Part 9(b):
The silence was deafening.
A clichéd saying, but one that fit the situation in Buffy's car perfectly.
Buffy sat in the driver's seat rigidly, her eyes glued to the front of the road as if her life depended on it (and it did, considering she was the driver). She was making an effort to make the least eye contact with anything {and anyone} in the car. In fact, so engrossed was she with the road that her driving was uncharacteristically exemplary.
Not that Xander had noticed.
He was slumped in the passenger seat, one hand dangling out of the open window, the other one clutching to the stuffed giraffe he had won earlier. His face held a stoic expression, and his eyes were transfixed on the scenery that was whizzing by. {How did things get so complicated so fast?}
His plan had been such a simple one at first. Get into town, try and help the gang without being seen, and get the hell out of dodge as fast as possible. But he knew the plan would fail the moment he heard Dawn's voice that night in the cemetery. From then everything had gone down hill. He still did not know anything about this great evil that was supposed to threaten Sunnydale. . . again. He had been found out by the gang.
And now there was the whole carnival fiasco with Buffy.
{You know you aren't supposed to be having these feelings for her. You don't deserve Buffy anymore. You were always the most vocal about her relationships with Angel and Spike. They could never and will never supply her with the happiness she deserves. And now you're in the same boat as them.}
Xander let out a bitter laugh inside his head. He couldn't believe he was identifying with Angel and Spike. But he felt that he was like them. He was teetering on the edge of good and evil. He felt dead inside, and when you feel dead, you are dead.
Buffy was doing no better. At that time, her body was engaging an internal war. On one side, her heart was screaming to her that the man beside her was Xander, her old friend, whom she was developing feelings for, and she should grab him, hold him tight and never let him go. On the other side, her brain was telling her in a cool and calm manner that she should be cautious and not get too intimately involved with Xander yet. After all, she didn't know that she could trust him yet. Some of the things she's seen him do these past two days weren't exactly of the good.
"Look Xander, I. . ."
She was cut short by a piercing scream coming from a nearby park they were passing by. Buffy slammed on the brakes, parking her automobile by the side of the road. She reached over towards Xander's side of the car and opened the glove compartment, which housed a variety of undead killing weapons. She took out a couple of stakes and a vial of holy water. She looked towards Xander and the two shared a nod, before exiting the car at the same time.
After he exited the car, Xander reached into his leather duster and produced his dual barettas. He undid the clip of each weapon to make sure they weren't empty, before jamming them back into the gun with a click and undoing the safety.
Buffy observed all this, a bemused look on her face. "You brought your guns on our date?"
"And aren't you glad now that I did? Besides, you're one to talk, miss 'Slayer Mobile'." He retorted as he pointed to the two stakes in her hand.
Buffy's comeback was interrupted by another shriek. "Can't I say two words without being interrupted by a blood curdling scream? Come on, Xan Wonder. It's slayer time."
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{15 vamps. Shit. This would be hard enough with Amy and Spike. No body though. Where did the scream come from? Maybe the victim got away. Ok Buffy, plan time. Fight or flee? I'm thinking flee.}
"What, do you think, Xan. . . Xan? Xander?" Buffy whispered as she scanned they're hiding place in a bush overlooking a clearing where the vampires were. {Great. Just when I thought things couldn't get worse. Now Xander has to go Houdini on me. He should be more careful. He might be Chow Yun Fat now but. . .}
Her internal monologue was interrupted by a familiar voice that came from among the trees behind the vampires. "Ooh, it's a fangoid meeting. What is this, the 'Blood Type of The Month' club?"
The vampire congregations turned around to confront the person who dared interrupt them. "Human." The lead vampire growled. "What do you think boys? Our original menu got away but this one just might do the trick."
"I don't know boss." said a short, annoying looking vamp in a squeaky voice. "He doesn't look very appetizing. Betcha his blood's watered down."
"I'd say 'bite me' but you guys are planning to do that anyway." Xander retorted as he tucked his hands into his leather duster. "So I'll just say 'bring it'."
"Arrogant human. You think you can face us without any weapons?"
"I'll just use anything I find lying around."
"Tom, Dick, Harry, hurry up and kill him. I'm thirsty." The lead vampire said nonchalantly as he turned away from Xander, waving his hand around in the air dismissively.
Tom, Dick and Harry advanced towards Xander, morphing into their game faces, they're evil smiles showing off their sharp teeth.
"Whoa, whoa there guys, could we talk about this?" Xander said as the three vampires were around a meter in front of him.
"We are not in the mood to talk, human. We. . ."
Xander's hands whipped out from under the cover of his duster like lightning, holding his two 'friends'. Before Tom could finish his tirade, Xander had fired three shots, each one aimed towards the chests of the three vampires stalking him. They were dusted immediately.
"Neither am I."
The lead vampire turned around when he heard the shots being fired. "W-what?" he said, his yellow, feral eyes wide with shock.
"It's amazing what people leave lying around these days." Xander said with a smile as he . "Now what say we get to the part where I'm dusting you off my clothes?"
"KILL HIM!"
Xander took cover behind the trees and started picking the vamps off one by one. He hoped to take out as many as possible before he had to go 'hands on'. He had managed to dust five and injure a few more from long distance before a vamp finally managed to get close enough to him. The vampire lunged straight for his neck but he spun around causing the vampire to miss him completely and tumble to the ground. As he was spinning around, Xander instinctively stuck out his elbow which connected with a second vampire who had also managed to reach him. After a complete 360 degree spin he was facing the first vampire again and let go with a shot from the gun on his left hand, dusting the vampire. Without looking, he pointed his other gun towards the broken nosed vampire and let loose with another shot which also reduced the vampire to dust.
Suddenly, Xander felt a pair of strong arms around his waist and was thrown out of the cover provided by the trees and into the clearing. The vampire who had used him as a javelin and another one advanced towards him. One of the vamps, who was nearly seven feet tall, lifted him up by the scruff of his neck. Using this opportunity, Xander kicked both his feet out at the vampire, using him as a springboard. The vampire had no choice but to let Xander go, and even before Xander's back felt the ground, he fired a shot at the vamp's head, dusting him.
The moment Xander fell to the ground, he felt a jolting pain travel up his left arm. One of the vamps was stepping on it, trying to free the gun which was in it's grasp. Xander tried to use the gun in his right hand, but before he could make a shot, another vampire gripped it tightly, trying to liberate it form his grasp.
While trying to overcome the pain in his left hand and wrestling the vamp which was trying to get the gun on his right, his lips managed to croak out "If you're thinking about helping, Buff, now. . . would be a good. . . time."
Xander's call for help snapped Buffy out of her reverie. She jumped out of the bushes, running towards her helpless friend. She nonchalantly dusted a vampire who was trying to get up after being shot in the leg as she passed him. When she reached Xander, she lashed out a vicious roundhouse kick at the vamp who was stepping on Xander's left hand. The vampire fell to the ground unceremoniously and was quickly introduced to the sharp end of Buffy's stake.
As Xander felt his left arm being freed, he lashed out the butt of his sidearm at the temple of the vamp he was wrestling. He got up far more quickly and gracefully than the vampire, and easily dusted the undead creature with a shot to the head.
Together, Buffy and Xander managed to take out the remaining demons relatively easily until only the leader remained. Xander had managed to put a at least one bullet into each one of his limbs. The vampire was now lying helplessly on his back, looking up toward the slayer and her knight in shining armour.
"So who gets the honours?" Buffy asked, her eyes never leaving the sprawled figure beneath her.
"You do it. He's not worth the cost of these bullets."
Buffy hurled a stake towards the vamps heart, and after the dust had settled, only the stake remained, embedded in the ground. Xander and Buffy turned towards each other, sharing a triumphant grin.
Suddenly, Xander felt a finger tapping on his shoulder. Still in an adrenaline rush from the fight, Xander quickly spun around and pointed a gun towards the finger's owner.
Buffy's eyes widened as she got a better look at the figure. "Xander, don't, she's. . ." But before she could completely voice her protest, Xander had already pulled the trigger.
*Click*
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Author's notes
To Amelia: Expect some X/Druness in the next part or two as I start to explore some of the still unanswered questions in the plot.
The silence was deafening.
A clichéd saying, but one that fit the situation in Buffy's car perfectly.
Buffy sat in the driver's seat rigidly, her eyes glued to the front of the road as if her life depended on it (and it did, considering she was the driver). She was making an effort to make the least eye contact with anything {and anyone} in the car. In fact, so engrossed was she with the road that her driving was uncharacteristically exemplary.
Not that Xander had noticed.
He was slumped in the passenger seat, one hand dangling out of the open window, the other one clutching to the stuffed giraffe he had won earlier. His face held a stoic expression, and his eyes were transfixed on the scenery that was whizzing by. {How did things get so complicated so fast?}
His plan had been such a simple one at first. Get into town, try and help the gang without being seen, and get the hell out of dodge as fast as possible. But he knew the plan would fail the moment he heard Dawn's voice that night in the cemetery. From then everything had gone down hill. He still did not know anything about this great evil that was supposed to threaten Sunnydale. . . again. He had been found out by the gang.
And now there was the whole carnival fiasco with Buffy.
{You know you aren't supposed to be having these feelings for her. You don't deserve Buffy anymore. You were always the most vocal about her relationships with Angel and Spike. They could never and will never supply her with the happiness she deserves. And now you're in the same boat as them.}
Xander let out a bitter laugh inside his head. He couldn't believe he was identifying with Angel and Spike. But he felt that he was like them. He was teetering on the edge of good and evil. He felt dead inside, and when you feel dead, you are dead.
Buffy was doing no better. At that time, her body was engaging an internal war. On one side, her heart was screaming to her that the man beside her was Xander, her old friend, whom she was developing feelings for, and she should grab him, hold him tight and never let him go. On the other side, her brain was telling her in a cool and calm manner that she should be cautious and not get too intimately involved with Xander yet. After all, she didn't know that she could trust him yet. Some of the things she's seen him do these past two days weren't exactly of the good.
"Look Xander, I. . ."
She was cut short by a piercing scream coming from a nearby park they were passing by. Buffy slammed on the brakes, parking her automobile by the side of the road. She reached over towards Xander's side of the car and opened the glove compartment, which housed a variety of undead killing weapons. She took out a couple of stakes and a vial of holy water. She looked towards Xander and the two shared a nod, before exiting the car at the same time.
After he exited the car, Xander reached into his leather duster and produced his dual barettas. He undid the clip of each weapon to make sure they weren't empty, before jamming them back into the gun with a click and undoing the safety.
Buffy observed all this, a bemused look on her face. "You brought your guns on our date?"
"And aren't you glad now that I did? Besides, you're one to talk, miss 'Slayer Mobile'." He retorted as he pointed to the two stakes in her hand.
Buffy's comeback was interrupted by another shriek. "Can't I say two words without being interrupted by a blood curdling scream? Come on, Xan Wonder. It's slayer time."
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{15 vamps. Shit. This would be hard enough with Amy and Spike. No body though. Where did the scream come from? Maybe the victim got away. Ok Buffy, plan time. Fight or flee? I'm thinking flee.}
"What, do you think, Xan. . . Xan? Xander?" Buffy whispered as she scanned they're hiding place in a bush overlooking a clearing where the vampires were. {Great. Just when I thought things couldn't get worse. Now Xander has to go Houdini on me. He should be more careful. He might be Chow Yun Fat now but. . .}
Her internal monologue was interrupted by a familiar voice that came from among the trees behind the vampires. "Ooh, it's a fangoid meeting. What is this, the 'Blood Type of The Month' club?"
The vampire congregations turned around to confront the person who dared interrupt them. "Human." The lead vampire growled. "What do you think boys? Our original menu got away but this one just might do the trick."
"I don't know boss." said a short, annoying looking vamp in a squeaky voice. "He doesn't look very appetizing. Betcha his blood's watered down."
"I'd say 'bite me' but you guys are planning to do that anyway." Xander retorted as he tucked his hands into his leather duster. "So I'll just say 'bring it'."
"Arrogant human. You think you can face us without any weapons?"
"I'll just use anything I find lying around."
"Tom, Dick, Harry, hurry up and kill him. I'm thirsty." The lead vampire said nonchalantly as he turned away from Xander, waving his hand around in the air dismissively.
Tom, Dick and Harry advanced towards Xander, morphing into their game faces, they're evil smiles showing off their sharp teeth.
"Whoa, whoa there guys, could we talk about this?" Xander said as the three vampires were around a meter in front of him.
"We are not in the mood to talk, human. We. . ."
Xander's hands whipped out from under the cover of his duster like lightning, holding his two 'friends'. Before Tom could finish his tirade, Xander had fired three shots, each one aimed towards the chests of the three vampires stalking him. They were dusted immediately.
"Neither am I."
The lead vampire turned around when he heard the shots being fired. "W-what?" he said, his yellow, feral eyes wide with shock.
"It's amazing what people leave lying around these days." Xander said with a smile as he . "Now what say we get to the part where I'm dusting you off my clothes?"
"KILL HIM!"
Xander took cover behind the trees and started picking the vamps off one by one. He hoped to take out as many as possible before he had to go 'hands on'. He had managed to dust five and injure a few more from long distance before a vamp finally managed to get close enough to him. The vampire lunged straight for his neck but he spun around causing the vampire to miss him completely and tumble to the ground. As he was spinning around, Xander instinctively stuck out his elbow which connected with a second vampire who had also managed to reach him. After a complete 360 degree spin he was facing the first vampire again and let go with a shot from the gun on his left hand, dusting the vampire. Without looking, he pointed his other gun towards the broken nosed vampire and let loose with another shot which also reduced the vampire to dust.
Suddenly, Xander felt a pair of strong arms around his waist and was thrown out of the cover provided by the trees and into the clearing. The vampire who had used him as a javelin and another one advanced towards him. One of the vamps, who was nearly seven feet tall, lifted him up by the scruff of his neck. Using this opportunity, Xander kicked both his feet out at the vampire, using him as a springboard. The vampire had no choice but to let Xander go, and even before Xander's back felt the ground, he fired a shot at the vamp's head, dusting him.
The moment Xander fell to the ground, he felt a jolting pain travel up his left arm. One of the vamps was stepping on it, trying to free the gun which was in it's grasp. Xander tried to use the gun in his right hand, but before he could make a shot, another vampire gripped it tightly, trying to liberate it form his grasp.
While trying to overcome the pain in his left hand and wrestling the vamp which was trying to get the gun on his right, his lips managed to croak out "If you're thinking about helping, Buff, now. . . would be a good. . . time."
Xander's call for help snapped Buffy out of her reverie. She jumped out of the bushes, running towards her helpless friend. She nonchalantly dusted a vampire who was trying to get up after being shot in the leg as she passed him. When she reached Xander, she lashed out a vicious roundhouse kick at the vamp who was stepping on Xander's left hand. The vampire fell to the ground unceremoniously and was quickly introduced to the sharp end of Buffy's stake.
As Xander felt his left arm being freed, he lashed out the butt of his sidearm at the temple of the vamp he was wrestling. He got up far more quickly and gracefully than the vampire, and easily dusted the undead creature with a shot to the head.
Together, Buffy and Xander managed to take out the remaining demons relatively easily until only the leader remained. Xander had managed to put a at least one bullet into each one of his limbs. The vampire was now lying helplessly on his back, looking up toward the slayer and her knight in shining armour.
"So who gets the honours?" Buffy asked, her eyes never leaving the sprawled figure beneath her.
"You do it. He's not worth the cost of these bullets."
Buffy hurled a stake towards the vamps heart, and after the dust had settled, only the stake remained, embedded in the ground. Xander and Buffy turned towards each other, sharing a triumphant grin.
Suddenly, Xander felt a finger tapping on his shoulder. Still in an adrenaline rush from the fight, Xander quickly spun around and pointed a gun towards the finger's owner.
Buffy's eyes widened as she got a better look at the figure. "Xander, don't, she's. . ." But before she could completely voice her protest, Xander had already pulled the trigger.
*Click*
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Author's notes
To Amelia: Expect some X/Druness in the next part or two as I start to explore some of the still unanswered questions in the plot.