Birth Right

By Alecca

Explosion

Sunnydale
2003

As they walked down the street, Angel couldn't help but notice the smug smile on Spike's lips. He seemed to be particularly happy - if not ecstatic - about being there. Why? Angel had his guesses. As for him, he wasn't particularly enthusiastic about the whole affair. Time travel was messy and confusing and that's exactly the reason he avoided it. And the fact he'd be seeing old friends - long dead - again would only deepen that feeling of utter despair that sometimes clenched his heart in an iron fist. The simple idea that miles away, Fred, Wes, Gunn, Lorne and Cordy were still alive and just entering the world of Wolfram & Hart, made his stomach jump up and down.

"What are you so happy about?" Angel asked him and Spike gave him a quick look before answering:

"I'm home, mate."

"Won't be for long," he pointed out. "You here or Sunnydale here for that matter. Another day and poof..."

"Talking about that. You noticed we're walking around in daylight?" Spike interrupted him.

"No, I was blinded by the brilliance of the moon," Angel rolled his eyes.

"What do you suppose that's all about?" he asked and the other vampire rose his shoulders. Spike smiled: "Spending all that time under the necro-tinted windows...it must've rubbed off on you. You're like a necro-tinted Angel. Now all you're missing are wings."

"And you a spike through the head," Angel walked on without looking at him. They walked on in silence for a while, the blond vampire still having a big smile on his face. At one point Angel suddenly stopped in the middle of the road. Spike went on for a while before realizing he was alone and turned back to see Angel a few good feet away from him.

"Well, c'mon! We don't have all bloody day!" he yelled after him. Angel, seeming like he was just snapped out of a very deep contemplation looked up and realizing that he had stopped walking, he caught up with Spike.

"We need a plan of action," Angel told him when he was by his side again.

"Plan of action? This isn't a bloody fight, just a snotty teenager that needs to be slapped around a bit," Spike reminded him.

"A snotty slayer," he pointed out. "Buffy was just a teenager too and we both know she could've killed us both."

"Oh, please, you seriously think that one of those silly little girls prancing around in our time calling themselves slayers just because they killed a vampire, can hold a candle to Buffy?" Spike smirked: "You must be out of your mind."

"I've seen her file, Spike. She's not a silly little girl. She might not be a Buffy, but she's at least a Faith," Angel warned him.

"What? Psychotic, messy and all over the place?" he smiled again: "Piece of cake."

"That's not what I meant," Angel said and didn't explain himself any further.

"Okay," Spike gave up. "Plan of action? Fine, we'll do it your way."

"Good. I was thinking I could go in, talk to Buffy, tell her the girl's a traitor or something like that. She'll look out for her, if she's not already in the house of course - I think she probably is - Buffy'll help me catch her or otherwise throw her out of the house. We grab her, the blue guy takes us home. End of story. Easy, fast and most importantly, clean."

"Hold on just a bloody minute," Spike stopped in the middle of the road. "What's all this about you going in, you talking to Buffy, you and Buffy catching her? Where am I in all this?"

"You're...patrolling the city," Angel stopped as well and avoided Spike's look.

"Bollocks! If you think I'm going to stay out of your way and listen like a good little puppy you don't know me as well as you think you do," he was growing angry.

"Look, Spike, this is for the best. You know full well what'll happen if you come face to face with her," Angel crossed his arms over his chest.

"Right. Like it won't happen to you," Spike pointed out.

"It won't," Angel assured him. "I left her once - you forget - out of my own free will. You never did and probably never would have."

"Probably because I loved her more than you," the vampire said with a wicked smile on his face.

"Don't make me hit you again," Angel warned him as he began walking again. Spike punched the air in front of him angrily. He caught up with Angel and told him, in a calm voice:

"I don't care what you say. You're not keeping her from me. Not anymore."

"There is a reason for my plan, Spike. And as much as you flatter yourself into thinking you're it, you're not. I can pretend to be the Angel of this time and avoid all the horrible whats and hows. You can't really say the same for you, can you?" he looked at Spike for a moment, as if searching for a reaction, before looking back at the road ahead.

"If that's your damn reason for it, I'll make sure it won't be a problem anymore," Spike said defiantly as the houses on the edge of Sunnydale appeared in front of them, abandoned, empty as the town itself. Angel wondered what Spike had on his mind.

Los Angeles
2083
Wolfram & Hart Demon Hunting Inc.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Rupert yelled at her and Willow seemed to be even more amused than before.

"What? Can't a witch visit an old friend?" Willow asked innocently.

"Can't a witch use a transportation spell to break the law?" Rupert asked angrily and answered as well: "No, she can't."

"When did I use a transportation spell?" she acted like she didn't know what he was talking about.

"Don't play dumb with me, auntie Willow," he said mockingly. "I've got tapes of you making a getaway with Angel and his friends. And they're spell proof," he smiled triumphantly.

"Oh, you mean the ones that are erasing themselves as we speak?" Willow chuckled. "You're such a kid, Rupert. Let me give you a hint - tapes might be spell proof, but the security people's mind, not so spell proof."

"But you can't...," he began, but the witch continued his words:

"Affect people from so far away? You'd be amazed. Let's get rid of your escort, shall we?" she snapped her fingers and the slayers that had accompanied him disappeared in a cloud of dust. Rupert smirked:

"As soon as they get back to headquarters, they'll send in back up. Probably from our mystics department."

"Oh, I think they'll have a little trouble sending in back-up from Siberia," he looked at her incredulously. "Don't worry, I left them in this absolutely picturesque little town. They'll love it."

"You're sick," Rupert said disgusted.

"I'm misunderstood," she gave him a small smile. "Now, let's discuss this little situation." The doors of the office shut behind Rupert startling him. She gestured with her hand for him to come closer. She didn't wait for him to decide whether to approach her or not, and pulled him magically towards the seat opposite hers with the young watcher struggling all the way. "What exactly are you trying to prove, Rupert?"

"That your kind shouldn't be tolerated," he answered her coldly.

"I thought the old should be respected," she pointed out.

"You're not old," he said.

"You amaze me," Willow laughed. "You should've learnt by now that appearances can be deceiving. What do you think, that the real Willow died years ago and some demon took her place?"

"She was gone for three years. And when she came back, she was you," he reminded her.

"And you liked that Willow more than this Willow?" she asked curious, knowing full well he had always treated her this way.

"I was too young to know the old Willow. But I can't believe that the girl from all those stories from the past is you," he confessed.

"I don't know what kind of stories you know, Rupert, but you realize that that girl was the same that skinned a man alive and tried to destroy the world, right?" she asked and he didn't answer. "I am Willow. But let's get back to business."

"There is no business," Rupert cut her off before she could add another word. "If you think you can bribe or convince me to drop all charges, don't bother to even try. I've wanted this for too long."

"I wouldn't dream of it," she smiled.

"Huh?" he was confused. "Why all the business talk then?"

"To give me enough time to erase the memories of everyone involved in this incident of yours. I don't really like mind tampering, but when it's absolutely necessary..." she lifted her shoulders.

"You bitch!" he yelled getting up from the chair.

"Sit down," she ordered him and he fell back into the chair with a hard thump. "I don't really appreciate people insulting me. I know this nifty little spell that could cut your face or your vital organs every time you say something bad about me," her eyes flashed black for a moment, but it passed just as quickly as it appeared. "But that would be wrong, wouldn't it?"

"So this was a trap? You wanted me to come here so you could erase my memories standing right in front of me? Just for the irony of it?" he asked angrily.

"No, no, you got it all wrong," Willow defended herself with an amused smile. "That wouldn't be irony at all, now, would it? No, Rupert, you won't forget, that's the irony. Everyone else will, but you'll remember and no matter how hard you try to prove your words, you won't find one piece of evidence. And don't try finding that system breach either. It's been...fixed as well."

"Why are you doing this?" he asked horrified.

"What can I say? I'm sick," her smile faded. "Now..." the doors of the office opened by themselves: "...get out." Rupert, still in his chair practically flew out into the hallway. The doors shut behind him. Willow sighed satisfied. She had handled the situation pretty nicely. Now, she told herself, the sunny beaches of Rio de Janeiro were waiting for her! She closed her eyes and tried to transport herself there, but nothing happened.

"What the..." she tried again. And again. Suddenly out of nowhere, without even a trace of dust, the Hur'dha appeared. "You! This is your fault! I should've known!" the creature stared at her and she sighed: "I did what you asked me to do. I put the kid in his place, now if you don't mind I have a relaxing vacation that's just waiting for me."

"It's not over yet," the Hur'dha told her looking insistently at the door Rupert had just flown out of. "He's getting in our way as we speak."

"You don't want me to kill him, do you?" she asked confused.

"No," the Hur'dha turned towards her. "Just watch him."

The Hollow Crossroads
Absolutely nowhen

Lonny paced around in circles around Fred 2 and Wes 2. She reminded Wes 2 of a caged tiger. Harmony stood aside, with her arms crossed over her chest and the look of an upset child on her face. The fact that they were alone with two vampires - one of which he knew for sure didn't have a soul - made Wes 2 uncomfortable and slightly tense. Lonny, immediately noticing his change, stopped pacing abruptly and stared at Wes 2 with a smile on her face:

"Don't worry, you're not what I'd like to call a tasty snack. Can't speak for Harm over there," she gestured with her head towards the blond vampire.

"Like you'd even know how human blood taste," Harmony gave her a dirty look. "Your daddy bottle fed you pig blood since your first day as a vampire."

"Oh, buh-huh. What am I suppose to be sorry for? Not bein' a cold blooded killer?" Lonny shot back.

"Hey, do-do you realize where we are?" Fred 2 interrupted them stuttering.

"Big empty place?" Harmony suggested.

"The Hollow Crossroads, Fred," Wes 2 told his sister. "I think the big blue Hur-thing made that pretty clear before he whooshed out of here."

"Precisely. This is the place where all past things meet," she got up from the ground and excitingly began explaining: "From here we can go virtually anywhere into the past. Though I assume there are some forbidden corridors. For safety reason of course. I mean think if someone would go back to the time when demons ruled the earth..."

"I don't see how that's going to help us," Wes 2 said realizing full well what was going through his sister's mind at the moment.

"Anywhere into the past, huh?" Lonny seemed to have in mind the same idea as Fred 2: the past meant their great- grandparents, her father....it could be so easy. Maybe she could even avoid her transformation...She shook her head and chased away that idea. She had helped a lot of people and who knew what would happen to them if she never lived to see the day they needed to be saved.

"Yeah, but guessing which crossroad takes you where is a long shot. You might want to travel 2 years into the past and wind up in ancient Rome instead," Fred 2 lifted her shoulders.

"Not if you can calculate the trajectory," Wes 2 interfered. "Giving the infinite possibilities it's pretty...impossible, but give me a pen and two hours and I think I might find something."

"Just find a way back home," Harmony said handing him a blue pen from her pocket. "This place is beginning to give me the creeps."

"Let's just hope all those physics books I read are going to pay up," Wes 2 said as he began scratching the ground and elaborating a few theories.

"This is going to take a loooong time," Lonny said exasperated and then turned towards Fred 2: "That thing-a-ma-gig the chick used to get into the past, what was it called?"

"The ring of Batt-Hura," Fred 2 answered her.

"And you're positive that all these...crossroads lead into the past?" Lonny asked and Fred 2 nodded. The vampire slayer smiled: "Then fuck this!" she ran straight for a crossroad right under the terrified gaze of Fred 2 and a slightly bored Harmony.

"Lonny!" Fred 2 yelled after her, but she had already disappeared beyond the crossroad, somewhere into the past. She looked desperately at her brother - who was so concentrated on his theories that he hadn't noticed the scene - and then at Harmony who seemed indifferent to what had just happened. Taking a deep breath, without really knowing what she was doing, Fred 2 ran towards the same crossroad Lonny had gone down. Harmony tried to catch her, but she vanished into nothingness before she had a chance to stop her. Only now, Wes 2, realizing what had just happened, looked up horrified.

"Fred! Fred!!!!!" he yelled in vain then turned towards Harmony and angrily screamed at her: "Why didn't you stop her?!"

"I tried," Harmony said in her defense. She couldn't have cared less about Lonny, but she cared for Fred 2 even if it was just because of her blood relation to the original Fred and Wes.

"What the..." Wes 2 had turned to look over what he had just written on the ground - in the hope that maybe his formulas could somehow establish where his sister had disappeared to - but the ground was empty as if he hadn't written a word on it. "Shit!" he yelled and kicked the ground, rising dust in the air.

Sunnydale
2003

Mina whistled contently as she entered the kitchen and headed straight for the fridge. Things were going pretty well and her mission was going to be much more easier than she had anticipated. She had learnt - through Buffy's annoyingly long speech - that the slayer powers had been spread through the scythe. She had considered stealing the scythe at first, but then thought the potentials and the slayers wouldn't stand a chance against the Turok-Han army without it and having an army of that proportion escape the hellmouth before it was closed was not an option. Maybe, she thought with a smile, they could simply die while the hellmouth closed, buried under the rubble of Sunnydale High.

Of course, the easiest way to handle the situation was to attack the witch while she was casting the spell. Kennedy, as she had learnt during the morning, was an easy match and she could take her out easily. Then all she had to do was knock out the witch or somehow disrupt the spell and - BOOM! - no more slayer nation, only one chosen one. What would happen if all the potentials died along with the two slayers? If there was one thing she had learnt that was that there was no such thing as no potentials left in the world. She highly doubted they'd all die - she wasn't that lucky - but Buffy was. Besides Spike or more precisely that amulet would close the hellmouth before the Turok-Hans would have a chance to kill them all. Her whole plan avoided a direct confrontation with Buffy. In some ways she was disappointed, but knew a conflict with Buffy could be too risky.... The slayer would only find out about her apparent betrayal after the Sunnydale big bang and then it would no longer matter. She caressed the ring of Batt-Hura dangling from her belt.

"What's that?" a voice startled her and she closed the fridge and looked at the person who had spoken: Spike. She had been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't felt his presence.

"You scared me," she said sighing.

"Didn't mean to," he was still staring at the ring.

"It's....my watcher gave it to me, before he died," she explained. "He said it would help me out of bad situations. Don't know what exactly it does."

"You should ask Red about that. I'm sure she could find out what it is," he said still staring at her.

"I didn't want to bother her with stupid little things. I think she has better things to do," Mina said smiling. "Besides it might be just something of sentimental value. It's not necessarily magical."

"That whole good-girl-trying-not-to-get- in-anyone's-way-just-here-to-help routine isn't fooling me, you know" Spike said tilting his head slightly. "I saw you fight. Watched you through the window with Buffy. You're tough, experienced, merciless... And no watcher taught you those moves, luv. Take it from someone who's seen his share of slayers. You even smell different from the rest. So who the bloody hell are you and what exactly are you doing here?"

"I'm just here to help," Mina swallowed hard. What were the chances of staking Spike and getting away with it? Practically close to none. She had to come up with something fast.

"Bollocks!" Spike gave her an annoyed look.

"Fine," Mina suddenly got an idea. "I'll tell you who I am, but not here. It's not safe. Is anyone in the basement?"

"No," Spike said eyeing her suspiciously.

"Let's go downstairs and I'll tell you all about it," she smiled. Just as they were heading downstairs the echo of the doorbell could be heard.

Buffy, who was just coming down from her room opened the door and asked surprised:

"Angel?" the vampire smiled.

"I changed my mind. I'm staying, no matter what you say," he told her and the slayer asked confused:

"What are you doing in daylight?!"

Two houses away, a desolated Spike followed the scene, trying his best to see as much as he could of the small slayer. He sighed: he had to find a way to get in that house.

Continue