DISCLAIMER!!!! Buffy, Giles, Xander, Willow, and all the characters, from "Buffy theVampire Slayer" aren't mine. They belong to Joss and Mutant Enemy. I'm jealous, but what can I do? All other characters, and the story itself are the sole property of ME, and my imagination. Please send all comments on the story to ME! Thank you and come again!
Buffy winced as pain shot up her right arm. "Well I'm always open to others opinions" she said through clenched teeth.
The Eddie leaned in close. "An open mind," he said quietly into her ear, his breath smelled faintly of cigarettes and mint gum. "How original."
When his head was just a few inches away, Buffy snapped her head back, hitting him on the bridge of the nose. "Well I'm nothing if not original," the Slayer said as her arm was set free and her opponent staggered back.
When she turned around, Buffy saw that the dark-haired boy had backed away and was holding his nose. "Nice shot," he said as he inspected his injured proboscis. He took his hands away and smiled at her. "You almost broke it."
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Buffy said sarcastically. "Next time I'll be sure to try harder,"
Eddie raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Next time? Don't tell my you're quitting already!" With that he lunged at her, arms outstretched to grab her.
Buffy dodged out of his way and spun around with an elbow that h it the boy in the middle of his back. Buffy followed the elbow with a sharp kick to the stomach. "Not by a long shot, buddy!" as she stared down at the doubled over youth. The Slayer moved to finish off the intruder with a kick to the face.
"Good, cause I'm not even warmed up yet!" The male slayer stood up straight and caught Buffy's foot as it came toward him. His right hand shot out, hitting the Slayer in the solarplexus and knocking the breath out of her. He dropped her leg, spun around and hit her with the back of his left hand, causing her to see stars.
"Ok, that hurt." Buffy muttered as she tried to clear her vision. This guy is playing for keeps. Well so can I, she thought as her attacker came at her again. The stranger brought his left leg around fast, hitting her in the ribs. Buffy took the blow and answered back with one of her own. Off balance, the boy started to fall toward the large table in the center of the library. Before he could steady himself, Buffy hit him with a hard right hand to the face. Then a kick to the ribs. Followed quickly by a knee to the stomach.
Eddie found himself leaning against a bookcase, dazed and in pain. Ok she want's to play rough. I can do rough. He straightened his body and waited till the blond-haired girl came close enough to hit him again. When Buffy tried to hit him with a roundhouse to the face, Eddie ducked, grabbed her leg and hurled her through the air and over the table toward the weapons locker.
Buffy landed hard on her back. She looked around and saw Eddie coming slowly around the far side of the table, his eyes alert and slight smile on his lips. "You ok? You want to stop?" he asked, the smile fading slightly.
Buffy looked around her and took in her surroundings in a second. She saw the stake she had taken from her purse on the other side of the table. Too far. He'll catch me before I get half way to it. Behind her was the weapons locker, full of all sorts of things she could use beat the crap out of the boy who had thrown her clear across the room. Bow, mace, sword, stakes, crossbow... Buffy thought up her plan in a moment. She started to get up and then fell back farther into the locker. "You're good." Buffy said as she looked up at her opponent. "You're strong, maybe as strong as me."
Eddie watched her as she tried to get up again. "But I don't give up that easily." She told him as she pulled herself up, using the door as leverage. "Cause you see, I have something you don't."
The young boy smiled again. "Really? Like what?" he asked. "A broken rib? Sprained ankle? Really, come on give it up! Then we can talk until my Watcher and Mr. Giles get here." His voice was soft. Mocking but almost comforting at the same time.
His Watcher? The Slayer thought, what the hell is this guy on? "You're a funny guy, really you are, but I don't think so." She said instead. "'Cause, you see, that thing that I have and you don't?" Buffy stood up straight and back flipped into the back of the weapons locker, flicked the crossbow into the air with her foot and caught it. "Is this."
Eddie saw the crossbow in the girl's hands and smiled a confident grin. "Oh, and I guess this is the part where I back away and wait until your Watcher gets here, so the two of you can figure out who I am and what I'm doing here, right?"
Buffy began to walk out of the locker, crossbow aimed at the stranger's chest. "Well give the boy a gold star, he figured it out on the first try! Now start on the backing away part."
Eddie's smiled disappeared. It totally changed his face. One moment he was a cocky, grinning teenager, the next he was as cold as a statue. "No," he said, his voice as cold as his face.
"Ok, maybe you don't understand the concept," the Slayer told her opponent. " You see, I have a crossbow. You don't. That means I get to tell you what to do. Right now that means you go and stand on the other side of the table." She realigned the aim of the crossbow so that it was aimed at his heart.
"I understand the concept completely." Eddie said as he began to walk toward Buffy. "What you don't understand is the situation. I'm not going to go and stand on the other side of that table, because you have that crossbow. I'm going to walk over there and take that crossbow from you, because you have that crossbow." He walked toward her slowly, arms at his sides. "You know why? Because you don't have the balls to use it on me. I'm unarmed, I'm not a vampire. You can't kill me in cold blood can you?" He was almost half way to her. "Can you?"
Buffy watched as the boy walked toward her, his voice totally calm. She saw in his eyes that he believed what he was saying. He's crazed! "Ok, stop where you are! If you don't, I'll pull this trigger and end whatever delusional life you think you have."
Eddie smiled again. This time there was no humor in it. It was a dead smile. A smile that showed just how much he took her warning seriously. "I don't think so." He kept walking toward her.
Just when Buffy was about to warn him again, the Library doors burst open. Giles saw the scene and shouted, "Buffy don't!"
She was so surprised by the interruption, that her hands convulsed and she pulled the trigger.
The arrow shot through the air and hit Eddie straight in the chest with a hollow thud. A surprised look settled on his face. He looked down at the arrow imbedded in his chest and smiled. "You did it!" Then he fell back and closed his eyes.
Giles and Sidney were almost at the Library. Both were slightly out of breath from their race across the school. "God, I hope Eddie doesn't hurt your Slayer," Sidney said as they reached the final hallway leading to the Library.
Giles turned to his friend. "Buffy can take care of herself. I'm more worried what she will do to your Slayer."
"Your Buffy isn't in the habit of wearing bullet proof vests, is she?"
Giles almost stopped in his tracks. "You mean to tell me that your Eddie has a gun?"
Sidney nodded, his pace never faltering. "Probably more then one."
"My God!" Giles muttered as he quickened his stride.
They had almost reached the Library when Xander and Willow came running up to them. "Hey, wait up!" Willow said as they caught up to the two older men.
"Boy, you guys are fast for a couple of old guys!" Xander said when they all stood in front of the Library doors.
Both men ignored the young pair as they burst through the doors of the Library. The first thing Giles saw was Buffy aiming a crossbow at a dark dressed young man who was walking toward her. Both of them looked slightly battered, and the Library was in disarray. "Buffy, don't!"
The Slayer practically jumped out of her skin at the sound of his voice. The crossbow fired and the arrow sailed through the air and hit the young man square in the chest. "You did it!" the boy said before falling to the ground.
"Holy shit!" Xander exclaimed when he saw the scene. "What the hell happened!"
"Buffy! Are you ok?" Willow said as she rushed to her friend.
Before anyone could reach her, Buffy slid to the ground and stared at the floor. "I warned him." She said more to herself then to anyone else. "I told him to back away. He didn't. I had no choice!" The last comment was directed to the newly arrived group.
Willow sat down beside the blond-haired girl and held her hands. "It's not your fault, Buffy. You had no way of knowing that he was a Slayer."
Buffy looked up at her red-haired friend, tears starting to come to her eyes. "He was a Slayer! I thought he was nuts. You know, crazed!" She stared up at Giles. "I thought he was just trying to throw me off. Slayer's are supposed to be girls only!"
Before Giles could answer her, she noticed Sidney staring at the body of Eddie, his face expressionless. "Were you... were you his Watcher?" she asked, her voice trembling a little.
Sidney continued to look at body on the floor. "I still am his Watcher." His voice more annoyed then anything else.
"What?" both Giles and Buffy in unison.
"I said I still am his Watcher, and right now I'm getting very mad at my Slayer." Now anger started to creep into his speech.
Giles walked over to his long time friend. "I know this is a tremendous shock to you Sidney..."
Sidney kicked Eddie hard in the ribs. "Get up this instant, Eddie! You're scaring Buffy."
The body lay still for a moment. Then Eddie opened his eyes. "Her name is Buffy?"
"What the hell!" Buffy practically shouted. "You're supposed to be dead!"
Eddie got up from the floor, brushing the dust on his coat. "Yeah I get that a lot." The zombie slayer noticed that everyone but Sidney looked amazed. Then he saw that he still had the arrow protruding from his chest. He gave it a tug and it came out intact. He threw it on the table nonchalantly and smiled at the group. "You've gotta love body armor."
"What?" Buffy said as she walked toward him.
Eddie opened his coat and then his shirt. Underneath was a dull black material. "Never enter a Hellmouth without it."
Buffy stopped and stared at him for a moment. Then she marched over to him and slugged him with all her strength in the face. Eddie swayed for a second, then fell to the ground. He didn't get up this time.
Sidney looked down at his protegée and then back up at Buffy. "Well done," he told her.
