Fic: Convergent Slayers (7/?)

[annelise@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Seventh Part of a First Attempt At BuffyFic. *meep*
Comments/Nigerian Art/Etc. to: ladyvyxen@xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"This is a work of fiction", Anne-Lise pointed out. "Names, 
characters, places and incidents are products of the author's drug-
induced hallucinations and are used fictitiously." She took a 
tentative sip from a glass of water. "Any resemblance to Joss 
Whedon's creations are entirely intentional," she claimed. "Oh, wait! 
I meant coincidental! Can we re-record this?" She slapped her 
forehead and decided to go back to bed. Suddenly, her computer 
beeped. "You have new mail!" Compulsively, she battered the Read 
key. "Wow!" Shadowmage wrote. "Things are starting to heat up." 
Bugger, Anne-Lise thought. Now I'll *have* to write another chapter.

Anne-Lise.

--

"Get out of my house!" Giles stormed, pushing Kobo through the 
door. "How dare you presume to tell me my duty! At least my Slayer's 
still living!"
Kobo's scowl deepened, but with great reserve he walked 
away. "Fools!" he muttered.
"I'm Jonesing for an explanation," Xander said. "But don't spoil 
this moment. Did you see his face?" Xander's grin was pure glee.

*

Buffy groaned, and buried her face on Riley's shoulder.
"He doesn't know?" Willow asked.
Riley looked down at the miserable Slayer. "I don't normally elicit 
groans from my kisses," He said. "Well, not that sort of groan."
Buffy truculently pulled away. "I stand by my frustrated groan," 
she mumbled.
"He doesn't know?" Willow repeated.
"I guess not," Riley said. "What don't I know?"
"Buffy and I are..." Willow ran out of words.
"Lovers," Buffy completed.
Riley staggered. "Wow." He raised a hand then let it drop. "Is that 
a joke?"
"No joke," Buffy said.
"Only, last time, you said you were marrying Spike, and that was a 
joke." Riley's face took on a pained expression.
"No joke," Buffy reiterated. "And I wish people would stop 
mentioning that... that moment of madness."
Riley nodded, slightly wigged. However he was used to assimilating 
strange or bad news. "Something I need to know... Are we still 
friends? Or is this where we part company?"
"We're good." Buffy glanced back at Willow, who nodded. "You're 
okay, Riley. I don't care what they say about you. If you can deal, 
I'd love you to stay around. God knows, we need the help."
Riley said, "I won't pretend its no big deal for me, because it is. 
I love you, Buffy. But loving you means not running away. I'm no 
Angel. I've no excuse to run screaming."
Willow climbed out of her bed and walked over. She stood on tiptoe, 
and to Riley's chagrin and Buffy's surprise, she kissed him.
"Thank you," she smiled. "You could have made a bad situation worse, 
and you didn't. That means a lot to me, to us."
"Hey!" Buffy switched gears. "Want a pancake? We still have some 
left."
Riley nodded, and sat down.
"We're out of maple syrup though," Buffy dropped a pancake on 
the 'company' plate. "Willow somehow managed to spill it all over 
herself." Willow piqued and blushed.
"Tell you what," Riley stood up, wigging again, "I'll go check on a 
few things while you girls get properly dressed..." he glanced at the 
blushing Willow, "and then I'll spring for coffee."
"Mocha!" Willow squealed.
"You just made a friend for life," Buffy smiled.

*

"He's a sweetie." Willow giggled as Buffy pulled a face.
"Yeah, a real sweet corn-fed Iowa boy. But he's not you." Buffy 
brushed out her hair and watched Willow in the mirror as she dressed.
"Buffy? There was something I wanted to ask." Willow looked at the 
two dresses she'd selected, trying to decide which would be less 
attractive to someone from Iowa.
"Ask away. My secrets are yours to ferret."
"Would you like to learn witchcraft? Now that Tara's skipped town, 
I've no-one to practice with."
Buffy looked stunned. "Not the question I was expected." She 
thought about it. "I've never really considered myself the Wiccy 
type. I thought it was all heavy mascara and a tendency to droop."
"Droop?" Willow gave Buffy a scandalised glare.
"But if you can be a Slayer, I guess I can learn to be a mojo 
woman." She paused. "Unless studying is involved. Is study involved? 
You know me and studying. Oil. Water. Its not nice."
Willow tried to give out a confident aura. "It can be fun!" She 
caught Buffy's dubious look. "Well, it can!"

*

"The prophesies of Matsuo Basho," Giles rubbed his forehead.
"Not good, I take it?" Xander asked.
"I read up on them when Buffy first faced the Master," Giles 
answered. "They were mentioned in the Codex Angel delivered."
"I'm still a little hazy on the whole good/bad thing." Xander said.
"Basho foresaw the end of the war between the Slayer and the 
Demons," Giles said.
"So its good?"
"Actually, no. We lose." Giles stood up and began to pace.

*

Riley watched Willow as she made incomprehensible squealing 
noises. "Does she always sound like this drinking coffee?" he asked 
Buffy.
"Oh yes." Buffy studied Willow, entranced, resting her chin in both 
hands, elbows on the table.
Willow surfaced from the caffeine depths. "What?" she asked, 
noticing both pairs of eyes studying her.
"You are so cute when sucking on a mocha," Buffy said. "Want 
another?"
"Sure... Oh, no. I mean no. " Willow back-pedalled. "Too much sugar. 
You know what happens when I drink too much coffee."
"You get cranky?" Riley asked.
"She gets scary," Buffy revealed. "You do not want to see a witch 
with no emotional control." Sudden thought. "Which is a very good 
reason for me to not learn witchcraft!"
"But you promised!" Willow's mouth turned down at the edges.
Not even a Slayer could withstand a truly unhappy Willow. "Okay, 
okay! I'll give it a go. I did promise."
"Tonight?" Quirky smile.
"If we get time." Buffy returned the smile.
"What's happening tonight?" Riley's honest face showed genuine 
curiosity, and it was lucky that Buffy and Willow had practised their 
resolve faces.

*

"My brethren," the child-master addressed the assembled 
throng. "Soon our dream of the Fourth Empire will be brought to 
fruition!"
"Hoo, bloody, ray." A lone vampire stalked forward, clapping. The 
crowd of demons parted like the seas around Moses.
The master snarled. "Who the hell are you?"
"They call me Spike." The peroxide vampire lit up a cigarette. "What 
do they call you, mate?"

*

Willow walked arm-in-arm with Buffy. "Are you okay?"
Buffy broke out of her trance. "I guess. I was just thinking about 
my mom."
"I'm worried about you. I really thought you'd cut and run, or at 
least grieve. I don't get the pancake thing." Willow headed them over 
to a bench, and they sat down.
"Everyone I love," Buffy struggled to piece her thoughts 
together, "everyone I know, or knew. They all seem to leave me for 
one reason or another."
"That's not true!" Willow frowned.
"I'm severely lacking in normal in my life. Do you realise that 
Xander is the only normal person I know? Well, the only normal person 
who hasn't run screaming from me."
Willow puzzled. "But what's that got to do with your mom?"
"There's only so many tears I can cry, Willow. I've only one heart 
to break."
"Oh Buffy!" Willow began to weep. They held each other, and Buffy 
somehow found the strength to let go, and she cried too.

*

Angel opened his eyes and Tara's vampiric scowl came into 
focus. "Tara," he breathed.
She wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder, 
shaking lightly. Angel held her, there was little else he could do.
"I can't fight it," she murmured after an age. "Its too strong."
"Then why won't you leave?" Angel asked. "You still have that 
choice." Angel stroked her hair.
"I can't. His will is too strong. I can't fight it."

*

"What are these?" Buffy asked.
Willow looked up at the tub Buffy held. "Dried chicken legs," 
Willow continued to mark out a small circle with a stick of charcoal.
"You keep this stuff in our fridge?" Buffy chewed her lip. "What if 
I'd wanted a late-night snack? What if I was too blurry and tired and 
grief-stricken to make out the label on the Tupperware?" Buffy 
crossed her arms.
"I seem to be a chicken leg short," Willow noticed. Her eyes 
widened. "Buffy!"
"No big?" Buffy into the tub. "These were fresh, right?"
"Its no big," Willow sighed. "Just be glad you didn't eat anything 
out of the other tub."
"Yeah!" Buffy agreed, her face a picture of innocence. "What was in 
the other tub?"

*

"So, what are you. Like Nazis or something?" Spike glanced about, 
taking in the wacky neo-nazi costumes.
"Or something," the master responded. "Some of the Nazi ideals 
appealed to me. Others... They were the delusions of a madman."
"Yet you're poncing about in teutonic uniforms as if that makes you 
some sort of super-race?" he dropped his cigarette and stepped on 
it. "Puffs."
"Did you come here just to insult us?" The master asked. "Or do you 
have something to offer?"
"The Slayer!" Spike growled. "Are you gonna kill the bloody Slayer!"
The master gave him a curious look, his childlike features made 
more macabre by his words. "Of course," he said. "All three of the 
little bitches will die."
Spike smiled. "Then count me in."

*

"Quas dederis..." Willow intoned.
Buffy struggled to read Willow's handwriting. "Whatever you give..."
"Solas semper..."
"Will for you, alone and forever..."
"habebis opes!" Willow cried.
"Be yours to keep!" Buffy let her voice rise. This was like 
schoolwork, only fun! She looked around. Was something supposed to 
happen? "Wha...?" She broke off as coloured lights seemed to rise out 
of the palms of her hands. "Cool!"
Willow smiled, small coloured globes of alternating colours played 
in the palms of her hands too. The globes shot from her hands and hit 
Buffy, and Buffy's lights flew into Willow's chest. They both fell 
over backwards.
"Now this is fun," Buffy moaned. "What did we just do?"
Willow didn't answer at first, she was nursing a nasty bump on the 
back of her head. "Protection spell," she muttered.
"Was that supposed to happen?" Buffy pulled herself upright.
"Yes... Except for the being stunned and falling over backward part. 
You're pretty powerful. You must be a natural witch!" Willow started 
to look excited.
Buffy gave a non-committal shrug. "Would that explain my morning 
hair?" Willow blinked. "Well, I do look pretty witchy in the morning."
"True!" Willow agreed, and got bapped by a pillow.

*

End Part 7.