The Turning of the Year 6/7
After some mainly F/G focus, the whole gang get a look in for this ficlet, which follows on around nine months after the angsty Bringing It Home. Two years have passed since part five, which is here
December 24 2013: Christmas Treats
Giles watched with pleasure, as Buffy did a twirl. A slightly awkward one, but a twirl nonetheless. “What do you think, guys?”
A general positive murmur arose from the audience. And it was a special Buffy audience, no doubt about it. For the first time in ten years, the core Sunnydale gang were all present again. Somehow, without making a big noise, they’d slipped back to headquarters in time for the holidays. Willow, in fact, had been here for a month, working with Vi on a Top Secret project: now revealed to be “just a few adjustments” to Buffy’s new leg, making it a little more Slayer-friendly. Watching Buffy take some experimental kicks at Spike, not back to her best but better than adequate to make him stagger, Giles sent a silent mental Thank you, which he was fairly certain Willow would pick up.
Unexpectedly, a voice of dissent broke through the celebratory hum. “I dunno. I’m not down with this at all.”
Buffy broke off, startled. Faces, old friends, new Slayers, assorted offspring, turned towards Xander’s corner, unified by their surprise.
“I mean, Buff, you gotta understand my disappointment. I hear you lose a leg, I’m so there for the pirate Christmas shindig, all eyepatched-up. Turns out, you don’t have a pegleg at all.”
Yes, it was a true Scooby Christmas celebration. Yes, there was inevitably a major demon attack on the castle at that moment.
No, the demons hadn’t realised the core of the Slayer Council was in residence when they planned their surprise holiday assault; they had expected light opposition only.
Once the kids had been hustled, protesting, into the safe room with Dawn and Kat (also protesting) and quite a lot of the festive food as consolation, a few other things became clear.
Yes, Willow and Vi had been working on a couple of little side projects, which went bangfizzwhirr and performed some very neat decapitations. Yes, Xander had picked up some interesting tips on siege warfare from his recent spell back co-ordinating the North Africa squads. Yes, Spike and a quite-pregnant Faith regarded this as an extra-special Christmas present to them, joyously marshalling the junior Slayer troops into a carefully planned pincer attack via the cellars, and incidentally giving them some excellent hand-to-hand training experience. And yes, from the highest tower in the castle, Buffy could still shoot a crossbow with deadly accuracy, then do a brief victory dance after she skewered the lead demon through the eyeball.
As Giles organised an emergency first aid detail to replace the vacationing members of the medical staff, he found he was humming a happy holiday tune. Life truly was getting back to normal.
*
Last in the series is here...
December 24 2013: Christmas Treats
Giles watched with pleasure, as Buffy did a twirl. A slightly awkward one, but a twirl nonetheless. “What do you think, guys?”
A general positive murmur arose from the audience. And it was a special Buffy audience, no doubt about it. For the first time in ten years, the core Sunnydale gang were all present again. Somehow, without making a big noise, they’d slipped back to headquarters in time for the holidays. Willow, in fact, had been here for a month, working with Vi on a Top Secret project: now revealed to be “just a few adjustments” to Buffy’s new leg, making it a little more Slayer-friendly. Watching Buffy take some experimental kicks at Spike, not back to her best but better than adequate to make him stagger, Giles sent a silent mental Thank you, which he was fairly certain Willow would pick up.
Unexpectedly, a voice of dissent broke through the celebratory hum. “I dunno. I’m not down with this at all.”
Buffy broke off, startled. Faces, old friends, new Slayers, assorted offspring, turned towards Xander’s corner, unified by their surprise.
“I mean, Buff, you gotta understand my disappointment. I hear you lose a leg, I’m so there for the pirate Christmas shindig, all eyepatched-up. Turns out, you don’t have a pegleg at all.”
Yes, it was a true Scooby Christmas celebration. Yes, there was inevitably a major demon attack on the castle at that moment.
No, the demons hadn’t realised the core of the Slayer Council was in residence when they planned their surprise holiday assault; they had expected light opposition only.
Once the kids had been hustled, protesting, into the safe room with Dawn and Kat (also protesting) and quite a lot of the festive food as consolation, a few other things became clear.
Yes, Willow and Vi had been working on a couple of little side projects, which went bangfizzwhirr and performed some very neat decapitations. Yes, Xander had picked up some interesting tips on siege warfare from his recent spell back co-ordinating the North Africa squads. Yes, Spike and a quite-pregnant Faith regarded this as an extra-special Christmas present to them, joyously marshalling the junior Slayer troops into a carefully planned pincer attack via the cellars, and incidentally giving them some excellent hand-to-hand training experience. And yes, from the highest tower in the castle, Buffy could still shoot a crossbow with deadly accuracy, then do a brief victory dance after she skewered the lead demon through the eyeball.
As Giles organised an emergency first aid detail to replace the vacationing members of the medical staff, he found he was humming a happy holiday tune. Life truly was getting back to normal.
*
Last in the series is here...