A/N: Wow. 20k hits. Glad you guys like this so far.
Chapter 12
Since Oz had arrived at the secure bunker, he had spent quite a bit of time setting up his computer equipment and a secure internet connection. It had taken hours longer than anticipated due to the age of the bunker and lack of access points for data lines. Twelve hours longer than he had wished. On the other hand, this data line was faster and much more secure than what he had been using at the safe house in Sunnydale. While Rory was not as computer savvy as Oz, he had installed a single data line. Tapping into one of the main trunk lines from Los Angeles to Phoenix, it masked the actual location extremely well. With the improvements Oz had added, he could mimic any location on the continent.
Once online, after the considerable delays, he began updating himself on what had been happening since being forced out of Sunnydale. Emails were taken care of quickly, as few had any information of note. The news from Sunnydale was less than good. Between the communications issues and the fleeing refugees, the situation was a cause of major concern. While no fatalities had been reported yet, many injuries were. Most were from flying debris, broken glass being the most common. It was difficult to justify that many innocents being hurt, but he remembered the look of pure shock on Xander's face. The scale of the destruction was far beyond what had been planned, so far that Xander would likely tear himself up over it.
On a more positive note was the news coming from the Governor's office, Sunnydale was being completely evacuated of all residents. Due to the devastation, Sunnydale was being declared a disaster area, allowing FEMA and the military to assist with the refugees as well as the search and rescue efforts already swinging into motion. Several mobile medical stations were being assembled on the major routes out of Sunnydale to assist the injured. Tankers of gasoline and diesel were sitting roadside and being used to fill up vehicles headed out of the Sunnydale area. Even the Army base was a hive of activity, as helicopters from the base were being used to rescue those who were unable to get out of town on their own.
The TV news programs had already begun their reports on the 'Terrorist Attack' in Sunnydale. It was worse than the explosion Xander had caused outside LA, and the 'experts' had gone off the deep end of sanity by this point. More claims of a nuclear weapon being detonated, not entirely unreasonable in this case, were countered by claims of the government performing a false-flag disaster to allow them to declare war some random country. Within hours, the arguments had moved from the insane to somewhere past ludicrous, one 'expert' with rather unkempt hair was quoted 'I'm not saying it was aliens, but... it was aliens.'
While several news channels played in the background, Oz checked the electronic drop box Lord Nikon had mentioned two days earlier. What he found was staggering. Twenty years of city employee records plus backgrounds on most. It was noticeable that while many positions were filled for long term by one or two people, other positions seemed to have a new person every week or two. Of those fast turnover positions, most of the people had disappeared entirely. The position of Mayor's secretary had a new person every ten days, like clockwork, for more than twenty years. None of them had been seen or heard from again once the ten days of employment were complete. The information on employees who had been in Sunnydale for years was almost as bad. Cops, utility workers, administration, and more seemed to be filled with people on the run from various entities. Nearly all had criminal records, ranging from theft and embezzlement to human trafficking and murder.
Downloading the entire list of files would take some time, so Oz decided to take a break and get the sleep he had not been able to get in two days. For the first time, his dreams were not filled with visions of Willow's death.
Xander woke sluggishly, but at least it was not accompanied by intense and widespread pain. Grateful of the sleep, his body moved more smoothly, almost floating really. It took him a few moments to realize he no longer had the background voices that had been in his mind since each of his two possessions. For the most part, it had been easy to ignore them completely, and rarely did he actually pay attention to them until recently. Now there was a strange silence. He was so used to the voices being there, that the absence felt weird, and a bit unnerving. Quickly he looked around the room, he assumed it was a guest room at the witch's house since it had the same warm rustic look. It had not taken him long to explain the issues he had with the two spirits, and that wonderful woman gave him the help he wanted.
Taking a deep breath to gather his thoughts, an amazing bouquet of smells greeted his nose. Identifying the aromas.. bacon, eggs, butter, toast, coffee, orange juice, jasmine... the list went on. Considering the size of the house, and where he had been told the guest room was by Penny Halliwell, he should not have been able to smell the kitchen from here. Once more looking around the room, he noticed details that he had been unable to see before. Focusing on the sounds around him, he could hear someone talking downstairs, but not make out what was being said. A quick glace at himself, he decided it would likely be a good idea to put some clothes on before making his way to his host.
Seeing the duffel bag he had brought inside once Mrs Halliwell had agreed to help him, he opened it and retrieved some clothing. A t-shirt advertising Oz's band was joined by a pair of blue jeans, boxers, and socks. His boots sat at the foot of the bed, and were easily put in place on his feet once the other clothing was worn. Once ready, he packed his clothes from the day before, he noticed they had been folded neatly and placed in the chair next to the bed, he zipped the duffel bag closed and went downstairs.
As he made his way to the kitchen, with a small pit stop in the bathroom to take care of a few things, he was amazed at the increasing intensity of his olfactory sense. He grinned, realizing the merging spell had worked just as Mrs Halliwell had intended. It would probably take some time to explore and get used to using the heightened senses and likely the memories he now had access to. It took only a few moments to arrive at his destination, the source of the lovely scents he had been enjoying since his eyes had opened.
"Good morning, Alexander." Came the greeting from Penny.
"So far." He chuckled. "I didn't realize I had slept that long. I guess the lack of sleep caught up to me."
"Yes it did." She smiled. "The spell took more out of you than I believed it would, and I was barely able to half carry you to the guest room."
"I am sorry about that. I don't remember anything after you started the spell. Even though it is a bit retroactive, I appreciate you letting me stay the night."
"Not a problem, young man. I assume you woke when I started making breakfast. I guessed you may be a bit hungry." She had turned back to face the stove, and it's contents.
"I would not disagree with you, it would be impolite to turn down free food." Xander replied. "I'm still a growing boy." He poured himself a cup of coffee from the carafe on the table and took a sip.
"From what I have seen, when I helped you into bed and undressed you, I would say you have grown plenty. If I was forty years younger..." She commented as Xander was mid sip. His reaction made her laugh as he choked on the hot coffee and nearly sprayed a mouthful over the table. "I hope you find a good woman some day. You will likely make her very happy. Very VERY happy. But enough about that. How are you feeling this morning? I assume you have begun to notice some differences from before?"
After Xander was finally able to swallow, while his face was red from a combination of having his airway momentarily blocked as well as the blush from the grandmotherly woman's comments. "Yeah, my sense of smell is much better, and my vision is sharper. I think my hearing is the same, but I don't think my sense of taste has changed much. The coffee tastes the same even if it does have a much better and stronger smell than before. Same with my sense of touch, I haven't noticed any difference."
"It is about what I expected. Touch and taste may vary, but most mammals are similar in that respect. It is the other three you would have gained from where Hyenas are concerned. You may also notice an increase in strength and faster reflexes, but I am unsure as to what degree. The other spirit will have less of a physical effect I believe. It's benefits would be more in your mind instead of your body. You may find you have skills you never had before, or improvements to skills you already possess. I would advise you explore them and see how things have turned out." Penny said as she finished placing a plate in front of Xander.
"That would likely be a good idea to find out what I can do before I end up in a bad situation." Xander's eyes had been locked on the plate as it moved from stove to the table. It was exactly what he had smelled from upstairs. Even better was the quantity, more than enough for a growing boy... make that man he had become. Thinking on it, he remembered also smelling jasmine, and sniffed the air. "Your perfume, it has jasmine in it?"
She smiled. "Among other things. Your sense of smell should come in useful. But I will caution you. As your heightened senses are more easily able to pick up more for you, they can also be overwhelmed more often. What would normally be a loud sound may end up causing you great pain. I would advise experimenting with sounds away from people to help you understand your limits. Your sense of smell will likely bring you as many bad smells as good ones, so do be cautious in where you go. You may want to avoid farms for a while."
Xander was chewing the magnificent food as she had spoken. Understanding why she was giving the advice, he thought about it as he ate. Nodding as he swallowed "You have a good point. I may have to get some ear plugs or something better soon. As for smell, I will have to experiment with it a bit."
Watcher's Council HQ was in chaos. At least, at much chaos as would be allowed. Another meeting had been called by Quentin Travers, and no one dared miss it. Too much had happened within the last forty-eight hours, which meant that everyone was attempting to determine the current state of things.
"Quentin. The team from Chicago was wiped out. We did receive the reports within a few hours of it happening, at the same time we also received the reports about the Slayer and her watcher. At this point, it appears that while both events occurred in the same city, it is not likely the same person was responsible." Mr Smythe spoke. "The police reports, while not exactly reliable, did contain numerous witness statements verifying a single person was responsible for the deaths of the twelve men we sent. The security camera from the motel showed a lone assailant, who looks to have been struck multiple times by weapons fire. If you take into account the armor the person was wearing, we can rule out any abilities or strengths above what a normal human has."
Quentin was a statement of barely contained rage. "You mean to tell me your teams are so incompetent as to be unable to get rid of a lone human? Please tell me again why we have these teams in the first place!"
If Travers was rage, Smythe was calm. "The first team were not attacked directly, but rather lured to one location and taken out by explosive device. That would be something nearly anyone with access to a library could do. The team from Chicago was ambushed while in the motel, and taken by surprise. Police photos show the attacker had substantial cover in the form of a large metal bin, which would have stopped almost all return fire. He struck from a superior position, with greater firepower, but was injured to an unknown extent. Evidence gathered at the scene showed a blood train from his position that led to the bodies of two who were killed by blade instead of firearms. Unfortunately, the blood taken into evidence was in the police station when it was destroyed the next night. It was never sent out for testing."
"Damn. I want that person found and removed. He has caused too much trouble to us already." Quentin ordered. "What about our people in the United States?"
Roger Windham-Price spoke up, looking a bit better than he had at the previous meeting. "I am afraid they are lost. More than 12 hours prior to the series of explosions and fires in Sunnydale, our contacts were outed. An unknown source sent the names, accounts, and other information to multiple agencies in the colonies. As of this moment, every one of our contacts is either in custody, hiding, or fleeing the country. It also appears that every Watcher with a potential was also targeted. There was no warning given, and only one Watcher with a potential escaped capture. Currently, the Watchers are being held on a combination of charges depending on the acquisition of the potential. There are charges of homicide, kidnapping, child abuse, statutory rape, and a range of others. Considering they were caught with the potentials, it is likely none of them will ever see the outside of an American prison. For all intents and purposes, the North American division consists of only Canada and Mexico, with very little in the way of assets or resources. It will likely take at least a decade to gain back most of our former capability if we were able to start now; and with the current attention this issue has caused, we would have to wait years before attempting to place our people where the would need to be."
"I don't care what the current attention is doing, we need our people in place. Get whoever you need and write up a proposal to be on my desk in forty-eight hours. Placement of our personnel will begin within the next thirty days at the latest. I do not care how you do it, but it will happen!" Quentin shouted.
"There are two other issues that must be mentioned as well." Edmond Giles spoke. "The first is the apparent closing of the Hellmouth in California."
All eyes turned to the elder Giles as gasps of shock and disbelief were heard. Smythe was the first to break ask. "Has it been verified?"
Mr Giles nodded. "One of our seers reported it before falling into a coma. I made some calls to verify the information with several of our less savory associates, and all confirmed the power has shifted away from there in a manner most unusual. Nineteen different sources confirmed it was not just closed, but gone."
"How was it accomplished?" a voice inquired.
"That part is unknown. One report we received was from a seer in Guatemala. She stated, and this is a direct quote mind you, 'Hell should be wary of power stolen. When that power returns, all is lost. The Sixth Circle is no more.' That is all she would say on the subject. Another source said he felt the Hellmouth opening before a massive surge of power overwhelmed him. When he regained his senses, he could no longer feel the Hellmouth at all. Due to events of the last day, it is unlikely we will be able to get anyone in place to verify it ourselves. The American government is evacuating the area completely, and not allowing anyone to get closer than twenty miles from the center of Sunnydale. Second-hand reports are currently our best option for any further information."
"Have there been any updates from the other Hellmouths?" Quentin interjected.
"I had the same thoughts as soon as I heard what was happening in Sunnydale." Edmond continued. "As of one hour ago, no other locations are reporting any instability or increase in current activity. This runs counter to the records of the last time someone was able to close a Hellmouth. When one was destroyed, another went active and a new dormant Hellmouth was created. In this case, all evidence points to that occurring this time, but it has not happened. The few mages and witches we employ directly are working currently to locate any new Hellmouth that will appear, however, I find it doubtful they will be successful. This brings me to my second issue. The Slayer that was near the Hellmouth."
"What of her. She died more than twelve hours prior to the Hellmouth being destroyed." Roger replied.
"True, yet we have not yet found the new Slayer. We know one was Called, but without the Devon coven, the location has not been narrowed down. None of the current potentials we have were Called. It seems the new Slayer was not a potential we were aware of. Much like the Summers girl, she was not trained nor was she on our list of possible Slayers."
Quentin snapped. "Then who the hell is she and where?"
Edmond answered. "As to where she is, it has been narrowed down to within two-hundred miles of Beijing. This presents a problem, as over five hundred million people live inside the area described. I contacted all of the Watchers in that area, and none have reported any missing potentials. Even more disturbing is the potentials in the area all have Watchers. It is possible the Slayer is someone not native to the area, but not guaranteed. We have few resources in China currently that have magical talent, so locating her will be a lengthy ordeal."
Quentin was at a loss. This was not how things should be. "Someone please tell me there is some good news buried in all of this rubbish."
Smythe spoke up. "Liverpool beat Manchester three to one." He smirked as he finished.