Disclaimer: L.J. Smith and Kevin Williamson own The Vampire Diaries, while Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to the wonderful Joss Whedon.
A/N: So it's been a while since I've written anything, and my first foray into Buffy or TVD. Anyway, I'm only planning this to be a two-parter, but let me know what you think!
Well people you may not believe it
But there's something wrong somewhere
Well no matter where you go you'll hear bout a thing you never heard before
Strange things are happening everyday
-"Strange Things" Abigail Washburn
"Quaint little town, ain't it?" Vi commented.
Xander frowned at the slayer. It was nearing dark in the sleepy town. "Did you even read any of the book Giles gave us on the history of this place?"
"No. What'd they say?"
"They, uh, they said stuff about the vampires from here… and stuff…" Xander trailed off, ignoring her triumphant look. "Okay, I didn't actually read them either. Giles gave us about five dusty old Watcher's diaries to read, and really, after you've read one haven't you read them all?"
"So you don't know anything about this town, but you're grilling me on it?" Vi asked skeptically.
"I never said that I don't know anything about it. Dawn gave me the cliff notes version of this charming little hamlet. Apparently in the 1800s, the town founders had a little problem with vampires, and formed their own council, locking up over 25 vampires in a church, which was sealed and burned down." Xander laughed. "Of course, they didn't know there was a slayer stationed here."
"Are you sure you didn't read the diary? That was awful informative," Vi commented. "I wouldn't tell anyone!"
"I didn't read it," he protested. "Dawnie is just really excited about being a watcher in training, so now she's all Mini-Giles, reading the watcher diaries of yore and imparting her newfound knowledge on all who dare to ask her one simple question."
Vi frowned and flopped down on the bed in the B&B she and Xander were staying at for the next two nights. "Is that why the energy feels all creepy?" She propped herself up on two elbows to get a better look at him. "Did Dawn say what happened to the vampires? Did they die?"
"I would assume so. I don't know too many vampires that survive a burning. But stranger things have happened. Hellmouthy things." He held out a hand to her to help her up. "Did you want to go to this grill place before our new slayer shows up? I'm starving."
She giggled and patted his stomach on the way out of the door. "You do have a figure to maintain."
"You mean my sexy figure, right?" He called out to her. "Right?"
"This must be the place to hang out," Vi whispered to Xander when they got there.
"Even Sunnydale had the Bronze," Xander replied. It was pretty busy for a Wednesday night. He spotted empty chairs at the bar. "I'll save you a seat. She should be here in about half an hour."
"Are you sure you don't want to play?" she implored.
He tapped on his eye patch. "It makes things like strategy and depth perception a little trickier than usual."
"Have it your way." She made a beeline for the pool tables while he grabbed a seat at the bar. The bartender made a hang gesture that he acknowledged Xander, but didn't come over.
It had been nearly eight months since the Sunnydale Hellmouth had been closed for good. Since then, the Scooby gang had split up. Buffy was off enjoying her life as a normal girl in Italy and continued her streak of having an awful taste in guys. Willow and Kennedy were in South America alternating between vacationing and searching for new slayers, according to Willow's last postcard. She was also training with local covens there to better control her powers. Xander himself was due to go to Africa in a week and a half. He was just making this last expedition in the states as a favor to Faith, who had her hands busy with the Cleveland Hellmouth. It was proving to be just as tricky as the Sunnydale one. The trips usually weren't made with slayers, but Giles had wanted him to take one because of the town's sordid past.
The bartender finally came to take Xander's order, snapping him from his rumination. "Sorry," the guy apologized. "We're a bit short staffed right now. The usual bartender just stopped showing up last week. What can I get you?"
Xander filed away that little bit of information. Being in Sunnydale so long had given him good instincts about stuff like that, even if he didn't have the slayer senses to tell him when vampires were about. "Two Heinekens, please." He reached into his pocket to get his ID, but the bartender waved him off. "It's the eye patch, isn't it? I'm starting to feel old."
The bartender wrote down his order, but didn't reply to him. Xander sighed, and turned to where Vi was kicking some guy's ass at pool.
"That your girlfriend?"
Xander whipped his head around. There was a dark haired guy sitting next to him all of the sudden. "Isn't it bad manners to sneak up on a guy with only one good eye?" Instead of letting the guy answer, he just went on. "She's my business partner, actually. We're in town for a day or two."
"Shame." The guy let his eyes linger on Vi longer than Xander was comfortable with. "She's pretty cute." He held his hand out. "I'm Damon, by the way."
Xander gripped the man's hand, not failing to notice how icy cold they were. "Xander Harris."
"That's my brother over there with his girlfriend." Damon pointed to a couple cuddled up in a booth talking to a girl with curly black hair. Xander thought the girl sitting next to his brother looked familiar, but he couldn't place it. But he could swear he saw her in one of Giles' old books during a research "party" a few years ago.
The bartender put down the two beers before Xander could ask Damon anything about it. "Anything else?"
"An order of nachos, buffalo wings – extra spicy, and mozzarella sticks for me. He'll take a cheeseburger with everything on it," Vi answered, sitting on the other side of Xander. "Is this my beer?" She slapped down a hundred dollar bill in front of him. "Can you believe that kid tried to go double or nothing with me? I couldn't go easy on him, he was acting cockier than Spike when we would try to spar with him." She took a long drink of her beer. "Who's your friend?"
Damon flashed her his most charming, make-your-panties-evaporate smile. "Damon Salvatore."
"Vi," she giggled, blushing. "Vi. Is me, I mean. That's my name. Vi."
He brought the hand she extended up to his mouth and lightly brushed his lips over the back of her palm. "Charmed," he purred. She blushed even harder. "I think I won't interrupt your dinner any further, but if you care, Vi, it's been a while since I've had a worthy pool opponent."
She raised an eyebrow. "You think your ego can handle being beat by a girl?"
He smirked at her. "I'm sorry to say, but I'm very good," he drawled.
"Then I'll find you when we're done." She smiled and watched as he walked away to the table where his brother was sitting at, much to the annoyance of everyone at that table, it seemed.
"You know he's a vampire right?" Xander asked.
"Yeah," she sighed. "But he's just so pretty." He looked back when she said that and winked. She blushed yet again and turned back to Xander. "I forgot about stupid vampiric hearing," she muttered.
"I know Buffy may have set a bad example, but in general we make a rule of not dating vampires, us being good guys and all."
"Can I at least beat him in pool?"
Xander's phone began to chirp before he could answer. He looked down at the caller id and frowned. "I encourage it, actually. I gotta take this. It won't be longer than five minutes." He stood up and snapped his phone open, making his way out of the restaurant and into the alley. "Hey, Dawnie, what's up?"
She sighed heavily into the phone. "Xander, I asked you not to call me that anymore. I'm seventeen now! I'm not a kid anymore."
"Aw, but you'll always be twelve to me, with ice cream on your nose and trying on Buffy's clothes," he joked.
"I still take Buffy's clothes," she admitted. "But it's only because they look better on me than they do on her. Anyway, that's not why I called. I was wondering how it was going. Have you talked to this new slayer yet?"
"I talked to her briefly on the phone. She said she was at cheerleading practice, but that she'd meet us at a restaurant later."
"You're meeting her at a restaurant? Is that safe?"
"It should be. She said she didn't want her mom involved, which I can sympathize with."
"And how is Vi doing? This is her first time talking to a slayer. Though I suppose since she was a potential, she has a better time relating to this girl than you do," Dawn mused.
"She's doing fine. What's with the check in? Giles set you up to this?"
"No. I was just doing some research on Mystic Falls, and there's some pretty wiggy stuff that's been coming up. Such as, that church I was telling you about? The vampires are still in it. They were sealed into some tomb in the bottom of it. It's being held in place with a pretty complicated spell, according to Willow. And there have been a lot more animal attacks as of recently. You know, animal attacks with trauma to the neck?"
"I guess these cops aren't any more creative than the Sunnydale cops." Xander leaned against the wall to the restaurant. "In your research, have you come across any pictures?"
"A few, why?"
"There was this girl in the restaurant, who I could swear I saw in one of Giles' old books, only the picture was from the Civil War."
"Hmm, let me check." Xander could hear Dawn rapidly flipping through books. "Can you describe her? Was she a blond?"
"No, brunette. About mid height. Really skinny. Really pretty smile."
"There's a few different girls that meet that description," Dawn replied. "I'll send you a few pictures. Call me back when you figure it out?"
"Will do, Dawnie." He put an extra emphasis on her name, causing her to whine.
"That's not funny, Xander." And she hung up on him.
He chuckled and flipped his phone closed. But before he could move, he was shoved back up against the wall with a hand around his throat. It was Damon holding him there, his eyes flashing.
"What are you doing in Mystic Falls? Who are you?" he demanded, shoving him further into the wall.
Xander winced as his head connected with the brick. He took a survey of his surroundings. When he peered over Damon's shoulder, he could see the guy that was introduced as his brother and his brother's girlfriend looking concerned. The grip was tight around his neck. Xander was sure there would be bruises there tomorrow, and that there would be no end of shit from Faith when she saw him again.
"I asked you a question," Damon yelled as he squeezed tighter. "Who the fuck are you?"
Then the most inopportune thing happened – Xander's phone chirped again and again. It was Dawn, sending him the pictures that matched up with what he had told her. Damon snatched the phone away and began to look through the picture mail. He got through the last picture and threw the phone to the ground in disgust.
"How do you know about Katherine?" He let his grip loosen on Xander's neck enough for him to gasp for breath. "Do you know where she is?"
"Katherine?" Xander squeaked out.
"Yes, Katherine," Damon replied impatiently. "You just had a picture of her on your phone. I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that you know where she is. And now you're going to tell me before I rip your throat out."
"Before?" Xander asked. "That doesn't seem fair. Unless I rip your throat out seems like it would give me more of an incentive to help you. If you're going to do it either way, I don't really see a point of telling you."
Damon backhanded him. "Stop fucking with me and just tell me where she is!"
Xander's head snapped to the side and his vision went black with the force that the vampire had hit him. But before he regained his sight, the pressure that was holding him against the wall was gone and he sagged forward, catching his breath. When he was able to fully see again, Damon was on the ground and Vi had her boot on his chest, holding him there while he glared up at her. She was in fighting stance with her stake poised, ready to strike at a moment's notice.
The brother's girlfriend rushed forward to help him, but her boyfriend held her back. "While I'm sure Damon deserves this, I'm sure there's been a big misunderstanding," he started. "My name is Stefan and this is my girlfriend Elena. And you are…?" He trailed off, waiting for either of them to answer.
"Xander," he rasped.
"And I'm Vi-" she stepped down harder on Damon's chest for extra emphasis – "the Vampire Slayer."
