Next Stop: The Falls

Medusa & Stheno

Chapter 1

Damon sat in this group of people, uninterested in their small talk. He wanted to take his Elena to the darkness and make her eternally his, though, she chose his brother over him. He snorted, that idiotic fool he thought as he looked over to Stefan, ignoring the questioning stares of the rest of the group.

Elena turned away from Damon, sitting comfortably in Stefan's arms; she turned to a girl with blonde hair. "So, where do you come from Buffy?" She asked casually. "Well, Dawn and I are from a town so small it's hardly even on the map, that's part of the reason why we moved here" Buffy said from her seat "and the schools closed".

"The schools closed? Why would it be closed halfway through the school year?" Caroline asked with a confused look on her face. Damon laughed slightly, "what about the rest of them?" he glanced at the group of young ladies and men standing behind the so called Buffy. They look delicious he thought to himself. Stefan glanced at Damon with warning.

"They closed because there was almost no one there and... oh, hooligans" Buffy replied. "Hooligans?" Stefan asked. "They totally trashed the school, just ask Robin" She looked at a tall, dark-skinned bald man "He was the principle of Sunnydale High".

"Hmm..." Damon said uninterested as he stood up and left the room. Walking towards the front door, he opened in quickly, letting it slam against the wall next to it. He let out a gasp of surprise when he saw the thing standing behind it. Its hand was raised to knock on the wood of the door. Its skin was sagged and falling in folds from his body. "Hi... uh... is Buffy Summers here? She's an old friend" The thing said.

"Clem!" Buffy said in greeting as she pushed past Damon, hugging the creature before her. "Why are you here?" She asked as she stepped back, walking into a dumbstruck Damon Salvatore. "What are you?" Damon asked; his voice rising as he ignored Buffy, his full attention on this thing. "Ah... he has a skin condition... it's very serious but he won't die" Buffy said quickly with a smile. "I met him through a friend of mine, who isn't here" She said, sadness clouding her words. "Aw, I heard about Spike, Come and give me a hug... again" Clem said as he wrapped his arms around Buffy.

"Won't ask" Damon said with disgust as he pushed pass Buffy and Clem, stepping into the safety of the night. "Don't mind him, my brother is a little... neurotic" Stefan said as he ushered them out of the doorway, closing the door behind them.

"Stefan, do you know any cheap, good hotels me and my friends could stay at?" Buffy asked. "Well, there are not many places to stay... This is probably the biggest so you should stay here. You'll just have to run it by Mrs Flowers. She's the land... lady?" Elena laughed, "Well, a lord is a guy so it would have to be lady". A smile stretched across her face.

"Well is she here at the moment?" Buffy said with a smile on her face, she liked this girl already. "Yeah, I'll go get her" Stefan walked through one of what seemed like a million doors.

"Mrs Flowers" Stefan called as he stepped out the back door into a well-tended garden. "Yes dear?" she asked as she looked up from the rose bush she was tending to. A straw hat had been placed neatly on her mess of grey hair. "I have some friends that would like to stay here. Could you come and meet them?" Stefan asked with a smile stretched across his face. "Yes yes" She replied as she nodded to Stefan with thanks for holding the door open for her.

Stefan followed her, slowing to close the ancient door behind them. "There's quite a few of them in there" Stefan said as they neared the front room. Mrs Flowers nodded and stepped into the room. "Hi" she greeted them with a warm smile. Giles stepped from behind the group, "Theo, Theo is that you?" He asked. Mrs Flowers smile got wider as the word "Ripper" escaped her lips. She gave him a hug, getting interrupted by Xander saying "You two know each other?" from his spot next to Willow.

"For many, many years" Mrs Flowers said before whispering to Giles "I never thought that I'd see you again Ripper". Stefan smiled warmly, "A happy reunion. So... are they allowed to stay?" "Yes, yes of course" Mrs Flowers laughed, "Stefan can show you to your rooms, by the way he's been wandering these halls he should know the place by now. I need to get back to my garden" She said walking away.

"Ok, up those stairs" Stefan said as he nodded towards a wooden staircase set in a spiral that seemed to disappear into darkness at the top. "Thanks" Buffy said as she picked up two of the heaviest bags and started up the stairs Faith followed suit. "This place is pretty old so I'd watch your step" Elena called after them while looking at her watch, "Oh shoot! I have to get home" she said as she turned to Stefan. "See you tomorrow" she smiled and waved at the rest of the people in the room before leaving, the front door coming to a silent thud behind her.

"Well… you got anything to eat?" Xander asked as his eyes fell on the spot where Elena was just standing. Willow frowned, "Can't think about anything but your stomach can you?" she asked as she punched him lightly in his arm. "Nope!" Xander beamed, his eyes lighting up as the rest of the room laughed. "Come on; let's go find you some food" Stefan said as he lead the way to the kitchen, "PB and J alright?" He asked on the way, making light conversation. "Sure" Xander replied as he followed.

"You all need to keep in shape still" Willow said as she looked towards the remaining potentials. "Just because Sunnydale went KAPOOF it doesn't mean you can slack off, now go and help Buffy and Faith or go and train, the backyard looked big enough from the view I got of it" she said as she turned and followed Xander, "I'm going to make sure he doesn't make a fool of himself". Kennedy nodded "let's go then", her brown hair bobby up and down in her ponytail.

Chao-Ahn groaned, "她想要什麼呢? (What does she want now?)" She murmured as she followed the others into the backyard, passing Willow, Stefan and Xander on the way. "Pain is your friend and not your enemy" Willow murmured as she watched them pass, reclining on the edge of the kitchen bench. Chao-Ahn sighed, "到底是什麼,她說什麼? (What the hell is she talking about?)" She murmured as she passed through the door that Kennedy held open. She was greeted by the warm sun hitting her pale skin. She smiled.

"Hurry up" Kennedy called as she hurried past the group and stood in the middle of a large grass area in the yard. The remaining potentials sighed in unison, "yes" the murmured as they formed a rouged line. Kennedy frowned, "pair up" she called as she went to stand by Colleen. "Free Sparring" she said as she fell into a back stance, Colleen doing the same. "Start!" she yelled as she blocked a kick from Colleen, returning one of her own. "Good" Kennedy said as she exhaled. Colleen smiled, ducking low.

"Don't wreck my garden now!" Mrs Flowers called from next to the rose bush as she pushed her glasses further up her nose. Kennedy paused for a second, "Don't worry" she answered. Colleen took advantage of her pause and threw a punch, hitting Kennedy in the stomach. The air rushed out of her lungs, she grunted in pain as she tried to breath. "Good" she praised Colleen breathlessly, "Very good".

Buffy laughed, "Suck it up Kennedy" she called one of the million balconies. Faith walked onto the balcony behind Buffy, chuckling slightly. "Keep it up, you need to keep fit in case something happens" Faith yelled as she pulled on her jacket, the black leather shinning in the setting sun. The group grunted "we know".

Stefan, Willow and Xander stepped into the backyard. "What are they doing?" Stefan asked Willow, curious to why they were fighting each other. "Tae Kwon Do, they like to stay fit" Willow said after a pause. "Right…" Stefan said slowly. "Yes, they are total health nuts" Xander said, a huge smile was plastered on his face. "Unlike you, you're just a goof" Willow said as she looked around the yard for Clem.

"Hey Clem!" she called as she spotted him reclining on a pool chair in the shade of a willow tree at the edge of the yard. "Catching some z's?" she asked as she neared him. Her red hair was bouncing around her shoulders. "Yeah" He replied, "You don't get much when you have kittens screeching into your ears". Willow laughed, "Kitten poker?" she asked, "I really don't understand why you'd bet kittens". "Their tasty, when their not annoying that is" he replied. "Tasty? What weird sense of taste. Do you have to cook kitten before you eat it?" Willow asked as she sat against the tree, her fingers picking at the browning grass. "If you don't want it squirming around in your mouth" He replied as he closed his eyes. "Wow" Willow said as she watched the potentials.

"Kittens? You eat kittens?" Stefan asked as he walked up to them. Clem sighed, "Yes I eat kittens. What's wrong with that? Their tasty and they have a sort of crunch to them that reminds me of nuts". "I guess nothing, considering the cuisine that's appearing in the world, but I still find that a little weird" Stefan replied, his eyebrows drawn together. "Hey Clem" Willow called from where she was sitting. "Yeah?" He asked. "Don't eat Mr Kitty Fantastico" She said as her mind drifted. "I love that Kitten, he is sooo cute. I would never eat him" Clem said as he propped himself on his arm, turning towards Willow. "Good" Willow said absentmindedly.