Future Imperfect
By Noggins
Disclaimer: All this belongs to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. I'm just playing around with the characters!
Chapter One
Sunnydale - 5 years ago
"Behind you! Behind you!" Willow called out nervously at Buffy who'd just staked a vampire, reducing it to dust. The Slayer span around and landed a punch right on the nose of the vamp who had up until that second gone unnoticed. It staggered back allowing Buffy to jump up and kick it to the ground. The stake landed with almost perfect precision in its heart.
She span around to the sound of chanting. "Korah Matah..." An old vampire dressed in robes seemed to be reciting a spell while holding up a golden amulet. Despite it being night, the jewels that adorned the front of it seemed to be shining unnaturally. Buffy quickly somersaulted towards the vampire, kicking him down to the ground. The amulet rolled across the ground out of reach.
Buffy continued to struggle with the vampire as she watched the amulet moved away from them both. "Willow! Xander! Get it!" Her order was more than enough to spur Xander into action. This was it! This was his chance to prove himself to her. With a great leap he flew through the air somewhat ungracefully before landing with a dull thud on the empty ground. He looked up to see Willow holding it up.
"I... I got it!" she called over to Buffy who was still being distracted by the fight. "Um... what do I do with it?"
Buffy dug her nails into the vamp's face, pushing him away from her. "Anything! Destroy it! Gift wrap it and sent it to Uzbekistan! Just keep it away from them!"
Willow looked around nervously. "Destroy it... right... um..." She noticed a gravestone and was about to smash the charm into it before she realised her hand was frozen. As she turned her head around she found the freezing was far from mystical. Another vampire, the last of the group, was grabbing her arm tightly. She winced in pain as the amulet was wrenched from her grasp violently.
Xander ran at the vampire, trying to knock it down with force but was pushed backwards into Willow. They both found themselves in a heap on the floor as the last vampire began to recite the spell. "Korah ratamah. Korah ratamah fatah."
In the midst scuffle Buffy realised what was happening. With a sudden burst of strength she pushed the robed vampire away and dusted him quickly before running at the one casting the spell. The amulet began to glow magically as Buffy got closer to the younger vampire. She was seconds away from grabbing him when...
The burst of light seemed to subside slowly. Buffy staggered back, her sight returning as the tiny flashes got smaller and finally became what could be called vision. She blinked several times and lurched forward to find that the vampire was no longer there. "Guys!" she called out. "Where'd it go?"
Xander, who was still recovering from the flash looked dumbly at her. "Uh, not altogether sure. Too busy with the blindness."
"Damn it!" the Slayer exclaimed. "He must have made that flashy thing to get away!"
Willow, who was beginning to recover from Xander's fall on top of her which, although not entirely unpleasant was a little painful, finally got to her feet. "Well, a... at least we stopped the spell because, well... look... no Master."
"True," Buffy nodded. "Looks like Angel was right about them trying to raise him..."
"But why didn't he turn up?" Willow pondered. "You'd think he'd want to..."
"Enough with Angel!" Xander exclaimed. "I guess he was too afraid. Unlike me... uh, us.. who'd come along to help you any time."
"And... and fall over a lot," Willow added before Xander glared at her.
Buffy smiled a little. "But I really appreciate the... falling over."
"Yeah, because we do it so well."
"Don't be so hard on yourself, Xander. Look, I'll stay and look around for that vamp... you two head on home."
Willow grabbed Buffy's arm. "Oh no you don't. We... we've got school tomorrow and I don't want you handing in your homework late again."
"Yes ma'am," Buffy smiled. "Uh, what homework?"
"You know... the math," Xander informed her.
"The math was for last week... I... it's history tomorrow."
Both Buffy and Xander stared at Willow. "Hisory?" they exclaimed at the same time.
"Y... yes..." Willow replied a little nervously as her two friends looked at her. "You know... with the past."
Buffy shrugged as the three walked out of the cemetery. "I don't see the point in knowing about the past. I mean, wouldn't it be more useful to know what's gonna happen... It's just so depressing to dwell on all the mistakes we've made."
"Don't I know it," Xander sighed as he gazed at Buffy longingly, not really listening to a word she was saying.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Having dropped Xander and Willow off at their houses Buffy began to walk alone to her own home. She half expected Angel to pop out of nowhere and congratulate her. Congratulations would be good. She smiled thoughtfully to herself as images of Angel flashed across her mind. If only he'd actually make regular appearances...
She sighed a little as she got to her house. "Thank God for late openings," she whispered to herself knowing that her mom wouldn't be back for several hours. She put the key into the door and turned it. She tried to open it but found it was locked... which meant it must have been already unlocked. Buffy looked a little confused as she finally found herself able to enter but put it down to herself being forgetful before she left.
The stairs were right in front of her. She could easily go up and do her homework right now. Right now. Or... her attention was grabbed by the living room. She walked in and sat down in front of the TV, putting her feet up as she turned it on. "Ooh... Passions... fun..." she muttered sarcastically to herself before deciding it was probably still a better option to the homework.
It only took a few minutes before she got completely lost with the plot. Okay, she hated this but her mom watched it all the time and this wasn't right. She switched the channels and everything else seemed to be a little off.
Buffy got to her feet and walked to the kitchen. Maybe her head was still spinning from the flash earlier but something was wrong. As she walked passed the stairs there was a sound coming from above her. Grabbing a stake that was still at her side from the battle she went to investigate. "Hello?" she called out, gripping the weapon in her hand tighter. "Whoever you are come out so I can kick your ass."
"As if you could..." a voice behind her said mockingly.
Buffy span around to see a girl, about two years younger than herself, standing with her hands on her hips looking at her defiantly. There was something oddly familiar but Buffy was more concernd with getting rid of this intruder. "Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my house?"
"Your house? Buffy... what are you...?"
"Get out. Now."
"Buffy..." the girl protested. The Slayer moved forward and pushed the girl against the wall with great force. "Ow... what are you..." Tears began to form in her eyes. "Stop it... Buffy..."
Buffy let the girl fall to the floor and stepped backwards. "Tell me who you are..."
"What is wrong with you? Don't go over this again... I'm your sister..."
"Sister... don't be..." Buffy turned around to look downstairs towards the door. "Where's my mother?"
"Please... what's wrong?"
"I asked you a question!" There was fire in Buffy's eyes as she almost attacked the girl again.
"She's dead!" the girl screamed out, her eyes filled with tears of rage that matched Buffy's. "Don't do this!"
"Do what? I think... I... You're lying! You're lying about everything!"
The girl ran into the spare bedroom and slammed it shut. Buffy ran to pull it open when she saw the small sign on it. 'Dawn's Room - Keep Out' it said. Buffy touched the carved wooden letters and panicked. She did the only thing she could think of. She ran.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The house door slammed behind Buffy as she ran out into the street. The tears of anger and confusion ran down her face as she tried to push herself beyond her limits. This couldn't be true! What was wrong? Something wasn't right... but. She train of thoughts came to a stop when she ran into a figure in the dark. She staggered backwards but the other person seemed to stand upright.
"I'm so sorry... I..."
A hand reached out for her. "Are you okay?" Through the tears and night all she could make out was the feel of leather on her skin. She looked up slowly.
"Angel?"
"Not bloody likely!" The figure retorted in a strong British accent and recoiled from her touch. "What's wrong with you?"
"I wish I knew..." Buffy muttered.
"Well, maybe you should be back at home. Shouldn't be leaving little sis on her own with Glory still on the loose," he stopped to rub a bruise on his cheek. "I'm still recovering from what that bitch did to me?"
"What? Bitch? G... Glory? What?" Buffy stammered a little as she stepped away from the mysterious stranger. Suddenly, as if from nowhere, she sensed something strange about him. "You're a vampire!"
The man looked at her and winced. "Something hit you on the head or something, luv? Of course I'm a bloody vampire... now come on... you may be the Slayer but you looking a little tir...." The first thing he noticed after he fist collided with his nose was Buffy's foot heading towards his chest, pinning him to the ground. "What the hell is your problem, woman? I thought we'd got that robot thing sorted out! I'm sorry, okay! Bloody hell!"
"You're playing tricks with my head again. Just like that girl. What are you doing to me?" Buffy pointed the stake towards the vampire's heart. "Is this some dream? Is that what that spell did?"
The vampire calmly pushed the stake away from the perfect aim just above his chest. "Spell? Dream? You need help, Buffy. Maybe you better go see Giles... He'll know what... ow!"
Buffy punched him again and put the stake back in position. "Tell my why I shouldn't dust you right here and now?"
"For a start it wouldn't make much bloody sense... ever heard the term 'fair fight'?" Buffy looked confused not for the first time that night. "No?" the vampire replied to her unspoken answer. "How about 'I'm on your side now'? That means you don't try and kill me first chance you get." He pushed the stake away and pulled himself away from Buffy's grasp. "I thought we got over this last year."
"Last year?"
The vampire began to walk off. "If you're gonna be like this I'm off! I can tell when I'm not wanted... usually when there's a wooden instrument aimed at my bloody heart." He disappeared into the darkness leaving Buffy even more confused than before. What was going on? Maybe she had been given some good advice. Giles should know what to do.
TO BE CONTINUED...
By Noggins
Disclaimer: All this belongs to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. I'm just playing around with the characters!
Chapter One
Sunnydale - 5 years ago
"Behind you! Behind you!" Willow called out nervously at Buffy who'd just staked a vampire, reducing it to dust. The Slayer span around and landed a punch right on the nose of the vamp who had up until that second gone unnoticed. It staggered back allowing Buffy to jump up and kick it to the ground. The stake landed with almost perfect precision in its heart.
She span around to the sound of chanting. "Korah Matah..." An old vampire dressed in robes seemed to be reciting a spell while holding up a golden amulet. Despite it being night, the jewels that adorned the front of it seemed to be shining unnaturally. Buffy quickly somersaulted towards the vampire, kicking him down to the ground. The amulet rolled across the ground out of reach.
Buffy continued to struggle with the vampire as she watched the amulet moved away from them both. "Willow! Xander! Get it!" Her order was more than enough to spur Xander into action. This was it! This was his chance to prove himself to her. With a great leap he flew through the air somewhat ungracefully before landing with a dull thud on the empty ground. He looked up to see Willow holding it up.
"I... I got it!" she called over to Buffy who was still being distracted by the fight. "Um... what do I do with it?"
Buffy dug her nails into the vamp's face, pushing him away from her. "Anything! Destroy it! Gift wrap it and sent it to Uzbekistan! Just keep it away from them!"
Willow looked around nervously. "Destroy it... right... um..." She noticed a gravestone and was about to smash the charm into it before she realised her hand was frozen. As she turned her head around she found the freezing was far from mystical. Another vampire, the last of the group, was grabbing her arm tightly. She winced in pain as the amulet was wrenched from her grasp violently.
Xander ran at the vampire, trying to knock it down with force but was pushed backwards into Willow. They both found themselves in a heap on the floor as the last vampire began to recite the spell. "Korah ratamah. Korah ratamah fatah."
In the midst scuffle Buffy realised what was happening. With a sudden burst of strength she pushed the robed vampire away and dusted him quickly before running at the one casting the spell. The amulet began to glow magically as Buffy got closer to the younger vampire. She was seconds away from grabbing him when...
The burst of light seemed to subside slowly. Buffy staggered back, her sight returning as the tiny flashes got smaller and finally became what could be called vision. She blinked several times and lurched forward to find that the vampire was no longer there. "Guys!" she called out. "Where'd it go?"
Xander, who was still recovering from the flash looked dumbly at her. "Uh, not altogether sure. Too busy with the blindness."
"Damn it!" the Slayer exclaimed. "He must have made that flashy thing to get away!"
Willow, who was beginning to recover from Xander's fall on top of her which, although not entirely unpleasant was a little painful, finally got to her feet. "Well, a... at least we stopped the spell because, well... look... no Master."
"True," Buffy nodded. "Looks like Angel was right about them trying to raise him..."
"But why didn't he turn up?" Willow pondered. "You'd think he'd want to..."
"Enough with Angel!" Xander exclaimed. "I guess he was too afraid. Unlike me... uh, us.. who'd come along to help you any time."
"And... and fall over a lot," Willow added before Xander glared at her.
Buffy smiled a little. "But I really appreciate the... falling over."
"Yeah, because we do it so well."
"Don't be so hard on yourself, Xander. Look, I'll stay and look around for that vamp... you two head on home."
Willow grabbed Buffy's arm. "Oh no you don't. We... we've got school tomorrow and I don't want you handing in your homework late again."
"Yes ma'am," Buffy smiled. "Uh, what homework?"
"You know... the math," Xander informed her.
"The math was for last week... I... it's history tomorrow."
Both Buffy and Xander stared at Willow. "Hisory?" they exclaimed at the same time.
"Y... yes..." Willow replied a little nervously as her two friends looked at her. "You know... with the past."
Buffy shrugged as the three walked out of the cemetery. "I don't see the point in knowing about the past. I mean, wouldn't it be more useful to know what's gonna happen... It's just so depressing to dwell on all the mistakes we've made."
"Don't I know it," Xander sighed as he gazed at Buffy longingly, not really listening to a word she was saying.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Having dropped Xander and Willow off at their houses Buffy began to walk alone to her own home. She half expected Angel to pop out of nowhere and congratulate her. Congratulations would be good. She smiled thoughtfully to herself as images of Angel flashed across her mind. If only he'd actually make regular appearances...
She sighed a little as she got to her house. "Thank God for late openings," she whispered to herself knowing that her mom wouldn't be back for several hours. She put the key into the door and turned it. She tried to open it but found it was locked... which meant it must have been already unlocked. Buffy looked a little confused as she finally found herself able to enter but put it down to herself being forgetful before she left.
The stairs were right in front of her. She could easily go up and do her homework right now. Right now. Or... her attention was grabbed by the living room. She walked in and sat down in front of the TV, putting her feet up as she turned it on. "Ooh... Passions... fun..." she muttered sarcastically to herself before deciding it was probably still a better option to the homework.
It only took a few minutes before she got completely lost with the plot. Okay, she hated this but her mom watched it all the time and this wasn't right. She switched the channels and everything else seemed to be a little off.
Buffy got to her feet and walked to the kitchen. Maybe her head was still spinning from the flash earlier but something was wrong. As she walked passed the stairs there was a sound coming from above her. Grabbing a stake that was still at her side from the battle she went to investigate. "Hello?" she called out, gripping the weapon in her hand tighter. "Whoever you are come out so I can kick your ass."
"As if you could..." a voice behind her said mockingly.
Buffy span around to see a girl, about two years younger than herself, standing with her hands on her hips looking at her defiantly. There was something oddly familiar but Buffy was more concernd with getting rid of this intruder. "Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my house?"
"Your house? Buffy... what are you...?"
"Get out. Now."
"Buffy..." the girl protested. The Slayer moved forward and pushed the girl against the wall with great force. "Ow... what are you..." Tears began to form in her eyes. "Stop it... Buffy..."
Buffy let the girl fall to the floor and stepped backwards. "Tell me who you are..."
"What is wrong with you? Don't go over this again... I'm your sister..."
"Sister... don't be..." Buffy turned around to look downstairs towards the door. "Where's my mother?"
"Please... what's wrong?"
"I asked you a question!" There was fire in Buffy's eyes as she almost attacked the girl again.
"She's dead!" the girl screamed out, her eyes filled with tears of rage that matched Buffy's. "Don't do this!"
"Do what? I think... I... You're lying! You're lying about everything!"
The girl ran into the spare bedroom and slammed it shut. Buffy ran to pull it open when she saw the small sign on it. 'Dawn's Room - Keep Out' it said. Buffy touched the carved wooden letters and panicked. She did the only thing she could think of. She ran.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The house door slammed behind Buffy as she ran out into the street. The tears of anger and confusion ran down her face as she tried to push herself beyond her limits. This couldn't be true! What was wrong? Something wasn't right... but. She train of thoughts came to a stop when she ran into a figure in the dark. She staggered backwards but the other person seemed to stand upright.
"I'm so sorry... I..."
A hand reached out for her. "Are you okay?" Through the tears and night all she could make out was the feel of leather on her skin. She looked up slowly.
"Angel?"
"Not bloody likely!" The figure retorted in a strong British accent and recoiled from her touch. "What's wrong with you?"
"I wish I knew..." Buffy muttered.
"Well, maybe you should be back at home. Shouldn't be leaving little sis on her own with Glory still on the loose," he stopped to rub a bruise on his cheek. "I'm still recovering from what that bitch did to me?"
"What? Bitch? G... Glory? What?" Buffy stammered a little as she stepped away from the mysterious stranger. Suddenly, as if from nowhere, she sensed something strange about him. "You're a vampire!"
The man looked at her and winced. "Something hit you on the head or something, luv? Of course I'm a bloody vampire... now come on... you may be the Slayer but you looking a little tir...." The first thing he noticed after he fist collided with his nose was Buffy's foot heading towards his chest, pinning him to the ground. "What the hell is your problem, woman? I thought we'd got that robot thing sorted out! I'm sorry, okay! Bloody hell!"
"You're playing tricks with my head again. Just like that girl. What are you doing to me?" Buffy pointed the stake towards the vampire's heart. "Is this some dream? Is that what that spell did?"
The vampire calmly pushed the stake away from the perfect aim just above his chest. "Spell? Dream? You need help, Buffy. Maybe you better go see Giles... He'll know what... ow!"
Buffy punched him again and put the stake back in position. "Tell my why I shouldn't dust you right here and now?"
"For a start it wouldn't make much bloody sense... ever heard the term 'fair fight'?" Buffy looked confused not for the first time that night. "No?" the vampire replied to her unspoken answer. "How about 'I'm on your side now'? That means you don't try and kill me first chance you get." He pushed the stake away and pulled himself away from Buffy's grasp. "I thought we got over this last year."
"Last year?"
The vampire began to walk off. "If you're gonna be like this I'm off! I can tell when I'm not wanted... usually when there's a wooden instrument aimed at my bloody heart." He disappeared into the darkness leaving Buffy even more confused than before. What was going on? Maybe she had been given some good advice. Giles should know what to do.
TO BE CONTINUED...