A/N This story takes
place after 'Into the Woods'. It completely veers off from the rest of S5. I
have posted it here before, but it SOMEHOW got deleted. So here it is again, for
your viewing pleasure. Will eventually sort of be B/S…you'll have to wait and
see. Don't worry, there isn't any Riley….hehehehehe.
Written
in Charcoal
Buffy collapsed on to
the bed.
It had possibly been
the worst day of her life. Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration. She'd had a
lot of worst days, but this one ranked pretty high on the Suck-o-meter. Riley
had cheated on her. Not just any old cheating. No, he'd cheated on her with the
undead. Skanky, undead whores.
And then she'd
spilled her guts to Spike, who was definitely acting weirder than usual. Not
only was he stealing pictures of her and apparently doing the stalking thing,
that she could handle. He was talking to her. Dancing with her.
All Slayer's have a
death wish.
Tears began to roll
down her face. Again. Why did it always hurt, why couldn't she ever just be
happy? It was all so complicated. But, then she could never have anything pure.
It seemed that everything she touched turned black. First the disaster of
Angelus, now this unsavory experience with Riley.
"Buffy? Are you
okay?"
It was Willow. Buffy
quickly wiped the tears away from her face, and stood up.
"I'm fine."
Willow walked in, and
made a note of the Slayer's red rimmed eyes.
"No, you're
definitely the opposite of fine." Willow's voice softened. "Do you
want me to stay here tonight? Because if you want we can talk..."
"Really Willow,
I'm okay. You go out, have some fun." Buffy gave a bitter laugh. "I
mean, I should be used to dealing with this kind of thing by now, shouldn't
I?"
"Buffy..."
"Just go."
Willow walked
hesitantly over to her friend, gave her a hug, and left.
The moment the door
clicked shut, the tears came again.
*****
"You guys just
don't...ugh...get it, do you?"
Buffy slammed another
stake home, and the second vampire turned to dust. The ashes of his friend
where scattered nearby, and she turned to face the last vampire.
"Come on then.
Make my..."
The vampire took one
look at the Slayer and ran.
"They never let
me finish that line! It makes me so mad when vampires don't appreciate
melodrama."
And I'm talking to myself. Must be the after effects of
the whole achy breaky heart experience...
Buffy stopped
babbling and stood over a grave, stake poised. A vampire burst through the
soil, and she looked at her watch.
"Right on time.
Bye bye!"
Dust.
This wasn't making
her feel better. Well, not very much. For a start, it was too easy.
Whatever happened to
indestructible evil coming along every week? I haven't had a decent slay
for...well, ages.
Then she heard it. A
low growl. Very low and very loud. It seemed to be coming from the general
direction of the tomb on her left, about ten meters away.
"You just had to
ask, didn't you...." she mumbled under her breath. Stake raised, she moved
silently towards the tomb. There was a swift rush of air.
Everything went
black.
*****
"First degree
burns...face and hands...seem to be healing remarkably quickly...no, there's no
danger of scarring.."
Buffy's eyes
flickered open and she recognized the now familiar smell of the hospital. There
was a flurry of motion and she was aware of a sea of concerned faces.
"Buffy, you're
awake! Thank God..."
"Knew she was
just faking it..."
"Geez Buff, you
had us worried..."
"You said you
were okay I shouldn't have left you..."
Giles spoke again.
"What
happened?"
"I
was...patrolling. thought it might calm
me down a little...then I...heard something. Like a growly noise. And I went to
see what it was, then I..I can't remember."
She felt her face.
There were a few patches of rough skin.
"What happened
to my face?"
"First degree
burns. Nothing serious." That was the doctor, with her clipped
professional tone.
"Burns.."
Leathery wings.
Charcoal breath. Gleaming teeth. Nightmare claws.
"It was a
dragon."
*****
"Dragons! There are
no such things as dragons! Vampires, demons, slug-men, Inca-mummy girls, yes.
But dragons?" Xander said incredulously. Even Willow raised her eyebrow, and
Buffy immediately regretted saying it.
"Think hard Buffy.
Was it some kind of fire-breathing demon?" Giles asked, squinting worriedly at
her.
"I was so sure…it was
a…never mind. I suppose it might have been a demon…" Buffy trailed off. The
others continued to stare at her.
Dawn snorted. "Look,
whether it's a dragon or a demon, what's the problem?"
Giles turned on her.
"The problem is it very nearly could have killed your sister, and we need to
find a way to destroy it. You can't always just jump in and kill demons, you
know, especially strong ones. Even with Buffy's accelerated healing powers, she
still ended up in hospital…are you feeling any better?"
"I'll be okay by
tomorrow. Are you going to…"
"I'll have a look
through the books, see what I can find….until tomorrow then."
"Bye Buff."
"I'll drop by later,
I promise."
Dawn sat silently by
Buffy's bed for a moment longer, waiting until the others had gone. She looked
at her sister with large eyes and a slightly questioning expression.
"Was it really a dragon?"
Buffy sighed. "No. I
guess not. Look, you go with Xander. He said he'd look after you."
"I don't need looking...Xander? Bye!"
The Slayer lay her
head back on to the bed and closed her eyes. She couldn't get rid of the
feeling that something was watching her, an unpleasant reminder of the previous
night's close encounter.
If Giles says there's
no such thing as dragons…I guess I was wrong.
"Slayer? You awake in
there?"
Spike.
Buffy kept her eyes
closed, and willed him to go away. A visit from the peroxide pest was just
about the last thing she needed now. He was part of the reason she was so angry
and confused. At least the whole dragon thing had made her forget a little. His
voice was a fresh reminder of Riley's absence, and she felt her concentration
slipping.
Spike crouched down
by the side of the hospital bed, and she heard him put something on the floor.
Then he just stood and looked at her for a few minutes before leaving, the door
clicking gently shut behind him.
Buffy cautiously
opened one eye, and with great effort leaned over the side of the bed. A small
box.
Weird.
She held it up to eye
level. Just a plain, black box, about the size of a book. She prised the lid
off the box with some difficulty, and pushed aside the tissue paper.
It was a tooth. Sharp
white enamel, gleaming in the dim electric light. It was too large to be a
vampire tooth, but resembled one that she'd once knocked from a fledgling's
mouth. Buffy picked it up and held it in her hand.
A thousand images seared her mind.
She was flying across
a barren desert, hot air blasting strands of hair away from her face. Soaring
down low, effortlessly, she was free. Twisting and turning, then she saw
something on the ground.
Dinner.
She closed in on the
hooded figure, claws ready to maim and kill, mouth open wide in a deadly snarl.
The hooded figure
whirled around. It grabbed her leg, causing her to falter and fall. It kicked
her while she regained her senses, and she fought with it. They circled like
wildcats, warrior to warrior, claws and fire against hand and sword.
Then the hood fell
back, and it plunged the sword deep into breast.
And as Buffy was
sucked back to reality, she saw the dragon die, and the one who had killed it
turned to face her, with vibrant, laughing emerald eyes.
The Dragon Slayer
smiled.