Disclaimer: I own Vivian, Tau, Joan, and Íslakkur. They are original characters of my creation. Other than that, Buffy and friends are just being borrowed. No use suing me unless you want some lint, a broken piece of seashell, or two cents..

The room was cold, a harsh, unsettling frost, and an ominous feeling swirled through it relentlessly. It was mostly empty, save for the plush black carpet on the hardwood floor. On that carpet sat a figure; legs deftly crossed in the style commonly known as being used during meditation, her eyes closed in deep concentration. She almost looked ordinary if it weren't for her striking beauty and the elegance that was in her every movement. Silken gold waves cascaded down her back, ending only at her tailbone. There was an odd sense of purpose pulsing through the air, and a thin sheen of perspiration was starting to dampen her face.

Abruptly, the sound of the door creaking open broke the thickening silence and it all vanished in a whoosh. The figure's eyes snapped open angrily, revealing startling stormy grey irises, and her lips curled back in a snarl as someone entered the room. One could have sworn they saw lightning flash in her deep black pupils as she stood with astonishing speed and rushed to the door.

The maid that was entering was startled at first, but when she saw who it was utter terror flooded her expression.

"Out. Out!"The figure hissed, a low rumble rising in the back of her throat, an almost animalistic sound.

With a squeak of fear, the feeble worker turned and fled the room, the feather duster in her hand landing on the floor with a dull thud. She quickly fled the corridor as the same icy cold filled the hallway; a thin layer of ice lining the walls momentarily before the first woman shut the door loudly, cutting her off from the rest of the world again.

---

Buffy struggled against the grip of the two vampires holding her arms behind her back, but their hold was like vices on her wrists.

The third vampire smirked in game face, holding Buffy's own stake in his hand as he growled, "Say good night." His hand swung forward, the point of the stake headed for Buffy's chest, when it suddenly flew from his grasp, plucked easily from his hand by some invisible force. Knocked off balance, he stumbled a few paces, startled out of game face.

"Good night." An English accented voice from behind him responded, just before the end of the stake emerged from the front of his chest - he'd been staked from behind. "And do sleep tight."

"Oh, shi-" He began, but burst into ashes before his words could finish. His body disintegrated, Buffy could now see another woman about her age standing there, the stake in her hand. The two remaining vampires abruptly released Buffy and raced off, stumbling slightly in their haste.

The newcomer brushed a strand of startlingly pale platinum blonde hair over her shoulder idly, smiling brightly at Buffy. "Hello. Name's Vivian. Buffy, right?"

---

The bells on the door to the Magic Box jingled as Buffy strode in, Vivian right behind her. "Giles? Anya? Anyone? Hello?" She called, motioning for the other woman to take a seat.

Vivian did so, looking with unfeigned interest at the various books on the round table.

Giles peered out from behind a bookshelf, and Anya stood from her kneeling position behind the counter, picking up some coins she'd dropped. Willow, Tara, and Xander came down from the loft, expressions identically concerned. Buffy's tone had held an anxious yet excited ring to it, something they hadn't heard since they'd resurrected her after she'd sacrificed herself to save Dawn.

"Yeah? Wh-what's going on?" Willow asked, putting a book back on a high shelf.

Buffy waved a hand at Vivian and said quickly, "Good, you're all here. Everyone, this is Vivian. Vivian, these are the Scoobies, or Slayerettes." Pointing at each person in turn, she introduced them, "Rupert Giles – my Watcher, Willow – a witch and good friend, Tara – ditto, Xander – a pain in the rear and comic relief, and Anya – a former vengeance demon." Vivian gave a little wave and smile, running a hand absently through her hair.

Giles raised his eyebrows and took off his glasses, proceeding to clean them as he asked, "And-and to what do we owe this extreme indiscretion, Buffy?"

She was about to reply when the door banged open and a figure covered in a blanket raced in, smoke rising from it. The blanket caught fire as the door was slammed shut and it was thrown off, revealing Spike underneath it.

"Fire! Fire!" He yelled, quickly stamping it out. When the flame was vanquished, he brushed some soot off of his duster while explaining, "Bloody roof fell in at the crypt. Figured I'd lurk about here 'til sundown." He looked up, satisfied that he wasn't on fire anywhere and noticed Joan sitting there amongst the group. "What's the to-do about? Who's the bird?"

"This is Vivian. Vivian, Spike. As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted-"

"Hey, I was on fire! Have a little compassion!"

"-Vivian's a slayer."

Spike took a careful step away from Vivian and said, cocking an eyebrow with interest, "A slayer, eh?"

"Buffy! When did you die and why was I not informed?" Giles asked angrily, frowning down at her.

"Relax guys, I didn't die. I don't know how it happened, I thought it would be better to wait until we were all here to ask her to explain it." Buffy replied.

"Wow.. Another slayer." Willow said, staring at Vivian in wonder.

"Actually, half-slayer." Vivian corrected.

"Half-slayer? How on earth did that happen?" Giles inquired, brow furrowing as he mentally went over everything he'd studied about slayers.

"Well, it's a very rare occurrence. See, my mum was the slayer once. It's not often that a slayer lives long enough to become pregnant, let alone avoiding miscarriage. So she went into hiding and managed. Unfortunately, she knew that if she kept me she would put me in danger. She dropped me off at an orphanage. She was killed a week later." The group was silent, listening intently to her tale, so she continued. "I grew up with abilities close to that of a fully fledged slayer – I was faster, stronger, and more aware of my surroundings than most people. However, I didn't have a slayer's rapid healing rate. I had to manage on my own in that respect."

"How do we know we can trust you? How do we even know you're telling the truth?" Xander asked suspiciously.

"She saved me on patrol last night. She staked a vamp like it was second nature." Buffy replied defensively. Spike took another wary step away.

"So if you're half slayer, what's your other half? Human?" Tara asked, shuffling some tarot cards in her hands absently.

Vivian shook her head. Holding a hand out, palm up, the cat-like green of her eyes glowed phosphorous for a moment and the tarot cards flew out of Tara's hands and landed in a neat stack in Vivian's own. "Witch." She replied, sending the cards flying back to Tara.

Willow and Tara grinned at one another, and Willow said, "Way cool." Vivian smiled back.

Taking off his glasses and cleaning them, a nervous habit, Giles asked, "D-do you happen to know your mother's name?"

Suddenly somber again, Vivian focused her intense gaze on the watcher and said solemnly, "Yes. Her name was Joan."

Shock registered on Giles' face, and a shaking hand put his glasses back on. "Good lord.." He said softly, staring at Vivian.

Buffy looked anxiously from Giles to Vivian. "Giles?"

He licked his lips and took a deep breath before replying quietly, "Joan.. Joan was my first slayer. I was her Watcher."

Dun, dun, dun.. To be continued in Chapter Two.. Let me know what you think!