"Son of War"
BtVS/Xena/H:tLJ
(Season 3 of BtVS during the episode with Mrs. Post. Around Dahak's First Appearance in Xena-Herc universe)
Temple of Ares, Greece, 12 Years before Xena's Arrival in Potidaea
It was a building dedicated to the glorification of that which has brought about death, destruction and chaos to every corner of the planet Earth in the past present and most certainly in the future. It is a temple where those who worship it and make it their life's work gather in the hopes that the God who so personifies it will bless them and aide them in their efforts. On this night though the temple was completely vacant having been cleared out by the head priest and his staff at sunset. No one was told why this was done and anyone who attempted to oppose the priests had their efforts cut short with several very sharp swords. With darkness both within the temple and without as well as storm clouds gathering above the temple all that had experience in such matters would have probably had a bad feeling about the shrine. Fortunately for the one behind the emptying of the stone building none of the ones who might try and interfere with his plans were close enough to mess things up. His siblings were also otherwise engaged with some 'distractions' he had covertly arranged to take place around this time. Oh they would definitely feel what he was doing once the process began and would likely interrogate him after but by then it would be too late. He would have what he wanted and finally be able to start the plan that would spell the end of his pathetic half-brother as well as any who opposed him. After all while he was bound by certain obligations, rules and responsibilities what he would create here tonight would be a wild card that would be free to do anything so long as no connection to him was made. He could already envision how the future would unfold as a result of tonight and it brought sinister smile to his face.
Sensing a presence beginning to take form behind him he turned away from the window where he had been watching the storm clouds from to find his most obedient but also most expendable ally. It angered him every time he laid eyes on the snivelling little toady and only made him angrier that they were related but nevertheless the pale faced twerp had his uses and the errand the boy had been sent on was one of those uses. In the back of his mind he had been concerned that the unkempt fool would return empty handed or even worse have done something that would make any further attempts impossible. However when the lanky figure finished materializing it took him less than a minute to spot the glass bottle in his hands filled halfway with a dark red liquid. He almost chuckled with glee at the sight but reigned in those emotions before putting on the face he usually wore around his nephew.
"Do you have it?" he asked making it sound as though he was sceptical of the young one's ability to accomplish the task he had been given.
"Right here Unc! Got a whole half bottle for ya!" replied the young man who practically screamed 'spineless lackey' in the way he spoke and in the way he moved, "No sweat!"
"Did she discover who you really are?" asked the taller man as he took the bottle and held it up to one of the few lit lamps in the room.
"No sirrreee Uncle! As far as she was concerned I was just an ale induced dream!" the young lackey replied with pride, "Won't even have a scar when she wakes up in the morning!"
Good foresight. He thought to himself impressed with his nephew being able to think of such a problem much less solve it.
"Good. I trust you'll keep quiet about all this if anyone starts asking questions?" he asked the shorter young man as he turned to face him.
"Sure thing Uncle! They won't get word one outta me! Nope! Not one single word!" his nephew replied obviously quite happy with his uncle's praise.
"Then leave me!" he ordered making it clear that he wouldn't repeat himself, "Your part in this is done."
Startled by the sudden change from praise to anger his nephew looked like he was about to question the command before what intelligence the idiot had told him it was probably better just to leave. With a flicker of light the spineless relative he had sent on mission for tonight's 'activity' was gone but he waited a few more moments before getting down to business. After all the less that moron saw the less information the others could drag out of him later. He knew the fool wouldn't be able to hold up against the rest of the family for more than a minute and that was if the worm actually worked up the courage to hold his ground. With next to nothing to offer the interrogators besides the details of his errand he could take whatever information his nephew gave them and mould it into something perfectly reasonable. After all without incontrovertible proof that he had done something to violate the laws of his father all they could do was glare at him with suspicion in their eyes. That was one of the main things that he had kept at the forefront of his mind from the moment the seed of the plan first popped into his mind. He might be more than strong enough to deal with the majority of the family but his mother and father were two beings than made even him back down first in a confrontation. With them it was a simple matter of differences in power and he just didn't have the juice to go toe-to-toe with them. By doing things as covertly as he had there would be next to nothing to connect him to the new demigod on the block aside from blood. Blood that could have come from any one of a number of sources giving him many excuses as well as plausible deniability.
With this in mind he walked over to the alter that was at the centre of the room where a sheet covered form lay still and unmoving. To all except two it would appear to be nothing more than a statue or an elaborate casket most likely intended for the most devout worshippers of Ares. If the regular visitors to the temple were given more time they might begin to develop other thoughts but as the still form's presence here was a one-night deal it would end up being forgotten or treated as gossip. Reaching out with his free hand he yanked the sheet away to reveal a clay statue that kings and queens of any region would give half their riches for because of the obvious quality work. That is of course if it wasn't still malleable of course. By all accounts it looked as though the artist that created it had just put down his tools for a moment after adding a little more details around the eyes or the mouth and would resume in a few moments. Sadly the artist who had agreed to this little project of his would not be able to see the glorious future that awaited his masterpiece. As soon as the man had informed him that he was finished he had been permanently silenced in a flash of light that reduced the artisan to ashes. A pity considering that he was believed to be a rising star among his peers with the potential to create great and wonderful works of art.
Oh well! What's one less artist in the world? He thought to himself as he examined the form in front of him carefully.
At first glance one could tell that it was made to look like a young man in his late teens with a trim body and being roughly six feet tall in height. The various features and whatnot that one would expect in a son were present with the majority of those features coming from him with the rest coming from the young man's 'mother'. He had been thankful that the artist had just required him to show him what the mother looked like a few times because it would have been rather irritating to have to show up every night. All in all the clay form in front of him was the single most detailed piece of work in all of Greece and perhaps even the known world. Every square inch of the clay form had been cut, moulded, shaped and formed with the utmost precision possible with the tools of the trade. When he had seen the completed work for the very first time even he had been forced to admit how impressed he had been with the finished product. Now though it was time to get down to work and bring his project for the past year to fruition.
Placing the bottle containing the mother's blood carefully on the altar in front of him he summoned a dagger into his left hand. With no hesitation he cut a long gash in his palm and watched as his life's blood began to trickle out. He did not look for long as he knew his own nature would heal up the wound quickly so he would have to work fast. Banishing the dagger he dipped the tip of his left index finger into the blood pooling in his right palm and began to draw symbols with the crimson liquid on the clay form. With the careful precision he was sure the clay sculptor had used he drew symbol after symbol at the specific points necessary before finishing by placing his bloody right hand on the form's chest to leave a red handprint. With a shake of both hands the blood disappeared as though nothing at all had happened. With that first part done he picked up the bottle carrying the mother's blood and uncorked it with a pop before using the ruby coloured fluid within to trace the symbols he had made with his own blood. Conveniently though he would not have to physically draw the symbols again since his own blood automatically guided the female blood to where it needed to go. Five minutes of careful pouring later and all the symbols that had been drawn using his blood now had a layer of maternal blood on top of them. Looking at the bottle though he found that he had a little blood left and decided in an instant to empty what was left on the eyes of the clay form before him.
Now for the tricky part. He thought to himself as he prepared to endow this grey piece of carefully crafted clay with life.
While it was true that he had never done something like this before, and according to all the information sources he had access to he didn't have the power for, he had done everything he could to stack the odds in his favour. For one thing the temple he had chosen for tonight's event was located on a particularly potent convergence of magical lay lines. By tapping into them he was confident he could boost his own power to somewhere just shy of Zeus himself. If what his research had revealed was correct then all he would require was five minutes of uninterrupted concentration and he would have one fully functional demigod of a son.
Some might ask why he was going to such unusual and in some cases extreme lengths to gain a son when there were much simpler and much more pleasurable ways to go about it. After all it would be simplicity itself for him to just seduce the woman he had selected to be the mother, bed her and then wait for the child to be born. The reason why he didn't take that route was that he didn't want to have to wait for the boy to reach maturity. That and he didn't want to take the chance that something might happen to turn the boy into a goody-goody like his sickeningly sweet half brother. So while the risk of doing it this way was greater in terms of a success or failure thing it was preferable in his opinion to the risk of the person who was supposed to be his ally becoming another enemy.
With a deep breath of air he centred himself and removed all things outside of the temple from his mind. For the next five minutes there was nothing and no one in all of existence beside him, the clay form in front of him and the convergence of magical energy beneath his feet. Then like smoke rising from a fire the energy of the lay lines rose from the paths they usually travelled and entered him with all the subtlety of one of Zeus' lightning bolts. He was awash in a sea of energy that even for someone like him was quite the rush and almost let himself be distracted from his task. However the knowledge of the time limit he had to work with brought him back to reality and he focused himself on the task at hand as he empowered the symbols he had drawn and began the spell he had chosen for this task. Bit by bit he could feel each symbol reach the limits of the amount of energy they could contain and as each one reached optimum capacity they lit up with a bluish-white light for all to see. Once the last symbol lit up and the maternal blood that had been poured onto the eyes did the same he knew it was time for the final push. Going for one final surge of power from the cocktail of his godly power and the lay line energy he slammed it into the clay form in front of him with all of his strength. In a flash that could blind even a god the room quickly became filled with a light that could easily be seen for a mile in any direction through the windows of the temple. It took a few moments but eventually the light faded before vanishing entirely but when he looked down at the altar expecting to see his newly created son there came into being a whole new reason for a fancy light show.
The altar where the clay form had once rested was now bare of anything even remotely a human form and aside from a few ashes scattered about there was nothing to indicate that there had ever been a clay body there or that a spell had been cast. For a while only a look of puzzlement and thoughtfulness was on his face but that was all just a mask for the emotions rising to a boil just below the surface. Then like a volcano erupting he vented his emotions for all to see tossing bolts of energy in every direction demolishing walls and putting in more than a few skylights. This went on for a few minutes until the temple ceased to be a temple and looked more like ruins or a random assortment of boulders. Fortunately the venting and destruction had done their job of getting his anger and fury out of his system. Now though he had to come up with a plan Beta since plan Alpha had apparently failed spectacularly.
Guess it takes more than power to create life. He thought to himself as he looked about the remains of the temple as one would look at botched paint job.
"The traditional way it is then." Ares, God of War, said as though that had been his plan from the beginning.
With that he vanished from sight leaving quite a bit of work for the priests to do in terms of repairs in the morning assuming they didn't just leave to sign on with the temple of Ares in the next town. In other words it was just another standard night in Greece where the moods and actions of the Olympian's were as unpredictable as the weather.
None suspected that anything unusual had happened and that was just the way it should be as far as a group of higher beings was concerned. Anything else would just mean more paperwork for them and they had enough to deal with as it was at the moment.
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Realm of the Powers That Be, Same Time"That was close my brothers and sisters." Spoke the voice of a suave secret agent, "Ares almost managed to completely destroy our plans for the next century."
"Indeed. The emerging probabilities his 'son' was beginning to produce would have played havoc with our long term plans for the Olympians and several other mortals" said the voice of a queen of crime, "Fortunately the storm of energy the War God called upon for his scheme provided us with just the opening we needed to remove his 'offspring' from the game."
"The question now is what do we do with Ares' creation." Said the voice of a high school principal.
That indeed was a question that required those dubbed 'The Powers that Be' to take more than a moment to answer. After all while their first impulse might be to simply destroy the son of Ares they were not above considering how this new pawn might be used to their advantage. It had become a common enough tactic in their war against the denizens of hell to turn a potential problem into a potent solution. While some elements needed unique forms of 'persuasion' in the end they served their purposes well enough. Now how could this demigod, this son of Ares and a female warlord, best serve the cause and where to put him until it was time for him to accept his preordained destiny? Put him on the other side of the planet? No, word of this young man would eventually get back to Ares if they did that. Transfer him to another dimension where one of their counterparts could make use of him? No the others would likely not be impressed with the introduction of such an unknown into their plans any more then they were. Cast him into the future and deal with him later? No. That would merely be procrastination and probably would land them right back where they started when they caught up with him.
In the end they all agreed that there was simply too much chaos and uncertainty surrounding the young man that Ares had created and any plans they attempted to incorporate him into would inevitably end in ways no one could predict. So with little reservation they prepared to obliterate the son of Ares but were stopped by the sudden shock of a presence materializing in their midst that was stronger than any of them combined. When they saw who it was they all immediately knew that the fate of Ares' creation was now officially out of their hands.
"I'm afraid my colleagues that She has decided to deal with this matter personally." The man said in a voice reserved for a teacher who sneered at his students almost constantly, "Apparently something about this 'wild card' has piqued Her interest so I'll be taking the boy with me."
With a snap of his fingers the body of the son of Ares vanished from the room and all of the members that made up the august body called 'The Powers That Be' internally groaned at the potential confusion this could cause them in the future. It was rare that She took direct interest in the comings and goings of the planet Earth much less the beings that fell under their jurisdiction but when She did it always meant headaches for them later. Just as it looked as though her messenger was about to leave he seemed to stop and listen to a voice that could be heard only by him. It was when he turned back to look at them that they knew something had been added on to Her decision to take direct control over matters.
"Oh and She says that as of now he is officially immune as well as protected from you and your subordinates." The Sneering Teacher stated as though he wondered about the sanity of his immediate superior, "Any attempt, successful or otherwise, will be dealt with harshly. Picture 'unending Barney episodes' whatever those are supposed to be. She said you'd know what she was talking about because I sure don't."
As a whole The Powers That Be paled at the thought of the punishment they'd be forced to endure if they interfered with Her plans for the boy. With his message delivered the Sneering Teacher vanished and left the beings that made up the group entitled 'The Powers That Be' hoping that they were all retired by the time the Son of Ares popped up again.
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2000 Years Into the Future(give or take a few decades),
Sunnydale Memorial Hospital
I don't know why She's going to all this trouble for the sake of one demigod but did she have to pick me to take care of it! The Greasy Haired Man thought as tried to look inconspicuous as he made his way to the maternity ward.
It had been tiresome to travel two millennia into the future but even worse was the fact that he had to go to some rather extreme lengths to keep his presence outside of his assigned time a secret from all but Her. Not because he thought it was okay if She knew but rather because he had no chance in eternity of ever being powerful enough to keep anything from Her sight. Still it meant he was forbidden from using any of the magic he was accustomed to and thus forced to rely on mortal magic to remain undetected. It was appalling to use such primitive and, at least for him, unnatural magic to do this job but if it would get him out of this building and away from the Hellmouth quicker he could tolerate it. Just being near a portal to that infernal place made him feel all dirty and defiled. It made him wonder what plans She could have for the bundle he was carrying that would require the boy to be raised here of all places.
Oh well! 'Mine is not to reason why' and all that rubbish. He thought as he slipped into the room where all the little newborn ankle biters were kept.
The orders had been simple. Go two thousand years into the future, travel to the currently active Hellmouth, locate and get to the main hospital and switch one of the newborns there with Her special project. He had also been told to pay special attention so that the features of the project and the baby to be replaced matched as closely as possible. This almost made him growl inn annoyance since it meant that he would have to inspect each of these would be troublemakers one by one. If they had been all male he would most certainly have growled but as it seemed that more girls than boys had been born in the last week he only had to inspect ten of the newborns. Looking at each one carefully he tried to look for one with black hair and brown eyes along with all the other necessary features. Fortunately he had the baby he needed to compare the ten with right with him so he didn't have to worry about remembering something wrong. After a few minutes, some of which he spent wondering if a nurse that had gone by the observation window had seen him, he finally narrowed down the ten possible candidates to two.
To his left was a crib with the name 'McNally, Jesse' and to his right was a crib that bore the name 'Harris, Alexander' and both as far as he was concerned met the criteria he was given. The physical characteristics were a match in both cases and so he was left having to use his own wisdom and logic to decide which one he would switch with baby in his arms. Unfortunately though as the seconds ticked by he couldn't really come up with any sort of 'reason' to favor either Harris or McNally. As far as he was concerned one was just as good as the other. In the end though he decided on the Harris baby because of the name the parents had chosen to give their child. Alexander, a Greek name that when translated into the dominant language of this nation meant 'protector of mankind'. He found the idea of switching this normal child with the son of Ares to be somewhat amusing considering how the little war god would likely react if he knew. So in the end it was his sense of humor that made the choice for him and after a skillful switch of all the necessary items of clothing and nametags his job was done.
Now all I have to do is find some suitable family to drop the real Alexander on and I can finally go back home. The Sneering Teacher thought to himself as he vanished from the room with his temporary charge, Hmmm… According the divine rolodex the O'Neal family is primed to conceive a child in the next few days so why not this one. A little temporal regression and careful implantation should do the job nicely.
The La Metatron that came from two thousand years in the past would later curse his impulsiveness when he caught up with this point in time. Curse himself and really wish it was possible for the Voice of God to get completely drunk!
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Seventeen Years Later, Approaching the Crawford Mansion, Nighttime, SunnydaleThe Zeppo was at war with himself and from the way that it was seesawing back and forth he knew that the battle likely wouldn't end without something giving one side or the other a helping hand. It had pretty much been like this ever since he had spotted Buffy and Deadboy getting all smootchy in the very same mansion he and Willow were now heading to at the moment. It had made him see red when he had put two and two together and realized that Buffy had known Overbite was back and had kept this news from them. Naturally this had brought back all the bad feelings and thoughts he had about the walking corpse and finding out that she still loved him after all he had done only made things worse. As far as he was concerned the only good vampire was a dusted vampire, soul or no soul, and anyone who didn't understand that was either a moron or deluded. Naturally the blonde Slayer fell into the latter category. She was so happy that her undead love bunny was back that she wanted all of them to welcome the bloodsucker back with open arms. When the gang had confronted Buffy the library and she tried to mount a defense for her actions and against any attempt to dust Angel he couldn't believe just how far she had been willing to go just to keep her lover. Naturally he had stormed off in a fury and gone to the one place he might be able to cool down and vent privately a little. After sending the cue ball into the side pocket for the tenth time though he had begun to believe that all he was doing was getting even more worked up.
Then Faith strolled in. he thought as both he and Willow approached the front door to the mansion, Got me all fired up and not in the way you'd expect considering she's a complete hottie.
He had gotten into a good 'stake-the-leather-wearing-vampire' groove all the way back to the library where he and the brunette Slayer could stock up on weapons to dust Deadboy when a higher power decided to do something to give him some perspective. They had found Giles semi-conscious on the floor in his office with one helluva nasty bang mark on his forehead that was bleeding quite a bit. Going with his instincts he had tried to not only keep the Watcher conscious but also find out what had happened. Faith had immediately jumped to the conclusion that it had been Angel but looking at the wounds on G-Man he didn't agree. If Overbite had wanted Giles dead he'd be dead. If Deadboy had wanted the Watcher badly hurt the vamp would have done more than just a nasty knock on the head. Slayer Two though wouldn't hear any of it and was out the door and on the way to the mansion before he could stop her. Part of him had wanted to chase after her and try and get her to think things through but that portion of his mind was outnumbered by the parts that wanted Angel dusted as well as wanting to stay with Giles until the ambulance arrived.
By the time that Willow and Buffy arrived he was a big bundle of pent up emotions both good and bad. When the blonde Slayer had asked what had happened his emotions found her an acceptable target so he tore into her verbally without taking the time to think first. By the time his brain had caught up with his mouth he was left with one rapidly departing Slayer and one cross redhead neither of which were of the good. For the next few minutes he did nothing but what Willow told him to do in order to follow G-Man's last orders before he was carted off to the hospital. Once they had the ingredients for the 'Living Flame' both of them had been a little uncertain about whether they had done it right but after seeing what the magic glove thingy could do both of them had decided they didn't have time to test it out first.
Charging through the doors the sight that he spotted with his little eyes was not something that he would consider of the good. Faith's new watcher was sitting in a daze on the floor and the sounds of two Slayers laying the smacketh down could easily be heard. Both he and Willow didn't hesitate to go to the new Watcher's side to see if she was alright and from what he could see she might have a headache later but otherwise would be fine.
"The glove! It's in the trunk." Mrs. Post said urgently as she pointed to said trunk urgently.
"We'll get it." Xander said reassuringly just to make sure that the woman didn't overexert herself too soon.
Mrs. Post smiled at his words before she looked sharply in the direction that the sounds of fighting were coming from and said "Help Faith."
Nodding he stood up and left Willow to see to Watcher Woman's safety while he tried to put a stop to the fight between two Slayer's. He didn't know quite how he was going to pull that off but he knew that he had to get them to stop before one or both of them wound up in the hospital. True their Slayer healing would have them bouncing back in record time but time spent in a bed would mean time taken away from keeping Sunnydale safe from demons and vampires. Dashing through the broken doors to the atrium and quickly did his best to put himself in between Buffy and Faith hoping that their 'no hurt humans' rule would keep him 'owtch' free.
"Stop! Guys, listen!" he said trying to get the two warrior women to slip out of 'kick ass' mode and back into normal people mode.
Unfortunately Faith seemed to have some issues to work out with Buffy and didn't appreciate someone getting in her way. Therefore she grabbed him by the shirt and like a bale of hay being thrown from a hayloft she threw him back into the mansion so she could resume her fight with Buffy. While the landing was none too pleasant he was fortunate enough to land on something soft that cushioned his landing. When he pushed himself up though his cushion groaned and turned out to be Deadboy who had slowly been coming too until he had landed on him. This caused a mix of happy and annoyance in him as on the one hand he had caused Overbite more pain but on the other had Lord Forehead to thank for a soft landing. Rolling of the walking corpse he tried to get his bearings before heading back out to try and stop the Slayer twosome from kicking their butts into a hospital. However when the sounds of grinding metal clicking into place reached his ears he instinctively knew that a bigger problem had just shown up.
"Taou huogan maqachte milegaing!" yelled the voice of one Mrs Post and when the Zeppo turned around he was decidedly not happy to see the glove thingy that Willow and he had come to destroy on the new Watcher's arm.
His feelings were only reinforced by the sudden thunder and lightning show that decided to pop up out of nowhere. Given that it had been pretty clear out when he had left the school he figured it was a safe bet that the storm brewing wasn't natural.
"What's going on?" he heard Faith ask from behind him and judging from the absent sounds of fighting he guessed that both Slayers had taken notice in change in the weather.
"Faith! A word of advice: you're an idiot." Mrs. Post said with a smile that most baddies had on their faces when they decide to gloat over having made a hero look stupid.
Raising her gloved hand towards the skylight it didn't take a genius in Xander's mind that they were about to see exactly what the thing-a-mabob was capable.
"Tauo freim!" Post bellowed and in an impressive manner lightning fell from the sky, through the skylight and into the glove.
Repeating the two words she had bellowed earlier the rogue Watcher thrust her gloved hand forward and released the lightning bolt that had gone into the glove earlier firing it at the two Slayers. Fortunately though both Chosen Ones were quick enough and had seen the blast coming early enough to dive out of the way. Deciding that it was time for all non-super-powered members of the Scooby gang to high tail it he looked around for Willow and saw her getting up from the floor a little groggily. He wasn't quite certain why she was groggy but he figured that the Watcher bitch had something to do with it. While he did, for a moment, want to go over and give the Brit Bitch a piece of his mind he knew that he had to get his bestest bud out of harms way first. Running over to her he grabbed her by the arm and began to pull her in the direction of the front door but unfortunately it was then that Gwen Post decided to look in their direction. Later on he would think that it had probably been his running that had attracted her attention in the first place but for a moment the only thing in his mind was 'OH SHIT'.
"Tauo freim!" Post cried out as she let loose another bolt of lightning in the direction of the redheaded wicca and Zeppo.
It was here that time slowed down for one Alexander LaVelle Harris as he tried to find the best possible way to save both him and his oldest living friend. On the one hand neither he nor young Miss Rosenberg were anywhere near as fast as a Slayer which meant diving out of the way of the bolt of energy was highly unlikely. That meant either dropping to the ground or pushing Willow out of the way of the blast in the hopes that at least she would come out of this in one piece. Unfortunately he wasn't feeling much confidence that he could shove her quickly enough to escape receiving a lethal dose of electricity. That left only one choice and with less than a second to make it he knew he couldn't afford to hesitate in the slightest.
Goodbye Willow. He thought with every fiber of his being in the hopes that it would reach his friend's mind somehow.
With no fear and the determination to protect the most important person in his life he stepped in front of his best friend in order to take the brunt of the lightning bolt himself. It was an insane plan, one that had very little chance of succeeding given the likelihood that the electrical blast would simply punch its way right through him. After all unbeknownst to him the first blast that had been sent at the Slayers had left a bowling ball sized hole in the concrete wall outside. If the blast could do that to stone then human flesh wouldn't be all that difficult to put a hole in. However when the blast did make contact with him three things happened that no one present could have anticipated and only two beings in all existence could have anticipated. The first was that the seal that had been placed on the part of him that came from the god of war Ares shattered into dust releasing the powers of his birthright from their confinement. Not that it would have taken much to break the seal in the first place. With almost two decades of exposure to the demonic energies of the Hellmouth the seal had already been worn away quite a bit. In any case though it meant that in the space between instants Xander went from normal human to full-fledged demigod and this offered him significant protection against Post's attack. The second thing to happen was that the temporal anchor, the power that allowed a being created over two thousand years in the past to remain in the future, was overloaded creating a localized distortion in the space-time-continium. Despite how most sci-fi shows make it seem time travel is not as simple as walking through a portal or something and 'bam' there you are. That is because every crumb, every atom, throughout all eternity has its own unique temporal frequency or tone that indicates where it belongs in relation to everything else. In this case Xander's tone says he belongs over two thousand years in the past and the only thing that has been keeping him in the late twentieth century was a temporal anchor placed on him by La Metatron. However you'd be surprised what being hit full on with a mystical lightning bolt will do to one such anchor. Third and lastly, in the blink of an eye, Xander winked out of existence right in front of his best friend's eyes as well as everyone else in the room. It was not the sort of wink out one might expect from a living being getting struck by one point twenty-one gigwats of electricity. In those cases you'd expect the person struck to do a fairly good impression of a smoked cigarette on fast-forward before going poof like a staked vampire. In Xander's case though it was something more along the lines of 'there he is' then a camera flash effect and then 'where did Xander go'.
A wide array of reactions could be seen on those present and all of them making it clear how they felt about the founding male member of the Scoobies. For Willow it was naturally one of shock with sadness and grief not far behind if she didn't get a reassuring explanation of what just happened soon. On Mrs. Gwendolyn Post the look was one of pleasant surprise followed quickly by an almost erotic sensation of pleasure at the power her new weapon had just displayed. On the face of one Buffy Summers there was shock much like that on the face of Willow Rosenberg but instead of sadness being the next emotion to arrive it was the cold look of the Slayer unleashed. Gone was any sign of the slightly dim cheerleader attitude she usually exhibited and in its place was the warrior she was chosen to embody. All this was summed up into a single statement that echoed through the blonde Slayer's mind at that precise moment.
'This BITCH is DEAD!'
Xander though would know none of this because he was already traveling headlong down a path that would be filled with revelations, adventures, experiences and numerous women who will try to kill him sooner or later.
In short just another case of Xander's luck trying to kill him.
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2000 years in the past (give or take a few decades), Brittania, Temple of Dahak
"The hand of Dahak will sweep the Earth, bringing with it the winter of a thousand years, killing everyone who stands in the way of his world." Declared the priestess Meridian as she stood with dagger raised above the tied down form of the man known as Khrafstar.
"No! This isn't our god! Gabrielle!" Khrafstar yelled as he struggled in the bonds holding him down on the altar.
"With this blood, we praise Dahak, the Dark One." Meridian said as she prepared to plunge the dagger into the man before her.
In another universe, in another reality, this would have been the moment when the young blonde Gabrielle would have freed herself from the priest and worshipper restraining her and freed the man about to be sacrificed only to discover that she had been tricked into murder. In this place, in this reality, though someone who didn't think too highly of what the people in this temple were trying to do decided to intervene and get a laugh in at the same time. Just as the Bard Gabrielle was about to make her move there was a blinding flash within the temple forcing everyone's eyes to shut tightly. When everyone's eyes cleared up what they saw both surprised and confused them but it was a safe bet that no one was more confused than the young man that had apparently been dropped on Meridian.
Xander was surprisingly quicker to recover from his disorientation than the others and what he saw left him mentally asking all the usually questions like who, what, when, where and why the hell does this stuff always happen to me. Looking down he was grateful to see that he didn't have a smoking hole in his stomach from the lightning that Post woman had sent at him and Willow. In fact the only sign that he had been even struck was the tattered and scorched remains of the shirt and that left him pretty much shirtless since smoking pieces of cloth didn't constitute a shirt. It was then that he took a closer look at what was going on and realized that he had just interrupted a classic 'robed figures sacrifice' ritual. Also judging from the lumpy soft thing he felt beneath him he had just landed on the head priestess (yes he could tell what gender based on the curves and size) and that made him think he was about to be introduced to several pointy things soon. Jumping to his feet he looked about for a weapon and saw that the priestess had apparently been about to plunge a dagger into the guy strapped to the altar. Grabbing it he picked it up and then stopped to decide what he was going to do next. There were about six other robed guys aside from Miss Dagger and apparently the blonde girl they were restraining was next in line for the sacrificial slab. Deciding it might be a good idea to give the cult wackos one more person to chase after he moved to the altar and began to cut the man on it free.
"Who are you?" the man asked with confusion and something else that Xander wasn't paying enough attention to identify.
"Name's Xander. Don't worry I'll have you free in a second." He said as he finished cutting one rope and started to work on another.
Sadly the cultists apparently took exception to this and were mad enough that their shock and confusion no longer inhibited action. One charged him with a sword and while his first inclination would be to get out of the way of the sharp pointy thing that wanted to hurt him he couldn't risk this guy finishing what Miss Dagger started. So trying to put his best foot forward he lashed out with a side kick hoping to knock the guy on his butt long enough to at least finish cutting through the rope he was working on. What he got however was a kick that went past knocking the guy on his butt and shot straight to sending the cultist flying through the air until he slammed into the wall of the temple. So shocked was he that his foot hung there in the air as if it had been frozen in place. Fortunately the sight of the other approaching cultists, all with implements of death, with their intentions clear for him to see. Deciding to see if his newfound super strength was a fully body deal instead of just the legs he reached over to the last rope and instead of cutting through it with the dagger he grabbed it with one hand and yanked as hard as he could. Like it was made of dental floss the rope snapped leaving the man intended for sacrifice free to flee and Xander more able to deal with the approaching cultists.
Dodging to the side in order to avoid a sword slash designed to cleave him in two he quickly found out, much to his annoyance, that super speed was not included in the deal that gave him his newfound strength. No matter what he did he had just as much difficulty dodging his attackers' blades as he would evading the punches of vampires back home. Switching his grip on the dagger he held so he could more easily use it to block attacks he quickly adopted a 'block-and-punch' routine where he would hold the cultists' blades away and then immediately punch them before they could try again. Before long the only cultists still standing were the two that were still restraining Miss blonde and beautiful but that didn't last long as the young woman took advantage of her captors' attention being on him rather than her and jerked one of her arms free before tripping the cultist on her left and punching the one on her right.
Looks like things are looking up. Xander thought as he looked around a bit to see if any of the bad guys he had taken down were coming too, A little more time and then all three of us will be able to get the hell out of here!
Of course if Xander had been thinking a little more clearly and not still been a bit confused by his current circumstances he would have slapped himself silly for thinking something like that. Just like how you never say or think certain things on the Hellmouth the same sort of rules applied here if not to a greater degree. Just as you might get the attention of a vengeance demon back home if you said the 'W' word in anger if you got too optimistic in this world something bad always happened. In this case he was walking briskly over to the blonde girl intent on suggesting that they all get the hell outta here when his stupid optimism got him into trouble.
"Look out!" the blonde girl yelled as she pointed at something behind him.
Whirling around with the dagger ready to block whatever weapon the cultists were planning on using against him he was shocked and caught completely unprepared as the head priestess that he had landed on ran and impaled herself onto the dagger he had been holding. Shock ruled his word as two things overpowered his mind more than anything else. The first was that the head priestess had made no attempt to protect herself from the blade he held and had essentially committed suicide. For him suicide was a foreign and abstract concept for him. He knew it happened and he knew the basic reasons for why someone would do it but never had he ever thought he'd get to see it up close and personal. The second thing that hit him was the fact that he had played a part in this woman's death, he could feel her blood flowing over his right hand, and even as the life left her body he felt a growing sense of responsibility for what had happened.
His limp hand let go of the knife and as he watched the priestess drop to the ground with the blade still in her gut his mind threatened to shut down with only the basic systems staying online. Things like breathing and other autonomic functions stayed fine but as far as thinking and moving about went sluggish was an understatement.
"I don't know who you are Xander but thank you." The man that had been tied to the sacrificial altar said with a smile, "While we would have preferred that it had been Gabrielle who killed someone with the dagger I'm sure you'll do just as well."
Xander's only response to this was to look up from where he had been staring at the priestess' dead body and stare at the man with only a loose comprehension of what was being said.
"What are you talking about Khrafstar?" Gabrielle asked as she looked at the friend she had made with a growing feeling of dread in her stomach.
"It had originally been our intention to find some innocent maiden from a nearby village for the sacrifice but when you arrived with Xena it was clear that you were intended to take part in this sacred moment." Khrafstar replied as he casually strolled around the temple looking at his the unconscious priests from time to time, "It was here that the sacrifice was to be made but not one of flesh or blood but rather of purity. You were the one that was supposed to take up Meridian's dagger and give up your blood innocence in his name. Xander's arrival here was not expected and I have to admit for a moment I was angry that all our hard work had been ruined. Now though, seeing the look on the young man's face, I can see that like you he was innocent of evil and murder. Until now that is."
Shock and anger was in the voice of Gabrielle a she said "What's going to happen to Xander?"
"Truthfully I am not entirely certain. If things had gone according to plan you would have been impregnated with Dahak's avatar and in a matter of months she would been born into this world to carry out the Dark One's will." Khrafstar replied as he began to approach Xander slowly, "However in this case the mighty Dahak will likely take control of this young man's body and use him as his puppet here in this world. A fine choice given the strength the boy displayed in defeating my fellow followers."
"No! I won't let him!" Gabrielle vowed as she walked up and took a defensive position in front of Xander.
"You cannot thwart the will of Dahak Gabrielle. It is already too late to do anything." Khrafstar stated in a tone that made his thoughts of her promise clear, "Already it begins."
Almost as if in time with the man's words an unnatural fire erupts from the floor of the temple and engulfs the altar with the tips of the flames touching the ceiling. It is unnatural because it is bereft of fuel for nothing around the altar is flammable and each passing moment seems to only increase its power. This sight is apparently enough to bring Xander more out of the numbed state he had been locked in since the death of Meridian. However it was too little too late because with the speed of an arrow shot from a bow the flame shot out and wrapped chains of heat around his wrists and ankles. Frantically, his mind only being able to grasp that something evil was controlling the flames, he tried to free himself and called upon all the strength he could muster. Yet no matter how hard he struggled and no matter what method he tried to use to escape the flames maintained their hold on him. Gabrielle attempts to grab him but of the corner of his eye he sees her propelled backwards by an unseen force.
"Do not interfere Gabrielle. You were valuable to the great Dahak as a sacrifice but now you are simply expendable." Khrafstar declared his voice brimming with confidence and power.
"I won't let you do this!" Gabrielle yells and Xander can hear the scrape of steel against stone causing him to assume that she has picked up the sword of an unconscious cultist.
"You cannot stop it Gabrielle." Khrafstar said simply before his voice turned deathly cold, "However if you continue to make problems for me and the mighty Dahak I will have to kill you. I'm sure my god would enjoy having your blood to greet him as he enters this world."
Whatever else might have been said between the two was pushed beyond Xander's ability to comprehend as the altar exploded in fire and light. Before the sound of the explosion had even begun to dim the nature of the flames than bound him changed and instead of merely holding him in place they began to sweep over him like water. However unlike the soothing feeling one might get from the sea or a hot tub the time displaced Zeppo was enveloped with sensations similar to what amateurs go through learning how to walk over hot coals. The only difference between coal walkers and him though was that they only had to worry about their feet whereas he had to deal with the sensation of being burned alive throughout his entire being. Screams were the only way he could communicate his pain to the world because his mind could not centre itself long enough to allow him to form words. In his mind though, at its core where the most honest feelings and desires dwell, a desperate call for help was sent out to any who would hear it.
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A Hill Top Nearby, Same TimeIt was annoying to Ares that despite his efforts to have the temple of the cultists destroyed neither of the mortals he had handed the job to were doing it. Caesar wasn't doing it because the structure held no strategic importance and apparently the implied importance of destroying, even coming from him, wasn't sufficient motivation. In the case of Xena though it was the inherent mistrust and anger she felt towards him that caused her to reject his request without giving it a moment's consideration. Apparently she was still holding a grudge over his using the Furies to manipulate her mind and reform her into the ruthless warrior princess he desired. It was at times like this that he truly wondered if it was worth it to seduce Xena back to his way of thinking. Maybe he should just leave her be and find someone a bit more in line with his way of thinking rather than continue with this battle of wills. Of course this thought did not stick around long as it only took his imagining what it would be like with her as his warrior queen to reinforce his determination to win her love.
Before he could think on the matter further a primal call for help invaded his consciousness and startled him like never before. Only a select few times had anyone or anything been able to make it past the defences he had erected around his mind and spirit. In each of those rare cases only someone of considerable power or skill had managed to do so but only briefly as he threw them out soon after and then killed them. Reaching out with his godly senses he sought to find the source of this intrusion both to find out who was responsible and how to make sure it never happened again. As he searched he was puzzled to find that each and every single one of the barriers he had constructed within himself were completely intact. There was no sign that they had been attacked, broken down or circumvented in some way and yet he could still feel the call for help as clear as he had in the beginning. It was only when he traced the call back to its source that the identity of the one who called for help was revealed and the shock from this revelation almost shattered the war god's composure.
It can't be! Ares thought to himself in unheard of shock, The spell failed! I saw the remains!
Yet no matter how he tried to convince himself otherwise there was no mistaking the feel of the young man calling out to him for help. Somehow, someway, the son he had sought to create fifteen years ago had returned and was now calling out desperately for help. The only thing that caused even the slightest bit of hesitation for him was that the young man in question was currently within the temple of the cultists and the foul power of the god the mortal's worshipped was growing stronger. Indeed he could feel that it was this evil god's power that was causing his son to suffer and he had a feeling in his gut that this Dahak intended to do more than just hurt the boy. When he had spoken to Discord earlier and reminded her that none of their fellow gods on Olympus were foolish enough to confront Dahak completely he was being honest. While his knowledge of this dark being was limited he knew enough that attacking this being or one of his strongholds was risky and held the real possibility of bringing about his demise. That was why he had decided to give the job to Caesar and then Xena although he made sure that Discord viewed his decision as logical strategy rather than fear. After all it just wouldn't do for it to become known that the god of war feared anyone or anything no matter how impressive they appeared to be. The question now though was should he put himself in danger to rescue a son he thought he had failed to bring into existence or seek out Xena and try to motivate her to get to the temple of Dahak as soon as possible.
It took him only a moment to decide and in a cascade of light he disappeared from the hilltop to rescue his only son from the clutches of the evil that threatened this world. After all if he went to Xena and tried to convince her to go he would probably have to spend several minutes persuading her to go immediately while keeping his true reasons a secret. Judging from the way the call for help was fading from his mind his son didn't have that kind of time. There was no way he was going to let this unexpected opportunity slip through his fingers a second time.
It was time this Dahak met Ares, God of War.
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