Disclaimer: See Prologue.
A/N: Thanks again to all who have reviewed. The votes are in, and I know how I'm going to work this story now. The muse gets her wish! But not in this chapter. The next one will get the ball rolling, but it's going to take a while.
CHAPTER 11
The trio of ubergeeks made their appearance in the school library the very next day. Warren, Jonathan and Andrew walked into the room, surprised at the appearance of a new librarian. They thought that the older Britt was stuffy in the extreme, but he seemed to know his business, so they basically ignored him. Giles smiled once the trio had gone up into the stacks. It was nice to be underestimated sometimes.
Thanks to the presence of Willow's very active spells, they were incapacitated when the magical core of the Nexus came into her circle, and the Nexus itself came into the center and froze there, spinning idly in place. Xander, Jack and Captain Finn secured their prisoners and then Willow released the magic restraints. Instantly the three started struggling. Warren shouted, "What's going on here!?"
Tac'an dug into his duffle bag, pulling out the tablets. "What were you morons trying to pull here? I mean what would you possibly have to gain by opening up a portal into Hell?"
Jonathan said, "Ultimate power?"
Andrew continued with, "Oh, and really cool demon minions?"
Warren just shook his head, looking like he'd like to maim his partners.
Jack looked between the three and said, "Now I know why you weren't surprised to find out that Hell is in California."
Tac'an just snorted. "Believe me, I've seen worse." Then she turned her attention to the objects in the bag. The four stone Tablets and the titanium Platform were laid out on the floor. "I hope Thor doesn't care if I break his brother's toys." One by one, she took the four triangular pieces of stone and broke them in half with her bare hands, which caused the three criminal idiots to stop struggling as they were too busy staring at her. Then she bent the square of titanium into the shape of a paper football. Xander squeaked, but no one planned to call him on it.
The Nexus, of course, could not be destroyed so easily. Willow didn't even want to try. She had built a containment unit out of platinum, which was spelled so that it could not be opened without both the Weapon and the Key, and both would have to be in human form. The plan was to lock the object up in a secret vault, far away from any high energy sources or people. Hecate Software would keep track of the location but no one connected to the government was to know where it was. After all, if they didn't know, they couldn't tell the NID, and everyone agreed that was a good idea.
The ubergeeks were sent to Britain, where they were arrested and imprisoned. So they were out of the picture for now. They would probably come up with other schemes in the future, but the likelihood of them being able to pull them off was slim to none.
Thor had not been angry in the slightest, though Loki had been rather incensed. Thor had assured the humans that the destruction of the portal maker had been a relief to those of the Asgard who had been told of the device. Thor had also snatched the Weapon out of Loki's storage and presented it to Tac'an. The thing was beautiful, a huge and ornately etched scythe. When she touched it, it felt familiar and alien at the same time, like it was something she had known forever without actually touching it. There was no doubt. This was the thing that had called her, that had turned her into the Slayer. And yet, it wasn't. This scythe had never been used. It remained unsullied by the damning of hundreds of young girls. She was unsure what to do with it. Thor said, "If it belongs to a single being, it is you, not my brother. Do you want it preserved, in case it may be needed in the future? Or would you prefer it was destroyed?"
Tac'an shook her head. "I'm really not sure. I mean, it's a horrible thing to damn the futures of children, but what if the Slayer is needed in the future?" She sighed. "I need time to think about this. Can you keep it safe for me for a while?"
Thor nodded.
That night, as she lay with Teal'c in their quarters at the SGC, Tac'an brooded over whether or not to destroy the scythe. Would it be more prudent to keep hold of it? If a time when Slayers might be needed again came, did she want someone to activate them and ensure the damnation of generations of girls for the greater good of protecting the Earth from the forces of darkness? Why couldn't there be another way to do this?
Teal'c's arms tightened around her as he stirred. "Tac'an? Why are you still awake, beloved?"
"Can't sleep." She sighed. "I just can't stop thinking about that thing. I don't want it to be around in case some one decides they need to destroy little girls' lives, but what if in the future a Slayer is genuinely needed? I mean, just because I'm not aging, that doesn't mean I'll be around forever! I just don't know what to do."
Teal'c smiled gently at her. "Then perhaps you should stop thinking about it for a time." He began running his hand down her back. "Allow me to distract you." Then he kissed her passionately and tenderly, causing her to shiver and refocus on the here and now.
When they came up for air, she said, "You have the best ideas." And they spent their morning in bed, ignoring the rest of the world.
Tac'an asked Willow to look at the scythe for her. Willow had been confused about the Slayer for some time, and she took the opportunity to ask her some questions. "Why do you trust me so much? Why do you seem to know me and OZ and Giles so well, but stay away from us at the same time?"
The older woman smiled. "I've been trying not to confuse you guys with some other people I used to know. Remember when I told you that I was originally from a parallel universe?" The witch nodded. "In that universe, before Ra could get up the stones to come and enslave the human population of Earth, someone decided to play with that toy of Loki's. Once one Hellmouth was opened, others could be opened a lot more easily and after a while they started doing so on their own. Ra never came because he didn't want to deal with the demons, or at least that would be my guess.
"Because of all that, this scythe was activated. It called the first Slayer, and that was that. Forever after, the Slayer would be the one girl in all the world who stood between the dark and the humans. When one died, the next would be called, an endless cycle of premature death.
"Cut to, I'm called as a Slayer just after I turned fifteen. I ended up burning down the school gym at my school in L.A. when half the people invited to the first dance of the year turned out to be vampires, which got me expelled. Mom and I were forced to move to Sunnydale, although part of that was Hank leaving. My first day at a new school, I walk into the library to get my books and who's there but Rupert Giles, Watcher."
"Giles!?"
"Yep. See, most people in my old universe have had a double in this one. Some don't. Xander's Aunt Joy never married Hank Summers in this universe. A smart decision. As a result, Buffy Summers was never born and I don't have a double here. Xander's parents died in a car crash, so he never had to live in their basement and be ignored. Joyce would never do that. But I'm betting she had a fit when he told her about joining the military." Willow nodded, remembering. "My Mom really flipped when she found out about the Slayer thing. I spent the summer in Cleveland over that one.
"Your double was my best friend until Graduation. Oz was still her boyfriend, but he was also a werewolf. Xander still never dealt with his crush on you, but at least in this universe he never ended up with Cordelia."
"Eww!"
"Ditto. Those guys all helped me with who and what I was, and through research, moral support and occasional sticking in of noses, you all helped me deal with the things that went bump in the night. And there are some people that probably did have doubles here that I haven't looked up. Angel, Drucilla, Spike, Mayor Wilkins, Faith. None of them ever had to become what they became so they aren't something I'd have to deal with. Bottom line, some things are different. Without demonic influences they have to be. And I know you're not the same Willow who was my only real girlfriend ever. But you have the same soul, and I know I can trust you. And I've seen your skills with magic. Giles can't give you enough kudos about it. And you run the most successful company of it's kind in the world, partially thanks to magical protections you weave into the programs. I trust you and I know you've got the goods. Will you help me?"
Willow's grin could have qualified as a geological event. "You bet! So what do you want to do with this thing, and when can we plan a shopping trip-cum-girl's night out?"
"On the shopping, I'm trying to coordinate with Sam, Janet and her daughter Cassie on that one, so we'll need to compare schedules later. About the scythe, I want to change it so that the thing requires a willing participant. I don't want it to just go and interrupt some girl's life without her consent. This way, there will still be a Weapon in the future when or if it's needed, but they'll be a willing warrior, not just some girl that fate grabbed and said 'Tag, you're it!'"
"So you want it to ask nicely, then?"
"Yep."
"Cool. I bet I can do that, no problem."
April brought nothing new, just more of the same. Giles had gone back to the British Museum, promising Willow and the rest of the Scoobies-that-weren't to stay in touch. The girls had their all-day shopping excursion, Cassie playing twenty-thousand questions with both Willow and Tac'an. As they went through the whole mall, the two women split their time between answering her and getting to know each other, Sam and Janet riding herd over the whole mess, and making sure no one got lost.
Tac'an and Willow clicked very well, and the witch agreed to be the marketing agent for the Chulaki coffee, which was growing beautifully in the river valley. They didn't know yet if the flavor was going to be much to talk about, but it was an exciting prospect to think about, especially if it would give a few students who wanted to do so funds to attend medical school at the Air Force Academy. No one wanted to do it if they couldn't pay their own way, and coffee and cocoa crops were looking to be the only cash crops that would grow in the Cral River Valley. Cassie couldn't wait to taste the chocolate that would be made from the new cocoa crops. But all of that was still a long way off. Things were just barely beyond the seedling stage at the moment.
When Cassie took off for the Disney Store, the women turned to business for a moment. Sam said, "How did it go with the scythe?"
Willow said, "Just fine. Loki only used energy to make it, not circuitry, so I was able to change the patterns just enough for what Tac'an wanted."
Tac'an continued. "And Thor agreed to put it in a place where it would be out of Loki's reach, but where he could get it back to Earth in a hurry if we ever need it."
"Good. I'd hate to think we couldn't get at it if we ever needed it."
Tac'an nodded. "Yeah, but hopefully we never will."
Jack looked out at the greening desert that could be seen just on the other side of the city, amazed at the change since the last time he'd been in the area. "Damn, Bra'tac! I had no idea this was coming along so well!"
Bra'tac smiled broadly and proudly at the man he'd come to respect in battle. "Yes. My daughter has very good ideas, does she not? No one here would have thought to turn the desert green."
On the other side of him, Tac'an blushed. "Stop it. Someone would have thought of it."
Jack grinned. "You don't do shy well, Xena. He's right, this was a really good idea."
Bra'tac frowned. "Xena?"
Tac'an through the Colonel a sour look. "A fictional warrior woman from an Earth story. One he knows well that I hate with a passion."
"But you fit her so well!"
"Save it, Jack. Don't forget I can kick your ass."
"Okay, okay! Shutting up now."
"Anyway, how are the other projects going?"
"They go well indeed. Several wells have been dug within the city and every midwife in the city knows that she can come to your doctors for advice without fear. The engineers have even begun building sand walls to protect the crops during sandstorms."
Tac'an grinned. "That's great!" She hugged her father, whispering in his ear as she did so. "We need to talk about the war effort as well."
Bra'tac nodded. "Let us adjourn to my tents for the evening meal. We can talk more there."
Well, that's it. Sorry I took so long. Other things have been eating at me. Enjoy!