Fic: Changing The Plan
Sep. 1st, 2012 04:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wyndewalkerTitle: Changing The Plan
Author: Wyndewalker
Xover Fandom: The Adjustment Bureau
Series:
Summary : It's not a until the third time that Xander notices something strange.
Challenge: twistedshorts August-Fic-A-Day - Day 15a
Authors note: It's been a little while since I last watched The Adjustment Bureau so I'm messing around a little with the mythology of the movie. Some of it is intentional, some of it not so much. Hopefully it all works.
Rating: PG-13
Warning: Death of major character
Warning: Death of major character
Word Count: 1,722 according to Word
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to The Adjustment Bureau or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. All rights belong to their owners and I merely borrow the characters for your amusement.
The first couple of times it happened Xander didn’t really take note of it until much later; until the damage had been done. If it had only had once, maybe twice, he probably wouldn’t have thought anything of it at all. But it happened three times and he was called The One Who Sees for a reason.
The first time was such a little thing it would have seemed mere coincidence but hindsight is 20/20 as they say. It was only by chance that Xander happened to be on Main St at that time of day, walking out of the Deli Spot with a late lunch order for his construction crew. Glancing across the street, he’d spotted Buffy about to head into the Espresso Pump and was going to shout to catch her attention when a guy wearing a dark suit and fedora bumped into the young woman in front of him. They were both exiting the coffee shop, the woman carrying a tray of five iced coffees in one hand and a sixth in the other. When the guy in the suit bumped her the young woman stumbled and collided with Buffy who had been digging in her clutch purse. The end result was both women wearing the coffees.
Xander had decided to make a tactical retreat at that point. He preferred all his limbs attached even if none of it had been his fault. Later that night he’d heard how Buffy had been late to an afternoon date with Riley which had ended with them shouting at each other and Buffy stomping away. It would be the first of many arguments that would result in Buffy being at her most vulnerable at the worst possible time.
******
The second time it happened Xander still didn’t put it together but he’s willing to forgive himself because Buffy had just been shot in front of him. And he suspected some kind of notice-me-not spell. He couldn’t think of any other way that he wouldn’t have immediately remembered a guy in a dark suit and fedora walking up behind Warren and jostling his arm just as he was about to shoot Buffy for a second time. He might have thanked the guy if his interference hadn’t killed Tara and caused Willow to go all Dark Side. Maybe he should thank the guy with a nice fist to the jaw for all the Dark Magic he got hit with.
********
The third time he saw a guy in a dark suit and fedora he wasn’t expecting it but would later realize it was desperation that forced their hand. At first he wasn’t sure of what he was seeing; not surprising considering the amount of medicines he was on. He might not be able to meet Buffy’s eyes but as he looked around the room he was surprised to find three unexpected extra occupants. Standing behind Giles, Dawn, and Willow each was a man in a dark suit and fedora. He watched in shock as the men would whisper into his friends’ ears and a moment later they would repeat it. They were manipulating the entire thing. But why? Who were they?
Suddenly Xander could remember the other times he’d seen them; could remember how they’d manipulated other events. How many other things had they manipulated without him seeing them? How many times had they wrecked their lives? Anger surged through him and he stumbled to his feet as Dawn demanded that Buffy leave.
"No.”
Everyone stopped to stare at him. Buffy gave him a look of such guarded hope he felt his heart squeeze painfully in his chest. Why were these men; these creatures doing this to them? Had they been minions of the First all along?
“I won’t let you do this.”
“Xander,” Willow started but cut off as he lurched forward towards Giles. “Xander, what…”
“I won’t let you manipulate us like this,” he insisted, gaining momentum as he moved.
“Xander, what, I…” Giles spluttered, shock turning to surprise when Xander moved past him.
By now the suited men had realized he could see them; their illusions no longer protected them. All three bolted for the nearest door which happened to be the front door. Xander caught the slowest one in a flying tackle. Everyone in the room gaped when the man suddenly became visible, his fedora having come off in the struggle. Making the connection between the fedora, the man suddenly appearing to everyone, and the other two men literally disappearing through the door, Xander scrambled to his feet. He managed to grab the fedora, jamming it on his head as he ran through the door.
Xander stumbled to a halt on the other side. Instead of being on the front porch he found himself inside one of those big fancy looking libraries that Willow liked to gush about. He grabbed the first suit within reach; shaking the man.
“Who are you people?” He demanded. “Why are you doing this to us? What gives you the right to screw with our lives? Answer me.”
“Please let him go, Alexander.”
Xander turned to find an older, distinguished gentleman in a white suit standing next to him.
“Please. I’ll answer your questions.”
He slowly released his grip on the man who scampered out of easy grabbing distance once he was able.
“Thank you. Please come with me.”
“My friends…”
“This is a place out of time. We can return you at the exact moment you disappeared if you so wish. Now, let me show you something.”
After a moment Xander followed him.
“We are the Adjustment Bureau,” the man explained as they walked. “Each of the books here is the measure of a person’s life. Some are thick, some are thin; some end before they really had a chance to begin.”
Stopping in front of a bookcase, the man removed a book title, Summers, Buffy Anne. “Despite what you are thinking right now all humans have Free Will. We cannot take that away from you.” He opened the book to display what reminded Xander of a subway map. If it was horribly snarled that is. “Every person has major events along the course of their lives that are almost guaranteed to occur. We here at the Bureau simply nudge people in the right direction, particularly when their path affects a large number of other people.”
“Killing Tara was a nudge in the right direction?” Xander snarled. “Do you know what that did to Willow? What she did to me because of it?”
“Due to the fact that humans do have Free Will there are periodically unforeseen consequences.”
“I’ll show you unforeseen…”
“Miss Summers was never supposed to die,” the man blurted out, stopping Xander in his tracks.
“What? When?”
“Miss Summer was never supposed to sacrifice herself for the Key. The Key is far too powerful. It should never have been made flesh and it was it should have been the one to sacrifice itself for the Greater Good. Everything we have done since Miss Summers sacrificed herself has been to try to rectify the problem. Mostly we’ve just made things worse and now we’re on the brink of an Old One returning which we cannot allow.”
“Why don’t you just go back in time and fix it?”
“Because we can’t. We can only nudge. We cannot directly interfere. However you can.”
Xander considered it for a moment. He suspected he knew what they wanted him to do but needed to hear them say it. "What do you want from me?”
“We can put you in the right place to ensure the proper sacrifice is made. It will stop the portal as well as prevent many of the events you’ve experienced the last two years from happening. It’s a lot to ask but the First must be stopped.”
He knew what he was going to do before the man had even finished speaking. It didn’t make it any easier. “What do I need to do?”
The man gestured at a door that suddenly appeared in the wall next to them. “Simply step through this door. You’ll know what to do when you get there,”
Taking a deep breath, Xander walked up to the door and pushed it open. Walking through, he found himself standing on the top of the rickety tower Glory’s minions had built that fateful night. Just ahead of him he could see Buffy and Dawn arguing, God he’d forgotten how young Dawn had been at this point, and just beyond them the portal beginning to open. Xander picked up a loose piece of two by four knowing there was no other way he’d be able to get around Buffy. Creeping up behind her, he heard what she was saying to Dawn.
“I love you. I will always love you. But this is the work that I have to do.”
Xander swung the two by four in that moment completely catching her unaware. Buffy slumped to the ground unconscious.
“Xander?” Dawn squeeked at him, tears streaming down her face, then frowned as she took in what he was wearing, the bandage over his left eye. “Xander?”
“I’m sorry, Dawnie. I… I’m… What I mean is…”
“How bad is it in the future?” Dawn asked. Xander was both relieved and heartsick that Dawn’s world was wacky enough that her first thought wasn’t demon, but time traveler.
“It’s bad, about to get worse. I’m sorry, Dawn. Buffy can’t be allowed to die at this point. It can’t be now.”
Dawn just nodded, swiping at the tears on her cheeks. “I know. I’m the Key. It should be me. I… I just don’t want to die.”
“I know,” he said softly, cupping her cheek. “If there was another way… It has to be you but,” he gave her a crooked smile, “nothing says it has to only be you.”
“Thank you,” she said with a tremulous smile. Xander picked her up in his arms, holding her tight as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Close your eyes,” he said, waiting until she had done so. Taking another deep breath, he tightened his grip on her and then ran. It was only a few strides before he was leaping off the tower, throwing them into the portal.
They never felt their bodies hit the ground.
Finis
The first couple of times it happened Xander didn’t really take note of it until much later; until the damage had been done. If it had only had once, maybe twice, he probably wouldn’t have thought anything of it at all. But it happened three times and he was called The One Who Sees for a reason.
The first time was such a little thing it would have seemed mere coincidence but hindsight is 20/20 as they say. It was only by chance that Xander happened to be on Main St at that time of day, walking out of the Deli Spot with a late lunch order for his construction crew. Glancing across the street, he’d spotted Buffy about to head into the Espresso Pump and was going to shout to catch her attention when a guy wearing a dark suit and fedora bumped into the young woman in front of him. They were both exiting the coffee shop, the woman carrying a tray of five iced coffees in one hand and a sixth in the other. When the guy in the suit bumped her the young woman stumbled and collided with Buffy who had been digging in her clutch purse. The end result was both women wearing the coffees.
Xander had decided to make a tactical retreat at that point. He preferred all his limbs attached even if none of it had been his fault. Later that night he’d heard how Buffy had been late to an afternoon date with Riley which had ended with them shouting at each other and Buffy stomping away. It would be the first of many arguments that would result in Buffy being at her most vulnerable at the worst possible time.
******
The second time it happened Xander still didn’t put it together but he’s willing to forgive himself because Buffy had just been shot in front of him. And he suspected some kind of notice-me-not spell. He couldn’t think of any other way that he wouldn’t have immediately remembered a guy in a dark suit and fedora walking up behind Warren and jostling his arm just as he was about to shoot Buffy for a second time. He might have thanked the guy if his interference hadn’t killed Tara and caused Willow to go all Dark Side. Maybe he should thank the guy with a nice fist to the jaw for all the Dark Magic he got hit with.
********
The third time he saw a guy in a dark suit and fedora he wasn’t expecting it but would later realize it was desperation that forced their hand. At first he wasn’t sure of what he was seeing; not surprising considering the amount of medicines he was on. He might not be able to meet Buffy’s eyes but as he looked around the room he was surprised to find three unexpected extra occupants. Standing behind Giles, Dawn, and Willow each was a man in a dark suit and fedora. He watched in shock as the men would whisper into his friends’ ears and a moment later they would repeat it. They were manipulating the entire thing. But why? Who were they?
Suddenly Xander could remember the other times he’d seen them; could remember how they’d manipulated other events. How many other things had they manipulated without him seeing them? How many times had they wrecked their lives? Anger surged through him and he stumbled to his feet as Dawn demanded that Buffy leave.
"No.”
Everyone stopped to stare at him. Buffy gave him a look of such guarded hope he felt his heart squeeze painfully in his chest. Why were these men; these creatures doing this to them? Had they been minions of the First all along?
“I won’t let you do this.”
“Xander,” Willow started but cut off as he lurched forward towards Giles. “Xander, what…”
“I won’t let you manipulate us like this,” he insisted, gaining momentum as he moved.
“Xander, what, I…” Giles spluttered, shock turning to surprise when Xander moved past him.
By now the suited men had realized he could see them; their illusions no longer protected them. All three bolted for the nearest door which happened to be the front door. Xander caught the slowest one in a flying tackle. Everyone in the room gaped when the man suddenly became visible, his fedora having come off in the struggle. Making the connection between the fedora, the man suddenly appearing to everyone, and the other two men literally disappearing through the door, Xander scrambled to his feet. He managed to grab the fedora, jamming it on his head as he ran through the door.
Xander stumbled to a halt on the other side. Instead of being on the front porch he found himself inside one of those big fancy looking libraries that Willow liked to gush about. He grabbed the first suit within reach; shaking the man.
“Who are you people?” He demanded. “Why are you doing this to us? What gives you the right to screw with our lives? Answer me.”
“Please let him go, Alexander.”
Xander turned to find an older, distinguished gentleman in a white suit standing next to him.
“Please. I’ll answer your questions.”
He slowly released his grip on the man who scampered out of easy grabbing distance once he was able.
“Thank you. Please come with me.”
“My friends…”
“This is a place out of time. We can return you at the exact moment you disappeared if you so wish. Now, let me show you something.”
After a moment Xander followed him.
“We are the Adjustment Bureau,” the man explained as they walked. “Each of the books here is the measure of a person’s life. Some are thick, some are thin; some end before they really had a chance to begin.”
Stopping in front of a bookcase, the man removed a book title, Summers, Buffy Anne. “Despite what you are thinking right now all humans have Free Will. We cannot take that away from you.” He opened the book to display what reminded Xander of a subway map. If it was horribly snarled that is. “Every person has major events along the course of their lives that are almost guaranteed to occur. We here at the Bureau simply nudge people in the right direction, particularly when their path affects a large number of other people.”
“Killing Tara was a nudge in the right direction?” Xander snarled. “Do you know what that did to Willow? What she did to me because of it?”
“Due to the fact that humans do have Free Will there are periodically unforeseen consequences.”
“I’ll show you unforeseen…”
“Miss Summers was never supposed to die,” the man blurted out, stopping Xander in his tracks.
“What? When?”
“Miss Summer was never supposed to sacrifice herself for the Key. The Key is far too powerful. It should never have been made flesh and it was it should have been the one to sacrifice itself for the Greater Good. Everything we have done since Miss Summers sacrificed herself has been to try to rectify the problem. Mostly we’ve just made things worse and now we’re on the brink of an Old One returning which we cannot allow.”
“Why don’t you just go back in time and fix it?”
“Because we can’t. We can only nudge. We cannot directly interfere. However you can.”
Xander considered it for a moment. He suspected he knew what they wanted him to do but needed to hear them say it. "What do you want from me?”
“We can put you in the right place to ensure the proper sacrifice is made. It will stop the portal as well as prevent many of the events you’ve experienced the last two years from happening. It’s a lot to ask but the First must be stopped.”
He knew what he was going to do before the man had even finished speaking. It didn’t make it any easier. “What do I need to do?”
The man gestured at a door that suddenly appeared in the wall next to them. “Simply step through this door. You’ll know what to do when you get there,”
Taking a deep breath, Xander walked up to the door and pushed it open. Walking through, he found himself standing on the top of the rickety tower Glory’s minions had built that fateful night. Just ahead of him he could see Buffy and Dawn arguing, God he’d forgotten how young Dawn had been at this point, and just beyond them the portal beginning to open. Xander picked up a loose piece of two by four knowing there was no other way he’d be able to get around Buffy. Creeping up behind her, he heard what she was saying to Dawn.
“I love you. I will always love you. But this is the work that I have to do.”
Xander swung the two by four in that moment completely catching her unaware. Buffy slumped to the ground unconscious.
“Xander?” Dawn squeeked at him, tears streaming down her face, then frowned as she took in what he was wearing, the bandage over his left eye. “Xander?”
“I’m sorry, Dawnie. I… I’m… What I mean is…”
“How bad is it in the future?” Dawn asked. Xander was both relieved and heartsick that Dawn’s world was wacky enough that her first thought wasn’t demon, but time traveler.
“It’s bad, about to get worse. I’m sorry, Dawn. Buffy can’t be allowed to die at this point. It can’t be now.”
Dawn just nodded, swiping at the tears on her cheeks. “I know. I’m the Key. It should be me. I… I just don’t want to die.”
“I know,” he said softly, cupping her cheek. “If there was another way… It has to be you but,” he gave her a crooked smile, “nothing says it has to only be you.”
“Thank you,” she said with a tremulous smile. Xander picked her up in his arms, holding her tight as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Close your eyes,” he said, waiting until she had done so. Taking another deep breath, he tightened his grip on her and then ran. It was only a few strides before he was leaping off the tower, throwing them into the portal.
They never felt their bodies hit the ground.
Finis
