Buffy and Angel: 9/11/01

Part of the Omniverse Project

by Benji The Vampire Confuser

All characters herein belong to Joss Whedon.

Willow was making breakfast with the TV on in the background. She was up quite early, earlier than usual, in truth, she hadn't gotten much sleep anyway. She been researching the resurrection spell, and doing repairs on the Buffy-Bot. Behind her, Tara entered. "You do intend to sleep again right?" she asked. Willow smiled, still mixing pancake batter. "Eventually. What are you doing up so early?"

"It's harder to sleep when you're not next to me." Tara smiled. "You need any help?" She picked up a jar of raspberry jam from the counter. Willow had apparently been planning on making Dawn's lunch when she was done.

Willow heard Tara gasp, and then heard the jar shatter on the kitchen floor. She spun, expecting the worst. But there was no Demon, no supernatural horror. Her eyes suddenly fixed on the TV. "What's happening?" she asked softly.

Then the second plane hit. And she whimpered. She and Tara reached for each other blindly. Neither looking away.

Cordelia had a headache. She wondered if maybe she'd had a vision in her sleep. Why did Dennis have the TV on? He was usually more considerate.

"Dennis, turn the TV off I'm trying to sleep!" she called out, and buried her head under the pillow. Instead, her ghostly room mate turned up the volume. She gritted her teeth. If he wasn't already dead, she would have killed him. Then the words she was hearing penetrated. She bolted from her bed and dashed into the living room. She snatched up the phone, and then froze. She didn't know who to call. The Hotel? What could any of them do about this? Her parents?

Xander held Anya's hand as the watched the terror unfold. Xander only half listened to the horrified babble of his mother on the phone. "With Humans like this," Anya said softly. "Who needs Demons?"

"What the hell are we fighting for man?" Gunn asked no one in particular. Wesley had brought in a television after hearing the news on the radio. "We could get rid of all the Demons in the world, and then we'd just manage to wipe ourselves out. What's the point?" Wesley didn't have an answer. Neither did Fred, watching silently and unseen on the balcony. She'd escaped that other dimension for this?

Spike didn't know what to think. He was evil. But even he couldn't figure out the evil of humans. The same faith that could ward him off now was a weapon against humans again.

Demon's could cry. And Lorne proved it.

Dawn sat sandwiched between Willow and Tara wishing with all her heart that Buffy and her mother were here. All three were silent, staring at the television. In the doorway, the Buffy-Bot looked on, confused.

"What's going on?"

Angel was over half a world away when he heard the news. Of all the times to be away from those he loved. Of all the times not to be where the bad guys were. That was what hurt most. He fought evil. That was his job. His entire reason for being. And he had no one to fight. He didn't know who the bad guys were. He didn't know what to do. And that scared him.

Giles heard the call waiting beep for what must have been the twentieth time. No doubt old friends from England trying to get hold of him. "I'm sorry Anya, but I must go now." He sighed. "Yes, I'll look into whether or not there are any Vengeance Demons we can call on." He hung up sighing. If only it were that easy. But he had lived through horrendous times before. He talked to a few friends, all the while hearing the call waiting. He ended the day at Buffy's house. He was the oldest, and they were looking to him. Too bad he had nothing comforting to say.

On September11th, I got up at eight, nine in the morning, earlier than my custom at the time. I was planning on making a trip to the bay. The first thing I heard that morning was the news on my clock radio, waking me. A plane had hit the world trade center. I didn't think much of it. I'd heard tales of a small plane hitting the world trade center way back almost before my time. I was only in my early 20's. I got in the shower.

When I got out, my father was waiting for me. Had I heard the news? Yes I had. No, I hadn't. A second plane had hit while I was in the shower. Obviously not an accident. I was a little shocked, but still, it hadn't rocked my world. Then I found out they were not small planes. They were 747's.

I made my way downstairs to the TV and just watched. Smoke billowing from the twin towers. It didn't look real. Particularly the one shot of the anchorman standing across the river from the towers. Surreal. I wasn't upset yet. I was curious. Like a passerby at a car accident. Morbid, maybe. But not really effected. I was a bit smug actually. Hah, the towers are still standing you Assholes, give it up, you suck. My dad pointed out the same thing. They kept trying at the towers and they would not fall. No one could knock down the towers. "You've managed to kill just about everyone else, but like a poor marksman, you keep missing the target!" said Captain Kirk.

Down at the bottom were little updates and bulletins as they played the plane footage over and over. I was beginning to get scared. Dad was in the garage getting ready to leave for work.

"Dad the Pentagon's been hit!"

"Dad the National Mall's on fire!"

"Dad there were explosions outside the White House!"

"Dad, I think part of one of the towers fell! Like a corner or something."

Dad left for work. And I decided that I would not let some Terrorist Assholes keep me from having my day out. I was scared by this point. Would I be able to get past DC? There are a lot of planes in the air. Where else are they trying to hit? Will the bridge be closed? Will bridge be there? Will it go away while I'm crossing it? I went anyway. Was I being disrespectful of what had happened? Some might say yes. I don't think I was.

I did not listen to music on my trip. I had it on DC101, wanting to know what Elliot and the Class had to say about the events. I only heard Elliot speak once. "I can't believe the World Trade Center is gone." Less than ten minutes after me and my father had gloated about how the towers still stood, they both fell. I called everybody from my cell phone who's number I could remember off the top of my head. Anger didn't hit me for many days. I was too shocked, to scared. What was coming next? Who did it? Everyone was denying responsibility, didn't terrorists want everyone to know who'd done it? Was World War Three about to start? Would the world end? Was the Book of Revelation about to come true? Would I be drafted?

Eventually, I found myself wanting to hear people talk about it. Not just world leaders, and friends. But celebrities. Actors, sports stars, Musicians. And finally, fictional characters. I bought every comic I could find that got published about the day. This is just one of the shows that I wondered about. Please, if you know of any other stories like this, let me know.

Ben Church