The Timeless Circle

Buffy tVS/Dark Angel crossover, with a bit of Angel on the side.

Set soon after "Grave" and "Freak Nation".

Disclaimer: The characters etc all belong to Joss Whedon and James Cameron. Not us.

Warning: this fanfic may contain gratuitous scenes of Alec semi-naked.

Chapter 1

Sunnydale, USA. 2003

Buffy sprinted through the darkened sewers, the blood pounding in her ears. Behind her she could hear the pants of Xander, Anya and Dawn. Suddenly she stiffened and slowed to a halt, her senses prickling. She waited for the others to catch up and gestured for then to lean in and listen. "He's close," she whispered.

"Buffy, do we have to do this?" panted Dawn. "Can't we just go home? You don't even know that Spike's feeding again or even that his chip's not working. Let's just leave him alone!"

"He's been acting half crazy since he got back from wherever the hell he went," replied Xander before Buffy could open her mouth to speak. "If we even suspect he could be hurting people, we have to track him down."

Anya reached out and gingerly touched a wall, examined her finger, and sniffed it. "This place smells bad," she said loudly, unaware of the tense silence around her. Dawn giggled, until Buffy silenced her with a look.

She turned around. "Let's keep mov---", she called over her shoulder, but she was cut off when something dropped from the ceiling and clasped its clawed hands around her neck, lifting her off the ground. In the murky light of the sewer she could hardly see what it was, but her reflexes came through and she kicked out, her foot colliding with the hooded creature. It dropped her in surprise and she rolled into the wall. Jumping to her feet to face the creature in a fighting stance, she threw him a punch in the jaw but then reeled back, her head spinning and shocked to find herself strangely dizzy.

Somewhere outside the hazy feeling she heard Xander yell, "Buffy! Are you all right?"

"Stay back", she warned, her voice a little shaky. "Don't touch it. There's some kind of--"

She was interrupted by the creature's sharp blow to her chest, sending her flying backwards. Bracing herself for a collision with the wall, she found herself instead hitting something soft and human-shaped. She took it with her to the ground, landing with an unceremonious "Oof!"

Buffy rolled off it quickly and out of the corner of her eye saw with surprise that it was Spike. He lay on the ground, uncharacteristically stunned for a second. From her left, she heard Dawn shriek, "Buffy! Catch!" and with her slayer senses, reached out to grab the sword which Dawn had thrown her and used it to decapitate the demon in one fluid motion. It slumped to the ground.

The gang rushed up to her just as Buffy's knees buckled beneath her and Xander caught her just in time. "I'm fine," she gasped, although she knew that something wasn't right about this. "We have to get Spike".

"He went that way", said Dawn shakily, pointing.

"Come on", Buffy said with determination, ignoring the wobbliness in her knees. They jogged on through the dark tunnel, and one by one, as they passed the demon's body, felt an unnatural breeze in their faces.

"What was that?" hissed Anya.

"I don't know", answered Buffy. "But whatever it was, I'm beginning to feel better. Let's go. He can't be far ahead."

***************************************************

Terminal City, Seattle, 2020

"Hey, Little Fella", shouted Joshua from his seat at the computer screen in the transgenics' headquarters.

Max looked up from where she was polishing her Ninja with a chamois. "Yeah?"

Joshua gestured towards the screen, where Logan's face had appeared. "Logan asking for you."

Max's expression changed slightly. She got up, went over to the monitor, and sat down.

"Hey."

"Hey yourself", he replied calmly. "Listen, I've translated some more of the writing on you using something I found on the internet. It seems to be some sort of prophecy."

"Great", said Max sarcastically. "You'd think that it could have just arrived in the mail. Why is it on me? What is it with Manticore and tattoos?"

Logan smiled. "There's also some recurring symbols: some sort of important circle and something about the number 3."

"Three what?" demanded Max. "Three goats, three yachts, three kinds of disembowelment Can you be more specific?"

"Unfortunately, no. I'm kinda in a rut. I've tried everything. But I can't work out any more of it. I've sent the information to some people I know - some historians and anthropologists. But it could take a while, and I don't like our chances. How's it going over there?

"Fine. Not much is happening. There's just a general feeling of waiting."

"Waiting for what exactly?" Logan asked.

"That's just it". Max paused glumly. "What are we waiting for?"

************************************

Meanwhile, in the sewers

"I'm tired", whined Anya.

Buffy suppressed a sigh. Two hours in the stinking sewers, and there was still no sign of Spike. "I think we've lost him," she admitted. Buffy didn't tell them that she had no idea where they were anymore.

"I wish Willow was here," sighed Dawn. Xander put an arm around her comfortingly. "I know, Dawnie. So do I. But until she's better she has to stay in England with the Watcher's Council."

"Yeah," said Anya with false cheeriness. "Then she can come back and end the world again, and it'll be like she was never gone."

"Giles says she's improving," Buffy reminded her sternly, hoping that Xander and Anya wouldn't start bickering again, "and we have bigger things to worry about."

Up ahead they could just make out a dark figure with preternaturally glowing eyes. They heard a soft growl.

"Stay back," Buffy whispered. "I'll handle it." Pulling a stake out of her shoulder bag, she advanced on the creature. It began moving towards her. They circled around each other for a minute while Buffy wondered what it was. Then she attacked, swinging a punch and connecting with its jaw with a painful smack. The creature stumbled and fell.

Buffy quickly knelt beside it, and just as she was about to drive the stake into its heart, a strong arm grabbed her wrist and a low voice said in her ear, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Oh yeah?" Buffy replied, wrenching her arm out of the grip and straightening up.

"UhBuffy, " she heard Xander say from behind her. "What are we going to do ab--"

Looking around, she suddenly realised that they were surrounded by strange looking demons, and each one had a weapon pointed at her.