This was inspired by a fic challenge on Elysian Fields.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
This story is going to include thematic elements and shout outs to various Jane Austen works and adaptations. Jane Austen was honestly my first fandom and the first fanfics I wrote outside of were related to Pride and Prejudice. I hope you enjoy!
"You know, for someone who's all powerful, you sure do like to hide," Buffy said.
"I'm waiting for you," The Master said. "I want this moment to last."
"Well, I don't,
Buffy looked around the room and then shivered as the Master stood behind her.
"I understand," The Master said.
Buffy turned around as the Master knocked the crossbow out of her hands and grabbed her by the neck. She knocked his hand away and started running. He held his hand out toward her and she froze, caught by his hypnotic powers. She looked back at him, unable to move. He approached her, making slow twisting motions with his hand. He sauntered up behind her, gently took off her leather jacket and let it fall to the ground, smelling the fear in Buffy's blood.
"You tried," The Master gloated. "It was noble of you. You heard the prophecy that I was about to break free and you came to stop me. But prophecies are tricky creatures. They don't tell you everything." He leaned in to whisper. "You're the one that sets me free! If you hadn't come, I couldn't go. Think about that!"
Buffy froze in fear as the Master bent down and bit her at the base of her neck. After drinking a few sips, he let her go.
"Oh, God! The power!" The Master shouted with glee. He pushed Buffy into the pool and smirked. "By the way, I like your dress."
He stepped over to the edge of his confines and pushed against the field, cackling as it broke down. He hurried out of his lair only to see a tall young brunette standing in his way.
"Who are you?" The Master asked.
"Don't you know? I'm the Slayer!" she said.
"I just killed the Slayer! Get out of my way!" He knocked the brunette down into his lair and continued to make his way to the surface
In an adjacent tunnel, Xander said, "What was that?"
"It's too late," Angel said. "He's gone up."
They broke into a run for the Master's lair. Angel cringed as he saw Dawn Summers passed out near the entrance and Buffy lying dead in the pool. He picked up Dawn as Xander came in.
"Buffy! Dawn!" Xander said.
Xander glanced at Angel, who laid down Dawn towards the center of the lair, and ran over to Buffy. Xander pulled Buffy out of the pool and laid her next to her sister, checking her vitals.
"They're both dead!"
Xander checked Dawn's pulse.
"Dawn's not dead, she's just passed out," Xander said. "You wake her up. I'll do some CPR on Buffy."
Angel nodded and shook Dawn until she woke up. All the while, Xander breathed into Buffy and pushed down on her chest.
"C'mon. C'mon!" Xander said as he pushed down on her chest. All of a sudden, both Buffy and Dawn woke up.
"Angel!" Dawn said with stars in her eyes.
"Where's The Master?" Buffy said.
"He's already surfaced," Angel said.
"Are you okay?" Xander asked.
Dawn and Buffy stood up. "I think I'm alright," Buffy said.
"Me, too," Dawn said.
"You're still weak, Buffy," Angel said. "You can't go up there."
"Actually, Angel," Buffy said, mustering up all her strength, "I feel pretty strong right now. I feel different."
"Then let's get outta here, sis!" Dawn said.
The four of them marched on over to Sunnydale High School.
"How do you know where the Master's going?" Xander asked.
"We know," Dawn said. "I can sense him."
A minion vampire jumped out at the foursome.
"Oh look, a bad guy!" Buffy said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She pulled out her stake, kicked him down and threw the stake down at his chest, not even watching as the vampire turned to dust at her feet.
As they went to the door leading up to the roof of the school, Buffy gave orders to Angel and Xander to keep any other vampire minions at bay. Dawn asked Angel to get his game face on. The two sisters headed up the stairs, finding the Master watching in glee as he summoned a monster out onto the surface.
"You're dead!" The Master said as he turned to look at Buffy.
"I may be dead, but I'm still pretty, which is a lot more than I can say for you," Buffy said.
"And who in Heaven's name are you?" The Master said, pointing at Dawn.
"Don't you know? I'm her sister. Her twin sister."
"Two Slayers?! But that can't be! It was written…"
Buffy interrupted the Master by punching him in the face, knocking him down onto the ground.
"What can we say?" Buffy said.
"We flunked the written," Dawn said.
The Master tried to put both of them in his thrall, but both of them were surprisingly immune. Buffy dealt a lot of punches, but The Master grabbed her by the neck and held her up.
"Hey Batface!" Dawn said.
The Master let down his guard, giving Buffy the chance to jump free of his grip. The two slayers pushed the Master down the skylight and down onto the broken library railing, watching as he degraded into a skeleton and the monster going back to the depths below.
Buffy and Dawn made their way back to the library.
"Buffy, are you alright?" Giles asked.
The blonde Slayer gave no reply, staring at the Master's bones. "Buffy?"
Buffy snapped out of her staring and smiled at her Watcher "Oh, sorry. It's just been a really weird day."
"Yeah!" Xander said. "Buffy died, and everything!"
"Wow!" Willow said. "Harsh."
"I should have known that wouldn't stop you," Giles said.
Buffy smiled up at him again.
"Well, what do we do now?" Jenny asked.
"We still have to grind the Master's bones to prevent anyone from trying to summon him," Dawn said. "But after that, I don't know."
"I hear there's a dance going on at the Bronze tonight!" Xander said. "Could be fun."
"I'm in!" Cordelia said.
"What about you, Buffy?" Willow asked.
Buffy shrugged her shoulders. "Sure! We saved the world. I say we party! I mean, I got all pretty." She twirled around, showing off her dress.
"So dance first or bone smashing?" Dawn asked.
"We can grind the bones after school's over," Buffy said. "He's not going anywhere. Loser."
Dawn shrugged her shoulders. "Okay."
The Scooby Gang left the library, discussing the dance and Buffy's dress as they went to the Bronze for the dance.
Meanwhile, on the other side of town, a black Desoto crashed into the Welcome to Sunnydale sign. A vampire with bleach blonde hair stepped out of the car and smoked a cigarette.
"Home sweet home," he said.
Spike gets a two-for-one Slayer package and it's not even Christmas!