Never the Same
Chapter 5 – Home is gone.
DISCLAIMER: Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon, and Harry Potter to J.K. Rowling. I don't own anything…
RATING: PG-13 (T) to R (M) - violence, language, angst, horror, possible mild sexual interactions, etc. If you can watch BTVS/AtS and read HP, I doubt you'll have any problem with this story.
TIMELINE: Sequel to "Out of the Blue" and "Red Horizon" (Part 3 in the series), and begin where we left in "Red Horizon" chapter 39, and a bit before BTVS season 7, though it's almost completely AU, with many changes from the real plot.
SUMMARY: BTVS/HP crossover. Sequel to RH. "You can run but you can't hide, evil finds you everywhere. Peace and quiet can no one provide, who said life was ever fair?"
Starting over is something that definitely falls into the 'easier said than done'-category. Buffy and Remus are doing their best to move on, and get used to the changes and the new turn their life has taken, but it's not easy...especially not when living on a Hellmouth.
CENTRAL PAIRING: Buffy/Remus
OTHER PAIRINGS: Willow/Tara, Xander/Anya
Special Thanks to: My Beta – CharmedChick
"It's a loop. Like with the mummy hand. I'm doomed to replace these windows for all eternity. You know, maybe we should just board these up until things are less hellmouthy." Xander gave Faith, who was looking through books with the others, an annoyed glare. "Do you even care?"
Faith let out a frustrated cry, slamming a book closed. "Actually, no, Xander, I don't. The only thing I know- the only thing I'm sure of- about what we're facing, is that it calls itself 'The First'. For some reason, I find that a little more disconcerting than you doomed to rebuilding the windows!"
Xander shrugged, knowing better than to argue when Faith was in one of her nowadays famous moods.
"I can't find anything on the computer either," Willow said with a sigh. "Are you absolutely sure it was The First?"
"Yes! I'm telling you, it claimed to be the Original Evil, the one that came before anything else."
Anya snorted. "Please, how many times have I heard that line in my demon days? 'I'm so rotten, they don't even have a word for it. I'm bad. Baddy bad bad bad. Does it make you horny?'"
Everyone stared at her with incredulous looks.
"Or terrified. Whatever."
Faith stood up from the table, making the chair fall to the floor, and started to pace around. "It wasn't a line! When I faced that thing, it felt...I don't know, ancient. Enormous! Mega powerful - it almost made me kill myself. God only knows what the First will come up with next."
Joyce gave Faith a long look. "You never told me that."
Faith shrugged. "What? That it tried to make me commit suicide? It didn't seem important at the time."
"Not important? Faith..."
"What!" Faith exclaimed. "It was playing at the guilt I had over my dead watcher and other stuff in my poor childhood, blablabla. It's not a big deal- I got over it." Faith stopped her pacing to give the other occupants a glare, clearly telling them to drop the subject. "Now keep reading. We need to find a way to fight this thing. It might only be able to talk, but it's doing a damn good job at it. Plus, its got all these really disgusting minions to help. Do we have any new information on the Bringers?"
Tara shook her head. "Nothing. Sorry."
Faith sighed. "It's fine. Fine! Let's just...keep looking."
"I could do a locator spell," Willow said tentatively. "See if I can find the First. At least then we'll know where to look when we know how to kick its ass."
Faith nodded. "Do that." Joyce put an arm around her surrogate daughter comfortingly. "It will be okay, darling. We will defeat this thing. You've come so far, and fought so many evil things. This is just one in the crowd. You can make it."
Faith shook her head, looking defeated. "It's not as simple anymore. This thing is stronger than anything I've faced - anything I will face. You haven't seen it. The First. None of you have. I did. I felt it. It was like- "
Suddenly, a magical explosion sent them all flying against the wall in the corner, as the bowl in front of Willow glowed an eerie red, before the glowing light surrounded Willow's body, entering it through her nostrils.
"Willow!" Tara screamed, trying to get to her girlfriend, but was pushed back as a giant demonic apparition with two horns and red, glowing eyes, escaped Willow's mouth, lunging towards Faith, who took up a fighting stance against it, kicking it, but going right through.
"YOU ONLY MAKE ME STRONGER!"
Xander quickly grabbed the bowl, and threw it against the wall, making it shatter. The light and the incorporeal demon disappeared, and Willow slumped to the floor, twitching, as she collapsed in a dead faint. Tara rushed to her side, putting the witch's head in her lap, stroking her head, before looking up with a determined look.
"We need to stop this thing, Faith. We can't let it hurt anyone else."
Faith nodded, still pale. "At least now you know to take it seriously."
Xander let out a shaky laugh. "Yeah. The very scary untouchable demon coming out of my best friend had me convinced."
"We will stop it," Faith said. "Is Red okay?"
Willow groaned, sitting up slowly. "Umm...yeah. Just a little groggy. Stop me next time I want to try a locator spell." She shuddered. "I really don't want to go through anything like that again."
Suddenly, the door opened, and Giles stepped in.
"Giles!" Faith exclaimed, walking towards her watcher with quick steps. "Thank God, you're back. We really need - "
Faith was interrupted as a brown-haired girl in pig-tails walked right pass Giles and let herself in, looking around with a curious look, the lunch bag she had hanging from her shoulder swinging against her side.
"Nice place. Bit of a mess though."
Faith's jaw dropped as a second girl in a blue sweater followed the first, smiling at Faith, then frowning as she got sight of her leather pants. "Is that real leather?"
Faith started spluttering. "What has that got to do with- OUCH!"
A third girl with dark hair had pushed straight pass Faith, her shoulder brushing hard against her. "This is the Slayer?" She snorted and shook her head.
Faith stared at her with narrowed eyes as the girl threw herself down in the couch, looking as if she owned the place. Then, she winced as the first girl poked at one of Joyce's more expensive vases that had somehow made it through the ambush without shattering, but now fell to the floor with a loud crash, porcelain shards flying in every direction. The girl flushed.
"Oops."
"Giles!" Faith said, glaring hard at her watcher, as he simply took of his glasses and started to polish them. "What - "
"Sorry, Faith," Remus said, as he entered, looking exhausted. "But this might be the beginning of the end." He then frowned as he looked around. "Where's Buffy?"
"Please..." Buffy sobbed. "Stop. You have your Vampire Hell-spawn, so stop this. Let me go."
The First- 'Eliza' - smiled as the vampire hell-spawn in question tied Buffy up against the wall in a cave. "I'm sorry sweetie," 'Eliza' said, walking closer, making the Slayer flinch away. "But I can't let you go. You are so precious, darling." She morphed into Lily. "So very precious...but so weak...so exhausted. I really don't think it would be nice of me to let you go anywhere."
'Lily'got an evil look on her face. "After all, you and I have a few issues to work through."
She gave Buffy a mournful look. "Buffy, you were my best friend. Why didn't you stay? Why did you let me die?"
'Lily' turned into James. "You should have protected us. Protected Harry. Isn't that what you do? Protect the innocent?"
A tear slipped down Buffy's cheek as 'James' leaned closer. "You didn't do a very good job, though." Suddenly, 'James'' body became full of open bleeding wounds and bruises.
"Look what you let him do to me, Buffy. It hurts so much... How could you?"
Buffy screamed.
"So...they're all Slayers?" Joyce asked, giving the three girls curious looks, all the while as she cleaned up the shards on the floor.
"Potential slayers," Giles said. "Waiting for one to be called. There were many more like them all over the world, but, um, now there's just a handful, and they're all on their way to Sunnydale."
"More of them?" Faith burst out, not caring in the least how she sounded. Before Giles and Remus had left, it had seemed a good idea to bring the Potentials here. After all, every single one of them could one day end up as a Slayer. Somehow, Faith had imagines girls more in the lines of the Charmed ones, or Xena, or Eowyn in the Lord of the Rings- hell, even Leia in Star Wars would have sufficed nicely - not typical teenage girls.
They had been here for less than a few minutes, barely saying anything, and Faith could already tell they were a handful- and annoying. For example, the girl in the blue sweater had now been staring at her leather clad legs since she came in. If it wasn't for the very prominent frown, Faith would have though she was checking her out.
Giles nodded. "Yes. This is the only place where they can be at least a little protected. The rest have been murdered."
'Gee, wonder why,' Remus thought to himself. He knew he was being unfair, he knew it wasn't the girls' fault, and he knew they were murdered because they were potentials- not for being generally annoying, but he was tired and hungry and another full-moon was quickly approaching, and he still hadn't gotten a straight answer as to where Buffy was.
"...Along with their watchers," Giles continued. "We always feared that this day would come, when there'd be an attack against not just an individual slayer, but against the whole line."
Faith nodded to herself. "The First. That's what it wants."
"To erase all the Slayers in training, along with their watchers." Xander summarized. "And then you and Buffy. No more Slayers."
"And then it's the end. With all the potentials gone, and with no way of making another, there would be no more Slayer. Ever. Evil would be free to roam." Willow frowned. "Why hasn't anyone tried before?"
"Hey!" Faith protested. "Who's side are you on, Red?"
"Willow's right," Giles said. "It is ingenious, really. But the resources it would take...the planning...the large manpower...someone powerful enough to rule over that manpower and have them all obey him unquestioningly. Very few would fit that description."
"But the First Evil does," Faith sighed. "But why haven't we found anything on the First? It's the First Evil! The Evil. There should be lots of information- "
"- But there isn't," Remus cut in. "The First evil predates any written history, and it rarely shows its true face. The only record was in the Watcher's library."
"Well, I guess that explains why our research went cablooey," Willow muttered.
"What about the council?" Anya wondered. "What do they say about this."
Remus cast Giles a look. "Well...they're not saying anything at the moment, considering they're all in tiny little pieces."
Tara's eyes grew huge, and Faith's jaw dropped again.
"They're gone?"
"Obliterated," Giles nodded. "They were in session, and, uh...there was an explosion."
"So that means all the information is gone," Joyce sank down in the couch and Faith swore loudly, kicking at the wall.
"No, it's not," Remus said, nodding towards Annabelle, who finally stopped looking at Faith's leather pants and instead unzipped her bag, pulling up two books and a stack of files, putting them on the coffee table. "That's what's left."
"The mystic secrets of the Watchers. And whatever I could find on The First. When I learned what was happening, I-I, um, I stole them," Giles flushed.
Remus rolled his eyes. "We stole them."
"Yes, of course," Giles flushed again. "We."
"Remus was really brave," Molly gushed. "You should have seen the way he picked that lock, awesome!"
Faith blinked. "Right. Whatever."
"And you blew the Council up!" Anya said, poking a finger towards Giles. "See, this is what happens when you're all stuffy and repressed. You overreact."
"Not - I didn't. Must've been an agent of The First, after my - eh...our- little burglary session. The knowledge contained in these files had to be protected, and there wasn't time f-for bureaucracy or debate. The Council knows no other way."
"So what do the files say?"
"Very little," Remus spoke up again. "It can change form, appearing in the guise of someone who has passed away. And it's not corporeal - "
"Yeah, I kind of noticed," Faith muttered.
Remus ignored her. "It needs someone to do its work- The first is really good at manipulating. And also, it works through its followers - the Bringers."
The dark haired girl nodded. "Those freaks in the black robes."
The girl in pig-tails lit up. "Yeah! With the hoodies and the crazy alphabet eyes. I never saw 'em, I just heard- "
"Shh! Molly, Mr. Giles don't need us prattling on," the girl with the seemingly leather addiction interrupted. The girl, Molly, made an ugly grimace in her direction, making Xander snort, but hastily stop, as he got sight of Faith's glare.
"I honestly don't know what to do to defeat it," Giles finished. "But we have to find a way. If the Slayer line is eliminated, then the Hellmouth has no guardian. The balance is destroyed." He put a hand on Faith's shoulder. "I'm afraid it falls to you, Faith. I'msorry. I mean, we'll do what we can, but you're the only one who has the strength to protect these girls - and the world - against what's coming."
Remus snorted in his corner. "Favoritism," he muttered. "Again. Overlooking Buffy. Again." 'And where is she, anyway?'
The Dark haired girl stood up. "That's it? That's the plan? I don't see how one person, even a Slayer, could protect us. If this thing is the root of all evil, isn't the Hellmouth it's number one vacation spot? I mean, don't you think we should be hiding our asses on the other side of the globe? I saw what those bringer guys can do. They tore apart my watcher- "
'Gutted him up, more like,' Remus silently corrected.
"- And where is the other Slayer? Buffy? We could use her help," Kennedy finished. Remus felt like cheering. Finally! Someone else but him wondered about her...
Xander coughed uncomfortably. "Well...you see...we might have a tiny bit of a problem..."
"A TINY BIT OF A PROBLEM!" Remus exploded, making the room flinch. "A TINY BIT! BUFFY'S BEEN TAKEN BY THE FIRST AND IT'S JUST A TINY BIT OF A PROBLEM? AND YOU ONLY MENTION IT NOW!"
"Gee, calm down," Faith said. "She was taken by the Bringers, not the First -"
"AND WHERE DO YOU THINK THE BRINGERS TAKE HER?"
"We'll find her, Remus, calm down," Giles tried, making Remus turn his enraged look at the Watcher instead, his eyes flashing.
"Calm down?" He hissed. "Buffy's been taken, and you want me to calm down? She might be DEAD ALREADY!" He shook his head. "I can't believe you people. Do you do anything but talk and pretend all is fine and well? I'm so out of here," he muttered, storming out of the house.
"Where are you going?" Molly asked.
"Finding Buffy," Remus called back. "Taking action. Since no one else seems to be doing anything."
The door slammed shut, leaving an eerie, uncomfortable silence in its wake.
"That went well," Anya said.
As Remus had walked a few blocks, he closed his eyes, and let his wolf-side take over. At least there was one good thing with the approaching full moon - his senses was on full alert. It didn't take long until he found a familiar scent of Vanilla, mixed with something else - fear, and something...ancient. Powerful. And blood. Remus started to run.
"This is what he did to me, Buffy," The First whispered, once again in the shape of Eliza, watching as the ubervamp cut into the Slayer's skin with a knife. "My father. Making nice patterns. Sometimes, he used a whip. I know all your secrets, Buffy," 'Eliza' whispered in her ear. "I am everything. Everywhere." The vamp made another cut. "Do you like the pain?"
Buffy bit her lip hard to keep from screaming.
"My father loved to make me scream. Will you scream for me?"
Buffy said nothing.
"No? That's too bad. I want you to scream. And I say what you tell and what you know. I say when this is over. And I'm not done with you yet. Not nearly. I want you to scream for me first. Scream, like you did when you saw what happened to James."
Buffy kept her eyes clenched shut.
'Eliza' made a disappointed clicking sound with her tongue. "I really hoped it wouldn't come to this. Do you want to know a secret? I killed my father. Put a knife in his throat. He bled really easily. I could feel his dying breath on my face."
A tear slipped passed Buffy's closed eyelids.
"I escaped, you know."
Buffy's eyes flew open. Eliza had escaped? Maybe she wasn't dead...maybe she was alright...
"I needed to find my way back home. I needed...Sirius," 'Eliza' breathed. "I needed to cry in his arms, needed him to comfort me. Guess what? The plan didn't work out." The First sighed. "I found him, alright. But he was too busy threatening p-poor l-little st-stuttering Peter to take any notice. And then...BAM!"
'Eliza' slammed her hands hard together in front of Buffy's face, making the Slayer flinch.
"Nothing. No hugging, no kissing...nothing. Just a big, loud explosion." 'Eliza' grinned menacingly. "My own loving, caring boyfriend blew me up. What a way to end a relationship, don't you think? Personally, I would have preferred a call, or even a letter. But I guess we don't get to choose." She walked out of the cave, the vamp following her. "Think about that."
Remus was frustrated. He'd followed Buffy's track to the Sunnydale High School, to the basement, where he'd found a seal, and a wood-beam- with Buffy's blood on it. Lots of it. Even though he knew he should keep looking for Buffy, he also knew he needed to cover the seal up - Merlin knows what it did while exposed like that. So he'd taken a shovel and started to shovel sand over the seal. Then, when he was done, he'd started to walk out, only to come face to face with Principal Wood, also carrying a shovel, and on the way to the same direction Remus had just come from.
After a quick conversation, which had felt like an eternity, and during which Wood had made some lame excuse about the shovel being left on the grounds by a student, Remus had left the school, even though he'd felt like burying the shovel in Wood's throat and asking what he knew. If Principal Wood was a real principal and innocent as a lamb, Remus did not turn into a bloody monster once a month. Still, he had no proof, and for the moment, he needed to find Buffy, and Wood had not smelled like her, which meant he, at least, was innocent of that crime. However, now he had that little problem of not knowing where to look next.
The trail had stopped in the school, so Remus had no lead to follow. Finally, he decided to try the good ol' honest apparition, hoping that his exhaustion would not make him splinch, and that whatever place Buffy was in, wasn't warded against magic.
CRACK.
CRACK!
Remus swore as he made a very ungraceful landing in the middle of a sand-floored cave. His nerves were on fire and his limbs felt heavy - like they were ready to fall of any second now - he knew he'd only managed to get to this destination without splinching thanks to a miracle, and for that, he was eternally grateful. He'd really done too much apparition- and with sidealongs, on top of that - these last few days.
"Rem?"
Remus' shot up from the floor as a bullet from a gun. "Buffy?" All thoughts of heavy limbs and aching body parts flew out of his head as he got sight of Buffy, tied up and bleeding against the cave wall furthest away from him.
"When did you got back?" Buffy breathed, tears falling freely from her eyes as Remus reached her and started to loosen her binds.
"Or are you just another trick, come to torture me?"
"I'm real," Remus said, placing a bruising kiss on her lips. "Believe it." He quickly lifted her up in his arms, carrying her carefully towards the exit. "Is there anyone else here but you?"
"The First," Buffy gasped.
"Doesn't matter. It can't do anything to hurt you- it's not corporeal."
Buffy snorted. "Believe me, it can hurt us. Maybe not physical pain, but it can hurt us." She looked up at Remus. "It told me...things. Made me see things. I know what happened to Eliza. She's dead too, Rem. She died in the same explosion as Peter. Because of Sirius." She sobbed. Remus closed his eyes, holding her closer.
"Maybe it was lying. Tricking you," he said, even though he knew he was lying to himself. If the First had taken the form of Eliza...then she really was dead. And Buffy didn't buy it either. She shook her head.
"No. I know it wasn't. It was telling the truth. I just know it."
"Let's not think about that now," Remus said, walking faster. "We need to get out of here. Are there any Bringers around?"
"Don't know," Buffy slurred, closing her eyes. "But there's an uber-vamp somewhere."
"An uber-vamp?" Remus asked. "What is that?"
"Really ugly," Buffy continued, dazed, as if she hadn't heard him. "Really, really ugly. He had a bad breath." She giggled. "Really bad breath. I don't think he knows what a toothbrush is. Or a bath. He could have used a bath..."
Remus placed a kiss on Buffy's forehead, silently wondering what the hell The First had done to her...said to her.
"You're not making any sense, hon," Remus whispered. "But you're going to be fine now. I'll get you home, and fix you right back up."
Buffy looked at him with glassy eyes, and suddenly, she seemed coherent again. "Not home," she croaked. "This is not home." She closed her eyes again, sighing. "Home is gone."
A/N: Another chapter up! Hope you liked it, and please REVIEW. As for other news...my webpage "Across the Mountains" now has two whole sections dedicated to the "Out of the Blue" universe - one with character profiles, and one with general story info. As time passes, the profiles will be filled out, and as soon as I get the time (today, probably), I'll fill them out even more with general information, such as powers, personality, etc. Feel free to take a look! Until next time!
/Ida