FIC: Trinity's Child 11/?

[CDRERamius@xxxxxxx]

TITLE: Trinity's Child 11/?
AUTHOR: Tony McD
DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to Joss Whendon, Mutant Enemy, WB and 
others. This is for fun, not profit.
SUMMARY: Sequel to Terra Australis Incognito. 17 years on Buffy, Xander, 
Willow, and their child must face very different evils to save the world 
(again).
SPOILERS: None really. AU.
RATING: MA 15+ (Australian system)

Trinity's Child 11/?

Xander removed his helmet and ran his hand through his damp hair. The 
Virtual Reality helmet may enable some pretty amazing things, Xander thought, 
but it really doesn't do wonders for the hair. Unstrapping himself from his 
VR module, he looked around.
The world of computer simulation had been around for years, but it was 
now in the world of slaying. The system consisted of the VR module, control 
station, and processor station. The VR module was basically where a user was 
fitted with a VR helmet and resistance suit then strapped into a multi axis 
gyroscope. The set up reminded Xander of the one in 'Lawnmower Man'. The VR 
module was hooked up to other VR modules and controlled from the control 
station.
In total there were 30 VR modules all linked so that two teams could 
train simultaneously in the virtual world. Here people could train for any 
number of situations that they might face in the real world. The computer 
contained a complete, accurate simulation of the town of Sunnydale. Every 
house, street, sewer, factory, and tree was perfectly replicated. It could be 
peopled with simulated ordinary people, demons, vampires, and other creatures.
The physical and behavioural characteristics of demons, vampires, and 
even ordinary people were input to make it as real as possible. Each session 
could be tailored to the training need of those using it. Opponents could be 
made weaker or stronger. It could remove any advantage a person may have in 
the real world to make them slower, weaker, or hampered in some other way. 
You could be part of a team tracking vamps in the sewers, or at graduation 
facing the Mayor. You could even do the Cruciamentum. In short, you could 
train for fighting in the real world. All without getting hurt. Pretty much 
like in 'The Matrix'.
Of course the VR didn't replace actual real world experience. However 
it was a valuable learning tool and each country with teams had an identical 
set up. At the moment they only had Sunnydale in the computer, but in time 
other places would be included. But getting detailed simulations of cities 
such as London, Sydney, New York, and Tokyo which are several orders of 
magnitude bigger than Sunnydale took time and memory space. Just the 
simulation of Sunnydale took a dozen Quantum Super Computers.
Xander had been in the VR module not for training, but entertainment 
and fun therapy for Tina who emerged out of an adjacent VR module. They had 
just played an arcade VR game that Xander had loaded onto the system. 'Manga 
Combat VR 4' was very similar to the Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter that 
Xander had played as a kid. It had been her that had seriously kicked 
Xander's butt. Tina came up to Xander with a smile that made the kicking of 
his butt worthwhile.
"Wow! That was fantastic!" Tina said. Xander looked at her sceptically.
"OK, just how do you know the fatality for Momo?" he asked. Momo had a 
special fatality which she had used to kill Xander's character.
"My Watcher forbade me from playing computer games. But sometimes on 
patrol I would sneak into an arcade and play. I love Manga Combat." she told 
him.
"So you would occasionally skip patrol for a little fun?" Xander 
asked. Instantly Tina's smile disappeared and she looked down at her feet.
"I'm sorry, sir. I shouldn't have. I have a sacred duty..." Xander 
interrupted her.
"Tina. First off, don't call me sir. I'm Xander and I'm your friend. 
Second, I'm not angry about skipping patrol every now and then. You needed to 
have fun. We all do. That doesn't mean that you can't mix you duty and fun. 
Hell, Buffy used to take her boyfriend patrolling so she could dust vamps and 
have smoochies."
"Really?" she asked.
"Yep. The Buffster is the greatest Slayer ever to walk the earth. 
She's also the world's greatest party animal." Xander grinned.
"Buffy sounds like a really great woman. I wish I could meet her." 
Tina said. She liked the idea that there was someone else who knew what she 
was going through.
"You can if you want. I've spoken to her and if you want I can take 
you back to Australia with me. You're more than welcome to stay with us till 
things get sorted out with you. What do you say?" Tina's eyes lit up.
"Really? I can? Oh yes please!" she yelled, jumping up and down in 
joy. Xander watched her happiness and it made him feel good. Maybe she could 
start a more normal life with them. Tina still had a long way to go to 
recover from her experience at the hands of the Watchers Council. Her 
survival under the Watchers Council showed she was a good Slayer. Now she 
needed to relearn what it is to be a girl and a Slayer.
Xander headed off to a comms terminal to call Buffy. He punched in his 
encryption code and looked at the time. He added 11 hours and came up with an 
ungodly hour.
"Hello?" a groggy Willow answered.
"Will, it's Xander. Sorry about the time."
"No, it's OK. I was up anyway." Willow said in an obvious lie.
"Sure you were. Anyway, I've got good news. Tina wants to come home 
with me and meet Buffy. Speaking of Buffy, where is she?" Xander asked.
"She's asleep like normal people would be at this hour." Willow said a 
little moodily.
"Sorry Will. Look, Tina and I will probably fly back to Sydney at the 
end of the week. I'm thinking we'll stay at Watson for a couple of days 
before heading back to Creswell. I'll call when I've got better details."
"OK, you do that."
"Love you Will, and Buffy too." Xander said tenderly.
"We love you too. But not if you keep calling at this hour." Willow 
joked.
"Message loud and clear. See ya. Bye." Xander said hanging up. Xander 
went back to Tina to continue her fun therapy.

"They have interfered for the last time! It ends now!" the Chief 
Watcher of the Watchers Council roared. The other members of the High Council 
agreed. The loss of the Slayer to the Slayers Council was a direct threat to 
the authority of the Watchers Council.
"Trent!" the Chief Watcher yelled. A man in his thirties stepped 
forward.
"Yes sir."
"Assemble all your black ops teams." the Chief Watcher told him.
"What is the mission?" Trent asked.
"To destroy the Slayers Council."
"What of the Slayers?" inquired Trent. The Chief Watcher paused for a 
moment.
"Kill them."