Thine Own Self

By Gidgetgirl

Chapter Six

Spike, a rather pained expression on his face, walked deliberately in between Anni and Jordy, alternating between shooting a warning look at Anni and a threatening look at Jordy. Jordy grinned lazily at Anni, completely ignoring the peroxide vampire standing in between them.

Anni smiled back, her smile slow as always to spread across her delicate face. Her expression turned very polite and her voice very British when spoke to Spike.

“Excuse me, Spike,” she said sweetly. “I rather think I’d like to walk on the other side of you.” And like an expert, Anni expertly maneuvered herself around the vampire.

Spike’s eyes opened a little wider. He’d forgotten how very proper Anni could be if it helped her to get her way. The little chit was smart. He’d give her that.

Jordy, blushing just a little bit, took Anni’s hand in his own.

“I rather think you shouldn’t do that,” Spike said, his tone overly polite in a bad imitation of Anni’s.

Anni and Jordy ignored him.

“Where’s a sodding vampire when you need one?” he muttered, and because Sunnydale was a place where irony abounded, they were in that moment, surrounded by vampires.

Hopie clapped her hands together happily, practically running to keep up with Angel, Connor, Gunn, and the Potentials, her ponytail shaking back and forth as she ran. Her light blue pajamas slowed her down a little, but the Shanshu child was not one to be left behind.

“Over there, Daddy,” Hopie said, pointing toward an empty amusement park. She jumped up and down a little. “That’s where I saw the clown vamp. He was scary. I don’t like clowns.”

Gunn smirked just a bit. “Figures,” he said to Angel. “The kid isn’t scared of vamps, but she doesn’t like clowns.”

“Clowns can be very scary,” Angel said, his voice small. Gunn shot an incredulous look at him, and the typical, serious, broody look came back over Angel’s face. “I’m not scared of clowns,” he said very unconvincingly. “I’m just saying that a lot of people are.”

Connor raised one eyebrow in question. “What’s a clown?” he asked.

Maddy stared at him, thinking he’d lived a very deprived life. Connor narrowed his eyes at the younger girl just a bit.

“What?” Maddy asked, grinning shamelessly at him.

“You’re not going to try to kiss any of the vamps, are you?” he asked.

Maddy thought about it seriously for a moment.

“Maddy,” Nicolaa said, feeling the need to step in for Clay since he’d stayed behind, “don’t even think about it. That could be dangerous.”

And fun, Maddy thought. Kissing a vampire could definitely be fun.

As they stood there, Connor glaring at Maddy, Colette hiding behind Nicolaa, Hopie hopping from foot to foot excitedly, her P.J.’s hanging down past her feet over her fluffy house shoes, they prepared for the battle to come.

“Bring it on, Bozo,” Angel muttered.

From behind her duct-tape gag, Joss made some very angry noises as Kendall swung the door shut. Chance looked at the older Potential, her mouth dropping open at the sight of Joss duct taped to the door.

Her mouth still wide open, she turned to Kendall. “You didn’t,” she said. Kendall sent her an innocent smile.

“Didn’t what?” she asked, batting her eyelashes.

“You didn’t just duct tape Joss to the door,” Chance said, a giggle entering her voice.

“You’re right. I didn’t,” Kendall replied, smirking and lying outright.

Joss’s yelling from beneath the gag got a little louder, and her eyes narrowed at Kendall.

“Then how did it happen?” Chance said, playing along.

“I haven’t the faintest idea,” Kendall said, and then, inspired, she continued, “she must have done it herself.”

Chance gave Joss a tiny smile. “Joss,” she said, about to burst into desperate giggles, “why ever would you do a thing like that?”

Joss’s response, of course, could not be deciphered from behind the gag.

“So,” Kendall said lazily, leaning against the door, a few inches away from Joscelyn’s face, “what is it that just happened that I won’t believe?”

Chance, remembering everything that had happened downstairs, started talking at hyperspeed. Kendall listened, and to everyone’s surprise, Joss, her mouth securely taped shut, did as well.

Downstairs, Wesley rested his hand protectively on Willow’s shoulder while Kate, her voice the hard cop’s voice Wes remembered, told them what she knew about Caleb.

“The night he was born,” Kate said, “my husband was out of town. I was outside, sitting on the back porch, rocking slowly, and a clap of lightning came across the sky. A second later, it began to rain, and I knew that the baby wasn’t going to wait for anyone.”

At the word husband, Wes raised his left eyebrow. “And your husband?” he asked, his voice neither rough nor gentle.

“He’s not here,” Kate said, no emotion in her voice, but plenty of power in her eyes. “It’s just me and Cale.”

“Mommy and me!” Cale echoed joyfully. “Mommy and me and Ozzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.”

Kate’s expression softened a bit, and there was definite confusion in her eyes. Cale was friendly and had never met a stranger, but, aside from Kate, he wasn’t firmly attached to anyone. Yet, there he was, sitting comfortably in Oz’s arms. Oz gave what passed for an Oz smile, and Cale beamed at his mother.

“Oz happy!” he said, smiling widely.

“How can you tell?” Wes asked, truly interested. Cale put baby hands on either side of Oz’s face and giggled.

“Well then,” Buffy said, “I guess that answers that. What I still don’t understand is why Cale is…” the slayer trailed off as she looked at the little boys. “A vampire.”

“He’s not a vampire,” Kate said sharply. Cale, hearing the tone in his mother’s voice, looked at her, a little line of worry creasing his baby forehead.

“Hey buddy,” Oz said. “How about you and me go out back?”

Cale stared at Oz. Oz, completely unperturbed, stared back. Finally, Cale acquiesced.

“Grrrrrr ribbit grrrrrrrr!” he said. “I’m a monster frog! I’m greeeeeen.” Kate met Oz’s eyes, and for a moment, they held her, before she broke the connection with a slight nod.

Oz carried Cale out the back door, his facial expression never changing as he listened to the little boy’s happy babbling.

Back inside, Buffy prompted Kate again. “So why is Cale, um, humanly challenged?” Buffy struggled for the politically correct term.

Kate sent her a sharp glare before turning her attention to Willow. “I was told by the shaman who examined Cale to search out a group of mystics who would be able to tell me the cause of his condition.” Kate sounded exactly as if she were talking about a medical condition.

Kate took a breath and uncrossed her legs, folding her arms over her chest and leaning back in her patented tough-police-officer look. “They told me why,” she said. “And they told me to come to you.” She leaned forward and took Willow’s hand in her own.

“He needs help,” Kate said, her voice breaking. “I need your help.”

Wes cleared his throat. “If we could return for just a moment to the why issue,” he said.

Kate raised one eyebrow in casual warning at Wes and then directed her answer to his question towards Willow. “It’s Angel,” she said. Everyone in the room stared at her, and after a moment, she continued. “His son was never supposed to be born.” The statement came off harsh, and Kate took their exchanged glances for confusion. “You did know he had a son?” she asked.

“Yes,” Buffy said shortly. “We know.” She didn’t mention the fact that Angel’s son and her little sister spent a great deal of time lip-locked. Dawn took that moment to excuse herself upstairs to find Chance and steal some of Buffy’s new nail polish.

Kate continued, trying to tell herself that Angel’s son was just a little boy who couldn’t help the way he had been brought into this world. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. It’s just… the mystics said that Connor’s entry into this world caused an imbalance of natural and supernatural forces.” She paused a moment and then pressed on, taking a deep breath.

“Cale was born in the same instant as Connor,” Kate said. She looked at Willow expectantly, but it was Giles who followed her inferences first.

“And Cale was the instrument of the balance,” he said. Kate nodded.

“That’s what the mystics said,” Kate replied tersely.

“A vampire child born to human parents to balance a human child born to vampire parents,” Wesley said. “Fascinating.” Willow smiled at him, because for a moment, she saw his academic side re-emerge, and something about her distinctly liked it.

“So,” Kate said, and though the others could not, Willow saw through her aloof exterior for a moment. “Can you help us?”

Willow’s mind raced with the magical possibilities. “I can try,” she said. Kate’s expression didn’t change, but Willow got the distinct impression that she was worried.

“If anyone can do it,” Giles said, “it’s Willow.”

Kate did not looked convinced.

“She restored Angels soul,” Buffy said, “and then almost destroyed the world. Not at the same time though.” Buffy trailed off awkwardly.

Kate looked at Willow.

“I’m pregnant,” Willow offered helpfully. She smiled earnestly, and Kate could not help but return the smile. From outside, she heard a peal of Cale’s giggles.

“Flire-fy!” Cale said joyfully.

Oz looked at the firefly and nodded.

“Cale catch flire-fy,” the little boy said, and Oz set him down on the ground and watched as the little boy carefully examined, a thoughtful expression coming over his face. After a moment, he moved, with great speed, but a little awkwardly toward the firefly. The firefly easily flew off before Cale could catch it. His little face crumbled a bit, and Oz knelt down next to him.

“Here,” he said, “I’ll show you how, buddy.”

With those words, Oz began giving Cale his very first pouncing lesson.

When Faith mentioned vampires, Dakota rolled her eyes.

When Faith explained about demons, Dakota rolled her eyes.

When Faith brought up the role of the slayer in the world, Dakota rolled her eyes.

“I’m the slayer,” Faith said, “and you’re…” As Dakota rolled her eyes again, Faith stopped talking for a moment and gave the girl a hard look.

“Are your eyes loose or something?” she asked, her voice casually dangerous.

Dakota, oblivious to the fact that she was still firmly pinned to a wall, answered in a tone identical to Faith’s, “Not that I know of. Then again, I’ve always been loose, so who’s really to say whether the eyes are or not?”

Faith looked at Dakota’s eyes, and she recognized them, and the feeling behind them instantly.

“You’re not loose,” she said.

Dakota smiled a wicked grin. “Then what am I?” she asked.

“You’re me,” Faith said. Dakota stared at her.

“Funny,” Kody said, “you almost sound serious.”

Faith unpinned her. “That’s because I am, Muffin.”

“Muffin?” Dakota asked.

“I had a dog named Muffin,” Faith replied. “It seemed appropriate.” Dakota, frozen in place by the look in Faith’s eye, returned her gaze. “Kody,” Faith said, the nickname rolling off her tongue, “you are me. Genetically, magically, you are me.”

Dakota nodded her head slightly, feeling the woman’s words to be truth. “So what if I am?” she asked. “Do I get a door prize? Sorry, Faith,” she said, walking away, her voice the echo of Faith’s typical care-free sarcasm. “I’m not a puppy. I don’t sit when you say sit. I don’t heel when you say heel, and I certainly don’t sit up and shake and play nice just because you tell me too. So what if you’re me, only older? So what if there are vampires or demons or slayers or whatever? That doesn’t change who I am, except maybe that it gives me a little more power.”

Dakota turned to leave, and Faith’s voice rang out. “Don’t walk away from me.”

Kody paused for a minute and then turned back around. “I don’t do very well with the stay command either,” she said.

“Go back in the house,” Faith said. “You have to know I can make you.”

“Maybe,” Dakota said. “Maybe not.”

“Would you like me to show you ‘maybe’?” Faith asked, cursing herself because the last thing she had wanted to do was get into a dominance contest with her demi.

Dakota shrugged her shoulders, and her entire body seemed to scream I DON’T CARE.

Faith knew that posture was a lie. Dakota cared, and if she didn’t, she would soon.

Kendall whistled underneath her breath. “So there’s a baby vamp downstairs?” she asked.

“Toddler,” Chance replied.

“Mmfghsm,” said Joss.

“And the mother, Wes and Buffy knew her?” Kendall asked, ignoring Joss.

“Yup,” Chance replied. “Buffy didn’t like her. I think she tried to kill Angel once or something.” With her innate ability to string together sentences that did not relate to each other at all, Chance continued talking. “I borrowed Buffy’s new nail polish,” she said, victoriously showing Kendall the bottle.

Just then, the door flew open, sending Joss flying toward the wall. Kendall snorted. Chance burst into hysterical giggles, hoping at the same time that Joss was all right.

Dawn looked at the two of them. “What?” she asked.

“Close the door,” Kendall instructed her. Dawn did so, and her jaw dropped when she saw the pariah-ed Potential securely fastened to the inside of the door. Kendall looked at Dawn, hoping the girl wouldn’t spoil her fun.

Dawn thought briefly about all of the times that Joss had not-so-subtly pointed out the fact that though she was the slayer’s little sister, she wasn’t a Potential. Dawn lifted her hand toward the tape, and for a moment, Kendall thought she was going to let Joss down. Instead, Dawn ran her hand gently along the duct tape as if inspecting it. “I have to admire your thoroughness,” she said finally.

From behind the gag, Joss sighed.

“Well,” Willow said finally, “I think I know some balancing spells that might lift the burden of the balance from Cale, but I’d need to seriously look into the likely consequences. Then again, there might be a prophesy or something.”

“A prophesy?” Kate asked.

“There’s always a prophesy,” Buffy said helpfully.

“It’s time for us to get all research-y,” Willow said.

Kate took that as her cue that the discussion part of the evening was over. “I better go,” she said, standing up. “It’s past Cale’s bed time, and we still have to find a hotel.”

Buffy made a face. At Giles’s censuring look, she explained herself. “I’ve never been at a Sunnydale Hotel at which a person was not killed either shortly before or shortly after I arrived there. Somehow, in my mind, Sunnydale Hotel just equals death.” She shot an apologetic look at Kate.

“I’m sure we’ll be fine,” Kate said.

“Oooo,” Willow said suddenly. “You could stay with Oz. It’s just him and Jordy right now, and they’ve got a great big house.” She smiled at the solution.

Refusing the option mentally, Kate walked outside. For a moment, she couldn’t see Oz or Cale, and her heart began racing. Then, she saw two forms, one big and one tiny, crouched on the ground a few feet away from a firefly.

Suddenly, Cale sprung and quickly, but gently, caught the firefly in his hands.

“What are you guys doing?” Buffy asked, following Kate onto the porch.

“Pouncing lesson,” Oz responded casually.

Kate’s eyebrows rose so high they almost disappeared into her hairline.

“Haven’t you ever seen The Lion King?” Oz asked.

Cale came running up to his mother, his chubby baby hands cupped carefully in front of him. “Caught a flire-fy, Mommy!” he said cheerfully. Kate ducked down next to him.

“Did you now?” she asked. He nodded, and as Willow came out onto the porch, Kate sent her a short and thankful look.

“I told Kate she could stay with you,” Willow said, and before Oz could reply, Willow reminded him that she was indeed pregnant. Oz took that under consideration.

“Not a problem,” he said. “As soon as Jordy gets back, we can go.”

Kate almost refused, but thinking of the aforementioned mortality rate in Sunnydale hotels, she swallowed her pride and accepted the offer in a much more stiffly than Oz had given it.

Without so much as a word, Cale curled up at Kate’s feet, and fell asleep instantly, his hands opening just enough that the firefly was let loose. It stayed in the little boy’s hand a moment, and then flew off into the night.

As soon as she saw the vamps, Anni grabbed a stake out of her sleeve and went to work. Though the moon was not full, she could hear Jordy growl beside her, and she knew that he would hold his own.

A black-haired vampire wearing clothes that had gone out of style before Anni was even born rushed her, and with one deft move of her wrist, he exploded into dust. The other vampires looked at Anni, a look of awe coming into their expressions, as the dust that had been the eighties vamp swirled around her, as if caught in an imaginary wind.

Spike looked at her. “Bollucks,” he said. “What’s happening now.”

One of the vampires looked at him. “Don’t you feel it?” the female vampire asked him, absolutely crooning in her most seductive voice. Spike staked her, as Jordy staked another vamp.

“Don’t feel a thing,” Spike said.

None of the other vampires heard him. They were all looking at Anni, and one by one, they fell to their knees in homage.

A changed expression came over Anni’s face for a moment. As the vamps stared, enraptured at the nearly teenaged girl, Spike and Jordy made quick work of them, and as each exploded into dust, the dust added to the swirling mass of dust around Anni’s body.

Anni smiled wickedly. “There’ll be more of them,” she said, her voice low and seductive as she looked at Spike and Jordy. The two of them stared back at her, wondering just what exactly was going on.

Eight vamps appeared in the amusement park almost at once. Hopie giggled and lifted her crossbow, easily taking out the first before the others even realized that the vamp herd had arrived.

Almost immediately, the eight vamps had all been slayed.

“That wasn’t so bad,” Connor said, barely breaking a sweat.

Maddy was disappointed. She, Colette, and Nic had collectively taken out one vamp, and Gunn, Angel, Hopie, and Connor had taken care of the rest. Maddy sighed. She hadn’t even gotten a chance to kiss one of the vampires yet. What fun was slaying without the kissing?

“That wasn’t it,” Hopie said.

Suddenly, a large group of vampires appeared, amongst them, a clown. He smiled wickedly at Hopie. “Why don’t you come here, little one?” he said, his face not yet his demon face.

Hopie looked at him warily.

“What, afraid of clowns?” he asked. Angel shuddered.

The clown vamped suddenly, and the rest of the vampires followed suit. “This better, sweetheart?” he asked, his voice still sugary sweet.

Hopie smiled up at him. “Much better,” she said before letting out a little war cry.

In that moment, before the battle began to rage, Hopie knew something that she couldn’t quite express. She knew that these vampires weren’t out for blood just yet. They were on a mission, a mission they considered holy. As the clown exploded into brightly colored dust, Hopie frowned deeply.

“Bella,” Hopie muttered. “They know Bella is special.”

Spike and Jordy stared at Anni, not understanding at all what had just occurred. Anni sauntered over to Jordy and in one swift motion, tackled him to the ground and began kissing him the way that no twelve year old girl had the right to be kissing anyone.

“What the hell are you doing?” Spike asked.

Anni lifted her mouth off of the stunned Jordy’s for just a moment, still lying on top of him. She lazily told Spike what he could do with his scolding, in the most inappropriate language imaginable, before returning to kissing Jordy once more.

A moment later, a blushing Anni stood up, wondering how in the world she had just come to be lying on top of her boyfriend, and also wondering why Spike was glaring at her like he was having to restrain himself to keep from washing her mouth out with the proverbial soap. She was beginning to think that it was going to be a very long, very interesting night.

For the first time in Jordy’s life, a huge smile spread over his face, and he was easier to read than any book.

“Wipe that grin off your face,” Spike said, before turning his attention to Anni. “And you get yourself over here right now, young lady.” It occurred to Spike a moment lady, that he’d actually said the phrase ‘young lady.’ He made a mental note to forget the statement had ever crossed his lips.

Thinking of lips, he thought of Anni’s, and he winced visibly.

Again, Anni wondered what exactly was going on.

While Nic and Colette finished off a female vampire, Maddy set her sight on a rather young, very attractive blonde male vampire. With a war cry imitating Hopie’s, she ran straight to him and pressed what she thought passed for a very passionate kiss to his lips. To her surprise the vampire kissed back in the second before he exploded into dust.

The next instant, Maddy found herself thrown over Connor’s shoulder, her head hanging upside down over his back.

As he decapitated the last vampire, Angel headed over to Hopie and noticed that the girl was standing, frozen to a spot on the ground. He picked her up, and Hopie said nothing. She lay her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, trying to understand what the connection she felt to the world itself through her ancient magic was telling her.

As they left the amusement park, Angel carrying a sleeping Hopie, and Connor carrying a kicking and screaming Maddy, not one of their group noticed as the vampire dust, pulled by an invisible force, flew toward Sunnydale.

“I feel a little guilty about just leaving Joss hanging there,” Chance said, eyeing the Potential taped to the door.

Kendall finished painting her nails and handed the polish to Chance.

“Tell you what,” she said. “Joss can have the first pedicure.”

Chance smiled. That seemed fair enough. Joss got ready to yell at them now that they were finally going to let her down. Then she was going straight down to tell Buffy. It wasn’t fair that they were all so mean to her. She’d never done anything to them. They thought they were all so special.

Chance, a wicked but good-natured grin on her face, took off Joss’s shoes, and she carefully painted the older girl’s toe nails, leaving them to dangle dry as the girl remained duct taped to the door.

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