Author's Note: Thanks to Mel, Sigma, Tariq, Echidne and Jyestha and Jason I now know that "Sarah" is actually Cecily, so that's what her name will be from now on (it was really great of you to tell me that, by the way). All the rest of the trial consorts are coming in to this chapter, and none of them are original characters, although some might not be recognizable to people who are new to Angel or Buffy.
And, since Jason took the time to give such a very scrupulous review, I'll make sure to give a scrupulous answer:
1. Like it says above, I was sort of already informed about Sarah being Cecily, but thanks anyway.
2. Well, when Angel was given a soul, it was meant to make him suffer. In this fic (which, I have to stress, is Alternate Universe) Spike's soul was given as a gift, of sorts. He has already started to alter his violent ways for Buffy's sake, but having a soul is a new experience and not something he can detect easily. And besides, I think gradually discovering his new soul will be a lot better from a literary point of view than just throwing it in there.
3. The Powers That Be have to place an ultimatum on the "champions" for their own safety and for the safety of all the living worlds. And besides, knowing that the results of not going through the Trials could be disastrous, I doubt that any of our heroes would refuse the PTB.
And, last but not least: if all alternate forms of the "champions" were allowed to exist at once, it would result in something very much like a planetary overload. For example: if there was only one alternate form for every person who lived on Earth, nothing would change within the living worlds, because Nemesis and the Powers could handle them very easily. But if, say, twenty new forms were created for Buffy, Angel, Cordelia and Spike every day, it would result in alternate forms who would end up being faster, smarter, tougher and overall better than them. If it had been anybody else, I doubt the Powers would have bothered, but since they are the ones meant to protect the Earth, having a stronger alternate form running around could be dangerous.
In fighting their alternate forms, the "champions" will prove that they're stronger than them, and therefore be allowed to stay on Earth – unless, of course, an alternate form proves to be stronger, in which case the existing forms will be replaced.
And for Snuffles (which, by the way, is a very expressive name) I'm just going to say that Buffy's change in attitude is based on hurt at seeing Cordelia and Angel together: it's easier to wear a tough mask to hide her emotions than it is to let them show.
Hopefully, that covers any other questions that might have arisen concerning the storyline, but if there is anything else that seems unclear or confusing, feel free to ask about it.
And of course, I just have to thank everyone who took the time to review. It really means a lot to me and your suggestions are helping me develop the storyline, so I just wanted to say that I really appreciate it.
And now, fellow fanfictioners, having finished with all that, we'll get on with the story...
~ The Trials of Destiny ~
~¤~~¤~~¤~~¤~~¤~~¤~~¤~~¤~~¤~~¤~~¤~
Chapter III: Straight out of a Horror Movie
~¤~~¤~~¤~~¤~~¤~~¤~~¤~~¤~~¤~~¤~~¤~
"William? My William?" Her voice, so familiar. Her face, so very unchanged – and yet so unlike the face he remembered. Gone was the look of cold refinement she used to give him, gone was the tight, curt tone in her voice – all that was left was a warmth he had dreamed of seeing so many years ago, a warmth that went deeper than just polite or friendly.
But, before she could say anything else, Nemesis put a gentle hand on her shoulder and shook her head. "No, not your William. Not the way you know him, child."
Cecily froze, the smile on her face fading, and nodded sadly. The light in her large eyes was suddenly quenched and she stood there, awkwardly, not knowing where to look or what to do with her hands.
Spike turned to Nemesis, too stricken to speak. But the centuries-old goddess understood, and answered him with a look that almost resembled pity. "In Cecily's world, your history changed itself. She accepted you as you were, and, consequently, you never met Drusilla."
"That means he was never turned," Angel said thoughtfully. "He never became Spike."
"Yes. My William and I – we've been engaged for two years now." Cecily fingered the ring on her right hand, smiling wistfully. "We were going to be married in December, just so we could have our wedding outside, in the snow."
"Engaged?" Spike croaked, finally finding his voice. "Wedding?" A thousand thoughts were raging inside his head, a thousand questions waiting to be answered – but all he could do was stare, transfixed, at the silver ring twinkling from Cecily's finger, set with a band of bright blue gems. "Not bloody likely!"
Cecily looked startled, but bit back whatever she was about to say and cast her eyes to the ground, shrugging. "You were right," she said quietly, glancing at Nemesis. "He's not my William."
"Um, excuse me, Nemesis? If we can move away from Spike's issues for a moment here, I have a question." Cordelia stepped forward and surveyed the doors. "Which door is mine?"
Nemesis simply smiled. "You already know which one is yours." She moved aside and allowed Cordelia to walk up to the gray-blue door. She hesitated, staring at the eye-triangle on the door, before carefully easing it open and stepping back.
There was a pause, while a person stepped out of the door. A silence, while everyone present surveyed him. Buffy's face was one of mixed amazement and pleased surprise, Spike, despite his shock, couldn't help grinning maliciously, Angel's eyebrows shot up until they couldn't go any higher and Cordelia stared, dumbfounded. Before them, waiting with an amiable and slightly confused smile on his face, was...
"Xander!""Actually," the alternate Xander corrected, "it's Alexander LaVelle Harris." He smiled, pleasantly but coolly. "No one calls me Xander anymore."
And indeed, if it weren't for the resemblance in their faces, no one there would have recognized him as Xander. He carried himself differently from the gangly, casually messy joker from Sunnydale, he was dressed in a spotless, expensive-looking two-piece slate gray suit and silk tie, his hair was combed back thoroughly, and he exuded confidence and professionalism, something the real Xander rarely expressed. Cordelia also noticed a shining gold ring on the finger of his left hand and groaned audibly.
"Please, do not tell me I am married to Xander Harris!" She pleaded, turning on Nemesis.
"For about seven years now," Alternate Xander supplied helpfully. "Although Troy – oh, sorry, our son - is only about five years old." He looked as though he were trying to remember something. "I think it's his birthday tomorrow – or maybe it was next week?"
"Oh my god." Cordelia's face was bleak, and Buffy noticed that her hand was trembling ever so slightly. "Oh my god. I have a son. No, correction, I have two sons." She groaned again and buried her head in her hands. Buffy raised an eyebrow. Two sons? What does she mean by that?
But she was distracted by a movement from Angel, who had suddenly walked up to his door and was staring it with several peculiar expressions flickering across his face. He reached out and ran his hand along the carved angel set on the door, seeming wholly absorbed in it. It cost him an enormous effort just to tear his eyes away from the door long enough to glance at Nemesis, who barely had time to nod assertively before Angel tore the door open.
Buffy knew, from the look on his face, that he already had known who was going to step out of the door. And he did more than just look. As soon as she emerged, he wrapped his arms around her in a warm embrace, hardly seeming to care that anyone else was watching.
The blonde woman in his arms smiled, tilting her head back to look into his face. There was a silence while they studied each other, eyes locked in a gaze that few would have cared to break.
Buffy and Cordelia, strangely, were having very different and yet very similar reactions to the scenario. Buffy's face was expressionless and stony, and only her eyes betrayed her emotions. Cordelia looked shocked and then hurt before trying to seem indifferent and failing utterly, resulting in a few glistening tears that gathered in the corners of her eyes before she brushed them away furiously.
The woman looked past Angel's shoulder, her eyes lingering first on Buffy, then on Cordelia, and lastly settling on Spike before returning to Angel's face.
"Angel?" Darla's voice was a lilting half-whisper. "Who are all these people?"
"They're friends of mine," Angel answered, his voice softening. "Didn't I tell you?"
Darla shook her head and then rested it lightly on his shoulder. "No. But I'm tired," she whispered. "You can introduce them later." Then she sighed, frowning slightly. "I haven't been able to drink anything for ages. I'm thirsty."
Angel threw Nemesis a startled glance, but the Guardian shook her head, smiling. "She wants water, not blood."
Angel laughed and pushed back Darla's golden hair from her forehead. "Don't worry, we'll soon find you something to drink." Darla just nodded and allowed herself to be led to a large boulder, where she and Angel sat side-by-side, talking in intimate whispers.
Buffy ignored them and walked straight up to the golden door. Her hand hesitated only for a fraction of a second before pulling the door open and she stood back uncertainly, not knowing what to expect.
And, certainly, she didn't expect him, of all people.
He looked almost unchanged from the way she remembered him. Slightly older, maybe, but still the same tall, lean figure, dark chestnut hair and radiant hazel eyes, set in face that indicated intelligence and a highly developed sense of humor, balanced by a pondering look in his eyes. All in all, I'd say he's a real honey.
"Buffy?" He grinned, crossed the distance between them into two strides and, unabashed, drew her into a kiss. Buffy was startled but pleased, and there was a warm, if slightly confused, smile on her face. It didn't take her two guesses to figure it out.
"Scott – Scott Hope! Of all people, I would never have expected you." She stepped back to survey him, nodding approvingly. "But hey, I'm not complaining."
Scott grinned. "Mmm, neither am I. Still though, I would've thought you'd be a little heavier by now – what with the slaying and all."
Buffy arched an eyebrow. "He knows?" Of course, the question was directed at Nemesis.
"Yes, Slayer, he knows. In Scott's reality, Angel never returned from Hell, and you continued your relationship, ultimately ending in his finding out about your calling."
Buffy grinned. "Oh yeah; I can definitely get used to having you around." Not too used to it, though, she mentally reminded herself.
Nemesis allowed the group a few more moments to get reacquainted with each other before bringing them together to address them one final time. Behind her was a shimmering oval portal, completely black and looking like a smooth, dark mirror hanging off of the ground.
"This," Nemesis indicated the portal, "is a dimensional portal. It will take you from one dimension to the other, enabling you to travel faster through the living worlds. In every dimensional plane there will be a challenge for each of you, and when you have finished you move on to the next plane."
"Sort of like a videogame," Xander offered. "Finish one level, move on the next."
"Exactly." Nemesis turned her attention on Cecily, Scott, Xander and Darla. "All of you have been informed about the Trials of Destiny. You know what you must do when the time comes." All four nodded assertion, although Darla and Scott looked uneasy.
"So, how many dimensions are there before we reach the finish line?" Buffy asked. Nemesis simply gestured towards the portal. "It depends on how well you do, Slayer. There may only be five dimensions, or there may be five hundred. It all depends on you."
"And what about food and stuff?" Cordelia quipped. "We're not going to starve while doing this, are we?"
"In every dimension there will be some means of food and drink. If you look closely enough, you will find all you need to survive. And since Earthling vampires can only be hurt by the Earth's sun," Nemesis added, somehow reading the expression on Spike's face, "you won't have to worry about hiding from daylight while you are traveling."
"Well, then, I'm all for it. Let's go." Buffy moved forward and confidently strode through the portal, which liquefied for a second to let her in. Scott immediately followed, and Cordelia, without bothering to look back for Xander, stepped through after him. Xander sprinted through the portal to catch up to the others, leaving Spike, Cecily, Darla and Angel behind.
Angel put an arm around Darla's shoulders and steered her through the door, and Spike plunged in after them, pulling Cecily along with him.
~ ¤ ~
"Oh my f***ing stars and garters." Spike, to put it mildly, was having a hard time believing his eyes. He stood, with the others, on the edge of a vast, barren landscape of rock and dust – an unbroken grayness that ended in a line of tall, rugged black mountains that tore the sky apart with the frequent plumes of fire that erupted from their peaks. Scattered across the landscape were large pools of boiling molten lava that radiated intense heat, even from several feet away. The sky itself was a deep, monotonous gray, with cracks of crimson that bled across it and met in the middle of the sky to form a pair of vast crimson suns, one slightly smaller than the other. The suns seemed to emit some sort of heat, but were not actually made of flame as far as anyone could see and didn't give off any light, leaving the landscape even dimmer and more depressing."Yeah, you could say that again." Buffy shivered slightly and took Scott's hand, strangely comforted to know he was there. Their relationship in Sunnydale had been extremely short-lived, but she had, in the past years, come to wonder once or twice what would have happened if she hadn't broken up with the gorgeous high school students who used to be so crazy about her. Now I don't have to wonder any more.
Angel took an unneeded breath to analyze the air, using his heightened sense of smell. The air was hot and dusty, filled with the strong scent of fire and smoke; nothing very alarming, considering their surroundings, but not exactly very pleasant either.
"We should stay away from the lava pools," he advised, his dark eyes scanning the horizon. "The fumes they give off could be poisonous." He didn't look too worried about it for his own sake, but Buffy could tell he was concerned about Darla.
"I, for one, totally agree on that point," Xander put in, eyeing the nearest lava pool. He watched the seething lava suddenly froth up and form an enormous bubble that burst with a sickening slurp and gave off a pungent odor. Cordelia wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Oh, I am so not loving this."
"Join the club," Spike muttered, casting a sideways glance at Cecily. But she was busy squinting off into the distance, her eyes focused on a point some five hundred feet away from where they were standing. "Is it just me," she said slowly, in a delicate British accent Spike found familiar, "or is there something moving out there?"
Darla tilted her head, staring off into the distance. "No, I see it as well," she confirmed. "But I'm not sure what it is."
Soon everyone was gazing at the large, unidentifiable object that seemed to be heading in their direction. A cloud of dust surrounded it, so that at first it was unrecognizable; but it soon turned out to be some sort of huge vehicle, resembling a van or a bus. It was built out of heavy dark metal and had large, razor-sharp iron spikes set along the outside of it; there were no detectable windows on it, but it was being maneuvered somehow or other – and being maneuvered very well, obviously, because it was heading straight towards the group at an incredible speed.
"Okay, can I be the first to suggest that we run?" Xander spoke up, staring at the sharp metal spikes on the van. Those things are large enough to impale any of us in a second, he thought, suddenly unnerved.
"Running now?" Scott suggested, glancing at Buffy.
"Running now sounds like a good plan," Buffy agreed. Almost simultaneously, the whole group turned and began to sprint in the opposite direction of the van – even Cecily and Darla, who both had to pick up the skirts of their gowns in order to run. Angel, Buffy, Spike and Cordelia were all unaccustomed to running away from anything, but they couldn't risk putting the others in danger. And on the other hand, Buffy thought to herself, we fight demons and vamps, not giant batmobiles with teeth.
To everyone's dismay, Spike – after glancing back – announced that the "schoolbus form hell" was still following them, and, as he pointed out helpfully, would probably end up catching up to them and crushing them all to a pulp.
"We have to spread out!" Buffy called, making a swiping motion with her arms. "Make it harder for it to track us!"
They fanned out evenly in pairs, all heading in the same direction so as not to lose each other but continually increasing the space between them. The vehicle kept going, honing in on the two closest people – Angel and Darla. Angel wasn't having any troubles in matching and exceeding the vehicle's speed, but Darla's face was starting to look tight and strained, and her breathing was coming in short, painful gasps.
"Darla? Are you alright?" Angel called, taking her hand to help her keep up with him. Darla simply nodded and continued to sprint over the rocky landscape. Finally, though, she had to admit she was tiring quickly. "I don't think I can run much further," she said, casting a fearful glance backwards, only to find that the vehicle was fast closing in on them.
"Uh-oh." Xander let his pace slacken, staring ahead of him with a face that did not bode good.
"Uh-oh? What do you mean, uh-oh?" Cordelia demanded. But soon she saw very clearly what he meant.
"Well, people, looks like we got ourselves some trouble." Spike slowed down until he was level with others. "It's at times like these that I appreciate a good smoke." And, seemingly undisturbed, he drew a cigarette from the back pocket of his leather pants and lit it, taking a long drag. Cecily looked disgusted, but was too worried about the immediate danger to say anything about it.
"I don't like the look of this," Buffy said grimly. Even Angel and Darla, who had pulled in last, saw what was wrong. The vehicle was fast closing in on the group, and they should have been running for their lives – except there was nowhere to run.
The ground broke off suddenly and ended in a vast ocean of molten lava, larger than all of the other lava pools put together. The lava was steaming and hissing, flowing from a mountain of black rock that was wreathed in heavy smoke. Wheeling around the mountain's peak were large bird-like creatures, wholly black with cruel crimson talons, hooked beaks and slit-like crimson eyes that seemed fixed on the group below.
"Those things look hungry," Scott commented, tilting his head back to watch the bird-creatures circle closer. Cordelia jumped back from the lava ocean when it suddenly spurted at her and unexpectedly took shelter next to Xander, clinging to his arm. "Oh, god," she whimpered, "it's like something straight out of a horror movie."
Spike took another drag on his cigarette and threw it into the lava, watching it sink below the surface with loud sizzling sound. "The way I see it," he drawled, "we have quite a choice here –"
"Do we want to be eaten, impaled or burned to death?"
~ ¤ ~
To Be Continued.
