Timeline has been slightly shifted. This current chapter takes place mid-October.
Disclaimer: When She Was Bad was written by Joss Whedon. If I was in charge of Buffy, we would have a completely different show.
At the edge of Restfield Cemetery, Xander and Willow were out for a walk, playing their usual guess-the-movie quote off game. After a few rounds, Xander got bored.
"I wish Buffy and Dawn could play with us," Xander said. "Why do they have to be in LA this weekend?"
"They're still on good terms with their dad and monthly visits are part of his custody terms," Willow said. "But I guess they're celebrating our latest victory in their own way. I mean, they did destroy the Master."
"And just in time for the Homecoming dance, too" Xander said.
"I just don't know why they're not ready to grind the Master's bones yet," Xander said. "Why can't we just bury the Master?"
"Dawn and Jenny said that there's some kind of ritual that could revive the Master using his bones and the blood of the ones closest to him," Willow said. "Not exactly sure what that means."
All of a sudden, a vampire jumped out at them from behind the wall. Willow and Xander jumped back and screamed, only to see a blonde streak attacking the vampire while a tall brunette jumped down from a nearby tree, staking the vampire from behind. Buffy and Dawn jumped over the wall and greeted their friends.
"Buffy!" Willow said, astonished. "Dawn!"
"Hey, Will," Buffy said.
"Hey Xander!" Dawn said.
"When did you get back?" Xander asked.
"Just now," Buffy said. "Dad drove us down."
"I knew you losers would be getting into some kind of trouble," Dawn said.
"I think we had the upper hand," Willow said. "In a subtle way.
"Did either of you even have a cross? Very sloppy…"
"Well we kind of forgot," Xander said. "Had a busy weekend. How was LA?"
"The usual thing," Dawn said. "Hung out, partied... shopping was also a major theme."
"And I got a haircut," Buffy said, showing off her shorter hairstyle.
"I'm digging it," Xander said.
"Have you talked to Giles?" Willow asked
"Why would we talk Giles?" Buffy asked.
"We'll see him in school anyway," Dawn said.
###
Sunnydale High School Library
Life at Sunnydale High was back to its normal routine of classes and gossip. Dawn and Buffy spent an hour after school at the library to train.
"Are you sure you're both ready to get back into training?" Giles asked.
"Of course!" Buffy said.
"Why wouldn't we be?" Dawn asked.
Giles shook his head. "Alright, then. Dawn, your dumbbells are over there," he said, pointing out a pair of five pound weights on the table. "Buffy, we'll be working on your agility."
The rest of the afternoon looked like something out of an 80s montage without the "Eye of the Tiger" music. Dawn lifted weights to increase her muscle strength and perfected her target practice while Buffy worked on her agility by Giles throwing various things at her. As the two girls continued to train, they thought back to when they first demonstrated their differences to their Watcher.
###
The Bronze, early September
It was Buffy and Dawn's first night out since moving to Sunnydale. Buffy wore a blue bomber jacket over a white t-shirt and jeans while Dawn wore a pink graphic t-shirt and a knee-length denim skirt that swished as she walked. The two of them stood up at the balcony with Giles.
"We wanted to ask you about something," Dawn said.
"What is it?" Giles asked.
"The Harvest," Dawn said.
"That means something to you?" Buffy asked. "'Cause I'm drawing a blank."
"I'm not sure…" Giles said. "Who told you this?"
"This really hot guy we ran into along the way here," Dawn said.
"I didn't like him much," Buffy said. "Is he a friend of yours?"
"No…What did he look like?"
"Tall, dark, handsome!" Dawn said.
"Kinda uses too much hair gel," Buffy said. "You sure it doesn't ring a bell?"
"No, but if he knows who you are...Did he say anything else? About the Harvest?"
"Something about the mouth of Hell," Buffy said.
"I think he was a vampire," Dawn said.
"What?" Giles took off his glasses and started cleaning them. "How can you tell?"
"Buffy didn't tell you?" Dawn asked.
"I was going to!" Buffy said.
"Sure you were," Dawn said. "Here's the thing. Buffy and I are both the Slayer."
Giles's eyes widened. He took off his glasses to clean them and asked, "How? I mean, you are twins, but-"
"We honestly don't know, either," Buffy said. "But we kind of figured things out when we got called back in LA."
"I started having a lot of dreams about vampires and got some major spidey-senses," Dawn said.
"I started spiking the volleyball harder than usual. Breaking things by accident," Buffy said. "Dawn has gotten more agile."
"Which was really awesome," Dawn said.
"But are both of you truly ready?" Giles asked as he put his glasses back on. "There's so much you still don't know, about them and about your own powers. A vampire appears to be a normal person, until the feed is upon them. Only then do they reveal their true demonic visage."
"You're like a textbook with arms! I know this!" Buffy said.
"The point is, a Slayer should be able to see them anyway. Without looking, without thinking. Can you tell me if there's a vampire in this building?
"Yes!" Dawn said.
"Maybe," Buffy said.
"You should know! Even through this mass and this din you should be able to sense them. Try. Reach out with your mind. You have to hone your senses, focus until the energy washes over you, till you can feel every particle of-"
"There's one," Buffy and Dawn said, pointing downwards.
"What?" Giles looked around the crowd. "Where?"
"Down there," Dawn said, pointing to a guy with slicked-back brown hair wearing a jacket with the sleeves rolled up and a 70s style shirt. "Talking to that girl."
"But are you sure?" Giles asked.
"Oh, please," Buffy said. "Look at his jacket. He's got the sleeves rolled up. And the shirt…Deal with that outfit for a moment."
"It's dated?" Giles asked.
"It's carbon dated!" Buffy said with a roll of her eyes. "Trust me: only someone who's been living underground for ten years would think that was still the look."
"But… you didn't hone…" Giles said.
"I did!" Dawn said. "And Buffy is right."
###
Sunnydale High School Library, present day
Buffy and Dawn continued their training, with Buffy practicing her martial arts moves on a post while Dawn meditated.
Buffy kept raining blows onto the post. Even though she didn't remember her dreams like Dawn did, the Master still plagued her mind. She hit harder and harder until the post broke in half, which snapped Dawn out of her meditation.
"What the heck!" Dawn said. "I'm meditating here!"
"Sorry I wasn't able to keep my punches quiet, sis!"
"Maybe we should switch places! How about you try actually honing in on vampires while I do all the fighting!?"
"You'd be dead meat within seconds!" Buffy said "Or undead meat, as it were."
"Calm down you two!" Giles said. "I think it's best we end your training for now. I'm gonna give my usual update to the Watcher's Council."
"See you tomorrow, Giles!" Buffy said.
"Yeah, see ya," Dawn said.
###
Over at Restfield Cemetery, the Anointed One and his minions walk in with Drusilla and Spike.
"How exactly is the crazy brain gonna help here?" one of the mooks asked.
"She can sense the Master's presence stronger than I can," The Anointed One said, his face as expressionless as a rock.
"I don't see why I can't take on the Slayers myself," Spike said.
Drusilla shushed her lover. "Patience is a virtue, my dear." She hummed and pointed out a fresh grave. "Consecrated ground by the angel statue."
The mooks got straight to work.
"When the Slayer goes down," one mook said as he started digging, "it'll be the greatest thing since the Crucifixion! And I should know! I was there!"
"You were there? Oh please." He rolled his eyes. "If every vampire who said he was at the crucifixion was actually there, it would have been like Woodstock! I was actually at Woodstock. That was a weird gig. Fed off a flower person and spent six hours watching my hands move."
"The best thing is that The Feast of St. Vigeous will be coming soon," another mook said. "If we can revive the Master by then, it'll be the most glorious bloodbath!"
Spike shook his head. "Come on, Dru. We're not welcome here. Let's find you something to eat."
Drusilla nodded.
###
The next day, the Scoobies met up at the lounge. Willow and Xander sat on a couch while Giles and Jenny stood perpendicular to them.
"I called up the Watchers Council yesterday," Giles said. "And they told me that no Slayer has been called."
"But I died," Buffy said. "One girl dies and the next one is called, right? Even if I died for like, five seconds."
"I discussed it with Lydia Chalmers and she said that it's because the two of you are both the Slayer and only one of you was killed. The next Slayer will only be called...when both of you die."
"Oh," Dawn said.
Giles and Jenny both had pensive looks on their faces.
"What's the buzz?" Buffy asked. "You look worried."
"Yeah, what are you thinking?" Dawn asked.
"This vampire activity-" Jenny said.
"I think we know what they're up to."
"Well, don't stress," Buffy said.
"We'll deal," Dawn said.
"I hope it's that simple."
'It is not to sweat," Buffy said. "Trust us."
"I don't know," Jenny said.
"I mean, I killed you once," Giles said. "It shouldn't be too difficult to do it again."
"What?" Buffy and Dawn said simultaneously.
Giles and Jenny attacked the twin Slayers, sending them sprawling onto the coffee table and grabbed them by their throats. They tried to fight them off, but Giles and Jenny were too strong.
Xander and Willow wandered around the school idly while Giles and Jenny choked Buffy and Dawn. The two of them clawed at their attackers and ripped off the faces to see The Master attacking Buffy and Angel, with his vamp face, attacking Dawn.
Dawn woke up with a gasp.
Given that it was Friday night, Dawn and Buffy called up Giles and told him what happened.
"So Giles confirmed what you saw in your dream?" Buffy asked.
Dawn nodded. "The only way that the next Slayer would be called is if both of us die."
"Guess I should make sure I don't die twice, then," Buffy said.
"You really think that was funny?" Dawn asked. "I had to watch you die! I keep having dreams of dying myself."
"You could never understand what I'm feeling!" Buffy said. "I may not have the Slayer dreams, but I still relive that night every night for the past few days!"
"Why do you always act like you're the only Slayer?!" Dawn said.
"Because I'm the one who does all the work!"
"Like hell you do!"
"Would you two keep it down?" Joyce asked. She came down from her room. "Honestly, you two."
"She started it!" Buffy and Dawn both said, pointing at each other.
"I think I need to send you both back to your rooms," Joyce said. "It's the middle of the night."
The two sisters glared at each other, knowing that they could both sneak out. Although neither of them were telepathic, they were both thinking "I'm gonna sneak out and if you talk to me, I will kill you!"
###
The Shopping District
Dawn snuck out of her room and walked towards the direction of the shopping district. Malls had too many cameras, but the little shops around town usually only had one or two and she hoped to find new things to add to her collection. As she passed by a beauty shop, she felt a tingling on the back of her neck. She turned around and saw Angel.
"Hey Dawn," Angel said. "How are you?
"Peachy with a side of keen," Dawn said with a smile. "So, what brings you to the shopping district? Is this some kind of impromptu date?"
"Um...No."
"If that's the case, I guess you're just being the bearer of bad news again."
Angel nodded. "I'm sorry. I wish I had better news."
"Is it about the ritual?"
"Yeah. I've seen it done before. They'll need the Master's bones and the blood of of the closest person, someone connected to the vampire."
"So that's Buffy, then," Dawn said.
"You don't sound too concerned," Angel said.
"She can fight them better than I can," Dawn said. "All I do is play Robin Hood and Oracle."
Dawn turned on her heels and
"Where are you going?" Angel asked.
"None of your business," Dawn said.
He grabbed her backpack and ripped it off of her. He opened it up and poured out the contents, revealing the makeup and trinkets that she stole from shops in LA.
"These aren't yours," Angel said. "You know that."
"I don't care! I had to fight the Master, too! I'm the one haunted by dreams of the Master killing the both of us."
"Where's your sister?"
"At the Bronze, probably."
"Then we should go talk to her. Tell her what we know."
Dawn pouted and stomped her foot, but she relented.
"Fine. But you owe me a new backpack!"
###
Back in early September
"Is there a problem, ladies?" the handsome, dark-haired man asked.
Buffy sneered at the interloper while Dawn was mesmerised at the sight of him. He had sort of James Dean meets Superman vibe to him.
"There's a problem," Buffy said. "Why are you following us?"
"I know what you're thinking," he said, "but don't worry. I don't bite."
The two of them backed off, with Buffy keeping Dawn behind her.
"Truth is, I thought you'd look more alike, being twins and all," Angel said. He looked at Buffy and said, "I thought you'd have more muscle." Then he looked at Dawn, "And you're pretty agile for someone without super strength."
"What do you want?" Dawn asked, slightly scared of him.
"Same thing you do," Angel said.
"Okay, what do we want?" Buffy said.
"To kill 'em. To kill 'em all."
Buffy made a game show buzzing noise. "Sorry! That's incorrect but you do get this lovely watch and a year's worth of Turtle Wax. What we want… is to be left alone."
"You really think that's an option anymore? You're standing at the mouth of Hell. And it's about
to open." He reached into his pocket and threw a small, rectangular velvet box at them "Don't turn your back on this. You've got to be ready."
"For what?" Dawn asked.
"The Harvest."
"Who are you?" Dawn asked.
"Let's just say I'm a friend."
"Well maybe we don't want a friend!"
"I didn't say I was yours."
As he sauntered away, Buffy huffed. "Who does he think he is?"
"I think he was a vampire," Dawn said. "I sensed it." She opened the jewelry box.
"But if he's a vampire, why would he give us cross necklaces?" Buffy asked.
"I don't know," Dawn said. "But he was really hot!"
Buffy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, for a vampire!"
###
The Bronze, present day
Buffy stepped into the club, relieved to be away from her home and her brat of a sister. She immediately saw Willow and greeted her.
"Where's Dawn?" Willow asked.
"Back home," Buffy said. "We got in a fight."
"Oh." Willow's smile fell from her face.
Buffy then turned to Xander and smiled at him.
"Hey Xander!" Buffy said. "Let's dance."
Before Xander could think twice, Buffy took him by the hand and took the lead in a very seductive dance.
"Xander, did I ever thank you for saving my life?" she whispered.
"No," Xander said, his voice bordering on a squeak.
She smiled at him and leaned in close, almost brushing against his lips. "Don't you wish I would?"
She turned around and headed out of the club, smiling at the look on Xander's shocked face and Willow's despondent one.
As Buffy went out of the club, she heard Cordelia calling her. "Hey Buffy! You're really campaigning for bitch of the year, aren't you?"
Buffy turned around and smirked at the cheerleader. "As defending champion, are you nervous?"
"I can hold my own. We've never been close, Buffy, which is nice, 'cause I don't like you very much. But you have, on occasion, saved the world and all that stuff, so I'm gonna do you a favor."
"Yay me." Buffy's voice dripped with sarcasm.
"Your friends can't do it, 'cause they like you. And they're sort of afraid of you. And I know your sister has issues, too."
"What's the favor?"
"I'm going to give you some advice. Get over it."
"Excuse me?" Buffy asked.
"Whatever's causing the Joan Collins 'tude, deal with it, embrace the pain, spank your inner moppet but get over it, 'cause pretty soon you won't even have the loser friends you've got now."
"I'd say it's about time for you to mind your own business.'
"It's long past that time!" Cordelia rolled her eyes and gave a condescending wave. "Good night, Buffy."
Buffy stuck out her tongue. Cordelia turned to leave, but screamed at the sight of a vampire jumping out at her. Buffy quickly went to work beating up the minion, even as three other vampires jumped out of the shadows at her.
"The Master is in need of her blood!" the mook said to the other three vamps, pointing at Cordelia. "The others are inside!"
"Oh no, you don't!" Buffy said. She staked the mook that attacked Cordelia and rushed inside the Bronze to take care of the other three vampires.
Outside in the alley, Cordelia ran off screaming, only to run into Angel.
"Oh! Angel!" Cordelia smiled sweetly at Angel. "What are you doing here?"
"We came to find Buffy," Dawn said.
Cordelia took note of Buffy's twin and snarled. "She's inside the club taking care of a few vampires."
"Thanks," Angel said.
"I hope to see you around," Cordelia said. "I don't know about you, but I'm going home!"
Inside the Bronze, the vampires scared away the club-goers, going after Willow and Xander. Buffy managed to fight one off of Xander and stake him, but the other vamp was already dragging Willow out the back door...only to be met with a stake.
"Dawn!" Buffy said.
Dawn smirked at her twin. "I told you I could hold my own!"
Buffy rolled her eyes "Dumb luck." She looked up at Angel. "Thanks for bringing Dawn here. I hope she wasn't too much trouble."
"Not at all," Angel said with a shy smile. "But we needed to talk about the ritual to revive the Master.
###
Meeting up with Giles at his apartment, the Scooby Gang was able to deduce that the Anointed One really needed the blood of everyone who was in close proximity to the Master instead of the Slayers' blood. Dawn used her vamp senses with a scrying crystal to find out where the bones of the Master were located. The mooks there were easily taken care off by Buffy and Dawn, who then went to work on grinding the Master's bones to dust.
Meanwhile, at the warehouse, Spike and Drusilla discussed the latest fallout with the Anointed one.
"You really know how to bollocks up a perfectly good plan," Spike said. "I'll give you credit for taking advantage of the Slayers fighting for their friends."
"Slayers aren't supposed to have friends!" The Anointed One said.
"Well there weren't supposed to be two Slayers, either," Spike said. "I think it's time we make some changes."
The Anointed One's eyes widened in fear as Spike grabbed a hook from the ceiling and attached it to the top of a cage.
"From now on we're gonna have a little less ritual and a little more fun around here!" Spike said.
After Spike threw down the Anointed One, Drusilla giggled as she watched her Childe throw the Anointed One out the door into the sunlight as night gave way into the morning. The little child screamed as he turned from ash to smoke, blowing away in a light breeze.
###
The Bronze, the following night.
The Scooby Gang decided to celebrate their latest victory at the Bronze. A band named Nickel was playing and Dawn was really loving the song, dancing with Xander and singing along.
"I-I-I did a stupid thing last night," Dawn sang, her voice sadly off-key.
Buffy enjoyed swaying to the song on her own, listening to the bass and drums as they beat alongside her heart, unaware of three vampires that were walking around the room.
Dawn, however, felt those familiar tingles in the back of her neck. There were too many people in the club, so it was hard to tell where they were. She ran to her sister.
"Buffy," Dawn said. "Vampires. I don't know where they are."
"Guess we should take this outside," Buffy said. "Make them come to us." Buffy took her purse from the table as she walked out, completely passing by Spike.
The two Slayers made quick work of the two vampires, with Dawn throwing her stake at one with perfect aim at his heart and Buffy throwing a few punches to knock the other vampire down before staking it.
As the dust settled, Buffy and Dawn heard soft clapping from the other side of the alleyway. They turned to see a bleach blonde man in a black leather duster.
"So it's true what they say," the bleach blonde man said. "Twin Slayers. Nice work, both of you."
"Who are you?" Dawn asked.
"You'll find out on Saturday," he said.
"What happens Saturday?" Buffy asked.
"I kill you," Spike said. "Both of you."
He disappeared into the night.
"Who does he think he is?" Dawn asked.
"I don't know," Buffy said, "but he's really hot."
"What?!" Dawn said.
Buffy snapped out and went back to her usual snarky tone, "You know, for a vampire."
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