Fic: The First 1/?
Series: The Prophecy of 6
Author: DarkChilde
Email: princess220@alltel.net
Rating: Overall for series is a hard R
Summary: A prophecy takes the Scoobies to New York City where their lives will change forever.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Buffy the Vampire Slayer characters. Joss and others own it all. No profit is made. I do own several original characters in this story. They are from my, as yet unpublished, trilogy, Eternal.
Spoiler Warnings: Anything through the season 6 episode with Xander's wedding, is fair game. I don't think I have any blatant spoilers, but you never know what might pop up. This is actually set in what would be season 8.
Distribution: List archives can have it. If anyone else wants it just let me know. I haven't turned anyone down yet.
Feedback: Yes please. I live for it.
Author's Notes: Okay first of all I have to thank my faithful beta Heather. Not that she'll ever see that, but oh well. Next, there are some things that you should probably know about this story. If this works out it will be the first part in a 6 part series. It's a cross-over with a trilogy of novels that I have written, but haven't found a publisher for yet. Given that no one on these lists is likely to have read them, I have tried to make everything very clear, but here are some basics. Alexei, a 200+ vampire controls the city of New York. He also has a human consort, Katharine. The vampires here are similar to Buffy vampires, but with a whole different culture and a wider range of power. If anyone wants to know more about the novels, I'm always happy to talk about them. Spike knows Alexei, because he was master in New York when Spike and Drusilla were there in the 70's.
"Oh, dear God." Giles exclaimed. He had been skimming through a new book in the magic shop. Deciding whether to keep it for his collection or offer it for sell.
Buffy looked up, but didn't seem at all worried. "What's up Giles? End of the world again?"
"Really, I would think that you would have a little concern." Giles was annoyed with Buffy's complacency. It wasn't as if he was ever overly dramatic. "I've found a prophecy. It will take some checking, but I believe that it will become an issue quite soon."
"Sorry, it's just...How many times have we saved the world, averted the apocalypse, or stopped a prophecy. I don't mean to sound unconcerned, but it's just kind of my life." Buffy hadn't meant to upset Giles. "So, what kind of terrible thing is in this one?"
Giles sighed as he set the book aside, to explain this new threat to Buffy. "Literally hundreds of ancient manuscripts, from around the world, refer to the six Evils. While a great deal of scholarship has been applied to these references, no one actually knows what they are. I believe that the prophecy I have found indicates that the first of the six will awaken. As I said, it will take some research, but I believe that this will happen soon and somewhere in this country." Giles paused for a moment, unsure that he really wanted to add this last, "I think I may need some assistance. We should call Angel."
Buffy was serious now, she knew that if Giles was willing to call Angel something truly scary was involved with this prophecy. "I'll take care of it, if you'll call Willow and the others. We can get the research party started. Do you want all of them, or just Angel or Wesley?" Buffy had already pulled a cell-phone out of her jacket pocket.
"I'm not sure. The source materials will be in a variety of languages, both demon and human. Both Angel and Wesley, may be helpful for that. If we have to fight this thing, we may need the others."
"Okay, I'll ask Wesley and Angel to come. If there's nothing going on there, the others will come too."
"Alright." Giles stood and crossed to the phone at the counter. He began dialing the others, ready to tell them of yet another threat to the world. Buffy likewise dialed the number for the Hyperion hotel in Los Angeles. Calling old friends for help yet again.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Half an hour after Buffy and Giles began dialing numbers, the table at the magic shop was full of books and people poring over them. Wesley, Angel, and Cordelia were on their way, and Willow, Tara, Xander, and Spike had already arrived. They were used to research, and settled into an easy pattern.
In the last several years, Willow had gotten back to her roots, as far as research went. She still assisted with magic occasionally, but preferred to stay away from it. She never wanted to be in a position where she would use her power to hurt those she loved again. So, these days, hacking was once more her specialty. If there was information about this prophecy that was accessible by a computer, she would find it.
Spike and Tara were both accumulating a pile of references. Between the two of them they could read 10 languages. They may not know quite what to do with the information they found, but they could assemble it for someone who did.
Giles was doing all of the heavy reading. Whenever one of the others found something potentially useful they would pass it along to him. The pile of books and printed sheets from the computer just kept growing. It would be a relief when he had some help. Of course if the prophecy weren't so vague, or if he had it in its original state, there might be a little less to sift through.
Xander and Dawn were busy. They continually brought likely looking books to Tara and Spike for closer examination, did a little reading through the English texts on their own, and kept the group supplied with coffee, snacks, and anything else that made this job a little more comfortable. Buffy was doing her nightly patrol, but would be back to help out where she could soon.
They had a system, it worked, and sooner or later it would produce results. Hopefully, before the world came to an end.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It was another forty-five minutes before Angel, Wesley, and Cordelia arrived to help. Wesley and Angel settled in to help Giles. With three of them working on the stack of materials it finally began to diminish. Cordelia, it seemed, had picked up a new skill in Los Angeles. She was able to take the notes of Wesley, Angel, and, after a little questioning, Giles and turn them into something that the whole group could understand. She also made note of the things that were confirmed by a variety of sources, who had found each item, and the sources used. She turned out page after page of neatly organized facts.
The group worked until shortly before dawn. Spike and Angel needed to get some sleep today and they would have to be elsewhere to do that. Giles told the others that they should get some rest as well. Buffy, Dawn, Willow, and Tara returned to the Summer's home. They would try and get some rest. Wesley stayed, preferring to continue working. Cordelia also decided to stay, being unwilling to fall behind in her work. Xander went home.
The pattern continued. Each grabbing a few hours of sleep when possible, reporting to jobs or school when necessary, and working the rest of the time. The entire group was exhausted and frustrated. There were too many variations, too many languages, and too many vague references. They had made some progress. Wesley had determined that the prophecy would probably take place in New York City. They had found nothing to confirm the nature of this first of six evils, how to fight it, or even what it meant for the world.
It was in this atmosphere, that Giles made the first real breakthrough in days. "I think I may have found something." The declaration was quiet, understated, but all eyes in the room still turned to look at him. "I believe I've just found the key that will identify dates in these prophecies. At least, we'd know when to expect this to happen."
Wesley stepped closer examining the text that Giles was still holding. "Yes, I think you may be right. We will have to make some adjustments for changes to the calendar, but I believe we'll at least be able to get a date from this."
The announcement caused a brief moment of excitement before everyone realized that all it really meant was that there was more research to be done. They quickly settled back into the mind-numbing routine that had become their days. For two more days the pattern continued.
It was Giles who finally finished the work. He and Cordelia were alone in the shop at the time. Work, school, or sleep had taken the rest of them away. "I've got it. I'm done." The words were spoken quietly and they barely carried to Cordelia sitting several feet away.
She glanced up, unsure if she'd even heard correctly. "You're sure?" Giles nodded in response. "Okay, I'll call the others." Cordelia began dialing the list of numbers that would bring everyone back to the magic shop.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"We still don't know anything. What are we going to do just fly to New York and hope we run into something evil to fight and we can figure out how to kill it when the time comes?" Buffy's voice was heavy with sarcasm. She didn't see that this new information did them any good.
"Of course not. We will go to New York. We will continue our research there, and prepare ourselves as best we can." Giles voice held a harsh edge, he too was frustrated, and dealing with Buffy was more than he could handle just now.
Spike interrupted at this point, his voice oddly unsure. "Yeah, about that. There may be a problem there. New York is run by traditionalists, and I kinda pissed the master off the last time I was there. We'll have to get permission for Angel too."
"I had heard that New York was controlled by a master. The watcher diaries mention a vampire named Alexei from the time that the city was founded. Very little is known about him before he came to the new world. He dropped out of sight nearly a hundred years ago, though. The diary of the last watcher to have a slayer in New York seemed to indicate that Alexei's protégé, Nicholas was now in charge. Is that correct?" Wesley's voice was academic. There were vampires in the world of an ancient order. They had rules and traditions that didn't bind the common vampire. Very little was known about them, and Wesley was curious.
Spike laughed at Wesley's questioning. "The city would have fallen apart in a week under Nick. That's assuming he even survived Alexei's death. Alexei's still in charge, just staying under your radar. It was that last slayer that got him so pissed at me. Don't know how he'll feel about me coming back to his city and bringing along a slayer and a couple of watchers."
"If you talk to him, will you be able to get into the city. If this thing is as bad as I think it is, we're going to need all of the power we can get." Anger laced Giles' voice. It was ridiculous that because of the actions of Spike, they were going to have to negotiate with vampires.
"He'll want to meet, no weapons, but I'm certain he'll let us in."
"Oh no. This is not going to happen. First of all, I'm the slayer. We kill vampires we don't have meetings with them. Second, I will not go into a situation where there are vampires and I don't have any weapons." Buffy was practically screaming at this point.
"Yeah, because that's what you've been doing with the two vampires in the room for years now. And believe me it would be a much better idea to have this meeting than to have his people after us." Spike was angry now too.
"If you don't watch it, I will remember I'm the slayer with you." This argument was spinning out of control.
"Stop it! Stop it now. Both of you." The room fell silent as shocked eyes fell on Xander. "We don't have time for this. Spike fucked up 30 years ago, big surprise. There isn't anything we can do about it. We need in that city. Giles if Spike sets up that meeting will we be safe?"
The silence hung for a moment more. Everyone was surprised at Xander's outburst. Finally Giles answered his question, "From what I know of these vampires, we should be safe, if we take some precautions. The meeting should be on neutral ground. No more than say 4 of his people should be present and I'd like at least the humans to be allowed stakes and crosses, nothing exotic. Will he agree to those terms, Spike?"
Spike nodded. "I'll make the call." He got up and walked out of the room into Giles' office to use the phone there. Xander followed him unnoticed by the others. "Thanks for stopping that argument, Xan."
"Don't start Spike. I'm not any happier with you than Buffy right now, but we can't afford to waste time here. "Make your call and make damn sure to be as polite as you have to be to get into that city." There was a coldness to Xander's voice that Spike wasn't used to hearing. He didn't like that sound, hoped he never put it there again. He nodded as he picked up the phone and began dialing a number that he had filed away in his memory years ago.
In the other room Buffy was contiuing her argument. "I still don't like it." Buffy sounded like a petulant child.
"Buffy, would you please be quiet. We don't have a great deal of choice in this matter." Giles' irritation was still evident in his voice.
Buffy was quiet, but still obviously unhappy, when Spike returned 30 minutes later. "Took a bit to reach Alexei. He's agreed to a meeting on neutral ground. We'll meet in a small club, I know the place it's warded against violence. He won't bring any more than 4 of his people with him, and he'll allow the humans in the group a stake and a cross each. Nothing fancy, no crossbows or anything. Meetings set for tomorrow, just after sunset. He says he's heard a lot about the Slayer and is anxious to meet her. I think he may have been saying that sarcastically though, it's hard to tell with him."
"Well, then I guess we need to make some travel arrangements. I'll do it, no one can get bargain flights better than I can." Cordelia jumped at the chance to be useful again. "I'm going to try to get us out on flights that leave tonight, so you should all go pack. We won't have much time."
"While you do that I'll call Gunn and Fred, they can come and stay with Dawn." Angel added.
"What? Why do I have to stay here with babysitters. I'm not a baby." Dawn wanted to go along.
"Dawnie, I think that Angel is right. You should stay, we don't know what we're coming up against, and besides you have school and I don't have any good reason to pull you out for a month, not one that your guidance counselor would understand anyway. And they won't be babysitters, they'll just be here in case you need something and to fix you dinner and things like that." Buffy tried to appease her little sister.
"I don't need protecting, but you're right about school. They'll never let me miss that much. Okay, I'll stay."
Series: The Prophecy of 6
Author: DarkChilde
Email: princess220@alltel.net
Rating: Overall for series is a hard R
Summary: A prophecy takes the Scoobies to New York City where their lives will change forever.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Buffy the Vampire Slayer characters. Joss and others own it all. No profit is made. I do own several original characters in this story. They are from my, as yet unpublished, trilogy, Eternal.
Spoiler Warnings: Anything through the season 6 episode with Xander's wedding, is fair game. I don't think I have any blatant spoilers, but you never know what might pop up. This is actually set in what would be season 8.
Distribution: List archives can have it. If anyone else wants it just let me know. I haven't turned anyone down yet.
Feedback: Yes please. I live for it.
Author's Notes: Okay first of all I have to thank my faithful beta Heather. Not that she'll ever see that, but oh well. Next, there are some things that you should probably know about this story. If this works out it will be the first part in a 6 part series. It's a cross-over with a trilogy of novels that I have written, but haven't found a publisher for yet. Given that no one on these lists is likely to have read them, I have tried to make everything very clear, but here are some basics. Alexei, a 200+ vampire controls the city of New York. He also has a human consort, Katharine. The vampires here are similar to Buffy vampires, but with a whole different culture and a wider range of power. If anyone wants to know more about the novels, I'm always happy to talk about them. Spike knows Alexei, because he was master in New York when Spike and Drusilla were there in the 70's.
"Oh, dear God." Giles exclaimed. He had been skimming through a new book in the magic shop. Deciding whether to keep it for his collection or offer it for sell.
Buffy looked up, but didn't seem at all worried. "What's up Giles? End of the world again?"
"Really, I would think that you would have a little concern." Giles was annoyed with Buffy's complacency. It wasn't as if he was ever overly dramatic. "I've found a prophecy. It will take some checking, but I believe that it will become an issue quite soon."
"Sorry, it's just...How many times have we saved the world, averted the apocalypse, or stopped a prophecy. I don't mean to sound unconcerned, but it's just kind of my life." Buffy hadn't meant to upset Giles. "So, what kind of terrible thing is in this one?"
Giles sighed as he set the book aside, to explain this new threat to Buffy. "Literally hundreds of ancient manuscripts, from around the world, refer to the six Evils. While a great deal of scholarship has been applied to these references, no one actually knows what they are. I believe that the prophecy I have found indicates that the first of the six will awaken. As I said, it will take some research, but I believe that this will happen soon and somewhere in this country." Giles paused for a moment, unsure that he really wanted to add this last, "I think I may need some assistance. We should call Angel."
Buffy was serious now, she knew that if Giles was willing to call Angel something truly scary was involved with this prophecy. "I'll take care of it, if you'll call Willow and the others. We can get the research party started. Do you want all of them, or just Angel or Wesley?" Buffy had already pulled a cell-phone out of her jacket pocket.
"I'm not sure. The source materials will be in a variety of languages, both demon and human. Both Angel and Wesley, may be helpful for that. If we have to fight this thing, we may need the others."
"Okay, I'll ask Wesley and Angel to come. If there's nothing going on there, the others will come too."
"Alright." Giles stood and crossed to the phone at the counter. He began dialing the others, ready to tell them of yet another threat to the world. Buffy likewise dialed the number for the Hyperion hotel in Los Angeles. Calling old friends for help yet again.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Half an hour after Buffy and Giles began dialing numbers, the table at the magic shop was full of books and people poring over them. Wesley, Angel, and Cordelia were on their way, and Willow, Tara, Xander, and Spike had already arrived. They were used to research, and settled into an easy pattern.
In the last several years, Willow had gotten back to her roots, as far as research went. She still assisted with magic occasionally, but preferred to stay away from it. She never wanted to be in a position where she would use her power to hurt those she loved again. So, these days, hacking was once more her specialty. If there was information about this prophecy that was accessible by a computer, she would find it.
Spike and Tara were both accumulating a pile of references. Between the two of them they could read 10 languages. They may not know quite what to do with the information they found, but they could assemble it for someone who did.
Giles was doing all of the heavy reading. Whenever one of the others found something potentially useful they would pass it along to him. The pile of books and printed sheets from the computer just kept growing. It would be a relief when he had some help. Of course if the prophecy weren't so vague, or if he had it in its original state, there might be a little less to sift through.
Xander and Dawn were busy. They continually brought likely looking books to Tara and Spike for closer examination, did a little reading through the English texts on their own, and kept the group supplied with coffee, snacks, and anything else that made this job a little more comfortable. Buffy was doing her nightly patrol, but would be back to help out where she could soon.
They had a system, it worked, and sooner or later it would produce results. Hopefully, before the world came to an end.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It was another forty-five minutes before Angel, Wesley, and Cordelia arrived to help. Wesley and Angel settled in to help Giles. With three of them working on the stack of materials it finally began to diminish. Cordelia, it seemed, had picked up a new skill in Los Angeles. She was able to take the notes of Wesley, Angel, and, after a little questioning, Giles and turn them into something that the whole group could understand. She also made note of the things that were confirmed by a variety of sources, who had found each item, and the sources used. She turned out page after page of neatly organized facts.
The group worked until shortly before dawn. Spike and Angel needed to get some sleep today and they would have to be elsewhere to do that. Giles told the others that they should get some rest as well. Buffy, Dawn, Willow, and Tara returned to the Summer's home. They would try and get some rest. Wesley stayed, preferring to continue working. Cordelia also decided to stay, being unwilling to fall behind in her work. Xander went home.
The pattern continued. Each grabbing a few hours of sleep when possible, reporting to jobs or school when necessary, and working the rest of the time. The entire group was exhausted and frustrated. There were too many variations, too many languages, and too many vague references. They had made some progress. Wesley had determined that the prophecy would probably take place in New York City. They had found nothing to confirm the nature of this first of six evils, how to fight it, or even what it meant for the world.
It was in this atmosphere, that Giles made the first real breakthrough in days. "I think I may have found something." The declaration was quiet, understated, but all eyes in the room still turned to look at him. "I believe I've just found the key that will identify dates in these prophecies. At least, we'd know when to expect this to happen."
Wesley stepped closer examining the text that Giles was still holding. "Yes, I think you may be right. We will have to make some adjustments for changes to the calendar, but I believe we'll at least be able to get a date from this."
The announcement caused a brief moment of excitement before everyone realized that all it really meant was that there was more research to be done. They quickly settled back into the mind-numbing routine that had become their days. For two more days the pattern continued.
It was Giles who finally finished the work. He and Cordelia were alone in the shop at the time. Work, school, or sleep had taken the rest of them away. "I've got it. I'm done." The words were spoken quietly and they barely carried to Cordelia sitting several feet away.
She glanced up, unsure if she'd even heard correctly. "You're sure?" Giles nodded in response. "Okay, I'll call the others." Cordelia began dialing the list of numbers that would bring everyone back to the magic shop.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"We still don't know anything. What are we going to do just fly to New York and hope we run into something evil to fight and we can figure out how to kill it when the time comes?" Buffy's voice was heavy with sarcasm. She didn't see that this new information did them any good.
"Of course not. We will go to New York. We will continue our research there, and prepare ourselves as best we can." Giles voice held a harsh edge, he too was frustrated, and dealing with Buffy was more than he could handle just now.
Spike interrupted at this point, his voice oddly unsure. "Yeah, about that. There may be a problem there. New York is run by traditionalists, and I kinda pissed the master off the last time I was there. We'll have to get permission for Angel too."
"I had heard that New York was controlled by a master. The watcher diaries mention a vampire named Alexei from the time that the city was founded. Very little is known about him before he came to the new world. He dropped out of sight nearly a hundred years ago, though. The diary of the last watcher to have a slayer in New York seemed to indicate that Alexei's protégé, Nicholas was now in charge. Is that correct?" Wesley's voice was academic. There were vampires in the world of an ancient order. They had rules and traditions that didn't bind the common vampire. Very little was known about them, and Wesley was curious.
Spike laughed at Wesley's questioning. "The city would have fallen apart in a week under Nick. That's assuming he even survived Alexei's death. Alexei's still in charge, just staying under your radar. It was that last slayer that got him so pissed at me. Don't know how he'll feel about me coming back to his city and bringing along a slayer and a couple of watchers."
"If you talk to him, will you be able to get into the city. If this thing is as bad as I think it is, we're going to need all of the power we can get." Anger laced Giles' voice. It was ridiculous that because of the actions of Spike, they were going to have to negotiate with vampires.
"He'll want to meet, no weapons, but I'm certain he'll let us in."
"Oh no. This is not going to happen. First of all, I'm the slayer. We kill vampires we don't have meetings with them. Second, I will not go into a situation where there are vampires and I don't have any weapons." Buffy was practically screaming at this point.
"Yeah, because that's what you've been doing with the two vampires in the room for years now. And believe me it would be a much better idea to have this meeting than to have his people after us." Spike was angry now too.
"If you don't watch it, I will remember I'm the slayer with you." This argument was spinning out of control.
"Stop it! Stop it now. Both of you." The room fell silent as shocked eyes fell on Xander. "We don't have time for this. Spike fucked up 30 years ago, big surprise. There isn't anything we can do about it. We need in that city. Giles if Spike sets up that meeting will we be safe?"
The silence hung for a moment more. Everyone was surprised at Xander's outburst. Finally Giles answered his question, "From what I know of these vampires, we should be safe, if we take some precautions. The meeting should be on neutral ground. No more than say 4 of his people should be present and I'd like at least the humans to be allowed stakes and crosses, nothing exotic. Will he agree to those terms, Spike?"
Spike nodded. "I'll make the call." He got up and walked out of the room into Giles' office to use the phone there. Xander followed him unnoticed by the others. "Thanks for stopping that argument, Xan."
"Don't start Spike. I'm not any happier with you than Buffy right now, but we can't afford to waste time here. "Make your call and make damn sure to be as polite as you have to be to get into that city." There was a coldness to Xander's voice that Spike wasn't used to hearing. He didn't like that sound, hoped he never put it there again. He nodded as he picked up the phone and began dialing a number that he had filed away in his memory years ago.
In the other room Buffy was contiuing her argument. "I still don't like it." Buffy sounded like a petulant child.
"Buffy, would you please be quiet. We don't have a great deal of choice in this matter." Giles' irritation was still evident in his voice.
Buffy was quiet, but still obviously unhappy, when Spike returned 30 minutes later. "Took a bit to reach Alexei. He's agreed to a meeting on neutral ground. We'll meet in a small club, I know the place it's warded against violence. He won't bring any more than 4 of his people with him, and he'll allow the humans in the group a stake and a cross each. Nothing fancy, no crossbows or anything. Meetings set for tomorrow, just after sunset. He says he's heard a lot about the Slayer and is anxious to meet her. I think he may have been saying that sarcastically though, it's hard to tell with him."
"Well, then I guess we need to make some travel arrangements. I'll do it, no one can get bargain flights better than I can." Cordelia jumped at the chance to be useful again. "I'm going to try to get us out on flights that leave tonight, so you should all go pack. We won't have much time."
"While you do that I'll call Gunn and Fred, they can come and stay with Dawn." Angel added.
"What? Why do I have to stay here with babysitters. I'm not a baby." Dawn wanted to go along.
"Dawnie, I think that Angel is right. You should stay, we don't know what we're coming up against, and besides you have school and I don't have any good reason to pull you out for a month, not one that your guidance counselor would understand anyway. And they won't be babysitters, they'll just be here in case you need something and to fix you dinner and things like that." Buffy tried to appease her little sister.
"I don't need protecting, but you're right about school. They'll never let me miss that much. Okay, I'll stay."