Brave New World

Part B


The Master was very pleased as he observed to preparations. *One more step closer,* he thought with delighted avarice. "Wonderful," he murmured to Willow. "And so far ahead of my initial designs. You have truly surpassed my expectations, my dear. I don't believe there is anyone who could have made me a finer Queen."

Willow snuggled closer in to his side and began to run her fingers across his chest and stomach. "My service for you is always a pleasure for me." She glanced over at the 2000-gallon stainless steel tank being installed. "The tank will be finished and filled by this afternoon. We can perform the spell at six and then everything will be ready for your 'Guests'," she finished with an evil grin.

The Master grinned back. Since the night of the Harvest, when the malignant idea had first germinated in his twisted mind, it had slowly grown and sunk its pernicious roots into his desires. The power he had received every time Luke fed was addictive and he had desired more. Willow had been the catalyst that had made the idea a reality. The blood in the tank that would be fed to the assembled vampires tonight along with the ceremonial oaths that they would make before him would bind them all to him. Thereafter, every time they fed, a portion of the victim's life force would be mystically transmitted to the Master. Not a large amount, just a small percentage; however, with over 4000 vampires sending power to him every time they fed, the cumulative increase in his own personal strength and power would be tremendous.

"Now what about the new Slayer?" Willow inquired slyly.

"Ah!" said the Master. "You have your pet, I w I will have mine."

"Another experiment?" asked Willow with some distaste. "Why not just kill it and be done with the wretched creature?"

"Because, my dear, I take pleasure from the idea of turning our enemies weapons against them. I don't know what went wrong with 'Childe' but I will have this one and we shall see if she does not turn out better." Upon seeing her frown he added, "Don't worry, Willow. An attack dog is all she will ever be. Certainly, no threat to your position."

Willow smiled back. "Of course not. I am only concerned that this 'attack dog' will turn on her betters."

"After tomorrow, I don't see that as a problem; however, I think I shall wait until after the ceremony to turn her."

"Why not add it to the ceremony? The turning of a Slayer to accentuate our joining."

The Master thought about it and nodded, "Certainly an inspired idea. Very well then, we will turn her as the conclusion of the ceremony."

Willow was once again excited. "Ooooh, oooh! We can have her lowered from the rafters as a crucified angel. You there!" she grabbed the ear of a passing vamped worker. "Where is the costume room?"

******

Giles gazed upon the unconscious vampire as she lay upon the cot in the library's bookcage. He had sent Oz off to hunt down a butcher from whom he could get fresh blood. However, even with that, Giles saw no way that the former slayer would be in any condition to challenge the Master.

He was grateful that she had remained unconscious since they had found her. It had enabled them to move her to the van and to the school without inflicting more unnecessary pain. At the school, he and Jenny, had taken her to a bathroom where they had washed her as gently as possible, before they bandaged her as best as they could. Finally, they had wrapped her in a blanket and brought her to the library where she now lay sleeping. Amy and Catherine had shown up a short while ago, and had gone off to confer with Jenny.

He heard her soft footstep as Jenny returned.

"How is she doing?" she asked quietly.

"I really have no idea," Giles admitted. "For all of the Watcher's Council's knowledge on vampires, medical training is somewhat lacking. Rather shortsighted of them really, but lately that seems quiet typical."

"Perhaps you should send them a memo," Jenny said with a smirk as she moved up beside him and took his hand in hers.

"Quite right," Giles smiled briefly. Jenny watched as his face turned grim again and he sighed, "I've failed, luv."

"Rupert..."

"No. I had the facts ten days ago when she saved me, but I never even thought to ask her about the bloody 'Warrior of Rings'." He shook his head "There is no way she'll be recovered enough to face the Master tonight, and if the prophecy is to be believed..." He trailed off as he looked at her in sadness, he reached out his hand to caress her face tenderly. For a minute they stared deeply into each other's eyes, then he lowered his hand and eyes to her extended belly, as if to caress the child within. As she covered his hand with hers, he raised his eyes back to her face.

"I've failed you. I've failed our child. I've failed the world. I'm not surrendering. I will fight to the end. But I don't have the slightest idea how we can win."

"Stop that right now, Rupert," Jenny told him firmly, then her expression softened. "Catherine believes that she may have a solution, but I will have to take part in it."

"No." It was out so fast that she knew he had said it purely on instinct. She patiently looked up into his green eyes and waited. "You can't... Performing magic while when you are this far along..." He hesitated, then stopped as he looked back into her dark brown eyes. "You've already gone over the arguments and decided."

Jenny nodded and she tightened her hand over his, "I won't do it if you don't agree."

"But there isn't much in the way of choice now is there?" he added with regret.

She nodded. She had been going over all the arguments for and against it. It was exceedingly risky. Spell casting while pregnant was not something done except in extreme cases of need.

Like now.

Giles looked over at the library's main door and saw Catherine Madison calmly standing there, expectantly awaiting the acceptance she knew he had to give.

"Before you go endangering the lives of my wife and child, I think perhaps you had better explain to me, in great detail, mind you, this little spell."

*****

Three vampires sat in chairs near the door. Their orders had be simple and precise. Keep the girl alive and in this room. Don't feed from her. Don't allow her to escape.

Not that there seemed much chance of her even attempting that. She simply huddled in the far corner of the room.

Kendra slowly breathed as she tried to block the pain from her mind.

Kendra was terrified and confused. The betrayal by the Council had had wounded her in a manner she had never before experienced. All her life she had been raised to believe, honor and respect the Watcher's Council. Now she was furious at them and their stupidity. How could they have done this to her?

If she escaped, she planned to go back to Sunnydale. They would help her, she was sure of it. She hadn't understood at the time, but now their anger at the Council made sense.

That man, Rupert Giles, had been angry with Wesley - had it been about this 'test'? She thought it was. And if he had been against it, then he was someone she could trust. Certainly they had trust in one another. The 'rescue' had shown her that much. They were more than comrades in arms against the vampires. They were friends who would do anything for each other. A sadness began to gather inside her as she reflected on the fact that she had never had any friends. Only Watchers. No one would be coming to her rescue. No one would mourn her passing. Her entire life would be a small note in the Watcher's Histories - 'Kendra McPherson: Eight months as the Slayer. No notable kills.'

A shiver past through her when she thought about Wesley. The malignant evil that resided within him set her nerves on edge whenever he had touched her. He was definitely not a normal vampire.

The door to the room opened as the Master swept into the room.

******

The Sunnydale High School Library was quiet except for the chanting of 3 women. Giles stood still and watched anxiously as Jenny, Catherine and Amy continued to proceed through the spell. They had been casting for almost thirty minutes, chanting and calling upon various Deities and other Higher Powers for aid. Others had drifted by the doors, curiosity compelling them to peek in and watch. However, except for Oz, they lack the patience to stay and drifted off after a few minutes.

Jenny, Catherine and Amy sat in a triangle at three of the five points of the Pentagram drawn on the floor. Flaming braziers stood upon the two points on either side of Catherine who was leading the chanting, while offerings animal fat and herbs burned within them. Finally, in the center of the pentagram, lay the body of the vampire and former slayer, Buffy Summers.

At first Giles thought his eyes were playing tricks with him, but then he saw that indeed the pentagram was beginning to glow, faintly at first but gradually growing of intensity. After another minute or two, the glow had grown to an intense blue-white shine that hurt to look at, and a high-pitched humming could be heard. Suddenly, the pentagram's light rose upwards like a wall, blocking the women from sight.

Oz looked over to see Giles lower his eyes to the ground. "Now what?" he asked in a low voice.

Giles glanced over for a second then shook his head.

"I wish I knew."

******

After the initial rush of power was gone, Jenny carefully opened her eyes to look about. She was astonished to find herself in what appeared to be an ancient Greek or Roman amphitheater, just as the sun was setting. Catherine and Amy were looking about curiously as well, while the vampire Buffy lay unconscious between them. Catherine had a look of worry upon her face while Amy appeared to be enraptured with her surroundings.

"Wow! It's beautiful," gushed Amy in delight.

Catherine looked sharply at Amy, "What do you see?"

"Huh? Well um... we're in a garden with all sorts of flowers and fruit trees, and there are some deer and birds. The sun is shinning..." Amy trailed off as she caught the astonished looks directed at her from the other two women.

Catherine looked over at Jenny. "What do you see?" Catherine asked.

"We're in what looks like a Greek amphitheater, it's empty and it looks like it's about dusk here."

Catherine nodded before saying, "I see us in a bombed out ruins of a city. It's dark. I can't see any stars." Catherine swallowed before adding, "There are bodies all around."

"So where are we really?" ask Amy nervously.

Unexpectedly, several voices began speaking from all around them. Each voice was different and they never seemed to repeat.

"You are at the end," said an older man's voice.

"You are at the beginning," said a soft little girl's voice.

"You are in the middle," said a third indeterminate voice that sounded like a cat growling.

"This is the end of the past," said an old woman's voice with heavy Spanish accent.

"This is the beginning of the future," said a young boy's voice with a French accent.

"This is everywhere at sometime and nowhere and anytime," said another indeterminate voice, this one a hissing whisper.

Suddenly the voices seemed to merge into one commanding voice.

"This is our home and you are intruding"

Catherine spoke up, "Great ones, forgive our trespass. We call to thee and plead for thine assistance in healing this twice cursed creature of twilight. No longer human, yet not fully demon. We seek her help to restore the balance which the darkness has threatened to overwhelm."

The voices began to speak individually again.

"Why should we help?" asked a sorrowful voice so deep, it put in their minds the image of a great Blue whale.

"They care nothing for the suffering of others," said a little African girl.

"They are only concerned with their own species, and more often, only with themselves," declared a woman with a British accent.

"They are a selfish race that has squandered the gifts which they were given," declared a young Caribbean boy.

"Now they seek more," said an old man with an accent from Louisiana.

"And they offer us little," concluded an electronic voice.

The single combined voice spoke again, "Your pleas are heard, but your offerings are insufficient for our gifts."

Catherine shook her head. This was not proceeding as she had envisioned. "We only seek-"

The combined voice spoke again. "We know what you seek. We can see your desires and fears. The healing is part of the whole and the whole cannot be divided. Your offering is insufficient. Leave us."

Jenny and Amy were startled and alarmed when Catherine suddenly vanished.

Amy spoke up in fear. "Wait please! Our world stands on the edge of the abyss. We only wish this warrior whole to save-"

The gestalt voice boomed out again. "It was a mortal's wish that set your world's path. You shall pass into the night. Others still exist to be watched over. Begone from us."

And then, to Jenny's horror, Amy vanished as well. And she was alone.

*****

Her first impulse was to run.

Catherine cursed as she suddenly found herself alone. All around her was still and quiet. Looking about, she found nothing to identify where she was. LA. New York. Hell London, Paris, or Moscow. There were no signs that she could see. Only the crumbling remains of buildings.

Then the chittering started. Like locusts. From all around her. A high pitched keening wail joined in, then a scraping-scratching sound along with a rhythmic clinking noise. Wild eyed, she looked around in worry but could see nothing.

"Illuminate!" she cried out, and a glowing ball of light appeared overhead. The noise abruptly stopped for a second replaced by a short sharp squeak of dismay. There were hundreds of them, all around her. Many looked like tiny stick figures and ranged in height from four to eight inches. A few had wings and now that they were exposed they rose up and circled about her.

"What do you want?" Catherine demanded as she nervously watched the creatures surround her.

They began to talk again, only this time it was a chant that grew steadily louder.

"Laegbru! Laegbru! Laegbru! Laegbru!"

"Stay back!" Catherine commanded.

"Laegbru! Laegbru! Laegbru!" they continued to shout as they moved towards her.

Catherine held up her hand. "Goddess Hecate, work thy will. Protect thy servant from these creatures."

A shimmering sphere suddenly appeared around her, blocking her from the little creatures. For a second there was silence, then a squealing arose and the creatures rushed forward to press against the shield. More and more of the creature appeared from the ground and clustered about the shield, pressing themselves against it. The flying ones also swarmed in to press themselves against the shimmering wall.

Seeing the creatures close up, Catherine shuddered in disgust. They looked diseased. Sores seamed to cover their bodies. Those with hair, had only a few wispy clumps of it. The wings on the flying ones were tattered and torn.

****

"NO!" Jenny screamed out in shock after Amy had vanished. "Stop it!"

The voice rumbled out like thunder, "Do you seek to defy us mortal?" Jenny looked up and was not surprised to see storm clouds billowing overhead.

Trembling in fear and anger, Jenny strove to control herself and collect her thoughts before answering. "No. I do not seek to defy you. But how can you write us off when your chosen warrior still... exists?"

The voice splintered again. This time images of people or creatures appeared in front of her as each spoke.

"She has been pushed from her path too often," said a thing that looked like a giant fish man.

"Her chance of success has dimmed every time," said the image of her Uncle Enyos.

"It is unfortunate, but her Spirit has been sorely abused," hissed a small gray and white cat.

"We do not feel it is right for us to ask any more of her," said a stone pillar with five faces caved into it.

"Shouldn't that be her choice?" Jenny asked in desperation.

"She has never had a choice," murmured a tall pine tree, softly.

"She is chosen," croaked a large bullfrog.

They were going to fail, Jenny thought fearfully. "What can we offer to you? What do you ask of us to at least give us that chance?"

A shimmering globe of lights began to speak. "A greater power, one to whom even we must bow, will not allow us to act, without a balancing compensation.

The globe shifted and became a hummingbird, "It throws the future into chaos."

The hummingbird winked out leaving a Labrador Retriever, "It leaves us unable to perceive the possibilities."

"What compensation would be required?" Jenny inquired with determination. She would do anything to ensure a safer world for Rupert and her unborn child.

The voices were silent and Jenny could sense it/they were contemplating an infinite number of options. After several moments of silence, the gestalt voice murmured out, "Very well, if you are truly certain about your request..."

The voice faded and Jenny found herself facing... herself.

The image of herself spoke up, "We shall require your child."

Jenny froze in alarm and shock, "Wha-What?!. No-"

"Darkness has recently acquired a new servant.
But its target was one that fated for something else.
Since the destiny of one has been altered, we are allowed to correct this matter and find one to fill this destiny.
It would be our servant...
Avatar...
vessel.
That is our desire.
That is our price.


*****

MORE SOON also may these last two chapters may be re-done