“So, how is it in the transition from normal to special?” Dawn asked as she took a seat next to Xander on the bench in front of the Magic Box. “I remember that it didn’t occur to me that something was different until Buffy, Katherine and Spike sat down to talk in the dining room. Next thing you know, I’m special.”
“So, you’re here to join me in Brood City? I thought that was Angel’s domain?”
“Nope. I don’t think Cordy lets him anymore. He’s like happy Angel…well, not perfectly, ‘cause that just leads to badness, but he does smile. He even laughs. I’ve seen it.” Dawn replied, grinning.
“Chosen warrior for the Powers That Be,” Xander said, playing with the stake in his hands. He gave a small chuckle. “Unbelievable.”
“Why?” Dawn asked. “Because you’ve been helping Buffy save the world for seven years almost, when you didn’t have to.”
“Maybe I’m being stupid.”
“Maybe you can explain so I can agree with you.” She gave him a sideways look. She really wanted to know what was bothering him.
“For almost seven years…I was the one that was normal. The funny guy. The guy who said the wrong thing at the wrong time. The guy who…who got the donuts…Maybe finding out that I had a destiny all this time…this entire time I thought I was useless.”
“Newsflash, Xander. Everyone had a destiny. Everyone. And besides that, you are so not useless.” Dawn said decisively. “You’re so much greater than you give yourself credit for. First, you’re a great friend for all of us. I know you’ll be a great father to whomever Anya gives birth to in seven months, because you’re already a great husband. You should think more on how we see you, Xander. I mean, had the end of the world come via Evil!Willow, you’d have stopped it.”
“With a speech about broken yellow crayons.” Xander said. Katherine’s disbelief as she relayed the information still stung, even eight months later.
“Because you love her. Because…because you knew things Buffy didn’t. And you would’ve understood that fighting her wouldn’t go over well, not opposed to just loving her. That’s what you would’ve done. You may not realize it Xander, but you’re the heart of the group. Our heart.”
Xander finally forced himself to look up at Dawn, only to catch her back as she left him alone outside and reentered the shop.
“Y’know…after that lil’ heart to heart, I almost feel like we need t’have a talk.” Katherine said, leaning against the wall behind him. “Though I can’t actually say I was right headed at the time-“
“Katherine, it’s fine. Really.”
“If it was okay, Dawn wouldn’t have just given you that ‘you are too special’ speech just now.” Katherine said, pushing herself off the wall to sit beside him. “And this is about my foot-in-mouth comment, not your feelings of self-worth…not that they aren’t important, ‘cause they are. I’ve just got my own to worry about.”
“Like Spike and Buffy. Together.”
Katherine looked at Xander sharply. “What-?”
“I know a little something about unrequited love. I’m not stupid.”
“Or blind either.” Katherine muttered. “The one who sees.”
“Avoiding the issue.”
“So?” Katherine raised an eyebrow.
“It’s your turn to tell all, since we seem to be having a confessions moment.”
“I did it…to make him ‘appy, okay?”
Xander was almost new to this. Just a year ago, there was nowhere he’d seen anyone that cared about Spike that much, unless it was Dawn. And now, it was almost everywhere he went. And then there was Katherine, who’d taken it to a level he’d never seen. Some part of himself attempted to tell him that she did it for Buffy too, but ninety nine-point-nine percent of his mind, had a feeling that all the demi-god did was for Spike.
“If he’s with me…when he could be happier, it really makes no sense for him to be with me. And I’m sorry to put it like this, but you were right. You know a little about unrequited love. I’ve seen it through four pairs of eyes, and I think that if anyone knows exactly as I feel, it’d be Willow. But I’m not trying to be condescending. According to my two lavender relapses last year, I’m so far from perfect. I’ll never be perfect. History shows it so.” Katherine shrugged. “So, I’m okay. I’m completely fine, because that’s what I’m supposed to be, and that what I need to be. So this,” she waved her arms to indicate the conversation, “has to stay between you and me. That clear, Xander?”
They were face to face. Stormy blue grey bored into chocolate brown and neither was going to look away first, as unwavering as their gaze was. And Katherine was so very readable. It was there, practically posted for the public, right in her eyes. She was scared. Katherine was scared. Of what would happen if they found out. Of what would happen if Buffy and Spike, and everyone else, found out that she was still very much in love with Spike. And that made her vulnerable.
“Yeah, Kat. It is.”
A second passed and she smiled at him, standing. “You called me Kat.”
Xander stood up, grinning himself. No, he didn’t feel better, but half the point was moving past it. And he was. “First time for everything…Kathy.”
Katherine’s smile dropped from her face. “Promise me you’ll never call me that again, and we’re good.”
If possible, Xander’s grin widened. “Promise.”
Willow stood at the front of the shop, tapping her foot against the tiled floor impatiently. A duffel bag sat on the floor before her, filled with her things for travel. Spike and Buffy stood at each of her sides, witnessing the shameless scene with her. Anya was bribing Xander so that he wouldn’t go on what could be a dangerous mission where he could be killed or, worse; hurt any important “part” of him. They had no doubts as to what Anya was really worried about.
“I’ll buy you that thingy you wanted…what was it?”
“The plasma TV.”
“Yeah! I’ll buy it for you! I’ll…I’ll buy two! You’d want two, right? One in the living room, and another in the bed room so you can have that after sex, that is unless you don’t fall asleep-”
“Anya…”
Spike raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself, I’d have taken it.
Buffy rolled her eyes, and Willow gave him a sideways look, both having heard him. The redhead then said, that is in no way right, Spike.
Yeah, well, she knows how to bribe. Sue me.
“What about our unborn child?” Anya was asking. “I could go into labor!”
“Ahn, you’re two and a half months. I don’t think you’ll go into labor,” Xander replied.
“I’ll give you sex! You like sex, right?”
“Anya, let him go.” Buffy finally decided to step in. “He’s coming back. In one piece.”
Anya let go of Xander, her hand releasing him from the vice grip she’d had on his arm. Xander rubbed his wrist, giving his wife a suspicious look. Did being pregnant include super strength now?
“Fine. Bye, honey. Come back alive.”
“Planned on it.” Xander kissed her and Spike and Buffy followed him and Willow out the door to take them to the airport.
“I don’t get it,” she said, as she and her husband got ready to turn in for the night. “Why would Xander be a warrior? Not to be…mean…but he has no extra strength, and no special abilities.”
Spike watched Buffy brush her hair into a ponytail. “That’s the entire point, pet. Powers got this thing about him. He doesn’t need the extra strength, according to them.”
“Spike…” Buffy gave him a warning glance through the mirror, feeling a bad comment about Xander coming. It was almost weird, being able to see his reflection. It was also nice. This entire situation was nice. But it still felt wrong somehow. She just didn’t know how yet.
She didn’t know the consequences of what Katherine did. She didn’t want to know the consequences. She felt them though. And she’d deal with them. If it involved anything doable, or even, if worse came to worse, a her versus Katherine scenario to set things right, she would.
Xander and Willow trekked up the neatly tiled walkway of an expensive mansion in New Hampshire. They’d taken a day to themselves to get rid of jet lag in order to find the girl and were now ready to find her and get back to Sunnydale as soon as possible.
“What do you think this one’s like?” Willow asked as they moved towards the front door.
“Prissy and pompous. And I’m only going by the obvious.” Xander said. “It’s a gated community.”
“How gated?” The redhead asked.
Xander was about to respond, but then noticed the door. It was already open, and it felt wrong, somehow. “Not very, obviously.” He pushed it open a bit, stepping inside. “Creeped yet?”
Willow followed him in and upon seeing the blood trailing into the kitchen and splattered against the walls, she said, “If I wasn’t before, I am now.”
“Yeah.” Xander walked around, feeling a bit green. He was pretty sure that while he and Willow had sat on the plan to get here, they hadn’t expected a massacre, and it was becoming quite possible that the person they came to find was dead. The thought had never even occurred to him, and he was sure Willow hadn’t thought of it either.
“I’ll go into the kitchen. That way you can go upstairs and check there.” Willow then left him in the hall, stepping over the blood to enter the kitchen.
Xander moved up the stairs, listening for the smallest sound. He turned when he heard whimpering behind the door to his right.
Looks like someone decided to hide.
He reached for the door just as the one that was closer opened and a dagger was jabbed in his direction. He backed away as the Harbinger revealed itself, flying out into the hallway and attacking him. He twisted to avoid the second jab and managed to push his attacker away.
“This is just my luck.”
Willow took in the dead bodies of what must’ve been the kitchen staff as she searched and silently congratulated herself for keeping her food where it belonged. In her stomach. She didn’t know how long the bodies had stayed there, and she really didn’t want to find out.
She moved back into the hall as she heard a thump upstairs. Fright gripped her and she hurried up to the second floor, reaching the landing just in time to see Xander struggling with a Harbinger. She racked her brain for a spell to help her friend and then remembered Tracy.
The dead woman’s warning to not get personal echoed in her ears and she muttered a single word -strength- before hurrying past the fight to where she heard the same whimpers Xander had. She opened the door as Xander managed to toss the robed figure into the wall.
“What the hell-?” He paused, confused, just before the minion knocked him down.
Willow ignored that, opening the door to reveal a middle-aged woman. “Are you okay?” the redhead asked, concerned. She helped the woman out of the cramped space and away from the fight.
The woman was obvious one of the help, her uniform a testament to the fact. There was a cut on her forehead, dried blood on the side of her fault. “Yes. I-I’m okay.”
“Do you know where…Kennedy…is?” the witch asked as the name suddenly came to her. She smiled when the woman nodded. “Where?”
“The attic.”
Willow guided the woman with her upstairs to the attic, not at all thinking about Xander anymore. She’d done as Tracy had advised and didn’t get involved. “Kennedy?” she whispered loudly. She wasn’t completely careless to assume that Xander was the only one dealing with danger.
A brunette girl came out from behind a couch. She looked at Willow, interested even as she narrowed her dark eyes. “Who are you?”
“Willow. I’m here to help you.” Willow answered. “I need you trust that I’m telling you the truth and come with me.”
Kennedy looked at Willow and took a moment, deciding that she wanted to believe the witch. “Sure thing…Red.”
Xander figured the only way this was going to end was by killing the Harbinger, around the same time that Willow disappeared up the stairs with the woman. He was sure Willow had something to do with the temporary burst of strength he’d received and silently thanked her.
It took him a while before he managed to stab the Harbinger with its dagger, just as Willow and Kennedy came down to the second floor, the maid behind them.
“So, ladies, back to Sunnydale, our lovely Hellmouth?” he asked, mildly proud of his ability to kill one of the First’s minions. Willow only grinned at him.
“The Hellmouth, like where the Slayer lives?” Kennedy asked.
Willow tilted her head as she realized that this girl before her was a potential slayer. One day, she’d be taking Buffy or Faith’s place. Interesting. “Yep. The one and only.”
Stacy Lynn and Gunn had split up upon entering the cemetery. Giles had presented the smart idea that they should keep up with patrol, even in the midst of an apocalypse, and the couple had readily agreed to avoid research.
“There should be a book in my name. In the bible. I think I’d call it Caleb. The Book of Caleb. I like that.” A voice in the darkness said.
Stacy Lynn turned in a circle, gripping the stake and easing her hand towards her dagger in the waistband of her jeans. “Just come out, alright?”
“The world is full of them, or did you not know? Dirty girls. Girls full of such filth…all the girls. Even that bitch that swears to God and the all the angels that she’s innocent; she’s just hiding her dirt.” He came out of the shadows as if melting into a form and her feet automatically fell into a fighting stance. “And you’d be the dirtiest of them all.”
“You’re going to lecture me about my morality and innocence?” She asked disbelievingly. “Been there, done that, ate em’, not yet regretting it.” She turned to walk away.
Her mistake.
Caleb hit her in the back of the neck with a karate chop and she fell to her hands and knees. “You have to love a girl who thinks she’s above everyone.”
Days had passed since Xander and Willow returned with Kennedy and Willow and Tara sat across from each other, preparing for the spell to open the portal to Quortoth. They’d be using a bit of help from Dawn. Buffy didn’t like that part one bit, and she’d said as much, many times actually. Then Dawn had to remind her that being able to use her control and abilities was way better than being in the dark.
Buffy stood off to the side. She was abnormally worried about Spike. It could be because this was the first day since they got married that she was going to spend many, many hours without it. It could also be that he was going to another dimension, or that he was going with Angel. Buffy didn’t know what kind of understanding they had, but it didn’t matter. They weren’t the best of friends. And then she stopped herself after the first three thoughts because she realized she was just being stupid.
Kennedy didn’t believe in magic. She thought it was stupid. That it had no point and that it was just some fairytale crap that people, mostly the watcher she’d had, said was real. As a potential slayer, she’d stopped the supernatural at vampires, demons, and the Hellmouth itself. But, watching Willow as the non-existent wind blew her hair, made it that much more believable. And even though she knew that witch was taken, it didn’t make her like the redhead any less, but it did defer her from approaching her. Unfortunately.
It was only a moment before the portal opened. Spike tossed Angel the pendant Katherine had given him, just in case he wasn’t sun-friendly on the other side. “Ready, Broodboy?”
He jumped in without waiting for an answer, quickly followed by Angel.
Stacy Lynn kept her eyes shut tightly as she attempted to push herself off the ground. Ow, damn it.
Caleb grabbed her by her hair and she flew to her feet. “The sins of women go back as far as the memory can stretch. The first vampire was a woman, did you know? She damned men for all eternity, passing off her sin as a disease.” He flung her back onto a tree. Her dagger fell to the ground as she slid down the trunk of the tree. He picked the weapon up.
“Is there a point I’m missing in this, you chauvinistic, anachronistic, misogynistic bastard?” There was something to be said about Stacy Lynn. She didn’t know when it was of her own good to just shut the hell up.
“I serve an almighty wonder, I’ll have you know.” Caleb said, just a bit angry with her. He lifted her in the air by her neck, watching curiously as she gasped for air even though she didn’t need to breathe. He jammed the dagger through her forearm and into the bark of the tree.
“It will rise and you will know Its wrath,” he found another dagger of hers and repeated the action to her other arm. “From beneath you It devours.”
“You…work for…the First?” she gasped out, pain lacing her words.
“Of course. I was once a man of God, but then, I saw the Light. A beautiful light, it was.” Caleb replied. He found her sword and stared at it in appreciation as moonlight glinted off it. “And it will bathe the world, until It is all you’ll know…if you aren’t dead, of course.”
“We’ll…win,” she said, even though her brain was telling her that was a stupid thing to say to the man with a sword, currently doing a successful job of pinning her to a tree.
“It will show you no mercy. And neither will I.” Caleb said, raising his arms and thrusting the sword through her stomach and into the wood of the tree. He watched in anticipation as her face contorted, all her strength crumpling with the force behind his intent.
Stacy Lynn screamed.
She attacked with no remorse, kicking and punching. She ducked an incoming attack and sent one back with equal force, congratulating herself silently as she connected with flesh.
She soon found herself on her back for the fifth time since they started, despite her progress. She still thought of herself as a better fighter for lasting longer than the first time she went up against her self-imposed trainer.
“Again?” Katherine asked, holding out her had to help Trixie to her feet.
“You betcha,” the Chinese girl said, taking it. She had to duck a punch and a kick that came without warning, and caught on, sending her own punch. It barely dented the blonde, but she continued to fight anyway. There was nothing to gain from quitting.
They continued to spar, moving as blurs around the room. Trixie used the room allotted to her, taking anything that would give her the tiniest advantage over Katherine and using it. It almost reminded her of her gymnast days.
Trixie landed on her back for the sixth time, nearly ten minutes later. She took a deep breath, stretching to ease the aches and pains of nonstop sparring.
“I noticed that you’re concentratin’ more.” Katherine commented.
“Trying to live longer, I guess.” Trixie replied.
Jess came inside as Katherine moved towards the door. They greeted each other politely and Jess then turned to Trixie. “Hey, Trix. Up for a fight?”
Trixie nodded with a grin. “Sure.”
Katherine watched as they began, Trixie meeting Jess blow for blow, which was certainly more than she could say about the fights she’d witnessed in France. She shook her head of the thought and left the training room. Margaret was waiting for her.
“What’s new?” Katherine asked, knowing that whatever the red-haired seer told her, it would be important, crucial to winning this upcoming battle in the overall war.
“I had a vision. We have our own army forming-small but formidable, I’m sure. The First will need its own.” Margaret said.
“What kind of army are we talkin’ about here?”
Margaret let out a breath. “I’ve only seen them once before, in a vague dream, so I can’t be entirely sure, but we way be talking about Turok Hans.”
Buffy sat outside on the bench in front of the shop. She knew exactly when Anya came outside and sat next to her. She just didn’t know why.
They didn’t say anything for a while. There wasn’t that much to say. All they really had in common was Xander; and Xander, unfortunately for his ego, wasn’t that interesting to build a conversation on.
“I know how you feel,” the ex-demon started and Buffy looked at her, eyebrow raised. “My extremely mortal husband went to a massacre, just days ago?”
Buffy nodded, remembering her witness to Anya’s shamelessly bribing Xander. “I feel stupid.” She shook her head. “Did you feel stupid?”
“No. I knew he was Chosen. But he’s still killable. I should have remembered that he can take care of himself.” Anya answered.
“Yeah…well, Spike’s the eternal one in this relationship, I still worry he’ll die or something.”
“There are worst things than death.” Anya murmured to herself. Buffy gave her a funny look. Louder, she said, “Well, you love him. So reason accepted.”
“When did you get sensitive?”
“Since never,” Anya bluntly replied. “It’s the hormones.”
The sun was shining brightly on them as they fell through to the other end of the portal. Angel stood first, taking a look a round as screams resounded in the near distance. Fires raged and demons lumbered by, giving him and Spike looks as the surveyed the new environment.
“You think it’d be more an eternal night kind of place.” Spike commented. “Looks like a populated Grand Canyon.”
“Spike, do me a favor.” Angel said seriously. Something about this place made his skin itch and crawl. He didn’t like this place. Not a little, not at all.
“What?”
“Shut up so we can find this warrior and get the hell out of here.”
Spike did as requested, but feigned innocence when Angel tripped over Spike’s boot-clad foot, bumping a demon. He leaned against the wall of a building, watching with interest as things escalated to a fistfight.
It was her scream that tipped him off. He’d hear it only once before, when she had the nightmare that brought them back to Los Angeles. When he heard it, he put his legs into order and ran. He pushed forward with all the adrenaline in his body and tore across the cemetery, his worry for his girlfriend carrying him. He…cared about Stacy Lynn. He didn’t know what they were, but he wanted to find out. So he ran.
He broke into a clearance, to see her. His stomach lurched. She was pinned to a tree with her own weapons; her grey shirt was stained a dark red by her blood.
He gave no thought as he hurried over to her, mercifully pulling the two daggers and sword out quickly and catching her as she slumped into his arms.
“Gu…Gunn…” she lifted her head from his shoulder. “Watch…trap.”
He laid her down. “It’s okay.” He said softly. “Whoever it was is gone.”
He didn’t actually believe that, and watched her closely, noticing when her eyes widened. He spun around, catching the hand of Stacy Lynn’s attacker. He shoved the man back with all his strength, then grabbing his ax that he’d dropped in his hurry to make sure Stacy Lynn was okay.
“Made a big mistake, messing with my girl.” Gunn said, standing and raising his weapon threateningly. He swung.
“All must pay for their sins. She’s first in line.” Caleb replied, catching the ax handle and using it to flip Gunn in the air.
He landed on his feet easily, and spun to catch a foot to the jaw. He flew on his back, not too surprised to find Caleb standing over him, sword in hand.
Caleb smiled like a Cheshire cat, knowing he’d won. “And you’re next-“
The evil preacher froze, his eyes and mouth opening in obvious pain. Gunn watched in barely controlled horror as he split in half from the bottom up. Then, the two halves fell away, revealing a bloody and barely standing Stacy Lynn.
“Not on my unlife.” She panted, managing to mutter the quip darkly before she collapsed onto Gunn.
Author’s Note: I couldn’t resist the scene with Caleb. You cannot venture into Season 7 territory and ignore Caleb. That’s just wrong. It’s inhumane. And we’re getting to my specific premise that I finally figured out for the story. Yay! Though, that doesn’t mean there isn’t another premise for me to pull out from all the hints I let lie about the plot of this story. If you haven’t noticed yet, it’ll become more apparent.