Disclaimers
I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the associated concepts, settings & characters or Power Ranges and the associated concepts, settings & characters. I only own my OCs and ideas.
All original characters are the property of Celgress.
Go Go Slayer Rangers – Episode One: Chosen, Kind Of
By Celgress
Sunnydale High School November 1st, 1997, late afternoon
Rupert Giles sighed deeply cleaning his glasses. The usually unflappable Watcher was at a lost. While he'd seemingly put an end to Ethan Rayne's Halloween spell there were lingering side effects of a profound nature. In all his years of extensively reading watcher diaries and other more forbidden mystic tomes, both obscure and fairly well known volumes, he'd never come across anything like what he now faced. Five young people along with an ex-vampire, recently converted back to his lost humanity an all but unheard of happening, apparently becoming characters straight out of a science fiction kids show was frankly beyond the pale bordering on the absurd even. He still didn't fully understand what had occurred himself. How was he supposed to explain the phenomena to others? Taking another deep breath, the last in a long line of several such breaths he'd recently taken while gathering his scattered thoughts, Giles dove headfirst into the pool of cosmic uncertainty.
"H-Here is what we know." Giles said pinching the bridge of his nose and then placing his glass back on his face. He was sitting at one of the round tables in the library Buffy, Angel and their friends staring at him expectedly. "Immediately following my destruction of Ethan Rayne's magically empowered Janus bust and subsequent breaking of the chaos spell it was fueling some form of as yet unaccounted for multilayered mystical convergence occurred. Although still uncertain the Council suspects a transient anomaly occasioned by your choice of costumes, the nature of the date and the release of so much exotic energy interacted with a naturally occurring fluctuation within the Hell Mouth itself. These aptly termed "mini-surges", or so the Council has decided to label them, frequently happen and go unnoticed by all but the most spatially sensitive of entities. However the factors already listed amplified this particular mini-surge triggering a feedback loop that destabilized the Hell Mouth. Thankfully the entire episode last lest than a minute before everything re-stabilized. During that minute however the six of you were infused with massive amounts of mystic energy which altered your makeup significantly."
"Making us real life Power Rangers," Willow said.
"More or less yes," Giles confirmed.
"It did more than that." Buffy reminded everyone squeezing Angel's warm hand as she spoke. "Angel is human again."
"H-He isn't the only now whose destiny has been drastically altered I'd afraid." Giles said looking sympathetically at Buffy.
"What do you mean? Giles why are you looking at my like that? You're giving me the creeps." Buffy said tensing up. Angel sensing her distress now squeezed her hand reassuringly.
"Buffy I don't know quite how to put this." Giles said searching his mind for the best words possible. "You are no longer the, uh a chosen one."
"What," Buffy said stunned by Giles proclamation.
"You Buffy Summers are no longer a slayer. It has been determined by the Council that Kendra Young, a young woman from Jamaica who was chosen during your temporary death at the Master's hands, is now in full possession of the Slayer Heart and is thus henceforth the sole currently active Vampire Slayer." Giles said. "I'm sorry."
"I don't know what to say, or how I should feel." Buffy said following a pronounced pause during which the only sounds were the initial gasps of her friends, including Angel. It was a cliché but a pin could have been heard dropping in the library during the period. "Part of me has wanted, has prayed to no longer be the Slayer since I was first called. Now that its' happened I honestly don't know how I feel about it."
"Wait, if Buffy is no longer a vampire slayer does that mean you'll be packing up and heading back to jolly old England soon? I mean you duh train slayers and there no longer are any here to train." Cordelia pointed out in her usual tactless manner being the first to grasp the significance of Buffy's altered status. Buffy shot the cheerleader a withering gaze which Cordelia ignored.
"Way to be sensitive at a time of great emotional upheaval Cordy." Xander said.
"Shut up dewb,"Cordelia snapped.
"What about us?" Oz said raising his hand sheepishly. "From what I understand following my crash course in all things demonic in Sunnydale we'll require guidance in our new roles. If we don't get that guidance from you Mr. Giles than from who?"
"It hasn't been decided yet." Giles admitted. "My fate along with your own has yet to be determined."
"In other words this is such an unprecedented situation everybody, including the all mighty Watchers Council, has been caught with their proverbial pants down." Angel said in a much more snarkier fashion than usual.
"Indeed, Angel's colorful statement sums up the situation in which we all find ourselves rather well." Giles said without further elaboration or his typical running commentary of semi-related topics.
"Great," Xander said throwing up his hands in frustration. "We come to you in our time of greatest need for help and you have none to offer." He got up from the table and started pacing around the room.
"Good calm down Xander." Cordelia said rolling her eyes. "You're acting more like a spaz than ever. Can't you see how inadequate Giles feels? The guy's admitted he's less than useless in our current predicament. Trying thinking about other peoples' feelings for once could you."
"Thank you Cordelia." Giles said dryly more than a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "I assure you there is no need for undue concern Mr. Osborn. The Council will by no means abandon you six. Beside slayers and potential slayers our organization trains many other types of champions which you six clearly qualify as."
"That's certainly a relief." Oz said leaning back further in his chair.
"How can you be so calm and laid back at a time like this?" Xander asked the musician astonished by Oz's relaxed state in spite of the situation.
"I don't know." Oz answered shrugging. "Getting upset just isn't part of my makeup I guess."
"I think its' cute in a stoic kind of way." Willow said grinning at Oz like a fool before she caught herself.
"Thanks, you're kind of cute yourself." Oz said smiling back at Willow then added with a wink. "FYI I dig smart girls, and red heads." Willow blushed deeply trying hard to keep her gaze off Oz.
"Get a room you two." Cordelia said. "We're getting sidetracked here. We should be concentrating on our main problem, being Power Rangers."
"Hell must have frozen over because I actually agree with Cordelia." Xander said having stopped pacing. "Damn never thought I'd say that."
"Xander and Cordelia are right Giles we need answers." Buffy said looking at Angel then back at her friends. "We all need real, useful answers sooner the better."
"I-I fully understand." Giles said once more cleaning his glasses. "Everything has changed fundamentally. It must be an extremely confusing time for all of you. I'll see what I can do. Sadly at present I can make no promises."
"That'll have to do, for now." Angel said.
"In the meantime I do have a word of advice. A cautionary statement if you will." Giles said putting his glasses back on and staring intently at the six young men and women. "Until further information is learned concerning the nature and extend of your new abilities I would advise refraining from their use."
"Aw so no night time laser battles with Spike and company in downtown Sunnydale, shucks," Xander teased.
"Precisely," Giles said no selling Xander's ill-advised joke.
"Darn it, there goes my evening." Xander said.
"You're impossible." Cordelia said.
"Can we go now?" Buffy asked.
"B-By all means," Giles said getting up from the table. The five others followed suit. Giles entered his office shutting the door behind him.
"Hey Willow wait up." Oz called out to the departing girl.
"Um hi Oz," Willow said fidgeting uncomfortably.
"Want to hang out with me?" Oz said. "I have a couple hours before band practice."
"If you want," Willow said chewing on her lower lip.
"Sure do, how about we get a burger on me? I'm starving." Oz offered.
"Sure," Willow said with a small smile heading off with her new friend.
"I didn't see that coming." Xander said.
"Of course not, because your blind." Cordelia said stomping away.
"Hey I'm not blind, take that back!" Xander shouted chasing after Cordelia.
Angel shook his head but couldn't contain a chuckle. "Young love, it sure is grand."
"Those four," Buffy said quirking an eyebrow in her boyfriend's direction. "You're joking right."
"Nope, they got it bad." Angel said. "Trust me you don't hang around several centuries without learning a thing or two. Which reminds me, my life needs major overhauling ASAP." Angel frowned. "I've been a vampire far longer than I was a human. I'll need a job. I can't get by on pig's blood anymore. Buffy I have no idea what to do with my life."
"Same here," Buffy laughed. "Angel real world, real world Angel now you two have been formally introduced things will fall into place trust me."
"No Buffy you don't understand." Angel said almost hyperventilating. "I don't exist on paper. I don't have a birth certificate, drivers licence, civic ID, tax record, nothing, nada, zilch, zero."
"Chill Angel we'll get through this together." Buffy said putting her arm around Angel's broad shoulders. "We're the same now you and me. We can finally have a real future together. We can grow old fighting the forces of evil side by side. We can have a family if we want. Long as we have each other, we'll be fine."
"You're right," Angel said smiling.
"Aren't I always?" Buffy said. The two walked out of the library hand in hand.
Residence of Mayor Richard Wilkins III, suppertime
Dwayne Ferguson now attired in a pure white suit and holding a typical wooden walking cane in his left hand strolled through the gate of the white picket fence surrounding the Mayor's property. Easily bypassing the plethora of potent protection spells the Mayor had set up Ferguson approached the front step. While effective against most enemies they were simply never designed to deal with a creature such as Ferguson. He then tapped the head of his cane three times against the heavy oak door of the Mayor's official residence. Ferguson waited patiently until the Mayor open his door. Giving Ferguson a quick once over the Mayor asked.
"Golly gee I wasn't expecting company. Who might you be sir?"
"My name is Dwayne Ferguson. I'm a recent arrival to your charming town. May I come in, have a word with you? I'm certain you'll find what I have to say of great interest Mayor Richard Wilkins III." Ferguson said in a calm disarming voice.
"It is almost suppertime, what the heck I can eat anytime. One of the rewards of being a bachelor or widower in my case, oh and please call me Mayor Mr. Ferguson everyone does." The Mayor said waving Ferguson inside. "Now what would you like to discuss?" The Mayor asked once the pair had reached his foyer.
"Death," Ferguson said his expression turning hard.
"Pardon," The Mayor said confused by Ferguson's dramatic statement. Surely if the stranger was anything that could harm him his safety enchantments would have prevented Ferguson from setting foot on his property, little own entering his home.
"Death," Ferguson repeated literally punching his right first through the Mayor's torso killing the evil sorcerer turned slimly politician instantly. Withdrawing his gore encrusted hand Ferguson smiled. The Mayor's body hit the hardwood floor with an audible thump. "Now for my favorite part," Ferguson said placing his cane's tip at the deceased Mayor's right temple. Red energy swirled up the crane into Ferguson's torso temporarily engulfing him. When it subsided Ferguson shook his body three times turning into an identical copy of the Mayor including his somewhat tacky Hawaiian themed dress shirt. "Nifty," Mayor- Ferguson said before shaking three more times reverting to his original human guise. "Your soul, tainted as it is, shall prove most useful Richard Wilkins." Ferguson glancing down at the Mayor's brutalized form his upper lip curling in disgust.
Uie'uiexl (Quhe-Und-Zil), as with any spawn of the Great Old One Cthulhu, had the ability to feed off souls by absorbing them. When Uie'uiexl did so all that a being was or could ever became part of him forever, or at least until he chose to fully digest the soul in question. Through this technique he could flawlessly masquerade as anyone or anything, with few beings being any the wiser.
"Now this miserable town is at my mercy." Ferguson said making himself at home in his new digs. The Mayor's lifeless body lay where it fallen as Ferguson causally made his way deeper into his victim's former dwelling.
Abandoned Factory, evening
Drusilla's mournful wailing filled the decaying structure. She'd been wailing nonstop since dawn greatly disturbing the other vampires present. If not for their collective fear of Spike the lesser demons would have dispatched her hours ago.
"What is it my dark plum." Spike said sitting on the ornate bed on which Drusilla sobbed his tone soft, coaxing. "Tell your dark prince what troubles you."
"Gone, gone, gone all gone no chance," Drusilla choked out between intense wails and heavy sobs.
"What's gone my dark angel?" Spike said patiently knowing there was little point in pushing Drusilla for information when she got in one of her frequent agitated states.
"My sweet Angel lost he is lost forever." Drusilla at last managed.
"How many times must I tell you Dru we can have his nasty soul removed. He'll then be the hellraising vampire he once was in no time flat." Spike said seeking to sooth his weakened consort.
"No, lost forever Angelus is. Gone from whence he can never to return never." Drusilla said.
"He got himself staked?" Spike said unsure of what exactly Drusilla meant by her cryptic phrases.
Drusilla voiced a terrible cry which greatly agitated Spike and every other undead in the place. "The stars are different, quiet. They won't chat with my anymore. They refuse to sing. He's arrived, the unspeakable thing from the unfathomed depths emanation of the creeping elder abominations that infest watery R'lyeh. He speaks in riddles of things long passed, all but forgotten. He seeks to extinguish the shinning six, the new stars that have been ignited. Beware my lover beware!" Drusilla leapt on Spike pinning him to the bed her features adopting their vampiric configuration. She gripped his wrists holding his arms down firmly. "He dances in the lonely places to the tune of the mad flute players. Death everlasting death is coming."
"Dru get off me." Spike said unable to break his sire's surprisingly strong hold. She hadn't demonstrated such strength since before her injuries at Prague.
"Heed these words or court disaster," Drusilla said her features returned to their human configuration. Her eyes rolled back into her head and her body grew slack. She collapsed onto the bed unconscious.
After checking on her to make sure she was alright Spike was back on his feed in the middle of the vast central room. "What the hell was that all about?" Spike muttered half to himself. "Hey Dalton have any ideas, intelligent or otherwise?"
"Not a clue boss." The egghead demon said. "I didn't recognize any of the terminology she used, expect maybe…." Dalton's eyes became distant the young vampire lost in thought.
"'Except maybe' what Dalton?" Spike growled assuming game face in no mood for further delay or riddles.
Spike's implied threat stirred Dalton's survival instincts breaking his impromptu pondering session. "D-Drusilla s-spoke of 'watery R'lyeh'," Dalton said.
"Yeah, so," Spike said drawing closer to the increasingly terrified Dalton.
"Well see R'lyeh was once the capital city of the Old Ones, or so the Necronomicon Ex Mortis contends. In particular it was said to be the abode, and in modern times final physical resting place, of one of the most significant Old Ones the Great Old One Cthulhu." Dalton said gulping nervously.
"Just what we don't need here those ancient tossers sticking their noses around where they don't belong." Spike said gloomily.
"I seriously doubt we can stop them from doing whatever they desire boss." Dalton said. "The Old Ones are far beyond us and everything else that currently occupies this plane of existence. If they invade in force along with their original minions our world is doomed."
"I hate it when you're right Dalton." Spike snarled causing Dalton to jump back a step. "All a vamp wants is to kill his third slayer and heal his beloved sire and then bang the Old Ones come along, ruin everything."
"What are your plans boss?" Dalton said. "Who knows, maybe we could strike a truce with the Old Ones?"
"Luckily for you I might still need a good translator. Otherwise I'd have dusted you following that last idiotic comment." Spike picked Dalton up by his collar. "The Old Ones only use beings like us for their own ends. They chew us up and spit us out like chewing gum." Releasing Dalton Spike whirled around.
Spike headed off into the gloom of the factory. He needed time alone with his thoughts. Things weren't going at all as he had planned. The current Slayer, Buffy something or other, had proven far more resilient than he'd assumed. Then there was her support group, another unforeseen complication. Who ever heard of a slayer having friends? Although backing down from a fight of any kind wasn't in his nature perhaps he should cut his losses and leave Sunnydale. No there must be another way, one that involved keeping his dignity intact. Whatever the answer he'd have to find it soon, now the Old Ones were involved there was no telling how nasty things in Sunnydale would become.
To Be Continued
