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Chapter 16 – Bad Moon Rising

Part 1

 

 

I see the bad moon arising

I see trouble on the way

I see earthquakes and lightnin’

I see bad times today

I hear hurricanes ablowing

I know the end is coming soon

I fear rivers overflowing

I hear the voice of rage and ruin

Hope you got your things together

Hope you are quite prepared to die

Looks like we’re in for nasty weather

One eye is taken for an eye.

                        J.C. Fogerty

 

 

It wasn’t the easiest thing for him to do but he had accomplished it.

 

Wesley reluctantly pulled his hand away from the phone, wishing he could pick it back up and tell her he’d been wrong. He wished he could have left her to deal with the already overwhelming load she was carrying without adding to her growing burdens.

 

“Is she coming?” Giles asked, twirling his glasses from his seat on the other side of the younger Watcher’s desk.

 

“Yes, she is,” Wesley said. “She always does. It’s her sacred duty and you’ve trained her well.”

 

“Now, that’s just bullshit,” Giles remarked with a growing smile. “Buffy has never listened to me or taken orders. Ultimately, it’s always been her decision as you’ve come to discover for yourself old chap.”

 

“Old age has indeed mellowed you. You never used to use such vulgar language even in the most trying or dire of circumstances.”

 

“It’s not old age, my friend. Far from it,” Giles intoned adamantly, annoyed at being labeled old by his colleague. “It’s living in this environment. They have a tendency to rub off on you,” Giles commented, with a small wave of his hand. “Two hundred head strong teenage girls all with the ability to snap your neck with one hand. You have to learn to be with it or they’ll plow right over you.”

 

Wesley nodded his agreement. Neither of them ever thought they would end up here with so many charges but it was like Giles said earlier, it was a Buffy decision. And one that the Council had adamantly disagreed with. He suddenly felt tired. It never ended. He stood to gaze out his window. His view was of the courtyard and of the young Slayers gathering there. Laughing, joking and talking about their training, about the current pop star they were crushing on, and always of clothes. Quite possibly as soon as tomorrow afternoon things could dramatically take a turn for the worst. This innocent idyllic period of their lives would be over...again.

 

Once Buffy knew, once everyone knew everything, it would be back to a hell worse than the days of the First. Until they had found the prophecy they hadn’t a clue that the First was only the beginning of the battle. From what they could tell the fate of the world rested in one unknown person’s hand.

 

“I wonder if this time we’ll survive,” Wesley commented more to himself than to Giles. An ominous sense of foreboding sending chills up and down his spine.

 

“I don’t know…I just don’t know anymore,” Giles said. His tone implying that he was just as weary as Wesley was.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

Buffy put the phone down on the counter. She stared at it for a long moment while Wesley’s words sunk in. It seemed that the battles she had hoped to avoid by sending Spike away was going to happen anyway. No matter which way she turned it was inevitable. Her only fear was that she would lose her husband the way it had been revealed to her. But hadn’t they always weathered whatever came their way? She sighed, pushed her shoulders back and turned to face her family. Connor along with three of her children sat at the kitchen table. Del was finishing loading the dishwasher from their lunch.

 

“What’s up, Mum?” Raven asked, looking up from the chemistry textbook spread before her.

 

“We’ve been called to Los Angeles for a meeting,” Buffy said. She was trying to remain calm but it wasn’t working. Her fear was echoed in Raven’s eyes and Elijah was picking up on it. “It seems they found a new prophecy that warrants immediate attention.”

 

The tension rose immediately. They all knew what it meant. Another apocalypse, another battle, more fighting and death, and none of them wanted to face it again.

 

A soft voice broke the silence. “Is it coming back?” Joy asked, with her lip trembling. Wide blue eyes scanned each one of them in turn waiting for an answer as her tiny fists kept clenching and unclenching. It was a habit that was reminiscent of her father.

 

The little girl was immediately scooped up into Connor’s arms and hugged.

 

“No, baby, it’s not,” Buffy said with determination. “It’s going to be stopped before it happens.” She gave Connor a grateful look for his quick response to comfort Joy. It was times like this that she really missed having Spike there with them. He was always the one who knew how to comfort everyone when she had to bear the responsibility of being a Slayer.

 

The glances exchanged between the four at the table were impossible to miss. It only confirmed Buffy’s suspicions that whatever Elijah and Raven knew had been shared with the other two. She needed a moment to think, to decide, before confronting them. So, she resorted back to Mom mode.

 

“We’re wanted there this afternoon,” Buffy said, taking a seat at the table. “Do you two want to go?” She looked at Elijah and Joy, but she already knew the answers. Joy was an enthusiastic yes that took away the lingering fear from her eyes. With Eli there was a slow shake of his head in response to her question. He would want to go but Los Angeles was too much for the young empath to handle. There were too many emotions and too much human evil that quickly overrode his walls. “Joy, go on upstairs and start packing, okay? I’ll be up in a minute or two.”

 

“How many outfits, Mummy?” Joy asked, sliding off Connor’s lap.

 

“Three to be on the safe side,” Buffy said, holding up three fingers. “And pack your bathing suit and one nice dress.” She had barely finished her instructions before her daughter was racing from the room with a quick “’kay” echoing in her wake. Shaking her head slightly, she turned back to her son. “Are you sure you don’t want to go? You can stay at the beach house with Cordelia.”

 

“No, I’ll stay here,” Elijah said with a resigned look upon his boyish face while tracing a finger along the table.

 

It broke Buffy’s heart to see her child have to be so grown up when he was so young. Eli knew his limitations and lived by them religiously. Dealing with others emotions sometimes left him dealing with things he should never have to. Filtering through people’s thoughts, fears and joys was too much of an emotional overload for anyone to process much less a child. She remembered the day that she had taken him aside to tell him about the time that she could read minds and the hell it had given her. His face had lit up as he realized that she really did understand what he went through on a daily basis. No longer did he have to hide his torments.

 

“I’ve got an idea,” Connor said. “It’s Friday so maybe Aidan can come over to spend the night. I’ll stay with you and we’ll camp out in the living room. Make tents, light a fire and roast hot dogs and marshmallows.”

 

“Yeah, we can turn the hallway into a swamp again,” Elijah added.

 

“Sounds good,” Del said, from where she was leaning against the wall. “I’ll make a trip to the store for supplies while you all are packing.”

 

“Thanks, Del,” Buffy said, reaching over to take the older woman’s hand. “We couldn’t make it without you.”

 

“Yeah, I know,” Del replied with a twinkle of merriment in her eyes.

 

They all laughed but it was true. Buffy stood to start her own packing. She saw the look that Raven gave Connor over Eli’s head. Making a note to talk to her daughter while they were gone, she moved to head upstairs. A corner was going to be turned in the next few days and she had a feeling that when she returned to Sunnydale, nothing was going to be the same.

 

~~~~~~~

 

Joy bounded up the stairs, excited that she was going to go to Los Angeles with her mother and sister. The little girl loved the city with the bright lights and all the people. Plus her Angel lived there on the beach. She just knew that she would get a chance to play in the ocean because Mummy said to pack her suit. Plus there was also going to the Hyperion with the grown up Slayers to look forward to. They always spoiled her, giving her what she wanted, playing dress up and training her. She just wished Candy could go too but Elijah would want the small dog to keep him company while they were gone.

 

It only took her a moment detour to pull her pink suitcase from the hall closet and haul it back to her room. She opened it up on her bed before turning to her own closet. Daddy had hung the rod low enough so that her clothes were within her reach. Everything was hung by outfits that were selected with the help of the older women around her. Mostly Mummy and Raven but everyone bought her clothes. It was one of her favorite presents.

 

Choosing which outfits to take was the hard part. Mummy had said three but there were so many that she wanted to take. It was warm so that meant shorts and t-shirts. She selected a purple matching terrycloth outfit with a cat on the front of the shirt. The next two were harder but finally she pulled out a pink and a baby blue outfit from the closet to lie on the bed. Her mother would give final approval before they actually made it into her suitcase. Joy grabbed some jeans and a sweater just in case she got cold. She was just turning to her dresser when her door opened and Elijah slipped in. He sat on her bed without saying anything and she felt that little curl of fear in her belly again. It was coming. She just knew it despite what Mummy told her.

 

“Is it going to be bad?” Joy asked, sitting next to her brother sensing that he needed to be comforted like she had been earlier.

 

“I think so,” Elijah said, hiding his face in his hands. “I’ve been dreaming about him every night. He keeps telling me how Daddy is going to fail.”

 

“Don’t believe him. He lies,” Joy said emphatically. “Daddy promised he was coming home to us. He doesn’t lie. I gave him my treasures to keep him safe.”

 

“They don’t understand, Journey, they don’t,” Elijah said, looking up at her. His grey eyes filled with such loneliness that Joy could almost feel it. She slipped an arm around his shoulder. “Every thing they do is changing what is coming. If they tell Daddy before it’s time…” He shuddered beneath her hand.

 

“Don’t give up,” Joy said. “He won’t let us be hurt. Daddies love their children more than anything.”

 

“And sometimes they go away anyway,” Elijah said, tears slipping down his cheek.

 

Joy ran her fingers through his hair like her Daddy did with her. She knew at one time her siblings had other parents. She didn’t understand everything but knew they had all been sad before they came to live with her parents.

 

“Daddy won’t go ‘way,” Joy repeated, unsure of how to help Elijah. It scared her for a moment to think that maybe her father wouldn’t return and let the bad things get them. Ultimately, though her belief in her father’s promise was stronger than anything else. He had kept her safe before and he would again.

 

The two children looked up when the door opened. This time Raven and Connor slipped in. They took seats next to each on the floor.

 

“We need to talk,” Raven said. “All of us.”

 

~~~~~~~~

 

The door closed behind the two young people making Buffy sigh in frustration. She had put this off for as long as possible. It was time. It had to be done before they left for Los Angeles and she wondered how a four-year-old was supposed to deal with this type of knowledge. Much less keep it a secret.

 

She knocked softly on the door then opened it before waiting for a reply. They all stared up at her in trepidation and she had an insane desire to laugh. The new Scooby gang was all she could see looking down at them. Stifling her amusement she took a seat on the floor across from Raven. She held her arms out for the two youngest. Joy took her place on her lap while Elijah sat next to her.

 

“We do need to talk,” Buffy said softly. “May I join you?” This time she did wait. In turn each of them nodded their consent for her to be a part of their meeting. “Thank you. I feel it’s best that we don’t tell each other everything.” She held a hand up. “Let me explain then I will listen to you as open minded as I hope you will listen to me.”

 

“Go ahead,” Raven said, obviously taking the lead and accepting her mother’s terms.

 

It was down to the two of them, slayer to slayer. Each came to the battle and were willing to compromise for the good of their family, Spike and finally the world. Buffy nodded, taking her daughter’s position seriously. There had been times when she had to take orders from Raven and she would again if the situation warranted it.

 

“You know that I had the vision of a future without…Spike,” Buffy said, hugging Journey tighter. “It’s why I wanted him to leave so that maybe we could beat fate at her own game.” She sighed. “I also know that there is something else that you all know and that it’s not only connected to my vision but to the prophecy that Wesley found. Am I right so far?”

 

Raven nodded.

 

“This prophecy centers around Spike, doesn’t it?”

 

It was Elijah that nodded this time.

 

“Are you the one who discovered it?” Buffy asked.

 

Elijah turned to Raven to get permission to speak so Buffy turned back to her daughter for the answers. Apparently whatever Elijah knew he had passed it along to his sister to decide what to do with it.

 

“Yes, Mum,” Raven said. “The First showed it to him last year. It came in the form of our mother.”

 

Her heart ache was instantaneous as Buffy slipped her arm around her son and pulled him close. She kissed the top of his head. There wasn’t anything she could say to him. Whatever had been revealed to him had been taken to his sister where she had comforted and advised him. It hurt that she hadn’t known, that she and Spike weren’t there for him but she understood.

 

“I’m going to assume since neither Spike nor I were informed of this that there was a good reason?”

 

“Yes,” Raven said. “The First has implied to Elijah that whatever is coming is based on the choices that Daddy makes. If you know or he knows exactly what it says then,” She glanced at Connor. “We’ve deduced that it could alter things and create more trouble…”

 

“Then trusting that in the end he’ll do the right thing,” Buffy said.

 

“Yes, ma’am,” Connor said. “We all believe in him. It wasn’t hard for any of us to decide to let things unfold naturally.”

 

“All of you know?” Buffy asked.

 

“Yes, Mummy,” Elijah answered, leaning closer to her. “Joy knows, too, but…not everything.” The last two words were spoken telepathically to Buffy and she squeezed his hand to let him know that she understood.

 

“Do you all agree then that we should try and keep the others from discovering the truth?” Buffy asked, looking at Raven. She knew that whatever Raven decided the other three would follow. The secret had been kept for a year now. She was the one who was leading them now.

 

“Yes,” Raven said. “Neither Wesley nor Giles fully trust Daddy so I’m afraid their interference would create a situation that would end in chaos.”

 

“I agree,” Buffy said. “So, you and I will talk more on the way down. Give us more of a concrete plan for handling them.”

 

With Raven’s agreement they broke apart to prepare for the trip. Buffy pushed back her wayward emotions until she could afford the luxury of breaking down. Spike had always come through for her, starting all the way back in the days of Glory. He would do it now. She would believe in him until she had proof that she couldn’t.

 

 

to be continued…



Chapter 17
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