The Undiscovered CountryPhoenixheart79 aka Carl/theblondiebear |
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The Undiscovered Country - Chapter
5/? Distribution; Please ask unless I post it somewhere where you
archive it (like some of the yahoo groups I'm on), in which
case I bow to that authority. Day 2 Casually, Xander, Bastian, Buffy and Kennedy strolled across the paddock the next day. They had spent three hours in the library and had found nothing. Finally, they had left, leaving Dawn, Willow and Giles to their research. Buffy and Kennedy roamed ahead of the two men, chatting softly between themselves. Buffy was silently amazed at how calm the younger Slayer was. ‘But then again’ she thought to herself, ‘Kennedy’s always been kinda pragmatic.’ She started to ask the young woman about it, but decided against it. She was sure that Willow would be talking to Kennedy about it. "How’s Willow doing?" Buffy asked the witch’s girlfriend. Kennedy shook her head gently, "Not as good as she’s making out Buffy. She lost a lot when Sunnydale vanished, it’s hit her harder than I thought at first. But I’ll be there for her, she’s my goddess." Buffy smiled, "You two doing okay then?" Kennedy smiled broadly and nodded her head enthusiastically, "Yeah, I think so. Willow will cope, eventually." She stopped speaking for a moment and looked at Buffy as they walked, catching the momentary sadness in the older woman’s eyes, "You all will, Buffy. I know it must hurt, losing everything like you did, but, well okay, I don’t know what it must be like, but I can imagine. And you still have Dawn, plus your family here." Buffy shook her head, "Other than my father, wherever the hell he is, all I have left is Dawn." Kennedy shook her head firmly, "That’s crap Buffy and you know it. I’ve seen how you and Willow and Xander are together, you are family." A tiny smile appeared on Buffy’s face, as she remembered the moment, years earlier, when she had told Mr. Maclay that they, the scoobies, were Tara’s family. "Maybe you’re right Kennedy." she said softly. Those were happier days, easier days. Kennedy grinned, "Of course I’m right, I have Willow as inspiration." Buffy laughed softly. A few feet behind the women, the two men walked hand in hand. Bastian sighed contentedly, he knew Xander wasn’t quite as comfortable with public affection as he was. He knew that would change, but it would take time, he knew that. And so he cherished these moments, where they simply held each other. He wasn’t sure if Xander even realised his discomfort yet, it would just dissolve over time. Bastian smiled as he remembered when he had been younger, he’d been pretty much the same. A ghost of a smile appeared on his face. "What’s got you all cheery?" Xander asked softly, not wanting to distract the two slayers ahead of them. Bastian turned his head and smiled broadly at Xander, "Just thinking about us. Well, you actually." "Oh really, nice thoughts are they?" "Oh, most definitely." Bastian answered, smiling affectionately at Xander. "Oh, damn." Xander smiled mischievously, "Now I’ve got no reason to torture them from you!" Bastian chuckled, "Like I’d let you!" Xander grinned and his eye twinkled, "That’s odd, I thought you enjoyed last night?" Buffy’s voice filtered back to the pair, "Slayer hearing guys!" "Oh crap..." Xander muttered, his face flushing red. Buffy and Kennedy stopped, turning back to face them and laughed softly. The two men slowed their pace a little. Kennedy flashed Xander a broad grin, her eyes glinting. "Willow and I have some handcuffs if you two want to borrow them tonight?" Buffy stared in shock for a moment then burst into fits of laughter as Xander’s blush deepened. Her laughter died away and she laid a hand on Kennedy’s arm, turning the younger Slayer away from the couple. "Come on Kennedy, I think we should leave them alone for a while, before Xand bursts a vein or something." The two girls chuckled, turning away and resuming their walk, leaving the two men in peace. Bastian reached out and stopped Xander, turning the older man to look at him. He reached down and lifted Xander’s chin a little, so they were looking each other in the eyes. "You’re not embarrassed by..." his voice faltered for a moment, "...us, are you?" He asked, his voice low and uncertain, his confident thoughts from moments earlier dashed. Xander reached up and tenderly laid a hand on the taller man’s cheek. "Of course not. It’s just all..." his voice drifted away for a moment, struggling to find the words he so desperately needed, "This is all new for me Bastian. I mean, Anya used to talk about our sex life all the time." He smiled wryly, "And I do mean all the time. But this is different. It’s so strange to me." He paused, looking at the hurt in Bastian’s eyes, "God, I’m screwing this up nicely. Strange is wrong. It’s....new for me. And it’s intimidating. It’s a whole new world Bastian. And even with you, it’s kinda scary. But even so, I feel safe, ‘cause I know you’ll be there if and when I need you." Bastian stared down at Xander, a single tear of joy forming. A soft smile graced his lips and he pulled Xander into a tight embrace, nuzzling his face into the other man’s hair. He breathed in deeply, savouring the scent of his lover. Tenderly, he placed a kiss on Xander’s head, before pulling back and smiling at him. "Thank you." he said softly, leaning in. Their lips brushed in a brief gentle kiss. Ahead of them, Buffy and Kennedy walked a short distance apart, looking around for any clues that might have been missed the day before. They were near the tree line again. Kennedy moved amongst the ferns, kicking the underbrush about when something caught her eye and she bent down, scooping the item up. "Buffy, over here!" She called. Buffy jogged over to her, "What you got?" "Not sure if it’s relevant," Kennedy said, holding her palm out, "but I found this." In her palm was a claw, almost two and a half inches long. Dried blood was on the ‘root’ end. "Whatever it belonged to, it looks like it was torn off." Buffy took the claw from Kennedy and turned it slowly in the light, examining it. "This didn’t come from any fox." She said, "Let’s get this back to Giles, see what he makes of it." "What you got?" Xander asked, the two men walking up to Buffy and Kennedy. Buffy turned to them and held the claw out. "Kennedy found it. Somehow I’m thinking it’s not from Scooby Doo." Xander nodded, "Looks nasty. Say, there isn’t some dinosaur theme park nearby is there? ‘Cause I’m really not in the mood to be chased by Velociraptor’s today. Or any day, for that matter." Buffy smirked, "No, no dinosaurs. I’m thinking our jumbo doggy left us a present." She slipped the claw into a pocket and turned back the way they had come, "Lets go guys, Giles is gonna want to see this." Together, the group started the trek back to the house.
"Fascinating." Giles studied the claw closely, a magnifying glass held in front of it. Buffy smiled as, sat down, she saw his eye magnified many times over through the magnifying glass. Giles turned the claw over, examining the severed end, "You’re initial diagnosis seems clear, this was indeed torn from it’s owner. As for who that owner is, I’ve no idea." He set the claw and magnifying glass down on the table, leaning back in his chair, removing and cleaning his glasses. On the other side of the table, Willow sat with her hands held over some small scrapings of the dried blood, speaking softly under her breath. Finally, she sat back and looked at the group. "It’s not animal blood." she said softly, "It’s human." "Human?" Giles asked. "With claws that would make Simba jealous?" Xander added. "Umm, guys." Willow said, "We knew one person who had claws like that. Well, three nights a month anyway." "A Werewolf?" Giles asked, "It’s a possibility, but this blood is fairly recent, only a night or two old. We’re approaching the new moon, so I find that highly improbable. Only one Werewolf has been known to change at any time other than the nights around a full moon. I find it unlikely that Oz is even in the country, let alone involved in all this, the odds of such a coincidence are astronomical." "Well yeah, but if Oz could master his wolf, then surely someone else could have too?" Buffy asked, giving Giles a small scowl, "And we all know what happens when you poo-poo my ideas. Do we all remember the second earthquake, the one with ‘no connection to an impending apocalypse’?" For emphasis, Buffy placed her hands on her hips. Giles sighed, "We will investigate this Buffy, I just find it highly improbable is all. There could be any number of reasons to explain the presence of this claw." "Name one." Buffy countered. "Well, um, none spring immediately to mind, but there are bound to be examples." He answered, clearly flustered by Buffy’s calling him out. "In the meantime, we have finally got a lead on the Barghest. ‘The Anglo Bestiary’ has a limited account of the creature, nothing more than I already knew really. However, it does refer to another book, ‘Creatures of the Darkness’, a very rare tome that I have yet to find a copy of. I believe that locating this book is our best hope of understanding the Barghest and finding a way to combat it." "And save Kennedy." Willow said, taking her girlfriends hand. "Of course." Giles said, smiling genially at the pair. "Willow, would you mind searching for that title on the internet for me? I know I’ve heard it before, but I can’t place where." He removed his glasses and rubbed his forehead. "Sure." Willow said, untwining herself from Kennedy’s grip and settling in front of the computer, her fingers flicking deftly over the keyboard. The screen flashed and changed, bringing up a new page. "Here we go, ‘Creatures of the Darkness’, that’s our kitty." Kennedy smiled softly behind her girlfriend, "Oh." "What is it Will?" Buffy asked, stepping up beside the redheaded witch and hacker, leaning in over her shoulder to look at the screen. Willow pointed to the screen, "It says here that there are only three copies left in existence, which means it’s going to be very difficult to track down, let alone get hold of a copy of it." "Keep trying Will, it sounds like that book’s our only chance." Buffy said, placing a hand on Willows’ shoulder. The young woman looked up at her friend and smiled confidently, "I’ll find it Buffy, it’ll just take some time is all."
Hours passed as Willow searched tirelessly for the location of a copy of their goal. First Dawn, then little by little the others slipped away, finding activities to occupy themselves as they waited. Giles and Olivia made their exit, Xander and Bastian made a hasty retreat to their room. Buffy moved silently downstairs to the living room. She sat quietly, alone in the living room, once again consumed by her thoughts. ‘Fine. I’m attainable. I’m an attain-a-thon. May I please just go to sleep?’
Glancing up, he looked deep into her eyes, ‘A hundred plus years, and there’s only one thing I’ve ever been sure of: you.’ Slightly embarrassed, she looked away, ‘Hey, look at me. I'm not asking you for anything. When I say, "I love you," it’s not because I want you or because I can’t have you. It has nothing to do with me.’ Silently, a single tear rolled it’s way down Buffy’s cheek, ‘I love what you are, what you do, how you try. I’ve seen your kindness and your strength. I’ve seen the best and the worst of you. And I understand with perfect clarity exactly what you are. You’re a hell of a woman. You're the one, Buffy.’ "I don’t wanna be the one." She answered softly. "You aren’t anymore, Buffy. You’re just one amongst many now." Buffy looked up, not realising she had spoken the last aloud, as Giles entered the room and sat down beside her on the sofa, tenderly laying a hand on her hand. He smiled warmly at her. "What’s wrong? You seem distracted." he asked. "Nothing. It’s nothing Giles, honest. Just something Spike said to me." Almost imperceptibly, he tensed, "Spike." He repeated the name slowly and carefully, trying hard to hide his displeasure, trying to sound like he was mulling the name over, rather than being disturbed by her fascination with the peroxide vampire, even though he was gone. Buffy started at the tone of his voice, most wouldn’t have noticed the difference, but she knew him. She started to say something, but he continued talking to her in a fatherly way, "Buffy, I know you cared for him. But he’s gone now and you need to move on. Lingering on this will only eat away at you." "It’s not just Spike, Giles. It’s everything. Everything I knew is gone." A tear formed and rolled down her cheek, "Mom is gone." she said softly. Gently he wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight as the young woman sobbed softly into his shoulder. Affectionately he ran a hand through her hair, comforting her. Just then, Kennedy came bounding into the room, full of energy and excitement, "Willow found a copy! And it’s not far from here!" Gently Giles and Buffy untangled themselves and Giles stood up, leading Kennedy from the room and allowing Buffy a moment to compose herself. "Really? Lets gather the others then we can see about locating it. This is just the break we were looking for."
The door to the library opened, admitting Bastian and Xander, both tucking their shirts in and looking a little dishevelled. The others looked at each other, smiling. Willow looked to them, "Sorry to disturb you boys, I’m sure you were up to something important," She put a little too much emphasis on ‘up’, causing Kennedy beside her to smirk, "but I’ve found a copy of the book." She indicated the screen for emphasis. "Is it available?" Giles asked. "Well, kinda." Willow replied. She turned back to the screen and read off of it, "The only European copy of the volume ‘Creatures of the Darkness’ is in the private collection of a Mr. Edward Bervose." "Edward." Giles said softly, "That could be awkward. I’ll contact Sarah, see if she’ll let me have access to his library." He left the room. "At least we’re getting somewhere at last." Kennedy said, voicing the thought that they’d all being harboring. The door to the library opened again and Giles rushed in. "Everyone, we need to leave immediately. I just spoke with Sarah, Edward’s widow. She’s been attacked and the house ransacked." As one, the group jumped to their feet and made their way towards the door.
Fifteen minutes later they pulled up in front of a stone cottage on the edge of town. The front door was smashed inwards, pieces of wood everywhere. Giles led the way in, passing through the gate in the low stone wall. Gingerly stepping over the remains of the door, he entered the cottage. "Sarah?" he called out. Ahead of him was the hallway and a staircase leading to the first floor. To his left, a door led to the kitchen. He looked inside and saw no one there. The room had been turned upside down, someone had clearly been looking for something or someone. He returned to hall and looked around. To his right were another two doors, which he knew from his previous visits led to the living room and Edward’s study. Opening the first door he entered the living room, the rest of them right behind him. "Sarah!" He rushed over to a small, brown haired woman curled up tight in the far corner. This room had been ransacked as well. The chairs were overturned, the TV set smashed. Books, paintings and lamps were scattered everywhere. "Sarah! Are you alright?" He grasped her shoulders gently and lifted the woman’s head, looking into her eyes. He turned to the others, "Could you give me some time alone with her please." They simply nodded and quietly left the room, splitting up to investigate the rest of the cottage. Buffy, Kennedy, Willow and Dawn padded softly up the stairs as Bastian and Xander moved down the hall towards the second door there. Xander sidestepped an overturned table in the hallway, his footsteps ringing slightly on the polished wood floor. Stepping ahead of Bastian, he turned the handle and swung the door wide. He stared for a moment then whistled softly. "Holy smoke, Batman. This place has been trashed." He said softly. He stepped inside, letting Bastian see the full extent of the carnage. If the kitchen had been a war zone and the living room a disaster area, then the study had been the centre of an apocalypse. One wall had been floor to ceiling bookshelves, but not one remained, all had been smashed. The large oak desk was shattered, the chair turned into firewood. The leather easy chair had been shredded, the stuffing scattered throughout the room. And books, hundreds of books. Or rather, what had been books, Xander thought ruefully. They had been torn apart, pages littering the floor. Large holes peppered one wall at random. The fireplace had been destroyed, bricks strewn about the room at random. "What were they looking for?" Bastian asked. "Take one guess." Xander said dryly, "The bad guys always want what the good guys need." "The book?" "That would be my guess." Xander replied. He leant down and picked up the remains of one of the books, reading the name on the spine before tossing it away, "Still, we’d better get checking." He picked up another book before discarding it. He sighed, "This is gonna take forever." Bastian leant down, picking up a book spine. It was all that was left. He threw it aside. "I know, I know." "Wow Xander, looks like your place." Dawn stepped into the room, looking around at the devastation, "Upstairs has been gone over too, but nothing like this. Did whoever it was get the book?" Xander looked up, "Don’t know Dawny, that’s why we’re going through this junk." He brushed some rubble away beside where he was kneeling and patted the ground, "Come on, join in." Dawn shook her head, "Nu-uh, I ain’t sifting through all that junk." "Oh yes you are." Buffy’s voice came from behind Dawn, "We all are, until Giles is done comforting Mrs. Bervose." She gave her sister a gentle push, "Come on, lets get to work."
An hour and a half later, they had checked almost all the books. A large pile of spines, bits of covers and title pages stood next to the remains of the armchair as the group pottered around, searching for any pieces they had missed. "Well, the housekeeper will love you for doing that, but I think the police will be annoyed." Giles entered the room, looking around. "But that’s by the by, we can address that if needed. Did you find the book?" "Nope." Buffy said, turning to him. "Whoever or whatever did this tore apart every book in the place. The few upstairs were like this way too. But there’s no sign of the one we want. They either took it, or shredded it so finely that we’ll never know. How’s Mrs. Bervose?" "Upset." He answered, leaning against the remains of the bookcase, removing his glasses and polishing them. "Understandably so, as well. I wasn’t able to ascertain a great deal, according to her account, it all happened very swiftly, they came in, tore the place apart and left. She said it all took less than thirty minutes." "There must have been a lot of people to do this much damage in so little time." Willow paused, "Or a few supernatural ones." "Slayers?" Dawn asked. "It’s possible. Every girl who had the potential was activated. It stands to reason that some of them would be from an undesirable element of society. I suspect that there’s going to be a substantial increase in ‘impossible’ crimes over the next few months." Giles added. "So some renegade Slayers did this?" Bastian asked. "I don’t know, but it’s certainly something to consider. They would have the speed and strength to pull off a crime such as this. But it still doesn’t answer why someone would want the same book as us enough to go to these kind of lengths in order to secure it. We should head back to the house, I’ve already taken Sarah to her brothers house, so Xander, if you’d mind securing the front door when we leave. I doubt there’s anything left here to take, but you never know." Giles added. Xander nodded, "Sure, with all the debris round here, nails and wood aren’t going to be a problem." He looked around and picked up a short section of metal from what had once been a free standing shelving unit. "This should do as a hammer." Together, the group turned and left the room. As he started work on the doorway, he looked over his shoulder at the
others watching him work, "At least it’s not windows this
time." he said with a grin. |
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