A New Light
by Jason Michael Edwards
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: Slayers, Watchers and all of the myriad characters we
love and hate from 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' and 'Angel' the series
belong to Joss Whedon and company. I borrow his toys without the
intent of harming them (any more than he does) or making any money in
the course of playing with them. The original characters are my own
creations, and any resemblance to anyone real or fictional is
coincidental.
Spoilers: Entire series overall, this part begins near the end of
season 1 episode 2 ('The Harvest').
Author's Notes: There are some changes to canon aside from the events I
write about (example: Slayers are only called during their fifteenth
year). Hopefully, none of them will distract from your ability to
enjoy the story.
Feedback: Please let me know what you think, good or bad. Good will
encourage me to post more and faster, bad will (hopefully) help me
make it better (or get me to stop if I really suck!).
"Come on, ugly! One of your pals may get me later, but I'm gonna take you out right now!"
Buffy watched with amusement from her vantage point above the stage while the tall woman with a pool cue faced down Luke, who was marked with the symbol of the Vessel. The woman had to be over six feet tall, with a very attractive athletic build, and had long, wavy red-brown hair that appeared to change color as the light struck it, golden blonde at some angles and dark ebony at others. She moved with grace and confidence, but Buffy didn't think the woman knew what she was facing, though she sensed something unusual from her.
{I better get down there before she gets hurt,} thought the blonde Slayer, as she moved to leap between the vampire and the crazy woman.
{The Slayer! I can sense her, what is she waiting for?} thought the tall woman, as she also sensed Darla slipping behind her.
"Hi Luke!" Buffy proclaimed loudly, "I know she's bigger, but I think I'll give you the fight you want."
As the crowd turned their heads to look up at Buffy, she leapt off of the catwalk to land smoothly between Luke and the tall woman.
"Slayer," Luke growled. "Your blood alone will grant the Master the strength he needs to gain his freedom, leaving the rest of these sheep for our enjoyment!"
Luke charged the Slayer, while Darla dove to attack the foolish prey that had thought to defy to her predators. Buffy attempted to end her fight quickly with a smooth thrust of her stake towards Luke's heart which he deflected, knocking the stake from her hand. Darla found herself scrambling up from the floor after the tall woman lithely evaded her attack. Chaos rippled out through the club as patrons attempted to flee through the now opened exit being defended by Giles, Willow and Xander.
When the fight was over, Xander had staked Jesse, Darla had escaped, Luke and two of his goons had been slain by Buffy, and the tall woman had staked the remaining two vamps herself. With the battle finished, she leaned easily on the dusty pool cue, as Buffy eyed her warily. Giles, Xander and Willow walked up, Xander grinning goofily.
"Buffy you were amazing!" he gushed. "And Miss Haven, maybe I should have stuck with those self-defense courses?!"
Miss Haven kept her large turquoise eyes on Giles while she answered Xander with a smirk, "When you did show up, Xander, you didn't pay enough attention to the lessons to pass the course."
Giles looked more serious than any of the teens had yet seen him. "Miss 'Haven' is it now? I believed you would be easier to find, even with a new name, given your striking appearance."
"You know her, Giles?" asked Buffy thoughtfully.
Miss Haven answered for him, "Not personally, but he knows who I am, and I know what he is. We need to get out of here before the police show up and ruin our night with questions none of us want to answer. Why don't we go to the Center and talk about this there?"
"The Center?" Buffy asked, as Miss Haven, Xander and Willow began walking for the door.
"The Sunnydale Cultural Center and Park. Miss Haven is the owner and director," Willow explained while they exited the Bronze, followed closely by Giles.
"Oh, I think I remember Mom telling me that's where her gallery is," Buffy mumbled, confused by the woman's skill fighting the vamps and Giles' behavior towards her.
Miss Haven smiled. "Your mom is Joyce Summers?" Buffy nodded. "Your name is Buffy then, right? Your mom talks about you all the time" Miss Haven stopped and extended her hand to Buffy. "My name is Michelle, it's a pleasure to meet you Buffy."
Michelle smiled as Buffy accepted her hand, then she frowned slightly. "Your mom doesn't know that you're the Slayer, does she?"
"No. How do you know about the Slayer, and that I am her?"
Michelle looked over at Giles, who was studying her intently. "It's not far to the Center. Why don't we wait until we get there to finish introductions and explanations?"
As they resumed walking, Xander began an excited recap of the battle at the Bronze, falling silent after reaching his part: slaying the vampire that had once been his friend. Buffy and Michelle tensed briefly, as each sensed something faintly. When no one approached, they relaxed and kept walking. None of them noticed Angel watching them from the shadows, nor heard his quiet words of admiration.
Buffy and Giles looked around in wonder, impressed by the elegant beauty of the Cultural Center and Park as they entered the grounds. Architectural styles from around the world blended smoothly together amid gardens, pathways, streams, fountains and waterfalls. All five of them felt a welcome peace blanket them as they approached Michelle's offices.
Willow spoke quietly to Buffy as they followed the meandering path. "I like to come here in the afternoons and on weekends to study. Xander even seems to understand what we're studying better when I tutor him here. There's a nice internet café over there, and an incredible book store around the corner there…"
Willow's brief babble was ended by Michelle's invitation for them to enter her offices. Even in the environment of the Center, Buffy had expected the offices to be like those she remembered visiting to see her father: cold and ostentatious. Instead, it was almost like she hadn't walked inside. Much of the ceiling was actually one large skylight; the only partitions were water walls emblazoned with dramatic and vivid images out of mythologies from around the world. Living, flowering plants were everywhere, and the lights that Michelle switched on were not harsh fluorescents, but instead seemed to bring warm daylight into the room.
She led them through into what Buffy guessed was a meeting room. Great windows filled half of the round room's walls, and a half- circle of a wet bar took up a good part of what remained. Gentle stairs led down through three tiers of bench-style seating to an open space in the center of the room, and a central fireplace.
"Make yourselves comfortable down by the fire," Michelle suggested while pressing a button under the bar which brought a low fire to life in the pit. Buffy heard a low hum from the ceiling as an exhaust fan came on. "I need to make a quick phone call to check on the person I was with at the Bronze before the fight started."
Xander gave a low whistle as he moved down the stairs and took a seat, while Michelle slipped back out the door. Willow sat down at the edge of the fireplace and looked thoughtfully into the flames. Giles walked across to the windows, which looked out over the small lake that was the center of the park. Buffy sat next to Willow, and took a moment to observe her new friends and Watcher.
"Were any of you hurt?" she asked quietly.
"I'm alright, Buffy," Willow answered shakily, the adrenaline still filtering out of her system.
"Some bumps and bruises and, oh yeah, staked my friend, but I guess I'm ok," was Xander's slightly bitter response.
"We are a little disheveled, Buffy, but otherwise we are unharmed. The Harvest has been stopped, the impending apocalypse averted. You did well tonight," Giles replied, understanding her concern, "all of you."
"Do you have anything you want to tell me before Miss Haven comes back, Giles?" Buffy inquired, looking at her Watcher with concern evident on her face.
"Too late for that, now, and please, all of you, call me Michelle," she stated boldly as she reentered the room. "I'm only 24, I'm not quite ready to be included with the grown-ups," she grinned at Giles. "Let me get you all something before we start, this may be a long night."
She moved behind the bar and pulled out a large server tray. She then prepared hot chocolates for Buffy, Willow and Xander, and hot tea for herself and Giles. She also placed five glasses and a pitcher of ice water on the tray, and then moved down to the fire place. Always helpful, Willow moved to assist her, which Michelle thanked her for as the drinks were distributed. Giles accepted his tea with a polite "Thank you," and looked uncertainly at it while the teens began sipping their hot chocolates. Michelle watched with a smile while Buffy's and Willow's eyelids fluttered, and Xander grinned and smacked his lips.
"This is great hot chocolate, Miss H-, Michelle, thanks," Xander proclaimed. Buffy and Willow could only nod in agreement.
After watching Michelle take a sip of her tea, Giles finally sampled his uncertainly. After his first sip, he smiled.
"Remarkable, where did you find such fine white tea here in Sunnydale?" he asked as he finally began to voluntarily relax, if only slightly.
"Mr. Giles, I am very disappointed, though not surprised, that you have not visited the Center before now. While I felt no need to attract another trendy coffee shop to Sunnydale, I did invest in a fine tea merchant, as well as an excellent bakery where you should be able to find any treats you may be missing from home." Michelle grinned as Giles eyes lit up. "Buffy, would you be willing to tell me your story first? I think we will be more likely to get through everyone's questions that way."
Buffy glanced at Giles, and realized as he began to tense up again that Michelle was probably right. "Alright," she finally answered, and began to tell her story. She started with her first Slayer dreams in LA, and ended not long after with the events that had brought them to the Bronze earlier that evening. She left out nothing slayer-related, and she sobbed a little when telling of Merrick's death; Willow hugged her, while Xander shifted uncomfortably and Giles looked sadly out the window into the night. She quickly passed over the events in her family life that had brought her to Sunnydale.
When she was done, Michelle reached over and lightly squeezed her hand. Willow and Xander looked at Buffy with new appreciation. Buffy had given them the highlights before, but this time she had told the whole story, and they were even more impressed by their new friend. Giles knew most of the story from the Watchers' reports, but hearing the story from Buffy's perspective gave him a better understanding of this young girl, and his respect for her grew.
Michelle broke the brief silence that followed the end of Buffy's story. "Thank you for sharing that with me, Buffy. It's late, and we're all tired, but I would like to tell you a little about me before we all go get some rest." She paused and looked to each of them for approval before she continued. "When I was fourteen, I feel in love with a girl, and was lucky enough to have her fall in love with me."
Xander choked a little as he took a drink from his glass of water. His eyes went wide and his face flushed. Buffy and Willow looked down at the floor and shifted uncomfortably.
"Does that bother any of you?" Michelle asked, a little surprised.
Buffy looked up at Michelle, and then glanced quickly over at Giles. "No, no, it doesn't bother me…"
Giles looked at Buffy, confused. "I know this part of her story, Buffy. It does not disturb me."
"But it's weird hearing about it with someone, well, old!" Buffy finally finished, embarrassed. Willow nodded slightly, still looking at the floor.
Michelle chuckled at that, while Giles looked at Buffy, mortified. He almost opened his mouth to protest that he was not only comfortable discussing sexuality, but led an active sex life, before his common sense kicked in. Instead, he commented wryly "I'm certain that my age-addled mind will forget this conversation soon enough, so try not to let it upset you."
Buffy pouted, and then glanced over at Xander. "Are you with us, Xander?"
Buffy saying his name pulled him out of his newly revised fantasies about Miss Haven. "Hn… uh huh, yeah, uh, what?"
"I said 'watch the drool there, Xander'." Buffy giggled as his hand flew to his mouth, where he did, indeed, find a bit of drool. Willow rolled her eyes and groaned at him, embarrassed by her oldest friend's behavior. Buffy turned her attention again to Michelle. "I'm sorry, Michelle. It doesn't bother me that you were in love with a girl, and it looks like Giles and Xander are fine. Willow?"
"What? Oh, me? I'm fine with it. People should be able to love whoever they want, right? I mean, unless that whoever is already with someone else, or," Willow began to babble. Buffy was learning that Willow tended to babble whenever she was nervous or uncomfortable, which seemed to be most of the time. She decided not to let the babble go on.
"So since none of us are bothered by it," Buffy interrupted, "why don't you continue your story?"
Michelle could tell that the teens had just been surprised, though she was a little irritated by Xander's reaction. Buffy and Willow seemed to be alright with the news, which was a relief; Michelle did not want them to feel awkward around her. She had expected that Giles knew at least some of this. "Alright, when we were fifteen, Li Yin, my girlfriend, was called as the Slayer. Her Watcher was an amazing old guy, Lord Isaac Stone. Li and I trained together, went Slaying together, read to each other out of the Watchers' and Slayers' diaries, and the Slayer's Handbook…"
"Wait," Buffy interrupted, "Why don't I know about a 'Slayer's Handbook'?" she demanded, glaring at Giles.
"Yes, well, Merrick noted that your personality seemed more suited to moving directly to the physical training, and so he chose not to present you with your copy. I have one for you, if you would like…?"
"I'll pick it up tomorrow. I'm sorry, Michelle, go ahead."
"Ok, I was telling you that I worked with Li closely, learning and fighting right beside her. We beat a lot of bad guys and girls, and we lost a few battles. My parents were killed by a powerful vampire in retribution for Li and I slaying his sire, the vampire that had turned him. For almost three years, we fought the good fight, the three of us. On Li's eighteenth birthday, she and Stone went out into the mountains to perform a ritual to try to find some answers to a problem; the ritual required the Slayer, her Watcher, and no outside influences. I felt her die, in pain and in terror, a few hours after they left. I knew from what I had sensed that Li had watched Stone die, before she did. I was alone."
Michelle paused, feeling again a wave of the despair that had overwhelmed her at the time. Xander felt terrible. He had thought the story was going to turn into a hot girl-on-girl romance, not this sudden tragedy. Willow was confused. Buffy had been the Slayer for less than a year, and she was like a super hero. Li had been the Slayer for three times as long, would have been that much more skilled, wouldn't she? What could have happened? What could happen to Buffy? Giles was grim, and a little pale as he stared into his tea. Buffy was stunned. She had been excited at the opportunity to hear about another Slayer. She hadn't thought about how the story had to end.
"We had been prepared to move quickly, in case anything ever tried to attack us at home. I packed up all of our stuff, including all of Stone's books and weapons, and as far as the Watchers were concerned, I vanished. I knew they were looking for me, I saw a few of them, but I had my own plans. I wasn't going to just go back to trying to lead a 'normal' life, and I wasn't going to try to join the Watchers. Instead, I traveled up and down the coast, and found Sunnydale. I discovered that this is the focal point for all of the mystical energies in the region. I settled in to try to make a difference here.
"I realized that eventually a Slayer would be called here, and here you are. I'll need to talk to Giles about a few things, but I want to help you, Buffy. There is more to my story, but I think that can wait for another time. Are you willing to let me work with you?" Michelle was a little nervous. She knew she could help the Slayer without her assent, just by doing as she had since she arrived here in Sunnydale. But she wanted to help Buffy with some of the things she couldn't talk about yet, not with her friends here, and certainly not with Giles here, not until she knew where he stood on a few issues.
"Of course!" Buffy responded. "Willow and Xander convinced me that everyone has the right to fight, I just don't want anyone else to get hurt. And I would really like to hear more about you, and about Li Yin, if that's ok?" Michelle nodded with a warm smile. Buffy hesitated a moment before continuing, "I do have one question, though. Why can I sense you? I mean, not like a vampire, but I can faintly sense where you are."
Michelle's smile became a wry grin. "We thought we could cheat, and we did a little bit, I guess. Within the first month of training with Stone, we realized that, while I was nowhere near Li's level, I was certainly more capable in a fight than anyone else we met. Stone finally explained it. I was a potential Slayer, it could have been me that had been called when Li was, and if something had happened to her during that first year, I could still have been called. We studied some magic, and found a ritual we thought might activate me as a Slayer without Li dying. Then we would have two Slayers fighting side by side. Three days before my sixteenth birthday, we tried the ritual. It didn't quite work as we expected. I got the Slayer senses, and my abilities all increased significantly, but still nowhere near the level of the Slayer. It did bring Li and I closer together in some mystical way, which is how I was able to feel it when she died. What you sense is the fragment of Slayer ability in me, which is why it's faint. To my senses, your presence is stronger than any vampire or demon."
Buffy was a little stunned. She had resisted her calling for months, wanting nothing more than to live a normal life. Here was a woman who had, at the same age, actively sought the responsibilities and the terrors that were now Buffy's life. She needed time to think about this, and about her new friends that had volunteered to stand beside her. It would also be good for her to get home before her mom realized she was gone, if it wasn't already too late, and get some sleep.
"Thank you, Michelle, for everything. I really need to get home and get to bed, now. Would it be alright if I, we, came by tomorrow after school to talk some more?"
"Of course. Why don't you let me drive you all wherever you need to go? I think it will be a little safer than walking."
They all agreed, and after Michelle locked up the office, she led them to her car, a black '67 Mustang. Giles took the passenger seat, while Willow made certain to place herself between Xander and Buffy in back. Xander was dropped off first, followed by Willow and then Buffy, who successfully climbed back into her bedroom and fell asleep quickly, without getting caught by her mom.
"I know you have to tell the Council about me, but I have a request," Michelle said firmly as they approached Giles' car outside the Bronze. "Tell them I will give you all of the Council-issued texts and equipment from Stone's collection, but I am keeping his personal effects. I want to help Buffy, and I am willing to work with you, but this is not negotiable. If they press, tell them I have Stone's journals, not just his Watcher diaries, but his personal journals."
Giles eyes widened as she spoke. He would very happily accept the resources she was volunteering, and he was fairly certain that he would gain access to the library and arsenal she was keeping in time, if he could earn her trust. She had obviously earned Stone's trust, which spoke highly of her to Giles, if not to the current inner circle of the Council. But Stone's personal journals, yes, he could see how the Council might be afraid of those. Stone had been a Watcher longer than anyone in the history of the Council, had come from a long line of Watchers. He had once been a member of the inner circle that unofficially led the Council. He had also served with distinction in several British intelligence agencies at home and abroad. More than just the Council were likely to be made uncomfortable by those journals. Giles had no doubts that she had read all of them, and had copies prepared, just in case.
"I will pass along your message. I will also recommend that your terms be accepted. I would very much like to work with you, Michelle, and I hope that we can work through your past experiences with the Council. I am familiar with some of what happened, but I would like to hear more of the story from your point of view. Thank you, for your assistance and hospitality this evening."
"You're welcome. And Mr. Giles," Michelle gave him a small, but warm, smile, "I really do hope we can work together. Good night."
Giles responded with his own smile, "Please, call me Rupert. Good night, Michelle." He closed the door of her car and approached his own. His smile turned into a wry grin as he checked the time; it would be best to contact the Council immediately. He knew he could look forward to very little sleep, at best, tonight.
Buffy tried to suppress her giggle as she walked into the library. Giles' cavernous yawn reminded her of a roaring lion.
"You know, Giles, the Slayer sleep-thing was one of the first things I learned to appreciate after I was called. How are you expected to keep up with me? Is there some super-caffeinated tea you drink, or something?"
Giles looked at the clock, and then at his Slayer in surprise. "Or something. Good morning, Buffy. I was under the impression that you are not a 'morning person'. Even Willow has not been in yet. Is everything all right?"
"You tell me. What's going on between Michelle and the Watchers? For a second there last night I thought you might try to stake her!" Buffy felt a little better when she read the embarrassment in Giles' expression and body language.
"I assure you that was not the case." Giles paused for a moment, thinking back on the phone calls that had kept him from any sleep at all. Other Watchers might have done it, though. There were a few that still might. He reached over and pulled a leather-bound book from his case; gilded letters on the binding seemed to glow in the early morning light that filtered through the windows.
"Your Handbook." He handed it to her.
"Now why didn't you try to give me this when I first came in, instead of that horrible 'Vampyr'? I might not have freaked quite as much! And don't change the subject."
Giles sighed. "It has to do with Li Yin's Watcher, Lord Stone. Traditionally, when a Watcher dies, a portion of his or her estate is left to the Watcher's Council, to help support our work. If the Watcher has no heirs, the entirety of the estate is left to the Council. Lord Stone had no heirs, and it was known that when he left England to come take his place as Li Yin's Watcher that his will had been arranged in the traditional manner."
Buffy's gaze remained locked on her Watcher as he continued. "After Stone's death was confirmed, the Council waited for the documentation on his estate to be brought to them. When they determined that they had been waiting for longer than should have been necessary, they looked into what had happened. Over the course of the year prior to his death, Stone had quietly brought any of his belongings he was not willing to part with here to California, and had liquidated much of the rest of his estate. He changed his will, leaving everything to Michelle as his sole designated heir. The Council reacted very poorly to the news. They attempted to challenge the will, but were hindered by the need to remain unknown, and by Michelle's disappearance.
"The Council has been looking for Michelle ever since. Several items that were in Stone's collections were on loan from the Council, so they felt they had the right to the return of those at the very least. I spoke with Michelle about this after we dropped you off, and she has offered to turn over to me those items which were Council property. I contacted the Council about Michelle and her offer, and was in calls with them until just before you came in."
"That's great!" Buffy started, and then looked down at the pile of notes in front of Giles. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she continued. "But that's not all there is to it, is it? The way you were acting last night, that wasn't just because she had some old books or weapons that belonged to the Council. And if all the Council wanted was their stuff back, you wouldn't have been up ALL night on the phone. What else, Giles?"
"Mm, well, there is the question of why Stone did these things. Many believed that she must have enchanted or coerced him in some way. Also, there were items from Stone's personal collections that were considered too dangerous to leave in her possession. She has extensive knowledge of the Slayer, and the Watchers, which normally only Watchers possess, and could be dangerous in the hands of an enemy. The Council remains concerned about these issues."
"How concerned?"
"They are debating that now."
"What could they do?" Buffy was feeling very uncomfortable with the impressions she was getting from Giles.
"Buffy…"
"No, Giles! What could they do?"
"Having now located her, they could press through legal channels to claim some, or all, of Stone's assets that remain in her possession, though that seems unlikely to work."
"What else, Giles? What are you afraid they could do?"
Giles looked down at the notes in front of him, and then resolutely fixed his gaze on the face of the young woman across from him. "If they determine her to represent a supernatural threat, they could order her elimination, and then reclaim Stone's estate, after."
"I would never MURDER her, or help them STEAL from her!"
Giles response was soft. "They would not expect you to. The Council has other agents that they may call on." He was interrupted by the muffled sound of something falling just outside the library door. Buffy raced over to identify the source, with Giles following at a human pace.
Buffy opened the door suddenly, only to find Willow standing there, a stunned look on her face, her book bag at her feet. After her senses quickly confirmed for her that there were no threats present, Buffy reached down to pick up the bag. "Are you ok, Willow?"
"I heard… murder? Who…? Why…? I thought…," Willow stammered, having heard only a few of Buffy's shouted words. Buffy drew her into the library and led her to a seat, frowning at her Watcher.
"No one is getting murdered, Willow, not if I can help it. That's part of my job, right? Protector of the innocent, that's me," she answered, turning to smile at the redhead. "Giles and I were talking about vampires, and I got a little loud. I'm sorry that I freaked you out."
"No, it's ok, I just thought…, never mind, I don't know what I thought," Willow responded a little more evenly, with a slight shake of her head. "What happens now? I had hoped that if Buffy stopped the Harvest, it would all be over, but after listening to what Michelle told us last night, I realized that the vampires aren't going to go away, are they?"
Buffy shook her head, and looked at Giles, who answered, "No, the vampires will continue to be drawn here, as will all manner of other evil and otherworldly beings. The Master will no doubt continue looking for a way to free himself and open the Hellmouth completely. Even if the Hellmouth were to be permanently sealed, the evil would still be out there, the Slayer would still be called to fight it."
Xander loudly stomped through the library doors. "Have you heard what they're all saying about last night?" He continued without giving them a chance to answer, "Gang members high on drugs! At least they remembered who saved them; they're saying that Buffy is one of Michelle's martial arts students, and that they were able to 'drive off the gang members' together."
"People tend to rationalize what they can't ignore and don't want to believe," Giles responded dryly.
"Bright side? Minor disaster, and I'm not being blamed. Yay me!" Buffy gave her new friends her best smile. She noticed Willow glancing at the notes Giles had been working on throughout the early morning. That was something Willow and Xander did not need to know about. She needed to talk to Michelle, but that would have to wait until after school let out. "Come on, I left my house without eating breakfast this morning. I could use some juice and a cinnamon roll." She dragged Willow and Xander out of the library, giving Giles a look that let him know that they would be talking about this again.
It was, therefore, not a surprise to him when she walked into the library that afternoon, when he knew she should be sitting down in her last class of the day. "Buffy, I had hoped that your joke during lunch about getting kicked out of school was just that."
"It was, mostly, and we are so not doomed. Super-hearing, Giles, remember? I'm sorry about this morning, I shouldn't have freaked. Have you heard anything?" She noticed that his notes were gone.
"The Council phoned me a short time ago. I am pleased to be able to tell you that they have determined to accept Michelle's offer. In exchange for the return of the items clearly belonging to the Council, the remaining concerns will be laid to rest." Giles noted Buffy's clear pleasure at the news.
He would not tell her that he had called the Council again after she had left the library that morning, that he had informed the Council regarding her feelings on the matter, and warned them against alienating her. The decision they had eventually reached was not unanimous, and not final, but it would give Giles the time he needed to learn more about Michelle, so he could know for certain where he stood.
"That's great, Giles. When we get to the Center this afternoon, I'll distract Willow and Xander for a few minutes, so you can tell Michelle. I'd rather they not know about this; I don't think they would react any better than I did."
"I agree. I am still not certain we should allow them to be involved at all. If something were to happen to one of them…"
"Now that they know, they could always try to do something on their own if I didn't let them help. At least this way I can watch out for them, protect them. Maybe with your help, and Michelle's, I can teach them to better protect themselves."
Buffy was relieved that she would not have to fight the Council. She knew that if they had decided to attack Michelle, that she would have chosen to fight at her side. Giles seemed to be smart and capable, and he really seemed to care, but Michelle was someone she could relate to, and she was a living link to another Slayer, another girl who's normal life had been taken away from her. Besides, she had a hunch that Giles would have chosen to defend Michelle, too. He hadn't seemed too happy about the other alternatives.
"Willow and I started looking through the Handbook, and I had some questions…"
Giles smiled. Michelle already seemed to be having a positive influence on his Slayer.
An hour later they were joined by Willow and Xander, and were walking to the Center. The afternoon sun was bright and warm, and a cool ocean breeze seemed to put a smile on everyone's faces. It was almost unimaginable to any of them that last night they had been fighting for their lives against vampires that sought to literally bring Hell to Earth, that somewhere below their feet the Master still plotted to make it happen.
Buffy had accepted the existence of vampires in L.A., hiding throughout the urban sprawl. Her first view of Sunnydale had comforted her, as much as she missed L.A., because it seemed inconceivable that creatures of the night could hide, would want to hide, in this quiet, idyllic community. She had kept her tools of the trade, carried her stake, because she wasn't a fool. She had expected drifters; Merrick had taught her that many vampires existed that way, moving from town to town.
Instead, she now knew she was likely to face more vampires and, if Giles was right, other 'things' than she ever would have faced in L.A. It had upset her at first, but since last night, since her new friends had stood by her and helped her, since she had met Michelle, she could accept it. She had her mom, she had friends, she could be the Slayer and still have her own life. She was sure of it.
Willow and Xander were telling Buffy and Giles all about the Center. Buffy looked around as they approached. L.A. had some beautiful parks and buildings, but she had never seen anything like this. The structures, the landscaping, everything flowed, like the water in the numerous streams throughout the Park. To all of her senses, the place seemed… alive. Last night it had been sleeping, but now it was awake with activity. As they crossed onto the grounds, Buffy felt that same peace as the night before wash over her. She could tell that the others felt it, too, though they didn't seem as aware of it.
Buffy was brought out of her musings when she heard Giles ask Willow and Xander what they liked from the tea shop, since he thought all American youths drank sodas or coffee drinks.
Her friends looked at each other. "Thai iced tea!" they shouted simultaneously. They each grabbed one of Buffy's hands, and began dragging her off.
She looked over her shoulder at Giles. "Why don't you go ahead and find Michelle? We'll meet you at her office in a few minutes."
Giles nodded and smiled at her as he watched her allow herself to be pulled along. He took advantage of his long stride and walked quickly to the offices they had visited the night before. As he entered, Michelle called out a greeting to him from where she stood, near the doors to the meeting room they had used.
"Hello Rupert! No sign of the others, but you're smiling, so I'm guessing… Thai iced teas?"
Giles nodded, still smiling. "Yes, they will be joining us in a few minutes. May I speak with you privately for a moment, before they do?"
"Of course, come on in." She led him into the meeting room, hopeful that his mood meant good news.
"I phoned the Council as soon as I arrived at home about your offer," he began after he took a seat down by the fire-place. "I received the call with their answer two hours ago. After a great deal of debate, they have agreed to accept."
"That is wonderful, Rupert! Thank you! I'll have the collection delivered to your home, if you will give me the address?"
"Of course, thank you. Oh, and Buffy is aware of this, but she would prefer Willow and Xander not be told about the difficulties between you and the Council, if that is acceptable to you?"
"Yes, I understand, that's fine. This is great! One less thing I need to worry about, at least for the moment. I'm sure that it wasn't an easy, or unanimous decision?"
Giles shook his head. "Hopefully, cooperation between us will persuade the remaining dissenters to let the matter rest."
"I hope so. Hey, have you started Buffy's physical training back up, yet?"
"No, I still need to run her through a series of tests to determine her level of ability, before we begin serious training. I hope to start the testing as soon as possible. Why do you ask?"
"It's been six years since I got to spar with a Slayer. I'd like to see what we've both got. Would that be alright with you?"
"Yes, I think that would be an excellent preliminary test, actually." Giles paused as the door to the meeting room opened to admit the excited trio of high school students. "I'm certain she has the energy for it."
Buffy stopped when she saw the look that she was getting from both Giles and Michelle. "Hi Michelle! Why are you both giving me the same look Mom gives me when she has something for me to do?"
"No chores, Buffy, I promise! I was just telling Rupert that I could use some exercise this afternoon, and was thinking about asking you to spar with me. He agreed that it might be a good way to start your training back up. Then maybe afterwards we can talk some more?"
Giles nodded in agreement. "It would be a good idea for us to get your training started again as soon as possible."
"Umm, ok, where…?"
Michelle answered quickly. "I have a private workout area in the martial arts studio. Top-notch blinds on the windows and the doors lock from the inside, so we can both cut loose without having to worry about anyone seeing something we don't want to have to explain."
"Ok, but I don't have any workout clothes with me, I'll need to…"
"No problem, Buffy, I've got something you can use. Come on, gang." Michelle stood and started past the teens.
Buffy looked up at her as she passed, and then down at herself. There was no way that anything of Michelle's was going to fit her. "Michelle…"
"Don't worry about it, Buffy. This will be great. Willow, Xander, come on. Rupert, let's go!" Michelle led them out of the office and along the edge of the lake until they reached the Haven Defense Studio. Some after-school classes were in session, for elementary and middle school students. She led them past the shouting children to a large, heavy-looking door, which she unlocked with an oversized key. Buffy could hear a low hum from the walls as the door unlocked. Michelle held the thick door open and gestured for them to enter. She walked in behind them, closing and locking the door.
Her workout room was large, and was mostly taken up by a large sparring area. A few padded benches were stacked against one wall, and a few exercise machines filled some space across from the door. The blinds were up, and the windows slightly open when they walked in, allowing in the breeze. After Michelle locked the door, she flipped a couple of switches next to it, which caused the lights to come on, closed the windows, and brought down the blinds, as well as turning on the ventilation system.
"Come with me, Buffy. The rest of you can make yourselves comfortable. There is a refrigerator in the corner with some drinks and snacks, if you want them." She then led Buffy through a smaller door opposite the windows, into a private locker room. "There's a toilet through there, if you need it, a couple of showers there, for when we're finished, and here's a locker for your stuff."
She opened the locker and pulled out a couple of small black garments. "These are yours, I picked them up for you this morning. I'm pretty good with sizes, so they should fit. They're made out of a stretchy material that won't restrict your movement, and will help keep you cool. There's also some sparring gear in here, if you'd like to use it." Michelle started pulling off her casual office clothes as she walked away to her own locker.
Buffy watched as Michelle stripped off her clothes, and gasped. Michelle paused and looked over at her, and then down at herself. She shrugged. "Like I said, I only got a fraction of the Slayer abilities. My body's ability to heal isn't as powerful as yours, so I get left with a few reminders from my battles." Michelle's body and skin were beautiful, but scattered over her torso, arms and legs were a variety of scars, faded to different degrees. She also had some interesting-looking tattoos.
She resumed removing her undergarments, a matching green lace bra and thong, and Buffy blushed as she admired Michelle's naked body. She looked like a fantasy Amazon, leanly muscled, and very feminine. Buffy turned back to her locker and began removing her own clothing, feeling very much like a little girl next to Michelle, self-conscious about her height and her petite frame.
Once both were dressed, in what were little more than sports bras and biker shorts, Michelle handed her a cord to tie her hair back with, and proceeded to tie her own. "You're built a lot like Li Yin was." She began pulling on the light sparring gloves. "At this point you can out-muscle your average vamp, but against some of the bigger or older ones, like that Luke character last night, you're going to need to know how to use your speed and agility." She checked the fit on Buffy's gloves. "Against this Master you told me about, you may need something more."
"What do you mean?" Buffy followed Michelle back out into the workout room. Her attention was so focused on Michelle that she almost didn't notice Xander's eyes almost popping out of his head, or Willow's blush. Almost. But she didn't have the opportunity to react, because Michelle was talking again. And stretching. She started to blush, but she also started stretching as she listened.
"I think I remember reading about this 'Master', and vampires as old as he is normally take a little more than a stake to finish off. He'll be faster, stronger, and tougher than Luke was, and he'll also be more skilled, and more cunning. He may also possess mystical abilities, even if he didn't have them before, as a result of his time trapped on the edge of the Hellmouth." She finished stretching, and moved to take her place on the mat.
Buffy took her place opposite Michelle, and checked her gloves one more time. "So you and Li Yin fought a vampire like the Master, before?"
"Yeah, one, a scary, very civilized-acting vamp that called herself 'La Noche'. I'll tell you about her some other time. Ready?"
"I guess. How do you want to do this?"
"Ok, I expect you to beat me, but don't let that hold you back. It's been six years, but I used to do pretty well against Li Yin. I could at least give her a good workout. You have the strength, speed, agility, and intuitive ability, as well as the endurance. I have a reach advantage, more experience, and the same senses you have. Plus I know that no matter what I tell you, you'll hold back a little bit. I won't." Michelle gave a big grin. She heard Giles shift in his seat as she said that, and little gasps from Willow and Xander. "Don't worry, she can take it. Nothing I do will be lethal or maiming." Another big grin. This time Buffy looked nervous.
"All right Slayer, show me what you've got!"
Buffy decided to see if Michelle was really as good as she said. She dropped from her relaxed pose into a low crouch. Michelle expected her to try a leg sweep, and prepared to leap over it. Instead, Buffy uncoiled from her crouch and launched herself high over Michelle, whose stunned look only lasted a moment before Buffy had grabbed her under her arms and flipped her way up and over, to come crashing back down on the mat flat on her back, the wind knocked out of her. Giles and her friends were frozen, shocked at the display that they had just seen.
Michelle managed to gasp, "Intuitive ability, bigger edge than I remembered!"
Michelle's prediction was accurate. Buffy took her down in each of the next four rounds of sparring. None of her wins were as quick or decisive as that first had been, however. Michelle was probably the equal of a newly risen vamp in strength and speed, and her training and experience made her a difficult opponent to beat. Even with the clear advantage Buffy possessed physically, it was only her intuitive fighting abilities that allowed her to win, and just barely at that. Of course, Michelle had also been correct in assuming that Buffy would hold back. Buffy was unwilling to take any chances that she might seriously hurt Michelle.
Buffy was surprised the first time Michelle landed a solid punch. The power behind that punch would have broken the ribs of a normal person. Buffy had taken worse hits, from Luke most recently, but she really hadn't been expecting it from Michelle. It was clear that Michelle saw no reason to hold back any of her strength against Buffy. She felt that the best way she could help Buffy was to give the sparring everything she had, only holding back potentially crippling or killing blows.
Xander was completely enthralled by the women battling before him. Their speed, their power, their ferocity, all of it terrified him to watch, just as it titillated him. He knew he wasn't as strong as some other guys, but he still thought of himself as a candidate for the role of the white knight, coming to a damsel's rescue. It made him uneasy that with these women, he may as well be the damsel.
Willow was completely terrified. She was afraid one of them was going to be seriously hurt, watching the way they sparred. She had never seen fighting like this before, and she suddenly realized that very few ever had. She decided then that she wanted to know more about the Slayers, much more. And she knew just where to start.
Giles was completely amazed. He had read a few of Stone's reports of the training he put Li Yin and Michelle through, but they had done nothing to prepare him for this. The possibilities regarding the level of skill Buffy could reach with a training partner of Michelle's caliber astounded him. He could only imagine, now, what kind of Slayer Li Yin must have been, with Stone as her teacher and Michelle as her partner. He could not allow himself to think about what must have happened to her.
An hour after walking out of the private locker room, Michelle called a halt to their sparring and led Buffy back in to get showered and changed. Buffy was actually a little surprised when Michelle did not begin immediately stripping.
"The showers may look small, but they're comfortable for me, so you should have plenty of room." Michelle looked over at Buffy and barely restrained a grin. She was certain that Buffy had no idea how she was looking at her at that moment. She had learned from Joyce that Buffy wasn't seeing anyone, which could be both good and bad for her right now.
"I have a couple of suggestions for you. Start the shower as hot as you can stand it, then gradually turn the hot water off, so that you're rinsing with just the cold. And I suggest you don't shower, or get too playful, with anyone after you've been training or Slaying. Your system is too wound up, and… accidents can happen. Oh, and always have some food ready for after your shower. Our bodies use a lot of energy, and we need to refuel."
Buffy's mind calmed a little as she listened, and she suddenly realized she was staring at Michelle way too intensely. Her blush was barely noticeable on her already flushed skin, and Michelle politely ignored it as she moved to the showers.
"There are towels there, and a robe for when you're finished. Everything else you need should be in the shower." With that said, Michelle stepped into the shower stall, and didn't start undressing until after she had closed the frosted glass door.
Buffy stripped before stepping into the shower. It was remarkably nice, sized for one but open above the door to the ceiling, where a frosted skylight allowed in some of the golden afternoon sun. The fine tile was a soothing forest green, and the fixtures were gleaming gold. There were three shower heads; one each to the left and right as she entered the shower were attached to flexible hoses, and a large one was suspended directly overhead. Three frosted glass bottles had their contents labeled in gold: shampoo, conditioner and face/body wash. A clean washcloth and a new loufa sat next to them on a small shelf.
Buffy sighed, and hurried to finish her shower when she heard Michelle shut off her water. This was the most amazing shower she had ever had, and the contents of those glass bottles were delightful. She felt relaxed and invigorated all at once. After drying off and donning her robe, she joined Michelle at the mirror to comb out her hair. A few minutes later both were dressed and walking back out to join the others.
Giles was explaining to Willow and Xander the intuitive fighting ability of the Slayer. "A newly risen vampire possesses a fairly competent level of hand-to-hand fighting skill, even if he or she possessed no such skill in life. If the person was trained in any style of fighting in life, they are even more dangerous.
"To be successful, the Slayer has to be a better fighter, even if she has little or no training. Every Slayer is connected mystically to those that have come before her, and one way that connection manifests itself is in her fighting ability, drawing on some of the skill of all those that have come before her. A fortunate side effect of this is that the Slayer instinctively understands how to restrain her heightened physical prowess, and often does not have any idea of her strength or speed until a moment of stress."
Giles looked over to Michelle and Buffy, where they still stood at the doorway to the locker room. "Michelle, if I understand correctly, you tapped slightly into the Slayer connection when you performed the ritual to attempt to activate yourself as a Slayer."
Michelle noticed they hadn't raided the fridge yet, and went to pull out some food and drinks, gesturing for Xander to help her. "Maybe. It seemed more like I tapped into Li directly, than into the Slayer line. The bond between us was incredible. I just have bits and pieces of the instincts, so I can focus my senses and control my increased strength and speed. I don't seem to have much of the fighting instinct, so all of my skills are learned."
After Michelle placed the food out and made sure everyone had something to drink, she and Buffy began eating enthusiastically. Between bites, she said "From what I experienced, and what I read in the journals and diaries in Stone's collection, I know every potential has a slight tie to the lineage all her life. Even before the ritual, I rarely got sick and I was always able to take care of myself in a fight. That kept me alive when we first met Stone."
Buffy's eyes lit up. "Can you tell us about that, Michelle? About how Li Yin found out she was Chosen?"
Willow jumped in. "Oh, and how you met her? I bet it's so sweet, and romantic. Was it love at first sight? It was, I know it, because that would be perfect. Do you have a picture of her?"
Buffy gently grasped Willow's hand to get her attention. Michelle wasn't showing any distress, but Buffy knew those couldn't be easy questions to hear. Giles appeared concerned as well. Xander's attention had been caught with the question about a picture.
"I have picture of her in my locker, let me go get it," she said casually as she stood. "I put away the pictures of her I have at home, so they wouldn't bother my girlfriend, but I like having one to look at every day. It helps me keep my focus."
Giles studied Buffy while Michelle walked into the locker room. "How are you feeling, Buffy? That was a very intense workout, and Michelle hit you solidly several times."
"I should be hurting, and exhausted, but I feel great! All charged up! That was so incredible! Did you guys see that spinning heel kick she almost hit me with? That would have knocked me across the room! But I did that cool bendy-backwards thing and then came back in to hit her dead center in the chest with my open hand and toss her across the mat!"
"Speaking of people ending up on their backs," Michelle interrupted as she came back into the room, "what was with you and that vampire last night, Rupert? I know what kind of training the field Watchers receive."
"Ah, well, she caught me off guard, and she was much stronger than she looked…"
"And they still have you playing the harmless wise man when you meet your Slayer. Sorry Rupert, but that would be a huge mistake here in Sunnydale. You're going to need to be just as active as Buffy and me. Don't let his 'bumbling Brit' act fool you; I'm certain he can teach you more about battling supernatural evil than I can." She looked at Willow and Xander as she sat back down. "If you two are going to be in this at all, you're going to need to learn how to fight as well, if only to protect yourselves. More than what I have them teaching here in the general classes. If you're all interested, maybe we can set up a training routine for all of you here, after school and on weekends. Rupert and I can alternate training with Buffy and the two of you. What do you think?"
Buffy agreed immediately, followed quickly by Giles. Willow and Xander each thought about it for a moment before agreeing together. Michelle nodded and smiled at there agreement as she handed Willow a framed 8x10 photo.
"This is a picture I took of Li about six weeks before she died. We were in San Diego hunting down a high profile vamp that was preying on men in the nightclubs. It was a fun chance for us to dress up."
The picture was taken on the beach, just after the sun had set. The light was still enough that the grey-blue sea was clearly visible in the background, white waves crashing onto white sand. The subject of the photo was a petite Chinese girl with a graceful, dancer's build. She had straight blue-black hair falling halfway down her back, a thick mane of it, full and fine. Her feature were fine and delicate, and her eyes were large, a striking blue. She was posed dramatically, one hand on her hip and the other held high over her head, and dressed in a silk halter and skirt that matched her eyes. Her big white smile promised mischief and fun.
Giles barely restrained a grin. "That is quite a different photograph from the one in the Council records. She was a lovely girl."
Buffy reached a little towards the picture. "She was gorgeous! Her eyes, were those contacts? I've been thinking of getting a pair."
Michelle grinned. "No, her maternal grandfather was from England, she inherited her eye color from him."
Xander looked up from the picture to look at Michelle, and then back down at the picture. A flood of inappropriate comments and questions came to mind, but for once his common sense kicked in to stop him. He was speechless.
Willow held the picture so that all could see it, but she studied the picture closely. Li Yin was gorgeous, Buffy was right about that. But Willow could also see the hardness to her that was only just starting to become apparent in Buffy, both the physical hardness of someone who has pushed their body to near breaking, and the emotional hardness of someone that has seen too much to come through it unscathed. She had seen it before in the pictures of some of her older relatives at home, and she saw it in Michelle now. Sometimes, she thought she saw it in Giles.
She handed the picture back to Michelle. "Thank you. I'm sorry if I brought up unhappy memories."
Michelle smiled at her warmly. "No Willow, I'm fine. I miss her, but," she paused, and looked at them a little unsurely. "You remember how I told you that the ritual connected me to Li Yin? Well, the connection is still there. I can still feel her, and that is a huge source of strength for me. I've found love again, but I still love Li Yin, too, and feel her love for me. I know, it sounds strange."
"That sounds amazing, not strange," Buffy smiled at her, and reached out to squeeze her hand. "Would you mind telling us how you met, and how she found out she was the Slayer?"
"How we met really wasn't very exciting. She was from Hong Kong; her father is a very successful business man there. Someone tried to kidnap her when she was 13, so her parents decided to get her away from the greatest danger. She had always wanted to come to the U.S., and her mother had a sister living here. Her aunt enrolled her at the private school I was going to, and I was asked to show her around because I was the best student in my Chinese class. It was totally unnecessary, because she spoke perfect English. We became friends quickly. She noticed me looking at her a little more intensely than I should have been, and about two months after we met, she kissed me.
"We were inseparable. A couple of weeks after we turned fifteen we both started noticing little things about her were changing. She wouldn't sleep much at night, and when she did she had dreams like she had never had before. She wasn't tired from her lack of sleep, and she didn't get tired, or even start breathing hard, during gym. We were both great at whatever sports we played, but she started getting a lot better, at everything. She decided to try to hide all of it from everyone else while we tried to figure it out.
"We started pushing her limits, testing her strength, speed, agility, senses, anything we could think of. It was amazing! My girlfriend was a superhero! She told me that in her dreams, she or some other girl was always fighting monsters, almost always at night. She had started to get strange feelings around certain people or places, mostly bad feelings. She had been practicing Chinese martial arts all of her life, and I was a brown belt in Tae Kwon Do, so we started sparring with each other whenever we could, trying to get her ready for what we were afraid was coming.
"We went through all of this in less than a month. We finally decided to go out one night and see what we would see. We ended up in this park, and we were getting ready to give up for the night. We're sitting at a picnic table, and we start to hear footsteps, and this clicking sound. We looked around until we finally saw this old guy come around on the path. He looked so out of place we both laughed a little. He was a little shorter than me, dressed like a gentleman out of an old movie, complete with cane. Full head of short white hair, clean-shaven, his whole look was so out of place we had no idea how to react.
"He walked right up to us. We were ready for anything, since Li Yin said that the monsters in her dreams normally looked like people until they attacked. He handed a pointy stick to Li and a cross to me, and then gestured behind us with his cane. We looked, of course, and saw a gang of bikers riding up. They stopped their bikes about 25 yards away, and then began walking towards us, all confidence and attitude. There were six of them, all over six feet tall and built for fighting. When they realized we weren't going to try to run, they all grinned and vamped out, one at a time.
"I think I screamed, even though Li and Stone both told me later that I didn't make a sound. Yeah, the old guy was Stone, but he didn't introduce himself until after the fight. And it was quite a fight. Those bikers weren't new vamps; we figured out later that the youngest of them had been a vamp for about fifteen years, the oldest for more than two hundred!
"We were outnumbered, and I was sure we were all dead. Even if the old guy knew what he was doing, and I guessed he did since he had given Li a stake and me a cross, he was still an old guy. Li had 'superpowers', but we were looking at six real vampires. I wasn't sure if I could remember to breathe, much less use any of my martial arts training.
"I looked over at the old man, and saw that he had pulled apart his cane, so he had a sword in one hand and a nice long stake in the other. Then Li and I looked at each other, and she adjusted her grip on the stake. It looked so natural in her hand, like it belonged there. Then she smiled at me, and looked back at the vampires. I turned to look, too, and behind us I heard Stone say 'Your first lesson girls: stay alive.'
"It was a hell of a fight. I couldn't give you details of what happened if my life depended on it! All I had to defend myself with were the cross Stone had given me, and my Tae Kwon Do training. I know I went a little crazy. Stone killed two of them, and Li staked three. When she finished off her third, she looked over and saw me pinning down the last vampire. Somehow I had managed to jam the cross almost completely into his mouth, and I had him pinned face down on the ground and was sitting on the back of his head so he couldn't bite me or really reach me at all. If he hadn't been so freaked out and in so much pain from the cross in his mouth he could have easily tossed me. Before he got the chance, Li tossed me the stake and I swung it down as hard as I could with both hands over where I estimated his heart to be. I figure I got it about halfway in on the first blow, and then I finished him off by stomping down on the stake with my foot.
"Of course, then I was dumped on my butt, since I hadn't seen what happened to the other vamps when they were killed, and I wasn't prepared for him to disintegrate into a cloud of dust. Li ran over and helped me up, and then gave me the tightest hug and most passionate kiss she had given me yet, and I gave her back all that I had. After about a minute Stone reminded us that he was there, and finally got around to introducing himself.
"You know the speech that came next, 'One girl in all the world, etcetera, etcetera'. After everything we had been through, both that night and the entire month prior, we weren't inclined to argue with him over what was or wasn't possible. Apparently Li's family held some pretty old-fashioned beliefs, because Stone went to her aunt, and then took Li to her father, and told them everything. Li's family agreed to every request Stone ever made, and instructed her to do the same. We knew my family would not accept the supernatural parts of the story, but they accepted my relationship with Li, and that gave us all the excuse we ever needed or wanted to spend all of our time together.
"As I mentioned last night, we noticed pretty quickly that I was a better fighter than I had any right to be. When we started reading the Journals and Diaries, we realized that Stone was going against every tradition by allowing me to fight alongside Li. Some previous Slayers have had a little extra help off the field, but never in the thick of battle. We had to press a little to get the answer, but he explained everything after a couple of weeks. The Council does try to find as many of the potential Slayers as it can, and if it's possible they arrange to train the girls early, in case one of them happens to be called. We all have an edge, even if we lack the full Slayer package.
"In some cases, the Slayers-in-training are actually sent in to some minor trouble areas that the Slayer can't get to. They always have a team of Watchers to help them out. Once the girls turn 16 and can no longer be called, they are given the choice of returning to a normal life or joining the Council as Watchers themselves. If I remember something I read in Stone's collection correctly, your grandmother was one of those potentials, wasn't she, Rupert?"
Buffy, Willow and Xander all turned and looked at Giles in surprise. Giles was mildly surprised that Michelle had made the connection, and remembered it. As far as he knew, that fact was never clearly stated in any of the records. Her mind was clearly as well-trained as her body.
"Yes, she was. Her training with the Council began when she was four years old. She admits that she spent the entirety of her sixteenth birthday crying uncontrollably, she was so devastated that she had not been Chosen. She became one of the most accomplished Watchers of her generation, and guided some of the most successful Slayers."
Michelle nodded. "Stone mentioned her and your father, and you as well, a few times, and we often found useful information in the copies of their Diaries that he had in his collection. He had decided that circumstances didn't leave him many options where I was concerned, so he let Li and I train and patrol and battle together. I wasn't stupid, I knew what my limits were. If we came across threats that were beyond me, I backed off. And that happened a lot."
Michelle looked over at the clock. "Well, I think we timed that just about right. I got to finish that story before I have to leave. I have a date to make up for after last night, so I need to go get ready. It's starting to get dark out; can I give any of you a ride on my way home?"
Giles and the teens looked at each other and shook their heads. Buffy spoke up. "I think we are all fine walking back to the campus, and then I can walk Willow and Xander home before I go home myself. Thank you for everything this afternoon, Michelle. This has been amazing, the sparring and your story. How are we going to do the training you mentioned earlier?"
Michelle looked at Giles, who nodded. "Rupert and I will work out a schedule. It will be most intense for Buffy, but what I have in mind for you two, Willow and Xander, will still be much more difficult than anything you've done before, both physically and mentally. Are you sure you're up for it?"
Willow looked at Xander, and then at Giles, before letting her gaze settle on Buffy. She wanted to help Buffy, she knew that without hesitation. Willow was always the nobody, the one everyone else ignored. But here she was, being offered the chance to help make a difference, and save lives. She wanted so much to be a part of it. Afraid her voice might fail her, she nodded.
Xander watched his oldest friend as she agreed to whatever Michelle had in mind. Her choice didn't make his any easier. He knew his place as he was now; the class clown, the goofball, the comic relief, these were role he knew how to play. He looked at Michelle, and then at the equipment in the room. He had a feeling that if he agreed, he would be put through an exercise program that would make some of the jocks cringe. His gaze shifted to Giles. It would probably mean a lot more studying, too. He finally looked at Buffy, as Willow had. Xander never had lofty goals for himself, but this amazing girl made him want to be… exceptional. He nodded as well.
"All right, then. Rupert, I'll talk to you tomorrow and we can start working something out, if that acceptable to you?"
"It is. We shall need to coordinate things so that they do not attract undo attention, from their families or others. And we must ensure that they keep up with their studies."
Xander groaned at the last remark, causing Buffy and Willow to giggle. Michelle looked at Giles and smiled at the barely suppressed mirth she saw in his eyes. She felt an elation she hadn't felt in years begin deep inside of her. The Slayer was finally here, and she would have the resources and support she needed to survive, and to succeed in her duties above the Hellmouth.
...to be continued...