Prophesy After the Fact
Part 10
By Marie Nomad
Will couldn't help but feel shocked. Something deep in him was screaming that it couldn't be Xander. Xander was a wimp. Then, he wondered if he had met this guy before.
"Do you mind? We're recruiting." The vampire leader said as he came closer.
"Not today, fangy!" Xander taunted. He looked with his good eye and yelled, "Get out of here! I'll take care of these vamps."
"Huh?"
"Just go!" Josh grabbed Will by the arm and pulled him to the church. It was an old church which was open. The blond closed the doors behind him. "We'll be safe in here."
"Uh huh." Will's heart pounded. "Answer me this, what the hell is going on!"
"Just chill. They can't get in here." Josh got out his cell phone. "Hey, Leia, this is Josh. What? Hey, it was Will's idea not mine. You know how he is. We're trapped in the church by the Sunnydale graveyard by a bunch of vamps on a recruiting drive. Yeah, this guy in an eyepatch by the name of Xander had saved our butts. He's a vampire hunter. Uh huh. Uh huh. I don't think I can hide that from him. Bye." He hung up.
"Joshua…" Will growled as he grabbed Josh by the shoulders and slammed him against the wall. "What. Is. Going. On."
Josh's eyes widened. "Look, I promised Leia that I won't tell you. Just ask her. Those vamps can't get in here because of all the holy stuff and once it's morning, they will leave. Just wait and she will tell you everything."
Will released his grip and he held his head. "Vampires? We are being chased by vampires?"
"Yup."
"Oh god. Oh god." Will's heart pounded as he gazed at the crucifix on the wall. The sight of the holy relic comforted him as he bowed his head down. "What else could happen?"
XXX
Xander's blood pumped as he fought off the vampires. The vampire leader watched as his minions turned to dust. "Not bad for a human."
"Thanks, living on the Hellmouth and fighting along side the Slayer really improves the fighting style." Xander said as he heaved the crossbow.
"Which one?"
"Sunnydale. Sunnydale, California."
"Oh! I've heard of that place. I've wanted to visit there before it collapsed. Can you believe the explanation that those humans gave? High focus earthquake."
"Really? I heard it was a meteor."
"Humans. They have no idea what is going on."
"Oh yeah." Xander nodded and then moaned in disbelief. "Cut that out!" He reloaded the crossbow and turned the leader into dust. He couldn't believe that he was having a decent conversation with a vampire again. He looked around for any more vampires and took a deep breath.
"Wow."
Xander turned around and saw Buffy and a few other people he didn't recognize. One of them was obviously a demon due to the leather outfit, her slightly scaly skin, and blue hair. "Buffy!"
"Xander!" The two ran up to each other and hugged briefly. "Look at you, you look all… machoy."
"Yeah, the eye patch really did it for me. Makes depth perception impossible though." Xander said as he tapped on his eye patch. "So, what's going on, Buff? You emailed and asked for my help. Said it was urgent."
Buffy blinked. "No, I didn't."
"That is weird." Xander frowned.
"From what is going on lately, not really." Spike said as he came up.
"It's a weirdness cy-" Xander stopped when he rubbed his eyes. Spike was here and not dust. "Oh my god! You're back!" He reached up and touched him to make sure he wasn't the First.
"Yes, I'm back." Spike sighed, "Been back for quite some time."
"But how? Did Willow…"
"Not even close. I was trapped in the amulet for the summer before being let out by Angel and wandered around LA as a ghost before being brought back by a former lawyer as part of some revenge scheme. After that, I stuck around using Angel's cars, helping the helpless, and fighting Angel when he was a puppet."
"A puppet. Wood or felt?"
"Felty. His nose comes right off!" Spike laughed.
"Hey! Don't tell him about the puppet thing!" The black man ordered.
"Robin?" Xander said as he squinted in the darkness. He was a tall bald black man about the same height but Robin had a bit more sophisticated tone in his voice.
"Gunn."
At once, Xander turned around looking for a guy with a gun. Gunn rolled his eyes. "I mean, I'm Charles Gunn but everyone calls me Gunn."
"Oh right." Xander couldn't help but feel like he was in high school again. Xander held out his hand and said, "Alexander Harris but everyone calls me 'Xander'. Who are these… people?" The guy said as he looked at the demonic looking woman.
Buffy came up and introduced, "Oh, that's Illyria, she's a demonic ex-god king, that girl over there is Leia, she's a slayer, don't tell her brother. He has no clue yet."
"He's Buffy's new boyfriend." Spike spoke up. "He's normal."
"He's not my boyfriend, not yet." Buffy snapped.
"Wow, congratulations, Buffy." Xander grinned at her.
"Guys. This is serious, and Will is being hunted by some demon." Leia said as she came up. "Please, we have to make sure he's safe."
"Don't worry, he's in that church and he's safe there." Xander pointed to the church in the distance.
XXX
Will stared out of the window and saw several figures standing around. One of them was Buffy, he can almost feel her. The other was Leia, he felt her almost as much. The others, he couldn't see. "I think it's safe now."
"Maybe." Josh said as he filled his water gun with holy water. "We better hurry and join them soon."
"And then you can finally tell me what real vampires are doing here." Will said as he picked up some crucifixes and put them on.
The holy water rippled as Josh stood up. The pews and everything else shook. Josh and Will looked at each other and in a grand entrance, the demon crashed through the back of the church and roared.
"Oh…" Will and Josh stared at it. "Run." Will backed away and then dashed off to the doors.
Debbi marched after the two as they dashed to where they last saw Xander to see him and the others. "DEMON!" Will shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Oh no, it's Debbi." Spike moaned.
"Past girlfriend?" Xander guessed.
"Brk varos mjki, Will Smith!" Debbi growled.
"Sorry, lady, but you're not getting Buffy's boyfriend." Spike said as he vamped out. "Get back. This is a rematch." Spike said as he pulled Will to the side.
Will's eyes bulged as he stepped back. How did Spike grow that face? He had seen this sort of thing but it was on TV caused by special effects. "Oh god." He stumbled back as Buffy got out a huge glowing scythe and swung it. Leia stayed close but had her own sword out.
"Leia!" Will watched as Buffy, Leia, and Fred who was in some blue costume, jumped at the demon and fought him. The demon flung Buffy into a gravestone and she winced. "Ow." She jumped back up. Leia flew right into her and then Illyria.
"This is humiliating." Illyria said as she got out of the pile. "You shall feel my wrath."
"Grrk brish." Debbi scoffed in a clear tone that said, 'Yeah right.'
"Hold it right there." Ryoma said as he and Giles walked up. The two held out their hands and chanted in some latin. For some reason, Will could understand them.
"Ashes to ashes and stone to stone, revert this demon for a night and a day."
In a flash, the demon turned into stone.
"It worked." Buffy sighed in relief.
"For now." Giles collapsed onto the ground. "The spell is temporary so we won't attract another, stronger version of this demon."
"How long will this last?"
"A couple of days. We should have enough time to figure out the best way to get rid of this monster before he can kill Will."
"Me?" Will asked as he walked forward shaking. "Okay, what's the deal with the demons, and the fangs and the glow weapons and the fangs and the super strong girls who don't look that strong, no offense, and the vampires and the fangs and did I mention the fangs?"
"Twice." Spike said as he reverted. "Relax, I don't bite people any more."
"Any more? Okay, that's it. What is going on?" Will demanded Leia. "Please, you're my sister, you have to be honest with me."
Leia sighed and closed her eyes. "I… I'm not like most girls. There is this select group of girls who are destined to fight monsters and especially vampires. I'm one of them, I am a vampire slayer." Leia's eyes teared up. "I'm so sorry but… you didn't get your amnesia from a car accident. You risked your life to save me from that demon and you would have died if it weren't for the blood transfusion I gave you. The last time I told you about being a slayer, you wanted to protect me even though you don't have any powers. I can't let that happen again. I'm sorry."
Will came up and hugged her. "Hey, it's okay. You're a superhero and you were just doing what any other superhero would do. At least… it makes sense." He smiled and then glanced at Buffy. "Are you a Slayer too?"
Buffy nodded. This was the moment of truth. "Yeah."
"She's the First Slayer, the one who's been around the longest." Spike said as he put his arm around her shoulders. "She will always be 'The Slayer' to me."
"Oh." Will slumped down onto the ground. "I'm… I'm going to sit down for a while."
XXX
Will lie on his bed as he thought of what happened last night. He didn't remember going home only sleeping. His sister is a supernatural vampire slayer as well as Buffy. Like many things, he wasn't completely shocked. He should be, he was but it felt like it made perfect sense. Logically, he should be afraid of Buffy. Buffy had vampires as past lovers and she had come back from the dead twice. She had been through so much in her life and he couldn't even remember what happened last year.
A knock at the door snapped him out of his train of thought. "Who is it?"
"Buffy."
He got up and answered the door. "What's up?"
"Oh…" Buffy paused as she looked down. "Well… I was just making sure you didn't go all postal after finding out about Leia and…"
"You being a superpowerful vampire slayer? I'm fine." Will looked down at her. Still, he was intrigued by her even more. The way she looked at him when she confessed her secret, she looked so vulnerable, so scared. Was she so used to the supernatural that the concept of a normal man was too hard for her? He wants to help her. He wants to make her smile. "Buffy, it's okay. Really."
"Well, it's just that… me and normal boyfriends never really mesh. Three of my ex-boyfriends aren't human and one of my human ex-boyfriends had been part of a secret anti-demon agency who had experimented with Spike."
"Your vampire ex-boyfriend with the bad bleach job and the soul."
"Yeah."
Will shrugged. "Well, I have a sister as a slayer and I have a bad case of amnesia. Does that make me normal?"
"Compared to my past boyfriends, yeah. So, you're not bugged about me."
"Nope."
"About the fact that I kill demons."
"Everyone has a hobby."
"Or that I had died twice?"
"Well, I sort of died once when I had that accident."
"What about the fact that I can bench press you?"
Will paused. "Well, that is troublesome to think about especially now that I know that my little sister is the same way. Oh my god. My little sister can beat me up. I'm doomed."
Buffy lightly jabbed him in the arm. "Girl power."
"Ow." Will rubbed his arm then he took her hand. "Show me your world. I want to be part of that world."
"My world is a scary world filled with demons and monsters and even people who are scarier than Debbi. You might not survive."
"I don't care. Show me. Show me everything." Will whispered as he came closer. "Let me see more of your world so I can be with you."
Buffy's eyes widened as she stepped closer. She didn't want to endanger him but only those who understood the world she lives in can be close to her. Something deep in her believes that he would understand and even thrive in it. "Will."
"Buffy…"
The two leaned next to each other and then the door opened up. "Guys." Xander said as he opened the door. "The monster statue's been teleported to the woods like you asked."
"XANDER!" Buffy glared at him.
"I was interrupting something. Bad Xander." The one-eyed man said as he stepped back. "Carry on."
"You come back here!" Buffy yelled as he and Will chased him down the stairs. "You had to ruin my moments!"
"I didn't do it on purpose." Xander explained, "Really."
Will watched the scene and shook his head. "Incredible."
XXX
"Wow." Will said as he looked around the bomb shelter which was being used as a form of headquarters. There were pictures, old books, and everything that looks like it came right out of Harry Potter.
"Tell me about it." Leia said, "They really turned the place into a headquarters. They'll get rid of that monster, don't worry."
"I'm not. So… can you really benchpress me?"
Leia picked up Will and held him in her arms. "I've have been wanting to do that for months."
"This is very strange." Will said as he got out. "So, what's it like being a slayer?"
"What?"
"What's it like being a slayer?" Will repeated, "Tell me, I need to know."
"So, you can understand Buffy? I've seen the way you two have been looking at each other. I never saw you so serious about one woman without the thought of sex in my life." She paused, "You aren't going to have sex with her right?"
"Not unless it's in the right way. And it's not just about Buffy, it's also about you. I want to be part of the world where you and Buffy are."
"Oh." Leia frowned. "Well, it's scary. It's like being in a horror movie only you can't turn it off. Mom and Dad knows about my secret and so does Josh and Ryoma but that's it. I don't have many friends at school."
"Oh."
"Yeah, Ryoma is my watcher. Watchers help the slayer with the demon hunting things and they teach the slayer everything they know." Leia explained, "He really helped me when you were in that coma."
"I'm glad. Say, was Giles Buffy's watcher? He and Buffy seemed close in a fatherly way."
"Yeah, he's famous among the other watchers. He's been with Buffy for over seven years. He, Willow, Xander, and Spike had been really close with Buffy."
"You seem to know a lot about her."
"Well…" Leia blushed, "Buffy was a close mentor to me and the other slayers. Everyone knows about her adventures in Sunnydale, California. I was really interested since our towns had the same name. She really helped me with my slayer problems."
"Everyone needs a Yoda." Will grinned at her. "No shame in having a hero to look up to."
"Not really. It's such a relief to finally be honest with you again. Even though, that this will probably kill you." Leia sighed, "Will, are you sure that you are who you are?"
"What?"
"It's just… Buffy's friends and family always has these spells cast on them; possessions, bodyswapping, and even being turned into various things. You aren't acting like you since you woke up and I'm worried that you have been changed by something else."
Will sighed as he hugged his sister. "I know that I act a little differently than I had before the accident but maybe it's just a coincidence. I'll try to find out what's going on with my mind and if it turns out that I'm cursed or possessed, we'll fix it. I promise."
"Thanks."
XXX
Willow chanted as she sat in a pentagram gazing out into the vast emptiness of space. Xander watched his friend as she floated in mid air with bright white eyes. She stopped her chant and turned around while floating. "Xander." Willow said as she landed. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, I got this weird email from Buffy but she didn't send it." Xander said as he came up and hugged her. "Been too long. How's Kennedy?"
"Fine, she's off on a mission." Willow smiled slightly. "How about you?"
"Fine. You look great, a real goddess."
"Not really, I've been working hard to help out a couple of people." Willow walked up to a table and held out a scroll. "One of Spike's friends is possessed by a demon, I mean completely possessed and I'm looking for a way to help her out."
"You mean that blue girl, she was human?"
"Yeah and she was a very sweet human too. Spike cared for her as much as he did for Buffy, maybe even more."
"No. Captain Peroxide actually cares for a human more than Buffy! Hell has frozen over." Xander gasped in mock shock.
"Don't make fun of that. Things are really iffy between Spike and Giles and Gunn about Illyria, I'm going to help heal that rift by getting Fred back but by doing things the right way. I'm not klutzy spell caster Willow any more."
"So, that's what happened."
The two turned around to see Will standing there. "Great, another sneaker. Can't you guys just hum or something?" Xander complained as he came up.
"Sorry." Will looked down sheepishly. "I just heard that Willow could help me with my amnesia."
"Oh, the amnesia. I'm so sorry it's just that I have to deal with Illyria and that monster that's attacking you and to find Angel." Willow blabbed, "I'm a very busy witch."
"That's okay, I don't mind. Saving souls is much more important than me. Actually, I want to learn more about Buffy and what it takes to be a Slayer."
"Buffy, ah… your girlfriend." Xander nodded as he grinned, "You like her?"
"Yeah, she's really nice and she smells good. The fact that she's a slayer make things easier to understand with her."
"You came to the right guy." Xander put his arm around Will's shoulders and guided him out of the room. "You see, I like you. We may know each other for only a very short time but I know that you could be great for Buffy. Do you know why?"
Will shook his head.
"You have a pulse and a reflection."
Will stared at him for a long moment. "What?"
"You're human, a nice normal human with no real powers and strange past, except for the amnesia thing but that's way more normal than what we're used to." Xander said as he and Will sat down on the porch in the sunlight. "Buffy's past boyfriends haven't been that normal."
"So I heard, constantly." Will said.
"Yeah, and you have to be careful. You see, people like you and me, we can never be like Buffy or Spike or even Giles. I really hope that you will make it farther than Riley. He lost Buffy because he was part of some demon hunting group." Xander sighed, "People like us can never experience true glory of being better than the others."
"You saved me and Josh." Will pointed out, "And I saved Leia from that demon. I think."
"Yeah, we do our part. I saved the world twice."
Will's eyes widened. "Really?"
"Yeah…" Xander shrugged, "I didn't do anything much. The first time, it's a really long story. It has to do with Angelus."
"Angelus." Will let the name rolled off his tongue. It felt familiar almost vile even though that it was latin for 'Angel'. "Is he related to Angel?"
"He is Angel, at least Angel's evil half." Xander said, "Okay, first of all, Angel is a vampire. He is the most dangerous, evil, despicable vampires in all of history. He makes Dracula look like a saint. Angelus, Drusilla, Darla, and Spike roam around Europe for years terrorizing innocent citizens and nuns. At least, until a gypsy group cursed Angelus into having a human soul."
"Gypsies? You mean, they can really curse people?"
"Well, maybe not like in the movies but they do have powers. You see, vampires loose their souls when they are turned. Angelus regained his soul and became Angel. He wandered around for a hundred years before being sent to Buffy to serve as her guardian of sorts. Whoever decided that was either insane or very blind. Angel hang around us for a while, helping us, giving us cryptic messages, and getting close to Buffy. They were very close." Xander's eye narrowed in jealousy. "In fact, on Buffy's seventeenth birthday, she actually lost her virginity to Angel and he lost his soul and became Angelus again."
"Huh? How did Buffy make Angel lose his soul? Was it a slayer thing because I don't want to lose my soul?"
"The gypsy curse has this funny loophole. If Angel ever experiences a moment of perfect happiness, bye bye Angel and hello Angelus."
"And experiencing true love with the woman of your life who was willing to give up her virginity to her was perfect happiness."
"Bingo."
Will's stomach turned. He didn't like the way this story was going. Yet, he need to know more. "So… what happened?"
"Okay, Angelus let loose his rein of terror. He joined up with Drusilla and Spike, who was recovering from his fight with Buffy. He murdered lots of people, one of which was a friend of ours, Jenny Calendar. She was part of the same gypsy race that had cursed Angel so many years ago. Ms. Calendar was also Giles' girlfriend."
"Oh." Will muttered. "Why didn't they just recurse Angelus?"
"We can't. We didn't have the soul curse at the time and when we did, it was in a different language. The only ones who could cast it that was in this country were dead. It took us months to figure out what it was. It was painful. Things got so bad that Angelus decided to end the world by bring forth this demonic goddess, Alcatha, into the world. He had beaten Giles to a pulp to get information, he had beaten up Willow, he had eaten her fish, long story, and he had Drusilla kill Kendra, another slayer. In the end, Buffy had to face Angelus herself. So, she did with Spike's help."
Will frowned and then asked, "Say, when did Angel regained his soul? How did Spike help since he's evil? And how did you help save the world?"
"I don't know the deal with Spike. He is always strange for a vampire. Well, Willow tried to recurse Angelus the first time but she failed. Then, she had me go to Buffy to tell her that she was going to try again. You have to understand that Willow had no experience in this type of spell and she had a concussion. The fate of the world was at stake so I did what any true friend would do. I told Buffy that Willow told her to 'Kick his ass.'"
"You lied." A cold feeling overwhelmed Will. He couldn't understand why he felt betrayed since this story was about a man he never met before.
"Yeah. I lied to save the world. Buffy sent Angel to Hell just after Willow resouled him to seal the gateway to Alcatha's dimension and the world is safe."
"At the expense of one man's life!" Will yelled, "I may not know much about souls and vampires but I do know that Angel wasn't himself when he did those things as Angelus. Angel suffered Hell for something he didn't do. Don't you feel even a little guilty?"
"No reason, he came back didn't he? And the world is safe and he didn't show any damage. If I had to, I would do it again." Xander said firmly.
Will took a deep breath. He didn't want to punch the guy who had saved his neck. Yet, he really want to hit him. Then, he looked up at the doorway. His eyes widened. "Oh my god."
"What?" Xander asked confused.
"Did… did you ever tell Buffy about that lie?"
Xander paused. He haven't really thought of it after that day. Thankfully, he didn't even think of that while Buffy could read minds. Except for that small slip up when Buffy was going to fight Anya, that lie never came up. "No, never. Why?"
Will just pointed up to the door and Xander turned around to see Buffy standing there with tears in her eyes.
To Be Continued…
