Title: Again, the Crimson Road (4/??) Author: Tim Williams Rating: TV-14 or so. Violence, adult situations, etc. Pairing: Buffy/Xander, a few hints at others Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, etc. Even the ideas are probably things I've read and half forgotten. Joss owns Buffy, Xander, and crew. Any other characters are owned by someone else entirely. Distribution: Take my fanfic! Please! Also try, if you're looking for past parts, etc. http://www.angelfire.com/tn/twillia/buffy/bufindex.html (updated through WTCR 4). Feedback: I'm definitely looking for feedback, in the worst way. Anything you can tell me, even if it's just "I read it." is wonderful. Spoilers: Some general stuff. Season 1, heavily, mentions of Season 4 (nothing important, I wouldn't think, besides Adam). Summary: Sequel to Carve the Crimson Road and Walk the Crimson Road. It got into Xander's hand and things went bad. Xander ha(s/d) a magical disk implanted in his left wrist, which turns out to be an elemental weapon capable of forming tendrils and weapons from metal. Think Terminator 2 but more so. Now they (Buffy and Xander) have just stepped into a space/time rift that was tuned under a great deal of stress by someone who's only done it a couple of times before (if at all). Good luck, folks! Author's Notice: On with the show... I'm running with the plot I have ;) I'm watching the first episode as I type, so it'll be sort of along with stuff. I think, anyway. Unfortunately, most of the original witty dialogue is going to be absent since Buffy matured past it at some point. Oh well. Thanks to everyone who has sent feedback, and please send more ;) *** Shove me in to shallow waters Before I get too deep. Shove me into shallow waters Before I get too deeeeeee*CLICK* I turned off the radio. Why are they still playing that song? I know it's not the year two thousand anymore, but geeze, we're not that far back. I had nothing to wear. I don't mean it literally. There were plenty of clothes in my closet, but they were almost all from my pre-slayer days. Fashion sense is good, but if I can't run and fight in it, it's not really worth wearing. Scratch that, it's not safe to wear. Bleh, jeans and a semi-tight top were the best I could manage. Good vamp kicking apparel, but a little on the plain side for my tastes. Hmm... now, how many stakes should I take. And crosses, yes, no? I finally settled on three stakes and a mid sized cross. Just think, most other girls don't have to make that kind of decision. Downstairs, Xander was waiting. With my mom. THAT had been an awkward afternoon. I don't think she believed us. Not a word of it. But I told her everything... alright, so I tended to gloss over the Angelly pieces. And most of the Riley parts, too. Not to mention the Parker parts. Then there were the parts I just lied about. Alright, but she still got the general idea, I think. Well, what she probably decided is that her daughter is capable of telling very elaborate lies. It had been enough to win us a stay of execution, though. I just wasn't sure how long it would last. *** "What do you mean, you're going with us?" "I mean, I'm going with you." "You said that, but you can't mean you actually want to..." "I'm not letting you two out of my sight until you tell me what's really going on." "But mom... there is going to be slaying, and people could get hurt. You could get hurt." "If my daughter really is a vampire slayer, then I have nothing to worry about, do I?" "You're not going to give up, are you?" I could tell from the look on her face that she wasn't. "Alright, but take this, at least." I handed her the cross. Maybe it would help. "And you had better stay right beside Xander the whole time." He shot me a pleading look, not all that keen on being near my mother in her current state, but I mouthed "please?" to him and he nodded reluctantly. *** No one really talked as we made our way through the darkened streets of Sunnydale to the Bronze. It wasn't long before I heard a fourth set of footsteps shadowing our own. Normally, I wouldn't have noticed it, but I was totally on edge because of the whole mom thing. "You two go on ahead, I've got something to do." "What do you want me to do?" Xander asked. "Find Willow, make sure she's okay. I'll be there as soon as I can." He nodded and set off with my mother reluctantly in tow. "Alright, Angel," I sighed and called out. "Come on out, before I get annoyed with this whole stalker thing." Behind me. I'll be he thought he was being the epitome of stealth, but I'm hard to sneak up on. Which is one of the reasons I'm still alive. "And if you even think of trying to surprise me like that, I'll make you wish you hadn't." I turned around to face him. He was staring at me, open mouthed. "How did you...?" "Know who you are," I ticked them off on my fingers, "Know that you were following me. Know that you had just slipped up behind me." "Yeah, that about covers it." "I'm the slayer. I just kind of know these things." "Ah... okay." He seemed to recover a bit from his surprise. "The Harvest is coming." "I know." "Oh." "Have anything new to tell me?" "Ah... I think that about covers it." "If you have the urge to follow me on a dark night again... don't. It won't be healthy for you." Okay, I'll admit that I still have some anger issues where Angel is concerned. But damn, he is infuriating sometimes. *** The Bronze was jumping. Not that it was uncommon for it to be packed back in the days when Sunnydale's population was, well, populous. I paid the bouncer and did my best to find the others. Willow wasn't at the bar, and I couldn't spot them in the teeming throng of humanity. Eventually, I gave up and made my way to the second story, hoping to get a better view of the place from above. I had forgotten about Giles being here. No different this time, either. "Aren't you a little old for the club scene?" I asked as I leaned against the rail beside him. "Oh, right, this is what I do for fun. I'd much rather be at home with a good book..." "Yeah, yeah, so what's up?" "I was looking for you, actually." "No thank you, I have all the creepy stalkers I want." "Excuse me?" "Vampire named Angel, has an annoying habit of brooding in shadows. Followed me half of the way here." "Ah... and you slew him?" "No, he's mostly harmless. Just don't let him be happy." "Okay..." I was leaning on the rail watching the dance floor below us. "Uh-oh." "Uh-oh?" "Vampire, right there." I pointed. "And she's talking to... Jesse?" "How can you tell?" "Met her before." I looked at him. "Real bitch, too." "Ah..." I turned back to the vampire and her prey. "Where did they go? Oh, crap." I grabbed Giles by the wrist. "Come on, we've got to find them." "But where would they be?" "The cemetery. It's always the cemetery."