Disclaimer: I don't own anything except these characters: Jeremiah Lewis, Derwent Kingsley, Miles Borg please don't sue me.
Chapter 5Take Me Home, Country Road
"Clark?" Buffy waved her hands in front of his face he hasn't said anything since she showed up."Huh?" Clark rubbed his eyes, thinking it was all a dream, only to find she was really there. He jumped out of his seat and grabbed hold of her, engulfing her in his warm embrace.
"I thought I lost you," he murmured into her hair.
Buffy freed herself from his arms and looked at him intently then smiled, "I've only just found you I'm not going anywhere."
Clark took Buffy's hand and asked, "Shall we?"
"We shall," she replied. But before they reached the exit a security guard stopped them, "Sorry ma'am. I can't have you leave yet without proper authorisation. You have to sign the release forms," he said, indicating at the receptionist waving a piece of paper frantically in the air at them.
As Clark and Buffy signed the papers two men dressed ruggedly walked in through the emergency entrance with a pistol on each hand, both aiming for a particular blonde girl.
"They've got guns!" exclaimed the security guard that had just spoken to Buffy and Clark.
Buffy stiffened as her senses screamed 'danger', she slowly turned to assess the threat but soon found herself at the receiving end of a blazing bullet. No sooner had the first bullet been released when it was quickly followed by another, then another. With inhuman speed Buffy pulled away to the side taking Clark with her as they rolled on the ground.
"Shit. Watchers!" Buffy hissed. She looked to Clark to see if he was hurt, "Clark when I tell you to, run."
Clark was about to protest when Buffy looked at him with a pleading look that clearly meant 'please don't do anything stupid.' "Now!" she grabbed his hand and ran as fast as she could. Clark was debating wether or not to use his powers but he decided against it seeing as there would have been too many witnesses leading to questions and questions usually led him to trouble, so he followed Anne's lead.
One of the Watcher's called out to the other, "Get her!"
Buffy and Clark sped past the people crouched low on the ground, dodging bullets left, right and centre. Upon reaching the exit both Buffy and Clark's super-hearing heard the unmistakable sound of reloading guns.
Seeing as it was dark enough Clark didn't want to gamble Anne's life so he quickly asked her as they kept on running, "Do you trust me?"
"What?" said Buffy as she dodged another bullet barely missing her left shoulder.
Clark stopped and picked her off the ground while Buffy protested, "Clark! Put me down!" Clark looked down at her beautiful face illuminated in the moonlight then said, "Hold on."
Amidst the sounds of gunfire and yelling Buffy stopped struggling in Clark's arms and allowed herself to calm down. Then he ran.
Faith walked in to the library, having previously asked them all to meet her there. 'This is it,' she thought and took a deep breath before greeting the Scoobies and the two Watchers.
"So Faith what's the what?" asked Xander.
Faith looked at everyone in the room and then said, "I just had one of those prophetic dreams except I wasn't alone."
Giles and Wesley perked up with this information. Faith then continued, "I dreamt about Buffy."
There was silence followed by a barrage of questions from everyone, including Cordelia.
"Is she alright?"
"Did you see where she was?"
"Did she talk to you?"
"Yo!" screamed Faith at the top of her lungs. "Geez way to go to give me a headache. Now if you want me to continue don't talk or ask questions while I tell you what happened. Capisce?"
Satisfied with the silence that greeted her she started to tell them, "Buffy died, again. But don't worry, she came back, again. It wasn't really clear though, I remember seeing her talk with a dark skinned girl, I think it was Kendra and there was a wolf sitting beside her. Kendra was calling Buffy the Golden Phoenix but that's all I could make out. Before Buffy came back to life I remembered hearing "thank you's" from hundreds possibly even thousands of voices, female voices. Including mine."
Faith stood up and walked over to Wesley, "When I woke up I felt different, powerful, in control of...of my destiny." They were all surprised when a single tear fell from her face, "I was free," she whipped her head around and smiled, "her death saved us, all Slayers from the past and the future. We can't be controlled anymore, we don't need to be controlled."
Xander got over his shock first and asked, "Er, that's great but what exactly did you mean by that?"
Giles replied, "It means that the Watcher's Council no longer have control over the Slayer."
Willow crinkled her nose in confusion, "Wasn't that the case with Buffy? I mean no offence Giles but you, let alone the Watcher's Council never had control over Buffy."
Giles gave out a lengthy sigh, "As you well know, Watcher's have been guiding and training Slayers since the beginning of the Slayer line was created. From the very start Slayer's were used as tools to fight the evils in our world because no one else could do it but over the years some Watcher's began to form bonds with their charges. Those Watchers's were prosecuted possibly even murdered as not to alter the rules. With this revelation Buffy not only allowed the Slayer line freedom of choice over their lives, but she also gave Watcher's the freedom to form a bond of sorts with their charges."
Ring, ring! Ring, ring!
Wesley went into Giles' office and picked up the phone, "Mr. Giles' office how may I help..."
"Wesley?"
"May I know who's speaking?"
"It's Jeremiah."
"Hello, haven't spoken to you in a while how's your father?"
"Is this line secure?" Wesley was surprised to be asked such a question from his godson.
"I believe so," replied Wesley.
Jeremiah lowered his vice and spoke in a hushed tone "Mr. Traver's sent out assassins after Mr. Giles' Slayer. Mr. Travers' said that Faith Rogers has had too much influence from the renegade Slayer Buffy Summers so he sent a team to retrieve your Slayer for "re-education". Wesley, watch your back as well as Mr. Giles'."
Wesley almost dropped the phone, "What? They can't do that to Faith!"
"The Elders of the Watcher's Council have ordered a mass gathering of all known Potentials and I overheard them mention Project Monsoon..."
Wesley dropped the phone this time and ran out of Giles' office. "We have a big..." as the others came in sight, "...problem," he was greeted with a gun at his face. 'Bugger' was the last thought on his mind before he was knocked unconscious.
"Wesley? Wesley? Hello are you still there?" asked a frantic Jeremiah.
The silence on the other line was all he needed to confirm Quentin Traver's treachery, he hung up the phone and walked out of the telephone booth, hoping and praying that he would be able to reach his godfather in time.
Meanwhile back in L.A. ...
The two Watcher's stared in awe as the boy disappeared in a flash with the Slayer in his arms. "Jesus, Mary and Joseph," said one of the Watcher's.
"Traver's is not going to like this," said the other.
"Which part? The one where the Slayer got away again or the part where a boy who can run faster than a bullet train ran off with said Slayer?"
"Kingsley?" asked Miles.
"Yeah?" said Kingsley.
"Shut up." Derwent Kingsley and Miles Borg walked in silence as they held a vial in each hand containing Buffy Summer's DNA which they had obtained from the Summer's residence and a map of L.A. The vials would give a tug and pinpoint her location on the map that the two Watchers' were holding. Both Watcher's are well versed in magic as well as being the best assassins employed by the Watcher's Council.
Clark didn't stop running until he reached the hotel where his classmates were staying. Upon reaching his room Clark placed Buffy on her feet and opened the door hoping that Pete wouldn't be back yet from clubbing along with his peers.
Sensing no one was there he allowed himself to relax as he sat on the edge of his bed. After a long and awkward moment of silence...
"So..." they said simultaneously.
Buffy smiled, "Okay, so I guess we both have a lot of explaining to do. Me with the whole I died and now I'm alive, and you with the whole I can run faster than a speeding bullet."
Clark smiled weakly as he tried his best to think of a "rational" explanation about his gift. Buffy, seeing his confused expression started off, "Don't think too hard Clark, your brain might explode. On a serious note, I think introductions are in order." Buffy held out her hand, "My real name is Buffy Anne Summers and I'm a Vampire Slayer. In every generation there is a Chosen One. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons and the forces of darkness. She is the Slayer. I was given the strength of five men, I can handle any weapon I can get my hands on, and I'm a natural blonde...."
Clark quirked his eyebrow at her with a slightly amused grin on his face, "Vampires?"
Buffy smirked, "Didn't run away screaming, always a good sign. Now those guys after me are part of the reason I ran away. My predecessor Kendra was activated when I drowned last year after facing the Master, this uber ugly Vampire with fruit-punch mouth..."
"...I had to kill him to save the world..." Buffy was crying on his shoulder, allowing Clark to wrap his arms protectively around her.
"...Then I came back, I was given another chance," she'd stopped crying by now and stared into his eyes. "I freed them with my gift, they don't have to fight alone anymore."
Clark unwrapped his arms around Buffy and sighed, "I guess it's my turn. A few years ago there was a meteor shower..."
"...Pete knows about me cause he saw the space ship under the barn..."
"...I can shoot fire through my eyes, run as fast as a speeding train, I have x-ray vision, the strength of 10 men or more, I was shot at once but the bullet shattered so I guess you can say I'm a man of steel but that doesn't mean I'm invincible. My weakness is a rock called Kryptonite from my home world, there are two kinds, the green one absorbs my life force if I'm exposed to it long enough, I could die. The red one makes me do the opposite of good, I guess it's sort of my Mister Hyde to my Dr. Jekyll..."
"...I fell through the caves. She showed me the paintings, I know now that it's you I've been destined for." Clark brushed away a stray strand of hair from her face, "I've never felt like this before," he cupped her face and kissed her lips, "I've never wanted to be with anyone this much," he kissed her again, "but I won't force you to do anything you don't want to. I know you're still hurting, I know you still love him and maybe you'll always love him. But I can wait, I'll wait until you're ready to move on."
Buffy held his hand tightly and smiled, "Thank you for being understanding, but you don't have to wait that long. Angel's gone and I can't change that, and I did love him, I still do but you're here now, I belong here in your arms just as much as you belong in mine." Buffy gave him a quick kiss before speaking again, "Clark those Watcher's won't stop until I'm dead, I have to leave, I have to go somewhere far and almost isolate."
Clark didn't hesitate for one moment, "Come with me. I'll take you to Smallville, my friend Lex can help us find a place to hide, his family practically owns the whole town."
"You really want me to go with you?" asked Buffy.
Clark reached out to hug her, "I'll never let you go, never."
TBC
A/N: Sorry it took a while to update...anyways what's going to happen to the Scoobies and what's Quentin's plan for them??????
What will Kyla do now that she has no powers??????
How will Martha and Jonathan cope with their 17 year-old bringing home a girl?????
Find out next chapter...