The Gift of a Family chapter 21. Who Knew That Saving The World Was Hereditary?
I still don't own Buffy or Stargate. Shocking surprise isn't it? LOL
Thanks to Sulien, and to those who are recommending my story, those who are reviewing my story and also those who are reading my story. You guys are the best. I hope you are enjoying it I am sorry it took me so very long to get the next chapter out. The rest of the story isn't mapped out as well as the first part was so there may be delays. (Plus I have Carpal Tunnel, Tendinitis and Tennis Elbow so it is really hard to type my stories on my computer when I get home from work after typing all day at a phone center. Sorry)
Oh, and to everybody from Pol's group on Worlds Of Possibilities (especially our chat group) I have been eating my carrots, (in fact I am eating one now) and it seems to have helped a bit, hence the new chapter. Thanks for the idea of feeding the plot bunnies inside of me, I think they are starting to come out of hibernation. (And there was much rejoicing .) LOL. I have even been working on some really old stuff that I need to finish. :-)
Seeing how badly Buffy was wounded, Faith took point leading Wesley, Graham and Buffy into the newly constructed school. It was almost done and would be ready in time for the new school year. She didn't get far leading them however, she stopped in the middle of the hall.
"Uh, Buffy what way is it to the Hellmouth? Everything is different."
The library was on the other side of the school from the football field. Buffy quickly thought to herself. "Go that way and watch for vampires, they will have already found it for us."
With a nod, Faith continued forward, protectively leading the way until they came to the principal's office. Faith launched forward and quickly dusted the vampires guarding the door. Buffy watched as Faith finished them off. She was content to let Faith handle the majority of the fighting as she could feel her strength slowly leaching out from her and knew that she would need everything she had for what was about to happen.
The minions were nothing but dust when Faith and Buffy looked at where the hellmouth was located in the new school. Both of them snorted and looked at each other.
"Figures," Faith said. "Remind me to keep an eye on the principal, he is sure to be evil."
Buffy smiled weakly. She felt guilty to be turning the Hellmouth over to Faith and leaving her to face it alone. "Hey, you never know, maybe he'll be some dashing vampire hunter who will fall madly in love with you."
There was a space of a moment of silence between them while they looked at each other with mirth shining in their eyes."
"Nah," they both said at once and with a little light laughter.
"But, hey girl, we can dream can't we?" Faith said, then, "But you know me Buffy. One man would never be enough for me, I like to play the scene. Say Buff, you will come visit me, won't you? We can paint the town red, make with the Slayage and find a good boy toy or two for when we're H and H."
Buffy smiled at her sister slayer. Faith knew her so well and yet not at all. They were like a mirror image of each other, so alike and yet so different. She had always been someone who was exclusive with whoever she was with, while Faith played the scene. Buffy wasn't going to start sleeping around, but decided it was time to try things a little differently for a change. Things were heating up too quickly between her and Daniel and it hurt her when he suddenly pulled away after Jack announced that he was her father. Buffy didn't blame him, he was her fathers friend and work associate, but she was surprised at how much it had hurt. Maybe Faith had the right idea, don't let any one guy get too close, then they can't hurt you. She wasn't going to start sleeping around, but it couldn't hurt to date around.
"It would be nice if we could go before the Hellmouth opens and unleashes Hell on Earth." Wesley grumbled waking, Buffy from her thoughts.
"Sounds great, Faith. Next time I am in town we'll hit the Bronze." She agreed. "Ready?"
"Baby, I was born ready," Faith stated with a playful wink.
Together they burst into the office, leaving the dust of every vampire they past floating in their wake as they moved through. Wesley and Gramm followed close behind them.
Zachary returned after helping Allan to the hospital, debriefing him and getting him to agree to a cover story. (Gangs on PCP.) He walked back to the high school and out onto the green grass, wondering where everybody had gone. Looking down into the large hole in the end zone, he couldn't quite help the waive of fear and terror that was slowly filling him. He really didn't like being there alone, wondering where everyone was, especially when he could see the forms of the vampires slowly regenerating in little dust storms below him. He gained a new sense of respect for Buffy in this moment. He realized how much more terrifying this world was when you faced it alone.
Just as he was about to go look for his team, Abrams voice called out to him from the darkness to come help carry all the firepower they had brought back with them.
Dust was swirling everywhere in the cavern; it looked eerie in the shadowed light of the torches and bonfire. Looking at the vast number of vampires that were slowly coming back to life filled him with dread, turning his attention back to his job of setting up explosives throughout the cavern, he noticed something that helped him to forget his fears.
"You really are related to Buffy aren't you?" Zachary stated in awe, seeing the feral glint in Jacks eyes as they set up the explosives.
"She is my daughter," Jack stated with pride while eyeing Daniel. He still needed to have a little talk with his best friend about that kiss.
"But, aren't you the Colonel O'Neill of the Blue Book Project?" Zachary asked.
"Blue Book project?" Jack asked playing dumb. "What do you know about it?" He asked with narrowed eyes, realizing that they weren't going for it.
"We haven't been fully briefed, but we have been briefed on certain creatures we are supposed to let your group know of if we come across any in the field. But you hear things around, every now and then. So aren't you Colonel O'Neill?"
"I'm the O'Neill with two L's." Jack confirmed.
"Whoa, who knew that saving the world was hereditary?" Abrams whispered to Zachary.
"So how exactly do you boys know my daughter?" Jack asked.
There was a long moment of silence as they considered the best way to answer this question. Finally, Abrams answered, "Through Riley. They were together for a while. He was our CO and met Buffy at UC Sunnydale."
"Riley was the ex-boyfriend who gave her all these explosives?" Daniel asked.
"Yep. Hey, remember how before they got together Ri, kept saying that there was something different about her?" Abrams asked Zachary
"He was right." Zachary pointed out.
"Yes, but I still say he kept saying that because he liked her, but didn't even realize it himself," Abrams stated. "He finally realized it when Parker used Buffy and said those things about her. Remember how angry it made him? Ri punched him and knocked him on his..." Abrams stated, forgetting about Jack and Daniel being present, but trailed off when he realized he was saying too much. Jacks eyes had turned deadly and Daniel's looked rather frosty as well.
"Who is Parker?" Daniel asked. "What did he say about Buffy?"
"And how exactly did he use her?" Jack demanded. He remembered the phone call in the office when Buffy's friend had mentioned a Parker and a one-night-stand.
"Uh, probably not the best conversation while dealing with explosives," Zachary stated, turning white just contemplating the dangerous look in not only Jack's but also Daniel's eyes. He seriously wondered if he had better look up that prick Parker and give him a fair warning. Jack was deadly and Daniel had taken out the Dragon; they weren't men to mess around with.
Wesley was impressed. He always loved to watch the beautiful but deadly grace of a slayer in action; two together was even better. Faith and Buffy were dancing. Even Buffy, who was clearly exhausted and badly wounded, seemed to flow through the room with a deadly grace. Together, the deadly duo left nothing in their wake but gently falling dust. The sight of the two women was nearly hypnotizing.
It was the echoing howl that brought him back to the moment and his reason for coming. There was a gaping hole in the ground in the middle of the office. In the room below he could see Drusilla and several other vampires standing over another silver seal that was slowly unfolding and opening. He immediately started chanting the ancient and sacred spell honored and kept by the Watchers Council since the first averted Apocalypse when a Rabbi, a Monk and a Priest had been forced to work together to save the World. With his chanting words, the seal below immediately stopped opening and very slowly began to close.
The spell was meant to be used by the power of three. It would still work with only one chanter, but it would take much longer to close. Wesley only hoped that Graham would be able to keep the vampires off of him long enough for him to close it.
Drusilla looked up at the young ex-watcher with murder in her eyes then turned to another small group of vampires Wesley hadn't noticed yet. "Kill the nasty little nightingale! He sings poorly, and it bothers Miss Edith!" She commanded.
The group of vampires stepped out from the shadows; two of them grabbed a third and threw it straight towards Wesley, who was knocked to the ground under the heavy vampire.
Graham didn't waist a moment. He could see that the instant Wesley stopped chanting that the Hellmouth started to open again. Dusting the vampire Graham pulled Wesley to his feet. "Keep chanting!" He commanded the other man and launched forward to kill the other vampires who had emerged from the hole and were stalking toward them. Drusilla herself was among them and she was already working on casting her spell to enthrall Wesley.
Graham knew his own limitations and prayed that Buffy or Faith would handle Drusilla while he attacked the minions. He knew he was no match for the demented vampire. His prayers were answered as Buffy tackled Drusilla, breaking the spell she was weaving over Wesley.
Faith saw the other vampires in the room being handled by Graham and Buffy and jumped down the hole to take on the vampires below.
Drusilla was never much of a fighter, yet she had an uncanny knack for staying alive. She twisted and writhed like a cat, avoiding Buffy's punches and kicks.
"Naughty girl, fighting your great grand-sire. You're part of the family now, you should be helpin' us," she stated.
"I always knew you were a demented psycho bitch," Buffy growled, "but I would have thought that even to you it would be obvious that your precious Dragon didn't manage to turn me. He's nothing but dust now." Buffy expected Drusilla to scream in rage and anger, but was startled into shock when Drusilla simply started laughing with a wicked smile on her face.
"You think you are still human, my poor, poor great grand childe? Your life as a human is like a little fishie that has gone belly up and lies dead in it's bowl. You are not as you were, little sunshine, four kisses and you join the great house of Aurelius. It started when you were called as a Slayer, you were already different but then you were more so, then came your first death at the Master's hands. You woke stronger and more powerful than before, that was the first kiss. Next you were marked by Daddy and this was the second. Then you ascended beyond the twinkling stars, where you were filled with power that thrums and hums in your veins even now. This changed you more than you know, never will you be a meager human again. You were kissed the third time by my Sweet William. Then you were blessed with the lovely green light. Now the fourth kiss has been laid by my Dragon. His blood became one with you from behind while he kissed you from above sealing you as family. You can feel it girl, you know the truth."
"I am no vampire," Buffy hissed, not even realizing that they had stopped fighting and were standing having a conversation as if they hadn't just been fighting a life and death battle a few moments ago. She was greatly disturbed to hear Drusilla say that she was no longer human since her trip to heaven, she didn't want to believe her, but it would explain why Spike had been able to hurt her even with the chip.
Then there was the claim that she was now family with a clan of evil vampires. She didn't want to admit it, but she could feel Drusilla. Her blood had run cold when she heard Drusilla say that the Dragons blood had became one with her from behind while he kissed her from above. Did that mean that the Dragons blood on the seal had seeped into the wounds on her back while he drained her? Was she becoming a vampire even as she fought them?
"You are the Sunshine of the Aurelius Clan. One of us, even though you are not. But your daddy is awake again now, he can finish what he started. He is not happy with his Childe for killing his minions, no, your daddy is not happy at all."
Buffy gasped. Was it true? Had the vampires already come back to life? There had been no explosion and she was sure to have heard it. What if Jack, Daniel and the others hadn't gotten the explosives set up in time? They could even now be being killed or, worse, turned. Pushing her fears and worries aside, she launched at Drusilla intent on the kill. If she was slowly becoming a vampire, she would deal with that once her family was safe. She had to take care of Drusilla and get to them before it was too late.
"Jack?" Daniel's slightly disturbed voice asked. Jack stood facing a partly reconstructed vampire, whose dust he was stirring up before him with his hands. It looked like he was doing the Hand Jive.
"Yeah, Daniel?"
"What are you doing?" He asked.
"They're almost reconstructed, I thought maybe it would slow them down. I'm playing with the particles of a blood sucking killer, it's disrespectful and fun, how often do you get a chance like that?"
"Er," Daniel decided to let the subject drop. "We've got the explosives set up, we just need to get out of here, take cover and wait for them to wake up."
"Right. Let's move out." They moved with the soldiers up the ramp of dirt toward the football field above, they were almost to the exit when the vampires came back to life.
Xian Lee Xio, also known as the Dragon, felt the power of the vampire fill him again. Looking around, he instantly noticed the bombs and the human scum leaving the cave.
"Kill them, my Warriors!" He shouted his command, even as he was running after the human who was the birth father of his Intended Childe. "Get out of the cave quickly."
"Run, take cover behind the dragon's body!" Jack's urgent cry spurred them forward. Racing as fast as they could, they leaped behind the body of the dead dragon and pushed the button to set off the explosion below.
I have posted a challenge with this chapter on Twisting the Hellmouth fanfic dot com. It is called Jack's Revenge. It is Challenge #2850. It doesn't have to be long so I hope to see a lot of revenge soon. Oh, and I post there as FireDragon.