THE HUNTERS
Author: MeB (aka XanWill4Ever)
Email: lenoxfiles@hotmail.com
Spoiler: None. This is after Season 6, and Buffy finds a load of books that Jonathan had written. A series called the Hunters, and everyone Buffy knew was in it. Jonathan had seen the movie Stargate, and then he wrote- The Hunters. Jonathan's story is in-between the (TH).
Pairing: Another mad attempt to keep Xander and Willow together. Even Jonathan saw it.
Summary: I am bored and my mind has stopped working. So I took some of my old stories written in 1995 and added characters from Buffy for the list. I hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: All characters of Buffy tVS are the property of Joss. The idea of Stargate is not mine.
Rating - PG-13
Author's Note: NHA may archive. Anyone else is free to do so as well, just let me know. Thank you.
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Buffy was worried about Willow. Well, the whole gang was worried, but Giles had assured them all with time, she would heal. In the meantime, they had their own lives to restore back to some resemblance of normalcy. With nothing pressing to do, Buffy decided to visit the place where Warren, Andrew, and Jonathan hatched their evil schemes. As she searched the place, wary of booby traps, she came across a box stored in a closet way in the back. She pulled it out and opened it.
Inside the box, there were a number of books. The books had been blank at the time of purchase, but now they contained words. As Buffy flipped through them, she discovered that they were stories written by Jonathan. Not only did Jonathan write the books, he also put in people he knew...like Willow, and Xander, and...Xander and Riley were best friends?
She looked at the inside cover.
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(TH) The Hunters, written by Jonathan Levenson
I think I'm in a wrong life some times, because I'm with two guys who like to hurt and destroy when I wish I were with those who really cared about people, like Buffy and her friends. They're really nice people. I hate what we put them through. They're heroes. Always have been, always will be. Especially Buffy. So I wrote these stories for them and hope the best for them. They deserve the best.
Spike and Angel aren't vampire's in the story. They're normal people with beating hearts. Xander is a tough guy, I mean, really. I've always seen him and Willow together and so in my stories, they are. I've got Warren in here doing what he does best, and I also put in Andrew only in the stories, his name is Andrew Loser. Buffy isn't the main focus of the stories, and I did that because I think that sometimes, she just wants to sit back and let someone else be in the center of the story. I think she gets tired of being the hero she is. Anyway, she doesn't appear in the story until later. Much later. She's not in The Hunters, but shows up in the series later, and Angel and Spike fight over her.
I'm in it, too. I'm Jon Levon, and, well...I feel like Jon Levon at times. I act like I'm the bad guy, but really I'm not.
Prologue
Xander Harris was angry. Willow Rosenberg was missing, and there wasn't a single clue leading to her location. Not a trace; she was simply gone.
Xander and his partner-and best friend-Riley Finn, began a search. They used the resources they had and went through the State of New York like a hurricane. They visited their contacts, they roughed up the local thugs, they checked with their friendly contacts of the local police and sheriff's departments...but came up empty.
Well, almost empty.
There was one odd phenomena taking place in a town called Allentown. The town was a population of four hundred people, and a lot of stories were passed around about the strange people living in Allentown. They were a quiet community, but a little too quiet. People who have gone near the town usually vanished, never to return. It was said Allentown didn't like visitors. Rumor had it that anyone venturing too close to the town met a terrible fate...but that was only rumor.
Wasn't it?
However, none of that actually mattered any more because four hundred people in Allentown were no longer in residence. They had all vanished, every last one of them. They disappeared as if they never existed at all. Within twelve hours upon the discovery of the disappearances, the United States Army had placed the town under Quarantine. Then a team of specialists was sent in to determine the cause of this strange incident.
They could find no answers.
The President of the United States, who had been monitoring the situation from the white house, wanted answers. He wanted them now. He decided to call in the big guns.
He sent the Hunters to Allentown. (TH)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Buffy shook her head. It was an interesting story, but a little strange. What was the deal with Riley and Xander? Best friends? Not in this lifetime. Not ever. They were never enemies, but they certainly were NOT the best of friends.
However, she was curious, so she took the box home and began to read them at her leisure.
She sat down with a cup of hot cocoa in the comfort of her own home. She tucked her feet on the couch, took a sip, and then she proceeded to read...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(TH) Chapter 1-Ground Rules
The Hunters didn't really know what to expect. When they arrived in Allentown, Xander and Riley prepared themselves with their customary firearms. They each carried a semi-automatic Uzi, and Xander carried his favorite .357 Magnum, while Riley favored the .44 Magnum Head-blaster. Or at least, he like to call it that. They carried radios with them and at the word from their Commander-And-Chief, Rupert Giles, the two men went into the town of Allentown.
It was a ghost town. As they walked cautiously down the streets, nothing moved. No one looked out windows. No one stood in doorways. Nothing. The only sound about them was the wind. The two men stopped in the street and looked about.
"Where the hell did everybody go?" Xander asked, not really expecting an answer.
Riley shook his head. "I have no idea."
"A biological weapon, you think?" Xander paused in thought. "Maybe the entire population won a trip to Disney Land. How about an alien abduction?" He frowned. "We need Mulder and Scully on this one, Finn."
Riley nodded in agreement. "Yeah...I think you're right."
Suddenly, their radio's squawked at them.
Riley snatched his up and brought it to his mouth. "Go," he said.
"Have you found anything?" came Giles' voice. He had remained at the town's perimeter inside the Army encampment.
"Yeah. We found the same thing the so-called specialist's found. Nothing." He looked around. "We're going to check inside some of these buildings and have a look around."
"Just be careful."
"Right."
"And Xander?"
Xander grabbed his radio. "Yeah?"
"Try not to do any damage."
He grinned. "Right."
Riley put his radio away and looked at Xander. "Where to? You have a preference?"
"Has anyone even bothered to go inside any of the buildings yet?" Xander wanted to know.
Riley shook his head. "We'll be the first."
"Let's take a look at their local jail."
Riley nodded.
The Hunters began to move down the street toward the jail. (TH)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Buffy frowned. She wondered if this story was going to pick up any time soon. The only reason she wanted to continue was because she wanted to see what Jonathan did with her friends. So far, there were Riley, Xander, Giles and Willow.
Well what was I? she wanted to know. Chopped liver? She frowned. Ewwww. Why couldn't I at least make a cameo in the first one? I can do cameo's.
She turned the page.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(TB) They didn't find a damned thing. No one was in the local jail. The offices were empty, the jail cell was empty, and computers were left on.
"This is damned peculiar," Riley finally said as his eyes took in everything around him. "It gives me the creeps. There is no sign of any struggles. It's as if everyone decided to just get up and leave."
"Leaving everything behind," Xander noted as he pointed to a purse on someone's desk.
Riley looked at it. Suddenly, he became curious about something and he moved behind the desk, taking a seat before the computer. He looked intently at the monitor screen.
"Hey, look at this," he said.
Xander approached and he looked at the screen as well. His eyes widened in surprise. In the center of the screen was one single word.
HUNTERS
The two men looked at each other.
"Somebody's password?" Xander asked.
Riley shook his head. "That's not a password. That's just weird."
"C'mon, Finn. I know what you're thinking and that's just crazy."
"Is it?"
Xander let out a sigh. "How the hell could someone have staged this disappearing act for us? We're talking four hundred people or so! This is a pretty big trick to pull just to get our attention. It would have to have taken years to make it work."
"The Hunters began back in '84. Someone could have plotted this back then."
"That's eleven years ago." Xander frowned. "I'm not convinced. I think it's just a coincidence." He pointed at the computer. "Why don't you see if you can get something else to appear on the screen?"
"Eleven years is plenty of time to stage something this big," Riley continued as his fingers danced across the keyboard. "I think this is some kind of set up. In fact, I have this feeling someone's playing a game." He pressed the ENTER key.
The screen changed, and new words appeared.
WELCOME TO THE PARADOX GAME
"The Paradox Game?" Xander scowled as he shook his head. "C'mon, Finn. This is a waste of time."
Riley held up a hand as more words appeared. He read them out loud. "'The ground rules are...1) Elimination, and 2) Survival. To begin, enter the doorway to another dimension. The doorway is stable and can be located. Once you have entered the doorway, the game will begin and must be played through until the end.'"
Xander shook his head. "So...? It's a computer game."
Riley looked at it thoughtfully. "I'm not so sure about that." He tapped ENTER. More words appeared.
THE PLAYERS
Beneath that were three clear pictures of Xander, Riley, and Willow. Now there was no more room for doubt. Riley looked at Xander with a knowing look.
"Son-of-a-bitch!" Xander hissed through clenched teeth. "This Paradox Game is aimed at us!"
"And don't you just hate it when I'm right?" Riley asked, grinning.
Xander sighed.
Beneath their pictures was a fourth picture. Someone was in shadow with a large question mark in the center of the frame. Above this was the word...
THE OPPONENT
Xander read the rest out loud. "'The object is to 1) Prevent Chaos, and 2) Return Home.'"
Riley read the rest of it. "'Let the games begin.'"
Xander paused as he gave it some thought. Finally, he sighed in frustration. "Who the hell is doing this, and why?"
Riley shrugged. "I don't know." The screen suddenly went blank, and he worked his fingers across the keyboard and frowned. Then he tapped the side of the monitor screen. "Hey, it's not working now."
"Forget about the computer, Finn. That thing mentioned something about a doorway. We've got to find it. At least now we know we're on the right track." He looked at Riley. "Whoever is behind this has also got Willow."
"How are we going to find this doorway?"
Xander shrugged.
"Well, hold on a sec...let me think."
"Think? What's there to think about?"
Riley held up a hand, a thoughtful look on his face. "There's gotta be a clue in the Ground Rules, Harris. Something that will tell us where the doorway is." He paused in thought. "It opens to other dimensions. It can be located."
"It's stable," Xander said helpfully.
"Stable," Riley repeated.
He nodded. "Yeah. Stable."
They looked at each other. Then, at the same time, they both said, "A barn!" (TH)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Buffy stifled a yawn. She got up, stretched, and then took her mug into the kitchen. She put it into the sink and took Jonathan's first book with her to her room. After she got settled into bed, she began to read.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(TH) The Hunters stood in the open entrance of a barn on the outskirts of town. From where they stood, Xander and Riley could see the Army encampment on the other side of a field just a few hundred yards away. There were two figures standing in front of the camp. They knew who those two figures were. One was their CO, Giles, and the other was their favorite computer wiz, Willy Snitch. Riley had reported their discovery to Giles via radio and he and Xander were about to proceed into the barn.
At the entrance, their weapons at the ready, the two men paused to listen.
Finally, Xander said, "I wonder if this game is like a computer game."
"It's not, you know."
He looked at Riley.
"It's not a computer game," Riley pointed out. "This is real."
"Well, no duh, Sherlock. I meant 'in theory'. In computer games, whenever a player has to go through a doorway, there's always some freaky, mutated beast that's guarding the entrance." He shrugged. "That's all I meant."
They looked at each other.
Riley frowned. "You know, you think too much." He paused. "There's nothing alive in this town but you and me. The Army is outside the town limits. Besides, I don't see any fancy doorway."
"Maybe it's a hidden door. Like underground."
"Maybe..."
"Well, we're not going to find it here in this doorway." Xander stepped inside the barn with his Uzi at the ready. "Let's go take a look."
Suddenly, Riley shouted, "DOWN!"
Instinct took over, and Xander moved fast. He dropped to the ground as something sliced through the air above him, right where he had been standing. Then, he rolled back toward Riley as something pounded into the ground, nearly taking his head off.
He managed to get to Riley who helped him up.
Then they both turned and stared in astonishment.
The creature before them was from out of a fantasy. It was a Centaur, half man; half horse. It was huge and it towered over them with a mace in one hand and in the other, a spear. It reared back and threw the spear with a roar.
The spear was heading right for Riley's chest. (TH)
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"Move, you dumbass!" Buffy exclaimed.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(TH) Xander dove and tackled Riley down to the ground, but Xander dropped his Uzi. Riley still had his, unfortunately with Xander on top of him, he couldn't bring the Uzi around to fire. Then, he heard the hooves beating on the ground. The Centaur was coming and coming fast.
"Harris!" Riley shouted. "Get off me!"
Xander did. He saw the beast coming toward him with every intention of clubbing him to death with the mace. Without realizing he was in Riley's line of fire, he snatched up the spear that had stuck into the ground. Holding it in two hands, Xander raised it above his head just in time to block the mace. The spiked ball on the mace struck the spear, and the spear didn't break.
The Centaur swung again.
Xander barely managed to block the blow, and he could feel the impact in his arms. The beast was incredibly strong. Xander was not going to be able to fight it much longer. As if to confirm this, the Centaur suddenly reached down with its free hand and grabbed Xander by the throat. With absolutely no effort at all, it lifted the Hunter completely off the ground.
It was choking Xander, and it intended to snap his neck like a twig. Xander did the only thing he could think of that would save his life. He thrust the spear into the Centaur's chest.
The beast roared in pain and anger. Then it raised the mace above Xander's head. (TH)
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"C'mon! Xander kill that thing already!" Buffy protested. Then she sighed. "Well, I would have killed it already." She continued to read.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(TH) Riley quickly moved around to the Centaur's side and fired a burst from his Uzi. Bullets ripped into the creature's side, adding more pain to its' injury. It dropped the mace, roared in pain, and dropped Xander to the ground.
Then, it turned to face Riley and it didn't look happy at all.
"Oh, great," Riley muttered to himself as he watched the Centaur.
The beast was wounded now and it staggered toward Riley. The Hunter raised the Uzi and he opened fire. At point-blank-range, the creature took several hits and it finally fell to the ground. It struggled once to get up, and then it lay still.
Xander stood glaring down at it as he rubbed his neck.
Riley came up beside him. "You okay?"
He nodded.
"You know, I could have done that before if you hadn't of pulled that crazy stunt of yours. Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
He shook his head.
"Well, Harris, are you going to say something?"
Xander nodded. "Yeah. What the hell was that thing?"
Riley shrugged. "I have no idea."
Xander frowned as he retrieved his Uzi from the ground. "Well, I know one thing for certain."
"What's that?"
"The Glue Factory will not know what to do with this one." (TH)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Buffy frowned. "Huh?"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(TH) "What was the shooting all about?" Giles demanded over the radio. "What were you fighting with? From here, it looked like a man came at you, riding upon a horse."
"The man was a horse," Xander replied.
"What was that?"
Riley filled him in on what had happened. "We think it was this doorway's guardian. There shouldn't be any more, at least we hope there isn't. We're going in."
"I don't like it."
"We can't ignore this, Giles. If this doorway exists, and this creature can come through it, imagine what else could."
"Then I don't have to advise you to use extreme caution, do I?"
"No, sir. You don't."
There was a pause. "Well, I advise it anyway. Good luck."
"Thanks." He put his radio away. He looked at Xander. "Are you ready?"
Xander looked toward the entrance of the barn with determination. "I was born ready."
The Hunters entered into the barn with extreme caution. There were no further attacks made against them. Everything was once again quiet. They searched the barn thoroughly and their persistence paid off. They discovered a trap door in the pigpen beneath a hog-feeding trough. They opened it and looked into a hole big enough to crawl into. Somehow, there was light coming from the hole.
"Heads or tails," Riley inquired as he fished into his pockets for a coin. He pulled out a coin.
Xander grinned wryly at him. "Heads."
Riley tossed the quarter into the air and watched it come back down. He caught it in one hand and slapped it onto the back of his other hand. He grinned in triumph. "Tails. I go..." he turned to look at Xander, but Xander had already disappeared down the hole, "...first."
He let out a sigh, shook his head, and climbed down after his friend. When they were both below, unknown to them, the trap door closed behind them. They were trapped inside, and their radios were no longer operational.
As the Hunters walked along a tunnel, they discovered that the walls were somehow giving off a light to see by. The tunnel led eventually to a large room. The room was empty except for one thing. In the center of the room was a tall, circular arch. There were designs and symbols all over the arch. In the open space in the arch, it appeared as if there was a wall of water.
The Hunters walked around the object, stunned. They stopped in front of it and looked at it.
"The doorway, I presume," Riley said in a voice filled with wonder.
Xander was shaking his head. "This is incredible! Could this actually lead to other dimensions?"
"There's only one way to find out."
They looked at each other.
Xander paused. "Willow could be on the other side of this thing."
Riley nodded. "Yeah. So could the people of Allentown, and I'm betting they have something to do with this portal." He looked at Xander. "Once we do this, there's no turning back."
Xander grinned. "We're Hunters, Finn. We've never walked away from an adventure."
He smiled wryly. "I never said we would walk away. Heads, or tails?" He tossed him the quarter.
"I'll take--" Xander began as he caught the coin in the air, but Riley grinned at him then dove into the portal.
Xander swore and dove in after him.
A bright light bathed the room and then the portal returned to the way it was. The Hunters had disappeared without a trace. (TH)
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Buffy yawned. She was getting tired. It was three in the morning and she wanted to find out where Xander and Riley went, but her eyelids were so heavy. She put the book down, turned off her light, and she dreamt about Riley, Xander, and...She opened her eyes. Wait a minute! she thought. Willy the Snitch is in the book, as Willy Snitch? A computer expert?
She sighed. What was Jonathan thinking?
She rolled over and went to sleep.
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TO BE CONTINUED--
Author: MeB (aka XanWill4Ever)
Email: lenoxfiles@hotmail.com
Spoiler: None. This is after Season 6, and Buffy finds a load of books that Jonathan had written. A series called the Hunters, and everyone Buffy knew was in it. Jonathan had seen the movie Stargate, and then he wrote- The Hunters. Jonathan's story is in-between the (TH).
Pairing: Another mad attempt to keep Xander and Willow together. Even Jonathan saw it.
Summary: I am bored and my mind has stopped working. So I took some of my old stories written in 1995 and added characters from Buffy for the list. I hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: All characters of Buffy tVS are the property of Joss. The idea of Stargate is not mine.
Rating - PG-13
Author's Note: NHA may archive. Anyone else is free to do so as well, just let me know. Thank you.
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Buffy was worried about Willow. Well, the whole gang was worried, but Giles had assured them all with time, she would heal. In the meantime, they had their own lives to restore back to some resemblance of normalcy. With nothing pressing to do, Buffy decided to visit the place where Warren, Andrew, and Jonathan hatched their evil schemes. As she searched the place, wary of booby traps, she came across a box stored in a closet way in the back. She pulled it out and opened it.
Inside the box, there were a number of books. The books had been blank at the time of purchase, but now they contained words. As Buffy flipped through them, she discovered that they were stories written by Jonathan. Not only did Jonathan write the books, he also put in people he knew...like Willow, and Xander, and...Xander and Riley were best friends?
She looked at the inside cover.
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(TH) The Hunters, written by Jonathan Levenson
I think I'm in a wrong life some times, because I'm with two guys who like to hurt and destroy when I wish I were with those who really cared about people, like Buffy and her friends. They're really nice people. I hate what we put them through. They're heroes. Always have been, always will be. Especially Buffy. So I wrote these stories for them and hope the best for them. They deserve the best.
Spike and Angel aren't vampire's in the story. They're normal people with beating hearts. Xander is a tough guy, I mean, really. I've always seen him and Willow together and so in my stories, they are. I've got Warren in here doing what he does best, and I also put in Andrew only in the stories, his name is Andrew Loser. Buffy isn't the main focus of the stories, and I did that because I think that sometimes, she just wants to sit back and let someone else be in the center of the story. I think she gets tired of being the hero she is. Anyway, she doesn't appear in the story until later. Much later. She's not in The Hunters, but shows up in the series later, and Angel and Spike fight over her.
I'm in it, too. I'm Jon Levon, and, well...I feel like Jon Levon at times. I act like I'm the bad guy, but really I'm not.
Prologue
Xander Harris was angry. Willow Rosenberg was missing, and there wasn't a single clue leading to her location. Not a trace; she was simply gone.
Xander and his partner-and best friend-Riley Finn, began a search. They used the resources they had and went through the State of New York like a hurricane. They visited their contacts, they roughed up the local thugs, they checked with their friendly contacts of the local police and sheriff's departments...but came up empty.
Well, almost empty.
There was one odd phenomena taking place in a town called Allentown. The town was a population of four hundred people, and a lot of stories were passed around about the strange people living in Allentown. They were a quiet community, but a little too quiet. People who have gone near the town usually vanished, never to return. It was said Allentown didn't like visitors. Rumor had it that anyone venturing too close to the town met a terrible fate...but that was only rumor.
Wasn't it?
However, none of that actually mattered any more because four hundred people in Allentown were no longer in residence. They had all vanished, every last one of them. They disappeared as if they never existed at all. Within twelve hours upon the discovery of the disappearances, the United States Army had placed the town under Quarantine. Then a team of specialists was sent in to determine the cause of this strange incident.
They could find no answers.
The President of the United States, who had been monitoring the situation from the white house, wanted answers. He wanted them now. He decided to call in the big guns.
He sent the Hunters to Allentown. (TH)
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Buffy shook her head. It was an interesting story, but a little strange. What was the deal with Riley and Xander? Best friends? Not in this lifetime. Not ever. They were never enemies, but they certainly were NOT the best of friends.
However, she was curious, so she took the box home and began to read them at her leisure.
She sat down with a cup of hot cocoa in the comfort of her own home. She tucked her feet on the couch, took a sip, and then she proceeded to read...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(TH) Chapter 1-Ground Rules
The Hunters didn't really know what to expect. When they arrived in Allentown, Xander and Riley prepared themselves with their customary firearms. They each carried a semi-automatic Uzi, and Xander carried his favorite .357 Magnum, while Riley favored the .44 Magnum Head-blaster. Or at least, he like to call it that. They carried radios with them and at the word from their Commander-And-Chief, Rupert Giles, the two men went into the town of Allentown.
It was a ghost town. As they walked cautiously down the streets, nothing moved. No one looked out windows. No one stood in doorways. Nothing. The only sound about them was the wind. The two men stopped in the street and looked about.
"Where the hell did everybody go?" Xander asked, not really expecting an answer.
Riley shook his head. "I have no idea."
"A biological weapon, you think?" Xander paused in thought. "Maybe the entire population won a trip to Disney Land. How about an alien abduction?" He frowned. "We need Mulder and Scully on this one, Finn."
Riley nodded in agreement. "Yeah...I think you're right."
Suddenly, their radio's squawked at them.
Riley snatched his up and brought it to his mouth. "Go," he said.
"Have you found anything?" came Giles' voice. He had remained at the town's perimeter inside the Army encampment.
"Yeah. We found the same thing the so-called specialist's found. Nothing." He looked around. "We're going to check inside some of these buildings and have a look around."
"Just be careful."
"Right."
"And Xander?"
Xander grabbed his radio. "Yeah?"
"Try not to do any damage."
He grinned. "Right."
Riley put his radio away and looked at Xander. "Where to? You have a preference?"
"Has anyone even bothered to go inside any of the buildings yet?" Xander wanted to know.
Riley shook his head. "We'll be the first."
"Let's take a look at their local jail."
Riley nodded.
The Hunters began to move down the street toward the jail. (TH)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Buffy frowned. She wondered if this story was going to pick up any time soon. The only reason she wanted to continue was because she wanted to see what Jonathan did with her friends. So far, there were Riley, Xander, Giles and Willow.
Well what was I? she wanted to know. Chopped liver? She frowned. Ewwww. Why couldn't I at least make a cameo in the first one? I can do cameo's.
She turned the page.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(TB) They didn't find a damned thing. No one was in the local jail. The offices were empty, the jail cell was empty, and computers were left on.
"This is damned peculiar," Riley finally said as his eyes took in everything around him. "It gives me the creeps. There is no sign of any struggles. It's as if everyone decided to just get up and leave."
"Leaving everything behind," Xander noted as he pointed to a purse on someone's desk.
Riley looked at it. Suddenly, he became curious about something and he moved behind the desk, taking a seat before the computer. He looked intently at the monitor screen.
"Hey, look at this," he said.
Xander approached and he looked at the screen as well. His eyes widened in surprise. In the center of the screen was one single word.
HUNTERS
The two men looked at each other.
"Somebody's password?" Xander asked.
Riley shook his head. "That's not a password. That's just weird."
"C'mon, Finn. I know what you're thinking and that's just crazy."
"Is it?"
Xander let out a sigh. "How the hell could someone have staged this disappearing act for us? We're talking four hundred people or so! This is a pretty big trick to pull just to get our attention. It would have to have taken years to make it work."
"The Hunters began back in '84. Someone could have plotted this back then."
"That's eleven years ago." Xander frowned. "I'm not convinced. I think it's just a coincidence." He pointed at the computer. "Why don't you see if you can get something else to appear on the screen?"
"Eleven years is plenty of time to stage something this big," Riley continued as his fingers danced across the keyboard. "I think this is some kind of set up. In fact, I have this feeling someone's playing a game." He pressed the ENTER key.
The screen changed, and new words appeared.
WELCOME TO THE PARADOX GAME
"The Paradox Game?" Xander scowled as he shook his head. "C'mon, Finn. This is a waste of time."
Riley held up a hand as more words appeared. He read them out loud. "'The ground rules are...1) Elimination, and 2) Survival. To begin, enter the doorway to another dimension. The doorway is stable and can be located. Once you have entered the doorway, the game will begin and must be played through until the end.'"
Xander shook his head. "So...? It's a computer game."
Riley looked at it thoughtfully. "I'm not so sure about that." He tapped ENTER. More words appeared.
THE PLAYERS
Beneath that were three clear pictures of Xander, Riley, and Willow. Now there was no more room for doubt. Riley looked at Xander with a knowing look.
"Son-of-a-bitch!" Xander hissed through clenched teeth. "This Paradox Game is aimed at us!"
"And don't you just hate it when I'm right?" Riley asked, grinning.
Xander sighed.
Beneath their pictures was a fourth picture. Someone was in shadow with a large question mark in the center of the frame. Above this was the word...
THE OPPONENT
Xander read the rest out loud. "'The object is to 1) Prevent Chaos, and 2) Return Home.'"
Riley read the rest of it. "'Let the games begin.'"
Xander paused as he gave it some thought. Finally, he sighed in frustration. "Who the hell is doing this, and why?"
Riley shrugged. "I don't know." The screen suddenly went blank, and he worked his fingers across the keyboard and frowned. Then he tapped the side of the monitor screen. "Hey, it's not working now."
"Forget about the computer, Finn. That thing mentioned something about a doorway. We've got to find it. At least now we know we're on the right track." He looked at Riley. "Whoever is behind this has also got Willow."
"How are we going to find this doorway?"
Xander shrugged.
"Well, hold on a sec...let me think."
"Think? What's there to think about?"
Riley held up a hand, a thoughtful look on his face. "There's gotta be a clue in the Ground Rules, Harris. Something that will tell us where the doorway is." He paused in thought. "It opens to other dimensions. It can be located."
"It's stable," Xander said helpfully.
"Stable," Riley repeated.
He nodded. "Yeah. Stable."
They looked at each other. Then, at the same time, they both said, "A barn!" (TH)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Buffy stifled a yawn. She got up, stretched, and then took her mug into the kitchen. She put it into the sink and took Jonathan's first book with her to her room. After she got settled into bed, she began to read.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(TH) The Hunters stood in the open entrance of a barn on the outskirts of town. From where they stood, Xander and Riley could see the Army encampment on the other side of a field just a few hundred yards away. There were two figures standing in front of the camp. They knew who those two figures were. One was their CO, Giles, and the other was their favorite computer wiz, Willy Snitch. Riley had reported their discovery to Giles via radio and he and Xander were about to proceed into the barn.
At the entrance, their weapons at the ready, the two men paused to listen.
Finally, Xander said, "I wonder if this game is like a computer game."
"It's not, you know."
He looked at Riley.
"It's not a computer game," Riley pointed out. "This is real."
"Well, no duh, Sherlock. I meant 'in theory'. In computer games, whenever a player has to go through a doorway, there's always some freaky, mutated beast that's guarding the entrance." He shrugged. "That's all I meant."
They looked at each other.
Riley frowned. "You know, you think too much." He paused. "There's nothing alive in this town but you and me. The Army is outside the town limits. Besides, I don't see any fancy doorway."
"Maybe it's a hidden door. Like underground."
"Maybe..."
"Well, we're not going to find it here in this doorway." Xander stepped inside the barn with his Uzi at the ready. "Let's go take a look."
Suddenly, Riley shouted, "DOWN!"
Instinct took over, and Xander moved fast. He dropped to the ground as something sliced through the air above him, right where he had been standing. Then, he rolled back toward Riley as something pounded into the ground, nearly taking his head off.
He managed to get to Riley who helped him up.
Then they both turned and stared in astonishment.
The creature before them was from out of a fantasy. It was a Centaur, half man; half horse. It was huge and it towered over them with a mace in one hand and in the other, a spear. It reared back and threw the spear with a roar.
The spear was heading right for Riley's chest. (TH)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Move, you dumbass!" Buffy exclaimed.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(TH) Xander dove and tackled Riley down to the ground, but Xander dropped his Uzi. Riley still had his, unfortunately with Xander on top of him, he couldn't bring the Uzi around to fire. Then, he heard the hooves beating on the ground. The Centaur was coming and coming fast.
"Harris!" Riley shouted. "Get off me!"
Xander did. He saw the beast coming toward him with every intention of clubbing him to death with the mace. Without realizing he was in Riley's line of fire, he snatched up the spear that had stuck into the ground. Holding it in two hands, Xander raised it above his head just in time to block the mace. The spiked ball on the mace struck the spear, and the spear didn't break.
The Centaur swung again.
Xander barely managed to block the blow, and he could feel the impact in his arms. The beast was incredibly strong. Xander was not going to be able to fight it much longer. As if to confirm this, the Centaur suddenly reached down with its free hand and grabbed Xander by the throat. With absolutely no effort at all, it lifted the Hunter completely off the ground.
It was choking Xander, and it intended to snap his neck like a twig. Xander did the only thing he could think of that would save his life. He thrust the spear into the Centaur's chest.
The beast roared in pain and anger. Then it raised the mace above Xander's head. (TH)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"C'mon! Xander kill that thing already!" Buffy protested. Then she sighed. "Well, I would have killed it already." She continued to read.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(TH) Riley quickly moved around to the Centaur's side and fired a burst from his Uzi. Bullets ripped into the creature's side, adding more pain to its' injury. It dropped the mace, roared in pain, and dropped Xander to the ground.
Then, it turned to face Riley and it didn't look happy at all.
"Oh, great," Riley muttered to himself as he watched the Centaur.
The beast was wounded now and it staggered toward Riley. The Hunter raised the Uzi and he opened fire. At point-blank-range, the creature took several hits and it finally fell to the ground. It struggled once to get up, and then it lay still.
Xander stood glaring down at it as he rubbed his neck.
Riley came up beside him. "You okay?"
He nodded.
"You know, I could have done that before if you hadn't of pulled that crazy stunt of yours. Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
He shook his head.
"Well, Harris, are you going to say something?"
Xander nodded. "Yeah. What the hell was that thing?"
Riley shrugged. "I have no idea."
Xander frowned as he retrieved his Uzi from the ground. "Well, I know one thing for certain."
"What's that?"
"The Glue Factory will not know what to do with this one." (TH)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Buffy frowned. "Huh?"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(TH) "What was the shooting all about?" Giles demanded over the radio. "What were you fighting with? From here, it looked like a man came at you, riding upon a horse."
"The man was a horse," Xander replied.
"What was that?"
Riley filled him in on what had happened. "We think it was this doorway's guardian. There shouldn't be any more, at least we hope there isn't. We're going in."
"I don't like it."
"We can't ignore this, Giles. If this doorway exists, and this creature can come through it, imagine what else could."
"Then I don't have to advise you to use extreme caution, do I?"
"No, sir. You don't."
There was a pause. "Well, I advise it anyway. Good luck."
"Thanks." He put his radio away. He looked at Xander. "Are you ready?"
Xander looked toward the entrance of the barn with determination. "I was born ready."
The Hunters entered into the barn with extreme caution. There were no further attacks made against them. Everything was once again quiet. They searched the barn thoroughly and their persistence paid off. They discovered a trap door in the pigpen beneath a hog-feeding trough. They opened it and looked into a hole big enough to crawl into. Somehow, there was light coming from the hole.
"Heads or tails," Riley inquired as he fished into his pockets for a coin. He pulled out a coin.
Xander grinned wryly at him. "Heads."
Riley tossed the quarter into the air and watched it come back down. He caught it in one hand and slapped it onto the back of his other hand. He grinned in triumph. "Tails. I go..." he turned to look at Xander, but Xander had already disappeared down the hole, "...first."
He let out a sigh, shook his head, and climbed down after his friend. When they were both below, unknown to them, the trap door closed behind them. They were trapped inside, and their radios were no longer operational.
As the Hunters walked along a tunnel, they discovered that the walls were somehow giving off a light to see by. The tunnel led eventually to a large room. The room was empty except for one thing. In the center of the room was a tall, circular arch. There were designs and symbols all over the arch. In the open space in the arch, it appeared as if there was a wall of water.
The Hunters walked around the object, stunned. They stopped in front of it and looked at it.
"The doorway, I presume," Riley said in a voice filled with wonder.
Xander was shaking his head. "This is incredible! Could this actually lead to other dimensions?"
"There's only one way to find out."
They looked at each other.
Xander paused. "Willow could be on the other side of this thing."
Riley nodded. "Yeah. So could the people of Allentown, and I'm betting they have something to do with this portal." He looked at Xander. "Once we do this, there's no turning back."
Xander grinned. "We're Hunters, Finn. We've never walked away from an adventure."
He smiled wryly. "I never said we would walk away. Heads, or tails?" He tossed him the quarter.
"I'll take--" Xander began as he caught the coin in the air, but Riley grinned at him then dove into the portal.
Xander swore and dove in after him.
A bright light bathed the room and then the portal returned to the way it was. The Hunters had disappeared without a trace. (TH)
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Buffy yawned. She was getting tired. It was three in the morning and she wanted to find out where Xander and Riley went, but her eyelids were so heavy. She put the book down, turned off her light, and she dreamt about Riley, Xander, and...She opened her eyes. Wait a minute! she thought. Willy the Snitch is in the book, as Willy Snitch? A computer expert?
She sighed. What was Jonathan thinking?
She rolled over and went to sleep.
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TO BE CONTINUED--