TITLE: Slayer's Knight 7 AUTHOR: STEPHEN HOWE
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DISTRIBUTION: Ask and ye shall receive!
DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to Joss! He created everything! Set in season..6.Some spoilers but mostly AU. Xander has discovered his destiny only to have it ripped away from him. Dawn is still here .Set just after the battle with Glory , . THE CHALLENGE Xander strides into the centre of the encampment." What kind of a knight molests a child? What kind of knight abuses his power?" He looks to each and every one of them." Your order has disgraced our lord and God and I am here to punish you." He sees the way they look down, knowing of the wrongs they did in God's name. Urnst yells to him. " Bah! Enough of dis! You challenged us and now you will meet our champion." He turns and calls out. " Lars... Lars Olafson we have a new toy for you to play vid!" A giant of a man moves forward and takes his place in a ring of shields." Come my yung vrend your death avaits you." Wesley sees the giant and gasps. " Good god! Where's a hunting rifle when you need one." he turns to Giles. " Can Xander take him?" Giles is sat with his back to the scene and he shrugs." The Host said not." Faith takes her sword out. " Fuck the Host! " She starts to move down but Angel stops her. " If we interfere they will kill them anyway!" Faith looks down at his hand and then into his eyes. " You maybe all goody two shoes now Angel, and you think you'll get another crack at B. But if you don't take your paws off me you'll see Darla again real soon!" Giles tells her. " Faith wait till we know he's in trouble before you do anything.. Rash okay?" Faith looks at Giles's back and tells him. " The minute thing's look funky I'm down there!" Angel looks at Giles. " If he's going to die for us the least we can do is watch." Angel sees the look of disgust pass over Giles. " That way if we see a way around it he may not have to die." Xander taps his sword against his shielded arm and is followed, in kind, by Lars and then they begin to fight to the death. The larger man has power behind his blows but Xander has the knowledge of the 'Soldier' and the strength of the Hyena spirit to aid him. For each strike Lars makes Xander lands three and it is soon easy to see that Xander will win. Giles is amazed. " He's going to win? He's going to WIN!" He stands up and joins the others as they watch Xander strike the giant behind his knee forcing him to the ground then knocking the sword from his hand. Xander raises his sword but before he strikes he asks Lars. " Do you yield?" Lars looks to Urnst who shakes his head mouthing NO. Lars bows his head and tells Xander. " On my honour I cannot yield." Xander shrugs. " This isn't necessary Urnst. I've won so there's no need to kill him." Manfred tells Urnst." Listen to him! He's offering you a way out with honour!" But Urnst is unmoved; Xander lowers his sword then charges at Urnst placing the tip of the sword at his throat. " Tell everyone to cool down Ernie!" Urnst pales at how easily this man got through his men and he motions for them to back off. " Good boy now Dawn? I think your sister is looking for you so I'd run along if I were you." She stands over by Xander and glares at Urnst. " You're scum! Do you know that? You're supposed to protect and serve God's people not rape and abuse." Xander turns and looks at Dawns dress as she speaks. He goes red with rage. " Dawn, Giles and the others are just over there by the stand of trees. Do you see them?" She nods and Xander turns to Urnst." Right, now she's going to go to them and if any of you make a move towards her old Ernie here is going to be about a head shorter do you understand?" Dawn starts to leave then she says. " Aren't you coming?" He smiles at her. " Go on I'll be along soon enough. " He turns to look at Urnst. " Me and Ernie need to talk about a few things." Dawn runs off and Urnst glares at him. " As soon as you releaze me you are dead!" Xander shrugs." I've had a good life. Besides it was for sawn that I would fall today. At least I get to take a piece of crap like you out with me!" Dawn makes it to the others and Giles hugs her." You gave us such a scare Dawn." He sees Angel growl." No! You bastards!" And they all turn to look but Faith begins to run down to Xander's aid. Urnst waits till Xander watches Dawn make it to the hill top and hug Giles then he nods to one of his men armed with a cross bow. Xander hears the twang of it's release mechanism too late and he feels a punch to his back followed by a shortness of breath. His Hyena spirit takes over and he beheads Urnst then turns to take on the others. His face a mottled red as spit and blood spew from his mouth. Faith fights her way to his side but is too late as the remainder of Urnst's guard beat him to the ground. Dawn screams and then shouts. " NO!" As they try to drag her away and to the safer sanctuary of Giles's shop. The last she sees of him is as his sword is kicked from his hand." Come on Dawn we have to get you away before they realise we're gone." Manfred uses men loyal to him to try and bring the others to heel. Faith is standing over Xander's body , her face a mask of pain as her wounds begin to grow. " STOP! STOP THIS NOW I COMMAND YOU!" The kicks and strikes end as sanity begins to reign. Manfred walks towards a swaying Faith with his arms held out wide and empty, she uses what energy she has left to raise her sword. Manfred tells her. "There has been enough death here today Slayer Faith." He kneels in front of her as he checks Xander over then calls for healers as the gate forms. He orders Xander taken through to where he may have a chance with the healers on the other side. Faith nods and lowers her sword following Xander's broken and bleeding body through the gate. Manfred then picks up the bloody and broken sword then hands it to one of the heralds, a young boy of twelve, along with a small squashed coin that fell from a chain around Xander's neck. He tells the boy." Take them to the Slayer and tell her.. Tell her He showed us the meaning of honour and it is a lesson we will never forget. Also tell her if the others fight as hard as him that I believe the key is safer with her than anywhere else on earth. " He pauses at the child warriors look of anguish. " Stay with her till we return and learn of honour and service in our lord's name my son and if you should become half the man this Knight was I will be forever proud of you." Manfred follows the others through the gate as the boy tells him." I will father I promise." THE MAGIC BOX. Willow and Cordelia look up as the others troop in after Dawn come racing through the door. Willow smiles at her then her smile vanishes as Wesley shuts the door behind him. Her eyes begin to mist up as she looks, questioningly to Giles and hears Dawns soul wrenching cries of angst. She places a fist to her mouth to try and stop the scream she feels building in her soul as Giles shakes his head. Tara hugs her to her breast as her lover cries for her childhood friend the tears beginning to flow down her own face as she to releases her grief. Cordelia simply shakes her head. " No! It can't happen like that! He wasn't going to die! I had a vision and it wasn't for years to come! We had time to change it's outcome." She saw Buffy as She stirred and felt Dawn sobbing uncontrollably at her side. She opened and closed her mouth then licked her lips before croaking. " Okay where is that idiot? If he thinks he can get away with darting me I'll..." Her eyes grow wide as she takes in the scene and searches frantically for any sign of Xander. When she doesn't see him she starts to get up." Xander? Xander where are you? Come on stop playing games Xand.... Xand? XANDER!!!!" She looks to Giles and Angel and she sees a tear roll down Angel's cheek. Angel places a hand to it and is amazed to see it's a normal tear. He looks to Cordy and Wesley before placing two fingers to his pulse point. " Oh my god!" He cried out. " I have a heartbeat!" But his joy was subdued as he saw Buffy collapse into the chair as she realised Xander was gone. She cried no tears and didn't pull a single hair from her head, but all the feelings in her died with Xander. She blankly looked up as others tried to comfort her. She didn't move until Dawn gripped her like death and sobbed into her shoulder. No one noticed the small boy as he opened the door and entered the shop. Angel was the first to see him and he stood in front of him scanning the road behind him for signs of any others. The boy spoke with a slight accent." I come from the Knights of Byzantium to beg the Slayer leave to speak." Buffy went white. " Get out! Never mention those bastards in my presence again!" But the boy did not move. "You have a right to be angry mistress Slayer but the man that caused his ... Injuries died by your knights own hand. My father has punished the others and he has ordered to me to tell you this. " He stood a little straighter than before as he repeated his fathers words and presented her with the hilt of Xander's sword and the squashed coin. Buffy leaves it to Giles to take them off of him but Dawn takes the coin. " I remember when he told me about the twin he had for a short while." She held the coin up. " He said this was his lucky coin and that you could almost see the presidents head stretched making him look like a cone head." She rubbed the coin her eyes betrayed her vision by crying again. She smiled through her tears and showed Buffy. " Look you can still see it." The boy looked at the two females and spoke his fathers words.".... He showed us the meaning of honour and it is a lesson we will never forget. Also tell her if the others fight as hard as him that I believe the key is safer with her than anywhere else on earth. He also bade me stay with you to learn the meaning of honour and loyalty unto death. " The boy kneels at her feet. " I do forswear that I will do these things and await my father's return." Buffy looks at him then looks to Giles. " I want to go home, to go home and sleep in our bed not to awake till morning and find my lover asleep by my side, safe and alive." Giles takes Buffy and Dawn to her home along with Willow and Tara but Cordelia keeps telling Wesley. " But I saw him in my vision. He was older, changed, somehow but he was alive!" She stands and straightens up, infused with a new goal." We must prepare for his return. For I believe it will be after the Hellmouth opens and we need him the most!" END OF 7