Disclaimer – Neither universe is mine. Shocking, I know.
A/N – Written for LeDiz as her prize in the Scrib!Fic Fanart Contest. Slightly longer than the flashfic I promised, but it wouldn't have made sense otherwise. Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Sonic the Hedgehog crossover, set in the SatAM universe.
Hero
© Scribbler, May 2008.
You're the hero
We've been waiting for;
You have done the impossible.
-- From Hero by Bethany Dillon
Buffy brought the broken branch up into her opponent's ribcage, forcing it in so hard it went straight through and burst out the other side. The bear arched back, screaming, before exploding into dust. She kept hold of the impromptu stake so it didn't also disappear, using the momentum of her swing to fling it across the clearing. It punched into the heart of the badger trying to run away. It was dust before it hit the ground.
She pushed hair from her eyes and wished with all her heart for a scrunchie. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to have a hairbrush or something, would you?"
"You … y-you …" The kid she'd saved looked up at her, wide-eyed.
"Yup, me. I also answer to Buffy, though I've been known to turn around when people shout 'duck and cover'." She thrust out a hand. The kid stared at it like it might sprout teeth and also try to take a chunk out of his throat. He was bleeding, though not badly, and Buffy's tone turned gentle. "These were your first vamps, weren't they?"
"Vamps?"
"Vampires."
"Vampires really exist?"
She frowned. "I thought this part of the forest was au fait with magic. You've never heard of vampires?"
"I … we …" The kids chest went in and out like a hummingbird's. "You killed them …"
"Kind of in the job description. I'm a Vampire Slayer – last of the breed, as it happens." There used to be a whole bunch of Slayers in the old days, Giles once told her. They weren't a tribe but they came together sometimes to fight evil and save the world and junk. However, as magic was replaced by technology, those who fought against the darkness fell to it, fading out like the afterimages of a spell. Buffy was kind of proud to belong to their legacy, but it did mean she had a lot of ground to cover to pick up the slack of her forbears, and led a life where 'home' was mostly just a word in the dictionary. "I guess you could call me The Slayer. My ego has no problem being stroked." She fired off her thousand-gigawatt smile. That usually helped put yokels at ease.
"What do you want?"
She sighed. "I'm looking for some chick called Sally Acorn."
The kid's eyes were wide as new moons. "Why?"
"You know her?"
"I never said that!"
"Relax, I'm one of the good guys."
He squinted at her, showing a spark of grit she admired. This was deep in Robotnik territory. Anybody living here was strong or stupid.
"Remember who just saved your life. Does that sound like something an enemy would do? Look, I'm all flesh, blood and fur, no robotic bits. C'mon, kid, cut me some slack. I've walked all the way from the South Continent to bring her a message."
Buffy thought of the tightly wrapped scroll in her backpack. Giles was very emphatic that only one person could open it and that Buffy should help that person perform whatever tasks were written inside. Apparently there was an ancient prophecy (she was thoroughly sick of those since they almost always left her coughing up hairballs from licking goo off her tail, but, again, they came with the Slayer turf) about some magical stones and a quest or something – she'd stopped listening after the third 'wherewithal'.
"I … guess it'd be okay to take you to her. Since you saved my life and everything." The kid stood up but cried out. Buffy immediately grabbed him before he could collapse.
"You okay?" Maybe those vamps did more damage than she'd thought. They were both on top of the kid when she entered stage left. Vampire activity in this area was supposed to be nil, so she could only presume they were part of the pack she'd decimated outside Old Mobotopia. They must have followed her.
"My tail…"
He had two of them. Buffy did a double-take, but she'd seen stranger things. One was obviously broken in a couple of places and giving him enough pain to well tears in the corners of his eyes. He refused to let them fall, however, and her estimation of him went up another notch. He couldn't be more than ten or eleven winters old, but he gritted his teeth and looked at her with the determination of someone more intelligent than his years.
"You have to wear a blindfold before I can take you anywhere."
Buffy rolled her eyes. The things she did for this job. Still, it was just a blindfold. Her natural feline reflexes were enhanced along with all her other senses thanks to her Slayer blood – she could find her way through an abandoned subway tunnel covered in smashed trains with just her whiskers. Plus her right hook had a way of miraculously finding a jaw when she threw it. Losing her sight didn't mean she couldn't defend herself.
The kid untied his bandana and tied it carefully around her eyes. "Is that too tight?" he ingenuously asked.
"Nope. Hey, what's your name? I like to know the names of creatures I've saved."
He hesitated. "It's Tails."
"Cool. Lead on, Tails. This show's been on the road for a while now and it's dying for a hot bath and a meal that doesn't involve dried food."
Fin.