Disclaimer: I do not own any series mentioned in this story.
Author's note: I keep having new ideas cranked out from my head. This one came particularly from what would happen if you mix the Buffyverse with iCarly/Victorious and a book series known as the Vampire Huntress Series. The series follows vampire and demon lore along with spirituality combined with an action adventure series set in urban settings. But for anyone new to it, it is full of urban/hip-hop slang so don't let that be a deterrent. Anyway, the main idea is that you mix the series together and you get an encounter that's as bad as mixing oil and water. You'll see why. Also, for anyone who is a fan of Buffy, this is not bashing, nor is it me hating her character. But it is a realistic look at not just her character but other character's decisions. Thank you and enjoy.
En-route to Bushwell Plaza
Seattle Washington
February 2009
Freddie Benson raced home as he tried his best to avoid the paparazzi that was hot on his heels. It had been working his nerves the entire day as he had simply given his opinion that Lucas Cruikshank, a.k.a. Fred, was not funny to him. He figured that he shouldn't have been surprised that people were people were taking everything out of context. However, he was shocked that Fred had actually decided to stoke the fires even more by declaring that he was no longer making videos. As he reached the plaza, he rushed inside and quickly made it to his apartment. He heard the door to the Shay residence open behind him.
"Freddie, we have to talk," Carly called behind him.
"Not now Carly," the tech producer replied.
"Now!" Carly said as she forcefully dragged Freddie into her apartment, where Sam was waiting at the counter by the desktop computer. She turned and glared at the thorn in her side.
"This wouldn't be happening if you kept your mouth shut, nub!" the blonde. Freddie had had enough and decided that he was sick of the treatment he was getting.
"If he wants to be a little bitch about it, that's his fucking problem. All I did was give an opinion, which no one would be raking either of you two over the coals for! Besides, anyone outside of Seattle and with half a mind doesn't think the guy is funny either. So don't go acting high and mighty just because he's being a whiny brat!" the brunette boy said to the two girls. Carly and Sam could not believe that he had not only stood up for himself but that he also that he would speak to them in such a manner. A ping sounded off on the Shay's computer and Carly decided to check before an argument broke out.
"It's from Lucas. He said he's willing to meet us over at his house in...Shelby, Idaho?" Carly said.
"If we can get this over with, why not?" Sam said.
"We'd better get Spencer so he can drive," Carly said.
The three teens and the accompanying man-child arrived at the Cruikshank home and headed to his tree house. As they climbed inside, they were greeted by the blonde, male web star as with him smiling at them.
"Welcome to the tree," Lucas said, thinking he was funny.
"Thanks for meeting with us. We were hoping that you could start making videos again," Carly said.
"Yeah, people really love your stuff, dude," Sam spoke up. Freddie snorted and rolled his eyes as the video comments said something of the exact opposite.
"Don't worry. I'm still going to make videos," Lucas said with his smile firmly in place.
"Good. So the internet war is over," Carly said with a sigh of relief.
"I was never mad really," Lucas replied.
"What?" Freddie said as I looked on confused.
"I was never mad. In fact, this whole thing has helped you guys out too. You checked your website's traffic?" the blonde boy said.
"No," Carly said still feeling confused. Lucas typed on his computer and brought up a graph showing the rise in traffic since the "internet war" started.
"See. You guys have more views now than you did before this got started," Lucas said.
"So you'll start back making the videos?" Carly asked with a slight smile.
"Yup," Lucas replied.
"And we're okay?" Carly followed up.
"No," Lucas said, slightly smirking.
"Why?" Sam asked with a huff.
"I want an apology. From him," Lucas said directing his response to Freddie. Freddie looked on in shock before he spoke up.
"No," the tech producer said.
"No?!" Carly shouted.
"I'm not going to apologizing to some two-faced prick who set us up in a fake war. And if he did it to get more views, it's probably because he's losing fans, because newsflash: I'm not the only one who thinks you're not funny!" Freddie said. Lucas glared at Freddie in a sad attempt to intimidate him, which failed as Freddie stared right back with righteous indignation. Before either could make a move, Sam made a moved and grabbed Freddie by the arm with a tennis racket in her other hand in an attempt to try and attack the tech producer. However, unlike other times where he allowed the blonde to continually abuse him, Freddie shrugged out of her grip and pushed her away.
Sam growled as she raised the racket and charged the brunette boy. However, Freddie was far more calm as he felt something well up inside him. As Sam came closer, she swung the racket at his head which he ducked. Freddie came back up with a left uppercut to the blonde girl's jaw, which sent her into flying into the wall and knocking her unconscious.
"Dude! Not cool, that's a gi-" Lucas tried to say before Freddie strode over and knocked him unconscious as well.
"Fuck you. And fuck you too," Freddie said to Carly he climbed out of the tree house. Carly could only stare at his back in shock as she realized that she had mishandled this situation.
Guardian Compound
Malibu, California
Damali Rivera, neé Richards, woke up from a restful nap as the vision that her third eye channeled was enough to shock anyone in the house. As she sat up, she ran her fingers through her Nubian locks trying to figure who the young man was that she saw due to the familiarity of his face. Her husband, Carlos, came into the room to check on her.
"D, baby, you alright?" Carlos said to his mate.
"Yeah, baby. Got a wicked vibe just now," Damali said.
"You felt it too?" Carlos said.
"Yeah. You think Marlene and Bazz felt it?" she asked her longtime love.
"With a jolt like that, you'd have to be dead not to feel it," Carlos said, wincing at his own response as he thought of how literal it really was for the team. They had endured long, hard fought battles and losses, but had endured. The millennial old war had calm considerably since they had defeated Elizabeth Bathory and Lucrezia Borgia, who had accompanied the Antichrist in trying to wipe out the world. But the assault form the angels On High had left the dark realms weakened.
"We'd better call together a team meeting. And we need to find out who this kid was and what He means for me to have seen and felt him," Damali said before she made her way out of their bedroom. Carlos rubbed his hand over his head as he felt that this was the start of something big headed their way.
Rosenburg Residence
San Francisco, California
Willow Rosenburg nearly fell on the floor as the jolt of power she felt was phenomenal and unlike any demon she had seen before. Before she could think to call Buffy, there was a knock at her apartment door. As she opened it, she found Faith Lehane, the last true slayer called before they activated potential slayers all over the world. Willow for the most part was still uncomfortable when it came to the woman that everyone referred to as the 'dark slayer', thanks to past encounters. However, she had learned to looked past what the dark-haired girl had done as she was in no position to take the moral high road. However, the redhead witch had yet to move on from Faith taking her best friend's virginity.
"Faith. What brings you here?" she asked as she invited the slayer in.
"Hey Red. Thought I'd come by. See if you knew where Xander was," Faith said in response.
"Xander?" Willow froze as the past came back to her mind. She thought about when she learned that her best friend had lost her virginity to the dark-haired woman.
"Yeah. I should've done this a long time ago. But I wanted to talk to him about what happened when I went bad. He came to try and help me, talk me down, you know? And thinking about it now, I think he wanted to prove that he wasn't useless. And I just threw it right back in his face," Faith explained.
"Xander's never been useless," Willow replied.
"You ever tell him that? Honestly? I remember how we thought Angel went bad when Post came to town. He was ready to dust the guy if he did. But when we found Giles, I was more interested in getting the kill and trying to prove myself to you guys. But we were all played. And Buffy came out as being Ms. Top Gun," Faith said.
"Faith, it's not like we didn't try to help you," Willow began to say before she was cut off by the curt look on Faith's face.
"Xander did. But not you. The way I understood it, you wanted me locked up like an animal, and if we're telling the truth, it's because I got Xander and you didn't, even when you could've had him after your little trysts. And when I came back to Sunnydale, I saw how Xander changed. He wasn't the same guy who wasn't afraid to stand up to Buffy. And then you acted like more of her bitch than ever," Faith finished with a hard look. Willow winced as Faith's assertion had been dead on. After Willow brought a new Seed of Wonder into existence, she had taken stock of everything that happened and realized that she and Buffy were a lot alike in their decision making. Or more accurately, she had become similar to the sheep she had known in high school.
"You think that's bad, here's the clincher. I accidentally killed one guy, went bad because I couldn't trust anyone, killed one person and I turned myself in and still get treated like a leper. You go postal, killed a guy who killed your girl, which I understand. But then you tried to kill your friends same as I did. You even tried to end the world on your own. You still got the star treatment," Faith said. Willow shrank deeper inside herself. She even felt that at one time that she had deserved more punishment than the rehabilitation that Giles had given her.
"You're right. I shouldn't think I was better," Willow said. Faith smiled slightly as she let the redhead's words sink in.
"Now are you going to tell me where Xander is?" Faith asked again, causing the redhead to look at her.
Guardian Compound
Los Angeles, California
The entire Neteru guardian squad assembled inside the living room as they took in Damali and Carlos' words about what they felt earlier. For most of the squad, it would normally be difficult to take in the news, if they weren't all changed since they became guardians. They had known when any of the seers or the Neterus could see or feel something strong, it was a sign of something great headed their way.
"So you saw this kid land a punch strong enough to shatter a jawbone? Why do you think this vision was so strong?" Jose asked Damali.
"This kid might have something to do with what will happen. It's never been our place to question the events to come only to make ready for them. I-" Marlene said before she was cut off followed by another vision.
"Marlene, what's goin' on?" her husband, Shabazz asked.
"There's a girl. She's with someone. A boy. It might be the one Damali was talking about," Marlene asked before closing her third eye. Before the team could say anything else, they heard what sounded like a show going on from the laptops. As they noticed a few of the kids watching something, Damali decided to see for herself.
"Hey babies, we're having a meeting right now, could you-" Damali stopped as she looked at the screen on the laptop.
"We're watching iCarly. It's pretty awesome," a little said smiling at Damali. Damali smiled at the boy before she focused on the young man whom she guessed was holding the camera as it was pointed at himself. Her face immediately confirmed that he was the kid that was seen in her vision.
"Who the boy?" she asked.
"That's the tech producer, Freddie Benson. He's so hot," the little girl watching alongside the boy said.
"Child, you are too young to be thinking that way," Damali said as she shook her head.
"So that's him. I saw him with the girl I mentioned. Brown hair, dresses in a lot of black. The girl is here but the boy is in Seattle. He won't be completely aware of what's going on, and he may need guidance. So we're going to send one of the team. But we don't know who," Marlene said as came to stand beside Damali.
"Send me and Krissy," JL said as he had given it some thought. The rest of the team looked on in surprise.
"He's a tech producer. So he might have an interest. It's something we might have in common. We can talk to him and see what he's like," JL said. The others gave it some thought as they realized that he may have a point.
"If you're going, we should all go. This might the first sign of something bad going down. And I'm not looking to be caught on the wrong end of it," Damali said as she received nods of agreement from the house.
Ridgeway Junior High
Seattle, Washington
Three days later...
Freddie sat in his room thinking about the reactions of what had transpired over the weekend since they left Lucas' house. After arriving back in Seattle, the girls had given him the silent treatment for whatever reasons came to mind: Sam because she hates him in general and Carly because she was unsure of what to do to salvage the situation. As he scoured the internet on his laptop, he suddenly received a video chat request. The username was unrecognizable but the tech producer decided to answer either way. The screen brought up the sweet and smiling face of Shelby Marx, which had surprised him immensely as he had not yet met the girl in question.
"S-shelby Marx?" Freddie asked in astonishment.
"Yeah. That'd be me. And you're Freddie Benson. I know this is weird but it's nice to have a chance to talk to you," the champion fighter said.
"It's an honor, actually. It's not often that I get to talk to someone like yourself," Freddie said.
"Really? Someone like me?" Shelby said with a smirk.
"Someone beautiful. And kicks butt with her skills alongside her looks," Freddie replied.
"Handsome and smooth. You're making a good impression so far," Shelby threw back, with her grin still in place.
"I try my best. So, what do I owe the pleasure and honor of speaking with the MMA champion?" Freddie asked with a surprising amount of comfort.
"I wanted to say I'm sorry about what's been going on. It seems rather ridiculous that everyone in Seattle is giving you a hard time. Especially over a guy that most people don't like," Shelby said.
"Yeah, well there's not much I can do about it. The asshole actually demanded an apology from us, after confessing that the internet war was a fake, and he just wanted to get more viewers," Freddie said. Shelby blinked at his statement then sneered as she thought about what that meant.
"So because people are seeing how stupid he is, he has to pull this stunt? If I ever see that guy, I'm kicking him where it hurts," the fighter said.
"I appreciate, but it doesn't matter. I already cold-clocked him before we left. And now I'm considering quitting," he replied.
"You sure you want to do that? What about Carly and Sam?" Shelby asked.
"What about them? Sam tried to assault me for standing up for myself. Carly would've stood by and let it happen. And Gibby ditched us so that no one would lump him in with us. I was even kicked out of all my school clubs for sharing my opinion. Not much solidarity going on really," Freddie lamented as he recounted the bad things that happened to him.
"I'm sorry," Shelby said with a noticeable frown.
"It's not your fault. I should be thanking you for having my back. It's nice," Freddie said as he smiled at the champion fghter.
"Glad to do it. I'm sorry, but I have to go. Maybe we could stay in touch?" she offered.
"I'd like that."
"Awesome. I'll talk to you later. Bye," Shelby said before her image went away.
Harris Residence
San Francisco, California
Xander was returning from a much needed week-long vacation. He hadn't been himself ever since all the craziness from the supernatural world had calmed down. Their last crazy adventure from Willow planting a new Seed had left a big impression as it meant there were apparently new rules in the world as far as the supernatural was concerned. He was worried but figured that Buffy could handle it. As he approached his apartment, his found his first, Faith Lehane standing outside his door. He was shocked, and a bit annoyed at having seeing her.
"Hey Xan-Man. Been a while since I've seen ya," the dark-haired slayer asked.
"Well, it's not like I really care to go much of anywhere," he said, with a slight wince, as he knew it came out a bit more harsh than he meant. Faith frowned as she had an idea why he may have said it.
"Still mad about what Giles left me?" she asked. She remembered how Xander had given her the stink-eye when they learned what Giles had left Buffy and what he left her.
"Not really. I honestly never really was. I just never understood Giles' decision. But as I heard from Buffy, things sorta went downhill between them. But I wasn't mad at you. Not entirely," Xander explained.
"That's actually, part of why I'm here. Can we talk?" Faith asked with calm eyes. They were eyes that Xander had not seen from her and he was caught off guard by how beautiful she was, outside of her usual persona.
"Sure," he said as he unlocked and opened the door. He left his suitcase by the door and plopped down on the couch.
"So what's up?" he asked.
"I'm sorry. For everything. I'm not so good with this kind of thing. But I'm sorry about how I treated you back then. And for what I tried to do," the so-called dark slayer said.
"It's al-" the carpenter went to say before she stopped him.
"No it's not. I made amends with most of everyone else. But not you. And it was shitty of me not to do so when you're the one I hurt most," Faith said.
"What are you talking about?"
"Xander, you were the one who tried to help me the most after I accidentally killed Finch. You took the risk of coming to me, talking to me, and I threw it in your face. I didn't trust you guys much back then. I told this to Red, and she tried to deny it but I let her know that I wasn't exactly in the inner circle. And judging by the way Buffy and Red treated you, I'd say they left you on the outside unless they needed you," Faith said. Xander paused for a few moments as he didn't particularly like that portion of his past. It reminded him of how much his place always seemed to be below everyone else, until Dawn came into the picture.
"It's not like I was ever anything special. Just did what I thought I could," Xander said.
"Like when you saved me the night we had that apocalypse? Or when you saved us from that bomb exploding?" Faith said, causing Xander's eyes to widen.
"Angel filled me in. His contacts had seen it in some vision. But he never said anything to anyone else," she explained.
"I got lucky that Jack was a coward. Not like the guys would've missed me much if I was gone by that point," Xander said as he looked away from her.
"You've been carrying this for a long time. Hurt and resentment. The same things I've felt," Faith observed.
"Because it's true. Buffy was focused on nothing but Angel after he came back, she even put us in danger by keeping him from us. Didn't even know if it was Angelus at first. Willow was as much responsible for cheating as me, but then blew me off when we got caught. Cordelia hated me, and probably still did after we buried everything. Giles didn't even respect me. And it's because of us that you were even driven out and to the darkside. Again, who would miss me," Xander explained.
"Stop it. Stop it now!" Faith pleaded.
"What do you want from me? We were horrible to you. And I may as well have been the fucking leper of the group. And I shouldn't have slept with you because I made it harder for you to trust anyone. And then when Simone and Severin almost destroyed everything, it was because I betrayed everyone. They were right," Xander said.
"And how many times have you actually saved them from dying? Like that apocalypse. Or you saving Red and old girl from that troll? Or how you saved the world again from Red? And all the times you had their backs, especially Buffy's whenever she did something stupid? You've never been useless. And they were fucking wrong for making you think and feel that way. And I was wrong for taking advantage of you the way I did," Faith said as she embraced her one-time lay. She felt him stiffen at first until her returned the hug. He buried his face in the crook of her neck, and she felt tears land on her skin.
"I forgive you," she heard him say.
"And I forgive you. There's something else I wanted to talk to you about," Faith said.
"What is it?" he asked as he wiped away tears.
"Red picked up a strong power a few days ago. I told her I wanted you to come with me, but you weren't here. So I waited. I wanted to ask you to come, because I can count on you to watch my back," Faith said.
"Why not Angel?" Xander asked. Faith's expression twisted into something rather sour.
"Much as I'd trust him when the going gets tough, Angel isn't exactly the best choice. If anything, he'd try and take charge. And he's not exactly the best speaker," she explained. Xander raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"We found Drusilla in this town years ago when everything was going crazy. Turns out she had her insanity taken away and was doing good, even as a soulless demon. But Fang thought that pain made you stronger. Long story short, he killed the thing that made her sane, and she went back insane. And when I thought about it, he was pretty convinced I was a lost cause from killing Finch. I did hurt you, which I can never stop apologizing for. But He just wrote me off as some cold-blooded killer who already sank. Of course, him being in love with Buffy probably had something to do with it. Point is, he's not the one I can count on. Not anymore," Faith said. Xander thought over her words, and was actually sorry to say that he agreed. He still never forget being knocked unconscious and left on the street where he would've easily died.
"So what do we do?" Xander asked. Faith smiled at his reaction.
Author's note: Once again, for anyone thinking I'm bashing anyone, it's not the case. Although I am bashing the writers' decisions for characterizations and what they put the characters through. For example, I am not bashing Lucas Cruishank as a person. But I am bashing Dan Schneider for how he treated Freddie in the episode, considering that he tried to pass off bullying and domestic violence as being funny and alright. As for Buffy, this particular case is where Buffy and Willow as characters were put on pedestals and always treated as being better than others or how they weren't punished for decisions that negatively affected everyone. As for Angel, after a certain point, it seemed that the choices he made involving his team and others he was supposed to protect weren't right for everyone, and the example with Drusilla in the comics shows it. Point is, putting one person in charge above everyone, as opposed to someone who leads but takes real consideration for everyone involved ends badly.