Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Let alone Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
That's Joss's all the way.
Author Note: As best I can work out, this is set around the beginning of an alternate S6, the difference is that neither Glory nor Dawn showed up in S5, I figure Glory reached the monks before Dawn was created. I think everyone else is accounted for :-).
The scream came from the park. I'm really not that surprised; the park's a regular visit on all our patrols. Tonight's a bit different; no patrol, just me, walking home, alone.
I'm running to the park; I wish Buffy were here, but I haven't ever been able to ignore someone who needs help. Xander Harris, wannabe knight in shining armour; it's got worse since I discovered how badly people in Sunnydale need knights. There are two people in the park, or one person and a vampire. A young, blonde woman and very large man in leather biker gear, guess which one's the vamp.
I can't believe how cliché this is, but I've seen it a thousand times patrolling with Buffy, the man wearing leather bikers gear is clearly a vampire, the girl is about 20 years old, and probably has a boyfriend lying dead in the bushes. The vampire's too busy playing with his food to notice me as I sneak up behind him. Didn't your mum ever tell you not to play with your food? The girls staring straight at me, is she trying to get us both killed?
I rush now, bringing the stake down in his back as fast as I can, it's barely pierced his coat before it hit's something hard, and stops. His hand is round my neck faster than I can react, his face inches from my own. I can see beneath his jacket now, he's wearing chain mail, chain mail! That's cheating in my book. It comes right up to his neck; guess it'd make decapitation pretty tricky too.
I've managed to wrap my hands around the cross in my pocket; I press it into his face and get thrown to the ground for my trouble. I pick myself up as quickly as I can; I've managed to lose the cross in the process, the girls gotten away though, and it looks like he's noticed too.
"You lost me my dinner"
For the first time in my life I can't think of anything to say, what use is humour as a defence mechanism if it dries up on me now?
"You'll pay for that"
He's grabbed me again and I can't even call out as his teeth sink into my neck. He's saying something but I can't make it out. My mouth's open and something's flowing in, oh god, Willow, Buffy, I'm sorry.
"Hey, wills? Have you seen Xander today?" "No, why?" "He didn't show up to geography this morning" "He's probably ill; I'll give him a call at lunch, see how he is."
My first thought is that I should be dead, then I open my eyes and I figure I probably am. The sky is pure white; the ground is smooth and hard, like marble. When I turn my head I discover that the ground too is pure white. I get to my feet ok, I figure it should be harder without a horizon, but it seems easy enough. I'm wearing the same clothes as I was before my encounter with the vamp. I try to check out my surroundings, but everything is this same pure white, I'd say I was in heaven, but I'm just not that lucky.
"Hey Giles. What's wrong? Why are you crying?"
I don't know how long I've stood here. There's a slight breeze now and there seems to be some detail in the landscape; not much though, a shadow here and there, enough to give a sense of direction.
I'm about to start walking when I spot a shape forming in the distance, like a figure walking out of mist. As soon as I can see the figure I know I don't want to be anywhere near it. The green skin and horns mark it out as demon; but it's the yellow eyes that I recognise, eyes I've stared into a hundred times as I've dusted vampires; and it's these eyes that tell me where I am and what's going to happen to me.
So I do the only sensible thing, I run like hell. It doesn't do me much good, the demon's on me in seconds. I twist and land a punch on its face, it seems surprised and I manage to kick it off me. I don't have time to think, I push my advantage, hitting it in the face again and again. It finally lands a punch and I'm knocked to the ground. I'm back on my feet in seconds but it's holding off, it seems uncertain, I'm guessing it didn't expect me to put up a fight.
We stand off for a while, neither willing to make a move, I'm surprised, no vampire I've fought has ever acted like this; I expected the demon to be more vicious, not less. The demons scared, it's definitely scared, I can't have hurt it badly and it's much stronger than me, so why is it scared? I think my questions been answered. I wish it hadn't. There's a noise on the wind, one I recognise and it's definitely scaring the demon, it's scaring me. You see, the high pitched laughing is the sound of a hyena.
"Do you think he'll rise?" "I hope not wills, I don't care if I am the slayer; I don't think I could stake him. I mean its Xander." "I just wish Giles could find an orb of Thessla, at least then we might get him back..." "I know, and he was trying all day, but..."
So the hyenas here, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, it was too much to hope it was completely gone, right? What does this mean? The demons scared, that's good, this might even be why I'm still here, I can use this, I know it. How do I use this? The demons looking at me, he's going to attack, it's now or never. I breathe in and suddenly the hyenas in me, I'm strong and I'm hitting the demon viciously, but it's not like last time, I'm in control, he's submitting to me. I've pinned the demon down, I'm hitting him again and again, the details washing out of the world again and the demon seems less solid. Its daylight, I can tell, and I know what I have to do. I bend over the demon and dig my blunt teeth into his neck.
"Come on will, wake up, its morning, he didn't rise"
I can hear the tears in Buffy's voice; I can hear the muffled sobbing from Willow; even through six feet of soil I can hear the pain I've caused my two best friends. I'm glad. Not that I've caused them pain, far from it, I'm glad that I can still care. I think of killing Buffy and I feel tears in my eyes; I think of turning Willow and I feel sick. Unfortunately I think of drinking blood and my stomach rumbles, that's going to take some getting used to. I've also got to lie in this box until the sun goes down. It's a good job I don't have to breathe.
Author Note: As best I can work out, this is set around the beginning of an alternate S6, the difference is that neither Glory nor Dawn showed up in S5, I figure Glory reached the monks before Dawn was created. I think everyone else is accounted for :-).
The scream came from the park. I'm really not that surprised; the park's a regular visit on all our patrols. Tonight's a bit different; no patrol, just me, walking home, alone.
I'm running to the park; I wish Buffy were here, but I haven't ever been able to ignore someone who needs help. Xander Harris, wannabe knight in shining armour; it's got worse since I discovered how badly people in Sunnydale need knights. There are two people in the park, or one person and a vampire. A young, blonde woman and very large man in leather biker gear, guess which one's the vamp.
I can't believe how cliché this is, but I've seen it a thousand times patrolling with Buffy, the man wearing leather bikers gear is clearly a vampire, the girl is about 20 years old, and probably has a boyfriend lying dead in the bushes. The vampire's too busy playing with his food to notice me as I sneak up behind him. Didn't your mum ever tell you not to play with your food? The girls staring straight at me, is she trying to get us both killed?
I rush now, bringing the stake down in his back as fast as I can, it's barely pierced his coat before it hit's something hard, and stops. His hand is round my neck faster than I can react, his face inches from my own. I can see beneath his jacket now, he's wearing chain mail, chain mail! That's cheating in my book. It comes right up to his neck; guess it'd make decapitation pretty tricky too.
I've managed to wrap my hands around the cross in my pocket; I press it into his face and get thrown to the ground for my trouble. I pick myself up as quickly as I can; I've managed to lose the cross in the process, the girls gotten away though, and it looks like he's noticed too.
"You lost me my dinner"
For the first time in my life I can't think of anything to say, what use is humour as a defence mechanism if it dries up on me now?
"You'll pay for that"
He's grabbed me again and I can't even call out as his teeth sink into my neck. He's saying something but I can't make it out. My mouth's open and something's flowing in, oh god, Willow, Buffy, I'm sorry.
"Hey, wills? Have you seen Xander today?" "No, why?" "He didn't show up to geography this morning" "He's probably ill; I'll give him a call at lunch, see how he is."
My first thought is that I should be dead, then I open my eyes and I figure I probably am. The sky is pure white; the ground is smooth and hard, like marble. When I turn my head I discover that the ground too is pure white. I get to my feet ok, I figure it should be harder without a horizon, but it seems easy enough. I'm wearing the same clothes as I was before my encounter with the vamp. I try to check out my surroundings, but everything is this same pure white, I'd say I was in heaven, but I'm just not that lucky.
"Hey Giles. What's wrong? Why are you crying?"
I don't know how long I've stood here. There's a slight breeze now and there seems to be some detail in the landscape; not much though, a shadow here and there, enough to give a sense of direction.
I'm about to start walking when I spot a shape forming in the distance, like a figure walking out of mist. As soon as I can see the figure I know I don't want to be anywhere near it. The green skin and horns mark it out as demon; but it's the yellow eyes that I recognise, eyes I've stared into a hundred times as I've dusted vampires; and it's these eyes that tell me where I am and what's going to happen to me.
So I do the only sensible thing, I run like hell. It doesn't do me much good, the demon's on me in seconds. I twist and land a punch on its face, it seems surprised and I manage to kick it off me. I don't have time to think, I push my advantage, hitting it in the face again and again. It finally lands a punch and I'm knocked to the ground. I'm back on my feet in seconds but it's holding off, it seems uncertain, I'm guessing it didn't expect me to put up a fight.
We stand off for a while, neither willing to make a move, I'm surprised, no vampire I've fought has ever acted like this; I expected the demon to be more vicious, not less. The demons scared, it's definitely scared, I can't have hurt it badly and it's much stronger than me, so why is it scared? I think my questions been answered. I wish it hadn't. There's a noise on the wind, one I recognise and it's definitely scaring the demon, it's scaring me. You see, the high pitched laughing is the sound of a hyena.
"Do you think he'll rise?" "I hope not wills, I don't care if I am the slayer; I don't think I could stake him. I mean its Xander." "I just wish Giles could find an orb of Thessla, at least then we might get him back..." "I know, and he was trying all day, but..."
So the hyenas here, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, it was too much to hope it was completely gone, right? What does this mean? The demons scared, that's good, this might even be why I'm still here, I can use this, I know it. How do I use this? The demons looking at me, he's going to attack, it's now or never. I breathe in and suddenly the hyenas in me, I'm strong and I'm hitting the demon viciously, but it's not like last time, I'm in control, he's submitting to me. I've pinned the demon down, I'm hitting him again and again, the details washing out of the world again and the demon seems less solid. Its daylight, I can tell, and I know what I have to do. I bend over the demon and dig my blunt teeth into his neck.
"Come on will, wake up, its morning, he didn't rise"
I can hear the tears in Buffy's voice; I can hear the muffled sobbing from Willow; even through six feet of soil I can hear the pain I've caused my two best friends. I'm glad. Not that I've caused them pain, far from it, I'm glad that I can still care. I think of killing Buffy and I feel tears in my eyes; I think of turning Willow and I feel sick. Unfortunately I think of drinking blood and my stomach rumbles, that's going to take some getting used to. I've also got to lie in this box until the sun goes down. It's a good job I don't have to breathe.
