Categories > TV > Buffy the Vampire Slayer > Family Reunion
The texaswookie dodges the thrown vial of some unknown potion or other, as Serverus Snape enters the room. “Come, surely a would be writer pathetic as you can remember the simple thing that you must say before you start each chapter.” The Death Eater sneered, as he draws his wand. Not waiting for an answer, he aims it at the Texan. “Avada Kedavra!” The greasy haired man shouts.
The Texan barely ducks out of the way, as the green bolt of magic collides with the wall. “Aw man I really didn’t want to have to be patching up the wall today.” The Texan whines, as chunks of plaster fall on him. “You know, with intros like yours it almost makes me miss uncle Jessie and his moonshine.” The cowboy says. “By the way, ever here of shampoo?”
“You dare to mock me? The Half-Blood-Prince does not allow such things! Crucio!” A red bolt is snapped from the wand, striking the cocky cowboy.
“ArrrGGHh!”
“Now then, what was that you were saying? And remember, that you are addressing your superior, the Half-Blood Prince when you talk to me.”
“I was saying that you need to check the wonderful world of hair care, since you actually still have hair unlike your boss. I was also saying that I own absolutely nothing in this story. Now you can’t attack me for not saying anything!”
“That may be, but I can still crucio you for lack of manners and respect to your betters.”
“What do you expect? I wasn’t born saying chap I was born saying hey you.”
“Crucio.” The beam strikes the wall, as the smart mouthed Texan is whisked away from a possible trip to insanity, by the tell-tell sign of a whitelighter orbing him to safety.
=============================================================================
CH19
=========================================================================
SG-1: Base Camp
Colonel Jack O’Neill ran a hand through his graying hair as he surveyed the Central Operation Center that they had put together. They were currently using an office building that sat next door to an apartment complex. Taking control of the two buildings had been easy enough seeing as they had been abandoned. They had then set up a pair of generators and soon they were in business to save the world. They were now all set to plan their next move. It was a shame that nearly half of ‘Team Family’ was a bit distrustful of all of the military people running around; it made working together kind of difficult. Thanks to idiots like Kinsey and the NID, who thought that because they were government they were the rulers of the world, a lot of people that could probably be a help to the government were incredibly distrustful of them instead. It really steamed him that because of people like Maybourne, his own family was a little hesitant to trust him.
He was about join a couple of specialists on mystical and technological weapons to see if they could possibly figure out what this Caleb character might be guarding in the vineyard. Because from what information they did have, it seemed likely that Buffy was right in that aspect, even if her method of attack hadn’t been the best. Though after listening to things, it seemed like she had just gotten tired of reacting to threats. He could understand that sort of thing. Hell, he had done it before himself. Sometimes it worked, and sometimes it had cost people their lives. He wanted as much information on this vineyard place as he could if he was going to send any of his people on this kind of mission. One of the men on communications waved him over.
“Sir, that Connor MacLeod guy is reporting in.”
“Thanks,” the Colonel said, accepting a headset. “Yeah, what?” he asked impatiently. “Tell me you found something,” he continued hopefully.
“Aye, lad, I’ve found our girl. I’ve also found some more o’ the family.”
“Really? That’s great. Listen, I want you to hold back in approaching her until the rest of the family gets there. We don’t want you to get hit because you got mistaken for a bad guy.”
“Aye, she’s likely to either skewer me or laugh at me. Unless there’s more than one o’ us trying to confront her.”
“Yeah, well it’s not my fault that you and your friends decided to split up even more after everything that’s happened,” Jack replied smugly. “You’d think that you would be more careful.”
“True, but we’ve also been able to cover more ground this way,” the man said. Jack found himself nodding despite himself. “Besides, I am very good at disappearing into the shadows. Of course, if the First wants to talk it won’t have trouble finding me. Do we have a limit as to how far it can go yet?”
“Working on that. If we can figure that out, we’ll use a few toys that we have to hold a conversation elsewhere. I hear England is supposed to be nice this time of year.”
“Right, so I’ll follow Buffy and the rest of the family and friends that she’s managed to pick up.”
“Right, we’ll follow you through the tracking system built into your comm. unit.”
“And when were you going to tell me ‘bout this little addition to the equipment, Colonel?”
“Sorry, a lot of our people are used to having some kind of tracker on them during missions so we can tell if they need help.”
“Understood, lad, but you really should have told us. We have reasons for not wanting people able to track us.”
“Understood. Anything else?”
“No, this conversation has gone on long enough. MacLeod out.”
“And a pleasure talking to you, too.”
“Sir, status report on the Summers house,” a soldier repoted, holding out a folder.
“Any change?”
“Yes, sir. Using one of the bugs that Agent Finn placed in the living room, we learned that they are planning on splitting into two main teams with a small group staying at the house. Team 1 is being led by the other Slayer, and will be going to take care of an armory that they learned of. Meanwhile Team 2, which is made up of Commander Summers’ closest former advisers, has been given the job of doing some recon on Miss Summers. They seem fairly certain that they can find her somehow.”
“I see, and why are they looking for her? I somehow doubt that they’re looking to find an apology.”
“Unknown, but from the way some of the conversation sounded, we presume that they wanted to make sure that Commander Summers doesn’t interfere with the other team’s mission.”
“Of course, we wouldn’t want someone to take the wind out of their sails and actually do something, now would we? How did they find out about this supposed armory?”
“They questioned one of the Bringers.”
“How? Those guys don’t even have tongues. They can’t talk.” Jack only knew this because they had hoped to grab some information before they entered the area instead of going in completely blind. Teal’c and Daniel had guessed that this so they wouldn’t talk; the whole loose tongue thing.
“Unknown, sir, though we did hear a reference to a spell of some sort that involved Miss Rosenberg and Mr. Wells.”
“Magic, great. Anything about what that Caleb guy is supposed to be guarding or making with all of his silent, blind friends? And where is this armory? Even if we don’t mess with it, I want someone watching it just in case.”
“A team will be ready to follow them the moment they head out,” the soldier manning communications said, making a note on his clipboard.
“Make it two, or at least have the other one nearby in case things get hairy.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And the crazy preacher?” Jack asked as he turned back to the other soldier. “Did they talk about what he’s doing in that little hidey hole of his?”
“No, sir. Near as we can tell, they decided not to ask about that place,” the man replied with a grimace.
“You mean they didn’t question the prisoner about crucial things regarding the fights? They should have.” Jack scowled, obviously they were not interested in getting all of the information they could. Maybe he should send Jesse Duke back over there and scare them again; that helped them get info the last time.
“We went over it as much as we could, sir, and as far as we can tell, they didn’t ask a single question about the vineyard. And we’re pretty sure that we got all of the questions that were asked, and the answers. Seems as though one of the girls was bragging about the fact that she was in the meeting and that she was the one that cut the Bringers throat when he went into the whole ‘ my boss is glorious and shall rise above you and kill you all. After all, I am but a vessel, yadda yadda.’ You know, sir, the same sort of thing we get when we’re dealing with Jaffa.”
Jack smirked. “Anything else you want to add to your report?”
“Yes, sir. It seems as if all the young adults are feeling extremely horny tonight, and there are bets on who will sleep with whom. The teens and the old man are behaving though, so we won’t have to disrupt them for corrupting a minor or anything like that. The old man is actually spending most of his time going over the files of the people in our group that he met. So all of the group leaders, at least, are under scrutiny.”
“So he’s trying to figure us out, is he?”
“Yes, sir. Should we figure out a way to see to it that he doesn’t read those things?”
“Nah, let him read. It might help drive home the fact that he’s not in charge of the situation anymore, and that he screwed up royally,” Jack said, a smug grin crossing his face. “Now go back to your X-rated movie. Oh, and five bucks says the other Slayer does it with the Principal.”
“Yes, sir,” the soldier replied, saluting his superior before walking off.
“Send this message out, would ya?” Jack said, handing the comm. officer a slip of paper.
“Yes, sir,” was all the soldier said before returning to his duties.
Jack nodded to a few soldiers as he handed over the headset and walked over to the weapons area. He calmly picked up his P-90 and a zat gun. Since he was already wearing an equipment vest and a sidearm, he didn’t need to stock up on a whole lot of things. He turned around to see his team, Bra’tac, and the Finns standing there. Teal’c was already holding his staff weapon, Daniel and Sam had their weapons slung across their backs, and the Finns seemed to be restocking more than anything else.
“You didn’t really expect us to let you go on your own, did you, sir?” Carter asked, looking at her C.O.
“No, can’t really say that I did,” the Colonel replied, straightening his gear.
“It shouldn’t take too long to get to the cemetery. After that, we can probably pick up the trail rather easily. If we do lose it, we can get confirmation from base camp on which way we need to go. Hopefully she won’t be too mad when she sees us in her town,” Riley said as he finished prepping his gear.
“Did not Buffy Summers ask for our aide, though?” Bra’tac queried.
“No, she didn’t. She warned her family about what was going on. She never actually asked us to help her,” Samantha Finn explained. “And to be quite frank, Buffy Summers has every reason to act territorial whenever the military gets involved.”
“I see,” Teal’c said. “It is a well known fact that some warriors are extremely protective of their territory. Perhaps you merely enforced these feelings.”
“You could say that,” Riley replied.
“Maybe. Let’s just hope she doesn’t try to run us off before we can explain things,” Daniel said.
“If worse comes to worse, I can always out stubborn her,” Jack stated confidently.
“Now that would be worth getting thrown out of town to watch,” Riley said. “Be sure to tell me how that works out.”
Jack shook his head; Riley Finn was a bit of a mystery to him. For the most part, he was a bulletin board soldier: fairly good looks, big, ramrod straight, all the sorts of things that made generals drool in want. His record showed that he was experienced in the field, with all of his black ops training, and was a perfect second in command. Then there was the hidden side of him that peeked through every once in a while. He was extremely sarcastic when he chose to be. He usually saved it for when he was saying something bad about high-ranking brass, breaking the image of the perfect, loyal soldier. The guy had obviously been disillusioned in the past about something, and if the reports were anything to go on, he would guess it had something to do with what had happened to him when he was in Sunnydale.
“I, too, would like to go with you when you go meet this warrior that shares your blood, O’Neill,” Bra’tac said.
“I’ll wait here. If she’s upset, I’d rather not be the one she decides to use as a punching bag.”
“I’ll be sure to tell her that you send your best, Graham.”
The group headed out to find the Slayer.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Charmed: The Bronze
The three sisters stood in the abandoned nightclub and looked around the place. The building, despite it’s obvious state of disrepair, looked like it was almost halfway operational; as if it was one of the last places people had left. Piper was in the back checking the kitchen and storerooms for clues, while Phoebe took the front and the stage, and Prue took the loft and bar. The three sisters were desperately searching for a clue to where their lost cousin might have gone after being kicked out of her own home.
Phoebe glanced around the place in disgust; she had way too many memories of crappy clubs like this from her time in New York. “Well, I think I’m done. I haven’t found a single thing. How about you guys?”
“Nothing in the back has been messed with in a long time,” Piper answered from where she stood at the door. “So I’m guessing that she hasn’t come here. Though scarily enough, despite the shortage on food in here, there’s enough reserve drinks here to make you wonder if the food was really that bad.”
“Nothing up here either,” Prue hollered down at them from the loft. “Looks like we struck out.” The eldest of the witches looked down from the loft at her two sisters. “And the bar is just about empty. Looks like the last group here had a drinking binge before they got the hell out.” The witch waved her hand at a the piece of wood she was standing on, and floated herself down to the ground.
“So, now what?”
“Now we check outside.”
The radios that had been pressed on them when they had gone searching suddenly squawked to life. “All family, we have had a Slayer sighting. Make your way toward the Restfield cemetery, please.”
“Guess we don’t have to do that. Let’s go.”
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Dukes of Hazzard: Streets of Sunnydale
Luke sat on the hood of the General Lee. He had his bow ready with an arrow already knocked, and was ready to use it if someone, or something, decided to make things difficult for them while they searched for their missing cousin. All of the Dukes had been combing the streets in their cars, but so far they had all come up empty.
“Lost Sheep to Shepard, Lost Sheep to Shepard. Any luck yet, Shepard?” Bo asked from where he sat in the driver’s seat.
“This is Shepard, boys. I’m afraid I still ain’t seen hide nor hair of her yet. I thought you boys were hard to find, but it looks like your cousin has both of ya beat hands down. At least you’re easy to spot with the General.”
“Well, when we do find her, you can ask how it is that she disappears so easily in this town,” Bo returned.
“Well when we find her, I want to know what she was a thinking, wandering around the streets like this. You’d think that the girl would know better.”
“You’re forgetting what kind of cousin she is, Uncle Jesse. Maybe she’s attracted to trouble as much as we are.”
“That don’t mean I have to like it.”
“Don’t mind him, boys. He’s just mad and wants another go at her friends,” Daisy’s voice came over the radio.
“All right, darlin’, we understand. Anything on your end, Cooter, Enos?”
“Not yet, boys. Me and old Enos are still a looking, though. You can be assured of that. Besides, we ain’t got any moonshine with us. A serious lack of foresight when we decided to come and get Enos.”
“Right. Call us back in a while.” Bo sighed as he placed the C.B. radio back in place. The blonde man rubbed his jaw tiredly as he continued looking around, hoping to see a flash of blonde hair.
The military radio chose that moment to start making noise. “All family, we have had a Slayer sighting. Make your way toward the Restfield cemetery, please.”
“You hear that, boys?”
“Yes, sir, we surely did,” Bo answered. Luke was already sliding back through the passenger side window.
“We’ll meet you there then. Out.”
“Punch it, Bo,” his cousin ordered.
“You got it, cousin,” Bo said, a cocky grin on his face as he accelerated, then spun the car around and headed the direction that they had just come. Small bits of rock and pavement flew up in the air as the General Lee became a giant orange blur on the streets of Sunnydale.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Highlander: Docks
Duncan stretched himself out as he wandered the deserted docks with his friends. His clansman Connor, and the old man Methos, had both decided not to join them in searching the place. Neither of the Immortals had really wanted to join them, since both of the crazy older Immortals didn’t think that working with others was ever really the answer. They continued thinking that, despite the number of times that they had been saved due to teamwork. With the amount of time that they spent walking out of fights, one might think that they were cowards, but the truth was that they were just cautious people, with overwhelming senses of guilt, that weren’t really interested in parting with their heads.
“You got a lot on your mind?” Richie asked his teacher.
“Aye, this whole thing is a bit of an eye opener. And not just because of the whole supernatural thing, either.”
“It’s your kinsman, isn’t it? You never realized that he had a family like this, did you?”
“You’re right,” he admitted. “I thought I was all the family that he really had, and that somehow he never really needed to make much more than that. I know that family has always been something that me kinsman has wanted, but its kind of startling seeing the results of one o’ those families. His secretary is another one o’ the ones that he saved during one of the wars he was in. From what he told me, she was left an orphan after the people that he was fighting performed an air strike, or something like that. The girl was eight at the time, as I understand. I just never guessed that his connections like that would give him such a big family.”
“Well, deep down isn’t that what we all privately want? A family that cares for us, no matter what we do? Us, we’re a family because we were all in the same boat. Those others might be families of blood, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they were family by hardship either, or they wouldn’t all be here.”
“Aye, maybe you’re right.”
“Of course I am. Heck, I bet in some weird, twisted, demented way Amanda and Methos want that as well.”
“Methos as a dad is actually a rather scary thought,” Duncan said, chuckling.
“Well, isn’t this sweet,” a voice commented as six new Immortals stepped out of the shadow of a building to confront them. “All this talk about families is enough to make a person tear up,” jeered the spokesman of the group.
“Why is it that whenever we get interrupted, it’s almost always with some cheesy line like that?” Amanda asked as she drew her own sword.
“You know that it’s their way, Amanda,” Duncan replied, drawing his Katana. “You wouldn’t want them to go and do something brand new and original, now would you? Besides, I believe that you are the one that likes setting trends.”
“That is true, Highlander,” Methos said as he melted out of the shadows and stood waiting with his own sword drawn.
“Death,” one of the Immortals said, nodding. “My master’s master told me about you.”
“Abrams. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, or your masters.”
“That it has.”
The spokesman began talking again. “Well, boys, we are really in the presence of greatness here today. May I introduce to you to the one and only, Death. Or, as he is better known to certain people, Methos.” Methos nodded to the group that was in a standoff with his friends. “And now that that’s out of the way, I hereby challenge you.” The Immortal drew a wicked looking broad sword.
“If you insist,” Methos said bringing his sword into a guard position. “Are you sure you’re ready for this?” he asked as he saw the others were looking each other down, in case they started fighting in a number of challenges.
“Let’s just do this; now that there is no place for you to run and hide,” the other immortal said mockingly. “After all, how likely is it that you’ll be entering Holy Ground again after all of this is over? Of course out here it might be closer to cursed land.”
“I have decided to accept your challenge, there is no need to be insulting. Shall we fight?”
“All right,” the Immortal said casually before lunging at Methos, his blade coming down in a quick slice. Methos casually batted the weapon out of the way and then took a few steps back after a few more quick slashing strikes that were intended more for searching out the older Immortal’s defenses than anything else. Methos retaliated with small jabs with his blade, which gave him an idea of what kind of swordsman he was facing, as well.
The two Immortals then began circling each other, now that they had gotten an idea of what they both could do. “I’ll give you this last chance to walk away from this. I’m really not all that eager to have your arrogance in me.”
“Big talk, old man. You’re just scared because you see that Death has finally come for you.” The Immortal smirked at him, goading him to attack again.
“Hardly,” Methos replied as he tangled his sword with his opponents, and then with an arcing motion, followed by a twist of his wrist, the other Immortal’s sword went flying into the air, spinning until it landed out of sight. They all heard the distant plop as it fell into the water.
“Nice one,” the Immortal said as he brought a heavy fist across Methos’ face. “Hope you don’t mind if I use that one some time.”
“You still have a high opinion of yourself and your skills, despite the fact that you have been disarmed.”
“Big whoop. I still have both of my arms.”
“Don’t tempt me into removing them,” Methos barked as he spun his sword, stabbing the Immortal in the shoulder. “Now then, you have a choice before you. You can either back off, or I can take your head. What’s it going to be?”
“Oh, come on, you don’t fool me, Methos. You don’t have what it takes to kill anymore,” the man replied confidently.
“That’s a mistake you shouldn’t make,” Methos said coolly.
“Then do it,” the Immortal taunted. “Unless your afraid?”
“You are insane then?” Methos questioned.
“So they say.” Nodding, Methos raised his sword. “Welcome back.” The man snickered darkly as Methos swung his sword, slicing through the man’s neck. A few drops of blood splattered the ground before the power of the quickening storm came. Methos groaned as the power entered him, as another head was added to his number. He felt the rush as the man’s memories and Quickening merged with his own.
“You okay, Methos?”
“Yes, you freaking Boy Scout, I’m just fine,” the man grunted out before he fell to the ground in exhaustion. “We need to move. Unless, of course, you want to explain to the soldier boys why a freak lightening storm happened right over us, and why there is now a headless corpse here with us.”
The military radio that had been pressed onto them chose that moment to start issuing an update. “All family, we have had a Slayer sighting. Make your way toward the Restfield cemetery, please.”
“Figures,” Richie grumbled as he and the others sheathed their swords after the unknown Immortals had made a run for it.
“How long do you think he’ll be out?” Amanda asked as Richie and Duncan helped Methos up.
“Hard to tell yet,” Duncan replied. “Why don’t ye go and get us a car. It will probably be easier for us if we do that.
“One hotwired car, coming up,” the thief said as she walked over to a cargo van. She soon had the van ready to go.
“Good, let’s go,” Joe said as they pushed Methos into a passenger seat.
The First smiled as it watched Methos absorb the idiot. It had made that one the unofficial leader for just this occasion. Now, in time, Methos would return to the side that he was supposed to be on. Soon Death would cut another swath of destruction that would remake his legend. Smirking at the ease of this, the First disappeared with another bright flash of light.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Smallville: Sunnydale College Campus
Clark looked up from where he and his parents were standing. Focusing on one of the closest buildings, he narrowed his eyes as he activated his x-ray vision to search it. He started at the top, going through each room, looking for the figure of his cousin inside. A part of him wished that he had a bit more time at this so he could go through some of the things that were still inside. The inside of this building appeared to be free of life, except for a few birds that looked like they were too hurt to leave under their own power. Using his super speed and x-ray vision, he had already searched half of the campus in this manner. He had mainly stopped here for a moment to catch his breath, and to allow his parents to catch up with him. Jonathan Kent looked at his son for a moment before he finally asked the question that had been tugging at his thoughts ever since he had watched Clark take down the dark haired Slayer. “Clark, I have a question that I need to ask you.”
“Yeah, sure, what is it, dad?” Clark asked, turning to give his father his undivided attention.
“When you caught that girl’s fist in your hand, did it actually hurt? Or was it like getting hit by anything else?”
“I felt it, if that’s what you’re asking. Why?”
“Well, Clark, there is so much about your powers that we don’t understand, that every time something new comes up, it’s also a chance for us to learn about you and your abilities. Besides, this is the first time that we’ve come across a super powered being that wasn’t… empowered I guess would be the best way to put it, by meteor rocks. It just opens up a whole new world of things for us to deal with.”
“Yeah,” Clark replied, understanding that his father wanted him to be ready for whatever the world threw at him. “Well, that preacher guy was a lot stronger, but it was also because of him that I was ready for her. If I had met her first, she might have gotten in a few hits before I could do anything,” he explained to his parents who were giving him a questioning look. “As it was, I was ready for the amount of power that she used against me. In fact, I was more than ready because of it.”
“So, since you were ready for her, you slammed her into a truck?” his mother questioned him.
Clark looked embarrassed at that. “Sorry. I listened in to what they were saying inside, and I guess I was kind of annoyed that they did that to her.”
“It’s all right, son. Fortunately, all you did was knock the wind out of her, and I know that you could have done a lot worse,” Jonathan said, patting his son on the shoulder. “Worse case scenario is that she’ll have a bruise on her back tomorrow.”
“I hope so, ‘cause I don’t think I really want all of those people mad at me. At least not anymore than they already are.”
“Don’t worry about it, honey. Now, how about we get back to looking for this cousin of yours?” Martha Kent suggested, giving her son a hug. “Just know that whether or not you get to meet Buffy, you’re not alone.”
Clark winced as his mother pegged the real reason for his anger over what had happened. “Sounds good in theory, mom, but deep down I can’t help but wonder if she doesn’t have something that could help me. Maybe just some words of advice that will make it all more bearable.”
“Or maybe someone for you to talk to?” Jonathan Kent asked in understanding. As much as he didn’t like it, in some ways his son was growing beyond him, no matter what he did to keep up. Perhaps this Buffy could help him, though. It might help keep him from making some of the mistakes that she had made. If that were the case, he would never let either of them know how hurt he felt about it.
“Well, I guess we should get back to work now, huh?”
“I’m afraid so. The thing is that you have to do most of the work. The only thing your mother and I can do is hold this,” Jonathan said, holding up the radio, which chose that moment to come to life.
“All family, we have had a Slayer sighting. Make your way toward the Restfield cemetery please.”
“Hmm, looks like you just got saved from having to run all over the rest of the campus,” Jonathan said as he tucked the radio back onto his hip. “We’ll take the truck,” he ordered.
“Yes, sir,” Clark replied, though it was obvious that he would rather run.
________________________________________________________________________________________
BTVS/Spike: Cemetery
Spike grumbled to himself as he followed Buffy’s scent. “Stupid, idiotic wankers. Where do they bloody get off, kicking the Slayer out of her own damn house? ‘Specially after all that she’s done for them. Ungrateful bunch of tossers. It’s not like she sacrificed her future for them. Oh wait, she did. Well, it’s not like she sacrificed her sanity. Nope, did that, too. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have slept with me on the sly. Well, how about her love? Nope, she did that, too; a few times too many, but she’s done it with Captain Forehead. Let’s see, I know: she never sacrificed them. That’s the one thing she never bloody gave up on. Bunch of traitors,” the bleach blonde, ensouled vampire muttered. He was having a hard time keeping his demon inside, especially since a part of him wanted to put that Faith bint through the door after everything that had happened. He had wanted to do it so badly, but he hadn’t. Buffy wouldn’t have liked it, and if she wanted it done, then she should be the one to do it, so he had pulled back. He should have told them off more, but the dark haired Slayer would have gotten in his way again. He sighed. He had really thought that Dawn was a better person than that. And what was Droopy being so pissed off about? He was the one who had been tortured, not once, but twice for the slayer. First there had been that Hell bitch, and then there had been the First screwing around with his head before going for the physical punishment.
The vampire was so busy with his dark thoughts, (and they were dark thoughts, not brooding thank you very much, brooding was his grandsire’s bag) that he hadn’t even noticed where he was going. “Oh bloody hell, please not that place,” the vampire groaned as he looked at the spot where Buffy had jumped the fence. She might not be able to take this right now. He jumped the fence and ran toward the place he knew Buffy would be, if she were still there.
He ran over to where Joyce’s gravesite was and looked around in shock. Either Buffy had finally lost her temper here and had cut loose with some super secret Slayer power no one had bothered to tell him about, or some sort of mystic, or something like that, had decided to take on the Slayer when they thought she was down and weak. Though the top-secret power wasn’t a bad bet. He looked around, hoping to find some sort of clue as to what had happened here. There were about a dozen different scents all over the place. One belonged to the Slayer, but the others smelled like they came from every corner of the world. Some of them had even been traveling together, since their scents were a little intermingled. There were also the odd bits of metal, and strangely enough brimstone, fur, and even some kind of horse. He could also smell a bit of blood. He wandered around the whole area, where there had obviously been a major fight. Eyeing the broken tree branch, he noted that the only spot it could have come from and wondered what had hit it. He could keep searching the battlefield now, or he could follow the trail. Cursing to himself, he turned away from the mess before him. He had to find the Slayer. He had information for her, whatever it meant. He walked over to the headstone that had somehow been missed he noted with relief, though he noticed with some amusement that Buffy’s headstone had been cracked. Her name was gone. all that was left was the ‘SHE SAVED THE WORLD A LOT’ part. He looked beside it where Joyce’s grave stood.
“I’ll find her, Joyce. You have my word on that,” the vampire promised before he chased after the scents. He sure had a thing for making promises to the Summers women.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Supernatural: Sewers
“Remind me why we’re down here again?” Dean asked his brother as they waded through the slimey water.
“Because we didn’t claim any of the other places before the others. And it’s a known way for speedy, unobserved travel,” Sam answered, shining his flashlight down one of the many tunnels.
“And we couldn’t let the army boys do this place because?”
“Because I don’t want you trying to race that bright orange car when we’re supposed to be looking for this girl,” Sam returned, giving his brother a knowing look. “And it’s easier if we just take the temptation away from you. Besides, if you weren’t trying that, you would be trying to get one of those girls into bed. And quite frankly, I don’t think that would be a smart move considering how many of their family members know how to use shotguns.”
“Sam, if I didn’t know better, I would swear that you’re saying that you don’t approve of me mixing business and pleasure.”
“Wow, maybe you can learn something,” Sam replied sarcastically as he lead them down the tunnel, the flashlight pausing over the remains of some type of creature that had been eaten by something bigger and probably meaner.
“Looks like something enjoyed the all you can eat buffet,” Dean commented dryly as they continued on. “Makes you wonder just what it is that has eating habits like that.”
“You have a really warped sense of humor. You know that, right?”
“You’re just jealous ‘cause you can’t sound and look as good as me while doing this.”
“Dude, are you trying to argue about who looks better in sewer slime?”
“No, I mean yes, oh forget it. You are seriously no fun sometimes.” Dean took the lead for a while, randomly selecting tunnels.
“You are keeping track of which way we’re going, right?” Sam asked after the sixth turn.
“We just need to find a ladder to find our way out, Sammy, Dean replied indifferently. He looked into one area and shrugging, he entered through a giant crack and whistled in appreciation at the now empty torch racks that hung around the room. There was even some kind of stone throne in the middle of the room. Looking around, he noticed a pool and flashed his light into it to see if there was anything in it. “Oh man, I can’t believe we found a place like this. It just reeks of a big, bad, dark overlord or something, don’t you think? You think there’s any treasure trove around here, Sammy?”
“I don’t think that Buffy girl is going to be here, Dean,” Sam said, paling as he looked around the room.
“Really? Why not?” Dean asked as he moved some of the rocks in the water around with his shoe.
“Because according to the notes that we, or I at least, read, we’re standing in the lair of the vampire that called himself the Master. He actually drowned Buffy in that pond you’re standing in, after draining her of some of her blood. When she died her first time and was resurrected with CPR, that is.”
“So, we’re in a place of history then?” Dean questioned after he had jumped out of the water and shot a dirty look at his grim brother, who was currently ignoring him.
“I guess so. The first reviving place of the Slayer,” Sam said, making a note on the map he was carrying with him.
“Dad would love to check this place out.”
“Yeah, but we’ve got more important things to do than look at this sort of stuff.”
“Wait a minute. You know where we are, don’t you?” Dean accused his younger brother, giving him the patented older sibling glare that was mandatory for all older siblings to learn.
“Maybe I have an idea,” Sam replied, the ghost of a grin on his face as he met his brother’s disgusted glare.
“So the whole ‘you are keeping track of where we’re going’ thing was nothing more than your way of pushing my buttons?”
Sam was saved from answering when the army radio sprang to life. “All family, we have had a Slayer sighting. Make your way toward the Restfield cemetery please.”
“This isn’t over,” Dean promised. “I am so going to make you pay when this is all over.”
“Consider it pay back for all the times you annoyed me." Sam returned to his brother. Now come on, we have to find a way back to the Impala.”
“Right.”
The Texan barely ducks out of the way, as the green bolt of magic collides with the wall. “Aw man I really didn’t want to have to be patching up the wall today.” The Texan whines, as chunks of plaster fall on him. “You know, with intros like yours it almost makes me miss uncle Jessie and his moonshine.” The cowboy says. “By the way, ever here of shampoo?”
“You dare to mock me? The Half-Blood-Prince does not allow such things! Crucio!” A red bolt is snapped from the wand, striking the cocky cowboy.
“ArrrGGHh!”
“Now then, what was that you were saying? And remember, that you are addressing your superior, the Half-Blood Prince when you talk to me.”
“I was saying that you need to check the wonderful world of hair care, since you actually still have hair unlike your boss. I was also saying that I own absolutely nothing in this story. Now you can’t attack me for not saying anything!”
“That may be, but I can still crucio you for lack of manners and respect to your betters.”
“What do you expect? I wasn’t born saying chap I was born saying hey you.”
“Crucio.” The beam strikes the wall, as the smart mouthed Texan is whisked away from a possible trip to insanity, by the tell-tell sign of a whitelighter orbing him to safety.
=============================================================================
CH19
=========================================================================
SG-1: Base Camp
Colonel Jack O’Neill ran a hand through his graying hair as he surveyed the Central Operation Center that they had put together. They were currently using an office building that sat next door to an apartment complex. Taking control of the two buildings had been easy enough seeing as they had been abandoned. They had then set up a pair of generators and soon they were in business to save the world. They were now all set to plan their next move. It was a shame that nearly half of ‘Team Family’ was a bit distrustful of all of the military people running around; it made working together kind of difficult. Thanks to idiots like Kinsey and the NID, who thought that because they were government they were the rulers of the world, a lot of people that could probably be a help to the government were incredibly distrustful of them instead. It really steamed him that because of people like Maybourne, his own family was a little hesitant to trust him.
He was about join a couple of specialists on mystical and technological weapons to see if they could possibly figure out what this Caleb character might be guarding in the vineyard. Because from what information they did have, it seemed likely that Buffy was right in that aspect, even if her method of attack hadn’t been the best. Though after listening to things, it seemed like she had just gotten tired of reacting to threats. He could understand that sort of thing. Hell, he had done it before himself. Sometimes it worked, and sometimes it had cost people their lives. He wanted as much information on this vineyard place as he could if he was going to send any of his people on this kind of mission. One of the men on communications waved him over.
“Sir, that Connor MacLeod guy is reporting in.”
“Thanks,” the Colonel said, accepting a headset. “Yeah, what?” he asked impatiently. “Tell me you found something,” he continued hopefully.
“Aye, lad, I’ve found our girl. I’ve also found some more o’ the family.”
“Really? That’s great. Listen, I want you to hold back in approaching her until the rest of the family gets there. We don’t want you to get hit because you got mistaken for a bad guy.”
“Aye, she’s likely to either skewer me or laugh at me. Unless there’s more than one o’ us trying to confront her.”
“Yeah, well it’s not my fault that you and your friends decided to split up even more after everything that’s happened,” Jack replied smugly. “You’d think that you would be more careful.”
“True, but we’ve also been able to cover more ground this way,” the man said. Jack found himself nodding despite himself. “Besides, I am very good at disappearing into the shadows. Of course, if the First wants to talk it won’t have trouble finding me. Do we have a limit as to how far it can go yet?”
“Working on that. If we can figure that out, we’ll use a few toys that we have to hold a conversation elsewhere. I hear England is supposed to be nice this time of year.”
“Right, so I’ll follow Buffy and the rest of the family and friends that she’s managed to pick up.”
“Right, we’ll follow you through the tracking system built into your comm. unit.”
“And when were you going to tell me ‘bout this little addition to the equipment, Colonel?”
“Sorry, a lot of our people are used to having some kind of tracker on them during missions so we can tell if they need help.”
“Understood, lad, but you really should have told us. We have reasons for not wanting people able to track us.”
“Understood. Anything else?”
“No, this conversation has gone on long enough. MacLeod out.”
“And a pleasure talking to you, too.”
“Sir, status report on the Summers house,” a soldier repoted, holding out a folder.
“Any change?”
“Yes, sir. Using one of the bugs that Agent Finn placed in the living room, we learned that they are planning on splitting into two main teams with a small group staying at the house. Team 1 is being led by the other Slayer, and will be going to take care of an armory that they learned of. Meanwhile Team 2, which is made up of Commander Summers’ closest former advisers, has been given the job of doing some recon on Miss Summers. They seem fairly certain that they can find her somehow.”
“I see, and why are they looking for her? I somehow doubt that they’re looking to find an apology.”
“Unknown, but from the way some of the conversation sounded, we presume that they wanted to make sure that Commander Summers doesn’t interfere with the other team’s mission.”
“Of course, we wouldn’t want someone to take the wind out of their sails and actually do something, now would we? How did they find out about this supposed armory?”
“They questioned one of the Bringers.”
“How? Those guys don’t even have tongues. They can’t talk.” Jack only knew this because they had hoped to grab some information before they entered the area instead of going in completely blind. Teal’c and Daniel had guessed that this so they wouldn’t talk; the whole loose tongue thing.
“Unknown, sir, though we did hear a reference to a spell of some sort that involved Miss Rosenberg and Mr. Wells.”
“Magic, great. Anything about what that Caleb guy is supposed to be guarding or making with all of his silent, blind friends? And where is this armory? Even if we don’t mess with it, I want someone watching it just in case.”
“A team will be ready to follow them the moment they head out,” the soldier manning communications said, making a note on his clipboard.
“Make it two, or at least have the other one nearby in case things get hairy.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And the crazy preacher?” Jack asked as he turned back to the other soldier. “Did they talk about what he’s doing in that little hidey hole of his?”
“No, sir. Near as we can tell, they decided not to ask about that place,” the man replied with a grimace.
“You mean they didn’t question the prisoner about crucial things regarding the fights? They should have.” Jack scowled, obviously they were not interested in getting all of the information they could. Maybe he should send Jesse Duke back over there and scare them again; that helped them get info the last time.
“We went over it as much as we could, sir, and as far as we can tell, they didn’t ask a single question about the vineyard. And we’re pretty sure that we got all of the questions that were asked, and the answers. Seems as though one of the girls was bragging about the fact that she was in the meeting and that she was the one that cut the Bringers throat when he went into the whole ‘ my boss is glorious and shall rise above you and kill you all. After all, I am but a vessel, yadda yadda.’ You know, sir, the same sort of thing we get when we’re dealing with Jaffa.”
Jack smirked. “Anything else you want to add to your report?”
“Yes, sir. It seems as if all the young adults are feeling extremely horny tonight, and there are bets on who will sleep with whom. The teens and the old man are behaving though, so we won’t have to disrupt them for corrupting a minor or anything like that. The old man is actually spending most of his time going over the files of the people in our group that he met. So all of the group leaders, at least, are under scrutiny.”
“So he’s trying to figure us out, is he?”
“Yes, sir. Should we figure out a way to see to it that he doesn’t read those things?”
“Nah, let him read. It might help drive home the fact that he’s not in charge of the situation anymore, and that he screwed up royally,” Jack said, a smug grin crossing his face. “Now go back to your X-rated movie. Oh, and five bucks says the other Slayer does it with the Principal.”
“Yes, sir,” the soldier replied, saluting his superior before walking off.
“Send this message out, would ya?” Jack said, handing the comm. officer a slip of paper.
“Yes, sir,” was all the soldier said before returning to his duties.
Jack nodded to a few soldiers as he handed over the headset and walked over to the weapons area. He calmly picked up his P-90 and a zat gun. Since he was already wearing an equipment vest and a sidearm, he didn’t need to stock up on a whole lot of things. He turned around to see his team, Bra’tac, and the Finns standing there. Teal’c was already holding his staff weapon, Daniel and Sam had their weapons slung across their backs, and the Finns seemed to be restocking more than anything else.
“You didn’t really expect us to let you go on your own, did you, sir?” Carter asked, looking at her C.O.
“No, can’t really say that I did,” the Colonel replied, straightening his gear.
“It shouldn’t take too long to get to the cemetery. After that, we can probably pick up the trail rather easily. If we do lose it, we can get confirmation from base camp on which way we need to go. Hopefully she won’t be too mad when she sees us in her town,” Riley said as he finished prepping his gear.
“Did not Buffy Summers ask for our aide, though?” Bra’tac queried.
“No, she didn’t. She warned her family about what was going on. She never actually asked us to help her,” Samantha Finn explained. “And to be quite frank, Buffy Summers has every reason to act territorial whenever the military gets involved.”
“I see,” Teal’c said. “It is a well known fact that some warriors are extremely protective of their territory. Perhaps you merely enforced these feelings.”
“You could say that,” Riley replied.
“Maybe. Let’s just hope she doesn’t try to run us off before we can explain things,” Daniel said.
“If worse comes to worse, I can always out stubborn her,” Jack stated confidently.
“Now that would be worth getting thrown out of town to watch,” Riley said. “Be sure to tell me how that works out.”
Jack shook his head; Riley Finn was a bit of a mystery to him. For the most part, he was a bulletin board soldier: fairly good looks, big, ramrod straight, all the sorts of things that made generals drool in want. His record showed that he was experienced in the field, with all of his black ops training, and was a perfect second in command. Then there was the hidden side of him that peeked through every once in a while. He was extremely sarcastic when he chose to be. He usually saved it for when he was saying something bad about high-ranking brass, breaking the image of the perfect, loyal soldier. The guy had obviously been disillusioned in the past about something, and if the reports were anything to go on, he would guess it had something to do with what had happened to him when he was in Sunnydale.
“I, too, would like to go with you when you go meet this warrior that shares your blood, O’Neill,” Bra’tac said.
“I’ll wait here. If she’s upset, I’d rather not be the one she decides to use as a punching bag.”
“I’ll be sure to tell her that you send your best, Graham.”
The group headed out to find the Slayer.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Charmed: The Bronze
The three sisters stood in the abandoned nightclub and looked around the place. The building, despite it’s obvious state of disrepair, looked like it was almost halfway operational; as if it was one of the last places people had left. Piper was in the back checking the kitchen and storerooms for clues, while Phoebe took the front and the stage, and Prue took the loft and bar. The three sisters were desperately searching for a clue to where their lost cousin might have gone after being kicked out of her own home.
Phoebe glanced around the place in disgust; she had way too many memories of crappy clubs like this from her time in New York. “Well, I think I’m done. I haven’t found a single thing. How about you guys?”
“Nothing in the back has been messed with in a long time,” Piper answered from where she stood at the door. “So I’m guessing that she hasn’t come here. Though scarily enough, despite the shortage on food in here, there’s enough reserve drinks here to make you wonder if the food was really that bad.”
“Nothing up here either,” Prue hollered down at them from the loft. “Looks like we struck out.” The eldest of the witches looked down from the loft at her two sisters. “And the bar is just about empty. Looks like the last group here had a drinking binge before they got the hell out.” The witch waved her hand at a the piece of wood she was standing on, and floated herself down to the ground.
“So, now what?”
“Now we check outside.”
The radios that had been pressed on them when they had gone searching suddenly squawked to life. “All family, we have had a Slayer sighting. Make your way toward the Restfield cemetery, please.”
“Guess we don’t have to do that. Let’s go.”
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Dukes of Hazzard: Streets of Sunnydale
Luke sat on the hood of the General Lee. He had his bow ready with an arrow already knocked, and was ready to use it if someone, or something, decided to make things difficult for them while they searched for their missing cousin. All of the Dukes had been combing the streets in their cars, but so far they had all come up empty.
“Lost Sheep to Shepard, Lost Sheep to Shepard. Any luck yet, Shepard?” Bo asked from where he sat in the driver’s seat.
“This is Shepard, boys. I’m afraid I still ain’t seen hide nor hair of her yet. I thought you boys were hard to find, but it looks like your cousin has both of ya beat hands down. At least you’re easy to spot with the General.”
“Well, when we do find her, you can ask how it is that she disappears so easily in this town,” Bo returned.
“Well when we find her, I want to know what she was a thinking, wandering around the streets like this. You’d think that the girl would know better.”
“You’re forgetting what kind of cousin she is, Uncle Jesse. Maybe she’s attracted to trouble as much as we are.”
“That don’t mean I have to like it.”
“Don’t mind him, boys. He’s just mad and wants another go at her friends,” Daisy’s voice came over the radio.
“All right, darlin’, we understand. Anything on your end, Cooter, Enos?”
“Not yet, boys. Me and old Enos are still a looking, though. You can be assured of that. Besides, we ain’t got any moonshine with us. A serious lack of foresight when we decided to come and get Enos.”
“Right. Call us back in a while.” Bo sighed as he placed the C.B. radio back in place. The blonde man rubbed his jaw tiredly as he continued looking around, hoping to see a flash of blonde hair.
The military radio chose that moment to start making noise. “All family, we have had a Slayer sighting. Make your way toward the Restfield cemetery, please.”
“You hear that, boys?”
“Yes, sir, we surely did,” Bo answered. Luke was already sliding back through the passenger side window.
“We’ll meet you there then. Out.”
“Punch it, Bo,” his cousin ordered.
“You got it, cousin,” Bo said, a cocky grin on his face as he accelerated, then spun the car around and headed the direction that they had just come. Small bits of rock and pavement flew up in the air as the General Lee became a giant orange blur on the streets of Sunnydale.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Highlander: Docks
Duncan stretched himself out as he wandered the deserted docks with his friends. His clansman Connor, and the old man Methos, had both decided not to join them in searching the place. Neither of the Immortals had really wanted to join them, since both of the crazy older Immortals didn’t think that working with others was ever really the answer. They continued thinking that, despite the number of times that they had been saved due to teamwork. With the amount of time that they spent walking out of fights, one might think that they were cowards, but the truth was that they were just cautious people, with overwhelming senses of guilt, that weren’t really interested in parting with their heads.
“You got a lot on your mind?” Richie asked his teacher.
“Aye, this whole thing is a bit of an eye opener. And not just because of the whole supernatural thing, either.”
“It’s your kinsman, isn’t it? You never realized that he had a family like this, did you?”
“You’re right,” he admitted. “I thought I was all the family that he really had, and that somehow he never really needed to make much more than that. I know that family has always been something that me kinsman has wanted, but its kind of startling seeing the results of one o’ those families. His secretary is another one o’ the ones that he saved during one of the wars he was in. From what he told me, she was left an orphan after the people that he was fighting performed an air strike, or something like that. The girl was eight at the time, as I understand. I just never guessed that his connections like that would give him such a big family.”
“Well, deep down isn’t that what we all privately want? A family that cares for us, no matter what we do? Us, we’re a family because we were all in the same boat. Those others might be families of blood, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they were family by hardship either, or they wouldn’t all be here.”
“Aye, maybe you’re right.”
“Of course I am. Heck, I bet in some weird, twisted, demented way Amanda and Methos want that as well.”
“Methos as a dad is actually a rather scary thought,” Duncan said, chuckling.
“Well, isn’t this sweet,” a voice commented as six new Immortals stepped out of the shadow of a building to confront them. “All this talk about families is enough to make a person tear up,” jeered the spokesman of the group.
“Why is it that whenever we get interrupted, it’s almost always with some cheesy line like that?” Amanda asked as she drew her own sword.
“You know that it’s their way, Amanda,” Duncan replied, drawing his Katana. “You wouldn’t want them to go and do something brand new and original, now would you? Besides, I believe that you are the one that likes setting trends.”
“That is true, Highlander,” Methos said as he melted out of the shadows and stood waiting with his own sword drawn.
“Death,” one of the Immortals said, nodding. “My master’s master told me about you.”
“Abrams. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, or your masters.”
“That it has.”
The spokesman began talking again. “Well, boys, we are really in the presence of greatness here today. May I introduce to you to the one and only, Death. Or, as he is better known to certain people, Methos.” Methos nodded to the group that was in a standoff with his friends. “And now that that’s out of the way, I hereby challenge you.” The Immortal drew a wicked looking broad sword.
“If you insist,” Methos said bringing his sword into a guard position. “Are you sure you’re ready for this?” he asked as he saw the others were looking each other down, in case they started fighting in a number of challenges.
“Let’s just do this; now that there is no place for you to run and hide,” the other immortal said mockingly. “After all, how likely is it that you’ll be entering Holy Ground again after all of this is over? Of course out here it might be closer to cursed land.”
“I have decided to accept your challenge, there is no need to be insulting. Shall we fight?”
“All right,” the Immortal said casually before lunging at Methos, his blade coming down in a quick slice. Methos casually batted the weapon out of the way and then took a few steps back after a few more quick slashing strikes that were intended more for searching out the older Immortal’s defenses than anything else. Methos retaliated with small jabs with his blade, which gave him an idea of what kind of swordsman he was facing, as well.
The two Immortals then began circling each other, now that they had gotten an idea of what they both could do. “I’ll give you this last chance to walk away from this. I’m really not all that eager to have your arrogance in me.”
“Big talk, old man. You’re just scared because you see that Death has finally come for you.” The Immortal smirked at him, goading him to attack again.
“Hardly,” Methos replied as he tangled his sword with his opponents, and then with an arcing motion, followed by a twist of his wrist, the other Immortal’s sword went flying into the air, spinning until it landed out of sight. They all heard the distant plop as it fell into the water.
“Nice one,” the Immortal said as he brought a heavy fist across Methos’ face. “Hope you don’t mind if I use that one some time.”
“You still have a high opinion of yourself and your skills, despite the fact that you have been disarmed.”
“Big whoop. I still have both of my arms.”
“Don’t tempt me into removing them,” Methos barked as he spun his sword, stabbing the Immortal in the shoulder. “Now then, you have a choice before you. You can either back off, or I can take your head. What’s it going to be?”
“Oh, come on, you don’t fool me, Methos. You don’t have what it takes to kill anymore,” the man replied confidently.
“That’s a mistake you shouldn’t make,” Methos said coolly.
“Then do it,” the Immortal taunted. “Unless your afraid?”
“You are insane then?” Methos questioned.
“So they say.” Nodding, Methos raised his sword. “Welcome back.” The man snickered darkly as Methos swung his sword, slicing through the man’s neck. A few drops of blood splattered the ground before the power of the quickening storm came. Methos groaned as the power entered him, as another head was added to his number. He felt the rush as the man’s memories and Quickening merged with his own.
“You okay, Methos?”
“Yes, you freaking Boy Scout, I’m just fine,” the man grunted out before he fell to the ground in exhaustion. “We need to move. Unless, of course, you want to explain to the soldier boys why a freak lightening storm happened right over us, and why there is now a headless corpse here with us.”
The military radio that had been pressed onto them chose that moment to start issuing an update. “All family, we have had a Slayer sighting. Make your way toward the Restfield cemetery, please.”
“Figures,” Richie grumbled as he and the others sheathed their swords after the unknown Immortals had made a run for it.
“How long do you think he’ll be out?” Amanda asked as Richie and Duncan helped Methos up.
“Hard to tell yet,” Duncan replied. “Why don’t ye go and get us a car. It will probably be easier for us if we do that.
“One hotwired car, coming up,” the thief said as she walked over to a cargo van. She soon had the van ready to go.
“Good, let’s go,” Joe said as they pushed Methos into a passenger seat.
The First smiled as it watched Methos absorb the idiot. It had made that one the unofficial leader for just this occasion. Now, in time, Methos would return to the side that he was supposed to be on. Soon Death would cut another swath of destruction that would remake his legend. Smirking at the ease of this, the First disappeared with another bright flash of light.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Smallville: Sunnydale College Campus
Clark looked up from where he and his parents were standing. Focusing on one of the closest buildings, he narrowed his eyes as he activated his x-ray vision to search it. He started at the top, going through each room, looking for the figure of his cousin inside. A part of him wished that he had a bit more time at this so he could go through some of the things that were still inside. The inside of this building appeared to be free of life, except for a few birds that looked like they were too hurt to leave under their own power. Using his super speed and x-ray vision, he had already searched half of the campus in this manner. He had mainly stopped here for a moment to catch his breath, and to allow his parents to catch up with him. Jonathan Kent looked at his son for a moment before he finally asked the question that had been tugging at his thoughts ever since he had watched Clark take down the dark haired Slayer. “Clark, I have a question that I need to ask you.”
“Yeah, sure, what is it, dad?” Clark asked, turning to give his father his undivided attention.
“When you caught that girl’s fist in your hand, did it actually hurt? Or was it like getting hit by anything else?”
“I felt it, if that’s what you’re asking. Why?”
“Well, Clark, there is so much about your powers that we don’t understand, that every time something new comes up, it’s also a chance for us to learn about you and your abilities. Besides, this is the first time that we’ve come across a super powered being that wasn’t… empowered I guess would be the best way to put it, by meteor rocks. It just opens up a whole new world of things for us to deal with.”
“Yeah,” Clark replied, understanding that his father wanted him to be ready for whatever the world threw at him. “Well, that preacher guy was a lot stronger, but it was also because of him that I was ready for her. If I had met her first, she might have gotten in a few hits before I could do anything,” he explained to his parents who were giving him a questioning look. “As it was, I was ready for the amount of power that she used against me. In fact, I was more than ready because of it.”
“So, since you were ready for her, you slammed her into a truck?” his mother questioned him.
Clark looked embarrassed at that. “Sorry. I listened in to what they were saying inside, and I guess I was kind of annoyed that they did that to her.”
“It’s all right, son. Fortunately, all you did was knock the wind out of her, and I know that you could have done a lot worse,” Jonathan said, patting his son on the shoulder. “Worse case scenario is that she’ll have a bruise on her back tomorrow.”
“I hope so, ‘cause I don’t think I really want all of those people mad at me. At least not anymore than they already are.”
“Don’t worry about it, honey. Now, how about we get back to looking for this cousin of yours?” Martha Kent suggested, giving her son a hug. “Just know that whether or not you get to meet Buffy, you’re not alone.”
Clark winced as his mother pegged the real reason for his anger over what had happened. “Sounds good in theory, mom, but deep down I can’t help but wonder if she doesn’t have something that could help me. Maybe just some words of advice that will make it all more bearable.”
“Or maybe someone for you to talk to?” Jonathan Kent asked in understanding. As much as he didn’t like it, in some ways his son was growing beyond him, no matter what he did to keep up. Perhaps this Buffy could help him, though. It might help keep him from making some of the mistakes that she had made. If that were the case, he would never let either of them know how hurt he felt about it.
“Well, I guess we should get back to work now, huh?”
“I’m afraid so. The thing is that you have to do most of the work. The only thing your mother and I can do is hold this,” Jonathan said, holding up the radio, which chose that moment to come to life.
“All family, we have had a Slayer sighting. Make your way toward the Restfield cemetery please.”
“Hmm, looks like you just got saved from having to run all over the rest of the campus,” Jonathan said as he tucked the radio back onto his hip. “We’ll take the truck,” he ordered.
“Yes, sir,” Clark replied, though it was obvious that he would rather run.
________________________________________________________________________________________
BTVS/Spike: Cemetery
Spike grumbled to himself as he followed Buffy’s scent. “Stupid, idiotic wankers. Where do they bloody get off, kicking the Slayer out of her own damn house? ‘Specially after all that she’s done for them. Ungrateful bunch of tossers. It’s not like she sacrificed her future for them. Oh wait, she did. Well, it’s not like she sacrificed her sanity. Nope, did that, too. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have slept with me on the sly. Well, how about her love? Nope, she did that, too; a few times too many, but she’s done it with Captain Forehead. Let’s see, I know: she never sacrificed them. That’s the one thing she never bloody gave up on. Bunch of traitors,” the bleach blonde, ensouled vampire muttered. He was having a hard time keeping his demon inside, especially since a part of him wanted to put that Faith bint through the door after everything that had happened. He had wanted to do it so badly, but he hadn’t. Buffy wouldn’t have liked it, and if she wanted it done, then she should be the one to do it, so he had pulled back. He should have told them off more, but the dark haired Slayer would have gotten in his way again. He sighed. He had really thought that Dawn was a better person than that. And what was Droopy being so pissed off about? He was the one who had been tortured, not once, but twice for the slayer. First there had been that Hell bitch, and then there had been the First screwing around with his head before going for the physical punishment.
The vampire was so busy with his dark thoughts, (and they were dark thoughts, not brooding thank you very much, brooding was his grandsire’s bag) that he hadn’t even noticed where he was going. “Oh bloody hell, please not that place,” the vampire groaned as he looked at the spot where Buffy had jumped the fence. She might not be able to take this right now. He jumped the fence and ran toward the place he knew Buffy would be, if she were still there.
He ran over to where Joyce’s gravesite was and looked around in shock. Either Buffy had finally lost her temper here and had cut loose with some super secret Slayer power no one had bothered to tell him about, or some sort of mystic, or something like that, had decided to take on the Slayer when they thought she was down and weak. Though the top-secret power wasn’t a bad bet. He looked around, hoping to find some sort of clue as to what had happened here. There were about a dozen different scents all over the place. One belonged to the Slayer, but the others smelled like they came from every corner of the world. Some of them had even been traveling together, since their scents were a little intermingled. There were also the odd bits of metal, and strangely enough brimstone, fur, and even some kind of horse. He could also smell a bit of blood. He wandered around the whole area, where there had obviously been a major fight. Eyeing the broken tree branch, he noted that the only spot it could have come from and wondered what had hit it. He could keep searching the battlefield now, or he could follow the trail. Cursing to himself, he turned away from the mess before him. He had to find the Slayer. He had information for her, whatever it meant. He walked over to the headstone that had somehow been missed he noted with relief, though he noticed with some amusement that Buffy’s headstone had been cracked. Her name was gone. all that was left was the ‘SHE SAVED THE WORLD A LOT’ part. He looked beside it where Joyce’s grave stood.
“I’ll find her, Joyce. You have my word on that,” the vampire promised before he chased after the scents. He sure had a thing for making promises to the Summers women.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Supernatural: Sewers
“Remind me why we’re down here again?” Dean asked his brother as they waded through the slimey water.
“Because we didn’t claim any of the other places before the others. And it’s a known way for speedy, unobserved travel,” Sam answered, shining his flashlight down one of the many tunnels.
“And we couldn’t let the army boys do this place because?”
“Because I don’t want you trying to race that bright orange car when we’re supposed to be looking for this girl,” Sam returned, giving his brother a knowing look. “And it’s easier if we just take the temptation away from you. Besides, if you weren’t trying that, you would be trying to get one of those girls into bed. And quite frankly, I don’t think that would be a smart move considering how many of their family members know how to use shotguns.”
“Sam, if I didn’t know better, I would swear that you’re saying that you don’t approve of me mixing business and pleasure.”
“Wow, maybe you can learn something,” Sam replied sarcastically as he lead them down the tunnel, the flashlight pausing over the remains of some type of creature that had been eaten by something bigger and probably meaner.
“Looks like something enjoyed the all you can eat buffet,” Dean commented dryly as they continued on. “Makes you wonder just what it is that has eating habits like that.”
“You have a really warped sense of humor. You know that, right?”
“You’re just jealous ‘cause you can’t sound and look as good as me while doing this.”
“Dude, are you trying to argue about who looks better in sewer slime?”
“No, I mean yes, oh forget it. You are seriously no fun sometimes.” Dean took the lead for a while, randomly selecting tunnels.
“You are keeping track of which way we’re going, right?” Sam asked after the sixth turn.
“We just need to find a ladder to find our way out, Sammy, Dean replied indifferently. He looked into one area and shrugging, he entered through a giant crack and whistled in appreciation at the now empty torch racks that hung around the room. There was even some kind of stone throne in the middle of the room. Looking around, he noticed a pool and flashed his light into it to see if there was anything in it. “Oh man, I can’t believe we found a place like this. It just reeks of a big, bad, dark overlord or something, don’t you think? You think there’s any treasure trove around here, Sammy?”
“I don’t think that Buffy girl is going to be here, Dean,” Sam said, paling as he looked around the room.
“Really? Why not?” Dean asked as he moved some of the rocks in the water around with his shoe.
“Because according to the notes that we, or I at least, read, we’re standing in the lair of the vampire that called himself the Master. He actually drowned Buffy in that pond you’re standing in, after draining her of some of her blood. When she died her first time and was resurrected with CPR, that is.”
“So, we’re in a place of history then?” Dean questioned after he had jumped out of the water and shot a dirty look at his grim brother, who was currently ignoring him.
“I guess so. The first reviving place of the Slayer,” Sam said, making a note on the map he was carrying with him.
“Dad would love to check this place out.”
“Yeah, but we’ve got more important things to do than look at this sort of stuff.”
“Wait a minute. You know where we are, don’t you?” Dean accused his younger brother, giving him the patented older sibling glare that was mandatory for all older siblings to learn.
“Maybe I have an idea,” Sam replied, the ghost of a grin on his face as he met his brother’s disgusted glare.
“So the whole ‘you are keeping track of where we’re going’ thing was nothing more than your way of pushing my buttons?”
Sam was saved from answering when the army radio sprang to life. “All family, we have had a Slayer sighting. Make your way toward the Restfield cemetery please.”
“This isn’t over,” Dean promised. “I am so going to make you pay when this is all over.”
“Consider it pay back for all the times you annoyed me." Sam returned to his brother. Now come on, we have to find a way back to the Impala.”
“Right.”
Sign up to rate and review this story