Chapter
11 We Are Family
A/N:
Chapter
eleven of the series. Disclaimer:
Joss
Whedon and the parties involved in airing the shows own it. Feedback:
Sure,
whatever. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- London,
England The
Watcher's Council December
2017 "What
do you mean you lost him seventy two hour ago?" Buffy
was practically fuming as she stared at the screen. The video feed
showed a rather nervous looking watcher, reporting back from the
Ireland branch of the Council. "Uh,
sorry ma'am." The man said. "Angelus hasn't answered our
pages or calls. We don't know where he is." Buffy
sighed. "Ok.
Thanks, anyways. Buffy Summers out." She closed the live feed and
hid her face between her hands. Buffy sighed again, realizing Angel
had bailed out of the fight and was nowhere to be found. She softly
cursed again, hating how everyone in the Ireland branch referred to
her husband as Angelus. Seemed like the UK had been Angelus'
private playground, and those inside the Council couldn't forget
the scourge of Europe. As
she though about it, she never figured out who was referred as the
'scourge of Europe', her husband alone or the four vampires who
cut a swath through the continent a hundred years ago. 'What's
wrong with him?' Her thoughts returned to Angel. "Something
wrong in heaven?" Buffy's
head shot up and her thoughts immediately disappeared as she saw her
kid sister leaning on her office's doorframe. Buffy smiled and
stood up. "Hey
there, kid." Dawn
smirked and hugged her sister. "Hello,
old timer." "God,
it's great to see you." Buffy said, looking at her sister from
head to toe. "Looking good, kid. Really good." "Thanks,
sis. You too." Dawn returned the smile. "So, what's wrong?" Buffy's
smile almost faded, but she quickly covered it up. "Not
much." She lied. "Angel and I have been fighting lately, that's
all." "I've
seen the 'fighting' face before, Buff." Dawn said. "The face
you just had? It spelled big crap. What did tall, dark and forehead
did this time?" "Tall,
dark and forehead?" Buffy frowned. "Hey,
I was ok with you two marrying and letting him knock you up. I never
said anything about liking him." Buffy
sighed. "He's
being a jerk, lately." Buffy said. "And boy, have I had it with
jerks." "Talk
to me." Dawn said. "I've got all the time in the world." ---------------------------- "Has
it really been five years?" Buffy asked. Dawn nodded over a
mouthful of the hamburger she was having. Sitting in one of the
countless tables in the Council's cafeteria, Buffy stared at her
younger sister again. For five years she had only talked to her, and
had not seen how the awkward young adult had turned into the
beautiful and secure woman. Buffy was short, that much she knew, but
Dawn stood at least 5 feet and 8 inches tall. Her hair was as long as
she'd worn it back in Sunnydale, and was held back in a ponytail.
Her blue eyes shone bright, in contrast to her long lashes and tanned
skin, completing the stunning image Dawn Summers turned out to be. "Yup."
Dawn finally answered, swallowing the remaining chunk of meat. "Rome
is great. I see why you had a hard time leaving it." "Had
a family to raise." Buffy answered. "And a job to do." "Glad
you go rid of that annoying Immortal." Dawn said. "Don't
like stalkers." Buffy replied, when something inside her head
clicked. "Wait, weren't you supposed to be in Greece?" "You'll
have to ask Connor about that one." Dawn said. "Huh?" "I
know I asked you to leave me alone, back then." Dawn continued.
"But out of courtesy? You could have called and let me know about
the latest apocalypse." "Sorry."
Buffy blushed. "I was trying to respect your wishes." "'S
all right." Dawn said. "Connor called and told me. He caught me
with my jeans down, figuratively speaking, of course." "Of
course." Buffy chuckled. "We're in some sort of trouble, that
much I know. We don't know everything. I'll have to talk to him
about bringing you here." Dawn
nodded. Something in the back of her head told her she should confide
her sister about the things Connor said, but she decided to wait a
bit more, to see what would happen. ----------------------------- 'You
lied to us.' Cordelia
stood, her arms crossed. Next to her, Anya and Tara mirrored her
posture. 'You
said there was no real danger. That our friends were safe.' Their
leader remained silent. There was no attempt to communicate and
nothing in her face revealed what she was thinking. 'Don't
shut us out.' Tara said, keeping her cool. 'Tell us if there is
something we can do.' 'You
already did what was asked of us.' The leader said. 'All of us
did.' 'All
of us?' The three angels asked. 'It's
all part of a bigger design.' The leader replied. 'We were asked
to warn them. We did. They now know what is coming. What they do will
decide the outcome of the battle.' The
leader waved her arm and a circle appeared in front of them all.
Images began to unfold within the circle. 'As
you know, the Powers have already gathered her players.' Images of
the Scooby Gang and AI appeared. 'The Senior Partners have also
gathered theirs.' The
image changed and the angels cringed. 'This
army still needs a leader. A name came up and that position has been
taken.' 'Why
weren't we told about this?' Cordelia asked. 'This is very
important info.' 'It's
all about timing and choices.' The leader continued. 'Choices in
the past caused this. New choices could stop this. There is one last
thing we can do.' The
angels looked at each other. 'Tell
us what to do.' 'Nothing.'
The leader said. 'This is something I have to do on my own.' ----------------------- The
War Center came to life as soon as the members of the inner circle of
power sat in their respective chairs. The seats recognized their user
and soon all personal settings were refreshed on the system. The only
battle station slightly different to the others was Xander's, since
his lack of sight did not allow him to use the screen, his keyboard
was set in Braille and headphones relied all info. The
meeting was set to organize the procedures to follow, since the time
period given by higher beings was about to end. "Wesley's
already on his way to the US." Willow began the meeting. "Illyria
is with him. They should find Kennedy and bring her back in
thirty-six hours tops." "No
teleport action?" Buffy asked. "They
thought it would be best to talk to her over there." Willow
answered. "Given Kennedy's rebellious streak, she may react
violently. We can't have a pack leader fight inside the Council.
Her slayers may forget where their loyalties lie and try to help
her." "Right."
Buffy sighed. "As
you all know." Giles took over. "Angel has disappeared. We know
where he is, thanks to the Locator Screen, but he's not answering
our calls. We can't have him unsupervised, given the present
situation." Willow
timidly looked at Buffy, and was genuinely surprised when her friend
didn't seem to be disturbed at all. "Right
now those are our main worries." Giles continued. "All slayers
around the world have been warned and we are now waiting for the
first signs. Our research is yet to show any signs of impending doom,
so I guess we're a bit ahead this time." "Connor
left this morning." Buffy said. "He wants to find his father." "Was
he alone?" Giles asked. "He
took Annie and Dawn with him." Buffy replied. "He thought maybe
Annie could get some sense into her father's head." 'Even
though I doubt that is humanly possible.' Buffy thought. Her
mood was immediately picked up by her friends, and all realized the
marriage between the once souled vampire and the once lone slayer had
come to an end. ----------------------------- Hours
later, Buffy went home to rest after a stressful day. Her mind had
stopped running wild and only felt tired. She didn't know what she
felt for Angel anymore, but she realized she preferred to be home
alone than being fighting all day. 'Just
like mom and dad.' She thought. She
walked into her room and plopped on the bed, exhausted and not
wanting to think anymore. However, her mind had plans of her own. 'There's
no one to talk about.' She thought. 'I guess that's why Connor
disappears so much.' Buffy
tried to steer her thoughts away, but her mind returned once again to
the moment when Annie had been kidnapped, seven years ago. She
really didn't want to think about that, having been one of the
lowest points in her life. She shook her head and got ready to take a
bath. Once
again, the hairs in the back of her neck stood and she felt
electricity in the air. 'Great.'
She thought. 'Cordelia and more bad news.' She
sighed and leaned back in her bed, waiting for the angel to appear. When
the higher being finally materialized, Buffy rubbed her eyes, not
believing what she was seeing. "Is
it...?" She spurted out. The angel smiled and nodded. She had
wanted to be the one to tell Buffy about what was to come. "Are
you...?" The
angel nodded again and a smile appeared on her face. "Yes,
honey, it's me." Joyce
Summers shone as her daughter ran and embraced her.
End of Chapter.