Ages Apart
by dawnm
Meeting The Gang
[reviews]
Title: Ages Apart
Author's Note: Please read and review. I'd love to know what you think of the story. Also, feel free to email me with any questions or comments if you like. Email: dawnm92@yahoo.com.
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Chapter 4 - Meeting The Gang
As they approached the school, Willow explained that there was no school today because it was Saturday, so the only people they should see were Giles and the gang.
"It's best if we don't tell them about your situation." Buffy said seriously. "Just follow our lead. You don't have to say anything." Xena and Gabrielle both nodded in agreement as Willow led the group through the library doors.
"Ah, good of you to join us." Giles said, addressing Buffy as she entered.
"Sorry we're late, Giles, but we ran into some friends." Buffy said, gesturing to the warrior and bard. "Xena, Gabrielle...this is Giles, Xander, Cordelia, and Oz."
"Who's he?" Xena asked, gesturing to the dark-haired man that Buffy had neglected to mention in her introductions.
"Oh, he's not important." Buffy said with a playful smile.
"Wesley Wyndam-Price" Wesley said in his typical pretentious way, stepping forward to offer his hand to Xena. She looked down at him unimpressed before reluctantly extending her hand.
Wesley took her hand and shook it. Xena followed his lead and he visibly winced at the warrior's firm grip before reclaiming his hand and lamely retreating to the other side of the room. Willow and Gabrielle watched the scene, snickering together in one corner while Buffy gave Xena an approving nod. Giles and the rest of the gang looked on as the new arrivals pulled up some chairs and settled in around the table.
"It's nice to meet you all." Gabrielle offered, smiling.
"Likewise." Giles replied. "Now then, I called this meeting to discuss the mayor...Buffy are you sure your friends here wouldn't be more comfortable outside? We wouldn't want to bore them, now would we?" He added, not wanting to give away Buffy's identity to the two newcomers.
"It's okay, Giles." Buffy assured him. "They already know I'm the slayer."
"Perfect." Giles replied with some annoyance. "Is there anyone left in this town who doesn't know?" He added, pulling off his glasses and pinching the bridge of his nose.
"It's no big. Really, Giles. A vamp attacked Gabrielle and they saw me stake him." Buffy explained. "And Xena here can hold her own in a fight, so I thought maybe she could help us while she's here."
"Well...all right then, I guess we should get on with the meeting." Giles said, continuing on. "So, here's what we know. It appears that the mayor cannot be killed between now and his ascension. And to make matters worse, Faith has switched sides. She's working with the mayor."
"Who is Faith?" Gabrielle asked, leaning over to whisper quietly to Willow.
"She's the other slayer." Willow whispered back.
"I thought you said there was only one." Gabrielle replied, confused.
"It's complicated...I'll have to explain later." Willow whispered back.
Giles continued. "We need to learn all that we can about this...Ascension, what it involves, when it will take place, and so on. We have to find a way to stop the mayor. Meanwhile, I urge you all to be very careful. Faith may have been your friend at one time, but now..." He paused.
"What Giles is trying to say," Buffy interjected, "is that Faith is a real head case, total loony-bin material."
"Well, yes, I guess that's one way of putting it Buffy." Giles responded, then addressed the group once again. "That being the case, you should avoid her if possible. She is...unpredictable and quite dangerous."
"So, what do you need us to do, G-man?" Xander piped in.
"Research." Giles answered. "We need to find any information we can about the Ascension."
"Great! Research." Xander replied, with mock enthusiasm, heading for the stacks.
"If that's all, then I really should be going." Cordelia added, standing up and straightening her skirt. "I've got some shopping to do."
"It was nice meeting you...Cordelia, isn't it?" Gabrielle said, politely.
"Yes. Nice meeting you too." Cordelia replied looking down at the bard. "Too bad about your outfit though. You must shop at the same store the little dweeb here shops at." She added, gesturing to Willow while taking her parting shot.
Gabrielle looked slightly taken aback, caught off guard by the cruel comment. Xena stood then, and approached Cordelia, stopping mere inches away and looking down at the much smaller brunette. "That wasn't very nice, now was it? I believe that you owe my friends here an apology." The warrior princess stated slowly.
"She's not worth it, Xena." Gabrielle assured her.
"Yeah, that's just Cordy being Cordy." Willow agreed, shrugging her shoulders.
Cordelia's normally calm, confident exterior seemed to betray her for a moment under Xena's intimidating glare, but she quickly recovered. At Gabrielle and Willow's prodding, Xena took a step back as if dismissing the young brunette.
Cordelia rolled her eyes and turned to Buffy, "What's her childhood trauma?" She asked in true Cordelia style.
"You're on your own in this one, Cordy." Buffy answered, shaking her head at Cordelia's thoughtless decision to challenge the warrior.
With that, Cordelia sidestepped the tall woman in front of her without another word and made her way toward the doors. "Nice girl." Xena remarked as Cordelia left.
"She can be a little hard to take sometimes, but she's not all bad." Buffy explained.
"Well, Buffy, if that's all, then you and I have a great deal of work to do." Giles interrupted. "You know you've missed two training sessions already this week." He pointed out.
"Alright, let's do it then." Buffy agreed. "But I'm telling you...I'm in great shape."
"What do you want us to do?" Gabrielle asked.
"I don't know. You can watch if you want to. And maybe Willow can explain more to you about the situation with the mayor." Buffy suggested.
"Sure, Buff." Willow agreed.
While the rest of the group settled in one corner of the library intent on research, Giles and Buffy pulled out some mats and sparring equipment and Willow led Xena and Gabrielle to some nearby chairs and began explaining in more detail about the mayor.
Wesley approached Buffy and Giles. "I can handle this." He insisted, dismissing Giles. Giles stopped and looked at Buffy, who made no comment, but looked at Wesley unimpressed. "I am your watcher now, Buffy." He said. "It's my job to oversee your training."
"Fine." Buffy said. "Put these on." She added, handing him the protective pads that Giles usually wore.
"Excellent." Wesley responded, glancing at Giles who retreated to a nearby chair to watch.
Gabrielle listened intently as Willow explained that the mayor was some type of demon planning to take over Sunnydale. She told them some of their history with Faith and how she was now working for the mayor. Xena listened too, all the while watching Buffy's training. Not one to sit on the sidelines for long, Xena was growing antsy by the time Willow's story was winding down.
"Let's take a break." Wesley offered, clearly out of breath after being on the receiving end of several minutes of the slayer's enthusiastic punches and kicks. Even with the pads, he couldn't handle Buffy's assault for long.
"I'm fine, Wes. We can keep going." Buffy said with a smile. "I'm just starting to get warmed up actually."
"No, really." Wesley insisted, gasping for air. "Let's take a break."
"If you're up for it, we could do a little sparring." Xena suggested, looking hopeful, stepping up to Buffy as Wesley collapsed in a nearby chair. "I'm not much for sitting around." Xena admitted.
"That's an excellent idea." Wesley said, thankful to have a replacement. "Just take it easy on her Buffy."
Xena laughed at that. "Don't worry. I can hold my own." She assured them.
"Okay." Buffy agreed. "This could be fun."
Willow and Gabrielle watched as the two faced off. Xena waited, allowing Buffy to make the first move. Buffy finally took the initiative and offered up a series of soft kicks that Xena easily blocked.
"I'm impressed." The slayer said genuinely before continuing her assault. This time, she came at the warrior with a punch. Xena caught it midair and flipped the slayer, who landed on her back on the mat at the warrior's feet. Willow gasped in surprise.
"Nice moves." Buffy said, accepting the hand Xena offered. On her feet once again, Buffy noted several new pairs of eyes watching the events from across the room.
"I know you can do better than that." Xena commented. "I've seen for myself what you can do. Stop holding back. Trust me...I can take it."
"Super slayer strength, remember?" Buffy pointed out. "I don't want to hurt you."
"I'd like to see you try, little girl." Xena challenged with a wicked laugh.
That set the slayer into motion. She came at the warrior with a solid roundhouse kick, which Xena again blocked, though with more difficulty this time around. She followed up with a quick series of punches. The warrior princess managed to block all but one that landed squarely in her midsection, sending Xena back a step.
Buffy stopped then, worried that she had gone too far and hurt Xena. "Are you okay?" she asked.
"Oh I'm just fine." Xena answered with a gleam in her eye. "Nice shot by the way."
"Thanks. Maybe we should call it a day, huh?" Buffy offered.
"Oh no. We're just getting started." Xena insisted. "It'll take more than one punch to do me in."
"Your friend...she's amazing." Gabrielle said to Willow. "Most of the men I've seen can't even touch Xena in a fight."
"Yeah, Buffy's the best. A lot of people underestimate her. They think because she's small or because she's a girl that she's no threat. Big mistake underestimating Buffy. She's fought some of the biggest, meanest demons you can imagine. She's saved my life more than once too."
"I know what you mean. Xena's always fighting impossible odds and winning. And she looks out for me too. She's saved me more times than I can count. We're incredibly lucky to have friends like them." Gabrielle mused.
"You're so right." Willow agreed. "I've only known Buffy for two and a half years and it feels like I've known her forever."
Nodding her head in understanding, Gabrielle said thoughtfully, "Xena and I have traveled together for just over a year now, but I can hardly remember what my life was like before I met her."
The hacker and bard turned their attention back to their friends just in time to see Xena make her move toward the slayer -- two punches followed by a series of kicks, all of which Buffy cleanly blocked. Buffy's counter-attack fared no better as the warrior princess blocked the assault with apparent ease.
Wesley, still trying to regain control of his breathing, watched in complete awe of the two women in front of him. After a few minutes of watching the two trade blows, neither one able to best the other, he called the sparring to a halt.
"Yes, I think that's quite enough for today." Giles said taking the reigns from Wesley again. He looked from Buffy to her beautiful dark-haired sparring partner. "Buffy, might I ask, exactly how did you two meet?" Giles asked curiously.
"Oh, we're old friends." Buffy said. "I'm sure I told you about her."
"No. I don't recall you ever mentioning Xena before." Giles replied. "I think I would remember that." He insisted.
"Well, anyway, Xena and Gabrielle don't live around here. They're from...Illinois. I met them there when I was visiting my aunt."
"Yeah. We're just...visiting for a few days." Xena offered. "So, what's next?" She added, changing the subject.
"Well, I think they've got the research under control here." Buffy said, "So, why don't Willow and I show you two around Sunnydale. What do you say, Will? You up for it?"
"Yeah, sure. That sounds like fun."
"Great. Let's book." Buffy said, heading for the door. "We'll talk to you later Giles."
"Oh, well, okay Buffy. I'll let you know if we find anything here." Giles said.
"Hey, Buff...will we see you gals at the Bronze tonight? Dingoes are playing, right Oz?" Xander asked.
"Yeah, we're on tonight." Oz confirmed.
"We wouldn't miss it. Would we, Will?" Buffy said, looping her arm through Willow's.
"Nope. We'll be there." Willow agreed as Buffy pulled her toward the library doors with Xena and Gabrielle following.
On their way across the schoolyard, Buffy turned to Willow. "I feel the need for more sugar than the human body can handle. What do you say we stop for mochas?"
"What are mochas?" Gabrielle asked.
"Mochas? Well...mochas can't be explained." Buffy said matter-of-factly.
"Yeah..." Willow agreed. "More chocolatey goodness than you can imagine. I can't believe you've never had one. I mean, I guess I can believe it. I'm sure they didn't have mochas 2000 years ago." She said, with an adorable smile. "But still, it's hard to imagine life without mochas."
"That settles it." Buffy said, steering the group toward The Espresso Pump. "While you two are here, we'll make sure you get to experience some of the great things about life in 1999...starting with mochas."
"That's a really nice gesture, but what about our little problem?" Xena asked, preoccupied, as usual, with getting some work done.
"Don't worry. After we get our mocha fix, we can head back to my house and get right to work on it." Willow offered.
Gabrielle recognized the tension in the warrior. "Come on, Xena. Live a little." The bard urged, putting her arm around Xena. "It'll be fun. Besides, you can always worry when we get back home. When will we ever have another chance like this? We get to experience life in the future. It's an incredible gift if you think about it." Gabrielle concluded.
Xena looked unconvinced. "Just try to relax and have a little fun. For me?" Gabrielle requested, meeting her best friend's blue eyes.
"All right, you win. I'll try." Xena conceded, unable to resist Gabrielle's infectious enthusiasm.
---------------------------------------------- Continued in Chapter 5