After That - 24 (Patreon)

Harry was mid-way through drying off after his second shower when his ears popped. It was enough of a shock to make him wobble from the sensation. He furrowed his brow, trying to identify the source. It hadn't been physical. This was something magical, but not in his wheelhouse. The last time something like this happened he found himself in an alternate timeline.

The room hadn't changed this time. He knew he had felt something happen, but everything appeared to be the same.

"Faith," He called down the hall.

"Again?" Faith replied with a laugh. "Damn, Merlin, you've got some energy to burn tonight."

Their conversation paused when the phone rang. Harry kept the towel around his waist as he found the landline. They had only installed one in the kitchen, and he could see the problem now.

"Hello?" He answered.

"HARRY!" Cordelia's voice came out just as loud as if she was standing beside him. "Did you feel that? Do you remember me? It's Cordelia. Cordelia Chase."

"It's ok, I remember you," Harry soothed. "I felt it too. Stay inside, don't invite anyone inside. No one, I don't care if it's your grandmother, no one."

"I've lived in Sunnydale for my entire life, Harry," She managed to make her eye-roll apparent over the phone.

"And all of your instincts will vanish when you see your parents asking to be let in," He countered.

Cordelia grumbled something that wasn't quite words.

"I'll check with Giles and the others," Harry added.

"Thank you," Her voice came out smaller.

"Be safe, be smart," Harry said. "I'll talk to you in the morning."

"Ok, bye," Cordelia hung up.

Faith strolled down the stairs wearing only a pair of panties, "What's up?"

"You remember a few weeks ago when Cordelia and I were sent to another timeline?" Harry asked.

Faith raised her eyebrows, "No. I think I would remember that."

"Right," Harry said after a moment. "You were on the road." He paused. "I never occurred to me to ask. How are you getting around? You don't have a car or the money to buy bus tickets."

She flashed her best smile at him, "Are you worried about little-old-me?"

"Yes," He replied.

Faith's brain came to a grinding halt at his answer.

Her smile dropped, "Don't get clingy on me, Merlin. I'm not that kind of girl."

"Faith," He shook his head. "You're going to have to accept that people care about you."

She bristled at that. Her arms crossed over her chest. The sight would have been sexy in another situation.

"Me," Harry continued. "The others, of course. Friendship is part of deal with them. Joyce cares about you. I swear she asks about you every day. You would not believe how many times she's offered to give you their extra room."

Faith shrugged, "The others aren't my friends. They're Buffy's friends, I work with her. At most they're like friends once removed." She looked away. "And Joyce is good people."

"And me?" Harry teased.

Faith glared at him.

"Do you want to come with me?" He asked.

"Sure," She nodded.

§

Willow appeared in a courtyard in front of a house. A moment ago, she was standing beside Xander about to drain an annoying blood bag. She looked around to find out she was alone. This wasn't right. She needed to get answers.

The Bronze. It was the best place for answers.

§

"Faith, Harry," Giles greeted them as they entered the library. "What brings you here?"

"Merlin says the mojo is off," Faith answered helpfully.

Giles looked to Harry for clarification.

"Something happened," Harry clarified. "It felt like the time Cordelia, and I were shunted to another timeline."

Giles went quiet as his mind went into work-mode.

"It wasn't as strong as the first time," Harry continued. "I haven't found anything that has changed yet."

Giles nodded, "It could have been an aftershock due to residual energy."

"It's been too long," He countered.

Giles wondered into his office. Faith took a seat at a table. She propped her feet up on the table and leaned back in the chair. Sounds of drawers opening and closing drifted out of the office.

"Any news on my Watcher?" Faith asked as Giles exited his office.

"He should be here within the next two days," The Watcher answered.

Faith nodded.

"This is everything I have on temporal anomalies and rituals that deal with time," Giles set down a stack of books on the table. "Cordelia said we had found something in the other timeline to fix everything."

"That was a wish demon," Harry clarified. "This place loves demons."

"A wish demon?" Giles repeated. "Are you sure it was a wish demon?"

Harry shrugged, "Cordelia made a wish, the demon granted it, and then we were in another timeline."

"I don't recall many wish demons that don't require summoning," Giles took off his glasses and nibbled on the end.

"You should call Cordelia," Faith suggested. "She's the only one other than Merlin that was there." She paused. "Where was I in this other timeline?"

"I have no clue," Harry replied. "Buffy hadn't died yet so there wasn't another Slayer."

Faith leaned back in her chair, "That's fucking depressing."

"You would prefer to be a Slayer?" Giles asked. "After all that has happened?"

"Trailer trash or kick-ass Slayer?" Faith scoffed. "That's not a hard choice there, Jeeves."

Giles sighed, "I'll call Cordelia."

Further conversation was interrupted as a Buffy and Xander trudged into the library. They were pale and showing signs of shock.

"What's up, B?" Faith asked.

Buffy looked up at her, finally seeing the other people in the room, "Willow."

She couldn't say anything more than that.

"She's a vampire," Xander finished.

That sent them all into silence. Something crashed in the other room shortly before Giles rushed out of his office. He held the now disconnected phone in his hands.

"What did you say?" Giles asked.

Xander gulped and forced himself to speak, "Willow. We saw her at the Bronze."

"She's a vampire," Buffy said barely above a whisper.

"No, not happening," Faith shook her head. "Red is too careful."

"She wanted to shake things up," Xander said. "She said she didn't want to be the reliable, boring one anymore."

"She said she was going to change her style," Buffy drifted over to the table then slumped into the chair beside Faith. "It's my fault."

"No," Xander shook his head. "It's mine. I shouldn't have left her alone. We both saw how upset she was."

"You couldn't have done anything," Giles countered. "You would have been attacked as well if you were with her."

Xander didn't take it personally for once. Everyone stood in silence. Faith tried to hide it, but she wasn't left out of the emotions.

"I'll stake her," Faith said after a moment. "She's your friend. You shouldn't have to do it."

Buffy looked at her fellow Slayer with red, puffy eyes, "She's my friend. That's why I have to be the one to do it."

"Do what?" Willow asked as she entered the library.

Harry turned, he had his hand up before anyone could speak. Willow let out a squeak of shock as she suddenly found herself floating in the air with her arms and legs held tight against her body.

"Uh," Willow looked down. "I'm not really into this kind of thing. Plus, Oz would be jealous."

Harry set her back to the floor, "She's alive."

"Yeah?" Willow replied. "Am I not supposed to be?"

Buffy rushed over to hug her, followed quickly by Xander. They stepped away after making sure she was, in fact, still alive.

"Giles, could you-" Her words were cut off as Giles wrapped her in a hug. "Oh. Ok. This is strange."

"We saw you at the Bronze," Xander explained. "You were a vampire."

Willow scoffed, "I'm not a vampire." Her eyes went wide; she looked at Harry. "Am I?"

"No, you're not," Harry chuckled. "That doesn't change the fact that there is a vampire you at the Bronze." He continued. "I think I know what changed."

"Starting to feel a little left out here," Buffy said.

Harry gave her a quick rundown of the situation.

"Right," Buffy nodded. "When Cordelia was crazy instead of bitchy."

Harry gave her a flat look.

"What?" Buffy asked. "Am I wrong?"

No one argued. Harry wanted to say something, but she had distanced herself from the group and was happy to roast marshmallows as the bridges burned. She was getting better. Slowly.

"Guys, I have some news," Angel rushed into the room. "Willow is dead." He looked around the room to make sure everyone understood what he said. "Hi, Willow."

Angel froze. He stared at Willow as she shyly waved at him.

"Time travel?" He guessed.

Harry wobbled his hand, "Of a sort. It's sideways instead of forward or back."

"Vampire Willow has hostages at The Bronze," Angel continued. "We need to stop it."

Faith got to her feet, "I see why you like this guy, B. He has the best idea for dates." She winked at Harry. "No offense, Merlin."

"Not important," Giles cut in. "We have a situation to handle."

"We'll come up with a plan once we get to the Bronze," Buffy said. "Let's move."

No one argued after that. They gathered the equipment they had before heading out. Willow stopped as they reached the door to the parking lot.

"I need to grab something," Willow said as she turned back toward the library.

"Please hurry, we will wait here," Giles nodded.

They watched as she jogged down the hall.

"Do you know the floorplan?" Harry asked turning his attention back to the group.

Giles nodded, "We have the building plans for a few buildings. The Bronze is among them."

"There are three points of entry on the ground level," Buffy explained. "Front, side, and back door. Only the staff use the side door, most people don't know about it."

"Why don't we use it?" Harry asked.

Xander shook his head, "No go, magic man. It's the one set of doors in the place that has a working lock. Only the employees have a key."

"Is that it?" Harry asked.

"We aren't master thieves," Xander replied.

"You don't have to be a master thief to pick a lock," Harry countered.

"Merlin's right," Faith added. "Just kick it down."

"It would be too loud," Giles said. "Also, the staff area is a bit of a maze of hallways. People would be dead before we reached the main area."

Faith grumbled, "I never get to bust down doors anymore."

"Next time we'll make sure there's time for destruction of private property," Xander quipped.

Faith looked him up and down, "I've done worse."

"The property destruction?" Xander asked.

"Sure," Faith winked at him. "Let's go with that."

Xander looked to Harry for help. Helpfully, he shrugged.

"Guys! Guys!" Willow ran down the hallway. "Vampire me!"

"Where?" Faith's eyes brightened.

Willow furrowed her brow, "No, we're not killing her. I shot her with Oz's dart gun. The dart gun we use if Oz escapes when he's all wolfy."

"Will," Buffy cut in. "We get it. Where is she?"

"Library," Willow replied before running back the way she came.

The others followed behind quickly. They came to a stop at the sight of Vamp Willow unconscious on the floor. The dart was lodged just below her heart.

"Nice shot," Faith commented. "B, you got a stake?"

"Wait," Willow dashed between the slayer and the downed vamp. "We can't just kill her."

"Yeah, we can," Faith chuckled. "She's a vampire."

"But… she's me," Willow said softly.

Harry levitated the vampire over to the cage area. The door closed and locked behind her.

"Damn, Red," Faith took a moment to look over the vampire. "You've got some style when you let loose."

"Thanks?" Willow replied. "Do you think Oz would like it?"

Faith winked at her, "That's my girl."

Willow blushed and shuffled to stand near Giles.

"That's the Willow from the other world," Harry stated. "I have no idea how she got here or how she's still alive."

"Oh yeah," A small frown flashed across her face. "You killed me- her."

Harry nodded, "Sorry about that."

"No, she's a vampire, I get it," Willow replied. "But, seeing me- her in person is different than hearing about it."

Harry turned to the others, "What's the plan now?"

"I have an idea," Willow offered.

§

"Looking good, Red," Faith whistled as Willow stepped out of the office.

She now wore Vampire Willow's cloths while the vampire now wore the fuzzy sweater and skirt.

"Thanks for the help, Buff," Willow blushed.

Swapping the clothing meant stripping Vampire Willow. The witch only trusted Buffy to help in the process. Harry had obscured the cage while the Slayer worked. The tranquilizer was surprisingly effective against vampires.

"When did you get a tattoo?" Buffy asked.

"WHAT?!" Willow gasped.

Buffy smiled at her.

"That's not funny," Willow pouted.

"We've wasted enough time," Giles said. "Let's go."

They split up between vehicles. No one asked where Faith got another car, the exposed wires on the steering column made it clear how it was acquired. At least this one had enough room for four people. Harry, Angel, and Xander went with Faith while Buffy and Willow rode with Giles.

Harry had grown accustomed to her skills. Angel didn't have to worry about dying. Xander, on the other hand, was learning that there Faith was probably even more dangerous behind the wheel.

"How are you holding up?" Angel asked.

Xander shook his head, "No talking, only praying."

"You pray?" Faith asked.

She turned to look at him over her shoulder. The car drifted into the oncoming lane as she stared at him.

"ROAD! ROAD! EYES ON THE ROAD," Xander screamed.

Faith lazily looked back at the road and moved back to the correct lane.

"I have a new respect for religion," Xander squeaked out. "Harry! Harry, my man. You must know how to drive?"

Harry shook his head.

"Angel?" Xander pleaded.

Angel nodded, "Yes, I know how to drive."

"Not a chance," Faith spoke before they could happen. "I drive my car."

"This isn't your car!" Xander argued. "You clearly stole it."

"I stole it fair and square," Faith agreed. "So, It's mine."

Xander sighed, "Finders' Keepers is a universal law."

They all lurched as the car came to a stop. Xander slammed into the back of the passenger seat.

"You weren't wearing a seatbelt?" Harry asked.

"Uh," Xander shrugged. "I like to live dangerously."

Harry shook his head. They got out of the car. Harry and Angel shared a knowing look when both wobbled a little as they stood. Both knew that there was a time for panic, just not in the midst of things.

"Hey," Xander shuffled to stand beside Harry. "If people ask, can we say I was a stoic badass during the ride?"

Harry raised an eyebrow, "Do you think they would believe it?"

"They could," Xander said.

"Are we good on the plan?" Buffy asked as they all gathered. "Be careful, Will."

"Don't worry," She replied. "I have no plans on doing anything remotely brave."

Things were going as well as expected until Vampire Willow arrived. Out of respect for the original Willow's wishes, Harry stunned her rather than dusting her like the other vampires.

Anyanka, the now-mortal Vengeance Demon, stopped threatening everyone with a torturous death when she got her powers back once she saw Harry. Her face went pale. She dropped to her knees and didn't resist any further.

"My lord," Anyanka bowed. "My power was taken by these mortals. I beg your forgiveness. I had no idea that they were your followers."

The others stared in a mixture of shock and confusion.

"Stand," Harry ordered. "Send her back where she belongs."

"Yes, my lord," Anyanka helped Giles complete the ritual without any further complaints.

"How did you escape?" Faith asked Vamp Willow.

"A snack let me out," Vamp Willow sighed.

"A snack?" Faith asked.

"What was her name?" Vamp Willow thought for a moment. "Cordelia. She came here looking for you."

Harry froze. He turned to look at her. The room felt colder.

"Where is she?" His voice was devoid of humor.

Vamp Willow shrugged, "I don't know. Some fancy English guy showed up with a cross and holy water."

"An English guy?" Giles asked.

Vamp Willow nodded, "Dressed like you."

"A Watcher?" Buffy asked.

"He was supposed to be here soon," Giles said. "Harry, do you know Cordelia's phone number?"

"I do," Xander said quickly. "You know, just in case." He paused. "Why do you know it?"

Harry ignored the question, "I'll give her a call."

He stepped into the office.

"Are we just going to ignore demon girl acting all weird around him?" Xander asked once the door closed.

"I'm not acting weird around him!" Anyanka snapped. Her gaze scanned the others in the room. "You don't know who he is?"

"Harry Potter?" Willow offered.

"You don't know," Anyanka whispered.

"Are you going to tell us who he is?" Faith rolled her eyes.

"He is Death," Anyanka whispered.

"Death?" Giles asked. "A grim reaper?"

"Grim reapers are real?" Xander asked.

"Yes," Giles replied. "They are only visible to those on the edge of death, or those that have cheated it in some way."

"He's not a Grim Reaper," Anyanka snapped. "He. Is. Death."

She went still as the office door opened. Harry stepped out and took in the scene.

"Merlin," Faith smirked at him. "You didn't tell us you were Death."

Harry raised an eyebrow, "Who told you that?"

"Demon girl," Faith motioned to Anyanka.

Harry strolled over to the former Vengeance Demon. All emotion drained from his face as he stood over her.

"I am the Master of Death," Harry tilted her head to look up at him.

Anyanka whimpered, "My lord, please forgive me."

"I'm on vacation," He practically hissed. "Keep your mouth shut."

Anyanka tried to nod only to find it impossible to move. Harry let her go. She collapsed, pressing her forehead to the floor.

"I need some air," Harry left without looking back.

No one moved.

"Damn," Faith broke the silence. "Anyone else really horny now?"

"Um," Xander raised his hand for some reason. "Does anyone want to ask him about Cordelia?"

"Go for it," Buffy offered.

"As interesting as this has been," Giles said. "We do have a ritual to complete."

Anyanka didn't say anything more than what was required to finish the spell.

§

Willow appeared standing beside Xander. She recognized the courtyard outside of the Watchers' apartment. The door in front of them opened to reveal that guy with green eyes. Harry, she was pretty sure she heard the name. She had just enough time to remember what happened next.

"Son of a-" Her words were cut off, just like her head.

§

Xander found Harry sitting on the stairs outside. The wizard was staring at the starry sky.

"Um," Xander said as he approached. "How you doing, Har?"

Harry didn't look at him, "Cordelia is safe. The new Watcher, Wesley something, came by to find Giles and saved her life."

"How did you know her number?" Xander asked taking a seat beside the wizard.

"She gave it to me," Harry replied. "I gave her a potion to help her heal. Then there was the 'other world' nonsense that the two of us remember. Three now, if you count the former demon."

"So…" Xander bobbed his head for a moment. "Master of Death, sounds important."

Harry let out a long sigh, "I don't want to talk about it."

"Does that mean you're like a demon or something?" Xander asked.

Harry pinched the bridge of his nose, "I don't want to talk about it."

"Aren't vampires dead?" Xander continued. "If you're the Master of Death could you give them orders?"

Harry shook his head, "Vampires here aren't the traditional sort. They are demons that have hijacked a dead body. True, undead vampires don't have the same rules. A stake through the heart must be through their body and into a surface. It doesn't kill them; it freezes them in place. They will be back on their feet if you remove it. The only way to kill a vampire is to cut off its head, burn the body, scatter the ashes over running water, and bury the head at a cross-roads. Anything less and they will come back. They're originally created through a combination of Death and Soul magic."

"Does that mean Buffy isn't actually a Vampire Slayer?" Xander asked.

Harry shrugged, "I would say she's a Demon Slayer, but it doesn't have the same ring to it."

"Yeah," Xander nodded. "It sounds like one of those cartoons from Japan or something."

Harry stayed quiet.

"Cartoons from Japan are different from the ones here," Xander explained. "They really like tentacles for some reason. Are there magical tentacle monsters? Or slime that dissolves clothing?"

Harry studied Xander for a long moment.

"Don't leave me hanging," Xander bounced with energy.

"Goodnight, Xander," Harry stood. "Tell the others I'm going home."

"Are you sure it's safe for you to walk alone?" Xander asked.

Harry gave him a small smile, "Yes, thank you."

He took the long way home. It was only a matter of time before they found out about the Master of Death thing. He didn't want to deal with all of that while he was on vacation. Harry slowed as he approached his house. There was an owl perched on the railing of his porch. It watched him get closer with the long-suffering haughtiness that only a Ministry Owl could manage.

It held its leg out once he got close enough.

"I don't have any treats," Harry told the owl.

It stared at him in the eye and pooped on the porch. The owl flew away without waiting for any further instruction. Harry opened the letter.

Harry Potter,
It has been brought to our attention that you have taken a temporary residence in Sunnydale, California. We would like to remind you that your title does not extend to any authority outside of your claims. You are not to interfere with local politics, magical councils, or other established supernatural events. Please acquit yourself with the proper etiquette on foreign shores. If you continue to interfere with the local government we will be forced to remove you to your home and refuse any future visits for the rest of your natural life.
From the Desk of Emerine Reynolds
Department of International Magical Relations
MACUSA

Harry took the letter inside. He turned it over in his hand to get a close look. The paper and ink matched his previous experience, as did the tone. It was the seal that settled the matter. Only a position with proper authority could use it. This was an official warning. There was nothing that he could do to fight it.

The mayor was a sneaky bastard.