Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Kendra wished that her watcher could ever tell her anything besides vague warnings. 

She had stowed all the way from Jamaica to the unassuming Sunydale California, based on nothing but an assurance that a dark power was about to rise there. Neither she nor Sam Zabuto knew anything more. 

She snuck into an ice rink to wait for an assassin. She had chanced upon him while searching the town the night before. He had a grizzled face with many scars and was apparently affiliated with the order of Taraka. She’d decided to follow him. She doubted that a half-competent assassin quite qualified as a dark power about to rise, but she also doubted that he was entirely unrelated, and an investigation must start somewhere. 

Once Kendra had kicked down a locked door, and stole over to the bleachers behind which she had a good view of the ice,  she was surprised that the rink was not empty. A blonde teenaged girl skated beautifully across it. She was a bird in the wind, flowing across the rink in her white figure skates, her hair blowing behind her. Kendra envied her grace and beauty and the way she let the ice carry her as if nothing in the world mattered.

Kendra had always wanted to try ice skating, but she never had time to pursue such frivolous interests. Maybe if she had, she would skate like this girl. 

It was foolish, but Kendra instantly knew that the girl played some part in the prophecy. She had such grace, such agility, such power, and such beauty, that she could not be unrelated to the dark power. When a door flew open, and the grizzly assassin charged out and attacked her, the girl showed that she had fighting prowess too. She beat that Tarakan assassin easily. 

Well maybe she got some help from her tall friend who rushed out to join her. And maybe that friend was a vampire. And maybe they were more than friends.

Kendra watched the majestic girl and the vampire kiss. The vampire had his real face showing. His eyes were yellow, his fangs showed. The girl kissed him like he was the most beautiful man on earth. Kendra had watched them for a minute before she realized what this must mean: the girl was a vampire too. 

Kendra left that rink with a feeling in her chest that she couldn’t explain and a plan. She decided to follow the tall, dark-clothes wearing vampire. She couldn’t be fully sure that the figure skating girl was a vampire, but she knew that the tall boy was. She would slay him first, after following him a little to get information. 

Following him proved more difficult than she anticipated. The vampire was sneaky and stealthy and cunning. Kendra was unable to remain a step ahead of him. She had to be multiple steps behind, and by the time she tracked down his basement apartment downtown, the door was locked and she couldn’t get in. It was encased in the concrete foundation, and it had no windows. There were two doors, the inside door, and the fire escape, both solidly barred. 

Kendra considered waiting outside the doors for the vampire to emerge, but there were two doors, neither visible from the other. She had to call it a day. She needed the rest. So she went to the clothing store on mainstreet, where she had made camp in the attic. Whenever Kendra traveled, she always stayed in an unused room or an abandoned building. Motels are too frivolous. 

In the room she had all the things that she had brought with her: stakes, crossbows, knives, esoteric tomes, make-up and a pillow. (She did allow herself some luxuries.) 

Before Kendra went to sleep, she consulted her tomes. She always traveled with her tomes. It is important for a slayer to study things that may be relevant to her. She had read that in her slayer’s handbook. Based on the vampire’s physical description and incredible craftyness, she identified him as Angelus, an especially wicked, centuries-old vampire. He must be the figure skating girl’s sire. 

As Kendra tried to fall asleep, she couldn’t stop thinking about that girl. As she remembered her figure skating, and the feeling that she felt when she first saw her, Kendra became ever more convinced that that girl was tightly linked to the dark power that was about to rise. Maybe she was the dark power. Seeing her had just felt so right, and Kendra was sure that that girl was the reason why she was in Sunnydale.

Mayta stirred and felt the cold. For a second she thought that she was still in Peru, and that she would wake up, smell the mountain air, and fight some demons. But those days were long gone. She remembered the last time she had woken up. She had been lucky. She was able to take the place of a Peruvian exchange student, and convince everybody that she belonged. She had almost had her fingers around a normal life, but a horrible librarian had mended the seal and trapped her back as a mummy. She wondered how long ago that was. She noticed that she was holding the still intact seal in her hands. She gently set it aside. 

She sat up. The lights were off. The museum was closed. This was good. She looked down at her body to find that her skin was smooth. This was very good. She was, by all appearances, a living, breathing, human. 

She got out of her coffin. The air conditioned building made her cold, and she considered stealing clothes in another exhibit to warm herself. But she decided against it. It would probably be warmer outside anyway. She started walking to the exit. 

The fact that Mayta’s seal was unbroken meant that her awakening hadn’t been an accident. She had been mummified many years before so that she could protect her people, and she had a seal to wake her in case her people needed protection. Her rising meant that a grave danger was imminent, but Mayta didn’t care. You can’t mummify a girl against her will and then expect her to protect you! 

All her life Mayta had been told what to do. She had to listen to the Hark’aq, practice using wooden stakes and stone clubs, and spend all her time slaying vampires and demons. And all she got as a reward was a dry grave. 

She stepped outside and felt the sun on her face. Today was the first day of her normal life, she told herself. But her first order of business was finding out what year it was. She walked. After minutes, she found a newspaper in a garbage can, and the date informed her that it was November 1997. She had been alive only a few months earlier. If she tried to start a normal life in this town, Buffy and Xander and all of the others would surely recognise her. And Mayta doubted that they would accept a mummy in their school. She needed to go to a new city. One that she could call home. And for that she needed money. 

She kept walking. She had no real plan. Only a vague feeling that anything could get her closer to her goal, and by instinct she ended up at Buffy’s house.

Even though she had stayed there only two days, 1630 Revello drive had started to feel like home. It was so nice, and so comforting, and Buffy was the perfect friend. So much like her, in a way she couldn’t place. Mayta felt a pang of sadness that she would never be her friend again.

But there were two other things that Mayta learned in her two days on Revello drive. Buffy keeps cash money in a drawer beside her bed, and they leave their back door unlocked. Mayta effortlessly jumped over the gate to the back yard, but she was surprised to find the back door locked. She broke it open. 

The house sounded quiet. Mayta wasn’t worried about getting caught. If she was caught, she would simply be able to fight. Still, the fact that the house was so still was convenient to her plans. She crept up the stairs and stepped into Buffy’s room.

She found Buffy sleeping soundly in her bed, and did her best not to wake her as she pulled open the drawer. 

Buffy woke with a start. There was someone at her bedside, and suddenly Buffy remembered what Angel had told her at the skating rink the night before. Assassins! In a single fluid motion, Buffy sat up, grabbed the intruder’s arm, and flung them over her bed. 

The intruder quickly reciprocated with an attack of their own, and the encounter turned to a brawl. They punched and kicked and ducked around each other. Buffy assessed that her attacker was a girl of about the same height, and with impressive fighting skills. Angel wasn’t wrong about the Order of Taraka. She wasn’t going down easy. 

Buffy took a punch into her lower side, and stepped backwards towards her dresser. If she could get to the drawer that had her weapons, she could take the upper hand. Her attacker seemed to devine this plan, and she jumped over Buffy’s head in an attempt to stop her. Buffy grabbed her attackers’ ankles mid air, and flung her down on the ground.

The assailant attempted to get back up, but Buffy dropped to the ground and pinned her down. 

Buffy took a moment to assess the girl, and was surprised to find that she recognised her. “Ampata?”

“Buffy.” she said. “I did not know you were so good at fighting.”

“I thought you were a mummy!” said Buffy. “I thought that we had safely sealed you down in your tomb. I thought you were the Incan princess.”

Mayta’s face darkened. “You know my secret. Yes, it is true.”

“But how are you here? Why are you here?”

Mayta paused. “Because I want to live a normal life, and I want you to teach me how.”

“No,” said Buffy. “Why are you alive? Did your seal break?”

“My seal is not broken. It was simply time for me to rise.”

Buffy didn’t believe her. Ampata was a threat. She had nearly killed Xander, and she could not be allowed to live. 

Buffy sat up. While holding Ampata’s legs down between her knees and under her crotch, she reached around to the drawer behind her, and grabbed a knife. 

“You’re a danger. You killed three people. You shouldn’t be alive,” Buffy said. 

“I just want to be a normal girl. All I wanted was to be a normal girl like you.”

“Normal girls don’t kill people,” said Buffy, raising the knife. “And I’m not a normal girl.”

Buffy thrusted the knife down hard into Mayta’s chest. Hard enough to kill her. 

She stood up. She was too much in shock to do anything, so she left Mayta’s bleeding body on her floor as she got ready for school. ‘Thank god my mom’s not home,’ she thought. 

Due to the mummy related encounter, Buffy arrived at school late and tired. She considered skipping class to tell Giles about Ampata and the assassin and the ring, but she decided that that might be an over reaction. Having her life put in danger was a regular Tuesday for her, and this wasn’t the first time that Buffy had been targeted by specialized killers. Besides, had missed class to investigate the tomb the day before, and Mr Snyder would be upset if she skipped again. 

After the lunch bell rang, Buffy headed straight to the library to tell Giles, but he wasn’t there. 

“He went to the public archives,” Willow told her. “Probably looking for something about this Du Lac guy.”

“Typical of Giles to burrow himself in dusty paper when I need him,” said Buffy. 

“Hey! I like paper,” said Willow. “Why do you need him?”

“Oh you know,” said Buffy. “Typical librarian stuff — mortal peril, undead, secret societies.”

“What’s the issue this time?”

Buffy opened her mouth to tell Willow about the assassin on the ice rink, but decided against it. She didn’t want to scare her friend. And she didn’t say anything about Ampata either. Buffy killed her in a way that she won’t rise again. “Nothing in particular,” she said. 

“You can tell me things if you want to,” said Willow.

“Of course,” said Buffy. “But there’s nothing much to tell.”

The two of them ate silently for a bit. They both in the cafeteria picking at what passed for food. 

“You’re off to a seminar after lunch?” Willow asked. 

“No seminar for me, today,” said Buffy. “Landscaping was yesterday. I kinda missed it, investigating a tomb with Giles. Law enforcement is tomorrow, so I’m in the auditorium watching Mr Snyder lecture us about staying in school today.” 

“Ooh, what unfun!”

“Honestly, I prefer it to a career seminar.” 

“What? Why?”

“My destiny is kinda sealed in fate, you know. No use watching a random person blabber on about a career I’ll never have reason to even consider. I kinda rubs the fact that I’ll never have a normal life in. That I’ll be like this forever.”  

“Well, if you’re gonna be stuck with a destiny, I guess being the Slayer isn’t such a bad one to have.” Willow consoled. “I mean, it’s nice to have the power to help people, right?”

“Yeah, I guess. I mean, helping people is nice, but spending all my time standing alone against darkness, it’s not all that… I guess being the Slayer isn’t all that bad. I just wish it wasn’t all the time. I just wish I had a choice. I just wish I wasn’t the only one.” 

“I… don’t want you to feel like you’re alone,” said Willow. 

Buffy smiled. “I know I’m not alone. I have you and Xander and Giles and everyone, but I guess… You know the legend. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness. I have a lot of people who care about me and help me, but I’m the only Slayer.”

“Well… uh…”

“It’s not so bad, Willow. I’m the slayer. I’m good at it. In fact, since there’s only one of me, I’m the best in the world. Sure, I wish I didn’t have to fight, but at the end of the day, I guess I can’t help it. It’s who I am.” 

At midday, after the fight between Mayta and Buffy, Norman Pfister, looked across the street with his spyglass. He could see clear signs of movement through the window of 1630 Revello Drive, where his target was said to live. She must be home. 

Norman had just had a good meal, and he was prepared to take out his target. He grabbed his box and crossed the street. 

Mayta had always been a quick healer, ever since she became the slayer. When she was only eleven years old, she had felt a new power in herself, and knew from legend what this meant. She knew was the slayer. And after she defeated a dragon that attacked her town, everyone else knew this too. In the years following she had survived vampires, demons, werewolves, bug-men, and all manner of curses, creatures, and spells. But those days were behind her now. Now she needed only to survive a stab wound. 

She played dead until Buffy left, and then she removed the knife, and found a needle and thread to stitch herself up with. Ordinary sewing thread would be suitable. She had survived worse.

After stitching and bandaging, she sat on a chair in Buffy’s room while she waited for the wound to become suitably healed. It would only take a few hours. Out of boredom, Mayta idly perused the contents of Buffy’s room, by opening doors, rummaging through drawers and whatnot. 

She had so many clothes. She had so many books. It was so different from Mayta’s hometown. Buffy had a drawer for soap and make up. Mayta wished she had so much make up. ‘When I am a normal girl, I will,’ she thought. Then Mayta opened a drawer who’s contents looked all too familiar. 

It had stakes, weapons, holy water, holy items. And it explained so much. That was why Buffy was so good at fighting. That was why she had been able to find Mayta’s true nature. She wasn’t a normal girl in fact. She was the slayer. 

But why did she have a normal life then? Why would a slayer spend so much time studying biology and algebra? So much time going to parties and dances? Why did she have so many friends? A slayer is supposed to stand alone against the forces of darkness. She is the chosen one, the bulwark of her generation. Had Buffy forsaken her slayer duties? Or was it possible to both be a slayer and have a normal life?

Mayta heard a knock on the door below her, and she decided to answer it. It might be Xander, she thought, and she would love to see him. She ambled downstairs (her wound still gave her trouble), and opened the door. 

“Good day,” said the man there. “I’m Norman Pfister with Blush Beautiful skincare and cosmetics, and I was wondering if I might interest you in some free samples?”

“Yes, that would be very wonderful,” said Mayta. Her normal life was starting! She invited him inside. He followed her, and opened his box on a table. 

Mayta picked up a lip stick. 

“6.99, tax included,” he said. 

“I thought you said they were free?”

“Yes,” said Norman Pfister. “6.99 tax included.”

Maybe Mayta’s grasp on the English language wasn’t perfect, but he wasn’t making any sense. 

“Do you have any— what’s the word?” Mayta mimed applying it to her eyelashes. 

“6.99, tax included,” he said. “Might I interest you in some free samples?”

“Mascara! That’s the word.” Mayta wished she had stolen her language abilities from a girl. 

“Tell me are there any other ladies in the house?” 

“No. Not right now.”

A little bug crawled across Pfister’s hand, and Mayta stepped back. She had seen this before. Norman Pfister was a bug-man.

She had fought one once when she was a slayer. They are nasty. They can only be killed in their disassembled state. It had taken her a long time to figure out how to kill it, but now she knew the trick. She ran to the kitchen and grabbed a jug of vegetable oil. 

Norman Pfister followed her there. She stabbed him with a kitchen knife. He disassembled into a million little bugs, and Mayta poured oil on them all. The oil causes them to slip, and prevents them from reassembling. Wincing about having to get her shoes dirty, she stomped on them and pulverized them all to death. 

‘Why can’t I be a normal girl?’ Mayta wondered. ‘I try to escape a life of slaying, but the monsters just follow me.’ Mayta wished that she could have just run away from that bug man, but letting one into a home is dangerous business, and she couldn’t inflict that on Buffy. She had to deal with him right away. 

‘Why had he come here?’ She wondered. ‘Was he targeting Buffy?’

She then noticed a ring that had fallen to the ground when he died. She picked it up. It was a brass or gold ring, embossed in black with a strange stylised symbol that looked to her like a six horned beast. She did not recognise it, but she felt that it might be important, so she decided to keep it. She could show it to Buffy when she sees her next, to explain to her who the bug-based attacker was. Mayta remembered that she would never see Buffy again and the thought saddened her. 

One thing was for sure. Buffy was no ordinary girl, and was under attack by strange monsters, and her house is not the safest place to hide. Mayta had to leave. 

She went back up to Buffy’s room. She was still wearing her costume from the multicultural fair, so she took some of Buffy’s clothes and changed into them. That girl had so many clothes, she wouldn’t miss a few of them. Mayta stole some money from Buffy’s drawer. She went back downstairs and took some mascara from the box. She locked the front door, and left out from the back. 

After school was over, Buffy waited for Giles in the library. She stayed there for more than an hour before he arrived, flipping through books in vain trying to find anything about this Josephus du Lac. 

“Buffy, you’re here?” he asked when he noticed her, surprised. “Have you, uh, been researching?”

“Researching, yeah. Josephus du Lac, right? I’ve been researching a little.” 

“Oh, good,” he said. “Did you, uh, find anything?”

“Nothing.” 

“Well uh, neither have I really. I was at the archives, and well I uh, I think I have a lead to follow now, but I’m not sure.”

“That’s good? Uh… Listen, I have some things to tell you.”

“Oh. Uh, what are they?”

“Ampata came back.” 

“The mummy?”

“Yeah. But I killed her again.” 

“Oh good. Did her seal break?”

“I don’t know. She said it didn’t.”

“So she turned back into a mummy when you killed her?” 

“No. Actually she just looked like a dead body.”

“Peculiar.” 

“Yeah. But, uh, there was something else. I was with Angel the other night, and uh, we were attacked.” 

“Oh?” Giles raised his eyebrows. “By whom?”

“A man,” said Buffy. “Or something. We killed him, but uh, he had this ring. Angel seemed to think it was important.” 

Buffy retrieved the ring that the assassin had worn from her pocket. She handed it to Giles. He examined it. 

“This is…” He stammered. “I really hope this isn’t what I think it is.” 

He abruptly turned and walked towards his office. 

“Where are you going?”

“I need to get a magnifying glass,” he said. He went into his office, and emerged with a magnifying unlike any other that Buffy had seen. It had a black base that could sit on a table, and the glass was held by an arm that could pivot. He sat it down on the table in the center of the library. 

“Oh,” said Giles, studying the ring. “It is as I had feared. This is the symbol ring worn by members of the order of Taraka.” 

“The order of Taraka,” said Buffy. “Right. That’s what Angel said.” 

“They are a society of demon assassins dating back to the times of King Solomon. They’re really quite infamous.” 

“These assassins. Why are they after me?”

“You’re the slayer, Buffy,” said Giles. “The scourge of the underworld. You’re bound to have some enemies.” 

“I haven’t been very scourgey lately.” 

“I don’t know,” said Giles. “But I think the best thing you can do is to find a secure place to hide, to wait it out, at least until we can come up with a better plan.” 

“Hide?” asked Buffy.

“These assassins… They’re cunning. The most important thing is to first make sure you’re safe.” 

“Okay. You and Angel have both told me to head for the hills. What's the deal? You think I can’t handle them?”

“I… this is an extraordinary circumstance…”

“When have we ever had an ordinary circumstance? I was awoken this morning by a mummy girl trying to kill me, completely unrelated to these assassins. Violence is my life, Giles. This is no different.”

“It is different. They're a breed apart, Buffy. Unlike vampires — They have no earthly desire except to collect their bounty. To find their target and eliminate it. They could be demons. They could be humans. They could be anyone or anywhere.”

“Okay. Fine. I’ll go home.” 

“No. You mustn’t go to your house. That’s exactly where they’ll know to look. Your, uh… Your secret identity isn’t as secret as we would like it to be anymore.” 

“So what do I do? Run away.” 

“No. You could come to my house but even that is risky. They might know to look there. But there’s no other option, is there?”

“I could stay with Angel.” 

Giles nodded. “Yes. That’s a good plan. His address isn’t well known, and you wouldn’t be putting any humans in danger. Would you like help getting there?”

“I can handle myself.” 

“Would you like me to call your mother? I could explain that you were away for um, a school trip or something?”

“No need. She’s out of town.” 

“Oh, good.” 

“Okay,” said Buffy. “I’ll be seeing you.” 

And she left. She walked downtown, keeping an eye on all the passers by, any one of whom could be a Tarakan assassin. After getting to Angel’s building, she went downstairs to his basement apartment, and knocked on the door. 

There was no answer. Angel wasn’t home. 

Buffy waited outside the door for a while for him to return, but when he did not, she decided to force her way in. It’s rude to break down somebody’s door, but being targeted by assassins calls for different rules. Buffy considered locking the secondary lock behind her, but guessed that Angel would return soon, and it would be rude to lock him out of his own house. 

She laid down in his bed, and fell fast asleep. 

Kendra, the vampire slayer, walked down the concrete steps to Angelus’s basement apartment. She had already caught him and locked him behind a grate to burn when the sun comes up. Maybe she will go back to get him before then if she needs more information. 

But now she was after the girl, and the vampire’s apartment seemed like a good place to start. 

She tried the door and was surprised to find it unlocked. She gently opened it, and stepped inside. It was a brutalist place, with exposed concrete walls and floors. It was decorated with trinkets and oddities from all around the world — a fine rug, model ships, chinese vases, and on the wall there was an ax. 

Kendra grabbed it. It was a small, and steel — well made. Putting a stake through the heart is a tried and true way to kill vampires, but sometimes the best tactic is a good old fashioned decapitation. Holding the ax, she approached the girl. She held a the ax above her neck, and swung down,  as the girl awoke in time to roll out of the way. 

Kendra wasn’t surprised. A power so great could not be killed easily. Kendra swung her ax at her again, and again, and again, with vicious strokes, but the girl dodged each time. The girl punched back hard, but Kendra got out of the way. She threw the girl against the wall, and held her there with all her strength, but she escaped from her pin. The girl grabbed a curtain from off the wall, and threw it over Kendra, blinding and restricting her. Kendra threw the curtain off herself, but the girl had readied another blow by that time. 

“Thanks for the wakeup,” she said. “But I’ll stick with my clock radio.” 

She punched. The two fought against each other incessantly. They punched, kicked, grappled, pinned, but neither was victorious. The girl fought remarkably well. She was small, and her form was sloppy, but she was remarkably tenacious. She was somehow tougher than any vampire that Kendra had ever faced before.

Kendra had trained in martial arts since she was a young child. Her form was impeccable, and her strength, with her slayer powers, was great. But this mysterious vampire girl held her own. Kendra couldn’t help but admire her resilience and her craftiness. Kendra couldn’t help but admire her fire, and she wanted to know who this mysterious, wonderful girl really was. 

“Who are you?” Kendra asked. 

“Who am I?” said the girl. “You’re the one who attacked me. Who the hell are you?”

“I’m Kendra, the vampire slayer.”

“What?”

“I am the vampire slayer.”

“Okay, one more time,” said the girl. “You’re the who?”

“I am the slayer.”

“Nice cover story,” said the girl. “But here’s a tip. You might not want to try it on someone who’s the real slayer.”

Kendra didn’t understand the girl. “You can’t stop me. Even if you kill me, another slayer will be sent to take me place.”

“Can you stop with the damn slayer thing? I’m the slayer.”

“Nonsense. There is but one and I am she.”

“Okay,” said the girl. “A scenario. You back off. I back off. And you promise not to go all wiggy until we can go to my watcher to figure this out.”

“Wiggy?”

“You know. No kicko, no fighto.”

Do all Americans speak like this? This was not the language Kendra knew. “I accept your scenario.”

Kendra wondered if it was true that this girl was the slayer. She seemed powerful and strong, like any slayer should be. But Kendra knew that there could only be one slayer, and Kendra was that slayer. And besides, why sould a slayer spend her time figure skating and kissing vampires? And why would her fighting form be so sloppy? Why would she sleep with the door unlocked? Whoever she was, this girl intrigued her. 

“So,” asked the girl, more conversationally this time. “You were sent here?”

“Yes, by my watcher.”

“To do what exactly?”

“To do my duty. I’m here to kill vampires.”

“Well you can pack up and go home, because that’s kind of my thing.”

Kendra ignored the insult. “What is your name?”

She seemed reluctant at first to give Kendra such information, but she said. “I’m Buffy.”

Kendra doubted that that was her real name, but she did not judge. “I like that name. It suits you.”

Buffy was taken aback at the complement. “Thanks.”

“So how can we find your watcher?”

Buffy glanced at Angel’s clock. “It’s six A.M. He’s probably awake. I’ll call him.”

Buffy and the strange new girl didn’t chat while walking to the school library. It was a sizable walk, and the silence drove Buffy nearly as crazy as Kendra’s voice probably would have. She did not like this girl who claimed to be the slayer, and she was embarrassed about that. 

She was being targeted by assassins and vampires, when she just wanted a normal life. She should be grateful that a new slayer was here to help her in her duties. But she did not like the way Kendra looked at her when she said she was the slayer. She did not like the condescension in her voice. And besides, being a slayer was Buffy’s thing. It was who she was. She was the chosen one, and without that, she would be nothing. Buffy took solace in the fact that Kendra must be lying, or wrong. There can only be one slayer, and Buffy knew that. 

Buffy decided that she couldn’t take the awkward silence any more. “So, what brings you to Sunnydale?”

“I told you,” said Kendra. “I was sent by my watcher. He says that a dark power is about to rise here.”

Kendra’s accent was unlike any other Buffy knew. She says each word carefully and deliberately, putting an emphasis on the last syllable, and pronouncing her ‘th’s like ‘d’s. 

“A dark power?”

“Yes. Do you know what it could be?”

“No… I don’t.” Buffy’s anger was replaced with concern. “I know that the order of Taraka is after me, but nothing else.”

“The order of Taraka,” said Kendra. “I’ve heard of them. This could be serious.”

“Yeah. That’s for sure,” said Buffy.

“Has there been anything else? Any signs of evil things?”

“Some local vampires stole a book from my watcher, Giles. And they have been decoding it.”

“They stole a book from your watcher?” Kendra asked. “How could he let that happen?”

“It was a bad time. There were demons and possession involved.”

“Do we think this stolen book has something to do with the dark power?”

Buffy shrugged. “Giles seems to think so.” 

The two of them arrived at the school premises. Buffy turned to go inside, and Kendra was surprised.

“Your watcher is in a school?” she asked. 

“Yes,” said Buffy. “You know, the place where people learn. Biology, History, Algebra. Ring a bell?”

“I know what a school is,” said Kendra. “But why would your watcher make his base here? There are so many people.”

“Well I happen to be one of them,” said Buffy. 

They walked down the halls to the library. 

Kendra met Buffy’s watcher in the school library. 

The weirdest part of the day for Kendra was not finding that there was another slayer. Of course that was strange. There is only one slayer born into each generation, and Kendra had always known that. But she had also always known to expect the unexpected, and she could wrap her mind around the idea that there could be two. 

The strangest thing for Kendra was who this slayer was. She slept with her door unlocked. She seemed to have no real fighting training. She kissed a vampire. She meets with her watcher in the middle of a well populated school, full of prying eyes. This was not how Kendra understood her duties. 

She was tempted to dismiss Buffy's claims out of hand. To say that she could not be a slayer. But then Kendra would not be able to explain the power she felt in Buffy. Or how Buffy defended herself with such horrible form. Or the indignation that Buffy showed upon hearing of another slayer. 

“And your watcher is Sam Zabuto, you say?” asked Giles. 

“Yes, sir.”

“We’ve never met, but he’s well respected.”

“What, so he’s a real guy?” asked Buffy. “As in non-fictional?”

Giles ignored Buffy’s rudeness. “And you are called?” he asked Kendra. 

“I am the vampire slayer,” she said. 

“We got that part honey,” said Buffy. “He means your name.”

“They call me Kendra. I have no last name, sir.” That last part was a lie. She wasn't ready to give up her last name yet. 

“There’s obviously some sort of misunderstanding here,” said Giles. 

“There certainly is,” said Kendra.

“So, uh, you came here to stop a dark power?”

“Yes, sir. My watcher keeps in contact with a clairvoyant who warned of an evil about to wake in Sunnydale. I came here to stop it.” 

“I see. And you know nothing of the nature of this dark power?”

“No, sir.” 

“Do you know when it will rise?”

“Today. Maybe tomorrow.” 

Giles nodded. “This is worse than I feared.”

“What? So we’re just gonna believe this woo clairvoyant?” asked Buffy. “And ignore the fact that Kendra isn’t the slayer. That I’m the slayer!”

“True clairvoyants are rare, Buffy, but they’re quite reliable. They can predict major disturbances in the magic with considerable accuracy. There must, in fact, be an evil coming to the fore soon, and a powerful one too. A weaker being wouldn’t be perceptible.”

“And we’re just trust Kendra? We don’t even know who she is!”

“I am the slayer.” 

“That’s impossible!”

“Excuse Buffy’s rudeness, Kendra, but I’m afraid she’s right. The new slayer is only called after the previous slayer has died…” And then Giles realized. “Well good lord. You really were dead, Buffy.”

“I was only gone for a minute.”

“Clearly, it doesn’t matter how long you were gone. You were physically dead, thus causing the activation of the next slayer.”

“She died?” Kendra was curious and worried. 

“Just a little,” Buffy defended. 

“She drowned, but she was revived,” Giles explained.

“And you are still the slayer?” asked Kendra. 

“Yup. As powerful as the day I died, if not more so.”  

“This is completely unprecedented. I’m really quite flummoxed.”

“What’s the flum?” asked Buffy. “It’s a mistake. She isn’t supposed to be here. She goes home.”

Buffy turned to Kendra. “Look. No offense. I really don’t mean this personally, but I’m not dead, and frankly having you around creeps me out just a little bit.”

“I cannot just leave. I came to stop the dark power from rising, and I intend to do so.” 

“So, what? I’m just supposed to trust you because you say you’re the slayer?”

“I am the slayer,” said Kendra. “Of course you should trust me. I trust you.” 

“Then why the hell did you attack me?”

“I thought you were a vampire,” explained Kendra.

“Oh, a swing and a miss for the rookie.”

“I had a good reason to think you were,” said Kendra. “Did I not see you kissing a vampire?”

“Yes. Right,” said Buffy. “Look, you saw me with Angel, and he’s a vampire. But he’s good.”

A good vampire? That was another thing Kendra added to the list of weird things about Buffy. 

“Angel?” asked Kendra. “You mean Angelus? I’ve read about him. He is a monster.”

“No. He’s good now,” assured Giles. 

“He has a curse,” said Buffy, and in response to Kendra’s quizzical stare she said, “you know what, you’ve just got to trust me on this okay? He’s on the home team now.”

“I can not believe you,” said Kendra. “He looked to me just like any animal when I…”

“When you what?” Buffy stormed up to Kendra. “What did you do to him?”

“I..”

“What did you do?”

“Calm down, Buffy,” Giles requested. “Let her explain.”

“I tracked him down after I saw you two at the ice rink,” said Kendra. “I found him in a bar. I locked him behind a grate for him to burn as the sun comes up.”

“The sun is already up,” said Buffy. “He’s dead.”

“If the window was west-facing, he still has a chance,” said Giles. 

“Let’s go then,” said Buffy. “What bar is it?”

“Willy’s bar,” said Kendra. 

“That’s really close to here. I’m leaving,” said Buffy, and she sprinted out the library doors and ran towards the bar. Kendra ran to catch up. 

Buffy ran fast, but Kendra had no trouble keeping pace. The two of them sprinted full speed, and arrived there quickly. Buffy kicked down the locked grate and door. The two went inside the dimly lit bar, and Kendra led the way to the closet where she had locked Angel up. They threw open the door. 

Angel wasn’t there. 

Buffy looked around in despair. The east facing window was to her right.  

“No ashes,’ Kendra said. 

“What?”

“When a vampire combusts, he leaves ashes.”

“Yeah,” said Buffy, “I know the drill.”

“So I didn’t kill him.”

Buffy took a step closer to her. “And I don’t need to kill you.”

The two of them sized each other up for a little bit. Kendra could feel the anger on the other Slayer. Her emotions were palpable, like they themselves were power. Their antics were interrupted when the bartender walked by. 

“Woah,” he said. “There’s a lot of tension in this room.”

Immediately, Kendra put her hand around his neck, and pushed him down, pinning him on the floor. She knew that if Angel had escaped, that somebody had let him out. And it had to be the bartender. 

“Doesn’t anyone say hello where you’re from?” Buffy asked her. 

“He is dirty! I can feel it!”

“That’s really good for you, Percepto Girl.” Buffy bent down to separate Kendra from the man. “But we’re not gonna get anything out of him if he’s unconscious.”

And she asked the man, “Where’s Angel?”

“Oh,” said the man. “My buddy Angel, you think I'd let him fry? I saved him in the nick. He was five minutes away from being a crispy critter.”

“Where’d he go?” asked Buffy. 

“He said he’d stay underground. You know, recuperate.”

“Are you telling the truth?”

“I swear on my mother’s grave, should anything lethal happen to her, god forbid.”

“Then he is alright,” said Kendra. “We can return to your watcher for our orders.”

Buffy let the man go, and turned to face Kendra. 

“I don’t take orders,” said Buffy. “I do things my way.”

“No wonder you died.”

“Let’s go.”

The two girls looked at each other and exited the building. 

Once the two slayers were outside, Buffy turned to Kendra. 

“How dare you do that to Angel? You nearly got him killed!”

“He’s a vampire. I slay vampires. It’s my duty.”

“You don’t slay Angel. He has a soul.”

“And how was I supposed to know that?”

“Besides,” Ignored Buffy. “Why were you watching us at the ice rink anyways?”

“I followed Octarus there. The assassin.”

“And why didn’t you help me when he was fighting me?” Buffy retorted. “Didn’t you think to lend a helping hand?”

“You didn’t need any help,” said Kendra. “I saw you. You fought him very well, and besides, you had the vampire with you.”

“The vampire that you very nearly killed.” 

“I’m sorry for what I did to Angelus,” admitted Kendra. “I didn’t realize what he meant to you.”

Kendra never thought that would apologize for trying to kill a vampire.

Buffy sighed. 

“I don’t blame you,” she said. “There was no way you could have known. I’m just glad he’s not dead.”

The two of them turned to the school and started walking there. They were silent for about a minute. 

“So we’re no closer to finding the dark power that’s about to rise,” remarked Buffy. 

“That is true.” 

“And I know I haven’t been exactly friendly towards you this morning, but if we want to defeat this thing, we’re gonna need to work together.” 

“I agree.” 

“So I promise to work with you to defeat it,” said Buffy. “I still don’t think that you’re the slayer, and I don’t like having you in my town, but I can tell that you have skills. For now, I am willing to work with you. Will you work with me?”

“I promise.” 

Frankly, having Kendra around creeped Buffy out just a little bit. It was Buffy’s second morning in a row being woken by an attacker. Only a slayer could be targeted by the most fearsome assassins in the world, and be attacked each morning by completely unrelated people, for unrelated reasons. And one of them claims to be the slayer, and seems to be a better slayer than you. 

For more than a year, Buffy had been the one and only vampire gal. Stakes, crossbows, punches, and kicks were her thing. And then along comes Kendra. A mirror Buffy, with the same powers, the same methods, and the same sacred duty. And Buffy found out that all of the things that made her special and unique were already done better by somebody else. 

Buffy had only known Kendra for only a few hours, but she already seemed so perfect. She was such a good fighter, well trained and loyal to her cause. She just radiated an air of confidence and power. Nobody could be that good. It gave Buffy the wig.

When the two of them got back to the school, they met Giles in the library, and told him what had happened at the bar. The conversation turned to other matters. 

“Kendra,” said Giles. “I’ve conferred with your watcher, and we both agree that until this matter with the dark power has been resolved, that you two should work together.”

“And where do we start?” asked Buffy. “A very powerful monster is about to rise, and we have no idea what or when or where.”

“It’s surely related to the du Lac manuscript.” said Giles. 

“The du Lac manuscript? I am not familiar with that work,” said Kendra. 

“It was written by a mystic, Josephus du Lac, at the turn of the century. He encrypted it in an archaic Latin code, and I was never able to decipher it. Vampires stole it from me last week, and I believe they have found a key that will allow them to discover its meaning. I do not know what it says, but I fear that it may be dangerous in the wrong hands.”

“So we find the book?” said Kendra. “Take it back.” 

“We don’t know where it is,” said Giles. “And I fear it may be too late. If the vampires have read it, they may already be acting on its preternatural wisdom.” 

Kendra nodded.

Giles turned to Buffy. 

“It explains why Ampata rose, though,” he said. “She was meant to protect her people, and was mummified with a curse that would revive her if ever there was a great threat in her vicinity. She must have sensed the dark power and come back to life.”

At that moment Willow walked into the library. “Hi.”

Kendra stood up. “Identify yourself.” 

“Back off, Kendra. This is my friend,” said Buffy. “Hi, Willow.” 

“Friend?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t understand.”

Buffy turned to Giles. 

“Kendra,” said Giles. “There are a few people that — civilians if you like — who know Buffy’s secret identity. Willow is one of them, and they also, um, spend time together, socially.”

“And you allow this, sir?”

“Well… I—”

“But the slayer must work in secret for security.”

“Of course, but with Buffy, however, it’s, erm… Some flexibility is required.”

“Why?” 

“Hi guys,” asked Willow. “What’s going on?”

“Sorry,” said Buffy. “I was rude. Willow, this is Kendra. She’s also—”

“I’m also a demon hunter,” said Kendra, glaring at Buffy. 

“Right. She’s also a demon hunter. And Kendra, this is Willow, my friend.” 

“Pleased to meet you, Kendra,” said Willow, enthusiastically. 

Kendra nodded in return, before turning to Giles.

“So you believe that you have identified the dark power?” she said. 

“Yes,” said Giles. “I figured out what’s written in the manuscript. It’s a ritual. I haven't managed to decipher the exact details — but I believe the purpose is to restore a weak and sickly vampire to full health.”

“A vampire like Drusilla?” suggested Willow. 

“Yes. I think Spike is trying to heal her, which would explain why they are in Sunnydale in the first place. I think she’s the dark power that your watcher referred to, Kendra. You see, Drusilla’s not only evil, she’s also quite mad. And if she’s restored to her full health, then, well, there’s no telling what she might do.” 

“Then we will stop Spike,” said Kendra. 

“Ooh, good plan. Let’s go charge!” said Buffy.

“Buffy…” Giles warned. 

“It’s more complicated than that, John Wayne,” Buffy said.  

“Yes, um, I’m afraid it is,” said Giles. “You see, Spike has also called the Order of Taraka to keep Buffy out of the way.” 

“The assassins?” asked Kendra. “I read of them in the writings of Dramius.” 

“Oh really? Which volume?”

“I believe it was six, sir.” 

“Um, how do you know all this?” Buffy asked. 

“From my studies.” 

“So obviously you have a lot of free time.” 

“I study because it is required,” said Kendra. “The Slayer’s Handbook insists on it.” 

“There’s a slayer handbook?” asked Willow.

“Wait? Handbook? What handbook?” asked Buffy. “How come I don’t have a handbook?”

“Is there a T-shirt too?” asked Willow. “Cause that would be cool.” 

“After meeting you Buffy, I realized that the handbook would be of no use in your case,” said Giles. 

“What do you mean it would be no use in my case?” asked Buffy. “What’s wrong with my case?”

“Kendra, perhaps you’d like to show me the part in Dramius six where it refers to the Order of Taraka,” said Giles. “I must admit that I’ve never been able to get through that book. It’s a bit stodgy.” 

“It was difficult,” laughed Kendra. “All those footnotes.” 

Buffy saw Giles behave in a different way than she had ever seen him before. He was really liking having somebody to geek out about demon books with. Welcome to planet pocket protector, Buffy thought. 

“Oh uh, Buffy,” said Giles. “Principal Snyder was snooping around after you.”

“Career fair.” 

“You’d best make an appearance, I think.” 

“Right.”

“Is Buffy a student here?” asked Kendra. 

“Yes,” said Giles. 

“Yes of course,” said Kendra. “And I imagine she’s a cheerleader as well?”

“No, well, actually, she had to give up her cheerleading,” said Giles. “It was quite an amusing story actually… Let’s find the book, shall we?”

“Wanna come find my seminar with me?” Buffy asked Willow. 

“Sure.” And the two left the library together. 

“Get a load of the she-Giles,” remarked Buffy to Willow once they had left. 

“I know,” said Willow.

“I bet Giles wishes I was more of a book geek.” 

“Giles is enough of a book geek for the both of you.” 

“Yeah, but did you see how they were vibing?” said Buffy. “Volume 6! Hahaha!” 

Willow paused. “I’m sensing some resentment.” 

“I guess,” said Buffy. “It’s nothing. I’m just in my head because of the career fair. It's this whole week of ‘what's my line?’ Only I don't get to play.”

“‘What’s my line?’” asked Willow. 

“You haven’t heard of ‘What’s my Line?’”

Willow shook her head. 

“Did you have under a rock as your childhood home? It’s a game show where they guess what your job is.” 

Willow smiled sympathetically. “Right. Career week.” 

“Yeah. I guess it just got me thinking about how I’ll never have a normal life. I guess I didn’t realize that until now. I mean, I knew I was the slayer, but I always imagined a far off time when everything was normal, when I go off to college, and you know, do career week stuff.” 

Buffy looked at Willow as they walked through the halls. 

“But that’ll never happen. And now I’ve met Kendra, who’s entire life is slaying vampires. That’s all she does. That’s all she talks about, probably all she thinks about. And she’s super good at it. Maybe that’s what I’ll be like later. No life.”

“You aren’t like her, Buffy! You do have a normal life. And maybe one day you will go to college. I mean UC Sunnydale’s on the Hellmouth.”

“I guess. But I’m not sure. Juggling slaying with high school is hard enough, and I’m hardly passing. But maybe if…” Buffy paused. “I wonder if maybe Kendra could replace me.”

“Replace you?”

“Sure. I could tell her: Kendra, you slay. I’m going to Disneyland.” 

“Can you… can she do that?”

“Why not. She fights vampires and demons. She knows all the tricks. She can fight and she can slay. Why couldn’t she take over? She’s better at it all than me.” 

“She’s better? But you’re the Slayer, Buffy.” 

“Well, I was.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m just not sure I’m the same person I used to be anymore.”

“Buffy, I—”

“It’s nothing. I’ve gotta go. I’ve got a police seminar to get to, and the Snyder will be pissed if I’m late. See you!” 

Kendra was continually surprised about how the other slayer behaved. Even before she became the slayer, Kendra had always viewed it as a sacred duty. Slaying is not done because one wants to do it, or because one must. It is done because it needs doing, and there is only one person who can do it. After first meeting Buffy, Kendra had assumed that she had somehow forsaken her sacred duty, but she understood now that she was wrong about that. 

Even when Buffy was at school learning algebra or kissing vampires she was the slayer. She found evil wherever she went, and did her best to destroy it. She patrols every night, on top of her school work and social life. And everywhere she goes, she radiates an aura of strength, of grace, and of power. She is always the slayer. 

For Kendra, slaying was a thing she did, but not for Buffy. For Buffy, it was who she was. That explains why she was so rude to her. ‘Another slayer does not mean another ally to her,’ thought Kendra. ‘It means an encroachment upon her identity.’ 

Kendra was in the library with Giles, flipping through the writing of Dramius, volume six. She was pretty sure that there was information about the Order of Taraka in there somewhere. But she couldn’t remember where she had read it.

“I believe it’s in this volume,” she said. “But I can’t remember where it was.” 

“I don’t blame you,” said Giles. “The book is very disorganized. Dramius knew about many demons and monsters, but he never quite mastered the table of contents.” 

“Yes,” Kendra laughed. “Ooh look here it is!”

And sure enough, she had found the section on the order of Taraka. 

“Perfect! That’s—”

Giles was interrupted by a sound from elsewhere in the school. Gunshots. Without saying anything, Kendra stood up, and left the library to find the source of the trouble. She followed the sound of gunfire through the corridors, until she saw the attacker.

A police officer was locked in combat with Buffy. The cop drew a gun. Kendra sprinted forward and kicked the officer to the floor, knocking the gun out of her hand. 

Kendra stood beside Buffy, to protect her. The cop grabbed another student. She put him in a headlock with a knife at his throat. Kendra stood by Buffy as they thought of a plan. 

Deciding that she didn’t like her odds, the cop dropped the student, and sprinted out the door, and away. Kendra chased after her, with all her speed. But the cop was able to hide, and after a minute she had lost her trail. She returned to the school. 

When she reentered, Buffy and Willow were tending to another student who had been caught by a stray bullet. Sensing Kendra’s presence, Buffy turned to face her. 

“She’s gone,” Kendra said. 

“Was that a demonstration?” a boy asked. 

Later, Buffy returned to the library.

“Are you okay?” asked Xander.

“I am,” she said. “That cop was definitely one of the Taraka gang, and way gun happy.” 

“This Oz chap,” Interjected Giles. “He’s alright?”

“The paramedic said it was only a scrape,” said Willow. “Thank goodness.” 

“The important thing is that everybody’s alright,” said Giles. “Still. It’s quite apparent that we’re under serious attack.”

“These Taraka are definitely serious. Fortunately for me, so is Kendra,” Buffy said. She thought of the attack earlier. The cop would have shot her if Kendra hadn’t arrived in time. She owes her life to the other slayer.

Kendra smiled at the compliment. 

“I fear the worst is yet to come,” said Giles. “I’ve decoded the key for Drusilla’s revival. The ritual requires the presence of her sire, and it must take place in a church on the night of the new moon.” 

“The new moon,” said Kendra. “But that is tonight.” 

“Exactly,” said Giles. “And I’m sure the assassins were here to kill Buffy before she could put a stop to things.” 

“They need Drusilla’s sire,” said Buffy. “You mean the vamp that made her?”

“Yes.” 

“Buffy what is it?” asked Willow. 

“Angel. He’s Drusilla’s sire.” 

“Wow, that man got major neck in his day,” said Xander, receiving a hit from Willow in response. 

“Will this ritual kill him?” Buffy asked. 

“Yes. I’m afraid it will.” 

They all got to work, figuring out where the ritual would be happening, and how to stop it. Kendra was astonished about how they all seemed to be working more to protect a vampire than to stop Drusilla from terrorizing the town. Kendra hated the way Buffy talked about him. He was a vampire!

She was also astonished at the fact that two ordinary people were involved in the effort. They were not watchers or potential slayers, but they were nonetheless involved in the fight against darkness. 

Kendra was with Buffy in Giles’s office, sharpening stakes. She looked out the office window at Xander. 

“And that boy, he also knows you are the slayer?” she asked. 

“Yup,” said Buffy. 

“Did anyone explain to you what ‘secret identity’ means?”

“Nope. Must be in the handbook. Right after the chapter on personality removal.”

Kendra picked up a crossbow from Giles’s desk.

“Be careful with that thing!” said Buffy. 

“Please. I am an expert in all weapons.” Kendra said, but she misfired, and destroyed a lamp. 

Buffy glared at her. 

“Is everything alright?” GIles asked. 

“Yup,” said Buffy. “Kendra killed a bad lamp.” 

“Sorry!” said Kendra. “The trigger mechanism is different!” 

In a lower voice, to Buffy, Kendra said. “Perhaps when this is all over you can show me how to work it.” 

“When this is over I’m thinking pineapple pizza and teen video movie fest. Possibly something from the Ringwald oeuvre.” 

“Your life is very different than mine.”

“You mean the part where I occasionally have one? Yeah I guess it is.”

“The things you do and have, I was taught distract from my calling— friends, school, even family.” 

“Even family?”

“My parents sent me to my watcher when I was very young.” 

“How young?”

“I don’t remember them actually. I’ve seen pictures, but… that’s how seriously the calling is taken by my people. My mother and father gave me to my watcher because they believed that they were doing the right thing for me, and for the world.”

Buffy looked at her. 

“Please, I don’t feel sorry for myself,” said Kendra. “Why should you?”

“I don't know. I guess it just sounds very lonely.” 

“Emotions are weakness, Buffy. You shouldn’t entertain them.” 

“Kendra, my emotions give me power. They’re total assets.” 

“Maybe for you. But I prefer to keep an even mind.” 

“I guess that explains it.” 

“Explains what?”

“When we were fighting, your technique was flawless. It was better than mine.” 

“I know.” Kendra smiled. 

“Still,” said Buffy. “I would have kicked your butt in the end. And you know why? No imagination.” 

“Really? You think so?”

“I know so. You’re good, but power alone isn’t enough. A good fighter needs to know how to improvise. To go with the flow. And seriously, don’t get me wrong,” said Buffy mischievously. “You really do have potential.” 

“Potential? I could wipe the floor with you right now.” 

Buffy walked up to Kendra, and stood very close to her, so that they almost touched. “That would be anger you’re feeling.”

“What?”

“You feel it right? How the anger gives you fire. A slayer needs that.” 

Kendra did feel the fire. She felt the every bit of power from the slayer right in front of her. She felt each inhale and exhale from the other slayer as if it were her own. As if Buffy’s heart beat with her. It made her feel strong. Maybe Buffy was right. Maybe emotions are not weakness. She stared into the other slayer’s eyes. 

Kendra had to admit that she had been impressed by Buffy’s power and grace at the ice rink, and while fighting her. She had wondered how she had managed to be so strong. Maybe she now knew the answer. Maybe it was her emotions. 

The two of them stood like that for a while, almost touching, saying nothing, feeling each others warmth. Kendra wondered if maybe in another life, if she and Buffy had met on friendlier terms, they could work together. It was nice to know that there was another slayer, that Kendra wasn’t alone. Maybe if Buffy didn’t hate her so much, they would be able to carry out their sacred duties together, to trade tips on crossbows, and vampire hunting, and on emotions. They could hunt together by the moonlight, late at night. Just the two of them. 

The office door opened, and Xander entered, to grab a book. “Excuse me ladies.” 

The two girls stepped apart. Kendra noticed her heart beating fast. 

Xander grabbed a book and left the office, and closed the door behind him.

“I’m guessing dating isn’t big with your watcher either,” said Buffy after Xander had left. 

“I am not permitted to speak to boys.” 

“Unless you're pummeling them.” 

“The undead and the forces of darkness aren’t normally considered dating options.” she said. “By those other than you.” 

“Do you ever wish you could date?”

“Not really. I’ve always been more concerned with my duties than with boys.” 

Buffy made a face after hearing that, like Kendra was the epitome of what Giles wishes she was. 

“You only became the slayer a few months ago, but you talk as if it was your whole life,” said Buffy. “What were your duties before that?” 

“My whole life, I have trained and studied in preparation for being the slayer. Even before I was the slayer, I fought against the forces of evil.” 

“But how did you know that you would become the slayer?”

“One can not know that they will become the slayer until it happens, but it can be predicted to an extent.” Kendra was astonished at how little Buffy knew. “My parents gave me to my watcher because they could sense what I might become. The theory of potential slayers has been known since Haransephorus. Have you learned nothing in your studies?”

“No. I suppose I haven’t. Other that solving for x, and Huck Finn.” 

Kendra shook her head. “You should probably read a real book someday.” 

Buffy laughed, and looked back down at the stake she was sharpening. 

“So. Tell me about yourself,” said Buffy. “Where are you from?”

“I am from Jamaica. I live in the mountains there with my watcher and a potential slayer. What about you?”

“I was born in Los Angeles, and I lived there until last year.” 

“And Buffy is your real name?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t it be?”

“I’ve never heard of someone named Buffy before, and I often lie about my name when I meet someone.” 

“You do? What’s your real name then?”

“It is Kendra. But I do have a last name. It’s Young.” 

“That’s a very nice name.” 

Kendra smiled at the complement, but she then became more serious. 

“Buffy,” said Kendra. “You were going to tell Willow that I was the slayer earlier. Why?”

“I’m sorry. I guess I kinda thought that… I don’t know… She’s just known that I was the slayer for almost a year. I forgot that I might need to hide anything from her.”   

“The slayer works in secret for a reason. Telling people of your duty can put them in danger.” 

“I didn’t mean to tell her at first. I saved her from a vampire shortly after I met her. Then, when I needed to fight vampires in the town’s electrical tunnels, she hacked into the city’s database to find the schematics. Then she helped me defeat a witch, which kinda led to her helping me fight evil on the regular.” 

“But that could put her in danger.” 

“I know. And it did. She was captured by vampires trying to do a blood ritual to restore the master, because she was close to him when he died. But she was only captured because I knowingly walked right into a trap — because I didn’t listen to her when she told me not to. She’s helped me so much. I don’t think I could have fought the vampires I’ve fought without her.” 

“You’re the Slayer, Buffy,” said Kendra. “It is your duty to fight vampires alone.” 

“I know.” 

“But I guess she is helpful.”

“She is.”

Suddenly, Giles opened the office door. 

“I think we’ve found the church,” he said. “Willow found a church by the river that’s been abandoned for seven years.” 

“Are we sure it’s the place?” asked Buffy. 

“Not entirely, but if we don’t go now it might be too late.” 

In Giles’s car, the group went to the church. Buffy and Kendra got out first, to see if this was the right place. 

Buffy walked up to the doors. 

“Stop,” said Kendra. “What are you doing?” 

“I’m going inside.” 

“Should we not look through the windows first?” asked Kendra. “To check if this is the right place?”

“If I open the door, and see Angel inside, I will know if this is the right place.” 

“You should be more careful! The door could be well guarded! If you throw it open without knowing what’s on the other side, you could die.” 

“If I don’t, then Angel could die,” said Buffy. And she went to the door and pushed it. Unsurprisingly, it was locked. So she pushed it harder, breaking the lock.

She stepped inside, but as soon as she did, two pairs of hands grabbed her from either side. They were waiting for her.

Buffy struggled against the grip, but it was too tight. On her left was a grizzly and fearsome vampire, and on her right was the police officer from earlier. Patrice was her name. So it seems they were at the right place, Buffy thought. And maybe Kendra was right to suggest caution. 

The two marched her forward towards the main door, and threw them open. They stepped into the main room of the church. It was dotted with vampires, who stood before the stations of the cross. In front of the altar stood Spike. And behind him stood Drusilla and Angel, fastened together with a leather strap. A knife pierced their two hands. Buffy had never seen Angel in a worse state before. 

“Sir,” said Patrice to him. “We have your girl.” 

“You fools,” said Spike, astonished. “To bring her here now. I wanted her dead!”

“I can do that, sir,” said Patrice pulling out her gun. 

Buffy struggled against Patrice’s grip, but another vampire emerged behind her to hold her steady. Patrice raised the weapon to Buffy’s head. 

By now, Kendra had quietly climbed up to the balcony at the back of the church where the choir sings. She jumped down from above, and kicked Patrice’s hand, pushing the gun away from Buffy’s head. The weapon fired, and the bullet made a hole in a stained glass window. The gun fell to the floor. 

In the confusion, Buffy pulled herself away from the two vampires. The two slayers rushed to confront Spike. 

“What’s this?” He asked.

“It’s your lucky day, Spike,” said Buffy, grabbing her stake. 

“Two slayers!” said Kendra. 

In unison, the two slayers jabbed their stakes towards Spike’s heart, but he dodged nimbly out of the way. Patrice grabbed Buffy from behind. She fought back, and the two became locked in hand to hand combat. Kendra turned her attention to Spike. 

Armed with stakes, crossbows and shields, Giles, Willow, and Xander entered the room. They tried to fight the vampires of the church to the best of their ability. 

Buffy found Patrice a formidable opponent. With knives in her hands, she stabbed at Buffy, who nimbly dodged. Buffy hardly thought of her opponent, thinking only of Angel. She tried to reach him, to run past the cop to the altar, but Patrice stood like a wall in her way. Buffy struck her and dodged her and attacked her on instinct and reaction, trying to find a vulnerability that would let her get past. If only she could get to the altar… 

Meanwhile, Giles attacked the fearsome vampire. Not bothering to reload his crossbow, he swung it over his head at the vampire, using it as a blunt weapon. This tactic didn’t function as well as he had hoped. The vampire grabbed the weapon and did not let go. He tried to bite Giles. 

Willow grabbed that vampire from behind, confusing and disorienting him enough to let Giles escape his jaws. With Willow holding the monster still, Giles was able to grab his stake and send it through the vampire’s heart, turning him to dust. 

Xander wielded a long stake like a spear and a shield resembling that of an ancient warrior. He tried to fight against the vampires, but he was of little use. The vampires hardly paid him any mind as they brushed him aside. Still, he did not give up, frequently trying, and always failing, to attack them from behind and throw them to the ground. 

Kendra, of course, fought Spike, who could fight like no vampire that Kendra had ever fought before. He was strong and tough. Kendra had thought that slaying him would be easy, but she found herself wrong. The two stabbed and kicked and punched and parried. Slowly, Kendra backed up and Spike advanced, until Kendra was standing nearly back to back with Buffy. She saw her opportunity.

She turned around and grabbed Patrice, in an attempt to give Buffy an opportunity to get up to the front. Buffy saw the plan and dashed up to the altar. Patrice quickly escaped her grip, and fought back against Kendra.

Buffy got to the altar, but she had barely begun trying to undo the leather straps when Spike grabbed her and threw her back. “I’d rather be fighting you anyway,” he said. 

“Mutual,” said Buffy. The two embroiled themselves in combat. 

Kendra continued fighting Patrice. She kicked and punched. 

“You are not a normal human.” Kendra remarked to Patrice. “You are far too strong.”

Kendra wondered whether Patrice might be a demon, or maybe some sort of enhanced human. She could not recall anything like her from her studies. Patrice managed to get a knife strike to Kendra’s shoulder. It was only a scratch, but it cut a hole in Kendra’s shirt. 

“That’s my favorite shirt!” she said. “That’s my only shirt.” 

She had only brought one shirt to Sunnydale. 

Xander put himself in the thick of the fight, thrusting his stake at vampires who brushed it away. Willow and Giles had retreated to the back of the church. They tended to their crossbows, and sent bolts flying intermittantly towards the vampires. They almost always missed, but one lucky shot from Giles turned a vamp to dust. Still, they were no closer to stopping the ritual. 

Drusilla started giggling. “It’s working! Spike, it’s working! I’m getting stronger!”

A bright flash of light emanated from the knife wound on Angel’s hand, as if the open flesh was a window into the heavens. Buffy roared.

Kendra found herself fighting the super-strong cop and a bunch of vampires simultaneously. She had never defended herself against so many opponents before, and she fought them like a raven fights a storm. She was able to hold her own for a while, but eventually their numbers got the better of her.  A blow from Patrice sent her to the floor. 

Suddenly, the church doors flew open, and a girl ran in. In the confusion she was able to sprint to the altar where she then stood. All could see her. 

“Ampata!” Xander exclaimed. 

“My name is not Ampata. I am called Mayta, the vampire slayer,” she said. And she drove a wooden stake through Drusilla’s heart. She turned to dust. 

“Dru!” screamed Spike, who tried to push past Buffy to get to her. Buffy stopped him, and continued fighting. 

Meanwhile, Kendra took advantage of the confusion to sit up and throw Patrice over her head. Patrice landed hard on a church pew, apparently unconscious, and possibly dead. 

Mayta noticed that Angel was also a vampire, and raised a stake to kill him. Buffy saw this, and ran to stop her. 

“Don’t kill him,” said Buffy. “He’s good. He’s our friend.” 

“He’s a vampire,” said Mayta. 

“I know,” said Buffy. 

Mayta lowered the stake, trusting Buffy. The two of them looked over to see Spike kneeling beside them, running his hand through the faint dust that was his lover. He sobbed gently. Mayta and Buffy encircled him. Buffy raised her stake. Spike looked to her. 

“Please don’t kill me,” he said. “I’ll leave this town. I’ll do anything. Please don’t kill me.” 

Buffy thought back to parent teacher interview night. Spike had taunted her. He had told her that the other two slayers had begged for their lives, before he killed them. He said that Buffy would do the same. How the tables had turned. 

“Don’t kill me,” he said again. “I’ve just lost so much.” 

Kendra walked up to the altar. All the vampires had fled the church after they saw that they had lost the battle. The only vampire now was Spike. The three slayers stood around him. 

“What are you waiting for?” Kendra asked. “Slay him.” 

Buffy hesitated, but she raised her stake, and shoved it down through Spike’s heart. He turned to dust, which fell down, and mixed with that of his lover. 

The seven people in the church surveyed the damage of the battle.

Buffy untied Angel, who had fallen to the floor. 

“Are you okay?” she asked. 

Angel just grunted. Buffy caressed him. He seemed very hurt, but he was definitely alive. By vampire standards at least. 

Xander and Willow approached Mayta. 

“Wow,” said Xander, looking her up and down. “You look great. You’re a lot less… mummified than when I last saw you.” 

Mayta smiled. “Yes. I’m very alive.” 

“Did the seal break again?” asked Willow. 

“No. When I was mummified, a special curse was placed on me to wake me if any catastrophe were to fall near my resting place. I sensed that a dark power was about to rise.” 

“You’re the slayer?” asked Willow. 

Mayta grimaced. “Don’t make a big deal of it, okay? I just want to be a normal girl.”

She leaned in to kiss Xander, but he pushed her back. 

“It’s okay,” she said. “My seal isn’t broken, so kissing you wont turn you into a mummy.” 

Xander shook his head. “I’m not kissing you now that I know your… history. I’m done with monster girls.” 

Dejected, Mayta sunk back. 

Kendra returned to Patrice’s unconscious body, which was already being examined by Giles. 

“How is she?” she asked. 

Giles lifted her head a little to reveal a sizable dent in the back of her head. “I think she’s dead.” 

“Is she human?”

“I believe so.” 

Kendra sighed. She felt bad to have killed a human, but she told herself that she had needed to do it to prevent Drusilla’s rise. 

“What should we do with the body?”

“I think we should leave it right here,” said Giles. “Somebody will find it and take care of it.”

Kendra nodded. 

Buffy joined them by the dead body. 

“What do we do about her?” she asked. 

“We’ve decided to leave her here,” said Giles. 

“No, I’m talking about her ,” said Buffy. “The mummy girl.” 

“Oh,” said Giles. “Well, erm, she has been quite helpful for us today.” 

“That’s for sure,” Buffy agreed. 

“But living mummies are dangerous business. She needs to feed off of the life forces of living people to stay alive. And she has proven herself quite willing to do so. I think it would be best if you, uh, dealt with her.” 

Buffy nodded. She didn’t like it but she knew what she had to do. She picked Patrice’s gun off the floor, and did her best to conceal it as she approached Mayta.

“So,” she said to her. “They call you Mayta.” 

“Yes,” she said. 

“And you’re the slayer.” 

“I am,” she said. “Or, I was, before I died. And my powers don’t seem to have gone away.” 

“That explains why you fought me so well. I thought I’d killed you.” 

Mayta shrugged. “I heal quick.” 

“Thanks for helping us out just now. Angel might have died if not for you.” 

“It’s my duty I suppose. I’ve tried to run from it but, uh, that never really works.” 

Buffy smiled solemnly. “I can understand a thing or two about that.” 

She raised the gun, but Mayta kicked her hand away. Buffy recovered from the blow to see Mayta sprinting to the church exit. She was gone before anyone could stop her.

Buffy and Kendra returned to Angel. They gently picked him up.

“We should bring him to my house,” said Buffy.

“His apartment is closer,” suggested Kendra.

“I really don’t mind bringing him to my house,” said Buffy. “My mom’s not home, so it wouldn’t raise any suspicion.” 

“Kendra is wise to suggest his apartment,” said Giles. “It wouldn’t do him well to sit in a car too long.” 

“Is his apartment safe?” asked Buffy. “I, uh, broke his lock last night.” 

Angel spoke. “I can lock the bolt behind me.” He had to force the words out through his groggy throat, with his remaining strength.

“You can talk!” said Buffy. “That’s good.” 

The two slayers carried Angel to Giles’s car. The four of them went to Angel’s apartment. Xander and Willow waited by the church for them to get back, because all six of them could not fit in Giles’s car. When Giles, Angel, Buffy, and Kendra got to the apartment building, they carried him down the stairs, and opened the door, which had been left unlocked since Buffy and Kendra’s meeting. They set Angel down on his bed. 

“Will you be okay?” Buffy caressed his face. 

Angel nodded his head unconvincingly. 

“Perhaps he could use some, uh, nutrients?” Giles suggested. 

Buffy understood. She jumped up, and Kendra watched in horror as she walked to Angel’s fridge and retrieved from it a package filled with a red liquid — blood. She brought it to Angel, and put it in his hands. “Here you go.” 

He looked at it hungrily, but did nothing. 

“It’ll make you stronger,” suggested Buffy. “You should drink it… or eat it. Whatever you call it.” 

Angel looked at Buffy, and at Kendra and Giles.

“Oh,” said Giles. “Should we look away? It wouldn’t bother me to see you, um, feed.” 

Kendra’s face betrayed that she didn’t feel the same way.

“Perhaps we should give you two some privacy,” he said, sensing Kendra’s disgust. The two of them exited the apartment and closed the door. 

Angel looked then at Buffy.

Buffy helped Angel sit up, and position the blood at his mouth so he could drink. He still did nothing. 

“You don’t want it?”

“No. It’s just that…” he said. “I don’t like you seeing me like this. You shouldn’t have to see me… uh….”

“I don't mind! Honest!” said Buffy. “I like you the way you are. I love you…”

She continued holding up his head. Eventually Angel relented. He ate ravenously. Buffy could hear him grunting faintly, like an animal, as he sucked up the blood, although it was clear that he was trying to suppress this instinct. Buffy didn’t mind it though. When she had first learned that Angel was a vampire, she had been horrified, but she had grown to like him for it. 

Once Angel had finished, he threw the empty blood bag on the floor. Buffy stirred to throw it in the garbage, but Angel stopped her. 

“Stay with me here,” he asked. 

Buffy was happy to oblige. The two of them lay together in his small bed, for a while. 

“Thank you for helping me out today,” he said. “You saved my life.” 

“I’m glad I did,” said Buffy. “I like you being alive.” 

“I like being alive too… sometimes at least. Not that I am alive per se,” he said. 

Buffy didn’t know how to respond, so she just hugged him tighter. 

“If you don’t mind me asking, who is that Kendra?” he asked. “And who is Mayta?”

“I met Kendra in this very room actually,” Buffy sighed. “I had come here, because I feared that my house was too dangerous. Kendra came in, and tried to kill me, thinking that I was a vampire. Long story short, she’s from Jamaica, and she was sent here to stop a dark power from rising. And she’s also the slayer.”

“Another slayer huh? I met her earlier.” 

“Oh, I’m sorry about that,” said Buffy. “On her behalf.”

“I don’t hold it against her,” he said, although his voice betrayed that that wasn’t true. 

“The story with Mayta is complicated. Cliffs Notes version: she’s a 400 year old Incan mummy that has returned to life by consuming other people’s life force. Oh, and it seems she’s also the slayer.”

“Three slayers?” Angel said. “Not a good time to be a vampire.” 

“I suppose not.” 

Buffy lay there with Angel for a while longer, but she knew she couldn’t stay long.

Eventually she said, “I have to go. Kendra and Giles are waiting for me.”

“Okay.” said Angel. “You can stay with me tonight. If you still need protection from the order of Taraka.” 

Buffy shook her head. “I can’t. I have Kendra to look after. I don’t want to leave her alone. We can keep each other safe.” 

Angel understood.  

Buffy got up, and to Buffy’s surprise, Angel did too. “I have to lock the door after you leave.”

Buffy threw the blood bag into the garbage, and then went back to Angel. They kissed each other goodnight, and then Buffy left. She walked up the stairs to leave, and found Kendra and Giles waiting not far away. 

It was decided that Kendra was to stay with Buffy. She had plenty of room in her house, and they would be able to keep each other safe in the night, in case the Tarakans attacked. After picking up Xander and Willow, Giles drove them to the store on main street when Kendra had left her stuff, so that she could retrieve it, and then he drove them to Buffy’s house, and bade them goodnight. 

They went inside. They first went to the kitchen were they say a large pile of squished bugs. 

“What’s that?” asked Kendra. 

“I don’t know.” 

“You don’t know?”

“No. I’ve never seen something like this before. Is it dangerous?”

“I do not think so,” said Kendra. “They look dead.”

“Okay. ‘Cause I was woken up way early this morning, and I’m kinda itching for sleep.”

“We can leave this here until the morning,” said Kendra. 

“Great.” 

After a quick dinner of toast and jelly, Kendra went to wash off her makeup in the bathroom, while Buffy went to her room to mop up Mayta’s blood. She did a good enough job, but she wasn’t able to get all of it out of the cracks in the floorboards. She would have to deal with that before her mom noticed, but it didn’t have to be right then. 

Buffy didn’t really want to do anything at that moment. She was normally energized after a fight, but this one had tired her. Seeing Angel like that made her hurt. And she had been woken up early by, and had spent the entire day with the most peculiar girl in the world. Kendra entered the room.

“Thank you for helping me out today,” she said. “I wouldn’t have been able to stop Drusilla without you.” 

It hadn’t occurred to Buffy to think about it this way. Kendra was the one who had done her a favor. “You’re welcome,” she said. “I wouldn’t have been able to do it without you either. We make a good team.”

 Kendra smiled. “I enjoy being by your side.”

“Of course, neither of us would have been able to do it without Mayta,” Buffy admitted. 

“I noticed her. Who is she?”

“She is an Incan mummy. She nearly killed Xander a few months ago. We thought we’d dealt with her but it seems she’s back.” 

“I didn’t know she was a mummy,” said Kendra. “She looked perfectly alive to me.” 

“Don't they all.”

“Well, she was helpful to us today.” 

“Yeah.” 

Buffy sat down next to Kendra on the bed. 

“You were helpful too,” said Buffy. “I know I said that before. It’s just… Angel would be dead. Thank you for helping me save him.” 

“I’m glad I did,” said Kendra. “I know he means a lot to you.”

“You’re not upset anymore that I’m not gonna kill him?”

“I’m not. It’s very weird that a slayer is dating a vampire…”

“Tell me about it,” said Buffy. 

“But I must admit he’s kinda cute,” said Kendra. “And slayers have done weirder things before. A slayer from medieval Persia once turned an entire town to marzipan.” 

“Marzipan?”

“Indeed. I learned of it in my Slayer’s Handbook. It was disastrous for everyone involved.”

“Well, maybe they won’t fire me for dating him then,” said Buffy.

Kendra smiled. “You always do that.” 

“Do what?”

“You talk about slaying like it’s a job.” she said. “It’s not. It’s who you are.”

“Did you get that from your handbook too?” joked Buffy. 

“From you.” 

Buffy was surprised. “From me? How do you mean?”

“I’ve always thought of slaying as a sacred duty,” said Kendra. “A thing that is done because it needs doing, and because the slayer is the only one who can. When I met you, I thought that you had forsaken your duty, by kissing vampires, and ice skating. 

“But the way you talked to me told another story. You were so indignant after hearing that I was the slayer, like your identity was based on being the only one. And I understood. Even when you study biology in a school full of prying eyes, or go to parties or kiss vampires, you are still the slayer, because being the slayer is who you are. You stand against the forces of darkness always.” 

“I guess it’s something I really can’t fight,” said Buffy. “I’m a freak.” 

“Not the only freak.” Kendra smiled. 

Buffy looked at Kendra, and for the first time truly appreciated the joy of seeing another slayer, and knowing she was not alone. 

“I’m sorry I was rude to you today,” said Buffy. “I guess I was surprised at first. But I shouldn’t have been so mean. I like you. I really appreciate you being here.” 

“I forgive you. And I like you too,” said Kendra. “And I’m sorry that I was so judgemental about the way you live your life… the way you carry out your duty. I don’t always understand it, but I know now that there’s more than one way to be the slayer. Even if your way’s a little weird.” 

“And I hope to learn your way. There’s so much I don’t know about fighting, and reading, and studying demons and vampires.”

“I’d love to teach you,” said Kendra. “But only if you teach me about teen movies, and school, and boys.”

“Deal.” Buffy smiled. “But right now I’m just tired.”

“Me too,” said Kendra. She stood up, and put her pillow down on the floor, and lied down. 

“You’re sleeping on the floor?” asked Buffy.

“I always sleep on the floor when I travel,” said Kendra.

“You can sleep in my bed. There’s plenty of room for both of us.”

Kendra just stared at her.  

“What? Don’t you have beds in Jamaica?”

“We have beds. It’s just that we don’t normally share them.” 

“I don’t mean anything by it,” said Buffy. “Me and Willow share a bed all the time.”

“I can sleep on the floor.” 

“Are you sure? I can lend you some pjs.” 

“I suppose it would be nice to sleep in a real bed tonight,” Kendra agreed. “And it does look very comfortable.” 

“Yes!” said Buffy, pulling some pajamas out of her drawer. “I think these will fit you.” 

Kendra put the pjs on. Buffy put on her own. The two of them brushed their teeth and went to bed. Those two slayers slept side by side that night.