Love Means Having Your Faith Rewarded
Title: Love Means Having Your Faith Rewarded
Rating: PG-13
Summary: From across space and time, they'll never stop searching for one another.
Disclaimer: Joss owns "Buffy," Lucas owns "Star Wars," I own my pen.
AN1: This is a sequel to Love Means Believing In The Impossible.
AN2: So, I originally wasn't planning on writing another part to this, but my muse had other plans. This chapter takes place directly after the Star Wars novel "The Approaching Storm," which takes place right before the events of "Attack of the Clones." Also, to prevent any confusion, time passes differently in the Buffy-verse and the Star Wars-verse.
~*~*~
"Master, are you alright?" Anakin Skywalker asked Obi-Wan Kenobi, standing next to him. They were standing on the edge of the vast plains that made up the majority of the planet Ansion with their backs to the capital city of Culpernam. Their assignment--negotiating a treaty between the government and the native Alwari--was finished and they were waiting for their transport to arrive so that they could journey back to Coruscant.
"There's a storm approaching," Obi-Wan answered after a moment of silence. "There were larger forces at work here, and it worries me that they were able to hide their hand as well as they have."
"If there's something coming, then standing here looking at the grass isn't going to solve anything," Anakin replied with a note of teasing in his voice. Obi-Wan's eyes crinkled slightly but he didn't take his gaze off of the swaying landscape. There was... something in the air, something he couldn't place and it was calling him here.
"Is there something else on your mind, Anakin?" Obi-Wan inquired, finally looking over at his Padawan. "You've been acting oddly for the last few days."
"It's the story that you told when we were with the Alwari," Anakin responded. "Where did you learn it?" Obi-Wan stilled, wondering why Anakin had chosen that moment to ask about it when his defenses were somewhat lowered. He had a feeling Anakin knew who had originally told him that story about the being who stole the voices of the townspeople and how a princess had defeated them by screaming, but it would be just like him to ask anyways.
"It was a story that Buffy told me long ago," he answered somewhat sharply, looking back at plains. It had been a rare moment of relaxation between him training Anakin and her working as a waitress in Dex's diner nearly ten years ago. They had been sharing stories about their lives up until Buffy falling into their world when she had told him about her combating those creatures with the help of her friends. It had been the night he had given her the pendant he later found in her room when she had disappeared two days later; the night, had he known what was going to happen, where he might have taken a chance with her. "It was something that I thought the Alwari might appreciate."
"Master Unduli and Barriss are coming to join us," Anakin said, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen between them. Obi-Wan nodded before turning around to look at the two approaching Miralian Jedi.
"Master Unduli," he greeted with a slight bow of his head. "Barriss."
"I just received word that our transport should be arriving in a little under a standard hour," Luminara Unduli told the two men. "We should go back into the city and bid farewell to our hosts before we leave." Obi-Wan and Anakin nodded their heads in agreement. They were about to walk back when a bright flash of green light appeared out in the distance, momentarily blinding the four Jedi.
"What was that?" Barriss Ofree asked, rubbing her eyes.
"I don't know, but we should investigate," Obi-Wan answered grimly, his hand straying to where his lightsaber was clipped to his belt. The sense of anticipation that he had been feeling early had increased and he could feel the Force calling him to where the light had flashed. Anakin shot his master a worried look, but he remained silent.
The four carefully made their to the source of the flash, keeping their senses as open to the flows of the Force as they could. He could sense two life-forms, one of which was familiar. Peering though the long stems of grass he could see two human females: a tall brunette standing with her hands on her hips, the other one crouching on the ground, her face obscured by her companion.
"...Totally not my fault!" the brunette protested. "How was I supposed to know that it was going to dump us here? Where is here, anyways?"
"Well, if you hadn't gotten kidnapped and needed me to come rescue you, we wouldn't be in this mess," the other woman responded as she straightened. Obi-Wan felt his chest tighten as he recognized the voice. "And I have no idea where 'here' is any more than you do."
"Buffy?" he whispered.
~*~*~
Buffy Summers really hated Tuesdays. That's when things like apocalypses, demon invasions, and Dawn getting kidnapped all happened, and it was starting to get a little repetitive.
"What did I tell you about trusting strange men?" she yelled at Dawn over the sound their fighting with the demons that had kidnapped her sister this week.
"It's not like I went along with them willingly!" Dawn shouted back, using the sword that Buffy had brought with her to lop off a demon arm. "They just grabbed me as I was on my way back to my apartment." Despite their best efforts, the sisters were slowly being pushed back against the wall due to the onslaught of incoming demons. "Where's the backup?"
"There wasn't time," Buffy grunted, using her axe to decapitate a demon that got a little too close. "What with it being so close to the equinox and them having the Key in their possession."
"Whatever," Dawn responded standing back a little and scanning their cramped quarters trying to find a way out. "Can you cover me? I'm going to try to spell us out of here."
"Dawn, remember what happened last time we had to portal out under pressure?" Buffy asked, not taking her eyes off of the crowd of demons. "I don't want to end up in Kyrgyzstan again."
"Do you have any other options your sleeve, Buffy?" Dawn snapped at her sister. Buffy didn't answer, her attention on her new opponent. Trying to stay away from its lethal looking claws, she ducked it's incoming swing and chopped at its legs. It fell down with a howl of pain before Buffy decapitated it with a swing of her axe. The remaining demons pressed closer, all claws and teeth. Buffy tried to catch her breath, adjusting her grip in preparation for their assault. Maybe waiting for the others to come with would have been a good idea after all.
"Hold on," Dawn warned, grabbing her sister's arm before shouting some words in a language that Buffy didn't recognize. She felt the portal pulling at her before the sight of the approaching demons winked out of sight. Buffy expected to see the sight of Slayer Central the next second, but instead, they kept hurtling along the vortex at a breakneck speed.
Something was wrong, Buffy realized with a sense of dread, biting back a scream of terror. Even if Dawn got the coordinates wrong, the trip normally lasted only a few seconds at most. Minutes were passing and there was still no end in sight. Tightening her hold on Dawn, her hand unconsciously slipped into the pocket where she kept the pendant that Ben had given her eight years before and gripped it tightly. It was her good luck charm, her reminder of the life she had been forced to leave behind, and the one thing she always kept on her.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity being tossed around in the vortex, they landed unceremoniously in the middle of sea of grass. Coughing and trying to readjust her senses, Buffy glanced around to see where they were. The tall yellow grass obscured any potential landmarks from where she was lying, preventing her from guessing where they could be.
"I want the number of the truck that hit me," Dawn moaned, throwing her hair out her face and struggling to her feet. "And then I want to beat up the truck driver."
"This is all your fault," Buffy told her, moving into a crouching position. "I told you that that an emergency portal was not a good idea, but did you listen to your older sister? No."
"Hey, I was trying to get us as far away as I could," Dawn protested, walking over to where Buffy was crouched. The air here... it was different, although she couldn't really place it. And, in the back of her mind, there was a faint tingling that she hadn't felt in nearly eight years, different from what she picked off of the supernatural back home. Shaking her head slightly, Buffy dismissed the faint hope that had bubbled to the surface. It couldn't be. There was no way she could be there. "Something the demons must have done before you came must have affected me somehow," Dawn continued protested as the faint sound of rustling grass reached Buffy's ears. "It's totally not my fault! How was I supposed to know that it was going to dump us here? Where is here, anyways?"
"Well, if you hadn't gotten kidnapped and needed me to come rescue you, we wouldn't be in this mess," Buffy snapped at her sister, straightening and looking around. Something was approaching through the sea of grass, something that was tickling her spidey-sense. "And I have no idea where 'here' is any more than you do."
"Buffy?" The faint whisper reached her ears from a voice she hadn't heard in nearly eight years. Turning around, she chocked back a gasp as four figures emerged from the grass to face them. There were two humanoid female Jedi that she didn't immediately recognize, along with a young man who looked to be in his late teens with a Padawan braid over his shoulder. Next to the Padawn, looking older than when she'd last seen him, with a beard and longer hair that reminded her of a mullet, was Obi-Wan.
"Ben?" she whispered hopefully.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: From across space and time, they'll never stop searching for one another.
Disclaimer: Joss owns "Buffy," Lucas owns "Star Wars," I own my pen.
AN1: This is a sequel to Love Means Believing In The Impossible.
AN2: So, I originally wasn't planning on writing another part to this, but my muse had other plans. This chapter takes place directly after the Star Wars novel "The Approaching Storm," which takes place right before the events of "Attack of the Clones." Also, to prevent any confusion, time passes differently in the Buffy-verse and the Star Wars-verse.
~*~*~
"Master, are you alright?" Anakin Skywalker asked Obi-Wan Kenobi, standing next to him. They were standing on the edge of the vast plains that made up the majority of the planet Ansion with their backs to the capital city of Culpernam. Their assignment--negotiating a treaty between the government and the native Alwari--was finished and they were waiting for their transport to arrive so that they could journey back to Coruscant.
"There's a storm approaching," Obi-Wan answered after a moment of silence. "There were larger forces at work here, and it worries me that they were able to hide their hand as well as they have."
"If there's something coming, then standing here looking at the grass isn't going to solve anything," Anakin replied with a note of teasing in his voice. Obi-Wan's eyes crinkled slightly but he didn't take his gaze off of the swaying landscape. There was... something in the air, something he couldn't place and it was calling him here.
"Is there something else on your mind, Anakin?" Obi-Wan inquired, finally looking over at his Padawan. "You've been acting oddly for the last few days."
"It's the story that you told when we were with the Alwari," Anakin responded. "Where did you learn it?" Obi-Wan stilled, wondering why Anakin had chosen that moment to ask about it when his defenses were somewhat lowered. He had a feeling Anakin knew who had originally told him that story about the being who stole the voices of the townspeople and how a princess had defeated them by screaming, but it would be just like him to ask anyways.
"It was a story that Buffy told me long ago," he answered somewhat sharply, looking back at plains. It had been a rare moment of relaxation between him training Anakin and her working as a waitress in Dex's diner nearly ten years ago. They had been sharing stories about their lives up until Buffy falling into their world when she had told him about her combating those creatures with the help of her friends. It had been the night he had given her the pendant he later found in her room when she had disappeared two days later; the night, had he known what was going to happen, where he might have taken a chance with her. "It was something that I thought the Alwari might appreciate."
"Master Unduli and Barriss are coming to join us," Anakin said, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen between them. Obi-Wan nodded before turning around to look at the two approaching Miralian Jedi.
"Master Unduli," he greeted with a slight bow of his head. "Barriss."
"I just received word that our transport should be arriving in a little under a standard hour," Luminara Unduli told the two men. "We should go back into the city and bid farewell to our hosts before we leave." Obi-Wan and Anakin nodded their heads in agreement. They were about to walk back when a bright flash of green light appeared out in the distance, momentarily blinding the four Jedi.
"What was that?" Barriss Ofree asked, rubbing her eyes.
"I don't know, but we should investigate," Obi-Wan answered grimly, his hand straying to where his lightsaber was clipped to his belt. The sense of anticipation that he had been feeling early had increased and he could feel the Force calling him to where the light had flashed. Anakin shot his master a worried look, but he remained silent.
The four carefully made their to the source of the flash, keeping their senses as open to the flows of the Force as they could. He could sense two life-forms, one of which was familiar. Peering though the long stems of grass he could see two human females: a tall brunette standing with her hands on her hips, the other one crouching on the ground, her face obscured by her companion.
"...Totally not my fault!" the brunette protested. "How was I supposed to know that it was going to dump us here? Where is here, anyways?"
"Well, if you hadn't gotten kidnapped and needed me to come rescue you, we wouldn't be in this mess," the other woman responded as she straightened. Obi-Wan felt his chest tighten as he recognized the voice. "And I have no idea where 'here' is any more than you do."
"Buffy?" he whispered.
~*~*~
Buffy Summers really hated Tuesdays. That's when things like apocalypses, demon invasions, and Dawn getting kidnapped all happened, and it was starting to get a little repetitive.
"What did I tell you about trusting strange men?" she yelled at Dawn over the sound their fighting with the demons that had kidnapped her sister this week.
"It's not like I went along with them willingly!" Dawn shouted back, using the sword that Buffy had brought with her to lop off a demon arm. "They just grabbed me as I was on my way back to my apartment." Despite their best efforts, the sisters were slowly being pushed back against the wall due to the onslaught of incoming demons. "Where's the backup?"
"There wasn't time," Buffy grunted, using her axe to decapitate a demon that got a little too close. "What with it being so close to the equinox and them having the Key in their possession."
"Whatever," Dawn responded standing back a little and scanning their cramped quarters trying to find a way out. "Can you cover me? I'm going to try to spell us out of here."
"Dawn, remember what happened last time we had to portal out under pressure?" Buffy asked, not taking her eyes off of the crowd of demons. "I don't want to end up in Kyrgyzstan again."
"Do you have any other options your sleeve, Buffy?" Dawn snapped at her sister. Buffy didn't answer, her attention on her new opponent. Trying to stay away from its lethal looking claws, she ducked it's incoming swing and chopped at its legs. It fell down with a howl of pain before Buffy decapitated it with a swing of her axe. The remaining demons pressed closer, all claws and teeth. Buffy tried to catch her breath, adjusting her grip in preparation for their assault. Maybe waiting for the others to come with would have been a good idea after all.
"Hold on," Dawn warned, grabbing her sister's arm before shouting some words in a language that Buffy didn't recognize. She felt the portal pulling at her before the sight of the approaching demons winked out of sight. Buffy expected to see the sight of Slayer Central the next second, but instead, they kept hurtling along the vortex at a breakneck speed.
Something was wrong, Buffy realized with a sense of dread, biting back a scream of terror. Even if Dawn got the coordinates wrong, the trip normally lasted only a few seconds at most. Minutes were passing and there was still no end in sight. Tightening her hold on Dawn, her hand unconsciously slipped into the pocket where she kept the pendant that Ben had given her eight years before and gripped it tightly. It was her good luck charm, her reminder of the life she had been forced to leave behind, and the one thing she always kept on her.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity being tossed around in the vortex, they landed unceremoniously in the middle of sea of grass. Coughing and trying to readjust her senses, Buffy glanced around to see where they were. The tall yellow grass obscured any potential landmarks from where she was lying, preventing her from guessing where they could be.
"I want the number of the truck that hit me," Dawn moaned, throwing her hair out her face and struggling to her feet. "And then I want to beat up the truck driver."
"This is all your fault," Buffy told her, moving into a crouching position. "I told you that that an emergency portal was not a good idea, but did you listen to your older sister? No."
"Hey, I was trying to get us as far away as I could," Dawn protested, walking over to where Buffy was crouched. The air here... it was different, although she couldn't really place it. And, in the back of her mind, there was a faint tingling that she hadn't felt in nearly eight years, different from what she picked off of the supernatural back home. Shaking her head slightly, Buffy dismissed the faint hope that had bubbled to the surface. It couldn't be. There was no way she could be there. "Something the demons must have done before you came must have affected me somehow," Dawn continued protested as the faint sound of rustling grass reached Buffy's ears. "It's totally not my fault! How was I supposed to know that it was going to dump us here? Where is here, anyways?"
"Well, if you hadn't gotten kidnapped and needed me to come rescue you, we wouldn't be in this mess," Buffy snapped at her sister, straightening and looking around. Something was approaching through the sea of grass, something that was tickling her spidey-sense. "And I have no idea where 'here' is any more than you do."
"Buffy?" The faint whisper reached her ears from a voice she hadn't heard in nearly eight years. Turning around, she chocked back a gasp as four figures emerged from the grass to face them. There were two humanoid female Jedi that she didn't immediately recognize, along with a young man who looked to be in his late teens with a Padawan braid over his shoulder. Next to the Padawn, looking older than when she'd last seen him, with a beard and longer hair that reminded her of a mullet, was Obi-Wan.
"Ben?" she whispered hopefully.