Disclaimer: I own nothing in the BTVS universe, just the story I'm writing,
Joss Whedon owns everything Buffy.
Rating: PG-13, Language, violence, and a little sexual innuendo.
Pairings: W/T, X/Anya, others later maybe
Time: about midseason of season 5
Summary: A new player arrives in Sunnydale with his own agenda concerning Dawn and Glory. Who is he and how will it affect the gangs future?
"What kind of consequences?" Xander asked.
"Well, the curse worked both ways, Danali could only die by Kenzig's hand and Kenzig could only die by Danali's. As time passed, Danali grew more and more powerful in the dark arts, while Kenzig grew physically stronger and faster. It was as if the curse was keeping the playing field level between them."
"Exactly how powerful has Danali become? Since I am to assume you are Kenzig." Giles asked.
"Danali is the most powerful sorcerer on the planet." Harry said, "If there is a spell that you think can't be done by anyone, he can do it."
"Good Heavens!" Giles gasped, "Someone that powerful would truly be a danger to everyone."
"True. But Danali has given up his attempts at world domination a few millennia ago, Every time he came close, Kenzig showed up and stopped him. After a while, he concentrated solely on finding a way to get away from Kenzig permanently."
"So what does all of this have to do with us?" Willow asked.
"Think about it for a minute, if only one person in the whole world could kill you, wouldn't you want to get as far away from that person as you could?"
"Well, sure." Xander replied.
"Suppose you could get away from that person by going to another dimension. A dimension that person couldn't follow you to."
"You mean he's planning on following Glory to her home dimension? Isn't that a Hell dimension? Why would he want to go there?" Buffy asked.
"Well for starters, yes it is a Hell dimension, but it's a relatively tame Hell dimension. Danali would survive there easily enough. With Kenzig unable to follow him, he would be able to live forever with no fear. Really, if you think about it from his point of view, it's a perfect solution. All he has to do is get there."
"Which is where we come in." Buffy said.
"Yes. He will do everything to help Glory open the portal so that he can slip through with her."
"As if we don't have enough problems with the Hell-Bitch alone, now we have a super-sorcerer helping her." Xander groaned, "Does anyone else here think our day is just going straight to Hell?"
"You won't have to worry about Denali, he's my problem. You can continue to concentrate on Glory. If you can find a way to stop her, I can deal with my brother."
"Therein lies the crux of our problem, Glory is a God. We have no idea how to stop her." Giles said thoughtfully.
"I'll let you in on a little secret, Mr. Giles, sooner or later, everything dies, even Gods. You people just need to figure out how to speed up the process for her."
That comment was greeted by a chorus of excited talk from almost everyone in the shop. Harry got up and helped himself to a cup of tea as the Scoobies discussed the problem among themselves. He moved over to stand beside Anya and he gave her a sad smile. She still flinched away from him.
"I just want you to know that I really mean you no harm." He said as he sipped his tea, "Demon hunting was just something I did to stay sharp through the years. Now that you are human, you have nothing to fear from me."
"I-I uhm." Anya stuttered.
"It's alright. I expect you'll be a bit nervous no matter what I say. You know, you were only one of three to ever get away from me. I guess that does make you pretty unusual. And you regained your humanity, that's also extremely rare. If you and the boy don't work out, I'll be very surprised."
"Why?" Anya managed to ask.
"He's special. I can't say how right now, but he is, and you are too. Special people tend to do well together." Harry finished off his tea and walked away leaving one very perplexed ex-demon in his wake.
Tara was sitting beside Willow, not really listening to the discussion around her, she was watching Harry as he spoke with Anya. She was almost dazzled by the aura she saw surrounding him. It was bright, but it seemed wrong somehow. She could almost swear that it flickered occasionally to dark and then back. It was so quick that she couldn't be sure though.
She made up her mind that after they left tonight, she was going to do a little research on her own about that flickering aura effect. Something about it was tugging at her memory, but she couldn't quite pin down what it was. She was pulled out of her thoughts when Willow ran her hand across the back of her shoulders and asked if she was alright.
"Sure. I'm fine." Tara replied with a shy smile.
Rating: PG-13, Language, violence, and a little sexual innuendo.
Pairings: W/T, X/Anya, others later maybe
Time: about midseason of season 5
Summary: A new player arrives in Sunnydale with his own agenda concerning Dawn and Glory. Who is he and how will it affect the gangs future?
"What kind of consequences?" Xander asked.
"Well, the curse worked both ways, Danali could only die by Kenzig's hand and Kenzig could only die by Danali's. As time passed, Danali grew more and more powerful in the dark arts, while Kenzig grew physically stronger and faster. It was as if the curse was keeping the playing field level between them."
"Exactly how powerful has Danali become? Since I am to assume you are Kenzig." Giles asked.
"Danali is the most powerful sorcerer on the planet." Harry said, "If there is a spell that you think can't be done by anyone, he can do it."
"Good Heavens!" Giles gasped, "Someone that powerful would truly be a danger to everyone."
"True. But Danali has given up his attempts at world domination a few millennia ago, Every time he came close, Kenzig showed up and stopped him. After a while, he concentrated solely on finding a way to get away from Kenzig permanently."
"So what does all of this have to do with us?" Willow asked.
"Think about it for a minute, if only one person in the whole world could kill you, wouldn't you want to get as far away from that person as you could?"
"Well, sure." Xander replied.
"Suppose you could get away from that person by going to another dimension. A dimension that person couldn't follow you to."
"You mean he's planning on following Glory to her home dimension? Isn't that a Hell dimension? Why would he want to go there?" Buffy asked.
"Well for starters, yes it is a Hell dimension, but it's a relatively tame Hell dimension. Danali would survive there easily enough. With Kenzig unable to follow him, he would be able to live forever with no fear. Really, if you think about it from his point of view, it's a perfect solution. All he has to do is get there."
"Which is where we come in." Buffy said.
"Yes. He will do everything to help Glory open the portal so that he can slip through with her."
"As if we don't have enough problems with the Hell-Bitch alone, now we have a super-sorcerer helping her." Xander groaned, "Does anyone else here think our day is just going straight to Hell?"
"You won't have to worry about Denali, he's my problem. You can continue to concentrate on Glory. If you can find a way to stop her, I can deal with my brother."
"Therein lies the crux of our problem, Glory is a God. We have no idea how to stop her." Giles said thoughtfully.
"I'll let you in on a little secret, Mr. Giles, sooner or later, everything dies, even Gods. You people just need to figure out how to speed up the process for her."
That comment was greeted by a chorus of excited talk from almost everyone in the shop. Harry got up and helped himself to a cup of tea as the Scoobies discussed the problem among themselves. He moved over to stand beside Anya and he gave her a sad smile. She still flinched away from him.
"I just want you to know that I really mean you no harm." He said as he sipped his tea, "Demon hunting was just something I did to stay sharp through the years. Now that you are human, you have nothing to fear from me."
"I-I uhm." Anya stuttered.
"It's alright. I expect you'll be a bit nervous no matter what I say. You know, you were only one of three to ever get away from me. I guess that does make you pretty unusual. And you regained your humanity, that's also extremely rare. If you and the boy don't work out, I'll be very surprised."
"Why?" Anya managed to ask.
"He's special. I can't say how right now, but he is, and you are too. Special people tend to do well together." Harry finished off his tea and walked away leaving one very perplexed ex-demon in his wake.
Tara was sitting beside Willow, not really listening to the discussion around her, she was watching Harry as he spoke with Anya. She was almost dazzled by the aura she saw surrounding him. It was bright, but it seemed wrong somehow. She could almost swear that it flickered occasionally to dark and then back. It was so quick that she couldn't be sure though.
She made up her mind that after they left tonight, she was going to do a little research on her own about that flickering aura effect. Something about it was tugging at her memory, but she couldn't quite pin down what it was. She was pulled out of her thoughts when Willow ran her hand across the back of her shoulders and asked if she was alright.
"Sure. I'm fine." Tara replied with a shy smile.