The Young, the Brave and the Beautiful

By Fontana777

Title: The Young, the Brave and the Beautiful
Author: Fontana777
Email: xj74us[at]yahoo[dot]com
Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me.
Rating: R
Note: I have changed the rating from PG-13 to R. The story is turning out to be more violent than I had originally envisioned.


Chapter Two

INDEPENDENCE INN. FAITH AND BUFFY'S ROOM. DAY.

Faith and Buffy, having arrived in Stars Hollow from LA, enter their room and throw their bags on the floor. Buffy looks anxious.

BUFFY
Just one bed.
FAITH
What's wrong, B? Don't you mind sharing a bed with me? It doesn't bother you, does it?
BUFFY
Oh, no... It's just... When Willow booked the room, it might have been nice if she had booked a room with double beds, that's all.
FAITH
Well, don't hog all the covers. OK?

Faith can't help but let out a wicked smile. Oh, so much that is unspoken between them!

FAITH
That was one long flight. Damn, I'm starving. Let's unpack later. Let's see if we can find a place to eat in this flea bitten dusthole.

They head downstairs.

LOBBY. DAY.

Faith and Buffy walk up to Lorelai at the front desk.

BUFFY
Excuse me miss. Is there any place we can get something to eat around here?
LORELAI
Yes. There's Luke's. Great hamburgers. But if I were you, I'd stay away from the honey buns today, though. Had one this morning, and boy, let me tell you, whoa, you talk about the runs, I mean, not a pretty picture.
BUFFY
OK...
(to Faith beneath her breath)
Boy, is she a screwball.
FAITH
I have a feeling there's going to be a lot of screwballs running around loose in this town.
LORELAI
Just hang a right out the front door, make a right at the end of the block, walk two blocks down, make another a right, and Luke's is on the corner across from the high school. Can't miss it.
BUFFY
Thanks.

Faith stares at Lorelai.

LORELAI
Is there something wrong?
FAITH
Oh, no. It's just you look familiar, that's all.
LORELAI
Well, people say I look like Tina Turner. But no way. I mean, c'mon, I'm like way prettier than Tina Turner.
FAITH
Uh, huh...

Faith and Buffy leave.

SIDEWALK. DAY.

Faith and Buffy head towards Luke's.

FAITH
You know, I think the nut job at the front desk and the girl I saw in my dream may be related.
BUFFY
What, you think they look alike?
FAITH
Yeah.

Just then, Rory and Paris walk out of Luke's. Faith sees them and stops dead in her tracks.

FAITH
Hey, Buffy. There she is. The girl I saw in my dream!
BUFFY
Are you sure?
FAITH
Yeah, I'm sure. Of course I'm sure.

Faith and Buffy run up to Rory and Paris.

FAITH
I know you.
RORY
Excuse me?
FAITH
I know you!... I'm Faith.

Paris stares cynically at Buffy.

PARIS
Don't tell me. You're Hope. And Charity is running around here somewhere.
RORY
Paris!
BUFFY
What?
RORY
Umm, nothing...
BUFFY
I'm Buffy.

No sooner was the word "Buffy" out of Buffy's mouth, than Paris was ready to fire off a barrage of zingers. But before she could get out a word Rory grabbed her and pulled her aside.

RORY
Paris.
PARIS
Rory, let's be honest here, you can't name your kid "Buffy" and not expect that kid to be the subject of innumerable witty comebacks.
RORY
Paris...
PARIS
What am I suppose to do here, Rory? I mean, you just can't plop a Buffy in front of me and expect my snark meter to go to zero.
RORY
Be nice, Paris.
PARIS
Who are these bozos, anyway... You don't know these girls, do you?
RORY
Ah, you're so cute when you're jealous... But I don't know who they are. Let's find out... Promise me you'll behave.
PARIS
OK.

Rory and Paris snuggle noses together - too cute! They walk back to Faith and Buffy.

RORY
I'm Rory. And this is Paris.
BUFFY
Pleased.
PARIS
So you two are married too?
BUFFY
Uh, not that it's any of your business, but no, we're both single.
FAITH
I don't think that's what she means, Buff.
BUFFY
Oh... Ooooh! Ewwwww!
FAITH
No, we aren't... You two -
BUFFY
Oh, God. I think I'm going to get the runs, and I didn't even get to munch on a damned honey bun!
PARIS
Rory, I think this is another one of those awkward moments. Well girls, let me de-awkwardtize it for you and give you the skinny. Rory is my wife. We're married. So if any of you Barbies have designs on her, you can just forget it.
FAITH
That's not why we're here -
BUFFY
Lord knows that's not why we're here!
FAITH
Rory, I saw you in a dream I had. There was some guy, tall, lanky, standing over you with a sword -
PARIS
Oh, God.
RORY
How could you know that?
FAITH
Like I said, I saw you in my dream. Actually, a vision... Look, we'll explain everything, but first you have to come with us. Your life may be in danger.

Just then, BOOM!! A large explosion shakes the block. The four women hit the deck. They look to their right, and see that Mrs. Kim's antique shop has exploded. The entire house has been demolished.

The four of them race over there.

RORY
Mrs. Kim! Lane!

They sift through the debris, desperately searching for survivors. The entire building is now just a mass of twisted, smoldering rubble.

PARIS
Rory, over here! I found Mrs. Kim!

Mrs. Kim is buried in a crevice in the debris. A massive antique bureau lies on top of her. Taylor comes running up.

TAYLOR
Oh, God... Don't you worry, Mrs. Kim. We'll have you out in a quick flash...
(to the girls)
This bureau must weigh a couple hundred pounds at least. Somebody find Luke!
RORY
No. I got it.

Rory lifts up the bureau and moves it aside. Everyone looks on amazed.

PARIS
How did you do that?
RORY
I don't know. I just did.
BUFFY
(to Faith)
Are you thinking what I'm thinking?
FAITH
Yeah. She must be a Potential.

Buffy, Faith and Taylor lift Mrs. Kim out of the crevice and carry her to the grass.

RORY
Lane!
MRS. KIM
No, Lane she not there. I the only one in building.
RORY
Thank God.
TAYLOR
Don't worry, Mrs. Kim. Just lie there still. The paramedics will be here any second.
MRS. KIM
No. I fine...
(to Buffy)
There is very little time. Come, we must go somewhere where we can talk.
BUFFY
Are you talking to me?
MRS. KIM
Yes I'm talking to you!
BUFFY
Um, we don't know each other.
MRS. KIM
I know all about you. You are Puffy the Vampire Slayer -
BUFFY
That's Buffy, with a "B."
MRS. KIM
Buffy. Puffy. What difference does it make!... There is no time for this. We must leave now. Help me up.

Buffy helps Mrs. Kim to her feet. Lorelai comes running up.

LORELAI
Oh my God! What happen here?
TAYLOR
Not sure. The antique shop just exploded. Maybe a natural gas leak...
MRS. KIM
Uh... Yes. That's it. A gas leak... But I am all right. No one was hurt... Lorelai, can I go to your house? I need to rest. A very traumatic experience.
LORELAI
Of course.

They help Mrs. Kim to Lorelai's house.

LORELAI'S HOUSE. LIVING ROOM. DAY.

Mrs. Kim sits on the sofa, sipping a cup of coffee. The four girls and Lorelai hover around her.

RORY
Ma, you can go back to work now. Mrs. Kim is fine. If I need anything, I'll call you. OK?
LORELAI
OK.

Lorelai leaves.

MRS. KIM
Good grief. I thought she would never leave.
BUFFY
How do you know who I am?
MRS. KIM
Because my daughter, Lane, is also a vampire slayer.
PARIS
(to Rory beneath her breath)
I think that explosion shook something loose.
MRS. KIM
I am perfectly sane, Paris, I can assure you... Buffy, will you fill these two in. But do it quickly. Time is of the essence.

Buffy gives Rory and Paris the lowdown on Slayerdom. After Buffy finishes, Rory and Paris burst out into laughter.

BUFFY
They don't believe me.
MRS. KIM
We will prove it. Rory, how do you think you were able to lift that bureau off of me?
PARIS
Adrenaline. Pure and simple.
MRS. KIM
Here. Rory, I bet you can lift me and this sofa in the air with one hand.
PARIS
Impossible.

Rory tries it and is able to do it.

PARIS
Oh, shit.

Faith tries and is able to do it. So is Buffy. Paris tries it and the sofa doesn't budge.

RORY
No! No! No! I can't be a vampire slayer. I get queasy at the sight of blood... I'm going to Yale! I'm going to be a journalist! I'm going to travel all over the world and get my picture on the cover of Time magazine! And me and Paris are going to live happily ever after! I am not going to spend my life running around cemeteries hunting down things that go bump in the night!

Paris comforts Rory.

BUFFY
I know how you feel. I like majorly freaked out when I first found out. But you are what you are. You can't run away from it.
MRS. KIM
Enough of this... There is more. More that you, Buffy, don't know about... That was no gas explosion. Kirk destroyed my home and business.
RORY
Kirk?
FAITH
Who is Kirk?
RORY
He's the guy you saw in my - your - dream... I don't understand. Why would Kirk do that?
MRS. KIM
Because Kirk is a vampire. A very old one. And he came to my house for the express purpose of retrieving that which was taken from him over five hundred years ago. And when he didn't find it, he tried to kill me and destroyed my home.
BUFFY
But that's impossible. Vampires can't survive in the daylight.
MRS. KIM
Kirk is unlike any vampire that has ever existed. Enormously powerful. He is also a warlock, experienced in the dark arts... It is an ancient story. Over a half millennium ago, the secret society of the Knights of the Templar, of which Kirk was a member, possessed a very rare, valuable object. A Slayer by the name of Alexis - she was French - captured this object. Alexis is also known to history as Lionhearted. She is the greatest slayer that has ever lived... At any rate, the object she captured was so valuable that a separate line of slayers came into being solely to protect it. These slayers are known as Guardians. My daughter, Lane, is a Guardian. She is with this object now and is prepared to defend it with her life. That is why I have been so strict with Lane, so that she can fulfil her sacred duty as a Guardian.
Now, Buffy, you spoke of this witch Willow who cast a spell so that any potential slayer might have the power of a slayer -
BUFFY
Yes.
MRS. KIM
My guess is that the releasing of so much energy is what led Kirk to me and Lane. Perhaps it came to him in a dream, like Rory came to Faith in a dream... Rory, since Kirk has been in your dreams, that can only mean that not only are you a vampire slayer, but also a Guardian. If - God forbid - something should happen to Lane, then you would be next in line to defend this object, with your life if necessary.
BUFFY
I almost hate to ask. What is this object?
MRS. KIM
The Sangreal.
FAITH
What's that?
RORY
God, no! No!
BUFFY
What is this Sangreal?
PARIS
The Sangreal is the Holy Grail.
BUFFY
Oh, shoot!
MRS. KIM
Rory, you know the cave by the lake where you and Lane use to go when you were kids?
RORY
Yes.
MRS. KIM
That is where Lane is now. You must go to her. I fear it is only a matter of time before Kirk is able to find her. Once you reach Lane, you must help her to protect the Grail and defeat the unspeakable evil that Kirk represents. Please, you must leave now. I fear it may already be too late.

To be continued...