Author's Notes: This is mainly a filler chapter, but I introduce a few new things. Namely, a crossover with Nightman, as well as a crossover with Sweet Valley University. Also some spoilers of Charmed's later seasons are here as well. And the WWF & E3 Convention stuff is AU since I changed dates and locals.
Chapter Seven
Cordelia Halliwell's bedroom, San Francisco, California.
Friday, April 20th 2001
7:29 a.m.
The bedroom was slightly darkened by the closed drapes of the windows, as the young couple slept. While Xander Harris was fast asleep in a T-shirt and boxers, Cordelia Halliwell only had on a pair of pajama bottoms.
She was pressed up against her boyfriend without a top on like this, for two reasons. One, she had spilled grapefruit juice all over her PJs last night, just before going to bed. Two, the young witch had thought it would be fun to tease Xander mercilessly - because they had to get some sleep, and thus they'd had no time for any of the constant hanky-panky that had been going on...ever since they had gotten back together back in February.
'Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep!'
Cordelia rolled over, and slammed her hand on the top of her alarm clock. Then shaking her better half awake she told him, "Xander, it's seven-thirty. We have to get up!"
But Xander's response was to roll over in bed, and instantly capture her lips with his - as Cordy half-heartedly struggled to push him away.
The thing was, ever since their first time in Xander's new car a few months back...Harris had become - well, 'insatiable' was definitely one way to put it. In fact, his sexual appetite was now reminiscent of a monogamous Casanova...
Cordelia had loved every minute of it, granted; her soul mate had learned skill and technique enough to be considered a Viking in the sack, and pleasure her out of her mind almost every night. But this morning there was no time for a quickie, as they had to get on the road.
"Xander! Will you stop thinking, with your you-know-what?" Cordelia demanded just before the point of no return, as she finally pushed the young man off of on top of her.
"Mmmm…fine," Xander sleepily mumbled, as he got up and left to go to the bathroom.
After he left, Cordelia stood in front of her bed and stretched to begin her daily morning routine. (Huh...is this how normal married people feel, or what?)
It was a question that had been occurring more and more to the young woman, as of late. She was occasionally getting flashes of what spending the rest of her life with Harris might be like. But Cordy still didn't have an answer, as both her adopted parents and Xander's biological ones were as much a good role model for that sort of thing...as, say, Homer and Marge Simpson were.
Banishing such thoughts, the now green belt Tae Kwon Do student closed her eyes, and began the Yul-Gok pattern. She was in the middle of step 23, when she heard a male voice snicker.
She stopped and turned around. "Xand…oh, you son of a bitch!"
The human-looking but nonetheless yellow-eyed demon appeared to enjoy the show, as the witch grabbed a blanket off the bed to cover herself. "Wasn't expecting this, but hey! I'm up for it if you are," he said with a leer.
"Sorry, wrong species asshole!" Cordelia yelled at him. "Haven't you idiots learned by now not to attack here?"
The demon grinned. "I like challenges."
"Really. You know what I like?" Cordelia asked, her features set and drawn.
"No," the demon responded, his mind still in the gutter. "Why don't you tell me?"
"Killing you!" Cordelia said, very pissed, as she dropped the blanket and let fly with fire from her hand.
The demon recoiled in surprised shock, as the flames engulfed him. "NO!" was all he got out before the hellish creature was vanquished.
Cordelia marched over to the spot where he'd been and growled, "Damn peeping tom demons!"
-----
An hour later, Cordelia and Xander were dressed and downstairs. Cordy was in tan trousers with a flower print tank top, and Xander in jeans and a T-shirt with a rusted Transformers Autobot symbol in the center. He was putting his dishes in the dishwasher, while Cordelia talked to her older sister.
"…and then he just leered at me like I was some, I don't know, stripper!" Cordelia grumbled. "I know some demons are still dumb enough to come at us here, but they can't wait till I at least have a top on?"
"At least this one didn't come out of the TV," Prue commented, equally annoyed that her family's home had again been invaded for the billionth time.
Xander was about to make a comment, when a loud "Oh, come on!" was heard.
All three ran out wondering if a new demon had shown up, when they saw Leo and Piper on the couch in the parlor. Piper was laughing as she looked up at the three newcomers, "Leo keeps dying on the first level here!"
The whitelighter dropped the X-Box controller in his lap, as he leaned back. "Why can't there just be a simple jump button?" he asked them in confusion. "I mean, who can remember all this abxy stuff?"
"You got me killed?" Cordelia asked amused, as she looked at the screen. And sure enough the video game image of her, or rather Lady Sophia Croft, was lying dead with the words 'Game Over' flashing. "And on the first level? Gee, Leo, I got past that even on my first try," the youngest Halliwell teased.
"Don't be too hard on him, sister dear," Piper told her sister. "That's my job."
"Funny," Leo said, very unamused. "You know - when I was growing up, we actually did this weird thing called going outside to play?"
"You obviously never grew up on a Hellmouth," Xander said somberly, lost in the memories as everyone briefly stared at him.
---
Calax Research and Development, Sunnydale, California.
A few hours later
Anya adjusted her costume, while waiting for her boyfriend to finish getting changed.
Jonathan Levinson was in fact progressing well in his training, in her estimation. At first, when the former demon had come back to Sunnydale for Xander Harris, she'd been willing to try for a normal boyfriend & girlfriend relationship. The ex-demon had thought for sure that a male with his sort of pleasing shape would feel the same way, after all.
However, the stupid heartbroken girl who'd summoned her in the first place had resumed her claim on the big lug, and Anya had heard by now that they had returned to full relationship status.
Well, whatever. It was none of her business now; that ship had obviously sailed.
In this world, then, Anya had decided to not bother with a normal relationship as the mortals knew it. After all, she had tried that when she'd been human 1100 years ago…and Olaf, may the big troll remain forever cursed, had cheated on her with that damned barmaid...
So she had taken a relatively small man (in every sense of the word) and begun to adjust him to her liking. Granted, Anya knew full well what limited faithfulness the human male was capable of. So instead of being in an equal relationship with her boyfriend, she had assumed the role of wearing the pants in it right from the start, and warned Jonathan that if he didn't like it - he could walk any time.
Yeah, right. Both Anya and Jonathan knew the cold hard facts here. And that was, as if the nerd was ever going to score with anyone but her...
So Jonathan Levinson was Anya's now, in more ways than one. She had invested long hours in readjusting his clothing, and other aspects of his life. But she hadn't screwed it up like most human females do, when retraining a male. Because Anya Jenkins hadn't taken away everything he'd liked and was passionate about. No, she'd just taken some of it away and enjoyed some stuff with him.
Anya had also seen to it Jonathan's computer skills, along with his budding magic talents, remained constantly on the improve. Granted the dot com bubble had burst YEARS ago, and his spellcasting was limited at the moment to various glamours with the occasional time freeze, but it never hurt to keep one's options open.
And as for his sexual training, well - nowadays Jonathan was up for anything Anya demanded. Anything she wanted to try, he was more than willing to attempt. Lights on or off, kinks or vanilla; it made no difference.
The young-looking woman had won her bet with Halfrek, about how fast she could gain complete control of her little man. And winning that bet was why they were here today. Anya had planned this for a week. Gotten all the right things that would be needed, even a wishing stone that worked for 72 hours - before everything would revert back to what it was.
And while everyone else was busy with other things like Joyce's new boyfriend and finding out whatever they could about Glory, this weekend was a perfect chance to escape life's monotony for them.
The door opened, and her guy walked out in his costume. "Do I look okay?"
"Just perfect, Jon," Anya told him, as she looked over his black boots and pants and gold wraparound V-neck shirt. "How about me?"
She twirled to give him a full view. For Anya Jenkins was decked out in a red low-neck line top with a very short matching red skirt, with black go-go boots on.
Gene Roddenberry would have been proud to have had her guest star in the Original Series, no doubt about it.
"You look amazing," Levinson responded in sheer wonder, as he lived out a geek's dream at that moment.
"Okay, now remember Jon," Anya said, after giving him a smiling peck on the cheek. "Once we start, we do NOT break character. I planned all this, so just go with it. Right?"
"Right," the young man said in understanding, as Anya picked up a device and put its leather strap over her head. And so it began...
Jonathan took a device off his belt and flipped it open. "Levinson to Farragut. Lieutenant Jenkins and I have beamed down to the coordinates, and will begin the search. Levinson out." He put the communicator back on his belt. "Lieutenant?" he asked her. "Are you picking up anything?"
"One moment, Captain," Anya responded, as she held up her large tricorder. "I'm showing life signs on the opposite side of the building, and up one floor."
"Friend or foe?" Jonathan asked.
"Unknown," she replied, adjusting the knobs. "I can not get a clear reading."
"Alright, we'll go introduce ourselves," Jonathan said, as he removed another item from his belt. "Phasers on stun, Lieutenant."
"Yes, sir," Anya responded, as she brought up her phaser.
"Inform me if you detect any Klingon life signs," Jonathan ordered, as he started along the corridor lit only by emergency lights. "They were crawling all over this star system, less than a month ago."
"Aye, sir." Anya took a moment to grin as her man walked away, his butt definitely showing in the tight uniform.
(Just wait till he sees those three green-skinned Orion slave girls!) Ms. Jenkins briefly thought in glee, before she ran to catch up.
---
The roof of Stevenson Hall, UC Sunnydale, Sunnydale.
A few hours later
Tara Maclay leaned back, as she let the wind go through her hair. Her whitelighter, and more importantly friend, Jesse had orbed them up here to try to relax.
It had been a tense time for the group, during the last six months. Jesse had healed Joyce's illness as soon as it had become a threat to the good woman, but not before she had seen a doctor. And because said doctor was at a loss as to how her possible tumor had just vanished…she was constantly undergoing a battery of tests.
Well, how DO you tell a well-meaning M.D. that an angel had healed his patient?
On top of that, Tara's father had come and tried to force her to go home with him a while back. And when she'd said no, he hadn't taken kindly to it. It was a rare feat to see Tara upset, even yelling at her old man. For she had found out some time before, that the thing she had been taught all her life was a lie.
Tara had been unsure about becoming more powerful in the magic arts, and finally told Jesse why. She was afraid that the demon in her would take over. Granted after leaving home for the same college her mother had attended, Ms. Maclay had begun to doubt the entire demon story. However, the chance that she could lose control and become evil terrified her.
Jesse had told the blonde that he had been briefed on her status before he was assigned, and there had been no mention of Tara being part demon. He wasn't allowed to work with demons, anyway. But just to reassure her, the young man had gone up to ask the Elders to sort it all out.
As it turned out, they didn't know anything about it either, but told Jesse they could detect no demon blood in his charge. Thus, since it was a family legend, the whitelighter had then decided to go straight to the source.
Tara's deceased mother.
What he had found out was shocking, and as such the guardian angel knew Tara would never believe it if he just told her. So with the help of the Elders, Tara had been reunited with the shades of her mother and grandmother, and learned the truth - the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
The entire 'demon' myth had been started back in the 1700s, when a daughter had wanted to marry a young man that her parents disapproved of. Human nature being what it is, the parents had tricked the would-be groom by making him believe that his potential bride was touched by the Devil. And somehow, it later grew into the story of all women in the family being demons.
The story had been feared by some, and scoffed at by others. Some male members of the family let the future husbands in on the scam, and a few went along with it; while others told their new wives the truth. And because of that, several daughters of the family had left the unhappy tribe and never looked back.
One of them was Tara's aunt, which she'd never even known she had. The woman was now happily married, and living the ordinary 'soccer mom' life with three kids. Plans were already underway for Tara to visit her unknown cousins, during the summer break.
Mr. Maclay had tried to deny it, but a surprise visit by his late wife - along with Tara's cousin Beth's deceased older sister - had totally taken the wind out of his sails. And the look the ghosts had sent him had been enough to make Daddy Maclay shut up, if he knew what was good for him.
Well, Tara's brother Donny HAD reacted violently when he'd heard his mother say she was ashamed of him, for knowing since he was 15 that the demon stuff was only talk; in fact Buffy had had to knock him out afterwards, to stop his rants. Also, the Scoobies had learned that cousin Beth had left the family shortly afterwards, but that was neither here nor there as far as they were concerned.
So now with her emotions in such a high state, Tara's powers had become so messed up that Jesse had brought her up here to meditate. But she was not finding it easy.
"I can't, Jesse, I'm sorry," the 20-year-old woman told him.
"I know it's hard, Tara," Jesse responded from his spot on the ledge. "But times like these are a very good opportunity to practice focusing. If you can control your emotions during a situation like this, then you can handle anything."
Tara looked up at him. "It's not just my family situation what's wrong, though."
"Then what is it?" Jesse asked her, concerned.
"Willow," was the blonde's quiet reply.
"Ah," Jesse said simply. (Guess I knew it would all come around to her, eventually.)
"I, I think she's jealous. Of my relationship with you, at least. She tries not to be, but..." Tara broke off, then resumed. "With you and the Elders helping me, and now that I have my family's old Book of Shadows…I think she's feeling left behind." She looked at him sadly. "And I don't know how far she'll go to catch up."
Jesse understood. Willow not being the Hellmouth witch assigned a whitelighter had been a sore spot, ever since he had come here. "Her potential is incredibly great, though. She just has to accept that she needs to practice harder than you now. As for the whitelighter stuff - Tara, you're a natural-born witch, she isn't. Magic has been in your family for many generations, almost as long as the Halliwell line. The Rosenberg line begins with her. You know what that means."
Tara nodded. "I just don't know if I can keep her from going too far. It's like, like Willow feels she has to prove to everyone that she's worthy of being called a witch..." She looked down. "I don't even know how to tell her about my new power of deflection."
---
Outside seating of a McDonald's restaurant, Lakeview, California.
12:30 p.m.
"God, it feels good to stretch a little!" Cordy said, as she did just that. "You are SO giving me a back massage when we get to the hotel, mister!"
Xander tried to talk, while eating some of his quarter-pounder. "Will do, sweetheart."
The youngest of the Charmed Ones laughed at his eagerness to her suggestion. Harris had no trouble ever giving her back massages, mostly because Cordelia was topless when he did it. No WAY was she going to get any massage oils on her clothes, given her budget nowadays. "Xander, honey?"
"Yeah?" the guy asked, as she took a sip of his drink.
"I've talked to Kennedy. And, uh...Faith will be joining us tonight."
Xander's face instantly showed the expected frown at that news. Cordy went on, "Now I know that you... WE both have feelings about her. But I told Kennedy we would set them aside for this, okay?"
"I get why Kennedy has to play nice with her," Xander said shortly, his statement not indicating acquiescence at all. "I mean, Faith's her tag team Slayage partner and all, but why does she have to come with when we go out?"
"Because…" Cordy started, then stopped. "Kennedy wants to bring her girlfriend along, to formally meet us."
Xander's eyes went huge. "Kennedy and Faith are dating? But we - Faith and I - I mean, everyone knows she was my first! Did I drive her to join the other team, or what? I mean, uh - when, when the hell did all this happen?"
"A month or so ago," Cordy told him, ignoring the historical rant and the sexual hangup. "And she didn't tell you in her emails, because Kennedy knows perfectly well that you'd rather throw Faith off a bridge than even look at her."
"And you wouldn't?" the former Zeppo demanded. "Cordy, this isn't...come on. I can not just let Kennedy date Faith!"
"Xander, it's not up to you," she responded. And for an instant, Harris had a flashback to junior year when Buffy had told him the exact same thing with regard to Oz and Willow. And look how well THAT had ended up. "It just happened, they didn't plan it but it did. Bottom line, Kennedy won't dump her now just because we, her friends, say so..."
"You did it, once!" Xander said, upset, and regretted immediately it.
A look of pain crossed her face as Cordy looked at him. "I can't believe you just said that! I thought we were past all of this..."
Harris looked down. "We are…and I'm sorry, Cor. I didn't mean it." He looked back at her. "I just consider Kennedy a good friend, and now she's going out with the girl that willingly went rogue on us and helped the Mayor-"
"And nearly strangled you?" his girlfriend added, still a little upset at his words. "Xander, please. We have to keep out of this. And if it helps I talked to Angel on the phone the other day, and he vouched for Faith as well. Just drop it. It's out of our hands."
Knowing he was still reticent, Cordelia used her own little method of enticing her man to play ball. "And Xander, if you play nice, I'll give you a reward?"
One of his eyebrows instantly did the Mr. Spock impersonation at that. Cordelia's little rewards were always good to get. Plus, they kept going up in novelty with each new one. And while Xander was always scrambling to try to top hers, his girlfriend had turned it into an art. "Oh really?"
"Look in your wallet," Ms. Halliwell told him. "Second to last picture."
With his curiosity in overdrive, Xander took out his wallet and flipped through the small pictures…and his eyes went wide. For he was looking at a picture of Cordelia in a skimpy 'Jane' costume. It hardly covered anything, and what it DID cover just made Harris drool all the more...
Cordelia laughed at the look on his face. "So you tolerate Faith, and I'll let you be my Tarzan?"
Xander just nodded, hardly looking up from the picture. Cordelia leaned across the table and gave him a quick kiss. "Good boy," she teased, as Xander suddenly sent a brief smirk at her.
(If only I could have used sex to get my way back in high school,) Cordy then thought with a mental sigh, as her body tingled in sudden expectation of what would happen when they got to the hotel. (For one thing, I could have gotten Xander out of those god-awful clothes he loves, YEARS ago...)
---
The Screen Savers, Tech TV Network.
The same time
"Now, we've all heard the rumors that this game is somehow going to blow our collective socks off," host Leo Laporte said to his guest on the screen. "But can you tell us just how it's going to do that?"
"Gladly," Mike Loken from Varde Electronic Arts said, from his side of the satellite interview. "Leo, our company has come up with a new graphics engine and rendering method - one that honestly makes the games of last year look like Pac Man, by comparison..."
"How so?" Leo asked.
"You see, Leo," Loken said. "In games such as this - there's always the pre-rendered movie clips for the story, and then a pixilated version of the hero to play. Here we took a real woman, who also voices our heroine, and scanned her into the computer for both the movie scenes and the playable parts."
"But there has to be a decrease in quality in the playable version," Laporte said suspiciously.
"No, no, not here!" Loken responded. "The days of the almost cartoon-ish pixilated hero are over. You will see the picture perfect image of the hero, in this game! We've also greatly enhanced the backgrounds as well-"
"Well, I'm sure I can't wait to see what you came up with, if the hype is as much as I've heard," Leo said, before he switched gears. "Now - it's a Tomb Raider game, but certain people are saying Lara Croft isn't in this one?"
"That's right," Loken said on the screen. "We're trying to expand the franchise. The story has to do with Lady Sophia Croft, a great-aunt of Lara actually. Basically, Sophia's one of the spies dropped into occupied France in 1944; she aids the resistance and runs raids against the Nazis, that sort of thing. There's also some romance in the game between her and-"
---
Office of Major Samantha Carter, Stargate Command, Colorado.
The same time
"I still don't like this," Colonel Jack O'Neill grumbled, as Team SG-1 watched Leo and Mike on the TV.
A lot had changed for him and his team, ever since they had encountered Xander Harris in Washington state back in the summer of 1999. Like for example Sam's promotion from captain to major, meeting her civilian duplicate from an alternate dimension, then getting an 'upgrade' thanks to those damn armbands the Tok'Ra had found - all of it fun for the entire family, to be sure.
Not to mention the whole breakfast cereal time loop thingy, meeting that damn snake called Osiris, plus the perennial problem regarding one annoying ass named Senator Robert Kinsey…
"Sir, you just don't like Leo Laporte-" Sam started to say.
"Hey, the man doesn't like The Simpsons!" O'Neill snapped in annoyance.
"Do you think we'll at least get a free copy of the game?" Daniel Jackson asked his teammate, as he watched the interview and tried to avoid thinking about Jack's whole 'Homer and Burns' thing. "I mean, we DID negotiate the trade agreement that got us all the technology in the first place-"
"Well, since no one in the company knows where the technology came from…" Carter told him thoughtfully, "I highly doubt anyone will be sending us any free copies."
"And we gave a civilian company alien tech, why?" Jack asked grouchily.
"We let them develop it in tandem with us," Carter answered. "Plan is, it'll be used in the next generation of simulators for combat personnel-"
"Just as long as the geeks at Area 51 don't hog them all," Jack replied.
The hitherto-silent Teal'c raised an eyebrow. "Such things would have proven very useful, with regard to the attack upon the Death Star in the 'Star Wars' movie."
The other three members of SG-1 just looked at the big guy, and barely managed to restrain a loud groan.
----
Exercise Room, Hyperion Hotel, Los Angeles.
An hour later
Faith the vampire Slayer was sweating up a storm, as she proceeded to beat the holy hell out of the three heavy foam dummies around her. She gave the one in front of her a savage uppercut and then jumped up and nailed the head off the right dummy with a back kick, while punching the left one in the face.
"Something on your mind?" her girlfriend asked, as Kennedy saw the foam head roll past her.
"Why do you ask?" Faith asked, as she pushed her sweat-soaked hair from her face.
Kennedy shrugged, as she picked up the foam head. "Just a hunch." She looked at the head in her hand and uttered, "Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio…"
"What?" Faith asked her with a confused look.
Kennedy smiled "It's from Hamlet…Shakespeare." She set it down and tossed a towel to Faith. "My first Watcher ended up making sure I knew that particular play by heart, as well as King Lear."
Faith shrugged as she walked to what was effectively the women's locker room around here, Kennedy keeping pace behind her into the locale. "Didn't have much appreciation for that stuff, before I dropped out."
"I've still got the books, if you want a little light…okay, heavy reading."
"No thanks, K," Faith told her as she took off her sports top and tossed it on the bench, quickly followed by her shoes and shorts.
Kennedy just leaned on the tiled wall, as the other Slayer showered. "You're worried about Xander."
"What makes ya think that?" Faith said archly, as she washed away the sweat and grime.
"Don't worry. I talked to Cordy, and she said she'd handle him," Faith's girlfriend tried to assure her.
Faith looked up from washing a leg to smirk. "Oh, yeah, I'm sure she's had lots of practice 'handling' the stud. But problem is, she won't be on my side either!"
Kennedy just sighed, hoping Faith wasn't right. "Try to think positive, okay? For me?"
Faith rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'll try. But you have to do something for me."
"Sure, whatever-" Kennedy started to answer, before her girlfriend reached out and pulled her - fully clothed, at that - into the shower.
A few minutes later, Tina walked into the locker room. "Hey you guys, Angel wanted to know-"
She stopped dead in her tracks as she glimpsed the goings on, before the seer turned and ran the hell out of there. "Okay, okay, I SO didn't need to see that!" she muttered to herself.
---
P3 parking lot, San Francisco, California.
7:45 p.m.
Prue fished her keys out of her purse later that night, as she walked to her car. She had forgotten to charge her cell phone, and had to plug it into the car charger of all things.
Just as she reached her car though, the young woman heard a muffled scream. Looking around, the oldest Charmed One spotted two young women getting dragged into the alley by at least three vampires. "Damn it!" she cursed as ran towards the alley, pulling out the small stake that she usually kept with her.
"Mike, what's going on?" Kelly demanded. "And what happened to your face?"
"Hey! Let me go!" her friend Betty demanded of the strange man.
"Didn't I tell you, sire?" the newly-vamped Mike said with a sneer, as he forcefully grabbed Kelly's face. "Isn't she just a hot little number?"
A vampire dressed in Eighties punk rock gear came out of the shadows. "Oh, they both are…quite a good meal they'll make, too."
"Meal?" Betty asked, very much not liking that.
"Uh, boss?" Mike then asked, like a little boy with a new puppy. "Can I turn her? I always wanted to have some fun with her!"
"Actually, I've got a better idea!"
The three vampires turned sharply at the new voice. A shapely brunette woman was standing at the end of the alley. "Why don't you just let them go?" the femme asked, as she walked forward showing no fear. "And try me on for size?"
"Wow!" the other vampire called out. "Will ya get a load of that rack? I've got first dibs on her!"
Their sire, on the other hand, was not looking at her cleavage. He was looking at the stake in her hands. "Don't be a moron. We got us a Slayer to deal with!"
"What?" Mike asked his creator.
"Forget the bimbos!" the vampire, who was named Todd, ordered his children. "Kill her now!"
The second vamp charged Prue, but only got within ten feet. After that, he suddenly flew up into the air and spun upside down. "What the hell!" the vamp demanded, as its arms were forced by an unknown power behind his back.
"Lesson number one in demon fighting," Prue told the demonic creature as she stepped up to it. "Never resort to a fist fight, if you don't have to."
With that said, she rammed the stake into the hovering vampire - causing it to explode into nothing.
"Luke!" Mike called out as he angrily let go of Kelly. "What the hell are you, some sorta demon?"
"Not a demon, no," Prue said, before she levitated a broken sheet of glass from the dumpster. With a flick of her wrist it flew at the undead man, and cleanly sliced his head clean off. "Actually, I'm a witch."
"I don't care what you are!" Todd yelled, as he charged her himself now that his minions were dead. He was running at full speed and was about to try to jump the witch - when he was suddenly airborne.
However, it was not Prue's power levitating the damned creature off the ground.
"Well, that's certainly new..." the woman said in surprise, as she watched the caped man flying the struggling vampire up into the air. Prue simply watched as the two stopped high in the air; then a red light of some kind showed came out of nowhere, and the vampire dusted.
She quickly went back on the offensive, when the costumed man flew back down to her. But all he said to her was, "Are you okay, ma'am?"
"That depends," Prue commented. "On whether or not I'm going to have to fight you."
The costumed man seemed to just look at her for a few moments before relaxing. "No need for any of that, miss, as far as I'm concerned we don't have a problem. I only picked up the vampires…and those two running girls."
"The girls?" Prue asked quickly. "Did they-"
"They're fine," the masked man with a red jewel in his left eye told her. "Though they'll probably repress this completely, by the morning."
He then touched something on his belt, as the large buckle glowed blue and he lifted off the ground. "I suggest you go home, miss-"
"Hey, wait a minute!" Prue said, amazed that he was just leaving. That shtick was supposed to belong to the Charmed Ones, after all! "Who the hell are you?"
He stopped for just a moment. "People call me Nightman."
----
Parking Garage, Hyperion Hotel, Los Angeles.
Saturday, April 21st 2001
10 a.m.
Charles Gunn looked up from working on his truck, to see the light red 70's Cuda drive in. "Hot damn, bro," he said in amazement, as he walked up to the car. "Them's a really nice set of wheels, but you guys can't park in here-"
"Hi. You're Gunn, right?" Xander asked, as he got out.
"Yeah-" the former gang leader said, looking over the new arrival. "Hey, wait a minute, I know you…you're the guy that annoyed the hell outta Wesley a while back!"
"It's so much fun to do, too," Xander answered with a smirk.
"Xander..." the good-looking brunette said from her side, as she got out as well. "We have a deal, remember?"
Harris kept an amused smile on his face, till he saw his girlfriend's expression. "I remember, and relax - I'll play nice."
"That's…smart of you," Cordy said, amused herself as she turned and went for the stairs with the faded arrow pointing up.
Gunn looked towards Harris in total understanding. "Ah, so young. And so whipped!"
Xander watched Cordy's ass sway in the darkness of the garage, as she walked away. "Well, maybe if I'm lucky later..."
----
Hyperion Lobby
A few minutes later
"Xander," Angel said with a curt nod, as the human came into his hotel.
Xander just returned the nod, "Angel."
After that, a very awkward silence fell between the two men. "Nice place," Xander eventually said, looking around the hotel. "Solidly built, I'd guess. Art deco style, circa 1920's?"
"Yeah, how'd you know?" the undead guy said.
"Used to own a carpentry business." After that Xander fell silent again, now that the small talk was over.
In ancient days, both guys had had exactly one thing in common - besides disliking each other; Buffy Summers. But now the blond Slayer was dealing with her own problems on the Hellmouth, far away from either Los Angeles or San Francisco.
When Xander attempted to pretend to read a month-old People magazine of Tina's, Angel finally broke the silence. "Look, Xander…I know you have your doubts about Faith-"
"I have more than doubts, Angel. Don't sugarcoat it, okay?" Xander said with a sigh. "Still, given all my screw-ups in the past - did you know I recently tried to kill myself, like you did that Christmas? - I'll admit that everyone deserves a second chance. Even you - and her. But she's awfully close to a good friend of mine, these days..."
"Kennedy is a big girl, Xander," Angel told him simply. "And she's a Slayer-"
"Being a Slayer doesn't mean jack, in terms of good and evil. You of all vampires should know that," Xander said sourly. "Faith was a Slayer when she shot you with that poison arrow, remember?"
"I haven't forgotten. But that's not who she is anymore. Just give her a chance," the vampire asked.
"Already promised Cordy I would," Xander said with another sigh, as he leaned on the counter. "But I'm not going to turn my back on her, and wait for Faith to turn into our version of Michael Eddington."
"Who?"
"Deep Space Nine character, one of my favorites. Even if the show isn't, not anymore," Xander filled in for his past antagonist.
Angel looked at him in confusion for a moment, struggling to deal with pop culture references - the way he always did. "This isn't a TV show, Xander, this is real life..."
"Yeah, sure it is!" Xander suddenly laughed. "And I'm sitting here talking to the vampire with a soul, former boyfriend of my first crush, about a Slayer who once tried to kill us all. Yeah, I bet you can convince the man on the street that all this is really real life, without any problems at all..."
----
Kennedy's room
The same time"Anyone home?" Cordelia asked, as she knocked on the door.
"Hey, C," Faith said a bit too casually, from her spot sitting on the bed.
"Ah, hi Faith," Cordy said, trying to keep normal. "Where's Kennedy?"
"Downstairs, using the crapper," the brunette Chosen One informed her. "Girl's shower works up here, but the toilet's a lost cause."
"Well, it is a very old building and all," Cordy commented. "Maybe I can ask Xander or Leo to go over it and try to fix a few things, for you guys..."
"Leo? That guy what showed up looking for Xander last time?" Faith asked, as she got up.
"Yeah," Cordy said, before she stopped Faith from going out the door. She then took a deep breath, "Look, Faith…"
"I know already, C," Faith told her simply. "Kennedy told me how you'd be keeping X on a leash…"
"He's not a dog, but yeah, Xander will be on his best behavior," Cordy replied, with a small grimace. "But I want to say something for me."
Her face then turned to the superior scowl that many unpopular kids in Sunnydale High used to fear with good reason. "You've become one of the good guys again...fine. So all I'm gonna say is that you're not going to hurt Kennedy, because if you do…" The Charmed One held up her hand, and it quickly caught on fire. "This is just a sample of what I can do to you. We clear?"
"Ah, yeah…" Faith said, as she backed up from the flames, briefly wondering at how Cordy kept from burning herself. "I'm not going to go all badass on her, I swear."
"Good!" Cordelia said, as the fire went out and her entire attitude changed. She was back to the normal perky Cordelia Halliwell. "Now, let's go find our dates for tonight!"
---
Elsewhere in the hotel
A few minutes later
Xander met with Kennedy, as she came out of the bathroom. "Hey, Ken…can I talk to you for a moment?"
"Yeah - but I already know what you're gonna say, Xander," Kennedy replied. "And look, I know my choice of girlfriend is not something that you-"
"Whoa now, let's back up a moment here. 'Cause I didn't want to talk to you about that," Harris interrupted her.
The young lesbian looked surprised. "Huh? You didn't? Okay - then, what?"
Xander pulled her off to the side. "I talked to Angel in the lobby about Faith, just now. About her - and another thing." He looked very seriously at his companion. "Has Angel ever asked you about the power level of the Charmed Ones?"
"Ah, no, not really," the most junior of the three Slayers said, unsure. "Why?"
"He asked me if I thought that Cordelia and her sisters were powerful enough to ever do the soul curse on him," Xander informed her.
"The one that that Willow girl did, back in the day?" Kennedy asked. "Xander, why would Angel-"
"Because," Xander told her. "He wanted to know, as a security precaution thing. Just in case he ever lost his soul again."
Kennedy shrugged. "Oh, I see. Well, you of all people should know what Cordelia, Piper and Prue are capable of! If I had to guess, I'd have to say that any one of the three of them could do it-"
"Actually, I told Angel that I didn't know - since it's so old and specialized a spell. And if he ever asks you, I gotta request this - that's the party line you need to follow."
"What? And why did you say that?" she asked. "The Charmed Ones are supposed to be the most powerful witches in the entire world!"
Xander crossed his arms, "Maybe you don't know, but there was someone back in 1998...the first woman who tried to recurse him that way. Gypsy high school teacher, whose only sin was lying to the old gang about who she really was. Anyway, long story short, Angelus was warned about it somehow; so he chased her down and snapped her neck. Then he left the corpse in her boyfriend's bed as a joke, or so I gather the evil vamp saw it apparently..."
Kennedy looked sick. "Xander-"
But the young man went on, "I'm not telling you all this to make you hate the guy, really; because there's a big difference between Angel and Angelus. I understand that nowadays, I honestly do. It's just that I sure as hell don't ever want that soulless vampire showing up in San Fran one night, going after Cordy or her sisters."
---
Wu Ping's Chinese Restaurant, Chinatown, Los Angeles.
Later that night
"Just wanted to warn ya, X," Faith said, trying to be helpful. "Me and my buds used to boost cars back in Boston, after we got bored during the summers. That's how I know those wheels of yours are kinda rare, and this neighborhood…"
"Nah, don't worry about it," Xander said with a large smile, one that all three femmes present appreciated for its sincerity. "No one is going to touch my baby. Hell, I could leave it parked there for a month, and it won't even get towed!"
"Angel's car got stolen once a while back, Xander," Kennedy pointed out.
Xander put his arm around Cordy's shoulder. "One of the perks of dating a Charmed One? It's got magic for a car alarm."
"We tested it out back home, a while back," Cordy grinned. "Hell, we parked it right next to an illegal chop shop, and no one even looked at the Cuda funny!"
Xander just smiled again. "People just pass it by. And on the off chance the magic thing doesn't pan out, Grams had a 'return to owner' spell in the Book."
Faith wanted to say something about how Xander had never seemed to be good with magic back in SunnyD, but then the waiter came up before she could do so. "May I take order?" he asked in broken English.
Cordy didn't even look up from the menu, and spoke in perfect Mandarin to the waiter. She ordered both her and Xander's meals, and then looked towards Kennedy. "What do you guys want?"
"Ah, I'll take number three and…" Kennedy responded, looking over as Faith held up two fingers. "And she'll have two."
Faith watched in amazement, as Cordelia told the waiter their orders. "When did you learn to speak Chinese?"
Cordy looked kind of embarrassed. "I kind of cast a get-smart spell on myself a while back, and - maybe I kept a thing or two..."
---
SIU Barge, San Francisco, California.
Sunday, April 22nd 2001
7:00 a.m.
Inspector Darryl Morris waited till the young patrol officer left the area, before he talked to Captain Bridges. "Sir, you have a minute?"
"Sure, Darryl," Nash said, as he tossed a file into his out tray. "What's on your mind?"
"I talked to Prue Halliwell last night," the cop told his boss. "She was dealing with some vampires - when a guy calling himself Nightman showed up. According to Prue, he flew the vampire up into the sky, and then dusted him somehow."
Nash rubbed his chin. "Nightman? Let me guess. Tall guy, black armour with a cape and a big red eye?"
"Yeah," Darryl replied in surprise, as he sat across from Nash. "You knew?"
"We've tried to keep him out of the papers for a while now," Bridges said. "He showed up in town about two months ago. Regular old Batman routine, it looks like."
"Man. Demons, witches and vampires, and now this? This town is just getting crazier every day!" Morris sighed.
"That it is, bubba," Nash agreed. "That it is."
---
Los Angeles, California.
The same time
Xander Harris lay in bed, not really awake yet, watching Cordelia sleep in their corporate-sponsored hotel room.
This was his favorite time of day, lately. When his girlfriend still looked like the incredibly beautiful, yet exotically spoiled and tactlessly blunt princess she had once been.
Before they had both found out about the things that go bump in the night. Before she had learned what her ancestry and heritage truly was.
Xander tried not to think about it, but the sad fact was that any demon worth his salt would really make a name for himself in taking out the three sisters. And one day, one or two or maybe all of the Charmed Ones would die doing their duty in protecting an innocent. And there was nothing he could do to take that burden away from them, except try to delay it for as long as he could.
(It's been nearly five years,) the young man thought to himself. (And everyone around me keeps growing in terms of power, being able to fight the good fight. All of them, except me. Oh well, if that's my lot in life - I guess...so be it. It's just too bad that they'll never understand what it's like to live so close to the spotlight, and never step into it...)
The One Who Sees had no way of knowing just how wrong he was. Both about his own destiny, and Cordelia's.
---
Exhibitor's Parking Lot, Los Angeles Convention Center, California.
Forty-five minutes later"I still say it's too early to be up," Xander yawned, as they waited for the gate to rise.
"Well, you should have gone to sleep sooner!" Cordy admonished him from the passenger seat.
"I tried if you recall, honey," Xander grumbled. "But someone kept waking me up..."
"Well, sorry!" Cordelia grumbled. "I'm excited, I get introduced to my adoring fans today!"
Xander smiled. "And how many of those fans will be little weirdo guys, do you think?"
Cordy looked skyward in annoyance, as they drove on to their assigned parking spot. "For the last time, Xander, there is no nude code!"
"There is for every other Tomb Raider game," Xander stated for the tenth time, in the last few days.
---
E3 Food Court, Los Angeles Convention Center
11:05 a.m.
"How on earth did I ever let you talk me into this?" Jessica Wakefield demanded of her twin sister.
"Jess, please," Elizabeth Wakefield said, rolling her eyes. "YOU were the one that wanted to come! We told you why we were coming here." Her best friend since forever, Enid Rollins, nodded as she munched on her Subway sandwich.
"This entire place is full of geeks!" the snobbish Wakefield cried, as she watched a group of people dressed as elves walk by.
"It's a game convention. What did you expect?" Liz told her.
Jessica moved some blond hair out of her eyes as she sighed. "Well, I can see why Manny and Winston love this place. Geeks of a feather…"
"Hey!" Enid cried. "My Manny is not a geek!"
"Of course he is…" Jessica started to say, but trailed off. "Oh my God! It couldn't be!"
Liz sighed. "Okay, which famous person do you think you saw now?"
"Alexander," Jessica said, still amazed.
"Alexander who?" Liz asked, not really caring.
Jessica pointed over towards the McDonald's booth. "Will you wake up? Our cousin, Alexander Harris!"
"What?" Liz asked in shock, as she quickly turned to look. "Where?"
"The guy in the grey shirt!" Jessica told her. "I don't see how, but that's him! I swear to God!"
Enid looked as well. "Uh, wasn't he the son of that aunt who got drunk at your place a few years ago?"
"Drunk?" Jessica snorted. "She vomited all over Thanksgiving dinner, and even hit on our dad!"
"We haven't seen him since when?" Liz asked her twin sister. "Eighth or ninth grade?"
"He looks good," Enid commented, as they watched the young man in question get a few bags from the fast food booth.
"Well, then someone else must be dressing him these days!" Jessica observed, remembering childlike terrors about her male cousin's clothing.
"So let's go talk to him," Liz said as she got up.
Jessica grabbed her arm. "Uh, Liz?"
"What? He's our cousin!" the smarter twin responded.
"Yeah, yeah," Jess said. "But, uh, how could he not have turned out like his parents? Our family did cut off all ties with them for a reason, you know."
"Well, we won't know till we talk to him," Liz reasoned. "Come on, we're adults now..."
"Fine!" Jessica threw up her hands.
"Ah, guys?" Enid asked the twins. "Where did he go?"
---
Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California.
The same time
"Don't jump!"
Leo opened his eyes in surprise, as he heard someone shout those words out. He was just up here to mediate a little, on his down time. And now there was someone going to jump? Looking around at the roadway far down below him, he didn't see anyone on the ledge.
"Just stay calm…" a male voice said from behind him.
The whitelighter turned surprised to see a flying man land behind him. "Hello. Let me guess, you must be…Nightman?"
"Yes," Nightman said, wondering how this man had gotten up here, let alone able to guess who he was.
"Pleasure to meet you."
The guy frowned, as he looked at Leo. "I take it you're not going to jump?"
"Wasn't exactly planning on it," Leo said casually. "Just came up here to think for a while."
"All right, then…" Nightman said, before he stopped cold. "Damn."
"Something wrong?" Leo asked the unofficial superhero.
"A friend of mine is in trouble," Nightman said, as he quickly lifted off the bridge. "Are you gonna be okay getting down?"
"I got up here under my own power," Leo replied. "Getting down again won't be a problem."
After that the man in the cape flew away, leaving Leo all alone again in the morning sunlight.
---
Los Angeles Convention Center, California
1:12 p.m.
At the end of the basement stairwell, two beings magically appeared out of nowhere.
"Whoa!" the blond witch named Billie said, as she almost barfed up her lunch and tried to steady herself. "You weren't kidding. Time travel sucks!"
The older of the two, the brunette Charmed One from the future known as Paige Matthews, smiled. "I know, it's a headache. But you get used to it."
The twenty-something Billie finally steadied herself, and looked around. "Did we end up where we were supposed to?"
Paige looked around. "Only way to find out, is to head upwards."
"I hope to God we're at least in fashion," Billie commented, as the two women trekked up the concrete stairs.
---
Not far away, Faith and Kennedy walked into the convention center with amusement. "I'm telling ya, K, wear a Princess Leia costume in here and you could have all these…" she trailed off as the brunette saw a few Lord of Rings getups, "…guys. Okay, so maybe that's not quite the right word to use…"
Kennedy laughed, as she nudged her girlfriend. "Hey, check out the Darth Maul wannabe over there. I bet he could give us a run for our money!"
"He doesn't have the costume completely right," Faith replied, having seen Episode I lately with Kennedy on DVD. "No horns either. I mean, whatever happened to having some pride in your work? What's the point of painting your face all red and black like that, if ya don't even do it right?"
It was lucky for her Belthazor had other things on his mind, and didn't hear the criticism. Or he would have very likely fried Faith with an energy ball, Slayer or not, in public or not…
----
Elsewhere in the convention center
A few minutes later
#How's it going down there, Xander?# Prue's voice asked through the phone line.
"So far so good, big sis," Xander said a little teasingly. It had taken him a while, but he had finally found something to annoy Prue with. He leaned against the backstage wall, as he talked into his cell phone. "Got in yesterday afternoon, went and saw Kennedy…"
#How's our old Slayer pal doing these days?# Prue asked.
"Good," Xander replied. "Okay, maybe I don't exactly love her choice of girlfriends…but I'm not going to say that in front of either her or Cordy."
#You're getting smarter. So, has my little sis made her grand appearance yet?# Prue asked, wondering about Cordelia now.
"In about a half-hour or so," Xander told her. "Cor went through the scene with the stunt guys for a few hours, and now she's with hair and makeup."
#Well, tell her good luck from me and Piper!# Prue said. #I have to go check out the Book about something.#
"Anything we would need a heads-up for?" Xander wondered if yet another attack had happened at the manor.
#No,# Prue told him. #We just have our very own Caped Crusader to deal with, is all. I'll fill you guys in when you get back.#
"Okay," Xander replied. "But just remember, we're only a phone call away if things get...hairy."
#Sure thing, bye.#
"Later, Prue," Xander said, as he flipped his phone closed.
His girlfriend's voice came from behind him. "Is everything okay back home?" Cordelia asked, as her male hairstylist finished making her hair perfect.
"Yep," Xander reassured her, suddenly glad he had spoken such that no civilian would truly understand his phone conversation with the oldest Charmed One. "And relax, if your sisters need us Leo will come get. And they both said to say good luck."
When the makeup lady came back over to start again, Xander took it as his cue to exit, stage left. "I'm going to head out now and find a good seat, okay?"
"Just don't block any of my soon-to-be fans!" Cordelia called after him with a laugh.
----
The main part of the convention center
The same time
The Hispanic-looking demon known as Trex angrily stalked through the crowd of humans, gathered in the convention hall.
He didn't know the exact date to which he'd come back through time, but whatever it was - he knew that he had to find his target, and fast. Chances were those two witches had come back as well. He had to pull this off quickly, in order to do what so many demons had died trying to do.
Kill the Charmed Ones.
For ten years, those bitches had taken on just about everything the underworld could throw at them and won. There'd been a huge celebration down below when one of the three had been killed years back, but that had quickly vanished when another Charmed One had shown up to take her place.
(Humans. They really do breed like animals,) Trex thought dourly, as he saw a large group of children near some children's games.
Fortunately, a moment later he found his target. Or rather, a giant poster image of her. The graphic representation of Cordelia Halliwell was staring back at him, with a pair of guns in her hands. Wanting all the intel he could get Trex spoke to a nearby human, "Hey kid, what's this supposed to be?"
The young teenager looked at him, shocked. "You're kidding, right? Man, that's the promo for Tomb Raider: Operation Overlord! It's already said to be the hottest game of the year!"
"What about her?" the demon demanded, pointing to the large vinyl poster.
"Major league hottie, isn't she?" the male teen replied with a stupid, lustful grin. "I read somewhere that she's the model they used for the game. And hey, it's said to be so lifelike-"
"Where is she now?" Trex wanted to know, not caring about the game.
The teenager smiled and pointed. "Over at the big booth, dude. Word is she's going to do some promotional stunts soon."
Trex looked over at the booth with a small stage. "Can't wait for the show," he said simply, with a typical evil laugh.
---
Not far away
The same time
"Hey, wait up!"
Xander didn't pay any attention to the yelling, there was a lot of that going on, but this one kept getting closer. Only when someone yelled "Alexander!" did he stop and look back.
"God!" one of the blond twins that came up to him whined. "What is with you? I do not like having to run!"
"Okay…" Xander said, wondering why these attractive girls were talking to him. "Uh, do I know you guys?"
The annoyed girl seemed to take offence to that. "It's me! Your cousin Jessica!" She pointed to her sister. "And that's Liz. Remember us now?"
It didn't take Harris long to place the names. He only had one set of twin cousins, after all. "Wakefield?"
"Well, duh!" Jessica exclaimed, still annoyed.
"Jess!" Liz lightly scolded her sister. "Long time no see, Alex."
"Yeah, uh, and it's Xander now," Xander said, still surprised a little at the family reunion. "Guess it's been a few years, ever since my mom tried to make us step-siblings..."
---
Another part of the convention center
The same time
"Hey, watch it!" one of the hot brunette girls yelled.
"Sorry," Winston Egbert said, as he backed off. "The, uh…the crowd kind of pushed me…"
"Sure they did, stud," the other brunette laughed.
"Hey, they did!" Winston replied. "I don't just go around and try to bump into girls. I'm not that hard up for a social life!"
This time the two Slayers shared a laugh, as the tall guy with glasses went over to a few empty arcade machines. "So whatcha playing there, boy toy?" Faith asked the guy, as they leaned on the railing.
"You going to dance for us?" Kennedy said, lightly teasing as the guy went to one of the Dance Revolution games.
The lanky young man spared them a quick, amused look, before he started up the game. Winston then suddenly became very coordinated, and started matching the computer move for move. He only missed the odd one or two steps, as the music played.
"Damn!" Faith said appreciatively, as Egbert did a full turn on the machine's floor pad - not missing a beat.
---
Not far away
The same time
"So…" Jessica said somewhat uneasily, as the three cousins sat at the table.
"Ah, the awkward silence moment," Xander mused. "You don't know if I'm a deadbeat like my dad, and not worth the trouble of talking to?"
"Well, I wouldn't put it that way…" Liz started, but was cut off by her sister. "I would!"
"Don't mind her," Liz told Xander at once. "Apparently Jess has this mental defect, where she can't figure out the meaning of the word tact."
"I'm used to it," Xander said with a smirk. "More than you could ever know..."
"So, not a drunk?"
Liz looked at her sibling, shocked. "Jessica!"
"Not a drunk," Xander responded with a shrug, and not insulted at the insinuation. "I hardly ever even touch the stuff, apart from my work as a nightclub bartender."
"That's good," Liz said, genuinely happy that her cousin had avoided that sort of life. "Oh, are you still living in Sunnyvale?"
"Nope. Moved to San Francisco back in '99, almost straight after high school graduation," Xander told her. "And it was Sunnydale, by the way."
"So, who's picking out your clothes these days?" Jessica asked, interested. "Because from what I remember, cuz, you had these Salvation Army-looking-"
"You went to Sunnydale High School?"
Both relatives stopped and looked at an astonished Liz Wakefield. "So what, Liz?"
"So what?" Liz asked with shock, looking at her sister. "Jess, Sunnydale High blew up two years ago during its graduation ceremony!"
"Ah, Liz?" Jessica said, a little too slow. "Alexan…sorry, Xander, is alive and right in front of us. If his school blew up, wouldn't that mean he was dead?"
"Me and my buds were in the courtyard," Xander informed them. "Only a few people died, when the big gas explosion hit. And we were damn lucky that day, I tell you; it coulda been a lot worse!"
---
Second Floor Balcony
The same time
From the ledge above the main show floor, Cole Turner was watching Harris and the two girls talk. And he had finally reverted back to his human form, after one too many Darth Maul comments.
As far as the half-demon was concerned, it had been a good idea to dress up as so many humans did for this event; but Cole had underestimated the impact of George Lucas on the national media scene, and his upcoming Episode II movie.
So it just made more sense to get less attention, by manifesting as a plain old human.
And humans did love their technology, that was for sure. He had seen many things here today, from video games to new electronic gizmos. It was yet another example of the difference in his two worlds, in Cole's mind. Humans kept advancing, while the underworld seemed to become more stagnant with every passing year-
"He has your interest still, Belthazor?" a seemingly 50-year-old man asked, as he came up to the railing.
"Who-?" Cole started to ask angrily, when he saw the dark eyes flash with flames of fire. Instantly, the demon bowed his head in subservience. "I didn't know that you had surfaced. Or that I warranted your personal attention, these days..."
"I always keep an eye out for your activities, Belthazor. Whatever you do and wherever you go," the possessed man spoke in a deep, foreboding voice. "Ah, young Xander Harris," he then said, after a glance to the table a floor below.
"You know who he is?" Cole asked, not hiding his surprise. "May I ask why YOU would care about such a lowly human?"
"This one is special," the dark lord responded. "For he is one of those that can act as a nexus of destiny. And despite all his preconceived intentions, this human could still go either way. Great good, or great evil…" He showed a deadly smile. "It all depends on who drafts him onto their team first."
"HIM!" Cole asked, very upset. "But that little nothing is…"
The Source of All Evil looked to him with amusement. "That little nothing has unknowingly survived all your attempts to kill him, has he not? A feat most humans could not possibly accomplish."
"Luck," Cole said quickly. "That's all it is. And as soon as he's out of the way, Cordelia will be an easy target-"
"You still wish to kill her first?" The Source asked. "Or will you finally admit to yourself, how your feelings regarding that witch have…changed?"
"I'm not one of your fawning underlings anymore," Cole seethed. "The big all-knowing thing is not going to impress me!"
"All evil is under my domain," The Source told him firmly. "And you can not hide what is obvious."
Cole just grumbled a little before he answered, "I'll admit, she is pleasing on the eyes. It's just, spending so much energy on this…."
"You feel that after it's over, your feelings will pass," The Source finished for him.
"Well," Cole suddenly smiled. "She's tempting enough that I might keep her around for a bit, afterwards. It has been a while, you know."
"You would be wise not to let your human side influence you too much, Belthazor," the elderly man said, his dark eyes showing his distaste. "It is a trapping of humans, the perils of the flesh."
"So how's that little girl of yours doing?" Cole bit back, referring to the scantily-clad demon seer that served the Source.
"Well enough. And if you speak of her again in such a manner, I will cut out your tongue and make you swallow it," The Source informed Cole calmly.
The half-human turned to face the biggest evil in the underworld, not fazed by the threat. "Make no mistake, I will kill Xander Harris - and when Cordelia Halliwell is most vulnerable, I will strike. We both know the Charmed Ones must be taken out, before they get too powerful-"
"Not yet. I have need of Harris for the time being," The Source told him. "Leave, and go back to the mortal life that you have set up for yourself. You're a lawyer, so that should keep you busy - for now."
"How long must I wait?" Cole asked, clearly not liking the order.
"As long as I wish you to," The Source told him coldly. "And granted, the Charmed Ones are a danger for the moment. But if one turns the right nexus…everything can change, in the blink of an eye..."
---
Not far away
The same time
"I've seen those two before, haven't I?" Billie asked Paige, as they watched Xander, Jess and Liz from a table down the row of tables.
"They're Xander's cousins," Paige informed her. "There's a picture in the parlor from when Xander and Cordy went down there for the Fourth of July weekend, a while back."
"Ah," Billie said. "The picture right next to that one of Piper and that Chris guy, that you won't talk about?"
"It's for the best," Paige responded quickly.
"Fine," Billie said, annoyed - and having had this talk before. "I mean, Piper and Leo named little Chris after that man, and yet no one ever talks about him? It's just weird to me, is all."
"More than you know," Paige said with a touch of sadness, recalling past events.
"Okay," Billie said. "Getting back on topic…we're here, so we have to assume our friend is here too, somewhere. And this would be sooo much easier, if we just warn Xander and Cordy-"
"No," Paige said at once, as she kept an eye on her future brother-in-law and his family. "Xander drilled that into us before we left, remember? No interaction with either of them."
"But they don't know either of us at this point, and they won't meet me for years yet…" Billie replied with a touch of exasperation. "I can just describe-"
"No," Paige said again flatly. "If we screw up anything here, we could change the future - for the worse. Trust me, in the past Cordy and I have had our fill of having to fix the timeline!"
"Fine," Billie sighed as she rested her head on her hands, before looking up oddly. "Huh. It seems we're not the only one interested in Xander..."
"You've spotted the demon?" Paige asked immediately.
"Not unless the guy can shape-shift and has stolen better clothes," the younger witch replied. "Up on the second floor railing, talking to the old guy?"
Paige scanned the balcony overlooking the seating area, and stopped cold when she saw a very familiar male face. "I don't believe it…Cole?"
Billie looked at her with alarm because of her tone, "Tall and studly is a bad guy?"
"Depends on which day of the week you knew him, actually," Paige said, amazed. "Still, he's long dead now. I'm just surprised because - well, I mean, he confessed to Cordy while Xander was…" the Charmed One tried to find the right word. "…gone, that he had stalked them both…but I didn't know it was this far back!"
They watched as the older man finished talking to the attorney, and then seemed to slump slightly and look around in confusion. But Cole just ignored the 50-year-old's bewildered questions, as he stalked towards the exit.
"Okay, this might have just gotten a lot harder," Paige said, as she watched the 'man' leave.
---
SIU Barge, San Francisco, California.
1:48 p.m.
"Hey, Darryl?"
The black cop looked up from his desk to see Captain Bridges. "I have someone I want you to meet," Nash said neutrally.
"Sure," Morris told his commander as he got up.
"She's at my desk," Nash said as Darryl walked with him up the stairs. "I've been looking around, and I think I've finally found someone who might fit in real well here - considering what we now know what goes on in this city, at nights."
"Sir?" Darryl asked, wondering if Nash had brought in some fake demon hunter off the web or something.
"Career LAPD detective, Darryl. But she was forcibly canned out of the force a few months ago, because she continually got involved with strange cases that seemed to have no conventional explanations - and Xander's old vampire friend was a bit…indiscreet," Nash told him.
"You mean, it was like how Xander said the cops in Sunnydale acted out?" Morris asked, ignoring the bit about Angel for now. "They tried to just sweep it all under the rug?"
"Maybe," Nash admitted. "But my take is that those guys in LA weren't really trying to cover it up, they just don't believe in that sort of stuff. Hell, I wouldn't either if I hadn't seen what I've seen..."
"Does she know anything about our…recent fun?" Morris asked, as they reached the top of the stairs.
"Not yet," Nash told him. "Spend some time with her, and get to know her. And then talk to the Halliwells, see if they think she should be let in on it."
"Will do," Darryl responded.
The two men walked up to the desk where Joe was talking to the newest recruit of the SFPD. "Inspector Morris, say hello to your new partner. Detective - no, 'scuse me, make that Inspector Kate Lockley!"
"Hello, partner," Kate said warmly as she turned to Morris.
"Nice to meet you," Darryl told the attractive young blond in the blue turtleneck sweater, taking a liking to her at once. "And please, call me Darryl."
"I'm Kate, then..."
---
UC Sunnydale Coffee Shop, Sunnydale, California.
1:55 p.m.
Jesse looked up from his edition of Sports Illustrated, to see Willow sit across from him. "Hey."
"Hey," Willow replied, a little timid.
"Is something wrong, Wills?" Jesse asked, the whitelighter appearing concerned at once.
The redhead seemed to think for a moment, before answering. "Jesse…I, I've been thinking about it. And I need you to do something for me."
"Of course…if I can," Jesse told her.
"I've been talking to Tara," Willow started out, instantly causing Jesse to not like this. "And she won't tell me much about what happened, when you and her orbed out to help that other witch you watch over..."
"Yeah. Because anything that happens between a charge and her whitelighter is confidential," Jesse told her.
"I know," Willow said. "Tara said that as well. But it seems like you need all the help you can get, right? So what I need you to do for me is talk to those Elder guys up there, to have a whitelighter assigned to me."
The guardian angel sighed. "It doesn't work that way, Willow. I've spoken to them about it before, you know that - but they just don't feel you're at the level yet to be assigned one of my kind-"
"But I've been studying!" Willow told him quickly. "I know more spells than I ever did in high school, and I did that enjoining spell to stop Adam…"
"Still, Willow, can't you see? That's not it," Jesse told her. "Sure, you have the spell part down just fine - well, mostly. But you're not learning the appropriate control along with it! Do I need to remind you of that little stunt you pulled at the beach all those months back, to try to convince Riley, Buffy and Tara of your power level?"
"Jesse…"
The young man ignored her pleading tone. "The witches the Elders oversee have to be ready to save the world, or even just one innocent at a moment's notice-"
"But I do that!" Willow said, a little too loudly. "Jesse - I've been using magic ever since junior year, to fight evil with Buffy!"
"With Buffy," Jesse repeated. "And that's the trouble right there, I'm afraid. Willow, when Tara and I went to France to help that witch battle the demon out gunning for her…did we bring Buffy along with us? Heck, did we even tell her about it?"
"Well, no…" the redheaded admitted.
"But you would have wasted time that way, it would have been…instinctive. And that's why you're not ready to work with a whitelighter yet," Jesse told her honestly. "Look, Willow, I'm not saying it'll never happen - but you've only been a magic practitioner for a few years…"
Willow held up her hand to cut him off. "But Cordelia was never a witch before she moved away with Xander, and now she's this big super-duper Charmed One!"
"Not true," Jesse responded. "The three sisters all had their powers, from even before birth. Because of a situation with a warlock, Penny and Patty had to bind their powers...but that's not important, right now. I guess what I'm trying to say is - don't try to rush it, Willow, you still have a long life ahead of you-"
"That's assuming Glory doesn't kill us all," the redhead muttered under her breath.
Jesse winced. He had told the Elders about his suspicions regarding Glory being Ben and Ben being Glory, thanks to Cordelia's vision that day, but for now he was under orders not to do anything that would cause harm to an innocent; as that was technically what Ben was.
And even if the whitelighter HAD in effect told Buffy "trust me, he's a bad guy, slay him", the blond Chosen One would have had a very hard time killing Glory's human half in cold blood - the example of her sister Slayer Faith never far from her thoughts.
Sighing, Jesse tried to focus on Willow again. "Assuming that, yes. But the Glory sitch or otherwise, if you try to go from the minor leagues to the majors before you're ready - it could be very bad."
---
LA Convention Center, Los Angeles, California.
2:07 p.m.
"I have to say, Xander, this is SO not how I thought you would ever end up," Jessica told her cousin, as they moved to their new seats on the bleachers surrounding the stage. "You don't drink, your clothes match, and you're in a serious relationship with the former head cheerleader from your old high school?"
"Yeah, well, gotta admit - it's not how I thought I would ever end up either," Xander admitted, as they sat down in the second row. "But hey, I'm not complaining!"
"Mmmm. I can see why," Jessica joked, as she saw one of the large posters of Cordelia as her game character.
"Hey, guys."
The three cousins looked around to see Enid and her boyfriend Manny come and sit in front of them. "I see you found your cousin," Enid finished up.
Liz did the introductions. "Enid, Manny, this is our cousin Xander Harris."
"Hi, nice to meet you," Xander said politely, as he and Manny shook hands. Enid just did a Willow-like wave at him.
"Where's Winston?" Liz wondered to her best friend.
"He's trying to score," Manny grumbled.
Jessica looked at him in shock "Winston has a girl?"
"Two of them," Manny said, still not believing it either. "He was getting down on that dance game-"
"The one he won that dorky championship on?" Jess asked.
"Yeah," Manny told her. "Last time I saw him, he was dancing up a storm with two hot brunettes. And they weren't disliking what they were seeing!"
Jessica looked at Xander, and then shook her head. "What is this world coming to? The dorks get all the hot girls now!"
"Well, I know this guy I could set you up with…" Xander started to say.
But Jessica cut him off at once. "No, thank you! I like my men studly, yet dumb."
---
Second Floor Balcony
The same timeTrex watched, as the stage show began. He watched Cordelia shoot a bunch of blanks on stage, and then flip two stunt guys over her shoulder. He had to admit the view wasn't at all bad, as Cordelia did a side kick into a guy's face.
In fact, he might have been more than mildly attracted to her - if the bitch hadn't done so much to almost wipe his demon clan out of existence...
As the stunt show kept going, Trex was about to let loose with an energy ball to fry that young bitch, but he only got as far as the wind-up.
"Hey, ugly demon!"
He heard the witch's call right as white lights surrounded him and whisked him away from the railing, all the way through to a closed-off section of the convention center.
"Don't mind me," Paige Matthews told him, as she shut the door leading to the outside world. "I just thought we'd get a little privacy."
Trex angrily picked himself off the ground. "I can kill you before her, if you insist so much on the matter. Witch!"
"Well, now you're making me feel all special!" Paige said, as she tossed a potion jar at him.
Trex just laughed as he moved in a blur, and was completely out of the way when the jar hit the wall instead of him. He was then next to Paige, in the blink of an eye. "I got a little upgrade before I came back…surprise!" He smacked the most recently activated Charmed One hard in the face, sending her to the ground.
"What, no jokes now?" the demon demanded, as he kicked her in the gut. "You know what sucks about this?" Trex asked her motionless form. "Here, you aren't even one of them yet…no glory for killing…"
Paige didn't wait for him to finish. "Billie, now!"
"What?" Trex growled as Paige vanished from his feet, and a potion jar nailed him in the back.
"AHHH!" he yelled, as the explosion knocked him down to the ground. "Damn witch bitch! What did you do that for?"
"That should have killed you," Billie said in confusion, not understanding. "Why didn't that kill him?" she then demanded of the newly-appeared standing Paige next to her.
"You want to know why, little girl?" Trex yelled. He then pulled out some sort of knife, and threw it at the Charmed One.
Paige reacted on instinct. "Athame!"
The weapon disappeared and then reappeared in her hand. Unfortunately, Trex had been counting on that; as he blurred incredibly fast again and shoved the distracted Paige face-first into the concrete wall, and grabbed Billie by the neck.
"It's because I'm not like those other idiot demons out there, witch. I know what's written in that Book of yours about my kind!" He started to choke the young blonde. "Do you think I would ever dare face the Charmed Ones without preparation?"
"Well…I guess not," Billie was able to choke out, as Trex squeezed her throat. "But…you know what, dickhead?"
"What's that, Dead Girl Walking?" the demon demanded, as it throttled her even harder.
"Surprise!" Billie spat out, as Trex saw something magically appear in her hand.
"NOOO!" the Hispanic-looking demon yelled, as he quickly dropped her in fear. "This isn't - you, you can't wield that! No one can, save its owner!"
"I can if I have his permission!" Billie told him with spite, as the weapon almost thrust itself into the demon. As he fell from the blow of it piercing his body, she added, "And hey, you trying to kill his wife kind of pissed him off enough to do it!"
"Damn you, bitch!" Trex yelled, before he literally exploded in hellfire. Leaving nothing but a scorch mark behind on the ground.
"Now THAT felt good!" Billie told herself, as she moved to help Paige.
"Nice job," the female part-witch, part-whitelighter told her companion as she got up.
Billie just shrugged. "I have a good teacher."
The older woman gave her a small smile at the compliment before asking, "He actually let you take that?"
Billie looked back to the weapon in her hand, before it vanished. "Well, you were helping Leo with Piper…"
"Leave it to Xander to always stack the deck in his favor," Paige mused, yet with a slight smirk at the man's deviousness.
---
Halliwell Manor Kitchen, San Francisco, California.
The same timePiper was getting ready to head out the door, when she saw the letter for her lying next to her car keys. "Damn it..."
The middle sister just tossed the letter into the trash, unopened. "That guy just won't take a hint, will he?" she asked herself with a sigh. But in the back of her mind, the Charmed One knew that Dr. Williamson would have to be talked to, and she had no idea how to go about it.
"Yeah, my angel boyfriend saved me, so no need for any of your lame-ass tests…" she sarcastically told herself. "Oh yeah, that'll work just fine!"
---
Los Angeles Convention Center, Los Angeles, California.
2:23 p.m.
Paige looked around nervously. Billie had said she was just going to go to the bathroom, and it had been too long. She had been watching her older half-sister (well, technically) signing autographs on the promo pics and action figure boxes, and lost track of time...
"Paige!"
The woman from the future turned to see the young blond coming up with a shopping bag. "I thought you went to the bathroom?"
"I did," Billie told her. "But I also bought these!"
Paige looked at the large rolled Operation Overlord promo posters. "Cordy still has a few of those..."
"I know," Billie told her mentor. "But the unrolled ones are going for just about 200 bucks on ebay!"
Paige grimaced. "Just don't tell Xander you did that, okay? You know how he gets about the time travel stuff-"
"We vanquished the demon that tried to kill his pregnant wife," Billie smiled. "I'll think just this once he'll go easy on me, don't you?"
"Fine!" Paige said, as she tilted her head to an unpopulated area. "Let's just find a quiet spot and get back to the future."
And before too long, the two witches did just that.
---
Stonington Federal Prison, California.
Tuesday, April 24th 2001
"Do you have to have that on so loud?" Charles Chase, convicted tax cheat and prison inmate, demanded of his companion that night.
"Screw you, Chase!" the large man said in annoyance, as Charles's cellmate turned up the small TV's volume a little louder. "You should know by now not to interrupt me, when I'm watching the goddamn wrestling!"
Charles was about to complain again, when he stopped dead upon seeing something on the screen.
---
Wrestle Mania XVII, Los Angeles, California.
The same time
Announcer Jim Ross talked over shots of the massive crowd. "We're back live in sunny Los Angeles, for Wrestle Mania Seventeen!"
The camera quickly showed the game logo, "And let's not forget, ladies and gentlemen, we have a new sponsor tonight in Tomb Raider: Operation Overlord!"
A cameraman showed a young couple in the front row, as Jim finished up, "So with us this evening is the star herself of the action-packed game - Cordelia Halliwell!"
---
Stonington Federal Prison, California.
The same time
Charles got up, and could only stare as his adopted daughter stood there amongst the cheering fans, waving to the nation live on TV. That idiot Harris boy standing right next to her was a bit of a surprise, but then Xander was far from the older man's immediate concerns.
"Halliwell?"
----
Hyperion Hotel, Los Angeles, California.
Wednesday April 25th 2001"He…hello?" Winston Egbert said groggily into his cell phone, half awake.
#Hey, man!# Manny spoke. #Where the hell did you disappear to last night?#
But before the guy could answer, Faith grabbed the cell phone from his hand. "Look, whoever this is - our new boy toy is going to be busy for a while, comprende? So he'll call ya back, okay?" The Slayer then instantly disconnected, and tossed the phone onto the chair where Winston's pants were.
"Will you guys keep it down a little?" Kennedy said, as she popped her head out from beneath the covers.
Faith shrugged, "Sorry, girl friend…" Then she looked back at Winston, in the same way the ancient Greeks would look at a sacrificial bullock. "All right, stud - last night, you proved that you've got stamina. Now…let's see if you've also got an imagination…"
TBC…