Title: Dark Events 2/3
Author: Dave Mycock
Disclaimer: I do now own Buffy or any of the others characters in this story except for the ones I have created.
Pairing: Xander/Tara
I'd like to thank my beta Bob fro all of his help with this story
Chapter 2
Rachel stood in shock as she saw her daughter enter with Tara; she had not expected to see Jill again until after all this was sorted. Jill seemed nervous and Tara seemed a little off balance as she looked at Xander's still form.
"Who's this Tara?" Buffy asked, breaking Rachel's train of thought.
"My name is Jill Wells Harris," Jill replied before Rachel could speak up.
"Harris?" Giles asked confused.
"Yes, my father was Robert Harris," she confirmed.
"How, how is that possible?" Willow asked.
"He placed an immortality spell on me like he did my mother," Jill answered again before Rachel could.
"But that would mean Rachel," Gunn started.
"Is my mother; that is correct," Jill finished.
"This is getting more confusing and serious," Cordelia muttered.
Jill looked around the room and took in the looks of the people gathered in the room. Some were looks of confusion, others looks of concern. She noticed the slayer's boyfriend in the doorway to the next room, looking interested in what was being said. She also noticed he kept looking back into the other room. She guessed there were people in there who didn't know all the details.
"So, if Robert was your father and Rachel your mother, what does that make Xander to you?" Spike asked.
Jill looked towards the table where Xander's motionless body lay and she felt a shiver run down her spine. He did resemble her father is quite a few ways, especially his dark hair.
"I guess that makes us cousins in some weird way," Jill answered walking toward the table and placing her hand on Xander's forehead. "His mind is strong, it's fighting to wake," she told the others.
"Are you a witch?" Angel asked.
"Duh," Doyle said beside him, ignoring Angel's glare while Cordelia giggled.
"Can you help wake him?" Willow asked.
"I might be able to. I will need some things though," Jill replied and then proceeded to give Giles a list of the items she needed. Rachel grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the shop while Giles and Wesley looked for the items.
Rachel pulled her out of the door and looked at her daughter's face and noticed her daughter had gotten over her nervousness; she seemed ready to argue with her, she sighed.
"I told you to stay out of this," Rachel said sternly once the door closed.
"I know, but I couldn't. I need to help," Jill argued. "Father agreed that it was necessary," she added.
"Robert was persuaded by your arguments, and I may agree with some of them; but I did not want you involved. I didn't want your fate bound by my choice to help Robert and Karan," Rachel told her.
"It was my decision mother, I wanted to help," Jill countered.
"Only after you found out," Rachel said.
"Which I never would have done if I hadn't overheard father and Karan arguing," Jill told her. "At least then I understood father's wariness and the fact that he kept disappearing along with Karan and Jenna," she added.
"Still, I never wanted you involved. I wanted you to have your own life and a family," Rachel told her earnestly.
"And maybe once we deal with this and finally bring father's prophecy to a close, I can do that and maybe you can too," Jill shot back. "Father made sure that once the prophecy was ended then the immortality spell would be broken on us both," she told her.
"I didn't know that," Rachel said.
"I know, father told me. He said he wanted it to be a surprise for you," Jill nodded.
"I see," Rachel said in confusion, her emotions were a mixed up. "Well, you're here now, so I guess I can't stop you from helping," Rachel finally conceded. Jill smiled and followed her mother back into the store. She took a seat next to Cordelia and began to meditate in preparation for the spell she was going to cast.
Buffy had been thinking about everything Rachel and Jill had told them so far and the same question kept running through her head, and that was who had managed to continue the family line to which Xander belonged to if Robert and Jill's lives had been consumed by the fight. A second question was also running just at the back of her mind and that was why she didn't seem to care too much about Xander's predicament? She knew if Willow or Tara found out, she would be in some serious trouble. She finally decided to ask Rachel the question that was annoying her the most, so she could get some decent information. She looked around and noted she was standing alone near the window, ignoring the presence of the sleeping chaos mage who was still tied to the chair, being watched by Gunn, who seemed always on edge. She walked over and waited until the woman acknowledged her presence.
"Can I help you Buffy?" she asked, Buffy could tell Rachel held some sort of resentment to her and she wondered if Rachel knew about her growing dislike of Xander.
"I wanna know how Xander's family line continued if both Robert and Jill were too busy fighting. I mean, from what you told us, Jill is Robert's only child and Jill doesn't seem to have had any, so how can Xander's family have continued?" she asked Rachel.
"Robert had a brother and sister; they didn't talk much, especially once Robert began to fight the darkness. They stopped talking just after he met me, but Robert kept a close eye on them just in case something happened and he knew both his sister and brother had children," she answered calmly.
"I see, so what Jill said was true. They are cousins, because she is Robert's child and Xander is from Robert's brother's or sister's line," Buffy reasoned.
"Yes, he is from Robert's sister's side," Rachel clarified.
Buffy nodded satisfied with the answer and went back to her seat on the counter. She noticed Jill was still meditating. Willow was staring out the window and Buffy guessed she was getting more freaked out about the growing connection between Tara and Xander. Riley was inside the training room with the commando's, Giles and Wesley were collecting the final items Jill needed for her spell and Cordelia was talking with Doyle and Angel. Spike had gone out to get some blood for him and Angel, Tara seemed to be falling asleep next to Faith, who was reading one of Giles's books. She shot concerned looks at Xander every once in a while. Buffy shook her head, wondering about her ancestor Jenna, and what she had been like.
Tara tried to keep herself awake but it was getting more and more difficult and finally she gave in and allowed sleep to claim her. Once her eyes closed her mind seemed to drift and she soon find herself in a dark room except for a ray of light which seemed to shine toward the back of the room where she saw Xander was sitting with his legs crossed. He was watching her with an intense gaze which caused her to blush. She walked over to where he was and sat in front of him. He didn't move, instead he just seem to stare at her even more.
"Xander, what are you doing here?" she asked.
"This place is peaceful and I like it here," Xander replied.
"You can't stay here, we need you," she told him.
"I've tried. Something is holding me here. I need your help, Tara," he replied.
"I know, a friend is coming for you soon, just hang on," she told him.
As the light began to fade and she felt herself been tugged back toward the real realm, Xander quickly leaned forward and kissed her in a soft passionate kiss. Tara didn't even try to fight it and gave herself up to it, finally Xander and the room vanished and Tara's eyes snapped open, she looked to where Xander lay and she wondered if it had been a dream or real until she felt the pressure of Xander's lips on hers and she fought to stop herself from blushing.
Xander's mind began to gain strength from the dream, for his mind could only see it as such. He had no way of knowing it had been real. As his mind continued to gain strength images began to pass through his mind, showing him many events. The first image showed a man who looked similar to him holding a small child in his hands, next to him was a woman who looked just like Rachel. The next showed him the man running toward a girl with short brownish hair holding a stake, as three very nasty looking vampires ran toward her. The third image showed him the man meeting a woman who resembled Tara a bit, and he instantly knew this was Karan. They looked at each other with intense stares until finally they kissed.
Jill finally stood and walked to where Xander lay on the table. Taking her mother's place, she sat down and waited until Giles and Wesley had placed all the items she had asked for on the table in front of her. She took a deep breath and began mixing certain amounts.
"I need total silence, this spell is very dangerous, my father told me he once used it and it almost killed him when someone came running into the castle shouting," she told everyone.
"Oh great, the joys of silence," Buffy muttered before storming out of the shop.
"What is her problem?" Faith asked.
"We don't know. She's been acting like that for the past couple of weeks." Giles sighed as he removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes.
"Maybe someone should talk to her?" Faith said looking at Angel, the ensouled vampire nodded and left searching for Buffy.
"Okay, now please, everyone be quiet," Jill spoke up.
Tara moved and sat down next to Jill, not daring to look at Willow who was frowning. Jill's eyes closed slowly as she began chanting something. No one dared make a sound. Giles just hoped Riley and the commando's wouldn't suddenly walk in from the training room shouting something. As Jill chanted, a golden light began to appear just over Xander's prone form. Tara closed her own eyes and began chanting herself, careful as to keep her voice very low so as not to distract Jill. The light began to grow brighter as a white glow began to envelope both Jill and Tara, the others stood back, watching in silent amazement. Xander's body began to slowly lift off the table and started floating a few feet of it.
Xander saw the light coming closer. At first, he was afraid and tried to recoil from it, but then he sensed a familiar presence, it was Tara, she was coming for him. He sensed another presence and he remembered what Tara had told him that someone was coming for him, a friend. He relaxed and waited until the light seemed all around him. Suddenly Tara and another girl were in front of him, both were smiling.
"Xander, this is Jill," Tara told him.
Xander looked at the girl and for some reason he couldn't explain he felt connected to her and he hugged her, she didn't seem too surprised.
"Listen Xander, we're here to bring you back, we're gonna need your help though," Jill explained.
"What do you need me to do?" he asked as he pulled back.
"I need you to concentrate on the real world and the fight," Jill told him.
Xander nodded and did as he was instructed, Tara looked at Jill who was now studying her lost cousin, she then looked at Tara and whispered the chant they needed to bring him back with them, she nodded and closed her eyes and began chanting just as Jill started her own chant. The golden glow turned into a reddish white glow. Giles watched, fascinated by the skill Jill seemed to command. She was a very powerful witch to be able to do such a spell. She seemed more powerful than either Willow or Tara; he would have to have a talk with her once the spell was completed. Willow watched the three motionless bodies with total concentration, not daring to look away in case something happened. She wanted her friend back but she was afraid of the developing connection between him and her girlfriend. She didn't understand why all this was happening now. As the light began to fade and the eyes of Jill and Tara began to open, Willow let out a loud cry as a pain over ran her, she fell to her knee's as she saw thousand of images, the pain increased as the images went faster and faster. Giles and Cordelia were knelt next to her trying to keep her cry's to a minimum as they could tell Jill and Tara hadn't finished yet Giles cursed under his breath as Willow's cry's of pain continued to grow, finally Doyle stepped forward and placed his hand on her head and whispered three words, Willow suddenly fell into unconsciousness. Giles turned to see if Willow's cries had disrupted the spell and he could tell by the looks of pain of Jill and Tara's face something was wrong.
The scream pierced the concentration of both Tara and Jill just as they were opening their eyes, they heard a physic scream join that of Willow's and they knew Xander was in trouble. Finally Willow's scream stopped but the damage was done, Xander was stuck now somewhere between the real realm and the dream realm. Tara tried to focus again but for some reason she couldn't get back the connection, she knew if they failed to bring him back then he would be trapped there forever. That was another reason why this spell was so dangerous, Jill somehow managed to hold her own concentration but the spell had been weakened by Tara's loss, she could feel Xander's pain as he was torn between two realms. They had to reestablish the full link before they could complete the spell.
Riley walked next to Graham as they patrolled the woods, they had all decided to go for a quick look around seen as everyone else was busy with other things, they hadn't told anyone either. Major Johnson had been happy to finally be doing something, instead of just sitting in a training room. This team was so much different from the Initiative; they just wanted to wipe the demons out, instead of studying them. So Riley could understand their frustration
"So any idea how powerful these vamps are gonna be?" Graham asked breaking Riley's thoughts
"Not really, but they managed to hurt and injure both Buffy and Angel," Riley responded.
"Guess they'll be pretty tough then," Graham mused.
Before either of them could say another word a scream came over they're radios, causing both of them to jump
"That sounded like Banks," Graham hissed as he grabbed his radio. "Banks what's wrong? Report!" he shouted into speaker.
"We're been attacked, request assistance," came the reply before the signal went dead.
"They were patrolling near the caves; come on," Riley said as he turned and began to run. Graham was close behind.
They arrived to see Major Johnson and five others in the middle of been thrown about by five vampires, each had the tell tale signs of the vamps who attacked Buffy and Angel.
"Come on, we've gotta help," Riley shouted as he ran toward one of the vamps and hit it squarely in the jaw with the but of his weapon, the vampire just sneered at him and rammed it's fist into his face, knocking him flying into a tree next to two bodies. Riley noticed one was dead, the other was badly wounded.
'Great, Buffy isn't gonna like this,' he thought as he got up and aimed at the vamps, his bullets tore into one of them knocking it down, it howled in pain from the impact as Graham managed to stake it, before he was hit over the head by a second vampire. A third grabbed him and head butted and Riley heard the sick breaking of his nose, the vampire then flung him into Major Johnson. As Graham got back to his feet, Riley watched as two vampires grabbed two more of their team and, smiling, broke their necks. As soon as Johnson saw this, he gave the retreat sign. Riley grabbed the wounded member of their team and began falling back. Graham was helped by Johnson. As they retreated, Riley caught sight of he vampires feeding off the dead members of their team, he was almost sick at the thought of it. 'Buffy is really not gonna like this,' he thought.
Tara finally managed to regain her concentration as she felt a presence at the back of her mind helping her focus on Xander, she felt Jill's renewed strength and together they managed to find Xander again. As soon as they linked up his physic scream stopped and slowly they pulled him back to the real world. As all three's eyes opened the door to the magic shop burst open and Riley, Graham and Johnson rushed in followed by his team. Graham had a broken nose; Riley was holding a barely alive teammate and the others looked like they had taken quite a beating.
Xander pushed himself into a sitting position as Giles and the others, bar Buffy, welcomed him back. Faith seemed very happy to see him awake. He looked around and noticed Willow's unconscious form; he frowned.
"What happened to Willow?" he asked.
"We don't know yet, I have not had yet a chance to inquire about it," Giles answered.
Before he could ask anything else Tara flung herself into his arms and hugged him hard, he tried not to wince at the pain he felt; finally, Tara released him and sat back.
"Sorry," she said, trying to avoid his eyes.
"It's okay, Tara, and thanks," he said. He then turned to Jill and nodded his thanks to her as well, she just smiled
Buffy did not bother to watch Xander wake, or the happiness of her friends at his recovery. Instead, she helped Riley and his team into the training room.
"What the hell happened, Riley?" she hissed.
"We went on a quick patrol and ran into trouble, we lost two of our team and we took a few injuries as well," Riley replied as he placed the injured member onto the couch.
"Where?" she asked.
"Near the caves, there were at least five of them. We managed to kill one or two but we were forced to retreat," he answered again as he leaned against the wall.
"You didn't let us know you were going? Why not?" she asked again and Riley could she was angry.
"You all seemed to be to busy with Xander being out cold and the arrival of Tara's friend," he said simply.
"Great. Well, at least we know where they are," Buffy said in reply.
"And the fact that Xander is awake means he can help as well," Angel's voice came from behind her.
She turned and glared at the ensouled vampire. She knew he was right but the part of her that for some reason hated Xander, continued to take control of her reaction.
"I doubt he'll be much help, Angel," she counted.
Angel just sighed and shook his head; even though he still disliked Xander, he was willing, when necessary, to put aside his hatred to help fight the forces of evil, but Buffy seemed to be just getting angrier of angrier. He sensed this could become a problem. They had to find out why she was acting like this, and soon. He turned and walked back into the main room where he noticed Faith and Xander been filled in by Giles on what had happened so far.
The winged being hovered above the magic shop and watched as his superior vision allowed him to see what was happening inside, he was happy to see the sorcerer had recovered and was now awake. Urial had been told not to interfere again no matter what, and he hoped a situation wouldn't arise where he would be forced to disobey his master. He had been told just to keep an eye of the forces of good and to make sure nothing unexpected tried to interfere again and he would make sure nothing would tip the balance.
Xander didn't like what Giles had told him so far, plus they now had to find out what had happened to Willow. He was glad Rachel was still around he had a few questions to ask her when he got a chance. Whistler walked over to him and smiled.
"Glad you're back," he said.
"Yeah, don't suppose you can tell us what happened to Willow and why she is now unconscious," he shot back in reply.
"I do believe Rachel explained about Sara Rosenberg's power," Whistler replied.
"You mean Willow's somehow inherited it like I got Robert's?" Xander asked a little confused
"That's right; Jill can work with Willow to help her control it so it doesn't hurt her. Doyle, I think you and Cordelia should as well, you both know what's it's like," Whistler suggested
"Sure," Doyle agreed. Cordelia just frowned.
"Anyway I gotta go take care of a few things, be back soon," he told them all and then he vanished.
"Man he's worse than you, Dead Boy," Xander said as Angel walked into view.
"Meaning?" Angel inquired.
"Meaning he's twice as cryptic and worse at doing the vanishing into thin air thing," Xander answered.
Angel rolled his eyes at Xander's comments knowing he should have suspected something like that from him.
"So now what?" Gunn asked.
"We have to prepare. As Whistler suggested, Jill, Cordelia and Doyle will work with Willow; Xander will continue working with Rachel. Tara. Faith. You can join them. Angel, I need you and Spike to scout out the caves where Riley and his team were attacked. Do not attack any Vampires you see, just scout them out. Buffy, I want you to help me, Wesley, Oz and Gunn do some more research," Giles answered.
"What about us?" Riley asked.
"Well, maybe you can get some more information out of Ethan," Giles suggested, indicating the still tied up warlock.
"Sure," Riley said. He and Graham untied the warlock and pushed him into the training room
"Okay, let's get to work. Doyle, how long will Willow be out?" Buffy inquired.
"A few more minutes," Doyle answered.
"We'll go to my house and train; I think they'll be more space. See you later," Rachel said.
"Be careful, don't get into any fights on the way there," Wesley warned them.
"No problem," Faith shot back as she followed Tara and Xander out the door. Xander just missed Buffy's cold stare.
Rachel walked next to Xander, just ahead of Tara and Faith. He seemed to have suffered no real side affects from the spell, but she knew the power of it, so she kept a close eye on him. Tara tried to concentrate on her surroundings instead of Xander, but she found her gaze locked on his back. The dream seemed to have opened her up to new feelings and they all concentrated on Xander. She tried to keep reminding herself she was in love with Willow, but for some reason, her thoughts kept coming back to her girlfriend's best friend. Faith was enjoying being out of prison. Although she didn't like the situation they were stuck in, she was used to things like this. She knew Buffy didn't trust her, and neither did Willow, but what had surprised her was the cold stare she had seen Buffy give Xander. She wondered what the hell was going on. As she followed the others, an image of a man and a woman entered her mind. She didn't recognize them, but they seemed familiar. The woman reminded her of Tara and the man seemed like Xander. She shook her head and tried to focus, to make sure nothing jumped them.
Urial followed Xander and his friends at a distance, something was wrong. Some unseen event had taken place. His special eyesight showed him the second slayer was having visions of the past, visions that the blonde slayer should be having. The old sorcerer had not foreseen this; he wondered why she was having them. Suddenly it clicked, there were two slayers because Xander had brought the blonde back from the dead. Somehow, by bringing her back and making it possible for two slayers to be alive at the same time, he had changed certain parts of his ancestor's prophecy. But it also meant the blonde would still pick up some taint of her ancestors life and he was beginning to suspect what it was. He feared how this change would affect the outcome of the battle.
Tara watched Xander as he sat and meditated. Rachel had decided it would do him so good to clear his mind before he tried any magic. Rachel was trying to teach Faith a few old style combat techniques and she seemed to be doing pretty good. Faith suddenly fell to the floor her eyes closed and pain was etched on her face. Tara rushed over and knelt next to her, beside Rachel. "Faith, what is it?" she asked, somewhat worried. Xander quickly snapped out of his trance and rushed over to them. He knelt and looked at Faith whose eyes were just opening.
"What happened?" he asked.
"I-I don't know, some sort of flash hit me, I kept seeing some woman, with brownish hair, she was arguing with some guy who looked like you," she answered as she leant against the wall
"Brownish hair. My god! You saw Jenna, Buffy's ancestor, and Robert," Xander exclaimed. "Rachel, why would Faith be having visions? Did she have any ancestor involved in any of this?" Xander asked.
"No, I'm not sure why she would have visions; we should ask Mr. Giles," she answered.
Xander shook his head. Something about this didn't seem right to him; some part of him knew Faith shouldn't be having these visions.
Buffy hated research but she couldn't argue with Giles at the moment, he was on edge with everything that had gone on, plus he was getting irritated at her constant berating of Xander when ever he was mentioned. She couldn't help it though, something was making her mistrust him, and to get irritated about things he said or did. She just didn't know what it was and she didn't understand it, but she knew it was getting stronger.
Giles was really beginning to get angry. Even with all the books Spike had brought them, they still didn't know too much about Valnon and his followers. Ethan refused to say anymore; however, he was sure Riley and his friends could change his mind. He wondered how Angel and Spike were doing at the caves.
Spike and Angel got as close to the cave entrance as they could. They noted three vampires were guarding it. Each had the glowing green eyes, tattoo and metal claws. Both remembered their last encounter with them and neither wanted to fight them again so soon.
"What do you think?" Spike asked quietly.
"No way we're getting in there without a fight. If was just two them, we may have been able to take them out, but I'm not taking the chance the third will call for help," Angel told him. "If he did, and we get killed or captured, it would just weaken out chances of winning this," he added.
"I'd have to agree with you there, mate." Spike nodded as he watched the guards.
"Alright, let's try finding some other entrance. You go left, I'll take the right side, and stay out of sight," Angel told him. Spike nodded and moved away
Faith was still having visions of the past, for some reason they were coming in short but frequent bursts. Each was as confusing to Faith as the next; Xander and Tara were trying to concentrate of their own memories to help out. Rachel was trying to find out why Faith was having visions but so far she was having no luck. Xander opened his eyes to look at Tara and was surprised at how attractive she looked sitting across from him, she had her eyes closed and was trying to dredge up some sort of memory from her ancestor Karan. He had always found her nice looking, but now she was looking more and more beautiful to him. Hell, he even was beginning to have thoughts centered on kissing her. He froze as that thought washed through him. He couldn't have thoughts like that, Tara was Willow's girlfriend and he'd die before he hurt Willow. And yet the thoughts were still there, somewhere deep inside him. Tara could feel someone watching her and she knew instantly that it was Xander; she wondered what he was thinking. She had been having disturbing thoughts ever since they had dream kissed. She was still trying to fight them, but she finding herself resisting. She couldn't hurt Willow, but she was finding it harder and harder to fight the thoughts that kept invading her mind.
Willow shook her head at the pain she was still feeling. According to Jill, she was inheriting her ancestor's, Sara's, powers. And even though she was curious at the prospect of seeing the future, she wasn't enjoying the pain that accompanied them. Cordelia was finding it a little funny; she kept telling her how she now knew how she felt once Doyle had passed his visions on to her.
"Listen Willow, you have to try and focus your mind or the pain will get worse each time you have visions," Doyle instructed her.
She nodded and closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind of any stray thoughts especially those centered on what was happening between her girlfriend and her best friend.
"Okay, I am gonna send a quick vision to you, just try and relax an let it come through," Doyle told her. She nodded.
"Sara never felt the pain, which means if you concentrate hard enough you won't either," Jill informed her.
Suddenly, the vision came to her and the pain came too, but this time it was not as painful as before. She tried to focus more on the vision. She saw Xander and her having some sort of discussion, both of them were laughing and she noted they were younger than they were now, so she guessed it was from the past.
"I think I did it, the pain was still there but it was not as painful as before," she told them as she opened her eyes.
"You're getting closer, but you're not there yet," Doyle told her.
She sighed and continued listening to their instructions, hoping she'd get this quickly as she feared the darkness was coming very soon.
Faith had finally had enough and basically shouted at Rachel to tell her why she was having dreams or she was gonna go and find some answers, Xander had quickly intercepted her and managed to convince her to allow them to return to the magic shop so they could ask Jill. They walked slowly through the park making sure to watch their backs. However as they neared the exit, ten vampires appeared in front of them, all had the tattoos and claws as the others, but the eyes of these vampires were red.
"Oh crap," Xander moaned.
"Great, at least now I can vent my frustration and anger," Faith said with a smile as she removed a stake from her jacket pocket.
"Stay close together," Rachel, told them as she focused her mind ready for battle. Tara instantly moved to Xander's side, ready to bring her magic to the fore.
Before anyone could strike, Riley and three of his commando's turned up alongside Angel and Spike.
"Where the hell did you come from?" Xander shouted.
"We were on a quick patrol run and Spike sensed the vampires close by," Riley shouted back as he moved in close to where Xander and the others stood.
"You noticed these guys have red eyes instead of green?" Angel inquired.
"Yeah, we did," Faith shot back.
"Jackson, get back to the magic shop and tell them we need help," Riley told one his men. The man nodded and quickly ran back the way they had come.
Buffy was getting a little more irritated with Giles, especially when he had told her to stay behind and not go on the patrol run with Riley, Angel and Spike. She didn't want to be here researching books; she wanted to be out there kicking undead butts. The door to the magic shop quickly opened and one of Riley's men entered, he looked a little out of breath as he came to a halt near the counter.
"What's wrong?" Buffy asked.
"We came across Xander and his party near the park exit; they were facing off against at least ten vampires. Riley sent me back for help," he gasped out.
"I told you I should've gone," Buffy hissed at her watcher who just glared at her.
"Wesley, tell Major Johnson we need three of his men to go help Riley and the others, Buffy and I will go as well," Giles instructed him.
Wesley nodded and ran into the training room to tell the major, while Buffy headed behind the counter to grab one of the weapons Giles stored there. Giles soon followed to get one of his own. Five minutes later and they were ready.
"Okay, let's go," Buffy said as she headed for the door.
"Good luck," Cordelia said to them as they left.
Riley cursed as the vampire's claw dug into his leg; he felt the blood run as he fell. He tried to shove the vamp away but he couldn't.
"Someone help me," he shouted.
No one answered as everyone was too busy fighting for their lives. After Jackson had left, seven more vamps had shown up and they were even tougher than the green eyed vamps they had fought before. The vamp picked him up and head butted him and then kneed him in the chest. He fell to his knees in pain. He tried to stand again only to have the vamp slam his fist down onto his spine. He yelled out in agony as the vamp let him drop to the ground. As the vamp lifted him up again, he noticed Buffy leading some of his men toward them but before he could say or do anything, the vamp sunk his fangs into his neck. He faintly heard Buffy's scream of horror before his vision blurred. The vamp twisted his neck, snapping it.
Buffy screamed as she saw the vamp sink its claws into her boyfriend and the scream turned into totally horror as she watched the vamp snap Riley's neck. Her feet buckled and she fell to her knees. Giles and the others didn't hesitate; they jumped right into the fight to help the others. Giles managed to behead the vampire who had killed Riley before he was jumped by two more. Xander fell next to Tara with multiple cuts all down his arm and chest. He was bleeding badly, but he refused to stay down. He pushed himself back to his feet and intercepted a vampire that was trying to get to Tara, who was busy casting a spell. He slammed it to the ground and punched it twice in the gut. It kneed him and he fell off it. He rose quickly and kicked him, knocking him onto his back. He spat a bit of blood out as he stood again; the vampire was closing in on him.
"Xander, move it!" he suddenly heard Faith shout.
His mind came awake instantly and he dodged the vampire's charge. He managed to land a spin kick to the back of the vamp, which knocked it to the ground.
"Here Xand, Catch!" Faith shouted. He turned to see Faith tossing him a stake; he quickly caught it and staked the vamp as it got up.
He looked around the park and noticed Riley's body lying on the ground, his neck was bent at an angle and he knew something was wrong. He noticed Buffy on her knees, crying, and he knew for certain Riley wouldn't be getting up. He didn't have any time to think more as he saw Giles being overwhelmed by two of the vamps. He cursed and ran straight towards them. He smashed straight into the tallest of the vamps, knocking it into a tree. Giles used the distraction to bring his axe's handle into the second vamps groin, putting on the ground. He raised the axe and took its head clean off. Xander was knocked into the metal bar of the swings by the first vamp. He tried to stand, but he became dizzy and he didn't see the vamp ram its claws into his side, he yelled out in pain as he fell to his knees. Faith heard Xander's scream and quickly staked the vampire she had been fighting and ran off in his direction. As she neared the two combatants, she noticed Xander was on his knees, using the last of his strength to keep the vampire back. A surge of adrenalin rushed through her as she charged into a jumping back kick, knocking the vamp clear of Xander. She staked it before the vamp could get to its feet. She noticed two more of Riley's men lying dead near the roundabout, both had deep bite marks and one had his throat ripped out. She looked around and noticed Tara incinerate the last of the vampires. Rachel was close to her and looked very tired, her arm was badly cut but, other than that, she seemed fine. Angel was on his back and had very bad cuts deep in chest and sides. One of his arms looked broken and he had a stake sticking out of one of his legs. Spike didn't seem too bad, except for a cut on his forehead. And Giles just had a few cuts on his arms and chest. She finally noticed Riley's body and frowned as she saw Buffy, still on her knees, crying her eyes out. She shook her head and helped Xander to his feet as Tara ran over to help. Spike got Angel onto his feet and helped him move. Giles picked up Riley's corpse as Rachel managed to guide Buffy to her feet and they quickly headed for the Magic Box, the last two surviving members of Riley's team guarded their rear.
Willow sat at the table reading one of the last books Spike had brought them, but her mind wasn't on her task, as she couldn't stop thinking how the fight at the park was going. Neither Cordelia nor Doyle had said something bad would happen, so she took that as a good sign. The door quickly opened and Rachel entered supporting a hysterical Slayer. Faith and Tara followed, carrying a badly wounded Xander. Spike was next, supporting a beat up ensouled vampire and finally Giles entered, carrying the limp body of Riley. Two of Riley's men quickly followed and shut the door.
"My god, what happened?" Willow gasped in horror.
"The fight went badly, what do you think happened?" Faith snapped as she laid Xander carefully on the table while Tara helped.
"Giles, where is your med kit?" Cordelia asked.
"Behind the counter," Giles said as he placed Riley's body on the floor. Major Johnson quickly walked out of the training room, followed by Graham and his remaining men.
Cordelia brought the kit to Faith who quickly began tending to Xander's wound. Tara stayed close by, her worry and care for Xander evident in her eyes. Willow tried to keep her jealously at bay, but she couldn't help but feel left out.
"I don't believe it," Graham said as he saw Riley's dead body.
"I'm sorry, there was nothing we could do," Giles apologized.
"Bull, it's Xander's fault he's dead," Buffy suddenly spat as she marched toward where Faith was tending to him.
"You come any closer Buffy, and I'll knock you out," Tara warned her.
"Get out of my way, witch," Buffy hissed.
Tara eye's flashed red as she quickly raised her hand and a green ball of energy knocked Buffy flying into the counter, knocking her out cold.
Everyone who was not beat up or half dead stared at Tara in amazement. She had just knocked Buffy Summers out cold; one of the toughest slayers had gone out like a light. Faith actually smiled at the sight and then quickly returned to tending to Xander's wound. Major Johnson and his men picked up Riley's corpse and carried it into the next room, Giles sat down tiredly as Spike dumped Angel into a near by chair.
"This isn't good," Cordelia whispered.
"I'm afraid not. Three fights and three defeats, not such a good sign," Giles agreed having heard her comment.
"Is there anyone else we can contact who could help us? I mean, we've lost most of Riley's team, plus Riley himself," Wesley asked, trying not to sound too down.
"I don't know, I can't think at the moment," Giles answered, trying to get over the last couple of hours.
"How is Xander?" Tara asked, finally taking her eyes of the slumped form of Buffy and back to where Faith patched him up.
"The wound is kind of deep but I've managed to stop the flow of blood, I just need to bandage it up," Faith answered.
"What do we do about Buffy, Giles? As soon as she wakes up she'll still go after Xander," Willow asked.
"True, she is not one to let go of an impulse easily, plus with her increasing irrational behavior toward Xander, it could be very bad," Giles said standing up.
"Did you say her behavior has altered in the last few weeks?" Rachel asked. Quickly a frown graced her face.
"Yes, for the last three or four weeks now, she has been behaving very irrational toward him. I believe she doesn't trust him for some reason," Giles replied as he walked over to where Buffy still laid unconscious
"I think I know the answer now," Rachel exclaimed.
"The answer to what?" Doyle asked.
"Why Faith has been having visions of the past and the answer to Buffy's behavior," she replied.
"So what is it?" Faith questioned without turning away from her work on Xander.
"Jenna is Buffy's ancestor and she fought alongside Robert who is Xander's ancestor, Jenna never trusted Robert though. In fact, sometimes she could be very hostile towards him. I believe Buffy has begun to inherit this feeling of mistrust, just like Xander, Willow and Tara have inherited memories from their ancestors," Rachel explained.
"And Faith; why does she have visions from the past she isn't Jenna's descendant?" Giles inquired.
"Because there are two slayers now; somehow, because the slayer essence is now shared between two people instead of one, the prophecy has been altered. Neither Robert nor Sara could foresee that Xander would bring Buffy back from the dead causing a second slayer to be activated and now Faith has part of Jenna's past, her memories. While Buffy has her mistrust of the sorcerer," she told them, indicating where Xander lay.
"So I have Buffy's ancestors memories due to us both being slayers?" Faith asked a little surprised.
"Yes, and I believe the fact that Xander was the one who made it possible," Rachel replied.
"Great, thanks Xand," Faith said to Xander who just smiled weakly.
Major Johnson had the look of a mad man on his face as his men placed Riley's body into a body bag. Graham seemed pretty upset at the loss of his friend, the rest of the men were uneasy and one was almost out of his mind with fear.
"This isn't going well sir?" Jackson said.
"No, it's not, but we still have a job to do; we can't let these vampires win," Johnson shot back.
"Yes sir," Jackson replied.
Buffy's eyes slowly opened and she looked around; Faith was asleep at the table and there was a body lying in front of her, but she couldn't see who it was. She then noticed Willow and Cordelia curled up on the sofa Giles had brought in from the training room. She couldn't see the others, but she could hear a lot of noise. Suddenly it all came back to her and her eyes quickly began to fill with tears; Riley was dead, her boyfriend was dead. She got to her feet and focused on the body lying in front of Faith and she knew who it was. It was Xander and he was the reason why Riley was dead.
Major Johnson brought out a map of Sunnydale, which Riley had shown him when they had arrived; he marked where the vampires were hiding and where the three fights had taken place. His remaining men gathered together to look at the map.
"All right, for now I think we should stay away from the park and the caves; I am going to call in for a few reinforcements," he told them.
"From where sir?" asked one of his men.
"From the surviving initiative personnel who are still living here, Graham will know where they are," he answered.
"So what do we do until then sir?" asked Jackson.
"We will keep a look out just outside the Magic Box and two of us will make a run around town in Riley's jeep, but we will not engage any vamps unless we see them attacking anyone," he told them.
"Sounds good sir, should we tell Riley's friends?" asked the smallest of the lot.
"Graham will do that, Briggs," Johnson answered. Graham just nodded and headed for the door leading to the store itself.
Buffy wiped her eyes clear and headed toward the table where Xander lay recovering from his wounds; her eyes held nothing but hate and anger. She ignored everything around her including Giles who asked her if she was alright. Tara quickly stood in her path, her own eyes showing her anger; but this anger was directed at the slayer herself and not the man lying on the table.
"Get the hell out of my way, Tara," Buffy screamed.
"No," Tara shot back readying herself for a confrontation.
Buffy noticed everyone was now watching them, including Xander who was leaning on his elbow, although he was visibly still in pain.
"That Bastard is responsible for my boyfriend's death," Buffy hissed.
"No, he isn't. You are angry and upset and under the influence of your ancestor's feelings," Tara told her.
Buffy's brow winkled in confusion at Tara's reply, but her anger quickly returned and she took a few steps forward.
"I'm warning you, Buffy; back off now before I knock you out again," Tara told her.
Buffy didn't answer, instead she used her slayer enhanced speed and charged into Tara, knocking her back into the table; Tara however managed to stay on her feet and shove the slayer backwards. Buffy went to strike the witch, but Spike managed to grab her from behind and pull her away.
"Calm down slayer," he shouted.
One again Buffy didn't answer; instead, she brought her elbow back hard into Spike's unprotected chest, causing him to release her. She spun and sent him flying into a table with a hard spin kick. She then faced Tara again.
"Stop this now," Giles roared, his anger now finally erupting.
"No, he is going to pay for Riley's death," Buffy spat as she charged again; this time she dodged Tara and went straight for the injured Xander. However, Faith knocked her onto her ass with a back kick.
"Calm down B, or I am really going to kick your ass," Faith warned her sister slayer.
"What's a matter, Xander? Can't fight your own battles?" Buffy sneered, trying to anger Xander.
Xander weakly pushed himself to his feet, but would have fallen flat on his face if not for Tara grabbing him and steadying him. With Tara's assistance, he walks over to Buffy who quickly jumps to back up.
"There was nothing I could do Buffy, I was too busy keeping those vamps off Tara," he told her.
"Of course you would say that; I bet you let him die just so you could try and take his place. Is that it Xander? Did you think with Riley dead I'd finally go out with you?" Buffy mocked.
"That's bullshit Buffy and you know it," Xander shot back, angered now by Buffy's accusations.
"Oh face it, that's all you wanted to begin with; you love me still and you made sure Riley was on his own so he could be killed, then you'd then have your chance with me," Buffy continued.
"That is a lie, I don't love you anymore, not like that," Xander told her.
"Prove it!" Buffy shouted her fists tightly clenched.
"How the hell could I love you if I love Ta-" Xander started to shout back. He just barely stopped himself from completing the sentence.
Willow's eyes were locked on her lifetime friend suspicion and fear was visible in her eyes. Tara also seemed to suspect what he had been about to say and she quickly tried to stop from blushing, but she couldn't stop the warm feelings Xander's slip up invoked inside her. Was she really falling love with him or was it just her ancestor's memories and feelings affecting her? Xander closed his eyes in shock as he realized what he had almost said; he quickly came up with a plan and pretended to faint, falling to the floor quickly as if in exertion. Faith and Giles picked him up and placed him back on the table, unaware he was still awake. Rachel and Jill dragged Buffy out of the shop to explain why she was acting so hostile toward Xander.
Ethan eye's slowly opened as he came to after his beating at the hands of the slayer's boyfriend; his chest was sore as were parts of his face. He didn't notice the Emerald winged creature watching him from the shadows but he did notice none of the soldiers were in the room. He went to try and cast a spell which would release him from the chair he was tied to when a green light enveloped him. Once it lifted he found he couldn't speak, he looked around fearfully but didn't see anything. The Emerald winged creature smiled and then vanished.
Urial watched as the emerald creature vanished with a hard glare, he knew the powers would try and interfere with the sorcerer's prophecy. He shook his head some of his long blond hair covered his eyes, which he quickly pushed back 'Damn powers, always think they are in the right just because they are fighting the darkness' Urial thought. He decided he would have to report back to his master before taking any action. He took one last look around and then flew off.
Author: Dave Mycock
Disclaimer: I do now own Buffy or any of the others characters in this story except for the ones I have created.
Pairing: Xander/Tara
I'd like to thank my beta Bob fro all of his help with this story
Chapter 2
Rachel stood in shock as she saw her daughter enter with Tara; she had not expected to see Jill again until after all this was sorted. Jill seemed nervous and Tara seemed a little off balance as she looked at Xander's still form.
"Who's this Tara?" Buffy asked, breaking Rachel's train of thought.
"My name is Jill Wells Harris," Jill replied before Rachel could speak up.
"Harris?" Giles asked confused.
"Yes, my father was Robert Harris," she confirmed.
"How, how is that possible?" Willow asked.
"He placed an immortality spell on me like he did my mother," Jill answered again before Rachel could.
"But that would mean Rachel," Gunn started.
"Is my mother; that is correct," Jill finished.
"This is getting more confusing and serious," Cordelia muttered.
Jill looked around the room and took in the looks of the people gathered in the room. Some were looks of confusion, others looks of concern. She noticed the slayer's boyfriend in the doorway to the next room, looking interested in what was being said. She also noticed he kept looking back into the other room. She guessed there were people in there who didn't know all the details.
"So, if Robert was your father and Rachel your mother, what does that make Xander to you?" Spike asked.
Jill looked towards the table where Xander's motionless body lay and she felt a shiver run down her spine. He did resemble her father is quite a few ways, especially his dark hair.
"I guess that makes us cousins in some weird way," Jill answered walking toward the table and placing her hand on Xander's forehead. "His mind is strong, it's fighting to wake," she told the others.
"Are you a witch?" Angel asked.
"Duh," Doyle said beside him, ignoring Angel's glare while Cordelia giggled.
"Can you help wake him?" Willow asked.
"I might be able to. I will need some things though," Jill replied and then proceeded to give Giles a list of the items she needed. Rachel grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the shop while Giles and Wesley looked for the items.
Rachel pulled her out of the door and looked at her daughter's face and noticed her daughter had gotten over her nervousness; she seemed ready to argue with her, she sighed.
"I told you to stay out of this," Rachel said sternly once the door closed.
"I know, but I couldn't. I need to help," Jill argued. "Father agreed that it was necessary," she added.
"Robert was persuaded by your arguments, and I may agree with some of them; but I did not want you involved. I didn't want your fate bound by my choice to help Robert and Karan," Rachel told her.
"It was my decision mother, I wanted to help," Jill countered.
"Only after you found out," Rachel said.
"Which I never would have done if I hadn't overheard father and Karan arguing," Jill told her. "At least then I understood father's wariness and the fact that he kept disappearing along with Karan and Jenna," she added.
"Still, I never wanted you involved. I wanted you to have your own life and a family," Rachel told her earnestly.
"And maybe once we deal with this and finally bring father's prophecy to a close, I can do that and maybe you can too," Jill shot back. "Father made sure that once the prophecy was ended then the immortality spell would be broken on us both," she told her.
"I didn't know that," Rachel said.
"I know, father told me. He said he wanted it to be a surprise for you," Jill nodded.
"I see," Rachel said in confusion, her emotions were a mixed up. "Well, you're here now, so I guess I can't stop you from helping," Rachel finally conceded. Jill smiled and followed her mother back into the store. She took a seat next to Cordelia and began to meditate in preparation for the spell she was going to cast.
Buffy had been thinking about everything Rachel and Jill had told them so far and the same question kept running through her head, and that was who had managed to continue the family line to which Xander belonged to if Robert and Jill's lives had been consumed by the fight. A second question was also running just at the back of her mind and that was why she didn't seem to care too much about Xander's predicament? She knew if Willow or Tara found out, she would be in some serious trouble. She finally decided to ask Rachel the question that was annoying her the most, so she could get some decent information. She looked around and noted she was standing alone near the window, ignoring the presence of the sleeping chaos mage who was still tied to the chair, being watched by Gunn, who seemed always on edge. She walked over and waited until the woman acknowledged her presence.
"Can I help you Buffy?" she asked, Buffy could tell Rachel held some sort of resentment to her and she wondered if Rachel knew about her growing dislike of Xander.
"I wanna know how Xander's family line continued if both Robert and Jill were too busy fighting. I mean, from what you told us, Jill is Robert's only child and Jill doesn't seem to have had any, so how can Xander's family have continued?" she asked Rachel.
"Robert had a brother and sister; they didn't talk much, especially once Robert began to fight the darkness. They stopped talking just after he met me, but Robert kept a close eye on them just in case something happened and he knew both his sister and brother had children," she answered calmly.
"I see, so what Jill said was true. They are cousins, because she is Robert's child and Xander is from Robert's brother's or sister's line," Buffy reasoned.
"Yes, he is from Robert's sister's side," Rachel clarified.
Buffy nodded satisfied with the answer and went back to her seat on the counter. She noticed Jill was still meditating. Willow was staring out the window and Buffy guessed she was getting more freaked out about the growing connection between Tara and Xander. Riley was inside the training room with the commando's, Giles and Wesley were collecting the final items Jill needed for her spell and Cordelia was talking with Doyle and Angel. Spike had gone out to get some blood for him and Angel, Tara seemed to be falling asleep next to Faith, who was reading one of Giles's books. She shot concerned looks at Xander every once in a while. Buffy shook her head, wondering about her ancestor Jenna, and what she had been like.
Tara tried to keep herself awake but it was getting more and more difficult and finally she gave in and allowed sleep to claim her. Once her eyes closed her mind seemed to drift and she soon find herself in a dark room except for a ray of light which seemed to shine toward the back of the room where she saw Xander was sitting with his legs crossed. He was watching her with an intense gaze which caused her to blush. She walked over to where he was and sat in front of him. He didn't move, instead he just seem to stare at her even more.
"Xander, what are you doing here?" she asked.
"This place is peaceful and I like it here," Xander replied.
"You can't stay here, we need you," she told him.
"I've tried. Something is holding me here. I need your help, Tara," he replied.
"I know, a friend is coming for you soon, just hang on," she told him.
As the light began to fade and she felt herself been tugged back toward the real realm, Xander quickly leaned forward and kissed her in a soft passionate kiss. Tara didn't even try to fight it and gave herself up to it, finally Xander and the room vanished and Tara's eyes snapped open, she looked to where Xander lay and she wondered if it had been a dream or real until she felt the pressure of Xander's lips on hers and she fought to stop herself from blushing.
Xander's mind began to gain strength from the dream, for his mind could only see it as such. He had no way of knowing it had been real. As his mind continued to gain strength images began to pass through his mind, showing him many events. The first image showed a man who looked similar to him holding a small child in his hands, next to him was a woman who looked just like Rachel. The next showed him the man running toward a girl with short brownish hair holding a stake, as three very nasty looking vampires ran toward her. The third image showed him the man meeting a woman who resembled Tara a bit, and he instantly knew this was Karan. They looked at each other with intense stares until finally they kissed.
Jill finally stood and walked to where Xander lay on the table. Taking her mother's place, she sat down and waited until Giles and Wesley had placed all the items she had asked for on the table in front of her. She took a deep breath and began mixing certain amounts.
"I need total silence, this spell is very dangerous, my father told me he once used it and it almost killed him when someone came running into the castle shouting," she told everyone.
"Oh great, the joys of silence," Buffy muttered before storming out of the shop.
"What is her problem?" Faith asked.
"We don't know. She's been acting like that for the past couple of weeks." Giles sighed as he removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes.
"Maybe someone should talk to her?" Faith said looking at Angel, the ensouled vampire nodded and left searching for Buffy.
"Okay, now please, everyone be quiet," Jill spoke up.
Tara moved and sat down next to Jill, not daring to look at Willow who was frowning. Jill's eyes closed slowly as she began chanting something. No one dared make a sound. Giles just hoped Riley and the commando's wouldn't suddenly walk in from the training room shouting something. As Jill chanted, a golden light began to appear just over Xander's prone form. Tara closed her own eyes and began chanting herself, careful as to keep her voice very low so as not to distract Jill. The light began to grow brighter as a white glow began to envelope both Jill and Tara, the others stood back, watching in silent amazement. Xander's body began to slowly lift off the table and started floating a few feet of it.
Xander saw the light coming closer. At first, he was afraid and tried to recoil from it, but then he sensed a familiar presence, it was Tara, she was coming for him. He sensed another presence and he remembered what Tara had told him that someone was coming for him, a friend. He relaxed and waited until the light seemed all around him. Suddenly Tara and another girl were in front of him, both were smiling.
"Xander, this is Jill," Tara told him.
Xander looked at the girl and for some reason he couldn't explain he felt connected to her and he hugged her, she didn't seem too surprised.
"Listen Xander, we're here to bring you back, we're gonna need your help though," Jill explained.
"What do you need me to do?" he asked as he pulled back.
"I need you to concentrate on the real world and the fight," Jill told him.
Xander nodded and did as he was instructed, Tara looked at Jill who was now studying her lost cousin, she then looked at Tara and whispered the chant they needed to bring him back with them, she nodded and closed her eyes and began chanting just as Jill started her own chant. The golden glow turned into a reddish white glow. Giles watched, fascinated by the skill Jill seemed to command. She was a very powerful witch to be able to do such a spell. She seemed more powerful than either Willow or Tara; he would have to have a talk with her once the spell was completed. Willow watched the three motionless bodies with total concentration, not daring to look away in case something happened. She wanted her friend back but she was afraid of the developing connection between him and her girlfriend. She didn't understand why all this was happening now. As the light began to fade and the eyes of Jill and Tara began to open, Willow let out a loud cry as a pain over ran her, she fell to her knee's as she saw thousand of images, the pain increased as the images went faster and faster. Giles and Cordelia were knelt next to her trying to keep her cry's to a minimum as they could tell Jill and Tara hadn't finished yet Giles cursed under his breath as Willow's cry's of pain continued to grow, finally Doyle stepped forward and placed his hand on her head and whispered three words, Willow suddenly fell into unconsciousness. Giles turned to see if Willow's cries had disrupted the spell and he could tell by the looks of pain of Jill and Tara's face something was wrong.
The scream pierced the concentration of both Tara and Jill just as they were opening their eyes, they heard a physic scream join that of Willow's and they knew Xander was in trouble. Finally Willow's scream stopped but the damage was done, Xander was stuck now somewhere between the real realm and the dream realm. Tara tried to focus again but for some reason she couldn't get back the connection, she knew if they failed to bring him back then he would be trapped there forever. That was another reason why this spell was so dangerous, Jill somehow managed to hold her own concentration but the spell had been weakened by Tara's loss, she could feel Xander's pain as he was torn between two realms. They had to reestablish the full link before they could complete the spell.
Riley walked next to Graham as they patrolled the woods, they had all decided to go for a quick look around seen as everyone else was busy with other things, they hadn't told anyone either. Major Johnson had been happy to finally be doing something, instead of just sitting in a training room. This team was so much different from the Initiative; they just wanted to wipe the demons out, instead of studying them. So Riley could understand their frustration
"So any idea how powerful these vamps are gonna be?" Graham asked breaking Riley's thoughts
"Not really, but they managed to hurt and injure both Buffy and Angel," Riley responded.
"Guess they'll be pretty tough then," Graham mused.
Before either of them could say another word a scream came over they're radios, causing both of them to jump
"That sounded like Banks," Graham hissed as he grabbed his radio. "Banks what's wrong? Report!" he shouted into speaker.
"We're been attacked, request assistance," came the reply before the signal went dead.
"They were patrolling near the caves; come on," Riley said as he turned and began to run. Graham was close behind.
They arrived to see Major Johnson and five others in the middle of been thrown about by five vampires, each had the tell tale signs of the vamps who attacked Buffy and Angel.
"Come on, we've gotta help," Riley shouted as he ran toward one of the vamps and hit it squarely in the jaw with the but of his weapon, the vampire just sneered at him and rammed it's fist into his face, knocking him flying into a tree next to two bodies. Riley noticed one was dead, the other was badly wounded.
'Great, Buffy isn't gonna like this,' he thought as he got up and aimed at the vamps, his bullets tore into one of them knocking it down, it howled in pain from the impact as Graham managed to stake it, before he was hit over the head by a second vampire. A third grabbed him and head butted and Riley heard the sick breaking of his nose, the vampire then flung him into Major Johnson. As Graham got back to his feet, Riley watched as two vampires grabbed two more of their team and, smiling, broke their necks. As soon as Johnson saw this, he gave the retreat sign. Riley grabbed the wounded member of their team and began falling back. Graham was helped by Johnson. As they retreated, Riley caught sight of he vampires feeding off the dead members of their team, he was almost sick at the thought of it. 'Buffy is really not gonna like this,' he thought.
Tara finally managed to regain her concentration as she felt a presence at the back of her mind helping her focus on Xander, she felt Jill's renewed strength and together they managed to find Xander again. As soon as they linked up his physic scream stopped and slowly they pulled him back to the real world. As all three's eyes opened the door to the magic shop burst open and Riley, Graham and Johnson rushed in followed by his team. Graham had a broken nose; Riley was holding a barely alive teammate and the others looked like they had taken quite a beating.
Xander pushed himself into a sitting position as Giles and the others, bar Buffy, welcomed him back. Faith seemed very happy to see him awake. He looked around and noticed Willow's unconscious form; he frowned.
"What happened to Willow?" he asked.
"We don't know yet, I have not had yet a chance to inquire about it," Giles answered.
Before he could ask anything else Tara flung herself into his arms and hugged him hard, he tried not to wince at the pain he felt; finally, Tara released him and sat back.
"Sorry," she said, trying to avoid his eyes.
"It's okay, Tara, and thanks," he said. He then turned to Jill and nodded his thanks to her as well, she just smiled
Buffy did not bother to watch Xander wake, or the happiness of her friends at his recovery. Instead, she helped Riley and his team into the training room.
"What the hell happened, Riley?" she hissed.
"We went on a quick patrol and ran into trouble, we lost two of our team and we took a few injuries as well," Riley replied as he placed the injured member onto the couch.
"Where?" she asked.
"Near the caves, there were at least five of them. We managed to kill one or two but we were forced to retreat," he answered again as he leaned against the wall.
"You didn't let us know you were going? Why not?" she asked again and Riley could she was angry.
"You all seemed to be to busy with Xander being out cold and the arrival of Tara's friend," he said simply.
"Great. Well, at least we know where they are," Buffy said in reply.
"And the fact that Xander is awake means he can help as well," Angel's voice came from behind her.
She turned and glared at the ensouled vampire. She knew he was right but the part of her that for some reason hated Xander, continued to take control of her reaction.
"I doubt he'll be much help, Angel," she counted.
Angel just sighed and shook his head; even though he still disliked Xander, he was willing, when necessary, to put aside his hatred to help fight the forces of evil, but Buffy seemed to be just getting angrier of angrier. He sensed this could become a problem. They had to find out why she was acting like this, and soon. He turned and walked back into the main room where he noticed Faith and Xander been filled in by Giles on what had happened so far.
The winged being hovered above the magic shop and watched as his superior vision allowed him to see what was happening inside, he was happy to see the sorcerer had recovered and was now awake. Urial had been told not to interfere again no matter what, and he hoped a situation wouldn't arise where he would be forced to disobey his master. He had been told just to keep an eye of the forces of good and to make sure nothing unexpected tried to interfere again and he would make sure nothing would tip the balance.
Xander didn't like what Giles had told him so far, plus they now had to find out what had happened to Willow. He was glad Rachel was still around he had a few questions to ask her when he got a chance. Whistler walked over to him and smiled.
"Glad you're back," he said.
"Yeah, don't suppose you can tell us what happened to Willow and why she is now unconscious," he shot back in reply.
"I do believe Rachel explained about Sara Rosenberg's power," Whistler replied.
"You mean Willow's somehow inherited it like I got Robert's?" Xander asked a little confused
"That's right; Jill can work with Willow to help her control it so it doesn't hurt her. Doyle, I think you and Cordelia should as well, you both know what's it's like," Whistler suggested
"Sure," Doyle agreed. Cordelia just frowned.
"Anyway I gotta go take care of a few things, be back soon," he told them all and then he vanished.
"Man he's worse than you, Dead Boy," Xander said as Angel walked into view.
"Meaning?" Angel inquired.
"Meaning he's twice as cryptic and worse at doing the vanishing into thin air thing," Xander answered.
Angel rolled his eyes at Xander's comments knowing he should have suspected something like that from him.
"So now what?" Gunn asked.
"We have to prepare. As Whistler suggested, Jill, Cordelia and Doyle will work with Willow; Xander will continue working with Rachel. Tara. Faith. You can join them. Angel, I need you and Spike to scout out the caves where Riley and his team were attacked. Do not attack any Vampires you see, just scout them out. Buffy, I want you to help me, Wesley, Oz and Gunn do some more research," Giles answered.
"What about us?" Riley asked.
"Well, maybe you can get some more information out of Ethan," Giles suggested, indicating the still tied up warlock.
"Sure," Riley said. He and Graham untied the warlock and pushed him into the training room
"Okay, let's get to work. Doyle, how long will Willow be out?" Buffy inquired.
"A few more minutes," Doyle answered.
"We'll go to my house and train; I think they'll be more space. See you later," Rachel said.
"Be careful, don't get into any fights on the way there," Wesley warned them.
"No problem," Faith shot back as she followed Tara and Xander out the door. Xander just missed Buffy's cold stare.
Rachel walked next to Xander, just ahead of Tara and Faith. He seemed to have suffered no real side affects from the spell, but she knew the power of it, so she kept a close eye on him. Tara tried to concentrate on her surroundings instead of Xander, but she found her gaze locked on his back. The dream seemed to have opened her up to new feelings and they all concentrated on Xander. She tried to keep reminding herself she was in love with Willow, but for some reason, her thoughts kept coming back to her girlfriend's best friend. Faith was enjoying being out of prison. Although she didn't like the situation they were stuck in, she was used to things like this. She knew Buffy didn't trust her, and neither did Willow, but what had surprised her was the cold stare she had seen Buffy give Xander. She wondered what the hell was going on. As she followed the others, an image of a man and a woman entered her mind. She didn't recognize them, but they seemed familiar. The woman reminded her of Tara and the man seemed like Xander. She shook her head and tried to focus, to make sure nothing jumped them.
Urial followed Xander and his friends at a distance, something was wrong. Some unseen event had taken place. His special eyesight showed him the second slayer was having visions of the past, visions that the blonde slayer should be having. The old sorcerer had not foreseen this; he wondered why she was having them. Suddenly it clicked, there were two slayers because Xander had brought the blonde back from the dead. Somehow, by bringing her back and making it possible for two slayers to be alive at the same time, he had changed certain parts of his ancestor's prophecy. But it also meant the blonde would still pick up some taint of her ancestors life and he was beginning to suspect what it was. He feared how this change would affect the outcome of the battle.
Tara watched Xander as he sat and meditated. Rachel had decided it would do him so good to clear his mind before he tried any magic. Rachel was trying to teach Faith a few old style combat techniques and she seemed to be doing pretty good. Faith suddenly fell to the floor her eyes closed and pain was etched on her face. Tara rushed over and knelt next to her, beside Rachel. "Faith, what is it?" she asked, somewhat worried. Xander quickly snapped out of his trance and rushed over to them. He knelt and looked at Faith whose eyes were just opening.
"What happened?" he asked.
"I-I don't know, some sort of flash hit me, I kept seeing some woman, with brownish hair, she was arguing with some guy who looked like you," she answered as she leant against the wall
"Brownish hair. My god! You saw Jenna, Buffy's ancestor, and Robert," Xander exclaimed. "Rachel, why would Faith be having visions? Did she have any ancestor involved in any of this?" Xander asked.
"No, I'm not sure why she would have visions; we should ask Mr. Giles," she answered.
Xander shook his head. Something about this didn't seem right to him; some part of him knew Faith shouldn't be having these visions.
Buffy hated research but she couldn't argue with Giles at the moment, he was on edge with everything that had gone on, plus he was getting irritated at her constant berating of Xander when ever he was mentioned. She couldn't help it though, something was making her mistrust him, and to get irritated about things he said or did. She just didn't know what it was and she didn't understand it, but she knew it was getting stronger.
Giles was really beginning to get angry. Even with all the books Spike had brought them, they still didn't know too much about Valnon and his followers. Ethan refused to say anymore; however, he was sure Riley and his friends could change his mind. He wondered how Angel and Spike were doing at the caves.
Spike and Angel got as close to the cave entrance as they could. They noted three vampires were guarding it. Each had the glowing green eyes, tattoo and metal claws. Both remembered their last encounter with them and neither wanted to fight them again so soon.
"What do you think?" Spike asked quietly.
"No way we're getting in there without a fight. If was just two them, we may have been able to take them out, but I'm not taking the chance the third will call for help," Angel told him. "If he did, and we get killed or captured, it would just weaken out chances of winning this," he added.
"I'd have to agree with you there, mate." Spike nodded as he watched the guards.
"Alright, let's try finding some other entrance. You go left, I'll take the right side, and stay out of sight," Angel told him. Spike nodded and moved away
Faith was still having visions of the past, for some reason they were coming in short but frequent bursts. Each was as confusing to Faith as the next; Xander and Tara were trying to concentrate of their own memories to help out. Rachel was trying to find out why Faith was having visions but so far she was having no luck. Xander opened his eyes to look at Tara and was surprised at how attractive she looked sitting across from him, she had her eyes closed and was trying to dredge up some sort of memory from her ancestor Karan. He had always found her nice looking, but now she was looking more and more beautiful to him. Hell, he even was beginning to have thoughts centered on kissing her. He froze as that thought washed through him. He couldn't have thoughts like that, Tara was Willow's girlfriend and he'd die before he hurt Willow. And yet the thoughts were still there, somewhere deep inside him. Tara could feel someone watching her and she knew instantly that it was Xander; she wondered what he was thinking. She had been having disturbing thoughts ever since they had dream kissed. She was still trying to fight them, but she finding herself resisting. She couldn't hurt Willow, but she was finding it harder and harder to fight the thoughts that kept invading her mind.
Willow shook her head at the pain she was still feeling. According to Jill, she was inheriting her ancestor's, Sara's, powers. And even though she was curious at the prospect of seeing the future, she wasn't enjoying the pain that accompanied them. Cordelia was finding it a little funny; she kept telling her how she now knew how she felt once Doyle had passed his visions on to her.
"Listen Willow, you have to try and focus your mind or the pain will get worse each time you have visions," Doyle instructed her.
She nodded and closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind of any stray thoughts especially those centered on what was happening between her girlfriend and her best friend.
"Okay, I am gonna send a quick vision to you, just try and relax an let it come through," Doyle told her. She nodded.
"Sara never felt the pain, which means if you concentrate hard enough you won't either," Jill informed her.
Suddenly, the vision came to her and the pain came too, but this time it was not as painful as before. She tried to focus more on the vision. She saw Xander and her having some sort of discussion, both of them were laughing and she noted they were younger than they were now, so she guessed it was from the past.
"I think I did it, the pain was still there but it was not as painful as before," she told them as she opened her eyes.
"You're getting closer, but you're not there yet," Doyle told her.
She sighed and continued listening to their instructions, hoping she'd get this quickly as she feared the darkness was coming very soon.
Faith had finally had enough and basically shouted at Rachel to tell her why she was having dreams or she was gonna go and find some answers, Xander had quickly intercepted her and managed to convince her to allow them to return to the magic shop so they could ask Jill. They walked slowly through the park making sure to watch their backs. However as they neared the exit, ten vampires appeared in front of them, all had the tattoos and claws as the others, but the eyes of these vampires were red.
"Oh crap," Xander moaned.
"Great, at least now I can vent my frustration and anger," Faith said with a smile as she removed a stake from her jacket pocket.
"Stay close together," Rachel, told them as she focused her mind ready for battle. Tara instantly moved to Xander's side, ready to bring her magic to the fore.
Before anyone could strike, Riley and three of his commando's turned up alongside Angel and Spike.
"Where the hell did you come from?" Xander shouted.
"We were on a quick patrol run and Spike sensed the vampires close by," Riley shouted back as he moved in close to where Xander and the others stood.
"You noticed these guys have red eyes instead of green?" Angel inquired.
"Yeah, we did," Faith shot back.
"Jackson, get back to the magic shop and tell them we need help," Riley told one his men. The man nodded and quickly ran back the way they had come.
Buffy was getting a little more irritated with Giles, especially when he had told her to stay behind and not go on the patrol run with Riley, Angel and Spike. She didn't want to be here researching books; she wanted to be out there kicking undead butts. The door to the magic shop quickly opened and one of Riley's men entered, he looked a little out of breath as he came to a halt near the counter.
"What's wrong?" Buffy asked.
"We came across Xander and his party near the park exit; they were facing off against at least ten vampires. Riley sent me back for help," he gasped out.
"I told you I should've gone," Buffy hissed at her watcher who just glared at her.
"Wesley, tell Major Johnson we need three of his men to go help Riley and the others, Buffy and I will go as well," Giles instructed him.
Wesley nodded and ran into the training room to tell the major, while Buffy headed behind the counter to grab one of the weapons Giles stored there. Giles soon followed to get one of his own. Five minutes later and they were ready.
"Okay, let's go," Buffy said as she headed for the door.
"Good luck," Cordelia said to them as they left.
Riley cursed as the vampire's claw dug into his leg; he felt the blood run as he fell. He tried to shove the vamp away but he couldn't.
"Someone help me," he shouted.
No one answered as everyone was too busy fighting for their lives. After Jackson had left, seven more vamps had shown up and they were even tougher than the green eyed vamps they had fought before. The vamp picked him up and head butted him and then kneed him in the chest. He fell to his knees in pain. He tried to stand again only to have the vamp slam his fist down onto his spine. He yelled out in agony as the vamp let him drop to the ground. As the vamp lifted him up again, he noticed Buffy leading some of his men toward them but before he could say or do anything, the vamp sunk his fangs into his neck. He faintly heard Buffy's scream of horror before his vision blurred. The vamp twisted his neck, snapping it.
Buffy screamed as she saw the vamp sink its claws into her boyfriend and the scream turned into totally horror as she watched the vamp snap Riley's neck. Her feet buckled and she fell to her knees. Giles and the others didn't hesitate; they jumped right into the fight to help the others. Giles managed to behead the vampire who had killed Riley before he was jumped by two more. Xander fell next to Tara with multiple cuts all down his arm and chest. He was bleeding badly, but he refused to stay down. He pushed himself back to his feet and intercepted a vampire that was trying to get to Tara, who was busy casting a spell. He slammed it to the ground and punched it twice in the gut. It kneed him and he fell off it. He rose quickly and kicked him, knocking him onto his back. He spat a bit of blood out as he stood again; the vampire was closing in on him.
"Xander, move it!" he suddenly heard Faith shout.
His mind came awake instantly and he dodged the vampire's charge. He managed to land a spin kick to the back of the vamp, which knocked it to the ground.
"Here Xand, Catch!" Faith shouted. He turned to see Faith tossing him a stake; he quickly caught it and staked the vamp as it got up.
He looked around the park and noticed Riley's body lying on the ground, his neck was bent at an angle and he knew something was wrong. He noticed Buffy on her knees, crying, and he knew for certain Riley wouldn't be getting up. He didn't have any time to think more as he saw Giles being overwhelmed by two of the vamps. He cursed and ran straight towards them. He smashed straight into the tallest of the vamps, knocking it into a tree. Giles used the distraction to bring his axe's handle into the second vamps groin, putting on the ground. He raised the axe and took its head clean off. Xander was knocked into the metal bar of the swings by the first vamp. He tried to stand, but he became dizzy and he didn't see the vamp ram its claws into his side, he yelled out in pain as he fell to his knees. Faith heard Xander's scream and quickly staked the vampire she had been fighting and ran off in his direction. As she neared the two combatants, she noticed Xander was on his knees, using the last of his strength to keep the vampire back. A surge of adrenalin rushed through her as she charged into a jumping back kick, knocking the vamp clear of Xander. She staked it before the vamp could get to its feet. She noticed two more of Riley's men lying dead near the roundabout, both had deep bite marks and one had his throat ripped out. She looked around and noticed Tara incinerate the last of the vampires. Rachel was close to her and looked very tired, her arm was badly cut but, other than that, she seemed fine. Angel was on his back and had very bad cuts deep in chest and sides. One of his arms looked broken and he had a stake sticking out of one of his legs. Spike didn't seem too bad, except for a cut on his forehead. And Giles just had a few cuts on his arms and chest. She finally noticed Riley's body and frowned as she saw Buffy, still on her knees, crying her eyes out. She shook her head and helped Xander to his feet as Tara ran over to help. Spike got Angel onto his feet and helped him move. Giles picked up Riley's corpse as Rachel managed to guide Buffy to her feet and they quickly headed for the Magic Box, the last two surviving members of Riley's team guarded their rear.
Willow sat at the table reading one of the last books Spike had brought them, but her mind wasn't on her task, as she couldn't stop thinking how the fight at the park was going. Neither Cordelia nor Doyle had said something bad would happen, so she took that as a good sign. The door quickly opened and Rachel entered supporting a hysterical Slayer. Faith and Tara followed, carrying a badly wounded Xander. Spike was next, supporting a beat up ensouled vampire and finally Giles entered, carrying the limp body of Riley. Two of Riley's men quickly followed and shut the door.
"My god, what happened?" Willow gasped in horror.
"The fight went badly, what do you think happened?" Faith snapped as she laid Xander carefully on the table while Tara helped.
"Giles, where is your med kit?" Cordelia asked.
"Behind the counter," Giles said as he placed Riley's body on the floor. Major Johnson quickly walked out of the training room, followed by Graham and his remaining men.
Cordelia brought the kit to Faith who quickly began tending to Xander's wound. Tara stayed close by, her worry and care for Xander evident in her eyes. Willow tried to keep her jealously at bay, but she couldn't help but feel left out.
"I don't believe it," Graham said as he saw Riley's dead body.
"I'm sorry, there was nothing we could do," Giles apologized.
"Bull, it's Xander's fault he's dead," Buffy suddenly spat as she marched toward where Faith was tending to him.
"You come any closer Buffy, and I'll knock you out," Tara warned her.
"Get out of my way, witch," Buffy hissed.
Tara eye's flashed red as she quickly raised her hand and a green ball of energy knocked Buffy flying into the counter, knocking her out cold.
Everyone who was not beat up or half dead stared at Tara in amazement. She had just knocked Buffy Summers out cold; one of the toughest slayers had gone out like a light. Faith actually smiled at the sight and then quickly returned to tending to Xander's wound. Major Johnson and his men picked up Riley's corpse and carried it into the next room, Giles sat down tiredly as Spike dumped Angel into a near by chair.
"This isn't good," Cordelia whispered.
"I'm afraid not. Three fights and three defeats, not such a good sign," Giles agreed having heard her comment.
"Is there anyone else we can contact who could help us? I mean, we've lost most of Riley's team, plus Riley himself," Wesley asked, trying not to sound too down.
"I don't know, I can't think at the moment," Giles answered, trying to get over the last couple of hours.
"How is Xander?" Tara asked, finally taking her eyes of the slumped form of Buffy and back to where Faith patched him up.
"The wound is kind of deep but I've managed to stop the flow of blood, I just need to bandage it up," Faith answered.
"What do we do about Buffy, Giles? As soon as she wakes up she'll still go after Xander," Willow asked.
"True, she is not one to let go of an impulse easily, plus with her increasing irrational behavior toward Xander, it could be very bad," Giles said standing up.
"Did you say her behavior has altered in the last few weeks?" Rachel asked. Quickly a frown graced her face.
"Yes, for the last three or four weeks now, she has been behaving very irrational toward him. I believe she doesn't trust him for some reason," Giles replied as he walked over to where Buffy still laid unconscious
"I think I know the answer now," Rachel exclaimed.
"The answer to what?" Doyle asked.
"Why Faith has been having visions of the past and the answer to Buffy's behavior," she replied.
"So what is it?" Faith questioned without turning away from her work on Xander.
"Jenna is Buffy's ancestor and she fought alongside Robert who is Xander's ancestor, Jenna never trusted Robert though. In fact, sometimes she could be very hostile towards him. I believe Buffy has begun to inherit this feeling of mistrust, just like Xander, Willow and Tara have inherited memories from their ancestors," Rachel explained.
"And Faith; why does she have visions from the past she isn't Jenna's descendant?" Giles inquired.
"Because there are two slayers now; somehow, because the slayer essence is now shared between two people instead of one, the prophecy has been altered. Neither Robert nor Sara could foresee that Xander would bring Buffy back from the dead causing a second slayer to be activated and now Faith has part of Jenna's past, her memories. While Buffy has her mistrust of the sorcerer," she told them, indicating where Xander lay.
"So I have Buffy's ancestors memories due to us both being slayers?" Faith asked a little surprised.
"Yes, and I believe the fact that Xander was the one who made it possible," Rachel replied.
"Great, thanks Xand," Faith said to Xander who just smiled weakly.
Major Johnson had the look of a mad man on his face as his men placed Riley's body into a body bag. Graham seemed pretty upset at the loss of his friend, the rest of the men were uneasy and one was almost out of his mind with fear.
"This isn't going well sir?" Jackson said.
"No, it's not, but we still have a job to do; we can't let these vampires win," Johnson shot back.
"Yes sir," Jackson replied.
Buffy's eyes slowly opened and she looked around; Faith was asleep at the table and there was a body lying in front of her, but she couldn't see who it was. She then noticed Willow and Cordelia curled up on the sofa Giles had brought in from the training room. She couldn't see the others, but she could hear a lot of noise. Suddenly it all came back to her and her eyes quickly began to fill with tears; Riley was dead, her boyfriend was dead. She got to her feet and focused on the body lying in front of Faith and she knew who it was. It was Xander and he was the reason why Riley was dead.
Major Johnson brought out a map of Sunnydale, which Riley had shown him when they had arrived; he marked where the vampires were hiding and where the three fights had taken place. His remaining men gathered together to look at the map.
"All right, for now I think we should stay away from the park and the caves; I am going to call in for a few reinforcements," he told them.
"From where sir?" asked one of his men.
"From the surviving initiative personnel who are still living here, Graham will know where they are," he answered.
"So what do we do until then sir?" asked Jackson.
"We will keep a look out just outside the Magic Box and two of us will make a run around town in Riley's jeep, but we will not engage any vamps unless we see them attacking anyone," he told them.
"Sounds good sir, should we tell Riley's friends?" asked the smallest of the lot.
"Graham will do that, Briggs," Johnson answered. Graham just nodded and headed for the door leading to the store itself.
Buffy wiped her eyes clear and headed toward the table where Xander lay recovering from his wounds; her eyes held nothing but hate and anger. She ignored everything around her including Giles who asked her if she was alright. Tara quickly stood in her path, her own eyes showing her anger; but this anger was directed at the slayer herself and not the man lying on the table.
"Get the hell out of my way, Tara," Buffy screamed.
"No," Tara shot back readying herself for a confrontation.
Buffy noticed everyone was now watching them, including Xander who was leaning on his elbow, although he was visibly still in pain.
"That Bastard is responsible for my boyfriend's death," Buffy hissed.
"No, he isn't. You are angry and upset and under the influence of your ancestor's feelings," Tara told her.
Buffy's brow winkled in confusion at Tara's reply, but her anger quickly returned and she took a few steps forward.
"I'm warning you, Buffy; back off now before I knock you out again," Tara told her.
Buffy didn't answer, instead she used her slayer enhanced speed and charged into Tara, knocking her back into the table; Tara however managed to stay on her feet and shove the slayer backwards. Buffy went to strike the witch, but Spike managed to grab her from behind and pull her away.
"Calm down slayer," he shouted.
One again Buffy didn't answer; instead, she brought her elbow back hard into Spike's unprotected chest, causing him to release her. She spun and sent him flying into a table with a hard spin kick. She then faced Tara again.
"Stop this now," Giles roared, his anger now finally erupting.
"No, he is going to pay for Riley's death," Buffy spat as she charged again; this time she dodged Tara and went straight for the injured Xander. However, Faith knocked her onto her ass with a back kick.
"Calm down B, or I am really going to kick your ass," Faith warned her sister slayer.
"What's a matter, Xander? Can't fight your own battles?" Buffy sneered, trying to anger Xander.
Xander weakly pushed himself to his feet, but would have fallen flat on his face if not for Tara grabbing him and steadying him. With Tara's assistance, he walks over to Buffy who quickly jumps to back up.
"There was nothing I could do Buffy, I was too busy keeping those vamps off Tara," he told her.
"Of course you would say that; I bet you let him die just so you could try and take his place. Is that it Xander? Did you think with Riley dead I'd finally go out with you?" Buffy mocked.
"That's bullshit Buffy and you know it," Xander shot back, angered now by Buffy's accusations.
"Oh face it, that's all you wanted to begin with; you love me still and you made sure Riley was on his own so he could be killed, then you'd then have your chance with me," Buffy continued.
"That is a lie, I don't love you anymore, not like that," Xander told her.
"Prove it!" Buffy shouted her fists tightly clenched.
"How the hell could I love you if I love Ta-" Xander started to shout back. He just barely stopped himself from completing the sentence.
Willow's eyes were locked on her lifetime friend suspicion and fear was visible in her eyes. Tara also seemed to suspect what he had been about to say and she quickly tried to stop from blushing, but she couldn't stop the warm feelings Xander's slip up invoked inside her. Was she really falling love with him or was it just her ancestor's memories and feelings affecting her? Xander closed his eyes in shock as he realized what he had almost said; he quickly came up with a plan and pretended to faint, falling to the floor quickly as if in exertion. Faith and Giles picked him up and placed him back on the table, unaware he was still awake. Rachel and Jill dragged Buffy out of the shop to explain why she was acting so hostile toward Xander.
Ethan eye's slowly opened as he came to after his beating at the hands of the slayer's boyfriend; his chest was sore as were parts of his face. He didn't notice the Emerald winged creature watching him from the shadows but he did notice none of the soldiers were in the room. He went to try and cast a spell which would release him from the chair he was tied to when a green light enveloped him. Once it lifted he found he couldn't speak, he looked around fearfully but didn't see anything. The Emerald winged creature smiled and then vanished.
Urial watched as the emerald creature vanished with a hard glare, he knew the powers would try and interfere with the sorcerer's prophecy. He shook his head some of his long blond hair covered his eyes, which he quickly pushed back 'Damn powers, always think they are in the right just because they are fighting the darkness' Urial thought. He decided he would have to report back to his master before taking any action. He took one last look around and then flew off.