Chapter Two
Disclaimer: Friends belongs to all those great people at NBC and the other peopleBuffy is property of Joss Whedon.
Rachel's eyes widened with panic as she knew the freaky looking creatures were moving closer to her. The two women who had escorted her upon her arrival were busy tackling two of the creatures. "Help!" she screamed as the third was moving in to her.
"The heart!" Willow yelled as she jammed her stake into her vampire's heart. "You have to get the heart," she yelled before rushing over to help Tara.
"The heart, right," Rachel told herself as she struggled to find the confidence she needed. "I can get the heart." She clutched her wooden weapon tightly in her right hand as she stuck it out at the creature...and missed by a long shot as she ended up hitting just above the vampire's waist on the opposite side.
Rachel gulped as the vampire knocked her stake out of her hand. She gasped, knowing her death was soon near. She looked up at him one last time before her face lit up as she got an idea. "Might not be Slayer-ish, but it'll work," she told herself as she began pulling at the vampire's hair.
The vampire laughed as he pulled himself away. "This is the Slayer?" he asked in obvious doubt.
"Yes, and this is the side kick," Willow affirmed as she plunged her stake through the vampire's back, inevitably hitting his heart. Rachel's eyes widened again as she saw the creature in front of her disintegrate into dust.
"What was that?" she asked in shock as the three of them began walking to the car that Willow had driven to the airport, Xander's.
"Just another one of the vampires in this town who wants to kill you," Willow pointed out with a long sigh. "But when you hit then in the heart with something wooden, they turn to dust as you have witnessed."
"Why do they want me dead?" Rachel asked as she crawled into the back seat of the car, moving aside the mail thrown there.
"Because you're the Slayer," Willow replied calmly as she and Tara sat down in the front. Willow smiled, starting up the car.
"I'm also Rachel Green who lives a somewhat normal life in New York City with my friends," Rachel pouted.
"But vampires don't know that," Willow pointed out. "They just sense that you're a Slayer from your blood...Something about vampires and Slayer's blood. Not exactly sure what and not entirely sure if I even want to know"
Rachel sighed as she watched the lonely streets of Sunnydale pass her by. "Where are we going?" she asked curiously.
"T-to the Magic Box," Tara began weakly. "It's where everyone else is right now," she explained.
"The Magic Box?" Rachel asked. "I'm guessing it's not a coffee house."
Willow nodded. "That would be a good guess." She sighed, stopping at the red light as she tried to focus her energy to make it turn green. When she found she could not after thirty seconds of trying, she returned her focus back on catching Rachel up. "It's a magick store that our good friend Giles owns," she explained. "And, for future reference, the coffee house here is the Espresso Pump, about half a block or so away from the Magic Box."
Rachel nodded as she considered the point. It wouldn't be the same, she thought to herself as she looked back at the passing buildings along the road. But, as they were driving through the residential part of Sunnydale, there were not any big buildings. "Anything else I need to know?"
Willow nodded slightly. "Always be on alert on Tuesdays, all the things you thought were a myth are more likely to be real than not, buy a good cleaning detergent to wash blood out of your clothes, and I think that about covers it," she rambled on. "Oh! And watch out for the blond at the Magic Box who's almost always behind the cash register. Right now she thinks you're going to steal her boyfriend and you do not want to get on her bad side."
Rachel nodded slowly as she took everything in. "Alright," she whispered to herself.
"Almost there," Willow stated as she pulled onto Main Street and headed for the end of the street.
"What do you think could be taking them this long?" Dawn asked anxiously from the front of the Magic Box. She drew in another breath as she moved the curtains slightly and peeked out, hoping to catch a glimpse of Xander's car coming but there was none.
"Vampires, probably," Buffy stated. "There weren't that many on patrol tonight. They must have somehow gotten word of this girl, um...It starts with an 'R', I know that."
"Rachel." Anya supplied the name with an undertone of hostility in her voice. "Rachel Green."
Xander sighed heavily as he walked over to Anya, wrapping a reassuring arm around her petite body. "Shh, you know you're the only woman for me," he told her solemnly as he picked up her head and looked into her eyes.
"Ok," Anya said as she began kissing Xander.
"They're here!" Dawn squealed excitedly as she eagerly ran over to the door, opening it quickly before stepping aside to allow the two witches and the new Slayer to come inside.
Willow stepped outside of the car and opened thee back door to allow Rachel to come out. "It's ok, there are no vampires here," she assured Rachel.
The three of them departed from the car and Willow locked it up before heading into the shop. "Hi!" Dawn greeted them excitedly. "I'm Dawn, Buffy's little sister," she introduced as she stuck her hand out at Rachel.
"Rachel Green," Rachel stated, indicating herself as she walked further into the store. "Um, which one of you is Buffy?" she asked, looking back and forth between Anya and Buffy.
"That would be me," Buffy said as she raised her hand up slightly much in the style of the student who knew the answer but was too shy to say it.
"And I'm Rupert Giles," Giles added. "Buffy's Watcher," he added for clarification.
"Watcher?" Rachel asked hesitantly.
Giles nodded. "Trainer, if you will."
Rachel nodded slightly before turning to Anya. "Is there a phone book anywhere?" she asked curiously.
Anya nodded as she pulled it out from under the cash register and handed it to Rachel. "Just give it back when you're done."
"Will do," she promised as she walked over and sat down at the table.
"Giles, anything new on Glory?" Buffy asked a moment later to break the awkward silence in the room.
Giles shook his head. "Unfortunately, no," he answered as he walked over to the shelf.
"And nothing new on how to kill her?" Tara asked curiously.
Giles nodded. "Nothing at all," he affirmed. "But right now, we should be more concerned with our Slayer issue."
"What's she like?" Dawn asked as she moved in to join the conversation.
"Anything on her fighting skills that might come in handy?" Giles asked curiously. "So I could know what to focus on while we train."
"Focus on everything," Willow whispered with a sigh. "We were attacked in the airport and she totally missed the vampire's heart."
Buffy smiled slightly at Rachel. "Have some sympathy!" she begged. "I was basically just like her when I was first Chosen. Popular, fashion-crazed...And I missed the heart my first time as well."
"So what's she like?" Dawn repeated.
"Like Cordelia," Willow announced. "Only more so."
"Jinkies," Dawn replied in shock. She knew that she had never personally met Cordelia, but she had the memories of meeting her and those early memories were not pleasant.
Buffy sighed as she glanced over at Giles. "You can train her, though? Right?" she asked.
Giles nodded. "I managed you, now didn't I?" he asked with a laugh.
"Hey!" Buffy called out in protest. "I couldn't have been that bad," she argued with an emphatic hand gesture at Rachel.
"Whatever happened to 'have some sympathy'?" Willow asked innocently.
"Grr!" Rachel put in as she slammed the phone book shut.
"What?" Xander asked innocently from his position near Anya behind the cash register.
"I officially hate this town," Rachel argued. "There's no Ralph Lauren anywhere close, my friends aren't here, it's too far from Los Angeles for me to get noticed by Hollywood people, and I'm almost killed the first time I come here."
Buffy nodded. "Yep, that's Sunnydale for you," she said with a shrug as she heard a few cars coming down the road, closer to the Magic Box. "Giles, aren't you closed now?" she wondered curiously as she walked over and peered outside at the five people deporting from the cars.
Giles nodded as he glanced at his watch. "For nearly an hour now."
"But if there are people here who want to spend their money, we will not stop them," Anya pointed out with a smile as she sat up a little straighter on her stool.
Buffy took a closer look at them. Five of them, coming from two rental cars. Three men and two women. Four of them turned to the tallest man, glancing at the Magic Box with a finger. The tallest nodded as the five of them began walking towards the shop. "They're coming," Buffy announced as she unlocked the door, hoping with everything she had that they were not vampires.
The door opened slowly and in walked Monica, Phoebe, Ross, Joey, and Chandler. They scanned the shop quickly before their eyes landed on Rachel. "Surprise!"