Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all characters are copyright and trademarks of WB, David Greenwalt, Joss Whedon, 20th Century Fox, and others.
Chapter 1: The Who is the What?!
" I mean it, Buffy. We've defeated evil after evil, but we're not done yet. That doesn't let us off, there is still evil a foot." Giles lectured.
" I know Giles. Evil is afoot...it's ahand...it's all ooey and gooey with the evil, but I just want to relax. I mean we're in Italy!" Buffy said, trying to convince him to lighten up.
Xander raised his hand, " Can I just say I agree with the Buffster? I mean Willow and Kennedy went away, so why shouldn't we?" he asked.
" I agree too." Dawn said, " There are malls here. Lots and lots of malls...and maybe I can actually make some friends."
" You had friends." Giles said.
" Yeah. Janice and Austin, but when Sunnydale...collapsed, so did my friendships with them." Dawn said pointedly.
" See! Look Giles, can we give it a week until the next Apocalypse? I promise I'll be in full slayer mode next week." Buffy promised, " besides, I'm sure there are more slayers out there just waiting to be found."
" Thanks, Buff. That would mean that I'd have to do the 'Watcher' thing. No fair." Xander pouted.
" Fine. But do be back before too late." Giles said, giving in.
" Hey look, he's doing that extremely british thing where he cleans his glasses even though they're not dirty." Dawn joked, leaving the room.
" Did the monks have to make her just like you?" Giles asked, leaning on his desk.
" You love it." Buffy laughed.
" Well, I'm going to get ready for some serious clubbing." Xander said, walking to the door.
Buffy stared, " Xander, we're not leaving for about an hour." she said.
Xander pointed to his eye patch, " I'm slower nowadays. Complimentary of angry preacher guy." he smiled, leaving the room.
" Buffy, I do have to warn you. There is another Slayer around here somewhere, so do be on the lookout. Also, Angel and his son, Connor are coming. Faith and Robin reported that they'd be back soon, too." Giles said carefully.
" What about Will and Kennedy?" she asked.
" Not sure. I haven't heard anything from them. Andrew and the other slayers reported that they are having much success." he said proudly.
" Andrew's good for something. Who would have thought?" Buffy laughed.
Giles stared at her, " Yes, quite." he chuckled.
" Angel." Buffy said softly, " Haven't seen him since...it'll be nice to see him. And meet his son, Conrad."
" Connor." Giles corrected.
Buffy looked terrified, " Oh. So, is he bringing anyone else?" she asked.
" No. Just him and Connor. They should be arriving tonight. I wonder how that's going." Giles said quickly.
I landed on my back, but I rolled quickly so I didn't get crushed under the vampire's feet. I quickly took my stance again and stared at the vampire. I smiled. As if I didn't know he was a vampire! He was way too pale and also, no reflection. Not so smart to be in a club filled with mirrors. He kicked at me, but I moved and I ended up behind him. He kicked backwards and I fell to the ground.
" Slayer?" he asked, moving closer. He flew on top of me and I struggled to get him off me! He was about to try and bite me when he flew backwards. I looked up to see a guy, cute, around 5' 11, and a bit pale. I, myself, was only 5'6. At first we just stared at each other, but then the vampire threw him! Some other guy ran out and tackled him!
" Hey! That's my vamp." I pouted.
I got to my feet and walked to the guys wrestling on the ground and picked up the vampire by his collar and staked him. It as then that I knew who the other guy was.
" Angel?" I asked, shocked. I hadn't seen him since he and Buffy had broken up.
He got up and dusted himself off, " Austin?" he asked, squinting his eyes.
I hugged him, " What are you doing here?" I asked joyfully.
" Buffy and the gang set up shop in London, but they're here for a while. What about you?" he asked.
" I'm hanging. Sunnydale is gone, so I figured I should find somewhere else to loiter." I joked, making him laugh, " So, Buffy and the gang are here? Coolness. By the way, who's he?" I pointed to Connor.
Angel looked at Connor, " Oh, this is Connor, my son." he said simply.
" Son? Wait...there are so many things wrong with that statement." I said, questioning the validity of the statement.
" Long story short, he was born and taken to a hellish dimension. Then returned when he was older." Angel said quickly.
" Still doesn't explain why he was born." I said, surveying Connor.
Angel nodded, " Still kinda shaky with that. General consensus is that a demon named Jasmine needed him and Cordy." he said quickly.
" And how is queen of the universe?" I asked.
Angel looked sad for a minute and I caught it," She passed." he said with sadness flowing from his eyes.
" Sorry." I said realizing my mistake.
" You didn't like Cordelia." Connor asked.
" Wouldn't really matter, Cordelia liked herself." I said indifferently.
Connor turned to Angel, " He can't be talking about 'our' Cordelia." he said angrily.
" Our? Eww, then she was still queen of syphillis?" I said, again indifferently.
Connor grabbed my arm, " Take that back." he said.
I smiled, " Please take your hand off me." I asked.
" Or..." he asked. I smiled again and elbowed him in the chest and grabbed his arm, wrenching it behind his back.
Angel's eyebrows went up instantly, " How?" he asked.
I let Connor go, " Not sure, but I like it. Listen, Angel, I've gotta go. There is this mall thing and besides from the fact that it's a walking buffet, I need to shop. Tell Buffy and Dawn to look me up." I said, walking away.
Angel looked at Connor, who was watching me closely, " Are you..." he asked, but Connor shook his head.
" No. I was just..." Connor muttered.
Angel smiled and moved forward, " It's okay if you were...I mean..." Angel smiled.
" Can we just find the Slayer already. And how is he so strong? Is he a vampire?" Connor asked.
" No, but I have an idea. Let's find them, they should be close." Angel said, walking farther. Connor patted his arm and smiled, following Angel.
Buffy, Xander and Dawn walked around the crowded mall. There was the distinct impression of happiness among all the shoppers and it was strange to them. They stopped at the food court.
" Ok Dawn, now if you need us, I have my cell." Buffy said quickly, " We shouldn't take long."
Dawn sighed, " Alright. But you are leaving, right?" she said calmly.
" Yes." Buffy said, turning to leave. She stopped as she bumped into me, " Sorry, I..." she caught a glimpse of me and I her.
" Buffy." I looked behind her, " Dawn...Xander. I heard you were in town." I said a little shaken.
Dawn smiled and hugged me, " Oh My Gosh! I cannot believe you're here! Last time I saw you, you and your family were..." she trailed off.
" Running like a bunch of scaredy cats? Yeah." I smiled.
" Hey kiddo." Xander said, hugging me, " Wait...how'd you know we were here?" he asked.
I hugged Buffy, " I ran into your undead honey and his offspring." I said carefully.
" Angel?" Buffy said anxiously, " Angel's here already?!"
" Yeah. Where's Willow?" I asked.
" Some unreachable plane. But how are you?" Dawn asked.
" I should be asking you that. I see the whole "going into the Hellmouth" thing went alright." I said, watching Buffy's eyes dart open.
" Dawn told me. See there is this new fangled thing called the cell phone and..." I said, causing them to laugh.
" So, why'd you come here?" Buffy asked.
" I looked in the mirror and told myself 'Mexico can fuckin wait'." I said, keeping the truth to myself. The truth is less heroic than I liked.
" Where are your parents?" Xander asked.
" Not sure. They said that they'd put money in my account and I'd be free to go." I lied.
" Where are you staying?" Buffy asked.
" Just in town. Haven't exactly found a place." I lied again.
" You could stay with us!" Dawn said happily, " Can't he Buffy?"
Buffy smiled, " Of course." she said quickly.
" We should take you there." Xander said carefully.
" Ok. Mall's dead anyways." I said, tossing my drink in the trashcan.
Giles welcomed Angel and Connor into his home. It was the first time they'd seen each other since Thanksgiving a few years ago. Connor immediately found a comfy chair and Angel sat on the sofa. Giles walked over and looked at Connor.
" That's my seat." Giles said.
" Here?" Connor asked.
" Yes, that chair is my chair." Giles said grouchily.
" Why can't you just sit over there?" Connor asked.
Angel sighed, " Connor, please." he pleaded. Connor nodded and sat by him on the couch.
Giles nodded happily and sat in the seat, " Was it everything you'd hoped for?" Connor smiled.
" Yes, actually." Giles said rudely, " Angel, it's been a while. I heard about what happened in L.A. Was there really a dragon?" Giles asked, intrigued.
" Yeah. Big dragon...and a bunch of demons versus Gunn, Illyria, Spike, and I." Angel replied.
" Spike? He was..." Giles began.
" I was there, but Angel told me to go home." he said begrudgingly.
Angel sighed, " Spike is alive. Don't know where he and Illyria went though. We all split up." he explained.
" Remarkable. Was it the neckless?" Giles asked, almost proddingly.
" can I go to the mall?" Connor asked impatiently.
" Rude." Angel said, " I was talking."
" Yeah, but you're boring me." Connor said boredly.
" The mall? That's where Buffy took Dawn and Xander." Giles said.
Angel chuckled, " They're in for a surprise. Austin is in town." Angel smirked.
" Austin...Young? Really? How odd." Giles said curiously.
" That's not the strange part, Giles, I think maybe...he might be a slayer." Angel said quickly.
Giles chuckled, " A slayer is.." Giles said
" I know what a slayer is, Giles. He manhandled Connor and he was doing some major slaying." Angel said quickly.
Giles' face contorted, something had popped into his mind, " Was at all pale? How far was this...slaying?" he asked.
" No. Still african american and about a mile from here." Angel answered.
Giles stood, " Good lord. A male slayer? There's never been such a thing." he said in disbelief.
" Can I go now?" Connor asked impatiently.
" We'll all go. Another slayer, a lone one at that, causing so much trouble. There'll be hell to pay." Giles said, grabbing his coat. Connor, Angel, and Giles quickly left his apartment.
As Buffy, Xander, Dawn, and I walked through the streets, I noticed that there was a fair amount of people walking around at night. I looked up at Buffy and she was thinking the same thing.
" If we cut through the cemetary, we can get back sooner." she said, walking faster.
We followed her quickly. We made it halfway through the cemetary when a vampire walked out in front of us.
" Well, well, if it isn't the slayer. I think we should kill you...you've certainly been causing a stir in our humble little cemetary." the vampire said, checking her hair.
" Are you related to Harmony?" Buffy asked.
" Kendall? No. Sorry. Enough with the talk, someone grab him." she said, causing another vampire to jump out and grab me.
Buffy looked from her to me in shock, as did Xander and Dawn, " I thought you said you wanted the slayer." Buffy asked.
I headbutted the vampire holding me and sent him flying, " She did." I said, standing beside Buffy.
Buffy looked as if she was trying to process the info, " Wait, how is that possible?" she asked.
I shrugged, " I don't know. Just kinda happened." I said slowly.
Dawn tapped Buffy shoulder, " Buffy." she said.
" This makes no sense." Buffy said quickly.
" BUFF!" Xander said, " We've got company." he said, looking over his shoulder. There was a group of ten vampires coming our way.
" Good. I've been itching for a tussel." I said, reaching in my jacket and reaching for my stake.
Buffy, Dawn, and Xander stared at me for a second, then the vamps descended on us! four of them came at me and the rest went after Buffy, Dawn and Xander. I kicked one in the face and another grabbed me from behind. I used him to bring my legs up and snap yet another's neck, causing him to dust. Buffy did a spin kick and took all four of hers down, staking a few as she did it. Dawn had picked up a shovel and began pounding the vampire she had. When he was finally on the ground, she impaled him with it, then ran over to help Xander. I elbowed the one behind me and did a sweep kick, sending him to his face on the ground, where I staked him. When I looked up, one of them kicked me in the face, causing me to hit a headstone. I stayed conscious, but I couldn't move. The head vampire came to me and kneeled over me.
" I'm gonna enjoy this." the vampire said quickly.
" Maybe I should..." I said, but before I could finish, the vampire was pulled off me violently. I looked up to see teal eyes looking back at me. I smiled and got to my feet in just enough time to drive my stake through the vampire's heart, " Thanks." I smiled.
" Are you okay?" Giles asked, causing Connor and I to break our gaze.
" Yeah, Giles, I'm good." I said, hugging him, " If I'd have known it'd be a reunion, I'd have brought gifts." I joked.
" Giles, we think Austin is a..." Buffy said loudly.
" A slayer. We know." Giles said quickly, " What we don't know is..."
" How." I finished, " Okay, because you're my friends...and I'd rather not lie...I'm in trouble."
Buffy stared at me, " What kind of trouble?" she asked.
" The kind that killed my parents." I said honestly.