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"Giles, I'd like you to meet Wu Caine. He's an Immortal," Buffy said smiling.

"An...an...Immortal. Really?" stuttered Giles.

"Yes, pleased to meet you," said Caine, extending his hand.

"So, um, how old are you?"

"I'm some thirty-seven hundred years old," smiled the Immortal, who in actuality was close to ten thousand. However, he didn't want every one knowing that he was the oldest of all the Immortals, and had also been Huang Di, one of the three legendary founders of civilization in China.

"Th...thirty-seven thousand," stammered Giles in disbelief. "So why have you come here."

"For the last thousand, I have taken it upon myself to train the Slayer of the time, so that she will be better prepared to fight the forces of evil."

"Ahh, then you are the Immortal mentioned in the Watcher books."

"I suppose. Anyway, I am here to train Buffy. She will have the benefit of my considerable experience."

"May I speak with Buffy, privately?"

"Of course." Giles took Buffy to one side. "Buffy, are you sure we can trust him?"
"Oh yeah. If he had wanted to kill me he would have done it by now. Besides, you should have seen him kill four vamps himself in the park. It was truly awesome."

"Well, alright then. But I want you to keep in touch."

"Don't worry, Giles. He has a house here in Sunnydale. You can even come by and watch," Buffy said cheerfully.

"I just might do that."

"Before you learn how to fight with the sword, you must learn to fight with your body," Caine said. They were in the backyard of Caine's house. "You must learn to feel the flow of the world around you. Every force of nature can be used as your ally. The wind, the curve of the earth. The reason I seem to move with such speed is that, over the millennia, I have mastered the art of quickening my perceptions. Meaning, I can effectively slow down what is happening around myself, at least to my senses, giving me more time to react. Mind you, it's not much of a difference, but it counts. Now, let me see what you already know. Hit me, if you can."

Buffy went into a series of attacks, each with her full Slayer strength and speed. Not one got through. Caine seemed to move like fluid, effortlessly blocking her attacks. Suddenly, he moved even faster, and she found herself looking up at the sky. After helping her up, Caine said, "Real speed comes without effort. Now, like this."

Later that night, Buffy was sitting with her friends in Giles's house. Caine was there as well, having been introduced to the entire Scooby Gang. Giles had asked him to tell them a little more about his life. "Well, I've been a warrior pretty much all of my life. For the first couple of centuries, I was a legendary warrior in China. I was asked by rulers and farmers alike to train them and their children. After that, I traveled to Rome, where I was a member of the Roman Legions. I fought for the British, against the British. I fought the Japanese in World War II. I was a hitman for a while in the 80s. But recently, I've gotten tired of that lifestyle. I'll probably pick it up again in another hundred years. I have done and seen many things that I am not proud of. Being Immortal isn't as fun as it seems. While you get to see alot, most Immortals can't escape the killing." The room was silent for a moment while the friends thought about what a killer they had in their midst. Eventually it was Xander who spoke up, "How about the women? You must have had lots of girls." The other members of the gang groaned. Caine chuckled and said, "I've been married seven times. Four times to a mortal. Believe me, it's not a fun thing seeing your lover grow old and die, while you stay the same forever. But yes, I have had many women over the millennia. In fact, one time I-" he was cut off by his cell phone. "One moment, please." He got up and went to the kitchen. "Caine here." "Caine, it's Joe," said the voice at the other end. "Listen, Chang is headed your way. Estimate two days until he gets there."

"How many with him?"

"Five I'm told. Who do you want?"

"Get Connor and Duncan. Tell Duncan to bring Methos and another Immortal with him."

"Can do. Joe out." He hung up. Buffy walked into the kitchen and saw the far away look on Caine's face. "Caine, what is it?"

"Chang is on his way. It will soon be time for our Reckoning."