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misseDisclaimer: Do not own or claim rights to BtVS or SG1
Note: This is unfinished, but it continues the story. I will be adding to this post when I add to the story, but will also post a separate update.
Chapter One – Hail Fellow Well Met
“Hey, babe, how're you feeling?” Xander asked as her wrapped his arms around his wife's waist.
“Ugh. Feeling like I just got my arse handed to me?” Gwen groaned.
“No making out on the gym floor,” Buffy warned, smiling slightly. “And put this away, will you?” she added, handing over the Scythe.
Without a conscious thought, Gwen took the Scythe in one hand. And she and Xander promptly disappeared.
~~~~~
Spike checked his piece of paper one more time, and finally dialled the number. He leaned back against the wall, thinking about the task he had assigned himself, that he was finally on the verge of completing.
“ISC,” the receptionist chirped. “How may I direct your call?”
“I want the Niblet. Dawnie,” he clarified.
“Would that be Miss Summers?” the woman asked. “And who may I say is calling?”
“Spike. She knows me,” he added, wondering just how many people were involved in this new version of the Council.
“One moment,” she chirped as she put him on hold. When Dawn answered, the woman went on. “Miss Summers, I have Master Spike on the line. Are you available for his call?”
“Spike,” Dawn squealed. “Yes, definitely! Put him through.”
“Pet,” Spike smiled once he was connected. “How's things in the bright and shiny new Council?”
“Good. Busy. How are you? We heard about LA, but then you just dropped off the map. What happened?”
“You heard about that, did you?” He sighed. “I'm the last one,” he went on softly. “Wes took out Vail, but it was a pyrrhic victory. Gunn was dying even as we started fighting in the alley. He did good, though. Took some out even then. Peaches... Angel... He... I saw him … dust.”
“Oh, Spike,” Dawn moaned softly.
Spike cleared his throat. “'Lyrie, you knew about her? Did you know how Blue...”
“We heard,” she nodded.
“She was mourning Wes when she joined us. Didn't even know what it was, why she felt so ...” He cleared his throat again. “She saw Gunn fall, saw Sire dust, and I think it was finally too much. We'd taken some of her power, 'cause she was unstable, but I think she must have got some back again. Whatever. She was … upset … mad … I don't know. She finally just stood there, stared them down, and said she had had enough of the 'muck that was trying to destroy her world.' Of the Wolf, the Ram, and the Hart. She would not be defeated. Then there was a flash, and the alley was empty. Just me and Gunn … Gunn's body.”
Dawn blinked. “Just like that?”
“She was a god, Pet. More even than Glory, 'cause she wasn't insane, wasn't bound to a mortal. She used a shell, but it was all her.”
Dawn sat in silence for a moment, sharing the vampire's pain. “So what now?” she asked eventually.
“I got Wes and Gunn. Couldn't leave them like that. Had them cremated. Wouldn't allow anything to happen to their bodies, not after all they had done.”
“We offer that as our first option to all who fall,” Dawn nodded.
“Anyway, I couldn't just put them anywhere. There was nowhere suitable in LA, Sunnydale wasn't any good. Then I heard you had a Memorial Garden here in Cleveland.”
“Oh, Spike. Of course they can rest here.”
“Thanks, Pet.”
“Do you have our address?”
“Yeah,” he nodded, fingering the piece of paper.
“Come straight in. I'll let the Gate know you're on your way.”
“Thanks, Pet. 'Preciate this.”
~~~~~
“How are you feeling, Danny?” Jack asked his friend when he woke.
“Like I was just tortured to almost death with a hand device? Oh, wait, I was,” he added sourly.
“Did she say anything? Like her deviously unbeatable plans for us?”
“Oh, just the usual: parlour games before Uncle Apophis comes to visit.”
Jack sat back against the wall. They were locked up nice and tight in the latest Gou'ald's Ha'tak, and Carter hadn't figured a way out yet. He couldn't physically break the doors down, and neither could Teal'c. At least they were all together for the moment. He wasn't so sunk in his reverie that he didn't hear the sudden shouting from just down the hall. A foul-mouthed and somewhat familiar female voice, accompanied, it appeared, by a male voice.
“Fucking hell!” shouted the woman.
“What the hell?” was the man's simultaneous cry.
SG1 moved to the front of the cell, and tried to look through the bars down the hall. “Hey!” Jack called out. “What were their names?'” he muttered.
Light footsteps approached, and as soon as the couple were in view, Jack remembered where he had met them.
“Um, Gwen, isn't it?” Daniel asked, excitedly. “And Xander? Harris, right?”
The one-eyed man rolled said eye, while his wife scowled at them. “That would be bloody right,” she growled, before turning to the man. “I ever even think of the possibility of maybe ever touching that thing again, I want you to hit me. Hard.”
“How did you get here?” Carter wondered.
“How do you bloody think? I touched the God-damned Scythe. Stupid bloody thing!” she grumbled as she looked at the cell lock.
“That's it. Less time with the G-man.”
She looked back to Xander, smirking. “I'm Australian. 'Bloody' is not Anglo-specific.” She turned back to the Stargate team. “Stand back from the door,” she warned as she hefted the long weapon.
Xander winced as he watched her bring it down on the locking mechanism. “I hope to God Buffy never sees you do that.”
“It's supposed to be nigh-on indestructible. What would you have me use? Besides, it worked, and the Scythe is fine. So,” she went on, turning to the team, “what nouveau riche villain are we facing today?”
“Just some minor System Lord,” Jack dismissed. “We just need to grab our packs, then we'll be on our way.”
“Fine,” Xander agreed. “Any idea where they'll be?”
“Same place they always are,” Jack grinned, leading the way to their possessions. “These guys aren't exactly the most inventive of thinkers.”
“Do I get to kill it?”
“The snake-head? Only if she gets in our way.”
“And I can pick her how?”
“She'll be the skank surrounded by the big guys in armour, with staff weapons,” Jack smirked. “Besides, given your reaction to T here, I'm pretty sure you'll know exactly who she is,” he added, opening the door to the storage area.
Once the team had their weapons and packs suitably settled, Gwen went on. “Decapitation work?”
“Er, I guess so. But she'll possibly have a personal shield.”
“What about the guards?” Xander wanted to know.
“Plate armour and staff weapons,” Jack advised. “If you can get inside their range, they'll switch to using their staves like, well, staves.”
Xander looked to Teal'c. “Weak points in the armour?”
“Jaffa armour generally involves a head-piece, collar, breastplate and back-piece, along with arm pieces and leg pieces,” the large man intoned.
“That's it?”
“They may also have a form of chain mail. I have not seen such on these guards,” Teal'c explained.
“So there's lots of ways to kill these guys, then?”
“If you have the skill,” he conceded.
Xander nodded thoughtfully.
Gwen stopped and let her eyelids droop, and seemed to listen for something before jerking her head up and opening her eyes. “That way,” she pointed up and to the right with the Scythe.
“What for?” Jack asked, puzzled.
“The snake-head.” She shook her head as she began walking again. “Not liking this. There's Jaffa everywhere, but I'm not going to be able to warn you when some are coming up because I don't know where the walls and halls are.”
“Not much of a problem,” Jack smiled. “They stomp around at Parade pace and make a hell of a lot of noise doing it. We should hear them coming.”
Gwen and Xander looked at him doubtfully. “Seriously?” Xander asked. “These are the big bads?”
Jack shrugged. “Don't get me wrong, they are a formidable enemy under the right circumstances. They just don't think about being quiet on their own home turf.”
“I guess they're not expecting you guys to break out,” Xander offered.
“And yet we do it so very often,” Jack shook his head.
“So how do we get out of here?” Gwen asked suddenly.
“Rings,” Sam answered. “Point-to-point matter transportation. We'll arrive in the temple structure that the vessel is parked on. Then we can just walk out, head out to the Gate.
Gwen gave the other woman a sidelong glance. “Quantum Physics?”
Sam smiled. “It works on a similar principal to the Gate itself, but in a different presentation. We stand within the circle, the rings pop up, we port down to the temple. Usually, you'd port to another set of rings, but here we just go straight down.”
“And then we just … walk?”
“Follow the yellow brick road,” Jack nodded. “Except there's no bricks. More of a trail.”
~~~~~
“Honestly, are they always like that?” Xander asked, astonished.
“Um, yeah. Pretty much. Don't get me wrong, they are a force to be reckoned with, but it's their arrogance. Gets them every time.”
“Yeah, but first we escape, then we run into a couple of patrols, obviously we're escaping, and they don't even guard the other side of the ring?”
“Like I said: arrogance. They figured we would never make it past the guards inside. They will have patrols outside, though, plus they'll probably launch the Death Gliders. And the Gate will be guarded – no getting around that.”
“Fun,” Xander commented sourly.
“Okay, people, let's move out,” Jack commanded. Teal'c moved out first, followed by Daniel, Sam, Xander and Gwen, and Jack trailed behind them.
~~~~~
Xander glanced over to Sam. “Is this a good time to mention that I never really got into the nature thing?” he asked, smiling slightly.
“Just don't mention the trees,” she smirked. When Xander raised his eyebrows, she went on. “It's something that Colonel O'Neill mentions. Frequently.”
“Ah,” Xander murmured. “But they're so very … tree-like!”
“Oh, god,” Sam muttered.
“You've got your version, I've got mine,” Gwen nodded. “I'm surprised you haven't developed a tolerance yet,” she added, raising an eyebrow.
“I have sufficient tolerance for one,” Sam shrugged. “The thought of two of them?” She shuddered.
Gwen considered that. “Ah. But you're in a male dominated society. Our society tends to be female dominated. And, for some reason, there's a lot of PMS. I sometimes wonder just how much is real, and how much is simulated for effect.”
“They would do that?” Sam queried doubtfully.
“A certain amount is to be expected. But cranky slayers get chocolate, so...”
“So certain behaviours are rewarded, hence the possibility that some are, at least unconsciously, an affectation?”
“Either that, or slayers are at the shallow end of the gene pool when it comes to menstrual side effects.”
Sam reached over and patted Xander's shoulder.
Xander grinned. “Actually, we don't spend a lot of time at Slayer Central. Gwen and I form one of the Hunter teams, so we're all over the place, just the two of us. Sometimes we hook up with Faith and Dawn, they're the Alpha Hunter team, and either hunt or party, whatever.”
“How many Hunt teams are there?” Sam asked.
“Three. Gwen and I are the Gamma team.”
“So you meet up with the Beta team as well?”
Slightly ahead of them, Gwen snorted, while Xander chuckled. “Uh, that would be a 'no'. Okay. Faith was the first one out on her own, 'cause she just couldn't see the point of her being in a five-unit team. It would bring too much prestige to the team, or we would be cycling slayers through the team, and she just didn't want the hassle. So she grabbed Dawn, and announced that they were the Alpha Hunter team, and that was that. They pretty much stay around Dawn's college during the school year, and launch out on bigger hunts in the holidays. The Beta team is a slayer called Kennedy and an old-school watcher who survived the First's attack, back in '03. Kennedy... Well, she used to be in a relationship with Willow, but things happened, and, well, she's very...”
“Bitchy,” the muttered word floated back to them. “Arrogant. Pain in the arse.”
“Uh, yeah,” Xander grinned. “She and Gwen don't get on. And she is all that. First we were begged to remove her from three teams, then five separate watchers quit on her, and we don't have that many watchers. Finally we hooked her up with Simpkins, who is way old-school, and, for some obscene reason, they actually work. She's based out of Europe, travels a lot. She and Gwen had some spectacular fights before Ken was shipped out to Europe. I think she's actually happy, now. She comes from money, old money as far as America is concerned, and Europe is just her style.”
“And you and Gwen were simply the third team formed?” Sam prompted.
“Yep,” Xander nodded. “Gwen was in a team, but she wasn't really clicking, I guess. Then we got engaged, and there were concerns that she would be shown favour because of her relationship with a member of the Board, or that the team would be unfairly favoured, or whatever. So we formed a new Hunter team, and we range all over North America. And down time with Faith and Dawn is always fun,” he added, grinning.
“So what's it like working in a predominantly female society?” Daniel asked.
Xander frowned in thought. “It's not just that the Council is 'predominantly female,'” he considered, “but that they're just about all super-powered. There's roughly a hundred fifty Slayers like Gwen, and then there's the witches, well over half of which are female. Um… There are more male Watchers than female, but we're all just normals,” he shrugged. “No super powers for the Xan-man,” he smirked.
“You have been fighting supernatural creatures since high school, and are the sole back-up for a Slayer. There has to be something special about you,” Sam protested.
“Apart from a propensity for possession, and a scent apparently reminiscent of demonic catnip?” Xander proposed. “Not so much.”
Sam opened her mouth to argue, but noticed Gwen shake her head disgustedly. Maybe it was an old argument between them. She decided to let it lie for now.
~~~~~
Spike arrived at the front gate of the Sineya School for the Gifted, and looked around. The Slayers at the gate looked unusually tense and watchful. Cautiously, he knocked on the gate, and stepped back, waiting for the young women to open up for him, but instead, they pulled out weapons, and glared at him.
“Seriously, vampire?” the darker brunette asked. “You're seriously trying to get in to Slayer Central?”
Spike cocked his head and narrowed his eyes. “Seems to me someone's out o' the loop,” he suggested smoothly. “Maybe you should talk to the Bit. Dawn Summers, that is. Any of the Scoobies, really,” he added shrugging. “They all know me, but Niblet's the one I was talking to last night.”
“Right,” the lighter brunette drawled. “Watcher Summers would be talking to a vampire. Instead of, say, staking it. 'Cause Slayer Faith would even let one near her,” she added derisively.
“Bloody hell,” Spike snorted. “What are they teaching you lot these days. Name's Spike, William the Bloody for those who care, which I don't particularly. I looked after 'Watcher' Summers when she was a wee brat, stayed with the whelp, even. And what do you call him, hey? 'Carpenter' Harris? And what about the Watcher? 'God Almighty'? Call Dawn,” he reiterated crossly.
“No,” the fairer Slayer decided. “Step away from the gate before we decide to take matters into our own hands, and dust you ourselves.”
Spike snorted. “Like you could, ducks. Tell you what,” he added, smirking as he pulled a cell phone from his pocket, “I'll call her myself.” He waited for the call to be answered by a distracted-sounding young woman. “Hey there, Niblet. What shite are you teaching your Slayers these days?” he demanded.
“Uh, what are you talking about?” Dawn asked, distracted.
“I'm standing here, at your front gate,” Spike growled, “and the idiot Slayers you got here don't even know who William the Bloody is, let alone the fact that I know you lot.”
Dawn made a frustrated sound. “I'll be right down there. I'm so sorry, Spike, but we've had this sudden problem with Xander and Gwen – that's Xander's wife, but I don't know if you know her – and I haven't even gotten around to telling anyone what happened, or that you're coming, or why. I'll just grab Faith and tell her on the way.” With that, she disconnected the call.
Spike smirked at the guards at the gate. “Shouldn't be too long, ducks,” he nodded.
Chapter Two – Old Friends, New Lives
Dawn flew into the lounge room and looked around quickly. Focussing on Faith, she dashed forward and clicked her fingers to get her attention. “Now,” she urged. “We've got to get to the gate.”
Frowning, Faith stood, and walked over. “Why? What's the big deal?”
Dawn waited for her friend to catch up before turning and walking out of the room. “Spike's at the front gate. Can you believe it? The girls on the gate don't even know who he is!”
“So we're going down there for what?” Faith asked.
Dawn sighed. “Yeah. What I didn't tell you is that Spike is – shit! – he's uh, he's carrying Wes and Gunn's ashes. From the big thing that happened. Back in LA.”
They walked in silence for a while, Dawn glancing at Faith every so often. Finally, Faith cleared her throat. “So, uh, why's he here?”
“He brought the ashes to place in our Memorial Garden,” Dawn explained.
Faith cleared her throat again, and nodded curtly. “It's a good thing.”
“Yeah,” Dawn murmured. “You okay with seeing him again?” she asked after a moment.
“Yeah,” Faith dismissed. “He say anything about Fang?”
Dawn grimaced. “He saw him dust. Was pretty cut up about it,” she added softly.
“So he's been carrying Wes and Gunn around with him ever since?” Faith frowned. That's been a few years, now.”
“Maybe he couldn't bring himself to do it until now,” Dawn suggested.
Faith grunted in response, and they fell silent until they reached the gate, where they found Spike smirking at the frustrated Slayers. She rolled her eyes at the half-trained warriors and brusquely ordered them to open the gates.
Dawn flew to the vampire, and engulfed him in a hearty hug. “Gods, Spike, it's been so long.”
Spike lifted the woman off the ground as he returned the embrace. “Been years, Bit,” he agreed roughly. He cleared his throat. “So what's this I hear about Harris and his girl going missing?”
“How about we take this inside,” Faith frowned. “Don't need the whole world hearing our business.”
~~~~~
Xander looked at the path doubtfully. They'd just managed to dodge yet another patrol, and he could only see it getting worse the closer they got to the Gate. “So how straight does this thing run?” he asked absently.
Jack frowned, and tilted his head, curious. “Not very,” he decided. “I think they generally start out as animal tracks, then villagers start using them. That sort of thing.”
“So if we were able to take a straight line to the Gate we might be quicker and safer than taking the path?” Xander asked.
“Well, yeah,” Jack shrugged. “Of course, we don't have a way of aiming straight for the Gate. But, yeah, if we did, it would be ideal.”
Xander turned to Gwen, who shook her head. “Sorry, Xan. Can't sense it this far out.”
Xander turned back to Jack. “How far away do you think it would be?”
Jack turned to his team, then suggested, “Four, five miles?” When the others nodded, he continued, “Less, straight line.”
Xander turned back to Gwen. “You've tracked over greater distances,” he urged.
“No,” she shook her head. “I haven't tracked over greater distances, and the … signals were stronger, anyway.”
“It's possible, and may be our best bet,” Xander argued.
“Fuck this,” Gwen growled as she turned and stormed off into the forest.
When Sam went to follow her, Xander held up a hand. “She won't have gone far. And she just needs some time to think.”
“What about?” Jack frowned. “Just what's going on here?”
Xander sighed. “I'm asking her to something she doesn't want to do.” He worked his shoulders to relieve some tension, then dropped to sit on the ground. The others took the hint, and also sat down. “Okay. Giles gave you the 'World is older than you know' speech last time. What we didn't go into is that actual creation of the Slayer line. All you really need to know is that the original Slayer was a girl named Sineya. All Slayers derive their power from the portion of her essence that lives in them. It empowers them to do what they need to do, and is demonic in origin.
“Something we found out after the mass Calling and the formation of the Hunter teams is that when Slayers go on extended hunts, they tend to … lose themselves in the First Slayer, in Sineya. She takes over totally. It takes about a week, ten days, but the Slayer is… It's like multiple personality disorder, or possession. Yeah, I guess possession is the best explanation, since Sineya's essence is demonic.”
“We don't have a week,” Jack reminded Xander.
“No,” Gwen agreed quietly from the edge of the clearing, “but we do have the Scythe, the focus point for the spell that called all the potentials. Xander's plan is that I will use the Scythe as a focus point for my meditation, to draw Sineya out.”
Danny frowned, concerned. “This worries you.”
Xander hunched his shoulders. “She's worried that one day she won't come back.” He stood and walked over to the blonde, cupping her face. “You know I'll always call you back, don't you?” he murmured.
Gwen wrapped her arms around Xander, and buried her face in his neck. “I trust you, Xan. I don't like this, but I trust you. You really think I can do this?”
“It's a form of a permanent portal,” Xander explained. “That concentrates things.”
“I didn't notice it back on Earth,” Gwen reminded him.
“Were you hunting for it?” he prompted.
“Well, no,” she admitted.
Xander smiled. “Well, then. So do you think this is feasible.”
Gwen huffed crossly. “No. I don't know.” She kicked at the ground. “Okay. It's possible. Happy?”
“I'd be happier if it didn't feel like I was forcing you into this,” he sighed.
“You got a better plan?” Gwen asked. When Xander shook his head, she continued. “Do they?”
“You're our best weapon, Gwennie,” Xander replied. “Which, calling my wife a weapon,” Xander grinned, “not the most romantic thing I could think of.”
Gwen stretched. “Okay. Well, you'd better make sure she doesn't just steer you to the nearest group of Jaffa. Though,” she added thoughtfully, “could be fun.”
~~~~~
Jack watched as Gwen sat cross-legged in the clearing, Scythe resting in her open hands. She had sunk into something remarkably like Teal'c's kel'no'reem, and had already spent a good ten minutes in that posture.
“Any idea how long this will take?” Jack asked quietly.
“Something less than a week?” Xander tossed back, grinning slightly. He shook his head. “We've never done anything like this before. The closest I know of is the joining spell, and that required three other people, including a witch and someone who spoke Sumerian. Well,” he added, glancing at Daniel, “we have that, but, sorry, I left my witch in my spare pants.”
Jack shook his head, and turned back to find Gwen standing in front of him, silent, but her head cocked. He could feel himself tense, and dropped his eyes automatically. Through lowered lashes, he saw the woman move to her husband, and pause, watchfully, in front of him, before sliding over to Teal'c, knife raised.
Xander hurriedly moved to slide between them, hands raised. “He's an ally,” he assured her urgently. “He left the false gods of his youth, and now fights for the freedom of his people, and the greater good.”
Gwen glared at Teal'c for a long moment, before sliding closer and raising her knife to his forehead, placing the edge of the blade at the edge of his tattoo. Teal'c immediately pressed closer to the blade, causing a thin line of blood to well up. In one of her lightening quick moves, Gwen withdrew the blade, and brought it to her lips, delicately tasting the blood there. Without further ado, she nodded once, and turned away.
The slender blonde looked around the clearing, scowling. Finally, she glared at Xander, who bowed his head. “We need to find the chappa'ai,” he requested politely, “the Stargate. The Powers brought us here to guide SG1 home, and the best way that I can see is for us to trek straight to the chappa'ai, and go home that way. I was hoping you could sense it, and lead us there.” He looked up through his eyelashes. “There are enemy Jaffa, and a Goa'uld here, but time is of the essence.”
Gwen sniffed disdainfully at Xander, turned, and stalked off. When Xander immediately followed, Jack stared after them, open mouthed, before shaking his head, and urging the team to follow.
~~~~~
They were walking in the Memorial Garden, showing it off, and discussing where they might place the ashes Spike had brought. Dawn had glanced suspiciously at Spike when he had simply entered the Garden, but had decided that Willow must have keyed the Garden's wards to him despite any suspicions Buffy and Giles might have had. She noticed, though, that Faith was also casting wary glances at the vampire, though hadn't yet taken the time to comment.
“Might as well say it, love,” Spike said quietly. “Something's got your mind, and I think I know what it might be. So say it, already.”
“You've changed,” Faith stated. When Spike nodded, she went on, “I remember how you used to feel, back in the 'Dale, and you're different. What is it?”
Spike trailed his hand over a cluster of jasmine blooms. “Remember that little thing Peaches was so hot for? That little prophecy?”
“The Shanshu prophecy?” Dawn gasped. “You're human?”
“Well,” Spike drawled, “yes and no. More no. Seems the actual thought was that whoever got it would live until they died, or some such rot. Wes thought that meant Angel would become human, but it turns out that wasn't quite right. Don't know why anyone would want that, anyway,” he grumbled. “Become weak again? Not my thing. Turns out, not quite what happened.”
Dawn and Faith exchanged glances as Spike fiddled with his lighter. “And?” Dawn prompted.
Spike turned to her, and gave a rueful smile. “Dhampyr, pet. All living and soul-having, as you lot would have it, strong as a vamp, though not as strong as I used to be – Master Vampire, after all – but without all those pesky allergies to sunlight and blessed things. I will grow old and die,” he added, “but it will take longer than a human would. Say a couple hundred years, maybe more.” He looked out over the garden, then added, “No demon, neither.”
Dawn glanced at Faith, who was nodding thoughtfully. “But what about back at the gate? They were sure you were a vampire.”
“Vampire, dhampyr, one comes from t'other. Angel's boy – you know him?” he glanced at the younger girl, eyebrow raised. When she nodded, he continued, “He's a dhampyr, too. He'd probably ping against your precious minis, too. Don't know. He was never a vamp, child of one, only. Me? I was one, Childe and Master, for over a hundred years. Leaves a … stain,” he frowned.
“So what are your plans now, Bleach?” Faith asked.
Spike sighed, and found a rock to sit on. “Fight the good fight?” he considered. “Other than that, don't know. So what's this about the boy and his girl?”
Dawn snorted, and took up the new direction. “Someone's never going to allowed to touch the Scythe again,” she smirked.
“Hell, no,” Faith agreed. “Did you see her face? And she was the one that handed it to Gwen in the first place.”
Spike glanced from one girl to the other. “Not too proud to say I'm a bit lost here, ducks. Mind explaining?”
“Okay,” Dawn began, finding her own rock to sit on. Faith glanced around, then sprawled on the ground near Dawn's feet. “So what do you know about Xander's wife?” she asked.
“Not a sausage,” Spike nodded firmly.
“Fine. Well, she's a Slayer. Yes, Xan finally got a Slayer to stick around. She's good, too. One of the best of the minis. She can even take Faith down every so often.” Spike glanced at the dark-haired Slayer, impressed. Not many could boast that. “So there was this thing a few months ago, yet another apocalypse, and Faith threw the Scythe to Gwen, 'cause she could probably use it more than Faith could at the time. The moment Gwen touched it, she disappeared.”
Spike hissed his concern, but Dawn simply nodded and continued. “Turned out there was a ward around the ritual grounds, which interacted with something in Colorado, which is just as well, otherwise we'd probably still be looking for Gwen and the Scythe. As it was, she ended up slamming into the wall in the most top-secret part of a top-secret Air Force base. Of course, there were further complications – one of the people there recognised her from something that had happened, uh, six months earlier? To make matters worse, Will had to pull her out with magic,” she grimaced. “Well, we went, had a big confab, and agreed that we were both too busy with our own stuff, and are leaving each other alone.”
“So this time?” Spike asked.
Faith snorted. “We'd just finished a session in the gym, and B decided Gwen and Xan were too cosy, making out in front of her, so gave Blondie the Scythe to put away. She was still touching Xan at the time, so when she blipped out, so did he.”
“Just like that?” Spike asked.
“Just like that,” Faith nodded.
“So have you talked to these Air Force blokes?” Spike asked.
Dawn sighed. “We suggested that first thing, but Willow wanted to try to find them first. We'll probably call tomorrow morning. You know, something like a reasonable hour?”
Spike frowned, but shrugged his acquiescence. “So Harris's girl's going to be banned from touching the thing?”
“Hell, yeah,” Faith chuckled. “Doubt you could make her touch the thing anymore, anyway. She don't much like the mojo.”
“That,” Dawn shrugged, “plus that fact that last time she ended up with two broken arms, and worrying about being the star exhibit in The Initiative, Mark II.”
~~~~~
Teal'c looked out of their current shelter of the forest into the clearing that held the Stargate. SlayerGwenHarris, in her FirstSlayer persona, had led them directly through the forest to this clearing, though not at her preferred pace. Several times he had seen her stop to glare at her husband, though neither appeared to have said a word. After several minutes, she had simply turned and started walking again.
They had come across two patrols that he had seen. Both times, the only notice of the patrols, though, had been the lifeless bodies of the Jaffa who had been in her way, along with the Goa'uld larvae, which had been ripped from the soldiers' primtas and torn to pieces. The FirstSlayer was a silent and highly efficient warrior, and he could admit to being impressed, and even a little … concerned. He would have to see her in action to discern just how concerned he should be, though.
Now they were waiting as the FirstSlayer made her moves. She had stopped at the edge of the clearing and examined the area before turning to her husband. She had glared at him for a few minutes before melting into the trees. XanderHarris had simply sighed, and leaned against a tree, obviously waiting.
“So what's the plan, kid?” Jack asked, annoyed by the hold-up.
“Gwen's going to clear the Gate for us.” Xander explained. “We just wait here for her to do her thing, and then go home.”
“Just like that,” Jack clarified doubtfully.
“Just like that,” Xander nodded.
“I kind of get the feeling that she doesn't really like us,” Danny suggested.
“Nope,” Xander agreed genially. “That's actually Sineya we've been dealing with, and she really doesn't play well with others. The first time I met her she killed me. Thankfully it was in a dream, so it didn't take. That was after the joining spell,” he added, glancing at Jack. “According to the histories, Sineya never had a Watcher, and was routinely rejected by any humans that she met. Then again, she wasn't really … human, so I'm not that surprised.”
“How do you mean, 'not really human?'” Danny asked, his interest quickened.
Xander shrugged. “Well,” he sighed. “Okay, she lost the power of speech, and she was really … feral, I guess you could say. She had one thing, and one thing only on her mind, and that was the utter destruction of any and all demons. You've seen the way she acts, and frankly? That's pretty mild. She'll snarl, she'll glare, and when she fights?” He shuddered. “I've seen her rip the head off a demon, then look at it like it's a curiosity, a toy. And then discard it without another thought. She would bathe in the blood of demons, and smile, because it made her that much scarier to other demons.”
“But … Gwen, she's still in there, right?” Sam asked, horrified.
“Gwen is … there, but not conscious,” Xander explained. “She said it's like floating, like being high on really good painkillers.” He shook his head. “I don't know. When I was possessed, I knew what was going on, and was powerless to do anything. She swears it's not like that for her, and Faith agreed, although she said it was more like going to sleep, or dozing on a Summer's day.” He smirked. “Who knew Faith could do 'poetic'?”
“So we just wait for, what?” Jack asked.
“Sineya to take the Gate,” Xander smiled fondly.
Chapter Three – Endings and Beginnings
The ceremony had been simple and discrete. Giles had come down, as had Buffy, to acknowledge the placement of the remains of the ex-Watcher and the ex-gang leader in the Memorial Garden. Willow also joined them, having already flown in to search for Xander and Gwen. Spike had chosen early morning, with the sun just rising over the large tree in the East of the Garden, for the ceremony. Thin, wintry light flooded the clearing, picking out naked boughs, while the assembled group watched. Spike looked around, and nodded. Dawn was always a powerful symbol to those who fought the night.
The plastic cremains containers had been placed in their sandstone boxes, and sealed, with brass name plaques screwed in place. There were a number of similar boxes planted around the Garden, discrete, but obvious if you knew what you were looking at. Squat, square stones, half-hidden by what would be flowering shrubs and herbs. Spike looked around, but decided that he really didn't want to read any names just at that time.
He looked up at the sun, still amazed that he could stand in its light without burning. At least, without catching flame. He'd learned a harsh lesson the first Summer after the battle with the Black Thorn, and was more careful with his skin now. Third degree burns weren't fun. He shook his head, and turned back to the group.
“So what are we doing about Harris and his girl?” he demanded.
~~~~~
“So what are out options?” Buffy asked.
“Well,” Willow began, gnawing her lip nervously, “I've been trying to find them, starting with Colorado, because, well, last time, and I've gone into a deep trance, just in case Gwen was able to link up to me again, but neither of them worked. A big, fat bupkis on both counts.”
Spike frowned. “What was that about a trance, pet?”
Dawn chose to answer this question. “Last time, Gwen was able to contact Willow through a dream. Gwen meditated, and Willow was conked out because of all the spell-work she'd done at the apocalypse we had.” When Spike continued to look at her blankly, she added, “Gwen figured that since Willow performed the spell to call her as a Slayer, then there should be some connection there for her to utilise. She was right, and Willow apparently had this really trippy dream.”
Spike shook his head, smiling slightly. “Okay, so, what? No acid dreams for Red?”
“No,” Willow sighed. “And I can't find them anywhere on Earth. They're just nowhere,” she wailed.
“You think they're in another dimension?” Spike frowned.
Willow chewed on her lip, and glanced at the others. “Well,” she began hesitantly. “They could also be on another planet.”
Spike blinked. “Come again, love?”
“Well,” Willow shifted uncomfortably, “there's kind of maybe this group that deals with extra-terrestrials, and they're really nice people, not at all like the Initiative were, 'cause they look after their people, not like those poopy-heads, and they even have an alien on their best team, except that their alien kind of feels like a demon to Slayers, so when one came in to talk to Gwen, she thought the Initiative had hired demons, or something like that, and so she freaked, and I had to pull her out with magic, rather than letting Riley get her out like we'd planned, but when we actually got to talk to them, we found out they were really good guys, and it was so not our thing, so we let them keep on keeping on, you know?”
Spike waited for the babble to sink in, then shook his head to clear it. “And?” he demanded.
“Oh. And they're in Colorado,” Willow added.
“Right. Those are those Air Force blokes you told me about, Niblet?” Spike asked.
“That would be them,” Dawn nodded.
“So we calling them already?” he demanded.
The group exchanged glances, then Buffy sighed. “Okay. We're getting nowhere by normal means, so let's give it a shot. Who wants to make the call?”
“Ooh, me,” Dawn squealed. “Their linguist was totally cute.”
Buffy rolled her eyes, smirking slightly. “Fine, Dawnie, call the cute guy. See if he has any idea where Xander and Gwen are. Will, can you please keep checking? See if there's any way the Scythe could have taken them out of this dimension? I just hope to God that if it has, there isn't much of a time difference.”
“On it, Buff,” Willow nodded firmly.
~~~~~
“Okay,” Jack grimace, “that was gross.”
Xander made a face as he looked around the clearing. “I think it's worse because it's red,” he decided.
Sam cocked her head. “Why would that be?” she asked, curious.
Xander gave a half-smile. “Most of the demons we fight don't have red blood. Of course, it's at least as hard to wash out as normal blood, but still…”
“Doesn't look real?” Jack prompted.
“Yeah,” Xander gave another small smile.
“Well, she was very … thorough,” Sam decided.
Xander flicked a glance at his wife, standing calmly at the foot of the Gate. “She is that. Sineya is, of course, a better fighter than Gwen, but she's very good, too.”
“I have not seen anyone move like that,” Teal'c admitted.
“Yeah, right, she's amazing,” Jack grumbled. “Can we get this party moving? Danny,” he barked, “dial home.”
Danny started, and headed to the DHD, quickly dialling, and waiting for the wormhole to form. Once the wormhole had settled, he watched Gwen approach it carefully. She skimmed her fingertips over the rippling surface, then turned to frown at him.
“It's the event horizon for the Gate's wormhole,” Daniel explained. When Gwen turned somewhat mocking eyes on him, he blinked. “Um, I guess you remember this? From, from when you lived?”
Gwen turned back to examine the surface, then shook her head.
Xander walked up the steps. “She may have seen it through the eyes of the Slayers who fought the Goa'uld. We have histories on three of them, but there was one in particular who led the last rebellion against Ra.”
“There was a Slayer -” Daniel began.
“Can we get home already?” Jack demanded. “There is a boatload of Jaffa and a Goa'uld after us, after all,” he reasoned, annoyed.
Gwen looked at him, and stepped through the Gate.
“Ah, hell,” Jack grumbled, and stepped through right behind her.
“Just because we told them you were coming doesn't mean they'll be happy to see her first,” Sam explained as she followed her Colonel through.
Danny shrugged, and waved for Xander to walk through with him, and Teal'c took one last look around at the devastation that surrounded the Gate before stepping thought the Gate. The wormhole lasted a few seconds longer, then blinked out.
~~~~~
“General Hammond,” Dawn greeted, smiling, “how are you today?”
“Good, thank you, Miss Summers,” the General returned. “I trust you are well? And to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?”
“Well, Gwen's gone missing again,” Dawn admitted. “We were kind of hoping that she'd dropped in on you, though preferably not as literally as last time, especially since she's got Xander with her.”
Hammond frowned. “I can see how that would be a problem,” he agreed cordially. “However, neither has appeared at the base since your last visit.” He thought for a moment, then continued. “If it's worth anything, SG1 is currently off-planet, and were due back about sixteen hours ago. We're currently putting together a group to go check on them.”
“We would like to send a contingent,” Dawn immediately offered. “At least three of us,” she went on. “Faith and myself, as the Alpha Hunting Team, and an associate, William Pratt.”
Hammond frowned. “You and Miss Lehane have already signed the appropriate paperwork, and I dare say that you are fit for Gate travel, but what about Mr Pratt?”
Dawn snorted. “Well, physically, you can consider William to be something like a male Slayer. And he's a close friend of most, if not all, of the Board, so he'll be under the same considerations as the rest of us. He'll sign the paperwork, and be ready to go with Faith and me.”
General Hammond sighed. “I'll still have to talk to Major Davis about this. I'll get on to it straight away. How soon can you get here?” he asked.
“We can be there in a matter of hours, all ready to go. You get the paperwork ready, and he'll sign it when we get there,” Dawn instructed.
“I'll see you then,” Hammond sighed.
~~~~~
“So what's the news, Little D?” Faith demanded as the younger brunette bounced into the room, grinning.
“They haven't turned up at Colorado,” Dawn began, “but SG1, the team that we met when we were there, are off-world, and are late back. I figure Gwen and Xan got sent to them, wherever they are.”
“And?” Spike prompted.
Dawn grinned. “You, me, and Faith are going to Colorado, and maybe off-world.”
Spike looked blankly from person to person. “We what?” he asked, stunned.
~~~~~
Spike looked around the conference room with its shielded window. Dawn had given him the low-down on what to expect, and it seemed like she'd got it right. Standing at the head of the conference table was an older man in a uniform, and a handful of paper. Dawn smiled, and went straight over to him to shake his hand.
“I hear you're missing some people,” General Hammond frowned.
“So are you, from what you said,” Dawn smirked.
“Ah yes,” Hammond conceded, “but we, at least, have a general idea where we misplaced our people.”
Dawn pouted, then shrugged. “Point. Okay, where's this paperwork for Spike?”
Hammond glanced at the only person in the room that he didn't have at least a passing acquaintance with. “Spike?”
Dawn gave a slightly embarrassed smile, while Faith covered a smirk. “Uh, Spike, AKA William Pratt.”
“That'd be me, ducks,” Spike smirked, walking forward. “So where do I sign my life away?”
General Hammond handed over a sheaf of papers, which Spike promptly signed without checking. “Aren't you going to read that, son?” he asked, concerned.
Spike handed back the forms with a shake of his head. “Trust the Bit with my life, I do. Certainly trust her with a bit of paperwork. 'Sides, not getting out of here to find the boy and his girl without it, now am I?”
“Well, no,” Hammond conceded. “I'll also need you two ladies to sign waivers before you'll be allowed through the Gate. Ordinarily any travellers are required to undergo training before being allowed through, but we're making an exception in your cases. You already signed the waiver with your non-disclosure form, Mr Pratt,” he added, nodding to the dhampyr.
The Watcher and the Slayer quickly signed their respective forms and handed them back to the General. Once he was satisfied with the papers, he turned back to the Council representatives. “Okay. Once you're ready, we'll head down to the Embarkation room and join the teams heading out.”
“Ready whenever you are, General George,” Faith declared. “We got our gear, and we're raring to go.”
Hammond nodded, and was about to speak when a claxon went off. “Unscheduled off-world activation,” came the voice over the speakers.
The General brightened. “That may be them,” he smiled, before inviting them to follow him.
~~~~~
Spike stared at the huge stone circle filled with what looked like an upright pool of water. “You seen this before?” he asked the women with him.
“Nope,” Dawn stared at the event horizon, mesmerised. “Heard about it, Gwen and Will asked some questions, but never actually got to see it.”
“What do we have?” Hammond asked Sergeant Harriman.
“SG1, sir, and friends,” Walter explained, glancing at the strangers who'd accompanied the General into the Control Room.
“You want us down there?” Dawn asked quickly.
Hammond glanced at Faith and Spike, remembering how well Faith and Gwen had taken down Teal'c and Jack respectively, and nodded. “Try not to kill anyone,” he urged, slight smile on his face.
Faith led the way down the stairs to the Gate Room, Dawn and Spike right behind.
“What's the rules?” Spike asked.
“Shit goes down, control whoever's hitting out,” Faith instructed. “Anything snaky that comes at you, you kill it. Two pieces acceptable, thin smear preferable.”
Spike cocked an eyebrow at that, and moved to the other side of the ramp, out of anyone's line of fire, but ready to leap into the fray. First through the standing water was a blonde girl, maybe Dawn's age, followed quickly by and older man in what looked like the base's field uniform.
“Stand down,” Jack yelled as soon as he was through the wormhole. He glanced around, and noticed Faith and Dawn, as well as a blond closer to Faith and Xander's age, and who he took to be one of Gwen's brothers. “I see you came to pick up your strays,” he greeted. “We kind of…” He trailed off, deciding that they probably understood exactly the problem they'd encountered, since Gwen had gotten right up in Faith's face, inspecting her like a mother looking at a grubby child.
Faith, on the other hand, stood at something akin to Parade Rest, arms loose at her side, eyes forward. When Gwen moved to inspect Dawn, Faith's eyes followed, but she stayed where she stood, trusting the possessed younger girl to not harm her Watcher. Jack glanced over his shoulder to see that Xander and the rest of his team had arrived, and the wormhole had disengaged. When he looked back, Gwen had moved to face the other man, and he had to quickly revise his understanding of their relationship.
Gwen had dropped into a fighting crouch in front of the fair-haired man, and had brought her weapon up into a ready position. All three Council Board members cried out 'No!' causing Gwen to turn and hiss at Faith. She returned her attention to the man in front of her, occasionally glancing at Xander and Dawn who were carefully approaching from either side. She straightened a little, and closed the distance until she was mere inches from the stranger. She snarled at him, but the man refused to react to the obviously insane and armed woman glaring at him.
Finally, he lifted his head a little, exposing his neck. Gwen lunged in straight away, snarling again, this time with her teeth mere millimetres from the skin of his neck. The man clenched his teeth, but didn't move. Jack could only admire his courage, and hope it worked out, because he sure as hell couldn't do anything about it, and he seriously doubted either Xander or Dawn would be able to move in time to stop anything from happening. When Gwen finally struck, all Jack could do was blink at the actual attack. She sniffed him. She sniffed him. For some obscure reason, Gwen took a good, long sniff of the blond stranger. Whatever she smelled, though, appeased her, and she stepped back, glared at the stranger, then promptly fainted, to be caught by the blond, who looked up to Xander with a 'what the hell?' expression.
~~~~~
Jack sat back and watched the entertainment, er, the Council members chatting.
“What the hell was that, Harris?” Spike hissed. “She felt old.”
“That was Sineya,” Xander explained.
Spike looked at each of the Scoobies. “Weren't that the name of the First Slayer? Girl with the dreads and the face-paint?”
“That's the one,” Faith nodded. “Bossy little shit, ain't she.”
“What I want to know is how she appeared?” Dawn frowned. “You weren't gone that long. Unless you were sent back?” she offered.
Xander shook his head. “Gwen used the Scythe to call her up. We kind of got to the point where we needed to find the best path to the Gate, and Sineya was our best bet of doing that and getting out alive.”
“She ever faint before?” Faith asked, worried. “'Cause that looked kind of new.”
Xander shook his head again. “It's a first. Then again, she's always had time to get into the groove before Sineya showed up. I figure it's just her body's way of, I don't know, adjusting?” He glanced at the closed door to the infirmary. “One of us should be in there. What if she wakes up?”
“I'll go,” Dawn decided. “They won't mind having a girl in there, and I have a better chance of controlling her if she gets out of hand.”
Spike tensed, and moved as if to stop her, but stopped when both Xander and Faith shook their heads. “How in hell does she think she's supposed to stop that?” he demanded. “Did either of you remember she's just a normal human being?”
Faith grimaced. “When Gwen's … out of it, there's only two people on this Earth who can calm her down: Xander and Dawn. Sineya may not like people in general, but she respects those two.”
“What about you?” Spike frowned. “You're a Slayer, you're older than her.”
“I'm older than Gwen, I've been a Slayer longer than Gwen. I'm not older than Sineya. She looks at me, and everything in me just wants to back down. I thought you got just how totally she is the First Slayer when she's like that.”
Spike stiffened as he remembered the confrontation in the Gate Room. He cleared his throat. “Yeah. Well.” He glanced at the door to the infirmary. “You sure she's going to be okay?”
Faith nodded. “Her and Xan are the only two I would trust to be utterly safe around her. Mind you, I don't think she'd kill me,” she added, “but she might slap me around a bit. Full strength, too, 'cause I ought to be able to take it.”
Spike nodded in thought, then turned to Jack. “So. How'd you like playing with a Slayer?”
Jack shuddered. “I'd still love to get a couple of your people stationed here, but…”
Xander smirked. “Sineya cleared the Gate for us. She's … effective.”
Jack shuddered again, while Daniel swallowed, and Teal'c looked … thoughtful.
Chapter Four – Turning Point
“So,” Xander began, eyeing Jack, “were you serious when you mentioned wanting some Slayers here?”
Jack frowned at the Watcher, then nodded. “Hell yeah. We even talked about it when your people were here last. You know, offer the girls a holiday, toying with the wimpy-ass villians we've got, only going out once or twice a week. That sort of thing.”
Xander grinned. “Things are a lot different to how they were back in high school,” he offered.
“I should damn well hope so,” Jack growled. “Just the thought…” He trailed off, shaking his head.
Xander nodded. “Giles tried, he really did. And, looking back, I can't believe the things we got away with. But we did, and we're here now. So …” he drawled, eyeing Faith and Spike, “I know Gwen wouldn't mind being based here, and where she goes, I go. What about you guys?”
“I'd need to talk to Dawn,” Faith shrugged, “but this, this could be fun.” She shook her head. “I'm not Head Slayer material. Don't want to be, neither. How would this even work?” she asked, turning to Jack.
Jack's eyes went wide as he was put on the spot. “Uh… Well, I expect that you would have a reasonable say in where you'd be placed. You'd possibly work with my team, or do search-and-rescue ops. Maybe the high-value, high-risk ops?” he offered.
“Plus research,” Faith added. “You know you're not going to get Dawn too far from those dusty old books and shit you got.”
“And Gwen's interests are … varied,” Xander grinned. “She's never bothered to get a doctorate in anything, but she's got a fair bit of knowledge in a number of fields.”
“And Spike here's more than just a killing machine,” Faith nodded, jerking her thumb in the blond's direction.
“And how is it Sineya didn't dust your ass?” Xander asked, turning on the other man.
“Don't dust no more, do I?” Spike smirked.
“What's that now?” Xander gaped.
“Got the Great Poof's Shanshu, now, didn't I?” Spike gloated.
“Oh, my God,” Xander gasped. “You got that … thing,” he waved vaguely. He blinked, and the corner of his mouth began to twitch. Spike eyed the younger man with growing trepidation. “That means you're … you're a real boy, now.” The twitch grew, and Spike frowned. “So, how's it feel, Pinocchio?”
~~~~~
Janet looked up from her examination of Sam to see a vaguely familiar young female enter the Infirmary. “You can't be here,” she began firmly.
“Oh, I kind of have to,” the brunette smiled. “She wakes up without one of us present, there could be problems,” she added, nodding to the unconscious Slayer.
“It's okay,” Sam reassured the doctor. “Ms Summers is part of Mrs Harris' group.”
“Uh huh,” Dawn agreed. “Not only that, I'm one of the only people who can stop her, no matter what.”
“Really?” Sam asked doubtfully, remembering what she'd seen at the Gate. “How? Do you, uh…” she waggled her fingers.
Dawn chuckled. “No. It's just that Gwen trusts me implicitly, so if I have to restrain her, she automatically allows it to happen. She actually fights Xander more than she fights me, but I think that that's because he's her husband, and she needs him to show dominance from time to time. A Slayer's brain can get pretty primitive from time to time,” she added.
“Even when she's…” Sam grimaced, not sure if she was up to coping with all this mystical stuff.
Dawn snorted. “Well, it's not like I'm going to have to restrain her from cracking a book to study, is it. First time I had to do it, she was about to take Faith to task for back-chatting her. I was closer, so I grabbed Gwen, while Xander got between them. She kind of tried to break my grip, but she put less effort into it than a toddler would. She hissed and snarled for all she was worth, but we managed to get her to calm down. Eventually, anyway.”
Janet looked at the two visitors. “So if she wakes disoriented?”
Dawn patted her arm. “I'll save you,” she reassured them.
~~~~~
Spike looked from Xander to Faith. “You know, one of you should really phone home. You know, let the others know you're alive and well, so they don't panic, and all?”
Xander cleared his throat, and nodded towards a spot a little further down the hall. “Too late,” he suggested.
Willow, Buffy and Giles stepped out through a portal. “Alexander Lavelle Harris, you'd better have a darn good explanation for me,” the redhead warned.
Xander gulped. “I was waiting for medical clearance before contacting you. You know, to make sure I didn't bring back any nasty space viruses, or something. And Gwen's in there at the moment, but she's unconscious, because she had to call forth Sineya with the Scythe, and I don't think her body was prepared for it because as soon as it was over, she flaked, and you know how tough Gwen is, so I was wanting to make sure everything was fine with her before I called you, so … hi?”
Spike shook his head, and turned to Jack. “I've known those two for going on a decade, and I still get surprised whenever they do that,” he murmured.
“Good lung function,” Jack returned, nodding slightly.
“Do I at least get the Scythe back?” Buffy grimaced.
“All yours,” Faith grinned, handing it over. “Blondie don't want it back any time soon.”
Buffy scowled at her sister Slayer. Then she rolled her shoulders to relax them. “So this … unconscious thing she's doing,” she offered.
“She's in with the doctor at the moment,” Xander nodded, “but I think I'd feel better if Will had a quick look at her. It's probably just exhaustion, or something, but…” Willow nodded, and slipped into the infirmary.
“So what did she do?” Buffy demanded.
“She meditated, using the Scythe as a focus, and called up Sineya,” Xander explained.
Buffy looked up, scowling. “To the Scythe, Xander. I saw that look when Faith handed it over. What did she do to the Scythe?”
Xander's eyes widened slightly. “Uh, just maybe kind of slightly used it to bust a lock?” he tried. “But I checked, and there was nothing wrong with it, and, like she said, it's supposed to be impervious to harm, and we really needed that lock opened so SG1 could get out of their cell.”
“If he could swim, he could probably get into the SEALs just on that,” Jack muttered to Spike.
Buffy caught the quiet comment, and smirked evilly. “Oh, he can swim,” she noted gleefully. “Still got that Speedo?” she asked her friend casually.
“Buffy!” Xander whined.
~~~~~
Dawn smiled gratefully when she saw Willow enter the room. “Dr Fraiser is just examining Gwen.” When the doctor looked up, frowning at the intrusion, she went on. “Dr Fraiser, this is Willow Rosenberg. She's one of us, and will want to check Gwen out.”
Janet shrugged. “I've just finished looking her over. She appears to be suffering from exhaustion, but nothing else.”
Willow nodded thoughtfully. “That's what Xander said. Do you know why that would be?”
“He said she called up Sineya, and that her body wasn't prepared for it like normal,” Dawn explained. “She used the Scythe as a focal point, and meditated.”
“Huh,” Willow grunted, eyebrows raised. “That'd do it. Well, I might be able to contact her. I'll, um, okay… If you bring that right over here,” she instructed, gesturing to a nearby bed, “I'll just…” As soon as the bed was in place, Willow lay down, and took Gwen's hand in hers, then quickly sank into a trance.
Janet looked at the red-haired woman, then turned to Dawn, frowning. “What's going on?” she demanded.
Dawn looked to Sam, unsure what to do next.
Sam shrugged. “It's up to you, but if your people are going to have anything to do with us in any kind of ongoing fashion, Janet is going to need to know about you. She's our CMO, and everyone gets checked out after going through the Gate.”
Dawn nodded, and turned back to the doctor. “Okay. Well, Willow has gone into a trance to try to contact Gwen's spirit.”
“Right,” Janet drawled.
Dawn smirked. “Oh, I haven't gotten to the good stuff yet,” she assured Janet. “Just wait till I get to the point that Willow and I are witches, and Gwen is a mystically enhanced being called a Slayer.”
Janet turned to Sam, incredulously. “Witches, Sam? Aren't you going to say something?”
Sam sighed. “I've seen magic, Janet, and I've seen Gwen move in ways that are impossible for a human her size and shape. Holy Hannah, I saw her take down all the guards at the Gate in less time than it took you to choose which uniform to put on this morning! So if Dawn says that Willow is a witch, and they're communing on some astral plane, then I, for one, am not going to argue the point.”
Dawn tilted her head. “Don't you remember how Gwen broke both her arms when she arrived here the first time, and then, one week later, she was out of the casts?”
“Well, yes,” Janet nodded, frowning.
“Enhanced healing, enhanced speed, strength, and endurance,” Dawn explained. “There's other parts to the whole Slayer package, and some of the details vary from girl to girl, but those are the essential parts. What Willow's trying to do is contact her and make sure there isn't anything else keeping her out.” She frowned. “Make sure Sineya isn't making her pay for calling her up like that.”
“Why would that be?” Janet asked, frowning.
“Xander, Willow, Giles and my sister performed a joining spell a number of years ago, and She took offence. She entered their dreams while they were recovering, and tried to kill them,” Dawn grimaced. She watched the recumbent pair for a moment longer, then shrugged. She hated waiting.
Janet sighed. “Well, there's nothing more I can do here. If you don't mind, I'll move on to the men.”
“I'll stay here,” Sam decided, and found chairs for herself and Dawn.
~~~~~
Willow opened her eyes to find herself back in her/Joyce's bedroom back in Sunnydale. Gwen was asleep on the bed, just as she was in the SGC infirmary, and the Primitive was pacing along her side of the bed, agitated. The thing that threw Willow, though, was the sight of Tara sitting on the bed beside Gwen, petting Miss Kitty Fantasitco. The blonde looked up through her hair, and smiled slightly.
“Tara?” Willow whispered. “Honey?”
“I'm not her,” not-Tara replied with a grimace, “not really. But she wished you to know that she's happy and at peace, and is glad that you're doing well. And Miss Kitty,” she went on, picking up the kitten to look into its eyes, “is onto her fifth life already. Someone has a fascination for dangerous things.” She sighed. “Such is the life of a Hellmouth kitten.” Not-Tara put the kitten back into her lap and began petting it again. “They are leaving,” she added after a moment.
“Who?” Willow asked, not truly wanting to know.
“Gwen,” not-Tara began, nodding to the sleeping woman, “Xander, Faith, Dawn and Spike, plus one more. You know him, he'll be there when you get back to Cleveland. Anyway, the six of them will be coming here, and then going even further away. This is what they need to do,” she added earnestly, “what they're being called to do. You need to let them do this, you and Buffy both.”
“But … they're family,” Willow argued, “we need them.”
“Not really,” not-Tara smiled sadly. “Not as much as they'll be needed elsewhere.”
Willow sighed. “This is what the Powers want, isn't it?”
“I'm afraid so,” not-Tara smiled.
“She's really happy?” Willow asked, feeling tears start.
“She is,” not-Tara nodded. “As are Joyce, Cordelia, Jenny and Anya. They're not lost, not any of them; they're just where you can't be right now. Keep on the path you're on, and you'll see them one day, each of you.”
“What about Gwen?” Willow asked, nodding at the blonde.
“They kept her asleep so you would come chat,” not-Tara rolled her eyes. “As soon as you leave, she'll wake up. And, no, she won't have any recollection of this discussion. She's asleep, after all.”
“And, um, her?” Willow winced as she glanced at the Primitive.
Not-Tara glanced over at the First Slayer. “Oh, she's just upset that we're messing around with one of her children. But I think She's happy with what Faith and Gwen are going to do. Lots of fighting in their futures,” she added with another roll of her eyes. She looked back at Willow. “Time to wake up, now.”
~~~~~
Willow's opening eyes were caught by a flash of movement as Gwen curled up into a crouched fighting position on the gurney.
Dawn stood immediately, hands spread. “It's okay, it's all okay,” she soothed.
Gwen held her position for a moment, then relaxed, sitting on the bed. “I'm guessing it all went well?” she asked after a moment.
“Well, you appear to have impressed the hell out of the SGC,” Dawn smirked. “I think they want to keep you.” When the blonde glared at her, Dawn continued hurriedly, “In a totally consensual, non-getting-cut-up kind of way.”
“They're not the only ones,” Willow nodded from her bed. “And speaking of, we really need to have a conference. The Powers have stuck they're high-and-mighty noses into your business, and certain people are probably not going to be happy about it.”
Gwen sighed, and slouched, scowling on the bed, while Dawn frowned thoughtfully at the red-haired witch.
Chapter Five
To be continued…
Note: This is unfinished, but it continues the story. I will be adding to this post when I add to the story, but will also post a separate update.
Chapter One – Hail Fellow Well Met
“Hey, babe, how're you feeling?” Xander asked as her wrapped his arms around his wife's waist.
“Ugh. Feeling like I just got my arse handed to me?” Gwen groaned.
“No making out on the gym floor,” Buffy warned, smiling slightly. “And put this away, will you?” she added, handing over the Scythe.
Without a conscious thought, Gwen took the Scythe in one hand. And she and Xander promptly disappeared.
Spike checked his piece of paper one more time, and finally dialled the number. He leaned back against the wall, thinking about the task he had assigned himself, that he was finally on the verge of completing.
“ISC,” the receptionist chirped. “How may I direct your call?”
“I want the Niblet. Dawnie,” he clarified.
“Would that be Miss Summers?” the woman asked. “And who may I say is calling?”
“Spike. She knows me,” he added, wondering just how many people were involved in this new version of the Council.
“One moment,” she chirped as she put him on hold. When Dawn answered, the woman went on. “Miss Summers, I have Master Spike on the line. Are you available for his call?”
“Spike,” Dawn squealed. “Yes, definitely! Put him through.”
“Pet,” Spike smiled once he was connected. “How's things in the bright and shiny new Council?”
“Good. Busy. How are you? We heard about LA, but then you just dropped off the map. What happened?”
“You heard about that, did you?” He sighed. “I'm the last one,” he went on softly. “Wes took out Vail, but it was a pyrrhic victory. Gunn was dying even as we started fighting in the alley. He did good, though. Took some out even then. Peaches... Angel... He... I saw him … dust.”
“Oh, Spike,” Dawn moaned softly.
Spike cleared his throat. “'Lyrie, you knew about her? Did you know how Blue...”
“We heard,” she nodded.
“She was mourning Wes when she joined us. Didn't even know what it was, why she felt so ...” He cleared his throat again. “She saw Gunn fall, saw Sire dust, and I think it was finally too much. We'd taken some of her power, 'cause she was unstable, but I think she must have got some back again. Whatever. She was … upset … mad … I don't know. She finally just stood there, stared them down, and said she had had enough of the 'muck that was trying to destroy her world.' Of the Wolf, the Ram, and the Hart. She would not be defeated. Then there was a flash, and the alley was empty. Just me and Gunn … Gunn's body.”
Dawn blinked. “Just like that?”
“She was a god, Pet. More even than Glory, 'cause she wasn't insane, wasn't bound to a mortal. She used a shell, but it was all her.”
Dawn sat in silence for a moment, sharing the vampire's pain. “So what now?” she asked eventually.
“I got Wes and Gunn. Couldn't leave them like that. Had them cremated. Wouldn't allow anything to happen to their bodies, not after all they had done.”
“We offer that as our first option to all who fall,” Dawn nodded.
“Anyway, I couldn't just put them anywhere. There was nowhere suitable in LA, Sunnydale wasn't any good. Then I heard you had a Memorial Garden here in Cleveland.”
“Oh, Spike. Of course they can rest here.”
“Thanks, Pet.”
“Do you have our address?”
“Yeah,” he nodded, fingering the piece of paper.
“Come straight in. I'll let the Gate know you're on your way.”
“Thanks, Pet. 'Preciate this.”
“How are you feeling, Danny?” Jack asked his friend when he woke.
“Like I was just tortured to almost death with a hand device? Oh, wait, I was,” he added sourly.
“Did she say anything? Like her deviously unbeatable plans for us?”
“Oh, just the usual: parlour games before Uncle Apophis comes to visit.”
Jack sat back against the wall. They were locked up nice and tight in the latest Gou'ald's Ha'tak, and Carter hadn't figured a way out yet. He couldn't physically break the doors down, and neither could Teal'c. At least they were all together for the moment. He wasn't so sunk in his reverie that he didn't hear the sudden shouting from just down the hall. A foul-mouthed and somewhat familiar female voice, accompanied, it appeared, by a male voice.
“Fucking hell!” shouted the woman.
“What the hell?” was the man's simultaneous cry.
SG1 moved to the front of the cell, and tried to look through the bars down the hall. “Hey!” Jack called out. “What were their names?'” he muttered.
Light footsteps approached, and as soon as the couple were in view, Jack remembered where he had met them.
“Um, Gwen, isn't it?” Daniel asked, excitedly. “And Xander? Harris, right?”
The one-eyed man rolled said eye, while his wife scowled at them. “That would be bloody right,” she growled, before turning to the man. “I ever even think of the possibility of maybe ever touching that thing again, I want you to hit me. Hard.”
“How did you get here?” Carter wondered.
“How do you bloody think? I touched the God-damned Scythe. Stupid bloody thing!” she grumbled as she looked at the cell lock.
“That's it. Less time with the G-man.”
She looked back to Xander, smirking. “I'm Australian. 'Bloody' is not Anglo-specific.” She turned back to the Stargate team. “Stand back from the door,” she warned as she hefted the long weapon.
Xander winced as he watched her bring it down on the locking mechanism. “I hope to God Buffy never sees you do that.”
“It's supposed to be nigh-on indestructible. What would you have me use? Besides, it worked, and the Scythe is fine. So,” she went on, turning to the team, “what nouveau riche villain are we facing today?”
“Just some minor System Lord,” Jack dismissed. “We just need to grab our packs, then we'll be on our way.”
“Fine,” Xander agreed. “Any idea where they'll be?”
“Same place they always are,” Jack grinned, leading the way to their possessions. “These guys aren't exactly the most inventive of thinkers.”
“Do I get to kill it?”
“The snake-head? Only if she gets in our way.”
“And I can pick her how?”
“She'll be the skank surrounded by the big guys in armour, with staff weapons,” Jack smirked. “Besides, given your reaction to T here, I'm pretty sure you'll know exactly who she is,” he added, opening the door to the storage area.
Once the team had their weapons and packs suitably settled, Gwen went on. “Decapitation work?”
“Er, I guess so. But she'll possibly have a personal shield.”
“What about the guards?” Xander wanted to know.
“Plate armour and staff weapons,” Jack advised. “If you can get inside their range, they'll switch to using their staves like, well, staves.”
Xander looked to Teal'c. “Weak points in the armour?”
“Jaffa armour generally involves a head-piece, collar, breastplate and back-piece, along with arm pieces and leg pieces,” the large man intoned.
“That's it?”
“They may also have a form of chain mail. I have not seen such on these guards,” Teal'c explained.
“So there's lots of ways to kill these guys, then?”
“If you have the skill,” he conceded.
Xander nodded thoughtfully.
Gwen stopped and let her eyelids droop, and seemed to listen for something before jerking her head up and opening her eyes. “That way,” she pointed up and to the right with the Scythe.
“What for?” Jack asked, puzzled.
“The snake-head.” She shook her head as she began walking again. “Not liking this. There's Jaffa everywhere, but I'm not going to be able to warn you when some are coming up because I don't know where the walls and halls are.”
“Not much of a problem,” Jack smiled. “They stomp around at Parade pace and make a hell of a lot of noise doing it. We should hear them coming.”
Gwen and Xander looked at him doubtfully. “Seriously?” Xander asked. “These are the big bads?”
Jack shrugged. “Don't get me wrong, they are a formidable enemy under the right circumstances. They just don't think about being quiet on their own home turf.”
“I guess they're not expecting you guys to break out,” Xander offered.
“And yet we do it so very often,” Jack shook his head.
“So how do we get out of here?” Gwen asked suddenly.
“Rings,” Sam answered. “Point-to-point matter transportation. We'll arrive in the temple structure that the vessel is parked on. Then we can just walk out, head out to the Gate.
Gwen gave the other woman a sidelong glance. “Quantum Physics?”
Sam smiled. “It works on a similar principal to the Gate itself, but in a different presentation. We stand within the circle, the rings pop up, we port down to the temple. Usually, you'd port to another set of rings, but here we just go straight down.”
“And then we just … walk?”
“Follow the yellow brick road,” Jack nodded. “Except there's no bricks. More of a trail.”
“Honestly, are they always like that?” Xander asked, astonished.
“Um, yeah. Pretty much. Don't get me wrong, they are a force to be reckoned with, but it's their arrogance. Gets them every time.”
“Yeah, but first we escape, then we run into a couple of patrols, obviously we're escaping, and they don't even guard the other side of the ring?”
“Like I said: arrogance. They figured we would never make it past the guards inside. They will have patrols outside, though, plus they'll probably launch the Death Gliders. And the Gate will be guarded – no getting around that.”
“Fun,” Xander commented sourly.
“Okay, people, let's move out,” Jack commanded. Teal'c moved out first, followed by Daniel, Sam, Xander and Gwen, and Jack trailed behind them.
Xander glanced over to Sam. “Is this a good time to mention that I never really got into the nature thing?” he asked, smiling slightly.
“Just don't mention the trees,” she smirked. When Xander raised his eyebrows, she went on. “It's something that Colonel O'Neill mentions. Frequently.”
“Ah,” Xander murmured. “But they're so very … tree-like!”
“Oh, god,” Sam muttered.
“You've got your version, I've got mine,” Gwen nodded. “I'm surprised you haven't developed a tolerance yet,” she added, raising an eyebrow.
“I have sufficient tolerance for one,” Sam shrugged. “The thought of two of them?” She shuddered.
Gwen considered that. “Ah. But you're in a male dominated society. Our society tends to be female dominated. And, for some reason, there's a lot of PMS. I sometimes wonder just how much is real, and how much is simulated for effect.”
“They would do that?” Sam queried doubtfully.
“A certain amount is to be expected. But cranky slayers get chocolate, so...”
“So certain behaviours are rewarded, hence the possibility that some are, at least unconsciously, an affectation?”
“Either that, or slayers are at the shallow end of the gene pool when it comes to menstrual side effects.”
Sam reached over and patted Xander's shoulder.
Xander grinned. “Actually, we don't spend a lot of time at Slayer Central. Gwen and I form one of the Hunter teams, so we're all over the place, just the two of us. Sometimes we hook up with Faith and Dawn, they're the Alpha Hunter team, and either hunt or party, whatever.”
“How many Hunt teams are there?” Sam asked.
“Three. Gwen and I are the Gamma team.”
“So you meet up with the Beta team as well?”
Slightly ahead of them, Gwen snorted, while Xander chuckled. “Uh, that would be a 'no'. Okay. Faith was the first one out on her own, 'cause she just couldn't see the point of her being in a five-unit team. It would bring too much prestige to the team, or we would be cycling slayers through the team, and she just didn't want the hassle. So she grabbed Dawn, and announced that they were the Alpha Hunter team, and that was that. They pretty much stay around Dawn's college during the school year, and launch out on bigger hunts in the holidays. The Beta team is a slayer called Kennedy and an old-school watcher who survived the First's attack, back in '03. Kennedy... Well, she used to be in a relationship with Willow, but things happened, and, well, she's very...”
“Bitchy,” the muttered word floated back to them. “Arrogant. Pain in the arse.”
“Uh, yeah,” Xander grinned. “She and Gwen don't get on. And she is all that. First we were begged to remove her from three teams, then five separate watchers quit on her, and we don't have that many watchers. Finally we hooked her up with Simpkins, who is way old-school, and, for some obscene reason, they actually work. She's based out of Europe, travels a lot. She and Gwen had some spectacular fights before Ken was shipped out to Europe. I think she's actually happy, now. She comes from money, old money as far as America is concerned, and Europe is just her style.”
“And you and Gwen were simply the third team formed?” Sam prompted.
“Yep,” Xander nodded. “Gwen was in a team, but she wasn't really clicking, I guess. Then we got engaged, and there were concerns that she would be shown favour because of her relationship with a member of the Board, or that the team would be unfairly favoured, or whatever. So we formed a new Hunter team, and we range all over North America. And down time with Faith and Dawn is always fun,” he added, grinning.
“So what's it like working in a predominantly female society?” Daniel asked.
Xander frowned in thought. “It's not just that the Council is 'predominantly female,'” he considered, “but that they're just about all super-powered. There's roughly a hundred fifty Slayers like Gwen, and then there's the witches, well over half of which are female. Um… There are more male Watchers than female, but we're all just normals,” he shrugged. “No super powers for the Xan-man,” he smirked.
“You have been fighting supernatural creatures since high school, and are the sole back-up for a Slayer. There has to be something special about you,” Sam protested.
“Apart from a propensity for possession, and a scent apparently reminiscent of demonic catnip?” Xander proposed. “Not so much.”
Sam opened her mouth to argue, but noticed Gwen shake her head disgustedly. Maybe it was an old argument between them. She decided to let it lie for now.
Spike arrived at the front gate of the Sineya School for the Gifted, and looked around. The Slayers at the gate looked unusually tense and watchful. Cautiously, he knocked on the gate, and stepped back, waiting for the young women to open up for him, but instead, they pulled out weapons, and glared at him.
“Seriously, vampire?” the darker brunette asked. “You're seriously trying to get in to Slayer Central?”
Spike cocked his head and narrowed his eyes. “Seems to me someone's out o' the loop,” he suggested smoothly. “Maybe you should talk to the Bit. Dawn Summers, that is. Any of the Scoobies, really,” he added shrugging. “They all know me, but Niblet's the one I was talking to last night.”
“Right,” the lighter brunette drawled. “Watcher Summers would be talking to a vampire. Instead of, say, staking it. 'Cause Slayer Faith would even let one near her,” she added derisively.
“Bloody hell,” Spike snorted. “What are they teaching you lot these days. Name's Spike, William the Bloody for those who care, which I don't particularly. I looked after 'Watcher' Summers when she was a wee brat, stayed with the whelp, even. And what do you call him, hey? 'Carpenter' Harris? And what about the Watcher? 'God Almighty'? Call Dawn,” he reiterated crossly.
“No,” the fairer Slayer decided. “Step away from the gate before we decide to take matters into our own hands, and dust you ourselves.”
Spike snorted. “Like you could, ducks. Tell you what,” he added, smirking as he pulled a cell phone from his pocket, “I'll call her myself.” He waited for the call to be answered by a distracted-sounding young woman. “Hey there, Niblet. What shite are you teaching your Slayers these days?” he demanded.
“Uh, what are you talking about?” Dawn asked, distracted.
“I'm standing here, at your front gate,” Spike growled, “and the idiot Slayers you got here don't even know who William the Bloody is, let alone the fact that I know you lot.”
Dawn made a frustrated sound. “I'll be right down there. I'm so sorry, Spike, but we've had this sudden problem with Xander and Gwen – that's Xander's wife, but I don't know if you know her – and I haven't even gotten around to telling anyone what happened, or that you're coming, or why. I'll just grab Faith and tell her on the way.” With that, she disconnected the call.
Spike smirked at the guards at the gate. “Shouldn't be too long, ducks,” he nodded.
Chapter Two – Old Friends, New Lives
Dawn flew into the lounge room and looked around quickly. Focussing on Faith, she dashed forward and clicked her fingers to get her attention. “Now,” she urged. “We've got to get to the gate.”
Frowning, Faith stood, and walked over. “Why? What's the big deal?”
Dawn waited for her friend to catch up before turning and walking out of the room. “Spike's at the front gate. Can you believe it? The girls on the gate don't even know who he is!”
“So we're going down there for what?” Faith asked.
Dawn sighed. “Yeah. What I didn't tell you is that Spike is – shit! – he's uh, he's carrying Wes and Gunn's ashes. From the big thing that happened. Back in LA.”
They walked in silence for a while, Dawn glancing at Faith every so often. Finally, Faith cleared her throat. “So, uh, why's he here?”
“He brought the ashes to place in our Memorial Garden,” Dawn explained.
Faith cleared her throat again, and nodded curtly. “It's a good thing.”
“Yeah,” Dawn murmured. “You okay with seeing him again?” she asked after a moment.
“Yeah,” Faith dismissed. “He say anything about Fang?”
Dawn grimaced. “He saw him dust. Was pretty cut up about it,” she added softly.
“So he's been carrying Wes and Gunn around with him ever since?” Faith frowned. That's been a few years, now.”
“Maybe he couldn't bring himself to do it until now,” Dawn suggested.
Faith grunted in response, and they fell silent until they reached the gate, where they found Spike smirking at the frustrated Slayers. She rolled her eyes at the half-trained warriors and brusquely ordered them to open the gates.
Dawn flew to the vampire, and engulfed him in a hearty hug. “Gods, Spike, it's been so long.”
Spike lifted the woman off the ground as he returned the embrace. “Been years, Bit,” he agreed roughly. He cleared his throat. “So what's this I hear about Harris and his girl going missing?”
“How about we take this inside,” Faith frowned. “Don't need the whole world hearing our business.”
Xander looked at the path doubtfully. They'd just managed to dodge yet another patrol, and he could only see it getting worse the closer they got to the Gate. “So how straight does this thing run?” he asked absently.
Jack frowned, and tilted his head, curious. “Not very,” he decided. “I think they generally start out as animal tracks, then villagers start using them. That sort of thing.”
“So if we were able to take a straight line to the Gate we might be quicker and safer than taking the path?” Xander asked.
“Well, yeah,” Jack shrugged. “Of course, we don't have a way of aiming straight for the Gate. But, yeah, if we did, it would be ideal.”
Xander turned to Gwen, who shook her head. “Sorry, Xan. Can't sense it this far out.”
Xander turned back to Jack. “How far away do you think it would be?”
Jack turned to his team, then suggested, “Four, five miles?” When the others nodded, he continued, “Less, straight line.”
Xander turned back to Gwen. “You've tracked over greater distances,” he urged.
“No,” she shook her head. “I haven't tracked over greater distances, and the … signals were stronger, anyway.”
“It's possible, and may be our best bet,” Xander argued.
“Fuck this,” Gwen growled as she turned and stormed off into the forest.
When Sam went to follow her, Xander held up a hand. “She won't have gone far. And she just needs some time to think.”
“What about?” Jack frowned. “Just what's going on here?”
Xander sighed. “I'm asking her to something she doesn't want to do.” He worked his shoulders to relieve some tension, then dropped to sit on the ground. The others took the hint, and also sat down. “Okay. Giles gave you the 'World is older than you know' speech last time. What we didn't go into is that actual creation of the Slayer line. All you really need to know is that the original Slayer was a girl named Sineya. All Slayers derive their power from the portion of her essence that lives in them. It empowers them to do what they need to do, and is demonic in origin.
“Something we found out after the mass Calling and the formation of the Hunter teams is that when Slayers go on extended hunts, they tend to … lose themselves in the First Slayer, in Sineya. She takes over totally. It takes about a week, ten days, but the Slayer is… It's like multiple personality disorder, or possession. Yeah, I guess possession is the best explanation, since Sineya's essence is demonic.”
“We don't have a week,” Jack reminded Xander.
“No,” Gwen agreed quietly from the edge of the clearing, “but we do have the Scythe, the focus point for the spell that called all the potentials. Xander's plan is that I will use the Scythe as a focus point for my meditation, to draw Sineya out.”
Danny frowned, concerned. “This worries you.”
Xander hunched his shoulders. “She's worried that one day she won't come back.” He stood and walked over to the blonde, cupping her face. “You know I'll always call you back, don't you?” he murmured.
Gwen wrapped her arms around Xander, and buried her face in his neck. “I trust you, Xan. I don't like this, but I trust you. You really think I can do this?”
“It's a form of a permanent portal,” Xander explained. “That concentrates things.”
“I didn't notice it back on Earth,” Gwen reminded him.
“Were you hunting for it?” he prompted.
“Well, no,” she admitted.
Xander smiled. “Well, then. So do you think this is feasible.”
Gwen huffed crossly. “No. I don't know.” She kicked at the ground. “Okay. It's possible. Happy?”
“I'd be happier if it didn't feel like I was forcing you into this,” he sighed.
“You got a better plan?” Gwen asked. When Xander shook his head, she continued. “Do they?”
“You're our best weapon, Gwennie,” Xander replied. “Which, calling my wife a weapon,” Xander grinned, “not the most romantic thing I could think of.”
Gwen stretched. “Okay. Well, you'd better make sure she doesn't just steer you to the nearest group of Jaffa. Though,” she added thoughtfully, “could be fun.”
Jack watched as Gwen sat cross-legged in the clearing, Scythe resting in her open hands. She had sunk into something remarkably like Teal'c's kel'no'reem, and had already spent a good ten minutes in that posture.
“Any idea how long this will take?” Jack asked quietly.
“Something less than a week?” Xander tossed back, grinning slightly. He shook his head. “We've never done anything like this before. The closest I know of is the joining spell, and that required three other people, including a witch and someone who spoke Sumerian. Well,” he added, glancing at Daniel, “we have that, but, sorry, I left my witch in my spare pants.”
Jack shook his head, and turned back to find Gwen standing in front of him, silent, but her head cocked. He could feel himself tense, and dropped his eyes automatically. Through lowered lashes, he saw the woman move to her husband, and pause, watchfully, in front of him, before sliding over to Teal'c, knife raised.
Xander hurriedly moved to slide between them, hands raised. “He's an ally,” he assured her urgently. “He left the false gods of his youth, and now fights for the freedom of his people, and the greater good.”
Gwen glared at Teal'c for a long moment, before sliding closer and raising her knife to his forehead, placing the edge of the blade at the edge of his tattoo. Teal'c immediately pressed closer to the blade, causing a thin line of blood to well up. In one of her lightening quick moves, Gwen withdrew the blade, and brought it to her lips, delicately tasting the blood there. Without further ado, she nodded once, and turned away.
The slender blonde looked around the clearing, scowling. Finally, she glared at Xander, who bowed his head. “We need to find the chappa'ai,” he requested politely, “the Stargate. The Powers brought us here to guide SG1 home, and the best way that I can see is for us to trek straight to the chappa'ai, and go home that way. I was hoping you could sense it, and lead us there.” He looked up through his eyelashes. “There are enemy Jaffa, and a Goa'uld here, but time is of the essence.”
Gwen sniffed disdainfully at Xander, turned, and stalked off. When Xander immediately followed, Jack stared after them, open mouthed, before shaking his head, and urging the team to follow.
They were walking in the Memorial Garden, showing it off, and discussing where they might place the ashes Spike had brought. Dawn had glanced suspiciously at Spike when he had simply entered the Garden, but had decided that Willow must have keyed the Garden's wards to him despite any suspicions Buffy and Giles might have had. She noticed, though, that Faith was also casting wary glances at the vampire, though hadn't yet taken the time to comment.
“Might as well say it, love,” Spike said quietly. “Something's got your mind, and I think I know what it might be. So say it, already.”
“You've changed,” Faith stated. When Spike nodded, she went on, “I remember how you used to feel, back in the 'Dale, and you're different. What is it?”
Spike trailed his hand over a cluster of jasmine blooms. “Remember that little thing Peaches was so hot for? That little prophecy?”
“The Shanshu prophecy?” Dawn gasped. “You're human?”
“Well,” Spike drawled, “yes and no. More no. Seems the actual thought was that whoever got it would live until they died, or some such rot. Wes thought that meant Angel would become human, but it turns out that wasn't quite right. Don't know why anyone would want that, anyway,” he grumbled. “Become weak again? Not my thing. Turns out, not quite what happened.”
Dawn and Faith exchanged glances as Spike fiddled with his lighter. “And?” Dawn prompted.
Spike turned to her, and gave a rueful smile. “Dhampyr, pet. All living and soul-having, as you lot would have it, strong as a vamp, though not as strong as I used to be – Master Vampire, after all – but without all those pesky allergies to sunlight and blessed things. I will grow old and die,” he added, “but it will take longer than a human would. Say a couple hundred years, maybe more.” He looked out over the garden, then added, “No demon, neither.”
Dawn glanced at Faith, who was nodding thoughtfully. “But what about back at the gate? They were sure you were a vampire.”
“Vampire, dhampyr, one comes from t'other. Angel's boy – you know him?” he glanced at the younger girl, eyebrow raised. When she nodded, he continued, “He's a dhampyr, too. He'd probably ping against your precious minis, too. Don't know. He was never a vamp, child of one, only. Me? I was one, Childe and Master, for over a hundred years. Leaves a … stain,” he frowned.
“So what are your plans now, Bleach?” Faith asked.
Spike sighed, and found a rock to sit on. “Fight the good fight?” he considered. “Other than that, don't know. So what's this about the boy and his girl?”
Dawn snorted, and took up the new direction. “Someone's never going to allowed to touch the Scythe again,” she smirked.
“Hell, no,” Faith agreed. “Did you see her face? And she was the one that handed it to Gwen in the first place.”
Spike glanced from one girl to the other. “Not too proud to say I'm a bit lost here, ducks. Mind explaining?”
“Okay,” Dawn began, finding her own rock to sit on. Faith glanced around, then sprawled on the ground near Dawn's feet. “So what do you know about Xander's wife?” she asked.
“Not a sausage,” Spike nodded firmly.
“Fine. Well, she's a Slayer. Yes, Xan finally got a Slayer to stick around. She's good, too. One of the best of the minis. She can even take Faith down every so often.” Spike glanced at the dark-haired Slayer, impressed. Not many could boast that. “So there was this thing a few months ago, yet another apocalypse, and Faith threw the Scythe to Gwen, 'cause she could probably use it more than Faith could at the time. The moment Gwen touched it, she disappeared.”
Spike hissed his concern, but Dawn simply nodded and continued. “Turned out there was a ward around the ritual grounds, which interacted with something in Colorado, which is just as well, otherwise we'd probably still be looking for Gwen and the Scythe. As it was, she ended up slamming into the wall in the most top-secret part of a top-secret Air Force base. Of course, there were further complications – one of the people there recognised her from something that had happened, uh, six months earlier? To make matters worse, Will had to pull her out with magic,” she grimaced. “Well, we went, had a big confab, and agreed that we were both too busy with our own stuff, and are leaving each other alone.”
“So this time?” Spike asked.
Faith snorted. “We'd just finished a session in the gym, and B decided Gwen and Xan were too cosy, making out in front of her, so gave Blondie the Scythe to put away. She was still touching Xan at the time, so when she blipped out, so did he.”
“Just like that?” Spike asked.
“Just like that,” Faith nodded.
“So have you talked to these Air Force blokes?” Spike asked.
Dawn sighed. “We suggested that first thing, but Willow wanted to try to find them first. We'll probably call tomorrow morning. You know, something like a reasonable hour?”
Spike frowned, but shrugged his acquiescence. “So Harris's girl's going to be banned from touching the thing?”
“Hell, yeah,” Faith chuckled. “Doubt you could make her touch the thing anymore, anyway. She don't much like the mojo.”
“That,” Dawn shrugged, “plus that fact that last time she ended up with two broken arms, and worrying about being the star exhibit in The Initiative, Mark II.”
Teal'c looked out of their current shelter of the forest into the clearing that held the Stargate. SlayerGwenHarris, in her FirstSlayer persona, had led them directly through the forest to this clearing, though not at her preferred pace. Several times he had seen her stop to glare at her husband, though neither appeared to have said a word. After several minutes, she had simply turned and started walking again.
They had come across two patrols that he had seen. Both times, the only notice of the patrols, though, had been the lifeless bodies of the Jaffa who had been in her way, along with the Goa'uld larvae, which had been ripped from the soldiers' primtas and torn to pieces. The FirstSlayer was a silent and highly efficient warrior, and he could admit to being impressed, and even a little … concerned. He would have to see her in action to discern just how concerned he should be, though.
Now they were waiting as the FirstSlayer made her moves. She had stopped at the edge of the clearing and examined the area before turning to her husband. She had glared at him for a few minutes before melting into the trees. XanderHarris had simply sighed, and leaned against a tree, obviously waiting.
“So what's the plan, kid?” Jack asked, annoyed by the hold-up.
“Gwen's going to clear the Gate for us.” Xander explained. “We just wait here for her to do her thing, and then go home.”
“Just like that,” Jack clarified doubtfully.
“Just like that,” Xander nodded.
“I kind of get the feeling that she doesn't really like us,” Danny suggested.
“Nope,” Xander agreed genially. “That's actually Sineya we've been dealing with, and she really doesn't play well with others. The first time I met her she killed me. Thankfully it was in a dream, so it didn't take. That was after the joining spell,” he added, glancing at Jack. “According to the histories, Sineya never had a Watcher, and was routinely rejected by any humans that she met. Then again, she wasn't really … human, so I'm not that surprised.”
“How do you mean, 'not really human?'” Danny asked, his interest quickened.
Xander shrugged. “Well,” he sighed. “Okay, she lost the power of speech, and she was really … feral, I guess you could say. She had one thing, and one thing only on her mind, and that was the utter destruction of any and all demons. You've seen the way she acts, and frankly? That's pretty mild. She'll snarl, she'll glare, and when she fights?” He shuddered. “I've seen her rip the head off a demon, then look at it like it's a curiosity, a toy. And then discard it without another thought. She would bathe in the blood of demons, and smile, because it made her that much scarier to other demons.”
“But … Gwen, she's still in there, right?” Sam asked, horrified.
“Gwen is … there, but not conscious,” Xander explained. “She said it's like floating, like being high on really good painkillers.” He shook his head. “I don't know. When I was possessed, I knew what was going on, and was powerless to do anything. She swears it's not like that for her, and Faith agreed, although she said it was more like going to sleep, or dozing on a Summer's day.” He smirked. “Who knew Faith could do 'poetic'?”
“So we just wait for, what?” Jack asked.
“Sineya to take the Gate,” Xander smiled fondly.
Chapter Three – Endings and Beginnings
The ceremony had been simple and discrete. Giles had come down, as had Buffy, to acknowledge the placement of the remains of the ex-Watcher and the ex-gang leader in the Memorial Garden. Willow also joined them, having already flown in to search for Xander and Gwen. Spike had chosen early morning, with the sun just rising over the large tree in the East of the Garden, for the ceremony. Thin, wintry light flooded the clearing, picking out naked boughs, while the assembled group watched. Spike looked around, and nodded. Dawn was always a powerful symbol to those who fought the night.
The plastic cremains containers had been placed in their sandstone boxes, and sealed, with brass name plaques screwed in place. There were a number of similar boxes planted around the Garden, discrete, but obvious if you knew what you were looking at. Squat, square stones, half-hidden by what would be flowering shrubs and herbs. Spike looked around, but decided that he really didn't want to read any names just at that time.
He looked up at the sun, still amazed that he could stand in its light without burning. At least, without catching flame. He'd learned a harsh lesson the first Summer after the battle with the Black Thorn, and was more careful with his skin now. Third degree burns weren't fun. He shook his head, and turned back to the group.
“So what are we doing about Harris and his girl?” he demanded.
“So what are out options?” Buffy asked.
“Well,” Willow began, gnawing her lip nervously, “I've been trying to find them, starting with Colorado, because, well, last time, and I've gone into a deep trance, just in case Gwen was able to link up to me again, but neither of them worked. A big, fat bupkis on both counts.”
Spike frowned. “What was that about a trance, pet?”
Dawn chose to answer this question. “Last time, Gwen was able to contact Willow through a dream. Gwen meditated, and Willow was conked out because of all the spell-work she'd done at the apocalypse we had.” When Spike continued to look at her blankly, she added, “Gwen figured that since Willow performed the spell to call her as a Slayer, then there should be some connection there for her to utilise. She was right, and Willow apparently had this really trippy dream.”
Spike shook his head, smiling slightly. “Okay, so, what? No acid dreams for Red?”
“No,” Willow sighed. “And I can't find them anywhere on Earth. They're just nowhere,” she wailed.
“You think they're in another dimension?” Spike frowned.
Willow chewed on her lip, and glanced at the others. “Well,” she began hesitantly. “They could also be on another planet.”
Spike blinked. “Come again, love?”
“Well,” Willow shifted uncomfortably, “there's kind of maybe this group that deals with extra-terrestrials, and they're really nice people, not at all like the Initiative were, 'cause they look after their people, not like those poopy-heads, and they even have an alien on their best team, except that their alien kind of feels like a demon to Slayers, so when one came in to talk to Gwen, she thought the Initiative had hired demons, or something like that, and so she freaked, and I had to pull her out with magic, rather than letting Riley get her out like we'd planned, but when we actually got to talk to them, we found out they were really good guys, and it was so not our thing, so we let them keep on keeping on, you know?”
Spike waited for the babble to sink in, then shook his head to clear it. “And?” he demanded.
“Oh. And they're in Colorado,” Willow added.
“Right. Those are those Air Force blokes you told me about, Niblet?” Spike asked.
“That would be them,” Dawn nodded.
“So we calling them already?” he demanded.
The group exchanged glances, then Buffy sighed. “Okay. We're getting nowhere by normal means, so let's give it a shot. Who wants to make the call?”
“Ooh, me,” Dawn squealed. “Their linguist was totally cute.”
Buffy rolled her eyes, smirking slightly. “Fine, Dawnie, call the cute guy. See if he has any idea where Xander and Gwen are. Will, can you please keep checking? See if there's any way the Scythe could have taken them out of this dimension? I just hope to God that if it has, there isn't much of a time difference.”
“On it, Buff,” Willow nodded firmly.
“Okay,” Jack grimace, “that was gross.”
Xander made a face as he looked around the clearing. “I think it's worse because it's red,” he decided.
Sam cocked her head. “Why would that be?” she asked, curious.
Xander gave a half-smile. “Most of the demons we fight don't have red blood. Of course, it's at least as hard to wash out as normal blood, but still…”
“Doesn't look real?” Jack prompted.
“Yeah,” Xander gave another small smile.
“Well, she was very … thorough,” Sam decided.
Xander flicked a glance at his wife, standing calmly at the foot of the Gate. “She is that. Sineya is, of course, a better fighter than Gwen, but she's very good, too.”
“I have not seen anyone move like that,” Teal'c admitted.
“Yeah, right, she's amazing,” Jack grumbled. “Can we get this party moving? Danny,” he barked, “dial home.”
Danny started, and headed to the DHD, quickly dialling, and waiting for the wormhole to form. Once the wormhole had settled, he watched Gwen approach it carefully. She skimmed her fingertips over the rippling surface, then turned to frown at him.
“It's the event horizon for the Gate's wormhole,” Daniel explained. When Gwen turned somewhat mocking eyes on him, he blinked. “Um, I guess you remember this? From, from when you lived?”
Gwen turned back to examine the surface, then shook her head.
Xander walked up the steps. “She may have seen it through the eyes of the Slayers who fought the Goa'uld. We have histories on three of them, but there was one in particular who led the last rebellion against Ra.”
“There was a Slayer -” Daniel began.
“Can we get home already?” Jack demanded. “There is a boatload of Jaffa and a Goa'uld after us, after all,” he reasoned, annoyed.
Gwen looked at him, and stepped through the Gate.
“Ah, hell,” Jack grumbled, and stepped through right behind her.
“Just because we told them you were coming doesn't mean they'll be happy to see her first,” Sam explained as she followed her Colonel through.
Danny shrugged, and waved for Xander to walk through with him, and Teal'c took one last look around at the devastation that surrounded the Gate before stepping thought the Gate. The wormhole lasted a few seconds longer, then blinked out.
“General Hammond,” Dawn greeted, smiling, “how are you today?”
“Good, thank you, Miss Summers,” the General returned. “I trust you are well? And to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?”
“Well, Gwen's gone missing again,” Dawn admitted. “We were kind of hoping that she'd dropped in on you, though preferably not as literally as last time, especially since she's got Xander with her.”
Hammond frowned. “I can see how that would be a problem,” he agreed cordially. “However, neither has appeared at the base since your last visit.” He thought for a moment, then continued. “If it's worth anything, SG1 is currently off-planet, and were due back about sixteen hours ago. We're currently putting together a group to go check on them.”
“We would like to send a contingent,” Dawn immediately offered. “At least three of us,” she went on. “Faith and myself, as the Alpha Hunting Team, and an associate, William Pratt.”
Hammond frowned. “You and Miss Lehane have already signed the appropriate paperwork, and I dare say that you are fit for Gate travel, but what about Mr Pratt?”
Dawn snorted. “Well, physically, you can consider William to be something like a male Slayer. And he's a close friend of most, if not all, of the Board, so he'll be under the same considerations as the rest of us. He'll sign the paperwork, and be ready to go with Faith and me.”
General Hammond sighed. “I'll still have to talk to Major Davis about this. I'll get on to it straight away. How soon can you get here?” he asked.
“We can be there in a matter of hours, all ready to go. You get the paperwork ready, and he'll sign it when we get there,” Dawn instructed.
“I'll see you then,” Hammond sighed.
“So what's the news, Little D?” Faith demanded as the younger brunette bounced into the room, grinning.
“They haven't turned up at Colorado,” Dawn began, “but SG1, the team that we met when we were there, are off-world, and are late back. I figure Gwen and Xan got sent to them, wherever they are.”
“And?” Spike prompted.
Dawn grinned. “You, me, and Faith are going to Colorado, and maybe off-world.”
Spike looked blankly from person to person. “We what?” he asked, stunned.
Spike looked around the conference room with its shielded window. Dawn had given him the low-down on what to expect, and it seemed like she'd got it right. Standing at the head of the conference table was an older man in a uniform, and a handful of paper. Dawn smiled, and went straight over to him to shake his hand.
“I hear you're missing some people,” General Hammond frowned.
“So are you, from what you said,” Dawn smirked.
“Ah yes,” Hammond conceded, “but we, at least, have a general idea where we misplaced our people.”
Dawn pouted, then shrugged. “Point. Okay, where's this paperwork for Spike?”
Hammond glanced at the only person in the room that he didn't have at least a passing acquaintance with. “Spike?”
Dawn gave a slightly embarrassed smile, while Faith covered a smirk. “Uh, Spike, AKA William Pratt.”
“That'd be me, ducks,” Spike smirked, walking forward. “So where do I sign my life away?”
General Hammond handed over a sheaf of papers, which Spike promptly signed without checking. “Aren't you going to read that, son?” he asked, concerned.
Spike handed back the forms with a shake of his head. “Trust the Bit with my life, I do. Certainly trust her with a bit of paperwork. 'Sides, not getting out of here to find the boy and his girl without it, now am I?”
“Well, no,” Hammond conceded. “I'll also need you two ladies to sign waivers before you'll be allowed through the Gate. Ordinarily any travellers are required to undergo training before being allowed through, but we're making an exception in your cases. You already signed the waiver with your non-disclosure form, Mr Pratt,” he added, nodding to the dhampyr.
The Watcher and the Slayer quickly signed their respective forms and handed them back to the General. Once he was satisfied with the papers, he turned back to the Council representatives. “Okay. Once you're ready, we'll head down to the Embarkation room and join the teams heading out.”
“Ready whenever you are, General George,” Faith declared. “We got our gear, and we're raring to go.”
Hammond nodded, and was about to speak when a claxon went off. “Unscheduled off-world activation,” came the voice over the speakers.
The General brightened. “That may be them,” he smiled, before inviting them to follow him.
Spike stared at the huge stone circle filled with what looked like an upright pool of water. “You seen this before?” he asked the women with him.
“Nope,” Dawn stared at the event horizon, mesmerised. “Heard about it, Gwen and Will asked some questions, but never actually got to see it.”
“What do we have?” Hammond asked Sergeant Harriman.
“SG1, sir, and friends,” Walter explained, glancing at the strangers who'd accompanied the General into the Control Room.
“You want us down there?” Dawn asked quickly.
Hammond glanced at Faith and Spike, remembering how well Faith and Gwen had taken down Teal'c and Jack respectively, and nodded. “Try not to kill anyone,” he urged, slight smile on his face.
Faith led the way down the stairs to the Gate Room, Dawn and Spike right behind.
“What's the rules?” Spike asked.
“Shit goes down, control whoever's hitting out,” Faith instructed. “Anything snaky that comes at you, you kill it. Two pieces acceptable, thin smear preferable.”
Spike cocked an eyebrow at that, and moved to the other side of the ramp, out of anyone's line of fire, but ready to leap into the fray. First through the standing water was a blonde girl, maybe Dawn's age, followed quickly by and older man in what looked like the base's field uniform.
“Stand down,” Jack yelled as soon as he was through the wormhole. He glanced around, and noticed Faith and Dawn, as well as a blond closer to Faith and Xander's age, and who he took to be one of Gwen's brothers. “I see you came to pick up your strays,” he greeted. “We kind of…” He trailed off, deciding that they probably understood exactly the problem they'd encountered, since Gwen had gotten right up in Faith's face, inspecting her like a mother looking at a grubby child.
Faith, on the other hand, stood at something akin to Parade Rest, arms loose at her side, eyes forward. When Gwen moved to inspect Dawn, Faith's eyes followed, but she stayed where she stood, trusting the possessed younger girl to not harm her Watcher. Jack glanced over his shoulder to see that Xander and the rest of his team had arrived, and the wormhole had disengaged. When he looked back, Gwen had moved to face the other man, and he had to quickly revise his understanding of their relationship.
Gwen had dropped into a fighting crouch in front of the fair-haired man, and had brought her weapon up into a ready position. All three Council Board members cried out 'No!' causing Gwen to turn and hiss at Faith. She returned her attention to the man in front of her, occasionally glancing at Xander and Dawn who were carefully approaching from either side. She straightened a little, and closed the distance until she was mere inches from the stranger. She snarled at him, but the man refused to react to the obviously insane and armed woman glaring at him.
Finally, he lifted his head a little, exposing his neck. Gwen lunged in straight away, snarling again, this time with her teeth mere millimetres from the skin of his neck. The man clenched his teeth, but didn't move. Jack could only admire his courage, and hope it worked out, because he sure as hell couldn't do anything about it, and he seriously doubted either Xander or Dawn would be able to move in time to stop anything from happening. When Gwen finally struck, all Jack could do was blink at the actual attack. She sniffed him. She sniffed him. For some obscure reason, Gwen took a good, long sniff of the blond stranger. Whatever she smelled, though, appeased her, and she stepped back, glared at the stranger, then promptly fainted, to be caught by the blond, who looked up to Xander with a 'what the hell?' expression.
Jack sat back and watched the entertainment, er, the Council members chatting.
“What the hell was that, Harris?” Spike hissed. “She felt old.”
“That was Sineya,” Xander explained.
Spike looked at each of the Scoobies. “Weren't that the name of the First Slayer? Girl with the dreads and the face-paint?”
“That's the one,” Faith nodded. “Bossy little shit, ain't she.”
“What I want to know is how she appeared?” Dawn frowned. “You weren't gone that long. Unless you were sent back?” she offered.
Xander shook his head. “Gwen used the Scythe to call her up. We kind of got to the point where we needed to find the best path to the Gate, and Sineya was our best bet of doing that and getting out alive.”
“She ever faint before?” Faith asked, worried. “'Cause that looked kind of new.”
Xander shook his head again. “It's a first. Then again, she's always had time to get into the groove before Sineya showed up. I figure it's just her body's way of, I don't know, adjusting?” He glanced at the closed door to the infirmary. “One of us should be in there. What if she wakes up?”
“I'll go,” Dawn decided. “They won't mind having a girl in there, and I have a better chance of controlling her if she gets out of hand.”
Spike tensed, and moved as if to stop her, but stopped when both Xander and Faith shook their heads. “How in hell does she think she's supposed to stop that?” he demanded. “Did either of you remember she's just a normal human being?”
Faith grimaced. “When Gwen's … out of it, there's only two people on this Earth who can calm her down: Xander and Dawn. Sineya may not like people in general, but she respects those two.”
“What about you?” Spike frowned. “You're a Slayer, you're older than her.”
“I'm older than Gwen, I've been a Slayer longer than Gwen. I'm not older than Sineya. She looks at me, and everything in me just wants to back down. I thought you got just how totally she is the First Slayer when she's like that.”
Spike stiffened as he remembered the confrontation in the Gate Room. He cleared his throat. “Yeah. Well.” He glanced at the door to the infirmary. “You sure she's going to be okay?”
Faith nodded. “Her and Xan are the only two I would trust to be utterly safe around her. Mind you, I don't think she'd kill me,” she added, “but she might slap me around a bit. Full strength, too, 'cause I ought to be able to take it.”
Spike nodded in thought, then turned to Jack. “So. How'd you like playing with a Slayer?”
Jack shuddered. “I'd still love to get a couple of your people stationed here, but…”
Xander smirked. “Sineya cleared the Gate for us. She's … effective.”
Jack shuddered again, while Daniel swallowed, and Teal'c looked … thoughtful.
Chapter Four – Turning Point
“So,” Xander began, eyeing Jack, “were you serious when you mentioned wanting some Slayers here?”
Jack frowned at the Watcher, then nodded. “Hell yeah. We even talked about it when your people were here last. You know, offer the girls a holiday, toying with the wimpy-ass villians we've got, only going out once or twice a week. That sort of thing.”
Xander grinned. “Things are a lot different to how they were back in high school,” he offered.
“I should damn well hope so,” Jack growled. “Just the thought…” He trailed off, shaking his head.
Xander nodded. “Giles tried, he really did. And, looking back, I can't believe the things we got away with. But we did, and we're here now. So …” he drawled, eyeing Faith and Spike, “I know Gwen wouldn't mind being based here, and where she goes, I go. What about you guys?”
“I'd need to talk to Dawn,” Faith shrugged, “but this, this could be fun.” She shook her head. “I'm not Head Slayer material. Don't want to be, neither. How would this even work?” she asked, turning to Jack.
Jack's eyes went wide as he was put on the spot. “Uh… Well, I expect that you would have a reasonable say in where you'd be placed. You'd possibly work with my team, or do search-and-rescue ops. Maybe the high-value, high-risk ops?” he offered.
“Plus research,” Faith added. “You know you're not going to get Dawn too far from those dusty old books and shit you got.”
“And Gwen's interests are … varied,” Xander grinned. “She's never bothered to get a doctorate in anything, but she's got a fair bit of knowledge in a number of fields.”
“And Spike here's more than just a killing machine,” Faith nodded, jerking her thumb in the blond's direction.
“And how is it Sineya didn't dust your ass?” Xander asked, turning on the other man.
“Don't dust no more, do I?” Spike smirked.
“What's that now?” Xander gaped.
“Got the Great Poof's Shanshu, now, didn't I?” Spike gloated.
“Oh, my God,” Xander gasped. “You got that … thing,” he waved vaguely. He blinked, and the corner of his mouth began to twitch. Spike eyed the younger man with growing trepidation. “That means you're … you're a real boy, now.” The twitch grew, and Spike frowned. “So, how's it feel, Pinocchio?”
Janet looked up from her examination of Sam to see a vaguely familiar young female enter the Infirmary. “You can't be here,” she began firmly.
“Oh, I kind of have to,” the brunette smiled. “She wakes up without one of us present, there could be problems,” she added, nodding to the unconscious Slayer.
“It's okay,” Sam reassured the doctor. “Ms Summers is part of Mrs Harris' group.”
“Uh huh,” Dawn agreed. “Not only that, I'm one of the only people who can stop her, no matter what.”
“Really?” Sam asked doubtfully, remembering what she'd seen at the Gate. “How? Do you, uh…” she waggled her fingers.
Dawn chuckled. “No. It's just that Gwen trusts me implicitly, so if I have to restrain her, she automatically allows it to happen. She actually fights Xander more than she fights me, but I think that that's because he's her husband, and she needs him to show dominance from time to time. A Slayer's brain can get pretty primitive from time to time,” she added.
“Even when she's…” Sam grimaced, not sure if she was up to coping with all this mystical stuff.
Dawn snorted. “Well, it's not like I'm going to have to restrain her from cracking a book to study, is it. First time I had to do it, she was about to take Faith to task for back-chatting her. I was closer, so I grabbed Gwen, while Xander got between them. She kind of tried to break my grip, but she put less effort into it than a toddler would. She hissed and snarled for all she was worth, but we managed to get her to calm down. Eventually, anyway.”
Janet looked at the two visitors. “So if she wakes disoriented?”
Dawn patted her arm. “I'll save you,” she reassured them.
Spike looked from Xander to Faith. “You know, one of you should really phone home. You know, let the others know you're alive and well, so they don't panic, and all?”
Xander cleared his throat, and nodded towards a spot a little further down the hall. “Too late,” he suggested.
Willow, Buffy and Giles stepped out through a portal. “Alexander Lavelle Harris, you'd better have a darn good explanation for me,” the redhead warned.
Xander gulped. “I was waiting for medical clearance before contacting you. You know, to make sure I didn't bring back any nasty space viruses, or something. And Gwen's in there at the moment, but she's unconscious, because she had to call forth Sineya with the Scythe, and I don't think her body was prepared for it because as soon as it was over, she flaked, and you know how tough Gwen is, so I was wanting to make sure everything was fine with her before I called you, so … hi?”
Spike shook his head, and turned to Jack. “I've known those two for going on a decade, and I still get surprised whenever they do that,” he murmured.
“Good lung function,” Jack returned, nodding slightly.
“Do I at least get the Scythe back?” Buffy grimaced.
“All yours,” Faith grinned, handing it over. “Blondie don't want it back any time soon.”
Buffy scowled at her sister Slayer. Then she rolled her shoulders to relax them. “So this … unconscious thing she's doing,” she offered.
“She's in with the doctor at the moment,” Xander nodded, “but I think I'd feel better if Will had a quick look at her. It's probably just exhaustion, or something, but…” Willow nodded, and slipped into the infirmary.
“So what did she do?” Buffy demanded.
“She meditated, using the Scythe as a focus, and called up Sineya,” Xander explained.
Buffy looked up, scowling. “To the Scythe, Xander. I saw that look when Faith handed it over. What did she do to the Scythe?”
Xander's eyes widened slightly. “Uh, just maybe kind of slightly used it to bust a lock?” he tried. “But I checked, and there was nothing wrong with it, and, like she said, it's supposed to be impervious to harm, and we really needed that lock opened so SG1 could get out of their cell.”
“If he could swim, he could probably get into the SEALs just on that,” Jack muttered to Spike.
Buffy caught the quiet comment, and smirked evilly. “Oh, he can swim,” she noted gleefully. “Still got that Speedo?” she asked her friend casually.
“Buffy!” Xander whined.
Dawn smiled gratefully when she saw Willow enter the room. “Dr Fraiser is just examining Gwen.” When the doctor looked up, frowning at the intrusion, she went on. “Dr Fraiser, this is Willow Rosenberg. She's one of us, and will want to check Gwen out.”
Janet shrugged. “I've just finished looking her over. She appears to be suffering from exhaustion, but nothing else.”
Willow nodded thoughtfully. “That's what Xander said. Do you know why that would be?”
“He said she called up Sineya, and that her body wasn't prepared for it like normal,” Dawn explained. “She used the Scythe as a focal point, and meditated.”
“Huh,” Willow grunted, eyebrows raised. “That'd do it. Well, I might be able to contact her. I'll, um, okay… If you bring that right over here,” she instructed, gesturing to a nearby bed, “I'll just…” As soon as the bed was in place, Willow lay down, and took Gwen's hand in hers, then quickly sank into a trance.
Janet looked at the red-haired woman, then turned to Dawn, frowning. “What's going on?” she demanded.
Dawn looked to Sam, unsure what to do next.
Sam shrugged. “It's up to you, but if your people are going to have anything to do with us in any kind of ongoing fashion, Janet is going to need to know about you. She's our CMO, and everyone gets checked out after going through the Gate.”
Dawn nodded, and turned back to the doctor. “Okay. Well, Willow has gone into a trance to try to contact Gwen's spirit.”
“Right,” Janet drawled.
Dawn smirked. “Oh, I haven't gotten to the good stuff yet,” she assured Janet. “Just wait till I get to the point that Willow and I are witches, and Gwen is a mystically enhanced being called a Slayer.”
Janet turned to Sam, incredulously. “Witches, Sam? Aren't you going to say something?”
Sam sighed. “I've seen magic, Janet, and I've seen Gwen move in ways that are impossible for a human her size and shape. Holy Hannah, I saw her take down all the guards at the Gate in less time than it took you to choose which uniform to put on this morning! So if Dawn says that Willow is a witch, and they're communing on some astral plane, then I, for one, am not going to argue the point.”
Dawn tilted her head. “Don't you remember how Gwen broke both her arms when she arrived here the first time, and then, one week later, she was out of the casts?”
“Well, yes,” Janet nodded, frowning.
“Enhanced healing, enhanced speed, strength, and endurance,” Dawn explained. “There's other parts to the whole Slayer package, and some of the details vary from girl to girl, but those are the essential parts. What Willow's trying to do is contact her and make sure there isn't anything else keeping her out.” She frowned. “Make sure Sineya isn't making her pay for calling her up like that.”
“Why would that be?” Janet asked, frowning.
“Xander, Willow, Giles and my sister performed a joining spell a number of years ago, and She took offence. She entered their dreams while they were recovering, and tried to kill them,” Dawn grimaced. She watched the recumbent pair for a moment longer, then shrugged. She hated waiting.
Janet sighed. “Well, there's nothing more I can do here. If you don't mind, I'll move on to the men.”
“I'll stay here,” Sam decided, and found chairs for herself and Dawn.
Willow opened her eyes to find herself back in her/Joyce's bedroom back in Sunnydale. Gwen was asleep on the bed, just as she was in the SGC infirmary, and the Primitive was pacing along her side of the bed, agitated. The thing that threw Willow, though, was the sight of Tara sitting on the bed beside Gwen, petting Miss Kitty Fantasitco. The blonde looked up through her hair, and smiled slightly.
“Tara?” Willow whispered. “Honey?”
“I'm not her,” not-Tara replied with a grimace, “not really. But she wished you to know that she's happy and at peace, and is glad that you're doing well. And Miss Kitty,” she went on, picking up the kitten to look into its eyes, “is onto her fifth life already. Someone has a fascination for dangerous things.” She sighed. “Such is the life of a Hellmouth kitten.” Not-Tara put the kitten back into her lap and began petting it again. “They are leaving,” she added after a moment.
“Who?” Willow asked, not truly wanting to know.
“Gwen,” not-Tara began, nodding to the sleeping woman, “Xander, Faith, Dawn and Spike, plus one more. You know him, he'll be there when you get back to Cleveland. Anyway, the six of them will be coming here, and then going even further away. This is what they need to do,” she added earnestly, “what they're being called to do. You need to let them do this, you and Buffy both.”
“But … they're family,” Willow argued, “we need them.”
“Not really,” not-Tara smiled sadly. “Not as much as they'll be needed elsewhere.”
Willow sighed. “This is what the Powers want, isn't it?”
“I'm afraid so,” not-Tara smiled.
“She's really happy?” Willow asked, feeling tears start.
“She is,” not-Tara nodded. “As are Joyce, Cordelia, Jenny and Anya. They're not lost, not any of them; they're just where you can't be right now. Keep on the path you're on, and you'll see them one day, each of you.”
“What about Gwen?” Willow asked, nodding at the blonde.
“They kept her asleep so you would come chat,” not-Tara rolled her eyes. “As soon as you leave, she'll wake up. And, no, she won't have any recollection of this discussion. She's asleep, after all.”
“And, um, her?” Willow winced as she glanced at the Primitive.
Not-Tara glanced over at the First Slayer. “Oh, she's just upset that we're messing around with one of her children. But I think She's happy with what Faith and Gwen are going to do. Lots of fighting in their futures,” she added with another roll of her eyes. She looked back at Willow. “Time to wake up, now.”
Willow's opening eyes were caught by a flash of movement as Gwen curled up into a crouched fighting position on the gurney.
Dawn stood immediately, hands spread. “It's okay, it's all okay,” she soothed.
Gwen held her position for a moment, then relaxed, sitting on the bed. “I'm guessing it all went well?” she asked after a moment.
“Well, you appear to have impressed the hell out of the SGC,” Dawn smirked. “I think they want to keep you.” When the blonde glared at her, Dawn continued hurriedly, “In a totally consensual, non-getting-cut-up kind of way.”
“They're not the only ones,” Willow nodded from her bed. “And speaking of, we really need to have a conference. The Powers have stuck they're high-and-mighty noses into your business, and certain people are probably not going to be happy about it.”
Gwen sighed, and slouched, scowling on the bed, while Dawn frowned thoughtfully at the red-haired witch.
Chapter Five
To be continued…