Joss Whedon owns Buffy and the rest of the crew. I own Eden and the story plot. This story is copyrighted. Please send comments/questions/ flames to me. Thanks. C'est tous!
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Part One
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Thursday night found Buffy Summers and her friends enjoying themselves at the Bronze. Xander Harris was having a discreet argument with Cordelia Chase in a dark corner. Willow Rosenberg and her new friend Oz were talking at one of the tables. The Slayer and her vampiric boyfriend were slowly losing themselves in each other’s eyes while their bodies moved to a slow sultry beat.
Everyone was so involved with who he or she was with that no one noticed the fifteen-year-old beauty who strode into the club. She glanced around with a dark assessing gaze. She immediately stopped when she saw Buffy and Angel on the dance floor. A single dim light shone down on the couple, cutting the darkness away and casting a halo-like glow over them. The girl smiled and nodded approvingly before seeking the shadows to watch the other patrons of the club. She kept her eye on them though, wanting desperately to go over and introduce herself. It was too early. She couldn’t reveal herself to them...yet.
Out on the dance floor, Buffy suddenly felt a strange presence, the sensation gripping her for a long moment. She stiffened in her love’s arms. He leaned close. “What’s wrong?” He whispered in concern. “Is there a vampire in the Bronze?” Angel grinned. “I mean, besides me of course.
Buffy shook her head. “No, something different.” The feeling slowly ebbed and she shrugged. “Well, that was weird.
Angel frowned. “ Are you alright? Do you want to sit down?
“No, but I think I should look around the Bronze. Just to be sure its not vamps.” She told him.
He nodded and began to lead her off the floor. “I’ll go with you.” He said and she smiled warmly in response
“Thanks, Angel.” They passed Xander and Cordelia arguing about how much they hate each other over a couple of cappuccinos. “We’re going to check around for vamps.” Buffy told the pair. “We’ll be back.”
“Do you need any help?” Xander asked. He couldn’t help but notice how close Angel was to the Slayer or that he had his hand around her waist
“Nah, that’s ok. We can handle it.” Buffy said with a smile. “Just enjoy your coffee.”
As they left, Angel caught Xander’s quiet offhand remark, “That’s gotta be a first. A vamp who stakes the Slayer.” Angel flashed the boy a menacing look but to his surprise saw that he was lip-locked with Cordelia. He shrugged and caught up with Buffy.
They started near the entrance, looking around for bloodsuckers or anything else that could be classified as freaky. Buffy passed a table shrouded in near darkness and the feeling from earlier returned. She frowned and investigated but found no one. After a moment she moved on. As soon as she did, Eden crept out of her hiding place, and moved swiftly to escape being caught.
That same night, as Angel walked his girlfriend home, he shivered violently. Not because he was cold but from the strange sensation that passed over him. Buffy looked at him questioningly. “You felt it, didn’t you?” She whispered. He nodded
“So did I.” She admitted. They scanned the neighborhood.
“I don’t smell any vampires.” Angel told her.
Buffy took a defensive stance. “I can’t sense any vamps but something’s out there.” She looked around. “Whomever’s out there better show themselves.” Buffy muttered impatiently. “Now!” No response. After a minute, the Slayer relaxed. “Maybe we’re just paranoid.” Angel hesitated but finally agreed
From her hiding place in the bushes, Eden held as still as she could and tried not to breathe. It was a long moment before she heard the echo of footsteps as the couple moved down the street. She waited a good five minutes before hurrying away in the opposite direction. No yet, she told herself, not yet. Too soon. It had been a close call at the Bronze, she should have known better than to follow them. However, she couldn’t resist watching them a little longer. They seemed so happy together.
Eden crossed into the bad section of town and jogged down an alleyway. She crept inside a silent abandoned building that was only four blocks from the Bronze. At one time the building must have been apartments. Now it was a gathering place for anyone or anything daring enough to venture inside.
Once inside the building, Eden walked up a set of spiraling stairs and into a long corridor. She opened the first door on the left and went inside.
The room was fairly large, a studio in its younger days. For now it was home. Eden closed the door behind her and flipped a switch. The room flooded with light. She was glad that she was draped black sheets over the windows which prevented anyone from knowing that she had taken up residence in the building. Eden glanced over to her makeshift bed of blankets and an old mattress that she’d scrapped from the Salvation Army. There was a grocery bag of food on the counter. The counter separated the main room from the kitchen. On the floor, near Eden’s bed, were the things she had brought with her to Sunnydale.
She went over to her duffel bag and rifled through it, before finding her bag of toiletries. If anything, the bathroom was in full working order, and that included the shower. The first night she’d come here was to make sure that the place was spotless. Now she planned to take advantage of that fact and soak in the tub
An hour later, Eden crawled across her mattress and settled between her blankets. She was asleep in seconds
* * *
Buffy awoke with a small strangled scream and tears on her face. She whimpered in fear.
“Are you alright?” Buffy heard the deep familiar voice right before she felt the warm embrace as Angel gathered her close. She was shaking
“I-I think so.”
He looked down at her. “What were you dreaming about?”
She closed her eyes. “Vampires...people being tortured and dying... they were screaming...” He held her tighter and stroked her hair. “It was like the night I died only worse. Blood, chaos, death. And the bad thing about my dream was I couldn’t do anything about it.” She didn’t say anymore.
Angel kissed her gently. “Go back to sleep. I’ll be here.” He hummed a soft lullaby.
“Mmm...my Guardian Angel,” Buffy murmured sleepily and was soon envisioning more pleasant dreams.
The first thing Buffy did when she got to school the next day was go to Giles and tell him about her dream. She left out the part of how she had awakened to Angel comforting her and that he spent most of the night in her bed holding her. It wasn’t necessary for her Watcher to know all the details.
“Giles, the dream meant something. I know it.” Buffy insisted. “Can’t you do something?”
The librarian was in the midst of stacking the diaries of previous Watchers. He stopped when Buffy started to tap her fingernails on the table. The clicking noises annoyed him severely. “What exactly do you want me to do? I don’t have a dream dictionary on hand. My job is to interpret prophecies and the like and to train you.”
Buffy stopped tapping. “Well, couldn’t you at least try to find something on really bad nightmares? Please?” She turned the puppy-dog look on him.
Giles rolled his eyes. “Fine, I’ll do some research. But if you ask me its no more than a common nightmare. Everyone gets them once in a while, you’re no exception. Perhaps the reason the dream was so frightening is because of your duties as a Slayer. I mean, the experiences you’ve been through are not going to cause dreams of that Happy Place--”
“The Happy Place?” Buffy gave him a weird look. “Huh?”
“You know, that Kingdom of Magic?” Giles tried to explain the reference.
“You mean the Magic Kingdom, as in Disneyland?” She asked slowly and the librarian nodded. Buffy grinned. “Giles, you really have to get out more often.” He scowled at her and she picked up her books, getting ready to go to her history class. As she left, she called out over her shoulder. “And take Miss Calendar with you!”
Giles went back to his stacks of books with a sigh. He pictured Miss Calendar and their last encounter in the library then reflected on Buffy’s parting words. “Hmm...not a bad idea.” He grinned to himself.
Two nights later, Xander and Willow were on their way to Buffy’s place when a tall male vampire attacked them. He made a grab for the auburn- haired teen but Xander pulled him back and landed a few punches below the ribs. The vampire was doubled over for a second. He quickly recovered and went after Xander with a feral growl.
“Willow, go get Buffy!” He yelled, right before the vampire clamped a hand around his neck, the other snaking about the boy to keep his arms from thrashing about. Willow screamed and tried to help her friend as the vampire lowered his fangs to Xander’s neck but was backhanded across the face.
She stumbled back and fell onto the street.
A familiar shadow appeared and the teen looked up gratefully. “Buffy! Help us! Xander’s in trouble!”
The girl ran past Willow without a word. She yanked the vampire off of Xander before he could take a bite. Xander stumbled around for a moment and Willow helped him to stand. Together they watched as the Slayer went to work. The vampire hissed menacingly and she gave him a nasty smile in response.
“Bloodsucker bad. Slayer good.” She intoned like a mother to a naughty child then proceeded to beat the hell out of him.
Xander and Willow stood out of the way as their friend kicked, punched, and generally toyed with the demon. “Wow,” Xander exclaimed as he observed the fight. “Times like these make me glad I’m not a vamp.”
She lingered over the demon’s torture with undisguised glee. The emotion driving her was beginning to scare her friends. “ Don’t you ever hurt them--” Kick. “Bastard.” She landed a punch to his Adam’s apple then another to his groin.
“Don’t you think he’s had enough, Buffy?” A new voice called out. Willow and Xander turned as Angel stepped out of the shadows.
He tossed a stake to the Slayer. “Here, catch!” He told her. In one swift movement, the stake was in her hand and in the vamp’s heart simultaneously. She wiped the ashes off her hands and began to walk away.
Angel started to go after her. “Buffy, where are you going?”
She didn’t turn around. “I’m going home.” Her voice was soft and weary, different somehow.
“Buffy?” Willow called out. “Your house is the other way.”
The girl turned then and flashed an enigmatic smile. “I know.” She waved and started to walk backwards. “Guess what?”
“What?” Xander demanded.
She whirled about and right before she disappeared into the darkness she stated loudly to the trio, “I’m not Buffy.”
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