Happy Development 4/20, 5/20 & 6/20
Feb. 9th, 2012 06:53 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
whedonistTitle: Happy Development
Fandoms: Buffy the Vampire Slayer & Firefly
Pairing: Buffy/Willow, Faith/River, Mal/Inara, Kaylee/Simon
Rating: PG-13 (mostly, there maybe some more adult language and themes, nothing that you would see on say the higher numbers of cable TV)
Disclaimer: Due to the slightly off chance that Joss or a legal suit type person may read this and in their anger, sue, I will say that this little piece of work is for fun. The characters contained below belong to Joss, ME production, and others that I don't know. The Chinese from this story is taken from the book, Finding Serenity.
Summary: The Scoobs and The Crew meet up in Cleveland a few years after Sunnydale became a landfill. Hijinx ensue.
A/N: And here are chapters 4, 5 & 6 for your perusal.
Ch. 4 - Crosses Aren’t Just for the Faithful
Finishing off the list of parts proved to be more difficult than Kaylee had anticipated. Because of the electrical routing on Serenity, she needed an exact measure of how much wiring was needed. The mechanic had enlisted the help of Buffy due to the blonde slayer’s size. When they had finally finished, Buffy looked as if she had been down in the sewers for a week and grumbled the entire way back to the school about perfectly good clothes being ruined.
Buffy left to go shower while the rest of the Scoobies and the crew of Serenity convened in the main conference room. Willow sat down next to Inara and they restarted the conversation they were having on the ride over. Willow had been telling the companion about the Scoob’s encounter with Dracula. Kaylee was going over the list of parts with Mal and Xander, Dawn, and Faith were trying to get Jayne and Simon talking. Out of the two Simon proved to be the more vocal.
Buffy walked in a few moments later fresh from the shower and gathered everyone’s attention asking, “So, you guys have a list right?”
Kaylee handed her the paper. “It’s all right here, but I’m still worried about where we’re gonna find some of these parts. They’re easy as pie to get at any one of the port cities, but I don’t know what you have available in this time.”
Buffy looked the list over and scrunched her eyebrows. “Uh, Will, I’m gonna need you to decipher this list. Help Kaylee out and see what we need.” She passed the list over to the redhead and watched as Willow’s brow furrowed at the items.
“Most of this is fibre optic material? There is also material that we don’t use here. High voltage wiring, so stuff that’s more than copper right?”
“Yeah, just wiring and such, that’s the major problem. I was able to take a look at Serenity’s body and there wasn’t any damage when we crashed.” Kaylee smiled over at River and praised, “Our new pilot set her down right proper.”
River smiled at her sister-in-law and tugged at Zoë’s sleeve offering her a sad, but heartfelt smile. Zoë returned the smile in kind and winked at the girl.
“Give me a few days and I’ll see if we can find something comparable.”
“What’s the up Will?” Buffy asked.
“Well, it’s just that the material for the wiring isn’t stuff we use. Not regularly I mean. I can check around and see if some of the newer buildings or maybe NASA is using stuff like this, but it’s going to be hard to come by. Let me do some digging and maybe try and figure out if there’s an alternate substitute for carbon nanotubes. This just came out a few years ago and from what I’ve read is still in the developmental stages. So off the top of my head, I can’t think of an alternative.” Willow plastered on her best reassuring smile. “Although, I’m sure I can find something to replace it with. No worries here. Nope. Worry free.”
“Thank you, Willow,” Mal said. He smiled at the group. “So when do we get to see these vampires?”
Buffy looked at the clock on the wall and nodded. “In about an hour, let’s eat and then I can take you on patrol. Are all of you coming?”
Everyone in the room nodded and Buffy rolled her eyes. It was going to be hard finding vamps with such a huge entourage and then try and keep said entourage with all of their bits intact. Calling out to Willow before she left, Buffy watched the rest of the group file out.
Willow grinned and walked over to the blonde. “You rang?”
“Yeah, I uh,” Buffy sputtered a moment more and fell back on shop talk, “how impossible is it going to be for us to get that stuff?”
“Maybe not too bad. I need to brush up on my space craft electrical systems, but we should be able to find some decent substitutions.”
“Good, good.” Buffy swung her arms and looked around the room.
Willow picked up on Buffy’s nervousness and felt the need to ask, “Was that all?”
“I, uh, well.” Buffy’s eyes skirted to meet Willow’s and then quickly found an interesting scar on the back of her hand to admire.
“Buff?” Willow was becoming concerned. The blonde was never this nervous with her.
“I, it’s nothing.”
“You do know you’re a terrible liar?”
Buffy blushed bright red and nodded. “I was, ah, you seemed to be getting awfully chummy with Inara. Wanted to know what was going on?”
Willow looked at her friend a bit confused and then shrugged it off. She was chalking it up to concern. Willow had come back from Rio withdrawn and depressed after breaking up with Kennedy some 18 months ago. Since then Willow had not even been interested in dating, citing the need for a break and some alone time to try and figure out what she needed and wanted from a relationship. Buffy had been there through the crying spurts and had done the requisite best friend duties. Thinking that’s what was troubling her friend, Willow took Buffy’s hand and sat down at the table pulling her along. “Buff, you worried about Inara and me getting involved?”
“Well, yeah kinda. I mean you’ve just been as non datey as me lately and then it seems like since they showed up, you and her are all with the chummy. Just worried and curious.”
“Nothing going on, of course I wouldn’t say no if something did happen, but I think we’re just becoming fast friends. She’s really easy to talk to.”
“Oh, okay.” Buffy nodded and let some relief show, but wasn’t entirely convinced. She stood and let the witch follow her out of the room.
Diner was a tad more interesting what with Mal and his crew at the table. Diner had become something of a ritual over the past year with the Scooby gang. Regardless of the busyness of their lives, they had made it a point to have dinner together. Buffy had been the instigator, using Joyce as the reason.
Truthfully, Buffy had always harbored one form of guilt or another for the lack of time she had spent with her mother before her death and she had made a promise to herself during the time of the First that if they made it out alive she would make more time for the people that mattered to her. Dawn had been the second to fall in line with the rest of the gang quickly following suit. The meal was boisterous and full of conversation. Everyone had traded one story or another and before they had a chance to finish two hours had gone by.
Once everything was settled, Xander led them down to the armament centre and passed out the requisite stakes, holy water vials and crosses. He then let the crew pick out another weapon they would be comfortable with. The only two to do so was Inara, who picked up a compact crossbow and extra arrows and River, who picked a smaller broad sword.
“So, keep these with you at all times,” said Xander. “It looks like you guys are used to keeping guns on you. They won’t work on vamps, so keep these handy.”
Mal tried to hand Xander back the cross. “Don’t see much use in this boy. I’ll be alright.”
Xander looked at Mal and shrugged. “Fine, but if you meet a vamp the most sure fire way to get rid of him is stick a cross in his face. We’re not big on the religion here either, but a fact’s a fact: crosses repel the vamps.”
Mal shrugged and placed the cross on the table. “I’ll take my chances.”
“I get to tell you I told you so later.”
Everyone met back up in the garage. Willow and Buffy were talking about the best way for them to patrol and were standing by one of the school’s commuter vans.
“Xand,” Buffy called out. “You coming or are you staying for communication?”
“Ah, I think I’m gonna go tonight. I’ve got Vi and Kimmie on deck so they should be able to handle it. We’ve also got Faith with the red team over on the west side. I’m thinking we should take a stroll a little further out to the south?”
“That’s what we were thinking.” Willow opened the doors up. “Okay everyone let’s go. I want to be home before 2.”
Buffy shook her head and made her way to the driver’s seat. A firm hand stopped her and she looked up to meet Willow’s questioning gaze. “I can’t drive can I?”
“No,” Willow said, slipping into the driver’s seat before anymore protests could be raised.
Buffy walked over to the passenger door grumbling about the resolve of annoying redheaded witches and the fact that sure, she may have gotten in to one or three accidents, but that was forever ago.
They got to the first cemetery by 9pm. Buffy gave them a crash course in the do’s and don’ts of staking vampires and then set off with Willow and Xander to lead the rest of the troops to a roomier spot in the crowded area. They situated themselves on a hill side that was secluded enough to avoid civilians, but just in the path of un-dead types who were looking for a meal. The Scoobs on more than one occasion had saved some teenagers from becoming walking happy meals in this general area.
Buffy looked around at the group. The mechanic looked really nervous and a smile couldn’t help itself from forming on Buffy’s lips. Kaylee reminded her of a pre-magic Willow that made the blonde slayer’s heart lighten just a little bit. River was looking around and Buffy’s spidey sense tingled whenever she came near the girl. Deciding to figure out the why later, Buffy sent a small smile and nod in Willow’s direction. The two stepped over by Xander to discuss the plans.
“Buff, you want to go find some un-dead pale guys to bring around?” Willow knew that’s what Buffy wanted to let everyone in on. The witch waited on confirmation from the slayer and returned the grateful smile Buffy had on her face.
“Why bring them to us again?” Xander asked, slightly confused.
Buffy quirked a brow and motioned to the bored time travelers.
“Oh right, proof that we aren’t insane type people. Gotcha. Wills, you go with the Buffernator and I can watch these guys.”
“Cool. Buff?”
“Right,” she said, as she turned to the group. “Wills and I are going to see if we can chase anything back this way, you guys hang tight.” Buffy took hold of Willow’s hand and glanced back to see Inara’s reaction. She smiled internally at the narrowed eyed gaze of the companion and tightened her hold on her redhead.
It didn’t take long for them to open a crypt and find five vamps hanging out.
“Aren’t you guys supposed to be stalking the living? Really now, you guys are la-az-zy.” Buffy grinned at them while Willow threw a vial of holy water at their feet.
All five shot back way from the shattering glass. A few drops had gotten on one of the vamps and Buffy snickered as he tried to stop the burning. The other’s looked up pissed and ready to tear the girl’s heads off. Normally that would have frightened the standard person, but not the two girls who only exchanged bored looks and shrugged at the vamps.
“Jeez, is that all you guys got? A glare? Man I tell you, you blood rats sure do make my well placed puns a waste.”
“I’ll show you what we got, bitch!” the leader, or the one the girls picked as the leader, shouted, advancing.
Buffy picked out the weakest one and threw a stake straight into its heart. The thing dusted and as the ashes floated to the ground, his friend’s started chasing the slayer and witch through the cemetery. The two girls had worked this out ahead of time and split up at an outcropping of headstones.
Buffy sped up and knew that 3 of the remaining 4 were chasing her. She smiled as the hunt truly began. She catapulted herself over headstones and stopped short of running into a mausoleum. She leapt up, onto the roof and jumped off landing a good 20 feet from the edge of the roof. She glanced back and saw the vampire’s were having a hard time keeping up. Slowing up, she then took a quick glance to her left and saw that Willow had done an excellent job of paralleling her movements.
Both girls came to a screeching halt when they met head on. Ducking as they grabbed each other’s arms for balance, they watched as the four vamps crashed into each other trying to reach their “prey”. The girls had led the small clan around to the hillside where they had left Xander and the crew of the spaceship.
One had been knocked unconscious so Xander moved in, dragged it backwards out of the fray and tied it up. Willow looked the one over that had been chasing her, he was the first to regain his balance and she could tell by the look in his eyes that his only concern was to kill her. Her vampire took a wild swing at her face. In one fluid motion, she ducked the attack brought out the stake and rammed it firmly up and under the vamps ribcage. The demon exploded into dust which floated down on Willow.
Before continuing, Buffy shot a look to her friend and made sure Willow was out of the way before she began to pummel on the two remaining vamps. She wanted to draw the fight out as long as possible as it had been ages since she had taken on two at once. The leader of the clan lunged for the blonde, but missed as she crouched down, sweeping his legs from under him as he passed. The second had thought that Buffy was defenseless while on the ground, but quickly learned the opposite, as Buffy’s leg swept out to catch the lunging vampire, she rested her weight on her hands, thrusting back with her right leg and catching the advancing vampire square in the chest causing him to go sailing fifteen feet backwards. The flying vamp crashed against a broken branch of a tree dusting on impact. The leader had regained his balance and was now circling the blonde slayer. Buffy couldn’t resist the laugh that bubbled forth.
“I’m gonna rip your neck open girl. I’ll drink your hearts blood while it still beats.”
Buffy rolled her eyes. “Really? You honestly think that’s the first time I’ve ever heard that? Is there a handbook you guys get when you rise? Seriously, I want to know.” She threw a punch that connected with the underside of the vamps chin sending him back a few feet.
“Do you know who I am?” Buffy asked, annoyed as the thing lunged for her once again. She side stepped and kicked out breaking the vampire’s left shin.
His cry of pain rang loud and he seethed, “A slayer obviously.” He was in serious pain, but still made an attempt to kill Buffy. The blonde gave him points for effort.
“Riigghhttt, I’m Buffy, the Vampire Slayer.” She smiled triumphantly as the name registered with the vamp. Using the shock as a distraction, she spun forward and neatly placed Mr. Pointy into the vamps chest. The usual shocked look appeared and right before he dusted, Buffy causally waved goodbye. “And you are dust. Have a nice trip to hell.”
She was all smiles as she turned to the group. Dusting her hands off, she walked over to the remaining bound, vamp. She held the vamp up by the shirt collar and turned towards the group. “Questions, comments?”
Ch. 5 - And It Was A Whale of A Tail Too
River was the first to step up and look at the vampire. She circled the demon slowly looking at the pronounced ridges and the elongated teeth. Simon looked on concerned as his sister studied the creature. Not wanting her to get hurt he stepped forward and pulled her back with a well placed hand on her forearm.
“River, I don’t think getting that close is such a good idea.”
River looked back and smiled at her brother, placing her hand over his. “It’s okay.”
Willow stood back watching the reactions of the rest of the group. Everyone wore similar expressions of shock and disbelief. Mal stood hands on hips staring at the vamp. Zoë was looking anywhere but at it. Kaylee and Inara were holding on to each other while Jayne stood statue still his hand on the hilt of his knife. Deciding it was time for a lesson in vamp dusting; Willow stepped from behind Buffy and motioned her to the side. Buffy smiled and moved over to allow Willow to address the group.
“So right, this is a vampire. I’ve already been over the finer points of making it a big pile of dust, but I just want to make sure that all of you understand. I don’t want you to get a false sense of security and drop your guard out here. They are quick and very deadly.”
Willow took a long look at the three who now had their hands resting on the butts of their guns and shook her head. “You guys, guns don’t work on these creatures. They are demons and mostly evil. Not saying that bullets can’t hurt demons, but these ones, vampires that is, bullets aren’t helpful with the killing or maiming even” Willow looked over to a grinning Xander and ducked her head. Thinking of another way to show them what she’d babbled out, she motioned for Jayne to step forward. “Jayne, I’m not big on the guns, but can I have you maybe shoot him for us.”
Jayne stepped forward and raised his handgun getting ready to shoot when the audible static of the COM Link came to life, “Slayer 1 this is Command. Come in. Over.”
Buffy jumped at the chatter in her ear. She had forgotten about the device right after she put it in. “This is Buffy. What’s going on, Vi?”
“Buffy, I just received word from Red team they’ve got a class 2 demon. Three slayers are down. Faith and Carrie are holding their own, but they need bigger weapons than the stakes they brought. Advise. Over.”
“Where are they at?” Buffy twirled the stake in her hand before slamming it into the bound vampire’s chest. Without breaking her momentum, she spun around and began making her way back to the van expecting everyone to follow her.
“Lakewood Park Cemetery.”
“We’re on our way. Tell them to hold on for five minutes.” Buffy began picking up her speed and called out over her shoulder, “Alright everyone let’s hurry up.”
Xander and Willow had already begun picking up speed with the rest of the group following close behind. They reached the van barely breaking their momentum to hop in and allow Willow to turn the engine over peeling out of the cemetery.
The redhead reached down and flipped on the sirens, “Xander, get through to CPD and re-route everyone far, far away from where I’m headed please.”
The man nodded and began barking orders to Vi at the command center. Feeling relatively safe about not being followed by a cop car Willow pushed down on the accelerator and shot forward. It took 7 minutes to get to Faith and Carrie. Buffy left Mal and his group at the van while Willow and Xander were close at her heels.
They crested a small hill in the deserted cemetery and saw Faith and Carrie being thrown by a rather viscous, brown and green, mangy looking demon. As they approached, Buffy took in the size and defenses of the creature. Standing nearly 10 feet in height, the thing was massive. Stakes protruded from its body and even though its blood seeped from the wounds, the demon was not slowed. Muscles rippled underneath the leathery skin and Buffy watched on as Faith tried to land one of her best flying kicks at the creatures head, but was batted away like an annoying fly.
The blonde huffed out and tightened her grip on the sword in her hand, silently thanking River for having brought one with her. Buffy turned quickly to Willow and Xander. “Check the other girls, I’m gonna go help Faith.”
The slayer took off at a dead run, sword raised, screaming at Carrie to watch out as a now visible 6 foot long tail came sailing around to knock the girl off her feet. The girl heard Buffy just in time and rolled out of the way. She bounced up to her feet and ran towards Buffy. The 17 year old was breathing hard and bleeding from a nasty gash along the left side of her face.
Buffy tried to give the girl a nice, encouraging smile. She was one of Buffy’s favorite slay partners. Quick, funny and fiercely protective of the people she patrolled with. The blonde lifted a lock of pink hair away from the oozing blood on the teen’s cheek and checked for any other injuries that would make her tell Carrie to go find Willow and get healed up.
“So, Buffy, are you going to concern mother me all night or are we gonna kill this thing,” Carrie’s thick Scottish accent did nothing to cover the sarcasm. The girl lent down and rested her hands on her knees trying to catch her breath as they waited on Faith to get done having her ass handed to her.
The two girls looked on as Faith noticed the two standing off to the side. The demon roared as Faith took a flying leap over its head and landed 5 feet behind it and came running towards the two other slayers.
Buffy stuck her hands up in the air trying to get the brunette to stop running towards them. Big and tailey had whipped around and started coming after Faith and coincidentally straight towards Buffy and Carrie.
Buffy called out to stop Faith from moving towards them, but it was too late. The demon was too close to not engage. Buffy readied herself for her attack and looked to Carrie and smiled. “Can you distract it while I circle around?”
“Distract?” Carrie looked at her confused.
“You know make with the diversion.” Buffy looked forward and winced as Faith was picked up and thrown nearly twenty feet to the right landing with a solid thud against the side of a crypt.
Carrie hissed, “That’s gonna smart later. Watch out for his tail. Go! ” The girl shoved Buffy away from her and hefted a mace. “Oy, yeah, you. Is that all you got? A tail?” Carrie dove forward while Buffy made her way round towards the back of the creature.
The Serenity crew piled out of the van with the slayer and her friends, but was told to stay behind. Buffy using the excuse of not knowing what was up ahead and she didn’t want to endanger anyone else unnecessarily. So Mal being the kind, respectful thief he was stayed put with his crew. He looked around the cemetery thinking that what he had seen of this place was similar to some of the central planets. Although, he assumed the government wasn’t as meddlesome now as they were in the future. All in all it was a nice cool evening to be out and about. No one from the ship had stayed this long on a planet going on a year.
Mal noticed Kaylee and Inara moving towards the back of the van and called out, “Hun ta ma yao ming. Joo-ee.”
Everyone else had gathered off to the side talking amongst themselves.
The two women had moved out of sight and rounded the back end of the van. Kaylee had her hands wrapped around her waist and was talking to Inara about some of the things the companion and Willow had talked about during the course of the day. Neither was paying attention to their surroundings. They were situated apart from the group when Inara suddenly went flying into the rear door of the van. Kaylee didn’t even have the chance to warn anyone before she herself was knocked unconscious.
Three vampires and two demons rounded the corner of the van. Mal and Zoë looked up drawing their guns. Firing on instinct they hit the vampires first. The vamps staggered back, but kept on advancing. The first vamp to reach Zoë was struck with the butt of her rifle, but quickly recovered. It let go a series of punches that left the Amazonian like woman bleeding from her temple and then finally a well placed roundhouse connected with the left side of her head. She was unconscious before she hit the cold asphalt of the parking lot.
Mal screamed and watched as Zoë crumpled to the ground. He was unable to go to her because of the attack he was under. The two vampires that remained made short work of the captain. One was able to twist the gun away from Mal while the other landed a solid punch to the man’s face. The fight was over before it even began.
The two demons had taken hold of Jayne and Simon disregarding River in the process. Jayne had put up a decent fight, but was quickly subdued and joined the majority of the crew in forced slumber. Simon was held tight by one of the demons and watched as the other demon and the three vamps advanced on River. The small girl hefted a stake behind her back and let the vampires make the first move. Only one attacked the girl and she could handle that. She ducked low and shot her hand up into the creature’s stomach sending it stumbling back a few feet. Righting herself, she leapt towards the vamp with a well placed round house sending it sprawling to the concrete unconscious.
The remaining vampires looked at the teen and hissed out in agreement, “Slayer.”
River cocked her head to the side and smiled. The demons could think whatever they wished; she just wanted to protect her family. She let them see the stake she was twirling in her hands right before she threw it into the chest of the vamp standing to the left. The remaining vamp watched as its companion vanished and let out a yell of annoyance. The vamp wasted no time in lunging at the girl, but was stopped short by River meeting it half way. The vamp found itself sailing through the air landing solidly against the side of the van.
River watched as the vampire rose from the uncomfortable position it had landed in and couldn’t help the small smile that formed. Thoughts whizzed through her brain and she held on to the one that couldn’t help but think that this was kinda fun. She saw the larger demon trying to sneak up on her from behind. Right before he was going to wrap his arms around her she threw herself forward springing down on her hands and letting her left foot connect solidly with the underside of its chin. Unfortunately that wasn’t nearly powerful enough to affect the demon. It grabbed her right leg as her legs began the upward swing in the flip and it shoved out causing River to go sprawling on the ground. The demon walked over to the small girl kicking her with its cloven foot to make sure she was unconscious.
The first vampire that had attacked River slowly came to and met its friends around the unconscious body of River Tam.
“Joe, which one’s are we taking?” the vampire closest to the van asked.
“Take her, that one there.” He pointed to Mal directing the others. “And take one of the other girls from around the back. I don’t care which, just grab one and let’s go. There are other slayers around.”
“And that one?” the other vampire asked, pointing to Simon, who was feebly struggling against the demon that held him.
Joe looked around for something to use to tie up the last conscious member of the group. Not seeing anything he looked down at River and smiled. Grabbing at the bottom of her dress, he tore off a long strip and tossed it to the other vampire. “Use this to tie him up and leave him in the van.”
“What no snack?”
“Bill, we didn’t come here to eat. We’ll eat later once we deliver the cattle.” Joe smiled and hefted River in his arms. “Let’s go.”
Ch. 6 - Little Red Riding Who?
The battle with the demon was quickly finished as Carrie made good on the distraction her leader had asked for. While the girl engaged the demon with mace in hand, Buffy was able gain a small advantage by sneaking up from behind and decapitating it. She rode the headless body to the ground and jumped off tucking herself into a roll as she hit the ground. Popping up she ran to Carrie first.
“You ok?” Buffy smiled at the girl. Receiving an affirmative nod, she then took a look over to Willow and Xander. They had gotten the three other girls up and on their feet, but Faith had yet to come to. “Come on; let’s see if we can wake up your team leader.”
Buffy’s inquiries regarding the health of the injured slayers were stopped short as Willow pointed to Zoë who was staggering up the hill waving her arm. Buffy spun quickly and ran to meet the other woman. As Zoë got nearer, Buffy took in the thrashed look, the cut eye, and bruised cheek. “What happened?”
Zoë winced as the pain in her side flared from the jog over to find the slayer and did her best to answer, “We, we were talking outside the van and three vampires and two ugly lookin’ ching-wah tsao duh liou mahngs attacked. They were too strong. Tied up Simon while the rest of us were taking a forced nap and made off with the captain, River, and Kaylee.”
“Damnit. Okay.” Buffy turned to her group. “Xander carry Faith. We’ve gotta motor. Our friends here were attacked.” Everyone looked rather confused at the command, clarifying she said, “Let’s go guys. Death, kidnapping, any of it ring a bell?”
Willow was the first to react, Xander then quickly scooped Faith up and the rest followed as her friends made their way quickly to the blonde’s side. No one talked as they half walked half jogged back to the van.
Worried about any injuries sustained, Willow strode ahead of the group and was the first there to assess the injuries. No one was too bad off. Simon had already checked everyone over and let the witch know that out of everyone Zoë had sustained the worst injuries. Willow felt a small pain in her chest as she took in the battered people. They hadn’t even been here two days and already three members of their family were in grave danger.
Sighing Willow walked over to Inara. “You okay?”
“Besides my head, I’m fine. Does this happen a lot with you guys?”
“Only every other Tuesday, we’ll get them back. Promise.” Willow tried a reassuring smile and put her arm over the woman’s shoulder giving her a good squeeze.
“Willow, Zoë, Jayne and Carrie come with me,” Buffy barked the order out and turned away.
The redhead nodded towards Buffy then turned a reassuring gaze to Inara. “Be back soon.”
The four went to meet the slayer and noticed what she had found. There were hoof tracks that led away from the van. Willow bent down and felt the markings. They reminded her of horse tracks, but larger, and it looked like they were also clawed. She stood and looked out over the hillside of the cemetery.
The nice thing about Lakewood was that it bordered a huge golf course and the golf course bordered woods that were at least a mile and a half deep. It was a good bet that’s where they went and it was probably where the vamps and demons had come from. She turned to look at Buffy and knew what she was thinking.
“Xander,” Willow called over to her friend, “inform command of the sitch please. Let them know that we are gonna go track the kidnappers down.” She turned to Buffy and nodded. The slayer returned the smile and hefted the still slimy sword.
“Xand,” Buffy asked, “see if you can get a clean up crew out here? That thing, whatever it was, stinks.” She turned back and shook her head. “These leather’s are completely ruined.”
“We ain’t gonna go after those things are we?” Jayne asked, the worry evident in his voice.
Zoë was the first to respond, “Jayne, they have our crew. This is not open for discussion.”
“Look here. All I’m sayin’ is those things whatever they were whooped on all of us right and good and I kinda happen to like all my parts. We go after ’em; I might lose some of my parts.”
Zoë stared at the man for a moment and out of all the surprises of the night, Jayne backing down and nodding his compliance was the biggest of her evening. She motioned to Buffy and Willow. “You can lead the way.”
Buffy nodded and began the trek down the hill towards the golf course. The walk was short and they were at the edge of woods when Willow stopped everyone in their tracks. She opened up a telepathic link to Buffy to discuss what was up ahead.
“Buff, can you feel the demon’s ahead?”
“Will? Christ I hate it when you jump in like that. Yes, yes I can sense them, but I don’t know how many. Do you?”
“5 vamps, 2 Fyarls, and another one that I can’t make heads or tails of. It feels like this is their hide out. What do you want to do?”
“I’d rather come back here with more than a short sword, a mace and a few stakes. You think they’re gonna kill Mal, Kaylee, & River?”
Willow squinted in the direction of where she thought the demons were and shook her head, “I can’t tell. But this does have an air of trap written all over it.”
“You picked up on that too? Can you at least tell me why a routine patrol can never be simple? We go, we slay, and we go home to a shower and food?”
“So I’ll take that as we go in and kick a little demon ass?”
“Can’t take the chance of people dying.”
Willow only nodded and moved forward. The trek was through the lower half of the adjacent golf course and into a thick part of the woods that bordered the cemetery and the golf course. Buffy pulled everyone back when she saw firelight up ahead.
Whispering she gave everyone the heads up, “Okay so there are at least 8 demons, some are vamps, but not all. Carrie, you and I go in and clean house. Willow stay alert for magical backup. Do not move in unless absolutely necessary. Zoë and Jayne, you two find your people and get them out then wait with Willow until we are done. Everyone clear?” she waited as nods of understanding came from all involved.
Moving forward she gave a quick glance over her shoulder to ensure Carrie was following and watched for a moment as Willow and the other two moved into a better position. Buffy approached the small clearing and did a quick scan of the area. The vamps were surrounding three poles. She assumed Mal and the others were tied to them. The Fyarls were just standing around and the other demon Buffy recognized as the counterpart of the one they had just slain.
“Willow, you there?”
“I would be where else?” the witch teased.
Buffy took a moment to puzzle out what her friend said, “Oh, well then ah, we are so gonna need some help. Is there any way you can crispy up any of the demons?”
“Ah, no, unless you wanna have fire roasted time travelers. Do I look like Martha Stewart?”
Buffy stifled the giggle, “No, absolutely not Will; you look like the most gorgeous woman on the planet.” Buffy’s mouth dropped as soon as the words filtered through her brain and into the link she and Willow shared. Her face flamed red and she smacked herself on the forehead for her lack of censorship. She took a quick glance at Willow to her far left. Willow was giving her a funny look. The blonde only shrugged, she would think of an excuse later if asked.
Buffy nodded to Carrie and they took off into the clearing. The Fyarls were the first to attack. With no silver at the ready Buffy relied on the short sword that she had to at least decapitate or incapacitate the demons. She glanced over and watched as Carrie started in on the 5 vampires. Buffy felt the impact of one of the demon’s fist to the side of her head; she stumbled back, stunned and dropped the sword. The second one took the opening and launched itself at her midsection. Fists came flying at her head and the only thing she could do was curl up defensively before her world went black.
Willow watched as Buffy was overrun by the demons and Carrie had only managed to dust one of the five vamps circling her. Not being able to sit still any longer, she strode forward and raised her right hand in the air. “Espesar!”
The air was loud clap in the air and then the atmosphere turned to the consistency of treacle. Willow, unaffected by the spell, moved gracefully towards the demons that were struggling over Buffy and laid a hand on each of their backs. Flames ignited on both demons and she threw them in opposite directions away from the fallen slayer. She turned heel and looked at the four remaining vamps struggling against the tar like air and smirked. She took the stake from Carries’ hand and dusted the four of them while they just stood in mid attack and watched.
The last remaining demon watched as its henchmen were slaughtered with ease. It howled into the night air and tried to reach Willow. The witch only helped the demon by walking up to it and rested a glowing hand against its abdomen. The demon cried out as a fire burned it from the inside out. As the last of the demon’s ashes floated in the air the spell ended and Willow collapsed on the forest floor.
While Buffy and Carrie fought, Zoë and Jayne had been able to get halfway to their crew before Willow stepped in. As the spell ended, the two rushed in and got their family untied. The five of them looked on as Buffy rushed to Willow and tried to get the redhead to recover. Mal walked over and placed a hand on Buffy’s shoulder.
“Let me carry her back to the van?” he asked.
Buffy shook her head no and visibly winced as the blood dripped down her cheek and on to her clothes. The slayer shot a warning look over her shoulder and growled, “I’ll carry her.”
Mal balked at the idea and was about to comment on her size when he watched as she effortlessly scooped the unconscious redhead in her arms and began walking purposefully back to the van. It took a bit longer to get back, but when they arrived, Delta Team was cleaning up the remains of the demon Buffy had beheaded. Xander was barking orders at the clean up crew and remaining slayers. He looked up as he saw Buffy crest the top of the hill and took off running when he saw who she was carrying. His heart dropped to his stomach until he saw his friend’s chest rising and falling.
Buffy didn’t answer any of the questions being thrown at her; she just moved to the van and laid Willow on the backseat. “Xander, take Carrie and let her show you where we found everyone. See if you can find out the why behind the kidnapping. I’m taking Will back to HQ. She worked some serious mojo and she’s out. I need to get cleaned up. Can you do that?”
Xander gave a curt nod to Buffy then wrapped her in a hug. “I’ve got it covered. Is Will going to be ok?”
“Yeah she just used too much and is exhausted.”
Xander felt his pulse die down just a little bit and squeezed Buffy’s shoulder. “Take care of her and go home.”
Buffy searched for the keys on the unconscious witch and handed them to Faith. The blonde climbed in and then settled Willow’s head on her lap. Her head was ringing from the pounding she took from the two Fyarls, but that took second place to the worry about her witch. She stroked the soft red hair in silence hoping that the girl would be fine come morning like she promised Xander. The ride back to the school was quiet. Everyone was still in a bit of a daze as the van pulled in. Simon held on to River and Kaylee as they followed Buffy to her room where Buffy laid Willow on her bed. He untangled himself from his wife and sister and moved to the bed and stood next to Buffy.
“Do you want me to take a look at her?” He placed a hand on her shoulder and waited.
“No, she’s just wiped out. The magicks she worked were pretty heavy. She should be good after a solid 8 hours sleep.” Buffy tried to school her features and take the worry out of them when she looked over her shoulder. The movement caused her to wince and she cursed the stone like fists of the demons.
“Then at least let me get you cleaned up and if you need stitches…” Simon nodded to River who went to the bathroom in search of a towel and something to hold warm water. She came out a few moments later with the things she knew her brother would need. “Come on. Come sit and let me fix you up.”
Buffy grudgingly left Willow’s side to sit at the desk by her bed. Simon crouched in front of her and gently wiped at the crusted, dark blood along her face and jaw. It came off in chunks and turned the water a rusty brown color. He was surprised when the blood was finally washed off to find only four shallow cuts.
Buffy smiled at his confusion and mumbled, “Slayer healing. I heal quicker than most. It’ll be gone by morning.”
“Oh.” Simon got up and handed the bowl off to River. “We’re going to go back to our rooms. Will you be okay?”
“I’ll be fine,” Buffy assured the doctor, letting him see a smile she surely didn’t feel at the moment. “Thanks again.”
Simon nodded and ushered his two girls out of the room all three bidding a good night to the slayer. She let out a breath of relief as the door clicked shut. Hobbling over, she clicked the lock in place and made sure it was secure before turning to Willow. She moved to the redhead and covered her with the comforter. She then hazarded a glance down at her muck and dirt crusted clothes. Making a face as she peeled the items off, she threw them in a heap by her trash can. Taking one last look at Willow, she shuffled into the bathroom.
Once there, a look in the mirror revealed some serious bruising to her back and she made her way over to the shower. Adjusting the nozzle spay to its most forceful setting, she turned it on to the hottest temperature she could take. Stepping in, she turned her back to the hard spray. It felt great on the knots that had formed after the demons were trying to make her a permanent fixture in the ground. The speed and strength of the Fyarl’s attack had surprised her and she had taken some nasty hits which she suspected hadn’t stopped when she lost consciousness. The heat and pressure of the water felt good despite the protests from the bruises that marked her body.
It was there in the solitude of the bathroom that as per Buffy ritual she broke down and cried letting the water mix with tears. She was sore and more than likely had a few cracked or bruised ribs. The fear that had gripped her as she watched Willow collapse was the most draining. She couldn’t believe her friend had taken such a huge risk. Buffy berated herself for not following her instincts on waiting to get back up and bigger weapons. She stayed in the shower until the water ran cold. Turning the faucet off, she stepped out and wrapped herself in the robe hanging on the back of the bathroom door.
Buffy flipped the lights off as she walked in to the bedroom and noticed Willow curled up on the left side of the bed. The slayer slipped in underneath the sheets and watched her friend sleep. She was still thinking about how much of a risk the witch took performing the spells she did. Since leaving Sunnydale, Willow only practiced on esbats and sabats or when she was called in by the coven to find a new slayer. There was also the healing spells she did, but that was more energy focusing than actual spell workage; what Willow did tonight was the biggest piece of mojo the blonde had seen her work since Sunnydale. Buffy’s face was creased with worry for her friend. She didn’t know how Willow would be when she woke up. Yawning, Buffy absentmindedly formed into Willow’s back as the sun began to filter through the curtains and drifted off to sleep.
Next>>>
Fandoms: Buffy the Vampire Slayer & Firefly
Pairing: Buffy/Willow, Faith/River, Mal/Inara, Kaylee/Simon
Rating: PG-13 (mostly, there maybe some more adult language and themes, nothing that you would see on say the higher numbers of cable TV)
Disclaimer: Due to the slightly off chance that Joss or a legal suit type person may read this and in their anger, sue, I will say that this little piece of work is for fun. The characters contained below belong to Joss, ME production, and others that I don't know. The Chinese from this story is taken from the book, Finding Serenity.
Summary: The Scoobs and The Crew meet up in Cleveland a few years after Sunnydale became a landfill. Hijinx ensue.
A/N: And here are chapters 4, 5 & 6 for your perusal.
Finishing off the list of parts proved to be more difficult than Kaylee had anticipated. Because of the electrical routing on Serenity, she needed an exact measure of how much wiring was needed. The mechanic had enlisted the help of Buffy due to the blonde slayer’s size. When they had finally finished, Buffy looked as if she had been down in the sewers for a week and grumbled the entire way back to the school about perfectly good clothes being ruined.
Buffy left to go shower while the rest of the Scoobies and the crew of Serenity convened in the main conference room. Willow sat down next to Inara and they restarted the conversation they were having on the ride over. Willow had been telling the companion about the Scoob’s encounter with Dracula. Kaylee was going over the list of parts with Mal and Xander, Dawn, and Faith were trying to get Jayne and Simon talking. Out of the two Simon proved to be the more vocal.
Buffy walked in a few moments later fresh from the shower and gathered everyone’s attention asking, “So, you guys have a list right?”
Kaylee handed her the paper. “It’s all right here, but I’m still worried about where we’re gonna find some of these parts. They’re easy as pie to get at any one of the port cities, but I don’t know what you have available in this time.”
Buffy looked the list over and scrunched her eyebrows. “Uh, Will, I’m gonna need you to decipher this list. Help Kaylee out and see what we need.” She passed the list over to the redhead and watched as Willow’s brow furrowed at the items.
“Most of this is fibre optic material? There is also material that we don’t use here. High voltage wiring, so stuff that’s more than copper right?”
“Yeah, just wiring and such, that’s the major problem. I was able to take a look at Serenity’s body and there wasn’t any damage when we crashed.” Kaylee smiled over at River and praised, “Our new pilot set her down right proper.”
River smiled at her sister-in-law and tugged at Zoë’s sleeve offering her a sad, but heartfelt smile. Zoë returned the smile in kind and winked at the girl.
“Give me a few days and I’ll see if we can find something comparable.”
“What’s the up Will?” Buffy asked.
“Well, it’s just that the material for the wiring isn’t stuff we use. Not regularly I mean. I can check around and see if some of the newer buildings or maybe NASA is using stuff like this, but it’s going to be hard to come by. Let me do some digging and maybe try and figure out if there’s an alternate substitute for carbon nanotubes. This just came out a few years ago and from what I’ve read is still in the developmental stages. So off the top of my head, I can’t think of an alternative.” Willow plastered on her best reassuring smile. “Although, I’m sure I can find something to replace it with. No worries here. Nope. Worry free.”
“Thank you, Willow,” Mal said. He smiled at the group. “So when do we get to see these vampires?”
Buffy looked at the clock on the wall and nodded. “In about an hour, let’s eat and then I can take you on patrol. Are all of you coming?”
Everyone in the room nodded and Buffy rolled her eyes. It was going to be hard finding vamps with such a huge entourage and then try and keep said entourage with all of their bits intact. Calling out to Willow before she left, Buffy watched the rest of the group file out.
Willow grinned and walked over to the blonde. “You rang?”
“Yeah, I uh,” Buffy sputtered a moment more and fell back on shop talk, “how impossible is it going to be for us to get that stuff?”
“Maybe not too bad. I need to brush up on my space craft electrical systems, but we should be able to find some decent substitutions.”
“Good, good.” Buffy swung her arms and looked around the room.
Willow picked up on Buffy’s nervousness and felt the need to ask, “Was that all?”
“I, uh, well.” Buffy’s eyes skirted to meet Willow’s and then quickly found an interesting scar on the back of her hand to admire.
“Buff?” Willow was becoming concerned. The blonde was never this nervous with her.
“I, it’s nothing.”
“You do know you’re a terrible liar?”
Buffy blushed bright red and nodded. “I was, ah, you seemed to be getting awfully chummy with Inara. Wanted to know what was going on?”
Willow looked at her friend a bit confused and then shrugged it off. She was chalking it up to concern. Willow had come back from Rio withdrawn and depressed after breaking up with Kennedy some 18 months ago. Since then Willow had not even been interested in dating, citing the need for a break and some alone time to try and figure out what she needed and wanted from a relationship. Buffy had been there through the crying spurts and had done the requisite best friend duties. Thinking that’s what was troubling her friend, Willow took Buffy’s hand and sat down at the table pulling her along. “Buff, you worried about Inara and me getting involved?”
“Well, yeah kinda. I mean you’ve just been as non datey as me lately and then it seems like since they showed up, you and her are all with the chummy. Just worried and curious.”
“Nothing going on, of course I wouldn’t say no if something did happen, but I think we’re just becoming fast friends. She’s really easy to talk to.”
“Oh, okay.” Buffy nodded and let some relief show, but wasn’t entirely convinced. She stood and let the witch follow her out of the room.
Diner was a tad more interesting what with Mal and his crew at the table. Diner had become something of a ritual over the past year with the Scooby gang. Regardless of the busyness of their lives, they had made it a point to have dinner together. Buffy had been the instigator, using Joyce as the reason.
Truthfully, Buffy had always harbored one form of guilt or another for the lack of time she had spent with her mother before her death and she had made a promise to herself during the time of the First that if they made it out alive she would make more time for the people that mattered to her. Dawn had been the second to fall in line with the rest of the gang quickly following suit. The meal was boisterous and full of conversation. Everyone had traded one story or another and before they had a chance to finish two hours had gone by.
Once everything was settled, Xander led them down to the armament centre and passed out the requisite stakes, holy water vials and crosses. He then let the crew pick out another weapon they would be comfortable with. The only two to do so was Inara, who picked up a compact crossbow and extra arrows and River, who picked a smaller broad sword.
“So, keep these with you at all times,” said Xander. “It looks like you guys are used to keeping guns on you. They won’t work on vamps, so keep these handy.”
Mal tried to hand Xander back the cross. “Don’t see much use in this boy. I’ll be alright.”
Xander looked at Mal and shrugged. “Fine, but if you meet a vamp the most sure fire way to get rid of him is stick a cross in his face. We’re not big on the religion here either, but a fact’s a fact: crosses repel the vamps.”
Mal shrugged and placed the cross on the table. “I’ll take my chances.”
“I get to tell you I told you so later.”
Everyone met back up in the garage. Willow and Buffy were talking about the best way for them to patrol and were standing by one of the school’s commuter vans.
“Xand,” Buffy called out. “You coming or are you staying for communication?”
“Ah, I think I’m gonna go tonight. I’ve got Vi and Kimmie on deck so they should be able to handle it. We’ve also got Faith with the red team over on the west side. I’m thinking we should take a stroll a little further out to the south?”
“That’s what we were thinking.” Willow opened the doors up. “Okay everyone let’s go. I want to be home before 2.”
Buffy shook her head and made her way to the driver’s seat. A firm hand stopped her and she looked up to meet Willow’s questioning gaze. “I can’t drive can I?”
“No,” Willow said, slipping into the driver’s seat before anymore protests could be raised.
Buffy walked over to the passenger door grumbling about the resolve of annoying redheaded witches and the fact that sure, she may have gotten in to one or three accidents, but that was forever ago.
They got to the first cemetery by 9pm. Buffy gave them a crash course in the do’s and don’ts of staking vampires and then set off with Willow and Xander to lead the rest of the troops to a roomier spot in the crowded area. They situated themselves on a hill side that was secluded enough to avoid civilians, but just in the path of un-dead types who were looking for a meal. The Scoobs on more than one occasion had saved some teenagers from becoming walking happy meals in this general area.
Buffy looked around at the group. The mechanic looked really nervous and a smile couldn’t help itself from forming on Buffy’s lips. Kaylee reminded her of a pre-magic Willow that made the blonde slayer’s heart lighten just a little bit. River was looking around and Buffy’s spidey sense tingled whenever she came near the girl. Deciding to figure out the why later, Buffy sent a small smile and nod in Willow’s direction. The two stepped over by Xander to discuss the plans.
“Buff, you want to go find some un-dead pale guys to bring around?” Willow knew that’s what Buffy wanted to let everyone in on. The witch waited on confirmation from the slayer and returned the grateful smile Buffy had on her face.
“Why bring them to us again?” Xander asked, slightly confused.
Buffy quirked a brow and motioned to the bored time travelers.
“Oh right, proof that we aren’t insane type people. Gotcha. Wills, you go with the Buffernator and I can watch these guys.”
“Cool. Buff?”
“Right,” she said, as she turned to the group. “Wills and I are going to see if we can chase anything back this way, you guys hang tight.” Buffy took hold of Willow’s hand and glanced back to see Inara’s reaction. She smiled internally at the narrowed eyed gaze of the companion and tightened her hold on her redhead.
It didn’t take long for them to open a crypt and find five vamps hanging out.
“Aren’t you guys supposed to be stalking the living? Really now, you guys are la-az-zy.” Buffy grinned at them while Willow threw a vial of holy water at their feet.
All five shot back way from the shattering glass. A few drops had gotten on one of the vamps and Buffy snickered as he tried to stop the burning. The other’s looked up pissed and ready to tear the girl’s heads off. Normally that would have frightened the standard person, but not the two girls who only exchanged bored looks and shrugged at the vamps.
“Jeez, is that all you guys got? A glare? Man I tell you, you blood rats sure do make my well placed puns a waste.”
“I’ll show you what we got, bitch!” the leader, or the one the girls picked as the leader, shouted, advancing.
Buffy picked out the weakest one and threw a stake straight into its heart. The thing dusted and as the ashes floated to the ground, his friend’s started chasing the slayer and witch through the cemetery. The two girls had worked this out ahead of time and split up at an outcropping of headstones.
Buffy sped up and knew that 3 of the remaining 4 were chasing her. She smiled as the hunt truly began. She catapulted herself over headstones and stopped short of running into a mausoleum. She leapt up, onto the roof and jumped off landing a good 20 feet from the edge of the roof. She glanced back and saw the vampire’s were having a hard time keeping up. Slowing up, she then took a quick glance to her left and saw that Willow had done an excellent job of paralleling her movements.
Both girls came to a screeching halt when they met head on. Ducking as they grabbed each other’s arms for balance, they watched as the four vamps crashed into each other trying to reach their “prey”. The girls had led the small clan around to the hillside where they had left Xander and the crew of the spaceship.
One had been knocked unconscious so Xander moved in, dragged it backwards out of the fray and tied it up. Willow looked the one over that had been chasing her, he was the first to regain his balance and she could tell by the look in his eyes that his only concern was to kill her. Her vampire took a wild swing at her face. In one fluid motion, she ducked the attack brought out the stake and rammed it firmly up and under the vamps ribcage. The demon exploded into dust which floated down on Willow.
Before continuing, Buffy shot a look to her friend and made sure Willow was out of the way before she began to pummel on the two remaining vamps. She wanted to draw the fight out as long as possible as it had been ages since she had taken on two at once. The leader of the clan lunged for the blonde, but missed as she crouched down, sweeping his legs from under him as he passed. The second had thought that Buffy was defenseless while on the ground, but quickly learned the opposite, as Buffy’s leg swept out to catch the lunging vampire, she rested her weight on her hands, thrusting back with her right leg and catching the advancing vampire square in the chest causing him to go sailing fifteen feet backwards. The flying vamp crashed against a broken branch of a tree dusting on impact. The leader had regained his balance and was now circling the blonde slayer. Buffy couldn’t resist the laugh that bubbled forth.
“I’m gonna rip your neck open girl. I’ll drink your hearts blood while it still beats.”
Buffy rolled her eyes. “Really? You honestly think that’s the first time I’ve ever heard that? Is there a handbook you guys get when you rise? Seriously, I want to know.” She threw a punch that connected with the underside of the vamps chin sending him back a few feet.
“Do you know who I am?” Buffy asked, annoyed as the thing lunged for her once again. She side stepped and kicked out breaking the vampire’s left shin.
His cry of pain rang loud and he seethed, “A slayer obviously.” He was in serious pain, but still made an attempt to kill Buffy. The blonde gave him points for effort.
“Riigghhttt, I’m Buffy, the Vampire Slayer.” She smiled triumphantly as the name registered with the vamp. Using the shock as a distraction, she spun forward and neatly placed Mr. Pointy into the vamps chest. The usual shocked look appeared and right before he dusted, Buffy causally waved goodbye. “And you are dust. Have a nice trip to hell.”
She was all smiles as she turned to the group. Dusting her hands off, she walked over to the remaining bound, vamp. She held the vamp up by the shirt collar and turned towards the group. “Questions, comments?”
River was the first to step up and look at the vampire. She circled the demon slowly looking at the pronounced ridges and the elongated teeth. Simon looked on concerned as his sister studied the creature. Not wanting her to get hurt he stepped forward and pulled her back with a well placed hand on her forearm.
“River, I don’t think getting that close is such a good idea.”
River looked back and smiled at her brother, placing her hand over his. “It’s okay.”
Willow stood back watching the reactions of the rest of the group. Everyone wore similar expressions of shock and disbelief. Mal stood hands on hips staring at the vamp. Zoë was looking anywhere but at it. Kaylee and Inara were holding on to each other while Jayne stood statue still his hand on the hilt of his knife. Deciding it was time for a lesson in vamp dusting; Willow stepped from behind Buffy and motioned her to the side. Buffy smiled and moved over to allow Willow to address the group.
“So right, this is a vampire. I’ve already been over the finer points of making it a big pile of dust, but I just want to make sure that all of you understand. I don’t want you to get a false sense of security and drop your guard out here. They are quick and very deadly.”
Willow took a long look at the three who now had their hands resting on the butts of their guns and shook her head. “You guys, guns don’t work on these creatures. They are demons and mostly evil. Not saying that bullets can’t hurt demons, but these ones, vampires that is, bullets aren’t helpful with the killing or maiming even” Willow looked over to a grinning Xander and ducked her head. Thinking of another way to show them what she’d babbled out, she motioned for Jayne to step forward. “Jayne, I’m not big on the guns, but can I have you maybe shoot him for us.”
Jayne stepped forward and raised his handgun getting ready to shoot when the audible static of the COM Link came to life, “Slayer 1 this is Command. Come in. Over.”
Buffy jumped at the chatter in her ear. She had forgotten about the device right after she put it in. “This is Buffy. What’s going on, Vi?”
“Buffy, I just received word from Red team they’ve got a class 2 demon. Three slayers are down. Faith and Carrie are holding their own, but they need bigger weapons than the stakes they brought. Advise. Over.”
“Where are they at?” Buffy twirled the stake in her hand before slamming it into the bound vampire’s chest. Without breaking her momentum, she spun around and began making her way back to the van expecting everyone to follow her.
“Lakewood Park Cemetery.”
“We’re on our way. Tell them to hold on for five minutes.” Buffy began picking up her speed and called out over her shoulder, “Alright everyone let’s hurry up.”
Xander and Willow had already begun picking up speed with the rest of the group following close behind. They reached the van barely breaking their momentum to hop in and allow Willow to turn the engine over peeling out of the cemetery.
The redhead reached down and flipped on the sirens, “Xander, get through to CPD and re-route everyone far, far away from where I’m headed please.”
The man nodded and began barking orders to Vi at the command center. Feeling relatively safe about not being followed by a cop car Willow pushed down on the accelerator and shot forward. It took 7 minutes to get to Faith and Carrie. Buffy left Mal and his group at the van while Willow and Xander were close at her heels.
They crested a small hill in the deserted cemetery and saw Faith and Carrie being thrown by a rather viscous, brown and green, mangy looking demon. As they approached, Buffy took in the size and defenses of the creature. Standing nearly 10 feet in height, the thing was massive. Stakes protruded from its body and even though its blood seeped from the wounds, the demon was not slowed. Muscles rippled underneath the leathery skin and Buffy watched on as Faith tried to land one of her best flying kicks at the creatures head, but was batted away like an annoying fly.
The blonde huffed out and tightened her grip on the sword in her hand, silently thanking River for having brought one with her. Buffy turned quickly to Willow and Xander. “Check the other girls, I’m gonna go help Faith.”
The slayer took off at a dead run, sword raised, screaming at Carrie to watch out as a now visible 6 foot long tail came sailing around to knock the girl off her feet. The girl heard Buffy just in time and rolled out of the way. She bounced up to her feet and ran towards Buffy. The 17 year old was breathing hard and bleeding from a nasty gash along the left side of her face.
Buffy tried to give the girl a nice, encouraging smile. She was one of Buffy’s favorite slay partners. Quick, funny and fiercely protective of the people she patrolled with. The blonde lifted a lock of pink hair away from the oozing blood on the teen’s cheek and checked for any other injuries that would make her tell Carrie to go find Willow and get healed up.
“So, Buffy, are you going to concern mother me all night or are we gonna kill this thing,” Carrie’s thick Scottish accent did nothing to cover the sarcasm. The girl lent down and rested her hands on her knees trying to catch her breath as they waited on Faith to get done having her ass handed to her.
The two girls looked on as Faith noticed the two standing off to the side. The demon roared as Faith took a flying leap over its head and landed 5 feet behind it and came running towards the two other slayers.
Buffy stuck her hands up in the air trying to get the brunette to stop running towards them. Big and tailey had whipped around and started coming after Faith and coincidentally straight towards Buffy and Carrie.
Buffy called out to stop Faith from moving towards them, but it was too late. The demon was too close to not engage. Buffy readied herself for her attack and looked to Carrie and smiled. “Can you distract it while I circle around?”
“Distract?” Carrie looked at her confused.
“You know make with the diversion.” Buffy looked forward and winced as Faith was picked up and thrown nearly twenty feet to the right landing with a solid thud against the side of a crypt.
Carrie hissed, “That’s gonna smart later. Watch out for his tail. Go! ” The girl shoved Buffy away from her and hefted a mace. “Oy, yeah, you. Is that all you got? A tail?” Carrie dove forward while Buffy made her way round towards the back of the creature.
The Serenity crew piled out of the van with the slayer and her friends, but was told to stay behind. Buffy using the excuse of not knowing what was up ahead and she didn’t want to endanger anyone else unnecessarily. So Mal being the kind, respectful thief he was stayed put with his crew. He looked around the cemetery thinking that what he had seen of this place was similar to some of the central planets. Although, he assumed the government wasn’t as meddlesome now as they were in the future. All in all it was a nice cool evening to be out and about. No one from the ship had stayed this long on a planet going on a year.
Mal noticed Kaylee and Inara moving towards the back of the van and called out, “Hun ta ma yao ming. Joo-ee.”
Everyone else had gathered off to the side talking amongst themselves.
The two women had moved out of sight and rounded the back end of the van. Kaylee had her hands wrapped around her waist and was talking to Inara about some of the things the companion and Willow had talked about during the course of the day. Neither was paying attention to their surroundings. They were situated apart from the group when Inara suddenly went flying into the rear door of the van. Kaylee didn’t even have the chance to warn anyone before she herself was knocked unconscious.
Three vampires and two demons rounded the corner of the van. Mal and Zoë looked up drawing their guns. Firing on instinct they hit the vampires first. The vamps staggered back, but kept on advancing. The first vamp to reach Zoë was struck with the butt of her rifle, but quickly recovered. It let go a series of punches that left the Amazonian like woman bleeding from her temple and then finally a well placed roundhouse connected with the left side of her head. She was unconscious before she hit the cold asphalt of the parking lot.
Mal screamed and watched as Zoë crumpled to the ground. He was unable to go to her because of the attack he was under. The two vampires that remained made short work of the captain. One was able to twist the gun away from Mal while the other landed a solid punch to the man’s face. The fight was over before it even began.
The two demons had taken hold of Jayne and Simon disregarding River in the process. Jayne had put up a decent fight, but was quickly subdued and joined the majority of the crew in forced slumber. Simon was held tight by one of the demons and watched as the other demon and the three vamps advanced on River. The small girl hefted a stake behind her back and let the vampires make the first move. Only one attacked the girl and she could handle that. She ducked low and shot her hand up into the creature’s stomach sending it stumbling back a few feet. Righting herself, she leapt towards the vamp with a well placed round house sending it sprawling to the concrete unconscious.
The remaining vampires looked at the teen and hissed out in agreement, “Slayer.”
River cocked her head to the side and smiled. The demons could think whatever they wished; she just wanted to protect her family. She let them see the stake she was twirling in her hands right before she threw it into the chest of the vamp standing to the left. The remaining vamp watched as its companion vanished and let out a yell of annoyance. The vamp wasted no time in lunging at the girl, but was stopped short by River meeting it half way. The vamp found itself sailing through the air landing solidly against the side of the van.
River watched as the vampire rose from the uncomfortable position it had landed in and couldn’t help the small smile that formed. Thoughts whizzed through her brain and she held on to the one that couldn’t help but think that this was kinda fun. She saw the larger demon trying to sneak up on her from behind. Right before he was going to wrap his arms around her she threw herself forward springing down on her hands and letting her left foot connect solidly with the underside of its chin. Unfortunately that wasn’t nearly powerful enough to affect the demon. It grabbed her right leg as her legs began the upward swing in the flip and it shoved out causing River to go sprawling on the ground. The demon walked over to the small girl kicking her with its cloven foot to make sure she was unconscious.
The first vampire that had attacked River slowly came to and met its friends around the unconscious body of River Tam.
“Joe, which one’s are we taking?” the vampire closest to the van asked.
“Take her, that one there.” He pointed to Mal directing the others. “And take one of the other girls from around the back. I don’t care which, just grab one and let’s go. There are other slayers around.”
“And that one?” the other vampire asked, pointing to Simon, who was feebly struggling against the demon that held him.
Joe looked around for something to use to tie up the last conscious member of the group. Not seeing anything he looked down at River and smiled. Grabbing at the bottom of her dress, he tore off a long strip and tossed it to the other vampire. “Use this to tie him up and leave him in the van.”
“What no snack?”
“Bill, we didn’t come here to eat. We’ll eat later once we deliver the cattle.” Joe smiled and hefted River in his arms. “Let’s go.”
The battle with the demon was quickly finished as Carrie made good on the distraction her leader had asked for. While the girl engaged the demon with mace in hand, Buffy was able gain a small advantage by sneaking up from behind and decapitating it. She rode the headless body to the ground and jumped off tucking herself into a roll as she hit the ground. Popping up she ran to Carrie first.
“You ok?” Buffy smiled at the girl. Receiving an affirmative nod, she then took a look over to Willow and Xander. They had gotten the three other girls up and on their feet, but Faith had yet to come to. “Come on; let’s see if we can wake up your team leader.”
Buffy’s inquiries regarding the health of the injured slayers were stopped short as Willow pointed to Zoë who was staggering up the hill waving her arm. Buffy spun quickly and ran to meet the other woman. As Zoë got nearer, Buffy took in the thrashed look, the cut eye, and bruised cheek. “What happened?”
Zoë winced as the pain in her side flared from the jog over to find the slayer and did her best to answer, “We, we were talking outside the van and three vampires and two ugly lookin’ ching-wah tsao duh liou mahngs attacked. They were too strong. Tied up Simon while the rest of us were taking a forced nap and made off with the captain, River, and Kaylee.”
“Damnit. Okay.” Buffy turned to her group. “Xander carry Faith. We’ve gotta motor. Our friends here were attacked.” Everyone looked rather confused at the command, clarifying she said, “Let’s go guys. Death, kidnapping, any of it ring a bell?”
Willow was the first to react, Xander then quickly scooped Faith up and the rest followed as her friends made their way quickly to the blonde’s side. No one talked as they half walked half jogged back to the van.
Worried about any injuries sustained, Willow strode ahead of the group and was the first there to assess the injuries. No one was too bad off. Simon had already checked everyone over and let the witch know that out of everyone Zoë had sustained the worst injuries. Willow felt a small pain in her chest as she took in the battered people. They hadn’t even been here two days and already three members of their family were in grave danger.
Sighing Willow walked over to Inara. “You okay?”
“Besides my head, I’m fine. Does this happen a lot with you guys?”
“Only every other Tuesday, we’ll get them back. Promise.” Willow tried a reassuring smile and put her arm over the woman’s shoulder giving her a good squeeze.
“Willow, Zoë, Jayne and Carrie come with me,” Buffy barked the order out and turned away.
The redhead nodded towards Buffy then turned a reassuring gaze to Inara. “Be back soon.”
The four went to meet the slayer and noticed what she had found. There were hoof tracks that led away from the van. Willow bent down and felt the markings. They reminded her of horse tracks, but larger, and it looked like they were also clawed. She stood and looked out over the hillside of the cemetery.
The nice thing about Lakewood was that it bordered a huge golf course and the golf course bordered woods that were at least a mile and a half deep. It was a good bet that’s where they went and it was probably where the vamps and demons had come from. She turned to look at Buffy and knew what she was thinking.
“Xander,” Willow called over to her friend, “inform command of the sitch please. Let them know that we are gonna go track the kidnappers down.” She turned to Buffy and nodded. The slayer returned the smile and hefted the still slimy sword.
“Xand,” Buffy asked, “see if you can get a clean up crew out here? That thing, whatever it was, stinks.” She turned back and shook her head. “These leather’s are completely ruined.”
“We ain’t gonna go after those things are we?” Jayne asked, the worry evident in his voice.
Zoë was the first to respond, “Jayne, they have our crew. This is not open for discussion.”
“Look here. All I’m sayin’ is those things whatever they were whooped on all of us right and good and I kinda happen to like all my parts. We go after ’em; I might lose some of my parts.”
Zoë stared at the man for a moment and out of all the surprises of the night, Jayne backing down and nodding his compliance was the biggest of her evening. She motioned to Buffy and Willow. “You can lead the way.”
Buffy nodded and began the trek down the hill towards the golf course. The walk was short and they were at the edge of woods when Willow stopped everyone in their tracks. She opened up a telepathic link to Buffy to discuss what was up ahead.
“Buff, can you feel the demon’s ahead?”
“Will? Christ I hate it when you jump in like that. Yes, yes I can sense them, but I don’t know how many. Do you?”
“5 vamps, 2 Fyarls, and another one that I can’t make heads or tails of. It feels like this is their hide out. What do you want to do?”
“I’d rather come back here with more than a short sword, a mace and a few stakes. You think they’re gonna kill Mal, Kaylee, & River?”
Willow squinted in the direction of where she thought the demons were and shook her head, “I can’t tell. But this does have an air of trap written all over it.”
“You picked up on that too? Can you at least tell me why a routine patrol can never be simple? We go, we slay, and we go home to a shower and food?”
“So I’ll take that as we go in and kick a little demon ass?”
“Can’t take the chance of people dying.”
Willow only nodded and moved forward. The trek was through the lower half of the adjacent golf course and into a thick part of the woods that bordered the cemetery and the golf course. Buffy pulled everyone back when she saw firelight up ahead.
Whispering she gave everyone the heads up, “Okay so there are at least 8 demons, some are vamps, but not all. Carrie, you and I go in and clean house. Willow stay alert for magical backup. Do not move in unless absolutely necessary. Zoë and Jayne, you two find your people and get them out then wait with Willow until we are done. Everyone clear?” she waited as nods of understanding came from all involved.
Moving forward she gave a quick glance over her shoulder to ensure Carrie was following and watched for a moment as Willow and the other two moved into a better position. Buffy approached the small clearing and did a quick scan of the area. The vamps were surrounding three poles. She assumed Mal and the others were tied to them. The Fyarls were just standing around and the other demon Buffy recognized as the counterpart of the one they had just slain.
“Willow, you there?”
“I would be where else?” the witch teased.
Buffy took a moment to puzzle out what her friend said, “Oh, well then ah, we are so gonna need some help. Is there any way you can crispy up any of the demons?”
“Ah, no, unless you wanna have fire roasted time travelers. Do I look like Martha Stewart?”
Buffy stifled the giggle, “No, absolutely not Will; you look like the most gorgeous woman on the planet.” Buffy’s mouth dropped as soon as the words filtered through her brain and into the link she and Willow shared. Her face flamed red and she smacked herself on the forehead for her lack of censorship. She took a quick glance at Willow to her far left. Willow was giving her a funny look. The blonde only shrugged, she would think of an excuse later if asked.
Buffy nodded to Carrie and they took off into the clearing. The Fyarls were the first to attack. With no silver at the ready Buffy relied on the short sword that she had to at least decapitate or incapacitate the demons. She glanced over and watched as Carrie started in on the 5 vampires. Buffy felt the impact of one of the demon’s fist to the side of her head; she stumbled back, stunned and dropped the sword. The second one took the opening and launched itself at her midsection. Fists came flying at her head and the only thing she could do was curl up defensively before her world went black.
Willow watched as Buffy was overrun by the demons and Carrie had only managed to dust one of the five vamps circling her. Not being able to sit still any longer, she strode forward and raised her right hand in the air. “Espesar!”
The air was loud clap in the air and then the atmosphere turned to the consistency of treacle. Willow, unaffected by the spell, moved gracefully towards the demons that were struggling over Buffy and laid a hand on each of their backs. Flames ignited on both demons and she threw them in opposite directions away from the fallen slayer. She turned heel and looked at the four remaining vamps struggling against the tar like air and smirked. She took the stake from Carries’ hand and dusted the four of them while they just stood in mid attack and watched.
The last remaining demon watched as its henchmen were slaughtered with ease. It howled into the night air and tried to reach Willow. The witch only helped the demon by walking up to it and rested a glowing hand against its abdomen. The demon cried out as a fire burned it from the inside out. As the last of the demon’s ashes floated in the air the spell ended and Willow collapsed on the forest floor.
While Buffy and Carrie fought, Zoë and Jayne had been able to get halfway to their crew before Willow stepped in. As the spell ended, the two rushed in and got their family untied. The five of them looked on as Buffy rushed to Willow and tried to get the redhead to recover. Mal walked over and placed a hand on Buffy’s shoulder.
“Let me carry her back to the van?” he asked.
Buffy shook her head no and visibly winced as the blood dripped down her cheek and on to her clothes. The slayer shot a warning look over her shoulder and growled, “I’ll carry her.”
Mal balked at the idea and was about to comment on her size when he watched as she effortlessly scooped the unconscious redhead in her arms and began walking purposefully back to the van. It took a bit longer to get back, but when they arrived, Delta Team was cleaning up the remains of the demon Buffy had beheaded. Xander was barking orders at the clean up crew and remaining slayers. He looked up as he saw Buffy crest the top of the hill and took off running when he saw who she was carrying. His heart dropped to his stomach until he saw his friend’s chest rising and falling.
Buffy didn’t answer any of the questions being thrown at her; she just moved to the van and laid Willow on the backseat. “Xander, take Carrie and let her show you where we found everyone. See if you can find out the why behind the kidnapping. I’m taking Will back to HQ. She worked some serious mojo and she’s out. I need to get cleaned up. Can you do that?”
Xander gave a curt nod to Buffy then wrapped her in a hug. “I’ve got it covered. Is Will going to be ok?”
“Yeah she just used too much and is exhausted.”
Xander felt his pulse die down just a little bit and squeezed Buffy’s shoulder. “Take care of her and go home.”
Buffy searched for the keys on the unconscious witch and handed them to Faith. The blonde climbed in and then settled Willow’s head on her lap. Her head was ringing from the pounding she took from the two Fyarls, but that took second place to the worry about her witch. She stroked the soft red hair in silence hoping that the girl would be fine come morning like she promised Xander. The ride back to the school was quiet. Everyone was still in a bit of a daze as the van pulled in. Simon held on to River and Kaylee as they followed Buffy to her room where Buffy laid Willow on her bed. He untangled himself from his wife and sister and moved to the bed and stood next to Buffy.
“Do you want me to take a look at her?” He placed a hand on her shoulder and waited.
“No, she’s just wiped out. The magicks she worked were pretty heavy. She should be good after a solid 8 hours sleep.” Buffy tried to school her features and take the worry out of them when she looked over her shoulder. The movement caused her to wince and she cursed the stone like fists of the demons.
“Then at least let me get you cleaned up and if you need stitches…” Simon nodded to River who went to the bathroom in search of a towel and something to hold warm water. She came out a few moments later with the things she knew her brother would need. “Come on. Come sit and let me fix you up.”
Buffy grudgingly left Willow’s side to sit at the desk by her bed. Simon crouched in front of her and gently wiped at the crusted, dark blood along her face and jaw. It came off in chunks and turned the water a rusty brown color. He was surprised when the blood was finally washed off to find only four shallow cuts.
Buffy smiled at his confusion and mumbled, “Slayer healing. I heal quicker than most. It’ll be gone by morning.”
“Oh.” Simon got up and handed the bowl off to River. “We’re going to go back to our rooms. Will you be okay?”
“I’ll be fine,” Buffy assured the doctor, letting him see a smile she surely didn’t feel at the moment. “Thanks again.”
Simon nodded and ushered his two girls out of the room all three bidding a good night to the slayer. She let out a breath of relief as the door clicked shut. Hobbling over, she clicked the lock in place and made sure it was secure before turning to Willow. She moved to the redhead and covered her with the comforter. She then hazarded a glance down at her muck and dirt crusted clothes. Making a face as she peeled the items off, she threw them in a heap by her trash can. Taking one last look at Willow, she shuffled into the bathroom.
Once there, a look in the mirror revealed some serious bruising to her back and she made her way over to the shower. Adjusting the nozzle spay to its most forceful setting, she turned it on to the hottest temperature she could take. Stepping in, she turned her back to the hard spray. It felt great on the knots that had formed after the demons were trying to make her a permanent fixture in the ground. The speed and strength of the Fyarl’s attack had surprised her and she had taken some nasty hits which she suspected hadn’t stopped when she lost consciousness. The heat and pressure of the water felt good despite the protests from the bruises that marked her body.
It was there in the solitude of the bathroom that as per Buffy ritual she broke down and cried letting the water mix with tears. She was sore and more than likely had a few cracked or bruised ribs. The fear that had gripped her as she watched Willow collapse was the most draining. She couldn’t believe her friend had taken such a huge risk. Buffy berated herself for not following her instincts on waiting to get back up and bigger weapons. She stayed in the shower until the water ran cold. Turning the faucet off, she stepped out and wrapped herself in the robe hanging on the back of the bathroom door.
Buffy flipped the lights off as she walked in to the bedroom and noticed Willow curled up on the left side of the bed. The slayer slipped in underneath the sheets and watched her friend sleep. She was still thinking about how much of a risk the witch took performing the spells she did. Since leaving Sunnydale, Willow only practiced on esbats and sabats or when she was called in by the coven to find a new slayer. There was also the healing spells she did, but that was more energy focusing than actual spell workage; what Willow did tonight was the biggest piece of mojo the blonde had seen her work since Sunnydale. Buffy’s face was creased with worry for her friend. She didn’t know how Willow would be when she woke up. Yawning, Buffy absentmindedly formed into Willow’s back as the sun began to filter through the curtains and drifted off to sleep.
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