You know the drill from the Prologue...
Characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer belong to WB
Characters from Highlander belong to whoever owns Highlander
San Salvador, Johnny, and the spelling errors are the sole property of this writer
Notes from San Salvador to Watcher's Council in care of Joe Dawson
I hope that you guys understand what happens next because I have no idea that anything like this could happen...even to an Immortal.
John and I had been together for about two and a half years since that phone call to Joe Dawson. These years are something that I will try to never forget. John was such a sweet guy and very impulsive in work and play. I enjoy that in a guy. I made the good mistake of telling Johnny what day my birthday was and that ended up to be an adventurous day every year. One year, John told me he was taking me to a great French restaurant he had heard about. I thought he was possibly talking about one in New York, since there was airplane tickets. How could I know that he would trick me into going all the way to Paris.
Christmases, on the other hand, were pretty traditional. I haven't had a traditional Christmas in nearly thirty years. I'm talking about the tree, church service and turkey/ham sort of Christmas. First year I had a Christmas with Johnny's family I was introduced as John's girlfriend, San. I didn't mind one bit except for the separate bedroom deal. A traditional type of family. John gave me an exquisite silver cross necklace in front of the family and a matching pair of exquisite ironwood daggers in private. Obviously his family doesn't have any idea about the assassin vigilante job of mine. I had gotten him a rich black leather jacket. I had gotten him a sword of his own and taught him how to use it. And I was worried that another Immortal was going to show up during my time at his family's home during both years, but that didn't happen. The next year, he introduced me as his 'fiancee' and he gave me the beautiful engagement ring for a present along with a beautiful long black leather jacket that was long enough to hide my katana instead of a gym bag if I have to. I gave him a midnight blue jeep in private because I had a feeling that he was getting tire of riding on a motorcycle. I wasn't sure what else to get him but he said that didn't matter. John's family gave us the same bedroom this year. Tradition but not too traditional. There was talk of having a wedding the next Christmas and I agreed in voice and in heart. I know that getting and giving weapons for presents is a bit strange but that is the way we were.
I was planning on retiring for a couple of decades, right after one last attack on the Illegal Drug import business in early September. The best place I figured was the importing of PCP and other stuff into LA. I figure that the first place to start checking is a community that has had several PCP related instances. . . Sunnydale, CA.
What happens next is fairly accurate speculation based on interviews with witnesses and people involved.
A black jeep stops in the parking lot across the street of a Sunnydale nightclub known as the 'Bronze.' A tall woman with tan skin and flashing green eyes and a long black leather jacket/trenchcoat steps out of the jeep and walks over to the Bronze. After paying the walk-in fee, she goes in. After a minute, a slightly taller man wearing a normal length leather jacket steps out of the jeep and leans against it. He lights up a cheap cigarette and waits.
San Salvador walks in and orders a drink. She just sits there for a minute and looks around the crowd. (There is something off here), she thinks, (and it isn't a PCP gang.) One could tell the difference when trained to observe. She breathes deeply and notices the faint odor of blood which is covered heavily by body odors and perfumes in this nightclub. (What is wrong here?) There would have had to have been several murders and a lot of blood loss in order to be able to smell that. San realizes then that while she isn't getting the buzz that tells of another immortal, there is definitely something here that is giving her Immortal sense the willies.
John pulls the cigarette out of his mouth and coughs softly. (I hate smoking, but I have to have a reason for staying out here.) He personally hopes that San gets the information she needs so that they can finish the job here. He then realizes that something is definitely wrong with this town. Being raised in a small town and then moving to a big city gives one a perspective on crime and victims. In small towns people don't usually act like potential prey that are trying to hide from street predators. . .except for this one. The teens walking in and out of the Bronze are moving rapidly and in groups of four or more. Those just could be groups of friends except of the slight nervousness that surrounds each group. (What is going on here?) Then he hears a faint scream of fear in the distance. It sounded like it came from the park. John grabs a shotgun from the secret compartment and loads the magazine with eight shells of No 6 buckshot. He quickly drops a couple of more shells into his jacket and runs toward the park, thankful that no one could see the gun in the dark.
Buffy is sitting by the table with her friends Willow and Zander. The night patrol was a slow one in the vampire game. Only one and that just took a minute. The only thing that was strange is the woman that Zander is looking at. She is looking around the room trying to do so unnoticeably. The only reason she was noticed is that the Slayer and Slayerettes tend to notice strange things. It's a comparison thing.
"I wonder who that woman is looking for?" she asks Willow quietly or as quietly as she could in the Bronze.
"Why?" Willow asks nervously. "Is she a vampire?"
"No. But something is up with her." Buffy grits her teeth as the band makes another booming off note. But, she realizes, it wasn't the band because they had stopped playing due to shock. Buffy turned back to where the woman is and found she is gone. All that is left is the cup and money underneath it.
San Salvador heard that noise and realized that it wasn't the band hitting a right note but rather the sound of a shotgun firing close by.
John had ran into the park to find four men surrounding two teenage girls of around seventeen. One girl was on the ground and a man was doing something with her. The other dangled from the grip of a lean man who is around least six feet tall. (He is biting her in the neck. This could be the gang we were looking for. A bunch of PCP vampire cultists. A new low in sickness.)
"That is quite enough. Drop the girl, now," John says evenly. The guy on the ground gets up.
"You've made a really big mistake," Lean boy says. "Kill him," he tell the rest of his gang. They rush John faster than he thought possible. He still manages to get his shotgun up and pull the trigger. The buckshot nails one of them square in the chest and knocks him to the ground. The guy just gets up and comes at John again. The second guy, John hits with the stock of the shotgun and he manages to roll out of the way of the third. The lean boy was just standing there in amusement while sucking the girl's neck. With the light behind him, John sees his opponents faces for the first time. (Real Vampires. I'm in some deep shit now.)
The people waiting outside notice the young woman rushing out and quickly get out of her way. A bouncer who was too slow on the uptake ends up on the ground clutching his wrist. San rushes over to the jeep and notices that the secret compartment holding John's shotgun was empty. She takes off her leather jacket and after a moment her sword. She figures that John wouldn't be firing his gun if whoever it is an Immortal but instead run. If the whatever is an Immortal, she can make the person temporily dead and get John to holy ground and deal with the Immortal afterwards. San then walks quickly over to the park.
John knows that he is in deep shit. These 'vampires' are faster and stronger than he is. He realizes that he would have to get creative to survive. John runs far enough so that the vampires are divided between the girls and himself. Pulling his lighter out of his pocket, he rips the top off of it and slashes lighter fluid over one of the vampires while holding the shotgun in one hand. He walks forward until the shotgun is almost pressing against the vampire's chest and pulls the trigger. The round was close enough to set the lighter fluid on fire. The vampire screams with agony and rolls on the ground before blowing up in ashes. The second vampire gets there and knocks the gun out of John's hand. John tries to pull out his combat knife but that is also knocked away. The three vampires close in on John as he tries desperately to defend himself.
The Slayer walks out of the Bronze without difficulty after telling Willow and Zander to stay put until she gets back. The reason why there is a clear path is that it is provided for by the exit of the mystery woman. Buffy notices the woman move toward the park, something in hand. She starts heading in that direction too.
San rushes into the park and sees a group of people. Then she sees John on the ground, battered, bruised, bleeding and being kicked by the group. Then she sees red. In an instant, she pulls up her Beretta 9mm pistol and opens fire on one of the group. Though she really doesn't like guns, this is one time she is ready and willing to use it. The person feels the impact of the bullets and is thrown aside. The rest turn on Salvador.
"They're not human, Sandra," John says in a bloody croak, "They're vampires. Use your knives." San pulls out both of her ironwood daggers as two of the vampires move in. She believes him mostly after she sees the vampires faces. The one she shot shrugged off the bullets like nothing. The third vampire in leather clothes picks up John.
"Your not on the menu but you'll do." He bites down hard. In a moment of strength, John uses his fists and plays the cymbals on Angelus' temples. Angelus hits John one time in the stomach using his full strength, drops him, and kicks John several time hard in the side and stomach. "You'll watch your girlfriend die first for that."
San is in trouble. One vampire was attacking her directly and the other had picked up John's combat knife before attacking her. She was kicking, slashing and blocking with all her skill. These vampires were strong and fast but not particular skillful in fighting. She managed to score jabs and slashes all over the place without avail. The vampire with the knife got her side pretty good and she feels blood pour down her leg. Things were getting pretty dark due to her losing blood. San took a chance and instinctively stabbed backward into the vampire holding the knife because she noticed that another vampire was heading her way. The vampire she stabbed dissolved into ashes as she collapsed into semi-consciousness.
Buffy came into the park to a scene of a major fight. She saw the mystery woman drop onto the ground as Angelus and another vamp approaches her. The Slayer ran down and stakes the lackey vamp as Angelus tried to get past the woman's cross necklace that she is holding up.
"Angel," she calls out to her former lover. "I don't think she's interested in you."
He backs away. "Another night Buffy." Angelus does the neat disappearing thing that older vampires can do. Buffy turns and sees that San had crawled over to the man lying on the ground.
"John," she calls out weakly as the pain of Immortal healing sets in. Tears run down her eyes as she looks at what had happened to him. He won't live long.
"Sandra," he whispers out through the blood in his throat, "I love you."
"I love you too. Don't worry. The paramedics will be here soon. They'll help you." San turns up to the small blond girl standing there. She shouts, "Don't stand there dammit, call the hospital, now." Buffy turns and automatically does as she says.
"Don't try to kid me San. I'm dying, I can feel it. Just don't let me become one of them. Just tell my family it was an accident."
"Yes. I'll do that for you."
"Thank you, San. It's so dark. I can't see your face."
"I'll hold your hand."
"So cold. I'm so cold..." His voice dies off and his body relaxes in death.
"Don't John. Don't do this to me." San screams. She lies her head down on his chest and weeps.
The Funeral
(He is now at peace.) San thought as she watched the minister do the ceremony. I broke my last promise with John. It was the Sunnydale Police Department who told John's parents (he said that his step-father is as much a father as his real one.) Afterwards during the reception, she noticed an older man slightly separate from the crowd as he came her way. From the looks of him and the way he walked, it could only be Joe Dawson.
Dawson looks at the young immortal as she stood there grieving for her fiancee. He probably shouldn't have started to walk over there but the damage was already done.
"Hello, Mr. Dawson," the soft accented voice says.
"Hello, Salvador," he says back, "I'm sorry. Is there anything I could do for you?"
"Yes there is." San says quietly. "I intend to get the demon spawn who did this to John and I need one thing done," her voice hardens, "Six months, no Watchers on my trail."
"That is really not my decision to make." Dawson retorts.
She points at a man who was watching her without trying to be noticed. "Tell whoever is able to do so to call that guy off. After the week is over, any Watchers I find following me, I cripple permanently."
She turns and watchs as John's family spread John's ashes into the lakeside. She had declined to take part in this.
"What are you planning on doing, Sandra?"
"I plan on doing what I have done best for over forty years. Kill."