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Book: One Title: Inner Demons Chapter: Four Pairings: Kerry Weaver/Kim Legaspi, Willow/Buffy, Joxer/Gabrielle, Gabrielle/Xena, Joxer/Gabrielle/Xena Crossover: ER, BtVS, XtWP Spoilers: ER: Season 7 & Rumors of 8, BtVS: Season 6, XtWP Season 5 and TLFENH Beta Reader: Scotty Welles Summary: A set of events starts a tidal wave that is unstoppable. Note: Next parts will be Book Two. Disclaimer: Warner Bros owns ER, Universal own XtWP, and Paramount now owns BtVS otherwise known as the show formally known as WB. <><><><><><><> "The gods created two races to help battle the evil that Dahak created. One race was known as the Slayers. A race of women who were made from part of the very darkness they fought." The Father paused for emphasis. "But with the knowledge of their origins, the awareness of that same darkness within as without, they found themselves fighting each other. "The gods watched the Slayers' inner struggles, until one by one they destroyed themselves," he continued. "Seeking a way to balance the darkness that the Slayers need in order to do their jobs, they created a second race. The Guardian demons." His rapt audience shifted uneasily at the mention of the Guardians. "The Guardians were made with light, where the Slayers were made with darkness," he informed them. "They held a purity that the Slayers lacked. In short, the Guardians gave the Slayers the balance they needed to survive. In order to insure that each Slayer had a Guardian to help them fight, they created an elite group to help direct and guide them. The group is known as the Council." "Wait, I thought the Council was Dahak's?" Joxer sighed slightly at the suspicious warrior bard. Since they'd arrived she had been interrogating the Father, searching for anything that would give her a reason to distrust the old man. He turned his attention back to his old mentor, and smiled as the older man batted her question away with practiced ease. "If you'll be patient, young one, then all questions shall be answered in their time." He ignored her impatient attempt to protest, and continued. "The Council assigned trained men, ex-warriors and scholars of Ares, to each pair. The Watchers, as they were later called, were their surrogate Fathers. It was a Watcher's job to train them, teach them, and to perform the binding ritual. The ritual was necessary in order to ensure that the two would balance each other. "For a century, the Chosen Ones lived long lives, battling the forces that Dahak ruled. For a century, the gods were able to see Dahak's coming, but the end didn't come. Over a number of years things began to change. The balances shifted, Slayers and their Guardians started to die early deaths. Their Watchers would burn out with every death, and it was suspected that there was a traitor in the Council. As time passed the Council changed, ignoring the gods and changing the way they ran things." "They banished the Guardians from the Council, allowing only the Slayers to fight, this time alone. Even when the Slayers still found their Guardians, they forbade the Slayers to involve others in their fight. The Council created their own race of demons known as Seekers, whose only job was to kill the Guardian race. As Dahak continued to lose the fight, they only allowed one Slayer to be activated at a time." The Father paused in his tale to shake his head sadly. "The gods, unable to do anything about the Council, came to us and asked for our help. In accordance, our covenants were declared sacred ground that could not be entered by the gods, nor Dahak." Xena scowled, following the narrative, but not liking it. "All right, so what do..." <><><><><><><> "...we do?" Willow held her breath as Buffy asked the one question she dreaded the most. So far her friend had taken everything well, little too well really, then again she was also a Vampire Slayer whose ex-boyfriends included a souled vampire and an initiative solider. "The binding ritual is the only way to ensure that the necessary balance is struck." She waved her hands between Buffy and herself, as though pointing out the invisible bond between them. Buffy shook her head in confusion. "How will that solve anything?" "The only way the Council could keep the Guardians weak enough to terminate them was to keep the them and the Slayers from completing the binding ritual." Kim glared at him from her position next to Kerry. "Great, so you're saying that all the ritual will do is give them enough strength to survive if they get attacked." "Something like that." She could sense the anger radiating from both blondes, neither one understood the full impact of the situation. They both believed that on some level that there was some miracle cure that could end the danger from the Council, but the reality was that nothing would ever end the constant danger that Kerry and Willow were in. It was part of their everyday life, fighting and surviving to see another sunrise. Buffy, of course, had some experience with that sort of lifestyle, but for Kim Legaspi it must have been like entering a whole new world, and a dark and terrifying one at that. She looked over at her mother and raised her eyebrows in question. They had a hard choice at this point: did they tell their blonde companions the truth and watch them become over-bearing and over-protective, or did they ease their minds by telling them a lie?. Kerry nodded softly and cleared her throat. "We'll be fine once the ritual is completed. The question is whether you two will are willing to be bound to us?" "I'm in." The younger blonde spoke without hesitation. The Father laughed gently at the young Slayer, his eyes suddenly twinkling with more mischief than she cared to see in him. "I'm afraid, young one, that Red already started the ritual binding." Buffy looked sharply at him, then stared at Willow in confusion. "What? When?" She ducked her head to stare at her fidgeting feet. "Uh, you know that spell I used to bring you back?" "Yeeeaaahhh...?" "Well, I kinda forgot to mention that the spell was the first half of the binding spell, which bonds you to my life force. I asked you before I performed it and you didn't say anything, remember? Of course that could've been because you were dead at the time, so naturally you wouldn't respond. But I was worried about Dawnie, and no other Slayer had been called, which meant we had no way to..." "Willow…" Kerry's calm voice cut into her daughter's stream of speech. "Breathe." She stopped and took in several ragged breaths, too scared of how Buffy would react to look up. She relaxed as her friend hugged her, whispering softly. "It's okay. You saved my life, remember?" "So…you're not mad?" "Better mad than dead. If anything, I should..." <><><><><><><> "... thank you, but why on earth didn't you tell us?" Joxer blushed under the two women's gazes. He was well known for his bragging, but he never bragged when he really did do something. It was probably why Xena always said that he was an odd contradiction. He risked a look at Xena to see what her reaction was, only to find her giving him a soft half smile. "He may have started the ritual," she was saying, "but needs to be completed in order for it to work fully." Gabrielle looked puzzled. "But can we? Neither of us is..." <><><><><><><> "...a Slayer?" The Father cocked his head at Kim. "Actually you are, you were just never activated." If Kim was at all fazed, she didn't let it show, instead nodding solemnly to show her consent of the ritual. "I'll make the necessary arrangements, in the meantime I suggest all of you try to get some rest." Kerry slipped out of the room as Kim began to question Buffy about Slayers and the Council. She wanted to spend sometime alone before the ritual began. She walked out into the lush garden, allowing the different aromas of flowers, trees, and bushes to relax her. "It's beautiful," Willow whispered as she walked up. "I remember the first time I saw it. It was right after you were born." Kerry studied the strangely quiet young woman. Her head was lowered so that her short hair was hiding her face, she was toeing the ground with her hands firmly behind her back. Resembling a little girl who had just been caught doing something wrong. "Wh-what happens when we leave?" Kerry tried to consider how the ritual would alter the balance of power, or even if it would alter it at all. Then she realized that wasn't what Willow meant. "You mean what happens between us?" "Yeah. I mean…will we see each other, or…" She shrugged, trying to hide the vulnerable, hopeful look in her eyes. She pulled the girl into one of many hugs, keeping her tone light. "Well, I thought we could spend the holidays together. Maybe spend a few weeks over the summer getting to know each other. That is, if you want to?" "Yes, I mean if you're sure you want to. I'd understand if you didn't, with not knowing me and all. I don't want to be an inconvenience, and I'm sure you have a lot to do, with you running an ER and all. I..." "Willow..." "...it's just that I really would like a chance to get to know you, well at least as well as I can, what with my living in Sunnydale and all, but still..." "When would you like to come out?" Willow beamed at her, letting out an almost infectious laugh. "How about next month?" A rare, beautiful smile filled Kerry's features. "That sounds..." <><><><><><><> "...GREAT!" Joxer yelped quietly as the bard threw her arms around his neck. The last thing he wanted was to take her to Athens to meet his family. They had already meet Jett and Jace, and while they hadn't run screaming into the night from terror, that didn't mean they were ready to meet the rest of his insane relatives. Those thoughts changed rapidly as he became aware of the slim body pressing into his, sending waves of emotions throughout his body. Warmth radiating from them, causing him to put his arms around her for fear of losing the contact. Her body fit perfectly against his, setting of his already over-active imagination into a tailspin. He stared down into emerald green eyes when Gabrielle looked up at him, their lips gravitated towards each other in a trance. Soft sighs broke through the stillness of the surrounding gardens as they melded into each other. Body on body... <><><><><><><> ....skin against skin. Kerry buried her face into her partner's bare shoulder, battling to regain her breath, and hopefully what was left of her voice. She loved the feel of her lover's skin pressed into hers. Every time, it was like a piece of heaven just for her. When this was over, she reflected, everything would be different. Kim would be firmly in her world, with all the danger and hardship that that entailed. Kim knew that, as Kerry had explained it at great length, making sure the psychiatrist knew what she was in for, and yet she hadn't backed out. What an amazing woman Kim was… "Kerry?" "Hmm...?" <><><><><><><> "...Mmmmm?" He snuggled impossibly closer to the young warrior bard, drifting closer and closer to the edge of sleep. "What will it be like?" "You'll see." He let out a long yawn, watching as Gabrielle fell into a deep slumber. He knew that she would need the rest if she was going to be prepared for the... <><><><><><><> ....ceremony. Willow had seen it perform once before, the ritual had lasted maybe ten minutes, making it a relatively simple and short ceremony. That wasn't what she was worried about. The aftereffects, on the other hand, would be disastrous if neither of them handled it correctly. As a Guardian, she'd spent all of her life with a light in her soul that allowed her to keep her darker self locked away safely, it was the very reason she could give balance to Buffy. Unfortunately, they'd all seen what her dark side had been like when her doppleganger had paid them a brief visit, and once they were Bonded, that meant that she would lose the ability to keep her darker personality in check. Buffy, on the other hand, would be able to better control her own darkness. In short, things were going to get a hell of a lot tougher, fast. Giving into the need for sleep, she laid back in the spare bed and closed her eyes. Tomorrow could wait. <><><><><><><> Book One: Epilogue <><><><><><><> The old woman, known as the Ghost, walked around the trio sitting inside the ceremonial circle. Her dry, cracked voice sang out to invisible music in a language long dead but more beautiful than anything that Joxer had ever heard. With each pass around them he felt the power building within, and gripped the hands of his friend -- and now lover -- tighter. A flash of light blinded his eyes and faded away. Both women were blinking their eyes, trying to get their own sight back to normal. In the back of his mind he felt... <><><><><><><> ....a pressure that grew with each second that went by. Kerry reached out and kissed her lover firmly on the lips, a sudden passion flaring through her body. She pressed into the lean body until they were lying on the floor, losing all control of their hormones. " I see..." <><><><><><><> "...that it worked." Willow leaped back away from the wide-eyed Slayer, mortified that she had lost control and planted a major smooch on her best friend in the heat of passion. Buffy, dumbstruck by the unexpected kiss, was blinking in equal surprise. "OhmygoddessI'msosorry…!!" Willow gushed, making a fast exit in her embarrassment. Buffy stared at the retreating form of her friend. Slowly she pressed her fingers to her numb lips. "Wow…" she whispered. " I signed the release waiver, so feel free to put things in my slot anytime." - Charles Angels. Odo: Madam Ambassodor, I'm not like you. Every sixteen hours I revert to a liqiud. Lwaxana Troi: I can swim. - DS9: The Forsaken. Aeris Jade Orion list mommy: erslash@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx erslash-adult@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx AIM: Aeris Jade ICQ: 51496263 AT&T/Pow-Wow: Jade Pow-Wow Community: Orion Web Site: http://members.fortunecity.com/aerissword/Index.html |