Chapter 15 – Unanswered Questions

Buffy looked up from the book she was browsing at the moment, looking at her two research companions. They'd been like that since He-Man had left the library, almost an hour ago.

They were trying to find something on He-Man and She-Ra that wasn't cartoon-related. Willow was perched over her computer, hands flying over the keys. Giles was behind a large tome, looking intently at its pages.

"So, guys, any luck?" she asked.

"Well, Buffy, all that I'm finding is related to the cartoon. Already read the interesting facts, but nothing conclusive. It was a cartoon, intended to be a cartoon. Not real life," the wicca spoke, Research-Face on, but she hated lying to her best friend. She had all the answers, even more than Xander, but she couldn't tell her. At least not now, not before speaking to Xander.

"And I haven't had any luck either, Buffy. It seems as if the Council never heard of such... He-Man," Giles said, lifting his head from the tome. And that was true.

The Slayer left the book over the table and began pacing the room.

"Ok, questions. Did any of you seen anything strange happening over the last week?" she asked.

"Other than..." Willow started.

"I mean, real strange, Will. Like Hellmouthy-strange. Dimensional gateways? Strange lights? Bizarre one-eyed three-armed demons? Wait, I saw one of those, and I slayed him. Let's skip that, ok? So?"

Willow was a lousy liar, but she could act a little bit. "I saw some lightning the other day. It seemed to hit over here, but when I arrived, Xander and Giles were here, and they didn't see a thing."

Buffy promptly looked at Giles. Giles promptly looked at Willow. Willow blinked.

"Y-yes, that's true, Buffy. Willow arrived screaming, saying she had seen a lightning bolt hitting our ceiling, but we were here the whole time. Neither Xander nor I saw or heard anything. Xander even thought that Willow was kidding. And, as you can see, no damage above our heads, and no opened Hellmouth."

Buffy looked at the ceiling. True, it was clean. Ok, not so clean, but clear of damage.

"Well, it's something to think about. Next question, Prince Adam," Buffy said.

"I-I beg your pardon?" Giles asked. He was happy he didn't have to act so much, it was still too confusing, even to him.

"I believe that what Buffy wants to know is who He-Man secretly is. In the cartoon, Prince Adam was He-Man's secret identity. Like Clark Kent is Superman. And Peter Parker is Spider-Man. And..."

"I get the idea, Willow" the Watcher said. "And what makes you think that this 'He-Man' has a secret identity, Buffy?"

"Giles, o-Watcher-of-mine, it is kinda difficult to hide a seven foot man with a pet the size of a small house, even in this town. So, he has to have a pair of glasses in some pocket."

Giles casually removed his own, and started cleaning them. "Glasses? What does it have to do with..."

"Clark Kent, Giles," Willow spoke. "I agree with Buffy. So, this guy must be new in town."

"Why is that?" Buffy asked.

"Why he didn't appear sooner? Where was he all this time? I think that if he really were around, he would have shown up earlier."

"Yeah, I think so too." Sometimes, Buffy was too easy. "Any new faces around, Will?"

"A few. No one that I could point my finger and say, that's him."

"Giles?"

"No. No one."

"Ok. Next. His motives. Can we believe him?"

"I guess you can answer that question better than us, Buffy. After all, he did save your life tonight" Giles said, replacing his glasses.

"I-I don't know. Something in my guts tells me to trust him. But how can I? I've met the guy for what, ten minutes? And if it is all a plot to let him in, and then, BANG!" she said, banging her hands together for effect.

"I don't believe everything is a plot from Darkness to kill you, or us, Buffy. From what I've heard from your own mouth, he had more than chance enough and more than ability enough to do that tonight without trouble. So, my first judgment is to trust him, partially, as he proposed himself."

"And his sister?" Willow asked. She was curious, after all.

"She-Ra? I don't know, I've seen her even less, perhaps a minute or two. But she is a powerful witch, Will. And beautiful."

Willow smiled brightly. Buffy noticed it. "What's the smile, Willow?"

Willow reddened considerably. "We-well, I-I thought th-that another witch in town, I don't know, maybe I could ask a few questions, learn a few spells, you know. And maybe go out and shopping, and have a few..."

"Hey, Will, slow down, slow down, 'k. She seemed nice. You talked to her. Ok, it was a life-or-death talk, so it doesn't count much, but you talked to her. Perhaps next time, 'k?"

Willow breathed, face clearing. "Ok."

"So, as inconclusive as we've got, let's go to our next bizarre player from tonight, Miss-I-Have-An-Attitude-Larger-Than-My-Breasts." Buffy asked, mood darkening considerably.

"Faith? She seemed nice," Willow said, rising from the bench. Buffy shot a death-glare at her again. "Oh, Buffy, come on, she was just pushing your buttons, and you played right in her hand."

"What right did she have? She is new in town, nobody knows anything about her except her now dead Watcher, and she comes here and starts insulting ME? As far as we know, she could even not be a Slayer," she said, hands in the air, gesticulating like a maniac.

"She is," came a new voice from the library's door. He-Man entered, the mystic wolf trailing behind him. "I just came back from a small mission, and we had Faith's help in it. She is a Slayer. And she's good, too."

"Well, welcome back, Mr. Man. And what small mission was that?" Giles asked.

"Mr. Giles, please, it's He-Man. And we just cleaned up a nest over Bleekerd and Stein. Around thirty undead."

"It's Giles. But thirty? So many in just one place? That's odd."

"My thoughts exactly. We think someone is planning something."

"We?" Buffy asked.

"Faith and I. She is quite intelligent. I believe that the attitude is just some sort of protection."

"Yeah, right," Buffy muttered.

"Anyway, we think someone is playing something big," he said.

"Any idea who it might be?" Giles asked.

"We searched the entire building afterwards, and we didn't find anything. There were too many trails for WarWolf to follow, so I believe we hit a dead end."

"We can always follow the paper trail from the building. I believe tomorrow we can reconvene to try and find some clues?"

"I'm afraid I won't be able to come. I have some personal business to take care of. But I think my sister might be available," He-Man said. Willow smiled lightly.

"Ok. And where is Ms. Faith?" Giles asked

"That is the reason that I came back, also. I wanted to talk to you three." He-Man sat on the stairs. It was the only thing strong enough to sustain his weight. "Do you know a motel over in Gracy's?"

"That thing? I thought it had been demolished. That thing is a brothel, a dope house and a demolition site all rolled together," Buffy said.

"That's it. Faith is staying there."

"What? Why?" Giles asked.

"I don't know. No money? No friends in town? All of the above?"

"She could stay in your house, Buffy," Willow spoke, and winced at the Slayer's reaction.

"WHAT? ARE YOU NUTS?" she screeched. WarWolf, who was calmly laid on the ground, winced also.

"Just hear me out, Buff. She is another Slayer. She can help you out at home and look out for Dawn. I believe Giles can extend your salary benefits to her, so the extra income wouldn't be a bad thing either. And mostly, you can grow up to be friends."

Buffy thought it over for some time. Since the Angel deal, the Council had folded over her solicitations - aka 'bitching and promising to walk away and let them hanging to dry'- and she now received a good income that paid the food, bills and the occasional shopping. If Giles could extend the 'courtesy' for Faith, it would be nice, and the cash would be pretty much welcome. Dawn also needed new friends, and as hostile as Buffy had been to her, she didn't seem like a bad girl. Just an annoying one, much like Cordelia in her bad days.

"OK, I'll think it over. But answer me one question, He-Man. Why she can't stay with you?"

He-Man didn't miss a beat. "My sister already lives with me, and with WarWolf, it's quite cramped enough as it is. I thought about it, but it wouldn't be nice to her. Willow's idea seems a nice one."

"So, you do have a place in this town. Where is it?" Hah, she would have her answers, whether he liked it or not.

"I'm sorry, Buffy, can't tell you that right now," He rose from the steps, calling WarWolf with a gesture. The wolf followed behind him.

"And who is 'Prince Adam'?" she asked.

He-Man stopped, and turned around. "I won't tell you right now. But I will tell you this; rest assured, it is someone very important, who only wants what is better for mankind," he said, and left for good.

Buffy sat down again, mind more full of questions than before.

- To be continued -