Chapter One
Buffy/Troy/(Highlander) x-over
I own nothing but my rock collection.
This contains my first real action sequence. Please be gentle
I have no beta so kindly forgive any error in grammar or spelling.
After Buffy series finale and after Troy
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The gods envy us. They envy us because we're mortal, because any moment may be our last." - Achilles (Troy)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After a quick stop at the hotel to allow Buffy to change out of the bathing suit and into a pair of tan capris and a soft pink tank top, the trio of Buffy, Xander and Dawn arrived at the fair. Xander and Buffy browsed through the various tents filled with weapons and jewelry and earlier Greek-style clothing while Dawn spent much of her time watching the costumed men amble about in leather skirts and loose tops. Occasionally, however, something in one of the tents would catch the attention of the youngest Summers and she would callout to her sister.
"Buffy! Look!"
Having heard similar commands for the better part of two hours, Buffy ignored her sister and continued to study a rack of bronze spears for sale.
"Buffy!"
This time the exclamation/demand was accompanied by a yank on the Slayer's arm.
"What Dawn?" sighed the exasperated Slayer as she turned to her younger sister.
"A sparring ring!"
Dawn points between a pair of tents. Buffy follows her sister's finger to a large rope ring not to far away. A crowd of people surrounded it, but they occasionally shifted to allow glimpses of the armored combatants as the sound of dull blade meeting dull blade or padded armor drifted above the 30-foot wide ring.
Buffy wrinkled her nose but approached the circle, studying the fighters for several rounds. Some were obviously inexperienced tourists having fun while others had definitely had some training in blade-to-blade combat. After about an hour, dozens had moved through the circle, but for the past half hour a giant of a man had been dominating all challengers. He towered over everyone at nearly seven feet and was easily 350 pounds, and not a soft 350 either. He had already injured several people "accidentally" but Buffy noticed a familiar glint in his eyes. He was enjoying the pain and humiliation he was causing. After yet another young man was helped from the field, with his left forearm at an unnatural angle, the Slayer could stand it no longer.
"I'm going to put a stop to this," she muttered darkly to her companion.
"Buff, are you sure you…?" Xander's question tapered off as Buffy moved purposefully towards the ring.
As the blonde Slayer neared the edge of the crowd, she slipped on her valley-girl mask. She approached the man in charge of the ring and bats her eyes at him.
"Can I play, sir?"
The sound of a female voice drew the manager's focus away from the giant, whom he'd been watching with something akin to fear. As his gaze came to rest on the petite blonde before him, the emotion is replaced by confusion and disbelief.
"No way, girly! He'd kill a tiny thing like you!"
Buffy flipped her ponytail over her shoulder and laughed.
"Don't be silly. He'll do no such thing."
The man began to argue but Buffy dropped her façade just enough to allow a bit of the Slayer to slip into her eyes. The subtle change was not lost on the man. The argument stopped and the Slayer paid the $50 fee and signed a release form stating the owned of the ring was not responsible for any injuries a combatant might receive. Next the manager gestured to a small tent setup nearby.
"You'll find weapons and armor in there. Go and take your pick. Be back here in ten minutes."
Buffy smiled brightly, hiding the Slayer back under the sugarcoating, and headed into the armory tent. Inside was a wide range of weapons from the time of the Ancient Greeks. After checking to make sure no one could see her, Buffy picked up several swords in succession and made a few practice swings before settling on a bronze short sword with a lion's head carved into the pommel.
Next Buffy's eyes perused the rather limited supply of women's armor. She skipped over the greaves and leather skirts but a leather jerkin and pair of bronze wrist bracers caught her eye. The jerkin was made of hardened dark brown leather, sleeveless, and had the image of two fighting Amazons detailed on the front. Buffy loosened the laces on one side and slips the leather top on. After tightening the laces again, the Slayer discovered it was a perfect fit and, to top it off, it doesn't look to bad with her tan capris and tie-up brown sandals.
After studying herself in the full-length mirror standing in the corner of the tent, Buffy grabbed the bronze bracers and slid them on. They were each decorated with the image of two crossed ax-like weapons that had reminded her of the scythe. Satisfied with her appearance, Buffy buckled the sword around her waist and picked up a small round wooden shield from near the entryway. Once outside, the valley-girl reappeared.
"Does this armor make me look fat?"
The question was not addressed to anyone in particular, but many of the people around Buffy, mostly men, shook their heads. She continued to the ring and stepped inside, making a show of how heave the shield was and how difficult moving in the jerkin was. The whole time, the giant was watching her with a very scary little smile on his face, the same smile a cat might give a mouse before it begins to play. Buffy nearly shuddered, not because she had never seen such a look before, but because she had – but never on a human.
The giant charged with the speed and agility of a man half his size, giving Buffy no more time to ponder his facial expression. He swung his blade at Buffy's head. If the blow had connected it would have been fatal but she "lucky" tripped while backing away, allowing the blade to pass harmlessly over her blonde head. This went on for about ten minutes, longer than any of the giant's matches. To the casual observer, Buffy appeared to have an amazing amount of luck but no real training. The giant would swing and Buffy would "somehow" manage to dodge. She even "got lucky" a few times and scored a hew hits to her opponent's torso and arms.
Finally, the combatants stood at the center of the circle. The giant was red-faced and sweaty and his chest was moving like a set of bellows. Buffy, meanwhile, was pretending to be out of breath but she also had a small red line on her right cheek from not dodging quite fast enough. There were also a few scratches on her jerking from some intentional close calls.
The giant gathered himself for his next attack and Buffy decided it was time to finish this. Just as he charged, out of the corner of her eye someone moving in the crowd caught the Slayer's attention. Blonde hair and predatory movement were all Buffy had a chance to take in before she had to dive out of the way of the giant's sword. This time, her shield just "happened" to catch his square on the chin, knocking the beast of a man sideways and into the oblivion of unconsciousness. For a moment, the crowd was silent then the cheering began. Buffy pretended to be surprised at her victory but even as the ring manager was congratulating her, the Slayer's eyes were scanning the crowd for the person who had distracted her.