Hey Guys. Because these chapters are fairly easy to write, I'm going to try and spin through a bunch of them really fast to finish season one… I'm going to try and update one a day. Episodes without a lot of Giles in them will be short. You may also notice that I added a bit of my own stuff to this one. Not much though. Please review!!!

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EPISODE 4 - TEACHER'S PET

In every generation there is a Chosen One. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons and the forces of darkness. She is the Slayer.

Before leaving the library that morning, Giles glanced at Buffy's school schedule. She had recently pinned a copy of it up in his office "in case of emergencies", and although this could hardly be defined as an "emergency" Giles was glad he had it now. It had been three days since he had spoken with Buffy, and he felt distinctly like a drug addict going through withdrawal.

Biology. With Dr. Gregory. Science 109.

As he started down the hall, Giles tried to run through a list of excuses in his head. What possible reason could he have for coming to see Buffy? As far as he knew, there was no immediate danger in Sunnydale she needed to be alerted to. Perhaps just a friendly reminder to keep up her training? He made a face at the lame excuse, but didn't have the time to come up with another one. He was already standing outside 109.

Inside, Dr. Gregory was just finishing up his class.

"Alright, chapters six through eight by tomorrow, people." There was a pause, then he spoke again, "Can I see you for a moment?"

Giles stood to the side as the student piled out of the room. Buffy was not one of them. It must have been her that Mr. Gregory had asked to see. But why? In the second time since he had heard Buffy Summers was coming to Sunnydale High, Giles felt the urge to eavesdrop on a conversation. For a moment, he debated. Then he leaned in closer to the closed door.

"I gather you had a few problems at your last school?"

"Well, what teenager doesn't?"

"Cut school, get in fights, burn down the gymnasium... Principal Flutie showed me your permanent record."

"Well, that fire, I mean, there was major extenuating circumstances. Actually, it's, uh, kinda funny!" Buffy gave a fake laugh that had Giles rolling his eyes outside the door.

"Can't wait to see what you're gonna do here."

All humour faded from Giles expression, and he scowled. His face went even darker as he heard Buffy's soft, defeated reply.

"Destructo Girl. That's me."

Again, Giles thought back to when he had first met Buffy. She had seemed so determined not to re enter the Slaying game. What must it be like for her, to have to live this life, unable to tell the people who mattered why she did all these seemingly-crazy things?

"But I suspect it's gonna be great."

Buffy sounded as baffled as Giles felt. "You mean, 'great' in a bad way?"

"You have a first-rate mind and you can think on your feet. Imagine what you could accomplish if you actually did the..."

"...the homework thing."

"The homework thing. I understand you probably have a good excuse for not doing it. Amazingly enough, I don't care. I know you can excel in this class, and so I expect no less. Is that clear?"

Giles felt the anger fade. He liked Dr. Gregory, after all.

"Yeah! Sorry."

"Don't be sorry, be smart. And please don't listen to the principal or anyone else's negative opinion about you. Let's make 'em eat that permanent record. Whadaya say?"

He looks up at Buffy and gives her a little smile. She smiles back.

"Okay! Thanks."

"Chapters six through eight!"

Buffy came through the door, almost crashing into Giles.

"Whoa! Giles. Sorry. Didn't see you. What are you doing here?"

"Um… Looking for you, actually, I wanted to speak with you…" About what? He had no idea. Luckily, Buffy interrupted him.

"Dr. Gregory is so nice, Giles...Even though he doesn't know everything... he still thinks I can keep up and do well." She spoke hesitantly, and it was clear to him that she wasn't used to speaking of academic success so hopefully.

Giles smiled gently down at her, thrilled when she returned the smile.

Neither of them looked back into the classroom behind them. If they had, they might have seen Dr. Gregory turning off the lights in order to better focus on the slides under his microscope. And they might have seen the large green mantis leg that closed around his neck...

*****

After a rather confusing night at the Bronze, where Angel had shown up, Buffy was walking up to the school with Giles, relaying Angel's cryptic message.

Giles bit into his apple, and mumbled, "That's all he said? Fork Guy?"

"That's all Cryptic Guy said: Fork Guy."

"I think there are too many 'guys' in your life." Giles laughed, but inside he felt a fierce surge of jealousy. Buffy always got a strange look in her eyes when she spoke of her "cryptic guy", and he didn't like it one bit. Before he could get too broody, however, they came across Willow, sitting on the bench and scrawling in a notebook.

Giles reassured Buffy as she silently greeted her friend. "I'll see what I can find out." He looked up towards the sky and made his voice low and dour. "God, every day here is the same."

Buffy and Willow grinned, and Buffy spoke, "Bright, sunny, beautiful, how ever can we escape this torment?"

As Buffy sat down next to Willow, Giles sniffed in mock distain. "Really."

Giles turned to leave, and almost bumped into Xander. "Good morning."

"Mornin'. Guess what I just heard in the office? No Dr. Gregory today. Ergo, those of us who blew off our science homework aren't as dumb as we look." He snapped Willow's book closed as Giles wandered away.

Too bad Mr. Gregory is away... Buffy can learn a lot from that man.

******

Later that day, Giles was working in the back office of the library, going over some books about "fork guys". He had come across some interesting information on 'fork guy', but wanted to make sure he had as much knowledge as he could on the subject before Buffy returned. He had been dimly aware of the bell ringing for lunch shortly before, but paid no attention to the sound. Buffy, Xander and Willow would come in as soon as they had finished eating, and he needed to be prepared.

Then, however, he heard a commotion in the hallway. It sounded like someone was running towards the library. He stood and left the office, instantly recognizing those footsteps. He had just reached the door when Buffy burst through them, her face streaked with tears, her small body shuddering as she struggled to control her crying.

Giles caught her in his arms.

"Buffy? Buffy, what's wrong? What happened? Are you hurt?"

She couldn't be. That was impossible. If she were hurt, or in any kind of danger, he would have had a vision wouldn't he? They may have been annoying, and he may have wished that he had better control over them, but he had never wished for them to go away. Knowing when Buffy was in danger had been an unexpected gift.

She was shaking her head, but was still trying to get herself under control, and did not answer. Luckily, at that moment, Willow and Xander burst through the doors, their faces dry and expressions concerned.

"Buffy? Are you okay?"

"What happened?" Giles demanded, pulling Buffy a bit closer to him as she began to quiet.

He knew it must be something bad for Buffy to break down. She was used to dealing with a lot of stuff that would completely destroy a weaker person. Buffy was strong, he could think of no reason for her to have this sudden breakdown, no matter how quickly she was pulling through it.

"Dr. Gregory." Willow explained, her eyes full of misery. "He's...he's dead. He was found in the kitchens." She gulped slightly, and then added, "Without his head."

"Good Lord." Reluctantly, Giles let Buffy take a step back from him. He scanned her expression, and she looked away sheepishly, wiping her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Buffy. I know you liked him."

When she didn't answer, he led her over to the steps and then went to get her a glass of water. Willow sat down next to her.

Giles handed the glass to Buffy. "Here. Drink this."

"No, thank you." She murmured, even as she took the glass from him and took a tentative sip.

Xander spoke up from where he stood behind Giles. "I've never seen.."

Giles looked at the younger man.

His voice trembling, Xander whispered, "I've never seen anything like... that was new."

"Who would wanna hurt Dr. Gregory?" Willow asked.

Giles rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Uh, he didn't have any enemies on the staff that I'm aware of. He was a civilized man. I liked him."

"So did I."

"Well, we're gonna find out who did this." Willow insisted. "We'll find them and we'll stop them."

Buffy nodded. "Count on it."

"What do we know?" Giles asked.

"Oh, not a lot, um..." She sniffed and wiped a tear from her nose. "He was killed here on campus. I'm guessing the last day we saw him."

"How do you work that out?"

"He didn't change his clothing."

A painful reminder that she may have been the last one to see him alive.

"This is a question that no one particularly wants to hear, but... where did they put his head?" Xander pointed out.

Willow shuddered. "Good point. I didn't wanna hear that."

"Angel!" As Buffy stood and walked to the table, Giles couldn't help but scowl at the name. "He warned me that something was coming."

"Yes. Yes he did, didn't he? I wish I knew what he meant. I've been trying to gather more information about the Master, our, uh, local vampire king. There was one oblique reference to a, a, a vampire who displeased the Master and cut his hand off in penance."

"Cut off his hand and replaced it with a fork?"

"I don't know what he replaced it with." Giles admitted.

Xander spoke up again. "So, why would he come after a teacher?"

"I'm not certain he did. There was an incident two nights ago..."

He walked over to the counter, picked up a newspaper and returned with it, showing it to Buffy.

"...uh, involving a homeless person in Weatherly Park." Giles continued. "He was practically shredded, but, uh, nothing like Dr. Gregory."

Buffy glanced at the paper. "Fork Guy doesn't do heads."

"Not historically."

"And Dr. Gregory's blood wasn't drained."

"So there's something else out there?" Xander asked, incredulous, "Besides Silverwareman? Oh, this is fun, we're on Monster Island."

"We're on a Hellmouth. It's a center of mystical convergence." Buffy said. Giles grinned proudly at her wording, and she shrugged, "Guess it's the same thing."

"Well, unpleasant things do gravitate here, it's true, but, uh, we don't know there's anything besides this chap. He's still our likely suspect."

"Where was that guy killed? Weatherly Park?"

Giles' grin faded and he advanced towards her. "Buffy. I know you're upset, but, uh, this is no time to go hunting, not until we know more. Please promise me you won't do anything rash?"

"Cross my heart."

*****

That night, Giles tossed and turned in bed. Something was wrong. He could not sleep, and felt there was a very good reason for it. A few minutes ago, he had begun playing scenes from his day back in his mind, and now he narrowed in on Buffy's expression as she had said, "Cross my heart".

That was not a sincere promise. There was no sign of honesty on her face, only a distracted concentration. She hadn't really been listening to him at all.

"Dammit."

Giles swung his legs over the side of the bed. There was no way he would be able to sleep while there was the possibility of Buffy forgoing her promise and putting herself in danger. Then his heart froze in his chest as he felt the now-familiar symptoms of the vision coming on. Buffy was in danger. Damn that girl, why couldn't she have listened to him for once? He fell back against the bed as darkness fell around him, and the image of Weatherly Park rose behind his eyes.

Buffy was climbing over the fence into the park. She walked through the park, her eyes looking through the darkness.

A figure moved towards Buffy, and she and Giles gasped in unison. It was just a homeless man however, and he croaked out, "Shouldn't be out here at night, little lady. Dangerous."

He left, and Buffy noticed another homeless person under a bench. She checked him out, but he was merely sleeping. She continued to look around. At the same time, Giles and Buffy noticed a bunch of shrubbery covering an access hole to the sewers. Fearlessly, she moved it aside.

Fork Guy leapt out at her without warning. Giles cried out, but Buffy was silent as she stumbled backwards. Fork Guy tried to slice her with his claw, but missed, and Buffy burst into action, slamming her arm into his gut, then into his back, and dodging another swipe. Almost faster then Giles' eyes could follow, she punched him in the face, delivered a roundhouse kick to his haw, then punched his face again, evading another swing and kicking him.

Furious, Fork Guy lunged forward, but Buffy was unfased. She simply grabbed his arm and flipped him on his back, then moved into stake him. He rolled away and onto his feet, so she kicked him down once more.

Suddenly, there came the sound of voices, and the flash of flashlights coming over the hill.

"Hold it! Police! Did you see that? I got nothing here!"

The vampire took off and Buffy tore after him.

"I heard it. Spread out. Let's go over here. This way, this way. Alright..."

Buffy chased the vampire to the fence that encircled the park. There was a woman - who Giles recognizes vaguely as the substitute science teacher – walking home along the darkened sidewalk, a bag of groceries in her arms. The vampire followed her along the fence for a moment, and then climbed over.

Buffy reached the fence, and her fingers closed uselessly over the metal, as she watched the vampire advance upon the woman. Natalie, the sub, turned to face the vampire. Before Giles' and Buffy's startled eyes, the vampire spotted Natalie, hissed, and ran across the street, vanishing under a manhole cover. Unconcerned, Natalie turned again and continued her walk.

The vision faded.

"Good Lord."

******

The next day, Buffy came to relate the previous night's events to Giles.

"You went hunting last night." As if he hadn't already knew that.

"Yes."

He walked into his office, Buffy following after him.

"When you assured me you wouldn't." He took a sip of tea, keeping his expression calm. He was not truly angry with her, but he couldn't help feeling that something horrible could have happened to her. Then he frowned over the lip of the mug. She was the Slayer for God's sake. She could handle a forked vampire, with or without his worrying.

"Yes, I lied, I'm a bad person, let's move on."

Giles turned from her and opened the filing cabinet. "Did you see someone with a fork?"

"More like a jumbo claw."

He turned to face her again, trying to make his voice surprised. "Oh. Well, uh, at least you're not hurt."

"And I saw something else. Something much more interesting than your average run-of-the-mill killer vampire."

"Oh?"

"Do you know Miss French, the teacher that's subbing for Dr. Gregory?"

Giles smiled. "Yes. Yes, she's lovely." Buffy gave him a look, and Giles stilled, shock rippling through him. Behind that disdainful look, he could have sworn he saw jealousy in Buffy's clear green gaze. There was no way, though. No way could she be jealous, not over him. Shaking such thoughts from his mind, he put the files away and added, "In a, a common, extremely well proportioned way."

"Well, I'm chasing Claw Guy last night, and Miss Well Proportioned is heading home. The Claw Guy takes one look at her and runs screaming for cover."

Because he was as baffled over the events from the night before as Buffy sounded, it was not difficult to infuse confusion into his tone as he said, "He what? Ran away?"

"He was petrified."

"Of Miss French?"

"Uh-huh! So I'm an undead monster that can shave with my hand... How many things am I afraid of?"

"Not many." Giles admitted, "And not substitute teachers, as a rule."

"So what's her deal?"

"I think perhaps it would be a good idea if we kept an eye on her."

"Then I better get to class."

Giles watched her leave, and hugged his mug of tea closer to him. In his mind, he began to dissect that strange look in her eyes. It made him feel slightly pathetic, but he could not resist.

******

Less then an hour later, Buffy and Willow had returned to the library.

"No, I'm not saying she craned her neck. We are talking full-on Exorcist twist." Buffy said as they entered.

"Ouch!"

"Which reminds me," she continued, "how come Blayne, who worked with her one-on-one yesterday, isn't here today?"

"Inquiring minds wanna know." Willow mused.

Buffy turned to Giles. "Any luck?"

Willow sat down in front of the computer and began tapping away.

"Um, I've not found any creature as yet that strikes terror in a vampire's heart." Giles said with a sigh.

"Try looking under things that can turn their heads all the way around."

"Nothing human can do that."

"No, nothing human. There are some insects that can. Whatever she is, I'm gonna be ready for her." Buffy turned and hoped up the stairs towards the stacks.

Smothering a grin, Giles took off his glasses. "What are you going to do?"

"My homework."

Willow smiled at her distractedly, but Giles just waited for her to reappear.

A second later, she did. "Where are the books on bugs?"

Giles laughed.

******

Buffy came out of the stacks once more, this time with a book in her hands. "Dig this: 'The praying mantis can rotate its head 180 degrees while waiting for its next meal to walk by." She slammed the book shut. "Ha!" When only silence greeted her, she said, "Well, c'mon, guys. Ha!"

"Well, Miss French is sort of big. For a bug?" Willow muttered.

"And she is, by and large, woman shaped." Giles added.

Buffy sighed, as if resigning herself to the fact that she was working with idiots. Moving down towards them, she said, "Okay. Factoid 1: Only the praying mantis can rotate its head like that. Factoid 2: A pretty whacked-out vampire is scared to death of her. Factoid 3: Her fashion sense screams predator."

"It's the shoulder pads." Willow agreed.

"Exactly."

"If you're right, then she'd have to be a shape shifter or a perception distorter." Giles said, and then brightened. "On a helpful note, I had a chum at Oxford, Carlyle, advanced degrees in entomology mythology."

"Entoma-who?"

"Bugs and fairy tales."

"I knew that."

"If I recall correctly, poor old Carlyle, just before he went mad, claimed there was some beast..."

The computer beeped and Willow spoke, her expression panicked, "Buffy, 911! Blayne's mom called the school. He never came home last night."

Giles frowned. "The boy who worked with Miss French yesterday?"

"Yeah!" Willow's eyes were wild, "If Miss French is responsible for... Xander's supposed to be helping her right now! He's got a crush on a giant insect!"

Buffy sighed. "Okay, don't panic, I'll warn him. But I need you to hack onto the coroner's office for me."

"Well, what are we looking for?"

"Autopsy on Dr. Gregory. I've been trying to figures out these marks that I saw on his corpse... I'm thinking they were teeth. And, uh, these cuddlies?" She pointed to a picture of a mantis "Should definitely be brushing after every meal. And you were saying something about a beast?"

Giles went towards his office, "Oh, uh, yeah, I just need to make one transatlantic telephone call." He stopped and turned back. "Um, this computer invasion that Willow's performing on the coroner's office, one, one assumes it is entirely legal?"

"Entirely!" Willow said, at the same time Buffy said, "of course."

Giles blinked and then said, "Right. Wasn't here, didn't see it, couldn't have stopped you."

"Good idea."

******

"Frankly, madam, I haven't the faintest idea what time it is, nor do I care. Now, unlock his cell, unstrap him, and bring him to the telephone immediately. This is a matter of life and death!"

Ignoring Giles' voice on the phone in the next room, Willow tapped wildly at the computer.

"Got it! Coroner's report, complete with... Yuk! ...color pictures."

Buffy looked over her shoulder. "There *are* teeth marks. Which match perfectly the one insect that nips off its prey's head."

"Okay, I-I don't like this."

"Huh! It's the way they feed, head first. It's also the way they mate. The female bites off the male's head while they're..."

"No, no, no!" Willow interrupted her explanation, "See? Xander's, I like his head! I-it's where you find his eyes, and his hair, and his adorable smile..."

Buffy smiled. "Hey, hey, take it easy, Willow. Xander is not in any immediate danger. I saw him leave school. He's probably safe at home right now."

In the office, Giles continued his conversation. "I-I understand, Carlyle. Yes... I-I'll take every precaution. Uh, absolutely, i-i-it sounds exactly like the creature you described. Y-you were right all along about everything. Well, n-no, you weren't right about your mother coming back as a Pekinese, but... uh... Try to rest, old man. Yes... Ta! Bye now!"

He hung up the phone and walked into the main part of the library, where Willow and Buffy were still leaning over the computer.

He hangs up and comes out of his office. Willow and Buffy are at the PC.

"Dr. Ferris Carlyle spent years transcribing a lost pre-Germanic language. What he discovered he kept to himself until several teenage boys were murdered in the Cotswolds. Then he went hunting for it."

Buffy looked up at him. "It being..."

"Uh, he calls her a She-Mantis. This type of creature, the Kleptes-Virgo, or, or virgin-thief, appears in, in many cultures. The Greek sirens, the Celtic sea maidens, who, who tore the living flesh from the bones of, um..."

"Giles, while we're young!"

"Uh, well, basically the, uh, the She-Mantis assumes the form of a beautiful woman and then lures innocent virgins back to her nest."

Buffy frowned. "Virgins? Well, Xander's not a, uh... I mean, he's probably..."

Willow shot to her feet, worry etched across her features, "...gonna die!" She hurried to the phone.

"kay, okay, so this thing is breeding and we need to find it and snuff it." Buffy stood facing him. "Any tips on the snuffing part?"

"Uh, Carlyle recommends cleaving all body parts with a sharp blade."

"Slice and Dice."

Giles' brow creased at her wording, but now was not the time to talk to her about the way she spoke. Besides, if he could admit it, at least to himself, he thought it was adorable. "Well, whatever you do, it had better be certain and swift. This beast is extremely dangerous."

"Well, your buddy Carlyle faced it, and he's still around."

"Yes, in a straitjacket, howling his innards out day and night."

"Okay, Admiral, way to inspire the troops!"

"Sorry..."

They were interrupted by Willow, who had hung up the phone and rushed over. "Xander's not home! He told his mom he was going to his teacher's house to work on a science project. He didn't tell her where."

"See if you can get her address off the substitute rolls." Buffy said, taking charge, "And you need to record bat sonar, and fast!"

Giles looked baffled. "Bat sonar, right. What?"

Buffy explained as she led Giles to the stage, "The mantis hears sonar, its entire nervous system goes kaplooey."

"Where am I gonna find the..."

"In the vid library? There're no books, but it's dark and musty, you'll feel right at home, go!" When Giles left, she sighed and said, "Guess I'll handle the armory."

******

A few minutes later, Buffy came from the cage to see Willow printing something.

"Getting the address." She said.

"Great! Giles?"

Giles held up the tape recorder. "Recording bat sonar is something soothingly akin to having one's teeth drilled."

"Let's roll!"

As they headed for the door, Willow said,

"According to Miss French's personnel records, she was born in 1907. She's, like, 90 years old!"

"And extremely well preserved!"

Buffy scowled.

******

Ten minutes later, Giles, Buffy and Willow were pulling up in front of Miss French's house. They all piled out of the car and ran up to the door.

"What now, exactly?" Giles asked, "We can't just kick the door down."

"Yeah, that would be wrong." Buffy lifted her foot to kick the door, but before she could an old woman answered the door.

"Hello, dear! I thought I heard... Are you selling something? Because I'd like to help you out, but... You see, I'm on a fixed income."

Buffy blinked. "I'm looking for Miss French."

"I'm Miss French."

"Natalie French, the substitute biology teacher?"

The old woman laughed. "Goodness, that's me! I taught for over thirty years. I retired in 1972."

Buffy turned to face Giles, frustration in her eyes. "I can't believe this! She used Miss French's records to get into the school. She could be anywhere!"

"No, dear! I'm right here!"

They sighed and turned away, walking down towards the car.

"What do we do now?"

"Abject prayer and supplication would spring to mind." Giles muttered.

Buffy was thinking furiously though. "I saw her walking past this park with her grocery bags. She lives in this neighborhood."

"I'm gonna start banging on doors." Willow actually started towards a random house, before Buffy stopped her.

"Wait, no, we do *not* have time for that!"

"We have to do something!"

"We will."

Buffy led Giles and Willow to the manhole cover she had seen the vampire disappear into a night before. Without hesitation, and with a ridiculous ease, she lifted the cover, reminding Giles once again how strong she was.

"I won't be long."

She vanished down the hole.

"W... Buffy?" Giles started after her in amazement.

Willow's patience did not last long before she called down into the hole, "come on, Buffy!"

The bushed nearby shook, and strange noises emitted from it. A moment later, Buffy came though, pushing Claw Guy in front of her, his arms tied behind his back. For the first time, Claw Guy got a good look me Buffy.

"You!"

"Me!"

She began shoving him down the street, forcing him to lead the way. Willow and Giles trailed after them, eyes wide.

Buffy was practically yelling at the vampire. "Come on! Come on, where is she? Which house is it? I know you're afraid of her, I saw you! Come on!"

Suddenly, as they passed a house, Claw Guy began to fall back, leaning into Buffy as if desperate to get away.

"Come on. What? What is it? This is her, isn't it, this is her house? This is it! Better than radar!"

She released the ropes that bound his hands together, and instantly, Claw Guy sliced through the ropes.

"Buffy!"

He swung his claws towards Buffy, but she leaned back and he missed. The sharp lean backwards, however, caused Buffy to trip and fall backwards over the small picket fence that encircled the yard. Claw Guy leapt the fence after her, forcing Buffy to scramble backwards. Then she broke off one of the pickets and thrust it into Claw Guy's heart. He fell over, dead, and Giles breathed out a deep sigh of relief.

******

In the basement, Xander was tied up in front of Natalie in her praying mantis form.

Natalie was laughing. "Kiss me! Kiss me!"

Xander leaned away from her, horror and disgust marring his features. "Can I just say one thing? HEEEELLLLP! HEEEELLLLP!"

Suddenly, Buffy smashed through the window.

"Uh, hey, o-over here, hello! In the cage!"

Buffy ignored Blayne, who stood in a huge cage in the corner, and tugged her bag through the window, then scrambled over towards Natalie and Xander.

"Let him go!"

Willow and Giles climbed in through the window behind her as Buffy began to spray Natalie with the bug spray. Taking use of the giant bugs distraction, Willow ran to release Blayne.

"Help me! Help me!" Blayne yelled, making much more noise then Xander, who was more obviously in danger.

"Giles! Get em outta here!" Buffy cried.

She pulled the tape recorder and a machete from her bag, wincing as Blayne cried out for help again behind her.

Just as Natalie began to recover from the bug spray, Giles began undoing the straps holding Xander up. Buffy closed in on the mantis.

"Remember Dr. Gregory? You scarfed his head? Yeah, well, he taught me, you do your homework, you learn stuff. Like what happens to your nervous system when you hear this!"

Dramatically, she slammed the button on the tape recorder. After a short pause, Giles' voice floated through. Buffy stared at the device in shock.

...extremely important to file not simply alphabetically...

That's enough to destroy anyone's nervous system.Buffy thought, rolling her eyes. "Giles!"

"I-it's the wrong side!"

Natalie knocked the tape recorder and machete from Buffy's hands. Giles

Watched the recorder fly past him, and then scrambled after it as Buffy leapt over a slashing claw. Natalie tries to trip Buffy, but she jumps over her claw. Xander came out of nowhere, spraying Natalie again and distracting her once more. Buffy, however, pushed him, trying to get him out of danger, and Natalie knocked Buffy over. As Buffy kicked the giant mantis away from her, she found the machete at the same time Giles found the recorder. Giles played the tape, and Natalie began to flail as the pain hit her.

"Bat sonar." Buffy explained, her voice slightly breathless. "Makes your whole nervous system go to Hell. You can go there with it!" This time nothing happened to destroy her dramatic moment, and she leapt forward, slashing Natalie to bits with the machete. Winded, she turned away from the bug to see Giles, Willow, Blayne and Xander standing behind her.

"Well, I... I'd say it's deceased."

"And dissected."

"You okay?" Xander asked Buffy.

"Yeah."

"Just for the record, you were right, I'm an idiot, and God bless you!"

Remembering that she had tried to warn Xander, and Xander had accused her of being jealous, Buffy lowered her head.

"And thank you guys, too."

"Yeah, really!" Blayne added.

Giles looked sourly at Blayne. "Pleasure..."

"I'm really glad you're okay." Willow insisted, "It's so unfair how she only went after virgins.

Xander laughed, and looked around at them, then said, "What?"

Ignoring him, Willow said, "I mean, here you guys are, doing the right thing, the smart thing, when a lot of other boys your age..."

"Flag down on that play, babe." Blayne protested, "I am not..."

Giles interrupted him. "Well, you see, that's the She-Mantis' modus operandi. Uh, she only preys on the pure."

Xander sighed. "Well, isn't this a perfect ending to a wonderful day!"

Blayne stuttered for a moment and then cried, "My dad's a lawyer. Anyone repeats this to anybody, they're gonna find themselves facing a lawsuit."

Xander rolled his eyes, "Blayne! Shut up!"

Willow had an adoring expression on her face as she looked at Xander. "I don't think it's bad, I think it's really..."

Xander held up the machete and Willow's eyes widened almost comically.

"...sweet! It's certainly nothing I'll ever bring up again."

Xander began to hack away at the mantis nest as the others watched silently.

Over the heads of the others, Buffy looked across at Giles, and their eyes met.

They had survived yet another one, and everything was once more as it should be.

******

I'm going to stop doing every episode, coz some are boring, Buffy and Giles wise.