FF: Book One: Inner Demons: Chapter Two

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Book: One 
Title: Inner Demons 
Chapter: Two 
Pairings: KW/KL, W/B, J/G, G/X, J/G/X 
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. 

Disclaimer: Warner Bros owns ER, Universal own XtWP, and Paramount
now owns BtVS otherwise 
known as the show formally known as WB. 

<><><><><><><> 

The landscape slipped by slowly, much to his aggravation. He needed to
put distance between him and any Seeker demons that happened to be
within a hundred miles. He'd feel even better if he could put some
distance between himself and the two women that meant so much to him. 

They had too much to deal with right for them to be worried about his
problems. With the gods after Eve, not to mention Ares determined to
harass Xena until she either permanently castrated him or she simply
beat Tartarus out of him. The only problem being that he'd probably
consider it foreplay. 

Even so, his job was to protect them and if he stayed here he'd simply
put them in more danger. No, it was better to keep them out of this. 

Grudgingly, he swept his eyes over their horses to try and find some
sort of advantage. Gabrielle was riding Amber less than three feet
from his left and Xena... He frowned slightly at how casually she was
keeping an eye on him. Damn, that meant she was expecting him to try
something. 

"What I don't understand is why that...thing went after Joxer like
that?" 

Xena peered at him coolly as she answered Gabrielle's ramblings. "It
was a Seeker demon." 

He swallowed down his emerging panic, and turned his eyes back ahead,
unable to stop his skin from crawling as Xena continued to stare into
his head. 

"I thought they were myth?" the blonde woman mused.

"The myths aren't that far off from the truth. Seeker demons are
nothing but glorified assassins for the Council." 

"Why does that name sound familiar?" 

"Dahak..." 

Okay, so they knew more than he'd thought, a lot more. Which meant
that it wouldn't be long before they... 

"Then why was he after Joxer?" 

'Oh boy...' 

"That's a good question." 

He forced his patent goofy smile on his face, guaranteed to work in 90
days, and meet Xena's eyes. He could do this, he was a survivor, and
he could be smooth when things got tough. 

"H-h-how do you know it was..." 

<><><><><><><> 

"...a Seeker demon? There are hundreds of demons in the world, and
they all look pretty much the same. All icky, slimy, foul smelling,
scaly...Did I mention the ick factor?" 

She could feel Buffy's suspicions jump another notch as her babbling
ran out of control. It was the fourth time in five minutes that her
mouth had run away with her, and nothing she did seemed to stop it. 
She was strongly regretting that she used the binding ritual to bring
her back. 

"I'm a Slayer. Trust me, I can tell the difference." 

"B-b-but you've never even seen one before, a-and you didn't even get
that good a look at it. It was all nighty and black and dark. Nope,
no light, you could not have seen it. Could you? Oh wait, Slayer
vision, but even Slayer's need some light, right? I mean..." 

"One: no, I don't need light to see in the dark, and two: I know what
Seekers look like because the Council sent one after Faith." 

"Oh." Damn, damn, damn....and damn. She tightened her grip on the
steering wheel and checked the rearview mirror once more. She had a
feeling in the pit of her stomach that He was close by, but no matter
how many times she checked she couldn't figure out which of the cars
were following her. 

Not that it mattered, not really, but now she had another life to worry
about. Buffy wouldn't stand a chance against it, not while she was
recovering from her dying. She'd even tried to ditch the young woman
at the motel, but by the time she'd hit the highway she'd discovered
the blonde dozing in the back seat. 

"Well?" 

Okay, just play along. It's no big deal. "Well, what?" 

"Are you going to answer my question?" 

All right, breathe. In and out, in and... "Yes." 

"And?" 

Hee hee, oh Buffy was going to hit the roof. "What was the..." 

<><><><><><><> 

"...question again?" 

Here it comes. 

"Damn it, Kerry, this isn't some joke! Something out there is trying
to kill you, and don't even bother with that 'your parents died'
bullshit, because I know that your parents died a couple of years ago. 
Now spill before I make you." 

Kerry's eyebrows shot up, impressed. She didn't think Kim had it in
her, at least not to threaten someone. Yet, here she was spurting all
kinds of obscenities and threatening away. She felt proud of herself,
she'd actually corrupted her. Bet dear, sweet Lori couldn't brag about
that. 

Her eyes floated back to the rear view mirror, searching for a
particular car... Damn, that's the one. The navy SUV with tinted
windows, she remembered seeing it the night before, and this morning
when she'd tried to ditch Kim for the tenth time. But why tinted
windows? She knew the demon would stick out in its natural state, but
didn't they have a human form? The only time they ever changed was
when making a kill, so why...? 

The answer came to her in a flash of dread. 'Bastard has vampires with
him. Keep the sunlight off of them.' "You wouldn't believe me if I
told you," she said, in response to Kim's question.

"If someone had told me I would see some sort of demon attacking my
ex-girlfriend last night, I wouldn't have believed that either," Kim
insisted. "But here I am." 

'Shhhiii... she actually has a point. Now what, O mighty one?' 

"Fine..." 

<><><><><><><> 

"...but could we take care of those guys first?" 

Xena glanced back at the two demons standing in the path and let out an
exasperated sigh. 

He watched as both women turned there horses to met them. Quickly he
ripped off his armor, letting the patchwork metal fall to the ground,
and let his horse loose. 

Driving through the thick woods, away from the man made path, the
impossible to navigate area his only real hope of losing the warrior
princess. He half stood in his saddle, leaning over his horse to help
get up more speed, unwilling to let even a second lapse by with sloth. 


The beast's nostrils flared and sputtered from exertion. Every muscle
straining and stretching until they were flying through the dim forest.
Animals scattered in haste as they approached a wide circle, leaving
them room to dive into the next thicket of woodland. 

The sounds that filled the forest on a normal day were hushed to the
wild beat of his heart and the horse's hooves. Thundering loudly in
through the trees, making it into a continuous roar of barely contained
fear and excitement. 

He glanced back over his shoulder to check for his two friends. The
huge horse beneath him neighed out a warning as it suddenly skidded
violently to a stop. Yelping he tried to find something to hold on to,
only to find himself flipped into the air. 

His body collided with the leaf-covered floor, rolling over itself
until he came to a rest on his back. He opened his eyes and groaned at
the two pairs of eyes regarding him. 

Xena smirked as she dropped his armor beside him. "Lose something?" 

"Mhpf," Eve agreed solemnly. 

Joxer let his head fall back with a thump, silently cursing the gods
for... 

<><><><><><><> 

....her stubborn friend. 

Didn't she have anything else to do, other than to meddle in her life. 
She's the Slayer, surely she has 'Slayery' things to do. Like
vampires, she should be out hunting vampires, and other things that go
bump in the night. Maybe even dating a vampire, yeah like Spike. 

Eeewww. Bad visual place. Eecchh. Okay, so maybe not Spike, but
there has to be some vampire out there that's decent, and won't go all
psycho after sleeping with her. 'Oh, bad, bad Willow.' 

"You ready to hit the road, or do you want to try and get away
again?" 

'Ohhhh, she's being just a little too smug about this.' Why on earth
did she have to be the one to meet the damned Slayer anyway? 

She stood up slowly, wincing as her body protested the treatment of the
last 24 hours. She glared at the smug blonde, letting her take the car
keys. She only hoped she'd be able to fake sleep long enough to come
up with a more believable story. 

"Don't bother..." Buffy smiled at her questioning look, "The bond,
remember?" 

She threw her hands up in surrender, the binding decides to go into the
final stages now of all times. 

"So, you ready to tell..." 

<><><><><><><> 

"...me what the hell is going on?" 

Kerry slumped back into the seat in defeat, hoping beyond hope, that
the blonde head doctor would settle for some half-truths. 

"Fine. The Seeker's been hired to kill me. I have to stop this thing
before it get's anymore out of hand." 

Kim yanked the car onto the side of the highway, staring at the off
ramp ahead of them. "How long has it been after you?" 

"Kim..." 

"How. Long?!" 

"Most of my life." 

She flinched as Kim's knuckles cracked painfully, the long slender
hands turning white from the pressure she was using on the steering
wheel. She was unsure if Kim was mad at her, at the Council, or at
both of them. Either way she just wanted out of this car and away from
her ex-lover. 

"Is that why..." 

<><><><><><><> 

"...you always seem to disappear?" 

"Yeah," he responded softly. He was at his wit's end. He had no idea
what to do, or if he'd already said too much. Not that it mattered. 
Xena was way to smart for his own good, and knowing her it wouldn't
take long for her to put 2 & 2 together. If he could only get away
from... 

"Don't even think about it." 

He slumped back and nodded wearily, more than aware that he wouldn't
get far, and even if he did the minute they caught him again he'd be
tied up. He was too tired to really care anymore anyway. Even he
could only take so much before it took its toll. 

"But why? Why would this...Council want to kill you?" 

Sharp blue eyes meet his, silently telling him that if he didn't tell
her then she would. She either knew and didn't care, or she was
bluffing. But did he risk it, or... 

<><><><><><><> 

....did she call? 

She sat back in total silence, searching for some alternative. 
However, she was afraid that the bond was going to act like a lie
detector. At least, that's what it seemed like so far. Giving Buffy a
very annoying advantage over her. 

"Did I tell you that me and Tara broke up?" 

Buffy looked over at her, clearly torn between comforting her and
pressing the question. Seeing the conflict she sniffed softly and let
a single tear run down her left cheek. She could tell the Slayer was
weakening, now if she could just... 

<><><><><><><> 

....turn on the eyes then she'd be home free, at least for now. 

"I didn't even realize you were even seeing anybody else?" Kim shifted
closer to her on the motel bed.

Kerry nodded and bowed her head sadly. Determined to pull this off one
way or the other. "I-I liked her...I...think I-I could've l-loved
h-her..." 

Kim's hand reached over, covering her hand on her knee. Long finger
stroking hers in a very familiar, incredibly erotic manner. A soft
moan escaped her lips, causing her ex-lover to shiver visibly. When
she felt Kim look over at her, she licked her lips. Just enough to set
off Kim's sexual triggers.

If Kim insisted on risking herself to explore this side of Kerry's
life, then Kerry was damned if she was going to hold back any longer. 
As long as the two of them were in jeopardy, they might as well enjoy
being alive while they still could.

The tough work would come soon enough. Right now, it was time to play.











" 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.

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