Revenant (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Revenant (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Racial tensions erupt in Sunnydale after a Chinese gang hits the town, as Buffy deals with the conflict in the family of her new friend, Jia Li, and with a mysterious and beautiful martial arts warrior, who could hold the key to a new supernatural evil stalking Sunnydale. Original. (A WB Network series, starring Sarah Michelle Geller) (Horror) Chapter 1 "She was afraid," Willow Rosenberg said as she carefully made her way through the graveyard. Full night had descended an hour ago, and moonlight cast harsh black shadows of tombstones and crypts on the gray-lit cemetery grounds. Except for the places where families with flashlights and lanterns were gathered around the graves and tombs. She pulled at the dark green sweater she wore in an effort to ward off the chill sweeping in across Sunnydale from the Pacific Ocean. It didn't help. Goosebumps still formed on top of goosebumps, and she didn't really think it was just the cold wind. Part of the fear that filled her was from the graveyard. No matter how well-kept and clean looking a graveyard is, she thought, the whole Better Homes & Gardens thing just kind of goes out the window when you know a vampire or some other creepy creature could be clawing its way up from a grave at any moment to suck your blood or try to steal your soul. The instant she realized that, Willow felt a little ashamed, especially when she noticed all the light from the flashlights and lanterns scattered around them in the graveyard. The families were all so busy. Tonight was a special night for the family members visiting the cemetery, a night of respect and love. The thought of a bereaved ancestor equipped with talons and fangs actually popping up from one of the crypts was just -- just -- Willow giggled -- a high, thin, nervous sound -- before she clapped a hand over her mouth. She whipped her head around and glanced at her companions to see if they'd noticed. Buffy Summers, blond and petite and wearing a to-die-for black calf-length leather coat, looked at her friend with concern. "Are you okay, Will?" "I did that out loud, didn't I?" Willow asked, face burning with embarrassment under her hand. She could face down vampires and dread demons, but a social faux pas could still unnerve her. Buffy hesitated and glanced at Angel, obviously not wanting to be the bearer of bad news. Angel hesitated, then shrugged and gave a quick nod. "Yeah. Maybe a little." "Oh. Sorry." "It's okay," Angel said. "No harm done. I don't think anyone heard you but us." Tall and broad-shouldered, Angel's dark eyes reflected far-off thoughts and a total familiarity with guilt and pain. After all, Willow thought, being a vampire for over two hundred years, killing hundreds of people, then getting your soul back doesn't contribute to a happy, carefree existence. Or even a happy, carefree nonexistence. Or after-existence. Whatever. "It's just this place," Willow said, "and all these people out here cleaning graves." She indicated all the families working on different grave sites. It was the first time she'd ever seen 409 and Fantastik spray cleaners, dishwashing gloves, and mops at a graveyard, and it was jarring. Some of the visitors just used brooms to sweep the grave sites and rake the leaves. Buffy looked around and nodded. "All this neat-freakishness is really creeping me out. Earlier, a little old grandmother behind me pulled out a spray bottle and hiss-hissed a couple times and I almost clocked her before I realized she wasn't a vampire." "That would have been not good," Willow agreed. Buffy seemed a little perturbed at making the mistake, which Willow understood completely. Making mistakes equals unfun. "You never really notice how much a spray bottle sounds like a vampire till you hear it in a graveyard," Buffy said. She knew a lot about vampires, and she was still learning about demons and other things that hunted, haunted, and otherwise lurked around the Hellmouth that Sunnydale had been built on. She was the Slayer, the girl born to be the Chosen One, equipped with powers and abilities that allowed her to combat vampires and other deadly creatures. Those powers, however, didn't keep her from getting killed. Slayers, as a general rule, didn't die of old age. The grave cleaning went on around them, with appropriate sounds of scrubbing and sweeping and raking. The activity filled the cemetery with unaccustomed noise, which somehow made it creepier. Most cemeteries Willow visited were quiet -- at least until all the growling and gnashing of teeth started as vampires dug their way out of their graves before they went out hunting for victims. "You said your friend was afraid," Angel reminded her. "Well, she is," Willow confirmed, brushing a lock of auburn hair from her face. "She told you that?" Angel asked. "No. I could just tell." Angel glanced around, appearing uneasy. Willow knew he was looking for the thing to be afraid of. "She didn't tell me what she