I still do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Norse mythology.
I'd like to take a moment to thank Tammin for his hard work.
Taking the Hint
Sunnydale High
Not for the first time, Giles' fingers itched for some glasses to clean. The young girl standing at attention before him was something he hadn't even dreamed possible. His eyes darted to Buffy, who was leaning on a chair with her left hand while her right hand rested on her hip. She didn't look so much flustered as annoyed.
Of course, being attacked in your sleep could do that to you. "And your Watcher i-is Sam Zabuto, you say?"
The girl gave no sign that his repetition of questions she'd already answered bothered her. "Yes, sir."
"We've never met," the Watcher, said absentmindedly. "But he, he's very well-respected."
"What, so he's a real guy? As in non-fictional?" Buffy asked.
He actually had less of a trouble buying that than the… other part. "And you are called...?" He should have asked her name sooner but he'd forgotten due to the shocking information Buffy had simply dumped on him.
"I am de Vampire Slayer," the girl said unhelpfully.
The repeating answers wasn't getting to the girl, they were getting to Buffy. "We got that part, hon. He means your name."
"Oh. Dey call me Kendra," she told Giles. "I have no last name, sir."
"Can you say 'stuck in the 80's'?" Buffy said dismissively.
"Buffy, please. Uh, there's obviously some, some misunderstanding here," he began saying when Willow came bouncing into the library with a smile on her face. Before he could make introductions, Kendra marched around Buffy and intercepted the redhead.
Willow gave her a look, and then waved past her at Buffy and him. "Hey! Who's this?"
All signs of politeness left Kendra. "Identify yourself!"
That earned her an offended look from Willow and a tired sigh from Giles. This was not helping with the tension. "Back off, pink ranger!" Buffy told the Caribbean girl. "This is my friend."
Kendra tasted the word like it was spoken in some alien tongue. "Friend?"
"Yeah. As in person you hang with? Amigo?" Buffy clarified.
The new Slayer's face was a picture of puzzlement. "I don't understand."
Exasperated, Buffy turned to the librarian. "You try. I'm tapped," she told the Watcher as she sat down in a chair.
Probably for the best, he'd read the handbook so he knew what the cause for the miscommunication here was. "Kendra, there are a few people, uh, civilians if you like, who know Buffy's identity. Willow is one of them, and they also, um, spend time together, uh, socially."
The amazed expression Kendra wore did not leave off at that news. "And you allow dis, sir?"
"Allow is not the word," he mumbled to himself before wincing when he realized Buffy at the very least would have heard that.
"But de Slayer must work in secret for security," Kendra went on.
"Of course, that is the standard procedure. But, uh, the situation here requires some flexibility."
"Why?"
Now Willow spoke up. "Hi, guys. What's going on? What is she?" she asked as she went to sit across from Buffy. That question brought the matter of what he hadn't told the Council sharply back into focus. So far, Kendra didn't seem to suspect Buffy was anything but an ordinary Slayer. His mind paused at that absurdity, Buffy had never been anything but unconventional. Still, he had to let them know that Kendra couldn't find out about their weapons.
Buffy wasn't aware of her Watcher's musings and started to explain things to Willow. "Apparently there's been a really big mix-up."
Jumping into the conversation, Giles hoped he could convey his message to keep certain matters quiet. "My communications with the Watchers' Council have been sparse since the, ahem, night of Saint Vigeous. So without informing me, it would seem they, uh, decided to send another Slayer to Sunnydale."
Buffy got a thoughtful look at hearing that while Willow's grew suspicious for a brief instant before smoothing out into a curious one. "Is that even possible? I mean, two Slayers at the same time?" she wondered.
"Not to my knowledge." Nor to Gungnir's, he carefully didn't say. "The new Slayer is only called after the previous Slayer has died. Uh..." It finally dawned on him and Gungnir at the same time. "Oh, good Lord! You were dead, Buffy."
"But not truly dead, or life could not have been breathed back into her," the spear mused. "I had not thought it enough, yet it is not surprising that this hasn't happened before. Usually, Slayers fight alone and their deaths are a lot more bloody than a drowning."
"I was only gone for a minute," she said defensively.
"Clearly it doesn't matter how long you were gone," the Watcher concluded. "You were physically dead! Thus causing the activation of the, the next Slayer." Which still did not explain why he wasn't informed of that happening. It had happened months ago! 'It seems the Council does not trust me either,' he thought sadly.
Kendra now eyed Buffy warily. "She died?"
The blond tried to play it down. "Just a little."
"She drowned, but she was revived." He shot his charge a sympathetic look.
"So there really are two of them," Willow concluded.
Giles nodded. "It would seem so. This is completely unprecedented! I'm quite flummoxed."
"What's the flum?" Buffy wanted to know. "It's a mistake, she isn't supposed to be here, she goes home!" His Slayer was starting to get worked up as she now faced Kendra. "Look, no offense, I really don't mean this personally, but I'm not dead, and frankly having you around creeps me out just a little bit."
"I cannot just leave," Kendra returned firmly. "I was sent here for a reason. Mr. Zabuto said all de signs indicate dat a very dark power is about to rise in Sunnydale."
"And what's your great plan for finding this dark power? You just gonna attack people randomly till you find a bad one?"
"Of course not!" Kendra shot back with some heat.
"Then why the hell did you attack me?" Buffy wanted to know.
"I thought you were a vampire."
"Oh, a swing and a miss for the rookie," Buffy mocked as she leaned back onto the table.
"I had good reason to think you were. Did I not see you kissing a vampire?" The Slayer said accusingly.
Now Willow got up. "Buffy would never do that! Oh, except for..." The redhead turned to Buffy. "She must have been watching your date with Angel. You didn't tell me you two shared a kiss!"
Buffy shrugged. "Kissing a few feet from a very dead assassin isn't really romantic Willow. Or as important as the news that I got assassins gunning for me."
"Angel?" Kendra wondered. "You mean Angelus? I've read about him. He is a monster."
Giles was getting just a little tired of this all. It was times like these he realized just how strange their lives here in Sunnydale must seem even to people in the know who came from elsewhere. "No, he's good now. He has a gypsy curse," Buffy explained.
"He has a what?"
"Y'know what, just trust me on this one, okay? He's on the home team now."
Kendra's expression became dismissive. "I cannot believe you. He looked to me just like anodder animal when I..."
"When you what?" Buffy prompted when the other slayer trailed off. "What did you do to him?" Apparently, it wasn't something Kendra still thought had been a good idea because she floundered for an answer. "What did you do?!" Buffy asked menacingly.
***
"Scratch one Tarakan assassin," Xander crowed as the library doors closed behind him. Beaming a pleased smile at Willow and Giles who were pouring over some books at the table, he strutted towards them. "I came, I saw, I turned him into intsy-bitsy bits. Grossed Cordelia out as a bonus."
Mentioning Cordelia made his mind jump to the aftermath and the obvious temporary insanity his victory had induced. She'd gone home after dropping him off, to get some fresh clothes and to shower. Not to mention brush her teeth a few times, Xander felt the urge to do that himself.
"Good Lord, Xander. What happened?" Giles asked as Willow examined him with a concerned look.
Nonchalantly, Xander took a seat opposite of Giles. "We went to Buffy's home, then Cordelia got the bright idea to let the assassin in. He was a weirdo, Giles. I mean, creepy with a capital C. He was a bug person."
"What is it with you and bug people, Xander?" Willow wondered.
"No, no, this wasn't like Praying Mantis-lady. This guy wasn't a bug, he was made of them. He turned into this big pile of worms and critters."
Giles frowned. "That sounds like an elusive opponent. I take it from your entrance that you did defeat it."
"Yep, he was no match for Fel. I got my armor out before the things could cover me, after that it was just a matter of making like a hedgehog and presto, one sliced and diced assassin coming up. The living room's a mess though, we better warn Buffy so she can get it cleaned before her mom comes back. Did you hear anything from her yet?" he asked with concern.
The librarian nodded. "Ah, yes we have. She came in with Kendra, who is, apparently, another Vampire Slayer."
Xander blinked at that news. "Isn't there supposed to be only one?"
"Until she dies and the next one is called, Xander." Willow looked meaningfully at him.
At first, he didn't get what she was hinting at. Then, it hit him. "Buffy died," he whispered as he relived seeing her lying face down in that pool. The horrible knowledge that all his efforts had been for nothing, he had been too late. 'No, I wasn't.' He shook that memory off. 'Buffy's fine now, better than fine.'
"So, why didn't we hear about this before G-man?"
"Because the Council didn't see fit to inform me another Slayer had been called. I just called with Sam Zabuto, that is the new Slayer's Watcher…"
"Who is just called Kendra," Willow interrupted. "Doesn't have a last name."
"Yes, thank you Willow, I believe I already mentioned her name. As I was saying, I have conferred with Mr. Zabuto and he was surprised to learn Buffy was still alive. Apparently the Council led him to believe Buffy's death had been permanent. Which brings me to an urgent matter I need to talk to you about while Kendra isn't here."
Xander was wondering where Buffy and the new Slayer were anyway, but kept still. It was obvious Giles was worrying about something. "You must refrain from using or even talking about our weapons while Kendra is about. Act like a normal teenager."
He blinked at hearing that. "Why?"
"Because Giles doesn't want the Watchers' Council to find out we have them," Willow explained. "He thinks they'll try and take them away from us."
Xander shot upright in his chair. "Are you serious?"
The Watcher shook his head wearily. "I'm afraid they might take that course of action, " he corrected. "But honestly, they may decide that you and Willow fall outside their jurisdiction since you are neither demons nor evil. Buffy and I, on the other hand, most definitely do fall under their authority."
"I think Buffy will have a thing or two to say about that," Xander murmured.
Giles agreed. "Yes," he drawled. "Which is why I think it is in everyone's best interest not to expedite a conflict between us and them. I haven't had a chance yet to make that clear to Buffy, I can only hope she got my hint and will refrain from using Mjöllnir."
"Speaking of Buffy, where did she go?" Xander finally asked.
***
Buffy was relieved to see all of her friends gathered in the library, safe and unharmed. "He wasn't there anymore, Giles." She told her Watcher. Feeling too agitated to sit, she started to pace back and forth. "Willy said he let him go but the weasel was too nervous. I think he was lying but what I don't know is why!"
"I believe I can help with that," Giles answered. "I've…" He looked over at Kendra, then back at Buffy. "I believe I know why those vampires were after Du Lac's book and his cross. I found a ritual, described in Du Lac's book, to, ah, restore a weakened vampire to full health."
"How did you translate Du Lac's book without his cross, sir?" Kendra wondered. Buffy almost snapped the answer to her, irritated at her constant delays when she remembered that might not be a good idea. Giles seemed to be keen on not letting the girl know about Mjöllnir, Gungnir, and the others.
So she let Giles field the question. "Ah, yes, well, ahem, the, eh, field of code-breaking hasn't stayed still since Du Lac's time. And I had help," he nodded to Willow. "Now, I believe that Spike is behind these thefts. He's planning on reviving Drusilla. She's most likely the dark power your Watcher referred to. You see, Drusilla is not just evil, she's also quite mad and is reported to have been a seer in life. If she were to return to full strength, well, there, there really is no telling what she will do."
"Den we will stop Spike," Kendra resolved.
"Ooo, good plan, let's go, charge!" Buffy mocked. Giles still hadn't told her about how Angel figured into all this. But Buffy was starting to suspect it wasn't in a good way.
"Buffy..." her Watcher admonished.
She toned it down. A little. "It's a little more complicated than that, John Wayne."
"Yes, I'm afraid it is. You see, Spike has also called out the Order of Taraka to keep Buffy out of the way," Giles explained. "We've already defeated two of them, but more are undoubtedly on the way."
"De assassins?" Kendra asked interested. "I read of dem in de writings of Dramius." Buffy herself was more interested in this second assassin that hadn't attacked. Looking at her friends she decided Xander was probably the one that had dealt with him. She felt some concern, but the fact that Giles had said defeated and Xander was obviously all right meant it was only a little.
Of course the mentioning of some old book sidetracked Giles right away. "Oh, really? Which volume"
"I believe it was six, sir."
A question surfaced in Buffy's mind. Wasn't Kendra a Slayer, so how come she was being all Watchery? "Um, how do you know all this?"
"From me studies," Kendra told her like it was obvious.
"So, obviously you have a lot of free time." The girl really rubbed her the wrong way.
"I study because it is required. The Slayer handbook insists on it."
Willow asked the question Buffy was thinking. "There's a Slayer handbook?"
"What handbook? How come I don't have a handbook?" Buffy chimed in.
"Is there a T-shirt, too?" Willow wondered earning her a suffering look from Buffy. "It's not like Xander is the only one that's allowed to make jokes," she muttered.
Finally, Giles spoke up. "After meeting you, Buffy, I realized that, uh, the handbook would be of no use in your case."
'That… Doesn't really sound flattering,' Buffy considered. "Well, what do you mean it would be of no use in my case? Wha- what's wrong with my case?"
Buffy's eyes narrowed when Giles looked anywhere but at her. "Uh, Kendra, um, perhaps you'd like to show me the, the part in, uh, Dramius Six where, uh, uh, where it refers to the Order of Taraka. Really, I-I, I seem to have never been able to get through that book. It was a bit stodgy."
And of course the watcher's pet helped him get off the topic of why Buffy didn't get a handbook. "It was difficult. All dose footnotes." Kendra actually giggled and Giles joined in with a half-hearted one.
Having heard enough and before they could descent completely to planet pocket protector, Buffy pulled the discussion back to the subject she was interested in. "Giles, Angel?"
"Ah, right. The ritual needs to be held in a church at the night of the new moon and it requires the sire of the vampire in question. And according to our research, Drusilla's sire was…"
"Angel," Buffy finished mutely. "That slimy weasel gave Angel to Spike, I know it! I'll make him tell me where he is." Turning around, the blond started to storm out of the library so she could pound some answers out of the Willy when Giles called her back.
"Buffy; that may not be necessary. There are some requirements for the church where the ritual is to be held and I highly doubt Spike or Angel is there now anyway. We will have to wait until tonight," Giles explained gently.
Balling her fists in frustration, Buffy squeezed them hard then let go. She gave her Watcher a reluctant nod. "Okay, we wait."
"Excellent." Her Watcher was quiet for a moment. "Oh, well, Buffy, Principal Snyder was snooping round after you."
"Career fair," the Slayer moaned.
"Best make an appearance, I think," Giles proposed and Buffy reluctantly agreed.
This exchange prompted Kendra to ask if Buffy was a student here. Upon hearing the blond was indeed that, Kendra exploded. "Riiight, of course. And I imagine she's a cheerleader as well."
The sarcasm flew straight over Giles' head; who answered in all seriousness. "Oh, no, well, a-a-actually she had to give up her cheerleading." Kendra shot him a disbelieving look.
'Looks like she's forgetting to be the perfect Slayer,' Buffy mused.
"Uh, it was quite an amusing story, actually," Giles went on. "Uh, let's go and find the book, shall we?" He proposed when he finally saw that it was one bridge too far for Kendra.
Shaking her head at the antics of her Watcher, Buffy left the library so she could jump through yet another of the Commandant's hoops. "I'll come with you," Willow called after her.
Buffy shot her a smile. "Thanks." Looking back into the library before the doors closed, she spotted Kendra and Giles pulling out a book. "Get a load of the she-Giles."
"It's not that bad," Willow consoled.
"Maybe," the blond conceded. "But I'll bet Giles wishes I was more of a book geek."
"Giles is enough of a book geek for the both of you," the redhead countered.
"Yeah, but did you see how they were vibing?" Buffy continued in a mocking voice, "Volume six, ha, ha, ha!"
"Buffy, no one could replace you. You'll always be Giles' favorite."
"I wonder." She couldn't help but put a note of longing into those words.
"Of course, you will. You're his Slayer. The real Slayer."
"No," Buffy corrected. "I wonder if it would be so bad, being replaced."
"You mean, like, letting Kendra take over?"
"Maybe. I mean, maybe after this thing with Spike and the assassins is over, I could say, "Kendra, you slay, I'm going to Disneyland"."
Willow's face turned concerned. "But not forever, right?"
The Slayer shook her head. "No, Disneyland would get boring after a few months. But I could do other stuff. Career day stuff. Maybe I could even have a normal life."
"That would get boring fast," Mjöllnir commented. "And haven't we gone over this already? You might last for a vacation, but eventually you won't be able to help yourself. You'll go out there and fight, because you know there are things out there that need to be fought."
'Oh, but I do still get vacations, right?' Buffy shot back.
"Hmmm, depends. Will there be a lot of nude-sunbathing involved in these vacations?"
A feint blush appeared on her face at that comment and for a moment she simply didn't have any comeback, then she had it. An evil smile parted her lips, making Willow look questioningly at her. 'That's enough out of you, buddy. One more perverted comment and I'll hang you in front of the TV and put Barney the dinosaur on. Maybe that will cure that sex-obsession of yours.'
"You wouldn't?" Mjöllnir asked horrified. Buffy didn't say anything but radiated resolve. "You would… I've always wanted to go to Disneyland!"
Willow's voice pulled her back to the real world. "Well, right now we're still dealing with assassins and vampires. Which reminds me, you haven't used Mjöllnir around Kendra, right?" Buffy shook her head. "Good, that's good. Giles hasn't told the Council about Mjöllnir and the rest, he's afraid that… that…"
Seeing Willow's distraught face did nothing to put Buffy at ease. "He's afraid they'll do what?" she prompted.
"That they'll try and take them away," rushed out.
Buffy didn't know what to say. "Oh." How did she feel about that? Mjöllnir was a pervert and could be pain in the neck, but still... She couldn't really explain it but she felt that the mystical hammer was hers; that it belonged with her. And she wouldn't give it up just because some tweed-clad men in England ordered her to do so. 'Which is why Giles doesn't want them to know,' she concluded wryly. 'What they don't know, won't hurt them.'
"Okay," she said trying to move away from that depressing subject. "My tests say that I should look into law enforcement and environmental design."
"Environmental design. That's landscaping, right?"
The blond nodded. "I checked the "shrub" box. But landscaping was yesterday, so law enforcement it is."
They stopped near the steps to the couches in the lounge. Looking around to find the law enforcement booth, Buffy noticed a guy on one of the couches looking over at Willow. "Hey, Will, don't look, okay, but... that guy over there is totally checking you out," she teased.
Then she remembered their conversation in the cemetery. "Oh, sorry. Forgot you like," she moved closer to Willow to whisper the next few words, "girls now."
Seeing Willow's uncertainty, Buffy could kick herself. "Buffy, are we... are we okay with this? I thought we were but… you don't have to whisper it, you know."
Taking a deep breath, the Slayer went over what she was going to say. She had no intention of hurting her friend by a careless word. "I was surprised," she started. "I had this image of you, and then I found out it had changed or maybe it had never been right… Anyway, you're my best friend and nothing is going to change that," she told Willow earnestly. "I'm just inexperienced when it comes to performing best friend-duties for a best friend who's gay. That's all."
Buffy withstood Willow's searching look until the redhead gave her a happy smile that the Slayer gladly answered. "Now, I need to go find law enforcement." From the corner of her vision, she noticed a certain someone approaching. "And it looks like that guy doesn't know you're not interested."
Now Willow did look. "Oh, that's Oz. He's expressing computer nerd solidarity."
"Hmm, if you say so," Buffy told her with a doubting look. "But I gotta run now."
TO BE CONTINUED
