SquidgeWorld Archive

Time and Again - Prologue
by Stephen Howe
sh01@btinternet.com

- Prologue

GOVERNMENT AID STATION - Tanzania/Kenya
BORDER.

Giles looked up from the endless pile of official documents he had been forced to read and then sign by the British Consul representative." Is this necessary Charles?"

The man nodded." If I've learnt nothing in my time here its that ALL paperwork is important. One can't cross the road without the correct i's dotted and T's crossed, let alone get them to open those damned gates." He motioned to the twin wire and wood gated that was all that stood between the democracy of Kenya and the madness that had engulfed Tanzania.

Charles checked the dockets and sighed." You have to realize Rupert that Her Majesty's Government will under no circumstances go to war over the fate of foreign nationals; maybe you should contact the Americans?"

Giles sighed. "If there were oil or the country was of military value then you couldn't keep them away but as it is..."He let the words hang in mid air.

"Yes no nation wants to explain to the bereaved parents that their sons died for some dried up piece of dirt they never heard of." He thought for a moment." I do hear the watchers 'security team' is still kicking around, maybe you could..."

Giles shook his head." Recalled to active service I'm afraid..." Shouting from the gate caught his attention. Just then the distant sound of gunfire could be heard and the refugee camp stirred. Men in uniform ran to the front fence and checked their weapons. Giles stood as Charles was called away and he too made his way to the barbed wire fence line.

The sun was just beginning to set as he saw movement in the dried riverbed. He all but jumped the fence when he saw it was Lucy, the eldest slayer in the new group." Lucy!" He cried out and followed the fence till he was in front of where she would arrive.

"GILES!" The teen shouted and waived her arms; she then motioned for the others to hurry.

"Open the damned gate!" He shouted.

The officer looked from the now silent border and asked." Papers?"

Giles looked at him in disbelief. "Papers...PAPERS!" He snatched them from Charles and shook them in front of the man. "Here, here's your damned paperwork now open the sodding gates!"

The man carefully studied them then motioned to the men at the gate." Open." He looked at Giles and continued." The paperwork says a party of five 'tourists' so I will allow entry for five only."

Giles shook him off and ran to the gate and the people he had spent many a sleepless night waiting for." Lucy." He smiled at her as she entered the compound. Then he saw the trail of others behind her." What..."

Lucy held up her hand." I have to go back, Xander..."

They were both interrupted by a young girl." You will send men back yes?" She told them in broken English. Lucy's shoulder's dropped." Listen you..." She turned her scowl into a grimacing smile." Your highness, I will go back with some men for your things when..."

The girl lifted her off the ground." Forget my things! Go back for him...Go back now if you value your cowardly life!"

Lucy broke the hold and shook her head." It was his choice." She looked into her eyes." You know what he was becoming yes? You know he would have ..."

The ground shook seconds before the area beyond the border was lit up by a massive fireball .The girl turned and began
running for the closed gates." NOOOO!!!!"

"Damn!" Charles exclaimed." Some fool's been siphoning off oil from the pipeline again."

Lucy walked over to the gate and as she did she looked at the teen as she slumped to the ground." Happy now!" The teen growled at her." You could have stayed and helped him."

"What does she mean?" The officer demanded." What happened out there?"

Giles stood by her." Yes, please tell us Miss Parnell, what happened and where is Xander?"

Lucy looked at him and all the memories of that short hellish week came flooding back.

***************************FLASHBACK*****************************************

Lucy had never liked hot weather even in the days before 'the change', as she liked to call it, she had dreaded the annual Parnell family summer holiday in hell. She had dropped her bags off at the hotel Giles had booked her into and spent the first ten minutes looking for a non existent air-conditioner before deciding on making her way to Harris's room.

She hesitated at his door and began to worry once more that she would not come up to the high standards everyone else had said Buffy had set. She dried her wet hands on her skirt and knocked, the door creaked open of its self and she edged it open with her toe." Hello...anybody here...Mr. Harris?"

She saw a man asleep on the double bed, the slowly revolving ceiling fan ruffled his long black hair. She was about to look at the rest of the room when the tiny hairs on the back of her head stood on end. She turned to look at the sleeping man only to find herself looking down the business end of very lethal looking pistol. She jerked back and the pistol remained centered on her chest.

"Gawk...humph...Name!" Xander demanded after a shaky start.

"Lucy...Parnell." She quieted her nerves." My name's Lucy Parnell and..."

Xander held up a finger and she stopped. "Let me guess Giles sent you?" He watched her nod and he dropped the gun hand to his side before slumping back on the bed." Good girl, you found me ,no go back and tell Giles thanks for finally actually sending some one instead of sending a fax but he's a year too late..."He looked at her." And sending a cute Slayer will not get me to do what he wants."

Lucy frowned." But...but you're Xander Harris right?" She took out the photo Dawn had given her to check." Bit rough round the edges but you are him." She watched the man place the gun back under the pillow before he sprawled out on the bed. "There's a girl..."

Xander laughed and moved his hand as if he was directing a choir. "A chosen one, one girl in every generation blah, blah blah!" He sat up." Heard the spiel, bought the story watched the film, next!"

Lucy shook her head." Giles said you might be unwilling to do this so he told me to call you Hyena boy and tell you he thought it was time some secrets were told." She looked puzzled." Dawn told us you were once possessed by a Hyena spirit but what that has to do with Giles I..."

Xander glared at her." Yeah he KNEW!" She barely picked up the next words." And yet he sent me here to where the Primalists are every freaking where!" He sighed and rubbed his good eye." Where is she and how much is this going to hurt this time?"

Lucy smiled and his wall almost crumbled. She tucked an errant hair behind her ear and took out a folio." We only found out about her last week." She took the photo from the folder and showed it to him." Her name is Endiko Soswana, her mother contacted a priest about her daughters 'strange' behavior and he in turn contacted his superiors..."

Xander interrupted." Who in turn contacted Giles, who in turn sent you to rattle my chain?" He took off the sweat stained shirt and hunted for a clean one." Get on with it."

Lucy looked at his tanned and well muscled chest." Your picture hardly does you justice..."She blushed as his one eye glared at her and continued." Uhh, she lives in the capitol of Tanzania..."

Xander froze and shook his head." You mean Soswana as in President for life Idi Anoki Saswana?"

Lucy shrugged." Yeah I guess so why?"

Xander sniggered." Do they have cable in. where is it the Scooby's are now?"

"Seattle." She nodded." Yeah we heard about some trouble they're having in Tanzania."

"Some trouble she says." He snuffled." You call a thing like civil war, one in which thousands are being killed everyday, some trouble?" He went to the wardrobe and hefted out a battered suitcase. "I've been in this damn continent for two damn years lady and had my ass handed me too many damn times to not know a lost cause when I see one."

Lucy walked towards him." She needs our help, she's a slayer and you never fail to help a slayer in need. That's what they
told me about you."

He paused and then dropped some clothes into the case." That guy died about a year ago, died when his friends only remembered he was alive when there was an African slayer to be brought into the fold."

"They're fighting a war Mr. Harris, a war against evil."

"Hey!" He pointed to the patch over his eye." That freak poked my eye out not my brain KID! I know there's a war going on."

He picked up the remote and threw it to her. "Pick a channel there's any number of wars going on over here."

Lucy had almost given up." What in God's name is up with you?"

Xander had finished packing his meager belongings and looked deep into her eyes." God? God left Africa a long time ago Miss Parnell." He reached under the pillow and shoved the pistol into its holster under his arm." And now if you have any brains in that pretty little head you'll leave with me."

She shook her head and Xander shrugged." Your loss." He placed the baseball cap on his head and told her." The flight to o' burg leaves in an hour, I'll hold a seat for as long as I can."

Lucy watched Xander leave and she suddenly felt very alone. She took a deep breath then walked down to the check in counter."

Where would I go to book a flight into Tanzania?"

The man laughed then stilled as he saw the look on her face." You're not joking? Miss if I may be so bold as to tell you there are better, quicker ways of killing yourself if you so wish, but to go there now would be worse than suicide!"

Lucy flustered then held out the card Giles had given her." Have my things taken to the airport, I'll find my way to Tanzania with or without your help!"

Half an hour later Lucy found herself wishing she had taken Xander's advice. She had met a man that said he, and his partner, were just about to leave for Tanzania themselves and they would deem it an honor to escort her there. They had seemed okay a little excited to see her but she put that down to the fact they would have a booking for their plane and left it at that.

She watched the man play with a green gem that he said matched the color of her eyes but failed to note the eerie glow it had whenever it came close to her.

All seemed above board until the first taste of the drink they offered hit the back of her throat, then everything was like she was floating in a sea of treacle. They easily swatted away her attempts to defend herself then chained her hands behind her back, her feet were next.

The man's face swam into view and he grinned at her." There's an Arab man paying a fortune for your kind." He held a green gem in front of her and it glowed." There's more and more of you girls every day!"

A noise behind him made him turn." What do you want?" The stranger never answered." She's ours now clear off one eye before..."

Lucy heard a bag drop and a familiar voice say." Your best bet is to leave now and I promise not to hunt you down for oohh a week?" Lucy started to sit up and she saw both men reach for their sidearm.

Xander put a round at their feet and shook his head as they froze." I'm not going to count to three." He leveled the gun at the man's groin and smiled." Anytime you think you'd like to leave you can, but if you hang around much longer you'll be singing soprano."

The two men eyed each other and then Lucy before he looked back at Xander, the leader gritted his teeth and grimaced at the loss of so much easy money." One day soon you're going to wake up with your throat cut!"

Xander smiled." Unlock the chains and stand clear of her." As the man's partner complied Xander knelt down and checked on the young slayer. He eased open her eye and saw them beginning to focus properly." You should be fine in a short while." Xander stood up and his eye caught sight of a half empty bottle of Evian." I hear you have a plane?"

Xander motioned for the two to walk outside, he turned to Lucy." Back in a bit." He grinned." Try not to get kidnapped while I'm gone." He moved the two men outside, emptying the large bottle as he did.

Lucy sat up and smacked her lips together in an effort to get rid of the foul taste in her mouth. She stood on wobbly legs and then her ears picked up two 'popping' noises followed by drums hitting the ground. She began to get her senses back and walked to the door just as Xander walked in.

"Right then, I'm ready for one more mission and then you can tell Giles to lose my number and forget I exist!" He helped her outside and then towards an old Cessna." Here we are, all aboard the cannonball express."

Lucy glanced back to the ramshackle shack and asked." They just gave you their plane?"

Xander's face seemed to harden." None of you cared as to how I got those girls out, in fact you barely acknowledged that I had anything to do with it, so just don't ask now." He saw Lucy begin to piece together the evidence and watched her eyes go wide. He began running through the take off checks as he told her." You didn't think I'd leave those two guys behind so they could kill me did you? I've lost four girls to them and lord knows what their employer's have done to them but those two were long overdue for an appointment with the devil."

Xander tapped the fuel gage and did a mental count." Should have enough go-go juice to get us there." He grinned at her. "Maybe."

Lucy sat back and began to worry as the small plane began to taxi." Uhh, Giles didn't say anything about you being able to fly."

Xander shrugged." I can't." He moved the throttle control to full and turned to her." That's why I need a plane."

Despite her first impression Lucy was beginning to slowly warm to him." So what changed your mind?"

Xander found a pair of sunglasses and put them on." Don't know, but I sure am going to see the local shaman about getting it removed when I get back." He pulled back on the controls as he reached optimum take off speed. He reached over to her as Lucy glanced back at the tin hut at the edge of the dirt runway." We're told never to take human life."

Xander leveled off and glanced at her." There are some humans out there that make the worst demons look like Barney." He thought for a brief second." And some demons that are far better than any human I have met." He looked at her." It's going to be a while before we hit Tanzanian airspace so I suggest you try to sleep off what ever remains of that drug they slipped you."

Lucy nodded then tried to make herself as comfortable as the seat would allow." You are a strange man Mr. Harris, a far cry from what the other's made you out to be."

Xander kept his eye out for anything that could stop their journey and whispered." Stranger than anyone could ever have thought."

END OF PROLOGUE.