Disclaimer: The Covenant and Buffy the Vampire Slayer are not of my own creation. They belong to Sony Pictures / J.S. Cardone & Joss Whedon.
Summary: His remains weren't found in ruins left by the burnt down barn. No one knew what happened to him or where he went, but he was back now and intent on draining the power of the one person he underestimated...
Buffy's Covenant
by PhoenixRae
VI. Potentials & Training
TYLER KNEW HE'D BE at the end of his three friends' teasing when they walked in to the kitchen and found him with a half apron wrapped around his waist, holding a bread knife in one hand and on the other a slice of bagel he was toasting in the toaster oven.
Tyler tried to divert their attention from his current state of appearance by warning his friends soon after they came downstairs for breakfast and found him in the kitchen helping out with the breakfast preparation that Dawn said something about expecting some Potentials to join them for breakfast. But of course his friends were more interested in him helping out with breakfast than to actually listen to what he just told them. Reid was the first to take up the stand and torment him; teasing him about how easily he was domesticated and whatnot.
"Oh great you guys are awake!" Willow said cheerfully, entering the kitchen from the dining room. She cast her eyes on the three guys standing by the counter pestering Tyler. "Reid, you can help me set the breakfast table," she ordered.
"What?" Reid gaped at the chirpy redhead.
Willow merely cocked an eyebrow at him before looking over his shoulder at Caleb and Pogue. "Since Tyler's been helping Dawn and Andrew with the food, Caleb and Pogue can you guys grab some extra tables from the shed outside? We're going to have a full house this morning and as big as our dining table is, I don't think it'll be able to hold everybody."
Tyler hid his smirk from his three dumfounded friends after they received their orders from the petite redhead.
Caleb and Pogue followed Willow's orders without complaint. Reid, however, was grumbling under his breath and glaring a hole at the back of the redhead's skull. Tyler was only relieved to have his friends off his back teasing him when they have their hands full with work -- manual house work.
Reid disappeared to the dining room with Willow while Pogue and Caleb ran back upstairs to bundle up before heading outside to grab the tables Willow asked them to carry back to the house.
"Full house?" Tyler turned to look at his two cohorts who were tidying up their stations since they were done.
"That means all the Potentials will be present and accounted for this morning," answered Andrew before dropping the dirty pans and skillet he used in the sink filled with soapy water.
"Word of advise, the Potentials' age range from fourteen to eighteen," Dawn grabbed a bagel from the last bag that Tyler was doing and helped him slice it in half. She popped the two slices along with the two he sliced into the toaster oven and turned the timer knob.
Thirty minutes later Tyler understood what Dawn meant when she gave him her 'word of advice,' which more or less became a riddle to him that he only just figured out after the arrival of a dozen teenage girls led by a spunky long haired brunette.
The peacefulness that surrounded the Summers household was soon shattered the moment the 12 teenage girls walked in, each carrying on a conversation and arguing with one another. They didn't even notice that aside from the usual household members, there were four new faces joining them for breakfast this morning.
"Alright," Faith clapped her hands twice to catch everyone's attention. She stood up from where she sat, turning her gaze slowly around to make sure that everyone's quieted down and ready to listen to what she has to say. Once she have everyone's attention, the slender brunette turned to look at the blond woman seated at the head of the middle table. "The floor's yours, B," she grinned.
"Thanks Faith," Buffy's smile looked forced, but her eyes showed gratitude towards the brunette. "Alright, listen up everyone. Today's training will be different. Instead of using the dojo in the basement, you guys will go with Robin and Xander to the school and train there along with the other students that Giles' teaching."
Buffy's announcement was followed by a chorus of groans and whines from the twelve teenagers that joined them for breakfast. She seemed to have expected this reaction and was prepared for an explanation.
"In case you guys haven't noticed, we have four guests staying with us for the time being," Buffy gestured at Caleb, Reid, Tyler and Pogue seated nearest to the kitchen door.
Twelve sets of eyes turned as one to the direction Buffy indicated. The foursome gave an awkward greeting, and so did the other Potentials, before they turned back to listen to the rest of what Buffy was going to say.
"What's so special about them?" asked the spunky long haired brunette who looked more like the leader of the Potentials.
"It's a need-to-know basis, Kennedy, and unfortunately, you don't," was Buffy's quip reply, which earned her a deadly glare from the brunette named Kennedy. But instead of quivering under the brunt of the glare, Buffy quickly added, "At least for now you guys don't have to worry about what they're doing here and why they're here. Their presence in Cleveland must be kept under the radar, that's why they can't train in the school," she explained.
JT, the sixteen-year-old sole Asian-American Potential living in Cleveland with the rest of them, scrunched her face and looked from Buffy to the foursome then back at Buffy. "Are they in some kind of trouble and needs our protection?"
Reid splattered the coffee he was drinking after hearing that question. Tyler quickly handed him a paper napkin he grabbed from the dispenser while Pogue patted his back.
"We're capable of protecting ourselves, thank you very much," Reid replied after he recovered from nearly choking on his breakfast.
"Oh. Then why would you need the Slayers' protection?" JT pressed on, her innocence making it impossible for anyone to be annoyed with her for asking these questions.
"Slayers?" it was Caleb who voiced out this question and he cast a look first at Faith who was seated across from him before slowly moving his gaze to lock with Buffy's. He cocked an eyebrow and waited for an explanation.
Buffy gave him none. Instead she cleared her throat and told the inquisitive young woman she's asking questions that falls under the 'need-to-know-basis' category, which means no more questioning because they'd hit nothing but road blocks ahead.
CALEB KEPT A CLOSE EYE on the blonde leader of the group. Buffy looked like a seasoned fighter, and according to what his mother told him about one of Giles' wards, Buffy was very well aware of what goes bump in the night that most mortals wouldn't give a damn about.
They'd been cooped-up in the basement, which was turned into a very impressive dojo room, since parting companies with the gaggle of Potentials who joined them for breakfast. Giles took off with the girls along with the African-American Robin Wood and the one-eyed man, Xander Harris. Faith remained in the house with Buffy and it was them that ushered the four of them downstairs to the dojo.
Right now Reid and Tyler were being taught how to deflect deadly hand-to-hand combat blows by Buffy while Faith stood on the side, legs spread apart and her arms crossed over her midriff. She and the blonde were taking turns in teaching them some martial arts self-defense moves, which doesn't make sense to them since their Powers alone were enough to help them defeat a foe.
"This is grade-school self-defense crap," muttered Pogue after watching Tyler easily deflect Buffy's attack.
Faith, who was standing near where Caleb and Pogue were lounging, heard the long-haired brunette said and cocked an eyebrow. She watched as Reid tried to deflect Buffy's attack and did a not-so-good job at it unlike Tyler before walking up to where her two sparring partners were leaning against the wall.
"You think it's crap right now," she said smugly, giving Pogue a cutting glare that Caleb was glad he wasn't the recipient of said glare, then added, "but it can really save your ass when you're stuck in a tight situation. Take your friend Reid for example," she threw her head at the direction of where Reid was trying once again to deflect Buffy's attack. "I betcha a thousand bucks he's underestimating the importance of these simple moves we're teaching you, that's why he's getting his ass kicked by Buffy right now."
Reid's grunt followed by a whooshing sound as Buffy gracefully tackled Reid down on the blue matted floor that surrounded pretty much the entire basement floor.
"See?" Something about the menacing grin on Faith's face spoke volumes. If they weren't mistaken she seemed to like kicking some male ass regardless of their height, weight and hidden Powers.
Pogue and Caleb were still watching Reid and saw that the hotheaded blond has lost his patience with this mundane drill. They saw Reid's eyes change and knew what he was about to do.
"Reid, no!" Caleb and Pogue called out in alarm at the same time and bolted away from where they were lounging against the wall. But they weren't fast enough before Reid opened his arms and a watery circular whirlpool appeared and blasted it across the room to where Buffy was standing, unprepared for this unexpected use of magic against her.
Caleb and Pogue felt helpless to save Buffy on time from Reid's unprecedented attack. They hated using their Powers against one another, but Reid's temper gave them no choice.
"Take him out, Caleb," Pogue said to his best friend. Although he and the others have Ascended, Caleb's still the most powerful of the four of them and was the only one who could counter Reid's attack without causing too much harm on Buffy.
"Damn Reid and his fucking temper," hissed Caleb and against his better judgment prepared to attack Reid and deflect the attack on Buffy.
He was about to strike when suddenly Reid wheezed past them across the room to land with a resounding smack against the wall padding; the force of the impact left Reid stuck against the wall padding before he slid down slowly on the floor, his head hung forward.
He was knocked unconscious.
"Holy shit, Caleb. What did you do?" accused Tyler who came running to where he and Pogue stood rooted on the spot and staring wide-eyed at the unconscious Reid.
"I--I didn't do it," answered Caleb once he has recovered from his shock.
Tyler and Pogue turned their heads to look from the unconscious Reid on slumped on the floor to an equally surprised Caleb who was staring at their downed friend.
"If you didn't, then who the hell did it?" demanded Pogue.
Faith's throat clearing caught the trio's attention and they all looked at her. She pointed them to the direction of the stairs leading to the main floor of the house and saw the answer standing at the bottom of the stairs looking mad as hell.
