"I'm a vampire Slayer?" Cordelia yelled at the top of her voice. Some girls squeaked or went quiet when they were stunned; Cordelia got loud.

"Miss Chase, please keep your voice down. If someone were to overhear-"

"No way! Buffy's the Slayer, not me!" Cordelia argued.

Giles cleared his throat, "It is an awkward situation. Buffy was technically dead for a short amount of time. It is logical to assume that the next Slayer was called. But . . .Cordelia?"
"Hey! I could be a damn good Slayer!" she objected.

"We do not attempt to understand why a certain Slayer is chosen. We simply assist her as best as we can. The council wishes for Miss Chase to train alongside your Slayer. She may continue her studies here, unless problems arise. I'm sure Miss Summers will welcome her help."
"No. No! I don't want to be a Slayer! I'll just return it." she spluttered.

Giles smiled exasperatedly. "You can't return an ancient destiny, Cordelia."

"Then I'll give it to someone else. Hey . . . how bout Willow? She helps Buffy and she's into the girl power stuff." Cordelia suggested weakly.

Wesley ignored her, "You can start training after school, four o' clock sharp. Class should starting soon. Good day."

With that he had dismissed her and turned to Giles. "I think we should start discussing schedules and the like. It's the first time in all of my research that two Slayers have existed in the same time period. It will be fascinating to see how they interact. It'll-"

Fuming at being dismissed, Cordelia grabbed her bag and stormed away from the English pair. Her mind was working at double speed, trying to process everything. This would change everything. Her entire life.

Look at Buffy. She could have been near Cordelia on the social ladder if she hadn't been a Slayer. Now she was ultra-freak.

She set her jaw. There was no way that was happening to her. She would just ignore the entire situation. Sunnyhell already had a Slayer. They didn't need Cordelia. It was a mistake. That was all.

She managed to get through all of her classes okay. To avoid meaningless gossip, she pretended to pay attention to her teachers.

When the bell rang during social studies her muscles contracted and her heartbeat increased. Lunch was next and she'd be unable to avoid her "friends" chatter and questions. She slowly got out of her desk and crammed her books into her bag. Then she made a face as an idea hit her.

She could take her lunch into the library and talk to Giles. Straighten things out. Cordelia wasn't entirely sure if it was a good idea, but if no one saw her go in . . .

She sighed and marched out of class, and down the hallway. She rarely bought lunch, preferring to have her cook make her a perfectly balanced meal of fruits, vegetables, salad, and the occasional yogurt. If she was feeling indulgent.

When she entered the library, the first thing she noticed was Wesley in the book cage. He appeared to be rifling through a chest intently. Cordelia glanced around and then crept towards him.

He was so focused on his rifling, he didn't notice the creak of the gate/door when she opened it. She settled herself onto a small bookcase and laid out her lunch.

As she bit into an apple, she asked casually, "So, where's Giles?"

Wesley gave a terrific shriek and and swung around to face her, hands raised. Cordelia raised an eyebrow at his reaction.

"He's uh ...not here. Something about his calendar." Wesley said, pressing a hand against his heart as an effort to slow his breathing.

Cordelia's eyes widened. "Oh! He must have meant Miss Calender! He totally has a major crush on her." She added knowledgeably.

Wesley nodded slowly and straightened up. "I see."

She took another delicate bite of her apple. "So I have just a couple quick questions about this whole Slayer thing."

Wesley didn't have a chance to respond.

"Okay. First of all ... what exactly am I required to do? I mean we already have Buffy. Do we really need another Slayer?" Cordelia wheedled.

Wesley frowned at her. "Well a Slayer has many duties. These include protecting mankind from the forces of darkness; Vampyres and the like. You'll have to patrol and help thin the population. You have to train as often as possible to be fit for your job." He glanced back at her. "You should be completely devoted to your duties. You are no longer a teenage girl, but a weapon to be used to protect the human population. You have to give up who you were before you were called."

Cordelia stared at him for a long moment. "I can't do that." She finally said. It was a simple statement and she said nothing further. She tossed her apple into a wastebasket nearby and then jumped off of her perch.

Without a word she walked briskly out of the cage and Wesley watched her disappear from his line of sight.

Giles entered the library to see Wesley muttering to himself and pacing back and forth. Giles gave a small sigh and walked towards him. He really needed a vacation.

"Is something the matter?"

Wesley turned to him, startled. He cleared his throat and said unconvincingly, "No. Not really."

Giles waited.

"Well, you see. It's just. Well this is rather hard, isn't it?"

Giles smiled at this, and waited.

"Miss Chase is just being a little difficult. She seems to have a rather strong personality and she doesn't want to necessarily comply."

Giles chuckled lightly. "Why don't you explain what happened?"

"You told her she was just a weapon?" He asked incredulously.

Wesley fidgeted with his coat. "Well I was a bit more tactful than that."

Giles rolled his eyes. "She's a teenage girl. You'll have to be much more than tactful. You'll get used to her eventually. Until then, be very careful what and how you say things to Cordelia."

She got through all of her classes, doodling absently and staring out the window lost in thought. Her friends started to worry about her, as she was uncharacteristically quiet. She breathed a sigh of relief when she reached her car, glad to be alone.

She was in a definite slump when she reached her house, dumping her things in her room and flopping onto her huge bed in the center of the room. The room had a large window in the back of the window, which opened into a small balcony. The curtains were never shut, as Cordelia loved a well lit room, but despised artificial light. The view was lovely and simple, just grass stretching out into trees.

Her room was uncluttered as she liked space and needed room for her yoga. A few white dressers were spread out and walk-in closet to the right as soon as you walked in from the door. There was also a large makeup desk with a huge mirror, and another full length mirror to the left of the window. There was also a bathroom past the walk in closet, that was cleaned almost every day by her maid, Susie.

She lay on her back, staring at the pristine white ceiling, absently fingering the small blanket she kept on her bed. It was her baby blanket, small and pink with little purple flowers dotting the fabric randomly.

The sun warmed her, streaming in from the window, lighting up her entire room. After about five minutes of staring absently at the ceiling, she got up and wandered to one of her dressers. She dug in the bottom drawer, and pulled out a pair of shorts and tank-top out. Then determined to act normal, she started her yoga, furiously blocking out any thoughts about vampires or Slaying or anything not relating to yoga.

The next couple of days, Cordelia avoided Giles and Wesley, but was noticeably less talkative and involved. Every time she tried to act normal, her thoughts were swarmed with what was happening to her. Plus she was exhausted. The dreams were even worse, no matter how she tried to drown them out. She woke up three times a night with images of weird stuff, images that she blocked during the day.

She avoided anything social and had even missed Cheer Practice. Cheer Practice!

Finally during another night of boredom with nothing but her thoughts to keep her company, Cordelia jumped off of her bed. She stared at herself in the mirror, forcing herself not to look away. She was in sweats for the third night in a row, hair pulled up in a bun with no makeup. She had huge circles under her eyes. She looked terrible. She looked as bad as Buffy!

She would not let this happen. Cordelia stormed to her closet, a flurry of clothes thrown every way until she found the perfect outfit. She would go to the Bronze and every boy would be drawn to her and it would be okay. Everything would be good.

Cordelia entered the Bronze, enjoying the feeling of having every eye on her. She smiled coyly at the quarterback for Sunnydale High, toying with the idea of talking to him. Some of the girls she mostly hung around with were in the corner, sipping Shirley temples and chattering happily. Cordelia bought a drink and then leaned against a table, surveying the crowd. Besides two football players the pickings were slim at best. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Angel in the back of the room looking anti-social and hot. She really didn't have the energy to attempt a conversation with him, so instead she decided to just enjoy the view.

Xander and Willow were at a table looking bored. Cordelia knew she really ought to attempt socializing with someone, but didn't have the inclination or the willpower. So instead she stayed in her spot listening to the music and sipping her drink.

About fifteen minutes later, Buffy appeared in her line of sight walking over to Xander and Willow's table. She was dressed very differently than normal. Even ...stylishly? Cordelia hated to admit it, but she loved her outfit.

Cordelia shifted her gaze to the quarterback in the corner playing pool with his buddy, watching his muscles contract as he fiddled with the pool stick. Curiosity got the better of her and her eyes wandered back to Buffy. She was now dancing with Xander rather ...provocatively.

Cordelia glanced behind her to take in Angel's reaction. His jaw was clenched and his eyes were locked onto her figure, occasionally sliding up to Xander's face. Cordelia's eyes narrowed as she observed everyone in the Bronze watching Buffy. This was not okay. Buffy whispered something in Xander's ear and then left him, standing motionless on the dance floor. Cordelia watched her until she left the Bronze. She grabbed her jacket, pulling it around her and then Fingers clenched tightly, she followed Buffy out, ready to rip her a new one. Only she was allowed to pull stunts like that.

She found Buffy striding away from her, clad in a warm coat. The alley that the bronze led out to surrounded them.

" Buffy. You're really campaigning for bitch of the year, aren't you?" Cordelia called to the retreating figure.
Buffy swung around to face her, looking smug. "As defending champion, you nervous?"
Even Cordelia had to smile grudgingly at this. " I can hold my own. You know, we've never really been close, which is nice, 'cause I don't really like you that much, but… you have on occasion saved the world and stuff, so I'm gonna do you a favor."
Buffy attempted to look disinterested "And this great favor is…"
"I'm gonna give you some advice. Get over it." Cordelia stated simply.
"Excuse me?"
"Whatever is causing the Joan Collins 'tude, deal with it. Embrace the pain, spank your inner moppet, whatever, but get over it. 'Cause pretty soon you're not even gonna have the loser friends you've got now. " Cordelia was starting to feel better.

"I think it's about time you start minding your own business." Buffy said angrily.
"It's long past." She shrugged back at her. Buffy ignored her turning back around and walking away from her. She also pulled her hood up on her head snootily. Was that really necessary?
Deciding she wanted a parting shot, Cordelia called to the retreating figure " Nighty-night. I'll just see if Angel feels like dancing-" She was cut off mid-sentence as a pair of hands yanked her backwards, muffling her scream.

Caught of guard, the only thing Cordelia could do was thrash violently, trying to call to Buffy. She was dragged backwards, being restrained by more than two people. They finally released her, throwing her into some sort of secluded room, slamming a door behind them. Her hands were shaking and she had to bite her lip to keep it from trembling. Cordelia walked in a slow circle, surveying the room. It was crude and smelled terrible, stains of dried blood decorating the walls. She averted her eyes quickly and she noticed a figure slumped over in the corner. Cordelia crossed over to the figure quickly, trying to identify who it was. Miss Calender was unconscious, blood dripping from a cut on her forehead. Cordelia lifted her head up and slid her jacket under her, regretting she would totally have to burn it after this. Then she pulled her legs up to her chest and tried to collect her thoughts. After several hours, eventually she fell asleep, hoping someone would eventually notice she was missing.

She awoke to Miss Calendar shaking her frantically, calling her name. Cordelia sat up, everything rushing back to her.

"Cordelia. Are you all right?"

She nodded blearily, pushing hair out of her eyes. "I'm...okay. What's going on? Why are we in here?"

Miss Calendar shrugged. She did not look good. "I'm not sure. It probably has something to do with an evil vampire's plan to take over the world."

Cordelia did not appreciate the joke. "Do you think we'll die? I don't want to die! Do you think they'll eat us? Oh I don't want to get eaten. This is all Buffy's fault! When I get out of here-"

Miss Calendar interrupted her forcefully. "Cordelia! I'm sure someone will notice we're missing. And if they wanted to kill us they would have by now. They want us for something else. Maybe a ritual."

"That's comforting." Cordelia muttered.

They'd stopped counting the hours when the door finally opened. Four vampires swarmed them. Cordelia managed to knock one down, but by the time she swung to hit another the whole world went dark.

Cordelia woke up on the floor, legs shackled to some sort of chains. She blinked groggily, trying to drown out the noise in her ears. A large figure was fighting someone to her right and to her left were four other figures, all squatting. Her head ached and all she wanted was a warm bath. She pushed herself up and took in her surroundings. They were in a large warehouse, on the second flight. She could hear fighting down below, and scuffling to her right. Willow, Xander, Giles, and Miss Calendar were to her right, getting shackles off.

Angel was to her right, fighting with a vampire. She was still tied up, but it looked as though someone had started untying her but had stopped abruptly. Absorbing all of this information, she started struggling viciously against her bonds. Angel must have finished off his opponent as the scuffling ceased. Fighting was still going on below.

Angel walked over to her and bent down to help her untie her hands. Cordelia smiled weakly at him, but he seemed preoccupied. As soon as he finished he sprinted off towards a flight of rickety stairs. Cordelia frowned in his direction, assuming he was heading to help Buffy.

She was extremely confused as to how they had gotten there or why they were there, but she was very grateful to still be alive. She bent down to work on unshackling her feet. Her companions had finished getting out of their bonds, and were standing up. Annoyance rose in her as they completely ignored her. They were gazing over the edge at whatever spectacle was going on below.

"Whatever. I'll just untie myself. Don't worry about Cordelia. No sir." She muttered grouchily, pulling at the iron that encircled her feet. Silence told her that the fighting had ended. The people beside her stared down at something she couldn't see, transfixed. Loud banging started up, as though a huge hammer was being slammed into a wall. Cordelia struggled even more to free her foot. She smiled victoriously when she succeeded and then stood up to look at what everyone was so interested.

Buffy had a huge sledgehammer which she was pounding onto a table. Cordelia looked more closely, and saw she was smashing the bones of some skeleton. Angel was standing behind her, watching her silently.

Cordelia was about to make a sarcastic comment, but something in Buffy's face stopped her. She looked so vulnerable. Buffy dropped her weapon, and turned to Angel, burying her head into his chest. They all stared uncomfortably, listening to her muffled sobs.

Not taking her eyes off of the girl whose shoulders heaved with emotion, Cordelia said to Giles in a steady voice

"I'm in."