Rekindling Old Flames
Cleveland was different, that was a given. They had grown accustomed to the new settings, different way of life and even the food. It had taken them months and months to travel all the way through the different states till they had reached Indiana. California to Utah to Wyoming to South Dakota to Iowa to Illinois to Indiana and finally to Ohio. They had come here for a reason and now three years on they were settled and it felt like home.
Things were different here, it was true, but there was also a sense of familiarity that always came with living on top of a Hellmouth. Demons, vampires and monsters of all kind still roamed during the night and some during the day and together they still fought them, tried to keep their numbers down as best they could.
She had found a house, a cheap house that was big enough for them all, she had had help with the money of course, not having a paying job would do that for you. The house, which was actually more like an abandoned boarding school had twelve rooms, a basement and an attic. They all lived there and it was easier that way – she wouldn't worry so much about their safety because she would be there, in close proximity.
Those who lived in the house that did have paying jobs paid for the food, the bills and anything else they needed. It was no longer about luxuries it was all about just staying alive and staying together. She wasn't about to get them separated not again.
Three years had passed since the biggest battle of her life had taken place back at the old high school. They had lost valuable members of their team back then and she was going to make damn sure that didn't happen again. The fight had changed things – she was no longer the only one, into each generation a Slayer is born didn't apply now. They had worked a spell, a huge, powerful spell that had made potentials, more than potentials but the real thing. All of them Slayers, every girl who would have been waiting, without even knowing, became a Slayer. They had evened the odds much more and now the scales tipped a little in their favour. It had been a long time coming.
Now here they were, present day, fighting evil and doing a good job. There was still danger, apocalypses now and then but they coped, they worked it out and they came together into the fray. Like a real team.
Outside help came from another group of warriors who were fighting the same cause that they were - a vampire with a soul and his friends.
They had grown older, wiser and maybe a little happier since their time back in Sunnydale when they had destroyed the town, literally.
The Slayer was in business, she and her group of comrades and now a little town in Cleveland called Flower Meadows. It was strange but the places chock full o' evil always had the cutest names.
So, everything seemed to be going their way. It wouldn't stay that way for long.
But then you already knew that.
1
Buffy kicked the vampire in the chest and watched in satisfaction as he flew backward hitting a conveniently placed mausoleum. One vampire she could take easily, after the army of Turok-han she had faced in the past it was nothing. However she wouldn't underestimate any demon, that could lead to mistakes and death, even if he was dressed in a tie-dye T-shirt.
"So, I'm wondering something" She asked brandishing her stake as the vampire looked up at her, dazed "Did you get sired in the 60's and never get over it? 'Cos that's really the only excuse for what you're wearing"
"A Slayer!" He stood "Things were good around here before your lot came. So, you're a Slayer, so what? I'll kill you"
Buffy twirled the stake and motioned him with her hand "For your information I'm the Slayer, or I was at least. The original"
"That only makes you more deserving to die" He clambered up and hissed.
"You'd think, wouldn't you? But I've died twice and I don't really want to test the theory of three times the charm" She smiled "Besides being the original Slayer only makes me more qualified to kick your hippie ass"
He growled and rushed her, like all foolish vampires did. Now if he'd been one of the smart ones he'd have ran or at least picked a different approach but no. They always picked the standard rush. Buffy sidestepped and as he rushed past grabbed his outstretched arm and used his own momentum to thrown him headfirst into a tree. The vampire groaned and she picked him up by the back of his shirt and threw him back down hard to the ground. She followed that with a kick to the back and then pressed her foot down onto his spine, keeping him just where he was.
"You know, I've known some pretty powerful vampires in my time" She said softly to him "Guys like you really let down the side"
He kicked up his leg suddenly and it hit her in the back of the knee making her tumble to the ground, surprised. She always did like a good slay, made it much more invigorating if they were feisty. Buffy was still on her knees when he grabbed her hair and yanked her back, pulling her along the ground.
"Hair pulling? I'm a girl and I don't do that!" She cried swatting at his hand.
He kicked her in the side of the head and she saw stars, Buffy didn't mind. Sooner or later this guy was gonna find the pointy end of her stick. She could have killed him a long time ago but she had been growing a little lax on her training and wanted a good fight to get her juices flowing. Compared to the army The First had come up with this guy was an ant.
"I hate you guys" He told her letting go of her hair and preparing to stamp on her face "One of you was bad enough, but a whole army? That's unfair!"
Buffy rolled out of the way as his foot came down and was up on her feet a moment later. She looked behind him and lowered her fists, shaking the hair from her face.
"Well, a whole lot of unfair is coming your way" Buffy smiled.
The vampire whirled around and his eyes widened as a group of three other Slayers stood behind him. Vi, Kennedy and Rona, previously potential Slayers were now the real thing. Each had the trademark confident grin on their faces.
"You don't like us, vamp?" Rona asked stepping forward "What have we ever done to you?"
The vampire stumbled backward in fear, Buffy completely forgotten, and he walked straight into the pointy end of her stake. His face was a picture as he exploded into a plume of dust.
"Besides that" Vi giggled.
Buffy dusted herself off and looked at them "I had him, guys. No need to go all A Team on me"
"We know, we just thought it would be fun to razz him" Kennedy laughed.
"Seen any action yourself?"
"Couple of vampires" Rona shrugged.
Vi raised her hand out of habit, even after three years, then put it down "I got a Polgara demon and one vampire at the same time"
Kennedy shook her head "Nothing for me – just itching for a good fight"
Buffy smiled "Who knows what tomorrow will bring? Let's call it a night, guys. Round up the other girls and go home"
Kennedy nodded and pulled her walkie-talkie out "Kennedy to Sam, Nadine and Willow. Return to headquarters"
"On our way"
"Already heading there"
Willow's voice came down the line "We'll be there. Hey honey"
Kennedy smiled "Hey, sweetie. How was your night?"
Buffy watched as Kennedy turned and walked off into the greenery still yapping with her sweetie. Willow had become a fully in-control powerful witch now and she was a team leader of a group of Slayers. Each group headed to a specific area and spread out in a formation doing as much damage as they could. It was a good system. She had picked up some stuff from her ex-military boyfriend Riley Finn.
The Slayer took a deep breath and followed the three girls' home. On the way through the graveyard she saw tombstones, mausoleums and other memorial statues. Flower Meadows had a lot of graveyards, not as many as Sunnydale but quite a few.
The moon was full and it made her think of werewolves, not romance and moonlit walks like it might make any other girl think. If werewolves were out she would have spotted them, probably. She smiled as she remembered Oz, Willow's old boyfriend who had conquered his wolf and now had it under control. He was out there somewhere in the world, no doubt doing good.
Buffy had known and still knew a lot of extraordinary people, Oz the werewolf, Willow the powerful witch, her sister Dawn the Key, Anya the ex-vengeance demon who had tragically died in their fight against The First, Giles her Watcher and Angel the vampire with a soul who used to be the love of her life. Still was in some ways.
Then of course was Xander, he had no special abilities but he was as special as everyone else was. He was the heart of the group; the one who kept them grounded. She had known him as long as she had known Willow and Giles and she trusted him with her life.
Then there was Robin Wood, the old principal of Sunnydale High and the son of a Slayer. He was a skilled fighter and warrior and smooth as silk.
Andrew was still with them too; no matter how much they joked about leaving him in Iowa. Buffy hadn't thought much of the boy, he had been bad at one point or at least as bad as someone who liked Star Trek and Dungeons and Dragons could be. She had started to trust him when he had helped in the last battle they ever had in Sunnydale. Everyone including Andrew was surprised he had made it out alive.
They approached the huge house with its missing bricks and graffiti tags; a large wall surrounded the outside with iron gates at the front. The place had once been upper class but now it was rusting and crumbling.
Vi pressed the button on the intercom, it crackled badly and Giles voice came down the line asking who it was.
"Vi, Kennedy, Rona and Buffy" She replied "Ready to get back into our comfy beds"
There was a short huff "Vi, we discussed this. You must use the password"
"But you know it's me" She said, frowning in confusion.
"Yes, but that's really not the point" Giles voice crackled down the line "You could be someone pretending to be Vi"
Rona laughed "Who'd wanna pretend to be her?"
"Hey!" Vi slapped her gently on the arm in protest.
"Girls! Password!" Giles said sternly.
Vi rolled her eyes and leaned into the intercom "Bloody hell"
"Thankyou" He pressed the button.
Rona pushed the gates open "We need to come up with a better password"
Buffy followed them through then shut the gates behind them; she shrugged "I like it. Familiarity"
They all looked at her and nodded to themselves, solemn. All of them knew who she meant and Buffy took a breath walking down the craggy path to the house. She did not want to rehash old memories.
She reached the front door and it was pulled open by Giles who motioned her in with a polite smile on his face.
"Good night?" He asked them all.
Kennedy shrugged "I got zero"
"Oh, well" Giles took his glasses off and polished them "No news is good news, correct?"
"Hell, no. Now I got to work out my frustrations on a punch bag" Kennedy grinned "If you need me I'll be down the training room"
With that she ran down the long corridor. The whole basement, which was large, had been converted into a training room for all the Slayers that lived there or stopped by now and then. Everyone was welcome here, everyone on the right side. Sometimes they would get Slayer's coming from all over the world having heard about the place, which they had named The Slayer Sanctuary. Buffy had thought that was funny but accurate.
Buffy and the other girls shrugged their coats off and hung them up and Vi and Rona went upstairs to shower and get ready for bed. Buffy lingered at the door and Giles folded his arms over his chest.
"How about you? Slay at all?" He asked.
"A vamp or two," She shrugged "Nothing major"
Giles nodded and picked a piece of lint from his sweater "I sense that you're frustrated, Buffy. What's wrong?"
"Nothing in particular it just feels like...well, like we've gone back to the beginning" Buffy sighed "A couple of vampires here, a demon or two there. This is a Hellmouth and we haven't had anything big for a long time. That strikes me as wrong"
He frowned "Some people might say count your blessings"
"Well, I have few blessings so mine would be easy to count"
"Buffy, I know it might seem that now you aren't the only Slayer you're insignificant but that just isn't true. You have the most experience out of all of them barring Faith"
"I just think that if we get use to it being this easy something will come and bite us on the ass while we're not looking. Maybe literally" Her eyes widened at the thought.
Giles smiled reassuringly and placed a hand on her shoulder "That's my job to look out for that. I am your Watcher"
"Your job and Andrew's" Buffy grinned.
He groaned "Must you remind me?"
"He's doing that badly?"
"No, no as a trainee Watcher he's fine" He said, "It's just that I don't understand half of what he is saying. Tribbles and Jedi's...what language is he speaking?"
Buffy walked past him "Nerd" she answered.
She walked down the long corridor to the dining room where they had bundled mismatched furniture and chairs into a large room and called it a dining room. Xander sat at the biggest tables, mumbling to himself and cursing. Buffy stealthily came up behind him and looked over his shoulder to see he was drawing on blueprints and plans.
"Just because I'm blind in one eye doesn't mean I can't hear you" Xander said.
Buffy smiled coming around to the side of him "Must be loosing my touch"
"Well, I guess all my other senses are heightened" He pointed to the eye patch over his left eye and grinning.
Xander had lost the eye thanks to The First and it's henchman Caleb the priest who had gouged his eye out viciously. Xander had coped better than most people would have.
"What'cha lookin' at?" Buffy sat down on the edge of the table.
"Plans of the town's sewer system" He said frowning, "It's thrilling reading, honestly. I'm trying to figure out where there might be some demon hide-e-holes"
"Any luck?"
He shrugged nonchalantly "Those demons haven't got a chance with my beady eye on them"
She grinned "Damn right"
Willow came through the doorway, hair tousled from the breeze outside and a flush on her cheeks. She smiled goofy at them and wandered over.
"Hey, guys" She waved.
Buffy and Xander looked at each other but it was Xander who spoke "She's got the whole rosy cheeks thing going on. Someone's been getting some lesbian lovin'"
Willow's blush increased "You're both just jealous"
"Of lesbian lovin'? Hell yes!" Xander slapped his hand down on the table.
"I can honestly say I'm not" Buffy smiled.
Willow smiled "Ooh, on patrol tonight the girls and I got a group of Largos demons"
Buffy's eyes widened "Largos? They are tough, Will. You handle it okay?"
"Yep" Willow waved her hands "Witch in control"
"I didn't think Largos hunted in packs," Buffy said.
"Usually they don't" Giles murmured walking in and sipping a cup of tea "However I'm sure that they've heard of us and are taking more precautions"
Buffy arched an eyebrow "A demon buddy system?"
"Crude definition but accurate" He nodded taking another sip.
Buffy smiled "If they're scared they're careless. Looks like a win-win situation to me"
Xander cracked his knuckles, smiling triumphantly "So, the demons of this town are finally getting scared of us"
"About time" Willow rolled her eyes.
"Indeed" Giles nodded.
Buffy looked at them "Watch out Flower Meadows"
A/N: So what did you think? This is Spuffy eventually but you have to be patient! Stick with me people!