Title:
All That Heaven Will Allow
Chapter
Title: Chapter Six- Ready For Action
Author:
Restive Nature
Disclaimer:
I do not own the rights
to BtVS. They belong to Whedon & Mutant Enemy. I also do not own
the rights to Charmed. They belong to the WB. No infringement is
intended and this fiction is for private enjoyment only.
Rating:
PG-13
Genre:
Crossover
Type:
Angst, Action, Humor
Pairing:
canon pairings in both shows
Summary:
Slayer dreams and Whitelighter-Witch hybrid powers collide when the
veil between worlds come close to collapsing. Can baby Wyatt survive
life on the Hellmouth?
Spoilers/
Time line: Season 4 (after “Harsh Light Of Day”) of Buffy and
Season 6 (after “Forget Me... Not”) Of Charmed.
Feedback:
Always welcome!
Distribution:
Ask first please.
A/N:
This was one of my contributions started for NaNoWriMo 2012. The
story was by no means completed in that month and I am looking
forward to continuing it.
A/N2:
There is a definite time difference between these two worlds and the
seasons that I am using. This will hopefully, be explained within the
fiction itself.
All That
Heaven Will Allow
Chapter
Six
Ready
For Action
The
end of the drop down into the caverns came much faster than Buffy had
imagined that it would. Enough so, that she was jarred and her knees
protested loudly as she stumbled forward a few steps, her hands
reaching blindly for anything that might be in front of her. There
was nothing but semi-darkness and silence, for which she was
extremely grateful. Carefully unbuckling the rope from her harness,
Buffy decided that she would keep the other gear on. There was always
the thought that whatever bad guy she was fighting could grab onto
her, any of the loops and what not. But the same could be said
sometimes, of her every day clothing. Even pants with belt loops were
a danger in that line of thought. Every extra bit of material was one
that her enemy could grab onto in the quest to immobilize her. But it
was a risk she would run to have it in place when she returned, not
knowing what those circumstances would be.
Adjusting
the strap of the pack of her supplies, Buffy slowly crept forward,
trying to give her eyes a chance to adjust to the light, or lack
thereof. But she still felt that gnawing in her belly urging her to
find the baby. She had her head cocked, straining to listen for any
sound that might be like an infant's noises, or perhaps even
something tracking or following it. From what she could figure, and
it wasn't like she was an expert, the kid couldn't walk. At least she
hadn't seen him do so in the brief moments that she had observed him
in her dream.
True,
he had been hanging onto a wall, supporting himself to stand. But she
suspected his tiny baby legs wouldn't hold out for long. Hopefully
the kid had some supersonic crawling power, or that teleporty thing.
Shaking her head at her own fanciful wishing, Buffy realized that
there was little in her life, before Slaying or even after, that
prepared her for dealing with a little kid. Sure she could rescue
them until the cows came home.
But
what on earth were they going to do with one, once they got him?
The
answer that came automatically bolstered the young woman that was
bravely going forth, was automatic and typically tended to be her
answer when she was stressed out by the non-slayerly facts of her
life.
Ask
Mom.
She
found now that with one question about the future of this little
endeavor had been answered, Buffy was able to move along at a faster
clip. Perhaps there was a correlation between mental well-being
translating into physical strength. She'd have to talk to her psych
professor about that, or maybe ask Willow if there was something in
the syllabus that pertained to this course of study.
She smirked slightly as she continued to move forward. There, another
question preying on her brain with an answer already.
She
might just be able to pull this off.
AtHwA~AtHwA
Leo
was careful naturally, as he tried to make his way into the
underground. He knew from experience that walking, or orbing into
this place, as it were, was almost like a gong going off for the
demons down here. They knew, or would know quickly enough, that an
embodiment of good had invaded their territory.
But
he didn't care.
He
was after his son and he was going to get him. That was what the last
several years of his life as a Whitelighter had been. That was why he
was an Elder now and no longer with Piper, though he came to see
Wyatt as often as he could. He was simply trying to protect his
family. And while he still believed that love would conquer anything,
he also saw the other side of the coin.
Why
would he not want to be an Elder and have the power to protect, not
just his son and his family, but the rest of the world too? There
were other people out there, normal humans who had not the powers
that he and the Charmed Ones had to save people. And those people had
sons and daughters, spouses, siblings, parents that they all loved as
much as he loved Piper and Wyatt. And Paige and Phoebe as well.
He
had manged to orb in safely to an empty chamber, but was not about to
let his guard down. Over the years, they had fought almost every type
of demon imaginable and since Leo had been a Whitelighter longer than
even Piper or her sister's had been alive, even being there with the
girl's Grams as she fought and needed help, Leo had seen even more.
It wasn't that he didn't share these things when he coul, but the
knowledge he had of the number of demons would probably overwhelm the
girls.
Reaching
out with all the senses that he could, Leo tried to feel for his son,
for the instant bond that existed between them because of their
shared blood. Not to mention their shared heritage. He was an Elder
by choice, to a degree and carried with him the traits of
Whitelighters, but extended. Wyatt carried those same powers and it
was this link and the one of love that Leo searched for now.
He
caught some slight wisps and traces, but they were unfocused and
scattered seeming. Leo wondered why that was, even as he chose a
direction to move in. As he had told the sisters, this was going to
be a long and difficult process. Every orb he made, he risked landing
in a group of demons, or even just one. And since his purpose was to
find his son, he didn't want to be bogged down in having to fight
every distraction along the way. He didn't want to alert them to his
position or his purpose. Though if a demon, any demon had his son,
they would have to know instantly that Leo or the Charmed ones,
perhaps both would be coming after them with a Vengeance.
He
could only hope that the Crone's first edict still held. She had
declared that there was a truce between demon kind and the Charmed
Ones, over this matter. She was a Seer, like Phoebe, she had visions
and she had foreseen that kidnapping Wyatt would not end well for the
tribe she associated with, nor much of demon kind everywhere. But
there were those dissenters among every kind of group Leo had seen.
Those that would question, some that would rebel. It was obvious that
this was the case even now. For a demon had stolen his son away,
breaking the edict and plunging the opposing sides into what could
rapidly become a war to equal the fiercest decimation any had seen in
this world and others.
He
continued to move as quickly as possible. The scent of his son,
though it wasn't an actual smell but some higher sense or maybe even
baser instinct that had made him choose this particular direction,
seemed to be growing in Leo. He wondered so many things. Was Wyatt's
protective shield still working? Could he access his powers still
down here? Was the slight wisps from Wyatt moving around, trying to
avoid the nightmare world that this place must seem to him? Or was it
a demon passing him around to others in the hope of breaking through
Wyatt's only protection?
These
thoughts continued to almost cycle through Leo's mind as he began to
be aware of something else. Something different. A thrumming that
reminded him of a heartbeat. He knew at once that it wasn't his own,
though it almost seemed to beat in time with his own. The patter of
the rhythmic thumping almost seemed to encapsulate the walls of the
corridor he was in. If he didn't know better, he would say that they
were alive, thrumming slowly at first and gaining momentum in their
beats. He didn't want to admit it, but this strangeness, it scared
him. Made him feel uneasy in a level that he paid immediate attention
too. But instead of turning tail to run away from it, he ran faster,
from rock formation to room and on, all the while, his eyes darting,
his ears peeled and fingers clenching as he readied himself for any
action.
Any
action at all.
AtHwA~AtHwA
Buffy
had moved forward at a good clip once her eyes had adjusted to the
dimness of the Hellmouth. She could tell just by feel alone that she
was moving at a downwards slope. That was fine by her and
understandable since the Hellmouth was underground. She had to go
further to get really down and deep.
The
first duo of demons that she came across were not ones that she
recognized. They certainly weren't expecting to see her and that
surprise was her best weapon. She had them decapitated and lying on
the floor before they even knew what hit them. She paused, hoping,
biting her lip that they were not a regenerative kind of demon that
would keep fighting without head or limbs or something icky like
that. But when they didn't explode and stayed down for the count, she
allowed herself to cautiously move on.
There
were another few strays lining against the walls and Buffy had the
impression that they were doing something they deemed of importance,
but she couldn't take the time to figure it out. She had to find baby
Wyatt and pushed all her senses forth to the matter. And it was in
this way, listening to what her Slayer sense, the one she had
developed from years of fighting, training and just that added boost
of mystical power that helped her to sense her way and
which direction to take when she needed to make the twists and turns
essential to her end goal.
She
kept on like that, wryly realizing that she was very much taking to
heart, Giles' original theory when he figured that she had displayed
too much punny power. Simply plunge and move on, plunge and move on.
Though in several cases, it was chop, stab, behead and then move on.
At
last, she caught the first hint of what she had been looking for.
There was a crackling sensation at the base of her brain stem that
had her hyper aware in her other worldly senses and when she turned
in the direction that it had seemed to be coming from, she saw the
hint of blue white light off in the distance.
Scared
that she would lose this chance, Buffy ran through the rougher path
of the scattered Hellmouth trails. The light faded as she made it to
the opening and turned into the surprisingly large antechamber off
the main route. Buffy took everything in in an instant and saw that
Wyatt, if this was he, since he was the only human looking thing in
the room, aside from herself, had startled the assembled demons with
his appearance.
He
was tottering on unsteady legs, with nothing close to support him,
which reinforced Buffy's thoughts about how truly young he was. The
baby was staring up at the things, green skinned and oddly twisted as
the things stared down at him in surprise. But then when one reached
down to grab at this tasty new morsel that had been delivered to
their very presence, there was a bright spark.
“No!”
Buffy shouted and then cursed herself for bringing the demon's
attention to herself. Because the very moment that the word escaped
her lips, the baby had disappeared. He apparently could take care of
himself, to a degree. But Buffy had no idea for sure. From the little
she knew from Willow's use of a few spells, magic had its
limitations. Whether it was from tiring a person out or using up
energy, which wasn't always the same thing. And the little guy was so
tiny. How long could he hold out?
The
fight that followed was short and brutal, mostly because after Buffy
beheaded the guys, finding that she had finally come across those
types that functioned without heads, she discovered through sheer
habit that Mr. Pointy was well worth bringing. That and after she had
staked the first few that fell down, she had run to try and find
Wyatt so she could let him know she was there to save him. If she
could make a baby understand such a thing. And so running, had found
that the demons couldn't keep up. Their twisted limbs made them slow,
not agile at all.
Once
she figured she was far enough ahead of them, she slowed to try and
sense the baby's presence again. She found quickly the thrum of her
heart in her ears. It was a little faster than usual, worry she knew,
over Wyatt. “Wyatt,” she whispered softly. “Where are you
baby?”
AtHwA~AtHwA
Leo
whirled around as the words sounded in his head. He'd never before,
each time he'd been in the underworld, heard a human's voice so
clearly if it wasn't right close to him. It just wasn't possible
because in this realm, he was partly cut off from his full strength.
The voice sounded gentle, worried, but young still. It scared him,
because he didn't know this voice. He didn't know who it belonged to.
And
worse still, a sound he did recognize.
His
son's responding laughter.
His
heart clenched as he picked up his pace even more, racing towards a
goal he had in a place he did not know. Was this some demon looking
for his son? Was his boy playing a dangerous game of hide and seek
with some... some thing that maybe had taken on a familiar guise? It
was not that easy to do, since Wyatt had very few people around him
that he would recognize.
Just
ahead, he saw and felt his son, recognizing the fading lights of
orbs. But confusion reigned when he rounded the curve and saw that it
was Chris.
“Where
is he!” Leo shouted as he rushed the young Whitelighter that
claimed to be from the future. His hands clenched into Chris' sweater
and slammed him back into the rock wall behind them. “Where's my
son?”
“I
don't know!” Chris gasped, winded from having his breath slammed
out of his lungs. “That's why I came. To help you look.”
“Don't
lie to me Chris,” Leo growled out the warning. “I felt him. I
could sense him. He was right here!”
“There
was no one here,” Chris retorted with his own snarl as he tried to
push Leo off of him. The older male just would not let go. “Leo! I
swear! Wyatt wasn't here. It's just me!” The two males stared at
one another. Leo, his jaw clenched, slowly pulled back and looked
around. Chris straightened up and pulled his sweater down where it
had gotten bunched up. “I'm sorry you thought...”
“It
was my son,” Leo repeated. “I...” Unfortunately the doubt
started to set in.
“Is
it possible that you've spent enough time chasing me around to see
what I'm up to, which is nothing sinister, I remind you,” Chris
offered dryly, though without much humor, “that you've started to
recognize when I orb? I mean, that is how you've tracked me before,
right?”
“Yeah,”
Leo took the words in and nodded slowly. Chris did have a point.
After so much time trying to see what the young man was up to, his
orbing and the sense of him had become very familiar. “Damn it!”
he shouted, shoving his hands into his hair and tugging at it
slightly. “We need to find him.”
“I
know,” Chris nodded urgently. “Where have you searched already?
There's no use going over ground twice.”
“Unless
Wyatt happens to orb somewhere else to avoid demons,” Leo pointed
out and Chris sighed. His shoulder's drooped and he glanced around.
“Do you feel that?” he demanded suddenly.
“That
chill up my back that makes me want to run as fast and as far away as
possible?” Chris responded instantly, though his expression belied
the flippancy of the words. Leo nodded.
“What
is that?” Chris demanded, smacking his lips distastefully. He
looked around, but Leo was shaking his head.
“I've
been feeling it for a little while,” Leo admitted. “I don't
know...” he turned in a circle, slowly, studying the surrounding
room that they stood in. “Something else is going on.” He knew
enough to be able to tell that, but it was as if all the knowledge he
had gleaned had disappeared in his race to find the boy.
“We've
gotta go,” Chris urged, obviously responding to what his instincts
down here were telling him.
“Shh,”
Leo urged, closing his eyes and stretching his arms out slightly,
palms up. He could feel Wyatt, he knew that he could. But just as his
thoughts traveled to the boy, picturing his sweet, innocent son, he
heard the words that scared him just as deeply as Piper's admission
that he had been taken again in the first place.
“Hey
little guy... it's okay... Gotcha!”
His
eyes flashed open, his heart rending as he let out a gut clenching
yell. “No!”
His
son was truly gone.
Chapter Eight- The Slumbering Babe
No comments:
Post a Comment