***All of the characters and places from the Buffy-verse are the property of the writers, actors and Fox. This is just my take on their work and they are in no way responsible for anything said or implied by myself.

Any characters of my creation are mine and mine alone for better or worse.

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Los Angeles, the city of Angels had to be the biggest lie she had ever heard, Buffy thought pushing her way through the flocks of sinners who haunted her club every night. The River Styx had a reputation for loud music, stiff drinks and the perfect place to fill your darkest desires. Vampires, demons and humans alike filled her place to capacity each night and that proved to her mind that there were more demons than angels in LA these days.

Since Vampires and other demons had convinced the ACLU to take their case for civil rights and liberties to the supreme court they were now considered to be the same as humans in the eyes of the law. They had grown tired of skulking in the shadows and in the year 3000 they had decided it was time to step into the light...metaphorically of course. At first the general populace hadn’t been to thrilled to discover that the monsters from the horror movies had come to life but once they learned that eternal life was no longer a myth but a reality, they had been more than willing to welcome them into the world.

There were rules of course, you had to be twenty-one before you could legally become a vampire or other half breed and there were also drawbacks as well. The biggest one being that any preternatural creature who takes a human life by either murder or siring someone under the legal age of consent, were issued a death sentence. No trial, no chance to explain themselves just their name placed on the top of an order of execution.

Which is where Buffy came in. She was a legally recognized slayer with the full backing of the law behind her. Her mother had been human but her father had more than a few demons in his gene pool. Hank Summers had actually been Har’tuh one of the most feared hell gods of the mortal globe...a little fact he failed to mention to his wife. He had the ability to assume a human form but when she had been born it hadn’t taken her mother long to realize she was different than other girls. She healed faster than humans and had the strength and reflexes of a demon.

Demons had been legalized for more than a few years by then and Joyce, not being a fool confronted her husband about his less than human ancestry. He admitted his deception but explained that he should not have been able to create a child, which was why he hadn’t told her about his true nature. Some demons or half breeds like werewolves could mate with humans but hell gods were immortals.

Not immortal like vampires wished they were but truly immortal, as in can’t be killed by any means. Stab them, poison them and cut them into tiny little bits and they won’t die. Their bodies simply regenerate and then you have one ticked off demon with unbelievable power on your hands. But If they displeased their vessel of power or the one who elevated them in the first place, most of their demon gifts are stripped away.

Other demons called them the fallen ones, because they were doomed to live until the end of time never able to return to their place of glory. Living forever had it’s drawbacks and most of the fallen ones, locked themselves away in tombs like the ancient pharaoh's of old, as an act of penance for proving to be unworthy of their godhead.

Har’tuh wasn’t exactly the repentant type and he had used what powers he still possessed to make a new name for himself. Hank Summers was already a regular on the Fortune 500 list by the time he had met Joyce, and he got there by ruling the business world of high finance just like you would expect an ex-hell god would...ruthlessly. He had fallen for Joyce because she was homespun in the best sense of the word. True to her nature she forgave him for his lies and accepted the fact that her child was truly a miracle.

But little did she know a rare form of cancer had snuck into her brain eating away her life silently. By the time they discovered it was there, it was too late. She died when Buffy had been three, showing Hank another drawback of immortality..human mortality. Until he had met Joyce, he had formed no attachments to humans and her death had destroyed him in a way losing his powers hadn‘t. No one except for Joyce had known his true name and he feared that if it was discovered the enemies of his past would use his child to obtain their revenge. Fearing her safety he sent her away to live with his business associates Jana and Rupert Giles in London.

Jana or Jenny as she liked to be called, was a part of the old world thanks to her gypsy heritage and an accomplished Technopagan who monitored all of his business computers for preternatural booby traps. Her husband Rupert was a renowned expert in all things preternatural and was often called upon to give his opinions when arranging deals with demons. Confident that they were the only people equipped to raise the daughter of a fallen one, he had given them his parental rights and the truth about his identity.

They had raised her like their own child, and she had always believed that they were her true parents. Atleast until she turned sixteen. That was the year an enterprising journalist from the New York Times had somehow discovered the truth about Hank Summers and the fact he had a child. His story not only broke the news to the world but also to his daughter. When she had read the article that mentioned her by her first name only and showed a picture of her playing in the park with her mother, the careful cocoon of normalcy and safety her father and the Giles’s had tried to give her shattered.

Demons came out of the woodwork making nearly each day a constant battle for survival. By the time she was seventeen most demons had learned that she not someone they wanted to mess with and her reputation somehow reached the ears of the demonic taskforce. The Initiative, recognizing her skills offered her a job. She spent the next five years traveling the globe taking out hostile demons, further increasing her reputation, despite the fact that it was a Black Ops organization.

There were no secrets that could be kept from the demon world but not once did her father ever try to contact her. When she turned twenty-one he had bestowed upon her a large trust fund but still never bothered to meet her face to face. A year later she had retired to LA, planning on making a life for herself that didn’t include demons and bloodshed but fate had other ideas. A gang of vampires chose that year to make their presence known by massacring innocents nightly. For seven nights the streets ran with blood and the bodies began piling up and then the local preternatural task force had come to her asking for help.

She had wanted to refuse, but she couldn’t, not after watching the faces of the victims flashed on the news each night. She agreed to a one time deal only and they gave her the full authority of a slayer. She and the rest of the team dealt with them but since once you were a slayer your authority never expired, they tended to call her in when things became to much for them to handle. Since she could never say no, she finally understood that her life would never be ordinary.

Like it or not demons were a part of her life so instead of running away from that fact, she opened The River Styx instead. In Greek mythology the river served as a crossroads where the world of the living met the world of the dead and the world of the mortal met the world of the immortal. In short it was the perfect name for a nightclub that not only welcomed demons but was run by the daughter of a fallen one. For her patrons it was a place to visit the underworld in relative safety and for her it was a way to bring both her worlds together.

Now at twenty-five she owned one of the hottest clubs in LA and every once in awhile she helped mankind by slaying some big nasty blight on humanity who didn‘t understand that humans weren‘t happy meals with legs any more. All in all it worked for her.

She walked over to the bar to check up on her bartenders. “How’s it going tonight Xand?”

“We’re running low on blood and Jack but everything else is running around usual.” He told her never breaking his rhythm.

“Damn it Xander, it’s your job to handle this shit.”

“Don’t worry Willy’s going to drop us off a couple cases to get us through the night and the full order will be delivered tomorrow before we open. The Jack’s not going to make it, so we’re running the whisky sours at half price and offering dollar draws.” He explained, pouring shots.

“Did you ever think about calling the supplier like you did Willy?” She asked sliding behind the bar to help.

“Yeah well humans aren’t really afraid of me since they know I can’t kill them, so no luck there.” He admitted.

“Let’s go back to the office.” She said before pointing to one of the other bartenders, letting them know that they needed to take Xander‘s place.

They made their way through the crowd with ease and headed into her office. The club itself was painted in deep burgundies and solid blacks because it was expected but her office reflected her own sense of style. The walls were painted the color of the ocean at night when only the stars and moon keep it a deep blue instead of an inky black. All of the furniture was the color of aged driftwood while the fabric on the sofa and chairs was the true beige of fresh sand. Instead of carpet she had gone with marble floors with thin rivers of light blues running through it. Just like the soundproofing it had cost a pretty penny but it had been worth it to create a perfect haven from noise and jostling bodies outside.

She walked around her desk and picked up the phone. She punched in the number to their liquor supplier and motioned for Xander to have a seat. After going through several peons and all of the upper management she finally found herself talking to the boss. “This is Buffy out at The River Styx and my manager just informed me that your company can’t send over a few cases of Jack Daniels to get us through the night.”

“I’m sorry Ms. Summers but we close shop at 5 pm and if we make an exception for you then our other clients will expect the same treatment.”

“But this club isn’t like your other clients now is it? We send some serious money your way and if you can’t make an exception for us every once in a while, then I bet one of your competitors will.” Buffy told him coldly. She listened to him a few moments longer and then hung up the phone. “Send a couple of boys out back to meet the truck.”

“Okay lesson learned.” Xander told her seriously impressed at how she handled the situation. His boss didn’t take shit from nobody and he respected that. Especially since she was part human. He got to his feet smoothly, his leather jacket rustling softly against the natural fibers of the chair.

“Just remember Xand, the trick to dealing with humans in the business world is the threaten them where it hurts…the bank account. We’re one of the premier clubs in the area and there are lots of suppliers more than willing to take his place.” Buffy told him simply. “But you did a good job with Willy and you handled the shortage well. In this business you’ve got to be able to adjust to any situation quickly and so far you’ve been handling that pretty well.”

“Thanks boss.” Xander said with a nod. He was the recently dead, less than five years and his mind was still adjusting to the change. It takes awhile to forget that your not human anymore and despite contrary belief vamps don’t rise from their graves with the inherited knowledge of their sire. Just like growing up as a human there was a lot of learning involved and learning had never exactly been his strong point.

He was never going to be a master anything which is why he was determined to do a great job here. “Anything else you need?”

“Yeah could you send…” She changed her mind mid sentence. She had planned on doing some paperwork but she had this sudden desire to get lost in the crowd for a while. “You know what I’ll just talk to her later.”

She got up and followed Xander out breathing in the atmosphere. The main dance floor in the center glowed like a single bright candle and the further you walked away the darker the place became. It was a place that made you feel sexy and adventurous like everything you could never let yourself experience or admit to during the light of day was suddenly possible and not only was it accepted it was expected. This wasn’t one of those phony places straight out of a bad B movie, it was decadently elegant and unabashedly sensual. The booths were covered in the finest leather the velvet backed chairs and sofas had been imported from Italy, giving it the old world flair that the master vampires appreciated. But the live bands she hired were on the cutting edge of modern music which pulled in the young and upwardly mobile executives looking for a place to unwind.

The second story on the other hand was brightly illuminated with hundreds of tiny fairy lights and it was a place of brushed silk wall coverings and a color palette that was as light and pale as the main floor was dark and vivid. It was done in the softest creams and the faintest pinks and blues and to reach it you had to walk up one of the two burnished silver staircases that spiraled upward with delicate curves and bends. Giving one the allusion of ascending to place of innocence and light. It had a bar made entirely of white marble with gold filigree accents that covered it like the feather stokes of an angel’s wings. The second floor was for those a little unsure of the delights awaiting them down in the dark.

Tonight she felt like indulging in the wicked temptations of the dark. She wanted to dance, feel the other bodies in the room pressing around her like a velvet glove. It was oddly intimate to writhe in the dark with virtual strangers surrounding you. Their breath forcing itself out of their lips and across your skin as they exerted their bodies to the music pumping around them like a mother’s heartbeat. Feeling leather behind you while on another side there was velvet, lace or silk. The mixing and clashing of the perfumes and colognes surrounding you, filling your lungs with every scent imaginable. All of your senses were stimulated at the same time and since she wasn’t into chemical recreation it was the closest thing to being in a drug induced haze as she would get.

She felt a pair of cool hands circle around her stomach drawing her closer from behind. Normally she would have pulled away, she preferred dancing alone, but she felt an excited shiver of desire trace its way down her back. It had been awhile since she had felt something even close to desire so she let herself be pulled back against a rock hard chest full of sharp planes and deep valleys.

They danced for a few minutes and she felt his hands turn her around so that they could finally see each other face to face. His hair was a mess of brown curls tinted a violent shade of white blonde at the tips as if he had dyed it all and was now letting the color naturally grow out. She was envious of his impossibly sculpted cheekbones but they suited the sharp angular lines of his face to perfection. But as stunning as his face was, it was his eyes that were truly breathtaking. At the center the were the palest shade of blue she had ever seen and like bleeding ripples of a pond the color deepened as it traveled further away from his pupil. A single scar high on his eyebrow marred the overall perfection of his face but it matched the clothing he wore. He was wearing a nearly floor length black leather duster with tight black jean encasing his long slender legs and narrow waist and a silk shirt the same color as the darkest blue in his eyes. Everything about him screamed, bad boy and she had a weakness for that in a man or a demon.

While she was studying him, he was studying her just as intently. Her golden blonde hair swung freely just beneath her high firm breasts with a few streaks of deep cherry red adding a bit of edge to her. Her face was a soft oval with full pouty lips and eyes the color of fresh grass in spring. She was wearing tight black leather pants that had showcased her tight heart shaped ass to perfection and a shimmery jade green sequined top that tied from behind at the nape of her neck and the center of her back leaving plenty of creamy white skin exposed between and at the sides.

Just looking at her made him hard but all he did was give her a seductive grin. “You like what you see luv?”