Crossover
.:Okay, FYI, if you don't know what's going on in a series, all will be explained. The Japanese names are used for the Outer Scouts, but the English for the rest. Takes place after Starz. Oh, and about Rini, I know she came back older in S, but in this she's still just a little girl. For BtVS, it takes place after season 5, but also after Buffy's resurrection:.
Spike walked through the graveyard happier than he'd been in a long time. There were no more crazy hellgods trying to open a portal into hell, no one was dead, or insane, and best of all, he got to be part of the group for the first time ever. He grinned to himself, intending to take one last sweep of the cemetery before heading home. Now that Buffy was back, they were all trying to help her with some of the chores she had, and for Spike, that meant slaying. So far he had dusted two newdeads and three or four older vampires. Not bad, but he had an uneasy feeling that something was wrong... He just didn't know what it was.
There was a bright flash of light from not too far away from him, followed by the sound of a child screaming. Spike instantly headed towards the sound.
When he arrived at the lights' origin, the first thing he noticed was the vampire, who was apparently holding a little girl with bright pink hair. "Put her down," he snapped at the young vampire.
He turned to look at Spike, and growled dangerously. Spike blinked in surprise. Who ever this was must be a pretty bad hunter, he thought, because he obviously hasn't eaten in weeks. It wasn't a pretty sight. Spike pulled out a stake. "Just give me the girl," he said softly. "I'll make it quick."
But the young one wasn't going to give up without a fight. He dropped the girl, and darted towards his bleached elder. Spike, true to his word, quickly shoved the stake through his heart, turning him to dust. He turned to the girl, who was sitting on the ground, struggling not to cry. "Are you all right?" he asked softly.
She nodded. "I'm lost."
"Where are goin, love?"
"I'm trying to find my mom," she said. "She's here." He took the scrap of paper she held out to him. He read the address scribbled on it and nodded.
"I know where this is. It's a good five miles from here though."
She winced. "Is there someplace I can get a ride?"
"I can take you," he replied. "I've got a car."
She smiled. "Thanks."
"Not a problem," he replied. "I'm sure your mum's very worried about you."
Fifteen minutes later, they were sitting in front of the hotel. Spike turned to speak to the little girl, only to find that she had fallen asleep. He thought of waking her, but decided against it. Rini, as she said her name was, was a sweet kid, and probably needed her rest. With a soft sigh, he pulled her out of the car with him and walked inside.
The guy at the front desk said he hadn't seen her before, which was surprising, considering her flash of bright pink hair. As Spike was standing there, trying to decide what to do, a girl with raven hair walked up to him, a puzzled look on her face.
"Rini?" she asked quietly.
Spike glanced at her suspiciously. "You her mum?"
The girl shook her head. "My name's Raye. But I'm here with Serena."
"And that's her mum?"
"Yeah, sort of."
"How can she be sort of her mum but not really?"
Raye shook her head. "It's a long story. Where'd you find her?"
"In the cemetery. She got grabbed by some jerk, and I helped her out a bit."
"Raye!" someone yelled from across the room. The two turned to face two more girls. It was the blonde one who had spoken. "What's wrong?"
"It's Rini!" the other, brown haired girl said. She was the more muscular of the two.
Spike rolled his eyes. Were they all going to point that out? "Yes, well, I really have to be going, so if you'd direct me to her mum, I'll be on my way."
"Oh, it's okay," the blonde said. "We can take her."
"I'd rather not."
"Well, all right. By the way, my name's Lita, and this is Mina," the brown haired one said. "What's your name?"
"Spike," he said. "Lead the way. I'm in a bit of a hurry." He glanced at the large clock on the wall. Only an hour till sunrise.
"Oh, of course," Raye said. "Please, follow me." She walked over to an elevator and hit the up button. When the doors opened, she grinned. "Guess we won't have to go all that way. This is Serena and Darien."
Spike glanced at the couple in the small room. The girl was blonde, and she had a strange hairstyle. Darien had short, black hair and had a strange air about him. Not ready to believe them, he gently shook Rini awake. "Hey, love," he said quietly. "This your mum?"
"Rini!" Darien exclaimed, immediately at the girl's side.
Serena joined him. "Are you all right?"
"I'm okay," the girl said. "Thanks, Spike."
"Not a problem, Nibblet. But I really do have to go," he said, setting her down. "Maybe I'll see you around."
"I hope so," Rini replied. "Good bye!"
"Bye," he replied. With one last glance over his shoulder, he headed for home.
"Spike?" Serena repeated. "Rini, who was that?"
"He's my friend. He saved me from the monster in the graveyard," she replied.
Darien nodded. "Is something wrong, Rini? Why are you here?"
She frowned. "We're in the middle of a major battle, so Mommy sent me here so I'd be safe."
Serena smiled. "You're always welcome with us, Rini. But that's it? There's no big emergency in our time?"
"I don't think so."
"Good. We're on vacation, and I want to enjoy myself."
"Speaking of which, we were just going shopping," Lita said. "You wanna come, Rini?"
The little girl smiled. "Yeah! Let's go!"
"Shopping? Are you sure? It's getting kind of late," Amy said.
Raye rolled her eyes. "It's vacation, Amy. You're supposed to stay out late. C'mon, it'll be fun," she said, grinning at her friend.
Amy smiled back. "I guess you're right. Let's go."
A few days later, Spike had decided to make one last sweep through the cemetery before heading to the Bronze. He had just dusted a couple of vamps when he heard a noise behind him. He spun around, stake in hand, only to freeze when he saw Buffy. "What are you doing here, love?" he asked.
She smiled apologetically. "I just had to get away from their constant worrying. Now I know how Dawn felt."
He grinned at her. "So you were sneaking off to Spike's while everyone else worried sick? She's rubbing off on you."
"Actually, I was patrolling."
"Without any stakes? Sure."
"I was!"
His reply was cut short by the disturbance a ways away. "Guess you'll be fighting some evil anyway," Spike said before he tossed her a stake and they took off in that direction.
When they arrived in the clearing, Spike did a double take at what he saw. A bunch of girls in sailor costumes were fighting off a demon. And surprisingly, they weren't doing a half bad job. He gasped in surprise when he realized who they were. The girls from before! The ones he had left Rini with!
Buffy was already in the fight by the time he had made these realizations. He quickly jumped in to help. Stakes didn't usually do much good against a demon, but they had to do something. After a few minutes of fighting, Buffy was thrown back against a tree and one of the girls did something amazing. The blonde -Mina- suddenly shouted, "Venus Love Chain Encircle!" and from the end of her fingertips came a string of yellow hearts, which wrapped around the demon like a chain. With it tied up, it was easy for Spike to step in and shove the stake into its heart.
After making sure it was dead, a precaution all the Scoobies took after the incident with Doc, he went over to Buffy. She was just sitting there and looked slightly out of it. "What happened?" she asked him, accepting his offered hand. "Where did that string of light come from?"
"Good question," he replied. Looking over at the girls, he added, "Care to explain, Mina?"
She gasped. "How did you know it was me?"
He gave her a look. "It's not like I can't tell the difference. You changed is all. Still look the same."
"Who are you?" Serena demanded. "And why did you just kill them?"
"I figured Rini would have told you. My name's Spike. This is Buffy. As to why I killed it," he said, stressing the word, "it was evil. I don't take all that kindly to demons." As if as an afterthought, he added, "Anymore."
"It wasn't a demon!" she shot back. "It was a person who had been transformed to look like a demon!"
Buffy rolled her eyes. "Spike, what is it with you and insane people?"
He shrugged. "Can't help it, love. I guess I'm just that attractive."
She snorted. "In your dreams."
"Actually-" he began, only to be cut off by Raye.
"She's not insane! That really was a person! It was transformed by the evil we came here to investigate to steal energy. You should be more careful."
At that moment, Xander, with his perfect timing skills, walked up. "What's goin on? I thought you were supposed to be at home resting," he said to Buffy.
"What are you doing here?" she countered. "It's dangerous. You should know better than to go wandering around in cemeteries."
"Actually, Giles sent me to get Spike. Something about Sailor Scouts. I wasn't really listening."
At that moment, two cats walked up to them. "That wouldn't be Rupert Giles, by any chance?" the white one said.
The trio stared blankly at it for a moment. Then Xander shook his head. "Only in Sunnydale."
They somehow managed to sort things out, and the group was now assembled at the Magic Box. Evidently they were still waiting for some people, so the group had split up to talk. Willow and Tara were talking to Mina and Raye, while Xander and Anya spoke with Amy and Lita. Giles was discussing something with the two talking cats, Luna and Artemis, while Dawn watched with apt fascination. Spike and Buffy were sitting off to the side, silently watching everything.
Finally, Spike turned to the blonde next to him and asked, "So why were you coming to see me tonight?"
Buffy was about to answer when Serena walked up. "Hi!" she said. "Everyone else is talking and you were all alone, so I thought I'd come say hi."
"You already did," Spike said, annoyance in his voice. "Bye."
Buffy elbowed him. "Just ignore him," she said. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name?"
"I'm Serena," she said, smiling.
"Buffy."
"I'm leaving," Spike said. He headed for the door, but Giles called out to him.
"We really need you here, Spike. Buffy's not up to full strength yet, and we could use your help."
The vampire smirked at the look on Buffy's face. He nodded. "Call me when you're ready. I'll be outside," he said, showing them a pack of cigarettes. Just as he reached the door, a man opened it for him. He was followed by a three girls, one with blue hair, and the others with green or black.
"Haruka!" Serena exclaimed. "Michiru! Hotaru! Setsuna!"
"Splendid!" Giles exclaimed. "Is Darien with you as well?"
The guy shook his head. "We haven't seen him."
"He might be at the hotel," Lita called over. "He probably decided to put Rini down for the night."
"Rini's back?" the younger girl with short, black hair asked.
Mina nodded. "But she's younger than she was when we last saw her. She might not remember you."
The younger girl's face fell. "Oh."
"Don't worry, Hotaru," the girl with blue hair said. "I'm sure you'll make other friends here."
"Yeah, just watch out for the ones that bite," Spike said, showing a little fang before stepping outside. "Call me when the last one arrives!" he called over his shoulder.
Hotaru gawked at the sight of him for a few seconds after he left. Buffy rolled her eyes. "Once again, my advice is to ignore him. He can be a real jerk sometimes. Who are you guys again?"
"I'm Haruka," the guy said. He had sandy blonde hair cut to the tops of his ears. "This is Michiru," the girl with sea-blue hair smiled and waved slightly.
"My name's Hotaru," the youngest said, grinning. "And this is Setsuna."
Buffy nodded. "You realize you're going to have to repeat those to me about a thousand times before I learn them."
Haruka grinned. "Not a problem."
Introductions made, the group again began to talk among themselves. Dawn walked up to the newcomers and smiled. "Sorry they're so rude," she said. "I'm Dawn. The old guy talkin to the cats is Giles. He owns this place. The redhead over there is Willow, and next to her is Tara. That's Xander, and his fiance Anya. And that's my sister, Buffy. The guy who just left is Spike. He's actually really cool, once you get to know him."
Michiru smiled at her. "Thanks," she said. "It's nice to meet you."
"Do you have any idea why we're here?" Setsuna asked.
Dawn shook her head. "They never tell me anything."
At that moment, there was a yell from outside as someone slammed up against the door. A muffled "Bloody hell!" was heard and Buffy groaned as she went to help Spike. "You might want to move," she suggested to the group that was still by the door. Once they were a safe distance away, she opened it and stepped aside, and a few seconds later, Spike stumbled inside, followed closely by Darien, who seemed to be attacking him.
"Spike!" Dawn exclaimed, running over to her friend. "Are you okay?"
"Darien! What are you doing?" Serena exclaimed. "Spike's not an enemy!"
"Don't go near him! He's a vampire!" the dark haired boy exclaimed.
"Duh," Anya said.
Xander looked at him, puzzled. "How did you know that?"
Darien blinked in surprise. "You knew! And you didn't stake him!" He glared angrily at Buffy. "Some Slayer you are."
Dawn marched up to him and slapped him, hard. "Don't talk to my sister that way!" she snapped.
"Everyone, please calm down!" Giles, ever the voice of reason, exclaimed. "I will explain everything."
"You'd better," Darien said coldly, still glaring at Spike, who was once again joined by Dawn. Buffy was standing a bit off, in case Darien tried anything.
"To put this bit of tension behind us, the reason we have yet to dispose of Spike is because he has a microchip in his brain that keeps him from harming humans. That's why he didn't fight back when you attacked him.
"As to why we are all here, Luna, Artemis, and I thought it wise to have you all train together. Buffy could definitely use the practice, what with being dead, and I believe it would also benefit to the rest of you. Also, there is supposedly a new apocalypse coming that we must prevent."
"Another one?" Buffy whined. "Jeez, what is this? Some sort of twisted game between the Powers that Be? 'Let's see how many times we can kill Buffy before she stays dead!'"
At the newcomers' strange looks, Xander explained, "We've prevented at least six apocalypses in the last five years, and Buffy's died twice to do so."
"I know exactly how you feel," Lita said. The others nodded in agreement. "We've died a number of times ourselves."
"Is that it, Giles? Because I'd really like to get in one last patrol before heading home early. I've got a meeting with the social service people early tomorrow," Buffy said.
Dawn rolled her eyes. "I live among the stupidest people ever born. Did anyone even think to ask how he knew she was the Slayer?"
"Obviously the talking cats told him, Dawnie," Willow said.
"No, we didn't," Luna said. "How did you know, Darien?"
"Way back when, when we were still living our first lives, my family was the one that assigned the Slayers. We picked the best girl for the job and sent her out," he explained. "They lived much longer back then."
"So, wait," Spike interrupted. "You're telling me, the lot of you were alive thousands of years ago, and you placed special powers on one girl to stop all the evil vampires? Please," he scoffed.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Setsuna demanded.
"Well, first, that'd make you all pretty damn old. Second, how could you force powers into someone, and why was that someone always a girl? It also says a heck of a lot about how powerful you were, sending out some poor kid to do your dirty work for you."
The vampire was met with glares from the new group. The Scoobies simply waited for Darien to make a comeback. When he didn't say anything, Setsuna put in, "Back in that time, warriors with magic were always girls. No one knew why, but boys just couldn't control all that power. And it was considered an honor to be the Chosen One. Things were much different then they are now."
With a smirk, Spike nodded and said, "Right," in a tone that made it evident that he didn't believe them.
Darien sighed. "You know, it really doesn't matter whether or not you believe us."
"Uh-huh."
"And, technically, you shouldn't even be here."
"Right."
"You mean absolutely nothing to me."
"Sure. That explains why you keep arguing with me."
Darien started to reply, but stopped and turned away from the vampire. Dawn, however, wasn't going to let him off that easily. "And what makes you think you can tell Buffy she's a bad Slayer? I bet she's killed a lot more evil than you have!"
"I'm sure."
"See? He agrees with me."
The boy scowled at the insane teenage girl logic and ignored her, too.
"Anyway," Buffy interrupted, "I assume all of you have somewhere to stay? Cuz if not, I'm sure we could..." she trailed off.
Serena smiled at her and nerviously tugged on her boyfriend's arm. "No, we're staying at a hotel nearby. Spike knows where it is. He can show you. But thanks for the offer." Buffy nodded.
"Actually," Michiru said, glancing at Haruka, "We could use a place to crash for a few nights, until we find something else."
"Yeah, sure," Dawn said, smiling. "Us as in just you two, or all four?"
"The four of us," Setsuna said. "We're a group package."
Dawn's smile widened. "Cool. Hotaru can stay in my room. Umm... two of you can share the master bedroom, and either the last one or Buffy'll take the couch."
"I'll take the couch," Buffy said. "No big. Whoever can have my room."
"Hey, I'll take it," Spike commented from the other side of the room. Buffy glared at him.
"Hey, yeah!" Willow said, grinning. "We can have, like, a party! Xander can bring snacks, and me and Tara'll get drinks, and-"
"Willow," Buffy said, smiling kindly at her friend. "Look, I'm sure they're tiered. Let's have a party later, okay?"
Her face fell. "Okay."
Before Buffy could apologize, Spike said, "Hey, Red, you can have a party at my place." He shot her one of his patented Spike grins. The young witch turned red.
Raye smiled and shook her head. "Well, we'd better go before Darien attacks again. See you guys tomorrow?"
Giles nodded. "Let's meet here at noon, shall we? Then we can discuss this while Anya and I take a lunch break."
"But that's when Xander and I-" Anya stopped. "This is one of those things we talked about, isn't it? The stuff you only say in private?" she asked Xander.
He nodded as the rest of the Scoobies gawked at her. "It's a bloody miracle," Spike muttered. "The girl's finally got common sense."
It was decided that Haruka and Michiru would take Joyce's old room, and Setsuna would take Buffy's. The blonde quietly pulled the couple over when no one else was paying them much attention. "Listen," she said quietly, "I don't mind you two sharing the room, but please remeber that my sister's room is right next door."
After a moment, Haruka smiled. "You don't know. I forgot we didn't tell you."
"Tell her what?" Dawn piped up from her spot on the couch, where she could obviously listen in.
Hotaru grinned. "Haruka's not a boy. She's a girl."
"Really? You look like a boy."
The girl shrugged. "I never liked long hair much. Gets in the way."
"Makes sense to me," Dawn said, grinning. "It must be so funny watching girls hitt on you."
Haruka grinned. "Actually, all of the Inners did, when we first met."
"Inners?" Buffy asked.
Michiru nodded. "Serena, Raye, Amy, Lita, and Mina. When they transform into Sailors Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, and Venus, we call them the Inner Scouts."
"And the four of us are the Outer Scouts," Setsuna said. "Uranus, Neptune, Saturn, and Pluto." She pointed to Haruka, Michiru, Hotaru, and herself respectivly.
"What's with the planets?"
"They're our gardians," Hotaru said. "They protect us and give us the power to transform and protect those we love."
"Why you? I mean, with Buffy, it was just a random accurence by the Powers that Be. Did they choose you, too?" Dawn asked.
Setsuna replied, "It has been destained since the dawn of time. The rulers of the Moon would have control over the Silver Imperium Crystal, and the gardians of the planets would protect her."
"Fun fun," Buffy said.
Michiru smiled. "What about you? You said the Powers chose you?"
Buffy shrugged. She started to speak but Dawn interrupted her. "Oh! I know this one! 'Into every generation, a girl is chosen, one with the strength and the skills to defeat the vampires and stop the spred of their evil,' right?"
Buffy laughed. "You got it almost exact. See, the Powers that Be chose one girl to give this superstrength and healing power, plus agility, speed, and a whole bunch of stuff. Anyway, then this girl, the Slayer, gets a Watcher, which is basically a really smart, old, Brittish guy. He's the one who teaches her to use her powers, and tells her what to go kill."
"Like Luna and Artemis were with Serena and Mina," Setsuna said.
"So what happens when this Slayer dies?"
"A new one is called. She gets a Watcher, dies, and a new Slayer is called. You get the idea."
"But didn't you say you'd already died a few times? What happened there?" Haruka asked.
"This girl, Kendra, became a Slayer the first time. She was killed by Spike's psyco ex-girlfriend, and Faith was called. She was nuts, though, and now she's in jail in LA."
"Fun."
"Really."
.:Okay, FYI, if you don't know what's going on in a series, all will be explained. The Japanese names are used for the Outer Scouts, but the English for the rest. Takes place after Starz. Oh, and about Rini, I know she came back older in S, but in this she's still just a little girl. For BtVS, it takes place after season 5, but also after Buffy's resurrection:.
Spike walked through the graveyard happier than he'd been in a long time. There were no more crazy hellgods trying to open a portal into hell, no one was dead, or insane, and best of all, he got to be part of the group for the first time ever. He grinned to himself, intending to take one last sweep of the cemetery before heading home. Now that Buffy was back, they were all trying to help her with some of the chores she had, and for Spike, that meant slaying. So far he had dusted two newdeads and three or four older vampires. Not bad, but he had an uneasy feeling that something was wrong... He just didn't know what it was.
There was a bright flash of light from not too far away from him, followed by the sound of a child screaming. Spike instantly headed towards the sound.
When he arrived at the lights' origin, the first thing he noticed was the vampire, who was apparently holding a little girl with bright pink hair. "Put her down," he snapped at the young vampire.
He turned to look at Spike, and growled dangerously. Spike blinked in surprise. Who ever this was must be a pretty bad hunter, he thought, because he obviously hasn't eaten in weeks. It wasn't a pretty sight. Spike pulled out a stake. "Just give me the girl," he said softly. "I'll make it quick."
But the young one wasn't going to give up without a fight. He dropped the girl, and darted towards his bleached elder. Spike, true to his word, quickly shoved the stake through his heart, turning him to dust. He turned to the girl, who was sitting on the ground, struggling not to cry. "Are you all right?" he asked softly.
She nodded. "I'm lost."
"Where are goin, love?"
"I'm trying to find my mom," she said. "She's here." He took the scrap of paper she held out to him. He read the address scribbled on it and nodded.
"I know where this is. It's a good five miles from here though."
She winced. "Is there someplace I can get a ride?"
"I can take you," he replied. "I've got a car."
She smiled. "Thanks."
"Not a problem," he replied. "I'm sure your mum's very worried about you."
Fifteen minutes later, they were sitting in front of the hotel. Spike turned to speak to the little girl, only to find that she had fallen asleep. He thought of waking her, but decided against it. Rini, as she said her name was, was a sweet kid, and probably needed her rest. With a soft sigh, he pulled her out of the car with him and walked inside.
The guy at the front desk said he hadn't seen her before, which was surprising, considering her flash of bright pink hair. As Spike was standing there, trying to decide what to do, a girl with raven hair walked up to him, a puzzled look on her face.
"Rini?" she asked quietly.
Spike glanced at her suspiciously. "You her mum?"
The girl shook her head. "My name's Raye. But I'm here with Serena."
"And that's her mum?"
"Yeah, sort of."
"How can she be sort of her mum but not really?"
Raye shook her head. "It's a long story. Where'd you find her?"
"In the cemetery. She got grabbed by some jerk, and I helped her out a bit."
"Raye!" someone yelled from across the room. The two turned to face two more girls. It was the blonde one who had spoken. "What's wrong?"
"It's Rini!" the other, brown haired girl said. She was the more muscular of the two.
Spike rolled his eyes. Were they all going to point that out? "Yes, well, I really have to be going, so if you'd direct me to her mum, I'll be on my way."
"Oh, it's okay," the blonde said. "We can take her."
"I'd rather not."
"Well, all right. By the way, my name's Lita, and this is Mina," the brown haired one said. "What's your name?"
"Spike," he said. "Lead the way. I'm in a bit of a hurry." He glanced at the large clock on the wall. Only an hour till sunrise.
"Oh, of course," Raye said. "Please, follow me." She walked over to an elevator and hit the up button. When the doors opened, she grinned. "Guess we won't have to go all that way. This is Serena and Darien."
Spike glanced at the couple in the small room. The girl was blonde, and she had a strange hairstyle. Darien had short, black hair and had a strange air about him. Not ready to believe them, he gently shook Rini awake. "Hey, love," he said quietly. "This your mum?"
"Rini!" Darien exclaimed, immediately at the girl's side.
Serena joined him. "Are you all right?"
"I'm okay," the girl said. "Thanks, Spike."
"Not a problem, Nibblet. But I really do have to go," he said, setting her down. "Maybe I'll see you around."
"I hope so," Rini replied. "Good bye!"
"Bye," he replied. With one last glance over his shoulder, he headed for home.
"Spike?" Serena repeated. "Rini, who was that?"
"He's my friend. He saved me from the monster in the graveyard," she replied.
Darien nodded. "Is something wrong, Rini? Why are you here?"
She frowned. "We're in the middle of a major battle, so Mommy sent me here so I'd be safe."
Serena smiled. "You're always welcome with us, Rini. But that's it? There's no big emergency in our time?"
"I don't think so."
"Good. We're on vacation, and I want to enjoy myself."
"Speaking of which, we were just going shopping," Lita said. "You wanna come, Rini?"
The little girl smiled. "Yeah! Let's go!"
"Shopping? Are you sure? It's getting kind of late," Amy said.
Raye rolled her eyes. "It's vacation, Amy. You're supposed to stay out late. C'mon, it'll be fun," she said, grinning at her friend.
Amy smiled back. "I guess you're right. Let's go."
A few days later, Spike had decided to make one last sweep through the cemetery before heading to the Bronze. He had just dusted a couple of vamps when he heard a noise behind him. He spun around, stake in hand, only to freeze when he saw Buffy. "What are you doing here, love?" he asked.
She smiled apologetically. "I just had to get away from their constant worrying. Now I know how Dawn felt."
He grinned at her. "So you were sneaking off to Spike's while everyone else worried sick? She's rubbing off on you."
"Actually, I was patrolling."
"Without any stakes? Sure."
"I was!"
His reply was cut short by the disturbance a ways away. "Guess you'll be fighting some evil anyway," Spike said before he tossed her a stake and they took off in that direction.
When they arrived in the clearing, Spike did a double take at what he saw. A bunch of girls in sailor costumes were fighting off a demon. And surprisingly, they weren't doing a half bad job. He gasped in surprise when he realized who they were. The girls from before! The ones he had left Rini with!
Buffy was already in the fight by the time he had made these realizations. He quickly jumped in to help. Stakes didn't usually do much good against a demon, but they had to do something. After a few minutes of fighting, Buffy was thrown back against a tree and one of the girls did something amazing. The blonde -Mina- suddenly shouted, "Venus Love Chain Encircle!" and from the end of her fingertips came a string of yellow hearts, which wrapped around the demon like a chain. With it tied up, it was easy for Spike to step in and shove the stake into its heart.
After making sure it was dead, a precaution all the Scoobies took after the incident with Doc, he went over to Buffy. She was just sitting there and looked slightly out of it. "What happened?" she asked him, accepting his offered hand. "Where did that string of light come from?"
"Good question," he replied. Looking over at the girls, he added, "Care to explain, Mina?"
She gasped. "How did you know it was me?"
He gave her a look. "It's not like I can't tell the difference. You changed is all. Still look the same."
"Who are you?" Serena demanded. "And why did you just kill them?"
"I figured Rini would have told you. My name's Spike. This is Buffy. As to why I killed it," he said, stressing the word, "it was evil. I don't take all that kindly to demons." As if as an afterthought, he added, "Anymore."
"It wasn't a demon!" she shot back. "It was a person who had been transformed to look like a demon!"
Buffy rolled her eyes. "Spike, what is it with you and insane people?"
He shrugged. "Can't help it, love. I guess I'm just that attractive."
She snorted. "In your dreams."
"Actually-" he began, only to be cut off by Raye.
"She's not insane! That really was a person! It was transformed by the evil we came here to investigate to steal energy. You should be more careful."
At that moment, Xander, with his perfect timing skills, walked up. "What's goin on? I thought you were supposed to be at home resting," he said to Buffy.
"What are you doing here?" she countered. "It's dangerous. You should know better than to go wandering around in cemeteries."
"Actually, Giles sent me to get Spike. Something about Sailor Scouts. I wasn't really listening."
At that moment, two cats walked up to them. "That wouldn't be Rupert Giles, by any chance?" the white one said.
The trio stared blankly at it for a moment. Then Xander shook his head. "Only in Sunnydale."
They somehow managed to sort things out, and the group was now assembled at the Magic Box. Evidently they were still waiting for some people, so the group had split up to talk. Willow and Tara were talking to Mina and Raye, while Xander and Anya spoke with Amy and Lita. Giles was discussing something with the two talking cats, Luna and Artemis, while Dawn watched with apt fascination. Spike and Buffy were sitting off to the side, silently watching everything.
Finally, Spike turned to the blonde next to him and asked, "So why were you coming to see me tonight?"
Buffy was about to answer when Serena walked up. "Hi!" she said. "Everyone else is talking and you were all alone, so I thought I'd come say hi."
"You already did," Spike said, annoyance in his voice. "Bye."
Buffy elbowed him. "Just ignore him," she said. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name?"
"I'm Serena," she said, smiling.
"Buffy."
"I'm leaving," Spike said. He headed for the door, but Giles called out to him.
"We really need you here, Spike. Buffy's not up to full strength yet, and we could use your help."
The vampire smirked at the look on Buffy's face. He nodded. "Call me when you're ready. I'll be outside," he said, showing them a pack of cigarettes. Just as he reached the door, a man opened it for him. He was followed by a three girls, one with blue hair, and the others with green or black.
"Haruka!" Serena exclaimed. "Michiru! Hotaru! Setsuna!"
"Splendid!" Giles exclaimed. "Is Darien with you as well?"
The guy shook his head. "We haven't seen him."
"He might be at the hotel," Lita called over. "He probably decided to put Rini down for the night."
"Rini's back?" the younger girl with short, black hair asked.
Mina nodded. "But she's younger than she was when we last saw her. She might not remember you."
The younger girl's face fell. "Oh."
"Don't worry, Hotaru," the girl with blue hair said. "I'm sure you'll make other friends here."
"Yeah, just watch out for the ones that bite," Spike said, showing a little fang before stepping outside. "Call me when the last one arrives!" he called over his shoulder.
Hotaru gawked at the sight of him for a few seconds after he left. Buffy rolled her eyes. "Once again, my advice is to ignore him. He can be a real jerk sometimes. Who are you guys again?"
"I'm Haruka," the guy said. He had sandy blonde hair cut to the tops of his ears. "This is Michiru," the girl with sea-blue hair smiled and waved slightly.
"My name's Hotaru," the youngest said, grinning. "And this is Setsuna."
Buffy nodded. "You realize you're going to have to repeat those to me about a thousand times before I learn them."
Haruka grinned. "Not a problem."
Introductions made, the group again began to talk among themselves. Dawn walked up to the newcomers and smiled. "Sorry they're so rude," she said. "I'm Dawn. The old guy talkin to the cats is Giles. He owns this place. The redhead over there is Willow, and next to her is Tara. That's Xander, and his fiance Anya. And that's my sister, Buffy. The guy who just left is Spike. He's actually really cool, once you get to know him."
Michiru smiled at her. "Thanks," she said. "It's nice to meet you."
"Do you have any idea why we're here?" Setsuna asked.
Dawn shook her head. "They never tell me anything."
At that moment, there was a yell from outside as someone slammed up against the door. A muffled "Bloody hell!" was heard and Buffy groaned as she went to help Spike. "You might want to move," she suggested to the group that was still by the door. Once they were a safe distance away, she opened it and stepped aside, and a few seconds later, Spike stumbled inside, followed closely by Darien, who seemed to be attacking him.
"Spike!" Dawn exclaimed, running over to her friend. "Are you okay?"
"Darien! What are you doing?" Serena exclaimed. "Spike's not an enemy!"
"Don't go near him! He's a vampire!" the dark haired boy exclaimed.
"Duh," Anya said.
Xander looked at him, puzzled. "How did you know that?"
Darien blinked in surprise. "You knew! And you didn't stake him!" He glared angrily at Buffy. "Some Slayer you are."
Dawn marched up to him and slapped him, hard. "Don't talk to my sister that way!" she snapped.
"Everyone, please calm down!" Giles, ever the voice of reason, exclaimed. "I will explain everything."
"You'd better," Darien said coldly, still glaring at Spike, who was once again joined by Dawn. Buffy was standing a bit off, in case Darien tried anything.
"To put this bit of tension behind us, the reason we have yet to dispose of Spike is because he has a microchip in his brain that keeps him from harming humans. That's why he didn't fight back when you attacked him.
"As to why we are all here, Luna, Artemis, and I thought it wise to have you all train together. Buffy could definitely use the practice, what with being dead, and I believe it would also benefit to the rest of you. Also, there is supposedly a new apocalypse coming that we must prevent."
"Another one?" Buffy whined. "Jeez, what is this? Some sort of twisted game between the Powers that Be? 'Let's see how many times we can kill Buffy before she stays dead!'"
At the newcomers' strange looks, Xander explained, "We've prevented at least six apocalypses in the last five years, and Buffy's died twice to do so."
"I know exactly how you feel," Lita said. The others nodded in agreement. "We've died a number of times ourselves."
"Is that it, Giles? Because I'd really like to get in one last patrol before heading home early. I've got a meeting with the social service people early tomorrow," Buffy said.
Dawn rolled her eyes. "I live among the stupidest people ever born. Did anyone even think to ask how he knew she was the Slayer?"
"Obviously the talking cats told him, Dawnie," Willow said.
"No, we didn't," Luna said. "How did you know, Darien?"
"Way back when, when we were still living our first lives, my family was the one that assigned the Slayers. We picked the best girl for the job and sent her out," he explained. "They lived much longer back then."
"So, wait," Spike interrupted. "You're telling me, the lot of you were alive thousands of years ago, and you placed special powers on one girl to stop all the evil vampires? Please," he scoffed.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Setsuna demanded.
"Well, first, that'd make you all pretty damn old. Second, how could you force powers into someone, and why was that someone always a girl? It also says a heck of a lot about how powerful you were, sending out some poor kid to do your dirty work for you."
The vampire was met with glares from the new group. The Scoobies simply waited for Darien to make a comeback. When he didn't say anything, Setsuna put in, "Back in that time, warriors with magic were always girls. No one knew why, but boys just couldn't control all that power. And it was considered an honor to be the Chosen One. Things were much different then they are now."
With a smirk, Spike nodded and said, "Right," in a tone that made it evident that he didn't believe them.
Darien sighed. "You know, it really doesn't matter whether or not you believe us."
"Uh-huh."
"And, technically, you shouldn't even be here."
"Right."
"You mean absolutely nothing to me."
"Sure. That explains why you keep arguing with me."
Darien started to reply, but stopped and turned away from the vampire. Dawn, however, wasn't going to let him off that easily. "And what makes you think you can tell Buffy she's a bad Slayer? I bet she's killed a lot more evil than you have!"
"I'm sure."
"See? He agrees with me."
The boy scowled at the insane teenage girl logic and ignored her, too.
"Anyway," Buffy interrupted, "I assume all of you have somewhere to stay? Cuz if not, I'm sure we could..." she trailed off.
Serena smiled at her and nerviously tugged on her boyfriend's arm. "No, we're staying at a hotel nearby. Spike knows where it is. He can show you. But thanks for the offer." Buffy nodded.
"Actually," Michiru said, glancing at Haruka, "We could use a place to crash for a few nights, until we find something else."
"Yeah, sure," Dawn said, smiling. "Us as in just you two, or all four?"
"The four of us," Setsuna said. "We're a group package."
Dawn's smile widened. "Cool. Hotaru can stay in my room. Umm... two of you can share the master bedroom, and either the last one or Buffy'll take the couch."
"I'll take the couch," Buffy said. "No big. Whoever can have my room."
"Hey, I'll take it," Spike commented from the other side of the room. Buffy glared at him.
"Hey, yeah!" Willow said, grinning. "We can have, like, a party! Xander can bring snacks, and me and Tara'll get drinks, and-"
"Willow," Buffy said, smiling kindly at her friend. "Look, I'm sure they're tiered. Let's have a party later, okay?"
Her face fell. "Okay."
Before Buffy could apologize, Spike said, "Hey, Red, you can have a party at my place." He shot her one of his patented Spike grins. The young witch turned red.
Raye smiled and shook her head. "Well, we'd better go before Darien attacks again. See you guys tomorrow?"
Giles nodded. "Let's meet here at noon, shall we? Then we can discuss this while Anya and I take a lunch break."
"But that's when Xander and I-" Anya stopped. "This is one of those things we talked about, isn't it? The stuff you only say in private?" she asked Xander.
He nodded as the rest of the Scoobies gawked at her. "It's a bloody miracle," Spike muttered. "The girl's finally got common sense."
It was decided that Haruka and Michiru would take Joyce's old room, and Setsuna would take Buffy's. The blonde quietly pulled the couple over when no one else was paying them much attention. "Listen," she said quietly, "I don't mind you two sharing the room, but please remeber that my sister's room is right next door."
After a moment, Haruka smiled. "You don't know. I forgot we didn't tell you."
"Tell her what?" Dawn piped up from her spot on the couch, where she could obviously listen in.
Hotaru grinned. "Haruka's not a boy. She's a girl."
"Really? You look like a boy."
The girl shrugged. "I never liked long hair much. Gets in the way."
"Makes sense to me," Dawn said, grinning. "It must be so funny watching girls hitt on you."
Haruka grinned. "Actually, all of the Inners did, when we first met."
"Inners?" Buffy asked.
Michiru nodded. "Serena, Raye, Amy, Lita, and Mina. When they transform into Sailors Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, and Venus, we call them the Inner Scouts."
"And the four of us are the Outer Scouts," Setsuna said. "Uranus, Neptune, Saturn, and Pluto." She pointed to Haruka, Michiru, Hotaru, and herself respectivly.
"What's with the planets?"
"They're our gardians," Hotaru said. "They protect us and give us the power to transform and protect those we love."
"Why you? I mean, with Buffy, it was just a random accurence by the Powers that Be. Did they choose you, too?" Dawn asked.
Setsuna replied, "It has been destained since the dawn of time. The rulers of the Moon would have control over the Silver Imperium Crystal, and the gardians of the planets would protect her."
"Fun fun," Buffy said.
Michiru smiled. "What about you? You said the Powers chose you?"
Buffy shrugged. She started to speak but Dawn interrupted her. "Oh! I know this one! 'Into every generation, a girl is chosen, one with the strength and the skills to defeat the vampires and stop the spred of their evil,' right?"
Buffy laughed. "You got it almost exact. See, the Powers that Be chose one girl to give this superstrength and healing power, plus agility, speed, and a whole bunch of stuff. Anyway, then this girl, the Slayer, gets a Watcher, which is basically a really smart, old, Brittish guy. He's the one who teaches her to use her powers, and tells her what to go kill."
"Like Luna and Artemis were with Serena and Mina," Setsuna said.
"So what happens when this Slayer dies?"
"A new one is called. She gets a Watcher, dies, and a new Slayer is called. You get the idea."
"But didn't you say you'd already died a few times? What happened there?" Haruka asked.
"This girl, Kendra, became a Slayer the first time. She was killed by Spike's psyco ex-girlfriend, and Faith was called. She was nuts, though, and now she's in jail in LA."
"Fun."
"Really."