Author: Dea Brynhild Ensomhet Spikess
Timeline: "The Wish", and then AU.
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Spike/Xander
Warning: Character death
Disclaimer: Don't own any of the Buffy cast/crew/characters/plotlines/etc. Spurglie's fic "Interpretation" kinda inspired this.
Written for: crazydiamondsue, for btvshalloween
"""
"I wish Buffy Summers had never come to Sunnydale."
Anyanka smiled as she felt her spirit whisked away to one of the research rooms in D'hoffren's realm. She would spend decades here, researching different possibilities to fulfill the wish, while less than a second passed in the mortal realm. This was where the fun really began. Some other demons had no idea how much fun being a Vengeance demon was - they called her a glorified genie. But it was her who decided how the wish was interpreted. Take this girl for example.
She could give her what she thought she wanted. Delay Buffy's trip to Sunnydale, leave the Harvest without a champion to stop it. Turn this little city into a prime bit of vampire territory, with drably dressed humans scurrying about and hiding from the dark like roaches hide from the light. Let the girl get killed by the two people who betrayed her.
But that would be too easy.
If she'd been strapped for time, she might've just changed the town's name or have Joyce give another name to Buffy, let that be the end of that. But she wanted to take her time with this wish, make it one of her better performances. The bi-century review was coming up, and she wanted to have some gems in her portfolio.
She could cause Buffy to be stillborn or have her killed right after she was called, bringing Kendra into power early. But either option was 87 likely to bring Kendra to Sunnydale to be trained by Rupert, and there was a 73 chance that Xander would betray Cordelia with the Slayer, and a 25 chance he'd still betray her with Willow. Anyanka was loathe to let events repeat like that, and so continued to ponder.
She could trace Buffy's bloodline back, making sure that nobody she was even remotely related to ever came to Sunnydale. Trace distant cousins related only by the thinnest blood ties who helped found the city, far tips of her family tree branches dipping into the gene pool of Sunnydale. Send them all somewhere else, cripple the population of the already small town. Most of the residents would be killed long before the time for the Master's rising would come about, causing a Harvest so small it would be laughable.
She could trace Buffy's spirit though its reincarnations, distracting all of her previous forms from the city limits. Previous reincarnations could be tricky though, harder to track, trace, and predict the outcomes. Anyanka liked to know how things would play out, make sure she tied up any loose ends that could affect her performance record.
With a bit more effort, she could prevent Buffy from being called, let her grow up a normal girl and make someone else into the Chosen One. She could even gift Cordelia with the powers, watch as she followed the same path from popular girl to social outcast that Buffy had, watch Xander imitate Pike's role. Hell, if she wanted to pull a few strings, she could erase the Slayer line completely, but that seemed a little too extreme for this wish, and she wasn't sure she could justify that kind of change in front of a board of higher beings.
None of the options so far contained that unique little unexpected flair that Anyanka liked to flavor her wishes with. She continued to explore the different possibilities, the options and loopholes within the wish.
A slow smile spread across her face. Yes, this was perfect. She knew exactly what she wanted to do. Back in her body, Anyanka turned to face Cordelia with a ghastly smile, face contorting to its true visage. "Done."
Cordelia choked back a scream in surprise, and Anya vanished. Cordy looked around, checking her surroundings. The campus looked the same as normal, except Xander, Buffy, and Willow weren't sitting on the fountain any more. "She was like a good fairy." she whispered to herself. "A scary, veiny... good fairy."
"""
Drusilla opened her eyes, frowning. The stars were worried, complaining that someone had made a wish and mixed them all up, and now things were not as they were supposed to be. She saw flashes of blonde hair, black leather, red silk, cigarettes... someone she had never known, but was supposed to have. She was still ever so weak from the Prague incident, and one of her minions had botched up the healing spell involving Angel enough that she wasn't sure if she would ever return to full strength again. She needed someone to take care of her, a princepoet in tear-rusted armor, and somewhere out there her seashell was waiting for her to break it into tiny pieces and listen to its song. But her seashell was hidden by the waves, and she wouldn't be able to find it until she silenced the siren's call stirring up the waters.
"Come now, Miss Edith." Dru said, picking up her doll and smoothing out its skirt. "We're going on a little trip."
"""
It wasn't exactly Cheers, but it was nice to know that there was somewhere he could go where someone knew his name. Even if it was an occult shop known for its love potions and voodoo dolls. "Hey, Xander. How've you been?"
"Doing good, George. How's business?" He'd been friends with George for years now, first coming into the store as a kid to look at stuff and put off going home as long as possible, and then coming by more of habit and desire to hang out with George than any real interest in crystals, candles, and spells.
George was behind the counter as usual, pulling objects out of a large box, Styrofoam peanuts and bubble wrap scattered across the floor. "Business is good. Just got a new shipment in."
"Really?" Xander said, leaning on the counter to get a better look at the stuff George was unloading. "Anything interesting?"
George shrugged. "The usual. Crystal balls, herbs, Sands of Serenity, incense." he pulled out a box of small vials. "Ah hah! This is what I was waiting for." he handed one of the vials to Xander while inspecting the others.
Xander held the glass vial, about the size of his pinkie, up to the light. Inside a translucent silvery-clear liquid swirled around. "Let me guess. Holy water, or one of those glow-stick things? Or is it essence of moonlight?"
George grinned. "Nope, it's supposed to be Mohra blood, a healing potion. It's said to be strong enough to bring the dead back to life. Go ahead, try some."
Xander pulled up his pant leg, where there was a red raw scrap on his knee from falling the other day. He opened the vial and put his index finger over the top of the vial, before turning it upside down and then rightside up. He smeared the few drops that clung to his finger on the scrape, and he and George watched for a reaction. There was a dull tingle as it touched the open wound, and they both gasped as it healed before their eyes, leaving smooth scar-less skin. "Wow. Nifty." Xander said, and put the stopper back in the vial. He tried to hand it back to George, but he wouldn't take it back.
"Keep it. You get hurt enough that it'll probably come in handy." George replied, tucking the rest of the vials safely under the counter by the first-aid kit.
"Thanks." Xander said, tucking the vial into his pocket.
"""
It hadn't taken much effort to find the girl responsible. "You must tell me how to break this nasty, wicked spell. It has taken away my kittens and I want them back." Drusilla said, running her fingers along the girl's cheek The girl, for her credit, didn't flinch away, just stayed still and stared at her. Dru's nails sliced into the girl's cheek, but she didn't even whimper from the pain.
Dru stomped her feet, becoming impatient. The girl wasn't screaming prettily anymore, and it wasn't any fun when there was no screaming for the spiders to dance to. "Where is he, the one you took from me?" she demanded, slapping the girl.
Cordelia's corpse didn't respond.
"""
Xander walked through the woods towards his house, the path lit by the full moon overhead. It was the night before Halloween, and he pulled his jacket closed a little more against the chill in the air. He always had the weirdest sensation of being watched whenever he took this path, and tonight it was worse than ever. Xander swore he could feel someone following him, but he didn't see anyone following him out of the corner of his eye. He took a turn in the bend, and then hid behind one of the thicker trees, holding his breath and listening to the thump of his heart.
There was definitely a rustling sound, and he could see the shadow of someone walking towards the tree he was hiding before. Just as the figure approached, Xander sprung out of his hiding place and punched the figure hard, throwing all his strength into the hit. It was a guy with short blonde hair, dressed in black and red, and the hit must've took him by surprise, because he was knocked back by the force enough to lose his balance and tumble down the hill. There was a crack as his head hit a rock at the bottom of the hill, and his body didn't move from where it was sprawled at the base of the hill.
Cursing to himself, Xander ran down the hill, skidding to a stop next to the guy's body. He was kind of cute, and was probably just an innocent bystander who got caught in the crossfire of Xander's paranoia. A stab of fear went through Xander's heart when he pressed his fingertips into the guy's neck. His skin was cool from the night air, and Xander couldn't find a pulse. Disregarding the advice not to move someone with head trauma, he lifted the guy's head, swallowing back nausea at the blood seeping from the wound in his skull.
Without a second thought, Xander pulled out the vial from his pocket and pulled off the cover with his teeth. He poured the contents onto the wound, praying that it wasn't too late. The guy began to glow, light issuing from the wound and quickly enveloping his body. Xander scrambled back, watching with wide eyes as the glow brightened until it was almost blinding, before disappearing. The guy began breathing and opened his eyes, and they were so brilliantly blue that it took Xander's breath away. One hand came up an pressed against his chest, and he stared at Xander, mouth gaping open in shock.
"What the buggering fuck did you do to me?"
Xander smiled, happy the vial had worked. "I healed you."
The guy didn't look thankful. "You bloody stupid git. You turned me human!"
"""
TBC...