Author's Notes: I know I know, it's been forever since I did anything with this story. I've done a massive rewrite of the whole thing. This chapter is mainly just setting some stuff up, characters and how the five Jedi trainees are transported to Sunnydale. ALSO...

Since this is in the Young Jedi Knight's section, I'm going to explain some of the Buffyverse stuff for those who aren't really familiar with the series.

Sunnydale – Buffy's home, obviously, and also the Hellmouth.

The Initiative – A secret government project dealing with the supernatural.

HST – Hostile Subterrestrial; what the Initiative calls demons.

If there's anything else that is unclear, just let me know and I'll be glad to explain it!

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Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Young Jedi Knights, and I'm not making any money off of this. kthnxbai.

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Of Vampires, Slayers, and Jedi Knights

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Chapter One

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Sunnydale, CA

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Night had fallen in Sunnydale, driving most of the human population of the town indoors. While most people in Sunnydale were unaware of the true nature of their home, they knew that something was not quite right about it, and that vague sense of unease kept most of them from wandering the streets at night unnecessarily.

That was fine with Buffy. The way she figured it, less people meant less possible victims. The blonde-haired college freshman walked through one of Sunnydale's many cemeteries, twirling her wooden stake in her hands absentmindedly. It had been an extremely slow night – the Slayer had only dusted two vampires so far.

"I guess I'll just call it a night," Buffy mused to herself. Adjusting her weapons bag, the Slayer was about to leave when something in the distance caught her eye. Deciding to investigate, Buffy crept through the shadows. As she got closer, Buffy saw a group of commandos surrounding a crypt. They had five demons bound and unconscious on the ground. The demons were large, ugly, and had horns – which meant that to Buffy, they just looked like any other demon species. Nothing special.

Hiding behind a grove of trees, Buffy watched carefully as more commandos exited the crypt carrying an amulet of some sort and a strange stone tablet with arcane markings all over that Buffy could only assume belonged to the demons. Taking note of everything she saw, Buffy slipped away into the shadows. Demonic artifacts were rarely good news, and having them in the hands of the Initiative was definitely not of the good. Giles would want to hear about this. The Slayer set off to her Watcher's house. Hopefully this wouldn't lead to another apocalypse.

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In a galaxy far, far away...

Jedi Academy, Yavin 4

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Tenel Ka closed her eyes and felt the Force flow through her. Slowly she raised her body up until she was balancing solely on her right arm. Her muscles trembled with the strain, but Tenel Ka refused to give in. Keeping her eyes closed, she reached out with the Force for the pile of stones sitting next to her. Gently she began levitating one. When she was sure she had control over the first stone, she began lifting a second rock. The Dathomirian warrior was so deep in her concentration, that she didn't hear her friends arrive until it was too late. The sound of someone shouting her name snapped her out of her trance. The rocks dropped to the ground, and it was only thanks to Tenel Ka's quick reflexes that she didn't fall on her head. She bent her arm and pushed herself into a flip. Landing on her feet, she turned to see who – or what – had interrupted her exercise.

A brunette boy stood there, a sheepish expression on his face. On his shoulder was a brightly colored bird. "Ehh... sorry about that, Tenel Ka," Jacen apologized. "I should have sensed what you were doing and left you alone."

Tenel Ka bowed her head gracefully. "It is all right, Friend Jacen," she said calmly. "No harm done. May I ask what brought you here in such excitement?" Apparently that was the right thing to say, Tenel Ka thought, for as soon as she said that Jacen's face broke out in a wide grin.

"Jaina, Zekk, and Lowie sent me, apparently Zekk found this awesome swimming spot and we're all going to go out there now," he said excitedly.

"Ah. Aha. I will accompany you, Friend Jacen," Tenel Ka said.

"Awesome!" Jacen exclaimed. "Get whatever you need and meet us at Lowie's speeder in -" he checked his chrono. "-fifteen minutes?"

Tenel Ka gave him a short, quick nod. "I will be there shortly." She headed into the temple, unaware of the brandy eyes following her every move.

As she disappeared inside, Jacen let out a sigh and leaned against the stone wall. Tenel Ka. Jacen couldn't stop thinking about the warrior girl. Her eyes, her hair, and her lips...everything about her drove him crazy. He slid to the ground, running his hands through his hair. Jacen was hesitant to say he was in love, but he knew that what he felt for the Hapan princess was deeper than friendship. But she was so stoic all the time, that there was no way for him to tell if she returned his feelings and attracting at all. Jacen swore under his breath, then got up and headed towards where his sister and his friends were waiting. Jacen decided to talk to his twin sister about it later. Even if Jaina couldn't help him, he figured he'd feel better just to get it all off his chest. And who knew, maybe she could help him sort out the feelings he felt for the warrior princess. Until then, he'd just enjoy the day.

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Sunnydale, CA: The Initiative Laboratory

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Dr. Stevens laid the amulet next to the stone tablet reverently. The five Bel'oci demons recovered by a strike team earlier that night were restrained and sedated on operating tables in the lab. The stone tablet was a large circle. Arcane markings were scrawled all over the surface. He had already painstakingly identified those. In the middle was a circular indent that was the same size as the amulet. Next Dr. Stevens examined the five grooves etched into the stone. They led from the edge of the tablet into the center, right where the amulet would be placed. Nodding his head once, Dr. Stevens sat back and removed his glasses.

"This is it," he said to another scientist. Her name was Dr. Paulson. Privately, Dr. Stevens thought she was intelligent, if a bit skeptical. He didn't know how she could continue to be skeptical after everything they had seen and dealt with working for the Initiative, but that was really not his concern. Beyond her capabilities to do her job, Dr. Stevens held no interest in her.

"You have verified authenticity already?" she asked, arms crossed. Dr. Stevens glared at her.

"Yes," he snapped. "I'm sure." Having his intelligence and abilities questioned never brought out the best in him. "Just bring me the blood samples," he commanded.

The female scientist picked up a tray next to her and brought it to him. On it were five rather large vials filled with effervescent blue-green liquid. Dr. Stevens carefully placed the amulet in the center of the tablet. The two scientists then opened each of the vials and poured them into the five groves. The glowing liquid flowed slowly into the center, pooling around and on top of the amulet. Dr. Stevens and Dr. Paulson held their breath, waiting.

First the amulet, then the tablet began to glow with a white-hot light. The light grew brighter and brighter until it filled the room. Dr. Paulson threw her arms up over her eyes to block it out. The light pulsed, then flashed once before vanishing. When she opened her eyes again, she saw that the five demons were gone.

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Yavin 4 – The Jungle

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The five young Jedi trainees had arrived at the swimming hole in a short amount of time, thanks to Lowie's speeder. Zekk and Lowie had talked about piloting the speeder and possible modifications they could make to it in the future, with the help of Em Teedee's translation abilities, of course. Jaina normally would have partaken in such a discussion, but she had been preoccupied with trying to figure out what was going on with her twin brother. He had been cracking jokes and trying to get Tenel Ka to smile and laugh as he always did, but Jaina could sense an undercurrent of sadness and confusion emanating from her twin. Jacen had repressed it enough so that none of their friends noticed, but Jaina was his twin sister. He couldn't hide anything from her.

As they disembarked, she grabbed his sleeve and gave him a questioning look. Jacen gave her the trademark lopsided Solo grin, before muttering "Later." Jaina nodded and released him.

"Back at the temple?" she questioned.

"Yeah, sure," Jacen said. "I was going to talk to you about it anyway, but," he sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "Just not here, okay?"

Jaina smiled at her brother. "Alright. As long as you're okay," she said. Jacen waved her off.

"I'm fine, let's just go enjoy ourselves."

Jaina opened her mouth to respond when a bright light flashed through the clearing. The five Jedi students all closed their eyes against the light.

It pulsed, flashed once, then vanished, taking the five students along with it.