By David MycockWalking the Path 20/
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the vampire slayer or any other of the characters in this story they belong to Joss Whedon and whoever else created the characters used in this story. Any characters I created I own.
Pairing: Janna Kalderdash/Xander Harris
Summary: Set after the love spell episode. Xander begins to walk his own path after leaning of his true origins. This also has a twist from the love spell episode with Xander actually sleeping with Jenny during the spell and the reactions from the rest of the group.
Xander woke quickly the next morning and looked around, he noticed Janna was curled up against his side and certain calmness could be felt in the room. He placed his head against the back board of their bed and thought about the dream he had the night before, he was slightly confused about it but he was sure it had been real as he heard the woman's voice Cassandra before.
But it did not give him any answers as to why she was paying him such attention, what was he to her that she would slip into his dreams and speak to him through his mind as Vlad did. He felt Janna suddenly move against him and he smiled as he watched his lover wake, he had grown quite fond of watching her wake up as her features seemed more appealing to him than ever
"Morning" Janna said before she kissed him softly
"Same to you" Xander returned "How do you feel this morning?" he asked
"Sick" she replied with a smile "But that is a small cost to bring a new life into this world born of our love" she added as her smile grew bigger as she anticipated giving birth to their child
"I'd agree with you but I don't go through the ups and downs of pregnancy" Xander said with a chuckle
"Just wait and give it some time" Janna shot back at him "When the mood swings set in then you'll be joining me in the ups and downs of pregnancy" she warned him wiping the smile of her lover's face
"But that doesn't happen for a while yet does it?" he asked
"True, but still don't think you're going to have it easy just because I am the one carrying our child" Janna answered as she leaned in and kissed him again
Cassandra chuckled to herself as she watched Alexander and Janna's conversation, they both had far to go but she was certain that together they would reach the end of their approaching quest.
"I trust you enjoyed your talk with Alexander?" the tall man asked as he appeared behind her
"I did my lord" she replied as she turned to face him "He was slightly confused about my presence but he accepted my offer of help and advice when I could give it" she told him
"Good, your advice will be of great help to his quest" the tall man informed her "But remember you can only tell him so much" he warned her "Too much information would disrupt the balance and that must never happen" he added before he vanished
Cassandra stared at the spot he had vanished from for a few minutes before she turned back to the pool to see that Alexander and Janna were now up and meeting the others in the kitchen to discuss what would happen next
"Be safe Alexander" she whispered as she watched
Xander almost shot to his feet as he heard Cassandra's voice once more but he managed to stop himself, he hadn't told Janna about the dream yet and he didn't won't to worry before he had done so.
Again he felt confusion build in him as he pondered why this woman was paying so much attention to him and those around him, what was it that drew her concern so much that she would offer advice to him when she could. He doubted he would come up with an answer anytime soon, so he tried to focus on the meeting that was about to start
"So what did the council have to say when you put in your report?" Sarah began as she drank some of her tea that Amy had made for the meeting
"They were quite angry to hear how far Miss Summers and Mr Giles had fallen from their duty especially in light of the fact that it had cost people their lives when she allowed the vampire to escape her at the mall as you reported when we arrived" Mr Zabuto answered "Mr Giles failure to properly report events in Sunnydale drew a lot of their wrath but as I expected I managed to get enough support from the majority of the council to make sure no harm will befall either of them and they will be kept on the hell mouth to make up for their failures" he continued
"Did they have any problems with the fact we called in a Vatican team or with the presence of two Hellsing members?" Xander inquired
"As you requested I made sure they understood I called in the Vatican at your own request and seen as you seemed to be in charge of the only group willing to help deal with Angelus and his followers I did not believe I had much room to refuse" he replied
"And they accepted that?" Janna asked as she tried to ignore the increasing feeling of wanting to be sick as she wanted to hear how the council had reacted to everything that had happened in Sunnydale
"Every member bar Travers and two of his closest allies accepted my reasoning for breaking the council's long standing rules with regards to our fellow organisations" Mr Zabuto informed them
"I take it Travers and his allies may become a threat?" Lilith asked listen carefully to everything that was said so she could give a report to her father to give to Sir Hellsing
"I think he already is a threat" Mr Zabuto said with a frown "Travers is part of a group of leading watchers and allies who are more interested in gathering money and power than actually fighting the darkness" he added
This piece of information angered Kendra who so far had believed the council were all honourable people, it seemed a lot of her long held beliefs since becoming the slayer were been destroyed during her second trip to Sunnydale. She was beginning to think this place was cursed
"How large is this group and who is its leader?" Xander asked as he lent forward ignoring the twinge in his side from his wound
"Travers and his main ally Derrick Thompson lead the group but none of us is actually sure how large the group is" Zabuto replied again frowning at this lack of knowledge on his part
"Options?" Adrian inquired concerned about this new information concerning the watcher's council current leader
"We have not been able to come up with any ideas to remove any of them especially Travers as he keeps a firm grip of the council and it is rare we manage to put something past him like we did last night" Zabuto answered "We have nothing but suspicions that he uses blackmail and threats to keep the other council members in line" he added noticing the growing look of anger and concern on his slayer's face as well as the looks were passing between them
"I guess that's something we're going to have deal with at another time" Xander sighed not liking anything Mr Zabuto had reported so far "We are in no position to do anything about him at the moment" he added frowning
The others nodded reluctantly at his words, they too shared his discomfit about Travers and his allies but realised there was little they could do
"So what will you do next?" Janna asked the watcher
"Kendra and I have been ordered to remain on the hell mouth to make sure Miss Summers and Mr Giles do their duty" Zabuto answered "We will ensure the hell mouth stays shut" he added with a determined look which was mirrored on Kendra's
"I know you will" Xander replied with complete confidence in Kendra's abilities "And you'll have help from the Vatican team Jack says will be assigned here once they pull out" Xander continued
"That is true" Zabuto nodded in agreement "Hopefully we can begin to start building some new bridges with the Vatican council" he added with a smile
"What will you do now Xander?" Kendra asked flexing her arm which was healing slowly but faster than it would of normally due to the slayer essence inside her
"We will begin to make preparations for our quest" Xander answered "There is a lot to discuss and put in place before we can leave and the sooner we get started the better" he added
"Can't you stay for a while?" Kendra inquired hoping her friend would reconsider now that she was staying on the hell mouth, she wanted to build some friendships especially in light of the destruction of the ones she'd had with Buffy and her group bar Xander
"We have a long trip ahead of us Kendra and we'll properly encounter a lot of things we'll have trouble with and the sooner we get started the sooner we'll reach the end" Xander answered with a look of apology on his face as he guessed why Kendra had asked him to stay
"And what awaits you at the end?" Kendra asked
"Hopefully the salvation of the gypsy people and the guaranteed safety of mine and Janna's child and every other future child of the tribes" Xander answered softly
"How do you expect to bring this about?" Mr Zabuto asked with interest
"By locating Vlad Tepes" Xander answered "He is the only one according to legend who can stop the tribal in fighting and reunite our people" he continued
"What makes you think he will help you?" Kendra asked slightly worried
"Because he sent his children to help train us and prepare us as we travelled" Janna was the one who answered this "He would not have done that had he no interest in us" she added with certainty
"Are you sure that is their purpose here?" Kendra asked again "No offence" she added a second later to the two nosferatu
"None taken" Lilith told her with a smile as she was impressed with how the African slayer had reeled in her instinct to attack any vampire
"And to answer your first question Kendra I am sure that is their purpose in been here" Xander told her deciding to keep the knowledge of Vlad's ability to mind talk him between himself and Janna for now although he suspected Lilith and Adrian already knew what was happening
Kendra nodded her head excepting Xander's word on why the two nosferatu had come to Sunnydale and their interest in him. She was saddened that he could not stay whilst she settled in Sunnydale but she understood his reasons for having to leave soon
"We'll be around for at least a week maybe two or three at the most and then we should be on our way" Xander said after a few minutes though to which Lilith nodded in agreement
"Is that everything for now?" Sarah asked from where she was sitting at the back of the room next to Amy
"I believe so" Mr Sabuto said as he stood along side Kendra and decided to head back to Sarah's house where they were staying
"We'll catch up with you later after we get through some more training" Xander said as he watched the two leave along with Sarah and Amy
"So where do we start today?" Janna asked
"We will begin with your magical training and then Adrian will begin your hand to hand combat training" Lilith answered as she led them to one of the training rooms within the manor followed by Adrian who was heading to the communication room to send a report on what they had found out about the watchers council
Cassandra watched the meeting break up and smiled as Alexander and Janna went back to their training, training they would need if they expected to survive their quest. She was happy to see they were taking it seriously
"I have a slight concern about your contact with Alexander" the tall man said as he once again reappeared
"What is it my lord?" she asked confused
"Vlad Tepes has access to Alexander's mind and with it he could discover your own contact with him" the tall man answered "This would be a breach of our rules and could cause problems from Alexander in his dealings with your husband" he added
"Do not worry my lord I placed a magical block on Alexander's memory of meeting me which will ensure no one else will see it if they get inside his mind" Cassandra reassured him
"And if Alexander tries to bring up your contact with Vlad?" the tall man inquired
"He will not be able to, the block will only allow him to discuss my appearance with Janna" Cassandra replied
The tall man nodded his head with a smile as he looked into the viewing pool satisfied with Cassandra's safeguards
Jack Crow yawned as he walked into the main room they had rented for their meetings; he was quite pleased with how things had gone so far in Sunnydale especially with the destruction of the remaining members of the scourge of Europe
The Vatican council was also happy to hear about the successful elimination of such a terrible treat, they were also interested in the kid's idea's of starting an alliance between the different organisations, he himself was unsure whether the kid could pull such a thing off but he was willing to help as it really could help out in the long run in their continuing fight against the darkness.
"So padre what did the chief have to say concerning who they would send to guard the hell mouth?" he asked as he saw Father Adam at a near by table
"It has been decided that Harrison and team Shadow will be stationed here" the padre responded as he faced his friend "They should arrive in about two weeks, until then we are to hold here and gather as much information about what is going on in Sunnydale and what enemies we can expect as well as vampires" he added
Jack nodded as he knew Harrison was a very able hunter as well as a leader, team Shadow was second best in the teams behind his own and was one of the few who had survived the assault of Valik on the European teams
"What are they going to do concerning the blond slayer and her pathetic group?" he asked
"Nothing but Harrison has been ordered to keep a close eye on them and if she should act in such a manner than causes innocent lives to be wasted again then he is to take action and eliminate her and the watcher" the padre replied with a frown not totally agreeing with his superiors orders
"That could cause problems with the kid and any hope of building any alliances with the others, do they realise that?" Jack asked as he sat down
"They do, but they are not willing to leave a slayer on the hell mouth who is not willing to do her duty to her fullest extent" Father Adam sighed
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that" Jack said not liking the idea of facing of against the kid as he was certain he would not approve of such an action against his former friend no matter what had happened so far
"Agreed Jack and let us hope someone up there is listening" the padre said with a nod
Giles stared at the phone in his hand with anger and contempt, he had hoped he could talk to the council before Mr Zabuto could send his report but he had been too late after the late meeting he had held with the still grieving Buffy and the others
Whilst no direct action would be taken against them he knew they would be watched very closely now and one little slip could cause their deaths, he did not know how Travers had been convinced not to get rid of them but he guessed he should be thankful for small mercies
He did not how they would even begin to deal with this situation but they would have to come up with something fast, he replace the phone and sat down and took a large swallow of the whiskey he had poured himself as he felt a headache coming on
He wondered if he really had walked into this situation blindly as Xander and Jenny had accused him off just to stay in Buffy's good graces before shaking his head in the negative at that thought, no he was sure they had brought this down on their heads in spit as Buffy had shouted last night. He sighed before he headed for his bed to rest before meeting with the others later to check on how Buffy was doing