Title: Demons & Demigods (4/?)
Author: Cyclone
Feedback: Please be gentle.
Distribution: Gimme credit and a link. Plus, archived at http://fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=62966 or http://fanfiction.net/~cyclone
Rating: I'm gonna go say PG.
Spoilers: Up to season two of Buffy, anything in the Herc/Xenaverse, and the Avalon World Tour in Gargoyles.
Disclaimer: The characters depicted herein belong to other people. I'm just borrowing them for a while.
Summary: What happens when the divine and demonic collide? Sequel to Divine Interruption.
Author's Note: Yeah, I know, it took me long enough to get to this point. But at least I'm working on it.
* * *
Twelve-year-old Cassie Newton watched the events with more than a little curiousity. She wanted to know what was going on.
She didn't have a lot of friends, and Mom and Dad were fighting a lot lately. It only got worse when Mom finally put the divorce in motion. She'd been threatening it for as long as Cassie could remember, usually when Dad got drunk, but only recently had she decided to follow through.
Cassie had made a habit of locking herself in her room when the lawyers showed up. She didn't like seeing and hearing her parents yelling at each other.
Now this new man was here. A social worker.
She didn't like the sound of that.
So, young Cassie watched anxiously.
* * *
"Mister and Missus Newton," the social worker -- whose papers identified as Aaron Warrick -- said, "we're merely concerned with what's best for your daughter."
Warrick was of average height, impeccably dressed and well-groomed. His dark hair was cut short, and his full beard was neatly trimmed. More than that, he had a presence that seemed to fill the room.
Were it anything less than their daughter at stake, the Newtons would not have wanted to argue with him.
"She's my daughter, Mister Warrick," Mrs. Newton said, as if that finished the argument.
"_Our_ daughter," her soon-to-be-ex-husband interjected acidly.
"And this is exactly the problem," Warrick said, shaking his head. After a moment, he shrugged helplessly and said, "I'm just the messenger here. This is only going to be temporary, I assure you. Just until the messy details of your divorce are finally worked out. Until then, Social Services wants her in a public care facility. Can you two honestly tell me you want your daughter to witness your shouting matches?"
They looked at each other, then their shoulders slumped in resignation at the reasoned argument.
*A couple of gullible yutzes like you don't deserve a kid with that kind of potential anyway,* Aaron thought derisively.
* * *
"You bloody _bastard_!" a voice roared. "How could you let them kill her?!"
Three guesses on who that was.
Angelus whirled on his accuser and stalked toward him. Grabbing him by the jacket, the vampire hauled him out of the wheelchair and slammed him against the wall.
"You should remember to respect your elders. Especially since I'm the only one here who can hunt."
"They are formidable foes," rumbled the lone non-vampire present. "The wounds still burn."
Dropping Spike, Angelus whirled and stabbed a finger at the Judge, "And _you_! What happened to 'burn the righteous down,' huh? You got your ass handed to you by _Xander_, of all people! He's pathetic! He's a _joke_! He's the guy that gets the _donuts_! What kind of an apocalypse demon are you, huh?!"
"I can feel your anger, Angelus," the Judge said, ignoring the vampire's tirade. "It... _soothes_ me. Feed it well, my friend, feed it so that we may burn them ever hotter."
* * *
Xander sat back and considered what Buffy had told them after the fight at the mall. She'd confronted Miss Calendar about certain suspicions.
Janna, of the Kalderash clan. Descendent of the ones who first cursed Angel.
Talk about some heavy stuff. He wondered how Giles was taking it. He shook that thought off. He had to focus on the Judge.
Herc had gone back to L.A., but he promised to be ready to fly over and keep the private line open (after admitting rather abashedly that he'd been talking with another "old friend" when Xander had tried to call during the mess 'Dite had created).
He blew out a sigh. They had to find the Judge before he started killing again, before he had time to recover. Dozens had died before they'd even been able to reach the mall, and none of them wanted a repeat of _that_ fiasco.
The question was _how_. The Judge's blood from the sword Herc had loaned him -- and had left behind, thankfully -- had evaporated before they could try anything like a locator spell.
It was _damn_ frustrating.
* * *
In the currently deserted building of a high school, something unusual was happening. Mist concealed the swim team's pool, and a small boat drifted out from nowhere.
There were four figures on the craft, and one of them -- humanoid except for her skin color, bat-like wings, and clawed fingers and toes -- knelt by the pool and dipped her hand in uncertainly.
"Is this another -- what did you call it? -- swimming pool, Elisa?"
The sole human among the travelers -- a dark-haired woman of mixed heritage -- looked around and nodded, "Yeah. Looks like a high school of some sort. I wonder where we are."
"There is power here," the largest of them -- another gargoyle -- rumbled. "Dark power. I suspect that is why Avalon sent us here."
The fourth member of the group -- a quadruped of canine behavior that bore a striking resemblance to the Hound of Gozer -- whined in agreement.
"We should get going," Elisa said. "It'd be pretty hard to explain three new statues _here_."
* * *
Daniel Osbourne was babysitting for his Aunt Maureen.
"Hey, Jordy," he said with a smile, reaching down and tickling the baby.
CHOMP!
"Ah! Okay," he said as he headed for the kitchen to wash out the wound. "No tickling."
It was then that he heard Aunt Maureen's voice echoing from outside.
"Oh, Daniel? Be careful. He's teething."
Oz nodded. He'd sort of figured that out.
"Yes, Aunt Maureen!" he called back absent-mindedly as he hunted down the first aid kit.
* * *
Author's Postscript:
*smacks self* That's what you get for not paying attention to what you're writing. Now, Cassie's acting her age. Also, I changed the social worker's name to Warrick. Sounded better, and no more pointless Polish reference.
Author: Cyclone
Feedback: Please be gentle.
Distribution: Gimme credit and a link. Plus, archived at http://fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=62966 or http://fanfiction.net/~cyclone
Rating: I'm gonna go say PG.
Spoilers: Up to season two of Buffy, anything in the Herc/Xenaverse, and the Avalon World Tour in Gargoyles.
Disclaimer: The characters depicted herein belong to other people. I'm just borrowing them for a while.
Summary: What happens when the divine and demonic collide? Sequel to Divine Interruption.
Author's Note: Yeah, I know, it took me long enough to get to this point. But at least I'm working on it.
* * *
Twelve-year-old Cassie Newton watched the events with more than a little curiousity. She wanted to know what was going on.
She didn't have a lot of friends, and Mom and Dad were fighting a lot lately. It only got worse when Mom finally put the divorce in motion. She'd been threatening it for as long as Cassie could remember, usually when Dad got drunk, but only recently had she decided to follow through.
Cassie had made a habit of locking herself in her room when the lawyers showed up. She didn't like seeing and hearing her parents yelling at each other.
Now this new man was here. A social worker.
She didn't like the sound of that.
So, young Cassie watched anxiously.
* * *
"Mister and Missus Newton," the social worker -- whose papers identified as Aaron Warrick -- said, "we're merely concerned with what's best for your daughter."
Warrick was of average height, impeccably dressed and well-groomed. His dark hair was cut short, and his full beard was neatly trimmed. More than that, he had a presence that seemed to fill the room.
Were it anything less than their daughter at stake, the Newtons would not have wanted to argue with him.
"She's my daughter, Mister Warrick," Mrs. Newton said, as if that finished the argument.
"_Our_ daughter," her soon-to-be-ex-husband interjected acidly.
"And this is exactly the problem," Warrick said, shaking his head. After a moment, he shrugged helplessly and said, "I'm just the messenger here. This is only going to be temporary, I assure you. Just until the messy details of your divorce are finally worked out. Until then, Social Services wants her in a public care facility. Can you two honestly tell me you want your daughter to witness your shouting matches?"
They looked at each other, then their shoulders slumped in resignation at the reasoned argument.
*A couple of gullible yutzes like you don't deserve a kid with that kind of potential anyway,* Aaron thought derisively.
* * *
"You bloody _bastard_!" a voice roared. "How could you let them kill her?!"
Three guesses on who that was.
Angelus whirled on his accuser and stalked toward him. Grabbing him by the jacket, the vampire hauled him out of the wheelchair and slammed him against the wall.
"You should remember to respect your elders. Especially since I'm the only one here who can hunt."
"They are formidable foes," rumbled the lone non-vampire present. "The wounds still burn."
Dropping Spike, Angelus whirled and stabbed a finger at the Judge, "And _you_! What happened to 'burn the righteous down,' huh? You got your ass handed to you by _Xander_, of all people! He's pathetic! He's a _joke_! He's the guy that gets the _donuts_! What kind of an apocalypse demon are you, huh?!"
"I can feel your anger, Angelus," the Judge said, ignoring the vampire's tirade. "It... _soothes_ me. Feed it well, my friend, feed it so that we may burn them ever hotter."
* * *
Xander sat back and considered what Buffy had told them after the fight at the mall. She'd confronted Miss Calendar about certain suspicions.
Janna, of the Kalderash clan. Descendent of the ones who first cursed Angel.
Talk about some heavy stuff. He wondered how Giles was taking it. He shook that thought off. He had to focus on the Judge.
Herc had gone back to L.A., but he promised to be ready to fly over and keep the private line open (after admitting rather abashedly that he'd been talking with another "old friend" when Xander had tried to call during the mess 'Dite had created).
He blew out a sigh. They had to find the Judge before he started killing again, before he had time to recover. Dozens had died before they'd even been able to reach the mall, and none of them wanted a repeat of _that_ fiasco.
The question was _how_. The Judge's blood from the sword Herc had loaned him -- and had left behind, thankfully -- had evaporated before they could try anything like a locator spell.
It was _damn_ frustrating.
* * *
In the currently deserted building of a high school, something unusual was happening. Mist concealed the swim team's pool, and a small boat drifted out from nowhere.
There were four figures on the craft, and one of them -- humanoid except for her skin color, bat-like wings, and clawed fingers and toes -- knelt by the pool and dipped her hand in uncertainly.
"Is this another -- what did you call it? -- swimming pool, Elisa?"
The sole human among the travelers -- a dark-haired woman of mixed heritage -- looked around and nodded, "Yeah. Looks like a high school of some sort. I wonder where we are."
"There is power here," the largest of them -- another gargoyle -- rumbled. "Dark power. I suspect that is why Avalon sent us here."
The fourth member of the group -- a quadruped of canine behavior that bore a striking resemblance to the Hound of Gozer -- whined in agreement.
"We should get going," Elisa said. "It'd be pretty hard to explain three new statues _here_."
* * *
Daniel Osbourne was babysitting for his Aunt Maureen.
"Hey, Jordy," he said with a smile, reaching down and tickling the baby.
CHOMP!
"Ah! Okay," he said as he headed for the kitchen to wash out the wound. "No tickling."
It was then that he heard Aunt Maureen's voice echoing from outside.
"Oh, Daniel? Be careful. He's teething."
Oz nodded. He'd sort of figured that out.
"Yes, Aunt Maureen!" he called back absent-mindedly as he hunted down the first aid kit.
* * *
Author's Postscript:
*smacks self* That's what you get for not paying attention to what you're writing. Now, Cassie's acting her age. Also, I changed the social worker's name to Warrick. Sounded better, and no more pointless Polish reference.