The Scooby Gang
Book I: Buffy vs. Powers
Disclaimer: I have no property rights to any published or copyrighted material that is reserved to those that make money from ideas which I do not.
Summery: This is the first book in a series. This takes place in a Buffy-Parallel verse that things happened a bit differently than they did in Cannon.
Warning: Multi Ship M/FFF ahead!
Added corrections as per reviews by Difdi
CHAPTER 1: The First Unexpected Changes
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Sunnydale, CA - 1997
Buffy was franticly knocking on Angel's door. She'd woken not even five minutes ago from a rather strange dream. She'd rushed here now because she knew it was a slayer's dream. She wasn't sure how she knew but she knew and it was scaring her something fierce.
In her dream Drusilla the Insane wished her a happy birthday, 'Happy for Drusilla, maybe!'
Of course this was moments before the insane vampire stuck a stake into the back of her boyfriend and all the bream Buffy could do was watch as he slowly and painfully turned to dust. She closed her eyes tightly as she knocked again; she really didn't want to think about it.
'It's something I won't allow to happen, ever!' That was of course why she needed to see him now. She had to make sure he was alright now and this wasn't something that happened in real life last night, that and to make sure he was going to be extra careful from now on.
Angel shouted from beyond the door, "Hold on!"
It wasn't but a moment later that he opened the door and gone was the grumpy Gus that had been brooding moments before; he smiled brightly, "Hey!"
That was before he smelt her fear and noticed her worried expression; he pulled her into his arms on instinct and pulled her into the apartment.
Concerned he asks into the hug, "Is everything alright?"
She sniffled close to tears. Worry still lacing her voice as she'd made an effort to remove her panic, "That's what I was going to ask you. You're alright, right?"
Angel smiled a bit, then trying to sound both reassuring and worried over his love's mental state he confirms, "Of course I'm alright. Now," he said firmly but still with concern, "What's wrong?"
She fidgeted her hormones distracting her from the situation in the dream; now that she knew he was alright her body was telling her she needed release from the tension that had built up. Seeing her state Angel pulls her towards the bed which wasn't helping her hormones.
"It…" she tried, "It was a dream, a slayer dream." She barely managed that out.
He took a breath of concern and that seemed to help her fortify herself to share, "I dreamt you got dusted" her voice broke and the hormones seemed to vanish for just a moment.
It was all she'd needed and her voice took on a Willow-babble, "It all started in the bronze you see. Willow was like speaking French to some monkey but I didn't like understand her at all, then I was home instead of the bronze and my mom asked me if was ready, and then I was with you. I don't know where it was but it might have been some kind of warehouse, and you were there, and so was Drusilla, and then that bitch staked you in the back. I couldn't do anything at all; just watch you as you crumbled to dust in front me."
She had tears on her cheeks now and she sniffled as she muttered on unintelligibly. He'd pulled her into a hug and she held on for dear life as though he was going to turn to dust if she let go. He rubbed her back with concern. It wasn't even completely selfish concern; after all she'd just told him a vision of his death. It was one of the few embraces that held no sexual inclination about it.
She stated to tell him more, this time she was talking a bit slower, "It was a really slow dusting, I mean the stake went in fast but you dusted slow and you had your hands out to me and I'm not sure if you hand them in your hand or on your fingers but you had these rings." She frowns, "I think you were wearing them and I've never seen you wearing rings before." She pulled out of the hug and grabbed his hand and looked for confirmation, 'No rings!'
Lost in thought, still holding his hand she describes the ring, in detail. "This one had a heart in the middle like…" she shivered with some unseen joy mixed with a desire not to think about losing him. "I don't want to talk about it. It's not real;" she said before adding petulantly, "I won't let that crazy bitch vampire stake you."
Angel smiled, despite the worry he had. Not that he'd let it show but he was indeed worried over the slayer dream. Her tone was funny because it was as though she could command the world.
He reached into his pocked and pulled out the item he was hoping to give her for her birthday. He knew she wasn't Irish like he was, that time was long ago but he was a person bound by tradition.
"Is this the ring you saw in the dream?" he asks softly showing it to her.
She had a worried expression on her face as she took in the ring. "One of them" she asks, taking it in her hands and looking curiously at it. She wondered idly, 'Why isn't he wearing it?' or perhaps it wasn't quite idle so much as she was just trying to distract herself from bursting into more tears.
Mumbling, mostly for her own benefit, she was trying to get away from the thought of why he didn't have it on like the dream and away from the horrid dream, "It, it's beautiful."
Angel softly told her, "My people…" He pauses adding, "Before I was turned, they exchanged this ring as a sign of devotion, of love. It's called a claddagh ring. The hands represent friendship, the crown represents loyalty, and the heart, well, you know. Wear it with the heart pointing towards you. It means you belong to somebody." He reaches over and puts it on her finger, "Like this."
She smiles slightly but her happiness gave way to worry. "How did…" she looked at him.
Her worry and confusion was plane as day to Angel. "In the dream that you were wearing it, I thought there was a second ring."
He shrugged. "There are ways to interpret that, perhaps I shouldn't give this to you, it may be that your dream was saying if I gave it to you I wouldn't be here anymore because of Dru." The crazy vampire's name was said with utter guilt and worry.
He shrugged, "Maybe you should talk to Giles before you wear it, talk to him first thing alright?"' he offered and she looked confused so he told her, "He's more up on the portents that regard slayers."
She nodded and kissed him deeply holding the ring tightly, not wanting to give it back, but not having it on yet. Her thoughts were that maybe if she didn't take it that he'd have it and that would cause him to give it to her while he was dusting. She wasn't giving it back.
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In the realm of the Ascended, the ethereal Powers That Be (PTBs) were greatly upset at their observations of the mortal realm. The PTBs had tried to make the champions and pawns align with their meager observations they were able to detect from the other parallel realms for which they believed the 'good guys' won. Nothing seemed to be going as it should, the local analogs were not following their counterparts' path and they were frustrated at the slight against their plans.
The current commune contained a trio of ascended beings. Grudle spoke to her two companions, or at least communicated in a way that could be construed mentally as syntax. "The slayer was not supposed to consider the dream!"
This statement was really simply stating the obvious in anger, "Her hormones were supposed to overcome her concern." There was a note of accusation that someone there missed their part in the grant play.
Jasmine agrees with the statement but not the sentiment, "Yes, we'd planned to have her be reassured that the vampire wouldn't perish."
Jasmine's emphasis had been pushing the part of the situation she felt was the most important to get back on track for her own personal plans. Yutide, the third of their congress, spoke up with anger radiating the ascended realm in the local sphere, not strongly enough to break passed the local protections Earth had against the Others in the galaxy's ascended realm.
The anger echoes, "It was vitals to our plans that the slayer not take Sienna's warning to seriously, we have failed in that!"
Jasmine tries to not let the anger influence her expression of thought, "We have long since given up on the desire to eliminate the slayer's dreaming. We have some minor control over the demonic influence on the slayer but this slayer passed that on when she died, only the changes and the intuition remain as gifts from Sienna to her daughters who are chosen."
Grudle snarls snapping with the anger from Yutide's commune, "The blood demon has aligned with the soul against us on this. The detail the slayer put forth was too much for his demon to dismiss as frivolous worry. The demon has not previously taken sides with its influence allowing us a greater leeway to place the vampire pawn where we wish it and to do what we desire."
Yutide's presence was no longer uncontrolled anger, his own echoing anger in the realm calming his ire. His expression was now tinged with worry and fear, "The scrying board shows deviation. The Chaotic spectrum is altering; the realm's disorder is increasing. This is not acceptable, we need to either eliminate the players or control our champions."
"Agreed, but is it too late?" said Grudle.
Jasmine, ever the manipulator decided to play on that fear and buy some time to complete her plans, "Only time will show this." She said and added with a reminder of their limits, "Even we are bound by space and time."
Grudle almost smiled; "The next four plays are crucial!" he reminded the other two.
His attention turned to Yutide, "Has the Romany clan sent their arbitrator? The spy's uncle is to make sure she is informed of the loophole."
Grudle disliked all Romany and their penchant to interfere with plans, but this Romany was worse and had been a thorn in their side for some time. Grudle wanted her to know of her failure and feel as though she'd betrayed those she cared about before she died.
Yutide nodded, or sent the emotion that was equated with a human nod. "Yes he was sent but as you know, the Romany is a tricky bunch and are not easily swayed or perceived by our kind."
Grudle was upset but wasn't going to blamed Yutide, "Very well I will set up the contingencies in case the next four plays fail."
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The plan they'd had was for the slayer to visit Willow before classes started which would sow sexual frustration spreading impatience along side a carnal desire to the witch. If it had worked to plan then this would have geared the witch to have a subtle impatience and sexual frustration allowing her actions to be altered in such a way as to be more of a direct influence.
Buffy hadn't followed the plan instead she'd taken Angel's advice. She was now waiting for her Watcher in the library. This little detail was missed by the PTBs at the moment as they saw overall movements of their champions instead of details with their cause and effects. They might have noticed the details a bit more clearly through the fog of chaos, if they hadn't been so vexed over the board shifting from the simple slayer dream which interfered with the plan.
Buffy was smiling ever so slightly while she thought—'Is he in the bathroom or with Miss Calendar in her classroom?'
She repressed a giggle; the thoughts weren't actually funny so much but warm and nice. She couldn't help but add a humorous addition to those nice thoughts, 'I wouldn't interrupt him in either place, just to save my sanity.'
Her smile widened at that a laugh below the surface as she quantified that thought, 'At least not without an apocalypse that was too impatient to wait.'
Her fluffy thoughts were interrupted by Giles's surprised voice; his voice carried more with a single word than most questions, "Buffy?"
Buffy was distracted as she fingered the ring he asked, thinking it was from a vampire. "What is that you have?" He was sort of right but wrong on how she got it, outside of a dream that is. "Is it something I need to look at?"
Buffy was amused for a moment but when she spoke her amusement was replaced with sadness, "Angel gave it to me this morning."
"Yes well," he sounded uncomfortable, "It is common that when two people are in a re…"
Before she could get her Watcher's version of The Talk, 'Or is it the birds and the bees?' she cut him off solidly with a small amount of panic, "Giles!"
He stopped and looked relieved.
She continues with a normal less panicking voice, "He had planned on giving it to me later, but I had a dream and described it to him before seeing it. He said I should talk to you about it."
He widened his eyes, never before had he had such a clear confirmation of a slayer's prescience, "Oh dear," he said grabbing a legal pad from the counter and a pen from cup, "A slayer dream, then." Sitting at the table he turns to her and says, "Tell the dream, and despite the delicate nature, leave nothing out even if it was…" he looked a nauseated, "intimate."
Buffy smiled at the expression on her Watcher's face and shared with him the dream, starting in the Bronze, her mother, the end with Drusilla and Angel; the latter slowly dusting allowing the rings falling into her hands before he was completely dust.
He nods, "I am unsure but I see a particular order of things in your dream. The sequence of events in the dream and the importance of it may be the message the dream is trying to convey. You may or may not be foreseeing his demise; if not however it may be that the dream is targeting the part of Angel that either you have affection for or his position as a staunch ally."
She almost shrieked, "Part of Angel?"
"There are three personas in the apex of the dream. Before that there is Willow, the monkey, and your mother. But at the pinnacle, it's you, Drusilla who was Angelus' child, and Angel. The fact is that you and Drusilla are strong representatives of the two sides of Angel; the demon and the soul, and there were two rings…" he gestures to the ring in her hand, "the soul's and the demon's."
She nodded and he shrugged. "The mother figure is asking you if you are ready." He pauses, "I would wager that she is meaning for motherhood, adulthood, or a sex life."
He polished his glasses, "I would say that rest is a broader spectrum, Willow with a monkey, well that maybe that you are seeing Xander in a role of similar standing. Monkeys are easily controlled, or trained, primates. Perhaps you see that Willow with Xander is similar to a trainer and monkey."
She blanched and stayed quiet.
"Whenever the slayer dreams crop up the stronger the emotional ties to the dream the more danger those from the dream are in. The more impact the dream has personally the more attention the dream should merit."
"So because Angel died in the dream" she asks, "it is really important but doesn't mean that it's foretelling Angel's death?"
"Precisely, however the fact that of you three, you and Drusilla remained when the dream was ending; and she mentioned your birthday… Whatever is to happen is likely to happen on your birthday and because she was the one that ended Angel in the dream I would say she is likely to use the demonic… she may have found a way to eliminate the soul or it's control over Angel."
She started to stand up and growls, "That would be a bad thing,"
Giles nods agreement, "Yes, however looking at the dream overall… I would say the rings have a, large to do, impact on what the demon uses to overcome the soul. I'm still at a loss as to how. I will speak with Willow and perhaps we can research the magic that would be involved with a soul curse and try and find how they utilized it in the past."
Buffy nods then asks her Watcher, "What about Willow and the monkey?"
Giles smiles ever so slightly before he barbs, "Perhaps you should think about that." His smile turns into a smirk. "Influencing other's relationship may turn them, metaphorically that is, into monkeys."
Buffy glares at her smug Watcher, she knew he was saying the dream was likely to be saying BUT-OUT when it came to Willow and Xander's relationship, she couldn't help it! She liked her friends to be happy. With a sigh she nods in acquiesce.
Giles hadn't missed the way the slayer had almost played with Xander and then pushed him at Willow; it was a control thing that he saw all too often in his youth.
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Spike was sitting in his wheelchair, Dru was in his lap. He had his hand under her dress and she was moaning.
Dalton, a fairly young formerly intelligent human now a rather lame vampire minion, came strolling in with a large box, he told him, "Spike, I have your package."
Spike ignored him with his attention save for shouting out an order to leave it on the table with the others. Dru finally reaches her climax and gets off Spike leaving him in his wheelchair. "Dru pet, are you sure you want this party here with the slayer still around, wouldn't it be better in Vienna?"
"Invitations are already sent my little Spike" she said with a whine to her voice.
"It's just this Hellmouth feels off, nothing goes right anymore!" He whined. This damn wheelchair was crimping his credibility with the minions and he was really worried that Dru would attract the attention of the slayer and he wouldn't be able to protect her or bag the slayer.
"My parties all go right little Spike" she said reaching down and undoing his trousers, "Remember Spain and the bulls" she said. He was loose and she engulfed him in her mouth; he was not as in control of the lower body as he was when he was well but he had enough control to prevent premature ejaculation.
He grabbed her, picking her up and pulling her to him and himself halfway out of the wheelchair. He didn't bother removing her panties as they were still slid to the left from his previous fun, she squealed as she was slammed down.
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Jasmine, a PTB with personal long-term plans, was now groaning. She'd planned on using the other's plans to further her own agenda. Manipulating the others was fairly easy to do. Their arrogance knew no bounds and it was easy to hide her plans within their own designs. That was all but lost now and she was not a happy camper. She looked at her own scrying portal, it was not a scrying board because it only showed a single area of the board; it was one of the few things she had that were hers and hers alone.
Jasmine was watching Cordelia easily on the scrying portal as she was doing similar things to Xander as the Board showed Drusilla doing to Spike. The human couple was limited to using their hands at this stage. It was a shame that this added energy in their relationship had gone to waste; a small little inconsequential step in limiting potential of divergence within the added pawn had been skipped.
It was an ingenious plan, using the others influence on the slayer to be impatient and sexually craved would have spilled over easily and Willow would strengthen her relationship with Oz. Now that relationship was destined to fade to nothing, quickly, and without so much as a spark. Without that spark Oz wouldn't be helping them deal with the Judge, at all and therefore wouldn't hone his relationship with Willow.
She'd even worked extra hard to ensure the soon to be wolf was tested properly to ensure he was introduced privately with Willow as a nerd and that he took a shot to save her. She pushed emotions into all of them even now with a vain hope that if other pieces still played out this would somehow still work. She had no idea that working the wildcard would be so chaotic and frustrating.
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Despite Giles's reassurance, Buffy was worried about her dream. In the dream her mother's words followed by the shattering of the plate had actually occurred in real life and it had been like a sucker punch from a demon to the breast plate. She just couldn't shake the feeling that it was going to happen and that didn't preclude some hidden yet to be realized meaning of the dream.
She'd run upstairs quickly without saying a word to her mother. Joyce thought her daughter was upset about not getting her learners permit. She had no idea of how much more serious this was. She'd never know as the plans that were in place for her life were being altered even more than they would have been if the 'plan' was followed.
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Grudle stated the obvious to the others, "Two of the four pieces have failed!"
Yutide observed the others, "I am sending word to the beast on where the key is located and sending word to the monks to go ahead with their embodiment spells." He stated this as if he'd just ordered a missile strike. His next words were said with a growl. "The surfacing of Glorificus will serve our needs now. She will go home and out of our hair while the Scooby Gang," he sneered at the name, "will cease to be."
The other two looked at each other.
Jasmine agreed, "We need to see to this" before adding her own little twist. "I believe however that our plans for the vampire are salvageable. The plans are still on track, at least partially. Instead of sending him to hell, we can do the re-ensoulment following the death of the group. That will hit him the hardest and ensure that he has the link to humanity that was originally planned for." There was slyness to the PTB that the others missed.
Grudle agreed, "The plan is forgone but the vampire is in numerous tomes, it is unlikely the prophecy breaker will wish to save him, especially if he has a need to worry over someone else." He said glancing at Cordelia Chase.
Jasmine almost cringed and shouted but didn't, calmly she said "Provided he can save her."
With the PTBs making plans and quibbling over distractions and the love lives of the pawns, they completely missed the small triggers they'd set to notify them of when the Romany Elder, or Arbitrator as they'd called him, arrived on the Hellmouth.
If they were looking they wouldn't have understood what little they did see, aside from their contact and his arrival. The plays on the board changing would take weeks or months for them to be able to determine what had occurred between the two Romany, but they could've easily pushed a flooding of emotions that would no doubt ensure certain actions. This had been what Jasmine had planned.
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Jenny Calendar, also known as Janna Kalderash, was in her classroom. She was working late on a few 'personal' things she needed to handle alone. She wasn't too worried, it was not yet dark out, but she still jumped when a voice sounded from the shadows.
Her Uncle Enyos's voice coolly intones, "Jenny Calendar!"
Looking at him accusingly she says, "You startled me!"
He smiled slightly and when he spoke his accent held a very Romany pronunciation, it is reminiscent of a second rate Dracula movie, "You look well."
She sighed as that was a bit too obvious of a reprimand to not answer to, "I know I have been busy of late, but I have written."
His response is harsh and accusatory, "I cannot imagine what has been so important as to keep you from your duty."
Janna was not corralled by his harshness; she managed to starve off the fear that had naturally developed with righteous indignation. If the PTBs had been watching for this as planed they'd be flooding her emotions at this point. This would have engineered a totally different outcome. She would have not only had the blossoming of fear but the feeling of failure and guilt. It would have been enough to curve her tongue.
Instead her righteous anger spilled over with fury. "I have been ensuring vengeance on the beast and saving the world; what have been doing uncle?"
Her voice started to mimic his accent as she sneers condescendingly, "Sitting around waiting for the elder woman to read the signs so you can direct someone else in the tribe to fulfill our tribe's duties?"
He looked takenaback and actually stepped back into the safety of the shadows, he might be an elder but that just meant he was smart enough to know when not to anger a woman into a righteous fervor.
"The Curse still holds," she stated, "I have seen to that; however I have also had the soul's choices save my own soul and existence from being consumed by an elder demon."
He mutters just loud enough for her to hear, "The elder woman is never wrong" and glares at her from the shadows. "She says the curse is weakening."
She sighs and asks glancing at the computer, "Why would the curse weaken after all this time?"
"The beast's pain is lessening." Enyos stated as though it was obvious.
She frowned, thinking on that, 'Demons like Angelus found love disgusting, why would…'
"The beast?" she asks then qualifies the other option, "Or the soul?"
The sudden realization hit like a freight train.
"It maters not!" scoffs Enyos scornfully. "They are one and the same." His tone was dismissive of any other idea than what he'd stated.
"No uncle, they are not!" Janna stated with clarity, harshness, and a bit of contempt. "If the beast is the demon, then the soul is his punishment. It is our duty to ensure the soul is punishing the demon to the fullest of its capability."
Enyos was surprised but nodded that made a twisted sort of living sense; vengeance was a living thing after all. "Tell me then" he commanded her, "Why is the curse waning? Why is the beast no longer suffering?"
The response from Janna had him almost returning to the shadow completely as if he could pull it around him like protective blanket and perhaps he could.
Janna spat on the floor with a sneer, "Because, curse them; they cursed the soul with the curse instead of the demon."
Enyos eyes widened as the realization rammed into him from her. Like he was suddenly no longer blind and could almost weep for the short sightedness that blinded that generation from committing true vengeance.
"Vampires thrive on misery." She needlessly told him. "If the pain is weakening now, now that the soul has found love and acceptance by a group who saves the world and destroys vampires, then it is not the demon within that is no longer feeling the pain. No not the demon but the soul. This said then the soul must be slowly overcoming the taint of the demon."
She glared at him, not quite blaming him. He wouldn't have blamed her if she blamed this on him; Enyos had never thought to question the vengeance.
"Tell me what the loophole is." She demanded. "Tell me what exactly holds the curse together. I have been trying to interpret the original curse for weeks."
Enyos blinked and came around to see the computer screen. Sure enough the curse was on the screen and in the old language. There were several phonetic words under it.
With a wide smile he asked, "This is what has been taking up your time?"
'Vengeance is indeed in her blood.' He thought with utter pride.
She nods admittance then explains her thoughts, "To a vampire, the worst thing that it can feel is helplessness in its own corpse; to have little to no influence and no control. Of course every bit of love and kindness the soul shows for others will make the demon feel utter turmoil, disgust, and self loathing. The stronger the demon the more it loathes these things. I wish to know the link to why the curse is only weakening its hold now and why the demon's power in increasing. Please tell me Enyos."
"The anchor for the curse is tied to guilt." He said with a sigh. "If the vampire feels a moment of utterly perfect happiness it will sever the tie to the demon and be released to the afterlife."
She closed her eyes. "Help me with this." She commanded and he blinked, she went back around the chair. "This here means what?"
The next hour the elder man helped interpret the curse and to his shock helped his strong willed young niece put together another curse layered on the Old One, which would sway the power and hurt the beast.
Enyos was smiling when he finished working with Janna. He tells her with a proud smile, "I will see to it that the casters cast this curse upon him as soon as I return."
He found that she understood vengeance, perhaps better than he.
"I would hurry uncle." She said voicing her own concern. Enyos nods before letting the shadows engulf him to travel by shadow in a way that nothing supernatural could observe of his coming and goings. The PTBs never noticed his arrival or departure and the mild shielding of clan maters via an anti eavesdropping ward prevented the entire visit or the produce of it from being observed.
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