Title: The Outcasts
Author: FerretGirl
Pairing/Characters: Wesley/Spike, Faith, Willow.
Rating: PG13 to NC-17
Disclaimer: They boys and girls are not mine, I'm just playing with them.
Summary: A second chance, a new beginning?.
Spoilers: AtS S1 to 4, BtvS S3 and S5/6 I guess. At the beginning S4 of AtS and S7 of BtvS, Joss and I go our separate ways
again.

A big thanks for my beta's miniera, and eloise_bright for their help and encouragement.



The Outcasts



Entering the town of Vilnarsy had been, as Wesley had predicted, fairly easy. Once they had gotten themselves lost in the huge crowd of humans and other creatures, they were able to sneak into the town. Making sure to stick close together.

Once they entered the town, it was as if they had been thrown back in time...with a twist. Faith, Wesley, Willow and even Spike looked on in awe. They quickly found themselves a spot that was hidden in the shadows and looked at the picture that was painted before them.

There was a huge open square, the home of a mall...or as they would call it here, a market. From the looks of it, it was one of the big meeting areas of town. That it was directly on the edge of the town didn't seem to matter to anyone. There were houses and shops, big ones, small ones. Made out of wood, brick or material none of them could identify. The dwellings were painted in the brightest colors, yellow, orange, red, blue, only the roofs were a muddy brown. The roofs themselves were made out of straw or tiles, from what they could see. The shops, they noticed, were all white with the muddy color roof.

"Whatever imagination they lack in the fashion department, they certainly make up for in the architectural department," Wesley mused, looking around in awe.

The smells that assaulted their nostrils were different too. They smelled familiar scents such as salt, vinegar and cinnamon. There were also exotic scents they couldn't place, but these weren't unpleasant.

"Look at all the herbs and spices," Willow said in awe. She wondered if those were used for cooking, or medicine or magic. Or quite possible for all of them.

There were different merchants, selling just about anything they could imagine. Meat, flowers, spices, odd-looking constructions, books, animals and, from the looks of it, slaves. They weren't sure if those were slaves, for all they knew, they could be farm animals. But they thought that farm animals, or animals in general, didn't wear any form of clothing.

There were all sorts of creatures, some reptilian in appearance, others more mammalian, with fur and paws. And of course there were humanoids, some identical to them, others with unexpected skin coloring. They quickly noticed that the men, or what they thought were men, wore dark earth tones and white. The woman wore brighter colors like green, blue, yellow, but no white.

There was a vast array of languages being spoken. Some Wesley recognized, others he didn't. But again, with some he could hear similarities to other languages. The language that could be heard spoken the most luckily seemed to be English. Sometimes with a thick accent, sometimes sounding almost ancient, but for the most part it was just plain common English.

In the middle of the market was a huge water-fountain, situated next to a well. Woman and men alike were hauling water from out of the well in pots and buckets. Next to the fountain there were people with small crowds gathered around them. One played with fire, one was apparently telling a story and another was doing impressive acrobatic tricks.

"If I looked like a snake I could do that too," Faith scoffed, pointing at the direction of the acrobat. "Hell, I probably could do it now."

The roads inside the city were crudely paved with cobblestones. In some places there were huge potholes, one's neck if one were not careful. But for the most part, the roads and lanes looked well kept. There were carts being pushed around on the roads. Some were pulled by horse-like creatures, others were being pushed by their owners.

It was indeed a step back in time, because they noticed right away that this dimension didn't seem to have electricity, or any other 'modern' inventions, like steam powered machines. They did notice the use of wind energy. A small mill above the well made sure buckets of water kept being hauled to the surface.

What they also noticed right away, were those dressed in a white and red uniform, carrying swords. Some of them were pulling apart fighting children, some were berating a merchant, others were leading away a dangerous looking, big man with a pale yellow skin, long red hair covering his face, his hand bound with rope in front of him.

"I bet those are the local police," Spike said. "Or soldiers, or guards or something. We should watch out for those," he pointed out.

"Indeed," Wesley agreed as he watched the huge man being led away. "We should also keep moving, lest we attract attention." He pushed himself from the wall he was leaning against, and casually started to walk in a direction that seemed less crowded.

Spike was right on his heels; hands pushed deep in side the pockets of his coat, hat effectively hiding his platinum blond hair. "What do you suppose we do now?" he asked Wesley, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Faith and Willow were following.

"Find a place to stay for now," Wesley shrugged. He curled his hand around the pouch with coins in his pocket afraid it might get stolen. He had no doubt there were, as in any civilization, thieves around.

"Want me to keep hold of that?" Spike asked, his hand already inside Wesley's pocket. He smirked at the exasperated sigh the Watcher gave him. "After all I'm a strong vampire and more capable of protecting...people and their money," he leered at Wesley.

"Do you mind?" Wesley growled, swatting Spike's hands away. "If you're so good at that you can protect me, because *I'm* keeping the money with me."

"Oh, I have *no * problem with that," Spike said, wriggling his eyebrows at the other man.

Wesley gave the vampire a confused look. "What's that supposed to mean? And get your hand out of my pocket!"

Faith and Willow kept close to the men, trying to look casual. They relaxed slightly when they seemed to leave the crowded market place behind and entered the less crowded part of town. Though things never seemed to really slow down.

"Man, this place is weird," Faith said, keeping her eyes open for anything that might look even slightly dangerous. She was strangely excited about this dimension. So much to learn, so much to take in, so much to adjust too, and no one around to judge her.

"Yes, but so interesting!" Willow agreed, eyes shining with excitement. "Look at all those creatures. I mean, who can tell what's a demon and what's not? Or do they even have demons here? What exactly is the definition of demon around here? There's obviously evil afoot, because why else would they have those guards," she babbled. "And did you see what they were selling? Those herbs and stuff? I can't wait to find out more about this place..."

Faith listened to the steady flow of words coming from Willow with a smile. Why had the girl ever irritated her so much? Looking in front of her her smile grew bigger as she watched Spike and Wesley bicker about everything and nothing. Yes, she thought, ending up in this dimension might just turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to her and her companions.

~*~*~*~


Asking around, they learned that there were more then enough 'Inns' or 'Boarding houses' around. Easily recognizable by their light pink colored brickwork. They settled for one near the market place, yet secluded enough not to attract any unwanted attention to themselves.

The owner of the place appeared to be a mouse-like woman. She had a short blue fur coat, and looked at them with beady little eyes that shone with curiosity and intelligence.

The place itself was smaller then most of the inns they had seen, yet big enough to be a reasonable hotel in their own dimension. It was clean and cozy. There was a fireplace in what they would call the lobby. Wooden beams graced the ceiling and the walls.

A small water-fountain was placed against the right wall. They had noticed a similar fountain at other places. Wesley had deduced it was either an altar for some higher deity, or it had something to do with balance.

"Two rooms can do," the mousy woman said in English, though she had a thick accent. Her voice high pitched and her whiskers dancing up and down as she spoke. She glanced to the group in front of her and narrowed her beady little eyes. "Not here from," she said, not asking, but concluding. She spoke with a thick accent, obvious not used to talking in the English language much.

"Errr...yes, we're from out of town," Wesley said. Somehow he had become their spokesman. How that had happened he had no idea, but the others seemed more comfortable with hanging back while he did the talking.

The furry woman nodded and hummed. She looked at at Faith and Spike. "Strong, good fighters, learn much yet," she said. Her beady eyes drifted to Willow. "Powerful differently, yet strong as they, learn must much too." Then the woman looked at Wesley...and huffed.

Wesley resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Yes, let's point out that he was the only normal human in the group. No special magical powers, no super physical strength, just a lot of useless demon knowledge.

"Learn most," the woman concluded gazing at him. She pushed a book toward him. "Sign," she ordered, pointing at the book. She turned around and got out two heavy, metal keys holding them out to them. "Pay forty," she then said.

Wesley sighed while he signed the book and got out the amount of coins from the little pouch. They took the keys and made their way toward their rooms. They had two small rooms outside, behind the hotel. The rooms had their own entrances, one of the reasons they had picked this place.

"You and Faith will be sharing a room?" Wesley asked Willow.

"Y-yes please," Willow said, giving the Watcher a grateful smile. Not that she didn't trust either Wesley or Spike, but the idea of dressing or rather undressing in front of either of them made her uncomfortable. "If Faith doesn't mind," she added quickly.

"Naw, it's cool with me," Faith said. She was actually glad to be sharing a room with the shy redhead. She wouldn't have minded sharing with Spike, though most likely they'd be encouraging each other into dangerous actions. Like going to a bar at nights, or patrol, which no doubt would lead to trouble. She didn't want to share a room with Wesley. Sharing a room with Wesley meant, she would see the scars she had inflicted on him, there would be no avoiding it; and she wasn't ready to deal with that just yet.

"Alright," Wesley nodded, handing her one of the keys. "Let's get settled in and then meet in our room in an hour's time and discuss what to do next."

~*~*~*~


It had been about two weeks since they had come to this dimension. In that time they had learned a lot, yet had come no closer to answers to their questions.

Willow and Wesley had taken to visiting the market place and funny little shops, learning about the different species that lived on this world and their habits. Wesley had bought some books he just had to have. The rest had grinned at that, well aware of the man's passion for the written words.

Willow had gotten some insights into the different herbs and their uses. Apparently, magic was not uncommon on this world. Though she had yet to see someone as powerful as herself. She learned that the herbs had several uses indeed. Cooking, medicinal and magical.

She also found out something else. Her powers in this world were more...balanced, more in tune with the earth or the planet. She could draw from the elements and what she didn't use she could give back. Simply by touching her bare hand to the earth and let it flow back. She felt as if she knew what she was doing, in control. Something that had been lacking in her own world.

The two of them also had managed to sell their old clothes. They make sure to remove everything that they thought wasn't known on this world. Buttons, metal clasps and the likes. They had gotten a very good price for the pieces of cloth that had remained. The man from the textile shop had squealed in delight at the foreign fabric and payed them a handsome price.

Faith and Spike, unlike the other two, had taken to prowling around in dark alleyway's and in the more quiet parts of town. Looking around for anything evil and sometimes getting into fights. They also made a new discovery. Not only could Spike prance around in sunlight, but both he and Faith's strength had gone up several notches. They didn't know yet how much stronger they were, just that they were. Their senses also heightened, thus keeping them out of trouble most of the time, because they were more aware of their surroundings.

They also discovered that they had to be very careful with the guards of this town. The guards didn't want any trouble, and took no risks. They would haul people off to...probably prison or something, at the least signs of trouble.

The guards were mostly accompanied by dog-like creatures, who resembled small swines. They would have been cute, if it weren't for the razor sharp set of teeth that were clearly visible. Both Faith and Spike had to stand by and watch once, as a pack of them got hold of a run away captive. It hadn't been a pleasant sight, and there had been nothing they could do about it.

All this made Wesley slightly on edge. He sat on the bed in his and Spike's room, thumbing through a book, glasses perched on his nose. He didn't wear them outside the seclusion of the room, since they had not seen anyone wear something similar.

"Everyone gets an upgrade and my eyesight hasn't even improved," he muttered, feeling a bit left out.

"Well, they probably tried to upgrade you brain, but found out there was no room for it," Spike grinned. He'd been slowly trying to get closer to Wesley. He really liked the man. And now that he had the soul, he recognized that one had to take in other people's feelings into account. Unlike in the old days when Spike just took what ever he wanted. But either the Watcher was really clueless, not ready or he wasn't interested. That didn't keep Spike from trying off course.

"We like you anyway," Willow tried, giving Wesley a smile. She was pleasantly surprised at how well she got along with him now. They were able to share their love for books and thirst for knowledge, but Wesley had proven to be someone you could easily talk with, about anything.

"Yeah," Faith said from her place on the bed. "You're our decision maker, no need to upgrade that big brain of yours. You always did make good decisions."

Wesley froze and winced. Because as he well knew, that wasn't true. And that brought back memories he didn't want to think about. He didn't want to think about how he had taken Connor in the mistaken belief he was saving both the baby and Angel. "I'm going to get some fresh air," he muttered and strode out of the room.

Spike quickly got up to follow him. They had made it a habit, never to go out on their own, always two or more, they had decided. "Nice going, Slayer."

"What? What did I say?" Faith asked, looking at an equally confused looking Willow for answers.

"What's the last big decision he made?" Spike asked, looking from one girl to the other.

"Oh shit, Connor," Faith cursed. She jumped off the bed and strode out the door as well. Spike and Willow right on her heels.

In the last few weeks the group had become very close. Sharing their thoughts, sometimes their feelings. Even Spike. Wesley, they found, had been the one they most often went to when they wanted to talk about something. The man was always willing to listen without interrupting and gave good advice.

The problem was, Wesley himself wasn't sharing his thoughts or problems. He bottled them up inside. The others tried to get him to open up, with varying degrees of success, but they recognized that he wasn't ready to talk yet. They respected this. This didn't mean, however, that they were going to let him slip away, like his so-called friends at AI had done.

Which is why they were currently running after him.

They found him a few streets away, watching a group of toddlers play. A lost expression on his face, his thoughts a million miles away. None of the others had to guess where those thoughts were at the moment, they knew.

Spike grabbing his arm jolted Wesley out of his memories. "Come on Watcher, let's go for a drink," the vampire said and dragged the other man behind him.

Faith and Willow nodded and followed. A drink might help them all relax a bit. They had found several bars, some small and homey, others rough and dangerous. The bar Spike chose to enter now, simply because it was the one close by, was something in the middle. Neither small, nor particularly rough.

They ordered something lightly alcoholic, sitting at a table in a corner. Faith and Willow kept up a flow of words, Spike pitching in here and there. Each of them keeping an eye on Wesley, who just stared into his drink.

Wesley recognized what his friends were doing. And he did indeed call them friends. They kept an eye on him, which he appreciated more then he was able to say. They were so very different from his former friends in LA. They cared. Not that his friends at AI hadn't cared, just differently. His new friends, didn't judge, didn't assume. And he was making an effort to open up to them, though it was hard.

They each let out a sigh of relief as Wesley joined in on the conversation, drawing himself out of those depressing thoughts. Spike stood up to get another round of...what ever it was they were drinking. Faith joined him, because she wanted something else to drink and didn't trust the vampire to get her the right stuff.

It was then, that an extremely drunk human stumbled over to the table Willow and Wesley were sitting. He slurred several rude remarks at Willow before he started to grope her.

Willow looked shocked and moved out of the man's reach. This angered the man and he lunged for her.

Wesley grabbed the man by his collar and yanked him off his feet. "I think you're being very rude," he hissed at the drunk. "You're going to apologize to the lady," he said, glaring dangerously at the man. Before Wesley could react, there was a flash of metal, followed by a searing pain ripping through his side. The grip he had on the man weakened and he could feel his knees beginning to buckle, faintly hearing Willow yell something.

Willow watched as Wesley grabbed her attacker with a sense of relief, which quickly turned to horror as the man pulled a knife from somewhere and stabbed Wesley in the side viciously. "Oh my god! Wesley!" she yelled, pushing away the drunk man with a force she didn't know she had.

Grabbing the Watcher and holding him up with some difficulty, she could only stare helplessly as blood flowed from the knife wound, staining the white shirt red. She glanced around in panic for Spike or Faith as the drunken man advanced on her again.

Spike and Faith heard Willow's panicked voice yell for them. They didn't waste any time getting to their friend. Their eyes widened when the saw Wesley's red stained shirt and the drunk man with the knife advancing on Willow and Wesley. Without thinking they lunged and within moments a fully-fledged bar brawl was underway.

Spike grabbed Wesley, pulling the other man's arm over his shoulder and dragged them outside. Willow on their heels and Faith bringing up the rear. Making sure to work out some of her frustration by hitting anyone that got in her way...hard.

Once they were outside, they could already hear several people calling for the city guards. "Dammit!" Faith cursed, "Let's move it people, quick!"

Spike dragged Wesley along toward an alley where they might be able to hide. Faith and Willow followed, keeping a lookout behind them. They could see the guards approaching, a lot of them, including their swine dogs. There was going to be a wide search for any participants in the fight. They needed to hide and quick.

Diving after Spike and Wesley into the alley they kept their eyes on the approaching guards. Some were running into the bar, and hauling out several of the fighters, some were starting to look around, getting closer and closer to where they were hiding.

"They're coming this way," Willow hissed as she watched Spike prop Wesley up against a wall. The white shirt now had a huge red stain, blood still flowing sluggishly from the wound. No way were they going to be able to hide that. She cursed the fact that they had left their coats at home, otherwise they might have been able to hide it with that.

"They're getting closer! Spike do something!" Faith hissed, glancing at Wesley's pale form worriedly. "There has to be something to hide his wound with." She urged.

Wesley was gripping the wall behind him for support. His were filled with pain, his breathing too shallow, his face much too pale. He looked at Spike helplessly, clutching his side, trying unsuccessfully to hide the bloodstain. He was swaying dizzily, struggling to stay upright.

Spike could hear Faith and Willow's panicked voices, the boots of the guards on the pavement getting closer and closer, the howling grunts of the swine dogs. He needed to do something or Wesley would be caught and hauled of to god knew where. He frantically looked around for anything he could use to hide Wesley or at least his wound with, still holding on to Wes' shoulder to make sure the man would be able to stand up. There was nothing.

"They're almost here!" Faith reported urgently, followed by an "Oh god, oh god," from a panicked Willow, who was flapping her hands nervously.

Wesley's breathing was now ragged and desperate, as the footsteps on the cobblestones came ever closer. So close now that they could almost smell the foul breath of the swine dogs, hot on the scent of the injured man's blood. They were almost upon them; there was no time left.

"Oh sod it!" And without thinking, Spike pushed his body against the Watcher wrapping his arms around the other man, thus effectively covering any traces of wrong doings, bend his head and crushed his lips to Wesley's.

2004 by FerretGirl