Protector of the Worlds

Chapter 2 A Warning in the Dark
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By. Diana Zhou
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"Hey Buff, up for some Bronz tonight?"

"Maybe. Giles is on one of his 'it's you sacred duty' kicks. So I gotta go patrol before Bronzing."

"Oh come on Buff, you can come and watch me being rejected all night long. What more fun can there be?"...

Three best friends chatted happily together while walking towards the high school library after a long summer apart. When they reached their destination, Xander and Buffy immediately took seats at the large oak table in the middle of the library while Willow sat in a computer stool. Buffy Summers spent the summer with her dad in Los Angeles while Willow Roseburg and Xander Harris spent it in the place they'd grown up calling home, Sunnydale. Actually, the name Sunnyhell might have been more accurate because Sunnydale was located right on top of the Hell Mouth, or Boca de Inferno as the Spanish called it. To be more exact, the Hell Mouth was located right underneath the library i the local high school. When they say 'school is hell' in Sunnydale, it was the literal truth.

Buffy Summers was the Slayer, the Chosen One. The one girl in every generation blah, blah, blah. The monolog came down to Buffy - good, demons - bad. Buffy kill demons and save the world, many times. Her friends Willow and Xander often help with the world saving part. Her watcher Giles helped too... sometimes. The old stiff-neck often came through for them with the research and slayage but one mustn't let the British ego rise too high by actually thanking him.

"Buffy, will you be patrolling tonight?" Giles, the school librarian and Buffy's watcher, asked his charge.

"Yes, Giles. For the hundredth time, I will patrol... right before I go to the Bronz." Buffy answered in a hurry hoping against hope Giles missed the last part.

Unfortunately he didn't. "Buffy you know it's your sacred..."

"Duty. Blah, blah, blah. I know Giles. But I'm also only 15. The vamp activity is on a major low right now plus school has started - and if that's not evil I don't know what is. Besides it's not as if I'm not doing my job. See, I even put patrolling before Bronzing." Buffy replied smoothly while putting on her brightest smile. She knew the smile was her secret weapon and Giles' undoing. As she predicted, Giles stammered out an affirmative after another round of being careful and watchful.

***

A feint to the left, a jab to the right, and with the final roundhouse, the vampire was down. Within the next millisecond it was gone forever leaving behind a pile of ash. Dusting herself off while rising from the said pile of ash was a petite blond girl with shoulder length hair. She was wearing a pair of black pants and navy blue halter covered with a black leather jacket.

A low rustle in the bush behind her was the only alert she had of the new intruder. In one fluid motion, she was on her feet ready for whatever evil that was coming her way. With a quick flick of her wrist, a fresh stake appeared in her hand ready to slay. But when the mysterious visitor turns out to be Angel, the stake quickly disappeared into the sleeve of her jacket.

"What are you doing here? Is there another invincible enemy or world ending prophecy? Oh gosh, could this be a social call?" Buffy asked part in curiosity, part in anger, and mostly in hurt. It had been months, but she still didn't know anything about this mysterious stranger. Yes, she knew his name. Angel. But what else? Most of the time Buffy was very good at figuring out people. But after months of questioning and prodding, she was left with more questions than answers. Who was he, really, underneath that exterior, that very nice exterior? Why was he helping her? Seriously, he couldn't be doing the "mysterious message boy" bit as a full time job. Did he notice how her halter brought out the color of her eyes? Of course not, it was too dark for human eyes to see any kind of color. As that thought passes through her mind, an old biology lecture about rods or cones fluttered through her mind. Why would people need rods in biology? It's not like they are going to be in a fight... That train of thought came to an abrupt halt as Buffy's mind conjured up an image of Snider dressed as a monkey. Definitely no more spacing out, Buffy reprimand herself.

'No,' Buffy thought bitterly as she remembered again the situation between Angel and her, 'he would never see me as a girlfriend material. I mean, he must be way mature. Plus the 'hey honey, you are in grave danger, see you next month' attitude and behavior doesn't help the situation. Why can't he see that I have feelings for him? That's men for you."

"No, this is not a social call." Angel echoed her thoughts as if he could hear them. "Something evil and powerful is heading this way..."

Not giving him a chance to finish, Buffy interrupted him with a dismissive wave of her hands. "Yeah, yeah. 'Watch your back.' Don't worry, I've got the drill down. Or is it 'the fate of the world is in your hands.' Try some new lines once in a while."

"Look Buffy, you are the Slayer. You should be able to feel it. Couldn't you feel the disturbance in the mystical forces around you?" Angel asked.

Buffy just stared at him in shock. She could not believe this guy almost quoted from Star Wars. Willow and she had been forced by Xander to watch that movie enough times to know the basic 'feel the Force' quotes. Was he for real? Is this the same Angel that always showed up from nowhere, leaf some encrypted message, and disappeared before Genie could blink her eye? Often literally!

Buffy was too emotionally exhausted to get mad at the lack of progress in both her love life and understanding yet another cryptic message. All she wanted was to hang with her friends at the Bronz for the few hours remaining before curfew. Then crawl into her soft and comfy bed. But apparently, the forces of evil did not know the meaning of co-operation. "Can you tell me more about this evil dude... name, age, occupation outside of destroying the world etc. That would be helpful."

"Well, he's old..."

Buffy snorted, but Angel pointedly ignored the unlady-like sound.

"He is a vampire wizard."

That caused a surprised eyebrow to go up.

"He goes by the name Shadow Snake. That's all I could get from my sources."

"Well, thanks. I'll relay the message to Giles. Maybe, he can find information about this wizard dude." With out another comment, the Slayer walked away from a man that looked way too hot in a leather jacket for a girl's health. 'Wonder what he's hiding under that jacket... I hope Will and Xander didn't have to wait too long.' A much happier Slayer left the cemetery.

End of Chapter 2