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TITLE: Full Circle - The New Slayer (1/?) AUTHOR: Michael RATING: PG-13 (A kiss between two women - if you don't like it, leave.) FEEDBACK: Sequel to Full Circle - Xander's Arc ARCHIVE: I would be honored. Just let me know. SPOILERS: References to events and people through the fourth season. DISCLAIMER: Buffy is Joss' "concept, man. The extreme, man. It came from his brain." All BTVS characters belong to
Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy & Warner Brothers. This is for non-profit, entertainment purposes only. No copyright or
trademark infringement is intended. FULL CIRCLE - The New Slayer Xander couldn't keep himself from pacing back and forth waiting for his friends to arrive. He had told Anya and Alexis that he needed to have a very serious talk with the both of them but that he was waiting for his friends to arrive. He had also made arrangements for Alex Jr. and Larry to spend the night at a friend's house so as to avoid any interruptions. As he turned to walk the length of the room once more he wiped his hands on his jeans - even his palms were sweating. Anya was in the kitchen cleaning up after supper but her eyes kept drifting to her husband as he paced back and forth. Xander was the world to her. It was Xander who had helped her regain her humanity when she had become human again. He had taught her how to love again. He had been the first one to overlookher past as a demon and accept her as she was now. And to look at him now was hurting her. She didn't know what was bothering him but she knew it was big. Xander hardly ever got like this. He had often pretended to be a big chicken but she also knew that when he needed to be he was a very courageous man. Whatever this was, he was truly scared. Rupert had spent the afternoon on the phone. What had happened that caused one so young to become chosen? And what he found out had caused his blood to run cold. His heart was heavy as he left to head on over to Xander's. This was not a good situation, not good at all. Willow turned her car into Xander's driveway just as Giles was parking his car in front of the house. As Giles climbed out of his car both Buffy and Willow knew from the tired, worn look on Giles face that he had some bad news. They had never thought of him as been old until this moment. As they walked up the steps to the front door Buffy gave him a hug and Giles forced himself to smile but it came out as more of a grimace. 'This is not good' Buffy thought to herself as Xander opened the door and invited them in. Xander's hands were shaking and he clasped them together behind his backas he stared at his assembled audience. Anya was seated in a chair with Alexis sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of her while Giles, Buffy and Willow were seated on the couch. Alexis looked around her. Her dad was scared and shewondered why she wasn't. He obviously had what he felt to be terrible news but her own reaction was of curiosity, notfear. The silence around her was growing increasingly uncomfortable so she took it upon herself to break that silence. "Okay dad, we're all here now so let's get this over with." At the sound of his daughter's voice Xander shook himself from his thoughts and began to speak. "Alexis, we have some news to tell you - you and your mother. We learned earlier today that a friend of ours had been killed. Anya, you remember Faith don't you? Well, Alexis, she was the chosen one - the vampire slayer. And now that she's dead another girl has been chosen. Alexis, that girl is you." For just a moment there was dead silence and then "NO!! No way am I gonna allow this. Xander Harris! How can you even stand there and say this. This is our daughter you're talking about. There is absolutely no way that I'm gonna allow ..." "MOM, stop it!!" Alexis' voice cut her mother off immediately. There was a quality to her voice now which commanded respect and she realized that all eyes had turned towards her as she continued. "You all seem to think that I would be upset by this news. Well, I'm not. Aunt Willow, you of all people should know this. You've been telling me slayer stories for the past six years now - ever since you and Buffy got together." Willow looked down sheepishly as Alexis continued. "It's an honor to be the chosen one. To follow in Buffy's footsteps, Faith's footsteps and all of those that came before them - it's a dream I've long had. Don'tyou all get it? I didn't know this was going to happen but I know now to the very core of my being that this is what I was born to do so please don't be sad because I'm not. It just feels so right." Anya found her voice again. "But darling, don't you understand. This is dangerous. Buffy is the exception. The chances are that you are going to die young and not an easy death either. I don't want that to happen. I can't let that happen - not to my daughter." "Mom, it's not like you get a choice in this. I appreciate your concernand believe me, I don't want to die but I am going to do this because I have to. Even if I had a choice to not do this, I would still do it. Now if I can ask some questions. First of all, who's going to be my watcher? Secondly, aren't most girl's chosen at an older age? And lastly, since I was chosen I assume that there is some big bad soon to be going down in this area, right?" Everybody sat in stunned silence. The only thing that had gone as expected was Anya's outburst and even that had been cut mercifully short by Alexis. Nobody knew how calmly she would take the news. Xander was just standing there with his mouth open. Willow was still feeling a little sheepish about her role in things and Buffy just kept staring at Alexis knowing that she certainly hadn't accepted the news nearly as calmly and she had been older. Giles broke the silence by clearing his throat. "Alexis, I must say I am impressed by your maturity in accepting your new position. I hope that it serves you well. As to your questions, Buffy will be your watcher although I will be there in an advisory capacity as well. You are also lucky to have Willow and your parents here. They were valuable assets in Buffy's your coming struggles. As to your second question, yes slayers are generally called at around 15-16 years of age. You, my dear, have the dubious distinction of being the youngest ever chosen. Location is only part of the reason why it was you that was chosen. I spent a great deal of time trying to answer these veryquestions and found out some very disturbing news. Three years ago when I returned to Sunnydale I informed Xander that you possessed slayer potential." Anya glared at Xander as Rupert continued. "I told him that it was veryimportant to not tell anyone because something or someone had been causing the deaths of many potential slayers. At that time there were only about 50 potentials left and the council didn't have a clue as to what was doing them in. For the most part the deaths appeared to be completely accidental. Since all the dead potentials had been aware of their potential the council stopped informing them and for a time that slowed the deaths but as it stands now there are less than 25 potentials left and of these Alexis is the oldest. Unless the dark force that is responsible for this is stopped, we may be witnessing the beginning of the end of the slayer legacy. The council believes that the group of demons responsible for Faith's death were acting at the behest of this dark force and they were able to determine that two of the demons had recently been in Sunnydale. This is the only possible lead that we have." Alexis absorbed all that Giles had said and replied "So the fact that they went after Faith would indicate that they, whoever they may be, are ready to make their move and wanted an inexperienced slayer in place to hopefully insure their success. Don't you agree?" A flustered Giles answered "Well, yes. I had come to the same conclusion although I had planned on waiting a few days to inform you of this news - to give you a chance to settle into your new role. I see now that these precautions are unnecessary." Alexis then turned to Buffy. "What time tomorrow do we begin my training? It would appear that time is of the essence." Buffy was still marveling at Alexis' acceptance of the situation when she realized Alexis had spoken to her. "Umm, well since tomorrow is Saturday, I suggest we get an early start. How does 9 o'clock tomorrow morning sound? I assume, Giles, that the school gym will be at our disposal." "As principal I do believe that I will be able to arrange that" he said as the corners of his mouth betrayed the slightest of smiles. Rupert was starting to allow himself to feel just a little optimism. This night had gone much better than he had expected and he was pleasantly surprised with the new slayer. Time would tell but he was thinking 'we just might be able to pull this off'. "Okay, 9 a.m. it is. I've got a big day ahead of me so I'm going to turn in. See you tomorrow Buffy." And with that the
newest slayer left the room and went up the stairs to her bedroom. As Alexis left the room everyone just watched her and thought about whatthey had just witnessed. Xander, never one to let a quiet moment go by, spoke first. "Who the hell was that and what have they done with my daughter?" For just a split second there was silence and then nervous laughter filled the room. As Buffy and Willow drove home Buffy found herself unable to stop talking about Alexis. She was simply amazed by the young girl. There was something about Alexis that she hadn't seen before and she was anxiously awaiting the start of tomorrow's training. She had spent the last three years with nothing much to do. She had tried a few jobs but she just couldn't seem to stick with anything. Even though she was officially retired she did find herself patrolling the cemetery from time to time. Old habits die hard. There still wasn't as much activity as in the old days. The hellmouth had become inactive around the time she had graduated college. Nobody had known why but as trouble spots had broken out around the globe, the council hadn't looked a gift horse in the mouth. She still had the opportunity to stake avamp from time to time and feel useful again. Retirement hadn't been all that she had thought it would be. Now that was changing - she would be a watcher. Willow had listened intently to what Buffy had said. And Buffy may havebeen surprised by Alexis but she was not because she had seen the qualities before - in Buffy. The ability to take charge of a situation, to cut to the quick and ask the questions that needed to be answered and her acceptance (regardless of protestations to the contrary) of her role as the slayer. As they neared their home - Willow loved the sound of that - her attention was captured by the song on the radio. "Hey Buff. It's your song, remember?" When Buffy had first moved to Sunnydale she remembered that Buffy had listened to this song - actually the whole CD all the time. It had been several years old at the time but it had been Willow's first introduction to Melissa Etheridge. "Oh yes. I remember. But there is something about it that I never told you. Will, every time I heard this song, every time I played it, I was thinking of you." Willow just blushed as Melissa sang the chorus again. Come to my window Crawl inside, wait by the light of the moon Come to my window I'll be home soon On the outskirts of town in an abandoned factory a meeting was about to start. The meeting was taking place in a dark, dank sub-basement that had once hidden an illicit drug lab and as such was well-hidden from prying eyes. The mood of those assembled was one of elation - at least as elated as vamps and demonsget. They knew that the time was close at hand. In a back room a demon slowly approached the vampire. "Mistress, I have word from Europe. The slayer is dead. Unfortunately she took out your entire team." "Ah well. They were expendable. The important things is that they succeeded. It's now time for the meeting to commence." From the corner a voice said "It's about bloody time!" Buffy sat in front of the televison endlessly flipping channels. She couldn't sleep - wasn't even tired. She glanced down at the red-headed girl with her head in her lap. Willow was staring back up at her. "You're restless." It wasn't a question and Buffy confirmed it with a nod. "Why don't you go on patrol - take a quick spin through the cemetery? It'll help you burn off that nervous energy." "Are you sure you don't mind?" "I don't mind and you need it." "Thanks Will" Buffy said as she got up to leave. Willow stared after her lover and knew that through their bond, she would be with Buffy. It was a bond that Willow had established with Buffy in order to help protect Buffy.She had done it after she and Buffy had finally faced their fears and become a couple. It was a bond that now allowed her to know that Buffy was safe or endangered and would allow her to supply Buffy with her own power should it be necessary. And it gave Willow peace. Now that Buffy was gone Willow started going through the CDs on their shelves. "Yes I Am" she read as she pulled it off the shelf. Ever since Buffy had told her that she thought of Willow while listening to the song in the car she had been dying to listen to it closely. I would dial the numbers Just to listen to your breath I would stand inside my hell And hold the hand of death You don't know how far I'd go To ease this precious ache You don't know how much I'd give Or how much I can take Oh wow. Willow felt a lump rising in her throat as she read the powerful words. How many times had Buffy faced death - faced death with the knowledge that the one person she loved didn't even now it? "Why didn't I see it?" she asked herself. Keeping my eyes open I cannot afford to sleep Giving away promises I know that I can't keep Nothing fills the blackness That has seeped into my chest I need you in my blood I am forsaking all the rest That was part of the answer. "One of the reasons I didn't see it was because on one level she didn't want me to know" Willow thought. "She was afraid that she wouldn't be able to give me what she felt I deserved because she didn't think she would live long enough. But she's not the only one who knows about theblackness. It may have taken me longer to admit it to myself but that blackness had very nearly destroyed me." Buffy was on her way home. Willow marvelled again at the wonderful woman that was her lover, her soulmate. She didn't think she could love her any more than she did right now. Buffy hadoften told Willow how much she loved the red-head but knowing now that these intense feelings had been had by Buffy from nearly the moment they met -it was overwhelming. Willow had been so wrapped up in her thoughts that she had forgotten about their bond being two-way - and that Buffy was getting a sense of all these feelings swirling around inher mind. Buffy didn't know what was going on but she couldn't wait to get home. As she bounded up the steps Willow opened the door and wrapped the slayer in her arms. And then they kissed. The emotions each felt were flowing through their bond so intensely that they couldn't tell where one person ended and the other began - in that moment they were one. And as they made their way to the bedroom, Buffy knew that sleep was going to have to wait a little longer. Meanwhile, in the underground hideaway the meeting had ended. "Well, I thought that went right bloody well. Didn't you?" Dru looked over at Spike and gave him a weary smile and thought to herself 'I'll be glad when this is over and I'm rid of this wanker.' TBC? Maybe, If you want. Michael |