Disclaimer: This is a Hey Arnold!/Buffy the Vampire Slayer cross over fic. I hope that doesn't put anyone off. Hey Arnold! and all associated characters are the creative property of Craig Bartlett. Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all associated Scoobies are the creative property of Joss Whedon. But if they were both mine, well, I guess this is what I would do...

Into Every Generation: Chapter One

Into every generation a slayer is born: one girl in all the world, a chosen one. She alone will wield the strength and skill to fight the vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness; to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their number. She is the Slayer.

Then there was Summers...she changed the rules. Broke the spell. Shattered the line. And since that moment every girl in the world who might be a Slayer, will be a Slayer. Every girl who could have the power, will have the power. Can stand up, will stand up.

Buffy Summers awakened the power in every girl with potential, every girl with fight inside of them. But every game change comes with a new set of rules and Slayers need to be trained, that part never changes. When one wakes up you gotta go find her, keep her from freaking out and, well, you know show her the ropes. Or in this case the pointy sticks.

Buffy Summers has been called away from her usual day to day slayage to induct the new recruit. She's on her way to a small North American city called Hillwood.

Running

Out of breath

Scared

Really scared

There are trees all around. Am I in a forest?

Have to keep running. Something is giving chase.

Chest burning can't keep going. Have to. Danger

Darkness in between the trees but something is moving. Something is catching up.

A flash, it whipped past, stumbling now, falling.

Harsh cold ground, can't breathe. Panicking and scrambling. Have to stand up.

She's in front of me. My heart stops. Matted braids of hair, she's wild and tribal, wrapped in bandages, her eyes unearthly and filled with secrets. She speaks, low, guttural, "you must be ready".

I open my mouth to reply but I hear a violent how, right behind me. I turn and I see burning yellow eyes, filled with hate, and I scream as I feel a sharp pain in my neck.

The clock radio clicks over to 7.45am and springs to life with the overzealous tones of a morning drive time DJ. "Goooood morning you crazy commuters and school run heroes, stayed tuned to Drive Time, we'll be with you until 11.30. Let's get the blood pumping and the traffic jumping with the latest from Nerfherder".

Helga groans as she shuts off the radio alarm with a heavy thump of her fist. Blinking blearily at the shafts of early morning sunlight that are streaming through the cracks in the curtains, she pinches the bridge of her nose and winces. She feels like she has been hit by a truck. Squeezing her eyes shut she attempts to dispel the lingering tension headache caused by the nightmare that kept her from any real rest for the third time this week. Opening them once again, she breathes in deeply, taking in the familiar and relatively comforting sight of her bedroom and rubs her neck, almost believing that she can still feel the sharp pain there...it was so real.

The disturbing clarity and content of the dream fades suddenly as Helga remembers what day it is. She has more reason to feel dread today in the waking world. Inwardly bracing herself, the young blonde girl swings herself out of bed.

Padding down the hallway she hears a lot of clatter and the occasional curse word drifting up from the kitchen downstairs followed by the sound of the blender being turned on. Miriam is up.

With the bathroom door safely locked Helga inspects herself in the mirror. She wasn't sure what she expected, considering the date; maybe a level up in attractiveness, perhaps a visible boost in maturity. But nope, the same long limbed teen with elbow length blonde hair and impossibly large blue eyes stared back at her. Helga eyed herself with a deeply ingrained criticism. She hated how gangly she looked, too skinny despite how much junk food she indulged in. There were dark circles under her eyes, giving their blue a darker hue than normal, and a symptom of three restless nights disturbed by a recurring nightmare. She ran her fingers through her tousled hair, pulling out the knots and shaking out the bangs she now had in place of the stiff pigtails she wore as a child. Sighing heavily as she accepted they still hadn't invented the technology to adjust the bits you didn't like she turned on the shower, made sure it was scalding hot, and clambered in.

Twenty minutes later as Helga was twisting her blow dried hair up into a loose bun and pulling on her robe there was a loud banging on the bathroom door and she heard the bellowing tones of her father.

"What the heck are you doing in there, little lady, you going to be in there all day? Get your keister dressed and downstairs now!"

Helga rolled her eyes as she listened to his heavy footsteps recede down the hallway.

"Blowhard", she muttered under her breath.

Helga's dress sense had matured somewhat since her days in the starched pink dress and white jersey of her childhood. Strolling downstairs with her old battered book bag slung over her shoulder she was dressed in black skinny jeans, paired with Doc Martins and a simple pink tank top. Pink was a colour that remained a subtle staple in her wardrobe.

Raised voices greeted her as she hit downstairs and stood in the kitchen doorway. Miriam was hunched over at the kitchen bench, eyes shut with one had pressed against her temple and the other clutching a smoothie. Bob was pacing, yelling and complaining. No surprises there.

"Criminy Miriam, I needed that suit back from the dry cleaners TODAY! Today is the day of the big Hamilton meeting and do you think they are going to want to do business with some shmuck that doesn't look the part?"

What did surprise Helga was the presence of gifts on the counter and a couple of balloons branded with the number 16.

"What's all this?"

It wasn't until she opened her mouth to speak that they even looked up and noticed she was standing there.

"Oh Helga, honey, you didn't honestly think that we would forget your 16th Birthday did you?" Miriam smiled weakly and in her slightly bloodshot eyes there was a warm sincerity.

Honestly? Helga didn't know what to think. She had been dreading this day for numerous reasons; the main one being that in normal, functioning families it is supposed to mean something. It's something of a milestone and truthfully she did expect it to pass without any ceremony in the Pataki household.

"Yeah girl, big day, you only turn 16 once you know", Bob broke her confused reverie.

"I guess..." was all Helga could manage.

"Well aren't you going to open your gifts?" Miriam asked as she pushed three neatly wrapped packages towards her.

Helga couldn't help but let the corner of her mouth tilt up in the tiniest of almost smiles. Damn them, they really did catch her off guard with this one.

What was even more surprising were the gifts themselves. They were good...very good and more than that they were thoughtful. Helga was pleased, which was not a feeling normally synonymous with her parents.

They got her a laptop, a really chic soft brown leather book bag and a charcoal grey angora sweater with a small pink bow detail on the breast. Helga loved them all and was warring with herself because she had no idea how to react, this was unprecedented.

"Guys, I don't really know what to say. I..."

But almost as quickly as the moment had been created it was gone. Bob was back to yelling about his suit and Miriam was reloading the blender. Grateful though she was that they had done this Helga's wall went back up. She pulled on her new sweater and transferred her school things to the new book bag "Going to school now", she mumbled as she headed to the front door.

Her hand was on the door when she felt a gentle tug on her shoulder; it was her Mother pulling her into a hug, Helga's second shock before 9am.

When they parted Miriam took Helga's face in her hands, she was smiling but her eyes were tearing up. "My little girl is sixteen years old".

"Mom..." Helga was starting to feel a little awkward.

Miriam continued "I am sorry things aren't...better but I want you to know that I am very proud of you. You're so strong and you're going to be such a powerful young woman".

Blinking, wide eyed, Helga was rendered speechless for the second time that morning. Miriam kissed her on the forehead, her smile faltering as another yell from Bob projected from somewhere upstairs. Composing herself she let her daughter go and patted her hand "You had better scoot, honey, you'll be late for school".

Plodding down the stoop of the tall brownstone, with the odd blue paint wash, Helga's mind was swimming a little. She didn't fool herself that this was the beginning of some epic change in her family situation or the start of a family dynamic that didn't make her want to put her head through a wall but still, the gesture had reached her nonetheless. Today something had shifted a little bit.

As the blond teen made her way along Vine Street towards the bus stop, lost in her own thoughts, she had no idea she was being watched. Another blond was crouched on a rooftop across the block; she tipped her sunglasses to get a closer look "Cute sweater". A walkie-talkie on her belt crackled into life.

"Have you found her?"

"Target locked. I am going to stay close, watch her at school and get more of a picture of what we are dealing with here. I don't think she knows yet, it doesn't look like her powers have manifested. Seems like a pretty normal teenage girl so far".

"No such thing, pet".

"Right", the woman smirked. "I'll be in touch when the news breaks".

Buffy zipped up her leather jacket, and travelling by rooftop, she tracked the bus that her target just boarded, bound for East Hillwood High School.