Episode 12: Old Sunnydale
The sun was sinking behind the horizon by the time that New Sunnydale came into view. Hunter got to within three miles of the city before pulling off on a little dirt road and driving a few miles over the bumpy road. It had obviously once been a construction road. Small piles of gravel and concrete were on the sides of the road around corners where overloaded dump trucks had spilled some of their cargo. Finally the road came to a stop and Hunter pulled his car into the trees and got out. "The most direct route to the crater is a small path over there. It's about ten miles but it shouldn't take too long if we jog. Hang on just a second and I'll get some supplies."
Fray followed him around to the trunk and smiled when he opened it. It was full of weapons, rope, flashlights, emergency blankets, a radio and other survival gear. Fray pulled out a sword and hooked the sheath to her belt. "Preparing for war?" Hunter asked, smiling.
Fray shook her head. "More like hoping to prevent it."
"What do you mean?" Hunter asked.
"I have to figure that whoever's looking for this besides us is on another side. The good guys and the bad guys, right? So anyway, I have to figure that what will eventually destroy the world is war."
"You're sort of right," Hunter said.
"Now it's my turn," Fray said, watching as he pulled a thick coil of rope out of the trunk. "What do you mean?"
"Well," Hunter started. "It is a war but we're not trying to find something to prevent it, we're trying to find something to win it. I don't know all the details, I told you that I don't know everything but still there's an army massing back home and we have to stop them."
"Can't we just stop them here? Change something so that their boss doesn't come into power so that way we don't have anything that anyone wants to steal."
Hunter looked at her and slammed the trunk closed. "You don't want to go back home do you?"
Fray looked up at him. "My home is with Kennedy and Willow," she snapped. "How am I supposed to love something that I don't even know?"
Hunter started walking into the woods and Fray followed. "You'll learn," he said, his voice tight. "Now come on, you have to get back to your family before they worry."
The distaste was obvious now in his voice but Fray ignored him and started jogging beside him. By the time they reached the main road to the crater the sun was well below the trees and the moon was starting to peek out from the horizon. A few stars were scattered in the dark sky as well. It was going to be a clear night which would help their quest as well. Fray was still glad that she had a flashlight in her pocket though.
They jogged down the road and Fray started to be able to see the crater. It was so large that the earth just seemed to stop. It was like there was road and then horizon with a space in between that contained nothing. A cool breeze blew across the desert and Fray could smell the destruction that had taken place ahead. She suddenly noticed that she was a few feet in front of Hunter, running towards the crater as if she was drawn.
She suddenly realized that there was a pulling sensation in her stomach. They were close. "Come on," she yelled back over her shoulder. "I can feel it."
Hunter put on a burst of speed and caught up with her. They ran the rest of the way to the crater and Fray slid when she came to a stop at the edge. While she looked in to the deep depression in the earth and the twisted mass of concrete, steel and wood that lay below Hunter tied off the rope on a nearby tree and tossed the other end down into the crater. He pulled it back up though and tied another length onto it when he saw that it didn't even get close to reaching.
"It's about four feet from the bottom but we can drop that distance and we can jump that far to get back up."
Fray nodded and started bouncing on the balls of her feet. The desperation that she felt to be in the crater looking for whatever it was that was down there was stronger than ever. Hunter glanced at her. "Looking at you now, you'd almost think you were eager to go back home."
Fray stopped bouncing. "If you don't shut up I'll send you into that crater without the rope."
Hunter just backed up with his hands raised. "Chill out," he said. "I was just saying."
Fray glared at him. "Stop talking," she snapped. "It's not your best feature."
Hunter mimicked her glare and the pointed to the edge. "You first," he said.
Fray grabbed the rope and walked down the edge of the crater. It was easy with the walls of the hollow being so rough but her hands still got sore. They were still healing from the glass wounds and the rope burns she was getting weren't helping. She dropped the last few feet and landed carefully on the ruins. They were packed down tightly but Fray still didn't feel comfortable standing there.
She started walking, kicking aside a fallen 'Welcome to Sunnydale' sign. She kept walking until she was near the far side of the crater and she beckoned to Hunter. "It's here," she said.
Hunter pulled a pick out from his belt loop and started digging. Fray helped him as best she could with her wounded hands. Soon they unearthed a set of stairs that led down into a dark cavern. "You first my lady," Hunter said, moving a sign that said 'Sunnydale High School' out of the way of the entrance.
Fray pulled her flashlight out and pulled out her sword at the same time. Clicking on the light she descended down into the cavern. The overwhelming stench of rot caused Fray's stomach to flip but she kept herself controlled. She looked at Hunter came down and wrinkled his nose. "This is it," he said.
"What's that?" Fray asked.
"Where the last battle was fought."
Fray looked around and saw some skeletons scattered around the room, a few stakes, axes and swords were discarded and a few random rats crawled around. Fray shone her light towards the far end of the cavern but it didn't even reach. "I think this place is the Hellmouth that Willow told me about," Fray said.
Hunter sniffed. "That's great," he said. "But use your Fader bloodhound senses and find what we're looking for and let's get the hell out of here. You can give me a Sunnydale history when we're back on the surface."
"What?" Fray joked. "Are you scared?"
Hunter scoffed. "Me," he said. "Afraid? Never."
Fray just turned around and shone her light over the floor. "Here we go," she said as he light caught a glint of something buried under a pile of dirt.
She moved the dirt aside and pulled out a large clear gem on a long golden chain. She tossed it to Hunter. "Did they tell you what it was supposed to look like?" Fray asked.
"Nope," Hunter said. "But finding a giant amulet in the deserted Hellmouth where the last battle with the First took place. This is good enough for me."
Fray just nodded. "Alright," she said. "Now, I'm totally with you here. Let's get the hell out of here."
Hunter smiled. "What," he said, "are you freaked out?"
Fray just looked at him. "Sure," she said. "Prove to me how big it is and be all manly but I'm getting out of here and I'm woman enough to admit that this place makes me feel freaked out."
Hunter just sniffed again and followed Fray out of the cavern. Fray shook her head when she got to the top and took a deep breath. Even though the air was filled with dust and dirt it was better then the rot that was down there. Fray turned to Hunter. "Something's not right," she said. "I'm still being drawn towards the cavern."
Hunter walked over to her and put his hand on her shoulder. Fray knocked it off and Hunter just sighed. "You're probably just feeling the after effects or whatever. I'm sure it will wear off but this was the only thing down there."
Fray nodded and started walking back towards the rope. "Hey," Hunter called after her. "I'm sorry about what I said before. I didn't mean to say it."
Fray snorted. "Yeah you did. You've wanted to say it ever since I told you about them at breakfast. And so what if I'm going to have a problem when I have to leave. They've been there for me when you've just come. You wouldn't even have made contact with me at the Bronze if I hadn't confronted you. If I had been attacked by those masked guys you wouldn't have been there for me. They would have though."
Hunter just gave up. "You're letting emotions get in your way. You can't save them Fader," he yelled after her. "Your job is to protect the future by changing the present. Not protecting the present by changing the future."
Fray just waved him off and started running. By the time he caught up with her she was halfway up the rope and by the time he got to the top she was gone. He found her waiting at the car when he got there. "You're slow," she said.
Hunter just slammed the rope into the trunk of the car and tossed the amulet back to her. "It's yours to take back home with your glory," he said.
Fray got into the car and Hunter slid in next to her. "I'm sorry now," Fray said.
Hunter just shook his head. It actually looked like he was trying to fight back tears. "What's wrong?" Fray asked.
"Nothing," he snapped.
"Jealous?" she asked, finally tired with his attitude. "Are you jealous that when I get back I'm going to be the one that found the answers and you're just going to be the one that was there when it happened?"
Hunter looked at her and this time there were tears sliding down his cheeks. Fray turned her head to look out the window. "No," he said. "I'm jealous that when you leave people are going to cry for you and they're going to miss you. When I go no one will remember me. When you go you'll have someone to miss and something to go back home to. I don't have anything, I won't have anything and I've never had anything."
Fray was silent the rest of the way home. Hunter walked her up to Kennedy and Willow's apartment. "You shouldn't care for these people," he said. "It'll just hurt more when you leave."
"Yeah," Fray said. "Well I probably shouldn't fall in love either but it's too late for that."
"Who?" Hunter asked, an edge of jealousy creeping into his voice.
Fray just looked at him and opened the apartment door. She stopped as soon as she walked in though. Kennedy was sitting on the sofa, her head in her hands. Xander and Faith were leaning against one wall. Fray could see Dawn at the kitchen table, tears running down her face. Wood was there also, his eyes tight.
Fray walked in. "What happened?" she asked.
Kennedy stood up, tears making a path from her eyes down her cheeks and dropping off her chin. She walked over to Fray and nearly collapsed in her arms. Fray caught her and helped her down to the floor and then sat down next to her. Kennedy's face was buried in her shoulder but she could still hear every word that she said. "It's Willow," she sobbed. "She's gone."
The sun was sinking behind the horizon by the time that New Sunnydale came into view. Hunter got to within three miles of the city before pulling off on a little dirt road and driving a few miles over the bumpy road. It had obviously once been a construction road. Small piles of gravel and concrete were on the sides of the road around corners where overloaded dump trucks had spilled some of their cargo. Finally the road came to a stop and Hunter pulled his car into the trees and got out. "The most direct route to the crater is a small path over there. It's about ten miles but it shouldn't take too long if we jog. Hang on just a second and I'll get some supplies."
Fray followed him around to the trunk and smiled when he opened it. It was full of weapons, rope, flashlights, emergency blankets, a radio and other survival gear. Fray pulled out a sword and hooked the sheath to her belt. "Preparing for war?" Hunter asked, smiling.
Fray shook her head. "More like hoping to prevent it."
"What do you mean?" Hunter asked.
"I have to figure that whoever's looking for this besides us is on another side. The good guys and the bad guys, right? So anyway, I have to figure that what will eventually destroy the world is war."
"You're sort of right," Hunter said.
"Now it's my turn," Fray said, watching as he pulled a thick coil of rope out of the trunk. "What do you mean?"
"Well," Hunter started. "It is a war but we're not trying to find something to prevent it, we're trying to find something to win it. I don't know all the details, I told you that I don't know everything but still there's an army massing back home and we have to stop them."
"Can't we just stop them here? Change something so that their boss doesn't come into power so that way we don't have anything that anyone wants to steal."
Hunter looked at her and slammed the trunk closed. "You don't want to go back home do you?"
Fray looked up at him. "My home is with Kennedy and Willow," she snapped. "How am I supposed to love something that I don't even know?"
Hunter started walking into the woods and Fray followed. "You'll learn," he said, his voice tight. "Now come on, you have to get back to your family before they worry."
The distaste was obvious now in his voice but Fray ignored him and started jogging beside him. By the time they reached the main road to the crater the sun was well below the trees and the moon was starting to peek out from the horizon. A few stars were scattered in the dark sky as well. It was going to be a clear night which would help their quest as well. Fray was still glad that she had a flashlight in her pocket though.
They jogged down the road and Fray started to be able to see the crater. It was so large that the earth just seemed to stop. It was like there was road and then horizon with a space in between that contained nothing. A cool breeze blew across the desert and Fray could smell the destruction that had taken place ahead. She suddenly noticed that she was a few feet in front of Hunter, running towards the crater as if she was drawn.
She suddenly realized that there was a pulling sensation in her stomach. They were close. "Come on," she yelled back over her shoulder. "I can feel it."
Hunter put on a burst of speed and caught up with her. They ran the rest of the way to the crater and Fray slid when she came to a stop at the edge. While she looked in to the deep depression in the earth and the twisted mass of concrete, steel and wood that lay below Hunter tied off the rope on a nearby tree and tossed the other end down into the crater. He pulled it back up though and tied another length onto it when he saw that it didn't even get close to reaching.
"It's about four feet from the bottom but we can drop that distance and we can jump that far to get back up."
Fray nodded and started bouncing on the balls of her feet. The desperation that she felt to be in the crater looking for whatever it was that was down there was stronger than ever. Hunter glanced at her. "Looking at you now, you'd almost think you were eager to go back home."
Fray stopped bouncing. "If you don't shut up I'll send you into that crater without the rope."
Hunter just backed up with his hands raised. "Chill out," he said. "I was just saying."
Fray glared at him. "Stop talking," she snapped. "It's not your best feature."
Hunter mimicked her glare and the pointed to the edge. "You first," he said.
Fray grabbed the rope and walked down the edge of the crater. It was easy with the walls of the hollow being so rough but her hands still got sore. They were still healing from the glass wounds and the rope burns she was getting weren't helping. She dropped the last few feet and landed carefully on the ruins. They were packed down tightly but Fray still didn't feel comfortable standing there.
She started walking, kicking aside a fallen 'Welcome to Sunnydale' sign. She kept walking until she was near the far side of the crater and she beckoned to Hunter. "It's here," she said.
Hunter pulled a pick out from his belt loop and started digging. Fray helped him as best she could with her wounded hands. Soon they unearthed a set of stairs that led down into a dark cavern. "You first my lady," Hunter said, moving a sign that said 'Sunnydale High School' out of the way of the entrance.
Fray pulled her flashlight out and pulled out her sword at the same time. Clicking on the light she descended down into the cavern. The overwhelming stench of rot caused Fray's stomach to flip but she kept herself controlled. She looked at Hunter came down and wrinkled his nose. "This is it," he said.
"What's that?" Fray asked.
"Where the last battle was fought."
Fray looked around and saw some skeletons scattered around the room, a few stakes, axes and swords were discarded and a few random rats crawled around. Fray shone her light towards the far end of the cavern but it didn't even reach. "I think this place is the Hellmouth that Willow told me about," Fray said.
Hunter sniffed. "That's great," he said. "But use your Fader bloodhound senses and find what we're looking for and let's get the hell out of here. You can give me a Sunnydale history when we're back on the surface."
"What?" Fray joked. "Are you scared?"
Hunter scoffed. "Me," he said. "Afraid? Never."
Fray just turned around and shone her light over the floor. "Here we go," she said as he light caught a glint of something buried under a pile of dirt.
She moved the dirt aside and pulled out a large clear gem on a long golden chain. She tossed it to Hunter. "Did they tell you what it was supposed to look like?" Fray asked.
"Nope," Hunter said. "But finding a giant amulet in the deserted Hellmouth where the last battle with the First took place. This is good enough for me."
Fray just nodded. "Alright," she said. "Now, I'm totally with you here. Let's get the hell out of here."
Hunter smiled. "What," he said, "are you freaked out?"
Fray just looked at him. "Sure," she said. "Prove to me how big it is and be all manly but I'm getting out of here and I'm woman enough to admit that this place makes me feel freaked out."
Hunter just sniffed again and followed Fray out of the cavern. Fray shook her head when she got to the top and took a deep breath. Even though the air was filled with dust and dirt it was better then the rot that was down there. Fray turned to Hunter. "Something's not right," she said. "I'm still being drawn towards the cavern."
Hunter walked over to her and put his hand on her shoulder. Fray knocked it off and Hunter just sighed. "You're probably just feeling the after effects or whatever. I'm sure it will wear off but this was the only thing down there."
Fray nodded and started walking back towards the rope. "Hey," Hunter called after her. "I'm sorry about what I said before. I didn't mean to say it."
Fray snorted. "Yeah you did. You've wanted to say it ever since I told you about them at breakfast. And so what if I'm going to have a problem when I have to leave. They've been there for me when you've just come. You wouldn't even have made contact with me at the Bronze if I hadn't confronted you. If I had been attacked by those masked guys you wouldn't have been there for me. They would have though."
Hunter just gave up. "You're letting emotions get in your way. You can't save them Fader," he yelled after her. "Your job is to protect the future by changing the present. Not protecting the present by changing the future."
Fray just waved him off and started running. By the time he caught up with her she was halfway up the rope and by the time he got to the top she was gone. He found her waiting at the car when he got there. "You're slow," she said.
Hunter just slammed the rope into the trunk of the car and tossed the amulet back to her. "It's yours to take back home with your glory," he said.
Fray got into the car and Hunter slid in next to her. "I'm sorry now," Fray said.
Hunter just shook his head. It actually looked like he was trying to fight back tears. "What's wrong?" Fray asked.
"Nothing," he snapped.
"Jealous?" she asked, finally tired with his attitude. "Are you jealous that when I get back I'm going to be the one that found the answers and you're just going to be the one that was there when it happened?"
Hunter looked at her and this time there were tears sliding down his cheeks. Fray turned her head to look out the window. "No," he said. "I'm jealous that when you leave people are going to cry for you and they're going to miss you. When I go no one will remember me. When you go you'll have someone to miss and something to go back home to. I don't have anything, I won't have anything and I've never had anything."
Fray was silent the rest of the way home. Hunter walked her up to Kennedy and Willow's apartment. "You shouldn't care for these people," he said. "It'll just hurt more when you leave."
"Yeah," Fray said. "Well I probably shouldn't fall in love either but it's too late for that."
"Who?" Hunter asked, an edge of jealousy creeping into his voice.
Fray just looked at him and opened the apartment door. She stopped as soon as she walked in though. Kennedy was sitting on the sofa, her head in her hands. Xander and Faith were leaning against one wall. Fray could see Dawn at the kitchen table, tears running down her face. Wood was there also, his eyes tight.
Fray walked in. "What happened?" she asked.
Kennedy stood up, tears making a path from her eyes down her cheeks and dropping off her chin. She walked over to Fray and nearly collapsed in her arms. Fray caught her and helped her down to the floor and then sat down next to her. Kennedy's face was buried in her shoulder but she could still hear every word that she said. "It's Willow," she sobbed. "She's gone."