The Hunter by Ben Church b_church@yahoo.com feedback appreciated. Buffy and friends were created by Joss Whedon. Love ya man. Xander noticed him right away. It was not hard to do, as no one else in the school wore black trenchcoats. "Hey Willow," he said, signaling his friend. "New guy, twelve o'clock." "Actually," Willow corrected him. "That would be two o'clock." "Isn't that what I said?" he asked. Then he saw something else. Something that brought back unwelcome memories. "Uh oh, Tyler and friends," Xander thought for a moment. "Uh, that way." he pointed. Unfortunately, Tyler saw him point. "Uh oh." "Hey X," Tyler said. He and his friends surrounded Xander and Willow. "Didn't your mother ever tell you it was impolite to point?" "Maybe we should teach him some manners." one of Tyler's friends said. "Apparently your pack hasn't changed." Xander said. Tyler obviously took his meaning. "Don't you ever mention that." he snarled, grabbing him by the shirt. "You don't have your buff girlfriend here to protect you." "Ahem." someone said, from beyond the circle. Tyler turned slowly, still riled from the memory of what he and his friends had done. "You have a problem?" Tyler asked him coldly. "New Boy?" "Yes as a matter of fact I do." the boy said calmly. His eyes were hidden behind black shades, so it was impossible to tell where he was looking. "As a new student, I find this scene disturbing." "What are you gonna do about it?" another of the group asked. "Now it's been my experience that bullies such as yourself are mostly talk." the boy said. "Unless you want to prove me wrong, I suggest you let go of him, and take your pack of dogs," Tyler flinched at this. "And go away." Then he let some menace drift into his voice. "While you are still capable of moving under your own power." Tyler looked at the boy for a moment, and then hastened away. As soon as they had gone, the boy broke into a wide grin, and removed his sunglasses. His blue eyes twinkled. "Ah bullies." he said. "Such cowards at heart." "That's very impressive." Xander said. "But what would you have done if they'd decided to fight?" "I'dve beat them up." he said matter of factly. Then he extended his hand. "Hi, I'm Steve Riley." "Xander Harris." Xander introduced himself. "Willow Rosenburg." Willow said. "Pleased to meet you both." Steve said. "You mind answering a question?" Xander asked. "Well that would depend on the question wouldn't it." Steve replied. "Why are you wearing a black trenchcoat?" "What," Steve said, looking down at his attire. "You don't like it?" "No, it's just that this is Northern California." Xander said. "It doesn't much get cold enough to need a trenchcoat, much less a black one." "Aren't you hot under that?" Willow agreed. "Not really." Steve said with a straight face. "Since I am after all naked under this." Willow and Xander started. "You're kidding of course right?" "Maybe." Steve said. Then he laughed. "Yes I'm kidding. I'm not hot though, I'm wearing shorts and a T-shirt under this." "Oh. So why are you wearing it?" Xander wanted to know. "I just like making first impressions." Steve said. The next day, Steve was not wearing the trenchcoat, but he managed to stand out even still. He wore black jeans and a black T-shirt that said: "I don't know all the answers, but I know someone who does." On the back was a large white cross. His long hair hung loose and free, and he wore the same shades as he'd worn before. "Hey Steve." Xander greeted him. "Nice color scheme you've got goin' there." "Thanks Xander." Steve grinned. "You too." Xander was wearing orange pants, and a neon green shirt. Xander smiled a little sheepishly. "Yeah, you can't be too conformative in this world you know?" "Amen brother." Steve agreed. Then he stopped, and switched his black backpack to his other shoulder, thinking. "Is conformative a word?" "I don't know I learned English as a second language." "As did we all Xander." Steve said, slapping Xander on the shoulder. "As did we all." "Hey Willow." Xander said as Willow walked up to them. "Hi Xander." she smiled. "Hey Willow," Steve said. "Hey, how'd you guys hold up in that earthquake last night?" "Pretty easily actually." Xander said. "You see this is California. Earthquakes are not exactly uncommon around here." "Was that your first?" Willow asked Steve. "Yeah." he smiled. "A bit of a trauma I have to admit. Though the car alarms did provide a wonderful harmony with the barking dogs. Well, listen, I gotta get to class. See ya at lunch?" Steve asked them. "Sure." Xander said. "We'll be out in the courtyard." "See ya." As soon as Steve was gone, Xander smiled at Willow. "I think someone likes you." he grinned. He was really just hoping Willow would find someone else and get over him. He hated hurting her like he knew his lack of romantic aspirations were doing. "Oh really?" Willow said, feigning ignorance. "Who?" "Oh come on." Xander said. "You didn't see it? He practically fell head over-" "Oops!" Steve's voice echoed down the hall. Xander and Willow looked up, half expecting to see Xander's comment made literal. Instead, they saw something far more amusing. Steve, standing over a fallen Cordelia, who was sitting on her keister. "Woah, I'm sorry." Steve said, reaching down to help her up. "Can't you watch where you're..." Cordelia looked up at Steve for the first time. "Going?" She accepted his hand and he pulled her to her feet effortlessly. "Well normally yes," Steve said, pouring on the charm. "But I was just so blinded by your beauty that it was impossible." Cordelia smiled. "You're new here, aren't you." she said. "Of course you are, I know I would remember seeing you before." "Why yes I am." Steve said. "Well, as loath as I am to go, I must get to class." "Bye." Cordelia said. She watched him disappear down the hall, and smiled. "Ready or not," she muttered. "Here I come." Willow and Xander stood in utter amazement at what had just transpired. "Did I just see that?" Xander said. "Was Cordelia just polite to somebody? Does this mean that the world is coming to an end? Besides, I thought she liked them bigger than that. And more, well, fashionable." "I guess she felt it too." Willow said to herself. "Pardon?" "He has an air of mystery about him." Willow explained. "Some girls find that very attractive." "Mystery?" Xander thought with growing alarm. "Wasn't that the same thing that Buffy liked about Angel?" What Willow did not say, was that she did not find it attractive, she found it cause for concern. Buffy had often mentioned Angel's air of mystery. Of course that had turned out to be all right, but who could say whether this one would. Not that she thought he was a vampire, but all the same, she thought she'd keep an eye on Steve. Steve was waiting for them in the courtyard. Willow, Xander, and Buffy were greeted with a most unusual sight. Steve was walking back and forth across the courtyard...on his hands. "Hey guys!" he greeted them. "You ever notice how much more pleasant the world seems when all the blood is rushing to your head?" "Can't say that I have." Buffy said. She turned to Willow and Xander. "Is this the guy you were gonna meet?" "Has to be." Xander said. "No one else in school dresses like that." As impressed as they were with Steve's useless skill, they were amazed once again when, instead of simply letting his feet fall to the ground, he pushed off with his arms, and _flipped_ onto his feet. Brushing off his hands, he extended one to Buffy. "So you must be Buffy." he said smiling. He had taken his shades off for his stunt, but now he slipped them back on. Willow felt a sudden chill, though she could not tell why. She supposed it was because he'd put on the shades when greeting Buffy. The sun was not particularly bright, the only reason she could think of was that he did not want anyone to see his eyes. "And why wouldn't he want us to see how he's really looking at her?" she thought. During the remainder of the lunch period Steve talked to Buffy and Xander as if he'd known them all his life. He tried several times to engage Willow in conversation, but she was too engrossed in her own thoughts. Suddenly it struck her what was bothering her. "You must be Buffy." he had said. But they hadn't mentioned her to him ever! Willow stood, trying to appear calm. "I'll catch you guys later." she said. "I'm gonna go to the restroom." "Want some company?" Xander grinned. Willow fought the blush and won. "No thanks." She left the courtyard and headed for the computer lab. She had some research to do. Xander came away from lunch that day feeling uneasy, and more than a little rejected. Uneasy because, just as Willow had, he noticed Steve's special, unnerving way of looking at Buffy. It had been as if he was studying her. Maybe looking for a weakness. Rejected because, well, he was rejected. Buffy had turned him down. Nicely of course, but there was no way to lighten that kind of blow. Steve left the school with the rest of the students. He began to walk off by himself. He'd found her sure enough. But how to go about his intentions? Suddenly he became aware of his no longer being alone. He stopped, and turned, looking patronizingly at the group of people behind him. "Oh look," he mocked them. "It's the Mouseketeers." He quickly found himself surrounded by Tyler and his friends. "Shut up New Boy." Tyler said, standing behind Steve, he grabbed the back of his neck. "You looking to lose that hand Jon Jon the Dog Faced Boy?" Steve snarled, and easily extricated himself. "You think you can scare us?" Tyler asked incredulously. "No, that would require some intelligence on you part." Steve retorted. "Otherwise you would have left well enough alone." He whirled to face Tyler. "All right," he said. "In the words of the Immortal Wolverine, `I been lookin' for a good rough house' So you wanna piece a me? Come on. One at a time or all at once it don't matter." Steve did not wait for an answer. He dropped into a crouch and swept Tyler's legs out from under him. The rest of Tyler's gang broke and ran. Steve hauled Tyler to his feet and slammed him against the wall of the building next to him, hard. "You are so very freaking lucky that I'm not armed." he said coldly. "You do not wanna mess with me in a million years. Because I'm only mildly ornery right now. You do not want to see me pissed off. Now piss off." he flung Tyler away from him and continued on his way. His appetite merely whetted for the carnage that was to come. Willow sat anxiously at their usual table at the Bronze. She did not relax until Buffy walked in. "I was wondering if you'd come tonight." "Well," Buffy said. "I thought about skipping the whole social life thing and just fighting Vampires, but I decided, Nah." She looked into the crowd briefly. "Hey isn't that Steve?" Sure enough, Steve was on the dance floor, getting to know Cordelia quite well. "Man," Xander thought, sulking in his room at home. "How badly does my life suck? First Buffy blows me off, then I totally blow my friendship with Willow on a typical Xanderish act of Stupidity." "Okay," Buffy said. "Willow you noticed the extreme weirdness of Steve, what do you think is up with him?" "And what's with this Steve character?" Xander asked himself. "I noticed the way he was looking at me." Buffy said. "Like he was looking for a weakness." Willow and Buffy said at once. "Okay well," Willow started. "After lunch yesterday I did some checking up on him. Steve I mean. And I found out that he doesn't go to this school." "That is weird." "Yeah, I mean he shows up, hangs out then leaves? Why hasn't Snyder busted him? Does he just hide in the basement or something?" "Or the library." Buffy said. "What?" Willow asked. "I saw him in the library, talking to Giles and Ms. Calendar." "Oh." Willow said, as if the whole thing was solved. "He's a fellow Watcher. Or a Watcher in Training or something." "Yeah that's what I thought at first." Buffy said. "I didn't hear what they were saying, but Giles seemed kinda, I don't know, wigged." "And why would Giles be wigged?" Willow asked. "My guess would be that Steve was asking too many questions." Buffy said. "OK," Xander said. "I know Steve's bad news. That seems obvious. So what am I going to do about it. I mean he's obviously not a vampire." "He could be a demon or a witch." Buffy said. "Or a Werewolf." Willow said. "Maybe he's a Mime." Xander said. "Or even a Leprechaun. They're always after my lucky charms." "Here comes our chance to ask an expert on weirdness." Buffy said. "Here comes Angel." "Buffy can I talk to you for a minute?" "Um, sure Angel what's up?" "Something's coming." he said. "I don't know what exactly, but I know it's big, and I know it's bad. You have to be ready." "Uh, you can't be more specific can you?" Buffy asked him. "Like, when it's coming? The bus number?" Angel smiled and shook his head, and left. "Well that was nice and vague." Willow said. "And cryptic." "Perfectly typical of Angel in other words." said Buffy. "Should we warn Cordelia about Steve?" Willow asked. "Nah." Buffy looked over at the dancing couple. "Could she be holding him any tighter?" "I don't think she's really into that though. I mean, I think she's just trying to make herself feel better about the fact that her boyfriend didn't show up tonight." "Well," Buffy said. "I gotta vent. I'm gonna go slay. Wanna come?" "No." Willow said. "Good." Buffy said. "Otherwise I'd be worried about you. Seriously, I'm gonna go over to Giles' see if he has any input on either Steve, or Angel's warning." "Well have a good time." Willow said. Unseen to the others, Steve and Cordelia finished their dance and left. After walking Cordelia home, Steve headed off into the night. The night was young, and the hunt had just begun. Buffy strode down the street, all her senses attuned to the pitter patter of undead feet. She would have to be careful, she didn't want any Vamps to know where Giles lived. That, and they seemed to be getting tougher for some reason. Soon however, she heard someone following her. So she stopped, and turned. And was hit in the face with a brick wall. Or that's what it felt like to her anyway. The Vampire called to his friends who had hung back. "Hey c'mon! There's enough for all of us!" "Oh how nice." Buffy said, rising quickly. "You share." She hit the Vampire in the face, knocking it back into it's companions. The Vampire snarled and rushed her, but before it had taken two steps it cried out in pain and disintegrated. "What the?" Buffy looked behind the Vampires, and saw someone dressed all in black holding a what looked like a modified shotgun. The newcomer wore a long black trenchcoat, and a black bodysuit. The shirt had a huge white cross on the front. Topping it all off was a black mask that hid the newcomer's face. It looked like a ski-mask with mirror glasses. "Who invited Spawn?" Buffy asked herself. Ignoring her, the figure pumped the action on the gun, and aimed it at another vamp. The Vampire grinned. "Bullet's can't stop me!" he shouted and leaped at the figure. "Bullets?" the figure asked, their voice was male. "Who said anything about bullets?" He fired the gun, and there was a whoosh of released air. A stake flew from the muzzle of the gun and buried itself in the Vampire's chest, killing it instantly. Buffy raised an eyebrow, impressed. "Not bad." she said, staking the last Vampire. "Who are you?" "You'll find out soon enough." the figure said, and disappeared into the shadows. Buffy stared after the mysterious stranger and frowned. She didn't like mysteries. They were bad. Completely forgetting her mission to Giles' house, she went to the library instead. It was more likely Giles would be there anyway. "It's coming." Steve thought. "The ultimate hunt." He took a sword and two guns from the modified wall of his van. "God I can't wait." The Next Day "As if the prophecy weren't enough." Giles muttered. "Wait a minute," Xander broke in. "What Prophecy?" Giles sighed. "This book," he said. "Is a book of prophecies. Angel gave it to me during the whole invisible girl incident. I've, translated one of the prophecies. Tonight, Buffy will face the Master, and she will die." "Die?" Willow and Xander cried at once. Giles noticed that they both seemed to be avoiding looking at each other. "Oh my God," Willow said, sinking into a chair. She was already wigged after finding the bodies in the lounge. "What's the other part?" "I beg your pardon?" "You said `as if the prophecy weren't enough." Xander reminded him. "I think he would be referring to me." a voice said from behind them." Xander and Willow spun to face, Steve. Xander spun, Willow looked over her shoulder. "What are you doing here?" Willow demanded. "That's what I need to explain." Steve and Giles said together. "Okay," Steve conceded. "Why don't you start, Watcher." "Centuries ago," Giles began. "A watcher by the name of Van Helsing-" "As in Dracula's Van Helsing?" Willow asked incredulously. "Sort of." Steve provided. "Stoker knew of our order, how we came to be and used the name for the Hunter in his book." "Right," Giles said, miffed at the interruption. "Anyway, Helsing decided that simply watching and recording were not adequate, as there was only one Slayer, and she could hardly be everywhere at once. He was also, I'm afraid, a bit put out that the Slayer was always a woman." "He wasn't as enlightened as we are now." Steve interjected. "In any case," Giles went on. "He split from the Watchers, and founded the Hunters. An order that hunts down supernatural threats and eliminates them, the best they can." At that, Steve picked up the narrative. "Well as you've probably guessed by now, I'm a Hunter. We don't have the speed and strength that the Slayer has, so we do the best we can." "Steve here belonged to an especially innovative sect, who fashioned guns that would shoot stakes-" "And blades for decapitation, flame-throwers to burn them, super-soakers filled with holy water, you get the idea. Oh by the way, you ever want to distract a Vamp, shoot 'em. It won't kill it, but it hurts just the same being shot would hurt you or me. And a nail through the head will kill 'em too." He hefted a strange looking gun. "Shoots nails." "To continue," Steve went on. "I'm a Hunter. Two weeks ago, I and nine other Hunters tracked a Master Vampire to it's lair. I was the only one to survive the confrontation, but we finally got it. Unfortunately, his followers were still alive. "When a Master Vampire is killed, any living followers will gravitate to the nearest Master." "And the closest Master Vampire would just happen to be here." Xander guessed. "How, how many vampires?" Willow asked. "Twenty, at least." Steve told her. "And when that many hungry Vamps hit town, you can bet that there's gonna be some sucking happening." "And now with this prophecy," Giles said. "If the Master feeds on Buffy, he may very well be able to free himself, which would open the Hellmouth. And then every Vampire within fifty miles will gravitate to this very spot." "Which is why I'm here." Steve said. "I couldn't get hold of any Hunters, so I came here to do what I could, and warn the Slayer. Who I found out was here." "We're screwed." Xander said simply. "Well, I'd be inclined to agree with you," Steve said. "But I've never been the pessimistic type. So who wants to help me make some weapons?" That Night Steve made his second check of his weapons. Xander had gone off who knows where, Buffy had overcome her fear and gone off to face the Master, Ms. Calendar and Willow were off someplace. Giles was in the Library as usual. Without knowing where the Hellmouth was exactly, Steve had to just trust to luck to find the Vampires he knew were coming. He was ready however, to kick some Undead Ass. "God I love my work." he thought. A terrified shriek signaled the start of the festivities. "The School!" he thought. And ran for the nearby building. When he arrived, he saw Calendar and Willow surrounded by Vampires. "Hey!" he cried. "Suppers all ready for you! Come and get me!" That was all it took. The half crazed Vampires turned towards him. While some kept after the two women, most came after him. Thinking quickly, he whipped out his nail gun, and set it for automatic. Aiming for about level with their heads, he opened fire. Several Vampires disintegrated on the spot, while still others fell to the ground, but were not out. Soon however, he was out of nails. And they were still coming. Undaunted he tossed the Nail Gun to the side and pulled out his converted Shotgun. He got five more Vampires before they were upon him. He dropped his Stake Gun and drew out his sword. The first Vamp to reach for him lost it's hand, then it's head very quickly. Steve counted at least ten Vamps in his immediate vicinity, with more on the way. Even with his sword he couldn't hope to defeat so many if they were so close. He needed time to get away. Resheathing his sword, he flicked his wrists, releasing the springs on his wrist holsters. Two pistols flew from his sleeves into his hands. He pulled the trigger of one, holy water spraying from it, sending several vamps scrambling out of the way. But one decided it was tougher than the others and kept coming. So Steve brought the other pistol to bear. The exploding tip round blew off the top of the Vamp's head. It wasn't quite decapitated, but the loss of it's ability to see, and loss of most of it's brain certainly took it out of the fight. "I hate leaving a job unfinished." Steve shot it again anyway, the second round blowing away the rest of the creature's head. He emptied the gun into the crowd of Vampires and picked up his Stake Gun, taking out several more Vamps before it too, was emptied of ammo. The Vamps apparently gave up on him and headed back towards the school for easier prey. "Oh no no no!" Steve said. "That's not gonna happen my friends!" The approaching Vampires could hear the sounds of a battle going on inside. They wanted a piece of the action. This, they were denied. With a roar, Steve's van pulled in front of the entrance to the school. The driver's side door opened and Steve leaped out, firing an M-16 assault rifle into the approaching Undead. The ground below him trembled slightly, then subsided. Suddenly, the Vampires, who despite the pain they were being dealt had still been struggling forward, stopped and stood stock still for a moment. Then, as one, they all fled. "That," Steve said, lowering the rifle. "I will take as a good sign." He heard people approaching. Quickly circling the van he raised his rifle, then saw it was only the living who approached. "Well," he asked, lowering the gun again. "Is the world saved?" The Next Day "So where you headed now?" Buffy asked. She and the others were standing with Steve, just off school property. No one was quite ready to deal with the real life implications of what had happened last night. Xander secretly envied the Hunter, he got to skip town. "Well most of those Vamps that ran away last night weren't native to this town. Some might stick around, but I think most will go back to where they came from, so I'm gonna pick up the trail and take out as many as I can." He turned to each of them one by one; "Buffy, you're gonna go far as a Slayer, don't let the demons get you down. Willow, you're a great girl, don't let anyone tell ya different. Xander," he handed him a card. "You got the makin's of a pretty good hunter, if you ever want to audition, give a ring. Cordelia, you're a beautifull girl, but priority check. Giles, you're a step above other Watcher's I've met. Jenny Calendar, be careful what you download off the net." With that, he got into the van, and drove off. Xander looked at the card he'd been given: THE HUNTERS SATAN MAKES 'EM WE STAKE 'EM Epilogue The library was a shambles. Tomorrow, the cleaning would begin, but for the moment, it lay silent and empty. For a moment. By one bookcase against the wall, a sudden flash of light brought and end to both the silence and the emptiness. "What the hell happened here?" Amy asked in surprise. "I don't know," Martin admitted. "But at least we're back." Amy sighed and wrapped her arm around Martin's waist. "How are we ever gonna explain what happened to us?" "I'm not gonna worry about it yet." Martin said. "I'll make it up as I go along." The End