MYSTIC FALLS: PRESENT DAY
"Where the hell have you been?" Stefan asks him as Damon remains motionless leaning against the doorway of his younger brother's bedroom.
The elder vampire merely shrugs "Being held against my will, shot in the head. Now I can't find Elena, oh and a blast from the past showed up is currently being turned into a vampire killing weapon. How was your evening? Anything out of the ordinary happen?"
At Damon's words, Stefan's eyes widen in disbelief, what the hell had he missed here, turning to face his brother he frowns "What do you mean you can't find Elena? And vampire killing machine?"
Damon sighs "She's not picking up her phone, she's not in her dorm. She's nowhere in this house and...Wes has a Slayer."
At that Stefan's entire body goes cold, he hadn't heard that phrase in years, it wasn't possible for Wes to have a Slayer, they had all been eradicated from existence years ago "Did you just say, Slayer? Damon, they were all eradicated from existence."
Damon winces slightly his jaw clenching tightly at the mention of the event that had killed all the Slayers, the event he thought had killed Buffy.
At his brother's expression, Stefan couldn't help but frown, he had never seen his brother like this, there was more to this than he was letting on, spotting Stefan's confusion Damon rolls his eyes grabbing Stefan's jacket tossing it at him "Trust me she's a Slayer. I knew her and now Wes her and Elena."
Stefan couldn't help but find himself flabbergasted, he couldn't imagine Damon of all people being anywhere near a Slayer willingly, it made no sense "Wait you knew a Slayer?"
Damon merely ignores the question as he heads for the door gesturing for his brother to follow "Too many questions, brother."
SUNNYDALE, CALIFORNIA: 2001
Spike remains motionless as he stares at Buffy with wide eyes almost unable to believe it, here she was in the flesh alive and breathing once again. Clenching his jaw he glances over at Damon with a grateful expression "Thanks, Mate."
Damon merely rolls his eyes before moving to pour himself a glass of bourbon "Just doing my part in the neighborhood watch."
Spike sighs before glancing over at Buffy who continues to stare at him blankly, an emotionless look plaguing her features "Buffy..."
Before he could finish his thought though, another figure pushes through the door holding a motorcycle helmet in her hands.
Dawn freezes at the sight of her sister tears filling her eyes "Buffy? Is it really you?"
Buffy gulps slightly while Damon glances over at the brunette teenage girl letting out an amused breath, this had to be the famous sister she died for, she looked just as an annoying younger sibling should.
Buffy takes a shaky breath before nodding "Yeah...I'm here."
Dawn smiles before running over pulling Buffy into a hug barely noticing that Buffy doesn't even attempt to wrap her arms around the younger girl, she just remains completely motionless, void of all feeling.
Dawn smiles as she pulls back staring at her elder sister in disbelief, she still couldn't believe she was back, when Willow had called in a panic she hadn't believed it, but now seeing her in front of her like this...she knew it was real "Are you okay?"
"I'm gonna be fine." Buffy whispers before clenching her jaw she could see Dawn was desperate to ask questions but she couldn't handle this right now "I just...I just want to sleep."
"Okay." Dawn whispers "Let's go home."
With that Dawn's eyes finally move over to Damon who was still standing in the corner of the room with a glass of bourbon in his hands "I don't know who you are but thank you."
At that Damon frowns slightly, it had been a long time since someone had thanked him for anything since anyone had looked at him without an inch of fear in their eyes, decades at least. Unable to find words he merely nods just as Dawn begins leading Buffy out of the house only for him to frown as the blonde halts and glances over her shoulder in his direction "Thank you, Damon." She breaths before following her sister out of the house.
Damon sighs in annoyance before glancing over at the still silent Spike "You owe me, Idol."
MYSTIC FALLS: PRESENT DAY
As they walk towards Whitmore where they had managed to track Aaron too Stefan couldn't help but find himself curious about Damon's knowledge of Slayers, or why finding this Slayer was so important to him. While Damon hadn't admitted anything out loud it was obvious enough that Damon wasn't just worried about Elena...whoever this Slayer was...she was someone to him, he just couldn't figure out what she was to him.
"I never knew you met a Slayer."
"I don't advertise." Damon says bluntly as he continues to walk towards the campus, he did not want to discuss Buffy with Stefan, he could barely even process that she was alive right now, let alone figure out how he felt about the situation.
Stefan frowns at the way Damon was avoiding the topic which only made him more curious "Seriously, what's going on?"
Damon groans as Stefan grabs his arm forcing him to face his younger brother, clenching his jaw he thinks of that smile, the smile that made him turn it all back on, the smile that in the end had made him turn it off again "She wasn't just any Slayer, Stefan." He admits before sighing "It's Buffy Summers."
At his words Stefan's eyes widen in shock, he had heard that name all through the late '90s and early 2000's, one of the strongest Slayers to ever live, one of the best fighters to ever exist, her name summoned fear throughout the vampire community "Are you telling me Buffy Summers is alive?"
"Yeah." Damon admits before shocking his brother with his next words, he would expect Damon to want to kill Buffy to get rid of the risk but instead, he was given the opposite response "And I'm gonna save her this time."
With that Damon storms off into the campus leaving Stefan frozen to his spot, now that he hadn't been expecting.
"Wait what?!"
Chained to a table with tubes in her arms laid a barely conscious Buffy Anne Summers who could do nothing but stare at the ceiling yet again for what felt like the millionth time.
Well, more accurately she had done this for every day she had been here, 9 years, which is 108 months, 469.286 weeks, 3285 days, or 78,840 hours if you wanted to be specific about it.
Sighing she glances over at the figure next to her who gives her a small sad smile only to be met by her blank face.
Enzo chuckles as he watches the woman who had become his main confidant over the past decade "Come on B, smile for me Luv."
Buffy couldn't help but shake her head in amusement as she glances back up at the ceiling "I'm having your blood pumped into me again...I think we're close enough."
"I'd say we're practically related now, Luv."
Buffy smiles sadly as she glances over at Enzo, for 9 years it had just been the two of them, while yes on the first day she had attempted to stake him she quickly came to realize he was all she had left. He kept her going and she did the same. They kept each other from completely shutting down for good, which in a place like this was so damn tempting.
Hearing footsteps enter the room Buffy groans as she spots Wes moving over to her "Oh great. Morning Wes...don't you look cranky."
Wes rolls his eyes "Don't make me cut out your tongue again. We talked about the sarcasm." He tells her before grabbing a needle off the table with a clear white liquid inside, struggling the blonde groans unable to shift, she didn't just have chains around her body, her head was also forcefully strapped down, after what happened during her last escape attempt they had gone extra with the chains.
As the liquid enters her system causing the blonde's eyes to flutter shut Enzo sighs in worry, this girl was the only friend he had left in the world, she was the closest thing he had to family now, and seeing Wes do these things to her, made him want to tear the guy's throat out viscously.
"When was the last time you were out in civilization?" Wes asks curiously as he grabs another needle this time with a vial of red liquid inside and injects it into Enzo's arm pulling a groan from the vampire.
"What is that?"
"An insurance policy. It guarantees you'll come back to me. But if somehow you don't..." He breaths before gesturing to the unconscious blonde "...then remember what happens to your friend."
Pausing Wes reaches into his back pocket revealing a small photo, a copy of the same photo he had given to Damon, and shows it to Enzo whose eyes widen "You and Damon have some catching up to do. Or Buffy...well I'm pretty sure she can slay vampires without an amygdala."