Title: Phoenix Risings: Necro-Gate
Rating: PG-13/R
Chapter Number: 8
Author: White Werewolf
Category: Buffy/Xander, Eric/Faith, Sam/Daniel (Maybe), Gabrielle/Joxer
Spoilers/Timeframe: All I know for sure it is after "Becoming Part 2."
Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the ideas and my computer.
Summery: After Buffy leaves Sunnydale, Xander decides to go looking for her. On the other side of the universe, Ninedinna wants the book she created...the Necronomicon Ex Mortis: the Book of the Dead.
Author Notes: This part is just a prologue to the Phoenix Risings Trilogy; which is in turn the starting fic to a huge series. This is the third part of the trilogy. It will be mainly focused on the Buffy/Xander relationship and it will be housing many crossovers.
Special Thanks: Danii, Tenhawk, Teri, Silent Bob Foley, and X-Lander
Crossovers Planned:
Buffy: the Vampire Slayer
Hercules: the Legendary Journeys
Evil Dead
Stargate SG-1
Xena: Warrior Princess
Boy Meets World
Cameo Crossovers will suddenly appear. Take a read, and see if you can spot one.
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***
Daniel went back into the notebook started flipping though the pages. Finding something, he said, "According to the this, she's a student of Hermery High School."
"And he died in 1996 which was two years ago. Do you think Buffy is still a student there?"
Sam said, "It's the summer, Sir. Chances are she wouldn't be attending right now."
The archeologist said, "Well, the records would still be there. And on records. There are addresses. We find the address, we find Buffy's home. We find her home, we find the slayer. We find the..."
Jack cut him off, "We get the idea Daniel. We find Buffy, we get her to help us slay Caroline and Banks." He got up, "Let's move on out."
"Uh, Sir?"
Jack looked at the captain. "Carter?"
Sam looked at the clock in the room and said, "It's 11:00 at night. The school's closed at this point. Might as well as go in the morning."
The colonel nodded, "Good idea. Well, kids. Tomorrow's a school day. We better get to bed."
Daniel smiled getting an idea, "Yes, Dad."
He just rolled his eyes, "Just go to bed."
***
Joxer, Xander, and Hercules walked down the night streets of Los Angeles.
The three friends could feel the night's wind on their backs. A moon hung in the sky. Only a crescent of the moon was visible.
Stars speckled through the sky creating a polka-dot patter in the dark sky.
Joxer walked around in amazement. Everything was new to him, yet there was the familiar trees, rocks, and of course the sky. He looked at the architecture of the buildings and was in complete awe.
"This is incredible."
Hercules chuckled, "Yeah, it is, isn't it? Earth has gone through major changes since our days in Greece." Remembering a conversion they had ealier, he glanced at Joxer and at Xander, "we need to give you a name."
Joxer frowned, "I can't keep Joxer?"
Xander shrugged, "You can keep it as a last name. You still need a first name."
"First name, huh? What do people go by nowadays?"
The youngest friend said, "Let me think. Well, there's: Shawn, John, Daniel, Tom, Josh, Jeff, Nick, Bruce, Tim, Aaron, among others."
Joxer thought for a moment. He didn't know what they meant, but some of them sounded interesting. "I kinda like Tim."
Xander said, "Alright. Kevin Sorbo, meet Timothy Joxer."
Joxer asked in confusion, "Timothy?"
He nodded, "Timothy is the full name. Or if you want, you can go by Tim. My full name is Alexander, but I go by Xander."
The Greecian mortal said, "Tim is fine."
Hercules said, "Well, Tim. I assume you know where you're going."
Timothy Joxer said, "In truth, no I don't. But I got this feeling in my gut. I'm just walking to where it sends me. That is what 'Dite told us."
"'Dite?"
The son of Zeus smiled, "It's a nickname Hephaestus gave her. It just stuck with her."
Xander grinned, "'Dite's cool. I always thought last part of first names were cool ways to form nicknames."
Joxer smiled, "I wonder why you would say that, *Xander.*"
The boy just glared at him, "You made your point, Joxer. C'mon, let's go free Gabrielle."
Hercules said, "We better get going. We've been searching for Gabrielle a few hours now."
***
"Long time no see, Honey."
The vampire looked as a bundle of golden sparkles appeared out of nowhere.
The blond stared at the goddess, "Aphrodite?"
She smiled, "You remember me! Tubular. So, who am I talking to? Callisto or Gabrielle?"
The vampire snarled and pounced onto Aphrodite, "You bitch!"
She disappeared letting the vampire fall to the floor and Aphrodite appeared a few feet from her. "You got a real problem, don't you?" The Love Goddess walked to the fallen form of the vampire and pulled her up. "Honey, you listen to me. Your friends are coming."
She watched as the vampire's eyes changed to a different color. In a pained voice, the demon said, "Friends?"
Aphrodite nodded, "Hercules and Joxer are coming. They'll be here soon."
A tear manages to escape from the vampire's face, "Joxer?"
She smiled realizing who she was talking to, "You got it, Gabrielle. So fight it. Fight Callisto and come back to us."
The vampire pulled away in rage. "No! It can't end like this!"
------
Callisto punched Gabrielle across the face, "No! It can't end like this!"
Gabrielle narrowed her eyes and kneed her vampire half in the chest. "I'm not alone anymore, Bitch."
The demon smiled wickedly, "Oh, but you are. Why would Hercules want you around? It looks like Hercules gave up the hero life. He's an actor now. And Joxer? Why would you want be around him? You found him annoying. You always hurt him. Why would he want to be around you anymore?"
Gabrielle turned her head to the left not wanting Callisto to see the pain in her eyes.
"Gabrielle?"
------
"Gabrielle?"
The vampire turned to look at the Love Goddess. "What do you want?"
"I want to help you, Honey. Hercules and Joxer are on their way. They love you."
She yelled in disgust, "They don't love me! They only love me because you're here. You cast a spell on them to make them think they love me!"
"We do love you, Gabby."
The vampire looked to her right as three people came in. She immediately recognized them.
"No you don't, Joxer!"
------
"No you don't Joxer!"
Gabrielle yelled at Callisto, "Yes, he does! They're here because they want to help me."
Callisto laughed, "Help you? Don't make me laugh. Wait. I am laughing."
------
Joxer grabbed the shaking vampire. "Gabby, listen to me." He glanced at Aphrodite who nodded.
He glanced at Hercules and Xander who both said. "Tell her."
Joxer nodded as he turned to the vampire. "Gabrielle. I gotta say, this vampire thing is kinda different. If you can come back from being a bachae. You can come back from being a vampire."
"Shut up, Joxer!" The vampire yelled at him.
"Is that what you want, Gabby? Do you want me to shut up?"
"No. Yes. No. Yes."
He grinned, "Make up your mind, Gabrielle."
Her eyes glared at him, "My name is Callisto."
"No, it's not. Your name is Gabrielle. You're from Poteidaia. You had a sister named Lilla. You were best friends with Xena. You're my best friend. I love you, Gabrielle. Fight her. Fight her, Gabby. If not for me, for you."
"It's not true!"
Joxer said in a stern voice, "Listen to me, Gabrielle. I know you. I know you love writing. You wrote some amazing stories. I love the way you laugh, I love the way you smile. I love the way you think. I love that you let me hang around with you and Xena. I love that you became and Xena became my family. I love you, Gabrielle. I truly love you with all my heart and soul."
------
"...I truly love you with my heart and soul."
Gabrielle pounced at the vampire. "He loves me!"
Callisto shook her head, "He could never love you."
Gabrielle kicked her in the side. "Didn't you just hear him? He's telling us what he remembers. He's telling me to fight back. That's what I'm going to do! Now, be a good girl, and give me my body back, you bitch!"
Callisto grabbed her, "Never!"
Gabrielle tossed her aside, "I'm done with the torture. I'm done of being alone. I'm done using that sarcophagus. I'm done drinking blood. I'm done with killing innocent people. I'm done listening to you. I want to be my own person. I want to be what I once was."
Callisto launched herself on to the bard. "I'm not going to let you."
Gabrielle smiled, "Wanna make a bet?"
***
"I love you, Gabby. Please fight it. Fight Callisto and come back to me."
"Shut up!" The vampire punches him in the gut and knocks him down.
Joxer looks up at her, gets back to his feet, takes a breath and said, "I love you."
She glared at him, "Stop that!"
"I remember our first meeting. I remember you hurting me. I remember all the times you hurt me, Gabrielle. But you know what? Over the years I heard a saying. You always hurt the ones you love. You've hurt me quite a bit, yet I still keep wanting to be around you. Back in Greece, you were always full of life.
"You had your bad days too. But you were human. Human beings make mistakes. Gods know I had my share, and so have you. Come back to me and we can work through our problems together."
She slammed him across the cheek, followed by punches to the chest. "Shut the hell up!"
Joxer smiled, "I love you."
Her face morphed to the vampire's. She glanced at him, "You can love this? No way!"
He said, "I still love you, Gabby. I fell in love with the inner you. You can be a minotaur and I'd still love you."
Gabrielle's friend got an idea, "Remember my song?"
She looked up at him, "Song?"
Joxer nodded and started to sing:
Joxer the Mighty
Roams through the countryside
He never needs a place to hide
With Gabby as his sidekick
Fighting with her little stick
Righting wrongs and singing songs
Being mighty all day long
He's Joxer-he's Joxer the Mighty!"
As he concluded his song, she crumbled down in tears, "I always found that song annoying."
He chuckled, "It may be annoying, but it was misunderstood."
The vampire looked up at his brown eyes and could see the love he had for her, "I think it finally was understood."
In a surprised voice, he asked, "Gabrielle? Are you back?"
The blond pulled him into a hug and held him tight, "What does this tell you?"
He pulled away from her, "It tells me nothing. It tells me that you want to suffocate the life out of me."
Gabrielle giggled, "I missed you so much, Joxer. Can I tell you three words?"
"Go ahead."
"I love you."
The next couple of minutes, two long separated friends just held each other. They sought comfort in something so old yet suddenly was now refreshed and full of life.
Hercules walked up and coughed suddenly, "Uh, Joxer? Remember us?"
Joxer smiled in embarrassment. "Sorry." He glanced at Gabrielle and said, "You remember, Hercules?"
Gabrielle grinned, "It's been a while, Hercules."
The demigod chuckled, "It certainly has." He turned to his friend, "Gabrielle, I'd like you to meet Xander."
Xander walked up to the forming group and smiled at the vampire, "So your Gabrielle, huh? The show doesn't do you any justice."
She showed a confused look, "Show?"
Aphrodite smiled, "Honey, a lot's happened since you disappeared. You and Joxer have a lot to catch up. I believe Hercules would be willing to do that."
The actor nodded, "No doubt about it." He looked at her, "What do we do about Callisto though?"
Gabrielle snarled, "I want her out." She turned to the goddess, "can you do anything about it?"
The Love Goddess said, "I can talk to Hades or someone. There might be some way to make her be dormant. I'll have to look into it."
She grinned, "Thank you, Aphrodite. I just want to be free of that bitch."
Joxer nodded, "And you will, Gabby. I already lost you once. I don't want to lose you again."
The blond said with sincerity, "You're not going to, Joxer. You two are the only link I have to Greece."
Cupid's mother questioned, "What about me? Aren't I a link to Greece?"
"I don't know, Aphrodite. You've caused some trouble over the years."
Joxer said with a grin, "Gabby, 'Dite was the one who told me about your future. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be here."
She glared at the goddess, "You knew? You knew about my future and you didn't do anything about it?"
Aphrodite said in her defense, "Gabrielle, we didn't know what happened to you. We searched all over Greece and couldn't find you. Joxer here traveled farther than any of us. I myself didn't know until I touched your thread that was watched over by the Fates. They may not be able to change destiny, but I could try to prevent it. So I told Joxer and Hercules. Joxy decided to place himself in suspended animation so he could be alive when you returned to us."
She had tears glisten in her eyes, "You did that?"
Joxer nodded, "Yeah, I did. After Xena died, I didn't have much to do with my life. I searched for you for years. Everyone did. But I was the last one to give up. I didn't want to live in world that didn't have you in it. After Aphrodite told me what she found out, I decided to put myself in suspended animation. We still don't know why I woke up early, but I did. Believe it or not, Gabby, it's been over 5,000 years since you went missing."
She asked in confusion, "5,000 years?"
Hercules nodded as he explained the use of the year. "In other words, its been a very long time."
Gabrielle nodded, "I guess it has." She wrapped one arm around Joxer's waist as she glanced at the only human she didn't know. "Not to be rude or anything, but who are you?"
Xander chuckled, "As Herc explained before. My name's Xander. We met a few weeks ago."
"Nice to meet you, Xander." Gabrielle turned to Hercules, "So what do I need to know in order to live in this world?"
Joxer said, "One think you need is a name."
She showed a confused look, "Name?"
Xander said, "We already went over this with Joxer. In today's society people go by three names. A first name, a middle name, and a last name. A middle name isn't needed though. Gabrielle is actually a good name for a first name. You still need a last name though."
"What are you going by, Joxer?"
He said honestly, "Tim Joxer."
"Tim?"
The warrior nodded, "Tim is a name Xander suggested. What we need to do is come up with a last name for you, Gabby."
"What do you suggest?"
Xander looked around the room. "We need a name that is on the brink of something normal. Man, this is going to be difficult."
Gabrielle asked, "Brink? What does that word mean?"
Hercules said, "Brink means you're on the edge of something new."
She said to herself, "Brink." Taking a moment, she said, "Interesting word."
Xander shrugged, "Brink isn't much to go on. If you want to use that word, you might want to add something to it. In the past, people used to add the word 'son' too their last name in order to give respect to their father's name. Johnson is an example of that. It just means that he was the son of his father who was named John."
"So what do I add?"
Hercules said, "There's son obviously, there's also: witz, burg, smith, man, lutz, and so on."
Gabrielle thought for a moment. She needed to know, what sounded good with brink. The only thing that seemed to work was, How about Brinkman?"
"Not a bad choice, Gabrielle. So, we have Kevin Sorbo, Tim Joxer, and Gabrielle Brinkman." She turned to Xander, "all we need is Xena, Ioulas, and Autolycus."
Xander immediately flashed back to a conversation he had with Hercules, "Actually, according to Herc, Ash is the reincarnated form of Autolycus."
Joxer asked, "You mean Autolycus is still around?"
Hercules shook his head, "He's not actually here in this time frame. But we have reason to believe that Ash is Autolycus reincarnated. They look exactly alike. Just wait to see you Ash. Judge for yourself."
Gabrielle questioned, "So, what about Xena and Ioulas?"
The demigod said, "I really don't know. I haven't run into them yet."
Xander looked at his watch, "Guys, I hate to break up this reunion. But we really need to get to Ash's. Buffy and the others are really going to get worried if we don't show up."
Gabrielle asked, "Buffy?"
Hercules said, "I'll explain on the way. You coming Aphrodite?"
She sighed, "I'd love to, Baby Bro. But I really got to see Hephy. Plus, the Goddess of Love has work to do."
With that said, she teleported out of the room.
"C'mon, Guys. Let's get a move on."
***
"Am I too late?"
Ash and the others looked up as a man entered the cabin.
"Sorry I didn't come earlier, Ash. I kinda got preoccupied."
Buffy said, "Everything alright?"
The demon/human hybrid nodded, "Sure am, Princess." He went over to the others and sat down on the free space beside the young brunette slayer. "Have any of you seen Faith's evil twin recently?"
Faith lowered her eyes to the ground and then back at her new friend, "Nope. Bad me hasn't shown her face yet."
The link to the powers that be smiled, "We'll find a way to deal with her." He glanced at the rest of people in the cabin and then to Buffy. "Where's your friend?"
She shrugged, "I dunno, Doyle. He should be here soon. He's with Kevin, and some new friends."
"Aye. Did you all ready go on patrol?"
Wesley said, "We just returned, Doyle."
Doyle sighed, "Sorry I missed it. Like I said, I was preoccupied."
All of a sudden a knock was heard on the door.
Faith got up from her seat and approached the cabin door. She opened it to reveal Xander, Kevin, and two people she never met before.
The younger slayer grinned, "How was patrol?"
-------
"So who is this Buffy?"
Hercules looked at the vampire bard and said, "Buffy's a vampire slayer, Gabrielle. Her job is to slay vampires."
Her eyes widened, "And you want to introduce me to her?"
Joxer shook his head, "I'm not going to loose Gabby again."
Xander said simply, "We won't let anything happen to her, Tim." Pausing, he remembered something, "Although it's going to be difficult."
Tim asked, "Just how difficult?"
Xander scratched the back of his neck, "Buffy's kind of sensitive when it comes to vampires at the moment."
Gabrielle asked, "How sensitive?"
He said honestly, "Buffy's last boyfriend was a souled vampire."
The blond gulped, "Souled vampire?"
The boy nodded, "Buffy got involved with Angel. The two of them were in love. Due to recent history, Buffy doesn't fair well with vampires with a soul. She doesn't fair well with vampires at all at the moment."
Joxer asked, "What happened?"
"Buffy and Angel slept together and Angel's soul was removed. A long time ago, Angel was a vampire named Angelus. Some gypsies got a hold of him and cursed him with a soul. This way he could feel the pain of the people he tortured, maimed, raped, drank, and killed. Having a soul, Angelus renamed himself as Angel and began a quest for redemption."
"Like Xena?" Joxer asked.
He nodded, "In a way, Tim. Angelus was now cursed with a soul. But as soon as he experienced a moment of true happiness, he loses his soul. After that happened, we had to take Angelus down. During his reign as the big bad, he killed Jenny Calendar and his childe killed Kendra, another vampire slayer."
The two new people to the group listened as Xander told the tale of Angelus and Angel.
"So I'm afraid once Buffy sees Gabrielle, another vampire with a soul, she's going get pretty upset."
Joxer looked at his eldest friend and back at Xander, "We can reason with her, can't we?"
Xander chuckled, "You know what? Before this summer started, I'd say it would be pretty hard for her to reason with other people. But since she left for Los Angeles, Buffy has almost become a different person entirely. So, she might be able to be reasoned to."
Gabrielle smiled, "Good. I don't want to cause any trouble."
"I don't think she wants that either, Gabrielle. I'm just warning you."
Hercules said, "This is going to be interesting."
The teenager said, "No doubt about it. "
The bard looked at the pavement, and then back at her friends, "Do you think there is a way to become human? Now that I'm back in control and have friends again, do you think I can become human again?"
Hercules shrugged, "Anything's possible, Gabrielle. We can certainly look into it."
She smiled, "That's good to know."
"Here we are." Xander said as they stepped on to the drive. "Remember, my warning about Buffy."
Tim grinned, "We'll be ready."
Hercules stepped onto the front step and knocked the door.
Soon the door opened.
"How was patrol?" A voice asked.
Xander said, "It was truly an eye-opening experience."
Hercules chuckled, "Can we come in?"
The brunette chuckled as she opened door further. She still got nervous when Kevin Sorbo was around. However, she was getting better at it, "Come on in."
Hercules smiled, "Thank you, Faith. Allow me to you introduce you to some of my old friends."
The four of them entered as Hercules introduced them, "Everyone. This is Tim Joxer and Gabrielle Brinkman."
Faith suddenly felt something as the blond woman entered the cabin. She automatically pinned her against the wall. "You let a vampire come in here?"
Xander shook his head, "It's not like you think."
Buffy stood up and stormed to her friend, with a snarl, she yelled, "You brought a vampire in here! Why would my best friend bring a vampire? Especially someone who was always against vampires!"
"Take it easy, Buffy. Gabrielle isn't an evil vampire." Hercules said in a calm voice.
Gabrielle shook her head, "I'm not like Angel."
The blond slayer glared at Xander, "You told them about Angel? What gives you the right to tell them about my personal life, Xander?"
Joxer nodded, "He did tell us about him, Buffy. She does have a soul, and you better leave her alone."
Buffy glared at the warrior, "Why should I leave her alone?"
"Because I love her!"
Her eyes widened, "You love her? You love a vampire, Tim? You have no idea what kind of trouble that can lead to!"
"Yeah, I love her, Buffy. You got a problem with that?"
Xander said under his breath, "Big mistake, Tim."
Buffy said with conviction, "I know first hand, Tim. Dating a vampire can't lead to anything good. Vampires lead to trouble. Having a soul isn't permanent-especially for vampires."
Tim stated, "I know, Buffy. Xander told me. Gabrielle and Angel are nothing alike. Gabby's soul is permanent."
She glared at Xander, "How is her soul permanent? Why did you tell them about Angel?"
He stated, "I wanted to warn them what would happen if Gabrielle came here tonight, Buff. As Tim said, Gabrielle and Angel are completely different."
Faith snarled, "Just how different? I suppose G here is cursed."
Gabrielle and Hercules exchanged looks.
Hercules was about to say something, when Joxer interrupted, "Gabs isn't cursed, Buffy. She always had her soul."
She snarled, "Vampires lose their souls when they get turned."
Gabrielle said, "Not at first."
Buffy said with venom, "What do you mean, 'not at first?"
Xander explained, "I talked to Giles."
She asked, "What did Giles say?"
Her friend said, "Giles told me that a vampire never loses their soul at first."
The eldest slayer asked, "What do you mean they don't lose their souls as first?"
Xander explained the information that Giles told him. The boy explained to her what he learned. He kept out everything Tim and Gabrielle's true identities. "She never got the chance to kill her family, Buff. Angelus did. That's why he went without a soul. Gabrielle never did."
"But Gabrielle could very well kill her family now."
Tim shook his head, "That can't happen, Buffy."
"And why not, Tim?"
Gabrielle addressed Faith, "Because my family was dead a long time ago. And I wasn't responsible. Throw in a number of years where I was cut-off from society."
"Just hold on here!"
The people by the door looked to the other side of the room as they saw the head of the cabin walking forward.
"Why the hell would you invite a vampire in here, Kid?"
Gabrielle and Joxer both looked at each other in surprise, and then at Hercules who nodded in acknowledgement.
Hercules said, "Ash, it's alright."
He showed a confused look, "How is it alright? How is inviting a demon into my cabin alright?"
The demigod said calmly, "Do you trust me?"
Ash turned his head to look at his other friends who were coming to the group. Just as he was about to say something, Buffy walked over to Xander and grabbed his arm. "You're coming with me."
Xander said without thinking, "Whatever you do, don't touch the ear."
She grinned, "Thanks for the idea." Releasing his arm, she twisted his ear and pulled him into the other room.
"Smooth move, Xander." He said to himself as the two exited the room.
Returning to the conversation at hand, Wesley said, "We do trust you, Kevin. The odds of having another souled vampire is rather hard to believe."
Gunn said as he pulled out his stake, "A vampire is a vampire to me. Clear the way, Tim."
Joxer shook his head as he approached him. His hand automatically went to where his sword usually was place, "Shit," he said to himself as he realized that he didn't have the sword anymore.
Taking a look back at his beloved, he saw the terror in her eyes. Turning back he grabbed the stake out of the young man's grasp. "Listen you, leave her alone!"
Feeling the wooden weapon fall from his fingers, he pinned the new visitor to the wall, next to where the blond vampire was pinned. "If I were you, Tim, I'd shut up. Things don't really look good for you right now."
Gabrielle and Joxer exchanged worried glances as they nodded in agreement.
Though they were recently reunited, their memories flashed back to the days of Greece. After a moments pause, the two pinned people kneed their opponents in the groin causing them to release them.
Gabrielle shook herself free and said to the other people calmly, "I assure you. I am no threat to you."
Ash walked over to his niece to make sure she was all right, "You're no threat to us? You just hurt my niece."
Faith shook her head, "I'm cool, Uncle Ash. No big."
Gabrielle said, "Sorry, Ash. I won't hurt you or any of you. I already did enough of that."
Joxer nodded as he reset his collar, "I've know Gabrielle for years, Ash. I can say with complete honesty, never once has Gabrielle killed someone in cold blood. It's always been self-defense."
She smiled sweetly, "I only want to help you."
------
"Talk to me, Xander." Buffy said as she let go of his ear and threw him on the empty bed.
Xander immediately went for his ear, and covered it to lesson the pain, "First of all, let me say ouch."
She stood beyond the foot of the bed, "What the hell were you thinking?"
He grinned looking where he was. Couldn't help a grin appearing on his face, "You sure you ready for this, Buff?"
Her eyes widened at what he just said, but immediately shook it off. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Xand. Why did you bring a vampire into this cabin?"
Xander pushed himself into a sitting position, "Kevin said Gabrielle could help, Buffy."
She glared at him, "But you brought a vampire here! You brought a souled vampire here! You told them about Angel!"
He got to his feet and said, "I told them about Angel because I wanted to warn them. I know Angel will always be a sensitive subject for you. But we're talking about a souled vampire that doesn't have a curse."
His friend narrowed her eyes, "So having a vampire without a curse is alrght! You're saying if Angel didn't have a curse, you'd be okay with us dating, with us being in love."
He shook his head, "No."
Her eyes kept glaring, "Then what are you saying? Are you saying that isn't okay for me to be in love with a vampire, but it's okay for Tim to be! Why can Tim be in love with one, and I can't! What's so special about Tim!?"
He took a step back and fell onto the bed. Xander looked up to his friend and saw the tears in her eyes, "Are you that jealous of Angel? Do you want me that much? Do you want me to be your girlfriend so much that you'd sacrifice my happiness only to make you happy?"
He immediately shook his head, "No!" He bellowed at her.
"Do you enjoy seeing me in pain, Xander! Do you enjoy seeing my life be in terror? Am I some ultimate prize for you? Am I someone that you crave, someone that you can tell your friends that you got to get in bed with a slayer? Do you even care about me?"
A wave of confusion washed over him, "What are you saying, Buffy?"
She continued on her tirade, tears pouring down her cheeks, "What makes Tim so special, Xander? Why is it okay for him to be in love with Gabrielle but it isn't okay for me to be in love with Angel?"
"Buffy?"
She ignored him, "Tell me Xander! Tell me why you think Gabrielle is an okay vampire? Why is it all right for Tim to love her? Why was it not alright for me to be in love with Angel?"
Xander got off the bed and approached her. Carefully, he raised his arms and wrapped them around her shoulders.
She pulled away, "Why? Why do you feel this way?"
Xander took a breath, and rewrapped his arms around her. She didn't pull away this time, instead she just crumpled into his arms, "Why, Xander? Tell me why."
He just held her as she cried into his chest. Lately, it seemed that all he did was to comfort her. But if he wanted Buffy to go home to Sunnydale with him, he'd had to be this way. With a sigh, he just held her.
Taking the initiative, he walked them over to the side of the bed, and sat down. He placed her next to him, with one arm wrapped around her still. The other arm went to his side allowing his hand to go to her cheek. He caressed the side of her face lovingly, wiping the tears away from her eyes.
"You want to know why Tim and Gabrielle are alright, but you and Angel aren't?"
Buffy nodded, "Please, Xander. Tell me."
Xander sighed, "It's because Gabrielle was denied something. Angelus wasn't denied."
Taking a breath, "You mean the killing of the family?"
Xander agreed, "Gabrielle is a vampire who recently found her way back to the side of good. I can only imagine what was going on insider her mind, Buffy. But when I was around her, she looked like she was in complete torture.
"Angel was cursed with a soul. He killed his family when he was first turned. Gabrielle didn't have that chance. As she said, she was cut-off from society. She just recently became free and Tim was there for her. Before Gabrielle was turned, her and Tim were best friends.
"Gabrielle went missing. For the longest time, Tim searched for her. So did Kevin. But they couldn't find her. Gabrielle's family died, and it wasn't by supernatural causes. They were natural ones.
"When Tim got to her, he told her he loved her. He had to break through to the girl that he remembered her as and that was through his love. Buffy, Tim loves Gabrielle unconditionally. He knows all her faults and her positive aspects. Buffy, Tim is someone that needs Gabrielle in his life. Gabrielle needs Tim in her life. They work well together, and it looks like they finally found each other.
"Angel and you had love. That I won't deny you. But can you live without Angel? Now that Angel's gone, are you alright? Are you able to on in life without him?"
Before she was about to answer, Xander said, "Buffy, since you found me, it seems you're in a much better place in life. You seem happier, more self confident, and a better person in general. You're willing to have help when you need it. To me, Angel's death was also the beginning of a new life for you. Angel gave you a better life. He could never have a life with you, but now that he's gone, you seem to be in a better place. Are you, Buffy Summers, in any pain? I mean, at this moment, within the last few days, are you in pain?"
Buffy looked at the ground and then back at him, "No, no I'm not."
He grinned, "That's good, Buffy. You can live without Angel and you seem to be doing that extremely well. Tim and Gabrielle are different. They recently found each other and they need one another. That's why I'm okay with them dating. Because they need each other right now, because they know each other, because they need each other to survive right now. They depend on one another."
***
"Everything alright?"
The group of people looked to the pathway leading to the hallway as two teenagers entered the main room.
Hercules nodded, "Everything's alright, Xander. Gabrielle and Tim are now welcomed members of the Scrappy Gang. It is the Scrappy Gang, right?"
Xander chuckled, "As far as I can tell." Glancing at the clock, Xander sighed, "It's getting kinda late, Guys. Want to call it a night?" He then glanced at his best friend, and hugged her shoulders to him. "You okay?"
Buffy looked at Gabrielle and Tim. She noticed how close they looked. She had to admit. Xander was right, they looked like they needed each other right now. Looking into Xander's eyes she said in a low voice, "I'm getting there."
The boy grinned, "Good. In the immoral words of Snagglepuss, 'Exit stage left.'"
Joxer asked, "Snagglepuss?"
Buffy giggled, "Old Hanna Barbarra character, Tim. Think of him as a pink mountain lion."
Hercules noticed the confused look at Joxer, and smiled, "They don't know you don't watch much cartoons."
"Cartoons?" He looked at Gabrielle who glared at him, smiling, he added, "Right. Never really got into them."
Ash nodded, "Alright. Let's call it a night and meet back here for patrol tomorrow night."
***
"This feels weird, Jack."
Jack looked at his friend, "You mean going back to highshcool?"
The archeologist nodded, "Yeah. Never had many good memories here."
"This is not your highschool, Daniel."
He sighed, "I know, Sam. But highschool was never a fun time for me. Partially because I never really stayed in highschool that much at a time."
The colonel smiled, "Highschool was alright I guess. Never really cared for it. When to the prom though."
She said, "Have fun, Sir?"
Jack nodded, "The night went by okay, hang out with my friends. I missed out for Class Clown though."
"O'Neill, it appears that the students finally left the school."
Jack grinned, "C'mon, Murray. Let's go find us a slayer."
***
Bad Faith slumped off her bike as she walked down the sidewalk.
The only think she was holding was the Necronomicon. She had no idea what happened to the warrior that she called out for. The warrior was going to be the perfect distraction for her enemies to withstand.
Sighing, she sat down on a bench that she passed, and opened the book. She started to go through the pages looking for the spell to help locate her warrior. With that done, she'll find him, and then work towards her goal to contain the Hellmouth.
***
SG-1 walked down the empty hall.
The four of them sporadically looked at their environment. Lockers lined down the hallway. The grayness of the lockers blended with the tan brick walls.
"Where would these records be, O'Neill?"
Jack said simply, "Principal's office."
Daniel smiled, "I'm sure you spent a lot of time there, huh, Jack?"
Sam stated, "You know Jack the longest, Daniel. Any interesting stories?"
Jack's eyes widened remembering an incident. But sighing in relief, he realized that he never told any body any stories.
The archeologist shook his head, "Nope. No stories."
The colonel smiled, "There's nothing to tell anyway, Carter."
She nodded, "Sure, Sir."
"May I help you?"
The four members from the SGC turned to see a brunette woman.
Daniel said, "Actually, maybe you can. We're looking for a student here."
The woman said, "School's over, Mr?"
He chuckled, "Sorry. My name is Daniel Jackson. This is Colonel Jack O'Neill, Captain Samantha Carter, and Murray."
Her eyes widened looking at the uniforms these people were wearing. Her memory flashed back to her days at highschool. One of her friends' father was in the army.
"And you are?"
She knew from her friend that honesty was always the best way to handle issues with the army. Taking a breath, she said, "My name is Mrs. Kelly Kapowski Morris. I'm a teacher here."
"Well, Mrs. Morris."
"That's Kapowski Morris. I married four your years ago."
Jack continued, "Alright, Mrs. Kapowski Morris, we're looking for a student. It is very important that you cooperate."
She nodded, "One of my friends' father is in the army. Maybe you know him, Major Martin Slater?"
Jack thought back to his days of training and shook his head, "Sorry, no. Anyway, we're hoping you can help us find a young woman. Goes by the name Buffy Summers. We believe she's a student here."
The name hit her like a ton of bricks, "She used to be a student here."
"Oh." Was the colonel's response.
Daniel spoke up, "Do you know where we can find her. It is important that we locate her."
The teacher remembered something, "Well, I saw her a few days ago at Helen's Diner. It appears that she's working there now. Although she goes by another name, Anne Phillips."
Sam grinned, "Thank you, Mrs. Kapowski Morris."
Mrs. Kapowski Morris said, "Is there anything else I can help you with?"
Jack shook her head, "Nope. Everything's fine. We'll let ourselves out. C'mon, Kids. We're going to Helen's Diner."
With that said, the four members of the SGC turned around and left the highschool.
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TBC
Rating: PG-13/R
Chapter Number: 8
Author: White Werewolf
Category: Buffy/Xander, Eric/Faith, Sam/Daniel (Maybe), Gabrielle/Joxer
Spoilers/Timeframe: All I know for sure it is after "Becoming Part 2."
Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the ideas and my computer.
Summery: After Buffy leaves Sunnydale, Xander decides to go looking for her. On the other side of the universe, Ninedinna wants the book she created...the Necronomicon Ex Mortis: the Book of the Dead.
Author Notes: This part is just a prologue to the Phoenix Risings Trilogy; which is in turn the starting fic to a huge series. This is the third part of the trilogy. It will be mainly focused on the Buffy/Xander relationship and it will be housing many crossovers.
Special Thanks: Danii, Tenhawk, Teri, Silent Bob Foley, and X-Lander
Crossovers Planned:
Buffy: the Vampire Slayer
Hercules: the Legendary Journeys
Evil Dead
Stargate SG-1
Xena: Warrior Princess
Boy Meets World
Cameo Crossovers will suddenly appear. Take a read, and see if you can spot one.
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***
Daniel went back into the notebook started flipping though the pages. Finding something, he said, "According to the this, she's a student of Hermery High School."
"And he died in 1996 which was two years ago. Do you think Buffy is still a student there?"
Sam said, "It's the summer, Sir. Chances are she wouldn't be attending right now."
The archeologist said, "Well, the records would still be there. And on records. There are addresses. We find the address, we find Buffy's home. We find her home, we find the slayer. We find the..."
Jack cut him off, "We get the idea Daniel. We find Buffy, we get her to help us slay Caroline and Banks." He got up, "Let's move on out."
"Uh, Sir?"
Jack looked at the captain. "Carter?"
Sam looked at the clock in the room and said, "It's 11:00 at night. The school's closed at this point. Might as well as go in the morning."
The colonel nodded, "Good idea. Well, kids. Tomorrow's a school day. We better get to bed."
Daniel smiled getting an idea, "Yes, Dad."
He just rolled his eyes, "Just go to bed."
***
Joxer, Xander, and Hercules walked down the night streets of Los Angeles.
The three friends could feel the night's wind on their backs. A moon hung in the sky. Only a crescent of the moon was visible.
Stars speckled through the sky creating a polka-dot patter in the dark sky.
Joxer walked around in amazement. Everything was new to him, yet there was the familiar trees, rocks, and of course the sky. He looked at the architecture of the buildings and was in complete awe.
"This is incredible."
Hercules chuckled, "Yeah, it is, isn't it? Earth has gone through major changes since our days in Greece." Remembering a conversion they had ealier, he glanced at Joxer and at Xander, "we need to give you a name."
Joxer frowned, "I can't keep Joxer?"
Xander shrugged, "You can keep it as a last name. You still need a first name."
"First name, huh? What do people go by nowadays?"
The youngest friend said, "Let me think. Well, there's: Shawn, John, Daniel, Tom, Josh, Jeff, Nick, Bruce, Tim, Aaron, among others."
Joxer thought for a moment. He didn't know what they meant, but some of them sounded interesting. "I kinda like Tim."
Xander said, "Alright. Kevin Sorbo, meet Timothy Joxer."
Joxer asked in confusion, "Timothy?"
He nodded, "Timothy is the full name. Or if you want, you can go by Tim. My full name is Alexander, but I go by Xander."
The Greecian mortal said, "Tim is fine."
Hercules said, "Well, Tim. I assume you know where you're going."
Timothy Joxer said, "In truth, no I don't. But I got this feeling in my gut. I'm just walking to where it sends me. That is what 'Dite told us."
"'Dite?"
The son of Zeus smiled, "It's a nickname Hephaestus gave her. It just stuck with her."
Xander grinned, "'Dite's cool. I always thought last part of first names were cool ways to form nicknames."
Joxer smiled, "I wonder why you would say that, *Xander.*"
The boy just glared at him, "You made your point, Joxer. C'mon, let's go free Gabrielle."
Hercules said, "We better get going. We've been searching for Gabrielle a few hours now."
***
"Long time no see, Honey."
The vampire looked as a bundle of golden sparkles appeared out of nowhere.
The blond stared at the goddess, "Aphrodite?"
She smiled, "You remember me! Tubular. So, who am I talking to? Callisto or Gabrielle?"
The vampire snarled and pounced onto Aphrodite, "You bitch!"
She disappeared letting the vampire fall to the floor and Aphrodite appeared a few feet from her. "You got a real problem, don't you?" The Love Goddess walked to the fallen form of the vampire and pulled her up. "Honey, you listen to me. Your friends are coming."
She watched as the vampire's eyes changed to a different color. In a pained voice, the demon said, "Friends?"
Aphrodite nodded, "Hercules and Joxer are coming. They'll be here soon."
A tear manages to escape from the vampire's face, "Joxer?"
She smiled realizing who she was talking to, "You got it, Gabrielle. So fight it. Fight Callisto and come back to us."
The vampire pulled away in rage. "No! It can't end like this!"
------
Callisto punched Gabrielle across the face, "No! It can't end like this!"
Gabrielle narrowed her eyes and kneed her vampire half in the chest. "I'm not alone anymore, Bitch."
The demon smiled wickedly, "Oh, but you are. Why would Hercules want you around? It looks like Hercules gave up the hero life. He's an actor now. And Joxer? Why would you want be around him? You found him annoying. You always hurt him. Why would he want to be around you anymore?"
Gabrielle turned her head to the left not wanting Callisto to see the pain in her eyes.
"Gabrielle?"
------
"Gabrielle?"
The vampire turned to look at the Love Goddess. "What do you want?"
"I want to help you, Honey. Hercules and Joxer are on their way. They love you."
She yelled in disgust, "They don't love me! They only love me because you're here. You cast a spell on them to make them think they love me!"
"We do love you, Gabby."
The vampire looked to her right as three people came in. She immediately recognized them.
"No you don't, Joxer!"
------
"No you don't Joxer!"
Gabrielle yelled at Callisto, "Yes, he does! They're here because they want to help me."
Callisto laughed, "Help you? Don't make me laugh. Wait. I am laughing."
------
Joxer grabbed the shaking vampire. "Gabby, listen to me." He glanced at Aphrodite who nodded.
He glanced at Hercules and Xander who both said. "Tell her."
Joxer nodded as he turned to the vampire. "Gabrielle. I gotta say, this vampire thing is kinda different. If you can come back from being a bachae. You can come back from being a vampire."
"Shut up, Joxer!" The vampire yelled at him.
"Is that what you want, Gabby? Do you want me to shut up?"
"No. Yes. No. Yes."
He grinned, "Make up your mind, Gabrielle."
Her eyes glared at him, "My name is Callisto."
"No, it's not. Your name is Gabrielle. You're from Poteidaia. You had a sister named Lilla. You were best friends with Xena. You're my best friend. I love you, Gabrielle. Fight her. Fight her, Gabby. If not for me, for you."
"It's not true!"
Joxer said in a stern voice, "Listen to me, Gabrielle. I know you. I know you love writing. You wrote some amazing stories. I love the way you laugh, I love the way you smile. I love the way you think. I love that you let me hang around with you and Xena. I love that you became and Xena became my family. I love you, Gabrielle. I truly love you with all my heart and soul."
------
"...I truly love you with my heart and soul."
Gabrielle pounced at the vampire. "He loves me!"
Callisto shook her head, "He could never love you."
Gabrielle kicked her in the side. "Didn't you just hear him? He's telling us what he remembers. He's telling me to fight back. That's what I'm going to do! Now, be a good girl, and give me my body back, you bitch!"
Callisto grabbed her, "Never!"
Gabrielle tossed her aside, "I'm done with the torture. I'm done of being alone. I'm done using that sarcophagus. I'm done drinking blood. I'm done with killing innocent people. I'm done listening to you. I want to be my own person. I want to be what I once was."
Callisto launched herself on to the bard. "I'm not going to let you."
Gabrielle smiled, "Wanna make a bet?"
***
"I love you, Gabby. Please fight it. Fight Callisto and come back to me."
"Shut up!" The vampire punches him in the gut and knocks him down.
Joxer looks up at her, gets back to his feet, takes a breath and said, "I love you."
She glared at him, "Stop that!"
"I remember our first meeting. I remember you hurting me. I remember all the times you hurt me, Gabrielle. But you know what? Over the years I heard a saying. You always hurt the ones you love. You've hurt me quite a bit, yet I still keep wanting to be around you. Back in Greece, you were always full of life.
"You had your bad days too. But you were human. Human beings make mistakes. Gods know I had my share, and so have you. Come back to me and we can work through our problems together."
She slammed him across the cheek, followed by punches to the chest. "Shut the hell up!"
Joxer smiled, "I love you."
Her face morphed to the vampire's. She glanced at him, "You can love this? No way!"
He said, "I still love you, Gabby. I fell in love with the inner you. You can be a minotaur and I'd still love you."
Gabrielle's friend got an idea, "Remember my song?"
She looked up at him, "Song?"
Joxer nodded and started to sing:
Joxer the Mighty
Roams through the countryside
He never needs a place to hide
With Gabby as his sidekick
Fighting with her little stick
Righting wrongs and singing songs
Being mighty all day long
He's Joxer-he's Joxer the Mighty!"
As he concluded his song, she crumbled down in tears, "I always found that song annoying."
He chuckled, "It may be annoying, but it was misunderstood."
The vampire looked up at his brown eyes and could see the love he had for her, "I think it finally was understood."
In a surprised voice, he asked, "Gabrielle? Are you back?"
The blond pulled him into a hug and held him tight, "What does this tell you?"
He pulled away from her, "It tells me nothing. It tells me that you want to suffocate the life out of me."
Gabrielle giggled, "I missed you so much, Joxer. Can I tell you three words?"
"Go ahead."
"I love you."
The next couple of minutes, two long separated friends just held each other. They sought comfort in something so old yet suddenly was now refreshed and full of life.
Hercules walked up and coughed suddenly, "Uh, Joxer? Remember us?"
Joxer smiled in embarrassment. "Sorry." He glanced at Gabrielle and said, "You remember, Hercules?"
Gabrielle grinned, "It's been a while, Hercules."
The demigod chuckled, "It certainly has." He turned to his friend, "Gabrielle, I'd like you to meet Xander."
Xander walked up to the forming group and smiled at the vampire, "So your Gabrielle, huh? The show doesn't do you any justice."
She showed a confused look, "Show?"
Aphrodite smiled, "Honey, a lot's happened since you disappeared. You and Joxer have a lot to catch up. I believe Hercules would be willing to do that."
The actor nodded, "No doubt about it." He looked at her, "What do we do about Callisto though?"
Gabrielle snarled, "I want her out." She turned to the goddess, "can you do anything about it?"
The Love Goddess said, "I can talk to Hades or someone. There might be some way to make her be dormant. I'll have to look into it."
She grinned, "Thank you, Aphrodite. I just want to be free of that bitch."
Joxer nodded, "And you will, Gabby. I already lost you once. I don't want to lose you again."
The blond said with sincerity, "You're not going to, Joxer. You two are the only link I have to Greece."
Cupid's mother questioned, "What about me? Aren't I a link to Greece?"
"I don't know, Aphrodite. You've caused some trouble over the years."
Joxer said with a grin, "Gabby, 'Dite was the one who told me about your future. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be here."
She glared at the goddess, "You knew? You knew about my future and you didn't do anything about it?"
Aphrodite said in her defense, "Gabrielle, we didn't know what happened to you. We searched all over Greece and couldn't find you. Joxer here traveled farther than any of us. I myself didn't know until I touched your thread that was watched over by the Fates. They may not be able to change destiny, but I could try to prevent it. So I told Joxer and Hercules. Joxy decided to place himself in suspended animation so he could be alive when you returned to us."
She had tears glisten in her eyes, "You did that?"
Joxer nodded, "Yeah, I did. After Xena died, I didn't have much to do with my life. I searched for you for years. Everyone did. But I was the last one to give up. I didn't want to live in world that didn't have you in it. After Aphrodite told me what she found out, I decided to put myself in suspended animation. We still don't know why I woke up early, but I did. Believe it or not, Gabby, it's been over 5,000 years since you went missing."
She asked in confusion, "5,000 years?"
Hercules nodded as he explained the use of the year. "In other words, its been a very long time."
Gabrielle nodded, "I guess it has." She wrapped one arm around Joxer's waist as she glanced at the only human she didn't know. "Not to be rude or anything, but who are you?"
Xander chuckled, "As Herc explained before. My name's Xander. We met a few weeks ago."
"Nice to meet you, Xander." Gabrielle turned to Hercules, "So what do I need to know in order to live in this world?"
Joxer said, "One think you need is a name."
She showed a confused look, "Name?"
Xander said, "We already went over this with Joxer. In today's society people go by three names. A first name, a middle name, and a last name. A middle name isn't needed though. Gabrielle is actually a good name for a first name. You still need a last name though."
"What are you going by, Joxer?"
He said honestly, "Tim Joxer."
"Tim?"
The warrior nodded, "Tim is a name Xander suggested. What we need to do is come up with a last name for you, Gabby."
"What do you suggest?"
Xander looked around the room. "We need a name that is on the brink of something normal. Man, this is going to be difficult."
Gabrielle asked, "Brink? What does that word mean?"
Hercules said, "Brink means you're on the edge of something new."
She said to herself, "Brink." Taking a moment, she said, "Interesting word."
Xander shrugged, "Brink isn't much to go on. If you want to use that word, you might want to add something to it. In the past, people used to add the word 'son' too their last name in order to give respect to their father's name. Johnson is an example of that. It just means that he was the son of his father who was named John."
"So what do I add?"
Hercules said, "There's son obviously, there's also: witz, burg, smith, man, lutz, and so on."
Gabrielle thought for a moment. She needed to know, what sounded good with brink. The only thing that seemed to work was, How about Brinkman?"
"Not a bad choice, Gabrielle. So, we have Kevin Sorbo, Tim Joxer, and Gabrielle Brinkman." She turned to Xander, "all we need is Xena, Ioulas, and Autolycus."
Xander immediately flashed back to a conversation he had with Hercules, "Actually, according to Herc, Ash is the reincarnated form of Autolycus."
Joxer asked, "You mean Autolycus is still around?"
Hercules shook his head, "He's not actually here in this time frame. But we have reason to believe that Ash is Autolycus reincarnated. They look exactly alike. Just wait to see you Ash. Judge for yourself."
Gabrielle questioned, "So, what about Xena and Ioulas?"
The demigod said, "I really don't know. I haven't run into them yet."
Xander looked at his watch, "Guys, I hate to break up this reunion. But we really need to get to Ash's. Buffy and the others are really going to get worried if we don't show up."
Gabrielle asked, "Buffy?"
Hercules said, "I'll explain on the way. You coming Aphrodite?"
She sighed, "I'd love to, Baby Bro. But I really got to see Hephy. Plus, the Goddess of Love has work to do."
With that said, she teleported out of the room.
"C'mon, Guys. Let's get a move on."
***
"Am I too late?"
Ash and the others looked up as a man entered the cabin.
"Sorry I didn't come earlier, Ash. I kinda got preoccupied."
Buffy said, "Everything alright?"
The demon/human hybrid nodded, "Sure am, Princess." He went over to the others and sat down on the free space beside the young brunette slayer. "Have any of you seen Faith's evil twin recently?"
Faith lowered her eyes to the ground and then back at her new friend, "Nope. Bad me hasn't shown her face yet."
The link to the powers that be smiled, "We'll find a way to deal with her." He glanced at the rest of people in the cabin and then to Buffy. "Where's your friend?"
She shrugged, "I dunno, Doyle. He should be here soon. He's with Kevin, and some new friends."
"Aye. Did you all ready go on patrol?"
Wesley said, "We just returned, Doyle."
Doyle sighed, "Sorry I missed it. Like I said, I was preoccupied."
All of a sudden a knock was heard on the door.
Faith got up from her seat and approached the cabin door. She opened it to reveal Xander, Kevin, and two people she never met before.
The younger slayer grinned, "How was patrol?"
-------
"So who is this Buffy?"
Hercules looked at the vampire bard and said, "Buffy's a vampire slayer, Gabrielle. Her job is to slay vampires."
Her eyes widened, "And you want to introduce me to her?"
Joxer shook his head, "I'm not going to loose Gabby again."
Xander said simply, "We won't let anything happen to her, Tim." Pausing, he remembered something, "Although it's going to be difficult."
Tim asked, "Just how difficult?"
Xander scratched the back of his neck, "Buffy's kind of sensitive when it comes to vampires at the moment."
Gabrielle asked, "How sensitive?"
He said honestly, "Buffy's last boyfriend was a souled vampire."
The blond gulped, "Souled vampire?"
The boy nodded, "Buffy got involved with Angel. The two of them were in love. Due to recent history, Buffy doesn't fair well with vampires with a soul. She doesn't fair well with vampires at all at the moment."
Joxer asked, "What happened?"
"Buffy and Angel slept together and Angel's soul was removed. A long time ago, Angel was a vampire named Angelus. Some gypsies got a hold of him and cursed him with a soul. This way he could feel the pain of the people he tortured, maimed, raped, drank, and killed. Having a soul, Angelus renamed himself as Angel and began a quest for redemption."
"Like Xena?" Joxer asked.
He nodded, "In a way, Tim. Angelus was now cursed with a soul. But as soon as he experienced a moment of true happiness, he loses his soul. After that happened, we had to take Angelus down. During his reign as the big bad, he killed Jenny Calendar and his childe killed Kendra, another vampire slayer."
The two new people to the group listened as Xander told the tale of Angelus and Angel.
"So I'm afraid once Buffy sees Gabrielle, another vampire with a soul, she's going get pretty upset."
Joxer looked at his eldest friend and back at Xander, "We can reason with her, can't we?"
Xander chuckled, "You know what? Before this summer started, I'd say it would be pretty hard for her to reason with other people. But since she left for Los Angeles, Buffy has almost become a different person entirely. So, she might be able to be reasoned to."
Gabrielle smiled, "Good. I don't want to cause any trouble."
"I don't think she wants that either, Gabrielle. I'm just warning you."
Hercules said, "This is going to be interesting."
The teenager said, "No doubt about it. "
The bard looked at the pavement, and then back at her friends, "Do you think there is a way to become human? Now that I'm back in control and have friends again, do you think I can become human again?"
Hercules shrugged, "Anything's possible, Gabrielle. We can certainly look into it."
She smiled, "That's good to know."
"Here we are." Xander said as they stepped on to the drive. "Remember, my warning about Buffy."
Tim grinned, "We'll be ready."
Hercules stepped onto the front step and knocked the door.
Soon the door opened.
"How was patrol?" A voice asked.
Xander said, "It was truly an eye-opening experience."
Hercules chuckled, "Can we come in?"
The brunette chuckled as she opened door further. She still got nervous when Kevin Sorbo was around. However, she was getting better at it, "Come on in."
Hercules smiled, "Thank you, Faith. Allow me to you introduce you to some of my old friends."
The four of them entered as Hercules introduced them, "Everyone. This is Tim Joxer and Gabrielle Brinkman."
Faith suddenly felt something as the blond woman entered the cabin. She automatically pinned her against the wall. "You let a vampire come in here?"
Xander shook his head, "It's not like you think."
Buffy stood up and stormed to her friend, with a snarl, she yelled, "You brought a vampire in here! Why would my best friend bring a vampire? Especially someone who was always against vampires!"
"Take it easy, Buffy. Gabrielle isn't an evil vampire." Hercules said in a calm voice.
Gabrielle shook her head, "I'm not like Angel."
The blond slayer glared at Xander, "You told them about Angel? What gives you the right to tell them about my personal life, Xander?"
Joxer nodded, "He did tell us about him, Buffy. She does have a soul, and you better leave her alone."
Buffy glared at the warrior, "Why should I leave her alone?"
"Because I love her!"
Her eyes widened, "You love her? You love a vampire, Tim? You have no idea what kind of trouble that can lead to!"
"Yeah, I love her, Buffy. You got a problem with that?"
Xander said under his breath, "Big mistake, Tim."
Buffy said with conviction, "I know first hand, Tim. Dating a vampire can't lead to anything good. Vampires lead to trouble. Having a soul isn't permanent-especially for vampires."
Tim stated, "I know, Buffy. Xander told me. Gabrielle and Angel are nothing alike. Gabby's soul is permanent."
She glared at Xander, "How is her soul permanent? Why did you tell them about Angel?"
He stated, "I wanted to warn them what would happen if Gabrielle came here tonight, Buff. As Tim said, Gabrielle and Angel are completely different."
Faith snarled, "Just how different? I suppose G here is cursed."
Gabrielle and Hercules exchanged looks.
Hercules was about to say something, when Joxer interrupted, "Gabs isn't cursed, Buffy. She always had her soul."
She snarled, "Vampires lose their souls when they get turned."
Gabrielle said, "Not at first."
Buffy said with venom, "What do you mean, 'not at first?"
Xander explained, "I talked to Giles."
She asked, "What did Giles say?"
Her friend said, "Giles told me that a vampire never loses their soul at first."
The eldest slayer asked, "What do you mean they don't lose their souls as first?"
Xander explained the information that Giles told him. The boy explained to her what he learned. He kept out everything Tim and Gabrielle's true identities. "She never got the chance to kill her family, Buff. Angelus did. That's why he went without a soul. Gabrielle never did."
"But Gabrielle could very well kill her family now."
Tim shook his head, "That can't happen, Buffy."
"And why not, Tim?"
Gabrielle addressed Faith, "Because my family was dead a long time ago. And I wasn't responsible. Throw in a number of years where I was cut-off from society."
"Just hold on here!"
The people by the door looked to the other side of the room as they saw the head of the cabin walking forward.
"Why the hell would you invite a vampire in here, Kid?"
Gabrielle and Joxer both looked at each other in surprise, and then at Hercules who nodded in acknowledgement.
Hercules said, "Ash, it's alright."
He showed a confused look, "How is it alright? How is inviting a demon into my cabin alright?"
The demigod said calmly, "Do you trust me?"
Ash turned his head to look at his other friends who were coming to the group. Just as he was about to say something, Buffy walked over to Xander and grabbed his arm. "You're coming with me."
Xander said without thinking, "Whatever you do, don't touch the ear."
She grinned, "Thanks for the idea." Releasing his arm, she twisted his ear and pulled him into the other room.
"Smooth move, Xander." He said to himself as the two exited the room.
Returning to the conversation at hand, Wesley said, "We do trust you, Kevin. The odds of having another souled vampire is rather hard to believe."
Gunn said as he pulled out his stake, "A vampire is a vampire to me. Clear the way, Tim."
Joxer shook his head as he approached him. His hand automatically went to where his sword usually was place, "Shit," he said to himself as he realized that he didn't have the sword anymore.
Taking a look back at his beloved, he saw the terror in her eyes. Turning back he grabbed the stake out of the young man's grasp. "Listen you, leave her alone!"
Feeling the wooden weapon fall from his fingers, he pinned the new visitor to the wall, next to where the blond vampire was pinned. "If I were you, Tim, I'd shut up. Things don't really look good for you right now."
Gabrielle and Joxer exchanged worried glances as they nodded in agreement.
Though they were recently reunited, their memories flashed back to the days of Greece. After a moments pause, the two pinned people kneed their opponents in the groin causing them to release them.
Gabrielle shook herself free and said to the other people calmly, "I assure you. I am no threat to you."
Ash walked over to his niece to make sure she was all right, "You're no threat to us? You just hurt my niece."
Faith shook her head, "I'm cool, Uncle Ash. No big."
Gabrielle said, "Sorry, Ash. I won't hurt you or any of you. I already did enough of that."
Joxer nodded as he reset his collar, "I've know Gabrielle for years, Ash. I can say with complete honesty, never once has Gabrielle killed someone in cold blood. It's always been self-defense."
She smiled sweetly, "I only want to help you."
------
"Talk to me, Xander." Buffy said as she let go of his ear and threw him on the empty bed.
Xander immediately went for his ear, and covered it to lesson the pain, "First of all, let me say ouch."
She stood beyond the foot of the bed, "What the hell were you thinking?"
He grinned looking where he was. Couldn't help a grin appearing on his face, "You sure you ready for this, Buff?"
Her eyes widened at what he just said, but immediately shook it off. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Xand. Why did you bring a vampire into this cabin?"
Xander pushed himself into a sitting position, "Kevin said Gabrielle could help, Buffy."
She glared at him, "But you brought a vampire here! You brought a souled vampire here! You told them about Angel!"
He got to his feet and said, "I told them about Angel because I wanted to warn them. I know Angel will always be a sensitive subject for you. But we're talking about a souled vampire that doesn't have a curse."
His friend narrowed her eyes, "So having a vampire without a curse is alrght! You're saying if Angel didn't have a curse, you'd be okay with us dating, with us being in love."
He shook his head, "No."
Her eyes kept glaring, "Then what are you saying? Are you saying that isn't okay for me to be in love with a vampire, but it's okay for Tim to be! Why can Tim be in love with one, and I can't! What's so special about Tim!?"
He took a step back and fell onto the bed. Xander looked up to his friend and saw the tears in her eyes, "Are you that jealous of Angel? Do you want me that much? Do you want me to be your girlfriend so much that you'd sacrifice my happiness only to make you happy?"
He immediately shook his head, "No!" He bellowed at her.
"Do you enjoy seeing me in pain, Xander! Do you enjoy seeing my life be in terror? Am I some ultimate prize for you? Am I someone that you crave, someone that you can tell your friends that you got to get in bed with a slayer? Do you even care about me?"
A wave of confusion washed over him, "What are you saying, Buffy?"
She continued on her tirade, tears pouring down her cheeks, "What makes Tim so special, Xander? Why is it okay for him to be in love with Gabrielle but it isn't okay for me to be in love with Angel?"
"Buffy?"
She ignored him, "Tell me Xander! Tell me why you think Gabrielle is an okay vampire? Why is it all right for Tim to love her? Why was it not alright for me to be in love with Angel?"
Xander got off the bed and approached her. Carefully, he raised his arms and wrapped them around her shoulders.
She pulled away, "Why? Why do you feel this way?"
Xander took a breath, and rewrapped his arms around her. She didn't pull away this time, instead she just crumpled into his arms, "Why, Xander? Tell me why."
He just held her as she cried into his chest. Lately, it seemed that all he did was to comfort her. But if he wanted Buffy to go home to Sunnydale with him, he'd had to be this way. With a sigh, he just held her.
Taking the initiative, he walked them over to the side of the bed, and sat down. He placed her next to him, with one arm wrapped around her still. The other arm went to his side allowing his hand to go to her cheek. He caressed the side of her face lovingly, wiping the tears away from her eyes.
"You want to know why Tim and Gabrielle are alright, but you and Angel aren't?"
Buffy nodded, "Please, Xander. Tell me."
Xander sighed, "It's because Gabrielle was denied something. Angelus wasn't denied."
Taking a breath, "You mean the killing of the family?"
Xander agreed, "Gabrielle is a vampire who recently found her way back to the side of good. I can only imagine what was going on insider her mind, Buffy. But when I was around her, she looked like she was in complete torture.
"Angel was cursed with a soul. He killed his family when he was first turned. Gabrielle didn't have that chance. As she said, she was cut-off from society. She just recently became free and Tim was there for her. Before Gabrielle was turned, her and Tim were best friends.
"Gabrielle went missing. For the longest time, Tim searched for her. So did Kevin. But they couldn't find her. Gabrielle's family died, and it wasn't by supernatural causes. They were natural ones.
"When Tim got to her, he told her he loved her. He had to break through to the girl that he remembered her as and that was through his love. Buffy, Tim loves Gabrielle unconditionally. He knows all her faults and her positive aspects. Buffy, Tim is someone that needs Gabrielle in his life. Gabrielle needs Tim in her life. They work well together, and it looks like they finally found each other.
"Angel and you had love. That I won't deny you. But can you live without Angel? Now that Angel's gone, are you alright? Are you able to on in life without him?"
Before she was about to answer, Xander said, "Buffy, since you found me, it seems you're in a much better place in life. You seem happier, more self confident, and a better person in general. You're willing to have help when you need it. To me, Angel's death was also the beginning of a new life for you. Angel gave you a better life. He could never have a life with you, but now that he's gone, you seem to be in a better place. Are you, Buffy Summers, in any pain? I mean, at this moment, within the last few days, are you in pain?"
Buffy looked at the ground and then back at him, "No, no I'm not."
He grinned, "That's good, Buffy. You can live without Angel and you seem to be doing that extremely well. Tim and Gabrielle are different. They recently found each other and they need one another. That's why I'm okay with them dating. Because they need each other right now, because they know each other, because they need each other to survive right now. They depend on one another."
***
"Everything alright?"
The group of people looked to the pathway leading to the hallway as two teenagers entered the main room.
Hercules nodded, "Everything's alright, Xander. Gabrielle and Tim are now welcomed members of the Scrappy Gang. It is the Scrappy Gang, right?"
Xander chuckled, "As far as I can tell." Glancing at the clock, Xander sighed, "It's getting kinda late, Guys. Want to call it a night?" He then glanced at his best friend, and hugged her shoulders to him. "You okay?"
Buffy looked at Gabrielle and Tim. She noticed how close they looked. She had to admit. Xander was right, they looked like they needed each other right now. Looking into Xander's eyes she said in a low voice, "I'm getting there."
The boy grinned, "Good. In the immoral words of Snagglepuss, 'Exit stage left.'"
Joxer asked, "Snagglepuss?"
Buffy giggled, "Old Hanna Barbarra character, Tim. Think of him as a pink mountain lion."
Hercules noticed the confused look at Joxer, and smiled, "They don't know you don't watch much cartoons."
"Cartoons?" He looked at Gabrielle who glared at him, smiling, he added, "Right. Never really got into them."
Ash nodded, "Alright. Let's call it a night and meet back here for patrol tomorrow night."
***
"This feels weird, Jack."
Jack looked at his friend, "You mean going back to highshcool?"
The archeologist nodded, "Yeah. Never had many good memories here."
"This is not your highschool, Daniel."
He sighed, "I know, Sam. But highschool was never a fun time for me. Partially because I never really stayed in highschool that much at a time."
The colonel smiled, "Highschool was alright I guess. Never really cared for it. When to the prom though."
She said, "Have fun, Sir?"
Jack nodded, "The night went by okay, hang out with my friends. I missed out for Class Clown though."
"O'Neill, it appears that the students finally left the school."
Jack grinned, "C'mon, Murray. Let's go find us a slayer."
***
Bad Faith slumped off her bike as she walked down the sidewalk.
The only think she was holding was the Necronomicon. She had no idea what happened to the warrior that she called out for. The warrior was going to be the perfect distraction for her enemies to withstand.
Sighing, she sat down on a bench that she passed, and opened the book. She started to go through the pages looking for the spell to help locate her warrior. With that done, she'll find him, and then work towards her goal to contain the Hellmouth.
***
SG-1 walked down the empty hall.
The four of them sporadically looked at their environment. Lockers lined down the hallway. The grayness of the lockers blended with the tan brick walls.
"Where would these records be, O'Neill?"
Jack said simply, "Principal's office."
Daniel smiled, "I'm sure you spent a lot of time there, huh, Jack?"
Sam stated, "You know Jack the longest, Daniel. Any interesting stories?"
Jack's eyes widened remembering an incident. But sighing in relief, he realized that he never told any body any stories.
The archeologist shook his head, "Nope. No stories."
The colonel smiled, "There's nothing to tell anyway, Carter."
She nodded, "Sure, Sir."
"May I help you?"
The four members from the SGC turned to see a brunette woman.
Daniel said, "Actually, maybe you can. We're looking for a student here."
The woman said, "School's over, Mr?"
He chuckled, "Sorry. My name is Daniel Jackson. This is Colonel Jack O'Neill, Captain Samantha Carter, and Murray."
Her eyes widened looking at the uniforms these people were wearing. Her memory flashed back to her days at highschool. One of her friends' father was in the army.
"And you are?"
She knew from her friend that honesty was always the best way to handle issues with the army. Taking a breath, she said, "My name is Mrs. Kelly Kapowski Morris. I'm a teacher here."
"Well, Mrs. Morris."
"That's Kapowski Morris. I married four your years ago."
Jack continued, "Alright, Mrs. Kapowski Morris, we're looking for a student. It is very important that you cooperate."
She nodded, "One of my friends' father is in the army. Maybe you know him, Major Martin Slater?"
Jack thought back to his days of training and shook his head, "Sorry, no. Anyway, we're hoping you can help us find a young woman. Goes by the name Buffy Summers. We believe she's a student here."
The name hit her like a ton of bricks, "She used to be a student here."
"Oh." Was the colonel's response.
Daniel spoke up, "Do you know where we can find her. It is important that we locate her."
The teacher remembered something, "Well, I saw her a few days ago at Helen's Diner. It appears that she's working there now. Although she goes by another name, Anne Phillips."
Sam grinned, "Thank you, Mrs. Kapowski Morris."
Mrs. Kapowski Morris said, "Is there anything else I can help you with?"
Jack shook her head, "Nope. Everything's fine. We'll let ourselves out. C'mon, Kids. We're going to Helen's Diner."
With that said, the four members of the SGC turned around and left the highschool.
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TBC