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.
Rating: PG-13
1 :: 2 :: 3 :: 4 :: 5 :: 6 :: 7 :: 8 :: 9 :: 10 :: 11 :: 12 :: 13 :: 14 :: 15 :: 16 :: 17 :: 18 :: 19 :: 20 :: 21 :: 22 :: 23 :: 24 :: 25 :: 26 :: 27 :: 28 :: 29 :: 30 :: 31 :: 32 :: 33 :: 34 :: 35 ::
“…Really, Will, I’m feeling a lot better. My ribs are still a little sore, but Corey’s been making me take it easy, and I have been. It’s been a quiet week around here, which we’ve needed. Tell Oz hello for me, too. I’m glad you’ve got someone there with you…” ~Excerpt from an email from Xander Harris to Willow Rosenberg
“Xander Harris, don’t you even think about it.”
Xander froze in the doorway, rifle in hand. “Corey—”
“You are in no shape to go hunting, Xander, and you know it.”
The trouble was that he did know it, which was why he’d been sneaking out, rather than just walking out. No matter what he’d said to Willow, the fact was that he wasn’t healing quite as quickly as he would have liked.
“We need the meat,” he responded. “And I was going to call Kei to come with me.”
“Send Whit.” Her tone brooked no room for argument. “You will not be going anywhere until you can walk without wincing.”
Xander sighed. “He’s training the girls.”
She held her hand out for the gun. “Then I’ll go.”
When he met Corey’s eyes, Xander was certain that there was no way he was getting out the door in one piece—and she was definitely better trained than he was. “Fine. Call Whit. I’d rather you stay here with the girls.”
Corey raised an eyebrow. “Are you worried about me, or the girls?”
“I’m worried about him and Emily.” It felt good to say the words out loud, because it was true. He could see their growing attraction, and he remembered what it was like to be seventeen.
It was a scary thought.
“Perhaps you should have a talk with him,” she suggested.
Xander raised his eyebrows. “I don’t think so. If I warn either of them off, it’s just going to encourage them.”
Corey smiled. “Good point. Tell you what, I’ll take Whit out hunting with me, and you work on training.”
“I thought you warned me off of physical labor.”
“Hunting is dangerous. You can watch the girls spar without hurting yourself.”
Xander sighed. “You aren’t going to be able to keep me out of the field forever.”
“Just long enough for you to heal,” she shot back, softening her words with a kiss. “I told you. When you can walk without pain, you’ll be free to do whatever you want.”
He didn’t reply, knowing when an argument was fruitless. Xander just gave her another kiss and went back inside the school.
Xander wasn’t sure why it was taking him so long to recover this time around, although he was willing to admit that the guerrillas had done quite a number on him. Maybe he should just be happy to be alive, but he still wanted to be useful.
“Are you staying here today, Xander?”
Nàtali’s voice broke into his thoughts. She was dancing from foot to foot, her bare feet slapping against the tile floor. Although they’d bought shoes for her, she still went barefoot most of the time, preferring it.
“I’m staying, kiddo,” he responded. “Looks like I’ll be helping you train.”
“Hooray!” She danced around a bit, the pure joy on her face making his heart warm. “I thought you were too hurt!”
“Well, I’ll be doing a lot of watching, and I’ll need lots of help.”
“I can help!”
“I know you can, Nat.” He put a hand on the top of her head. “You go get ready, and tell the other girls to do the same.”
Xander took a deep breath, and reminded himself that he wasn’t useless, not as long as he could do something with the Slayers.
~~~~~
“Let’s go.”
Whit glanced up from his book, staring at Corey. “What?”
“We’re going hunting.”
“But what about training the girls?” He frowned, uncertain. “Who’s going to do it if we don’t?”
“Xander is taking care of it,” Corey replied. “He’s beginning to get antsy, and I’d rather start him out on something less dangerous.”
Whit nodded soberly. Xander’s injuries were yet another reminder of the damage that could be done to a human body in their line of work. He hadn’t been sure that Xander’s decision to enlist the Oribi was a good one, nor had he thought it wise to trust them, but they had come through.
And Xander, whom Whit had respected for his experience, but not for his toughness, had proved to be hard as nails.
“He’s kind of a hero, isn’t he?” Whit asked.
Corey frowned. “Who is?”
“Xander. He’s a hero.”
“Of course he is.” She cast him a sharp look. “What did you think?”
“I don’t know.”
Corey sighed. “Do you know how Xander lost his eye?”
Whit shook his head. “I didn’t think it was a good idea to ask.”
She nodded. “Probably not. There was a man who was intent on killing all of the potential Slayers, and was working in conjunction with the First Evil. Xander lost his eye during one of the battles. The man called him ‘the one who saw.’”
“So what?”
“Xander lost an eye doing what he does best—seeing people, helping where he can. That’s why he’s here, Whit, because in his own way, he’s braver than all of us put together.” Corey smiled softly. “He’s not a Slayer, not a witch, not a Watcher. He’s simply a man who wants to do what’s right. That’s his special skill.”
Whit wondered if he would have made the same choice if he was in Xander’s shoes. Without having grown up in the Watcher’s Council, without having been taught his entire life that his purpose was to rid the world of demons and vampires, would he have chosen to fight?
Whit had to admit that he didn’t know the answer to that question, and of course, he never would.
“Do you ever wonder if life would have been different if—”
“If what?”
“If you were something else?”
Corey was quiet for a long moment. “I was supposed to be a Slayer. I would have been if I’d been just a little younger when they were all activated.”
“Oh.” Whit hadn’t known that. “I didn’t realize.”
“Not many people know,” she admitted. “But to answer your question, yes. I do wonder, but I don’t wish for anything different than what I have right now. I’m amazingly lucky.”
Whit smiled. He supposed he was pretty lucky as well.
~~~~~
Xander watched as Zindy and Ilori sparred. They were both coming along quickly, and he didn’t see anything to criticize, so he turned to Leotta and Nàtali, who were practicing with stakes and the practice dummy under Emily’s watchful eye.
Although he hadn’t been certain how Emily would do, given her family background and her drawn appearance when they’d met, she’d blossomed in the last weeks. Her skills were improving by leaps and bounds, and she treated the younger girls like sisters.
Xander smiled. He couldn’t help but think that he’d been able to build something amazing here.
Hearing the sound of a throat being cleared behind him, Xander turned to find Miles standing in the doorway. “You have a visitor, Xander.”
“Who is it?”
“One of our Oribi friends.” Miles gestured towards the girls. “I can take over for you here. I believe that whatever errand he’s come on is rather urgent. I left him in your office.”
Feeling a sudden thrill of fear, Xander moved as briskly as possible towards the office. “Kei,” he greeted his friend, closing the door behind him. “It’s good to see you again.”
“How are you feeling, my friend?” Kei asked, rising from his chair.
Xander shrugged. “Corey still has me on the reserved list, but I’m doing better.” At the Oribi’s puzzled expression, he shrugged. “I’m not quite recovered, but I’m getting there.”
“Ah.” Kei looked hesitant. “Perhaps I should not have come.”
Xander waved off his concern. “Don’t worry about me. I’ve been through worse. What’s up?”
That wasn’t precisely true; although losing his eye had been worse in a sense, the pain had been localized. Xander still felt as though his body was one big ache.
Kei spread his hands out in front of him in a curious gesture. “There is a darkness coming, Xander. We do not believe that we can face it ourselves.”
“If you need help, you’ve got it,” Xander said automatically. “Without your assistance, we would have lost a couple of Slayers, and I definitely wouldn’t be alive.”
The demon shook his head. “It is not so simple, I think. This is bigger.”
Xander’s heart sank. “You’re saying that the end is coming.”
“Events are coming to a head,” Kei agreed. “All of our seers say this.”
“Then we face it together,” Xander insisted. “We promised to help you in exchange for your assistance, and I’m not going back on my word now.”
Kei nodded gravely. “I thank you.”
“You didn’t think we’d abandon you?” Xander asked, feeling slightly hurt.
“I did not,” Kei replied diplomatically. “But then I have ever been an optimist.”
“What can we do now?” Xander asked.
Kei shook his head. “I do not think you can help us until you are well.”
“I’m well enough,” he replied firmly, knowing that Corey was likely to kick his ass later if she found out that he was putting himself back out in the field without consulting her first.
Kei looked him up and down, his solemn expression showing some concern. “Very well. There is a group gathering on the border of our land. It is our belief that they are gathering strength in preparation for attack.”
“You think this has something to do with our agreement?” Xander asked.
Kei shrugged. “Perhaps, perhaps not. We are peaceful, and our lands are directly over a point of power. We have always kept it safe, and it is more likely that they would choose to attack in order to obtain control.”
“You have a Hellmouth?” Xander exclaimed. “I didn’t know there was one around here.”
Kei smiled tightly. “We would prefer to keep it that way.”
“I can see why.” Xander leaned back in his seat, considering their options. Kei would not have come if he hadn’t intended to investigate the intruders immediately. The fact that Xander wasn’t quite healed had put a damper on his plans. “We’re just looking, right?”
“Yes,” Kei responded. “But I cannot promise that there won’t be trouble.”
“No one can.” Xander smiled wryly. “I know how that works. How many do you want to take?”
“Ebu, and one other of yours, I believe.”
Xander ran a hand through his hair and adjusted his eye patch as he considered his options. If he waited until Whit and Corey returned, he could send the two of them, or even take one of them with him.
Or, he could go himself and bring one of the Slayers.
“I’ll get Emily,” Xander said decisively. “I’m assuming you want to leave right away.”
Kei nodded. “It will be a four day trip.”
Xander rose. “I’ll let Emily know and leave a note for Corey.”
She was definitely going to kill him when she returned, but Xander decided that it was a risk he would take. He owed Kei his life, and this little errand would go towards repaying that debt, as well as demonstrating his good intentions towards the Oribi.
~~~~~
“He what?” Corey demanded of Miles. “And you let him?”
“Xander is a grown man,” Miles reminded her gently. “And he’s in command here. If he believes himself capable of a reconnaissance mission, I am not going to stand there and argue with him.”
“I don’t see why not,” Corey muttered. “You’ve argued plenty.” She was staring at the note that Xander had left behind for her to find.
“Corey, I know you’re going to kill me when I get back, but the Oribi need to know that we’re serious about helping them. This is the best way to do that, and if they’re overrun and the Hellmouth opens, we’re going to be in just as much trouble.”
Her only consolation was that he’d signed it, “Love, Xander.”
What’s worse was that she knew he was right. One of them had to go, and although she’d been the one to get through to them, Xander was in charge. It would mean a lot for them to send their leader, rather than someone else—and that he would go while still hurt said even more.
Still, Corey couldn’t help but worry about him. This might be reconnaissance-only, but that didn’t mean that they wouldn’t run into more trouble.
“He is doing what he believes to be correct,” Miles said. “I couldn’t very well argue with that.”
“Of course not,” Corey sighed. “And he’s right, although that doesn’t make me feel any better.”
“It wouldn’t,” Miles replied philosophically. “He does seem prone to getting himself into scrapes.”
“He’s prone to playing hero when he can.” She shook her head. “His sense of responsibility is going to get him killed.”
“And that is one of the reasons that you are attracted to him.” Miles smiled. “I’ll stay here to help out until he returns. Besides, Giles called before you returned and after Xander left. They’ve found a new Slayer in Johannesburg.”
Corey did a quick mental calculation. “I’ll go. You and Whit should be able to hold down the fort here.”
“Take one of the girls with you,” Miles advised. “Perhaps Nàtali. She’s coming along nicely, and she could win over anyone.”
Corey grinned. “That she could.”
Neither of them considered what Kei’s news meant for their journey.
~~~~~
Emily couldn’t believe that she was sitting in the backseat of a Land Rover behind Xander, with a demon driving. Granted, Kei wasn’t exactly what she’d thought of when she heard the word “demon,” but still. It was weird.
She’d always felt like she was different. She was an American in Africa, but felt African in America. The youngest of her siblings by several years, she’d never been close to them, and her parents had always been really protective. Becoming the Slayer, discovering a well of strength beyond what she could have imagined, finding a place and a family—it was more than she’d known to hope for.
As cool as it was, though, it was still weird.
“Corey isn’t going to be happy,” Emily said for the third time. She didn’t think that Xander fully understood how upset the woman was likely to be.
“I know that, Em,” he replied. “But this was necessary, and I’ve got you to keep me out of trouble.” Xander turned around in his seat far enough to give her a boyish grin that made him look years younger.
Emily often thought that she’d have liked her siblings a whole lot more if they were more like Xander and Corey.
“I will keep him out of trouble.” Kei’s voice was entirely without inflection, and Emily had no idea whether he was being serious or attempting a joke.
Emily decided that she’d treat it as the latter. “Good, because it’s probably too big of a job for one person.”
“Hey!” Xander protested.
She had the pleasure of seeing Kei’s face crease in a brief grin, then the Oribi grew serious again. “Forgive me, but I do not have permission to bring you to our village. I must leave you outside the boundaries until I ensure that our elders will not refuse to allow you to leave.”
Emily could see Xander’s eyebrows rise. “Yeah, that would be awkward,” he agreed. “We’ll be fine, Kei. We’ll set up camp for the night.”
Kei nodded. “I will try to return before sundown.”
Emily heard the fear in his voice, and she suddenly realized that there was a whole lot more going on here than he’d said.
She suddenly wondered if they could trust the Oribi after all.
Submit a Review!