Disclaimer:Buffy, Willow, Angel, Xander, Giles, and the rest of the Sunnydale gang aren't mine. They belong to Joss and the nice people at Mutant Enemy. I'm not making any money off this so please don't sue. And please don't repost this without asking me first
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Part Four
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Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here
Brigid, for the first time in years, opened herself to sense the power of the Hellmouth as she walked to the cemetery to patrol. She still couldn't explain her uncanny awareness of the mystical convergence, but she knew it was the cause of her nightmares. She wasn't sure if she could hone her talent so she could sense specific magickal beings like vampires, but she could feel emotional states.... Like that of the person stalking her.
"Okay, come on out. It'll probably be a lot less painful for you if you do." She sighed as she palmed a stake, and turned to confront her shadow.
Tall, Dark, and Mysterious Guy stepped out into the light of the street lamp. [How very forties Noir,] Brigid snickered silently. "Well, well if it isn't my noble protector from last weekend."
He had his hands jammed in his leather jacket, doing a pretty decent impersonation of a young Harrison Ford, as he gave her a wry look. "Hi."
"So is this another one of those strange Sunnydale things where I keep running into you whenever it has to do with vampires, or do you just like my company?"
"Maybe a little of both." A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Actually, I came to warn you. They know about you. It seems the one that got away told them about a girl who knows how to kill vampires."
As soon as the words were said, Brigid felt this overwhelming sense of deja vu. [Where in Hades have I heard that one before?] She recovered enough to ask, "And where did you come by this little tidbit of information? I mean vampires are notoriously closed mouth about this sorta thing."
He winked at her. "I have my sources, and they're pretty accurate, so be careful. Unfortunately, I have to go. I've got a delivery to make." He started to walk off.
"Hey!" She called after him. "Don't you think it's fair that I at least get your name? I mean you weaseled mine out of my friend."
He turned to study her. "Let's just say I'm a friend, and leave it at that."
"Well, because I was taught, 'Hey you!' isn't exactly a polite form of address, I really prefer to know my friends' names."
His smile became a smug grin, which on any other man would have been grounds for Brigid to slap him. "I said I was a friend. I didn't say I was yours."
The words sent a shiver down her spine, but before she could respond, he was gone.
* * *
Jenny, and Willow sat in the living room of Giles' spacious apartment as Rupert wore a hole in the carpet. He had come home to find that his daughter had taken off for parts unknown.
"When I find her, I am going to ground her till she's forty!" Giles muttered. Jenny smiled at his frustration, and he turned on her. "What is so damn funny?"
"Rupert," she said in soothing tones, "I just never thought of you as 'daddy' material before. Now I see you're pretty damn good at it. Anyway, this is typical. She'll come home, or Xander will find her. Either way, things are going to be okay. This is most definitely not the worst crisis we've ever faced." She got up, and wrapped her arms around him. "Shhhh. I know. My father and I were the exact same way."
Giles took a deep shuttering breath. "Oh God, Jenny, she is the only family I have left. I love her so dearly, and she has lost so much because of me. My worst fear is that this place will devour her."
The doorbell rang, and Willow volunteered to get it, not wanting to interrupt the tender scene. But a moment later she called from the entry foyer. "Uh, Giles, you might want to come here."
Rupert moved to the doorway, with Jenny following along behind, to find his protege talking with Angel, who had yet to enter. Rupert quickly realized what he was waiting for, and invited him in. "Please excuse my poor manners, Angel. I've just been preoccupied.", he said absently as he ushered everyone back to the living room.
Angel looked around and commented, "It looks like the gang's all here except for Xander." A sarcastic smile tugged at his lips and his voice filled with mock concern. "Where is dear Xander anyway?"
"He went looking for my daughter." Giles answered. "What brings you back to Sunnydale?"
Angel pulled a book from where he had been concealing it in his jacket. "I managed to wrestle the Tiberious Manifesto from it's previous owners. I thought you might need it." The vampire stopped for a moment and regarded both Jenny and Giles. "Daughter?"
Rupert realized exactly what the vampire was thinking; smiled slightly as Jenny came to the same conclusion and blushed. "No, she's actually my cousin Abbey's daughter, whom I adopted after her mother was killed by Drucilla." His face became clouded with worry. "I sincerely hope Xander is able to find her. Brigid and I fight sometimes, but she's never..."
"Brigid? About 5 foot 5 inches, light brown hair, really piercing green eyes, and a sarcastic edge?"
"Yes, you've met her, Angel?"
"Yeah, I ran into her while she was on patrol."
"Patrol?"
Angel looked at him as if Giles had lost his wits. "You know, patrolling for vampires. She was headed to the cemetery."
"Damn!" Giles began to pace again. "I knew she'd try and get involved in this. Why the hell is she risking herself?"
"Because it's what Slayers do." Angel answered. "Giles, what's going on here?"
"Slayer? Where did you hear that Brigid was the Slayer?" Giles was becoming more and more agitated by the moment. Angel, on the other hand, found himself in the position of knowing more about the Slayer than her Watcher did.
"I didn't hear. I can sense it. Anyone who's aware can, as long as they know what they're looking for. I spent enough time around Buffy to know exactly what a Slayer's aura 'feels' like." He stopped as he got a handle on the situation. "You mean you didn't know?"
Before Giles could answer Willow broke into the conversation with a worried look on her face. "Excuse me, but Xander went to look for her, and if Brigid is hunting vampires..." She left the last unsaid but they all knew what she was thinking.
Angel rolled his eyes. "Okay. Okay. I'll go after them." He let himself out the door muttering all the while about having to pull Xander out of the fryer.
* * *
Brigid was pretty happy. She had managed to dust three vampires tonight, but it was time to get home before her dad threw a major fit. She knew he'd try to ground her so it was lucky she'd mapped out both an alibi and an alternate entrance/exit to the apartment.
"Brigid? What the hell are you doing _here_?" She looked to see Xander walking very quickly toward her from across the street, glancing in all directions. [He knows about the vampires, of course he'd be concerned.] she realized.
"I figured I'd come home so Dad could yell at me." Brigid shrugged and tried to look innocent. "And if you need to know I was at..." She never got to finish her sentence as Xander grabbed her and attempted to run.
Brigid heard a low throated growl come from behind her, and weaseled her way out of her older friend's grip. She spun and nailed the vampire in the nose with a right cross.
"What are you doing?" Xander yelled.
"What does it look like?" she replied tersely as she fumbled for a stake. The vampire recovered quickly, moved to attack the less threatening opponent. The demon grabbed Xander and bared his neck.
"No!" She barreled into the vamp with stake in hand before it made a meal out of Xander. As soon as the wood penetrated flesh the walking corpse turned to dust. "Are you nuts?", she asked, fuming, "You of all people know how damn dangerous Sunnydale is after dark!"
"When did you learn to slay vampires?" Then Xander raised his hands."Wait a sec, I don't want to know."
"Well, she might have learned it from your vampire slaying for dummies novels, but I don't think so." came a voice out of the darkness, and Oh Cryptic and Annoying One stepped out from the shadows.
Xander rolled his eyes, turned to the newcomer and muttered, "I should have expected it would be _him_." He then raised his voice and quipped, "Nice of you to drop by, Angel, and what the hell is that supposed to mean?"
Brigid looked from Xander to Cryptic Guy. "You two know each other?"
He nodded as Xander snorted. "Yeah, unfortunately. Damn, Xander, you're lucky. You're in the top five of the vampires' hit parade for those books." Cryptic Guy then shot Brigid a glance. "Giles is really worried about you." He stopped her short of asking any more questions. "Brigid, this isn't the safest place to be having a conversation right now, and I think you and your dad need to have a long talk."
"Fine," she relented, "but I'm expecting some _very_ good explanations when I get home!"
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