Episode 15: Aftermath
by 3D Master (3d.master@chello.nl)
Website:
Author's Notes:
To Meteor: Karma; 'everything you send out comes back to you', in Wicca a step beyond, 'everything you send out comes back to you threefold'. That's nice, but what has that got to do with the story?
To Harry: Here's the newest update. Xander is going to the Dragonball dimension next ep! I'll have to look up the Bond song, I love Eye Of The Tiger, but I'm not using it, at least I'm not planning on it. The song just doesn't feel right to me anywhere in the Buffy Z sagas. And in the end you'll probably agree with me on Faith's songs. I don't like stories where Mulder and Scully are both Immortal. I just don't see the point, if they're both Immortal where is the conflict, the dynamic, other that they're destined to chop each other's heads off. Their relationship worked because they are different, not the same. The only way the two of them immortal would interest me is if they're different kinds of immortals: vampire and Immortal for example. PS: commenting on Buffy Z at a Dana's story? Did you have a flash of insight? Did you know they were going to delete it?
On FF.net: I'm through with it. They deleted Nothingness a second time, while none of the rules are broken. And now they even deleted Buffy Z! This is the last update on FF.net, Buffy Z episode 15 alone, mostly because of this announcement, so everybody knows, I no longer post there. My stories are now here: and here: . The post there, I only do so everybody can read I'm quitting the place and where I am now. What's on there now, will stay on, but all the new stuff will go on the above places.
Disclaimer: see episode one.
"All those people," Buffy whispered as tears threatened to overwhelm her. She looked around the devastation left by the battle. The town's people looked defeated, and her friends forlorn, even Xander.
"I'm going to find that bastard's prison and destroy it," Xander said, with an angry tone. He looked around his friends, infusing them with his strength and drawing from theirs. "If that place could hide his energy, I don't want anyone else to ever be able to use it as a hiding place." With that, he burst into the air. The Scooby Gang looked at each other for a moment, and then they followed him into the air.
A few minutes later Xander, Willow, Tara, Buffy and Faith landed in front of the mountain Loki had come from. At the foot of the mountain it had a large dome like opening that seemed as if it had been blown open. The group walked inside and looked around with wonder. Eventually they reached an artificial hall, lined with computer consoles . . . Destroyed computer consoles; apparently Loki had taken out his rage on his prison first when he finally was set free. In the middle of the room there was a large rock, it had several glowing, bands on it, now destroyed, once whole and holding Loki down. A tube ended directly above the middle of said rock, and drops of some green liquid once in a while dropped down. Where it landed, it sizzled and created a small hole in the stone.
"Acid," Willow concluded, following the tube along the ceiling until it disappeared into a wall somewhere to the left. Without saying a word Xander turned around and starting walking out the former prison. His friends followed soon after. Once outside he turned around, and with a roar of pure rage he sent an energy ball into the mountain. A powerful explosion sounded and moments later the artificial cave collapsed, removing any and all possibilities of it ever being used again.
"There," Xander said, single-mindedly. He was going mostly on logic now, most of him retreated into him, going over the fight again and again, analyzing it, determining flaws he made, openings Loki left that he hadn't used; he was learning, teaching himself to find a better solution whenever possible, and thus being even better prepared for a next time. "Some food and a few hours sleep to replenish my energy, and we can go about going home."
Three hours later after waking up he came back out in the open sky, the gang waiting for him silently and defeated. Most of the town's people had the same attitude, but not Sisel. He was already planning on replenishing their numbers with good old-fashioned procreation, and rebuilding their town. He ordered his fellow town's men around, and as they followed his orders - blindly and emotionlessly - they slowly, bit by bit, started perking up.
"It was fun," Xander told Sisel sarcastically. The old oracle turned around and looked at him. Xander turned Super Saiyan and extended his golden chi around the rest of the gang, as he continued, "Have your people call my people. We'll do lunch."
"We are grateful for saving the few lives you could, and stopping a fate far worse for the rest of humanity, Mr. Littica," the man answered pleasantly.
Xander looked at the man, measuring him up for a moment. Just before he blasted off toward home, taking his friends with him, he gave the man a wry smirk.
*****
San Francisco
That evening
Leo sparkled into the Halliwell manor attic with a grave face.
"I take it, it didn't go well?" Prue asked, putting her hands in her sides.
"Phoebe's senses are right on the money. He took out another god; Loki," Leo answered. Dread slowly seeped into his voice. "He destroyed half a town with him."
"Wait a minute, Loki?" Piper asked unbelieving, gesturing nervously back and forth with her hands. "The Viking god?"
Cole's reaction off to the side was far worse. His whole body moved with frustration and anger, and said, "Yeah, Viking Trickster God of evil. Imprisoned in the Viking underworld until the end of time, when he would be released and he would lead the final battle. That bastard is toying with us all. He sets the one being free who according to the prophecies and legends was supposed to lead the side of darkness in a final battle with the side of light, and promptly destroys him. He's practically sticking out his tongue, saying, 'You can't stop me, fools.'"
"But, why only half a town?" Phoebe piped up confused, her hands protectively folded across her chest.
"I think Cole is right, this son of a bitch . . ." Leo paused, looked at the witches nervously, as they looked at him with wide eyes, none had heard him use that term before. " . . . is toying with us. He's basically showing all of us, the PTB and the demons everywhere: 'Look, they live. Not because you want it, but because I want it.'"
*****
Phoebe clutched the ring binder to her chest as she stalked toward P3, her sister's night club. She had tried to get some work done in the library, but her thoughts just kept returning to the conversation and the revelation in the attic earlier that night. Coupled with a growing awareness of energy flows around her that kept intruding every time she managed to focus away from the latest disturbing news, she hadn't been able to do much.
Too preoccupied, she didn't see the girl coming from the opposite direction - leaving P3, which was a little up ahead. They bumped shoulders and the two twisted around by the momentum, stumbling to keep their balance, reversing positions.
"Heeey!" the black-haired girl exclaimed indignantly.
"I'm sorry," Phoebe apologized. Just as she was about to turn around to continue her way she felt a familiar energy pattern flowing from the other girl. Phoebe stopped and really looked at the girl, who seemed nervous, trying to come to a decision. "Hey, wait a minute, don't I know you from somewhere?" Phoebe blurted out suddenly, grabbing the girl by her left arm so she couldn't get away. "Yeah, I've seen you hanging around in P3," Phoebe said urgently, but keeping her voice low. "And a few times near our house as well."
The girl struggled for every last bit of courage she could scrounge up from within her. She stuck out her hand and introduced herself, "Hi, I'm Paige Matthews."
"Phoebe Halliwell," Phoebe returned.
"I know," Paige said weakly. "This probably going to sound weird, but . . ." Paige hesitated a moment as they shook each other's hand. "I've been given up for adoption when I was a baby, I've been doing a lot of research, I'm pretty certain, that . . . I haven't had the courage before, but . . ." Paige placed her thumbs in the pockets of her Jeans, shrugging helplessly and crunched her face, hoping one of the Halliwell sisters wouldn't just kick her aside as a loon, "I think, your mother is the one who gave me up, as in, she's my biological mother." Paige's eyebrows shot up in helplessness and fearful anticipation looking at her possible sister.
Phoebe's eyes widened, now she understood why the girl's eyes looked so familiar, and why her energy felt similar to Piper's and Prue's, as she suddenly realized. "Three will become four," she recited under her breath.
*****
Xander touched down softly in the alley next to the Hyperion Hotel and quickly walked around to the front door. He grinned as he saw the truck that had brought the parts standing there. Two men were unloading something heavy with some difficulty. "Thank you," Xander said grinning, relieving the men from their burden with one hand. The two movers looked astonished for a moment, then shrugged and went back inside the truck to get the next piece of cargo. This after all, was the City of Demons: 't was better not to ask too many questions.
Xander whistled as he walked into the lobby of the hotel, which was starting to fill up slowly. He overheard the argument between Angel, Wesley and a third delivery man that had something to do with a wrong address. "Oh, he's got the right address, all right," Xander piped up with a grin, as he set down the carefully shock-absorbing packed whatever it was. For all his powers, Xander did not posses X-ray vision, and he hadn't had the time to study the package and checking with his memory on building the one in Buffy's house. Gunn leaned against the wall to the right, looking at the spectacle in amusement.
"See?!" the delivery man told the stunned man and vampire with irritation. He turned around to help out his men and muttered under his breath, "Ya' hacks."
Regaining their composure Angel spat out in irritation, "Harris, what the hell is this all for."
Xander blinked, suppressing some of his anger and said, "Parts for Cordy's Gravity Gym. She was tired of your pansy training, Dead Boy. She came to me and said, 'Xander, love of my life, I need a man's training. What have you got on offer?'" Xander grinned, then suddenly blasted forward, grabbed Angel by his neck, lifted him off the floor, and looking in the vampire's eyes with an intense burning anger he hissed, "And don't ever call me 'Harris' again. The name is Littica."
"Name's Littica, check," Angel managed with some fear, looking into the inhuman eyes of the Saiyan who held him up. Wesley and Gunn looked at Xander startled. He let Angel go and went to open the door so the two delivery men could get inside. The exchange had been so fast they hadn't noticed a thing.
"What's all the racket?" a sleepy voice called. The owner came down the stairs, yawning profusely.
"Your ex has decided to grace us with a visit, and mess up the lobby," Wesley stated with a wry tone.
"Oooohh!!" Cordelia squealed out, her eyes growing larger in anticipation. At the astounding of her three friends she bounded down the stairs like a happy baby. "Is it here, Xander!? Is it finally here!?" Cordelia continued squealing, bringing even greater surprise to the vampire, the brit and the black man. Cordelia Chase had neglected to inform them the delivery she obviously knew about was coming . . . more surprising, she was acting like a kid on Christmas and there were no clothes, or jewels, or otherwise something that had to do with fashion or high society. Cordelia on her part had no idea the surprise she was causing, all she knew was what she had seen in Xander's mind during their long range training sessions, and she understood that the Gravity Gym just might strengthen her mind sufficiently to halt its path toward breaking down. She was planning on spending every waking moment inside the place; even though she was prepared and even ready to die, she definitely didn't want to and she was ready to do everything in her power to change her until recently seemingly certain fate.
"Yep, the one in Buffy's house is finished, now it's time to build one here," Xander answered grinning, then not happy. "But why didn't they know it was coming today?" The delivery men chose that moment to start entering with the next component they had unloaded. The conversation continued.
"Yeah, why didn't we know this was coming today?" Angel asked with a wry smile.
"Must have slipped my mind," Cordelia answered, blushing in embarrassment. "With all the things happening all at once . . ." Xander gave her a questioning look. "Honest," Cordelia told him. From her tone of voice, Xander inferred she was actually telling the truth. He sighed inwardly and thought, *But you still haven't told them.*
*I can't, I just can't, not just yet,* Cordelia's reply came, equally soundless.
"Not because I want to look stupid, but," Gunn started looking around at the pieces of whatever it was going to be, "What is a Gravity Gym good for?"
"Means you can train under greater gravity forces than the Earth provides," Xander told him with a grin. "2gs, 10, 50, 500, it tops off at about nine fifty." Xander than looked up at the ceiling, and mused, "If I tinker with it I might be able to crank out a thousand. Train in those levels and see your strength go up. It's for all of you!"
Angel looked at Xander incredulously and expressed his dissatisfaction, "You're not going to build a gym here!"
"Why not?" Xander looked at him in puzzlement. "You've got like what? Fifty free rooms? I only need one."
"But . . ." Wesley said, looking at Xander confused. "How can you build a gym big enough for all of us in one room?"
Grinning, and picking up one of the pieces to carry upstairs, Xander told him, "Ask Fred, she should know." Xander turned his head to Angel. "Lead the way, Dead Boy. Tell me which room I can tinker in."
*****
Sunnydale
Xander and Anya's apartment
Faith yawned as she got up from her mattress. She walked into the kitchen and looked at Anya busy doing whatever.
"Good morning, Faith," Anya greeted with a smile. She spread butter across her slice of bread and proceed with checking which covering she wanted. Since Faith hadn't had breakfast at a fully spread table before that, she told her at the same time, "Help yourself. There's cereal in one of the cabinets if you want some." Anya pointed in the general direction of the cabinet before taking her freshly covered bread and a cup of steaming liquid to the round kitchen table.
Faith yawned again. Too tired and lazy to actually smear her bread, she searched the cabinets. Grabbing a bowl from one and the cereal from another, she filled the first with the latter. Then she got out milk from the refrigerator and then joined Anya at the table. As she took her first tasty bite, Anya asked, "So how did the patrol go last night?"
"Great," Faith answered almost in slow motion. She emptied a spoonful into her mouth, once chewed and swallowed, she continued, "Dusted five vamps, and killed one thing, that . . . well, it was a thing."
Anya nodded understanding, and said, "Yeah, many things are . . . No patronizing here." Anya blurted out the last when she saw Faith's odd look, "I just mean, there are many demons out there, that are just . . . things." Faith smiled back at Anya's disarming smile, or her closest attempt. "Xander usually says a 'thing' or 'demon' when he tells about his latest kill." Faith's smile grew bigger, somewhat amused.
"Speaking of Xander, where is he anyway?" Faith looked around the apartment and felt around but came up blank.
"Oh, he went to LA to build Cordelia's Gravity Gym," Anya said nonchalantly, finishing her sandwich.
"Already?" Faith asked surprised, yawned again. "What kind of stamina does a Saiyan have, for chrise sake?"
Anya shook her head, "He's running on fumes. Once he's done building the gym, he'll probably sleep for a day."
Faith inwardly felt relieved, at least Slayer stamina was still on par. Anya got up to place the plate in the dishwasher, and out of habit checked the calender hanging on the kitchen wall. "Uhm, Faith, it's Thursday, right?"
"Hmm, mm," Faith answered mouth full with cereal and milk.
"It's about ten to nine, right?" Anya asked, stealing a peak at the clock.
Faith looked back at the clock on the wall behind her. "Uh, yeah. So?" Faith answered confused.
"Don't you have your first appointment in like ten minutes then?" Anya asked checking the calender, making sure she was deciphering Faith's scribbling correctly.
Faith's eyes went wide. "OH, MY GOD!" she screamed in shock and fear. "I completely forgot! I'll never get there on time! I still have to get dressed and wash and . . . I'll never get there at all! I'll go back to jail! No, nonononono!"
"Faith, calm down!" Anya screamed, trying to get through to the hysterical slayer. "We can make it, if we take the car."
Faith calmed down just a bit and looked at the ex-vengeance demon. "Car, still not enough."
"Finish eating fast. Leave the washing, just spray a giant amount of deodorant," Anya said, springing into action, slightly panicky herself. "No make-up. Just pull some old stuff on, you don't have to look like you're going to a party."
Faith nodded, and started gouging down the cereal. A moment after that she ran toward the stash of clothes she dumped next to the mattress when she went to bed and pulled them on, as she walked toward the shower to get to her deodorant. On her way she stumbled once, if not for her slayer agility and balance she would have fallen down. Once there she sprayed herself with the first can of deodorant she could find - Xander's - and then ran back out to the room, where Anya was waiting with car keys in hand. "Hurry," the blond motioned. A short time later the girls sat in the car, Faith still holding some clothes that she started putting on the moment she closed the door. Anya drove the car away with screeching tires.
*****
"Oh, come on, Buffy, it's vacation," Dawn whined.
"Do I have to do over the whole 'stealing is bad' speech again? You're still grounded," Buffy said, taking a quick gulp from the orange juice afterwards. She turned around toward the kitchen table, grabbed her books and started stuffing them in her bag.
"But I'll finish the grounding when I go back to school. It's vacation, now, Buffy. Vacation! Free, sun, relaxation, charge up reserves, before going back to school!?" Dawn explained hopefully convincingly enough.
"No," Buffy said resolutely, "This discussion is over, got it?"
Dawn crossed her arms across her chest in annoyance, leant back against the kitchen counter. "Mom would have eased up a little."
Buffy swivelled around, and suddenly placed her hands on the counter on either side of Dawn. That way she stood in a bent over, predatory position, looking up, directly into Dawn's eyes. Her gaze was filled with anger, as she told her younger sister, "I'm not mom. Until now I may have tolerated it, but if you ever use her again to try to get to me, I swear, I will put you over my knee, and spank you so hard, your ass will end up at the front of your body. Understand?" Dawn nodded fearfully. "Good."
Buffy grabbed her bag and went from the kitchen to the hall where her coat hung on the coat rack. Dawn tentatively followed her sister. Willow and Tara came down the stairs hand in hand with big, satisfied smiles on their faces. "Well, if it isn't Squeal & Squeal Inc.; sexual satisfaction guaranteed." Buffy grinned at the two witches, and gave a short laugh at her own joke. The two of them looked at their friend with guilty looks, as she put on her coat, and quickly reddening cheeks.
"H-how . . ." this time it was Willow's turn to stutter.
Dawn grinned as she told them, "The walls are thin in this house." She knocked on the wall behind her to demonstrate.
Buffy, still grinning, added, "Perhaps we should put some sound dampening material in your room, because you two make a racket." Buffy tsked a few times, a big amused smile on her face, and then turned around and went out the door. "I'm gone, see you this afternoon."
"W-w-were we r-really . . ." Tar swallowed nervously once, "that b-bad?"
Dawn grinned mischievously and said, "Oh, yes, you were horrible. The neighbours could probably hear you. I'm gonna so tell Xander, Anya and Faith every sordid detail next time they're here."
"You wouldn't!" Willow exclaimed with shame and horror written on her face.
Dawn folded her arms across her developing chest, smiling and she lifted one hand up sneakily, saying, "Well . . . I could keep quiet . . . for a price."
"What price?" Willow said bleakly.
"You're not getting out of the house," Tara stated resolutely, catching on early, unlike Willow, she didn't see Faith as an untrustworthy bitch that was about to get the goods on her. Tara's reply earned her a surprised stare from Willow, which quickly turned into a grim smile directed at Dawn.
"But it's so beautiful outside!" Dawn complained.
*****
The car swerved around the corner with screeching tires, the vehicle breaking out the back, the driver easily compensated by counter steering.
"I won't be able to tell much if I'm dead," Faith whimpered in fear, all her muscles tightened up.
"Relax, will you," Anya answered slightly irritated. "You wanna get there reasonably on time don't you? Besides I got my driver's license now, and Xander and I took a course in this stuff."
"You did?" Faith asked still scared.
"Yeah, Willow complained so much about my driving, Xander thought it best if I got a real, complete driving course," Anya answered, grinning, as she screeched around another corner. Mentioning that Xander apparently trusted Anya enough to drive this way calmed Faith down a little. "Just make sure you stay away when Buffy starts driving, I've heard horror stories," Anya continued with a wide smile. She turned her head toward Faith for a moment and added, "I don't think she even has a driver's license."
"Buffy, can't drive?" Faith asked surprised. "That reminds me, I was in a coma and got my ass thrown in jail when I was sixteen, I've still got to get myself a driver's license." Suddenly she shot forward and the safety belts held her back. A moment later the car stood still with smoke coming from the tires.
"That should be the place," Anya pointed at the sign in the garden of the relatively large house. Apparently the practice was built in the house. "Hurry up, Faith!"
"Right," Faith answered, fumbling with the safety belt for a moment, then she opened the door and got out of the car.
"I'll pick you up in an hour," Anya told the dark slayer, who acknowledged it, before bolting to the house. A moment later Anya sped away.
Faith almost crashed through the door before halting the hallway of the practice portion of the house. It was tiled like a checkers board; black and white squares. The lower part of the walls was covered with soothing wood, painted brown. Above the wood the walls were light green, almost white. To Faith's right there was a door, in front of which was a table manned by well-groomed woman; she had to be the secretary. To the left was an open door behind which a waiting room could be seen. "Ah, Miss Williams, I presume?"
Faith nodded and managed a barely audible 'yes'. She was seriously starting to get nervous.
The secretary pushed an intercom on her desk and said, "Miss Williams has arrived, sir."
"Ah, send her in," came through the speaker.
"Will do, sir," the woman answered pleasantly, then got up and opened the door, gesturing for Faith to enter.
Faith did so, and stepped into the psychiatrist's office. It was spacey, had several comfortable looking chairs around the room, a tv with a VCR and a DVD player in a far corner, and the walls were the same motif as the hallway. The floor though was different. It was a fine carpet and green, like the upper part of the walls, only just a shade darker. There were several cabinets filled with different things; there were books, crystals and even toys. There was an authoritative desk right in front of her, in the front of the room. The whole place seemed to be designed to sooth and make people comfortable. Everybody who knew Faith would know that it had the direct opposite effect on Faith. She became more uncomfortable and more nervous instantly. The psychiatrist didn't help any.
He got up from his chair, and Faith looked him over. He wore a suit, minus tie and jacket, which hung on a coat rack, and instead of a blouse he was wearing a black t-shirt. He was quite handsome, clean shaven and had a dazzling smile and twinkling eyes that he used to his advantage, which meant disadvantage in Faith's case. "Ah, Miss Williams," the man said as he stuck out his hand in greeting. Faith shook it. "My name is Martin Wade. You're late," he observed.
"I'm sorry, I kind of overslept," Faith explained only half true.
"Oh? Is that all?" he prodded, giving her an amused smile, yet it demanded answers.
Chills ran down Faith's back as she answered, "Actually, I kind of forgot." How could he have known?! Was he telepathic? A demon in disguise? A monster god? A guy dabbling in the dark arts? Or just a plain well-educated psychiatrist? Faith felt an urge to rip the man's heart out just to be certain.
The psychiatrist gestured to the different seats, and told Faith, "Take a seat, lie down, whatever you want." Faith opted to sit down in a chair, as the man sat down behind his desk. "Very interesting file and transcript they sent me."
Faith narrowed her eyes and told him, "I am not crazy, those events are not figments of my imagination, and I did not dream them up, so . . ."
"Calm down," the man interrupted her, gesturing her to stop in a nonthreatening manner. "I do live on the Hellmouth."
Faith blinked in confusion, even as her suspicion grew. "You know?"
"When a thousand people bring in their loved once, all because they claim to have seen monsters, you start doing an investigation," he explained with a smile. "At first you're thinking mass hysteria, some common cause, like a chemical they came in contact with, but then you here stories, find maps, ancient legends, and soon after you come face to face with your own first monster, and then you know, that ain't no hallucination." The man looked at Faith with a smile, before adding, "Especially not when the monsters get destroyed just before they kill you by a short blonde girl."
"B, had to be B," Faith said, shaking her head, then clarified, "Buffy."
The man smiled, and told her, "Well, Ms. Williams, can I call you Faith?" Faith nodded. "Faith, if you have a question you'd like answered, a preference where you'd like to start, something you'd like to get off your chest, tell me at the beginning of a session, so we can do that first, and then we'll see about the rest, understood?"
Faith nodded and asked, "Where do we start?"
Martin smiled amiably and said, "Since you've already covered the bigger lines of your past, how about the present? Tell me who your friends are, what they're like, etcetera."
"You're not allowed to tell anyone what I tell you, right?" Faith asked nervously. When her psychiatrist answered affirmatively, she launched into a long story.
*****
"Sorry, I'm late!" Anya called to Giles as she stepped into the Magic Box. "I had to drop off Faith at her psychiatrist. We all had completely forgotten she had an appointment. It's a good thing I check the calender every day."
Giles smiled at her. "No harm done." He was amazed at how Anya had changed over the past two years. From the selfish, blabber mouth ex-demon, she had become considerate . . .
"I told her I'd pick her up in about an hour. Xander is going to be proud of me, I wonder if I get sex as a reward," Anya mused with a big satisfied smile.
. . . blabber mouth ex-demon. Giles shook his head, his accent became thick as he told her uncomfortably, "I am sure he will not neglect your needs."
"I agree," Anya answered happily, reaching the cash register. She opened it and started counting the money.
"I already counted the money, Anya," Giles said, looking at the fake blonde amused.
Anya bubbled back and forth on her legs, saying, "I know, I figured that, but it's so much fun!"
Giles watched the young woman count the money a short time, before asking her, "What would you say about owning the Magic Box."
Anya's eyes went wide with surprise and turned to Giles, "Would I!? Of course I wou- . . . wait, but what are you going to do?"
Giles smiled at her and told her, "Do not tell the others yet, I want to tell them myself . . . I am contemplating returning to England."
"Why?" Anya asked astonished.
"You've shown me you don't need me around any more," Giles explained with a wistful smile. "With Xander's surprise revelation, with his training the girls, and Willow and Tara's power and knowledge about the super natural . . . I have come to the realization you not only have reached the point where you can stand on your own two feet, but you have exceeded all that I could possibly teach you. The way they've handled Loki is a prime example; my knowledge was not needed even for a moment."
Anya blinked, thinking over Giles' words, and came to the startling conclusion. "That's true, so what are you planning on doing back in the Queen's country?"
"Forcing myself a way back into the Watcher's Council, sounded like a good idea to me," Giles explained with a small smirk. "The only way to really help all of you out, is for me to get access to the Watcher's Council Library. It is much bigger than this little depository, there might still be knowledge hidden in that place that can make a difference here."
Anya stayed silent, thinking over Giles' words, then, "So where do I sign the ownership papers?"
*****
"Boring, boring, rerun, boring . . . ew, disgusting, rerun," Dawn gave up and turned the tv off. "There's nothing on tv. What would you two, say to a game?" Dawn turned around and sat down on her knees on the chair looking at the two witches, who were holding hands and quietly chanting. Willow and Tara opened their eyes as they came out of their concentration, and gave each other a naughty smile. "Ah, please, not that kind of a game," Dawn said exasperated. "What is with sex at the moment?"
"We just staved off Armageddon several times over," Willow gave her patented pout-and-conclude look, then continued, "Thus we're all feeling euphoric?" Tara smiled lovingly.
Dawn's shoulders sank, and told them, "That was a rhetorical question." Willow silently expressed 'oh', and smiled sheepishly. Dawn continued, "I mean, you two are practically licking each other off in front of me, Xander and Anya are humping each other even more than usual, euphoria or not, it just ain't normal."
Tara grinned and started, "You just . . ."
Dawn threw up her hands in exasperation, and interrupted the blond witch, "Oh, don't tell you just wait and see, when you're older and have a boyfriend, you'll do it that often too!"
"If you're lucky, you will," Willow blurted out before she could catch herself. Abashed, Dawn's jaw dropped.
"Willow!" Tara exclaimed in shock.
"I'm sorry, it just came out," the redhead said with a small voice. Then they gave each other a forgiving kiss.
"So, about that board game," Dawn tried again.
"I know a few board games," Tara told Willow with a sneaky grin.
"Not more . . . Oh, I give up!" Dawn almost yelled, sliding back down and turning on the chair.
*****
Xander rapidly descended from the sky, then burst into the Double Meat Palace. It was eight o'clock. He was late, because he had busted his head on a rather structural layout problem of the hotel room and its power supply to the Gravity Gym. Luckily there weren't many customers and so Xander got to order fairly quickly, "Three double cheese burgers, a large coke, and three fries to go."
"Yes, sir," the clerk said.
Then Xander remembered Anya and Faith, and didn't know whether they had waited up on him or not, and he said, "Double that order, and add an extra coke."
"Yes, sir," the clerk answered again.
A few minutes later Xander paid for his food and proceeded to the exit. An old woman entered the junk food restaurant that set off everyone of Xander's alarms. As he raced past her, he grabbed her by the throat and pulled her outside with him.
"Hey!" the clerk called in surprise, starting to follow Xander.
When Xander came outside he threw the woman forward, then blasted her to several very inhuman pieces with an energy blast. The clerk, still inside, just looked perplexed. As Xander burst into the sky, confident as ever in Sunnydale's residents' denial, he destroyed the remaining pieces utterly.
"Don't ask," the clerk muttered to himself, making several dismissing arm gestures.
A few minutes later Xander landed in Buffy's back yard, as he homed in on Anya's and Faith's energy. Walking inside he called, "Hey guys! Anya, Faith, have you eaten yet?" He held up the bag with delicious smelling food.
Anya jumped up excited, hugged her boyfriend as she said, "Missed you. We've eaten here, already."
Xander shrugged, before Faith butted in, "I could still eat something, with this new training, I probably need to eat more anyway." The dark slayer got up, and walking over nonchalantly she added, "Is it nice and greasy, babe?"
Anya let go of Xander and he nodded 'yes' to Faith. The slayer continued, a bit like an excited child, a bit like an ecstatic young woman, "I've had my first appointment with the psychiatrist today, at first I thought he was a demon, but he turned out fine."
Willow groaned, sounding her displeasure at having to listen to anything Faith had to say, much less her private stuff. Giles next to her looked quite amazed at Willow's ability to hold a grudge, as did Tara sitting on the redhead's other side. Buffy was about to add her own comment, when the Gravity Gym's door opened and closed noisily. It was followed by British cursing, coming from the blonde vampire that had come out of the Gym. Careful to stay in the shadows and out of harms way from the setting sun, Spike walked into the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator, and grabbing the first fluid he saw, milk, he threw the pack to his lips and drank greedily.
Astonished Xander asked to no one in particular, "Has he been in there all this time?"
"Yeah, I think so," Buffy said slowly.
Xander handed the bag with food to Anya and walked over to the vampire. When Spike had emptied the milk pack, he placed it on the counter and turned around. Suddenly surprised by Xander's presence. "What'ya want, you bloody git?"
Xander nodded once and then started slapping Spike back and forth across his cheeks. The gang looked on in surprise. After a few more of these, none really hard, but enough to sting, Xander stopped. "What the sodding hell was that for?"
Xander smiled eerily and then asked sweetly, "How long did it take you to recover the burning piano?"
Spike looked confused for a moment, before realizing Xander meant the time he had tried, successfully, to restore Dru to her full power. "Uh, weeks," Spike counted.
"Yes," Xander answered him with a big fake smile, "That means, despite your Immortality, you do not heal that much faster than the average human, and if you do nothing but train like that, your body doesn't get enough time to recuperate, which means your body doesn't improve . . . IT GETS WORSE!!" Spike flinched back at the sudden outburst, becoming painfully aware of Xander's promise he was dust if he did something wrong, and if Xander actually managed to win this little war he had started. To bad for him, the kitchen counter didn't allow him to back up for him. "Get to your crypt and drop dead, or whatever the hell you vampires do for sleep, and rest for at least one and half days, you halfwit!"
Spike growled but took Xander's advice, not bothering to greet as he left the house.
Xander followed him with his eyes, before turning around and said, "All right. Anya, Faith, let's go home and eat."
*****
A few weeks later
"That's it, keep going, almost got me there," Xander told Faith mockingly as they sparred in the square surrounded by a ring of orange tiles.
Faith threw a punch that Xander deflected. Nearby in the same square Buffy threw a few halfhearted punches.
A square further - also orange surrounded - Spike pauzed as he smashed to pieces the last of the workout bots. In irritation he looked at the Saiyan and the two slayers. They were moving freely through square, throwing punches and kicks like it didn't matter. On occasion Xander and Faith actually almost turned to blurs, speeding away from one position solidifying in another, or even encircling each other at those speeds. Buffy, though, didn't seem capable of what they were doing, not that she wasn't displaying some incredible strength. Spike watched over to the display board near the entrance, found the square representing the one the three of them were training in and read '30gs'. Spike growled, and looked over to his own board, '18gs'. He hated it, he has started out at a higher gravity level than the two slayers, but they were already at almost double that of his in a mere few weeks. Obviously, necrotized tissue of a vampire did not adapt as well to gravity increases as the living tissue of a slayer.
A brilliant light show distracted Spike and he looked into its direction. The two witches were the cause of it and the light show, comprised partly of Tara's and partly of Willow's magical energy. The two energies almost seemed as if they were having sex together. The two of them were flying around leisurely and laughing in pleasure. The tiles that were surrounding their square were light blue and their color was playing nicely in concert with the light show. As the light show faded Spike looked back over to the board, and read, '2.5gs.' Apparently training once magic wasn't as physically demanding as training one's chi.
The other lit up square showed it was at 8gs. Spike looked over at Dawn fighting off the robots blasting a few to smithereens. Her white chi flame burned bright with intensity.
"Look!" Tara called with bubbly pleasure. Before she or her redheaded girlfriend could say anymore, a shriek of pure terror sounded from the bench to the side. Giles who sat next to Anya, tried to calm her down to no avail. "Bunnies?" Tara managed to add dumbfounded. Both of the witches were holding one peacefully sniffing bunny on each hand.
Anya screamed more, "GET THEM AWAY FROM ME!!! IIIEEEEEHHH!! AWAY!!"
"But," Willow tried to comment over Anya's screams. "There's a force field capable of handling a 2-megaton bomb in between you and the bunnies?" Anya kept screaming, placing her hands in front of her face and curling up as much as she could. None of Giles' soothing helped. "All right already, we'll teleport them back." The two witches concentrated, and with a curly energy effect the bunnies disappeared from their hands.
"See gone!" Tara called out friendly. Anya calmed down some, peaking from behind her arms, and after making sure the bunnies were gone, she sat back normally.
"Oh, but they were so cute?!" Dawn called out loud enough to carry past the energy field of her training mat.
Spike looked back at Xander and saw they he and Faith hadn't noticed a thing, unlike Buffy who was still watching the show silently, seemingly pensive. Spike groaned to himself, realizing he had been wasting precious minutes, wile Xander and Faith were getting stronger constantly. He started up again with determination.
"Come on, Faith! I know you can do better than that!?" Xander mocked, continuing to rile up Faith. He blocked her punches, threw her energy balls back in her face and at times held one of her legs at an awkward position after one of her kicks.
Faith was seething with rage and she was about to explode, which she did a moment later. With a scream her chi flame became more intense than ever. "That's it!" she raged. She started a flurry of blows and kicks that Xander all blocked . . . until one managed to get through his defenses and hit him in the chin. Faith's rage filled face grinned with satisfaction as she followed up with her right fist. Xander blocked it, and then starting fighting back earnestly, careful not to raise his energy level too high; Faith would never keep up and getting her ass kicked in such an unfair match up wouldn't teach her anything. Xander's smile never left his face as he landed several blows on the dark-haired slayer, who did everything in her power to keep up with Xander's skill. With another burst of energy she managed a vicious kick to Xander's stomach, doubling him over. Immediately she went to hit him in the face, sending him down further, but Xander turned his doubling over in a somersault and kicked out with both feed, catching Faith in her face and sending her flying up. Instantly Xander flashed to above her and smashed her down with a double-handed blow.
Xander lowered himself next to a groaning Faith, who slowly got up from the small indentation in the bottom of the training area. Once up, she saw a smiling Xander give her bow, and she returned the gesture of respect. Their fight was over. Then suddenly Xander jumped lightly in the air and started clapping his hands ridiculously. Faith smiled, the goof ball, she had fallen for two years earlier was still in there. "Wow! Well done, Faith!" Xander called excitedly. "You actually managed to hit me. That was great. You're great. You're improving so much!" Faith's smile deepened, adding a hint of embarrassment, and a slight blush of sexual arousal. God, did she want him! This Xander, both fun and joking, as well as serious and a kicking ass kinda guy was everything she could possibly have dreamt of.
"Great!" Xander enthused one last time, before turning to Buffy. "All right, Buffster, you're up!" he then said, startling the blonde girl out of her reverie. Xander walked up to her and went into a fighting stance. Buffy did the same. "Ready?" Xander asked, smiling at her in anticipation. Buffy nodded nervously.
Then she attacked. Xander was surprised, her punches were halfhearted, her kicks came nowhere near the precision of Faith's. For only a tiny fraction of second he thought he had underestimated the blonde, but soon realized differently. He knew Buffy wouldn't be as good as Faith, being The Slayer gave her a little edge, her innate desire to fight, her warrior spirit, evident in her refusal to let all her abuse through the years bring her down, made the rest of the difference. Buffy simply had never been a warrior: she was a cheerleader. But still, this was just plain sloppy, he had actually seen her do better before, during the time he was teaching her these new techniques. "You can do better, Buffy," Xander told her, not mockingly like with Faith, but stern and reprimanding her. "Do better."
He saw the blonde bite her lip, and increased her effort, but only marginally. "Come on!" Xander shouted, angry this time. "This is ridiculous, Spike, no, who am I kidding, Anya would kick your butt. Fight me, damn you!" Buffy complied, or so she made it seem. Xander far too easily blocked and avoided her blows. For a moment he doubted his perceptions, how could Buffy be so slow, so uncoordinated, so . . . weak. He rechecked his own power lever, perhaps, but only just perhaps, he had without noticing it raised his power level. No, it was still the same. Xander got angry, "FIGHT ME, DAMN YOU!! If you don't start fighting me, I'm going to beat you up!" Moments later Xander smashed his fist into Buffy's face and she stumbled back. "Are you just going to take that!?" The next punch landed in her stomach, doubling her over. "You're pathetic, is this all you can do!?" Xander yelled at her. Buffy's punches still were only half hearted. A knee to her stomach and then a double handed hammer to her back sent her to the ground. "You, stupid little cunt!" Xander told her, kicking her in her stomach sending her tumbling. "FIGHT ME! If I were a demon, you'd be DEAD! If I were a vampire, you'd be one YOURSELF!" Another few kicks to Buffy's stomach, sending her away every time, she was cradling her stomach, tears flowing from her eyes in pain. "What's the matter? You too stupid to fight?!" Xander yelled, ready to kick her again. Suddenly Buffy's eyes snapped open in anger, with a burst of energy she was up, finally her slayer instincts had come to the fore. Her chi flame burst brightly around her and she attacked Xander with a scream. Xander blocked her blows and kicks, avoided an energy ball, and grinned at her. "Now that's more like it!" Xander said, grinning, and he punched her in the face. Buffy twisted around her axis, and suddenly her instincts and anger went in overdrive. With a primal roar her energy exploded around her and she punched with all her might . . . and connected to Xander's chin, sending him twisting through the air, before he stopped himself. "Now that's what I'm talking about, technique still flawed, strength still much to be desired, but that's what I'm talking about!"
Buffy looked at Xander in disbelief, and then to her own hands. "No," she whispered to herself. She powered down and sank to her knees. "No." She started crying and looked up at Xander. "Why!? Why did you make me do this!?" Buffy cried. She couldn't believe how angry she had gotten, how much her power, her slayer, her predator instincts had ruled her behavior.
Xander approached her and said, "This is what we're training for isn't it? To become stronger, strong enough to take on, say gods and beat them into a pulp?"
"What if I don't want to?" Buffy whimpered looking up at the hard, yet lightly sympathetic face of her best male friend. Her head sagged again.
"What is it you're so damn afraid of, Buffy?" he asked, harshly yet concerned.
Buffy looked back up and said, "You killed those people, Xander. Thousands of 'em, tens of thousands, you destroyed half a town. It's not right."
"We've been over this," Xander answered, squatting down now, looking directly into Buffy's eyes, unaware everybody else, except Spike, was watching intently now.
"We're just mortal beings, Xander," Buffy pleaded, looking into the icy eyes of the former Xander Harris. "We're not supposed to have this kind of power. We're not supposed to make those kinds of decisions."
"Of course we do, the same decisions people had to make in World War II; do we use the atom bomb or not?" Xander told her. "These decisions aren't new to mortal men and women, Buff. They've always been there, and they've always been made by mortal men and women, we're perfectly capable of making them."
"But, but . . ." Buffy started, still not willing to grasp the concept.
"Words won't reach you, will they?" Xander asked, looking into the despairing eyes of Buffy. "I will just have to show you."
Xander became aware of his audience now, and he looked at Faith, and saw her stricken face. Immediately realizing what was the matter he said, softening his voice, but keeping the hardness in it, reassuring her, "I'm not your mother or your father, Faith."
Faith nodded. She knew that, she also saw the necessity in what Xander had just done. And he hadn't really hurt Buffy, not like her mother did to her, he had probably done not much more that bruise Buffy a little, but it still had brought back memories, memories that she wished she could just rip out of her mind.
Xander got up and started for the exit. After a few meters he said, "Come on, Buffy. You're coming with me." Buffy looked at him without getting up and he repeated himself. "Get up!"
*****
Latin America
One hour later
Xander landed in the thick forest and placed Buffy on the ground next to him. He powered down. His golden hair turned black again. Silently he pointed at the scene in front of him.
A primitive village lay there in a clearing cut out probably centuries before. Men and women mostly wearing a few brown clothes woven from plants were running away. Some men brandishing spears tried to defend their retreat. Some of the men threw the spears, making sure they could get to another one immediately. Others, to whom the attackers had gotten too close to throw them at, used them as stabbing weapons. The attackers were grotesque looking. They growled like big cats, and looked a bit like cats to, except they were almost standing upright, on occasion still leaning on their arms, somewhat like an ape. The catlike razor sharp teeth and fangs though, were definitely not ape. The attackers were obviously faster and stronger than the humans.
"We've got to help them!" Buffy exclaimed, starting to surge forward, but Xander put his hand on her chest and held her back.
"Not so fast," he said, and Buffy looked at him in disbelief. "Extend your senses, feel their energy, allow your senses to linger, to filter out things, just let them go naturally. What do you feel?"
Buffy complied after a second of looking in Xander's hard eyes. Buffy closed her eyes, and extended her senses. "Nothing really, just a little energy."
"Exactly, demons - if you feel them out the way you're doing know - feel different, trust me," Xander told her gravely.
Buffy opened her eyes, and turned her head to face Xander. "What are you saying?"
"They've got souls, Buffy," Xander told her in no uncertain tones. "They came out the portal. In the past few weeks, whenever I had some spare time I've been looking up everything that came through it, and killed it if necessary." Xander paused and Buffy looked at him. "They haven't evolved much beyond an animal, but they have. They're intelligent, sentient, like you and me, but still animal enough to not have much control." Xander gestured again to the vista of death still before them, and Buffy looked at it in horror, watching as humans were being cut down. Xander sat down on a nearby stone, and told Buffy, "Decide what to do."
Buffy's head snapped around, and she looked at him. "What?"
"You get to decide what we're going to do," Xander repeated, looking at her gravely.
Buffy was torn, on the one hand she wanted to save those people, yet how could she kill one set of persons, just to save the other. "Can't we capture them?"
"And then what, lock them up and starve them to death?" Xander asked pointedly, looking at her intently.
"W-we could deliver them to the authorities," Buffy tried in desperation.
"And what do you think they're going to do with them?" Xander asked with a wry smile.
Buffy shook her head, this couldn't be happening, she tried and tried. "What if we deliver them to the US authorities?"
Xander chuckled, "Remember the Initiative?"
Buffy saw the horror scenarios in front of her; cut open alive to figure out how they worked, genetic experiments, potentially placed parts of them or their genes in some form of new, controllable this time, super soldier project. She couldn't put them through that. She stayed silent, thinking of every possible angle.
Xander piped up, a sneaky tone to his voice, "How about we do nothing, and just let them eradicate this village? Then watch how they go on to the next, and do the same there?"
"This is it, Buffy," Xander told her calmly. "Here's your decision. You can still back out of what we've planned to do. I'll focus my training on someone else. I won't rely on you. I will factor in our strategies that you won't fight at all, or that you'll cop out at critical junctures. Are you in our out? But once you're in, there is no way out. If you're not with us all the way, you'll get us all killed. In or out?"
Buffy looked at Xander with a stricken face; all the other options were unacceptable. Finally coming to the decision, she had tried not to have to take. Finally understanding Xander's decision, she told him the only humane solution, and the answer to his question, with just three simple words, "We kill them."
To Be Continued . . .
Author's notes: Ooh, that's it. Next time Xander goes to his birth dimension for some much needed time calibration, and extending of the wedding invitations; even if they aren't written down yet. But first of course, a meanwhile in the Dragonball dimension in the form of: Buffy Z - Dragonball Z movies 7, 8, and 9.
As always, you can e-mail me at 3d.master@chello.nl for all your thoughts and comments. Incidently, also tell whether next time you would like to know the evolution of Buffy Z, what prompted it, what different kinds of incarnations it went through, was Xander even gonna be a Super Saiyan the first time around, etc, etc. Obviously this won't happen at every episode, I would soon overtake the running episodes and I'd spoil you with information you shouldn't have yet, but if enough people say 'yes, we'd like an insight into your mind, and how this story evolved into this form', then I'll do that and once another few episodes have passed, give some narrative about them as well.