From : Chihuahua
Date : 22nd October 2003
Disclaimer : I don't own any of the TRA:JQ characters and neither do I own any of the characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. No money is made out of this fic. Don't sue me as I'm not sure I can afford Ally McBeal.
Category : A, DBN-HR, F, E, JQ/Buffy Crossover
Rating : Parental guidance is advised.
Author's note : This takes place after Season 2 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This is my account on what happens and is based fully on my own creativity.
Some homosexuality will follow this part, nothing too graphic; I am still keeping the PG rating for as long as possible. Hope you guys will see this as a necessary step towards character development.
Archiver's Permission: Granted to those who want it. Just inform me on where it can be found.
OLD SKOOL, NEW SKOOL
SUNNYDALE
Three figures loitered about the Summers' home, plopped on the couch and the floor.
"So, how's it been?" Buffy asked, sitting cross-legged on the couch. She looked over expectantly at Willow and then Xander who was sprawled on the floor, looking somewhat sullen. The air of animosity had been evident since he had begrudgingly stepped into the Summers' residence that evening, carrying a paper bag of rented videos.
There was a pregnant pause before Willow cleared her throat. "It's been kinda wild since you… left. Vampires running amok and all, not that they were out of control… which they kinda were. We took care of it… Giles, Xander and me. Oh and Cordy too!"
Xander grunted in response, shoveling another mouthful of nachos into his mouth, ignoring Willow's banter.
"So you guys took care of it?" Buffy prodded on, trying to keep the conversation going.
Xander bolted up and threw the bag of chips on the floor and stormed away. He stopped when Buffy came up in front of him.
"What the hell is your problem?" she demanded. "You've been acting strange since…"
"Since what, Buff? Since you came home? Since you just upped and left us to deal?" Xander retorted.
"I'm sorry if the vampires are too much for you to handle."
Xander laughed bitterly. "I'm not even talking about vampires here."
"So what did you have to deal with?"
"You leaving. Do you know what it's like? To have a friend just leave. Wondering if she was winning over her own personal demons. Sure we all knew that you killed that asshole, but still, how many more demons did you have?"
Buffy hung back, stung by the truth. "How dare you…?"
"How dare I what, Buff? Worry about you? Love you? How dare we care? No, Buffy, how dare YOU? You had no right… no bloody right!" Xander pushed past her and stormed out of the house. Willow hung back, a partly helpless look on her face and yet Buffy knew she felt the same way.
"I've got to go… catch up with him. We'll do this again some time… it's been… kinda fun… in a way. Bye!" She bolted, her colorful pullover a blur of color as she hurried after Xander, leaving Buffy behind.
Tears coursed down her cheeks as she stood there, feeling numb. Xander's words echoed all around her, and she knew that they were the words of everyone else. She was home, and yet she felt so alone. "I'm sorry," she said. "I'm sorry."
MAINE
It was sometime past midnight and Jonny still tossed on his bed; the aches in his body had prevented him from patrolling tonight. He sat up and peered into the darkness. Reaching to the floor next to the bed, he picked up the sword. In the darkness, it seemed to glow.
Sighing, he sat the sword on his lap and stared into the darkness. The quietness was unnerving and ironically he had always loved the quiet of the night. At least till recently.
Tonight, the night sang with energy, a strange ballad of sorts; a cacophony of crescendos. His body was tense from the energy and he craved activity. To fight. To feel the rush of adrenaline. To tumble. To hit and be hit.
This is nuts! Jonny shook his resignedly. No one else would entertain his insanity. Save one.
Jonny slid off his bed, pulling a t-shirt on as he padded his way towards the door. Bandit looked up for a moment, and then settled back on his place on the bed. He knew Jonny's footsteps by heart, the soft steps on the hardwood floor. Jonny slid out of his room, and knocked on the door next to his.
There was no answer at first, but a second knock got an answer. Seth answered. Jonny noted that his voice wasn't slurred with sleep. Guess someone else couldn't sleep.
Seth pulled the door open, peering into the shadow. "Yeah?"
Jonny didn't offer an explanation. "Wanna train?"
Seth gave him an incredulous look for a moment. Then he grinned. "Sure. Give me a sec." He ducked back into the room and yanked on a red t-shirt.
"Where did you learn to fight?" Jonny asked, ducking a blow from Seth's staff, wheeling his own around, preparing to strike.
"Around, I guess." Seth shrugged, blocking Jonny's jab and moved in for his own attack. "I learnt from anyone who would teach me."
"How many forms do you know?" Jonny jumped, avoiding a low blow and countering with an overhead strike.
"A few. Karate, some Taekwondo, three forms of Chinese martial arts." He jabbed three times in succession, punctuating his statement and swept an arching blow. Jonny countered them easily enough. "Very basic fencing and some swordplay. Enough to get by, I guess."
Jonny grinned. "That's a lot."
Seth grinned back. "What 'bout you?"
"All those, with some extra hours clocked in swordplay. Aikido to a certain extent, Thai kickboxing and erm… some street fighting." He grinned guiltily.
"Why the guilt?"
"Race didn't teach me those."
"Who did then?" Seth tumbled to avoid a high blow and came up behind Jonny, staff firmly in grip.
"I learnt from some street fights… ya know, dealing with some guys."
"Not quite fair is it?" Seth questioned, a sparkle in his eyes.
"Nope. But they were beating on some kid and I couldn't just sit there."
"Ahh… the valiant hero."
Jonny took a defensive stance. "What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded.
Seth shrugged. "Nothing I guess. I admire your work ethic."
"Which is?"
Seth sighed. He ducked another blow, cracked one of his own. "You are so moral about your decisions, and yet… you have no problems cheating when you have to."
"Sounds pretentious the way you say it." Jonny scowled a little.
"Maybe 'coz it is!" Seth shot back, staff whirling in a large semicircle.
"Reality of life." Jonny bit back.
"So true… and yet you refuse to see it as so."
"Excuse me! Am I not the one preaching this class?"
"Yeah, and so?" Seth fired. "You don't believe in it enough."
Jonny was puzzled. "You just said that I'm a cheater, but I don't believe in it?" His tone was incredulous.
Seth signed timeout. "You're still making excuses for what you do… as if you need to justify them to everyone."
"Don't I?" Jonny said.
"You're the Destined One. You call the shots here. You don't owe anyone anything."
"Out of decency, at least…"
"That's up to you. But you don't have to explain your own actions to yourself."
Jonny stayed silent.
"If you need to cheat to win your battles, so be it. Don't feel guilty about it. Now's not the time and this isn't the place for guilt. You've got a lot on your plate; no one's expecting you to clear it all… so ease up on yourself.
"Big war on evil coming up, and you're still so bent out of shape over that Jessie-chick."
Something snapped, and Jonny's staff shot out in a low sweep, toppling Seth. Seth's staff clattered to a corner.
Jonny immediately fell to his knees to check his opponent. "I'm sorry… I just snapped."
"You had reason to… as I had reason to bring it up."
"What may that be?" Jonny sat next to the Chinese boy.
"To show you your weakness."
At Jonny's enquiring look, he continued, "Your emotions. Too often do you take things personally."
"I loved her. It was personal."
"And you're lucky to be alive for taking it that way. Rushing off in your headstrong way is not the solution to everything."
"But it works for some," Jonny countered.
"Fair enough." Seth whipped one long leg around, catching Jonny in the ribs. In the same fluid motion, he straddled the slayer and pinned his arms down.
"Remember that you've always got to be on top of things, even when you feel like the pits."
"Duly noted." Jonny heaved and rolled over, taking his place on top of the more slender boy. Again, he was captivated by those eyes. His eyes passed over the sinewy body beneath his, taking in the muscles in the boy's chest as it heaved with each breath. He felt himself slipping away, falling to a place that he had only been with…
He was acutely aware of Seth's hand on his cheek, running down to his neck, tracing a path down his sweaty chest. The touch burned through his t-shirt. He was drawn towards this boy, a beautiful boy, but a boy nonetheless.
His lips grazed Seth's. The sensation was intense, a thousand tingles shooting through him. It felt right, and yet he hated it. He wanted more, but he wanted more than ever to pull away…
Jonny jerked away. "Sorry…" was all he managed to choke out before darting out of the room.
Seth picked himself up, and calmly laid the staffs back in the rack. Straightening his t-shirt, he left the room, switching off the light as went.
SUNNYDALE
Sunnydale High… as normal as any typical high school could get. That was, until you got to its roots… literally. Students milling about between classes, searching for the next cool thing. Today was no different. Fall was approaching, the winds were getting a little nippy, but that didn't stop the teens from skateboarding and simply just hanging out. Chillin'.
Xander Harris sat on a bench, staring at the leaves above him. Ignoring his friend. His Willow.
"Xand… will you please look at me," Willow pleaded, tugging her sweater tighter around her. The air was getting brisker, and Xander still insisted on staring at a tree.
There was no answer from her friend. He continued to stare blankly above.
"Alexander LaVelle Harris!" Willow snapped, slamming her hand on the tabletop. She was satisfied when Xander finally snapped back into the real world.
"Yeah, Will?" he asked, looking surprised at her outburst.
"What's the matter with you? First you storm out of our video night. Now you sit here and mope about… and… and, it's cold!" she finished, stuttering in usual Willow fashion under Xander's gaze.
Xander sighed. "I dunno, Will." He offered a weak smile.
Willow felt her heart melt, despite the chill. How could she ever refuse that puppy-dog look, with his tousled dark hair and sad eyes?
"I do," a familiar voice said. Both Willow and Xander turned to see Buffy at the side of the table. She smiled sadly. "I'm sorry you guys… for everything."
She looked over at Xander. "I didn't have the right to run out on you… but I did and I can't change that. But I'm back…" she added hopefully.
Xander smiled back. "Welcome home, Buffster," he said warmly, getting up to pull her into a tight hug.
"Friends?" the blond asked when he released her. Willow shook her head exuberantly, her face lighting up with joy. Xander simply shrugged. "We'll discuss the terms of agreement over a mochachino… your treat of course."
Buffy punched him in the arm.
Xander feigned pain and grabbed his arm. "Save it for tonight!"
Buffy grinned. "Just getting some practice."
"So, what does the G-Man have in mind for you tonight? Apocalypse? Vampire overload… which normally translates to apocalypse anyway." Xander quipped, picking up his bag and making for the indoors.
Buffy shook her head. "Just the usual slayage… stake a few vamps and keep the town safe. Time for them to know that the Slayer's back in town!"
"Amen!" Xander proclaimed, slapping Willow a high five.
Sunnydale, home to twelve cemeteries and even more were already being planned. Hillcrest Memorial was one of the twelve. Like the rest, it was already overpopulated, tombstones scattering over the landscape. In the darkness, Buffy the Vampire Slayer hunted. Not quite alone. She was tailed by her extremely British Watcher who carried their arsenal for the night.
"Did we really need that many stakes and crossbows?" Buffy complained. She scanned the area continuously, watching for any sign of demonic activity. Despite her title as Vampire Slayer, any malevolent entity was fair game too.
"Better to be prepared than sorry," Giles replied, in his trademark British stuffiness. "Although I think I may have overpacked for the occasion."
"You don't say," Buffy mocked him. "Seriously, I don't think we'll find any vamps this way! You and all that clanky stuff in that bag!"
"Well, just in case you wanted to know, we've found one." He pointed behind Buffy and smiled as he watched his charge whirl around with a massive kick.
"Go for the kill!" he called, as he watched Buffy pound the crap out of the unfortunate vampire. He couldn't help but suppress a feeling of pride when he saw her execute an attack combo he had taught her before in precise, rapid-fire succession.
Buffy slammed a backfist into the vampire's face before staking it.
Giles had to resist clapping, putting on his most severe expression. "Go for the kill, Buffy! You do not have time to toy with one vampire if there is more than one."
"But there isn't." Buffy smiled, twirling her stake like a baton.
"Think again…"
Buffy flipped the stake past her shoulder, skewering another lurker without looking. "No there isn't."
"Had a good stake-out?" Xander cracked, bopping along gently to the music as they sat around a table. The Bronze was relatively quiet tonight and the gang was considerably free to talk.
"Ha ha!" Buffy sipped her Sprite and peered around. Willow was in her new favorite position, snuggled in Oz. Xander as usual was making eyes with Cordelia. Buffy smiled to herself, remembering when all the two ever did was glare at each other.
"So, how did the patrol go?" Willow asked, giggling slightly when Oz nuzzled her neck. Buffy could not help but realize that her best friend was caressing the hand of her boyfriend, stroking the hairs at the back of his hand.
"It was fine I guess. Staked two vampires in five minutes. Not quite a record, but not too shabby either."
"That's cool," Oz offered, retreating into thoughtful silence. And more nuzzling.
"So, what've you guys been doing?" Buffy asked, all too brightly. Looking around her, the answer was pretty obvious. Suddenly, she felt like a lamppost. A short one, but still casting too much light when all her friends wanted to do was cuddle in the dark.
"Mm… nothing," came Xander's muffled reply as he pulled away from a deep kiss with Cordy.
Even more proof.
Suddenly, she just felt tired.
"I'm turning in tonight, guys." She got up, pushing her half-sipped glass of soda forward. "Kinda wiped," she offered lamely.
Everybody just nodded. "'Night, Buff. See you tomorrow!" Xander said, before attacking Cordy again. Willow offered her a smile and Oz just nodded. Cordy waved, under siege.
Buffy took the long way home, daring any vamp to disturb her current train of thought. Her long coat caught a little in the brisk breeze, her boots kicking up clumps of dead leaves. The faint rustling was her only companion, filling the air with ominous whispers of the darkness.
Home.
MAINE
Hadji rifled through his notes frantically, pulling out several sheets of paper. He flipped the pages of a book urgently, his fingers flying down each page, scrolling for the desired information. Satisfied finally, he brought the sheaf of papers along with him to a big board. Several other sheets of paper were stuck on, and Hadji tacked these papers there too.
"We were right," Benton noted from his position by the desk. Light streamed in from the skylight. Hadji smiled.
"We were right!" he concurred more enthusiastically. He pointed to the 3-D photos that were projected from the desk. "The runes, they were all charms and protection spells."
"Protecting from what?"
Hadji shrugged. "Anything that shouldn't know of the place I guess."
"Evil?" Benton volunteered.
Hadji shook his head. "No, nothing like that. That chamber was not protected from evil."
"How'd you know that?"
Hadji motioned towards a wall in the photo. He enhanced the photo, enlarging the image enough for the text inscribed on the wall to be visible. "That's the best I can do, but the inscription is pretty obvious."
"What does it say?" Benton squinted at the writing, trying to make them out.
Hadji wrinkled his forehead. "From what I could make out, it had something to do with the origin of the original evil, and the expulsion of good from itself. It's all very complex, nothing very concrete. In fact, a good portion of it is all a bunch of gibberish to me."
"What does that tell you?"
"The place we were in, it wasn't just a place of good. There was evil there too… the runes guarded both good and evil."
Benton digested this for a moment.
"I could be wrong…"
"No, I think you're right," Benton said, smiling kindly. He studied the photos closely, trying to bridge the bits Hadji couldn't make out.
"I guess we could scroll the pictures around, just to get an overall view of the entire place." Hadji pressed and held a button, watching as the view began to swing clockwise.
"Wait! Backtrack slightly, Hadji," Benton cried suddenly, gripping Hadji's arm.
Hadji did as he was told, swiveling the view slowly…
"Stop, yes just there!" Benton's voice was high with excitement. "See that?" He pointed to a platform, a rocky ledge.
Hadji squinted slightly, trying to make out the shape. "Looks like a podium or something of that sort. A shelf maybe." He noted, still squinting.
Benton nodded. "And yet we didn't see anything there. Whatever it was that was there was no longer there when we arrived."
"How sure are we that there had to be something there?" Hadji was puzzled, trying to refine the image further but only succeeding in fragmenting the image.
"There was something."
Both Hadji and Benton turned around to see Race stepping through the archway, his leather-bound journal in his hand. He walked into the Mediterranean style library, a worried frown creasing his face.
"What was it, Race?" Benton's tone was laced with ice.
Race ignored Benton's tone as placed his journal on the table. "Something bad!"
"How bad?" Hadji asked, ticking a glance at his father.
"Bad enough for us to start worrying."
"That's bad…"
"No kiddin'!" Jonny loped into the library, sling bag bouncing at his hip.
"What exactly is it?" Benton finally spoke, his eyes focusing directly on Race's.
"The original evil in a book."
"That's it?" Jonny asked. "A book? I mean, an evil book and all, but I'm not exactly quaking with fear here."
"It contains the very essence of evil in script, and can endow anyone with amazing powers. Far beyond yours!" Seth stepped into the vast room. "Starting without me?" he asked, smiling impishly.
"Okay, now I'm a wee bit nervous about this. Race, speak!" Jonny sat down, throwing a glance at the newcomer who sat casually in the next chair.
Race cleared his throat casually. "As far as records indicate, the Book of Eternal Darkness was hidden from all mortal knowledge, in the place where it all began. It was placed in the chamber by several powerful mages, sorcerers and warlocks, each who endowed the place with their energy, protecting it. So great was the power output that they were absorbed into the very walls itself, forever to ward off unsuspecting eyes."
"Then, how is it that you have the records?" Hadji asked.
"All I have are patchy accounts. For a long time, several centuries, the book passed out of all knowledge. It was as though it was completely forgotten, it never existed in our time."
"How did that happen?"
"No one knows. It could've been any number of things. Some think that the spells cast by the magic users was strong enough to spread out all over the world, blanketing the memories with fog. Others think that all who had any possession of knowledge killed themselves, a valiant attempt to maintain the secrecy of the book and its whereabouts." Race took a deep breath. "Whatever it was, it failed to last forever. Sometime in the early first millennia, the location was found and the Watcher's Council sent twenty of their best men to retrieve it, thinking that it would be safer if they could find a way to destroy it.
"Few returned, but they were successful, if that's what you could call it."
"How few?" Seth asked, looking up.
"Less then five."
Seth whistled. "I guess we got lucky then, huh?"
"Understatement of the millennia," Jonny quipped.
"Those that returned also reported the presence of another arcane artifact, one also thought to have disappeared from the face of the earth."
"The Blade of Aefriol…" Jonny muttered.
Race nodded. "But of course none of them being the Destined One, they were unable to remove the sword."
"So, what happened to the Book?" Benton sat on the edge of the table, crossing his long legs.
"The Book was indestructible by any means the Council had. It could not be physically destroyed, not by fire or by force. Sorcery was useless against it. The Council finally handed the Book to a Watcher, the Watcher of a Destined. They figured that if they couldn't destroy it, it would make more sense to pass it to someone who would have been able to guard it."
"Why not the Slayer?" Jonny asked.
"Because the Slayers were a random selection, and if one died, it would've been increasingly difficult to get the Book from the recently deceased Slayer to a new one. With the Destined, it was much easier as the gifts were passed down through the generations."
"So, not only am I the slayer of demons, I'm an over-glorified bodyguard too?" Jonny mused incredulously. "Well, hey, the book's not here with me."
Race nodded grimly. "It hasn't been in the charge of a Destined One for many generations now, disappearing at about the time of the Destined Ones in Ashqelon."
"How many Destined Ones were there in Ashqelon?" Hadji asked, already keying in data into his laptop.
"Two I think. The first one simply disappeared from all records, but he was assumed dead as another boy stepped forth years later." Race rubbed his temples slightly. "The new boy had no known blood relation to the former Destined, but he did have the inherent gifts of the Destined One. He was not particularly effective… died at the age of…" Race furrowed his brow. "Sixteen."
There was an ample moment of silence.
"Got something here," Hadji announced, clicking his mouse twice and waiting for the display to come up. "I erm… hacked into the Watchers' Council mainframe. Apparently they're now online… I guess for them to keep in touch."
Race came over and read. "Apparently the Council was more interested in the Destined Ones that they let on," he noted in chagrin. "There's a very detailed log on several Destined Ones, some are particularly interesting."
"Any names?" Jonny asked, cracking his knuckles loudly.
"The first Destined One, the one that disappeared. His name was Daerian Titopoq," Race read, scanning for info.
"Daerian?" Jonny choked.
All eyes were on him, he could feel their gazes burning into him.
"What about Daerian?" Race asked, turning his eyes away from the screen for a minute to focus on Jonny.
Jonny took a deep breath. "I met him," he muttered.
"How?" Seth asked, tapping his fingers on the table.
"I fought him. Killed him."
"He was a…?"
"Vampire.," Jonny confirmed. "He turned Jessie." He blocked out Race's strangled cry. Turning around to face the others, he continued. "Guess we now know what happened to him. Dust."
Hadji smoothed shirt unconsciously. "A Destined One turned vampire… he must have been a formidable foe."
Jonny nodded. "Nearly killed me… a few times."
"How old was he when he was killed?" Benton enquired, flipping through an old journal.
"Couldn't have been any older then eighteen. Records are sketchy… the boy wasn't a highly regarded citizen."
"He was a slave and gigolo?"
"Good call. How'd you know?"
"I have his Watcher's journal over here." Benton tapped the book lightly. "The age matches up and he was based in Ashqelon."
"So we now know that he became a vampire. So what?" Seth ventured, looking around.
"Not just any vampire. He became one of the most ruthless ones known to humanity. Not only did he have preternatural abilities, he had the training of a Destined One, making him more than just formidable in battle." Benton continued.
"What about his heir?" Hadji looked up from the screen. "There's nothing here that shows how he is related to the next in line."
"He was a gigolo… presumably the child was an illegitimate one." Benton kept his eyes scanning the pages.
"This is very interesting," Hadji said aloud.
"What?" Jonny questioned.
"I cross-referenced Daerian's description with witness testimonies and guess what? Our boy has been pretty busy disposing of Destined Ones."
"So he was eliminating his own lineage?"
"It would appear so."
"How do we know it's him?"
"Witness testimonies
running back a few centuries. All taken by the Council."
Jonny cleared his throat. "How is this relevant? I mean the guy's dust!"
"That much may be true… but why would an ages old vampire bother with eliminating a sacred line of warriors? There has to be some other ulterior motive."
"Maybe he just didn't want any interference. For whatever plan he had." Seth offered.
"But to spend years, centuries killing off Destined Ones… that's gotta be a real big plan. Plus, the health hazards aside, it's almost like he hated his own kin!" Jonny looked somewhat disturbed by the thought.
"I still stick with my theory," Seth said, no sign of defiance or bitterness in his tone.
He's not looking at me, Jonny realized. They had not made any eye contact since…
"Okay, assuming that Seth is right, any idea on what this plan might be?" Benton closed the battered journal and slid it on the table.
What is she going to do? End the world, somehow. Jessie's words…
"He was going to end the world," Jonny suddenly muttered. How could he have forgotten her words?
"How original!" Seth mumbled.
"If that's the case, wouldn't the threat be long over?" Race prodded.
Jonny shook his head. "No. His partner is still out there."
"Partner?" Race looked uneasy. Vampires were usually solitary creatures, partnerships were not unheard of, but exceedingly rare. Except for the unholy alliance of Angelus and Darla and their offspring, Spike and Drusilla, there had been very few others.
"Prumiva. His sire. And I'll bet she has the book!"
He felt the pressure of all their gazes one more.
"How did you know about the plan? And why did you fail to mention it till now?" Race demanded.
"Jessie told me!" Jonny replied hotly. In truth he was more pissed off at himself than at Race for the interrogation.
A moment of ample silence. The partners glared at each other; Destined and Watcher.
"When?" Race intoned. He meant the apocalypse.
"I dunno."
"Are you sure?"
"Very!"
"Anything else?"
"No!"
"Good!"
"Fine!"
ISTANBUL
"The Blade's gone, Father." A willowy Asian beauty conveyed. She flicked her black tresses aside as she spoke into a cell phone. Leaning her head sideways to balance the phone on her shoulder as she checked her perfectly manicured fingernails, she threw a glare at the restrained figure on a straight back chair.
"That displeases me greatly, my daughter." The rasp was definitely pissed.
"I'm sorry we disappointed you, Father. However, we do have something, or rather someone who might be of some interest to you," the brunette said, flashing her mirror image a smile.
Anaya Zin held a pistol, aimed casually at the restrained woman's temple. She laughed softly, nudging Jade's head with the point.
"Who is it?"
"An old acquaintance. You remember Jezebel Jade, don't you?"
There was a pleased chuckle on the other end. "Yes, yes… Jade."
"Say 'Hi', Jade," Anaya purred, pulling off the rough gag.
"You filthy son of a bitch!" Jade bit off.
Melana laughed, a similar tinkle to her sister's. "Gag her, Sis," she commanded before resuming her conversation with her father.
"Not that I'm not amused, dear Daughter, but of what significance is Miss Kenyon to us?"
"Our sources reported that she had been snooping around, regarding the Blade."
"Ahh…"
"We thought it only logical to apprehend her for some… information." Melana's lip curled into a savage smile.
"Very intuitive of the two of you. You have my blessing to do whatever that is required."
"Thank you, Father." She ended the call, and walked over to Jade, her elegant boots clicking in sync with her staccato steps.
"Now, Jade, we can do this my way or my sister's way." Melana motioned for Anaya to put away her gun. Both sisters stood in front of Jade now, their dark hair framing their lovely faces. Leaning forward, Anaya jerked the gag free roughly.
"How 'bout we try it my way and I kick both your skanky asses!" Jade challenged.
Both sisters laughed now, laughter laced with cruelty more than mirth.
"What? Afraid that an old girl might just trounce you two?"
"Save it, Jade!" Anaya smirked. "As much as it would be fun to fight you, you're more valuable to us alive than dead."
"Who said I had to die?"
"Nobody, if you tell us what we want to know."
"And what might that be?" Jade asked.
"You know what it is that we want. So just cough it up and you might live to see another deal." Melana stared at her.
"Sorry, girls, but I think you got the wrong woman."
"Oh, I'm sure we didn't."
Jade spat out a glob of bloodied spit, and turned back defiantly to face her captors. Both sisters were beginning to look extremely pissed off.
"Give it up, bitch!" Anaya hissed.
Jade managed a crooked smile. "Face it girls… don't know a thing. Didn't find the bloody thing!"
Melana dished out a savage backhand. "Liar!" she spat.
"Takes one to know one." Jade reeled from the pain but she kept on her façade. "But take it or leave it, I have nothing you could possibly want."
"Try us!"
"See my backpack there?" Jade motioned with her head. "Open it and pull out the black book."
Anaya marched over to Jade's worn out pack and fished out the book. It was nothing more than an address book. Enraged, she flung the book aside.
"What exactly do you take us for?" she demanded. "Business rivals?"
"It's a hard life being a criminal. Maybe you needed supplementary cash to pay for your Pradas." Jade snickered through clenched teeth.
"Enough games! Tell us what we want to know!"
"Which is exactly what anyway?"
"The Blade of Aefriol! Where is it?"
"Ahh… the Blade. As I've said before, didn't find the damn thing."
Melana raised her hand to strike again, but Anaya caught it. "Leave her some time to consider her situation first. After all, we have all the time in the world."
"No we don't!" Melana hissed. "We only have to the next solstice…" She trailed off when Anaya shushed her.
"We have plenty of time." Anaya assured her twin. "We'll leave you now, Jade. We'll be back tomorrow. Hopefully, you'll be more cooperative then."
MAINE
"Benton!" Race hollered, striding down the carpeted hallway, a note of extreme urgency in his voice. "Benton!"
Benton appeared at the doorway of his study. "What is it Race?"
"The chopper we loaned Jade… it was found abandoned thirty miles off Washington!"
Benton grinned. "Now, what would have happened to make her abandon the chopper?"
"The pilots are dead!!"
Benton's eyebrows shot up now. His sly grin was substituted with a concerned frown. "What?"
"Both pilots were found with multiple shot wounds to the chest, close range fire."
"So they were forced down?"
"It would appear so. There were no signs of damage to the exterior of the chopper, except for the windscreen."
"And Jade?"
"Gone." Race was evidently distressed. "I-1 just called in, confirming the chopper as one of ours."
"How long has it been?"
"The bodies were cold… definitely been dead for over twenty-four hours."
"Shit!" Benton muttered under his breath. That just made the situation about as complicated as it could get. Had it been merely a few hours, tracking would have been easier… but twenty-four hours or more of a lead was not good. They could've been almost anywhere by now!
"Things just keep getting worse don't they?" Race laughed bitterly.
"We'll find her, Race." Benton patted his friend on the shoulder.
"No, we won't…"
"Race, we can't lose hope…"
"I mean we won't. I will!"
"No, we're in this together!"
"You have the apocalypse to deal with."
"Screw that… we owe Jade!"
"What do we owe Jade now?" Jonny asked, stepping out of the shower, toweling his hair.
"Jade's missing. We believe that it's possible that she's been abducted."
"Just our luck! Aliens!" Jonny cried. Then in a serious tone, "Where do we start looking?"
"We start by heading over to Washington first! Then we play it from there." Benton took charge of the situation. "Pack lightly, it'll probably be a short trip, but whatever it is, we cannot afford to be burdened by luggage."
Jonny nodded and headed off to dress. He conveyed his father's message to both Hadji and Seth.
WASHINGTON
"No signs of break in," Race noted, studying the exterior of the black chopper. The seats were stained and crusted with dried blood but the bodies had been removed.
"The autopsy reports indicate that both pilots died from multiple shots to the chest vicinity. All shots were consistent and did not destroy any other tissue." Benton looked up from the report he was reading. "They were professionals," he said. "They knew what they wanted, and they dispatched of the men quickly, no fuss about it."
"No stray bullets either," Jonny reported, climbing out of the back seat.
"No obvious clues to who might have done this," Hadji said, after running a thorough scan of the perimeter. "All we know it that another chopper landed less than twenty feet away." Hadji pointed to the flattened grass.
"Another chopper. But that would mean that they had to land somewhere," Benton exclaimed, excited. "Did I-1 check all local airports for take-offs by any private planes within the last twenty-four hours?"
Race nodded grimly. "I made them run one again before we left. Negative."
"What about satellite photos?" Jonny suddenly asked.
Race brightened immediately. "No one has tried that yet! Good idea!"
Jonny hurried over to their car and plugged his laptop into the system. "IRIS, transmit all satellite pictures taken from the past twenty-eight hours from current coordinates."
"Any luck?" Jonny looked up to face Seth.
"Not yet," he said, slightly nervous from being so close to the other boy.
A silent moment passed between them before Jonny gave a whoop of victory. "Pop! Race! Come quick! I think we've got something!"
There was a wild scurry as the image loaded in higher resolution. "Nothing… nothing… nothing… noth… There! Right over there!" Race pointed on the screen. Two black shapes appeared to be close to each other. The next few showed that the choppers had landed, and a black-clad figure was aiming what Race guessed must have been a gun. Then there was Jade stepping out, and the next couple of frames showed the shattered windscreen of the chopper.
"Jonny, enhance the image," Benton said, peering hard into the screen. Jonny enlarged and refined the image of the figure holding the gun.
"Bloody hell…!"
Hadji breathed one word: "Anaya!"
"Who?" Seth asked, looking around for answers.
"Anaya Zin. Daughter of a nutcase!" Jonny answered, not able to tear his eyes away from the image of one of Zin's beautiful daughters.
"Crazy chick?"
"More like calculative femme fatale. And it gets better," Jonny said, turning away.
"What?"
"She has a twin," Hadji answered.
"Another Nikita?"
Hadji nodded.
"That's bad."
Jonny looked at Race. "We gotta bail Jade out!"
"Your mission," Race reminded.
Jonny grimaced. "Believe me, this is connected to the apocalypse. We find Zin, we find some answers. And I get to kick his ass!"
To be continued…
Comments anyone? Send them to me at wenxina@hotmail.com