Fic: Falling Backwards 48/?

[spikeysgrl18]

An update! I know, you'll all die of shock. This is nearing the end, believe it or not. It makes me kind of sad too. This is my baby, I hate to see it end. That being said, there are still a few chapters to go. If you need a refresher go here.

Falling Backwards
Author: Jami
E-mail: aresangel1@yahoo.com
Pairing: S/W, X/?
Spoilers: Series Finale
Summary: Set after season 7, Xander and Willow try to go back to a simpler time, before the First arose.
Distribution: Red’s Soulmates, anyone want, just ask.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, don’t sue, I have no money to give you anyways.
Author’s Notes: Caleb didn’t take out Xander’s eye. But everything else still stands. Anya and Spike are dead, etc.
Feedback: I live for it!!

 

Jenny remained at her desk, as still as a statue and a blank stare, well into the night.

 

Students were long gone, even Giles was no where to be found, she had heard his telltale footsteps nearly an hour before as he trudged to the school’s parking lot. The hallways of Sunnydale High were darkened, with only the security lights that surrounded the entire building in an eerie glow. She hadn’t even bothered to turn on the lights in her classroom, despite the loss of the sunlight that had provided earlier illumination. It was too much effort, the weight on her mind so oppressive that she couldn’t manage the smallest of tasks.

 

Xander’s plea for help that morning left a bitter taste in her mouth, her stomach churning tumultuously as she thought over what he had asked of her.

 

Jenny Calendar wasn’t a noble person. She never claimed to be.

 

She had come to Sunnydale because she was ordered to; she befriended these people not because she naturally gravitated to them, but because it was her job. That didn’t mean she hadn’t learn to care for them, even love some of them, but it certainly didn’t make her actions more palatable.

 

She had sinned. She was a liar. It would be only natural to desire penance, and desire it she did. They may not know the truth, but she did and it was a heavy burden to bear. Just looking into Rupert’s eyes was painful. How disappointed he would be if he found out. Yes, she wanted nothing more than to make things right.

 

But was she willing to die for it?

 

That was the real question. Was she prepared to sacrifice her life as penance for her sins?

 

It was a moot point really. There was an apocalypse coming any day now, death was looming over all their heads. Being a coward now wouldn’t change anything. No one could run away from destiny, Jenny knew that well. She had tried to escape her past, forget the fact that everyday she looked into the faces of people she cared for and lied. Still, the fact haunted her constantly.

 

Angelus’ wrath was something she would just have to risk. The other her, the Jenny from before who had died at the hands of that monster must have known the risks as well. Yet she still did her duty, what was needed of her. If she could face down death once before, she could do it again.

 

She had to.

 

Her shoulders slumped, as if the imaginary weight of her decision landed squarely on her, and she let out a soft, slow breath of resignation.

 

It was the sound of a soft, muted whisper of cloth outside her classroom that caught her attention, waking her from her silent revelry.

 

She barely heard it, but instinct and her years spent in the tutelage of her family made her duck under the cover of her desk, hiding in the darkened crevasse. Slowing her breathing to the point of almost inaudible, she fought to see what might be wandering about the halls, hidden by the cover of darkness.

 

It was ridiculous to think Angelus was out there, looking for her. No one knew she had a connection to the Romany except for Xander and Willow and they weren’t about to let him know about it. Besides, Xander had just come to her this morning with his plan. She had barely started on the endless research it would take to find a spell to restore his soul. Still, for a moment she was filled with dread as she looked out the bit of window on the door she could see, expecting to see his tall imposing figure lurking just outside.

 

There were no vampires to be seen, but her frantic heartbeat refused to slow as she caught a glimpse of black robed figures rushing past her door, their movements nearly silent. If it wasn’t for the barest whisper of the course fabric of their robes brushing the metal of the students’ lockers, she may have never known they were there.

 

Until it was too late, at least.

 

They disappeared from sight swiftly, but her body refused to move. Adrenaline pumped through her, urging her to move, her muscles protesting her unnatural stillness. Yet she was too terrified to do anything more than to sit, stare and hide.

 

No more noise could be heard. She peeked up from her desk reluctantly, only to find no one staring back at her. If it weren’t for the fleeting glimpse she caught of them she would have thought the school was just as empty as it had been only moments before. But she knew better.

 

Fingers shaking, she pushed her wheeled, wooden chair away from the desk with careful effort to make sure it made no sound. Slowly she climbed out from her hiding place, remaining in a crouch for a second, waiting.

 

When no sound came and no one burst through the door to capture her, she gently attempted to stand. Jenny couldn’t bring herself to go to the door and look in the hall. It would be reckless and foolish and she was none of those things. She was cautious, calculating. Recklessness got people killed.

 

Licking her dry lips, she looked around the classroom, eyes finally settling on the large windows that lead to a set of bushes and the small patch of lawn just before the cemented faculty lot.

 

Navigating the room carefully, she flinched as she turned the lock on the window and pushed it open, cringing at the slight squeak it made. Still no one came to investigate. She gently lifted herself through the wide hole and slid awkwardly onto the grass, pausing there before glancing around the shrubbery and seeing the coast was clear, sprinting to her parked car feet away.

 

By the time her car door was shut and her engine revving, Jenny’s heart pounded at an almost unnatural speed, driving out of the lot so fast she was pretty sure there would be skid marks left on the ground.

 

She wanted nothing more than to go home, to curl up into a ball and pretend that she was safe. That nothing bad could happen to her, but it would be a lie. She was sick to death of lies. It was time to tell the truth, to come clean no matter the hefty price.

 

As the distance between herself and the school grew, her breathing began to slow, her pulse no longer throbbing. But the churning dread in her stomach refused to abate. That had little to do with the shadowy figures in the hall and more to do with the man she was about to see. This couldn’t wait any longer. She had to find Rupert, to tell him…anything, everything.

 

But most importantly, she had to tell him that there were bringers at Sunnydale High.

 

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

 

“How did she take it?” Willow wondered, glancing up at Xander in between bites of cereal. Lucky Charms wasn’t the healthiest of dinners but considering Xander couldn’t cook and the only thing she could make were cookies; that was the best they could manage. Besides, money was growing tighter and trips to the grocery store were less frequent.

 

“Pretty well considering I basically told her she’ll probably die,” Xander admitted with a shrug. “Is it sad that people in this town don’t freak out when they find out there’s a good chance they’ll bite the big one?”

 

“This is the hellmouth,” she reminded him, “death doesn’t exactly take a holiday around here.” There was a long pause, filled only with the sound of Xander’s rather loud crunching of his food. “Do you think she’ll do it?” she asked softly.

 

“Yeah,” he murmured, looking down at the kitchen table. “It’s her duty. She’ll do it. I don’t think she really has much of a choice. It’s Jenny’s job to keep Angel on a leash…she’ll come through for us.”

 

“Good,” she nodded, exhaling sharply and pushing her bowl away from her suddenly, her appetite completely gone. Xander still chewed away.

 

A pounding on the front door startled them both and Xander jumped up, knocking over his already unsteady chair. Willow’s reaction was far less dramatic as she stood slowly, silently signaling him to relax, although the anxiety in her eyes still worried him.

 

“Um, just…stay calm, okay?” she begged, bringing a look of confusion to his face.

 

“You expecting company?” he drawled slowly, brow furrowed.

 

“Well…” she mumbled, managing to look guilty and concerned at the same time. It took him a minute, one in which there was another loud rap at the door, but he finally connected the dots.

 

“Oh no,” he shook his head fervently, taking a step toward her. “No, Junior is not coming in this house. No.”

 

“Xander—” she sighed, bringing a tired hand to rub at her now pained temples.

 

“I don’t want a vampire—Spike—in my house!” he barked, looking incredulous as she merely observed him tiredly.

 

“We need his help,” she reminded him sharply. “You know this. And not to get technical here bud, but this is my house. If I say he can come in, then he comes in.”

 

“Well then open the bloody door already!” came a muffled but obviously annoyed shout from the porch. Resisting a roll of her eyes at both of their childish behavior, Willow started for the front door, muttering a pleading “Behave,” to Xander before flipping the latch and opening the door.

 

“About time,” Spike muttered, foot tapping impatiently as he glared at Xander hovering in the background. Willow opened the door wider and he gave her a disgruntled stare.

 

“Oh, sorry,” she flushed, “Come in,” she mumbled, stepping aside as Spike brushed past her, closing the front door quietly after him. “Xan, why don’t you go watch TV?” she offered helpfully as Spike stood uncomfortably in the middle of her living room, observing everything with a calculating stare.

 

“I’m fine here,” he declared with a tight smile, eyeing Spike warily as he flopped unceremoniously onto the couch. “I see you even think about taking a nibble, I’ll stake you,” he warned the blonde bluntly, expression hard.

 

Spike just scoffed. “Like I’d touch you with a sodding ten foot pole, git,” he snorted, looking to Willow incredulously.

 

“Hey!” Xander barked in a mixture of embarrassment and indignation, “I’ll have you know I’m a tasty morsel!”

 

“Okay, that’s it,” Willow announced with a roll of her eyes, “You,” she ordered, pointing authoritatively toward Xander, “upstairs.” He didn’t look pleased, but after a moment’s hesitation he did as she said, watching Spike the whole time he climbed the stairs.

 

“You, stop smirking,” she demanded, turning her attention to a greatly amused Spike, who didn’t look the least bit contrite at her reprimand. He just raised his hands in deference and stepped further inside the living room, purposefully taking Xander’s seat on the couch and throwing his feet up on the coffee table.

 

“Make yourself comfortable,” she muttered with a roll of her eyes before joining him on the couch, placing distance between them and garnering a raised brow from the vampire. “So…has Angel made any appearances yet?”

 

“No,” he replied shortly, his earlier amusement vanishing at the mention of his grandsire. “There have been rumblings, just rumors about the great Angelus, but he’s keeping a low profile. I don’t like it.”

 

“Me either,” she commiserated with a sigh. “This isn’t like him. In the old days he would have announced his comeback with a big ol’ bloodbath and replaced you as Master in a heartbeat.”

 

“Hey!” Spike growled, “I’m not so easy to replace, thank you very much. That bastard’s got another thing coming to him if he thinks I’ll just hand it over.”

 

“But he’s not even attempting to take over,” Willow shook her head in confusion.

 

“I know,” he muttered, reluctantly agreeing. “He’s bloody well up to something, and I’m going to damn well find out what it is.”

 

“Good,” she nodded faintly, eyes distant. “You said your minions were still loyal?”

 

“Yeah, they’ll do as I say,” he acknowledged, a hint of wariness in his voice. “But what kind of fight are we talking about, pet? You keep mentioning a sodding war, but what kind of battle are we walking into?”

 

“I don’t know,” she frowned, sinking farther into the couch, paying no attention as he scooted just the barest inch closer. “All I know right now is that the First has the bringers and Ethan, of course. Bringers can fight, hard. But it didn’t use them in battle last time. I—I suppose anything is up for grabs.

 

“Last time it used these…ubervamps. Turok-Hans,” she remembered, eyes glazed and mouth set in a grim line.

 

“Bloody hell,” he groaned, closing his eyes tightly and grimacing. “I thought those things were supposed to be myth. They’re like the bleeding boogeyman to vampires. All instinct, no finesse.”

 

“They’re real,” Willow murmured, glancing at Spike’s drawn face from the corner of her eye. “But things are different this time. So different. I mean really, what are the chances the first could resurrect them again?” she scoffed with a nervous, shaky laugh.

 

Spike gave a half smile, looking just as anxious as she, “Right.”

 

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

 

“Now this is what I’m talking about,” Angelus grinned as he stepped into the bowels of Sunnydale High, smirking at the sight before him.

 

Bringers, numbers of them, were gathered in a circle chanting, settled in the dust of what was essentially a dirt floor. In the middle of the circle sat a young man, no more than twenty, disheveled and obviously terrified. Shaking uncontrollably, his clothing torn and tattered, his eyes flew about the room, searching for any sign of help.

 

At the sight of Angel in the midst of all the robed, disfigured men, his gaze beckoned to him for aid. The vampire only laughed at the display and continued on.

 

“You beckoned,” he smirked as he spotted Ethan standing off to the side, doing his best to separate himself from the ritual taking place, his eyes never straying to the panicking boy in the middle.

 

“Your presence was requested,” Ethan drawled, meeting the vampire’s eyes momentarily before focusing on some dark corner of the basement.

 

“Gotta say, I like the new digs,” Angel grinned. “A change of scenery is always nice. Besides, the cave was getting a little cramped, no?”

 

“I’m glad you approve,” the First murmured, stepping into view in the familiar guise of the Slayer.

 

“You called, I came,” he acknowledged with increasing impatience, his smile growing thin. “What do you want?”

 

“I thought you might want to bear witness,” Buffy smirked as she ambled toward the gathering as the sound of the bringers united chanting increased in volume. “You’ll be in for a treat.”

 

“Not to knock it, but this isn’t my first human sacrifice,” he grinned darkly, following her easy steps, looking dark and deadly cloaked in black and draped in shadows.

 

Buffy raised a hand, silencing him as her attention remained rapt on the scene below and Angelus unconsciously stepped beside her, eyes glued to the deathly frightened boy. A small smile blossomed on her face as one of the bringers stepped forward, wickedly sharp dagger in one hand as he approached the quaking man. His pleading noises made through the gag in his mouth were ignored as his hair was taken in a harsh grip; his head pulled back roughly, neck exposed.

 

Knowing what was coming, Ethan turned away from the sight completely, discretely covering his ears to mute the sounds of struggle and suffering. He was no saint, but even he had his limits. He had requested not to be present this night. The First took great pleasure in denying him.

 

Swift movement preceded the sound of miserable gurgling and the two spectators found themselves unable to look away from the sight. Blood flowed onto the ground beneath as the bringer released his death grip on the boy, letting his limp body drop unceremoniously.

 

Two others moved quickly to drag the body away as a great rumbling began. Angelus took powerful steps forward, looking over the heads of the gathered men to see what was happening. The First followed at a more leisurely pace, a pleased smile on her face.

 

“Well, well, it’s…a satanic manhole cover,” he snorted with a raised brow, glancing over his shoulder.

 

“The seal of Danthalzar,” she declared with a droll roll of her eyes. “And if you knew what lies beyond it, you would not mock and make stupid jokes. You would kneel before it.”

 

“And what exactly is it hiding down there?” he wondered, decidedly under-whelmed.

 

Buffy was in no hurry to answer, merely gracing him with a devious grin and signaling with a bob of her head to the bringers behind him that were now dispersing.

 

A fierce growl erupted from Angelus as arms came around him, three bringers fighting to restrain his arms, a swift, hard kick to the back of his knee forcing him unwilling to kneel before the First.

 

“I told you Angelus,” she said, voice delightfully pleasant as she waved them away and they dragged the still struggling body of Angelus toward the newly uncovered seal. “I have use for you. Just…not in the way you thought.”

 

Still on his knees, he was forced to lean forward, his upper body hovering over the seal. His black silk shirt was ripped open with little care and he snapped violently, fangs at the fore, but was unable to do more than struggle as he was held down.

 

“I’m so tired of vampires these days,” she sneered, sidling toward him and crouching down to face him. “They’re so independent; always want to be in control. They think above their station, don’t understand the hierarchy. You aren’t the big bad here, Angelus. You’re a pawn. It’s a shame really. You have such potential, but you…your kind, don’t seem to understand that you’re not the top of the food chain. But relax,” she murmured with a sweet smile, enjoying his furious growls. “I’m not going to kill you.”

 

His struggles intensified and he appeared rabid as a dagger drew deeply across his exposed chest, his blood dripping onto the seal in a steady flow.

 

“I told you, I wanted you to bear witness,” she declared, voice harder, losing its melodic quality as she stepped back, the bringers dragging his now tired form away from the seal and dumping him on the ground with a thud as the ground began to shake and the seal, once dormant, began to move, to open before their very eyes.

 

“It’s time you see what a real vampire is like.”