What I've Become
Chapter Two: Repossession

It didn't take Buffy and Giles long to reach the woman's hideout. It was in another dark alleyway, down a grungy set of stairs to a sub-basement of some kind. A knock on the door resulted in only silence. Buffy shared an uneasy glance with Giles, then turned to the door, calling out, "It's us. The man chasing you is gone."

Silence again. Then, a small voice from within. "He's gone? You're sure?" There was a soft creaking from within, muffled footsteps, as if the woman was approaching the door. But even as she drew nearer to it, the door remained closed to them.

"We're sure," Giles told her. Buffy was a few back, keeping an eye on the alley behind them. Despite the a Repo Man's unexplained retreat, she knew he could be back any moment. The small slice from her stake wasn't likely to slow him down much. "Ma'am, please, let us in. We want to help you, but you have to trust us."

There was a brief pause, then muffled clinking and clanging, as if bolts were being drawn back and chains pulled back. Finally, there was the final click of the door unlocking, and the door was opened a crack, revealing the woman's face. "Come in, quickly," she hissed. She drew back, allowing Giles and Buffy to hurry in.

The second they went through the door, she slammed it shut behind them. Buffy blinked in surprise at the sheer number of bolts, locks, and chains that the door bore; the woman moved with a frenzied speed to lock and close them all before she finally relaxed enough to turn back to her visitors.

Buffy hadn't got a very good look at the woman before, with the rush to get her to safety. Now, she could see that she was a bit taller than Buffy, and a bit older, maybe mid twenties, with darker skin. Her hair was a bright orange that faded to red, skillfully dyed, clipped short on one half of her head and hanging longer on the other. She wore a brown leather jacket with studded shoulders and a ragged shirt beneath, and dark jeans. Overall, with her outfit and dark lipstick and eyeliner, she resembled the rest of the goth-dressing population of this world.

Her dark eyes still seemed wary as she glanced between Giles and Buffy. "I've never seen anyone try to fight the Repo Man," she murmured. "Not like that."

"We couldn't just let him kill you," Buffy said with a shrug.

The woman honestly seemed confused. "Why not?" she asked. "Anyone else would have."

Giles and Buffy shared a baffled glance. Apathy against violence was definitely prevalent in her own world, but for an entire city to sit back and do nothing while someone was brutally hunted down and murdered? Buffy recalled the few people in the alley when they'd heard the woman scream - they had looked uncomfortable, but they'd done nothing to save her. And the Repo Man had said something about a legal repossession. What kind of world have I landed in? Buffy wondered with growing unease.

Aloud, she asked the woman, "Why would they do that?"

The woman looked at her oddly. "Isn't it obvious?" she asked warily.

Buffy felt a brush of frustration. She went to ask again, but Giles beat her to it. He approached the woman, speaking in a comforting tone. "Buffy and I are from out of town," he explained. "We don't exactly understand how everything works here." When the woman hesitated again, he decided to start small. "I'm sorry, I've quite forgotten to ask. What's your name?"

The woman hesitated once more, gaze flitting fearfully between her two saviors, before she finally murmured, "Rena Stewart."

"Nice to meet you, Rena," Giles greeted pleasantly. "My name is Rupert Giles, and this is Buffy Summers." Buffy gave a quick smile of greeting to Rena. Giles continued, "Now, like I said, we aren't from around here. It would be very helpful if you could explain to us who that Repo Man was, and why he was after you."

Rena still seemed wary. She crossed her arms over her chest, seeming to collect herself before speaking. "You must be from pretty far if you haven't heard of the Repo Man," she said.

"Fairly far," Giles said lightly.

Buffy took a step towards Rena, trying to keep her tone comforting. "Rena, I know that you've had a big shock tonight. I understand why you don't trust us. But I promise you that we only want to help. We can protect you, but that Repo Man won't be gone forever. He'll come back for you, and the only way we can protect you is if you tell us who he is and why he wants to kill you."

After several moments, the tense set to Rena's shoulders loosened, and she gave a small nod. "Alright." she said softly. "Come on, it's a long story, we might as well get comfortable."

Slowly, she turned away and led them further into the room. Buffy had mainly been focusing on Rena, but now she had a chance to look more at her surroundings. The room was small and dingy, a small, flickering lightbulb hanging from a string the only source of light. There was a counter on the side wall with a sink and a washer and dryer, and a fridge a few paces away. The center of the room held a table, surrounded by a beat-up old couch and some chairs. It almost looked like an old basement converted into a living area.

Rena sat on one of the chairs, and Giles and Buffy settled into the couch across from her. After a moment, Rena began. "Well, I can't really answer your question," she apologized. "No one knows who the Repo Man really is. All anyone knows is that he works for GeneCo, and if you fall behind on your payments, he comes for you."

There was already so much with that statement that Buffy didn't know what to do with, but she decided to start with the most obvious question. "What's GeneCo?"

That definitely earned a baffled look from Rena. "Only the most powerful company in the country," she said slowly, as though it should have been obvious. "They pretty much run everything around here."

"What exactly is it GeneCo does?" Giles asked.

"Surgery," Rena answered. "When the organ failure epidemic hit in the 70's, GeneCo were the ones who swooped in to save the day with their affordable organ financing. Now they mostly do cosmetic surgery. The marketing for it is huge - everyone has to have the latest GeneCo surgery."

Buffy remembered the inhuman appearance of all the people in this world. "What kind of surgery?" she asked.

"All kinds. Designer organs, corneas that let you digitally record memories, age lifts, race changes, you name it. If you want it, GeneCo's got it, and all affordable under their organ financing."

Giles's brow was furrowed, as though he were troubled. He pointed, "That sounds a little too perfect."

Rena inclined her head towards him, agreeing, "Yep. They've made surgery affordable by letting you pay in increments, but the interest tends to build up. And with the way they'd made surgery the big fashion statement of the century, people keep signing up for surgeries even when they haven't paid off the old ones."

Buffy had a feeling she wasn't going to like the answer, but she had to ask. "What happens to the people who can't pay off their debts?"

"Legal repossession," Rena answered grimly. "GeneCo managed to pass a bill through congress – the legalization of organ repossession. If you can't pay off your organ debts with money, GeneCo will send in a Repo Man to legally repossess GeneCo's property."

The Slayer felt sick to her stomach. She got this kind of vicious, gory violence from demons all the time, but for humans to pass that kind of law, for them to stand back and watch their own kind be murdered... "By property, you mean their organs," she stated, her tone dulled by shock.

Rena nodded. "Yes," she told her, the fearful glaze returning to her eyes. "Lungs, liver, spine, brain, whatever you got from GeneCo, they have the right to take it back, plus interest. If your heart has GeneCo's brand mark on it, the Repo Man will slice you open and pull it still beating from your chest." Buffy could see Rena was shaking as she spoke. The night's narrow escape was clearly still effecting her, and talking about her near-killer wasn't helping.

Buffy leaned back against the couch, still reeling from what Rena had told them. A world where murder of the innocent was not only legal, but accepted as a common part of life. Men and women hunted down in the streets, for the only crime of not paying a bill on time. Buffy was used to a world of monsters and demons, creatures who ate the hearts of virgins, or dissolved people into puddles of blood, or who turned their victims inside out. But somehow, none of that disturbed her as much as a world where the humans were as vile and merciless as the forces of darkness she'd been taught to hate and kill. When she'd gotten back into the game after LA, this was not what she had wanted to come back to. This was a new kind of evil, and one she wasn't sure she was ready to deal with.

While she was trying to rationalize what Rena had just told her, a knock at the door shocked her out of her thoughts. She stiffened immediately, hand reaching for her stake. Beside her, Giles also tensed, gaze darkening as he stared at the door. There was a pause, then a short series of rhythmic knocks. Buffy's hand closed around her stake as she rose, ready to confront whoever was on the other side of that door. Giles rose too, warning Rena in a low voice, "Stay back, let us take a look."

To Buffy's surprise, however, Rena seemed to brighten when she heard the knock. She pushed past the battle-ready Slayer and Watcher, reaching the door and pulling back all the bolts and chains. "Whart are you doing?" Buffy hissed, hurrying to her side. She kept a wary eye on the door, making a move to block Rena from the door.

Rena pushed Buffy's hand away dismissively, reaching back out to pull the last chain off the door. "Me and a couple friends found this place, and we stocked it up in case any of us had to dodge the Rep Man until we could find a way out of town," she explained. "We're the only ones who know that knock." She slid a key into the lock, twisted it until it clicked, then pulled the door open.

The door was only open for a moment; the knocker slipped inside quickly, pulling the door closed behind him in an instant. He pulled a few of the bolts shut behind him, then turned to Rena, looking her up and down with an air of relief. "You're alright?" he asked, as though he didn't believe it.

Rena nodded, grinning for the first time since Buffy had met her. It seemed the triumph of her own survival was finally setting in. "I'm fine, honestly," she promised the newcomer. He stared at her in disbelief for a moment, then reached out and pulled her into a quick hug. Rena was laughing now, sheer relief taking over as she hugged the man back. They pulled back after a moment, both grinning. Buffy watched the exchange warily. She had only just met the man, but something about him struck her as off.

The man's expression soon became an almost detached smirk – Buffy had the feeling this was his more natural expression, rather than the relief and affection he'd shown Rena. "Well, I gotta say I'm impressed," he commented, eyebrow raised. "I don't think anyone's survived the Repo Man this long. I think you might've set a new record." There was a tinge of bitterness to his tone, even in his genuine relief.

"If it'd just been me, I wouldn't have made it," Rena told him. She turned towards Buffy, wrapping an arm around her friend's waist as she told him, "This is Buffy, and that's Giles over there. They saved my life."

The man turned to look at Buffy. He wore a leather coat like Rena's, but far grungier, with faux fur on the shoulders, as well as finger-less leather gloves, and a long, thing, raggedy blue scarf of some kind. His brown hair fell well past his shoulder, with streaks of blue and red. He gave a crooked grin, something mysterious, and almost sinister about it. "Well, I guess I should thank -"

Buffy didn't give him a chance to finish. She exploded into movement, grabbing him by the lapels of his jacket, slamming him against the wall. Rena gasped, and the man started to thrash, as though trying to push her away. But Buffy already had her stake his his chest, her other hand pressing his throat against the wall. "Make another move, and you're dust," she growled.

He glared at her, the vaguely sinister light to his eyes now a blazing, menacing anger. In any other world, his outfit would've given away on the spot. Here, it was practically of the norm. But while the wardrobe was a red flag, that wasn't what had set Buffy off. His face was pale, too pale, his darkened lips and eyelids not helping the picture. And when his eyes had met hers, she had known.

"What the hell are you doing?" Rena demanded. She tried to tear Buffy off of her friend, but Giles pulled her off, herding her away from the Slayer and her prey. Rena struggled to pull free, blustering, "Let me go! Get off him, he's a friend!"

"He's not your friend," Buffy said darkly. Her deadly glare was locked with the man's angry gaze – she didn't look away for an instant. "Whoever he was before, that person is gone."

Rena stopped struggling long enough to look baffled. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Giles tried to shepherd her away, telling her, "Your friend is a danger to you, Rena. Come, you're not safe here."

"The hell he is!" Rena growled. She tried to pull free of Giles, but the smaller woman couldn't wrestle free of the Watcher's grasp. "Let Graverobber go!"

Buffy's eyes widened. "Graverobber?" she repeated with disbelief. It was all she could do not to laugh. "Your name is seriously Graverobber?" she questioned the man in front of her. It couldn't be a more conspicuous and pretentious title if it tried.

He shrugged as well as he could with the Slayer pinning him to the wall. "It works as well as any," he quipped. Now that his initial anger had faded, he seemed oddly unconcerned about the stake held against his heart. He'd regained that smug, mysterious ease he'd had earlier. "I thought I smelled a Slayer," he said with the same strange smirk of his. As Buffy watched, Graverobber's face began to morph. His brow became more pronounced, wrinkling into a permanent furrow, while his eyes went from dark to a deep, glowing amber. Buffy watched the change without expression, only pressing her stake harder against the vampire's chest. "Well," he said in a purr, his fangs visible as he flashed a grin. "This is an interesting turn."

"Really?" Buffy asked, allowing herself a half-amused smirk. "Can't say I was that surprised. The whole pale-skin, grunge look you've got going on really gives you away. And... come on, your name is Graverobber. You might as well have slapped a sign on your forehead saying 'I'm a vampire.'" She pressed her stake harder against his chest, admonishing, "You're gonna need to try a little harder to fool a Slayer."

"Oh, for god's sake." To Buffy's shock, Rena had pulled free of Giles, and before she could drive her stake through the vampire's chest, Rena had pushed between them. Buffy tried to shove her away, trying to get to the vampire, but Rena pushed hard against her chest, sending the Slayer staggering back a few steps. By the time she'd regained her footing enough to attack again, Rena was standing between Buffy and the vampire. She was turned towards Buffy, her back to the vampire, as she raised her arms in a beseeching sign to stay back. "Leave him alone," she said calmly.

Buffy stiffened, waiting for the vampire to take advantage of Rena's turned back. Her short hair and jacket left her neck totally exposed. It was right there – all the vampire had to do was reach out, and Buffy wouldn't be able to reach him in time to stop him. But to her shock, he stayed where he was. He seemed less concerned with Rena, and was instead watching Buffy. His expression seemed a touch wary, but mostly calm, just watching to see what she would do.

The Slayer wavered. All she wanted was to attack – attacking a vampire was pure instinct at this point. But Rena was in her way, and she couldn't risk the human getting hurt. Reluctantly, she lowered her stake, taking a half-step back. "Rena, step away from him," she ordered in a low voice.

"Why? Because he's a vampire?" Buffy's eyes widened in shock. Rena seemed almost amused at the Slayer's surprise. She smirked, lowering her arms as she told Buffy, "Yeah, I know what he is. I'm one of the few he's told." Rena glanced back at the vampire, joking, "I guess that makes me special or something."

Graverobber smirked, replying dryly, "You didn't give me a whole lot of choice. It was either tell you why you'd stumbled over me feeding on a corpse, or kill you, and I thought that would be a bit of a shame."

Rena chuckled. "Oh, is that all? Just a shame?" She gave his shoulder a light punch, joking, "It's a wonder I keep you around."

Buffy watched their interaction with utter confusion. It was clear that Rena knew exactly what her vampire friend was, but she seemed completely at ease with him, treating him as a good friend rather than the demonic hellspawn he was.

Uncertain, she took a half-step back, trying to rationalize the scene in front of her. She had allied with vampires in the past, through necessity, but this seemed to be more than that. Rena seemed to have somehow earned the vampire's legitimate friendship. Vampires were creatures without souls, incapable of caring for anyone – except for one. The only one who'd been different, the only vampire she had ever cared about, and had ever cared about her. What she'd had to do to him.

Stop it. She gave a brisk shake of her head, pushing those thoughts as far away as possible. That's in the past, leave it there. The Slayer banished her painful memories to the back of her mind, forcing her thoughts to return to the vampire and human in front of her.

Logically, she knew it was possible for a vampire to regain its soul. That was the only explanation that she knew of for a vampire capable of compassion. But of all the vamps she'd slain, she'd only even known one who'd been given his soul back, and it had taken a very specific spell that had long been forgotten about. The likelihood of the vampire in front of her having his soul was one in a million.

Aloud, she told the vampire and human, "Listen, I've had a really long day, and I'm not in the mood for screwing around. So far, I've got no proof that you're not the same soulless blood-sucker as the rest of them." She took a threatening step towards him, saying in a firm tone, "So step away from the girl."

"Buffy, slow down." That was Giles. He had followed Rena over to the Slayer and vampire, and was standing a few paces away now, looking warily between all of them. "Let's hear them out." When Buffy threw him a surprised glare, he pointed out, "Rena seems to trust him."

"Oh, one human trusts a vampire, hooray," Buffy snarked. "Give the vamp a prize, he must be a saint if one person decided to like him." At Giles' unamused glare, she softened her tone. "I'm not saying it's impossible for a vampire to be good, but I'm gonna need a lot more than one person's word before I let a vamp roam loose."

Giles replied calmly, "I didn't suggest to simply let him go. But let's think the situation through before jump straight to slaying." When Buffy continued to look uncertain, he crossed over to her, coming to stand at his Slayer's side. In a low murmur only she could hear, he told her, "I know how it ended last time you trusted a vampire." Buffy stiffened at the blatant reference to her past, feeling a sharp jab of pain with the memories it brought. No, you don't know, she thought darkly. But she forced the memories away once again, focusing instead on her Watcher as he spoke again. "Just give them a chance to explain."

The Watcher was speaking low enough only for the Slayer to hear, but he kept his gaze up, keeping an eye on Rena and Graverobber. The Watcher was advocating for a cease-fire between the Slayer and vampire, but he wasn't stupid. "Rena trusts him. We don't know anyone else here, and I fear we've made a rather bad enemy of the Repo Man, and this GeneCo who employs him. Rena is the only ally we've found so far, and it would be dangerous to let go of that right now, especially if she truly has a vampire on her side."

Buffy was still unsure, but she recognized Giles' point. They were utterly alone in this world, stranded without a single familiar face. They had already made a powerful enemy, and they only had one source of information so far. It wouldn't do to alienate her and her vampire friend, no matter how reluctant Buffy was to trust a vampire.

With reluctance, she nodded, relaxing her tensed posture. "Fine," she told Graverobber. "Tell me why I shouldn't dust you."

The vampire grinned, almost mockingly. "Finally. Took you long enough, Slayer." Buffy resisted the urge to lob her stake at his heart. He stepped past Rena, reaching out a hand for Buffy to shake. Reluctantly, warily, she took it. With a grin, he told her, "It's a bit of a long story."

Sorry about the wait, I had some writer's block issues, and then I wasn't happy with part of this chapter, so I consulted with my cousin (the designated Buffy expert) to fix it. She really helped me out with this one, which was awesome of her. ^^

Anyway, I'm satisfied with the chapter now. Unfortunately, I thought I'd be able to fit more in, so I might need to add an extra chapter, but ah well.

So yeah, I made Graverobber a vampire in this 'verse. It really seemed to fit him. Really pale skin, slightly creepy (but awesome), hangs around graveyards and corpses all day, we only ever see him at night (granted the movie only takes place at night but still)... And plus, if he's older than he appears, it also helps explain why he seems to know so much about GeneCo and the Repo Man.

More explanation about how Graverobber came to be a vampire later, and we'll finally get to the movie's events. I'll try to update sooner this time.