One Last Shot
by Whedonist
Chapter 25
[reviews]
Chapter 25
With out Jim, Buffy was given the day off and had decided to go back to the apartment to regroup with the gang and wait on the package from England. Everyone was in the dining area discussing possible scenarios when there was a knock at the door. Everyone looked up surprised.
"Anyone buzz anyone up?" Buffy asked.
Everyone shook their head no, so she up got and went to the door. Through the security lens, she saw a girl with hair as red as Willow's standing there with a bag.
"Ms. Summers," the girl spoke through the door, "I'm from the coven. Althea sent me with the books that you requested."
Buffy waited a beat and then opened the door. She took the girl in without the distortion. She was for lack of a better word stunning. Similar to Willow with red hair and emerald eyes, but different in height, posture and bone structure, hers was pronounced, with a stronger jaw line and a pose that if Buffy had not been who she was would have garnered immediate respect.
Buffy stuck her hand out and said, "I feel out of place, you know me, but I don't you."
The girl took her hand and a warm smile spread through her features, "Hi, I'm Aradia Iver. Sorry to pop in in such a fashion, but Althea said that Willow sounded worried and we don't like hearing her worry."
She released the slayers hand and looked around the room. Her eyes settled on Willow and her smile grew wider. Willow was up as soon as she heard the voice and had the other redhead in her arms as soon as Buffy let go of her hand.
"Aradia, goddess it's good to see you. Why did Althea send you?"
"Willow, I'm afraid that I'm going to pass out. Please."
Willow released the other girl and stepped back slightly red. "Sorry, it just that it's been too long. You weren't in Devon the last time I came and no one would tell me anything."
Xander coughed loudly and said, "Sorry to break up the reunion, but..."
Willow hit herself in the head, "I'm sorry guys, this is Aradia, Aradia," Willow pointed as she went through the names, "That's Xander, Faith, Dawn, Kennedy, Giles and you've met Buffy."
"Hi nice to meet everyone finally. Willow's said so much about all of you that it's good to finally meet the actual person or people as it were."
Willow turned back and looked at the visitor, "So...?"
"Oh, books." Aradia removed three books from her satchel and handed them to Willow. Willow turned and gave them to Dawn. "Well, they thought it best that I come and deliver them personally. And sorry about being gone. I was in San Francisco with Liz. She finally got the restaurant finished and they had this celebration that I had to go to."
"She did it finally. That's great. I'll have to call her." Willow ushered her further into the apartment and sat back down at the table with everyone. "Buff you want to go over the what with her?"
Buffy nodded and launched into the recent happenings. There were few questions until the end when she described the warehouse they found yesterday.
"So the symbols on the floor were replicas from the first spell?"
"Yeah, but it was different kinda. There was a pentagram and vampire ash at the five points. We didn't get to look at too much seeing as how Mr. Creepy Guy interrupted the search."
"Willow what sorts of energies were given off?"
"I...it's hard to describe it felt like what ever was there was supposed to be destructive but in a controlled way. That's the best I can do."
Dawn poked her head up from the books and glared, "Guys, I need some quiet. Can you maybe uh go elsewhere? Has anybody been to the hospital today? Maybe you guys should go or even out to eat something, but not be here."
Everyone looked around the table and shrugged.
"Aradia," Buffy started, "do you want to maybe come with Will and I to the warehouse and then to the hospital?"
"That's fine. I'm here to help."
Buffy looked at Xander and Faith. She didn't want to take the pregnant brunette for obvious reasons, but she also wanted another slayer there with her. Looking over to Kennedy she nodded. "K then, Xan, Ken, you're with Aradia, Wills and I. Faith, Giles hold down the fort while we go have a look see and drop in on Jimmy."
Faith protested first, "Hey why do I get stuck with house sitting duty?"
"Because you're with child Faith. I'm not risking you miscarrying. No way. Deal. If you didn't want to give up the action you should have used a condom." Buffy smirked and waited on the challenge from her sister slayer.
Faith just folded her arms across her chest and pouted, "Fine, but when you and Red decide to squirt one out, I'm makin' you stay put while I get to go and have all the fun."
Buffy just shook her head and laughed. Everyone that was going gathered their things and left. They did a pit stop at the warehouse only because they couldn't get in. Then they trekked over to the hospital to see Buffy's partner. They dropped Aradia, Kennedy, and Xand in the waiting room while Buffy and Willow went back to ICU. They went to the nurse's station to let them know they were visiting, but were stopped by one of the nurses on duty.
"Ladies, Mr. McAllister was moved to third floor."
"Oh, uh what room?"
"352"
"Thanks."
They turned around, rounded up the troops and went down to the third floor. They stepped in to Jimmy's new room and smiled when they saw him sitting up in bed eating. Then they frowned when they saw Suzie sitting next to him. He looked up and beamed at the two girls as they stepped in to the room.
"Well looked what the dog drug in. You guys coming to bust me out of here? Susie-Q won't let me leave and neither will the doctors. I'm right as rain and they say it's not normal." He shrugged and winked at Willow.
"No no busting you out. Just wanted to see how you were. And from the three trays sitting on the table I'd say you're good." Buffy said.
"So we got anything yet?"
"We'll know more by tonight. I'll call you." Buffy purposefully stepped over to the bed and took Jimmy's free hand and leaned down to kiss him on the cheek. "You be good and Wills and I will drop by later." She stood up and waved at Susie, "Toodles Suz." She turned and led the troops out of the room.
Once they were in the lobby, Willow pulled Buffy aside, "What was that?"
"What was what?" Buffy asked innocently.
"The kiss and the toodles." Willow said impatiently.
"Oh, I just thought I'd have a bit of fun. Wills come on you can't tell me that wasn't funny? Did you see the look on her face?"
"Yes, and if looks could kill you'd be dead again. Were you possessed by Cordelia?"
"No, it's just, she's all with hate and jealousy and she has no grounds for such thoughts. Besides she shouldn't think like that. It's her own dumb fault."
Willow just threw her hands up in the air and walked back to the group. She muttered under her breath and waited for Buffy to catch up before leading the rest of the group out of the hospital. It was four pm when Dawn called and told everyone to get back to the house. Considering they were relying on taxi's to take them around the city, Buffy had to pay extra to make the ride that much quicker. They stepped out of the cab 20 minutes later and with more respect for the sanctity of life.
Walking in to the apartment, Xander said, "So right if I'm ever late in this city again I'll run to where I need to be or maybe finally get bitten by that radioactive spider I've been looking for."
"Well, it could be worse, I was in Argentina last month and let me just say that the driver I had gave this guy a run for his money." Aradia smiled and winked at Willow.
"Hey squirt, what did you find out?" Buffy asked plopping down into a seat.
"Well, what we have here isn't a prophecy so yay to that. What we do have is the oldest written recording of how to make and unmake a slayer."
"Unmake? Is that like untying a shoe?" Xander asked pulling Faith down on his lap.
"Xander," Giles warned.
"What? All I'm saying is that if undoing what was done was that easy that they could just leave instructions lying about than obviously they were off their game."
Willow pinched the bridge of her nose and looked at Faith, "Do something with him."
"As I was saying, this details the how of making a slayer. It's one gigantic recipe. I would like to add that this is high in the ick factor. I would also like to add the spell to reverse it is just as icky. I've had to piece meal some of this together, but if your description is correct Buff, than what we got here is the beginning of the undoing of the slayer line."
"Why would he want that?"
"Buffy, Buffy, Buffy what do all evil masterminds want?" Xander asked, "I will tell you. They want to," Xander changed his voice to that of Brain from the Animaniacs, "TAKE OVER THE WORLD!"
Buffy just raised her eyebrows, "If it's world domination he's after why not just go make a death ray and hold the world for hostage?"
"I, well, maybe..."
"Give it up Xan." Faith said.
"Dawnie," Willow butted in, "Isn't there a bit about a complete slayer in there. Does it tell you what a complete slayer is?"
"It does, but it really doesn't itemize anything."
Aradia perked up and asked, "What is the specific wording?"
Dawn flipped through a note pad and read, "To reverse the line, one must fine the slayer whole in spirit, whole in heart, pure in spirit, pure in heart," Dawn let the pages fall back down, "Now that's a rough translation the words used were kinda not, well let's just say that I've never seen anything like them before. They seem to be the root words for a few Gaelic phrases so I based it off that."
"May I see them?"
Dawn handed the tablet over and pointed out the phrase. After hmming a few times, the witch looked back up, "Okay well then, your translation was rather nice, but I think that, in relation to the original spell, complete could possibly mean a slayer who has integrated her being."
Everyone looked at Aradia with a question mark clearly written on their faces. Giles surprised them by finally speaking, "Of course, that would make sense logically."
"G-man" Faith said. "If you got a point, make it."
"Well, there were vague accounts of how the first slayer was chosen. The girl in the village the shaman's picked. Why she was chosen."
"More please." Buffy said.
"According to the legend, the primal slayer was chosen because she was a girl that was not only physically capable, but she was also a wise woman among her people. She was chosen because when the shaman's tested her, she was the only one that passed everything, including the final test. She had passed the test for strength, speed, endurance. Some of the tests were week long trials of pure torture. There was one account where they had actually left her in the jungle with nothing. If she made it back she would pass. Now to truly appreciate that you have to understand that as scary as a modern day jungle is to most people, the ancient place they put her was reported to have not only lower level demons, but several one's high in the food chain."
"And everyone is finally on the edge of their seat when watcher man makes a long boring speech. Spit it out already" Buffy let out.
"The final test was a test of the spirit or heart. She was, for lack of a better way to put it, told to either kill her mate or herself. She chose herself. That was the final nail in her coffin so to speak. If you look to the last part of the spell used to create the first slayer, she was repeatedly raped by the demon that eventually changed her or gave her her power. This caused a shift in the soul itself; it altered that. She may not have killed her mate, but she killed herself enough so that they could no longer be together."
"Okay I'm even more confused." Willow, Buffy and Xander let out at the same time.
"Giles you're a bloody genius. Of course." Aradia smiled at the man.
Willow looked to Aradia, "Okay since you get it, can you maybe clue the rest of us in?"
"Slayers by nature are solitary creatures, noting the exception of Buffy and Faith most have lived for short periods of time and always had only a watcher with them. Did you never ask yourself why?"
"I know I did." Buffy huffed out.
"It's the nature of the slayer. The original slayer gave up her, or rather was torn, away from her mate. Her life energy was changed in such a drastic fashion that not even the person that would classically be termed her soul mate could stay with her. She was complete prior to the ritual and after the ritual she was incomplete, her other half wouldn't fit.
It makes sense if you know some of the lore surrounding soul mates. You see there are many stories; there are the humans with four arms and legs that got split by a lightning bolt and others through out history, legends, folklore that follow people. One of the one's that I prefer is that a soul goes through a myriad of incarnations, gathering knowledge and strength and once that soul has gained too much information it is halved and thus creates a partner. A soul mate if you will. Now because of the split the two energies have to compliment each other; one can not exist without the other, but if say one energy was changed, forced through and survived a ritual much like the one the first slayer went through than that soul would be altered and it would no longer compliment its partner."
"So a complete slayer is?"
Willow hit Xander upside the head, "A slayer that's found her soul mate, you goof."
"Oh," Xander let out and then, "Oh...wait that means that...great jumping monkey's batman."
Willow looked at Buffy and noticed the complete lack of color in her face. She figured that the slayer felt much the same way she did at that moment. Finding her voice she asked, "So let's run with the complete slayer stuff, what or how would you know when you find one?"
"I know. Buffy is. In fact I would wager that she's the first one in a very very long time. It's rare to find your mate as a normal human, but to find the one as a slayer is next to unprecedented."
"Stop the bus, what do you mean I am one. I am me. Not one. I'm little old me, retired slayer and loving it thank you very much."
Aradia smiled, "Buffy your being is unified. I can see it in your aura, sure there's a lot of stuff there, but you spirit is whole."
"How do you go about completing me?"
Aradia laughed, "Well according to the story, it's a matter of confession and physical union."
"So I may not even know that I've found my soul mate. My head's spinning."
"Buffy," Willow looked at the blonde.
"I know what it means Wills it's just wow and more wow and holy fucking shit come to mind. Who would have thought? Lil old me and lil old you."
"Wait," Aradia interrupted, "Who is your mate?"
Willow raised her hand.
"Oh," Aradia let out. She stared at Willow a moment and nodded. "I can see it. I wasn't expecting that. I've always had a hard time reading you Willow. So now that that is settled we know that this man needs a complete slayer. Buffy, Willow you are needed to finish the spell. Dawn what is involved in the reversal?"
Dawn gulped and flipped through some more pages. "Well pretty much the death of five girls and then the final act would be the death of the slayer after a ritual blood letting and a bunch of stinky herbs and some fancy words. I mean it does give a list of things the slayer is supposed to do, but considering the slayer, she's done the list plus more."
"That's all?" Giles asked.
"Well I'm pretty sure. Again not the best translation I've ever done, but that's the sum of the parts."
Aradia stood and excused herself. Willow sent a worried look down the hall towards the other girl. She got up and followed her back.
Willow knocked on the door, "Aradia?" She poked her head around the door. The other girl was splashing cold water on her face when she looked over at Willow and smiled. "You mind if I?" Willow motioned coming in.
"Not at all."
"You okay?"
"Yeah it's just wow, ya know. They try and train you for big stuff like this, but it never seems to work. You do know what it would mean to undo the slayer line right?"
"I'm thinking the end of the world."
"For the most part yes, there would be nothing standing in the way of the demons. Besides the fact that you, well are that is to say, you and Buffy. That's major. Willow, a slayer such as her has never existed before."
"Well, she is kinda special that way." Willow quipped, "And trust me she knows it."
"Also that means you're off the market. I was hoping that you and I could..."
Willow smiled and shrugged, "Well not saying that it wasn't fun times, but I'm with Buffy."
"I know and I wouldn't, but if I could talk you two into a threesome let me know." Aradia leaned in and grabbed Willow's lips. The other witch went with it for all of two seconds and pulled back. Aradia had the good sense to stop and smile embarrassed, "Sorry, I'll just take that as a goodbye kiss if you don't mind."
Willow brought her hands to her lips and nodded, "Yeah, ya know if Buffy wasn't..."
Aradia placed a finger to Willow's lips, "I know and what you two have is special, but please for the sake of my hormones consider the threesome." With that Aradia winked and brushed past Willow running right into the blonde slayer.