S.I.N.

Supernatural Investigations and Negotiation

Chapter 1

The Hunt of the Chosen

She had died, hadn't she? It took her a moment to shake away the fog from her brain as she gasped for air. Her blue eyes looked into the surprised expression of the bumpy-faced man holding her up against a wall. His yellow-ish eyes looked at her in confusion, but she was certain she had been dead.

She didn't want to die. She especially didn't want to die without putting up a fight. This monster was cheating. All she knew were some pathetic cheerleader moves, and a pathetic amount of gymnastics training, and realized she should have kept up with that instead of giving up on gymnastics and focusing on cheerleading; it might have given her better odds of survival.

That man died. His Watcher. Did he save her? No, she knew, she had died, and the Watcher was dead before then. Had this bumpy-faced man with cold yellow eyes saved her life, bringing her back by accident? Her back hurt as her foggy mind tried to come to grips with something, anything. It was as if her mind was in overdrive and she really couldn't concentrate on any one thing.

No, no, no! This bumpy-faced monster killed her. He stopped her heart. She remembered the pain, and she could still feel the bruises all over her body and on her face.

Then how could she be alive when she was dead? Was she in hell, forced to relive her death over and over by the hands of her murderer? How could that be? She didn't remember him holding her against the wall before; did she really deserve hell? She had never even fallen in love, or even kissed a boy before; heck, she hadn't even experimented with any of her female friends before, and she had the opportunity more than once - she regretted being too chicken to take it.

Maybe she was sent to hell for failing the world, failing to end this monster, for fighting her destiny. She had been chosen; her Watcher had told her many times before he died. She had fought him every step of the way like a foolish child, but finally, she didn't regret doubting her Watcher, but she regretted fighting her path, remembering the sight of those before her, the dream; she remembered it clearer than anything, the regret of the Slayer.

The Slayers all regretted trusting their Watchers. She found that revelation rather strange, as she tried to push away the horrors she could see this time. The Slayers all died young, screaming, wishing, hoping that someone else would save them, but did they receive paradise for their souls? She didn't think so; all she saw was darkness in that moment between life and death.

She wouldn't go out like that, only to be sent to Hell. She was only fifteen; did he expect any more from her? Yes, and maybe the world and Destiny or Fate hated her for being so selfish. She was still the Chosen One, with or without a Watcher—one girl in every generation, or something like that. She felt a bit queasy for not paying closer attention, as she knew she should have.

Now she was dead, or maybe she had died, and wasn't dead anymore? She was confused; she would have expected fire and brimstone or something, but no, the darkness was gone and she was still alive. Nothing so simple entered her swarming vision. She could only see the corridor and Mr. Bumpy Fangy Face.

She didn't like Mr. Bumpy Fangy Face. His breath reeked of blood, and she couldn't decipher what else it might contain. She could see his expression clearing as he realized she was aware of him, and she knew she had to act quickly.

It only took her a few moments before she finally realized she was really alive, but she wouldn't be if Mr. Bumpy Fangy Face had his way, and she didn't want him to.

She reached out through her pain and grabbed the thing's head as his snapping, sharp teeth went for her throat, holding him back. She cried out through her pain as her legs wrapped around the man's chest, her torn up skirt falling up, revealing her panties. She didn't care how anime-like it looked; she had some slaying to get on with.

How hard could it be to kill this guy? Very, she realized as her fingers and nails dug into his neck and throat. She could feel his blood as she tried tearing at him; she knew she either needed to stake the heart or decapitate him to make him die, but since she was sans stake right then, she could only try to relieve him of his head.

He tried to loosen her grip by pounding her back into the wall, but all that did was crack the mortar and bricks. If anything, her grip tightened.

Mr. Bumpy Fangy Face growled in pain and hissed, trying to reach her face with his fangs; but she groaned and near-hissed herself, as her fingers dug deeper into her prey. She cried out and he screamed, as her fingers finally tore through the muscle.

The thing staggered back, crying out as she pulled, hard. It was like tearing off a piece of chewed up gum that had been stuck under the desk for months, only this gushed blood, and flesh tore and the bumpy, fangy-faced human-like creature screamed as it lost its head in a monstrous tug.

The screaming stopped, and the man burst into dust, gone. She yelped as the head separated from the body, and blood flaked onto the cold tile floor, leaving a trail of red on the white surface.

She was breathing heavily, sweat covering her face, and her panties, bra, and white tee shirt were filthy, and drenched in her blood and sweat; not to mention how uncomfortable her sweat-soaked feet in her socks and trainers felt.

Allowing herself to collapse bonelessly, she rested, feeling sleep wanting to claim her. She fought it. She couldn't sleep now, not while it was still dark and she was in a public building. More might turn up, and she wasn't used to all this.

This time, she wouldn't run from her destiny as the chosen girl. This time, she would chase it and become strong enough to protect people. She had already failed this Watcher guy, who was likely only going to get her killed and left her friendless and alone anyway, so the least she could do was fight these monsters who were bound to be a nuisance to her for the rest of her life anyway.

Anyway, she might not have much choice in the long run. She will always know about them, and they probably know about her too. She won't ever get any peace, never. So why should she let them rest in peace either?

"Damn, stupid pun," she mumbled to herself as she heard the sirens approaching.

She knew she had to leave. They had probably made enough noise to have attracted the cops' attention. She couldn't be found here with the dead body of some old guy. She looked over at her Watcher. He lay perfectly still, not even a breath leaving him; he was completely dead.

It took her a few moments to drag herself over to him. He had an old brown leather book bag, and she pulled it off him, knowing she would need the book inside, and it would look odd when the police found him. She felt guilty as she took a peek inside to find the huge book, a wooden stake, and a silver dagger.

That was all fine with her; she put the strap of the bag over her shoulder and stood to her feet. The book bag was heavier than she had expected, but the book inside it was huge, and she was exhausted.

Her legs felt like they had lead weights tied to them as she limped and staggered down the corridor. She could now see the flashing blue and red lights through the windows outside. It was only two police cars; it should be easy enough to sneak past them.

It took her what felt like forever to look for a place to hide or escape the building. It was just a good thing that the vampires had shut down both main power and the emergency power systems; otherwise, the security cameras would have been working. She wasn't sure if vampires showed up on camera, since they had no reflections, but with modern technology, she wouldn't be surprised.

She worked her way through an art exhibit, seeing the glowing emergency exit sign at the end and smiling tiredly. It took her no time to run for it and bang the door open. She half-expected alarms, but nothing happened; the museum wasn't special enough to have battery backup for alarms, thankfully.

The 'chosen' sighed as she breathed in the cool night air, and for a moment, she felt relief flood her before she realized she still had to get as far away as possible.

It was a struggle to get moving; she ran the length of the empty car park and moved as fast as she could. She made it to some bushes and dove through them, and sighed as she caught her breath while two police officers with torches moved into the medium-sized parking lot the moment she was hidden.

She thought she had been spotted for a moment as a torch shone in her direction. She looked through the gaps in the bushes, holding her breath, but the other officer gave him a nudge and they both moved on. It was thanks to the emergency exits being heavy fire doors that closed behind her that they didn't get any more suspicious.

The 'chosen' girl sat in the mud hidden in the bushes and tried to get her bearings as well as her breath back. She was in New York City, and she had to find somewhere to hide and rest. She had to find some training, and she needed to study the book she had previously ignored.

There was no Watcher now to help her, which was in part a relief, even if she couldn't help but feel bad for the man. She was alone and couldn't even go home. She didn't want her mother involved. She would be better off without her. She was now a supernatural creature of some sort, and had a destiny to fight monsters. The only problem was figuring out how to help people and kill these monsters.

Shaking her head, she nodded to herself in thought. She would certainly need training if her performance tonight was any indication of her abilities. Her Watcher was dead, and she didn't want anyone else she met along the way to suffer the same fate simply because she couldn't perform her duties as a Slayer properly.

Her head hurt and her body ached all over. She waited a moment or two, exhausted, leaning back against a tall fence hidden by bushes behind it. Her parents had recently split up; her father had moved to LA for work, and her mother was planning on moving her there as well. She supposed she got her wish to not have to go now.

The Watcher had told her that she had to go there; that it was a place on the Hellmouth. A place where vampires and other monsters gathered. But what about everywhere else? She didn't want to believe that everything bad that happened in the world would only happen there.

Leaning back on the fence, she let herself rest, and rest she did; her eyes drifted closed. She knew she was taking a huge risk, but her body felt like jelly, all squishy with a mind of its own. She lost any fight she had as she finally lost consciousness, to dreams of past slayers whose dreams were led to ruin.

She groaned as her eyes flickered open and she blinked the bright light away. It was hurting her head, and she wondered why she was lying on the ground in some bushes.

Sitting up straight, her eyes widened as she looked up to the clear blue sky. The sun was high in the sky, and from her watch, she could tell it was just past noon. She had to move; she had rested too long, but at least most of her aches had subsided, and many of her bruises seemed to have faded.

As she looked over the bushes, people were just going about their day and the parking lot was full. So she snuck out and stalked the lot in a crouch; when she came across a car with some clothes in the backseat, her luck seemed to be improving. The car hadn't been locked.

She opened the door carefully and pulled out a couple of items. They were clean and fresh, newly bought. Obviously, some idiot didn't get that New York wasn't the place to leave your car unlocked; they could get it stolen, not to mention the stuff in it.

It took her only moments to pull on some baggy black combat trousers under her skirt, and a white hoodie over her top. Then, she carefully closed the door and moved farther away from the car before stepping out onto the street.

She got some weird looks, but that was minimal as she removed her skirt and threw it into the back of a garbage truck as it picked up from businesses it passed.

She had been walking through the busy street when she paused at the entrance of an alley, looking into the darkness. She had thought she had heard something, her senses alert and ready. Her muscles were tense, and on standby, ready to strike as she brushed her dark-blonde hair from her eyes.

Pedestrians complained as they had to walk around her; she slowly walked into the alley, her senses reeling. Something was up, something demonic, something different. She moved deeper into the alley, her eyes searching every way they could.

"Miss Summers."

A smooth and cool voice called out her name. She felt a cold chill run down her spine as she spun around. The voice was feminine, and the shadowy figure behind her seemed to be the same.

"W-who are you?" she asked, trying to keep from shivering again as a woman walked out of the shadows to reveal herself.

"I'm just me... but you?" she asked while Buffy took a step back.

She took in every detail of this woman, from her pale blue skin to her purple hair and deep purple eyes, to her two sets of slender arms. She was naked, and looked amused as Buffy's cheeks flushed as she looked over her fit and muscular body. She had a big bust and a smooth body, standing taller than she was.

"Well, yes," she laughed, amusement evident in her voice as she gestured, a long smooth tail swishing around behind her, fanged teeth in her smiling mouth, and ragged, pointed ears poking out from above her head. "Transdimensional-astroprojection. I'm afraid it's not very clothing friendly," she said, amused. "I was chosen because it was decided that you would be more...cooperative with a female rather than some naked male...demon."

"W-what do you want from me?" Buffy demanded, trying to sound braver than she felt as she looked up at the taller woman, er, demon, umm, whatever.

"I want to help, silly," she replied shrugging as if that should be obvious. "Contrary to what you believe, not all... demons are out to eat people, humans or otherwise," she said stepping closer, her image flickering like a bad TV reception for a moment before she chanted a few unintelligible words and the picture returned to normal.

"Okay, say I buy that," she replied, relaxing as she realized the demon woman wasn't actually there, but was just projecting herself. She would have to look up astral projection just to be prepared for the next time, if she could find the right book. "You help me; I help you, that's what you want, right?"

"Of course." She agreed. "Nothing in this or any other world worth having is free," she said wistfully as she walked around Buffy, giving her a good look at the rest of her body before stopping in front of her again, her lower arms folded under her chest, and the other, held behind her back. "The visions are unclear, but we saw, Slayer. We saw you and your Watcher die. However, through some miracle of fate, the vampire that murdered you brought you back, restarted your heart when he slammed your back against the wall."

"He was a foolish creature," she said, laughing as her cool eyes scanned Buffy, causing her to quiver. "We can no longer see the future; our gifts are gone, except for you. But even then, it's all clouded in fog, ever-changing, ever-moving, and too fast to see. The future is never staying the same for more than a few hours or even minutes. So we stopped looking at the future and looked to the present."

"You can help us, and in return, I can help you," she said as she moved closer. Buffy had to resist the urge to move away from her. "My people have become so complacent in their sight that they cannot understand why they don't see it. It has something to do with your world. I will help guide you when you need it."

"I cannot do much from here, but I can provide suggestions and information where I can," she said, lowering her head in thought. "In exchange, you will find the obscurer of our sight and destroy them, or at the very least put a stop to it. My dimension is at risk with every passing moment that our sight is gone."

Buffy was surprised; she hadn't thought demons were intelligent or potentially caring life forms like humans. She had to look away from the demon while she thought. The demon's nakedness was highly distracting. She was kind of pretty for a blue-skinned girl with four arms, and extremely sexy. If she said no, it meant nothing, no help, and she would be all alone.

If she agreed, she would be cooperating with the things she was supposed to slay; but maybe she would be able to learn about demons firsthand. If she could, maybe she would be better able to discern between a threat and something less so. Would it damage her soul if she killed demons who…demons who were innocent of any crimes against Earth or humans?

She shook her head. If humans were capable of being evil creatures, then why couldn't demons be good, or at least not evil? Looking back at the blue-skinned demon, she couldn't help but give her a nod. It was the only way she could see of surviving.

"O-Okay, I'll agree," she finally said. "But if you screw me over, I'll find you no matter where and make you pay."

"You won't have to worry about that," she answered with a nod. "Okay, first, this... astroprojection is tuned so only you can see or hear me. However, don't be surprised if the odd demon can too, or at least sense me. My name is Andréa, but you can call me Andi. I know you humans like to shorten names."

"That name's kind of familiar," Buffy answered in surprise before she could stop herself.

Andréa shrugged. "My name doesn't have a real human translation, so this is as close as you'll get," she said as she moved away from the Slayer. "Okay, go to Chinatown, and look up a man who goes by the name Touisen Huu. He runs a martial arts school. He knows more than any normal human should. I'm certain he will help you, and guide you on your newfound path."

"B-but…" Buffy barely got that out before the demon's image flickered and she disappeared. She sighed. "Great help that was… go there, he'll help you. I don't even get an address."

This sucks. Maybe she should just go home, try to be normal? No, she couldn't do that. The monsters might find her, and she wouldn't be able to live with herself if anything happened to her mother because of her. She wasn't normal anymore, and from the looks of it, she never would be. And she made a deal with Andréa, so she had to do this.

Therefore, she slipped out of the alley and back onto the packed streets of the huge metropolis. She looked at the nearest signpost to see where she was and sighed loudly as people traffic walked around her. She was broke, and Chinatown was miles away from where she was.

It looked like she had no choice; she started on her trip. At this rate, it would be dark before she reached Chinatown, and how long would it take her to find Mr. Huu and convince him to help her? The roads were straight, making it difficult to get lost in the city, as she had heard European cities were much more winding and easy to get lost in.

She walked the warm streets and crossed the busy roads, trying to avoid the police. Not that they could accuse her of anything, but she would rather not get stopped for being 'suspicious,' and have them find the dagger and stake in her book bag. The book could be easily overlooked. She would rather not have to try explaining the old and expensive-looking book, about slaying vampires with a stake and dagger. She might be sectioned for being nuts.

Yes, best to avoid them, especially since some of her clothes had blood on them, and she needed to remove the hoodie and she looked like she had been in a huge battle or something. If she didn't look like that now, anyway. She could only be thankful that cops wore such easily spotted uniforms, some even wearing high-visibility jackets.

Buffy felt nauseous as she kept on walking, but at least her muscles were feeling better, and the further she moved the more she noticed her sores and bruises healing. That was a great benefit to being the Slayer. It was just a shame about the fighting monsters' part, as that seemed rather unpleasant so far.

She hoped this Mr. Huu guy would let her use a shower at his school. If it was a proper gym, it had to have plenty of showers. She was sweaty and sticky, hot and greasy, and itchy. She wasn't sure how her hair looked, but she knew it, and she looked like a mess. However, most of all, she was starving. She hadn't eaten since yesterday morning, and with all of the "exercise" she had gone through, made her even hungrier than she thought possible.

It was about nine o'clock in the evening; she thought, as she couldn't focus much on her watch since she finally entered Chinatown, as the sun was drawing down to dusk. She groaned as she smelled the delicious food while passing through a food district.

She needed to find this school and soon. She didn't want to end up fighting any vampires if she could help it. Therefore, she looked around when she saw an old woman making some kind of spring rolls at her food stall, or whatever they were called. She decided she looked like the less threatening and walked over, smiling at her.

Excuse me, ma'am, umm... I'm looking for Mr. Touisen Huu; he's supposed to run a martial arts school here in Chinatown," she said quickly, hoping the woman understood. She didn't know whether they cared to learn English or not, and she didn't know any Chinese, but she would have thought they could make the effort at least since the U.S. was an English-speaking country.

Ah, yes, sit," she said, her accent light. "Eat," she said smiling as she put a small plate down with two rolls.

She said, "Umm… but I don't have any money."

"No, please," she said, still smiling as she offered up the rolls anyway. She felt bad, feeling like the charity case she was.

"Umm… are you sure?" she asked, feeling concerned.

"Yes, yes, eat," she said smiling as Buffy's stomach rumbled.

The new Slayer blushed as she sat down and scoffed the two rolls before she could really stop herself. They were delicious, just like they smelled. However, Buffy was startled when two men suddenly sat either side of her. They looked at her, but didn't do anything as she slid her hand into her book bag, her fingers slipping around smooth wood.

The old woman smiled viciously as her face turned all bumpy with weird eyes and fangs. The men's faces turned too. However, she wasn't in the mood and with a quick strike of her stake, it was out and in one chest after another, leaving the old woman alone as the 'men' burst into dust.

The old woman staggered back with wide eyes before she burst into dust. Standing behind where she had been was an old Chinese man holding a wooden stake. His expression was bland but curious as Buffy ignored him for a moment and stuffed her face with crispy rolls, savoring the taste.

"I don't think I'll ever be glad for vampires again!" she said with her mouth full. "But for an evil soulless demon, she sure can make some delicious food. I'm starving; thanks for the save, who are you?" she asked, not stopping her face stuffing.

The old man chuckled as he brushed down his green silk kung-fu style robe. "My name is Touisen Huu; I was just passing by when I noticed you, and I couldn't help but hear you were looking for me."

She finished the last of her free meal and swallowed hard before she could speak. "Yeah… I was told that, well," she got up from her seat and moved closer. "I was told you could help me. I need to learn to fight. Those guys were easy, they just thought I was a normal girl, but…" she trailed off as she withdrew a huge book that had the word 'SLAYER' written across it in huge golden letters.

His eyes widened. "Put that away... not here!" he hissed at her, looking around, clearly concerned. "This isn't a safe enough place," he said as she quickly put it back in her bag and he grabbed her arm, forcing her to go with him. "Where's the British fool? I will not speak to you with a member of the Watchers Council nearby."

She replied in surprise at the hatred he seemed to hold for the Watchers. "He's dead." A look of confusion crossed her face as she continued. "A... a demon told me you could help me. She said she was doing umm... transdimensional-astroprojection. She said if I helped them, she'd help me. They're seers, and someone on Earth is blocking their umm... sight or something like that, so..."

"I see," he replied as he led her to a small-looking building and pushed her inside before closing and locking the door. It led into a small gym filled with various equipment, including punch bags, weights, and practice mats.

He had not spoken much other than that. "The race with sight," he mumbled to himself after a short while. "I have heard of them... they're not demons like the sort you might think. Some demons are docile; they do not interfere in what they care not for. As long as you follow your end of the bargain, I believe she can be trusted for now. You are new to this, aren't you?"

She looked away, feeling scared and confused. "Yes... I... I need to get strong enough to protect people, and... well, I need to learn. I need to know how to become a Slayer and not die like those before me. I remember the nightmares. I don't want it to end like that!"

"The Slayers have always been held back by their Watchers!" he answered her with a sad smile. "They were trained to die, but never trained to live, kill, or protect. I will help you learn all you need to live, and kill, but someday soon, you must leave to find your own place in this world. I cannot teach you forever. To live, you must travel alone... for now at least, I can help you as others can throughout your journey."

"I can only hope to do well by you," he said with a sigh. "I can teach you all I know about the creatures that lurk this world. I will also teach you as much as I can about fighting, but you must find other ways to learn to fight, or learn about these creatures, such as through books or magic. However, I must warn you that the Watchers care not for their Slayers. To them, you are just weapons to destroy demons, so I caution you; you may have to kill humans to survive."

"I... I think I understand," she said with a shuddering breath, realizing the Watchers would hunt her if they found out she was still alive, and she might have to kill them.

She shuddered at the thought, but she had her determination. She would keep her freedom and hopefully become the best Slayer she could be.

No. The best Slayer there ever was.

To Be Continued…