Vanguard Slayer

by Joshua The Evil Guy

Buffy encounters an enemy that she cannot defeat alone. After this demon kills Angel in front of her, can she possibly survive? Only with the teachings of a young warrior sent by the Watcher's Council to train her and her friends does she have a chance!

3. Journey of a Path

Vanguard Slayer

Author: Joshua

Summary: The Judge is dead, Buffy and her friends, despite mistrust and some rocky roads, are closer than ever, and Angel has been avenged. But Jason still remains to teach his students how to fully master Chi-Armor, and yet the question remains, why? And what lessons does he have left to teach them?

Spoilers: Up to "Bad Eggs" and beyond, but before "Surprise", which turns out very differently.

Disclaimer: Joss Whedon created and owns the Buffyverse, which is company owned by Mutant/Enemy Productions. "Chi-Armor" is, as far as I care, a semi-original concept, derived from multiple factual and fictional references, but the term and use itself is original to this story.

AN: Chi-Armor is NOT pronounced how it looks to the American, British, or even Japanese eyes, no offense. It is pronounced with the Greek approximation. Χ, or "ck-I" is the way to pronounce it when you see the word put as Chi-Armor. If seen as chi or ki, then it is pronounced how it is spelled.

Story: "The Journey of a Path"

Angel had been gone for two months now. And she was getting over it. Which in and of itself was the entire problem.

Buffy sighed, depressed and dejected, just staring into nothing and trying very hard not to think of anything, because whenever she did think of anything, even just schoolwork or chores, things that had absolutely nothing to do with being the Slayer, or vampires, or even men . . . she always ended up thinking about Angel.

Still, everyone kept telling her that it was a good thing she was getting over her loss, and Xander kept saying that the sacrifice was worth it and if for anything, Angel should be remembered for that. Despite the surprising source, and the sage advice, the Slayer was still finding it hard to let go. Until one day, after a weekend training session, Jason pulled her off to the side.

The others saw this and quickly and quietly made themselves discreet. Actually it was more like Xander and Willow dragging Cordelia away and into the Library while the other two Chi-warriors went out into the hall.

Jason was mostly silent as he lead Buffy to the quad, the courtyard area where most of the students hung out on their free period or during lunch. Once outside, the only slightly younger, but undoubtedly more powerful warrior placed the Slayer on a bench and then sat across from her.

"So, uh, how are you holding up?" he asked uncertainly.

"Wh-what do you mean?" she replied hesitantly.

Jason shifted a little uncomfortably, then crossed his arms and tried to look in every direction but at the Slayer herself. Finally, "Giles has asked me to speak with you, in regards towards your actions against the Judge."

"Why didn't he come to me himself? I mean, he is my Watcher," Buffy demanded to know, her nervousness being replaced with anger.

"Because he likes being healthy?" Jason asked with a humorous light. Buffy blushed as she ducked her head in slight shame for her reaction.

"Originally I wasn't going to say anything on the matter, but after we had a couple conversations on what I'm teaching you guys, and how well you're doing, cause even I admit that he is an adult and one responsible for the safety for all of you, at least in the supernatural regards, we agreed that you need to talk with someone. I was volunteered," Jason continued.

After an uncomfortable silence, and with a heavy sigh, he concluded, "What you did was stupid and it was wrong Buffy. Don't look at me like that," he added when she gave him a pouting frown at being called stupid, "And hey, I may not have an immunity to the girl-pout, but I don't know you well enough yet for it to be fully effective. You went out, half-cocked, unprepared, and without any back-up, and not even any word about where you would be or where you were going. You weren't, and still aren't ready to face an opponent like the Judge, as taken care of as he is right now. There are stronger demons out there Buffy, and some are stronger even than me! As stronger than me as I was stronger than the Judge. Think about that for a second Buffy."

"Look, we won, I don't see what the big deal is. The next demon that comes along, we'll just deal with him or it or whatever as it comes. Like we always do. And so far, we've always won." Buffy responded to his lecture.

"Until you lost a man," Jason snapped, angry.

Buffy flinched back, emotionally hurt by the tone, and what it reminded her of.

"Are you going to lose another friend to someone or something as stronger than you as the Judge was when you first met him? Because if that's your only plan in regards to how you live out your destiny, then I'm afraid you're not going to live much longer than most of the other Slayers that have lived and died. First of all, you have to face facts. You. Screwed. Up, Buffy. Deal with that first. Then deal with the next demon."

Tears were pooling in her eyes as Buffy tried to understand why he was speaking to her like he was, when he suddenly lifted her head to look him in the eye.

"You shouldn't have gone out unprepared. You should have waited for me to finish teaching you and catching the others up to your level. Then we all could have gone out and faced the Judge together. There are always better odds when you have more people, good people, on your side of the fight. Remember that." Jason told her.

"But we won," Buffy almost wailed, still not understanding.

"And you almost lost, if I hadn't shown up when I did. You didn't kill the Judge Buffy. I did," the warrior stated with certainty of fact. "You weakened him, but that was the most and all that you could really do. But newsflash Slayer, I'm not going to always be there, I'm not going to always be here. My home is on the East Coast for starters! I'm only here to train you. Once that's done, I'm gone. So if you're going to keep going off half-cocked each time you learn a new power or get a new weapon or something else along those lines, I'll happily go ahead and leave and inform the Watcher's Council that they can start training their next Slayer, because the one on the Hellmouth is guaranteed to die in six months to a year."

Buffy had had enough. The tears had fallen, but if her emotional state had been able to affect the physical states around her, those tears would have evaporated before hitting the pavement, her anger was so intense.

"So, this is about me not doing everything you say like a good little brainless soldier, is that it?" she demanded, getting to her feet in a huff.

"No, that is not it at all," Jason snapped, getting to his own feet.

"You know that is just so typical of all the people sent by the Watcher's Council. They're all, 'this is for your own good', 'this is your destiny', 'we know better, you're just a little girl and we have really old and smelly books', and 'because we told you to, you will do it' crap! Well I don't take that!"

"Sit down!" Jason snapped, his face contorted in a picture of anger she had never seen him wear before. Despite her stance and statements so far, she quickly resumed her seat on the bench.

Jason took a deep calming breath. And then another one before sitting down himself.

"I do not work for the Watcher's Council Buffy," Jason told her in calm, even tones. "I work for an organization that the Watcher's Council made a deal with after this situation with the Judge came to light. Normally, one of our own operatives, with the full training I'm trying to teach all of you would be the one to take care of the Judge. Instead of just pointing us in the right direction, however, the Watcher's Council brokered a deal, and withheld the location of where they knew the Judge to be. Namely here, on the Hellmouth."

"So other than a target, what did you get out of the deal?" Buffy asked.

Jason's face was pensive for a moment, then he continued, "I was sent because, for the moment, I'm pretty much the most expendable person that can actually train other people on how to use Chi-Armor. And in exchange for the information regarding the Judge, as well as several other, unrelated matters between my organization and the Watcher's Council, I was sent to train their Slayer in how to use Chi-Armor. Good thing about being on the opposite side of the world from those bozos though, is that what they don't know, can't hurt'em."

"You mean also training the others?" Buffy elaborated with a smile.

Smirking himself, Jason nodded, "Yep."

"OK, so, no love for the Watcher's Council, something I think we all have in common, even Giles on some level I think, but . . ." Buffy rambled.

"I said all that to say this," he interrupted her, "With great power, comes a greater, and even more dangerous responsibility."

Before she could respond to that, he quickly continued, "The power I'm teaching you to harness Buffy is greater than you can imagine, and far greater, and more powerful than you've yet seen. And with this awesome power, comes an even heavier, and incredibly potent responsibility."

She stared at him as he paused to gage her reaction.

"Use small words please," she practically begged while brooding an air of confusion.

Laughing slightly, Jason continued, "What I did to the Judge? That was the weakest and most unimpressive powers I have at my disposal. Now, knowing what I did to a demon, of the Judge's power and strength, what could I do to human beings? What about with my more impressive powers? If I wanted to, or was ambitious enough, I could conquer every single country and nation on Earth with only the threat of my powers. Each and every Chi-Armor user has that kind of power. But none of us do anything like that. Instead, we band together and fight and kill demons and protect humanity from threats it should never know about."

He paused, taking a breath and gathering his thoughts. "I'm giving you this power Buffy. But before I do, I need to know that you know how to use it, that you're responsible enough to have it and use it properly."

"I'm all over the killing demons thing," she rapidly inserted.

"Good. You won't kill humans. But what about yourself? Like I said, we're an organization, and nearly all of us can use Chi-Armor. And now so can you and your friends. While killing demons, are you going to accidentally get either yourself, or one of your friends killed, or are you going to do something that's going to get us all killed one day?"

She was silent.

"Because already you've nearly gotten yourself killed, or did the week you spent at Willow's house bandaged up like a mummy not get that through that Slayer skull of yours? Well if it didn't, let me just make it nice and clear to you Buffy, just so there's no more confusion."

He stood up, and then stood over her, putting his face directly in front of and above hers. "If you ever, ever do something as stupid as that again, running off on your own, fighting an opponent by yourself, or not letting anyone know where you are or where you're going," he paused again, making sure she understood him so far, "I will kill you myself."

The Slayer flinched back, unconsciously, from the absolute conviction she saw in those cold blue eyes, and as afraid as she suddenly was, she couldn't force herself to look away from them. Finally he stood back up and stepped back.

"Do we understand each other?" he asked.

Gulping, Buffy hastily nodded, answering, "Yes sir," rather meekly.

"Good," he replied. Then he collapsed into the bench across from her, breathing heavily with relief. "Glad that's over with. I hate being all serious like that. Reminds me of the lectures I was getting as a kid. Still do occasionally, now that I think about it."

Buffy blinked, not sure whether to be relieved herself or not.

"I didn't bring you out here to give you a lecture Buffy, at least I didn't intend to, but what you did was something Giles and I talked about, and this was actually the first opportunity I've had to speak with you on it," Jason explained. "But back to my first question, how are you doing? Really?"

Buffy took a deep breath, remembering all of her pain and how her vengeance had been denied her, ultimately by her own impatience. "I'm . . . coping. Slowly. I . . . still miss him. I think I'll always miss him, but I..."

"It's OK to miss him. But you shouldn't be hurting over him forever," Jason inserted.

"That's just it," Buffy began to cry a little, "The pain is less. It doesn't hurt as much when I think about him, about how he died . . . about what he meant to me."

"It's all a part of the mourning process, and it's good that the pain is less. It lets you remember the good times more and more, and you can remember him for all of the good things he did and you knew him for, instead of the way he died," Jason told her.

The tears were falling non-stop now, but she wasn't sobbing, which the Chi-warrior took as a good sign. Truth was, Buffy almost felt like she had almost run out of tears by now. Instead she only cried more softly now rather than actually stop.

"I don't think I want the pain to stop," she whispered through her tears.

Jason looked over at her, her head face down, her hands wringing themselves together almost constantly, her hair falling down to cover her face as teardrops fell to splash on the pavement and her clothes.

"Let me tell you about something that happened to me a few years ago," he spoke finally, moving to sit next to her, but that was all. He looked up into the sky, his eyes glazing over in memory as he told her his story.

"I've been trained by the organization I work with practically ever since I was born. Never questioned it, never needed to. Even if I didn't know everything about it and was a complete stranger to them, I'd still be where I am today with absolutely no regrets."

"About 4 years ago, when I was 11 almost 12 years old, I had a best friend by the name of Amy Rinaldi. She too had been trained by the organization since birth, and we practically grew up together. Amy was about a year older than me. And a hell of a lot smarter too. She was like my big sister, my best friend, and my first ever crush all rolled into one. Although she never knew about the crush part."

Jason sighed, looking down at the ground for a few moments, his face contorted with brief emotional pain before slipping back into the neutral mask he usually wore when teaching them. "She had managed to generate 100% Chi-Armor, while I was still at 50% or less most of the time. And anyone and everyone that can use Chi-Armor is given missions to complete. Most of the time it's guarding other initiates, people training to use Chi-Armor themselves. Other times it's sending them to some place where demon activity is higher than normal, or where it's never been before. Occasionally we send an operative out to take down a specific target, whether a group of demons or one demon in particular. Amy got one of those."

"They sent out a twelve year old girl to take down some demon!!" Buffy shouted, outraged.

"That twelve year old could level a building the size of the Sears Tower in six seconds flat if she wanted to," Jason calmly told her. "And she knew what she was getting into. In fact, she even asked for the assignment before she had been told she'd already gotten it."

"The target was a clan of demons, a now dead and gone clan of demons, and they were hunting in a small town, smaller than this one even. Several young children, younger than we were at the time had gone missing. Reason was that they were being taken by said demon clan and then being slaughtered, some parts being sold for sacrifices or ingredients in spells by dark wizards, which do exist I'm sorry to say. Others were just being eaten . . . or worse."

Buffy looked rather sick, as did Jason, who had seen first hand what those demons had done.

"Amy went in, and she killed all but one of the demons. The one that managed to slice her open from the back the moment she let her guard down and dropped her Chi-Armor. She managed one last energy attack, killing it before she died herself. We retrieved her body about a week later."

"Oh my God," Buffy whispered, crying fresh tears, and holding the cross that Angel had given her with her right hand, which she'd been wearing ever since he died. He'd given it to her when they first met.

"I grieved for months, though in retrospect it felt like years. I . . . I got over her death, though I am never going to forget her. Never." Jason vowed, a couple of lonely tears streaking his own face. "The pain is still there, I still feel the loss of her absence. But it doesn't hurt as badly as it once did. And I'm glad. Because I know that she would want me to be happy and continue living my life, living it the way she did and died living it. When I got news of her death though, that was when I finally reached 100% and gained my Chi-Armor."

"No offense, but if that's what it takes to get this power of yours . . ." Buffy began to say.

"That was the trigger for me," he interrupted her. "For some it's finding their one true love. For others it's killing someone they hate. For me it was losing my best friend and the vow that I would never let it happen again. The trigger is entirely unique to the individual. But . . . there are ways to speed things along."

"Such as?"

Jason's gaze became rather thoughtful, and then he smiled. Shaking his head he continued where he left off, "Any way, my point for telling you that was . . . well, I'm just trying to tell you that I understand what you're going through. Cause I've gone through something like it myself. And it's OK, for it to hurt less. Because everyone but you seems to know that Angel wouldn't want you to grieve him forever. He'd want you to be happy with your life, and to keep doing what you're destined to do."

Buffy thought about that for a minute, rolling the new ideas around in her head for a bit. "Yeah, I guess he would," she finally whispered, wiping away the last of her tears.

"Now, what was that about speeding training up a little?" she asked as they stood up.

Jason laughed, his expression still thoughtful as he answered, "We'll see. I need to do a little of my own research about it, but if the option is available, I'll be sure to bring it up to the entire group. Unless you have a problem with that?"

Glowering, Buffy sighed and muttered silent curses at herself before saying aloud, "You're right, OK? I was stupid, and it was even more stupid of me to go off by myself and try to kill the Judge without really being prepared for him. I'm sorry, and I promise to never do it again. And I've already worked on the including the others in training and not excluding them, so don't even try to bring that up again!"

"Wasn't gonna," Jason laughed as they walked back to the Library.

The next day, unfortunately, was Monday, and sadly not a holiday either. So, all the kids were back in class, and Buffy was only just beginning to emerge from the shell of depression she'd been in for the past two months, since Angel's death. Jason, there for morning and afternoon meditation, during school hours, just went back to his apartment, to meditate he replied when asked.

What made the day rather unusual was in the way Xander and Cordelia seemed to be going at each others throats even more than they usually did, and nobody really understood why.

Not that anybody really understood why they fought so much in the first place.

It all came to a head, however, in Biology class. Leaving out the gory details and the complicated insults hurled at decibel piercing levels, let's just say that it involved lots of shouting, hurling and throwing of numerous organs of and the dissected animals themselves, as well as two weeks straight of detention for the entire 4th period Biology class.

After school, Jason waited in the Library with Giles, Jenny, Buffy, and Willow for Xander and Cordelia to get out of that afternoon's detention. The main topic of discussion, of course, was the two missing Slayerettes.

"So do either of you know exactly what set this off?" Jason asked Buffy and Willow.

"Not a clue," the blond Slayer replied.

"For all we know, it could have been the shirt Xander was wearing, or some inane comment Cordelia made in class," the redhead offered, "Could be both."

"Well, lets just hope that they can put it behind them and let go of whatever animosity is going on between them during training times. I had enough trouble dealing with Buffy's issues! I'm a Chi-Warrior, not a miracle worker!" Jason exclaimed, running his hand through his hair in exasperation, pulling his hair back from his face for just a moment.

"Hey!" Buffy remarked at the shot Jason had just taken at her.

"He's right Buffy, you had issues," Willow rebuked her friend.

Grumbling, but no longer protesting, the Slayer crossed her arms and sat down with a huff.

"How much longer until detention is over?" Jason asked.

"Shouldn't be too much longer," Giles answered, "In fact the afternoon detentions should already be over, so they should be along shortly."

"Should . . ." Jason trailed off, staring into space for several moments before turning his attention fully to the Library doors. "Oh, here they are," he said with surprise.

"Huh? What are you . . ." Buffy started to ask when at that very moment, Xander and Cordelia walked in through the swing doors, neither exactly grinning.

"Wow, that's a cool trick," Willow commented.

Buffy nodded in agreement.

"Great, well now that we're all here, I think its time to move on in your training," Jason quickly interrupted, sensing the tension between the two brunettes that had just entered the room.

"Fine, whatever," Cordelia grumbled, taking her place.

"Fine!" Xander snapped, moving to the opposite side from Cordelia.

Jason let out a deep breath, running his fingers through his long hair, which strangely moved right back to the exact same place, covering half his face where it had been before he put his hand back down. It was going to be a long session.

"First, you should know we won't be going through physical training today. I think it's time to show you all the next step. But first, I have to explain just a little bit more about Chi-Armor and what it means," he explained.

"About time," Buffy grumbled as she sat down to listen.

"Buffy," Willow admonished, causing the Slayer to blush slightly.

Ignoring this, Jason stood and began to speak.

"You should know that, up until now, I haven't really been training you. I've been conditioning you. Getting your bodies, minds, and even your life energy up to par. As of today, we begin the true training in teaching you how to develop your energy into a solidified form of energy and manifest it as Chi-Armor. The first step, once you've mastered your energy flow, is to attain oneness with your Animal Spirit Guide. This is important because your guides can provide you with what you need, as well as be a catalyst into forming your armor."

"There is actually a couple of ways to do this, but I prefer one of two ways. One way is to go on Walkabout. Which is just the fancy way of saying that I'd be sending each of you into the wilderness, alone, to survive and wander around until your Spirit Guide found you, talked to you, and helped you get back."

Each of the other teenagers blanched and looked around at each other and at Jason, before Cordelia raised her hand, and said, "I don't think I want to do that one."

Jason smiled and continued, "I didn't think you would, so which is why I've decided to go with the other option. Intense, deep meditation, but more than that too. The Native Americans used to do the second option, which is used quite a bit more often. And it's also used to speak with one's Animal Guide in all matter of things. If you manage to actually reach and make contact with your Guide, then chances are very good that you'll be able to communicate with them all the time. They'd be with you constantly, and after this, you'd be able to listen properly."

"Constantly? I'm not sure I like the sound of that!" Cordelia complained.

"With you in the metaphysical sense. Plus, they're animals Cordelia, not perverts."

"Like there's a difference."

"He meant real animals Cordelia!" Willow snapped.

"There's a catch, isn't there?" Buffy suddenly put forth.

Jason nodded, his expression somber. "It's rare, but it has been known to happen that instead of encountering your Spirit Guide, you get lost instead. The result in that case is that you never wake from the dream state. You go into a coma, your spirit forever lost in the ether."

"But..." Willow looked like she was about to panic.

"It's also happened that instead of actually meeting your Spirit Guide . . . you meet something . . . else instead. And this being the Hellmouth, the chances of that happening are greatly increased. Mostly in the fact that there are actual odds of it happening."

"Something . . . else?" Buffy repeated.

"Once or twice . . . when this has been done, the person has been . . . invaded and . . . possessed by . . . well, by a demon. The result is that they get their Chi-Armor instantly, but it's demon armor, corrupt and evil, and in some ways its much worse than becoming a vampire, because the soul is still trapped in the body with the demon, but unable to control any aspect of the body."

There was a breath of silence as the teens all absorbed this new information.

"So, this is dangerous," Buffy summarized.

"Truthfully, in comparison, going on Walkabout is a LOT less dangerous than the dream walking meditation," Jason admitted. "But I'd still suggest it for all of you, because, despite the danger, despite the chances, despite the Hellmouth itself, I truly believe that you guys can do this."

"Well, that's a rip-roaring vote of confidence if I do say so myself," Xander monotoned, then he grinned and nodded his head. "So what do we have to do? Just meditate like usual?"

Jason shook his head. "I've already got all the supplies thanks to Giles and Jenny. Only thing left is your agreement to participate. There are, of course, other ways, but this is the quickest and surest way to get you in contact with your Spirit Guides as soon as possible."

Buffy looked around the semi-circle, focusing on each of her friends for several long seconds before moving on. Finally seeing all of them, even Cordelia nod at her, a steel look in all their eyes, the Slayer turned to the young Chi-warrior, and replied, "We're all in. But obviously we have a few more questions before we do anything?"

"Ask away," Jason shrugged and sat back against the long table, crossing his arms.

"This is like meditation right, only we'll be dreaming?" Xander asked immediately.

"So, its like a hallucination?" Willow, a breath behind her best friend.

Jason shook his head. "It goes into metaphysics, not my best subject I must admit, but more or less, your mind is going to be going deeper into your own soul, to a place within yourself where your Animal Spirit Guide actually guides your spirit, AKA you. The trick is, that going this far within yourself, your outer defenses are lowered, so to speak. It's like this; you know that vampires need to be invited into a home in order to even come in, right?"

Everyone nodded their agreement and understanding.

"Well, imagine your soul as a house, your home even. The danger in going through this meditation, by going this far into your own soul is like tearing down all the walls around your entire house, but leaving the doors and windows locked. Which is why its so rare for a demon to try and possess a person, because it shows real tenacity on the demon's part. As for the getting lost, this analogy doesn't really work, because what's happening is that you are moving your conscious mind to the part of your soul where your Spirit Guide communicates with you. Its even rarer, but like I said, it has happened, that instead of just staying there, some people have gone through that portal in their soul into where the Spirit Guides exist, which isn't really anywhere, thus calling it the Ether. Another name for it would be the Void."

"Which brings up my question," Buffy interrupted, "What should we expect or look for when we're on this dream walk? Is there anything we have to avoid or have to do to get our Guides to show up?"

"The Guides show up when they show up," Jason answered with a shrug. "That's why some people get lost. Their Guides weren't right there when they entered the dream, and probably didn't show up for quite a while, so they went looking for the Guides instead of allowing them to come to them on their own. That's the important thing, and the only 'don't' I can think of. Wait for your Guide to find you, no matter how long it takes."

"What about our Guides themselves? You said they're animals? What kinds of animals should we be looking for, in case we wind up in some kind of zoo or circus?" Buffy questioned.

Jason shook his head, "Your Guide will be the one and only animal there. It's a rare creature that has more than one Animal Spirit Guide. Rarer even than there are Slayers on the planet."

"But there's only one Slayer," Willow dutifully pointed out.

Raising an eyebrow, but keeping his voice neutral, Jason merely commented, "Exactly. As far as I know, such a creature, human or otherwise, does not exist."

"Oh," Buffy blushed.

"It was a good question though. As for what kinds of animals," Jason just shrugged with a perplexed look on his face, "As many animals and spirits exist in the entire universe, any one of them could be your Animal Spirit Guide. I've heard of, never actually met or anything, but I've heard that there are people that have Guides that aren't even represented here on Earth, and I have heard that a select few have Guides that should be extinct by now."

"What, like Dinosaurs?" Cordelia retorted.

Jason's only response was to grin broadly with a mysterious twinkle in his eyes.

The teens' eyes went wide as Cordy exclaimed, "No way!"

"Never seen them, but I've heard that there are people like that," Jason cryptically replied.

"What's your Animal Spirit Guide?" Willow asked.

"The White Tiger. I'd give you species specific, but Spirits don't work on that level. They choose a form that their abilities and personalities most match. It's really all very complicated, but I'm just trying to get you to understand the basics."

"How're our Spirit Guides chosen?" Buffy asked.

Jason shrugged, making a noise that further concluded that he didn't really know the answer. "For all anyone knows, it's about personality. Could be that the Animal Spirit Guides are mirrors of people's own souls, reflections of the individuals themselves in the Ether. Another theory is that when we're born, out souls are torn in half, and the spiritual half becomes our Spirit Guides during life and then rejoin together after death. You could try asking your own Spirit Guide when you meet it," he suggested.

"Would they answer that kind of question?" Willow asked, eager.

Again, Jason just shrugged, "Beats the heck outta me. It would depend on who and what your guide is, I guess."

"So . . ." Buffy stuttered, drawing everyone's eyes to her.

Clearing her throat and gathering her courage, she asked her question, "So who, or what . . . do you think our Animal Spirit Guides will be?"

Jason sighed, heavily weighing the question before answering.

"Honestly I can't say," he shrugged again, "This is all metaphysical. As much philosophy as magic, as much magic as science, as much science as ancient wisdom, and as much ancient wisdom as new age philosophy. I've met people that were as different as night and day with the same type of Animal Spirit Guide, (different actual spirits apparently), and a few that were so alike that you'd think they were twins that had Guides that would be mortal enemies in the real world's animal kingdom. My point is . . . you can never tell just by looking."

"Any more questions?" he asked after another long silence.

The teens all looked around, and seeing that none of them could think of anything else, they all shook their heads no.

"All right then, I'll get the supplies. I suggest you guys get into your meditation positions while I set up, then we'll begin." Jason moved quickly to the office and came back out with bags of herbs and incense and a large clay urn.

While the others sat out the mats and settled themselves around in a circle, Jason was adding the herbs and incense to the urn in precise measurements. Once he was satisfied, he looked around at them all, making sure they were ready.

"You're all committed to this? There's no turning back after this, no matter what. Learning how to focus your energy and working out is one thing, but this will change things on a much bigger scale. You do this, you commit yourself to this training for the rest of your lives. Are you ready to make that commitment and accept all the risks that may or may not entail?"

Each of them was quiet, looking at themselves rather than each other. Buffy was the first to nod her head, saying aloud, "I'm in. All the way."

Xander nodded as well, saying, "I'm in too. For my own reasons, not for or because of anyone else either."

"Me too," Willow agreed a second later.

Everyone looked over at Cordelia, who was still looking down at herself, before finally she looked up, a hard look in her eyes as she agreed, "We're doing this. I'm in."

Jason nodded, convinced, and said, "All right then."

With a sharp motion he threw one last thing into the urn, which suddenly exploded, a bright white and gray cloud of smoke coming from it, quickly covering them all. The next thing they knew, darkness swallowed each of them.

Buffy

Once the smoke had actually faded, Buffy was somewhat surprised to find herself where she was. For starters, she'd been sitting before, and now was standing, and secondly, she wasn't in the library anymore. In fact, it looked like she wasn't even in America anymore.

The sky was a clear blue, marked occasionally by a fluffy white cloud, but the sun was directly overhead, and even for California that was not normal. She was also standing in the middle of a large, almost endless it seemed, grass plain, the wind constantly blowing over it, moving the grass like waves of green and gold. Looking straight ahead she saw what had to be the only landmark for hundreds of miles in every direction. It stood out like a sore thumb, literally. It was, guessing from the distance, a very, very large rock, sitting out in a grass field like an island in the ocean.

Remembering what this was, Buffy calmed down considerably and decided that, given that everything here was supposed to be a part of her own soul, it would be OK to start heading for that rock outcropping. Besides, she needed a reference point and the rock was as good as any.

She didn't really feel like admitting that she also had a bizarre instinct to go to the rock that she simply couldn't explain.

An unknown amount of time later, Buffy stopped walking. The rock, bigger now, but still a ways off, was still before her, waiting, but that wasn't the problem. She was being followed. No, more than that. She was being hunted.

Turning around she stared right at a bushel of grass that somehow seemed thicker than that around it. Despite this, she knew that was where her stalker was.

"Come on out," she said, "I've actually been looking for you. You're why I'm here."

Nothing. At least nothing at first.

The wind continued to blow, never stopping, and carried across it came a soft rumbling sound. Or rather, a growl. Buffy's eyes went wide when she saw the golden green eyes staring, almost disembodied, out at her from the grass. A deep instinct, built directly into her DNA and animal-brain by millions of years of evolution, surged with an overwhelming panic and fear, flooding her with adrenaline.

Despite this, Buffy stood her ground, staring right back until the disembodied eyes attached themselves to a large sandy-golden frame, with a vaguely feline shape. Taking a step back, she realized that she was staring at a lion. A lioness more specifically as she saw no sign of a mane.

"H-h-hi?" she squeaked, her fear leaking out. And this wasn't just the fear of being alone in the middle of nowhere and encountering a known predator that has on occasion been known to kill humans, but this fear came from the vaguest sense that she was somehow trespassing where she was not allowed to be and had just got caught.

"You should have detected me much sooner, Slayer," came a familiar voice from the brush.

Buffy's fear evaporated instantly, replaced with confusion. Had the Lioness just spoken to her? Even more confusing was that the voice that had spoken had been her mother's voice, but it also quite clearly came from the Lioness.

Suddenly, Buffy remembered what Jason had said. The Spirits chose forms that most suited their powers, abilities, attributes, and personalities. So besides this spirit being like a lioness, she also apparently sounded like Buffy's own mother, though for what reasons Buffy had yet to discover.

"W-what do you mean?" Buffy asked, her confusion and fear leaking into her voice.

"I followed you from the moment you arrived here in this place, but you've only just become aware of my presence. A Slayer should be more vigilant and aware of her surroundings."

Feeling that she'd just been insulted, and having faced things a LOT scarier than a lioness calmly sitting in the grass staring at her, Buffy threw away her fear and glared angrily at the spirit. "I'll have you know that I knew you were there long before I let you know I knew you were there!" she snapped.

"You knew I was here, but you didn't know where I was," the lioness logically retorted.

Scowling in frustration, Buffy crossed her arms and asked, "So what's supposed to happen anyway? Jason didn't exactly explain what was supposed to happen once we found our Animal Spirit Guides, he only said that you might be able to help us achieve Chi-Armor."

"He told you the truth, as he understands it," the lioness replied.

"So? What's supposed to happen?" Buffy lost patience after several more moments of heavy silence, save for the constant wind blowing over the grassy plain.

"That's up to you," the spirit answered, "I can only guide you, it's part of the title. You're the one that must decide to walk down the path and you must be the one to walk it. I may walk with you, but the challenges you'll face along the path you and you alone must face."

"Talk about cryptic," Buffy muttered.

"OK, well then, guide me to the path that leads me to getting Chi-Armor, how about that?" she blurted.

"Are you sure that you truly wish to go down that path? It will change your life forever from what it was. Nothing will be the same. Buffy . . . are you sure you're ready?"

It was spooky, what with the Lioness speaking with her own mother's voice, it was like her real mother was asking the question, and it gave her the same hesitation in deciding, making her think things through.

But.

But Angel was dead. Jason was training her and the others, and they were advancing all the time. Things were already different, more different than they'd been before. Did she really want things to change even more? Without knowing whether those changes would be good . . . or bad?

She shrugged, "Things are going to change anyway. Things changed after I became the Slayer, so why should I expect anything else?"

For a moment, she had the strangest inclination the Lioness was grinning at her. "That's very wise. But just because you accept that things will change, does not mean that you are ready for them to."

"So make me ready," Buffy challenged.

In one smooth movement, the Lioness was on her "feet", and almost right in Buffy's face.

"I was waiting for you to say that," she growled softly. She turned towards the rock still in the distance. "We will have a race. The first one to Pride Rock wins. A warning though, interfering with the other racer is more than just allowed, it's expected. I can, and will attack you at any time, and of course you are allowed to do the same against me. Agreed?"

Despite intimidated by the sudden aggression from the spirit, Buffy had no doubt about her decision, nor any hesitation. "Agreed," she said, and then punched the spirit in the muzzle, knocking it back into the grass, she then took off running straight for the rock as fast as she could move.

A loud, long and bone-chilling roar echoed across the wind-swept plain, but Buffy didn't react in the slightest except maybe to pour more speed into her steps.

Out of nowhere, she heard something moving in the grass off to the side, and she knew instinctively it was the Lioness. The roar, much much closer, came again, but it only spurred the Slayer onward. She heard the Lioness coming closer, trying to angle in to attack she assumed, so she angled away and then readjusted her course back to the rock, moving faster than before.

Faster than she expected, the roar and rustling of moving grass came again, even closer than before. She tried another dodging tactic, but always made sure to keep heading towards the goal. This went on for quite a while, sometimes the Slayer even tried back-tracking a little, but no matter what or where, the Lioness was always right behind or beside her, roaring at her, chasing her. Stalking her. Apparently the spirit cared more for 'interfering' rather than winning the race.

Disheveled and more exhausted than she'd ever felt before, even during Jason's and Giles' worst training, Buffy finally came upon what looked like a mudhole. Recalling what she could about animals and how they followed scents, and one way to confuse the animals was to travel through water, or to cover their own scents with something else Buffy desperately tried to think of something to do. A closing roar behind her made up her mind for her as she dove into the mud and quickly covered practically every inch of her body. As she rubbed the mud into her skin and covered her clothes, something else happened though. She felt . . . she couldn't describe it. It was like . . . like she was getting in touch with an aspect of the Slayer she'd never imagined before. It felt wonderful, alive, energized, and . . . primal.

Her face a mask of gray mud, the rest of her packed with wet earth, she moved out from the mudhole, going on all fours instead of running outright like she had been. She also discovered that she somehow now knew how to move through the grass without rustling so much as a single blade, moving in absolute silence.

As she moved onward towards Pride Rock, she pauses when a roar sounded distantly behind her, sounding kind of frustrated. Grinning slyly, she continued in absolute silence towards the goal.

Willow

The first thing Willow knew once the blackness had disappeared, was that she was standing on an abandoned beach, the wide ocean all around her and before her, a pretty and iridescent healthy blue. Turning around she saw that she wasn't on an island or on the coast, but rather it was more like a sandbar that actually breached sea level. So she was in the middle of the ocean on something that barely had enough room to accommodate her standing there.

That was about the time that she noticed that she was naked. Not a stitch of clothing on her, nothing to cover up with, and standing out in the open where just anyone could see her. It certainly didn't help that it was day and there wasn't so much as a wisp of a cloud in the sky.

And while blue was her favorite color, she felt that maybe this was a bit too much blue.

Meanwhile she was still naked and very exposed. Crying out in shock and fear, she crouched down on where she stood, bringing her legs up, tightly closed, to her chest and wrapping her arms around herself, trying to cover as much of her . . . vital areas as possible.

She sat there for what felt like forever, her panic slowly ebbing away as nothing but the ocean waves kept her company. Not even a sea gull flying over head, or any shapes visible in the water. Eventually her panic and fear gave way to curiosity and confusion. It was at that moment that she actually remembered where she was and what she was supposed to be doing.

This wasn't real. It was just a part of her soul, a part of her. And she was supposed to be looking for her Animal Spirit Guide. Although it was a little disconcerting being naked.

Carefully, and still keeping her arms in front of her to keep "herself" covered, she stood up and walked to the water's edge until the waves were tickling her toes.

"Hello?" she called out. "Is anyone here?"

It had been hot from the moment she arrived, but now after however long she'd been sitting, she was covered with sweat and the heat was overwhelming. The cool water running over her feet was extremely comforting, and it was quite obvious that no one else but she was around.

Remembering what Jason had said about going to look for her Guide, Willow felt that the best choice of action was to stay put, on the sandbar, but it was so hot. And the water was so cool, and if she stayed right next to the sandbar she wouldn't get lost.

Taking one last nervous look around, she finally let go and took her arms down and away and then took a step forward into the ocean. Unfortunately, she hadn't expected the ground to disappear from beneath her, so she instantly went beneath the surface, and would have gone down a long ways if she hadn't immediately swam back up to the surface. Gasping for breath the moment she breached, she wiped her hair out of her face and looked around. Despair almost overwhelmed her when she saw that the sandbar had disappeared, leaving her there to tread in the ocean. Alone. Naked.

"Uh oh" she muttered, treading water.

She startled even more when she suddenly saw a fin breach the water some feet in front of her and make a beeline straight for her. Panicking, remembering every shark movie she'd ever seen or heard about, Willow scrambled backwards, trying to get away from the predator. Until the rest of what the fin was attached to breached in an arching jump that flew over her head and then land with a spectacular splash.

That brought Willow up short as she knew that sharks couldn't leap out of water like that. In fact the only sea animal that could do it like that wasn't even a fish. It was . . .

A dolphin suddenly splashed up right beside her, squealing in clicks and whistles, which strangely sounded like laughter to the treading redhead.

"About time you got in, I was getting bored waiting for you," a voice came from the dolphin.

Willow froze, but then was forced to keep treading water as she almost fell below the surface again. The voice had been identical to her father's voice, only it had come from a dolphin, and it sounded in a good mood and like it was laughing. Her father was never in that good a mood.

"Are . . . are you my Spirit Guide?" Willow asked, her voice trembling.

"Yep! Hey, wanna go for a swim? C'mon!" and the dolphin quickly dived and swam away, leaving Willow there, very confused.

Xander

Xander couldn't say when the transition from the incense smoke-filled Library to the blackness of unconsciousness happened, nor when the black switched quite suddenly and without warning to a completely different and alien environment. It was very confusing to him, even more so when he actually tried to identify wherever it was he was now.

He was standing, alone for the moment as far as he could tell, in the middle of a large grassy field, but the grass was unhealthy looking, maybe a little burned around the edges. By the way, large, in this case, indicates endless, because no matter where he looked, in what direction for however long, he saw nothing but the grass around him and the sky. That was another thing, the sky was thick with black heavy storm clouds that looked as though it should have already been raining, but it wasn't. How they were storm clouds instead of just clouds at night, came from the flashes of lightning he saw practically every half-a-second. It was like the lightning didn't actually stop, no matter what.

Finally, his confusion and nervousness became too much and he asked aloud, "I don't get it. Where the hell am I?"

"I was wondering when you'd ask that," a too-familiar voice answered somewhere behind him.

Turning on the spot, Xander screamed and scrambled back when he saw the undoubted source of the voice. A large, (remember what large means), VERY large spotted hyena was sitting there in the grass, looking at him with its emotion-filled amber yellow eyes.

"Don't run," the hyena said with a huff of annoyance, "I don't feel like chasing you."

"B-B-Buffy?" he stuttered, staring incredulous at the creature that had spoken with the voice of his friend.

"Sort of, but not really," the hyena answered in that same annoyed tone that matched Buffy's perfectly. "You hear me speak with Buffy's voice because she is, in your eyes, the strongest force in your life. I honor her by representing myself with a portion of her."

"Wait, wait, what?" Xander was more confused than ever.

"I'd absolutely love to go repeating every word I say at least ten times each, but I don't feel like doing that right now either," the hyena huffed again, and then laid down on the grass, still staring calmly, (for a hyena), up at the human. "Let me put it like this. Everything here, around you right now, even yourself, is all abstract. None of this is real. It's a vision, a dream, a figment of your imagination, it's all in your head. Well, your soul really, but you get the idea, I'm sure."

Xander stopped and just stood there, thinking over what he'd heard from the hyena so far.

"So . . . this isn't real?" he finally asked, having gotten that much.

"Well, yes and no," the hyena cryptically replied, which was something Buffy didn't do, although with the way she usually talked herself into circles, one could never tell if she was ever being purposefully cryptic rather than just confusing.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he snapped back.

"It means that you aren't really on a grass plain somewhere talking with a calm and logical, not to mention talking, hyena, with several trillion volts of electricity dancing overhead. Your body is still in the Library, sitting in a cloud of incense, meditating. However, your soul, the only part of you that IS "you", is talking to a hyena, which just so happens to be your Animal Spirit Guide."

At that, Xander's reaction was a bit more violent than he'd expected, or for that matter than the Hyena had expected. Xander leapt back, almost running, but he didn't turn around, instead keeping his eyes glued to the Hyena now, his face snarling in an expression he usually reserved for vampires.

"Like HELL! No way in hell is my Spirit Guide a . . . a . . . a . . ." Xander exclaimed.

"Hyena?" the spirit supplied with a tone Buffy usually reserved for the utterly stupid vampires that made him actually feel sorry for them by the time she actually got around to dusting them.

"I thought the hyena was expelled, you know like kicked out when that zoo keeper unpossessed me!" he protested.

"First, I am a Hyena spirit, not the hyena anything. Second, I was your Animal Spirit Guide long before that. And besides, I thought it was kind of funny, and a bit ironic when that situation came up, so I guided you towards the whole hyenas and possession thing," the Hyena with Buffy's voice explained.

"YOU WHAT!!" he roared, actually charging forward some, but came up short when his mind actually reminded him what he was doing. (Charging a very large with very sharp teeth wild animal)

"Well think about it why don't you?" the spirit challenged, "Ever since you were a kid, you've always been the joker, the class clown, the first one to laugh at yourself and at something truly funny. You like to laugh. You've also been highly protective and loyal to every single person that you have called friend and family. Even when they push you away or treat you like dirt, you're still loyal and will do anything for them. You also feel most comfortable when surrounded by your friends. Then there's the fact that you, a male, tend to differ to female leadership, at least when it's a strong female. These qualities alone are the same that most people associate with hyenas in the real world."

"Shut up!" he shouted. Then he turned around and snapped, "I can't believe you MADE me get possessed by that . . . that . . . thing!"

"First of all, I can't make you do anything. I can only guide you, it's up to you whether or not to follow the path I point out. You do tend to, however, follow your instincts a great deal, which by the way is the only way I can communicate with you usually; through your instincts."

"So explain to me, please, why you thought it was funny that I almost raped Buffy, insulted and almost lost my friendship with Willow, and oh yeah, ATE A PIG RAW!"

Unexpectedly, the spirit began to laugh, a rasping animal-like yipping instead of Buffy's lilting laughter. "Swcondly," it spoke before Xander could shout again, "you have to understand what happened with the hyena in the first place. It didn't turn you into anything that you weren't, it turned you into what you wanted to be. At that time, you wanted to be the very definition of 'cool', you wanted to get noticed by Buffy, and you wanted to have the respect of your peers, which the possession did for you. It added a few things like increased strength, speed, and senses, as well as a connection between those others that hadn't been there before, but everything else was just what you wanted. I thought it ironic to give you exactly what you wished for."

"I didn't want to be . . . to be a . . . a . . ."

"Jerk," the spirit supplied.

Xander scowled, but didn't argue the point.

"Well guess what, everyone that is the definition of 'cool', was and is a jerk. You want to be 'cool', you have to be a jerk. That's the way it works. Hey, I don't make the rules, I'm only explaining them to you."

"Yeah, well, I still don't believe that my Spirit Guide is a Hyena! You're probably whatever is left over from the possession or whatever," he crossed his arms and sat down with a huff.

The spirit sighed and rolled her eyes.

"This is gonna take a while."

Cordelia

Cordelia stood blinking, once she could see again that is. The smoke was still around, but was slowly fading away. Once enough of it was gone she realized that it wasn't smoke that was around her, but mist. And she was standing in the middle of a wooden bridge. It was well-supported, and not one of those rope-bridges from the movies either. Walking to the edge and looking down over the railing, she saw that the bridge was suspended directly over a waterfall.

Finally the mist cleared enough that she could see the clear sky overhead as well as the surrounding forest. After a moment the sounds suddenly rushed forward, the roar of the waterfall beneath, the sound of the breezes in the air, and the sound of the wooden bridge creaking beneath her feet.

"This. Rocks." Cordelia commented aloud. She hadn't said anything before to Jason or the others, but she'd been afraid that she wasn't . . . special enough to get this far in the training.

"You've always been special Cordelia," a male voice suddenly rang out behind her.

Jumping slightly, she spun around . . . and stared. There, sitting calmly on the opposite railing, was a bird. A black, somewhat large bird. It had amber-yellow-red eyes, a triangular pointed black beak, and was about two feet tall from taloned feet to tip of it's crown. It's wingspan, which was difficult to tell given it was holding its wings against it's body, was probably around 4 to 4 ½ feet from tip to tip. Even for a raven it was pretty big.

"What did you say?" was the first thing she blurted, despite the concept that the bird actually spoke in the first place was what kept her off-balance.

She watched, however, as the bird's beak opened and perfectly understandable language came out, sounding very human even.

The bird laughed, with a human laugh and answered, "I said that you've always been special Cordelia. The fact that you're here is just further evidence to that fact. And no, you're not going crazy. I am the Raven. I'm your Animal Spirit Guide. And yes, I can hear your thoughts. Believe it or not, you and I have met before, and are much closer to each other than most of the others are, with one exception."

"Who?" Cordelia blurted without thought. "And why do you sound like Jason?"

"In order," the Raven answered with a twinkly of amusement in it's amber eyes, "Xander. And because at this time, Jason is the most powerful male that you happen to respect the most. The last time we met, I sounded like Rupert Giles. Keep in mind Cordelia, I'm a spirit, I don't actually have a voice, so I borrow other's when I need it."

"Oh," she replied.

"Why is Xander closer to his Spirit Guide?" she asked, still working through everything the Raven had said to her so far.

"He tends to go with his instincts more often, and that's how we spirits communicate with those we guide; through their instincts. Although, I have the feeling that he's not going to be happy when he learns who and what his Animal Spirit Guide really is."

"Why not?"

The Raven laughed again. "It's a hyena. Xander had a bad experience a while back. I'm sure you've heard the stories, dealing with some hyenas at the zoo."

"How do you know that?" Cordelia asked.

The Raven gave a strange little bird-shrug and answered, "It's difficult to explain in ways that you would understand. Suffice it to say, Xander is the closest person to you, and that's how I know who and what his Animal Spirit Guide is. And to answer your next question before you ask, yes, we have met before. But not like this. Like I said, spirits communicate with humans primarily through their instincts, but you don't always follow your instincts, do you Cordelia?"

Blushing slightly, though not knowing why, she shook her head no.

"Then when have we met before?" she wanted to know.

"Through dreams. The last time, as I said, I sounded like Giles, and the dream was you running from vampires. I tried to guide you away from them in the dream and manipulated the dream events so that there was a place of safety waiting for you."

"I remember," she mumbled, trying to remember the entire dream.

"It was those nightmares I used to have all the time. Back during that summer, after I found out about Buffy and the Hellmouth almost opened," she said. "I was being chased by these vampires, my car broke down, and then . . . and then I had to run . . ." She hesitated, struggling to remember all of the dream. "But then . . . then . . . then I, I . . ."

"You ran to the Library, in the dream," the Raven supplied.

Cordelia's eyes went wide as the rest of the dream slammed back into her consciousness. "And all of the others were there waiting for me. Buffy, Giles, Miss Calendar, Willow . . . Xander. They were all there and they . . . they protected me."

"It was what got me to start paying more attention to them and what they were doing. You did that?" she asked, not sounding angry.

The Raven gave that weird little bird-shrug again and answered, "Do you regret that?"

She shook her head no without hesitation, silent as she reflected and thought over the things what the Raven had told her.

The bird just continued to sit there, apparently waiting for her to think things through, being incredibly patient. Finally, Cordelia asked, "So, wait a sec, what did you mean by saying Xander was the closest to me? What the hell is that supposed to mean anyway?!"

"I'll let you figure that out when you're ready," the Raven grinned at her, though she couldn't quite figure out how a bird could grin. "In the mean time, we've got other things to discuss, like how you're going to achieve Chi-Armor?"

That brought the young socialite up short.

"So, how do I do it? Jason . . . you . . . I mean, Jason told us that we had to talk to you . . . or someone, or something in order to figure out how to work the next step in order to get 100% Chi-Armor. So what's the trick?" she asked.

"Are you sure you want to know?" the Raven asked, no longer grinning.

"Hello? I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to know!" she retorted.

"Jump off the bridge," he answered with a casual air, like he'd just told her to raise her right hand.

"WHAT!?" Cordelia screeched, her echo not entirely drowned out by the raging water below.

"Hey, you asked!" the Raven snapped back. "And you don't have to jump. But then you won't be able to ever reach 100% Chi-Armor. And no, I'm not kidding."

"You're . . ." she started to say, "kidding" but managed to stop herself.

"Why do I have to jump?" she asked instead.

"Because," he replied.

She wasn't about to get drawn into that word-trap, so instead she huffed, crossed her arms and turned her back to the Raven.

"Because," the Raven repeated, flapping around until he was in front of Cordelia once again, "it's both symbolic and necessary. You're smarter than the rest of the sheep in your flock Cordelia, we both know that, therefore I know you know what the term 'abstract' means. This bridge isn't really here, you're not even here, here isn't even here!"

"So what's the symbolism?" she asked.

Again, the Raven gave that impossible impression that he was grinning at her, but she also felt that he was proud of her.

"I'm glad you asked," he replied, his 'voice', which was really Jason's, also sounded like he was proud of her. "The river running through the forest is Life. Real Life, not the societal farce you've been living in until now. Instead of walking alongside, taking a boat across it, or even swimming in it, you've always been above it, and not in the good way. You've always been on this bridge here. This bridge represents the Queen C version of you, the popular girl, the socialite, the one that's well on her way to being just like her drunk mother. Despite your relationship with the others, your real friends, and your steps into joining Real Life, this bridge is still here and still steady as ever. Meaning that you haven't really changed as much as you might think you have."

"I've changed plenty!" Cordy protested, "Me being here at all proves that!"

"True. This bridge actually used to be concrete and steel, surrounded by bullet-proof glass," the Raven countered immediately.

She wasn't sure how to respond to that, but then took a look around at the sturdy wooden bridge she was standing on, then she stepped over next to the Raven and looked over the side, and saw the waterfall directly beneath her.

"So what's the waterfall represent?" she asked quietly.

"This moment," he whispered back. "You have a very important choice to make Cordelia. If you want you can stay on this bridge and wake up whenever you want to. You'll still be able to use solidified energy and you'll remember this experience . . . but you'll never have Chi-Armor, and, while slim, there is the chance that you could . . . regress."

"Regress?" she repeated, still looking down at the waterfall.

"Go back to the way you were before, only bitchier, and probably eventually worse than your mother is right now," the Raven was brutally honest. Just like Jason could be at times.

She was quiet for a time, and since time doesn't mean anything in this place, there was no measure of how long. Finally she whispered, "I don't want that."

Immediately, accompanying her whisper, a sharp crack, like wood breaking, echoed across the bridge, followed by a slight tremble. The sturdy bridge no longer looked healthy and new, though it was still sturdy as ever, it just looked like it was more than 20 years old with little to no maintenance instead of brand new as it had been when she'd first arrived.

The Raven ignored the happenings and simply stared at Cordelia.

"What does the waterfall represent?" she asked again.

"Remember I said the river represents Life?"

She nodded.

"Well, despite what it looks like, the river doesn't end with the waterfall, it's just moving to a different level, a new environment. The bridge has stayed steady with the river since you were born, following you along all the tributaries life, and the choices you made, as it took you along. But the bridge can't go past this point. It can't continue on past the waterfall. The waterfall represents the choice you have to make. Join and stay with your friends, and jump, or don't."

"So I'll no longer be a . . . be a bitch after this?" she asked.

The Raven rapidly shook his head no in a very un-bird-like manner. "You've always been strong Cordelia. This bridge though, it's your safety net. It's what kept you blind to the Real World and kept you from Real Life."

"Demons, vampires, things like that?"

"And true friendship, love, companionship, and having real fun and respect instead of fear and a mask of false lies."

Cordelia took a deep breath. "It's scary. I can't see the river past the waterfall."

"It's there. And don't forget, I'm here. I won't let you die."

"Nobody can promise that. I could meet a vampire on my way home tonight and you couldn't do anything! You're not even real!" she snapped.

"True, but I can guide you away from the vampire, or if you jump, guide you along a path that will allow you to not only fight the vampire, but win. Even if he has friends with him."

Still, Cordelia just stood there, not moving.

"You know, I'm not actually supposed to show you this, but I think it'll be OK, just so long as I keep the symbolism intact," the Raven turned to face the outward horizon.

Cordelia gasped when all of a sudden the mists covering everything parted and she saw . . . the most beautiful countryside she could ever have imagined and more. She could see beautiful shining rivers in the distance. One, she somehow knew was the river that was even now below her feet, her life. There were others though. Six in total, she counted. One, that looked a little goofy to her, but was very strong, flowed almost right next to 'her' river, at points coming quite close to hers. All of a sudden she got it. The others! Her friends! Their lives, running right beside hers.

She turned and looked behind her, and only saw a tall, forest, blocking the view on all sides, but she couldn't see any other rivers, any of the others anywhere nearby.

Before she could turn back to look into the distance once again, the mists returned with a vengeance, covering everything seemingly even more than it had to begin with.

But the message got through.

"I don't want to be alone anymore. And they need me," Cordy decided. She backed up, all the way to the other railing, which looked like it might turn to dust if you touched it. Keeping her eye on the distant horizon, where she had seen a brief glimpse of the one thing she wanted more than life, and definitely more than she wanted her safety net, she set her feet and coiled her muscles.

She ran, full tilt, at the other end of the bridge, which seemed to somehow be stubbornly holding on to its own existence, but it didn't matter because she didn't stop, just put her foot forward and jumped, just like Jason had taught her in training. She flipped forward off the bridge, beyond its reach, with no hesitation or inkling to hold back. Just as she was about halfway over, when she thought she'd hit the water, she remembered hearing that suicides that jumped and survived said they had changed their mind halfway down. She smiled as instead, she felt justified and was glad of her decision to jump, because instead of abandoning it, she was choosing Life.

A cry above/behind her, caused her to look around and she saw the Raven diving towards her, crying out as a Raven should. Then she went over the waterfall.

Willow

Willow laughed out loud as she and the Dolphin splashed around before diving deep again, swimming just to be swimming. It was wonderful, she had never felt so . . . so carefree before!

They'd been swimming and playing in the water for hours, at least it felt that way. Willow found she couldn't really keep time in this place, this strange ocean. Besides, keeping track of the time wasn't as important as playing was! She laughed again when they broke the surface in a flying leap.

Finally, after diving and swimming through the water for several more minutes, they paused, just laying there floating on the waves and soaking in the sun. Willow was no longer self-conscious about her nude state, primarily due to the Dolphin telling her multiple times that they were quite literally the only ones in this ocean, because this ocean existed only in Willow's own mind and soul. Comforted by that, she didn't even bother to cover herself as she floated face up in the water, the Dolphin still right beside her.

"Feeling better?" he suddenly asked her.

Not even startling at the intrusion, she continued to lay there, soaking in the contrast of cold water and hot sun. "Oh yeah," she moaned with pleasure, "Lots better. Not as self-conscious either."

"That's good," the Dolphin admitted, sounding strangely serious all of a sudden.

"Something wrong?" she asked as she reoriented herself slightly, now treading water instead of just floating.

"Not wrong per say, but I think we've played enough for one day. It's time that you do what you came here to do," he answered.

"What I came here to do?" she repeated, and then her active mind recalled her purpose and she suddenly gushed, "Oh! You mean how to manifest Chi-Armor! Well, how do I do it?"

"The how is actually a lot simpler than you've been lead to believe, simply continue your training in solidified energy, until you can transform 100%, or all of your life force energies into solidified energy. The reason why you're here is simply to add the spiritual connotation."

Willow frowned in confusion, "I'm not sure I understand."

"100% solidified energy isn't the same as Chi-Armor, unless there's something extra to the life force being converted. Which is why there's the whole communicating with Animal Spirit Guides. The guides, me, tells the warrior, you, what they need to do or change about themselves, or really the part of their souls that will be needed to create Chi-Armor. Ironically enough, sometimes it's just admitting a single truth to yourself, other times for other people it's changing the very way you live and exist in the world. That simple decision, that simple change, alters things on a much grander scale than most would think, and the result, when combined with the solidified energy techniques Jason has been teaching you all, results in Chi-Armor, which he showed you."

"Yeah, that was impressive," she admitted. "But . . . so what do I have to do? Change the way I live? Not be as shy? Or, or s-something else?"

"Admit you're beautiful," the Dolphin deadpanned in a way her father never had before. In fact it was more like something Xander would do.

"What?"

"Admit. You. Are. Beautiful," he repeated slowly.

"B-b-b-but . . ." she stuttered.

"Self-truth," the Dolphin explained. "Admit it and believe it. You'd be amazed at what just admitting that you're beautiful, even just to yourself, would do for your life. Tell yourself that you are beautiful, mean it, believe it, and you'll be one major step closer to Chi-Armor."

"Th-that's it?" she questioned disbelievingly, "That's all I have to do? Admit I'm beautiful?"

"And believe it," he answered.

Paling slightly, she almost bolted then and there. "B-b-but I-I'm not beautiful! I, I'm a geek! A dweeb, a loser, like Cordelia always says. I-I-I'm not beautiful! Not like Cordelia, or or Buffy! Hell, even Harmony's prettier than I am!"

"And that's why all you have to do is admit that you're beautiful, instead of anything more complicated or difficult. You're so convinced that you aren't beautiful that you've focused almost your whole life into proving it. If you suddenly turn that around . . ." he trailed off.

"But, but, but . . ."

"But nothing!" the Dolphin snapped, suddenly sounding angry, another side of her father she'd never witnessed before.

"There's a reason why this vision is like this. One of those reasons is that you appeared here naked, the most vulnerable you've ever been, just to prove to you that you have nothing to be ashamed about and that you ARE beautiful! What do you think Xander's reaction would be if he saw you like this, here, now?"

As she was oft known to do, Willow flushed red so quickly not many would think it even possible, but she didn't answer.

"Then how about if Buffy or Cordelia saw you like this?"

"Buffy would probably try to make me feel good about myself . . . kinda like you are. But Cordelia," Willow's embarrassed blush was briefly replaced with an angry flush. "She'd probably start sneering at me and pointing out my flaws, and then making fun of me because of them."

"Why would she do that you think?" the Dolphin rhetorically questioned, "Maybe she's jealous?" he asked.

Willow opened her mouth to protest that Cordelia had nothing to be jealous of, when her mind kicked in again, this time bringing forth psychological information learned from her parents and their studies. The signs of jealousy between females in cultural societies chief among them. Her mouth hung open as her protest slipped away into outright shock as she realized with startling revelation that Cordelia's behavior ever since they were kids, although more specifically since they both hit puberty, could quite easily be interpreted as signs of jealousy, just as much as they could just be blamed of Cordelia's overbearing personality.

Cordelia was jealous of her? What for? It honestly made no sense to the introverted redhead, but finally the only possibility to enter her mind was that Cordelia saw her as a potential rival. A rival for what, the brainiac redhead couldn't begin to guess, but she couldn't deny the simple logic of her conclusions. And if Cordelia saw her, Willow Rosenberg, as some sort of rival, then that would mean that Willow had attributes that made her Cordelia's equal, and potentially her superior. Which could mean only one thing to her logic-driven mind.

She was beautiful.

Willow Rosenberg was . . . is beautiful.

"I'm . . . beautiful," she whispered quietly, no longer treading water, but not falling beneath the surface of the ocean either.

"What was that?" the Dolphin asked with an expectant grin in his voice.

"I'm beautiful," she repeated.

"I am beautiful."

And she believed it.

A sudden blinding flash of light that came from nowhere and everywhere at once, the ocean, the dolphin, and Willow all disappeared.

Buffy

The Lioness was a better tracker than Buffy had given her credit for, and also apparently cared more for 'interfering' with Buffy herself more than winning the race. Which, she was beginning to realize, was more an exercise than an actual goal of something that needed to be done. She hadn't actually seen the Lioness since the race had begun and she'd taken the cheap shot at the spirit, but she'd sensed and heard her.

Quite frankly all this running around was beginning to frustrate her, and as she rested for a moment she thought of what she should do.

On the one hand she could just ignore the Lioness' sounds and presence and make way for the rock as fast as she could possibly go, and react to the Lioness when she actually showed up. But then on the other, she could do to the Lioness what the spirit was doing to her, harassing, chasing, intimidating and so forth. Either way, she decided, it was better than all this running around and avoiding the fight that was almost inevitable.

The goal, however, remained the same. Get Chi-Armor, and according to the Lioness, she had to win this race. That was what finally made up her mind.

Getting up, now rested, she looked around, found the rock, and started running as fast as she could possibly make herself move, wishing with all her might to make it to the rock and win the race.

Almost instantly, she started hearing the Lioness' cries again, seeming to come right at her, but she ignored them, keeping her course as direct and straight as ever. Curiously, when it sounded like Lioness was almost literally on her butt, she never changed her pace or course so much as a micron. Not even when the roar sounded practically in her ear.

She smiled when she could finally see the base of the mountain, and grinned savagely as she realized she still 'heard' the Lioness directly behind her, but the spirit still hadn't done anything and Buffy still hadn't seen her since first getting here. It was an illusion.

Almost to the base she suddenly felt something. It defied description, but if forced to, she would call it some kind of instinct. Just before she reached the wall of rock that was the mountain, she stopped and leaped backwards in a spinning back flip, all in the same instant. She landed in a three-point stance and watched as the Lioness came almost literally out of nowhere, now standing between herself and her goal.

Again, that indescribable instinct surfaced, somehow communicating that she had to defeat the spirit in combat in order to make it past her and win her goal. Before she might have been apprehensive about facing a Lioness, even one on the spirit plane, but she felt differently now. She was the Slayer! And there was nothing that she could not defeat, even if it killed her in the process. If it meant protecting the others, if it meant protecting Life, then there was nothing that would stop her!

The revelation almost startled her, but she didn't outwardly show it, instead stalking silently from the grass to face her spirit guide in battle.

"Are you sure you're ready for this Buffy?" the Lioness asked, again in her mother's voice.

"Are you sure you're ready?" the Slayer teasingly retorted.

The Lioness smirked in a way that was almost human, but no less proud of her. Buffy returned the smirk, but more with a new-found confidence that made her feel invincible almost. This was tempered, of course, by her experience and simple logic. She wasn't invincible. But she was damn hard to beat, she knew that much.

Pleasantries exchanged, Slayer and Lioness launched at each other, roaring with savagery and ground-shaking intensity. The battle was on.

Xander

Xander and the Hyena sat facing each other on the dark grassy plain. If one were an outsider, they might think the boy and the spirit were involved in some kind of staring contest. Of course it was a little more complicated than that.

"Y'know, I don't actually have to blink. Neither do you come to think of it," the Hyena commented to her charge, not that he'd admitted as much yet, which was close to the whole point.

"I'm not leaving until my real Animal Spirit Guide shows up, and I'm not taking my eye off of you until you disappear!" the human angrily retorted.

"OK, that's starting to get REAL old!" the Hyena, losing patience, snapped using Buffy's voice.

"I don't care. You're some remnant of the hyena-possession! There is no way in HELL that my Animal Spirit Guide is actually a Hyena!" Xander near-shouted.

"Well, deny it all you want, won't change the fact that it's true," the Hyena calmly pointed out, crossing its forepaws like Buffy sometimes did, crossing her arms when she was huffed up with (in her mind) righteous anger.

"Oh, don't even start!" Xander suddenly found himself snapping, "You're hardly the innocent one! Hell, even if you're right, not that I'm admitting it, and you are my Spirit Guide, then YOU'RE the one that got me possessed by the hyena in the first place!"

"I thought we'd move past that," she grumbled.

"I HURT MY FRIENDS!!" he suddenly roared, actually startling the Hyena into retreating a few paces. "I treated Willow, WILLOW, like dirt! I trampled on her feelings like the bullies I always HATED! I nearly raped Buffy! I ATE A PIG RAW!! Do you have ANY idea just how much I hated myself after that was over! It took everything I had just to pretend I didn't remember it! So I didn't just hurt my friends, I LIED to them too! And if you honestly think that I've just 'moved past' that, then you really don't know me at all!" That said, he crossed his own arms and in a display of ultimate contempt, turned his back on the Hyena and sat back down on the burned grass.

"I guess I don't," the Hyena quietly admitted after several minutes of heavy silence.

He heard some rustling among the grass, and then before he knew it, the spirit had sidled up next to him and laid back down, though with more of a sour mood than she'd had before. He was kind of startled that she hadn't attacked him or tried anything else, but not as much as he should have been, as though he'd subconsciously known that the Hyena would never purposefully attack him or try to do anything that would intentionally hurt him.

Realizing this, she surprised him again when he realized that the spirit beside him was actually and truly sad. Sad that she had failed him, sad that she had hurt him, sad that he had rejected her as his Spirit Guide, or sad for any number of other reasons, he couldn't say exactly which, only that he knew she was sad. Before he even realized it, he found himself gently petting her head, almost in a sympathetic gesture. He almost stopped, except that he saw that it really was helping her, and that, for some reason he just couldn't explain, made him feel better too.

"So what's the real deal here?" he asked finally.

"I'm not going to bother wasting my non-existent breath repeating what I've already told you," she mumbled with an almost-purr at his petting attention.

"So... you're my Animal Spirit Guide?" he tentatively asked.

"Yeah. Not much either of us can do about that by the way. It's kind of decided by the Higher Powers, y'know God, before you were even born. No refunds or exchanges. Sucks, I know," she mumbled again.

"Why did you do that to me?" he quietly asked after a minute of heavy silence, which was made even more so by the thunder-less lightning raging over the plain.

"It was what you wanted. And if it hadn't been you, it might have been Buffy or worse Willow. I was also the first, out of the Animal Spirits of you and your friends, that detected what was about to happen. Maybe . . . maybe things got a little out of hand. It was kind of supposed to be a life-lesson thing. I did notice that you had fewer fantasies of being 'cool' after it was over."

Xander took a deep breath and let out a slow, controlled, sigh.

"I hated myself for what I did, never felt I could forgive myself," he muttered. "Now you tell me that it was you that actually was the one that got me possessed in the first place." Throughout all this he never once stopped petting her. "I guess . . . I guess I can't have it both ways. I can't exactly blame you if I can't accept that you're a part of me, and I'll end up blaming myself for the rest of eternity for something that was both my fault and not my fault at the same time, if I can't blame you."

He let out another deep sigh. "And I really want to blame myself," he admitted.

"You're not your father. I can prove that to you, if you'll let me," the Hyena told him, putting her head in his lap.

Snorting, he asked, "How?"

"Your father can't use Chi-Armor, your father doesn't fight the darkness, your father doesn't save lives, and your father isn't a hero," she stated.

"Yeah, so?"

"I'll make you into a hero, and I'll do my best to make sure you never unintentionally hurt your friends . . . our friends ever again," the Hyena vowed.

"I'm no hero," he immediately countered.

"Not yet," she retorted.

He stared at her at the unspoken promise of hope in that simple retort. She stared back, for all the world looking like a lovable dog with brown and black spots.

"Are you serious?" he finally asked.

"A promise made here cannot be broken. It's kind of a rule."

Xander just stared for several long seconds, never noticing that all around them the lightning was striking the ground without a sound and wherever it struck, the grass was healed and no longer burned, changing the landscape to something incredibly beautiful.

"Then . . ." his voice cracked a little.

Clearing his throat, he started again, "Then, I accept your promise . . . my Animal Spirit Guide."

The grin that came across the Hyena's face was infectious, making Xander grin himself.

"The Hyena," he whispered, the world vanished in a flash of light as he returned to his body.

Buffy

The Lioness was impressed. More than impressed, she was downright proud and in awe of her charge at the same time. There was a reason why Buffy Summers was the most successful Slayer in the past millennium, and not only due to the number of vampires or the types of demons she'd killed, or even for how long she'd already lived as a Slayer. And as much as the Lioness would like to take credit for why Buffy was so damn good, she couldn't. The reason didn't lie with her friends either. Buffy Summers, quite simply, was in a league of her own.

The thing was, she'd gotten complacent since the Master and even since Spike had shown up. She lacked a challenge, and was only getting as strong as the Watchers could make her through their repetitious training. Now it was the Lioness' job to make sure she stayed 'challenged' and became all that she could, and more.

Buffy ducked under the swiping paw of the spirit, rolling back to avoid the forward lunge and kicked out with her left foot, knocking the Lioness back. She rolled back forward and sprung to her feet, ready to meet the spirit's next charge.

It came, but she was still knocked back as the full weight of the feline fell down right on top of her. They wrestled for several moments, rolling around in the dirt, each trying to gain the advantage of superior leverage and strength.

Finally, Buffy managed to get in the right position and kicked the Lioness off of her, slamming the spirit into the rock face, which seemed to stun it for a moment. A moment Buffy used to catch her breath and shake the cobwebs the Lioness's blows had landed her.

They both got to their feet at the same time, sizing up how much damage the other had taken and comparing it to what they had left of their own energy. Buffy crouched low, the muscles in her legs coiling in preparation for a leap that would either carry the Slayer over the spirit, or put some serious force into her next charge. The Lioness too crouched, preparing for the next attack.

The explosion of motion, violence, speed, and sheer power was like watching a train wreck between two bullet-trains on the same track headed to the same spot. Horrible, fascinating, unbelievable, terrible, captivating, and amazing were words that could only begin to describe it.

The two launched from their crouched positions, meeting mid-air several feet off the ground and smashed into each other, neither giving a millimeter to the other. Then Buffy, still pushing against her guide, cocked back her free hand and threw the fastest, hardest, most-emotion filled punch she'd ever thrown in her life, let alone her career as the Slayer. The Lioness, as a result, flew back against the rock face faster than the two had met mid-air. Before the Spirit could even get ready again, the Slayer was there, standing with fists clenched over the spot where the cat landed and lay on the ground.

Rather than just pound into the helpless feline where she lay, Buffy seemed to be waiting for something. Gasping to catch the air that had been knocked out of her, Lioness looked up at her and saw what she'd been waiting for. The trick, now, was to make Buffy herself see it.

Using a little trick spirits can use, the Lioness, fresh as a daisy, stood up and grinned mischievously at her charge.

"The race isn't over yet," was all she said before scurrying off and then starting to leap and climb up the side of Pride Rock.

Buffy frowned, squinting her eyes in annoyance and frustration. Then, with a grunt, she exploded into motion and, if it weren't impossible in the physical world that made it all the more possible in the spirit world, was climbing even faster than the Lioness was.

Though the Slayer was catching up to the spirit, the Lioness was still in the lead, her surprise change of tactics giving her an early lead. And Pride Rock was no place to go for some recreational climbing. Not unless you had mountaineer gear, lots of ropes and pulleys and hooks and everything that could possibly keep you from falling to a rather messy grave. Despite that neither Animal Spirit nor human had any of these things, it did not stop them from running, jumping, and leaping from spot to spot, over crevices and gaps in the rock face as they continued their race to the top of Pride's Rock. What was even more amazing though, was that neither so much as missed a single step. They didn't even slip, not the tiniest bit, in their landings.

Finally though, in what could be called the final stretch of the race, Buffy caught up to the Lioness, and both took a brief moment to pause and appreciate this fact. They stared across the way at each other, neither blinking, or even moving beyond what they needed for breath. At some unseen and unknown signal, together and almost as one, they both shot forward the last distance.

Until Buffy just disappeared...

... And reappeared at the "finish line", the very peak of Pride's Rock.

"That's my trick," the Lioness whined as she finished her portion of the race at a slow trot.

"Yeah, sorry. Too bad I can't use it in the real world. Although Angel..." she stopped, almost choking on her tears as the memories surfaced.

"It was Angel's trick too," the Lioness said, not unkindly. She came up beside her charge and then heavily lay down beside her, staring out over the bright wind-swept plain. "There is much we must speak about, but there is no more time left. Have you learned what you needed to learn here?"

Buffy sighed, allowing the tears to fall, here at the core of her soul where only she would see and know. She turned and sat down, laying next to and against her Spirit Guide. "I'm the Slayer. I need to trust my instincts, and not be afraid of who... and what I am. I'm a killer. I... hunt and kill demons... to protect humanity."

"Death is your gift," the Lioness, with her mother's voice, intoned softly.

Sniffling, the blond girl laughed, wiping at her tears. "Some gift. I kill, my boyfriend gets killed, and when I try to kill his killer, somebody else kills him before I can. I'm already surrounded by death! I'm not sure how much more of this gift I can take."

"I didn't say it was your only gift," the Lioness chastised. "You're also surrounded by love, and friendship, and humanity itself. Not to mention you're a pretty decent ice skater."

This time Buffy did laugh out loud.

"I'm glad I met you," she finally said once she had stopped giggling.

"As am I," the spirit sighed.

"How do I attain Chi-Armor?" Buffy whispered as they watched the view of the sunless horizon.

"Believe in yourself, remain true to who you really are, and listen to the insights Jason provides you with. The rest will come in time. Sooner, rather than later I'm afraid."

"Something's coming. Isn't it?"

The Lioness just nodded, then sighed once more and lay her head down. "It's time."

And just like that, everything went black.

Sunnydale High Library

Jason sat back and waited patiently for the flash of incense to clear the room. It was slightly more explosive than he'd been led to believe, and he'd had to hold his breath for longer than he expected to, but within a few moments of putting in the last ingredient into the burner, the smoke began to clear and dissipate in the air. Only after he could see his charges once more, maybe a minute, maybe less, did he finally let out the breath he'd been holding and slowly, through the mouth, inhaled a fresh one.

Everyone's eyes were closed, until as one they all gasped, as though startled, and opened their eyes to see they were still in the Library.

"You guys all right?" Jason asked, worried that maybe this second option hadn't worked as he'd been told it would.

"Holy shit," Buffy cursed, rubbing her forehead slightly.

"I second that," Xander echoed.

"That. Was. So. COOL!" Cordelia excitedly grinned at each of her friends. Her real friends.

"Did that really just happen? Cause I'm pretty sure it happened. I mean you guys would tell me if it didn't really happen, right?" Willow babbled.

Arching his eyebrows in interest, Jason questioned, "So it worked? You guys met your Animal Spirit Guides? Did they help you?"

"And how," Buffy mumbled, getting to her feet.

"Do we have to tell each other what our Guides are now?" Xander asked, sounding worried.

Jason shrugged as they all got to their feet, and answered, "That's up to you. You don't have to, no, Xander. Although I don't really see the harm in it. After all, I told you guys what my Animal Spirit Guide is."

Cordelia grinned at her boyfriend, not that she'd outwardly admitted it yet, and mocked him, "What's the matter dweeboid, was it a slug or something ultra-lame like that?" She knew, though she couldn't say how she knew, that his guide was actually a Hyena, but she couldn't help herself in teasing him.

Xander grinned back at her for a moment, almost getting caught up in their usual playful energy of teasing back and forth. Then he reminded himself of the answer to the question and he lost the grin. He answered with all seriousness, his voice devoid of all humor as he said, "No, no it's not a slug. It's the Hyena."

Buffy and Willow both froze and turned to stare at their best friend, and one could feel the tension in the air as a palpable thing. "Did I miss something?" Jason asked in the quiet after Xander's announcement.

"Long story," was all Xander said.

"So what was yours Cordelia?" Buffy finally asked, in attempts to break the tense atmosphere.

The brunette socialite shrugged and answered as though bored by everything, saying, "Oh, he's the Raven. He showed me a lot of cool stuff too."

The blond Slayer blinked, then grinned. She hadn't known what to expect from Cordelia, especially after she suddenly went from minor annoyance on the sideline to a major contributor all of a sudden. She'd half expected the girl to be unable to communicate with her Animal Spirit Guide. Shows what she knows.

"That's great! Mine is the Lioness. And I so kicked her ass!"

Now everyone was staring at Buffy. "What?" she asked, confused by the stares.

Clearing his throat softly, Jason asked, "You, uh, you fought your Animal Spirit Guide?"

Buffy just shrugged and replied, "Hey, she started it. Besides, it helped me find out a few things about what it means to be the Slayer. Not to mention I realized that I control my own destiny. Being the Slayer just opens up a few more doors for me. So that means that if I don't want to die before I'm 25, that means I won't. Simple as that."

The teenagers all blinked, surprised by that bold statement, but pleased by it as well. It seemed that Buffy's talk with her guide had changed her more than let on, and definitely for the better. It used to be that any mention whatsoever of Buffy's "destiny" usually sent her into a depressed mood for a few days or until something else distracted her.

Finally, they all turned to Willow, who, blushing, smiled and announced, "My Animal Spirit Guide is a Dolphin. He's really nice and fun too!"

Jason grinned and replied, "Most Dolphins are. What I find interesting though, is that most people that Dolphins guide, tend to be unpredictable and very spontaneous."

As the others suddenly started laughing, Willow's face burned red as she exclaimed, "Hey! I am, I mean I can be spontaneous, when I want to be . . ."

"Yes, but I meant naturally spontaneous, and they really can't help it. It's just a surprise Willow, not an insult or anything," Jason explained, "And besides, all it really means is that now that you know what your Animal Spirit Guide is, you can pay closer attention, and follow your instincts more closely. That's how our guides communicate with us, through our instincts."

"Yeah," both Xander and Cordelia said together, "that's what mine told me." They turned to stare at each other, a little freaked out at the speaking-together thing.

"So we can expect Willow to go from being . . . Willow, into a way more spontaneous version of Willow?" Buffy asked.

Jason just shrugged. "Whose to say?"

END Episode Three

Preview: Buffy and her friends now know their Animal Spirit Guides and are one major step closer to attaining true Chi-Armor. What lies in store for them next? What additional training does Jason Everheart have for them to do? And who, or rather what will the Omega Order send to "investigate" the disappearance of the Judge?

Next Episode "Execute!"