Shadow Over Hellmouth Chapter 15: School Hard, a buffy: the vampire slayer fanfic

"School Hard"

Based on the Episode Written by Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt

At Sunnydale High, Buffy had been summoned to Principal Snyder's office, along with Sheila Martini, a girl with short brown hair. The two of them had to sit in front of Snyder's desk and listen to one of his lectures.

"A lot of educators tell students, 'Think of your principal as your pal.' I say 'Think of me as your judge, jury, and executioner.' Tell me, who do you think is the most troublesome student in this school?"

Buffy was apprehensive.

"Well, it is quite a match between you two. On the one hand, Buffy hasn't stabbed a horticulture teacher with a trowel."

Sheila frowned. "I didn't stab anyone with a trowel. They were pruning shears."

"On the other hand, Sheila has never punched a teacher. The two of you seem to be tied in the class-cutting and fight-starting events. You really are neck and neck here. It's quite exciting."

"What does the winner get?" Sheila asked him.

"Expelled."

Buffy looked at him in shock.

"Thursday is Parent-Teacher Night. Your parents, assuming you have any, will meet your teachers, assuming you have any left. I've decided to put the two of you in charge of this event. You have three days to prepare the refreshments, make the banners, and transform the school lounge into a habitable place for adults. This will incur my good will. And may affect what I tell your parents when I meet them. Are we clear?" Snyder asked.

"I'm clear." Buffy looked at Sheila. "Don't you feel clear?"

Sheila just looked back at her.

Buffy looked at Snyder. "We're very clear."

"Good. Because you mess up this time, and your parents will be coming to clean out your lockers."

After the final bell rang, Buffy and Sheila walked out of the building through the school's main entrance.

"Well, it shouldn't be that hard. We can work on the banners at lunch tomorrow and figure out refreshments then?" Buffy suggested.

"Yeah, sure, whatever. Hey, meatpie!" Sheila walked off.

Tara, Amy, and Katrina met up with Buffy.

"Snyder's got you guys making party favors, huh?" Katrina asked Buffy.

"His two worst students. That's what Mom sees when she looks at me. A Sheila."

Tara put a hand on Buffy's shoulder. Sheila kissed an older boy with long, blond hair.

"Well, Sheila's definitely intense. That guy with her?" Amy nodded at him. "That's the guy she can bring home to Mother."

Tara stared at Sheila. "She was already smoking in fifth grade."

"It's not fair. I'm the Slayer. That requires a certain amount of cutting and fighting. What's Sheila's excuse?" Buffy asked.

"Homework. She won't do it. And most teachers respect that now." Katrina sighed and shook her head. "Oh, you might wanna keep away any sharp implements when you're working with her."

"Do you think any other Slayers ever had to go to high school?" Buffy asked.

Tara, Amy, and Katrina thought about it, but then they just shrugged.

That evening, Buffy was standing at her mirror in her bedroom, trying to brush her hair. "Ow!"

"What's wrong?" Joyce asked.

"I spent a good part of my allowance on this new cream rinse, and it's neither creamy nor rinsey."

"Life is hard, dear."

"Don't I know it. Is that a split end?" Buffy asked.

"Y'know, instead of buying that cream, it would've been nice if you'd given me back that money as payment toward your van."

Buffy thought about that. "Yeah, that's true. Sorry. Take what's left out of my wallet."

"You sure?"

Buffy nodded. "We've got a gig at the Bronze tomorrow night."

Joyce walked over to Buffy's dresser, opened a drawer, took out her wallet, and opened it. "I got the mail."

"Good."

"Which included a reminder notice about Parent-Teacher Night. Thursday."

"That's good."

"Which you were planning on telling me about...?"

"Oh, for..." Buffy paused in thought and then faced her mom. "...the last two weeks."

"Uh-huh. So...what do you think your teachers are gonna tell me about?"

"Well, I think they'll all agree that I always bring a pen to class, ready to absorb the knowledge." Buffy sat on her bed.

"And, uh, this absorption rate? How is it reflected in your homework and test scores?"

"What can you really tell about a person from a test score?" Buffy asked.

"Whether or not she's ever going out with her friends again."

"Oh, that."

"Well, I look forward to meeting your principal."

"Won't that be something?"

Joyce came over to the bed. "Look, sweetheart. Life is more than grades and homework and not getting kicked out of school." She sat next to Buffy.

"I know."

"But we moved once because of you getting in trouble. And I had to start a new business, not to mention a new life in a whole new town."

"And you don't wanna do it again."

"What I don't want is to be disappointed in you again."

"Mom, that's the last thing that I want, too." Buffy sighed. "I'm trying; I really am. I just...I have a lot of pressure on me right now."

"Wait till you get a job."

Buffy got up from her bed and walked over to her desk. She pulled open the top left drawer. In it were a jar of holy water, a cross, a few stakes, and a set of brass knuckles.

Buffy looked at her mother. "I have a job."

Joyce stared at her daughter for a moment. "Sleep tight." She got up and left the room.

The next day, in the school lounge, Buffy and Tara were working on a banner.

"Sheila's a no-show?" Tara asked. "She goes to this really rank bar. The Fish Tank? Sometimes, they have raids and other stuff that can make you tardy."

"D'you think you can help me cram some French tonight? I don't want Mr. DeJean telling my mother I'm an imbecile."

"I thought we were performing at the Bronze tonight."

Buffy nodded. "We're going to the Bronze. I can study and party and do Parent-Teacher Night and make my mother proud as long as I don't have to-"

"Buffy!" Giles called.

He and Jenny came walking in.

-fight vampires."

Giles looked at Jenny. "There is nothing in the chronicles about a-an extraneous lunar cycle."

"The Order never accurately calculated the Mesopotamian Calendar. Rupert, you have got to read something that was published after 1066."

"Very funny."

"What's up, guys?" Buffy asked.

"W-um, Ms. Calendar has been researching, well, uh, surfing on her computer, a-and she's..." Giles paused. "Well, according to her calculations, this Saturday is the night of St. Vigeous."

"Let me guess: he didn't make balloon animals."

"No, he led a crusade of - of, uh, vampires. They swept through Edessa, Harran, and points east."

Jenny nodded. "And they didn't leave much behind."

"Well, if I survive Parent-Teacher Night tomorrow, I'll see what I can do about Saturday."

"You're being a tad flip, don't you think?" Giles asked her. "This is serious."

"And getting kicked out of school is laughs aplenty?" Buffy retorted.

"You know what happens when you - you let your life interfere with your slaying."

"Okay, well, if my slaying doesn't get me expelled, then I promise my banner making won't get me killed, okay? Just please let me get through this week."

"This Saturday's going to need a great deal of preparation."

Tara looked at Giles. "Well, I'll help. I'll whittle stakes, a-and I can research stuff. I can probably convince Amy and Trina to help, too."

"Yes, your help will be greatly appreciated, but, when it comes to battle, Buffy must fight alone. You are, after all, the Slay-" Giles saw Snyder in the hall. "-slay-ve. Slaves. You're - You're all slaves to the, uh, television."

Jenny nodded. "Yes."

"Young people nowadays." Giles looked at Jenny. "Shall we go?"

"Mm, let's."

They left.

Snyder came over and looked at Tara. "You wouldn't be helping Buffy in Sheila's place, would you?"

Tara was nervous. "Yes, sir."

"She ditched." Snyder took a deep breath. "Mm. I feel an expulsion coming on."

Buffy looked at him. "No. No, actually, Sheila's been helping us for hours. Um, she just went to get some more paint."

Buffy noticed Snyder looking behind her, turned around, and saw Sheila standing there.

"Oh! Oh, is there no more teal in the art room?" Buffy went over to Sheila. "I know you wanted everything to be perfect, but let's just go with what we have."

"Just make sure everything is perfect on Thursday." Snyder turned and left.

Sheila looked at Buffy. "Thanks for covering. Guy's a serious rodent."

"No problem."

"Did you really punch a teacher one time?"

"Yeah."

"Cool."

That evening, at the Bronze, Tara helped Buffy with her French at a table.

"La vache...doit me...touche...de la...jeudi." Buffy looked at Tara.

Tara was smiling in amusement and desperately trying to hold in her laughter.

"Was it wrong? Should I use the plural?" Buffy asked her.

"No. But you said 'The cow should touch me from Thursday.'"

"Maybe that's what I was feeling."

"Kinky, but you said it wrong."

"Oh, je stink."

"You're just not focused."

Buffy sighed. "It's all of that bullshit that Snyder's having me do...and what he'll say to my mom tomorrow."

Cordelia walked over to them. "Hey! You guys busy?"

Tara looked at her. "Well, we are studying."

"Here?" Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Good luck."

Buffy looked at her. "What do you want, Cordy?"

"You're up after this song."

"What?" Buffy asked in surprise. "I thought we went after Horrible Cereal Noise."

Cordelia shook her head. "No, they're after you. You're up after Imperialist Vermin."

Buffy sighed. "Fuck. Okay, thanks."

Cordelia left and walked over to Harmony, who was setting up her video camera on her tripod.

Buffy stood up. "Well, my brain's fried, anyway."

Tara stood up. "You've been studying only twelve minutes."

"Come on."

Buffy and Tara joined Amy and Katrina on the stage and set up their instruments.

Buffy looked at them. "Okay, we all sing the refrain. I'll sing the first verse. Tara, you'll sing the second verse. Amy, third. Trina, fourth. We'll all sing the fifth verse."

The others nodded.

Angel walked over to Cordelia and Harmony. "Hey."

Cordelia looked at him and grinned. "Hey!"

Buffy turned on her microphone and waited for the signal from Harmony. Harmony gave her a thumbs-up.

"Hi, we're Buffy and the Slayerettes. This first song...might seem a bit unusual to some of you, but we're changing things up tonight. So grab your friend or your sweetie, get up, and dance!"

The band members started playing their instruments. Cordelia took hold of Angel's hand and dragged him onto the dance floor. Buffy, Amy, and Katrina danced lively. Tara didn't move much but smiled widely, enjoying herself.

"What shall we do with a drunken sailor?
What shall we do with a drunken sailor?
What shall we do with a drunken sailor
Early in the morning?"

"Weigh heigh and up she rises.
Weigh heigh and up she rises.
Weigh heigh and up she rises
Early in the morning."

"Put him in the longboat 'til he's sober.
Put him in the longboat 'til he's sober.
Put him in the longboat 'til he's sober
Early in the morning."

"Weigh heigh and up she rises.
Weigh heigh and up she rises.
Weigh heigh and up she rises
Early in the morning."

"Give 'im a dose of salt and water.
Give 'im a dose of salt and water.
Give 'im a dose of salt and water
Early in the morning."

"Weigh heigh and up she rises.
Weigh heigh and up she rises.
Weigh heigh and up she rises
Early in the morning."

"Tie him to the taffrail when she's yardarm under.
Tie him to the taffrail when she's yardarm under.
Tie him to the taffrail when she's yardarm under
Early in the morning."

"Weigh heigh and up she rises..."

Suddenly, a man with slicked-back, bleached blond hair, dressed all in black, started talking loudly near the stage. "Where's the phone?! I need to call the police! There's some big guy out there trying to bite somebody!"

Buffy quickly set down her guitar, jumped off the stage, and ran from the dance floor.

Tara, Amy, and Katrina looked at each other in concern. The audience started booing.

Tara faced forward, smiled nervously, and decided to continue performing, singing some verses herself:

"Óró, sé do bheatha bhaile.
Óró, sé do bheatha bhaile.
Óró, sé do bheatha bhaile
Anois ar theacht an tsamhraidh.

"'Sé do bheatha, a bhean ba léanmhar,
Do bé ár gcreach tú bheith i ngéibhinn,
Do dhúiche bhreá i seilbh meirleach,
'S tú díolta leis na Gallaibh.

"Óró, sé do bheatha bhaile.
Óró, sé do bheatha bhaile.
Óró, sé do bheatha bhaile
Anois ar theacht an tsamhraidh."

Buffy ran outside to the alley. A vampire had found a young woman. She trembled with fear as he grabbed her neck and moved in for the bite. Buffy grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him off her.

He somersaulted and rolled up to his feet. "Slayer!"

"Slayee!" Buffy did a roundhouse kick to his face.

He only flinched a bit. He swung at her, but she sidestepped the blow. She swung back, and he grabbed her arm, swung her around, and threw her into a metal roll-up door. She hit it high and hard and fell to the ground but quickly got up again. He swung again and hit the metal door with his fist when she ducked the punch.

Tara, Amy, and Katrina arrived.

Buffy blocked the vampire's punch and held onto his arm. She looked behind her at the others. "Get her out of here!" She turned her attention to punching the vampire repeatedly in the face.

Tara and Amy grabbed the woman and pulled her away and out of danger.

"And a stake would be nice!" Buffy exclaimed to the rhythm of her punches.

Katrina ran into the Bronze to find a stake.

Buffy punched the vampire's face again and then his chest. He got loose from her and landed a punch on her face. She went spinning down to the ground and lay there, momentarily stunned.

The vampire loomed over her. "I don't need to wait for St. Vigeous. You're mine."

He bent down to get her, and she kicked him in the face. He staggered backward as she maneuvered to her feet.

"Spike! Gimme a hand!" the vampire yelled.

Buffy looked over at the man in the shadows. It was the same guy from inside the Bronze.

Katrina ran back out with the stake. "Buffy!"

Buffy turned to her, and Katrina threw her the stake. Buffy caught it out of the air and, in a smooth, swift motion, plunged it home into the vampire's chest. He died and fell to the ground.

Spike came out of the shadows, slowly clapping his hands. Buffy looked at him with a confused expression on her face. Tara, Amy, and Katrina saw him, too.

"Nice work, love."

"Who are you?" Buffy asked him.

"You'll find out on Saturday."

"What happens on Saturday?" Buffy asked him.

"I kill you."

Buffy was speechless and just watched him leave.

Buffy, Tara, Amy, and Katrina went to the school library and told Giles and Jenny what had happened. Then the girls and Jenny sat at the table. Giles brought a lot of books over to them, and they started looking through them, doing research.

"Spike. That's what the other vampire called him? That's a little unorthodox, isn't it?" Giles asked.

Buffy shrugged. "Maybe he's reformed."

Giles thought for a moment. "Perhaps he went by another name in...times past."

Jenny shrugged. "Well, whoever he is, we'll need all the help we can get come this Saturday."

Giles looked at Buffy. "Well, he can't be any worse than any other creature you've faced."

"He's worse."

They all looked and saw Angel.

"Once he starts something, he doesn't stop until everything in his path is dead."

Buffy smiled nervously. "Oh, goody! Who wants pizza? I'm thinking pepperoni."

"Or hamburger?" Amy suggested.

"Or three meat?" Katrina suggested.

"How about we go all of the way with supreme?" Tara suggested.

Giles looked at them. "Uh, we do have slightly more urgent matters to discuss."

Buffy nodded. "Yeah, like keeping my mom away from Principal Snyder tomorrow night?"

Jenny nodded. "And not dying Saturday."

"Angel, do you know if this Spike fellow goes under any other name?" Giles asked.

There was no response. They all looked where he was, but he had disappeared. The library doors finished shutting.

"So...supreme?" Buffy asked.

The next evening, in the school library, Tara checked the crossbow. Jenny walked behind her with extra pieces of wood to make stakes and set them on the table between Cordelia and Katrina, who were whittling away. Jenny continued walking over behind Buffy. Buffy held up a large, sharp machete, then started chopping a cucumber with it. She was preparing a vegetable tray. Amy was researching spells.

Giles consulted a book. "For three nights, the unholy ones scourge themselves into a fury, um, culminating in a savage attack on the night of St. Vigeous."

"Ooh!" Buffy suddenly exclaimed. "Parents start arriving in an hour. Okay, so, um, banners are in place, the lounge is comfy..." She paused in thought. "What am I forgetting?"

"Punch?" Tara suggested.

"Punch. I need - I need punch!" Buffy exclaimed.

"My fingers are cramping. How long have I been doing this?" Cordelia asked.

Katrina looked at her. "Three minutes."

"So...can I go now?" Cordelia asked. "She doesn't need this many stakes. I mean...if this guy Spike is as mean as you all said, it should be over pretty quickly."

Buffy looked up at her.

Cordelia looked at her. "We're still all rooting for you on Saturday. I'd be there for you myself, if I didn't have a leg wax."

"You guys hold down the fort. I'm punch bound." Buffy left the library.

Later that night, in the school lounge, Buffy was doling out the punch into cups.

Tara came over. "What kinda punch did you make?"

"Uh, lemonade." Buffy handed her a cup. "I made it fresh and everything."

"How much sugar did you use?" Tara took a sip.

"Not a whole lot."

"It's very good."

"Thanks. Okay, now all I have to do is keep my mother and Snyder from crossing paths for the rest of the night."

Tara saw Joyce. "Hi, Mrs. Summers."

"Hi, Tara. Hi, honey. Did you, uh, do all this?" Joyce asked.

"Yeah!" Buffy picked up a cup. "Um, here, have some lemonade." She saw Snyder. "Right after Tara shows you the library. I have to stay here and host." She put the cup back down.

"Great, the library." Tara put her arm around Joyce's shoulder. "Oh, shit, no, Mr. G-Giles and everyone are doing important research. They might not appreciate being interrupted."

Buffy nodded. "Right. French class, it is!"

Tara led Joyce away.

Snyder came up to Buffy. "Was that your mother?"

Buffy grabbed a cup and a ladle full of lemonade and turned toward him. "Here." She faked a spill. "Oh! Oh, sorry! Um, yeah! Yeah, I was gonna introduce you, but, um, she wouldn't have said much. Y'know, she doesn't speak a word of English."

Snyder made tracks to follow Joyce and Tara. Buffy let out a worried moan and looked up at the clock. 6:15.

At 8:45, Cordelia walked into the school lounge. "Giles has us locked up in that library, working on your weapons. Even slaves get minimum wage." She stared at Buffy's face.

"What?" Buffy asked her.

"You're starting to look a little slagged. What, are you just skipping foundation entirely now?"

"Cordelia, I have at least three lives to contend with, none of which really mesh. It's kind of like oil and water and a...third unmeshable thing."

"Yeah, and I can see the oil." Cordelia saw Joyce talking to Tara. "Is that your mom?"

Buffy looked.

"Now, that is a woman that knows how to moisturize. Did it, like, skip a generation?" Cordelia asked.

Buffy was fed up with her. "Cordelia, it's my fucking skin condition. I'm trying to moisturize, but it-"

Joyce came over. "Well, I believe that I have seen every classroom on campus, and, just as I get there, all your teachers miraculously have stepped out."

Buffy noticed Snyder coming back into the room. "Oh! Oh. Um, but you haven't seen the boiler room yet. And, you know, that's really interesting, what with the boiler being in the room and all." She laughed nervously.

Snyder came up to the group.

Joyce offered her hand to him. "Hi. I'm Joyce Summers. I'm Buffy's mother."

Snyder ignored her hand. "Principal Snyder. I'm afraid we need to talk. My office is down here."

Joyce followed Snyder to his office. Cordelia watched them go with a huge smile on her face.

Buffy was worried. "He didn't look very happy."

Tara looked at her. "But you did such a good job."

"When they're done talking-"

"What?" Buffy asked Cordelia.

"My guess?" Cordelia asked. "Tenth high school reunion, you'll still be grounded. Face it, girl: you're fucked."

Buffy gave her a look. Cordelia headed over to the punch table.

Buffy looked at Tara. "Couldn't you have stalled her any longer?"

Tara frowned at Buffy. "You fucking owe me the best orgasm of my life."

Buffy was worried. "I'll tongue-fuck your brains out...if I'm allowed to do anything ever again."

In the library, Giles and Jenny continued their research while Amy and Katrina whittled stakes.

"Oh, there you are."

Jenny looked at Giles. "There who is?"

"Our new friend, Spike. He's known as 'William the Bloody'. Earned his nickname by torturing his victims with railroad spikes. Very pleasant. Well, here's some good news: he's barely two-hundred. He's not even as old as Angel is." Giles frowned. "Oh."

Amy and Katrina looked up at him. "What?"

"Spike has fought two Slayers in the last century, and...he's killed them both."

In the lounge, Buffy and Tara saw Snyder come back in with Joyce.

Joyce came up to her daughter. She looked very upset. "We're going home. Now."

Buffy and Tara exchanged a concerned look. Tara kissed Buffy on the lips. Buffy started to follow her mom out. She turned her head to look back at Snyder, who was going around, turning off the lights. Joyce waited for Buffy to join her, and they walked out of the room.

Snyder went to another switch by the back wall next to a large window and turned it off. Two vampires suddenly came crashing through the window.

Buffy looked back into the room. Several more vampires followed, and they stormed into the room. The people panicked and began to run around. Buffy went back into the room. The vampires had lined themselves up.

"What can I say?" Spike asked Buffy. "I couldn't wait."

Spike attacked. Buffy grabbed a chair and threw it at him, tripping him up. She grabbed Tara's hand, ran back out of the room with her, and grabbed her mother's hand. Cordelia ran after them. They turned down the hall to the right, but more vampires came in that way, so they went the other way.

Another vampire was guarding an exit. Buffy, Tara, Cordelia, and Joyce headed in another direction.

"Everybody, this way! C'mon! C'mon!" Buffy ordered.

Snyder and several others ran past her as she shoved a cleaning cart into the two vampires chasing them. Tara and Cordelia nearly tripped over them. They headed to their right, but a vampire grabbed Cordelia, and she screamed.

Tara grabbed a bust from a display pedestal and wielded it back for a swing. "Hey!"

The vampire looked up, and Tara swung the bust hard into his face, knocking him off Cordelia. Tara grabbed her hand and pulled her into a closet.

Giles, Jenny, Amy, and Katrina ran out of the library.

"What the hell?!" Giles asked.

They saw Buffy's group running toward them.

"Spike and an army! Look out!" Buffy warned.

They looked behind them and saw a vampire. Jenny screamed.

"Back!" Giles ordered.

They ran back into the library and held the door shut as the vampire slammed into it.

Buffy opened the door to the science classroom. "In here! Now!"

The people all ran into the room. Buffy followed them in last and closed the door as the two vampires came running into the hall and began banging on the door.

Snyder and another man maneuvered a storage cabinet in front of the door. Buffy ran over to the other door and closed and locked it. The power went out.

In the library. Giles, Jenny, Amy, and Katrina looked up from barricading the doors as the lights went off and the emergency lights came on.

Giles tried the phone. "They've cut the phones." He had an idea. "Wait a minute. There's an old, boarded up-cellar behind the stacks. You can get out that way." He looked at Amy and Katrina. "Find Angel. He knows about Spike. We need him."

Amy shook her head. "No, I'm not going anywhere until I know that Tara and Buffy are all right."

"No one will be all right unless we get some help!" Giles yelled.

Amy sighed.

Katrina looked at her girlfriend and gave her a smile. "They'll be all right, sweetie. They can take care of themselves."

Amy reluctantly nodded.

"Who are those people, and what do they want?" a man asked.

Joyce shook her head. "I didn't get much of a look, but is there something wrong with their teeth? I-"

"Yes! PCP! It's a gang on PCP!" Snyder declared. "We've gotta get out of here." He grabbed a desk, set it in front of a window, and started climbing.

"You can't go outside! They'll kill you!" Buffy warned him.

"You don't tell me! I tell you!" Snyder yelled back.

Buffy pulled him down. "They will kill everybody in this room. Nobody goes out, nobody comes in until I say so. Do you hear me?"

"Who do you think you are?" Snyder asked her.

"I'm the one that knows how to stop them. I'm the motherfucking Slayer." Buffy looked up and walked across the room, trying to find a way into the ceiling.

Joyce grabbed her by the shoulders. "Buffy, are you crazy? You can't go out there."

"I know. That's why I'm going up there." Buffy grabbed a stool, set it on a lab table, climbed up, and pushed a ceiling panel aside. She looked down at her mom. "Don't worry, Mom." She lifted herself up into the ceiling.

Tara and Cordelia were still hiding in the closet. Cordelia was holding a broom for defense. They were listening to what was going on outside.

"Slaaayer! Here, kitty, kittyyy. I find one of your friends first, I'm gonna suck 'em dry. And use their bones to bash your head in."

Spike kicked a door open.

"Are you getting a word picture here?"

"Oh, God, oh, God!" Cordelia whispered.

Tara clasped her hand around Cordelia's mouth to keep her quiet. "Shut the fuck up. He'll hear you."

"Spike! Listen..."

"Someone's in the ceeeeeiling!" Spike sang in a sing-song voice.

Giles stuffed several stakes into his jacket pockets, grabbed a battle-ax from the table, and headed toward the door.

"Hey-hey-hey-hey! What are you doing?" Jenny asked.

Giles started to push his way through the barricade that they constructed.

"There are at least three vampires in that hall! God only knows how many others in the building!" Jenny told him.

Giles looked at Jenny. "Listen! I am the Watcher! I am responsible for her, and I have - I have to go!" He started pushing things aside again.

"Rupert!" Jenny yelled.

He looked back at her again.

"Be careful."

"Push these back as soon as I-"

Buffy broke through the ceiling and dropped to the floor. Jenny stepped back in surprise. Giles lifted his ax.

"Buffy!" Giles lowered the ax. "You're all right!"

"How are the others?" Jenny asked her.

"Principal Snyder, my mother, and four others are locked in the science room across the hall. Tara and Cordelia ran the other way. I don't know if they're..." Buffy started crying.

Jenny put her hands on Buffy's shoulders.

"Where are Amy and Katrina?" Buffy asked.

"They got out through the stacks. They're getting Angel."

Jenny helped Buffy put crosses and stakes into Katrina's bookbag.

"Good." Buffy put on Katrina's bookbag. "Okay, I'm gonna take the vamps out in the hall. After that, you get my mother and the others out the same way."

"Let me help you."

"Giles, my mother's in that room. If I don't make it out of here, I know you'll make sure she does."

"Bloody right, I will. Fair enough. What's your plan?"

"Well, they split up to hold us here, so I'm gonna take 'em one on one. Set 'em up and knock 'em down." Buffy grabbed a stool and positioned it under the hole in the ceiling. She got up on the stool and lifted herself back up.

"Watch your back!" Giles called.

Katrina and Amy had gone to Angel's apartment, gotten him, and returned to the school with him. They saw a man lying dead on the grass.

"You know a lot about this Spike guy, so...um...you got a plan?" Katrina asked.

"Katrina, I'll pretend to take you as a meal and fake being evil. Lure them into complacency. Then we attack." Angel looked at Amy. "Amy, you follow at a distance and work your magic, if things start getting out of hand."

Amy nodded. "Got it."

Angel grabbed Katrina by the throat and dragged her into the building. Amy waited for a moment and then followed them.

"I think he's gone." Cordelia reached for the door.

"He could come back!" Tara whispered back.

Cordelia looked at Tara. "What are we gonna do?"

Tara thought for a moment. "Can you fight?"

Cordelia shook her head. "Fuck no."

"Well, then I think the best course of action is to stay here and keep quiet. Buffy will find us."

"You certainly have a lot of faith in her."

Tara was surprised. "And you don't?"

Cordelia felt bad. She didn't say anything else.

In the ceiling space, Buffy saw a pole poke through right in front of her. She began backing up.

Buffy broke through the ceiling behind a vampire. She pulled him down with her as she dropped from the ceiling and quickly killed him with a stake. Buffy got up and looked through the hole in the door to the science classroom. Her mother was standing there, watching her, visibly shaken.

"Buffy! Are you okay?" Joyce asked.

"I'm fine, Mom."

"Buffy, look, uh, get out of here, okay? We'll be all right!"

"Look, just hang on for one more minute until I tell you to open the door."

Buffy quietly made her way to the other hall, stake in hand. She peeked around the corner and saw the other vampire standing there with his back to her. She heard a noise behind her and looked.

"Sheila! Where've you been?" Buffy asked.

"Sorry I'm late. There's some really weird guys outside."

"Shh! Yeah, I know. They're trying to kill us."

Sheila picked up a ax and smiled. "This should be fun."

Buffy slowly headed back to the other hall.

Angel came into a hall with Katrina. Amy stood around the corner, watching and waiting.

Spike was poking a pole into the ceiling. He saw Angel. "Angelus!"

Angel wrapped his arm around Katrina's neck. "Spike!"

"I'll be damned!" Spike tossed his pole aside.

He and Angel greeted each other with a hug and a laugh.

"I taught you to always guard your perimeter. Tsk, tsk, tsk. You should have someone out there."

"I did. I'm surrounded by idiots. What's new with you?" Spike asked.

"Everything."

"Yeah. Come up against this Slayer yet?" Spike asked him.

"She's cute. Not too bright, though. Gave the puppy-dog 'I'm all tortured' act. Keeps her off my back when I feed!" Angel laughed.

Spike laughed. "People still fall for that Anne Rice routine. What a world!"

Katrina pretended to go along with it. "I knew you were lying, asshole."

Angel gave Katrina a squeeze to shut her up.

Katrina gritted her teeth. "Undead lying motherfucker."

Angel grabbed her by the hair and shirt and held up her exposed neck. "Want a bite before we kill her?"

Buffy and Sheila were about to round the corner.

"Stay behind me." Buffy went into the other hall and quietly made her way to the vampire, holding her stake up and ready.

Behind her, Sheila raised the ax and followed.

The vampire suddenly attacked and ducked as Buffy thrust the stake. Buffy momentarily lost her footing but quickly regained it. Sheila swung the ax at the vampire, but he dodged. The ax got buried in the wall. The vampire smiled as he straightened back up, thinking he avoided her blow, but then looked down at the stake protruding from his chest. He collapsed to the floor. Buffy looked over at Sheila and smiled. Sheila smiled back at her. They slapped a high five.

Buffy rushed back to the classroom door. "Mom, now!"

Joyce opened the door. "Okay, come on, let's go!"

Everyone rushed out of the classroom and into the library.

"C'mon! Hurry!" Joyce urged.

Buffy looked at Giles. "Get them out!"

"You're coming, too!" Joyce told her.

"In a minute! Go!" Buffy ordered and then rushed off.

"Buffy!" Joyce cried.

"I haven't seen you in the killing fields for an age."

"I'm not much for company."

"No, you never were. So...why're you so scared of this Slayer?" Spike asked Angel.

"Scared?" Angel asked.

"Yeah. Time was you would've taken her out in a heartbeat. Now, look at you. I bet this, uh, tortured thing is an act, right? You're not...housebroken?"

"I saw her kill the Master. Hey, you think you can take her alone? Be my guest. I'll just feed and run." Angel roared and bent to Katrina's neck.

Spike held up his hand. "Don't be silly! We're all friends. We'll do it together. Let's drink to it."

They both slowly leaned in to Katrina's neck. At the last moment, Spike punched Angel in the face, making him stagger back.

"You think you can fool me?!" Spike asked him. "You were my Yoda, man!"

"Things change."

"Not us! Not demons! Man, I can't believe this. You Uncle Tom!" Spike grabbed his pole from the floor. "Come on, people! This isn't a spectator sport!"

The vampires roared and attacked. Katrina prepared to fight.

"Katrina, run! There's too many of them!" Angel yelled.

Katrina barged out the door behind her and ran. Angel followed as the other vampires gave chase. Sheila and Amy ran after them.

Spike looked up. "Fe, fi, fo fum. I smell the blood of a nice...ripe..." He turned to face Buffy. "...girl."

Buffy raised the ax, which she had taken from Sheila. "Do we really need weapons for this?"

"I just like them. They make me feel all manly." Spike dropped the pole and slowly stepped toward Buffy.

Buffy dropped the ax.

"The last Slayer I killed...she begged for her life."

Buffy slowly walked to the middle of the hall, watching him intently.

"You don't strike me as the begging kind."

"You shouldn'ta come here."

"No. I've messed up your doilies and stuff. But I just got so bored." Spike smirked. "I'll tell you what. As a personal favor from me to you, I'll make it quick. It won't hurt a bit."

"No, Spike. It's gonna hurt a lot."

They stared to fight.

Outside, Katrina and Angel fought the other vampires. Katrina avoided several punches and kicks. Her own punch missed, and she got kicked to the ground from behind.

Katrina got back up and punched the vampire in the face. "Fuck, I wish I had some of those stakes on me!"

A vampire caught Katrina by the neck from behind. Angel punched him off her.

Amy was doing her best to hold the vampires in place with her magic. "Fuck, there's too many of them!"

"You can control stuff with your mind?" Sheila asked her.

Amy nodded.

Sheila offered her the stake that Buffy had traded her for the ax. "What can you do with this?"

Amy looked at it and then at Sheila. "Toss it in the air."

Sheila tossed the stake as high as she could.

Amy took control of the stake and rapidly plunged it into the heart of one vampire. Then she pulled it out and plunged it into the heart of another. And then another. And another. The remaining vampires ran from the fight.

Katrina looked over at Amy in amazement and grinned. Amy smiled back at her.

In the library, Joyce was following everyone out through the stacks when she stopped and wondered what happened to her daughter.

"Come on, everyone. This way!" Giles told them.

Buffy and Spike exchanged several blows. He threw her into the wall. Buffy ducked a punch and landed four of her own in a row. Spike grabbed her arm and shoved her into the wall. She slid down it quickly, and Spike's next punch went through the wall. She got behind him and kicked him high and hard in the neck.

"Now, that hurt!" Spike yelled.

He pulled his arm out of the wall, ripping a stud out with it, and swung it into Buffy's face. She flew back and landed on the floor, stunned.

"But not as much as this will." Spike stood over her and wielded back the stud to slam it into her.

Suddenly, he got hit in the head with the ax. He went sprawling to the floor and looked up at his attacker.

Joyce stood above him with the ax in her hands, ready to swing again. "You get the hell away from my daughter!"

Spike held the stud above himself to protect against any blows. Buffy got to her feet.

"Women!" Spike got up and ran through the lounge and out the broken window.

Joyce exhaled and dropped the ax. "Nobody lays a hand on my little girl."

They embraced. Buffy looked out the window. Eventually, they let go of each other.

"If anyone's hiding, you can come out now! It's safe!" Buffy called.

The closet door opened, and Tara and Cordelia ran out. Tara ran over to Buffy and hugged her. Buffy kissed Tara passionately on the lips and hugged her. Cordelia watched and smiled slightly.

Tara finally ended the kiss and looked into Buffy's eyes. "I knew you'd save me."

Cordelia looked at Buffy. "She never had any doubt."

Buffy looked at Cordelia, and then she looked at Tara and smiled. The three friends shared a group hug.

Later, outside, the police were everywhere. Giles and Jenny walked out of the building.

Jenny smiled. "Well, another wonderful, fun-filled evening."

"Uh, yes. You know, um, I will understand if you decide to start avoiding me."

Jenny took Giles' arm, and they walked off together.

Katrina, Amy, and Angel were hanging out together.

"So...when you gave him my neck to chew on, why didn't you clock him before he had a chance to clock you?" Katrina asked Angel.

"I couldn't make the first move. I had to see if he was buying it or not."

"A-And if he bit me, what then?" Katrina asked him.

"We would've known he bought it."

Katrina frowned.

Cordelia ran over to Angel and hugged him. "Angel!"

"Hey, Cordy!" Angel hugged her. "Are you all right?"

Cordelia kissed Angel passionately on the lips.

"I'll take that as a yes." Angel smacked his lips. "Cherry?"

"Raspberry."

"Ah."

Buffy, Tara, and Joyce were hanging out together.

"So...what did you and Principal Snyder talk about, anyway?" Buffy asked her mom.

"Principal Snyder said you were a troublemaker."

Buffy looked down in shame.

"And I couldn't care less."

Buffy looked back up.

"I have a daughter who can take care of herself. Who's brave and resourceful and thinks of others in a crisis. No matter what you think you need to do outside your normal life, I'm gonna sleep better knowing all that."

"About how long till this wears off, and you start ragging on me again?" Buffy asked her.

"Oh, at least a week and a half."

Buffy grinned. "Very cool!" Then she grew somber. "It's not 'what I think I need to do', Mom; it's what I need to do. Period."

"But why?" Joyce asked, upset.

Buffy shrugged. "It's just the way that it is. In every generation, there is a Chosen One. Right now, that's me. I alone will stand against the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness. I am the Slayer."

"I wish it didn't have to be."

"I know. Sometimes, I wish that, too." Buffy shrugged again. "But this is my life, Mom, whether we want it so or not. I'm sorry that my grades have suffered. I'll try to do better."

Joyce smiled appreciatively. They met up with Amy, Katrina, Cordelia, and Angel.

"What up, buttercups?" Buffy asked them.

Katrina grinned. "Oh, nothing. I just learned my girlfriend's a total badass, that's all." She kissed Amy on the lips.

Tara grinned. "I know the feeling." She kissed Buffy on the lips.

Suddenly, Harmony walked over to them. "Hey, guys, what's going on?"

Amy looked at her in surprise. "Harmony, you don't know?"

Harmony shook her head. "Nuh-uh."

"What, were you hiding under a rock?" Buffy asked her.

Harmony shook her head. "No, I sneaked down to the boiler room to do some coke-"

Joyce shot her a look.

"-the best damn soda on the planet!" Harmony grinned and chuckled nervously.

Buffy noticed the expression on Cordelia's face. "You all right, Cordy?"

Cordelia shook her head. "I just felt so powerless...and frightened."

Katrina put a hand on Cordelia's shoulder. "Honestly, I felt that way, too, Cordy."

"What if this happens again?" Cordelia sighed in frustration. "We are so unprepared."

Buffy thought for a moment. "So let's prepare you."

The others looked at her in confusion.

The next afternoon, after school, Buffy and her mother were hanging out in the kitchen. Buffy sipped Red Bull as she and her mom walked over to the window. Buffy was wearing her karate gi. She and her mom looked out the window into the backyard.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing, Buffy?" Joyce asked. "You're taking these girls' lives into your hands."

"No, that's just it, Mom: I'm not. I'm putting these girls' lives into their own hands, giving them the skills that they need to survive." Buffy stared intensely. "They're not Slayers, but they do have...potential."

Buffy finished her drink, tossed her can in the recycle bin, opened the door, and walked outside.

Tara, wearing her karate gi, was standing in front of the students and demonstrating punches and kicks. They copied her movements. The class currently included Cordelia, Harmony, Amy, Katrina, Sheila, Amber Grove, Lishanne Davis, Rhonda Kelley, Heidi Barrie, Emily Djiemanowicz, and Laura Egler. Stakes, a crossbow, arrows, and various other weapons sat on a nearby table. Against the far fence, various targets had been set up.

Tara noticed Buffy's arrival. She stopped performing moves. "Heisoku Dachi."

The ladies stood at attention, their feet together, their toes pointed straight forward.

Buffy stood to Tara's right and faced the students. "Ladies, today, you start to reclaim your power. You stop being victims and start being victors. When your back's against the wall, you do not hold back, you do not apologize, and you show no mercy. You show each and every asshole vampire, demon, and other monster that you come across just what we women can do. Welcome to Slayer School."