tamingthemuse | Prompt 99 - Clamp - Ronin - Alex Foster

Title: Ronin Chapter Three
Fandom: BTVS -- Season Eight Comic
Prompt: 99 - Clamp
Word Count: 2,066
Warnings: Femslash in later chapters, but nothing bad here
Rating: R overall
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Mutant Enemy, Dark Horse, and Joss Whedon. No money is being made and no infringement is intended.
Summary: On the run from a powerful force, including the slayer army, Satsu must unravel a mystery surrounding a mystical object and the phantasm taking a familiar form surrounding it.

Chapter Three

After becoming a slayer, the second rule Satsu learned was that physics were not so physical when it came to magic.

She guessed about thirty seconds before she blacked out from lack of oxygen. In that time she planned on using her momentum to carry herself and the person materializing in the center of the sphere through the rear window and into the garden. Once there she would have to act fast to stake the person while surprise was still on her side. Deal with the oxygen thing after that.

One problem at a time.

Satsu hit the figure and together they tumbled end over end. She turned her head and squeezed her eyes shut against the shattering of glass she knew was coming. Still in a free fall, they never arrived at the window.

Rule number two. And a new problem.

The figure, still obscured by the white light, grabbed at Satsu. The slayer responded by pulling the person close and trying to pin him against her chest. No longer sure which way was up or down, Satsu tried rolling in the direction of the fall and keep the struggling figure pointed at the approaching ground. At least she hoped there was a ground.

There was...but it wasn’t behind her new friend.

The ground slammed into Satsu’s side with the force of a runaway truck. Hot pain exploded along her already damaged ribs. She opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out.

The person broke free and knocked Satsu away with a quick kick to the chest. Satsu slid back and tried to relax spastic muscles. She forced her body to respond, to get around the pain. Her vision was swimming and her head pounding. She didn’t have much time left.

Around them the overwhelming light started to fade.

Her attacker was a woman. Taller than Satsu but still short by most standards. Dark hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail. Her pretty face was freshly scrubbed and free of unneeded makeup. She guessed they were similar in age, with the other girl holding perhaps a year or two over her.

Satsu’s tingling fingers found the stake and she jumped at the woman, swinging at her chest.

Even in her weak state, Satsu was still a slayer and still fast. But the other woman was just as quick. She caught Satsu’s wrist, angled it away, and delivered a sharp jab to Satsu’s chest. Not hard—just firm enough to knock her back and halt the attack.

“Take a time out!” she said. “I’m not here to hurt you. And catch your breath. I only have one shot at this and we both have to be conscious for the spell to work.”

Satsu stumbled and put her hands on her knees, gasping mouthfuls of air. A tight knot formed just below her lungs. They stood in an empty ballroom with dozens of unused tables and chairs pushed against the walls. The same bright ethereal light from the sphere streamed in from high windows set along the hall.

“You okay?” The woman’s voice was firm and held more than a little impatience. Satsu got the impression that was her normal tone even when genuinely concerned for someone’s welfare.

Satsu nodded. The pain retreated to where it was before her fall. Amazingly she didn’t think she broke anything else in the scuffle. “Will…be,” she managed.

The girl nodded and looked the ballroom over. She stood on her toes and peered into the empty orchestra pit. “Magic. Never do get used to it. Just once it'd be nice to have normal.”

“Time…in,” Satsu said, straightening. “Who…are you?”

“Name’s Kennedy.” Her gaze moved up and down Satsu's body. “You’re Satsu, right?”

“Yeah. Kennedy? As in Miss Rosenberg’s Kennedy?”

She shrugged. “I’m not exactly a take-the-last-name kind of girl, but yeah. Willow wanted me to find you. She said we don’t have much time.”

“I’ve heard that before. I'm supposed to find her.”

“Well, you have a long search ahead of you. Willow’s been off this plane and can’t make it back because of some sort of transdimensional...creature...thing—I actually didn’t take notes. Short bus answer is there's some nasty juju trying to bust into the world right now and Willow can take care of it but she needs us to help.

“You have a Sylph Box, right? That’s how you got here?”

“Um, yeah I guess. But I don’t know how to use it.”

Kennedy looked off to the side, studied the shadows for a moment, and then back to Satsu. “It opens doors between dimensions and creates reality pockets like this one. Willow led me to mine and said you should have one as well.

“There are control crystals inside. If you didn’t open it before, it should be active now." She spoke quickly as though rushed by something Satsu couldn't see. "First crystal connects to another box--like mine. The second picks the location. And the third activates the box. It’s very important to pick the right combination. Those things can send you to places where oxygen is a premium…” She trailed off and looked away again.

“Are you safe where you are?”

Satsu followed the other’s gaze but saw only empty tables. “I’m…away from it all.”

“Good. I’m kinda on the run. My Sylph wasn’t easy to come by and the previous owners are taking the loss hard.”

“You may also have Buffy after you,” Satsu told her. At her surprised glance, she added, “I was in her squad when they went after the box. I stole it from them. If there are others out there, she’ll come looking.”

“Oh, that’s great. Nice of Willow to give me that head’s up on that one—”

“You’ve spoken to Miss Rosenberg? Since all this started?”

Kennedy nodded. “There were some dreams—I didn’t really think it was her at first, but they were…very vivid.”

Satsu didn’t push further on that subject. Over the past few days she’d had enough odd experiences to know when to let certain things go. “So what do we do next? We do a spell or…”

“Nothing so fancy. We use our boxes to go to the dimension housing the juju and beat the source to death. You up for a fight?”

“Works for me.” Satsu drew a long breath and suppressed a wince. “Let’s go.”

Kennedy looked again at something only she could see. “I like the spirit, but I need to find a better spot at my end. When we use the Sylph our bodies are still in the real world unprotected. I’d rather not wake up dead.”

Satsu agreed and discreetly flexed her left hand. Time to heal was not a bad thing. “A day? We’ll meet back here?”

“That will work." Kennedy gave her instructions on using the crystals inside the box and made her repeat them twice. "You’re still in Scotland, right? Good. I need to make sure I know what time zone you are in.”

“See you soon.”

Kennedy took a step back, reached for something Satsu couldn’t see, and vanished.

Color slowly faded from the ballroom and the light streaming in from the windows increased. Satsu stared in amazement. The world looked like the color saturation draining from old film. She glanced down at her hands, now shaded only in gray, and laughed.

And then something hard hit her in the face.

Satsu gasped and opened her eyes.

She found herself back in the den, her back against the large rear window. At her feet the desk lay on its side and her notes were scattered over the floor. Buffy was crouching over her with one hand gripping Satsu’s t-shirt.

“What exactly is wrong with you!” the slayer demanded. Before Satsu could answer Buffy struck her across the face again. “Do you realize how dumb that was?”

“No time for a good one,” Satsu mumbled, still trying to regain her bearings.

Buffy shook her violently. “And what am I supposed to do if you kill yourself? I don’t exactly have another girl in the cottage down the street.”

Satsu pushed her away and sat up. She wiped the corner of her mouth with the back of her uninjured hand. “Sometimes when you don’t have any time or other choice you have to do something stupid. You taught me that.”

Buffy shot her an unhappy look. “Are you okay?”

Satsu nodded and pushed to her feet, mindful of her sore ribs. “I’m fine.” She looked around and saw the box in the corner of the room. It was still open but no longer gave off light from inside. Thankful the cube--the Sylph--hadn't closed because she had no idea how to open it again, Satsu straightened the desk and carefully placed the box on top of it.

Kennedy was right. Inside were a dozen small elongated crystals the size of her thumb arranged in honeycomb like slots by color. At the center of structure were three empty crystalline slots. Satsu slowly pulled a yellow stone free to examine it. It chimed like wind through a hollow reed.

Satsu smiled. The crystal was surprisingly heavy and pulsed with internal warmth. She felt heady just holding it. She’d been wrong; the crystals were the source of the magic emanating from the box. The cube was just a fancy carrying case.

“Wow,” Buffy said, peering over Satsu’s shoulder.

“Did you know these were inside?”

“I really didn’t.”

Satsu placed the stone back in its slot. “Do you think the box will close up again?”

Buffy shrugged. “We could stick a letter opener in there.”

Satsu clamped the manual opener on the edge of the can and awkwardly turned the crank with her right hand.

“And you trust all that?” Buffy asked.

“Don’t you? You’re Miss Inside Information.” Satsu popped the lid off and set the opener in the sink. She sipped juice from the can and dug out a sliced peach with her fingers.

“Not the story.” Buffy sat on the counter and looked out the window at the darkening sky. “The timing. I’d feel better if it was Willow herself that contacted you.”

Satsu ate another slice and sucked the juice from her fingers. “Maybe it doesn’t work that way? With whatever is going on…maybe she can only reach Kennedy the way you appear to me?” She shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. “Either way it’s nice to finally have an ally.”

“Yeah.” Buffy still sounded doubtful. “I should have known she was in play though. I don't know why I didn't know that."

"Allies are a good thing. It's about time we have someone on our side."

Buffy glanced at her. "We're a 'we' now?"

Satsu shrugged. "I'm still not entirely sure what you are, but you've helped me. I admit that."

"I'm proud of you, Satsu. You've done very well with what's been asked of you. And if Kennedy doesn't give you the weird butterflies then I trust your judgment." Buffy looked out the window again. "Just be careful when you go back through that thing tomorrow. I’m bound to this plane so I can’t help you there.”

She nodded. “I will. I don’t suppose you can tell anything else about what’s going on?”

“After tomorrow I should be able to.” Buffy still seemed downcast. “If you succeed and the spell is broken, my time here is limited. I’m part of the magic. End it and you end me.”

Satsu paused.

“I don’t think I’m supposed to tell you that, but I thought you should know.”

“What…?”

“Your Buffy—”she smiled slightly“—the 'real' one, will be just fine.”

Satsu didn’t know what to say. She wasn’t sure what to feel. The apparition was just a fantasy; she always knew that, but the thought if it fading away permanently…This Buffy had helped her survive.

“Don’t look so sad.” Buffy jumped down from the counter. “I’ve known my role in all this. Just like you did.” She planted a quick kiss on Satsu’s forehead. “I’m going to walk a patrol. You should think about turning in soon. Tomorrow is going to be a long day and you need the rest.”

Satsu set the can down in the sink and turned. “Buffy—”

The apparition was already gone and only the empty cottage heard her.

“—you don’t have to go.”

Chapter One

Chapter Two