STORY TITLE: The Circle of Scooby
PART: 03 of ?
AUTHOR: Red Jacobson ( )
DISTRIBUTION: , Archive of Our Own, Twisting the Hellmouth
DISCLAIMER: None of the Characters You Recognize belong to me, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel Characters belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy (Grrr! Argh!), and the Boondock characters belong to the Estate of Robert A Heinlein and his publishers.
SUMMARY: The activation of the world's slayers has caused massive destruction throughout the multi-verse, and the Circle of Ouroborus is determined to prevent that happening and recruit three natives of the critical timeline to save the multi-verse!
FEEDBACK: Of course! It Makes Me Write Faster
RELATIONSHIPS: Xander/Cordelia/Tara
RATING: R
WORD COUNT: 4,444
SPOILERS: A Crossover with RAH's Lazarus Long Books. I'm afraid that, while I'm going to do my best to explain things, at least a passing familiarity with Time Enough For Love, The Number of the Beast, The Cat Who Walks Through Walls, and To Sail Beyond the Sunset would help you understand who these characters are. None, but if you don't know how the Buffy the Vampire Slayer story goes by now, why are you reading this story?
CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE DEPARTMENT: I'm borrowing a bit of Cordy's childhood background from my buddy IronBear's stories, specifically Rio Blanco on the Mouth of Hell, and the Hell-er-nator Stories. If you want some amazing Xander/Cordelia stories, do yourself a favor and check him out!
AUTHORS NOTES: I'm going to try something unusual for this story, no lemons. Frankly, they've gotten to be a bore to write, and I imagine they've become boring to read as well. Hope this goes well.
A QUICK NOTE ON ANONYMOUS REVIEWS: It doesn't do either of us any good if you ask me questions about the story, but don't sign in so I can reply. The guest who left an unsigned review for the first chapter asked some fairly interesting questions about the story that I would have enjoyed discussing with him or her, but as it is, there's no way that can happen. So please, if you have questions or concerns about the direction the story is going, please do us both a favor and sign in so I can respond to you. Thanks!
SPECIAL THANKS TO PAX HUMANA: For Beta and Typo-busting services.
Sunnydale High School
Parking Lot Entrance
Friday, October 31st, 1997
7:55 am
Xander stood at the top of the stairs, scanning the parking lot for Cordy's red Lexus convertible, doing his best not to show his eagerness as he waited. He did notice a couple of strange looks from the students who walked by him to get into the school, but he figured that was due to the way he was dressed. He had taken care when he dressed that morning, putting away the eye-bleeding Hawaiian shirts, he wasn't going to a Jimmy Buffett concert for Zeus's sake! He'd pulled out the dark khaki pants that were hanging in the back of the closet, and the Wolf's Head T-Shirt, just because he knew that Cordy would enjoy it.
The two of them had spent hours telling Tara about their adventures as Akela and Raksha under the moon of Seonee as they struggled to protect their cub Mowgli from Lungri, the Lame One, the tiger men called Shere Khan. He had to admit that those were some of his happiest memories as well, until Cordy's mom died and her father remarried the first of a series of women, who wanted Cordy to only associate with children of acceptable families. He didn't like remembering those days, but they were in the past and the two of them were back together, shoulder to shoulder as they protected their pack, the way it was supposed to be. And when their wife got here, then the world could watch out. He'd already thought of a way to let Willow and the others know about him and Cordy, he just needed to let her know about it ahead of time.
It was one minute to eight o'clock when the Lexus pulled into the parking lot and took a spot in the front row. He had to force himself not to rush down the stairs and take her into his arms when she got out of the car. Cordy had looked up as soon as she felt his eyes on hers, and her smile changed until it was the one she saved just for him and Tara, when she saw how he was dressed, especially the Wolf's Head shirt. She shifted slightly, letting him see the Wolf's Eye necklace and he grinned at her, knowing she understood.
Holding the door for her, Xander followed his wife inside, before sliding the dog tags he made for her into her hand. "You know how I feel about magic, but I'll take any chance to increase the odds in our favor, wear them under your costume tonight, okay?"
Cordy's eyes widened slightly when she read what was inscribed on the tags, and nodded, "Definitely, and if it wouldn't cause talk before we were ready, I'd ask you to put them on me right here. But thank you, even if we don't need it, I still felt a little naked without having them."
She gave him a look before he could even open his mouth, "And not the fun kind of naked either." She lowered her voice and said, "Trust me, I'm just as horny as I ever was, and we'll take care of that after we get the kids back to the school tonight. My father and his wife are gone for a week, so make sure you have lots of condoms and lube! And tomorrow, when we meet up with Tara? I'd eat a lot of high energy foods until you can get this body into shape."
He scowled slightly but nodded. "Yeah, already got plans for fixing that, I was going through the phone book and writing down some possibilities. We can check them out later, the bell is going to ring soon so we'd better get to class."
TCOS & TCOS & TCOS
Greyhound Station
Sunnydale, California
Friday, October 31st, 1997
10:00 am
'Home Sweet Hellmouth,' Tara thought with a smile as she stepped out of the air-conditioned bus terminal. She was doing her best to hold in her laughter until she got to somewhere private, but all the TV stations in the building were showing the 'Special Report' about the arrests at Spahn Ranch, and the weapons and drugs they found in several of the buildings. Best of all, there were mugshot pictures of the sperm donor and his spawn and several others, even dear Cousin Beth got arrested for assaulting an officer, served the bitch right!
Blinking against the sun, Tara found an open cab and got a ride to the Ramada Inn downtown. Ten minutes later she was checking in, the desk clerk not even blinking at the magically altered ID card, showing that she was 18 years old. Things were a lot simpler before 9/11, and she briefly wished they could do something to prevent it, but Lazarus, Zeb, and Colonel Campbell had shown her what happened in the timeline that they tried, the death and destruction were so much worse because the terrorists used the capture of their agents as a recruiting tool and the next attack included three times as many planes crashing. So, no, they would have to let things proceed normally. Unless maybe they could find a way to improve the political situation in the Middle East? Marginalize the terror groups somehow?
Tara shook her head, that was so far beyond her capabilities that she couldn't even think of where to start, especially since there were thousands of years of conflict going on over there. Turning her attention back to the clerk, she signed the register and took her room key.
She went into the room just long enough to drop off the backpack and use the facilities before she was closing the door behind her and heading back to the lobby. Stopping to pick up a pair of sunglasses at the gift shop, she left the hotel. Walking down the street, Tara almost froze when she realized she was walking past the Sunnydale Gallery, and she saw Joyce through the window, showing a painting to a couple of customers. Seeing the woman who had become her second mother standing there, alive and well was a bolt of pain to her heart, and she had to keep moving or she would rush into the Gallery and start hugging the woman. Not a good thing, since Joyce had no idea who she was yet.
Forcing herself to keep moving, she had her emotions under control and understood what the other Time Corps members tried to tell her about returning to her own past. They had all warned her that it would hurt, but she didn't understand how much. She just hoped Cordy and Xander were doing better, but they had each other to lean on, and she would too, as soon as they could meet up. It was too bad they were both in school now, and Tara knew from her memories how closely they were watched, Xander by the Troll principal, and Cordy by the sheep she was surrounded by, so it would have to be tomorrow morning, since everything was going to happen tonight.
Stopping at the Verizon store, Tara purchased a basic phone with a prepaid plan and was soon programming Cordy's cell number into her contacts. Cordy had made sure she had the number memorized before they copied their memories into the rings.
Leaving the shop, she saw a sign for a woman's clothing store opening that day, it was a local store, not a chain. She really would prefer going naked, after the last several years of not needing to worry about modesty, but that would draw far too much attention to her in the here and now. And she was extremely tired of the Earth Mother look. Of course, she still worshiped Gaea, but looking like a refuge from Haight Ashbury would make people in the know think she was a vampire after dark, and that's not how she wanted to meet Buffy again.
Looking further down the street, she saw a crowd gathered in front of one of the stores, and a tall, friendly-looking man was holding up a huge pair of scissors as he made some kind of a speech. In a blink, Tara realized that the man must be Mayor Richard Wilkins, the First, Second and Third, and she was struck by how ordinary he looked. She moved closer, wanting to get a look at one of their primary objectives, but stayed far enough back that he didn't notice her.
Eventually, he finished his speech and cut the ribbon that was hung across the door, and pushed the door open for the people to walk in. Once the crowd thinned out and the Mayor stepped out of the doorway, Tara joined the crowd and was soon taking a look at the selections. She was pleased to see that they were comfortable looking clothes, including shorts and t-shirts. Checking the prices, she knew that she wouldn't have a problem buying as much as she wanted, and soon had a half dozen pairs of shorts and the same number of T-shirts in her basket and was heading toward the changing room.
A few minutes later, after trying everything on to see if it fit, she walked out in some tan shorts and a Sunnydale Razorbacks T-shirt, the dress bundled under her arm and the rest of her purchases in the basket. Making her way through the crowd, she got to the register and, after handing over the tags from the clothes she was wearing, unloaded the basket, enjoying the pleased smile on the woman's face. When she finished paying and gave the woman an extra five dollars for good luck, Tara took her bags and left the store.
Seeing a sidewalk cafe, she stopped for a bite of breakfast and pulled out her phone. Tapping Cordy's number, she hit the text icon and started typing.
"Hey lovers! Guess who? I'm in town now, arrived a couple of hours ago and got a room at the Ramada Inn. I already know that you are going to be busy with school and the children until later, and then I'm sure you're planning to drag our husband away for some private time. Normally I'd suggest the two of you coming to my room, but I'm too exhausted to be much fun tonight, plus I need to deal with the emotional shock I got earlier, seeing Joyce alive. I almost broke down, and I need to get the reactions under control, especially when I meet Willow this time around.
"So I'm going to be meditating and resting most of the day and evening, so why don't we meet at Rebecca's Cafe on Wilkins tomorrow morning around 9 o'clock. It's across the street and about a block toward midtown from Joyce's Gallery. That's where I am right now, and it's a cozy little place."
Sending the text, she picked up the menu and gave the waitress her order, apologizing for the delay, "But I just got into town this morning and needed to let my family know where I was staying."
The girl just smiled, "That's understandable, in a place like Sunnydale it's always best to have people know where you are. Just to be safe, you know?"
Tara gave the girl a look, her hand casually brushing the crucifix she was wearing around her neck. The girl looked at her and nodded, giving a slight smile before turning in the order.
Her breakfast had just arrived when her phone chirped, letting her know she had a message. It was from Cordy and Xander both, and they were beyond thrilled she was there already, and Xander was more than willing to ditch school to see her. Cordy vetoed the idea, unfortunately, pointing out that Snyder would have both of them in detention until Christmas.
Tara scowled at the mention of the Principal, but he wouldn't be around that much longer if they had anything to say about it. Once the Mayor was visiting his patron demons in person, they could move against his flunkies like Snyder and the Police Chief, Munroe, or something. They all needed to go!
She did laugh when Xander took over the conversation, telling her to make sure she took care of her grooming and to leave her underwear behind when they met for breakfast because the three of them would be going back to Cordy's place for dessert. She nearly moaned at the last line, remembering other times when she was their dessert. Tara had never realized just how much fun being a Tara Sundae could be, but now she really didn't want to wait until morning to see them.
The two of them ended the text by telling her they loved her and would show it tomorrow morning before signing off. Tara was in a happy daze as she finished her breakfast. Paying the bill and leaving a good tip, she grabbed her bags and hurried back to the hotel.
Once she was in the room, she stripped out of the shorts and T-shirt, she had a date with the massaging showerhead and her memories of the last time she was dessert!
TCOS & TCOS & TCOS
Sunnydale High School
Friday, October 31st, 1997
12:15 pm
Xander was heading toward the cafeteria to join Willow and Buffy for lunch when he heard his name being hissed from behind him. Turning, he saw that Cordy was trying to get his attention. Walking over to her, he started to ask what was going on, but she just shoved her phone into his hands, with a text message showing on the screen.
He gave his wife a happy grin when he read the text, and said: "Have you responded yet?"
Cordy shook her head, "I just had a chance to check the phone a couple of minutes ago. What say we go off campus for lunch? We can say I took pity on you and let your win a bet with me, so I'm paying it off."
His grin turned into a genuine smile, "Spending time with my wife and not have to pretend we can't stand each other? Lead the way!"
She gave him a throaty chuckle, "Easy there Akela, it's not time for you to claim me as your mate, not until tomorrow anyway."
He nodded, following her to her car, "About that, I think I've got a good way to tell the gang how and why we got together, as well as some of the future bombs we're going to be dropping on them."
She looked at him curiously, "Okay, I'll bite, what have you come up with in that devious mind of yours?"
"That the soldier I dressed as, and put my name on the fatigues and dog-tags, was a version of me from several years in the future, a future where you and I are happily married with four children, 2 sons, Jesse and Kelly, and two daughters, Hilda and Maureen. I'd love to give one of them the name Deety, but even Willow wouldn't believe I could convince you to name a girl Dejah Thoris."
Cordy nodded and laughed, "No, not if I hadn't met Deety and visited Barsoom, I wouldn't have let you give a daughter of ours a name like that. But, I like it, and I'll just say that you told me enough things about my life I'd never shared with anybody, to convince me we were, if not married, at least extremely close friends. And that I finally admitted to myself that I was feeling an attraction to you, and decided to take a risk and see how it goes."
He laughed, "And sometime next week your going to complain that I'm like a puppy, cute and cuddly and all kinds of adorable, until I pee on the carpet, right?"
His once and future wife almost had to pull over she started laughing so hard but got herself under control and they made their way to McDonald's. Taking their order and sitting at one of the picnic benches, he said, "So how are you dealing with being back, not just seeing the others, but classes? I know I'm having a bastard of a time paying attention in Physics, because I know that so much of what they are teaching us is wrong, but it won't be proven for decades, if that!"
Cordy smiled slightly, "I had the same problem, and I almost started arguing with Mrs Bletchly in History this morning. She was spewing the garbage about JFK and what a wonderful president he was, and I wanted to set her straight, but those records weren't found until around 10 years after Teddy died, and he's still kicking around in the Senate for several more years."
Xander shrugged, "Guess we've just got to grin and bare it, the tests don't care how well you can think, only how well you can repeat the information forced into you for the last 12 years. Once we've finished our mission and give the kids a good shot at the future, then we can work on changing the education system if you really want a challenge."
She looked at him thoughtfully, stealing some of his fries and putting them in her mouth. After she finished chewing and swallowed, she said, "That's not a bad idea, unless we get another mission right away. But, thinking about a good shot at the future, what are we going to do to get you out of that house? Even with your maturity and emotional strength, that place is not good for you, at all!"
"Already thought about that, even before coming back. I talked to Jake and got his permission to invent and patent some of his more useful gadgets. That will give me a demonstrated source of income and I can file to be an emancipated minor. By the time that goes through, I should have enough for a good down payment on a place, especially with the way real estate is so cheap around here."
Cordy nodded approvingly, "That works, and since I've already spoken to my lawyer about making sure that I transfer everything that's mine into my name, using part of the trust fund to pay my Father and wife number whatever a fair price. I'm not going to caught off guard like I was last time. Damn it, I know it's petty and I've mostly gotten past it, but I like being rich and hated being poor with a passion."
"I was never exactly poor, but not much more than lower middle class growing up, and that was bad enough. From what I remember, things really weren't that bad before the bottle got it's hooks into Tony and he couldn't keep a job for more than a few months at at time, that's when it got ugly. I'm not sure what I can do to help him or Jessica, other than shipping them off to Boondock for treatment, but the two of them are too closed minded to understand and accept the offer, so I'm just going to let them go. I'll still keep trying to find a way to help them, they are my parents and they did the best they could, even if they weren't successful at it, I never went hungry or without clean clothes, so it could have been a lot worse."
"You're a lot more generous than I would be, Xan, I'd just walk out and say good riddance as I was leaving."
He shook his head, "When I was first rescued, I probably would have done the same, but you know how many hours I spent with Tamara and her team, the way I grew up had to be dealt with before we even started on losing Jesse, then Ampata and Jenny and all the others. It took a long time, but I can look back at it dispassionately and understand that they do love me but they are just crap at showing it. It wasn't fun, by any definition of the word, but it's dealt with and can't hurt anymore. But, it's getting close to time to leave, want to get a couple of milkshakes to make the freshmen jealous?"
They just barely made it back to school on time, but he already wasn't looking forward to the interrogation that was coming from Buffy and Willow who saw the two of them walking in from the parking lot.
TCOS & TCOS & TCOS
Sunnydale High School Library
Later that afternoon
The two girls didn't even let him sit down before starting the interrogation, jumping on him as he walked through the double doors. He stopped and tried to answer, but they were so busy asking questions he couldn't get a word in, so he just walked around them and sat down at their table, giving Giles a nod. He had just opened his backpack and pulled out his Physics assignment when the girls realized he wasn't answering them and came over glaring at him.
Before they could open their mouths, he held up a finger,
"So, is it my turn to speak? The two of you were shooting questions and accusing me of all sorts of things so fast that I couldn't get your attention to try and answer. Now, yes I went to lunch with Cordelia, the two of us had made a bet a couple of days ago that she lost, and she was paying the forfeit. And yes, we were having a friendly conversation as we walked in.
"I know it's hard to believe Willow, but there's actually a fairly nice girl underneath the 'Queen C' mask, but you've let your hate for her, from when we were little, blind you to the fact that since she started helping out last year, she hasn't actually been as vicious in her comments to either of us. I'm not addressing you, Buffy, because so much of this is rooted in incidents that you weren't around for. And Will, you can't tell me that the sniping and comments were all coming from Cordy, we both got plenty of good shots in, remember the 'deliver' key? Do you know how much work the two of them had to redo because you thought it was funny?
"So, just to be perfectly clear, if I chose to be friendly with Cordelia Chase, I do not need your permission or approval, understood? Now that I've wasted nearly eight minutes of my free period, do you mind leaving me alone so I can get a start on my homework?"
Xander felt a bit of regret at the flash of hurt in Willow's eyes, but she needed to hear the truth, and also stop thinking that he would someday fall in love with her so they could get married, have 2.5 kids and a house with a white picket fence in the suburbs. He snorted, for all her later 'rebel lesbian witch' who-rah, Willow was even more conventional than Anya, although Anya was much more direct and open about her view of the American Dream.
Shaking his head, he opened the text to the chapter they were working on and started to read.
TCOS & TCOS & TCOS
Sunnydale High School
6:30 pm
Xander stood, his hands behind his back as he explained the best way to score more candy, keeping his group of kids mesmerized. Cordelia had brought her group over, supposedly to listen, but the two of them had planned to be close together when the spell hit. He was just wrapping up his lecture when he felt of wave of something pass him, and the children began to change.
Shooting a look at Cordy, he saw that she was still herself and he grinned, "Okay Sunnydale, it's showtime!"
End Chapter Three
You know, I honestly thought that I could get through Halloween and on to the next day in this chapter, but the Characters had things to say and do and insisted on telling me about them. It seems that I've completely failed the primary rule in Strunk and White's 'The Elements of Style' which is 'Omit Needless Words' Sorry Charlie. GRIN
See you soon with the next chapter