Author: Bobby Cox smeghead_76@dodo.com.au
Disclaimer: Some of the characters are mine. Some aren't. The 'verse in which this is set, however, belongs to Peter F. Hamilton (the 'Night's Dawn' trilogy 'verse). There may or may not be characters and situations belonging to ME productions and the team that writes Buffy. I'm just covering my arse there. No money will be made from this, but if someone *thinks* it's good enough to make money, I'd be flattered :)
Summary: This is a parallel story to 'In Their Shadow' by rei_ite (and later on, myself), and provides back-story for Xander's activities on Earth. Basically, vampires and the Light Bringer sect - a Satanic cult (no, really!) - are starting to bump heads with each other in the Downtown section of the Los Angeles arcology. Normally, the authorities wouldn't pay too much attention to something like this.
However, when the fighting spills over to the Uptown sections...
AN: The follwing text formats will be used for datavises and affinity:
Affinity will be represented as such: AffinityDatavises will be represented as such:{Datavise}
'Of course, I will require a few survivors... the leaders for sequestration nanonics, any good-looking gang members for the celebrations, and, of course, a sacrifice or two for God's Brother.'
- Magus of the Sunnydale Dome of the Los Angeles arcology (2614)
Downtown district
Sunnydale dome, Los Angeles arcology
31st May 2614
The young woman was running - fast.
She was obviously looking for something, but it was equally obvious that she hadn't found it yet, as she kept running. Her options were running out fast - currently they were down to; stand and fight the things chasing her, or keep running while trying to find a place to fight from.
Number one was bad because, even though she had whittled down the number of things chasing her, she had merely weeded out the stupid and the unlucky. The survivors were the smart, the lucky, and the ruthless - and there were too many of them to take on all at once. To further add to her problems, she was unsure if she had enough weapons remaining to deal with the things chasing her.
And number two was also becoming bad as she still hadn't found a defensible location - she thought she had on a few occasions, but the things chasing her had proven her wrong every time so far, crashing through windows, doors, and sometimes even through walls to outflank her and send her running.
Elizabeth Baker had been a Slayer for eight months, and it looked like tonight was going to be her last night.
She had started off tonight's patrol well enough, dusting four individual vampires, but then she had run into a large group - she hadn't had enough time to count them, but it seemed like thirty or so - and had been forced to run for her life.
The first six had gone down easily enough, but they had been the youngest, eager for the glory that would be theirs if they managed to kill a Slayer, and she had lost all but one of her stakes in the process.
Four more had been decapitated by her maser carbine, but the fifth vampire, following close behind had tackled her, sending the carbine flying out of her hands and into the night. It had been broken anyway, so it wasn't that great a loss. It had, however, required the use of her last stake to prevent the vampire from ripping her throat out - and she hadn't been able to extract the stake, which meant that it dusted along with the vampire.
She had managed to take out another ten with her TIP pistols in her running fight, but that had drained her supply of energy cells, and she doubted if she had enough juice left in her last two energy cells to take out the remaining - nine, by her count - vampires. Enough for a few, maybe, but that would leave the rest 'alive' and in a good position to kill her.
She may have accepted the possibility of dying tonight, but she would much prefer to live through this.
As she was passing yet another alley - examining it and discarding it as a possible spot for a stand in a heartbeat - she heard someone shout, "GET DOWN!"
Acting entirely on instinct, she dived into the alley and crouched behind a stack of composite containers, both TIP pistols pointed at the entrance to the alley.
She may have dived into the alley on trust, but she wasn't going to take any chances.
As it turned out, she needn't have worried.
The same voice that had told her to seek cover now shouted out, "FIRE!" Seconds later the buzzing and cracking of energy weapons rang out, interspersed with the WHUMP-WHUMP-WHUMP of a heavier weapon. Then the screams started.
"Shit!"
"We've been ambushed! Let's get the fuck outta here!"
"Fuck! I'm on fire! Help m-"
"CHARRRGE!"
"I would if I could see them... oh, shit."
She also heard wordless screams of pain and the distinctive sounds of vampires dissolving into dust. Clearly, the vampires chasing her had run into more than they could handle. The question was, however, were they friendly, or merely another enemy of the vampires?
The firing stopped, and Elizabeth heard...
"Clear!"
"Clear!"
"Clear!"
"Nine up, nine down!"
"Clear, smartass!"
She was still wondering what was going in when she saw a group of faint blurs standing at the entrance to the alley. They were so faint, in fact, that she suspected that only her Slayer-enhanced senses could pick them out.
The blurs shimmered slightly and faded, revealing five people advancing towards her, cradling weapons in their arms. Three maser carbines, and what looked like an X-ray laser rifle. The leader, a woman who appeared to be a few years older than Elizabeth, was carrying...
A gaussgun! Where'd she get that? My Watcher was unhappy enough about the maser carbine and the TIP pistols. I'd hate to think what he'd have to say about truly heavy artillery like that, not to mention the chameleon suits these guys are wearing...
"Is she alright?" the leader asked.
"Bloody hell, Cat, give me a chance, okay?" a young man standing next to the leader - Cat - said in a plaintive voice, clipping his maser carbine to his equipment harness. Kneeling down next to Elizabeth, he pulled a block from a pouch and attached it to her forehead. "Don't worry," he said gently. "It's just a diagnostic block."
While the block was doing whatever it was supposed to, he gave her a quick, but gentle, physical examination, which finished just as the block bleeped to announce that it was finished as well.
Turning to Cat, the young man said, "No major damage. Just a few minor scrapes, cuts and bruises. Some epithelium membrane should take care of it." He placed the diagnostic block back in its pouch and started removing some flat sheets from another pouch, peeling off a backing layer before applying the sheets to Elizabeth's minor injuries. She sighed as the pain reliever infusing the epithelium membranes began to take effect.
Seeing this, the young man smiled. "I was going to ask you how you felt now, but it's pretty obvious, isn't it?" He extended his hand. "Alexander Matthews, but you can call me Alex. I only get called Alexander when I'm in trouble."
Elizabeth came to a conclusion. Good guys, and well-equipped good guys to boot. I can trust them.
She grasped Alex's hand and shook it before introducing herself. "Elizabeth Baker -" She hesitated, then decided that if she was going to trust them, she was going to trust them all the way. After all, they did save her from a group of vampires. "Vampire Slayer."
Alex's eyes widened at that. "Really? Now, that is interesting."
Cat stepped forward. "Slayer, huh?" At Elizabeth's nod, she extended her own hand and said, "Allow me to introduce myself. Catherine Piper, Vampire Slayer."