TITLE: (Originally) Embracing the Darkness of Change & Surprise

(Officially) Process of Elimination

FEEDBACK: Yes ! I don't care if you hate it or love it, just send your thoughts. Don't be nice, be a critic !

DISTRIBUTION: Just ask & tell me where its going...I'll probably say yes. And if you decide not to ask, just link the thing :)

AUTHOR: never look back / bent4lifeangel@hotmail.com

SUMMARY: The BtVS & AtS crew have all been through rough times, and they know that the only people they can trust are their friends…or not? Now, they're thrown into a mysterious area of the world and are literary forced to participate in a Battle Royale, where the motto is "be killed or kill". Can they trust each other under the circumstances? Or can they manage the impossible and escape? Only time will tell…

SPOILERS: None; AU world where almost all characters are together. Uh, this story really kills the BtVS and AtS timeline…

RATING: PG-13 to PG-16 for violence. But PG for now…just the minor "bad words"

DISCLAIMER: I obviously don't own any of the characters listed in this story. Why would I write fan fiction when I could control people's minds on tv? All belong to the WB, Joss Whedon, etc. etc. And the Battle Royale idea belongs to the movie guys and the author of the book, Koushun Takami--really good, I definitely recommend it!

AUTHOR NOTES: This was started on a whim…then ideas just came to me. Big spaces indicate signs of transition including time and characters.

CHARACTERS: Faith, Cordelia, Connor, Dawn, Angel, Buffy, Lorne, Gunn, Fred, Wesley, Giles, Xander, Anya, Willow, Tara, Riley, Spike, Angelus (Angel and Angelus are two different people), Drusilla, Giles, Wood, Lindsey, Kate, Oz, Lilah, Harmony, and more to come…

The Invite


0 Dead; Day 1

"So, I heard its going to be something similar to ah, a virtual gaming place," Willow said chirpily, bouncing on her and Tara's cozy bed. Tara showed she was listening by nodding her head, even though it was halfway inside their closet. "Do you think the others will be into it?"

"I think…Xander…might like it," Tara said, sounding as shy as she did on the first day the two lovers met. "Does he know about it?"

Willow smiled. "Yup. The whole gang knows. Somehow, we all got the same flyers. See?"

She held up the copy that she had received anonymously, just like the rest of the group. Tara looked away from the closet and towards Willow, noticing a lime green flyer which read "Battle Royale!" in large writing.

"Cool," Tara said and looked back into the closet, shuffling clothes around. "W-what exactly is Battle R-Royale?"

Willow shrugged, looking at the writing on the flyer. "I dunno. But, it s-says something about magic. A-and fighting stuff, for Buffy! Of course humor, for Xander and all that history and uh torture stuff for Giles and Anya."

Tara sighed and took out a floral top with mainly white and red petals everywhere except the long sleeve. "What do you wear to these things?"

Laughing, Willow put down the flyer and stood up, taking the outfit out of Tara's hands. "I think you look just fine."

With a shy smile, Tara looked down at her shoes. "Thanks. I wonder who else is going to be there?"

"Probably no one we know," Willow mused, looking into Tara's eyes. "Except for the regular."

The girls smiled at one another before sharing a kiss. For Tara, she felt comfort in Willow's arms, even though she wasn't the most protective physically. Willow had someone to turn to, someone who could listen to her babble and not be annoyed. In both of their minds, they knew they were perfect for each other--neither one could turn against the other.



Cordelia was angry. How could the guys not want to go? The mysterious "Battle Royale" flyer practically screamed out "guys night out"--so what gives?

"Cordy, I just don't think it's a vamp type thing," Angel tried, secretly not interested in the newest club trend or whatever it was.

"But look right here!" Cordelia said, taking his arm in her grip as he tried to walk away. "Dance! Action! Free movie screenings, for Christ's sake!" Agitated, Cordelia turned to the rest of the group. "Why won't any of you come?"

"I've got better plans," Gunn said, getting off the couch. "That do not involve groupies and the like. That thing practically screams it, man."

"I'll have to go with Gunn on this one," Wesley agreed, also standing.

"It seems like fun to me," Fred said in a timid voice. "I'll go with you, Cordy."

Gunn smiled at Fred and sat back down. "In that case, I'll go, too."

"Same with me," Lorne piped. "Human emotions are always intriguing to me. In fact I think I'll do a little singing myself."

Wesley sighed and walked over to Angel. "So easily turned."

Angel was silent throughout the whole discussion. Finally, he walked towards his room and said, "I'll get my coat. And Connor."

"I'm surrounded!" Wesley said loudly. Surrendering, he took a seat on the couch along with his fellow team mates.

"I win!" Cordelia shouted, obviously happy at the turn of events. "Finally, a night out, huh?"



A "night out" was a full exaggeration. Alone, Faith admitted to herself that she had been gypped. She looked at the blue flyer in her hand once more, checking to see if she had the correct address. Under the dim streetlights in a dark alley of who knew where, Faith began to have her doubts. There wasn't even music blaring--her type of club blared all night every night, across the street and beyond.

Just as she was about to turn in the other direction, disappointed that she wouldn't be getting any tonight, Faith heard a small creak in the door.

"You Faith?" someone asked into the night with a deep voice.

"Who wants to know?" Faith countered, turning around and showing her face.

The door opened either way after the stranger clicked off the lock. He swung the door open and left, leaving Faith in the night light wondering what to do next. The entrance called to her, beckoned her to come in just to see what was inside.

Giving in to the darkness, she took a step in. And another, and slowly another. Then, she lost all consciousness, drifting away to a very deep dream.



Faith tried to find her voice. She couldn't open her eyes--for some reason, they were hurting. Even with her slayer strength she couldn't lift her arms.

She turned her head and realized she didn't have her slayer strength. Faith tried to find her voice, but she was weak.

"Where the hell am I?"

The voice she heard didn't come from her: it was much more deeper and obviously a male. Eyes snapping wide open with the slightest bit of pain, Faith glanced around and noticed the other bodies--quite drugged bodies--surrounding her. She couldn't make out who they were without the moonlight, but the aurora each body gave off seemed vaguely familiar. That's when she noticed they were all outside, even though a minute ago she could have sworn she wasn't…

Shrugging it off, Faith slowly turned to the right. Her memory was turning on her and all she could do was look to the present. She looked for the guy who had spoken before.

"Who the hell are y--" Faith stopped in mid-sentence. She wasn't expecting this. "Oh my…god. It's you."

So what did everyone think? I'd like to get a lot more reviews before I continue…lots of homework and well, if no one reviews then I guess I'm blowing off my homework for nothing ;)