Fanfiction: A Tale Of Slayers : Part 9-15
CHAPTER TEN
“Wait a minute,” Faith was the first to speak up. “You’re saying one of us could be Oranstine?”
“I’m willing to bet that Xander and Willow are who they’re supposed to be, since they weren’t even there,” Angel said.
“I’ll agree with that,” Giles said. “But really, I doubt Oranstine replaced anyone of us. The chances are just too slim.”
“But then if you are Oranstine,” Xander pointed out, “wouldn’t you want to draw away suspicion?”
“Xan-man does have a point there,” Faith said.
“But then again, last night the Council said you were dead.” Faith gave him a hard look. “Who’s to say the real Faith really isn’t dead and you’re that Oran-demon posing as her?”
“You want to know who?” she said, angrily. “I’m to say!”
He raised his hands in defense. “I’m just playing devil’s advocate here. Since I’m the only true safe member in this party.”
“I knew I shouldn’t have brought it up,” commented Angel.
“Don’t get me started with you, Dead Boy.” He saw the look the vampire gave him. “Okay, he’s Angel.” He looked at Giles. “And you are definitely the G-man. How could any demon know any of the titles of the books in this library?”
“Xander, we really don’t have time to waste with this—”
The teenager cut Giles off. “I’m just saying we should at least be sure we don’t have an impostor here. If we don’t, we’re all going to have that nagging question, what if. Besides, it seems everybody here is the right person. So, I guess there is no problem—”
He stopped as realization hit them all at the same time.
“Buffy!”
“No. It’s not Buffy,” Angel insisted.
“How can you be sure?” Xander asked.
“I saw Buffy fighting the Slayer Vampire,” Faith said. “It can’t be her.”
“It would certainly be a good way to convince us that it isn’t her,” Xander retorted. “And she really didn’t talk much, did she?
“She wasn’t in any condition to talk much,” Giles insisted.
“Exactly!”
“That’s pretty thin,” Angel said.
“I’ll give you that,” Xander amended, “but right now, Willow is alone with her. And I hope to hell that I’m wrong.” He pushed off from the counter and headed for the doors.
Faith fell into step with him. “Hey, wait up. If Buffy really is the demon, you’re sure not gonna be able to do anything about it.”
Before they reached the doors, however, they swung open as Willow walked in assisting a still groggy Buffy.
“Willow!” Xander hurried to her side. “Are you okay?”
She gave him a confused look. “Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Oh,” he stammered, aware that if Buffy was Oranstine in disguise it would not do to tip their hand. “It’s just that you guys were gone so long. We started to worry.”
“Here, let me help you.” Faith took Buffy’s free arm over her shoulders and eased the blonde Slayer from the redhead. Xander casually put an arm around Willow’s shoulders and tried not to look hurried as he led her away.
“Buffy,” Faith said. “How do you feel?”
“Oh,” Buffy responded. “Need to lie down.”
“Sure. Let’s go back to Giles’ office. Hey, you remember the first time we met?”
Buffy lifted her head a little to look at the brunette with half closed eyes. “Yeah.”
“What was I doing?”
“Huh?”
Faith smiled. “C’mon. Tell me.”
Confused, Buffy said, “You were slaying a vampire.”
“No, I meant before that.”
It seemed that Buffy was having a hard time thinking, but after a few seconds she said, “You were dancing with the vampire you slayed.”
“Yeah,” Faith said, with a genuine smile this time. “That was pretty cool, suckering in that vamp like that, huh?”
“Uh, sure,” Buffy said. Then added, “I never thought to dance with a vampire first before staking him. Sounds like fun.”
“Well,” Giles said, as Faith led Buffy into his office. “I think everyone can rest easier knowing we’re all who we’re supposed to be.”
“So you thought that Buffy might have been the demon?” Willow exclaimed after Xander had quickly filled her in. “That’s a relief that she’s not. I don’t like the idea of a demon seeing me naked.” Everyone was looking at her again. “Oh, uh, forget I said that last part.”
“But that still leaves the question open: why did Oran lead us down there?” Angel said.
“Maybe to throw us off,” Xander said, as he and Willow approached the counter. “Maybe their hideout isn’t really there?”
“It has to be,” Faith said, emerging from the office. “I escaped through an underwater river and was washed up on the beach. They’re there.”
“She might have just been trying to avoid a fight with Buffy,” Angel suggested. “Oran may have thought I would have smelled a lie, so she told us something that was true. But then the Slayer Vampire took it upon itself to challenge her instead.”
“That’s all nice and everything, but we still have a problem right here.” She indicated the new tattoo on her arm.
“I think it’s safe to say that you’re safe from Oranstine’s control for the moment,” Giles said. “It seems the demon cannot control its minions over long distances. You haven’t been hearing any voices or had any strong impulses urging you to do things you normally would not do?”
“Voices? In my head? Like if I were crazy?”
“No. As if you were being spoken to telepathically?”
“No. Nothing. My head’s complete silent.” She shot a quick look at Xander when the teen opened his mouth. He closed it without saying anything. She turned back to Giles. “But what if it’s on its way over here right now? Maybe it can use it as a homing beacon.”
“There’s a scary thought,” Xander did said.
“I’m sure there’s a spell we can use to block out the power of the tattoo,” Willow suggested. “We just need to find it.”
“Then we best start looking.” Giles turned to Faith. “We’ll handle the research on the spell and Oranstine, you try to get some rest. You and Buffy are certainly going to need it.”
“Cool. At least I know I can do that with no problem.” The younger Slayer retreated back to the office and grabbed a spare blanket, spreading it on the floor close to where Buffy was on the sofa. She bundled the sweat shirt jacket to use as a pillow.
When Buffy opened her eyes, her cheek was pressed against something soft, and it felt very comfortable. Closing her eyes again, she stretched her body, releasing a sleepy sigh, and snuggled against the comfortable surface made warm from the heat of her cheek. Then she heard something that brought her out of her haze. A “thump-pump” sound that she instantly recognized as a heart beat. Just one and another did not follow. A long moment of silence.
She opened her eyes again and saw that her pillow was Angel. Her head was resting on his chest, the lapel of his coat brushed to the side so that her cheek had been laying against the cotton of his shirt, a flimsy barrier over his cool skin. His eyes were closed and his face was peaceful. Vampires did not breath in the same sense that humans did, but they still passed air in and out of their lungs, not to oxygenate them, just an involuntary “alive” habit they never could get rid of. Especially when they needed air to talk. And even though they were also considered dead, and you usually wouldn’t find a pulse with a cursory examination, their hearts still beat. At an extremely slower rate. They still needed a way to push the blood they so craved through their veins.
Buffy let herself just lay there staring into his sleeping face. She realized she was smiling. Suddenly, she just wanted to stay like this forever. A moment she wanted to freeze and bask in all its glory. But she knew she couldn’t. In fact, she should get up now.
She took in her surroundings. She was in Giles’ office again. The blinds to the window looking into the library had been drawn shut and there was a very bright outline of sun around the cardboard covering the high window looking outside. She guessed it must be close to noon for it to be so bright. Probably what finally drove Angel from the library. He must’ve been burning the mid-day oil, she thought.
“See what happens when you stay up past your bedtime,” she whispered. For his part, he just sighed slightly. She knew only direct sunlight could burn a vampire but being in close proximity to so much of it can really drain them. It was no wonder that Angel was sleeping like the dead. Pun and all.
She didn’t remember him retreating into the office, but she could recall waking up briefly to find him with his back against the sofa as he slept. She stayed awake just long enough to slide off and snuggle up to him on the floor. And they were alone. How long had they been here by themselves, she wondered, and had Xander commented on this? More than likely, yeah.
Xander? Willow was here, too. All her memories were a little fuzzy. Her last clear thoughts were of getting thrashed by that Slayer creature. What had Faith called it? Slayer Vampire? She also had faint recollection of Willow and Faith helping her take a shower. Looking back on that, that felt very weird. She was glad she couldn’t remember most of it.
Before she let her head fall back against Angel’s chest, Buffy let out a breath of resignation, and started to get up. The instant she began to rise, every part of her body screamed at her in pain. She opened her mouth but stopped whatever was coming out, so as not to disturb her vampire, and slowly let a long, silent breath out.
“Oww,” she mouthed, when the pain faded.
Prepared for the pain this time, she pushed herself up again and managed to get to her feet. Clenching her teeth the whole time. She ran her hands through her hair brushing it out of her face. Spying her jacket and leather boots, she found that they were lost causes, until they were free of all the sand they’d collected. She slipped her feet into a pair of white sneakers, she kept stashed here, and pulled her brown leather jacket out of the cabinet. Giles had commented once how she had more clothes here than he did, considering that he spent far more time in the library than she did.
She stepped out of the office quietly and entered the library, closing the door softly behind her. She was instantly aware of a strong planty aroma in the air. It smelled like sage, mixed with something equally strong. Giles, Faith, and Willow were gathered around the center table, the surface cluttered with, what Buffy guessed was, spell casting materials. Xander was on the mezzanine overlooking the table, leaning on the railing, the book in his hands forgotten as he watched. There was a thin smoky haze coming from a small ceramic bowl, which was the focus of their attention.
“You want me to spit in that?” Faith asked Willow, making a disgusted face.
“Well, we need something to bind the spell to you specifically,” the redhead answered, sheepishly. “And I figured this would be the easiest way.”
“What other ways are there?”
Willow hesitated. “Uh, well, you can add a drop of your blood, a piece of finger nail, or toe nail, or you can…” She nodded her head trying to make the Slayer understand. “You know…”
Faith’s eyebrows shot up as she realized what she was talking about. She immediately hocked back, making Buffy wince, and spat into the bowl, scattering the white smoke. A second later there was a small poof of darker blue smoke and the trio took a cautious step back as it spread into a small cloud.
“I can’t leave you guys alone for a minute without you trying to blow things up,” Buffy finally said.
Giles lowered the book he was using to dissipate the cloud and looked at her. “How do you feel?” he asked stepping over to her.
“I feel good,” she said. She saw the look he gave her. “Hey, at least I was able to say it with a straight face.”
“Still.” He laid an arm around her shoulders and started to guide her toward the table. “You should try to move around as little as possible. Come sit down.”
That was when a steady billow of reddish smoke began to rise from the bowl on the table. This time, even Faith looked a little worried.
“Or maybe not,” Buffy said. Giles led her over to the carpeted steps to the upper level of the library. She lowered herself down and stopped with a moan. She quickly looked at her Watcher’s concerned face. “It’s nothing. Just a little sore.” To prove her point, she sat the rest of the way down without a sound, though her teeth were clenched behind the smile she was showing him.
Xander came around the railing and sat down next to her. “Man, Buff, you really gave us a scare.”
“Well, you know me. Have to be the center of attention all the time.” She tilted her chin; which she found was one of the few movements she could make without pain, toward Willow’s cloud making. “So what’s going on?”
“The demon that had Faith prisoner branded her with its mark, so it would be able to control her.”
“Control her?”
“It doesn’t seem to be direct control,” Giles explained. “At least, not yet. It’s more obedience by punishment. The demon can inflict pain through its symbol, a tattoo. As well as control its subject’s body functions. Such as her heart.”
“So it did kill Faith.”
“Temporarily, it would seem.”
“But Willow’s working on a spell that will protect her from the demon’s influence,” Xander said.
“Sounds like you guys have been doing a lot during my hiatus. How long was I out?”
“Nearly six hours,” Giles said with a glance at his watch.
“So what do we know about this demon?”
“You guys already met,” Xander told her. She frowned at him.
“It’s Oranstine, Buffy,” Giles supplied.
“Angel’s friend.” She seethed silently for a moment. “Looks like she and the Order of Taraka kissed and had bygones.”
“It would appear so,” Giles said. “Or they may not know who Oranstine really is. After all, as far as they are concerned, they already killed her.”
“I knew we shouldn’t have let her go.”
“We couldn’t have known, Buffy. Not even Angel suspected her.”
“A demon’s a demon. Even one who says it doesn’t take pleasure in torturing humans.” She looked at her Watcher as something occurred to her. “But then capturing Faith was only a way for it to create this Slayer Vampire. Some sort of demon alchemist?”
Giles nodded with approval. “That follows. And I suspect that Oranstine’s goal was to create more.”
“Which would explain why she stopped the creature from killing Faith,” Xander chipped in.
“Until Oran could kill Faith again. Bring her back. Then kill her again.” Worry showed on Buffy’s face. “Giles, how is this possible?”
“I’m not entirely sure.”
“But that’s not going to stop you from a long-winded theory, is it?” she teased him.
He smiled at that. He glanced at the table and saw that the bowl was no longer spouting rainbow smoke. “I think it’s safe to join the others. You should all hear this.” Buffy made a move to pull herself up, and inhaled sharply with pain. “Perhaps we should stay here?” Buffy nodded and relaxed again.
“Willow,” Giles said. “Is everything ready?”
“Just about,” the young girl replied. She was using a small wooden spoon to scoop the grounded contents from the bowl into a small leather pouch. When she was finished she pulled the thin leather string closing the pouch tight. She knotted a longer leather strap around it. She offered it to Faith. “You’ll have to wear it at all times.”
The Slayer accepted the pouch and looked it over. “You sure this is going to work?”
“Let’s hope so. It’s the best chance we’ve got to counter the demon’s spell. If what you say is true, then this demon is very strong.”
Faith seemed to consider this, then shrugged and slipped the leather strap over her head. She pulled her hair out from under the strap and let the pouch rest against her chest.
“Everyone,” Giles called for attention. “I did gather some information on this… Slayer Vampire, you called it?” He looked at Faith. The brunette nodded. “The Council informed me that when they discovered that the next Slayer had been activated, they tried to contact her Watcher. They were unable to reach him. That was when they called me, because they assumed that one of you must have died in order for this Slayer to be called. Shortly after that, they sent someone to investigate why there was no answer.”
Faith was sitting on the table, her legs crossed, and Willow had turned a chair around to face the Watcher, as he continued. “The new Slayer and her Watcher were missing. There were no signs of a struggle.”
“Because they had been taken a while ago, right?” Faith spoke up. “I mean the new girl was already here before last night, I’m thinking.”
“Yes, it does make sense. A great deal of planning went into your abduction . Though I assume they were planning on taking Buffy as well.”
“I guess I was `moe,’” she said. Giles frowned at her.
“Like in `eenie meenie,’” Willow explained.
“Ah. The young girl’s name is Noriko Amano. She came to America with her grandfather, from Japan, when she was four years old. When she was seven years old, her grandfather passed away and she was sent to an orphanage. At this time, the Watchers were already aware of her status as a potential Slayer. To better look after her, a Watcher, one Matthew Wallace, was assigned to her. He was positioned as a social worker and watched over her for the next few years.
“Wallace felt that he would inform Noriko of her status as a Slayer Candidate when she entered her teens, but there was an incident when she was eleven that determined that for him.” Giles took a breath. “She was in the care of her foster parents at the time, when a vampire attacked them one night as they were returning home. Fortunately, Wallace had been keeping an eye on her. There had been a rash of mysterious killings which he suspected to be vampiric, putting him on alert. He could not stop the vampire from killing the foster parents, and what actually saved young Noriko was that she ran while the creature was still feeding. This gave Wallace the opportunity to sneak up on it and dispatch it before she was harmed.”
Giles paused for a respectful moment. Buffy was staring at the floor in deep thought. He looked at Faith and she met his gaze steadily.
“Wallace revealed everything to her after that. Since then, she has been training as a Slayer.”
“How old was she?” Willow asked, after a moment. “Or is, now?”
“She’s sixteen.”
“Which means she’s been training for about six years,” Xander added.
“So she’s like really good?” Faith said.
“I was told she exhibited extraordinary talent.”
“And with her vampire and slayer strengths, she must be mistress of kung-fu now,” Xander said.
“But she doesn’t have your experience, Buffy, Faith. This is not a no-win situation. Together I’m sure you can—”
“Giles, I staked her right through the heart and it only slowed her down. Is this what happens when a Slayer is turned into a vampire?”
“There are no chronicled cases of a Slayer ever being turned by a vampire, Buffy.”
“But that doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened.”
Giles didn’t answer. He removed his glasses, not meeting her eyes. “I’ll broaden my research of the Watchers’ Diaries. Look for any entries or theories on Slayer Vampires. Maybe there’s something there.”
“And the rest of us?” asked Willow.
“Continue gathering information on Oranstine. We don’t know how the demon’s power is effecting this Slayer Vampire’s own abilities.”
“Would it make a difference if the girl was turned into a vampire before she was activated?” Faith asked.
“You mentioned that before,” Buffy said.
“Yeah. After they brought me back when I `died,’ she was already a vampire.”
Resting the tip of his glasses against his bottom lip, thoughtfully, Giles said, “Interesting. But I suppose it makes sense.” He noticed the looks that everyone was giving him. “In, uh, a morbid manner. If Noriko was activated before she was turned, her death to rise again as a vampire would activate the next Slayer, after her.”
“I get it!” Willow spoke up. “It would be easier for the demon to kidnap the girls without their Slayer powers.”
“Precisely. As well as to avoid having to contend with even more Slayers who would try to stop her.”
“That’s an even scarier thought,” Xander said.
“Giles,” Buffy said. “You said the Council did not know who would be the next Slayer until she’s activated. So how did Oran know Noriko was going to be called next? There’s no way she’s that good a guesser.”
“I wish I knew. We must find out more about Oranstine’s powers. Perhaps she was able to influence whatever forces that are behind the choosing of the Slayers.”
“Okay, we have a winner for scariest concept,” Xander announced. “So what is our next move gonna be?”
“We still have to take these guys out,” Faith put in.
“Yes,” the Watcher agreed. “They must be stopped.”
“But going up against two Slayers should present a challenge, despite the fact they outnumber us,” Willow said. “What if they decide to leave?”
“All the evidence would suggest that Oranstine is attempting to build an army, or, at least, a formidable force of these Slayer hybrids. With Faith’s escape, that is no longer possible. They require a Slayer. I doubt they’ll leave empty-handed.”
“So she’ll still have the Order of Taraka on the payroll,” Xander commented, with a shudder, obviously reminiscing about his own up-close experience with a certain man-of-bugs.
“And she’ll be looking for more potential Slayers around the world.” Buffy looked up at her Watcher. “Giles, what if Oranstine has the same method of locating Slayer Candidates as the Watcher’s Council?”
“Another alarming possibility. But the Council assured me they will be taking steps to tighten security for these young girls. And with Oranstine still in Sunnydale, it’s safe to assume they are not in any immediate danger.”
“The only way to make sure she doesn’t get her shapeshifting hands on anymore is to make sure she never leaves Sunnydale,” Faith declared.
“Here, here,” Buffy concurred. “But we still need to devise some kind of attack plan of our own. I don’t really relish the idea of waiting for them to make the next move against us. Do we know for sure that Oranstine is a day walker?”
“Angel confirmed as much,” Giles said. “And then, of course, the Order of Taraka are free to roam the day as well.”
“Well, I think me and Faith were able to thin their ranks a little, last night.”
“But there will always be more, Buffy. Kill one, and another will follow, and another and—”
“Giles,” Buffy raised her hands. “I know. I was there for the flashback, remember? But they seemed to have gotten over that `working alone’ part. It looks like they’re working in small groups now. Those two guys that had Faith’s room staked out. For all we know they may be watching the school right now.”
Buffy fell silent for a moment. Then her eyes widened with a frightening realization. Willow saw her friend’s expression. “Your mom, Buffy!”
“I need to go home!” She grabbed the rail and pulled herself up. Halfway up, she groaned and almost fell back. Xander was there and steadied her on her feet. Giles stepped close to help.
“Buffy, you must remain calm.”
“Giles, my mom’s all alone, right now. The Taraka guys aren’t vampires, they can go in at anytime. I need to make sure she’s safe, before they decide they can use her to get to me.”
Giles knew her determination very well. “But not alone, you won’t,” her Watcher declared.