The Connection 1&2/?

["daenerys_winter" <mwalthew@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Title: The Connection
Spoilers: Bound to be some
Disclaimer: If you recognise a character, they're not mine.
Rating: R (possibly nc-17 later)
Author: Daenerys
Warning: Crossovers ahead.
Feedback: Please, please, please.
Archive: You want my story, take it please. Just tell me where you 
put it.


The Connection: Chapter 1.

Buffy was having both a good and a bad night, depending on how you 
viewed it. It had been boring for the most part, with only a single 
staking as she patrolled the cemetaries of Sunnydale, which was good, 
but boring. On the other hand, this either meant that the vamps were 
learning her patrol routes, or another big bad was coming. Neither of 
these sounded pleasant. As she turned to go to the Bronze, a tingling 
sensation spread over her, and she started to curse under her breath.

Buffy drew a sword from under the long coat that she wore regularly 
wore now, despite her friends assumption that it was to remind her of 
the brooding vampire she once loved. She was still suprised at 
herself, after she had returned from her 'vacation', or 'escape' as 
everyone else called it, she had slowly grown away from Angel. When 
he returned from Hell, she had tried to regain the love they had 
shared, but she had realised now that he wasn't her soulmate, not if 
she could send him, while with a soul, to hell, even to save the 
world. Despite what the others thought, by the time of her 
graduation, his leaving had not ripped a new hole into her heart, 
instead she finally realised that while he would always be her 
first , his position of love of her life had been emptied and was now 
slowly being filled by another, though this was still hidden to her.

She slowly closed her eyes and concentrated on the steadily 
increasing pull of the quickening that she had felt. She felt the 
Holy ground of a nearby church, but also knew that it was too far for 
her to retreat to. She could now feel the approach of the other 
immortal from behind her, and heard the rapid patter of their 
footsteps. Pretending ignorance of this Buffy prepared. As soon as 
her attacker stepped into rabge, she whirled, ducking low, and swept 
the feet from under her. At the same time she swept the sword around 
with her, letting it gain momentum, and as her opponent dropped 
sliced deep into the stomach of . . .

"Willow!!" Buffy shouted, dropping the blade she had just used to 
deal a mortal blow to her best friend. "Willow . . ." Her voice a 
whisper now Buffy supported the witch as she gasped for air.

"Buffy . . ?" Willow turned pain filled eyes up to look into the 
teary orbs of the slayer. "What. . .?" Her eyes glazed over as death 
took over her and she slumped into Buffy's arms.

Buffy slowly lowered Willow to the ground and grabbed her sword, 
quickly wiping it clean of blood and sheathing it once more into the 
scabbard sewn into her coat. She lifted Willow's body into her arms 
and ran for home.


Chapter 2

Giles moved toward the door slowly, immersed in a book recovered from 
the school library before it had been destroyed. The difference 
between this and most of the others, was that it was not on demons or 
prophecy, but was instead David Copperfield, which he had hoped to 
finish before Buffy returned from patrol, but now doubted if a 
visitor had arrived. 

"May I help you . . ." Giles opened the door to see Buffy before 
him. "Oh Buffy, are you all right? Problems on patrol?" As he put on 
his glasses once more the ex-librarian only now saw the form that 
Buffy was carrying. "Oh my, Willow. Quickly put her on the sofa, I'll 
bring the first aid kit."

"That won't be necessary Giles." Buffy said, as she gently laid the 
form of her best friend down.

"Is it too late. Are you sure?"

"I'm sure, sort of."

Giles frowned. "Sort of.. Buffy this is your best friend. If there is 
a possibility ofhelping we will do it. Now I'll be right back with 
the first aid kit."

"That won't help Giles. She's already dead."

"Oh my." Giles fell onto a seat in grief for one of his children as 
he had grown to see them. After a while he looked up at Buffy. "Will 
she rise?"

Buffy snorted. "Sort of. It just won't be as a vamp."

"Not a vampire. What do you mean? How else is she going to rise. 
Either she is or is not. I . . . I can understand if you want to 
leave, I can . . . take care of this without you having her death on 
your hands, but if she rises we can't have her coming after us. 
She'll be a monster Buffy, and Willow would never want that, remember 
we all said that if we were turned we wanted to be staked, before 
anything happened."

"Chill Giles, she hasn't been turned, but yes she's going to rise. 
Come on, I know you have contacts with Joe Dawson, and I've seen your 
tattoo, even if it isn't on your wrist. She's going to be an immortal 
Giles."

"An . . . Buffy, how do you know about this? How can you be sure?"

"Because Giles, I am too. My First Death was at the Master's hands. 
Xander may have sped up the process somewhat, but do you really think 
I would recover from being drained, drowned and recover so quickly. 
And then whip the guy who just killed me with little to no trouble?"

"But, but . . . where did you find out, who told you, you've been in 
Sunnydale all the time, and I haven't recognised any immortal in 
town, let alone the close proximity they would have to be to you for 
your training."

Buffy smiled sadly at him. "It was after Acathla Giles. I didn't stay 
in LA. I moved into Seacouver, and was taught by another there. With 
my slayer skills and strength I learnt very fast, and after I took my 
first head, my teacher sent me away, and I returned here. I would 
have come sooner, but he kept me until then, some sort of tradition I 
think."

"Yes, yes. Thats very normal actually. It is incredibly rare for a 
new immortal to leave their first teacher until they take a head, and 
then they are sent out by themselves for a period. Are . . . are you 
sure about Willow?" 

"Very. She must have had her first death sometime today. I felt 
nothing this morning when she left for classes, and she was 
definitely one tonight."

"Was definitely one tonight? You mean this isn't her first death? 
Then how . . . " Giles looked sharply at Willow again, and then at 
Buffy. "You did this?" His tone had gone as cold as ice as he stared 
at her.

Buffy winced. "Um . . . yeah. I thought she was after my head, and 
reacted before I recognised her. She was running at me, and if she 
was friendly she would have called from a safe distance. I didn't 
think it would be a friend of mine, who had only just become 
immortal. I'm not a hadhunter Giles, and you should know better."

Before he could say anything Buffy turned sharply toward Willow's 
body on the couch. He turned as well, just in time to see Willow 
inhale a deep breath of air, and jerk upward. 

"Buffy!?" Willow looked around quickly, and relaxed when she saw her 
best friend nearby, then tensed as she recalled what had 
happened. "What . . . ?Why . . .?" She paused then in a calm, 
resigned tone whispered. "Someone hand me a stake."

End Chapter 2