I do not own V, or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. They belong to Kenneth Johnson and Joss Whedon respectively. The 'dedication' is the one from V, the Original Miniseries.

Timeline: Consider this the beginning of V, but taking place 20 years in the future or so. This takes place Post-Season 7 for BtVS and Post-Season 4 for AtS. This fic will cross into several other fandoms as the plot goes on.

For Victory

To the heroism of the Resistance Fighters

- past, present and future -

this work is respectfully dedicated…

Chapter I: A Humble Carpenter

If ever there was a continent that needed an exceptional Watcher to be there, that continent was Africa. Africa is a powder keg of poorly-drawn borders, religious conflicts, tribal rivalries, wild animals, and so much more. That is not to say that the continent has no stability. Like any continent it has its stable areas and its unstable areas. Still, in no other continent of the world is there a tougher environment for a Watcher to function in. And so, the Council, in its typical lack of foresight had sent only three Watchers for the entire continent, two of whom were white.

It is, perhaps, debatable whether the Council was just blatantly lucky, or simply brilliant in the three men they chose to run things.

The first was Andrew Wells. Easily dismissed, though he was, as an unrepentant geek and obviously sent to Africa so that others could forget the short but painful trail of havoc that he caused whilst a member of the Trio. Still, as silly as he seemed, Andrew was an accomplished hacker and spell-caster, filling some awfully big holes that the other two Watchers couldn't manage.

The second was Sam Zabuto. Another supposed disgrace, Zabuto could only truly be accused of allowing Kendra, his former slayer, to cut herself off and hide in her studies. Alas, Kendra was a very good slayer in the technical sense. Still, the lack of passion within her allowed her to be cut down much too soon. Sam Zabuto had not wanted to return to the Watchers' Council that had let his beloved slayer die. Nor, under normal circumstances, would the Council have wanted him back. It is the sudden lack of Watchers, due to the destruction of the old Council, that required the Council to beg him to come back. It was the solemn and honest request of one of Kendra's companions that caused Zabuto to return. Sam contributed wisdom, experience, and an unparalleled thirst for research, which he had passed on to his short-lived slayer.

The last was the man who recruited Zabuto to work Africa. He was a unique one, certainly. Often the object of scorn by his allies, earning cruel names like the Zeppo, he was, oddly enough, far more respected by his foes. It is said that Angelus, the Scourge of Europe, once named him the slayer's white knight. An emissary of the First Evil was even heard to claim that Xander Harris, the man in question, was the one who sees everything.

Xander was, perhaps, not much to look at. Lanky and tall, with dark hair and only one eye left after the aforementioned emissary of the First Evil snuffed Harris' other eye like a candle. Even his job was not something that many people seemed to look at with esteem anymore. A humble carpenter. A sad reflection when humble carpenters have been known to rise to heights that the so-called greats cannot begin to imagine. Still, it was Xander that brought it all together. The one-eyed carpenter was the one who outfitted their arsenal, led the slayers in combat and comforted them when they needed it. Always there with a kind word, a poor joke or a gentle smile for his slayers.

It was not long after Xander came to Africa that he took up the art of blacksmithing. With things constantly getting lost in the shuffle at the Council and Africa being a particularly temperamental continent under the best of circumstances, even ignoring the demon population. And so, tired of waiting to get the weapons he needed from the Council, Xander found a local who knew the craft well enough and charged little enough that Xander could learn the trade. Xander had even taken it a step further, making all of his slayers learn the art of both making, stringing, aiming and firing a longbow. A longbow might seem unsophisticated next to a crossbow, but some major advantages were to be had. The first was that it was easier to make and maintain. The second, and most important, was that it was far faster to reload, which saved lives in combat.

It is, perhaps, interesting to know that until the day in question Xander had never made himself a weapon at the forge. Everyone else had been given a personalised weapon by Xander by this point. The problem, you see, was that until the day in question Xander had been uncertain of what sort of a blade might work well for him. His choice, when he had made it, was the source of much amusement among his slayers and, in fact, among all those who knew him. It is, perhaps, ironic that the man in the eye-patch would decide to make a cutlass his blade of choice.

And so it was that on the day in question, Xander Harris raised his cutlass to the sky and checked it carefully for imperfections. It was a beautiful work, the smooth and slightly curving blade of iron and silver, projecting forth from a guard of polished titanium, mounted on a solid iron grip that had somehow taken the colour of polished obsidian. He named it Anubis.

It is at that moment that a shadow fell over Xander's heart, matching the unnatural shadow that was falling over Alexandria in the full light of day. Xander looked up to see a gigantic saucer flying swiftly overhead, heading for Cairo.

"Xander!" The man spun to find a breathless Rona, running to him at top speed. It was unusual to see a slayer breathing so hard, making Xander wonder just how far she had run from.

"Yes Rona?" he asked softly, laying his new blade on his forge and walking over to her.

"Have you seen it?" she asked, knowing that if he had then no further description was necessary…

"Yes," he said evasively, "I've seen it…"

"Do you have any idea what it is?"

Rona was looking panicky. Xander couldn't really blame her. The girl was born to fight the creatures of the night. Honking great spaceships just weren't her thing. Not really… Speaking of which, Andrew would likely be in nigh-orgasmic glee right about now. Xander grimaced at the very thought of it. "I hope not Rona. At the moment, I would really love to have no clue at all…"

I know... I know... I'm very late in my commitments. Here is August 7th's entry.

Jasper