A/N: SO sorry for the lack of updates...but anyways...here's the next one, hope you guys enjoy it!!!! This will explain a lot of things...
Chapter Seven: Destiny Calling
Their hotel was located in the 'upper town' as what the locals called it. The wealthier part of Seattle, they said. And now, as they drove through mansions and fancy restaurants, they began to exit the 'upper town', and Buffy was surprised to see the state of the city that was not part of the 'upper town.'
Most of the buildings that stood at great heights on either sides of the road were more rundown than she would've expected. And most of them were covered in graffiti. Beggars, and homeless people roamed the streets in ragged clothing, flashing toothless smiles as they implored for money. Prostitutes in skimpy dresses sauntered hand in hand with elderly men in Armani suits. Armed cops were crawling everywhere, eyeing everyone with deep suspicion and distrust. Hover drones flew above them, cameras and guns pointing everywhere.
It was a far cry from California, or Cleveland for that matter.
Buffy shook her head in disbelief. "I feel like I've walked into an entirely different world."
"More like a sci-fi movie," Faith piped with a wry grin. "Seems like the Pulse wiped out a lot."
"The Pulse?" Giles questioned. "What's that?"
Faith rolled her eyes. "You don't know anything do you Giles?"
Giles glared at her.
"A few years ago, terrorists whacked Seattle with an electromagnetic pulse. And ka-pow! The former world power became a third world country. It was all over the news, Giles. How could you not know?"
"Maybe it was because we were busy stopping another apocalypse," Giles said scowling.
"So where are we heading?" Buffy asked, breaking the argument.
"A well-to-do subdivision across the city," Willow answered. "Another 'upper town', I think."
"How long till we get there?"
"An hour and a half at the most," Giles replied from behind the wheel.
"Or in your case, three hours." Faith snickered. "You drive like a turtle, old man. Maybe you should hand me the wheel."
"I'd rather be alive, thank you." Giles said glaring at her.
Buffy caught Willow's eyes and they both grinned. It was going to be a long ride.
But the grin slowly faded when they passed by a devastating sight. Instantaneously, Giles slowed the car down as all eyes turned to the destruction that was –
"Terminal City," Buffy whispered. "Oh my god. What happened here?"
The gigantic lot was covered in debris and burnt remains of what used to be buildings.The smell of blood and rotting flesh floated in the air, giving the atmosphere a sense of foreboding. For a few seconds they watched from their car just outside the decrepit gates of TC, surveying the scene of ruins.
It was empty of any corpses, but they could tell that a bloodbath had gone on in there.
Willow covered her mouth with her hand as tears welled up in her eyes. "This is horrible." She choked out.
Buffy could only nod.
"Oh man," Faith's eyes were wide. And not able to take it anymore, she jumped out of the car and called out to the nearest person there was. A man begging just in front of the entrance gates.
With bated breath, Buffy followed after her sister slayer, with Willow and Giles close behind.
"Excuse me," Faith asked the beggar who appraised her guardedly. "Can you please tell me what had happened here?"
The man smiled mirthlessly. "They bombed the place," he croaked out. "Killed a number of those freaks."
"They're not freaks," Buffy snapped.
The man turned to look at her, his eyes narrowing. "You ain't one of them are you now, missy?"
"No she's not." Faith said, her voice laced with unease. "You—you wouldn't know if any of the erm, freaks survived did you?"
"More'n hundred of 'em escaped," the beggar replied cynically. "There whereabouts are unknown, but it won' be long till the army'll find them and finish 'em all off. They don't deserve to live. They killed a number o' good men."
Buffy's hear thudded in her chest. Maybe their still alive.
"Alright, thank you." Faith tugged at her sleeve. "We'd better be going now."
They headed back to their car but not before they heard the man shout out from behind them.
"Watch out for them freaks! They could snap yer necks and kill you in a nanosecond!"
"So could we," Buffy muttered under her breath.
…
The sky was an expanse of black and silver glitters, and stormy gray clouds floated soundlessly through it, blanketing the stars every now and then. Night had fallen, and darkness had covered the military base.
Not a problem for two genetically-enhanced supersoldiers though. Their night vision kicked in the moment the sun disappeared, and they easily climbed down the roof without much difficulty. Their feet hit the ground with an inaudible thud, and both transgenics strolled towards the Mess Hall in corresponding strides.
Max pushed open the swinging doors to find the room already full of hungry transgenics. Most of them were already halfway through their dinner. This was when an idea struck her.
"When was the last time these kids had proper training?" Max asked as she and Alec took a seat in an empty table near the back of the room.
Alec frowned. "Since Manticore, I guess. We didn't really do anything back at TC."
"Well, I think we should start training them again." Max said, helping herself to some dinner. "We need to be prepared – in case something happens."
"You mean, if another genocide happens." Alec clarified.
Max nodded. "The X5s are the most experienced in the field. We could assign two X5s to a group of X6s and X8s. Get my drift? Same thing with the transhumans…although I have a feeling it'll be hard convincing them to learn some fancy martial arts."
Alec grimaced. "I couldn't imagine Mole doing the karate stuff."
Max laughed. "Mole's more of an ammunitions guy. But it would be better if everyone knew how to defend themselves. Especially since we're running low on weaponry."
"Right." Alec agreed. "We could hold all the training in Barracks' twelve and thirteen. Nobody's using those…"
"Good idea. We'll inform everyone right after dinner, alright?"
"Yes you're majesty!"
"DON'T call me that!"
….
"Are you sure this is it?" Buffy asked, a bit nervously as they climbed out of the car. They had arrived at their destination a lot faster than Faith's predicament, and they were now gaping at the rather large mansion that stood in front of them. It was beautiful if not daunting.
It was somewhat of a glass house, standing on top of a small grassy hill, and a neatly-trimmed lawn was spread in front of it, adorned by a few pieces of shrubbery. In the center of the lawn was a fountain. Crystal clear water was spurting from the tip of the marble fountain, and it made a slight wooshing sound.
A black iron gate rose up in front of them, and around the lot was an iron fence topped off with concertina wires.
"Does 'Adams family' come to your mind?" Faith asked lightly, cocking an eyebrow.
"A more modern one maybe," Willow said staring at the concertina wires. "Why do I have a feeling that if I'm gonna touch that fence I'm gonna be electrocuted?"
"Because that's what's probably gonna happen," Buffy said pulling the witch away from the fence. "Giles, ring the doorbell will you?"
Giles did as told, and an electronic voice greeted them robotically. "Good. Evening. Please. State. Your. Name. And. The. Person. You. Wish. To. Speak. To."
"Buffy Summers, Willow Rosenburg, Faith Wilkins, and Rupert Giles." Buffy cast a panicked look at the others.
"Uh, we would like to speak to the daughter, please." Giles continued for her, wiping his glasses nervously.
"Right. This. Way. Please." The voice said, and the gate swung open.
Buffy exchanged an anxious glance with Faith before striding in. The others at her heels.
…
Lucas bounded down the stairs, her heart thudding in her chest. The intercom had just informed her that there were some visitors wanting to speak with her. She could only hope that they weren't Phalanx. She reached the front doors in record time, and with a deep breath, she peered out the glass window to see four strangers walking up the stone pathway. Their foreheads were bare of the Phalanx' symbols.
She frowned. If those aren't Phalanx, then who the hell are they?
Smoothing back her raven-black hair, she slowly opened the doors. It was only a good thing that her parents had left a few minutes ago. They had a dinner party to attend to.
The four strangers drew closer, and Lucas stiffened. They could be dangerous. She thought, taking an involuntary step backwards. Yeah right, you're a Phalanx, and a Slayer. I could handle them. No sweat.
Her guests were now within five feet from her.
The hair on the back of her neck stood up.
And that was when she knew who they were.
…
Buffy stared at the girl standing on the front porch. She couldn't help it, she just – stared. There was something about her…and it wasn't the distinctive color of her eyes or the strange tattoo on her forehead. It was the aura that she gave off. A powerful aura that Buffy had never sensed before from any of the Slayers.
Giles was shooting her a look.
"Uh, right." Buffy held out her hand and smiled brightly. "I'm Buffy Summers, this is Rupert Giles, Faith Wilkins, and Willow Rosenberg."
The girl met her gaze, and that was when Buffy saw how truly unique her eyes were. They were silver. And they seemed to penetrate right through her head. Buffy shifted uncomfortably. "We would like to tell you something."
The girl smiled politely. "I already know."
This startled everyone.
She shook Buffy's hand. "My name's Lucas Domane. You must be the eldest living Slayer."
Buffy just gaped.
Giles cleared his throat. "If you don't mind, we would like to discuss this inside."
"No problem. Come in."
…
Once they were all seated, silence grew. Lucas raised an eyebrow as she leaned comfortably on the sofa, waiting for them to speak. Physically, she was a perfect picture of coolness and relaxation. But inside, she was writhing in panic and apprehension.
And she did not like the way the redhead was looking at her.
"When did you find out?" Buffy asked, her pretty face scrunching up in curiosity.
Lucas took a peek at the clock hanging just behind her. If her parents caught her 'guests' here…she didn't even dare think about what they'd do to them. "A few weeks ago I started having these – dreams. And one night, I just – knew."
Buffy nodded. "That's how it usually is. You see, Slayers have prophetic dreams. Their dreams sometimes foresee the future."
Lucas thought back on her nightmare involving the Maistre. That means she will find out in the future. She shuddered inwardly, as she tried to keep her emotions intact. "So are you going to take me away now?" she asked, her voice cracking a bit.
"Well, we'd have to talk to you're parents first…" Giles started, but was cut off by herself jumping out of her seat and yelping out a strangled "No!"
She started to pace. "You can't tell them." She raised panicked eyes to Buffy. "You don't know what they'll do to me if they find out that I'm a Slayer."
"Hey, hey, calm down, girl." Faith said, standing up and steadying her. "What will they do to you?"
Lucas sucked in her breath. "They'll kill me."
…
"Wha-what?" Buffy asked, beyond alarmed now. She was completely shocked.
Tears were now streaming down Lucas' face as she struggled to compose herself. Unable to do so, she shook her head, dropping down onto the couch in a helpless heap.
Willow who had been silent during the whole conversation suddenly spoke up. Her voice laced with realization. "You're a Phalanx."
"Say what now?" Faith asked, utterly confused.
For a moment, Lucas stopped crying. She simply stared at Willow in bewilderment. "How-how did you know?"
"Well, for one thing. You have that tattoo on your forehead," Willow said pointing at the crescent moon imprinted on her pale forehead. "That's the Phalanx' symbol. And they despise Slayers as well. Probably the reason on why they'll kill you if they find out. The Phalanx always had an obsession with purity in their family."
At her friends' puzzled faces, she explained. "The Phalanx is an ancient breeding cult deeply rooted in the ancient magic which is the Dark Arts – black magic. They usually perform sacred rites and ceremonies on lunar months. That's why their symbol is the moon…"
"Pardon me for saying this," Buffy said to Lucas. "So they're pretty much evil?"
"Pretty much," Willow nodded. "But the last time I checked, the Phalanx were dead. Caput. Faded through the centuries." She eyed Lucas. "But I guess their still active…after all these years…they're still alive."
"How do you know about all this?" Lucas asked warily. "And if I am evil, then how the hell did I become Chosen?"
"Ancient books," Willow said dismissively. "I'm a Wicca. I know a lot about this kind of stuff."
"And the reason on why you're Chosen was because, underneath all that 'evil magic' exterior, you've got a good heart." Buffy said with a soft smile. "The Powers that Be are never wrong on whom to Choose."
"But my blood is pure," Lucas choked out through her tears. "I am not tainted!"
Buffy exchanged a glance with Willow. Man, this is hard. She thought, and tried again. "Of course your not…you just have a…bigger heart than your peers."
"I don't want to be a Slayer!" Lucas shouted, angry tears cascading down her very pale face. "I'm a Phalanx, and I will always be one!"
Faith laid a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Look, I know it's hard…"
Lucas swiveled sharply to face her. "You don't know anything." She bit out savagely. "Not only will I be rejected and disowned by my own family… I will be humiliated, tortured…and sacrificed. Do you really know anything, Faith?"
Faith's eyes darkened, and the gentleness was gone from her voice. "I've killed humans, Lucas. I know how it feels to be rejected. To be labeled as 'the bad Slayer' hurt more than all the days I spent in prison…"
Lucas laughed. A cold, mirthless laugh that Buffy hadn't heard coming from a sixteen year old. Her silver eyes flashed. "I've killed too. And I earned everyone's trust. My family's ways is different from yours."
"But did you like killing someone?" Buffy asked quietly. "Did you think that killing someone is the right thing?"
Lucas looked away.
"See, you have a good heart." Buffy said, taking a step towards her, and choosing her words carefully. "It doesn't matter where were from, or how blue your blood is. You can never deny your destiny."
"It doesn't matter," Lucas said. "The Phalanx will still kill me."
"We have a hundred Slayers back at Cleveland," Buffy said with a proud smile. "That's almost an army, Lucas. You have an army of Slayers to protect you."
"So what do you say? Are you ready to answer your Calling?"
Lucas shut her eyes, and opened them. The darkness was gone. "I am."
"Atta girl," Faith said grinning.
Lucas drew in a shuddering breath. "Just—just not now…I need to find out something first…"
Buffy looked at her curiously.
"Come back tomorrow afternoon. They'll be gone by then. That's when I'll – come with you."
A/N: Two more chapters and the gang will meet with the Dark Angel crew! So be patient and review!!!
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