Destiny Up For Grabs

by Sheilynn

BtVS Stargate xover. Sunnydale’s gone, so where do we go from here? Buffy and Co. thought they’d have time to decide, now that the Hellmouth was permanently closed, but the PTB have other plans for them. (Full Summary Inside)

4. Tests That Don't Require a No 2 Pencil

Destiny Up For Grabs

Summary:  BtVS/Stargate xover.  Sunnydale's gone, so where do we go from here?  Buffy and Co. thought they'd have a little time to decide, now that the Hellmouth was permanently closed, but the PTB have other plans for them.  A Slayer's destiny never takes a vacation, but it can change, especially when their original line of destiny was broken by death.  Buffy's destiny is up for grabs now, and even the PTB doesn't know who will get to control it.

NOTE:  I've saved the Author's Notes for the end, as they got quite long.  But I do want to say that I hope you enjoy this chapter!  :)

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Tests That Don't Require a No. 2 Pencil

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"Welcome to your very own windowless prison," Jack swept an arm out to bid her enter into the medium sized room.

Buffy quirked an eyebrow at him as she entered, "Mmmm…doesn't this shade of concrete gray just scream 'cozy' to you?"

Jack flashed her a small grin.  "Well, barring paint, feel free to decorate – though I'd keep the girly stuff to a minimum, unless you want to be mocked."

"It'll be hard, but I'll try to hold myself back from stapling unicorn posters to the walls," she drawled.

Jack chuckled in amusement as he moved around her to place the suitcase he carried onto the bed.

Buffy moved to set hers beside it and looked around at the barren-looking room – barring the plain bed, dresser, wardrobe, and sitting area, it was pretty dull in appearance.  She turned to the Colonel.

"So…why so deep?  Afraid I'll make an escape to the surface?"

"Nah…we just didn't want you to influence the kids with your evil Californian ways," he mocked, then shrugged.  "Actually, the General thought it would be a good idea to keep you under wraps, as much as possible, from the regular base soldiers.  This floor is for the Officers here at the base, and visiting guests.  Since my team and I are all located on this floor, he thought it would be best to keep you nearby."

"Oh God…we're floor-mates?  Kill me now," Buffy moaned in mock agony.

"Well, you could ask to be relocated to the barracks level, but I have to warn you…the boys like to invade the girls' showers from time to time."

"What…and you don't?" she snorted in disbelief.

"No, it's too…plebeian," Jack replied in a mock-condescending manner as he walked to the door.  He paused a moment before turning a snooty nose upward.  "I have my own personal video camera in there."

Buffy chuckled as she watched him exit the room.  Remembering something, she jogged over to the door to catch him before he could get too far.

Popping her head out the door, she called out to him.

"Hey, Jack!  Tell everyone to rest up…patrol starts at 10pm."

Without turning around, he shouted back, "That's 2200 hours, rookie!  You're at a military base now – remember that!"

"Why don't we make it easier?!  Meet you at X!" Buffy countered.

Jack's chuckle flowed back to her as he rounded the corner.

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Buffy felt a presence at her door – before they could even knock, she called out.

"Come on in, Teal'c!"

The tall man quietly entered her room, closing the door behind him.  He stood expressionlessly in front of it with his arms held behind him.

"How did you know it was I, BuffySummers?"

She just looked pointedly at his stomach.

Teal'c bowed his head at her in understanding.

"What can I do for you Teal'c?  We're not supposed to meet until 10…I mean 2200," Buffy asked curiously, as she moved to the wardrobe with an armful of clothes.

"I came to ask why you spoke falsely."

The blonde woman froze in her movements for a brief moment before she continued storing away her garments.

"Why do you say that?" she asked lightly.

"I was not taken in by your display, though I too believed what I saw, at first," the man spoke calmly.  "When the fire did not burn, I knew your magic for what it was...an illusion."

Buffy sighed.  Stowing the last of the items she carried, she closed the wardrobe door and made her way back to the bed.  Pushing the suitcase aside, she climbed onto it and sat, facing the sitting area, legs crossed.

Waving a hand towards one of the chairs, she said, "Have a seat, Teal'c."

The big man quietly moved to where she indicated, and sat stiffly in one of the chairs.

"I'm not sure why it didn't work on you, but I have to keep them from thinking of using magic as another weapon."

"It would be a formidable one, why should it not be considered?"

Buff looked thoughtful for a moment, then said, "You've been here for a while, haven't you?  I mean, on Earth?"

At his nod, she continued.

"Have you ever watched any movies?"

Nod.

"How about the one called 'Jurassic Park'?"

"I have.  The cinematography was most excellent," Teal'c replied, his expression slightly changing to one of pleasure.

"Do you remember that scene where they're talking about the park, and that math guy says something about the scientists?"

"I do.  He stated that the scientists were very much preoccupied with whether or not they could create the dinosaurs that they did not stop to think if they should."

"That's the one."

"You believe your military would act in a similar fashion?" Teal'c asked, raising his eyebrow again.

"Oh yeah!"  Buffy shook her head.  "I've experienced military stupidity in connection to the mystical side of our world already, and so do not want to go through that again."

"You are speaking of the faction of your government you mentioned yesterday, are you not?"

"Yeah.  I wish I could tell you about that– it would help make you understand what I'm trying to say so much easier," she replied in frustration.  She waved her hand in dismissal.  "But since I can't, I'm gonna have to get my point across in a different way."

Buffy thought for a moment, then spoke again.

"Did you know that a lot of spells are written in a wide-variety of really old languages that aren't used anymore…like Ancient Latin or Ancient Summerian?"

"I did not."

"Well they are, and that's really, really bad for mass production learning!"

"I do not understand."

"The military likes to see to it that as many of their soldiers as possible are trained on powerful weapons – training every one of them in magic would be like creating little individual nuclear bombs!"

Teal'c quirked an eyebrow at that.

"I know, I know…that sounds like an exaggeration, but it's not," Buffy said as she threw her hands out in front of her, palms facing outwards.  She gave him a serious look as she dropped her hands into her lap.  "Did you know there's a basic shielding spell that, if one specific word is mispronounced, it would allow a 3rd circle demon from hell to roam freely on the surface of our planet?  Or that a certain ritual banishment could take out everything in a one-mile radius if the cadence of the chant is done wrong?"

The large man looked alarmed.

"Yeah…I feel that way too," the blonde woman said solemnly. 

"Then why do people learn it, if it is so destructive?"

"Because there are people out there who use magic for selfish purposes…to obtain power…to control people…or simply to cause chaos wherever they go – and there has to be something to counter that.  The people that I know who learned magic, were drawn to it by circumstance, and have used it mainly to help me fight…but not without a heavy price."

Teal'c looked at her curiously.

"Remember Willow?  The red-head that disappeared?"  At Teal'c's confirming nod, she continued.  "She's the one who almost ended the world because her grief allowed dark magic to consume her.  That little illusion of mine was based on what happened to her."

The large man looked surprised.

"I know…it surprised me too," Buffy said ruefully.  "But that's my point – magic can consume a person very easily and very quickly…and it's much easier to draw upon evil and dark magic than it is to draw upon good.  Can you tell me that, with all this military stuff – which I know goes hand in hand with politics – there isn't some opposing group out there fighting for control of this facility?  Who wouldn't use the power of magic to gain control, no matter what the cost?"

Teal'c looked disturbed.  "I cannot."

Buffy nodded her head.  "Magic is a weapon, Teal'c, a very powerful one – but it's not a weapon that you can just take from someone and lock away.  If someone went rogue, trying to take them down would be really, really…messy."

The dark-skinned man looked thoughtful, then nodded his head as if coming to some decision.  He stood and quietly made his way to the door.

"Teal'c?"

Teal'c turned back to her.

"Are you going to tell them?"

He paused a moment before saying, "Though I do not wish there to be secrets between myself and the rest of SG-1, I will keep my own council on this…for now."

Buffy looked relieved.

Teal'c turned to leave, but then hesitated a moment.  He cocked his head at her.

"Tell me, BuffySummers, for what purpose do you use this illusion?"

"Are you kidding?!  Do you know how many times I've had to walk in public while I was dripping with demon goo?"

Teal'c raised an eyebrow.  "Goo?"

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"OK, people…gather round and listen up."

Buffy clapped her hands to get the attention of the medium-sized group that had spilled out of several cars.  They all gathered round the back of O'Neill's truck, where she was sitting on the tailgate of the bed, a duffle bag next to her.

"In the short time my friends and I have been here, we found that the park around the corner is quickly becoming a vampire favorite.  But, with a group this large, we won't see any action, so here's the deal – most of you will stay at one of the more hidden picnic tables…you'll still be able to see what's happening, but you are not to get involved.  This is a 'Show and Tell' trip only."

"But what if we're attacked?"

Buffy opened the duffle bag and grabbed a couple of items.  "It's not likely to happen, but I'll be giving you weapons to protect yourself, just in case."

She held up a piece of wood with one sharpened end.

"This is a stake…shove the pointy end into a vampire's heart and…poof…dust."

Buffy noted that Janet looked disturbed.

"For those of you who don't think they can handle that just yet, you can use this."  She held up another item – a large cross.  "Shove it in its face, and it will usually back off."

"So it's true that vampires don't like holy objects?" Daniel asked.

"Yep, though not all of them are affected the same way…the older ones can usually ignore it for enough time to take you out – but we're more likely to meet up with fledglings, than we are a Master Vampire.  And before you ask, a fledgling is a newbie vamp…usually less than a couple decades old – Master Vamps tend to be over a century or two."

It looked like several of them were about to start asking questions, so Buffy held up her hands to stop them.

"Let's leave the questions for later…we're burning night here.  Load up with what you think you can handle – and remember, I won't judge you if you're not ready to take one out yet…it was hard for me my first time too."

Jack immediately grabbed both a stake and cross, as did the remainder of SG-1 and Hammond.  Janet hesitated over taking a stake, but stubbornly set her chin and picked one up, tucking it into her jacket pocket. 

"Teal'c?  Can you come here for a minute?"

The tall man came back to the bed of the truck as Buffy pulled out a short-sword and held it out to him.

"If you can do without a cross, I'd like you to take this – vampires aren't the only things out there, and I'd like at least one of you to be prepared to take on a demon if I can't get back to where you are in time.  You strike me as being the only one here who could use a sword without accidentally chopping off their own foot."

"Hey!" O'Neill looked offended.

Buffy just smirked at him.

Teal'c took the offered weapon with a nod.

"Alright everyone, let's move out.  You don't have to stay silent, but keep your voices down."

Buffy took the lead, and everyone fell into place behind her.  It didn't take them long to reach the park, and she took them deeper into the eerily empty place, heading straight for a table just outside the edge of a copse of trees.

As soon as they reached it, the blonde woman waved her hand to indicate them to get comfortable.

"Now this is the fun part…the wait."

"Do you usually have to wait long?" Carter asked as she sat on one side of the table.

"When we were in Sunnydale I didn't…but the Hellmouth here is fairly new, so you don't have that level of activity here yet.  But, don't worry, we shouldn't have to wait too long…I felt three of them at the edge of my senses when we entered the park, and they're starting to head our way."

The group sat up straight, looking more alert.

"Relax!  It's OK…I can handle three of them," Buffy said reassuringly. 

"So, what's the plan?" O'Neill asked.  "Divide and conquer?"

"Nope…confront and take out."

Jack looked incredulously at her.

Buffy just smiled as she began to pull her hair up in to a high ponytail.  Pulling a stick of gum out from her pocket, she began to chew on it, eventually blowing a big bubble in front of the Colonel's face.

"What's with the bubblegum, Barbie?" he said with a slight smile as he poked a finger at the bubble, popping it.

"It's an old 'bait and hook' game me and my friends used to play – I thought I'd pull it out for your enjoyment," Buffy said as she rummaged through her pockets, looking for something.  With an 'Ah-ha', she pulled it out, revealing it to be a wooden yo-yo.  She removed her jacket, laying it on the table next to Sam.

As she began to play with the yo-yo, chewing loudly on her gum, a wide-eyed innocent expression played out over her face.  The other's watched in amusement as her appearance seemed to go from that of a young woman, to one of a teenager…an air-headed one, to be exact.

"Fledglings always seem to be drawn to the teenage bubble-headed blonde act.  Pathetic, really…but fun," she stated lightly.  Turning to the General, she said, "So, 'Uncle George', wanna play bait?  You'll be in no immediate danger…promise."

Hammond chuckled, shaking his head in amusement, but agreed.

"Hey!  How about me?" O'Neill asked, eager to get up close this time.

"Sure, but when I confront them, keep back until I say it's safe…got it?" Buffy said firmly.

Jack frowned, but reluctantly agreed.

"So, am I going to be another 'Uncle'?"

"Of course not…Daddy!" Buffy said tartly as she flounced off, pulling a chuckling General with her.

Jack grumbled as everyone laughed, but followed Hammond and Buffy.

The blonde Slayer chattered inanely at the two as she foodled with her yo-yo, playing up the air-head act.  Upon hearing her high-pitched youthful voice, the three figures in the distance immediately changed their course, heading directly towards them.

When the vampires got to within a few feet from Buffy's group, she gave them a bright smile, and skipped up to them.  The General and O'Neill stopped in their tracks, not quite sure what she was doing.

"Hey!  Look what I can do!"

She began to swing the yo-yo around, chanting 'Round the World in 60 Days' before catching the yo-yo back in her hands.  She smiled sweetly at them, an expectant look on her face.

"Cute, little girl, but we're more interested in…"

"Oh!  Wait!  I think you'll like this one!" Buffy interrupted with a sugary smile.  

She shouted 'Cannonball' and released the yo-yo as she punched it forward…through the chest of the central vampire.  As he crumbled to dust, she swung it around the neck of another and yanked him off-balance while she kicked the third. 

While the third vampire was recovering, Buffy quickly staked the one with the yo-yo wrapped around its neck – it only took a moment to subdue the one remaining vampire.

When she had it on its knees, with its arm bent at an awkward angle behind its back, she called out to the others to come over.

Everyone gathered around her with various expressions of astonishment, except Daniel who also looked slightly amused.

"Sukeban Deka, Buffy?" he asked, lips twitching.

Buffy blushed slightly, and muttered.  "And here I thought I was the only one who watched really bad late-night Japanese cartoons."

Daniel chuckled.

"He looks so…human," Janet said, looking disturbed.

Shaking off her mild embarrassment, Buffy went in to teaching mode, noting that the vampire had hidden his demon visage.

"Don't be deceived by his appearance, Dr. Frasier...he may look human, but he's not.  Try and find his pulse."

Dr. Frasier hesitated a moment before placing her fingers against the vampire's neck.  A shocked expression came across her face.  She moved her hand to feel his forehead.  At the coolness, she shuddered.

"T-there's no pulse, and he's cold and clammy like a…" Frasier trailed off, shaken.

"Like a corpse," Buffy said coolly.  "That's what he is…a corpse that contains a demon, who hides itself behind a human mask in order to feed – if you turn your back on him, you're dead."

"And there's no way to reverse the process?" Carter asked curiously.

"No."

"I just can't believe…he looks so human!" Dr. Frasier exclaimed again.

"Hey lady…I'm as human as the next person.  So what if I'm cold and don't have a pulse, I still have feeli…"

Buffy smacked him on the back of his head.

"Shut up...I didn't say you could talk."

The others looked shocked at Buffy's coldness.

"How can you be so heartless?  Doesn't he have as much right to live as the rest of us?" Frasier said incredulously, the doctor in her coming to the fore.

"I can't pity something that would kill people in a heartbeat because they're hungry.  There is no possible way we can co-exist when all we are to them is food."

"But…"

"Don't be taken in by their human appearance, Dr. Fraiser – that's how they deceive their victims.  They are not human!  And you'd do well to remember that, or you'll quickly become a statistic!" Buffy said fiercely.

Dr. Frasier still looked hesitant.

"If you still doubt what he is, put your cross in his face, Janet," Buffy said softly.

She hesitated, looking very reluctant.

"Jack?" Buffy turned her head to the Colonel, knowing he wouldn't have any qualms.

O'Neill had been standing quietly at her side, turning a wooden cross over and over in his hands as he listened to Dr. Frasier's protests.  He grasped the cross in one hand and shoved it in the vampire's face.

The vampire snarled, his true nature showing in the ridges on his forehead, and the sharp teeth that protruded from his mouth.

Dr. Frasier gasped and stepped back, startled, clutching the cross she carried closely to her chest.  Teal'c rested a calming hand on her shoulder.

"As I said, he's not human," Buffy said calmly, her eyes locked with the doctor's. 

Janet nodded and looked away.

In the ensuing silence, everyone shuffled uncertainly.  Buffy rolled her eyes.

"So," she said, breaking the silence, "who's up for staking their first vampire."

The vampire protested, and Buffy smacked him in the head again.

No one answered.

"Aww…come on…don't be shy.  It's really not that hard."

"I think we're having a difficult time because of how…helpless he looks," Daniel said hesitantly. 

"Yeah!  How can you expect one of us to just shove a piece of wood in his chest when he's so…so… pathetic," O'Neill said, waving his hand at the sulking vampire.

"What…you can't do it because he's unable to fight back, but you'd do it if you were fighting him?" Buffy asked incredulously.

"Well…yes," O'Neill responded in a matter-of-fact tone.

"So, if I were to release him right now, you'd stake him because he'd have a fighting chance."

"Um…yes?" Jack answered the question hesitantly.

Buffy shook her head in disbelief, but released the vampire and stepped back.

"Well…have at it."

The colonel looked at her in surprise, then watched as the vampire slowly got to its feet, rubbing his arm.  The others backed off in alarm.

The vampire tensed as if to flee, but was brought up short by Buffy's words.

"You either fight, and die by his hand or mine, or I show everyone here exactly what a vampire's weaknesses are."

The vampire turned his head to see the blonde Slayer holding a tiny glass bottle filled with a clear liquid, and gulped. 

"Who are you?" the vampire stuttered.

"Buffy Summers," she replied, a small smirk on her face, waiting to see if he recognized her name.

The vampire whimpered.  "The Slayer…the one who killed the Master, she who stopped the Ascension, who defeated Glorificus and The First?...Lover of Ange…?!"

"Yes," Buffy interrupted him before he could finish the last one, looking at him with hardened eyes, and an expressionless face.

The vampire looked like he was going to cry.

The blonde Slayer strolled up to him, leaning forwards as she whispered, "And if you don't fight your best, I will show you everything Angelus taught me."

The vampire immediately attacked the older man, who wasn't fully prepared for his assault.  Jack stumbled back, but quickly regained his balance, falling into a fighting stance.

The General moved next to where Buffy was keeping an eye on the two fighters.

"Ms. Summers…stop this immediately!" he barked out commandingly.

Not taking her eyes from the fight, she quietly responded, "I'm sorry General Hammond, but Colonel O'Neill strikes me as someone who has to experience certain things first hand in order to believe them.  He may be a very experienced fighter, but he must understand this lesson."

"And what lesson is that?"

"Just watch – I think you'll get the idea.  But don't worry…I won't let it go too far."

The General turned to watch as Jack was beaten back time and time again, and was amazed to see that the vampire wasn't even fazed by the return punches.  The…thing moved at an incredible speed…one moment it was in front of the Colonel, the next, behind him. 

The Colonel held his own for a lot more time than most people would, but he was still human, with a human's physical limitations.  Dropping the stake he had been carrying, he swayed in exhaustion, allowing the vampire to easily trip him.  He fell to the ground – a weight pressed down on his chest, as his head was roughly pushed to the side, exposing his neck. 

Just as he felt the scrape of teeth, the vampire disappeared in a cloud of dust, leaving him to see Buffy crouched down at his side, a serious look on her face.

She stared at him for a moment before she finally spoke.

"Lesson the first?"

Jack groaned as he moved a hand up to where a lump was forming on his left temple.  He sighed heavily before responding, "Vampires are very quick and extremely strong."

She gave him a smile, then said, "And lesson the second?"

"If there's any easy staking, take it."

"Good Boy!" Buffy said as she stood, then held a hand out to help him up.

Once he was on his feet, the others joined them, looking concerned.

"Was that really necessary, Buffy?" Carter asked, a little annoyed.

Buffy gave her a smirk.  "You've known Jack for what…four, five years?  I've only known him for a day, and even I could tell that some things need to be beaten into his head.  Would you rather have had him finally believe that vampires are extremely strong in an uncontrolled fight?"

"Hey!"

"She has a point, sir," Carter said, smiling in amusement, losing her irritation at Buffy when she understood why the young woman allowed the fight to happen.  

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Fine…just pick on the injured man, why don't you," O'Neill said petulantly as he touched the lump on his forehead and winced.

Dr. Fraiser grabbed his arm and hauled him back to the picnic table where she had left her first aid kit.  She gave the lump a once over, then pulled out a gel ice-pack, rolling it between her hands to activate the crystals.  She grabbed his hand and slapped it into it.

O'Neill raised the gel pack to his head as the others slowly made their way to the picnic table, Daniel and Carter pelting Buffy with several questions about the various weaknesses of vampires, to which she answered as best she could.

"So how do we go about protecting the people of this town?" O'Neill asked.

"You don't…I do…well, Dawn and I, I mean," Buffy replied.

"That doesn't sound like it'll be enough.  Not that I'm saying you aren't strong or skilled enough, but there's just a lot of ground to cover, even in a city as small as this – you're not going to be able to be everywhere…people will die," Carter said in alarm.

Buffy looked at her sadly.  "Yes, they will…and more people will come to take their place, just as more vampires will come, no matter how many I take out."

"I can't accept that!" O'Neill said firmly.  "Between the soldiers stationed at the Air Force and Army bases, we could set up a rotating patrol …"

"No."

Everyone looked taken aback at her refusal.

"Now see here…" the Colonel began angrily.

"Military involvement would exact a price that I don't think you'd be prepared for OR willing to pay!  I should know, I had to clean up the mess the last time!" Buffy said furiously before she turned around and took a few angry steps away.

Daniel exchanged a worried glance with Sam before he stood and took a step closer to the angry blonde.

"What happened, Buffy?"

Buffy's shoulders dropped as she let go of her anger, and turned back to the silent group.

"I wish I could tell you but, as I said, I don't know how classified it is."

"Why are you protecting them?  It doesn't sound like you had a good relationship with the group," O'Neill asked, as he removed the pack from his head and dropped it into his lap.

Dr. Frasier grabbed his hand and raised it back up.  Jack rolled his eyes, but kept the pack pressed to his forehead.

"Because the guys I originally worked with haven't told anyone about me," Buffy said quietly.  At their confused looks, she explained.  "Do you really think I'd be here if someone with more military or political power knew about me being a Slayer?  I'd probably be in a lab somewhere, being poked and prodded as they tried to figure out what makes me so strong, and how they could duplicate it.  No…the guys didn't say anything, so I think I should give them the same courtesy – that fiasco doesn't exactly put them in the best light.  But I can tell you this…the last time the military became involved in my world, they ended up losing almost half their people and would have lost all of them if it wasn't for me and my friends."

Hammond shook his head in disbelief, then had a sickening thought.

"I heard you telling Dr. Jackson that vampires can only enter someone's house if they're given an invitation, but what about a place like the mountain?  Can they just walk in?"

The others blanched at that thought.

Buffy looked thoughtful for a moment before slowly saying, "I don't think so…it's completely different from a public place.  I'd have to check with Giles, but I think that because you only allow authorized personnel there, it'll have the same type of barrier as a house – it's not a place that's open to the general public.  I'd even go so far as to say that you may be the only person that could give an invite to a vampire, since you're the one in charge of who can and cannot be allowed into the facility."

"But what about his superiors?  Wouldn't they also have the ability to invite someone in?" Carter asked, fascinated by the whole invitation process.

The small blonde shook her head.  "I don't think so…the people in the mountain are technically under the General's 'protection', like an extension of his family, and it's only in his power to remove that protection.  Kind of like how an employer couldn't invite a vampire into an employee's home.  But as I said, I'll have to check with Giles.  I don't think it would happen anyway…vamps and demons tend to stay away from the military."

"I'd appreciate it if you would check, Ms. Summers," the General said.

"And I'd like it if you would answer my original question…how can we protect the people of this town?" O'Neill asked stubbornly.

"You can't," she answered softly.  "The price would be too high."

The Colonel's expression hardened.

"You keep talking about a price…just what do you mean by that?" Daniel quickly asked, trying to avert another confrontation between the two.

Buffy sighed and turned to the younger man, "In the mystical world, everything has a price, Daniel.  It's a long-standing deadly game of checks and balances.  Haven't you ever wondered why I don't use weapons more modern than swords, stakes and crossbows?"

"I'd assume it's because they're not effective," Daniel responded.

"I'm sure we could come up with some kind of wood-based bullet…but we won't.  Why?  Giles explained it to me once – something about an agreement between the forces of light and dark that mystical fights would be limited to nothing more advanced than a crossbow…apparently humans were advancing so fast that anything more would have drawn unwanted attention to both parties.  I didn't know this, and I found out the hard way that there were consequences in using guns in this fight – the price was too damn high!"

Buffy crossed her arms over her chest and breathed deeply.

"Something always happens to ensure that the balance is kept, Daniel.  When I died the first time, a second Slayer was called.  And because she was called, the Judge was allowed to be reformed.  I took out the Judge with a modern weapon, and it cost me the life of Angel and Kendra, the second Slayer.  Faith became the next Slayer, but because Angel was allowed back, she went rogue and joined the Mayer in his little Ascension party.  Then there's that whole classified thing which is a classic case of 'payback is a bitch'…but do I really need to go on?  Believe me when I say that involving the military would cost more lives than they would save!"

"What if we studied these creatures?  With the right material, I'm sure we would be able to come up with some kind of weapon that could…" Sam began, but was interrupted.

"Stop it!  Just stop it!  Don't even think of going there," Buffy whispered harshly, her face extremely pale.

With deadly calm, Buffy looked the Colonel in the eye and said, "Believe me when I say that, if the military becomes involved in our fight, I will take them down…and the demons and vampires will be my army.  We will never allow what happened in Sunnydale to happen again!"

Buffy spun and stalked away, only coming to a halt when she had reached the area where she had fought with the vampires.  She went to run her hands through her hair, and realized it was still in the girlish pony-tail from before.  Removing the scrunchie, she smoothed her hair out, using the motions to try and calm herself.

The others watched as the small woman attempted to reign in her emotions.

"I can't accept that…the people of this town are innocents who need protection!" O'Neill said firmly.

"Leave it, Jack," Hammond said quietly, his face looking strained.

O'Neill looked at him with a surprised expression.  "Why?"

The General pause for a moment before he slowly said, "Because I don't think the faction she dealt with were there to protect the people of the town."

O'Neill looked confused.

"If I read between the lines correctly, I think…I think they were experimenting on the demon population, Colonel," Dr. Fraiser said looking ill.

Everyone looked disturbed as they processed that information.

"I am reminded of a quote I recently heard," Teal'c stated calmly.  He tilted his head towards the General as he said, "'The scientists were very much preoccupied with whether or not they could that they did not stop to think if they should.'  It is my belief that something was created by the military that they could not control, and BuffySummers was the only warrior capable of defeating it…but not before it caused great damage."

"And if the military becomes involved, so does the NID…do we really want them playing Frankenstein with these…things?" Hammond asked, looking extremely worried.  "And we haven't even seen what the demons are like, but I get the feeling they're much, much worse."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" the Colonel asked grimly.

"Continue to do what we do best…saving the world from the dangers in outer-space."

"And leave the saving of the world from demons to the people who have been doing it for thousands of years," Buffy's said softly from behind the General.  When he turned, she gave him a rueful smile before looking at the Colonel.  "I'm sorry for losing my temper, Jack – I never realized how badly that situation still bothered me."

The Colonel looked at her seriously for a moment before he said, "Apology accepted on one condition, Ms. Summers – that you try to contact the soldiers you were involved with, and see about getting permission to talk about what happened in Sunnydale.  I think we have a general idea of what went on, but I'd like to hear the whole story.  After that, we'll talk again."

"Deal," she said, holding out her hand to shake the Colonel's.  

He gripped it and gave it a firm shake, giving her a small smile to show that, even though he still didn't agree with her, there were no hard feelings.

"But I'll need some help in finding an army contact who can tell me how to reach the soldiers – the last I heard, they were running around Nepal," Buffy said as she released his hand.

"I may be able to help you with that, Ms. Summers.  I'll call around and see if I can connect you with someone who can track them down," the General offered.

"I'd appreciate that, General," Buffy said, then looked around, extending her senses outwards to see if there were any more vampires around, but felt nothing.  "Well, I think we should call it a night – we probably won't see anything else tonight.  I know it's still early, but patrols have been pretty light – things will probably pick up in a few weeks, though," the small blonde said.

"Lesson's over?" Jack said with a hopeful tone.

"Lesson's over."

"Thank God…I really need to soak my bruises in a nice hot bath," he said in a relieved voice as he stood, groaning, then gave Buffy a look of reproach.  "You know, you could have stopped him before he kicked my butt…literally."

"But it was so much fun to watch, Jack," Buffy said as she grinned at him.  "By the way, you might want to brush off the back of your pants…I think you've got a size 10 tread imprinted on your right cheek."

O'Neill cocked an eyebrow at her.  "Were you looking at my butt?"

"You wish."

"You were!"

"No I wasn't!  I saw the vamp kick you there!"

"Yeah right…you were looking at my butt – you just don't want to admit it!"

"Fine!  You want me to look at your butt?  I'll look at it!"

Buffy took a step back and looked down.  Nodding her head, she stepped back to Jack's side.

"Well?"

"I was right."

"What?  That I have a cute butt?"

"Well, that too, but I was actually saying I was right…you do have a size 10 tread on your right cheek."

===========================================================

Her body not needing a full night's sleep, Buffy woke up early…really early.  Not one to sit still, she dressed in loose pants and a tank top, throwing a light sweatshirt over it, and went looking for somewhere to exercise and meditate.

Stopping off on the medical floor (which was the only one that would probably be occupied at that hour), she was able to find someone who could direct her to the military's version of a gym.

As she stepped into the elevator, she grumbled about having to go up a 'friggin'15 floors' just to work out.  Sighing, she pressed the button for Level 10, and waited for the trip to end.

Exiting the elevator, she made her way to the room one of the medical personnel had directed to her, pleased to see that it was exactly what she needed…a room that was relatively empty, except for wall-to wall mats and various martial arts weapons lining the walls.

"Now this is my kind of exercise room!" Buffy exclaimed.

She removed her shoes, and after breathing deeply for a few moments, closed her eyes and began a complicated Tai-Chi sequence.  She had a lot of tension to ease, and her balance was way off.  She desperately needed to find her center again.

After a half hour, her movements had become more fluid, and she was more relaxed.  She moved on to a shorter, less difficult sequence, to relieve the last of her tension.

"Good morning, Teal'c," Buffy said softly, her eyes still closed.  She had felt the Jaffa's quiet presence for the last 10 minutes, but hadn't been ready to acknowledge him until then.

"Good morning, BuffySummers," Teal'c greeted in return.  "May I ask what you are doing?"

"Tai-Chi.  It's a form of meditative exercise.  It helps you find your center, your balance," Buffy replied, continuing with her movements.

"That is good.  You are in much need of balance, BuffySummers."

"I know."

In silence, Buffy finished the rest of her movements, then gracefully lowered herself to the floor, ending in a full lotus pose, balancing her wrists lightly on her knees, thumb and fingers softly touching.  She continued to keep her eyes closed.

"What are you doing now?"

"I am meditating, Teal'c."

"May I join you?"

"Of course."

Teal'c lowered himself to the floor in front of her, into his own meditative position, and closed his eyes.

The two sat there, sharing the silence for several minutes.

"Something troubles you, BuffySummers."

"Yes – the contents of the letter I received yesterday were…unexpected."

There was silence for another few minutes.  When it was broken, their speech fell into a flowing, respectful, formalness.

"I have been given permission to kill humans."

"Have you not killed them before?"

"I have not.  It was forbidden."

Teal'c was quiet for a moment.

"Then it is a heavy responsibility you have been given."

"It is.  And it troubles me."

They fell silent once more, taking solace in the quiet room.

"I do not know how to ease your troubles, Buffy Summers, but to say that enemies come in many forms."

"Are the enemies I am to face human?"

"They are, yet they are not."

"Please explain."

"The enemies you will soon face have taken human form."

"But they are not human?"

"No, they are symbiotes, who have stolen a human's body."

"They are like vampires?"

"Not as such, BuffySummers.  They take possession of the body, but the human mind and soul still remain, trapped, and forced to watch as their bodies commit atrocities."

"Then to kill them is to give the human host release."

"It is.  But you must also be prepared to face others who are like myself – Jaffa – who fight in the name of these enemies…they are who you will face most often."

"Is there no way to save them?"

"No.  They can only save themselves.  You must not hesitate in battle with them, BuffySummers…they have chosen their own fate."

They fell into silence once more.

"You have given me wise counsel, and eased my troubles greatly, Teal'c.  I thank you."

"I am glad to have done so, Buffy Summers."

"May we speak again, Teal'c?"

"If you wish, BuffySummers."

Teal'c paused a moment before he spoke again.

"General Hammond is a wise man, BuffySummers, and his words may help ease your troubles even further – seek his counsel soon."

Buffy hesitated before finally saying, "I will, Teal'c."

It was with a lighter heart that Buffy began her day.

=========================================================

"So, are you going to break this too?"

"Hey, it's not my fault you don't have any equipment that can handle me."

O'Neill, having nothing else to do…well, at least nothing more interesting to do…had popped up during Buffy's physical assessments, only to see her short out the treadmill when she was being tested for her top speed.  It irked him to see that she hadn't even broken a sweat.

After that, she broke the weight machine – of course, that could have something to do with the fact that it was one of those new-fangled ones with too many buttons, and no actual weights…he hated those.

Right now, Buffy was being tested on another weight machine, though this one had less computerized stuff.  The young woman had her doubts that it would survive, but she was game on trying, and Sam did insist.  Taking the proper stance, she reached for the bar, and pulled carefully.

CRACK

Apparently, not carefully enough.

Jack started laughing, and couldn't stop, even when Buffy glared at him.

"Sorry, Sam!"  Buffy called out to the tall blonde woman who was watching a few feet away.

Carter dropped her head into one of her hands, shaking it back and forth, her other hand clasping a clip-board to her chest.

"Come on, Jack, it's not that funny," Buffy pouted.

O'Neill, bent over in half, waved his hand at her, cackling like a mad-man.

Major Carter sighed, and walked over to where the small woman was glaring at her CO.

"I'm sorry, Sam, I did try to be careful," Buffy apologized, as the woman approached.

"It's OK, Buffy, I'm the one that insisted," Carter waved off her apology. "I just don't know how we're supposed to test you, if none of the machines can handle your strength or speed."

O'Neill, who had finally stopped laughing, chipped in his two-cents, "You could always take her out on a deserted road, and have her run while you follow in a car."

He started laughing again.

Carter and Buffy looked at each other, eyebrows raised. 

"It could work, but we'd have to make sure it was isolated," Buffy mused.

"I'll ask the General," Carter agreed.

"You can't be serious!"  O'Neill stopped laughing.  "I was just joking!"

The two women ignored him and continued their discussion.

"What about the weights, Buffy?  I don't think we have anything that will work, unless you want to lift a car?" Carter laughed.

"I'll pass, thanks," Buffy retorted.  "I have an idea, though.  Does it have to be accurate?  Or can a rough estimate do?"

"If it's a choice between a rough estimate or nothing, an estimate will do."

"OK, now we're getting somewhere," Buffy said.  "Do you have a heavy-duty scale?  You know…the kind they use to weigh trucks or something?"

"Yes, they have one of those on Level 24, in the MALP storage room, why?" Carter asked curiously.

"Just meet me there in 10 minutes.  Come on, Jack.  You can show me where it is after I pick something up from my room."  Buffy grabbed the older man and dragged him out behind her.

Making her way to her quarters, O'Neill followed, badgering her to tell them why they needed a scale, but Buffy would only reply with 'You'll see', much to his irritation.

Upon entering her room, Buffy immediately made her way to her wardrobe, and pulled out a medium sized leather fanny-pack.

Turning to the Colonel, she said, "You're gonna love this!"

Buffy unzipped the bag and reached in, rummaging around for a moment before she began to pull something out.

O'Neill's eyes widened as he watched an impossibly large item being pulled from the, comparatively, small bag. 

"Carter would throw a fit if she saw that!  Even I know that defies the Laws of Physics!" Jack exclaimed.

"Which is why I told her to meet us at the scale.  Do you think we'd get anything done if she saw this?  She'd want to analyze my fanny-pack until she could make sense of it, but there's no making scientific sense out of things made from magic," Buffy said.  "Besides, she might accidentally destroy it, and this is the only one I have."

"How many weapons do you have in there?" O'Neill asked, fascinated. 

He reached for the bag, and Buffy let him have it after she zipped it back up.  He turned it over a couple of times, weighing it in his hands, then tried to open it.

"Tons!  Willow made it for me to wear while patrolling, so I would always have another weapon handy if I came across something that wouldn't die by a stake.  She jokingly called it a sub-space pocket, and kept calling me Sailor Buffy for two weeks."  Buffy looked sad for a moment, but determinedly shook it off.  "It won't open for you Jack.  It's magically keyed only to me and the Scoobies."

O'Neill handed the fanny-pack back to her, and she returned it to the closet.

Buffy walked to the door, but before she exited, she gave O'Neill a quirky grin.  "I even have a rocket launcher, though I don't have any ammo.  Think the General would approve a couple?"

With that, Buffy took off towards the elevators with her weapon in hand, away from O'Neill's bellowing, "How the Hell did a civilian get a rocket launcher?!  You're joking, right?  Right?!  Buffy!"

============================================================================

"Twelve…hundred…pounds."

O'Neill choked on his laughter, continuing to use the clip-board to fan Carter's face.  He too was in awe of what the hammer's weight meant in connection to Buffy's strength, but was finding that his amusement of Carter's reaction far outweighed his amazement.

"Twelve, sir!  Hundred!" Carter brushed the clip-board away from her face, and stood, looking at the strange item on the scale.

Buffy smirked, watching as the logic-driven woman glared at the object, as if it would explain its existence to her.

"That's not possible!  It goes against all…"

"…the Laws of Physics!" Buffy and O'Neill warbled, in sync.

Carter glared at them.

"What the hell is it?!" she demanded.

"Troll Hammer."  Buffy's lips twitched.

"From an actual troll?" O'Neill queried.

"Yep."

"Cool.  What did it look like?"

"Butt-ugly…with horns.  Seemed to have a boner for mead…and babies." Buffy shuddered.

"Babies?"

"He was hungry."

"Oh, gross!  Thanks for ruining my lunch."

"My Pleasure."

"Would you guys shut up?!" Carter yelled, the evidence of a scientific impossibility making her extremely irritated.

They snickered.

"What's all the ruckus?" Daniel asked curiously, as he and Teal'c entered the storage room at the tail end of Carter's yell.

"Carter's mad that she can't apply the Laws of Physics to a twelve-hundred pound Troll Hammer," O'Neill said, choking on his laughter.  "What are you two doing here?  I thought you were busy."

"Well, apparently we were as busy as you, Jack," Daniel retorted as her crossed his arms over his chest.  "It's hard to concentrate on translating anything when your curiosity keeps interrupting."

"I too was unable to concentrate, O'Neill.  The question of BuffySummers' strength was too intriguing to ignore," Teal'c said, raising an eyebrow at him.

"So, what's this about a twelve-hundred pound…uh…troll hammer?" Daniel asked, looking confused.

O'Neill stepped back, allowing the archeologist to see the large hammer sitting on the scale.

Waving a hand at it, the Colonel said, smirking, "Summers kept breaking the weight machines, so she brought this out, in order to give Carter some kind of estimate of her strength.  Carter's having trouble coming to terms with the fact that something of this size weighs twelve-hundred pounds."

While O'Neill was talking, Daniel had approached the object and tried to pick it up – it didn't even budge an inch.

"A troll, you say?  Fascinating," the younger man replied, then tried to tip it over by pushing his entire weight against the handle, but nothing happened.

Teal'c tapped Daniel's shoulder, and lifted an eyebrow.

The smaller man stepped back, letting his larger and much stronger friend step up to the hammer.

With some effort, Teal'c was able to lift the hammer a foot off the floor, but couldn't do much else.  He let the hammer fall back onto the scale with a 'thud', causing the weighing mechanism to go crazy for a moment before it settled back to its previous reading.

"Chel Nak!" he said as he turned to the small blonde woman.  His eyes gleamed with a fervent light as he looked at her.

She grinned at him, her eyes gleaming with the same light.

O'Neill looked back and forth between the two, then said, "Uh Oh."

==============================================================

WHAP THUD!

WHAP WHAP CRASH!

"Ow…that's gotta hurt," O'Neill said, wincing.

O'Neill, Carter, and Daniel stood at the sidelines of the room, watching the two combatants that had been going at it for the last 30 minutes.  Buffy had had the upper hand for the most part, but Teal'c had returned quite a few well placed blows of his own.

WHAP

THUNK CRUNCH

WHAP WHAP

WHAP THUD!

grunt "I yield, BuffySummers!" Teal'c said from the floor, where he was on his hands and knees, stopping the small blonde from where she was about to kick him in the stomach.

Buffy stopped her swinging foot short, then held out a hand to help him stand.  The large man took it, and allowed her to use her strength to pull him upright.

"You are most formidable in hand to hand combat…I was not prepared for your feet to be just as fierce," the dark-skinned man said, giving her a pleased look.

The small blonde laughed, socking him lightly in the arm.

"Always be expect the unexpected, Teal'c – that's my motto.  Staffs?"

"I would be honored."

Buffy walked to the opposite wall and pulled two staffs from where they hung, tossing one of them to the larger man.  She took a fighting stance.

"Staffs only…no feet, no fists.  Ready?"

Teal'c nodded his head.  "Begin."

The two circled each other.

"Can you tell me again why we're letting them do this?" Daniel asked, grimacing as he watched the blonde woman connect her staff with his friend's chin.

O'Neill watched the two fighters exchange a few more blows before answering.

"They had that…gleaming eyes thing going on – you know, the one that said 'we're gonna fight…don't get in our way'," O'Neill said with a chuckle.  "Besides…I thought Teal'c was going to start drooling any minute at the thought of taking her on – who was I to keep him from having some fun."

"He is smiling, Daniel," Carter said, watching the violent hits the two fighters were exchanging in awe.

Sure enough, the three could see the gleaming white of Teal'c's teeth as he grinned.

The two battled for a few more minutes before Teal'c called out, "You are holding back, BuffySummers."

"I don't want to hurt you, Teal'c," she said as she blocked his staff.

"I heal quickly…do not concern yourself with my welfare."

"But…"

"A good warrior cannot learn to be a better warrior unless he is occasionally beaten.  Do not insult me by fighting with less skill than you have, BuffySummers!" the Jaffa glared at her.

Buffy shrugged.  "OK…but when I kick your ass, remember that you told me to."

The small blonde began to fight with greater energy, her staff almost becoming a blur as she took the offensive against the much larger man. 

Teal'c spent several moments defending himself before he saw an opening.  His staff swept down towards Buffy's head, but she blocked it with hers – the force of the hit caused her staff to snap in two, but she wasn't fazed as she began to use the two lengths like martial arts Kali sticks. 

Teal'c took several hits to his body before he too broke his staff in half to match her weapons.  The two fought ferociously with matching grins, each bleeding from various cuts caused by the splintered ends of their weapons.

"My God!  They're going to kill each other!" Daniel exclaimed.

"Nah…I think they'd miss this.  They're just having a little bit of fun…brutal fun, but fun" O'Neill said offhandedly, seeing the enjoyment playing over the two combatants' faces.

Seconds later, the force of Buffy's next blow caused Teal'c to lose one of his weapons.  She then swept his legs out from under the large man with one of her sticks.  When he fell to the ground, she quickly knelt on the hand that still carried a stick, as she straddled his chest, crossing her two weapons over his neck.

"I yield!" Teal'c called out, grinning madly as he released his remaining weapon to show that there was no subterfuge in his capitulation to the fight.

Buffy raised her two weapons over her head, as she said, "Yeah!  I win!"

She rolled off his chest and rose to her feet.  Shifting her weapons so that she carried both in one hand, she held out the other to help her opponent to his feet again.

When Teal'c was fully upright, he bowed deeply to the small blonde warrior.

"It is an honor to be defeated by one so skilled, BuffySummers."

"You're not so bad yourself, Teal'c.  You got in quite a few good ones yourself," Buffy replied with a smile as she rubbed her left shoulder where a bruise was just starting to form.

"If you had not limited the battle to staffs, I believe I would not have done half as well.  You are very…unpredictable," Teal'c said.  "Would you do me the honor of teaching me these…martial arts?"

"Only if you teach me the Jaffa style of fighting," she countered.

"As the Taur'i would say…'you have yourself a deal'," the dark-skinned man replied, giving her a pleased look as he bowed deeply to her again.

The others looked agog at Buffy's receiving the same amount of respect they had only seen Teal'c afford to one other person…Bra'tac.

O'Neill grinned at a thought, then chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Daniel asked, slightly shuddering at the somewhat evil grin on Jack's face.

"Oh, nothing…I'm just thinking of all the possible scenarios for when Bra'tac finally meets Summers – it's giving me tingles."

Carter and Daniel exchanged amused smiles.

=============================================================

Buffy stopped short as soon as she stepped into the room, eyes wide.  She knew that Colonel O'Neill wanted to test her on some of the weaponry used at the SGC, but she wasn't expecting to see two long rows of various automatic weapons, assault rifles, and hand-guns…not to mention the alien stuff.

"Um…you do know that I'm already a deadly weapon by myself, Jack…is it really necessary to arm me with a gun?"

"All SG personnel are required to arm themselves when going on a mission, in case of hostile fire.  Unless you plan on only going to the archeological digs, you need to pass the base's weapons test," O'Neill said in a no-nonsense tone.

"But…"

"Hand-to-hand skills are all well and good, but more often than not, you're going to be shot at by staff-wielding Jaffa from a couple hundred feet away.  It's not an option, Summers…you either go armed on a mission, or you don't go."

Buffy sighed, then nodded her head, waving at him to begin.

They went down the line of weapons, one-by-one.  Most of the time, Buffy was able to immediately hit the target dead on – a few times she missed the first shot, but was able to hit the bulls-eye on the second.

As the small blonde lined up at the shooting booth with the last hand-gun, O'Neill shook his head in disbelief.  The young woman had said she could pick up any weapon and immediately know how to use it, but he hadn't really believed it until he saw it with his own eyes.

After setting the safety, Buffy carefully laid the gun back on the table and turned to the silent man.

"Well?  Did I pass?" she asked tartly, giving him an 'I told you so' look.

O'Neill glared at her before saying, "So you can shoot, but the question now is…do you know how to re-arm each gun when you run out of bullets?"

Buffy rolled her eyes and sighed – she wondered if she would ever get a stamp of approval from the man.

Though she hesitated only a moment over each weapon, she proved she could re-arm them in an acceptable amount of time – but even she knew there was room for improvement.

"We'll have you practice arming them until you can do it in your sleep, but other than that…" O'Neill said reluctantly.

"…I passed?" Buffy replied, arching her eyebrows at him.

"Don't get cocky, Summers.  I know there has to be something you can't do," he scowled at her.

"Yeah…cook," the blonde replied with a self-deprecating smile.

O'Neill couldn't help chuckling at that.

============================================================

"No, no, no!  You can't do that!"

"Can so!  If you'd just open your eyes, you'd see that…"

"…it would be a bloodbath of apocalyptic proportions?!"

"Jaaaack!  There are four people…I don't think that can be considered an apocalypse if it went wrong – and I should know, I stopped seven of them…or maybe it was eight…I'm not sure if The Gentlemen were going for world endage, but then I'd probably have to count the zombie demon too, and also Molo…"

"Summers!" Jack barked, stopping her in mid-babble.

"…but that's not what we're here to talk about," she continued.  A stubborn look came over her face as she stuck out her chin and said, "It…would…work!"

"No…it…wouldn't!" O'Neill countered, just as stubbornly.

"Yes it would!"

"No it wouldn't!"

"I want a second opinion!"

"Fine!"

Jack grabbed the sheet of paper and stomped out of the room, Buffy hot on his heels.

Reaching the General's office, the Colonel rapped his knuckles sharply on the door.  When Hammond barked out 'Come!', he opened it and entered the office angrily.

Slapping the piece of paper on the General's desk, he sharply said, "Would you please tell Ms. Summers that this strategy would be stupid to use in a confrontation with a squad of Jaffa?!"

Hammond picked up the paper and gave it a once-over, then scrutinized it more closely a second time to make sure he was reading it correctly. 

Setting the paper back down, he thought for a moment before he finally responding, "I'm sorry, Colonel, I can't tell you that.  The plan is solid if…"

"What?!" O'Neill looked at him incredulously.

Buffy smirked at him.

"…if you take into account that one of the soldiers is a Slayer."

"Ha!  That's what I was trying to tell him," Buffy said triumphantly.

"But you can't plan on a Slayer being there every time," O'Neill responded peevishly.

Buffy rolled her eyes.

"As much as I hate to say it, Colonel O'Neill is correct, Ms. Summers.  Why don't you try it again with four regular soldiers," the General said, trying to hide his amusement at the two adults who were squabbling like children.

"Fine," Buffy replied petulantly.  "Do you have any paper…and a pen or pencil?"

The General opened his desk and handed her a small stack of blank letterhead and a pen.

The blonde woman took them with a pouting 'thanks', then plopped down on one of the chairs in front of the General's desk.  She moved a couple of items, making space for her to write on, then began scribbling away.

Hammond cleared his throat.  "You don't have to do it now, Ms. Summers.  I'm sure Colonel O'Neill will give you some time to come up with a new strategy."

Buffy kept scribbling as she mumbled, "It'll only take a minute, General."

She finished with a flourish, and handed the paper to the General…and started scribbling away again.

Hammond reviewed the offering before handing it over to the Colonel with a small smile, trying desperately to not laugh in the irritated man's face.

By the time Buffy was done, she had handed Hammond a total of five separate tactical plans.  She stood and looked at him, arching her eyebrows in question.

"Well?"

The General smiled, "Excellent work, Ms. Summers, but I don't believe the last one would be considered a viable plan."

"But it would work, wouldn't it?" she asked, lips twitching as her eyes danced with humor.

Hammond coughed to hide is laugh as he responded, "Only if you consider the…offering as an acceptable loss."

Buffy grinned as she replied, "At the moment, General…I do."

The General chuckled, his eyes also dancing with laughter.  "I know the feeling."

O'Neill looked back and forth between the two, not knowing what they were talking about since the General hadn't seen fit to hand him the last paper yet.

"If the Colonel is done with you, I believe Dr. Frasier is waiting to give you your physical, Ms. Summers."

"We're done," O'Neill said, scowling at the grinning blonde.

"Yes, sir!" Buffy said sharply, still grinning, as she gave him a mock-salute.

"Get outta here, runt," the Colonel said, slapping her on the back of the head with the papers he still held as she walked past.

"So, are you going to show me the last one?" O'Neill asked when they were finally alone.

The General handed him the sheet of paper with Buffy's last strategic plan, a small smile on his lips.

O'Neill glanced over it, then started.  He scrutinized it more closely before he scowled as he asked, "Did she do what I think she did?"

Hammond laughed outright at the Colonel's peeved expression.

"Yes, Colonel…she used you as bait."

============================================================

"Where's Buffy?" Daniel asked curiously as he looked behind Jack for the small blonde, knowing that the Colonel had been the last one to test her.

"I left her in her quarters with a large box of mission files.  I'm sure she's up to her neck in absorbing descriptions of Jaffa battles and archeological findings.  That, or she's cursing me blue in the face for making her do something that requires her to sit still for more than five minutes," Jack said with an evil grin as he took his seat.

Carter chuckled from the chair next to him.  "She is quite energetic, isn't she?  Janet said she kept fidgeting during her exam…I get the feeling that her life was a lot of constant movement."

"When we met this morning, she stated that she had slept more hours than she is used to – perhaps that is the reason for her excess in energy," Teal'c offered calmly.

"How long did she sleep?" Daniel asked curiously, knowing the young woman hadn't gotten back to the base until close to midnight, and that her assessment had started at 0700 that morning.

"Five hours, DanielJackson."

"Five?!  And that's more than she's used to?" the younger man said in surprise.

"Yes.  She claimed she used to…patrol…until 0300 hours, and arise at 0700 on most days," Teal'c confirmed.

Daniel's eyes widened, but before he could ask any more questions, the General arrived in the briefing room.

"OK, people…talk to me," the General said as he sat at the head of the conference table.

They all exchanged glances.  O'Neill gestured for Carter to start.

"Well, sir.  We're unable to get an accurate reading on both her strength and speed.  She kept…um…breaking the equipment."

The General looked startled.  "I assume you were able to work around that problem, Major Carter?"

"Yes, sir…to some degree.  By using a…uh…troll hammer, I was able to roughly estimate her strength to be a maximum lifting capacity of roughly 1 metric ton – that's about 2,200 pounds, sir."

Dr. Fraiser choked on her water.  Through her coughing, she was able to choke out, "That's physically impossible, Sam!"

"Apparently not for Slayers," Carter said, shrugging.  "Her pushing and pulling capacity is about the same."

"A troll hammer?" Hammond asked in surprise.

"Yep…from an actual troll…ugly, horns, liked to drink mead and eat babies," O'Neill said offhandedly.  "Oh…she claims to have a rocket launcher too."

The General looked at him askance.

O'Neill held up his hands.  "It's true…I swear – she told me."

"And just where is this rocket launcher now, Colonel?" Hammond asked him sharply.

"In her fanny-pack."

Everyone stared at him.

"Long story…shall we continue?" O'Neill said, smirking as he waved a hand at Carter.

The Major broke her stare as she continued with her report.  "Well, sir…we couldn't even get close to clocking her speed…the treadmill wasn't fast enough, and she…um…broke it."

The General shook his head in disbelief.  "I assume you were able to get a rough estimate on that too?"

"Not…quite, sir," Carter said reluctantly.  "Buffy was able to give me a point to point distance based on locations in the former city of Sunnydale, and a rough time frame of how long it took her to get from one point to the other…"

"And?"

"Well…if my calculations are correct, she's able to run at a speed of approximately 40 to 45 miles per hour for a distance of 5 miles on flat terrain, though she says it takes almost all of her energy to do it.  But…"

It was Daniel's turn to choke on his water.  Teal'c raised his eyebrow in surprise.

"But…Major?" Hammond prompted her to continue.

Carter gave him a smile as she shook her head amusement.  "She claims to have done it in 2 ½ inch heel, Jimmy Choo boots."

O'Neill started chuckling, and the General hid a smile behind his hand.

"Go Cheetarah," O'Neill said, smirking.

"The Colonel suggested we take her out to a deserted road and clock her by car, sir," Carter said, with a hint of humor.

"Denied, Major – the situation wouldn't be secure…though it would be an interesting sight to see," Hammond said, shaking his head.  "Anything else to add, Major?"

"No, sir…except to wonder how she can do anything without breaking everything she touches," Carter said as she smiled.

The General chuckled at that before asking, "OK…what's next?"

"I believe I will be next, General Hammond," Teal'c responded.  "After my own attempts in lifting the troll hammer, I was intrigued at the thought of sparring with someone of BuffySummers' strength, and offered to take O'Neill's place as her opponent."

"Admit it, Teal'c, you were practically drooling," O'Neill interjected with a smirk.

The Jaffa bowed his head in O'Neill's direction with a small smile.

"She is a formidable warrior, General, and could have defeated me much more swiftly than she did."

"Why didn't she?" Hammond asked, curious.

"She was…having fun," the dark-skinned man replied with a pleased look.  "As was I – I have never battled with a warrior of such skill…including Bra'tac…he would be most pleased to spar with her, if only to know there is another warrior in which to aspire towards.  Should I have battled BuffySummers in a serious fight, she would have defeated me in less than 10 minutes."

"Aww come on, Teal'c…you weren't doing that badly," O'Neill said in support of his friend.

"No, I was not.  But when we sparred, I fought her with the skills I learned as a Jaffa, which I see now are limited – I counted eight different fighting styles used by BuffySummers…and she varied them, so I could not predict what she would do next.  It was not her speed or strength that defeated me, O'Neill, it was her skill and unpredictability.  I have much to learn from her," Teal'c finished with a bow to the General.

"Do you know how many disciplines she knows?" the General asked.

"I do not, but I will ask when next we speak."

"Thank you, Teal'c.  Colonel?  I believe you were the only other one to assess Ms. Summers' skills?" Hammond asked with a slight smile, remembering the disagreement between the two that he'd had to mediate.

O'Neill scowled, causing the others to perk up…they smelled a story here.

"In the weapons assessment, I tried her out on practically every weapon we use here at the base, including a zat and staff weapon.  She can use any weapon she picks up…including the few guns I put into the mix that were slightly off in their accuracy – she was able to instantly compensate for their inaccuracy by the second shot…precisely.  Her skills at re-arming each weapon is within the preferred time limits, but I think she could do better, and so does she."

"I assume you will make arrangements for her to practice, Colonel?"

O'Neill nodded.

"So…how about her tactical skills, sir?" Carter asked, eyes twinkling.  Since the weapons training hadn't sounded off, she knew it had to be the test in strategic skills that would yield the…interesting story.  She wasn't disappointed.

The Colonel scowled.

General Hammond opened the folder in front of him and removed several small stacks of paper.  He handed them around the table, causing the Colonel's scowl to deepen.

"At ease, Colonel…you have to admit she proved her point," Hammond said, eyes dancing with laughter.

"Yeah…but I don't have to like how she did it," he responded grumpily, though his lips twitched slightly as he tried not to laugh.

"Is there a reason for showing us these, sir," Carter asked, confused.

"Take a look at the top copy, Major.  Tell me what you think."

Carter scrutinized it closely before saying, "Well…I'd have to say that I don't think it would work, sir.  She has one of the soldiers concealing themselves until the enemy troops pass him…he's behind enemy lines and would get caught in the crossfire of his own team even though she indicates they're shooting single shots in rotation, not to mention the fact that the fourth soldier is left on his own."

"Ha!  See!  Even Carter agrees, and she's smarter than me," O'Neill said, vindicated.

"Unless the fourth soldier is the Slayer, only then would it work," Teal'c said in opposition.

"You are correct, Teal'c, and I agreed.  But to satisfy the basic requirements, and Colonel O'Neill's temper, I asked Ms. Summers to resubmit another plan – the next five copies are what she came up with," the General responded, his lips twitching.

Curious, the others looked closely at the five tactical plans.

"She's good, sir," Carter said as she finished reviewing the fourth plan.  She turned to the last page, and it only took her a minute to figure out why the Colonel was irritated.  She started to laugh.  "Sacrificial bait, sir?"

"I believe you made BuffySummers angry, O'Neill," Teal'c said, his expression showing his own amusement.

"She even labeled him with your name, Jack," Daniel said as he chuckled.

"Ha…ha…" Jack said sarcastically, though he too had found it amusing in the end.  The girl had a sharp wit and biting sense of humor, he had to give her that.

The others enjoyed a bit of ribbing at the Colonel's expense, Daniel even going so far as to baa like a sheep (sacrificial lamb).

When she was finally able to rein in her amusement, Carter asked, "Sir, what's so special about these plans?  I'm not saying that they aren't good, but…" 

"Ms. Summers came up with all five in under two minutes, Major," Hammond stated matter-of-factly.

"Wow," Carter responded, looking impressed.  "The only people I know who could come up with so many viable tactical plans in that amount of time are battle-hardened veterans."

"Well…isn't she one?" Daniel asked.  "I mean, she has been both an officer and soldier for the past seven years.  Sure, her battles weren't conventional, but I think her experiences would be equivalent to soldiers on the front lines."

"I agree," Teal'c said stoically.

"As do I," the General said, then turned to Dr. Frasier.  "What about her health, Dr. Frasier?"

The doctor opened up the medical file she had in front of her before she answered.  "Ms. Summers is in excellent health…though I found no abnormalities in her blood that would account for her excessive strength and speed, not to mention her accelerated healing.  She is borderline anorexic – but that may have something to do with her metabolism, which seems to be extremely high…much higher than I've ever seen.  Without further testing, I can only assume it has something to do with her being the Slayer – the amount of energy demanded by her body must be astronomical.  I suggest putting her on a strict diet of large meals consisting of rich foods for the time being, and see if we can't get her weight up to a more acceptable level."

"Oh, she's just going to love that," O'Neill said sarcastically.  He turned to Teal'c.  "Word of warning, Teal'c, if Summers ever asks if her BDUs make her look fat, turn around and run in the other direction.  That's a question you can never answer correctly – if you say no, she'll think you're lying…if you say yes, you'll quickly lose your family jewels in the most painful way."

Teal'c bowed in his direction, accepting O'Neill's sound advice.

Dr. Fraiser and Carter exchanged amused looks.

"Anything else, Dr. Fraiser?" the General said, trying to hide his smile.

"Other than a few scars, predominantly one on her left shoulder, two on her abdomen, one of which is fairly recent and matches the one on her lower back, there's nothing else to report, sir.  I would say that she's probably the healthiest person here."

"Thank you, Doctor," Hammond said, nodding his head in her direction.  "I must say, these results far exceed my expectations, Ms. Summers' original information notwithstanding.  Does anyone have anything else to add, or any concerns with putting Ms. Summers on active duty once she completes her two-day postings?"

O'Neill immediately shot his hand in the air.  "No disrespect to Ms. Summers and her skills…but I'm not sure how well she'll take orders – her reaction to my assessment of her tactical skills makes me think she might be…difficult."

"And I'm sure you disagreed with her in your usual charming way, Jack," Daniel interjected with a small smile.

"Hey!  I was tactful," O'Neill responded huffily before grudgingly continuing with, "…a little."

The General coughed to hide his laughter as the others snorted in disbelief.

"Probably as tactful as a bulldozer," Carter whispered to Dr. Fraiser, causing the woman to laugh.  O'Neill glared at them.

"General Hammond, we were told by Whistler that BuffySummers would follow orders until she is comfortable here, and will continue to do so if she respects the person and their decisions…as long as the person she follows listens to her if she disagrees," Teal'c offered, giving the Colonel a challenging look.  "It will be up to O'Neill to gain her respect."

"Oh, like that'll happen," O'Neill groused.

"I think it already has, to some degree," Daniel said slowly.  At O'Neill's look of disbelief, he hurried to explain.  "I think she enjoys your battle of wits, Jack…she had the same gleam in her eyes that she did when she sparred with Teal'c.  She's only been here a couple of days, and she already feels a connection with you that makes her comfortable enough to tease you and trade insults…something which I'd like to point out that she hasn't done with the rest of us.  And what about what happened during patrol last night?  You were the one she threatened to go up against if the military got involved in her world, not the General – she sees you as the leader, even though she's perfectly aware that you take orders from someone else.  In her eyes, she sees herself as your equal, but her actions also tell me that you're the only one she would accept taking orders from.  These?" Daniel held up the stack of tactical plans.  "She only had to do one, Jack, but she did five – she may be a strong leader, and an excellent fighter, but she's still young…I think it's her way of trying to gain your approval."

O'Neill looked dubious.  "The last one doesn't exactly scream 'respect', Daniel."

"I believe it's her way of saying that she wishes you to respect her in return, O'Neill," Teal'c offered.

"I know you're not one to hand out excessive praise, Jack, but I think even a small indication of approval, coming from you, would go a long way with her," Daniel finished quietly.

O'Neill looked thoughtful for a moment before sighing as he said, "I think the true test is going to be when we're out in the field, but I'll give her a chance."

The General nodded, then said, "Anyone else have any objections?"

"I do."

Everyone looked at Teal'c in surprise.

"Teal'c?  I would think you of all people would be the most open to putting Ms. Summers on active duty.  What are your objections?" Hammond asked, surprised.

"I cannot say, General Hammond.  BuffySummers revealed the contents of her letter to me in confidence – but she was correct in saying that she would need some time to…accept what was written."

"Will it take long?" the General asked, curious as to what could make the young woman hesitate enough for even Teal'c to voice concern.

"I do not believe so.  BuffySummers has great inner strength, but I have advised her to seek your counsel as soon as possible, General Hammond, to which she agreed.  I would also recommend that Colonel O'Neill be present – if O'Neill has truly gained her respect, she will have no objection to his presence," the Jaffa said, bowing his head to the General.

"Very well, Teal'c.  I'll take that under advisement," the General responded.  "If there are no further objections…?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"Then enjoy the rest of your weekend.  Dismissed."

==========================================================

"I think Dr. Jackson was right – any acknowledgement from you would go a long way, Jack.  You never really said it outright…how do you feel about Ms. Summers and her skills?" the General asked as he and the Colonel walked back to his office.

"I have a feeling she's going to try my patience…a lot – but I have to admit she's good.  So good, it's almost scary," O'Neill reluctantly said.  "I just don't see how it's going to work, no matter what Daniel said.  She's been running her own show for seven years – how can someone, no matter what their age, go from being a leader to a follower?"

"Under normal circumstances, someone her age would still be a rookie – but in her world she's had to act as the leader since she was 15…maybe she's tired of it, Jack.  I know I would be, if I had to go through even half of what she did at her age.  Hell…at times I even wish I could go back to being a Lieutenant right now."

"Especially when you have to deal with Kinsey?" O'Neill said, giving him a humorous smile.

"Especially then," Hammond chuckled as he opened the door to his office.

The General paused in his stride as he caught sight of the main subject of their discussion sitting in a chair in front of his desk.  She jumped up and gave him a nervous smile.

"Is there something I can help you with, Ms. Summers?" Hammond asked gently, noting her hesitation as she caught sight of the Colonel behind him.

"Yes, sir.  I…" she trailed of as her eyes darted nervously in O'Neill's direction.

"We weren't given any details, but if this is about the contents of your letter, Teal'c advised me that Colonel O'Neill should be present…that is, if you have no objection," the General said quietly as he moved to sit at his desk.

The Colonel waited patiently at the door for her response.

"N-no, I…" the young woman stuttered before taking a deep calming breath.  "No, Teal'c's right…the Colonel should be here for this too."

O'Neill nodded his head as he closed the door then stepped towards the second chair.  He gestured for her to sit, and waited until she did before sitting down himself.

Buffy plucked at a loose string on her jeans as she thought about how she should start.  With another deep breath, she raised her eyes to the General's and began.

"Slayers are created for one purpose only, General…to fight against demons, vampires, and any other mystical being that threatens human-kind.  This dates back thousands of years, but even then, there was one very, very important rule that had to be followed…a Slayer could not use her power to kill humans.  There were safety measures incorporated into the inherited Slayer legacy that, should a Slayer ever kill a human, she would go insane with guilt for a period of time – I saw it happen, and it wasn't pretty.  In addition to that, the old Council of Watchers had their own way of dealing with a Slayer who had 'gone rogue' – they called it reconditioning, which is a polite way of saying they'd take her out of the country and either brainwash her, or kill her if that didn't work."

The General and O'Neill exchanged disturbed looks as they waited for the young woman to continue.

Buffy abruptly stood and walked over to the glass window that showed a small portion of stars in their galaxy, with Earth at the center, and wrapped her arms around herself.  She stood that way for a few moments before turning back to the two silent men.

"For seven years I've followed that rule…never even once making a mistake - priding myself in that fact.  It's that moral standing that kept me from thinking of myself as just a killing machine, that held me up when things looked bad – because I knew I was the only hope for the people of Sunnydale…I was the only thing holding back the monsters from taking over the city, I was their protector, I was the 'Warrior of the People'…but with a few words – two short sentences in a letter – that all changed," the blonde woman said, turning to look through the glass at the briefing room on the other side.  "The Powers That Be have removed the safety measure, and have given me permission to kill humans…within reason, of course."

She turned back to look at the General, giving him a fleeting smile, "Needless to say, my world's been tipped off-kilter, it's hard to accept that it's now OK to kill those I'm supposed to protect.  Teal'c helped me quite a bit, at least to explain why it was necessary for me to have no limitations, especially with the new enemies I'll be facing.  But it's still…hard."

There was a moment of silence as the two men absorbed her information, and tried to come up with a way to ease the young woman's troubles.

"Both Colonel O'Neill and I have been where you are now, Ms. Summers…Buffy – though we may not have been as young as you when we had to face another human being on a battleground for the first time," the General started quietly.  "Even though we had our own type of permission to kill, it didn't make it any easier when we ended a human life for the first time."

Buffy looked down at her feet, shoulders hunched.

"The first time I had to kill, I was Captain of a squad of very young, fresh-faced soldiers," O'Neill said quietly.  "We were out on a reconnaissance mission, and didn't expect to exchange fire with the enemy…but we were ambushed.  The first person I killed, I did it from less than fifteen feet away…I can still remember his expression of disbelief when he realized I had shot him.  He fell to the ground, and I watched as the life left his eyes – but I didn't have time to think about it…my men were in danger.  We eventually made it back to camp, but as soon as I was alone, I threw up everything in my stomach.  Your first kill isn't something you can easily forget, but you can't let it stop you from going on, or it will cost you the life of the people who depend on you to watch their backs."

Buffy nodded her head in sad understanding as she spoke, "I think that my need to protect the people I'm with would overcome any hesitation on my part, but it's still…difficult to accept."

The General gave her a piercing look, "The members of your team will be counting on you, Ms. Summers…you need to be very sure that it won't be a problem."

She gave him a sad look as she replied, "I was able to kill Angelus, General…it won't be a problem."

"What does killing an evil vampire have to do with it?" O'Neill asked, looking confused.

Buffy looked back out to the briefing room as she explained.

"I kinda blurred the connecting lines when I told you about him, but…Angel, the vampire I had a relationship with, is Angelus, Jack.  At the time, we didn't know there was a clause tied to his soul – if he ever experienced a moment of pure happiness, he would lose it.  He had that moment of pure happiness when we made love for the first and only time.  While I was fighting Angelus, Willow was able to return his soul, but it was too late –" Buffy looked at the Colonel, capturing his eyes as she softly said, "It wasn't Angelus I had to kill to close Acathla…it was Angel.

"If I could kill the man I loved…" the small blonde turned to the General.  "It won't be a problem, General, though I would suggest taking me off active duty for a couple days, to let me regroup after the first time I…" she trailed off, looking down at her feet again.

"Understood," Hammond said softly.

Buffy quietly left his office.

"Damn," O'Neill said as he let out a deep breath.

"My sentiments exactly, Jack…especially when you consider she was only seventeen at the time."

"Damn."

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A/N:  Just in case anyone recognized it…yes, the "Unicorn Posters" blurb was in homage to Elle's "The Payback Series".  The story is a short two-chapter Buffy/Giles pairing that can be found at BuffyGiles.com, and was a major AU take on Buffy's relationship with Riley (note:  this story is NOT for Riley-lovers) – be warned…it has an NC-17 rating, so if that's not your thing, don't read it.  The last scene of the story made me laugh pretty hard…I could really picture it happening.  I couldn't get a hold of Elle to get her permission to use the concept of "unicorn posters" (my email to her bounced back), but if you're reading this Elle, I hope you don't mind…and thanks for the laugh!  :)

Now for other things…I'm both ecstatic AND disappointed with the reactions to the last chapter.  Disappointed because, apparently, many reviewers didn't read my Author's Notes and got a little hyper about Buffy's magic display, and ecstatic because…well, many reviewers got a little hyper about Buffy's magic display.  LOL  No, really…I think it's pretty cool that many of you felt strongly enough about your opinions that you felt the need to voice it – it made for some interesting and thought-provoking comments.  But I found it very interesting that only one of the reviewers had even tried to figure out what was really going on in that scene…and guessed correctly at that!  Looks like Dilvish is the only one paying attention to ALL the details.  (I did state in the Author's Notes that Buffy wasn't going to become "Super Willow" – I was hoping to get more people to think "She said that Buffy wasn't going to be powerful like Willow, so why did she….Ooooooh!  I wonder if…"  So remember…don't take what I write at face value…question it, but don't accept it.)

Well, I didn't mean to make the patrol to be so serious, but then I thought about it…with that many people, it really couldn't be funny.  I guess I'll just have to wait until she's with a lot less people to draw in the humor factor.  And I really didn't mean to have her yell at everyone, but shrug it just happened that way.  Oh well…moving on.

I know I'll probably get some flack on the weight of the "Troll Hammer", but at least I didn't stick with my original "2,000 pounds" that I started out with (it may have flowed a little better on paper, but I ended up feeling that it was extremely unrealistic).  My reasoning for it being 1200 lbs? – I took into account Buffy's strength being that of ten men, the fact that most men can carry 100 pounds or more in one arm (how can they pick up their older kids if they couldn't?), and did the math…  The "maximum lifting capacity" came from thinking about how she easily carried the hammer around, so I had to give her a much higher limit – but she'd probably hurt something badly if she ever tried to lift the maximum Carter came up with (Sorry General, can't work today…I slipped a disk when I tried to throw Jack's truck at him.  Heehee).  As for those of you who adamantly believe that Teal'c is as strong as Buffy (or stronger than her), sorry to disappoint you, but my opinion is that the larval Goa'uld gives him a strength that's more likely to be equivalent to Spike's…extremely strong, but not as strong as the Slayer.  Note the words "my opinion" – we all have them, and this is mine, so please don't yell at me for it, thank you.  To those who don't believe Teal'c is as strong as I made him, apparently you haven't seen Season 7…he moved a friggin tree with only a little bit of effort…I think I can safely say that the tree was a few hundred pounds, so his ability to lift the troll hammer isn't too far out there.  (And on another note, the fastest human speed has been clocked at 27 mph, so please take that into account when you think about the speed I gave Buffy…OK?)

I really do appreciate your reviews, and urge you to continue writing them, even if it's to disagree with something I wrote – it's always interesting to see how differently others perceive the characters or what they would do in certain situations.  I swear I probably looked like "Bill the Cat" when I was reading the reviews for Chapters 2 and 3 – there were so many differing opinions on certain BtVS characters that I thought a characterization war was going to break out on my review board.  LOL

Now, I wasn't planning on doing this, but with the number of comments about two specific BtVS characters, I feel that I need to clarify the direction I'm coming from.  So, in the interest of helping you readers understand why I'm portraying the characters of Buffy and Xander in this story the way that I am, I have provided a brief character analysis of how I perceive the two characters:

I think one of the main differing of opinion that most reviewers had (besides Buffy's "magic") was the characterization of Xander.  I'm not an expert on all things BtVS, so I'm portraying him how I see him – he's not perfect, he has many warts…and that's why we love him.  The character of Xander always struck me as "carrying a torch for Buffy" throughout most of the run of BtVS, his engagement to Anya notwithstanding.  This colored a lot of his actions, and even Anya saw Buffy as a threat to their relationship (why else would she bleach her hair blonde, not to mention the "you can't have Xander" or similar comments she threw out every once in a while – she was staking her claim). 

The only time Xander ever seemed to be completely happy with Buffy was when she was single, and he also had a different set of "rules" when it came to his own personal life – for example; 1) he would rather have her kill Angelus than try to save Angel, it didn't matter that she was in love with him (need I remind you about the "Willow says kick his ass" comment?); 2) it was OK for Xander to bail on spending quality "friendship" time with her so he could be with Anya, but Buffy wasn't allowed to have a life outside of the Scoobie-gang (aka Riley), or the Xander "snark-monster" came out (granted, Buffy did go a little overboard with the Initiative group), and; 3) to Xander, it was Buffy's duty to kill Angel when he went evil, but when Anya became a Vengeance Demon again "it was different". 

Xander may "see more than anyone realizes", but he seems to have a blind eye with his own actions and has double-standard rules for "friends who have gone bad".  So, in short, he's not perfect, and that's how I'm writing him (but don't worry Xander-fans, I'm not going to make him evil!).

As goofy as he may act, Xander is a very complex character who was just starting to come into his own at the end of show – it's too bad that BtVS isn't going on for more seasons, as I would have liked to see the character finally open his eyes to his own actions, and realize that he still has some growing up to do.

As for the character of Buffy, she's no genius, but she is smarter than she lets on – we've seen hints of that in several episodes.  I'm not setting her up in this story to become the next Sam Carter, but she will begin to start thinking for herself.  I don't like revealing hints of future chapters, but I will say this…in my opinion, a lot of Buffy's "dumb-blonde" act has to do with her teachers kicking her down time and time again when she was in high school – that can create a lot of psychological damage in someone so young – and it always struck me that Buffy was "acting like an air-head because that's what people thought she was".  She may be a strong warrior, but as a person, a human being and woman, she is still unsure of herself – who better to nurture that part of her than SG-1 and General Hammond?  Regardless of the "PTB choosing a husband for her", a Buffy-romance will not be coming for a while…though there will be hints, of course.  ;)  In the mean time, I will be spending several chapters letting Buffy "discover herself" with the encouragement and help of her new friends.

Now, there seemed to be several people who didn't like the heavy-handed Buffy near the end of Season 7 (when she was kicked out of her own house) – I'd like to encourage those people to re-read the end of Ch. 3…I did give a feasible explanation for her actions, as I did for the actions of the others.  I am so not saying that Buffy was in the right, nor am I saying she was in the wrong…I'm saying there's a reason for her thick-headedness in that scene.  The character of Buffy is the leader – she makes the decisions, the tactical plans – but she has always been open for the differing opinions of her team/friends.  She may not have always taken their advice, but I don't know of any leader that follows the advice of their council every single time.  To me, "General Buffy" (as one reviewer put it) was an anomaly to the Buffy character, and I'd like to think I gave a pretty darn good reason for her actions, as well as the "turn our backs on our friend and sister" actions of the others. 

So endeth the "Characterization Analysis" portion of this program – I hope it makes where I'm coming from clearer.

I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter!  I'm still working on "Change", but don't expect to see the next chapter for a couple of weeks.  I have yet another Calc test coming up on Tuesday, and need to spend a lot of time getting ready for it, which means that I may not get any writing time in this weekend.

Again…please review – it really helps get the juices flowing!