New Allies

This is my first attempt at a fanfic, so please, bear with me. Going on what I've read off other fanfics, I think I have to write a list of what belongs to other people. Every character (and the logo above), except Jasper, is a possession of Joss Whedon and has nothing to do with me. Also, all characters in this story are fiction and any resemblance to any one, living or dead, are purely coincidental. And now, on with the story....

*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\

Another beautiful Friday morning. All of the students of Sunnydale High were already excited with the pre-weekend rush. As the Scooby gang of Buffy, Xander, Willow and Oz headed toward the library, their separate conversations became clear, even over the roar of the kids around them.

"So," Willow asked Oz, "what do you want to do for our anniversary this weekend"

"I don't know," Oz replied, "we haven't done the traditional 'mini-golf' date yet. That would be fun. There's a conspiracy though, because every time I putt, I land in the water."

"Your ball goes in the water every time?" Willow inquired, puzzled.

"No, me. I always step in a puddle, even on a sunny day."

"Yeah, well, that's usually a group date thing," Willow added. "I went golfing with Buffy once. But her mom was dating a robot...and he nearly killed us and...I don't want to talk about it anymore."

Buffy and Xander's conversation seemed to be on a more familiar subject.

"So, how's the whole slayage thing going nowadays?" Xander questioned.

"It's actually odd." Buffy remarked. "Paranormal activity has been slow lately. You'd think all the vampires would be in a rush with Spring Break coming so soon. Kill everyone before they leave."

"Kinda like a fire sale." Xander quirked. "Get it before it's gone."

"Exactly. I'm almost getting bored." Buffy added.

"We could probably fix that." Xander said hopefully.

At this point, Willow and Oz had decided to join Buffy and Xander's chat.

"Do you think you could join us for a miniature golf night tonight?" Willow asked.

"Tonight? As in night time? The time the 'Phantom of the Library' sets aside for graveyard prowling?" Buffy uttered.

"Yeah, hey, what's up with Giles?" Oz implored. "I haven't seen him leave the library for days."

Buffy replied with her usual sarcasm. "Bookboy is freaked 'cause it's slow city. Totally wigged. So, he's busy checking the books."

Xander was about to reply but something made him stop in his tracks. Whatever caused it was contagious, because Oz halted at the exact same moment. They both stared down the hallway. When Buffy and Willow looked to see what they were so intrigued by, they recognized immediately the cause.

Coming towards them was what Buffy could only describe as a striking brunette. She had the looks that made other girls sick with envy. Add to that fact that she was wearing an incredibly short blue dress, and Buffy and Willow knew they had totally lost Xander and Oz to this unknown stranger.

The girl walked right up to Buffy. "Excuse me," she asked in a strong accent, "but where's the admissions office? I'm trying to apply for enrollment here, but I'm afraid I'm lost."

At that moment, Xander regained his ability to speak, and, in his best sex-symbol voice, remarked, "We are all lost. And I shall be your unerring and fearless guide."

Buffy couldn't take this kind of acting from Xander. "Back off slobber geek," she told him, completely flattening what was left of his ego. Then she turned back to the girl. "It's understandable that you're lost. This place can be really confusing the first time around. Okay, just follow this hallway. Close to the end, you'll see a group of losers hanging around a door with a bunch of 'writing' on it. That's Principal Snyder's office. The door after it is the admissions office."

"Thank you so much," the girl said gratefully. "That helps me a lot. My name is Jasper White."

She extended her hand to Buffy, who in turn shook it. "Buffy Summers," she remarked, then added in her special way, "Welcome to the home of the Fighting Razorbacks."

Jasper smiled at her. "Thanks." She then motioned towards the guys standing there, gawking at her. "Who are your friends?"

"Oh yeah," Buffy said, "this is Willow, Xander and Oz."

"Hello," Jasper remarked with a smile still on her face.

All Xander and Oz could do was nod in acknowledgment. "Hi," Willow replied. "I've never known a Jasper before, especially a girl named Jasper. I had a jasper pendant once, but I guess that's not the same."

Everyone just looked at Willow like she was insane.

Buffy broke the momentary silence. "So, if you get in, maybe we'll have some classes together."

"Yeah," Jasper related. "And maybe we could be friends."

Through all of this excitement- Buffy's making a new pal, Xander and Oz's growing infatuation, and Willow's indifference to the girl before her- no one noticed that on the glass of the trophy case behind them, the images of Buffy, Xander, Oz and Willow mimicked their actions completely, but there was no reflection for Jasper.

*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\

After school, the group got together in the square, and there was only one topic of conversation this time.

"So," Buffy inquired, "what do you think of Jasper?"

Willow responded immediately. "She seems nice. But don't you think it's uncanny she's transferring so close to the end of the year?"

"Actually, I think it's foundd with a double 'd'." Oz remarked. Now it was his turn to be stared at by everyone. "Fun and odd put together," he said, trying to save himself. "Foundd with a...never mind." And he gave up.

Xander restarted the original conversation. "Maybe her parents had to move or something."

"Don't you think you're being a little weird Will?" Buffy asked with concern for her friend.

"Yeah," Willow admitted. "I think it's just paranoia. I get a lot of that lately."

Just then, Cordelia walked up to join the group. Dressed in her usual style, she got the same reaction from Xander that Jasper had.

"Hey. Have you guys seen the new girl?" she blurted, not even pausing for a decent hello.

"Who, Jasper?" Buffy answered her with a question.

" Yeah, her." Cordelia affirmed Buffy. "Now there's a girl who can dress. She seems cool," Then, Cordelia turned to Buffy to give her her daily slandering. "but, of course, that's what I said about you."

Buffy knew better than to take this seriously by now. "Gee, I feel loved," she remarked in a coy way.

Cordelia didn't let this stop her. "She sounds like she's from out of town. She had a European accent or something."

"And you know what they say about European girls." Xander joked to Oz. They both started laughing, until it hit Oz.

"What...do they say about European girls?"

Everyone stopped talking when they saw Jasper running towards them.

"Buffy!" she called out. "Wait up!" Jasper paused quickly to catch her breath. Then, she continued. "I talked to the woman in the office. Since I'm coming so late in the year, I get to choose my classes. I was thinking, maybe I could spend Monday with you and get to know the teachers."

Buffy turned to Willow and gave her the what-do-you-think-I-should-do look. When Willow shrugged, Buffy knew she was on her own. "Um...yeah. I guess we could do that."

"Great!" Jasper exclaimed. "I feel like celebrating tonight. So, where do we hang out around here?"

Cordy made sure that she was the one to answer her. "Hi, you're Jasper, right? I'm Cordelia. Well, let me give you some advice. If you want to get anywhere in this one Starbuck town, you have to know two things. One: always make sure your makeup style matches your clothing style. Two: the only place worthy of our business is the Bronze."

"The Bronze?" Jasper asked with uncertainty.

"It's pretty much the only place in town," Oz remarked.

Jasper smiled at that remark. "Well, I'm going out tonight. Are you guys going to the Bronze?"

Willow was quick to answer her. "Actually, we were planning..." But she stopped short. Jasper started to stare right into Willow's eyes. Almost instantly, Willow's attitude changed.

"Yes," she remarked, almost drone-like, "we'll be going to the Bronze tonight." Everyone stared at Willow, totally confused.

"Okay!" Jasper cried out. "I'll see you there."

She left, and everyone turned to Willow, demanding an explanation.

"Hey, Willow, I thought we were going golfing tonight." Oz expressed his concern.

Willow seemed confused as well. "I don't know. For some reason I just felt like we had to go to the Bronze tonight. Besides, our anniversary is officially tomorrow. We can go mini-golfing tomorrow night."

"Okay, if that's what you want to do," Oz assured her.

Then, Xander spoke up to Willow. "Geez, you'd think Jasper had given you one of Ted the robot's cookies."

*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\

As the group started to return to the school, they saw Giles coming up to them. Buffy was the first to comment.

"Well, look who ventured out of his cave."

Giles didn't seem to notice her remark. "Buffy, I'm glad I found you. Listen, I feel that you've been working too hard. Why don't you take a couple days off?"

Everyone gave Giles puzzled looks.

"Giles, are you running a fever or something?" Buffy asked. "You never give me free time."

Giles seemed to understand her confusion. "Well, I finished looking through my journals, and I didn't find anything that is supposed to happen. So, take it easy for a while. Just keep a look out for anything."

Xander leaned closer to Buffy. "Take the advantage and run with it," he whispered to her.

She got the point. "Okay, well, we'll all be at the Bronze tonight. If you find anything of true importance, come and find me," she told Giles.

"All right," he replied. "See you tomorrow." And he left.

Everyone looked at each other. "Did anyone besides me find that weird?" Cordelia asked. Everyone nodded in agreement.

*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\

That night at the Bronze, almost everyone sat at a table in the middle of the club. Buffy was sitting next to Xander and Cordelia, deep in conversation with the two of them. Willow and Oz sat on the other side of the table, oblivious to everyone else. That is, until the final element to their party arrived.

When Jasper entered the Bronze, almost everything seemed to stop for a second. She looked better than she had before. Her luxurious brown hair was swept up, and her dress changed from blue to red. As soon as she saw the group, she walked over to them.

Jasper smiled at all of them. "Hi everyone," she exclaimed with her unique accent.

Xander and Oz just continued to gawk at Jasper. When Cordelia and Willow saw this, they stole glances at each other with looks that said, "we're in trouble."

"Hi Jasper," Buffy said, also noticing Xander and Oz's behavior.

Jasper looked around herself. "So this is the Bronze. It's quaint," she mentioned.

Xander tried to be funny. "Yeah, well, we consider it our second home, other than school and each other's houses. So, I guess it's our fourth home." Crash and burn.

Nonetheless, Jasper smiled at him. "That's nice."

As Jasper turned to talk to Buffy, Willow and Oz, Xander and Cordelia started to argue about something. After a while, it appeared that Xander actually won.

He stood up. "Jasper, would you like to dance?" he asked her.

Jasper looked at Cordelia. "Um...okay. If it's okay with Cordelia."

"Yeah, whatever." Cordelia didn't want any part of it.

Xander took Jasper's hand and lead her to the center of the dance floor. The crowd parted to let them through, everyone trying to get a glimpse of the new girl. Every guy who saw her envied Xander for getting her; every girl despised her for her gorgeous looks.

Back at the table, the group also watched Xander and Jasper move onto the floor.

Cordelia finally started her wrath. "What kinda girl would purposely take away some other girl's man when the other girl is right in front of her?"

"I don't know Cordy," Buffy replied. "I don't think she's trying to do it."

"I agree," Willow backed up Buffy. "She did want your permission first before she got up with Xander."

"All I know is that my guy is with another girl," Cordelia continued. She wasn't going to let this pass. "This wigs me out totally."

On the dance floor, Xander and Jasper were dancing about a foot apart. Just as Jasper was moving in closer, she stopped. Her ears perked up as if she had heard something, and it disturbed her. She quickly moves away from Xander.

"I'm sorry Xander," she apologized, "but I just remembered that...I had promised to help my mom tonight. I have to call her really quickly. I'll be right back."

Jasper then ran out of the Bronze. Xander stood alone on the dance floor, stunned. Cordelia sauntered her way over to him.

"So, are you happy now?" she inquired.

A large smile crept onto Xander's face. "Beyond."

*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\

Jasper walked into the alley behind the Bronze, careful not to make a sound. Before her, she saw a couple in a strong embrace. The problem was the lady was clawing to get away, and the man wouldn't let her. As the woman became closer to dying, Jasper kicked a can, making her presence known. The man looked up, fangs bared and eyes glowing in hatred.

"This really was a bad time for you to need fresh air," he hissed at Jasper.

Jasper cocked one eyebrow. "Really?" she asked. "I wonder." She bowed her head, with the vampire watching her carefully. His expression changed when she raised her head, showing off her own set of razor sharp fangs and demonicly fierce eyes.

The vampire smiled at her. "Oh, sorry," he apologized. "I thought you were something else, like a mortal." He extended the limp woman to her. "Care for some?" he asked.

Jasper looked at the woman, then at the vampire. Making up her mind, she waved her hand in a circular motion. As she did, a silver-glowing orb appeared in her hand.

"Sorry..." she said to the vampire. She threw the orb at him. When it hit him, the vampire combusted into flames, and then disintegrated into dust.

"I'm on a diet." She smiled to herself and walked off.

*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\

Back in the Bronze, everyone was still sitting at the table, waiting for Jasper's return. When she finally returned, she looked as lovely as ever, even with an apologetic smile on her face.

"Sorry," she told them. "It took me five tries before my mom actually picked up."

"That's okay," Xander assured her. "No offense taken." Everyone nodded with Xander in agreement.

Willow turned to Oz. "I guess you want to dance with her now, too," she muttered.

Oz smiled at her. "Why would I?" he asked. "I'm here with you." Willow's face brightened, and she gave him a light kiss on the lips.

Cordelia's envy came through loud and clear. Turning to Xander she asked, "Why don't you say nice things like that to me?"

"When have you deserved it?" Xander pondered aloud.

Jasper's smile faded. "I sense some tension here."

"Xander and Cordelia aren't exactly the best couple," Buffy explained to Jasper.

"Oh," Jasper said. "Well, I didn't mean to add to any problems you might have. If you want I could leave..."

"Yeah, why don't you!?" Cordelia demanded.

"No!" Willow hurried to say. "That's okay. They always fight."

"Yeah," Buffy agreed. "Pay no attention to them."

Everyone was distracted though by the quick disappearance of all the other kids around them.

Oz looked at his watch. "Whoa, the Bronze is closing," he remarked. "We better get going." He then turned to Willow. "Do you want me to walk you home?" he asked her.

Willow giggled her little willow-ish giggle. "Sure!" But her giggle stopped short when she thought of something. Leaning closer to Buffy, she whispered, "What about Jasper? Even if the vampires aren't very active, that doesn't mean they won't attack people."

Buffy nodded. "I think you're right," she whispered back. "She shouldn't go alone." Turning to Jasper, she remarked, "If you want, Xander and I could walk you to your house and..."

"No!" Jasper quickly interrupted, almost yelling. Her voice then calmed down. "I mean, it's probably out of your way. Where exactly do you live?"

"We're on the north side of town," Buffy explained.

"I'm on the south side," Jasper was quick to respond.

"Okay, bye!" Cordelia exclaimed with equal quickness.

Everyone kinda looked at Cordelia. "Bye everyone," Jasper said, getting the hint that one of them obviously didn't want her around. So, she left.

The rest of the table was about to follow her lead when Buffy noticed Jasper's purse that she had left on the table.

"Oh, wait," she rushed. "I'd better get Jasper's purse back to her." So, she also ran out of the Bronze.

When she got outside, Buffy turned toward south looking for Jasper, but she was nowhere to be seen. Turning back to return to the Bronze for her friends, Buffy was surprised to actually see Jasper heading north. Buffy quickly headed into the club.

Walking up to the others, Buffy said, "Okay, I've got some tracking to do."

Xander looked at the rest of the group, who all had the same thing on their minds. "We're coming with you," he told her. Everyone nodded in agreement, even Cordelia. Buffy just closed her eyes and shook her head.

*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\

Walking down a dark, deserted street, Buffy and the rest of the group carefully followed Jasper. By moving through the shadows, they were sure she didn't see them, even when she looked behind herself repeated times. They all dropped their mouths when they saw Jasper enter an old, abandoned building.

"Home sweet home," remarked Xander.

Everyone moved to windows and the door to try to see inside the building. All they could see was darkness.

"I don't see anything," Oz said.

"We saw her go in here," Willow stated.

All of a sudden, Cordelia spoke up. "Wait, I think I see something!"

Everyone moved closer to the windows, trying to get a glimpse of what was going on inside, but all anyone could see was a silhouette moving around.

"I don't think we'll see to much. It's too dark," Buffy observed. Then she asked, "Why would she lie to us?"

"Well...this isn't exactly Buckingham Palace," Cordelia jested. "Maybe she was embarrassed."

"We have to find out what we can about Jasper," Buffy said. "You think you can do that, Willow?"

"With my eyes closed," Willow replied. "Okay, I'll need them open so I can read."

*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\

Inside the building, Jasper walked into a back room. About to get into a bed in the corner, she paused in front of a mirror. She scowled when she saw there was no reflection, even though she knew there wouldn't be.

"Who knows?" she stated to herself. "Maybe one day, I'll actually be able to see something there. But until then..."

With that, she grabbed the mirror off the wall and threw it across the room with superhuman strength.

"...you are my one and only enemy." she finished.

*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\

After dropping everyone else off at their houses, Buffy and Xander walked toward her house, talking.

"I'm sure nothing's really wrong with her," Xander told Buffy. "Maybe she just doesn't have a place right now."

"Then how was she able to get into the school without an address?" Buffy asked.

"Maybe she's using someone else's address, like the Bug Lady did," Xander suggested.

"Yeah, maybe," Buffy said. "I just don't know if we can trust her yet."

"Trust her with what?" Xander questioned. He suddenly stopped walking. "Wait, you weren't thinking about telling her about your, um, special talents, were you?"

"It's weird," she remarked. "I don't know why, but I feel like she should know."

"Well, it's your secret," he told her. "If you feel right with it, go ahead."

"I think I might. Maybe on Monday."

"Okay, see you later."

"Bye."

Xander watched as she walked into her home, shook his head in disbelief, and walked off to his own house.

*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\

On Monday morning, Buffy walked into the library and found Willow already on the computer.

"Willow, whatcha looking at?" Buffy asked her.

"I figured I'd get a look at the student records; see if I can find anything on Jasper." she explained.

"Kinda early, isn't it?" Buffy wondered.

"Early bird catches the oddball," Willow remarked.

Buffy smiled at her and looked up as Giles entered the library from his office.

"Oh, hello Buffy," Giles said. "Willow, have you found what you were looking for?"

Willow shook her head. "Not ye-...wait, here's something. I mean nothing."

Buffy and Giles looked at her with confusing looks. "Huh?" Buffy asked.

"According to the school files, there isn't a Jasper White enrolled here," Willow elaborated.

"She just got in," Buffy remarked. "Maybe they haven't had a chance to update the files."

"This was updated on Friday," Willow informed her.

"Who is this Jasper White?" Giles asked them.

"She's this new girl," Buffy told him. "Or, we-thought-new girl."

"And what caused you to research this girl?" Giles pondered.

"We followed her home yesterday and found out she's staying in this deserted building." Willow informed him. "It was kind of suspicious."

"Good reason," Giles admitted.

"So, what should we do now?" Willow asked.

"I don't know about we, but I'm going to talk to Jasper," Buffy said. "I'll find out if there's something about her we should know."

Giles suddenly looked up, realizing something. "Did you say her name is Jasper White?"

"Yeah, why?" Buffy asked him.

"Something about that name sounds familiar," he replied.

"How so?" questioned Willow.

"I don't know," Giles said. "Let me look through my books and I'll...get back to you on that." He looked up as Xander came into the library.

"Thought I'd find you in here," Xander said to Buffy. Then, in a lower voice, "I thought you were going to talk to someone today."

"Yeah, well, we found out something just a second ago," Buffy clued him in.

"What?"

"Jasper really isn't a student here," Willow said. "She has lied to us twice so far."

Xander stood there, stunned. "Whoa, this is getting weird."

"Tell me about it," Buffy agreed. "Okay, I'm gonna go see if I can find Jasper. She'll probably be here. I was supposed to be her guide today."

"Okay, let's go," Xander said.

Both of them left as Willow returned to the computer, and Giles went back into his office to look through his journals.

*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\

As they walked down the hallway, Buffy and Xander saw Jasper just as she walked up to them. As usual, she was smiling.

"Hi guys!" she greeted.

"Jasper, hi," Buffy returned the greeting. "Can I talk to you a minute?"

Jasper looked confused. "Yeah, sure. What about?"

"I mean alone," Buffy explained. "Out of everyone else's ear shot."

Jasper's look of confusion turned to worry. "Um...okay."

The three of them moved over to a corner. Looking around, Buffy felt that no one would be able to hear them.

"You forgot your purse at the Bronze," Buffy told her, handing her purse back to her.

"Excuse me, but is this what you needed to talk to me privately about?" Jasper inquired.

"We followed you in order to give it back to you," Buffy said, and watched as Jasper's eyes widened in surprise.

"We saw where you are staying," Xander elaborated.

"We also know that you're not really a student here," remarked Buffy. "There are no transcripts in your name."

Jasper started to smile again. "Okay, so you know my secret," she said, sounding relieved. "I hope you'll forgive me for lying to you. Truth is, I didn't get in. It's too late to apply for enrollment. I also don't have a place to stay."

"What about your parents?" Buffy questioned. "Are they with you?"

Jasper's smile immediately vanished and was replaced by a look of extreme sadness. "My parent's are dead. My mom died right after I was born; my dad when I was 16. And I have no other relatives."

"I'm sorry," Buffy said. "I didn't know."

"That's okay," Jasper assured her. "I've learned to live with it."

"So you really don't have a place?" Xander asked.

"No, I'm on my own. Have been for a bit of time."

"Well, now we know," Buffy said. "You don't have to worry about being alone anymore."

Jasper's smile returned. "I guess I don't."

Xander moved closer to Buffy. "Now that we know, do you still want to share your identity with her," Buffy nodded.

"Listen," Buffy told Jasper. "Since we seem to know most about you, I think I ought to tell you something about me."

"Like what?" Jasper asked.

"I'm not exactly like all the other girls here. I have special talents," Buffy started to explain, but she was interrupted when Willow came running up to them. Willow jumped when she saw Jasper.

"Oh hi Jasper," Willow stated. "Um...Buffy, Giles has something he needs to tell you. Very urgent, as in now."

"Okay, I get the point," Buffy said.

"That's okay," Jasper remarked. "I better get going before I get kicked off campus. You can finish what you were saying later. Maybe we could meet at the Bronze later."

"Okay. Later at the Bronze," Buffy agreed.

Jasper walked off to the exit of the school. Buffy turned toward Willow. "So, what was so important that it couldn't wait?"

"Giles wouldn't tell me," Willow explained. "He just said for me to find you really quickly and to make sure Jasper wasn't with you."

Buffy and Xander looked at each other, and they all headed to the library.

*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\

When Buffy, Willow, and Xander entered the library, Giles jumped up from the table he was sitting at and held up a book.

"I knew that particular name sounded familiar," he said. "You said her name is Jasper White. Well, when I was looking for information about what the vampires might be planning, I came across a record of a past watcher." He started to flip through the book he was holding. "Hold on, yes, here it is. Jasper of Whightmore. She was the daughter of Lord Whightmore. Her mother had died shortly after giving birth."

When he said that, Buffy and Xander looked at each other, remembering what Jasper had told them.

Giles continued. "Lord Whightmore was a sorcerer. According to this, when Jasper was 16, she went out with her friends when the Master attacked her. He snapped the necks of her friends and..."

"Can we skip the gory details?" Buffy interrupted.

"Yes, sorry," Giles apologized. "Anyway, it seems the Master liked Jasper and decided to make her one of his followers. When Lord Whightmore found out, he was heartbroken. So, he searched his spellbooks for a cure. He died before he could completely cure her, but he did manage to make things slightly better for her."

"How so?" Willow asked curiously.

Giles went on. "Well, it says here that she doesn't constantly need blood to survive; she can walk in the daylight; garlic only sickens her, and the only things that bother her are fire and a stake through the heart. The traditional holy water and crucifix won't harm her."

"That makes her a difficult vamp to fight," Buffy remarked.

"It might not be necessary to fight her," Giles said. "It also says here that she tries to help any and all slayers whenever she can. She doesn't believe in taking human lives. Her father also gave her other powers so she can help, not hinder."

"She tries to help all slayers?" Willow questioned. "How many slayers has she seen? How old is she?"

Giles quickly scanned the book pages. "Well, um, if these records are correct, she should be celebrating her...205th birthday next month."

Xander's eyes widened in disbelief. "She doesn't look a day over 18!"

"You and Oz seemed to be fooled by her charm," Willow murmured under her breath.

"Can you blame us?" Xander had obviously heard her.

"I wouldn't," Giles backed Xander up. "She was supposedly the most beautiful girl of her time. There were many suitors who came for her. When she was taken, there was great strife in the land."

Buffy's sympathy grew for Jasper at every word. "She had to live alone for that long? Couldn't have friends on either side, vampire or human." A look of determination appeared on her face. "Well, that's gonna change as of now."

*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\

That night at the Bronze, Jasper was sitting at a table with Cordelia and Oz. Since the latter two hadn't seen Buffy, Willow, or Xander during the day, they had no idea about the girl they were conversing with.

Jasper looked around the club. "Where do you think Buffy, Xander and Willow are?"

"They should be here by now," Oz said.

"I can't believe I'm gonna say this, but I hope nothing happened to them," Cordelia stated.

Finally, Buffy and the group entered the Bronze.

Oz stood to greet Willow. "Glad you guys are okay."

Buffy took a quick glance at Jasper, then turned back to the others. "Thanks. We were running late."

"That's okay," Jasper said. "We were just tal..." But she stopped short in her sentence. She had heard something. "Excuse me really quickly. I think I forgot something outside." She got up from the table and rapidly walked out the door.

Buffy watched as she left. "Something about that seems weird. She was too into leaving. Maybe something's wrong. I'm following her." Buffy then followed Jasper's lead.

Xander watched her go. "Let's go guys," he told the others, and they all left the table.

*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\

About a block away from the Bronze, Jasper followed a guy down a dark street. This only light was the pale glow from a street lamp above.

"It's not very polite to eat and run," she told to the guy.

The guy turned around. "Well, I haven't had dessert yet," he said, and he changed before her, from his human face to his true vampiric form.

Jasper grinned at him. "You don't see me volunteering to be your meal, do you?" she asked, and she also changed.

It was the vampire's turn to smile. "So, you wanna join the party?"

"You mean the one I wasn't invited to?" Buffy asked as she walked up behind them.

Jasper and the vampire turned to face the slayer. But Jasper quickly turned back away, trying to hide her face. "Buffy, I can explain all of this."

"It's okay, Jasper," Buffy said. "I already know."

Jasper's yellow glowing eyes widened in surprise. "Really?" she said, with a look that Buffy could only interpret as joy.

The male vampire reacted to hearing her name. "Jasper? As in Jasper of Whightmore?"

Jasper turned back to the vampire. "The one and only," she assured him.

"The same Jasper that has been destroying every vampire she comes in contact with?" he inquired.

"You got it babe," Jasper answered.

The vampire started to back away, but Buffy stepped in his way to prevent his escape.

"I don't think so," she said. "You can't leave your own party."

"Back off," the vampire growled at her. "I'm not really in the mood for your lousy attempts to slay me."

"Slaying?" Jasper questioned. "You mean..."

"That's right," Buffy completed Jasper's phrase. "I'm the Slayer."

"This is great!" Jasper exclaimed. "I wanted to tell you about myself, but I didn't think you'd understand."

"Such a touching moment," the vampire interrupted. He looked around, mocking them. "Where's my camcorder when I need it? Now, if you'll excuse me..." He tried to walk off.

"I don't think so," Buffy said stopping him. She pulled out a stake. Jasper waved her hand, and one of the silver spheres appeared in her hand. When the vampire saw this, he nearly jumped a mile high. Buffy noticed his reaction.

"What's that?" Buffy asked.

"A fire sphere," the vampire informed her.

"One of the only weapons guaranteed to destroy a vampire," Jasper explained further.

"How does it work?" Buffy inquired.

"You're about to find out," Jasper told her. With that, she threw the orb at the vampire. Just as it was about to hit him, the vampire ducked. The sphere hit a wooden fence behind it, and it immediately burst into flames.

"Too close," the vampire gasped. "I'm out of here!" He ran off. Jasper started to follow him, but Buffy stopped him.

"Jasper, don't. He'll be back," Buffy said. "They're always back."

Xander, Cordelia, Willow, and Oz ran up to them. Before they had a chance to see her, Jasper changed back to normal. Buffy smiled at her.

"Um...the fence is on fire," Oz stated the obvious.

"Don't worry about it," Jasper convinced them. She took a deep breath and blew the fire out. The group's eyes enlarged in disbelief.

"Okay, how did you do that?" Cordelia asked.

"Special talent. My dad helped me with that one," she explained. She then turned to Buffy. "How long have you known?"

"Since this morning," Buffy told her. "Giles told Willow, Xander and me."

"Giles? Who's Giles?" asked Jasper.

"He's my watcher. He's also the librarian at school."

"No wonder I didn't meet him. I didn't get to the library."

Xander smiled. "You're going to have to meet him soon. Knowing him, he's reading everything he's got, trying to learn more about you."

Jasper smiled back at him. "There's a lot about me that isn't written in the Watcher Journals."

"You know about the Journals?" Willow asked.

"I've known so many slayers, it's impossible not to," Jasper replied.

"Well then, you had better meet my watcher tomorrow," Buffy said.

Everyone walked off together. Cordelia and Oz looked at each other, not knowing what was going on. They planned on getting the info later.

*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\

The next morning, Buffy and Jasper entered the library together. Giles looked up and started to talk to Buffy.

"Buffy, how did things go last night with..." he stopped when he saw Jasper. "...finding that lost book?"

"It's okay, Giles," Buffy said. "Allow me to introduce Jasper of Whightmore, otherwise known as Jasper White."

Jasper nodded at Giles. "Pleasure to meet you sir." She extended her hand to him, and he shook it.

"The honor's mine." Giles then said to Buffy, "So, she knows?"

"Yeah, we had a little run-in with a bad guy last night," Buffy explained. "I guess he had heard of Jasper too. He ran at the sight of her."

Jasper smiled. "Well, only after I almost turned him into the Inhuman Torch."

Buffy then remembered something. "Giles, do you know what a fire sphere is?"

He nodded. "Yes, but the magic for producing them has been lost for ages."

"Not entirely lost," Jasper remarked.

Xander, Willow, Cordelia, and Oz walked into the library. "I see you've met our little Jasper," Xander said to Giles.

Jasper laughed. "Watch it, sonny. I'm not that 'little.'"

Oz looked at Willow, confused. "'Sonny?' She looks younger than him."

Willow turned to him. "Believe me, she's not."

"How old is she?" he asked.

Willow whispered it to him. As she did, his eyes went wide. "Oh," was all he said.

Giles turned to Jasper. "So, how does it feel knowing you don't have to be alone anymore?"

"I bet it's kinda weird," Buffy remarked.

"Actually," Jasper stated, "I find it foundd with a double 'd.'"

Oz quickly stated, "See, I'm not the only one who says..."

Everyone gave him blank looks.