Latter Days by Enigmaticblue

Summary: Set post-Chosen. After the Slayers are activated, the balance between good and evil is disturbed, and the Scoobies are flung to the far corners of the world to respond to the crisis. In the midst of all of this, will they be able to keep their relationships strong? Or will they be divided by circumstances and torn apart by fate? Follows my short story Yesterday.

Author's Notes: Remember how things went after Chosen? Well, forget about all of that, and ignore the comics. This is my version. This series is comprised of Latter Days, Faithfully Dangerous, and Now and Always, and the entire series will be known by the third title. You’ll see why. (And although some of the locations mentioned in this fic exist, this is my world, which means that I’m twisting reality to my own ends.)

“What a beautiful piece of heartache/This has all turned out to be/Lord knows we've learned the hard way/All about healthy apathy…There is a me you would not recognize, dear/Call it the shadow of myself/And if the music starts before I get there/Dance without me, you dance so gracefully/I really think I'll be okay/They've taken a toll, these latter days/Nothing like sleeping on a bed of nails/Nothing much here but our broken dream/Oh, but baby, if all else fails/Nothing is ever quite what it seems…” ~Over the Rhine, “Latter Days”

Chapter 15: Pretoria, South Africa

“…Buffy told me what you were doing and said I should let you know if we needed any help. I don’t know what to tell you. If there are friendly demons in the area, I haven’t met any. We have our hands full with the ones that keep coming after the girls now that our location is generally known. The rooms are filling up, though, so if you have any ideas, I’ll take whatever help I can get…” ~Excerpt from an email from Xander Harris to Spike

Xander had sparred with Buffy in the past, with and without the puffy suit—at least, he’d held the punching bag for her. He’d never sparred with a Slayer full out with half of his peripheral vision missing.

Thankfully, most of their girls were only half grown, and barely trained, so he could still keep up. Mostly.

Nàtali danced on her toes in celebration of her hit, and Xander took the moment to rap her lightly on her ribs. “Pay attention, kiddo,” he warned her. “Make sure the demon is dead before you start dancing.”

She nodded, serious again, gripping her staff tightly. “Ready.”

“Good job, Nàtali,” Miles called. “Xander, could I see you for a moment?”

Xander passed his staff off to Corey. “Take over?”

“Sure thing.” She took it from his hands. “Have fun, big guy.”

He followed the older Watcher out the training room door, leaving the sounds of sparring behind them. “What’s up?”

“You had asked me to look into the vampire’s suggestion,” Miles began.

Xander winced. Miles hadn’t been happy about his request, and he’d made that very clear. “It’s Spike, Miles. He has a name.”

“Xander, he’s a vampire.”

“He saved the world.” Xander wasn’t Spike biggest fan, but he wasn’t going to withhold credit where it was due—and Spike was one of them. No one knew what those final days in Sunnydale had been like except those who had been there, and Spike had been there.

And Xander hadn’t forgotten that Spike had been the one to save his other eye.

Miles sighed. “I realize that, Xander. Give an old man his due; I’ve been fighting vampires since long before you were born, and now I’m being asked to trust one.”

“If you can’t trust him, trust me,” Xander replied. “I’ve gone through the fire with him.”

“Very well. Then, for you, I will say that there is a demon clan in the area that may prove helpful.” Miles shook his head. “They aren’t particularly bloodthirsty, but I don’t know what you’d want their help with.”

“Guard duty?” Xander suggested. “Or even help finding Slayers. You remember what nearly happened in the Sudan.”

He and Corey had nearly been killed by a band of guerrillas while trying to retrieve the most recent Slayer, and extra muscle would have come in handy. There were simply some areas of the continent where even demon hunters couldn’t go lightly.

“Point,” Miles admitted reluctantly. “I will contact them for you if you’d like.”

“Can you arrange a meeting for me?” Xander wanted to do this himself, although he couldn’t have said why. Normally, he didn’t want much to do with demons, but what Spike had said made a lot of sense. Beggars couldn’t be choosers at this point, and they needed all the help they could get.

Miles nodded, looking reluctant. “I’ll do what I can.”

“I’d appreciate it.” Xander put a hand on the older man’s shoulder. “It’s a different world we’re living in now, Miles.”

Miles’ eyes looked off into the middle distance. “Yes. Sometimes I don’t even recognize it.”

Xander could relate to that statement.

~~~~~

Corey watched Xander gear up from the doorway of his bedroom. She wondered how long it was going to be until he accepted the fact that she was right there, and completely into him. Then again, given what she knew of his history, she understood his hesitance.

“I’m going with you,” she announced.

“I think it’s better if I go alone.” He didn’t look at her as he secured the knife sheath on his belt.

She snorted. “Don’t be stupid, Xander. If you go by yourself, and they try something, you won’t have a prayer of getting out alive.”

“Are you doubting my abilities?”

“I’m saying that you’ve been drilling it into the girls’ heads that they should always have backup, and that you shouldn’t be immune from that general rule.”

He turned finally. “I don’t want to risk you. If something happened to both of us—”

“That’s why I’m going—to make sure nothing happens to either of us,” Corey returned. “And Whit and Miles will be on standby. I don’t think there’s anything else we can do, Xan.”

His shoulders drooped, and Corey knew what kind of battle he was fighting. Xander couldn’t protect everyone, however; he knew that, but he sometimes needed the reminder. Considering how many friends he’d lost, Corey didn’t blame him.

“We’re going to come through this,” she insisted.

After a moment, he stood straight again. “Yeah, we are. Let’s see what these guys have to say.”

Corey wasn’t entirely comfortable with this idea; she had been trained from very early on to kill demons without asking questions. She had never before been concerned about whose side they were on, maybe because if a demon was trying to kill you or destroy the world, there wasn’t a lot of question. Now, however, things were different. If they were going to make allies with demons, they had to make tough decisions.

Could they be trusted, and if so, how far? What kinds of demons could be trusted, and if they made friends with one clan, would that necessitate making enemies of another? In general, humans and demons didn’t mix, and there were good reasons for that.

There were far too many unanswered questions for her peace of mind, but that was the world they lived in now.

Corey stood next to Xander in the center of the plain that the demons had chosen for their meeting. It was close to the school, which she wasn’t comfortable with, but as their location seemed to be common knowledge, it probably wouldn’t do any harm.

“Aren’t they supposed to be here by now?” she whispered to him.

He glanced over at her. “Yeah, but I’m not going to tell them that they’re late.”

She snorted. “I wouldn’t suggest it.”

Scanning the horizon again, Corey saw no one, although she knew that Miles and Whit weren’t too far off. They remained hidden, but within visual range, in case they were needed. As she scanned the horizon again, she suddenly noticed three figures in the distance, approaching rapidly.

If she hadn’t known better, Corey would have thought that they were Masai warriors, but there was something inhuman in the way they moved. They seemed to be jogging at a steady pace, but they covered the distance much faster than seemed possible.

The demons moved so quickly, in fact, that they were standing in front of her and Xander much sooner than she’d been prepared for. There was a long moment of silence as they stared at one another.

Miles had said that the demons were known as Oribi, and that they generally shunned human contact. There was little to set them apart from humans, although their skin was a shade of brown she’d rarely seen before, and they each had light colored circles around their eyes.

Although the Oribi were visually striking, Corey still thought that they could probably walk down the street of any major city without drawing too much attention to themselves. Not that Corey blamed them for wanting to avoid people; she wasn’t a big fan of them herself sometimes.

“You requested a meeting,” the center Oribi finally stated.

Xander nodded curtly. “We would like to make an alliance.” He spoke formally, which the situation seemed to call for. The Oribi’s expressions were such that it seemed like they would appreciate that kind of tone.

“Why?” The demon looked skeptical—or that was Corey’s interpretation. “You wish to kill my kind.”

Xander shook his head. “No. We want to protect ourselves. If you don’t threaten us, we don’t have a problem with you.”

The Oribi shook his head. “We have nothing to share with you.”

They turned as one to go, and Corey burst out, “What would you like from us?”

Her words stopped them cold. “There is nothing you could offer.”

“Why wouldn’t you want an alliance?” Corey demanded. “You like this world; you need it as much as we do.”

They turned again to face her, dark eyes brilliant against the white of the circles around their eyes. “What is it that you are saying?”

This time, the one on the left spoke, and Corey thought that perhaps she had been intrigued. “We’re trying to make sure the world doesn’t become uninhabitable for all of us. Without everyone’s help, the entire world could be lost.”

“What you ask is difficult.” The Oribi who had spoken to her said. “We do not make pacts with humans.”

“Don’t think of it as making a pact with us,” Corey argued. “Think of it as making a pact with your children, to preserve their future.”

She knew she’d hit the right note when she saw their faces soften. “What is it you require?”

“We need help gathering the young ones,” Corey admitted. “They’re often in areas where it’s too dangerous for us to go, and there are assassins coming after us. We want to protect them, and we want to help you. Is there anything that we can do?”

The female Obiri considered her question. “We will discuss this and let you know.”

They were gone before Corey could even ask for their names. As soon as they were out of even supernatural earshot, Xander spoke. “Okay, you’re handling demon contact from now on. How did you know to say all of that?”

Corey shook her head. “I don’t know. I just said what I would have wanted to hear if I was in that position.”

“That seems to have done the trick.” Xander put an arm around her shoulders and squeezed her tight. “Great job, Corey. Really. If we can get some help from them, we’ll have a better chance at getting the girls to safety without getting killed.”

She smiled shyly. “They haven’t agreed to the deal yet.”

Xander shook his head. “They will. It’s just a matter of time.”

~~~~~

Whit didn’t know what to think about the latest developments. He understood why they were contacting demons to help, but he’d been raised to believe that the only good demon was a dead demon. “What do you think about this?” he asked Miles, watching as the demons disappeared into the distance.

They moved inhumanly fast; it disturbed him. Demons were different, strange—other. Whit didn’t see how they could possibly trust them.

“I think this is one of those times when we are forced to make choices we wouldn’t otherwise make,” Miles replied slowly, lowering the high powered rifle from his shoulder.

“Do you think that this is actually a good idea?” Whit asked incredulously.

Miles shook his head. “I honestly don’t know, lad. Perhaps it will turn out for the best.”

“But you don’t think it will.”

“I don’t know,” Miles repeated.

Whit let out a frustrated breath. “That doesn’t answer my question.”

“What would you like me to say?” The older Watcher turned to face him. “That we shouldn’t be trusting demons?”

“Yes,” Whit burst out.

Miles smiled. “I can’t tell you that. There is very little in this world that is either black or white, good or evil.”

“Then how will we know?” Whit gestured to the horizon where the demons had disappeared. “How can we possibly trust them?”

He smiled gently. “Whit, lad, you can’t trust humans either. There were and are many who would side with evil to promote their own gains.”

That wasn’t exactly news to him; Whit knew that humans were anything but perfect. It was just that there seemed to be far too many hard answers, and far too few easy ones. Just once he wanted a bright line rule, some way to know for sure.

Whit was smart enough to know that such a thing wasn’t possible.

“What do we do?”

Miles handed him the rifle and picked up his cane. “We do our best, Whit, my boy. That’s all anyone can do.”

Whit was silent, not responding to that piece of advice. He knew that Miles wasn’t being condescending, nor was he treating the question lightly, but it didn’t satisfy. When they returned to the school, he called out to Xander, “Do we need anything from town?”

Xander gave him a sharp look, but shrugged. “We could probably stand to pick up a few things. Check with Corey for a list.”

“Can I go, too?” Emily asked. “I have some letters I want to mail.”

Xander glanced at Corey, who shrugged. “I don’t see why not. You two stick together, though.”

“Of course,” Whit replied, grateful that Xander was letting him go off with Emily after what had happened last time. Granted, those had been very different circumstances.

He slid behind the wheel of the Land Rover with a sigh of satisfaction. Whit had been driving since he was twelve out in the country. His parents had taught him, and Whit’s memories of those times were brilliant.

Being back behind the wheel brought some of that back.

“I guess my dad won’t be the one teaching me how to drive,” Emily said as she climbed into the passenger seat with Corey’s list and her letters.

Whit glanced over at her. “Why is that?”

“Because they’ll probably go back to the States after this year, and I’m staying here,” she responded. “Dad told me that in his last letter.”

“I thought they were missionaries.”

“They are.” Emily sighed. “Dad’s blood pressure is really high, and my siblings are in the States. Mom doesn’t understand why I’m here, and I think it would be easier for her if I was on the other side of the world, you know?”

“She’s got to be proud of what you’re doing,” Whit objected. “You’re fighting evil. That’s more than most ever do.”

Emily shook her head. “That’s not how she sees it. Dad understands, but…”

“It’s weird, huh? Getting immersed into this world?” Whit asked. “I mean, I’ve grown up in it, but it has to be strange suddenly being here.”

“Yeah, pretty much.” Emily sighed. “I just wish that she didn’t think that what I have is evil.”

“Why would it be evil?”

“Because I see things, awful things.” She forced a smile. “Let’s talk about something else, okay? I want some time just to be me for a while.”

“You got it,” Whit replied. “Is there anywhere you want to go?”

“Is there a bookstore?”

“Yeah, Em. I wouldn’t mind browsing a little.” Whit smiled, happy that this, at least, was simple.

~~~~~

Xander stood in the doorway of Corey’s makeshift office, watching as she worked to balance the books. They had a budget, although Giles was fairly free with the money, as long as it was put to good use. A lot of the girls had come to them with little but the clothes on their backs, and Nàtali hadn’t even had shoes that fit.

They had quickly established that he was not well suited to be in charge of balancing the checkbook.

“Hey.”

She looked up and smiled at him. “Hey yourself. Did Emily and Whit get back yet?”

“Just a few minutes ago. They both looked pretty pleased with themselves, and Emily had about half a dozen books.” Xander shook his head. “I think a few of them were for the other girls to share.”

“She’s a good girl.” Corey leaned back in her chair. “You didn’t come in here just to tell me that.”

Xander shook his head. “No, I didn’t. I’ve been thinking.”

“Has it been so very difficult for you?”

“Very funny,” he replied, nearly losing his nerve. “Look, do you want to have dinner with me sometime?”

Corey’s eyebrows went up. “We have dinner together every night.”

“You know what I mean,” Xander said, ready to turn and run.

She grinned at him. “Sorry, I had to give you a hard time.”

“So, would you have dinner with me?”

“Of course.” Her smile was brilliant, and it made his stomach flip. “I’ve been waiting for you to ask.”

Xander felt as though his life was about to begin again.