Title: Phoenix Risings: Phantasmal Terrain
Rating: PG-13/R
Chapter Number: 3
Author: White Werewolf
Category: Buffy/Xander, Sam/Daniel (Maybe),
Gabrielle/Joxer
Spoilers/Timeframe: All I know for sure it is after
"Becoming Part 2."
Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the ideas and my
computer.
Summery: After Buffy leaves Sunnydale, Xander decides
to go looking for her. On the other side of the
universe, Ninedinna wants the book she created…the
Necronomicon Ex Mortis: the Book of the Dead.
Author Notes: This part is just a prologue to the
Phoenix Risings Trilogy; whichs is in turn the
starting fic to a huge series. This is the second
part of the trilogy. It will be mainly focused on the
Buffy/Xander relationship and it will be housing many
crossovers.
Special Thanks: Danii, Tenhawk, Teri, Silent Bob
Foley, and X-Lander
Crossovers Planned:
Buffy: the Vampire Slayer
Hercules: the Legendary Journeys
Evil Dead
Stargate SG-1
Xena: Warrior Princess
Three's Company
Cameo Crossovers will suddenly appear. Take a read,
and see if you can spot one.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\
----------------------------
His eyes widened, "What's happening? What is it?"
Angel grunted, "It happens whenever Angelus is being
severely tortured. "
Xander asked, "What do you want me to do?"
The vampire looked up at him showing a concerned look,
"Don't worry about me, Xander. Find Buffy. That's
the important thing."
He nodded, "I know. I just wish there's something
that I could do for you."
Angel smiled weakly, "Don't worry. I gotta go."
And with that, Angel vanished leaving Xander all by
himself in his room. Suddenly, the door opened. The
visitor came in and walked over to him. She smiled
seductively and grabbed Xander into a hug holding him
tight.
Xander knew that touch and smell. He twisted his body
around so he could face her. With a big smile he
said, "Hey, Buffy."
Her smile grew wider, "Hi, Baby."
***
Xander awoke the next morning with a wide grin on his
face. He got out of bed and yawned. "What a dream."
The boy murmured to himself.
He got out of bed and headed for the shower. As soon
as he faced the mirror he noticed that his hair was a
mess. "Don't you just hate bed head?"
Sighing to himself, he got out of his clothes, placed
a towel in front of the shower, and went inside
closing the door behind him.
Soon, the water started to pour out of the shower head
and ran over his body. As he started cleaning
himself, he couldn't help but remember his dream that
night.
He didn't know if Angel was real or not, but he
definitely liked what he dreamt. This was the first
time he ever dreamt of Angel where the vampire didn't
end up at the other side of the stake and become dust.
Why would he dream Angel not being dusted? It didn't
make sense. He still hated vampires, but why didn't
Angel become dust? The rest of the dream was normal.
Buffy came to him, and the two of them started to do
things.
Then it hit him. That wasn't a normal dream. Angel
came to him and gave him his blessing. Apparently
dating Buffy was alright with Angel.
Now, he knew that he was doing the right thing. Now,
Xander knew that Buffy liked him in a more than
friendly way. With a smile, he realized that this
dream was the truth. It had to be.
Dreams were always way for the subconscious mind to
communicate with the conscious mind. Dreams either
scared you as a nightmare would, view the future, or
provide a happy experience for the person themselves
to enjoy.
This definitely wasn't a nightmare. If it was, Xander
wouldn't of had the time to enjoy the presence of
Buffy holding him. And this couldn't be a happy
experience. Because if it was, Angel would've became
dust, and he didn't. So, that meant that this was
sorta of a prophetic dream. Angel was telling him
that he would find Buffy and that eventually the two
of them being Xander and Buffy would be together.
Soon, a grin crossed his lips knowing that the dream
was the truth. He quickly finished his shower, dried
off, dressed himself, ate breakfast, and left for
S-Mart the whole time thinking about the future.
Even though he knew that more pain was in his future,
he couldn't help but smile knowing that one day his
love would be with him.
***
"Sorry, X!"
Xander chuckled as Faith pulled him up off the floor.
"It's okay, Faith. Looks like you had another power
surge there, huh?"
She shrugged, "I guess. I am a slayer after all."
He nodded as he stood up. "Yeah. You are. One thing
I noticed though is that you're 'power surges' are
coming closer together then they were in the past."
The Slayer grabbed two bottled waters from the small
fridge that sat in the newly formed training room, and
threw one to her friend, "Catch."
Xander caught it with ease, "Thanks."
Ash asked Xander to help him design a room in the
cabin for Faith to train during the last five days.
Wesley on the other hand, took those five days and
trained her outside the cabin into his apartment. The
idea started to come together really well since there
was already another room, but nothing was done to it,
so this idea put better use to it.
Together, they worked on it for a long time. They
laid out a blue mat in the center of the room. To the
left was a hoarse that gymnasts would use. A couch
was by the other wall, which was next to the small
refrigerator that had bottled waters inside. A dummy
was on the other side of the fridge.
When Faith saw the finished product, she had this
incredibly bright smile. It was very rare for her to
get something as a present. Her parents weren't the
types to do the present thing. The only person who
did was her uncle and now apparently Xander and even
Wesley.
Wesley, Xander, and her uncle formed the family that
she needed. True, Ash was only her uncle, but in
actuality he became her father. Xander became her
brother and best friend. Even though they met a week
ago, the two of them talked a lot and helped each
other out. Xander helped train her and was someone to
talk to that was close to her age. True Wesley was
annoying, and at times her uncle and him were at each
other's throats. Wesley was the uncle. It seemed
like Wesley and Ash were brothers. The two of them
already acted like they had the sibling rivalry thing
down. But Wesley did have her best interest at heart.
True, he did go by the book, but she knew that he did
care for her.
She looked at her friend who glanced at the floor.
"What's wrong? You still thinking about B, huh?"
Xander nodded, "Yeah. It's been over a week, Faith.
And nothing."
Faith sat down on the couch and was shortly joined by
her friend. She took a sip of her water and said,
"You're trying, X. We all are. You yourself have
done more work for B here then I thought any other
person would do. You've got connections like nobody
does. You know Kevin Sorbo, us, and you even talked
to Buffy's father. You'll find her. I have no doubt
in my mind that you won't."
He nodded, "I know I'll find her. I just wish that I
was close."
"Yeah, now how about you help me with more training.
After all, like you said, my 'power surges' are
getting closer."
His eyes widened, "Did you just say 'my 'power surges'
are getting closer'?"
Faith shrugged, "Yeah, so?"
He grinned, "That means I'm getting closer to find
Buffy."
She showed a confused look, "How can you be so sure?"
Xander answered, "Giles told me the whole story.
Basically, both slayers are going to be at full
capacity when the other one is feeling better about
themselves. So…"
Faith continued, "So now that my 'power surges' are
coming closer together, Buffy is feeling better about
herself."
The boy grinned, "Exactly. How do you feel about
that?"
The Slayer said with a wicked grin, "Five by five."
***
Buffy Summers left the diner and headed back for her
apartment alone.
It has been two weeks since the young woman left
Sunnydale. She still was heart broken about Angel's
departure into hell. But, Buffy was on her way to
recovery.
A lot of that had to deal with her dreams from her
spirit guide. Marvin or what he Buffy called him,
Alex, shown her things that opened her eyes. She
learned a lot about her flaws in a way that didn't
hurt her feelings. Far from it. Alex showed her
through dreams that she needed know.
Buffy learned that she had to be a team player. She
learned that she had friends who would give their
lives in order to protect her and make her have the
life that she so craved within the last few years.
All her friends cared a great deal about her, it was
always those three people that meant something more to
her now then they did before.
Giles, Willow, and Xander.
The three of them were always there for her, and now
she knew. She also knew that of all of them, the one
person that has been there the most was Xander.
True, Xander did lie to her, and it hurt her. But
through Alex and as this past week went by, she
understood why he did it. Xander wanted her to live,
and how did she pay that back? She ran away from her
mother and from her friends.
Even though she now realized that what she did was
wrong, she wasn't ready to go back to Sunnydale yet.
Buffy Summers was still a young woman who was in pain
and heartache.
Anyway, Alex said that she wouldn't be fully ready to
go home until Xander found her. Buffy knew that the
two of them had to talk and knew that it was going to
be tough for her to talk to him. He would be the
first one of her friends from Sunnydale that she had
to talk to.
She looked up into the sky and could see the sun
disappearing from above, which allowed the
transformation from day into night take place. The
moon was about to rise and air would turn crisp.
Buffy sighed knowing what was ahead. More time for
her to slay and fight the demons that she loathed so
much to do.
Her hand immediately grabbed hold of the cross that
hung across her neck. It was a new cross that she
bought. Wearing the one that Angel gave her made her
heart hurt even more. This cross that she now wore
was gold and smaller than the silver one that he gave
her. The gold cross signified a new beginning for
Buffy. It signified that she wanted to move on with
her life.
With a sigh and a clearing of the throat, she let go
of the cross and went inside her pocket to rescue a
stake that she newly sharpened with the knife that she
bought from S-Mart that one time.
She headed for the nearest cemetery to do her
routinely patrol.
As soon as Buffy arrived in Los Angeles, she promised
herself that she would retire from the slaying. She
didn't want to be the Slayer anymore and it hurt
anybody that ever came close to her. It sent her
boyfriend to hell, put Willow in a coma, Giles was
tortured, and Xander broke his wrist.
But the slaying was something that she took back when
she realized that it would help her get back into the
swing of things.
She approached the cemetery as stealthy as she could
muster. Buffy tried to be sneaky like a cat. Each
step she made was ever so quiet. She walked
differently then what she used to. Instead of
stepping with the front of the foot first, she stepped
with the heal. This new method proved quite effective
and proved to be quiet which was what vampires didn't
suspect.
The moon now appeared in the night sky and the rays of
light danced over the grayness of the tombstones.
Freshly green grass covered the ground.
"Come out, come out where ever you are." Buffy said
under her breath. "I mean. Look what you have here.
I'm just a small girl walking through a cemetery at
night not knowing who could jump out from behind a
gravestone."
She smiled, "And there's healthy blood flowing through
my veins. That's what happens when you got a heart
that's alive. It beats away as it pumps."
No answer.
She pouted, "C'mon. I'm alone. It's dark. The moon
is full. If you ask me, I'm a perfect solution to get
rid of a vampire's hunger."
Buffy sighed when nothing happened.
"Look at my skin. It's so white, pure. It covers my
skeleton, organs, and warm blood. If I was a vampire,
I know I would want to eat me."
All of a sudden she heard a roar coming from
somewhere. There was enough light to look at the
source. It was a light blue truck. Soon, two doors
opened and out jumped five people.
She saw them run over to her.
One of them ran in front of the others and yelled at
Buffy. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
Buffy shrugged, "Just taking a walk. Is that so
wrong?"
The voice said, "Normally, no. But you're in a very
dangerous place at this time of night."
She smiled, "Why? I had a hard time at work, and just
wanted to take a walk. I'm visiting my grandpa's
grave."
"Uh huh." The man said as he looked at the grave the
girl was standing in front of. "You're grandpa was
named Alyson Tyler."
Buffy gulped, "Grandma Tyler had a sex change. He
used to be named Steven Lee."
"Do you need any help, Gunn?"
Charles Gunn looked at his friend, "I don't think so,
Man." The self-appointed male slayer looked turned
back to the young woman in front of him, "I'll ask you
again. Why the hell are you doing here? You trying
to get yourself killed by vampires?"
Her eyes widened. This guy knew about vampires?
Well, actually, knowing about vampires is nothing out
of the ordinary. But, to cover what she was, she said
in her defense with a nervous giggle. "Vampires?
Something tells me you've seen way too many horror
movies."
Gunn glared at her, "Horror movies nothing. Vampires
exist, and if you stay in a cemetery any longer,
you'll likely become one or you'll die. Plain and
simple."
He watched her features and noticed that nothing he
said seemed to trigger a surprising or scared look.
"Did you hear me? I said, you'd die after seeing a
vampire. You do know what vampires are, don't you?
Demons in the form of humans, have fangs, face turns
all bumpy when ready to attack."
She sighed, "I know what vampires are. Believe me, I
know."
The four remaining men approached the two of them,
"Then why are you at this time at night?" one of them
asked.
The one known as George said, "Let Gunn handle this,
Rondell."
Charles said, "If you know about vampires, then why
are you out at night in a cemetery? You have a death
wish?"
She immediately shook her head, "No. It's my destiny
to fight vampires. I'm the slayer."
He looked at her in confusion, "Slayer? What's that?"
Buffy glared at him, "You know about vampires yet you
don't know about vampire slayers?"
"Um, I heard of them."
Every one turned to see the new voice, "You've heard
about these slayers, Bobby?"
Bobby nodded, "Yeah, I have, Gunn."
Gunn looked at him, "Mind filling us all in."
Bobby stated, "Sure. Slayers are girls that slay
vampires and demons."
George glanced at him. "How do you know this?"
He answered, "Did some research. Went to the
library."
Rondell looked skeptically, "You went to a library?"
Bobby nodded, "Yeah, I did. So?"
The last member of the crew known as James said, "You
don't strike us as the library type."
Gunn said, "Guys, we're getting off topic here. Now,
Bobby, what are these slayers?"
Buffy said in her defense, "I can tell you right now.
As I said before, slayers are girls who have supers
strength, speed, and other heightened sense."
Charles looked at Bobby, "She right?"
Bobby replied, "Yeah, she is."
Gunn nodded and looked at the young woman in front of
them, "So it seems you're telling the truth. The
name's Gunn. Over there are James, Bobby, George, and
Rondell."
She grinned, "I'm Buffy."
George showed a weird look, "Buffy? The vampire
slayer is named Buffy?"
The blond stared at him, "What's wrong with the name,
Buffy?"
He was about to say something when Bobby grabbed his
arm. "Don't go there, Man. Believe me."
George chuckled, "What's she going to do, knock a
gravestone on top of me?"
Buffy stormed right up to him, "I can do a lot more
than that!"
He said with a stern voice, "Prove it."
"Guys look out!"
The five of them turned to face James.
"What is it?" Gunn asked.
He pointed to some graves beyond them, "Vampires at
7:00!"
George said, "It's 9:00, Man."
James sighed, "No, I mean in the 7 o'clock direction!"
Buffy grinned as she tightened her grasp around her
stake. "Now, you'll see what a slayer can do."
Gunn said, "Less talking, more staking!"
George nodded and withdrew his stake, "Right with you
man."
The six vampire slaying humans looked as a horde of
fifteen vampires approached them.
"Well looky what we got here." one of the vampires
said to his crew.
Another demon said with a smirk, "It looks like
dinner, Kurt."
Kurt sneered, "That's what I was thinking. How about
you, Sammy?"
Sammy answered, "I was thinking that too. Now, how
about we do something about it?"
Before another one of their crew could respond. Buffy
grabbed a vampire by the left arm and threw him over
her shoulder, and he landed on his back. "What the
fuck are you?"
Buffy smiled, "I'm Buffy the vampire slayer."
That vampire's eyes widened, "The slayer?"
Gunn grinned, "That's what she said, Blooksucker."
Then he slammed his stake into the demon's non-beating
heart.
"This sucks," The demon said just before he crumbled
into dust.
Sammy's yelled at Gunn, "I'm going to kill you for
doing that to Mark."
He said with a grin, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Here's what I
think of your death threat." Then Gunn leaped at
Sammy, pinning him to the ground. Then he jammed the
stake into his heart.
As soon as the dust settled, Gunn looked to his left.
Buffy, James, and George were fighting off six
vampires.
To his right, Rondell and Bobby were fighting the
remaining five. "I'm coming guys." Gunn said as he
got back to his feet and charged the five vampires
that Bobby and Rondell were fighting.
***
Buffy slammed Kurt into the neighboring tree. She
took a few steps back and grabbed him by the collar.
Raising the demon up by the cloth, she slammed him
back into the bark.
The demon chuckled, "Why are you like this?"
She showed a confused look, "Like what?"
Kurt grinned, "Working with others. I've fought
slayers before. And they all were by themselves.
Yet, you're working with five humans."
Buffy smiled, "First of all. I'm surprised you can
count. Second of all, lemme say this. I had a close
encounter with the spiritual kind."
"Spiritual kind, huh?" Kurt asked her.
But before he could continue with anything, Buffy
staked him. "I don't have time for this. They need
my help."
She watched the dust scatter to the ground as she
twirled around. Buffy asked, "You guys alright?"
James said, "Yeah, you can help me get the jack ass
off of me."
She nodded as she sprinted to the fallen human. Buffy
yanked the demon off of him and held him in place.
"Easy target."
James grinned, "Thanks, Buffy." He then took the
opportunity and slammed his stake into the demon.
"With this guy down and you're guy. We at least have
twelve to go."
Buffy nodded, "Yeah, but we'll get them."
George soon tackled a vampire that was headed for his
friend and new ally. "I hate to stop the meeting of
great minds, but we got vampires to dust."
She smiled, "Right." Then with her stake in her hand,
she jammed it into another vampire's chest watching it
crumble to ash.
For the next twenty minutes, the six humans fought
with everything they had. Buffy, George, and James
formed a trio and attacked their opponents in rhythm.
At first it was a reckless mess of attacks, but soon,
each one of the three learned from the other's
attacking methods. Thus creating a somewhat organized
fighting method.
Gunn, Bobby, and Rondell were fighting as well. To
them, it was their typical fighting strategy which was
very successful.
As soon as the last vampire crumbled into ash, Gunn
looked toward Buffy, "Nice moves, Buffy."
The Slayer said, "I have to thank Giles as soon as I
get back to Sunnydale."
Rondell asked, "Giles?"
She replied, "Giles is my watcher. He trains me so I
can survive another night."
James said, "Sounds like a good man."
Buffy smiled, "He is. All my friends are. I just
have to tell them that."
She said that without even thinking. Ever since her
time with Alex, Buffy had been trying to use his
lessons to her advantage. The blond tried to be a
team player—someone that helped the members in the
team so they can have a better chance to survive.
Buffy surveyed her surroundings and couldn't help but
feel something positive in her heart. It felt good to
help. It felt nice to know that she contributed in
this and to be able to talk to people about the
current battle they just had
True she did fight with her friends in Sunnydale. But
they didn't have the strength and the strategy that
Gunn and his crew had. She wanted more of that
feeling, and knew how to get it.
Buffy would go back to Sunnydale and set up group
training sessions. With the help of Giles and
herself, she would able to train Willow, Oz, Cordelia,
and Xander. They needed her help as a friend.
Of all of them, Xander was probably the one that would
make the best fighter. True, he didn't have the
supernatural power like Oz's werewolf ability and
Willow's upcoming witch ability. But he had the army
knowledge. Buffy was sure that he had some
hand-to-hand fighting skills. However, he needed to
know how to handle them and use them to his advantage.
That is where she would come in. With her and Giles
training him, he could become a much better fighter.
They all could become better fighters and the demons
of Sunnydale wouldn't be the luckiest set of demons in
the world.
Realizing this, she couldn't help the smile form on
her lips. Buffy wanted a team like Gunn had. She
wanted her friends to be strong, and in order to do
this, she had to train them. She promised herself she
would too.
"Uh…Buffy?"
Buffy looked at Rondell, "Yeah, Rondell?"
"Why are you in LA?"
TBC
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Rating: PG-13/R
Chapter Number: 3
Author: White Werewolf
Category: Buffy/Xander, Sam/Daniel (Maybe),
Gabrielle/Joxer
Spoilers/Timeframe: All I know for sure it is after
"Becoming Part 2."
Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the ideas and my
computer.
Summery: After Buffy leaves Sunnydale, Xander decides
to go looking for her. On the other side of the
universe, Ninedinna wants the book she created…the
Necronomicon Ex Mortis: the Book of the Dead.
Author Notes: This part is just a prologue to the
Phoenix Risings Trilogy; whichs is in turn the
starting fic to a huge series. This is the second
part of the trilogy. It will be mainly focused on the
Buffy/Xander relationship and it will be housing many
crossovers.
Special Thanks: Danii, Tenhawk, Teri, Silent Bob
Foley, and X-Lander
Crossovers Planned:
Buffy: the Vampire Slayer
Hercules: the Legendary Journeys
Evil Dead
Stargate SG-1
Xena: Warrior Princess
Three's Company
Cameo Crossovers will suddenly appear. Take a read,
and see if you can spot one.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\
----------------------------
His eyes widened, "What's happening? What is it?"
Angel grunted, "It happens whenever Angelus is being
severely tortured. "
Xander asked, "What do you want me to do?"
The vampire looked up at him showing a concerned look,
"Don't worry about me, Xander. Find Buffy. That's
the important thing."
He nodded, "I know. I just wish there's something
that I could do for you."
Angel smiled weakly, "Don't worry. I gotta go."
And with that, Angel vanished leaving Xander all by
himself in his room. Suddenly, the door opened. The
visitor came in and walked over to him. She smiled
seductively and grabbed Xander into a hug holding him
tight.
Xander knew that touch and smell. He twisted his body
around so he could face her. With a big smile he
said, "Hey, Buffy."
Her smile grew wider, "Hi, Baby."
***
Xander awoke the next morning with a wide grin on his
face. He got out of bed and yawned. "What a dream."
The boy murmured to himself.
He got out of bed and headed for the shower. As soon
as he faced the mirror he noticed that his hair was a
mess. "Don't you just hate bed head?"
Sighing to himself, he got out of his clothes, placed
a towel in front of the shower, and went inside
closing the door behind him.
Soon, the water started to pour out of the shower head
and ran over his body. As he started cleaning
himself, he couldn't help but remember his dream that
night.
He didn't know if Angel was real or not, but he
definitely liked what he dreamt. This was the first
time he ever dreamt of Angel where the vampire didn't
end up at the other side of the stake and become dust.
Why would he dream Angel not being dusted? It didn't
make sense. He still hated vampires, but why didn't
Angel become dust? The rest of the dream was normal.
Buffy came to him, and the two of them started to do
things.
Then it hit him. That wasn't a normal dream. Angel
came to him and gave him his blessing. Apparently
dating Buffy was alright with Angel.
Now, he knew that he was doing the right thing. Now,
Xander knew that Buffy liked him in a more than
friendly way. With a smile, he realized that this
dream was the truth. It had to be.
Dreams were always way for the subconscious mind to
communicate with the conscious mind. Dreams either
scared you as a nightmare would, view the future, or
provide a happy experience for the person themselves
to enjoy.
This definitely wasn't a nightmare. If it was, Xander
wouldn't of had the time to enjoy the presence of
Buffy holding him. And this couldn't be a happy
experience. Because if it was, Angel would've became
dust, and he didn't. So, that meant that this was
sorta of a prophetic dream. Angel was telling him
that he would find Buffy and that eventually the two
of them being Xander and Buffy would be together.
Soon, a grin crossed his lips knowing that the dream
was the truth. He quickly finished his shower, dried
off, dressed himself, ate breakfast, and left for
S-Mart the whole time thinking about the future.
Even though he knew that more pain was in his future,
he couldn't help but smile knowing that one day his
love would be with him.
***
"Sorry, X!"
Xander chuckled as Faith pulled him up off the floor.
"It's okay, Faith. Looks like you had another power
surge there, huh?"
She shrugged, "I guess. I am a slayer after all."
He nodded as he stood up. "Yeah. You are. One thing
I noticed though is that you're 'power surges' are
coming closer together then they were in the past."
The Slayer grabbed two bottled waters from the small
fridge that sat in the newly formed training room, and
threw one to her friend, "Catch."
Xander caught it with ease, "Thanks."
Ash asked Xander to help him design a room in the
cabin for Faith to train during the last five days.
Wesley on the other hand, took those five days and
trained her outside the cabin into his apartment. The
idea started to come together really well since there
was already another room, but nothing was done to it,
so this idea put better use to it.
Together, they worked on it for a long time. They
laid out a blue mat in the center of the room. To the
left was a hoarse that gymnasts would use. A couch
was by the other wall, which was next to the small
refrigerator that had bottled waters inside. A dummy
was on the other side of the fridge.
When Faith saw the finished product, she had this
incredibly bright smile. It was very rare for her to
get something as a present. Her parents weren't the
types to do the present thing. The only person who
did was her uncle and now apparently Xander and even
Wesley.
Wesley, Xander, and her uncle formed the family that
she needed. True, Ash was only her uncle, but in
actuality he became her father. Xander became her
brother and best friend. Even though they met a week
ago, the two of them talked a lot and helped each
other out. Xander helped train her and was someone to
talk to that was close to her age. True Wesley was
annoying, and at times her uncle and him were at each
other's throats. Wesley was the uncle. It seemed
like Wesley and Ash were brothers. The two of them
already acted like they had the sibling rivalry thing
down. But Wesley did have her best interest at heart.
True, he did go by the book, but she knew that he did
care for her.
She looked at her friend who glanced at the floor.
"What's wrong? You still thinking about B, huh?"
Xander nodded, "Yeah. It's been over a week, Faith.
And nothing."
Faith sat down on the couch and was shortly joined by
her friend. She took a sip of her water and said,
"You're trying, X. We all are. You yourself have
done more work for B here then I thought any other
person would do. You've got connections like nobody
does. You know Kevin Sorbo, us, and you even talked
to Buffy's father. You'll find her. I have no doubt
in my mind that you won't."
He nodded, "I know I'll find her. I just wish that I
was close."
"Yeah, now how about you help me with more training.
After all, like you said, my 'power surges' are
getting closer."
His eyes widened, "Did you just say 'my 'power surges'
are getting closer'?"
Faith shrugged, "Yeah, so?"
He grinned, "That means I'm getting closer to find
Buffy."
She showed a confused look, "How can you be so sure?"
Xander answered, "Giles told me the whole story.
Basically, both slayers are going to be at full
capacity when the other one is feeling better about
themselves. So…"
Faith continued, "So now that my 'power surges' are
coming closer together, Buffy is feeling better about
herself."
The boy grinned, "Exactly. How do you feel about
that?"
The Slayer said with a wicked grin, "Five by five."
***
Buffy Summers left the diner and headed back for her
apartment alone.
It has been two weeks since the young woman left
Sunnydale. She still was heart broken about Angel's
departure into hell. But, Buffy was on her way to
recovery.
A lot of that had to deal with her dreams from her
spirit guide. Marvin or what he Buffy called him,
Alex, shown her things that opened her eyes. She
learned a lot about her flaws in a way that didn't
hurt her feelings. Far from it. Alex showed her
through dreams that she needed know.
Buffy learned that she had to be a team player. She
learned that she had friends who would give their
lives in order to protect her and make her have the
life that she so craved within the last few years.
All her friends cared a great deal about her, it was
always those three people that meant something more to
her now then they did before.
Giles, Willow, and Xander.
The three of them were always there for her, and now
she knew. She also knew that of all of them, the one
person that has been there the most was Xander.
True, Xander did lie to her, and it hurt her. But
through Alex and as this past week went by, she
understood why he did it. Xander wanted her to live,
and how did she pay that back? She ran away from her
mother and from her friends.
Even though she now realized that what she did was
wrong, she wasn't ready to go back to Sunnydale yet.
Buffy Summers was still a young woman who was in pain
and heartache.
Anyway, Alex said that she wouldn't be fully ready to
go home until Xander found her. Buffy knew that the
two of them had to talk and knew that it was going to
be tough for her to talk to him. He would be the
first one of her friends from Sunnydale that she had
to talk to.
She looked up into the sky and could see the sun
disappearing from above, which allowed the
transformation from day into night take place. The
moon was about to rise and air would turn crisp.
Buffy sighed knowing what was ahead. More time for
her to slay and fight the demons that she loathed so
much to do.
Her hand immediately grabbed hold of the cross that
hung across her neck. It was a new cross that she
bought. Wearing the one that Angel gave her made her
heart hurt even more. This cross that she now wore
was gold and smaller than the silver one that he gave
her. The gold cross signified a new beginning for
Buffy. It signified that she wanted to move on with
her life.
With a sigh and a clearing of the throat, she let go
of the cross and went inside her pocket to rescue a
stake that she newly sharpened with the knife that she
bought from S-Mart that one time.
She headed for the nearest cemetery to do her
routinely patrol.
As soon as Buffy arrived in Los Angeles, she promised
herself that she would retire from the slaying. She
didn't want to be the Slayer anymore and it hurt
anybody that ever came close to her. It sent her
boyfriend to hell, put Willow in a coma, Giles was
tortured, and Xander broke his wrist.
But the slaying was something that she took back when
she realized that it would help her get back into the
swing of things.
She approached the cemetery as stealthy as she could
muster. Buffy tried to be sneaky like a cat. Each
step she made was ever so quiet. She walked
differently then what she used to. Instead of
stepping with the front of the foot first, she stepped
with the heal. This new method proved quite effective
and proved to be quiet which was what vampires didn't
suspect.
The moon now appeared in the night sky and the rays of
light danced over the grayness of the tombstones.
Freshly green grass covered the ground.
"Come out, come out where ever you are." Buffy said
under her breath. "I mean. Look what you have here.
I'm just a small girl walking through a cemetery at
night not knowing who could jump out from behind a
gravestone."
She smiled, "And there's healthy blood flowing through
my veins. That's what happens when you got a heart
that's alive. It beats away as it pumps."
No answer.
She pouted, "C'mon. I'm alone. It's dark. The moon
is full. If you ask me, I'm a perfect solution to get
rid of a vampire's hunger."
Buffy sighed when nothing happened.
"Look at my skin. It's so white, pure. It covers my
skeleton, organs, and warm blood. If I was a vampire,
I know I would want to eat me."
All of a sudden she heard a roar coming from
somewhere. There was enough light to look at the
source. It was a light blue truck. Soon, two doors
opened and out jumped five people.
She saw them run over to her.
One of them ran in front of the others and yelled at
Buffy. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
Buffy shrugged, "Just taking a walk. Is that so
wrong?"
The voice said, "Normally, no. But you're in a very
dangerous place at this time of night."
She smiled, "Why? I had a hard time at work, and just
wanted to take a walk. I'm visiting my grandpa's
grave."
"Uh huh." The man said as he looked at the grave the
girl was standing in front of. "You're grandpa was
named Alyson Tyler."
Buffy gulped, "Grandma Tyler had a sex change. He
used to be named Steven Lee."
"Do you need any help, Gunn?"
Charles Gunn looked at his friend, "I don't think so,
Man." The self-appointed male slayer looked turned
back to the young woman in front of him, "I'll ask you
again. Why the hell are you doing here? You trying
to get yourself killed by vampires?"
Her eyes widened. This guy knew about vampires?
Well, actually, knowing about vampires is nothing out
of the ordinary. But, to cover what she was, she said
in her defense with a nervous giggle. "Vampires?
Something tells me you've seen way too many horror
movies."
Gunn glared at her, "Horror movies nothing. Vampires
exist, and if you stay in a cemetery any longer,
you'll likely become one or you'll die. Plain and
simple."
He watched her features and noticed that nothing he
said seemed to trigger a surprising or scared look.
"Did you hear me? I said, you'd die after seeing a
vampire. You do know what vampires are, don't you?
Demons in the form of humans, have fangs, face turns
all bumpy when ready to attack."
She sighed, "I know what vampires are. Believe me, I
know."
The four remaining men approached the two of them,
"Then why are you at this time at night?" one of them
asked.
The one known as George said, "Let Gunn handle this,
Rondell."
Charles said, "If you know about vampires, then why
are you out at night in a cemetery? You have a death
wish?"
She immediately shook her head, "No. It's my destiny
to fight vampires. I'm the slayer."
He looked at her in confusion, "Slayer? What's that?"
Buffy glared at him, "You know about vampires yet you
don't know about vampire slayers?"
"Um, I heard of them."
Every one turned to see the new voice, "You've heard
about these slayers, Bobby?"
Bobby nodded, "Yeah, I have, Gunn."
Gunn looked at him, "Mind filling us all in."
Bobby stated, "Sure. Slayers are girls that slay
vampires and demons."
George glanced at him. "How do you know this?"
He answered, "Did some research. Went to the
library."
Rondell looked skeptically, "You went to a library?"
Bobby nodded, "Yeah, I did. So?"
The last member of the crew known as James said, "You
don't strike us as the library type."
Gunn said, "Guys, we're getting off topic here. Now,
Bobby, what are these slayers?"
Buffy said in her defense, "I can tell you right now.
As I said before, slayers are girls who have supers
strength, speed, and other heightened sense."
Charles looked at Bobby, "She right?"
Bobby replied, "Yeah, she is."
Gunn nodded and looked at the young woman in front of
them, "So it seems you're telling the truth. The
name's Gunn. Over there are James, Bobby, George, and
Rondell."
She grinned, "I'm Buffy."
George showed a weird look, "Buffy? The vampire
slayer is named Buffy?"
The blond stared at him, "What's wrong with the name,
Buffy?"
He was about to say something when Bobby grabbed his
arm. "Don't go there, Man. Believe me."
George chuckled, "What's she going to do, knock a
gravestone on top of me?"
Buffy stormed right up to him, "I can do a lot more
than that!"
He said with a stern voice, "Prove it."
"Guys look out!"
The five of them turned to face James.
"What is it?" Gunn asked.
He pointed to some graves beyond them, "Vampires at
7:00!"
George said, "It's 9:00, Man."
James sighed, "No, I mean in the 7 o'clock direction!"
Buffy grinned as she tightened her grasp around her
stake. "Now, you'll see what a slayer can do."
Gunn said, "Less talking, more staking!"
George nodded and withdrew his stake, "Right with you
man."
The six vampire slaying humans looked as a horde of
fifteen vampires approached them.
"Well looky what we got here." one of the vampires
said to his crew.
Another demon said with a smirk, "It looks like
dinner, Kurt."
Kurt sneered, "That's what I was thinking. How about
you, Sammy?"
Sammy answered, "I was thinking that too. Now, how
about we do something about it?"
Before another one of their crew could respond. Buffy
grabbed a vampire by the left arm and threw him over
her shoulder, and he landed on his back. "What the
fuck are you?"
Buffy smiled, "I'm Buffy the vampire slayer."
That vampire's eyes widened, "The slayer?"
Gunn grinned, "That's what she said, Blooksucker."
Then he slammed his stake into the demon's non-beating
heart.
"This sucks," The demon said just before he crumbled
into dust.
Sammy's yelled at Gunn, "I'm going to kill you for
doing that to Mark."
He said with a grin, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Here's what I
think of your death threat." Then Gunn leaped at
Sammy, pinning him to the ground. Then he jammed the
stake into his heart.
As soon as the dust settled, Gunn looked to his left.
Buffy, James, and George were fighting off six
vampires.
To his right, Rondell and Bobby were fighting the
remaining five. "I'm coming guys." Gunn said as he
got back to his feet and charged the five vampires
that Bobby and Rondell were fighting.
***
Buffy slammed Kurt into the neighboring tree. She
took a few steps back and grabbed him by the collar.
Raising the demon up by the cloth, she slammed him
back into the bark.
The demon chuckled, "Why are you like this?"
She showed a confused look, "Like what?"
Kurt grinned, "Working with others. I've fought
slayers before. And they all were by themselves.
Yet, you're working with five humans."
Buffy smiled, "First of all. I'm surprised you can
count. Second of all, lemme say this. I had a close
encounter with the spiritual kind."
"Spiritual kind, huh?" Kurt asked her.
But before he could continue with anything, Buffy
staked him. "I don't have time for this. They need
my help."
She watched the dust scatter to the ground as she
twirled around. Buffy asked, "You guys alright?"
James said, "Yeah, you can help me get the jack ass
off of me."
She nodded as she sprinted to the fallen human. Buffy
yanked the demon off of him and held him in place.
"Easy target."
James grinned, "Thanks, Buffy." He then took the
opportunity and slammed his stake into the demon.
"With this guy down and you're guy. We at least have
twelve to go."
Buffy nodded, "Yeah, but we'll get them."
George soon tackled a vampire that was headed for his
friend and new ally. "I hate to stop the meeting of
great minds, but we got vampires to dust."
She smiled, "Right." Then with her stake in her hand,
she jammed it into another vampire's chest watching it
crumble to ash.
For the next twenty minutes, the six humans fought
with everything they had. Buffy, George, and James
formed a trio and attacked their opponents in rhythm.
At first it was a reckless mess of attacks, but soon,
each one of the three learned from the other's
attacking methods. Thus creating a somewhat organized
fighting method.
Gunn, Bobby, and Rondell were fighting as well. To
them, it was their typical fighting strategy which was
very successful.
As soon as the last vampire crumbled into ash, Gunn
looked toward Buffy, "Nice moves, Buffy."
The Slayer said, "I have to thank Giles as soon as I
get back to Sunnydale."
Rondell asked, "Giles?"
She replied, "Giles is my watcher. He trains me so I
can survive another night."
James said, "Sounds like a good man."
Buffy smiled, "He is. All my friends are. I just
have to tell them that."
She said that without even thinking. Ever since her
time with Alex, Buffy had been trying to use his
lessons to her advantage. The blond tried to be a
team player—someone that helped the members in the
team so they can have a better chance to survive.
Buffy surveyed her surroundings and couldn't help but
feel something positive in her heart. It felt good to
help. It felt nice to know that she contributed in
this and to be able to talk to people about the
current battle they just had
True she did fight with her friends in Sunnydale. But
they didn't have the strength and the strategy that
Gunn and his crew had. She wanted more of that
feeling, and knew how to get it.
Buffy would go back to Sunnydale and set up group
training sessions. With the help of Giles and
herself, she would able to train Willow, Oz, Cordelia,
and Xander. They needed her help as a friend.
Of all of them, Xander was probably the one that would
make the best fighter. True, he didn't have the
supernatural power like Oz's werewolf ability and
Willow's upcoming witch ability. But he had the army
knowledge. Buffy was sure that he had some
hand-to-hand fighting skills. However, he needed to
know how to handle them and use them to his advantage.
That is where she would come in. With her and Giles
training him, he could become a much better fighter.
They all could become better fighters and the demons
of Sunnydale wouldn't be the luckiest set of demons in
the world.
Realizing this, she couldn't help the smile form on
her lips. Buffy wanted a team like Gunn had. She
wanted her friends to be strong, and in order to do
this, she had to train them. She promised herself she
would too.
"Uh…Buffy?"
Buffy looked at Rondell, "Yeah, Rondell?"
"Why are you in LA?"
TBC
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