A Slayer's greatest weapon- Book One- BTVS

Teacher's Pet- 4

Giles was on the phone, yelling at some women to put Carlyle on. "Frankly, madam, I haven't the faintest idea what time it is, nor do I care. Now, unlock his cell, un-strap him, and bring him to the telephone immediately. This is a matter of life and death!"

"Got it!" I heard Will yell. I went in to see what she had found, leaving Giles on the phone. "Coroner's report, complete with..." she paused to groan in disgust, "...coloured pictures."

"There are teeth marks. Which match perfectly the one insect that nips off its prey's head."

"Okay, I-I don't like this." Willow stuttered.

"Huh! It's the way they feed, head first. It's also the way they mate. The female bites off the male's head while they're..."

"No, no, no! See? Xander's, I like his head! I-it's where you find his eyes, and his hair, and his adorable smile..." Willow said, a little dreamily, but still panicked.

"Hey, hey, take it easy, Willow. Xander is not in any immediate danger. I saw him leave school. He's probably safe at home right now."

"This is Xander we're talking about, Will. Remember?" I reminded her.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I walked back in to Giles' office, to see how he was coming along with his friend. "I-I understand, Carlyle. Yes... I-I'll take every precaution. Uh, absolutely, it sounds exactly like the creature you described. Y-you were right all along about everything. Well, n-no, you weren't right about your mother coming back as a Pekinese, but... uh... Try to rest, old man. Yes... Ta! Bye now!"

"You find out what we're dealing with?"

"Unfortunately, yes." He told me as we walked out of the office to Buffy and Willow, who were still at the PC. "Dr. Ferris Carlyle spent years transcribing a lost pre-Germanic language. What he discovered he kept to himself until several teenage boys were murdered in the Cotswolds. Then he went hunting for it."

"It being..."

"Uh, he calls her a She-Mantis. This type of creature, the Kleptes-Virgo, or, or virgin-thief, appears in, in many cultures. The Greek sirens, the Celtic sea maidens, who, who tore the living flesh from the bones of, um..."

"Giles, while we're young!"

"Uh, well, basically the, uh, the She-Mantis assumes the form of a beautiful woman and then lures innocent virgins back to her nest."

Buffy looked at us awkwardly and nervously, while Willow and I were shocked and worried knowing Xander was in trouble. "Virgins? Well, Xander's not a, uh... I mean, he's probably..."

"...gonna die!" Willow cries, rushing to the phone.

"Okay, okay, so this thing is breeding and we need to find it and snuff it." She stops facing Giles and I. "Any tips on the snuffing part?"

"Uh, Carlyle recommends cleaving all body parts with a sharp blade." Giles told her.

"Slice and Dice."

"Well, whatever you do, it had better be certain and swift. This beast is extremely dangerous."

"Well, your buddy Carlyle faced it, and he's still around."

"Yes, in a straitjacket, howling his innards out day and night."

"Okay, Admiral, way to inspire the troops!"

"Sorry..."

"I read a bit of that Entomology book." I intervened. "They may have the ability to change human, but they're still bugs. She'll have the same weaknesses as a regular praying mantis."

"See, now that's encouraging." Buffy told Giles, gesturing to me. "You could learn from her."

At that moment, Willow got off the phone, looking even more concerned. "Xander's not home! He told his mom he was going to his teacher's house to work on a science project. He didn't tell her where."

"See if you can get her address off the substitute rolls." She stops, looking at Giles. "And you need to record bat sonar, and fast!"

"Bat sonar, right. What?"

"Bats eat them. The mantis hears sonar, its entire nervous system goes kaplooey."

"Where am I gonna find the..."

"In the vid library? There're no books, but it's dark and musty, you'll feel right at home, go!" She then turns to me. "Luce, how fast do you think you can get to the store and back."

"What do you need?"

"You said it has the same weaknesses right?" I nodded, hazarding a guess at what I was going to have to buy. "I guess I'll handle the armory."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I arrived back at the library with lots of big repellent and Buffy was waiting with the weapons. "Did you get it?"

"Yep, and yes I did get very weird looks from everyone there, so thank you very much. "

"Getting the address." Willow told us.

"Great! Giles?"

"Recording bat sonar is something soothingly akin to having one's teeth drilled."

"Let's roll!" Buffy said, grabbing the tape off him and headed out the door.

"According to Miss French's personnel records, she was born in 1907. She's, like, 90 years old!" Willow told us.

"And extremely well preserved!"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We arrived at Miss French's house and rushed over to the door. "What now, exactly?" Giles asked. "We can't just kick the door down."

"Yeah, that would be wrong." Buffy replied, sarcastically as she lifted her leg to kick the door. But just as she was about to kick it down it opened revealing an old women.

"Hello, dear! I thought I heard..." she paused, seeing our confused faces. "Are you selling something? Because I'd like to help you out, but... You see, I'm on a fixed income."

"I'm looking for Miss French." Buffy asked.

"I'm Miss French."

"Natalie French, the substitute biology teacher?"

"Goodness, that's me! I taught for over thirty years. I retired in 1972."

"I can't believe this!" Buffy said, turning to us. "She used Miss French's records to get into the school. She could be anywhere!"

"No, dear! I'm right here!"