Latter Days

Author: enigmaticblue

Rating: PG-15

Disclaimer: I don’t own most of these characters, and I don’t make money off the ones I do. So there.

Summary: Set post-Chosen. After the Slayers are activated, the balance between good and evil is disturbed, and the Scoobies are flung to the far corners of the world to respond to the crisis. In the midst of all of this, will they be able to keep their relationships strong? Or will they be divided by circumstances and torn apart by fate? Follows my short story Yesterday.

A/N: Remember how things went after Chosen? Well, forget about all of that, and ignore the comics. This is my version. This series is comprised of Latter Days, Faithfully Dangerous, and Now and Always, and the entire series will be known by the third title. You’ll see why. (And although some of the locations mentioned in this fic exist, this is my world, which means that I’m twisting reality to my own ends.)

Chapter 18: Cleveland, Ohio

“…It’s been weird here. Robin has been really moody, a lot worse than he was in Sunnydale. I think it has to do with Spike still being alive, but it’s not like we’re close, so he’s not going to tell me. Now that Giles has sent half our Slayers to Los Angeles, we’re pretty short-staffed, but it keeps us busy. I miss Brazil, but I’m glad I’m here…” ~Excerpt from an email sent from Kennedy Limon to Willow Rosenberg

“Like this,” Kennedy said, adjusting Brittany’s grip on the crossbow. “Now try it.” The bolt flew straight and true this time, hitting the target dead-center, and Kennedy patted her on the back. “Good job. Keep practicing.”

She turned to watch as Rachel worked with two of the younger girls on hand-to-hand skills. Robin had said that he was busy and wouldn’t be back for a few hours, but Kennedy had no idea what was taking up so much of his time. As far as she knew, it couldn’t be Council business.

And there wasn’t much else but finding and training Slayers at this point in Kennedy’s opinion.

“Where do you think he went?” Rachel asked, joining her leaning up against the wall.

Kennedy shook her head. “I don’t know. I told Willow that he’s been weird.”

“Very weird.”

There was a pause, and Kennedy looked over at her. “Do you want to find out where he’s been going?”

“Are you talking about following him?”

“I’ve thought about it,” Kennedy admitted.

Rachel was quiet for a moment before nodding slowly. “I think we should. Something is going on. Ever since Faith left, he’s been different.”

“I think it has to do with Spike,” Kennedy confided. “He tried to have him killed in Sunnydale.” Not that she’d had a problem with that, of course, but she was beginning to think differently. Although she’d nearly staked him in Brazil that had mostly been a reflex action, and the knowledge that the dead who returned were generally evil.

But Spike had died to save the world, and he hadn’t been evil when he came back, so maybe Buffy’s trust in him wasn’t completely misplaced. Besides, the fact was that both Buffy and Giles wanted him alive at this point, and Kennedy wasn’t going to challenge that assessment. Not until Spike proved himself a danger, anyway.

She realized that they couldn’t just go around killing people they didn’t like, and if Robin were planning something like that, he would have to be stopped. Kennedy remembered how things had gone downhill in Sunnydale when they’d stopped trusting Buffy and started turning on each other.

“When are we going?”

Kennedy looked at the girls. The youngest was twelve, the oldest fourteen. Giles had asked them to send the three oldest Slayers—other than Rachel—to Los Angeles to help Faith. “Tomorrow, while they’re in school,” she said. “We can’t risk leaving them alone, and he’s been leaving in the afternoon.”

Rachel nodded. “You’re on.”

Kennedy smiled, then called, “Okay, guys, that’s enough for today. Get cleaned up.”

She had to admit that she liked it here in Cleveland. Robin was nominally in charge, but she pretty much had a free rein. Rachel had said that he’d been fairly fixated on Faith, and when she’d gone, he had lost focus.

And it was up to her to find out why.

~~~~~

Rachel had known about Kennedy’s reputation, just from comments that Robin had made before she arrived. Kennedy was a troublemaker, a bitch, a brat—not that he’d used those exact words, of course, but she’d gotten the message loud and clear.

She hadn’t paid much attention to Robin’s commentary; he was a Watcher and also had been a school principal, so he was the enemy in a way. Rachel had been a troublemaker in her own right, so she’d been predisposed to like Kennedy because of her reputation.

Kennedy and Robin probably would have fought like cats and dogs if his secret mission, whatever it was, hadn’t distracted him. Instead, it had been the two of them in charge, pretty much as a team, although Rachel had given Kennedy the lead. After all, she’d been the one who had trained with the Slayer, and had fought in the final battle in Sunnydale.

It had been good, better than Rachel had expected.

Spying on Robin made it that much better.

Rachel slept late after patrol, and when she rose mid-morning, Kennedy informed her that Robin was still in bed. “Did the other girls get off okay?”

Kennedy nodded. “Yeah, although Jess is going to give us a few problems down the road.”

“Make her get her GED before she can drop out,” Rachel advised. “That’s what Faith and Robin told me, and it worked out.”

The other Slayer nodded, although she still looked troubled. “I guess.”

“You regretting not going to school?”

“No. This is what I was born to do.” Kennedy sighed. “I was raised by my Watcher; I rarely saw my parents. I always knew I’d be a Slayer.”

Rachel looked skeptical. “And you never wonder what it would have been like to be normal?”

“Normal?” Kennedy asked. “Normal would have been having a nanny until I was old enough to get home by myself, and then going off to some college that my parents approved of. At least this way I had my Watcher.”

Rachel hadn’t realized that Kennedy had been one of the few Slayers who had been raised by a Watcher. “Was your Watcher killed by the First?”

“Yeah.” Kennedy took a deep breath. “We should probably figure out a strategy for today. He can’t see us.”

“I hear you.” Rachel sat back in her chair. “I think we should be gone when he leaves, like at the grocery store. We’ll leave him a note, and wait for him to leave.”

Kennedy nodded slowly. “Yeah, that could work.” She glanced at the clock. “I’m going to catch a nap. Wake me up in a couple of hours?”

“Sure thing.” Rachel watched as she left the kitchen and took a sip of the Coke she’d snagged from the fridge. Robin frowned on soda in the morning—or any other time—but she figured she was old enough to drink it if she bought it. There was nothing like a jolt of caffeine and sugar in the morning; it just didn’t compare to coffee.

The phone rang, and Rachel picked up before it could wake Robin. “Hello?”

“Rach. Told you I would call.”

“Faith!” she exclaimed. “How have you been?”

“Good. I’m staying pretty busy in L.A. How’s Ken doing?”

“She’s nice.”

“Yeah? You’re not just saying that, are you?”

“When did I ever pull my punches?” Rachel asked.

“Point. You guys are doing okay, then?”

“Pretty good.” Rachel hesitated, not sure if she should say anything about Robin or not.

“What’s up, kiddo?” Faith asked, her voice kind.

Rachel sighed. “Hang on.” She took the cordless phone out on the back porch, knowing that Robin’s room was at the front of the house, and he wouldn’t hear her as long as she kept her voice down. “Robin has been weird. He’s been sneaking around, not showing up at training, or spending any time with the girls. It’s pretty much me and Ken in charge.”

“You’re right, that’s weird.” Faith was silent for a moment. “What are you guys doing about it?”

“We’re going to find out where he’s going. What else?”

“Call Giles when you figure it out, or have Kennedy do it,” Faith ordered. “We’ve got our hands full here, or I’d come out myself.”

Rachel wished that Faith was still around; she liked Kennedy, but Faith had been like a big sister. “Yeah, okay. How are things?”

“Five by five. It’s been different, but good.”

“I’m glad.”

“Hang in there, Rach. If you need me, and I can get there, I’ll come.”

It was enough for the moment. “Thanks.”

“No big.” There was another pause, then she said, “I gotta go. We’ve got a problem to take care of.”

Rachel hung up the phone, and took a deep breath. No matter what Faith had said about calling Giles, she knew that they were pretty much on their own in this. There weren’t enough Watchers to send a new one; Rachel knew that much for certain.

~~~~~

Kennedy peered over the hood of Faith’s truck as Robin climbed into his car. “Have you ever followed anybody before?”

“On foot,” Rachel admitted. “Not in a car.” She frowned. “The other girls are going to be home any minute now.”

“I already told them that we might be late,” Kennedy replied. “They’re going to do their homework and get busy training, or they’re going to hear it from me.”

She had no idea if that would work or not, but there wasn’t much else she could do. “Okay. I think he’s far enough away.”

They’d left the truck idling around the block, far enough away so that he wouldn’t notice, but close enough to keep watch. Kennedy made sure to keep plenty of distance between them, knowing that they couldn’t afford a slip-up at this stage in the game.

For the next two hours, Kennedy followed Robin to various innocuous locations—a pharmacy, a hardware store, an office building. She had no idea what he wanted with the latter, but there was nothing sinister about his visit.

As the sun began to go down, however, his car headed towards an area of town that she’d been warned away from. “Crap,” she muttered.

“Where is he going?” Rachel hissed. “He has no business in this area of town, unless it’s with a Slayer. Maybe a training run, but—” She stopped as he parked. “Turn. Now!”

Kennedy followed her command, sending the big truck down an alley barely wide enough to accommodate it. The vehicle was too recognizable to allow him to catch a glimpse of it, and it was the only option around.

“Weapons,” Kennedy said tersely.

The two of them squeezed out of the truck, going to the back for the weapons cache that Faith had left behind. Kennedy made sure she had several stakes, and she grabbed the biggest ax in the converted tool chest. Rachel followed her example, although she opted for a spiked bat.

Although Robin had entered the seedy-looking bar from the front, Kennedy knew that wasn’t an option. A couple of girls their age would draw a lot of attention in a place like that, and so they headed around back and found an unwatched door.

Slipping inside, Kennedy headed down a dark hallway towards the riotous sounds in the front of the bar. She moved cautiously, not wanting to be seen. Robin was talking to a demon of a sort Kennedy had never seen before.

“What do you think they’re talking about?” Rachel whispered.

She shook her head. There was no way to get close enough to hear what was being said, but she noticed a lizard-like demon sitting next to them. Although he appeared absorbed in his drink at first glance, a second look told her that he was listening in. His beady, red eyes continually darted back and forth, and his hunched over posture did nothing to hide his nerves.

“Do you see the demon sitting next to them?”

Rachel frowned, then nodded. “Yeah. We gonna grab him?”

“Seems like the thing to do.”

They didn’t have to wait for long. Robin rose and went out the front door, and the demon he’d been talking to wasn’t far behind. The lizard demon lingered long enough to finish his drink, but when he went to leave, he headed towards the back, not the front.

“Quick!” Kennedy said, pushing Rachel towards the back door. The other girl recognized her strategy immediately, and they hurried outside, stationing themselves by the door.

They had just gotten into place when the demon exited the building, and Kennedy moved quickly, grabbing him by the front of his shirt and slamming him up against the brick. “Hi,” she said, grinning. “I need some information.”

“Oh, no,” he groaned. “Look, you Slayers don’t want anything to do with me. I’m harmless!”

“Which is why we aren’t going to harm you,” Rachel said amenably from just off to the right. “As long as you tell us what we want to know.”

“What do you want to know?” he asked suspiciously.

Kennedy smiled tightly. “You were eavesdropping in there. I want to know what you overheard.”

He shook his head emphatically. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” he protested. “I would never—urk.”

Kennedy had cut off his protest with a well-placed forearm against his throat. “Let me emphasize the fact that your life depends on your ability to be honest with us. What were they talking about?”

He gurgled, and she took her arm away to allow him to talk. “Your friend was trying to put a hit out on a vampire.”

Kennedy’s heart sank. “What vampire?”

“Somebody named Spike,” the demon replied. “But no one took him up on it tonight. I mean, this Spike is apparently surrounded by Slayers! No one’s going to take that offer unless they want to take out a bunch of Slayers at the same time.”

Rachel let out a breath. “Kennedy—”

“Not now,” she barked and turned her attention back to the demon. “What else?”

“This isn’t the first time he’s tried,” the demon admitted. “He’s been in other joints, but—everybody knows that there’s a fight coming up. Something like that’s on the way, and you only choose sides if you’re suicidal.”

Kennedy’s eyes narrowed. “I guess you just got yourself a death wish,” she said. “You’re on our side now.”

“What?” the demon choked out. “I didn’t—”

“Information only,” Kennedy followed up quickly. “And we’ll pay you. No one has to know who’s giving it to us.”

The demon’s eyes narrowed. “You’ll keep it quiet.”

“Sure, unless you double-cross us.”

He finally nodded. “I could use the cash.”

“Good.” Kennedy released him. “What’s your name?”

“It’s Hubert,” the demon replied. “Which is why I’m not on speaking terms with my parents.”

Kennedy snorted, and she heard Rachel chuckle. Pulling out her wallet, she pulled out a twenty, the only cash she had. “Thanks.”

Hubert snatched it from her quickly. “Yeah, always happy to help.”

Their eyes met briefly, and Kennedy felt compelled to add, “Sorry about getting rough. It’s just—”

“It’s war,” Hubert said. He grinned, revealing sharp, pointy teeth. “Watch your back, Slayer.”

He had disappeared into the darkness a moment later, and Kennedy turned to Rachel. “Now what?”

“Do you think we can find him?” Rachel asked. “I mean, if he’s trying to put a hit out on Spike, maybe we should stop him.”

Kennedy was quiet for a moment, then shook her head. “I don’t think this is something we can handle by ourselves. We should probably call Giles, but not from the house.”

As they walked towards the truck, Rachel said, “Okay, I get that Spike killed his mom, and that’s bad, but—”

Kennedy knew what her fellow Slayer was trying to say, but she didn’t have any answers. “I don’t know. I—” She stopped, her eyes widening in shock just before she saw the tall figure looming out of the darkness at the back of the truck.

She had no time to move out of the way, feeling her head slam back against the brick. The world grayed out, and she fought for consciousness. She heard Rachel cry out, and Kennedy acted on instinct alone, striking out with the weapon she held in her hand.

When her vision cleared, Kennedy could see Rachel leaning against the truck, her hand around the crossbow bolt sticking out of her shoulder. Robin lay on the ground, bleeding from a head wound.

“Oh, God.” Kennedy stumbled forward, putting a shaking hand to his neck, feeling for a pulse.

It wasn’t there. Robin Wood was dead, and she had killed him.