Title: Catch Me When I Fall (5/?)
Fandom: Supernatural/BTVS/ATS (it's not a crossover per se but I will borrow the mythology from M.E. and mention some characters)
Rating: M – changed to be on the safe side!
Setting: Pre-Season 3 episode 12
Characters: Dean, Ruby, Sam, Faith, Buffy and Spike
Pairings: Dean & Ruby, Faith & Spike
Word Count: 4,621
A/N: In my world Katie Cassidy's Ruby is the real Ruby and Genevieve Cortese's Ruby is a demon impersonating real Ruby, it's the only thing that makes sense!
Hmm… my whole not really a crossover thing has a hit a snag, Ruby's going to tell Dean about Slayers and he gets to meet one or three. Hopefully it doesn't swerve too far off course for the story I'm telling.
"Bartender! Hit me again." Dean ordered, shaking his empty shot-glass at the middle-aged female bartender that reminded him of an African-American, Ellen Harvelle. The resemblance wasn't so much physical as it was a personality thing.
The bar was in the outskirts of Cleveland, Ohio. Sam was at Bobby's and Dean had driven to Cleveland following what turned out to be a dead lead on Bela. His plan was to get drunk then take whatever female looked the bendiest back to his motel room. It had been six days since he'd met Ruby in the bar in Illinois and after her throwaway comment about Hell and orgies, Dean's libido had taken an unexpected hibernation. Tonight however, he was bored and he didn't even have Sam or Bobby to drive crazy with his antics. No way in Hell was he going back to his empty motel room and counting sheep until the Demon Dean filled dreams that were haunting him lately, snared him in their tenacious grip.
"Yeah baby, that's what I'm talking about!" An attractive brunette yelled at one of the pool tables in the back of the bar.
Dean thanked the bartender for his top up and swivelled on his barstool to watch the young twenty-something with dark hair, dark eyes and cherry red lips gyrate her slender but well-muscled black-clad frame to the sounds of Rihanna's, 'Umbrella'. Dean felt an involuntary smirk tug his lips as he studied the woman. Her clothes, attitude, makeup and even her dance moves screamed 'Danger! Freak on the loose!'
Her companion, a bleach blonde male who looked deathly pale wearing a smoking leather duster and all black was smirking at her as she danced.
"One more round luv, I'll go easy on you this time, promise."
Dean's ears pricked up as he detected the British accent.
"Ella, ella, ella, ella, ey, ey, what game were you playing Blondie, I kicked your ass remember? '.this. I'm on a roll baby!" The brunette replied as she handed her companion the pool cue and picking up the empty pitcher of beer, strutted to the bar.
She stopped next to Dean, "One more pitcher of beer Mary-Lou and a couple shots of Tequila while you're at it."
The bartender smiled at the brunette, "Sure thing Cutie."
The brunette turned and smiled at Dean, her smile blinding in contrast to the red lipstick.
"She always calls me Cutie, gotta love it, no one else ever has."
Dean's face split into a cocky but charming grin, "Yeah I know, she called me Sugar twice tonight, can't remember the last time someone did that and they weren't stripping their clothes off and dancing on a pole."
The brunette's eyebrows rose in amusement, "Your pole or a stripper pole?"
Dean shrugged, "Both."
The brunette chuckled, the sound sexy and husky, "I'm Faith."
She held out her hand to him and Dean shook it with an amused twinkle in his eye, "Dean. It's a pleasure to meet you Faith."
"Pleasure's all mine Dimples…I'm Spike."
The bleach blonde man in the leather duster said shoving his hand in Dean's face and breaking the contact between Dean and Faith.
Dean shrugged and shook 'Spike's' hand too.
"There you go Cutie!" Mary-Lou chirped as she set the pitcher down and then produced two shot glasses.
"Hey Mary-Lou, might as well make those shot-glasses three, I'm definitely in the mood for a little Tequila," Dean piped up.
Faith tilted her head, dark brown eyes flashing with interest. Mary-Lou poured the shots, then slid the plate with slices of lime and the salt shaker at Faith. Taking a shot glass each, Faith licked the back of her hand, eyes on Dean she expertly sprinkled salt on it. With a feral grin she took Dean's hand and licked the back of his too before sprinkling some salt on it. Spike waved away the salt shaker and all three slammed the shots back and set the glasses back down on the bar at the same time. Taking a slice of lime each they sucked on the fruit.
Dean turned to Faith, "So I take it you live around here?"
Faith gave him a mysterious mega-watt smile, "Not exactly. I come here often though."
"We both do," Spike cut in.
Dean turned to study Spike, the man radiated sexual energy and if Dean wasn't mistaken he could have sworn it wasn't just for the females.
"Spike and I work together," Faith supplied.
"Not all we do together luv," Spike purred.
Faith's smile got brighter, "Yeah we sneak and creep into each others' beds every now and again."
"And alleys, road-sides, nicked cars, lifts…sorry elevators-"
"I get the picture," Dean said flashing his dimples and holding a hand up.
Faith's eyes were focused on Dean intently, he wondered if that was how some of the women on the receiving end of his charm felt. Like they were about to get eaten up as one delicious morsel at a lion's banquet, a chill of anticipatory pleasure snaked down his spine. Spike's eyes widened with renewed interest, blue orbs glowing in the dim lighting of the bar.
"I don't think you do Dean but that's okay, I'll steer you around all the unexpected curves," Faith whispered as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body against his.
Dean was finding it very hard to breathe as Faith leaned in and started to kiss him, not really sure which way was up or down anymore he let instinct take over, kissing her back. Faith's fingers combed through his hair before sliding down to stroke his arms then flanks. Dean wasn't sure if it was wishful thinking but he could have sworn he felt a quiet power thrumming from her body into his.
Faith pulled away from Dean her tongue flicking out to lick her lips she savored the flavour of Dean's kiss. Dark eyes fixed on him she gave him an apologetic look as her cell-phone started to ring. Dean was impressed to hear Guns 'n' Roses, 'Welcome to the Jungle' filtering out of the phone.
"Hey B, what's up?"
Dean snuck a look at Spike who was studying Dean with predatory interest, Dean frowned, did the British man's eyes glow yellow for a second there?
Spike tilted his head and gave Dean a measuring look. Did this man know about the things that went bump in the night?
"Okay, meet you in ten. Yeah, Spike's with me, we'll be there," Faith said before she hung up the phone.
Leaning in again she kissed Dean soundly then pulled away, shrugging apologetically she pushed Spike out of the way and sashayed to the pool table, picking up her leather jacket she shrugged it on.
"We've gotta go Dean… I'll see you around," Faith said distractedly as she silently communicated something with Spike.
Dean gave her a regretful smile, "Yeah see ya."
Faith and Spike headed out the door already engrossed in conversation.
"Looks like we're gonna get ourselves a workout after all Spike, B says its pretty powerful, high up there and close to the Big Bad."
"Goodie, it's only been three days since our last cesspool rumble."
"It's cool, rock 'em sock 'em's what it's all about remember Brit Boy?"
Dean sighed internally and turned to Mary-Lou who had an amused grin on her face. With a shrug he paid for their Tequila shots and forgotten pitcher of beer.
'Better luck next time Deano, besides that chick looked like she would eat you alive.' He thought to himself philosophically.
Accepting a fresh beer mug from Mary-Lou, Dean poured himself Faith and Spike's neglected beer.
-----------xxx-----------
"I get it… whenever I pierce through that armour of yours, you get violent. Life for Dean Winchester is supposed to be black and white, no room for grey 'cause you might lose your nerve." Ruby mused out-loud.
Dean's heart jumped in his throat but he managed to control his visible reaction to a mere flush of his already ruddy-cheeked complexion.
"Ruby, never a pleasure, as always," Dean tipped his mug at her and finished off its contents.
"Two double-shots of Jameson and another beer for the lady," Ruby told Mary-Lou with a self-assured smile.
Mary-Lou gave Dean a cryptic look and went to get the drinks Ruby had ordered.
Dean turned to glare at the blonde sitting so calmly next to him.
"I come in peace Winchester… don't shoot."
"Wouldn't be thinking of apologising for head-butting me into migraine-land would you?"
"That would be facetious of me Winchester and I know how much you hate being lied to, so no. Were you thinking of apologising for throttling me?" Ruby asked in a syrupy sweet voice.
Dean's hand itched to punch her lights out. The bitch really had a way of getting to him!
Mary-Lou set down the two double shots of Jameson in front of Dean and the glass of draught beer in front of Ruby. The blonde smiled indulgently and switched the drinks around. Reaching into her back pocket she tossed a $50 bill on the counter and downed both double shots in short order. Dean watched her with budding interest.
"I didn't think so," Ruby said as she let out a dainty Jameson-flavored burp.
Dean's eyebrow went up, "Didn't think what?"
Ruby looked at him like he was slow, "That you were even considering apologising.'
"Oh that."
"Yeah that. Anyway, like I was saying, you don't like the idea that there is a grey out there. Nor do you like the idea that I just might not mean you any harm, and you resent me for popping your Truths About Hell cherry and that's… immature but understandable-"
"Is all this going somewhere?" Dean asked impatiently.
Ruby sighed, "So I figured the less I say to you the better, don't want to rock the denial boat anymore, but since you're in Cleveland, I thought I'd show you something."
"Whatever it is, I don't wanna see it. Now go and be annoying somewhere else," Dean laughed mirthlessly.
Ruby crossed her arms and gave him an arch look, "The quicker you humor me, the faster I'll be out of your hair."
Dean took a deep swallow of his beer then set the mug down with a thud, "Why do I have to humor you at all? Last I checked Sam's the one you had an interest in and you yourself said I'm a dead man walking, so why don't you just go and f-"
Ruby's hand shot out, her fingers pressed his lips together.
"You wanted to know about the body I jacked and I thought you should see for yourself. For all your father's thoroughness, I still can't understand why he never told you about them but he must have had his reasons. So… do you want me to show you or not?"
Dean's eyes lit up with wary interest and Ruby knew the hard part was over.
"Mary-Lou, two more double-shots of Jameson please!" Ruby called over her shoulder.
Turning back to Dean she released his lips and gave him a measuring look. Mary-Lou set their drinks down and Dean picked both of them up, giving one to Ruby.
"What you're gonna see is going to rock your world and spin it off its axis, are you sure you want to muddy the waters of how you thought the world works anymore than you already have?" Ruby asked.
Dean looked into her eyes and nodded, "No, but fuck it, let's do this."
Ruby shrugged and clinking her shot-glass with his, downed the whisky. Setting her glass on the counter, she watched Dean throw a $20 on the counter and follow her out of the bar.
The prudent part of him hoped he was not walking into a trap.
-------------xxx--------
Ruby pulled open a manhole and grinned at Dean, "Ladies first."
Dean crossed his arms and shook his head with his trademark smirk, "Guess that means neither one of us is going in first."
Ruby rolled her eyes, "Okay then, humans first."
Dean glared at her, muttering an inaudible curse as he hunkered down and slid into the sewers. Landing on cat-like feet he watched as Ruby dropped in straight after him. She produced an amulet with the same symbol as the one seared on her shoulder and dropped it around his neck.
"You're gonna need that so we don't get spotted," she explained as she navigated around the puddle of excrement in her path.
Dean ground his teeth in irritation at her take-charge attitude and followed. Gagging, he covered his mouth in revulsion; he had been in more sewers than he cared to remember but he was quite sure they had never smelt this bad.
A few minutes later, Ruby held her hand up, signalling him to stop, four separate tunnels converged no less than a few feet from them in a relatively large open space, it was dimly lit by some kind of pale blue flourescent lights. Ruby pulled Dean into a darkened niche.
"Watch and learn Winchester," she whispered.
Dean threw her a petulant glare but before he could speak he heard someone approach. A few seconds later a petite blonde that radiated power and magnetism walked into the open space in front of them.
"Sure B, we'll be right there B. That's what I get for trusting little Miss Attention Span sister slayer," the blonde muttered under her breath.
Dean's eyes were drawn to the deadly looking broadsword she was twirling like a baton. His green eyes widened in surprise, she couldn't weigh more than 120 pounds wet and broadswords weren't his specialty but he was pretty sure she should not physically be able to handle it so effortlessly.
A shape separated itself from the shadows and Dean's eyes widened further with apprehension; his body tensing as he got ready to play his role as protector to the slight girl. Ruby grabbed his arm in warning.
"Slayer."
The blonde spread her feet wide, planting them in readiness, "The name's Buffy, Sewer-breath."
Dean's breath seized in his throat and he wondered at the girl's total lack of fear. The shadow moved closer to her and Dean stared in shock at the 7 foot tall demon with horns and glowing red eyes. It looked like something out a horror movie. Ruby grabbed his arm in a vice-like grip wordlessly telling him not to move.
The demon stopped one foot away from the girl, opened its maw of a mouth and roared. The sewer pipes rattled from the force of the sound and the air around them reeked with the smell of rotting flesh and faecal matter. The girl who called herself Buffy was still twirling her sword, and then quick as lightning she brought it round and stabbed the demon in the chest. Pulling it out, she spun around in 360' turn chopping the demon's head off as she moved. Dean would have yelped if Ruby hadn't clapped a hand over his mouth.
Footsteps thudded down the sewer passageway and Faith and Spike appeared at Buffy's side.
"Jesus B, you got started without us!" Faith reproached.
Buffy shrugged nonchalantly, "Would've been finished too, you're so late. Lucky for you I needed you guys here to open the seal."
Faith shrugged, "Alright, let's get this party started!"
Spike hefted the sword he had been carrying and Faith pulled one out of a scabbard strapped to her back. The three figures stabbed their swords into the demon's corpse and Spike bent down to rip out the demon's intestines. Dean grimaced as demon blood and guts splattered all three of them.
"Great, yet another good shirt sacrificed on the altar of Slayage," Buffy griped resignedly.
Spike smeared the demon entrails on the wall it had come from and muttered some incantations in a language Dean had never heard before. All three of them stepped back to wait for the spell to work.
"Willow couldn't make it?" Faith asked conversationally.
Buffy shrugged, "Her and Andrew said they could work their veiling spell mojo better from the outside. I think its cause Andrew can't stand the smell of raw excrement."
Faith shrugged, "Yeah well I gotta side with the Fairy Watcher on that one, nothing sends the boys running away screaming like eau de sewer."
The ground beneath their feet started to shake and the wall cracked open to show a gaping cavern that glowed a bright orange-red. Inside was what Dean imagined the depths of Hell must look like. Demons that closely resembled the Orcs in the Lord of the Rings Movies all stopped whatever they were doing and roared at the three intruders.
"Hello boys, did you miss me?" Buffy quipped.
The Demon Orcs rushed towards the mouth of the cavern and Buffy, Faith and Spike gave out a battle cry as they surged forward, meeting their adversaries halfway. Dean's mouth dropped with incredulity when he saw Buffy punch a Demon Orc and it flew backwards to hit a cavern wall. He would have given Ruby a 'What the Fuck?' look if his eyes weren't so riveted by the battle scene unfolding in front of him.
Faith launched herself at a Demon Orc, wrapping her thighs around its head she fell backwards and with one vicious twist snapped its neck. Spike was punching and kicking the creatures like they were nothing but rag dolls, tossing the weakened bodies out of the way, he started using his sword, slicing and dicing as the trio worked their way deeper into the cavern. Dean barely had time to react to the fact that Spike was some kind of demon, a vampire if the fangs were anything to go by, because everything was moving so fast.
Ten minutes later, Dean simultaneously watched Faith go to town on a Demon Orc that had bitten her shoulder, while Buffy threw her sword at the last moving demon, nailing it to the wall. Without even flinching she pulled the sword out of its head and flicked the blood and brain on the floor.
"Don't you ever think you can get a drop of my blood you demon sonofabitch, I'm a Slayer, nobody drinks my blood without my permission!" Faith yelled before she ripped the Demon Orc's head clean off its shoulders.
Still in a fit of rage she kicked the head like a soccer ball and it landed with a sickening splat next to Spike.
"Oi watch it luv, demon blood don't come out of vintage leather easy!" Spike protested.
Faith shrugged apologetically as she picked up her sword, now slick with blood and stalked over to Buffy who was surveying the carnage with a pleased grin.
"Nice moves B, loved that spinning kick, crotch to sternum thing you did back there." Faith complimented as she gave Buffy a high-five.
"Thanks, this little clean up mission reeks but it definitely didn't suck," Buffy said as she rolled her head around and cracked the stiff bones in her neck.
Spike, vampire face still on walked up to the girls and put a hand around each of their shoulders.
"See I told you that we could have fun without the Great Poofter and Illyria."
Buffy smiled softly at this and nodded at the two expectant faces, "Yeah you did, I admit it okay. Now let's go get the Big Boss Man and get the Hell out of here."
"Amen to that." Faith replied as they turned towards the entrance.
Dean and Ruby watched as a giant Demon Orc, twice the size of the ones the Slayers and the vampire had fought materialised behind them. Before Dean could yell out a warning, Buffy yelled, "Duck and run!"
A ball of fire smashed the ground where they had just been standing.
"Slayer!"
"Which one?" Buffy asked.
The Demon approached her and pointed his mail-clad finger at her.
"Oh, me… couldn't you guys be talking to Faith for once?"
'This girl is insane!' Dean thought.
"It's not over yet, we have only just begun. You think you know what you're up against but you have no idea little girl."
Buffy sighed in irritation, "Okay, I know its part of your M.O. because you're evil and all but can't you guys ever just drop the cryptic and say what you mean?"
The Demon laughed, the sound it made horrible to the ears, "The rumors about you were true, you are foolishly fearless."
Dean watched Buffy's back stiffen and actually felt fear for the demon.
"Well Slayer-Demon death-match competitor number one million and ten, if you're not gonna tell me anything useful let's get on with it."
The demon moved amazingly fast for its size and somersaulted over her head, picking up Faith and Spike it hurled them out of the cavern. Their hurtling bodies' flight was stopped painfully by the sewer wall an inch from where Ruby and Dean stood.
Dean shrank back in disbelief as the wall cracked and crumbled from the impact but both Faith and Spike got up dazedly and staggered back towards the cavern.
The demon had picked Buffy up by her neck and holding the other hand up muttered some kind of incantation that created an invisible force-field, blocking Spike and Faith from coming any closer.
"This war isn't like all the others little girl, the End of Days have arrived and there's nothing you and your little friends can do to stop it!" The demon yelled.
Hand still wrapped around her neck, the demon smashed her face into the cavern wall repetitively. Laughing he turned to look at her bloody face; Buffy spat out a tooth, then elbowed the demon in the face so hard its head snapped back. Dazed and in pain, it dropped her to the floor. She wrenched off the demon's protective amulet as she went down.
"Oh an apocalypse? Hmm… how many of those have I stopped so far? Ten? Eleven? Fifteen? I can't keep track anymore. You've fought one apocalypse, you've fought them all." Buffy mused out-loud as she picked up her sword and tossed Faith the amulet.
Without breaking her stride Faith caught it as she and Spike stumbled into the cavern and picked up their discarded swords.
The demon staggered to its feet, "This time you're facing The Apocalypse and the battle has already begun, as we speak, all over the world the signs are there. Our King and our High Command have chosen their vessels. This time you will not win. It'll take the very Hand of God himself and his warriors to stop us."
Buffy's face twisted in boredom, "Yeah, yeah, yadda yadda, thanks for the heads up."
Turning in tandem; all three raised their swords and launched themselves at the demon. Faith ducked and rolled underneath the demon's legs and the three fighters surrounded it. In less than a minute it was all over. The demon was dead and Buffy and Faith were helping a limping Spike out of the cavern. As soon as they dropped him on the ground the cavern started to shake and rattle, imploding within itself it disappeared in the dark leaving Dean, Ruby, the two Slayers and Spike in the dimly lit sewer. A large gaping hole and a mountain of rubble was all that remained. Sewer pipes around the hole burst open, spilling things Dean did not want to think about all over.
Dean let out a shaky breath, he had never seen anything so unbelievable, scary yet exciting in his entire life.
"Okay, hand in demon viscera… eww!" Buffy exclaimed, rising slowly to her feet.
Faith stood up and rotated her injured shoulder before pulling the amulet Buffy had tossed her out of her pocket.
"This thing's like biblical old or something, I can feel its power. This is some deep shit mojo B."
Buffy ducked from the spray of a nearby burst pipe then wiped blood off her face with the back of her sleeve, "Yeah, I felt its power while he was painting the wall with my face. Lost a tooth too."
Spike walked up to her and tilted her head back, "It's only a molar luv, you're still beautiful."
Faith handed Spike the amulet and he studied it with a frown, "Bloody fuckin' Hell."
"What's wrong?" Buffy asked.
"Thing's biblical old alright. Try Babylonian. Looks like Ghosts of Mars Demon knew what he was talkin' bout."
Faith and Buffy traded blank looks, "Which is?" They asked simultaneously.
Spike rolled his eyes, "This is bad, as in The Apocalypse bad."
"'Cause it's from Babylon?" Buffy asked cheerfully.
Spike's eyes narrowed, "No, because it's designed to bring the armies of Hell back on Earth. More than ten years fighting demons and evil and you haven't picked up anything from Giles or the witch?"
Buffy gave Spike a disbelieving look, "I'm Buffy… I am The Slayer, I died twice and I have had my fair share of heart-breaking office romances… things get bad I, to quote Cordelia, stick things with sharp objects."
Spike scowled at her, "And I'm Spike… Vampire with a soul I went and earned wasn't cursed with by Gypsies like some Great Big Poofter I know. I died twice and one of those times I did it for you… was William the Bloody in my heyday and when things get bad… I'll still lay my unlife down for you and all those ignorant Happy Meals on Legs you call people, no matter what the cost."
They were standing toe-to-toe now and Dean could swear there was some kind of unresolved sexual tension between the two of them.
Faith pushed them apart and shrugged, "And I'm Faith… I'm The Other Slayer, went evil, fell into a coma, went to jail… got groiny with a Watcher in Training, hot female Greek Watcher in Training and well… Spike, as far as office romances go… things get bad, I'll probably make them worse somehow but I kick ass and can screw for days."
Buffy nodded, smiling brightly in agreement, "Exactly!"
Spike turned to look at Buffy, "You two have-"
Buffy's eyes widened comically, "No! Of course not!"
Faith grinned, "Bottom line is… we're good with the violence, not so good with the dusty old books."
Spike shook his head, "Well, you lot should pay more attention to the research, this thing was in one of Wesley's books back at Wolfram & Hart. It's part of the Assyrian Texts and they specifically deal with the End of Days, as foretold in the Bible."
"Oh great, another apocalypse involving prophecies and the Bible, you know I don't even know why people bothered writing that thing it's so dark and more trouble than its worth," Buffy complained.
"Come on Slayer, this is serious," Spike said gravely.
"And this is Cleveland… city's on top of a fucking Hellmouth, that amulet's just another day at the office," Faith said dismissively.
Spike gave them a disgusted look, "No, I'm pretty sure this is the end. Lights Out. Get it?"
Faith and Buffy traded a look, then Faith linked arms with Buffy and they started to walk away.
"You know what B you should get yourself a gold tooth. With Xander's eye-patch and your gold tooth maybe we can start a pirate Slayer gang or a band called the Pirates."
"Great idea F, how 'bout I chop your leg off with my trusty scythe and we can give you a peg leg."
Spike bringing up the rear stopped to look at the disaster scene before turning back round and to follow the girls. He stopped by Dean and Ruby and sniffed the air.
"Must be losing my marbles… could've sworn I smell Butch Green Eyes and Dimples I Wanna Lick boy."
Dean shrank backwards into the wall.
"Spike! Come on!" Faith called out.
With one last cursory sniff, Spike shrugged, "Sod this," he grumbled as he walked past Dean and Ruby's hiding place.
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Not too OTT was it? I've never written for BTVS or ATS, not even unpublished work and it's because I love the Whedonverse too much I don't want to sully it by writing unworthy fic. Did the characters come alive here or where they 2-D, pale and lacklustre cardboard cut-out impressions of the characters we all know and love? Let me know!!