Title: Cordelia the Vampire Slayer
Author: Rachelle
Posted: 11-12-2003
Email
Rating: PG, Violence
Category: AU Prophecy Girl
Content:
Summary: This is different take on what happened at the end of BtVS Season 1. Very Cordy Centric & there is potential for C/A if this story grabs ya!
Spoilers: None.
Disclaimer: The characters in the Angelverse were created by Joss Whedon & David Greenwalt. No infringement is intended, no profit is made.
Distribution: Just Fic, GTC/A. anyone else, just ask.
Notes: AU, AU!
Feedback: You know I need it!
Thanks/Dedication:
Part 1
The Master’s Lair
The Church
It was something she never thought would happen- realizing her own death.
All Buffy could think about, as she was being held in the deadly embrace of the Master, was her mother. How she would never know the reason why her daughter had died and by what.
“You tried,” he crooned to her, caressing her cheek. “It was noble of you. You heard the prophecy that I as going to break free and you came to stop me.” Buffy felt his chest rumble as laughed. “But prophecies are tricky creatures. They didn’t tell you everything.”
Tell me what?
He brought his lips within an inch of her ear. “You’re the one that frees me.” Buffy could sense his glee as he smiled and continued to whisper to her. “If you hadn’t come, I couldn’t go. Think about that.”
No…
Buffy would not think of that, as he proceeded to pierce her neck with his fangs. She wanted to think of her mother. That perfect mother she would never see again- She couldn’t help but cry out at the sudden pain of it. It was more than pain, if was the ever present knowledge that she was going to die. With each drop of blood his was draining, it was a step closer to death.
“God, the power!” He cried in ecstasy and wonder. Who would have ever thought such a little girl could harness that much power within her? Huh, well… now within him.
“By the way,” he conversed, amused as her body sagged from his grip. Falling to her knees, she pitched face-down into the pool of water beside them. “I like your dress.”
Buffy knew he was leaving, to wreck havoc on the world that had denied him for so long. As her lungs filled with water, the slayer felt an inner peace at the fact that it was over- she was dying. She didn’t have to fight anymore. Before she lost total consciousness, Buffy let one final thought go through her mind-
I hope whoever’s called after me has better luck.
And she died.
Skyler Avenue
Cordelia Chase was in a panic and was desperately trying to get home. She had just fled, driving her car as far away from Sumner Park as she could get. Cordelia had gone there to remember Kevin, her almost boyfriend whom she had found earlier that day, murdered. It was near the edge of the woods where they used to park, that she had gone to remember him. And it was there that the monsters had come after her.
She did not even question to herself, why their faces looked liked pissed off kitties with fangs, to know it was time to leave. Maybe it was the glowing gold eyes or the drooling mouths that spurred her to start the car and peel out. All she knew was that she did not want to end up like Kevin, his throat viciously torn out and left like a rag doll to rot.
Got to get home! I’ll be safe when I get home. She didn’t know how she knew that, but it sounded good.
Veering a sharp turn to her right, onto Chesapeake Court, Cordelia felt her heart race in anticipation at the notion she was only two blocks from home. What she wasn’t expecting were the sudden crack of the steering wheel assembly nor the burst of power that caoursed through her.
Screeching to a halt, Cordelia slammed on the breaks. Her heart felt like it was pounding a mile a minute. How did I do that, she wondered, bringing a shaking hand to the huge crack behind her steering wheel. There was no way she could have the strength to do that! She didn’t understand it, but she knew she did it.
Cordelia Chase felt powerful and strong. Well, obviously if I could almost twist my steering wheel off! She knew something had happened to her during that turn- something strange. What was even stranger, was she didn’t feel any of the fear she had only moments ago. She felt exhilarated.
She no longer wanted to go home. Cordelia felt she needed to be somewhere else now. Right now! It was as if some unseen force was pulling at her, calling to her.
Not giving a second thought to what she would find there, Cordelia eased onto the gas and gently turned the car around. She had to get to Sunnydale High.
The Church
Angel and Xander raced through the tunnels, trying to get to the Master’s lair. They came to a halt as a glow illuminated through one of the passage ways and a rumble coursed throughout.
“What is that?” Xander questioned.
Angel felt a despairing dread creep into his soul. “It’s too late. He’s gone up.”
Knowing what that meant for them and probably for Buffy, Xander shouted, “Come on. Come on!” Both of them pummeling to the opening, one after the other.
Running through the tunnels, Xander finally began to feel his lungs burn in protest. He wasn’t used to such activity and the fearful pounding of his heart was not helping. Angel was well ahead of him.
Falling in after Angel, Xander came to a complete stop at what he saw. There, in this filthy church, was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen- again. Lying in Angel’s arms was Buffy, in her white dress, drenched from head to toe. Angel was checking the pulse on her wrist, then bringing his head down to her mouth, to see if she was breathing. Please be breathing, please…
Angel lifted his head up, looking at Xander. “She’s dead.”
No, not possible. Buffy can’t die. She’s not going to die. “She’s not dead,” Xander hissed, speaking his own thoughts.
“She’s not breathing,” Angel insisted, shaking his head at Xander. He, more than anyone, knew what death was- and Buffy had seen it.
“If she’s drowned there’s a shot. CPR.”
Angel considered this, realizing that he couldn’t do it. “You have to do it. I have no breath.”
Okay, makes sense as he is undead-boy. He’d have to do it… Xander was an avid fan of Baywatch. Those hotties did this all the time and so could he. Giving himself a shake, Xander leaned in, closing his fingers over her nose and proceeded to give her mouth to mouth.
Alternating between pumping her heart and breathing into her mouth, Xander whispered. “Come on, come on!”
Sunnydale High
The vampires were steadily coming closer to them, as Willow and Ms Calendar backed away. There was a legion of them, heading towards the school. “Why are they coming here?” said Ms Calendar, pulling Willow with her.
“Not caring…” Willow whispered in reply, turning with Ms Calendar to run back to the library.
Suddenly a car veered towards the women, coming to a stop right by them. There behind the wheel was Cordelia Chase. Willow had never been so happy to see someone she loathed in her very life.
“Get in!”
The Church
“Breathe!” Xander pleaded, still pumping his hands on Buffy’s chest, willing her heart to beat again.
Angel was about to pull him away, as he shook his head. She’s gone, Angel realized.
Buffy opened her eyes. Sucking a huge amount of air, Buffy began to cough, expelling the water from her lungs. “Buffy?”
Trying to focus her green eyes, she decided to look where the voice had come from. “Xander?” She turned her head to both Angel and Xander.
Xander tried to control the sobs gathering at the back of his throat, and was surprised to find that he could. She was back! He had saved her. “Welcome back.”
Sunnydale High
Willow and Ms Calendar scrambled to get into Cordelia’s car, Willow taking the front seat.
As she placed the car in gear, Cordelia gave a brief description of what had happened to her. “I was sitting where Kevin and I used to park, and suddenly these things were coming at me- I tried to get home but- Who are these guys?!”
You know what they are.
Cordelia shook her head. Alright, little psychic voice is getting a little creepy. Just then a vampire crashed onto her windshield, causing the women to elicit an ear piercing scream. “What do I do?” Cordelia whispered to them as much to herself.
“We’ve got to get to the library.” Willow said.
Yes, that’s were she needed to go. “Library. Right. Great.” Surging with power and purpose, Cordelia slammed her foot down on the gas pedal and peeled out. Heading for the library, literally.
Ms Calendar and Willow braced themselves for impact, when they realized where Cordelia was headed. “Of course, we generally walk there…” Willow suggested, just before Cordelia’s car blasted through the doors. Ms Calendar glanced behind them, and saw that the vampires were still hot on their trail, despite the wreckage Cordelia’s car was making.
Cordelia slammed on her breaks, screeching to a halt outside of the library doors. The other women screaming so loudly and desperate to reach the sanctuary of the library, that no one noticed Cordelia fling a powerful right hook at a vampire, knocking him down with the female vamp right behind him.
He’s gone up!
This time, the psychic voice was too powerful to ignore, and Cordelia ran down the hall, knocking down vampires as she went.
Willow and Ms Calendar shut the library doors behind them, as Giles ran up to them. “What’s going on?” He asked, as the women began to barricade the doors.
“Guess!” Ms Calendar shouted, as a vampire tried to burst through the doors.
“But why are they coming here?”
Willow felt the blood drain from her face, as she realized they were one brunette short- “Oh, God! Where’s Cordelia?”
Ms Calendar and Giles looked around in alarm. The teenager was not in the room. Willow felt tears spring to her eyes. This was getting too real! “They must have gotten her.”
Amidst the sudden grief, not one heard the rumble coming from the library stacks.
The Church
Buffy began to sit up, with the help of the guys. “Easy,” Xander whispered, taking hold of her arm to assist her.
“The Master?” She asked, as she gathered her bearings. Whoa, I just drowned.
“He’s gone up.” Angel answered, holding onto her other side. Hearing this Buffy, rose strongly to her feet.
Xander was not about to let her go charging off. He saw that look in her eyes. “Buffy, you’re still weak.”
“No, I’m not. I feel strong.” She felt more powerful than she ever had, like she could take on the world. “I feel… different.”
Not knowing what to think, Angel and Xander looked at each other in confusion. She had just come back from the dead, alive, but she felt strong? Must be some slayer trait.
As if confirming against their uncertainty, Buffy began to walk away from them. “Let’s go.” Giving each other one last look, the guys quickly followed.
The Roof of the Library
The Master pushed open the door, joy in his every step. The air was crisp and sweet, a scent he despised, but missed. Soon the air would be filled with blood and chaos. Rubbing his hands together in anticipation, he came to the edge of the roof, looking into the distance of the great possibilities beyond.
“My world. My beautiful world.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty. But not yours.”
Turning sharply around towards the feminine voice behind, the Master glared. Who was this girl to speak such insolence!? She certainly was lovely, as he surveyed her big eyes and lustrous hair. This would make a splendid treat after being locked away for so long, he mused, drinking in her curvaceous figure clad in a cream sweater and skintight, lavender pants.
“And who might you be, child?” He asked, dropping his voice down to a low octave.
Giving a small smile, she took a step forward. “I’m Cordelia. And you must be Ugly.”
The Library
Giles and the girls were scrambling to block the library doors. As Willow shoved another chair against the mini-shelves, a loud crash sound from behind them. “They’re coming in through the stacks!” Giles shouted, while the girls ran in that direction, to barricade those doors.
Slamming the doors, Willow shouted to Ms Calendar to start pulling the bookshelves. Both of them got one against the doors, just as the vampires started pounding from the other side. Willow braced herself against the shelves, not noticing a slimy tendril creeping towards her ankle.
The Roof of the Library
Matching her smile, the Master also took a step forward. “Why are up here, Cordelia? Surely just by looking upon me, your heart is filled with fear.”
“Well,” she shrugged, giving his leather get up the once over, “Your outfit is downright ghastly, but other than that- no! No fear.” Cordelia knew he was powerful and ancient. She may not be ancient, but she was just as strong as he was. “Just power.”
The Master bore his demon eyes into hers. Yes, there was power there. But this wasn’t right! It was too soon. He had just killed one, now there was another not more than six feet from him. “No… it can’t be- not another Slayer! Not here! It should have been in another country, or something! But not here!”
Hearing that word was like coming home. “Wow,” she mused. “That’s what I am. A Slayer.” It all made sense now- the sudden strength, the pull to come up here and face Mr. Ugly. The word called to her, even though it was all completely clear.
“You’ve just been called,” The Master realized, taking this into his advantage. “One dies and another is Chosen. But you haven’t been trained and probably have not even killed one of my children. Do you know who I am? What I am? I am a Master vampire. Older than any of those others down there and more powerful. Oh, this is going to be rich.”
Vampires. She was meant to kill vampires. That was what killed Kevin and the others, she realized, as a quiet rage began to boil within her. “Maybe I haven’t been trained or whatever, and maybe your are a Master- a master of fashion disgrace. But your children killed some people I cared about and are threatening some more. And for that- I’m gonna have to kick your ass.”
The Master let out a growl of vicious anticipation, as the newborn Slayer flew at him.
Near Sunnydale High
Buffy and the guys were on a rapid move toward the school, with Buffy leading the way.
“How do you know where the Master’s going?” Xander asked Buffy, as he almost tripped over his own footing.
“I know.”
A vampire stepped in front of them. “Oh, look. A bad guy.” Not even breaking stride, Buffy shoved him to the ground and kept on walking.
That’s my girl, Xander thought, admiration surging through him.
The Library
Willow and Ms Calendar were desperately trying to hold the back library doors shut, but they were getting weak. “This won’t keep them our for long!” Willow shouted to Giles. Just then, a slimy tentacle wrapped itself around her leg. Screaming, both Willow and Ms Calendar try to pull away from it.
“Giles! Giles!” Ms Calendar screams as she tries to pull Willow away from terror that’s grabbed her.
Just as Giles runs out of his office, weapons in hand, to assist the girls, the ground began to shake as the demon arose. The same demon who had one of it’s tentacles on Willow. Oh, my God, Giles realized in fear. “The Hellmouth.”
“Giles,” Ms Calendar shouts, “Gape later!”
The Roof of the Library
While his child of darkness was being born into this world, the Master was fighting a child of light who had also, just been born.
Cordelia Chase could not believe the agility and force she had. With each kick, punch or blow she felt even more powerful. She wasn’t even fazed with the Master lashed out with claws, raking her upper arm. “If that scars, I’ll go down to hell to kick your ass again.” Cordelia snarled, as she jammed her left elbow across his face, sending him flying.
This was not happening to him. All stories of slayers when the are first called, have always spoken of the girls being off in their strength and strategy. This one fought as if she had been slaying for years. She had just been called for devil’s sake! “You can’t beat me, precious! Hell will be coming to me, not I to it!” He shouted, slamming her against the bottom of the skylight over the library.
Finding her feet a little too fast, Cordelia stumbled against the glass behind her and looked down. Giles, Willow, and Ms Calendar where fighting some big slimy thing. Giving a quick glance over, she notices a broken table with a huge spike pointing up.
The Master, grinned, seeing her almost falter in her step and lashed out again with his claws across her middle. It was sweet music to his ears, as the Slayer gave an involuntary cry of pain.
“Two Slayers in one night. I love this town.”
The Hallway
Buffy came to a stop outside of the door marked “Roof Access”. She had never been up this way before, and noticed that the lock had been broken. The Master had definitely gone up there.
“You wait here,” she told the guys, as she pushed open the door. “Keep the rest of the vampires off me.”
“Right,” Xander nodded, assuming position to guard the door.
“Angel,” Buffy said, the vampire turning to her. “Better put on your game face.”
In full vamp face, Angel nodded to her. “I’m ready.”
“One way or another, this won’t take long.” With that, she hurried up the stairs.
Angel took in a breath of unnecessary air in preparation of the coming onslaught. As he did, he caught the pleasant scent of lavender. That’s weird. The only other being besides the Master who should have gone up there was Buffy, and she smelled of vanilla.
Before he could think on, a waive of vampires came at him and Xander.
Back on the Roof
“Two slayers in one night. I love this town.”
Cordelia glared at him, as she clutched her side, blood spilling over her fingers. Now she was pissed. This sweater was beyond repair!
“I’m sorry to say, Cordelia. I think you’ll go down in history as the Slayer who lived the shortest after she was called- I’ll make sure and call Guinness for you.” Laughing in triumph, the Master grabbed her injured arm, preparing to strike.
Before he could move, Cordelia countered his grab, twisting his arm till in snapped. Grinning as the Master screamed, she reached out with her injured right arm, clutching his neck. Cocking her head to the side in coy amusement, she lifted him off the ground. “My first kill is going to be a Master vampire. Thanks for the idea about calling Guinness.”
Lifting him a few more inches, she flipped him bodily over her head, right through the glass of the skylight.
As the Master fell to his death, the last thought he had before he was impaled by the broken table below, was of Cordelia. Such a Slayer was bound to do great things. After all, she had killed him and he was her first kill. Feeling the wood penetrate through his chest, he looked up into Cordelia’s eyes. He was sorry he was not going to see her reach her full potential. It would have been worth it.
Cordelia watched as he began to disintegrate. The demon that was attacking Giles and the others, all of a sudden was sucked back into the void from where it had originated.
Hearing the sound of footsteps pounding up the access stairway, Cordelia staggered to the edge of the roof in alarm. The Master had gotten in some good blows against her, and she was not ready to fight again so soon. The wound on her side was throbbing. Just as the access door swung open, Cordelia vaulted over the side of the roof, dropping to the sodden grass below with a painful grunt.
Feeling pumped up with adrenaline, Buffy stormed onto the roof and looked around in surprise to see the Master was not there. From the broken wood and glass, there appeared to have been a battle. Inching forward, she noticed some blood against one of the funnels on the roof. Touching it, she felt it was warm. Definitely not vampire blood.
Coming toward the broken skylight, glass crunching against her white heels, Buffy peered down- there he was, in the last stages of turning to dust.
“Angel! Xander!” She shouted.
Moments later, the guys appeared on the roof, coming to her aid. Xander surveyed the damage, with an impressed eye. “Yowza! Way to go, Buffy!” His grin falter, as he caught her concerned gaze.
“Angel,” she quietly asked, coming over to him. “What do you sense here? Anything off?
She was up here too short a time to do all this. Confused Angel, honed in on his senses. Closing his eyes, he shifted to his vampire visage. He could smell and hear better when he was in demon mode. Taking a waft of air, he caught the scent of lavender again. “Is there blood?” Not really questioning Buffy, he picked up the scent anyway.
Going over to the funnel that held the most amount of it, Angel hesitantly touched it. It was warm, definitely human. Bringing his fingertips up, Angel took in a long inhale of the blood. He could feel his fangs tingle at the scent, his mouth becoming wet in eagerness to taste it. Giving into his urges, despite the gasps from the two humans behind him, Angel closed his eyes in ecstasy at the taste.
What he tasted was heaven. Feeling that coppery blood on his tongue was like coming home, an aphrodisiac- “Oh, my God.” Angel hissed in realization.
Xander was clearly grossed out, as was Buffy. “What? Did it just dawn on you how disgusting that was, Dead-Boy?
Angel wasn’t listening and he didn’t care about the looks that they were giving him. “We’ve gotta get downstairs. Now!” Not minding the confused expressions, he charged down the stairway towards the library.
The Library
Giles and Willow were staring down at the remains of the Master, when Angel burst through the doors. Ms Calendar, had just finished moving some of the objects away from the door to see if the vampires had gone.
Seeing his expression, “Angel,” he asked, “The vampires?”
“They’re gone,” Angel assured him. “The Master?”
“Dead,” Giles confirmed, smiling. “And the Hellmouth has closed.” Buffy and Xander had just come through the door. “Buffy?”
Her green eyes were on the skeletal remains of the Master. An odd expression on her face. “Hey, Giles.”
Something was going on. Buffy seemed surprised to see the Master this way, which was odd since she had killed it. “What’s going on?”
Angel stepped forward, “Giles, we may have a problem.” Shaking his head in wonder, he countered his own statement. “Or it may not be a problem.”
“What is it?” Ms Calendar asked, coming stand with Giles.
“The problem is, I didn’t kill the Master,” Buffy admitted, bringing her gazed to Giles. “Someone else got on that roof before I did and-” she gestured to the remains, “did this. Not me.”
Giles shook his head in confusion. Who else besides the Slayer would have enough power to defeat the Master? No demon, of evil origins, would ever assist in his demise. “I don’t understand. How can that be?”
Angel spoke up, a grim expression on his face. “There was blood up there, Giles. Human, but potent blood. It was the scent that drove me- I’ve never tasted anything like it. Like an aphrodisiac to vampires.” Buffy’s eyes widened as she caught the brief flash of pleasure on his face. “But I’ve heard stories of a certain kind of blood tasting that way, having never tried it myself. Giles, I think it was slayer blood.”
Everyone in the room was in a state of shock. What Angel was insinuating was impossible. “It wasn’t your blood, Buffy?” Ms Calendar asked, breaking the silence.
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “I told you someone got there before I did.”
This was going against everything in the history of the Watcher’s Council. Angel was implying there was another slayer, which was impossible. Ever since the age of the first slayer called, there had only been one per generation. One dies, another is chos– Giles took off his glasses, his eyes wide. “Buffy? Did something happen to you tonight?”
“Buffy drowned, we brought her back,” Xander piped in, resting a comforting hand on Buffy’s shoulder. He was still shaken up at the fact that he had almost lost his friend. He had lost Jesse to vampires, and that was all the friends he wanted to lose.
Angel met Giles’ startled gaze, realization dawning. Buffy had died. The Slayer had died, and another had been Chosen. “Oh, my God. There really is another slayer.” Giles rubbed his hands against his temples. This was too much. Unprecedented.
“What,” Willow asked, “Giles, I thought only one could be called. A Chosen One.”
“Yes, Willow, but when one dies another is Chosen. And you did die didn’t you, Buffy?” Giles finally came forward, wrapping an arm around his Slayer. He saw how hard she was fighting against her tears. Not able to find her voice, Buffy only nodded.
“Oh, Rupert,” Ms Calendar said, coming closer within the group surrounding Buffy. “We’ve got to find her. Whoever she is. Angel,” looking over at the vampire, “Did you get anything else up there? Something so we can find her?”
Before Angel could answer, Giles interrupted. “We have to find her. There’s a newborn slayer out there who just killed a Master vampire, with no training. I’m sure of it. Not only that- she had to have sensed something to know about the battle going on here. I’ve never heard of a slayer who had the opening knowledge to go into the fight. And judging from how much time she had since activation, the Master was probably her first kill.”
Xander let out a whistle of amazement. “So we have an all-knowing, uber-slayer out there? Funky.”
Going back to Ms Calendar’s questions, Angel interjected. “It was female blood, obviously a slayer.” Trying to rake his brain, a frown settle on his handsome features. “She wears lavender perfume. I smelled it in the hallway outside the door to the roof, then again up there.”
“She jumped off the roof,” Buffy stated, “I noticed something out of the corner of my eye, right when I got up there.” A soft look came over her face. “She probably heard me and jumped. Judging from the amount of blood, the Master got in a few good blows. She might have thought I was another demon, and didn’t have enough strength yet to fight again.”
Angel nodded in agreement. “She’s smart. Don’t get into another battle if you’re sure you can’t win it. Especially wounded.” Giles was right, they had to find her. She was going off instincts now. “She may not even know what’s happened to her, who she is.”
“Rarely,” the Watcher began, “If there is a battle of such magnitude as this, the Slayer is somehow summoned by an inner voice to fight. She was answering, and didn’t know what she was in for.” Giving a grim, but respectful smile, he continued. “But she came out triumphant.
“So,” Xander piped in again. “We have to find a bleeding slayer, who smells like lavender- you up for hunting, Dead-boy?”
Angel sneered at Xander. He was getting on his last nerve!
“Cordelia!” Willow shouted, sounding excited. “Cordelia wears lavender.”
Ms Calendar shook her head in denial. “Willow, Cordelia didn’t make it past her car outside. She was attacked by vampires.”
“We didn’t see her get attacked.” Willow countered, trying to remember if they had heard Cordelia cry out in pain. “We just assumed cause she didn’t make it in.”
“Whoa, there best friend of friends,” Xander was trying so hard not to laugh. “That is too Outer Limits, in fact- it’s crazy talk! Cordelia the Vampire Slayer?! No way, no day.”
“Who else do you know that wears lavender perfume? Remember how we overheard her, freshman year talking about how she likes to were floral perfumes that match the color clothes she was wearing?” Willow had a roller-dex filing for a memory. “She was wearing red that day, and wore rose perfume. You, me and Jesse were mocking her for days!”
The rest of the gang, except for Giles and Angel were shaking there heads at the notion. Buffy was really in denial. “I have to side with Xander on this one, Will. No way is Cordelia a slayer.” That would almost be the last straw for Buffy.
“She was wearing lavender pants today, Buffy,” The redhead confirmed quietly, meeting her best friend’s eyes.
“Give me a minute.” There was only one way to resolve this, Angel thought, as he stormed out of the room to Cordelia’s car. The others followed him in curiosity.
Angel opened the passenger door, and that faint scent greeted him again. It wouldn’t be enough to prove to the others though. Rummaging around, Angel found what he was looking for- Cordelia’s purse. A lavender color that must have matched pants. Reaching inside, he fumbled around until he found what he was looking for- a vial of perfume.
Buffy felt her breath catch in her throat as she saw what he was holding. Angel took the cap off, inhaling the fragrance, and nodded his head. “It’s the same as on the roof.”
Ms Calendar brought her hand to her mouth, tears welling in her eyes. “Dear God, we have to find her! Who knows how badly she’s wounded.”
Willow clenched her jaw in fear and frustration. They had just assumed she was dead, not realizing a higher power had called her to face something obscene- something she had no training for. Cordelia Chase had saved the world. It was a scary thing.
Giles took a staggering step towards his office. “Rupert?” Ms Calendar asked, “Where are you going?”
“I’m going to call the Council. Tell them another slayer has been activated in Sunnydale,” he stopped at his door, turning to Buffy. “The Powers must have felt the need to activate another close to the Hellmouth, since it was about to open. Because usually, our potentials are tracked and trained in preparation of their calling. Cordelia was not on that list, just like you weren’t Buffy. She was specifically chosen.”
Buffy could feel her lip trembling. She remembered what if was like to be told she was the Slayer, not knowing what that meant. But she had been told by her Watcher, Merrick. Cordelia had no idea. As if reading her thoughts, Giles nodded. “We have to find her and fast.”
Sunnydale Airport
8:45am
“Hello, miss. How can I help you?”
A beautiful, but bruised young woman had just come up ticket window. The ticket clerk, Sybil Warner, didn’t know if she should call someone. The girl was badly bruised, but cleaned up. Reading her expression, the brunette assured her. “Don’t worry about the black and blue. I’m in cheerleading, and got a kick to my check by a powerful leg during the pyramid.”
“Oh,” Sybil sighed in relief. “I’m sorry to stare, I was just concerned.”
“Thank you.”
“Now,” the ticket clerk asked, a little more refreshed. “How can I help you?”
“One ticket to Sendai, Japan. One way.” She stated, and handed the clerk her cash once it was totaled out.
“Thank you very much, Miss-?” The brunette had paid with cash, not credit cards like most travelers did, so she didn’t have a name.
“It’s Chase-” Suddenly she stopped herself, she didn’t want to give her real name. “Chase Yoshino.” Using the last name of her great-grandfather, Miss ‘Yoshino’ took her ticket and bid the sales clerk goodbye.
That was funny. She didn’t look Japanese. Seeing the woman go through the gateway entrance, Sybil gave a shake of her blond head, and went back to work.
As her plane lifted off, Cordelia Chase placed what had happened behind her. No one in Japan would figure out what had happened and no one in Sunnydale knew of her Japanese heritage. She would be safe. Seeing that she was all alone in first class, she turned her head to the window, looking at the sky filled with light. Her defenses down, she finally let the sobs overtake her.
She was no longer Cordelia Chase. She was a Slayer. She knew who she was.