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
Chapter 30: The Plains of
South Africa
“…We attack in a few hours. Spike and Audra have already left to try and get Nŕtali and the other children out before then. I sent you a letter before we left Pretoria, in case I don’t make it. If I come out of this alive, burn it…” ~ Excerpt from an email from Xander Harris to Rupert Giles
Xander stood next to Kei, feeling the darkness like a living thing around him. It was still a few hours until dawn, and this was the hardest part. The waiting was always the hardest part.
“What’s the final count?”
“Between seventy and eighty. We haven’t been able to get close enough to get an exact number.”
“That’s probably close enough.” Xander sighed. “It’s still too many.”
Kei gave him a thin smile. “Perhaps. Perhaps not. You forget that we have a desire to drive them back stronger than any they have to perform this evil task. They are on our ground.”
“Home court advantage,” Xander murmured with a smile, remembering high school football and basketball games, the memories suddenly as vivid and tangible as the demon next to him.
Kei glanced over at him. “I have not heard that term.”
He shrugged. “It’s just that we have a lot of inexperienced fighters, and I can’t claim to be any good, even if I do have experience.”
“You have heart, my friend. Let us pray that is enough, because it is nearly all we have as well.”
Xander nodded. “Yeah. I’m going to see if I can find Corey.”
“Get some sleep if you can.”
Xander shrugged. “We’ll see.”
He made his way through the dark camp as quietly as possible. They had ruled out campfires or any other kind of light to avoid discovery. He’d watched Corey bed down, however, and he’d memorized the route.
The stars and the moon gave just enough light to allow him to see the rough outline of her form under the light blanket, and he knelt down next to her. Xander hated to wake her up early when they would be rising shortly.
“What are you doing?”
Her whisper surprised him. “I thought you were asleep.”
She shook her head silently. “Come on.” Rising, she led him away from the others. “I guess we need to talk, huh?”
“We haven’t done much of that lately.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I get guilt, Corey,” Xander said softly. “And it’s not your fault.”
She shook her head. “I think I know that, but if anything happens to her, I’m not going to be able to forgive myself.”
“I blamed myself for Anya’s death,” Xander said conversationally. “She died in the last battle with the First.”
“I know.”
“We were supposed to get married. Did I ever tell you that?” He sensed, rather than saw, her head shake. “If I had gone through with it, we would have had at least a year together, and at the end, I would have been with her. Buffy would have stationed us at the same exit to keep the Turok Han from leaving the school.”
“I don’t—”
Xander took a deep breath. “I realized that if I kept blaming myself, if I kept asking ‘what if,’ I’d get stuck. I did that with Jesse, and I didn’t want to do it again.”
“Jesse?”
“A friend. He got turned right after Buffy came to town. I held a lot of hate for a long time, and it didn’t do anybody any good.” Xander smiled softly. “Guilt doesn’t help.”
“And how do you escape it?”
“That I don’t know.” He put an arm around her shoulders, squeezing tightly. “But you needed to know that before we go in. I needed to tell you that I love you.”
He heard her soft sigh mere seconds before he felt her lips on his.
~~~~~
“There.” Ebu’s voice was soft, and Spike could see what he was referring to. The kids could be seen in a well-lit clearing the midst of the enemy encampment. It looked like they were tied up and roped together, with four guards stationed close around them.
“Damn.” It was a mild curse for how he was feeling. There went any chance of sneaking them out; they were going to need a distraction.
Ebu echoed him, although Spike couldn’t understand what he said. The words were in a language he’d never heard before, and he had to assume that it was the Oribi’s native tongue.
“What is it?”
“Do you see?”
Spike squinted. He could see one human child, most likely Nŕtali, plus five young demons. The fifth was an Oribi. “Ah.”
“The scouts did not get close enough to see, or they would have told me. I am honor bound to help you get them out.”
“Do you know him?” Audra asked.
“A distant relation. We had thought him killed, that he wandered too far from the village.” Ebu shook his head. “He is adventurous.”
“Aren’t all boys his age?” Spike glanced around, trying to decide on the best approach. An idea hit him, and he pulled out a lighter. “What’s the danger of a grassfire out here?”
“Enormous.” Ebu’s brow creased in thought. “But perhaps it would be a risk worth taking.”
“If we just set fire to one or two of the tents,” Audra suggested tentatively.
Spike frowned. “You got a bead on the main tent? Or the one that the leader is usin’?”
“It would be in the middle, the most protected spot.” Ebu pointed. “There is the most likely one.”
Spike could see it, and since it was bigger than all of the others, there was a good chance that he was right. “Right. You two think you can handle getting the kids loose while I light a fire?”
Audra raised her eyebrows. “Do you really think that’s a good idea?”
“You got another idea?”
“You got a crossbow? I’m pretty good at archery.”
“I don’t, but I know someone who does.” He nodded at the guard he could see pacing near the perimeter. The guard was carrying a longbow, among other weapons. “Be right back.”
Spike moved quietly, swiftly, staying low to the ground. The moon was too bright, and there were too many stars; he would have preferred the utter darkness of a new moon.
He’d done this before, though—hunted prey of all sorts. This time was no different, and Spike waited until the guard was on the farthest end of his circuit before springing. He snapped its neck immediately; normally, Spike appreciated a good fight, but tonight was about speed and silence.
It was satisfying in its own way.
Spike made his way back towards Ebu and Audra, the bow and quiver of arrows in hand. “You want to do the honors, pet?”
Audra smiled. “I was always brilliant at archery.”
“And so modest, too,” he teased.
They grinned at one another; hours and days working together had made their partnership a strong one.
“How will you light it on fire?” Ebu asked, breaking into their repartee.
Spike stripped off his jacket, then his t-shirt. He ripped two strips from the hem and wrapped it around the heads of two of the arrows.
Audra picked up the bow and pulled the string experimentally. “Nice,” she judged. “I shouldn’t have a problem.”
Spike flicked the lighter, watching the flame shoot up. “Let’s go, then.”
~~~~~
Audra was more nervous than she wanted to let on. If she missed, they were pretty much screwed. Not to mention the poor kids. Spike had theorized that the demons wouldn’t kill them because they would be needed for the sacrifice, but it was hard to say.
She didn’t want to be the one responsible for their deaths.
The arrow arced through the dark sky, falling with precision on the roof of the tent. Flames leapt up almost immediately, and Audra watched as Spike lit the flame on the other arrow. She did the same thing with the next, sending it into the other bigger tent.
As the fire spread, alarm began to spread, too. The guards standing watch over the children each took half a step towards the chaos, then one waved the others on. He moved closer, drawing his sword. That left one guard, and Audra chose a third arrow carefully.
By the time the demon’s body fell to the ground, all three of them were running. Spike and Ebu got there first; Audra’s speed was no match for theirs. Ebu was busy with the bonds of the Oribi boy, speaking softly and reassuringly.
All of the children were dirty and unkempt, and when their bonds were severed, they stumbled as they tried to stand.
“Come on,” Audra whispered harshly. “We have to go.” She glanced at the lone human child. “Are you Nŕtali?”
The girl nodded, her eyes wide with fear.
“It’s okay. We’re with Xander.” Audra held out her hand. “We have to go. They’re attacking shortly.”
“I want to fight,” the young Slayer said fiercely, her eyes burning. “I want to kill them.”
“We have to get the others out first, and then I promise you can kill every single one you can catch.”
“Audra, no time for chatting.” Spike was ushering two of the children in front of him. One of the smaller, weaker ones was on his back, arms locked around his throat.
She heard a roar behind them, and she knew they’d been discovered. “Go!”
Putting another arrow to her new bow, she felled the demon who had raised the alarm and prayed that his voice had been lost in the general confusion.
As they began running, Audra hoped that they hadn’t cut things too close, that Xander might somehow see the flames and know that they needed another distraction. Otherwise, she wasn’t sure they would make it out alive.
~~~~~
Corey scanned the horizon with binoculars. The sun still wasn’t up, but she hadn’t been able to sleep. Even though she doubted that she’d be able to see anything, at least she could feel as though she was doing something.
Pulling the binoculars away from her eyes, she blinked to ensure that she hadn’t been imagining things. They had moved as close as they could to the camp without being spotted, wanting to make certain that they could move swiftly when the time came.
It wasn’t time yet, but it looked as though the schedule had just been moved up.
“Xander! Kei!” Corey called as loudly as she dared to sound the alarm. “We have to go!”
Kei was at her side in a moment. “What is it?”
She pointed. “Fire. There’s only one thing that could be.”
He nodded, and suddenly Xander was there, too. “I woke the Slayers.”
Vi and Emily were on her other side. “I couldn’t sleep much,” Vi admitted. “Give us five minutes.”
“We may not have that long,” Corey replied.
“We don’t need five minutes.” Emily looked at Xander. “It’s just going to take a few of us to keep them busy. Call us the advance guard; we’ll use crossbows and stay out of the way until you get there.”
Xander shook his head. “I don’t—”
“I will go.” Kei hefted a large bow. “Who is ready?”
“Me.” Whit showed up on his other side. “Rory’s got the English Slayers. They’re nearly ready. We’ll only be a minute or two ahead.”
Corey watched Xander swallow hard, and he looked over at her and nodded. “Go. Be careful.”
She didn’t need to be told twice.
~~~~~
Miles hated waiting, although he’d perfected the art over the years. When his arthritis had begun to get bad, he’d been retired from the field, and he’d had to learn patience, believing that he’d have the opportunity to serve the Council again sometime in the future.
He’d been right, but now he wished he hadn’t been.
Then again, Rupert Giles had been known for his slightly unorthodox ways, and he was certainly the right man for this particular job. In anyone else’s hands, the Council likely would have failed within the first few months.
This sort of waiting was even more difficult; there would be injured, and he was responsible for seeing to their care, but until they started bringing them in, there was nothing for him to do.
Miles glanced over at Zindy and Leotta, who were talking softly, their hands joined, Inna sitting nearby. Ilori was both older and bigger, and Xander had elected to allow her to fight in the battle. Miles hadn’t liked the idea, but he had agreed that they had needed every fighter they could get.
“Miles!”
It was Spike’s voice that he heard, and the vampire came running towards him, a young child in his arms. “Quick.”
Miles pointed him to one of the pallets they’d set up for the wounded, and checked the young demon’s pulse. “What happened?”
“Think he was one of the first they grabbed,” Spike replied. “Don’t know what he needs, but he needs it fast.”
“We’ll take care of him.” He glanced past Spike to see Nŕtali standing there impatiently. “Nŕtali! How are you?”
“Ready to kill them,” she said seriously. “Spike, you promised.”
The vampire looked over at her. “So I did, pet.” He looked at the other children that Ebu and Audra had led into the tent. “We’ll see you soon, Miles.”
“Wait!” he called. “How are things going? Were you able to see anything?”
Spike shook his head. “No. We were too busy running.”
They were gone a moment later, leaving Miles with the children and Ebu, who was speaking to a young Oribi. “Very well. Zindy, Leotta, get water and food. Quickly now.”
It appeared that the waiting was over.
~~~~~
Emily brushed sweat-soaked hair out of her face and looked around for Whit. She could hear moans and cries, but the smoke drifting up from the charred remains of the camp obscured any sight of the wounded. As she moved closer to the sounds of voices, she ran across one of the enemy host. It was writhing in pain, and she paused to put it out of its misery.
Smiling mirthlessly, Emily paused to wonder what her parents would say if they could see her now. Her father might unbend enough to be proud, but her mother would be horrified.
“Em!” Whit came running up to her. “You okay?”
“I’m good.” Strangely enough, she was. She had just killed who knew how many demons, and she felt amazing. Strong, like she could take on the world.
Emily had never felt this way before.
“How many did we lose?” she asked, knowing that it was inevitable in a battle like the one they’d just gone through.
Whit shook his head. “That’s what we’re trying to figure out. We still haven’t accounted for everyone yet.”
She followed him through the debris and stubble to the small knot of people. Spike, Vi, and Audra were standing and appeared to be unharmed. Xander had a makeshift bandage wrapped around one arm, and his other arm was wrapped tightly around Corey, who had blood down one side of her face from a head laceration.
“Emily,” Xander said when he saw her, relief coloring his tone. “You okay?”
She nodded. “Where’s Ilori? And Nŕtali? Have you seen them?” The expression on their faces didn’t give her much hope. “Where are they?”
“We lost Ilori, and Nŕtali’s with Miles.” Xander looked grim. “We lost Rory, too, and it looks like it’s going to be touch and go with Kayla.”
Emily didn’t know the others well, and while she felt regret, there was no sorrow. She would save that for Ilori; it was likely that they wouldn’t run out of grief anytime in the near future. “But Nŕtali?”
“Miles thinks she’s going to make it,” Corey replied quietly.
Emily swallowed. “Where are Kei and Ebu?”
“They went back to the village to get help,” Xander said. “They said their people could give us a hand.” He looked around at the destruction. “We’re going to need it.”
“I’d better call Rupert,” Spike announced. “He’s going to want an update.”
“There’s a satellite phone back at the hospital tent.” Xander began to walk in that direction, his arm still around Corey. “Let’s get out of here. We’ll finish the cleanup later.”
The elation that Emily had felt melted away. The thrill of the fight, the hunt, was a wonderful thing, but she liked it a lot better when nobody died but the bad guys.