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



Blinking, our four travelers looked at the water fountain...shrine. "Good question," Willow mused. "I mean, maybe we should have brought gifts. But what do you bring a city protector? Beads? Or maybe fruit or flowers," her eyes widened. "We don't have to sacrifice any goats or something do we?" she turned to look at her companions nervously.

"Why don't we just knock and ask if she's home," Faith shrugged, ignoring the eye-roll Wesley gave her.

"Might work," Spike nodded. And with that he took a step forward and knocked, a little too loudly, on the marble behind the fountain...shrine. "Anybody home?"

Willow and Wesley gave him an incredulous stare, while Faith didn't even try to hide her snickering. "Thank you Spike," Wesley began, sarcasm creeping into his voice, "I'm sure that will..."

They all watched in awe as the water in the fountain suddenly swirled around and rose before them, shimmering in their vision. Her skin was made of water, the bright rainbow colors of her shrine reflecting off her glistening body like a beautiful mosaic. Her eyes were blue-green as the sea, and her hair tumbled in little waterfalls, flowing from her head. She wore a small deep-green tunic that didn't cover much, obviously worn for modesty's sake, as it looked like she had thrown it on in haste. When she spoke, her voice was the soft whisper of water bubbling over pebbles.

"Other worlders," she smiled, "we finally meet."

"Pardon us...err..miss," Wesley said politely. He wondered briefly if one were to bow to a city protector. "You seem to have us at a disadvantage, you know us? About us?"

The Deity turned to him and gave him a sad smile. "Still so suspicious," her voice tingled, "Not everything or everyone can be trusted or distrusted."

"Cryptic much?" Willow blinked at the Deity.

The water creature tilted her head to her side as she regarded Willow. "Young Sorceress," she said. "You are well on your way to learning balance, yet have a long way to go. You'll need to learn to share with the planet and balance this sharing. You'll need to learn when to give and when to take. But you will, once you let go of what cannot be changed," she smiled. "You are strong enough."

"She's a Higher Being alright," Spike scoffed, "She's not making any sense."

At this the water creature turned to where Spike was standing next to Faith. She looked from the Slayer to the Vampire. "Young Warriors. So alike yet not," she told them. "Born enemies, yet friends, darkness turned light. Such contradictions." She looked at them both puzzled for a while. "You both must learn how to balance your physical and mental powers. You are more worthy then you think, once you let go of what cannot be changed."

Her eyes flickered for a moment over to Wesley and then back to Spike. "You've already found your way of balance, now you need to fight and work for him," she said, with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Yours is nearer then you think," she told Faith, "But it will take time."

"Right, well," Wesley began, hoping to move on quickly before the water Deity would get cryptic on him. "We have some questions and we were told that you might be able to answer those?"

The water creature regarded him for a moment, long enough for Wesley to begin to squirm uncomfortably. He was unable to repress a muttered "bugger" when the Deity opened her mouth again to speak, almost knowing full well what she would say.

"Young Scholar," her voice said, sounding like waves softly flowing to the shore. "So strong, trying to do right, no matter what the cost to yourself. You must learn to trust and let others enter your heart. Only then, can you be the leader you are." She nodded. "You must let go of what cannot be changed, of what is not your fault. You are strong enough," she told him.

"And you will only grow stronger together," she smiled at all of them.

The four of them stared at the City Protector. Unsure of what to say. She obviously had insight into who they were and what they were.

"But that still doesn't answer your questions," The Deity said with a singing voice, giving them a mysterious smile. "The answers you seek are not within these city walls. You must find the Visionaries, they are the only ones who can give answers to your questions."

"And where can we find these Visionaries?" Wesley asked politely.

"I do not know," the water creature shrugged. "But my brother in the city across the ocean will know. I've heard him talk about them, he might be able to point you in the right direction."

"We thank you for your time and...err...help," Wesley said. He bowed slightly, somehow feeling it was appropriate. The others quickly followed his example, muttering their thanks as well.

"I wish you a fruitful and safe journey," the Deity said, while she began to swirl around again. "And remember, apart you may be strong, but together you are a family, and therefore stronger," her voice sang out from the swirl of water, before it disappeared again into the water fountain, and turned it into a normal water fountain again.

~*~*~*~



"The Higher Beings are different here too,"" Faith said once they were in their rooms again, "What she said actually wasn't all that cryptic."

"Or," Wesley smiled at her, tapping her lightly on her forehead with a finger, "You're already doing what she said. Using that brain we all know you have."

Faith grinned and swatted at the finger. "Yeah, yeah I know. Spike and I need to control our temper."

"Oy!" Spike protested, "There's nothing wrong with my temper!"

"No there isn't," Wesley agreed. "But you need to find a balance, know when to use it and when not and how to use it." He turned to look at Willow. "Just as Willow is learning how to balance her magical powers. Learn how to use it the best way, share with the planet and learn how to use her magic to its fullest."

"Listen to your way of balance speak, Spike," Faith grinned at Wesley, who turned a nice shade of red.

"We all need to let go of the past," Willow said softly. "Obviously, we're all clinging on to that too much. Like the Deity said, we're dwelling on things that can't be changed. We need to be ourselves here, be comfortable with who we are. And I think we're getting there."

"Exactly," Wesley agreed. "Now let's see if we can find out more about this 'City across the ocean,'" he said, trying to change the subject.

"Nuh uh," Faith shook her head, staring him down.

"What do you mean nuh uh?" Wesley asked, feigning ignorance. He had hoped to change the subject so they wouldn't have to talk about what the water creature had said about him.

"Nuh uh, not so fast. Watcher-o-mine." Faith folded her arms over her chest and looked at him. "She said you needed to learn to trust others and let them into your heart," she started. "Now Angel and Queen C may have let you get away with your hiding into your shell thing, but I'm not planning on doing that. That's what got you into trouble in the first place." She looked at Spike and Willow, who both nodded.

"I'm trying," Wesley sighed, forcing himself to look at his friends. Spike's hand in the small of his back reassuring him, making him feel a little more at ease. "It's just that I'm not used to..." His voice trailed off and he winced. He seemed to be saying that an awful lot here. And wasn't that the entire point? He was suppose to learn so that he would get used to people caring about him and not letting him run off and make decisions on his own.

"We're not judging you, Wes," Willow pointed out. "We'd be the last ones to do that. I mean what we all did was far worse then what you did. You tried to do the right thing and got burned bad. We killed people."

"That might be," Wesley said. "But you were struck by grief," he pointed at Willow. "You were in a very bad place, lost and alone with no one to help you," he pointed at Faith. "And in your case it was the demon." He said looking over his shoulder at Spike.

"True," Spike agreed leaning in for a quick kiss, just because he could. "But we all still have to learn to live with it, as you will need to learn to live with what you did. And that's not going to happen if we keep on dwelling on the past."

"I'm glad we all agree on that," Wesley smiled softly. "Shall we let go of the past and look forward? More precisely at finding out more about this city across the ocean?"

"Research," Willow nodded.

"Research," Wesley agreed.

"Come on Slayer," Spike said, reluctantly removing his hand from Wesley's back. "Let's go do our own more direct form of research and ask around some."

~*~*~*~


Research had quickly taught them just exactly what city was meant with 'city across the ocean'. It was the city of Maxion. There was only one way to get from Vilnarsy to Maxion, and that was by ship. A sea journey that would take at the very least two months.

Asking around in the huge harbor of Vilnarsy had proven pretty quickly that they could not afford to buy a passage across for one person, let alone four. Not even on the cheapest ship. That left them with two options.

One would be to sneak aboard a vessel that was going to Maxion and be a stowaway. Willow and Wesley might be able to hide away for about two months, though even that was doubtful, Faith and Spike most assuredly would not be able to sit still for a period that long. They couldn't even sit still for a day.

That left option two. They had to find work on one of the ships that went to Maxion. This, they found out, was easer said than done. Most ships didn't hire unknown faces, and though woman aboard ships were not uncommon, they were looked down upon because they were not deemed physically strong enough.

This had set Faith off ranting about emancipation and backward dimensions. But that still didn't change the fact that after two weeks of asking around, there were only two ships that might hire all four of them.

Or just one ship actually.

The Captain of The Tormente, had turned out to be the huge, dangerous, yellow skinned man the Guards had led away when the group had first entered Vilnarsy. He was absolutely filthy, obviously never having heard of the concept of bathing, and neither had his crew.

He was only know as 'The Captain' or as the group had baptized him 'Captain Bully'. He treated his crew as less then dirt if he wanted to. Because he could. Faith, Willow and Spike had witnessed him beating one of his crew viciously because the man had accidentally dropped some cargo. There had been no harm done to the cargo, but the Captain had not been pleased.

Faith and Willow had both been itching to say or do something, but before they had a chance, Spike had jumped to the fray. He grabbed the Captain by the throat and had slammed him against the nearest wall, the vampires eyes flashing yellow. Spike then continued to hurl insults at the man, telling this Captain exactly what he thought of him.

In the end, Willow and Faith had to forcibly drag Spike away before he started a physical fight with the huge man. Not that they were afraid Spike would get hurt. Quite the opposite actually. No matter how big the man was, he'd be no match for a furious Spike. And the girls didn't want to attract any attention to their group. Well, at least not more then Spike was already attracting with his actions.

Since that little incident The Captain and Spike threw each other deadly glares whenever they saw each other. Luckily neither of them had physically attacked each other. And the only reason that had happened was because they were held back by, in Spike's case his friends, and in The Captain's case his crew.

So, The Tormente was out of the question.

This only left The Cynosure. A big ship with various forms of cargo. One of which was live cattle, which Spike had pointed out would come in handy. He demonstrated this by pointedly licking his lips. The others had grimaced at that, but understood his meaning.

The Captain of The Cynosure was a tall, muscular human man named Traxda. Captain Traxda, they had learned, was a stern but righteous man. He reminded Spike of the old sea Captains of his time. Firm but fair. They might be able to plead their case with Captain Traxda if they put it properly.

Which was why they were currently at the harbor. Leaning against a small wall, Willow and Faith stared at the ship. Spike was behind the wall leaning over it, in a glaring contest with Captain Bully, until the man moved away. Wesley was sitting against the wall, head tipped back, eyes closed, enjoying the relative peace and quiet.

"Hunk alert ten o'clock," Faith said, poking Willow in the ribs with her elbow.

Willow's head swirled to the point the Slayer had mention to see a shirtless muscular man working at a nearby ship. Sweat dripping down his well tanned skin, muscles rippling underneath, long blond hair flowing down his back.

"Guh," Willow blinked.

"Drool," Faith agreed.

"Bibble."

"Thud."

"Nah," Spike interrupted, staring at the man in question. "Too many bulky muscles, probably no brain."

"Yeah," Faith smirked. "We know you like them leaner and with lots of brain." She stuck her tongue out at Wesley as he looked up to glare at her.

"And besides," Willow said, poking Spike in the chest. "Why are you looking at our pieces of hunky manflesh when you already have a hot boyfriend?"

"Yes, well," Wesley said clearing his throat. He stood up and glared at the grinning group. "When you're all done with the ogling, perhaps we can talk to the Captain of The Cynosure." Having said that, he quickly walked away, blushing ferociously.

Though Wesley and Spike had gotten closer over the past weeks, there had been nothing more between them then a few stolen kisses and hand holding when they felt safe. Wesley had made it clear to Spike that he wanted to take it slow, needed to get used to the idea, needed to get comfortable with this before taking any next steps.

Spike had smiled and agreed. He had recognized that it had taken Wesley a lot of effort to just tell him that, sharing what he felt. And it was the fact that Wesley had taken the effort to tell him, that told Spike they would be alright, even though it might take them a little longer to be openly comfortable around each other as a couple.

Faith and Willow had helped a lot by making sure Wesley knew that neither of them minded the new relationship one bit. In point of fact, they were encouraging them. This made Wesley feel a little more at ease. Though he could do without the teasing, he knew they didn't mean any harm. It was the way families worked, teasing each other. When he thought about it really hard, he knew he really didn't mind at all.

~*~*~*~


Captain Traxda looked at them with narrowed eyes. They were in his cabin and he had listened to their case. "I have work for the men," he said, "but I'm not so sure about the women," he said honestly. "One of you girls know something about calculus?"

Willow shyly raised her hand. "I'm...uhm...very good with numbers and such," she said softly.

"Good," Captain Traxda nodded, "You can assist our mapmaker. She is our doctor's wife and could use a hand juggling the map-making and nursing." He stared at Faith. "I'm afraid I don't have anything for you. We don't need a cook or a cleaner."

To her credit Faith did not react to his words by loosing her temper. Cook or cleaner indeed, she thought. Instead she planted her hands on her hips and stared at him. "I happen to strong enough for hard work," she said, tilting her chin up, daring the man to disagree.

Captain Traxda looked surprised. "Really? And can you prove this?"

Faith blinked. Could she prove this? How was she suppose supposed to do that? She turned and looked at Wesley who shrugged. He made a fist and mimicked arm wrestling. Faith's eyes widened. The man had wicked cool ideas sometimes... well, most of the time actually.

She turned back to the Captain. "I challenge your strongest man, or woman...err...or whatever, to an arm wrestling match," She said, hoping that they knew what the hell arm wrestling was in this dimension.

Captain Traxda pursed his lips and looked at her thoughtfully. Then he nodded, "Alright, if you win I'll hire you all." He stood up and walked out of the cabin, the group following him.

Once on the deck, the Captain called out. The man that appeared was an enormous giant of a man, with green skin, teeth like a horse and elfin like ears. Faith dubbed him 'the hulk' right away. The green skinned man towered over them, but the smile he gave them was friendly and warm. "Yes Sir?" he rumbled toward the Captain.

Captain Traxda pointed at Faith. "You will arm wrestle with her. If she wins, I'll hire her. Make sure you play fair." Having said that, he stepped back and waved for them to get on with it.

Faith immediately dropped on her stomach, propped up her elbow and held out her hand.

The huge man looked down and then back at the Captain, before hesitantly doing the same. Surely the Captain didn't actually mean that he should arm wrestle with this petite girl? He was going to break her arm! He didn't like that idea.

The grip Faith gave him, when they twined their hands together, surprised him. It was far, far stronger then he expected. At the Captain's word, the fight began and he found out that underneath that deceptively delicate frame, was an incredibly strong woman. She was winning and wasn't even sweating.

Faith grinned at the green man and very easily pushed his hand further toward the deck. She had no real trouble. Though the man was strong, she had a feeling he was holding back, maybe afraid to break her arm or wrist. He seemed the friendly sort. But that was alright with her, she wasn't going all out herself.

And indeed without breaking a sweat, Faith pushed the green man's hand onto the deck with a loud thud. She looked up triumphantly at the Captain. Who looked clearly impressed. "You're hired," he nodded. Turning to the group he said "Get your things together, we're leaving this afternoon."

The group hurried to the make shift home and gathered the few personal items they had gathered during their time in Vilnarsy. They said goodbye to the few friends they had made here; Mister Lutaos, the mousy innkeeper, a few merchants and bartenders and quickly made their way over to The Cynosure. Getting ready to begin a new adventure, a voyage across an unknown ocean to a distant land.

2004 by FerretGirl