Author: Restive Nature (aka Bavite)
Disclaimer: The characters and fictional placings of either of these shows do not belong to me. They belong to Cameron/ Eglee (Dark Angel), Joss Whedon (BtVS) and Whedon/ Greenwalt (AtS). Only the story belongs to me.
Rating: 13 (for now)
Genre: Crossover of DA/ BtVS
Type: WiP
Timeline/ Spoilers: Post Season 5 for Buffy. Up to LAtR for DA. Story set in DA time.
Summary: BtVS/ DA crossover. Life brings about so many changes. Especially when one has just risen from the dead.
Chapter Eleven
May 23rd, 2021
Motel room, mid-afternoon
"Can we go?" Buffy asked quietly, but with surety in her voice. She’d directed her question to Alec, since the other two seemed to have lost what little patience they had with her. Her appealing green eyes stared up at him. Alec hesitated a moment, then popped the last bite into his mouth. He chewed quickly and swallowed.
"As soon as Max and Logan are done," he told her again. She frowned but didn’t say anymore as she watched Max and Logan continue eating. Logan glanced back at the Styrofoam package in front of Buffy.
"You should eat a little more," Logan urged. Buffy just stared distastefully at the food they’d purchased for her. They’d tried to go into a small diner, but Buffy had only made it as far as the doorway, before tears were brimming in her eyes and she was holding her hands over her ears. Alec had realized instantly that being in a public place, with other strangers around was too much for her. He’d doubled back; telling Max to order everything to go and they’d eat back at the motel. Max had nodded and Alec had gently escorted Buffy back to the car. Half an hour later, she’d taken maybe two bites of the sandwich Max had handed her.
"Not hungry," she grunted. Logan was about to speak again, but a quick shake of Alec’s head made his mouth snap shut. Badgering her wouldn’t accomplish anything.
They could understand her eagerness to go and find someone from her past. The only connection she felt she had in the world. Logan didn’t count to her, as she hadn’t reconciled the man before her to the child she’d known. They’d asked questions as they ate and Buffy had answered them to the best of her ability. When she’d mentioned that she thought the place she was looking for was called the Heparin Hotel, there was a moment of confusion, until Max had run through the places she knew. Having lived in Los Angeles herself for a good many years, she was still familiar with many of the larger sites, museums, hotels and the like. So when she blurted out that Buffy probably meant the Hyperion, there was a look of relieved gratitude from the blonde woman.
So they knew where they were going. Understanding who they were looking for was a harder story to get out of her. And all they learned was that Angel was someone she knew from her days in Sunnydale and he had moved to LA a few years before. They had to assume that she meant a few years before she died, as she wouldn’t say anything else. They all had their suspicions about what Angel had been to her, mostly from the softening of her voice and the sudden mist of tears in her eyes when she spoke of him. But just as quickly, her eyes had gone hard and she hadn’t spoken, expect to ask when they could go.
Finally however, the others finished as well and they swept their garbage up and into the small trashcan by the front door. Alec picked up his coat as Logan retrieved his keys again. Buffy led the way out the door and was waiting impatiently at the car for the rest of them. She climbed into the back seat and Alec followed, figuring that it was easier for Max to give Logan directions if she were in the front seat. There was a minor problem at the first sector checkpoint they encountered, until Logan showed the sector cop his paperwork and explained that they hadn’t planned on stopping in LA. After a thorough checkof Logan’s credentials, the sector cop was able to issue them a temporary visitor’s pass, mapping out their route to the hotel. The cop didn’t bother to ask why they wanted to go to a dilapidated old hotel that wasn’t operating as such. He just wanted to get them moving so he could return to the scant hut that was his post for the day. Probably wanted to get off his feet and listen to whatever was on the radio.
Max directed Logan with easy to follow commands and soon they had arrived. Buffy stared up at the large structure while the others exited the vehicle. Alec came around to her side, by the curb and opened the door, hiding a smile at her sudden nervousness. He squatted down and waited until she turned her face to his. "We don’t have to do this now. We can wait until you’re ready."
She wet her lips and swallowed heavily. "I need to," she answered honestly. "He might know…" She trailed off, but Alec knew that she was still thinking of her sister. Nothing anyone said could convince her that Dawn was dead. Alec could only hope that hearing it from someone she trusted would impact her. Though that wasn’t an emotional maelstrom that any of them were looking forward to. To that end, he held out his hand to help her out of the car. She stared at it for a moment, then placed her smaller hand in his. He winced inwardly at how cool her skin was. Even with his transgenic body temperature being slightly higher than an ordinary person’s would be, she was still much too cold. Just nervousness he hoped.
They pushed open the gate that was set amid the high brick wall that led to the main entrance. Max was regaling them with tales of the time she’d tried to case out the place. As a young teen, she’d figured that a place as large as this was bound to have some good loot. But when she’d actually got inside, it was all trinkets, books and smelly herbs. Buffy looked puzzled and then she nodded. It made sense to her, even if it didn’t to the rest of them.
This time however, there was no need for subterfuge. There was a large sign to the side of the front double doors, proclaiming that the hotel was open. Logan pulled open one of the doors and stood back to the let the others through. It wasn’t really what any of them expected. The lobby was full of people, talking, laughing, chattering, and arguing. They took this in until Alec looked down at Buffy. She was cringing back. There were too many people, again.
"Buffy," he murmured quietly. Her panicked eyes jumped up to his and he moved his hand to rest at the small of her back. She stiffened a moment before relaxing into the friendly and supportive gesture. "Do we go in?" She nodded hesitantly and started forward, even as she tried hard not to flinch and duck away from the noise.
Before they got far, a young black woman broke away from the group she was talking with. She approached them with a large smile in place on her face. A few steps from them, she stopped and spread her hands wide. "Hello. Welcome to Lamia Portus. How can I help you?"
The newcomers glanced at each other warily and then Logan stepped forward. "Hi, I’m Logan Cale," he offered his hand and the woman shook it. "We’re actually here looking for someone."
The woman wasn’t all that taken aback by the announcement. Her smile stayed put and she nodded. "Do you have a name?" She turned her head to the side and caught someone’s eye. Another young woman nodded and stood from where she’d been seated in the center of the lobby. The group around her that she’d been conversing with fell silent for a moment as she made her way through them and once she was clear, they closed up rank and continued their conversation.
"Actually," Alec smiled charmingly as he eyed the other woman coming towards him. There was a strange energy running through the room that had him slightly on edge. "The person we’re looking for, used to run a business here, about twenty years ago. We were wondering if you might possibly know where he moved to."
Understanding dawned on the black woman and she turned and gestured at the other woman. "Sorry Arianna," she called. The other woman just shrugged and grinned, easily turning to return to her friends. The black woman turned back to the group. "Sorry, I thought you were here for a locator spell."
"A locator spell?" Logan repeated dubiously. He wondered immediately what kind of nuthouse they’d stumbled into. Alec and Max were wondering similar thoughts, but Alec noticed that Buffy was edging her way forward. His hand fell from her back as she moved out of his reach.
"Lamia Portus," Buffy muttered as she took in the woman before her. Alec eased around to lean against a pillar supporting the vaulted roof so that he could see what was going on. Buffy’s face scrunched up for a moment, then she blurted out, "witch haven?"
"Oh," the black woman breathed, her smile returning. "You know Latin?"
"I… remember some," Buffy grimaced.
"I’m Emily, by the way," the black woman introduced herself. But Buffy didn’t offer her own name. Emily glanced over each member of the newcomers, sizing them up. They obviously weren’t here to look in the Wiccan natural shop, or utilize the service of one in their coven. So she figured it was probably best to tell them what they wanted to know, so she could get back to the day to day business of running the commune. "I’m afraid to say," she continued, "that I don’t have that information. I only came here to study and to work about two years ago."
"Oh," Logan nodded. He straightened up. "Is there perhaps someone who’s been here longer that we could speak to?"
Emily nodded. "You’d probably want to talk to the lady that started Lamia. But that was back in 2013. I think this place was empty for a long time before that. But she might know."
Logan nodded again. "Is she here?" Emily shook her head.
"She isn’t available right now," she smiled apologetically. "But I could take your information and have her call you as soon as she does come in."
Alec could see the slight disappointment on Buffy’s face and he stepped forward. "That’d be great," he told the black woman. "But we’re going to have to head back to Seattle soon. So if she could get in touch with us as soon as she gets in?"
Emily thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. "Why don’t I get your number here and your home number?"
"That’d be fine," Logan sighed. He went over to the desk with the other woman so she could write down the numbers of his cell phone and his home phone. Meanwhile, Buffy had gravitated over to one of the displays of crystal necklaces. Max and Alec followed for lack of anything better to do. Her hand strayed over the display and then she reached amid the strands and pulled forward a black choker, with a slim purple stone dangling from the end.
A young woman made her way quickly over, perhaps sensing a sale. She took up position behind the counter and gestured to the one Buffy was holding. "That’s always a popular choice."
"What is it?" Max demanded. While she was well versed in the more precious stones, she’d barely paid attention to semi-precious ones. Except how to tell them apart from the real thing.
"Amethyst," Buffy informed her quietly, before the girl could speak. Strangely, as she continued, she affected an extremely bad English accent. "Used for charm bags, money spells and for cleansing one’s aura." She smiled wistfully as she stared at the stone.
"Very good," the sales girl chuckled. "You must have studied the stones?"
Buffy glanced up and lost the tiny light in her eyes. Whatever had prompted the knowledge of amethysts, wasn’t accompanied by other good thoughts and it was plain to everyone around her that Buffy didn’t wish to speak of it. She dropped the amethyst as if scalded. "A little," she finally murmured. The salesgirl stared at her, assessing her mood and demeanor. Then she reached for another necklace.
"I think maybe this one would be more appropriate," she offered, removing it from the rack. Max and Alec watched as she freed a similar necklace. Instead of a slim stone though, it had a more rounded rock attached to the end, colored in a curious muted shade of blue. With veins of white and brown running through it, it evoked images of the earth.
"Chrysalis?" Buffy uttered, looking slightly confused. The girl chuckled and shook her head.
"Close," she smiled and extended her hand to Buffy. The blonde automatically caught the stone that was swinging in front of her. "It’s chrysocolla. It lifts and balances the emotion, eases emotional heartache. And it’s known to attract love and sweet dreams," she ended in a lilting, tempting tone. But at the mention of love and dreams, Buffy seemed to shut down again. Alec took this in and barely hesitated. It didn’t matter if he didn’t believe in this mumbo jumbo. But obviously Buffy did, to an extent. And even if the stupid little rock did nothing, if Buffy believed that it might, it could go a long way in buoying her mental well being. He reached for his wallet as he nodded at the girl.
"We’ll take it," he informed her. She smiled broadly at him and told him the amount. Which was surprisingly reasonable for this day and age. He handed over the cash and told her not to bother with a bag. She obligingly clipped the price tag from the necklace and handed it to him, along with his change.
"Thank you," she grinned. "And have a nice day."
Logan approached the group at the counter just as Alec had opened Buffy’s hand and dropped the necklace into it. She closed her hand reflexively and gazed up at him. Alec felt mildly uncomfortable; unable to fathom why the simple gesture had seemed so important to him.
"Buffy? Are you ready to go?" Logan asked, unaware of the particulars of the by-play going on before him. Buffy nodded, her eyes still on Alec. She finally turned and headed for the front door. Alec glanced down at Max, surprised to see that for once she was smirking at him and not the other way around.
"What?" he demanded as they began to walk after Logan and Buffy.
"Nothing," she chuckled.
"Seriously Max, what?" Alec demanded, getting a little irritated. She looked as if she knew something he didn’t and it was very disconcerting for him. And then it dawned on him why precisely she was smirking. "Oh quit it," he ordered harshly. "I was just being nice."
"With jewelry," she taunted. "That’s a lot nicer than men I know."
"With a stone," Alec corrected.
"On a necklace," she continued as she made her way out the door. Logan and Buffy were already at the gate. Alec grunted in frustration and grabbed at her arm. She stared pointedly at it until he let go.
"I just thought that maybe the dumb thing might actually help calm her down, if she believes in that sort of stuff," he explained gruffly. "That’s it." Max cocked her head to the side, studying him. Finally she shrugged.
"Whatever you say Alec," she sighed and began to walk away. "But jewelry is still jewelry."
"Argh!"
*****
May 23rd, 2021
3:02
Rear entrance of Lamia Portus, Hyperion Hotel
Tara had been running late all day. She’d had appointments that she’d had to cancel. None of them were important, except one. And he understood why she was late. He didn’t mind. They just got together weekly to touch base and discuss things currently going on in their lives and businesses. But when Tara realized that she was late getting back for her three o’clock class that she taught, she’d hurried away. And that was always a mistake. For it seemed it was always her luck, that whenever she hurried, the harder it made things. Sector checkpoint lines were longer than usual. The car wouldn’t start. People insisted on jaywalking in front of her only.
But she finally made it. And only a few minutes late. Her group would understand. It was luckily, some of the things she was striving to teach them. Patience, understanding and acceptance. Even if she wasn’t demonstrating them very well herself today. Tara climbed out of the car, noticing that she’d parked slightly haphazardly in her space, but not really worrying about it. She shut the front door and moved to the back seat to gather the material she’d need to look over later that evening. She bumped the car door shut with her hip and carried the papers and folders through the garden of the Hyperion hotel.
Luckily someone saw her coming and jumped up to open the door from the inside for her. "Thank you Martin," she smiled as she passed by the young man who’d joined their commune recently. He smiled back and commented on the nice weather. Tara nodded and continued down the steps. As usual, the lobby was thriving and teeming with people. Either here for a class, to visit with other Wiccans or to peruse through the nature shop or their fairly extensive library of arcana.
"Buffy!" the name caught Tara off guard and her head snapped up as she stumbled slightly. It was a name she hadn’t heard for many, many years. Her head swung around in astonishment to where the man was who’d called it. An older man, walking slowly towards the display of charm stone necklaces was talking to the group there. Two women and another man. The papers that Tara had been so carefully holding slid to the floor as the blonde turned her face to the older man.
"Oh Goddess," Tara murmured as the woman came into full view. She stood rooted to the spot as they moved away, out the front doors. It wasn’t possible, was it? Tara felt her heart thudding in her chest as emotions warred within. But as the door slipped shut behind the other couple, the commune members were treated to an amazing sight. Tara Maclay, founding member of the Lamia Portus Wiccan Commune dashed across the hotel lobby, her eyes wide and panicked as she chased after the people who’d just been inside.
But as Tara reached the front doors, yanking them open, all she could see was the group pulling away from the curb in a small blue car. She stood there, trembling as she brought a hand to her mouth. Some long-forgotten emotion seized hold of her, a familiarity of the person who’d just been there. And all she knew was that she had seen the impossible, but it was most definitely a ghost from her past. Because while many women and girls might look similar to her friend, the sense of power that had dwelled in Buffy, the gift of the Slayer, had never been there before in those other women. But Tara had sensed it the moment she’d walked in from the garden. She just never expected that The Slayer would be present in the form it had dwelt in once before for so many years.
Tara spun around and re-entered the hotel. Her eyes sought out Emily, who ran the front office when she wasn’t available. It wasn’t difficult as all the members present were staring at her agape, unable to control their shock at her behavior. "W-who was t-that?" Tara demanded, stuttering. Emily exchanged looks with a few others. Those people had affected their beloved Tara in a profound way if it caused her to stutter. An affectation that had taken her many years to fully overcome.
Emily was still holding the paper with Logan Cale’s numbers in her hand. She hadn’t told them that Tara was to be back for her three o’clock class. And only because when Tara was running late, it was hard to say precisely what time she’d arrive. So Emily came forward and handed her said paper.
"They said they were here looking for someone who used to have a business here," Emily explained. Tara took in the name written on the paper, but it meant nothing to her.
"T-the girl," she wondered. "Who w-was she?"
Sandra, the girl that had sold them the necklace took a step forward. "I think her name was Buffy." And then her eyes went wide. She’d been there a little longer than most, almost from the beginning. "Wasn’t that the name of the Slayer you knew?" A hush settled on the room as some of them, those who were familiar enough with how Tara had come to Los Angeles, realized the impact of what had happened.
Tara nodded. "It was. T-that was her. I t-think. Oh Goddess," she moaned again and headed for the main desk. Everyone was quiet as she reached for the phone. She dialed a number extremely familiar to her. The number of the man she’d just left.
"Wolfram and Hart?" a chirpy voice announced. "How may I direct your call?"
"T-this is T-Tara Maclay," Tara announced, knowing that the receptionist knew her well enough to allow her call. "I n-need to t-talk to Angel."
"One moment please," the woman responded kindly. Tara waited a moment while the call was transferred. When the deep, familiar tone of one of her oldest friends greeted her, she felt a flash of heart-clenching fear. How could she say this to him? When his life had finally found peace, how could she shatter that? But for all their sakes, she really had no choice.
"Tara?" Angel spoke again into the silence. He’d been about to tease her for being so forgetful that she had to call as soon as she got back to the hotel, but now he was starting to worry. "What is it?"
"Angel?" Tara murmured. She took a deep breath and glanced back at the doors Buffy had so recently exited. "W-we have a s-situation."
Chapter Twelve
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