Chapter Five
December 2005
"We're all ready to go here," Willow was saying over the speaker phone. "We've been working hard to work out the kinks in the teleportation spell and we found a way to do it safely on a large scale."
"B said you just need coordinates?" Faith confirmed.
"And a plan," Giles spoke up.
"You mean other than kill them all?" Faith asked skeptically.
A long suffering sigh sounded out over the intercom and Faith exchanged a grin with Buffy. "Preferably something more thought out. Our hope is that Angel and Spike have an idea. Assuming, of course, their still alive." A shuffling sound was heard over the line followed by a rough exhalation of air and Buffy's grin widened as she pictured Dawn elbowing the watcher.
"They will be alive," Dawn's determined voice spoke out.
"We sure hope so," Faith replied. "We're moving out in twenty," she told both the group on the other side of the world and the group gathered around the stolen kitchen table.
"Best of luck to you all. Check in soon," Giles replied solemnly.
"Will do, G-man," Xander spoke up. Faith cut off the call as Giles was in the midst of protesting the nickname. "Gather up the supplies and get the vans loaded," she told her little group of people.
"Xander and I will follow in our car," Buffy told her. Xander and Robin had driven back to the house they'd picked Xander up from the night before and picked up the Rav4 they'd been driving since their near death experience in Oklahoma.
"Good call, it's tight quarters in the vans," Faith replied with a quick smirk.
~BTVS~
Buffy yawned as she watched the passing scenery a couple hours after they'd rolled out. Their progress was slow but, so far, had been steady with only a few roadblocks or demon interruptions. "Still can't believe that we found them," Xander spoke up suddenly.
"I know. I got lucky," she murmured.
Xander was quiet for a long moment. "That close, huh?"
"Any closer and I'd be julienned Buffy," she quipped.
Xander shuddered a bit at the mental image. "Few too many close calls this trip," he remarked.
Buffy nodded. "We knew that there would be," she reminded him. "For what it's worth, I'm glad you're here with me."
Xander shot her a sincere smile. "Me too."
Buffy's heart skipped a beat as she caught sight of an upcoming road sign. "289 miles to Los Angeles," she read with a smile.
Less than a mile after the sign their caravan shuddered to a stop and Buffy's stomach clenched when she felt the rumbles. "Earthquake?" she wondered.
Xander's voice was shaky when he replied. "Don't think so."
Buffy followed his gaze and her eyes widened, tendrils of fear gripping her as she took in the sight of giants- honest to god giants-stomping towards them. The closest she'd ever seen to something like them had been Olaf the troll and he was itty bitty in comparison. They were larger than the distant skyscrapers, large cracks spider webbed out from their every step and they had large horns jutting out from the sides of their heads. They looked like some sort of very tall, disproportionately skinny human with demon horns "Don't suppose you have a magic bean?" she quipped halfheartedly.
"Fresh out," he replied lowly as he tracked the mob of titans.
Buffy glanced at the vans ahead of them and saw that they, like them, were thus far staying put in their vehicles. What did she know about giants? They didn't like it when you stole their gold, chickens or harps and lived atop beanstalks. So, nothing. Movement caught her attention and she watched as Faith darted out of the passenger seat of the van she was in and moved towards the Rav4 in a low crouch. Their backdoor opened and the brunette Slayer climbed in before latching it closed as silently as she could.
"Dealt with any of these before?" Buffy asked quietly.
"Nope, this is new. Was hoping you had," she replied tightly.
"Big no," the blonde sighed. "Shit," she muttered as she watched one of the giants pluck an abandoned car up off the cracked remains of asphalt about two hundred yards away from them and toss it away like it was a toy. Which, she supposed, for them it was. They held their collective breaths as the group drew closer.
When Buffy was a kid she'd stayed at a motel with her parents that had one of those vibrating beds, she kind of felt like she was back there right now. The cars bounced along the road as the pounding footsteps continued towards them. "Hold our breaths and wait them out?" Xander squeaked out.
Buffy was about to agree when the giant that had an odd affinity for tiny vehicles bent down and started to reach for the lead van. "Robin," she heard Faith breathe out. The Slayers seemed to be in silent agreement as they soundlessly exited the SUV. They waited until they were a few feet behind their cars before shouting and waving their arms dramatically. Their yells reached the giants ears just before the one reaching for Robin's van grasped it.
Their plan worked as he straightened and all of the giants- Buffy counted six- turned their attention towards the two women. "Now what?" Faith asked.
They started backing away as feet the size of her mother's Sunnydale house turned towards them. They'd have them squashed in like three footsteps if they didn't start hauling ass. "Run!" Buffy replied sharply as she turned around and started sprinting as fast as she could, Faith was outpacing her with her longer legs and, not for the first time, Buffy cursed her short stature.
The tremors in the earth came more rapidly as the giants moved quicker to catch them. The Slayers moved as quickly as they could and Buffy figured they'd put a few miles distance between them and the cars when up ahead she caught sight of a long abandoned army surplus store, she reached forward and grabbed Faith's arm, yanking the other Slayer along with her as she changed course. "Weapons!" she wheezed out.
They ran into the store and quickly looked around. The place had been looted, something that was not at all uncommon in the last few states Buffy and Xander had traveled to. Early on in their journey cities were still run by humans, just cautiously and with radically adjusted business hours. The closer to California they'd gotten the more abandoned the country had become. "Grenades!" Faith called out, popping up from behind a counter with a large shit eating grin and a two grenades in each hand.
"Good!" Buffy yelled back. She grabbed a half full gas can that she'd found in the back room and the duo ran back outside. Buffy hurriedly splashed the gasoline around in a general circular shape in the front of the store, throwing the can to the side when she was done. Faith handed her two of the grenades and the pair moved out of the ring of fuel. They had seconds until the giants were on them.
As soon as the first two hit the circle Faith pulled the pin on her grenades and launched them at the giants, the fire blazed high where it hit the gas soiled ground. The heat licked at their skin and something disgustingly fleshy rained down on them. The roars of anger and pain were ear shattering, Buffy's head spun, her center of balance no longer centered. She shook her head to clear it and looked up at the blazing behemoths. Their brethren that hadn't been hit by the blast rocked forward, intent on grinding their bones into dust or whatever and that's when Buffy pulled the pins in her grenades and let them loose.
Faith grabbed her arm and they ran forward, Faith with the axe she kept swung over her back and Buffy with her trusty scythe. As they edged around the circle of flame and burning flesh a large hand swiped down at them, Buffy barely managed to bring her scythe up and impale it in time to stop it from squishing them like bugs. Another roar rang out and they fell to their knees as the earth trembled and their bodies vibrated.
"Get up B!" Faith grit out as she rolled to her feet and held out her hand. Buffy grabbed it and let herself be yanked up. They didn't stop to try and fight after that, instead choosing to run back towards the vehicles they'd left a few miles away. Buffy risked a glance back and saw the giants that had come out unscathed trying to put out their smoldering buddies and she knew that they'd managed to win themselves a chance to get the hell out of dodge.
When the cars finally came into view they put on a final burst of speed, Buffy swung herself into her car and Faith back ran to the passenger seat of her van. "Drive," Buffy gasped as she tried to catch her breath and slow her heart rate. The vans in front of them came back to life and Buffy glanced over to see that they were doing eighty in no time.
"You okay?" Xander asked, finally breaking the tense silence of their narrow escape.
"Peachy with a side of keen," came her automatic reply.
"That was new," he said lightly. "Did you guys blow them up?" he asked incredulously. "It was hard to tell from here but we saw smoke."
"Faith found grenades. We mostly just set them on fire, although I think one of them lost a leg in the blast," she remembered with a crinkle of her nose.
"Yeah," Xander said hesitantly. "I, uh, think you're wearing it."
Buffy looked down at herself for the first time and groaned. "Oh, gross," she said with a disgusted shudder.
The rest of the journey out of Arizona, which wasn't long since they hadn't been far from the border, went surprisingly smooth and about ten miles later they saw the most beautiful sign they'd seen in months. "Welcome to California".
"'Bout fuckin' time," Xander said and they both started laughing as the saw Faith's hand shoot out the passenger side window in the van directly in front of them, she flipped the sign the bird then followed it up with a fist pump.
January 2006
Entering California had been like entering another world. They had thought Arizona had been bad but it had nothing on the level of destruction they saw within the once Golden State. "Holy honey biscuits," Xander had breathed out as they got their first look at life beyond the sate line.
There were no signs of human life, something that had become more and more apparent the further west they got. Skyscrapers were crumbling and many of them looked like they'd suffered some kind of aerial attack. From what, Buffy hadn't the slightest idea. There were large swaths of scorched earth. Carcasses- animal, demon and human alike- were strewn out all over the streets.
Up ahead of them the vans started flashing their hazards and Xander pulled the Rav4 to a stop behind them. Buffy got out, still limping slightly from her latest near death experience, and met Faith between the vehicles.
"We're gonna find a place to hole up for the night," the younger Slayer told her. "Made it farther today than we expected and it's making me nervous," she said with an uneasy laugh as she ran a hand through her dark curls.
Buffy nodded in agreement, since first crossing the state line nearly two weeks earlier they had only managed to make it two towns over until today. It was a chaotic, demon hell world and if it hadn't been for Faith and her group Buffy and Xander would have been dead a few times over. Buffy suspected Faith felt the same, they'd been taking turns saving each others asses ever since the giants. Well, ever since Faith had found her actually.
"Lead the way," Buffy concurred, deferring to the other Slayer's extended experience in this post-apocalyptic America. They exchanged a nod before going back to their respective vehicles and ducking back inside. "Follow the vans, we're gonna find a place to bunk down."
"Sounds good to me, this town gives me the wiggins," Xander agreed as the car lurched forward.
"Yeah, me too," Buffy replied. She kept a watchful eye on their surroundings. She had a bad feeling that something big was coming.
~BTVS~
What damages miles tall buildings and scorches random, large areas of ground, you ask? Dragons. Dragons do that. "Uh...B?" Faith whispered as she looked out her little window which was about ten feet away from Buffy's little window.
"Yeah?" Buffy whispered back.
"Am I seein' things or is that a big ass dragon?" the other Slayer asked in hushed tones.
"No," Buffy replied. "That's definitely a big ass dragon," she confirmed, tracking it as it lifted off of one of the skyscrapers in the distance and used it's powerful wings to propel itself straight up into the air.
"Holy fuck," Faith breathed out.
"I'll raise you a buggering," Buffy replied absently. Faith chortled quietly in response as they both continued to watch the winged beast. They slowly backed away from their windows and went deeper into the warehouse they'd commandeered for the night.
"Anything interesting out there?" Robin asked as they walked into the back room where everyone was holed up.
"That depends," Faith said.
"Do dragons interest you?" Buffy asked.
"Dragons?" Xander asked, half horrified and half excited.
"Dragons," Faith confirmed. "Think we should call the watcher man?" she asked Buffy.
"Definitely," she replied and so they did.
"Dear lord," came Giles' immediate reaction.
"Wait! Dragons are real?!" they heard Andrew exclaim excitedly.
"Quite," Giles confirmed. "They are not from our dimension and from all reports I've read on them they are extremely territorial."
"They also like gold. Maybe we could bribe it to let us pass by?" Xander suggested.
"Yes, let's just place your lives in the hands of your Lord of the Rings knowledge," Giles replied dryly.
"I've been waiting for this day for a long time," Xander said and if you asked Buffy he sounded downright dreamy.
She rolled her eyes. "How do we kill it?"
"Well, if I remember correctly the only real weak spot is their abdomen. The rest of their body is covered in armor like scales that are nearly impenetrable. However…" Giles hesitated.
"Yes?" Faith asked impatiently.
"Well there is much research that concludes that dragons are not actually evil. More...morally ambiguous," he informed them. "And even if that's not the case I'm not sure you have the resources to take one down yourselves."
"So what do you suggest?" Buffy asked with an exhausted sigh.
"Sneaking out?" Giles questioned.
"Great," Buffy replied. "Here I am, nearly twenty five and I'm reduced to sneaking out again," she joked halfheartedly.
"At least you've got plenty of practice under your belt," Xander offered optimistically.
"Well this one is active in the middle of the day so I'm assuming they're not nocturnal?" Robin asked, getting them back on track.
"Quite right, our research suggests they are diurnal, preferring to hunt during the day so you'd be safest leaving under the cover of night," Giles replied.
"Oh good, that's just when every other nasty comes out to play," Faith muttered sarcastically.
"How solid is this research Giles?" Buffy asked. "I mean, you said that they're not native to our dimension so…"
"Er, yes. I must admit that it's mostly academic," he acknowledged.
"Brilliant," Buffy replied. "Well, I guess we'll call you if we make it out," she told her watcher.
She walked away from the conversation before she could hear his response. She went back to the window and watched as the large dragon settled itself on the top of one of the large bridges she could just barely make out from where they were camping out. It's head swiveled lazily as it kept an eye on it's surroundings.
"You okay, B?" Faith asked quietly as she joined her.
"Just peachy," the blonde replied without her usual level of pep.
"It's exhausting, I know," Faith said knowingly as she leaned against the wall and looked out the window.
Buffy felt guilt creep up and shame flooded her. "I know you've been at this a lot longer. Lost a lot more," she acknowledged softly.
"It didn't hit all at once, you know?" Faith mused. "We knew something big happened on the west coast because the news stations were going crazy trying to get the 411 out there. We knew that it likely stemmed from somewhere in California but with the Hellmouth closed for business we didn't know where. The cell towers and telephone lines were the first to be hit, making it nearly impossible to get in contact with anyone. I don't know what happened but whoever is in charge of this thing seems to know how our world works, at least on a basic level," Faith informed her.
"We tried getting ahold of Angel before the lines went down but he'd been a hard guy to reach even before the world went to shit. Heard he took over some evil law firm and I'll admit I'm a little fuzzy on the hows and whys," she said with a shrug.
"Giles told me about that," Buffy replied distantly. "He thought he'd gone dark side again."
"He finally got ahold of us using a witchy demon friend of his. It's been hard to make anything out, the connection is rough, like a phone line that keeps cutting out. All I know for sure is Spike is alive, some godking demon thing took over Fred's body and is fighting alongside them and they need help."
"How is he talking to you if Nikita is dead?" she asked. She'd wondered about that before but they honestly hadn't had a lot of time to talk about anything that was directly related to their continued survival since hitting California. They were mostly traveling, fighting the hordes of hell or trying to get some sleep. Sometimes all three at once.
Faith winced. "A voice just kinda starts talking in my head. Loudly. Gives me a migraine that lasts for days," she replied. "Gonna have to talk to the big lug about volume control when I see him," she joked.
Buffy managed to paste something that resembled a smile to her face as she nodded in reply. Faith sighed. "Come on, B. Let's get some shut eye, we got a long night ahead of us."
~BTVS~
Item #1,243 on the list of things Buffy doesn't recommend doing? Playing peek-a-boo with a dragon. It was not nearly as entertaining as it sounded. At around midnight they had all piled into their vehicles, kept their headlights off and slowly started meandering through the decaying California streets. The dragon seemed to be asleep but it was really just a hopeful guess considering it was still perched on the bridge, it's head tucked down in a pose that reminded them of a snoozing bird.
Every once in awhile it's head would pop up, body swaying as it shook it's wings out and glanced around. Every time it did that all three vehicles shuddered to a stop. They were basically treating it like they would a T-Rex out of Jurassic Park. If they didn't move, it couldn't see them. Buffy figured they were just lulling themselves into a false sense of comfort. In two hours they had managed to drive two miles. If they didn't pick up their pace soon they were going to be sitting ducks in about five or six hours when the sun started to rise.
As if the watchful dragon wasn't bad enough, they also had to deal with the nighttime antics of the resident demon population who, entertainingly enough, also seemed to be keeping a sharp eye on the dragon. So, if their caravan wasn't stopping because of the winged beast, they were stopping to keep out of sight of some other nasty. Buffy really just wanted to be in LA already.
"Twenty-twenty-twenty four hours to go-ho-ho, I wanna be sedated. Nothin' to do, nowhere to go-o-ho, I wanna be sedated. Just, get me to the airport, put me on a plane. Hurry, hurry, hurry, before I go insane. I can't control my fingers, I can't control my brain. Oh no, oh-oh oh-oh. Bam-bam-babam-"
"You really got into the punk stuff, didn't you?" Xander broke in with amusement.
"Yeah, I guess I did," she replied with a laugh.
"You think the song was inspired by Spike?" he asked jokingly. "Guy couldn't sit still to save his life and I know I heard him mention hanging out with Joey Ramone."
"I think he probably hung out with all of them," she told him with a fond smile. It quickly turned to a frown as the car stilled again as a mob of demons came tumbling out of a nearby building. Two of them were obviously working out their differences while the rest of the group cheered them on. They were loud and only a few feet away from their car.
They heard the creaking first, it was loud and the entire bridge groaned as though it was seconds from giving way and falling into the water below. They heard the wind next. The flapping of large wings as the dragon circled above them. The taunts and jeers from the nearby demons came to a sudden stop as they looked up. The two that were fighting each other stood back to back as they now faced a bigger adversary.
Buffy nearly squeezed her eyes closed in suspense as the dragon dove down and flew directly at them. It's talons swiped the roof of the car, causing the whole vehicle to rock towards the left and only Xander's quick thinking as he swung the wheel to the right and hit the gas kept them from rolling. The dragon opened it's jaw and a stream of flame, so hot that Buffy felt roasted even though she was in the opposite direction of the fiery blast, let loose from it's gaping maw and consumed a few of the demons.
They screamed as they burned. The dragon pulled straight up, it's wings flapping close to it's body as it stayed there, suspended in mid air for several seconds before diving down at the remaining demons who where now swiping at it with their swords, spears and claws.
The flash of taillights caught their eye and the next thing Buffy knew the car was lurching forward as the caravan used the distraction to hightail it out of there. Her stomach clenched and she couldn't help but look back as a loud roar pierced the night. The dragon swooped down and came back up with one of the demons in it's mouth and was shaking it back and forth, playing with it like a cat who had caught the unlucky mouse.
She thought it was going to come after them as it started flying in their direction but the demons were stupid and one of them threw a spear at the dragon. It turned around and Buffy didn't get to see what happened next as they sped out of town and out of sight.
They drove for hours longer, stopping every once in awhile to avoid a demon horde and keeping an eye out for anymore dragons that might be hanging about. It was too dangerous to find a place to settle down while it was dark so they kept driving until dawns early light started to peak out from behind the clouds.
"Aside from the dragon the night driving wasn't actually so bad," Xander spoke up tiredly.
"Furthest we've made it in weeks," Buffy agreed. "Maybe they've mostly migrated out," she theorized.
The light lit up the road enough- they had been keeping their headlights off unless they absolutely needed them- that she was able to make out one of the road signs and her heart started pumping erratically.
"Welcome to Los Angeles".