| Summer Crossover Series 2003: And Now My Charms Are All O�erthrown By Kuzibah |
| A Buffy/Mage (Comic) Crossover Disclaimer: Buffy and other characters and situations particular to "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" are the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and other individuals and corporate bodies. Kevin Matchstick, Mirth, and other characters and situations particular to the �Mage� comic series are the property of Matt Wagner. No copyright infringement is intended or implied. Introduction to "And Now My Charms Are All O�erthrown": When last seen, Buffy was headed away from the hole formerly known as Sunnydale, seemingly at peace with her powers and re-written destiny as *a* Chosen One, not *the* Chosen One. Mage, a comic series written and drawn by Matt Wagner and produced in my very own hometown during the mid- to late- 80s, concerned the adventures of Kevin Matchstick, the reincarnation of King Arthur, as he discovered his powers and gradually came to accept his destiny as Hero. Mirth (Merlin) was his guide and advisor. (A sequel series followed about two years ago, but I personally thought it lacked the powerful storytelling and bold artwork of the original. But it is difficult to capture lightning twice.) Rating: PG Archive- Please email request. Feedback- Absolutely. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Buffy stretched and arched her back under the stinging water of the shower. Her muscles were still tender from extended workouts with the latest batch of Slayers, but she contented herself with the knowledge that with her Slayer healing all her little aches would be gone in an hour or two. Dawn and a few of the other girls had decided to have a movie night/slumber party, and Buffy could faintly hear them chattering, apparently having quickly lost interest in �How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days.� There had been pizza, too, and Buffy thought about grabbing a few slices before bed. Once clean, she stood in her bedroom, and stared at the pajamas laid out. Her skin tingled. It was nighttime, her body told her, and there are evil things outside. Why are you going to sleep? Go out and slay them. But she didn�t have to slay them anymore. There were dozens of Slayers, now, taking shifts to keep the streets and cemeteries clean of monsters. Buffy could, in all good conscience, retire to a life of training and supervising, or even going back to school. Still, her Slayer-self would not be so rationally put off. It knew its function, only, and would insist upon fulfilling it if Buffy climbed into bed feeling anything short of exhaustion. Grumbling, she got dressed in jeans, shirt, and long jacket and stomped out of her bedroom. Dawn and the others had abandoned the romantic comedy and moved on to �The Fast and the Furious,� clearly more interested in the �fast-cars-and-hunky-guys� oeuvre. �I�m going out,� Buffy said, and Dawn gave a distracted wave without turning around. �I�m just going down to Java Heaven for a Mexican hot milk,� Buffy went on. �Have fun,� Dawn said, still not moving, and Buffy rolled her eyes and left. She meant to head for Java Heaven, really. But the alleys she passed were dark, and secluded, and one could never be sure there weren�t evil nasties lurking about, waiting to devour lost children, and as the Slayer, she was obligated to check. She wandered down one, towards the lake, when ahead she saw a flickering light. Thinking at first it was only the reflection of a passing car, she watched as it flickered and bobbed, seeming to move with definite purpose. Buffy followed after. The light weaved among the cars and trash cans lining the alley, always staying about twenty feet ahead. It sped up when Buffy did, and hovered, waiting, when she seemed to lag behind. Finally, it slipped out of the mouth of the alley and drifted, in great swooping arcs, down towards the fetid water. Only hesitating a moment to consider the effect of the greasy mud on her suede boots, Buffy followed. The light, predictably perhaps, glided out over the water, then dropped out of sight. Buffy, standing at the water�s edge, cursed under her breath. Then, a dark *something* rose up from the lake�s surface. Buffy watched in astonished awe, and dim amazement that she could still feel such an emotion as awe after all she�d seen, as the creature rose up and up. It resembled a grotesque rider mounted upon a monstrous horse, but seemed to be one animal. The vaguely human torso that rose from its back had long arms that trailed in the water, and the horse-part�s limbs seemed flat and thick, like flippers. The horse head had an enormous, gaping mouth, and one fiery red eye, while the head upon the human torso rolled bonelessly back and forth. Most horrifying of all, the beast appeared to have no skin, only raw flesh bound by black-blooded veins and yellow sinews. The thing screeched, and Buffy found her senses again. She turned and ran, the thing dragging itself from the stinking water behind her. Back down the alley, quickly turning to throw the thing off her trail, up and down side streets, doubling back in case it could scent her, and casting her gaze about for a weapon, any weapon. She came into a narrow passage between buildings, and saw a fire escape hanging above her. She leapt for it, the sounds of her landing and subsequent flight upwards not masking the grunting pants of the creature catching up to her. Somehow, the monster pursued her to the building, and Buffy tried to gauge how far she�d need to leap to move from roof to roof, and whether the animal could follow her, when she felt the surface beneath her tremble. It was coming up the fire escape! She stepped backwards, moving towards the far edge, not wanting to turn her back on the thing, even as she might have to run and jump, when she felt a gentle touch on her shoulder. She spun to see a man beside her. He�d apparently climbed up to the roof from the opposite side and stood calmly, waiting. In the space of a heartbeat, Buffy took in his dark, bearded face, and long coat. Beneath, he wore a black t-shirt printed with a bold lightning bolt almost glowing from its surface. Casually, from one hand, hung a baseball bat which gave off a dazzling white light of its own. �Who the hell are you?� Buffy said, and the man chuckled. �I might ask you the same question,� he said. �But we have a Nuckelavee to finish off.� �A what?� And then another man rose to the roof. Literally. He looked both younger and older, with the smooth face of a teenager and the snow-white hair of a very old man. �It�s a faerie, Slayer,� this new man said. �And it�s coming this way.� With that, the creature, the Nuckelavee? hauled itself onto the shuddering roof. �That�s a faerie?� Buffy cried, incredulous, even as she and the bearded man threw themselves at it, armed only with bat and stake. �Slayer!� the white-haired man shouted, and Buffy half-turned to see a flash of green light streak from his hand to hers, and a short sword appear where the stake had been. �That�s more like it,� Buffy said, and she turned on the monster. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* The battle was a short, bloody blur, and as she and the bearded warrior stood panting for breath over the Nuckelavee�s broken body, it gave a strange, wet hiss, and evaporated like so much smoke. �That was convenient,� Buffy said. �Do all faeries disappear like that?� �Pretty much,� the bearded man grunted. The white-haired man floated over to them and touched down lightly on bandage-wrapped legs. Over his shoulders he wore a shapeless blue poncho, Buffy noted, and he extended his hand in greeting. �Forgive us, my dear,� he said. �We had no time to be introduced. I am Mirth, and my hirsute and slightly noisome companion is Kevin.� �Buffy,� Buffy said, taking Mirth�s hand. �Slayer. As you know, apparently. How do you know, by the way?� �Enchanted, dear lady,� Mirth said, raising Buffy�s hand to his lips for a chivalrous kiss. �And as for your question, I knew you many lifetimes ago.� �Uh huh,� Buffy said, pulling back her hand. �Black Annis will have taken that little distraction as an opportunity to move on,� Kevin said, looking out over the rooftops. �Do you sense which way she�s gone?� Mirth made a dismissive motion with his hand. �She walks the shadow roads,� he said, �and it makes no sense to pursue her when she steps back and forth across the border of the faerie lands. Let�s take this respite, Kevin, and pass the evening with this most charming young lady.� Kevin walked back across the roof, nudging Mirth�s shoulder with his bicep. �That sort of thinking has gotten you in trouble before, Mage,� he said. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Coffee was suggested, and Buffy led the two strangers back to Java Heaven, where they took steaming cups of brew and sticky sweet-rolls. Thus fortified with hot, spicy milk, Buffy turned her attention to them. �Okay,� she said, �let�s get the unabridged version. Who are you guys?� �This is Kevin Matchstick,� Mirth said. �He carries within himself the power of the Pendragon, the timeless hero known as Arthur. I am Mirth, the World-Mage, his advisor and wizard. Much like you, Slayer, we are reborn anew in each generation to battle the specific evil attuned to us. As you battle vampires and demons, we battle the creatures conjured from the faerie lands, commonly known as� faeries.� Buffy took a moment to let this sink in. �Neat,� she chirped after a moment. Kevin looked at her with a dubious expression. �Just like that?� he said. ��Neat?�� �You�ll have to forgive Kevin,� Mirth murmured over his whipped chocolate. �Even after all this time and all he�s seen, he�s still very much a skeptic, I�m afraid.� �So, wizard, huh?� Buffy said. �That�s how you conjured the sword. Thanks, by the way.� �My pleasure,� Mirth said. �I like the light show, too,� Buffy went on. �My friend Willow--- she�s a witch--- Doesn�t tend to be so flashy.� �The green, you mean?� Mirth said. �Not my choice, really. It�s just that magic is green. Move it around, you get the light.� Buffy blinked in surprise. �Magic is green?� Mirth smiled. �Some magic is green, yes.� Buffy leaned in conspiratorially. �Listen, do you know anything about a dimensional key? A blob of green energy?� Mirth leaned back thoughtfully. �Dawn, you mean,� he said, and Buffy started. �Anyone who walks between the dimensions knows about the key. Very dangerous artifact to just be hanging around. It really was a relief to most of us when it popped out of existence.� He took another sip of his chocolate. �Quite the novel solution those monks came up with. I commend their cleverness, if not their consideration for the people involved. But, yes, she was formed from magic.� �How will it affect her?� Buffy said. �She has a normal life, now. Well, semi-normal, anyway. But no one seems to know any more than �she was a key of green energy, now she�s a girl.� What do you know? What can you tell me?� Mirth took in this small outburst with amused calm, only frustrating Buffy further, so he took the Slayer�s hands in his own. �She had power even she was not aware of,� he said. �And when he saw the danger such power put your witch, and all of you, in, her subconscious mind cast it out and destroyed it. By the strength of her own will she transformed herself into what she most wanted to be: a normal little girl.� Buffy let out a held breath. �Then she�� �Is mortal, yes,� Mirth said. �She will live a normal span of years, and follow the paths most humans follow.� He gave a wry smile. �And she�ll never believe how some of us envy her.� �Wordy McWord to that,� Buffy said, and the two men joined her in laughter. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* �How long are you in town?� Buffy asked as they stood outside the coffee shop, prolonging their farewells. Mirth�s eyes got a faraway look. �We�re pursuing Black Annis,� he said. �She conjures creatures like the Nuckelavee in her wake to delay us, and we can�t afford to stay in one place long. Even now, I sense she is coming to roost in the mortal realm once more� to the south� in a humid place.� �Great,� Kevin said. �Fighting more swamp ogres. Or kelpies and merrows.� Mirth�s eyes twinkled. �There are revelers, too. And lots of drink. New Orleans. The Dark-Hunters will be there.� Kevin gave a low chuckle. �We may catch this bitch after all,� he said. �And then we�ll celebrate at the Peltiers. Well, let�s teleport to the car, Mage. We need to get on the road.� Mirth took Buffy�s hand for another gallant kiss. �Farewell, Slayer,� he said. �May we meet again in better circumstance.� And in a flash of bright green light, they were gone. Buffy touched the short sword that still hung concealed under her jacket. She had no doubt they would meet again. Main Menu ~ Return to Crossover Menu |