You're Kidding Right?
by Ben: The Vampire Hunter
b_church@yahoo.com
Feedback! Please!
Buffy and co. belongs to Joss Whedon.
"I beg your pardon?" Giles exclaimed incredulously. "Are you
absolutely certain?"
Buffy and her friends looked up from their research. Giles was
looking rather ashen as he hung up the phone.
"What's wrong?" Buffy asked.
"Nothing's wrong exactly." Giles answered. "That was an old
friend of mine, we went through watcher training together. He became
disillusioned and joined the Hunters instead."
"And?"
"And he believes he has discovered a Male Slayer."
"What?" Faith snickered. "Is he a stoner?"
"Is that possible?" Buffy asked.
"It's never happened before." Giles said. "In fact, for all
intents and purposes, I don't believe it is possible. But I must check
this out."
"Won't you need a Slayer there to check this guys credentials?"
Faith asked. "I mean, we should be able to tell our own."
"Yes," Giles agreed. "Actually I was about to suggest that.
Faith, I'd like you to accompany me. Buffy, do you think you can hold
down the fort, so to speak?"
"Uh, yeah I think so."
"Good, we should only be gone about a week or so. I don't
suppose you could get into too much trouble in such a short amount of
time." He absently knocked on the wooden table. "Right, let's go."
He and Faith exited hurriedly.
"Well," Buffy muttered to herself. "That was abrupt."
"This is it?" Faith sneered. "Our slayer lives in Hickville
USA?"
"Not quite." Giles informed her, driving the rental car through
the small Virginian town. "He actually attends the college at the edge
of town."
"Oh, okay, he lives at Hicksville University." They pulled
into the parking lot and stopped the car. "What's the difference
between a college and a University anyway?"
"A University is larger." he explained. Then, taking a look
at the handful of buildings around them, added; "Most of them."
Faith smiled wryly. "Okay, so we're here, where to now?"
"The theater." Giles told her. "The man who called me works in
the technical department in the theater."
Faith shrugged, and followed the librarian. "Do all Watchers
have weird jobs these days?" she wondered. The sun had set a few
minutes ago, and the Slayer could not believe that this small rural
town actually had a problem with the Undead. But looks could be
deceiving she decided.
They got lost briefly in the maze of hallways in the theater
building, but a helpfull student pointed them in the right direction.
Finally, they found Giles' contact, harriedly directing several
Freshman in the building of a large set piece.
"Uhm," Giles cleared his throat. "Mr. Credan!"
Credan turned, and his eyes lit up at the sight of his old
friend. "Rupert!" he greeted. He turned to one of the students.
"Hold down the fort." he said. He came over to the new arrivals and
shook their hands. "You must be Faith." he noted to the Slayer. "Step
into my office." he invited, leading them to a door on the far side of
the room.
"Watch the floor." he warned. "Someone spilled paint not to
long ago and it's not quite dry yet." He was a far cry from Giles.
There was nothing bookish about him, and he had no accent to speak of.
He also had a more rugged look to him. It was probably the toolbelt.
His jeans and flannel shirt reminded Faith of Al from Home Improvement.
She wondered if he ever spoke in grunts. Wait, that was Tim. Not Al.
The inside of his office was cleaner than the shop, but not
by much. In addition to some file cabinets, a couple books, and a
computer, there was a large storage closet. Giles guessed that was
where the weapons were stored.
"So where's this Slayer of yours?" Faith asked skeptically.
"And what makes you think he's a Slayer?" Giles asked.
"Because he took out five Vampires single handed." Credan said
to Giles. To Faith he said; "You just missed him. He went out on
patrol. I think he checks the park first."
"I'll check him out." she said. She looked at Giles. "I'll
let you know." He nodded absently.
When Faith was gone, Giles sat in the chair across from Credan.
"Are you absolutely sure he is a Slayer?" he asked.
"I'm not sure of anything." Credan said. "He's strong and fast
enough. Like I said, he took out five singelhanded. But of course,
he's a he. I thought maybe the Wather of, two Slayers would be able to
help me figure it out."
"Well," Giles said. "If you'd told me all this two years ago,
I would have dismissed it outright. But I would have dismissed the
idea of two simultaneous Slayers as well. Does he have the mark?"
Credan looked embarresed. "I forgot where to look for it." he
admitted.
Faith remembered seeing the park on their way in, so she had
no trouble finding it. It was big enough though, that she wasn't sure
she'd be able to find him. Hearing something, she crept into the brush
to hide.
Soon, two Vampires strolled by casually. They seemed confident
in their solitude. She was about to go out to take care of them, when
a boy in a black trenchcoat dropped from the tree above them.
He landed in a one legged crouch in front of the lead Vamp and
gracefully performed a leg sweep that knocked it down. Even as he did
so, he reached into his coat and pulled out a stake. As soon as the
Vamp he'd attacked was down, he threw the stake into the heart of the
second Vampire. Leaping back, he allowed the first to get back up,
then in one smooth motion, he drew a sword from his coat and beheaded
it.
He spun, as applause burst out from the woods. A tall sneering
Vampire emerged, followed by twenty more. "Well done Pseudo Slayer."
the Vamp said. "Well done indeed."
"Corin." the boy said coldly. "Finally work up the guts to
fight me?"
"Perhaps later." Corin smiled. "First, my associates would
like have a word with you." He snapped his fingers, and the Vamps
charged.
The boy took two out in quick succesion, before the main group
reached him. He flipped over the head of one, and beheaded the one
behind it. Then with a back swing, the one he'd just jumped over was
gone. Then he was tackled to the ground. He found his arms pinned,
but they hadn't gotten his legs yet. He kicked up, trying to flip out
of his predicament, but instead just knocked out the Vamp trying to pin
his legs.
A Vamp at the edge of the crowd burst into dust. Behind it,
a young woman stood, holding a stake, and smiling. "Room for one
more?" she asked smiling.
The next day, Giles and Credan were waiting impatiently in his
office when the two Slayers finally arrived. "Where've you been?"
Credan demanded.
"Corin's dead." the boy said in answer.
Giles said nothing, though he could tell by the slight smirk on
Faith's face, and the pleasantly embarresed flush on the boy's face,
exactly where they had been, and what they had been doing. Figured.
Hadn't Buffy told him that Faith had said, when she'd first shown up
that "Slaying makes me hungry and horny". He sighed and said nothing.
"I don't believe you two have been formally introduced." Credan
said, changing the subject. So he'd noticed too. "Rupert Giles, this
is the boy who may or may not be a Slayer. Bobby Fiore."
Bobby shook Giles' hand. "Credan says you had a way of telling
whether I'm a Slayer or not."
"Indeed." Giles confirmed. "The Slayer can be identified by a
birthmark on their shoulder."
Before Bobby could say anything, Faith answered. "Nope. No
birthmark there."
Faith nearly burst out laughing at the Scandalized look on the
men's faces.
On the flight home, Giles pondered what had happened. The boy,
Bobby, had demonstrated that he had indeed the strength and skill to
be a Slayer, but he had not the mark of a Slayer. That had left them
the question of, how did this boy have the power he did? Giles had
promised to look into possibilities, both in his own collection and
the other Watcher files. But he'd never heard of anything like this,
and had not promised that he'd find anything.
"I hope I do though." he thought.
The End