Sorry this took so long to update, but for some reason fanfiction.net wasn't letting me in. Anyway, as always, your reviews are a great help so keep 'em coming!

gidgetgirl: I agree with you about Faith so I took the words right out of your mouth (or review).

WhiteWolf: No, it wasn't a mistake. It will be explained in this soon, so keep on reading!

Shahid: Your wish is my command! lol. You want Wes, you get Wes.

Thanks to the others who reviewed! You make me felt special! hehe ;)

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Chapter 5

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Buffy stared up at the menacing doors, apprehension looming over her like a dark cloud. She could hear faint voices on the other side, and placed her hand on the door, but she didn't push it open. She rested it on the hard, polished wood and her strength all but wavered.

Finally, she gritted her teeth and forced the door open. She stepped inside and three adults turned to face her.

"Buffy?" said the man that she remembered to be Mr. Giles. She noticed his English accent and tweed attire, and the stiff and formal way he stood. Beside him were Gunn and a rugged, but handsome man she hadn't met before.

"Yeah, that's me."

"Come in, take a seat, we've just finished outlining the plan for your training sessions." He gestured towards the tables and seats in the corner of the library. She walked cautiously forward. Although she knew that she had nothing to fear from these people, she felt unsure, and she disliked the helpless feeling of uncertainty.

She sat precariously on a chair as the disheveled man approached her.

"Buffy, I'm Wesley. I work here teaching History of Demons and also some field work."

"Oh, hi." She noticed with some amount of horror, the large scar across his neck.

He seemed to notice her horrified expression and smiled, fingering the long, red scar, "The result of getting cornered by a Mazaar demon. It wasn't anything the nurses couldn't fix. I just wanted to introduce myself since we're more than likely going to be working with each other quite soon. I'm needed elsewhere at the moment, but I will see you during your training."

"Yeah, sure."

She could tell she was going to like this guy. He was English, though not as stiff looking as Mr. Giles and she could tell from his appearance that he was obviously a competent demon hunter. His aged appearance was deceptive, and upon a closer look, she saw that he was not very old at all. His unkempt hair and dirty, torn clothes did nothing to accentuate his youth, although it did give her some hope that this demon slaying gig was genuine.

He hurried from the library and Mr. Giles and Gunn came towards her, burdened with thick, heavy books.

"I'm Rupert Giles, your Watcher." He offered his hand, which she took and gave a quick shake. "I'm to understand that the history of Slayers has been explained to you?"

When she gave a quick nod he continued, "Now your case is quite an intriguing one. Usually when a potential is born the Council will find her at a very young age, and raise her with the knowledge of her destiny. But you seem to have...uh, eluded them. When Kendra died, none of the potentials in their care were called. Angel had to find you in case you were in danger, and with Spike's help he did."

Buffy nodded slowly, "Uh, Mr. Giles..."

"Just Giles, Buffy." Gunn interrupted with a grin.

"OK, Giles, what's the Council?"

"The Council is a society of people who guide the Slayer, the potentials and their Watchers. They were your bosses."

"Were?" she asked.

"Yes," he said, seeming quite nervous, "There's no need to worry you about the details now. I'm going to give you the history and a bit of information about vampires. You will need to know this because I'm planning on taking you into the field in a few days."

"Already?" her voice came out as an alarmed squeak.

"There's no reason not to." Giles said.

"Don't worry, hon, we'll all be there to protect 'ya." Gunn said.

"Yes, Angel and his gang will be accompanying you, so you won't be in any immediate danger."

"Yeah, fine." she mumbled, slouching lower in her chair.

"Right, now vampires are soulless demons who are created by being bitten by, then biting another vampire. They can only be killed by sunlight, stake through the heart, decapitation, consuming holy water..."

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A few hours later Buffy had been given the whole run down of vampire history. She couldn't believe that all this had been going on right under her nose for the past sixteen years. She couldn't believe that she actually did believe it at all.

"The Slayer is connected to vampires. She has a sixth sense that can detect a vampire in a crowd of people. She should be able to feel and locate a vampire in a cemetery..." Giles droned on, but she was slowly losing interest in his lecture.

She looked over at Gunn and saw him perched on the table looking as bored as she felt. He caught her eye and grinned.

"Buffy?"

She startled and realized that Giles had asked her a question.

"Huh?"

He sighed, "I asked, can you give me the definition of a vampire?"

She smiled; she knew this one and quoted his earlier terminology, "Vampires are reanimated, soulless corpses that rise from the grave at night to suck the blood of people."

"Very good. How can you distract a vampire?"

"Taunting him about his totally passé fashion sense?"

"Buffy!"

"What? I reckon it would work."

"Yes...no! It...Uh..." he trailed off helplessly, and Gunn chuckled.

"How long can vampires live?"

"They're immortal Buffy."

"They called Beethoven immortal, and you don't see him walking around a century later." she muttered, and Giles shook his head in exasperation as Gunn burst into laughter.

"I have a question," she said.

"Yes?"

"Why do they lose their souls?"

"Well, when they are turned, vampires officially die, so they lose their souls. When the vampire's blood reactivates their body, it can't bring back their soul."

Buffy was fascinated by the thought of this. "Has a vampire ever had a soul?"

He glanced at her quickly, then exchanged an alarmed look with Gunn. The younger man opened his mouth as thought he was going to say something, but then closed it on second thought.

"Well?" she pressed.

"Um, well..." Giles stammered, but was interrupted by the library doors swinging open to reveal a harassed looking Angel.

"Oh great, you're still here! Good afternoon Buffy."

Buffy glanced at the giant grandfather clock and noticed with surprise that it was already after noon.

"What happened to Faith?" she asked, her distaste obvious in her tone.

"She's been sent to help the nuns in the kitchen. I'm trying to get her to take some notice of what I say. Somehow I don't think its working." he grinned, "Faith isn't as bad as you think, Buffy. She's had a hard life; her childhood wasn't a happy one. She was homeless for four years so she thinks life's survival of the fittest; it's the only way she knows how to live. Don't be too hard on her."

She immediately felt guilty for judging the misunderstood brunette, but it still wasn't all right for to resolve her issues by beating up other students.

"Anyway, I've just come to check on your progress. How's it going?"

"Uh, OK, I suppose."

"Very well, actually. She is a fast learner, though her concentration skills could do with some polishing."

"Unlike your glasses, which you polish every freakin' minute." Buffy glared at her Watcher and Gunn laughed.

"Buffy- thirteen, Giles-zero. I like this girl, Angel." he said, chuckling.

"Right, I can see they've hit it off right away. Giles, don't annoy your Slayer, and Buffy, don't mock your Watcher. Now, do you have any questions?"

"Uh, yeah, just a couple."

"Go ahead."

"Why were those vamps after me?"

Angel looked at Giles then at Gunn, "Well, they were hired by...these people who want you dead. When Spike found your location, he was followed by these hired vampires. As much as I dislike his... methods, he was effective in getting you to safety."

"Oh, OK. I got another question. I've been listening to Giles..." Gunn snorted, "Hey, I have! Anyway, he said that vampires can't enter houses without the permission of the owners. I never gave that vampire permission, so how did he enter my house after Spike?"

Angel looked startled, and Gunn gasped in shock.

"He came into your house?" Angel asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Uh, yeah."

"You didn't say 'come in' or anything?"

"No."

"Do you have a welcome mat at your door?"

"No."

"Damn. Gunn, go tell Wesley what they've done, and tell him to inform his associate immediately." Angel ordered, and Gunn hopped from his perch and hastened out of the library. He then began to mumble incoherent words under his breath and squinted as though trying to calculate something.

"Angel? What's wrong?" she asked.

He glanced at her as though just registering her presence. "Oh, nothing to worry about."

"I beg to differ." Giles said, and she nodded in agreement. "It doesn't seem like nothing by the way you were acting a minute ago. I agreed to this position against all my convictions because I was promised that I would not be kept in the dark about matters concerning my Slayer. If this is something to do with her, I want to know and I want her to be ready."

Buffy glanced in surprise at the protectiveness in his voice. She'd only just met him, but already he was acting as her guardian. It was weird, but this man was now her guide and it was his training that her life depended on.

Buffy felt a distinct tingle shoot up her spine. She shivered and shook the uncomfortable feeling off.

"You're right Giles. I'm sorry. I promise you will be told, but just not now."

"Angel!"

Buffy jumped in fright as she saw Spike standing by her side. She hadn't even noticed him enter the library.

"Gunn just told me. Well, bleedin' yelled is more like it, but..."

"Spike, you should've told us." Angel said sternly.

"I forgot! I didn't even think 'bout it when it happened 'cause I'm so used to it."

"Spike!" Angel and Giles barked, and Spike's eyes widened in confusion. Then they rested on Buffy.

"Oh, bugger! Right, well I gotta go." Then he disappeared from the library as stealthy as he had entered.

"What...?" she began, but Giles cut her off.

"I think that will be enough for today, Buffy. You go have some lunch, but meet me here after dinner and we'll commence your training."

He ushered her out of the library before she had time to protest and stood silently in the hall.

What the hell was that all about?

She knew there was something that they weren't telling her. She was the Slayer god damn it, the one chosen to protect them, and they were hiding information from her. Shouldn't she be in the know about everything?

From what she had gathered from Giles' lecture, she would be the one to go up against all these Big Bads. She couldn't defeat something if she didn't know what it was or what it was doing. Angel had said that he would explain it all eventually, but she wasn't the patient type and it was going to frustrate her until she knew.

If there was one thing she hated, it was being kept in the dark about something important. And if there was one thing she was good at, it was discovering the best gossip, and in this case, she was going to find out what they weren't telling her.

As she walked down the empty hall, her footsteps echoed loudly in her ears. The extensive hall was empty and completely void of any life. The solitude made her feel uncomfortable. Giles had told her that past Slayers were taken from their families and fought alone. Was she destined to fight alone?

She had never been good at following procedure and she wasn't about to begin now. She didn't care if Slayers were supposed to fight alone. She would keep her friends, and her family.

She was not going to be alone. If those 'powers that be' called her as the Slayer, then she would be the Slayer. But she wouldn't follow the footsteps of her predecessors; she wouldn't fight alone.

Buffy continued to walk down the hall, wondering when and where she had accepted her duty as Slayer. She had been kidnapped from her home, attacked by a gang of vampires, enrolled in a school for the freakishly gifted, and told that she was the Slayer. Life couldn't get any weirder.

Could it?