Traveling to the Hellmouth
Episode 2
Somewhere in Nevada:
"So, you never did tell me what you were doing out in that old town," Axel said as he drove.
"I told you before, it's a long story and you probably wouldn't believe me," she replied.
"Oh that's right," he said, "Well where do you come from?"
"Hmm…I originally came from Los Angeles, but I was living in a small town called Sunnydale for a while," she answered.
"Wait a second!" Axel exclaimed, "You lived in Sunnydale?"
"Yes, why?" she asked.
"You weren't by any chance there when that whole town just collapsed, were you?" he asked.
"To tell you the truth, yes I was," she replied.
"Whoa!" he exclaimed, "Do you have any details on why it collapsed?"
"No, I'm sorry," she lied.
"Its okay," he said, "All that I know is that town had evil brewing from it. It was extremely dangerous."
"Really?" she lied, "I've lived there for like 9 years and I didn't notice anything evil."
"Well, I don't actually know that it was evil. I just know stuff from what I've heard," he told her.
"So what's Haynesville like?" Buffy asked.
"Well, it's a little like Sunnydale, I guess," he began, "Although, it's a lot warmer and more humid. You'll get used to it pretty quickly."
"I see," Buffy replied.
They two of them had been traveling in Axel's van for a few days now. Buffy was mainly quiet, but she had decided that she should get used to this new friend. After the long conversation they had, Buffy decided to sit and think for a while.
She thought about Sunnydale, her friends, and Spike. She loved him, but he didn't believe her. That upset her, but there was nothing she could do now. She should have told him sooner. He had sacrificed himself to save them, to save her, to save the world. She missed him so much. But she knew that she couldn't dwell on him, she had to move on.
Rest Stop somewhere in Texas:
The bus drove into a small rest stop somewhere in the middle of Texas. They were close to Louisiana. Giles and Wood were allowing everyone to have an hour break since they hadn't one in a few days.
Willow, Xander, Faith, Andrew, and Kennedy were all sitting around a small table eating lunch. Jake had taken the other potential slayers for a short walk. The others wanted to talk and didn't want the other potentials around.
"I'm scared," Willow admitted, "Giles and Wood are getting weird. I still don't understand why they let Buffy die."
"Neither do I," Xander agreed, "We have to figure out what is wrong with those two."
"Do you think it's some kind of spell?" Kennedy asked.
"Who knows," Willow said.
"Could it have something to do with the fact that they almost witnessed the end?" Faith asked, "I mean like did they see their lives past before their eyes and that terrified them?"
"I'm not sure," Willow answered, "It could be anything."
"I got it!" Andrew exclaimed.
"Not now," Xander told him, "Just be quiet."
"Come on, I think I might know what's wrong with them!" he exclaimed.
"No," Xander said, "Stop talking."
"Don't you think you should let me talk?" Andrew questioned, "What if I'm right?"
"See, this is why we should have sent him with Jake and the others," Xander murmured.
"Just let the nerd say what he wants, Xand," Faith said.
"Alright, go ahead," Xander said, giving in, "But make it fast."
"Okay, so what if the First appeared to them, you know like before the town collapsed, and told them that if they let her on that she would end up going bad and killing all of us," Andrew told them.
"You know what," Faith said.
"What?" Kennedy questioned.
"The nerd has a good point," Faith went on, "I mean maybe the First scared them before everything caved in. It's a good possibility, right?"
"I guess," Willow said, "It's the only thing we have to work with right now."
"We should try and take over!" Andrew exclaimed.
"What are you talking about?" Kennedy questioned.
"We should fight off Mr. Giles and Mr. Wood and take control," he said.
"That's not a bad idea," Willow replied.
"I have a better idea," Faith interrupted, "I think that as soon as we get to this tiny town, that we ditch the Watcher and the principal."
"What?" Xander questioned.
"Come on!" Faith exclaimed, "They can't contain us there. We can run from them and then find some place to stay."
"Hmm…" Xander pondered, "That'd work."
"Yeah, that's a good idea," Willow agreed.
"I agree," Kennedy said.
"Alright then it's final," Faith said, "As soon as we get to town, we run, and find somewhere to stay."
"What about Jake and the girls?" Willow asked.
"What about them?" Faith questioned.
"Well, are we just going to abandon them?" she asked.
"For the time being, but we'll come back for them," Faith replied.
"Alright!" Giles shouted, coming into the rest stop, "We're leaving!"
The five of them got up from the table and left. Jake and the girls followed behind shortly. As soon as everyone was on the bus, Wood started it and they sped away towards their destination.
Somewhere in Louisiana:
"We're almost there," Axel informed as he drove on.
Of course Buffy didn't hear him, because she was fast asleep. It was the first time that she'd been able to sleep in a long while. Axel continued to drive on. He couldn't wait to get back home. He liked this girl a lot and wanted to show her off to the folks back home. He saw the sign saying how far it was to Haynesville, only 35 more miles to go.
Buffy was slouched in her seat, fast asleep. She began to turn in her sleep.
"Slayer," someone whispered.
Buffy jolted awake. She quickly sat up, glancing around. She was lying on a bed, somewhere.
"You don't recognize my voice when you here it?" she asked.
Buffy looked around until she finally realized that the source of the voice was standing next to her.
"You," Buffy said, "The first slayer."
"You are headed for danger," the first slayer informed.
"What kind of danger?" Buffy questioned.
"Well, you aren't exactly heading towards a nice, quiet town," the first slayer replied.
"What do you mean?" Buffy asked.
"You are headed for a place where evil is drawn to," the first slayer continued, "You will meet up with old acquaintances there and you duty will continue."
"A Hellmouth?" Buffy questioned.
"In this place, danger lurks around every corner," the first slayer went on.
"The First Evil?" Buffy questioned, "Will I have to fight it again?"
"It fears you, slayer. Until it gains more power, it will leave you be. But beware of this place. Beware," the first slayer repeated that several times.
"Wait!" Buffy called, "Where are you going? Come back!"
"Beware."
Suddenly, Buffy snapped awake. She was back in the car and Axel was seated beside her, driving.
"Bad dream?" he questioned.
"Yeah, I guess you could say that," she replied, "Say is there anything…uhh…you know, different about Haynesville?"
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Like anything peculiar?" she questioned.
"Not that I know of," he replied, "I mean, like I said before, I own a vampire slaying business. There are vampires there, but that's about it. That's a little peculiar, I guess."
"I see," she replied.
"Any reason?" he asked.
"Just wondering," she answered.
"All right," he said, "By the way, we'll be there in about twenty minutes."
Haynesville, Louisiana:
It was dark out when the school bus pulled into a hotel parking lot in town. They had finally made it. Giles and Wood were relieved. They had gotten there sooner than expected.
"I guess we're here," Xander whispered to Willow.
"Yeah, I think we are," she replied.
Wood had gotten off the bus and went into the hotel. A few minutes later, he returned. He whispered something to Giles, who then stood up.
"All right!" Giles shouted, "It looks as if we'll be spending another night on this bus. Tomorrow we will look around for some place to rent. Goodnight."
Wood turned the bus off and slid the key into his pocket. The lights went out and everyone lay down, trying to sleep. Giles and Wood were fast asleep in a matter of minutes. Due to her slayer senses, Faith noticed this.
She slowly stood up and headed over towards Willow and Xander's seats. She tapped them on the shoulder and they sat up.
"They're both asleep," she whispered, "Now's the time to put the plan into action. Xander, wake up Andrew. Willow, you get Kennedy. Be quiet though!"
They managed to wake the other two up and Faith silently pushed open the back door of the bus. She helped the others out first and then jumped down herself. She carefully and quietly closed the door. She followed the other for a few ways down the street.
"Okay, so what now?" Xander questioned, adjusting his eye patch.
"Well considering that this place has a Hellmouth beneath it, I suggest we find a place to stay," Faith informed.
"Sounds good," Andrew replied.
The five of them continued walking down the street. This was a quiet southern town. It was a little too quiet. Faith didn't like it at all. She knew that something evil was around.
As they walked by an alley, three vampires jumped out at them. Faith reached into her pocket and pulled out a stake.
"Are you three the welcoming committee?" she questioned.
"Who are you, girly?" the one asked.
Xander, Willow, Kennedy, and Andrew backed up to observe this small fight from a distance. They didn't want to get hurt. Besides, Faith could handle it.
"Well, let's just say I'm not a friend," she said, giving the middle vampire a side kick to the head.
It fell to the ground. The other two attacked. One kicked her, but she caught its foot in midair and tossed it aside. The next one attempted to punch her a few times. She blocked all of the hits and gave him a few blows to the chest. Then she jabbed the stake into its heart. It turned to dust.
The other two stood up and began backing up into the alley. They were obviously scared.
"I guess you don't have a slayer here in town," Faith said.
The vampires were terrified. They had never come up against a girl this strong before. They had never seen their kind get dusted by a powerful human girl.
"Oh wait, of course you don't. There's only two," she said, answering her own question.
"You're a slayer?" one vamp questioned, still backing up.
"Faith!" Xander called, "Stop playing and dust them!"
Faith turned around to face him. She had an annoyed look on her face.
"Let me do it my way!" she shouted and turned back to the vampires.
She glanced around. They had escaped, most likely climbed up out of the alley.
"Damn!" she shouted and headed out of the alley.
"You'll get them later," Andrew comforted.
"Shut up, dweeb!" she shouted, "They got away. Now they're probably gonna go tell all their friends."
"Hey, they would have figured it out eventually," Xander said.
"He's right, don't sweat it," Willow said.
Faith slid her stake back in her pocket and the five continued to walk on. They were successful in finding a motel to stay in. Unfortunately, there was only one room. The five of them all had to share it.
Meanwhile, Axel's van pulled up in front of a small store. Buffy glanced out her window and read the large sign. Axel: Exterminator, it read. She smiled a little at it. The two got out of the van and headed inside the building.
"Jason! Marie!" he called as the two of the walked into the front room.
Moments later, a guy and girl appeared from the back. They smiled when they saw him.
"Axel!" Marie said, coming up to hug him, "I'm glad you're back."
"Nice to have you back, man," Jason said, knocking him on the back.
"Who's your friend?" Marie questioned, motioning towards Buffy.
"Oh, Marie, Jason, this is Buffy," he introduced, "Buffy, this is Jason and Marie."
"Nice to meet you both," Buffy said, smiling.
"Nice to meet you too," they both said at the same time.
"What did we tell you about picking hookers up off the street?" Jason asked Axel.
Buffy was taken aback. She didn't expect that and she certainly did not look like a hooker. She wasn't very happy now.
"Cool it, man," Axel said, "She's cool. I found her on my way to that Sunnydale town that I've been looking for."
"Oh, so you found it?" Marie asked.
"Yeah, but the whole place was deserted," he replied, "Although when I went back to check it out again, there was only a crater. The whole place just collapsed."
"So do you three fight vampires together?" Buffy questioned, interrupting their small conversation.
Jason jabbed Axel in the back.
"You told her about that stuff?" Jason whispered angrily in his ear.
"I had to," Axel whispered back, "I mean she saw me stake some."
"Uh…yeah," Jason replied, "It's like our little business."
"Why do you guys do it?" she questioned, "I mean, what do you all get out of slaying vampires?"
"It's like I told you," Axel began, "We want to find the vampire slayer. And we figure if we go around slaying vampires that we'll eventually run into her."
"We're like her fans," Marie added.
"How do you know she exists?" Buffy asked.
"Well, we heard some old legends about a girl chosen to fight vampires. We didn't believe it at first, but once we encountered a vampire, we figured that she must be real too," Axel answered.
"I see," Buffy said, "Sounds interesting. I would help out, but I'll probably just get in the way."
Haynesville Central Park:
His eyes slowly opened. He blinked a few times and looked around at his whereabouts. It was dark out. The stars shone brightly in the sky. There was even a slight breeze blowing.
He stood up and glanced around. He was in some kind of park. It wasn't any place that he knew though. He took a few steps forward and then kicked something. He glanced down and noticed some kind of necklace lying on the ground. He bent down and picked it up, then studied it for a few moments.
He was about to toss it into the bushes, when he realized it might be worth something. He slipped it around his neck and walked away from the clearing. That's when a vision appeared in his head. He grasped his head in pain.
"What do you want?" Buffy asked.
"I told you, I want to stop Angel. I want to save the world," Spike replied.
"Okay, you do remember you're a vampire, right?" Buffy questioned.
"We like to talk big... vampires do. 'I'm going to destroy the world,' that's just tough-guy talk. Strutting around with your friends over a pint of blood. The truth is I…like…this world. You've got...dog racing, Manchester United. And you've got people. Billions of people walking around like Happy Meals with legs. It's all right here. But then someone comes along with a vision. With a real...passion for destruction. Angel could pull it off. Good-bye, Piccadilly. Farewell, Leicester-bloody-Square," Spike replied.
"Okay, fine. You're not down with Angel. Why would you ever come to me?" she questioned.
"I want Dru back. I want it like it was before he came back. The way she acts around him..." he replied.
"You're pathetic," she replied, "I lost a friend tonight!"
"I wasn't in on that raiding party," he informed.
"And I may lose more! The whole earth may be sucked into hell, and you want my help 'cause your girlfriend's a big 'ho? Well, let me take this opportunity to not care," Buffy said.
He was confused. He had no clue where the image had come from. That's when his head was filled with another.
"What's your hurry?" Spike questioned.
"My hurry is my intense desire to get you out of my life," she said, "You tend to cause trouble."
"I'll be out of your life in a few short hours," he replied.
These visions were beginning to frustrate him. He had no clue at all where they were coming from. He wondered if they even had anything to do with him.
"Don't I get a cookie?" Spike asked.
"No," Buffy replied.
"Well, I gotta have something," he said, "I still have Buffy taste in my mouth."
"You're a pig, Spike," she said.
"Yeah, well, I'm not the one who wanted 'Wind Beneath My Wings' for the first dance," he said.
"That was the spell," Buffy replied, obviously embarrassed.
He didn't understand what was going on. The visions were driving him crazy. He wasn't sure what they were. Maybe they were trying to tell him something. Considering that he didn't remember his past, maybe they had something to do with it.
He walked out of the park and onto the street. Lucky for him, the visions had finally stopped. He desperately needed help. As he continued walking down the street, one name popped into his head.
"Buffy," he said.