Disclaimer: Both BtVS and Firefly belong to Joss Whedon

Disclaimer: Both BtVS and Firefly belong to Joss Whedon. The basic idea for this story came from Yahtzee's Phoenix Rising. The idea of mixing these two 'verses in this way is mine.

A Leaf on the Wind

Revelations

"I cannot believe I did something that monumentally stupid!"

"Willow--"

"Blundering a spell is one thing, but this? This is so much worse. It's, like, off the scale worse!"

"Willow, it's not your fault," Angel said for what had to be the thousandth time.

They were walking through the forest gardens outside of the training house while Angel tried to calm Willow down a little. She was engaging in a bout of self-flagellation, and he was feeling guilty about being a jerk about how he told her. He had forgotten that Willow could be something of a perfectionist, especially about magic.

"What do you mean, it's not my fault? I cast the spell!"

"No one thought it would tie the line to you," he said as patiently as he could. "Okay? Not even Giles."

"Still!"

Willow let out a huge huff and slumped against a tree, shaking her head. "So stupid. All right, I'm not perfect. How does my incredible screw-up tie in with what's going on?"

"Huh?"

She gave him a look. "Come on. You think the two things aren't tied together somehow? This is magic. Coincidences are rarely coincidences."

Angel slid his hands into his pockets, frowning. "What makes you think there's even a relationship?"

She just looked at him hard.

"What?"

She looked at him harder.

He sighed and gave in, leaning against a tree of his own. "There--may--be a small connection."

She waited. When he didn't appear ready to elaborate, she asked, "Why did everyone leave Earth?"

He almost winced, and she couldn't help a grim smile. "It has something to do with demons, doesn't it?"

Angel made a face at her but nodded. "Yes."

"How?"

He sighed again, thumping his head back against the tree while he wondered if snarling at her again would make her go away. Probably not. "Can't you let it go?"

"No," she informed him. "I have to poke at it like a sore tooth until something finally gives."

He raised an eyebrow, and she added, "That something would be you, with the information. Now, mister. Come on."

When he still hesitated, she made a threatening gesture with her hand. He raised his own in surrender. "All right, all right. Gees."

"Good."

Angel took a breath, which he didn't need, and said, "As the number of slayers went down, the number of demons rose. Eventually, there were too many of them. The Initiative knew about demons, obviously, and while they were disbanded, the information was still there. There became too many for the Council to keep it quiet."

"When?" she asked, not sure she wanted to know the answer.

"Less than a fifty years after you died," he said soberly. "A couple decades after we were back down to one. The last slayer on earth--she was a feisty one. Good fighter. Not as good as Buffy, but she held her own."

"What was her name?" Willow asked.

Angel frowned, thinking. "I think it was Michaela, but I could be wrong."

"Michaela?" Willow repeated. "Greek looking? From America?"

"That's the one," he agreed.

"I've met her."

He stared at her. "How did you manage that?"

She just smiled without a trace of humor on her face. "She would be one of the ones brought back."

Angel muttered a curse word that Willow didn't recognize, pushing off the tree and pacing back and forth. "She knew about the exodus."

"What about it, Angel?" Willow asked, trying to sound patient.

He glanced at her but didn't stop pacing. "I mentioned the Initiative files?"

She nodded.

"The American government reopened them. Contacted the Watcher's Council, and the other governments. Demons were an open secret by that time. They all worked together to build ships large enough to carry a portion of the world's population to the closest inhabitable world."

"Wait." Willow straightened, staring at him. "The Council and the governments worked together?"

He nodded. "They took charge."

"Oh God, please don't tell me," she groaned.

"What? That the Alliance is a direct descendent of the Watcher's Council? Yeah."

"Oh--gos se," she groaned. "No wonder I couldn't find them."

"You went looking for the Council?" he demanded, stopping and staring at her.

Surprised by his sudden sharpness, she said, "Not in an obvious way. I didn't put Watcher's Council in the search engine, if that's what you're worried about."

He blinked. "Actually--that's exactly what I was worried about. Er--good job."

"Thanks," she said sarcastically, then sighed and slid down to the ground, leaning her head back against her tree. "Angel?"

"Yeah?"

Without opening her eyes, she felt him move closer to stand in front of her. "Why would the Alliance bring back seven slayers?"

"I don't know," he admitted, crouching down beside her. "I'm not sure I want to know."

She nodded, opening her eyes to look at him. "If they manage to bring Buffy back--"

"If they bring Buffy back, our troubles will be over," he said dryly. "Because she'll kill them. She said as much before she died."

"That she'd kill anyone who tried to resurrect her this time?"

"Yup."

Despite her worry, Willow had to smile at that. "Sounds like her."

"It should." He sat down beside her and got comfortable. "It was her, you know."

"Yeah." Willow watched the leaves on the trees for a few moments, thinking. "Why are you and Illyria the only two demons around?"

"You haven't figured it out?"

"If I'd figured it out, I wouldn't have asked you."

That made Angel grin. He answered, "Most of them stayed on earth--the world's governments and the Council were very careful about allowing demons on board, even the good or neutral ones. The ones that did manage to sneak aboard--if they were discovered, they were killed. Most of them died off within a few hundred years because not enough were around to repopulate. The rest are scattered, hiding out on the Rim planets."

She nodded. That made sense, and she had sort of worked a lot of that out already. "Why's Illyria still with you?"

"Ah." He nodded, rueful. "Well. With no worshippers and no temple, she really didn't have anywhere else to go. She chose to come with me. Better chance of being able to kill someone, I think."

"Ah."

He glanced at her. "Any more burning questions?"

Willow watched the leaves again for a long moment, debating whether to ask. But, this was Angel, and she was Willow. If he told anyone, it would be her. "Where's the current Slayer?"

He froze. She turned her head to look at him soberly. "This is serious-face, remember? There's nothing that would account for the slayer line ending. Even if it had to be on earth. And you're not very good at lying. So. Where is she?"

"Safe," he said finally after wrestling with himself.

"Yeah." She searched his face. "I bet she is. I bet everyone single one of them for the last few hundred years have been safe with you. Ever since the mass exodus, right?"

"Not every one," he said, his face tight. "Some I missed."

Willow nodded and flicked a glance up at the training house. "Inara can fight."

He blinked, caught off guard by the sudden apparent shift in topic. "What?"

"Inara Serra." Willow looked at him seriously. "She can fight. She can handle a sword, and a gun, and a few others."

"How do you know that?"

She shrugged. "You find out things when you're on a ship. That's not the point. Inara can fight. She's not a slayer. She's a Companion. Why would a Companion need to know how to fight?"

"Willow," Angel warned. He rose to his feet, shaking his head very firmly. "Leave it alone."

"They all know how to fight, don't they? They all know how to handle themselves around weapons and such, don't they?"

Willow looked up at Angel, serious, leaving no room for evasion. "The slayer's here, isn't she? You hid her among the Companions. No one would notice, except maybe the ladies in charge, and they're all in the know. That's why they're so protective of you. Because you protect the slayer."

"I said leave it alone," he snapped.

"How long have you been hiding out here?"

He glared.

"You find some of the oddest places to hide people," she remarked.

"What?" He stared at her. "I do not. Why would you say that? I don't find weird places to hide people."

She just smiled. He shifted uneasily. "Do I?"

"Yes, you do. Not that it's a bad thing." Willow stared up at the sky, taking deep, even breaths.

Angel watched her for a moment with slightly narrowed eyes. She looked like she was meditating, and he said as much. "You're meditating?"

"It's very peaceful here," she replied without opening her eyes.

"Uh huh." He folded his arms. "You don't usually meditate unless it's something to do with magic."

Willow just smiled slightly. "Oh, you remember that, do you?"

"I remember more than that, Will," Angel said, his voice serious. "What's up?"

"My magic." She let out a deep breath, a half smile still on her face. "It's stronger here than it's been. It's great."

Angel frowned and moved a little closer, watching her. "It fluctuates?"

"Yeah." Slowly, feeling calm and almost refreshed, Willow opened her eyes to look at him, that half smile still on her face. "Every planet is different."

Looking intent, Angel leaned forward, watching her closely. "What about out in space?"

She tilted her head to one side, studying his face. "You know something?"

"Let's just say I have a hunch. Space?"

She searched his face still before finally leaning back. "It's the weakest out in space. That means something to you."

"What tipped you off?"

"The little smirk helped," she said dryly.

He grinned briefly then sobered. "What does it mean to you?"

She considered him thoughtfully, finally saying, "I'm a witch. That means my power comes from the earth, so its weakness in space makes sense."

He nodded.

"But on the planets?"

A wry little smile appeared on his face. "You know about the terraforming they did?"

"Of course."

He glanced around the forest. "This planet is one of the closest to what earth was like, before they terraformed it. It had plant life, and water. It just needed the right atmosphere and enough oxygen."

"Ah." She nodded. "I get it."

And she did.

"The closer to Earth's make-up the planets were originally, the more magic I can draw from them, is that what you're saying?"

"That's what I'm saying," he agreed.

"Well, that would make sense." She glanced around. "A lot of sense."

Footsteps made the pair of them look down the path. Illyria-as-Fred, something Willow was still having a hard time with, ambled up the path with a young woman who moved like a warrior. Willow looked at Angel, at the sudden tightness around his eyes.

"Illyria's not stupid, Angel."

"No," he agreed. "Just incautious."

"She's a demon," Willow pointed out.

"True."

They watched in silence as the pair drew closer.

"What's her name?"

Angel looked down at Willow soberly. "Tera."

Willow jerked and stared at him. "You're kidding."

"No."

She looked back at the young woman, blowing out a breath. "Well, if that's not the work of the Trickster gods."

"Demon," he corrected.

"Yes, thanks, I know." She rolled her eyes, muttering, "Gees."

When the two women got close enough, Angel and Willow got to their feet, and Angel raised his hand in greeting. "Tera, Fred."

Willow's head turned sharply towards him. "Fred?"

"Too many people knew the name Illyria," Angel muttered. "She uses Fred's name. She is still a demon, you know."

"Nice trick," Willow muttered back.

"Yeah."

"Hi Angel," the young woman, Tera, said, her eyes on Willow. "Who's your friend?"

Willow glanced up at Angel. "She's jealous?"

"She's--protective," Angel corrected.

"That was a distinctly jealous use of the word friend," Willow said, hiding a smile.

"She's not jealous."

"She sounded jealous."

"She's not jealous, Willow."

"She really did sound jealous, Angel."

"She's not--Tera, can you tell her you're not jealous?" Angel demanded.

"I'm not jealous," Tera said, her face deadpan.

"You sure sounded jealous," Willow informed her, a hint of a smile creeping out.

"I'm not."

"You sure?"

Illyria looked on in amusement, waiting for Tera's answer. So did Angel, though he looked on in exasperation. Tera just grinned. "Honey, you can have him."

"And zing." Willow grinned at Angel. "Burned. Figuratively, of course. Hey--daylight?"

"It's shady. Did I just get passed over?" Angel demanded.

"You did," Willow agreed. She held out her hand to Tera. "Hi. I'm Willow. I'm a really, really old friend of Angel's."

"Tera," the young woman said, shaking her hand. "How'd you two meet?"

"He dated a friend of mine."

Angel glared at her.

Illyria remarked idly, "It was somewhat more than simple dating from what I've heard."

Angel glared even harder at Illyria.

"You're right," Willow agreed. "And he was more than just a friend's boyfriend. What more that was depended on what day of the week it was…"

"Willow!"

Tera was grinning between Willow and Angel, and she told Willow, "We need to talk. I've known him for years, and I've never managed to put him that far off balance."

"It is fun, isn't it?"

"Oh yeah."

"Okay. I'm going in now," Angel said, shaking his head in disbelief. "I'm getting ganged up on by a slayer and a witch. How did this happen to me? Again?"

As he made his return that was not an escape no matter what it looked like into the training house, Tera cast Willow a sideways glance. "You're a witch?"

"You're a slayer," Willow replied. "Slay much?"

"Not really," Tera admitted.

Willow studied her and felt a brief moment of sympathy. "Kinda hard, isn't it? Instincts say to fight, but there's nothing to fight."

Tera blinked, startled. "How did you know?"

Illyria chose this moment to remind them she was present, remarking, "Willow has--experience--with slayers. You two chat on. I'm going to go see where Angel slunk off to."

"Probably the training room," Tera called after her. "We've got practice in ten minutes."

"He trains you?"

Tera nodded, turning back to Willow. "It's the only outlet I've got at the moment. There was a guy that showed up a while back that I'd've liked to kick his butt, but he was waiting for some cowboy. Angel said to let it go."

"Angel is--quite often right about things," Willow said. "Except when he's emotionally involved."

Tera's eyebrows rose. "He has emotions?"

"Somewhere in there, yeah," Willow chuckled. "How long have you known him?"

"Since I was twelve." Tera scratched her head, considering. "That was twelve years ago, come to think of it."

"Congratulations." Willow's voice was dry, making the other woman grin.

"Thanks." The casual look on Tera's face made Willow wary. "Would you like to come see the training room?"

"Do I have a choice?" she wondered.

"Not really. Come on. It'll be fun."

As a faux-reluctant Willow and cheery Tera made their way back to the training house, Willow asked, "Does Angel talk about Earth a lot?"

"Sometimes." The other woman looked thoughtful as she walked. "He gets into these moods sometimes--remembering the past."

"He is over 700 years old," Willow pointed out.

"Yeah, but--" Tera flashed her a huge grin. "He doesn't like to advertise."

They both got a snicker out of that as they made their way through the door into the training house and nearly ran into the second woman Willow had spoken with. She frowned at the pair of them, but looked more puzzled than displeased, and asked, "Tera?"

"This is Willow," Tera offered.

"We've met," Willow said, giving the woman a half smile. "I'm not sure she really believed Angel and I are old friends."

"I have known Angel for a long time," the woman informed Willow. "While I suspect he knows quite a few people I'm not familiar with, I didn't expect one to show up on our doorstep."

"That's okay," Willow assured her. "I mean, if I had wished him ill, I'd've still gotten through, but he would have probably killed me, so it's all good. Safety measures I don't have a problem with."

The woman raised one elegant eyebrow then nodded and strode off. "Good."

Tera was staring, and Willow asked, "What?"

"He would have killed you if you'd wished him ill? Did they talk like that back in the twenty-first century?"

"Twentieth, maybe." Willow scowled at her. "Quit fussing about my word choice and show me where this training room is."

"Are you going to join in?"

"What?" Willow put her hands on her hips and mock-glared. "You're the Slayer. You need it, not me. But--" she added before Tera could reply. "If you insist, I suppose."

A wicked grin spread across the Slayer's face, and she bowed theatrically. "Right this way, then."

Willow followed her, muttering, "I think I'm going to regret this."