Chapter Five:
The next few weeks, Duncan started to court Giles. Buffy trained with Duncan on Mondays and Thursdays, Giles coming along to watch. After the lessons, Buffy would head off to patrol the town and the men would head to Observations to talk over a drink. They found that they had a great deal to talk about. They were both well-educated and interested in a variety of topics.
Duncan enjoyed drawing Rupert out of his shell, glimpsing the man that hid underneath, the man that Duncan began to feel that he was falling in love with. Giles was warm, humorous, intelligent, and the outer package was just as attractive as the inner one. The Immortal worried that Giles appeared to have no other adult friends in Sunnydale. He had apparently moved into town just a few months before Duncan himself had arrived, and yet Duncan had managed to meet quite a few people and Giles seemed to spend all his time in his library and with his students. Teenagers were not what Duncan thought of as ideal social companions.
It worried him too, that sometimes Giles just couldn't be found. Duncan would show up at the man's house, check out the school library, but Rupert would be elsewhere. While Duncan had inquired about this, Giles had gently yet firmly informed him that this was none of his business. But there was always a lingering hint of sadness and loneliness in his eyes when he said it.
The end of the school year was approaching. Duncan had listened to Buffy complain during their lesson about studying for finals and then had listened to Giles voice similar thoughts later that night. Only Giles' complaint was about all the students in the library who were studying for finals. Apparently they were messing up his organization. Duncan was, after all these years, a keen enough observer of human nature to know that something else was bothering both of them. And right after the lesson, as Buffy headed off to wherever it was she went at night, Rupert had stared off after her with sorrow in his eyes. It was beginning to make the Scotsman suspicious, though he kept telling himself that it was simply due to the fact that he'd finally found a place that seemed far away from the Game and he wasn't used to it yet.
In fact, he'd had a strange feeling since moving to this place, but he couldn't place what it was. It felt vaguely like when he'd fought Ahriman, but nowhere near as concentrated, more diffuse. As if the feeling was just some general warning but not aimed precisely at himself. Whatever it was, Duncan had yet to figure out a cause and he wasn't one to hide from possibilities. So he ignored the feeling as much as he could, was as watchful as ever, and continued on with his life.
One evening, knowing that Giles was probably still holed up in the library, Duncan headed over to the high school, determined to drag his quasi-boyfriend away from work for at least this one night. As he neared the school, he saw people walking towards it as if in a trance and that feeling of danger skyrocketed. These people weren't human, they were something he hadn't encountered in over a century. What were vampires doing at Sunnydale High?
Exiting his car, Duncan withdrew his sword from the sheath in his coat lining and walked in the front entrance, ready for battle. Rupert and the children would need him. He stalked the corridors alertly but was still surprised when he came to the library hallway. A car had plowed through the wall and was parked in front of the double doors. Trying to get into those doors were about a dozen vampires. Duncan could see a makeshift barricade blocking the way in, but it wouldn't hold up for long.
He ran the remaining distance and immediately began swinging his sword. He knew that vampires could be killed by decapitation and wasn't it lucky that that was something he excelled at. He was surprised that the vampires he killed exploded into dust, that had never happened before, but he continued until all the attackers were reduced to such a state.
A girl he'd never met, a pretty brunette, had watched with wide eyes as he dispatched the vampires and then, after only a moment's hesitation, began clearing the barricade to let him in. She obviously realized that he would be of better help inside the library. He pushed through as soon as he could. There were screams coming from the stacks and it was Duncan's turn to stare with shocked eyes at the monster that arose from the hole in the library's floor.
Shock stilled him for less than a second as he saw the creature snap one set of its jaws at Giles. Duncan immediately ran over and slashed at the thing with his sword. Giles turned questioning eyes towards him but knew that this was not the time for questions. That was when the ceiling shattered.
The vampire fell through the skylight and landed on a jagged piece of broken wood that acted as a stake. Like the others, he turned to ash, but this one did so slowly as if fighting his fate. His fight was in vain and all that was left, unlike the other vampires, was a skeleton. With the vampire's death, the monstrous creature was pulled by some force back into the hole it came from and there was silence. The battle was over, though Duncan still had questions about what he had been battling.
Wiping his blade clean, Duncan waited for Buffy, whom he'd spotted through the skylight, to come join them, along with Xander and another young man he didn't know. Giles, Willow, and the brunette were silent as well, nobody really knowing what to say. Until Buffy walked into the room, flanked by the two males, took one look around her, and said, "Giles? What's Duncan doing here with a sword?"
Giles cleared his throat, swallowed, then took off his glasses to wipe them with his jacket corner. "Um, well, saving my life, but beyond that, I'mnot entirely certain. Duncan? I-I suppose I should explain a few things."
MacLeod grinned and shrugged, "Oh, aye, I've got questions, and the first is, why are you all fighting vampires? That's a dangerous hobby."
He could feel all eyes on him as he continued to gaze at Giles, a small smile playing on his lips as he did so. They seemed shocked. Why? That he knew what they'd been fighting? Of the fight itself? It certainly wasn't something you saw everyday. Perhaps it was his skill and the fact that he had a sword, which was also quite unusual for this time period. Whatever it was, he waited patiently for answers.
They came from an unexpected source, the tall young man who had entered with Buffy and Xander. He seemed both wary and confident as he stepped forward, eyeing Duncan's sword. "You know about vampires? Are you a hunter then?"
Duncan shook his head, "Why would I be? If they leave me in peace, I return the favor."
Now that statement started up all manner of interesting comments, mostly in regards to how could he do that? When did he learn of vampires? And didn't he know they were evil?
Duncan shook his head and chuckled at that last one. "The potential for evil is in all of us. I know. And we can choose whether we act on that impulse or not, vampire or no."
Angel looked slightly relieved though Buffy seemed skeptical. Giles, who had returned his glasses to his face, frowned in thought. "Very well, we'll leave off that question for now, but what about the rest? You just happened to have a sword with you as you came here?"
Duncan realized that he would have to reveal at least a little of what he was to them. He knew he could trust Giles and had a good feeling about Buffy, Willow, and Xander. But the other two he hadn't met.
"The answer deals in things better kept secret. How do I know I can trust everyone here?"
The man he didn't know stepped forward a little. "Well, I've trusted them all with my life, with the fact that I'm a vampire. I trust them not to suddenly stake me." Duncan nodded, knowing that this was the ultimate in trust for a vampire, just as for Immortals: letting Mortals know what they were.
Apparently Angel's revelation was expected to be met with hostility because Willow chimed in immediately. "You don't have to worry about him. He's a good vampire. He has a soul."
Duncan quirked an eyebrow. "I didn't realize a soul was a qualification for good and I don't understand how it matters that a vampire has one, but I do understand how difficult it is to trust Mortals with your secrets, your weaknesses. Of course, that depends on your age. Young ones are often foolish."
There were chuckles at that statement and the vampire smiled very slightly. "I'm two hundred and forty years old." He waited, as if expecting Duncan to act impressed, shocked, something. He obviously did not expect MacLeod's answer.
"Then I suppose you've lived long enough to develop good sense. I had when I was your age."
Giles' eyes widened behind his glasses. "When you were his age? You're older? Then you can't be human. What are you?"
Buffy moved forward in a defensive posture, as if your teacher had suddenly become a threat. The ripped prom dress she wore did nothing to undermine how dangerous the girl could be. "What kind of demon are you?"
This time it was Duncan's eyes that went wide. "Demon? You think I'm a demon? Of course, given that you seem to hunt vampires and just had thatcome out of your floor, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. No, Buffy, I'm not a demon. I'm an Immortal."
No one showed the least signs of understanding except for Giles, who actually scoffed. "Impossible. That's a legend. Immortal humans just do not exist. They're j-just stories created by encounters with vampires and such."
Xander nodded, "And he should know. He's the researchy Watcher guy."
"Watcher?" Duncan's eyes narrowed, he stepped forward quickly and grasped Giles' left hand, lifting it up and over so he could get a glimpse of the inside of the wrist. There was no tattoo. Everyone seemed quite surprised at his action and Buffy, who had been in the process of jumping at him to protect Giles, arrested her movement when he just as suddenly released the man.
"I don't understand." Duncan shook his head at them. "I'm the only Immortal in town and Joe is my Watcher. Why are you here? And if you are a Watcher, why are you surprised at what I am?"
It was the brunette who spoke now and the way she spoke indicated that she was one of those spoiled, popular girls who seemed to be in every school. Duncan had taught quite a few of them. "There's another Watcher in town? But I didn't see any stuffy old British guys."
Giles sighed as the rest rolled their eyes. "Not all Watchers are "stuffy old British guys," Cordelia. And I was not aware that another was in town. The Council would have no reason to send one after all."
Stepping forward, it was the vampire who tried to resolve the confusion. "It sounds like you two are talking about different things. Duncan? That's your name?" Duncan nodded. "I'm Angel. Maybe you could explain what you mean?"
So MacLeod gave an abbreviated version of the story of Immortals. None of his listeners interrupted, laughed, or denied what he said. Giles, who seemed to have at least heard of his kind before, acted as if a great revelation was occurring right before him, the discovery of a new species that everyone thought was myth which, if what he said meant anything, was exactly what was happening.
When Duncan finished his story and even gave a small demonstration of his healing ability by running the palm of his hand across his sword blade, Buffy took up the tale and explained about the Slayer, the Watchers, and the Hellmouth. The Immortal was a little stunned. After all, he knew about vampires and he had fought a demon, and a rather powerful one if the ones Buffy described were average, but an entire world hidden from the knowledge of most people? Immortals hid their world too, so he could accept that, but at least Immortals were human, albeit ones that couldn't die. This Hellmouth, that he was apparently living right next to, had all manner of creatures running around that no one took notice of. It was remarkable.
When the explanations wound down, it was obvious that everyone was tired. Buffy, content now that Duncan could be trusted with the knowledge of what went on in Sunnydale, even if he might not actively help them, suggested that they all go celebrate the death of the vampire she called the Master. The others chimed in, noting that a dance was currently going on at the Bronze. Giles and Duncan looked at each other and both smiled and then agreed to come. Duncan knew that Rupert wouldn't turn away from him because of what he was and the Watcher was beginning to realize that perhaps he had actually found someone with whom he could share the stranger aspects of his life. They held hands as the group proceeded out of the demolished library, acting like the teenagers they were with.
