STAR Labs.
It was seconds after Cisco notified Wally of the alert from Iris's phone, as well as her location, that the latter sped down to the alleyway. As Wally raced through the alleyway at super-speed, time was already moving at an imperceptible slow pace; and what he saw had shocked him. His sister's back was towards him, and there was a man… or rather a monster out of nightmares… biting down into the side of his sister's neck. Wally reached for the man just as he slowed down and pushed him off his sister. Wally then grabbed Iris's now unconscious body while he stared with eye wide in horror at the man... he really didn't know what to call the being in front of him… who had blood trickling down the corners of his mouth. The man grinned at him, showing off sharpened teeth as Wally exclaimed, "what the hell are you?"
The man… or rather the creature… growled at Wally who felt chills travelling up and down his spine. Wally tensed as the creature turned and leapt high onto the third-floor fire escape of the building to the right, before taking another leap towards the roof in silence. All Wally could do was look on with fear gripping his heart while his hold on Iris tightened. There was no way he would be going after this creature with Iris in his arm. He was determined to drop Iris at STAR Labs before coming back to this section of the city and searching for the creature at super-speed. He then looked back down at Iris and noticed the two marks on her neck which had blood dripping down its side.
"What the…" Wally whispered with worry in his voice before he turned to the direction of the main street and then ran as fast as he could while carrying Iris. At the same time, Wally was yelling into his earpiece for Cisco, "Cisco, I'm bringing Iris back to STAR Labs. I need Caitlin in the Infirmary, Iris is injured. She… she's breathing but she is unconscious." As he ran with a sense of relief that Iris was alive, the worried voices of both Thea and Laurel spoke through the earpiece in his cowl.
"Wally! What happened?" Thea exclaimed. The speedster was aware that both Thea and Laurel were on their own patrols around the city and he could only guess this situation would bring them back to STAR Labs. His mind jumped back to the sight of that person… could it be called a person with a visage that looked so… Wally struggled for a word other than demonic. Forcing aside any other horrific thoughts, Wally continued on towards STAR Labs.
Within a few minutes he was already entering the STAR Labs parking lot just as Cisco replied, "Caitlin's on the way to the infirmary! What's going on? What happened to Iris?"
That was the question. What was it that he really saw in that alleyway? 'That man was biting Iris' neck… like a vampire. But that can't be, right?' Wally's mind raced once again as he ran through one of the side entrances into the STAR Labs building, 'do vampires actually exist?' Coming to a quick stop at the entrance to the infirmary, he jogged into the lab as Caitlin guided him towards a bed.
"Wally, what happened?" Caitlin asked as Wally placed Iris gently on the bed before she began examining her. Wally then explained what he had seen in the alley while Caitlin widened her eyes at the two marks on the side of Iris's neck. Caitlin then snapped her head towards Wally when the latter sad that a man… at least what he thought was a man… was biting into her. "What do you mean?" Caitlin asked while she strode off to a chiller near some cabinets in order to grab a vial of clear liquid, and then to another cabinet to get a syringe. "You mean a vampire?" she said with disbelief in her voice as she placed the syringe and vial on a table next to the bed. Noticing the look of worry on Wally's face, Caitlin explained she was administering some antibiotics since someone bit into her neck.
Wally then waved his arms about and said, "this wasn't just a simple someone, Caitlin. This person…" Wally paced as he continued, "this thing… whatever it is, had fangs… blood on its lips going down both sides down to its chin. It growled like some kind of an animal."
Caitlin gently asked Wally to take a seat. She watched as Wally grabbed a chair and pulled it to Iris' bedside before taking a seat, his head towards Iris with worry in his eyes. It was just then that Cisco rushed into the infirmary asking what happened. His eyes were then fixed on the unconscious Iris as Caitlin injected the antibodies into her. He then approached the worried Wally and asked the same question that Caitlin had asked a few minutes ago. This time, it was Caitlin who answered while wiping the injection site before she pointed to the holes in Iris' neck. Cisco narrowed his eyes and the widened them before he stared at Wally, who was staring back at him with an expression that read "you know what this is".
"Vampires?" Cisco whispered at Wally while Caitlin rolled her eyes.
"It could have been just a very sick man who…"
Cisco interrupted her, "bites into the necks of women and drinks their blood?"
"Caitlin," Wally said as he closed his eyes. One thing Wally was learning was that his speed allowed him to take in so many details around him. He thought back to the alley and recalled every single moment of when he arrived to when the creature released Iris from its grasp, "this thing was weird… not weird, it was bald… pale… it had eyes which were these deep yellow… it had…" he looked at his hands before saying, "clawed hands… its face was like a skeleton… its skin was tight not loose… red lips because of the blood… and fangs… I remember the bloody fangs and its growl." Wally opened his eyes to Caitlin and Cisco staring back at him with a look of disbelief on the former and a look of excitement on the latter.
"We've had that werewolf guy a few weeks back," Wally pointed out before Caitlin opened her lips to say something but no words formed. Instead, she closed her mouth and shrugged.
The infirmary was now silent, a silence broken by the sound of hurried footsteps in the hallway rushing towards them. "Wally! Iris!" Joe rushed into the infirmary with worry, after which Wally stood up off his seat and rushed towards his father. The both of them hugged, Joe's eyes remaining on the still unconscious Iris, while Wally said, "she's going to be alright."
"She is," Caitlin reassured Joe who once again asked what happened.
Standing next to one another in the direction of Iris' bed, Wally repeated everything that happened in the alley; to which Joe could only look on in surprise. Once Wally finished, both Thea and Laurel rushed in panting before coming to a stop at the sight of father and son, Caitlin, Cisco, and then the unconscious Iris. Before the two of them could say anything, Caitlin jumped in to say that Iris was going to be alright. Wally then gave a comical sigh before saying repeating what he told the others.
"This guy was drinking her blood?" Laurel exclaimed, "you sure? You did say the lighting wasn't really that great in the alley."
"I know what I saw," Wally replied before urning to Thea, "Team Arow must have experienced this kind of weird stuff."
"I know there's magic in the world," Thea said as she waled around the ground and stopped next to Iris, "but vampires? I haven't heard of vampires in real life anywhere." Thea pressed her lips together before saying, "I'll reach out to Oliver and ask if his friend knows anything about vampires being real, we can only hope he's finished what he needed to do in Hell."
"First that werewolf guy and now vampires?" Laurel said with her arms crossed over her chest. She looked over at Joe who walked over to the bed and stood next to Thea who was bend over slightly as she placed a couple of fingers on the side of Iris' neck. She too strode over to where Joe, Thea, and Caitlin stood before staring in surprise at the two visible puncture marks. Laurel could still see the outlines of two dried trails of blood from the holes punctured into Iris' neck before Caitlin wiped the dried blood away and then placed a bandage over the holes.
Joe straightened his back with an anxious look on his face before turning to Thea and Laurel, and then at Wally, and back to the others, "it's just like the drained bodies we found earlier today."
Cisco nodded his head before saying in a worried voice that he had checked surveillance cameras around the areas where the bodies were found, "whoever dumped those bodies knew to cover their tracks… their face was covered with a hood and mask. And if it was this creature that Wally saw in the alley, it was wearing a very heavy coat. We couldn't tell if the person who dumped the bodies was a man or a woman."
Joe added, "I'm still waiting on a full autopsy so there's no way to know what made those puncture marks. But if the marks on Iris' neck are similar to the ones on the dumped bodies, then…"
"It has to be that guy," Wally jumped in before everyone turned towards him, "I mean… come on… I saw him drinking from the side of Iris' neck. What if this same guy is responsible for all the bodies?"
"There has to be some other reason than a vampire drained their blood," Joe said as he gently placed a hand on Iris' forehead, "maybe a new group using the blood from these bodies for an occult ritual?"
"It could be anything," Caitlin admitted, "but a group of killers draining blood for some weird occult ritual makes more sense than vampires…"
Wally gave out an exasperated sigh before exclaiming, "I know what I saw."
Thea brought her arms up and asked everyone to calm down before saying, "I'll ask Oliver if he has any contacts here… now… who deal with vampires and magic." Thea had no idea when Constantine would be available, and given the sudden urgency of the situation, she needed Oliver to find someone who can help them now. Thea then turned towards Cisco who looked at his own hands and then at Iris. She looked on as Cisco strode over to the unconscious woman and placed his hand on her right hand. Thea pressed her lips together as Cisco stiffened with a gasp before letting go of her hand.
"Cisco?" Caitlyn asked while Thea walked up to him, "you had a vibe, right?"
Cisco's vibes have been a very useful addition to his powerset. He could see what had happened in the recent past as well as the present of a particular target. However, his ability depended on being able to touch something that belonged to the target or he could simply touch the target itself. And the look of disbelief after having held Iris' hand told Thea that Cisco had seen something unusual.
"Iris was walking to her car when she heard a voice…" Cisco said as Thea placed a hand on his shoulder. Cisco shook his head before looking at Joe and Wally, "she went past an alley and stopped when she heard Francine's voice."
"Mom's voice?" Wally said with surprise in his voice.
"My wife's voice?" Joe spoke at the same time as Wally. Joe shook his head before saying, "Francine's dead, Cisco."
Cisco nodded his head before continuing, "she saw Francine in that alley, that's why she was there. She said something about Iris would being with him soon, and that Wally would be joining them later."
"Say what?" Wally asked confused.
"None of this is possible," Joe waved his arms, "Francine's dead."
"I saw her in my vibe, Joe," Cisco said, "and my vibes haven't been wrong so far." After he finished that sentence, Cisco thought to himself, 'except when it comes to searching for Barry. I just can't vibe him for some reason.'
"We've encountered shapeshifters," Joe said.
But Cisco quickly put that explanation to rest. "No," he shook his head while Thea felt a shudder go through his body, "I saw the thing that attacked Iris… the description matches what Wally told us." He closed his eyes and said, "looks like some vampire extra from a bad television movie." Cisco opened his eyed to the stunned expression of Thea and everyone else – except for Wally who said "I told you guys" – before continuing, "anyway, Francine didn't shapeshift… she just vanished."
"Vanished?" Joe asked.
"Vanished," Cisco confirmed, "she didn't walk away, run, or jump away. She just vanished." He sighed before repeating what 'Francine' told the creature who was about to bite Iris, "she told that vampire thingy that once he was done with Iris, she would bring Wally to him."
"That doesn't sound ominous at all," Laurel said with her hands resting on her hips. She then continued, "so, we're really talking about vampires?" There was no answer from the stunned group. She shrugged her shoulders and then continued, "so we can assume, if the vampire theory is right, then that vampire guy wanted to turn Iris, and then use her to turn Wally."
"Yeah, that really doesn't sound good," Wally jumped in, "but wouldn't my speed prevent me from… well… turning?"
"We don't want to risk it," Thea said before adding, "I don't think there's an answer to this… damn, I really need to speak to Oliver about this."
Joe then turned towards Iris and said, "what happens in the movies? The victim dies and then the vampire that bit the victim then feeds the victim their blood, right?"
"In the movies?" Cisco asked, "yeah. In real life though? No idea. But since Iris' heart is beating and she's breathing, I'd say that vampire guy wasn't able to finish the job."
"Wally prevented that from happening," Caitlin said nodding her head towards Wally.
It was at this time that Thea had a horrible thought, "let's forget everything we know about the ten bodies in the morgue…" she looked at Joe and asked, "they are in the morgue, right?"
"Yes," Joe nodded his head.
"Let's assume the myths about vampires are true," Thea said, "then if they drink blood until their victims reach the edge of death, then the vampire feeds its own blood to turn their victim."
"In the stories," Cisco spoke while nodding his head. In the meantime, Joe too checked his phone for vampire lore. Before long, he too nodded his head in confirmation. The detective then called Julian on his phone while Caitlin prepared to collect a swab from Iris's mouth for traces of blood… any blood.
Joe could sense the tension in the air as he whispered, "come on, Julian… come on, Julian. Pick up… pick up." He felt a sense of relief when Julian picked up the phone and answered.
"Detective," he said, his voice sounding tired, "I'm writing the report on the dead bodies from his morning. I was going to…"
"Julian," Joe hurried spoke, "I need to know if there are any traces of blood in their mouths."
"What?" Julian said with eyebrows furrowed as he looked at the medical report, "I was going to say that it was unusual to have traces of blood in their mouths…" Julian could hear a gasp from Joe, and it made him wonder why Joe asked that specific question about the victims having blood traces in their mouths. He had found traces on the tongues, teeth, the back of their throats, their oesophagus, all the way down to their stomachs. It was unusual, but he assumed it was a group practicing the occult who were responsible. He shook his head and then explained to Joe what he had found, and the reply from Joe had him surprised, "get everyone still in the morgue out of there and then lock the doors! Do you hear me, Julian?"
Julian stiffened upon hearing distant sounds of gunshots. He felt his heart racing as distant voices could be heard as well while he whispered "yes" into the phone before saying, "Detective, I'm hearing gunshots from within the station."
"Lock the doors to your lab," Joe exclaimed, his voice forcing everyone else to look towards him, "I'm on my way." While Julian rushed to close the doors to the lab before locking them with a click, Joe looked up at the assembled heroes and said, "something's happening at the station. We need to go, now."
"Suit up," Thea said before waving her hand towards the exit, "Caitlin, stay with Iris. If someone comes for her, we'll need your ice to take care of them." Thea then turned towards Wally, "head for the station. We'll be right behind you." Wally nodded his head before he was about to run when Thea stopped him again, "Wally, remember your training. Scout the area first before you make any moves."
"Got it," replied Wally before he ran off.
"Let's go," Thea spoke.
Unknown location.
She felt Ben die. That pathetic weakling. If he died, then she died too. She wanted to scream in rage; she wanted to rip apart that speeding red idiot, followed by the friends of the Slayer, and then the Slayer herself. That blonde bitch kept her away from the Key… a mystical object contained in the vessel resembling a human girl. The Key… her way to return to her own home… who cared if using it would have brought every Hell to Earth… at least she would still be home.
All that surrounded her now was darkness. And she hated it. She wanted her clothes, her shoes, her bathes, even her minions. She wanted them all. And no they were all gone. She wanted to scream!
"Oh, how gods have fallen," she felt herself twitch upon hearing that familiar mocking tone. She wanted to open her eyes and swing her fists… but she could not. She was simply formless in a void of darkness.
Suddenly, she felt something strange… as if she was being pulled through a pinhole. It was strange that she was even feeling it. And just as quickly, she felt her body forming… she felt weight while her feet landing gently on a solid surface.
"Open your eyes, Glorificus."
She snapped her eyes open with a sneer on her lips. And once she did, the figure in front of her smiled while tilting her head. It was her! The Slayer! Where was the red suited idiot? She wanted to pummel them both. "Now, now, Glory," the Slayer spoke while Glory looked on, unable to move. "Look around you." And she did… every one… from the people she assumed to be police officers shooting at ten people with fangs leaping towards them. She could see the bullets handing in the air as several tore through the vampires. Oh, how she hated vampires, 'disgusting creatures.'
Glory saw vampires biting into some officers while other officers were hanging in the air after being thrown aside. She turned her attention back to the blonde Slayer and said, "Slayers don't have any ability to bring back the dead or hold back time. Who are you?"
She watched a smile form on Buffy's face just before she spoke, "I have existed even before the Word. Before dimensions and realities formed, before any Lord of Order and chaos existed… I was there before them all."
Her words had Glory widen her eyes in surprise. And there was nearly nothing that surprised her. Nothing except whispers she had heard in her own dimension where she ruled with her partners, "the First Evil. You're the First Evil." The First grinned now while Glory's dark heart raced.
"You are lucky I have minions who pray to me in this realm, enough to gain me some limited power… power enough to bring you and some selected minions back from the dead."
Glory grew angry at being called a minion. She raged at the First who chuckled before saying, "capture the brat in yellow leather. His sister was supposed to have been turned into…" the First nodded towards a vampire before continuing to say, "a vampire, and then she would have turned her brother into one of my greatest weapons."
"I am hungry," Glory said, feeling slightly weaker… this was one thing she hated about living away from her own dimension. She needed to feed on neural energy. Oh how she wished she was home.
The First said, "you can feed on the police who haven't been snacked on. But know this, I want the yellow leathered brat alive and lucid." Before Glory could say anything, the First continued to speak, "I'll return us to where the Slayer, Buffy Summers, lives… and I will bring an army that will kill her and all the Potential Slayers. And with that army, I will unseal the Hellmouth and take on physical form once again."
"And I get the Key."
"And you get the Key," the First confirmed just before every around her started to move and the First vanished. Glory smiled at the chaos all around her, and she was about to walk towards a groaning officer when suddenly streaks of yellow and red lightning rushed all around the area forcing the vampires off the officers who were being attacked. The vampires were thrown against the walls of the large bullpen before a figure in yellow stopped right next to her with a look of concern.
"Miss, are you alright? Are you hurt?"
Glory's eyes travelled down to the lightning logo on his chest. And she smiled before looking at his masked face. This was the one… the brat the First spoke of. Glory still felt power flowing through her body, so she could wait before feeding. With inhuman speed, before the brat in yellow could move… Glory grabbed him by the front of his suit and then raised him off the floor.
"What the…" he yelled while grabbing her arms with his gloved hands.
"You're like the idiot I encountered in my dimension… except he had a stupid red suit," Glory gloated. And that stopped the boy from struggling as he stared at her in shock.
"What did you just say?" he struggled to speak.
Glory smiled before slamming him down to the floor. He yelled out in pain and then, before he could get on his feet, she kicked him in his side just enough to fly across the lobby and into the wall before falling to the floor with a thud. "She said to bring you in alive… she never said you had to be conscious." Just as Glory was about to walk towards the unconscious Wally, she heard a tingling sensation on her skin before there was a bright blue glow to her left. She turned her head as the glow tore the space in front of her before a vortex, which looked like water, formed floating in the air. And out of that vortex stepped out three people in costumes and a man in a suit aiming a gun at her.
"Teleportation," Glory grinned at the newcomers just as Joe looked over at the unconscious Wally and yelled out for him. Glory looked at the man aiming the gun at her; but before she could say anything, she heard the archer in red yell out at the blonde in black, and then at the man with the gun. She told them that it seemed the vampires were unconscious and that there had to be a way to put them in lockup without killing them.
"Maybe there's a way to turn them human again," the archer said.
As the two of them rushed into the bullpen, Glory stared at the archer and then at the man with the glowing device covering his eyes. She could feel the strange sensation from earlier emanating from him. 'Interesting,' she thought before turning her attention to the archer who she assumed was the leader, "those disgusting vampires can never be turned human, meatbag."
"Meatbag?" the archer said while her hood covered her head, "and what are you supposed to be? Chopped cheese?"
Glory chuckled before saying, "I don't know what that means, little girl. But arrows against a god? Oh I would like to see that fight." Immediately, Glory rushed forward to the surprise of the archer and the boy standing next to her. Glory moved quick enough that they could barely perceived her, with the archer just barely dodging the back of her fist.
"Cisco!" the archer yelled out as Glory twisted her body and grabbed the aforementioned young man before pushing him towards the wall. Just as he hit the wall with a thud, Glory was excited at the wince of pain on his face. She then turned towards the archer who already pulled back the arrow in her bow before releasing it. Glory grabbed the shaft of the arrow while staring at the archer's face… she saw a smile form and wondered why the archer was smiling. After all, her arrow was stopped mid-flight. Besides, arrows couldn't hurt her anyway.
BEEP
Confused, Glory shifted her gaze to the arrowhead which looked strange. Suddenly, two wires shot out of the arrowhead and pierced the skin of her neck. And a second later, Glory felt an electrical current tingling at the site where her skin was pierced. It wasn't painful; just a sensation of being tickled. Growling, Glory pulled the wires out of her skin and threw the arrow to the side before striding towards the archer who was pulling back another arrow.
"Oh no you don't you little…" Before Glory could finish, she felt something powerful pushed her hard through the air and through a window before crashing on top of a table. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw a blast of blue hitting her… and it hurt. She wasn't supposed to hurt.
Now she was angry.
Glory roared out in rage as she got off the table and then picked it up. She could hear the others in the bullpen while holding the table over her head, Glory then turned towards the other two in the bullpen. The blonde in black told the one called Joe to move just before she leaned forward, opened her mouth, and then screamed. Glory wanted to scream herself since the other woman's scream caused both pain and a degree of rage. It was supposed to be so easy, all Glory had to do was bring the yellow suited idiot to the First before she searched for some humans to feed on. Glory was already feeling hunger as she stepped back while forcefully throwing the table towards Joe and the woman.
And just as suddenly, a rift opened and the table slipped through.
The woman – Laurel - then stopped screaming while Glory, who tumbled sideways before clutching the edge of another table, glared at Joe, the blonde, and then at the archer in red, and then at Cisco. Glory gritted her teeth before she rushed towards the idiot in yellow, she knew she wasn't as fast as she could be… but she knew she would be fast enough before anyone could react. And just as she reached the unconscious boy in yellow, Glory instead rushed through the breach that suddenly appeared in front of her. Before she knew it, Glory found herself in a forest with the breach closed behind her.
She turned in place while roaring out in rage. "What the hell! Where am I!?"
Barry's Apartment, Sunnydale Unknown Earth; approximately four years since Barry arrived in Sunnydale (A little over two months before Glory's sudden appearance in CCPD).
School was finally closed for the Summer break. Since the brand-new Sunnydale High was finally completed, Barry received his requested transfer as a science teacher specialising in physics and chemistry. Both he and Dawn would be at Sunnydale High as teacher and student respectively. And it was one of three reasons to celebrate. The second reason for celebration involved Willow, Tara, and Buffy graduating from U.C. Sunnydale later in the day. And the final reason to celebrate being that Buffy received a job offer just last week from the Principal of Sunnydale High, a man named Robin Wood, to serve as one of two full-time counsellors. Of course, both Barry and Buffy did discuss the possibility of moving away from Sunnydale before he applied for the transfer and before Buffy graduated.
Barry knew that his girlfriend would always be conflicted about staying in Sunnydale or moving away. He would have rather moved to another city with her, but when she decided to stay in Sunnydale, he decided to stay as well before he applied for a position in Sunnydale High.
As for Willow and Tara, they would be staying in Sunnydale too. The redhead accepted a position as a programmer at a large firm that moved operations to Sunnydale, and Tara would be working at Joyce's gallery. Xander was already one of the foremen working at the incomplete part of Sunnydale High, the North Section. In the meantime, Anya was working with Giles in the Magic Box.
In the coming Summer though, things were going to shift for a few months with the two witches heading to Devon so they could receive further training in using their magic from a very powerful Coven. It was something that was suggested by Giles, who recognised that Willow was gaining more power and he feared the redhead's ability to control it. He believed that Tara and Willow receiving training would be beneficial for the both of them.
In addition, he used the training as an excuse to take the time during the summer to travel through the UK and visit some old friends. While they were gone, Buffy, Anya, and Xander would be the remaining Scooby Gang… with Barry coming up to join them as the Flash if some intimidation was required.
And now, in Barry's apartment, he lay next to Buffy under their shared blanket. The Slayer was curled into the Speedster who was the one to slowly open his eyes there was a soft beeping sound coming from his cell phone. Groaning, he rolled onto his back, reached for the device on the side-table, picked it up and then turned it off. He placed the phone back on the table and then rolled back to snuggling with Buffy. The young woman gave a soft moan while he kissed her bare back, doing his best to avoid the few bruises that had developed from the previous night's fight against a few demons who wanted to head into the soon to be newly opened High School and then try to open the Hellmouth.
Buffy, Xander, Willow and Tara stopped the demons with Barry, as the Flash, zooming in to grab the final demon and then run it all the way to another empty island in the South Pacific. Barry then ran back to Sunnydale, leaving the enraged demon to roar out into the sky.
Back in their bedroom, Barry tightened his grasp on her bare waist and continued to give soft kisses on her shoulder before going down to her neck. With a smile, he then whispered into her ear that it was time to wake up.
"Wanna sleep," she mumbled while placing a hand on top of Barry's hand. She gently squeezed it and shimmied backwards into him while he pulled her in tight, "tired."
"Today is your big day," Barry whispered before planting a gentle kiss on the shoulder bruise, and then whispering into her ear once again, "it's Tara and Willow's big day too."
"It's Eight in the morning," she mumbled, "the ceremony's not until two in the afternoon."
"Oh, that I know," Barry said with a smirk as Buffy, scrunching her face in pain, due to her body still aching from the fight last night, shifted and then rolled to her back. She then pouted her lips while turning her head to stare at Barry through groggy eyes.
Barry then gave a small smile as Buffy closed her eyes again, opening them slightly after a few seconds, "it's a great day out. And yes, I know you came back late last night, and yes I know you want to sleep, but…"
"But?" asked Buffy before she yawned while her arms lay under the blanket in the cool room. She then stared expectantly at Barry while her blanket was pulled up to her chin.
"But, Joyce did say she wanted a breakfast jamboree to celebrate your graduation," Barry whispered, "and if you're not up? Well, she did tell me that Dawn and Xander would finish all the food."
Buffy chuckled before she stretched her arms over her head and yawned. Barry just stared at her while he lay sideways and smiled as she lowered her arms onto the blanket. She stared at Barry and smirked before asking, "what are you thinking about?"
"Just that it's hard to believe it's been a little more than four years," Barry whispered. Buffy then flipped to her side, the blanket still covering her and Barry, and held his hand. They stared at each other silently for a few seconds before Buffy said that she enjoyed the last four years too.
"I sometimes wonder what would have happened if you were never here," Buffy continued as she stared into his eyes, "but then I tell myself that it doesn't matter. I think… no, I know having you in my life after everything with Riley and Angel is the best thing that happened to me. I know this is going to sound a little weird, but with them… with Angel and Riley? It's like… well… it's like I was raw cookie dough."
"Cookie dough?" asked Barry as he raised an eyebrow.
"It's an analogy," chuckled Buffy as she pulled Barry closer and held him tight while still staring into his eyes, "with you? I feel as if I'm at the part where I'm nearly done. You know… when I'm supposed to rest so that I could be crunchy and yummy, and…"
"Well, you are kinda yummy," said Barry before laughing as Buffy slapped his arm, and then drew him in for a kiss. A few seconds later, Buffy pulled back while still staring at him and whispered that she loved him.
"With you, I feel complete. With you I feel open, Barry," Buffy whispered, "I feel that when I fight demons, I'm fighting so that I can come home to you. I want to win the fight so that you and I could be there for each other; so that we could continue being with each other. I…"
"And I love you too," said Barry as he leaned in and kissed Buffy passionately once again. He never thought it was possible before; but being in Sunnydale with Buffy, with Dawn, Giles, Joyce, and the others - the connections he had made; he didn't want to give them up. As he kissed down to her cheek from her lips, Barry continued to her ear as he shifted himself over her. He then whispered that she brought out the best in him as well. He told her that she and her family was the reason he wanted to stay in Sunnydale, "I don't want to leave."
And he meant it.
He brushed her left cheek with the edge of his fingers before he leaned down and went back to kissing her passionately.
"I love you, Buffy," Barry whispered after he pulled back and stared into her eyes while the both of them panted.
"I love you too," she replied before pulling him back down, and the both of them locked their lips together.
It would be later that day that Barry and the Summers family, as well as the Rosenberg's, Xander, and the other Scoobies, would be laughing and taking pictures at the graduation ceremony. With Tara being the only one among the group whose parents were not at the ceremony, Joyce and Willow were constantly holding onto her hand.
When it came time for the three young women to walk the stage, Barry and the Scoobies were cheering them on, trying to be the loudest voices in an auditorium that was already filled with loud and boisterous people. The entire day was filled with celebrations, except for a few hours late into the day when Barry had to stop a shooting in Los Angeles, taking a few of the injured to hospitals, and then returning to the Summers house where the celebration was ongoing. And at night, it was Buffy's turn to stop several devotees of a demonic spider from releasing the creature's offspring.
Barry chuckled when Buffy returned home covered in black goo after having killed the spiders and shuddered when she hugged him in revenge; the stench filled sticky goo getting on him as well.
The Magic Box, Sunnydale, Unknown Earth; approximately five years since Barry arrived in Sunnydale (A little over an hour after Glory was trapped on another Earth).
Barry was extremely nervous as he walked into the Magic Box. Stepping into the shop with the door closing behind him, Barry kept on touching the small box in his trouser pocket. The very same box he picked up thirty minutes earlier since he was on his lunch break. He had to 'rain-check' his standing lunch date with Buffy to buy the contents of the box and then head to the Magic Box to ask an important question.
Barry nodded at Giles who was behind the counter cashing a couple out while Anya walked out into the back office. He felt sorry for the ex-vengeance demon, especially since the planned wedding between her and Xander was cancelled at the last moment six months ago.
Sunnydale Convention hall, six months ago.
It was all because a man who Anya had 'punished' in her capacity as a vengeance demon a long time ago, returned to show Xander a fake future; a fake that seemed very real to the young man.
In the end, the man got his vengeance by punishing Anya.
Despite Buffy stopping the man, who turned into a demon, from physically harming Anya... the emotional damage was already done. At Buffy's request, while she was still fighting the demon and both Tara and Willow took Anya away to calm her and keep her safe, Barry ran around the city searching for Xander. In his capacity as the best man, Barry knew he had made a catastrophic mistake by not being by Xander's side when the latter seemed to be physically sick before heading back to his room. It would be two minutes later, after Barry found Xander sitting on a bench in heavy rain, that Buffy killed the demon.
Once the demon was dead, Buffy distracted the guests with jokes and juggling while they waited for Xander to return.
As the two young men were getting drenched under the heavy rain while sitting on the bench, Xander told Barry that he made a mistake in wanting to marry Anya.
"A big mistake. Barry, I don't think I can do this," Xander whispered as he leaned forward with his elbows on his knees as the temperature dropped and a cold wind went through the street. Barry glanced at Xander; he knew that Xander had worries and doubts.
In fact, Barry would notice Xander's expressions whenever the Scoobies would joke about the wedding or what Xander's life was going to be like with Anya. Barry brought up his concerns within the first month of the engagement announcement. But Xander dismissed them, telling Barry that he was simply seeing things that were not there.
"You sure?" asked Barry at that time.
"D'uh," Xander replied nodding his head, "I love her, man. It's not like I'm going to run out on her or something." He then chuckled before offering Barry a list of things he'd like for the Bachelor Party. Back on the bench, Barry felt sorry for the broken Xander sitting in front of him. He leaned forward, the rain now soaking into their tuxedo's, and asked what happened to make him run from the wedding.
Barry listened as Xander told him about his past. The Speedster listened as Xander told him, in a hushed voice, about the pain he suffered at the hands of his father in addition to his mother's constant excusing away of his father's actions. Xander stared at the wet ground while he told Barry that the demon showed him a future where he would hurt Anya and their children.
"But that was all fake, Xander," Barry explained.
"It was real to me, Barry," he whispered shaking his head, "I felt the pain I caused. I felt the cast iron pan in my hand. I felt smashing the pan into her face. I felt hate, Barry." Barry took in a deep breath as he listened to Xander explain what he saw while placing a hand on his shoulder, "she left me… it may not have been the real future, Barry, but for me… for me it was real."
"Does Anya know about your parents?"
"She's seen my parents argue," whispered Xander, "you were there at the rehearsal dinner, Barry. You saw my parents… my family."
Barry nodded his head as he recalled the rehearsal dinner from two days ago where he caught sight of Xander's father nearly about to hit his mother. Barry was about to intervene before the slap stopped mid-way when Mrs. Harris skulked back onto her seat. He also remembered how drunk they were that night which ended with Xander's father throwing up in Buffy's purse.
"But Anya doesn't know about… what happened before I met her. Only Willow knows," Xander whispered. "How could I tell…" Xander then shook her head as he took in a deep breath while fiddling with his fingers. He then looked at Barry and whispered with a broken heart, "I can't marry her Barry. I love her too much to cause her pain and… and I can't marry her."
"Ever?"
"Barry," said an exasperated Xander looking at him, "how can I? I can still feel her blood on my hands. I can still see her bleeding on the floor after I... I killed her with the pan. How can I still marry her?"
"Talk to her, Xander," Barry gently said, "maybe it's time you and she really did have a good talk. I know you guys have been together for a very long time, and… and this fake future made you see things that you tried to deny, and…"
"I didn't…"
"You did deny it," Barry sternly said before he sighed and whispered gently, "I tried to tell you that you seemed worried. I notice these small things; I have to notice these things as a CSI. I'm not saying you don't love her, but what you saw was that demon guy pulling out your fears and doubts … and making them into a fake future."
"I can't go ahead with the wedding," Xander whispered shaking his head, "I can't… I…"
"I'm not saying that you marry her now," Barry said gently, believing that pushing Xander right now to marry Anya would be the wrong thing. Even though Buffy, who told him to search for Xander, would kill him for even suggesting a postponement. "But you need to talk to her about what you told me. And that can only come from you. Postpone the wedding, have it when you and Anya feel comfortable. But you have to talk to her, Xander. She'll be heartbroken, and mad at you for a little a few days, weeks, or maybe a year. But if you tell her why ,then she'll understand; and there can healing can begin between the two of you."
The Magic Box, Sunnydale; Present day.
Back in the present day, it's been six months since that day. As Barry walked up to the counter, he remembered Anya's anger at Xander. She was so mad that she was on non-speaking terms with him for a few weeks.
Barry was also very, very glad that Buffy wasn't mad at him. Although she did make him sleep on the couch for not being a better best man. And the next day they were sleeping together once again.
Since their reconciliation, it was as if Xander and Anya were re-starting their relationship from the beginning once again. Back in the present day at the Magic Box, Barry reached the counter just as Anya walked out of the back-office.
She waved at Barry, and he waved back at her.
"Giles," Barry said when Anya was helping a couple of customers, and once Giles had finished cashing out another customer, "could we talk? It's kind of urgent."
Giles nodded his head before asking him to the training area in the back of the store. Barry followed him and then closed the door behind him once they were in the training room. Barry then put his hands in his pockets while Giles turned around and asked him if everything was alright.
"Listen," said Barry after taking a deep breath, "I know that Buffy's dad's not in the picture, and…"
"No, he is not," Giles said as he fixed his glasses while wondering why Barry was asking about Hank Summers, "the last I heard anything regard him was when we were questioning the possibility of sending Dawn away during the Glory incident. Buffy said that he was married to his secretary and was on his honeymoon. He didn't even invite Buffy and Dawn to the wedding, just gave them a call that he was married. He is a very… odd man."
Giles then looked at the nervousness etched on Barry's face before asking him once again if everything was alright.
"Buffy told me that you're as close to a father as, well, her father. I mean... I mean she loves you and thinks the world of you, and..." Barry nervously trailed off while Giles chuckled before taking off his glasses and nodding his head. He was wondering what Barry was getting at when he continued to speak, "and you care about her. You care about her, Joyce, and Dawn."
"I do," Giles said nodding his head, "Barry, what's…"
"I care about them too," Barry continued, "I care about Buffy. I love Buffy."
"You have been a stabilising influence on her personal life, and her life as a Slayer," Giles noted while nodding his head, "and yes, I am very well aware of the love you have for each other."
"I want you to know that even if Cisco and the others find me, I'm planning on staying here," said Barry as Giles smiled and nodded his head, "and.. and I love Buffy, and… ok… I think I lost my train of thought and…"
"Barry?" asked Giles.
"Giles," Barry said before taking a deep breath, "I'm not leaving, and that's because I'm in love with Buffy. And we've been together now for a little over five years and… and I'm still in love with her."
"Okay... and..."
"During Xander and Anya's non-wedding," said Barry as he nervously stared at Giles' face, "and even before that. I mean, up until the wedding... I mean after Xander and Anya announced..."
"Barry?" asked Giles as his heart raced while he tried to guess at what Barry wanted to tell him.
"Buffy and I talked, I mean we kinda talked about what we wanted when we were kids," Barry interrupted Giles before he could say anything. The younger man nervously paced the floor in front of Giles, who tilted his head while listening, "she dreamed of a big church wedding when she was a kid, and she still wants a big church wedding. She wanted to go to Paris for her honeymoon when she was a kid, and... and now she doesn't know where she wants to go. She just wants to be somewhere with the people she loves. We talked about a lot of things, Giles. I want to give her what she wants, I want to give her everything she'd ever want."
Giles looked on as Barry stopped pacing and look right into his eyes while he reached into his trouser pockets and took out a red coloured box, "Barry? Is that…"
"I want to ask for your blessing," Barry said as he opened the top of the box and showed him the ring. Barry then gulped before asking his question once again from the beginning, "I love her and… and I hope you'd give your blessing for me to ask her to marry me."
TBC