Aug. 20th - Surprise
Title: Surprise
Author: 3am_moonlight
Crossover: BtVS / The Walking Dead (TV)
Rating: Gen / Teen
Word Count: 1,111.
Timeline: BtVS: Post-Chosen & TWD: S02 + interim between S02 & S03.
Disclaimer: The Buffyverse belongs to Joss Whedon and TWD belongs to someone with expensive lawyers.
Summary: Buffy find someone unexpected in the woods.Author's Note: Written for Day 20 of the 2019 August Fic-A-Day.
A/N: Follows ' Another Day', ' Slay Count', ' Medical Run', ' Scavenging', ' Recharging', and ' Back To High School'.
Buffy and Tara spent six nights in the abandoned school before they left. In the meantime, Tara finished her experiments with the backpacks. It turned out that trying to cram five expanded backpacks into an expanded backpack caused the magic to just expel everything and the magic to fizzle out. However, it was possible to put a single pack into one. It was also possible to expand the various pockets both on the inside of them and all those extra ones on the outside, so they still ended up with a lot of extra room. Even if it was less than they had hoped for.
Tara also added the spell to the back of one of the military vehicles and they placed all of their surplus equipment and food in the two extra backpacks. The larger area had taken more time to bespell but it had worked and their extra storage was ready for when they found something else.
She also used a spell on the fuel tank, oil tank, and the fuel container, after expanding those as well, so everything in them tripled. Experimenting quickly proved the same method couldn't be used on anything they intended to eat or drink. Still, it improved their chances even more.
It took them another week or so before they saw any signs of life, and when they did it was in the form of a massive fire in the distance. While Buffy wasn't 100% certain she thought the immediate area around it was surrounded by a gigantic herd of biters.
"Do you think it's the Greene Farm?" Tara asked concerned from beside her.
"Probably, it was only a matter of time before a herd made it there and overran it. I just really hope they made it out and that the fire is a diversion of some kind." If it was then it might distract the undead long enough for them to get to the cars and escape. If it wasn't then she hoped they were smart enough to use it as one.
"We need to leave, get further away so they don't get to us."
Buffy sighed, the house they had spent the last two nights in was comfortable but her friend was right. It had no defenses, not even a flimsy fence, and with a herd that large they had to either have a big, sturdy wall all around them or the walls of a well-constructed house as a first defense.
They cleaned up after themselves, good manners were important even during the apocalypse, gathered their things and put it in the back of the car. A last look at the house and they were off.
*
Five weeks later they're staying in an almost pristine hunting goods store. All they had to do was kill the two walkers inside and they had access to pretty much all they needed as far as hunting and fishing went. Knives, compasses, emergency thermal blankets, first aid kits, bottles of water, animal traps, books on survival, maps, water purification tablets, and systems, you name it. They even had some small compasses on a bungee cord to wrap around the wrist like a bracelet. Those were put on right away.
Buffy's favorite discovery was the crossbow section. She immediately chose one for herself with all the needed equipment and bolts. Then she picked one for her witchy friend, plus two back-ups for each. Knives and swords were good, but they needed a long-range weapon other than guns and this was perfect.
They spent the next few days sorting through everything again and choosing better-suited backpacks for what was essentially a never-ending hike to an unknown destination. They didn't know where they were going, how long it would take to get there, or who they were going to travel with, but the intended to be prepared.
Buffy found a small backpack and put a water bottle, a packet of stale crackers, a few energy bars, and one of the smaller first aid kits in it. She strapped her favorite kukris to her thighs and an assortment of knives all over her body, plus the quiver for her new shiny bow went on her back. The new crossbow was in her hand.
"Tara?" The woman looked up from her sorting. "I'm taking the crossbow out for a test run and see if I can't catch something for dinner."
"Be careful and be back before dark."
Buffy smiled, "I will try, but no promises in case I run into a herd or something."
They were still in a forested area so all she had to do was walk even further into it. Animals were moving both more and less free now. There were less living humans to avoid but the biters were so much worse for them if they were caught.
A few hours into her hunt she had managed to kill half a dozen biters with her new weapon, and she had just downed a small deer when she heard the sound of someone walking and talking in low voices. Several someones and shuffling feet very close to them.
Swinging her prey over her shoulder she walked carefully toward the sound trying not to make more noise than she had to. It didn't take long before a strange sight met her. Andrea from Sophia's group was walking beside a tall, black woman with dreadlocks. The black woman was holding two sets of chains which were connected to a pair of biters who were carrying a backpack each.
None of them had noticed her, but somehow Buffy couldn't help herself from staring between the women, the chain, and their undead pack mules. It was a strange sight. The living avoided the dead, they didn't recruit them for anything. Except this woman had done just that.
Shaking the shock off, she walked out from between the trees she had been lurking behind and called for the woman she had barely met nearly two months before. "Andrea!"
The two women startled and quickly turned around. The unknown woman dropped the chains and smoothly drew a katana from its holster on her back and held it in a defensive position. Andrea clumsily lifted a medium-sized knife half-way up before recognizing her.
"Buffy?" She asked incredulously.
The following conversation was stilted at best, but it turned out that the fire had been the barn at the Greene Farm, and Andrea had gotten separated from everyone else. She made a decision and invited the two of them back to the hunting goods store. If nothing else they could get themselves better equipped, even if they decided not to join forces with her and Tara.
Author: 3am_moonlight
Crossover: BtVS / The Walking Dead (TV)
Rating: Gen / Teen
Word Count: 1,111.
Timeline: BtVS: Post-Chosen & TWD: S02 + interim between S02 & S03.
Disclaimer: The Buffyverse belongs to Joss Whedon and TWD belongs to someone with expensive lawyers.
Summary: Buffy find someone unexpected in the woods.Author's Note: Written for Day 20 of the 2019 August Fic-A-Day.
A/N: Follows ' Another Day', ' Slay Count', ' Medical Run', ' Scavenging', ' Recharging', and ' Back To High School'.
Buffy and Tara spent six nights in the abandoned school before they left. In the meantime, Tara finished her experiments with the backpacks. It turned out that trying to cram five expanded backpacks into an expanded backpack caused the magic to just expel everything and the magic to fizzle out. However, it was possible to put a single pack into one. It was also possible to expand the various pockets both on the inside of them and all those extra ones on the outside, so they still ended up with a lot of extra room. Even if it was less than they had hoped for.
Tara also added the spell to the back of one of the military vehicles and they placed all of their surplus equipment and food in the two extra backpacks. The larger area had taken more time to bespell but it had worked and their extra storage was ready for when they found something else.
She also used a spell on the fuel tank, oil tank, and the fuel container, after expanding those as well, so everything in them tripled. Experimenting quickly proved the same method couldn't be used on anything they intended to eat or drink. Still, it improved their chances even more.
It took them another week or so before they saw any signs of life, and when they did it was in the form of a massive fire in the distance. While Buffy wasn't 100% certain she thought the immediate area around it was surrounded by a gigantic herd of biters.
"Do you think it's the Greene Farm?" Tara asked concerned from beside her.
"Probably, it was only a matter of time before a herd made it there and overran it. I just really hope they made it out and that the fire is a diversion of some kind." If it was then it might distract the undead long enough for them to get to the cars and escape. If it wasn't then she hoped they were smart enough to use it as one.
"We need to leave, get further away so they don't get to us."
Buffy sighed, the house they had spent the last two nights in was comfortable but her friend was right. It had no defenses, not even a flimsy fence, and with a herd that large they had to either have a big, sturdy wall all around them or the walls of a well-constructed house as a first defense.
They cleaned up after themselves, good manners were important even during the apocalypse, gathered their things and put it in the back of the car. A last look at the house and they were off.
*
Five weeks later they're staying in an almost pristine hunting goods store. All they had to do was kill the two walkers inside and they had access to pretty much all they needed as far as hunting and fishing went. Knives, compasses, emergency thermal blankets, first aid kits, bottles of water, animal traps, books on survival, maps, water purification tablets, and systems, you name it. They even had some small compasses on a bungee cord to wrap around the wrist like a bracelet. Those were put on right away.
Buffy's favorite discovery was the crossbow section. She immediately chose one for herself with all the needed equipment and bolts. Then she picked one for her witchy friend, plus two back-ups for each. Knives and swords were good, but they needed a long-range weapon other than guns and this was perfect.
They spent the next few days sorting through everything again and choosing better-suited backpacks for what was essentially a never-ending hike to an unknown destination. They didn't know where they were going, how long it would take to get there, or who they were going to travel with, but the intended to be prepared.
Buffy found a small backpack and put a water bottle, a packet of stale crackers, a few energy bars, and one of the smaller first aid kits in it. She strapped her favorite kukris to her thighs and an assortment of knives all over her body, plus the quiver for her new shiny bow went on her back. The new crossbow was in her hand.
"Tara?" The woman looked up from her sorting. "I'm taking the crossbow out for a test run and see if I can't catch something for dinner."
"Be careful and be back before dark."
Buffy smiled, "I will try, but no promises in case I run into a herd or something."
They were still in a forested area so all she had to do was walk even further into it. Animals were moving both more and less free now. There were less living humans to avoid but the biters were so much worse for them if they were caught.
A few hours into her hunt she had managed to kill half a dozen biters with her new weapon, and she had just downed a small deer when she heard the sound of someone walking and talking in low voices. Several someones and shuffling feet very close to them.
Swinging her prey over her shoulder she walked carefully toward the sound trying not to make more noise than she had to. It didn't take long before a strange sight met her. Andrea from Sophia's group was walking beside a tall, black woman with dreadlocks. The black woman was holding two sets of chains which were connected to a pair of biters who were carrying a backpack each.
None of them had noticed her, but somehow Buffy couldn't help herself from staring between the women, the chain, and their undead pack mules. It was a strange sight. The living avoided the dead, they didn't recruit them for anything. Except this woman had done just that.
Shaking the shock off, she walked out from between the trees she had been lurking behind and called for the woman she had barely met nearly two months before. "Andrea!"
The two women startled and quickly turned around. The unknown woman dropped the chains and smoothly drew a katana from its holster on her back and held it in a defensive position. Andrea clumsily lifted a medium-sized knife half-way up before recognizing her.
"Buffy?" She asked incredulously.
The following conversation was stilted at best, but it turned out that the fire had been the barn at the Greene Farm, and Andrea had gotten separated from everyone else. She made a decision and invited the two of them back to the hunting goods store. If nothing else they could get themselves better equipped, even if they decided not to join forces with her and Tara.