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The Circle of Scooby Chapter 16
🕑 Added 2024-10-21 01:42:26 +0000 UTCSTORY TITLE: The Circle of Scooby PART: 16 of? AUTHOR: Red Jacobson (red.jacobson@gmail.com) DISTRIBUTION: FanFiction.net, Archive of Our Ow
STORY TITLE: The Circle of Scooby
PART: 16 of?
AUTHOR: Red Jacobson (red.jacobson@gmail.com)
DISTRIBUTION: FanFiction.net, Archive of Our Own, Twisting the Hellmouth
DISCLAIMER: None of the Characters You Recognize belong to me, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel Characters belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy (Grrr! Argh!), and the Boondock characters belong to the Estate of Robert A Heinlein and his publishers.
SUMMARY: The activation of the world's slayers has caused massive destruction throughout the multiverse, and the Circle of Ouroborus is determined to prevent that from happening and recruit three natives of the critical timeline to save the multiverse!
FEEDBACK: Of course! It Makes Me Write Faster
RELATIONSHIPS: Xander/Cordelia/Tara, Buffy/Willow, Giles/Jenny, Kendra/Oz
RATING: PG-13
WORD COUNT: <4,593>
SPOILERS: A Crossover with RAH's Lazarus Long Books. I'm afraid that, while I'm going to do my best to explain things, at least a passing familiarity with Time Enough For Love, The Number of the Beast, The Cat Who Walks Through Walls, and To Sail Beyond the Sunset would help you understand who these characters are. None, but if you don't know how the Buffy the Vampire Slayer story goes by now, why are you reading this story?
CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE DEPARTMENT: I'm borrowing a bit of Cordy's childhood background from my buddy IronBear's stories, specifically Rio Blanco on the Mouth of Hell, and the Hell-er-nator Stories. If you want some amazing Xander/Cordelia stories, do yourself a favor and check him out!
AUTHOR'S NOTES: I will try something unusual for this story, no lemons. Frankly, they've gotten to be a bore to write, and I imagine they've become boring to read. Hope this goes well.
CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE DEPARTMENT: The 'Ritual of Disavowal' is borrowed from Vidicon's Waifs and Strays Universe on TTH.
The Bronze
Friday, November 7th, 1997
Immediately After the Last Chapter
Oz sat in the booth, casually taking a sip of his soda as he observed the crowd hanging out at the Bronze. He glanced around, his eyes scanning the room before coming to a stop at the girl sitting beside him. He gave Kendra a slight smile, holding her hand to let her know he appreciated her being with him. With a shake of his head, he let out a low sigh. "I always knew Sunnydale had a reputation for students dropping out, but I never thought much of it. I just assumed they couldn't handle Snyder," he muttered a hint of amusement in his voice. His eyes flickered with curiosity as he took in the people around him, their seemingly mundane lives contrasting with the supernatural dangers lurking in the town. "But now, seeing all this, I have to admit, vampires actually make more sense," he added, his words carrying a weight of realization.
Xander leaned forward, "You're taking the existence of vampires a lot better than most of us locals did, have you encountered anything weird before?"
Oz sat quietly, his eyes wandering around the room for a moment before he put some gentle pressure on Kendra's hand. "You could say that, did you happen to catch Kenny, the Dingo's drummer?"
His words hung in the air, waiting for a response, but no one spoke. A small twitch of his lip betrayed his thoughts as he continued,
"Well, he's not actually our first drummer. A guy named Mitch had that honor. He was a nice guy, always on beat and helped us not sound terrible. But he's gone now..."
Oz's voice trailed off, his gaze shifting towards the floor as he recalled the memories. "He died on the night of the Spring Fling, attacked by a motorcycle gang. They were armed with BBQ forks for some reason." The words weighed heavily on his tongue, each detail conjuring up a clear image in his mind. The loud revving of engines, the smell of gasoline, the sight of Mitch's lifeless body. It all happened in an instant, but the impact would last a lifetime.
Buffy, Willow, Cordy, and Xander winced, while Kendra returned the pressure on Oz's hand, trying to offer some comfort, as she said, "And you saw your friend again, wearing the suit he was buried in?"
Oz nodded sharply, and Xander said, "I know, it's a shitty thing to experience, Willow and I had a third member of our group until the first week of school last year. His name was Jesse McNally, and he and Willow were lured out of the Bronze by two vampires. Buffy, a guy named Angel, and I were able to rescue Willow, but Jesse had already been taken into the crypt and we were forced back."
He went quiet and, after a sympathetic glance from Cordy, she picked up the story. "This was before I was friends with Xander and the others, but I was far too familiar with Jesse. The guy had a tremendous crush on me, constantly trying to get a date, and I would slap him down. But then, a few nights later, there was this attack here, and I saw Jesse again, only this time he wasn't trying to date me, he wanted to take me with him and get naked, and it didn't matter if I was willing or not. That night changed all of us, I think Xander the most, because he and Jesse had been friends since they were in diapers, and he had to stake the thing wearing Jesse's face."
Buffy saw the tears in Willow's eyes, and put her arm around her girlfriend, while Xander continued, looking seriously toward Oz, "Cordy makes the key point, the thing you saw looking, and even acting like your friend Mitch? That wasn't your friend, Mitch was long gone to whatever afterlife he was destined for, the thing walking around may have Mitch's memories, but it was a demon infested corpse, don't feel pity for it, because it would kill you in an instant if it got the chance."
Oz sat quietly for several seconds before taking another drink of his soda, "So, any other signs to watch for if I didn't know the person who's walking around?"
Buffy nodded, taking a sip from her drink. "there are a few things that are, sorry to say, a dead giveaway, they tend to wear clothes that were popular when they were alive, so if you see somebody after dark dressed in tie-dye, and there isn't a 60's tribute band in the area, I wouldn't recommend offering them a ride."
Kendra, always eager to learn, asked, "But what if they try to blend in? Could they not just dress like regular people and pretend to be human?"
"That's the tricky part," Buffy explained, her voice carrying a hint of pride in her expertise. "They might try, but there's always something off about their style. It's like they don't quite get modern fashion. Their clothes might be newer, but the way they put outfits together, it's just... not quite right. And they usually stick to darker colors, trying to blend with the night."
Willow, who had been listening intently, chimed in, "It's like they're stuck in a time warp of their own making. Their sense of style is a reflection of their eternal state--frozen in time, yet always lurking in the darkness."
Xander, ever the joker, added with a grin, "And let's not forget the fangs. It's kind of hard to hide those bad boys. Unless they're going for the 'I have really big teeth' look, which, let's face it, is not a trend most humans would follow."
The group shared a laugh, but Buffy's expression soon turned serious again as she added, "And remember, their eyes. The eyes are a dead giveaway--literally. No soul, no reflection. That's something you just can't fake."
TCOS & TCOS & TCOS
As Buffy twirled around the dance floor with Willow, her eyes kept drifting toward Kendra and Oz, who were sharing their first dance as a couple. She couldn't help but feel a twinge of unease, even though she trusted Oz. However, her growing fondness for Kendra made her realize that the Jamaican girl was still inexperienced and unaware of certain things.
Willow noticed where Buffy's gaze kept lingering and gently spoke up, "You don't have to worry about them, Buffy. Remember, Xander vouched for Oz and said he's a good guy."
She placed a reassuring hand on Buffy's arm. "And I did some research too, he's exactly who he appears to be." Buffy tried to focus on Willow's words, but her attention kept straying toward the couple on the dance floor. She couldn't shake off the feeling that something was off, but she didn't want to ruin the moment with her doubts.
As the music swirled around them and the lights cast a warm glow on the dance floor, Buffy couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding. She took a deep breath and tried to push away her fears, choosing to trust her friends and enjoy the night. But deep down, she couldn't shake off the nagging feeling that things were not as they seemed.
Just then, the song ended so Buffy took Willow's hand and led her off the dance floor, she looked concerned and, when they got to a relatively empty spot Buffy said, "When you say you 'did some checking' what did you mean? Did you go into his records or...?"
"No! No! Uh-uh! I know some guys from the Games Club and he comes and plays some afternoons. He's got a good reputation with his class, and he's taking a bunch of Advanced Placement Classes, and seems to be doing well with them. "
Buffy smiled, "That's good to know, and I'm sorry I automatically assumed you'd done your computer stuff, and I worry that you might get somewhere you really shouldn't be and the feds come and take you away in one of their black vans and..."
Willow looked stricken, she hadn't realized just how concerned her girlfriend was, to Willow it was almost a game, seeing what she could get into without being spotted. But after the first conversation with Buffy, she did check some open archives for the LA and New York papers and looked up several of the computer crimes trials, and several of them were younger than she was, and that was a wake-up call.
"Buffy, you don't have to worry about me hacking into things, I did some research in the newspaper archives, and in the last 2 years there were a bunch of people arrested for computer crimes, and a lot of them were younger than we are!"
"That's good, not that people were arrested, but you saw enough to know you don't want to be one of them. But, I'm sure there are legal ways you can find information, maybe by checking their security. Would that be something that would be interesting enough?
Willow paused, thinking, before she smiled and nodded, "That's something that could be fun, plus I heard they make stupid amounts of money. But, I hate to say it, but to be taken seriously, we need an adult who knows computers."
They were still talking seriously when they got back to the table, and Buffy raised the question about who they should talk to and nearly facepalmed when Xander suggested talking to Jenny Calendar since she was the Computer Instructor and aware of what goes on in the night.
After a couple of more dances, Buffy checked the time and saw it was close to her and Willow's curfew and they both knew they had to get an early start for their trip to Mount Shasta tomorrow. The rest of the group seemed to sense this too, as they began to wrap up the evening and prepare to head home.
As Kendra walked Oz to his van, the group held their breath in anticipation. The tension was thick in the air, Oz simply nodded in acknowledgment before giving Kendra a brief kiss on the lips. The quiet of the night was broken by the sound of their cheers and wolf whistles. Kendra blushed in response, her middle fingers raised in defiance towards the group's rowdiness.
To Kendra's relief, the others refrained from teasing her on the walk home, but Tara and Cordy smiled and gave her a thumbs up before they joined Xander in Cordy's Nissan and drove off.
The rest of the trip home was quiet, although Kendra seemed to have a problem keeping from smiling, and no one would be surprised that she had very pleasant dreams.
TCOS & TCOS & TCOS
Friday, November 7th
After School
Giles got off the phone, setting his pen down. "That was Thomas, he was the last of us, except for Ethan, and he managed to get a ticket on the same flight as Dierdre and Philip. They will be coming in early next Friday morning, and then head to the hotel for a shower and sleep. I've got to make arrangements for a visit to the caverns of Mount Shasta, it should be perfect for the Ritual."
Jenny's hands trembled as she fidgeted with the hem of her dress. She tried to put on a brave face, but her nervousness was palpable.
Giles noticed her unease and gently prodded, "What's wrong?"
Jenny's smile faltered and she hesitated before finally admitting,
"Now that Angelus is aware of how the curse can be broken, the clan considers that I've completed my mission, and now I'm being pressured by the head of my clan to return, to submit to their authority, to return to the clan and marry whoever they choose. And I just don't want to be controlled by them anymore. I want to make my own choices."
Giles' expression turned grave as he realized the weight of her words.
"What I'm worried about is the clan blood magic, the head of the clan could, and would, put a Geas of Obedience on me, if he felt my rebellion was severe enough. And there is nothing I can do to stop it! "
'They what? Bugger that with a cricket bat! There's never been a Geas that doesn't have an escape clause, and we will find it."
Jenny felt warmed by Rupert's anger on her behalf, and could almost believe he would find a way to free her.
As Giles listened to her, his mind was racing, searching for an escape from the authority of her clan. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest because he was well aware that what stakes were high and the consequences could be dire.
He had to think quickly and come up with a plan that would not only help her break free from the clan but also ensure her safety. This was a lot to take on, but he couldn't let her face this alone. He remembered the stories he had heard about the Kalderash and their powerful blood magic. It was a dangerous and ancient practice that could easily be used for manipulation and control.
Giles knew he had to tread carefully and be prepared for any obstacles that may come their way. He couldn't afford to underestimate the power of the clan and their hold over her. Despite the risks, he was determined to help her.
Giles had always been one to stand up for what was right, and he could see the fear and desperation in her eyes. He made a silent vow to himself to do everything in his power to break the hold the clan had over her and give her the freedom she deserved. It was a daunting task, but he was ready to face it head-on.
He knew he had to help her, but he also knew it wouldn't be easy. He had already made tentative plans, but this was a lot earlier than he had planned. Giles was pacing back and forth on his carpet, until he stopped, and strode toward the door to his bedroom, returning very shortly with a red velvet box in his hands.
Moving in front of her, Rupert got down on one knee, holding out the box that he opened to show a very pretty ring.
"This is far earlier than I was planning, but we already know we suit each other, in bed and out, Jenny or Janna, will you marry me?"
"Hell yes! Uncle Enos can go fuck himself!"
They were far too busy for conversation for the next several hours.
TCOS & TCOS & TCOS
Sunnydale City Hall
Mayor's Office
Friday, November 7th, 1997
6:00 PM
The building was fairly quiet now that business hours were over, and he didn't have any
civic duties to be attended to, so once he cleaned up a couple of loose ends, he could relax for a change.
The first file was Miss Summers, the current Slayer, the most recent notation was that she and Miss Rosenberg had entered into a relationship, which was fine, having the Slayer happy would help her keep a positive attitude, so he could use her to eliminate some of the freelance visitors. For example, there have been reports that Balthazar had dropped out of sight in Cleveland, it's possible that he had drained as much as he could from the dormant Hellmouth and decided to visit the active Hellmouth.
It was interesting that he had so little information on Joyce Summers, the Slayer's mother. She has been doing healthy business with the Gallery, in fact, he had one of the Remington paintings hanging on the wall of his living room, it works wonderfully as a conversation starter for the visitors who aren't aware of his true agenda. But Miss Summers doesn't seem to be getting involved with the Merchants Association which was unusual.
Mayor Wilkins doesn't appreciate things that are unusual in his town, unusual occurrences tend to interfere with his plans and cause difficulties. The normal means of observation wouldn't be effective since much of her time out of her house is during daylight hours.
He stopped at one item on the report, that Mrs Summers was interested in learning to cook dishes from different countries, and had signed up for different courses at the community center. Wilkins smiled, that would be a perfect way to get Ted Buchanan programmed to befriend the divorced woman and show just enough interest to spark a relationship, and fortunately, the original Ted had ensured his duplicates were completely functional, so when the relationship progressed that far Mrs Summers will find him a quite satisfactory lover.
Looking through the other folders of the Slayer's Support Team, there were two new members, Miss Maclay, who appears to be keeping hidden while there are still relatives of hers at large. A perfectly understandable reaction, considering that so many of her relatives are awaiting trial for so many narcotics and firearms violations, not to mention terroristic threats against the First Family and Attorney General, foolish, very foolish. If you are intending to remove someone, don't tell anyone about it!
The other new member, Miss Young, is apparently the Slayer who was activated when Miss Summers temporarily died at the fangs and claws of Mister Nest last Spring, only to be revived by Master Harris. Miss Young seems to be integrating well with the group, and should she survive to reach her retirement age, will be able to make a very comfortable living with her singing. According to one of his respiration-impaired employees, who was a vocal coach for several years before his encounter with the vampiress, Darla, Miss Young's voice is untrained, but, if it were at all possible, it would be a crime not to see to her training, and there are several reputable Colleges for Music and Voice in Los Angeles, and his employee stated he would contribute to a scholarship for the young lady.
Richard found himself intrigued, that something could affect a vampire to that extent. He made a note to find a way to hear her sing. He had left a great deal of his humanity behind, but one thing he still had was an appreciation for beauty, either in Art, Music, or any number of things. And if she was as good as his employee thinks, it wouldn't be difficult at all to arrange a scholarship through Wolfram and Hart, he certainly had enough money, and once he ascends he won't need it any longer. It would also get her out of Sunnydale so she would have a chance to survive the graduation.
Sunnydale High School Library
Friday, November 7th, 1997
Afternoon
Buffy sat at the long table, her Calculus textbook in front of her, and a sheet of equations for her to solve. She had been sitting at the table for over 20 minutes and only managed to complete 4 of the problems. The reason for her distraction was easily found, sitting on the floor in front of the Library Counter, the wooden packing crate that contained the new toys for Slayer, and she couldn't touch them, darn it!
It was going to be a long couple of days before they could take the trip out to Rory Harris' shack, to test the aim, recoil, distance, and several other pieces of information they would need before going to face any of the Undead Americans.
Buffy understood the delay, the meeting with Snyder and his Scooby Gang the next day is important, even if just to exchange information about the Big Bad. However, she is still having a hard time seeing Snyder as a Scooby, dressed as Xander used to with wild-colored shirts and torn jeans, making awful jokes to help everybody focus.
She's actually a little worried about meeting Xander's parents, because, even through the fog of terror from that meeting in the library rattled her Xander-shaped friend more than anything else she'd seen. Even Willow didn't understand what was going on, and she was as close to being a living encyclopedia of all things Xander. She didn't even know that Xander had an older sister, or what happened to her. It's no wonder things went sideways when Xander remembered her.
And then there was whoever destroyed Spike, it wasn't another vampire, not going in through windows and letting the sunlight and the Holy Water grenades take care of almost all the vampires. Except Spike, from the gossip Angel heard from Willy, who got it from the lone vampire who wasn't in the warehouse, so he had a chance to see another moonrise. It sounded like whoever destroyed him was personal, the monster was tortured before the Holy Water finally went deep enough to dust him.
She probably ought to ask Angel if he can pick up who is making a play to by the Master of the Hellmouth, and, considering all the dust that was supposed to be found on the floor of the warehouse, were there enough fledges around to make it worthwhile to take over? Or will they need to keep a close eye on mysterious deaths and disappearances, in case the Master wannabe decides to increase the number of stake fodder in a short period of time.
At least searching the burials and death reports isn't illegal and the idea to keep her away from deep hacking seems to be working so far. They still need to find a couple of minutes to talk to Miss Calendar about setting up a computer security testing service. Hopefully, that will give her girlfriend enough variety and challenges to keep her interested.
She looked up in annoyance when the class bell rang, her free was done for the day and now she had to avoid causing any explosions in the Chemistry Lab.
TCOS & TCOS & TCOS
Chase Manor
Saturday, November 8th, 1997
7:00 AM
Charles had just finished his cardio workout and was looking forward to a nice long shower when the phone rang. From the sound of the ringer, it could only be one of a very few people, and they all get picked up. Grabbing the phone, a quick look at the Caller ID told him who it was, and Charles was very curious to find out what Devasher's team was able to discover.
Pressing the Answer button, he put the phone to his ear, "Chase"
"Yes Sir, it's Devasher with the preliminary findings, we are still trying to run down a few lose ends but that should be done by Tuesday or Wednesday. For the basics, your current wife is just who she seems to be, she's had the same name from birth, and records from Kindergarten to High School, and then she enrolled at UC Sunnydale, starting out working toward a finance degree, but partway through her first year, something happened, and she changed her degree path to counseling, specifically a rape counselor and she graduated Magna Cum Laude and as soon as she was licensed for the State of California, she started volunteering at Crisis Centers and Emergency Rooms all over the county."
Charles could hear Devasher moving some paper on his desk, before he said, "I'm sure that you were familiar with at least the bare bones of her background, correct?"
"Yes, although I also know why she changed her career path. And it's extremely personal and would prefer not to discuss it without Margaret's agreement."
"That's fine, sir, there are enough snippets of information and conversations that it's easy enough to put things together. If I'm not mistaken, it involved a young lady by the name of Heather Macleod, am I mistaken?"
"No, you are correct, but I'd ask you to leave any conjecture about what may or may not have happened out of the final report. It's still an extremely painful subject. But go on, what else have you found?
"Strangely enough, at about the same time she changed her career path, she also developed an interest in physical conditioning and strength training, plus a variety of Martial Arts. It seems that she was sampling the different forms before settling on Capoeira and continuing to study and advance. There was also reports that she was searching for someone who could teach her to fight with light bladed weapons. That is one of the loose ends, we haven't been able to locate anyone who either trained her, or knows who, if anyone, trained her. There are also some medical anomalies, wounds that were made by different bladed weapons over a period of about a year. I'll admit I'm curious about the wounds and why she suddenly stopped getting slashed. But those are the major loose ends that need to be run down. Is there anything else that stands out to be investigated?"
"No, just wrap up what you have so far, and send it to the standard address, the funds will be transfered that day."
"Thank you, sir, I'll be in touch if anything else develops."
Charles ended the call, and couldn't remember any scars anywhere on Margaret's body, and he didn't see any sign that there was cosmetic surgery to remove the scars. 'What are you hiding, Margaret?' he thought to himself, we will need to have a serious conversation before bringing you any further in. We've got too much to lose to trust immediately.'
Looking up at the clock, he swore and headed for the shower, he had to hurry if he was going to make it to the meeting on time.
End Chapter Sixteen
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