Fic: Souls, Slayers... and a Scythe???
Author: mkcrl120
Disclaimer: All the characters mentioned in this story belong to Joss Whedon or Mutant Enemy or some other people. I own nothing and wrote this just to get it out of my system.
Summary: Set two weeks after the events in Explaining Africa 3
Authors Notes: I have no clue about Africa. Which is probably always a good place to start writing a story. So if details I've used for place names, and tribal names and whatever are wrong then just (correctly) assume I have no idea what I'm doing.
Rating: 15 by English standards (mainly for language)
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Chapter 3c:
The next day
Flight back to Douala Airport.
Xander was sitting in the aisle seat, Amy next to him and Roger in the window, "So where did Shote go in such a rush this morning?"
Roger reluctantly responded "Right... about that."
Both Amy and Xander turned to face him, "What did you do?"
"He's gone to tell some... people... that there are now many Slayers active in the world."
Amy looked confused, "And?"
'Maybe Shote knows something we don't.' "Is it bad? Did Shote give any indication that this was something we shouldn't have done?"
"Not to my knowledge."
"So... why the hesitant answer?"
"Well, I let it slip to him."
"You let what slip to him?"
"About there being more Slayers. He's going to take it up with his government."
Both Xander and Amy looked at one another to see if this was making any sense, neither looked hopeful. "Why?"
"Because the African nations do not believe that a resource such as the Slayers should be allowed to remain fully under the control of the Americans." Roger blurted out quickly.
Xander thought about it, "They're not..."
Amy helped in along. "In fact, the largest number of Slayers are currently residing in England."
"That's not going to be any better."
Xander eased his mind. "Giles isn't intending to have control of all the Slayers you know..."
"He isn't?"
"No. He's intending to control all the Watchers, but they can be of any nationality. The Slayers will be."
"What?"
"For the first time in... well ever, the Slayers don't need to be moved to the most dangerous areas."
"So what's Giles intending to do with them?"
"Give them adequate training so they understand what they are; provide Watchers in every possible instance so that at the very least we will be aware of their actions; hopefully there should be a Slayer school available at least on every continent."
"What's the bit about being aware of their actions?"
"There is a possibility that Slayers might not choose to fight for the good guys. If they've refused our aid or to be assigned a watcher, then they still need to be watched."
Roger had to clarify, "Good guys?"
"This isn't political. We're talking about Slayers who go over to the Dark Side and could potentially hurt innocents. They would need to be dealt with."
"I don't like the sound of 'dealt with'."
"Hopefully it won't come to that these days; we don't need to have every Slayer fighting all the time, they are free to pursue a career. For the first time ever, they actually have the chance to build their own futures."
Amy commented, "They're a pretty tight knit group too. The ones I met were definitely of the 'we look after our own' mentality."
"And the fact that it is now possible to outnumber them, makes dealing with trouble-makers easier."
"That's all well and good, but Shote is going to recommend to his goverment what we are doing, they are going to want to be involved in this."
"Kenya."
"What?"
"There are plans to set up a Slayer school somewhere in Kenya."
Amy filled in the blank, "Nairobi to be precise."
"What?"
"Shote might not be in the know, but there are currently plans to set up a school in Nairobi."
"How can Shote not know about this?"
Amy answered for him, "Because no-one knows about this so far. It's pretty unofficial."
"How unofficial?"
"So far there are two Slayers and three Watchers in Nairobi. They've agreed to meet the local Slayers there."
"You remember me telling you about all the potentials being called?" At Roger's nod, Xander continued. "Some of those obviously would be called in Africa. The problem is that a lot of people do not know what to do when their teenage daughter suddenly develops the ability to play tug of war with a jeep. So we have to be on the look out for reports of weird acts of strength and other things. This is quite difficult to do when you're talking about a global scale. So we've already assigned some Watchers to various areas, their task is to try and find out as much as they can about the likelihood of any reports actually refering to Slayers."
"Another problem is that while we have the perfect people to do all the checking; they aren't field Watchers and generally don't want to be the ones to approach a possibly powerful adolescent."
"So what do you do?"
"We've already said; once they've passed a certain level of training, we assign two Slayers to accompany any Watchers who are approaching potential Slayers."
Amy continued, "The two that have been assigned to Africa have been to a few places where Watchers are based, and have confirmed that they like Nairobi best. They've requested that if they're expected to live here for any serious amount of time, then they're going to live there."
"Have they found any Slayers that are local to Africa?"
"Quite a few. But the problem with Africa, is that a lot of the people here know about demons and the one chosen to battle them; and as such have their own opinions on where she should be stationed."
Xander leapt in, "We have confirmed seven so far; two of which refused our aid and explained that they were helping their people. The other five we did manage to persuade to return to England to visit the only active Slayer school."
"That's good though right? Nine Slayers in total. That's quite a team!"
Amy shook her head, "The two in Nairobi are Spanish; we're not sure how long they'd want to stay here once we get others up and running. So that leaves seven that we've found, based on population size we'd expect at least another eight here. Possibly up to twenty in total."
"Twenty?"
"And that estimate is based on the Slayers that we have currently identified. Confirming how many should be active is turning into an impossible task. We don't know if we're even guessing in the right area when it comes to global numbers, the percentage of potentials called in the last few centuries show that we can't identify even potential Slayers that accurately. And most of the active slayers we do know about now were potentials, which of course they would be cos if every potential is called then they all get called. But mixing that with the popula..."
Xander had to interupt her, "Let's just say it's some crazy maths thing I'm never gonna get." At her look, "I didn't know most of that; so most slayers called in the past few centuries weren't from the potentials?"
"Probably less than twenty five percent."
"Wow."
"Which shows how when over sixty percent of those we know about, were from previously identified potentials. Then we're definitely missing some."
"Okay, you're losing me with the numbers again." Xander looked across to see Roger's nod of agreement, "Explain it to me... us clearly."
"Each set of numbers we're giving you... they're lower limit. We could realistically be looking for several times each case."
"That's a hell of a lot of Slayers. Talking of which, we definitely never had sixty percent of current slayers with us in Sunnydale."
"They've been tracing family trees of those we discover. Sixty percent are either potentials themselves or have had family members that we have identified previously."
Roger held his head in his hand, "This is getting too confusing."
"And this is why Africa's such a problem."
"What is why Africa's such a problem?"
"With so many people in the know, Slayers are not coming forward. In just about everywhere else we've come very close to the estimated targets; in fact most of the time we surpassed them, and had to start recalculating the other numbers."
Xander held up his hand, "Don't start that again."
"Africa should have at least fifteen to twenty Slayers, the fact that we've identified seven... not good."
Roger grinned.
Xander found himself curious. "What?"
"I get to be the one that tells Shote he has over ten missing Slayers in his country."
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An hour later
Amy was watching the in-flight movie on the overhead television screen. It was some comedy starring Steve Martin, she knew from previous trips that she'd be bored after five minutes, but watching in silence was starting to get to her.
She was about to raise her arm, so that she could purchase some headphones off the stewardess, when Xander asked her a question.
"This kinda family potential thing?"
"This what what?"
He turned to her, "This thing you were on about earlier. About potentials running in families."
"Yeah?"
"It's been bugging me since you mentioned it. If the Watchers have lists of potentials from previous years, then why aren't they following those families to see if any have been called?"
"What are you trying to say?"
"Say there's this girl right, can be from anywhere, and she was an identified potential that didn't get called way back in, say, the late nineteenth century or something."
"Okay."
"Now fast forward to today and the families grown, so that she's got, like, twenty great grandchildren or great great grandchildren or whatever they are."
"Yeah."
"Shouldn't we be checking them?"
"That may take a while."
"You've said there's a group that's checking the family histories of all slayers that turn up. Giving us a better understanding of the Slayer lineage if there is one, or whatever it was. Wouldn't it be worth checking in the opposite direction?"
"I can see your point. But you're looking at a massive job."
Roger chipped in from the window seat, "Not really, all you're looking for are girls who were between the ages of twelve and nineteen on the day you closed the Sunnydale hellmouth. You could probably get a computer program to dig that out where possible."
"Hmmm... I can't see any fault with it, we'll pass it onto Giles when we get back."
She turned to Xander, he seemed like he was going to go to sleep again. She turned to Roger, who had continued to read his book. She was about to order the headphones when it was Roger's turn to interrupt.
"I also don't get that potential thing."
"What?"
"The potential thing. I don't understand it."
She turned to him, "What's not to understand? Some girls get identified as potentials, others don't. These are basically the pool of people that the next Slayer gets called from. It's that simple."
"It was that simple."
Amy began to think of the possible implications, "What exactly are you saying?"
Xander began to snore next to her. She nudged him in the ribs. "What?"
"You might need to be awake for this."
"For what?"
"Roger doesn't understand the potential situation."
"Didn't you give him all the relevant Slayer info two days ago?"
"Yes."
"So... what do you need me for? If he doesn't get it, explain it to him, you're the official Watcher."
"He gets how it worked. He isn't sure how it works now."
"What's the difference?"
"I don't know yet. But thinking about it, there will be a difference."
"Why?"
Roger felt the need to explain further, "Because no-one remains a potential anymore."
"What???" Xander practically leapt out of his seat.
Amy almost followed. "Says who?"
"No-one... but what everyone said previously might not apply."
"What are you getting at?"
"Your friend's spell."
"Willow's."
"Yeah, her spell activated every potential there was."
"So?"
"How long is it going to go on for?"
"She cast it. It's done. Complete."
"But to cast it she had to change every rule of the slayer line there was. She changed it so that instead of one death causing another calling, no deaths caused all to be called."
"Still not sure I'm following you."
Amy leapt in, "We've essentially changed the very nature of how the Slayer line works, how it gets passed on, everything..."
"Yes, how do we know it didn't change the rules forever?"
"What to?"
"The only rule we know about it; was that all potentials that come of age get called. What if that's the rule from now on?"
"You're saying that all potentials will get called for the rest of time?"
"It's a possibility."
"We're having enough problems locating them now, we cannot go through this every day forever!"
"My thoughts exactly."
"How do we know what the rules are?"
"Any of the Slayers have any younger sisters that are about to become the right age?"
Amy quickly interrupted, "Doesn't work that way."
"You said it ran in family lines."
"It does, but it also kinda doesn't."
"What?"
"I never said 'definitely', I distinctly remember not saying 'definitely'."
"You might be a potential if your mother was one. You might be a potential if your sister or cousin is one. It's not definite."
Roger thought about it some more, "So who's the next definite?"
"What?"
"Who is the next youngest potential after that twelve year old that got called?"
"She wasn't a potential."
"Amy, we don't care if she was or not... who's next?"
"Lisa... I think... she's a nine year old in Australia."
"Nine?? That's a big gap..."
"It's very difficult to identify them too early, that's why even in areas where we can test every baby born to a hospital quite a few slip through the system. They get easier to pick out, as they get nearer to the age of calling." Amy explained.
"So nine is the next eh?" Roger mused, "Well in three years we'll be able to tell if they're going to be getting called or not."
"Possibly not," Xander argued. "They don't normally get called 'til they're fifteen-sixteen. So we could be talking seven years."
"Seven years!!!"
"Actually some have been called that were older. To be sure it's definitely not going to be happening, you've got to be going for making sure she's too old to be called, twenty would probably be safe, but I'm with Xander on you'll be looking more doubtful once she passes primetime."
Roger looked even more doubtful, "Eleven years, you want us to be looking out for this for eleven years?"
Xander argued. "It's your theory. As you said, we need to know if this was a one-off one-time you-either-qualify-or-you-don't dealy, or if it's a open-invitation-for-as-long-as-the-spell-lasts dealy."
Amy thought to herself 'Eleven years is too long. We need to start narrowing it down sooner' "Instead of checking random potential family lines... what if we simply got every slayer that's just been called and asked them if they had any sisters or younger cousins. Most of their families have an idea of what's happened to those girls, asking if we can check others in the same family to see if we have potentials might not be that bad."
"Yeah..." Xander looked thoughtful. "Unfortunately even if we find one that is a potential, and is older than the nine year old, hell even if she's only a few days younger than the twelve year old... then we've still got an eight year wait on our hands." At Amy's look of disappoint he added, "It's a good plan, one we will suggest to Giles once we get back, but it's still going to take a long time."
Roger came up with a different idea, "We need to get Willow, and other magical types, confirming if it is still running. And if it is can we stop it?"
Amy asked aloud, "Do we want to stop it?"
"What?"
"Think about everything that happened with the others. If we have that spell running forever or for some set time, then no-one has to get given a practical death sentence at fifteen." Amy countered.
"Or we empower thousands and hope they don't cause too much trouble."
Roger joined in, "And with those two possibilities; it hardly seems fair to simply write it off with a better-the-devil-you-know situation either."
"So..." Xander reasoned. "Not only are we unsure about what might occur in the future, we are also unsure of what we might want to occur in the future."
Roger smiled sheepishly at them, "And I've just thought of a third option."
"This wasn't complicated enough?"
"What if it's a mixture of the two?"
Amy couldn't believe this, "What?"
"What if no more get called initially... but at some point in the future one of the Slayers currently active today is gonna die. What if that causes lots to be called again?"
"Or it might only cause one to be called?" Amy tried to sound hopeful, "So that however many are alive today will be the number that there are forever."
"That would be the best solution." Roger agreed.
"Except that to arrange anything like that, we're talking about making a serious change to a set of rules and replacing them with our own."
"I think you did that already."
"We were in a crisis situation."
Roger let that one go and changed idea, "What if a Slayer dying doesn't cause another Slayer to be called?"
"Why wouldn't it?"
"The second time, Buffy's didn't."
Xander joined in, "I've had some thoughts on that."
"And?"
"What if the Slayer essence can only be passed on when the active Slayer dies?"
"So Buffy wasn't the active Slayer?"
"No, it would appear to have been Faith."
"So who's the active Slayer now?"
"That I don't know."
"Wouldn't it still be Faith? She didn't die."
"That depends on how the essence was passed to all the others."
"So everything comes down to the fact no-one has a real idea what Willow's spell did?"
Sighing Xander replied, "Definitely looking that way."
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After they had departed the plane and travelled through customs, Xander had taken them all home.
They had been inside for just over an hour and had started eating their evening meal, when there was a knock at the door.
Amy screamed "The box!"
Roger looked lost, "What box?"
Xander glared at him, "Don't start that again!"
"The box gets delivered today."
Amy got up and ran through the dining room towards the doorway.
Xander could hear her voice from the front door. "Hello."
She was definitely talking to someone but he wasn't sure who. 'Probably the delivery guy or something.'
Two sets of footsteps returned from the other room. Xander had his back to them both, but could see Roger had stopped chewing his food to look past him. 'Close your mouth. That is disgusting.' Xander thought, 'What the hell's up with...'
"Erm, Xander?" Amy began, "She says she knows you."
"Yo Cyke!" a familiar voice from behind said, "Got a room for a girl to crash in?"
Xander turned to confirm he'd correctly identified the voice.
'Yep. Got it in one. Same dangerous curves. Same smirk. Same old' "Faith."
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End chapter 3c:
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