REPOST: The Rocky Road Chapter 13: Choices and Changes (14/?)

[~~Kimber <kacoe@xxxxxxx>]

Alright...call me a big ninny....I sent the chapters in HTML only. here
is the plain text version


Title: The Rocky Road Chapter 13: Choices and Changes (14/?)
Author: Kimber (kacoe@xxxxxxx)
Disclaimer: All BTVS characters belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.

Summary: Fourth in the Road Series
Spoilers: Everything is fair game.
Distribution: Pat Kelly, Rodrigo, Gary Thompson, Syrenslure and
Serendipity. Anyone else, e-mail me please.
Author's Notes: I hate complaining but I?m starving for feedback. FEED
ME! Thanks to my buddy Jen for suggesting the song lyrics. You rock!
Thoughts are enclosed in < >
Flashback are enclosed in <<<< >>>>
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?I once met a young girl filled with fire,?
?That saw through my front to this shell of a man ?
?She knew I'd be a handful from the start,?
?This strong willed woman had an angel's heart ?
?The holes in these wings don't allow me to fly ?
?So you'd better brace for a life of pain,
?And if fate is the path to this better life?
?Somehow I feel you'll never see the faces change?
?Through thick and thin, She stood by you?
?She held the key to my broken heart?
?Upstarts and Broken Hearts? by Dropkick Murphys

Buffy and Willow were laying in Giles? bed cuddled up. Willow was
laying on her side curled up facing the window with Buffy behind her.
She?d stopped crying about ten minutes ago and just rolled over and
squished herself into this little Willow-ball. Buffy was at a loss of
what she should do. Should she try to hold her? Maybe groveling for
forgiveness was in order? Or maybe she should just lay in bed thankful
that Willow was willing to be in the same room with her. ?Will??

?Hmm??

?I?m sorry.?

?Buffy.? She whined and turned over. ?I know, but you have to stop
saying it otherwise, well. . .it?ll lose it?s meaning.?

?Oh.? Buffy looked down at her hands.

?Look. I know you?re sorry. I really do but, well, now comes the hard
part.?

?I hate the hard part.? Buffy pouted.

Willow took Buffy?s hand. ?You have to show me you?re sorry and you
have to earn my trust again. I understand why you did it and that you
may not have been a willing participant at first, but that doesn?t
change the fact that. . .?

?I still did it. I get that Will, I really do.? Buffy looked up at
her. ?When I think. . .when I think of what my life might be without
you I just. . .I can?t. You not being with me is something that I never
want to happen. There?s just badness there.? She shook her head and
put Willows hand to her lips and kissed her knuckles.

Willow spread her fingers to cup Buffy?s face. ?For me too. That?s why
this hurt so much. I love you. You?ve been my best friend for, God,
for. . .do you realize it?s been almost twelve years since we met? I?m
gonna be twenty-seven next month and I can?t remember what my life was
like before I met you. I don?t even think I had a life then, I just
kind of, you know, existed.? She smiled a little remembering the first
time they met. ?I was eating lunch, you came and sat next to me and. .
.?

?You asked me if I wanted you to leave. I remember.? Buffy smiled too.

?My whole life went into warp speed after that day and it hasn?t slowed
up yet. But you know what??

Buffy looked up at her. ?What??

?I wouldn?t trade it for anything.? Willow slowly brought her lips to
Buffy?s and brushed them gently. She moved on top of Buffy without
breaking the kiss. This wasn?t a sexual thing and they both knew it.
It was a comfort thing, both wanting to get as close to the other as
possible so as to really feel the other one was there. Willow laid her
head on Buffy?s shoulder and Buffy stroked the red locks away from her
face.

?I promise you Will, when this is all over, *when* we get through this
whole prophesy thing, I?m gonna throw you the biggest combination
birthday party graduation party Sunnydale has ever seen. Mark my words
Dr. Rosenberg.? Buffy yawned.

?Dr. Rosenberg ? I?ll have to get used to the sound of that.? Willow
smiled. ?Oh, and consider your words marked in permanent marker.?
Willow whispered.

Soon they both drifted off to sleep.

---------------

?Can?t say I didn?t expect that.? The first man remarked.

?Me either. At least he came right on time. There?s nothing left to do
but wait.?

They rose to their feet and dusted themselves off. Slowly they morphed
from human to demon form and not a scratch could be seen anywhere on
them.

?Hey Quentin.?

He turned around. ?Yes, what is it Ethan??

?You think the old man has it figured out yet?? He smirked.

?I have no doubt, but it?s of no concern now. The boy has taken her and
no one can stop the transformation now. The final ritual we performed
will begin to work in an hour or so. She?ll go mad ? madder than she is
now if it?s possible. He?ll be dead before the changing of the guards
can take place. With the current and future Shadowman dead, the gates
will open and we shall have our revenge.?

Ethan smirked. ?All in all I?d say it?s not bad for seven years of
work. Wouldn?t you agree old chap??

?Absolutely. Demons shall walk this earth ? just as it should have been
before the Slayer and her little followers got in the way. As soon as
the boy is dead, she?ll go after them. If she doesn?t kill them first,
well, when the gates open they?ll be wishing she had.?

----------------

?Oh, dear.? Giles sat down on the couch.

Cordelia slammed her book down. ?Giles, enough with the British drama
already! What is it??

?We may want to get Buffy and Willow down here for this. I?d hate to
disturb them now, but. . .?

?I?ll go.? Angel offered and headed up the stairs.

About five minutes later, Angel came down with two cranky girls in tow.
They both flopped on the couch and rubbed their eyes.

Buffy spoke first. ?So what?s up Watcher guy? This better be good
cause I was in the middle of one really good dream.?

Willow nodded in agreement and put her head on Buffy?s shoulder.

?Cordelia found the missing book with the prophesy in it. It seems to
me that Xander found it, read it and tried to hide it among my lesser
used books, possibly to buy himself some time.?

?So what does it say already man!?? Spike was growing impatient in the
corner of the room.

?Well, it?s not a prophesy at all. It?s an ancient foretelling of the
changing of the guardians. I?ve researched this at length and all signs
point to the fact that the Shadowman is prepared to go into a sort of
retirement and he is looking for a replacement.?

Willow asked the question on everyone?s minds. ?What is the Shadowman?
I remember you mentioning it before, but. . .?

?He?s the guardian of the gate between this world and the next.? Anya
chipped in.

?You knew of this?? Giles looked at her.

?Of course. Hey, I was a vengeance demon for over a thousand years.
You do make contacts you know. I lost track of the time when I became
human. See, the Shadowman is either killed because he is careless, and
the one who kills him becomes the next Shadowman, or he retires.? She
smiled with pride.

?Yes, yes. . .it says here that in the office of the Shadowman or
Gatekeeper, one must execute certain duties. Keep our world and the
demon world as separate as possible for one, aide in the delivery of
?those with darkness? to the nether realm. . .?

?Those with darkness? Can your books be anymore vague G-man?? Faith
asked from the corner.

Willow perked up. ?Hey, I remember studying this when I was working on
my doctorate. Those with darkness refers to really evil people or
demons. They have to be escorted to the nether realm otherwise they?d
go off on their own and wander around in limbo forever.?

?Hell.? Angel finally said. ?They get escorted to hell.?

?Angel, you know about this too? Am I the only one who is to remain
uninformed?? Giles looked over at him.

Angel struggled with his answer. ?Well, actually, that comes from
personal experience.?

Giles was caught off guard. ?Oh, of course. . .sorry.? He began
flipping through the pages again. ?Another duty of the Shadowman is to.
. .? He looked up at Buffy then to Angel. Angel simply nodded his
head. ?You knew? You knew of this and never told me??

?Would it have mattered, Giles? I helped and we did a lot of good,
that?s all that should matter now.? Angel waved the comment off as if
it were nothing.

?This is serious Angel. Had I known I would have never. . .?

?Never what? Never allowed it to happen? Never allowed a vampire to
fall in love with a Slayer? There were other forces at work here, that
book isn?t going to tell you everything. You can count on it.? He was
getting angry now.

Cordelia touched his arm. ?Angel?? She pointed to his face.

He had unknowingly slipped into game-face and as soon as she pointed it
out he slipped back to human guise. ?Sorry.? He kissed her on the
forehead and put his arm around her. ?Giles, ? He began calmly. ?You
have to know, you need to understand that I knew the risks going into
this. Had I left things the way they were supposed to be then, well,
there?s no telling what would happen.?

?Could someone please fill us in on what you two are arguing about??
Buffy yelled at both of them.

Giles put the book down and looked at her. ?The most important role of
the Shadowman is to aid the Slayer in her duties.?

?Then why didn?t I ever meet this guy?? Buffy questioned.

?Because Whistler found me.? Angel began. ?Said I had it in me to be
one of the good guys. He told me that the Powers That Be sent him to
find me and that I had a destiny, a purpose. When he found me my only
purpose was trying to stay alive on rats in alleys. He intervened and
in turn, I intervened with your meeting the Shadowman. He saw that you
were well taken care of and decided that you were the one Slayer that
didn?t need his assistance. I met up with him again. He took me to
hell. He said his time was short and he had less than a decade to
complete his office, then a new person would be called whether they were
willing or not.?

Giles crossed the room and sat down on the coffee table so he was facing
Buffy and Willow. ?When Angel stepped in, it changed things. Changed
the course of both of your destiny?s. Had Angel not stepped in then the
next appointed gatekeeper would have been the Immortal Watcher.?

?Giles that?s impossible!? Willow argued. ?We didn?t know anything
about me being the Immortal Watcher until after I joined the Council.?

?No, no we didn?t. But that doesn?t mean the Council didn?t either.?
Giles let out a sigh.

?You mean I was set up? But why? I?m not the Immortal Watcher, they
didn?t get what they wanted.?

?Yes they did.? Buffy was finally catching on. ?They did Will. Don?t
you see? They set it up right from the beginning, and I?ll be it was
those bastards Quentin, Ethan and Richard all along. When they didn?t
have Xander doing their dirty work for them anymore, they knew somehow
that I was going to visit and knew I would find out what was done to
you. They even made it so that Angel had no choice but to turn me into
a vampire. But they didn?t count on you turning your back on me. No,
what they probably counted on was me killing you.?

?Yes, I see it now.? Giles began. ?I told them you were coming Buffy,
it?s standard procedure. With Xander?s refusing to help anymore, they
knew it was a matter of time before the two of you came together again.
Therefore they counted on your reaction to Cordelia?s and Willow?s
relationship to ensue a fight. I can?t believe we didn?t put this
together before. They knew what lengths Willow would go through in
order to save you, even counted on it. When Willow gave up her station,
she did exactly what they wanted her to do all along.? He ran his hand
through his hair. ?You see what this means, don?t you.?

Buffy shook her head. ?Not exactly.?

?Xander thinks he?s preordained to be the Gatekeeper?? Willow asked.

?Not quite.? Giles corrected. ?You see, without an Immortal Watcher,
the office of gatekeeper is somewhat up for grabs. The current office
holder could have someone in mind, or when the time to change comes, it
could simply be at random. I?m almost positive that Xander is doing
this to protect you, both of you. The next Shadowman has to go through
a ritual, an exchange of blood with an immortal. I suppose any immortal
will do ? which is why he?s taken to Drucilla?s company.?

?He thinks this Gatekeeper guy is coming after Will? Is that why he. .
.? Buffy couldn?t finish her sentence. The implications were far too
great.

?Yes, I?m afraid so. Remember, Xander wasn?t here when we arrived back
from England. He still doesn?t fully know what happened to the two of
you there. He may have been under the impression that Willow has been
in danger all along. For all we know, Quentin could have told him she
was to be the next Immortal Watcher, and when he read the book years
ago. . .? Giles didn?t have to finish. They all knew the conclusions
that had been drawn.

?I still don?t see where Xander fits into this?? Anya chimed in.

Giles shook his head. ?Neither do I. How in God?s name did he wind up
with Drucilla of all people??

?Hey!? Spike sounded offended. ?That?s my girl your talkin ?bout.?

?Seems to me she?s wonderboy?s girl now, Spikey.? Faith smirked.

Anya folded her arms and pouted at that comment.

?It is imperative we find Xander. There?s nothing else useful in any of
the books. He?s the only one that can fill in the blanks now.? Giles
rose to his feet. ?The sun is down. I suggest we break up into groups
and go searching for him. It?s the only way.?

?Fine.? Buffy got up off the couch. ?Will, Angel and Cordy will go
with me. Giles, Anya and Spike go with Faith. We?ll canvas the town
and meet back at Restfield in about two hours.?

------------

?I knew you?d find me.? Dru was smiling down at him.

Xander stirred and sat up. ?Uh, God Dru. . .how much did you take this
time??

?Mommy was thirsty. You look stronger now. . .inside *and* out.?

Xander shook his head in an attempt to clear it. ?How do you know what
my insides look like?? He put up his hand. ?No, never mind, I?d rather
not know.? He stood on shaky legs. ?My turn.? His voice took on a
grainy tone and he began to burn blood without even thinking about it
now.

She nodded. ?Yes, pet. You know what this means, don?t you?
Shadowman, Shadowman. . .he walks the line where no one can.? She
walked over to him and kissed his neck. ?Your time has come. . .your
transformation, your new life, your destiny.?

He?d had enough talk of the damn prophesy, enough of his friends being
in danger, enough of this insane vampire ? enough of it all. He took
the pen knife out of his pocket and approached her. She complied with
his silent wish by offering her wrist. As soon as he licked the fresh
wound, the swoon came. It would be complete soon, very soon.

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