Sliders: Part 5
by Fire Girl
These characters are not mine, but most of what happens to them in this story is.



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Part Five

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Kendra and Kayla took out the weapons. They sharpened knives and loaded the crossbows. Kendra took extra time sharpening the sword she'd brought. She knew how much it would be needed when the time came. Angel2 helped them for a while, then decided to check on Buffy2. He crept into the room where she lay and found her sleeping. With a content smile, he started to leave.

"Leaving so soon?" she said while he was still in earshot.

He came back to the room and shut the door behind him. He pulled a chair up to the table and took her hand, "How do you feel?"

"Well, besides the extreme headache and the fact there's a hole that goes straight through me, I feel pretty good."

"Well if that's all…." He trailed off with a smile.

"So, who's Kayla?"

Angel2 smiled, almost embarrassed, "When I was alive, Kayla was a girl who lived next door to me. I remember I really didn't like her. She was like the little sister that you never wanted. You know, always hanging around, trying to follow my friends and I around town. She bugged us. You'd be surprised how many times we ditched her in the woods, but she always came back. Anyway, when she got older, my parents, the nightmares of my natural life, betrothed me to her. I don't know if it's the same here, but-"

"You married her?"

"Actually, no. I died during our engagement. I never knew what happened to her."

"And now, she's here."

"I don't understand it. If I find time, I'll ask. The thing is, Angel looks at her strangely. His eyes wander towards her a lot. I'm starting to wonder where they stand with one another."

"You think he's got a thing for her?"

"I don't know. If he weren't so happy with Buffy, that would be my guess. The look he gives her, it's like he doesn't… I don't know. It's like he doesn't know why she's here, either."

"I'd ask them about it. But I haven't noticed him looking at her; I've been seeing him look at you, mostly."

"It's understandable. When you haven't seen yourself for over two hundred years, you tend to forget what you look like; believe me, it makes you stare. It must've been a shock for him, especially under the circumstances."

Buffy2 shrugged, "I guess you're right. So, what's happened since I've been out?"

"Well, everyone's here. Xander, Willow, even Cordelia and they're all still researching Acathala."

"Buffy and Angel?"

"Buffy got a note from Spike saying that if she didn't meet him in the graveyard, more would die. So, she and Angel went to check it out."

"What!" Buffy2 nearly sat up at the surprise, "You know what's gonna happen, this place will be crawling with vampire any second. They're gonna try to take Giles! You know that!"

"Buffy, relax. First off, there's no way to be sure that's gonna happen. Second, we're ready this time; we know that they're coming."

"I don't like it. I'm not normally one to run, but I don't think we should stay here. We should pile everyone into a car and go to someone's house. That's the only way to make sure everyone's safe. What if they show up? I can't defend myself and you can't protect everyone alone."

Angel2 was annoyed. He wished he'd thought of that.

"You're right, again." He quickly made his way to the other room and announced, "Everyone pack some stuff, we gotta move out."

"Where are we going?" asked Giles.

"Anywhere. It isn't safe here. Can we go to anyone's house?"

"We can go to mine." Said Giles, grabbing some books.

"We also need a car."

"I've got mine." Said Xander.

"How many people will it hold?"

"Five at a time."

"Damn. Ok, Kendra, I think you and I should stay while the rest go."

Kendra nodded, "Agreed."

He turned back to Xander "Someone should be here when Buffy and Angel get back, we'll drive to Giles' house with them. Kayla, is it safe to move her, yet?"

"Probably not." Kayla said, "but we don't have much of a choice here, do we?"

Fifteen minutes later, Kendra and Angel2 were alone in the library. It had taken ten minutes alone to get Buffy2 to the car. Kayla disappeared, first saying that she would meet them at Giles' house soon.

Kendra was silent as she made and sharpened stakes. She worked quickly, cutting and shaping the wood, until Angel2, annoyed with the awkward silence, said, "How many those things have you made?"

"I'm working on the eighth, now." She answered, without looking up.

"How many more do you need?"

"A dozen at least." She turned to see his questioning look and added,

"It's never hurts to be prepared."

Angel gave a sarcastic smile, "Ok, I probably should have just asked you. What's on your mind?"

Kendra stopped and looked at him, "I thought she told you."

"Told me what?"

"Well, when you agreed that-" Kendra sighed heavily, "That was the other one. Look, I don't mean to be rude, but it's really none of your business." She went back to the stakes. After a minute, she also became aware of the silence and said, "So, when do you think they'll be back?"

"Soon, I hope. Why, you starting to get worried?"

"No. What makes you think that?"

"You just look nervous, or very tense."

"Tense is closer to it."

Angel thought about that for a second, then said, "Sit down."

She gave him a puzzled look.

"C'mon," he said, "sit. You've been standing for over an hour, you must be tired by now."

Reluctantly, she grabbed a chair and sat down. She had just started to get back to work when she felt his hands on her shoulders. She tried to turn around, but he held in place.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Relax," he told her as he began to gently rub her shoulders, "I'm not gonna hurt you."

She tried to return her attention to the stake she was working on, but the sensation that she got from him made it hard to concentrate. The waves of relaxation that he gave her sent chills up her spine. She liked it, a lot. She'd needed this for a long time. The stress she'd been through, during the past few days, was almost too much for her. Within a few seconds of enjoyment, she'd forgotten it all.

She put down the stakes and shut her eyes. She bent her head forward as the muscles in her neck surrendered themselves to his touch. His hands gradually moved down her back, between her shoulder blades. She gasped as her back suddenly tensed with pain. He had found a knot. When he heard her gasp, he eased up. He was trying not to hurt her.

"Feel better?" he asked.

"Much. Thank you, I need this more than you'll ever know. So, tell me, what's your world like?"

"A lot like this one, actually."

"Well, what's different?"

"Let's see. First off, Kayla isn't in my world. She died a long time ago."

"What else?"

"Well, you're not there either. I mean you're there, you know, you exist. You're just not in Sunnydale. You're also not pregnant in my world."

Every bit of tension Angel2 had wiped out suddenly returned.

"How did you know?" she asked.

"I could feel your heartbeat as soon as I touched you. Yours wasn't like everyone else's. There are two beats, so I assumed that the only way that could be possible is if you were pregnant."

Kendra gulped.

"It's Ok." He said, "I just wish you'd told me before I agreed to you staying behind."

She turned around and looked him in the face, "Look, I'll be fine. I wish everyone would stop worrying about me so much."

"You've never known a pregnant person, have you?" he turned her back around and began to work on her shoulders again, "It's a natural thing for your friends to worry, believe me, it'll only get worse as time goes on. So, who else knows?"

"I told Buffy and I think she told Angel, the other one."

"You haven't told Giles?"

"Not yet."

"When do you plan to?"

"When the time is right. Can we talk about something else, now?"

"Sure. Hey, I've been wondering, what's the deal with Kayla and Angel? What exactly are they to each other?"

"Just friends. They had been married once, though. A spell trapped Kayla in stone. She was there until about five months ago, when they got her out."

"They were married? They act like they still are."

"From what Buffy's been telling me, you should hear them fight." Angel2 laughed, "If I'm lucky, I'll catch them on my way out."

"I wouldn't exactly call that luck."

"Why?"

"They're always at-"

She was cut off by a loud, crashing sound in the hall.

"Stay here." Said Angel2, "I'll go check it out."

Before she could protest, he was on his way out.

"Angel!" she called after him.

He stopped right at the door and turned around. She picked up a stake and threw it to him.

"You may need that." She said.

"Thanks, we'll continue this later." He said, then ran out the door.

Kendra stood up. She was going to go to the door and look out, but she stopped about halfway there and returned to her seat. A wave of nausea hit her and she had to sit down. She laid her head in her arms and sighed loudly. She lifted her head as the wave passed and reached for a stake to work on.

As she reached for it, her hand was grabbed violently. She looked up and saw that Spike had a hold of her wrist. Her eyes grew wide as she looked him in the face. They got wider as she looked around the room at the other vampires who sat on tables, in chairs and on the stairs. There were eight in all.

"Hello." Said Spike playfully.

"What are you doing here? You're note said that you would be meeting Buffy in the graveyard." She said as composed as she possibly could.

"I should be there, shouldn't I? I'll tell you what happened; it's the most amazing thing. I sent someone here, to spy on you all and, low and behold, she did the job right. She tells me that I no longer have to come here, attack you all and kidnap your friend, Giles, because she heard everything I needed to know.

"Now, I was very happy about this. Thanks to her, I got out of a lot of extra work. Then I said to myself, ‘Oh hell, I'll do it anyway, just for the fun of it!' Now, I get here and there's only you. Well, not according to your pulse, or pulses. So, when are we expecting?"

She wrenched her wrist away from him and punched his face with the other fist. She leapt at him, but two vampires grabbed her arms and held her down in the chair.

"So, tell me, where is everyone?" said Spike shaking out his jaw,

"Well, not everyone. I know where the slayer is, but the others appear to be missing. I was thinking maybe you could help me out here."

"You won't find them." Kendra said stubbornly.

"It doesn't matter. By tomorrow, they'll be in hell with the rest of the world. But, for now, at least I can some fun with you! Clear the table, boys, and tie her down good and tight."

Two vampires threw everything off of the table she'd been working at, then the ones who were holding her down, grabbed her by the arms and legs. She struggled with everything she had, but she alone was no match for eight vampires who happened to have an edge over her. She was tied down with her arms and legs at the corners of the table.

"Do you know how long it's been since I've heard a good scream? 3 weeks, at least. Dru and I, we're always watching old horror flicks when we can't sleep. The people in those can't act. They don't know the first thing about pain. I'd love to give the directors a piece of my mind."

He walked up to Kendra who had defiantly turned her face away from him and said, "So I guess you're wondering what I want from you. Well, it's a simple thing. I want to hear you scream."

Before she knew what was happening, he'd pulled out a knife and quickly cut her arm.

She cried out, but quickly shut her mouth and looked up at the ceiling. He cut her three more times, once on her face, her leg and her other arm. Blood rushed from all four cuts, but she kept her silence.

"You're trying to be strong, eh?" Spike said with a grin, "Well, I broke you for a second there, don't think I can't do it again."

"You surprised me, that all."

"I surprised you! No my dear, that isn't all. That was a cry of pain. Only, it was a little weak. I think we can do better." He said, waving the knife at her face.

"Are you trying to get me to tell you? If you are, you're wasting your time."

"You still don't get it do you? The one I sent here found out everything I needed to know about this ritual. She was able to tell me exactly what I was doing wrong. I'm doing the ritual tonight. Meaning that in about three hours, this world will be sucked into hell." As he said this, he ran his finger along the cut on her leg, then licked the blood from it, "Sure, I would like them to have a front row seat to the end of the world," He stuck the knife into the cut and turned it, "but, what are you gonna do?"

Her face twisted in pain and she made a slight moaning sound. She breathed heavily as her body shook. The vampires were laughing at her. She couldn't hear them; the pain she was feeling had made her other senses numb. She seemed to feel her leg and nothing more. She looked at Spike with her If-I-wasn't-tied-down-I'd-kick-your-ass look, a look that was common to slayers.

Just then, a vampire ran into the room.

"Hey, boss, your lady calls." He said to Spike.

"Thank you, Wes. Tell her I'm on my way home." He turned back to Kendra, "Well, my dear, I need to be going. I've got places to go, people to kill, hell, an entire world to take over. I'm a busy man, tonight. Hmmm, but the question still remains, what do I do with you? I could leave you here to bleed to death, but no. That would take too long. Someone could show up and save you, I just don't know if I want to take that risk. Besides, I'm not so cruel as to subject you to one of the longest and most painful deaths a person can endure, no I'm sure I can find something quicker."

"You mean something you have time to watch."

"Exactly." He thought for a few seconds, then his face brightened. He snapped his fingers and pointed towards the door. The vampires filed out leaving him alone with Kendra. He reached into his jacket and pulled out, what looked like a metal stake. It took her a second, but she soon realized what it was.

"I didn't know you still used those." She said trying to sound very non-chalant.

"Well, old habits die hard." He took her bound hand, "Will you listen to that. Vampires are lucky creatures. We can hear things you can't. Right now, I can hear your child's pulse and you're only, what? Two months?" His hand moved down to right below her stomach,

"Now, I can feel it. So, as much as I would love to have another snack option in this world, I just don't think I can let this happen. I mean, there are already two slayers running around. Offspring is not something I need. So, please understand."

He took the metal spike and starting at her throat, traced it along her body. He stopped when he reached his hand, which still rested on the area right below her stomach. He lifted the spike onto its point against her body.

Kendra struggled violently against the ropes. Fear covered her face and she was trying desperately to break the bonds on her hands and feet.

"Hey, I'm doing you a favor." He insisted, "Slayers, they tend to be not-so-good mothers anyway. They're usually so busy slaying that they don't have time for their children. The kids grow up to be punks, which are easy pickings for me anyway. Will you stop moving? It'll only hurt worse if you're squirming around like that."

This didn't stop her. She looked at him in alarm. He loved the fear that he had put in her. He lifted her chin up so that she was looking at the ceiling and said with a smile, "You may not wanna watch this, my dear. Trust me, you wouldn't like it."

A second later a sound filled the room. It was the loudest sound to ever occur in the library. So loud that it called Angel2 from halfway across the school where he'd been chasing a vampire. So loud, that it called Buffy1 and Angel1, who had just arrived back from the graveyard after finding nothing. All these people ran towards the library at this horrendous sound. It was the sound of Kendra's pained screaming.

When her voice failed her, Kendra took in some staggered breaths. She let out some shuddered sounds then began to cry loudly at the pain that engulfed her.

Spike said loudly, "Now that was a scream to be proud of."

He pulled his knife from her leg and slashed it quickly across her throat. Blood now rushed from six wounds on her body. She gave him a wide-eyed look, before she laid her head back down on the table and died.

Spike, happy with his work, patted her lifeless head and said, "Good-bye, my dear. I can't say it hasn't been fun, because believe me, it has."

He ran his finger along her throat and licked it for a final taste, then left the room quickly.


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