Who Are You?
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Chapter 15 – Lessons
Kym walked up and down in front of the group, wondering where to start. Kennedy was leaned against a wall, thinking also.
'Okay.' Kym said at last. 'We'll start with the basics. What's the first rule of slaying?' she asked.
'You! What do you think? Come on, take a guess.' She said, pointing to Ray.
'Err, kill your opponent?' he said with a shrug. Kym shook her head.
'Nope. You're opponent could be a possessed friend. An ally. Bad move if you kill them.' she said. Ray nodded.
'You! Have a guess!' she said again, pointing to Ian this time.
'Find a weapon as fast as you can?' he tried. Kym shook her head again.
'Even more simple than that. Good thinking, though. You're opponent will usually have some kind of weapon, even if it's just brute force and strength.' She said.
'Give them a hint, Kym!' Kennedy called over to her. Kym smirked.
'Okay fine. You're out in the middle of nowhere with a group of…I dunno, demons after you, right? You have no weapon, no map, no transport, no communication, and no allies in miles and you really don't know what to do. You can only take cover, right? What do you aim to do?' she asked. 'YOU!'
She had pointed to Tyson.
'Umm, find food?' he suggested.
Kym smirked. 'Nope but that does help. However, it is linked to the answer.' She said. 'He's closer than the other two.'
Johnny smirked. 'Run as fast as you can?' he suggested. Kym shook her head.
Mariah frowned. 'Don't loose your head?' she tried.
Kym shook her head. 'Do y'all give up?' she asked. They all nodded. She smirked.
'First rule of slaying: Don't die.' She said.
'Second rule of slaying: Kick hell's ass.' Kennedy added. Kym smirked.
'Damn straight, Kenny. Help me out here, would ya?' she asked. Kennedy walked over to her partner, smirking at the group.
'Okay, now that you know the first two rules of slaying, we'll work on answering your questions. That should start us somewhere.' Kym said. Kennedy nodded.
Mariah raised a hand timidly. 'Umm, Marie and Sandra said something about a battle of Sunnydale. What was that all about?' she asked.
Kym nodded. 'I guess that's a fair place to start at.' She said. 'Sit down. This takes a long time to explain.' She told them. Everyone sat down, even Kym and Kennedy.
'Okay, does anyone know what a hellmouth is? No? Didn't think so. Sunnydale was a small city in the US. Up to the boundaries of the town, under that was a hellmouth. 'The town was a portal to hell, where, if the hellmouth was opened, demons from hell would come out onto Earth, thus ending the world. Okay?'
Kym stopped to smile.
'There were many tries to open the hellmouth, all which were stopped by a slayer. Now a slayer is a girl, originally only one at one time. Every time a slayer died, a new one would be activated, where she would get her super-strength powers and so on. One for every generation, as the rule laid down by The Shadow Men, three men who created the first slayer. Although she is often known as The Primitive, her actual name is Senaya.'
Kennedy nodded from where she sat next to Kym, both facing the group opposite them.
'The Battle of Sunnydale was an all-out war against The First Evil. The First raised an army of Turok-Han against us. The only way to get down into the hellmouth, where the army was, was through a seal. The First was planning to cut off the line of slayers, by killing the potentials. Made it easier to stop all the slayers ever, making Buffy and Faith the last slayers.' Kennedy told them.
Kym smiled.
'Me and Kennedy were two of the many potential slayers, those waiting to be chosen, who were brought to Buffy's house in Sunnydale. Willow, Kennedy's girlfriend, is a powerful witch. The day we went down into the hellmouth to fight, Willow cast a spell, which activated all the slayers at once. Which is why there are loads of slayers now. All over the world.'
'Giles and Wesley were Watchers. They're like information sources and guiders for slayers. There was a Watcher's council in England at the time of the battle between Buffy and The First. The head of The Watcher's Council, Quentin Travers, was hated greatly by Buffy. He and the rest of The Council were blown up, though, so they did barely anything. Now Giles and Wesley have started a new one, a council which doesn't try and rule us slayers.' Kym added.
'The last Council treated some slayers like servants. Now, although the slayers here do do work, we are respected and not treated as badly. Buffy hated the Watcher's council who did that, and at one point she actually quit The Council.' Kennedy told them.
The group nodded slowly.
'So why did Buffy get angry when Faith called her Queen Buffy?' asked Max.
The two slayers laughed.
'Buffy was the one who came up with the idea of activating all the slayers at once. Therefore she's responsible. Some of the new slayers started calling her Queen Buffy. She hated it at once. Buffy thought that if she accepted herself as their Queen, she would be even worse than the Watchers. And she hated that thought. So she told everyone that she wasn't a Queen.' Kym told them.
Kennedy nodded. 'It's still a health-hazard to call her that, unless you don't know how much she hates it, that is.' She told them all with a grin.
'Anything else?' asked Kym. The group started to mutter.
'What did you say about these Shadow Men?' asked Robert. The two slayers glanced to each other.
'The Shadow Men were three men who lived long ago. When there was a need to combat evil, they chained Senaya, the first slayer to the earth. The strengths of demons were placed into her, while she still remained human, and good.' Kym told them. Kennedy nodded.
'Into every generation a slayer is born. One girl in all the world. She alone will have the strength and the skill to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their numbers.' She recited. Kym bowed her head.
'This was the rule set down by The Shadow Men after they created The Primitive, or the first slayer.' Kym told them. 'But Senaya also fought other forces of the dark. If it's dark, we fight it.' She explained.
'But then Buffy started to fight The First, and its loyal servant, Caleb. She found the scythe Kym was using to fight earlier, and realised its importance.' Kennedy continued.
'Willow used the energies of the slayer that were trapped within the scythe, to cast the spell which activated all the slayers at once. The rule was changed, and now we take slayers of all ages.' Kym ended solemnly.
'Mariah is fifteen! How can you make her fight like that?' asked Lee angrily. The slayers glanced at each other. Kym stood up.
'I was about three years old when I was taken by my Watcher and away from my family. I lost all contact with them to protect them. Three years later my Watcher was murdered in front of me.' She told them, her tone wavering and almost dead of all emotion.
'Buffy was sixteen when she came to Sunnydale, and her job as a slayer had gotten her kicked out of her old school before that.' Kennedy told them.
'We have girls who are five years old here, all training for the future. We help them sometimes.' Kym added.
'You're training five year olds to fight demons?' yelled Tyson. The girls nodded.
'They fight against other slayers at the moment, and when they reach thirteen they will start to patrol.' Kym told them calmly.
'If we don't train them then they will be killed. If, after thirteen, they don't want to continue, then they are free to leave us.' Kennedy continued.
'Right, at least then if they are attacked they can defend themselves and others with them. Demons and vampires say that a slayer's blood is best, and so they target us for it.' Kym explained further.
'So Mariah will be targeted because of something she can't control?' Kevin asked angrily. The girls nodded again.
'She will be trained to at least a basic level, so she can defend herself against it, though. She'll be fine.' Kym assured them. Kennedy nodded.
'When The First started attacking Potential Slayers, they had no idea how to defend themselves. They were dropping like flies! We need as many slayers around the world as possible, and as many alive and fighting as we can train to do so.' Kennedy told them.
'So Mariah's just gonna be like the rest of the slayers here.' Lee said flatly. They shook their heads.
'No! She'll just be staying here for a couple of months at the least, so she can get to know other slayers, the Watchers here, the other staff, so she can train and so she understands exactly what she's getting into.' Kym told them.
'After she's ready to leave, and we think she'll be okay away from us again, she can go. She'll probably be asked to send us a letter once a month or something, though.' Kennedy told them.
'By 'okay' we mean that she and those around her will be safe, and she can protect them as much as possible.' Kym added. Lee nodded slowly.
'You're just gonna make sure she knows what she's into, that she can handle it all, that she knows where to go for help and all. Why the letters, though?' he asked. Kym smiled.
'With this new system, we try and cut out as many faults as possible. For example, Buffy wanted to quit after she can to Sunnydale, but couldn't because she was the only slayer then. Now they have the option of becoming normal, independent girls, still able to control and protect themselves.' Kym explained. She stood up and paced around again.
'When I was taken by my Watcher, I had no contact with other slayers, and barely any contact with him or anybody else. With the letters, we know she's safe, and she can get a pen pal slayer. They can relate, you see?' she added after.
'Cool.' Mariah said at last.
'Oh! I've just remembered!' Kennedy cried suddenly. Kym glanced at her friend and raised an eyebrow at her.
'What?' she asked Kennedy with a wry smile on her face. Kennedy grinned.
'Lesson number one!' she said happily. Kym nodded slowly, and stood up again.
'Good point Kendy.' She congratulated. Kennedy scowled at the nickname.
'When Buffy was first teaching her little sister Dawn – the lead dancer at the ball – how to fight demons and vamps an' all, she told her an important rule.' Kennedy told the group, still sat on the floor.
Kym grinned. 'Dawn asked if there were more demons coming. Buffy told her this: "Lesson number one: There's always more." The lesson was written down for future reference after The Battle of Sunnydale, and the Evolution.' She explained.
'The Evolution is what we call when all the slayers were activated as one.' Kennedy added in with a grin.
A bell sounded from deep within the abbey. Kennedy gasped, jumped up, and slapped a hand to her forehead. Everybody stared at her. Kym was shaking her head.
'Damnit! Damnit, damnit, damnit! I forgot to ask V-'
'To ask Vi to get Air House to bring us lunch? Already done that, Kennedy.' Kym cut in, a superior smirk on her face.
Kennedy gaped at her. 'How did you know that I'd forget?' she asked her blankly. Kym chuckled.
'Easy. One: You never told me what we're having this morning. Two: You were late and forgetting everything today. Three: It's just what you do, and four: Vi phoned to ask me if we were having lunch two minutes before you showed up.' She said calmly.
Kennedy groaned. 'Why are you always right?' she asked Kym half-heartedly. Kym smirked.
'Water always beats Fire, Kendy.' She teased. Kennedy glared at her.
'Don't call me Kendy!' she yelled. Kym smirked, and said no more.
The doors burst open, and two trolleys laden with food, were led down by four slayers: all wearing green aprons over their uniform. Vi was right behind them, with another slayer on either side of her.
'Forgot us again, huh Kennedy?' she teased her, walking towards Kym and Kennedy. Kennedy sighed.
'How much do you want this time, Vi? Five? Ten?' she asked, reaching in her back pocket for her wallet.
Vi grinned. 'Actually, I just want the fifty you owe me. Remember we bet on your memory at the ball? I guess food's not all you forgot this morning!' she laughed. Kennedy's jaw dropped.
Kym nodded. 'That reminds me too: you also owe me fifty – since I had to take your job and cover for you again.' she said.
Vi and Kym both held out their hand to Kennedy, who was sadly removing notes from her wallet.
'I so need to get a pay rise within the next month.' She muttered as she handed the two girls their money, which they started to count immediately.
'Or at least before I make any more bets.' Kennedy added with a shadow of a smile.
'Forty-five, fifty!' Kym finished happily. Vi stopped counting as well, and they both turned just in time to grab some food from the trolley, as the slayers wheeled them out again. Vi followed last again, waving goodbye to Kym and Kennedy.
Thanks for reading, naioka1992 - xoxo