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)
Chapter 15b:
Outside the apartment
Stepping away from the others, Shote allowed the power to build up within his hands. This time instead of allowing the energy out, he forced his hands closer together, one above the other, palms facing each other. The energy within focusing into a smaller ball.
The second the creature stood back up, Shote curled his fingers inward so that they were almost touching the ball of power.
As the beast charged, he ignored Roger's demand for a shield, waiting til he could just feel the tiniest of pulls on his fingertips.
Recognising the familiar feeling he flung his fingers away from the ball at the same time as he reached full stretch on his arms directly in front of him. Basically outstreching his hands oyster-like, and giving the appearance of firing the energy ball directly into his opponent.
When it hit, the demon was knocked back to the ground again.
"What the hell was that..?" Came Roger's shout from his left.
Turning quickly in their direction, he answered their question. "It's just the offensive use of... my gifts."
"Your gifts..?" Came Amy's question, Shote was pleased to note it seemed more curious than anything else.
"I don't really have time to get into it now." He responded as his attention returned to the creature that was moving, but so far hadn't got up again.
"It can only stun." He informed them quickly. "If I can build up more of a charge, then I can hit it harder, but I'm not sure if this beast can be put down by force alone."
"Faith was going to do it." Roger reminded him.
"Faith's a Slayer." He commented back. "She was built to face things like this. We weren't."
All their attentions turned back to the creature, as it raised itself to one knee, apparently in the process of throwing off the effects of it's latest hit.
"I need you to buy me enough time to build up a significant charge." He informed them as he slowly began to manipulate the forces under his control again.
Back in the cave
"No." Xander shouted back over his shoulder as he strided quickly back down the connecting tunnel towards the large area where the First Slayer was frozen in place. "I'm not! That didn't- Just no."
"It's not what you think." He heard Brouhm shout as the other man chased him. "I know when-"
"You're fucking kidding!" Xander interrupted with the accusation. "I mean, you'd better be fu- that's not me, that wasn't me... I'm not like that."
As they reached the centre of the opening, Xander span around biting back comments as Brouhm attempted to calmly inform him. "What you went through before, that wasn't a true representation."
"Do you have any idea, I mean, do you know..?"
Xander watched as Brouhm purposely made eye contact when he answered. "Yes."
"Yeah, I guess you do." Xander conceded the point, trying to control his temper he changed the subject slightly. "And you're not certain anyway."
"I can't be completely positive." The other man confessed, before continuing. "But nothing I've seen leads me to believe it's impossible."
"I swear that isn't me." Xander stated confidently. "It's not."
"Any research you may have read on the subject is likely to be incorrect, I assure you-"
Xander quickly cut him off. "You can't."
Brouhm attempted again. "There have been many that fought alongside the Slayer-"
"Trust me, I don't think fighting alongside the Slayer was one of the main priorities." He sighed, forcing all of the tension out of his body. "Just... let's just drop it for now. Give me some time to deal."
He was relieved when Brouhm accepted his offer. "Okay. Let's take a time-out as I believe it's called."
Xander grinned slightly, let out a deep breath and allowed his eye to flick around the room as his mind desperately tried to come up with another question while he still had access to someone from the dawn of the Slayer line.
It was during his silent musings, that his eye rested on the captured demon. 'Okay, what would Giles want me to ask..?'
His attention flicked back to the other man who seemed willing to wait patiently for him to continue. 'Guess you get used to not being in a rush when you're trapped in here.'
As his attention returned back to the captured demon, his mind ran over possible topics. 'The First, is it really the very first evil..? Did the demon-tamers create any others like the Slayer line, and after all this time would they be allies or enemies..?' These and many similar others flashed through his mind, but throughout them all, his gaze never strayed from the creature in shackles. In the end he asked a question that he wasn't consciously considering.
"Is that the same creature..? It looks... different."
Brouhm's response nearly shocked the life out of him. "It looks like a Slayer is taking the tour as it were."
"Faith's in here..?" He asked immediately, as his attention started flicking round their surroundings. "I haven't seen her."
"It might be Faith, I cannot know for sure... until later." Brouhm shrugged, as he too started darting glances all around the cave. "Though I'm not certain there's actually been a physical change in the room, how did you know..?"
Xander ignored the curious look aimed his way. "Faith's in here... so the demon's out there..?"
"Yes." Came Brouhm's casual reply. "Well a Slayer is definitely, it's you that seems pretty sure it's going to be Faith that followed you in here."
"And there's a demon out there..?" Xander repeated his question. "An alive demon..? Sent out there..?"
"Yes." Brouhm responded again, "When we designed the box, we realised that in order to allow the Slayer to receive the knowledge we required them to know, then she would no longer be in your native dimension."
"What..?" Xander asked, thrown offguard by the new information.
Brouhm continued his explanation. "And if a Slayer was taken out of her native dimension then the Scythe would register her as gone, and pass the powers onto the next in line."
Xander looked on silently as Brouhm expanded further. "We noticed that there had been some, shall we say, overlaps when Slayers had need to travel through portals. We were unwilling to give the Watchers the power to create more Slayers simply by re-enacting the process with each new Slayer. But then again we created the box before we felt it necessary to directly intervene in the handling of Slayers if the box had been created after Merkak's other solution had been implemented then it might have been different."
"Merkak's other wha- Never mind," Xander ignored the irrelevant information. "So the creature and the Slayer are a kind of trade-off..?"
"Exactly." Brouhm sounded oddly pleased with his detective skills. "The Scythe recognises the creature as being connected to the Slayer line, and as a result doesn't empower a new individual."
"That's great!" Xander stated, panic starting to become noticeable in his voice. "I've gotta get out of here... deal with the creature."
"There are many Slayers." Brouhm stated in a confused tone. "The beast won't be able any real threat to any of them."
"They're not here." Xander answered, voice even more hysterical than before. "You gotta send me back, better yet send Faith back... can't you like kick her out of here or something..?"
"She is in here for the duration of the First Slayer's memories." Brouhm informed him. "You mean to say that the beast is unguarded."
"There are three people out there who have no chance of matching this creature." His eye flicked around the cave again, finally spotting the entrance where he'd first walked into this situation. Immediately heading in it's direction, he threw back one last comment. "They'd better still be alive."
Exiting the cave, as his eye adjusted to the unnatural sunlight of the outside world, he spotted the swirling portal in the distance and immediately began to run towards it.
Unknown location
As the first rays of sunlight pierced the morning sky, Tu'ron awoke slowly, peacefully turning over to stare at the young warrior who had shared her bed.
Inwardly Faith smiled, recognising the familiar sensations their shared body was giving them. 'Too long, far too fucking long.'
Tu'ron reached out and brushed his hair away from this forehead, smiling to herself as more of his face came into view.
'Bit vanilla for my tastes.' Faith commented, amused as she tried to pinpoint the emotions Tu'ron was going through. 'Now if you'd listened to me for once, I could have rocked both your worlds.'
Forcing herself away from unwanted feelings, feelings that Tu'ron herself seemed to be fully enjoying, Faith turned her thoughts to the more practical aspects of the previous night's events.
'I hadn't picked up any attraction from Tu'ron towards this guy before.' Faith realised, 'And if he's been after her, then he's been quite secretive about it. And shyness isn't exactly in one of the more prevalent qualities around here.' She thought with some approval.
There was something about how the whole thing came about that reminded Faith of times with her first Watcher. 'Merkak could have set this up,' She wondered, mind desperately trying to remember any times that she'd seen Merkak talking to any of the young men. 'If anything she's less socialable than Tu'ron is.' Faith figured, remembering how Tu'ron had seemed to become more distant with each passing month since she'd become the Slayer.
Thinking about her own Watcher, Faith realised that arranging sexual liaisons hadn't actually been part of their agenda. 'Maybe Merkak's just more in touch with a young woman's appetites than Giles or any of the other stiffs would ever care to think about. It's probably a chick thing, or some twisted father-daughter thing.' Faith sighed. 'Manda was pretty understanding when it came to me picking up guys and bringing them back... though she was quite strict about stressing the not-getting-attached rule... Get some, get done, and get gone.'
'Although relaxed in her own way around a lot of the Watcher-crap, I think it was probably just her having a more practical viewpoint in that the Slayer shouldn't be distracted by sexual desires more than anything else.'
Looking back at the guy that was just beginning to stir, Faith thought back upon the feeling of being beneath him. 'Looks like post-Slayage horniness was with us from the start.'
As Tu'ron and the handsome warrior made eye-contact and exchanged knowing smiles, Faith wished she could give her host some other advice. 'It was just a fuck... a fun, if a little tame, time was had by both parties... don't read more into it than there has to be.'
As Tu'ron moved on top of their bed partner, and reached down to check he was ready, Faith's attitude began to mellow a little.
'Of course, if you want to use him to learn some more tricks and grow in confidence, then be my guest.' She acknowledged as she allowed herself to wallow in her host bodies feelings.
End of chapter 15b
A/N: Just a quick one this time, hope you all enjoy it.