Jesse had no idea what was happening but he knew it was something bad. Just a few minutes ago he'd been having one of the best nights of his life. He'd run into Darla, who was beautiful and funny and seemed to really like him. It was almost enough to make him forget about Cordelia. She was just a girl but Darla was all woman. But then they'd been making out and he felt a sharp pain in his neck and suddenly he was bleeding everywhere. It was all a bit of a blur after that. Darla had taken him to a crypt and then Willow and Xander were there and the new girl and some guy dressed like a 70's throwback had turned into dust. Now he was running for his life (or trying to anyway) Willow and Xander holding him up while they were chased by a huge crowd of people with fangs. Try as they might, they hadn't been able to outrun them and soon the three of them were separated. As Willow and Xander were dragged away, Jesse saw Darla amidst the crowd. She reached out to grab him and he hadn't the strength to resist. Before she could take him away though, she suddenly retreated. Jesse looked up to see the new librarian, holding up a cross.
The librarian extended his hand and Jesse gratefully took it. After a few tries he managed to get to his feet. He looked around him to find that the strange people (were they people? People didn't have fangs) had all gone. Willow and Xander were also stumbling about and brushing themselves off. The new girl (Buffy. That was her name) was walking towards them.
"Are you alright?" asked the librarian. Jesse nodded his head. The librarian inspected his neck "you've lost a fair deal of blood. But I don't think it'll be fatal, it's already beginning to clot"
He called out to Buffy "are there any vampires left? Can you see where they've gone?"
"Nope" she called back
Jesse walked over to Willow and Xander
"Hey, are you two okay?" he asked
Willow said nothing but Xander responded.
"No Jesse, I am not okay! On an okay scale of one to ten I'm a -100. What the hell happened?"
###########################################################################
It was a few hours later and they'd been taken to the high school library. Jesse sat next to Xander and Willow, with a plaster covering his neck wound. The librarian (whose name turned out to be Giles) stood to their front. He began talking to them.
"The world is older than any of you know. And contrary to popular mythology it did not begin as a paradise. For untold aeons, demons walked the earth. They made it their home, their hell. But in time, they lost their purchase on this reality. The way was made for mortal animals, for, for man. They left only a few vestiges behind. Certain magicks, certain creatures."
"And vampires" Buffy finished.
Xander began talking now "okay, see this is where I'm having a problem. See we're talking about vampires. We're having a conversation that has vampires in it"
Jesse stood up, rubbing his neck. He began to speak.
"Well, the thing is Xandman, either we're dealing with vampires or were dealing with the biggest rabies outbreak in Sunnydale's history. And I'm not sure which is worse"
Buffy replied "Jesse's right. Vampires are real and it's no good living in denial. I was the same way when I first saw one. I was like "ooh, maybe he just needs a facial" and" ooh maybe he's just got rabies" and then they started trying to kill me"
"I need to sit down" said Willow in a distressed voice.
"You are sitting down" Buffy replied.
"Will, breathe" said Jesse "we're safe now"
"Yeah" said Xander "they're gone now, right?"
###########################################################################
Deep below Sunnydale High, there were two beings who were shuffling their way through the dark, foreboding tunnels. One of them was an attractive blonde woman- the other was a large man, with a brutish face. Both of them were nervous, afraid that their failings would lead them to be punished.
Finally they came to their destination. They were standing in the remains of what used to be a church, although it was now being used for a very different purpose. Nevertheless the crosses and religious icons that remained disgusted and scared them, so they avoided them wherever they could.
No item of worship, however could be nearly as scary as their Master. He stood before them, his face a thing beyond humanity. A human might find it grotesque and ugly, a perversion of the human form but to the pair of vampires his features showed merely that he had grown beyond the weak and inferior human form. He surveyed his surroundings for a few minutes and then began to speak, his voice dripping with contempt.
"Now I know that this language is not my mother tongue. But I have grown to be quite proficient in speaking and understanding it and I hoped that the meaning of "get me some offerings" was perfectly clear to you both. Apparently I was wrong. Unless you have grown to be hard of hearing in your old age"
He continued "for decades I have been trapped here, imprisoned within this house of….. Worship" the last word he spat out, as if it were a disgusting swearword "my ascension is almost at hand. Pray that when it comes…. He reached out to Darla and suddenly grabbed her roughly by the neck "I'm in a better mood"
Darla cried out "master, forgive me! We had offerings but they were taken from us. There was trouble, a girl"
"She speaks truth" Luke chimed in "the girl fought well and she knew of our breed. I believe she may be-"
"The slayer" finished the Master "what proof have you of this?"
"Only that she fought me and yet lives" replied Luke.
"Hmm, very nearly proof enough" said the Master "I can't remember the last time that happened"
"Madrid, 1846. He caught me sleeping."
"She mustn't be allowed to interfere with the Harvest"
"I would never let that happen!"
"Don't worry about it" said the Master "it has been mere months since the last slayer died. This one shall be young and scarcely trained. Whatever happens she will fall. If she fails to find us before the Harvest is complete, she will perish along with the rest of the human plague. If she should find us beforehand, then our numbers shall easily allow us to destroy her. And should she interfere with the Harvest as it is occurring…" he turned to Luke "you have grown strong, my young disciple. And you shall grow stronger. She will be no match for you"
###########################################################################
Jesse was really starting to hate the Sunnydale High library. Like any self-respecting high schooler he'd avoided it like the plague beforehand of course but it took several hours of sitting in it and looking through old books full of creepy stuff to get a real handle on the dislike.
Xander and Buffy were reading through entirely different old books full of creepy stuff. Willow was lucky enough to get to surf the internet for old creepy stuff. Giles was writing on a whiteboard. After a few minutes he stopped writing and put his pen down.
"Aah" he said "that's rather worrying. I do believe I know what the vampires are after"
"So what is it?" asked Jesse "why the heck would a bunch of vampires want to come to Sunnydale of all places?"
"They came cause it's built on a mystical who's it" said Buffy "isn't that right Giles?"
"Yes, yes that's right" said Giles "this town is built on a portal to another place. The first Spanish settlers called it "La Boca Del Infiernio" which translates roughly as "the mouth of hell". Now, back in the 1930's a very old, very powerful vampire known as the Master came to this town. His goal was not to feed but to find the portal and open it"
"Bring the demons back" said Buffy.
"End of the world" said Xander
"But he blew it!" said Willow excitedly "or at least, there was an earthquake that swallowed half the town and him with it"
"Opening dimensional portals is a tricky business you see" said Giles "chances are, something went wrong during the ritual and he was stuck between dimensions, like a cork in a bottle"
"So this blood ritual thingy is trying to get him out?" asked Jesse.
"The er, Harvest yes" said Giles "the Master will choose one of his victims to act as his vessel. The vessel will devour a large number of victims and this will feed the Master. Eventually it will make him powerful enough to escape, open the Hellmouth and destroy the world"
"Sounds like we'd better stop this thing" said Xander.
"There's no "we" said Buffy "you guys have already done enough for me. I'm the slayer, not you. You should stay at home, keep out of trouble"
"Buffy, this is our home" said Willow "more than that, it's our planet. You can't expect us to just sit back and do nothing while everything we know is in danger. If the world ends, we'll all die anyways"
"Absolutely" said Jesse.
"Hear, hear" said Xander.
"Alright, fine" said Buffy "you guys can come. But don't blame me if you get yourselves killed" she turned to Giles "any word on where this is going down?"
"There are a number of possibilities…" he replied.
"It'll be the Bronze" said Xander "it was last time. Loads of tasty young morsels there"
"Then we'd better get there as soon as we can" said Giles, grabbing his coat "it's not long before sundown. But first-" he drew a three pointed star on the whiteboard "this is the symbol that the vessel will wear. If you kill him, then the Harvest is over"
"So I dust anyone sporting that symbol and no Harvest? Cool" said Buffy "I gotta make a stop first though"
"What for?" asked Giles
"Supplies"
###########################################################################
It was about half an hour later and the five of them were at the Bronze, waiting for the vampires to come. Jesse and Xander were sat next to each other on stools, drinking Coke. Willow, Buffy and Giles were all at different parts of the Bronze, watching for the vampires' entrance.
"Y'know I kinda wish the vampires would just arrive already and get it over with" said Xander "I swear, the tension is gonna kill me before they get a chance to"
"Yeah, I agree" said Jesse absentmindedly "hey, do you reckon I should go and ask Cordelia to dance?"
Xander gave a long- suffering sigh "Jesse, man, you've gotta stop with this Cordelia thing. I know she's hot and all but she's a serious witch. I don't know why anyone would want to date her. And besides, this is starting to get a little stalker-y"
"I know, I know" replied Jesse "it's just every time I promise myself I'll get over her, I'll see her again and she's so gorgeous… but anyways, this could be our last night on Earth, couldn't it? It's now or never"
"You should try that on her" said Xander "see how far you get"
"Nice idea man" said Jesse "I'll give it a go"
Fortunately for all involved, Jesse's desire for punishment was thwarted by the arrival of a big crowd of vampires.
They came in, pushing the doorman along with them. Luke stood at the front of the gang. The last one came in and shut the door behind him. One of the vampires went to the upper level. Another one found the main power switch and turned it off.
A great panic erupted across the club. Xander and Jesse rose up from their seats, Xander carrying a stake and Jesse a cross.
Luke came up to the stage he said in a deep, booming voice "ladies and gentlemen, there is no cause for alarm. Actually there is cause for alarm. It just won't do you any good" the crowd screamed as they saw his face and he gave a nasty laugh.
Suddenly Buffy was there. She ran up to the stage and staked the two vampires holding the doorman, who ran as fast as his legs could carry him.
"You're PSA's suck" she said to Luke "but don't worry, I'll give you an emergency of your own"
Luke growled and ran towards her "slayer!" he snarled and then he attacked.
Giles, Jesse, Xander and Willow went to the back door and struggled to get it open. After a few minutes of struggle, they succeeded and began guiding people out.
"We've got to get the front door open as well" said Giles "Jesse, Xander"
The pair of them ran towards the door but found themselves blocked by Darla and another vampire.
"Jesse" she said "you don't call, you don't write, anybody would think you don't care about me at all" with her twisted, corpselike face and a mouth full of fangs, Jesse was at a loss to think of why he used to think she was beautiful.
Xander ran towards her with his stake but a single swipe of her arm sent him flying. Jesse held up his cross as she advanced towards him. For a second she stopped in her tracks but then the other vampire came up from behind Jesse, knocking him flat on his back. The cross flew right out of his hands.
Darla climbed on top of him, pinning him to the floor "don't worry, handsome" she said "this won't hurt a bit. In fact I seem to remember you quite enjoyed it last time" Jesse struggled to break free but he knew it was futile. Darla's fangs were going to sink into his neck for a second time. Buffy had only bought him an extra day of life.
Then, suddenly Darla screamed and ran and the other vampire turned to dust. Giles and Willow stood before him, holding a stake and a bottle of holy water.
"The front door, come on!" shouted Giles as Willow helped Xander to his feet.
They all rushed there, except for Willow.
"Hold on a minute" she said "I've got an idea"
On the stage, Buffy and Luke were locked into a stalemate. Neither seemed able to get a definitive advantage, as they punches and kicks.
Willow ran up to the stage, still holding the holy water.
"Buffy, catch" she yelled and, with the enhanced reflexes of a slayer she did so easily.
"Hey, ugly!" said Buffy "you really need to moisturise more often. Here, let me help"
She threw the water in Luke's face and he screamed in agony. While he was distracted, she took the opportunity to plunge a stake into his heart.
And then it was all over.
Authors Note: This fic is the product of my bizarre fascination with the late, unlamented Jesse McNally. When I first watched Buffy I was annoyed that, despite being built up as Xander and Willow's best friend, he was abruptly killed off and then never mentioned again. I therefore decided to create this fic to give him his day in the sun, even if it is only in fanfiction.