Fic: Apocraphy, Chapter 2
May. 31st, 2005 10:54 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
saifaiWhat a difference a day makes. Good things happen, bad things run up to make sure it gets all balanced out. More details on that later. For now, enjoy the next chapter of that S/X crossover with Underworld.
NOTES: See summary and other notes in first chapter.
Previous Chapters
*****
Chapter 2
Spike pulled in a lung full of smoke, and then blew out towards the night sky. He relaxed against the tree as he contemplated the group of humans fighting his minions. They really were a sad bunch.
He couldn’t quite figure what to make of them. The Slayer working with a bunch of children honestly surprised him. He hadn’t expected that at all. It’s not a Slayer’s usual style to use assistance in her patrols. As for the children themselves, he wasn’t quite sure what to make of any of them.
The Slayer’s Watcher was easy enough to pick out. Aside from the man’s no doubt convoluted and inaccurate knowledge of the demon underworld, he didn’t expect him to be much of a threat. He could sense power coming from the red-haired pixie, so he figured she must be a witch. The one that bothered him most was the dark-haired boy. He didn’t have any powers that he could sense, so why was he with this group? Best he could figure is they were using the boy as bait, but that didn’t seem like something a Slayer would do to one of her fellow humans. Still, there was something about him.
As if the boy knew Spike was there, he froze all of a sudden and snapped his head to the side. He scanned the darkness among the grove of trees he had hidden amongst and looked for him. Xander locked eyes with him for a moment, each of them easily losing themselves in each other’s eyes. Seeming satisfied with what he’d found, Xander’s lips quirked into a small smile all of a sudden. His smile turned into a smirk as he flashed him a wink and jumped back into the fight.
Spike was definitely surprised. He knew right then he would have to keep an eye on this one. He was a wild card. Looking closer, he found the others in the group didn’t appear to notice his movements much. He noticed just how much the boy helped the others, probably without them even realizing he’d done it. The boy had power, he just couldn’t figure out where it was coming from.
He shook his head in disgust as the dust of his last minion settled. Despite their weaknesses, this pitiful bunch of humans managed to beat him at every turn so far. If he was going to get anywhere while he was in town, he’d have to send out a distraction for the Slayer.
Spike dropped his cigarette to the ground and slipped further into the shadows. He spun around to the other side of the tree and started off towards the warehouse. He had some planning to do.
Xander had fought with unholy glee tonight. It scared him just about as much as he reveled in it. He glanced around the group to gauge their reactions, but none of them seemed too alarmed. He rolled his eyes and gathered up his weapons. They hadn’t even noticed.
Storing what he could back into his pockets, he thought about Spike. He’d spotted him earlier in the trees. The moment he’d spotted those dark blue eyes was intense for him. He made the connection immediately, knowing he must have sent them. He wasn’t nearly as upset with the idea that they’d been setup in tonight’s fight as he should have been. He knew though that they were being tested.
Xander idly juggled a stake with one hand as he considered telling Giles and Buffy about his appearance. He just didn’t see much sense in it really. He felt the corners of his mouth turn up as he stopped to think about that. It’d be so much more fun to deal with him on his own. There was just something about him that called out to him.
He absently waved to his friends before strolling out of the cemetery, ignoring the startled looks his friends gave him. He hadn’t told Giles yet about his newly awakened abilities. He hadn’t had much time since Halloween to even think about it much. Between Buffy’s old friend from Los Angeles causing problems, and Giles’ demons coming back to haunt him, he never found the right moment.
He knew that was a lie. If he was honest with himself, he had plenty of chances especially during research sessions. He supposed it didn’t seem like much of a priority as it had before. He’d been spending a bit of time lately hanging out with Willow’s new boyfriend, Oz. Xander felt a connection to him like no other. He had turned out to be a good friend to him. He was the only person he knew that didn’t automatically dismiss him. It was refreshing really
.
There was something different about him, though he wasn’t quite sure what. Honestly, he was surprised none of the others had noticed it. Though now that he thought about it, Buffy didn’t seem to notice much of anything outside her personal problems, at least not unless Giles pointed it out to her. Willow was probably too enamored with her newfound love to notice anything amiss either.
Anyway, it didn’t bother him much, and who was he to reveal someone else’s secrets? No, he didn’t blame him one bit for not revealing his true nature to the others. That was something he understood all too well as of late.
He wondered not for the first time whether Oz had picked up anything odd about him in return. Maybe someday he’d ask, but somehow he knew he’d have to let his friend make the first move. His decision made, he climbed through his basement window. Sleep was long overdue.
*****
Oz sat among the stacks in the back of the library watching Xander study. He considered the call he’d had the previous night from Sándor. The clan wanted to train the boy as a death dealer. Now that they knew he retained his abilities, they wanted to make sure he was able to control them properly.
His own reservations aside, he wasn’t yet sure how Xander would take the news. The boy was known for being protective of those that he loved. He knew that the boy had kept secrets from the others. He just wasn’t sure how he’d react to the news that not only had Oz known about them, but that he’d kept secrets of his own.
He watched with detached interest as the others marched in and interrupted his studying. The girls didn’t appear to even hear his objections as they rattled off snack orders for the coming research session. Realizing that no one was listening to him, he gave in with a resigned sigh and left the library with his head down. Oz got up and quickly left through the back entrance before they realized he was there.
Xander trudged along the sidewalk at a slow pace. He didn’t see any reason to rush in his errands. He wondered why he should even bother going back seeing as they didn’t seem to have any use for him. He would probably accomplish more by just going out to patrol on his own.
His thoughts were interrupted as he heard soft footsteps approaching him from behind. He knew it was Oz, so he wasn’t overly concerned. He had to admit he was curious why he wasn’t back at the library with his girlfriend. He paused and waited for Oz to catch up before resuming his walk.
Xander glanced over at Oz and acknowledged him with a simple, “Hey.” Oz parroted his greeting before lapsing into a comfortable silence with him. When they reached the java café, Oz took a seat and waited while Xander placed their order.
Xander came back with a couple mochas and a small box of donuts for the both of them. He set them down in the middle of the table, ignoring the raised eyebrow Oz gave him at the sight of his order meant for two. Xander took a small sip of his drink to test the temperature as he sat down across from his friend.
Xander sat back warming his hands around his cup. He gave Oz an expectant look as he asked, “So? Spit it out already.”
Oz looked up at him in surprise. Before he could ask though, Xander saved him the trouble and explained with a wave of his hand for emphasis, “You have that look. It’s that ‘I’ve got something on my mind but I’m afraid to talk about it’ grimace going on there.”
With a bemused smile, Oz just nodded and took a sip of his own drink. He smiled faintly and replied with a simple, “Yeah. I guess you could say that.” He took a deep breath, and before he could talk himself out of it he blurted out, “Xander, I know about your issues with the Hyena.”
If Xander was surprised by this news, he didn’t show it. Oz noted his expression was carefully blank, save for the slight nod of encouragement for him to continue. He nodded in return and continued softly, “I realize it’s been hard for you. I know a bit about that myself.” He glanced up hoping to gauge Xander’s reaction. Still not seeing anything telling, he just sucked in a breath and decided to just go for it, “We were hoping you would consent to be trained.”
Xander took in the startling revelation with a calm he never knew he was capable of achieving. He knew that he should be upset to find that Oz somehow knew about his enhanced abilities, but somehow wasn’t all that surprised. He’d known that something was up with Oz, and figured he’d tell him when he was ready. He watched as Oz acted uncharacteristically shy, biting his lip in a telltale sign of nervousness as he awaited Xander’s response.
Xander just gave him a small smile, and started off the negotiations with a question, “Why don’t you tell me a bit more about this ‘we’?” Oz let out a breath he probably didn’t even realize he was holding. He smiled in relief, and proceeded to spend the rest of the afternoon telling him everything he needed to know about the proposed work with the clan.
*****
TBC...
NOTES: See summary and other notes in first chapter.
Previous Chapters
*****
Chapter 2
Spike pulled in a lung full of smoke, and then blew out towards the night sky. He relaxed against the tree as he contemplated the group of humans fighting his minions. They really were a sad bunch.
He couldn’t quite figure what to make of them. The Slayer working with a bunch of children honestly surprised him. He hadn’t expected that at all. It’s not a Slayer’s usual style to use assistance in her patrols. As for the children themselves, he wasn’t quite sure what to make of any of them.
The Slayer’s Watcher was easy enough to pick out. Aside from the man’s no doubt convoluted and inaccurate knowledge of the demon underworld, he didn’t expect him to be much of a threat. He could sense power coming from the red-haired pixie, so he figured she must be a witch. The one that bothered him most was the dark-haired boy. He didn’t have any powers that he could sense, so why was he with this group? Best he could figure is they were using the boy as bait, but that didn’t seem like something a Slayer would do to one of her fellow humans. Still, there was something about him.
As if the boy knew Spike was there, he froze all of a sudden and snapped his head to the side. He scanned the darkness among the grove of trees he had hidden amongst and looked for him. Xander locked eyes with him for a moment, each of them easily losing themselves in each other’s eyes. Seeming satisfied with what he’d found, Xander’s lips quirked into a small smile all of a sudden. His smile turned into a smirk as he flashed him a wink and jumped back into the fight.
Spike was definitely surprised. He knew right then he would have to keep an eye on this one. He was a wild card. Looking closer, he found the others in the group didn’t appear to notice his movements much. He noticed just how much the boy helped the others, probably without them even realizing he’d done it. The boy had power, he just couldn’t figure out where it was coming from.
He shook his head in disgust as the dust of his last minion settled. Despite their weaknesses, this pitiful bunch of humans managed to beat him at every turn so far. If he was going to get anywhere while he was in town, he’d have to send out a distraction for the Slayer.
Spike dropped his cigarette to the ground and slipped further into the shadows. He spun around to the other side of the tree and started off towards the warehouse. He had some planning to do.
Xander had fought with unholy glee tonight. It scared him just about as much as he reveled in it. He glanced around the group to gauge their reactions, but none of them seemed too alarmed. He rolled his eyes and gathered up his weapons. They hadn’t even noticed.
Storing what he could back into his pockets, he thought about Spike. He’d spotted him earlier in the trees. The moment he’d spotted those dark blue eyes was intense for him. He made the connection immediately, knowing he must have sent them. He wasn’t nearly as upset with the idea that they’d been setup in tonight’s fight as he should have been. He knew though that they were being tested.
Xander idly juggled a stake with one hand as he considered telling Giles and Buffy about his appearance. He just didn’t see much sense in it really. He felt the corners of his mouth turn up as he stopped to think about that. It’d be so much more fun to deal with him on his own. There was just something about him that called out to him.
He absently waved to his friends before strolling out of the cemetery, ignoring the startled looks his friends gave him. He hadn’t told Giles yet about his newly awakened abilities. He hadn’t had much time since Halloween to even think about it much. Between Buffy’s old friend from Los Angeles causing problems, and Giles’ demons coming back to haunt him, he never found the right moment.
He knew that was a lie. If he was honest with himself, he had plenty of chances especially during research sessions. He supposed it didn’t seem like much of a priority as it had before. He’d been spending a bit of time lately hanging out with Willow’s new boyfriend, Oz. Xander felt a connection to him like no other. He had turned out to be a good friend to him. He was the only person he knew that didn’t automatically dismiss him. It was refreshing really
.
There was something different about him, though he wasn’t quite sure what. Honestly, he was surprised none of the others had noticed it. Though now that he thought about it, Buffy didn’t seem to notice much of anything outside her personal problems, at least not unless Giles pointed it out to her. Willow was probably too enamored with her newfound love to notice anything amiss either.
Anyway, it didn’t bother him much, and who was he to reveal someone else’s secrets? No, he didn’t blame him one bit for not revealing his true nature to the others. That was something he understood all too well as of late.
He wondered not for the first time whether Oz had picked up anything odd about him in return. Maybe someday he’d ask, but somehow he knew he’d have to let his friend make the first move. His decision made, he climbed through his basement window. Sleep was long overdue.
*****
Oz sat among the stacks in the back of the library watching Xander study. He considered the call he’d had the previous night from Sándor. The clan wanted to train the boy as a death dealer. Now that they knew he retained his abilities, they wanted to make sure he was able to control them properly.
His own reservations aside, he wasn’t yet sure how Xander would take the news. The boy was known for being protective of those that he loved. He knew that the boy had kept secrets from the others. He just wasn’t sure how he’d react to the news that not only had Oz known about them, but that he’d kept secrets of his own.
He watched with detached interest as the others marched in and interrupted his studying. The girls didn’t appear to even hear his objections as they rattled off snack orders for the coming research session. Realizing that no one was listening to him, he gave in with a resigned sigh and left the library with his head down. Oz got up and quickly left through the back entrance before they realized he was there.
Xander trudged along the sidewalk at a slow pace. He didn’t see any reason to rush in his errands. He wondered why he should even bother going back seeing as they didn’t seem to have any use for him. He would probably accomplish more by just going out to patrol on his own.
His thoughts were interrupted as he heard soft footsteps approaching him from behind. He knew it was Oz, so he wasn’t overly concerned. He had to admit he was curious why he wasn’t back at the library with his girlfriend. He paused and waited for Oz to catch up before resuming his walk.
Xander glanced over at Oz and acknowledged him with a simple, “Hey.” Oz parroted his greeting before lapsing into a comfortable silence with him. When they reached the java café, Oz took a seat and waited while Xander placed their order.
Xander came back with a couple mochas and a small box of donuts for the both of them. He set them down in the middle of the table, ignoring the raised eyebrow Oz gave him at the sight of his order meant for two. Xander took a small sip of his drink to test the temperature as he sat down across from his friend.
Xander sat back warming his hands around his cup. He gave Oz an expectant look as he asked, “So? Spit it out already.”
Oz looked up at him in surprise. Before he could ask though, Xander saved him the trouble and explained with a wave of his hand for emphasis, “You have that look. It’s that ‘I’ve got something on my mind but I’m afraid to talk about it’ grimace going on there.”
With a bemused smile, Oz just nodded and took a sip of his own drink. He smiled faintly and replied with a simple, “Yeah. I guess you could say that.” He took a deep breath, and before he could talk himself out of it he blurted out, “Xander, I know about your issues with the Hyena.”
If Xander was surprised by this news, he didn’t show it. Oz noted his expression was carefully blank, save for the slight nod of encouragement for him to continue. He nodded in return and continued softly, “I realize it’s been hard for you. I know a bit about that myself.” He glanced up hoping to gauge Xander’s reaction. Still not seeing anything telling, he just sucked in a breath and decided to just go for it, “We were hoping you would consent to be trained.”
Xander took in the startling revelation with a calm he never knew he was capable of achieving. He knew that he should be upset to find that Oz somehow knew about his enhanced abilities, but somehow wasn’t all that surprised. He’d known that something was up with Oz, and figured he’d tell him when he was ready. He watched as Oz acted uncharacteristically shy, biting his lip in a telltale sign of nervousness as he awaited Xander’s response.
Xander just gave him a small smile, and started off the negotiations with a question, “Why don’t you tell me a bit more about this ‘we’?” Oz let out a breath he probably didn’t even realize he was holding. He smiled in relief, and proceeded to spend the rest of the afternoon telling him everything he needed to know about the proposed work with the clan.
*****
TBC...
