When Fates Collide

by Zaru

Pairings: LeonardoxBuffy, RaphaelxOCZaru, DonatelloxWillow, MichelangeloxFaith

Rating: M (language, adult themes, violence)

Summary: The battle is over. Buffy and gang head along with their new ally, Zaru the Demon Slayer, to New York City where they meet Zaru's friends April and Casey as well as her boyfriend and his brothers who are not really in the normal. Rating for Language, violence, adult themes in later chapters.

Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT. It was created by Peter Laird. I do not own Buffy. It was created by Joss Whedon. I only own Zaru, the Hellmouth in NYC, the villian and a few minor characters.

A/n: Okay. Finally, the prologue of my new fanfic is here. I hope you enjoy. By the way, this is AU post Chosen. Forgot to mention that. On with the story!

PROLOGUE

---SUNNYDALE---

The last of the energy from the Hellmouth faded away as the slayers and the Scooby Gang looked at the outcome of Spike's sacrifice. Buffy was in a little shock at the scene displayed before her and hoped Spike was at peace somehow with the actions he portrayed in saving the world. The rest of the group was gathered around her as she eyed the gaping hole that was once Sunnydale: their home. Dawn, Buffy's little sister looked over at her sister wondering what the blonde girl was thinking. I wonder if she's thinking about Spike. Her thought was lost when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking up, she saw Giles staring straight ahead at the hole as well. Dawn smiled small and headed over to Buffy.

"So, Buffy, what are we going to do now?" The former key asked her older sister.

A grin spread on the vampire slayer's face and she turned to face everybody. "I'm going to Disneyland."

They all looked at her strangely, then burst out laughing.

"So, Buffster, ready to hit the road?" Xander asked, his weight helping to support a green-haired woman.

Buffy just nodded. "Yeah. Let's get going. There's nothing here for us anymore. Just a big, big hole."

The others nodded in agreement and headed back toward the bus where the living potential slayers were waiting. Still in waiting to be activated.

---ON THE BUS---

"So, what are we going to do now exactly?" Asked Faith as she helped bandage up the green-haired woman with Xander earlier.

"I don't really know exactly. I mean, the Hellmouth is gone." Then a smirk crossed her features. "We saved the world, I say we party."

"Ugh, no partying for me right now." The girl sat up as best she could, trying to shoo Faith away from her so she could talk to Buffy. "I think I really need to rest for awhile. To regain my strength. Those ubervamps packed an extreme wallop on me." She looked down at her left arm, recently bandaged, blood slowly seeping through.

"You can say that again, Zaru." Buffy said.

"I've seriously have to say, that in all my years as a demon slayer, I never had wounds quite...what's the word?" She paused. "Extensive...as this." Zaru set her head in the palm of her right hand. "And I think I'm gonna need an entire bottle of painkillers just to kill this hammering in my skull."

"Well, it happens to the best of us, Zi. Can't blame it for happening." Faith replied as she moved back to help her out.

"Of course not, Faith. Definitely can't blame it." She groaned.

Buffy sighed as she stared out the window. It was going to be a long ride.

---SOMEWHERE AWAY FROM CALIFORNIA---

It was nearly half a day since they had left Sunnydale and all were very tired. Robin had told Giles it might be best if they stopped somewhere to get some rest. The former Watcher agreed with the freelance vampire hunter. So, Giles put the bus in gear and headed toward the nearest area they could make camp.

Buffy opened the exit door of the bus and jumped down, looking around at the secluded area. There was nothing but grassy plains for miles with what she could tell just by looking. Looking over at Robin and Giles, they had plucked a small area of grass to make room for a campfire to help keep them warm. Will things get better for us? Or are we just going to travel around in a school bus with potentials the rest of our lives? Sighing, she kicked a nearby stone hearing it clunk against something large. It was a boulder. The blonde vampire slayer took a seat on it, resting and stretching her weary legs. What are we going to do now? She looked up into the clear, night sky hoping to seek at least an answer. Or two.

"Buffy?" She heard someone calling her name and she peered over to see Giles standing there, hands in his jacket pockets.

"Giles."

He smiled small and headed over to her, leaning down next to her. "So?"

"So?" She asked.

"What are we going to do now?" He asked.

She licked her parched lips. "I...I don't know, Giles." She shrugged. "I have no idea what to do. I mean..." She gestured to the area around them. "Look at this place. We don't know where we are, do we?" She gazed over at her Watcher.

Giles peered over at the bus full of sleeping potentials. "I guess we don't. Although, I can say we are probably somewhere near Illinois maybe." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm not quite sure." He glanced back over at Buffy.

"I don't know what to do anymore, Giles. Everything's gone. My house. My clothes. My town. Everything. I've got nothing except for the clothes on my back, a bus full of potentials and my friends."

"And your identity. Don't forget that."

She looked at him with a small smile. "At least my word of who I am."

Giles patted her back and stood up. "Not to worry, Buffy. I'm sure something will turn up so we know what we can do." Giving her a pat on the head, he walked over to where Robin was, trying to stoke the fire that was blazing brightly.

---MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT---

The vampire slayer woke up feeling the need for a bathroom. She glanced around at everybody on the bus, hoping not to wake anybody. Gathering herself together, she hoisted herself up from the seat she occupied and quietly made her way to the back of the bus. Slowly, she unlocked the exit, opening it with a quick squeak and jumped down, closing it as silently as she could. Shouldn't have had all those sodas on the road. She thought as she ran to somewhere far out of anybody's gaze, but close enough to go if there was trouble.

The squeak of the door woke up the green-haired woman lying in the backseat. Her blue eyes slowly opened, rubbing them to get the blurriness to fade away. Slowly, she sat up and blinked, darkness around her. Where am I? She wondered. Then, her memories came back to her. They were all sleeping on a school bus in the middle of somewhere. The pain in her left arm even jostled her memory. Damn. I was hoping it would've healed by now. Hissing, she checked it as best she could by lifting the bandage Faith had helped her put on earlier. It's not bleeding and it's closed. So I guess I can take this thing off now. Sighing, she peeled it away, unwrapping it with ease.

Soon, it was done and she decided to grab her jacket for she felt a faint breeze make goosebumps on her practically bare back. Standing slowly, she pushed open the door and jumped out, her feet surrounded with bits of dust. Wiping it away from her face, she shoved the door shut, but not locking it so she couldn't get back in. Looking around, she noticed a certain blonde coming toward her from behind a tree.

"Buffy." She said.

Buffy smiled and waved small. "Hey, Zaru. Did I wake you?"

The woman shook her head. "No. The door did when you went out."

The vampire slayer just smiled. "So, uh, you going to, um..." She trailed off and gestured toward the few trees that were there.

Zaru shook her head. "No. I don't have to go. Yet. But I'm getting there."

Buffy nodded. "Do you wanna sit and talk maybe? 'Cause I'm not tired anymore right now."

Zaru nodded her head. "Yeah. Sure. Why not? We haven't talked much lately."

Both of them sat down on the ground near where the fire from earlier was. Zaru grabbed a few nearby sticks and twigs, setting them on the burnt ones. Going through her jacket pocket, she whipped out a lighter and lit a nice, small fire to comfort them both. Making sure the fire was stable, they sat back, hands supporting their weight.

"So..." Buffy began.

"So, have any idea what you're going to do now?"

"You know, that's the third time I've been asked that question today and I have kept saying that I don't know what to do. My mind draws a blank."

"I think you know what you really should be doing."

"And what would that be?"

"Getting the girls home where they belong. That should be your first priority."

Buffy thought about it for a moment. "Yeah. I guess you're right. We should be getting these girls back where they came from before we begin doing something else."

"Exactly. Otherwise, what the hell are you going to do with them?"

Very good question. "We can become freelance vampire hunters and use them as bait to lure them out." Buffy saw Zaru's eyes widen in horror.

"Buffy!" She scolded.

"I was just kidding." She laughed and the other woman laughed along with her. "Besides, you're right. First thing we need to do, is get them home."

"Then what?" Zaru asked.

The vampire slayer shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe we'll establish ourselves somewhere and get the Council involved. After all, I should be getting severance pay for this gig."

Zaru laughed. "Well, I guess you should." The laughing died down and she frowned a little. Sighing, she looked up into the clear sky. I just want to go home.

Buffy noticed and became worried. "Are you okay?" When she didn't receive an answer, she waved her hand in front of her face. "Hey!" The green-haired woman looked over in confusion. "Are you okay?"

"Huh?"

"I asked if you were okay."

"Oh." Zaru just nodded. "Hai. Daijoubu."

Buffy raised an eyebrow. "In the short time I've really known you, Zaru, I still can't believe I actually understand what you say half the time in Japanese."

The laughter started again. "Hai."

"So, what's on your mind now?" Buffy asked, nudging her shoulder with her own.

Zaru smiled. "Home."

"New York City?"

"Yeah."

"You really miss it, huh?" The blonde asked.

"Of course. I have my friends there." Many thoughts plagued her mind at that moment. But none more than the love of her life. A smirk graced her features as she thought of all the things she would be doing when she got home to him.

She noticed the smirk and knew she was thinking about somebody. "Who is he?" Buffy asked.

"What?"

"Who is he? You're thinking about a guy. I know you are." She grabbed Zaru's shoulder and shook it. "So spill."

She knew she couldn't hide her life forever from this girl. Even though they only knew each other for several months, Zaru was able to keep her life in New York almost to a minimum with not as many questions asked. "He, um, well. Where to begin?"

"I don't know. How about his name?"

"Raphael."

"And how old is he?"

"He's 27."

"Good." Buffy nodded. "We're getting somewhere. So, what does the love of your life look like? And don't leave anything out."

Zaru sweatdropped. "Um, I got an idea." Buffy listened. "How about we wait until we get to New York and I can introduce you?"

Buffy was hesitant about that. She wanted to know more and Zaru seemed to put it off. Was there something wrong with the guy? Or did she just want to show him off? "Okay. We'll wait."

"Cool." Zaru nodded.

Buffy and Zaru stopped talking and stared up into the sky. They had not noticed the dawn was slowly approaching.

---ON THE BUS, LATE MORNING---

Buffy had worded to Giles about dropping off the girls wherever they wanted to be and he agreed. Already, they had dropped two of the potentials off in their hometowns right next to each other. The less potentials, the better. Zaru had taken over driving the bus so Robin could have a rest. Although, he was a little hesitant about it, wondering if the woman had even driven a bus before.

"Zaru, are you sure you don't want me to start driving again?" Robin asked, a little anxious. She was swerving a little.

She nodded. "Yeah. I've driven big vehicles before. Just not busses."

He nodded. "I see." He looked over at Giles for help.

Giles noticed the look and sighed. "Uh, Zaru."

"Yeah, Giles?"

"Why don't you let Robin take over? You've been driving for a few hours now and you need to relax. We need you at full capacity should any danger approach."

That seemed to make her think about it. He's right. If something happens to come along, I should be there alongside them to help. "Yeah. Okay. Let me just pull to the side."

---AFTERNOON---

It was now the afternoon. they had already passed through Illinois and into another state where a few other potentials got off in an hour period. Zaru sat in the backseat, Buffy in the one across from her and Faith just one away. They were all conversing with one another as they were jostled about in their seats from potholes and bumps in the road.

"So, Zi, Buffy tells me we're gonna get to meet your loverboy after we're done." Faith smirked while wiggling her eyebrows.

Zaru blinked at Buffy, wide-eyed. "Buffy!"

"What?" The blonde slayer acted innocent. "It's not like you told me really much about him." She shrugged. "I didn't think it would hurt to let everyone know we were heading to New York for awhile."

"Yeah, and you didn't want to leave out my boyfriend, did you?" Zaru asked, arms crossed over her chest.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know he was supposed to kept a secret."

Zaru shook her head. "Don't worry about it. I'm just not feeling too good right now." Turning sideways, she reached up to open a bus window, air whistling in at the bus' speed.

"Why is the window like that?" Buffy asked.

"This." In her hands appeared a pack of cigarettes and the lighter from last night.

"Oh. I forgot you smoked." Buffy shook her head. "You know, those things are bad for you."

"Yeah, well, when you have a life like mine, you get used to it." She pulled out a cigarette, a hand suddenly appearing next to the pack. Looking up, she saw Faith smiling. She mouthed 'Please' so Zaru gave her one. Taking out another, she shoved it in her mouth and lit up. She inhaled deeply, closing her eyes and enjoying her first cigarette in a couple days.

Buffy sniffed in a little smoke and coughed, fanning it away from her. "Try to keep it away from me, please."

Zaru shook her head. "Yeah, sure. No problem." And exhaled near the window, the smoke blowing out at a fast speed.

"So, Zi, when are we gettin' to New York?" Faith asked, taking a drag.

Zaru just groaned. This is gonna be the longest trip of my life. I just know it.

TBC...

A/n: Well, review please.

A/n2: I hope you guys liked this prologue. I plan on definitely writing more into this story if you would like that. Thanks for supporting me in all my fics guys!

Ja Ne,

Zaru