Five By Five
by Annie and Dani

"You know, Xander, you really don’t have to come on the routine patrols with me. I can handle myself," Buffy told him.

"Not even a question," Xander replied. "Just thought you might like the company. That, and Anya has decided she needs, and I quote, ‘personal space’. So she kicked me out of my own apartment."

"Understood," Buffy said. A moment of comfortable silence passed between the two, then Buffy thought of something. "Doesn’t she have her own apartment?"

Xander did an odd combination of nodding and shaking his head, making bewildered gestures with his hands. Classic ‘Don’t look at me, I don’t know anything’ behavior.

Buffy let the subject drop. "God, it’s slow tonight. " She looked around the cemetery. Nothing stirred. Nobody rising from fresh graves or skulking behind trees. Not even Spike returning to his crypt sweet crypt.

"Would you rather the vampires had a big hootenanny for you?" Xander asked.

"Well no. But a gathering would be nice. Maybe even a shindig." Buffy smiled.

"But no crashing zombies," Xander pointed out.

"No zombies," Buffy agreed.

"Do you get the feeling we’re just sitting around out here like those people in horror movies you yell at because they’re being stupid? I’m suddenly feeling very shmuck baity," Xander said.

"I’m on top of it," Buffy asserted. "Anything remotely shmucky going on, I’m there."

She barely got the sentence out before the quiet night was interrupted by the sound of a string snapping and the awful noise of impact in a very human target. Stunned, Buffy looked down at the crossbow bolt that now cleanly pierced through her shoulder.

"Oh, god," Xander said, quickly moving to catch his staggering friend. He looked off at where the shot had been fired from. "Oh god," he said again, more in amazement than fear this time.

Harmony stood poised a good distance away, crossbow firmly in hand, a happy smile on her face. "I actually did it! I took down a Slayer!"

"Xander," Buffy said. Xander took his attention back from the vampire to his friend. Buffy’s face was a sickly shade of white.

"Buff, just hang on. You’ll be fine. It’s in the shoulder. Do you want me to pull it out?"

Buffy managed to shake her head no. "It hit something. I can feel it inside. . .bleeding," she whispered. "This is so embarassing. All this time, and this is how it ends."

"Ends? Buffy, no. It’s not ending," Xander argued. "Just hang on. A few more minutes. You’re better than this, Buffy. You’ve made it through worse."

Buffy shook her head slowly. "I can’t. I’m so sorry . . " She closed her eyes.

"Buffy?" Xander shook her gently. "Buffy!" He ripped her clothes a bit, trying to staunch the flow of blood from the wound. "Buff, don’t do this to me now. Buffy!"

For all Xander’s protests, Buffy didn’t open her eyes again.

Two Weeks Later
Orlando, Florida

"I am so tired of this stupid meeting!" Chris whined.

"Don’t whine. You’re 29, old man. It’s scary," Justin said.

"Then stop whining about the meeting and shut up so we can finish it!" Joey said.

Everyone was tired and worn out, not in the mood for a business meeting. Lance was the only one sitting wordlessly taking everything in, and the other three were bickering. JC was only quiet because he’d fallen asleep, his cap pulled down low over his eyes. Lance kicked him under the table. JC awoke with a start and gave Lance a dirty look. Lance smiled.

"Everyone just be quiet," Johnny interjected. "The sooner you guys stop interrupting, the sooner it’s over and you guys can all go home. Now, staging. We can’t make the roller coaster idea work. Any other ideas for a replacement?"

"Aw, man," Joey said. He’d been the biggest supporter of the idea of kicking off the show by having ’N Sync arrive onstage in a roller coaster.

"Sorry," Chris told him.

"Why do we have to be so big and elaborate all the time?" JC said. "Why can’t we just, you know, walk onstage?"

"Bo-ring," Chris and Justin said in unison. Justin continued. "They didn’t pay sixty bucks a ticket to watch you walk from the mix tower to the stage, C. They wanna make you work for it!"

"Dance, pretty boy, dance!" Chris cackled, making everyone break into laughter.

They almost didn’t hear the knock on the door over the laughter. "Come in," Johnny yelled.

The door opened and Steve walked in, an older man behind him. "Hey. Sorry to interrupt, but Mr. Belvedere here is looking for Lance and says it’s ‘frightfully important’ that he see him." Steve’s expression and tone of voice said he clearly thought the man was weird.

"I’m Lance," Lance volunteered. "What can I help you with?" Lance expected the guy to ask him if the guys would sing at his daughter’s birthday party or something.

"Lance Bass?" the man clarified. Lance heard the twinge of a British accent.

"Uh huh."

"Perhaps you should come with me, so I can speak with you alone," the man asked.

"Just say it," Lance said. "They can hear anything you have to say." Lance was getting a little weirded out by the urgent tone in the man’s voice.

The man cleared his throat. "My name is Mr. Giles. I’m from California. I’ve been sent to find you, to bring you there."

"Sent by who? And bring me where? California?" Lance said, wary.

"B-by the Watcher’s Council. And yes, to California. Sunnydale, to be specific," Mr. Giles answered.

"Watcher’s Council," Lance repeated. "And that would be?"

Giles shook his head. "This is going to sound very strange, but I assure you every word is true. In every generation there is one. Usually. We’ve had three for this one. Unusual circumstances. But one person with the strength and skill to hunt the vampires."

"Vampires?" Justin asked, bewildered.

"And forces of evil," Giles added. "Long story short. It’s you, Mr. Bass. You’re next in line. You’re the Chosen One. The Slayer."

There was a moment of complete silence. Then Joey started to laugh. "You’ve been watching too many vampire movies, Grandpa," he chuckled.

"I’m entirely serious," Giles said.

Joey slowly stopped laughing.

"Isn’t this just a myth?" Chris asked. "Crazy premise you’d base a fictional television show on?"

"Many myths are based in reality," Giles explained. "This is one of them.

JC, who had been sitting in silence through all this, turned to look at Lance. Lance looked wary, spooked, and curious all at once. "Lance?" he asked.

"Yeah?" Lance answered.

"I understand this must be an incredible shock," Giles said. "If you’d like to take some time, think it over. But we need you. You see, Sunnydale is on a hellmouth. Actually, most of California is, but Sunnydale is where it opens. We need an active Slayer stationed there."

"California on top of an evil portal. Why am I not surprised?" Chris cracked. "Finally, an explanation for Hollywood."

"Mr. Bass?" Giles prodded.

"You’ve got to be kidding me," Lance said. "Is this some practical joke? Chris?"

Chris shook his head. "Not me. Not my style."

JC reached across the table and took Lance’s hand in his. "Lance?" he repeated.

"Oh, my gosh," was all Lance could think of to say. 

Six very stunned pairs of eyes looked at the door that the man who called himself Mr. Giles had just exited out of.

After a moment or two of silence, Justin laughed. "Well, problem solved. We just start out the concert with Lance killing a couple vampires. You know, it won’t even cost us anything, that dude already gave Lance the stick."

"Stake," Lance said automatically, without even thinking.

"Come on, Lance, someone is playing a prank on you. Joey, you gotta tell your brother not to just let anyone back here," Justin said.

"Baby?" JC asked, looking at Lance with a mixture of concern and confusion on his face.

Lance looked back at the doorway, and before he could stop himself, he was already calling out, moving towards the door. "Mr. Giles, Mr. Giles, wait."

"Oh come on, you've got to be shitting me," Lance heard Justin say as he left the conference room.

Lance hurried down the hallway after Giles, catching him at the elevator.

Giles turned to him with a smile. "I knew you'd come around."

"Show me one of these. . . vampires," Lance said, his voice slightly shaking.

Giles nodded and said, "We'll have to wait until dark."

Lance nodded and they got into the elevator, not saying anything to each other.

JC arrived just as the doors closed.

"Look, with all due respect sir, we've been sitting out here for about an hour, and it's really cold," Lance said. "I don't see any vampires."

"You have to give it time. You have the blood of a slayer inside of you, vampires can smell that a mile away."

"Gee, that's comforting," Lance muttered, pushing his toe into the sand, sending his swing slightly into motion. Lance and Giles were waiting in a small park, and so far the only thing Lance had seen were the occasional druggies.

"Lance, off to your left," Giles said, and Lance looked over to see a man standing under a tree, his head turned in their direction.

Lance got off the swing and started walking towards the man. "If he's a vampire, what do I do?" Lance whispered as they got closer.

"You put that stake into his heart."

Lance nodded, his hand grasping the stake in his jacket pocket.

"Hey there, you looked kinda lonely, we thought we'd come say hi," Lance said, giving the man a smile. He smiled back at Lance in an almost predatory way, and Lance was immediately on edge. When the man's face suddenly changed, wrinkles appeared, and he grew a set of fangs, Lance felt rooted to the ground. He just looked at the man -- vampire in front of him in shock.

"Lance!" Giles exclaimed, "Stake him!"

Lance was still looking at that face... the yellow, glowing eyes... the look of evil. He thought that he might even be shaking. The vampire moved forward, and that's when it happened. Without even thinking, Lance pulled the stake from his pocket and rammed it into the vampire's chest. The vampire looked at Lance in shock for a moment before he turned to dust right before his eyes.

Lance looked at the place where the vampire had once stood in shock. He dropped the stake and it hit the ground with a soft thud.

"Oh my God..." he whispered.

"You get used to it," Giles told him, putting his hand on Lance's shoulder. "Now do you believe me?" Lance thought that he nodded to Giles, but he wasn't sure.

"So will you return to Sunnydale with me?"

Lance opened the door to his hotel room, and as soon as he stepped in, he saw JC moving towards him. JC pulled Lance into his arms as he asked a string of questions. "Oh Lance, I was so worried. Where did you go? Were you with that man? What did you do? Why didn't you call me? Why-"

Lance cut JC off as he pulled away from him, moving into the bathroom and collecting all of his toiletries.

"Lance?" JC questioned, following him into the bathroom. "What are you doing?"

Lance didn't answer JC, he just walked out of the bathroom and over to his suitcase, putting the things he had collected from the bathroom into it.

"Lance, come on, talk to me, you're scaring me."

Suddenly, Lance whirled on JC. "They're real JC," he said.

"Who are baby?" JC asked, reaching out to touch Lance's arm, but Lance pulled away.

"Vampires. They're real, Giles was telling us the truth. I killed one, I put my stake right through his heart and watched as he turned to dust."

JC looked at Lance for a moment before he said, "Lance, you're tired, you just need-"

"I am -not- tired, JC!" Lance yelled, louder than he had intended to. JC looked shocked, but Lance couldn't seem to control himself. "Vampires are real, Jace. Monsters, demons, things you were afraid were going to come and get you in the night... they're real! They exist, and I'm the only person with the strength to fight them. Me, of all people. I can't even play basketball, how am I supposed to save the world?"

"Lance," JC said, "did this guy give you anything, did he-"

"No, Josh, no. He didn't." Lance grabbed his clothes that were lying on the floor of the hotel, throwing them into his suitcase.

"What are you doing Lance?" JC asked.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm packing so I can go with some complete stranger to a town I've never been to and risk my life to save people I don't even know."

"Lance, this is... it's nuts. If this is joke, it's gone far enough."

"It's not a joke, JC," Lance told curtly, shutting his suitcase, the clicking of the locks echoing in the silent hotel room.

"You're really leaving," JC said, his voice slightly shocked.

"Yeah," Lance said, his voice losing the anger and hurt it had possessed just moments before.

"Lance," JC said, his voice soft, "I don't understand this."

Lance laughed bitterly, grabbing his suitcase and heading for the door.

"Yeah, well, neither do I."

Giles had his rental car ready when Lance came out of the hotel. They put Lance's bags in the backseat, and Lance turned around, looking back at the hotel. He could see into the lobby, and he expected to see JC, running towards him. He wanted to see it. They had hardly had a proper good-bye up at their room.

"Lance," Giles said from the car, and Lance looked back, nodding. He got in and Giles drove off, heading towards the airport.

JC ran out onto the sidewalk just as the car turned the corner and disappeared out of sight.