Yamato the Vampire Slayer
The Revenge of St. George
By the Empress of the Eclipse
Disclaimer - Nope, none of it's mine.
"Yamato, did I not explain secret identity in clear enough terms?" Ms Fuyutsuki demanded "In the space of two days, you've told six people who you are! Even Miss Summers didn't do so badly!"
Matt scowled.
"It wasn't exactly intentional!" he snapped "It just...happened."
Ms Fuyutsuki scowled.
"I want to speak to all of them," she said "As soon as possible."
"Then you'll have to come over to Ken's," Matt said sulkily "He's being babied - much to his utter rage - and his parents won't let him out."
"That's fine with me," Ms Fuyutsuki said "I want to speak to them all tomorrow."
* * * *
They all ended up in Ken's bedroom. Ms Fuyutsuki got the computer chair while everyone either sat on the floor or Ken's bed. Ken took the floor, announcing that he was heartily sick of the stupid bed. Everyone avoided the slightly stained patches.
"Remind me to make a fool-proof bloodstain remover," Ken said.
"So all those criminals who commit murder can get blood out of their clothes?" Akemi suggested.
Ken gave him a cold withering stare. Ken's withering stare hadn't lost any of it's power, even if he was no longer the Digimon Emperor.
"Eek!" Akemi said "I'm crushed, I'm crushed, I remain silent! But not for very long. Matt, have I ever mentioned how attractive some of your friends are?" he asked, giving Ken an appreciative look.
Ken turned crimson. The rest of the band grabbed pillows and attempted to smother Akemi with them.
"That's enough," Ms Fuyutsuki said, sounding annoyed "Listen to me all of you. How much has Yamato explained?"
"That he's a vampire Slayer, that there are lots of vampires and demons, that there always have been, that he kills them," Davis said cheerfully.
Ms Fuyutsuki sighed.
"I see," she said "I think it is vital that you understand two things. Firstly, you cannot tell anyone about this. Secondly, you cannot get involved."
"Why not?" Akemi said "I want to be involved! I want to help!"
"She's right guys," Matt said "I don't want any of you getting hurt. You can't fight demons."
"But maybe we can help!" Ken said.
"I highly doubt it," Ms Fuyutsuki said, glancing over them with a slightly contemptuous look on her face.
"What's that for?" Gendo said "I bet I could kick any vampire's ass!"
"I seriously doubt it," Matt said "Sorry Gend, but vampires aren't easy to fight."
Gendo looked indignant.
"But you'd probably give one a run for their money!" Matt added, not wanting to upset him.
Ms Fuyutsuki gave him a look. Matt swallowed.
"That other Slayer, Buffy, had friends," he said sulkily.
"Mr Giles - her Watcher - might have gone for such untraditional methods," Ms Fuyutsuki said "But I prefer a more traditional approach. And I say that you will not have these friends following you around, getting in the way!"
"We wouldn't get in the way!" Davis said angrily "You don't even know us!"
"Davis," Matt said "Don't get mad. It won't help."
Davis scowled. Ken rubbed his friend's arm.
"Look," Toshiki said "We'd like to help Matt. Matt's our friend and I don't want him to be in danger without help."
Matt grinned at him. Toshiki waved.
Ms Fuyutsuki scowled.
"I will not have civilians endangering themselves!" she snapped.
"But Ms Fuyutsuki..." Akemi began.
"No! Yamato, please explain to your friends that I will not give in."
Matt sighed.
"She means it guys," he said.
"But we don't want Matt to get hurt!" Davis said "With our help, he might not get hurt!"
"What possible good could you do?" Ms Fuyutsuki asked scornfully.
"How hard can it be to poke a sharp wooden stick through something?" Davis asked.
Ms Fuyutsuki gave him another withering look.
"This conversation is over," she said coldly "Yamato, you may stay with your friends a little longer if you wish but then I insist that you come along. You have Slayer studies."
"Yes Ms Fuyutsuki," Matt said sadly.
Davis waited until Ms Fuyutsuki had gone before letting rip.
"That's so unfair! Who does she think she is?"
"She's my Watcher," Matt said "And she's only trying to protect you. It's her job."
"And you'll just let her boss you around like that?"
Matt shrugged.
"Ms Fuyutsuki is sort of difficult to battle against," he said "Besides, I think she's right. I'd never forgive myself if I got any of you killed."
"Oh no," Gendo said firmly "You're not getting that attitude!"
Dropping off Ken's bed, he took Matt firmly by the shoulders and made him look at him.
"If we get involved in this Matt, it's our choice. If we die, it's not your fault. You never think like that or you'll never be able to do anything. You take responsibility for your actions."
Matt grinned.
"Nice pep talk," he said "Thanks."
There was a pause after that. Matt got the impression that everyone was still trying to come to terms with everything. Ken was playing with a loose thread on the carpet. Davis was sitting sulkily next to him, obviously thinking. The band were just existing.
"Well, just because she says we can't..." Davis said.
"Guys," Matt said "Couldn't we just drop this? You'd be helping me enough just letting me talk to you, not thinking I was crazy."
"We can talk to Tai for you if you want," Davis said.
"Tai knows about this?" Gendo said.
Matt looked at the floor.
"He read my diary," he mumbled.
"Hey, doesn't that mean he knows..." Akemi's voice trailed off, letting the rest of the band fill in the gap. Matt's shoulders drooped.
"Ah," Akemi said.
"So what did Tai say?" Toshiki asked.
"That I'm insane," Matt said "Followed by that something bad must have happened and I can't deal with it so I'm making up insane stories."
"Wow, that's profound," Istu said, looking impressed.
"That's the power of denial," Toshiki said "What happened then?"
"We haven't spoken," Matt said "I can't face Tai calling me a psycho. Not how I was hoping our relationship would turn out."
Istu promptly joined them on the floor to give Matt a big hug.
"Get off Istu," Matt said, not really resisting. Istu ignored him.
"Relationship?" Davis said "Hey, do you LIKE Tai?"
Matt pulled away from Istu, blushing crimson.
"Okay Davis, remember that talk we had about tact?" Ken asked gently.
"Oh yeah. Sorry Matt. I didn't say anything. But do you?"
"Davis!" Ken said in annoyance.
"Forget it Ken," Gendo said "We've been trying to teach Akemi tact for years. It doesn't work."
"I resent that!" Akemi said.
"But do you?" Davis demanded, obviously refusing to be deterred.
"Yes, all right!" Matt exploded "I like Tai? Okay? Is that enough for you?"
Turning, he stormed out of the room. The group looked at each other. Ken decked Davis over the back of the head.
"Moron!"
"Sorry," Davis muttered.
Then Matt came back in.
"There's something I forgot to tell you two," he said to Ken and Davis, his voice flat "You remember those two guys, Angel and Spike?"
"Yes," Ken said.
"Stay away from them," Matt said "It turns out they're vampires."
"What?" Davis squawked "But they're normal-looking! And they helped us!"
Matt shrugged.
"Well, it's true," Matt said flatly "Vampires. Seen them in a book."
"Hey, and they're invited in!" Ken said.
Matt blinked. This hadn't occurred to him.
"Good point. They're invited in to my house too," he said slowly "Hell. I'll see you later."
He ran off, leaving a group of tired teenagers behind him.
* * * *
Matt couldn't be bothered going to Slayer study. He was sick of Slayer study. He felt like shirking for a few days.
He went into the part and wandered round aimlessly, not really bothering to notice where he was going. He was so busy not noticing where he was going that he walked straight into the stream.
"Oh fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK!"
"Matt?"
It was Tai.
Matt felt himself blush a terrible shade of fuchsia. Tai was giving him a confused stare.
"Why are you ankle-deep in a stream?"
"Um...."
Matt couldn't think of a single sensible reason. He eventually settled for smiling like it was perfectly normal to be ankle-deep in a stream.
"Hi Tai," he said.
Then he remembered that he and Tai weren't speaking. Tai had remembered already and was looking awkward.
"Um...look Matt," he said "I...I wanted to talk to you."
"Oh?" Matt said. He climbed out of the stream, looking at his wet feet. Tai fidgeted.
"If this is about my mental state, I don't want to hear it," Matt warned.
Tai shook his head.
"No," he said "It's not. Not really."
Matt shrugged. Tai was rocking on his feet nervously.
"Look Matt," he said eventually "I don't understand what you've said. I don't understand and I don't believe it. It's not possible and I still think you're messed up."
"Well if that's all...." Matt said, turning away.
Tai caught his arm.
"No! Matt, I've got you something."
Matt turned, mentally promising that if it was any sort of book which helped with you with your mental state of mind he would kill Tai then and there and hang the rules about Slayers not killing people.
It wasn't. It was a small jewellery box. Slowly, Matt opened it and looked inside.
It was a medium sized silver cross. Entwined round it was a copper dragon. It was the sort of thing that Matt had always wondered about getting a tattoo of.
"You're in a band, I figured you could get away with wearing it," Tai muttered.
"Tai!" Matt said, staring "It's...it's....wow."
Tai gave a small smile.
"I figured you'd like it," he said.
There was a silence. Matt was admiring the necklace and thinking, trying to decide what this meant.
"I'll see you around Matt," Tai said at last. He turned and began to walk away.
'This isn't just temporary' Matt realised suddenly 'Tai's saying a proper goodbye. He's breaking off friendship with me 'cause he thinks I'm crazy and he can't handle it. He can't handle a crazy friend.'
"Tai! Tai, wait!"
He ran after his friend, catching his arm. Tai looked at him, curiously and slightly nervously. Matt opened his mouth to speak. Then he stopped.
Maybe this was the best thing. If Tai broke contact, Tai wouldn't be in any danger any more. He'd be safe, away from Matt and wouldn't be thrown into anything that he couldn't deal with.
Wasn't that what Matt wanted.
Matt swallowed.
"Thank you," he said softly "For everything. The necklace and...and being such a great friend."
Tai looked at him.
"Matt, I..."
"It's okay," Matt said quietly "You don't have to explain Tai. I get it."
He paused for a second, then pushed his worries away. This was it after all.
Leaning in, his kissed Tai very gently. He felt Tai freeze up but didn't care. After a few moments, he broke the kiss and stared into Tai's eyes for a few moments.
"Thank you Tai," he said "I'll....I'll see you around."
Then he turned and ran. He kept running until he was in the graveyard. Huddling behind a mausoleum, he cried bitterly until there were no more tears left.
* * * *
Angel and Spike were patrolling. Angel was beginning the consider calling it a night after Spike started distracting the vampires by offering them cigarettes and talking about people he'd known and killed.
"Spike," he said eventually "Call this a guess, but are you bored?"
"Bored?" Spike said "No, this is just the most excruciatingly crappy trip I've ever taken. Why should I be bored?"
Angel was about to say something when he heard something. The quiet sound of someone crying.
"Come on," Angel ordered. Spike scowled.
"Why do you get to boss me around?"
"Spike."
"Coming, coming."
They traced it to behind one of the mausoleums. Matt was sitting there, something gripped in his hand, hunched against the wall. He'd obviously been crying for a long time and the sobs had slowed now.
"Matt?" Angel said.
Matt's head snapped up. He sprang to his feet, dashing his tears away.
"You!"
"Uh oh," Spike said.
"Matt?" Angel said.
Matt glowered at them.
"You're vampires!"
"Shit," Spike said sulkily "I TOLD you we should have talked to that bleedin' Watcher but noooo, you never did know when to listen to me, did you?"
"Shut up Spike," Angel said. He looked at Matt.
"Yes," he said quietly "We're vampires."
Matt looked at him. Angel saw a flash of betrayal before it was hidden by blankness. Matt was good at hiding his feelings.
"Matt," Angel said quietly "It's not what it seems like."
"What else can it be?" Matt demanded "You're vampires. I'm a vampire Slayer? Make any sense yet?"
"Yeah, we know but it's not like that," Spike said brightly "See, Pouf-Boy here has a soul so he tags around after people trying to do good and the like, trying to atone for all the bad things he did when he was a real bastard. I'm here on account of a chip these Soldier Boys put in my head meaning that I can't hurt people but I can't hurt demons."
"Spike!" Angel said irritably "I'd have liked to have explained it a little better than that."
"Why bother? My explanation was perfectly satisfactory. It's just you lot all go for long complex things. Me, I cut to the chase."
Matt stared at them both. They certainly didn't act like the vampires that he was used to facing.
"A soul?" he said eventually.
Angel nodded.
"Back when I was evil..."
"Which time?"
"Shut UP Spike! Back when I was evil, I killed a gypsy girl in Romania. She was a favourite among her clan and the gypsies were angry. So they decided to punish me. They gave me a soul."
"So what?" Matt said.
"When the vampire takes over, it gets your body, but not your soul," Angel said quietly "The demon holds the memories, the voice, the face, even the personality sometimes but your soul goes on to the ether. When my soul was returned to me..."
His voice broke off. He looked at Matt.
"When I was a vampire, I killed my family, my friends, their friends," he said quietly "I and my sire - a sire's the one who made you a vampire - went round killing and torturing people for years. I drove one girl named Drusilla insane, then made her one of us. She in turn sired Spike here. We went round together. Until I was souled. You can't imagine what it's like to have done the things I've done and to care."
Matt was still standing in a defensive position but he'd relaxed slightly. He looked sympathetic at least, which was a good sign.
"I spent years wandering round, not doing anything, wracked by guilt. Eventually, a demon, Whistler came to me. He offered me a choice. I could either become more worthless than I already was or I could become somebody. Help people. To convince me, he showed me a girl. Buffy Summers."
"The Slayer," Spike said helpfully "And he fell instantly in love and drove all us normal vampires sick!"
"Shut up Pot and stop calling the Kettle black!" Angel snapped. He turned back to Matt.
"I wanted to help her," he said "So when she was kicked out of school..."
"She was kicked out of school?"
"The gym was full of vampires," Angel explained "So she burned it down."
Matt looked considering.
"Wonder if I could do the same with my Math class?" he muttered.
"I wouldn't advise trying," Angel said "When Buffy was kicked out, she and her mother moved to Sunnydale. That was where we met up. At first I was just the cryptic guy, showing up with information. But then she found out my true identity after I....we fell in love."
"Like I said," Spike said "In big sappy disgusting love."
"Spike, if you don't shut up, I'll tell Matt what you talk about in your sleep."
"I'm quiet, I'm quiet."
Matt couldn't help wondering what Spike did talk about in his sleep. But Angel was continuing his story and Matt pushed the thoughts away to listen.
"We fought together. Me, Buffy, her Watcher and her friends. It was all going fine until Spike here tried to reassemble a demon called the Judge."
"That was Dru's idea!" Spike said "Me, I was just depressed! You'd be depressed if you were in a wheelchair!"
Angel kicked the back of Spike's knee, causing Spike to fall over with a curse. Angel continued, ignoring the interruption.
"Buffy and I were nearly killed. We took shelter in my house. And then we..."
He paused, hoping Matt could fill in the gap.
"They shagged," Spike said brightly.
Angel wondered how wrong it would be to drag Spike into the mausoleum and screw him senseless against the wall. He decided it would be very wrong and abandoned the thought, settling for 'accidentally' stepping on Spike's hand. Spike swore and Angel continued.
"But there was a problem. One moment of true happiness, and my soul would be taken from me again. I became evil. I tried to kill Buffy and her friends. I also tried to have the world sucked into hell. But Buffy's wicca friend Willow restored my soul. But it was too late. I had already opened the porthole. The only way to close it was with my blood. So Buffy sent me to Hell."
Matt looked shocked.
"The time in Hell works differently to here," Angel said softly "I was in Hell for many centuries but in the real world, only three months had passed. But then...then I returned from Hell."
"How?" Matt asked.
"The Powers That Be," Angel said "I think."
"That's useful," Matt said.
Angel shrugged.
"The Powers That Be are these immortal whatsits that try and control everyone," Spike said chirpily.
"Spike, if you say ANYTHING else, I swear I'm going to take you off and put you on a cargo ship heading for the Mother Country!"
"Sir, yes Sir!" Spike saluted. Then he frowned.
"But where is the Mother Country? I mean, yours is Ireland but isn't mine England? And wouldn't Buffy's be America? Is it just England and Ireland that get called the Mother Country?"
He noticed the look on Angel's face and wisely shut up. Angel continued his story.
"I helped Buffy for another year but we realised that our relationship could never come to anything. So I left for LA. I started a detective agency, Angel Investigations. An old friend of Buffy's, Cordelia, helped me. We were also helped by an Irish half-demon called Doyle. Later we were joined by Wesley Wyndam-Price and Charles Gunn. Things were going okay but then....then Buffy died."
"I'd been helping the Slayer," Spike said quietly "See, these Soldiers put a chip in me meaning that I can't hurt humans. But I can hurt demons. So I helped Buffy fight bad guys."
"Because you fancied her."
"Shut up Angel!"
Matt was beginning to wonder whether it was possible to talk to these two without them interrupting each other. It was like a bad comedy act.
"Not that she really needed my help," Spike said "She was the best Slayer, better than both the ones I killed."
"You've killed Slayers?"
"Two," Spike said. "Anyway, after Buffy died, I didn't want to stay in Sunnydale. So I joined Angel in LA. Then we heard about you. Well, Angel would have left it well enough alone but I wanted to check it out. So we did."
"And you spied on me?"
"Yes," Spike said, quite unashamedly "I wanted to see if you were any good before deciding to help you."
"Spike!" Angel said angrily "That wasn't it!"
"Well, no," Spike said "But it's the simpler one."
Matt was frowning.
"You said that the Slayer - Buffy - got kicked out of school," he said slowly.
"Yes," Angel said.
"But she went back to school in Sunnydale."
"Yes," Angel said, trying to work out where this was going "I left her at graduation."
"When did she die?"
"Just before you were called of course," Spike said looking annoyed "Didn't anyone tell you how it worked?"
Matt said nothing for a moment. Then he spoke.
"How...how old was she?"
"When she died?"
"Yes."
Angel paused.
"Twenty," Spike said "Dawn found out who she was on Buffy's twentieth birthday."
Matt stared at them.
"She...she died when she was twenty?"
"Yes," Spike said.
"But...you said she was one of the best."
"She was," Spike said, looking really confused.
"How...how old were the Slayers you killed?" Matt asked. His voice was rising slightly.
"I don't know," Spike said "The first was about nineteen-twenty I think. The second was seventeen-eighteen. Why?"
"Matt, what's the matter?" Angel asked, seeing Matt's sickly-grey face.
"But...but they're all so young," Matt said faintly "They're all..."
"Oh boy," Spike said, suddenly realising. Ms Fuyutsuki had obviously neglected to mention the Slayer's short life-span to Matt. And Spike and Angel had just accidentally blurted it out without trying to soften the blow.
Still, it was too late now. Spike looked hopefully at Angel.
"Matt," Angel said very gently "A Slayer never lives for a very long time."
"How long?" Matt asked.
Spike frantically tried to signal to Angel to lie but Angel didn't see.
"'Till about mid-twenties," he said quietly "A Slayer rarely lives beyond then."
"Nice one," Spike mumbled.
Matt's face was pale and he was shaking.
"I...mid-twenties?"
"I'm sorry," Angel said quietly.
Matt slowly sat down again.
"So that's why whenever I talked about what I'd do when I was older, Ms Fuyutsuki always shut up," he said "She knew that it was a nul point anyway."
Angel sat next to him after a moment. Matt didn't really notice. Angel looked at what he was holding. It was an silver cross with a dragon.
"Where did you get that?"
"Tai gave it to me," Matt said "Before breaking off our friendship."
He leaned back.
"Not that it matters," he said dully "Save him from pain since I've probably got less than ten years to live."
"Oh don't be so pathetic!" Spike said "I'll tell you what I told Buffy; what vampires all look for is one good day. You've got friends who need you, right. So don't you get despondent like that."
Matt gave a faint laugh.
"Why does everyone always give me these pep talks?"
"'Cause you need them," Spike said "Now get up, stop moping, and come patrolling with us. I could use a laugh."
Matt looked at Angel.
"Why did you let that Drusilla sire him?" he asked curiously "He's already annoying me and I haven't know him that long."
"When Drusilla sired him, he was an aristocrat who wrote bloody awful poetry," Angel said "We didn't realise that he'd drop THAT many social classes!"
He noticed Spike's expression.
"I wasn't supposed to tell you about the poetry part," he said guiltily.
They continued patrolling, Matt listening to Angel and Spike fight.
Maybe things wouldn't be so bad after all. Tai was safe. Angel and Spike were going to help him. So were the band, Davis and Ken. Matt was pretty sure that they'd all get involved, even though Matt had said not to. Maybe he'd manage to survive. Maybe things would go okay from now.
* * * *
The cargo ship pulled into the dock. No one saw the two women leaving it.
"This place looks a dump," one of them said.
"Sh," the other said dreamily "I can hear singing. Pretty voices."
"Whatever Dru," the first one said.
Dru smiled.
"There's bright lights here," she said "And...the new Slayer."
"New Slayer?"
Dru nodded.
"It's a little girl," she said "But she's all backwards. A little boy."
"A boy Slayer?" the woman said "That's new."
Dru smiled.
"We're going to dance in all the streets," she said.
"Yes Dru," the woman said "Now come on. I want to find a room before it gets light."
The two of them walked off into the shadowy alleyways.
The End of Part 6
The Revenge of St. George
By the Empress of the Eclipse
Disclaimer - Nope, none of it's mine.
"Yamato, did I not explain secret identity in clear enough terms?" Ms Fuyutsuki demanded "In the space of two days, you've told six people who you are! Even Miss Summers didn't do so badly!"
Matt scowled.
"It wasn't exactly intentional!" he snapped "It just...happened."
Ms Fuyutsuki scowled.
"I want to speak to all of them," she said "As soon as possible."
"Then you'll have to come over to Ken's," Matt said sulkily "He's being babied - much to his utter rage - and his parents won't let him out."
"That's fine with me," Ms Fuyutsuki said "I want to speak to them all tomorrow."
* * * *
They all ended up in Ken's bedroom. Ms Fuyutsuki got the computer chair while everyone either sat on the floor or Ken's bed. Ken took the floor, announcing that he was heartily sick of the stupid bed. Everyone avoided the slightly stained patches.
"Remind me to make a fool-proof bloodstain remover," Ken said.
"So all those criminals who commit murder can get blood out of their clothes?" Akemi suggested.
Ken gave him a cold withering stare. Ken's withering stare hadn't lost any of it's power, even if he was no longer the Digimon Emperor.
"Eek!" Akemi said "I'm crushed, I'm crushed, I remain silent! But not for very long. Matt, have I ever mentioned how attractive some of your friends are?" he asked, giving Ken an appreciative look.
Ken turned crimson. The rest of the band grabbed pillows and attempted to smother Akemi with them.
"That's enough," Ms Fuyutsuki said, sounding annoyed "Listen to me all of you. How much has Yamato explained?"
"That he's a vampire Slayer, that there are lots of vampires and demons, that there always have been, that he kills them," Davis said cheerfully.
Ms Fuyutsuki sighed.
"I see," she said "I think it is vital that you understand two things. Firstly, you cannot tell anyone about this. Secondly, you cannot get involved."
"Why not?" Akemi said "I want to be involved! I want to help!"
"She's right guys," Matt said "I don't want any of you getting hurt. You can't fight demons."
"But maybe we can help!" Ken said.
"I highly doubt it," Ms Fuyutsuki said, glancing over them with a slightly contemptuous look on her face.
"What's that for?" Gendo said "I bet I could kick any vampire's ass!"
"I seriously doubt it," Matt said "Sorry Gend, but vampires aren't easy to fight."
Gendo looked indignant.
"But you'd probably give one a run for their money!" Matt added, not wanting to upset him.
Ms Fuyutsuki gave him a look. Matt swallowed.
"That other Slayer, Buffy, had friends," he said sulkily.
"Mr Giles - her Watcher - might have gone for such untraditional methods," Ms Fuyutsuki said "But I prefer a more traditional approach. And I say that you will not have these friends following you around, getting in the way!"
"We wouldn't get in the way!" Davis said angrily "You don't even know us!"
"Davis," Matt said "Don't get mad. It won't help."
Davis scowled. Ken rubbed his friend's arm.
"Look," Toshiki said "We'd like to help Matt. Matt's our friend and I don't want him to be in danger without help."
Matt grinned at him. Toshiki waved.
Ms Fuyutsuki scowled.
"I will not have civilians endangering themselves!" she snapped.
"But Ms Fuyutsuki..." Akemi began.
"No! Yamato, please explain to your friends that I will not give in."
Matt sighed.
"She means it guys," he said.
"But we don't want Matt to get hurt!" Davis said "With our help, he might not get hurt!"
"What possible good could you do?" Ms Fuyutsuki asked scornfully.
"How hard can it be to poke a sharp wooden stick through something?" Davis asked.
Ms Fuyutsuki gave him another withering look.
"This conversation is over," she said coldly "Yamato, you may stay with your friends a little longer if you wish but then I insist that you come along. You have Slayer studies."
"Yes Ms Fuyutsuki," Matt said sadly.
Davis waited until Ms Fuyutsuki had gone before letting rip.
"That's so unfair! Who does she think she is?"
"She's my Watcher," Matt said "And she's only trying to protect you. It's her job."
"And you'll just let her boss you around like that?"
Matt shrugged.
"Ms Fuyutsuki is sort of difficult to battle against," he said "Besides, I think she's right. I'd never forgive myself if I got any of you killed."
"Oh no," Gendo said firmly "You're not getting that attitude!"
Dropping off Ken's bed, he took Matt firmly by the shoulders and made him look at him.
"If we get involved in this Matt, it's our choice. If we die, it's not your fault. You never think like that or you'll never be able to do anything. You take responsibility for your actions."
Matt grinned.
"Nice pep talk," he said "Thanks."
There was a pause after that. Matt got the impression that everyone was still trying to come to terms with everything. Ken was playing with a loose thread on the carpet. Davis was sitting sulkily next to him, obviously thinking. The band were just existing.
"Well, just because she says we can't..." Davis said.
"Guys," Matt said "Couldn't we just drop this? You'd be helping me enough just letting me talk to you, not thinking I was crazy."
"We can talk to Tai for you if you want," Davis said.
"Tai knows about this?" Gendo said.
Matt looked at the floor.
"He read my diary," he mumbled.
"Hey, doesn't that mean he knows..." Akemi's voice trailed off, letting the rest of the band fill in the gap. Matt's shoulders drooped.
"Ah," Akemi said.
"So what did Tai say?" Toshiki asked.
"That I'm insane," Matt said "Followed by that something bad must have happened and I can't deal with it so I'm making up insane stories."
"Wow, that's profound," Istu said, looking impressed.
"That's the power of denial," Toshiki said "What happened then?"
"We haven't spoken," Matt said "I can't face Tai calling me a psycho. Not how I was hoping our relationship would turn out."
Istu promptly joined them on the floor to give Matt a big hug.
"Get off Istu," Matt said, not really resisting. Istu ignored him.
"Relationship?" Davis said "Hey, do you LIKE Tai?"
Matt pulled away from Istu, blushing crimson.
"Okay Davis, remember that talk we had about tact?" Ken asked gently.
"Oh yeah. Sorry Matt. I didn't say anything. But do you?"
"Davis!" Ken said in annoyance.
"Forget it Ken," Gendo said "We've been trying to teach Akemi tact for years. It doesn't work."
"I resent that!" Akemi said.
"But do you?" Davis demanded, obviously refusing to be deterred.
"Yes, all right!" Matt exploded "I like Tai? Okay? Is that enough for you?"
Turning, he stormed out of the room. The group looked at each other. Ken decked Davis over the back of the head.
"Moron!"
"Sorry," Davis muttered.
Then Matt came back in.
"There's something I forgot to tell you two," he said to Ken and Davis, his voice flat "You remember those two guys, Angel and Spike?"
"Yes," Ken said.
"Stay away from them," Matt said "It turns out they're vampires."
"What?" Davis squawked "But they're normal-looking! And they helped us!"
Matt shrugged.
"Well, it's true," Matt said flatly "Vampires. Seen them in a book."
"Hey, and they're invited in!" Ken said.
Matt blinked. This hadn't occurred to him.
"Good point. They're invited in to my house too," he said slowly "Hell. I'll see you later."
He ran off, leaving a group of tired teenagers behind him.
* * * *
Matt couldn't be bothered going to Slayer study. He was sick of Slayer study. He felt like shirking for a few days.
He went into the part and wandered round aimlessly, not really bothering to notice where he was going. He was so busy not noticing where he was going that he walked straight into the stream.
"Oh fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK!"
"Matt?"
It was Tai.
Matt felt himself blush a terrible shade of fuchsia. Tai was giving him a confused stare.
"Why are you ankle-deep in a stream?"
"Um...."
Matt couldn't think of a single sensible reason. He eventually settled for smiling like it was perfectly normal to be ankle-deep in a stream.
"Hi Tai," he said.
Then he remembered that he and Tai weren't speaking. Tai had remembered already and was looking awkward.
"Um...look Matt," he said "I...I wanted to talk to you."
"Oh?" Matt said. He climbed out of the stream, looking at his wet feet. Tai fidgeted.
"If this is about my mental state, I don't want to hear it," Matt warned.
Tai shook his head.
"No," he said "It's not. Not really."
Matt shrugged. Tai was rocking on his feet nervously.
"Look Matt," he said eventually "I don't understand what you've said. I don't understand and I don't believe it. It's not possible and I still think you're messed up."
"Well if that's all...." Matt said, turning away.
Tai caught his arm.
"No! Matt, I've got you something."
Matt turned, mentally promising that if it was any sort of book which helped with you with your mental state of mind he would kill Tai then and there and hang the rules about Slayers not killing people.
It wasn't. It was a small jewellery box. Slowly, Matt opened it and looked inside.
It was a medium sized silver cross. Entwined round it was a copper dragon. It was the sort of thing that Matt had always wondered about getting a tattoo of.
"You're in a band, I figured you could get away with wearing it," Tai muttered.
"Tai!" Matt said, staring "It's...it's....wow."
Tai gave a small smile.
"I figured you'd like it," he said.
There was a silence. Matt was admiring the necklace and thinking, trying to decide what this meant.
"I'll see you around Matt," Tai said at last. He turned and began to walk away.
'This isn't just temporary' Matt realised suddenly 'Tai's saying a proper goodbye. He's breaking off friendship with me 'cause he thinks I'm crazy and he can't handle it. He can't handle a crazy friend.'
"Tai! Tai, wait!"
He ran after his friend, catching his arm. Tai looked at him, curiously and slightly nervously. Matt opened his mouth to speak. Then he stopped.
Maybe this was the best thing. If Tai broke contact, Tai wouldn't be in any danger any more. He'd be safe, away from Matt and wouldn't be thrown into anything that he couldn't deal with.
Wasn't that what Matt wanted.
Matt swallowed.
"Thank you," he said softly "For everything. The necklace and...and being such a great friend."
Tai looked at him.
"Matt, I..."
"It's okay," Matt said quietly "You don't have to explain Tai. I get it."
He paused for a second, then pushed his worries away. This was it after all.
Leaning in, his kissed Tai very gently. He felt Tai freeze up but didn't care. After a few moments, he broke the kiss and stared into Tai's eyes for a few moments.
"Thank you Tai," he said "I'll....I'll see you around."
Then he turned and ran. He kept running until he was in the graveyard. Huddling behind a mausoleum, he cried bitterly until there were no more tears left.
* * * *
Angel and Spike were patrolling. Angel was beginning the consider calling it a night after Spike started distracting the vampires by offering them cigarettes and talking about people he'd known and killed.
"Spike," he said eventually "Call this a guess, but are you bored?"
"Bored?" Spike said "No, this is just the most excruciatingly crappy trip I've ever taken. Why should I be bored?"
Angel was about to say something when he heard something. The quiet sound of someone crying.
"Come on," Angel ordered. Spike scowled.
"Why do you get to boss me around?"
"Spike."
"Coming, coming."
They traced it to behind one of the mausoleums. Matt was sitting there, something gripped in his hand, hunched against the wall. He'd obviously been crying for a long time and the sobs had slowed now.
"Matt?" Angel said.
Matt's head snapped up. He sprang to his feet, dashing his tears away.
"You!"
"Uh oh," Spike said.
"Matt?" Angel said.
Matt glowered at them.
"You're vampires!"
"Shit," Spike said sulkily "I TOLD you we should have talked to that bleedin' Watcher but noooo, you never did know when to listen to me, did you?"
"Shut up Spike," Angel said. He looked at Matt.
"Yes," he said quietly "We're vampires."
Matt looked at him. Angel saw a flash of betrayal before it was hidden by blankness. Matt was good at hiding his feelings.
"Matt," Angel said quietly "It's not what it seems like."
"What else can it be?" Matt demanded "You're vampires. I'm a vampire Slayer? Make any sense yet?"
"Yeah, we know but it's not like that," Spike said brightly "See, Pouf-Boy here has a soul so he tags around after people trying to do good and the like, trying to atone for all the bad things he did when he was a real bastard. I'm here on account of a chip these Soldier Boys put in my head meaning that I can't hurt people but I can't hurt demons."
"Spike!" Angel said irritably "I'd have liked to have explained it a little better than that."
"Why bother? My explanation was perfectly satisfactory. It's just you lot all go for long complex things. Me, I cut to the chase."
Matt stared at them both. They certainly didn't act like the vampires that he was used to facing.
"A soul?" he said eventually.
Angel nodded.
"Back when I was evil..."
"Which time?"
"Shut UP Spike! Back when I was evil, I killed a gypsy girl in Romania. She was a favourite among her clan and the gypsies were angry. So they decided to punish me. They gave me a soul."
"So what?" Matt said.
"When the vampire takes over, it gets your body, but not your soul," Angel said quietly "The demon holds the memories, the voice, the face, even the personality sometimes but your soul goes on to the ether. When my soul was returned to me..."
His voice broke off. He looked at Matt.
"When I was a vampire, I killed my family, my friends, their friends," he said quietly "I and my sire - a sire's the one who made you a vampire - went round killing and torturing people for years. I drove one girl named Drusilla insane, then made her one of us. She in turn sired Spike here. We went round together. Until I was souled. You can't imagine what it's like to have done the things I've done and to care."
Matt was still standing in a defensive position but he'd relaxed slightly. He looked sympathetic at least, which was a good sign.
"I spent years wandering round, not doing anything, wracked by guilt. Eventually, a demon, Whistler came to me. He offered me a choice. I could either become more worthless than I already was or I could become somebody. Help people. To convince me, he showed me a girl. Buffy Summers."
"The Slayer," Spike said helpfully "And he fell instantly in love and drove all us normal vampires sick!"
"Shut up Pot and stop calling the Kettle black!" Angel snapped. He turned back to Matt.
"I wanted to help her," he said "So when she was kicked out of school..."
"She was kicked out of school?"
"The gym was full of vampires," Angel explained "So she burned it down."
Matt looked considering.
"Wonder if I could do the same with my Math class?" he muttered.
"I wouldn't advise trying," Angel said "When Buffy was kicked out, she and her mother moved to Sunnydale. That was where we met up. At first I was just the cryptic guy, showing up with information. But then she found out my true identity after I....we fell in love."
"Like I said," Spike said "In big sappy disgusting love."
"Spike, if you don't shut up, I'll tell Matt what you talk about in your sleep."
"I'm quiet, I'm quiet."
Matt couldn't help wondering what Spike did talk about in his sleep. But Angel was continuing his story and Matt pushed the thoughts away to listen.
"We fought together. Me, Buffy, her Watcher and her friends. It was all going fine until Spike here tried to reassemble a demon called the Judge."
"That was Dru's idea!" Spike said "Me, I was just depressed! You'd be depressed if you were in a wheelchair!"
Angel kicked the back of Spike's knee, causing Spike to fall over with a curse. Angel continued, ignoring the interruption.
"Buffy and I were nearly killed. We took shelter in my house. And then we..."
He paused, hoping Matt could fill in the gap.
"They shagged," Spike said brightly.
Angel wondered how wrong it would be to drag Spike into the mausoleum and screw him senseless against the wall. He decided it would be very wrong and abandoned the thought, settling for 'accidentally' stepping on Spike's hand. Spike swore and Angel continued.
"But there was a problem. One moment of true happiness, and my soul would be taken from me again. I became evil. I tried to kill Buffy and her friends. I also tried to have the world sucked into hell. But Buffy's wicca friend Willow restored my soul. But it was too late. I had already opened the porthole. The only way to close it was with my blood. So Buffy sent me to Hell."
Matt looked shocked.
"The time in Hell works differently to here," Angel said softly "I was in Hell for many centuries but in the real world, only three months had passed. But then...then I returned from Hell."
"How?" Matt asked.
"The Powers That Be," Angel said "I think."
"That's useful," Matt said.
Angel shrugged.
"The Powers That Be are these immortal whatsits that try and control everyone," Spike said chirpily.
"Spike, if you say ANYTHING else, I swear I'm going to take you off and put you on a cargo ship heading for the Mother Country!"
"Sir, yes Sir!" Spike saluted. Then he frowned.
"But where is the Mother Country? I mean, yours is Ireland but isn't mine England? And wouldn't Buffy's be America? Is it just England and Ireland that get called the Mother Country?"
He noticed the look on Angel's face and wisely shut up. Angel continued his story.
"I helped Buffy for another year but we realised that our relationship could never come to anything. So I left for LA. I started a detective agency, Angel Investigations. An old friend of Buffy's, Cordelia, helped me. We were also helped by an Irish half-demon called Doyle. Later we were joined by Wesley Wyndam-Price and Charles Gunn. Things were going okay but then....then Buffy died."
"I'd been helping the Slayer," Spike said quietly "See, these Soldiers put a chip in me meaning that I can't hurt humans. But I can hurt demons. So I helped Buffy fight bad guys."
"Because you fancied her."
"Shut up Angel!"
Matt was beginning to wonder whether it was possible to talk to these two without them interrupting each other. It was like a bad comedy act.
"Not that she really needed my help," Spike said "She was the best Slayer, better than both the ones I killed."
"You've killed Slayers?"
"Two," Spike said. "Anyway, after Buffy died, I didn't want to stay in Sunnydale. So I joined Angel in LA. Then we heard about you. Well, Angel would have left it well enough alone but I wanted to check it out. So we did."
"And you spied on me?"
"Yes," Spike said, quite unashamedly "I wanted to see if you were any good before deciding to help you."
"Spike!" Angel said angrily "That wasn't it!"
"Well, no," Spike said "But it's the simpler one."
Matt was frowning.
"You said that the Slayer - Buffy - got kicked out of school," he said slowly.
"Yes," Angel said.
"But she went back to school in Sunnydale."
"Yes," Angel said, trying to work out where this was going "I left her at graduation."
"When did she die?"
"Just before you were called of course," Spike said looking annoyed "Didn't anyone tell you how it worked?"
Matt said nothing for a moment. Then he spoke.
"How...how old was she?"
"When she died?"
"Yes."
Angel paused.
"Twenty," Spike said "Dawn found out who she was on Buffy's twentieth birthday."
Matt stared at them.
"She...she died when she was twenty?"
"Yes," Spike said.
"But...you said she was one of the best."
"She was," Spike said, looking really confused.
"How...how old were the Slayers you killed?" Matt asked. His voice was rising slightly.
"I don't know," Spike said "The first was about nineteen-twenty I think. The second was seventeen-eighteen. Why?"
"Matt, what's the matter?" Angel asked, seeing Matt's sickly-grey face.
"But...but they're all so young," Matt said faintly "They're all..."
"Oh boy," Spike said, suddenly realising. Ms Fuyutsuki had obviously neglected to mention the Slayer's short life-span to Matt. And Spike and Angel had just accidentally blurted it out without trying to soften the blow.
Still, it was too late now. Spike looked hopefully at Angel.
"Matt," Angel said very gently "A Slayer never lives for a very long time."
"How long?" Matt asked.
Spike frantically tried to signal to Angel to lie but Angel didn't see.
"'Till about mid-twenties," he said quietly "A Slayer rarely lives beyond then."
"Nice one," Spike mumbled.
Matt's face was pale and he was shaking.
"I...mid-twenties?"
"I'm sorry," Angel said quietly.
Matt slowly sat down again.
"So that's why whenever I talked about what I'd do when I was older, Ms Fuyutsuki always shut up," he said "She knew that it was a nul point anyway."
Angel sat next to him after a moment. Matt didn't really notice. Angel looked at what he was holding. It was an silver cross with a dragon.
"Where did you get that?"
"Tai gave it to me," Matt said "Before breaking off our friendship."
He leaned back.
"Not that it matters," he said dully "Save him from pain since I've probably got less than ten years to live."
"Oh don't be so pathetic!" Spike said "I'll tell you what I told Buffy; what vampires all look for is one good day. You've got friends who need you, right. So don't you get despondent like that."
Matt gave a faint laugh.
"Why does everyone always give me these pep talks?"
"'Cause you need them," Spike said "Now get up, stop moping, and come patrolling with us. I could use a laugh."
Matt looked at Angel.
"Why did you let that Drusilla sire him?" he asked curiously "He's already annoying me and I haven't know him that long."
"When Drusilla sired him, he was an aristocrat who wrote bloody awful poetry," Angel said "We didn't realise that he'd drop THAT many social classes!"
He noticed Spike's expression.
"I wasn't supposed to tell you about the poetry part," he said guiltily.
They continued patrolling, Matt listening to Angel and Spike fight.
Maybe things wouldn't be so bad after all. Tai was safe. Angel and Spike were going to help him. So were the band, Davis and Ken. Matt was pretty sure that they'd all get involved, even though Matt had said not to. Maybe he'd manage to survive. Maybe things would go okay from now.
* * * *
The cargo ship pulled into the dock. No one saw the two women leaving it.
"This place looks a dump," one of them said.
"Sh," the other said dreamily "I can hear singing. Pretty voices."
"Whatever Dru," the first one said.
Dru smiled.
"There's bright lights here," she said "And...the new Slayer."
"New Slayer?"
Dru nodded.
"It's a little girl," she said "But she's all backwards. A little boy."
"A boy Slayer?" the woman said "That's new."
Dru smiled.
"We're going to dance in all the streets," she said.
"Yes Dru," the woman said "Now come on. I want to find a room before it gets light."
The two of them walked off into the shadowy alleyways.
The End of Part 6