TITLE: Slayer's Knight 14 AUTHOR: STEPHEN HOWE
E-MAIL: sh01@bigpond.com.au
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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 DEATH OF A VIKING Angel's words, and his own shattered memories, haunted Xander as he made his way down to the forward defences. Maybe Angel was right, maybe the Wendol were after his unit and his head! Buffy and Dawn walked up to him, Buffy with a small child in her arms and Dawn with a haunted look on her face. Dawn studied his face as she walked up to him." I owe you my life, and my soul, please remember me." She stroked the scar and he flinched grabbing her hand and lowering it to her side. He had visions of seeing her being held by a knight and fighting other knights to gain her freedom. He cocked his head to one side then a small smile crossed his face." Hello ... I think I know you." Dawn's bottom lip began to quiver then she hugged him for all she was worth. " Please remember us Xander! Please remember Buffy if no one else." Xander looked over Dawn's head to gaze at Buffy and as he did other memories came flooding back. Patrolling the cemeteries with her, fighting demons and other creatures of the night her crying over the losses in her life. His mind replayed them all good, and bad. Buffy watched his features change as he remembered. The hard look of the professional soldier slowly melted away to reveal the man she loved and her heart almost choked her as she watched him. "I'm so sorry! Until this minute I had no memory of who you were but then to look upon your faces was like a great weight was lifted from my soul." He grinned at the two women then they smiles froze on their faces as they saw a look of panic melt away his smile. The memory of that fateful night returned to him." I freed you and defeated their champion..." Xander moved as if reliving every moment, he placed an imaginary sword against an invisible foe." Urnst refused to honour his word and I had to pry you from their grip." He turns and smiles. " I saw you run to Giles and the others then.." Buffy cries out as she remembers Faiths words about his soul. " No Xander forget the rest! All that matters is your return." She watches him stumble then shake his head, as if clearing the thoughts from it. Before he can speak they hear the horns sound from far away as Usal runs up to him. " Torrance says they come in great numbers!" Xander sees the worry on their faces and he grins as he caresses Buffy's face with a lovers touch. " Good! That means they will die in great numbers too!" Xander looks at the baby and Buffy tells him. " Her name is Joyce Alexia Summers-Harris and she's named after my mother and her father. Alexander Harris." She hands her to him and he kisses the baby's brow before handing her to Dawn. " Take her to the shelter and tell the other females and children to join you." He kisses her cheek and Dawn blushes, all the schoolgirl thoughts she had of him returned ten fold as she raced back to the shelter. Xander placed a hand on Usal's shoulder." Tell the others to assemble and prepare for battle then go with Giles and the others to defend the shelter." Usal kneels before him and vows." I will defend it with my last breath my liege." Xander watches him as he runs back to the shelter. " They all depend on me to do the right thing." He looks towards the sound of the horns. " I hope their trust is not misplaced this day!" He turns to her and smiles. " If I remember rightly I'd have no luck ordering you to the shelter? Besides I think we'll need your skills this day as well." She slips her hand into his and their fingers entwine as they make their way back to the barricades. Faith is the first to see them approach, her fears put to rest she smiles at him , then she sees their hands and the smile freezes before she shrugs and it grows. " Bout time you came back Xandman! I just hope you didn't leave Beowulf behind." Xander shakes his head as they separate. " No fear of that Faith! I can feel Dog boy straining at Soldiers leash!" He dons his armour and draws his sword before turning to the defenders. " Remember take their heads and make them pay in blood for those we have lost!" He points his sword to the building they defend. " And when you feel yourself about to give in remember who's counting on you to protect them and what the Wendol will do to them if you fail!" He stands next to Angel. " If you're right they will attack whatever point I stand at." He glances at Buffy." Keep her here and I'll owe you my soul if you defend her." Angel looks at Xander and tells him. " No thanks I already have one. But you can depend on me to defend her unto death Xander." The horns sound from just beyond the tree line and they can now hear the grunts and growls of the Wendol and smell the stench of decay. Then they see the beasts pour from the forest and their numbers shock everyone. Xander glances at Angel and he grins. " I told you I'd be there when you die! I just didn't count on taking the trip with you!" The Wendol attacked as Xander had foretold and they held the line as wave after wave smashed against their defences. Xander moved away to the farthest side of the line and sure enough the main point of attack followed his every movement. Xander searched the rush of monsters for any sign of their leader, he turned to Lars." I bet your ancestors are looking down on you with pride this day Lars Olafson!" Lars grins insanely at him. " Ya! And I send them many playthings this day!" Their banter stops as they see the line cave in at their end. Xander feels the hyena spirit flood his system as his leash is let slip." Wolf heads to me!" He cries out then charges the Wendol as they force their way through the defenders. Xander's sword is a blur as he hacks and chops his way through the tide of demons. The men behind him in V formation as they push the Wendol back, over the broken barricade and then further into the night . They then drop back only as the others finish rebuilding the barricade. The last two to make it were Xander and Lars, and Xander was carrying Lars in a fireman's carry. The Wendol were driven back after that and Xander knelt by his friend as the medics tended his wounds. Xander looked at the Corpsman and he shook his head. " It is a little thing my friend. " Lars croaked out before having a coughing fit. He then gripped Xander's forearm and raised himself up, staggering over to a small rise before removing his arm. He faced the rising sun and held out his arms wide." 'Lo there do I see my father, 'Lo there do I see my mother, sisters and brothers..." He stumbles and the old Scooby gang gather around Xander. Buffy asks. " What's he doing?" Xander has tears in his eyes as he answers. " It's an old Norse prayer spoken by the dying and for the dead." Lars regains his strength, briefly and continues his cry." 'Lo there do I see the line of my people back to the beginning." Xander and the other Wolfs heads join him. And he smiles. " "'Lo they do call to me they bid me take my place among them in the halls of Vall.." He stumbles and dies. Xander lifts him up and finishes it for him with tears flowing down his face." In the halls of Valhalla." His voice booms out over the quad." Where the brave may live forever!" The Wolfs heads help carry Lars away to a funeral pyre they had made for the fallen. They lay his body out on it and place his sword and shield upon his chest then each member places something he liked upon the shield before Xander set the pyre alight." Wait for us friend Lars for I fear many more will join you before this day is over." He storms off and Torrance picks up speed to accompany him. " They left a trail a blind man could follow." Xander called Riley and the others to him." We do now what they least expect." he watches them for a reaction. Faith grins and says." We attack?" Xander nods." We take out the mother and Boney. While we do that the second group goes after the captured females. Riley I want you and five of your best men to rescue the ladies, Torrance will find them for you. While I and five others go after the leaders." Faith places her hand on top of Xander's, as do four other of the Wolfs heads meagre force. While Angel and Buffy go with Riley and his team. " Giles I want you and the others to repair the defences for the coming attack. The sun breaks through the tree line announcing the start of a new day. Xander watches the flames of Lars's pyre die down. Xander gathers his forces and says. " May the end of the day also bring the end of the Wendol." END OF 14