Chapter 2: Goodbye LA and welcome to Sunnydale

In every generation there is a Chosen One. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons and the forces of darkness. She is the Slayer. SHE is also my older sister. And it's supposed to be a secret shared only by a Watcher (Kit as she called him- Christopher Bothwell) but I knew and soon after me the rest of our family. Having a bunch of vampires attack us, would do that.

Kit didn't like us knowing, but Indy didn't give him much of a choice. So they worked together and after a while I did too (BTW palm blast burns my hands if I use it too much, and I feel drained, but at least I can use it when I wanna).

As for Indy, she is depressed and not because we moving from LA to some small town (Sunnydale-sounds happy and sunny)…Kit is dead and Indy was in a hospital, some mummy thing with an axe attacked them…

Extract from Buffy Anne Summers-Cohen's diary

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Sunnydale

Sunday 1st of September, 1997

Buffy was sitting by the bed, watching India sleep. She found herself doing that a lot in the past six months; waking before her sister and sitting by her bed.

They came so close to losing her, not that their parents, grandparents or even their baby brother knew about it. They knew that she was attacked and that Kit, her boyfriend/fiancée and Watcher was dead.

India was dreaming…she was in a cave lit by candles, then she found herself in the cemetery and before an ugly wrinkly vampire. At that, she shot up, wide awake, her heart hammering wildly. Looking around, she spotted her wide-eyed sister staring at her.

"Buffy?"

Buffy gave her sister a genuine smile. "One and only. Good morning, Indy." She looked her sister over.

India nodded and yawned… "Good thing today is Sunday and not our first day of school."

"Did you have a nightmare?"

India winced at the question, and Buffy narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"No."

"Yes, you did, you winced."

"I had a foot cramp."

Buffy scoffed, "Slayers don't have foot cramps."

"I wish that was true."

Buffy looked at her strangely, however, India just shrugged; she had more rapid healing than her sister, but that didn't saved her from the occasional muscle cramp.

Buffy leaned forward. "So what was your nightmare about?"

India looked away. "I told you I didn't have a nightmare," she muttered, but Buffy wasn't convinced, since she could still clearly see in her mind's eye the distress her sister showed moments before snapping awake.

"You also didn't tell me off for calling you Indy."

"Don't call me Indy, you little squirt, or I'll call you Annie Bee again."

"You are so not able to call me little; I'm not much shorter than you."

"But you are shorter."

"For an inch or two, and I'm still growing…besides, being petite is cute."

"Not if you want to reach for something."

"True."

The sisters looked at each other and then dissolved in to a fit of giggles.

In the middle of their moment of amusement, Joyce's voice floated up to her daughters.

"Since you two are awake and arguing, you can come down and have a breakfast. That is, if you want pancakes before Ryan eats them all."

Buffy sighed and stood up to leave India's room so that she could change from her pajamas. "Come on slowpoke, hurry up and get dressed so that we can get downstairs and get some pancakes."

"You can go ahead."

"Heh…don't be stupid, I've always waited for you, there is no reason why should I break that tradition." Then she gave India piercing look. "And don't think I'll let that nightmare go…Obviously it troubles you."

"You can't change my destiny, Buffy."

"Oh please…destiny smestedy…no path is written, just possible destinations."

"Where did you pick that up?"

"I…you know…I have no idea. Get dressed; I'll wait by the door."

At the table, Ryan was stuffing his face with as many pancakes that kid his age could manage.

"Hey, shrimp." Buffy and India chorus in tandem when they entered the kitchen.

Ryan smiled through his meal and waved, then resumed eating. Suddenly, there was a pitter-patter of paws on the kitchen floors and three dogs ran thru the door.

India smiled and kneeled down to pet the furry heads of her dogs…Well, family dogs since Shara was Buffy crazy and even now the black eyes on her white and brown face were watching her sister expectantly…and sure enough, Buffy pulled a dog snack out of her pocket and scratched Shara behind her ears.

"So, girls, what will you two be doing today?"

"Well, I was thinking of putting the rest of the moving boxes away, but maybe Buffy would like to go out?" India aimed the last part to her sister.

Buffy shrugged, "I still have some things I have to unpack." 'Mostly books that Kit gave me on my *frying vamps with a touch* ability,' she thought. She won't say it out loud, since the guy's mere name was sometimes enough to send India into depression.

"So do I," India nodded to herself, "and tomorrow is first day of school. And I still can't believe that school system is putting me in the same year as you, shrimp; I'm 18, not a 15 year old girl here."

***

Bronze wasn't much…just a small place that could be a basement of the clubs Buffy and India were used to….but it was kind of cozy.

Some band was playing, and both sisters tuned into the lyrics.

Oh, I just want to believe / Can you hear me? / Can you see me? / What's inside of me? / Oh, I just want to believe / If my life can have a purpose / Help me to believe / Oh, I just want to believe / Can you hear me? / Can you see me? / What's inside of me? / Oh, I just want to believe / If my life can have a purpose / Help me to believe

"Not bad," muttered India .

Buffy smiled. "Maybe a dance and a mingle?"

"Yeah, but we can't stay for long – big day tomorrow."

A nod from the younger girl, and the sisters moved to the dance floor.

After dancing for a while, Buffy went outside for some fresh air; the heated cramped space in the Bronze was getting to her. It looked like every teenager wanted to celebrate the last days of his/ her freedom.

Feeling the gentle night breeze of the last day in August, she smiled – a content smile that quickly turned to a frown. There was a cold, ice cold aura to her left, watching, waiting. Buffy mentally admonished herself for going out alone, then squaring her shoulders, she turned to the way the *here be the leech* feel was coming from.

"Come out, I know you are there."

A tall, well-made guy with dark spiky hair, in a white shirt and black coat moved out of shadows. "Ah, heh. Is there a problem ma'am?"

Buffy narrowed her eyes…the guy was a vampire, yes, but there was something….different about him. "Yes there is. Why are you watching me?"

The man backed away a step. ""I know what you are thinking."

Buffy raised an eyebrow, he must be older than the vampires she's met/fried.

"And that is?"

"Don't worry, I don't bite."

"You're housebroken, then?" she asked sarcastically. He just flinched…Ok, this one is all about taking the blows. A martyr vampire?

"Truth is, I thought you're gonna be taller, or bigger muscles and all that."

Or maybe not.

"What do you want?"

"Same thing you do."

"Okay, what do I want then?"

He stepped closer, making them only a hand apart, close enough to fry him if he tried something.

"To kill them. To kill them all."

"Sorry, that's incorrect. But you do get this lovely watch and a year's supply of Turtle Wax. What I want is a little fresh air without some weird vampire popping in to give cryptic warnings."

"Do you really think that's an option anymore? You're standing at the Mouth of Hell. And it's about to open."

Now that doesn't sound good, but why is he telling her this?

"Does it have eyes and nose, too…how about the eyebrows?"

"Don't turn your back on this." At that he tossed her a small jewel box.

Buffy dropped her gaze to the box, realizing that said vampire had a slight mistaken identity going on. Then, with a slight curve upwards in the corner of her mouth, she asked, "So, what's the occasion?" No need to tell Mr. Cryptic vampire that he has a wrong sister.

"You've gotta be ready."

"What for?"

"For the harvest."

"And what's that? Wait…it's the harvest of blood; that is just so yucky. And who are you, or should I just call you cryptic vamp?"

"Let's say I'm a friend?"

"Friend huh? What if I said you have the wrong girl?"

"I never said I was yours." And with that he turned and faded back into the shadows.

"Wow, so cool and mysterious…see me swoon. Moron . Stupid vampire…uh," she muttered, then looked at the jewelry box. Inside is a silver cross on the chain.

"Yep, definitely wrong girl."

I feel love with my friends / I feel love in my songs / If I could just hold love / Then all the answers might come / I said, oh, if we're all children of God / And we just turned away / I got a lack of belief / I said a world without faith / It's time we turn back around

***

Next day, Joyce pulled up outside the school. Both girls exited the car and went to the window.

"Now you two have a good time. And try not to do any property damage on the first day."

"We'll try, Mom," India said with a slight shrug, making a loose ebony strand fell on her eyes. Rolling her two ebony orbs, she tucked the errand strand of hair behind her ear.

Two girls looped their hands and started walking to the Sunnydale high. After all, they will have to meet Principal Flutie.

Later, in a History class, the teacher was in front of a blackboard, lecturing to her class:

"It's estimated that about 25 million people died in that four year span. But a fun part of the Black Plague is that it originated in Europe how? As an early form of germ warfare. The plague was first found in Asia , and a Kipchak army actually catapulted plague-infested corpses into a Genoese trading post. Ingenious. If you look at the map on page 63 you can trace the spread of the disease…"

After the class, Buffy and Teresa – a girl that was sitting next to her during History class – were walking toward the library.

"Here it is; the school library…So, Buffy, will you come to the Bronze?"

"Yeah sure."

Buffy entered the library and looked around. It's elegant space. How come the book place was so nicely done and without people, while the Bronze was so small and stuffy? And just where was somebody to help her?

"Hello," she called out, and then thought that she really hoped that some creepy librarian wouldn't pop up out of nowhere. Buffy wandered further in. She peered around a bookcase.

And someone touched her from behind. Startled, she grabbed the offending hand, and, using her smaller size and her opponent's weight, flipped the person on the ground.

Scrutinizing her opponent, she quickly dismissed him as human, though he seemed to have some sort of brownish aura floating about. Now, what did that mean?

The man – librarian – stood up. "Quite good reflexes, Miss….?"

"Summers, I'm new."

"I'm Mr. Giles, and I know what you are after," he answered with a British…hold on, not again.

He led her to the check-out desk by the door. His office could be seen behind it. He pulled a book out and slid it toward Buffy. Huge leather bound, with a single word set in gild in the cover.

VAMPYR

Yep, damn leeches and Watchers. Not that Kit was bad – after he dropped the attitude and started to act like a human being.

"Not that again," she muttered. Then she looked up. "I was after a math book, not a leech book."

"You have no idea what's going on, do you? Do you think it's a coincidence, your coming here?"

"Oh, leave me alone!"

"I can't; you are the Slayer."

Sighing, she turned around, "No, I'm not."

"Into every generation, a Slayer is born. One girl, in all the world, a Chosen One. One born with the…"

She finished along with him, "the strength and skill to hunt the vampires; stop the spread of their evil blah blah."

"I don't understand this attitude. You've accepted your duty; you've slain vampires before…"

"What duty? To fight, yes. To be without backup, no. To live just for this, so that it just takes and takes…that's not a duty, it's a curse. Who in the world is so arrogant to think that one girl, no matter the strength, has a duty to live and die as Watcher commands," she snarled the last part.

And while saying it, she couldn't believe she was saying it – to an adult stranger no less. But on the other hand, she really didn't give a damn; she was sick and tired of seeing India's suffering, Oh she got it; they were saving people, but she'd be damned if she would let her sister slip away again.

" Hey, I know! Why don't you kill them?"

" I don't have the skill."

"Oh, come on. Stake through the heart, a little sunlight."

"The Slayer slays. The Watcher--"

"Watches?"

"Yes. No! He…he … trains her, he prepares her--"

"And kills her on her 18th birthday," she growled out, tired of his pompous attitude.