Title: Before the Fall of Rome
Author: Brooke
Email: yabbadabbadome13@yahoo.com
Rating: R
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. I wished I owned the two Xanders' from "The Replacement" though. Buffy and friends are owned by Joss, Mutant Enemy, 20th Century Fox, The UPN and whoever else has rights to the show.
Summary: You remember all that crap that started post-puberty…yeah, it's great isn't it. It was when life started
Distribution: I don't know why anybody would want this, but if somebody does…sure.
Feedback: Definitely!! Tell me if it sucked or if you liked it. Whatever. Just write back!
Authors Note: Takes place in an AU season 1 where Buffy and Xander are best friends and Willow is the new girl as Sunnydale High. It is the beginning of their sophomore year and, as 15 and 16 year olds, hormones and feelings are taking center stage.
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"Wow," Willow said still with wide eyes as she scanned the area of the Bronze from her table with Xander. "Vampires? For real vampires…"
She had been commenting on them since that afternoon so he had reduced his responses to simple nods for the sake of time and breath. This time was no different as Xander kept his eyes focused on the stage.
He had since gotten past the whole vampire spiel…well, it still weirded him and he was wigged beyond words, but right at that moment he was more tuned into when Buffy would get there than the whole Harvest deal. She had gone home after school to put in her family time and collect some weapons, and had told him to try to relax for a few hours before it was work time, but he was having no such luck.
"Do you think that they have us surrounded right now?" Willow questioned, suddenly sounding worried. "Is this Harvest happening already, doya think?"
And Willow wasn't helping.
"I hope not," Xander swallowed and ran his hand through his hair. "But thanks for making me think about it."
Willow rolled her eyes. "Oh please, Xander. You should thank me for making you think about something other than Buffy for a few minutes."
Xander shot her a look through slit eyes and she kept talking to defend her comment. "I just found out that the end of the world could be tonight, but what's the first thing you do before we get here tonight? Get a hair cut. And why? Cuz she mentioned that you were too scruffy. You can't even manage a minor wig over your impending demise."
"I'm wigged," Xander pouted. "Is the hair ok though?"
Willow sighed and picked up the drink she had ordered while they were waiting. "It's great. You're a million times hotter now," she said mechanically, not even glancing at Xander's new shorter and more gelled hair cut.
Xander seemed not to notice her lack of enthusiasm and nodded to himself with a wide smile. "I like it too." He looked around the club for any new suspicious activity. Finding none he glanced at his watch and then to the door. "Buffy said to call if stuff starts going down early…"
"And Angel said he'd be near by," Willow looked up to the balcony while Xander let out a snort of disgust. "What? Buffy told him to be here for back up."
"Yeah, some help that guy is." Xander took a sip of his iced coffee. "Buffy says to wait here for the added muscle, and all he can think about is trying to walk her here. She doesn't need his help…"
Willow cocked an eyebrow at him, "Yeah, but he agreed," and then added under her breath, "Jealous boy."
Xander shook his head and ignored her comment, "We just need more help, that's all."
"At least she'll be here soon too." Willow sighed, not finding Angel anywhere in the club. "Then she can pull the superhero, I can see a vampire, and she'll compliment your new hair. Then you'll be happy again."
Xander smirked, "I'm happy now. Aside from being on a razors edge from crapping my pants, I'm ecstatic."
"What if Buffy doesn't get here in time?"
"She will." Xander said confidently. "She's probably on her way right…" he trailed off as he watched Jeff, Cordy and their crew walk into the club; everybody Buffy had mentioned would be going out that night, and suddenly Xander wished vampires would come and take care of those asses.
Willow watched his eyes grow darker while he watched the other teens. "Wouldn't it be easier to just tell her parents that she doesn't have time to bond tonight cuz of an apocalypse and all?" she asked to offer him a distraction. She could tell since this afternoon that something was bothering him, and she had pinpointed it to Buffy's tall dark helper man who Xander had commented 'always appeared out of nowhere'.
"Would you buy that?" he asked offhandedly. "I know I'd have you put away for being delusional."
Willow swallowed and turned her gaze to the table, not liking the suddenly cold Xander Harris that she was sitting with. "I'm gonna go call her," she said standing up; wanting to get away from the table for a little while, but Xander didn't seem to notice. "Make sure she's trying to hurry." Xander just nodded without looking at the red head as she headed away from the table.
~*~*~
"Hmmmm…stakestakestakestake…" Buffy mumbled to herself as she wandered around her bedroom trying to find the appropriate weapons to take with her to the Bronze. For a vampire slayer she always seemed to misplace her tools of the trade, and she hated making more, as Giles had added wood working into her job description.
Buffy dropped to her knees beside her bed and lifted the duvet so she could see underneath. "Score," she whispered as she pulled one out and examined it.
"Buffy sweetheart?"
The Slayers head snapped up as the greeting preceded the opening of her bedroom door and her mother walked in. "I was thinking…what's that?" Joyce asked as her thought diverged from her original intent when she saw her daughter sitting kneeling on the floor holding a wooden pike.
Buffy's eyes widened and she glanced at the stake, "Ummmm…" she sputtered for an explanation. "Woodshop," she settled on finally with an uneasy grin. "I'm making a really little fence."
"Ok," Joyce's brow furrowed but she shrugged it off.
"What were you thinking?" Buffy asked to change the subject as she stood up and tossed the stake onto her bed. She started towards her closet as her mother spoke so that she wouldn't have to be visually dissected at the inane excuse she had used to cover herself with.
"Oh, yes," Joyce smiled. "Do you want a driving lesson tonight? You can run me to the pizza place and we can pick up dinner. Then I thought we could stop by the Blockbuster and pick up a video."
Buffy stopped rummaging through her clothes and frowned slightly. It was only rare occasions that she got offered a chance to drive; it usually involved more begging on her part. And now she couldn't even take advantage of it. "I can tonight Mom," she said quietly and watched Joyce's face fall.
"Why not?" she asked while Buffy pulled out a pair of leather pants and tossed them onto her bed. "You're going to take the test soon aren't you? You've been talking about this since you were thirteen."
Buffy sighed with her back turned and pulled a white tank top out of her dresser. "I can't tonight. I'm busy…"
"You're going out?" Joyce asked incredulously. "You know Friday's are family nights…"
Buffy turned and forced on her best innocent smile. She would rather be trapped on a desert island with her family for a year than have to go out and fight the forces of darkness and she hated having to pretend that that wasn't the case. "I promised Cordy and some of the other girls I'd meet them there…" she pouted, "Can I please go? I won't stay out long."
Joyce shook her head, hating to deny her daughter anything, especially when she pouted like that. She had to wonder when exactly her little girl learned to pull out the big guns to get what she wanted. "Cordelia?" she asked instead. "I would have thought…"
"I know." Buffy cut her mother off. She knew that her mom wasn't fond of the other girl who had been her friend in elementary school. Buffy had come home crying too many times at the end of that friendship for Joyce to ever want her to have any other contact with the brunette cheerleader, but, it seemed that one thing was impossible to ignore. Buffy and Cordelia had been friends because they were similar – were and are, and they would always be in contact becausae of it. "But there's other guys going to. It's a group thing that I'm supposed to participate in."
"11." Joyce settled, and let further explanation slide. Buffy was growing up and could have the relationships she wanted. "And not a minute later. You can still watch the second movie with us." But that didn't mean that as a parent she couldn't curtail the experience with curfew.
Buffy rolled her eyes but decided against arguing to get a better compromise. "Thanks Mom." She swallowed and shifted from foot to foot while her mother stood in front of her. "I'm gonna change now…"
Joyce jumped, "Oh, right. Right." She stepped back into the hall. "Let me know before you leave then."
"Kay," Buffy smiled sweetly as her mother prepared to close her door, but stopped when she became distracted by the chair by her desk. "Is that Xander's?" she pointed to the Sunnydale High swim jacket draped over the back of the chair.
Buffy followed her line of vision with wide eyes and started working on an excuse for that. "Um, yeah." She skipped to the desk and scooped it up, "He leant it to me the other night…" Left here last night…
Her mother nodded again and studied her fidgeting teen. The jacket hadn't been there yesterday when she had put Buffy's clothes away, and she hadn't gone out last night…and the abnormal 80 degree day that they had today wouldn't require anyone to need outerwear. All in all Joyce didn't buy what she was being fed and Buffy's demeanor only fueled her suspicions. She held her gaze letting her daughter know that while she was quietly accepting what she had said, she didn't necessarily believe her.
Buffy swallowed nervously and slipped the jacket on, "I'd better wear it so I don't forget." Joyce slit her eyes and simply shut the door, finally allowing Buffy to let out a breath as she fell to her side onto the bed.
~*~*~
"Where is she?" Whistler looked nervously up and down the street. "They're on their way."
Angel sighed and followed his friends line of sight from the direction they thought Buffy would be coming from. "I know," he said calmly, "She's probably on her way. I mean, Harris and the Willow are inside. She's not going to set them up for a fall…"
"Why are they even involved?" Whistler said over his shoulder to the vampire. "It's written about a Slayer, not a Slayer and her goddamned friends." The demon whirled to face Angel, "Did you tell her that? Did you tell her that she'll see those kids to an early grave?"
Angel sighed and let his head drop. "You and I both know that she won't listen to me. And apparently she won't listen to her Watcher either. She's doing what she wants…"
"She's going to have blood on her hands."
"I'll have it on mine," Angel defied sadly.
"Listen man," Whistler said quietly, "Don't let this girl destroy you. You can only do so much without her help…"
Angel looked up at the other man. "Are you suggesting that I let them die?"
"I'm suggesting that you realize that you can only help so much," the shorter demon clarified. "Take it however you want, but if she won't listen, she'll learn the hard way."
Angel's heart clenched at what was being suggested. He didn't know why he had expected any different; Whistler was against what he had planned to do from the start. The demon whose job it was to balance out the forces of good and evil even seemed to hate the righteous side of the equation…hated the power she had over him, probably. Where Angel went, Whistler went; and not where Buffy went, they both followed. But he didn't understand…couldn't even, because Angel couldn't even explain it correctly. He didn't get it himself.
All that was clear was that Buffy would not die because Angel refused to let that happen. If that meant he had to become her personal bodyguard, then so be it. If it meant that he would have to tolerate and even save Xander Harris to protect his Slayer, he'd do that too. Because weather she knew it, or liked it, or even accepted it, Buffy was his Slayer and had been since she was just a regular girl.
"If you don't like it…"
"I'm here for you, Angel. I'm here to save you because the Light needs ya."
"It needs her." Angel argued. "I need her."
Whistler shrugged, "So it doesn't matter what I like."
Angel nodded and looked back down the dark street. He could hear it – them. Lots of them heading towards the club, and he hated that Xander had been right. That he had been out witted by the teen nobody whom Buffy seemed dependent on. "We're all on the same side," the vampire whispered, "We all wan the same thing. We want to destroy them all."
"No," Whistler shook his head and spoke to himself while his companion paid him no attention. He was on high alert, the hairs on his neck standing on end. "You want the girl."
~*~*~
"She not there," the former computer geek said nervously when he stumbled back into the lair and confronted Luke. "Buffy's not at the club…"
"WHAT?!" the little boy hollered. "What do you mean she's not there?! It's almost time and she hasn't shown." He turned to Luke, "You said that it was guaranteed that Angel would tell her."
"It was…is," Luke rolled his eyes and pushed his way past the news bearing fledgling that had been apart of Jesse's rampage the night before. "She has to know."
"Well," Percy spoke up from corner of the dark room, "I know Buffy, and the girl is chronically late." He flexed his arms a little feeling the strength rippling through them, the slight tingle in his face as it slipped in and out of its demonic visage. He had no idea what happened to him, but that last he remembered Jesse had asked to speak to him outside…dead Jesse. And then he had gotten a 2x4 to the face – now…now he couldn't feel anything…now he could feel everything. And apparently they were going into battle and he was on the front lines. Percy couldn't wait. He could almost feel the terror that was about to ensue, hear the screams, taste the life…the blood that would flow at his beck and call.
"Where's that imbecile?" Luke asked ignoring Percy's input. "This is his plan. He picked these kids and called them an army…"
"They are." Jesse countered stepping out of his bedroom and adjusting a worn leather jacket. "Like?" he asked Luke with a grin as he turned, "I found it on a quaint little shop keep. Never heard a man scream like that," he laughed.
"Listen," Luke started, "We don't have time for this. You've made a shambles of…"
"Buffy'll be there, my man. Bet on it." Jesse said calmly. "Words' gotten around. She knows what's going down, and that if she doesn't stop it it'll be on her head…"
"And Xander was there," the scout spoke up gaining the rooms attention. "Xander and Willow."
Jesse's face broke out in a wide grin. "Oh yeah, she'll show alright. She's got her feelers out…"
"Two mortal teenagers." The anointed on joined in Jesse's devious enjoyment, "Some team she's got. We'll have their blood and bring hell to earth on her incompetence."
"And two others were outside too," the scout spoke again. "Two men."
"And Angel and his owner…" the Anointed grinned.
Jesse cocked an eyebrow, "Keeps getting better and better."
"When are we gonna motorvate?" Percy asked hopping from foot to foot. "I'm getting a little antsy."
Jesse rolled his eyes and turned his back to the jock. "Have another hostage," he said dismissively with a wave of his hand, not looking as he heard a low growl followed by a high pitched scream. "The time is coming."
Luke sighed letting it be known how much he despised everyone in the room. He hated having to play along with these children when it should be him in charge. But that would change soon. Soon the Master would rise and he would stand at his side. All these fledglings would feel the wrath of his years of murder and torture, his experience. He was better than they could ever hope to be and he would show them by sun up. "She had better be there," he growled.
Jesse set his eyes with the elder vampire. "Buffy's mine," he said in a low voice. "When the Slayer shows she's mine."
"Her blood will flow for the Master," Luke boomed. "This is not about you!"
Jesse bit his lip and glanced momentarily at the floor at the loud commanding tone, but then snapped his eyes up to meet Luke's, "It will be for the Master. The battle will be for me."
Luke sighed. He remembered his first fight with the newly minted Slayer, and she was strong then. She was smart, resourceful. She had gotten in a few punches that had startled him, at almost three times her size; and she had recovered from his blows with surprising resilience. The Slayer was cocky, yes; but, and Luke hated to admit it, for good reason. "You think you're ready to fight the Slayer? To win?"
Jesse nodded.
"She is kinda tiny," Percy agreed through a mouth that was full.
"Not Buffy," Luke told them. "The Slayer. You'll be killed."
Jesse shrugged and fixed him with a defiant smirk, "Or she will." He was determined that one of them would not walk out of the club tonight – and even more so that it would not be him. Jesse knew that he had the upper hand. Not only was an unsuspecting Willow and Xander waiting unprotected, but Buffy would be face with her greatest failure to date. Her best friend who she couldn't save. Jesse had her beat…if they left now Buffy would be defeated before she even began the fight.
"When you fail, I'll be there to sweep up your ashes…and claim your prized kill." Luke licked at his fangs. "And my world will be a better place for your passing."
Jesse smiled broadly at Luke's back as the older vampire walked to the entrance to the lair, heading above ground. "I knew you'd see it my way." He then turned to face the newly risen…his army of 35 scattered about the room. He eyes each of them, confident in his control over them – his former peers, the kids who had made his life a living hell. "No personal kills," he instructed, "It's all for the Master." He received a series of nods from boys who had stolen is girlfriends and his lunch money; who had made fun of him every day since he had moved to Sunnydale in the 5th grade. "Let's do this gentleman," he beckoned as he followed Luke's path, the Anointed beside him.
"Darla!" he suddenly remembered and the female vampire strolled into the main room. She joined him at the gaping mouth of the damp room. "You're not gonna wanna miss this show, babe," Jesse slipped into vampire face with a grin as he grasped her hand and led his troops to the streets of Sunnydale.
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The End Part 14e
Up Next: The Harvest fight scene and such.
