictures?"
"No. Really. No need. Thank you." He began to clean his glasses at a maddening pace.
William noticed the action and chuckled. He was now sure that he didn’t need to paint a picture for Giles about what was happening between him and the slayer.
******
When William and Giles rejoined the group, the shop was almost spotless and the pizza had been delivered. Buffy was amazed at how easily a little tension, and some food, could get people to work together. Now if she could only get them to all focus on the impending doom, life would be peachy. Well, maybe not peachy, but less doomy for sure. While they were cleaning, and eating, introductions were made and battle lines were drawn. The Scoobies set up camp at the research table while the Fang Gang milled around the counter area, she and Lorne were the only two that seemed to cross lines. So by the time the two watchers finally emerged from the back room, she was more than relieved to see them.
"Giles," Buffy nervously whispered as she took the man aside. "It’s not going so well out here. Scoobies and the Fang Gang, not really of the mixy variety."
Even after almost seven years of knowing the girl, there were still days when he just didn’t understand a word she said. "Pardon, come again?"
"Tension. Knife. Not even close to cutting."
"Ah, yes. I see. I’m afraid that we’re all going to need to work together on this Buffy, if we want to defeat the Master."
"Can’t we just find Angel’s son, pat them on the back and send them home with cookies? Do we really need their help?"
"We can’t and we do."
"Well I suggest you get cracking with announcements about the prophecy then before we all stare one another to death."
"Right. Very well." Taking a deep breath, he walked into the middle of the room where Dawn had stood only an hour before and cleared his throat.
"It’s about time," Cordelia remarked from her stool at the counter.
"Thank you Cordelia," he stated dryly with a frown in her direction. "Now before I begin, I want all of you to know that you are not here by accident. Forces greater than ourselves have been moving us like pawns in a cosmic chess game."
"This dude is even more English than English," Gunn observed with a grimace.
"Who’s English?" Dawn asked him from across the room.
"Wes..."
"A name we don’t mention anymore," Cordelia replied, scowling at Gunn.
"May I continue?"
"Sorry dude."
"As I was saying," Giles continued. "We’ve all been drawn to Sunnydale tonight for a reason. It has been foretold by the ancients that the Drawing of Twelve would occur on the evening before the Last Judgment and by my calculations, the Last Judgment shall begin at sunset tomorrow."
"Yeah. You’re right about that one Giles. One of the Master’s boys paid Angel and me a visit on our way here. Seems we’ve been requested to attend a not so fun party at sunset tomorrow."
"It was more of a demand than a request," Angel added with a nod.
"Does this prophecy say how to defeat the Master and keep the Last Judgment from happening?" Buffy asked, despite already knowing the answer.
"I’m afraid not Buffy but a part of the prophecy is missing and that part may well contain information as to how we can defeat him."
"Missing?" Xander snorted. "Why does that not surprise me?"
"Because there’s not much of a brain to surprise in that small head of yours?" Cordelia stated sarcastically.
Lorne tired not to chuckle at Cordelia’s remark. He always knew she had a sharp tongue but he never knew her to be like this, perhaps it was the influence of the Hellmouth?
"Cordelia," Xander began. "I see your mouth open but nothing seems to be coming out that’s worth listening to..."
"That is quite enough," Giles growled. "You two are no longer in high school but you wouldn’t know it by the way you’re acting. Now just keep your mouths shut so that the rest of us can concentrate on the problem at hand." He glared at one and then the other, driving them into silence.
Before Giles could begin going into the prophecy in greater detail, the door to the shop crashed open and a harried Wesley appeared in the doorway.
