Rating: PG-13
Distribution: You actually want it? Well, sure, but please email me to let me know where it's going.
Disclaimer: These characters are straight out of that awesome and somewhat scary mind belonging to Joss Whedon, he who holds the monkey craq. The rights to them belong to FOX, no infringement intended. Zorro belongs to his respective creator. Whose name I don't know. The character of Kady, however, belongs to me. Joy of joys.
Summery: This is sort of in response to an Angel of Mine challenge: Have an alternate universe/cross-over where Angel is Zorro, etc. Although I didn't follow up on the challenge *exactly*, this was inspired by it.
Spoilers: None actually for any season plotline, but characters from up to seas. four are mentioned.
Author's Notes: This is only my second (finished and posted) fanfic, so criticism and opinions would be so very welcome, even though this is rather short. Oh, and a side-note: El Malvado de Grande is my best Spanish translation of "The Big Bad". Literally, I think it means, the Big Demon. Same difference.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
He moved through the dank hallway, his tread stealthy, a black silk cape swirling intimately around his figure. The angles and planes of his handsome face were hidden; both by the shadows and the mask he wore. The stone walls, instead of closing about the foe, seemed to lean and yield to his powerful presence. When the hallway reached it's end, it opened into three more. He paused, examining each. When his sight proved not enough judgement, he closed them, his head arching back as he sniffed the air. Within a second, he had snapped them open once more, and with a few silent steps, disappeared into the left opening. Deeper and deeper he wound, following the scent down into the lower half of this treacherous dwelling. He could hear her cries now, and his pace quickened, silence giving way to the soft rythmic thudding of speed. A door was aproaching him, it's wooden planes valiantly trying to hold back the light inside. He could see it anyway and, in a moment, he would see her. One strong hand went to the weap on at his waist, gliding it out of it's sheath smoothly.
The man in black stopped before the door. Not to hesitate; never to hesitate. His body tensed for a moment, preparing for the violence to come. With a low growl, he sped into action again, a large booted foot kicking aside the flimsy door. Immediately, the face of his beauty greeted him, but he couldn't give her the proper greeting at the moment. Like a bat out of hell, he leapt towards her captor, swinging his weapon confidently. The snow-haired villian glared at him with glittering eyes, ducking smoothly out of the way, his hand going to his own sword.
The two opponents circled each other, the coveted prize bound to a chair on the other side of the dungeon. She watched them with bright eyes, her free mouth cheering loudly for her hero.
Metal met metal, the loud clanging belieing the grace that was executed. The silk cape whirled around them, taking a life of it's own in this drama. The men-- but these were not men-- the entities, became more and more entertwined. The one with the burning blue eyes grunted in pain as the hilt of a sword cracked against his nose with fracturing force. Next the pain was shooting up his arm as steelly fingers grasped his wrist, twisting it. With a yell, his weapon was dropped and he fell to his knees. A leather clad foot connected with his solar plexus and he sprawled backwards.
Without taking the time to deliver the death blow that would have been gleefully done to him, the man in black moved swiftly to the duchess in the chair. His adept hands made quick work of the ropes and just as the villian was loudly coming to consciousness, the hero swept her into his arms and bolted from the room. He could hear her sharp breathing as he followed the winding maze back up to the surface. Once at the entrance of the hacienda, he whistled sharply for his steed. The impressive animal came galloping proudly, coming to a snorting halt in front of them. Once the damsel was situated firmly on his back, the sable beast sped off... strangely enough, leaving the hero behind to watch them disappear into the sunset.
"Wait!! Uncle Alex, you left Zorro!!"
The little girl managed to shriek the words out amidst her laughter. The "sable beast" came to an abrupt halt.
"Well, Duchess Kady, until Zorro lays off the enchiladas, this little horsie is a one-seater."
Xander grinned over his shoulder at his gleeful passenger.
"Hey. I think I'm insulted."
Both pairs of eyes turned to the black clothed figure leaning against the living room doorway.
"And Daddy, you forgot to do the thing!"
Angel's attention went immediately to the glowing green eyes beneath the mop of raven hair. "What thing, Sweet-Kay?"
"The thing!" For emphasis a little chubby arm made an undecipherable motion in the air, the waving endangering her precarious perch. Xander adjusted his stance instantly at Angel's worried look which was somewhat muffled by the mask he still wore.
"Ooh. I'm sorry, Kady. But wasn't the fight exciting enough?" He gave her a rakish smile and she answered it with an identical one.
A voice from behind Angel interrupted any reply she might have had.
"It bloody well better have been, you nonce. You broke my nose."
Angel smirked as the villian of their piece stalked grumpily into the room, dropping into an armchair.
Spike glared at his sire. "Oh, sod off. Do you have any idea how daft you look with that thing on?"
The dark-haired vampire shrugged and peeled the mask off of his face.
"What's the matter, Spike? Can't take being the bad guy anymore?"
A contemptous snort was the only reply.
"Hey, at least you're not Senor Ed," Xander offered, jiggling the little girl on his back to prove his point.
Spike grinned, suddenly and lasciviously. "Cor's the only one who rides me, Alexander."
"Spike." Angel's voice was deep with warning. Spike gave him a mock salute.
"Right then, chief. Wouldn't want to corrupt our little moppet. At least not yet."
While he spoke, their little "moppet" was wriggling and at her unspoken request, Xander let her down. She ran over to the blonde vampire and scrambled into his lap without invitation.
"But I like it *best* when you're the bad man, Uncle Spike," she told him, her hand on his shoulder in a child's confiding way.
His blue eyes softened slightly and the corner of his mouth quirked.
"And why's that pet?"
"Because you're so good at being bad." The honesty in her voice made him chuckle.
"All right, fine. But you better tell your Daddy," he glared at Angel again, "over there, to not get so carried away with the hero thing. Or else, next time, El Malvado de Grande is going to give him a right smart whupping."
Angel bit back his retort, watching his daughter go to work soothing his childe's bruised ego.
"Next time," she said with an air of excitement, "next time, you can beat Zorro and carry me away."
The look in Zorro's eyes hinted that he didn't take too well to this new play. A fact which Spike noticed. He smiled at the girl in his lap.
"And then what? Do I win?"
"Umm..." Kady chewed her pink bottom lip thoughtfully for a moment. Then her eyes lit up once more.
"Mommy can save me!"
Spike's eyebrow jumped up involuntarily.
"Who is your Mommy going to be? Zorro's side-kick?"
"She'll be... my fairy god-mother!"
"Uh, Kady, there are no fairy god-mother's in Mexico. Or, at least, not in Zorro." Xander interjected.
The little girl turned her wide green eyes upon him. "There are now," she said imperiously.
"What are now?"
All eyes went to the owner of the soft voice, each lighting up with welcome to some degree. Kady's were the brightest. With a gleeful shriek, of "Mommy!" she rocketed off of Spike's lap and leapt up into outstretched arms. For a moment, mother and daughter shared a moment of needed cuddling. Then the bright red head lifted, smiling at the rest of the room.
"Blessed be, Xander, Spike." Her eyes came to rest on the vamire in the doorway and her lips curved into a more private expression. "Zorro."
"Hullo."
"Hey, Willow! How was the convention?"
The weight of her five year old daughter became a little too much and the slender arms loosened, letting her slip down. Kady continued to lean against her mother, one small hand clutching hers.
"Xander," Willow scolded softly, "It wasn't a convention, it was a--"
"Gathering, yeah, yeah, yeah. So, how was it?"
Her own, more mature, green eyes lit up with the memory.
"It was great, really, really great. I met some of my cyber friends, and Amy was there-- Did you know that her and Oz moved to Nevada last month? And I saw Tara, and Kristine, they've decided to adopt, although the waiting list is so long, and for same-sex couples it's always harder, but they liked that idea better than artificial insemenation, so... Magic wise, we didn't do anything really intense, kinda stuck to the more peaceful spells, and deities but it was still exciting and wonderful..." She trailed off with a sheepish grin. "Did you guys catch all that?"
Xander looked at her affectionately. "Yep, straight through the Willow filter and then to my brain. Caught it all."
"Well, you're better than me, mate. I lost her somewhere around Nevada."
Willow frowned slightly at the vampire. "Spike, what happened to your nose?"
Angel's low chuckle caught her attention and she looked at him again. For a moment, the two gazed at each other, saying more than they could say with words. Then, in a distracted voice, Willow picked up the paragrah she had ended, "Um, yeah, so it was good. But I'm not sure if I'll go again next year, or at least not for two weeks..."
Xander looked at Spike, and the blonde vampire nodded in return.
"Hey, Kady, how's about you coming with your two favorite uncles for some ice cream? We'll take the sewers...?"
He let the offer hang enticingly. Unfortunately for him, an offer to seperate her from her mom wasn't in his favor. She scowled at him, the expression an almost exact replica of Spike's.
"Sod off, Uncle Alex."
"Kady!"
"Thatta girl!" Spike exclaimed, laughing hard.
Kady didn't shrink repentantly under her mother's stern gaze. Instead, she looked at her earnestly,
"Mommy, do I have to leave? Can't you kiss Daddy even if I'm here, too?"
At that unexpected plea, Willow could only laugh, her cheeks flushing with a soft pink.
"Yes, Willow, can't you?"
Angel had watched the whole exchange, his gaze riveted to his wife at his daughter's last sentence.
Now her eyes met his again, the green beginning to darken in that way it did only for him.
The red-head's blush deepened, a reaction that she had never learned to control. She squeezed her daughter's hand and let it go. With eyes only for the silk clad vampire in the doorway, she made her way across the room. When she reached him, she wound her arms around his neck, watching the way his lips parted and pupils dilated in response. Their mouths met softly, tenderly, passionately. After a long moment, she pulled away slightly for air, leaning her forehead against his.
His hands came up to grasp her waist. "I'm pretty sure this is the part where I carry you into the sunset." His low tone sent shivers down her body.
"It's always that part with you," she whispered lovingly.
Xander watched the pair with only a minimal of amount of awkwardness. "Well, Spike, maybe the big Malvado should just hang up his dueling gloves permanently."
Spike paused in his eye rolling.
"Why's that?"
The dark-haired man looked at Kady, who was watching her parents with eyes filled with wonder and then back to the pair in the doorway.
"Because Zorro just
won again."
The End