Quietly Remembered, 1/1, Prompt #6 - Nebula

[authoressnebula.livejournal.com]

Title: Quietly Remembered
Fandom: BtVS - Xander (no pairings)
Prompt: #6 - Mecca
Warnings: None.
Rating: G, PG for mentioning death.
Summary: What had once been the most abysmal place in all of California was now a tourist attraction.

Wordcount: 1051

Concrit is, as always, welcomed. Thanks to everyone so far that's helped me get to the point I'm at now!

What had once been the most abysmal place in all of California was now a tourist attraction. The people that wouldn't have visited it before were now flocking from all over the country and world to see the ruins. It hadn't even really been on any maps, the town had been so tiny and lost to the modern world. These days, however, Sunnydale was a well known word in most homes.

Pictures of the town in its before and after glory had been displayed in papers for months after the Collapse. It was spoken of these days in awe and wonder, and a definite capitalization. The Collapse captured the minds and the imaginations of many, and it had been front page news in both prestigious newspapers and those not so well known science fiction types.

The logical, scientific types claimed that an earthquake had brought the town to its knees. Then there were the sci-fi fans who loved the idea of alien beings destroying the entire thing. Others with a turn towards religion said that the town had been cursed for years, and God had finally done away with it.

Out of all of them, Xander had to think that the last one was the closest. The town had been cursed by beings of Hell for too long. Perhaps God had decided to intervene with mercy and wipe it from the face of the earth.

Of course, God probably hadn't planned on humans converging even more to the spot he'd tried to keep from them. Humans were like that.

It would've amused Xander, if he hadn't known the real reason Sunnydale had gone under for good. He'd been one of the survivors, for crying out loud. Hadn't that attracted a lot of unwanted attention when he'd stayed in LA.

Someone at one of the stores he'd been shopping at had asked for some form of ID. He'd stupidly shown them his construction card that stated specifically what town he'd been working in.

The man had stared at him in shock, then in wide eyed amazement, and had asked him if he'd been there when the Collapse had gone down. The word had traveled through the entire store, and people had gathered around him, asking him questions. He'd had people gazing at him in sympathetic horror, saying at least he'd gotten out of Sunnydale alive, albeit handicapped.

That had been the last straw, and Xander had practically run out of the store, forgetting whatever he'd gone in to buy.

It seemed almost ironic that he was here now as one of the tourists. Of course, he wasn't really a tourist, per se. He was here by Willow's request, to make sure that the Hellmouth wasn't acting up again. They had enough to worry about without adding in a place they'd 'closed' coming back to bite them in the ass.

As the tour group walked around the edge of the crater, with their guide droning on about the town, Xander knelt and pulled out a camera, as if to take a picture. As he did so, he took the small electronic gizmo from his pocket that she'd given him. It slid easily into the dirt, and once it was in, he pulled himself up, placing the camera away.

He'd be able to monitor it from anywhere in the world now, thanks to his handy GPS tracking device. If any sort of waves, magical or otherwise, touched that device, he'd be able to see it. Willow was getting craftier at combining her magics with her love of electronic toys.

Once the tour was over, he stepped away from the crowd towards a small bit of brush near the edge. He knelt once more, not to snap a photo, but to honor a memory. They'd laid small markers here for all those that had fallen in Sunnydale. They'd left them nameless, for fear of attracting attention. Several girls had been honored at this spot, including his girl. Spike had been honored as well.

He brought his fingers to his lips, closing his eye for a moment. Gently he pulled his fingers away, only to press them to the stone marker that had been placed there. “I miss you,” he whispered. It still hurt to think about her, even three months after the day.

The ache was duller these days, though. Time had passed, and the haunting memory of not being able to find and save her had been replaced with the many happier memories they'd shared. Buffy had done the same with Spike and the many girls that had fought by her side. Time passed, and life kept moving. He hated that it did sometimes, but more often, he was thankful for it.

There was always work to finish, always projects left to complete. There were groceries to buy and eat. There were dwellings to clean up and maintain. Even Sunnydale wasn't over and done: it had now turned into a mecca of sorts, with people coming from all over to snap a photo of themselves beside the wide and mysterious crater, if just to claim they'd been there.

So long as the Hellmouth stayed shut, they could wander around to their heart's content. He wanted the world sometimes to recognize just how great Sunnydale had been. It was a spot to be remembered: lives had been fought for on this ground. The world had almost ended because of this town. Friendships had blossomed and love had been found on the Hellmouth. It was a place where heroes had triumphed. All of those things were worth visiting this place for.

Of course, no one would ever know what had really happened down there. No one except those who had survived it. All it would be remembered for was the large crater that had swallowed an entire town whole.

Xander rose to his feet and glanced one last time at the crater. People were talking with each other, gazing over the edge to see what was really down there. There was laughter and the murmur that came from any group of voices joining together.

He turned away from the crowds that were still gathered at the edge of the crater and silently headed towards his car, leaving them to gape and wonder at the Collapse.

~Nebula

Comments

[frk-werewolf.livejournal.com]

Omg. This was beautiful, honey!

Gently he pulled his fingers away, only to press them to the stone marker that had been placed there. “I miss you,” he whispered.
*wipes away tears*

[authoressnebula.livejournal.com]

Aww, thank you darlin'! I'm glad you liked it.

And quotage!! SQUEE! *tacklesmooch* I'm really glad you enjoyed that bit, even if it did make you cry. *hands you a tissue*

~Nebula

[authoressnebula.livejournal.com]

Squee for more quotage!! Thank you sweetie!

Definitely called on my own experience for that one, because I've found it really IS true. There's always an ache, and when you think about them, sometimes your immediate response is to cry. Then the good things that happened start popping, and soon you're smiling fondly, and tears are the last thing you're thinking of.

*huggles back*

~Nebula

[dedra.livejournal.com]

Quietly awesome. Silent tribute. Speechless reviewer.

[authoressnebula.livejournal.com]

Thank you SO MUCH. The speechlessness is too awesome for words, so I will also stay quiet. *hugs*

~Nebula

[rachel2205.livejournal.com]

I love this! Xander so rarely gets fics by himself. He comes across as a proper person here, which is rare, and I was moved by:

He brought his fingers to his lips, closing his eye for a moment. Gently he pulled his fingers away, only to press them to the stone marker that had been placed there. “I miss you,” he whispered. It still hurt to think about her, even three months after the day.

Just a tiny little note though - "per se" isn't spelt "per say". I know that a LOT of people make that mistake, so hopefully you won't mind me noticing! It's Latin, meaning "by itself".

[authoressnebula.livejournal.com]

Thanks sweetie! He really doesn't, does he? Too often he's the sidekick, so it was nice to give him the spotlight for once.

SQUEE for quotage! So glad you liked that part. I wanted to make it emotionally, but not draw the picture too firmly, so I'm really glad it worked out.

And THANK YOU so much sweetie; I don't mind you noticing in the slightest. This is why I shouldn't believe my spell checker...(*glares at it*) Thank you muchos; heading to change it now!

~Nebula

[texanfan.livejournal.com]

Very good quiet, contemplative piece. It's appropriate to have Xander being the one summing up Sunnydale. Not only did he lose so much there but he's the one who was born and raised there. Who never left to go farther than Oxnard until Sunnydale collapsed. His whole life is down there.

So long as the Hellmouth stayed shut, they could wander around to their heart's content. He wanted the world sometimes to recognize just how great Sunnydale had been. It was a spot to be remembered: lives had been fought for on this ground. The world had almost ended because of this town. Friendships had blossomed and love had been found on the Hellmouth. It was a place where heroes had triumphed. All of those things were worth visiting this place for.

This was a lovely description of what a makes a place worth remembering, the sort of thing it's rarely remembered for by crowds of tourists. They're looking at a war memorial and don't even know it.

My only quibble, and it's really a quibble, is that 3 months seems too soon to me, both for the tours and everything to be in place and for Xander to have moved past so much of the pain. But I could be completely off base there.

[authoressnebula.livejournal.com]

Thanks sweetie; I'm glad you liked it being Xander. I debated it being Willow or Giles, but Xander spoke out to me more, so I went with him.

And SQUEEEEE, quotage!! Wow. I feel so lucky that you quoted all of that. *does happy dance*

It really is a war memorial, and most people will never know. In the Civil War momuments I've visited and seen, there's always a mass grave, and that's that. No one really pays any sort of attention; it's just a mass grave. There are men in there that had wives and children and sweethearts and mothers that were remembered individually by other people, and the enormity of that is often lost on a touring crowd.

For the touring thing, it may have been a bit early, but if it had hit the news like that and then been such a mystery, it probably would've started up pretty fast. People always love finding easy ways to make money.

To the pain issue, that's a good point. Even right after the battle, though, Xander seemed sort of like he was pushing it down. I think they'd said their goodbyes before hand, knowing very likely that one, if not both of them, was going to make it out.

Thanks though for those 'quibbles' of yours; I need to remember all sorts of points when writing a fic, including time. This is why I love your feedback; you're honest and sincere. Thanks hun. *hugs*

~Nebula

[jesterlady]

That was sweet remembrance. There didn't need to be a big fanfare, the world doesn't need to know what happened, they can marvel all they want. But what happened there, for at least the 7 years we know of, it won't be forgotten and people, real live people, that was a world they lived in and loved for all the pain it brought. Thank you for remembering that.

[authoressnebula.livejournal.com]

Wow. Your comment has rendered me speechless. I'm really glad you liked the look back sweetie.

Still wow-ing over here. Thank you. *hugs*

~Nebula

[lilred26x.livejournal.com]

That was lovely! I felt a little sad as I read this, but I also had a sense of closure for Xander. Very, very nice!

[authoressnebula.livejournal.com]

Thanks sweetie; I wanted to give Xander a bit of a finish in some ways, and his character seemed to touch my muse for this one. I'm glad you liked it!

~Nebula

[artemis-rain.livejournal.com]

Wow, that was really gorgeous.

Very nice work.

[authoressnebula.livejournal.com]

Wow, thank you so much! I had a bit of fun working on this one. My muse is either extremely playful or heavy on the angst. It was nice to meet her on a bit of a middle ground for this one.

~Nebula

[sunnyd-lite.livejournal.com]

It was spoken of these days in awe and wonder, and a definite capitalization.

Loved his realization that the mundane details of life happens whether you want it too or not. Enjoyed this story.

[authoressnebula.livejournal.com]

SQUEEE! Quotage! Thank you so much!

Very well spoken; things definitely do progress, though people would half like to, half not. Very glad you enjoyed this!

~Nebula

[basilio-the-cat.livejournal.com]

Wow.. That's all I can say.

Well done.

[lusciousxander.livejournal.com]

Wow, that was so beautiful! Poor Xander.