Disclaimer:  The universe is still not mine, but belongs to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.  I made the offer a while back to wash Mr. Whedon's car if he'd give me the rights to 'em, but he still hasn't got back to me.

Chapter 3:

All things considered, April took the news; namely that she was now caught in the middle of a war that had been waged for millennia; rather well.

"I think I'm gonna throw up."  She said, her voice weak, and her face pale.

"Not on the couch."  Oz moved forward to help her sit up.

"How did all this happen?  How come nobody knows?  How is it that nobody's ever noticed this before?"  She asked.

"Human nature.  We tend to rationalize away anything we can't explain."  Oz explained simply.

"So you're telling me that the monsters under my bed were real when I was a child?"

"Monster."

"What?"

"Monster, singular.  You only had one living under your bed."

April gaped.

"Although 'monster' is used somewhat loosely.  He was an Aztec Quorel demon.  Small, furry critters that live of human body heat.  You also had an ancient Mayan Xenomorph living in your closet.  Shapeshifter.  They usually disguise themselves as a dirty old sock."  Oz continued.

April looked at him quizzically.  It was completely impossible to tell whether he was joking or not.  With everything she'd seen in the last little while, she wasn't exactly willing to dismiss anything as impossible.  And it did explain why she always seemed to have a single dirty sock in the back of her closet that didn't go with anything else she wore.

Dee, apparently, couldn't tell whether Oz was joking either, 'cause she wasn't smirking or anything.  Dee had never been able to pull off a good prank; her own facial expressions always gave her away.  She also sucked at poker.

"So, what happens now?"  April asked.

"You stay with me."  Dee, who was silent as Oz radically changed her baby sister's view of the world, and had remained silent until now finally spoke up, "Anne isn't going to leave you alone, and you're safest when you're with me."

"What about mom?"  April asked.

Dee felt a cold fist twist in her stomach.  She hadn't even considered her mother.

Oz cut in, "Angel's on it.  But I don't think Anne'll go after her."

"Why not?  She's shown that she'll go after me.  Why wouldn't she try to get to Dee through mom?"

"She'll try to get to me through people I actually like."

April almost shivered at the cold tone in Dee's voice.  It wasn't completely unexpected.  Dee had made no secret that she and her mother, while they were communicating (if one used the term loosely), didn't much care for each other.

Nevertheless, the tone in Dee's voice made April feel as though someone had rested an ice cube against the base of her neck, right against her spine.

"Plus, there's no reason Anne would go to L.A. when she has a bargaining chip right here."  Oz added.

"This," What had Oz called him again? "Angel, you trust him?"  April asked.

"Completely."

April looked at Dee, and found herself wondering if she had ever met this Angel person.  Apparently Dee trusted Oz implicitly, so that was enough for her.

"We should talk to Anders about getting you some training time.  In the meantime, you should be safe during daylight hours, but whatever you do, do not invite any strange men into my house."  Dee made it a point to emphasize that last part.  April, while it would be overstating the matter to describe her as a slut, had her slutty moments.  Very few of her relationships seemed to extend far beyond one night.

Glass houses, Dee, Dee scolded herself, what were you like when you were twenty?

"I guess I should get April home."  Dee said, trying to cover for the discomfort she knew had to be showing on her face.

Oz nodded.  "You should both get some rest."

"So," April piped up as Dee pulled out of Oz's driveway, "how did your old car really get wrecked?"

Dee shrugged, "In a word: Anne.  She showed up at my old apartment building, knocked me around a bit before Oz showed up," Dee hesitated a moment, there was no reason to tell April about Oz's wolfy side, "He held her off and made her run for her car.  Let's just say that I had to use my own car to convince her to stop."

April nodded.  "So, is this genetic?  Is this something I can do too?"

"I don't think so.  I'm not sure it works that way."  She paused, "although I hear that for most of the slayers who have siblings, they usually grow up to be pretty admirable demon hunters in their own rights, but not quite slayer caliber."

April nodded.  "That's why you wanted me trained, isn't it?"

"Yes and no.  You really should get some training because, frankly, your life is in danger.  But it would be nice to have someone who can handle herself in a fight along on the late nights in the graveyard."  Dee smiled a little.

"You think I can do what you do?"

"Not as well as I do, but yeah."  Dee nodded.

"Really, though, how much worse could it get than you had tonight?"

Anne stepped gingerly into the small circle of light in front of her and genuflected.

"Is she ready?"  The voice came from no direction in particular.  It seemed to come from all around her.  The darkness around her tiny brightly lit space was impenetrable, even to her vampiric eyes.  The voice reeked of unbelievable power.

"No."  The slayer-turned-vampire spoke timidly.  "She will be soon."

"She was ready enough to defeat you."

"Only because I was injured."

"Who injured you?"

"Something healed her on that bridge.  She would not defeat me were we to face each other today."  She was not arrogant enough to believe that he didn't notice that she hadn't answered his question, but he seemed to be satisfied at her response.

"This new slayer.  She is a fascinating creature."  The voice sounded almost introspective, "She will make a fine addition to our army."

"She must… choose to join us."  Anne replied.

"Ah, yes.  What appeal does immortality have to one who has nothing to lose?"

Anne allowed a wicked smile to spread across her face, "no," she whispered, venom creeping into her voice, "she has exactly one thing to lose."

"I really need a nap."  April stepped out of the passenger side of Dee's car, and walked around to the trunk.

"Well, I hope you find the couch comfortable.  You don't have a bed yet."

Shit.  April realized she'd forgotten about that.

"Don't worry.  We'll go tomorrow and get you a futon or something."  Dee popped the trunk, and handed April her bag.

"Hey, you're the one with the super muscles, why don't you carry my bags for me?"

"I like you, Apes, but not that much."  She stuffed the keys in her pocket.

She had parked in the street, which, surprisingly enough, was perfectly safe.  For some reason, her car was one that nobody had any real interest in stealing or vandalizing.  She figured there was magic involved in there somewhere.

Dee strode up the steps to the door, April trailing behind her, struggling with her luggage.

"It's not the biggest condo in La Jolla, but I think you'll like it.  I've got an extra room that I'm not using right now.  Not huge, but it should be comfortable enough for you."

Dee paused, when she realized she had actually succeeded in getting three whole sentences out without April interrupting her.

"Um, Dee?"

Dee whirled around.

Two vampires stood between her and April.  The closest stood on the steps, facing her, the second stood at the bottom of the steps facing April.

"Look, haven't enough of you guys died in one night?"

The vampire in front of her did not respond.  He growled at her, tensing his body to strike.

"Guess not.  April, run."  Dee launched herself down the stairs at the nearest vampire in a rather impressive flying kick that caught him under his chin, knocking him to the ground.  She landed awkwardly, but rolled over her shoulders and back to her feet.  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw April bolt.  She whirled around to the vampire she'd just struck down.  She needed to dispatch this one quickly.  Get him out of the way fast.

April ducked behind the car as the Vampire made a grab for her.  If she could keep an obstacle between her and this vampire, she had a decent chance of keeping him at bay until Dee could take care of him.

Dee would know what to do.

This was what she did.

Dee spun around in a roundhouse kick, catching the vampire in the midsection, doubling him over.  Go down, damn you. She commanded, silently.  She doubled up her fists, bringing them up into the ridges over his eyes.  In vampires they were acutely sensitive and to have someone drive a fist into them hurt them like nobody's business.  His back arched with the force of her blows, stretching out his ribcage, presenting his chest for a brief instant.

Dee took that moment to slip one of the chopsticks in her hair between the sixth and seventh ribs, smoothly puncturing the heart.

"Slayer."

The voice rasped through the dark night.  It was a dangerous whisper.  The whisper of the damned.

She whirled around.  The second vampire, his catlike eyes glinting in the dim streetlights held April by the throat.

"Put that down."  He nodded at the chopstick in her left hand.

Dee opened her hand, allowing it to drop.

"Let me see your hands."  Dee pulled her right hand out from behind her back, and dropped the stake she had held in it.  Then she held both hands, palm-outward to the vampire, to show they were empty.

"Thank you."

April screamed in agony as the vampire's fangs sunk deep into the base of her neck.