Author: Steve711 - Steve Pantovich
E-mail Address:
Title: The Chronicles of Wanderer and the Slayer – Slayer Run
Part One: Libyan Assault
Part Two: War of the Sections
Copyrighted :
October 2000
Category: Crossover
Rating: For Mature Readers – Depictions of Violence,
Sexual Situations, Foul Language as well as Descriptions of Horrific Acts
Spoilers: A few, but who cares?
Keywords:
X-Files/Highlander/Buffy the Vampire Slayer Crossover with many guest stars.
The following TV series have
been included in the story. Disclaimers
appear at the end with the cast list.
Pretender
A-Team
Star Trek the Next
Generation/Deep Space Nine/Voyager
Gargoyles
Xena, Warrior Princess
La Femme Nikita
Forever Knight
The following novel series have
been included in the story. Disclaimers
appear at the end with the character list
Casca - The Eternal Mercenary
The Executioner
Able Team
Bureau 13
The Destroyer
Conan the Barbarian
Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan
Red Sonja
Summary: A madman tries to
destroy the world, a Watcher wants revenge against the Slayerettes, a covert
government agency is out for blood, and a vampire army wants to kill the Slayer
and control the Hellmouth. All-in-all, it’s
just a typical, ho-hum workweek for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the Wanderer, and
their crew.
All disclaimers appear at the
end of the story.
Any character
whose names and descriptions are used are the property of their original
owners, and no copyright infringement is intended or meant.
No money can be made from this
story. It can be distributed freely so
long as it is kept in its entirety, with all notices and copyright information
intact.
The characters Wanderer/Steven
St. Wolf, Frank Iverson, Brother Aaron, Robert McCallister, The
Knights of the Order of the Grail, Randi Jessup, Brian Jessup and this story
are Steve Pantovich’s. Anyone wishing to
use them, please contact the Wandererverse panel at
the Wandererverse Revival Yahoo Group.
The character, Robin Goodfellow
is the property of Mike Weyer and used with his permission.
Comments and criticisms are
appreciated; please post to the above referenced e-mail address.
Author's Note's: When Steve started to write this story, he
decided to change some things concerning several canon (characters from TV
series, movies, or novels) characters.
X-Files Mulder and Scully are married and Immortal - so Non-Relationshippers beware.
Highlander: It was Steve’s view that Richie Ryan
shouldn't have died at the end of the fifth season, so here he hasn't.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Buffy is an Immortal and this series
splits from the second season show, Innocence.
Casca, the Eternal Mercenary:
Various of Casca's friends are Immortal including the
love of his life, Lida.
The Executioner: Mack Bolan is an Immortal. How else do you think he survived dying all
those times?
The Destroyer: Remo Williams is also an Immortal and the
Avatar of the Hindu God Shiva.
Steve's thanks:
I'd like to thank the people who
helped me in writing this story. It took
the better part of seven years to complete, but I think that it was worth
it. They stuck with me, helping and
encouraging me to complete it. They are:
Goblin214,
Doug Elder, Rebekah Sandell, Mark Safransky,
I'd also like to thank all those
great fan fiction writers out there, whose stories I've enjoyed. They showed me that I could let my
imagination run. (Where it went I don't
want to know :>))
Thanks and here's the
Story. Enjoy.
Relief Pitcher’s note:
In memoriam: It should go without saying that I would like to dedicate this story to a great writer, Steve Pantovich. Steve passed away in April 2007 due to complications from pneumonia. Since I worked with him over the years on his stories both as his editor and his friend, I’ve been asked to step in to finish this most-ambitious novel, the sequel to his crowning achievement, Calling Out the Clan, from his award-winning fan fiction universe, the Wandererverse. Steve wrote over 550 pages of this book…I’m just stepping in to bring it on home for the big guy. An additional note to mention is that you’ll find that the writing style in this story a bit different from Steve’s. He was married to the use of present tense in his writing. However, I never liked his use of present tense due to all the linguistic gyrations it requires when you write something this big. Thus, I have converted the prose to past tense. Although the gist of his story has not changed, it should be easier for you to read it. Another note is that there are some areas that have been enhanced by me that differ from Steve’s previous drafts. Some items were never completed by Steve and I tried to deal with them based on conversations we had when he was planning these unfinished scenes. Other changes have to do with making St. Wolf less of a ‘Gary Stu’ (a character that tends to completely overshadow canon characters) than he was in Steve’s previous works. Steve also had indicated that he wanted to change this aspect of the character and I tried to do that for him in a way in which it would have made Steve comfortable.
Anyway, here’s to you,
Steve. I hope you enjoy it! With fondest regards, from your friend, Jack.
Also, I would like to add my thanks to Ruth Longhurst, my fabulous beta reader who helped me tighten this work for your enjoyment. Thank you, love! Finally, I’d like to thank the Wandererverse Editorial Panel for its encouragement and support.
Now, on with Steve’s story!
Jack Caynon,
PART ONE
The
Chronicles of the Wanderer and the Slayer
Slayer Run
Libyan Assault
Prologue - Trains, Planes and Automobiles
(This Sure Isn’t a Steve Martin/John Candy Flick)
Bureau 13 Headquarters - July
14th
(One day after Calling Out the Clan)
Horace
Gordon glanced up from his reports and grimaced when he saw that Merlin waited at
Gordon’s office door. What now? he
thought, as Gordon clambered from his chair and uncoiled his lanky six and a
half foot frame to tower over the smaller wizard. “What do you want now, Merlin?”
Merlin
merely flashed a smile that reminded Gordon of a shark’s. “I just wanted to tell you that the Council
of Black Mages has been destroyed.” The
entire room went silent as various Bureau 13 agents literally dropped their
jaws in astonishment.
“What
about Morgan La Fey?” Gordon asked.
“She’s
dead. I killed her personally.” At that, the entire control room erupted with
cheers at the fall of one of humanity’s greatest foes.
“How
did you do it?” Horace asked in a hushed voice.
After Merlin gave him a complete report, everyone in the room applauded.
Horace
then gazed deeply into his father’s eyes and detected the sadness in them. “How many did you lose?”
“Surprisingly
few, but every life counts. Fourteen
Knights and a hundred and three Squires died when we stormed the Black
Council’s headquarters. However, we
managed to eradicate the entire Council, a hundred twenty five Black Mages and
several hundred apprentices. We also
rescued almost three thousand innocent people from their clutches.”
Gordon
shook his head in wonder. “Why aren’t
you celebrating?”
“I
need help for the people we rescued.
Most of them were seriously hurt by the Black Mages and their
apprentices before we could pull them out of that hell hole. We don’t have enough healers and healing
potions to save a lot of them. I came
here to ask for your help.”
Gordon’s
eyes grew moist as he began to snap out orders.
“I want every healer here as soon as possible! Break out the reserves of healing
potion! Anyone who wants to volunteer, can. Team
Angel is on standby for any emergencies!”
He then turned to his personal assistant. “Dimitri!”
The centaur snapped to attention. “Contact the Sons of Van Helsing, Spooky’s
Club House and every other agency we’re allied with and get them to help.” Without hesitation, Dimitri galloped off to
Communications. Then Gordon turned back
to Merlin and asked, “Anything else you need?”
“I
haven’t had a chance to check in on Steve and his friends. Are they all right?”
Gordon
gave his father a warm smile. “They did
all right, Father. No one died except
for the vampires and their demon allies.”
“Good,”
Merlin said with a small grin, “I was worried that he wouldn’t have enough
help.”
“Oh,
he definitely had help! In fact I want
to ask you what in the hell is Section Seven and what does it have to do with
Steve?”
“I
don’t know anything about a ‘Section Seven.’
Maybe Steve got in touch with some of his covert operations friends?”
“Even
so, that still doesn’t explain the incredible number of people there and the
weapons they brought to the fight.”
“What
sort of weapons?”
“They
had an advanced assault helicopter of unknown design. According to my field agent, it has
supersonic capabilities and a weapons package in the possible nuclear
range. He also observed another aircraft
that had supersonic capabilities and laser weapons.”
Merlin
whistles lowly. “Is that all or was
there more?”
“I’ll
say there’s more. He also had about
twenty men armed with laser rifles and pistols, a Gargoyle, a Werewolf and the
Avatar of Shiva, just to name a few.”
Merlin
grinned broadly. “Damn, that boy
certainly pulled this one off. I believe
I should pay him a visit and ask him how he did it.”
“Mind
if I tag along?”
“No. May I ask why?”
“I
want to find out if he’s willing to work for me once in a while.”
“I’m
sure something can be worked out. But
first, let’s get those medical supplies and healers to the Knights’
headquarters.”
*****
St. Wolf’s Home - July 15th
(Two Days After
Calling Out the Clan)
Intense
The taller
woman pursed her full and luscious lips as she waited for a connection. When her
companion finished her task, she shut off the faucet, turned, and asked, “Still
no answer?”
The red head
glanced at her battle mate and shrugged.
“Apparently, Heather and Janice still haven’t come home,
Gabrielle.”
The former
traveling companion of Xena the Warrior Princess offered the concerned elder
woman a tiny smile of comfort. “They’re
probably working at a remote site on their ranch, Sonja. You know Heather; once she’s involved in a
task, that girl always loses track of time!”
Sonja nodded
sullenly as she brushed an uncooperative lock of hair out of her left eye. After they had returned to Sunnydale from the
battle against the vampire queen and her horde, Gabrielle and Sonja had tried
to contact one of the Immortals they had taken in many years ago to tell her
the truth about both the Game and the Immortals’ destiny as revealed by the
Avatar of Shiva. They had tried to reach
Heather several times over the past few days, but had been unsuccessful.
Now, Sonja
squeezed her eyes shut for several beats before she cracked them open and
noticed the worried look on Gabby’s beloved face. Forcing a smile, she strode over to her
ancient lover, gently placed her fingertips under the bard’s chin, lifted it,
and tenderly plundered the blonde’s mouth with a soul-searing kiss. After she pulled away from the bard’s sweet
lips, Sonja gazed deeply into her lover’s eyes.
“You’re probably right, hon. I’ll
try again later.”
Still reveling
from the tingle of Sonja’s tender salute, Gabrielle nodded numbly and followed
the tall red head out of the kitchen. As
they strolled toward St. Wolf's gym, Sonja resorted to her normal practice of
surreptitiously falling behind the former Amazon queen to enjoy the enticing
sway of her forever love’s hips as she sashayed through the man’s home.
Then, when they
entered the exercise room for their daily work-out, Gabrielle shook her head, screeched
to a dead stop, and nearly caused Sonja to bowl her over.
“Hey!”
Sonja snapped.
“Can’t
you feel it?” Gabrielle said through
gritted teeth as she stared at the altar on the far side of the gym. “This place—i-it’s holy ground.”
“And
that’s a problem because…”
“It’s
holy ground that belongs to Artemis!”
Gabrielle snapped as she turned to face the tall man who’d just entered
the room behind them. “What in the hell
is this, St. Wolf!?”
The
male Immortal, taken aback by Gabrielle’s vehemence, asked, “What’s wrong,
Gabrielle?”
“That
shrine—it belongs to Artemis!”
“Yes,”
Steve confirmed as Cordelia,
No
one said a word for several moments as an uncomfortable silence permeated the
room. Suddenly, Gabrielle's face clouded
over with fury. "Sonja. . . we're leaving!"
Gabrielle stalked toward the gym door, but found her way blocked by the four
women. Gabrielle glared at the four
mortals and snapped, "Let me pass."
When none of the women moved aside, her eyes began to smolder. "I'm not looking for trouble, ladies. If you want to avoid a long and unpleasant
stay at the hospital, I'd suggest you get out of the way!"
"Gabrielle," Steve said in a low
growl, "I don't know what is your problem, nor do I care. But you WILL NOT
threaten my students in my home!"
Gabrielle turned to face Steve and he
shuddered despite himself. "I
don't make threats, St. Wolf," she said in a flat, controlled and
dangerous voice, “I make promises. And
if they don't move out of my way, they won't like how I keep my promises. And neither will you."
“Okay.
. .” he drawled, trying hard not to let it show that this small woman had actually
succeeded in intimidating even him, "let's try this again. Why are you so
angry?"
“I
have no need to explain myself either to them or you. All you need know is that I want to leave,
it's a free country, and I have every right to come and go as I please since I’m
not a criminal and you’re not a cop.
Now, if you please, instruct your students to step aside and let me
pass.”
At that moment, Jenny decided to intervene in the conversation to try and calm things down. “Gabrielle,” Jenny started in a soothing voice. “Please, don't leave like this. We aren't trying to restrain or harm you. We want to be your friends. We just want to know why you have a problem with our shrine and your reaction frankly frightened the girls.” At that, a flash of guilt raced through the blonde Immortal's eyes. Jenny smiled inwardly; she knew that had gotten to the ancient bard. “Please, talk to us.”
Gabrielle hugged
herself and glanced at Sonja. Then she drew
a deep breath, rolled her eyes, and snapped, “Fine. It all began before I became an Immortal. I was traveling with Xena---”
“No way!” Cordelia
angrily barked. “That would mean you're THE Gabrielle, the last Queen of the
Amazons.”
“Yes,
that's exactly what that would mean, Cordelia,” Gabrielle confirmed, “And
that's exactly why I'm leaving.”
“I
know I’d asked this earlier,” Steve said, “but why do you want to leave?”
“It’s
quite simple, really. You have a shrine
to Artemis here and I won't be in the same house with a shrine to that
traitorous bitch!”
“Say
what?!?” Cordelia snapped. “You’d better
take that back!”
Gabrielle's
eyes flashed as she regarded the teen Amazon.
“I shall do nothing of the kind, girl.
Now, do you want me to tell you my reasons, without further
interruptions, or do you want me to open an industrial strength can of
whoop-ass on your beauty queen behind?”
Cordelia
advanced toward Gabrielle, but Jenny stopped her with a firm hand to her
chest. “Cordelia,
let me handle this.” Then Jenny turned,
faced Gabrielle, and said, “Those are strong words…I hope you can back them
up.”
Gabrielle stared the younger woman down for a moment then tilted her head toward the exit. “It's stuffy in here,” she murmured and walked out toward the living room as the others followed closely behind her.
When everyone
was situated in the living room, Gabrielle related her story to the group. "Before I became an Immortal, I was made
a Queen of a tribe of Greek Amazons. I
was very proud of my title, but knew that I couldn't stay and be their leader;
you see my life, at that time, was with Xena. I chose someone else to rule for
me while Xena and I continued our journeys together."
Just
then, Cordelia snapped, "Why you copyright-infringing-ho! That's straight
from the damn TV show, Xena, Warrior Princess! Who in the hell do you
think you are, claiming to be Xena's gal pal?"
Gabrielle
glared at Cordelia and snarled.
"Little girl, you're just aching for that beating, aren't you? Let me put this in terms that even you can
understand. Who do you think sold Robert
Trebor Xena's story twenty years ago? He didn't start doing the show until his
Hercules series became popular. The
funny thing is that Hercules is actually playing himself." Gabrielle looked
at their faces and saw that no one seemed surprised by her revelation. "Wait
a minute…you guys already knew Kevin Sorbo is the real Hercules?"
"Yep,"
Steve said. "He's an old friend of mine."
Gabrielle
simply sighed. "Why am I not
surprised about that with you, St. Wolf?
You do get around."
"Kevin
saved my life when a mission went badly," St. Wolf said softly.
Gabrielle
stared into his eyes and saw the sadness in them. She nodded her head in understanding.
"I've been there. Kevin's always been a good friend. I'm glad he was there
for you, too."
"So
am I." Buffy whispered as she noticed the haunted look in her lover's
eyes. < Oh Goddess! It must have been wigsome to the max! >
"Okay,
okay," Cordelia drawled, "let's end this Hallmark moment and get to
the crux of the matter. Why do you hate
Artemis?"
Old
memories soured Gabrielle's face and she said, "Because She caused the
Amazon nation's downfall."
"I
don't believe it!!" Cordelia angrily retorted. She catapulted herself from the sofa and
stalked toward Gabrielle. Xander tried to hold her back, but Cordelia shook him
off and sent the boy flying across the room.
Then when she leaned over to grab Gabrielle, she found the little blonde
no longer seated on the couch where she had been a second before. Just then, she felt pressure behind her right
knee that forced her face down into the cushions while her right arm was
twisted behind her back in a steel-like grip.
"Cordelia,"
Gabrielle barked into the girl’s right ear as she held the struggling teen
down, “Behave! I don't want to hurt
you!"
"You
bitch!" Cordelia lashed out with her words as she struggled in Gabrielle's
Greco-Roman wrestling hold, “I won't stand for your lies about my
God--ouch!" she yelped as Gabrielle jerked her arm a bit harder.
A wicked smile then
crossed Gabrielle's face. "Now,
that I've regained your attention," she drawled, "I won't hurt you,
but I won't let you hurt me when I speak the truth."
At
that moment a husky, warm female voice intruded upon their battle. "Gabrielle, please don't harm
her." When the two women recognized
that Artemis was in their presence, they ceased their struggles.
"I
never intended to, Artemis," Gabrielle said. "Unlike you, I don't harm
innocents."
Artemis
avoided Gabrielle's hard glare for a moment before she crossed over to Cordelia. "Daughter," she said,
"Although I appreciate your devotion more than you know, you owe Gabrielle
an apology for attacking her without provocation."
A
stunned Cordelia balked at that.
"What?" she sputtered.
"She said some awful things about you and I wasn't going to let
her--"
"Enough!"
Artemis snapped, silencing Cordelia.
Then with a sad smile, the goddess drew the brunette Amazon into a
hug. "The hardest thing for both
mortal and god, dear Cordelia, is to face the truth. But as Amazons it is our duty to do so even
when it is painful."
Although
confused by Artemis' statement, Cordelia relented and stared at Gabrielle. "I'm sorry."
Gabrielle
nodded at Cordelia and smiled. "Apology accepted."
"Good,"
Artemis said. Then she turned to Gabrielle
and softly said, "Hello, Gabrielle.
It's been a long time. I'm happy
to see you're still alive and well."
"Sorry
I can't say the same for you, Moon Goddess," Gabrielle snapped. "What
have you done to these women?"
"They
are the first of my new Amazons," Artemis calmly said. "I enhanced
them with abilities and skills similar to my
"What!?" Gabrielle looked at the goddess as if the
deity had lost her mind. "Are you
fucking kidding me!?"
"No,”
Artemis answered softly while she glided over to Xander and helped him to his
feet. Xander gave her a quick grin and
brushed himself off as Artemis smiled and raised her glowing hands to his face.
The bruise that had formed on his cheek rapidly disappeared as she continued her
discussion with the Amazon queen. "I wanted to give them a chance to
survive and to have some happiness in their lives."
"Happiness!? A chance to survive!? Now I know you've
finally gone off the deep end. News
flash: they’re not fighting Romans, they’re fighting
vampires and demons! How in the hell
does that give them a chance at a long life!?"
"They
were already fighting vampires and demons for two years when Cordelia first
called to me. I witnessed her great
courage as she faced a dozen vampires armed only with a wooden knife and a
water gun filled with holy water to rescue a girl who they were going to kill.
She managed to destroy one of the Bacchae before they captured her. It was at
that moment I decided to make her the first of my new Amazons. Afterwards, she
asked that her three friends also be afforded the opportunity to become
Amazons. They agreed and I gave them my
blessing so they would have a better chance of survival."
Then
Gabrielle turned to Cordelia. "Why did you call Artemis?"
"Steve
was teaching us the basics of hand to hand combat and I sucked at it. I felt like such a failure and was crying my
eyes out when I saw Artemis' statue sitting on a book shelf. I picked it up and started to talk to
it. After a few minutes, I dried my eyes
and went home to cry some more. When I tried to rescue Harmony, Artemis pulled
my ass out of the frying pan and made me an offer that I couldn’t
refuse."
"And
what, pray tell, were you before you became an Amazon?" Gabrielle asked with
hooded eyes.
"I
was a cheerleader and a member of the 'in' crowd." Cordelia said with a
grin.
"I
don't believe this! You turned a
freaking cheerleader into an Amazon!?"
"Not just a cheerleader." Artemis said with a serene smile. "I made an Amazon of the meanest Bitch in the Valley."
Gabrielle stared
in shock as everyone began to laugh at Artemis' joke. "Okay, this just got weird,"
Gabrielle muttered. "Since when did you develop a sense of humor?"
"The
day I decided to take a major role in the lives of my Amazons, all of my
Amazons. . . I hope."
Gabrielle
snorted derisively at the goddess. "I can see how much effort you've put
into this ‘rebirth’; there're only four of them."
“Actually,
there are five. And I've also contacted
the descendants of the original tribes." Artemis said, “They're out there,
waiting for the Amazon Nation to be reformed."
Gabrielle
gave the goddess a harsh glare.
"You’re some piece of work, Artemis. What do you think? You can make up for all the misery and pain
you caused my sisters two thousand years ago by playing the concerned mother to
these women now? So what happens when
you grow tired of this game like you did before? What happens when these women are involved in
a battle against those who want to oppress them? Will you turn your back on them during their
hour of need, too?"
"No,"
Artemis said softly. "I can never make up for my past sins,
Gabrielle. I freely admit I was wrong. I know I had made some horrible
mistakes. All I can say is that I have
learned from what happened before and have changed. I will be there for my
Amazons. I will not turn my back on my
Amazons ever again. When other Gods try to use them for their own purposes, I
will protect them with my dying breath.
I will speak to them, and give them counsel when they ask, but I won't
govern their lives. They will have free will as to how they lead their lives
and with whom. I want my Amazons to have mates. Whether they're male or female
doesn't matter anymore, but I will expect them all to have children to carry on
the line of the Nation."
"What
about the men?" Sonja asked. “Will
they be mere consorts in this ‘brave new world’ of yours?"
"No,
Red Sonja, men will have a voice in Amazon society as equals. The old ways destroyed
the first Amazon nation, but the new Amazon nation will be stronger and more adaptable."
Gabrielle
rolled her eyes at that and began to applaud sarcastically. “Pretty words, Moon Goddess, pretty words! Yet, why do I find that I still doubt you?"
"I
do not deny that I betrayed your and your sisters' trust when the old Amazon
nation fell to the Romans," Artemis admitted softly.
Sonja
hugged Gabrielle from behind to offer comfort, but the blonde warrior shrugged
her off and angrily regarded the goddess.
"And you think you can make up for it now and regain my
trust?"
At
Gabrielle’s harsh words, a tear streaked down the goddess's cheek. "I don't know if I can ever regain your
trust, Gabrielle," Artemis said.
"But I'll never stop trying to show you that I have changed and am
worthy of you." Then the goddess
swallowed and thrust her chin forward proudly.
"However, no matter what you think of me at this moment, I am
willing to humble myself before you to beg a favor on behalf of these brave
women."
Gabrielle
nodded gravely, then straightened her back, taking on the regal air of the
proud queen she truly was.
"Speak."
"I
respectfully request that you help train my new Amazons. Steven is an excellent teacher…for a
man," she added with a small smile, "but you and Sonja know the old
Amazon fighting arts. I want my
daughters and their mates to learn them and pass them on to their future
sisters, brothers and children."
"I
shall consider your request, Goddess of the Hunt, and provide you my answer
shortly," she said as she examined each face of the four Amazons.
"Very well, then. Thank you, Gabrielle," Artemis murmured as she disappeared.
As Gabrielle continued to watch the spot where her one-time patron Goddess had stood, heavy sobs were torn from her heaving bosom. She turned with tears in her eyes and sought solace in the arms of her red haired warrior. As Sonja hugged Gabrielle close, Jenny motioned everyone out of the living room into the gym, leaving Gabrielle and Sonja some privacy to deal with the bard's grief.
****
“YOU!!”
Several minutes
after they had entered the gymnasium, everyone in the room whirled to find a
furious blonde Amazon stalking toward Cordelia.
As Gabrielle speared Cordelia with her glare, Cordelia gulped and pointed
to herself. “Yes, you! You’re the one who’s responsible for that
Bitch being here! Why in the hell
couldn’t you have kept your big mouth shut?”
Cordelia’s
back stiffened as she morphed into full, screaming-bitch mode. “Because I wanted to help my friends, you bitch! I don’t know how you were raised, but in my
world, that’s a good thing! Yeah, it
goes without saying that I may have thought of them as losers and nothings a
year ago, but they showed me what a few good people could do and I wanted to be
a part of that!”
Gabrielle
narrowed her eyes at the former cheerleader.
“Is that all?”
“Not
quite. I like Artemis. She wants to help humanity and I will worship
her no matter what you say!”
“Even
after I tell you that she’s a backstabbing Bitch who allowed her daughters to
be abused, enslaved and destroyed by the other gods?”
Cordelia
clenched her hands into fists as she struggled to rein in her anger. Meanwhile, a tiny smile dawned on Sonja’s
face as the young woman stood up to her ancient lover. < I think Artemis
chose well when she chose this one.
Let’s see if she can handle the Queen Bitch. >
Before
Cordelia could respond,
At
that, Gabrielle chuckled darkly. “I wouldn’t
do that if I were you, with you being a cheerleader and all. I don’t think you can afford the drop in IQ!”
Ignoring
the bard’s pun,
“Get
out of the way, kid,” Gabrielle said.
“If the beauty queen wants to tell me what she thinks, let her. It should be worth a laugh or two.”
“No!”
“Really?” Gabrielle said with an air of menace. “And what if I don’t want to stop,
“Then
you’ll have to deal with me,” Willow said as her hands began to glow with
mystical energy.
As the young
woman’s hands began to glow with eldritch might, Gabrielle cocked her right
eyebrow and wryly regarded the teenager.
“Nice parlor trick, Red. But
aren’t you barking up the wrong tree with Artemis as your patron goddess? Hecate might be more your speed.”
*****
Alarmed,
Sonja stepped forward to protect her companion.
However, before she could take another step, St. Wolf reached out and
grabbed her shoulder.
“Release
me!”
“I
will if you let them come to terms on their own.” Steve quietly said. “
“Do
you want to bet your life on that?” she growled.
“Yes,
because I know I can count on them,” Steve said. < I’m definitely going to
have
*****
Brian
and Randi gawked at the scene unfolding in front of them. “Uh, sis?”
“Yeah, Bri?”
“Think
that there’ll be a fight?”
“I
don’t know.” Randi whispered. < Oh God. What
have I gotten us into? >
*****
//
What do you want me to do, Steve? // Duke broadcasted
to Steve.
<
Stand down, Duke! Let them work this
out. >
//
All right. But you should know that
Arial and Patches are monitoring the situation and if Cordelia gets hurt,
Gabrielle won’t leave this town alive. //
<
Duke,> the Wanderer sighed inwardly, <don’t make threats you can’t
keep. This woman is one of the deadliest
warriors on the planet. The only other
person who’d stand a chance against her is her partner and she’s standing right
here. Those cats don’t have a prayer of
being able to defeat either of them.
Order the cats to stand down! >
//
Already did.
But Arial is already on her way here.
And Patches isn’t far behind. //
“Damnit!” Steve
muttered under his breath. < Tell
them if they attack without provocation, I’ll take them out myself! >
//
They said they’ll comply for the moment, but I can’t
guarantee anything if Cordelia is hurt. //
< Fine. > Steve beamed back as he turned his attention
back to the scene in the living room.
*****
Gabrielle
gazed into
“Do
you want all of us here or just the Amazons?”
Steve asked from the side of the room.
“No,
you may all stay.” Gabrielle said as she
sat on the couch. She studied each of
the new Amazons’ faces and wondered, < Why did we stay? We could have gone back with Casey and
Lida. But no, we had to stick around to
see what St. Wolf was doing with these kids.
Well, we made our bed, now we have to lie in it. By the gods, they’re all so young! >
“Okay, so tell me all about your plans.”
“Um…er…plans?”
Cordelia asked.
Gabrielle
sighed. “Tell me your plans for the
future. Are you going to reform the
tribes or are you just going to do what you’ve been doing?”
The
silence in the room was deafening as the four Amazons stared at one another
then at Jenny. In silent reply, Jenny
simply shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. “Well,”
Gabrielle
squeezed her eyes shut in frustration at their naiveté. Then her eyes flashed open to reveal a look
of steely determination. “Very well,
then. We’ll begin training today.” Gabrielle quietly said as she rose to her
feet. “But if you thought St. Wolf was
bad, I’m a thousand times worse.”
“We
wouldn’t want it any other way.” Jenny said
with a smile as she stretched in preparation for the workout to come.
“Gabrielle,”
St. Wolf announced, “none of these kids is an Immortal, except for Randi and
Buffy. I don’t want any full contact
training until they’ve all been thoroughly taught the basics of whatever styles
you’re going to teach them.”
“Fair
enough—how long do they train each day?”
“They
train two hours when school’s in session and five hours when they’re on
vacation from school. And they also take
shifts patrolling the town during the week.”
“And
how are these shifts broken down?” Sonja
asked.
“It
depends on who’s doing the patrolling.”
Steve said. “Buffy and I are on
constant call, but we only patrol Thursday to Sunday as a team. The rest of the time, the others take turns
working in four to six man teams.”
“Why
are you two constantly on call?” Gabrielle asked but she already knew the answer.
“Because
I’m the Slayer and Steve is a highly trained warrior,” Buffy said simply. “It’s our responsibility to be there for our
friends.”
Gabrielle
sighed as she shook her head in wonder.
“Goddess,” she quietly murmured. < This child reminds me so much of Xena
in how she wants to protect the innocent. > She stared into Buffy’s eyes and
saw the same piercing look that the Warrior Princess had possessed when she had
fought the good fight so long ago. She
then stared into Steve’s eyes and also saw a familiar intense, but calm look.
“How long did you study with Darius,
“Three
years.” he said calmly. “I still miss
him.”
“Who’s
Darius?” Buffy asked.
“A
dear friend,” Sonja said sadly. “He’s
gone now, but we will always treasure our time with him.”
“Oh,”
Buffy softly said, realizing how good of a friend this Darius was to all three.
“I
know that this Darius guy was important to the three of you, but are you going
to moon over him all day?” Cordelia asked.
“Thank
you, Cordelia,” Steve said.
“For what?”
“For volunteering to be the practice dummy. The pads are in the storage locker,
Chase. Don’t keep us waiting.”
“Oh…and Cordelia?” Gabrielle added as she strolled past the
stunned girl. “We’ll perform each lesson
as many times as required to make certain each person gets it right.”
*****
July 15th
St. Wolf’s Home - Training Room
“Arrrrgggghhhh!”
Cordelia screamed
as she was sent crashing to the mat, again.
Rubbing her sore backside, she winced as
“That
was excellent, Willow.” Gabrielle said
from the side where she and the rest of the group watched the practice
session. “Try it once more and then
we’ll let Buffy have a try.”
“Oh Goddess!”
Cordelia cried out as
Gabrielle
turned to Steve and sweetly asked, “Think she’s had enough?”
“After that crack about Darius? No,” Steve replied.
******
//
Think we should get involved? // A multi-colored Calico cat asked the Regal Persian
sitting next to him.
//
No. // Arial said with a smug thought while her companion took another fall. //
Cordelia will remember this lesson for a long time; it’ll make her a better
person. //
//
I think Xander is about to get involved. // Patches said as Xander left the
group to go to Cordelia’s side.
*****
Xander
walked over to the fallen Cordelia and gently helped her to her feet. Then, after giving her a loving hug, he
stripped the pads off of her worn and tired body.
“Xander? What are you
doing?” Gabrielle asked with a small
smile. < Oh this boy definitely has it bad for this girl. >
“I’ll
take her place for a while.”
“Why?” Sonja asked with a smile.
“She
needs to rest. I know that she smarted
off earlier, but even Queen C has her limits.”
*****
Gabrielle stared at both Sonja and St. Wolf. They nodded at her and she turned back to Xander and Cordelia. “Xander, don’t bother putting the pads on. Training’s over for today.”
At that, Cordelia
sighed and nearly collapsed against Xander’s body.
*****
Patches
beamed to Arial, // Want to stick around? //
//
No. // Arial said as she stretched and nuzzled Patches’ throat. // Thanks for coming with me. //
//
You’re welcome, Kitten, // Patches said as he returned
her nuzzle with one of his own.
//
Walk me home? //
//
Of course, // Patches said with a contented purr.
*****
“Patrol will be Buffy, Sonja, Gabrielle, and me tonight,” Steve said. “The rest of you get the night off.”
Everyone
breathed a sigh of relief and turned to leave.
“Cordelia, Xander,” Steve called out.
When the two teens turned to him, he said, “Cordelia, I’m not going to
apologize for making you the practice dummy today. That crack about Darius was uncalled for.”
“Steve,
exactly who was this Darius guy?” Xander asked.
“He
was one of my teachers. He also taught
Cordelia nodded in understanding. “Sorry I shot my mouth off like that, then, Steve. Friends again?” she chirped and thrust out her right hand toward him.
He chuckled
then reached out and shook her proffered hand.
“Friends again,” he said warmly.
Moments later, the couple took their leave and Steve turned to Gabrielle
and Sonja. “You two want dinner first or
do we grab a meal while on patrol?”
“Depends. What’ve you
got in the refrigerator?” Gabrielle asked.
“It’s
loaded for bear. I just went shopping
this morning.”
“I hope you don’t shop like most single men.” Sonja muttered.
“You tell me,” St. Wolf drawled.
Sonja opened
the appliance’s door and uncovered a proverbial cornucopia of fruit,
vegetables, fresh meats and cheeses.
“Hey, Gabby!” Sonja yelled as she grabbed a ten pound
package of steaks from the meat compartment.
“How about we go with meat and potatoes tonight?”
“That
sounds good, honey. Did you find anything
we could use to marinate the steaks?”
“Yep,
he’s got everything here for your famous Amazon Steak.”
“All
right, buddy, get your tight ass out of this kitchen!” Gabrielle announced as
she playfully shoved the male Immortal toward the great room. “Sonja and I are cooking tonight.”
“Just
make certain you make enough for six people and one pain in the ass.” Steve said as he walked toward the stairs.
“Who’s
the pain in the ass?” Sonja asked then jerked back as Duke jumped up onto the
island.
“Speak
of the devil,” Steve said with a smirk.
//
I’m going to get even for that crack. //
< Promises…promises. >
//
Screw you, // Duke beamed. Then he took
a big sniff and stared at the steaks.
Sonja
watched the dog as it stared at the meat with intelligent eyes. “Hi boy!” she said brightly. “Okay, if you’re a good boy and I’ll make
sure that you get something in your bowl.”
Duke barked twice, leapt from the counter and ran straight to
Brian. “Take him outside, Brian,” Sonja suggested. “Make sure that he gets some exercise.”
“You’ve got it, Miss Sonja.” Brian then grabbed his jacket and walked toward the door.
Gabrielle,
sensing something, stopped him and asked, “What’s wrong, Brian?”
“This
is all so new to me.” Brian said softly
as he put on his jacket. “Last week, we,
Randi and I, lived with my parents. Now,
we’re living here.”
“Where are your parents?”
“Vampires
killed them,” Brian said in a sad whisper.
Gabrielle
sat Brian down and took him into her arms.
“Why are you here, Brian?”
“Randi
is an Immortal like you, Miss Sonja, Mr. St. Wolf and Buffy are. Mr. St. Wolf explained to Randi what she was
and tried to find a teacher who’d take us both in, but no one wanted to take
her if I tagged along. Randi asked if we
could stay here and Mr. St. Wolf agreed to it.”
Gabrielle
sighed. “I know it hurts, Brian, but the
pain will ease with time.”
“Will it ever go away?”
She
regarded him with haunted eyes and shook her head. “No, it won’t. And you don’t want it to.” Brian stared up at her and Gabrielle continued. “You’ll miss your mom and dad for the rest of
your life, Brian. There’s nothing that can be done to erase that pain. And take it from me, you don’t want it to
totally go away because then, you’ve lost your parents forever.”
Brian
shuddered and nodded. “Randi really
wants to fight the vampires to get even for our parents,” he mumbled into her
chest.
“And
what did Steve say about this?”
“He
doesn’t want Randi to fight to get even.
He wants her to fight to protect people.
He said that it’s different.”
“He’s
right, it is different.”
“How?”
“It’s
different in the way she fights and how she thinks. When you fight for vengeance, you fight with
all of your emotions raw and usually alone.
You hate, you take chances that you shouldn’t and you get yourself, your
friends and innocents killed. When you
fight to protect, you work as part of a team or an extended family. Randi will have support, someone to talk to
her and someone to protect her back.” < And I’m going to make sure that she
doesn’t go Lone Wolf on us. > “Now,” she said brightly, “all
better?”
He
nodded shyly and said, “Thank you, Miss Gabrielle,” as he reluctantly pulled
himself from the comfort of her arms.
“Just call me, Gabrielle and Sonja, Sonja, Brian. No need for you to be so formal with us, young man. Just think of us as your young…and pretty aunts, all right?”
“Okay,”
he said as he peered around the room.
“Uhm, where’s the dog’s leash?”
“Duke
doesn’t need a leash, Brian.” Buffy said
as she and Randi entered the kitchen.
“Are
you sure that Brian will be safe outside with only that dog for protection?”
Randi asked as she stared out the window and saw the sun going down.
“I can practically guarantee it,” Buffy said as she regarded Duke. “Duke, be a honey and show them what you really are.”
Then at Buffy’s
command, Duke barked twice and converted into his true form. Four sets of mouths dropped open in shock as Randi,
Brian, Gabrielle, and Sonja stared at the massive wolf that stood in the middle
of the kitchen.
“Holy shit!” Sonja screamed as she grabbed for a large knife
on the counter while Sonja’s ancient battle-mate protectively shielded Brian
with her own body.
“What
in the hell is that thing!?” Gabrielle demanded.
“Steve’s
personal Guardian Spirit.” Buffy said
with a lopsided grin on her face.
“His what!?” Randi snapped as she stared at the five foot
tall wolf.
“Duke
guards Steve’s house and protects the people who live here. I have one at home, too. My Mom has one that goes with her wherever
she goes,
“What
do the cats turn into?” Gabrielle asked.
“Two
hundred, fifty pound saber-tooth tigers,” Buffy said with a smile.
“That’s
some cat,” Sonja breathed. Then she
relaxed as Duke changed back into his regular form.
“Brian,
with that dog, you’ll probably need a saddle instead of a leash,” Gabrielle wryly
observed as the dog crossed the floor toward the boy and sat down beside him.
“You
can’t be serious?” Randi asked while her little brother patted the puppy on its
head.
“Duke
will never hurt Brian, Randi,” Buffy explained.
“His job is to protect Steve’s family and that now includes Brian and
you.”
“You
have got to be kidding,” Randi muttered in disbelief as Brian and Duke waited
for her to make her decision. When Randi
resignedly nodded her head, Brian grinned and raced out of the house with Duke following
closely behind.
“Is
there anything else we should know about Steve?” Randi asked Buffy.
“Only
that he’s a Knight Lieutenant in the Order of the Grail,” Buffy said as both
Sonja and Gabrielle narrowed their eyes at each other in annoyance. “Ever hear of Merlin of Camelot?” Buffy asked.
Randi nodded her head dully.
“Well, Steve is his and his wife’s personal champion.”
“I
knew it!” Sonja snapped. “I told you this whole thing had the stench
of that old fart all over it!!”
“I
take it you’ve both met Merlin?” Buffy asked sweetly.
“Arrrgggghhhh!”
a frustrated Sonja yelled and glared down at her lover. “We just had to stay here, didn’t we?! Why didn’t you listen to me and go back with
Lida and me to make Casca’s life a living hell!?”
“I
guess that’s a ‘yes,’” Buffy noted as Gabrielle shook her head in disgust.
“Yes,
we know him. And the only reason he’s
still alive is because we like Niume,” Gabrielle muttered darkly. “That nosey-old-busybody is a royal pain in
the ass!”