Destiny Lost
#1: In the Space of a Heartbeat
Authors: Sonya and Erin
E-mail: sonyajeb@swbell.net OR carynsilver@yahoo.com
Rating: PG-13
Category: B/X, AU, action/adventure, romance
Summary: An accident seconds before being chosen causes the Slayer Essence to skip Buffy, leaving her a normal girl. Then, a year and a half later, her mom's new job and her parents' divorce brings Buffy and her mother to Sunnydale, where Buffy comes in contact with the world of the night and a young man dedicated to its destruction.
Disclaimer: We do not own Buffy or any of the original characters or ideas from the show. They all belong to Joss, Mutant Enemy, etc. All we own is our own creative genius (unless that's too strong a word :) and any characters we make up.
Distribution: Sure, just let us know where it is!
Feedback: Love it! We want to know your likes AND dislikes. Flames are the only thing we do not accept.
Spoilers: Basic BtVS mythology and vampire/slayer lore
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Interlude:
England
The cold breeze whipped Angel's trench coat, but he didn't feel cold. Or, more to the point, he never felt warm, so the coldness didn't matter. He walked with a purposeful stride, but he kept to the shadows when possible, not wanting to be noticed.
The Watcher Compound was on an estate in a rural part of England, as close to London as possible while sustaining the ruralness. On the outside, the compound looked innocuous enough. Angel had asked the locals, and most people thought the estate served as some sort of finishing school, training likely lads and lasses for the future. They were more right then they knew ... but more wrong then they knew as well. If they knew what kinds of occult incidents happened behind the great stone walls and the cast-iron gates, they would drive out the Watchers like the mob drove out Frankenstein. But if Watchers knew one thing, it was how to be inconspicuous.
Of course the compound had a security system, but with Giles' help, Angel knew the codes to turn off the motion detectors. The heat sensors were no problem for someone who was already dead, and with his non-photogenic nature, Angel would not show up on any security cameras. Giles had even provided Angel with a medallion to wear against Watcher anti-vampire spells and a key ring full of useful keys -- the front door, the back door, several side doors, and keys to several locked rooms where private information was stored. The only big problem they had in getting him inside was how to circumvent the whole inviting rule. Giles had sworn to Angel that he had that covered. "Be at the door at 1:30 a.m., sharp, and someone I trust will be waiting to let you in."
Avoiding the night watchman easily, Angel went right up to the front door and waited. The second his watch hit 1:30, the door swung open. "Won't you come in?" a well-bred, British voice asked politely. Angel nodded and crossed the threshold. He started to introduce himself to the young Watcher - a man, seemingly in his early twenties, with short, brown hair and glasses - but the man stopped him.
"Please don't," the young Watcher said. "I can't know any more than necessary about you and what you're up to. Mr. Giles was my mentor a long time ago, so I'm willing to do him this favor, but it can't go beyond this. If the upper echelons of the Council find out about this, my rank would be lost. Be aware, as soon as you leave, I will cast a spell that nullifies your access to this place, so this is your one chance."
Angel nodded. "Thank you." The young Watcher adjusted his glasses with nervous fingers, and then disappeared down the hall, leaving the vampire to fend for himself.
The locked rooms were right where Giles had said they would be, down a long, musty corridor and on the right. Angel went inside and locked the door behind him. He turned and found himself in a room with rows upon rows of endless filing cabinets. He felt a twinge of frustration. Where should he start? Then he looked at the nearest filing cabinet and smiled. Handy labels on the outside of each drawer told what was inside, and relevant dates. Angel smiled at the Watchers and their collective Type-A personality.
When he reached the cabinet that said "Known Vampires, A - M" and the year of his transformation, Angel hesitated. It would be so easy to look and see what they knew about him. It would hurt to see records of his vile past, but it would be useful to know what Giles had reported about him. Angel knew that Giles no longer trusted the Council -- that was the reason for this whole covert operation. However, before Sonya's accident, Giles might have made full reports to the Council, including mentions of Angel. And though Angel now counted Giles an ally, he didn't think the rest of the tradition-bound Council members would take too kindly to befriending a vampire -- even a vampire with a soul.
But thinking of Giles and Sonya made Angel remember that he didn't have time to dally. He was needed in Sunnydale almost as much as the information he'd been sent to collect. Xander was a good Slayer, for a mortal with no superpowers whatsoever. Over the last year or so, the pair had even become friends, sort of. Angel was the only person who knew about Xander's difficult home life, and though Angel had found out about it by accident, he had kept the secret safe to protect the boy's reputation. Angel felt a sense of responsibility for the boy, though he would never say such a thing to Xander. The pseudo-Slayer wouldn't take kindly to knowing he was being looked after. But then, Sonya hadn't taken too kindly to that either. It was rough getting past her guard, and he seldom succeeded. Angel wondered yet again if he'd tried harder if he could have stopped the accident. Then he quashed that thought. It would do him no good to brood! If there was one thing Sonya's accident had shown him, it was the brooding held no purpose in the fight against evil. Actions -- like killing Drucilla instead of letting her feed on an innocent, 10-year-old boy and getting vital information from the Council -- were what counted.
He walked past the cabinet where his file would be and with some searching, finally found the cabinet for "Twentieth Century Slayers." The files were in chronological order, so Sonya's was the last. But the name on the file before Sonya's leapt out at him. Buffy Summers. The accident that had crippled the young girl and changed her destiny flashed into his mind, as vivid as the day he'd witnessed it. He wondered what she was doing now. If her broken bones had healed and if she was having a happy life. He'd always felt some sort of connection to her. He couldn't help himself -- he pulled out the file. It was very thin. The first few pages chronicled her life up to the point of her accident. Then there was a brief entry about the accident itself, with an attached eyewitness account by Merek, the man who would have been her Watcher. Then, in red ink, the words "Subject no longer viable. Watching terminated."
Angel sighed and put the folder back in its spot. He pulled Sonya's folder out and, using the copy machine that they handily kept in the records room, copied it in its entirety. As he pulled the last page off of the machine, Angel read an entry that surprised him, but it wasn't a good surprise. "Word from Mr. Giles sporadic at best, and suspect. He cares for his charge too much. During the upcoming test, evaluations will be made to ascertain the need for a new Watcher." The date for the test was scarcely three months away. Now he understood the urgency he'd heard in the librarian on the phone. Giles probably knew about the test, but Angel doubted that he knew about his own test. Their time was ticking away fast.
He looked down at his watch. It had been an hour. He'd been in there too long, and he had yet to find the spells Giles needed. But there was no help for it. Giles' contact would let him in again, so this was his only chance. Angel walked down rows of filing cabinets, looking for subject headings that seemed helpful. He pulled open a few drawers, with no results.
Then Angel found what he was looking for. An entire cabinet of healing spells, organized in alphabetical order by the disease or injury being healed. He flipped to the "p" section for paralysis. Nothing. He tried the "q" section for quadriplegic. Nothing. Angel checked "s" for spinal injuries, but found nothing there either. There was nothing helpful under the heading of "nerves" or "nerve damage," "walking" or any other subject that Angel could think of.
Angel wanted to slam the drawer shut in frustration, but he held back out of caution. He started to walk toward the door, but something stopped him. He couldn't leave this room with out an answer. Then a subject heading on a filing cabinet caught his eye. This could be it! He tried the door, but this one was locked. It was the only locked cabinet in the whole room - that had to mean something! Giles didn't even have a key for this one. But that didn't matter. Angel just pulled harder, breaking the lock. He'd hoped to leave without any evidence that he'd been here, but that was moot now. Luckily, the noise wasn't too loud. It might be days (or even weeks or months considering all the filing cabinets in the huge room) before anyone discovered the lock was broken.
Hurriedly, Angel flipped through files. There had to be something in here! There just had to be. It was his last chance - and Giles, Sonya and Xander's last chance, as well. Then he found something -- it wasn't what Giles had asked for, but it might do, especially since there was no other alternative. Angel pulled the spell from the drawer and made a quick copy of it, adding the papers to the stack in his hands. Then he put the spell back in the drawer and vacated the Watchers' Compound as quickly as his preternatural speed would let him.
When he got back to his room at the hostel, Angel knew it was too late to call Giles, and Angel was tired. He laid down on the bed, with the precious papers on the pillow next to him, and fell asleep, promising himself to call Giles the moment he woke up.
------------------------
End of Interlude.
#1: In the Space of a Heartbeat
Authors: Sonya and Erin
E-mail: sonyajeb@swbell.net OR carynsilver@yahoo.com
Rating: PG-13
Category: B/X, AU, action/adventure, romance
Summary: An accident seconds before being chosen causes the Slayer Essence to skip Buffy, leaving her a normal girl. Then, a year and a half later, her mom's new job and her parents' divorce brings Buffy and her mother to Sunnydale, where Buffy comes in contact with the world of the night and a young man dedicated to its destruction.
Disclaimer: We do not own Buffy or any of the original characters or ideas from the show. They all belong to Joss, Mutant Enemy, etc. All we own is our own creative genius (unless that's too strong a word :) and any characters we make up.
Distribution: Sure, just let us know where it is!
Feedback: Love it! We want to know your likes AND dislikes. Flames are the only thing we do not accept.
Spoilers: Basic BtVS mythology and vampire/slayer lore
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Interlude:
England
The cold breeze whipped Angel's trench coat, but he didn't feel cold. Or, more to the point, he never felt warm, so the coldness didn't matter. He walked with a purposeful stride, but he kept to the shadows when possible, not wanting to be noticed.
The Watcher Compound was on an estate in a rural part of England, as close to London as possible while sustaining the ruralness. On the outside, the compound looked innocuous enough. Angel had asked the locals, and most people thought the estate served as some sort of finishing school, training likely lads and lasses for the future. They were more right then they knew ... but more wrong then they knew as well. If they knew what kinds of occult incidents happened behind the great stone walls and the cast-iron gates, they would drive out the Watchers like the mob drove out Frankenstein. But if Watchers knew one thing, it was how to be inconspicuous.
Of course the compound had a security system, but with Giles' help, Angel knew the codes to turn off the motion detectors. The heat sensors were no problem for someone who was already dead, and with his non-photogenic nature, Angel would not show up on any security cameras. Giles had even provided Angel with a medallion to wear against Watcher anti-vampire spells and a key ring full of useful keys -- the front door, the back door, several side doors, and keys to several locked rooms where private information was stored. The only big problem they had in getting him inside was how to circumvent the whole inviting rule. Giles had sworn to Angel that he had that covered. "Be at the door at 1:30 a.m., sharp, and someone I trust will be waiting to let you in."
Avoiding the night watchman easily, Angel went right up to the front door and waited. The second his watch hit 1:30, the door swung open. "Won't you come in?" a well-bred, British voice asked politely. Angel nodded and crossed the threshold. He started to introduce himself to the young Watcher - a man, seemingly in his early twenties, with short, brown hair and glasses - but the man stopped him.
"Please don't," the young Watcher said. "I can't know any more than necessary about you and what you're up to. Mr. Giles was my mentor a long time ago, so I'm willing to do him this favor, but it can't go beyond this. If the upper echelons of the Council find out about this, my rank would be lost. Be aware, as soon as you leave, I will cast a spell that nullifies your access to this place, so this is your one chance."
Angel nodded. "Thank you." The young Watcher adjusted his glasses with nervous fingers, and then disappeared down the hall, leaving the vampire to fend for himself.
The locked rooms were right where Giles had said they would be, down a long, musty corridor and on the right. Angel went inside and locked the door behind him. He turned and found himself in a room with rows upon rows of endless filing cabinets. He felt a twinge of frustration. Where should he start? Then he looked at the nearest filing cabinet and smiled. Handy labels on the outside of each drawer told what was inside, and relevant dates. Angel smiled at the Watchers and their collective Type-A personality.
When he reached the cabinet that said "Known Vampires, A - M" and the year of his transformation, Angel hesitated. It would be so easy to look and see what they knew about him. It would hurt to see records of his vile past, but it would be useful to know what Giles had reported about him. Angel knew that Giles no longer trusted the Council -- that was the reason for this whole covert operation. However, before Sonya's accident, Giles might have made full reports to the Council, including mentions of Angel. And though Angel now counted Giles an ally, he didn't think the rest of the tradition-bound Council members would take too kindly to befriending a vampire -- even a vampire with a soul.
But thinking of Giles and Sonya made Angel remember that he didn't have time to dally. He was needed in Sunnydale almost as much as the information he'd been sent to collect. Xander was a good Slayer, for a mortal with no superpowers whatsoever. Over the last year or so, the pair had even become friends, sort of. Angel was the only person who knew about Xander's difficult home life, and though Angel had found out about it by accident, he had kept the secret safe to protect the boy's reputation. Angel felt a sense of responsibility for the boy, though he would never say such a thing to Xander. The pseudo-Slayer wouldn't take kindly to knowing he was being looked after. But then, Sonya hadn't taken too kindly to that either. It was rough getting past her guard, and he seldom succeeded. Angel wondered yet again if he'd tried harder if he could have stopped the accident. Then he quashed that thought. It would do him no good to brood! If there was one thing Sonya's accident had shown him, it was the brooding held no purpose in the fight against evil. Actions -- like killing Drucilla instead of letting her feed on an innocent, 10-year-old boy and getting vital information from the Council -- were what counted.
He walked past the cabinet where his file would be and with some searching, finally found the cabinet for "Twentieth Century Slayers." The files were in chronological order, so Sonya's was the last. But the name on the file before Sonya's leapt out at him. Buffy Summers. The accident that had crippled the young girl and changed her destiny flashed into his mind, as vivid as the day he'd witnessed it. He wondered what she was doing now. If her broken bones had healed and if she was having a happy life. He'd always felt some sort of connection to her. He couldn't help himself -- he pulled out the file. It was very thin. The first few pages chronicled her life up to the point of her accident. Then there was a brief entry about the accident itself, with an attached eyewitness account by Merek, the man who would have been her Watcher. Then, in red ink, the words "Subject no longer viable. Watching terminated."
Angel sighed and put the folder back in its spot. He pulled Sonya's folder out and, using the copy machine that they handily kept in the records room, copied it in its entirety. As he pulled the last page off of the machine, Angel read an entry that surprised him, but it wasn't a good surprise. "Word from Mr. Giles sporadic at best, and suspect. He cares for his charge too much. During the upcoming test, evaluations will be made to ascertain the need for a new Watcher." The date for the test was scarcely three months away. Now he understood the urgency he'd heard in the librarian on the phone. Giles probably knew about the test, but Angel doubted that he knew about his own test. Their time was ticking away fast.
He looked down at his watch. It had been an hour. He'd been in there too long, and he had yet to find the spells Giles needed. But there was no help for it. Giles' contact would let him in again, so this was his only chance. Angel walked down rows of filing cabinets, looking for subject headings that seemed helpful. He pulled open a few drawers, with no results.
Then Angel found what he was looking for. An entire cabinet of healing spells, organized in alphabetical order by the disease or injury being healed. He flipped to the "p" section for paralysis. Nothing. He tried the "q" section for quadriplegic. Nothing. Angel checked "s" for spinal injuries, but found nothing there either. There was nothing helpful under the heading of "nerves" or "nerve damage," "walking" or any other subject that Angel could think of.
Angel wanted to slam the drawer shut in frustration, but he held back out of caution. He started to walk toward the door, but something stopped him. He couldn't leave this room with out an answer. Then a subject heading on a filing cabinet caught his eye. This could be it! He tried the door, but this one was locked. It was the only locked cabinet in the whole room - that had to mean something! Giles didn't even have a key for this one. But that didn't matter. Angel just pulled harder, breaking the lock. He'd hoped to leave without any evidence that he'd been here, but that was moot now. Luckily, the noise wasn't too loud. It might be days (or even weeks or months considering all the filing cabinets in the huge room) before anyone discovered the lock was broken.
Hurriedly, Angel flipped through files. There had to be something in here! There just had to be. It was his last chance - and Giles, Sonya and Xander's last chance, as well. Then he found something -- it wasn't what Giles had asked for, but it might do, especially since there was no other alternative. Angel pulled the spell from the drawer and made a quick copy of it, adding the papers to the stack in his hands. Then he put the spell back in the drawer and vacated the Watchers' Compound as quickly as his preternatural speed would let him.
When he got back to his room at the hostel, Angel knew it was too late to call Giles, and Angel was tired. He laid down on the bed, with the precious papers on the pillow next to him, and fell asleep, promising himself to call Giles the moment he woke up.
------------------------
End of Interlude.