Chapter 4: Experiencing the Hellmouth
Rory was more than terrified as she kept up with the slayer's brisk pace. She decided to distract herself by starting a conversation with Buffy. "So what's it like being a slayer? Is it awful or cool to be so strong?" she asked.
"Yes, it's cool to be strong and intimidate the bullies," Buffy said. "But my life mostly sucks beyond the telling of it."
"Really?" Rory asked, glancing at her mother.
"It's hard taking on so much responsibility when you're sixteen," Lorelai said.
"You had her at that age, right?" Buffy asked.
Lorelai nodded. "Yes," she said.
"I can't imagine being a mother even now at twenty, but I was fifteen when I was called. A master vampire killed my first watcher and attacked my high school dance," Buffy shared. "I was expelled and blamed for knowing the gang that attacked even though I saved them all. My parents had me committed, and the strain of it all led to their divorce. Then they moved to Sunnydale a month after my sophomore year. I was sixteen when I was killed by the second master vampire, but Xander resuscitated me. My junior year, my boyfriend Angel, who I fell for before even knowing he was a vampire with a soul, lost his soul after I gifted him with my virginity."
"Seriously?" Rory asked, horrified. Her grandfather had only given them the highlights.
Buffy nodded. She glanced at her sister, who was looking down. "We didn't know he had been cursed—one moment of true happiness and his soul was gone. Angelus tormented all of us for months and killed Giles' girlfriend, and he led me away from the school while his vampire friends killed Kendra, the slayer who was called when I died for a minute. Willow was hospitalized and Xander hurt. Giles was kidnapped and tortured. Then Angelus started a ritual to open the hellmouth, and I had to kill him right after Willow restored his soul."
"You had to kill the man you loved?" Lorelai asked, stunned. If this tale didn't put Rory off from sex, nothing would.
Buffy nodded. "I did, and it was the hardest thing I had to do," she said. They reached a cemetery at this point in her tale.
Tara whispered to Willow, "I know you told me this stuff, but I've never heard Buffy talk about it."
"I know," Willow said, squeezing her hand. They were behind Dawn, keeping a magical eye out.
"Luckily, the Powers That Be sent him back, and he's in Los Angeles fighting the good fight," Buffy said.
"Wow," Rory said. "That's good."
"Yes," Buffy said with a small smile. "After graduation, he left because it was too hard to be together without you know—being together."
"I can imagine," Rory said. "I'm afraid to ask about senior year."
Willow spoke. "Oh, that year was almost fun in comparison to junior year," she said. "We found out our mayor was this really old warlock, and he had plans to ascend into a pure blood demon. The slayer called after Kendra, Faith, turned to the dark side and fought with the mayor until Buffy put her in a coma after she poisoned Angel."
"That can happen? I mean a slayer can go bad?" Rory said, shocked.
"Not normally," Buffy said. "She's doing better now. Turned herself in for the bad deeds she did. Angel helped her even though she nearly killed him. He's more forgiving than I am."
"My grandmother told me they didn't know there could be two slayers at a time," Rory said.
"It was the first time—at least recorded," Buffy said.
"The odds of it never happening in the centuries there have been slayers seems unlikely," Willow said. "But you know men—they think they know everything."
The women laughed as a vampire came out from behind a crypt. Rory worked hard to not scream by biting her lip, but her mother pushed her back and gripped her axe, ready to defend her daughter.
Of course, it wasn't necessary as Buffy casually staked the vampire without much of a fight, and it turned to dust.
Willow and Tara exchanged smiles, totally loving this mom. Not only was Lorelai beautiful, but she was determined to experience everything with her daughter. It was admirable and unusual.
"That really happened. A vampire appeared, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer stabbed it with a wooden stick, making it turn to dust," Lorelai said, stunned but not at a loss for words.
Rory just stood there with her mouth open.
"Are you okay?" Dawn asked the girl.
"I-I guess," Rory said. "My grandparents are not delusional or liars after all."
"Nope," Buffy said, flashing her a smile. "Vampires are real, and this is the hellmouth. Odds are there will be a few more as that one was totally lame."
The girls continued walking, and this time it was Lorelai who asked, "What happened to your warlock mayor?" She wanted to hear their version of things.
"Oh, he turned into a forty-foot snake at our graduation and ate our principal," Willow said. "We had to arm our senior class and convince our parents to not attend our graduation."
"Then I lured the snake into the school that we had filled with C4 and blew it up to kill him," Buffy said.
"Dad told us you blew up your high school, but I wasn't sure I believed him," Lorelai said.
"It's all true," Willow added from behind them.
"I go to a very snooty private school. I can't imagine arming them to fight a monster!" Rory said with a grin.
"How come this wasn't on the news?" Lorelai wondered.
"There were snake bits everywhere, but they said it was a gas leak," Buffy said with an eye roll.
"People believed that?" Rory asked.
Buffy shrugged. "It wasn't picked up by the national news, so I guess so," she said.
"I think I will hate to find out about the last two years," Lorelai said.
"Last year was super lame," Willow said. "We had these military guys come into town and put a secret base under a frat house. Our TA ended up dating Buffy without knowing she was the slayer. She didn't know he was a military guy bagging vampires and demons for our insane psychology professor to study and use for parts."
"What does that mean?" Lorelai asked. "Parts for what?"
"This Frankenstein monster she created," Buffy said sourly. "It was part robot, demon, and human. She called it Adam. It got loose and killed Professor Walsh. Then a small child. After that, it let loose all the monsters they'd kept locked up. A lot of people died before we could defeat Adam. He was stronger than a slayer."
"How did you do it?" Rory asked.
"We did this really nifty spell," Willow said excitedly. "We combined our essence, Giles, Xander, and I with Buffy's."
"I was like super slayer," Buffy said with a grin.
Then they heard a whistle. "Oh, my God, what the hell is that hideous thing?" Lorelai asked as a really ugly thing with all this skin walked toward.
"Is it smiling?" Rory asked in disbelief.
"Oh, that's Clem," Dawn said waving. "Hey, Clem. What's up?"
"Hey, Dawnie, ladies," Clem said, smiling at all of them. "I was about to go see if Spike was up for a game of poker at Willie's."
"Tell Spike to come by the Magic Box tomorrow evening," Buffy said. "Rory and Lorelai are visiting and would probably enjoy seeing he and I sparring."
"Sure thing," Clem said. He went into the nearby crypt.
"Okay, you know the demon's name?" Rory said. The things she was learning was freaking her out on so many levels that she didn't know what to focus on first. Buffy's revelation of how horrible her life was had shaken her.
"Not all demons are evil," Buffy said. "Some, like Clem, just want to live their life and don't hurt humans."
"Seriously?" Lorelai said.
"It's true," Willow said. "Clem is only harmful to kittens."
"Huh?" Rory asked, confused.
"They use kittens instead of money in their poker games," Dawn said. "Isn't that gross?"
"So gross," Lorelai agreed.
"We could call PETA," Rory said, making the girls laugh.
Buffy found the Gilmores a pleasant surprise. They were excellent at the witty banner, and Buffy could not help but comment. "Learning to slay with a good quip is essential to not let the slaying get you down. I think you'd make an excellent slayer Rory."
"Let's hope you live a long time," Rory said.
"Oh, the slayer line doesn't run through Buffy anymore," Willow said. "It runs through Faith. She is in prison, so it's possible that she could get shanked or something."
"No regular human woman could ever take Faith," Buffy said. "I'd be more concerned that the Council would send in a team to do her in."
"They do that kind of thing?" Lorelai asked.
"Yes," Buffy said grimly.
"I can't see my great-grandmother approving of that," Rory said.
"I totally could," Lorelai said. "She's very pragmatic."
They walked some more in silence, and Rory couldn't help but think how hard Buffy's life was.
She hoped very much that she was never called to be a slayer.
*****A Few Days Later*****
Rory and Lorelai still couldn't wrap their minds around their experience. The two women were very shaken by their hellmouth experience, but it brought them even closer. No one else could really understand what they had seen and heard but the other. Although they did tell their two secret bearers about their trip to Sunnydale.
"Buffy was so amazing, Lane. I just couldn't believe the life she had lived and the things she had survived," Rory said after she'd shared their first night patrolling. She had come over to give her the crystal necklace they bought from Anya. The crystal was supposed to grant good fortune. After she gave her the necklace, she told her their trip.
Lane was deeply scared for Rory—now it was real. "I almost hate to know what her current year is like," Lane said.
"Her boyfriend left her after she caught him letting vamps suck on him—Dawn told me when Buffy wasn't around," Rory shared.
"No way!" Lane said in dismay. "Why would anyone let a vampire suck on them?"
"I guess like how some people enjoyed being tied up or slapped—it's a rush," Rory said with a distasteful grimace. Both girls shuddered.
"Dawn said Spike told her, and he told Dawn. He's got a thing for Buffy," Rory said.
"Spike is the vampire with the chip that keeps him from killing people, right?" Lane said, trying to keep the characters straight since she'd not met them.
"Right," Rory said. "He's a demon without a soul, so I'm not sure how he's able to care about anyone. Dawn seemed attached to him. The new big bad this year is much stronger than Buffy, and Buffy says Spike is the only one with a chance to protect Dawn."
"Why does Dawn need protection?" Lane said.
"The hell god is after Dawn," Rory said. "Dawn said she'd email me sometime and tell me why. It was too upsetting to talk about. Her mom has been sick with a brain tumor."
"The girl doesn't have enough to deal with?" Lane said.
"Yea, I know," Rory said. "I couldn't imagine being her or surviving her life. She has to be the most incredible person I've ever met."
"Was she all depressed?" Lane said. "I'd be in my room for days if my boyfriend left me after I caught him doing that."
"No, not at all. She said if she spent time being depressed and not patrolling people died," Rory said.
"Gee," Lane said, not knowing what else to say.
They were silent a long moment, and then Rory said, "What if I get called? I don't want that to be my life."
"You won't. Buffy's tough," Lane said.
"They did tell me that the slayer line didn't rest on Buffy but the other slayer, Faith, who's in prison," Rory said. "She's pretty safe there."
"That's good news!" Lane said, happy for her friend.
Both girls, though, were affected in different ways by the trip to the hellmouth. Rory realized that even though the chances were slim, she had to be ready in case she was one day called.
Lane, however, took a much different approach. She stopped rebelling. It wasn't that she stopped loving music, but she stopped wasting energy on buying music. It wasn't that she believed that her mother's religion was the truest of the Christian denominations—in fact, she didn't. Yet she could not dismiss the religious implications of Rory's new experiences. If demons were real, then maybe angels were. If hell was real, then heaven probably was, too. Lane didn't want to be a musician anymore. Instead, she wondered how she could one day help Rory if her best friend was called to be a slayer.
Chapter 5: Vampire Encounter without a Slayer
*****The New Year*****
Luke was still more than rattled at Lorelai's story about their visit to the hellmouth. Not only had she seen vampires, but Buffy had let them both slay a vampire. Rory the first night, and then Lorelai the second. They had seen demons, both evil and benign. The girls were right—he was going to take up whittling.
When Luke had asked Lorelei, how could they tell, she told them what the slayer had said, "If they try to kill you, then their evil."
The idea that Rory might one day be called, scared Luke a lot, but it terrified Lorelai. Her terror was strong the first few weeks she came back. So much so that she was having a hard time keeping things from Sookie.
"Sookie keeps asking me what's wrong," Lorelai told him. "I finally told her that we were attacked on the trip we took with dad and that our new self-defense classes were the only reason we weren't murdered or raped. That shut her up and made her go in mothering mode. I feel bad for lying."
"It's not really a lie, though," Luke said. "Those vampires you saw prove that we can't pretend it's not real anymore."
"I know," Lorelai said. They were upstairs in his apartment as Lorelei didn't want anyone to overhear.
"You decided not to tell her the complete truth for a reason," Luke reminded her.
"Yes, and it was the right choice," Lorelai said. "I just can't believe all of this real. You should've seen that girl, Buffy—the slayer. She was short and blonde. Almost perky even, but she was dealing with so much. She's kept the hellmouth from opening more than once, and she sacrificed her lover. Now her younger sister, who's fourteen is in danger while her mom has a tumor. It's just not right. What if that becomes Rory's life someday?"
"It won't," Luke said. He put his arm around her shoulder. "You don't have a tumor. She has no sibling, and you said the line didn't run through Buffy. Even if she dies, Rory won't be called."
"How messed up is it that I am happy the other slayer is safe in prison?" Lorelai said.
"The situation is messed up," Luke said.
"I am so scared," she said in a small voice. They'd been gone from the hellmouth now two weeks, and she'd had time to process it. She'd clinically shared details with her father as had Rory, but it had seemed surreal. Now, though, they knew it was completely a scary reality. They had met the current slayer and had experienced two nights on a hellmouth. They drove by the burned-out shell of the high school, and they had been to more graveyards than she had ever wanted to see.
"Me, too," Luke admitted.
"The world is scarier and more evil than I ever imagined, Luke," Lorelai said. Then she began to cry, unable to hold in all the emotions she'd been feeling the past few months. Before they left, they got to see Buffy fight and behead a monster that was some kind of demon. "Demons and vampires are real—I saw them. Rory saw them. That could be her life one day." Her voice cracked as she sobbed while Luke let her cry all over him.
Luke held her as she cried and didn't try to offer placating words. What could he say? Nothing could make it not be real. All he could do was offer what protection he could to both girls. They had his support, and he knew that Rory had been speaking to Lane.
Finally, he handed her a tissue, and she blew her nose. "I bet I look awful," she said, feeling a bit embarrassed for crying on him. He had been so incredible, though. Luke was her rock, and she didn't know what she would do without him. They'd become so much closer since she told him their family secret.
"You look beautiful like always," Luke said, meaning it.
Lorelai wanted badly to feel better, and she wanted to give in to the attraction that was between him. What if it ruined things, though?
"Luke, will you kiss me and make me forget how awful the world is?" she asked.
Luke looked surprised. "You want me to kiss you?" he asked. He'd liked her from the moment they'd met, but she'd never seemed open to changing their relationship. Therefore, he'd never pushed the issue.
"I don't want to ruin our friendship, though," she admitted. "I can't ever make it work with men."
"Maybe you just didn't have the right man," he said, taking a chance at crossing the line by putting his hand to her cheek.
Lorelai smiled at his touch, not pulling away. "I got asked out by Rory's English teacher a few months ago, but it was right after I found out about all this stuff. I turned him down 'cause he didn't need the nightmare mess I am," she shared. Then she pulled back slightly, and his hand fell.
"You're not a mess," he said. "You're the most incredible woman that I have ever known." Deciding that he didn't care anymore, he kissed her like he had always wanted.
Lorelai wasn't surprised that the kiss was everything she hoped it would be, and she let herself forget about the horrors of the supernatural.
*****February of Spring Semester*****
Rory was so glad she had Lane to talk to because things at Chilton were not very good. There was a dance, and she was asked out by a popular guy named Tristan. He was kind of a total jerk, but she kept thinking about Buffy and how she lived her life no matter what happened. She went with Tristan to the dance, but he became aggressive with her. Her training kicked him, and she had him on the floor in less than a minute with a strong right hook.
It hurt a lot more than she thought it would, and she looked down at her hand in dismay. Buffy had made it seem so easy. For some reason, Madeline and Louise sided with her, claiming they had seen what happened. When Paris tried to put the blame on Rory and show sympathy toward Tristan, Madeline had actually gotten angry.
"No, means no, Paris. Rory said no, and he pushed. Rory had every right to hit him," Madeline said, glaring at Tristan.
"It wasn't cool, Tristan," Louise said.
"Paris, we need to take her home," Madeline said.
Rory wasn't sure how it happened, but Paris reluctantly agreed. That was how she made three school friends by the spring semester.
Her mother got her tickets to see a concert in New York City, and Lane couldn't go. Rory ended up inviting her three Chilton friends. Sookie hung out with her mother while she sat with the girls.
The problem occurred when Madeline and Louise decided to sneak off with two guys. Rory had a bad feeling, so she nudged Paris.
"Let's follow them. I don't think those guys look right," Rory said. She had in her purse a stake and a small squirt gun with holy water that she felt ridiculous for carrying. Now, though, she felt comforted by the knowledge that she was prepared. If they were just human jerks, she also had pepper spray.
"Here," she said, handing Paris the pepper spray. "If the guys end up being sleazy, we're prepared."
Paris looked surprised but took it. "If they're with Madeline and Louise, they're sleazy."
While Paris stepped ahead, she pulled out her stake and put it in her back pocket, covering it with her shirt. Her heart was racing. Somehow, she just knew this was going to turn out badly.
When the girls turned left, they picked up their pace to follow.
"This is what happens when you invite those two oversexed morons," Paris complained. "I was enjoying myself for the first time in ages."
"Sorry, Paris, but they are too trusting," Rory said.
Paris nodded, surprised by Rory's determination. She had noticed that Rory seemed more hyperaware lately. When she was reading, she didn't get lost in her books anymore. Strangely enough, she was now running track, which Paris thought was very odd. Rory didn't strike her as a jock.
They turned left on the street and didn't see the girls.
"Dang it! Where did they go?" Rory said as she slowed down her steps to look.
"Hmm. Maybe that apartment building," she said, pointing.
As they approached the building, though, they heard a yell in the alley before it. Quickly, they ran toward the sound.
Rory felt sick as she saw the vampire feeding on Madeline while Louise was struggling with the other vampire.
"Get away from them!" Paris shouted as she pulled out her phone to dial 9-1-1.
Rory pulled out her squirt gun and sprayed the vampire feeding on Madeline. He screamed out and dropped Madeline. Rory knew she couldn't handle two vampires, but she couldn't just let her friends die. She squirted the vampire holding Louise, and he let her go.
"Get Madeline and run!" Rory screamed at her.
Louise did just that, finding the power to grab Madeline and pull her away. "Help me, Paris!" she yelled when she saw her friend.
"Police are coming," Paris said as they got Madeline to the end of alley. When she realized that Rory, though, was still there with the two attackers, she stood up.
"Rory, what are you doing? Get over here!" she ordered.
Rory, though, had pulled out her stake. "You better run before I stake you!" she told the guy, who was totally vamped out. The vampire growled and stepped forward.
She remembered what Buffy said, "You are not strong like a slayer, so don't try to pull them close. Use your legs." Her leg went up as the vampire approached, and she kicked it in the stomach, knocking it back. When the other rushed her, all she knew to do was hold up the stake. Strangely enough, it impaled itself on it.
Paris was close enough to see Rory kick one of the guy's and the other charged her. Paris ran to help, but somehow the guy turned to dust. She couldn't help but notice the man was wearing some type of strange face mask.
"What the hell?" she said.
Rory grabbed her hand before she could get closer. "Come on!" Rory said, pulling her to the mouth of the alley. Sirens now could be heard, and the two waited inside the doorstep of the apartment.
"Don't say anything," Rory urged.
"Don't tell anyone that the attackers were wearing freaky face masks and turned to dust when it hit you?" Paris asked, a note of incredulity in her voice.
"I'll explain. Just back up what I say," Rory said.
When the police got there, the paramedics were with them. They quickly loaded Madeline up.
"Go with her, Louise," Paris ordered. "We'll give the police a statement."
"We were at the concert around the corner," Rory said. "We saw our two friends go off with these two sketchy looking guys, so we decided to follow and make sure they were okay."
"When we got to this street, we couldn't find them," Paris added. "Then we heard screams and came to the alley."
"We saw one guy had Madeline pulled up to his mouth—like he was sucking her neck or something. Louise was struggling with her guy," Rory said.
"Yea," Paris said. "Rory gave me pepper spray." She held up her can.
"I sprayed the guy who had Madeline, and he dropped her," Rory said. "When I sprayed Louise's attacker, I told her to grab Madeline and run."
"She did," Paris added. "I had already called you guys before Rory even engaged the two attackers."
"I kicked one of them in the stomach, and when the sirens could be heard, he got up and ran off with his buddy," Rory said.
"Anything else? What race were they?" the cop asked.
"One was white and one looked Mexican or Latino," Rory said.
"They also were wearing some type of scary face mask," Paris added.
"You're kidding?" the cop asked.
"No, it was weird," Rory said.
"That's not the first time we've heard that," the cop said, writing it down.
"Paris, do you know Madeline's parents' number? We need to let them know," Rory said. "I'm calling my mom."
"Louise will as Madeline's phone was on her," Paris said.
The cop took their phone number and address information before letting them leave. They quickly walked toward the concert venue.
"Rory, I demand to know what the hell happened back there," she said.
"What do you mean?" Rory asked. "You know what happened. I used pepper spray on them, and then I fought one of them off before they ran away."
"First of all, how did you know to do any of that? Second of all, I know what I saw, and I know that guy turned to dust somehow," Paris said, glaring at her. "I have not ingested a hallucinogenic of some kind, so don't try to convince me I don't know what the heck I saw!"
"Let's talk later, Paris. We need to find my mom," Rory said.
Two hours later, Madeline and Louise were home, and Paris refused to leave Rory's side. Not wanting to discuss the reality of what happened in front of Sookie, Rory managed to get Paris to remain silent until they were home.
"The world is as old as scientist believe," Rory told Paris. "All the myths and legends we've studied are not simply myths. That man was a vampire. He was trying to drain Madeline of her blood."
"That is insane, Rory," Paris said. She glanced at Lorelai, who was silent but not arguing or denying.
"You saw me stab the guy with a piece of wood, Paris, and he turned to dust," Rory said. "That's insane and impossible. However, it is magical as the supernatural is real."
Lorelai and Rory told her about the slayer and explained about being a potential. "Here. Take this home and read it," Rory said, showing her the slayer handbook. "This explains a lot."
"Monsters are real, and it is a teenage girl who kills them?" Paris said. "I'm going to have to talk to my nanny about this."
"You can't talk about this, Paris. People will think you're crazy," Rory said. "Madeline and Louise already think it was two guys with freaky blood fetishes."
"So this is like a secret club?" Paris asked. The Gilmore girls nodded. "And these Watchers learn how to kill the monsters and train the slayer?"
"Basically. Although there are a lot more watchers than slayers," Lorelai said. "Some are like my dad. Trained to serve but do other things."
Paris nodded, thinking hard. "Thanks for being honest with me, Rory," Paris said. "You are a true friend. I feel honored that you let me in on this secret."
"We have each only told one person," Rory said. "I told my best friend, Lane, and Mom told our friend Luke."
"You didn't tell Sookie?" Paris asked, surprised.
"I didn't want to scare her," Lorelai said. "It's a big burden to share with someone."
Paris nodded. "I can understand that," she said. "Thanks for taking me to the concert. I'll see you Monday, Rory." She took the book and left.
"Do you think she'll be okay?" Lorelai wondered.
Rory shrugged. "It's Paris. She's rattled, but she's brilliant. She'll find some way to cope," she said.
The phone rang, and Lorelai answered it. "Yes, we're back," she said. Then she mouthed to Rory Luke. "Why don't you just come over here? Rory doesn't care. I'll ask." She put her hand over the phone while Luke protested. "Rory, do you care if Luke comes over and has a slumber party with me?"
Rory grinned. "Only if you limit the pillow fights to one and don't do anything that I have to hear!" she teased.
Lorelai laughed and told Luke before hanging up. Rory liked seeing her mom happy, and Luke made her happy. "Luke is always welcome here, Mom," Rory said. "I like seeing you smile."
"I didn't want to lose him, so I tried to keep him in friend zone," Lorelai admitted. "But we're dealing with some scary stuff, and he's just so solid."
"It's okay to be happy," Rory said. "Even Buffy took time to try to find some personal happiness even if it was fleeting."
Lorelai nodded. "That's true," she said. "Let's hope Luke and I don't have the tragic end of her exes."
"Not possible," Rory said.
"You should let that adorable bag boy, Dean, take you out," Lorelai said. "It's clear he's crushing on you."
"I don't have time for boys, Mom. I let Tristan take me to the dance, and you know how that one ended," Rory said.
"Tristan is a tool. Dean is not," Lorelei said.
Rory knew her mother was probably right, but she just wasn't ready to date seriously. Her plate was full.
*****More To Come*****
If you read and enjoyed, take a minute to review! Thanks!