Title: Game Plan
author: jmaria
Rating:
FR-15
Disclaimer: Joss owns the Buffyverse, Disney owns the Sky High verse
Spoilers: Sky High & Season 7
Summary: Not everything's as simple as is should be.
A/N: Ethan, Magenta, Layla, and Zach aren't given canon last names (at least I don't think so).

Game Plan

He was doing his best to ignore Stronghold & Co.'s questions about the mystery woman who'd come into the Paper Lantern. And they weren't the givin' in kind. Unfortunately.

"Who was the hottie - " Zach Johnson, the human glowworm, started to say until his kinda-sorta-but-not-quite girlfriend kicked him under the table. Magenta Avery glared at him. "I mean, in a not -"

"Zach, it might be better if you don't try," Layla Greenfield sighed.

"Who was she, Warren?" Will Stronghold asked.

"Someone I don't wanna talk about, Stronghold," Warren grit his teeth as Mrs. Chen went on scolding him. He didn't need her back in his life. "I mean it."

He stomped out of the restaurant, his leather jacket in hand. What right did she have to come back into his life after a six year absence? After everything she'd done? She blackened the Peace name almost as badly as their father, and from what that Council guy had told them a few years back, she was just as dangerous.

Back inside the Paper Lantern, Warren's friends were just as curious about the mysterious woman's arrival.

"So you think they had somethin' going on?" Zach asked.

"Zach," Magenta muttered, shaking her head.

"She did look kinda familiar," Ethan Jackson added.

"She looks like Warren," Mrs. Chen said, shocking all of them. They had thought the woman only spoke Chinese. "She's his sister."

"Warren's got a sister?"

"Emotional baggage is more like it," Mrs. Chen sighed.

Warren slammed the door shut behind him, his anger at his half-sister's sudden arrival at the Paper Lantern still surging through him. He was half-way up the stairs when he heard his mother's sigh. He narrowed his eyes as he spun around to face her.

"She was here too?"
"Faith stopped by to -"
"What does she want? Why come back now?" Warren spat, taking his anger out on the one person who probably didn't deserve it.
"Because she's changed, Warren. She wants to be a part of this family because -"
"She had a chance to be part of this family before, and she -" Warren shut his mouth, not wanting to have this fight at all. "She threw it away. She doesn't deserve this family."

Warren stalked back up the stairs, his back to his mother. Angela sighed heavily. They were so much alike, all of them. Fiercely loyal when they chose to be, fiercely stubborn all the time. She truly didn't know what Warren would say about the tour, but she herself was going to be an eyewitness to the spectacle of it.

Faith watched as Dawn paced around the room, her mind focused on whatever new problem the precog department had thrown in her lap this time. She had envied B for a lot of things: her friends, her life, and her family. Buffy had that bond with Dawn that she didn't have with Warren. Hopefully there was time to fix that. No, she was determined to fix that, especially after the whole incident at the Paper Lantern. Of course, the problem was that he was just as stubborn as she was.

Dawn still hadn't sat down, and it was beginning to bug Faith. She reached out to grab the teen by her wrist and pulled her back from stepping in front of Giles, who was full steam ahead with his own pacing. Dawn fell back awkwardly onto the sofa that Faith was sitting on, blinking in shock at the older slayer.

"Somethin' buggin' you, mini-B?" Faith smirked.
"Yeah. No, but kinda yeah," Dawn groaned, biting on her lip.

"What?"

"Alicia came to us two days ago with a vision," Dawn sighed. Alicia Hargrove was one of the few seers who could give specifics on cases and had been used to find several missing people and a dozen or more new slayers. Faith had only met the twenty-year old a few times, so she nodded for Dawn to go on. "And everyone knows how good her premonitions are, how good she is... well, as much as I like her, she sucks."

"Huh?" Faith frowned, thrown a bit by the anger in the younger girl's voice.

"She had a premonition with three words about me," Dawn huffed, pushing herself up off the sofa to pace again. "I've got to help someone from being lashed high in the sky. Because that is so specific and ya know, clear!"

Faith busted out laughing. Dawn only pouted at her, still not enjoying being laughed at. Giles only huffed at the two girls as he sped back through the office, tossing a thick file folder on the desk before hurrying off again. Faith glanced at the clock again before turning her attention back to the stressed out teen.

"G-man didn't tell you where we're goin' tomorrow, did he?"

"Yeah, some super-secret specialized academy that's willing to give the Watcher's Council a few pointers," Dawn muttered.

"D, the place is called Sky High," Faith drawled, waiting for the look of realization to hit Dawn.

"Oookay," Dawn sighed. "At least now I know someone's gonna be lashed at Sky High. Makes it a little easier."

An hour later than had been planned for, Giles finally sat the dozen or so participating tour group members down in his office to explain the particulars of their little field trip. They would leave promptly at seven thirty to arrive at the pick up spot, and send the remainder of the day at the school to observe. If they found that the school's curriculum met needs similar to their own, they would continue regular observation and even get their potentials and junior watchers enrolled in classes in the interim.

Giles, Willow, and Robin, being former educators, would spend majority of their time with the faculty and staff. Buffy and Faith, being the most senior of the slayers, would focus on the training classes. And everyone else would either be given the classroom tour with students or free to wander on their own.

Of course, only Kennedy, Xander and Andrew were given free reign. The younger slayers, Rona and Vi, being the oldest of the Potential's, and Dawn, Carlos and Kit, being the oldest of the junior watchers would be the five shcmucks going on the tours. Of course, most of the surviving Sunnydale potentials would be coming along for the ride, but they were used to being left out of the loop.

The five were at a halfway point. They'd seen and lived through too much to be grouped in with the younger and frankly, more naïve slayers and watchers, but were too young to really have a significant say in any of the crucial decisions. And for Dawn, that really stung.

"We expect this to go rather smoothly, to be honest. So I want no foolish behavior," Giles was wrapping up, his eyes locked firmly on Dawn.

"Yeah, just pretend you're on the Hellmouth again and tread lightly," Faith snickered.

"Oh, yeah, cause that warning always worked so well for us," Xander chuckled.

"Be that as it may, this school has gone out of it's way to help us adjust to our new predicament, unlike some who have only shoved their noses only further into their own situations, portents be damned," Giles muttered. "Self-absorbed prats that they are."

"Giles, back to the being gracious to our hosts," Buffy sighed.

"Right. So, best faces forward for tomorrow, yes?"

The next morning found Steve and Josie Stronghold were beaming at their son who looked like he could care less about this honorable distinction he and his friends were receiving. Will, Layla, Ethan, Zach, Magenta, and Warren were supposed to be playing guide to five teenagers from a larger group that Will had never even heard of before - all because they'd saved the school.

"A real live slayer, son," Steve was practically bubbling over with excitement. "It's an honor to meet one in a lifetime. Your grandfather met one, and she was - "

"It was an honor," Josie cut her husband off before his father's tall tale got even taller and Steve blurted out the unfavorable aspects of their meeting. "These girls - it's a once in a lifetime honor to meet them. They are truly unsung heroes."

"Mom, I get that it's an honor… but it's not that big of a deal. Principal Powers probably figured we'd be less likely to attract trouble if we were 'on assignment' and it helps boost our grades. Besides, it's really annoying Warren for some reason."

"Warren has some issues with slayers," Josie said cautiously.

"Huh? How do you know that, Mom?" Will asked, his brow furrowing.
"I spoke to Angela, Warren's mother at the library dedication yesterday. She mentioned it to me," Josie ducked her head as she hurried out of the kitchen. "You better grab some breakfast before the bus leaves with out you!"

"Mom, if I miss it, I can fly to school!" Will rolled his eyes as he snagged an apple from the bowl.