Under the Sun
Author: enigmaticblue
Rating: PG-13
Archive: Sure, if you already have my stuff. If not, just ask.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters herein; Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and other lucky folks do. Of course, I'm not the one making money off of them.
Summary: Set after Avocation in an alternate S4 where many events of canon get thrown out the window. This one won't make any sense if you haven't read the previous story.
A/N: The title comes from Ecclesiastes, which most people know from the phrase, "A time for everything, and a season for everything under heaven." Really, this story is based on the entire book, which is probably my favorite in the Bible. It talks about making the most of what one has now, and while some find it depressing, I love it. If you've got the time, I'd really recommend you read the whole thing.
Chapter 37
"Whoever loved as we did? Let us hunt/for the ancient cinders of a heart that burned/and make our kisses fall one by one,/till that empty flower rises again./Let us love the love that consumed its fruit and went/down, its image and its power, into the earth:/you and I are the light that endures,/its irrevocable delicate thorn./Bring to that love, entombed by so much cold time,/by snow and spring, by oblivion and autumn,/the light of a new apple, light,/of a freshness opened by a new wound,/like that ancient love that passes in silence/through an eternity of buried mouths." ~Pablo Neruda "Sonnet XCV"
Xander wasn't really comfortable in Giles' bookstore. The library had been one thing; it had become demon-fighting central, and it was where all the books they needed were. The bookstore, on the other hand, was Giles' place, filled with books that intimidated Xander.
He really preferred his comics; there was just something about a book without pictures that he found depressing.
Giles wanted to be kept apprised of the hunt for Faith, however, and Xander was the one who could use the maps. Both groups had cell phones, and Giles had the new one that Joyce had purchased for him after the Ethan debacle. She hadn't wanted to leave him with an excuse not to call her again.
That meant that Xander would be spending the evening with Giles, rather than with Anya, who was none too happy with his sudden reintegration back into the group. He hoped that she developed some understanding as to how important this was, because otherwise their relationship wasn't going to last.
Xander knew that it wasn't just about Buffy either. It was about doing something useful when it felt as though his life was going nowhere fast.
"Where are they now?" Giles asked, leaning over his shoulder.
Xander put aside his comic and placed his hand on the map,
watching as the colored dots appeared. Joyce was still at the gallery, Anya was
at her apartment, but the two pairs of most interest had fanned out. Wesley and
Buffy were patrolling around the Bronze and warehouse area, while Spike and
Well, Spike,
No better than he would be anyway, that was for sure, and he was stuck with Giles and the books for the night.
"What's
Giles was watching the dots move around in fascination. "Hmm? Oh, I think
Xander stifled a sigh, reminding himself that he had wanted to be included more often. "Sure."
Giles patted him on the shoulder. "Thank you for doing this, Xander. I know you've given up your evening."
Somehow, those words made it all worth it.
~~~~~
"So what's this I hear about a spell?" Spike
asked, anxious to be out and searching. He was none too sure about their
ability to locate Faith, which was why he was amenable to the idea of checking
with
"W-w-w—"
"Take your time, pet," Spike advised gently.
"A l-locator spell,"
Spike shook his head. "Not a bad idea, but I don't think we've got anything of hers left lying around. She cleared out pretty good, and she's been in a coma for eight months; that doesn't give a person much chance at accumulating things."
"What about the hospital room she was in?"
Spike hesitated, but had to nix that idea as well. "Don't
think so, ladies. I hate to say it, but I think we're out of luck as far as the
spell goes. It's gonna have to be old-fashioned leg-work." At
"We'll see you later,"
When they had left, Spike turned to
"I don't know what you're talking about,"
"Sure you do," Spike responded. "Red, you knew a locator spell wasn't going to work on Faith. We don't have anything that belongs to her."
"She is helping," Spike pointed out. "She took care of those maps, didn't she? Don't push it too hard, Red. The girl will get comfortable in good time. It takes a bit sometimes, though."
"I know."
Spike knew she was right; he'd known that from the moment they'd decided to do things this way. The problem was that they needed to find Faith, and they didn't seem to have a better way of doing it.
"What would you suggest?" he finally asked.
"Well, she seems pretty intent on finding Buffy,"
Spike's eyes narrowed as he thought about that. Willow was right; of course, now that Faith knew that he was still around, there were a couple of different places that Faith might try to catch Buffy by surprise. Joyce's place was one, his place was another. He didn't think she'd try the campus again.
He turned around abruptly. "I think we're going to need your friend's help after all."
"We're going hunting," Spike replied. "Just a little differently, that's all."
~~~~~
Faith stared down at the metal device in her hand. Leave it to the boss to think up something like this. She knew that she wasn't going to get away with it, not unless she was really lucky or really careful. Spike, for example, wouldn't be fooled forever.
Of course, if she managed to switch bodies with Buffy, that didn't mean she'd have to stick around Sunnydale. If Faith left in Buffy's body, it would leave Buffy at the mercy of the police and everyone else out to get her, which would devastate Spike. So all she really had to do was to complete the actual hand-to-hand contact, like the Mayor had said, and then get herself out of town.
Faith wasn't quite sure how to feel about the Mayor's parting gift. He had been right, of course; there was no place left for her in this world, no one to care about her.
This was Buffy's world; it always had been.
Still, there was also a certain allure of just leaving
Sunnydale behind her, maybe stealing a car and driving south to Baja, or just
out of the state. Faith didn't think she would be on
Faith frowned thoughtfully, thinking about her earlier run in with Buffy. Seeing Spike had been a surprise, both because he was actually walking around, and because it was in the broad daylight. Wesley had been something of a surprise, too—she hadn't thought he would stick around Sunnydale. She wondered what that meant.
Hopping down from the pawn shop counter, where she'd broken in to view the videotape the Mayor had left for her, Faith headed towards the door. This was the legacy that the Mayor had left for her; this was what he'd wanted her to do.
With any luck, if they took her out, Faith would manage to take out a couple on her way.
~~~~~
"How are you with sandwiches, Xander?" Joyce asked as they entered the house through the front door. "I'm afraid I haven't had a chance to get to the store recently."
"That's great," Xander replied. His mom still tried to fix snacks for him on occasion, but it wasn't the same. When his mom asked him questions like that, Xander felt as though she was refusing to let him grow up. When Joyce asked, it seemed as though she was taking his opinion under consideration, which was a different matter entirely.
He froze when he saw the men in the living room, causing Giles to bump into him. "Xander! Watch—" Giles broke off, staring at the three strangers. "Would you both please go into the kitchen?" he asked quietly.
"Rupert," Joyce began, but the expression on his face silenced her. "Alright. Xander, would you mind helping me?"
"No," he replied, following her back into the kitchen. "What's that about?" Xander asked in a whisper.
Joyce shook her head, her lips tightening. "I'm not certain," she admitted, "but I imagine that Rupert will tell us when they leave."
Xander raised his eyebrows; he didn't think he'd ever heard Joyce use that tone of voice before. It was a little scary. He helped her fix the sandwiches and set the table, mostly in silence, although she asked him about his job and Anya. Xander wished he felt comfortable enough with her to ask about his relationship with his girlfriend, but he didn't know how Joyce would respond to being asked for dating advice.
Giles entered the room shortly; in fact, the strangers hadn't stayed nearly as long as Xander had thought that they would.
"Why were those men sitting in my living room?" Joyce asked immediately. "Without an invitation?"
"They were from the Council," Giles replied, not bothering to try and put her off. He didn't think it would do much good anyway. "They've been sent to retrieve Faith."
Xander snorted. "Like they did such a great job last time."
"That's not the team that the Council sent last time," Giles responded. "These men are the ones that the Council uses for its dirty work. They're dangerous, and they're very good at what they do."
The phone rang, and Joyce reached for it. "Yes?...Hello, Spike...Of course, I'll let him know. Thanks for calling." She hung up and turned to Giles. "Spike said that he thinks Faith is going to try to confront Buffy by showing up somewhere she might be found. He thought that this might be a likely place and wanted to warn us."
Giles nodded. "That's entirely possible. We hadn't really thought about it, but Faith could easily decide to come after Buffy at one of her usual haunts. Did he say where he was going to be?"
"No, only that we should be careful," Joyce replied. "Do you think that we should stay here?"
Giles frowned. "I think we'll be safe enough. Even so, we'll remain armed and alert. I have a feeling that if Faith realizes that we're waiting for her, and that Buffy's not around, she'll leave well enough alone."
~~~~~
"What did he have to say?" Buffy asked as soon as Wesley put his cell phone away.
Wesley glanced over at her. "That he thinks Faith will seek you out. Spike said that he called Joyce and let them know to be on their guard. He thought it might be easier to set a trap for her."
Buffy looked around at the clusters of people walking down Sunnydale's main thoroughfare, most of them going in and out of the few nice restaurants in town, or the movie theater. It did seem rather pointless to wander around for hours in hopes of running into Faith. "What does Spike have in mind?"
"He thought Faith might be likely to show up at his place,
now that she knows he's still in town, and that the two of you are still
together." Wesley turned in the direction of Spike's townhouse and started
walking. "Spike said that he would station
"And you and I walk right into the trap?" Buffy asked wryly. "I'm not sure I like that plan."
"It does make sense," Wesley pointed out.
Buffy sighed. It did make sense, even more so because Faith was probably most pissed off at the two of them, and
she wouldn't be expecting Wesley to be capable of taking care of himself. Not that Buffy would give him great odds against a Slayer, but at least he might be able to hold her off for long enough to give Spike a chance to show up.
It was a crazy plan, but Buffy figured that crazy was what they had right now.
"It makes sense," Buffy agreed. "I just don't like being the bait."
"At least there will be fewer people to be caught in the
crossfire," Wesley replied. "
Buffy laughed. "Wes, not that I doubt your abilities, but Faith is a Slayer; Spike's the one who has the best shot at beating her, and that's only because he's wearing that ring."
"Then I suppose it's a good thing that Spike will be there, then," Wesley said. "Between the two of you, there shouldn't be a problem getting her under control."
She scowled at him. "Don't say that; you'll jinx us."
~~~~~
Maggie Walsh caressed the still form of her greatest achievement. Adam was nearing completion; in a few days, he would be ready to awaken, and she would have the perfect means of bringing the Slayer—one or both of them—under her control.
Walsh wanted a chance to prove her theory that she could build a better soldier. The men she controlled were good—better than your average infantryman, certainly, but they were nothing in comparison to what Adam might be. They were fragile creatures, even with their enhanced strength, while Adam would be nearly indestructible.
And totally dependent upon her.
Walsh knew that Adam was as much her child as anything that could come from her flesh and bone. In time, her superiors would understand her true brilliance, the full extent to which she would change the face of the world. Through Adam, and through the behavioral modification chip, Walsh would make the world a safer place, and she would make it hers—make it match her vision of what it could be.
With one last pat, she left Adam's side, opening the door and letting it slide shut behind her. Walsh didn't look back, or she might have seen Riley standing in the hallway, pressing himself into the recessed doorway. As soon as she was gone, he strode up to the door marked '314,' peeking through the door.
Riley could see through the small window, spotting the sheet-draped figure on the table. He frowned, wondering what the table held. He hesitated, knowing that if he tried entering the room and failed, Walsh would find out. While Riley wanted the truth, he didn't want to risk exposure at this point.
He felt a sense of failure as he turned away from the door; there was nothing he could do right now, not unless he could get inside without alerting security.
"Hey! What are you doing back here?" Riley turned to see Dr. Engelman hurrying towards him. "You're not supposed to be here; it's a secure area."
"What's back here?" Riley asked.
"This is a research and development area, Agent Finn," Dr. Engelman said severely. "It's closed to you."
"Sorry, doctor," Riley said, knowing that he didn't sound apologetic. "The door was open, so I didn't think it mattered." He turned to go, knowing that he wasn't going to get anywhere now.
He glanced over his shoulder as he left the corridor, noting Engelman's speculative expression. The doctor would talk to Walsh, who would want to know why he'd been snooping; Riley didn't know what he could possibly tell her, other than that he didn't believe that Buffy was working with vampires. Riley didn't think that would go over well.
He was heading towards the exit when he saw Graham coming towards him. "Riley. What are you doing?"
"Just stopping in," Riley replied. "Have you seen Forrest?"
"He's not out of quarantine yet."
"What about the other guys?" Riley asked. "They out of the infirmary?"
Graham gave him an inscrutable look. "What are you thinking, Ri?"
"I'm thinking that something isn't right," Riley said. "We know that our patrols have been attacked recently, and that the HST's that they had captured were then either killed or set free. Now Forrest has nearly had his throat ripped out, and five other guys wound up in the infirmary with broken bones. I want to know what's going on."
Graham shook his head. "Riley, there's nothing to it. We've got HST's roaming this town on a nightly basis. It's understandable that we'd have problems."
"These aren't normal problems," Riley argued. "There's something bigger here."
Graham stared at him. "Let it go, Ri. This is what we do; we kill the monsters. Let the professor do whatever she's going to do."
"I don't know that I can, Graham. I need to know the truth. I need to know that what we're doing is the right thing."
Graham looked alarmed. "Riley—"
"I have to go," Riley said. "I'll see you later."
Riley didn't know if he'd be back, or if he'd be welcome. He just had to know the truth.