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buffyfic-digest          Friday, May 8 1998          Volume 02 : Number 170



In this issue:

       BUFFYFIC: The Third Child (2/?)
       BUFFYFIC: FIC: "Alice, the Vampire Slayer" (1/5)
       BUFFYFIC: "Alice, the Vampire Slayer (2/5)

See the end of the digest for information on (un)subscribing to the buffyfic
or buffyfic-digest mailing lists and on how to retrieve back issues.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Fri, 08 May 1998 18:35:42 PDT
From: "Tracy Cain" <[e-mail]>
Subject: BUFFYFIC: The Third Child (2/?)

>Name: The Third Child
Author: Rihanon
Address: [e-mail]
Feedback: This is my first story, so please share! Good? Bad? Ugly? I
crave this information!!!!!!!!
Distribution: Anya can have it, anyone else who wants it can e-mail me
and ask.  I'll say yes, but please ask first.
Summary: A new vampire is in town, just attacked Buffy, and appears to
be after Angel.
Spoilers: uh- What's My Line? Definitely before S/I, though.
Disclaimer: In no way am I creative enough to come up with the
characters used in this story.  If you recognize anything, it's not
mine, and belongs to the evil Joss.
Warnings:Um- none for this part, really. A little Buffy/Angel
Rating: PG/PG-13

Author's Note's: I grovel before you all and beg forgiveness for taking
forever to get this out, and it's not even that long! If you've
forgotten the story, or joined recently, E-mail me for the earlier
parts. Also, many thanks to Erana for her help, without which I wouldn't
even have gotten this out.
******************
The Third Child: (2/?)
By Rihanon
******************



Buffy stumbled through the streets of Sunnydale in a haze of pain; the
slashes across her shoulder burned, and in some dazed part of her mind
she suspected that -- thing's -- claws might have been poisoned.
Desperately she struggled to hold on to consciousness, but fell to her
knees as a wave of dizziness swept through her.  Stars danced before her
eyes as she clawed her way desperately back to her feet; she needed
help.

<Angel . . . have to get to him . . . oh, God, help me please . . . I
don't want to die . . . > her thoughts grew ragged as she felt reality
begin to slip away.  "Angel . . . " she whispered, falling to the ground
outside his door as darkness closed over her.

Angel looked up from his book, catching scent of something and frowning
slightly. He rose and went towards the door, opening it to look for the
source of the smell.  He stumbled backwards in shock at the sight of his
love, lying in a pool of spreading blood.

"Buffy!" he exclaimed, dropping to his knees to cradle her unconscious
form. She moaned softly as he lifted her and carried her inside. Gently
Angel laid the motionless slayer on the bed, and pulled the blood-soaked
cloth away from her wounds.

"Who did this to you," he whispered.  "Who?"  But there was no response.
Gritting his teeth against the sickly sweet smell that filled the room,
the vampire began to clean the deep gashes.  As he gently dabbed at her
wounds with a peroxide soaked cloth he tried to figure out what had
happened.  <This doesn't make any sense,> he thought to himself, seeing
the claw marks down her back.

A low moan broke his train of thought.  "Angel?" came the soft
whisper.

"Shhh, I'm right here."

"Where - "

"At my apartment.  Buffy -- what happened?"

Buffy took a deep breath and sat up, trying to think straight.  "I was
patrolling . . . and this thing . . . it came out of nowhere . . . I got
it, but it hit me . . . pretty good.  Then - this vampire was there,
God, Angel . . . I've never been so scared in my entire life." She
leaned against him and trembled slightly.  "Angel," she whispered,
looking up at him with pleading eyes, "who is he?  Who's Rasitin?"

Angel closed his eyes and swallowed tightly.  <No.  Not him; not -- >
"Who?" he whispered, hoping he'd heard her wrong.

"He said to tell you that 'Rasitin is in town, and it's payback time,'"
Buffy recited,"then he said he'd make you beg to die.  Angel, who is
he?"

He stared off into the distance, not responding.

"Angel -- "

"I made him," Angel muttered, talking more to himself than to her.

"What?"

"I made him; I turned him into a vampire," he whispered brokenly.  "I
thought he was dead -- I should have known better . . . "

"But what does he want?" she asked, staring at him worriedly.  "And what
was that thing that attacked me?"

Angel took a deep breath, metaphorically speaking, and stared at Buffy.
"Rasitin is a medium, a - demon summoner - for lack of a better term.
He's power, and very ruthless."  After a moment of silence he continued,
"I have to get out of town."

"No!" Buffy shouted.  "Angel - we can beat him.  Come on, together we
can beat anything I . . . " she trailed off, her lower lip trembling as
tears filled her eyes.  "I need you.  You can't go."

He cradled her shaking form against him.  "I don't want to, but there's
no other way.  He'll kill you; for no other reason than because I love
you -- he'll hurt you just to get to me."  He held her so tightly that
she feared her ribs would crack.  "And if he sends his demons after us
- -- they'll win.  There's no other way.  I'll leave, and Raistin will
follow."

****

A light drizzle was coming down on the giggling figure of a little girl,
playing in the street.  A dark figure loomed over her, and she glanced
up fearfully.

"Well, well, well.  A present, and it isn't even my birthday," laughed
the vampire. "Hello, little one."

The girl's eyes filled with worried tears.  "Who are you?"

Rasitin chuckled.  "Your death."  Lifting the child easily, he sank his
fangs into her neck.  When the last of her sweet blood was gone, he
tosed her body carelessly into the gutter before walking off into the
night.

***********
I know I haven't done anything to deserve it-- but, feedback? Please?

                                 -Rihanon

"Do not meddle in the afairs of dragons, for you are crunchy
and good with ketchup."


______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 8 May 1998 21:43:17 -0400 (EDT)
From: Betsy Vera <[e-mail]>
Subject: BUFFYFIC: FIC: "Alice, the Vampire Slayer" (1/5)

Title: "Alice, the Vampire Slayer." (1/5)
Author: Elizabeth Vera
E-Mail: [e-mail]
Spoiler: Through Killed by Death, I guess.
Rating: PG, maybe PG-13.
Feedback: Please and thank you.
Summary: A.U. What if someone else were the Slayer.
Disclaimer: I own Alice. Joss owns everyone else.

- --------------------

"Damn!"

Giles slammed the thick book shut. If he weren't so well-trained, he
would've thrown the book against the wall.

Nothing! He could find nothing! He collapsed back in his chair and ran his
fingers through his hair.

As a Watcher, Rupert Giles felt like a failure.

It was his duty, as the latest in a long line of Watchers, to watch over
the Slayer, to ensure her safety. When something unexplainable happened,
it was his job to decipher the nature of the threat so he could prepare
her to face it and, if necessary, destroy it. But what if he couldn't
decipher it? Ever since Buffy's brief hospital stay when she'd had the
flu, vampire activity in Sunnydale had been close to non-existent. Nothing
of a supernatural nature had taken place in weeks. Even the long series of
unusually strong storms had ended. It had been very quiet, and this
worried him.

The library door opened and two teenagers came in.

"Hi, Giles."

"Ah, Willow, Buffy," he greeted them. A third teenager came through the
door. "Xander."

Buffy replied half-heartedly. She had been distracted, lately; no doubt
brooding over Angelus. She saw the weapons Giles had laid out on the table
and raised an eyebrow at him. "Sticks again?"

"It's called a quarterstaff, Buffy, as you well know."

She rolled her eyes. "Sorry. So, if you have two of these, is that a
half-staff?"

He ignored her and picked up his protective gear off the table. As he
strapped it onto his body and secured it in place, Buffy glanced
quizzically at her two friends. Willow and Xander, ostensibly there to do
their homework, had settled in at the central table to watch. They
shrugged their shoulders at her. Giles had been very tense, lately, and
their every attempt at making him relax had failed.

Suddenly, Xander jumped up. "Wait. I forgot to bring supplies. Be right
back." He ran past a puzzled-looking Giles and out the door.

Willow explained to him. "Emergency snacks run."

"Ah." He turned to Buffy. "Are you ready?"

Giles suddenly swung his staff at Buffy's head and narrowly missed hitting
her, catching her by surprise. She ducked and swung at his feet, but he
managed to avoid being struck. They circled each other, watching for an
opening in the other's defenses.

*Oh boy! It's going to be one of those, isn't it?* Buffy was worried about
Giles. His sparring sessions had been more frequent lately and they were
way more intense than they used to be. Buffy wished that whatever the
Hellmouth had in store for them next would hurry up and get it over with.
The pressure of not knowing what was going on was obviously getting to
Giles and, if this kept up, somebody was going to get hurt.

Buffy swung; Giles blocked it neatly, turned, and aimed a blow at her
middle. She blocked it and managed to strike Giles. His shoulder pad
absorbed the blow. His concentration was contagious, and Buffy never
noticed when she started hitting faster, harder.

Swing, block, the occasional blow.

They both sparred with unusual intensity. Giles might not be able to
figure out why Sunnydale was behaving so...normally, but he knew it was
bound to stop, sooner or later. And when it did, he intended to make very
sure that Buffy was ready for any unexpected physical attacks.

Jab, parry, duck.

Emotional attacks, on the other hand.... As her Watcher, Giles felt
responsible for both her physical and emotional well-being. Angelus'
silence of the past several weeks had been very unnerving for Buffy, and
Giles couldn't think of a way to relieve her anxiety. What he should've
done was nip her romance with Angel in the bud and prevented all her
heartache from happening.

He laughed at his presumption. All of her heartache? Buffy had been
through a lot in the past year. She had died at the hands of the Master,
had seen her classmates murdered, had lost her mother's trust, had fallen
in love with a vampire who had then become her fiercest enemy.

Buffy ducked a blow and heard Giles laugh. *Oh, great! Just what we need.
Giles is cracking.* She tried to read his expression but had to
concentrate on blocking a series of well-aimed jabs at her body. She
responded in kind, swung her staff low, and managed to wipe his feet off
the floor. He fell to the ground with a dull thud and a sharp crack.

Buffy dropped her staff and ran to where he lay unconscious on the floor.

"Oh, god, Giles! Giles, are you okay?"

*****

"Mr. Giles!"

"Whaa--" Giles came to suddenly. A dark-haired girl peered down at him,
looking very worried.

"Are you all right, Mr. Giles? I'm sorry, I--I didn't mean to hit you so
hard."

He blinked, confused. She helped him off the library floor and sat him
down at one on the tables while she continued apologizing. He made vague
noises when she offered to get him a cup of tea, and she took the noises
as assent and disappeared into his office. He took the opportunity to try
to regain his bearings but the pounding in his head made things difficult.
He shook his head to try to clear it, but that only made his dizziness
worse. He held his head, groaning.

"Here, Mr. Giles, drink this. It'll make you feel better." He took the
cup, automatically, and gulped down the too-hot tea. The burning liquid
served to distract him from his headache. He looked up at the girl who was
still fussing over him.

"Alice, I'm fine. Please, relax."

Alice did not relax, but, eventually, at Giles' insistence, stopped
apologizing and went home for the evening.

Giles sighed. Being Alice's Watcher hadn't been at all what he had
expected.

- ----------

A few months ago, when he had received word that the new Slayer had been
found in California, and that he was being assigned as her Watcher, he'd
had conflicting emotions. On the one hand, being a Watcher was what he had
trained for all his life. On the other hand...California? He envisioned
Alice as the stereotypical California girl--beach, sand, surf, brainless,
and oversexed. He was willing to admit that his impressions had been
formed by American television--despite his best attempts, Baywatch had
managed to creep into his consciousness--and his impressions could be
wrong.

However, his first day at Sunnydale High School hadn't done much to lessen
his dread. He'd had the bad luck to ask Cordelia Chase for directions to
the principal's office. The student had been polite enough in answering
his question, but, unfortunately, he had managed to overhear her remarks
after she believed he was out of earshot. "Gads, where does the school
board find these losers? Did you check out those clothes? *Nobody* this
century dresses like that. And that smell! Can you say "mothball city"?
Yeewww!"

He had met Alice early one morning after someone had knocked her things to
the floor.

"Let me help you pick those up," he had offered.

She had looked up, startled. "Thanks, but, I'm...I'm fine." She seemed
embarrassed by the attention as she took the notebook he handed her.
"Thank you."

"You're welcome." Giles started back the way he'd been going.

"Excuse me, sir?"

He stopped and turned back to her. She stood in the middle of the hallway,
looking lost.

"Um...where's the library? Principal Flutie said I'm supposed to go there
to get my books," she held a crumpled slip of paper in her hand,
presumably a book list, "but I don't know where anything is. I'm new
here."

He stopped in his tracks. He knew of only one new student starting this
late in the school year. "Miss Peterson?"

She blinked at him.

"Alice Peterson?"

"Um...yes?"

"I'm Mr. Giles, the librarian." So, this was the Slayer. He wasn't sure
what he had expected. She looked so...normal. Medium height--a little on
the short side, maybe--medium weight, brown eyes partially obscured by
wavy dark brown hair. Just an ordinary girl. There was nothing about her
to suggest she was the Chosen One.

"Mr. Giles?"

He realized he was staring. "So sorry. That was very rude of me. Umm...the
library is this way," he pointed down the hall. "I was heading there,
myself."

They walked together in uncomfortable silence. Giles was debating with
himself how best to broach the subject of Alice's Slayerhood. He didn't
want to scare her away, but she needed to be told as soon as possible.
Most Slayers started their careers when they were much younger than Alice
was now. What if she didn't accept her role in life? What if she wasn't up
to the job?

Alice was very confused. She couldn't decide what she thought of the
librarian. There was something odd about him. The way he stared at her,
for instance. Sure, everyone stares at the new kid, but, when he did it,
she felt like he was looking inside her. Creepy. But, at the same time,
she also felt she could trust him, and she wasn't sure why.

When they reached the library, he held the door open for her and followed
her in. He went behind the counter on the right, where he kept the
leftover textbooks, as she looked around the room in admiration. The
curved wooden banisters, impressive skylight, and rich dark wood
furnishings gave the split-level library a sense of elegance unusual in a
school setting. Giles smiled at her reaction.

He checked the textbooks he had gathered against the list she'd given him
and placed them on the counter. "Here are the books you need."

She was still looking around.

"Miss Peterson?"

She turned back to him. "Sorry. I--I guess I got distracted. It's... Wow.
I've never seen a library like this. I like it." She seemed almost
embarrassed by her enthusiasm.

The library door suddenly swung open and a student rushed in, almost
running into Alice. "Oh! Sorry! Have you seen Mr. Giles?" She was about
Alice's height, and her long, straight red hair swung around as its owner
bounced excitedly and breathlessly.

"Yes, Willow?" asked Giles.

"Oh, hi." She hadn't noticed him behind the counter. She tried to get her
breath back and tucked her hair behind her ear in a nervous mannerism.
"You know that project I'm helping you with, the one I said I would finish
today? I just came to say that I can't do it. Today, I mean. Tomorrow--no,
tomorrow's Saturday; I mean Monday. I can finish it on Monday, if you
like. But mom is surprising me for my birthday and said she's taking me to
the new computer exhibit at the Natural History Museum in L.A. It's
supposed to be really cool! So we stopped at school for a minute so I can
drop off my paper for English and to tell you that I wasn't coming in
today. 'Cause I didn't want you to think that I don't want to finish the
project, 'cause I do want to finish it. Is that okay?" She finally ran out
of breath and looked up at him, expectantly.

Giles blinked at her and repeated the one thing he had managed to
understand. "Today is your birthday?"

She grinned. "It's really tomorrow, but mom got tickets to the VIP opening
at the museum and that's today. Isn't that great?"

A bell rang before Giles could answer.

"Oops. Gotta go. Mom's waiting for me in the car. Bye, Mr. Giles." Willow
waved at Giles and Alice and ran out without waiting for a reply.

Giles stared at the library door, bemused. Willow Rosenberg was one of the
best students at Sunnydale High School. She excelled in every subject but
seemed to have a particular talent for computers. He, on the other hand,
could not understand the attraction. Computers were totally alien to him
and filled him with dread, yet he was required to use them as part of his
job as school librarian. Fortunately, Willow had come in to the library on
his first day, explained that she had been helping his predecessor--an old
gentleman who had been at the school for as long as anyone could
remember--with any and all computer work the library required, and had
volunteered to continue doing this for him, if he wanted her to. His
relief had been almost comical.

Since then, she had spent her free periods at the library, updating the
catalogue and doing whatever other mysterious things people did with
computers.

Giles suddenly remembered Alice--"Miss Peterson?"--but she had left while
he wasn't paying attention. He would have to find some way to talk to her
in private. She needed to know about her destiny.

- --------------------

BETSY VERA * [e-mail] * http://bentley.simplenet.com
Buffy Fanzines Premiering at Mediawest '98:
* An Alternate Viewpoint (members.tripod.com/~natmerc/avzine.html) *
* Sunnydale Slayers (www-personal.umich.edu/~mwynn/zine.html) * A Snack
Before Dinner * Spring Break Slayer Style/Sidekick Style *

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 8 May 1998 21:43:55 -0400 (EDT)
From: Betsy Vera <[e-mail]>
Subject: BUFFYFIC: "Alice, the Vampire Slayer (2/5)

"Alice, the Vampire Slayer" (2/5)

- ----------

He had found an opportunity sooner than he expected. Later, that same day,
Alice had returned to the library.

"Hi, Mr. Giles." She had seemed unsure of herself. "Is it okay if I do my
homework here? I have a free period and Mrs. Dowling said I could go to
the cafeteria or to the library. And the cafeteria's too noisy."

"Of course." He scrambled to move several piles of books from the central
table. "I'll just need to clear some space for you. I--I'm not used to
students coming here." She had caught him by surprise. Other than Willow,
who also had a free period at this time, hardly anyone came to the
library, so he had planned to spend some quiet time reading old Watcher
journals. He'd hoped to get some ideas about how best to approach the
Slayer. And here she was, and he still had no clue.

"They don't?" she sounded a little startled.

"Pardon?"

"Um...I mean...if students aren't allowed in here, I can go back to the
cafeteria--" she started edging out the door.

"No, please. I didn't mean that." He hadn't mean to sound abrupt, but her
unexpected appearance had flustered him. "Students are always allowed in
here. But most of them don't care to, apparently."

"Oh." She stood at the door, undecided. "Are you sure it's okay? I don't
want to bother you."

He smiled and tried to look more welcoming. "I'm sure. Please, come in.
You can sit here." He ushered her towards the table. "I'll be in my office
if you need anything. And, please, don't be afraid to ask. You won't be
bothering me. All right?"

She nodded, slightly reassured.

Giles busied himself reshelving books while Alice did her homework. She
was diligent and systematic, seemingly oblivious to distractions. That was
a good sign. Starting her career as a Slayer so late in life, she was
going to have a lot of learning to catch up on. The Slayer Handbook, for
one. The lore, the history, her duties; it would all be new to her. He
wondered how good she was at languages. Giles was a firm believer in
learning from primary sources, whenever possible--translations could be so
unreliable--and most of the ancient tomes of vampire history were written
in Ancient Greek and Latin. Then there was the physical training:
self-defense, weapons training....

He put the stack of books he was carrying on a table, removed his glasses,
and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He had a lot of work ahead of him, but,
before he could begin anything, he had to talk to the Slayer. Alice. He
watched her from his vantage point at the top of the stairs.

Unbeknownst to him, Alice was aware that he was watching her. He had done
that a lot in the past half hour. He'd carry a load of books to the upper
level, shelve them, stop to watch her, then repeat the process with the
next armful.

Alice prided herself on noticing what went on around her, especially when
no one was aware she was doing it. Most times, people weren't even aware
that she was in the room. Her father had been in and out of hospitals for
the past few years and her mother spent all her time worrying about him,
so Alice had learned to stay out of the way by learning the art of fading
into the background. She had been amazed at how much there was to see from
there.

Then, a few years ago, came the dreams. Nightmares about vampires.
Sometimes, the vampires killed people. Other times, they spoke to her,
told her they were waiting for her to come. After lying awake too many
nights after one of the dreams, she had taken to sneaking out her bedroom
window and going for long walks in the middle of the night. She wasn't
afraid of the dark. She knew how to avoid any people she came across in
her walks and, despite her dreams, she didn't believe in monsters. They
only existed in the movies. And in her nightmares.

A week ago, her family had moved to town so her father could start some
new treatment at Sunnydale Hospital. As soon as she could, Alice had
started exploring the town, hoping to find something interesting beneath
the sleepy suburb exterior. Boy, did she ever find it! She had seen things
late at night that puzzled her. Something was definitely going on in
Sunnydale and (1) no one seemed to know about it and (2) she had no idea
what "it" was, but she was determined to find out. If she hadn't had so
much homework to catch up on from starting the semester so late, she
would've stayed at the cafeteria today and watched. And listened. And
learned.

Instead, she had come to the library, and now she was the one being
watched, and it made her uncomfortable. She wasn't used to being noticed,
especially by adults. This librarian seemed to be the exception. There, he
was doing it again. She heard him drop a load of books on the table up
there, and now she could feel him watching her. It didn't feel threatening
or "bad" in any way, just...weird. She heard him coming down the stairs
again but, instead of returning to the book cart for another load, he went
to where she was sitting.

"Excuse me?"

Despite knowing he was there, she jumped.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," he apologized. "I was going to
put some water on for tea. Would you like some?"

"Um...y-yeah," she stammered out. "Thank you."

As he went to his office to take care of tea, she mentally kicked herself.
She wished she weren't so bad about talking to people, but she never knew
what to say.

After a few minutes, he popped his head through the door. "Would you mind
if I joined you out there?" She shook her head and he disappeared back
into the office. He came back out with a tray, set it down, sat opposite
her at the table, and started pouring.  "Cream and sugar?"

"Yes, please."

"So, have you been in Sunnydale long?" He was trying his best to make her
comfortable but, from the way she was looking down, avoiding his gaze, his
best didn't seem to be good enough. In a way, she reminded him of Willow
when they had first met. Alice seemed to be even shyer. He hoped she would
relax, eventually, the way Willow had done.

"We just moved." She spoke into her tea cup.

"Ah. I'm fairly new in town, myself. New to this country, as a matter of
fact. No response from her. He continued, regardless. "In the short time
I've been here, I've been doing some fascinating research. My particular
interest--more of a hobby, really--is the occult. Witchcraft, magic,
sorcery." He paused for effect. "Vampires."

She looked up and stared at him. He had her full attention. "Vampires?"

He met her gaze steadily. "Do you believe in the existence of vampires,
Miss Peterson?"

Her eyes widened. "Maybe," she replied, warily.

Giles broke eye contact. "More tea?"

She blinked a couple of times at the non sequitur. "Yes. Thank you."

Giles poured again and handed her a fresh cup of tea. "There are many
fascinating legends about vampires, far more interesting than what you see
in the movies, actually." He continued for a while about vampires
throughout history.

Alice listened, entranced. She loved storytellers, especially when they
really knew their subject, as he obviously did. Several times, he wandered
to the stacks to look up a reference or to illustrate a point he was
making. Eventually, he brought the subject around to vampire hunters and
someone he called, "The Slayer. Into each generation a Slayer is born, one
girl in all the world, a chosen one, one born with the strength and skill
to hunt the vampires, to stop the spread of their evil--"

"A girl? Isn't it usually an old guy called Van Helsing?" Giles'
enthusiasm was contagious and Alice had surprised herself by coming out of
her shell. She was leaning forward, elbows on the table, having an actual
conversation with an adult, as if she did that sort of thing every day.

"That is in the movies. The Slayer is always a girl."

"But how can one girl do all that by herself?"

"The Slayer is not alone. She is trained by her Watcher. The Watcher is in
charge of preparing her, physically and mentally, to fight and destroy
vampires."

"How?" She sounded skeptical.

"The Slayer has several advantages over other girls. She has superior
strength and agility. She heals faster than normal and has greater
stamina, thus being able to withstand and recover from injuries that would
incapacitate someone not so gifted. The Watcher's job is to train her to
use these gifts to the best of her abilities."

"And you say there's only one in each generation? So what happens when she
dies? There's no one to fight vampires until a new one is born and grows
up?"

"No. At all times, there are several girls around the world with the
potential to be the Slayer. When the Slayer dies, one of those girls
becomes the Slayer."

"But...how? And how does the Watcher know who she is? And how does *she*
know who she is? And--"

He raised his hand to stop her string of questions. A glance at the clock
had shown him that the period was almost over. He didn't have much time
left. He had to tell her now.

"Usually, most of the potential Slayers have been identified ahead of time
and the Watchers..." he searched in vain for the right word,
"...know...when one of those girls has become the new Slayer. However,
sometimes the Slayer is not among the known potential Slayers, so the
Watchers have to look for her."

"But how do they know where to look?"

"They don't. They look all over the world, hoping for the best. Sometimes,
like now, it takes years."

Alice stared at him. Suddenly, she didn't like where this conversation was
going. "What do you mean, "like now"?" she asked in quiet voice.

He could see her retreating behind her protective walls. He leaned forward
and spoke carefully. "Alice. Listen to me. What I just told you, about the
Slayer. It's all true. It's not a fairy tale, or a legend, or a myth. It's
fact. Do you understand?"

She nodded slowly. Her expression was unreadable.

He continued. "Vampires are real. Slayers are real. I am a Watcher. After
looking for several years, we have finally found the new Slayer and I have
been assigned to guide and train her." He paused, hoping for some sort of
reaction from her.

As Giles talked, Alice had unconsciously been leaning back into the chair,
away from the table and Giles, trying to distance herself from the topic.
Things were starting to make sense, and this frightened her. The feelings
of danger she got around the park and the cemetery, warning her away. The
way her hand had healed so quickly after she broke that glass last year.
The way she could outrun all the kids in gym at her old school.

She really, really didn't like where this conversation was going.

"Alice."

She looked up. It was hard to tell who was the more nervous of the two.

"Alice.... You are the Slayer."

Before he had finished talking, she was shaking her head. She was still
shaking it when she stood up and backed away from him, and only stopped
when she hit the counter and couldn't back away any further. She was
breathing hard, and her voice was ragged. "No, I'm not." But she was. She
*knew* she was, but she didn't want to be. She didn't want the dreams to
be true. She didn't want the monsters to be real. She just wanted to be
little Alice Peterson, the one no one ever noticed. "No, I'm not," she
repeated, hoping repeating it would make it so, but knowing it wouldn't.

Giles didn't know what to do. No one ever knew what to expect with a new
Slayer. Skepticism, of course. But...apprehension? "Alice--"

"Why me?" she whispered. "Why pick me? I'm not special."

He saw his opening. "But, you are, Alice. You're the Slayer. The only one
in all the world. That is what makes you special."

- ----------

BETSY VERA * [e-mail] * http://bentley.simplenet.com
Buffy Fanzines Premiering at Mediawest '98:
* An Alternate Viewpoint (members.tripod.com/~natmerc/avzine.html) *
* Sunnydale Slayers (www-personal.umich.edu/~mwynn/zine.html) * A Snack
Before Dinner * Spring Break Slayer Style/Sidekick Style *

------------------------------

End of buffyfic-digest V2 #170
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