Endings
The party broke up quickly after the grand entrance of what some assumed was Mr. Giles’ twin. Connor, who had work the next day, motioned for Alyssa to join him. He made a pointed, loud farewell to Max and Angel, then turned to Cordy and offered his excuses. Cordy, recovering quickly, thanked him for coming and stressed that she was looking forward to seeing them again later. The others not in the know took their cue and left as well. There was awkward silence within the group that remained.
As the door shut on the last couple out, Angel made quick work of locking it. They did not want to be interrupted. He glanced back, somewhat surprised to see Max standing easily by her old nemesis. The rest of the gang, Giles, Willow, Kennedy, Spike and Buffy were standing a distance away, looking on in confusion. Angel was confused as well. When first told of Sandeman’s return, Max had reacted, as he would have expected. But now she seemed to believe there was no threat at all.
"I suppose you have a lot of questions, my dear," Sandeman finally addressed Max. She smiled gently and shrugged her shoulders.
"Not really," she murmured, then swept a glance over the others. "But I think they might."
"Well then, by all means," Sandeman replied urbanely, "I shall do my best to answer them." Max led him towards one of the tables set up. Angel followed, snagging Max’s elbow.
"Are you okay?" he whispered, baffled by her calmness.
"He doesn’t mean any harm," she offered, getting straight to the heart of the matter. Sandeman fixed her with an assessing gaze.
"You’ve finally figured that out, have you?" he demanded lightly. She nodded.
"Figured what out?" Buffy demanded. Even though she’d let go of her obvious dislike of the other woman, she was still hesitant about the unknown mysteries she presented.
"One of the things she was born to do," the newcomer shrugged, entirely aware that he was being cryptic. He couldn’t see that the blonde had any reason to know unless Max wanted her to.
"This is Buffy Summers, by the way," Max introduced. Sandeman nodded to her. Max continued, until she’d given him the names of everyone present. "And obviously, you are aware of Rupert Giles." Sandeman started a little at that name. "What?"
"It’s been a while since I heard my name," he chuckled.
"Your name?" Buffy gaped. Giles was strangely quiet, studying his counterpart intently. It didn’t seem to bother Sandeman.
"Of course silly girl," he grunted. "I’m not some clone of your mentor here. I’m from an alternate dimension." He glanced at Willow slyly. "You’d think you’d be somewhat used to this in your line of profession."
"How do you know about that?" Spike demanded, instantly on the offensive.
"Perhaps it would b prudent to start at my beginning?" Sandeman offered. The group paused imperceptibly, before nodding and murmuring assents. "Capital! Of course, I was born in England, as Rupert Giles. I suspect, Ripper, that our young lives were very similar. I went through the same rebellion that you did against my fate of becoming a Watcher."
"There’s a Watcher’s council in your dimension?" Wes burst out.
"Yes," Sandeman confirmed. "But a major difference. Ours evolved in a different manner. Thanks to a much earlier Slayer, we were able to shut down the worst of the Hellmouths, simply through our Slayer wiping out some of the most powerful Vampire lines before they were able to propagate as fully as they did here. Which naturally cut down their population in comparison. There wasn’t as much evil activity drawn to the Hellmouths and we were able to concentrate on closing them and removing the portals that evil creatures could use. Because of this, the Slayer line essentially died out, as it wasn’t needed."
"What happened to the Watcher’s council?" Wes was finding this fascinating and was searching for pen and paper in which to record this amazing history. Sandeman understandingly paused while the younger man searched out the required items.
"We concentrated mostly on the demons that could still rip through the fabric between dimensions," he supplied. "Unfortunately, they realized that there was no Slayer, so we needed to come up with a new plan." He cleared his throat, realizing he was getting somewhat ahead of himself. "I wasn’t a Watcher yet, but as my father was a member of the council, I was privy to certain information. It was then, that like Ripper, I began summoning demons. But unlike you, I researched a little more thoroughly before the ritual."
"So you didn’t summon Eyghon?" Willow surmised with an apologetic glance to Giles. Giles in turn didn’t really react. It was a long accepted fact that he hadn’t been the most obedient teen.
"No," Sandeman continued, removing his coat. "Mine was a more benevolent demon. He was more fixed on maintaining balance."
"Like Whistler?" Buffy piped up. Sandeman grinned as he began to roll up his shirtsleeve.
"That old bugger still flitting around?" he asked, amused.
"Yes," Angel scoffed. "And still as annoying as ever. He’s the one that told us you were coming."
"That little brat has his fingers in more pies than I care to imagine," Sandeman chuckled. "Anyhow, I communed with this demon in a dream state. He led me in the direction my life was to take and infused me with his being. I was marked, with the name Sandeman from the dream states, and this tattoo." Giles unconsciously rubbed at the arm that still bore the mark of Eyghon. The group breathlessly leaned forward to take it in.
"Good Lord!" Wes exclaimed, suddenly pale. "That’s the mark of…"
"Aberje, yes," Sandeman nodded. Wes slumped back in his chair as the others gazed at him.
"Who’s Aberje?" Kennedy asked, stumped as to what this had to do with anything. Even after all her time with Willow, she was fairly sketchy on some details.
"Aberje was the demon that wrote the Aberjian scrolls," Wes explained quietly. "In it they stated that a Vampire with a soul, after many apocalyptic battles, plagues, and various end of world situations, would Shanshu. Would become human." He cleared his throat. "Naturally we thought it referred to Angel. But when Spike, who had gained his soul was reborn, we started to wonder. But now, Angel, obviously…" he trailed off from stating the obvious.
"Load of crap," Sandeman snorted. "Aberje wrote all that to throw you off. None of it had any real meaning but to push you all in the right direction. The battles didn’t matter. Shanshu did."
"B-but," Wes sputtered, "I researched this thoroughly!"
"I’m sure you did," the older man clucked sympathetically. "But while Shanshu meant something in limited human understanding, it took on a meaning all of Aberje’s own."
"What’s that?" Willow asked quickly.
"Love," Max answered for him. She knew it ever since the moment she’d heard the voice in the chamber.
"Precisely!" Sandeman crowed looking very pleased with his creation. "Aberje was among many demons that argued with the Powers to allow this type of prophecy to occur. And the Powers, seeing a way to keep only the worthiest warriors alive to fight for them, allowed it. That’s why Buffy, Spike, Max and Angel were all able to Shanshu."
"Me?" Buffy was slightly dumbfounded. "I didn’t Shanshu," she snorted. "Willow brought me back."
"She was the vessel, yes," Sandeman agreed mildly. "But it was your sacrifice for your sister that made it possible for you to return. As was Spike’s for you, Max’s for Case and Angel’s for Max and Eva. You loved completely, unselfishly, to the point where dying for someone was a reality. A sacrifice of that magnitude does not go unrewarded. But more than that, the sacrifice had to be based in love. Not for any other gain."
"It does make a certain sort of sense," Wes thoughtfully tapped at his cheek, while studying the pad of paper before him. "But one thing I’d like to know, is how you know our history so well?"
"If I may continue with my story?" The others nodded eagerly. "Once I’d been infused with Aberje, I knew that the Watcher’s council would not accept me. So I began to plan other ways to deal with the demonic threat to our world. My initial thought was that we needed the Slayer back. But I was unable to access how the transformation was wrought." He ignored Buffy’s little shudder. She knew, had witnessed it firsthand. Not the sort of thing she’d care to repeat. "My next thought, was that if we couldn’t create this Slayer, we could create the next best thing."
"Manticore," Max breathed. She would have said more, but her sharp senses picked up Eva’s cries. She excused herself and hurried off to her daughter, Angel close behind. He shut the door to his office as Max scooped up the baby. They began their routine feeding by rote. Angel knelt by his fiancée’s side.
"Are you okay baby?" he asked solicitously.
"Sort of," she replied quietly. "You know, on the one hand, I’ve always wondered why. And now that I’m hearing it, it just doesn’t seem to matter. It won’t change anything about me. I am who I am."
"You’re not even curious as to what your destiny was supposed to be?" he asked, cautiously. He was a little bemused. He’d felt the same way when the scrolls had first been found and Wes worked to translate them.
"I’ve already fulfilled my destiny," she teased. "I Shanshued. And I carry it in my heart every day." Angel smiled at her.
"I do too baby, so much."
It didn’t take long for Eva to finish. But instead of putting her back to bed, Max carried her out to the lobby. She took a seat, with Angel protectively close by. Sandeman leaned over and Max turned the baby so he could see.
"Hmm, cute," was his only remark.
"Would you like to hold her?" Max asked politely. She watched his reaction carefully.
"Maybe later," he shrugged. She hissed suddenly, startling them all.
"I should have known," she muttered, glancing between Giles and his doppelganger. The others looked to her, expectant. "Nothing, doesn’t matter."
"My star pupil," Sandeman beamed. "Where were we? Ah, yes, Manticore. I conceived of a way to create the perfect soldier. One with the strength needed to fight back the darkness. Imbued in them were all the attributes of the Slayer. At least the later children were."
"What about the earlier?" Wes asked. Sandeman shook his head sadly.
"In my infinite wisdom," he began mockingly, "I believed that by donating my own DNA, infused with the demon, I wold obtain the perfect results. But in the end, they were simply…"
"Nomlies," Max supplied, shuddering at the memory of the maniacs in the basement of the government base.
"Yes," Sandeman sighed. "Nomlies." He cleared his throat again. "So I knew that I needed to look elsewhere. I began searching out perfect specimens to create the children, splicing DNA with animals to create a hybrid that would garner the results I was looking for."
"That’s what you did to Max?" Spike asked, a little choked up, thinking back on the parts of her life that she’d related to him.
"Max is a whole other story," the older man smiled fondly. "I fell in love, but the woman died. I wanted to recreate her, but I knew I could not father her. So I began to look for the Giles that was strong enough to do it." He glanced at Ripper. "I traveled through many dimensions before I found the one." He stared directly at Ripper.
"Me?" Giles gaped. "But how? I think I would remember…"
"It was after Buffy’s sacrifice," he jerked one finger in her direction. "You were quite broken up about it. Very drunk most of the time, as I recall." Giles reddened. "Did you know, old boy, that in all the dimensions I visited, you were the only Watcher of us that had an active Slayer?" Giles brightened a little, as if honored somehow. "I won’t go into details," he paused, smiling at the many fevered ‘thank you’s’ he heard, "but I was able to claim your DNA while you were unconscious." He squirmed a little at the apparent memory. "I had watched you all for a very long time. The reason I chose you was because of the capacity for love that I saw in you. I knew even then that you would utterly and completely accept Max, no matter where she came from. We Ruperts as a group, have the tendency to be quite introverted." He smiled as Max and Giles beamed at each other. The bond they’d formed with each other was cemented.
"Wait," Willow broke in, "that doesn’t make sense. Buffy died after Max was born. I don’t get-!"
"Time means little when you have the Powers fueling your trip! Well, to make a long story short, I achieved the perfect army, for the most part," he grinned. "And once Max set them free, I knew it wouldn’t be long before they moved on towards their destinies. That was quite the impassioned little speech you gave them." He spoke directly to Max. She blushed as she recalled the standing up to be ‘counted as a freak and proud of it’ speech she’d given. But was glad to know that things were as they should have been. Even though they’d lost so many on the way. "Well, that’s it. You’re where you’re supposed to be, Eva was born, just like she was supposed to. Everything all wrapped up with a pretty little bow."
"I just have one question left for you," Giles spoke to his doppelganger. Sandman nodded. "Who was Max’s mother?" It was the one burning question that Max had been unable to answer. To his surprise, he saw the other man’s eye tear up. It only increased his suspicion. "W-was it…Jenny?"
Sandeman tilted his head back, trying to blink away the tears. "I’m sorry, Ripper," he spoke softly, "but no, Jenny wasn’t her mother."
Giles sank slowly down to the chair behind him. He’d been so sure, every time he looked into the girl’s eyes and saw her wide smile. The loss of that hoped for connection hit him all at once. Max, understanding, handed Eva to Angel and sank to her knees beside him. As he leaned forward, his face in his hands, she wrapped her arms around him. They stayed that way, for many minutes.
Sandeman leaned forward. "You see Ripper, I loved Yanna too." Giles and Max’s heads both shot up at his words. "In our world," Sandeman continued, gesturing to himself and Max, "Yanna defied her Gypsy family. She ran away from them. I found her on the streets and took her in, helped hide her from her family. I grew to love her, but she was still young, so I hid it from her. In time, she met some of my…associates and she fell in love with one of them. They married. I even gave her away at her wedding. It was one of the worst days of my life." He glanced away. "And the best. I just wanted her to be happy. And she was." He turned back to them. "She and her husband were very happy. Until one of her husband’s enemies murdered her. We were all devastated."
Max stared at him in disbelief. Things were starting to come together in her mind. Remembered conversations with so many people filtered through her subconscious as answers finally played out. Sandeman continued speaking. "Her husband was obsessed with finding her killer, but I on the other hand, became obsessed with getting her back. I found another young Gypsy girl, though not of the same family. She was wonderful, so much like Yanna. The same spirit, beauty, zest for life. It was all there. She agreed to be the surrogate, so that I could have a child to love. But I sent her to Manticore. I didn’t want just another child. I wanted Yanna and I wanted a Slayer. And once Zara was pregnant, the scientists made sure that I got my wish. And Max was born, with no junk DNA. Purity itself."
Max stared up at the man, wanting to hear her thoughts confirmed. "Yanna, she changed her name, right?" Sandeman nodded. "She changed it to Maria, didn’t she?" Another nod. "It all makes sense. Why I was your favorite and his." Another nod, almost imperceptible. Max grit her teeth together; remembering all the manipulation caused in her life by those that claimed to love her. It wasn’t true love; she’d known that all along. But it was the past; she’d let this go too.
"What is it Max?" Angel demanded softly, trying not to wake the sleeping baby in his arms. She stood slowly and faced him.
"Yanna was Maria Lydecker. Colonel Lydecker’s wife" The group sat silently, absorbing everything they’d learned. Finally, Sandeman slapped a hand across his thigh. He stood.
"Well, I think I’ve stayed long enough. Giles, try and take good care of them." The other man nodded. "Time I got back to my world, check up on a few things." He turned to leave, but then paused as if suddenly remembering something. He turned back to Max as he dug his hand into his coat pocket. "I almost forgot. Can’t come to an engagement party without a gift now, can I?" He pulled out a slim package and handed it to the young woman. She stared down at it suspiciously.
"What is it?" Cordy asked with a wide smile. She had her suspicions, knowing as much as she did.
"Proper identification," he chuckled. "Can’t get married without it." He reached out hesitantly to Max, who surprising many of them, she included, slipped into his embrace. He hugged her tightly. "Be well Max." And then he was gone, unlocking the doors, into the endless dark of night.
"How on earth did he do that?" Willow demanded. "The identification, I mean?"
"Like he said Willow," Wes spoke up; "time has no meaning for him. He must have gone back to the proper time and laid this groundwork."
"I suppose," she nodded. Then brightened. She turned to the couple of the evening. "So what do they say?" They clambered around Max as she tore open the envelope.
"Mmm," she giggled as she read the first sheet. "Looks like I’m marrying an Irish immigrant by the name of Liam Thomas O’Connor." Angel grinned back at her and dropped a quick, chaste kiss on her lips.
"A good, solid name," he commented. "And who am I marrying?"
"Oh," Max smiled as she rifled through to the next page. "Here’s Eva’s. And here’s mine." She stared at the paper for a moment, mouth agape. "Ooh, I’m gonna kill him!"
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