Those Christmas Bells

By Zaru

Summary: The Flame Series. It's Christmastime. Snow falling, fireplaces running and dead children? What will the group encounter as they try to uncover the mystery?

Disclaimer: Buffy characters belong to Joss Whedon. TMNT belongs to Nickelodeon. I do, however, own Zaru and other characters not associated with the Buffy or TMNT universes. XD

A/n: I decided that with it being the Christmas season, I would write a short story factoring in with the Flame Series for the BuffyxTMNT crossover! Now, the following story you are going to read is the Buffy verse's version of Christmas and Santa Claus :D So enjoy.

Chapter 1

The snowstorm raged topside stalling cars from getting to their destinations and people yelling, piling on top of each other trying to get home from Christmas shopping. Aside from the noise of honking horns and shouts of inappropriate phrases, the slayers and witch rather enjoyed themselves.

Buffy and Dawn walked side by side, mountains of bags covering their arms and packages overflowing past their heads. Barely able to see in front of them, they counted on Faith and Willow who were leading the way back to their brownstone home. Zaru stood last in line, bags covering her arms as well and bundled up as best she could from the winter cold.

"Ne, Faith!" She called. Faith's head turned a little, acknowledging the she heard her friend's call. "What street are we on?"

"Uh, not sure, but I think we're less than a block away from home. This dress shop we're passing is right near where we live."

Sighing happily, the demon slayer adjusted the bags on her arms. "I hope so. I don't know how much longer I'm gonna be able to hold these things. They're weighing me down a lot!" Zaru laughed.

"Well, it's not our fault you and B went all out on your shopping." Faith snickered. "Oh shit!" She growled, pulling her hood tighter against the rushing wind that came upon them suddenly.

"Oh no!" Dawn cried out.

"What's wrong?" Buffy asked her little sister, stopping in her tracks.

Dawn turned and pointed with her smallest finger. "One of the gifts just flew off my pile!"

"I'll get it." Willow offered and ran past the group, following the escaped present.

The cold wind blew the light package into the alleyway, stalling at the beginning of a horde of trash cans. The red-headed witch turned the corner sharply and smiled when she saw the bright colored gift.

"You won't get away now." Willow grinned and leaned down to pick it up, only to have her gloved hand grab something along with the box. "What the- Oh my goddess!" She squeaked and threw the box away, backing up from the trash. There in her sights was a pale blue, female hand.

"Willow!" Buffy shouted and ran up to her best friend, the packages she once had in the arms of Faith who followed close behind. "What happened? What's wrong?"

"T-T-There!" She pointed to the hand in the pile of garbage.

Buffy and Faith looked down. "Wow." The blonde sighed. "What do you think, Faith? Humans? Or vampires?"

The reformed slayer shrugged. "Vamps would be my guess. But it could easily be someone human."

"Let's find out." The 22-year-old pushed past her friends to get a closer look. Lifting the metal cans aside, a human body was revealed, clothes torn to shreds and blood spattered all around her limp body. But she could not find any marks of vampires' anywhere on her. "Hmm. Definitely not vampires. We should call the police now." She walked away, taking out her cell phone.

Willow's head tilted to the side as she studied the corpse. "Buffy, wait. Don't call yet."

"Why not?"

"Look." Willow leaned down, and as carefully as possible, pulled something out of its open mouth. "It looks like a note of some sort." She opened the paper which was already damp from the snow and continued observing the body before her. "Hey! These marks." Gently, she shoved aside some ripped pieces of clothing to reveal what looked like claw marks. "It's like an animal got to her or something."

"But when do animals write notes and leave them in the mouth of their prey?" Faith asked.

Before anybody could reply, their friend appeared around the corner. "Ugh. Why am I still waiting for you guys?" Zaru sighed heavily as she appeared in the beginning of the alley. "Do you realize how cold it is? And how heavy these bags are?"

"Zaru…" Buffy trailed off.

"And another thing…What?" The green-hair dyed woman averted her gaze down to see the dead person. "Oh shit." She mumbled. "What happened to her?"

"Looks like somebody set something pretty wild on her. And left a calling card, too." Willow replied showing Zaru the note.

Setting her bags down in the snow, she grabbed the piece of paper from the witch and read it. "This isn't our jurisdiction. A murderer is on the loose somewhere and has some crazy ass toys to play with." Turning the paper around, she pointed to it. "This says, 'Catch me if you can, pigs.' Which means they're talking to the police and not something we can take care of." Folding the paper back up, the demon slayer handed it back to Willow. "Call the police, Buffy, so we can hurry home."

The snowfall halted momentarily allowing the females to let down their hoods. It was getting a little warm inside their bundled attire and wished the police would hurry. Finally, as the sirens wailed in the distance, Buffy decided it was best if she took Dawn back home to their Brownstone house to alleviate the amount of shopping goods they acquired throughout the evening. That left only Willow, Faith and Zaru whose ears were filled with the jingling of bells in the distance.

Less than an hour later, the door to the brownstone building clicked open and creaked as the females walked inside, shaking the snow from their bodies and footwear. All the questioning and statements with police was too much for Faith. Even though her record had been wiped clear by the Society of Light, she was still very wary about them as though they were ready to handcuff her once again and bring her to the big house. But Willow assured her friend that everything would be all right. The police were pretty occupied with the murder now, so things could stay as normal as possible for them.

"Phew. I'm glad to be out of there." Faith muttered, dropping a few bags on the floor next to the door. "Don't ever get me involved around police again. I hate them with a passion." The slayer unzipped her jacket and hung it on the coat rack a few feet away.

Willow shivered. "Goddess, it's cold out there. I don't know how much longer I would have been able to handle the snow. I'm really not used to it still." She unbuttoned her furry coat.

"If I knew how bad it was going to snow in New York, I wouldn't have moved here with you guys." Zaru stated.

"You used to live in Japan, Zaru. What makes there any different than here? You do get snow there, right?" Willow asked.

She shrugged. "Yeah, of course we get snow. It's always beautiful in the wintertime."

"Then what's the difference?"

"It wasn't as bad there as here. It was just the right amount of snow for me. Not a continuing blizzard of snowfall, not knowing whether there'll be only flurries or a whole heap piled on me." Zaru stated as she set her boots by the door and continued into the living room.

Buffy was sitting on the couch, a fire roaring away in the fireplace and the T.V. on to It's a Wonderful Life. Willow and Faith made a last check of snow before sitting down on the other end of the couch and recliner. It made the redhead smile seeing the movie. Although she was Jewish and did celebrate her Hanukkah days, the days as Christmas neared excited her. It was a holiday she celebrated as well, despite her own heritage. Especially when she was living with her friends who celebrated the white holiday and not hers. Plus, she enjoyed watching the Christmas movies. Always made her feel warm and fuzzy inside.

"I really love this movie. It's a total classic." Buffy spoke after mere moments. "Making that wish of never being born and discovering the true meaning of Christmas." A sigh escaped. "It must be nice."

"Che. I've seen this movie I don't know how many times when I was younger, B. Never appealed to me. Now, A Miracle on 34th Street? THAT was an awesome movie. It over takes It's a Wonderful Life any day of the year. Ooh, cookie." Faith reached forward stealing a cookie from a plate on the coffee table in front of them. "Where'd these come from? I didn't know we had them."

"Dawn kind of conned me into buying them at the last store we were at earlier today. I never knew how good sugar cookies with M&Ms and drizzled chocolate could taste. I'm pretty hooked on these babies now." Buffy grinned and took her own cookie, savoring the taste after her first bite. "Mmm. I gotta get some more of these for after-patrol snacking."

"I second that. Do it next time you go near that store." Faith replied, mouth full of cookie goodness.

"So, where's Zaru? She didn't come home with you?" The blonde asked.

Willow pointed behind her. "She went somewhere. Probably the kitchen."

Buffy swallowed loudly. "The kitchen?"

"Yeah, why?" Her best friend wondered.

"Snap!" Buffy bolted off the couch and ran into the kitchen.

"BUFFY!" The two women left in the living room heard Zaru shout.

Faith continued chewing on her cookie. "Gee. Wonder what that's all about." She smirked giving Willow a knowing look.

"Yep. Buffy or Dawn left the kitchen messed up again." Willow shook her head. "She really needs to learn how to do housekeeping better."

In the kitchen, Zaru was flabbergasted. There was quite a mess of grease on the stove, dirty pots in the sink and something of what appeared to sauce of some sort covered the little island in the center with rust-colored splatters.

"BUFFY!" She shouted. How could a mess like that happen so quickly? Why couldn't they keep themselves out of the kitchen when neither knew how to cook properly. It was an unfortunate disaster.

"You called?"

Zaru turned, blue eyes darkening. "Buffy Summers, how many times have I told you not to cook unless you're gonna clean up after yourselves? Especially in my kitchen?"

The only thing Buffy could do was smile nervously. She had been told several times not to use the stove unless she bothered to clean up the mess she made afterward. But she was always tired after cooking, so she never really sought out cleaning.

"I'm sorry. Dawn and I were hungry so I thought about making some bacon and pasta."

Zaru licked her lips. "That would explain the sauce and grease. But why didn't you clean up after yourselves? You know better."

The vampire slayer just shrugged. "Sorry."

Clasping her hands behind her back, the green-haired woman smiled. "I'm going upstairs to take a shower. Please clean up this mess before I come back down or I will never let you in this kitchen as long as you live here."

"Yeah, yeah." Buffy shooed her away. "Go, go. I'll be sure everything is cleaned up as quickly as possible."

"Thank you." With a turn, she made her escape from the kitchen.

As Willow and Faith were continuing to watch It's a Wonderful Life, a Breaking News bulletin appeared onscreen.

"We interrupt It's A Wonderful Life to bring you the latest on a breaking news story. Maggie Sterling has the details."

"Thanks, Roger. Twelve-year-old Demetri Richards was found dead early this evening in his family's home by his parents. Local authorities say the child was disemboweled from his chest to lower body by what appeared to be a wild animal. According to police, there was no sign of forced entry nor are there any suspects at the moment. As of right now, police are still investigating the death of Demetri Richards. They are asking for anybody to come forward with any information they can to help solve this case. Back to you…"

The voice of the reporter drowned out, Willow and Faith's mouths agape. Zaru was standing behind them, stalled from going upstairs after hearing the breaking news.

"My goddess! Who would even think of doing something like that to an innocent child?" The Jewish woman shook her head, a frown appearing.

"You mean what could do something like that to a child?" Zaru bit her lower lip.

Faith glanced up at her housemate. "You think it's a demon?"

"Well, apparently, the kid was disemboweled by an animal. So, chances are, it's a demon that did it." No sooner did she speak, her house phone rang, picking it up on the first ring. "Hello?" She paused for a moment. "Yeah, I heard it on the news. Uh-huh. I'm not sure, but I have my theories on what caused it. Yes. We'll see you later." Sighing heavily, she hung up the phone. "Damn him." She muttered.

"Who was it?"

"Miyaki-san. He was watching the news and the report showed up."

Willow's eyes widened a little. "He's pretty quick recruiting you, isn't he?"

"Pffft. He didn't recruit me to do anything. Just gave me the heads-up on the situation."

"Do you think that boy and the body we found earlier are connected perhaps?"

Faith shook her head. "No. That girl we found had every organ in her body. The kid was disemboweled. Remember? His organs were taken out."

"And they did say the police never found anything about forced entry or signs of any suspects."

"Ya know, I'm kind of getting a headache thinking about all this. I'm gonna shower and then we can figure out something later."

They all agreed to deal with the situation at a more comfortable time.

T.B.C.

A/n: Hmm…. Not too shabby, I guess… . Thanks for reading this first chapter. XD

Zaru