Xander and the Spring of the Drowned Girl

A Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Ranma 1/2 crossover

Author's note: I do not own the characters in this story, just the situations involved. All Buffy the Vampire Slayer characters are the property of Joss Whedon. All Ranma 1/2 characters are the property of Rumiko Takahasi. That being said, enjoy!

Ch.1 A Visit to China

Buffy Summers couldn't remember a time she had ever felt this free. The First Evil's plan to bring suffering to the world had been effectively derailed. Sunnydale's hellmouth was destroyed, along with the city itself. It had been a time of great joy and great sadness at once. Buffy and her friends had triumphed, but at a huge cost. Anya, Amanda, and Spike had been lost during the final battle, as well as several other potentials. "What are we going to do now?" Dawn had questioned as the group stared into the crater that was left of Sunnydale. Giles was quick to point out that there was another hellmouth in Cleveland, Ohio. No rest for the weary.

As it turned out, Cleveland wasn't that bad. As a result of the spell Willow cast, slayers were popping up everywhere. Evil was truly on the run. Buffy's main challenge was locating new slayers so that they could be trained properly. The Watchers Council having been destroyed, Giles formed a new council. Things ran smoothly for several months. Then Buffy got the surprise of a life time. Spike had been reincarnated in Los Angeles, and had acutally been helping Angel for a while. It was after Angel's group had a final battle of their own that Spike rejoined Buffy.

"I thought you were gone," Buffy said when Spike showed up without warning on her doorstep. Spike smirked. "What can I say? I'm bad." Buffy laughed at the joke. "Come in, Spike." The blonde vampire entered with no further theatrics. It was at this moment that Xander Harris came downstairs. "Hey, Buffy," he greeted with a smile. "Spike," he acknowledged, before doing a double take. The look on his face sent Buffy into a fit of laughter. "Wait...What...Huh?" Xander asked. He'd never been more confused. "I'm baack!" Spike said with a laugh.

The entire group got together. "I think a vacation is in order," Buffy said happily. As Dawn and Willow jumped for joy, Giles asked, "What about the new slayers?" Buffy shrugged. It was only a half-hearted objection. Running the new Watcher's Council was tough work. Giles had never felt so tired, not even when he was training to be a watcher. "What about them?" Buffy asked. "Kennedy and Rona are capable enough to run things for a while." Giles gave her a look. "Yes, because nothing could possibly go wrong there." Buffy rolled her eyes. "What, we've been fighting the good fight for seven years now. We deserve some R&R." Willow put a hand on Buffy's shoulder and smiled happily. "We could call Angel to babysit them," she suggested.

Spike fell to the ground laughing at this. "Calling Angel to watch a bunch of teenage hormone bombs? I don't even think Drusilla could come up with a worse torture, and she's insane." Giles gave in. "It's settled then," Buffy said. "So where should we go?" Dawn asked. She, too, couldn't stop laughing at the prospect of Angel having to babysit. "I don't know," Buffy replied. Xander scratched his chin. "Hawaii, the Bahamas," he said with a laugh. "Except it's winter right now, and there's no chance of seeing girls in bikinis," Giles pointed out. Xander's smile changed to a frown. "I hear China's lovely this time of year," Spike suggested.

"I always wanted to see the Great Wall," Buffy said. "China?" Giles asked. "How?" Spike laughed. "I have plenty of money," he said. "Come on, live a little." Giles sighed heavily. And a few days later, Buffy and company were on a plane to China. Buffy remembered the look of disbelief on Angel's face when she convinced him to slayer-sit. "Really?" he asked. "You want me to stay here for two weeks while you go to China?" Buffy resorted to the most feared weapon in her arsenal, and it wasn't a stake.

The dreaded puppy-dog pout. "That's not gonna work, Buffy," he said in protest. Buffy was undettered. She continued to stare at him. Finally Angel could take no more. "Fine," he said. "But you owe me, big time," he warned. As soon as he said this, Kennedy came out of the house with a sly grin on her face. "Don't worry, Buffy. We'll be good." The Slayer narrowed her eyes at the younger girl. "You'd better," she said sternly.

Xander was sitting next to Buffy as the plane landed. "Do you know where we are?" he asked with a grin. Buffy shrugged. "I have no idea, Xand." A flight attendant happened to overhear their conversation. "We're in Jusenkyo Province," the young lady replied. "Thank you," Buffy said with a smile. The group exited the plane with no further adue. "At least it's night right now," Spike said. Willow put a hand on Buffy's shoulder. "I saw a bunch of springs just before we landed," she said. Buffy smiled. "I could use a midnight swim."