St. Wolf Residence
Sunnydale, California (the Wandererverse)
Early hours
13 December
1998
The two Willows returned to the living room; Vamp Willow slinked over toward her boyfriend, while Willow crept toward the group consisting of Eric, Kory, Beth, and Amy.
As Willow approached, Amy asked, "How’d it go?"
"Okay," Willow said with a thin smile. She took in the group and asked, "What’s up?"
"We’re getting ready to head home," Eric said. At Willow’s wide-eyed glare, he added, "We live in San Francisco, so we’re only an easy Gate spell away. We’ll be back around ten o’clock."
"Do not fret, young witch," Kory promised solemnly, "nothing will happen to your friends while you are off fighting for these others."
Willow nodded. She grinned and said, "Okay, Kory. I just hope you don’t get into any trouble while we’re gone."
Amy snorted, "Hey. . .Will, we’ve got it covered. You guys go kick the Master’s butt. We’ll handle things here for you."
Willow gave her a faux frown. "Be careful what you wish for, Amy. It’s not nice to tempt fate on the Hellmouth."
"Gee, thanks."
"Don’t mention it," Willow said with a grin.
Vamp Willow snuggled into Vamp Xander’s back and started running the palm of her hand up along his rear end, a playful smile tugging at her lips. Vamp Xander jumped, startling Xander, Cordelia and Buffy.
The male vampire turned around and said, "Will, hon, don’t startle people like that."
Wrapping her arms around his neck, she leaned in and whispered in his ear. "But it’s so fun!" she purred.
Cordelia sourly asked, "Are you two going to make out right now? Right before a fight?"
"Never stopped you before," Buffy reminded her.
Before Cordelia could voice an argument, Xander murmured, "She does have a point, Cordelia."
"Shut up, Xander," the Amazon snarled.
Before the two could get into one of their infamous bickering matches, Vamp Willow started staring behind Buffy.
"Yummy. . ." she drawled.
The other four turned to see Sonja and Gabrielle approaching. The two Immortals were wearing two-piece outfits that could only be described as chain mail bikinis. They had miniature interlocking links of metal, and left much more exposed than protected. The tops were sleeveless and covered most of their necks, probably to provide protection from decapitations, and went down to cover their chests, ending just below their bust lines. The bottoms were v-shaped, cladding their private parts, perhaps a centimeter or two of both thighs and hips, and light reflected off of the metal, showing that the armor was brand new. Also, they both wore combat boots of a standard military nature. The only additions to their wardrobes were weapons. Sonja carried a hand and a half sword strapped to her back and had an H & K MP5 slung over her shoulder. Gabrielle, on the other hand, had her sais tucked into sheathes sewn into her boots, a longsword at her back, and an Uzi dangling from a shoulder strap. They took in the stunned glares from the others.
Sonja grinned and asked, "Well, what do you think?"
"What the heck are those?" Xander said once he got his jaw closed. "You two look like centerfolds out of a Soldier of Fortune swimsuit issue."
"It’s a new type of body armor made from a micromesh space age polymer," Gabrielle answered with a smile. The Amazon Queen leaned in and whispered, "Don’t tell anyone, but the U.S. Army’s developing this stuff into combat uniforms. They’re not due out until 2025, but luckily we have contacts. But for now, they don’t officially exist."
"They look like they don’t exist anyway," Cordelia grumbled.
"Jealous?" Sonja drawled, then the Hyborean and Greek Immortals laughed.
Finally overcoming her shock long enough to speak, Buffy said, "You’re wearing THAT to the fight."
Sonja responded. "What do you think the vamps will think?"
"They’ll be undressing you with their eyes," Cordelia sourly replied. "Not that they’ll have to work that hard at it." She stiffened and groaned, "Goddess, what am I SAYING?!?"
"Uhm," Vamp Willow asked, hope lighting up her eyes, "have we got time to get another outfit like that?"
Sonja and Gabrielle glimpsed at each other as they considered the question. Any answer was prevented by Artemis’ appearance next to the group.
"Buffy," the Goddess said, "Steven said it’s almost time."
Somehow, everyone in the room heard Her words. As one, those bound for the alternate reality began to work faster to finish their preparations. Steve walked out of the office with the others and cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention.
"Ten minutes, people. Be ready to go." He glanced around the room and, in turn, looked everyone in the eye. "Assume we’re going into a hostile situation. Artemis, where are you sending us?"
"The counterpart of your house," the Huntress answered. She grimly said, "There are vampires in the house, so I will scatter you throughout the rooms and back yard of the house to avoid any incidences of friendly fire."
"You heard her, people," Steve said, drawing his sword. "Lock and load for close quarters. We are going in hot. I repeat, we are going in hot. Be ready."
As the Wanderer turned to talk to JP and Merlin, the others finished their preparations or talked with those who were staying.
As Steve barked out the beginning of the countdown, the fighters began the final checks on their weapons and other gear. However, two men who didn’t have gear to check were standing off alone, staring at each other as they realized their time together was swiftly coming to an end. They both tried to think of something to say, perhaps along the lines of seeing each other later, but they couldn’t lie to each other or themselves. Finally, one of the friends broke the uneasy silence.
Angel sighed and said, "I guess this is it, Axel."
"Yeah, I guess so," the detective agreed. He put his hands in his pockets, glanced around nervously, and then took his hand out and held it out to Angel. "Take care of yourself, Dead Boy."
"Stay out of vampire fights," Angel said with a slight grin.
As they shook hands, Axel shook his head. "Sorry, Angel. A handshake ain’t gonna do it."
He braced his hands on Angel’s shoulders, and then proceeded to kiss both of Angel’s cheeks in the classic French fashion. He backed up and laughed his irritating laugh. In response, Angel rolled his eyes.
"Hey, do me a favor when you get back to your ‘hood," Axel said.
"I’m afraid to ask, but what?"
Axel smiled fully and said, "Well, if you ever find yourself walking around Motown, look ‘me’ up."
"Why?"
"Hey, who else is gonna update your wardrobe," the cop shot at him.
Angel said, "Sorry, but I’m not a glutton for punishment."
Axel’s smile vanished. "Punishment?!?" he snapped while glaring at Angel. "Punishment?!? How can you call my fashion sense punishment?!?"
"Prior experience," Angel smirked.
"Okay, fine! Be that way," Axel snapped. "Go on! Be the ‘Dark Avenger,’ LIAM."
Angel glared at him, but Axel just laughed before saying, "I’m gonna miss you, man."
"Oh?" Angel asked. He said, "Well, if you want to shoot more vampires, you could just move out here. . ."
Axel sighed, "Angel, man, stick to being the straight man. You were born for that role."
"Glad we agree on something."
As the countdown neared five minutes and counting, Willow’s eyes went wide. "Oh, no. I almost forgot!"
Amy looked at Willow. "What is it?"
"I’ll get it!" the redhead replied. She scampered off towards the computer room, leaving Amy staring at her in confusion.
A few moments later, Willow rejoined the group, with a new item slung over her shoulder. It was a thin carrying case of some sort, which Willow protectively nestled under her left arm.
"I know what that is," Amy remarked with a cocked eyebrow, "but what’s it for?"
"For me," Willow said with a tiny grin.
Amy’s eyes rose in understanding as Willow’s intentions became clear. She looked over at Steve, who was preoccupied with talking to JP, then back at the Wiccan. "You know how much those cost, right?"
"Of course," the resident hacker told her. She patted the case and said, "But we have connections and they could use any edge they can get once we return home. If I work with their Giles and show him how to use it, it’ll help them with their research."
"Fine," Amy muttered, raising her hands in defeat, "but I never saw you with it and I had nothing to do with it. Remember that when Steve bills you for a replacement."
"Spoil my fun," Willow pouted.
Steve looked around the room and saw that everyone had their weapons and gear ready. Taking one last look at Merlin, he asked, "Anything else?"
"Other than the fact that I still think this is a mistake?" the magician growled softly. "No."
Steve grinned. "Are YOU going to argue with an archangel?"
"I might be set in my ways, Wanderer, but I’m not stupid."
Steve just decided to decline on replying to that comment. He looked around once more and barked, "Okay, people. It’s almost zero hour. If there’s anything that needs to be said, say it now!"
"I want an outfit like theirs," Vamp Willow called out, pointing to Sonja and Gabrielle.
Steve started to sigh, but the grinning Goddess of the Hunt said, "Allow me."
She waved her hands around, and an azure glow formed a column around the redheaded vampire. As the glow pulsed a few times before fading, Artemis just giggled at the Wanderer’s glaring eyes.
When the glow faded, Vamp Willow’s gaze traveled the length of her own body. She grinned at the Goddess, her game face partially emerging due to her excitement.
"This is so COOL!" she shouted.
Everyone stared at her, stunned. The girl’s outfit was now a two-piece like the other two, but it was still the flat black color associated with Grail body armor. The top had a collar made of the same hard material as the original, but the rest looked like fabric. Light reflected off of it as she moved around to get a good look at herself. Whereas the Immortal’s armor was form fitting, Vamp Willow’s was beyond skintight. The top hugged her body like nothing else could, and as she turned around to show it off, she gave everyone in the room about as good a look at her figure as one could without taking the armor off. The bottom was of the same material as the top, but again, it made Sonja and Gabbie’s armor look modest. The bottom looked like the lower piece of a thong bikini. The boots she wore were no longer regular platform boots, but rather knee-high boots with sensible heels, which clacked as she moved. The final piece of the vampire’s new ensemble was a small band attached to her wrist.
"Willow," Artemis said with a full smile, getting Vamp Willow’s attention, "the band on your wrist allows you to change the color of the outfit, as with the Grail armor." She looked at Steve and said, "I thought I should keep *one* thing consistent with the original."
Merlin buried his face in his hand and said, "I’m getting too old for this shit."
"Speak for yourself, junior," JP said while grinning through the cigarette smoke clouding his head.
Vamp Willow looked at her slack-jawed lover and asked, "Well, Xander?"
"Uh. . ."
"I thought so," she playfully said, whirling around and strutting away, turning her head halfway to maintain a "come hither" look directed his way.
Off to the side, Mulder looked at Oz. "You know, she’s still the same person as your girlfriend," the Agent said. "What do you think?"
"Hmmm," the werewolf replied.
Amazed, Mulder and Scully glared at him. Scully sputtered, "She’s wearing that outfit, if you can even call it that, and all you have to say is ‘hmm?!?’ Does the thought of our Willow wearing that kind of thing even enter your mind?"
Oz just shook his head. "No. Doesn’t have to."
"Why not?" Mulder asked cautiously.
"Seen more of Willow than that," he said with a shrug.
Mulder thought about it and asked, "Really? So. . .there's something I've been wondering. Is she a natural redhead?"
As the assembled fighters switched their astonished eyes toward the FBI man, Vamp Willow answered for the guitarist. "If you’d like, cowboy, I can settle that question for you right now."
"NO!" came the shout from everyone, with the exceptions of Vamp Xander, Sonja and Gabrielle.
Scully slapped Mulder on the back of the head and snapped, "FOX WILLIAM MULDER!!! If you don’t shut up this instant, you will be on the couch for LIFE!"
Buffy and Cordelia looked at Willow, who stood there, still as a statue, jaw hanging open, eyes glazed over and staring at her double. They looked at each other, and Buffy said, "Great. We’ve lost her. She’s catatonic."
"I think I’ll join her," the dark-haired Amazon moaned helplessly.
Wondering about all the stares directed her way, Vamp Willow asked the room, "What?"
"Artemis," Steve said with a note of pleading in his voice, "would you PLEASE do the honors?"
"My pleasure," the Goddess said with a smirk. "Robin, the quick rundown."
"Okay, guys," Robin said as he cracked his knuckles in preparation for the shift. "What Arty’s gonna do is a variation of the plane shift spell. This isn’t your typical ‘flash of light’ teleport spell, or your ‘open a portal and walk through like a doorway’ dimensional door. It’s really simple; one moment we’re here, the next we’re in the other universe. It’s kind of like being above water one minute, below the water the next. Just no splash." He looked at the Patron Goddess of the Amazons and said, "Take it away, Arty."
"Don’t call me that," She growled. She raised her hands and said, "Prepare yourselves."
As the reality-bound fighters gripped their weapons and got into a ready position, Artemis shouted, "NOW!"
Just before they disappeared, Robin’s voice could be heard, in an impersonation of Ralph Kramden, shouting, "To the MOON, Arty! TO THE MOON!"
As the flash faded and the vast majority of the people in the room vanished, Artemis sighed, "I hate fairies."
317 Bryant Terrace
Sunnydale, California (the Wishverse)
Early hours
13 December
1998
Steve materialized inside of his bedroom, or what passed for it in this universe. He brought his sword up to a guard position and scanned the entire room to see if he was alone.
JP was standing beside him, lighting a new cigarette. The Atlantean grinned and said, "Well, here we are."
"Where’s Buffy?" St. Wolf demanded, looking around frantically. He said, "She’s not here."
"Maybe Arty teleported her elsewhere in the house to keep the two leaders from being bunched together," JP replied, attempting to mask the worry his own voice held. "Looks like we got the short straw for getting any action."
"The room’s empty," the Texan pointed out.
JP grumbled, "Exactly my point."
Any further dialogue died in their throats as a single shot rang out, sounding like a death knell to the men in the silent room.
"SHIT!" St. Wolf shouted.
As he bolted for the door, JP chuckled, "See you downstairs, punk."
The senior demon hunter vanished before Steve’s eyes, leaving the cursing Wanderer to charge down the stairs alone.
Methos, Robin, Duncan, and Connor all appeared in the back yard. As they materialized, they checked their surroundings for enemies. Even though they had just arrived, they had a potential problem; the Buzz had struck the three Immortals.
The MacLeods acted as one, facing the house. In doing so, they failed to see what Methos and Robin saw in the opposite direction.
"MacLeod?" the Greek Immortal gulped, worry lacing his words.
"Yes?" both MacLeods asked.
Robin gulped and said, "Connor, Duncan, would you mind turning around? Nice and slow?"
"Why?" both Highlanders asked.
Their answer came in the form of the sound of rounds being chambered in over a dozen weapons. Connor and Duncan both tensed, looked at each other, and then glanced over their shoulders.
Several men and women wearing the uniform of the Sunnydale Police Department were pointing their weapons at the quartet of fighters.
Robin slowly raised his hands. Seething, he looked at the Heavens and shouted, "Oh, sure! In THIS universe they have their heads out of their asses!"
As he dropped his sword and scanned the crowd for the Immortal he sensed, Methos growled, "MacLeod, I am going to kill St. Wolf for this."
"It was Artemis who did this, Adam," Duncan countered, using Methos’ alias. He realized that Artemis must have known about the cops being about to enter a vampire-operated drug house. "It wasn’t Steve."
"He was the one who shanghaied us for this mission," Methos snapped in disgust. Grinding his teeth, the five thousand-year-old man told his companions, "Besides, She’s a God, but he isn’t. Him, I can kill."
"I’ll help you," Connor growled, equally displeased at being in this predicament.
Duncan slowly turned around and looked at the crowd of law enforcement officers. He raised his hands, but kept his katana in the right one. He gently asked, "I don’t suppose the fact that we’re alive, breathing, and here to fight vampires will be of any help to us?"
Some of the officers seemed taken aback by the Scot’s calm demeanor, although none of the weapons wavered. Finally, a female voice ordered, "Give us names! Now."
"Duncan and Connor MacLeod, Section Seven Covert Operations," Duncan replied, seeing no reason to lie. He thought the voice sounded familiar, but he couldn’t place it. "The other sword-carrying gentleman is Adam Pierson, and the unarmed young man is Robin Goodfellow."
The words "covert operations" only seemed to make the officers even more nervous. After a short, tense delay, the same woman asked, "Why are there only four of you?"
"We have other operatives in the house," Connor responded with a note of urgency. "And, ladies and gentlemen, please keep in mind that you are keeping us from joining them."
A single shot rang out from inside the house, causing the four fighters to move on instinct. They quickly stopped when a voice shouted, "Freeze!"
"Our people are in there, dammit!" Robin screeched. "Help us, back us up, cover us, or follow us and aim those pea-shooters at our asses, but we’re going in!"
The four warriors quickly turned and began heading for the house, much to the shock of the Sunnydale officers. After two seconds, the senior officer barked, "We’re backing them up! Let’s go!"
"What?!?" one of the uniforms blurted. "Why?!?"
"We didn’t know there were vamps in that house," the woman said with determination. "They may not know it, but those four just saved us from a slaughter, so we’re going to do the same. Follow me!"
Before anyone could protest, the undercover Sergeant calling herself Karen Jenkins led the charge into the drug house, reaching under her trench coat to pull out a weapon more suited for close quarters combat.
The six vampires working in the supply room continued to pack their drug shipment at a rapid pace. Running a half-hour behind schedule, they knew they would be out a large amount of money if they didn’t make up for lost time.
Their attention was diverted when they sensed a presence behind them. The leader, a hulking brute of a vampire, turned around to deal with whomever had invaded his home. He stopped short, not for the least of which was because he recognized the woman in the middle of the trio who were now standing in his supply room, two of whom were clad in clothing that was quite revealing, not only for what it covered, but for what it revealed.
"Willow. . .? Where the Hell have you been? The Master’s been busting human’s guts wondering where you and your boy toy vanished to."
"Uhm. . . uh. . ." Willow said, looking down at herself. She felt like fainting; she was now clad in the exact same outfit that Vamp Willow had worn before Artemis had changed it to something even more daring. Somehow, Willow knew it was still fully protective against weaponry, since she figured that Artemis wouldn’t leave one of her Amazons defenseless. But she still could not believe that her Goddess would do something like this.
Her attention was brought back to the largest vampire, who said, "Willow? Who are these two humans? You brought HUMANS here?!?"
Willow quickly ad-libbed, shooting a hard look at the vampire leader. She snarled, "Do you have a problem with whom I choose to play with?"
The sextet vampires were caught off guard, all but the leader open ogling the revealing outfits worn by the two Immortals.
The leader, well versed in Willow’s legendary sexual exploits as well as her brutality, said, "Then why did you bring them here?"
"What?" Willow asked with a prim smile, working to project the same attitude as her double. She slinked forward a bit, moving up to the demon that topped her by at least a foot. She ran a finger up and down his chest and said, "They’re mine. But I did bring enough to share with everyone."
The vampire leader was about to inquire what she meant by that, but was cut off by a feminine, "Ewwwwwwwwwww!"
The vampires, brought out of their Sonja- and Gabrielle-induced stupor, looked around, and found they were surrounded by Buffy, Wish Buffy, Cordelia, Vamp Willow, Jenny, Randi, Scully, Maxine, Jessica Alvarez, Tina Blanco, and Mindy Jennings.
Seeing the two Slayers and Vamp Willow, the leader started to panic. "Who the Hell are they, Willow?!? Where did you get them from?"
"Well," Vamp Willow said, vamping out and surprising the leader of the drug dealers, "it involves other dimensions and worlds. The other me isn’t a vampire, she’s worse. She’s a witch."
"She’s like you?" one of the underlings asked, mistaking her meaning.
"Well, yes and no," Willow said with an evil grin at the opening provided by her twin. As the vampire leader looked at her, Willow’s hands started to glow as her eyes took on a predatory look. "You see, when she calls me a witch, she means it literally. As in witchcraft."
"It’s a magic thing," Vamp Willow added in anticipation of the upcoming fight.
The vampires looked back and forth between the massed group of women, most of whom were holding swords and/or close quarters assault rifles, all of which were trained on them.
One vampire quipped, "You know, I’ve had fantasies about a situation like this."
"WHAT?!?" the leader, unable to believe his underling was being flippant in this situation, babbled in growing dread. "FANTASIES?!?"
"Well, they didn’t involve guns and swords," he confessed.
Vamp Willow and Willow shared identical smiles of anticipation, leading them to say, "Get them, girls."
Vamp Willow quickly jumped forward and landed a crescent kick to the leader’s stomach. He doubled over and stumbled backward, straight into Willow’s waiting arms. She grabbed his head, tensed her arms as he screamed in pain from the electrical charge emanating from Willow’s hands due to her aborted lightning bolt spell, and jerked with all of her Amazon might. The leader’s neck snapped with a sickening crack.
A second vampire ran afoul of Scully and Maxine. Maxine swung her darn dao with a low, rising cut that connected with the bloodsucker’s rear end, while Scully, fighting down confusion over her fellow Amazon’s tactics, took the vamp’s head. He vanished into a cloud of dust.
The third vampire was both lucky and unlucky at the same time; his death was quick, but Buffy, Wish Buffy, and Cordelia delivered it. In the same exact instant, Buffy chopped his neck with Vampire Slayer while Wish Buffy and Cordelia stabbed him in the heart with a stake and sword, respectively.
Jenny and Tina, who simultaneously fired off blasts of magical energy called levin bolts, a form of attack that only affected magical beings, attacked a fourth, standing right next to the previous victim. The bolt tore through his heart, causing the vampire to disintegrate in a larger cloud of dust than normal, smothering the two Slayers and Amazon with dusted demon.
"HEY!" all three shouted in perfect unison, spitting vampire dust out of their mouths.
The fifth vampire was apparently smarter than his fellows. As soon as both Willows ordered the charge, he dropped to the ground and drew his gun. He was under no illusions that he was going to survive; unlike his leader, he’d been at the factory when the Slayer and Angel had attacked, and so had recognized her in the crowd. He quickly aimed his gun at the one clear target he had and pulled the trigger. His joy at seeing the bullet spark off of Sonja’s breastplate, sending her flying to the ground in a heap, was short-lived as an all-consuming pain erupted in his head.
Jessica Alvarez acted too late to keep Sonja from getting shot, but she still took a grim amount of satisfaction in the mental agony suffered by the shooter. She quickly brain blasted the vampire with the full extent of her mental powers, leaving him a literal mental vegetable. Randi quickly moved forward and stabbed the vampire through the heart, putting him out of his misery.
The final vampire was handled by Mindy Jennings. Mindy quickly ended his undead existence with a double swipe of her katana, the first slashing his legs to rob the undead being of the power to stand, the second removing his head from his shoulders as he fell to his knees. He vanished in a smoke cloud, finishing the quick battle.
As the dust cleared and settled, the women of the task force quickly took in their surroundings. Sonja, the only person even touched by the four vampires, was slowly standing up, aided by Gabrielle. As she helped the Hyborean up, Wish Buffy said, "Now that that’s over with, where’s our other people?"
"C’mon, let’s go find them," Buffy sighed. Somehow, she got the feeling that it had been no accident that all of the women in the task force had been sent into the training room alone. "JP’s going to be pissed that he missed the action."
"Yep," came the raspy reply, startling both Slayers.
Buffy and Wish Buffy whirled on the ancient demon hunter, who just stood their grinning.
"Don’t DO that!" the Pre-Immortal Slayer shouted.
"Sorry, kid. But when we heard the shot, I decided to take the shortcut," JP grinned as he started up another cigarette.
"Could you please not do that in our house?" Buffy asked him.
JP continued grinning. He huffed once and said, "Actually, being in this reality, it’s not your house."
"Augh!" Buffy groaned as Steve rushed into the training room.
Steve checked out the scene and asked, "Is everyone all right?"
As the women nodded, Buffy grinned and moved up, putting her arms around Steve’s waist. "All fine, honey. Sonja got shot, but her body armor took the bullet. Six vamps, six dusted."
"Okay," Steve sighed in relief. He looked at JP and said, "JP, let’s check out the rest of the house. I want to know where our people are, now. We’ll separate on the main floor. You take that Buffy and start with the front yard. We’ll take the back."
Wish Buffy glanced at JP and said, "Gee, thanks. Stick me with the geezer."
"I’m not a geezer," JP said through a cloud of smoke, "I’m an old bastard. So call me that."
Wish Buffy cocked an eyebrow before chuckling a bit. "Okay, you old bastard."
"Thank you," JP said, grinning back at her. "Come on, kid."
As they took off, Buffy looked at Steve. "I can’t believe those two are going to hit it off so well."
"Wonders never cease, my lady," Steve said with a shrug. "Let’s go."
As the four fighters left, Gabrielle asked Sonja, "Are you all right?"
Sonja grinned, made a show of dusting herself off, and said, "Of course. Good thing I was wearing my armor."
"Yeah," Cordelia snapped in disgust, "that’s easy for a bitch who’s lived for fifteen thousand years to say!"
"Hey, we can get you a suit if you want," Gabrielle offered, leading to Cordelia sputtering to laughs from the other women. "Any others?"
The laughter abruptly ceased, only to be taken up by Sonja, Gabrielle, and Vamp Willow.
Vamp Willow, still giggling, walked up to Willow and said, "You did good."
Willow smiled, but it died when she looked back down at herself. "I can’t believe Artemis did this to me!"
"What’s wrong? You look fine!" Vamp Willow said in admiration. "What’s wrong with it?"
Willow panted a bit and said, "Well. . . I guess it’s true; vampires really don’t need to breathe. This thing is so tight. ."
"That’s the idea," Vamp Willow said in a light tone, grinning all the while.
Willow sighed as she looked at her double. Nodding at the vampire’s outfit, she said, "And I thought this thing was outlandish. But THAT thing takes the cake."
The undead redhead shrugged. "I’ve worn less."
"Don’t tell me, please!" Willow sighed. She looked at her new clothes and muttered, "I have got to get out of this thing, or I won’t be able to breathe. And this thing is so low cut. . . ." She trailed off as she got a very good look at how much uplift the tight corset gave her chest. Staring at how her breasts looked from this angle, she muttered, "Wow. Look at those."
"Yeah, they look great, don’t they?" Vamp Willow said, watching Willow’s cleavage just as intently. "And they feel even better."
"Yeah," a distracted Willow admitted. "I kno--- Oh my Goddess!!!"
Cordy started to blanch and stuck out her tongue as she grimaced. "Yuck! Where’s Dr. Greene? The line starts behind me for those who need industrial strength therapy after that last admission!"
"Amen," a sick-looking Randi drawled.
Maxine, grinning at the discussions being held, looked at Scully and said, "This how your fights usually start out?"
"No," the Agent said in relief.
"Damn," the Bronx native snapped. "I was hoping they were all this fun."
Scully then asked, "And why did you stab him in the butt? Hasn’t Connor taught you anything about fighting vampires?"
"I was carving him a new asshole," Maxine replied, adding the exclamation point of a popping bubble.
"The phrase is ‘chew him a new asshole,’" Scully said in confusion.
The crew-cut blonde shook her head. Pointing at Vamp Willow, she said, "I’ll leave the kinky stuff to the kid over there."
As Maxine walked away to talk to Cordelia and Randi, Scully and Jenny looked at each other, wondering exactly what Artemis had gotten Herself into by making that woman an Amazon.
As the ladies began to relax, a new group burst into the room. The female operatives quickly brought their weapons to bear, forcing the newest arrivals to stop dead in their tracks.
"Whoa! Don’t mess up the outfit!" Xander bleated at Mindy, whose shimmering samurai sword was poking his chest.
"It’d be an improvement," Mindy teased, but she nevertheless dropped the blade.
Jenny took the initiative to ask, "Where did you four end up?"
"In the kitchen," Xander answered for himself, Oz, Vamp Xander, and Giles. "Lemme guess; Arty wanted the girls to have all the fun."
"You could say that," Scully chuckled. She looked past the group and asked, "Where are the others?"
"In the order that Lord Keighvin relayed the information to us," Giles began, rubbing his forehead in mock pain from the telepathic contact, "Robin, Methos, and the MacLeods arrived in the back yard, directly in the path of the Sunnydale police, who were arriving for a raid on this drug house. Steve and Mr. Withers ended up in what passes for Steve’s bedroom in this reality, while Lords Keighvin and Dharinel, along with Angel, Tobabaird and Tannim, materialized in the living room. Finally, Mulder and the male members of Tunafish appeared in the front yard to intercept another group of officers. They are currently engaged in a verbal squabble over Federal and local jurisdictions. Unfortunately, the Detective in charge of that group is not being very cooperative."
The Slayerettes moaned and Cordelia snapped, "Not Stein!"
"I’m afraid so," the librarian confessed.
"Of all the things to be the same in these two worlds," Jenny muttered. Taking command, she said, "Let’s go back them up before things get out of hand."
As one, the group filtered out and headed upstairs.
As they led the way into the living room, Xander asked his double, "Are you getting the feeling this isn’t going to be as easy as ‘win, fight, kiss the babes, then go home?’"
"What makes you say that?" the vampire inquired with his trademark grin.
The young man sighed. "Because we haven’t been here ten minutes and we’re already seeing changes. I mean, this is supposed to be Steve’s house."
"Hey, things could be worse," Vamp Xander offered.
The pair stopped once they saw several of Sunnydale’s finest standing in the living room with the members of the assault group.
Xander glanced back at his double and said, "Dude, don’t you know by now that you NEVER say, ‘things could be worse?’"
"Very funny," Vamp Xander sighed as several of the cops began fingering their guns.
Xander looked at Willow, who prepared to cast a shielding spell over their doubles as Vamp Willow quickly moved forward to protect her boyfriend. A female police officer began barking orders.
"Hold your fire!" Karen Jenkins ordered with a tone of command that would have made a drill instructor proud. It hid the cold fear she felt from being in such close proximity to so many Immortals. She glared at the Vamps, then their twins. She turned on Duncan and demanded, "MacLeod, what are you doing with THOSE two?!? Do you have any idea how much carnage they’re responsible for?"
"Their situation has changed, Ceirdwyn," Duncan told her. Hoping that the certainty in his voice would register with her, the Immortal added, "Our commander can run it down for you after we secure the house."
"Ceirdwyn was my MI6 code name, MacLeod," the Celt lied, to drown out the curiosity her fellow officers had about her past life. She, on the other hand, was not happy to be stuck in the presence of so many sword wielders. She nervously fingered her own sword and asked, "Who’s in charge here, MacLeod? The last time I heard your name mentioned, you were working with. . . Reagan Cole, wasn’t it? Tracking down some bomber for Interpol?"
"I’m in charge, Officer," Steve said as he and Buffy rejoined the group. "I’ve taken the liberty of asking a couple of Federal Agents accompanying this task force to escort Detective Stein in, so that we can have a quick briefing."
"That’s fine with me. . ." When she purposely trailed off, Steve just grinned and shook his head. As Stein came in with Mulder and Ed Alvarez, Ceirdwyn barked to her officers, "Everyone outside. Move it!"
As the majority of the Sunnydale officers began to go outside, Steve spoke to Stein. "Detective, I’d like to thank you for your time."
Stein glared at the Wanderer and said, "Save it. Would you mind telling me what you Febbies are doing, horning in on my drug bust?"
"They’re not Feds, Stein," Ceirdwyn interrupted sarcastically. She rubbed her forehead to wipe away the residual pain from the multiple Buzzes. "They’re not normal Feds, FBI, DEA, or ATF. They’re military."
Stein quickly took in the assembled group, not understanding the hostility their eyes held for him. His eyes stopped when he spotted the Xander and Willow twins standing together. He quickly lost his composure and bellowed, "What the Hell are THEY doing here?!?"
Steve quickly stepped in front of Stein to prevent him from attacking anyone. Meeting the cop’s irate gaze, St. Wolf said, "Detective, these two kids are working for me." Before Stein could protest, the Wanderer softly told him, "These twins are special operatives for us. Once we rescued the turned ones and restored their souls, they began helping us in our operations since they don’t have any family. That’s beyond the fact that they’re vampires; the redhead is a hacker extraordinaire. They’ve provided us with the Intel we’re using to form a plan for an assault on the Master. But your drug raid has complicated matters, to say the least."
Stein glanced at Vamps Willow and Xander once more. Seeing the regret in their eyes, his instincts told him this was on the up and up. Since he saw the look they both had, he decided to let it go, even if he didn’t like it. "So what exactly is your plan?"
"I need to keep this quiet," Steve honestly answered. "Here’s what I’d like to propose; you came here to bust the drug dealers, we came to kill the vampires. We took care of the latter, and we’re not here for the drugs. The drugs are yours, but here’s what I’d like you to put in your report; your raid was a joint operation with the Los Angeles branch of the FBI, who you called in for some heavier firepower upon finding out the dealers were vampires. After the raid, your officers took the drugs into evidence while your liaison to the Federal Agents remained with them to search the house for more drugs, guns, and cash. The truth behind this is that I’d like a liaison from your department to keep your brother officers from becoming bystander casualties when we have our little to-do with the Master."
Stein looked to Jenkins for her opinion on the plan. She nodded and said, "I can act as the liaison. Remember my background."
Stein considered the plan for several seconds. Finally, he said, "I’m telling you, I sure as hell don’t like Black Ops being in my town, especially if your plan depends on *those* two. But considering what you’re planning on doing, I’ll cooperate. I don’t want my people to be in any danger, so I’ll go along with it. How do you want to do this?"
"It’s simple, Detective," Steve replied with a straight face. <Why can’t our Stein be like this?> "I’ll keep Jenkins in the loop as far as our movements go. I’ll have her report to you at the right times, in order to keep your people out of the firefight. Afterwards, she’ll sign off on your report, and people will forget we ever came here. After all, we don’t exist."
"Neither do vampires," Stein snapped, unable to hide a chuckle. With a glance at Tobabaird and his Lord, the Detective shook his head. "And other things I’d rather not know about. Now, about the drugs?"
"I understand, Detective," Steve easily said. "But I’d like you and your people to lay off the kids, if you can. They’ve been through a lot, and it was the demons that did the killing, not the people in control now. They’ve been a big help to my unit. Now let’s get some of your people in here to start moving the drugs out."
"One question, if you don’t mind," Stein said. "If it’s not top secret."
"Shoot," Steve said with a nod.
"Just how do you restore the soul to a vampire?" Stein asked.
Steve’s jaw clenched a little. "Let’s just say that it’s absolutely amazing, what you can pull off once you get a few witches on the payroll."
Stein stiffened at the "w" word, and his shoulders sagged in defeat. "Great. I don’t want to know any more." He looked at Ceirdwyn. "Jenkins. Keep in touch."
"Got it, Stein," she agreed. As Stein left to get officers to begin moving the drugs, she asked, "All right, now what?"
Steve quickly answered the Immortal woman. "Jenkins, I’ll lay it on the line for you. We know you’re like some of us, and that you can tell what some of us are as well. Don't be alarmed, we aren't headhunters. We work for the government and we're here to help with your vamp problem. Do you want to join us in taking them out to keep your brother police officers out of harm's way and to keep the civilian casualties to a minimum?"
Ceirdwyn was still nervous about this. She might be a two-millennia-old Celtic warrior, but even she couldn’t take on this many Immortals. But her dedication to her fellow officers overrode that concern. She drew her broadsword and said, "I’m in."
"Now that that’s settled," JP said as he finished his latest cigarette, "you need to get to those White Hats, as they’re called here, before the Master’s assassins do."
"What about you?" Steve inquired. "Aren’t you joining us?"
"Well, Steve, it’s like this," Robin said as he cracked his knuckles. "When we got sent here, Arty gave me and JP the lowdown on who we can trust as allies in this fight. She also told me an old friend of mine is here. Now, while I still have the restrictions on my magic, I can use a teleport if I’m recruiting good guys to fight evil. Looking this friend of mine up will help us get more allies a lot faster."
Despite the nervousness he felt over allowing someone Robin called friend into the battle, Steve agreed that they needed help. The Immortal nodded and said, "All right, Robin." He looked at the Atlantean and said, "How about you, JP?"
"Unlike Goodfellow," Withers grinned as he put a fresh cigarette in his mouth, "I should have duplicates. Thought I’d look this one up."
JP quickly vanished, leaving nothing but a wispy trail of smoke rising toward the ceiling.
As the members of Section Seven considered the ramifications of having *two* JP Withers in the fight, Xander asked, "Steve, Eddie, can I ask you something?"
Steve started rubbing the bridge of his nose. He dryly said, "Yes, Xander?"
The warrior swallowed and said, "Well, with two JPs in the fight, do we really even need to be here?"
Steve and Eddie looked at each other as they considered the question. Eddie shrugged.
Steve reluctantly said, "We’d better stick around, just in case."
"We were afraid you’d say that," Cordelia groaned.
Chuckling under his breath, Robin said, "Well, I’m off myself. I’ll be back as soon as I can."
Before the sprite could leave, Ceirdwyn said, "Wait. I have to know. Are you really Robin Goodfellow?"
Sensing what was coming up, Robin’s shoulders sagged. He sighed, "Yeah, I’m him."
"I see," the police Sergeant said. "Tell me something. Why didn’t you keep William from mixing up two separate characters like that?"
Everyone stared at her, too stunned to react.
Slowly closing his jaw, Robin whispered, "How’d you know?"
Ceirdwyn shrugged nonchalantly. "William liked his liquor."
Robin’s face split into a grin. "YES!" he shouted gaily. "I finally WON one!"
He vanished in a twinkling of light. Everyone watched the empty space for about twenty seconds, until Buffy broke the silence by saying, "You realize he’s going to be SO impossible to deal with, now."
Getting on track, Steve looked at Wish Buffy. "You’re with me. Let’s move." Steve started for the door at a brisk pace, calling out names as he went. "Jenny, Mulder, Scully, Duncan, Sonja, Gabrielle, Eddie, George, Mindy, Randi, Ceirdwyn and Tannim are with me. Buffy, you’re in charge until we get back. Work with the cops on getting the drugs out of here so we can secure the house. Keep an eye out for vamps, stray or otherwise. We’ll be back as soon as possible."
Buffy nodded as they left and the people remaining at the house moved to help the police load up the evidence and establish a defensive perimeter in case any uninvited guests decided to make an appearance.
Sunnydale High Library
Sunnydale, California (the Wishverse)
Early hours
13 December
1998
Larry Blaisdell and Oz Green burst into the library while their leader, Rupert Giles, examined numerous mystical texts for clues concerning what had happened when he’d cast the temporal folding spell nearly a week ago. They had just returned from a patrol and had bad news to deliver.
Giles, unaware of their arrival, was lost in his books. He had to find out what had happened that fateful day. Upon his charges’ return from the factory, the two White Hats had reported the story of the strange disappearances of the their enemies, Willow and Xander. They had also told the Watcher of the vampire who had taken their side in the melee, as well as their report on how he had willingly fought side by side with the Slayer. Giles had quickly assumed that their disappearances might well be linked with the spell. He had spent the last five days attempting to find a spell that might undo the effects of his previous endeavors.
Walking over to the desk, Oz said, "Hey."
Giles started and looked up at the skinny young man through bleary eyes. He adjusted his spectacles and said, "Yes, Oz?"
"We need to book," the laconic man informed the librarian. "Bad news."
"As is most news these days," Giles said with a sigh of resignation. He closed a pair of books and said, "Well, I’m not getting anywhere with this research. Go ahead. What news do you have for me?"
"It’s not good, boss man," Larry said. He set his crossbow on the table. "Master’s got over four hundred vamps in the factory and the Bronze. Some demons, too. Even worse, forty of those bloodsuckers are on their way here."
Giles’ face went white. Fear knotted his stomach. He stared at his two partners and asked, "Do you think we should go underground?"
Oz and Larry spared glances at each other. Larry nodded, so Oz turned back to the elder man. "Couldn’t hurt. We could try your place."
Giles nodded in agreement. "Very well," he stated, picking up his books. "We’ll take the reference materials and weapons with us. We’ll leave immediately."
Apparently, immediately was not soon enough, as three vampires appeared at the windows of the library doors less than five seconds later.
Larry spotted the vamps and shouted, "We got company!"
Oz and Giles bolted for the weapons chest in the book cage, while Larry gripped the crossbow he’d been carrying on patrol. The vampires boldly strode into the library with their game faces on, their smug faces reflecting their confidence of an easy victory. Before the battle could begin, the library’s occupants were startled into hitting the deck by the bone-chilling sound of automatic weapons fire.
The Quad
Sunnydale High School
Sunnydale, California (the Wishverse)
Early hours
13 December 1998
Steve’s team saw the enormous group of vampires approaching the school entrance. He held them back with an upraised hand, as he waited for the vamps to move out of sight. He saw fifteen of the bloodsuckers establish a perimeter in front of the entrance and softly cursed under his breath.
"What are you doing?" Ceirdwyn demanded hotly. "You can’t just let them get killed!"
"I don’t plan on it." He looked at Tannim. The human mage was an unknown factor to the Wanderer, but he had to take a chance. "Tannim, can you teleport people?"
The mage grinned at him. "I can do better than that, St. Wolf," he said with certainty in his voice. "I can open a Gate."
Steve’s face mimicked the smile directed his way. "Okay. We’re going to open two. Agents will go through in the order I call out. The first one right will open right in front of the library. Duncan, Sonja, Gabrielle, Randi, and Buffy are going through. The second gate will open just inside the front doors. Mulder, Scully, Ceirdwyn, and Jenny are with me in the gate. Eddie, George, Mindy and Tannim stay here and take out the guards on our signal. Got it?"
When everyone nodded, Steve said, "Now, Tannim."
The mage focused his magical energies and cast a spell to open a Gate. As a shimmering oval opened in midair, Steve softly hissed, "Go!"
Duncan and his companions ran through in single file. Once the last person had passed through, the oval closed on itself, disappearing without a trace. The mage cast the spell a second time, looking at the doors and those guarding it to estimate how far inside the door he should place the portal’s exit. Once the second gate opened, he barked, "Go!"
Steve nodded, gripped Ceirdwyn’s arm, and said, "Here." He held out his Israeli issue Uzi to her.
"What are you going to use?" she asked.
"This," St. Wolf said. He drew Demon Slayer and took off at a full run into the portal.
Just shaking her head at these mysteries popping up, Ceirdwyn waited until Mulder and Scully had sprinted into the Gate before following them.
As the second portal vanished, Tannim said, "What’s the signal?"
Eddie said, "That."
"That" turned out to be the sound of an Uzi firing inside the school. Tannim jerked in response. He glanced at Eddie and asked, "Time for a little offense?"
"Allow me," George said, a tight smile bracketing the lollipop sticking out of his mouth. He walked out from behind a pair of cars and shouted, "Hey, assholes!"
When the guards turned towards him, he unleashed the first burst from his M60. Five vampires who were too slow died in a flurry of particles that covered the steps of the school like a fresh dusting of snow.
Eddie sighed at his Agent’s lack of stealth as he and Mindy stood up and fired the Glock 21s they’d borrowed from Section Seven. He smiled as their precision shooting took out just as many vampires as George’s sheer quantity of firepower.
Tannim began to chant. When he finished, he cast his spell. Although there was no immediate visible effect, he seemed confident because he just sat down and waited.
Mindy gave him a hard look and barked over the roar of George’s machine gun, "Well? What happened?"
"Watch," came the mage’s amused reply.
The few vampires that had survived the onslaught made a break for the doors. Before they enter the school, a Gate opened in front of them. The vampires were unable to break their momentum and plunged into the Gate, which terminated a second later.
Eddie glanced at Tannim. "What was that?"
"Delayed Gate," the young man answered. He brushed off his pants. "I sent them to a region of Underhill."
"What region?" George asked.
"My old teacher’s place," Tannim said with a grin. "He happens to be a dragon."
Mindy let out a laugh at the mage’s method for dealing with the vampires. "I like this kid."
"Me too," George seconded.
"Enough chatter," Eddie barked. "There’s still a fight going on inside. Let’s go."
The four sprinted for the entrance to rejoin their teammates.
Duncan burst out of the portal, followed by Sonja and Gabrielle. The Highlander and the Immortal women found themselves in the middle of a group of ten vampires. Taking advantage of the demons’ momentary confusion, the three warriors began swinging their blades.
Sonja and Gabrielle moved to stand back to back. They eliminated two vampires in as many seconds, forcing any who planned to rush them to reconsider their options.
Duncan brought his katana around with practiced grace. In one fluid motion, he took a vampire’s head and spun around with a reverse punch to the jaw of a second, which had been coming up behind him.
Randi and Wish Buffy joined the group at this point. Upon seeing the situation, the young women brought up their swords, Randi the Sword of St. Catherine, Wish Buffy, the unadorned longsword given her by her twin. Before they could join the fight, Wish Buffy’s paranormal senses picked up what the Immortals had not. There were vampires entering the library.
"Vamps in the book room!" Wish Buffy shouted. She turned and bolted in that direction. "I’m on it!"
"Go!" Duncan ordered as he decapitated a female vampire. "Randi go with her!"
"I said I got it!" Wish Buffy called over her shoulder.
Randi followed without comment.
Steve exited the portal and took up a defensive stance. He waited for Scully and Mulder to come through before starting to move forward. Mulder and Scully moved to opposite sides of the hallway, guns in hand, as Ceirdwyn appeared, brandishing her borrowed Uzi. Seconds later, the portal faded into nothingness as Jenny brought up the rear, spells at the ready.
The group heard conversation coming from the left branch of the nearest intersection. The vampires didn’t bother being quiet as they talked about their plan to destroy the school after they or the hired assassins eliminated the White Hats. Steve looked at his companions and motioned for them to stop. The Wanderer pointed at Ceirdwyn to move to the front and counted down with his fingers. On three, the two Immortals jumped into the intersection.
About half of the vampires reacted when the man and woman came into view. The ones who saw the weapon in the woman’s hands moved to hide or attack, but their companions began to die as the woman opened fire.
Four vampires died in the first volley before the shooter reacted and began focusing on specific targets in order to save ammunition. Two rushed her partner, who was wielding a samurai sword that produced a blue light.
As the occupants of the library recovered their nerve, Larry was the first to go on the offensive. The burly football player brought the crossbow to bear on the lead vampire and pulled the trigger.
The vampire moved backwards, rising into a kneeling position that forced the shot to miss his heart. It didn’t matter, however, because the bolt lodged in the vamp’s left eye. He fell back with a horrifying squeal, clutching at the quarrel that blinded him.
The shot spurred Giles and Oz to grab whatever weapons were handy. Giles brought forth a hand axe. Oz came up with a pair of throwing daggers. They began to move forward just as the two healthy vampires stood up.
<Holy shit!> Ceirdwyn thought in shock. She hadn’t really expected the Uzi to work on the vampires, other than as a scare tactic. She quickly saw that this weapon killed vampires as easily as a stake or beheading. She quickly adjusted her fire after the initial burst and began to take out vampires with more precise bursts.
To her right, the two vampires that attacked the man calling himself St. Wolf quickly learned that he knew his business. Ceirdwyn watched as the Immortal sidestepped his opponents and delivered the deathblow to the vampire furthest from her. Before the policewoman could follow her instinct to take care of the other, two shots rang out and caused the vampire to disintegrate.
"Thanks!" Ceirdwyn called out to the Feds who had covered her six.
"Don’t mention it," Mulder and Scully called out.
Near the library, Duncan was literally dancing among the vampires that were still up and moving. The vampires couldn’t get close enough to strike at the Scot, for doing so mean coming within reach of his gleaming sword.
Duncan eliminated another of his group’s opponents with a spinning slice. He chanced taking a glance at his partners and saw that they were in fine shape.
As Sonja disemboweled her current opponent, Gabrielle struck at one vampire by stabbing straight forward. The demon’s cocky look at her seeming mistake vanished just before he did. The last Queen of the Amazon nation let a grim smile touch her lips. <Didn’t expect a sword blessed by a Catholic priest, did you?>
Her musings were cut off as a female vampire attacked her.
Another vampire saw an opening as the shorter fighter stabbed her companion. She tried to attack, but the opening soon closed as the blonde woman reached out. Grabbing a handful of the vampire’s shirt, the small warrior threw her into the nearest wall without so much as moving her eyes. The undead female slammed into the wall with a crippling impact. She slid to the floor in a crumpled heap, leaving a trail of blood on the lockers as she descended.
The few remaining vampires began to back off at the sight of the Battling Bard’s superhuman strength.
"Slayer!" some of them hissed in fear.
The standing soulless ones decided to make discretion the better part of valor. They turned and ran for the doors. The three warriors followed with caution.
The vampires no longer had the same look of arrogance they’d sported upon their entrance, but they still felt confident in their ability to handle the three humans.
That confidence faded when the Slayer, a sword in her hands and fury in her eyes, burst through the doorway, quickly followed by a second woman similarly armed.
Wish Buffy crashed through the doors and saw three vampires, one of whom was gripping a crossbow bolt that protruded from his head. Leaving him for last, Wish Buffy quickly engaged the larger of the two demons.
The Slayer swung her sword at the vamp’s leg. The blade dug deep, lodging in the meaty portion of the thigh. The vampire screamed in pain, but Wish Buffy didn’t let up. She released one hand and threw a backhand punch that sent her opponent’s head spinning around. As the vampire’s jaw cracked, she withdrew her blade and swung. Light flashed off of the blade as the weapon cleaved through his neck without impediment, sending the walking corpse into the true death.
Randi engaged the second vampire, who pulled out a switchblade in a feeble attempt to counter her weapon. She quickly jabbed at him, and the crosses on her blade glowed briefly as she wounded his wrist. The knife dropped to the ground and left the man defenseless. The nineteen-year-old moved forward and stabbed him through the heart, leaving her weapon coated in dust.
She looked at Wish Buffy who quickly dusted the wounded vampire, ending his piteous moaning.
Wish Buffy glared at Randi. "I said I had it!" Wish Buffy snapped.
"Hey, I was following orders, just like you," Randi protested. She nodded towards the staring White Hats. "What’s more important? Your kill total or their lives?"
Wish Buffy winced at the question. She softly nodded and turned to Giles. With a grin she said, "Sorry about hogging the vamps, but you know what they say. The best defense is a kick ass offense."
The vampires that had survived the initial assault of Steve’s group split into two groups. One headed for the gym to escape through those exits. The other decided to try and break through the group in front of them.
The braver group felt their hopes die as Eddie, George, Mindy and Tannim rejoined Steve’s group. They watched helplessly as a fat man carrying a heavy machine gun brought his weapon to bear.
Hearing the others approach, Jenny looked over her shoulder while maintaining her casting. Seeing friends, the Gypsy turned back and finished her enchantment. A lightning bolt flew from both hands and each bolt wreathed two vampires in raw electricity. The two fiends died amid howls of agony.
Jenny prepared to cast another spell, but the effort was made unnecessary once George added a burst of gunfire to the rounds being fired by those others who were wielding firearms.
The vampires running for the gym collided with the few survivors of the fight against Duncan’s group. In the initial confusion, which had been enhanced by the gunfire, the two groups attacked each other.
Before they could sort out their identities, the two Section teams converged on their location and let fly with spells and bullets. Lightning and levin bolts combined with enchanted silver and armor piercing bullets to make short work of the blood drinkers who had come to kill the White Hats.
Once the dust settled to the floor, the warriors shot glances around the area to make sure no more opponents awaited them. Seeing that the area was secure, the vampire hunters turned and went to the library.
Giles, Larry, and Oz just stared at the Slayer and her companion. It wasn’t just the fact that she and the other woman were wearing black breastplates with the insignia of a cup in gold relief, or that she was actually smiling at him. It was that she had turned up after being gone for an entire week.
Finally overcoming his surprise, the Watcher smiled. "You’ve returned!" he exclaimed.
With a snort of laughter, Wish Buffy shrugged and said, "Sorry I’m late. It’s not easy getting an army for rent on such short notice."
The White Hats were caught off guard. "I beg your pardon?" Giles said. "Army?"
"Yeah, an army," Wish Buffy said as she tried to sense any more vampires. With none within range, she sheathed her sword and locked her eyes on those of the Watcher. "We need to book, Jeeves. Master decided to do a Nixon on you."
"Nixon?" a confused Randi asked.
"Yeah, Nixon. Dallas? 1963?" Wish Buffy told her confused partner. "Got killed by Jack Ruby. Don’t you learn American History where you come from?"
"Uh, yeah," Randi said sheepishly.
Giles paled and whispered, "The Master has hired assassins to do away with us?"
"That’s the story," the Slayer grimly answered.
Before anything more could be said, Randi jerked as the Buzz hit her. She brought her sword up out of instinct and turned to face the doorway. She relaxed when Steve’s battle group burst through the doors and the Buzz faded.
Steve looked around and asked, "All clear?"
When Wish Buffy and Randi answered in the affirmative, the Wanderer nodded to Ceirdwyn. The Celtic woman came forward and flashed her badge at the White Hats. "Mr. Giles, I’m Sergeant Jenkins with the Sunnydale P. D. We’ve come here to place you and your friends into protective custody. Please come with us."
Flabbergasted by the sight of the assembled group before him, Giles sputtered, "What is God’s name is going ON here?!?" He turned on Wish Buffy and demanded, "Slayer Summers, who are these people?!? Why have you brought them here?!?"
Mulder cleared his throat and said, "Mr. Giles, I’m FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder, head of the FBI’s X-Files Division. We investigate cases involving paranormal and supernatural phenomena. You have a vampire problem. One vampire in particular has you on his short list. Come with us now, and I promise all of your questions will be answered in due time. But this isn’t the place to do it."
Giles seemed ready to object, but both Larry and Oz came up and nodded to him, indicating that they thought they could trust these strangers. Although reluctant, the Englishman saw little choice, as they not only had the law on their side, but also for the fact that the Slayer trusted them.
"Very well," the Watcher sighed in defeat. "Let us go."
Giles picked up what books he could carry and began walking with the fighters while Larry, Oz, and Jenny picked up more volumes and followed the rest of the group out of the library.
As the fighters exited the building, Giles leaned in close to Wish Buffy. He softly asked, "Slayer Summers, what in God’s name is going on here?"
Wish Buffy tilted her head in thought. "Well, Jeeves, I could tell you what I’ve been through in the last week. But it’ll be easier to show you." She grinned at him and said, "Besides, if I tell you, it’ll like totally ruin the look on your face."
Giles suspected he was going to regret this, but kept his silence as the battle group faded into the night.
As the trio of men exited the secret passage, the two assassins hired by the Master watched as the vampire who’d acted as their guide continued to panic.
"Shit, shit, SHIT!!!" the vamp cursed. "The Slayer’s back! She has to be!"
The two assassins shared a glance; this so-called "Slayer" wasn’t the only thing that had decided to show itself in Sunnydale.
"We gotta tell the Master!" the vampire decided. He looked at the two hired guns. "The Master won’t care about the Watcher and his friends, now. He’ll want the Slayer killed instead."
The older of the two men, at least in appearance, said with his accented voice, "My friend, we were hired to eliminate the older man and his apprentices. Do you think we care about this ‘Slayer?’"
"But. . ."
The man smiled at the fearful undead. "But I’m sure we can come to an agreement over her."
The two humans smiled at each other. The vampire had retreated as soon as the bullets had started flying, so he had missed the arrival of the people who had hustled their targets out of the library. Both men realized that a special opportunity had been handed to them, and they were not about to let it pass.
The younger-looking man said, "The Slayer is small potatoes, vampire. However, we do have a problem."
"What?!?" the bloodsucker whined.
"You can’t be allowed to ruin our chance at some heads," the older-looking human replied. Before the vampire could comment, the old man pulled something from under his coat. He held it up for the vamp to observe. "So, you have to die."
With speed that belied his apparent age, the man brought the sword to bear. Relishing the dread in the vampire’s eyes, the man swung the weapon through the demon’s neck, severing nerves, muscle, and bone. The escort dissolved into dust particles as the man quickly replaced his weapon.
The other, who had enjoyed the minor spectacle, grinned at his companion. "You do realize, of course, that the self-proclaimed ‘Master’ will wonder what happened to the escort he so generously provided."
With a roguish grin, the man who’d killed the vampire innocently said, "Why, Kronos, it’s quite simple. This ‘Slayer,’ who has recruited a few allies, ambushed the vampires. The vampire died in the fight, but we escaped in order to provide this information, which he most certainly wants."
"Why, Ramirez," Kronos said with mock surprise, "one might think you take the Slayer for granted. I’ve seen a couple in my time."
"Well then, my friend," the Egyptian mused, "perhaps you should enlighten me with your wisdom, so as to prevent such a mistake from occurring again."
Chuckling to themselves, the assassins for hire retreated into the Sunnydale night to tell the Master their improvised tale.
Home of JP Withers
Location Unknown (the Wishverse)
Early hours
13 December
1998
JP teleported into this universe’s analog of the cave that he called home. Taking a quick look around, the original Bureau 13 Agent started cruising toward the cavern that passed for his living room. He didn’t bother keeping quiet, as he wanted to be located. He stopped at an intersection and waited. He wasn’t kept waiting for long.
The sound of a Masterson Assault Cannon being prepped to fire came from behind him. As JP began to grin, a familiar, raspy voice erupted.
"You have three seconds to turn around," JP Withers declared. "You then have ten seconds to tell me, in four words or less, why I shouldn’t blow you away."
JP turned around and grinned at his duplicate. "You’d ruin the outfit."
The brown-clothed Atlantean held the Masterson on JP. His raspy voice said, "What the Hell?"
"We need to talk, Aderron," JP said, puffing a cloud of smoke at Wish JP.
Wish JP growled and asked, "Okay, tell me what you are; simulacrum, clone, or practical joke by Horace?"
"JP Withers from an alternate universe."
Wish JP smiled. He dismissed the Masterson and said, "My next guess." He held out a hand, inviting JP to sit. "What do you want to talk about?"
JP waited for Wish JP to detach two Budweiser’s from the six-pack on his coffee table before answering. "We need to talk about Adrianna."
Wish JP stopped in mid-motion. Very slowly, he turned and faced his visitor. "I’m listening, Aderron."
"Did you ever have a talk with Michael about Adrianna?" JP gently asked. His soft tone would have shocked his fellow Agents, not to mention the other Immortals. "About her being reincarnated?"
Wish JP didn’t have to answer, because he was rapidly putting together the reason that his doppelganger had brought up the subject. He only said, "She’s come back?"
JP grinned in confirmation. "Short version. Her name is Buffy Summers. She’s in Sunnydale, California. She. . ."
"What is our daughter doing on the Hellmouth?!?" Wish JP demanded in anger.
The visiting Atlantean said, "MY daughter is one of the leaders of the group that’s come from MY reality to help YOUR daughter wipe out an army of vampires. My daughter is an Immortal Vampire Slayer."
"And the Adrianna of my reality?" Wish JP asked.
"Her name’s Buffy, she’s the Slayer for your reality, but she’s not Immortal. Not yet, anyway."
"I hope you won’t mind waiting while I check your story out with Michael?" Wish JP asked with a knowing grin.
JP shared the grin. "3. . ."
"2. . ."
"1. . ."
St. Michael the Avenger appeared right on cue, joining the others in the cave. He smiled at Wish JP and said, "Aderron, if you can’t trust your own dimensional duplicate from an alternate reality, who can you trust?"
Wish JP sighed. He tossed a can to JP. The two popped he tops, guzzled the beers in one long draught, and then threw the cans over their shoulders.
"Aaaahhh," both demons hunters said.
"Okay," Wish JP said with a vicious smile. "I’m in."
"Wait," Michael said in a booming voice. "Aderron. . ."
"Yeah, Mike?" both JP’s said in perfect unison.
Michael set his steely gaze on Wish JP. "Don’t *you* start. This Aderron, I am saying this once; you will not tell your daughter the truth until after the battle is done. Then, and only then, may you speak of this."
"Got it," Wish JP reluctantly agreed. He conjured up a cigarette, lit it up, and said, "Let’s hit the road."
Both JP Withers vanished, leaving the Archangel alone in the cave. Michael looked up at Heaven and said, "No, Lord. I cannot wait to see the looks on their faces either."
The General of the Divine Host vanished in flash of golden light.
Somewhere Else
Location Unknown (the Wishverse)
Early hours
13 December 1998
Robin popped into the room. After taking stock of his surroundings, he moved to the nearest wall. Its surface appeared to be crafted of solid, freshly polished brass. Robin checked his reflection, rubbed the surface with one sleeve to heighten its sheen, and took another look. Deeming himself to be presentable, the sprite proceeded to find his friend.
His friend slept in an oversized La-Z-Boy recliner, its footrest locked in the up position. The being was eight feet tall with blue skin covering his heavily muscled arms, torso, and barrel-like chest. He had a narrow waist and legs. He had large, pointed ears and a short, finely trimmed beard. He was dressed in a long red and white striped nightshirt, a matching hat with a fuzzy ball on the end, and bunny slippers.
Robin crept over to what appeared to be a compact disc player. He searched through the CD’s in the pile, and was surprised to find one that he could use. He slipped the disc into the player, placed the earphones on his friend’s head, and punched the play button.
Suddenly, the military tune used to wake up soldiers in the morning blared in the being’s ears. The blue-skinned man’s eyes flew open and he reacted instantly. His sleeping gear vanished, replaced by combat fatigues, jungle boots, and combat helmet. He clutched an M-16 in his hands and stood at rigid attention until he noticed Robin laughing at him. He snapped his fingers and changed into a third outfit; white pantaloons bound by a gold sash, with black pointed Arabian slippers.
"Robbie?!? What are YOU doing here? It’s been. . ." He cocked an eyebrow at the fairy. "How long?"
"One thousand, four hundred, seventy-two years," Goodfellow laughed. Looking his friend up and down, he approvingly said, "You haven’t changed a bit."
The other shrugged. "We’re Eternals. What brings you here?"
"Genie, my friend," the Merry Wanderer promised, "it’s actually pretty simple."
Robin and Genie’s eyes narrowed as Robin telepathically told him about the current situation. What would have taken a minimum of twenty minutes to explain verbally took Robin all of fifteen seconds to relay to the Arabian being.
Genie solemnly nodded. "You’re right. It’s so simple it’s pathetic," he said. His face fell, though. "I don’t know, Robbie. You know my track record with mortals."
"Genie. . ." Robin started.
Genie waved his hands to forestall an argument. "Robbie, you know how mortals are. They’re selfish, they’re abusive of my gifts, they take, take, take. . ."
"Genie!" Robin said to cut him off. "These guys are different. Trust me."
"Robbie, you’ve always loved humans, but you’ve never had been enslaved by them."
Robin sighed. "Point taken. But there are exceptions, Big Blue. Al, for one. Jasmine. Her dad. . ."
"And that’s pretty much it. Are you telling me things are different on the old stomping grounds nowadays?" the Arabian asked skeptically.
Robin sighed. "Look," he said, "granted, humans have a lot of shortcomings, but you never had the same opportunities I’ve had to see their finer points. And believe you me, I’ve spent the last four months getting a bird’s eye view of some finer examples of the breed."
"Oh really?" Genie asked. He folded his arms and said, "Robbie, you know I’m not the type to just tell you to go and pound sand, but your argument better be a good one to convince me."
"Okey dokey," the fairy said with a grin. "Well, let’s take the honcho running this little to-do. They call him the Wanderer. He’s an Immie carrying around Demon Slayer, the Fangs of Tyr, and Herc’s bracers."
"What?" Genie asked, his eyebrows rising a foot. "He’s got Herc’s sweatbands?"
"Yes, and Herc’s impressed with him. And you know that’s saying something. He’s also on the good sides of Fraggie, Smaugzilla, and Coyote," Robin offered. He started pacing and continued his argument. "Then there’s Buffy. An Immortal Slayer carrying a Sword of Destiny. And their teammates are just as brave, even though they’re mortal. Well, except for Randi."
Genie actually seemed slightly impressed thus far. "What are they like?"
"Well, lets talk about the hotties first. They’re all Amazons," Robin said with a shrug. "We have some witches, a few guys I empowered. . ."
"What?!?" Genie blurted out. "You went against Obe-Wan’s orders?!?"
"When the Glitter Twins speak, I listen," the sprite responded. "Now back to the Scooby Gang. Not only is this Slayer willing to work with outsiders, these outsiders include a werewolf, a gypsy, witches, like I said, and one of Millie’s kids."
"Is anyone willing to vouch for them?" the other Eternal asked doubtfully. "Anyone I could contact directly and get the scoop?"
"Oh, let’s see. . ." Robin said, rubbing his chin in mock rumination. "Okay. On my plane, the Wanderer works for Mer and Niume, is friends with the Dragons, has friendships with me, Coyote, and Obe owes him a favor or two. There’s JP Withers, who actually likes the kid, and is really close to Buffy, don’t ask me why. Joanie and Mike have spoken well of him on more than one occasion; in fact, our Armor Plated French Friend gave his new student her pigsticker."
"Joanie gave that up?" Genie asked, surprise obvious in his voice.
"Yep. And Arty, of all Eternals, speaks well of a man, Immortal or not."
Genie thought hard about what had been said. He glanced at the grinning fairy and said, "Okay, Robbie. You’ve got something else up your sleeve. What is it?"
"Well, Arthur’s awake on my plane and has followed Steve’s orders on more than one occasion, as has a Gargoyle that works with Art," Robin said. He upped the ante by saying, "And for this little jaunt, we brought along JP, as well as Sonja and Gabrielle."
"Conan’s old squeeze and Xena’s partner?" Genie asked. Impressed despite himself, he said, "And? You’re holding out on me, Rob. Spill it."
"Oh, the Wanderer found a little brass oil lamp on one of his antique trips," Robin said, buffing his fingernails on his shirt. "After making two wishes that gave a bunch of less than fortunate people things to make their lives better, he freed the Djinn. Remember your third cousin, two generations removed, through your mother’s father’s mother’s mother’s side?"
"Rashid. . ." Genie mused before getting the point. "He freed him?"
"Gladly. And you should have heard what Rashid did when Khadaffi tried to put a bounty on the Wanderer’s head." Robin let out a chuckle. "Poor Mommar nearly wet his pants."
"Rashid always was the red camel in the family," Genie said with a grin. "You know, you almost have me convinced. Is there anything else you’re holding back?"
"One thing," Robin said, hitting the make it or break it point. "Steve was partially responsible for ending the Game and getting the Immies on the right track."
"He found that post-it note that. . ."
"Yes, finally. But don’t mention it, or we’re in for a world of hurt. And you can’t mention it here."
The Genie looked convinced, but said, "What do you want me to do?"
"Just handle transport right now," Robin said, vastly relieved. "Once we go after the Master, you and I will handle things in our own unique fashion. We’ll be following orders, but you know how good I am at interpreting them."
Genie perked up. "Okay, Robbie. I’m in."
"Glad to hear it, Big Blue," Robin said with a smile. "Now. . ."
"What SHALL I wear?" Genie asked himself, cutting off Robin in mid-sentence. He started to snap his fingers.
With each snap, a different outfit appeared on him, beginning with a Roman Legionnaire, going to a Civil War-era Union Army Colonel, to an Egyptian Pharaoh, then to a Japanese samurai, which then morphed into a suit of plate mail armor, to a Zulu chieftain’s outfit, into a 17th century French trapper’s buckskins, onto a pure white aba which appeared to be copied directly from Peter O’Toole’s Lawrence of Arabia costume, which changed into Cheyenne war dress (with full face paint), to a Greek warrior princess (complete with chakram), which then flowed into the black suit, tie, shoes, and sunglasses of one of the Blues Brothers, to a cowboy outfit remarkably similar to John Wayne’s garb from the movie True Grit (including the eye patch), into a yellow and red Hulkamania t-shirt and bandana. . .
"Genie!" Robin said trying to halt the impromptu fashion show. "It’s strictly come as you are."
Genie stopped and looked at Robin. He changed back to the pantaloons. "No dress code?"
Robin shrugged. "It’s California."
"Hmmm." Genie rubbed his chin. "Good point."
"First of all," Robin said as he pulled out a sheathed sword and tossed it to the azure-skinned man, "go get the guy who belongs to this. As I always say, the more the merrier."
Genie placed the sword through his sash and said, "Got it. Before we go, did they make a movie about me on the old stomping grounds?"
"Disney cartoon," the sprite replied. "Robin Williams did you. He caught your personality perfectly."
With a sour look, Genie said, "I had to put up with a live action Jim Carrey over here."
"That *is* sad," Robin agreed with a shudder. "But let’s get moving. See you on the Hellmouth."
With a mock salute, Genie disappeared in a flash. Robin promptly did the same.
317 Bryant Terrace
Sunnydale, California (the Wishverse)
Early hours
13 December
1998
As the battle group returned to the house, the residents of this universe were shocked to see more of the people clad in battle armor with the golden symbol adorning the chest area.
Giles took in the professionalism of these people and decided that he could chance a question. He looked at the tall, dark-haired man who was apparently the leader of the group. "Would it now be permissible to ask who you are, sir?"
The man stopped short of the front door and smiled. "The whole story will be told inside, but I’ll tell you a little about myself. Officially, I’m Steve St. Wolf, field commander of Section Seven, which is the CIA’s version of your own Special Air Service and Royal Marines."
Despite dreading what answer would be coming up next, Giles ventured, "And unofficially?"
The man pointed at the cup on his breastplate. "Giles, I’m a Knight Lieutenant in the Order of the Grail." Before Giles could protest about the Order being a legend, the man came up close and whispered to him. "Giles, please. I’ll tell you everything inside, where we can discuss this business at our leisure. Suffice it to say that your Slayer knows about us, and she’s done surprisingly well under VERY difficult circumstances. So please bear with me."
Giles searched the man’s eyes, but saw nothing but honesty, courage, and compassion. Despite himself, the Watcher was impressed with this man he didn’t know. "Very well, Mr. St. Wolf," he consented, "we will comply. But may we at least know what to expect?"
Wish Buffy snickered, as did the small, dark-haired woman who bore no armaments other than a sword.
"What is so amusing?" the perturbed librarian asked.
"Oh, nothing, Ripper," the woman said with a demure smile.
Giles stared at her in shock. With a dry whisper he asked, "How did you know that name?"
"Oh, you’ll see, Jeeves," Wish Buffy joked. "Come on, Rambo. Let’s get this over with."
"Right," St. Wolf dryly agreed. He opened the door and said, "Giles, Larry, Oz, welcome to the Section Seven command post. I think you’ll recognize some of the people we have under our command."
Giving the grinning Knight a suspicious look, Giles led the way in, followed shortly thereafter by Oz and Larry.
The three men walked into the living room, which was a hotbed of activity as armor-clad commandos and uniformed police officers worked together, taking a large amount of drugs out of the house.
Giles asked St. Wolf, "Sir, what are those narcotics doing here?"
"Well," the warrior admitted, "we kind of commandeered a drug house as our HQ. The Sunnydale PD is being kind enough to deal with the drugs for us."
"I see," Giles mused. He could appreciate that the two organizations were getting along. Something Steve had said came back to mind. "Mr. St. Wolf, might I talk with those you said I am familiar with?"
"Of course," Steve said. Leading the way into another room, he pushed the door open and stood aside. "Please, don’t hesitate."
"Thank you," Giles said. He walked in and promptly stopped dead at the sight before him. He just watched in silence as a couple of people conversed as if he weren’t there.
Vamp Willow stared curiously at the laptop Willow had plugged into a phone jack in the counterpart to Steve’s computer room. She licked her lips eagerly and asked, "What IS that, Will?"
"Oh, it’s a little something Steve’s friends whipped up," the witch answered as her fingers whipped over the keyboard. "It’s a 1500 MHz Pentium 7 laptop. What do you think?"
"Oh my God," Vamp Willow breathed. "This thing shouldn’t exist outside of a sci-fi movie. I don’t suppose we have anything like that here, do we?"
"Don’t worry," the longer-haired twin replied. She grinned at Vamp Willow and said, "It’s staying here when we leave."
Vamp Willow’s eyes grew wide as she realized what that meant. She flew forward and hugged Willow, squeezing for all she was worth. "Thank you thank you thank you!!!"
"Uh," the Slayerette squeaked as the others laughed, "oxygen becoming an issue here."
Vamp Willow stepped back. She sheepishly said, "Sorry."
"Don’t worry," she said. She looked at the door and saw Giles standing there. "Giles? What’s wrong?"
The vamp and everyone else in the room turned and saw him standing there. Vamp Xander looked at Vamp Willow and asked, "Why do I get the feeling that’s *our* Watcher?"
"Because you don’t know when to be quiet over the Hellmouth," Giles replied from behind him.
Giles, Larry, and Oz all stared at the crowd in the room. Each man saw a pair of Xanders, a pair of Willows, a second Oz, a second Buffy, a living, breathing Cordelia Chase, and. . .
"Oh, dear Lord," Wish Giles muttered.
"Hello, G-Man," Giles said in greeting. When everyone looked at him, he said, "Why should Xander be the only one who can say that?"
Larry looked at the blank looks of shock on Giles and Oz’s faces. "Uh, Giles? Was that spell supposed to erase our universe or Xerox™ it?"
317 Bryant Terrace
Sunnydale, California (the Wishverse)
Early hours
13 December
1998
After forty-five seconds of stunned silence, Giles spoke for the assembled warriors. "You cast that temporal folding spell?"
Startled by the question from his doppelganger, Wish Giles said, "I was attempting to undo the wish Anyanka granted to Cordelia Chase. Something went wrong, though. I seem to have merely neutralized her power center."
"What the bloody Hell do they teach you at the Watcher’s Academy these days?" Giles snapped in frustration. "Don’t you know that only the person who made the wish in the first place can negate it with a spell?"
Wish Giles bristled at his double’s tone of voice. "Well, what would you have done?"
"Well, I would have destroyed her power center," Giles said without hesitation. "With a paperweight, or perhaps a hammer."
"That’s our G-Man," a second Xander said. "Finesse is his middle name. . ."
"Shut up, Xander," Cordelia said. Off of the stares shot her way by Wish Giles, Wish Oz, and Larry, she said, "What?"
"Y-y-you’re dead!" Wish Giles stammered. "I watched Xander and Willow kill you!"
"That wasn’t me," she drawled. "That was the other me."
Of course, that answer only led to more confusion.
"Right. . ." Wish Oz murmured, "the other you?" He shook his head. "I’m officially wigged."
"Welcome to the club," Vamp Xander mentioned.
His comment drew Wish Giles’ attention, in addition to the other White Hats. Wish Giles turned to his Slayer and demanded, "Are you mad? Those two---"
Wish Buffy rolled her eyes and drawled, "Chill out, Jeeves. The previous tenants got their leases back."
Wish Giles raked his hand through his hair in frustration. "What the devil are you talking about, Slayer?"
"Mr. Giles, if I may?" the woman named Jenkins interrupted. With a reluctant nod from him, she said, "According to Mr. St. Wolf, some of his operatives used witchcraft to restore the souls to the vampire halves of these sets of twins."
"Twins?!?" Wish Giles snapped out loud. "What kind of idiotic governmental agency line have they been feeding you?!?"
"That’s what they told me, Mr. Giles," the officer replied in a frosty tone. "And before you say anything more about ‘idiotic governmental agencies’ a second time, let me tell you of several things. First of all, *I* worked for MI6, so when you insult government agents, you insult me. Second, a *small* group of operatives from this unit, including your Slayer, literally wiped out that group of vampires sent to kill you at the school in less than ten minutes. Third, the twin of your Slayer is this unit’s second in command. If I were you, I’d show a little respect for the people who saved your life. Especially the two children who just had their souls restored and are helping with the battle plan to eliminate the Master once and for all."
At the last remark, Wish Giles turned to the man called St. Wolf. "You trust them? Are you DAFT?!?"
"Hey, they’re souled now, okay?" the other Buffy reminded him.
Larry, who’d been silent for the most part, finally spoke up. "Oh, okay, they’re souled now. That doesn’t mean that all is forgiven for all our friends they’ve killed."
"Hey," Vamp Xander snapped, catching everyone’s attention. They saw tears forming in his eyes. "Here’s an idea. Let’s just pretend me and Will already feel horribly guilty over that and you don’t have to keep reminding us."
"Do you honestly expect us to believe you?" Wish Giles scoffed.
"I do," Wish Buffy responded.
"I told you this was a mistake," the vampire snapped in disgust. "They’re not going to accept us."
Wish Giles demanded, "And why should we? Having souls doesn’t make up for what you’ve done!"
"I know," a tall, dark-haired man in a duster said softly. The others in the room looked at him. They could see old, sharp pain in his eyes. "It never can. But you can at least let them try."
"And may I ask who you are, sir?"
"Hey, Giles," Larry said. He looked at his mentor and said, "He’s the vamp who helped us kick vampire ass at the factory."
Wish Giles and Jenkins both regarded the stranger with suspicion. Wish Giles asked, "You aided the Slayer? Against your fellow vampires?"
"Let’s just say. . ." The man glanced at Wish Buffy, then at the lovely, dark-haired woman who had called him "Ripper" at the library. She flashed a mysterious smile at him. "I have my reasons."
The cop’s mouth opened a bit, but Wish Giles cut off any comment she would have made. "What reasons would those be?"
"Destiny, for one," the man answered. Then, very softly, he said, "Redemption, for another."
Wish Giles stopped short at the sincere emotion in the vampire’s voice. "And who are you?" he asked, his voice a whisper.
"You’d know who I used to be," the man said as he looked the Watcher straight in the eyes. After a few seconds, he gave his chilling answer.
"Angelus."
Wish Giles paled and nearly passed out on the spot. "Oh, dear God."
The dark-haired woman glided forward and said, "Rupert, Angel has spent the last one hundred years attempting to make up for his sins. And I have forgiven him for what he did to my family."
"Who are you?" Wish Oz asked.
"My name is Jenny Calendar," the woman replied proudly. "But I was born Jenna Kalendish. I’m sure you’ll know THAT name."
"The Gypsy clan that cursed Angelus," Wish Giles breathed. He looked at the entire assemblage and, with a touch of fear, asked, "Who are you people?"
"We’re the ones who the vampires and demons piss their pants in fear over," a raspy voice called from behind the Watcher.
Wish Giles turned to see yet another set of twins. The main difference in these two was that they were adults whose eyes sent cold shivers running up and down the Watcher’s spine from the complete lack of mercy in them.
Trying to maintain his composure, the librarian asked, "Who are you?"
"The name’s JP Withers," both men said in perfect unison.
The double of the vampire Xander said, "You know, I can’t wait to get back to reality."
"Shut up, Xander," Cordelia snapped at him.
"I fear I’m getting a headache," Wish Giles moaned. "Will someone please explain what’s going on?"
Jenkins turned to St. Wolf. "I’d like an explanation, also. Who are you people? And don’t give me the Top Secret crap."
St. Wolf looked at Wish Giles and said, "Both Giles, Jenny, Sergeant Jenkins, Buffy, both JP’s, stay. Everyone else, please give us some privacy. Xander, ask Eddie and Mulder to oversee the officers’ departure. Also, you kids start rotating guard duty and making our guests feel at home."
"Got it," the living version of Xander replied.
Most of the people exited the room, leaving the few senior people there. After the door closed behind them, Wish Giles asked, "Now, Mr. St. Wolf, perhaps you’d be willing to be forthcoming with me?"
"Of course, Giles," the Knight of the Grail said with a terse nod. "You mentioned casting a temporal folding spell in an attempt to undo the wish made by this universe’s version of Cordelia Chase."
Wish Giles nodded. "Yes, I tried to. . . ." The Watcher stopped as he replayed the Knight’s words in his memory. He stuttered, "T-t-t-this universe?!?"
Jenkins also caught the phrasing. "THIS universe? What is going on here?"
The other Giles stepped forward and asked, "Rupert, are you familiar with Einstein’s theories of alternate realities?"
Although thrown by the question for a second, Wish Giles quickly caught on. "Of course! I am familiar with the theories, but only in the scientific context. I never considered them in a magical form. . .
Giles smiled and said, "It was quite surprising to us as well. What we’ve deduced so far is that. . ."
"Ahem," Jenny Calendar said. When both Giles looked at her, she sternly said, "Ruperts, fighting vampires, now. Long, boring analyses, later."
"She never lets me have any fun," Giles told the Watcher with a smirk.
"I beg your pardon?"
Jenny sighed at Giles’ antics. "Rupert, in *our* universe, Rupert and I are engaged. I’m his fiancée."
Wish Giles coolly appraised the beautiful woman for a moment, then cocked his right eyebrow in response. He glanced at St. Wolf and the other Buffy. The commander of this army just nodded with a smile, while Buffy giggled at the look on his face.
He sighed as he leaned over the table. "I wonder how I’m going to record this in the Diaries."
"Well," Giles said, "you could look at the bright side. It’ll irritate Quenton Travers to no end."
Wish Giles chuckled. He dryly said, "There is that." He turned back to St. Wolf. "Very well, Mr. St. Wolf, now that the tension has been relieved a bit, please proceed."
"Thanks," the dark-haired warrior said. "Here’s what we know. Your temporal folding spell somehow went awry, which caused it to send four people from this universe to OUR universe."
"Wait a minute!" Jenkins interjected. She slowly said, "Are you telling me you’re from another dimension?"
"No, an alternate reality," Steve reiterated. He smiled at Jenkins’ glare. "I’m sorry, but would you have believed us? Even Duncan?"
She stiffened again, leading Wish Giles to wonder what the problem was. She finally said, "I’m going to kill that bastard. I hope you won’t stop me, St. Wolf."
St. Wolf shrugged. "Hey, he brings it on himself. Besides, I had to put up with being his student for seven months," he joked. "But please, call me Steve. Now back to business. Giles, the four people who ended up in our reality were your Buffy, Angel, and the vampire versions of Willow and Xander. They were scattered across the U. S., but suffice it to say that they converged on the Hellmouth in our universe at the same time. After several hours of mix-ups and near misses, we discussed things with Angel and a friend he made in our reality. It was at that point that we figured out the situation and took steps to rectify it."
"How so?" Wish Giles asked, waiting patiently for the man to finish the tale.
"First, we captured your Willow and Xander," Steve said, not commenting on the wince made by the Watcher. "We used magic, with a little help from an occasional informant of ours, to restore their souls. They are repentant, Giles; it was the demons who did this to them, and they wanted to commit suicide upon the resouling. Luckily, Angel was able to talk them out of it."
"Regarding the vampires," Wish Giles asked, "what are your plans concerning them?"
"After the fight, that’s up to them," the other Giles said. "We were hoping to prevail upon you to allow them to help you in your endeavors against the Darkness."
Wish Giles stared at the man. "WHAT?!? You expect me to allow them near my friends?"
"Giles," Buffy said, surprising Wish Giles with her tender voice, "your Buffy trusts them. She actually asked for their advice on stuff when we were planning to come here. Do you think we would’ve brought them with us if we didn’t trust them?"
Wish Giles muttered, "I’m not certain of anything at this point."
"I’ll make it short," Steve promised. He looked at Jenkins and said, "Sergeant Jenkins, you may have noticed that we have agents from more than one agency. What I’m about to tell you will be hard to believe, but it’s completely necessary that you keep this to yourself. After we’re gone, depending on what the situation is, you can report to Detective Stein. I’m sure that Giles would like your help against the vampires."
The woman nodded. "I’ll think about that."
"Good," St. Wolf replied. He looked at both of the Wishverse residents at once. "Okay, here’s the story. Our group is more than just Federal Agents and military operatives. I know it’ll be hard to believe, but please bear with me. Giles, you know about the Slayers, of course." When Wish Giles nodded, the man continued his briefing. "Well, we also have a seven member team of the FBI’s covert operations division, who specialize in dealing with supernatural threats. Also amongst our group are a number of martial arts masters, numerous ex-Special Forces fighters, and a few Amazons."
Wish Giles paused in a reply, but the woman from the Sunnydale PD said, "Amazons? The Amazons are still alive?"
"Yes, we are," the Gypsy replied with a tiny grin. "We may be few in number, but we live and are charged to battle the forces of Darkness in Lady Artemis’ name."
"You’ve got to cut back on hanging with Giles, Jenny," Buffy murmured. "You’re starting to talk like him."
"Artemis exists?" Wish Giles asked in an awed whisper.
"Who do you think sent us here?" one of the twins named JP Withers replied with a grin through the cigarette smoke obscuring parts of his face.
Wish Giles gazed off into space as he considered the information that had been revealed to him. "What about your versions of Oz and Xander? They can’t be Amazons."
"They’ve been given equal empowerments by Robin Goodfellow," Giles answered. "As have I."
"I beg your pardon?" the Watcher from this universe asked. "Could you repeat that?"
"I was empowered by Robin Goodfellow," Giles assured him. "He should be back shortly. . ."
"Do you really expect me to believe you’ve been empowered by a fairy from fiction?" Wish Giles asked in a perturbed voice. "As much as I don’t want to admit it, I do believe you about the alternate realities. But THIS is a bit much.
Giles grinned and said, "If you’d care to take up quarterstaffs and test that that theory, I would be more than happy to oblige, Rupert."
Seeing the honesty coming through his double’s eyes, Wish Giles whispered, "Oh, my God."
"Ah, I’m not *that* good," a cheerful voice told the Watcher. When Wish Giles turned around, he saw a young man standing there with a grin that nearly reached ear to ear. "But thanks for the compliment."
"Who are YOU?" Wish Giles asked, frustrated at the appearance of yet another unknown person.
"That’s Robin Goodfellow," Sergeant Jenkins responded with a dry chuckle. She held up a hand to forestall any response from Wish Giles. "We’ve already been introduced."
Wish Giles was now starting to feel overwhelmed. "My God, Mr. St. Wolf. What in God’s name is going on here?"
"Well, we need to get some more allies, from people who reside on your world," Steve replied. "We already have a list from Artemis Herself. Then, we make plans to take the fight to the Master."
"And when the battle is over. . .?" Wish Giles asked, looking at Steve through hooded eyes.
Buffy answered him. "We clean up the neighborhood, set you up with some phone numbers to call if you need help, and head home."
Wish Giles said, "You will head back to your universe, and leave us to fight the good fight on our own?"
"My boss was very adamant about that, Giles," Steve said in an apologetic tone. "The best we can do is help you make contact with others in this reality."
Wish Giles looked strangely reassured. "Thank you, Mr. St. Wolf. I like that idea."
"Finally, someone who thinks like I do," the man claiming to be a fairy chimed in. "I didn’t even want you guys to come here in the first place."
Wish Giles turned to Robin, a curious look on his face. "If you think this whole crossing into alternate worlds thing is ill advised, why are you here?"
"And let these guys go off in your universe unsupervised?" the fairy snapped with a shudder. "I’m trying to save a world, not destroy it."
"You think they would cause any harm?" Jenkins asked in surprise.
"Look, Celtic Lady," Robin said with a sigh. "These guys work with teenagers. American teenagers."
"Good point," Wish Giles and Jenkins said together.
"Giles," Steve said, raising a finger, "I hope you understand that we can’t let you go home tonight. You, Larry, and Oz will have to stay with us. The sun will be up in a few hours, and then we can get some sleep before we go after the vampires."
"I understand, Mr. St. Wolf," Wish Giles said without any hint of defiance. "A question, if I may?"
"Shoot," St. Wolf said.
"Do you really believe that you can engage an army of vampires with firearms?" the Watcher asked, keenly interested in the answer.
Steve pulled out a magazine and took one of the bullets out. He showed Wish Giles the etchings in the bullet. "We have three types of ammunition on this expedition. The first are these enchanted silver rounds with Demon Killer spells etched into the rounds. Any head or heart shot will kill a demon or vampire. The second ammunition is bullets made of condensed wood and wax from holy candles. Those are for when we’re fighting vampires alone. The third is standard NATO-issue armor piercing ammunition, like that in the M60 you saw one of my operatives carrying. The reason that ammo will work is because it’s been blessed by a Catholic priest that works with his unit." Steve replaced the ammunition and said, "Plus, most of the people in our unit are masters with swords, some of which are very powerful."
"How so?" the Sergeant asked, a trace of worry in her voice.
"Giles, Sergeant Jenkins," St. Wolf said, drawing a sword, "meet Demon Slayer."
Sergeant Jenkins nodded; she’d seen the Sword up close. But Wish Giles was literally stunned. "MY GOD!!!" he whispered. "Mr. St. Wolf, do you realize what that is?"
"Of course, Giles," the man told him. "I told you I’m a Knight Lieutenant. What I didn’t mention at the time was that I’m Merlin’s personal champion, as well."
Wish Giles’ eyes flashed in doubt, so the double of the Slayer said, "Uh, Giles, not to outdo my honey, but. . ."
"Your ‘honey?’" Wish Giles said in anger.
With a sigh, Buffy pulled out a similar glowing sword. "Take a look, Giles. Take a good, long look."
Wish Giles stared at the glowing characters on the blade of the katana in her hands for several seconds. Seeing the two Swords together, he slowly nodded. "I’m sorry. I didn’t know."
"It gets better," the alternate Slayer told him. "Remember Randi? The girl who helped your Buffy bail you out?" At his nod, she said, "She carries Joan of Arc’s sword."
The police Sergeant looked positively shocked by the announcement, but Wish Giles recovered fairly quickly. "I thought it was a replica," he dryly admitted with a chuckle. "My mistake."
Jenkins sighed and said, "You’re taking this awfully well."
"Miss Jenkins, I am a Watcher," Wish Giles offered. "I knew this world had been altered by Anyanka, but now I have unfortunately made this world permanent."
"Oh please," Goodfellow said with a roll of his eyes. "That broad was lying. The only thing the wish affected was Buffy and Sunnydale. Like that would change the whole world. Poor Anya never could get over her own ego. I tell you, the only good thing about her was a great body. . ." Off their looks, he sheepishly admitted, "We used to date. So sue me."
"That is one scary thought," Buffy muttered.
"Excuse me," one of the JP’s said, "but where’s your friend, Goodfellow?"
"He’s going to pick up the first of our allies, JP," the fairy answered with a grin. "Let’s just say that I want to get the ball rolling in style."
"Meaning you want to bring in an ally we can’t top," Giles translated for those who didn’t know the fairy.
"You know me too well."
Wish Giles sighed. "Am I the only one who thinks that is a frightening thought?"
Giles and Jenny shook their heads.
"So just who is this friend of yours?" Buffy asked with a bit of trepidation.
"Let’s just say that even Disney didn’t do him as much justice as he deserved," the fairy shrugged.
As he walked out, no one knew what to make of that statement. Nor did they want to.
Somewhere Else
Someplace Else (the Wishverse)
Early hours
13 December 1998
The Genie appeared in a shower of sparkles. He glanced around and nodded when he found what he was looking for. He walked over to the entrance of a cave, which was blocked off with a large piece of steel that easily cleared fifty tons.
Genie cracked his knuckles and extended his right arm, his hand shaped in the form of a finger gun. A bolt of energy shot from his index finger and wrapped itself around the metal blocking the entrance. The metal split in two, revealing that is was a doorway. After the metal halves opened up to a ninety-degree angle, the magical being walked into the cave.
He stopped and looked around, unmindful of the mist swirling around his ankles. He walked in a bit further and heard someone groaning, farther inside. He continued forward and finally came upon a cavern, in the middle of which was a stone bier. Sitting up upon the bier was a man in his late thirties, with dark black hair and a well-trimmed mustache and beard. The man stood six feet tall, and was in excellent shape, his lean muscles showing even underneath his plate mail armor.
The man cautiously looked around, getting his bearings. When his gaze fell upon the smiling Genie, he rolled off the bier, taking a defensive stance. Without the slightest trace of fear, despite being unarmed, the man called out, "What manner of being are you?"
The Genie conjured up a Hawaiian-style shirt, as well as a microphone and a set of headphones. In a loud voice, he shouted, "Goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood mornin’ Arthur Peeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! This isn’t a test, it’s time to save the world!"
Genie dismissed his props and took out the sheathed weapon from his sash. He tossed it to the cautious man and grinned. "I believe you two know each other?"
The warrior slowly drew the weapon out of the scabbard, his eyes shining as much as the blue aura that surrounded the blade of the weapon. He nodded once in awe and began to perform a warm up exercise with the enchanted weapon. After about five minutes, he stopped and replaced the sword in the sheath.
"Sir, I know not who you are," the knight began, "but I thank you for returning Excalibur to me. I take it that my awakening was intended?"
"Oh, I suppose you could say that, Art," Genie said with a silly smile. "But you’ve been napping a long time."
"What is the year?" the man asked cautiously.
"December 13, 1998," the blue-skinned man answered. "But I’ll help you out."
Genie shot a bolt of magic at the knight, who was enveloped in magical light for several seconds. The magic faded, leaving the man with a look of surprised interest on his face.
"I see," he admitted with a grave nod. "The world has changed much in my absence. But now, may I ask who you are? Are you a friend?"
"Art, old pal," the Genie said with a clap on Arthur’s shoulders, "you ain’t ever had a friend like me."
Arthur didn’t comment on that. "Let us go."
317 Bryant Terrace
Sunnydale, California (the Wishverse)
Early hours
13 December
1998
Steve had just led most of the others out, but Robin gripped JP’s arm. When the Atlantean looked at him strangely, Robin said, "Okay, Aderron. Tell me what’s going on."
"What do you mean?" JP asked while his double just watched.
"I saw the way the other JP looked at Buffy," the fairy replied. He gave JP a grin and said, "Despite my reputation, I’m quick on the uptake. Now tell me what’s going on."
JP looked at Wish JP, who shrugged. JP sighed and told Robin, "This stays between us." When Robin shrugged, the demon hunter whispered, "Buffy, both ours and the one from this universe, is the reincarnation of my youngest daughter, Adrianna. I told my double, both because this Buffy’s alone, and because I thought he should know."
Robin’s eyes went wide at this revelation. "Okay, at exactly what point did you decide to ignore the rules Merlin set down?"
"Ah, those were just for the kids," JP grinned through his cigarette.
"No, they were for everyone," the fairy reminded the other. "Including you."
JP chuckled without concern. "Come on, Goodfellow, I have to tell him about---"
"You don’t tell them shit, JP." Robin started shaking his head. "Mer’s rules, remember?"
Now JP was looking offended. He moved into Robin’s face and blew a cloud of smoke into the sprite’s eyes. "Listen, punk---"
To his shock, as well as Wish JP’s, Robin grabbed JP by the collar of his coat and slammed him into the wall. JP was stunned to see a sort of dark look in Robin’s face as the fairy got within inches of JP’s nose.
"You may be hot shit to everyone else, pal," the Goodfellow hissed with a note of evil intent in his voice, "but I’m almost 40,000 years older than you." JP’s eyes went wide, and Robin smiled without any humor in the expression. "Yeah, never knew that, did you? Don’t let my behavior fool you. I’ve forgotten more about magic and dimensions and mayhem than you could ever hope to learn. I’ll take the disrespect from the kids, I like them. But don’t give me any attitude, got it?"
"So?" JP dryly asked, "you can only use your powers to fight evil, right?"
"Looked in a mirror lately, JP?" the Merry Wanderer retorted. "I know a dozen loopholes with you and I’ll use them."
"Oh, I like him," Wish JP said with a grin. "But I have to wonder if he’d treat Mike like he’s treating you."
Robin was caught off guard. "Mike?" he asked. He looked back and forth between the two. "What’s Mike got to do with this?"
"Who do you think told me I could tell Adrianna about us after the fight?" Wish JP grinned to the fairy’s discomfort. When Robin sighed and let JP go, the Wishverse version said, "But thanks for the show, Goodfellow."
"Yeah, right," the fairy sighed. "Why didn’t you just say so?"
"And miss the chance to get you in my debt?" JP replied with a grin. "Not likely."
JP conjured up a new cigarette and lit it up. Robin gave him a sour look and asked, "Could you put that thing out?"
"What’s it gonna do, kill me?" Withers asked with a derisive tone.
"We are hanging out with non-Immortals here," Robin reminded the demon hunters. "Besides, I have my standards."
"Yeah, right."
Robin reached up and yanked the cigarette out of JP’s mouth. He opened his mouth and flipped the cigarette onto his tongue. He closed his mouth, chewed it a bit, and swallowed. He then walked off to stares from JP.
Wish JP chuckled. "Man, that was pure us. Did that hurt?"
"Yep," Robin answered.
"Going to throw up?" Wish JP asked.
"Yep," Robin answered.
A series of startled gasps caught their attention, and Robin led the way into the living room.
Steve and his operatives rapidly drew their weapons out when two more people appeared in the living room. The new arrivals looked around and the larger of the two, a blue-skinned man with a beard, sighed.
"Robbie was right," he lamented. "You kids do need to switch to decaf."
Steve began shaking his head in frustration. "You could have knocked, you know."
"Rob said time was of the essence," the azure man replied with a grin.
Buffy asked, "Did he really say that?"
"Well, his exact words aren’t for young ears," was the reply.
Steve nodded and the people replaced their weapons. Steve walked up to the shorter man, a human, and held out his hand. "Arthur, it’s good to meet you."
"Aye, Sir Steve," Arthur replied with a hearty handshake. "Your friend has told me of the situation. I am honored to add my sword to your cause."
"Thanks," the Wanderer said. He looked at the White Hats and said, "Giles, Larry, Oz, allow me to introduce our first ally from YOUR universe. This is Arthur Pendragon, King of England, bearer of Excalibur, and one of the Nine."
Wish Giles was stammering at the arrival of a living legend less than ten feet from him. He quickly went to his knees and said, "Your Majesty. Rupert Giles, descendant of Sir Henry Giles, at your service."
Arthur walked up to Wish Giles and said, "Sir Rupert, I will not have you bow before me. My time as King has passed. I will no longer be served. Rather, I will repay the service given me by your ancestor, by serving your cause, and that of your Slayer."
Wish Giles stood up and stared at the Once and Future King in awe. "I thank you, Sire." He looked at Larry and Wish Oz. "Don’t you have anything to say?"
Larry cocked his head and said, "Well, yeah. I thought he was a redhead."
"That way in the books," Wish Oz seconded.
Wish Giles just stared at his charges as Arthur and the Slayerettes chuckled in good humor.
Off to the side, both Willows and Xanders were staring at Robin’s friend in astonishment.
"Uh," Willow said quietly, "please tell me Robin’s friend isn’t looking like who I think he’s looking like."
"Yeah, it’s looking like him," Vamp Willow said just as quietly.
"Great," Xander moaned, "all we need now are the carpet, the parrot, and the monkey."
Vamp Xander looked at his double. "Does this kind of thing happen to you a lot?"
Xander nodded ruefully. "Yeah. Tuesdays seem to be the worst." He looked over at the Arthur/Steve discussion and started to shake. "Oh shit! Everyone take cover."
Steve looked at Robin and said, "Now I’ve seen everything."
"Wanna bet?" the fairy grinned as he watched Arthur. "Take a look."
The Wanderer watched as Arthur eyed Sonja’s assault rifle.
He bowed to the Immortal, then straightened. "My Lady, may I borrow your weapon for a moment?"
Sonja looked somewhat reluctant, but handed it over when Gabrielle nodded mischievously. When Steve heard Xander tell people to take cover, she began to step back.
Steve worriedly said, "Arthur, that---"
He stopped when Arthur pulled the magazine out, opened the chamber, and went through a complete examination process like a twenty-year veteran. Arthur finished his inspection and handed the weapon back to Sonja.
"A most impressive weapon. Fine condition," the King of England said with a nod of confidence. "But I would prefer Excalibur for short range fighting. Do you have something for long range combat?"
Steve stared at Arthur for several seconds before turning to the Genie. The Arabian shrugged nonchalantly.
"Hey, Robbie told me how Arthur’s going around on your world," Genie said easily. His grin became wider and he said, "So, I thought I’d give him the telepathic crash course. I think you’ll agree, it saves a lot of time."
"You always have to be flashy," Robin told his friend, who returned his grin.
"I’m getting to old for this shit," St. Wolf muttered to himself. He looked at the vampire kids and asked, "Okay. Willow, Xander? Do you know where we could get a bite to eat?"
"The Bronze," Vamps Willow and Xander answered off the bat. When they saw the sick looks on the faces of the others, they muttered, "Sorry. . . force of habit."
"Okay, here’s what we’re going to do," Steve said. "Buffy, you and Giles arrange a rotating guard, two hour shifts. Most of us have been going all night, so we need some rest. Make sure everyone gets as much sleep as they can."
"Uh, Steve," Buffy asked with a frown, "just where are we supposed to sleep? On the floor?"
"Allow me," Genie said. He snapped his fingers to no apparent effect. He said, "I just converted the drug room into a mini barracks. Beds and rollout couches for all in there and in the bedrooms."
"Showoff," Robin said with a chuckle.
"Gee, thanks for privacy," Cordelia complained.
"Later," Steve barked. "Does anyone have anything else to say?"
"DIBS on the master bedroom!" Vamp Willow shouted, waving her right hand in the air.
"That’s not what I meant---"
"She called it, Steve," Buffy said with a grin. "Come on, it’s their universe, let them have it."
Shaking his head, Steve said, "Enough. Robin, JP, I assume you have the list of who’s supposedly trustworthy in this reality?"
"Yep," JP grinned. He looked at Robin and asked, "So, who goes with whom?"
"Hmmm," Robin mused while rubbing his chin. He looked at the other three people capable of easy teleportation. "Steve and Duncan, come with me. JP from this universe, take Connor. Our JP, take Keighvin and Tannim. Mulder and Scully are with Genie."
"You’re sticking us with the Genie?" Mulder asked skeptically.
"Of course I am," Robin said with no trace of humor. "He’ll keep you in line."
"Hey!" Mulder snapped.
"Knock it off!" St. Wolf said in disgust. "Some days it just doesn’t pay to command a covert operations unit. Buffy, start rotating the people."
"Got it, honey," the Slayer said as the groups began vanishing. Once Genie teleported out with Mulder and Scully, she regarded her double. "And you think your life’s weird."
"Point taken," Wish Buffy replied.
DeSalvo's Gym
Seacouver, Washington (the Wishverse)
Early hours
13 December
1998
Duncan MacLeod started as the Buzz went off in his head. He sat up, shaking off his drowsiness, and removed the sheets that covered both him and the woman next to him. He stood up as he began to walk toward the elevator.
His actions also awakened the woman who shared his bed. With a drowsy voice, she murmured, "Duncan?"
The dark-eyed Scot turned to his love and said, "Someone's downstairs."
She knew what the Immortal meant by that. She sat up and brought the sheets up to her neck. "What are you going to do?"
Duncan sighed. He moved to the dresser and pulled out a pair of sweat pants. As he donned them, he ordered her, "Stay here. I'll try to convince them to leave, or to move the duel somewhere else. I don't want you to risk yourself."
"But, Duncan---"
He moved over to the bed with the grace of a hunting cat. He placed a solitary finger over her lips and said, "We've had this discussion before. If they're here for my head, then there will be no way to talk them out of it. But if they're reasonable, I might be able to sway them."
The woman softly nodded, but tears started to form in her eyes. "I still feel that I should be at your side."
"I know," the Highlander softly whispered. He gave her a parting kiss and told her, "Don't worry. I won't leave you without a fight for the Watchers to remember for eternity."
"I know, Duncan," she whispered. She silently watched as the man she loved entered the elevator and descended to the main floor.
Steve, Duncan, and Robin looked around the dojo. Robin just walked around, admiring the collection of Oriental weapons on the wall, while Steve and Duncan discussed how closely the place matched Duncan's own gym back in their universe.
"Well," Steve said hopefully, "at least we might have *one* thing that remains constant in both universes. Good to know that it's the Stalwart Scot that comes through in a pinch."
"Don't you start," Duncan chuckled. He shot a glance at his former student and said, "I just might be tempted to try and contact your double and give *him* command of this little soiree."
"Sorry," Robin interjected from the side, "we have enough John Wayne 'charge in and play the cavalry' types in this fight already."
The fairy looked up and said, "Listen."
He watched the two Immortals nod as the elevator descended. They stepped back toward the middle of the gym, wanting to avoid constituting a threat to the occupant when he opened the door.
Robin said, "Uh, Duncan? Maybe you should wait inside the office. That way we can break things to your double gently. Hopefully, we'll avoid any undue fainting or comic book-style fisticuffs."
"I don't faint," Duncan protested.
"Just go," the sprite said, rolling his eyes.
Duncan moved out of sight just as the elevator touched the floor.
Duncan fingered his katana as the elevator came to a halt. The Immortal reached up and unsealed the inner door, moving slowly so that he could close it again if need be. When no one fired any bullets at him, he looked around to see two men standing in the gym waiting for him. His eyes widened in shock as he focused on to the one on his left.
"Steve?" he dryly whispered.
"Hi, Duncan," Steve St. Wolf greeted him. "We need to talk."
Duncan's eyes grew hard. "I'll say we do."
Duncan ripped the door open and walked out of the elevator. He quickly brought his sword up to Steve's neck. The man who looked like his former student just cocked an eyebrow at the glowing blue blade that was grazing his jugular vein.
"Is this any way to greet a former student?" he asked with a cocky grin.
"I don't know who you are," Duncan growled as sadness waged war with anger inside him. "But you picked the wrong Immortal to impersonate. Especially wearing THAT armor. Tell me who you are, and I just might make your death quick and painless."
"I'm going to draw my weapon, nice and slowly," Steve said. He raised his left hand and slowly brought his right hand across. "I know you, Duncan. You'll at least let me explain."
"Do it quickly," Duncan snarled. He looked at the other man in the gym and said, "If I were you, I wouldn't try anything stupid. I'll just make your life a living Hell."
The second man looked at Steve's look alike. "He don't know me very well, do he?" he asked with a smirk.
"Who are you?" Duncan asked. "You're not an Immortal."
"Thank the Gods for that," the young man said. He bowed with a flourish and said, "Robin Goodfellow, Merry Wanderer in the Night, servant of the Lord Oberon, at your service."
Duncan's eyes went wide. "Let me get this straight. You're a fairy?"
"At least he didn't call me Puck," the man told Steve. Addressing Duncan he said, "Yeah, I'm a fairy. Now cut out this b.s. and let's get down to business."
Duncan looked into the eyes of the man who looked like his former student. "I'm giving you one chance. Tell me who you are."
"Well, if you'll let me draw my sword, I can prove who I am," the Immortal told him. Very slowly, the man drew out a sword that emitted a familiar blue aura. With a cocky smirk, the man asked, "Look familiar, Duncan?"
Duncan's jaw dropped at the sight before him. He recovered and snapped, "That's impossible! I'm the wielder of Demon Slayer!"
"In *this* universe, maybe," the man replied with a smile. "It's a long story, Duncan. But I *am* Steve St. Wolf, just not the one you know."
Duncan looked Steve up and down. <I'm even thinking of him as 'Steve.'> the Highlander realized. He slowly backed away, bringing his sword down. He cautiously asked, "What is going on here, Steve?"
Steve looked over to the man who called himself Robin. He sighed and looked towards the Heavens. "Sure. Give me the hard jobs."
The young man went into a brief yet detailed explanation of who and what they were, where they came from, and finally why they were here. Duncan listened to the entire story with a fair amount of skepticism, but found he believed their story.
"And that's where we're at, at this point," Steve said once Robin had finished. He put away his Demon Slayer and smiled. "I know it's hard to believe, but we need your help, Duncan. Will you come?"
"Considering that I have the responsibility of carrying this around," Duncan said, indicating his Demon Slayer, "of course I am. Even if I find it hard to believe, I still believe you. I remember what you're like, Steve. Like when we raided Libya seven years ago."
"That happened here, too?" Steve asked.
Duncan winced at the word, "here." He shook his head, chuckling. He looked up to Heaven and said, "I know I'm going to regret this, but I'm in."
"Thank you, Duncan," Steve said with relief. He cocked his head and asked, "By the way, how did you end up wielding Demon Slayer?"
Duncan tensed up and his smile vanished. He sheathed Demon Slayer and began heading for the office. "I'm going to make a pair of phone calls, Steve. I'll explain everything when Dawson gets here."
"Uh, Duncan," Robin called out, "don't go in there---"
It was too late. Duncan vanished into the office.
"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL?!?"
Steve and Robin clapped their hands over their foreheads in frustration. Wish Duncan came barreling out of the office with unholy anger in his eyes.
"What the Hell is going ON HERE, Steven?" he demanded.
Duncan followed his counterpart out of the office, a wicked grin on his face. He wheezed, "You should have seen how wide his eyes got, Steve. Oh, God, it was priceless."
"Shut up, Duncan!" Wish Duncan shouted. He realized what he'd said, and groaned, "Did that sound as ridiculous as I think it did?"
"Somewhat," Robin said with a grin. "Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod, meet Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod."
Wish Duncan glared at the grinning St. Wolf. "Might I ask when you were planning on telling me about *him*?!?"
"He was my ace in the hole, in case you didn't believe me." Steve grinned at him. "Look at the bright side. At least you're convinced."
"Don't count on it," Wish Duncan growled. He pointed at Duncan and said, "You're telling me that this is the Duncan MacLeod of YOUR universe?"
"Yep," Steve said. Still smiling, he said, "And I can prove it."
Wish Duncan frowned with doubt. "How?"
"I knew it would come to this," Steve sighed. He held his hand out to Robin. "Robin?"
The man claiming to be a fairy reached into his trench coat and pulled out a manila envelope. He handed it to Steve and asked, "Are you going to tell me what's in there?"
"Care to hazard a guess, Duncan?" Steve said. He waved the envelope back and forth. "Either Duncan?"
"Wait," Wish Duncan barked. He pointed at Duncan and said, "I want to hear it from him." He looked at Duncan and said, "Give me a piece of information only I would know. Something you wouldn't even tell Tessa."
Duncan winced at the mention of Tessa's name. Nevertheless, he smiled and said, "All right, Duncan. Japan, 1778. Not knowing the benefits of having a bath with numerous servant women, you protest that a Scottish body can wash itself."
To his credit, Wish Duncan blushed. "Very funny. Now, what's in the envelope?"
With the most enigmatic grin this side of the Cheshire Cat, Steve said, "Pictures."
Duncan's eyes went wide with horror. "STEVE!" he moaned.
Wish Duncan looked at Robin, who simply shrugged. He asked, "What's in there?"
Steve, with evil humor, and Duncan, in a pissy mood, both answered.
"The kilt pictures."
Now it was Wish Duncan's eyes that went wide. "YOU PROMISED!!!"
"The Steve of this universe," the Wanderer replied. He smirked at Wish Duncan and asked, "Convinced?"
Grabbing the envelope, Wish Duncan snapped, "Yes, I'm convinced."
Robin smiled. "Good. Then we won't have to resort to blackmail. The Connor and Amanda of this universe won't get their copies."
Both Duncans paled. Wish Duncan hissed, "I'm going to make those phone calls. Wait here."
Ten minutes later, the four were talking when two men entered the dojo. Wish Duncan, facing the door, smiled in greeting. This action caused the other three to turn around to greet their visitors.
Once Duncan and Steve saw who was standing there, their faces twisted into fury.
"HORTON?!?" Steve furiously hissed through clenched teeth.
Duncan's reaction was more militant. He drew his katana and started forward. "You're a dead man, Horton!"
Wish Duncan clamped an arm on Duncan's shoulder. Duncan turned his head with anger oozing out of his eyes, but Wish Duncan's look was just as cold.
"If you try to attack him, I *will* take your head," Wish Duncan promised him.
Steve turned on Wish Duncan as if he were seeing a stranger. He pointed at Horton and snapped, "Duncan, that's James Horton!"
"The James Horton of THIS universe, yes," Wish Duncan told his fellow Immortals. He released his grip and looked beyond Duncan to Joe Dawson and Horton. "Joe. James. I'm glad you could make it."
"Mac, I wouldn't miss it this for the world," Dawson said with a grin. He limped forward on his cane and looked St. Wolf up and down. He shook his head and grinned. "Damn. It's really him."
"Duncan, what is going on here?" Steve asked. He looked back at this universe's Duncan and demanded, "Why is Horton here?"
"By your reaction," Horton said, finally speaking up, "the James Horton of your universe never changed, did he?"
"No," Steve growled at him. "He was an evil bastard up until Duncan, this Duncan, killed him."
"Look, St. Wolf," Joe snapped as he stepped into Steve's face. He sighed ruefully. "You know, I can't believe I'm talking to an Immortal five years after he died."
"Joe, don't hide it from him," Horton said softly. He looked at Steve, regret and pain etched onto his face. "In 1993, you were in Paris, hunting down a demon from the Fifth Circle. We found you, we tracked you down, and yes, we killed you. That was when the demon chose to attack. My Hunters and I knew nothing about demons or the Order of the Grail at that time. We were able to kill the demon, but it was too late to save you. Once I realized that there were things other than Immortals to fight, and that you, an Immortal, were fighting to protect humanity from such things, we submitted ourselves to Watcher justice."
Steve calmly asked, "What happened?"
Joe answered for his brother-in-law. "We decided that the Hunters would go on hunting. But it wouldn't be Immortals that they hunted."
"The Hunters are essentially the Special Forces branch of the Society of Watchers," Horton continued. His eyes went to the floor as he said, "We hunt down demons, vampires, and the occasional Black Mage. We formed an alliance with the Order of the Grail. . ."
"I'm a Knight Lieutenant," Steve cut in.
Nodding in understanding, Horton finished his tale. "We give them the names of prospective Immortals who might be inclined to join their fight. One of those was this Duncan MacLeod. I personally gave him Demon Slayer after realizing my mistake."
Wish Duncan came to Horton's defense. "For the last five years, we've made a difference here, Steve. Horton is a changed man. And I'm proud to call him my friend."
Duncan shuddered. "I never thought I'd hear myself say that."
"Cut it out with the 'talking to myself' jokes," Robin pleaded.
Steve looked at him with a glare. "That's easy for the fairy from Shakespeare with no dimensional doubles to say."
"Hey, you can't improve on perfection."
"Duncan," Steve said in an attempt to get the discussion back on track, "do you know anyone who can join us for this fight?"
"I have ten Hunters in the Los Angeles area, St. Wolf," Horton immediately responded. "They're experts with military weaponry and hand-to-hand combat. We'll be ready. . . if you'll accept us."
"I'm not turning down allies, Horton," St. Wolf said to the Watcher. He glanced from Horton to Dawson and back. "But your people with strictly be long distance snipers."
"Why?" Horton asked curiously. "My people know how to fight vampires."
"Yes, but your people don't have mystical abilities," Robin interjected. "We've got Immortals, Amazons, empowered men, witches, and we even have a werewolf."
Dawson and Horton went pale, looking to Wish Duncan. He just shrugged and smiled. "First time for everything, Joe."
"Shut up, Mac," Joe snapped at Wish Duncan's smile. "Did you contact the Order?"
"Yes. They said. . ." He stopped as the Buzz hit him and the other two Immortals in the room. He grinned and said, "The Knight General is sending a dozen men and will be joining us himself."
"Great," Steve chuckled. "I can't wait to see the look on Marc's face when he sees a dead Wanderer standing here."
Wish Duncan, Joe and James looked at him. Wish Duncan asked, "Who's Marc?"
Duncan was about to answer when a dozen armored, heavily armed men entered the dojo. Duncan and Steve's jaws fell when they saw the man wearing the insignia of the commanding officer of the Holy Order of the Grail. The Knight General scanned the room and nodded in satisfaction. He focused his eyes on Wish Duncan and smiled.
"Well, Duncan, it seems that you weren't playing some form of joke on me. My thanks."
"Think nothing of it, Knight General," the Highlander returned. He turned halfway to introduce his visitors to the head of the party. "Duncan, Steve, may I introduce the Knight General of the Holy Order of the Grail."
Duncan and Steve overcame their shock and blurted out the same, single word.
"DARIUS?!?"
With a very amused smile, Darius warmly said, "Ah, young St. Wolf. Duncan. It's very good to meet you. I shall leave the word 'again' unsaid."
He moved forward to shake their hands, but it took the two Immortals several seconds to recover their senses. Duncan was the first to recover. He grasped Darius’ outstretched hand, but then pulled him forward into a warm embrace. Steve, unable to get inside of the hug Duncan was giving the former monk, just clapped him on the back. The Wanderer could see tears in Duncan’s eyes.
"Oh God, Darius," Duncan whispered. "I don’t believe it."
"I understand, my friend," Darius said with a grin worthy of a Louvre painting.
Wish Duncan leaned over to Dawson. "You know, I haven't had this much fun since we played that joke on Connor last year."
"I know," Dawson chuckled. "But telling him you were dead didn't faze him this much."
Wish Duncan watched as Steve and Duncan talked with Darius, informing him of the complete situation. By reading the expressions on his face, Wish Duncan could tell that the former monk was very impressed with the force that the Wanderer from another universe had managed to pull together on such short notice. Darius turned to him and Horton and came forward.
"James," the Knight General asked, "will your people be in Sunnydale in time?"
"I told them to be at the Sunnydale Motor Lodge by noon," the Hunter replied. "Ten men, all ready to take out these vampires."
"Good. Twenty-two men, added to the force already assembled," he rumbled. He turned to Steve. "Steven, what other forces are you gathering?"
"So far, from this universe we've gathered the double of JP Withers, a demon hunter once known as Aderron of Atlantis," St. Wolf began. He quickly gave the Wishverse rundown. "Robin recruited an old friend of his, who took it upon himself to awaken this universe's King Arthur. Right now, I have some allies going across the United States to ask for help from people that Artemis was able to determine are trustworthy."
Even Darius seemed stunned by the mention of Arthur. "Arthur is awakened?"
"Yep," Robin answered with a grin. "Thankfully, this universe's Excalibur was right where Sir Bedivere threw it last millennium."
No one commented on that. Wish Duncan looked to Steve and asked, "Steve, are you planning on recruiting Connor?"
"Are you saying I shouldn't?" Steve asked.
"Of course not," the Wish Scot replied. He grinned and said, "I just wonder what the look on his face will be when you ask him if he's willing to join us for this little battle."
"I'm not asking him," the Wanderer said. A smile began tugging at his lips as he said, "Connor is."
Wish Duncan paled and whispered, "You are actually going to have two Connor MacLeods in one battle together?"
"Hey, imagine the look on his face when his own double comes to see him," Steve countered. He then added another incentive. "Also, imagine the look on the face of a certain five thousand-year-old Grump when he sees FOUR MacLeods in the same room together."
Dawson and Horton began to laugh at that picture. Dawson had to hold his cane with both hands as he chuckled, "That's it. I'm coming along, too. I am NOT going to miss Methos' reaction. But tell me which one it is."
"Ours," Robin offered with a cocked eyebrow. "You know, Joe D, you're taking this far too well."
"Hey, when you've read the reports of this Steve's life, you either learn to believe a lot of stuff on pure faith, or you spend a fortune on a shrink."
"What makes you think it's any different in our universe?" Duncan asked.
Wish Duncan was about to reply when the elevator began rising toward the loft. He cursed under his breath and said, "Damn. She's coming down. I am not looking forward to explaining this situation to her."
"What?" Steve asked with a grin. "Look at it this way; you'll finally be able to get one over on Amanda."
"Amanda?" Wish Duncan asked in confusion. "What does she---"
Wish Duncan was cut off when the elevator opened and the occupant stepped out onto the floor. Steve and Duncan were shocked into silence once again as they saw someone they would never have expected to see. She didn't notice them as she went up to Wish Duncan, worry showing in her beautiful face.
"Duncan," Tessa Noel said worriedly, "I heard some shouting, what's. . ."
"Tessa?" Duncan whispered in dread. Steve had to grab his shoulder to prevent his teacher from rushing toward his long dead love.
Tessa looked over at the sound of her name. Her eyes went wide as she was stunned by the appearance of another Duncan. Her head jerked back and forth a few times before her eyes finally rolled up in the back of her head and she fainted.
Wish Duncan rushed over to her, sending a glare Duncan's way. "Great. See what you did to my wife!"
"Wife?" Duncan and Steve asked in dry whispers.
"Yes," Wish Duncan said. He looked between the two. "Didn't you know her?"
"I did," Duncan murmured, old pain insinuating itself into his words. "It's just. . . . . it's been so long."
"What?" Wish Duncan asked in disbelief. "You let her go? Are you daft, man!"
"I didn't think she'd be alive here," the Highlander softly said as he watched his double tenderly lift Tessa up into his arms.
Wish Duncan stopped and looked at Duncan, understanding finally dawning in his eyes. In a soft voice, he said, "Alive?"
"How did Richie die here?" Steve asked.
"I'd just saved Tessa from the kidnapper when some punk tried to mug them," Wish Duncan said, his eyes growing misty in remembrance. "Richie shoved her down and took the bullet. He came right back."
Duncan nodded sadly. "That's what happened in our world. Only there. . . Tessa died, too. She didn't come back."
The Wishverse Immortal stared at him, at a complete loss for words. "So, I lost Richie. You lost Tessa. Is it just me, or does it seem like there's some sort of weird balance thing going on here?"
Robin replied, "Think of it as the multiverse's answer to multiple choice, as someone once told me."
Darius sighed and said, "This is going to be a battle for the history books. If not for the historical value, then at least for the uniqueness."
"Buddy, you ain't just whistling Dixie," the fairy grumbled.
Dawson said, "At least you don't have to record it in the Chronicles."
"Duncan?" Tessa whispered as she slowly came to.
"I'm here," Wish Duncan said tenderly. He stroked Tessa's hair and said, "It's all right."
"Duncan, I had the strangest dream," she said. Anything further was cut off when she caught sight of Duncan and Steve a second time.
Before she could pass out again, Steve said, "Tessa, please don't faint on us again. We're short on time and we need to get back to the Hellmouth."
Tessa's eyes shot to her husband. "Hellmouth? What is that?"
Wish Duncan helped her stand under her own power. He gave her a quick explanation of the Hellmouth, the situation, and how he was going to join the fight to eliminate the Master. Worry flashed through her eyes, but she nodded in acceptance.
"I know you have to do this," the Frenchwoman muttered to the man she loved. She looked deep into his eyes and said, "Be careful."
"I will," Wish Duncan promised. "I'll even keep an eye on both Connors."
Tessa stiffened at that comment, and smacked him on the chest in exasperation. She looked at Steve and said, "Don't let him pull anything on you, Steven."
Steve grinned at her. With a glance at Wish Duncan, he said, "Do me a favor in that regard. Do you see that envelope?"
"STEVE!!!" Both Duncans shrieked in perfect unison.
Tessa glanced between the two Duncans. She then fixed her eyes back on the Wanderer and asked, "The kilt pictures?"
"Yep," he chuckled.
"I've had those in safekeeping for ten years," Tessa replied. Upon the stammering her husband began, she stroked his chest with a finger and purred, "He asked me to keep them for him, in case you ever got out of line. Do behave, mon amour."
She turned to Darius and said, "Darius, please keep him on his best behavior."
"I shall do my best," Darius replied with a smile. He took her hand and gave her a soft kiss on the hand. "But for now, we are off to battle." He turned to Goodfellow. "Can you teleport all of us, or shall we set up a circle?"
"Let's do the circle," Robin said gratefully. "I'm a fairy, not an enchanted bus driver."
Five minutes later, the combined force of Knights and Immortals vanished from the circle that the Knights had drawn in the middle of the dojo floor.
Silently watching the empty space her beloved had occupied only seconds before, Tessa prayed for his safe return.
"Go with God, Duncan."
Connor MacLeod's Residence
New York City, New York (the Wishverse)
Early hours
13
December 1998
Connor MacLeod stirred when the Buzz struck his awareness. The Immortal Scot rolled out of bed and crouched, reaching for his sword. He cautiously stood up and walked toward the door, prepared to once again engage an opponent in a battle for survival.
Connor slowly descended the steps, using his hearing to pick up any stray noises that might betray the other Immortal's whereabouts. Whoever had intruded into his home was good; he had excellent security, and it would have taken a master thief to break in.
A tiny smirk came to Connor's face. <If Amanda's breaking in here to steal something for a joke, I'll kill her. It's the principle of the matter.>
Once he reached the bottom third of the stairway, Connor said, "I am Connor MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod."
Once he reached the main floor, he stopped in shock at the sight that greeted him. Two men were standing in his living room. One was a tall, gaunt man dressed in brown, and the other. . . was Connor MacLeod.
"What is going on here?" Wish Connor demanded, bringing his scimitar up to a guard position.
The unknown man smiled. He puffed on the cigarette in his mouth and said, "Connor MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod, meet Connor MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod."
"I don't know what the two of you are up to, but it won't work," Wish Connor promised. He brought the scimitar up to a position to attack, but his double caught him off guard.
"Take a look at this, Connor," Connor suggested. He held up a katana, a specific weapon whose memory was branded into Wish Connor's subconscious.
Wish Connor whispered, "Where did you get that?"
"From Ramirez," Connor answered. He smiled in the way that Wish Connor did so often and said, "In MY universe."
"What?!?" Wish Connor barked in disbelief. "What kind of fool do you take me for?"
The smoking man began chuckling. "The kind of fool who allowed himself to be shanghaied on various missions by a crazy Boy Scout Green Beret your cousin taught. Like, on missions in Libya? Or Tehran?"
Wish Connor's eyes grew wide as he thought back over the last ten years of his life. He groaned and brought his scimitar down to his side. "I thought he was DEAD!"
"Not in MY universe," Connor snapped in disgust. "Believe me, he's gotten worse over time. You're going to love this one."
Wish Connor listened to Connor's story, from the arrival of the Wishverse natives in the other reality, the subsequent chase and resouling of the vampires, to the gathering of the army and their trip to the Wishverse. When it was all said and done, he saw Connor and the other man waiting for his reaction.
Wish Connor pursed his lips and nodded a couple times. "Let's go."
The man spit his cigarette to the floor in shock. "You believe us?!?"
"My friend," Wish Connor chuckled at him, "I believe you for two reasons. First of all, you'd have to be insane to make up a story like that. And whatever Duncan might say, I'm not *that* insane. You should ask me about Kane and Nakano some time."
Connor asked, "Was that a compliment or an insult?"
"That depends on your point of view," Wish Connor shot back.
The man in brown just sighed and grumbled, "Highlanders."
"And proud of it," Wish Connor said with a grin. "The second reason is simpler. I knew this was on the level as soon as you said, 'Boy Scout.' Steve *would* pull the hair-brained stunt of going to another universe to help people. And he'd drag everyone he had a phone number for along for the ride. As I always say, the more the merrier. So let's join the fun."
Connor grinned at his companion. "You heard the man, JP. Let's move."
Wish JP mumbled, "I just know I'm going to regret this."
He snapped his fingers and the three teleported for Sunnydale.
Wooded Glade
1 Mile North of New Salem, Colorado (the Wishverse)
Early hours
13
December 1998
<Okay, I added the peyote and the clover. Now, the holly berries. . .>
She dropped the berries into a bubbling mixture of ingredients. As the contents of the brazier came to a simmer, the young brunette sat down. She crossed her legs and chanted an arcane phrase in a mixture of Latin, Celtic and Sioux. She called upon three different deities, from three separate pantheons, for her enchantment. When she finished, she opened her eyes and looked up at the stars.
<Let's see. Diana, Oghma, and What's-His-Name for the Sioux,> she pondered. <If THIS doesn't work, I'll just have to accept that I'm meant to be stuck here my whole life.>
The woman stood up and brushed off any stray leaves or grass that might have stuck to her brown leather pants. She walked off of the blanket she'd set on the ground to protect her from the Earth's chill and rolled it up. She walked over to her collection of arcane equipment and picked up her tight leather jacket. She threw it on, thinking, <I suppose it might have been better to do the spell during the day. Especially in December.>
She chuckled as she pulled the zipper up. <But for some reason, I just like doing things at night. Not that I'm a nature girl, but still, there's something--->
"Amy?" a voice called out, gaining the witch's attention.
The young Madison turned around, brushing some of her short bob of hair out of her eyes. She smiled at the woman who'd called her name and strode over to her. She hugged the older woman and said, "Hey, Mom. What's up?"
"How do you know that something's 'up?'" Catherine asked with an arched eyebrow.
"Well, for one thing," Amy said with a laugh, "you're using a resistance spell to keep the cold off of you. You're in a hurry, or you're looking for me. Or both."
Catherine smiled at her daughter's perceptiveness. "True. Anyway, Mistress Harkness has called us into town. Three men have arrived in town, and they are looking for allies to help in some sort of battle. That's all my Guardian knows. These three are being very quiet until everyone meets at the school."
Amy cocked an eyebrow at her Mom. "Mother, is this somebody trying to set me up with someone? We've talked about this."
"I know we have, and no, it is not an attempt to find you a boyfriend," Catherine promised. Amy frowned and folded her arms, leading Catherine to sigh in frustration. "Or a girlfriend, either. I am being serious, Amy. You know I have no problems with your preferences, but that's for another day. Let's go."
"Okay," Amy said, relenting a bit. She turned to pick up her equipment. "Just let me pick up my stuff and we'll get going."
"What kind of spell where you working on?" Catherine asked. She could see that Amy had some kind of spell on her, but she couldn't understand what it was.
The daughter shrugged. "It's a new concoction I'm trying. I looked up three different destiny things and mixed them up a bit. It's a combo Diana 'help me with the hunt,' Oghma 'search for knowledge,' and Great Spirit-type 'Indian vision quest.'"
"And what is it supposed to do?" the elder witch asked.
"Well, the idea is to find out what I'm supposed to do with my life," Amy admitted. Catherine picked up the uncertainty in her voice. "I'm sorry, Mom, but I just feel like I should be out *there*, doing something with my life, you know?"
"Small town girl wants to see the big city," Catherine reasoned. "Amy, you could just buy a bus ticket for that."
"Mother," the redhead growled in a tone of voice that was proverbially thirty degrees below zero, "you know what I mean. I feel like I should be somewhere else. Doing something to help, you know?"
"I could ask Agatha to---"
"Mom, Miss Harkness is a great lady, but we know what her friend's hubbie would say," Amy cut in. She put her hands on her hips, leaned forward, and used a fake old man's voice. "In the Knights of the Order of the Grail, Squires must be twenty-one years of age. I cannot simply violate rules that have existed for centuries, not for anyone, no matter how gifted or motivated."
Catherine shook her head and giggled at her child's impersonation of Merlin, but she did say, "And you're not willing to wait three more years."
"Mom! This isn't about me being a kid," Amy promised. The high school senior looked up at the nighttime sky and said, "It's like. . . it's like I'm missing a part of myself. I can't explain it, but. . . By Diana, Mother. I need to be out there to find that piece of me, because I know it isn't here in New Salem."
Although she didn't admit it, Catherine did understand. "Do you know where this missing piece of yourself might be located?"
"Please, I'm not stupid," Amy archly informed her mother. "If I knew that, I'd head out right now. For all I know, it could be in Denver, New York, Russia. . ." She laughed and said, "Geez, Mom, it could be in a kung-fu monk temple in China!"
Mother and daughter shared a good laugh over the image. Catherine's eyes lit up with humor as she said, "All right, enough imagery. Let's go meet our guests."
The Madisons turned toward town, neither of them feeling the presence of the third person in the glade.
New Salem High School
New Salem, Colorado (the Wishverse)
Early hours
13 December
1998
As townspeople continued to file into the gymnasium, Agatha Harkness once again looked to the three men who'd shown up in the middle of the night.
"I shall ask once again, gentlemen," the Matriarch of New Salem primly said. "What is this battle that you seek allies for?"
The three men glanced at each other. The young mage and the tall man in brown, who sent a cold shiver of fear through even Agatha, nodded to the man in the middle. The man, a son of the Tuatha Du Danaan clad in a suit of finely crafted armor, moved forward a step to speak for his entourage.
"Milady Harkness," the man said, "I am Keighvin Silverhair, Lord of Elfhame Fairgrove. The battle we seek aid in is this; a group of soulless vampires led by the one called the Master, has infested the town of Sunnydale, California. Underneath Sunnydale lies the Hellmouth."
When he paused to allow her to ask any questions she had, Agatha tersely nodded to him. "Please, Lord Silverhair, continue."
"As you wish," the elf lord replied in his musical voice. "Last week, the Slayer arrived in Sunnydale to eliminate the Master and the threat posed by his army. Her Watcher, having found out that the Sunnydale area had been altered by the vengeance demon Anyanka, attempted to undo this with a temporal fold. Instead of reversing the Wish, the spell sent the Slayer and three others into an alternate reality. The three of us hail from this reality. We are part of the assault force that an Immortal gathered to come and aid the Slayer and her companions."
Agatha listened very carefully. With eyes narrowed in thought, she rubbed her chin for several seconds before glancing at the dark man behind Lord Keighvin. "Sir, may I ask who you are?"
"The name's JP Withers," he answered. He was unsurprised when several of the men in the gymnasium began to whisper to each other over his announcement.
Agatha's eyebrows rose up in recognition. "Withers?" she asked. When he silently inclined his head, she looked back to the appointed spokesman. "Who else is in this group that you are part of?"
Keighvin gave an abbreviated report of the group assembled by the man he called Steven St. Wolf. Agatha remembered the name from talks she once had with an old friend. She knew that if that one needed help, then she would be wise to aid these fighters.
"Do you have anyone in particular that you wish to take with you?" Agatha asked. <I do not think you would come here and just ask me to recommend any person I chose to pick.>
"No, My Lady," Keighvin answered, surprising the old witch. "We were only told that we should come here to seek aid."
The demon hunter's eyes suddenly narrowed as he watched the stragglers entering the gym. Agatha turned to see who had caught his interest. She saw several people, but couldn't figure out precisely who he was focusing on. When she turned back to Keighvin, she saw that he too was looking in that direction.
The mage identified as Tannim began chuckling. "Just once, you think the Gods would be specific and not mysterious."
"In my experience, young man," Agatha said with a prim smile, "They have been doing it so long, they have no other way of doing things."
"Point taken, Mistress Harkness," the young mage said with a bow.
Agatha looked to Keighvin. "May I ask who it is that has piqued your interest, Lord of Fairgrove?"
"If you would focus on the young woman with red hair and the very form-fitting clothes," the elven wizard said, nodding in her direction to single out the person he meant, "you will see that she has an enchantment about her."
Agatha turned back to the crowd and shifted her perceptions so that she could See which of her townspeople had active magic about them. There were strict rules about using magic openly. . .
<Ahhhh. Yes, I see. . .> Agatha mused. She unknowingly nodded in agreement with her visitors and said, "This one is not here because I summoned her. Nor is her mother."
Keighvin was caught by surprise as well. He glanced at the woman accompanying the teenage girl and saw that the spell somehow connected them. He smiled at Agatha and said, "I take it that you have an idea of someone who might be willing to aid us in our battle?"
Agatha glared at him, but her smile betrayed her own humor in the situation. "I might indeed, good sir. I will allow you to talk in private. One moment, please."
Agatha moved to intercept the Madison family before they moved out of her sight.
Two minutes later, Agatha had moved the three visitors, as well as her fellow witches, into one of the nearby classrooms for some privacy. She looked at Amy Madison and asked, "May I ask what kind of spell you cast upon yourself?"
Amy looked at her in surprise. Her face lit up in excitement as she blurted out, "It worked?!? Cool!"
Agatha's face became stern. "Young lady, magic is NOT something to be played with. You have cast a spell that will lead you to your destiny. But keep in mind that it might turn out to be something you did not want."
"But---" Amy looked at her Mother, who nodded. "Miss Harkness, this was something I *had* to do. I. . ." She broke off and looked at the wood of the desk she sat in.
Sensing that the girl wanted to keep things private, as well as find out her path on her own, Harkness sighed in resignation. "Amy, I will tell you this; you are not alone with your spell. Both the Lord Keighvin and I have sensed that your Mother is connected to you in this. Wherever your path leads you, it will not be alone."
Amy's face shot up and she babbled, "I didn't mean to---"
"I know," Catherine said with a smile. She stroked her daughter's hair. "But I would worry about you, so I don't mind." She looked at her former teacher and asked, "I take it this has something to do with our visitors?"
After a quick explanation, with shocked reactions on the part of both Madisons, Agatha told them, "If you want, you may discuss this in private. It is your choice to go or not."
Catherine looked at Amy; she'd cast the spell, so she would be the one to decide their course.
Amy tried not to be too pleased with herself, but she stood up and said, "I'm in. Let's do it."
Two reactions warred over Agatha's face. She was glad the child showed no fear at the prospect of going into battle, but at the same time, she seemed almost too eager. She said, "Amy, remember the old maxim; be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it. I know you want to find your destiny. That is what many wish to do. But please remember, you will have to live with the choices you make. As do others."
The youngest witch in the room blushed at what she thought might be a rebuke. She promised, "Don't worry, Miss Harkness. There'll be people to keep me out of trouble. Right, Mom?"
Catherine grinned at her enthusiastic daughter. "Just don't get me into it in the first place."
"Then it is settled," Agatha solemnly said. She stood up and turned to her three guests. "I have the feeling that you will not be able to spend the night to gain the benefits of a good night's sleep?"
"Nope," JP told her with a grin. "We're set up in Sunnydale, and the bad guys don't even know we're coming after 'em. So let's hit the road, kiddies."
As the five left for the gym to open a Gate back to Sunnydale, Agatha watched her former student and her daughter walk out. She silently thought, <Why do I think that they have left our town forever?>
She looked around the room for an answer, but received none despite the feeling of being. . . watched. She focused her perceptions and even went so far as to cast a spell to detect scrying or invisible spies.
<Nothing,> she determined after several seconds of observation. Dismissing the feeling as a byproduct of the regrets she felt over Amy and Catherine leaving, she walked out of the classroom to say her goodbyes and see them off.
317 Bryant Terrace
Sunnydale, California (the Wishverse)
Early hours
13 December
1998
Jenny had just put the finishing touches on the temporary shrine to Artemis when she heard a large "POP." She whirled around and saw the strange blue-skinned man standing there with Mulder, Scully, and. . . Mulder and Scully.
A small grin played across Jenny's face at the wide-eyed astonishment of the FBI Agents native to this reality. The 'Dana' standing next to Genie smiled warmly at Jenny and walked over to her. The other 'Dana' appeared to be standing stock still, the only thing moving was her head as it swiveled in a slow, panning motion, her wide eyes carefully recording the details of the room.
Jenny and Dana hugged. Jenny glanced at the stunned Agents and asked, "How did it go?"
"Much better than I expected," Scully confessed. She glanced over her shoulder to see that her and Mulder's doubles were still taking in the scenery of the living room. She turned back to Jenny. "They're already Immortal, which saved us a lot of trouble, and Fox worked with Steve on the same serial killer case that Mulder did in our reality, so he recognized the name. Of course, Mulder thought we were alien clones, while Dana was somewhat skeptical until Genie did a couple of minor magic tricks. So, she was willing to go along, if only to keep her Mulder out of trouble. Of course, Mulder is having fun at their expense, especially comparing our Skinners." Off Jenny's arched eyebrow, she looked to the Heavens in supplication. "What does it say when the first thing the two Mulders do is compare my bald Skinner to their Skinner with curly black hair?"
"That some things are relatively the same," the Gypsy quipped. Jenny then pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Any differences of note, so we don't have any mix-ups or revelations that are best left unsaid?"
"I'm not sure," Dana confessed. She leaned in and said, "Fox started pestering Mulder for details on our love lives when he found out that we're married in our reality."
"They're not---" Jenny started, but a quick look at the double Agent's hands confirmed it. She closed her eyes and said, "I hope Robin doesn't think you two are trying to play matchmaker."
"That makes two of us," Dana muttered.
317 Bryant Terrace
Sunnydale, California (the Wishverse)
Early hours
13 December
1998
Upon Steve’s return, Section Seven’s commanders conferred. After Buffy or Steve had brought the new arrivals up to speed during several briefings, they assigned them an escort to introduce them to the various members of the assault force. The newbies were checked out on weapons and ammunition, shown the kitchen and restrooms, and then given a place to bunk for the night. They still awaited the return of JP’s group. They had been gone for over an hour. The other gatherings had been straightforward, so Steve and Buffy were somewhat concerned.
As Steve scanned the roster to match skills and experience once again, Buffy yawned and asked, "Honey, why don’t you grab some sleep?"
Steve shook his head. "Not until the last group gets back."
"And then?" she asked with an arched eyebrow.
"And then," Steve drawled with an emotionless voice, "we will grab a couple of hours."
Buffy eyed him carefully. "We?" she asked teasingly. "In front of people we don’t even know?"
Steve’s head snapped up and he shot a withering glare her way. "I said sleep, Buffy. Keep your mind on business."
The Slayer stared her boyfriend down. "And *you* need to lighten up," she countered. She gently gripped his shoulder and softly added, "You’ve been too damn quiet since you found out the other Steve died."
Steve dropped the list on the table. He turned toward Buffy, shook his head, and growled, "You’re right. It wasn’t a pleasant thing to find out."
"Welcome to the club," the wielder of Vampire Slayer replied. She glanced at the plans scattered about the table. "And you need to take a break, too. Didn’t you tell me once that plans can only be looked at so much? That if you don’t lay off, you’ll make mistakes?"
The demon hunter considered that and nodded in defeat. "All right, Buffy. Let’s go see how the others are doing. Once JP gets back, we’ll make sure that they get some sleep, too."
"Good," Buffy said, not smiling in the least. "Sure, we need to be ready; but we’re no good if we’re asleep on our feet when the fight starts."
Buffy and Steve walked into the living room, where Vamp Willow toiled on the computer that her Amazon double had brought with them. Buffy was less than surprised to see how fast her fingers moved over the keyboard.
"Hey, Will," Buffy said as St. Wolf headed outside to check on the guards, "what are you doing up so late?"
The demon hacker looked at her strangely. She then quipped, "This is like lunchtime for me, remember?"
"Oh…sorry."
"It’s okay," Vamp Willow said with a smile. She stopped typing and looked at the Slayer. "You forgetting I’m a vamp is. . . well, kinda nice. I mean, with your Willow being alive and all, it’s like. . .well, like you think I’m sorta like her."
Buffy smiled and flushed a bit. "Okay," she said with a roll of her eyes, "No problem. And you are like her, except for the bikini part. But I was just going to ask you how you’re enjoying your new toy."
Willow’s grin widened, and her game face partially emerged. "I love it!" she gushed. She pointed at the computer screen. "I’m drawing up more plans on hangouts so that we can take out more of the Master’s lackeys."
"More hangouts?"
The shorthaired girl paused. "Oh, no," she said. She turned in her chair and said, "There are a couple of other lairs in this universe. Not big ones, but the Master can still call them in when the battle starts. They’re pretty simple; one floor, a couple rooms here and there, but heck, if you fired a rocket or bazooka at the buildings, that’d blow them to Kingdom Come and do the job for you."
"And totally tip off the bad guys that’s we’re here," Buffy countered. Vamp Willow’s eyes rolled in wry agreement with Buffy’s point. "Hey, you thought about it. That’s good. We’ll probably scout ‘em and maybe we’ll take ‘em out before we go for the big show. How far along are you?"
"I’m almost done," the vampire assured her. She looked at the screen wanly and said, "It’d be easier if there was a regular PC here for me to send the files to, but the drug guy who lived here wasn’t big into keeping records."
"Yeah, vamps are usually not up on techno stuff or living in the twentieth century," Buffy observed. When Vamp Willow gave her a pout, she laughed. "Exception to every rule, Will."
The bikini-clad redhead obviously appreciated the compliment. She even blushed like Willow might have. She turned back to the screen and said, "I’ll just save the files and Steve can look at them when he comes back."
"Okay," the blonde Immortal replied. She cocked her head and asked, "So, who’s still awake? Anyone waiting for JP to get back?"
Vamp Willow’s eyes scrunched in thought. "Uhm, yeah. Angel and my Xander are still up, it’s daytime for us. . . you know what I mean." Buffy nodded. "Okay, your twin went to get some sleep, so did all the FBI guys and girls. My twin, your Xander, both Oz’s, Larry, and Cordelia are still awake; they’re placing bets on who comes back with Kevin and that cute wizard. That JP guy from our world, the elf guys, and what’s her name. . . Ceirdwyn? She’s still awake and talking with King Arthur…"
"What is it, Will?"
She rolled her eyes and said, "I can’t believe I’m having a conversation with KING ARTHUR in it! I mean, yeah, vampire, demons, that I know, but. ."
Buffy leaned in and said, "Willow, breathe." She then remembered that this Willow didn’t require that. "Scratch that. Slow down and speak s-l-o-w-l-y. I’m not big on speed talking."
"Okay," Vamp Willow sighed. She looked around the room and said, "I just have a lot on my mind. Getting used to the doubles was hard enough. Now I’m meeting people who live forever, the Genie from Aladdin, and now King Arthur! I mean, this is stuff I only read about and now I’m like a part of it. Kinda takes getting used to."
"Oh, *tell* me about it," Buffy grinned, remembering her own life. "Getting Chosen, becoming an Immortal, meeting dragons, going to another dimension before this one, meeting Gods and angels. You never know what’s going to come up next."
"I can’t wait to find out," the hacker said sarcastically, leading both to laugh.
"I’m gonna get something to drink," Buffy said. Standing up, she glanced at the vampire and asked, "Did the drug guy keep anything you could. . . you know?"
Vamp Willow adamantly shook her head. "If there’s anything in the fridge, it’s all human blood," she said in disgust. "I don’t want it."
Buffy’s eyed her sympathetically. "Sorry, Willow. I didn’t mean to bring that up, I just…"
"No," the girl sniffled. "It’s okay." She looked at Buffy and put on her patented "resolve" face. "I’ll be okay."
"Okay," Buffy said uncertainly. Knowing it would do no good to press the issue, she turned and left for the kitchen.
Buffy walked into the kitchen and picked up a glass. After rinsing it out for what seemed like hours (to wipe out any possibility of leftover drops of blood being in it), she poured herself a glass of water. As she raised it to her lips, she felt a presence behind her. From past experience she knew who it was. The Slayer set the glass down and, without moving or batting an eyelash, greeted her company.
"Hello, Angel."
She turned around and smiled a bit at the look of surprise on his face. "Sorry," she teased, "force of habit."
"I see," he said nervously. He looked around the kitchen, looking at everything but the person he’d come to talk to.
"Angel," she said, getting him to look at her, "out with it."
"All right," he said reluctantly, "I wanted to ask you about. . . us."
"Us?" Buffy asked with raised eyebrows.
"Yeah," he said then hesitated. "You and my counterpart. I. . . wanted to know how the two of you got together."
Buffy looked Angel up and down before saying, "Uh, one question before I answer your question. Do you want to hear it so that you can get it on with the other Buffy, or because you want to know what my Angel and me did? Because if it’s the latter, I’d feel like I was opening a whole new can of worms with the idea of "kiss and tell."
Angel’s jaw dropped, forcing Buffy to laugh at him. She covered her mouth with her hand and babbled, "I’m kidding!"
The relief on Angel’s face was palpable. "God, don’t DO that!" he pleaded. He looked embarrassed by his outburst. He swallowed and said, "I’m sorry. I just. . . well, since I met you, I’ve wanted to talk to you. But you seem to be avoiding me."
The amusement faded, and Buffy glanced at the floor. "Sorry," she said. <Why do I feel so uncomfortable?> She brought her head up, tossing her blonde hair around. "Look, Angel. I know this might sound weird coming from me, but...well, I’m nervous around you. It’s not even the dimension thing. It’s…" She paused and took a deep breath. "Angel, part of it is that I’m seeing the man I fell in love with. You’re the same man, even if things didn’t work out the way they did in my universe. But the problem is. . . well, it’s not that you’re not the Angel I knew. It’s that..."
When she glanced at the door, Angel said, "You’re in love with someone else."
"Yeah," Buffy whispered. She glanced at Angel and tilted her head to one side. "I won’t lie to you, Angel. I still feel a little ‘tug’ when I look at you. I loved you so much. When you lost your soul, it felt like a part of me shriveled up and died, ‘cause I knew I’d have to kill the man I loved. I was on my way to becoming like that other me when Steve showed up." She looked at the ceiling and whispered, "I fell in love with Steve and. . .I let Angel go."
Seeing the look on her face, Angel asked, "Are you happy?"
"Of course I am," Buffy said in surprise. She stared at him and saw that his eyes were glistening. She moved up to him and said, "Angel, I’m not the one you’re in love with."
"I know that," the souled vampire admitted. He said, "But I don’t know if I stand a chance."
Buffy gripped his shoulders and turned him toward the door. "Angel, the Buffy you’re in love with is out there. The Slayer you fell for is out there, in the same house." She backed up two steps, forcing him to look at her. She told him, "Angel, my Mom saw me in her. I know what you’re thinking, but I can tell you that. If my Mom sees me in that Buffy, then there’s a chance."
The Immortal Slayer sighed and began pacing. She went on while walking back and forth. "I don’t know if I’m the person to ask advice for this, Angel. I mean, I’m kind of close to this. But one thing I’m sure of; when it’s all over, if you’re both still kicking, you two could fall for each other." She stopped and folded her arms. With a trace of uncertainty, she said, "But she’s got some serious issues over Mom. So you can’t push her too fast, or she’ll just shove you back. You’ve got a thing for her, but you have to give her time, okay? Maybe she’ll stay here, or you could go with her. But give it time." Buffy then told Angel about the beginning of her association with his counterpart. "Angel and I didn’t really click at first. He was so...’Cryptic Guy.’ He’d show up and say, ‘Hi, Buffy-you’re in danger! See you next month!’ So it took us a while."
"I see your point," he sighed. He licked his lips. "Honestly, Buffy, do you think we’d have a chance? My Buffy and me?"
"Well," she said, thought about it for a moment, then continued. "She sort of knows you and I think she’s okay with you having a soul and all. She’s had her feelings on lockdown for a long time, but I think Mom helped her start to come around. If you guys hang together enough, I think it could happen. Just don’t ask me for a time table."
"Right," Angel said with a chuckle, but Buffy could see the hope dawning in his eyes. He looked at her, allowing her to see the gratitude in those dark orbs as well. "Thank you, Buffy."
"Don’t thank me yet, Angel." She drained her glass of water and set the glass in the sink. "You have to do the hard work. What’s hard for you is you know that I fell in love with you. That can make it rough if *she* doesn’t fall head over heels for you right away or at all. But you have to remember something; you have time. You’ve waited two years for her to show up, so you know you can do it." She gazed at Angel, giving him looks of sympathy mixed with her memories. "Besides, you’re still Angel. There’s just something about the whole ‘brooding pretty boy in the long dark coat’ routine that attracts a girl. But just remember, that might cause you more problems than you want."
"How?" he asked.
Buffy smiled at him. "In my universe, Cordy was attracted to Angel, too."
Angel shook his head in confusion. "But she died here, Buffy."
"Yeah," the Slayer said impishly, "but you still have your Willow to deal with."
Angel’s face took on a worried look, leading Buffy to start giggling at him.
"I’m just kidding," she promised him. She stood on her tiptoes and gave him a light peck on the cheek. She then looked him in the eye and said, "I’d like to see you happy, Angel. Both of you. But like I said, just give it time. Okay?"
Knowing that she spoke from sometimes painful experience, the vampire in love with a Slayer nodded. "I promise."
"Good," she said softly. "Come on, let’s go see if the last group’s arrived yet."
She turned and left the kitchen, Angel letting her go so as not to crowd her. After waiting a few seconds, he followed.
Steve walked into the living room, followed by the kids and Robin. Ceirdwyn, Arthur, and Tobabaird had volunteered to stand a two-hour watch so that the kids could get some sleep.
Steve watched Vamp Xander walk over and begin massaging Vamp Willow’s shoulders. She leaned back and purred, "Mmmmmm. You haven’t done that in. . . how long?"
"A week," Vamp Xander chuckled. He looked at Steve and said, "You want to take a look at those other lairs now?"
The Wanderer nodded and took the seat vacated by Vamp Willow. He sat down and glanced at the plans she’d placed on the monitor. He was impressed; she’d included floor-by-floor plans, using separate and overlapping blueprints, and had even noted entrance points above and below ground. Obviously, this girl knew her stuff, just like the Willow he knew.
"Good job, Willow," St. Wolf said with a nod. When she didn’t answer, he said, "Willow?"
Snickers from behind him spurred him to turn around.
He wasn’t surprised to see the Vamp lovers in a deep, passionate lip lock. Steve sighed and said, "WILLOW."
The two jumped as if startled. Vamp Willow turned around with a glazed look in her eyes. "Yeah?"
Steve jerked his head towards the computer screen. "Is this everything?"
"Oh. That’s everything," the bikini-wearing girl replied. She moved forward and tapped a button. The screen changed to show the entire sewer system of Sunnydale. "Here are the plans for the sewer system. I put the connecting routes between all of our. . . I mean, all of the Master’s lairs."
"Very nice," the Wanderer said approvingly. "Okay, we’ll work on some. . ."
"Teleporter, Steve," Robin said with a cocked head. "Feels like JP and gang."
The Slayerettes and the others cleared the circle, to prevent any unfortunate teleportation accidents, such as someone materializing in solid matter (such as another person). An instant later, five people appeared in the living room.
Steve saw JP, Tannim, and Keighvin and relaxed. He looked at the other two people, both women. One he didn’t recognize, but the other, a red-haired teenager wearing tight leather pants, seemed familiar. He tried to put it together, but Robin cleared everything up.
"I didn’t ask for this job!" the fairy screamed to the Heavens. "I swear to God, I didn’t ask for it!"
The fairy turned in a huff and left the room, cursing something in the fairy tongue that no one wanted to have translated for them. Steve, Genie, and the two women were confused, but JP and those who’d accompanied him were snickering at the sprite’s discomfort. The Scoobies were more or less grinning except for the worried-looking Buffy and Cordelia. Genie glanced at Steve, who nodded for him to bring the sour Robin back. Big Blue popped out in a flash of sparkles.
The younger woman asked, "What’s his problem?"
The older woman, her mother if the resemblance meant anything, said, "I don’t know, Amy."
<Amy?> Steve thought, before moaning. <I’m getting too old for this shit!> He moved forward and offered his hand. "Ladies, welcome to the Hellmouth. I’m Steven St. Wolf, the commander of this assault force."
The elder woman offered her hand, but Buffy moved in front of her and stared the woman down. "Okay, before we go any further, a couple questions."
"Buffy!" Steve snapped.
"Trust me on this, honey," the Slayer said evenly. She turned back to the new arrivals and said, "Which one of you is Amy?"
The women looked at each other. Amy shrugged and said, "I see why they needed our help."
Her mother turned back to Buffy and asked, "May I ask what’s going on here?"
"You ARE Amy, right?" Cordelia said, adding her two cents by speaking to Amy. "You’re not really Catherine Madison trying to relive her glory days as a cheerleader, by switching your body with Amy and wiping out the competition when you only make third alternate?"
Amy blinked. She shared another look with her mother and said, "You, a cheerleader?"
Both Madison women broke into fits of laughter. Buffy and Cordelia then breathed massive sighs of relief.
Catherine smiled at Buffy and said, "Again, may I ask exactly what that was about?"
"Uh, let’s just say that we’ve met you before and, well. . ."
"I get the point," she replied. She turned to Steve and said, "Mr. St. Wolf, I’m Catherine and, by the others’ reactions, I take it you know my daughter."
"We do," Steve said in frustration. "It figures that one of the people we left behind would show up here."
"Damn!" Amy hissed. When the fighters looked at her, she shoved her hands into her jacket pockets and shrugged. "I was looking forward to meeting the other me."
Willow walked up with a smile on her face. "Don’t worry, Amy," she said with a gleam in her eye. "We’ll get you caught up."
Steve moaned as the kids and Catherine laughed. Robin rejoined the group and walked up to the Madisons. "Sorry about that. The Big Guy’s rubbing it in my face."
"Rubbing what?" Amy asked.
Willow leaned in and got a great deal of pleasure over the panic starting to form on the sprite’s face. "On our world, he’s your boyfriend."
Amy’s eyes widened a bit. She looked Robin up and down for a few seconds before finally shrugging. "Hmmm. Not bad." She turned and asked Steve, "So where are the bad guys?"
Surprised by Amy’s eagerness, Steve said, "All over this town, Amy. We’re going to get some sleep first, and go after them tonight."
Amy snapped her fingers in disgust. "Oh well."
Steve looked at Catherine, who said, "I’ll talk with you in private, if that’s all right?"
The Texan nodded. He looked at the kids and said, "Okay, let’s pack it in for tonight. Willow, Xander, Cordelia, hook JP, Keighvin, Tannim, and Amy up with whatever they need and show them to their bunks. Kevin, I have Toby on guard duty with Ceirdwyn and Arthur. He volunteered, but if you want, I’ll post somebody else."
"No, that’s all right," Silverhair agreed. He said, "In fact, I’ll join him and discuss plans with Dharinel." He glanced at the others and said, "In case I don’t see you until later, good night."
Keighvin left, leaving the Slayerettes alone with JP, Tannim, the Vamps and the Madison women. Steve said, "Well, let’s follow their lead. Everyone find a bunk and get some shuteye. Catherine, if you’ll follow me, I’ll bring you up to speed."
The various fighters moved to do what they’d been told. JP looked at Robin, who still had a sour look on his face.
"What’s the matter?" he asked. "Don’t like being in the same boat as everyone else?"
"Shut up, Aderron," Robin snapped.
Catherine followed Steve into what appeared to be an office. She waited for her host to turn around and speak to her.
"She seems a little too eager to be here, Mrs. Madison," St. Wolf began. "Is she seeing this as an adventure of some type?"
Catherine sighed and folded her arms. She glanced at St. Wolf and said, "I’ll be honest, Mr. St. Wolf. She is eager, I’ll not argue that point. But she knows this is serious business. But there IS a reason we are here."
The elder Madison explained the spell that Amy had cast before finding out about the visitors to New Salem. When she finished the explanation, Steve rubbed the bridge of his nose with his forefinger and thumb. Catherine watched him for several seconds before she spoke again.
"May I ask what you’re so frustrated about?" the witch asked.
"The spell she cast called upon some of the Old Gods," Steve muttered in disgust.
Catherine frowned. "Amy and I call on Hecate for our spells, Mr. St. Wolf. I’ll have you know that we are firm believers in the old ways. Do you have a problem with working with pagans?"
"It’s not that, Mrs. Madison," the Immortal told her. He let out a massive sigh and said, "It’s one of the specific Powers she called upon. I see that our coming here has escalated beyond helping the Slayer and her group eliminate the Master." He spared her a glance and asked, "Would you bring your daughter in here, please? I think I can shed some light on this destiny spell of hers."
Although she was thrown a bit by the change in subject, she nodded. "Of course."
Then she turned and went to get Amy.
The two Oz’s walked over to the bunk assigned to Wish Oz, with Larry and Willow following behind. As he started to unfold a blanket, Oz gripped his shoulder.
Wish Oz looked at Oz and cocked an eyebrow. "Yeah?"
Oz sniffed a bit and said, "You’re human, right?"
Wish Oz shared a look with Larry, who shrugged. He said, "You’re not a vampire."
Oz shook his head. He let a smile touch his lips and said, "I need to warn you about something. Big time."
"What?" Wish Oz asked.
"Jordy," the werewolf told his double. "Don’t tickle him. He bites."
The White Hat’s eyebrow twitched. "So?"
"So," Willow said, trying to break the monosyllabic conversation, "if Jordy bites you, Giles and Larry will have to lock you in the book cage every month."
It was Larry who said, "How come?"
"Werewolf."
Wish Oz and Larry looked at Oz for a few seconds. In the end, Wish Oz commented for both of them.
"Huh."
Willow rolled her eyes and told Larry, "Some things never change."
"Whatever universe you’re in?" Larry added, to which Willow nodded.
Xander, Vamp Xander, Cordelia and Vamp Willow showed Amy the various weapons that she had to choose from. She just examined them with a look of disgust.
"How can I use these things?" the New Salemite asked the others. "Don’t tell me she’s not a witch!"
"Of course she is," Cordelia huffed. "It’s just that we do a lot of cross training with martial arts and military-type stuff."
Amy pictured herself lugging guns and ammunition and shuddered. "God, this is weird."
When no one replied, she looked up to see Xander and Cordelia staring at her strangely. "What?"
"Nothing," Xander said after overcoming his surprise. "Just been a while since we've heard your voice say "God" and not "Goddess."
"Oh," Amy said, looking at the Vamp couple. They just shrugged. The witch said, "Look, I’ll take the body armor, but these guns and stuff, no thank you. Magic will work for me." She looked at Xander. "Unless you guys have some extra swords or knives. I’ve used them in rituals and stuff."
"Uh, we’ll see what we have," Cordelia muttered. She looked at Vamp Willow and said, "Great. She’s just like her cousin."
"What cousin?" Amy asked, catching the comment.
"Uh, the half-elven one," Xander said. He shot a glare at Cordy. "Nice going, honey."
"Half-ELF?" the dark-haired witch muttered. She looked at Vamp Willow and said, "Girl, we HAVE to compare notes on this."
Vamp Willow smiled; the girl knew she was a vampire, but wasn’t having problems with it. "Sure thing," the redhead told the other. "Maybe we can compare. . . other things, too."
When Xander and Cordelia started to groan, Vamp Xander snickered. That is, until Amy responded and dropped all the jaws in the room to the floor.
"Maybe..." the witch said to the blatant invitation. A smile touched her lips as she added, "If you play your cards right..."
Leaving off there, she turned and walked out, but not before saying, "I’m going to bed. See you later."
Vamp Willow openly stared just as much as the others before she regained her composure and said, "Xander, I hope she stays here."
Vamp Xander just chuckled.
Cordelia moaned, "I’m gonna spend all my savings on therapy!"
"Maybe Sydney offers group discounts," Xander offered.
"Shut up, Xander!"
Amy and Catherine met in the living room, where both universes’ versions of Giles were talking with Arthur. When they introduced themselves, Amy and Catherine were understandably stunned at being in the same room with the once and future King of England. It took a few seconds for the teenager to realize what she was doing.
"I can’t believe I’m talking to King Arthur!" she exclaimed with a grin.
"Yes, it’s an honor," Wish Giles remarked with a tiny grin in her direction. He glanced at Arthur and said, "I’ve read all about you since I was a child, the battles, the campaigns, even that. . . unpleasantness with Guinevere and Galahad."
"You mean Lancelot," Giles said in argument.
"No, Galahad," Wish Giles reiterated. "Galahad was the one who had the affair with Guinevere. Didn’t you learn anything at Eaton?"
Giles took off his glasses and rubbed his nose. "You know, I wish Robin had provided us with Cliff’s Notes on the dimensional differences before we had come here."
"Hey," Robin protested. "I don’t know everything." After a pause, he said, "Well, not about this world, at least."
"I hate to break up this most interesting conversation," Catherine said, "but Amy, Mr. St. Wolf wants to see us. He said he might know something about the spell you cast."
"Really?" Amy grinned. "Cool! Let’s go."
As the Madisons turned and left, Giles looked at Robin and saw him staring at the way Amy’s leather pants hugged her bottom. He cleared his throat, drawing the fairy’s attention.
"She isn’t your Amy, Robin," Giles said in a low voice.
"I know, I know," the sprite mumbled. "But you can’t blame a man for admiring the scenery."
Catherine led Amy into the office. When Amy saw Steve, the younger witch grinned at him. "What’s up, Mr. St. Wolf?"
Steve glanced at her mother and said, "I understand you cast a spell to find your destiny shortly before coming here, Amy. Well, your mother told me about it and I think I can safely say that someone answered your call."
"Really? Who?" Amy asked enthusiastically.
"I did," a female voice answered.
Amy whirled to see a woman standing between her and her mother. The woman stood nearly six feet tall, and was dressed in brown deerskin clothing. She could see Catherine preparing a spell to defend her daughter if necessary, but Steve waved her down.
Catherine moved around the smiling woman and stood in front of and to the left of her daughter. She said, "Who are you, and what do you have to do with my daughter?"
Steve moved forward and stood between the three women. He looked back and forth between them before speaking. "Mrs. Madison, I’d like to introduce. . ."
"Steven, please," the stranger said with a humored voice, "don’t ruin the surprise." She focused on Amy, who had begun to feel like a bug under a microscope. She smiled pleasantly and said, "So, you are the one who called for your destiny."
Not seeing any reason to lie, Amy regained a bit of her confidence and said, "Yeah, I did."
Catherine butted in at this point. "Why are you so interested in Amy’s spell?"
The woman’s smile grew wider. She put her hands behind her back and asked, "If you wish to, look at me using your special sight. I think that might explain much and satisfy your curiosity."
Amy and Catherine both peered at the woman for several seconds. Catherine put the pieces together and looked like she was weak in the knees. Amy, on the other hand, was confused, although she had realized what kind of being now stood before her.
"Who are you?"
"You should know, Amy Madison," the Goddess teased. "You cast the spell and called to me."
"Uh. . ."
Seeing that she couldn’t put the pieces together, the Woman said, "Amy, I am Artemis. Greek Goddess of the Hunt." Seeing the continued puzzlement, the Huntress told her, "My brother was Apollo, the only God to retain the same name when the Romans stole their mythology from the Greeks. Thus, you should know my name as it was to the Romans."
Amy’s eyes widened as she finally put it all together. A wide smile brightened on her face. "Oh, WOW!!! I didn’t know it’d work like this! This is SO COOL!"
Artemis looked at Catherine, who sighed at teenage enthusiasm. "Amy," she said, drawing her gushing daughter’s attention, "you called upon the Lady Goddess in your destiny spell. Perhaps you should show her some appreciation for being kind enough to *answer* you?"
Amy’s enthusiasm dissipated as she looked at the Goddess with a long face. "I’m sorry!" she blurted out. She hurriedly asked Artemis, "What am I supposed to do with my life? I can’t figure it out!"
Seeing that Amy was flustered now, the Goddess of the Hunt gently said, "Your destiny is your own to determine, Amy Madison. There are two things you should remember when dealing with destiny. First, if you knew all of the answers beforehand, your destiny would lack meaning. Secondly, the journey, the path you choose and choices you make, often define your life more clearly than the destination at the end of the road."
Amy thought about it for over a minute. She sagged and said, "What you’re saying is I need to find it on my own."
"Not entirely, little one," Artemis countered, giggling at Amy’s glare at being called "little one." "You have people here who know the path your counterpart has taken. You have also met their counterparts in this universe. I do not think it was coincidence that you cast your spell at a time I was looking in on this particular reality, Amy. What I can tell you is this; talk with the other children. Get to know them. As you progress, your might find that you are the one who chooses your destiny rather than having it chosen for you."
With that, Artemis vanished in a burst of light. Catherine looked at Amy’s thoughtful face before looking at Steve.
"Why doesn’t it surprise me that you know Artemis?" the witch asked.
"I know a lot of people," Steve answered noncommittally. "But perhaps you should get some rest. We take the fight to the Master soon."
Catherine nodded and guided the contemplative Amy out of the office. After waiting several seconds to make sure no one else was going to come in, Steve whispered, "Why didn’t you tell her?"
Artemis appeared with a serious look on Her face. She slowly smiled and said, "Because she would have begged me to give her my blessing. You know my Amazons had more than earned it when I gave them their gifts back in February. This one has yet to earn it, but I think she will do so before too long." She paused and asked, "Do you agree with my opinion?"
"It’s up to you, Artemis," the Immortal said thoughtfully. He pursed his lips and stared at the door where the two women had left the room. "But what’s your opinion on her?"
"She is eager, Steven," Artemis said, backing up the demon hunter’s assessment. "But I think the children will be a good influence on her when she sees how cautious they are. But for now, she seems to be very interested in one of those who live here."
"Who?"
"And ruin the surprise?" the Olympian giggled. "I don’t think so."
The Goddess vanished, leaving St. Wolf shaking his head. Before he could think about anything else, Robin poked his head in.
"Hey, Wanderer," he said with a smile, "someone else showed up to help. Seems Arty explained the situation to him and he agreed to lend a hand."
"What?" Before Steve could move forward, a large man entered the room. He examined the man and realized this was this universe’s version of an old friend of his. Steve looked up at the ceiling and shouted, "Now THIS is too much!"
"Glad to see you too, Steve," Hercules chuckled.
Cordelia and the two Xanders had gone to the kitchen to get something to drink before turning in. Vamp Xander had emphatically turned down drinking any blood, despite his hunger.
"So, let me get this straight," Vamp Xander mused, "on your world, Kevin Sorbo’s still playing Hercules."
"Yep," Xander said. "And on your world, he’s doing this Star Trek ripoff called ‘Andromeda.’"
"Right," Vamp Xander agreed. He said, "That Herc role never worked out for him, since he didn’t get a pilot. Roddenberry made him the offer for big bucks to do the show, so he took it." He looked at Cordelia, who giggled under her breath. "What’s so funny?"
"Dude, you don’t get it," Xander chuckled along with his girlfriend. "Kevin Sorbo’s Hercules."
"Yeah, he used to be."
Xander and Cordelia’s heads thumped onto the kitchen table. Vamp Xander’s eyes moved back and forth.
He asked, "What?"
"Okay, one more time," Xander groaned. He looked at his jacket-wearing double and said, "Xand, you saw the way he just popped in, right?" When Vamp Xander nodded, he went on. "He popped in just like Joanie, just like JP, just like Genie, and just like Artemis. What does that tell you?"
Vamp Xander said, "That maybe he’s not human. Big deal."
Cordelia moaned, "Dammit, Xander! Get a clue! He teleports in with the SAME flash of light as Artemis and Ares! What does that tell you?!?"
"That maybe he’s some kind of Greek God?" Vamp Xander joked.
Xander grinned. "Finally! You GOT IT!"
Vamp Xander apparently didn’t get it until ten seconds later. He began stammering, "W-w-w-w-wait a minute! You mean Kevin Sorbo’s. . ."
"The REAL Hercules," the lovebirds finished. Cordelia added, "We’ve met his twin in our world."
"Wait a minute here," Vamp Xander said, still confused about something. "We know there’s only one Robin and Willow told me there’s only one Artemis. How can there be two Hercules?"
"Well, he was half-mortal, remember? His Dad was Zeus and. . ." Xander stopped as he thought about that. He, Cordelia, and Vamp Xander all looked at each other for several seconds as the implications sank in. Xander gulped and said, "Wow. His Dad REALLY got around, didn’t he?"
"No wonder Hera was always so pissed," Vamp Xander finished.
Vamp Willow walked into the master bedroom that she’d claimed for herself and her lover. She distractedly tore off her new outfit and boots before stretching herself to her full length. She closed her eyes, threw her arms up, and interlocked her fingers. Raising her arms up, she stretched her body for all it’s worth. That had the effect of pressing her firm breasts tight against her ribcage and showing her defined thigh and calf muscles to their best effect as she stood on her tiptoes. Then she heard a soft gasp of sated pleasure come from the bed. Her eyes opened and flared in indignation. Someone had stolen the bed she’d called dibs on!
"Hey!" the redheaded vamp snapped. "That’s MY bed!"
There was some rustling under the sheets, and two heads poked out. Willow recognized them as Sonja and Gabrielle. The two women both sat up and held the sheets against their chests. They stared at the petite redhead, who glared at them while she stood before them totally au natural.
Sonja turned to Gabrielle and said, "I do seem to remember her calling dibs, Gabbie."
"So? We were here first," the blonde Immortal retorted. "You snooze, you lose."
Vamp Willow’s eyes glowed yellow as her demon face partially emerged. "That bed’s for me and Xander!" she snarled, her territorial instincts screaming inside her body at full tilt. "Don’t make me force you out!"
Sonja let a naughty smile form slowly on her angular face. "Force is okay," she purred.
"Besides," Gabrielle added, a sensuous grin spreading across her lovely face, "we’re willing to share."
Vamp Willow had drawn another breath to threaten them again, but hesitated, and held her tongue. She blinked a few times, then asked, "How old are you again?"
"Twenty-five hundred," Gabrielle answered.
Sonja said, "Twelve thousand."
"Oh," Vamp Willow muttered. She considered her options for a few seconds before shrugging. "You realize that I won’t get exhausted. You sure the two of you are up to it?"
Sonja looked at her lover. "I know a challenge when I hear one. And that definitely sounded like a challenge"
Gabrielle stared Vamp Willow down. "You really think you can keep up with us, Willow? We’ve got a lot of experience between us."
Vamp Willow sauntered forward, stretching herself out on the bed between the two Immortals. She reached up with each hand and gently stroked the cheeks of both women. Then she shrugged and said, "We’ll see. Maybe I can teach you both a thing or two."
After several pleasurable minutes of comfortable conversation, Vamp Xander stood up in the kitchen and yawned. "Well, guys, I’m wasted. I’m heading to bed. Talk to you tonight?"
"Sure, Xand," Xander agreed with a grin. He chuckled and said, "Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do."
"Right," the vampire joked. He smirked at his doppelganger. "I’ll give you the details about me and Will when I wake up."
"Sure thing," Xander said before getting a smack on the head. "OW!" He turned to Cordelia. "What was THAT for?!?"
"For wanting details about you and Willow sleeping together!" the Amazon warrior blared with eyes filled with wrath.
Xander’s jaw dropped as he realized what he’d said. His gaze shifted to Vamp Xander. "Uhm..."
"Gotcha," Vamp Xander said, "shooting" at Xander with a finger gun. "You walked into that one."
Xander shook his head while his twin turned and left the room. He heard Cordelia go "eep!" as she too realized she’d been had by their friend.
<I’m calling him a ‘friend,’> Xander thought. A smile curved his lips. <Hey, why not? He’s me.>
Xander turned to Cordelia, who watched him intently. "What?!?"
She hesitated, glancing at the table for some time before she asked, "Why do you put up with it?"
"With what?"
"My slaps," the Prom Queen muttered. She swallowed nervously before continuing. "I just remembered what you and that Xander had said about your father hitting you. And now, after I just did it to you, the memory just flashed in my mind..."
Xander took her hand into his own. "Hey, that’s different."
She yanked her hand away from him like it had been scorched. "No, it’s not!" She paused to compose herself and reached for his hand again. "I smack you like that and I remember what you guys said about your home life being total shit. Then I see how the other you hooked up with Willow, and I’m afraid that---"
Xander took her face in his hands. "Stop right there." Before tears began to stream down her face, he stared deeply into her dark, misty eyes and gently said, "You are NOT going to drive me to Willow. Cordelia, yeah, my dad goes nutzoid when he’s drunk. Yeah, he can be abusive, with the lingo or with his fists. And yeah, he’s spent eighteen years doing whatever he can to beat me down. Well, guess what. I never listen to his shit any more. I don’t need his approval to feel good about myself. I have great friends who love me and respect me because I work hard and help people. I also have an awesome woman like you."
She sniffled and said, "I don’t want to lose you, honey." Cordelia stared into his eyes, her eyes flicking back and forth, searching his face. "Xander… I just keep seeing how you hooked up with Willow in this universe. I know you love her, you always have. And I just see--"
Xander smiled and interrupted her. "Let me tell you something," he said. He gently squeezed Cordelia’s hands. "You’re like me in a way. If I don’t think someone’s worth my time, I ignore them. It’s like that with the jokes. You ignore people you think aren’t worth your time, like the Popular Crowd you used to hang with. And I joke with those who are worth dealing with. I see it this way; the more *you* care about someone, the more you deal with them. You smack me and insult me all the time; it’s your favorite hobby--well, after shopping. Either you really, really hate me or those are just love taps and sweet talk, Cordy-style."
"Xander. . ."
"Let me finish," Xander requested. She nodded slightly and he smiled even more. "For one thing, yeah I love Willow. But I never saw her in the way that I’ve seen you since we were kids. For God’s sake, I’ve had a crush on you since the fifth grade. Why else would I leave flowers in *your* locker all the time? And remember what you told the football team? You told them you could hang with whomever you wanted. And when I consider that you chose me…the way I see it, I’m the luckiest guy at Sunnydale High." Cordelia’s bottom lip quivered, but Xander kept going. "Now, we can establish some ground rules for your little ‘love taps,’ but I figure that as long as it’s only when I say something stupid, you can go ahead if you think it’ll keep me on the straight and narrow. God knows someone has to."
"How can you JOKE about this?" she demanded. "I love you! I don’t want to hurt you, or cause you pain! I’m not a dominatrix like your double’s squeeze, Vamp Willow-DeSade!" she stammered, her tears finally spilling down her cheeks.
"Honey…" he said, shushing her. He wiped the tears gently from her eyes and tenderly caressed her face. "When you do it, they’re just love taps. You’re not doing it to beat me down. Please, honey, I don’t want you to change, not one bit," Xander said. He put a finger to her lips to quiet her. "I fell for a girl with fire, a fire that she wasn’t afraid to show when she needed to. You had it before you met Arty. In fact, it’s what got Her attention. All Arty did was make it easier for you to show the world what a damn fine woman you are." After a pause, he added, "In a buff, hero-type way."
Cordy’s eyes flashed. "I am NOT buff! I’m sexy!"
"Case in point," the empowered teen sighed.
Cordelia sniffled a bit, then her face lit up in a beatific smile. Xander reached up and pulled her face toward his, then their lips locked together in a deep, loving kiss as his declaration served to reassure the Amazon that she was the only woman for him.
As he crept into the bedroom, Vamp Xander didn’t bother to turn the lights on; he wanted to go straight to bed. He wriggled out of his leather jacket and hung it on the doorknob. He didn’t want his ‘baby’ to lie on the floor for hours. He took his shirt off and started to undo his pants when he caught sight of movement in the bed claimed by his sweetheart. He stopped dead in his tracks and found three beautiful, naked women making love on their bed.
Sonja was in the middle of the group. The smaller redhead and the blonde Amazon queen were simultaneously servicing the tall Immortal warrior. Sonja lay on her side facing Gabrielle. The bard alternated between licking and sucking an engorged nipple on Sonja’s papaya-sized left breast, while the smaller woman’s left hand fondled the other. Occasionally, she would lightly grip Sonja’s aureoles with her teeth and pull the slightest little bit, causing the Hyborean to moan from the pain that hurt so good.
Of course, Vamp Willow was doing her part to titillate the fifteen thousand year old barbarian. The souled vampire rubbed her hand along and inside of Sonja’s nether lips, varying her technique enough to keep her fellow fire-hair at the edge of release. Vamp Willow would tease her by backing off just as she sensed Sonja was going to tumble over the edge. As she rubbed her face against Sonja’s muscular thigh and planted tender kisses against the tanned skin, Vamp Xander knew that his little demon was just warming up—her game face was still tucked away.
He heard a low groan issue from his own throat when, finally, Will straddled Sonja’s shin with her bare pussy and she leaned over to sample the cleft between Sonja’s legs. Xander leered, knowing what his long-time lover would do to the Immortal. Rather than the steady lapping motion Gabrielle now used on Sonja’s tits, Vamp Willow darted her cool and talented tongue in and out, flicking it like a cobra tasting for its prey, using the edge of her tongue to strike the most sensitive parts of the larger woman’s core. Soon after, his vampiric hearing clearly heard Sonja’s breath catch in her throat as she began to quiver from the pleasurable assault on her nervous system.
Then Gabrielle reluctantly abandoned Sonja’s breasts and slithered downward, trailing her tongue along Sonja’s straining ribcage, past the bronze and firmly muscled abdomen with a quick dip into Sonja’s navel. Apparently liking the taste, Gabrielle paused and tried to completely insert her tongue into her partner’s belly button while she waited for Willow to share the bounty of Sonja’s sex with her.
The hacker, though, wasn’t ready to play nice. Switching methods again, Willow extended and retracted her tongue, barely penetrating Sonja’s inner folds while she drove her tongue in and out with an excruciatingly deliberate and slow pace. Her technique clearly pushed Sonja to the brink of bliss; however, the vampiress carefully avoided applying enough stimulation to complete the cascade.
Vamp Xander, unable to take anymore, had to unzip his pants and release his hardened manhood. It had become so hard, his cock felt like a tiger attempting to break out of its cage. He pulled the zipper down ever so slowly, but stopped when his girlfriend’s head whipped up and her yellow eyes stared at him in the darkness.
Sonja’s eyes shot open as her building orgasm died a swift and brutal death. She gasped, then moaned. "Willow...damnit! I was almost there again! Why'd you stop?!?"
"Well," she purred while watching him with a playful look on her face as she licked her lips to savor Sonja’s salty sweetness. "The sound of a zipper going down always grabs my attention."
"You bastard!" Sonja snapped at Vamp Xander. Falling back against the pillows with a soft "whump," she growled. "Do you have any idea how close I was to a third time?"
"Sorry," Vamp Xander muttered. He just couldn’t believe that these three had been going at it while he had been talking downstairs. "So are you ladies finished now?"
"Hell, no!" all three snapped. Vamp Willow turned, still kneeling on the bed, and provided him with a wonderful view of her tight little bottom. "You have two choices, Xander," she said over her shoulder. "Find another bunk, or..."
He didn’t need an engraved invitation. Fumbling with his pants, Xander nearly ripped them off and threw them to the floor. He wormed his way onto the bed and used his bulk to settle against a warm and buff female.
"Okay," Gabrielle said, stretching out on her side and idly drawing circles in the sheets with her finger, "who’s going to start with whom?"
"Hmmm . . ." Vamp Willow mused silently for a moment, then said, "Why don’t you two get better acquainted while Sonja and I take up where we left off?"
"Sounds like a plan," the Amazon queen agreed. She propped her head in one hand and let her eyes wander over the sole male in the room. "Well, Xander? I am an Amazon. Do you think you can keep up?"
Somewhat shaken by the earlier scene, Vamp Xander took her question as a challenge. "I can hold my own."
"We’ll soon see," Gabbie quipped. She laid back and said, "Well, what are you waiting for? Christmas is coming."
<You know, there are a lot of men who would gladly give their left nut to be me right now,> Vamp Xander mused. "Let’s get it on, Blondie!"
Vamp Willow moved over to Sonja’s side of the bed and asked, "Now, where were we?"
"Number three," the statuesque redhead reminded her chosen partner. "Goddess, I hope you can get me there again."
The vampire interlocked her fingers, extended her arms, and cracked her knuckles. She grinned and seductively whispered, "Don’t worry. The ‘doctor’ is in!"
She pressed her body against Sonja and their mouths locked together in a deep French kiss. Both women enjoyed the sensation of their tongues twirling against the other, tasting each other’s essence. Sonja’s tongue, being a bit larger, pried open Willow’s lips even further as she ran it along the smaller redhead’s gums, delving and caressing for several indescribable moments, before she twirled her tongue to taste the roof of the female vampire’s mouth. Willow shuddered from the glorious heat that assaulted her senses, from the warmth of Sonja’s lips, hands, body, and tongue. When they broke the kiss, Sonja gasped, then whispered, "Oh, Willow, you feel so good..."
She smiled inwardly and felt even warmer from the pleasure she had given Sonja. "When you’re dating a vampire, if you don’t learn how to French kiss properly, you’ll end up getting stitches," she said. "Now less talk—more smoochies!"
"I’ll do more than that," Sonja sneered, desire in her eyes.
She planted some hot, wet kisses on Vamp Willow’s neck that soon made the smaller woman squirm. When the vampire began to growl under the tender attack, Sonja proceeded toward Willow’s lower half, her butterfly kisses becoming more intense with each one. Finally, she reached the vamp’s small, pert breasts. She switched from kisses and sucked on Willow’s right nipple. Will shuddered as her body reacted to Sonja’s tender ministrations. She felt her tits harden and a warm, fuzzy feeling flood her nether regions. Then, leaving Willow’s chest slick with her warm saliva, the ancient one slid down and brushed her chin against the hair that guarded the other woman’s pussy. Sonja rubbed the palm of her hand against Willow’s nether lips, copying Willow’s earlier efforts. Vamp Willow moaned as her eyes fluttered shut. Her pussy reveled in the all-encompassing heat emanating from her lover’s hand. As she lay there, shaking her head side to side in ecstasy, she reached down with both hands and opened her core wider for Sonja’s further exploration.
She felt Sonja dip her fingers into the opening formed by her inner lips and had to bite back a scream. The Immortal’s gentle caresses sent impulses rocketing through her body from her scalp to the tips of her toes. After a few minutes of this, Vamp Willow felt the hot, wet tip of Sonja’s tongue circle the outer edges of her pussy lips before it gently spiraled inward toward the entrance to her core. By now, Vamp Willow’s body was sheathed in cold sweat. She grabbed the sheets and arched her back as the hot tongue dancing across her clit pushed her over the edge. She flung her head back and screamed, "I’m coming!" toward the ceiling as her body trembled under the throes of her orgasm and shifted into overdrive. Then, she hissed as another quake hit her, forcing her demon face to surface.
Meanwhile, Sonja had continued to sweetly torture the younger woman. When she had reached the very center of her loop, Sonja lapped in an up-and-down motion, up toward the top of the hood that guarded her clit, then down toward the part immediately above the opening of her inner lips. When she heard Willow begin to growl, Sonja smiled and drove her middle finger inside the vampire, craning it against her partner’s inner front wall to press against her G-spot. After several "come hither" motions of her finger inside Willow, the teenager issued a feral snarl that lasted for twenty seconds as she came again.
Then, her instincts robbing her of control, Willow jerked upright and wrapped her arms around Sonja. The vampiress dragged her nails across the Immortal’s back, leaving thin, red ribbons on Sonja’s skin. Sonja pressed her full breasts against Willow’s pert ones and planted a passionate kiss on Vamp Willow’s lips. Apparently the barbarian didn’t care or was too far gone to worry about either Willow’s demonic visage, the sharp, momentary flashes of pain from Willow’s talons, or the blood dripping down her back. As their tongues dueled in a dance of passion, Vamp Willow tasted herself and loved it. As both demon and human moaned, the vamp hugged the Immortal for all she was worth, while the girl slipped Sonja another taste of her tongue.
As the two redheaded vixens began to play with each other, Vamp Xander reached for Gabrielle. As he looked into her innocent face with her doe-like eyes, eyes so trusting, yet so worldly, so old, his demon grew excited. He brought her close and touched her chastely. It was difficult for him to allow the assertive side to take over because he still had trouble knowing where he left off and the demon began, and he didn’t want to frighten the Amazon queen who still looked like a maiden. He cradled his chin on top of her vanilla-scented hair while she tenderly kissed his chest. When her lips touched him, he gasped, his skin quivering from the living heat of her body against him. <My God! If vamps knew how hot humans are, they wouldn’t kill ‘em—they’d fuck ‘em!>
While he was lost in the incredible sensation of her gentle mouth against his skin, Gabrielle slid down, kissing and licking, occasionally giving him a playful nip. <Jesus! She’s so good! It’s hard to believe she’s not as innocent as she looks,> he thought.
When she reached his manhood, she nudged the erect member to one side with her delicate nose, causing him to shiver when her moist breath caressed it. Then she took his left nut into her mouth and let her lips envelope him while her tongue stroked it back and forth. "Jesus Christ!" he moaned, as Gabrielle continued loving him while she gently stroked his thighs with her fingernails. "The other one!" he nearly shrieked. "Please…do the other one," he begged between gasps.
The last Queen of the Amazons ignored his entreaties. She took her own sweet time, trying to determine if the taste of a vampire male was different from a human one, while also providing him with an equal amount of pleasure. She exchanged the left one for the other and gave it the same treatment, driving Xander even deeper into the throes of passion. After another ten minutes, Gabrielle released the testicle with a "pop." Then she opened her mouth wide and deep throated his cock. Xander swooned and growled lowly. The heat! The incredible, wet heat of her warm, moist cavern caused his eyes to cross. She drew her mouth, teeth, and lips up and down slowly, gaining speed at random intervals, but prolonging her boy toy’s frustration by teasing him; whenever she felt him ready to release his seed, she’d slow down almost to a crawl, then increase her speed and bring him back to the edge.
For variety, the blonde nipped him lightly at times; she’d apply just the smallest amount of pressure to distract him from his attempts to achieve "Nirvana." Then afterwards, she’d take him back into her mouth and would smile as much as she could, although it looked quite silly to see his straining erection taking up most of the space in her mouth. When she ran her tongue along the underside of his head where the foreskin was stitched after his infant circumcision, the Amazon Queen had finally made a mistake. With the pleasure centers of Vamp Xander’s brain seriously overloaded, he could stand no more. "I’m coming whether you want it or not!" he bellowed.
As swift as Hermes, Gabrielle released his cock, straddled him before he had a chance to lose the sensation of her heat, and guided his throbbing manhood into her overheated, greedy core. She bounced in his lap, her pussy gripping his shaft with each stroke, her superhuman inner muscles more than a match for any vampire bitch. As she squeezed his cock in her velvet vise, Gabrielle began to move faster. She shuddered and said, in a deep, throaty whisper, "It’s so cool…so hard…like I’m fucking a living statue…." Xander reached up and fondled her pert breasts, each one as large as a navel orange, and muttered, "Hot…you’re so fucking hot…" As they pounded against each other, Vamp Xander sat up so the woman warrior could wrap her legs around his hips. He braced himself and let her ride him, allowing Gabrielle to control the tempo. When her perspiration began to run down her body to bathe his groin and arms with her essence, he leaned forward and took her right nipple gently between his teeth, trying to give her as good as she had given him. Gabrielle’s head fell back as a tremor hit her and she cried out, "Yes! Fuck me harder!" Then, she refocused and her inner muscles milked his steel hard cock, taking them both to new heights.
After what had seemed like forever to their feverish senses, the lovers climaxed simultaneously. Vamp Xander’s mind felt like it had exploded into a thousand shards as he fired his dead seed deep inside Gabrielle’s clutching pussy, while Gabrielle’s orgasm imploded deep, deep inside, as her body felt like it had become a gigantic G-spot. Then as her pussy gripped him so hard he couldn’t move, she screamed as her orgasm triggered an impulse that rocketed both to her brain and her core, as everything went white for a moment in her mind’s eye and her fluids soaked Xander’s groin with the evidence of her ultimate release.
When they collapsed onto the bed, totally spent, Gabrielle struggled to catch her breath while Vamp Xander just lay there, allowing his mind to return from Heaven.
"Wow," the Immortal blonde said through her panting, "you’re not bad for someone so young."
"Thanks. You’re pretty spry yourself, for someone so…experienced," he quipped with a dazed smile on his face.
Turning her head and allowing gravity to do most of the work for her, she gazed at him with a look of admiration mixed with understanding. "Now I know why Cordelia keeps your double around."
"Yeah...I guess," he droned.
She cocked her head just so. "What’s wrong? You were great!"
"It’s just. . ." he paused, before confessing. "It’s just that you’re hotter than Willow."
"Thanks," Gabrielle said with a saucy smile.
"I meant your body heat," the vampire clarified. He sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "I can’t help but feel it. I’ll never get a chance to feel that warmth with Will. It makes me wonder if she would’ve been sweet, hot, and sexy as hell like you if she hadn’t been turned. "
"Xander," the bard whispered, "there’s a difference that more than makes up for the body heat. You love her. That makes all the difference in the world."
She cuddled against him and gently pulled his head into the crook of her neck. He was struck by her trust in him; hardly anyone would allow a vampire that close to their neck and it made his heart swell inside him. "Besides," she said, "I have to live with knowing that we won’t see the two of YOU ever again. What fun we could’ve had. . ."
"My turn!" Vamp Willow cheerfully announced, leaning into her boyfriend. "Time to switch, honey."
Nodding resignedly, Gabrielle muttered, "Oh Artemis, what have I gotten myself into? You’re insatiable, Willow!"
"That’s what you get for taking my bed," Vamp Willow retorted with a giggle.
The Amazon shot back with, "Don’t hear you complaining."
"You will if you don’t let Xander and Sonja have their fun," the petite vamp promised. "Now share."
After Vamp Xander traded places with Vamp Willow, Sonja stroked his cheek. "Hmmm," she purred like a great cat. "Looks like Gabby took care of the man. Now for the demon," she whispered, then nipped his ear with her teeth. Sonja hissed, grabbed his hair and yanked hard. The sudden pain gripped both Xander and his demon and he growled lowly. She smiled cruelly and nodded her head. "That’s it, baby…that’s it. Then she stared into his wild, yellow eyes. "I want you to fuck my ass," she breathed. "I want it hard-and-fast and deep. I want you to take me and make me powerless under you, feeling what you want me to feel, hurting me the way it wants to do it. I want you to make me scream for it and to turn me into your harlot. I want you to punish me and I want you to make me like it," she rasped.
The young man blinked several times in rapid succession as he realized what she wanted. "Okay," he said with a nonchalant shrug, concealing both his fear and his excitement. "You asked for it."
"No, I didn’t," she shot back as she turned around and got down on all fours. "That was an *order*, you bastard."
"Ma’am, yes, ma’am!" Vamp Xander said enthusiastically. She moved her butt up in the air inviting him to enter her. He rubbed his fingers in the juices of her prior orgasms with his vampiric lover before slowly and carefully inserting one finger in her anus. He twisted the finger, gently stretching her before he inserted a second one. He heard her gasp and bent down to kiss her back. He shifted his left hand to cup her mound and then rub her clit. She moaned. He rubbed his new rock-hard erection along her slick nether lips to make it wet, then he eased his fingers out of her anus and replaced them with his cock, pushing in slowly and rubbing her clit faster to distract her. His right hand moved to her breast and he nipped both her back and her neck.
Sonja gasped, then bit her lip hard. "Oh…yeah, baby," she moaned. "Ride me!"
He started thrusting, going slowly to loosen her up before he gradually accelerated. Sonja helped by rocking with his motions, forcing him deeper inside her. As he started to swoon from her tight heat, the vampire inside of him felt Sonja’s pulse from the blood vessels running along her dark passageway throb against his cool cock. Lost in his lust for both the barbarian woman and her blood, he moved faster, pounding rhythmically now. His fingers dug into both of her cheeks as Sonja groaned continuously, her eyes closed and her ass raised high to take his every thrust.
Sonja gripped the sheets and pulled them up to her mouth. She partially gagged herself to keep her screams of lust and pain from reverberating against the walls of the room. Vamp Xander’s demon manifested itself as her sweet cries of anguish drove him into a fit of ecstasy. The demon changed Xander’s rhythm to match the steadily increasing speed of her heartbeat while Sonja, in turn, almost reared back into his groin as she uttered strangled cries and stammered words in ancient Hyborean. This went on for some time as they strained to maintain the fragile and brutal perfection of their bestial coupling.
Finally, the demon demanded its due. It prepared Xander’s body to erupt inside Sonja’s anus and wanted to desperately slake its endless thirst. Vamp Xander reached forward and grabbed Sonja’s flowing red locks. He wrapped her hair within his clenched fist and yanked her head back just as she screamed out a Hyborean battle cry. As her inner muscles gripped him as she came, he drove his fangs into the bulging artery in the side of her neck. He savored her hot perspiration as it mixed in with the first gush of red, life sustaining wine. Xander drank deeply while he spurted his cold seed inside the Immortal. Sonja moaned, "Oh, Crom!" and her eyes rolled back inside her head as she experienced the sensation that some vampires described as being even better than sex. He drank for several seconds, retaining enough control over his demon to stop it from draining her. He sucked her neck with tender reserve, letting his saliva mix with her life’s blood. Finally, he released her just as her eyes began to flutter.
He withdrew from her dark passage and gently laid the six-foot-tall warrior down on the bed. Electrical sparks flickered in the dark as her Quickening closed the wounds on her tawny neck. Before she drifted off to sleep to recover from the combination of sexual bliss and blood-loss, she gave him one hell of a compliment.
"Why can’t other guys neck like that…?"
Her head lolled to one side and he lay down beside her, letting her warm, large body maintain his body heat from both her stolen blood and their coupling.
"So, what are we going to do?" Vamp Willow asked, practically salivating at what the blonde Amazon with over two thousand years of experience might come up with.
Gabrielle lay beside Vamp Willow and stared unflinchingly into her glowing yellow eyes. "Ohhh," she said sweetly, "let’s just have a little competition, shall we? We’ll let our fingers do the walking and see who can "dial" the right number first."
The redhead allowed a sly grin to play across her face. "Okay, Gabbie," she purred, "let’s get started."
Gabrielle shifted so that her head was level with the vampire’s hips. Vamp Willow shifted a bit, so that the height-matched pair could easily reach their respective partner’s erogenous zones. Then, in answer to an invisible and silent cue, the sensual contest began.
Gabrielle slipped her fingers into Vamp Willow’s vagina, slowly pushing them in and out to ease her way in. Once she had her fingers inside of the undead hacker, she did something Vamp Willow had never experienced before. Gabrielle started wriggling her fingers back and forth. The vibration sent impulses shooting up the girl’s spine to explode in her brain. Willow’s eyes bugged out and her mouth opened in a silent scream. The ancient Greek went slowly at first, moving her fingers like an undulating wave inside of her junior partner’s sex. She gradually increased their speed, causing the redhead’s pleasure to increase exponentially.
Having been caught off guard, the vampire almost forgot that she was supposed to perform a similar service for her skilled lover. Once she remembered the contest, the teenager launched her own tender assault. Willow applied her own technique; she extended one finger and slid it inside Gabrielle’s love tunnel. Rather than wiggle it like a worm on a hook, she used her razor-sharp fingernail to carefully graze the 2,500-year-old, golden-haired fighter’s velvet tunnel. Gabrielle began to twitter, as the maddening sensation not only excited her, but tickled a bit as well. She tried to rock her pelvis to increase the pressure where she needed it, but her partner was up to the challenge. Upon inserting her finger as far as it would go, Willow slowly rotated it, letting the clockwise and counterclockwise motions brush the tip of her nail along the most sensitive parts of Gabbie’s pussy. The electric-like tingles she transmitted throughout the Battling Bard’s nervous system sent Gabrielle rocketing toward a climax.
Gabrielle was so distracted, she was barely able to continue servicing the redheaded vixen. She decided to try a variation of Vamp Willow’s technique. She stopped the wave motion and gave the girl a taste of payback, Amazon style. Scraping her own fingernails inside the teen, she successfully regained the momentum if Vamp Willow’s groan was an indication. Her shorter nails didn’t create the on-edge sensation like Willow’s talons, but by using all four of her fingers simultaneously, the Amazon queen more than made up the difference.
Sensing the onset of a powerful climax, Vamp Willow tried to push Gabrielle over the edge with her. She pulled one finger out and reinserted both her index and middle fingers to establish the same riveting vibrations in Gabrielle like those the Amazon had given her. She varied her technique to keep Gabrielle not only pleased, but off balance as well. When the blonde tried to shift her body so Willow would make her come, the redhead reacted instantly, causing Gabbie to hiss in frustration. Vamp Willow sensed her demon’s demands to take this woman over the edge and to slake its hunger at the same time. As she fought to keep her dark side suppressed, Gabrielle, somehow, knew that she had been holding back.
"Bite me as I come!" she roared. As the souled vampire struggled with her dual natures, Gabbie said, in a hushed voice, "I can’t die that way and we’re not going to let someone we care about go into battle at less than full strength. You need it, Willow--so DO IT!"
Her eyes growing misty, Vamp Willow spun one-eighty degrees, her pale, perspiration-glistened body shimmering in the moonlight, and covered Gabrielle’s body with her own. As she pressed against the Immortal, she licked the sweat running down Gabrielle’s neck before thrusting Gabrielle’s head to one side. Her teeth gently pierced the silky skin of her lover’s neck and the bard gasped. The vampire shed tears of gratitude and tenderly drank Gabrielle’s life’s blood. As the twin sensations of Gabrielle’s finger-fucking meshed with Vamp Willow’s midnight meal, she felt as if she were flying through a rushing wind. At the same moment, Gabrielle experienced the most intense climax she’d ever had. As she shuddered in Vamp Willow’s grasp, they both reached their climactic peaks. Both were so lost in the throes of passion, they were unaware they had been floating several inches above the surface of the mattress. Then as their climax faded away, the two women fell back onto the bed. As they settled down, Gabrielle could only say, "Shhh, Willow; it’s all good…" before she passed out.
Vamp Willow’s tears flowed freely now as her heart swelled with affection for the little blonde. She tenderly placed Gabrielle’s head onto her pillow and watched as her love did the same with her fellow crimson-tressed female. She watched him as he gingerly set her down and positioned her so that she could sleep without fear of falling off the bed and smiled.
The hacker crawled off the bed, wiped the tears from her face, and crossed over to the window. She drew the curtains and shutters to ensure that no sunlight would penetrate their sanctuary. She turned and saw Vamp Xander silently walking toward her, his manhood spent for now.
"I think we should get our souls restored more often." Vamp Willow graced him with a thin grin as she melted into his embrace.
Vamp Xander chuckled, "Or travel to other universes?"
"Mmm. That too," she mumbled as he caressed the underside of her breasts. "What do you think?"
Her love kissed the top of her head, taking the same time to smell the scent of her sweat mixed in with her hair. "They are beautiful. Not the superficial beauty of some airhead model, but a deeper beauty of the soul. I think they shared their love with us tonight, to help us. To heal us."
"They heard me talking with Buffy, Xander. They knew that we hadn’t had any nourishment. They waited for us here so they could share everything with us freely, with love," she whispered. "They have so much love in them..." she noted, then paused. "They’re lucky, huh?"
Vamp Xander nodded, his chin resting on her scalp. "Yeah, they’re lucky all right. But I’d like to think we could learn from them. Be like them. Fight the good fight while our love guides our actions and our demons. You think we can do it?"
"Oh yeah," she agreed, turning around and moving her hands down to grip his posterior. She licked his chest for a few seconds, and then said, "I know you crave their warmth, don’t you? I savor it, too. But like Gabrielle said, ‘it’s the love that makes the diff, not the temp.’ Of course, I’d like to think we make each other warm enough as it is."
"That we do, hon," he confessed, "that we do." He spared a glance at the bed and said, "I think they’re done for a few hours. Shall we join them?"
"I don’t think so," Vamp Willow said surprisingly. "Don’t you feel it, Xander?"
"You mean that rush from their blood?" he asked. When she nodded, he said, "I feel like I could go for days. But we need to get some sleep."
"I’m too wired now. But I could see spending some time in the shower. Wanna join me?"
"Sure," he said. As the two naked vampires started for the adjoining bathroom, he said, "Let’s just keep the water as hot as possible, okay? I don’t want to chance having cold water wipe out what I’m feeling right now, thanks to you ladies."
Vamp Willow shot him a saucy, temptress’ glance. "Who said anything about water, Dweeb Boy?"
The petite, pale-skinned Willow sauntered into the bath, leaving her honey to consider the interesting possibilities.
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