Ethan!!!

Ethan!!!

I couldn't resist...

Wheee!!!! Victor, I am loving this fic oh so muchly!

Part Nine: Be Here Now

Ethan’s revelation pretty much took the wind out of their sailes. The three of them stood motionless for what seemed like hours, staring at Ethan’s smug, smiling face.

“Well,” he said, after what seemed an eternity. “Don’t you heroes have a world to save?”

They lingered a moment longer, unsure of what to say. Justine and Oz eyed each other nervously.

“I want sushi,” said Amy, snapping out of it. “Anyone else want sushi? Oz?”

“Yeah,” he said. “I’ll meet you at the elevator.” He then turned to Justine. “You coming?”

“Out? But…”

“You’re not a prisoner, Justine,” said Oz, kindly. “You can come and go as you please.”

Justine seemed to weigh that idea. Reluctantly—almost despite herself—she found her head nodding.

“Right,” said Amy, rolling her eyes. I’ll see you in a few.”

Amy walked away, Justine and Oz stood silently for a second. Everything that was flashing through her head was too much to take. She needed to say something, but it all clashed together in her throat.

“Your real name is Daniel?” she asked. It was the only thing that she could verbalize.

“Yeah,” said Oz. “Daniel Osbourne.”

“I knew a Daniel once.”

“Holtz.”

“That’s not fair!” snapped Justine. “You know everything about me! You know things about me even I don’t know! You know I stole…”

“Connor. Angel’s baby. And slit Wesley’s throat. Yeah, I know all that. And you framed Angel for Holtz’s death, so Connor would kill him.”

“How did…” Justine began to wobble. It was as though a fog was lifting in her head. "I did all those things. Angel was …”

“Angel used to be a bad cat,” said Oz. “No doubt about it. Saw a bit of that myself. And then he was a good guy. And none of it matters anymore. Just try to hang on. Try to focus on what’s here now.”

Justine’s head was swimming. She tried to stand up straight. Tried to focus. The memories were racing, but they seemed distant now, too. Like they happened to someone else.

“I slit his…”

“Be here now,” said Oz, shrugging, hands shoved in his pockets. She wanted to run. She wanted to cry. She stood motionless.

“Sushi,” she said, finally. “I’ve never had sushi.”

“It’s good,” said Oz. “You’ll like it. And you’ll love wasabi.”

Hmmm, when the going gets tough, the tough go out for sushi.

I like it.

Hmmm, when the going gets tough, the tough go out for sushi.

Well, it's always been my method of dealing...

I like it.

Thanks.

when the going gets tough, the tough go out for sushi.

You know, I've been trying to figure out how to structure my Election night in a way that will keep me the most sane. I know one thing I'm going to do now.

Wow, this is good. Do you have a webpage or something where this will be archived? I'm gonna want to send links to friends when it's finished.

Thanks. Usually, Plei's kind enough to archive things for me, although I'd hate to take her for granted. If she for some reason can't, I'll put it up somewhere or other.

In the City Part Ten: Where we come from

They were sitting in a trendy sushi joint in Santa Monica. The people milling about looked like they’d stepped off a movie screen. Justine felt awkward and out of place.

And Amy was talking. Amy was always talking.

“…so there I was, making my way out of Sunnydale, stop and go traffic for miles, and my car overheats. Dies, right there on the highway. And does anyone stop to help? Hell, no. OK, fleeing an impending Apocalypse, sure. I get it. I mean, I was running, too. But that’s no reason not to be neighborly!

If she could, Justine thought, she’d slit her throat right … she didn’t mean that. She didn’t want to be that person. She looked at Oz. Oz was nodding patiently. Listening. He was from Sunnydale, too, wasn’t he?

“Shame about the town,” he said, when she wound down. "I mean, it’s not surprising. Just sad.”

“What was it about the town? The town you're from,” said Justine, hesitantly. Conversation seemed to be an act she was putting on. A disguise. She wasn’t at all sure she liked it.

“It was on the mouth of Hell,” said Oz. “Weird place.”

“And that’s where you met Angel?” Justine asked.

“Angel, Willow, Buffy,” he said. “The whole crew.”

“And Wesley?”

“Him too.”

“You don’t seem the type.”

“Type?”

“Battling evil. Fighting demons.”

“I’m not, really,” said Oz. “I’m a bassist. But I needed the cash, and Riley needed someone he could trust.”

“There’s easier ways to get cash,” said Amy.

“True,” said Oz. “But, hey. Sounded interesting. And here I am.”

“Join Finn’s army, see the world,” said Amy. “Meet interesting people, and have them feast on your brains.”

“Finn trusts you?” asked Justine.

“I guess.”

“And what do you do? I mean, you held your own against the skeletons, but…”

“But I’m not a fighter. I get that. But I’ve dealt with this stuff before. And Angel knows me. He won’t assume I’m a threat right away, if we catch up to him.”

“He’s here to keep an eye on us,” said Amy.

“True. Finn’s boss doesn’t trust you.”

“Why not?” asked Justine.

“Well,” said Oz, “Ethan’s a supervillain, and Amy’s got a thing for malicious mischief.”

“This is true,” said Amy.

“And you…”

“I know what I’ve done,” said Justine.

“Good,” said Oz. "Progress.”

“So if there’s a contingency plan,” said Amy, “Why do you need to keep tabs on us?”

“I don’t ,” said Oz. “I keep tabs on the contingency plan.”

He grinned at Justine, then swallowed a California roll.

Justine felt a smile beginning to stretch upon her face, which turned to horror as she saw Holtz hovering above Oz, knife in hand. In one fell swoop, the blade slid across his neck, and he fell lifelessly to the table.

Justine began to scream, and in that instance blinked, and everything was as it was, Oz and Amy talking lightly, then stopping and looking at her with concern. Well, Oz with concern. Amy looked mostly annoyed..

Justine excused herself for the restroom, and, once alone, she began to cry.