Chapters 16-20

CHAPTER 16: Memorials


When dawn broke at 06:30, dew lightly covered the well-manicured lawn of the Sanctuary, glistening as the first rays of the day showed over the horizon. Alexander Harris had been up since 03:00. He had been in the machine shop all morning because he couldn’t sleep. The shop was equipped with the most sophisticated wood, metal, and plastic machinery tools available, and a budget that pretty much gave Xander and his team some of the most sophisticated and expensive materials available. Of course, a written request to Mr. Giles was necessary.

All Xander required at this time was to finish his task before his crew arrived at 08:00, but at this moment he is on a mission. Xander was carting aluminum stock rod, steel, and wood that he had carved, polished, and sanded all night long. He wanted everything to be ready when all the Slayers, Dawn, Willow, and Giles woke up and reported for morning training at 07:00.

As Xander drilled and tightened bolts he made some adjustments, and finally stepped back and reviewed his work. Alexander Harris finally finished his Memorial to all those that perished in the Battle of Sunneydale. He used a router on the edges, and with an acetylene torch he darkened in the engravings, then sanded, and polished each plaque. He used a three-inch painter’s brush to coat the plaques in a weather resistant lacquer.

He hung the first plaque on the top. It was for Spike, also known for the last hundred years as William the Bloody, who had cut a swath through central Europe with Drucilla at his side, a particularly dangerous Vampire mostly because she was insane. The inscription read: “Spike, William the Bloody, died for his redemption, for this act he allowed this world to live on.”

The next plaque under Spike’s, was Anya’s. It read: “Anya died to give her life for another, to protect us all. Forever you will live in my heart.”

“That’s nice, Harris, but what you should be doing at this hour is resting and preparing for today’s training. That obstacle course kicked your ass,” The Sgt. Maj. said as he looked at the Memorial and started to read.

“Mr. Harris…I am so sorry to have bothered you in your time of mourning…. Sorry,” the Sgt. Maj. said as he walked towards his quarters covered in mud.

“Sgt. Maj. please don’t go! I mean, can I speak with you?” Xander asked as he quickly wiped his face. The Sgt. Maj. stopped in his tracks and turned around slowly giving Xander time to wipe away the tears.

“Sure Xander.”

The two of them sat down on one of the three wooden benches that Xander had built the night before, so that anyone that wanted to come and pay their respects, could do so with comfort. You see, Xander’s plan was to build a memorial not only for the casualties of Sunneydale, but for all the Slayers throughout written records or the written word for that matter, Slayers who gave there lives for the continued existence of man. Ironically, at the top of the list was a Vampire that in his lifetime had killed two of the Slayers who would be added to this very list.

“What’s on your mind? Sgt. Maj. Douglas asked.

“I was going to marry the second one on that list, at one time. Before I met her, Anya was a thousand-year-old vengeance demon. We were set to marry and I got a visit from my future self telling me that if we married I would eventually fight at Buffy’s side, get critically injured and be unable to work, that this would lead me to eventually kill the women I loved. This vision caused me to call off the marriage and I haven’t been happy since,” Xander looked at the Sgt. Maj.

“That’s rough! But I really don’t see how I can help, Xander,” The Sgt. Maj. said.

“Well, here is the kicker! In my vision, I can see it as clear as if it were yesterday… in my vision I was not missing an eye, I was supposed to severely injure my back helping Buffy, not my eye. This I lost prior to the battle where these people gave their very existence. My future was never set! But I was too much of a coward to realize it,” Xander says as a tear works through his manly defenses.

What followed was a moment of silence.

“That’s Bull!@#$! I watch everyone who goes through here and until I die I will continue to watch, train, fight alongside, and guide any person that comes through these gates. Mr. Harris, there is not a coward within the very walls of this compound,” The Sgt. Maj. says to Xander. “There is just trained, and UN-trained!” he added.

“Will you train me?” Xander asks.

“You mean in addition to your regular training or your job? The Sgt. Maj. asks Xander.

“Yes,” Xander answers him.

“I’ll check with Mr. Giles and see if you can be my assistant in addition to your other duties. But I promise you this, it will be the hardest thing you have ever done!”

“Sgt. Maj. I grew up on a Hell-mouth!” Xander responds.

“You’re going to need it, now get ready for morning physical training, and let’s get the girls off to school,” The Sgt. Maj. says as he heads to his quarters.

Xander picks up the next plaque which read: “The following Slayers, who were given the opportunity to leave, decided to stay and gave their lives to save the Earth from total destruction:

Amanda
Born: 1985
Called: May 20th 2003
Died: May 20th 2003
“A true warrior, we found nothing of her, but her heart is with us”

Buffy walked up behind Xander and saw the Memorial. She takes a moment to read.

“If taken literally, that’s kinda morbid, don’t you think?” Buffy said. “Thank you, I mean for Spike, I know you hated him. I know you did that for my sake,” Buffy said to her friend.

“He was alright in the end, you know with that dying to save the world thing…you’re right, I couldn’t stand him,” Xander replied as the two of them walked down to the training ground. “Buffy, I don’t want to let you down here, I know I am not in the best shape I could be in,” Xander said.

Buffy looked at Xander with shock, “Xander, what’s going on! This isn’t like you!” Buffy asked her longtime friend.

“Well…I was thinking of Anya and it occurred to me that in the vision I saw, that made me walk out on her, I was not missing an eye. So my future is not set. I want to dedicate myself to you. But, not in the weird mistress-slave thing! Although…” Xander said with a smile as his hand came up to block whatever Buffy was going to hit him with.

“Don’t even finish that sentence. Xander, whatever gave you the idea that I thought you were letting us down? You have been with me through every apocalypse. You are one of the bravest men I have ever met, you are my heart, and I couldn’t do this without your help,” Buffy said as she gave him a hug. “I have to get the girls off to school, but I want to talk when I get back, alright?”

“Sure, I would enjoy that!” Xander said as his friend ran back up the hill to look in on Dawn and the girls.

Xander started to stretch out, and practice some kicks and punches; his shirt was already soaked by the time the rest of the squad started to show up. Michael runs down the hill and lightly punches Xander in the chest.

“Xander, what’s up dude! Looks like you’ve been out here for awhile.”

“Yeah, couldn’t sleep!”

Xander and The Continuum went through stretching and warm-up exercises, for about a half- hour. Then Arthur steps up to the front and starts motioning everyone to have a seat.

“Alright, bring it together. As you all know, Faith was seriously wounded last night during a recon of the airport, and we picked up a new Slayer. She’s twelve years old, malnourished, and dehydrated. Both are doing fine. I want each and every one of you to check on them throughout the day. We must show our support.”
“A twelve year old Slayer! How does that happen? You cannot seriously expect her to Slay, do you?” Scott asks.

“For one thing, Buffy would never allow her to slay any way, but she is a Slayer and has a home here. I am hoping Buffy will allow her to train, because one day she will be in harm’s way,” Arthur answered. “The best thing we can do for her is to help her learn who and what she is, but Mr. Giles and I believe we should leave the whole thing to Buffy,” Arthur added.

“You and Giles are smart to do so. Especially if Buffy is the one who rescued her,” Xander added.

“What do you mean?” Arthur asked.

“The most dangerous thing about running across a bear cub is its big sister or mamabear,” Xander responded.

“You got that right, big guy!” Eddie said as he slapped Xander five.

“Yeah, I get that!” Arthur said. “I just thought you guys should know. OK, lineup, spread out, assume a fighting stance…forward jab, forward jab, front snap kick…return. LET’S DO THAT TEN TIMES!” Arthur yells out as he walks down the line looking for flaws. “Michael, stop lifting your elbow. Xander lower your center of gravity, you’re off balance,” Arthur says as he walks over, grabs a striking pad and walks over to Xander.

“Jab, Jab, Front snap kick…halt, recover. Show me what you are aiming at, Xander,” Arthur says as he holds the striking pad chest high. Xander points to the center of the pad.

“That is the striking point, but not the point I want you to aim for,” Arthur instructs Xander.

Xander gives him an inquisitive look.

“What I am talking about is follow through, you must aim four inches past the striking point, and recover fast. Try it,” Arthur adds as Xander throws a straight jab.

“You see it changes, how close you have to be, but once you have it you will see how effective it is,” Arthur said.

Xander and The Continuum trained for another hour, and went on a morning run. The squad broke for breakfast and a shower. Xander walked down the steps from his room, dressed in jeans, a denim shirt, work boots, and a hard hat in his hand. He walked out towards the parking lot.


Chapter 17: Interviews


“Hey, Frank, is that Mr. Harris?” Tracy asks him.

“Yeah, Mr. Van Helsing told me he lost that eye in a battle helping the Slayer,” Frank answers.

“Which one? Tracy asks Frank.

“The left one, dummy, can’t you see?” Danny answers as he throws up his arm to block.

“Kiss off, Danny, I meant which Slayer! There are about five of them here, aren’t there?” Tracy asks Frank.

“Try six! They brought in a twelve year old last night, and word is she is also a Slayer,” Frank answered.

“Get out!” Tracy responds as Xander sees them and starts walking down the parking lot.

“He looks mean, and look, he has a cross painted on his eye-patch,” Tracy responds.

“Relax, Van Helsing said he was alright!” Frank answered as Xander walks up.

“Frank, right?” Xander asks as he sticks his hand out.

“Yes, Frank McQuade.”

Frank was tall, he had black medium length hair, brown eyes, he was slender and wiry. He wore his hardhat, he had on a leather tool belt, work-boots, jeans, and a dark blue tee shirt.

Xander shakes Frank’s hand, and turns to Tracy. “You would be Tracy right?” Xander asks her, trying not to let his eye wander. “She’s Beautiful, stop…Be Professional, but approachable,” Xander thinks to himself.

Tracy was wearing the hard hat, tight blue jeans, and a blue tee shirt tied in the front, her blonde hair was tied up. She had deep blue eyes. “There is no way I am going to make it through this,” Xander thinks as he shakes her hand, “Nice, to meet you.”

“Tracy Beck, nice to meet you.” “I shouldn’t have tied my shirt so high in front, like a big slut!” Tracy thinks to herself as she shakes Xanders hand.

Xander forces himself to turn away and steps in front of Danny.

“You would be Danny,” Xander says as he sticks his hand out.

“Danny Corbett, Mr. Harris, how ya-doin.”

Danny had red hair, green eyes, medium length hair, was dressed in jeans and a tee shirt, and played High School football before he joined a Vampire hunting gang from his neighborhood. He was stocky, and looked strong.

“I think I’m doing good! Let’s go to the cafeteria where we can talk, and get something to eat,” Xander says as the three look a little shocked.

“That Bastard is going to lay one of us off, it’s me, I’m the rookie, I can’t lose this job! If I lose this job they’re going to make me move out.” Danny thinks to himself and from the look on Frank and Tracy’s faces, they’ are probably thinking the same thing.

The four of them make their way to the cafeteria and Xander leads them to a table. They look over the menu and Xander waves to one of the three ladies that work in the kitchen, Mariana Gomez, a single mother of two, a two-year-old boy and a one-year-old girl, both in the Sanctuary’s daycare center. Werewolves had killed her father, husband, and mother while she went out the fire escape with her babies. Michael brought her to the Sanctuary, after he found her asking for money outside of one of Cleveland’s best delicatessen. After giving her a fifty-dollar bill and buying the family dinner, he heard her story and that night she had a job and a place to live.

“Hey, Mr. Harris, what is it I can get for you?” Mariana asked Xander. “Who are your friends?”

“Hi, I’m Tracy, this is Frank and that’s Danny.”

“It’s very nice to meet you all… are you a Slayer of Evil?” Mariana asks Tracy.
“I wish…. No, I’m just me!” Tracy answers.

Mariana takes their order of pancakes, scrambled eggs, orange juice, fruit, and coffee.

“Do all of you live here at the Sanctuary?” Xander asks his crew.

“Yes, we all live on the west wing, you know, away from the Slayers, Arthur thinks its best not to be around them… are they dangerous, Xander?” Tracy asks him.

“Wait, before I answer that, you are aware of what a Slayer is, right?” Xander asks Tracy.

“Oh, sure they are ten times as strong as a man, they know martial arts, they kill Vampires and Demons. Usually they are very pretty. How am I doing?”

“Right, on all counts. I take it each of you have a reason to be part of this organization? As far as being mean, Faith is the one to look out for, but I don’t think she has killed a human in a while,” Xander answers her.

“Do you feel comfortable enough to talk about what happened to you in front of every one else?” Xander asks Frank, Danny and Tracy.

“I don’t have a problem!” Frank answers.

“Me neither,” Danny and Tracy say in unison.

“Alright, I guess it should be me,” Frank says. “I used to be a welder, building a high rise in downtown Cleveland, and this one night I had to work late to finish this floor that I was working on. I called my Mother to ask about my younger brother who had not been home in three nights, but this was not unusual, so after I tried to calm her down and told her I would be home soon, I went back to work. After work I drove home, I walked in the front door only to watch my brother drain the life out of her, right in front of me. After the shock of watching this creature throw aside the body of my mother as if she was a finished Coca-Cola, we fought from the living room to the kitchen and he slammed me across the kitchen table. So I stabbed him with a table leg, hell, I didn’t know what would kill him, it was there. If it had been a metal table leg, I wouldn’t be here. I was found walking down Euclid Ave. by the Continuum with that wooden table leg in my hand.” Frank finished as the food arrived.

“That’s…. messed up! I’m sorry Frank, I’m trying to say something comforting about your loss without it sounding stupid,” Xander said with sincerity.

“Don’t worry about it, Boss, even if I’m not part of the hunters, I think that we do are part.”

“Frank, I know you will!” Xander responds.

Xander looks at Tracy.

“Oh…My turn! Well my girlfriend, Kristen, and me ran away from home, we lived in Erie P.A. When we got here Kristen met this biker. He was in The Devil’s Seraphim; he said that we were going to party. They raped and passed Kristen around until she died while I just screamed. They seemed to get off on me screaming. Arthur, the Sgt. Maj. and the rest of The Continuum set explosives that blew out the front wall, it was daytime. They came in and killed anything that wasn’t burning or moving, they grabbed Kristen’s body and me and brought us here, then we sent her body back to Erie,” Tracy said as she drinks some orange juice and eats a piece of toast.

Xander was speechless, “That’s horrible, I should have never asked you all to talk about this.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it! It’s your job, you have to know who you have working for you. We all get that! Arthur told us that we should be open with you,” Tracy said.

“So let’s finish up! I want to do some work!” Danny said. “In my old neighborhood we got together and formed a Vampire hunting squad. We were dusting two Vamps a night. When they found out we existed, they wiped us out. Killed most of our families, including mine, took the rest of the members that were still alive and chained us to the wall of this basement for food. The Continuum came in and cleaned house, but I was the only one that survived. Being barely alive I was brought here. I have no one else,” Danny finished his story.

After a few minutes of silence Tracy looked up at Xander and said, “How about you, what’s your story?”

“Buffy and Willow are my best friends. Buffy has been a Vampire Slayer over eight years now; she has a sister named Dawn. Willow is a very powerful Witch and Dawn is now a Watcher. Mr. Giles used to be Buffy’s Watcher, and is now the Director of this operation. We have been through eight Apocalypses and Buffy has died twice. Evil has thrown everything at her and she has met it head-on every time,” Xander said.

“She died twice? What’s up with that?” Tracy asked Xander.

“Well, the first time she was bitten and left to drown, and I brought her back performing CPR.”

“It was a good thing that you were in the area,” Danny said.

“The second time Buffy was killed protecting her sister from a God named Glorificus. She was dead for about six months. Willow performed a resurrection spell and brought her back.” Xander finished leaving out the fact that Buffy was in Heaven at the time, and her best friends pulled her out.

**********

Buffy walked through the double doors of the infirmary. Dr. Kidare was attending to Christina who was fully recovered, even the deep cuts and abrasions were fully closed. She was sound asleep and Dr. Kidare said that she aggravated Faith most of the morning, wanting Faith to play with her until she just went to sleep.

Buffy walked over to Faith’s bedside “How is she, Willow?”

“She’s doing fine now. She’s sleeping, and she needs it,” Willow answers.

Dr. Kidare walked over to Buffy, “Faith is going to take some time but she has already healed way more than I could have imagined, that’s the Slayer thing.”

“Buffy, I’m going to need a blood sample from you.”

“Not a problem,” Buffy rolled up her sleeve.

Twenty minutes later Buffy walks down the steps wearing a beige pants suit, brown dress shoes, and her hair up. She sees Giles walking towards her, wearing a brand new dark blue suit with black leather shoes.

“Hey, what happened to the wool tweed?” Buffy asks Giles.

“I went shopping! How do I look?

“Giles, you look incredible, we are just meeting the Principle,” Buffy says as they reach the large double doors to the conference room.

Dawn, Kennedy, Vi, and Choi-Ann run down the steps heading towards the Infirmary where they checked on Faith and Christina who were sleeping. The four girls gave blood and Willow made them drink orange juice, and eat toast that was sent down from the kitchen. Then, after Dr. Kidare said it was O.K., they ran down the hall heading for the Armory where the Sgt. Maj. was waiting. Dawn knocks on the door.

“Come in,” the Sgt. Maj. answers.

Dawn opens the door and walks in followed by the rest of the girls. The Sgt. Maj. was cleaning his boots from this mornings run through the obstacle course. Dawn approaches the Sgt. Maj.’s desk and smiles, “Good Morning!”

“Good Morning, Dawn…Girls. Dawn, let me see the license” as the Sgt. Maj. sticks his hand out.

Dawn hands her license to the Sgt. Maj. who looks it over and hands Dawn the keys to a black Suburban.

“Park it out of the way, and this button locks and sets the alarm. Be careful and take care of each other… that school is a little rough. I will see you tonight for training,” The Sgt. Maj. says as the girls run up to the parking garage.

Buffy and Giles are there waiting. Dawn and the girls walk over to them. Dawn was leading wearing a yellow and red flowered sundress along with some pumps, and a purse with a wooden stake, a small bottle of Holy Water and a few accessories. Choi-Ann was also in a dress, light blue, and a pair of blue sketcher tennis shoes. Dawn couldn’t convince her to wear the heels they had picked out for her. Dawn just thought that Choi-Ann liked her shoes, but Choi-Ann didn’t want to impale another student with the four-inch stilettos that Dawn had picked out, just in case she had to defend herself. Vi and Kennedy went for the jean jacket, jeans, tennis shoes and a tee shirt.
Chapter 18: School of Hard Knocks


“Good morning, girls,” Giles said as he cleaned his glasses.

Dawn, Kennedy, Choi-Ann, and Vi place their hands on their hips and reply provocatively, as Giles is taken a little aback, “Good morning, Giles.”

“You four watched Charlie’s Angels with Xander last night, didn’t you?” Buffy asks them.

“Yes,” Dawn answers with a smile.

Giles looks at the girls from over his glasses and replies. “Very funny. Now, to the business at hand. Ladies, years ago I had the same conversation with Buffy about preserving her identity…”

“No stories, please, Mr. Giles” Dawn says.

“Yeah, Buffy tells us stories before we go to bed at night,” Vi adds.

Giles glances at Choi-Ann and she nods her head yes.

“O.K. we will follow you. Now remember all of you. Your identity as Watcher and Slayers must be kept completely secret. Also, the existence of the Sanctuary,” Buffy says to them as Vi, Dawn, and Kennedy roll their eyes.

Buffy looks at Choi-Ann as she looks at Dawn, turns her head to Buffy, rolls her eyes and starts laughing. Everyone sees it at the same time, including Giles, and laugh with her as they pile in the two vehicles and drive down towards the gate.

Kennedy holds back a few steps as Dawn, Vi, and Choi-Ann head for Dawn’s Suburban. Buffy moves to the driver’s side door. Kennedy leans towards Mr. Giles and says: “I especially like the story about you and Dawn’s mother and something about candy bars. Well…See ya!”
Giles gets into the passenger side and sits down, removing his glasses to clean them with a handkerchief. He looks in Buffy’s direction and says:

“So…You thought it necessary to inform them about your Mother, Joyce and me…that was not my fault… that was Ethan Raines, he put that magic spell on the candy!”

Buffy bursts out in laughter, “Giles, they are just young girls… they are just trying to have fun with you.”

They go east on route 90 and pickup Detroit Ave, then head east past the hospital to Lakewood H.S. The six of them walk into the administration office. After explaining that Choi-Ann was on an exchange program to Sunneydale H.S. and the school with all of its records including the other three girls’ records were destroyed, the four were signed up and the schools records would have to be sent from California’s school board.

They all knew that those records would never be found. Arthur’s lawyers would have to take it from there. After saying goodbye, Giles and Buffy head back to the Sanctuary.

As soon as Buffy and Giles pull into the driveway, Scott walks out and greets them. “Hey Boss! What’s up, Buffy. Mr. Giles, Arthur is in the conference room and would like to speak to both of you. Hey, Buffy, hurry up, you said you would show me that spinning back fist,” Scott says as he runs down to the training field.

“On my way, but I gotta check in first,” Buffy yelled.

Buffy and Giles walk in to the conference room. Arthur is sitting facing the door with some folders in front of him. “Buffy, please sit-down… we need to know how you want to handle Christina?” Arthur asks her.

“What exactly do you mean by handle?” Buffy asks as her eyes narrowed a little aggravated.

“No need to be defensive, whatever you decide we will back your play, but you have a lot to consider,” Arthur replied.

“Let’s go for some of the harder questions, we understand that she is too young to be an active Slayer, but she will need your guidance and training,” Giles said.

“Why does she need to train? Giles, she’s only twelve,” Buffy asks.

“For this reason: a Vampire can sense and be drawn to the presence of a Slayer, a Slayer can tell if a Vampire is near and if she is curious will be drawn to it. She will ultimately be drawn to battle; it’s who and what she is. It might not happen this year, it might not happen next year. But, Buffy, she will want to know what she is, and when she does, if you shelter her, she will certainly go out and find out for herself, and she won’t be ready,” Giles pleaded with her.

Buffy sat and thought about it for a few minutes.

“O.K. this is going to take some time, I have to think, I held back with Dawn, and look how that turned out, I mean she is in her element, she is practically leading us herself. No offense to either one of you!” Buffy said.

“None taken, we both concur. She has taken on her role with great enthusiasm,” Giles responded.

“Yeah, Dawn is true definition of a natural,” Arthur added.

“Alright, she trains! For her survival, but I will be the only one who determines when she slays” Buffy says defiantly.

“O.K., now let’s talk about some legal matters, she has no living family. You legally cannot take her in. If the county finds out they will take her,” Arthur informs Buffy.

“Take her, why? She has a nice place to stay, plenty to eat, and all the adult supervision she would ever need,” Buffy asks.

“Buffy, this is a Slayer school, this is why Arthur created it, we not only will never turn away a Slayer, we will actively seek them out, but she is a minor, and to be quite frank you are not her legal guardian,” Giles answers.

“Then I will be her legal guardian, can you help me?” Buffy asks Arthur.
“Alright, I’ll have our lawyers look into it! Let’s be clear, you do wish to adopt Christina, right?”

“Yes, that’s what I want,” Buffy answers.

“Dawn has already requested to move in to the room adjacent to Choi-Ann’s room. Christina can take her room. Now, what about school?” Arthur asks Buffy.

“I was thinking of home schooling, this is a Slayer school, and she has been traumatized,” Buffy states.

“Alright, this year Willow can teach her or we can hire a teacher, but certain things seen, and heard within these walls, that we would like to stay here, so I will have to convince Willow!” Giles responds.

“She trains, she gets paid, we can open up an account and create a trust fund for collage.” Arthur adds.

“That’s fine,” Buffy says as she swallows hard. “I hope I am doing the right thing.”

“I think so! What better mother for a Slayer than a Slayer,” Arthur states.

“It’s just that six letter word that bothers me!” Buffy said looking a little uncomfortable.

“What, Slayer? Buffy,” Arthur asks her.

“No, Mother,” Buffy answers.

“It will come naturally, with time, care, and love, Buffy,” Giles says trying to be supportive.

“Yeah, the love part, am I even capable of the kind of love that she needs?”

“Buffy, you practically raised Dawn all by yourself, and she has turned into a remarkable woman,” Giles added.

“There's one other thing. Who would be her Watcher?” Arthur asked both of
them.

Buffy looks over at Giles, “Dawn pretty much has her plate full, will you be her watcher?”

“Yes, that would be acceptable,” Giles responds. “I imagine that we will soon run out of qualified watchers.”

“Why don’t we make this a watcher school too?” Buffy added.

“Sounds like a good idea,” Arthur says as Mr. Giles nods.

“Thank you, both of you, for everything,” Buffy says.

“Buffy, you know this is going to happen a lot, girls all over the world, girls will be needing our help,” Arthur responds as he writes in his notebook, “but you don’t have to adopt them all,” He says with a smile.

***********

Buffy gets dressed in her Karate GI and heads outside towards the training field, where Asano was conducting hand to hand combat classes. Buffy ran down the hill where Giles, Xander, Willow, and The Continuum were seated while Asano paced up and down the rank giving instructions.

“Ah, Buffy, good…Do you require some time to warm-up prior to the workout?” Asano asked.

“About ten minutes, Asano Sama,” Buffy responded as she bowed.

“Everyone! Stretch out for ten minutes,” Asano yelled out as he walked over to where Buffy was stretching. “Have you checked on the injured?” Asano asked.

“I checked this morning and both of them were asleep,” Buffy responded.

“Yes, they are fine! Faith is healing fast and Christina is driving Faith insane.”

“They are very remarkable, I mean all Slayers!” Asano said as he strolled with his hands folded behind him.

Buffy stretched out and ran up and down a hill about five times to warm-up.

“Thank you, Asano Sama, I am ready now!” Buffy said.

“Seiretsu, this means everyone line up at attention! Buffy, up here with me,” Asano announced.

“Sensei Ni Rei, this means bow to the teacher!” Asano instructs as Buffy and the rest of the squad does the same. “Senpai Ni Rei, and this means bow to the senior students, this would mean the instructors like Buffy and Faith. Seiza, this means sit in kneeling position,” Asano stops and turns towards Buffy.

“In training you, I have the very difficult task of teaching the techniques passed down by generations of Samurai Warriors, the single thing that my predecessors did not have to deal with is the fact that this squad has five Vampire Slayers attached to it. This causes great difficulty because with one wrong movement in training they could kill you.” Asano says as the Sgt. Maj. runs up with some equipment bags. “This is why I want everyone to pay close attention.”

The Sgt. Maj. put on a chest protector, and underneath he wore an U.S. Army flak jacket. He connected the Velcro flaps and stood slightly behind Asano. “When throwing a punch or a kick against an enemy,” Asano stood in front of the Sgt. Maj, “a forward jab, a very straight forward weapon, the Jab or an Chokuzuki, which means straight out punch. This should be performed with your forward fist held slightly loose until the moment of impact, and then you tighten the fist all the way to follow through. Then you recover back to the line of attack,” Asano continues to instruct as he motions towards Buffy. Buffy takes up position in front of the Sgt. Maj. and stands at the ready.

“As a Slayer training with men, she must always keep in mind the minimum amount of force applied, so she does not aim one of you. As a demonstration: Buffy, light contact Chokuzuki, ready I-chi.” Buffy shoots out a forward jab that penetrated the padding, but did not penetrate bone and muscle mass.

“Kiritsu, Motoe! This means stand at attention, return to starting position. Buffy, medium contact, Chokuzuki, ready I-chi.” After the command to use a forward jab at a count of one was given by Asano, Buffy jabbed the Sgt. Maj. in the center chest region with around two inches of penetration. The Sgt. Maj. was knocked back about a foot and needed a moment to catch his breath.

“Kiritsu, Motoe…full contact, Buffy…Chokuzuki, ready I-chi.” As Asano yelled out Buffy’s arm shot out penetrating four inches beyond the target. The Sgt. Maj. was knocked back six feet, landing on his back, as Xander ran over to him.

“Sgt. Maj.… Sgt. Maj.…You all right! Buffy, I think he’s unconscious.”

“Well, is he breathing?” Buffy yelled out as the rest of the squad looked at Buffy in shock, except for the Scooby gang. They knew this was a bad idea.

Everyone ran over to the Sgt. Maj. as Xander looks up and announces “He’s going to be alright!”

“Xander, take him to the infirmary, tell Dr. Kidare to check him for internal injuries,” Giles said.

“No, Xander…ooh! He needs this training, Sir. I can take myself to the Infirmary,” The Sgt. Maj. said to Giles as he slowly got up glanced over towards Buffy.

“Sgt. Maj. I am so…Sorry!” Buffy said.

“Don’t sweat it, Slayer! That was truly a good punch! Just don’t hit any of my other guys like that!”

“Now as brutal as this demonstration was, it was most necessary. Buffy, I intend to cover this with all of the Slayers later, but I do not want any Slayer using anything more than light to medium contact on an experienced fighter. Slayers will not use any more then medium contact with each other. Only under strictly supervised conditions will you and only Faith use full contact against each other,” Asano said.

Everyone took a water break, they lined up, half donned the protective gear, and the other half of the squad was to throw techniques. They covered every basic technique, plus some specialized techniques using light, medium contact. The squad trained hard for about two hours then they broke for some personal time.

***********

Dawn, carrying her books in front of her, walked out of homeroom. She heads for the steps to the first floor with Choi-Ann walking beside her. Out of the shadows steps a very unkempt, somewhat raggedy young girl, and as Choi-Ann steps protectively in front of Dawn the girl asks: “Hey, Blondie… you got a light?”

Dawn looks at her as the girl has what looks like a crack pipe held tightly in her grip.

“What are you looking at, bitch?” she asks looking crazed.

“We don’t have a light, would you please get out of our way?” Dawn asks as the girl looks hard at Choi-Ann, and decides against a conflict.

Dawn and Choi-Ann walk through the fire door and head towards their lockers as Dawn sees Kennedy and Vi walking down the hall. A group of eight girls dressed in blue jeans, tee shirts and jean jackets with what looked like gang symbols. On the back of their jackets in black magic marker was written “Detroit Avenue Dusters.”

“Yo, Angela, check out the prom queens,” Maria said.

“Yeah, they look like they have money… Maria, Bonnie, and Carla go check it out,” Angela says as Maria, her lieutenant and two other girls step off the wall and approach Dawn.

“Yo, princess… Hey, bitch, I’m talking to you,” Maria said as she walked up to Dawn. Bonnie and Carla stood behind Maria as Choi-Ann steps up and stands forward and to the left of Dawn.

“You talking to me?” Dawn asks as she turns toward Maria. Dawn glances at Choi-Ann and towards Kennedy and Vi who just walked up as the rest of the student body stopped to see what was going on.

Dawn places her left hand on her hip as her right arm crosses over and rests on the left. This is a pre-arranged signal to the Slayers to let her handle this and to stand down.

“Why don’t you and your girlfriend give us your money and we won’t smash in your pretty faces,” Maria says to Dawn.

“How about this, why don’t you go get a job and get out of my face!” Dawn replies.

“Smashing in your face is my job!” Maria says as she closes distance.

“I sure hope you have workman’s comp, bitch,” Dawn says as she blocks a back fist to the face and counters with a sidekick that bounced Maria off the locker like a spring board. On her return trip, Dawn’s elbow smashes her in the jaw. Bonnie and Carla hesitate for a moment, then attack Dawn as they watch their Lieutenant drop to the floor. Choi-Ann meets Carla head-on blocking a crescent kick with a left hand outer block, as she drops down low and delivers a corkscrew punch to the femoral artery, that runs the length of the inner thigh, knocking the girl unconscious. Bonnie was met head-on by a young girl that Choi-Ann and Dawn had met in homeroom. Her name was Kimberly Cook. Kim performed a leg sweep followed by an elbow strike to the solar plexus knocking all the wind out of Bonnie’s sale.

Vi and Kennedy blocked the movement of the five girls that remained standing. Dawn walks up to Angela and says in a low voice, “ We are not going to give you money, we will not be bullied, we just want to go to school and not be bothered, understand?”

“Yeah, we get that!” Angela says as she walks away.

“Just one minute!! Ladies, why don’t all of you come on down to my office! ALL OF YOU, NOW!” Principle Henchcliff yells as Mr. Walker, the Woodshop teacher and Mr. Chapel, the Vice principle, run around the corner.
Chapter 19: The Power of Four


The thirteen girls sauntered in to the waiting room to see the Principle.

“Dawn, tell me what happened! Why were you girls fighting?” Principle Henchcliff asks.

“We just had a slight disagreement, that’s all,” Dawn stated with arms crossed.

“No, what we have is two kids in the Infirmary, one unconscious and the other requiring medical attention. What kind of disagreement could have caused this?” Principle Henchcliff asks Dawn.

“She… just asked the best way to wash jeans and I said cold water and cheer!! And she disagreed,” Dawn answered as the room filled with muffled laughter.

“Miss Summers, I am not amused. We have called your sister and she said for you to call her. Miss Summers, you and Choi-Ann, Kennedy, and the other one, Vi, will be suspended for a week along with the other three girls who were involved. Any questions?” Mr. Henchcliff asked the girls.

“No…what about you, Angela, you got anything to say?”

“No…like Dawn said, it was just a misunderstanding about laundry techniques between girls.” Angela answers as she gets up and leaves the office with the other girls that were up against the wall. Angela looks at Dawn and says, “Thanks for the advice, girlfriend.”

“Oh, Mr. Henchcliff, we need any homework we are going to miss this week,” Dawn states.

“O.K. girls, you have time to go talk with your teachers, but don’t get into any more trouble. Oh, girls watch whom you give advice too. It might come back on you, know what I mean?”

Dawn pulls out her cell phone as the three girls come out of the Infirmary, and stop in front of her and Choi-Ann.

“Hey, what’s up! Look, we are real sorry about that back there! Angela told us you didn’t turn us in to Henchcliff…Just wanted to say that!” Maria said to Dawn as they headed to see the Principle.

“O.K. well, see you later!” Dawn said.

“Yeah, later,” Maria replied.

Dawn dials the Sanctuary. “Hello, yes…is Buffy Summers or Mr. Rupert Giles there? Yes, this is Dawn. They're at the training field...no, just tell her we are on our way back and we will explain when we get there.” Dawn says and hangs up.

After the girls receive their homework assignments, they drive home and on the way they drop off Kimberly. Dawn exchanges phone numbers, “Alright, are you going to call us tonight? I don’t know how much trouble we are in, but call me.”

Dawn drives down the alley thinking about what Giles, Buffy, and Arthur will say. She sees Buffy standing at the top of the parking lot as she pulls into the driveway. Buffy’s arms are crossed, which in the Summer's home always meant that she was in big trouble.

“That was not our fault!” Dawn exclaims to her sister.

“Come on, Arthur and Giles are waiting for us in the conference room.” Buffy guides the four girls inside.

Dawn walks in and Arthur is seated to the right of Giles with Dr. Kidare in a seat on his left. Giles was seated in front of the majestic fireplace, which reminded Dawn of the inquisition.

“Sit down, Ladies. I just got off the phone with Principle Henchcliff and he tells me that you did not start it and he has had problems with that gang of girls before. How long is the suspension?” Giles asks.

“One week! Giles, I’m so sorry that…I let you all down!” Dawn says as she looks at Buffy.

“That’s ridiculous, Dawn, you have three Slayers in your charge at a very tough school, regardless of the fact that it sits on a Hellmouth. We want you to use your own judgement, but if you have to defend yourself remember that they are teenagers, not demons. It is my duty, however, to remind you that a Slayer striking a normal human can result in severe injury, and even death. How are the girls that were injured?” Giles asks.

“They’re O.K. Just a little bruised, and the weird thing is I think we just made some friends, not that a gang of female strong armed robbers was my first choice,” Dawn answers.

“That’s good! Kennedy, Choi-Ann, and Vi would you please wait outside until we call for you? Dr. Kidare has some information she would like to share with you.”

The three girls step out into the hallway. “What’s going on, Giles?” Buffy asks with some concern.

“Dr. Kidare has something she would like to tell you…and Dawn,” Giles responds.

“Buffy, this morning when you brought in Christina and Faith, who are both doing just fine, we took blood samples from all of you,” Dr. Kidare said.

“You mean all of the Slayers,” Dawn asked.

“No, I mean all of you, from Mr. Giles to Willow…all of you. I checked yours and your sisters twice.”

“Why?” Buffy interjected.
“Because they are identical samples,” Dr. Kidare says with excitement. “First we blood typed all of the Slayers, then by using an ancient spell that Willow found in The Book Of Fours, we were able to…Slayer type each of them. You see, as far as we know, the Slayer was created and identified as one of four elements Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water. Buffy, Mr. Giles, this is very important, because if you were to organize a Team that consisted of all four elements, that team would be much more powerful combined,” Dr. Kidare explained

“That is quite interesting!” Giles said.

“You see, when Dawn’s blood indicated that she is a Slayer of Wind, like you Buffy, Willow explained to me that Dawn was created from your blood by the monks. It made sense,” Dr. Kidare continued.

“What…I’m not a Slayer,” Dawn looked at Buffy who sat astonished.

“I know! That’s why we conducted a Mitochondria DNA comparison.”

“In English, Doc!” Buffy said.

“Mitochondria is any of various round or long cellular organelles that produce energy for the cell. This is only passed on to the child from only the Mother. In short, both of you have identical blood type, Slayer type, and Mitochondria DNA comparison. Looking further, we ran a more complex DNA comparison and found that the only difference lies in the Helix chain, there is a slight variation in Dawn’s Helix compared to yours, Buffy. This would explain Dawn having all of the Slayer characteristics, except strength and healing power. Otherwise you have the instinct, intuition, and lack of fear that a true Slayer would be embodied with,” Dr. Kidare said.

“What are you saying, that I’m some sort of what…a clone?” Dawn asks starting to get agitated.

“No, I would say more like Twins, not Identical twins, just twins but years apart,” Dr. Kidare explained.

“Oh…than that would make me the prettier one, right doc?” Dawn stated.

“No way are you prettier than me! Right Giles?” Buffy exclaimed.

“Then I’m the smarter one, right Doc?” Dawn asks Dr. Kidare.
“I’m not touching that with a ten foot pole,” Dr. Kidare says looking at Giles.

“I’m certainly not!” Giles said.

“Dawn, you do realize that Willow could probably complete the sequence and turn you into a Slayer, if that is what you wanted her to do!” Giles says followed by a moment of silence.

“I thought about that…I’m happy being a Watcher right now. However, if the squad really needed me for an Apocalypse…maybe,” Dawn responds.

“Dawn, would you…” Giles started as he looked up from his papers towards the two sisters.

Buffy had gotten Dawn in a headlock and Dawn was punching Buffy in the stomach.

“Ladies, please! Dawn, would you go and get Kennedy, Vi, and Choi-Ann from the hallway,” Giles said.

“Buffy, would you go down and explain to Faith and Christina that they are both Slayers of Fire, and Buffy, I will never baby sit that child…just kidding,” Dr. Kidare says with a smile.

“I’m not!” Dawn exclaimed.

“You better! She is going to be your niece!” Buffy says as she gets up and walks out the door.

“What…Giles! What’s going on?” Dawn asks.

“Not my place, you will just have to ask Buffy when she returns!” Giles answers going back to his papers, totally avoiding Dawns eyes, while Vi, Kennedy, and Choi-Ann file in and sit down around the conference table.

“Ladies, when we took your blood this morning we discovered through the use of a spell, that you all have different Slayer characteristics dealing with the basic elements of Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water. Combining all four types of Slayers should make an unbeatable team,” Giles explains.

“Vi, of all the Slayers you are a Slayer of Earth and your blood type is A negative. Kennedy, you are a Slayer of fire, your blood type is 0 positive,” Dr. Kidare says as Dawn and Mr. Giles started to take notes.

Giles picks up a phone, “Mr. Asano would you please come into the conference room.”

The girls talked amongst themselves for about ten minutes, while Dawn, Dr. Kidare, and Giles updated their notebooks. Asano walks in wearing his traditional kimono with the blue and white Asano family crest, of two crossed feathers in a circle, and around his waist was a blue sash that held his Katana and his Wakizashi that never leave him. He walks in and bows to Mr. Giles, which Giles returns, then he turns towards Dawn and the Slayers and does the same. The girls already standing bow lower to their instructor.

“Mr. Asano, would you please inform Choi-Ann that we checked her blood and found that she is a Slayer of Water and that her blood type is A negative.”

Asano turns to Choi-Ann and translates in her native Cantonese. Choi-Ann responds as Asano looks up towards the doctor.

“She says that she does not understand, she likes water and would not slay it!”

Dr. Kidare explained about Willow and The Book of Fours and the significance of the four elements. Asano translates to Choi-Ann and she nods to Dawn that she understands.

Chapter 20: Tactical Training


Everyone met on the south lawns training field, where Giles explained everything to Xander, The Continuum, and the Sgt. Maj. Then they all went to the Armory to draw full equipment for an assault.

“All right, listen up! I have you for at least a couple of hours. We are going to cover tactical assault, first at Team level. Then, when you have that concept down, we are going to cover squad level. Once you have mastered squad level, we are going to use the information that Dr. Kidare and Miss. Rosenburg came up with and develop an Apocalypse Team with four Slayers, each one of the four elements,” The Sgt. Maj. says pacing back and forth across their front.

“Team leaders, you have a half-hour to stretch your people out, and get them hydrated. Bravo, your leader is injured! Who is going to take charge of your team in her absence?” the Sgt. Maj. asked loud enough for all to hear.

Bravo team looked at each other and then back at Kennedy.

“If anyone takes my team, I’ll kick their ass!” Faith says as everyone shoots a look up the hill to see her walk down.

“Unfreken believable! Man, that girl had a harpoon through her just last night,” Kelly says to Eddie.

“Get used to it. I’ve had to deal with it since High School!” Xander replies.

“Faith, a moment please!” the Sgt. Maj. says as he walks away from the others. “Faith, listen… comments like that give your second in command the feeling that you have no confidence in her abilities,” Sgt. Maj. whispered to her. “That is if you took the time to assign a second. Straighten this out, Faith, now,” The Sgt. Maj. said as he walked past her towards the others.

“Kennedy! Take charge of the team! I will be just a member until my stitches heal, and from now on you are second in command, understand.” Faith says in a loud voice.

“Sure, boss!” Kennedy says as she smiles towards Willow, who winks at her.
“Listen up, Bravo! I have three o’clock, that’s fifteen hundred hours. You have twenty minutes to water down and stretch out, then fall in for equipment inspection,” Kennedy yells out as the Sgt. Maj. and Faith both look at each other.

“Good work, Faith,” the Sgt. Maj. whispers to her.

“You asked for it! She’s a Slayer of Fire, just like me and the little runt. I’d say your plate is full!”

“I think I can manage, but you’re right this could be quite interesting!” The Sgt. Maj. responded.

Buffy rallied her team together and started to conduct group stretching, and some warm-up exercises. Dawn and Choi-Ann unloaded ice water and Gatorade from the van.

“Listen up! If I go down, Dawn is in command! Arthur, tell Choi-Ann that she is third in command,” Buffy says then goes into a full split.

“Buffy, don’t say if you go down! I don’t like that term!” Dawn whispers.

“You’re right! After all, I’m not a cat,” Buffy said to her sister.

“That’s not very funny, Buffy.”

Alpha and Bravo started putting on their gear, as team leaders started to assign positions and equipment. All wore black jumpsuits, tactical vests and black jungle boots. Each vest carried a Motorola radio, a first aid kit, survival knife, and two one-quart canteens of water. Kennedy lines up Bravo and starts checking equipment. Both teams give a thumbs up to the Sgt. Maj. and he starts instructing his class.

“Everyone take your seats! Team leaders, make sure your team continues to hydrate,” the Sgt. Maj. says as Xander and Michael set up a white board behind the Sgt. Maj.

“Good work, team leaders! The equipment you wear now is basic to every member. Alpha team in the lead, Buffy you are up front armed with the Flame as a primary weapon and Mr. Pointy as a secondary weapon. To Buffy’s left is Choi-Ann, to her right is Dawn both are armed with Katana’s as primary weapons and with stakes and a Wakizashi as secondary weapons. No matter whether you are using traditional Slayer weapons or modern ones like an M-16 with hardwood silver tipped bullets. The closer member needs the shortest range weapons, the team members in the back are armed with longer range weapons,” The Sgt. Maj. explains wincing from the afternoons encounter with Buffy.

“Sticking to these principles, the team leader can mix and match to fullfill any mission requirement. Scott you are slightly behind Choi-Ann and to her left. Willow, you are slightly behind and to the right. Both team members are armed with crossbows as primary and stakes as a secondary,” The Sgt. Maj. continued.

“Now take a look at yourselves and look at the white board, this is a wedge formation. The hand and arm signal for this formation is both arms out forming a V. Terrain will dictate…I mean, the ground itself will tell you when to spread out and when to close in. You can easily move from a wedge to a single file, when moving through thick brush or spread out when in a large field. The hand and arm signal for close it in is both hands out and simply close the V into a straight line. Any questions so far?” The Sgt. Maj. asks.

“Mr. Giles, you are on Scott’s left and slightly behind. Mr. Van Helsing, you are on Willows right and slightly behind, both are armed with compound bows as your primary weapon and a hatchet and/or a stake. Buffy for training, Christina would be behind you and I would give her a long spear and a stake. If you were conducting a sweep operation, both wings of the wedge would come on line and spread out. The hand and arm signal for on line is the team leader raises her hands from her sides all the way out parallel to the ground. She does not have to look or face you to give any of these hand and arm signals,” The Sgt. Maj. adds.

“Kennedy, get em up! Kennedy, you are behind Christina, how spread out the ground is will determine how far behind her you position your team. With the same weapon layout as Alpha’s team, Vi is on Kennedy’s left with Xander, and left of him Eddie. Faith, you are in Kennedy’s normal position followed closely behind and to the right by Michael who’s followed by Kelly. All right, listen up! Weapons at the ready! Alpha, stand fast, Bravo turn one hundred and eighty degrees and move forward. All your doing is turning your team around. Now Kennedy, what have you just created?” the Sgt. Maj. asks the young Slayer.

Kennedy looks around to her left, right, and behind, “We just formed a circle Sgt. Maj,” Kennedy answers.

“Right, but let’s call it a three-hundred and sixty degree perimeter or just perimeter,” The Sgt. Maj. says.

“This is a standard squad movement formation. Bravo team, turn one hundred and eighty degrees to face back in the direction of travel. Independently, the individual teams take all field commands from their team leaders, but in this formation, a squad formation, everyone including the two watchers take all commands from Buffy.”

“Alright, Buffy! Let’s move out! Buffy, the hand and arm signal for move forward is simply a sweep of your arm from behind to forward like… follow me. The squad leader determines the direction of travel. Whatever direction she is moving is twelve-o’clock. Her left is nine-o’clock, her right is three-o’clock, and directly behind her is six-o’clock. Any questions so far? Alright, if there are no questions, Alpha halt! Fighting stance…move!” The Sgt. Maj. barked. “Alpha team has made contact. Buffy, give Bravo the command to flank left or right. The hand and arm signal is to sweep your arm right or left.”

Buffy yells out in a loud voice, “Bravo team, flank right!” as she sweeps her arm in a wide arc on her right side. Bravo team sweeps wide right up a small rise on the top of which there were four dummies made from broomsticks, cantaloupes, and honey dew melons. Kennedy struck the head off of the closest as the rest of Bravo team moved through the killing field, loping off heads and limbs.

“Once you have secured the target area, that means every squad member taking up a position three-hundred and sixty degrees around the target area, the two team leaders report in the center of the perimeter to the squad leader,” The Sgt. Maj. says as Kennedy, Faith, Buffy, and Dawn establish a perimeter individually placing the members of the squad around the target area. Kennedy moves to the center, “Four dusted, Boss!”

“Squad leader! Make sure your people have a water break! Then move the squad around changing the leadership, direction of attack, and the lead team. That means let Bravo team have a shot at being the lead element, and let Faith, Dawn, and Kennedy have a shot at leading the squad,” The Sgt. Maj. barked as he headed for his canteen strapped onto his rucksack.

“Giles, why haven’t we used tactics like this before? It seems pretty straight forward, and safe,” Buffy asks.

“This is military tactics! Buffy, this is new to me also! Except for you, throughout history Slayers have usually worked alone, but I do see the merit,” Giles answers as he drinks from his canteen.

“We have been using similar tactics since nineteen eighty-one, but when we met the Sgt. Maj. he brought it all together, and we have been using his tactics since,” Arthur stated.

“Well, I’m having a freken blast! Oh, and Kennedy, you have a few more runs in my chair then it’s my turn!” Faith said and the squad trained for another hour.

“Listen up, it’s now 17:00 hrs, that’s 5:00 p.m. Squad leader, your people have two hours of personal time, I’d use some of that time to get cleaned up and dressed. At 19:00 hrs, Buffy wants everyone to attend a sit-down dinner in the dining room… and dress nice. Dawn mission briefing is at 22:00 hrs in the conference room. Team leaders, have your people drop off all of their gear at the top of the hill by the van,” The Sgt. Maj. says as he moves towards his rucksack.

“Hey, Dawn, what’s the what!” Buffy asks her sister.

“I requested a night patrol of the grassland preserve by the school,” Dawn answers.

“Do you want me to come along?” Buffy asks wiping her face with a towel.

“Really not! Buffy, I have to learn to do operations with my Slayer by myself!” Dawn replies.

Buffy holds out both of her arms “Sorry, didn’t mean to interfere!”

“I’m sorry, Buffy, I’ve been Miss Snippety since school this afternoon,” Dawn says knowing she might have hurt her sister’s feelings.

“No…it’s my fault! I guess I’ll have to get used to the fact that I don’t have to protect you anymore,” Buffy replied.

“It’s nice that you asked. Hey, I know what! If you and Faith are bored, you can drop us off in the target area and be our mobile unit, but only if you want to,” Dawn says with a smile.

Faith walks over and places her hand on Buffy’s shoulder, “Count us in little sis!”
“Are you in command, Dawnee?” Willow asks.

“Only in the planning! And out the gate! Arthur’s rule book…Slayer on the ground has operational control and that’s Kennedy.” Dawn replies looking for facial reactions from the senior Slayers, but got none.

“Cool…we are just a radio call away!” Buffy adds.

“Faith, you’re in big trouble, Mister! Dr. Kidare says she wants you…” Christina says running down the hill.

“Tell her to go Fu@# herself…” Faith says to Christina.

“Faith…she’s just a kid,” Buffy replied.

“No, she’s just a pain in my ass. Plus, I’m fine,” Faith said to Buffy.

“You’ve got a nasty mouth,” Christina said hands on her hips.

“Christina, come here,” Buffy said as Christina ran down the hill.

“Why are you aggravating Faith, she’s fine, I’ll call Dr. Kidare.”

“Because…it’s fun, Buffy. She thinks…that she’s a baddass,” Christina said looking up at Buffy.”

“She is a baddass, take my word for it, and do you want to watch your mouth, young lady? Now it seems to me that you haven’t spent any time in your new room. If you wait for me, I’ll take you to see it, would you like that?”

“Yes, I’m sorry, Buffy,” Christina said as she looked at Faith and rolled her eyes, taking a seat on the grass. “That’s alright, just try to watch your language, it’s not lady like,” Buffy said as she leaned down and kissed her on the cheek.

Buffy ran back down the hill to Faith’s side “you could be a little bit more tolerant,” Buffy said.

“I know, but she’s testing me! Know what I mean, she’s not testing you,” Faith replied.

“You mean if you were the one to save her, she would be testing me,” Buffy stated.

“It is what it is B,” Faith said grabbing her Katana.

“Yeah, I get that…all I’m saying is things would run a little smoother if you made an effort.”

“Alright, I’ll make an effort,” Faith said walking towards Christina sword in hand.

Buffy, a little shocked, watched Faith walk up the hill, her mouth hanging open, as was the whole squad’s.

“Faith…” Buffy’s words trailed off as she watched Faith say something to Christina, who grabbed Faith’s hand and walked down the hill to the squad.

“What,” Faith said throwing her arms wide, “ You all thought I was going to stab the little tike. She’s just going to join us for some training…jeez, ya kill a couple of people.”

The Sgt. Maj. turned his head away from the squad, and tried to control his laughter. The squad ran through everything all over again, and drilled till they were covered in sweat. Christina had the time of her life; she was training as a Slayer with her new family.