Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or The Walking Dead. They belong to all of their various people and companies. No profit will be made, no infringement intended.

Summary: After the zombie apocalypse begins the Scoobies are determined to save as many people as possible. Xander and Vi head to Georgia to set up a safe zone. Vi is determined to find her brothers and maybe Xander can find a kindred spirit in a damaged redneck.

Spoilers: All of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and I'll say all of The Walking Dead TV series. The story will go AU, but the main parts of The Walking Dead story line will be incorporated.

Warnings: This will eventually be slash. Don't like it, don't read it.

Oh, Brother

Prologue

After more than a decade fighting demons, imagine their surprise when the end of the world was caused by humans. Ok, so maybe they weren't that surprised, but it was a real kick in the ass that it was something they couldn't stop; by the time people knew what was happening it was already too late. Zombies! They were in a freakin' zombie apocalypse. According to Giles, they weren't really zombies because there was nothing mystical about them…but toe-may-toe, toe-mah-toe as far as Xander was concerned. If it looked like a zombie, smelled like a zombie, and tried to eat you like a zombie…then by gods it was a zombie.

For the most part, they had been lucky when the outbreak started. The core group had been in Cleveland, on a rare occasion when they could all be in the same place at the same it. No one knew what was happening when the news reports started. Two of the new slayers, who had just been cleared for patrols, went out to see what they could find; they didn't come back. Buffy and Faith had taken four other slayers with them to find the missing girls…they wished they hadn't. They didn't know what happened for sure, but judging from the mass amount of bodies found a short distance away, it looked like the new slayers had been swarmed. They found what was left of the girls wandering a few blocks away from the piles of bodies.

Buffy and Faith were worried the girls would still be slayers, with all of their gifts, in the zombie bodies. It took a bit of trial and error, but they realized the brain had to be destroyed…beheading wasn't enough. Luckily, when the girls died the first time, their powers went with them, so zombie slayers were not a worry. They found Cleveland was already devastated by this point, if anyone was still alive they weren't showing themselves at the time. While making their way back to the Cleveland house, they noticed something odd. The zombies would attack anything moving, except Buffy and Faith. If they had not been there, the other four girls would never have made it back.

Buffy explained what they had discovered when they made it back to the house. Giles thought the dead ignoring Buffy and Faith may have something to do with them being the last called slayers. He hypothesized that part of the basic instincts that were active in the dead recognized Buffy and Faith as a danger. The next few hours were spent with everyone walking along the gates to the Cleveland house, safely behind the fences. The dead tried to attack anyone who got close to the gate, except those who had been in Sunnydale during the final battle. Anyone who had been in Sunnydale could walk into the middle of a horde and be completely ignored. Except Xander, they actually seemed to run from Xander. Giles had to come up with a new hypothesis.

There were no books about what was going on, and with all of the Council's resources gone, or unreachable, the best they could do was make a guess. The best they could come up with was that when the seal in Sunnydale opened, they were all flooded with the energy of the hell dimension…making their energy just different enough for the zombies to not see them as food…possibly seeing them as already dead with all of the death energy the Hellmouth radiated. In Xander's case, it was decided it was just a matter of Xander being Xander…all of the things that had happened over the years with the hyena possession, being imbued with mermaid DNA, the funny syphilis, had all combined to make him seem different. Giles thought it was the minuscule mermaid taint remaining that caused the zombies to seem to run away from Xander; the dead sensing something that would be a bigger predator than them.

They made plans and set about securing several blocks around the slayer house for survivors to shelter. The Sunnydalers worked to set up barricades, since they could move freely without fear of attack. The other slayers at the house were sent out in small groups with at least one Sunnydaler with them to gather supplies, most often Xander so he could act as a repelling magnet as an extra precaution. Thanks to their ability to literally walk down the street swinging an axe without fear, Buffy, Faith, Xander, Giles, Dawn, Andrew, Vi, Rona, Kennedy, and Willow were able to clear ten blocks in every direction, which included a park, and barricade it in a little over two weeks. Patrols were set and any dead that made it through the barricade were quickly dispatched and the weakness repaired. Once areas were secure and the barricade finished, Giles, Andrew, Dawn, and Willow walked the entire perimeter adding magical protections, which put an end to the occasional breach in the walls.

The next several weeks were spent scavenging everything they could and creating the largest stockpile possible. They went through the city in a spiral, going through all of the buildings closest and moving further and further out. Plans were made to turn the park into farm land, every book on farming that could be found was brought to the compound; trips outside of the city to the surrounding areas were planned for crop seeds and a search for any livestock that may have survived…more books on animal care and how-to meat processing were brought to the compound. Occasionally, they would find survivors and bring them back to the encampment.

Six weeks after the end of the world, the slayers and remaining council had a secure compound that was on its way to being self-sufficient. The empty buildings were filling with the few survivors they were finding, and a safe community was being established with slayers as protection. The Sunnydalers were getting anxious though and set up a meeting. Faith, Vi, Rona, and Kennedy were getting restless, their inner slayer screaming at them that there were other people that needed them, while Buffy seemed to have become focused on Cleveland and protecting the area. It was decided Buffy and Giles would remain in Cleveland with the non-Sunnydale slayers for now. With Cleveland being a bit safer thanks to the Scoobies, the new slayers would make runs as needed around the area, getting as many supplies as possible and help to establish a point of safety for the northern United States.

Kennedy, Willow, Rona and Andrew were going to head west, helping as many people as they could in that direction and setting up another safe zone somewhere around Nebraska. After much yelling from Dawn refusing to stay in Cleveland, it was decided she and Faith would head to the northeast, informing people of the safe zone they had set up in Cleveland and helping as many people as possible. Faith said she had some people in Boston she needed to try to find. Xander and Vi were going to head south; Xander's repelling ability being the tradeoff for not having any magical support. At Vi's suggestion, they were going to work to set up a safe zone in Georgia. Once Faith and Dawn had covered as much of the northeast as they could, they would work their way down the coast and join up with Xander and Vi in establishing a new zone. Buffy had whined a bit about wanting Dawn with Xander since the dead would move in a different direction when they sensed him, it was better than just being ignored. Xander was quick to point out that there had to be a non-slayer present…there were going to be humans far worse than the dead now, and a slayer still could not hurt humans. Buffy had argued they needed to save all humans, but Giles quickly sided with Xander. Buffy deflated, remembering the humans they had faced before that were just as bad as or worse than the demons they were fighting; and disaster would either bring out the best or worst in people. She didn't like it, but admitted if Dawn couldn't be protected by Xander's repelling talent, then Faith was the next person she would want protecting her sister.

They hated that they were not able to cover more area, but they were going to try to help as many people as they could with their limited resources. Once the two new safe zones were set up and established, they would send the new Slayers to those areas, allowing the Sunnydales to again set out to cover more territory. It was a lofty plan, and they knew it was going to take years, but after all of this time not one of them could even consider just sitting in one spot and doing nothing to help the people still out there.

The next three days were spent preparing to head out. The most fuel efficient cars, that could still carry the supplies they would need, were selected. Clothes, food, water, weapons, and gasoline were shoved into every possible space available. They even had things stored in fender wells and in the door walls. The magic users cast glamours and etched ruins to hide what was really in the cars. It would not be good to make them targets for the less than ethical survivors that were sure to now be roaming. Protections were set to ensure no one was ever able to siphon gas from the tank, and no amount of hotwiring would be able to start the car without the specially charmed keys. Giles and Willow worked to create magical pendants that would allow the various groups to communicate when activated; they would need to stay in touch as they set up new areas and moved around the land. They spent the final night together as a family, eating, drinking, and sharing their happiest stories. The next morning tearful goodbyes were exchanged as everyone set out on journeys that they knew would keep them from their loved ones for months and possibly years to come. But, this was to important not to do.

Chapter One

They had been on the road for about two weeks now. They headed south from Cleveland, passing through Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. They had come across a few people along the way, telling all to head towards Cleveland, and just to say Xander and Vi had sent them. Xander had suggested spending more time in the areas looking for more survivors, but Vi seemed to be filled with an uncontrollable need to get to Georgia as quickly as possible. She reluctantly conceded to taking the slower back roads that would allow them to cover more than just the straight stretches the highways would provide. They made it into Georgia early the day before. They had been traveling along the edge of Atlanta when they had heard an explosion and could see huge plumes of smoke billowing into the air. They didn't stop. That much noise would attract too many of the dead. If there had been people there, they would have been overrun before Xander and Vi had a chance to get to them. They had continued south and stopped overnight outside of the city.

They left the car on the side of the road a few miles back before heading into the woods. Xander had insisted that as much as he liked his Twinkies, even he was not able to live on the salty overly-processed canned…stuff…that was Spam. He couldn't even call it meat. Xander insisted they had to find some real food. Thanks to his time in Africa, he had no problems hunting for his meals and cleaning and cooking them over an open fire. Xander offered to show Vi what he knew…as much as he could, the woods of Georgia were quite different than the plains of Africa.

"My brother showed me some stuff…before…before the Council came and took me away," Vi whispered, a melancholy tone in her voice.

"Ah, and is this brother the reason you've had your pants on fire, and mine, to get to Georgia?" Xander asked knowingly, glancing at the red-haired young woman out of the corner of his eye.

"Maybe…" Vi hedged, beginning to fidget nervously.

"You could have told us, you know. We would have understood, and maybe we could have made it here sooner. Faith even said she had people in Boston she wanted to find."

"I know. But, we all…we all have family scattered all over, everyone wants to find them. But, we're Slayers, we have to protect as many as we can. We had to secure Cleveland and get it set as a rallying point before we could do anything else. And, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I had just come straight to Georgia and didn't stop and help all of those people we found. That family in Kentucky would be dead right now if it wasn't for us…they had a baby. We have a mission, which has to come first…just…"

"You just really want to find your brother," Xander said softly. "I understand. So, tell me about him. What's he like?" Xander stopped them beside a creek, sitting on some rocks by the shore.

"Brothers actually," Vi began, settling beside Xander and pulling some water bottles from the pack she was carrying. They laid their weapons on the ground between them within easy reach.

"Well, tell me about your brothers then," Xander encouraged, giving the girl an understanding smile.

"They're both older than me…quite a bit older actually. Their mom had died in a house fire…our dad wasn't a very good guy. He was a stereotypically drugged-out prejudiced redneck. Mean, beat on my brothers. My mom was a 'girlfriend' and got pregnant. She was just as bad as him. My oldest brother was already out of the house, he'd been in and out of juvvie and ended up joining the military. My younger brother though, he took care of me. He was twelve when I was born. I don't remember a lot from that time, but everything I do remember, he was the one taking care of me. He would take me in the woods with him when he'd go hunting…or just go to get away from our dad. The Council showed up when I was five. He was out in the woods. Dad didn't care, just told them to take me, so he'd be rid of a useless mouth to feed…not that he ever fed me. So, they took me…I didn't get to say goodbye."

"The Council were dicks, and it sounds like you dad was too," Xander slung an arm around her shoulders. "How can you be sure he's still in Georgia? That was a long time ago…maybe he moved on."

"I tracked him down a few months ago," Vi admitted. Xander bumped her shoulder and grinned at her. "He was such an ass…didn't believe I was who I said I was at first. So, I kicked his ass and proved it." Xander snorted at this. "He was living with our brother…who was in lockup for thirty days for whatever, so it was just the two of us, like it used to be. We went to see our brother. Even after being in lock up for two weeks he was still drugged out of his head. He had no idea who I was, claimed he didn't remember having a sister. Said I was lying to get his brother to take care of me. We left. I'm not sure if I want to find Merle or not. He wasn't there when I was little…and he's such a dick. But, Daryl and I…we re-bonded. I had missed him so much. Xander, I…I told him everything."

Xander nodded. "Figured you had, or were going to ask to bring him into the fold. How'd you get him to believe you about the vampires and demons…oh my?"

"We went into the woods and I tracked a chupacabra that had been killing the local livestock. Killed that. Introduced him to a Nii'sha demon that was living in a cave we found. He had a fit about his baby sister being involved in stuff that was too dangerous for her…so I lifted the front end of his truck over my head for him," Vi grinned mischievously. "I was going to have him come up in a couple of months…introduce him to everyone…but then this."

"Yeah, this. So, where do we need to start looking? What part of Georgia was he in?"

"We've actually already made it past where they had been staying." Xander gave her a shocked look and started to open his mouth. "No, it's ok. I can't explain it, but I knew he wasn't still there. I can feel him…"

"Feel him?" Xander questioned.

"Yeah, I can't explain it. I've just had this feeling that he was this way…something kept pulling at me. Now, I don't know exactly where he is, but he's close. I can feel him. I don't think our brother is with him, but I was never close to Merle so I don't know if I would feel anything regarding him or not."

"Well, alrighty then. If the inner slayer says find him, we'll find him." Xander declared. Vi gave him a relieved smile. "So, what should I be looking for? What's he look like? Is he cute?"

Vi giggled. Xander grinned at her…mission accomplished. "I'm not sure how he would react to you asking if he is cute. He didn't have a girlfriend though…so maybe. It wasn't something I asked about. He's about your height, blondish brown hair. He's built like you before Sunnydale fell in…you know, before you went and got all African wilderness buff on us." She shoulder bumped him.

"Nothing like walking all over Africa, fighting for your life to get rid of the fat and build up the muscles," Xander nodded sagely. There was suddenly the sound of leaves crunching and something running towards them. They grabbed their weapons and pointed them in the direction of the sound.

A young girl, no more than twelve or thirteen, broke through the woods a few feet from them with one of the dead quickly following behind her. Vi jumped up and immediately dealt with the zombie. Xander grabbed the little girl and pulled her away, trying to calm her down.

"Shh…shh. It's okay. We won't hurt you. Are you okay? What's your name?" Xander ran a calming hand up and down her back.

Vi knelt in front of the girl, getting the girl to focus on her. "Hey sweetie. You're okay. I promise. We'll protect you, we won't hurt you. Where did you come from?"

The little girl got her breathing under control. He looked at her saviors and tears began to run down her cheeks. "I'm Sofia…and I want my mommy."