Chapter 8
"Summers! Get your head in the game!" Logan barked angrily. He had her pinned to the floor of the library with two claws either side of her neck.
Buffy responded by kicking straight up between his legs.
Logan grunted but didn't move.
Buffy was fairly shocked.
Logan just grinned. "I've had my entire flesh stripped away… you really think a kick to the balls is gonna affect me?"
"It affects me." Harry grumbled. "And I've suffered far worse."
Logan retracted his claws and stood up and backed away. "What's on your mind, Summers?" He asked. "I've been taking you down faster than you could take down Harris."
"Hey! Ow!"
"Focus, Xander." Came Scott's admonishment as they returned to their own training across the library.
"Nothing's on my mind." She retorted as she clumsily got up. This was another sign of her distraction as she usually kipped at her feet as if to prove she was unaffected.
"You keep watching the clock. You keep watching the door. You got some place better to be?" Logan demanded.
Buffy had had a fairly turbulent day for a teenage school girl so… "For your information I do have some place better to be." She snapped. "I was actually asked on a date and considering the crap I've had to deal with over the past two years, I think I'm entitled to go on it."
To her immense surprise Logan just snorted. "You should have said so earlier. Harry, call the Cuckoos. Your sister has a date and she needs to get ready."
"Oh?" Harry said as he stood up and walked over. "And who is this young knave that seeks to court my fair maiden of a sister?" He asked as he conjured a sword and shield. "OW! Muuum!"
"Pack it in and stop teasing her. Just call in the girls." Joyce smirked.
"But it's traditional!" Harry whined.
Joyce leaned in so they were nose to nose. "Harry, sweetheart, I have one of your communicators. Don't make me use it to tell all of your wives what you are up to." She said sweetly.
"I'll be good." He said with wide eyes as he backed off.
Joyce had a triumphant smirk as she turned to her daughter. "Now then. What is this young man's name?"
"Why do you want to know?" Buffy asked suspiciously. She still couldn't believe they were going to let her go on a date.
"Because I am your mother. In your father's absence your brothers will take the position of a male figure in your life. It is our duty and our privilege to look out for your safety.
"Merlin would take any would be suitors for Rowena and Helga on a tour of the dungeons of Camelot. You should be glad he isn't involved in your life."
Buffy hated when her mother started talking like someone from the middle-ages.
"I can look out for myself." She sulked.
"So can Harry. But he still has Clark and the others to watch his back." Neville spoke up.
"Owen." She pouted. "Owen Thurman."
"Decent enough young man." Neville mused. "A little flaky but nothing that would have any of us worrying."
"No threatening?" Harry asked pitifully as he held his sword up.
"Not this time." Neville said.
"There may be something more important than Miss Summers'… romantic liaison." Giles spoke up. "I have been researching the ring we found in the cemetery yesterday. There appears to be a prophecy associated with it."
"Bah! Divination! Such a woolly subject." Harry said dismissively as he quoted his other mother, Minerva McGonagall.
Giles was just about to object about such a blasé dismissal when he remembered who he was talking to. "Are you sure?" He asked cautiously.
"Harry has been the subject of many prophecies." Neville answered lazily. "To be honest… we find it easier to let them come true and then squash the idiots involved."
"Unless they involve human sacrifice and truly vile acts in order to come true." Joyce added.
"This one says that five people will die." Giles said as he consulted his notes.
"What is the full prophecy?" Scott asked.
"'And there will be a time of crisis, of worlds hanging in the balance. And in this time shall come the Anointed, the Master's great warrior. And the Slayer will not know him, will not stop him, and he will lead her into Hell.' As it is written, so shall it be. Five will die, and from their ashes the Anointed shall rise. The Brethren of Aurelius shall greet him and usher him to his immortal destiny.'" Giles read.
"Nothing for Buffy to worry about then." Phoebe said decisively as she and her sisters walked into the library.
"Did you three really just walk through the halls of the school?" Scott asked in exasperation.
"Of course!" Mindee grinned.
"Problem, Daddy?" Celeste asked coquettishly as she gave a little twirl causing her skirt to flare slightly.
Scott just sighed in resignation.
The three Cuckoos looked like nubile young twenty-somethings. They were dressed identically in pure white summer dresses that would look sheer in the right light.
"Just make sure my other daughter is dressed a bit more appropriately." Joyce warned them with a smile.
"Of course Mom!" Mindee said in a scandalized manner.
"Who do you think we are? Harmony Kendall?" Celeste asked haughtily.
There was a snort of laughter from Willow.
"Girls." Scott said warningly.
"Please. The girl saw us walking down the halls and drawing the attention of the boys. She instantly began popping buttons and pulling up her skirt a bit." Phoebe said dismissively.
"I don't care what Miss Kendall does." Said a very irritated voice from the doors. "I am trying very hard to stomp out bullying in this school and I don't want you three setting back my work." Kusano glared at them.
"Fine. We'll behave." Mindee sighed as she stepped up to Buffy.
"We'll see you at home for dinner." Phoebe said before they vanished in a gout of flame.
"But the prophecy!" Giles objected.
"Rupert, what possible use would my daughter be in dealing with that prophecy?" Joyce asked chidingly.
"She is the Slayer!"
"Sweet Merlin… I thought you were learning." Harry sighed. "You clearly read out that the Slayer won't be able to stop this Anointed One. Considering it said he would lead her into hell… I think you are being fairly reckless with our little sister's life."
"Oh…" Giles was a bit stumped by that as he looked down at the prophecy again.
"Oh?" Xander asked in amusement. He still had a distinct lack of respect for authority figures. He had warmed up enough to Giles, Joyce and her family, but he still enjoyed seeing adults put in their place.
"I fear I neglected to pay attention to anything but the existence of the prophecy and focused too much on it being the work of a Slayer." He admitted.
"She's a 'Vampire Slayer'. Not a 'Prophecy Breaker'." Neville pointed out.
Giles rolled his eyes as he sat back down. "I am well aware of her title and its connotations, but it is just a title and not a true job description.
"Regardless, you may rest assured that I can see the… futility of involving Buffy in this."
"Come on Buffy, tell us about this Owen Thurman." Phoebe encouraged as the triplets began vanishing Buffy's close.
"Hey!" She squawked as she suddenly found herself standing in her bedroom, nude, surrounded by three identical women.
"You dye your hair?" Celeste asked with a look of confusion.
Buffy went beet red in mortification as she moved her hands to cover her modesty.
"I guess you got your hair colour from your dad." Mindee shrugged. "We'll just have to check your roots as well."
"Could you at least give me some panties?" Buffy hissed.
Phoebe smirked and waved her hand causing Buffy to dressed in a pair of simple, white, cotton panties.
Buffy relaxed and moved her hands higher to cover her breasts.
"Owen?" Mindee prompted. "What about him caught your eye?"
"He's hot?" Buffy offered.
"I really hope that isn't the only criteria for getting a date with you." Phoebe sighed. "You'll have a reputation worse than Harmony Kendall before your senior year otherwise."
"I would not!"
"Not because you would sleep with anyone with good cheekbones, but because all your dates would claim that you did." Mindee explained.
"Well… there's more to Owen than just his looks." Buffy said firmly as Mindee began examining her hair. "He reads."
"As in he knows his ABC's?" Celeste smirked.
"Books… he likes Emily Dickinson."
"Can he quote her?" Celeste asked.
"Yes… he really can." She said dreamily.
"Well at least that is a reason not to suspect he uses poetry to pick up girls." Phoebe decided.
"Wait… I want to know why you are all letting me go on a date." Buffy frowned. "I thought you'd be all 'must do your duty' or 'think of the children'."
"You aren't even sixteen, Buffy. Your brothers both started fighting when they were much younger than you. We grew up in a war. We make it our mission in life to make sure that children get to be children."
"I am not a child." Was the mumbled retort.
Whilst Buffy was being used as a living Barbie doll, the adults were discussing possible tactics for dealing with the prophecy.
"Rupert, there is simply no way we could discover the identities of the people destined to die short of going down and tearing it out of the Master's mind." Joyce argued. "You know we can't take the risk of exposing Harry's presence in this world."
"I hate feeling useless in this situation." Giles grumbled. "People are about to die in an event that could cause the very end of the world!"
"Bah! Never happen." Harry said dismissively. "Do you honestly think that in all the millennia we've been around, all the worlds and dimensions we been to, all the prophecies we've dealt with, that none of them portended the 'End of the World'? A good few of those prophecies actually came true!"
"Came true?!" Willow squeaked.
"With the right tools, materials and enough time, anything can be fixed."
"Even death." Kusano smirked at her father.
"Who died?" Clark asked as he walked in with Lois and Lana.
"Five people are due to die this evening and a so called 'Anointed One' is prophesied to rise from their deaths." Joyce explained.
"Ah prophesies." Lois said snarkily. "About as helpful as a ten year old condom."
"Lois!" Lana chastised as she indicated the two minors.
"They're high-schoolers Lana. If they don't know about condoms then Harry and Ku need to do some sex-ed classes." Lois shrugged.
"I can patrol the skies tonight. Get Diana and Kara to come with me." Clark offered. "We could even drag Lex up."
"Who is this 'Anointed One' and why do we need to worry?" Lois asked.
"He's supposed to be immortal and to lead the Slayer into hell." Neville explained.
"Define hell."
"'Define hell'?" Xander asked blankly. "How many versions are there?"
"Nearly every pantheon has their own 'God of the Underworld'." Scott explained. "Then there are the demonic hells. Harry rules a few of those."
Lois snorted at the incredulous look on the two teenagers' faces. "And you complain about my tact."
"Couldn't we just put a watch on the library?" Willow asked as she tried to gloss over the revelation that Buffy's brother ruled hell dimensions. "We know that is where the entrance is."
"The prophecy just says 'hell'. Not which hell." Neville explained. "We can all stay here tonight, but there isn't a timescale mentioned in the prophecy."
"I did find references to the rising of the Anointed One happening tonight… or in the next few days." Giles commented.
"Then the best we can do is keep an eye on Buffy." Scott nodded. "Rupert, you might want to have Athena activate the tracking function again."
Giles looked cautiously to Joyce.
Joyce just shrugged. "I know she survived beyond this year, I also happen to know she died this year."
"Wait… she lived and died?" Xander asked in disbelief.
"So I was told." She allowed herself a small smile for the young man who in a previous timeline had been the only reason her daughter had lived past her first year on the Hellmouth.
"It doesn't matter. The events that Mum lived through will be greatly changed just by the fact that she even remembers bits of them. If you throw in the fact that Nev and I are here… then only the major enemies will stay the same." Harry added.
"Actually… now that Harry is here, the enemies will be… more frequent and more powerful." Scott sighed. "But nothing you will need to worry about."
"I live in the same house as him… I think I should worry!" Xander exclaimed… worriedly.
"Xander, the type of enemies Scott is referring to won't care if you are in the same house. It won't even matter that you are in the same country." Lana explained. "Just the fact that he is in this universe means they will make themselves known."
"Why did you come here again?" Xander asked Harry weakly.
Harry just grinned. "I missed my Mum."
Clark had sent Willow and Xander off soon after. There wasn't any point in them sticking around for something that may or may not happen and that they would be highly unlikely to notice happening if it did.
Besides, if Buffy was allowed to enjoy a night off then so where they.
Logan gave Xander an approving look when the young man discreetly revealed the collapsible sword he was carrying. It was the only piece of technology from their worlds that he was allowed and even then it was simply because they weren't prepared to give him the Weapon-X upgrades yet.
But he was getting close.
The look of disgust Logan gave Willow though was enough to make her bottom lip tremble.
"You can probably lighten up a bit there Logan." Lois rolled her eyes as the doors closed behind the two teenagers.
"The girl is a risk. Even Buffy uses her claws now. Rosenberg refuses to carry anything except a wooden stake." Logan scowled. "She's putting Buffy and the kid at risk because they have to divert their attention to protecting her.
"Hell! Even Tara carries a sword like Harris."
"What are our two girls up to?" Joyce asked curiously. "Aren't they going to be at the Bronze. They clearly missed training."
"Tara is very dedicated to her education… now that she is allowed one." Logan scowled. "Faith is not. Tara is attempting to help my Sekirei change that. They'll eventually make it to the Bronze as the only way Faith would agree to study is if Tara went with her."
"It sounds like they are good for each other." Lana smiled approvingly.
"I trust you have plenty of security around your farm?" Giles said seriously. "If the Council manages to track down Faith as a Potential then you will all be in danger."
Logan just smiled darkly. "I am the security… and I'm looking forward to a tussle."
Buffy's date went fairly well. She had to fend off Cordelia Chase at the Bronze but Owen seemed to have some level of morals and was true to Buffy for the duration of the date.
Unfortunately the issue came when they left the Bronze arm in arm.
"Slayer!" Came the hiss.
"Oh no… erm… we should run!" Buffy said as she tried to turn Owen to head back towards the Bronze.
They had been ambushed by five vampires some one hundred metres from the club. She began to wonder where Logan was. Wasn't he supposed to be tailing her all the time?
"Hey! Numb Nuts! Why don't you come and play with me?"
Buffy's eyes widened in shock and worry as she heard Faith's taunting voice. The vampires turned to the voice.
"We came for the Slayer." The lead male vampire sneered. "But stick around girl. You'd make a great dessert."
There was a flash of fire before the five vampires suddenly began crumbling to dust.
Buffy's eyes widened further; she hadn't even seen Faith move.
For her part, Faith just blew across her knuckles before rubbing them on her ample chest (something that irked Buffy no end as she was a year older than the girl). "Jobs done citizens. Move along." She smirked before turning and sashaying off.
"W- wait!" Apparently Owen had found his voice. "Who are you?"
"Amateur Dramatics Club." Faith called over her shoulder. "We were just testing some special effects. Thanks for the help!" Her voice growing more distant as she didn't stop walking.
Faith, Xander and Tara made it back to the mansion as soon as they were happy that Buffy and Owen were home safe.
"Nice work out there." Clark smiled approvingly. "You stayed calm, collected and in control. You eliminated the threat, kept your heads down and both you and your protectees made it home safely and unharmed."
"Yeah, but next time I want to fire the gun." Faith declared with a bloodthirsty grin.
"It's a nice piece of work, kid." Logan complimented Xander. "Most kids would want some of our futuristic stuff… but you making your own gear… you got a long and productive life ahead of you if you keep using your head like that."
Xander had been told that he could go absolutely anywhere in the mansion he wanted. Unless it was someone's personal bedroom.
He had discovered a fully kitted workshop with everything from wood working tools to electronics equipment. Xander had never excelled in shop class but based on what he had created, Logan figured it was only because the projects didn't interest him.
The boy had a hard on for killing vamps. Logan had found Xander looking intently at various tools and parts that were stocked in the workshop and pushed him to stop looking and start building.
Logan knew from experience in Clark's world that Xander had great potential as a craftsman.
With help from Logan, Xander had created a new crossbow that could fire two projectiles at once. The projectiles were connected by a micro-wire.
Xander had field tested the weapon today to great effect.
"Now he just needs to improve it." Harry smirked.
"What? It worked awesome!" Faith argued.
"Apart from the fact that it really bruised Xander's shoulder." Harry said as he waved a hand.
"Oh god." Xander suddenly groaned in relief.
"Shit, X! You cream your pants or something?"
"Faith… language." Clark said warningly. The girl had an incredibly foul mouth. Hibiki and Hikari had taken to lightly zapping her when she swore. Far more effective though, was the look of disappointment from Tara.
Faith and Tara were about as close as they come, Faith looked after Tara's personal safety whilst Tara looked after Faith's health.
Logan had suspicions but he needed a chance to speak to Harry. "Girls, head back to the farm. I'll be through in a bit. Harris, go put your weapon away then sack out."
"Yes sir!" Xander grinned with a sloppy salute.
"And don't call me sir!" Logan barked after the giggling trio.
"It's good to see Tara happy." Jean smiled approvingly. "You're doing a good job there, Logan."
"Yeah… thanks." Logan said distractedly. He turned and looked to Harry. "Anything you want to tell us about Tara?"
"Mum was right. She is the sweetest girl you'll ever meet." Harry grinned.
"I hear Aphrodite bought a new pair of steel-tipped boots the other day." Logan said with narrowed eyes.
Harry's eyes widened and he looked at Clark in betrayal. "You were supposed to warn me!"
"Harry!" Logan barked. "What is with Tara?"
Harry grinned impishly. "Weeeell… if we were to start our own pantheon… I'd appoint her the Goddess of Love."
"She's a potential goddess?" Scott asked in amazement as he sat forward on the couch.
"She's a potential Avatar of Love." Harry corrected. "Tara is a very caring individual. Her soul is yearning for others and reaching out to yours and Faith's soul. From what I can see she is probably hooking onto your wives and Joyce as well."
"Harry… I'm linked to a Phoenix." Logan frowned.
"From what Dad and Mum told us, Tara is one the best humanity has to offer. I can't think of anyone else more worthy of immortality." Neville spoke up.
"Someone should talk to her." Jean said. "Can she handle that type of knowledge and realisation?"
"She might seem like a delicate flower… but the girls got spine where it counts." Logan said firmly. "My worry isn't her being immortal… she's reaching out to Faith, right? Will that Phoenix immortality reach through me to her to others? Like Faith?"
"How the hell would I know?" Harry shrugged. "The longest chain of souls from a Phoenix so far is Chloe to Lana to Clark. Clark doesn't count because of his own immortality and his other soul mates don't count because they are the same distance from themselves through Clark to the Cuckoos!
"We're in a brave new world here people! Your guess is as good as mine!" Harry was clearly a bit irritated and Clark picked up on it.
"Alright…" Clark said slowly before turning to Lana. "What's her name?"
"Monica DeWitt." Lana smirked.
"Damn you Lana." Harry hissed.
"Larry Blaisdell." Lois said with a lazy air smug, smile.
"I knew it!" Harry pointed at her triumphantly. "There was no way you wouldn't get your own stalker."
"Yes, but we all have Xander's stories. We know Larry is gay." Lana laughed.
"Yes, but does he know that yet?" Neville pointed out.
"Amateur Dramatics Club?!" Buffy nearly screeched as she stormed into library the following morning. "What kind of lame cover story is that?"
"He didn't buy it?" Xander asked with a wince.
"I knew it was your idea." Buffy hissed at him. "And of course it didn't work! My chances with him are smashed! All he could talk about on the way home was the chick with the magical powers.
"How did she kill them?" She asked, her curiosity overcoming her ire.
"Xander has developed a unique variation on the crossbow." Giles said approvingly. "In basic terms, it fires a wire held taut between two projectiles that allows it to decapitate vampires."
"Huh?"
"I'll show you later." Xander promised. "It's really just a decapitation crossbow."
"Ok." She said with a confused frown. Then her ire returned. "I still can't believe I got jumped by vamps on my date."
"It is possible they were there to distract you from interfering with the rise of the Anointed One." Giles postulated.
"But I was already distracted! Happily distracted." Buffy wailed. "Couldn't they see that? Unless… Owen isn't the Anointed One is he?" She asked worriedly.
"Highly unlikely." Giles said with a small smile.
"A bus crash was reported last night where five people were reported dead. One of the five bodies is missing however." Athena informed Buffy.
"So it happened already? Do we know who the Anointed One is?" Buffy asked as she sat down at the table, paying close attention.
"We believe it to be an eight-year-old boy named Colin Carver."
"Eight years old!" Willow gasped. "That's horrible!"
"Wait, isn't this Anointed One supposed to be a great warrior?" Xander asked. "I thought vampires didn't age… or is the kid something else?"
"Probably best not to worry about little details like that." Harry said as he walked into the library with the others. "We still haven't figured out all the specifics of the first prophecy that related to me!"
"Yeah… I still find that one frustrating." Neville grumbled. "Was it the power of Death, magic, the loyalty of the goblins, the love of Xa- Dad and Mum and Mum… who knows!"
"'Dad and Mum and Mum'?" Xander asked with smirk.
"I was adopted by one man and two women as their son." Harry shrugged.
"What about this Anointed One?" Buffy tried to get them back on track. "What do we do about them?"
"Nothing." Neville said firmly. "We have no useful intelligence. However, if you actually wish to survive the Anointed One then you should allow us to vet any boyfriends and friends or even people you meet in passing."
"You do that anyway." Buffy sulked.
"Then you don't have to worry about anything changing." Harry grinned.
Owen was soon cut loose by Buffy. He had developed an unhealthy obsession with finding the girl with powers.
Faith was exceptionally smug about that. Buffy just couldn't understand it. She wanted to be normal.
In order to prevent Owen getting himself killed, Harry and Jean performed some memory adjustments so Owen didn't remember the incident with Faith. He just had memories of having a nice night out with Buffy but that she declined a second date. They decided they would at least give Buffy that much.
Cordelia had been all set to swoop in and take the boy for herself… until she heard that Buffy had dumped him. She didn't want Summers' cast offs.
The school days trundled on for a few more days without any major incidents. There was no sign of the Anointed One and the Master was laying low.
Buffy and the others continued their training and were now to the point where the adults were happy to let the kids take their own patrol route without assistance.
Willow was prohibited from patrolling by Logan.
"What if they need me?" She had argued in the library.
In response, Logan had pulled a knife from the small of his back and thrown it at Xander.
Xander managed to duck out of the way leaving the knife to be caught out of the air by Lana.
"Can you do that?" Logan asked pointedly. "Xander has trained hard. He and Faith will be useful assets in a battle that won't need a personal bodyguard every second. Even Tara has the good sense to stay where it is safe."
"I can be useful!"
"You can be a target. You can be a distraction. But until you can adequately defend yourself all you'll ever really be is a potential death sentence for the fighters.
"End of discussion Rosenberg." Logan had growled in annoyance. He hated dealing with kids. Even Faith at her most rebellious wasn't this bad… mainly because the girl caved at a single look of sadness from Tara.
Willow had stomped off in a snit. She wanted to be a part of the fight, yes. But what bugged her the most was that Xander was spending more and more time with Buffy, Faith and Tara than he did her. Buffy knew she liked Xander and Buffy respected that and didn't even think of Xander in that way. But Faith was always flirting with him and he was always flirting back.
"I could watch her back." Xander spoke up. He was a bit annoyed and angry that someone had made Willow upset.
"Then you have completely missed the point." Clark said as he stepped forward. "In a fight you need to watch your own back. When you can you watch the backs of your partners.
"Willow wouldn't be one of those partners. She'd just be a second objective. She wouldn't contribute anything to a fight except a distraction… one that could get you, Buffy, Faith or anyone else killed."
"I don't fight, Xander." Kusano added. "I have been trained, but my talents lie elsewhere."
"Bullshit." Logan smirked. "You're the most dangerous thing on the battlefield. You just need a decent reason to fight."
"Like what?" Xander asked curiously.
"Lets just say that the last time someone tried to hurt one of our kids… we needed to do clean up with a mop." Lois glared at Ku.
"Damn those fools!" The man hissed as he pulled his glasses off in frustration.
He had just received a delivery. It was not what he had ordered.
He sighed as he replaced his glasses and pulled a large book that appeared to be bound with leather.
It was not leather. The creatures in the room with him could smell it and they growled and prowled behind him.
"Hmph… I suppose it won't take too much to alter the process." He admitted reluctantly.
He remained unaware of the bright ethereal eyes that watched him with satisfaction.
