Buffy: Heart of Darkness Prologue

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T HEV AMPIRE SLAYER

H EART OF D ARKNESS

his entire document copyright [email protected]



Continuity Disclaimer

The majority of “Heart of Darkness” was plotted out between the

third and fourth seasons of Buffy , and written during the first part of thefourth season, with some finishing touches put on during the middle partof season four. A few alterations were included to mention characters notseen prior to season four (Riley, Olivia, etc.) and some stretches of dialogue had to be changed to at least try to pay lip service to more recentBuffy continuity. But since the show went through so many changes oncethe gang left Sunnydale High, I couldn’t possibly take them all intoaccount. Add onto that the fact that it is a sequel to a previous book of

mine and was intended to match that continuity, and you have some fairlylarge departures from what they’ve done on the show.

This work is obviously at variance with established continuity after the start of season f our, and after the start of Angel’s first season. Eventsprior to that, I have taken pains to try and get all the details as correct as Icould. Apologies if I have made any mistakes, and again, though difficult,it is best to ignore the events of seasons four and beyond except wherethey are alluded to in the text.

This work is also a sequel to my earlier Buffy fanfic novel, Trick of the Dark, also available on Scribd.com. You can read this without havingread that, but you’ll lose some of the flavor as honestly this is meant to bethe middle part of a trilogy rather than a stand-alone volume. I wouldurge anyone perusing this book to read that one first.

If you have any questions or comments, I can be reached throughvia e-mail at [email protected] . Please feel free to contact me; Ilove to hear from readers!

Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy!


mailto:[email protected]





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Prologue

June 5, 2003

Sunnydale

“Hey,” Xander replied, “I bought a new suit for that whole shindig. Don’t tell me myheart’s not in it.”

Buffy glanced over at his faded t-shirt and loose, baggy shorts. “Whatever. At least you

don’t have to wear some stupid dress right outta ‘look -at-my-fat-ass-dot-com,” she complained. Xander took a step back as Buffy continued walking, his brown eyes running up the back

of her lithe, tanned legs; he stared at her derriere underneath her denim shorts, one pocket having

been torn off, leaving a darker blue pentagon against the paler denim. “Lookin’ pretty good to

me,” he commented. Buffy turned, her face caught between a playful expression and a warning glance. “You

just keep your eyes out there,” she told him, gestur ing to the darkened woods at the edge of thecemetery. “Make sure you’re watching the right place when those stupid vamps come out of their

hiding spot.” She shook her head, staring at the obvious gap in the foliage. “Like I don’t knowyou’re in there,” she mumbled, as if they could hear her.

“They probably think they’re sneaky,” Xander agreed, “zippin’ back and forth between

their little secret clubhouse and all.” He glanced at her. “Maybe they don’t know you’re theSlayer,” he suggested.

Buffy gave him her ‘duh’ look. “Hello? Welcome to Sunnydale, home of she who kicks

major vampire ass? How could they not know I live here? I’ve been here seven years -- that’s a

third of my life, Xander -- and I hardly ever take vacations.” At his raised eyebrow, she added,

“Any more. But how can they not know? Don’t they catch up on the undead grapevine? The

vamp gossip’s still gotta be talkin’ about those Tricky guys.” “The Troika?” Xander attempted to clarify. Buffy nodded. “Yup. Those guys, you know, with the Russian, and the vodka, and the

‘Ve arr yourrr doom’ and all that.” She wrinkled her nose. “Come on, together they were like

what, a thousand years old?” Buffy formed a little ‘o’ with her mouth and blew outward lightly.“Five minutes. Poof. Dust.”

Xander nodded. “And an assist goes to the sidekick on that one, thanks.”

She pointed at him. “See? I told you practicing with a crossbow would come in handy.”

Xander began to reply when a vampire leapt out of the bushes, aiming straight at him,

fangs flashing in the dim glow from the distant streetlights; Xander sidestepped the attack and

slipped behind the vampire, staking him in the back, turning him to ash. The young man swirled

around, ducking low, leading with the stake, moving into a defensive crouch. No other attackerscame forth.

“Maybe that was it?” Xander wondered.

Buffy shook her head. “Nah. These guys are like cockroaches. You might only see one,

but you can bet there are others.”

Xander shrugged. “Oh. Well, forget the late night latte from Starbucks,” he told her.

“Not if they would just come out,” Buffy grumbled between clenched teeth.

A throat cleared behind her.




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The Slayer and her companion turned to see half a dozen vampires standing behind them,

arms crossed. “Tcheky was right,” the tallest one, a bald man who went shirtless, spoke. “You

did fall for a diversion.”

Buffy flicked her wrist, throwing her stake effortlessly; the wooden pike impaled the

vampire in his chest, running right through his heart. He burst into a cloud of dust, and the stake

fell to the ground.“Nope,” Buffy remarked, “I had to make you think I did so you’d show yourself and Icould kick your ass.” She threw herself forward, spinning into a somersault; in one fluid motion

she picked up her stake, rolled into a crouch, and threw it again, slaying another vampire. She

stood up, facing the other four.

“I’m the Slayer,” she announced. “When I tell you to leave town, I’m not saying it

because it sounds good. I’m telling you because this is my town, and I don’t want you guys here

any more. So beat it.”

As if on cue, two more vampires exploded into clouds of ash; Xander stood between the

spots they had occupied, a stake in each hand. Buffy looked at the last two and smirked. “Now

who’s falling for the diversion, dead boy?”

“Hey,” Xander snapped. “That’s my insult.” Buffy flashed him a grin. “I know.”

The two remaining vampires looked at one another. “So,” one of them asked, “can we go

now?”

Buffy leaned over and picked up her stake once more. “Only takes one to send amessage,” she spoke, flipping the stake through the air. It landed in the smaller vampire’s chest,

sticking out like a turkey thermometer.

Xander frowned. “I think you missed,” he noted. Buffy folded her arms. The vampire looked down at the stake, sticking out seemingly

where his heart should be. “Nah. He’s just a heartless bastard. But I can fix that.” Buffy made a

move toward him; the vampire darted to his right, but his sudden motion jerked the stake in his

chest, and it pierced his heart. He disintegrated in a flash.

The last vampire licked his lips, fear emanating from him palpably. “What message do

you want me to take, Slayer?” he asked, his voice shaky.

“Tell Valeria if she wants something from me to come and get it herself,” Buffy growled.“Stop sending moron lackeys like you. Got it?”

The vampire nodded furiously.

Buffy shot him a distasteful look. “All right, get the hell out of here.”

The vampire darted off, running around several tombstones and sprinting out on to the

street.

“Shouldn’t we follow him?” Xander suggested.

Buffy curled up one corner of her lip. “Maybe,” she admitted. “But you really wanna ruinsuch a nice night by splashing around in the sewers?”

Xander folded his arms. “I dunno, Buff. Smelly socks now, no vampires later. There’s an

appeal there.”

Buffy grinned. “Like your socks would smell any worse after going through the sewer.”

“Hey,” he warned her.

She smiled up at him. “Valeria’s not hiding in town, remember? He’ll be running for over

an hour to get to her, and who knows how many followers she has? We’ll get out there, wherever




3

it is, and be winded, and then a dozen vamps’ll jump us, and that would suck.” She shook her

head. “Nope. Whatever Valeria wants, it’s nearby. She’ll be back. Or her idiot flunkies will.”

Xander reached for her hand. “Anybody ever tell you you’re unbearably cute when

you’re figuring out the bad guy’s plan?”

Buffy slipped an errant tendril of hair behind her ear and slid her free hand up behind his

neck; she drew Xander to her and kissed him deeply, sliding her tongue in his mouth. They stoodtogether for a long time, kissing passionately, when Buffy broke off the embrace.

“Why don’t we skip the coffee tonight?” she murmured.

Xander’s smile matched hers.

* * *




Bookends

Time it was

and what a time it was It was...

A time of innocence

A time of confidences

Long ago, it must be

I have a photograph

Preserve your memories;

They’re all that’s left you

Paul Simon, 1968


Documents

Buffy: Heart of Darkness Prologue