Kennedy was teaching. Her success in Sunnydale and enthusiasm when it came to being a slayer made her a natural for the position. But, just because she was a natural at slaying didn't make her a good teacher. Though Chloe killing herself had mellowed her more drill sergeant-y ways.
The eyes of the entire ten slayer class were on her. Andrew, currently the only field watcher in the house, was in the corner of the training room watching as watchers do. He had an attempt at a sage look on his face, though in truth, he didn't know much about what Kennedy was saying. Sure, he got the basics of slaying for slayers, but how to actually do it was something completely different. But, appearances had to be kept.
Xander took it all in. Part of the converted basement of the House, the training room pulled extra duty as a dojo, exercise room, and classroom. Covered in fraying blue mats, it was definitely getting used. At least the slayers stayed in practice Xander thought. Kennedy was currently lecturing the class on the best ways to slay vampires. Those being the stake and decapitation, according to her. Xander watched as the newbies soaked it all in with a look of awe and excitement. He could understand why. As one of the Slayers, meaning survivor of "The Stand," she commanded instant respect.
"Vampires are weaker and slower than us." Kennedy stated with an authoritative tone. "The basic idea is to get in fast and stake them in the heart. Or cut their heads off. They may try to attack or dodge, and you have to be ready for that. We'll teach you how to move. You're faster so just be ready and you can get into the right position for the kill. Trust your instincts and you'll do fine. You're stronger. Remember that."
Kennedy was technically right thought Xander. Though at a tactical level, she was dead wrong. Vampires were weaker than slayers. For the most part. He still had a scar in his chest proving that not all vampires were sired equal. At least Kilgore was dead now. Vampires weren't supposed to be able to chuck a knife a couple of hundred yards. Apparently, nobody had let the Austrian vampire know that. Weakness of strength or speed, was not all that lost a battle. Nor was power all that won one. Eight years of fighting had taught him that. And instincts are all fine and good when you've been raised all your life for battle. Ninjas. Spartans. Jaffa. Instincts instilled in them since birth allowed their bodies to bypass the brain and conscious thought and instantly act in the best method of attack or defense. But, girls that had spent most of their lives in the suburbs had just one instinct when it came to confronting creatures of the night. Panic. And trying to just overwrite that by just telling them to would get them all killed.
"And if the vampires know Judo?" Xander tossed out. Instantly, all eyes were on him. He knew he stuck out, having been outside the fold for so long. He had been at the back of the classroom with Giles and Dawn, ignored. They were to talk with Andrew after the training session. Xander however, wanted to watch the class, and so they had stayed. What he was watching though didn't fill him with hope for the next and maybe last generation of slayers. The day was not getting better.
"Won't help them if they're dazed from our punches or kicks. Or if they can't move fast enough." Kennedy responded with a condescending grin. She was boss here and wanted to put Xander in his place. What did he know about how to fight vampires anyway, she thought.
"Those punches and kicks won't do much if they never connect." Xander stated. He didn't want to get into this. Too much confrontation and his work here would just get harder. But, saying things without thinking was another of the things he didn't like about himself. And more trouble than it was worth.
"Well, why don't you demonstrate how it should be done?" Kennedy snorted. After a year she had become one of the best slayers with the Council. After Buffy and Faith, was Kennedy. Or at least that's what Kennedy believed. Stories of her battles were passed around almost as much as Buffy and Willow's were, getting more and more embellished in the re-telling. She loved the respect she had.
"Alright." Xander walked to the front of the class turning to look down at the assembled students. It was a shock to them all. Xander, confronting a group on a subject he didn't really know anything about. Xander getting in over his head. Again.
"I don't think I should fight you. It wouldn't be fair. Maybe one of the new slayers?" Kennedy thought out loud. She was enjoying this. A little less than a year ago, they had gotten into a pretty bad fight about Willow. Putting Xander in his place would definitely be fun.
"Maybe Kara." Kennedy looked at a pretty young girl who couldn't have been more than 15. Iowa born, she had been found during one of the latter sweeps that focused on less populated parts of the country. She stood up, looking nervous, but thrilled that Kennedy had chosen her.
"No, I don't think that would be fair either." Kennedy said with a mischievous grin. She looked around as Kara sat down, a little embarrassed. Kennedy's eyes settled on Andrew. In truth, Kennedy didn't think much of the new watcher, but he had Giles' support and he didn't do that badly in the hastily thrown together Watcher Training Program.
"How about Andrew. He's one of the head field watchers." Kennedy twisted the knife a little more. Highlighting Andrew's more advanced position was definitely a low blow. Emotionally at least. Something that Xander had learned to set aside. He had come a long way from the sensitive boy he had been in high school. It wasn't that he didn't feel though. He did, more than most in fact. He just learned to ignore it until the right moments. The safe moments. It was the only he could have gotten through the things he had.
"Alright." Xander wondered what he would do. To back down now would destroy any authority he had. To win in too cruel a fashion would turn them all against him. He was fairly sure he would win the fight. While Andrew may very well have gotten better in the year or so he had to train, something in him highly doubted it. But, not wanting to be over-confident, he knew he had to be prepared for a real fight. Xander had picked up a few moves himself over his travels. LINE Combat System, some combatives and other types, all mixed with his own wild and random form. He tried to tone down the last. Xander was a brawler, but now he was more efficient and didn't get hit as much anymore. He'd come a long way since Harmony.
Andrew walked to the front of the class with a look of glee on his face. A chance to prove himself in front of a good number of the slayers. After the debacle in LA he was ecstatic to have the chance to prove once again how skilled he was. The soon-to-be-told tales of his prowess warmed his heart.
The two males stood facing each other. One watcher. One not. No pads for this. It was a simple sparring match after all. After a minute or so of stretching, they confronted each other. Andrew was in a sloppy Heisoku-dachi ready stance. Xander just standing there, feet apart, and his arms hanging freely. Xander could see that Andrew had some training in karate, though apparently not that much. He hadn't learned it that well either. Still looks could be decieving.
Kennedy had moved off to the side. She knew that while Andrew wasn't that good of a fighter, he was definitely better than Xander, whose style could only be described as, flailing.
"Begin." Kennedy said, dying to see Xander get his comeuppance.
Andrew started by throwing a punch to the left side of Xander's face. A predictable move given the blind spot. Xander shifted forward and to the right, crowding his opponent. He completed the movement and punched Andrew hard, right in the left kidney. Pain exploded in Andrew's back as he gasped in agony. Wracked with pain and left completely open Xander followed up with a knife hand to the throat. Xander was careful not to hit too hard. He didn't want to kill the guy after all.
Andrew fell to the ground clutching his throat. Xander knelt and pulled Andrew's hands away. With a knee pressing on the hurt watcher's throat, Xander looked up at Kennedy with a blank look. Clearly, the fight was over. It was simple, but effective. Brutal, without being overly cruel. It could have gotten a lot uglier.
Kennedy was shocked. This definitely wasn't the Xander that had left for Africa. He moved like somebody that could take care of himself. He moved like a fighter. She had to step things up. Kennedy looked around and her gaze settled on Mary. A slayer from New York found six months ago, Mary had a tough attitude, something that endeared her to the older slayer.
"I think Mary would be a good match for you."
Xander was not liking where this was going. Clearly Kennedy had a vendetta she wanted settled. And she didn't particularly care who got hurt in the process. He knew he had to end this quickly.
"I think it's enough." Xander said. He let up on Andrew's neck and pulled him to his feet. "I've made my point."
Xander started walking towards the back at the room, turning as he heard Kennedy speak.
"I don't think so." Kennedy wasn't willing to let him go that easily. "After all, if power really isn't that important, then I think a slayer would be a fairer test."
Xander sighed and walked back. If he wanted to be taken seriously he had to do this. But still, he didn't want to hurt anyone, his plan was to protect them. Though at least with a slayer he didn't have to be so easy on his opponent.
"Alright." Xander watched as Mary got up and noticed the wicked grin the 18 year old slayer had on her face. She was clearly one of Kennedy's followers. He knew he wasn't going to enjoy this.
Xander moved his shoulders and neck in an exaggerated manner. Looking to the rest of the class as if he was stretching, Xander was really drawing attention away from his right hand which had reached behind his back and had extracted a small extendible baton from a holder attached to his belt. Previously covered by the sweatshirt he was wearing, he was sure that nobody had seen it.
Ready, he nodded to the girl in front of him. She had a bored look on her face, revealing that she hadn't seen the movement.
"Beg-" Kennedy started. But, in the middle of the word Xander flicked his wrist, extending the baton as quick as a whip on the way back and smacked it hard against Mary's temple. It was a move that she was not prepared for. Xander continued to move, getting behind the slayer who was slightly stunned from the hard blow.
He sent a quick kick to the back of her left knee, and Mary was forced down, still reeling from the original blow. Xander flowed up with another baton strike at the back of Mary's head. Harder this time, the steel rod hit with enough force to send her completely to the ground, completely dazed. Xander continued in the half circle and kicked Mary hard in her unprotected stomach. Unconsciously, she rolled into a fetal position. Xander was disgusted at what he had done, despite knowing the necessity of it. He raised the baton yet again.
He looked at the faces looking up at him with shock and disgust. Only Monet, one of the two slayers he had found in Africa, looked at him with no reaction. Xander was especially hurt by the anguished look that Dawn sent his way.
"Done yet?" Xander looked at Kennedy with a cold expression. He lowered his arm and collapsed the baton, putting it back in its place. Kneeling down he moved to check on the girl at his feet.
"You. You cheated." Kennedy sputtered. She was the most shocked of them all at that brutal display. Xander. Normal, mundane Xander had beaten a slayer. She could hardly believe it had come from the man she had come to see as a goof and a fool. Even despite the man having sacrificed his eye when he went back for her in the vineyard.
Seeing that Mary would be alright, Xander stood up. Glaring at Kennedy, and then turning to face the class, he met their gaze with a hard expression.
"You think this a game? Treat this like a game and you'll get your ass beat. Just like she did." Xander pointed at the moaning girl at his feet. She surely was feeling the lesson.
"You want to win? You want to survive? Then you hit 'em hard. But, smart. In the right place. Right time. You box the ears. You spit in their eyes. You kick 'em in the balls. You don't let up. Ever. And when you think they're done, you fucking cut their heads off. Just to be sure." Christ, he sounded like the Punisher, he thought. Too many comic books Xander guessed. But, the point was made.
"Power will only get you so far." Xander started again with a softer tone. "You go in with that as your only weapon, and you'll just get everyone killed. You. Your sisters."
"Skill beats strength. Every time." By this point, Xander was looking at Kennedy. She still looked shocked; perhaps she was starting to understand. He knew that the class had gotten the message. Maybe some of them would even live to see 21.
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Author's note: A bit of action. More of that in Chapter 8.