Chapter Three—The Harsh Light of Day
Author's note: The quoted song is "Dilate" by Four Star Mary, lip-synced by the Dingoes in canon. I don't own that either.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Kennedy groaned at the banging on her door, followed by, "Hurry up, babe! I want to get there before all the hot ones are taken!"
Sighing, she knew she had only herself to blame. She had, after all, made that stupid bet with Warren about picking up girls. Now she had to follow through. Giving herself one final look in the mirror, Kennedy made sure that she was hot enough to win the bet. Oh yeah, she thought with a smile. She wore a tight, black tank top that didn't quite cover her midriff along with tight, black leather pants, and black heels. Her hair, still short, although she was growing it out, was gathered back from her face in a complex weave. In short, she looked hot with a capital H. Grabbing a red jacket, the only color she allowed herself tonight, Kennedy went to meet her fate.
She opened the door just as Warren was going to bang on it again. She gave him a look, but needn't have bothered. He was giving her the look of a starved man towards a steak dinner. "Down boy, I'm AC only."
Warren grinned at her, then frowned. "Shit, babe, I haven't got a chance of winning that bet, do I?"
Kennedy shook her head. "Nope. And when you pay up, please make sure to use extra polish when you dust the furniture. Since it's new, it needs that extra touch of care." Giggling, Kennedy lead the way out and down the steps. There she paused, staring at the vehicle in front of her.
"Jeeze, Warren, that's pretty pathetic, don't you think?"
Warren shrugged as if to say, "What?" Then he replied, "Sorry, but it gets me where I'm going." This in reference to the dark red Toyota Corolla, which from its boxy shape, must date at least to the mid-eighties.
Kennedy decided there and then that she was buying a car within the week. She did have a driver's license, after all. It wasn't her fault that she didn't know how to drive, having had chauffeurs all her life to take her places. Maybe she could get Veruca to teach her?
"I swear to God, Warren, if I get anything on me, I'm going to kill you. Got it?" Kennedy slid into the passenger seat, shuddering as her feet were ankle deep in trash.
Warren had the grace to look ashamed as he got in. "Sorry, Ken, I should have cleaned it out before tonight. I was just busy with that idea of using magic to power my blaster. But Andrew couldn't get anything to work. I think we need an object, not a spell. The problem with a spell is that no matter how powerful it-"
Kennedy yawned elaborately, then cracked a fictitious whip. "Enough about that. Onward, Jeeves!"
Warren scowled at her. "You know, that was almost funny before you let it slip that you actually had a chauffeur named Jeeves."
"Sorry."
In companionable silence, they drove to the Bronze, which was all of five miles away. Talk about a small town, Kennedy thought. Warren parked in an alley, which looked to be prime vampire hunting territory. As she got out, Kennedy asked, "So is there a band tonight?"
Warren shrugged. "I think so. Dingoes Ate My Baby should be playing."
"And?"
He shrugged again. "They're okay. I personally think they used to be better, but I'm not sure I'm in the majority."
"Cool."
Kennedy paid her five dollar cover and got her under 21 stamp, which sucked. Bastard Watchers, she thought. The Bronze was... interesting. The first thing she noticed as she walked in was the dance floor that lay between a decent-sized stage and a bar. To one side, there were several couches and chairs. On another, a couple of pool tables. There were stairs leading up to a balcony, which appeared to overlook the dance floor and the stage. So guys could stare down at the cleavage of girls dancing, Kennedy surmised.
The crowd appeared to be a mix of high school and college age kids. And Warren had been right: with the exception of a few hot girls, there was almost no mingling between the two. Which Kennedy didn't mind. She was aiming for a hot college girl of her own.
"What do you want to drink?" Warren asked, looking like he was heading to the bar.
"Vodka tonic."
"Yeah, right. Dream on, Miss Underage."
"Fuck! I hate being underage! Gimme a fuckin' Diet Coke."
Warren was laughing his ass off as he walked off. Moodily, Kennedy stared after him. She decided to stake out a table.
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Warren made his way to the bar, passing several hot girls on the way. Unfortunately, none of them gave him a second glance. He placed his order for drinks with the bartender, then glanced in the mirror behind the bar for two reasons. First, as a Sunnydale alum, he knew better that to take any chances with his fellow clubbers. Luckily, there appeared to be reflections all around. Second, to look over his appearance. Yep, he was so going to lose.
"Mears, who's the girl you came in with?"
Warren turned and somehow kept from groaning. Parker Abrams, possibly the biggest turd in existence, was talking to him. How lucky, he thought sarcastically. Then an idea hit him. You are a bad, bad man, Warren thought in amusement. "That's Kennedy. She's a freshman at UC Sunnydale."
Warren watched Parker's eyes light up with interest. Yep, still an uber sleaze. "She here with you?"
Warren shrugged. "We're friends is all. I mean, I tried... you know? But no dice. She's outta my league."
Parker looked thoughtful. "So you wouldn't mind if I talked to her?"
Warren managed to hide his grin, but it was painful. "Nope. Go ahead. If you want, you can bring her this drink."
Parker looked at the glass. "What is it?"
"Just Diet Coke. She's too young to drink and I'm not getting busted for giving a minor alcohol."
Parker nodded. "Good point." He took the drink from Warren's hand, giving him a grateful look.
Warren nodded, then headed off into the crowd. There had to be at least one girl who wouldn't mind talking to him.
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Kennedy sat at her table, wondering where the fuck Warren was with her Diet Coke. Bad enough she couldn't drink, but she was thirsty as well. Then there was hand holding out a glass to her. Kennedy took the glass, then followed the hand up where it connected to the rest of the guy who gave it to her. A guy not Warren. "Who are you?"
The guy, who Kennedy had to admit was pretty cute, smiled at her. "I'm Parker Abrams. Warren asked me to take your drink to you. He ran into an old friend and was trying to catch up."
Shit! Had Warren already scored while she was wasting time with a guy? Surely not. "Did he?"
Parker sat down next to her without being invited. "Yes. I hope that doesn't bother you. He mentioned you were just friends..." His voice trailed off.
Lord, could he be anymore obvious? "We are. It's cool."
He leaned in a little closer, giving Kennedy a look at soulful dark eyes. "That's great. So, Kennedy, how has your college experience been so far? Are you living off or on campus?"
"I have an apartment a little off campus." Wait a second, Kennedy thought. Is that a vampire, I feel?
He smiled. "I bet that feeling of independence is great, isn't it? Me, I've lived in the dorms here since my freshman year. I've never been bold enough to strike out on my own like that. I really admire that about you."
Kennedy was distracted from the vampire by Parker's line of BS. She stared at him in disbelief. Is there something wrong with my lesbian vibe, she wondered, or is this guy just that clueless? As he continued to drone on and on, Kennedy rapidly figured it was the latter.
The vampire feeling was gone. Hopefully, that didn't mean someone was getting snacked on right then. Kennedy was just about to tell Parker to take a hike after way too much of his crap, when she spotted Warren approaching. And he wasn't alone. Great, Kennedy thought, now I'm going to be his maid for a week.
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Up on stage, the Dingoes had started their set.
"When I see your face
My eyes just dilate
But I can't erase
That I want to violate
Every bit and everything and every part of you..."
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"So, babe, come here often?" Warren smiled at the cute girl in front of him. He'd been surprised at how easy she had been to pick up. She had just walked in, looking around as if to see whether anyone she knew was there. When Warren had walked up and started to talk to her, she had smiled and gone with him to grab a drink. Now they were sitting and talking. Warren was trying to be careful not to screw things up.
"Not really. They won't serve me alcohol and I hate paying for overpriced sugary drinks." Okay, he could see her point.
"Gotcha. Sucks to be underage, doesn't it?" At her fierce expression, Warren knew he'd hit a nerve.
"I"m not underage! I'm... umm... older than I look." She looked eighteen. So maybe she was nineteen or twenty. Still too young to drink.
"It's cool. You're really pretty, you know." Always lead off with a compliment, Warren decided.
"Am I? You really think so?" She leaned in, dark eyes sparkling, so Warren leaned in as well.
"Yes, I do. You're finer than Carrie Fisher in Return of the Jedi." Damn! He really needed to watch those Star Wars references as he saw her confused expression. That girl, Katrina, who'd been in his engineering class, had told him it was the kiss of death. Warren still thought he would be able to get her to go out with him if he were persistent enough. Still, one in the hand was worth two in the bush, he thought, eyeing the hot girl across from him.
"I don't know what that is. Tell me more about how pretty I am." Okay, a little vain, but he could handle that.
"You've got great eyes, a beautiful smile, and a killer bod." Much better than Star Wars.
"Do you want to go back to your place and copulate?" What the fuck?
Warren choked on his drink. "What?" Somehow he kept rum and Coke from dribbling out his nose.
"Copulate. It's when two members of the opposite sex..." Please stop, he thought. Wait, stop? She wants to have sex with me!
Warren waved his hand. "I know what it means. I just... you want to? With me?"
The girl, Anya, smiled at him. "Yes! You're really cute. I like your spiky hair. And you have big hands. They're very manly. And perhaps you will help me get over my conflicted feelings about my almost-boyfriend."
He had big hands? Well, maybe. Warren was more than a little puzzled, but decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth, almost-boyfriend or not. After all, the number of times when he had successfully picked up a girl at the Bronze was exactly twice. Including this time. So he decided to get, while the getting was good.
"Sure thing, Anya. Let's go." Taking her arm, he led her towards the door. As they passed Kennedy, Warren saw that she was still talking to Parker. Shit, maybe I should tell her that he's a douchebag, Warren thought. But Kennedy had said she was strictly chicks only, so she shouldn't be vulnerable to Parker's line of BS.
As he passed Kennedy, he fell back a couple of feet behind Anya. He made a quick gesture with his index fingers, one encircling the other. He moved his finger in and out of the circled one. Kennedy shrugged as if to say, "Who cares?" Ha! Gotcha, Warren thought. Then he saw Anya watching him in one of the mirrors. Uh oh, he thought.
"Who is that girl?" Anya wore a little frown.
"Just a friend."
"Is she?" Okay, Anya was starting to look pissed.
"Sure. I mean she's strictly into chicks, so it's something we have in common, you know?"
Anya's face brightened. "I could see that. She was staring at me. Well, as long as she doesn't want to have sex with me, that's fine."
Warren couldn't help the feeling of disappointment that swept through at the thought of Anya and Kennedy going at it hot and heavy. Oh well, at least I'm going to get laid, he thought with a grin.
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Kennedy felt the feeling again. There was a vampire nearby. Either that or her period had decided to show up two weeks early. Yeah, right. Time to ditch Posable Parker. "Sorry, gotta book. It was nice to meet you, Packer."
The boy didn't look happy. "It's Parker, Kennedy. Can I..." He stopped, looking across the room at someone. "I'll see you later, Kennedy. I just saw a friend."
Kennedy didn't feel any regret as he walked off. She watched him greet another guy, who handed him a pool cue. She got up and headed towards the door. Kennedy was hot on the track of a vampire. Where the hell did it go? Kennedy ran outside and headed towards an alley. Abruptly she stopped as she saw a familiar face. "Warren? I thought you left?"
Warren looked nervous. "I'm about to."
Kennedy stared at the girl with him. "Who's this?"
She held out her hand to Kennedy, shaking it vigorously. "I'm Anya. I don't want to have sex with you."
Kennedy shook her head. Who did the girl think she was? "Ooookay. Warren, whose van is this?" He had been about to get into a large, black van with darkened windows. Kennedy wondered where his little shitty car went.
Warren looked panicked. Then Anya answered, "It's mine. I purchased it with money I made by working hard at the American Dream."
"That's right." Warren still looked panicked, but not as much as a second ago. Maybe he thinks he won't get laid if Anya sees the piece of shit he drives, Kennedy thought.
Kennedy decided she'd had enough of nutty people for one night. "I think I understand. Congrats on winning the bet, by the way. Hey, did either one of you spot someone going this way?"
Warren nodded jerkily. "Sure, she went that way, Ken." He pointed further down the alley.
Kennedy flashed a smile. "Great, thanks."
Running off, she swore she heard Anya say something about him sleeping on the couch if he'd bet on her, but then she was out of earshot. Kennedy pushed her senses out to their fullest extreme. Nothing. Wait. There it was.
Moving as fast as she could through the dark alleyways, Kennedy followed her prey. Then she saw them, a woman with long blonde hair half carrying another person. Kennedy moved forward and stabbed her stake into the back of the blonde, turning her to dust. That takes care of her. She grabbed the guy, who seemed to be coming around, and hustled him back to the Bronze. Once there, she told the bouncer to call him a cab. Time to head home and gear up for her driving lesson tomorrow.
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Bam! Bam! Bam!
Warren groaned. He was exhausted. Last night had been... pretty much the answer to most of his fantasies. Anya had turned out to be insatiable. She just wouldn't stop. And nothing embarrassed her. The things she did with her tongue...
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Warren dragged himself out of bed and moved toward the door. Let it not be her, he thought. He needed at least a day of rest after last night. He was sore in places he'd never been sore before. Warren carefully looked through the peephole, and saw who was outside. Andrew. Shit. Warren so did not want to deal with him right now. He turned away from the door and went back to bed.
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"Hey, Kennedy, still up for your driving lesson?" Veruca asked, leaning on the door frame.
Kennedy looked up. "Hell, yes! Let's do that thang."
Veruca shook her head. Hopefully, this wouldn't be too hard, teaching Kennedy to drive. After all, the girl had amazing coordination. How hard could it be?
Veruca led the girl out to her car, a 1995 Ford Taurus. Not the most glamorous car, but all her parents would spring for upon her high school graduation. "Get in the passenger seat for right now, Ken. I'll drive us somewhere safe for a beginner."
Pulling out, Veruca headed towards the Sunnydale Mall. On a weekday like today, there would be minimal cars and tons of free space. There shouldn't be any problems.
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"Mother fucker! Don't hit that lamp post!" Veruca shouted, terrified. What had she been thinking? Kennedy was completely insane. She'd pushed the gas pedal to the floor as soon as she'd started off.
"I missed it by a mile." Kennedy's confidant smile was only slightly dimmed as she barely missed hitting a concrete parking divider as the vehicle careened across the parking lot.
"Shit! Okay stop. Stop!" Veruca almost grabbed the wheel, but finally the car ground to a halt.
"What did I do that time?"
"Other than scare me half to death? Nothing." Fortunately, Veruca's sarcasm wasn't lost on Kennedy, judging from her return scowl.
"Now, I want you to drive slow. I mean crawl. C. R. A. W. L. Crawl along. No more than five miles per hour. Got that? When the car goes where you steer it, I'll let you increase to ten. Got it?"
"Fine!" Kennedy started off.
"Slower!"
"Fine!"
After that, things calmed down a bit. By the end of the lesson, Veruca still had an intact car. And Kennedy was almost steering straight. Almost being the operative word.
"Okay, next time, you get to go to ten miles per hour. But one press of that accelerator to the floor and Slayer or not, I'm going to kick the shit out of you. Got it?"
Kennedy grinned back, unabashed. "Sure thing, Veruca. So I did good, huh?"
Veruca couldn't help but smile at her jailer. "You did okay. Okay enough to get to go a little faster. But try not to wreck my car. It would be a bummer if I couldn't get around any better than you."
At that, Kennedy gave her a scowl and the finger, but just as quickly grinned again. The girl's mood was mercurial. "Did I tell you about that dick that Warren sicced on me the other night?"
Exchanging places so she could drive home, Veruca shook her head. "No, you didn't. What was his name?"
"Porker Abrams or something like that."
Veruca felt the first stirrings of anger. "Parker Abrams?"
Kennedy nodded. "Yep, that's it."
Veruca almost growled. "Stay away from him. He's trouble with a capital T. The sonuvabitch seduces freshman girls and then dumps them as soon as he screws them, making them think there's something wrong with them."
Kennedy studied Veruca's face. Veruca looked away from that piercing look. "No, I didn't sleep with him. But he nailed Sarah, my old roomie. After that, she pretty much turned into a slut. She thought there was something wrong with her and to prove there wasn't, she hooked up with every guy she could."
Kennedy slowly nodded. "Let me think on it. Maybe we can teach Parker a lesson."
Veruca slowly smiled. "That would be cool. I'd love to see that shit go down."
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Andrew carefully looked both ways. No one he knew was watching, so he judged it safe to enter. Slowly he walked in under the sign that read: "Free Counseling Available"
He was so embarrassed. But he had to go to counseling as part of the deal he had made with the D.A.'s office after he'd got caught shoplifting The Amazing Spider-Man, Issue #300. At $80, it had been way out of his price range, and he simply couldn't resist. Now he had to go to therapy and he was barred from his favorite comic store. Life was just so unfair.
Hopefully, that kid would be there. The one who knew the spells. At least that made the situation a little more bearable. Especially since after this, he had to go to-
Crap! He was going to be late!
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"So, you're finally here." Notty stared at Andrew, who wondered if he should come in. As the older man stepped aside, Andrew decided that was invitation enough. He stepped into the apartment.
"Mr. Notty-"
"Just Notty. Sit down." Waiting for Andrew to sit at the table, Notty paused, "Now, do you know why I wanted to talk with you in private?"
Andrew shook his head. "No, you didn't say. Did you want me to do a spell for you?"
Notty gave Andrew a nasty look. "Absolutely not. You haven't been doing any magic have you?"
Nervously, Andrew replied, "No, of course not. You said not to, so I haven't. Like a Jedi Knight, I keep my word-"
Notty held up his had. "Please stop. I wanted to know how proficient you are in casting spells. Also, I have an idea how you can help me."
Andrew's smiled. If Notty wanted Andrew to show him spell proficiency, he would do so. "What spell would you have me cast, oh great one?" He drew himself up proudly.
Notty just stared at him, causing Andrew to wilt a bit. After a moment, he finally said, "Float a feather."
Andrew frowned. "That isn't worthy of my powers. I'm-"
"Float a feather and I'll let you show me more spells."
Excited, Andrew agreed. "I agree, oh great one." He took the feather that Notty handed him and placed it on the table. Concentrating, Andrew focused on moving the feather. Nothing seemed to be happening. Andrew decided that he needed to apply more magical power. Humming a chant of power under his breath, Andrew drew his immense power up and launched it at the feather!
Which didn't move. Andrew stared at it, crushed. Maybe it was a demon feather, he thought. Over the next thirty minutes, Andrew did everything he could possibly think of to move the feather. He wondered if Notty would care if he summoned a flying demon monkey to move it for him. One glance at Notty's face indicated that he probably would.
Finally, Andrew gave up. His face was streaked with sweat and his head ached from concentrating so hard. "I can't move it," he admitted, ashamed.
Notty nodded. "That's what I thought. You are completely untrained. What I asked you to do is one of the simplest spells that a new witch or wizard learns so that they can strengthen their control of their abilities. In a few minutes, I'll teach you the spell, since you can't move it by your will alone. When you are able to use it well, I'll let you do more smaller spells. If you master those, I'll gradually work you up to larger spells."
Andrew bounced in his seat, excited. "That is wondrous, oh great one. I bow-"
"Andrew, if you call me 'great one' again, I'm going to box your ears. Understand?"
Andrew nodded, although he didn't have the slightest idea what ear boxing was. Still, it sounded painful, and something to be avoided.
"Now, the other thing I wanted is for you to do a job for me. I want to hire you to sort out some potentially magical items I've acquired."
Eager, Andrew leaned forward. "I can do that, o... Notty. What items and where did they come from?"
Notty shrugged. "It's an odd job lot of stuff. I bought it from this fence that deals in stolen magical items. Apparently, he got them from some demon who nicked it from someone's apartment. Most of the stuff looks like junk, but you never know until you look through it. So you'll do it?"
Andrew nodded. Excited, he stated, "I shall endeavor to serve you as a padawan does his Jedi Master."
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Spike slowly lowered the pickaxe. His body ached from digging all day plus he was feeling a might peckish. And horny. "Harmony! Where the hell are you?"
Turning to the room at large, he asked, "Anyone seen that stupid bint?"
Jerry, a nervous look on his face, said, "She took off last night and hasn't been back."
Spike gave him a menacing look. "She took off where?"
Jerry was starting to look scared. "She didn't really say. Just that she was hungry and wanted to go to France."
Spike cursed. "I'll rip out her spine when I find her if she leads the Slayer here. I told everyone no hunting! That means everyone!"
Jerry nodded vigorously. Then he jerked nervously as Spike turned a considering stare on him. "Jerry, me boy, you and I are going out to find that stupid cow. We'll pick up a something to take back to the rest of the boys here." Jerry again nodded.
Spike almost left him behind just for being a yes man. "I think I know where she would go. We'll head there first." Spike stalked towards the exit. He was definitely going to kick Harmony's ass.
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Kennedy stood inside the Bronze, sipping on a Long Island Iced Tea. She'd conned a guy into buying it for her. He hadn't cared how old she was, just that her top was cut low enough to show more than a hint of cleavage. Then she'd danced a couple of dances with him before ditching him. Since she'd let him grind against her ass, Kennedy figured he'd been more than compensated for the drink.
So far the night was a bust (minus the drink). No vampires or demons at all so far. Then she felt them. Two vampires. Getting fainter. Sucking furiously, Kennedy finished her drink in three seconds flat and headed towards the exit.
Hitting the street outside, Kennedy didn't see them right away, so she cast around with her senses. There they were, somewhere on the other side of the Bronze. She was definitely getting better at figuring out directionality. She rounded the building, and she picked what she hoped was the right street leading away from the Bronze. As she ran down the street, the feeling slowly grew stronger, so she knew she'd chosen correctly. Kennedy had already run at least ten blocks, when she finally got a glimpse of her prey. She rounded a corner just in time to see two guys hustling a girl into an alley. Kennedy ran at her top speed towards the alley, drawing a stake while she ran. She stopped just shy of the alley's mouth, then tiptoed in. She could see the two vampires drinking from both sides of the girl's neck, her hands trying futilely to push them away. Kennedy stepped in and staked the one closest to her, turning him into a pile of ash.
"Bloody hell! What the fuck's the matter with you, you crazy bint?" The other vampire, a male with an English accent, came out of game face, dropping his meal. He had platinum blond hair and was dressed all in black, including a long, black, leather duster over the entire outfit. The only other notable thing about him was a scar over his left eye and that he was hotter than hell, with cheekbones to die for. It's a good thing that I'm gay, Kennedy thought absently.
Kennedy decided she couldn't rag him for wearing black since she'd gone that route herself. It was a classic, after all. "Sorry if I interrupted your date, bleach boy. Let me introduce myself. I'm Kennedy, the Vampire Slayer."
He laughed coarsely. "Yeah, right. Strikes fear in the hearts of no one, that does." In a falsetto voice, "I'm Kennedy, the Vampire Slayer. Fear me!" Back to normal, he said, "You ain't got what it takes to be a Slayer. Now, the Slayer, she..."
Did all hot guys have to be dicks, vampires or not? Kennedy, pissed off, kicked the blond pain-in-the-ass squarely in the balls with her pointed shoes. He lifted a foot off the ground, before collapsing into a heap. "Bleedin' hell. I'm going to rip off your head and drink straight from your brainstem, I am. They'll be findin' your body parts for days." He snarled, and put his game face back on.
Kennedy went to kick him again, only to find her foot grabbed and herself completely airborne. She hit the alley wall behind her with a grunt. Immediately, she ducked aside, narrowly avoiding the foot that pulverized brick where her face had been a half second ago. Kennedy tried to leg sweep the vampire, but he easily leaped over her leg.
Smiling now, the vampire advanced on her. "Well, well, if it isn't a Slayer, after all. Who died and made you, I wonder. Wouldn't be that dark-haired chit, would it? Doesn't matter. Just means I get my third Slayer a few days early." They exchanged some blows with Kennedy getting the worst of it, ending up on her ass again.
Kennedy managed to roll backwards to her feet. The vamp's punches and kicks had packed serious power behind them. Additionally, he was one hell of a hand to hand fighter. She decided to try to find out something about him. "Third Slayer? I think you're delusional, blondie."
He grinned at her demonically. "I'm Spike, darlin'. You'll be remembering that name for the thirty seconds it's going to take to kill you."
Spike? Holy shit! It was William the Bloody. He had killed two Slayers, one in China during the Boxer Rebellion and one in New York City only a few years back. He was considered one of the most dangerous vampires alive... er, undead. Notty had cautioned her that if she ever ran into him, to be extremely careful and not to underestimate him.
"Heard of me, 'ave you? I'm not surprised. Goin' to run away? No? Then let's dance, darlin'."
Kennedy kept her stake in her hand as she fought the blond-haired demon. She blocked several punches, but took almost as many as she blocked, without getting one in herself. Spike was scarily good. Kennedy had already taken several blows that were more powerful than any vampire's she'd faced before. She was starting to worry when she spotted it. A tell. Kennedy saw him drop his left hand every time he threw a spinning backfist with his right.
Kennedy wiped her bloody nose and grimaced. Okay, she had a plan. Now to put it into effect. She took another couple of punches, then avoided the next blow, setting up another spinning backfist, which Spike obligingly delivered.
Ducking beneath the blow, Kennedy kicked Spike's left knee in the side, taking him off his feet. He'd managed to turn his knee just enough to avoid having his tendons torn apart. Spike did have to brace himself with his arm to get back to his feet and as he did so, Kennedy kicked down at it viciously with her foot, gratified at the muffled cracking sound it made as the radial snapped. Then Spike grabbed her ankle with his good hand and bounced her off the wall again.
Spike staggered to his feet in front of her, holding his right arm. "Bloody bitch! When I get the Gem of Amara, I'm going to bathe in your blood, Slayer." His face was a picture of rage.
Kennedy made a circling motion with her index finger. "Big whoop," she said sarcastically.
She watched with hidden relief as Spike ran off. After he was gone, she sat down, clutching her ribs. She had at least one broken, maybe two. That last bounce off the wall hadn't done them any good at all. After a moment, she stood back up and staggered to where Spike's victim lay. The girl was still alive, but not by much. Kennedy managed to get her into a fireman's lift over her shoulder, and walked her towards a less uninhabited part of town. Her ribs hurt with every step she took. Kennedy was conscious of hungry eyes on them both, but whatever it was didn't have the courage to come after even a wounded Slayer. From the way it felt to her Slayer sense, it was probably only a very low-level demon.
Finally, after what felt like hours, but was probably only a handful of minutes, Kennedy found a convenience store. She dropped her burden outside by the phones, groaning as her ribs twinged. Grabbing the handset, she dialed 911. In a ditzy, valley girl dialect, Kennedy exclaimed, "Oh my God! There's been an animal attack! Right here! Oh my God! The girl's completely bleeding. You'd better send an ambulance, like right now, you know? I mean, like seriously!"
Kennedy hung up. She would wait for the ambulance to arrive somewhere other than right here. Then she was heading over to Notty's. The Gem of Amara that Spike had mentioned sounded vaguely familiar, but she couldn't pin it down. Hopefully, Notty would be able to.
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Notty put the last piece of tape in place, fully immobilizing Kennedy's ribs. Right now, she was cursing one of her abilities. The no drugs thing was a real bummer when you were hurt. Notty did have morphine available, but had judged her injuries to be insufficiently painful as to warrant its use. How did he know, Kennedy thought resentfully, I'm the one that's hurt. The only good thing was that she would be good as new within a day or so.
Notty began, "You're certain about the vampire's identification, Kennedy? William the Bloody?"
Kennedy nodded wearily. "Yep. He was the real deal. I've never faced a vampire that was so tough. And he hit like a pile driver."
Notty nodded thoughtfully. "Well, you haven't faced any master-level vampires yet until now. While Spike is young, he is of that caliber. That, coupled with the fact he has slain two slayers, makes him is a formidable foe, indeed."
"Tell that to my ribs. What about this Gem of Amara?"
"Yes, well, frankly, that's a vampire myth, Kennedy. It's supposedly a gem set into a piece of jewelry, most likely a ring, that protects vampires from all of the things that can kill them. A kind of 'Holy Grail' for vampires. I don't believe it truly exists."
"So a vampire of Spike's caliber just happens to be in Boca del Infierno looking for something that doesn't exist? Pull the other one, Notty. The last thing I can afford to do is pretend that the ring doesn't exist when it might."
"Sunnydale is honeycombed with caves, Kennedy. It is unlikely you'll be able to find it if you searched. Perhaps Warren could be of assistance?"
Kennedy grimaced. "Yeah, maybe. If I want to blow something up. I'll figure something out."
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Warren rolled over in the bed. That had been insane. He'd never imagined sex could be so... intense. Incredibly intense. The object of his musing was getting dressed. He started to get up, but after something down low twinged, decided to just lay there basking in the afterglow.
Then Anya began speaking, "Warren, that was acceptable intercourse. I do want you to work on your stamina. I know some tricks along those lines. Now, I am going to assume a standing Friday night date. That means we go out, not just stay here and have sex. Also, I think this place needs to be cleaned up. There are acceptable boyfriend standards, and this place falls very short of that. Further..."
Warren interrupted, "Anya, baby, the date thing's fine. We can have sex after the date. Plus I'll get the apartment cleaned up. I promise. Let's not get too extreme on what we expect from one another, okay?"
Anya gave him a considering look, then finally nodded. "Agreed. We'll talk about the rest of the requirements later." With that, she grabbed her purse and left.
Laying back down, Warren thanked God that he could sleep in until 11:00 am tomorrow.
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Bam! Bam! Bam!
Warren groaned. He was exhausted. Last night had been... once again pretty much the answer to most of his fantasies.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
"I'm coming! I'm coming!" Let it not be her, Warren thought. He still needed at least a day of rest after last night, which he hadn't gotten the day before. He was sore in even more places. Warren carefully looked through the peephole, but someone had their finger over it. He was just about to go back to bed, when the pounding resumed.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Damn, it sounded like the door might fall off its hinges. Warren flung it open, then stared at the small, dark-haired figure who walked in past him.
"Geeze, Warren, this place is a pig sty. You seriously expect me to clean it?" Kennedy didn't look happy, which was too bad. For her that is.
"Kennedy, do you know what time it is?" Time to go back to sleep, Warren though grumpily.
"It's 7:10 AM. I need your help."
"What? Really? Err... what with?" Warren's emotions ran the gamut from excitement to apprehension.
"With a vampire. See there's this nasty vampire named Spike who I ran into last night outside the Bronze. I managed to fight him off, but he almost beat me. And he was whining on about something called the 'Gem of Amara'. Notty says it's supposed to make a vampire invincible."
"Err... what do you need from me?"
"If this vampire's invincible, he probably can't be killed with a stake and can come after me in sunlight. Not something I want to see happen, know what I mean? If you have anything that could help even things up, I would be grateful."
Warren smiled. "How grat-"
"I won't kick your ass for undressing me with your eyes, Warren."
"Jesus, Kennedy, you're no fun. I wasn't even implying that. Okay, I was, but I was joking. Besides, I have a girl now."
"Little miss doesn't want to have sex with me?"
Warren shook his head, mystified. "I don't know what you're talking about, Kennedy. It's not as if you've met."
Kennedy started to open her mouth, then stopped. She visibly counted to ten, then said, "Look, you hooked up with Anya and won the bet. It sucked, you siccing Romeo on me, but all's fair, right? But let's not worry about that just yet. Do you have any ideas?"
Warren was still mystified. How did she know Anya's name? Then he dismissed it and concentrated on what Kennedy needed. I wonder if the net launcher would work, he thought. What he really wished was that he could get his blaster to work. Now that would be waayyy cool. "Can you give me some time, Kennedy? I need to look at some stuff."
Kennedy nodded. "Sure, but don't take too long. The last thing I want to do is run into this guy again without some trick up my sleeve."
Warren smiled. "I'll have you something by this afternoon. By the way, don't forget to swing by after classes and clean up the place. Unless you want to add a couple of days onto our bet... Please don't hurt me." Kennedy looked mad enough to kill him, Warren thought.
Kennedy stomped off without saying goodbye. Warren considered her retreating back thoughtfully... okay, her butt, but who's counting? That vamp must have her more jittery than she let on, he thought. Closing his door, he eyed his bedroom with regret before heading over to his work station to try to figure something out.
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Kennedy stared at Warren with a murderous look on her face. "I swear to God, Warren, you cop even one feel, I'm going to tear you to tiny little pieces. Got it?"
Warren almost backed away, even with Kennedy completely tangled in the ropes. "I said I was sorry, Kennedy. I guess the net launcher needs more perfecting."
"Just get me the fuck loose!"
Andrew, with silly grin, asked, "Warren, can I shoot Kennedy with the net launcher next time?"
Kennedy sent him a stare that was twice as murderous as the one she'd sent Warren. "Andrew, if you're still here when I get loose, I'm going to go through your backpack and destroy anything Star Wars related. Comprendo?"
Andrew gasped. Affronted, he said haughtily, "If you do that, I won't use the spell I learned to help Warren fix the blaster."
Warren stopped unfastening Kennedy to stare at Andrew. "You serious, dude? You figure out a spell?"
Andrew nodded, excited. "I, Andrew the Wise, have devised a spell that is a wondrous mix of power and delicacy that is guaranteed to allow the blaster to fire at least twice."
Warren's heart sank. "That's it?"
Andrew pouted. "That's one more time than it can now. If you could find me a powerful magical item, I could use it to power a blaster. I'm almost certain I could. I think so. Well, maybe."
Kennedy, from her position on the floor, said, "Less talking, more freeing."
Warren nodded and went back to freeing her. Finally, he was done. "Okay, babe, there you... eep!"
Kennedy grabbed him the shirt, lifting him a good six inches off the ground with one hand. "Don't ever do that again. Ever!"
Warren nodded. "I said I was sorry, Kennedy. You're not still mad about the other night at the Bronze, are you."
Kennedy slowly set him back down. Sighing, she shook her head no, then nodded yes, then shrugged. "Maybe. I don't know. I still think you cheated. But I lost, so fair's fair. I'll be over in a day or two to clean up."
Warren shrugged. "Look, if it bothers you that much, don't sweat it. I did get Anya out of the deal. Talk about someone who's a demon in the sack. Man!"
Kennedy gave him a calculating look. "I'd be careful if I were you, Warren. When you say 'demon in the sack' here in Sunnydale, there's a good chance you might be literally, rather than figuratively, right."
Warren swallowed nervously. He'd wondered about that actually. Anya was a pretty strange girl. But what a sexy body. And that thing she did with her tongue. Jesus, he got a hard on just thinking about it.
"Down, boy." Kennedy said, stepping away from him. She looked at Andrew, sitting in a chair a few feet away. "Were you serious about knowing a spell?"
Andrew got up out of the chair, rising to his full height of five feet, eight inches. "I, Andrew the Wise, master of magic-"
Kennedy sighed. "Andrew, do you want me to hurt you?"
Andrew sat back down, deflated. "No."
"Do you know a spell?"
"Yes, but Grand Moff Tarkin won't want me to cast it. He said no more magic without permission." He glanced at Warren as if to see if he got the comparison.
Warren nodded, thinking the comparison of Notty to Grand Moff Tarkin was pretty fair. After all, they were both dangerous men with power. And spoke with British accents. And were tall, thin, and mean. Thinking hard about the comparison, he almost missed Kennedy's next comment.
"Okay, Andrew, do it. I give you permission. Get that spell out and get that blaster working."
The following day...
Kennedy was done with class. Thank God. Now if she could just figure out a way to find Spike, kill him, and grab the Gem of Amara, she might actually be able to crack a smile. Sighing, she wondered where the hell Warren was. They'd arranged to meet in the southwest corner of the quad today so he could give her the weapon. He should have been here by now.
Yesterday, when he had told her he would have something by that afternoon, he had been full of it. That net launcher... It had sucked hard. Kennedy had no doubt the guy was almost as smart as he thought he was, but he still needed to learn that if you made someone a promise, follow through. Now she was hanging out in the wind.
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"Do you have it?" Warren demanded as he caught sight of Andrew. He'd been waiting for the dweeb for the past hour and a half. Now Andrew had finally arrived at Warren's apartment.
After last night's fiasco, Warren had been more determined than ever to figure out something to help Kennedy with. His freeze ray and invisibility ray both would have worked fine, assuming he could find a reliable power source and in the case of the invisibility ray, an enormous diamond. Since he had neither, the point was moot.
When Andrew had said he knew a spell that could get at least two shots out of a blaster, Warren had been slightly interested. He'd let Andrew hang around for a bit even though he'd left the spell information and its components at home. The two of them had wasted some time playing video games, then Andrew had had an epiphany. He said he knew how to use a magical item to power the blaster. He was one hundred percent sure it would work. Such an item would provide almost unlimited shots. He'd even outlined to Warren exactly how it should work. They had both been so elated they had broken out the imitation light sabers and had an impromptu duel.
Unfortunately, their elation had only lasted until Warren had realized that they had no powerful magical objects. In point of fact, something of that nature might be even harder to get a hold of than a huge diamond. Andrew had been out of ideas as well, although he had mentioned that if Kennedy killed Spike, they could ask her for the Gem of Amara. Warren had thought that another pretty good idea, although realistically, the idea of Kennedy giving him a magical gem that made vampires invincible seemed slight. Regardless, for now, they were stuck powering a blaster up and using a spell on it afterwards as their best bet.
"Warren! Look! I'm here! I... who's that?" Andrew stopped and stared at Warren's other guest, who slowly unwound from the chair she was sitting in and walked up. Anya apparently didn't think much of Andrew from her frown of annoyance, but held out her hand anyway.
"I'm Anya. You must be Andrew. Unfortunately, Warren told me all about you. Do you still pee when you get excited?"
"Warren! You weren't supposed to tell! You have me your sacred word as an honorary Jedi!"
"Andrew! For God's sake, don't be a dweeb." The last thing Warren wanted was for Anya to think he was a nerd. She had come over and basically taken his mind off Kennedy's problem for over two hours. It would have been even longer, but he'd started getting sore again after that long. "Did you bring it?"
Andrew drew himself up. "I, Andrew the Wise," he ignored the raspberry that Anya blew, "did in fact accomplish my mission. Here it is, the Spell of Valdar! Ta da!"
Warren sighed. "Okay, get ready to cast it."
Apprehensively, Anya asked, "What spell did you say?"
"The Spell of Valdar!" Andrew showed even more enthusiasm the second time he said it.
Anya edged away. "Are you sure that's safe? Isn't there a pretty good chance it'll go kablooey?"
Andrew beamed, his earlier animosity gone. "Fair maiden, I, Andrew the Wise, will keep you safe. My skill at magic is legendary."
Anya moved towards the door. "I'm going to wait outside for a bit. Just call me when you're done casting the spell. Actually, wait ten minutes after you're done casting the spell, then call me." With that, she bolted out the door.
It wasn't exactly reassuring that Anya had disappeared, but Warren decided to take a chance. "Andrew, get ready to cast the spell. Don't argue. I'm going to use it to power the blaster-" Warren put his fingers in his ears for a moment. Finally, he took them out as Andrew was winding down.
"...and I'll pledge to serve you, Master, for all of my days if you will just give unto me, Andrew the Wise, a blessed weapon such as this. I-"
Warren growled, "Cast. The. Spell." Something finally managed to get through to Andrew because after one apprehensive look, he started to get ready.
"I'm ready, Captain!" Andrew announced. He looked so excited he was in danger of peeing his pants again. Not that Warren felt any less excited.
Warren's eyes gleamed with an answering excitement. "Then give her all she's got, Mr. Sulu!"
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Screw it, Kennedy decided, she was heading home. Warren was going to disappoint her again. That was when she felt it. A vampire. Where no vampire could possibly be, since the entire quad area was bright and sunny.
"Hello, Slayer. I hope you've been keeping it warm for me."
Kennedy slowly turned around. Spike stood there, in the sunshine, leering at her. With a lascivious smile, he said, "Cat got your tongue? Don't worry, I'll tear it out here in a bit myself. Maybe I'll even make you eat it. After I screw your brains out."
Somehow Kennedy gathered the shreds of her courage and fired back, "Sorry, Billy Boy, I'm strictly into chicks. No offense, but I doubt you have what it takes to rev my engine. So why don't you crawl back into your slime hole?"
"That it? That the best you can do? Did you know they say that a Slayer's marrow tastes almost as good as her blood? I didn't check that with the two I killed. I figure I'll use you for, what do they call it? Oh yeah, experimental data." He swaggered as he approached.
Kennedy could see the ring on his finger. That must be it, she thought. He certainly hadn't been wearing it the night before. I wonder why the idiot didn't just swallow it, Kennedy thought absently. Well, her only chance was to get the ring from Spike. Hopefully, her ribs had healed enough to take a new beating.
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Riley walked through the quad, enjoying the sunshine. He had a certain girl on his mind. He wasn't sure if he was actually going to ask her out or not. But it was interesting thinking about it.
It was nice to have one normal thing in his life. Being an undercover demon hunter for a secret government agency wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. Between risking your life almost every night, the bruises, and all of the other similar perks that the job came with, Riley wasn't sure how much longer he wanted to continue with the Initiative. They'd already had a sixty percent wash out rate for the kill and capture teams. If Riley became just one more, he didn't think it would significantly impact things.
But, of course, there were his friends to consider. Riley thought that Graham was about ready to call it quits as well and request a transfer. Forrest, on the other hand, was entirely too gung-ho and still enjoyed the job. Although that might be because he got to beat the crap out of all different kinds of creatures. For a man from the mean streets of Detroit, that was no small perk. Riley actually preferred those assignments that didn't involve blood, guts, and the daily risk of dying to those that did.
As a matter of fac... Riley paused. He saw students hurrying away from a disturbance over at one remote corner of the quad. Moving forward, he saw two people fighting. The first, a platinum blond man, was dressed all in black and wore a long, leather duster. The other, was... Kennedy!
Riley immediately saw that Kennedy was losing. Despite her throwing punches that were unbelievably fast and powerful, the blond man was winning. He seemed to absorb unbelievable amounts of punishment without flinching. Then Riley saw something impossible: Kennedy stabbed the blond in the chest with what looked like a wooden stake. Nothing happened beyond the hole almost instantly healing.
Riley could tell Kennedy was in trouble. He couldn't tell if the thing she was fighting was a demon, vampire, or something in between. Pulling his kiyoga out of his pocket, Riley rapped it on a nearby tree to release the magnet, then, moving forward, swung it viciously at the demon's head. The weighted end swung out lightning fast and struck with satisfying force right at the base of the demon's skull, visibly caving it in and catapulting the demon forward past Kennedy.
Then Riley saw the impossible: The demon got up and turned towards him, its head visibly healing in front of his eyes. The thing now wore the familiar face of a vampire, all golden eyes, jutting brow, and fangs. Then it spoke. "Bloody hell, Slayer, how many more tricks are you going to pull out of your sleeve? Nancy boy here ain't going to do you any good. I'm going to kill 'im right in front of you. Then I'm going to kill you."
"Broken record, Spike, broken record," Kennedy taunted, despite being obviously injured. Riley winced as he saw all of the cuts and bruises she sported. Additionally, she held an obviously broken arm next to her body, as if she were protecting both it and her ribs.
Riley moved up beside her, ready to deal with the vampire. But he was still taken off guard by its blinding speed as it lunged at him. It took him off his feet despite Riley getting another good swing in on its head. The kiyoga bounced off its skull with a crunching sound, but it didn't falter. As it held him down, the vampire began to choke him. His vision was blackening as air became the most necessary thing on earth to Riley. He thought he saw Kennedy attack again, but Spike kicked her away and continued to choke him.
Then Spike was off of him and shaking and spasming on the ground nearby. Riley managed to get to his hands and knees. He saw the oddest sight yet. A man who looked a year or two younger than himself was holding an oddball weapon that looked very similar to a Star Wars blaster. Accompanying him was a kid who looked to still be in high school. And they were arguing. An attractive, dark-haired, girl hung back from them, looking warily at the object of their argument.
"I told you we shouldn't have taken the time to make it look genuine! That sinkhole Anya saw on the news was a dead giveaway that Spike had the gem!"
"But it was time well spent. We arrived just in the nick of time like heroes! We're like the Millennium Falcon in Star Wars! You know, when Han flies back in and takes out Darth Vader right as he is about to kill Luke-"
"Han didn't take out Darth Vader! His own wingman did that when Han-"
The girl, who had been silent up until now, tapped on the older of the two's left shoulder and said helpfully, "He's getting up."
"Shit!"
Bzzzzzttttzzzzpppp! A blast of blinding white lightning burst from the barrel of the 'blaster'. Riley couldn't believe it. That looked like one of the new Initiative blasters, except a lot more powerful. How had this nerd gotten his hands on it? Then he watched, shocked, as the blaster started to smoke and spark. Okay, maybe not quite like one of our blasters, Riley thought. He dropped to his stomach on the ground.
"Get rid of it!"
"I am!" The one who had fired the gun took it and threw it as far as he could in the direction of the center of the quad, where it exploded in a flash of light and a huge BOOM. It left a good-sized crater in the ground, and a small blast wave struck them. Riley shook his head. Luckily, the fight had caused the quad to completely clear, otherwise the weapon would have done more than blow a huge hole in the ground.
Riley got back to his knees in time to see the vampire was still spasming, his entire nervous system fried. Kennedy, who had been lying on her back watching, managed to stagger to her feet. Drawing a knife, she proceeded to cut a finger off the vampire's hand, on which a ring lay. That drew an anguished scream from the vampire. One that got louder as she took the same knife and casually buried it up to the hilt in the vamp's crotch. Leaving it there, she pulled the coat off of the vamp and got up, holding it over one arm. The vamp started to smoke. Kennedy spat something that Riley couldn't hear, then turned and started to walk towards him.
Riley instinctively flinched, as did the two nerds, at her act. The vampire, who tried to get up, clutching his bleeding crotch, burst into flame and almost immediately turned into ash, blowing away in the wind. Kennedy walked to Riley, and with her good arm, helped him to his feet.
Riley asked, "Who are you people?"
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Kennedy could feel herself tottering. Her helping the tall TA up had pretty much shot the last of her adrenaline-fueled strength. She was going to fall over any minute. That had been the most vicious and brutal fight of her admittedly short slaying career. Which reminded her.
Ignoring Riley's question, she staggered over to Warren, who watched her with wary eyes. Kennedy grabbed him and pulled him into a deep, passionate kiss. That seemed like the least she could do for his saving her life.
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Warren managed to hang onto Kennedy as she went limp in his arms. Kennedy was completely out. She'd laid one hell of a kiss on him first, though. That kiss had rekindled the fires that Anya had burned-
Shit! Anya was standing right behind him! Turning, Warren met her glare.
"So, you are two-timing me with that cheap hussy! I should swear such vengeance upon you-"
Warren held up his hand placatingly. "Anya, baby, she kissed me. I didn't kiss her. Besides it was probably just gratitude. I did just save her life, after all."
"We saved her life!" Andrew exclaimed self-importantly, then drooped as he appeared to realize no one was listening to him.
Warren continued without missing a beat, "I promise you that she's a lesbian. You're more likely to have sex with her than I am no matter how many times I save her life." Again he ignored Andrew's "We!" Eyeing Anya, Warren saw her expression soften.
"Okay, I believe you, Warren." She then turned a considering eye on the girl he held. "You know, that was a pretty good bit of vengeance she enacted against Spike just now by stabbing him in the genitals, stealing his coat, and leaving him to burn alive in the sunshine. Not bad for an amateur."
From behind Warren, he heard the guy who had been helping Kennedy say in a much stronger voice, "Who are you people? I want an answer, now!"
Warren looked at the guy. If he hadn't just shot one of the most vicious vampires alive, not once, but twice with his wireless taser, which had subsequently exploded, he might have been intimidated by the guy's expression. Since he had, he wasn't. Well, not too much, anyway.
"We are rogue demon-hunters who are on a quest to aid the Chosen One. Gather round, my friend, and I will tell you a story about the creature known as the Vampire-"
"Andrew! Shut the hell up! Don't share with the civilian!" Warren had just enough time to realize that Kennedy was no longer unconscious when she joined him in his exclamation.
"Zip it, Andrew! And don't make me tell you again! Or else!" Kennedy snarled, tottering erect.
Warren shook his head. What the hell was wrong with the kid, anyway?
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Kennedy still felt woozy, but her head was clearing. Her injuries were already healing, thanks to being the Slayer. Still, she needed to find Notty and get thoroughly checked out. Luckily, her radial, while fractured, hadn't completely broken in two. It should heal within a day or two provided she was careful. Just then, her musings were interrupted by an irate voice behind her.
"I demand to know who you people are in the name of the government of the United States of America!" Riley appeared to just then realize what he had said. He looked so horrified that Kennedy wanted to reassure him that everything would be all right. Unfortunately, she didn't get a chance. Grabbing his exotic club, Riley took one last wide-eyed look at them, then ran off.
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Riley knew he had to report what had happened immediately. The way those people had handled the situation had been surreal. Kennedy had been beyond amazing, despite ultimately losing to that invincible vampire. Then the two... Riley could only call them nerds, had been so calm and matter-of-fact about the entire thing. They'd been arguing about Star Wars, for God's sake! While the vampire was still alive! Then one had casually shot it again with that damn super blaster, which had subsequently blown up. After that, the other girl had so calmly critiqued the way Kennedy had killed the vampire, that Riley had been dumbfounded. The final straw had been the high school kid giving Riley a completely nonsense answer. It had pissed him off so much that he'd blurted out the first threat he could think of to get them to give him a real answer.
Riley knew he was terrible at keeping secrets, despite extensive training. He had carefully avoided becoming close to anyone just for that reason. Socializing with only his own kind, Marines, had allowed him to maintain security. Now he was in the shit. Or was he?
Slowing down, Riley began to think. That group of... whatever the hell they were, probably weren't going to tell anyone about what had happened. They had worked quickly to shut up their most voluble member. Riley knew he should tell Dr. Walsh, the base commander, what had happened. But maybe he wouldn't. Was it because he feared what would happen to him if he did? Thinking it over, Riley decided that wasn't it. It was her. Kennedy. The vampire had called her 'the Slayer.' Whatever else she was, she was hell on wheels against vampires. And maybe more.
Riley remembered the stories, whispered by some of their captures. Tales of the Slayer. So many of them had asked, in surprisingly understandable English, as they were forced into a cell, if Riley and his men were working with the Slayer. The boogieman, Forrest said. A myth. But maybe not. Maybe this Kennedy was in fact the Slayer. It would be one more surprise that Sunnydale had to offer. Riley decided to keep things to himself for now, but to keep an eye on them. If something happened that he needed to deal with, he would do it then.
The next day...
Kennedy stalked through the hallways of the student union, looking for the right lounge. As she walked, she tried to ignore her itchy arm. The bone was healed, well mostly. But damn, it itched. Unfortunately, it was so deep inside that she couldn't scratch it and make it better. Her ribs still ached, but at least they didn't itch.
Everything had worked out okay in the end. Warren had managed to build a hell of a weapon with Andrew's help, even if it was still only good for two shots. He promised a better version very soon. One that hopefully wouldn't blow up no matter how many shots were fired.
Despite the success of their fight with Spike, Notty had been less than happy. Especially, once he had found out exactly how Warren had gotten the blaster to work. Apparently, the spell Andrew used was more than a little hazardous and far beyond his current skill level. Personally, Kennedy just didn't think it was that big of a deal. No one had died, after all, well except possibly for some worms. Well, and Spike. Notty had gone ballistic despite the lofty pronouncement from Andrew that he had gotten permission from Kennedy to cast his spell. Kennedy had had to do some fast talking with her Watcher to keep him from taking Andrew by the throat and choking him.
Unfortunately, Notty's unhappiness had needed an outlet. Which is why Kennedy was here right now. Notty had decided they needed some additional magical help to keep an eye on Andrew, even though she had given him permission to cast the spell for the blaster. He'd found out about a group that was meeting at the UC Sunnydale campus. A Wicca group to be exact. So he'd dispatched Kennedy to investigate. Whee.
And there wasn't anyone here. Great. She'd missed it. Spotting a girl still gathering up stuff that might be meeting-related, Kennedy decided to talk to her.
"Hi. I'm Kennedy. Did I miss the Wicca meeting?"
The girl, a blonde, blushed as she looked up at Kennedy from where she was kneeling. Kennedy wanted to tell her to pull her hair out of the way of what might be a pretty face. "I-I-I'm sorry, but you did. D-d-did you want to know anything about the group?"
The girl seemed to get her first real look at Kennedy at that moment. Instead of blushing, she went pale, and stared intently. While the shy thing was cute, the stalker thing wasn't. Kennedy got a little snippy. "Just if any of them are witches?"
"W-w-witches? W-w-we're not w-w-witches. That's silly."
Kennedy frowned. "Do you have a name? I might as well know to whom I'm talking."
"T-t-tara."
Kennedy leaned in close to Tara and smiled a sultry smile. "So when's the next meeting, Tara?"
The girl's face flamed anew. She got out, "N-n-next week."
Shit! "That's cool. If I need to find you, where do I look?"
The crimson of Tara's face deepened still further. Kennedy feared for her blood pressure. "I-I-I live in Mercer Dorm, room 237."
Grinning, Kennedy moved back. Yep, she still had it. "Bye now, Tara."
As Kennedy walked off, Tara whispered, "B-b-bye, Kennedy."
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Tara Maclay watched the girl, who'd said her name was Kennedy, walk off. She felt stunned, as if someone had struck her, hard, across the face. Kennedy was so incredibly cute and confident. Watching her stalk back in the direction from which she came, Tara was hard put not to stare at the girl's butt shown off by skintight jeans. Beyond her physical attractiveness, though, her aura had flared like a nova, all swirling reds and yellows. So much power existed in such a small package. Tara wished she'd made a better impression on her, but her stuttering had once again made her look like a fool.
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Kennedy knocked on Warren's door a second time. If he didn't answer the door right now...
It opened. "Hello, Kennedy." Anya's smile looked forced.
"Hey, Anya. Warren home?"
"No, but he'll be back in an hour and we're going to have sex."
Kennedy blinked. Overshare, she thought fastidiously. "I was just coming to clean, but if he's gone-"
"No, no, come in. Warren said for me to let you in and have you clean up things. Just be gone before he gets home. I'm still not sure why you are cleaning Warren's apartment. I have sex with him and you don't see me cleaning."
Kennedy gave Anya a sickly smile as she walked in. "Well, I owe him for incapacitating Spike for me." Anya eyed her skeptically, but let her comment stand unchallenged.
Kennedy's heart sank as she contemplated cleaning the apartment. Her Slayer healing had taken care of all of her injuries, which was good. If only it came with a cleaning package built in. Surveying the apartment, she almost groaned aloud. It was... horrific. Kennedy had seen slime demons that were cleaner. Dirty clothes and dishes covered the floors, furnishings, and counters. Pizza boxes, fast food bags, and empty drink cups were stacked up everywhere. What wasn't covered in debris or detritus was covered in dust. Kennedy figured she would be lucky to get the entire apartment cleaned one complete time during her week's servitude.
"What are you waiting for? Clean, clean." Anya waved at her impatiently. Gritting her teeth, Kennedy kept a smile on her face.
"I'm just trying to figure where to start," Kennedy said.
"That's easy. Gather up all of the laundry and dump it in those laundry baskets. Then start a load of laundry. He's got about ten or so that need to be done. Next, grab the trash can and pick up everything. After that, throw all of the dishes in the dishwasher and turn it on. Then-"
"Anya, I'm only here for an hour," Kennedy reminded her.
Anya gave her a haughty stare. "Since you're the Slayer, I would think you could work faster than anyone else. So go, work. I'll just keep watching this great show." With that, the strange girl sat back on the couch in the one cleared space in the room and went back to watching The Price Is Right on Warren's TV.
Somehow, Kennedy resisted strangling the girl and got to work. She managed to do everything on Anya's initial list before she heard keys in the door. Kennedy didn't even wait for Anya's "Leave so we can have sex" before she flashed past Warren, carrying two bags of trash, which she dropped into the apartment complex's dumpster before heading up to her apartment to take a shower. Only six more days of cleaning left. Joy.