crossoverfic | Saving Grace, chapter 2/? (Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter)

Title: Saving Grace
Author: Dire Banshee
Fandoms: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter
Rating: PG-13 (for now)
Warnings: language, violence (nothing worse than the books though)
Pairings: none yet
Character(s): Spike, Dawn, Connor, OFC, Anita!verse characters

Summary: After a virus decimates the world's population, Spike and several others make a jump to new lives and a completely new world.

Chapter Two

DISCLAIMER: the Buffy!verse characters belong to Joss Whedon
the Anita Blake characters belong to Laurell K. Hamilton
the plot was inspired, in part, by 'I Am Legend' and Stephen King's 'The Stand'
anything you don't recognize is (probably) mine
Takes place after Not Fade Away and The Harlequin. The THEN portions are memories, explanations, and a bit of background that took place before the story. The NOW parts are, well, now.
Read, Review, and Enjoy

NOW

Mall patrons scattered as the bright light filled the lobby then disappeared just as quickly, leaving behind four ragged, dirty figures. The four immediately went on the defensive, their backs to each other. The face of one of the men changed and he bared wickedly sharp teeth, growling low as one of the women formed a ball of green energy between her hands. The other man and woman each held a gun in their hands. The security guards sprang into action, circling the foursome and drawing their guns.

"We have silver," one guard announced. "Stand down or we will shoot."

A tense moment passed as the two groups regarded each other, waiting for the first move to be made. Then the woman holding the green energy stood from her defensive crouch and pressed her hands together slowly until the orb disappeared. She held her hands up and turned to the man with the demon face as the other two followed her lead and put up their weapons.

"Spike," the woman said softly. "It's okay. I think we're safe now."

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The ringing of the telephone woke the three on the bed. They lay in the early morning twilight, not quite willing to abandon the warmth of their bed just yet, and listened as the machine picked up the call.

"Anita, it's Zerbrowski. We have a bit of a situation down here and..."

Anita groaned and tried to grab the phone, only to be brought up short by Nathaniel's hair wrapped around her. Micah solved the problem by plucking the phone from its cradle.

"Zerbrowski," he said. "It's Micah. Anita's coming."

Freeing herself from the tangle of Nathaniel's vanilla scented hair Anita grabbed the phone.

"Yeah, it's me."

"If you're busy, I could call back later," Zerbrowski teased.

"It's four in the morning," she reminded him. "I just got to bed an hour and a half ago. If you just called to make jokes, I'm hanging up."

"Take it easy, Blake. Dolph said not to bother you, but I think your expertise is a must on this one."

Anita sighed and crawled out of bed.

"I'm on my way. Where are you?"

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Twenty minutes later Anita pulled up in front of RPIT headquarters. She shut off the engine and tried to prepare herself for what she was about to face. Zerbrowski had been annoyingly vague about the whole thing, saying only that this was a case she'd definitely want to be a part of. Climbing out of the vehicle Anita made her way inside.

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"Okay," Lieutenant Rudolph Storr said to the young woman seated across from him. "Let's go over this one more time, from the top."

Ghost rubbed her tired eyes and sighed.

"Look, Detective..."

"Lieutenant."

"Lieutenant," she corrected. "We've been here for seven hours and all you've done is ask the same questions in different ways. I may not be a cop but my dad is ... was, and I know that you can't hold us without charging us with some sort of crime. I know we showed up rather unexpectedly and scared a few people in the process, but that wasn't our intent and last I checked, it wasn't a crime. So either charge us with something or let us go."

She could almost see the gears turning in the man’s head.

"You said your father was a cop. What's his name?"

Ghost resisted the urge to bang her head against the table.

"James Allen Nite. N-I-T-E. Nightmare to his friends. You're welcome to look him up but I doubt that you'll find him because ..."

"Because you four are from an 'alternate reality' that was decimated by something called the SG virus," Dolph finished, looking at his crumpled notebook. "What does SG stand for?"

"Saving Grace," Ghost whispered. "It stands for Saving Grace."

THEN

Lynn was almost completely through a perfectly scored Guitar Hero 'Cherry Pie' when Katrina rushed into the apartment.

"Hey, Kat," Tori greeted.

"Hi, guys," Kat replied then walked over to the television and turned off the Playstation, mid-note.

"Hey!" Lynn protested. "I almost had it beat!"

"Sorry, Lynn," Kat said, flipping through the channels. "But there's something on about the flu."

Ah, yes, the flu; the worst outbreak in decades, according to the Surgeon General. The flu that both of Lynn's roommates were currently battling, though Tori seemed to be handling it better than Melinda. Lynn sighed and set her controller aside as the pretty, red-headed anchorwoman announced that the President would soon be addressing the nation.

"My fellow Americans," he began. "It is with great regret and a heavy heart that I come before you today. By now I'm sure you've all noticed this so-called Super Flu."

Lynn rolled her eyes, Gods this man was long-winded. She wondered if it was a requirement for politicians or if it was something they had to be taught.

"I know that many of you know of the work of Dr. Alice Grace, her so-called miracle drug. It is my duty to tell you, America, that this drug is not the miracle we thought it to be. It has mutated, become viral. The Saving Grace Virus," he paused for dramatic effect. "Has become an epidemic. It has spread throughout the United States and has jumped the border into Canada and there are reports of it in Europe as well as Mexico and South America. I want to urge all those infected to remain indoors and isolated from those not yet infected."

The girls were silent, each looking toward Melinda's room. Lynn snuck a glance at Tori, but she didn't seem too upset. There was a bit of commotion on the t.v. as a secret service type man spoke quickly and quietly to the President. When the man spoke again, he looked noticeably shaken.

"I have just been informed that the Saving Grace Virus had been upgraded to plague status. It appears that in some people, the virus mutates. This mutated version causes extreme aggression in the host. I want to again urge all infected persons to remain in isolation. May God be with us all."

NOW

"Miracle drug," Dolph said.

Ghost nodded.

"It cured everything they tried it against. Cancer, AIDS, Hepatitis, everything, then it somehow got out of the lab. Outside of controlled conditions it mutated and spread ... Have you ever seen 28 Days Later?"

Her question caught him off guard.

"No, I haven't."

"Oh. Well, it's about how some English scientists tried to create a virus that would repress rage but ended up making the exact opposite. People got infected with rage, just went crazy and started killing people. That's kind of what happened where we're from."

"So your world was infected with rage," he sounded dubious.

"No. The rage virus was in a movie, the SG virus attacked the brains of the people it infected and destroyed higher reasoning. They became super aggressive, cannibalistic, and anti-social with almost nothing human left."

"This happened to all of the infected?"

"No, it killed most of the ones it infected," Ghost was silent for a moment, lost in thought. "Can I see my family now?"

"You said you didn't have any family."

Ghost gave him a look.

"You're a cop, Lieutenant. You more than anyone should know that there's more to being a family than sharing blood."

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"So, they just appeared?" Anita asked

"Yes," Zerbrowski replied.

"Seven hours ago."

"Yes."

"And Dolph won't let them go or charge them with anything?"

"That's about it."

"Shit."

She so wasn't in the mood to deal with Dolph and his prejudices right now.

"Where are they?"

"Three of 'em are in the vamp room," he told her, referring to the windowless room used for holding the daylight-challenged citizens. "And Dolph is still questioning another."

"Why are they in the vamp room?" Anita asked.

"One of them claims to be a vampire."

"Claims to be?"

"Well, none of the holy items reacted to him, they didn't glow at all, silver had no effect, and he doesn't look like any vamp I've ever seen."

Anita frowned. What did that mean, didn't look like a vamp? Most vamps just looked like people.

"Come on," Zerbrowski said as though reading her thoughts. "I'll show you."