The Slayer Files
Mark Safransky

DISCLAIMER:  All X-Files characters are the property of Chris Carter,
Ten Thirteen Productions and Fox Broadcasting.  All Buffy the Vampire
Slayer characters are the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Inc.,
Kuzui Enterprises, Sandollar Television, 20th Century Fox Television
and the Warner Brothers Television Network.  No infringement of those
rights is intended.

This is an X-Files/Buffy the Vampire Slayer Crossover.

THE SLAYER FILES
by Mark Safransky (x-lander@geocities.com)

FBI Headquarters
J. Edgar Hoover Building
Washington, DC
08:00 AM, June 05, 1997


A petite, redheaded woman pushed her way through the crowd that
was around the elevators to make her way to the basement when she heard
the voice of her partner behind her saying, "Scully, glad I found you
before you went to the office.  Skinner wants to see us right now."

Special Agent Dana Scully looked up at her lanky partner and
replied, "What did you do now that I have to apologize for, Mulder?"

Special Agent Fox Mulder grinned and said, "Nothing that I know
of, although I did order that new UFO video on the office account."

"Oh, is this the one with the alien chasing the naked blonde
bimbos?" Scully asked teasingly with a deadpan expression.  "Or is this
the one with the blonde bimbos from space chasing Earthmen for sex?"

Mulder was about to reply when he bumped into a door.  Looking at
it he read `Office of the Assistant Director--Walter S. Skinner' and
muttered, "Even his door abuses me."

Scully grinned and preceded him into the outer office and spoke to
Skinners secretary, "Hi Kim, is he ready for us?"

"Hi Dana, and yeah, he's been waiting for you." said Kim.  She
then lowered her voice and looked at the inner door as she exclaimed
softly, "He's not in a very good mood today.  Keep Mulder on a leash
until you can get out of here."

"Thanks Kim, I'll sit on him."

"Hey," exclaimed Mulder, "you'd think I wasn't housebroken."

"You aren't!" Kim and Scully said simultaneously.

***

Sunnydale High School
Sunnydale, California
08:30 AM

The library was mostly rebuilt, though that was no comfort to the
librarian knowing what Sunnydale High's Library was built over.  Rupert 
Giles used to think of the library as almost a second home, but now was
uneasy about spending time there, even though the mystical focal point
known as the Hellmouth was closed and unlikely to open again in his
lifetime.  He continually gave thanks in his thoughts that the Slayer
had been able to defeat the Master and the prophecy from the Pergamum
Codex.  The Slayer, 16 year old Buffy Summers died and was revived by
her friend Xander and Angel, the vampire in love with her, thus
fulfilling the prophecy and enabling her to confound it as well. Typical
for a Slayer with such skill and promise as Buffy that she would sidestep
the wisdom of the ages yet again with such elan.  He was bothered somewhat
by the fact that her Slayer instincts were much stronger now than before
that night.  Angel and Ms. Calendar had come up with a good point
though, Buffy died and presumably was on the other side and when drawn
back, she was closer to the higher power which had chosen her as the
Slayer in the first place.  Meaning the power was stronger in her as well.
It did make sense, and explained how she felt vampires on an instinctual
level now and was able to track them better as well.  Time for a break and
to avoid Principal Snyder and his questions about the night of the Spring
Fling again.  The workmen would be in soon to complete the repairs to
his specifications, which was another matter to avoid Snyder about, he
thought with satisfaction.

***

FBI Headquarters
J. Edgar Hoover Building
Washington, DC
08:35 AM


"Agent Mulder, Agent Scully, sit down," came the gravely-voiced
command from their superior.  "I have a case for you.  In fact, Agent 
Mulder, an X-File. Have either of you heard about the earthquake in
northern California earlier this week?"

"Sir, I believe that was the 5.1 centered on the town of Sunnydale.   
The place where the supposed mass hysteria took place recently as well," 
replied Mulder with a quick glance at his partner.

"That's correct.  I want the both of you there by tomorrow.  There   
are a lot of strange things happening there as well as legitimate crimes
that have not been solved by the closest field office.  A large number of
murders that might indicate that a serial killer is roosting there as well
as some incidents that can only be called occult related. The field office
in LA has sent agents up to investigate and has complained about agents on
site that were extremely uncooperative with them and local law enforcement.
Said agents have also disappeared after an incident where a number of
high school students were assaulted but unable to identify their
assailant.  Find out what is going on out there and find out who those
rogue agents were and what they were doing there.  Is that clear?"

"Yes Sir," both agents said as Scully grabbed the file and they left
Skinner's office.

"Well, Scully, if you'll get the tickets, I'll call Frohicke and  
find out what he and the Gunmen can find out about Sunnydale." Mulder said. 

"Alright, but make it quick."

***

Sunnydale High School
Sunnydale California
10:00 AM


"Giles?  What is that?" asked the Slayer as she looked at her Watcher
carrying a large hollow wood tube from the weapons locker.

"Buffy, this is a blowgun.  It is used..."

"By extras in Tarzan movies.  Is this really a legitimate weapon?"
she asked.

"Of course, then again, it is a little big for you.  Maybe we 
should try the darts instead?" the Watcher asked himself.

"I vote darts, myself." Buffy chimed in.

"Darts it is then.  Take this," Giles said as he handed her a piece of
leather with straps and wooden darts slipped into a slim pouch, "and strap 
it to your wrist."

"Cool!" exclaimed Buffy.  "The ultimate in Slayer accessorizing."
At that moment both the Slayer and the Watcher heard someone opening the
door to the library.  Giles slammed the weapons locker closed and picked
up a box from the floor as Principal Snyder strode into the room.

"Giles!  Do you have any idea how much this restoration is going to
cost the school district?" Snyder roared.  He then saw Buffy and barked, 
"And what are you doing in here, Summers?  Aren't you supposed to be in class?"

"It's a free and I thought I'd help out Mr. Giles," Buffy said as she
began to back away from the principal, "and I can see you need to talk to 
him so...I'll be going." Buffy charged out of the library leaving the 
Watcher to his fate.

***

American Airlines #1345
enroute to Los Angeles, California
03:30 PM


"Scully, this is the information that Frohicke was able to get for  
us on such short notice.  Not bad either." commented Mulder.

"And what did you have to promise him this time?" Scully said while
turning to look him face-to-face.

"Um, Scully, um, I had to promise him a, uh, piece of clothing you've 
worn." Mulder winced as Scully's eyes locked onto his as the eyebrow 
started to climb. "Scully, not The Look," he whined.

"Alright, he can have an old blouse," she conceded, "but nothing else!"

"Deal," Mulder agreed quickly.  "Here's what the Gunmen have to say 
about Sunnydale, California.  The history of goes back to old Indian
legends and the original name given to the region by the Spaniards who
first settled there. They called it 'Boca Del Infierno' or, roughly,
'Mouth of Hell'.  The Indians believed that the ancient creatures or
demons that used to inhabit the earth were banished to the 'Outer 
Darkness' by the powerful shamans and that they could only return if 
certain mystical gates were opened to them.  Apparently, the Indians
believed that there was a dimensional portal sitting where Sunnydale is
today that if opened would release the hordes of Hell.  Neat, huh Scully?"

"If you could believe anything like that.  Mulder, those old tales 
probably originated with the story of a man who defeated a large predator
and the tale merely grew in the retelling over the centuries." Scully 
calmly said in response while looking at her partner grin at her.  "So who 
do we talk to first?"

"The Police Chief, a Thomas Bivens.  He wants to meet us as soon as we 
arrive in town.  Then we meet with Special Agent in Charge Eric Rogers of
the LA office.  He is in town to pull his people off the case except for
one man who will be our liaison, Special Agent Harry Lee." Mulder handed 
Scully a set of files while he continued, "who also mentions that he saw 
the bogus agents and sent a sketch of them to DC that was not acknowledged
and that no proof of it's existence can be found.  Then we get to meet with
Principal Stephen Snyder of Sunnydale High and talk about the incidents
and body count his school has."

"Sound like a full day or two of interviews," commented Scully.  "I  
take it..."

"I'll be damned!" exclaimed Mulder, as he looked down at a photo
in the file in his lap, "I know this man, Scully."  He turned the
photo so she could see it.

"Nice looking.  Who is he?" asked Scully as she examined the
photo. "Rupert Giles.  According to the file he is Sunnydale High's 
librarian," Mulder explained.  "But I knew him when I went to Oxford,
he was a mythology major and I believe I heard he had been hired as an
assistant curator at the British Museum after graduation.  He might
make an excellent source of information."

"I wonder what would cause an assistant curator of one of the largest 
museums in the world to suddenly become the librarian of an American high
school?" mused Scully as she continued to gaze at the photo.

"That's a good question.  The file says he started there at the  
beginning of the school year.  We can ask him when we get there."

***

The Bronze
Sunnydale, California
07:00 PM


"Willow?  Willow?  Wake up Willow?" said Buffy to her best friend
with a sing-song lilt in her voice.

"What?  Oh, Buffy!  Do you think Xander will ever realize why I 
turned him down for the Spring Fling?" Willow asked with anticipation.

"If he wakes up and smells the sitch.  But I still say you should  
tell him how you really feel."

"Oh no, I can see what rejection does to him.  I'd be worse." Willow  
said uncomfortably.

"So we spend another night at the Bronze watching everyone else 
have a good time.  Maybe I should go out hunting?" Buffy proposed 
while eyeing the crowd.

"No sign of Angel, huh?" inquired Willow.

"I think he's avoiding me again.  It was so nice to be able to  
dance with him at the Spring Fling and then he vanishes again.  It
really is beginning to make me wig."

"Well, there's Xander over there, and I think he's coming over.   
You could ask him if he's seen Angel."  observed Willow.

Buffy shook her head and flipped an errant hair back as she snorted
and said, "I can't even get Giles to admit that he knows how to contact  
Angel and Xander gives me a weird look when I ask about how he and Angel
found me in the Master's Lair.  No one is telling me and with Angel 
hiding I won't be able to get any answers."  Buffy stood up and sighed, "I 
am going hunting!"

"Take care.  There are still some vampires around the area, you 
know." Willow cautioned.

"Just not the right ones!" Buffy tossed over her shoulder as she left.

***

Sunnydale Police Headquarters
Sunnydale, California
09:30 AM, June 06, 1997


The rented blue Ford Taurus pulled up in front alongside of two police
cruisers and the engine shut down.  The doors opened to reveal a lanky
male and petite redhead, both wearing trenchcoats, as the occupants.  They
headed into the local police station wearing identical expressions of
intent and observation.  The waitress of the diner across the street saw
them and immediately told the cook and three customers, "Looks like them 
big-shot Feds from back East are here."

Mulder and Scully gave the interior of the building a quick look and
with a glance at each other and a quirky grin, they immediately picked
out the locals from the federal agents by dress alone.

"Chief Bivens?" Mulder asked of a portly local, "I'm Special Agent  
Mulder and this is my partner, Special Agent Scully.  We're here from
Washington at yours and Special Agent Rogers requests.  How can we
help you?"  He came across as efficient and helpful, which raised his
worth in the Chief's eyes and caused Agent Rogers to raise an eyebrow
at confronting a Bureau maverick and finding himself liking the man and
gaining a good first impression of him.

"Agent Mulder, Agent Scully," the Chief murmured as he shook their
hands, "glad to meet you.  I hope you can help us figure out why we
seem to rival New York, LA and DC for body counts and find the
person or persons responsible."

"Agent Rogers and his men have done a good job with their investigation  
as far as we can tell.  Their reports are thorough and complete and
contain a wealth of information that I'm sure will aid us in finding the   
culprit or culprits, sir." Scully said with a nod at Agent Rogers.  "We
will need access to any bodies not yet released, for forensic examination," 
she explained when the Chief opened his mouth to say something.

"We will also need an office with a phone and a modem line for a 
computer," said Mulder, "as well as a complete list of any and all new
residents in the past year, Chief.  Agent Rogers?  We'll need a list of 
all the car rental agency records in the state for the month of May.  And
if possible, can some of your people weed through them to find any rentals
of at least two dark sedans at the same time for a period of, say, a week?"

"Well, I suppose we could do that for you Agent Mulder.  Would
you like them to report their findings through Agent Lee?" asked Rogers.

Mulder and Scully exchanged a glance and Mulder looked back at
Rogers and replied, "certainly.  When can we meet him as well?"

"Right now!" exclaimed Chief Bivens.  "He's been in the back office 
writing a report and getting ready to brief you.  I'm sure he's ready to
get that out of the way." the Chief said with a grin.


Special Agent Harry Lee looked up as the door swung open and
his jaw dropped when a pretty redhead entered his borrowed office
followed by a tall, intense-looking man, the Chief of Police and his
superior, Agent Rogers.  Quickly regaining his equilibrium, he smiled,
stood and held out his hand saying, "Hi, I'm Agent Harry Lee."

The redhead smiled and replied, "I'm Agent Scully and this is my
partner Agent Mulder.  It's nice to meet you."  Harry had the strangest
feeling as Mulder's eyes roved up and down as they shook hands.  He
felt like someone had just x-rayed him and seen everything there was
to him.  Agent Scully, on the other hand, was a knockout and shaking
her hand made you feel warm all over despite the professional facade
she displayed.  *These two must be one hell of a team* thought Harry.

"Harry, I want you to brief Agents Mulder and Scully on what's
been happening here and what we've uncovered as well as what we
couldn't find.  Then help them in any way possible.  We want this one 
cleared up soon.  There is high level interest in this one.  I'll have Ben
and Cindy faxing some info up that Agents Mulder and Scully requested
that I want you to take care of.  Make sure to dot the i's and cross the 
t's, Harry." said Rogers with clear affection for the man in his voice.

"Agents Mulder and Scully, I am giving you one of my best.  Please
return him to me in one piece." Rogers requested.

"Agent Rogers, we aim to please." quipped Mulder as Scully rolled
her eyes at him.  This exchange didn't go unnoticed and reassured both
the FBI Agents and the Chief of Police.

Agent Rogers left with the Chief and Harry pulled out a set of files
as the agents sat down.  "Here's what we have so far.  The killings
started early this year.  One of the first was a local teen who was
found in the girls locker room of the local high school stuffed into one
of the girls lockers.  The apparent cause of death was exsanguination.
There have been number of these types of deaths that mirror the
classic 'vampire kill'.  We also have the apparent consumption of the
former high school principal by a group of disturbed students.  They
confessed to it and are currently under psychiatric care and being
held in an institution.  A number of people have just disappeared.
This includes people from the surrounding counties who were last
sighted in or near Sunnydale, a teacher and some of the students
of the high school.  There were a number of people found a few
months ago with broken necks.  This included some technicians at
CRD, a computer research lab and some students from the high school.
There are also the students who were found dead, one missing
her heart and a boy who was found with his brain removed.  Then,
there are the mysterious assaults with no visible perpetrator that
occurred last month at the same time the rogue agents were seen
about town, mostly hanging around the high school."

Mulder and Scully looked at each other and then back to
Harry when Scully said, "Why so many links to the high school?"

"No idea yet," replied Harry.  "And then just a few days ago,
we had the earthquake.  There are reports that a large group of
people were seen walking, actually it reads shambling, towards
the high school.  There was a car found in the high school that
was driven through the front doors, through the halls and stopped
right outside the library.  The car belongs to a student by the
name of Cordelia Chase.  She's considered a menace behind the
wheel by the school's driving instructor.  There is also
evidence that a fight of some sort took place in the library.  The
librarian insists that the library's state of disrepair is simply the
work of the earthquake and its aftershocks.  I spoke with a
few people that told me that the librarian, the computer instructor,
and some of the students, including Miss Chase, arrived at the
Bronze late for the Spring Fling." said Harry.  "There's a lot
of strange occurrences here and I seem to be filling up a cabinet
with reports and getting no results.  The boss came up with a
few additional agents when I reported the supposed agents
that I had witnessed and got statements that they were
hanging out at the school.  By the time help got here, they had
vanished and the assaults I was investigating as a favor for the
Chief here had stopped.  Miss Chase and another girl named
Buffy Summers were the last victims.  Miss Chase had a cut
across her cheek made from a scalpel and Miss Summers
was a bit bruised as if in a fight.  They stated that they had
been abducted by a fellow student and she was behind the
assaults.  This student, a Marcie Ross, was apparently
jealous over Miss Chase and her friends and was assaulting
people close to her.  She was allegedly going to slice up
Miss Chase's face when Miss Summers managed to get
free and, after a brief fight, knock her into a heavy tapestry
which contained her.  Then some men in dark suits burst in
claiming to be FBI agents and took the girl into custody.  In
a remark one of them made to Miss Summers, the girl would
be rehabilitated into a productive citizen again.  She also said
they told her that they were Agents Doyle and Manetti of the FBI.
We have no record of any such agents.  Another strange thing
is that the girls both claimed that Miss Ross was invisible."

"What?!?" cried both Mulder and Scully in astonishment.

"Yeah, I know.  The girl was actually reported missing
from her home about six months prior to the assaults and
we were shown the place she had been hiding.  She had
apparently moved about through the air ducts.  Her
appearing and disappearing is probably what caused
the invisible girl rumors."

"Who showed you where she had been hiding?"
asked Mulder with a glance at the files.

"Why, I believe Miss Summers had found it and
showed it to us.  She said she went looking after
hearing flute music one night after leaving the library
and was curious about who was playing it.  When
she found it, she became a danger to Miss Ross."

"What did your interviews with the people at
the school bring up?" asked Scully.

"Only that the faculty doesn't like the new
principal and that the students seem to think that
strange things happening are the norm." replied
Harry.  "They even seem to shrug off the events
with an ease that is strange in itself.  Some of these
people have witnessed murders and have been
the victims of mass hysteria and possible toxic
poisoning by something in the water..."

"Something toxic in the water?" Scully questioned.
"There isn't anything in these reports to support
that theory.  There are toxicological reports here
that state that the towns water is clear of anything
that could cause any such symptoms."

"Agent Scully, I know, I ordered the tests done
in the hope that was the explanation.  In theory,
there might be a substance in the water we didn't
detect because it broke down before we did the
tests, but it is doubtful.  I just wish I could explain
some of the strange events here.  That's why I
asked SAC Rogers to call for help from Washington.
That and the fact we hadn't found out who the
supposed agents were who took Miss Ross."

"Well, Agent Lee, why don't we let Scully
get a crack at any forensic evidence she can get
and I'll go through the reports here and we'll
start some interviews tomorrow."  Mulder looked
over at his partner and asked, "Scully, that sound
good to you?"

She glanced at Harry and back to Mulder and
said, "Sure, we might as well get that out of the
way.  Come on over to the morgue in about three
or four hours and we'll see what I might find."

***

The Library
Sunnydale High School
10:30 AM


"Giles?" the Slayer's voice resounded through the library
in question as she and her friends Willow and Xander came through
the doors in search of the Watcher.  "have you heard the latest?"

"Buffy, is that you?" came a voice from the stacks.  "What
latest?" Giles said as he came into view and descended the stairs
with an armload of books and moved towards his office.

"Some agents from FBI Headquarters in Washington just got
into town and are working with that nice Agent Lee." Buffy said.              

"I heard that they are here to investigate what happened
the night of the Spring Fling." Willow chimed in.

"Think we can tell them it was all Cordelia's fault?" Xander
asked in jest as the others looked at him and rolled their eyes.

"Well, I think we will have to keep our activities at a
low level while they are in town.  Try to stick to the stories
we gave the police and avoid the agents if you can.  Willow,
can you find out anything about them and not get caught doing
so?" Giles asked.

"Well, they are probably using a computer that is connected
by local phone lines to their headquarters. I could hack into
their computer, but that might be dangerous."  Willow thought                 
out loud.  "I know, I'll hack the phone company and get the                   
number they're dialing into and then hack that computer.  It
should give us the distance needed to cover our tracks."   

The others looked at her with puzzled expressions and she
sheepishly grinned and said, "We can probably download their
own reports that way."

"You go, girlfriend," Buffy said while patting Willow on the
arm.  "Xander, do you want to follow them around after school?"

"Sure, I'll just skate along and play the innocent kid
who doesn't know what's up."  Xander responded.

"I'll take over after dark and try to keep them safe if
they decide to go poking around then." said Buffy.  "Giles, are
you going to stay here and keep cleaning this place up?" 

"Yes, it will also keep me available if Willow should dredge
something from the computer." he replied.  

"We have a plan!" the three teens chorused.

***

Coroners Office
Sunnydale, California
02:00 PM


Mulder peeked into the room with a dissection table in the
middle and saw Scully leaning over a body and peering through a
magnifier.  "Oh dead guys, can Scully come out and play?" he
called out.

Scully grinned and shook her head as she crooked her finger
at her partner and said impishly, "No Mulder, they want you to
come in and play."  Then her grin faded and she motioned Mulder
inside and said seriously, "Mulder, this looks like an animal
attack from the way the tearing at the throat looks."                         

"What about the fang marks?" he questioned while examining
the throat of the body Scully had been looking at.

"Well, the strange thing here is that the bite radius is                 
an exact match for a human.  Also, there is evidence of human
saliva in the wound.  So the best guess I can make is that it
was caused by someone who either has fangs and drinks blood..."

"A vampire!" exclaimed Mulder.

"Or more likely, someone who is disturbed enough to think
he or she is a vampire and went to the extreme of having a
dentist give them the fangs, like Agent Thomas did last year
at Halloween for the Bureau party." said Scully.                              

"If so, this person might follow the legend to the letter,"
mused Mulder aloud while Agent Lee stepped into the room,
"And we can find him or her by finding someone who is active
only at night, shows an aversion to mirrors, and hardly smiles."

"Smiles?" asked Harry.

"Yes, they wouldn't want to show their teeth too soon if  
Scully's right about the false fangs." Mulder remarked.

"Oh, that makes sense.  Well, do you want to do the
interviews at the school now?" inquired Harry.  "The school
will be closed in a couple of hours, but we'll be able to
talk to the principal and to the librarian."

"Sounds good to me." said Mulder.  "Scully, how much longer      
here?"

"About 15 minutes.  Let me get this cleaned up and I'll
join you out front."

The Library
Sunnydale High School
02:30 PM


"Giles?" Willow called.  "I have something for us." she said
as she hacked into Dana Scully's computer in her home in Maryland.

"That quick?" asked Giles.

"Yeah, some reports got sent and I latched onto them and found
one sent to the FBI labs in Virginia, another to FBI Headquarters in
Washington and another to a private residence in Maryland.  That's            
the one I hacked.  It belongs to a Doctor Dana Scully who has just
received...eewwww.  She sent herself some autopsy reports.  I hate
this part.  Anyway, they're of that guy who got attacked the other
night.  Hey, this Doctor Scully is also an FBI Agent. Wow!"

"Willow." Giles said in a deadpan voice with a flat look.

"Oh yeah, anyway, there's a lot here.  Um, ok, she's here with
her partner Fox Mulder and..." 

"Fox Mulder!" exclaimed Giles.  "We are in definite trouble,"
he said as he began pacing behind Willow.

"Why?" Willow asked with concern.

"I know him, or rather, I knew him some years ago when we were
both students at Oxford.  He is an extremely intelligent man as well
as the most stubborn one I've ever met.  I would never have dreamed           
he would become an FBI Agent.  He was studying for his doctorate in
psychology when I graduated.  I thought he might have become a
therapist or some such.  He was always good at getting into peoples
heads and figuring out what they were thinking.  Having him here
is going to put our secrets at risk.  He'll dig them out in no
time if he gets a whiff of them.  Good Lord! Willow, you'll have       
to warn Buffy and Xander to stay away from him.  I'm sure he will
be putting in an appearance to see me, if only to say hello and
there must not be anything to arouse his suspicions"

"O-ok, I'll go now." Willow stammered out as she left the
library at a run.

"Fox Mulder," whispered Giles.  "What have you become?"

***

Principal Snyder's Office
Sunnydale High School


"Oh joy, more Feds."  Principal Snyder said under his
breath as he heard the three people in his outer office introduce
themselves to his secretary and ask her to show them in.

"Principal Snyder," said Harry.  "These are Special Agents               
Mulder and Scully from Washington.  They'd like to ask you a
few questions if you have the time."

"We always have time for such distinguished visitors,"
Snyder said in an obsequious tone.  "What would you like to
know?" he growled.

"Well, first off," asked Mulder, "have you noticed any
odd behavior in any of the students or faculty here?"

"Quite a lot," stated the principal.  "Any specific odd
behavior you want to know about?"

"Are any of them connected often to the strange deaths
and accidents that are occurring?" questioned Scully.

"Now that you mention it, there are a few troublemakers
who always seem to pop up at the strangest places."

"And who might they be?" inquired Mulder with a hint
of impatience.

"Buffy Summers, Alexander Harris, Willow Rosenberg and,
lately, Cordelia Chase.  As for faculty, I've had words
with the librarian, Rupert Giles, and the computer instructor,
Jenny Calendar about those students and, if you believe
them, they're just innocents who seem to have a knack for
being in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Mulder and Scully exchanged a glance on hearing those
names and Harry noticed a slight hand gesture from Mulder
that seemed to prompt Scully to say, "Principal Snyder,
would it be possible for the school to release a copy of
those students transcripts to us for further investigation?"

"Well, I think the school can accommodate helping with
your investigation." Snyder preened as he reached for a set
of files while Harry watched in shock as information he had
tried to get a dozen times was handed over so easily.  "I
also have copies of the resumes of certain faculty members
that I'm sure can help speed your investigation and hopefully
return the campus to tranquillity."   

"I'm sure that we will be able to accommodate your wishes
as well, Principal Snyder."  Scully said softly as she eyed                   
her partner and he leaned forward to take the folders.

"Good," Snyder practically cooed.  "We understand each
other then."  

"Of course," replied Mulder as the agents stood.  "We'll
touch base with you when we need to speak with anyone here."

"You do that.  I'll tell my secretary to admit you and 
to facilitate meeting your needs whenever you're here."  

"Thank you, Sir," said Harry as they departed the office.
Once out of earshot of the office, Harry pulled the two agents
into an alcove and asked, "How do you two do that?  And can
you teach it to me?" in an incredulous tone.

"It's called the suck-them-in-and-take-their-shirt
technique." Mulder deadpanned while Scully started to snicker.

"Never heard of it."  Harry said while starting to get
the feeling they were speaking in tongues.

"It's really hard to explain," sputtered Scully, "but
those God-awful ties Mulder wears sucks the will to live
from them."

"Hey!" Mulder protested, which got Harry laughing as
well.

"Actually," Scully explained, "people tend to under-
estimate a women that's my size.  So we play a version of
Good Agent/Better Agent where we seem to want to help the
person we're interviewing, so they give us whatever we
want so we can help them.  Works almost every time."

"Well, liver-eating mutants seem immune." Mulder
said while popping a sunflower seed into his mouth and
grinning when Scully started chuckling again at the
expression on Harry's face.
"I can see you haven't heard a lot about our past
cases." said Scully.


Giles watched as Mulder, and two other agents, left
Principal Snyder's office with a small stack of folders
in hand and left school property in a blue Ford Taurus.
He heaved a sigh of relief that Mulder had apparently
chosen to spare questioning him today, it meant he was
free to meet with Buffy and the others and plan what
they were going to do.

***

The Library
Sunnydale High School
08:00 PM


"Alright, we'll have to keep this brief." said Giles.

"I've got some more downloads," Willow said as she
pulled a folder out from her bag.  "They are investigating
the school as a link in all the incidents.  Worse, they
seem to have copies of our transcripts."  she said as
she began to hyperventilate.

"Willow, breathe." ordered Buffy.

"Who's transcripts?" Ms. Calendar asked Willow.

"Oh, Buffy's, Xander's, Cordelia's and mine as well
as Giles' and your resumes." Willow replied.              

"Oh man!" exclaimed Xander.  "Now what do we do?  
These Feds are good, they have us and haven't even
talked to us yet."

"Actually, that may mean that they don't know
what we are doing but are curious about us for some other
reason." Giles said.

"Snyder probably sicced them on us and provided
the files gratis to do so," Ms. Calendar pointed out.

"That may be," Giles agreed, "but that doesn't mean
we should panic yet."

"You mean you weren't panicking earlier when I found
out one of the agents is named Fox Mulder?" Willow asked
in puzzlement.

"No, well yes, but that is because I know what kind of
man he is.  Willow, were you able to access their records
from the FBI?"

"Yes, and it's strange, Agent Mulder graduated from
Oxford and was recruited by the FBI to work in their
Violent Crimes Unit and distinguished himself there for
a couple of years as a profiler of serial killers.  In 1989 he
profiled a man named Monty Props and ended his killing
spree and gained some notoriety from this.  According to
the records, this is taught at the FBI Academy as the
best example of Criminal Profiling ever done by an Agent.
Sometime in the early nineties Agent Mulder became aware
of a set of discarded cases called X-Files which were
cases labeled unsolved that because of the paranormal
phenomenon that manifest themselves during the cases."

"Paranormal phenomenon?" Xander asked.

"Ghosts, ESP, UFO's, monsters, even vampires."
explained Willow.

"And he was allowed to investigate these cases?"
Jenny asked.  "UFO's on the government dime?"

"Well, according to what I could find, he knows a
Senator and still occasionally does profiles for the
Violent Crimes Unit." Willow replied.  "But he doesn't
receive much in the way of a budget.  Anyway, his
original supervisor, a Section Chief Blevins, assigned
him a partner, Doctor Dana Scully, to debunk the validity
of his work with the X-Files."   She flipped through
the stack of computer printouts and continued, "She
is a forensic pathologist and former instructor at the
FBI Academy.  She was assigned in 1992 and has
been there ever since.  Oh, this says that the X-Files
division was closed down during 1993 for a 6 month
stint.  It was reopened by authority of an Assistant
Director Walter Skinner just after the abduction of
Agent Scully by a former agent named Duane Barry.
She was missing for about 3 months and suddenly
appeared in a Washington hospital and eventually
went back to work."

"Anything else pertinent?" Giles inquired.

"The X-Files division has better closure ratio
than the rest of the FBI.  Lots of the cases are
really bizarre, some are classified and under an
encryption code of some kind.  I did find references
to liver-eating, immortal mutants, ghosts, the manitou,
prehistoric insects, aliens, intelligent computers,
psychic phenomenon of all sorts, government
conspiracies, clones, human-alien hybrids, vampires,
even shape-shifting people with tails.  And that's
just in the official files, the private stuff on Doctor
Scully's computer at home has even more weird
stuff.  It also seems as if both of them have lost
family members because of their work.  Her
sister was shot in her apartment, which she thinks
was meant to be her while Agent Mulder's father
was murdered in his own home while he was
there."  Willow stopped talking as she looked
at the last page of the printout.  The others looked
at each other nervously as she looked up again
with tears in her eyes and said, "According to
his partner, Agent Mulder started his quest into
the paranormal because he believes he saw his own sister
abducted by aliens when he was twelve years old."

***

A smoke-filled office
Washington DC


The large gray-faced man inhaled the smoke of
the burning Morley while reading over a report from
some of the Consortium's field agents when the phone
rang.  "Yes?" he answered in a dull monotone.

"Sir, we've picked up an intrusion of Agent 
Scully's home computer," the voice at the other end
reported.

"Who is behind it?" asked the cigarette-smoking man.

"That's the strange thing, Sir, it appears to be
Agent Scully who is hacking her own machine," came the
reply in a puzzled tone.

"Hmm, no, I don't think so.  It might be a hacker
who has found a new way to disguise themselves.  Where
is the transmission originating?" he questioned the
caller.

"Sunnydale, California.  Which is the present
location of Agent Scully and her partner.  Sir," was
the quick response.

"I want Doyle and Manetti there by noon tomorrow."
the smoker ordered.

"Sir, we used Doyle and Manetti to retrieve the
Ross subject from Sunnydale.  There is a federal
agent who would know them by sight still there and
who has been teamed with Agents Mulder and Scully
for the duration of their investigation," the field
agent reported.

"They are still the best choice for now.  Send
them in.  I'll arrive with a back-up team in the evening." 

"Yes sir," the field agent complied.  "Sir, we are
also detecting an intrusion into the FBI database.
Specifically, a search of the X-Files reports and
division records!" he continued as his voice rose.

"What!" exclaimed the cigarette-smoking man.  "I  
want the database down right now.  Crash it!"

"Sir?"

"I said crash it!  Now!" the smoker ordered as he
slammed down the phone.  "Damn," he said as he stubbed
out the Morley and promptly lit a new one.  He leaned
back in his chair and took a drag and lit the shadows
with the red tip glowing eerily bright.

***

The Library
Sunnydale High School


"Oh, no!"  Willow cried out.

"What is it Willow?" the entire group asked with concern.

"I can't...I think someone discovered my snooping and
crashed the FBI database while I was trying to access the
records of the agent dossiers on Agents Mulder and Scully."
she explained with wide eyes.  "Someone doesn't want me or                    
anyone looking around in there."

"Willow, was there a chance it could be traced back to
you?" Jenny asked in a hushed voice that caused everyone to 
look at her.

"Oh, no, no.  I was masquerading as Agent Scully.  That's                
why I was so surprised they shut down the system.  I thought
who better to skim the files than the person who wrote lots
of them in the first place? But, someone figured out I was
hacking the ID and pulled the system down." she told them.
"Good thing I knew enough not to get caught inside when they
did.  Still, that wasn't nice."

"That's the government in action," noted Jenny.

"Well, it seems as if our best source of information
has been cut off.  Is there another source or way to get the
information we can use?" questioned Giles.

"Well, there might be another source." Willow thought out
loud. "There was something or someone called the Lone Gunmen
mentioned in a file on Agent Scully's computer.  I suppose I
could...no, they might be looking for a hit on her computer
now...um, oh, ok, search time."

"Well," said Buffy, "while Willow is lost in cyberspace,
I believe it's time for a quick hunt to keep the streets  
safe for another night.  We REALLY don't need some more
dead bodies popping up for the FBI to find.  Right Giles?"
she asked while tilting her head to the side and grinning.

"Of course. But be careful, we don't need a dead Slayer
for them to find either."

"Gotcha," she said as she moved towards the doors.

Xander leaned over Willow and said, "what can I do to  
help?" and received a smile from her in reward.

***

Motel 8
10:00 PM


"Mulder?  Come in here, I think the computers in DC
have crashed.  I can't access to upload the latest report."

"Really?" Mulder commented as he walked through the
dividing door between there rooms.  "I bet the guys in
Violent Crimes are playing Quake and when they thought
they killed the demon, they killed the computer instead."

"Very funny.  Now we'll have to do it in the morning," 
Scully said with irritation.

"Oh, well, since we don't have to do that now, what                      
say we head over and check out the Bronze?" he asked.

"The Bronze?  Oh, the nightclub Harry told us about.
Why?" she asked as she looked at him suspiciously.

"Just to look the place over and get a feel for the
terrain.  We could sit in the parking lot and watch who
comes and goes." he explained.  "From what Harry said,
it's the only hangout in town.  Besides, all of our
school suspects have been sighted there often."

"True.  I suppose a couple of hours scouting the
landmarks isn't a bad idea."                 

***

The Bronze
12:00 AM, June 07, 1997


"Well, this was action-packed." Scully sighed.

"But interesting," Mulder replied.  "I didn't know
kids these days really went into tattoos and body-piercing
like that." He commented as they watched some more of the
Gen-X grunge crowd entered the club.

"Mulder, that girl there," she asked while pointing to
an attractive blond wearing a tanktop, shorts and knee-high
boots who had just exited the club, "isn't that the Summers
girl?"

"I believe you're right, Scully.  Let's follow her
and see what she's up to."

"Probably on her way home, but at least we can see  
that she gets there in one piece."
The agents followed the blonde across town until the girl
suddenly ducked into a park and was lost to sight.


Buffy had listened to the two people following her
from the Bronze and was enjoyed the nice little walk
when she heard something, or maybe it was felt something,
she really wasn't sure what.  Ever since she had died and                     
Xander revived her with CPR she felt things that,
before, would only have raised the hair on her neck.  She
didn't like the increased perceptions, but lived with them.
She was the Slayer, etc. Maybe the monsters would all go
away and let her enjoy her summer.  *Fat chance* she
thought.  *I'd try to go to the beach and Giles would be
there to lecture me or a sea serpent would attack.*
A definite rustling sound off to her left made her
swerve towards the wall on the south side of the park.


Mulder and Scully went into the park in search of
the blonde they had been following and then lost.  Both
felt very creeped out by the dark, slightly foggy
park that was shrouded in silence.  Then they heard
a rustling from the right and veered in that direction.
They came upon a fight as they saw the blonde picked-up
and thrown to the ground by a man wearing clothing
dating from the sixties.  The girl backflipped and was
standing facing the man and pulled what looked like a
knife from behind her and smirked.  The man growled,
which shocked the Agents, and attacked the girl who
immediately kicked him in the face twice and then in
the chest.  The man then reached for her again as the
two agents pulled their guns and said in unison, "Freeze!
FBI! Get away from the girl and get down on the ground!"
The man continued to move towards the girl who, without
taking her eyes off the man advancing on her, yelled,
"Your guns won't stop him, leave him to me!"
   Mulder and Scully both snorted and kept their guns
aimed and moved in on either side of the assailant
when he spun and knocked Scully flying and was thrown
back himself as Mulder fired.  The man then looked up
at Mulder as he rose and then suddenly stopped as the
point of a wooden stake burst from his chest.  He

looked down and then exploded into dust.  The blonde
looked at Mulder and then at the stake she held, then
turned and ran for the wall.

Mulder shook himself and brought the gun up saying,
"Freeze Miss Summers, FBI!" as he centered on the teen.
She looked back at him with her back to the wall.  She
suddenly leaped up and over the wall which had to be
at least 10 feet high and vanished as she dropped to
the ground on the other side and ran off.

"Damn!" Mulder exclaimed.  Then he realized his
partner was still lying on the ground and went over
to her.  "Scully, you missed...hell, I don't know
what you missed." He looked her over and when he                              
flashed a light over her head, she moaned and said,
"What hit me?"

"The perp." Mulder answered while examining her.

"Mulder, what happened?  Where are they?"

"That's going to take some explanation," he sighed.

***

The Library
Sunnydale High School


"Giles!" the Slayer yelled as she entered the library looking
for her Watcher.  "We've got a problem!" 

As the Watcher and the Slayerettes looked up from the books
and computer printouts scattered over the central table they took
in the slightly disheveled Slayer and looked amongst themselves.
Giles cleared his throat and asked, "What precisely is the problem,
Buffy?"

"I was being followed by the FBI agents and decided to cut
through the park and ran into a vampire.  Giles, they saw every-
thing.  That Mulder guy called me by name and was pointing a gun at
me when I jumped over a wall and got away," she explained before              
stopping to catch her breath.  "He saw me stake that vampire and
I know he's going to be looking for me.  What're we going to do?"

"Oh dear," sighed Giles.  "Buffy, you're going to have to fake
being sick tomorrow, er, today rather.  Have your mother call
the school.  I see that Mulder will be questioning me to find out
anything he can about you.  Willow, you and Xander will have to
make yourselves scarce and stay away from here for awhile.  You
can coordinate everything through Ms. Calendar until we can get
out of this mess."

"Rupert, how are you going to convince the FBI that they didn't
see what they did see?" asked Jenny.

"Hmm, well, they might be convinced that the vampire was
just a man and the bad lighting was what made him look the way
he did and that his turning to dust was just an optical illusion."

"Uh huh, the same agents who routinely investigate paranormal
phenomenon are going to believe that." stated Jenny sarcastically.

"Maybe we should find out what they know and then try to
figure out what to say." Willow piped in.

"Maybe we could tell them the truth?" Xander asked.  The rest
turned and glared at him.  "Maybe not." he muttered.

***

Motel 8
02:00 AM


"Mulder, do you know what you're saying?" Scully asked in
astonishment.

"Scully, I know it sounds crazy, but he did vanish in a blast
of dust."  Mulder protested.  "Then she ran for the wall and I
yelled for her to freeze and she leaped backwards over a ten foot
high wall and got away.  Then you came to and I brought you
back here."

"Mulder, I still can't believe someone turned to dust because
that would mean he was a vampire." Scully objected.

"Does that mean you believe me about the Summers girl
doing ten foot backwards leaps over walls?" asked Mulder
with a grin.

 "Don't push it, Mulder."  Scully warned.  "Vampires do not
exist and people, not even 16 year old girls, can leap over ten
foot walls."
"Uh, Scully, did you ever read the Trinity casefile?" asked
Mulder, with a waver in his voice.

"Mulder, of course..." her voice trailed off.

"Still think vampires don't exist?" he asked.

"Well, I have to admit I still think that your suspect burned
that way because he believed that he would."

"You mean it was all in his head?" Mulder smirked.

Scully grimaced and said, "Alright, than we may have been
attacked by another of the Trinity cult.  Or do you think otherwise?"

"I'm really not sure.  But Ms. Summers is definitely not one of
them and yet she can leap over high walls backwards.  Something
to look into.  Plus the fact she seemed to know there was something
uniquely different about her attacker and she was defending herself
with a wooden stake.  That would leave me to believe that she
believes in vampires." Mulder mused.  "I think we need to know
more about her.  If you and Harry can try to get some more
information on the girl, I'll talk to my old friend Giles in the morning."

***

The Library
Sunnydale High School
09:00 AM

Giles had twitched every time the doors of the library had opened
today in anticipation of the inevitable visit of Mulder and his surely
still inquisitive nature.  He decided to spend the morning hiding his
special tomes in the lockable bookcase in his office and then to
get a start on the catalog requests for next years term.  The Fuerher
would want all of that information to add to the expense reports for
the repairs.  Giles shuddered as he foresaw the old budget for the library
being blown for the next 50 years because of the Hellmouth.  However,
it was strange that more wasn't being made about the repairs to the
school.  Most districts would have made a larger fuss and then pushed
through higher taxes or sold some bonds to pay for the repairs.  Only
in Sunnydale would a well-to-do citizen cough up the money for the
repairs.  Strangely enough, the donors main beneficiary had been the
library.  Thankfully, or the work would have been postponed until the
summer.  Nicely, it also paid a stipend requesting the librarian to be
present over the repair time to ensure all repairs went as directed and
that any volumes that needed replacing could be there for the fall term.
He supposed that the donor was a bibliophile or, possibly, a former
student or librarian who had enjoyed many hours here and wanted the
site to be returned to its former glory.  Or someone just wanted the
Hellmouth covered again.  Either way, he was actually enjoying the
fact he was in charge of the repairs and was able to have some minor
changes made to incorporate a weapons locker into a wall behind a
bookcase as well as some hiding places for the more esoteric tomes
into the blueprints for the repair.  Nothing like looking ahead he thought
as the doors opened once more to reveal Mulder standing in the doorway
wearing a hideous tie.

"Hello Giles, long time no see." Mulder greeted the librarian with
a grin.

Agent Lee's Office
Sunnydale Police Headquarters


Harry looked up from a file when he heard the door open and said,
"Agent Scully, good morning.  Where's Agent Mulder?"

"He went over to the high school to do a preliminary interview with
the librarian Mr. Giles. They went to the same university and apparently
knew each other then.  Mulder feels he might get more from him if he
goes alone and gets him comfortable first." Scully explained.

"Hmm, I received some more information on our principals 
and found out that Buffy Summers, was involved in some strange
occurrences in LA.  In the suburb of Sunnyvale, that's weird,
at Hemery High there was a series of deaths of high school students
as well as homeless people.  Ms. Summers knew most of the people
who died.  This includes a man by the name of Jonathan Merrick
who arrived there about the time the deaths started and was seen
often in Ms. Summers company.  Also, Mr. Merrick had rented a large
house and after his death, the police found he had decorated it with
training equipment suitable for some sort of martial arts student.
As well as a chest full of crosses, wooden stakes, garlic, holy water
and other assorted paraphernalia suitable for an old horror movie."
Harry continued, "Interestingly enough, he was killed by having a
wooden stake shoved through his heart.  Ms. Summers and a young
man named Pike..." Harry shuffled through the papers for a moment,
"...only name listed is Pike.  Anyway, their police statements said 
that Merrick was killed by someone named Lothos.  We don't know 
anything about this Lothos character.  Mr. Merrick was a British
subject from the Salisbury Plain.  Interesting point two is that our
Mr. Giles is also from that area of the UK.  In fact, it appears
that our friend Mr. Merrick is actually one Merrick Giles, our dear
librarians older brother."

"His brother?" Scully cried out.  "That explains a little, but 
why would their family be concerned with a young American girl like
Buffy Summers?"

"That's the $64,000 question." said Harry.  "I don't know and
can't see a connection.  Although now we have deaths there and
they stopped.  Now we have deaths here and the only connection
is Ms. Summers and the British men who appear to be close to
her, even tutoring her in martial arts for some reason."

"Good work, Harry!" Scully said as she pulled out her cell phone,
"I'm going to pass this to Mulder and see if he can get anything out
of his old friend."

***

The Library
Sunnydale High School


"Giles, you're looking well," observed Mulder as he watched his
old friend closely.  "What have you been doing since graduation?"

"Mulder.  Good morning,  I've been doing quite well, thank you."
Giles said when he got his voice back.  "How about yourself?  The
rumors said you went to work for your government after you got
your degree."

"Well, those rumors were true.  I'm a Special Agent for the FBI
now." Mulder replied.  "I'm in town right now investigating some
very strange occurrences that have occurred here during the past
year.  Remembering what you studied, I thought you might be able
to give me some information on the town and its environs."

"Hmm, I suppose I could.  I have a number of volumes here
detailing the early history of the area from Spanish colonial times
to the recent past." Giles said in some relief.  "The Spanish named
the site 'Boca Del Infierno' which, when loosely translated, means
'Hellmouth'.  There is a legend that predates the Spaniards and
goes back many years..."

"Giles, that much I know." interrupted Mulder.  "I'm actually
after more recent information."

"Oh, well, just how..." Giles began before Mulder's cell phone
rang and cut him off.

"Mulder."  the agent barked into the phone.  He listened for a
moment and then looked up at Giles with a startled look that gave
the librarian a shiver up his spine.  Mulder muttered something
and hung up while turning towards him again.  "Giles, who is
Buffy Summers and why has your family become involved with her?"

"My family?" squeaked Giles.  "Whatever do you mean?"

"We know that a man going by the name Jonathan Merrick, who
we believe to be your brother, was associated with Ms. Summers in
some way.  Possibly teaching her martial arts from the evidence
found in his rented residence.  He was killed by someone Ms. Summers
and a young man named Pike claimed was named Lothos.  Soon after
she and her mother move to Sunnydale and, lo and behold, you had
arrived not long before.  You also gave up a very prominent position
as the assistant curator of the British Museum to do so.  Now, your
family's young protege finds you in place and guess what?"  Mulder
asked facetiously.  "The pattern of deaths that plagued her former high
school seem to be repeating themselves here.  Wouldn't you say that
it begs an explanation?"

"Um, well, I can see where this would seem odd." Giles replied.

"Odd?  How about downright suspicious."  Mulder countered.
"Are you going to tell me what's going on?  Or do I have a nice chat
with Ms. Summers at the police station about what I saw last night?"

"Mulder, what exactly did you see last night?" Giles asked, hoping
to stall and figure out an alternative to the truth.

"I and my partner saw a man attack Ms. Summers in the park
just after midnight.  She was using some interesting martial arts moves
and just as we arrived, she pulled out a wooden stake.  We attempted
to arrest the perpetrator when he growled and knocked my partner
aside.  I then shot him point blank in the chest.  He got up and growled
again as he advanced on me.  I got a really good look at that face and
the fangs when Ms. Summers shoved the stake through his heart from
behind.  He then evaporated into a cloud of dust.  She then leaped
over a 10 foot wall, backwards, to escape from custody.  My partner
then revived and I took her back to the motel and filled her in."  Mulder
started grinning, which Giles really didn't like to see.  "I believe your
Ms. Summers killed a vampire last night, old friend, and you know all
about it."

"Mulder, do you really believe in vampires?" Giles asked in
trepidation.  "That's hardly a rational explanation, is it?"

"Giles, I know what I saw.  I've seen it before." Mulder said while
staring intently at the Watcher.  "You know what this is about, don't
you?"

"Hmm.  Mulder, I, ah, I.  Oh dear.  This really isn't easy." Giles
muttered then looked up with something shining in his eyes.  "Mulder,
can I trust you not to reveal what I tell you to another living soul?"

"Giles, I have to tell my partner.  She deserves no less from me."
he replied as he sat down at the main table.  "And you realize that
if this includes any crimes, I may not be able to turn my back on them,
even if I wanted to?"

"Hmm, yes, I can understand that you'd have to tell your partner.
But that just makes it more difficult for me."  The look on Mulder's 
face made him speak.  "Not from a criminal standpoint but that this 
information is not for wide spread dissemination."  Giles took a     
breathe, "It would be very dangerous for this knowledge to come out 
and, I believe, it would not be believed by most except for the people
who would misuse it.  And that would cause severe repercussions in the
lives of the people of this town as well as for Buffy in particular."

"How so?" questioned Mulder.

"To fully understand, I suppose I must trust you with this.  Here
take a look at this," he said as he put a large, leather-bound tome
down in front of the FBI agent.  "Contrary to popular religious thinking,
the world did not start with paradise.  Untold eons ago, demons walked
the earth and made it their home, their hell.  In time they lost their
purchase on this reality, the way was made for mortal animals, for man.
All that remains of the old ones are vestiges, certain magicks, and
creatures."  Giles paused for a breath and to try to judge how Mulder
was taking the tale.  "Such as vampires.  The book tells of how the last
demon to leave this reality fed off a human, mixed their blood.  He was
of human form possessed, infected by the demons essence.  He bit another
and another and so they walk the earth, feeding, killing some and mixing
their blood with others making more of their kind." Giles sighed and
continued, "Waiting for the animals to die out, and the old ones to
return."

"Interesting," commented Mulder.  "But what does that have to do
with Ms. Summers and your family?"

"Hmm, well, as long as there have been vampires, there has been the
Slayer." Giles explained.

"And what, exactly, is the Slayer?"

"One girl in all the world, a Chosen One, with the strength and 
abilities to fight the vampires.  For every generation, there is only one
Slayer.  And in this generation the Slayer is Buffy Summers." Giles    
replied.  "The Slayer is prepared and trained by the Watcher.  And at   
this time, I am the current Watcher assigned to the Slayer."

Mulder gazed at Giles in rapt attention and then said, "So that 
little girl is a Vampire Slayer. What kind of strength and abilities
does she have?  I saw her repel a much larger opponent as well as do a
backwards leap over a 10 foot high wall."

"Well, she is much stronger than she looks.  And she is very capable
when it comes to weapons, having an almost instinctive ability with them."

"What kinds of weapons?" Mulder asked.

"Hand weapons like her stakes, the quarterstaff and such.  Also 
with projectile weapons like crossbows.  That sort." Giles replied   
peevishly.  "What kind of weapons did you think?"

"Well, I would have some special cartridges with wooden bullets 
made for a handgun and then just shoot them." Mulder replied.

"Oh, well, then I would have to learn to use handguns just to teach 
her how to use them.  And I'm sure that having a 16 year old girl carrying  
a handgun would be a mite conspicuous."

"True, but that wouldn't stop you from having one."  Mulder pointed 
out.

"Hmm, also true." Giles mused.  "Now what are you going to do about
this case of yours?"

"Giles, to tell you the truth, I really need to talk to my partner
before I decide what I'm going to do." Mulder said as he rubbed his face 
with his palm.  "Plus I'm going to have to talk to Ms. Summers and all her 
friends.  Also that Calendar woman who Principal Snyder mentioned."

"Of course he would.  Well, while you do that I suppose I can go back
to work."  Giles said as he stood.  "Just promise me that you'll speak 
to me before you decide what you're going to do."

"Deal." Mulder replied as they shook hands.

***

The Summer's Home
1630 Rovello Drive
04:00 PM


"Mom!  Where are my brown boots?"

"The same place you left them last night dear."  Joyce Summers
yelled back to her daughter.  "Just inside the kitchen door."

"Thanks!"  Buffy yelled back as she clumped down the stairs in her
stocking feet.  She had just entered the kitchen when the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it Mom."  She walked over and opened the door to find Agents
Mulder and Scully standing on the front stoop arguing with each other.

"Oh brother."  Buffy muttered under her breath.

The agents quieted and turned in unison to look at Buffy who looked
back with a deer-in-the-headlights look.  Scully broke the ice by saying,
"Hello Buffy, we met briefly last night."  This comment sent the blood
rushing out of Buffy's face.  "Would it be alright if we came in and 
spoke to you and your mother?"

"Um, well, that probably wouldn't be a good idea right now." Buffy
stammered out.  "She's got a highly contagious disease and can't see
anyone right now."

Dimly heard from the kitchen is her mothers voice, "Buffy, who's at
the door?"

Mulder leaned forward somewhat and said in a low tone, "Ms. Summers,
I spoke to Giles this morning.  I know what you are.  Does your mother?"

"What!" Buffy exclaimed.  "Giles told you after we agreed not...oops.
No, my mother does not know.  So don't let her, please?" she pleaded.

"Alright," Mulder replied, "tell her that we're here just to 
interview you about something at school.  We really want to find the
rogue agents you described. Doyle and Manetti."

"Ok, come on in." she said, backing up to make room for them.  "Mom!
It's a couple of FBI agents.  They want to talk to us."

A clatter arose as Joyce Summers dropped her coffee cup and lurched
into the hall.  "Ah, hello, um, this isn't about my tax returns this year,
is it?"


Buffy kept glancing back and forth between her mother and the pair
of FBI agents sitting in her living room as they talked.  Agent Mulder
was actually kind of cute for an old guy and had smiled when she brought
him an iced tea.  His partner was pretty neat, and about her height too.
Being so nice was probably just a way to get them to talk though.  Her
internal dialogue was interrupted when Mulder asked her a question.

"Excuse me?" she had to ask.

"Buffy," her mother sighed, "Agent Mulder asked if you remembered
anything besides the agents names."

"Oh, well, they wore dark suits, and the man claiming to be Agent 
Manetti was shorter than the other one, um, Agent Doyle."

"Did they show you their badges and ID's?" Mulder asked.

"Um, yeah, I saw Agent Doyle's badge." replied Buffy.

Mulder pulled out his badge case and handed it to Buffy while
saying, "Take a look at my badge and ID and tell me if there are any 
differences between the two that you can recall."

"Well," she began as she looked closely at his badge, "I didn't 
really see his up close but it looked like this."

"Agent Mulder?" Joyce Summers frowned in his direction.  "Why 
exactly are you questioning my daughter for anyway?"

"Mrs. Summers," Scully replied, "Buffy is the only person we
can find who actually spoke to the alleged agents.  We need as exact a
description as she can give us.  It is a felony offense to impersonate
federal officers after all."

"Oh!" exclaimed the Summers women in unison.

Mulder smiled, "Mrs. Summers, would it be alright if your daughter
came down to the police station with us and spoke to a sketch artist?
It might help a lot if we got a sketch made from her descriptions.  She
might also remember more if she sees it being drawn, most people do."

"Well, I can't see where that would do any harm."

"We'll give her a ride to and from the station." Scully said as 
she and Mulder started to rise from their seats.  "We don't want to  
disrupt your lives any more than necessary."

"Sure you don't," Buffy muttered under her breath.  She looked 
up to see Mulder looking at her with a quirky grin. *Damn, he probably
reads minds too.*

***

Sunnydale Police Station
Agent Lee's Office
05:00 PM


Harry looked up to see Mulder and Scully escorting Buffy Summers
into the office and said, "Hello again Buffy.  How are you doing today?"

"Oh, hello Agent Lee.  I guess it could be worse.  Agent Mulder 
thought that I should talk to a sketch artist about those two agents I
saw last month."  Buffy replied.

"Probably a good idea.  Would it help if we got your friend Willow 
to come down and add her impressions to yours?" he asked.

"Willow Rosenberg saw them too?" Scully asked quickly.

"Well yeah!" exclaimed Buffy.  "She was the first to see them.
She joked about Cordelia hiring bodyguards when she saw them hanging
around campus."

"Harry, do you think you can go collect Ms. Rosenberg?" Mulder
asked quietly.  "We'll get the sketch artist ready for when you get back."

"Sure thing.  She'll probably be home or at the library right now."

"The school library?" Mulder asked.

"Usually.  She often helps the librarian out.  He's not very computer
literate from what I've heard.  Strange, since he's friends with the schools
computer instructor too."  Harry commented.  "Any reason that's weird?"

"No," Mulder replied.  "Just wondering.  Any information might have
a bearing on a case.  You never know."

"True." Harry said as he picked up his suit coat.  "I should be back
within an hour."

When he was out of earshot, Mulder leaned in towards Buffy and
smiled as he said, "Buffy, my partner is having problems believing what
Giles told me about you.  Would you explain to her just what you are
and what that means?"

"For heavens sake.  Mulder, this girl..."

"Is a Vampire Slayer." Buffy interjected.

"..." Scully's mouth hung open as she stared at the petite blonde.

"Ya see, in every generation, there is born the one girl with the
strength and the skills to defeat the vampires, the demons and the
forces of darkness and she is the Slayer.  At the moment that is me,"
she said forthrightly.  "What you saw last night was not someone
suffering from rabies, a trick of light or anything else that you can
rationally explain away.  It was a vampire that was stalking the park
looking for someone to feed from.  I did my job and slew him.  Of
course it might have been easier if you'd listened to me and stayed
out of the way.  If you still have some doubts, you could follow me
tonight when I go hunting."

"Hunting?" Mulder questioned.  "This implies you go out trolling
for vampires every night."

"Well, not every night." Buffy explained.  "I do have to do my
homework and occasionally do stuff with my mom."

Scully gasped and then sputtered, "sometimes you don't go hunting
vampires so you can do your homework?"

"Yeah, I want to graduate high school, you know." Buffy said.

"Excuse me," Scully muttered as she left the room.

"What's her problem?" Buffy asked Mulder.

"She's a die hard skeptic.  She'll be back in a few moments.
How exactly did Giles and Merrick know you were the Slayer?"

"You know, I've wondered about that one myself.  I mean, I
know that the duty of Watcher runs in his family and I know that
there is some sort of group that assigns them.  I guess that group
has some way of figuring out who the Slayer is." Buffy replied.
"You might ask Giles about it.  If he'll say anything, he's very
not talkative about things like that."

"Yes, I suppose he would." Mulder mused.  The door to the
office opened again and Scully entered much more in control than
her departure had been.  "Glad you're back Scully.  We've got a
lot of questions building up here.  Did you talk to the sketch artist
while you were out there?"

"The sketch artist is in the squad room.  He's ready whenever
we are." Scully said as she kept control over the laughter that had
threatened to burst out of her earlier.   "Harry called in, he found
Ms. Rosenberg at home and is enroute with her."

"Great, let's get this show on the road." Mulder said as he rose
from his seat and beckoned Buffy towards the door.


"No, the eyes were set further apart." Buffy said as she studied
the face on the pad.  The sketch artist erased and redrew the eyes
when Willow said, "I think the hairline is a little low."  The girls
looked at the new resulting sketch and exclaimed at the same time,
"That's him!"

"Buffy, which one is this?" Scully asked quietly.

"This is the one who said his name was Manetti," Buffy replied.

Mulder took the sketch and looked closely at it and then passed
it to Harry who did a double take and said, "Yeah, this sketch is even
better than the one I sent to Washington.  What now?"

"We send these directly to AD Skinner and I want to send a      
copy to some friends who can help." Mulder said while glancing aside
at Scully who grimaced and then looked thoughtful and nodded.  Buffy
watched the by-play between the two agents and nudged Willow who nodded
back at her.  Mulder noticed this and grinned as he said, "we need to         
get you ladies home for the evening.  Harry, we'll take them home while
you fax this.  Here's the numbers and we'll see you tomorrow morning."

"Sure thing, Mulder. See ya."

Mulder and Scully escorted the two girls out to the rented Taurus
and started towards Buffy's house.  Buffy looked about for a moment           
before asking, "Agent Mulder, would it be possible for us to swing         
by the school before we go home?"

"Certainly.  Did you need to talk to Giles?" he asked.

"Well, yeah, but I think we all need to sit down and talk plainly
about what everyone knows." 

"Sounds like a good idea to me.  What about you Scully?"

Scully looked back and forth between her partner and the girls
sitting calmly in the back seat, one of whom claimed to be a vampire
slayer and said wearily, "alright, let's clear the air."

***

Renfro Airfield
Middleton, California
30 miles east of Sunnydale
07:30 PM


A nondescript man in a dark suit and overcoat stood next to the
Lear jet and waited for the door to open and disgorge its passenger.

"Doyle.  What are you doing here?  You're supposed to be in
Sunnydale investigating the intrusion of the FBI computers." said the
gray-faced man with the smell of tobacco smoke wreathed about him.

"Sir, we've discovered that the FBI Agents in town have very
accurate sketches of Manetti and I and have circulated them.  A mole
at FBI headquarters said AD Skinner received a copy not 10 minutes ago
that was sent from Sunnydale." Doyle replied.

"I see.  Where's Manetti now?"

"He's in the hanger waiting for us, sir."

"Then lets go talk to him, shall we?" the man said as he pulled
a Morley out and lit it.

"Yes, sir."

***

Sunnydale High Library
07:45 PM


"Giles?  We need to talk." Buffy said as the group entered the
library and found him seated with Ms. Calendar, while Xander and
Cordelia were sitting on the counter snipping at each other.

"Buffy!  Where have...oh, never mind," he said as he caught
sight of Mulder.

"Scully," Mulder said to his partner as he swept his left hand
towards the librarian, "this is Rupert Giles."

"Good evening, Mr. Giles." Scully said with a tight smile as
she stuck her hand out.

Giles reached out and grasped her hand lightly, "I'm pleased
to meet you Ms, er, um, Agent Scully," he stuttered  as he felt the
smooth pale skin and felt a small jolt from touching her.

"If you prefer, you can call me Doctor," Scully said as she
felt the librarians slightly rough skin caress her hand and her
eyes widened at the touch.  "that's also correct."

"Oh, that's right." Willow said.  "You're a forensic pathologist
as well as...oops."

Mulder and Scully turned to the quiet girl and asked in unison,
"How did you know that?"

"Willow?  Were you being naughty again?" Xander teased.

Giles shook his head and muttered, "I knew she was going to
get caught one of these days."

"Willow found out about you on the 'Net." Buffy explained.

"I see," mused Scully.  "Willow, did you happen to be getting
this information about dinner time last night?"

"Um, yes." Willow muttered in reply.

"Then was it you that caused the FBI mainframe to crash at
about that time?" Scully asked.

"No!" Willow blurted.  "I was accessing it, but it looked like
a security shutdown to prevent access."

"Scully?" Mulder had a shocked look on his face, "I think
Willow here was probably accessing the X-Files database
and one of the Consortium's moles shut down the computer
to stop her."

"If that's true..."

"Yeah," Mulder breathed softly, "what were they trying to
prevent her from seeing."

"Before we get into that," Giles commented, "what have you
told your partner and what actions are you going to take concerning
Buffy and the rest of us?"

"Mr. Giles, my partner has told me an unbelievable yarn that
Buffy says is true."  Scully replied.  "What I'd like to know is
what the real situation is between all of you, why you would
try to convince them that mythological creatures are real and that
this young lady is supposed to stalk and kill them?"

Everyone stared at the diminutive federal agent and then
Giles sighed and pulled out a large tome, with the word 'Vampyr'
in large metal letters embossed on the cover, from behind him and
placed it in front of her.  He opened it and said, "This is a grimoire          
which contains much of the lore concerning vampires that has
been collected by the Watchers over the centuries we have advised
and trained the Slayers.  This knowledge is carefully kept from
becoming generally known to the public because of the frightful
risk of causing a widespread panic and starting a war between
humanity and the nosferatu.  I'm sure you could understand what
might happen if people were to become aware that vampires and
other creatures and beings thought to be myth are real and a
threat to life.  Vampires are much stronger than humans and
it is not generally known that they are dead bodies that are
animated by demons, not simply altered humans.  When a person
is killed by a vampire, they are dead.  But when they are forced
to drink of the vampires blood before they are killed, they are
...how should I say this...marked for demonic reanimation."

"See, they have to suck your blood and you have to suck their 
blood.  It's like a great big sucking thing." Buffy explained.

"So there must be an exchange of bodily fluids for someone
to rise as a vampire?" Mulder asked in a thoughtful tone.

"Of course, it's the only way." Giles stated. 

"So there's no need to believe?" Mulder questioned while
Scully gasped suddenly in understanding.

"Well, not really.  I'm sure that if someone is sucking                  
the blood out of you, you'd believe in vampires at that moment."

"True, and it is a requirement." a voice behind them stated.

The group whirled about to look at the speaker while Buffy
squealed, "Angel!" in delight and rushed over to him.

"Buffy." he said softly as they hugged.  "Who are the new
members of the Slayerettes?" he asked, which caused Willow to beam            
with pride as he used her term for their little group.

"Oh joy, Dead Boy." Xander muttered under his breath.

"Angel, these are Agents Mulder and Scully of the FBI." Buffy
introduced them.  "They saw me dust a vamp in the graveyard last
night and Mulder cornered Giles and got the truth out of him."

"Why is the FBI interested in vampires?" he asked in confusion.

"Actually, there's a lot going on in this town that has peaked
the interest of the Bureau.  Buffy being the Slayer is just a minor
point of interest.  We're more concerned with finding two men who
were impersonating federal agents here about a month ago and took
Marcie Ross with them."  Mulder explained.  "And who exactly are
you and what is your involvement with all this?"

Buffy and Angel looked at each other for a moment before she
spoke, "Angel, perhaps you could show them."

"Are you sure about that?" he asked.

"Actually, that is an excellent suggestion." Giles interjected.
"It would go a long way to convincing Agent Scully of the veracity            
of our statements."

"Agent Scully, am I to believe you doubt the existence of  
vampires?" Angel asked her.

"Of course, no rational person believes in them.  From what
Giles and Buffy said, I would wager a virus of some sort is what
causes the symptoms described." she said warily.

"I see." Angel said.  "Then how do you explain this," he said
as his face suddenly shifted and his teeth extended.

"My God!" Scully exclaimed while her partner simply looked
shocked and then confused.

"Angel's a vampire Agent Scully." Buffy explained as he shifted
his face back to normal.

"What a second," Mulder said.  "If he's a vampire, then why is
he hanging around with you and why isn't he attacking any of us?"

"He regained his soul about 80 years ago and is able to keep  
the demon contained and the bloodlust under control." Giles replied.

"How in the hell did he do that?" Scully asked in astonishment.

"A vampire looks perfectly normal until the Feed comes over      
them.  Then their true demonic visage becomes visible.  Older
vampires can control the shift better than young ones." Angel
replied in exasperation.  "Since I'm over 200 years old, I can
shift at will."

"No, I meant about regaining your soul." Scully said.  "It
implies that there is definitely a soul and that yours somehow
was returned to your body sometime after your death.  Did I really
just say that?" she asked with a sigh.

Everyone grinned at that as Angel replied, "I was cursed by  
the Romany, they returned my soul but left me with the memories
of what the demon did while in control."

"Why on earth did they do that?" Mulder asked with a perplexed
look at the vampire.

"I fed on a young girl, a favorite of her clan.  This was the            
punishment they devised for me.  To remember what the demon did but
to have a human conscious.  It is hell to live with as well as having
to control the demon."

"Now you can understand why knowledge like this is dangerous,
Agent Scully."  Giles stated emphatically.  "Even the knowledge
that there truly is a soul and life after death, in numerous forms,
threatens our society in ways even we can't fully comprehend."

"Faith and superstition." Scully whispered.

"Exactly.  The implications would shake the foundations of
society and probably cause widespread riots and the downfall of
everything we hold dear." Giles said in sympathy.

"There would also be large numbers of small-minded people
devoting themselves to vampires on a chance for immortality."
Angel said.  "Even knowing that a demon takes the body and the
soul is gone wouldn't stop many from thinking that they would be
the exception."

"But you ARE the exception." Mulder pointed out.

"True, but I'm also an isolated case.  I doubt even the Romany 
are capable of the curse anymore."

"Alright," Scully interjected, "I suppose I should accept that           
vampires exist for now.  It seems that they do," she said as she
looked at Angel.  "Now we concern ourselves with the rogue agents
and when that's cleared up, we can return to the philosophical
discussion on vampires and curses."

"Good enough. What can we do to help?" Giles asked.

"First we need to find out what they were doing when they
were hanging around the school.  Second," stated Mulder, "we
find out how they knew about Ms. Ross' condition.  Third, why did             
they simply take the girl and leave Buffy and Ms. Chase alive
behind them.  It really isn't the way these people usually work."

"Oh, Agent Mulder, don't forget about the FBI computers."
Willow chimed in.

"Ok, but first, Angel, why did you come by tonight?" Buffy
asked her boyfriend.

"I was coming to tell you that something's up.  Many of the
vampires have been staying underground the last couple of nights
except when they come up to feed." Angel replied.  "A source said
that some suspicious activity is taking place out at the airfield
and expects trouble in town."

"What kind of activity?" Mulder asked the vampire.

"Some unmarked aircraft landing and lots of people wearing
black hanging about.  I thought it might be a new group of vampires
arriving in town, but it could just as easily be government agents." 

"We need to go out to..." Mulder began.

"Mulder, how about we call Harry and ask him to check out
the airfield while we work with...what did you call them Angel?  The
Slayerettes?  And find out more about Ms. Ross and the activities
of Doyle and Manetti." Scully reasoned.  

"Hmm, sounds good to me.  I'll warn him an informant said 
something about the activity probably being dangerous."

"Alright, let's get to work." Scully ordered.

Harry sat in his car with sweat rolling down his back as he continued
to look through the binoculars at the activity around some hangers
at the back of Renfro Airfield and muttered, "I wonder who that
mysterious informant was that dreamed up a problem here."

He continued to sweat as a number of men prepped the small
aircraft for departure.  Then his attention was drawn to a distant
group of men in dark suits leaving one of the hangers.  One was
shrouded in cigarette smoke while two looked familiar.  Then it
struck him...they were Doyle and Manetti!


The Library
Sunnydale High School Library
02:30 AM

Willow was attempting to reconnect with the FBI database in
Washington, DC with the aid of Scully.  She whispered to the
agent, "But won't the inquiry just bounce if the access is denied?"

"Not if the secondary ID is entered." Scully explained.  "Then you
get bounced over to a backup for filing reports.  It's a temporary
measure that is still running.  Thank goodness." she said grinning.

Mulder, Giles, Buffy and Xander were discussing what they might
learn from Harry out at the airport and what kind of contingencies
they could plan for when Mulder's cellphone rang.

"Mulder." he said shortly.  Then his jaw dropped as he listened to
the person on the other end.

"Thanks Harry.  Keep them in sight but do not, under any circumstances,
let yourself be seen.  These men are extremely dangerous." he paused
to listen for a second.  "No Harry, I know who the smoker is and he
has been responsible for numerous deaths.  Just let us know where
they're going and what they're doing.  We'll try to hook up with you
as soon as possible."  He hung up and turned to the assorted group and
said, "That was Harry.  He just saw Doyle and Manetti at Renfro with
our old friend Cancerman."

Scully gasped and the rest of the group looked puzzled until Mulder
explained who he meant by 'Cancerman.' 

"All right.  Mulder and I will head for Renfro to join Harry.  Everyone
else go home and get some sleep.  Willow, here's my access code for
the DC database and the password to my system at home.  In the
morning you can continue your search to find what's being hidden there
from prying eyes.  Buffy, please don't follow us out there tonight.
We'll need you to identify them if we can apprehend them." Scully
explained.

"Alright, but it doesn't seem like much fun." Buffy complained.

Giles grinned and chimed in, "I would prefer everyone get a good
night's sleep as we are only days away from ending the school year
and you all have finals to study for."

A look of horror passed over Buffy and Xander's faces as they were
reminded of finals week.  They both nodded and left with Willow as
Giles began to turn out the lights.

Renfro Airfield
Middleton, California
04:00 AM

Mulder and Scully snuck up to Harry's car and tapped on the window.
Harry jumped and then sighed with relief as he slowly rolled the window
down.  "Not much has happened since I called.  They went over to the
black sedan over there and are inside it.  It hasn't moved and I'm
not sure what they're doing.  I did get the plate numbers though."
Harry whispered to them.

"Great Harry, why don't you call them in while we try to get a closer
look." Mulder said as Scully peered at the sedan.

The federal agents started creeping across the field, avoiding the
lights, and hid behind some fuel barrels.  They peeked around the
barrels and could see the wisps of smoke coming from the cracked window
of the sedan.

"Anything special you're looking for?" Angel whispered, surprising the
two agents out of a years growth.

"Where did you come from?" Mulder hissed.

"Buffy asked me to keep an eye on you." he replied.

"Great, now we have a vampire baby-sitting us."

Angel grimaced, "She just thought it would be helpful
if you had a surprise waiting in case you were caught."

"You know," Mulder grinned suddenly, "that's not a
bad idea.  Can you stay in the shadows, watch us and
swoop in if we get into trouble"

Scully started snickering, causing both Mulder and
Angel to glance curiously at her.  She stuttered, "Wh-when
are w-w-we never in trouble?"

Mulder rolled his eyes and Angel grinned at her as
he said, "No problem.  No one will see me."  With that
Angel disappeared back into the shadows. 

"Jeez, and people think I'm spooky." Mulder exclaimed.

"Come on, Spooky." Scully whispered into his ear.

The two agents made their way closer to the sedan and
hugged the ground to come up next to it.  They heard the
soft tones of the Cigarette Smoking Man as he chastised
someone inside.

"You two have caused me enough problems.  I expect you
to be back in LA by noon."  Puff.  "I'll just have to oversee
this situation myself." Puff. "Get out of here."

The doors of the sedan opened and two of the men within
stepped out and immediately ran for the hanger.  Mulder and
Scully backed away from the sedan as it started up and
departed the airfield in the direction of Sunnydale.  The two
agents darted back to Harry's car and dived in.

"Did you hear anything?" Harry burst out.

"Oh," Mulder drawled.  "I believe those two men in the
hanger are Doyle and Manetti.  And the man who just
left in the sedan is their superior.  Call for back-up.  We'll
need quite a few people to clean up whatever is going down
here."

Scully suddenly pointed at the hanger and said, "Mulder!
Is that Angel over there?"

A dark and indistinct figure could be seen entering the hanger
and then gunshots rang out.  The agents all sprinted over and
slammed back first into the hanger wall as they drew their
weapons.  As one Mulder and Scully spun into the doorway
and yelled, "Freeze!  Federal Agents!  Drop your weapons!"

Angel dropped Manetti onto Doyle and stepped away from
them while holding up his hands.  "They won't know what hit
them," he said.  "They were preparing to escape in this plane."
Motioning toward the Gulfstream behind him.

Harry gulped when he glanced at Angel's gameface while
Mulder and Scully sighed and holstered their weapons.  "Gung
Ho vampires, great." Scully muttered under her breath.

Angel grinned and resumed his normal look.  Harry was still
looking at him and starting to hyperventilate.  The vampire
whacked him on the back which startled the agent into
breathing normally again.  "Would you mind putting away
your weapon, Agent Lee?"

Mulder laughed, "Would that be anything like, 'Away
put your weapon, I mean you no harm'," he croaked in
soprano.

Everyone cracked up.  Harry shook his head and looking
up at Angel asked, "what exactly are you?"

Angel glanced at Mulder and Scully and then sighed.  "I'm
a vampire."

Harry continues to stare and says, "No way.  Vampires
are demons and have no souls.  So try that one again."

The X-Files agents and the vampire stared at Agent Lee
as he explained, "I've been here for over a month now.
Definitely enough time to see some of the weirdness
residing here.  Besides, didn't you wonder why such a
green agent as myself was left here to continue the
investigation?"  Heads nodded in answer.  "Because
I'm also an apprentice demon hunter."

Angel looked on intrigued while Mulder began to grin
and Scully started to shake her head in denial.

"Okay, what do we do now?" Harry asked matter
of factly.

"Well, I suppose we should handcuff these two and
prepare them for transport back to DC."  Mulder
glanced at the vampire and said, "Angel, could you
head to Sunnydale and find the sedan for us?"

"Sure, how do I get in touch with you?"

Scully whipped out a business card and handed it over
to him, "Just give us a call on our cell phones."

The federal agents bound the suspects and turned back
to find the vampire already gone.  "I hate when they
do that." Harry exclaimed.

"So, Harry," Mulder drawled, "what exactly is an apprentice demon
hunter doing in the FBI?"

"Actually," Scully interjected, "what exactly IS an apprentice demon
hunter and what makes you think that you're one?"

"Well," began Harry, "my ancestors in China were demon hunters,
it's a family occupation.  As for what a demon hunter is, well,
that's kind of self-explanatory.  As an apprentice, my training is still
incomplete.  I am learning to see and track demons, learning about
the various demons incarnate on Earth at this time, learning about
demons of history, events that are generally buried in history because
they involved demons and eventually I'll learn all the methods of
dispatching demons from this plane of existence."

Mulder and Scully looked at Harry with a numb look, then glanced
at each other before Mulder turned back and said, "Well, I hope that
you might consider passing on that knowledge to me.  It definitely falls
under the X-Files."

"I can't promise anything, but I'll see what I can do." Harry replied.
"By the way, can you explain why your vampire friend is...well...so
unlike a vampire?"


"He's unique in that he has a soul." Scully said.

Harry did a doubletake at Scully and whispered, "so that's the infamous
Angelus."

The X-Files agents nodded in unison and lifted Doyle and Manetti
by the legs and dragged them to Harry's car.  They threw the
impersonators into the back seat and then all piled into the front.

"Well, I hope the Chief has a nice strong cell for these guys."

At that moment, two squad cars arrived with sirens blaring and
lights blazing.  The Sergeant in charge quickly impounded the
Gulfstream and started to treat the area as a crime scene in
accordance to Mulder's instructions.  Then the agents left to
return to Sunnydale.

The Summers House
1630 Rovello Drive
05:00 AM

Buffy turned in her sleep as she dreamed of her vampiric boyfriend
and thought she heard him whisper her name.  Then a feather-soft
caress of her cheek woke her to the realization that she was laying
in Angel's arms.

"What are you doing here so close to dawn?" she asked, glancing
at the clock in alarm.

"I just wanted to tell you that Mulder and Scully caught those two
men they were looking for." Angel began.

"Really!" Buffy exclaimed.  "That was quick."

"Also, Agent Lee appears to be a demon hunter and the 'Cancerman'
is apparently here in Sunnydale."

"Jeez, what is it about my life." Buffy huffed. "The wackos just crawl
out of the woodwork where ever I am."

"I just wanted to keep you informed before I have to go." Angel said
as he stroked her hair.

"No other reason?" she questioned with big eyes.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay as well." Angel replied with
a sparkle in his eyes.

"Thanks," Buffy whispered as she leaned in and kissed him.

Sunnydale Police Station
06:00 AM

"Listen Bob, I want these two men held in lockdown on Federal
authority until the Chief comes in and squares the paperwork.  He
knows we've been after these two guys for over a month," Harry
explained again to the Deputy Chief.

"That's all well and good Harry, but if the Chief isn't here," Bob
drawled, "then I'm in charge and I'm telling you that we're not
in a position to help right now."

"And why is that?" Mulder asked with suspicion evident in his tone.

"Half of the lockdown is undergoing renovations and the other
half is full." Bob explained.  "There just isn't any room for them
in there right now."

"What about the booking cage?" Harry asked.

"You want me to put them in there for the next few hours?" Bob
questioned in return.  "Do you know how fast their lawyers will
get us for that?"

"Fine," Scully said, "lock them in an interrogation room with
someone monitoring them for health and security reasons."

Bob sputtered for a moment and then sighed as he replied,
"All right, we can do that if one of you does the monitoring."

Scully nodded and stood saying, "I'll do that as I'm a licensed
doctor and can do both forms of monitoring.  Mulder, can you
and Harry take care of the paperwork concerning the capture
and arrange transport?"

Harry and Mulder both agreed and headed for Harry's office
while Scully had a couple of officers take Doyle and Manetti
to interrogation room #2.

***

Chief Blevins walked into his station and was startled to see
the Feds already there and typing furiously.  He walked over
and said, "Well, it looks like you two are busy beavers this
morning."

Mulder grinned as he whipped the form he had just finished out
of the typewriter and replied, "Good morning, Chief.  We're just
squaring away our reports on the apprehension of those two
impostors."

The Chief did a doubletake and grabbed the form saying, "I'll be
damned, you must be better then Rogers and I thought."

"Chief," Harry began, "we've got them in Interrogation 2 with
Agent Scully monitoring them because Deputy Parks said he didn't
have room in lockdown.  We'll be moving them about 10 AM when our
people arrive from LA.  Will that be a problem for you?"

"No, Harry, that'll be fine.  Agent Mulder, will you and your
partner be accompanying them?"

"No sir.  We'll stay here for another day or so with Agent Lee to
tie up lose ends.  Is there anything else we can do for you"

"Yeah," the Chief grinned and said, "try and teach my people how
to work as fast as you do."  He then passed the form back to Mulder
and sauntered off to his office.

"Even I wouldn't have thought you would find them this fast." Harry
noted.

"We got lucky," Mulder replied.  "I think they weren't in the area
until we came.  Plus we still have to learn where Marcie Ross is.
Come on, let's check on Scully and ask some more questions."

***

Scully looked up as the door to the room opened and grinned as Mulder
entered with Harry right behind him.  "Hey Mulder, these two are
making like clams.  When do they get transferred?"

"About ten or so." Mulder said as he focused on Doyle and Manetti.
"Well guys, you and I know that your cigarette-smoking boss doesn't
have any loyalties to you.  We also know that you will both go down for
abducting Marcie Ross, who is a minor.  Gee, you two are going to
go away for a long, long time."

Doyle and Manetti exchanged glances and looked back down at the floor
as Mulder continued to talk about prison and what they could expect as
former government employees.  His lecture was interrupted when one of
the local officers leaned in and said, "Agent Scully, you have a call.  She
wouldn't say who she is, but she sounds real nervous."

Mulder and Scully glanced at each other in understanding as Scully
left to answer the call from Willow.

***

"Agent Scully?" the quavering voice asked.

"Yes Willow, what is it?"

"I was finally able to access the FBI computer database again.  It came up
about 6 AM this morning." Willow murmured.

"Oh, that's good.  So, what did you find?" Scully asked.

"Well, that's the strange thing about it.  I accessed the X-Files section and
found the entire database wiped.  I couldn't even reconstruct it using a
couple of the utilities that I have for that purpose." Willow replied.

"What?!?  But how can that be?  The entire section?" Scully queried the
teen hacker.

"Yes, I'm sorry Agent Scully.  I guess they decided that whatever they
were hiding was too important to leave there in case I hacked in again."

"That's all right, Willow." Scully sympathized.  "I guess it's just another
example of them wiping out the evidence before we can get it into the
light of day.  I don't think they'll try the Purloined Letter approach again.
Go ahead and tell Mr. Giles that we'll come by this afternoon."

"Ok, see you then Agent Scully."

***

Just after 10 AM, the Federal Agents watched as the prisoners were
transported out of town as they started across the street to get some
coffee.

"Well, at least they're in custody."  Mulder observed.  "Harry, want to
go with us this afternoon when we meet with Rupert and his charges?"

"Hmm, no, I'll hang out here and file the rest of the paperwork."

"All work and no play, Harry." Scully commented.

"No, really.  Besides, I think I'll be seeing more of them now that it's
out that I'm a Demon Hunter.  I'm sure Mr. Giles will be calling just
for information." Harry mused.

"True." Mulder agreed.  "Ok, we'll catch up with you later.  Besides,
I still think Cancerman is here in town."

Sunnydale High School Library
12:00 PM

"Giles?" Buffy called out as she entered the library.

"Buffy.  Good, I was wondering where you were." Giles responded.

"Maybe we need to get the Slayer a leash?" Xander wisecracked.  "Or
not," he quickly said as she glared at him and started making staking
motions with her pencil.

Giles ignored the actions of the children in his charge and faced his
Slayer saying, "Mulder and Scully are on their way here.  They caught
the two men who abducted Marcie Ross and have sent them to Los
Angeles for incarceration and interrogation.  Willow, would you tell
them what you found and told Agent Scully?"

"The computers came back up this morning and the X-Files database
was empty.  Someone wiped, no, actually they either formatted the
drives where the information was held or installed new ones so no one 
could reconstruct the information that was there." The teen hacker 
reasoned.

"Someone is cleaning up after themselves.  Is there any other way to
figure out what was there?" Buffy asked.

"No, but I'm starting a search through the rest of the FBI's databases
using Agent Scully's passcodes.  Using them, it's not even a hack.  It'll
just be Agent Scully doing a database search."

"Ok, go ahead and don't let us bother you, Will.  Giles, what's our
next move?"

"Well, Mulder and Scully will be here sometime this afternoon.  And
we really don't have any new information for them.  You and Xander
can spend the time studying for finals until they arrive." He pointed out.

The two teens groaned in unison and stumped off to collect their
textbooks while Willow continued her search of the FBI computers.

***

Principal Snyder's Office
12:10 PM

"So you can see why I've come to you at this time," the man wreathed
in cigarette smoke told the principal.

"I haven't heard anything from the Mayor about this." Snyder said.

"I haven't spoken to him.  In fact, it would be better not to involve him
in this little agreement." the smoker pointed out.

"Alright, I keep you informed of the Slayer's activities and you get
those FBI agents out of town." the Principle agreed.

"Thank you, Principle Snyder.  I believe we can keep this situation
from getting any worse if Mulder and Scully are recalled to D.C.
and Sunnydale goes back to quiet obscurity."

"I still think..." Snyder started.

"Don't," the Cigarette Smoking Man cut him off, "you'll live longer."
With that, he left the office and the wizened little man behind and
left to complete his agenda.

***

"Hello Willow, how are you doing?" Scully said from behind the
hacker, causing her to jump up squeaking in startlement.

"Oh, Agent Scully, um, there isn't anything there but routine
case files.  I'm afraid that whoever might have been hiding
any information there has gotten it out without leaving any
traces."

Scully laid a comforting hand on Willow's shoulder and
observed, "Don't worry about it.  You did the best you
could.  At least we know to keep an eye out for further
attempts to hide information we need under our own
noses."  She turned to her partner and sighed, "What do
you think we should do now?"

Mulder grimaced and said, "I'm not sure."  Then he turned
to Giles and asked, "Can you keep us informed of anything
strange that happens here when we return to D.C.?"

Buffy laughed and commented, "Is there anything here that 
isn't strange?"

The entire group laughed with her.  Giles merely shaking his
head ruefully when he answered, "Yes, of course we will.
We'll make sure to send everything to that e-mail address
that Agent Scully gave to Willow."

Xander then piped in with, "Say, what's going to happen to
those two guys you caught?"

"They'll be held in the Federal Building in LA and questioned
about Ms. Ross' disappearance and their part in it.  Also, we'll
want to know who their superior is.  Also, as to how and why
they were ordered here to abduct Ms. Ross." Mulder replied
as his cell phone rang.

"Mulder," he said when he flipped it on.

A look of anger crossed his face as he listened to whoever
was on the other end before he said, "Harry, are you sure
about those orders?"

He listened further and then groused, "Alright Harry, we'll
be ready in a few hours.  We'll check in with you before we
go."  He shut off the phone and faced the others.  "We've
been ordered back to D.C. by A.D. Skinner.  This case is
being turned back over to the LA office.  Harry said he didn't
know what's come up, just that he is also under orders to
return to LA to continue on the case there."

Everyone began speaking at once until Mulder waved his
hand in the air for silence.  Giles then spoke up, "I'm beginning
to see what you meant when you said that there were forces
working against you."

Buffy and Xander both chimed in with, "This sucks."

"Yes, it does." Scully replied.  "However, I believe we should
stay in touch with each other, passing information, hunches,
and whatever else to try to bring this case to a satisfactory
ending."

All agree with this sentiment, agreeing that they can pass
information through Harry Lee to keep the shadow forces
interested in their doings in the dark.  With that, the FBI
agents hug these children who have become friends and
allies in their fight against the darkness and depart with
the knowledge that while they've learned more of what
goes bump in the night is real, there are many who step
up to fight it and let a little more light into the world.

The End of the Slayer Files.  For now.