Title: No Fate (2/?)
Author: Cyclone
Feedback: Please be gentle.
Distribution: Gimme credit and a link. Plus, archived at http://fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=62966
Rating: I'm gonna go say PG.
Spoilers: Up to and through Chosen.
Disclaimer: The characters depicted herein belong to the almighty Joss. I'm just borrowing them for a while.
Summary: Angel comes back in time to save the hope of the future.
Author's Note: This is sort of a fusion with The Terminator. The idea just sort of hit me.
* * *
Xander pulled onto the highway. The beat-up old station wagon was probably older than he was, but it ran, and it had been incredibly cheap.
With most of their worldly possessions in the crater that was once Sunnydale, they certainly weren't in a position to be picky about it.
He glanced at Angel out of the corner of his eye. The former vampire was looking out the window, his hand resting on the sawed-off, lever-action shotgun that rested on the floor beside him.
A look in the rearview revealed Buffy looking thoughtfully at Angel, her face a turmoil of emotions. Willow was curled up at the opposite end of the back seat, with a thoughtful expression on her face while a worried-looking Kennedy snuggled up against her.
"So, why are we going to Oxnard?" Buffy asked.
"To pick up a few things," Xander replied.
"What things?"
"Just some stuff I left behind from my Kerouac trip," he said shortly.
"Like what?" Buffy prodded.
"Weapons," Angel answered quietly. "He has a sizable armory stashed away there."
Xander whipped his head around in surprise, "You know about that?"
"Eyes on the road!" Buffy shouted.
Angel didn't seem perturbed. He just nodded. "Yeah, I do. Seven years from now, you retrieved that gear and used it to start the rebellion."
"Okay, could you _not_ do that?" Xander hissed.
Angel blinked, "Do what, sir?"
In the back seat, Buffy, Willow, and Kennedy _stared_, while Xander shook his head. It was _still_ weird hearing Angel call him "sir."
Xander shook it off, "Talk about things I haven't done yet in the past tense. It's freaking me out."
Angel grinned, "Sorry, sir."
"And what is with the 'sir'?!"
Buffy was staring. Angel. Grinning. He looked... odd.
Angel sighed, and after a moment, he said, "Xander, I've fought under your command for over thirty years. You taught me a lot -- small unit tactics, how to use artillery, allocation of resources -- stuff I'd never even considered. I respect the things you've done."
Xander shook his head, "But I _haven't_ done any of that yet."
"Maybe not, but you will. Besides, even by now, you already saved the world at least twice... and you're still the only human to survive standing up to Angelus unarmed."
"WHAT?!" Buffy blurted out.
Xander winced at Buffy's outcry as he racked his brain. What was Angel talking about?
"Wait, twice?" Willow asked, frowning. "I know once, 'cause he kinda saved it from me, but what about the other time?"
"Yeah, Angel, what _are_ you talking about?" Xander asked. "I don't remember..." he froze as he remembered Jack and the bomb. "No," he shook his head in denial. "No, I wouldn't have told _you_."
Angel shrugged and said softly, "You _were_ pretty drunk at the time. We'd taken heavy casualties the day you told me."
"_What_ are you two talking about?" Buffy demanded.
Turning to look at her, Angel asked, "Remember the Sisterhood of Jhe?"
"Yeah?" Buffy said, wondering where her ex-boyfriend was going with this.
"Well," Angel said, obviously enjoying Xander's discomfort, "long story short, while we were in the library trying to close the Hellmouth, our hidden savior here was busy keeping a gang of zombies from blowing us all up. If it weren't for him, we'd all be dead before we could close the Hellmouth."
"Okay, okay, fine," Xander hissed. "What about that nonsense about standing up to Angelus?"
Angel blinked in surprise. "Don't you remember?" He cleared his throat and said, "'If I decide to walk into Buffy's room, do you think for one microsecond that you could stop me?'"
"Holy shit," Xander murmured, stunned and a little pale. "That totally slipped my mind."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Willow said. "You... you... you face down the Scourge of Europe -- one of the most feared vampires in, like, _ever_ -- unarmed, and it _slips_ _your_ _mind_?"
"What's the big deal?" Xander asked, shaking his head. "We face death like that all the time. Scourge of Europe or not, Buffy's ex or not, you were still a vampire, Deadboy. No more, no less."
"Could you _not_ call me that?" Angel growled. "I'm not a vampire anymore."
Xander nodded and said with a smirk, "Okay, Liveboy."
Angel groaned.
Meanwhile, Buffy had gone quiet, looking at Xander thoughtfully.
* * *
"Why are we pulling into a strip joint?" Willow asked, frowning.
"This is where I worked that one summer," Xander said, climbing out of the car.
"You WHAT?" Willow sputtered, scrambling out of the car. Xander studiously ignored her and led the way to the dance bar and pounded on the door.
"We're closed!" came an accented voice from within.
"Hey, Maria, it's me!"
The door cracked open, and a Hispanic woman peered out, "Alexander?"
"Hola," Xander said with a small wave.
Her eyes widened in shock, "Madre de dios! What happened to your eye?"
He shrugged and said dryly, "Sunnydale's nightlife got a little feisty. I'm here for my stuff."
Maria nodded, but she didn't move to open the door. Instead, her eyes tracked to the rest of the group.
Xander followed her gaze, then looked back at Maria, "It's okay, Maria. They're with me."
She nodded and opened the door, waving them in wordlessly.
* * *
Author's Postscript:
I'd add more, but I didn't want to make this part too big.
Author: Cyclone
Feedback: Please be gentle.
Distribution: Gimme credit and a link. Plus, archived at http://fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=62966
Rating: I'm gonna go say PG.
Spoilers: Up to and through Chosen.
Disclaimer: The characters depicted herein belong to the almighty Joss. I'm just borrowing them for a while.
Summary: Angel comes back in time to save the hope of the future.
Author's Note: This is sort of a fusion with The Terminator. The idea just sort of hit me.
* * *
Xander pulled onto the highway. The beat-up old station wagon was probably older than he was, but it ran, and it had been incredibly cheap.
With most of their worldly possessions in the crater that was once Sunnydale, they certainly weren't in a position to be picky about it.
He glanced at Angel out of the corner of his eye. The former vampire was looking out the window, his hand resting on the sawed-off, lever-action shotgun that rested on the floor beside him.
A look in the rearview revealed Buffy looking thoughtfully at Angel, her face a turmoil of emotions. Willow was curled up at the opposite end of the back seat, with a thoughtful expression on her face while a worried-looking Kennedy snuggled up against her.
"So, why are we going to Oxnard?" Buffy asked.
"To pick up a few things," Xander replied.
"What things?"
"Just some stuff I left behind from my Kerouac trip," he said shortly.
"Like what?" Buffy prodded.
"Weapons," Angel answered quietly. "He has a sizable armory stashed away there."
Xander whipped his head around in surprise, "You know about that?"
"Eyes on the road!" Buffy shouted.
Angel didn't seem perturbed. He just nodded. "Yeah, I do. Seven years from now, you retrieved that gear and used it to start the rebellion."
"Okay, could you _not_ do that?" Xander hissed.
Angel blinked, "Do what, sir?"
In the back seat, Buffy, Willow, and Kennedy _stared_, while Xander shook his head. It was _still_ weird hearing Angel call him "sir."
Xander shook it off, "Talk about things I haven't done yet in the past tense. It's freaking me out."
Angel grinned, "Sorry, sir."
"And what is with the 'sir'?!"
Buffy was staring. Angel. Grinning. He looked... odd.
Angel sighed, and after a moment, he said, "Xander, I've fought under your command for over thirty years. You taught me a lot -- small unit tactics, how to use artillery, allocation of resources -- stuff I'd never even considered. I respect the things you've done."
Xander shook his head, "But I _haven't_ done any of that yet."
"Maybe not, but you will. Besides, even by now, you already saved the world at least twice... and you're still the only human to survive standing up to Angelus unarmed."
"WHAT?!" Buffy blurted out.
Xander winced at Buffy's outcry as he racked his brain. What was Angel talking about?
"Wait, twice?" Willow asked, frowning. "I know once, 'cause he kinda saved it from me, but what about the other time?"
"Yeah, Angel, what _are_ you talking about?" Xander asked. "I don't remember..." he froze as he remembered Jack and the bomb. "No," he shook his head in denial. "No, I wouldn't have told _you_."
Angel shrugged and said softly, "You _were_ pretty drunk at the time. We'd taken heavy casualties the day you told me."
"_What_ are you two talking about?" Buffy demanded.
Turning to look at her, Angel asked, "Remember the Sisterhood of Jhe?"
"Yeah?" Buffy said, wondering where her ex-boyfriend was going with this.
"Well," Angel said, obviously enjoying Xander's discomfort, "long story short, while we were in the library trying to close the Hellmouth, our hidden savior here was busy keeping a gang of zombies from blowing us all up. If it weren't for him, we'd all be dead before we could close the Hellmouth."
"Okay, okay, fine," Xander hissed. "What about that nonsense about standing up to Angelus?"
Angel blinked in surprise. "Don't you remember?" He cleared his throat and said, "'If I decide to walk into Buffy's room, do you think for one microsecond that you could stop me?'"
"Holy shit," Xander murmured, stunned and a little pale. "That totally slipped my mind."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Willow said. "You... you... you face down the Scourge of Europe -- one of the most feared vampires in, like, _ever_ -- unarmed, and it _slips_ _your_ _mind_?"
"What's the big deal?" Xander asked, shaking his head. "We face death like that all the time. Scourge of Europe or not, Buffy's ex or not, you were still a vampire, Deadboy. No more, no less."
"Could you _not_ call me that?" Angel growled. "I'm not a vampire anymore."
Xander nodded and said with a smirk, "Okay, Liveboy."
Angel groaned.
Meanwhile, Buffy had gone quiet, looking at Xander thoughtfully.
* * *
"Why are we pulling into a strip joint?" Willow asked, frowning.
"This is where I worked that one summer," Xander said, climbing out of the car.
"You WHAT?" Willow sputtered, scrambling out of the car. Xander studiously ignored her and led the way to the dance bar and pounded on the door.
"We're closed!" came an accented voice from within.
"Hey, Maria, it's me!"
The door cracked open, and a Hispanic woman peered out, "Alexander?"
"Hola," Xander said with a small wave.
Her eyes widened in shock, "Madre de dios! What happened to your eye?"
He shrugged and said dryly, "Sunnydale's nightlife got a little feisty. I'm here for my stuff."
Maria nodded, but she didn't move to open the door. Instead, her eyes tracked to the rest of the group.
Xander followed her gaze, then looked back at Maria, "It's okay, Maria. They're with me."
She nodded and opened the door, waving them in wordlessly.
* * *
Author's Postscript:
I'd add more, but I didn't want to make this part too big.