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
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Chapter 12
Leaving the school building
Xander walked out of the library at a quarter til four, ditching his daily training session with Giles so that he could make it to Buffy's house in time for their meeting. He had left a note on the library counter so he wouldn't worry, and now he was sprinting across the quad at top speed.
He managed to reach the Summers' residence with about two minutes to spare, luckily they lived fairly close to the high school. He waited a second until he had caught his breath and then he walked up to the front door and knocked.
Buffy opened the door and let him in, keeping a carefully neutral expression on her face.
"Uh..." Xander faltered, trying to think of what to say, "Is your mom home yet?"
"No," Buffy replied as she took a seat on the couch in the living room. "She's still at the gallery. She won't be home until 6."
Xander nodded, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
"So..." Buffy prompted him. "What's the deal?"
Xander didn't immediately respond. He was still trying to figure out how he was going to handle this.
Buffy sighed and stood up, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "If you want to break things off, just tell me, okay? Don't beat around the bush and try to soften the blow or whatever. I'm a big girl. I can take it." Buffy turned away from him, not able to look him in the eyes. "So if you don't want me, just say so."
Before Xander even realized what he was doing, he had crossed the room and placed his hands on Buffy's shoulders, forcing her to face him. "Buffy, don't say that!" he exclaimed, gathering her into a comforting embrace. "I don't want to end things between us, far from it."
Sighing, he pulled back and looked her in the eyes. "When I'm with you, I feel like all the horrors in the world don't even matter any more. And that's part of the problem. You see, Giles and Sonya confronted me in the library this morning. They both told me not to see you any more. They say you're a distraction I can't afford to have right now. Giles said it was either you or the job. I told him I'd walk away from it, but they really need me right now. It's life and death. I feel like I'm torn in two pieces!"
"You were going to leave it for me?" Buffy looked up, a tremulous almost-smile on her face.
"I was, until Giles hit me with his trump card. Turns out that the Council is on the verge of finding out everything. If I don't stay with them, Sonya could die. I mean, what kind of choice is that?" Xander sighed. "Sonya's my best friend. I'd die for her, but when I'm not with you, all I can think about is how I wish I WAS with you. And nothing else seems to matter. Not vampires. Not school. Not my problems at home. Nothing. And that's what Giles and Sonya just don't get. They are convinced that this is just some silly, little crush; puppy love or something. But it's more than that, Buffy."
Buffy could hardly believe what she was hearing. He did care, and so much more than she'd thought. She couldn't stop smiling. Then, when she couldn't take any more, she leaned in and kissed him full on the mouth. That occupied them for more than a moment, and then Xander pulled away a little bit.
"But what are we going to do?" he asked. "I told them I wouldn't see you. I didn't want to, but I don't have any other choice. But I can't NOT see you! Arrgh! I feel like a character from Shakespeare!"
"There's got to be a way around this." Buffy leaned her head on his shoulder and thought really hard. There had to be something he hadn't thought of. Then the metaphorical light bulb brightened above her head. "We could still see each other ... if we didn't let them find out."
"You mean sneak around?" Hope dawned on Xander's face. "Maybe it would work. After all, the Council deadline is in three months, then it will be over and done with once and for all."
"Three months isn't that long," Buffy said, willing him to agree. "I'm sure we can find a way to meet secretly, between classes and patrols and stuff." An impish grin curved her lips. "Know any good broom closets?"
Xander laughed, and pulled Buffy into a hug. "Wow -- I'm having an affair. This is kind of cool."
Buffy giggled. "I've never been part of a forbidden romance before. You're right -- it is kind of Romeo and Juliet ... only without the whole suicide thing." She glanced up at the clock. It was 4:30. "So, how much longer do you have?"
He hesitated, and then said, "For you, I'll make some time." Then he pulled her into another, long kiss. Buffy surrendered herself to the moment without another thought. They could figure things out in more detail later. For now, this was enough.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Samuel opened the door, and Spike looked on with interest to see what would be revealed. All in all, it was kind of disappointing: a raven haired girl with short cropped hair, a dark complected and haired man who stood at least 6'7" tall and an ordinary looking brunette. They were all wearing thick, brown woolen cloaks despite the lovely California temperature.
Looking over at Willow, Spike hissed, "These are the people to help us take out the whitehats for good? A tad anti-climactic, don't you think? What the devil 'ave you been smokin', lover?"
Their human slave, the boy Samuel, scooted back as quickly as his shackles would let him. Spike raised an eyebrow, and spoke more loudly, "What are you afraid of, boy?"
Then something exploded just above Spike's head.
"What the bloody hell was that?" Spike growled, and his face took on its vampire visage as he prepared to face an attacker.
"Calm down, Spikey," Willow cooed, stroking his arm. "It was just one of my new friends." She gestured for them to come in out of the sun. Samuel closed the door behind them, and the five adults went into the dining area where Willow had ordered Samuel to set up for tea.
The three humans removed their clothes, revealing very different styles of clothing. The short haired girl wore a black bodysuit with leather straps covered with weapons of various styles criss-crossed over her chest. A dagger blade stuck out of each of her black combat boots and a gun belt hung low on her hips, sporting a couple of berettas and some spare ammunition. The brunette wore plain jeans and a denim, button-up shirt. And the man wore black, floor length robes over his tall, lanky form.
"I was the one with the pyrotechnics," the man said, smothering a cough with one of his long-fingered hands. "My name is Nathan. I am a sorcerer of Druidic descent, and I'm the leader of our team." He looked at Willow and inclined his head in a respectful nod. "The Order of Taraka sends you its regard, madam. Never before has such an extensive contract been made. That's why the order sent our team. If I may say so, we are the best team available ."
"I'd expect nothing less," Willow replied with a cruel grin.
Spike looked at the humans dubiously. There were some interesting smells coming off of them -- a whole lot of magic -- but how could a sorcerer, a neo-nazi and a school girl defeat ... Then he thought of something. He looked at Willow and asked yet another question. "Exactly how extensive of a contract, m'dear? How much is this costing us?"
Willow waved a hand about in an airy gesture. "Don't worry, lover. I took care of the fee."
Nathan spoke up. "Let me answer the other question. We are here to remove the following targets: the Watcher, Mr. Rupert Giles; the paralyzed Slayer, Miss Sonya Parker; the human male, Alexander Harris; the human female, Buffy Anne Summers; and the demon known as Angelus, or Angel if you will."
"And all we have to do is get at least half of the targets to the same place at the same time tomorrow night," Willow added, smiling and rubbing her hands together like a kid in a candy store. "That's gonna be the fun part."
"Let me introduce the other members of my team," Nathan said to the room at large. "First, Kate Smith, lycanthrop."
The school girl stood up and grinned. In the blink of an eye, her face had turned to that of a snarling werewolf -- but the rest of her body had not changed, and the feral look of most werewolves was absent from her yellow eyes. Then she spoke, her voice only obscured a little by her muzzle and fangs. "Unlike most of my kind, I have complete control of my lycanthropic abilities. I can change any part of my body that I choose, or all of it. I have complete mastery of my feral instincts. And, best of all, I can change whenever I need to -- day or night, full moon or any other phase."
With that introduction, Kate reverted back to normal. She smiled prettily and sat back down. Spike was impressed in spite of himself.
Nathan gestured for the other girl to stand up. "Meet Gillian Layne. Her talent is rather unique. There isn't actually a name for it, so I'll just let her demonstrate."
Gillian stood and extended her hands. Spike expected her to go for some of her many weapons and demonstrate incredible aim or something of the sort. But what she did was something totally different and unexpected. Her hands started to extend and change shape. The left hand morphed into the blade of a sword -- long, sharp and deadly. When she moved it, Spike could hear the blade slice the air with a deadly swishing noise. The right hand distended longer and longer. It moved like a snake without a head. Finally, it was six feet long. Gillian motioned and Spike heard a cracking sound, like a whip. She had extended the new appendage so that it wrapped around one of the beams in the ceiling, and as she was hanging from it she moved her legs in a flurry of impressive karate-style kicks. Then, in a few seconds, the new and dramatic appendages had reverted back into normal hands again.
"She also has deadly aim with all forms of weaponry," Nathan said as Gillian sat back down, "but there's no need for her to demonstrate that, I'm sure."
Spike had to admit it. He was completely impressed. The whitehats didn't stand a chance. However, he only had to admit it to himself. There was no need to give these newcomers an over-inflated ego, was there? So he just sat back in his chair and smiled.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It wasn't long after dark when Giles heard someone come into the library. "Xander?" he called, hoping the boy had found his way back from his breakup with Miss Summers -- Sonya had told Giles about Xander's plans before she left for home. She was much more illuminating that the terse note Xander had left on the counter.
"No, it's me."
Giles came out of his office to find Angel standing there with a sheaf of paper. "You got here fast."
"I decided to risk flying out earlier from New York. It worked out all right. I had to take cover in the bathroom for part of the flight, but I'm here." Angel held out his hands to evidence his wholeness. Then he walked over to the counter and set down the stack of papers. "Here's Sonya's file, and a spell that I think will help. It's not the spell you wanted, but it has potential." Angel hesitated. "I'll just let you read it for yourself, and then we'll talk."
"Where are you going?" Giles asked, his eyes already straying to the stack of papers that might hold the answers to his dilemma.
"I thought I'd do a patrol run." Angel shrugged. "Xander's got natural aptitude for this, but he's been alone out there for too long. I guess I just worry."
"Natural," Giles muttered distractedly. Then he looked up at the vampire. "Go, find Xander, patrol. That would be good. Come back here later, and tell me what you think of this stuff. Then I will have had time to read it all."
Angel nodded. "Will do."
Giles looked at the first page of Sonya's file and smiled a little as he saw his own report of the Harvest situation -- the good old days, before Sonya's accident.
"Oh, and Angel..." He looked up and found Angel was gone. Giles hadn't even heard the door close.
#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
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Chapter 12
Leaving the school building
Xander walked out of the library at a quarter til four, ditching his daily training session with Giles so that he could make it to Buffy's house in time for their meeting. He had left a note on the library counter so he wouldn't worry, and now he was sprinting across the quad at top speed.
He managed to reach the Summers' residence with about two minutes to spare, luckily they lived fairly close to the high school. He waited a second until he had caught his breath and then he walked up to the front door and knocked.
Buffy opened the door and let him in, keeping a carefully neutral expression on her face.
"Uh..." Xander faltered, trying to think of what to say, "Is your mom home yet?"
"No," Buffy replied as she took a seat on the couch in the living room. "She's still at the gallery. She won't be home until 6."
Xander nodded, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
"So..." Buffy prompted him. "What's the deal?"
Xander didn't immediately respond. He was still trying to figure out how he was going to handle this.
Buffy sighed and stood up, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "If you want to break things off, just tell me, okay? Don't beat around the bush and try to soften the blow or whatever. I'm a big girl. I can take it." Buffy turned away from him, not able to look him in the eyes. "So if you don't want me, just say so."
Before Xander even realized what he was doing, he had crossed the room and placed his hands on Buffy's shoulders, forcing her to face him. "Buffy, don't say that!" he exclaimed, gathering her into a comforting embrace. "I don't want to end things between us, far from it."
Sighing, he pulled back and looked her in the eyes. "When I'm with you, I feel like all the horrors in the world don't even matter any more. And that's part of the problem. You see, Giles and Sonya confronted me in the library this morning. They both told me not to see you any more. They say you're a distraction I can't afford to have right now. Giles said it was either you or the job. I told him I'd walk away from it, but they really need me right now. It's life and death. I feel like I'm torn in two pieces!"
"You were going to leave it for me?" Buffy looked up, a tremulous almost-smile on her face.
"I was, until Giles hit me with his trump card. Turns out that the Council is on the verge of finding out everything. If I don't stay with them, Sonya could die. I mean, what kind of choice is that?" Xander sighed. "Sonya's my best friend. I'd die for her, but when I'm not with you, all I can think about is how I wish I WAS with you. And nothing else seems to matter. Not vampires. Not school. Not my problems at home. Nothing. And that's what Giles and Sonya just don't get. They are convinced that this is just some silly, little crush; puppy love or something. But it's more than that, Buffy."
Buffy could hardly believe what she was hearing. He did care, and so much more than she'd thought. She couldn't stop smiling. Then, when she couldn't take any more, she leaned in and kissed him full on the mouth. That occupied them for more than a moment, and then Xander pulled away a little bit.
"But what are we going to do?" he asked. "I told them I wouldn't see you. I didn't want to, but I don't have any other choice. But I can't NOT see you! Arrgh! I feel like a character from Shakespeare!"
"There's got to be a way around this." Buffy leaned her head on his shoulder and thought really hard. There had to be something he hadn't thought of. Then the metaphorical light bulb brightened above her head. "We could still see each other ... if we didn't let them find out."
"You mean sneak around?" Hope dawned on Xander's face. "Maybe it would work. After all, the Council deadline is in three months, then it will be over and done with once and for all."
"Three months isn't that long," Buffy said, willing him to agree. "I'm sure we can find a way to meet secretly, between classes and patrols and stuff." An impish grin curved her lips. "Know any good broom closets?"
Xander laughed, and pulled Buffy into a hug. "Wow -- I'm having an affair. This is kind of cool."
Buffy giggled. "I've never been part of a forbidden romance before. You're right -- it is kind of Romeo and Juliet ... only without the whole suicide thing." She glanced up at the clock. It was 4:30. "So, how much longer do you have?"
He hesitated, and then said, "For you, I'll make some time." Then he pulled her into another, long kiss. Buffy surrendered herself to the moment without another thought. They could figure things out in more detail later. For now, this was enough.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Samuel opened the door, and Spike looked on with interest to see what would be revealed. All in all, it was kind of disappointing: a raven haired girl with short cropped hair, a dark complected and haired man who stood at least 6'7" tall and an ordinary looking brunette. They were all wearing thick, brown woolen cloaks despite the lovely California temperature.
Looking over at Willow, Spike hissed, "These are the people to help us take out the whitehats for good? A tad anti-climactic, don't you think? What the devil 'ave you been smokin', lover?"
Their human slave, the boy Samuel, scooted back as quickly as his shackles would let him. Spike raised an eyebrow, and spoke more loudly, "What are you afraid of, boy?"
Then something exploded just above Spike's head.
"What the bloody hell was that?" Spike growled, and his face took on its vampire visage as he prepared to face an attacker.
"Calm down, Spikey," Willow cooed, stroking his arm. "It was just one of my new friends." She gestured for them to come in out of the sun. Samuel closed the door behind them, and the five adults went into the dining area where Willow had ordered Samuel to set up for tea.
The three humans removed their clothes, revealing very different styles of clothing. The short haired girl wore a black bodysuit with leather straps covered with weapons of various styles criss-crossed over her chest. A dagger blade stuck out of each of her black combat boots and a gun belt hung low on her hips, sporting a couple of berettas and some spare ammunition. The brunette wore plain jeans and a denim, button-up shirt. And the man wore black, floor length robes over his tall, lanky form.
"I was the one with the pyrotechnics," the man said, smothering a cough with one of his long-fingered hands. "My name is Nathan. I am a sorcerer of Druidic descent, and I'm the leader of our team." He looked at Willow and inclined his head in a respectful nod. "The Order of Taraka sends you its regard, madam. Never before has such an extensive contract been made. That's why the order sent our team. If I may say so, we are the best team available ."
"I'd expect nothing less," Willow replied with a cruel grin.
Spike looked at the humans dubiously. There were some interesting smells coming off of them -- a whole lot of magic -- but how could a sorcerer, a neo-nazi and a school girl defeat ... Then he thought of something. He looked at Willow and asked yet another question. "Exactly how extensive of a contract, m'dear? How much is this costing us?"
Willow waved a hand about in an airy gesture. "Don't worry, lover. I took care of the fee."
Nathan spoke up. "Let me answer the other question. We are here to remove the following targets: the Watcher, Mr. Rupert Giles; the paralyzed Slayer, Miss Sonya Parker; the human male, Alexander Harris; the human female, Buffy Anne Summers; and the demon known as Angelus, or Angel if you will."
"And all we have to do is get at least half of the targets to the same place at the same time tomorrow night," Willow added, smiling and rubbing her hands together like a kid in a candy store. "That's gonna be the fun part."
"Let me introduce the other members of my team," Nathan said to the room at large. "First, Kate Smith, lycanthrop."
The school girl stood up and grinned. In the blink of an eye, her face had turned to that of a snarling werewolf -- but the rest of her body had not changed, and the feral look of most werewolves was absent from her yellow eyes. Then she spoke, her voice only obscured a little by her muzzle and fangs. "Unlike most of my kind, I have complete control of my lycanthropic abilities. I can change any part of my body that I choose, or all of it. I have complete mastery of my feral instincts. And, best of all, I can change whenever I need to -- day or night, full moon or any other phase."
With that introduction, Kate reverted back to normal. She smiled prettily and sat back down. Spike was impressed in spite of himself.
Nathan gestured for the other girl to stand up. "Meet Gillian Layne. Her talent is rather unique. There isn't actually a name for it, so I'll just let her demonstrate."
Gillian stood and extended her hands. Spike expected her to go for some of her many weapons and demonstrate incredible aim or something of the sort. But what she did was something totally different and unexpected. Her hands started to extend and change shape. The left hand morphed into the blade of a sword -- long, sharp and deadly. When she moved it, Spike could hear the blade slice the air with a deadly swishing noise. The right hand distended longer and longer. It moved like a snake without a head. Finally, it was six feet long. Gillian motioned and Spike heard a cracking sound, like a whip. She had extended the new appendage so that it wrapped around one of the beams in the ceiling, and as she was hanging from it she moved her legs in a flurry of impressive karate-style kicks. Then, in a few seconds, the new and dramatic appendages had reverted back into normal hands again.
"She also has deadly aim with all forms of weaponry," Nathan said as Gillian sat back down, "but there's no need for her to demonstrate that, I'm sure."
Spike had to admit it. He was completely impressed. The whitehats didn't stand a chance. However, he only had to admit it to himself. There was no need to give these newcomers an over-inflated ego, was there? So he just sat back in his chair and smiled.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It wasn't long after dark when Giles heard someone come into the library. "Xander?" he called, hoping the boy had found his way back from his breakup with Miss Summers -- Sonya had told Giles about Xander's plans before she left for home. She was much more illuminating that the terse note Xander had left on the counter.
"No, it's me."
Giles came out of his office to find Angel standing there with a sheaf of paper. "You got here fast."
"I decided to risk flying out earlier from New York. It worked out all right. I had to take cover in the bathroom for part of the flight, but I'm here." Angel held out his hands to evidence his wholeness. Then he walked over to the counter and set down the stack of papers. "Here's Sonya's file, and a spell that I think will help. It's not the spell you wanted, but it has potential." Angel hesitated. "I'll just let you read it for yourself, and then we'll talk."
"Where are you going?" Giles asked, his eyes already straying to the stack of papers that might hold the answers to his dilemma.
"I thought I'd do a patrol run." Angel shrugged. "Xander's got natural aptitude for this, but he's been alone out there for too long. I guess I just worry."
"Natural," Giles muttered distractedly. Then he looked up at the vampire. "Go, find Xander, patrol. That would be good. Come back here later, and tell me what you think of this stuff. Then I will have had time to read it all."
Angel nodded. "Will do."
Giles looked at the first page of Sonya's file and smiled a little as he saw his own report of the Harvest situation -- the good old days, before Sonya's accident.
"Oh, and Angel..." He looked up and found Angel was gone. Giles hadn't even heard the door close.