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 20: Pretoria, South Africa

“…It’s been quiet here recently. Our alliance with the Oribi is working, and they’ve helped us find another Slayer. I head out tomorrow to make contact. They’ve promised that they can get me in and out safely with the new Slayer. Since she’s in the middle of the Sudan, that’s a good thing…” ~Excerpt from an email from Xander Harris to Buffy Summers

Corey watched as Xander zipped up his overnight bag, the sound harsh in the silence of the room. “Are you sure you want to do this?” she asked. “I know I get along better with the Oribi.”

“It has to be me, Corey. If we run into trouble, I’m probably going to be safer.”

She knew what he was talking about. If Xander were caught, he might be beaten, or possibly tortured, but if she were caught—well, things could be much worse. Also, as an American, his government might be able to bring more pressure to bear if he was taken.

Not that the South African government wouldn’t make the attempt, but everyone knew that Americans carried big sticks.

“But you’ll be careful?”

“You know I will be.” He turned then and pulled her into a hug, his hands making soothing circles on her back. “I can’t let you go. I can’t lose another person I love.”

Corey understood who he was referring to, and she knew that there wasn’t anything she could say to reassure him. Even a promise that nothing would happen to her might be a lie, given the dangerous nature of their occupations.

So, she focused on what she could address. “You love me, huh?”

“How could I not?” Xander pressed his lips to her forehead. “I have to go. I have a feeling that Kei wouldn’t be happy if I showed up late.”

“Go. Be careful.” Corey watched as he left with his bag slung over his shoulder. She knew what kind of a situation he was walking into. The Sudan was not a safe area, particularly the area where the new Slayer apparently was.

She whispered a prayer, then turned to leave. Corey had a job to do, and staying busy was the best antidote for worry.

~~~~~

Xander tossed his bag in the cargo area of the plane and turned to Kei, the Oribi they’d had the most contact with since making the alliance. “Thanks for doing this.”

“It is necessary, yes?” Kei asked.

Xander nodded. “Yeah, it’s necessary. We need to get the girl out before something bad happens to her—assuming that it hasn’t already.”

Kei gave a shake of his head. “Come, then. You know Ebu?”

He peered into the cockpit to see the co-pilot, and recognized one of the three who had first come to meet him. “Hi.”

“We should be going,” Ebu said. “We have little time if we want to land and be gone while it is still dark.”

The flight took several hours, with a stop to refuel. The small engine craft didn’t go quite as fast as a commercial jet would have, but they weren’t required to file a flight plan—at least, that’s what Kei and Ebu had said. Xander wasn’t sure they didn’t mean that it was a lot easier to fly under the radar.

When they landed outside the village in southern Sudan where Xander had been told the new Slayer could be found, he grabbed his weapons, glancing at Ebu and Kei. “You guys staying or going?”

“We’re not ‘guys,’” Ebu said stiffly.

Xander couldn’t be certain, but he thought that he heard Kei chuckle. “I will come.”

Apparently that was enough for Ebu as well, because he followed them out of the plane and towards the village. The full moon and stars provided just enough light to see by, and Xander was relieved when he didn’t see any soldiers.

The three of them moved silently through the village, and Xander pulled out the crystal that the coven had sent to help locate the Slayers. He hadn’t needed it to find Emily, but they’d used it for every girl after her.

It pulsed brightly as he headed into the small grouping of houses—if you could call them that. Back in the States, Xander wasn’t even sure that they would be termed “huts.” The darkness had hidden much of the destruction that was evident as they found themselves in the midst of it all.

Xander didn’t bother asking what had happened; he knew that raiders and guerillas often entered the southern villages, leaving destruction in their wake, and taking women and children with them as slaves. There were no sounds, and Xander felt the eerie sense of being watched—and emptiness, all at the same time.

“Is there anyone here?” he whispered to the Oribi.

Kei shook his head, his expression grim. “No.”

As they passed one house, the crystal dimmed slightly and Xander paused, turning back towards the house. “Hello?” he called softly. “We aren’t going to hurt you.”

There was no response, and Xander looked at his companions. “Do either of you speak the language?”

Ebu shook his head. “It would be impossible to say which language she speaks. There are many dialects popular in this area.”

“Any suggestions?”

Ebu shrugged. “Arabic? English?”

“Do you know Arabic?”

Kei spoke in what he could only assume was Arabic, and there was still no response. “Perhaps she is not here?”

Xander held up the crystal, which was glowing brightly. “No, she’s here.” He handed the crystal to Kei. “Stay put. I’ll see if I can find her.”

Entering the hut slowly, he called out again. “Hello? I’m not going to harm you.” He paused, and heard the faint sounds of breathing. “I know you’re here.”

Maybe that was the wrong thing to say, because Xander suddenly found himself flat on his back, a young girl straddling his chest. She raised her hand, but he rolled over, trapping her beneath him. Even though she had Slayer strength, she wasn’t yet full grown, and so he had the advantage as far as size and weight were concerned.

“Easy,” he hissed. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

The girl stared at him. “American?”

“Yes, I’m an American,” he replied, hoping that would reassure her. “I want to take you somewhere safe.”

Her skin was so dark that all he could see was the whites of her eyes; she looked surprised, then nodded. “I go.”

When he released her, she scrambled to her feet, and Xander led the way out of the hut. “They’re friends,” he assured her when she caught sight of Ebu and Kei.

Ebu’s head went up. “Trouble.”

The roar of jeep engines was clear through the clear night air. “Shit,” Xander said succinctly. “Get her out of here.”

“You come, too,” Kei replied.

Xander shook his head. “No. You’ll move faster without me, and they’ll have the means of taking the plane down. I’ll distract them.”

Ebu didn’t argue, instead taking the girl’s hand and ushering her towards the plane. Kei stared at Xander, and said simply, “We will come back for you.”

He nodded, swallowing his fear, and headed in the opposite direction of the plane, sending up a silent prayer to anyone or anything that might be listening.

~~~~~

Miles smiled fondly at the girls, dark heads bent over their notebooks, laboriously writing down their impressions of the story they’d just read. Corey slipped into the room, pulling him aside. “Have you heard anything from Xander?”

He shook his head. “No. It’s still early yet, Corey.”

“No, it’s not. He was supposed to call four hours ago. They should have been in and out by now.”

Miles was sympathetic, knowing how she felt about Xander. “Something may have come up, dear. I’m afraid that you’ll just have to be patient.”

“I don’t like being patient,” Corey replied, a wry note in her voice. “But you’re right, I’m afraid. I just wish there were some way we could know for certain that he was alright.”

“I’m sorry,” he replied, knowing that there was no other way.

“Corey! Miles!” Whit came rushing into the room. “A plane is landing!”

Corey frowned. “I didn’t think they were landing here.”

Whit shook his head. “I know. That’s why I came to get you. I figured that maybe something went wrong.”

The two of them followed the boy outside, Miles hobbling along at some distance behind with his cane. He could just make out the plane in the distance; the pilot had made what could only be described as an incredible landing in the field just beyond the school. Although there was an open space wide enough for the plane, it shouldn’t have been long enough for a landing.

Miles saw one of the Oribi exit the plane from the near side, opening the passenger side and taking the still form of a man from the plane.

“Emily!” Miles roared, turning back towards the school. The Slayers had all congregated by the door and were beginning to head towards the plane. “Girls, stay where you are.”

They froze in unquestioning obedience. “Miles?” Emily called. “What is it?”

“I need you all to listen closely,” he said, repeating his words in Afrikaans for good measure. “Zindy, set some water to boil. Leotta, Nàtali, gather the first aid things.”

“Which ones?” Leotta asked.

“All that you can find,” Miles replied, glancing back towards the plane and the figure slumped between the two demons.

~~~~~

Corey had never seen Xander without his eye patch, which was saying something, considering that they had shared quarters for months now. The patch was gone now, though, revealing the empty socket it had hidden. His good eye was nearly swollen shut, there was a cut on his forehead in the middle of a purplish bruise, and his clothes were torn and bloody.

“Xander,” she whispered, hurrying to the Oribi. “What happened?”

“There were guerillas,” Kei replied succinctly.

Corey spotted the girl trailing behind them, and glanced between her and Xander. She was torn; the new Slayer would need her help, but her heart was with Xander. “Get him inside,” she ordered the Oribi.

Turning towards the girl, she touched her chest. “I’m Corey. What is your name?”

“Ilori,” the girl replied, touching her own chest. She cast anxious eyes towards Xander. “He live?”

“I believe so,” Corey replied. “Leotta, Zindy, this is Ilori.” She addressed the girls as they came to hang around the door, staring after Xander. “I want you to show her around and find her something to eat and to wear.” She repeated her instructions in Afrikaans.

Zindy approached shyly, holding out her hand to Ilori. “Come.”

The girl hesitated, but then took the proffered hand and followed. Corey breathed a sigh of relief. The other girls would take care of Ilori for the time being, and she could focus on Xander.

Kei and Ebu had laid Xander down on his bed. Miles was giving directions. Emily had a basin of steaming water, and was placing it on the stand by the bed. “What happened, Kei?”

“Guerillas,” Kei replied. “They came on us just when we had found the girl. Xander told us to leave him, that he would provide a distraction.”

“And you did?” Corey demanded.

“He was correct,” Ebu replied. “If he had not distracted them, we would not have brought the girl out safely.”

“What did they do to him?” Corey moved to his side, taking the wash rag from Emily’s hand and beginning to clean the blood off of Xander’s face.

Kei made a sound. “They tortured him, wanting to know what group he was with. He did not tell them.”

Corey heard the note of admiration in his voice. “Thank you for bringing him back.”

“We would not leave him behind,” Ebu said. “But now—now, I think, we can do no more good.”

“Miles, would you see them out?” Corey asked.

Miles nodded. “Of course.”

“Corey?” Whit called from the doorway. “I have medical training.”

“Of course you do,” she replied. “Emily, I need you to see to the other girls. Ilori will need to be settled in, and I’m needed here.”

Emily hesitated but finally nodded. Once she was gone, Corey closed the door behind her and turned to Whit. “We need to get him out of those clothes.”

Between the two of them, they got Xander undressed, and Corey dropped the tattered remains of his clothes by the door. The bruising evident on his arms and torso bore testimony to the fact that his face had not been the only target.

“Do you think that there’s internal bleeding?” Whit asked quietly.

She winced at the thought. “I don’t know.” Corey checked his pulse, finding it slow but steady under her fingers. “I don’t think so. There would be more signs of it, I think.”

She finished cleaning Xander’s face, then held him up so that Whit could wrap his ribs. Xander grunted as Whit pulled the bandages tight.

Corey was quick to reassure him. “It’s okay, Xander. You’re home safe now.”

“Corey?” he muttered.

“And Whit,” she said. “We’re just getting you cleaned up and bandaged, then I’ll get you some pain medication and you can sleep.”

“The Slayer?” he asked.

“She’s here and safe. Emily’s taking care of her.”

“Whit?”

“I’m right here, Xander,” the younger man said.

“You’re in charge of the training. Don’t think I’ll manage it for the next few days.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Whit promised.

Corey nodded at him, and he rose, taking her hint. “I’m going to make sure Emily’s doing okay. Feel better, Xander.”

“How bad do I look?” Xander croaked as soon as the door closed.

“How bad do you feel?” she countered.

He chuckled, then groaned. “Probably worse. I can’t see very well.”

“Your good eye is pretty much swollen shut. I’ll grab an ice pack when I get the pain killers.”

Xander groped for her hand. “Don’t leave yet.”

“I’ll stay as long as you want me to,” she promised. Her hand tightened around his. “I thought you said you were going to be careful. Kei tells me that you played the hero.”

“I had no choice,” Xander replied. “It was the only way.”

Corey stroked his hair with her free hand. “I know. You did well, love.”

“Then you’ll stay?”

“As long as you want.”

And she stayed until he fell asleep.