Destini Comuni

Disclaimer: See first section
Author’s notes: See first section

Chapter Eight: Against All Odds

Two Years Prior: 1997

Amy strolled into the library in the morning, smiling at Giles as he came out of his office. “Morning!” Amy turned around, glancing at all the damage the previous night’s earthquake caused. “Damn. This place got screwed last night. Is it even safe?” The sorceress glanced back to the doors to see Buffy walked in, smiling as well.
“Buffy!” Giles exclaimed. Amy finally noticed the look on his face. He looked like he just encountered a ghost. Not too ridiculous of an idea, they were on the Hellmouth.
Giles’ outburst started the young blonde and she stopped walking. “What? Do I have something on my face?” She asked, patting her face to check.
“No!” Giles said quickly, covering his tracks. He looked over at Amy. “Uh, and, and yes, we’re, we’re safe," Giles answered her, finally. He gestured up to the stacks. “Uh, but probably best not to go up there," he added.
Amy looked at him curiously. He was extremely distracted, not a norm for him. Buffy picked up on it and glanced at Amy. She shrugged in response, having no answer for her. “How’re you doin’ there, Giles? Get much sleep last night?” Buffy asked.
“Uh… I-I-I’ve been working," Giles replied, removing his glasses to clean them the same time Amy started to. The sorceress promptly stopped and put her glasses back on.
“Me, too. I went hunting last night, and it is awfully sweet of you to ask. It’s getting hairy out there, Giles. I killed three vampires last night, and one of them was practically on school grounds," Buffy said.
“I got two of ‘em last night, as well. Both of them in our neighborhood," Amy added, gesturing to herself and Buffy. “One of them attacked me literally on my way to Willow’s house," Amy said dryly, the sorceress crossed her arms and looked to Giles for an explanation.
“Their numbers are increasing,” Giles said simply.
“Yeah? No crap, Giles. But the death ain’t going up, so they gotta be comin’ in from outta town,” Amy pointed out, she walked over to the table and sat down on it, crossing her ankles and leaning back on her hands behind her.
“And they’re getting cockier. Look, I’m not loving it. Last night was a pretty close call," Buffy said.
Amy nodded in Buffy’s direction. “I’ll go with you tonight," she said. Buffy nodded in thanks.
“Yes," Giles replied distractedly, he leaned against the counter and put his fist under his chin.
Buffy looked at him more than slightly offended. “Giles, care? I’m putting my life on the line battling the undead. Look, I broke a nail, okay? I’m wearing a press-on. The least you could do is exhibit some casual interest. You could go, ‘hmm’," she ranted at him, placing her hands on her hips and glaring.
“Hmm? Oh, sorry. Um, yes, I’m very glad that you’re alright. Uh, I-I need to verify, um… I just can’t really talk right now," Giles replied, walking back towards his office.
“Fine. That’s okay. Amy and I can’t put it off any longer. We have to meet our terrible fate," Buffy said, turning towards the door.
Amy scoffed at her and opened her mouth to say something, but Giles turned around so suddenly it derailed her train of thought. “What?!” he asked incredulously.
“Biology,” Buffy replied, her voice full of false humor. The bell rang and the two girls walked out of the library. Giles watched them leave with a worried look on his face.
“Its not hard for me," Amy said to Buffy as they walked through the hall.
“That’s cause you’re super smart," Buffy replied, glaring at her.
“True,” Amy agreed, grinning at Buffy who hit her in the shoulder in response. “Ow! Watch it, supergirl," Amy said, scowling at Buffy who grinned in response.

The fearsome foursome walked out of the science hall and began descending the stairs. Buffy exhaled and ran her hands through her hair. “Wow. That was boring,"
“I don’t feel that boring covers it," Xander said, edging his way towards Buffy. Amy swapped spots with him and walked next to Willow instead.
“No, boring falls short," Amy added.
“Even I was bored. And I’m a science nerd," Willow said.
“Don’t say that," Buffy said to her with a frown.
“I’m not ashamed. It’s the computer age. Nerds are in. They’re still in, right?” Willow asked and Amy nodded in response.
“Hey, Amy!” The voice of someone drifted down to her from the top of the stairs. Amy turned around and looked up to the balcony to see Riley looking down from up there.
Amy smiled warmly at him. “Hey there, what’s up?”
Riley smiled back at her a bit nervously. “Can I talk to you up here for a sec?” he asked.
Amy’s eyebrows raised. “Alone?” She asked to clarify.
Riley nodded, chewing his lip.
Amy looked at her friends and they all nodded to her as they descended the last of the steps and hit the pavement. Amy looked back up at him. “Sure," she replied, an apprehensive smile on her face. The sorceress jogged up the stairs and turned the corner to face Riley. She walked over to him and stood a few steps away.
“So, uh, Amy, I wanted to, um… There was this thing I wanted to ask you, to talk to you about," he rambled out which caused Amy to grin slightly. All of his smoothness that she had always seen from him was completely out the window.
“Okay, what’s up?” Amy asked again, now a small part nervous and a major part curious.
Riley exhaled deeply and ran a hand through his brown locks. He glanced around to see who was around them and then looked back at Amy. Her mood shifted to a major part anxious and a small part curious. “Okay, now you’re making me nervous,"
“Oh, no, no, there’s nothing to be nervous about. Really, it’s silly," Riley said, laughing nervously.
“Well?” Amy asked, leaning up against the balcony.
“Um… You know, Amy…” Riley sighed again and took a deep breath to steady his nerves. “Okay. Amy, I want you to go to the Spring Fling with me. You and me, on a date," Riley said quickly, study Amy’s face for her reaction.
Amy’s sparkling, indigo eyes widened in surprise at what she heard. She blinked a few times and went over what Riley had said in her head. She had just been asked out on a date and she was utterly speechless. “I-I don’t know what to say…” she stuttered out, her brain still stuck in neutral and the engine stalling.
“Well, you’re not laughing. So that’s a good start. Amy, I like you. A lot. Sure, we don’t hang out and we only talk occasionally when we happen to run into each other. But I feel like there’s something between us, and I want to give it a shot," Riley said to her. He put his hand on the balcony right by hers.
“I...Riley…I…” Amy started but still found herself lost for words. It was her turn to take a deep breath to sort herself out. “I didn’t even plan on going to the dance. I hate them. I actually despise the dating world, too. But… I… I feel like there’s something between us, as well. But right now really isn’t the best time. I’m unreliable, I’ve flaked out on a bunch of stuff lately…” Amy told him, she placed her hand on top of his. Riley turned his hand over and took her smaller, slender hand in his. “I really don’t want to hurt you, and I think I would. On accident of course…but…I really don’t want to do that. Maybe…sometime later, the summer maybe. But right now really isn’t a good time for me,"
Riley sighed, taking in all she said. “Okay…I’m not going to pressure you into anything. But when you feel like you want to give us a try, tell me," he said to her. Riley gave her hand a small squeeze before bringing it to his lips. He placed a small kiss on it before releasing it. Amy let her hand fall back to the balcony as he turned and walked away.
The sorceress bit her lip and fought back tears from her dull violet eyes. One slipped out and traveled down her cheek, snagging some of her mascara as it descended. Amy pushed off the balcony and hurried off to catch up with her friends.

Amy ran through the hallway that night and skidded to a halt outside the library doors. Amy glanced down the hall and saw Buffy running over to her. “Amy!” the Slayer called out. “You really won’t believe what just happened," she said.
Amy waited for Buffy to get to her before she responded. “I think I just might,” the Sorceress replied, visibly shaken and slightly burned on her left side. Her clothing was lightly singed and a few wisps of smoke left them.
“What the hell happened to you?” Buffy asked, stunned.
“Tell you soon, you speak first, what happened?” Amy asked, waving away Buffy’s concern. She was used to getting burned.
“I was in the locker room and I turned on the faucet. When I looked down, blood was pouring out," Buffy said. Amy’s eyebrows reached for her hairline. “So what happened to you? ‘Nother fireball gone wrong?” She asked teasingly.
“No…I wish…I was doing an early patrol, just staring up at the stars…when…” Amy took a shaky breath. “One fell nearly on top of me. I dove to the side just in time, but it still burned me slightly. A star, Buffy!”
“Holy…” Buffy replied.
“We gotta tell Giles," Amy said, Buffy nodded in response. The pair rushed into the library.
Buffy opened her mouth to speak but Amy grabbed her shoulder to silence her as she heard talking coming from Giles’ office.
“It’s clear. It’s what’s gonna happen. It’s happening now!” Giles exclaimed.
Angel walked by the doorway and the pair caught sight of him. “Angel?” Buffy said softly, heading to the office, Amy following.
“It can’t be. You’ve gotta be wrong," Angel said to him.
“I’ve checked it against all my other volumes, including the Sorceress Codex. It’s very real," Giles replied.
Amy stopped moving upon hearing the title of the book of prophecies concerning her. That book always meant trouble for her.
“Well, there’s gotta be some way around it," Angel said desperately.
“Listen. Some prophecies are, are a bite dodgy. They’re, they’re mutable. Buffy and Amy have, have thwarted them time and time again, but this is the Codex. Both of them. There is nothing in them that does not come to pass," Giles explained.
Amy leaned up against the counter and gripped it tightly for support. She knew that whatever those books said really wasn’t good for her health, it never was.
“Then you’re reading it wrong," Angel said bluntly, his temper rising.
“I wish to God I were! But it’s very plain! Tomorrow night Buffy will face the Master and Amy shall confront the very beast from Hell, and…and they both will die," Giles stated mournfully.
Buffy looked back at Amy and saw that all the color had drained out of her sister’s face and she had a white-knuckled grip on the counter.
“Well, have you verified the text?” Angel asked.
Buffy stated laughing insanely. Both men turn to look at her and exchange a look of dread between them. Buffy walked past Amy slowly and over to the table. Angel followed her over while Giles stood in his doorway. They looked back and forth between the girls. Buffy’s incredulousness and Amy’s blank horror.
“So that’s it, huh? I remember the drill. I bet it works the same for the Sorceress, too. One Slayer dies, next one’s called! Wonder who she is," Buffy said, looking to Giles. “Will you train her? Or will they send someone else?” Buffy asked him, her anger slowly building.
“Buffy, I…” Giles started but Buffy cut him off.
“They say how he’s gonna kill me? Do you think it’ll hurt? What about Amy? This hell beast gonna slaughter her quickly or will she have to be torn limb from limb?” Buffy asked, tears falling from her eyes freely. Amy still won’t react. Angel tried to hug Buffy to comfort her but she dodged it quickly. “Don’t touch me!” she turned to Giles. “Were you even gonna tell us?” she asked.
Amy finally moved and looked around frantically, desperation on her features. The sorceress formed a large fireball around her hand, causing everyone to flinch. “I gotta get out of here…” She said softly, throwing the fireball at the ground. She disappeared in a flash of fire, leaving none of the library burned.

Amy laid on her bed, starring up at the ceiling, tears silently leaking out of her eyes. She had appeared in her room so quietly that even Willow didn’t notice her arrival. Amy couldn’t bear to talk to her right now, she couldn’t talk to anyone. She was sixteen years old and going to die. The thought burned her so badly she decided she was not going to let herself die. No hell beast was going to kill her. No way in hell. The sorceress sat up suddenly and with a scream of pure rage she let out a blast of electricity from her hand that melted her new clock into a pool of slag. “I am not going to die!” She screamed.

“She what?” Xander asked. He stood in shock, his arms limply at his sides.
Willow looked thoughtful. “I told you there was something going on with her," she said. Amy started pacing around the library, feeling more and more on edge as time went by.
“And she knew about this prophecy of yours?” Xander asked him. Giles nodded in response, sparing a moment to shoot Amy a worried glance. “Aw, man, what do we do?”
“We stay calm, first thing," Giles responded, now following Amy with his eyes, fearing that she might do something drastic to help Buffy.
“Calm?” Xander asked incredulously.
“I think he’s right," Willow replied, still paying attention to her best friend pacing around the room.
Xander scoffed and crossed his arms in annoyance. “I’m sorry, calm may work for Locutus of the Borg here,” Xander said mockingly, gesturing to Giles. “But one of my bestest buds is marked for death by a hell beast,” he said, gesturing to Amy, who was glancing around anxiously at the moment. “And the girl I’m really jonesing for just walked off to her death at the hands of some blood sucker. I’m freaked out, and I intend to stay that way," he said bluntly.
“Xander…” Willow said softly, reaching for his shoulder but he unintentionally moved out of her reach. She let her hand fall back down and to her side.
“How could you let her go?” he asked accusingly of Giles, taking another step towards him.
“As the soon-to-be-purple area of my jaw will attest, I did not let her go!” Giles exclaimed, adjusting the icepack on his jaw.
“Well, how can we help her?” Willow asked, waving her hand in the direction of the Sorceress. Amy refused to stop looking at the floor in the center of the library. She walked over to it and crouched down, running her hand over the hardwood boards.
“Uh, I’m sorry to bring this up, but we also have an apocalypse to worry about?” Jenny Calendar asked, finally getting up from the table and walking over to the group of teens and the librarian.
“Do you mind?” Xander asked scathingly, glaring at his computers teacher.
“How come she’s in the club?” Willow asked Giles, her tone slightly resentful as well.
“Hey!” Jenny exclaimed, looking extremely offended. “Once the Master gets free, the Hellmouth opens, the demons come to party, and everybody dies,” she said in her own defense.
“Uh, uh, I don’t care. I’m sorry, I don’t. Right now I gotta help Buffy," Xander replied.
“And what about Amy?” Jenny asked accusingly of Xander, sensing his true motive.
“We don’t even know where Buffy’s gone," Giles said to Xander, trying not to let the door Jenny opened to remain open. That was a path they really shouldn’t travel down right then.
“No. But I can find out," Xander replied. He turned on heel and rushed out of the library.

Amy stared unwavering at the spot she was investigating from her location on the stairs. She didn’t understand what it was, but that spot really put her on edge, gave her a feeling of impending doom, which she really didn’t enjoy.
Giles set down his book glanced out the window, noticing how it had started pouring down rain about thirty minutes ago and it refused to let up. The area around the school was probably partially flooded. “Well,” he said to Jenny, his attention shifting to her. “Let’s think about this, then. The vampires have been gathering, they know he’s coming, they will be his army," Giles said.
“Do you think they’ll gather at the Hellmouth?” Jenny asked him.
Willow looked up from the computer and over to her. “Well, the last time the Master tried to rise was the Harvest. He sent a bunch of vampires to get him fresh blood," She explained.
“Well, where did that go down?” Jenny asked.
“The Bronze," Giles replied.
“The Prom!” Willow exclaimed, jumping up from the computer. She glanced over to Amy for her reaction, but the sorceress was still spacey.
“We have to warn them," Giles said, starting to get up.
Jenny grabbed his hand. “No! We’ll go. You have to concentrate on the demon killing. My car’s in the lot," she explained to him. Jenny dropped his hand and gestured to Willow. “Amy!” Jenny said loudly to get her attention. The lycanthropic teen glanced over at Jenny, finally tearing her attention away from the floor. “Stay here with Giles, in case demons show up," Jenny asked her softly.
Amy nodded in response and looked back at the floor as Jenny and Willow started to leave. Her turned quickly to Willow. “Willow!” she called out. The redhead turned around and poked her head back in through the library doors. “Be careful," Amy said softly.
Willow smiled gently in return and nodded in response. “You, too…” she replied. Amy smiled softly in return and nodded her head. The sorceress looked back at the floor and her redhead left with Jenny.

Amy launched a fireball at the vampire attacking her. He had come in through the stacks and surprised her. The fight had led her out into the hallway. Her fireball went wild and out the door, into the rain, exploding against the ground but leaving nothing burned.
The vampire grabbed her by the shirt and threw her for the third time. She crashed through the door and hit the railing on the staircase hard. The sorceress let out a small scream of pain and tumbled down the set of five stairs to the rough cement below. Amy tried to get up, but the vampire pinned her to the ground. He grinned at her wickedly and leaned into to bite her.
A baseball bat flew in out of nowhere and smashed the back of the vampire’s skull in. Amy pushed him aside and leapt to her feet, spinning around quickly to see who swung the bat. Riley stood there, a look of fierce determination on his face, a broken in half baseball bat in his hands. “I was not going to let him hurt you," he said in all seriousness.
“Thanks…” she replied softly. Amy noticed the broken bat and its sharp wooden points at the end. “Can I see that?” She asked gently, gesturing to the bat.
Riley looked at her curiously but handed her the broken piece of equipment. “Um…what are you going to—“ he started to ask her but stepped back in surprise as she drove it into her fallen assailant’s chest and watched him explode into dust.
“C’mon inside to the library with me, I’ll explain everything," she replied in a tired voice. He nodded and followed her as she walked to the library.

“Wow…so what do you do next?” Riley asked Amy after she finished explaining her world to him. He just sat there and absorbed all over it.
Amy was about to respond but stopped when the ground where she was starring cracked apart and three reptilian heads on long necks pushed their way up from the ground below. Amy looked back at Riley quickly. “Get a sword, now. Whatever happens to me, I want that dead, okay?” She asked of him.
Riley nodded quickly in response and ran over to Giles who already had a sword out. The young man grabbed it and spun around to run back to where Amy was. Instead, he stopped dead in his tracks and watched the most horrifying thing in his life happen.
Amy dodged the beasts snapping head and threw a fireball in its face. She grinned but didn’t notice one of the other heads grab her by the waist in its toothy maw. She screamed in pain as it started to bite down on her. Amy grabbed its head in both hands and sent thousands of volts of electricity through its body.
The other two heads howled in pain while the one holding her in its mouth threw her through the nearby window. Her head impacted the frame of the window on her way through and she landed unconscious and face down in a deep, muddy puddle.

Willow got out of Cordelia’s car and fell to one knee. Sudden light-headedness and nausea overcame her, though the contents of her stomach remained hers. Energy pulsed through her veins, dying them a deep jade, but she didn’t understand any of it. Emerald fire whipped around her body and wrapped in a cloak of flame.
Cordelia and Jenny could not see the fire that had consumed her, however, so they only thought she was sick. “C’mon Willow, we gotta go, the vamps are coming!” Cordelia said to her.
The flames melted into Willow’s body and disappeared altogether. The redhead stood up, her eyes glowing lime green before settling into natural hues. “Okay, c’mon,"
Willow rushed back towards the library with Jenny and Cordelia on her heels, the horde of vampires following. The hacker noticed the face down body of Amy laying in a pool of water. Jenny and her ran over to the sorceress’ prone form. Jenny placed two of her fingers along Amy’s throat to feel for a pulse. The skin lay still, no heartbeat at all. “She’s dead…” Jenny said softly, she glanced up and looked through the broken window to see a giant, three-headed hell beast coming out of the ground, precisely where Amy had been staring for an hour.
The beast had Giles and Riley engaged in a fight, the watcher swinging a hand axe at it viciously. Rage written all over both of their features. Riley swung his long sword at one of the necks of the beast and severed it with a single swipe. Giles buried his axe in the skull of one of the heads, that head fell dead to the ground and he removed his axe. The last head knocked both of them aside into the walls. Vampires started pouring in through the stacks which presented a new, imminent threat.
Jenny looked over at Willow who was on her knees in the muddy water, tears forming in her eyes before a look of pure determination took over her visage. “No. She’s not dead,” Willow replied, turning her over and trying to pick her up.
“She’s not breathing," Jenny pointed out, helping her pick up Amy.
“Come on! The vampires are almost here!” Cordelia yelled at them. The three young women hurried into the building and into the hallway.
“But if she drowned, there’s a shot to do CPR," Willow said to Jenny as they entered an empty classroom. Cordelia shut the door behind them and moved a large table to block the door.
Willow and Jenny laid Amy down onto the teacher’s desk. Willow checked Amy’s pulse before taking a deep breath, she leaned over her best friend’s form and breathed into her. The redhead put her hands directly below Amy’s sternum and started pumping. “C’mon, babe…hun, c’mon," she said softly.
Willow breathed into Amy again and resumed pumping. “I can’t bear to lose you, you mean too much to me…” she told the sorceress. Willow breathed into her, tears falling from her eyes since she just noticed the huge bite mark on Amy’s torso. Willow kept pumping.
Minutes passed and finally, Jenny put her hand on Willow’s shoulder, believing Amy to be lost. Willow stopped pumping and started crying heavily. She wrapped her arms around Amy’s prone form and buried her face in her chest, weeping.
Amy’s eyes shot open, glowing vibrant indigo. She breathed in sharply and lay still, taking in her surroundings. Willow stood up quickly at the sound and feeling of Amy breathing. The sorceress turned her head to the side and coughed up a bunch water onto the desk. She let out a small laugh and hugged Amy tightly as she sat up. “Amy!” She cried out.
“Willow," Amy replied, wrapping her arms around the crying redhead.
Willow looked into Amy’s violet eyes through her teary green eyes, a huge smile across her face. Cordelia, despite her rivalry with the sorceress was smiling too, glad to see her alive. “Welcome back…” Willow said softly.

Amy threw open the library doors and strode in confidently. Her bloody, matted, blonde hair whipped about behind her and the air around her crackled with intense energy. Around her hands twin indigo fireballs pulsed and her eyes were entirely violet, no whites, no pupils. Her veins throbbed visibly and the color of her eyes flowed through them. Her face was a mask anger and determination, her focus on the beast that killed her.
Amy clenched her fists and two short swords made entirely of purple flame formed in her hands. “C’mon. Let’s go," Amy said to the beast. The beast swung its head at her and she backflipped gracefully over its neck. The beast collided with the nearby table and broke it apart, one half flipped over and landed on its end, a large wooden spike pointing up.
Amy swung both swords in a vicious uppercut as the beast raised its neck. She severed it off and the limb fell dead, the rest of the body sinking back into the ground. Amy overhand threw the twin blades into the body of the beast and it caught fire instantly. Nothing was left but ash.
Riley ran over to Amy and wrapped his arms around her. The sorceress shifted back to normal, the energy around her dissipating.. Her eyes and veins regular in coloring. She hugged him back and rested her head on his shoulder. Everyone looked up as the skylight broke and the body of the Master fell through. Amy flicked her wrist and the wooden spike caught fire right as it impaled the Master. He turned to dust and only a charred skeleton was left.
The vampires left at the sight of the Master’s demise, the battle was over. Buffy, Angel and Xander entered the library soon after and the whole gang gathered around the remains of the master.
“The vampires?” Giles openly asked the group.
“Gone," Cordelia replied.
“The Master?” Angel asked.
“Dead," Giles replied.
“Hellmouth beast?” Xander asked.
Riley took Amy’s hand and gave it a small squeeze to get her attention. She looked up quickly. “Oh, uh…dead, it killed me, I killed it. We’re even," she answered. Amy smiled softly at Riley and gave his hand a squeeze.
“Buffy…Buffy?” Giles said, trying to get her attention.
“Oh, sorry. It’s just been a really weird day," she smiled at him.
“Yeah! Buffy died, and everything!” Xander added.
“Wow! Harsh. Two heroes died in one day," Willow said, smirking at her two recently deceased friends.
Giles grinned proudly at the two. “I should have known that wouldn’t stop you two," He said. They smiled in return.
“Well, what do we do now?” Jenny asked.
“I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd like to get out of this place. I don't like the library very much anymore," Giles commented, looking around the place.
“Hey! I hear there's a dance at the Bronze tonight. Could be fun," Xander said.
“Yeah!” Cordelia agreed.
“Buffy? Amy?” Willow asked.
“Sure! We saved the world. I say we party!” Buffy said, Amy nodded in agreement. She looked down at her dress. “I mean, I got all pretty,"
“And what about him?” Jenny asked, gesturing to the Master.
Buffy glanced at the bones. “He's not going anywhere. Loser,"
The group started heading to the doors, all chattering amongst each other except for Riley and Amy. They just walked hand in hand.
“I'm not dancing, though," Giles said to Jenny.
“We’ll see,” Jenny replied.
“You can come with us, Angel," Willow offered.
“I'm hungry," Buffy said to no one.
“So what's the story with the car?” Xander asked.
“Oh, that was me, saving the day!” Cordelia replied.
“Get something to drink," Willow said to Angel naively.
“Is anybody else hungry?” Buffy asked. Amy raised her hand in response.
“Well, no, don't do that. Just hang," Willow corrected herself.
“I'm really, really hungry," Buffy said, rubbing her stomach.
Angel stayed near the back with Buffy. “By the way, I really like your dress," he said.
Buffy smiled at him humorlessly. “Yeah, yeah. Big hit with everyone," she said dryly.