Reveal
by DawnBTVS
Chapter 14
[reviews]
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Mutant Enemy, Fox, Joss, etc.
Rating: PG-13 (think Buffy show for violence/subject matter/language)
Time Frame: Season 2 nearing "Halloween"
Pairings: G/J, B/W
A/N: Internship has been a little heavy the past couple weeks so apologies for making ya'll wait.
"W-wh-what? I beg pardon?" Giles stammered, blanching as he turned to face his Slayer, currently seated on the table with her feet swinging idly. Buffy nodded her head, refusing to crack the smile she wanted at his flustered state.
"It could prove beneficial if I'm not around. Willow's a model student and she'll be easy to teach. Xander..." Buffy trailed, wincing. Giles let out an exasperated sigh, folding his arms across his chest.
He shot Buffy a glare. "Buffy, my training regiment requires diligent study and is focused upon skills of dexterity. Neither Willow nor Xander have your capabilities. I would have to drastically scale down the tasks," Giles bemoaned. Buffy frowned, suddenly aware of the possibility of Giles turning down the whole deal regardless of the bet.
"So scale down your tasks," Buffy remarked, her legs stilling. "All of you have some field experience but... what if something happens to me, again? I'm the Slayer but I'm not invincible."
Giles pursed his lips together, staring back at Buffy's narrowed eyes. "They don't have your healing abilities and as Watcher, I can't afford to be lax in my training."
"So train them like me, Giles. I can assist if you want."
Giles shook his head, walking over to the weapons cage. Giles tugged the door open and stepped inside, pulling the quarterstaff down from the wall. He walked back in front of Buffy and gazed at the staff in his hand. "This persistence of yours is admirable, but I can't go along with it, Buffy. A-a Watcher has never trained civilians before. To even ponder such a situation... the Council would be up in arms."
"So keep mum," Buffy snapped, scowling as Giles took a couple steps back, raising the quarterstaff up to chest level. Buffy eased herself off the table, falling into a defensive stance. "I'm not letting Willow get injured. You're my Watcher, Giles. You're the only one qualified."
"I'm aware," Giles stated, bobbing his head. Giles lunged forward, arcing the quarterstaff down as Buffy easily dodged it by dancing to her left. She blocked a blow with her forearm and stepped forward, a front kick pushing Giles back to give her space.
"How hard could the Council come down?" Buffy asked, falling back into a defensive posture as Giles steeled himself before charging forward with an overhead strike easily blocked.
Buffy ducked a sideswipe and Giles backed off, circling to his right forcing Buffy to move into open space. "As you know, all information that I come by from you must be reported to them in prompt fashion."
"I hope the Life and Times of Buffy Summers is making for good bedtime reading," Buffy quipped, delivering a roundhouse kick blocked by Giles' staff.
Giles ignored the remark now circling left trying to find an advantage. "Being here is a privilege, Buffy. The Council has the means to revoke my 'visitation status', as they would surely call it." Buffy frowned, giving Giles a look. Giles set the staff on the floor, using it as a prop to stand himself up. "While you may not be keen to obey orders and opt take an individualistic approach to your job, the Council pays me to do my job as Watcher."
"You said all information that I give you. You'll be training Willow and Xander because you see the fun. I hold no sway, officially. Come on, don't you want to knock Xander around some?" Buffy pleaded, ducking her head slightly, and trying her best puppy dog expression. Giles shook his head, lifting his staff up and holding it at chest height. "I-I'll, um, I'll make it worth your while!" Buffy piped up, backing up towards Giles' office. Giles lowered his staff, his skepticism of the offer clear.
"This should be comical."
Buffy pouted and folded her arms over her chest in indignation. "I'll have you know, my deal is, uh, very lucrative."
"Does it pertain to Ms. Calendar?" Giles asked, allowing a pleased smile to come forth at Buffy's quickly covered look of surprise. Buffy bit her lip, shaking her head.
"N-not at all. In-in fact, she never even entered the equation. My deal is that, um, for training Willow and Xander, I'll get that book you wanted," Buffy stated, eyebrows creased in worry. Giles walked towards the table, resting the quarterstaff in front of the few splayed books. He turned towards Buffy and rested his hands on his lower back.
"I must assume you're talking about '777 and Other Qabalistic Writings of Aleister Crowley'?"
Buffy, spotting an opening, nodded her head vigorously. "Yeah, the 777 and Cobbamystic, um, that one."
Giles nodded his head, taking a step closer, giving Buffy a disproving look as the blonde swallowed, lowering her eyes. "Surely, my own Slayer would know that I have that book sitting on my office desk. As a matter of fact, if one were observant enough, they could see the cover through the door," Giles pointed out, staring past Buffy's shoulder at the door in question. Buffy winced, not bothering to sneak a look back, knowing Giles was right. "However," Giles continued, watching as Buffy lifted her eyes. "A colleague of mine once wrote a text that, I'm remiss to say, has been unavailable in my collection for some years. If I give you the title, I trust you can hand it in to me at some future date?"
Buffy smiled softly. "No better a bloodhound that can sleuth than me." Giles frowned, trying to process Buffy's words in his head as Buffy stepped around Giles. "Not even the hounds at Baskerville," Buffy remarked with a grin. "I'll give Will and Xand the news. You just get everything set."
Giles turned, taking his quarterstaff in hand, and lifting it in the air to acknowledge Buffy's comment. Hearing the doors open as footsteps retreated, Giles sighed, laying the staff back down on the table. "Better not be a hidden camera around," Giles huffed, his eyes scanning the ceiling of the library.
~~~BTVS~~~
Giles was holding his quarterstaff at chest level while Xander's grip on his own was white knuckled. The boy was sporting a red Sunnydale High shirt and red basketball shorts as he lifted his quarterstaff up towards Giles. "Okay. Lay it on me, G man."
Giles scowled at the nickname and swung his staff forward, not helping the fact he slowed it down and was easily blocked by Xander. Buffy frowned. "Giles, you said you wouldn't hold back."
"You're holding back? I'm a man. That holding back stuff is for girls," Xander remarked before taking in the arched eyebrow from Buffy and soft glare from Willow. "Girls that aren't Slayers or Witches," Xander added.
Willow and Buffy shared a look as Giles swung overhead, Xander's block managing to glance the blow away but Xander's grunt was clear. He had fallen on his back. Giles sighed as Xander scrambled back to his feet to hide his embarrassment. "Xander, keep the weight on the balls of your feet and your shoulders square to your opponent."
"Right, square. Um... why?"
Giles pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation and shot Buffy a look. Buffy just gave a small shrug and turned her attention back to the book she was scouring. "If you get hit, you can still maintain your balance. It also allows you the advantage of attacking your foe if it should shift its balance when in combat."
Xander nodded his head, taking several swings at Giles who deflected them easily before tagging Xander in his ribs. Xander gasped and stumbled towards the table. "Buffy," he grunted. "These protective suits don't help much."
Buffy gave a small close-lipped smile in return. "I've never needed one."
Xander gave a small huff, turning back to face Giles. "Okay, that's your third free gimme shot. Now, it's time for the fun and games to, ugh," Xander grunted, falling flat on his back after another shot to his chest.
Giles allowed himself a small smile, pleased to finally be on the giving end of the pain. "You were saying?" he asked as Xander pulled himself back to his feet, slightly wheezing. "Considering you are a civilian, defense will be your best offense. No need being killed. Anticipation is key," Giles said, swinging his staff overhead as Xander just managed to dodge it, quickly circling so he was once again square to Giles. "Focus your attention on the shift of weight in the legs," Giles remarked, a side swing blocked as Xander's eyes were locked on Giles' legs, "But don't forget the experience and technical skill." With that, Giles feigned another side swing, instead shifting his quarterstaff into a vertical position, before sweeping Xander off his feet with a well placed shot to the back of his knees from the other side.
"Hard to forget when I'm getting bounced around the floor," Xander gasped, rising to his feet slower this time. Giles backed off before raising his quarterstaff, waiting for Xander to get into his defensive stance.
Buffy arched an eyebrow as she watched Willow's hand move over the legal pad in front of her. "You're taking notes?"
Willow's eyes flickered from the sparring to the words she was writing down and back. "Of course. I'm gonna minimize falling on my butt as much as I can. Unlike you, I don't have healing and being covered in bruises isn't exactly sexy."
"Taking the bull by the horns here. You're really looking forward to the training, aren't you?" Buffy asked. She recognized Willow's drive to ace anything put in front of her. Willow stopped writing, flashing a quick smile at Buffy.
"I thought it over. It's unfair for us to rely on you and we have barely touched the surface of what could be out there. If Xander and me are gonna back you up on patrols, than you deserve the best quality backup a Slayer can get."
"Thanks. Although it'll be nice to have a sparring partner again. Angel and I haven't made big with the training, lately." Buffy ducked her eyes back to the book as Willow exhaled softly.
Willow placed her pen on the pad and looked at Buffy. "Are you regretting an us? Not that us has done much."
"No," Buffy exclaimed, quickly snuffing that fire out. "It's just... I don't know. Like a middle eastern conflict in my head right now."
"Oh," whispered Willow quietly. Her hand quickly resumed scribbling as Buffy grimaced, furrowing her eyebrows together in confusion. "You might want to read something else," Willow warned as Buffy stared down at the open pages in sudden concern. "That's a black book, Buffy. Although I am curious as to how you got your hands on it, some of those spells can be enacted just through reading them."
Buffy quickly shut the book and pushed it away. She cracked a close-lipped smile at Willow, the redhead avoiding the blonde. "Turning into a fairy wasn't first on my try out spells list," Buffy joked, not surprised at seeing Willow's lack of response. Buffy closed her eyes and bit her lip, wondering how she could be anymore of a jerk considering she had initiated the first step.
An exuberant cheer arose as Giles winced, stepping back after the shot to his kidneys. Buffy and Willow both glanced over as Xander walked over to them, sporting a very pleased grin. "Check it out," Xander remarked, pointing at Giles clutching his lower back. "Score one for the civilians, Will."
"Mmm. As opposed to Giles' six I think it is now?" Buffy commented dryly. Xander frowned and gestured at her with a finger.
"Where's the support, Buff?"
Buffy nodded her head. "You're right. Rah, rah, sis boom bah," Buffy deadpanned, adding in a small fist pump at the end. Xander turned back to Giles as Buffy peeked at Willow, catching the redhead's quick grin.
Buffy smiled softly to herself as Giles straightened back up. Buffy rose from her chair, crouching down to look over the books lined up on the shelf. "Okay, Xander. I want you to charge me but remember that defense is your first priority. Anticipate my reactionary moves and look for an opening."
"Anticipate," Xander echoed, thrusting himself forward with an angled swing over his shoulder, the parry continuing for several moments with the thwack of meeting staffs echoing throughout the empty library. With a grunt, Xander fell face forward on the ground as Giles pulled his staff back.
"Balance, Xander."
"Balance, anticipation... yeah, yeah," Xander groused, getting back to his feet.
Giles nodded his head and glanced at the clock. Xander's shirt was soaked in sweat and Giles gave him a brief once over. "It's been almost an hour."
"Fifty nine minutes and twenty three seconds," Willow and Buffy chimed up simultaneously. Giles gave them both a weary look as Xander nodded his head in thanks at the girls.
"I know where you keep the defibrillators."
Giles lifted his staff, waiting as Xander stepped forward, staff raised in response. With quickness, Giles launched himself forward with an overhead swing, blocked by Xander. Swing. Block. Swing. Block. Xander faked a swing and shifted the staff, yanking it in the opposite direction to mirror Giles' earlier strike. He caught Giles in the ribs but found his staff pinned and suddenly pulled out of his grip. Giles swiftly turned his staff and held it at Xander's throat, giving him a look. "Congratulations. You're dead. Congratulations to you, Buffy or you, Willow because I'm sure there was something else at work besides the honor of training for self improvement," Giles commented, leveling a look at Buffy who winced, than smiled her best smile. "I'll get the defibrillators."
"Thanks, G man," Xander said, wheezing as he stumbled into a chair next to Willow.
Willow gave him a skeptical look, than shot Buffy a frown. "I'll never be looked at the same, huh?"
Buffy gave a knowing smile. "You'll be as sexy as Audrey Hepburn."
Willow creased an eyebrow, trying to figure out if looking like Audrey Hepburn would be a positive or not. Xander nudged her shoulder. "What was the official time?"
"One hour and four minutes. And thirty three seconds," Willow answered, before turning back to Buffy. "W-well, Audrey was elegant. So, it can't be bad, right?"
Buffy gave a small shrug, trying to hide her worry at Willow's possible reaction. "Nothing to worry about. You'll love it."
"Oh, boy," Willow mumbled, wincing at the clothing choices running through her head.
Xander gave Willow a pat on the shoulder. "Have faith in Buffy's taste in clothes. Giles! Where are those defibrillators!" Xander called, lurching out of his chair to walk towards the office. Buffy and Willow exchanged a look, neither saying anything before returning to their own tasks.
~~~BTVS~~~
Buffy opened her eyes, curious as to who would be knocking on her window at this time of night. With a soft scowl upon seeing that it was mid morning, Buffy threw her blanket off and walked over to the window. "Angel?" she asked, waiting for the vampire to enter. Angel limped in, gracing Buffy with a small smile before stretching his hands out.
"Found something useful. Seems the demons, the Russian ones, have decided to take amble over early." Buffy took the chain out of his hand, concerned at the blood. Her eyes flicked to his as Angel caught the questioning look. "Don't worry. Not mine. Just a bit of a sprain but no penetration."
The chain was silver with the circular medallion swinging. Buffy held the medallion in place, the logo faint and a little rusted but still able to be made out. The depiction showed a face with teeth bared and two horns curled on the head. Beneath was a caption of something but Buffy had no idea what it read. Couldn't demons just use English like normal people? "Is this Russian?"
"I don't think so. Giles can look at it and you said to come with you if I found anything."
Buffy nodded her head, well aware that Angel was now sitting on the edge of her bed. Buffy brushed a hand through her tangled hair and glanced at the window. "Well, um, thanks. I'll get Giles to look at this in the morning. How many were there?"
"Just the one. I decapitated it but it wasn't the leader," Angel remarked, rising to his feet and taking a couple steps towards Buffy. Buffy stiffened slightly and backed away from the window towards her bed.
"The one I killed didn't have this."
"Maybe it came over earlier than planned and got lost."
Buffy frowned. "Lost? There's a fun thought."
Angel gave a closed-lipped smile and nodded his head. "Not all demons are intelligent. Makes your job a little safer though."
"Not safe enough," Buffy returned, glancing at the slight tear in her jacket. Angel nodded his head before stepping over to the window. Buffy turned a little startled that Angel had disappeared before shrugging her shoulders. "Great. Back to the disappearing, cryptic act."
TBC