Outfits in the external link
Into every generation, there are Chosen Ones. A Slayer will stand against the vampires, the demons and the forces of darkness. With each Slayer comes a Guardian. They are protectors of the innocent.
Day One
Night - Sunnydale High School - Hallway
The camera panned around from the side of the building to the main entrance, into a hallway, moving down the hall, past the trophy case and at the library turning to the right down another hall.
∞
Science Classroom
In the science class, the camera panned low along a row of desks, showing the windows. The counter in front of them was full of various things; a skeleton, some vertebrae, jars of things in formaldehyde, a skull and a microscope.
A fist punched through a windowpane, reaching in to undo the claps. A boy and girl snuck into the school.
The girl was named Darla. "Are you sure this a good idea?"
"It's a great idea," the boy told her. "Now come on."
They crawled into the window.
∞
Hallway
The boy and girl came out of the classroom, walking down the hall.
"Do you go to school here?" Darla asked.
"I used to," the boy answered. "On top of the gym, it's so cool. You can see the whole town."
Darla stopped the boy close to the intersection of the hallway, stammering. "I don't wanna go up there."
"Aw, you can't wait, huh?" the boy asked.
"We're just gonna get in trouble," Darla told him.
The boy smiled. "Yeah, you can count on it."
They almost kissed.
Darla seemed startled, drawing a quick breath, turning her head around to look down the hall. "What was that?"
"What was what?" the boy asked.
"I heard a noise," Darla told him.
"It's nothing," the boy told her.
Darla looked around. "Uh, maybe it's something."
The boy mocked her, trying to scare her. "Or maybe it's some thing."
Darla gave him a look, tilting her head. "That's not funny."
The boy looked down the other hall, calling out in a singsong voice. "Hello?" He turned to Darla. "There's nobody here."
"Are you sure?" Darla asked, turning away.
"Yes, I'm sure," the boy answered.
Darla smirked. "Okay."
Darla turned back to the boy, transforming into a vampire face. There were indents in her nose and forehead, fangs visible, and eyes yellow. She growled, biting into the boy's neck, making him yell out in pain as she fed on him, sinking them both to the floor.
∞ Slayers and Guardians ∞
Day Two
Morning - Summers House - Brooke's Room
Brooke was sleeping, having nightmares, with visions of the Master's lair, the cemetery, the Master, of vampires and other demons, various events and artifacts, various people that she had not yet met but would soon. She woke up with a start.
Buffy knocked on the door. "Brooke?"
Brooke sighed, sitting up. "I'm up, Buffy."
Brady peaked his head in. "Mom said don't wanna be late for our first day. I on the other hand don't give a damn, and I know neither do either of you, but we made a deal."
Buffy nodded. "Yeah, we know the deal we made, Brady, and we plan to keep it. Don't we, Brooke?"
"Definitely," Brooke answered.
The three siblings exchanged a look, sighing.
∞
Sunnydale High School - Outside
The Summers' mother Joyce pulled their car up to the school to drop her kids off. "Okay." Brooke, Buffy and Brady got out of the car. "Have a good time. I know you're gonna make friends right away." She gave them a thumbs up. "Just think positive." They nodded, turning to head for the school. "Brooke? Buffy? Brady?" They looked at her. "Try not to get kicked out?"
Brady managed a laugh. "We promise."
"Okay," Joyce told them.
The three siblings walked toward the school.
Eric was doing his usual bob and weave through the crowd on his skateboard up to the school. "Excuse me, coming through, pardon me. Excuse me, whoa. Excuse me, not sure how to stop. Please move, whoa, excuse me." He noticed Buffy, Brooke and Brady walking up to the school, more focused on Buffy. "Whoa." Eric didn't notice he was headed right for the stair railing, crashing into it, falling beneath it, grunting in pain. "God." Willow, Zoey and Carmen walked up, having to step high to avoid tripping over Eric's legs. "I'm okay. I feel good."
Willow smiled. "Eric, what am I gonna do with you?"
"Well, he's your brother, Willow, you think you'd have figured it out by now," Carmen told her.
Eric laughed sarcastically, hopping up. "Very hilarious, Car Chase."
"Yeah, just like that nickname," Carmen told him sarcastically.
Xander walked up to them. "Zoey. Willow. Carmen. Eric. You're so very much the people I wanted to see."
"Oh, really?" Zoey asked tauntingly.
"Yeah," Xander answered. They walked upstairs toward the school together. Xander looked at Willow and Eric. "You know, I kind of had a problem with the math."
"Uh, which part?" Willow asked.
"The math," Xander answered. "Can you help me out tonight, please? Be my study buddies? Zoey and Carmen can come over because they suck, too."
Zoey tried to hit Xander on the head playfully. Xander ducked his head to his chest, making her miss, laughing.
"Well, what's in it for us?" Eric asked.
"A shiny nickel," Zoey answered.
Willow smiled. "Okay. Do you guys have 'Theories in Trig'? You should check it out."
"'Check it out'?" Xander repeated.
"From the library," Eric told him. "Where the books live."
"Right, I'm there," Zoey told them. "See? I wanna change."
"Well, it's about time, Zoey," Carmen told her teasingly.
"Ha, ha, Carmen," Zoey told her sarcastically. "You and Willow are probably at the library more than all of us combined. Xander's even gone to the library with Eric a couple times."
"Yeah, only because Xander was checking out the new librarian's daughter, Alice, that started going to school here when they moved here from England," Eric told them.
Xander hit Eric in the chest. "Guy code, man, you're not supposed to tell the girls who I'm checking out at the library."
"Yeah, the library is for checking out books, Xand, not Alice Giles," Zoey told him tauntingly.
Jesse walked up to them, looking at Zoey nervously, smiling. "Hey, Zoey."
Zoey knew that Jesse had a crush on her, but she had told him over and over again that they were just friends, smiling, looking away. "Oh, please."
Xander, Jesse and Eric did their handshake.
"Hey, Jesse," Xander told him. "What's what?"
Jesse pointed at Xander and Eric. "New girls and new guy."
"That's right," Eric told them. "I saw them. The girls pretty much hotties."
"I heard the guy is not so bad on the eyes, either," Carmen told them.
"I heard more people were transferring," Willow told them.
Xander looked at Jesse and Eric. "So tell."
"Tell what?" Jesse asked.
"What's the sitch?" Xander asked. "What do you know about them?"
"They're new," Eric answered in a duh voice.
"Do you boys have anything else to think about than girls to check out or a new guy to feel threatened by?" Carmen asked. "Which, by the way, if the girls knew the three of you, you have no chance."
Xander, Jesse and Eric shook their heads. "No."
"Well, you three are certainly a font of nothing," Zoey told them.
"Oh, that hurts, Zo," Jesse told her.
They all smiled, walking inside.
∞
Principal Flutie's Office
Buffy, Brooke and Brady were getting registered, sitting at the desk.
Flutie had their school records, walking around the desk to his chair, looking them over. "Brady Summers, held back last year due to attendance and behavior issues, otherwise you would be a junior, but you are now a sophomore like your sister Buffy Summers. Brooke Summers, freshmen. All of you late of Hemery High in Los Angeles. Interesting records, quite a career." He sat down, taking the sheets he was reading, tearing them into four pieces. "Welcome to Sunnydale. A clean slate, that's what you get here. What's past is past. We're not interested in what it says on a piece of paper, even if it says..." He read their records. "Whoa."
Buffy sighed anxiously. "Mr. Flutie..."
"All the kids here are free to call me Bob," Flutie told them.
Brady nodded awkwardly. "Bob."
"But they don't," Flutie told them, reassembling the torn sheets.
"We know our transcripts are a little... colorful," Buffy told him.
"Hey, we're not caring about that," Flutie told them. "Do you think, uh, 'colorful' is the word? Not, uh, 'dismal'?"
Brooke rolled her eyes. "Wasn't that bad."
"You burned down the gym," Flutie told them.
Brooke nodded in agreement. "We did. We really did, but... You're not seeing the big picture here. I mean, Brady was getting attacked by vamp--asbestos."
"Brooke, don't worry," Flutie told her. "Any other school, they might say 'watch your step', or 'we'll be watching you'. But that's just not the way here. We want to service your needs, and help you to respect our needs. And if your needs and our needs don't mesh..."
Flutie put the poorly repaired sheets back into their files, closing them. Buffy gave him a thin, nervous smile, while Brooke was annoyed, and Brady was unimpressed.
∞
Hallway
Buffy was walking down the hall, opening her bag, rummaging through. A girl bumped into Buffy, making her lose her grip on the bag and making her spill its contents.
Buffy sighed, kneeling down to pick it up. "Oh, sorry."
"That's okay," the girl told her, walking away.
Eric heard the noise, looking over, walking closer, kneeling down to help Buffy gather her things. "Can I have you?" Buffy gave him a confused look. Eric chuckled nervously. "Uh, can I help you?"
Buffy was amused, chuckling. "Thanks."
"I don't know you, do I?" Eric asked.
Buffy shook her head. "I'm Buffy. I'm new. I just transferred here with my sister Brooke and brother Brady."
Eric smiled. "Eric, is--is me. Hi."
"Thanks," Buffy told him.
They finished gathering up everything, standing.
Eric clearly didn't know what else to say, cutely awkward. "Well, uh, maybe I'll see you around, maybe at school, since we both... go there."
Buffy smirked in amusement. "Great. It was nice to meet you."
Buffy walked away.
Eric sighed, mentally kicking himself, unimpressed with what he had said. "We both go to school. Very suave. Very not pathetic." He noticed a stake still on the floor, picking it up. "Oh, hey. Buffy, you forgot your... stake."
Buffy had already left the hallway. Eric looked at the stake in his hand in confusion.
∞
Classroom
The teacher wrote 'The Black Plague' in cursive across the chalk board, turning to the class. "It's estimated that about 25 million people died in that one 4-year span. But the fun part of the Black Plague is that it originated in Europe how?" Zoey and Carmen were sitting together, listening to the lecture. Cordelia was sitting behind her sister Carmen, and Brooke was sitting on the other side of Zoey, both of them taking notes. "As an early form of germ warfare. If you'll look at the map on Page 63, you can trace the spread of the disease into Rome and then north..."
Brooke looked around, not having a text book.
Zoey tapped on Brooke's arm, letting her share her own book. "Here."
"Thanks," Brooke told her.
Zoey smiled. "Sure."
"And this popular plague led to what social changes?" the teacher asked. "Carmen?"
Carmen looked up.
The bell rang, everyone getting their stuff to leave.
Zoey looked at Brooke. "Hi, I'm Zoey."
"I'm Brooke," Brooke told her, shaking Zoey's hand.
They and Carmen all stood.
"Brooke, this is my friend Carmen," Zoey explained.
Brooke and Carmen shook hands.
"If you're looking for a textbook of your very own, there's probably a few in the library," Carmen told her. "I'm getting a few books for Trig, so..."
"Oh, great, thanks," Brooke told them. "Where would that be?"
"We'll show you," Carmen told her. "Come on."
Zoey and Carmen led the way.
Cordelia stood in the way, chuckling. "Actually, it's best to stay away from losers like these unless you want to ruin your reputation on the first day."
Carmen rolled her eyes, sighing. "And now you've met my bitch of a sister, Cordelia."
"Go ahead," Zoey told her. "We need to talk to Willow anyway."
"Willow," Cordelia sighed. "Yet an even bigger loser."
Zoey rolled her eyes, pushing past Cordelia, walking out of the classroom. Carmen followed.
∞
Hallway
As Zoey and Carmen walked down the hall, Cordelia and Brooke weren't that far behind.
Brooke saw that Buffy and Brady were nearby. "Hey, Buffy, Brady, you might wanna come with us to the library if you wanna get your own textbooks for class."
"Right, yeah, that would be preferable than to look like an idiot in class again," Brady told them.
"So you're from Hemery, right?" Cordelia asked. "In LA?"
"Yeah," Brady answered.
"I would kill to live in LA," Cordelia told them. "That close to that many shoes?" Buffy laughed. "Well, you'll be okay here. If you hang with me and mine, you'll be accepted in no time. Of course, we do have to test your coolness factor. You're from LA, so you can skip the written, but let's see. Vamp nail polish?"
"Um, over?" Brooke asked.
"So over," Cordelia answered. "James Spader?"
Buffy smiled. "He needs to call me."
"Frappacinos?" Cordelia asked.
"Trendy, but tasty," Brooke answered.
"Josh Tesh," Cordelia said.
"The devil," Buffy told them.
"That was pretty much a gimme, but you passed," Cordelia told them.
"Oh, good," Buffy said.
Brady rolled his eyes, walking toward the library, but the girls kept up with him.
Zoey and Carmen saw Willow at the drinking fountain, walking closer. "Willow."
Willow turned to them. "Hey, Zo. Hey, Car."
"So, about tonight--" Zoey started.
Cordelia cut her off. "Willow, nice dress. Good to know you've seen the softer side of Sears."
"Uh, well--well, my mom picked it out," Willow told her.
"No wonder you're such a guy magnet," Cordelia told her sarcastically. "Are you done?"
Willow looked at the water fountain. "Oh."
Zoey looked at Cordelia, opening her mouth to speak, probably going to lead to another fight.
"No, Zoey, let's go," Carmen told her.
Carmen and Willow grabbed Zoey's arms, pulling her away. Buffy, Brooke and Brady watched them go in confused amusement, while Cordelia was satisfied and smug with the reaction.
Zoey looked at Carmen, sighing in annoyance. "Carmen, I know she's your sister, but I hate her so much."
"We all do, Zo, even I do," Carmen told her.
"Car, would you mind if I kicked her ass?" Zoey asked.
"Zo, do you want her pressing charges?" Carmen asked.
Zoey sighed, shaking her head.
"Then let's go, Zoey," Willow told her.
Willow, Zoey and Carmen walked away.
Cordelia turned to look at Buffy and Brooke. "You wanna fit in here, the first rule is, know your losers. Once you can identify them all by sight, they're a lot easier to avoid." Brooke turned toward Brady, both of them rolling their eyes. Buffy let out a nervous laugh, nodding. The three siblings watched as Willow, Zoey and Carmen walked outside. They headed to the library. "And if you're not too swamped with catching up, you should come by the Bronze tonight."
"The who?" Brady asked.
"The Bronze," Cordelia answered. "It's the only club worth going to around here. They let anybody in, but it's still the scene. It's in the bad part of town."
They stopped outside the library doors.
"Where's that?" Brady asked.
"About a half a block from the good part of town," Cordelia answered, laughing. "We don't have a whole lot of town here. But, um, you should show."
"Well, we'll try," Buffy told her. "Uh, thanks."
"Good," Cordelia told them. "So, um, I'll see you later, and you can tell me absolutely everything there is to know about you."
Buffy and Cordelia waved to each other.
"Great," Buffy told her.
Cordelia walked away.
Brooke rolled her eyes sarcastically. "Oh, that sounds like fun."
∞
Library
Brooke pushed open the library doors, walking inside. Buffy and Brady followed, looking around for their books for class.
"Hello?" Brady asked. "Is anybody here?" He looked at the book checkout counter, seeing a newspaper. "Buffy? Brooke?"
Brooke walked closer. "What is it, Brady?"
They saw that on the newspaper, a picture had been circled, and the caption above read 'Local Boys Still Missing'.
Alice walked down from the upper level where the bookshelves were, carrying textbooks. "Hello."
Brady was startled but intrigued by Alice's appearance. "Oh, anybody's here."
"Dad," Alice called into the office of the library.
Giles walked out of the office to see them. "Can we help you?"
"We were looking for some, well, books," Brooke answered. "We're new."
Alice walked closer with the textbooks. "The Summers'."
"Good call," Brady told her. "Guess we're the only new kids, huh?"
"Actually, I am, too," Alice answered, smiling knowingly. "I'm Alice Giles. This is my father. He likes to go by just Giles, the librarian. I just started to go here myself. Going through all of these textbooks for class, which I'm guessing that you could also use."
"Yeah, yes," Brady answered. Buffy and Brooke exchanged a look. "Thanks."
"We were told you were coming," Giles told them, heading around behind the counter.
Brady looked at Alice. "Great, so, um, we're gonna need 'Perspectives on 20th Century',--"
Brady, Brooke and Buffy started to look through the textbooks that Alice was handing them, surprised that she already knew all of the textbooks that they needed and had given the books to them without them having to tell her what they needed.
"I know what you're also after," Giles told them, pulling out a large old book with the word 'Vampyr' written in gold leaf on the front cover, putting it on the counter.
Buffy, Brooke and Brady became uneasy and suspicious immediately.
"That's now what we're looking for," Buffy told them.
"Are you sure?" Giles asked.
"We're way sure," Brooke answered.
Giles put the book away in confusion. "My mistake." The three Summers' siblings started to leave quickly. "Did you get everything you needed from Alice, then..."
"They're gone," Alice told him. Giles turned to see that the siblings had left. "I told you that was going to happen." Alice gave her father a sarcastic look. "Very well done, Dad."
Giles gave Alice a look.
Alice chuckled, shaking her head, looking away.
∞
Girls' Locker Room
Two girls were discussing the Summers' kids.
"The new kids?" Girl 1 asked. "They seem kid of weird to me. What kid of name if Buffy? I mean, Brooke and Brady are not as weird names as Buffy."
"Well, the chatter in the caf is that they got kicked out, and that's why their mom had to get a new job," Girl 2 explained.
The girls worked the combinations to their gym lockers.
Girl 1 scoffed. "Neg."
Girl 2 smiled. "Pos. Buffy and Brooke were starting fights, and Brady helped them burn down a gym."
Girl 1 laughed. "Neg-ly."
Girl 2 opened her locker. "Well, I heard from Blue, and she said that Brady--"
The dead boy that Darla had killed fell out of the locker onto Girl 2's arm. She screamed, letting the body fall, still screaming in shock and fear.
∞∞
Courtyard
Willow, Zoey and Carmen were outside on the fountain, getting out brown paper bags for lunch.
Willow pulled out an apple. "Apple."
Zoey pulled out an orange. "Orange."
Carmen pulled out a banana. "Banana."
Willow, Zoey and Carmen looked up at each other, nodding. "Switch."
Zoey handed the orange to Carmen, taking the apple from Willow. Willow took the banana from Carmen. They all smiled, starting to eat.
Buffy and Brooke walked up to them.
"Uh, hi," Brooke told them. "Willow, Zoey and Carmen, right?"
"Why?" Willow asked. "I--I mean, hi. Uh, did you want us to move?"
Willow started to move.
Zoey grabbed Willow's arm, making her sit back down. "We're not moving."
"Why don't we start with, 'Hi, I'm Brooke, this is Buffy', and then let's segue directly into us asking you for a favor," Brooke told them. Buffy and Brooke sat next to them. "It doesn't involve moving, but it does involve hanging out with us for a while."
"But aren't you hanging out with Cordelia?" Carmen asked.
"We can't do both?" Buffy asked.
Carmen shook her head. "Not legally. See, me and Zoey, we used to be popular, when we were hanging out with my sister's friends."
"Until I realized that being their friends was like getting your head in an explosion and blown off across the world," Zoey told them. The girls smirked in amusement, tilting their heads. "And then there's the real reason. Cordelia's ex started to like me, she felt threatened, goodbye friendships popularity, hello Loner Town."
"When Cordy and her friends started to act like bitches to Zoey just because of her ex, I stopped hanging out with them too, and I started to be closer friends with Willow, Eric, Xander and Jesse," Carmen explained.
Buffy chuckled. "Look, we really want to get by here. New school. And Cordelia's been really nice, to us, anyway, but, um, we kind of have this burning desire not to flunk all our classes." She pulled out a brown paper bag, looking at Willow. "And we heard a humor that you were the person to talk to if we wanted to get caught up."
"Oh, she could totally help you out," Zoey told them. "Willow and Eric help Xander, Carmen and me all the time."
Buffy and Brooke smiled.
"Eric?" Buffy repeated. "The guy from the hallway earlier?"
Carmen nodded. "Yeah, Eric is Willow's brother, your age, Brooke."
"Yeah, Eric and I both have this tendency to babble until we sound like idiots," Willow told them.
Buffy chuckled. "I've noticed, but that doesn't mean it's always a bad thing. It was actually really amusing talking to Eric earlier. Not in a bad way."
"If you have 6th period free, we could meet in the library," Willow told them.
Buffy and Brooke were nervous about that.
"Or not," Buffy told them. "Uh, we can meet someplace quieter. Louder. Uh, that place just kind of gives both of us and our brother Brady the wiggins."
"Oh, it has that effect on most kids," Carmen told them. "I love it, though. It's a great collection, and the new librarian and his daughter are really cool."
"You mean Alice?" Brooke asked.
"Yeah," Carmen answered. "Yeah, they just got here, not long before you two and Brady did. I think that Alice said Giles was a curator at some British museum, or 'The British Museum'. I'm not sure. But they both know everything."
"Yeah, and they brought all these historical volumes and biographies," Willow agreed. "And are we the single dullest people alive?"
Zoey smiled. "Not at all."
Xander, Jesse and Eric walked over to join the girls, bringing Brady with them to join the group.
"Hey, you guys busy?" Xander asked, sitting on the ledge behind the girls. "Are we interrupting? We're interrupting."
"Hey," Buffy told them.
"Hey, there," Jesse told them.
"Buffy, Brooke, Brady, this is Jesse," Zoey told them. "And that's Xander, and that's Eric."
"Oh, me and Buffy go way back," Eric told them. "Old friends, very close. Then there's that period of estrangement, where I think we were both growing as people, but now here we are, like old times. I'm quite moved."
Buffy smiled, chuckling.
"Eric, is it me, or are you turning into a babbling idiot?" Zoey asked.
Eric shook his head. "No, Zo, it's not you."
Jesse sat down next to Zoey.
"Well, it's nice to meet you guys, I think," Brady told them.
Eric dug through his backpack.
"We wanted to welcome you guys, make you feel at home," Jesse told them. "Unless you have a scary home."
Eric took out the stake from his backpack, holding it toward Buffy. "And to return this. The only thing I can think is that you're building a really little fence."
Buffy quickly took it, awkwardly. "Ha. No, um, actually, it was for self-defense. Everyone has them in LA. Pepper spray is just so passe."
"So, what do you guys do for fun?" Xander asked. "What do you like? What do you look for in a man, or woman? Let's hear it."
"If you have any dark, painful secrets you'd like us to publish," Jesse told them.
Brady looked at Buffy and Brooke. "Gee, everyone wants to know about us. How keen."
"Well, not much goes on in a one-Starbucks town like Sunnydale," Carmen told them. "You're pretty big news."
"We're not, really," Brady told them.
Cordelia walked up to them, looking at Brady, Brooke and Buffy. "Are these guys bothering you?"
"Uh, no," Brooke answered.
Willow shook her head. "They're not hanging out with us."
Cordelia sighed. "I don't mean to interrupt your downward mobility, but I just wanted to tell you that you won't be meeting Coach Foster--the woman with the chest hair--because gym was canceled due to the extreme dead guy in the locker."
Buffy was stunned and worried, like everyone else. "What?"
"What are you talking about?" Willow asked.
"Some guy was stuffed in Aura's locker," Cordelia told them.
"Dead?" Brady asked.
"Totally dead," Cordelia answered. "Way dead."
"Not just a little dead, then?" Zoey asked sarcastically.
"Don't you have an elsewhere to be?" Cordelia asked.
"Who was the dead guy?" Zoey asked.
"Your ex boyfriend, Chris Boal," Cordelia answered.
Zoey looked at her in shock. "Chris?"
Jesse looked at Zoey. "You know, if you need a shoulder to cry on, or just to nibble on..."
Zoey shook her head.
"Jesse, so not right now," Carmen told him.
"How did he die?" Brooke asked.
Cordelia shook her head. "I don't know."
"Well, were there any marks?" Buffy asked.
"Morbid much?" Cordelia asked. "I didn't ask."
Buffy, Brooke and Brady exchanged a long look, nodding in understanding.
"Um, we gotta book," Brady told them. "We'll--we'll see you guys later."
They walked past Cordelia, leaving.
Cordelia turned her head to watch them leave. "What's their deal?"
∞
Gym
Buffy and Brooke broke into the gym locker room to look inside at the body, pulling back the sheet, seeing the vampire bite, sighing. "Oh, great."
∞
Library
Buffy, Brady and Brooke returned to the library.
Alice was leaning against the counter like she had known that they would be back.
"Okay, what's the sitch?" Brady asked.
Giles was in the stacks. "Sorry?"
"You heard about the dead guy, right?" Brady asked. "The dead guy in the locker?"
Giles stepped into the light. "Yes."
Buffy dropped her bag on the study table. "'Cause the weirdest thing. He's got two little, little holes in his neck, and all his blood's been drained. Isn't that bizarre? Aren't you just going 'ooh'?"
"We were afraid of this," Alice told them.
"Well, we weren't," Brooke told them. "It's our first day. We were afraid that we were gonna be behind in all our classes, that we wouldn't make any friends, that we would have last month's hair. We didn't think there'd be vampires on campus. And we don't care."
Alice rolled her eyes, unconvinced. "Then why are you here?"
Buffy hesitated. "To tell you that... we don't care, which... we don't, and... have now told you, so, bye."
Brady rolled his eyes, turning toward the door to leave.
Alice stepped in their way. "Will he rise again?"
"Who?" Brady asked.
"The boy," Alice answered.
"No," Buffy answered. "He's just dead."
"Can you be sure?" Giles asked.
"To make you a vampire, they have to suck your blood, and then you have to suck their blood," Brooke told them. "It's like a whole big sucking thing. Mostly, they're just gonna kill you." She rolled her eyes. "Why are we still talking to you?"
Buffy grabbed her bag.
"You really have no idea what's going on, do you?" Giles asked. "You think it's coincidence, your being here? That boy was just the beginning."
"Oh, why can't you people just leave my sisters alone?" Brady asked.
"Because Buffy is the Slayer, Brady, and Brooke is a Guardian," Giles answered, walking down the stairs. "Into every generation, there are Chosen Ones. A Slayer will stand against the vampires, the demons and the forces of darkness. With each Slayer comes a Guardian. They are protectors of the innocent. Born with the strength and skill and power to hunt and protect--"
"Each other and the innocent, to stop the spread of the evil," Brooke finished. "Blah, blah, blah. We've heard it, okay? This is all kinda new to Brady because when he found out about us, vampires were trying to kill him in our old school to get to us, so he helped us burn down the gym to kill the vampires that were trying to kill him."
"I really don't understand this attitude," Giles admitted. "You, you've accepted your duty, you--you've slain vampires before. You've protected your sister when she's slayed."
"Yeah, and we've both been there and done that, and we're moving on," Buffy told them.
Giles walked into his office.
Alice turned to the siblings. "What do you know about this town?"
"It's two hours on the freeway from Neiman Marcus?" Brady suggested.
"Dig a bit in the history of this place," Alice told them. "You'll find a steady stream of fairly odd occurrences. Now, we believe this whole area is a center of mystical energy."
Giles returned to the room with four books. "Things gravitate towards it that--that--that you might not find elsewhere."
Giles put the books on the table.
"Like vampires?" Brady asked.
Giles put the volumes into Buffy and Brooke's arms one by one. "Like zombies, werewolves, incubi, succubi, everything you've ever dreaded was under your bed, but told yourself couldn't be by the light of day. They're all real."
"What?" Brady asked. "You, like, sent away for the Time-Life series?"
"Well, yes," Giles answered.
"Did you get the free phone?" Brady asked.
"Um, the calendar," Giles answered.
Brady chuckled. "Cool."
Buffy put the books down. "But, okay, first of all, I'm a Vampire Slayer, and the last time that Brooke was the Guardian of me, she almost died, and if I'm retired, that means she can retire, and neither of us have to get hurt again."
"Guardians may not be completely invulnerable, but they do have a lengthened lifespan compared to the lives of the normal," Alice told them. "They don't age like normal people. We can live decades further than we are supposed to once you've been triggered as a Guardian. It's almost like you never age, so slowly that you can hardly tell you're getting older. They control the energy barrier around them, able to manipulate it to their will. You can form shields from it, you can levitate yourself and others, They are not immortal, but they are very close to it."
"You say that you know anything about being a Guardian," Brooke told her. "Protector of the Slayer, to make sure they fulfill their destiny, that they and the people around them are safe and alive."
Alice formed reddish orange energy in and around her hands to show them what she was. "I do know exactly what I'm talking about when I speak of the Guardians, because I am one."
Buffy, Brooke and Brady were surprised but impressed.
"Hey, I got an idea," Brooke told her. "Why don't you take over our jobs?"
"Alice may be a Guardian, but she still needs a Slayer," Giles told them. "I--I'm a Watcher. I--I haven't the skill..."
"Oh, come on, stake through the heart, a little sunlight," Buffy told them. "It's like falling off a log."
"A--a Slayer slays, a Guardian protects," Giles told them. "A Watcher--"
"Watches?" Brady asked.
Giles nodded. "Yes." He realized the question, shaking his head. "No." Brooke set down her books. "He--he trains the Slayer and Guardian, he--he--he... prepares them."
"Prepares us for what?" Buffy asked. "For vampires trying to kill Brady, our brother, to get to us? For all of us getting kicked out of school? For losing all of our friends? For having to spend all of our time fighting for our lives, and never getting to tell anyone because we might endanger them? Go ahead. Prepare us."
There was a long moment of silence. Buffy, Brady and Brooke left the library.
Alice turned to look at Giles.
Giles gestured for her to go after them. "Go."
Alice walked quickly out of the library.
In the stacks, Eric had been listening the entire time. "What?"
∞
Hallway
Alice caught up with the Summers siblings. "It's getting worse."
"What's getting worse?" Brady asked.
Alice guided them over to the wall, speaking lowly. "The influx of the undead, the supernatural occurrences, it's been building for years. There's a reason why you're here and a reason why it's now."
"Because now is the time our mom moved here," Brooke told her.
"Brooke, you've seen the visions, just as I have, haven't you?" Alice asked. Brady and Buffy looked at Brooke in confusion, but Brooke looked down. "Guardians' energy also allows us to see future events, in flashes that we can barely make out, that we have to figure out ourselves. Visions that we can show to others through waves of energy. I've seen them, but I don't have all the answers, which means you don't either. Brooke, you know something's coming, something is gonna happen here. Soon."
"Gee, can you vague that up for us?" Buffy asked sarcastically.
"The signs, as far as I can tell, point to a crucial mystical upheaval, very soon," Alice told them. "Days. Possibly less."
"Oh, come on, Alice," Brady told her. "This is Sunnydale. How bad an evil can there be here?"
∞
Outside
The camera showed the school outside, descending behind some bushes, sinking through the ground into the lair of the Master, the leader of the vampires in town. There were candles everywhere. Vampires were bearing torches, gathering. The camera moved around the lair as a vampire named Luke chanted, eventually coming to rest on him. "The sleeper will wake. The sleeper will wake. The sleeper will wake. The sleeper will wake, and the world will bleed. Amen!"
∞∞
Night - Summers House - Buffy's Room
(Song:) Saturated - Sprung Monkey
Buffy and Brooke were considering what to wear to the Bronze. Brooke was just considering in going in what she had been wearing all day. Buffy was holding a shiny black outfit up to the mirror.
Brooke pointed to the shiny outfit. "Hi, I'm an enormous slut." Buffy held up a blue floral dress. "Hello, would you like a copy of 'The Watchtower'?"
Buffy sighed, lowering the outfits. "I used to be so good at this."
Joyce walked in. "Hi, sweeties."
Buffy returned her dresses to the closet. "Hey."
Brady was out in the hall, about to leave.
"Brady, are you going out?" Joyce asked.
"Yeah, and Buffy and Brooke are about to be going out, too," Brady answered. "We're going to a club that our new friends invited us to today."
"Well, just be careful," Joyce told them.
Buffy smiled. "We will."
"You know, I think we can make it work here," Joyce told them. "I've got my positive energy flowing..." Brady and Buffy looked at Brooke when Joyce said 'energy'. Brooke rolled her eyes. "I'm gonna get the Gallery on its feet. Oh, uh, we may have found a space today."
"That's great," Brooke told her.
"Oh, and that school is a--a very nurturing environment, which is just what you need," Joyce told them.
Brady scoffed softly. "Well, actually..."
"Oh, not too nurturing," Joyce told them. "I know, you're teenagers, I've read all about the dangers of over nurturing." Buffy laid out a couple of outfits on her bed next to Brooke. "It's hard. New town and everything... it is for too. I'm trying to make it work. I'm going to make it work."
"We know," Brady told her.
"Oh, you are good kids, Brady," Joyce told him. "You all just fell in with the wrong crowd. But that is all behind us now."
Buffy nodded. "It is. From now on, we are only going to hang out with the living. I mean, lively people."
"Okay, you have fun," Joyce told them.
Brady, Buffy and Brooke exchanged an awkward, relieved look at the close call again.
(Song Ends)
∞
Street
Carmen was walking down a dark street, when someone appeared behind her. She sensed that she was being followed, ducking down an alley, looking around.
Angel walked into the alley, but didn't see her, slowly walking along.
Carmen was hiding by a wall, coming into view, using telekinesis to throw Angel to the ground, placing a foot on his chest. Her power of telekinesis was very violent and out of control, which also caused several things around the alley to fall and crash to the ground though she was only trying to take Angel down.
Angel chuckled in slight surprise. "Is there a problem, ma'am?"
"Yeah, there's a problem," Carmen answered. "Why are you following me?"
"I know what you're thinking," Angel told her. "Don't worry, I don't bite."
Carmen backed away, letting him get up, but was still prepared to fight back with her power if she had to. "Who are you?"
Angel stood. "Let's just say I'm a friend of a friend of a friend of yours. Alice Giles knows a witch named Wyatt Pratt. He knows me. Truth is, I thought you'd be taller, or powerful in magics."
"Well, I just started to discover my power, the only power I have being telekinesis, and Alice's been helping me, telling me how that I might get more powers in the future," Carmen told him. "She told me about Wyatt, not about you."
"Maybe she doesn't know me," Angel told her, rubbing a hand on his neck. "You are pretty crafty already ,though."
"What do you want?" Carmen asked.
"The same thing you do," Angel answered.
Carmen sighed, letting down her guard. "Okay. What do I want?"
Angel stepped toward her. "To kill them. To kill them all."
Carmen chuckled. "Sorry, that's incorrect. But you do get this lovely watch and a year's supply of Turtle Wax. I just want to be able to control these powers I never knew I had until recently. You just saw how unstable and violent my power can be, lashing out at everything around me when I'm just trying to focus it on one thing. I've hurt people, and I haven't meant to. Alice is helping me with that, but she's not a witch. She's a Guardian. She said that she can't help me completely like a witch can, but that your witch friend Wyatt could help me. So, is that why you're here? Because Wyatt and Alice sent you?"
Carmen turned away, starting to pace.
Angel took out a box. "Controlling powers like yours on the Mouth of Hell isn't going to be the easiest thing. And that Hellmouth is about to open." Carmen turned to look at him. "Don't turn your back on this. On your power. You're gonna need it. All of it." Angel tossed the box to Carmen. "You've gotta be ready."
"What for?" Carmen asked.
"For the Harvest," Angel answered.
Carmen looked at the box. "What is this?"
"Something to help with control," Angel answered. "Might even protect you from things you still have yet to accept."
Angel walked away, leaving. Carmen watched him go curiously, thoughtfully, opening the box, revealing a silver cross and chain with a jewel that shone with power briefly. She took the cross out, seeming to feel more in control of her powers almost instantly, holding it in her hand, taking another glance in the direction that Angel had walked away in, very interested.
∞
Bronze
(Song:) Believe - Sprung Monkey
Everyone was having a good time at the Bronze.
Zoey saw Willow sitting alone at a table, walking up to her, sitting next to her. "Why do you always have to sit alone here? There's a reason it's called loneliness."
Zoey gave Willow a teasing look, taking a drink of water.
Willow smiled. "Sorry. You know, spaz, don't know how else to live."
"You live by not being a spaz," Zoey told her.
Carmen walked up to Zoey and Willow, leading Buffy and Brooke with her.
"Hey," Brooke told them.
"Oh, hi," Willow told them.
The other girls sat with Zoey and Willow.
"Hi," Zoey told them, eating a cherry.
"Oh, Carmen said that we could join you," Buffy told them.
"Are you here with someone?" Brooke asked.
"No, we're just here," Willow answered. "I thought Xander was gonna show up."
"Oh, are you guys going out?" Brooke asked.
"No, we're just friends," Willow answered. "We used to go out, but we broke up."
"How come?" Buffy asked.
"He stole my Barbie," Willow answered. They looked at her in confusion. "Oh, we were five."
Zoey smiled. "Yeah."
Carmen chuckled. "Oh."
"I--I--I don't actually date a whole lot... lately," Willow admitted.
"Why not?" Brooke asked.
"Well, when I'm with a boy I like, it's hard for me to say anything cool, or--or witty, or at all," Willow answered. "I--I can usually make a few vowel sounds, and then I have to go away."
"You're not that bad," Zoey told her.
"No, i--it is," Willow told them. "I think boys are more interested in a girl who can talk."
"You really haven't been dating lately," Carmen told her.
"Zoey and Carmen are great with guys, it's easy for them," Willow told them. "Even though Jesse's been crushing on Zoey forever, she's always said they're just friends." Buffy and Brooke looked at Zoey, raising their eyebrows. Zoey held up her hands, closing her eyes, nodding. Willow looked at Buffy and Brooke. "So it's probably easy for you, too."
"Yeah, real easy," Brooke told them sarcastically.
"I--I mean, you don't seem too shy," Willow told them.
"Well, my philosophy..." Zoey trailed off, looking between the other girls. "Do you guys wanna hear my philosophy?"
Brooke nodded. "Yeah, I do."
Buffy tilted her head. "Sure."
"Yeah, definitely," Willow answered.
"Life is short," Zoey told them.
"Life is short?" Carmen repeated.
"Not original, I'll grant you, but it's true," Zoey told them. "You know? Why waste time being all shy and worrying about some guy, and if he's gonna laugh at you. Seize the moment, 'cause tomorrow you might be dead."
"Oh, that's nice," Willow told them.
Buffy nodded. "And very, very true. I don't think you even know how right you are."
Brooke smiled. "Seize the moment."
Zoey smiled.
In the crowd, Brady looked up at the upper level of the club, seeing that Alice was standing on the balcony above the main room, with the witch named Wyatt. Alice was keeping an eye over Buffy, Brooke, Carmen, and even Brady.
Brady walked up to them. "What are you doing here, Alice? Guardian being the Guardian for the Slayer, another Guardian in training, and me, their brother?"
"And a born witch by the name of Carmen Chase, and maybe having a bit of fun for once, Brady," Alice answered. "Oddly enough, the Council doesn't have parties like this in England. If I have to do my job, I would like it to be somewhere fun, unlike my father, who would rather be at home with a cup of Bovril and a good book."
"Your dad needs a personality, stat," Brady told her.
Alice nodded in agreement, smiling a bit in amusement. "Quite." Buffy and Brooke saw that their brother was talking to Alice and Wyatt, walking up to them. Carmen hesitated before she walked up. "Brady, Buffy, and Brooke, this is my friend, Wyatt. Carmen, I believe you've met the witch Wyatt once or twice, just as yourself."
Brady, Buffy and Brooke looked at Carmen in surprise.
"You're a witch?" Brady asked.
"Uh, born witch, with developing powers," Carmen answered. "It just started happen recently when I turned 16."
Wyatt took a drink, overlooking the club. "Carmen's only yet developed telekinesis, which was hard to handle and out of control and lashed out at everything around her when Carmen tried to focus it onto one target, which is why Alice asked me to bless a charm with a protection spell."
"What does that mean, warlock?" Brady asked.
"It means that the charm I blessed with magic, the cross Carmen is wearing, gives her the ability to control and focus her power without anyone getting hurt," Wyatt answered.
Carmen held the cross around her neck. "Your buddy in the leather jacket, the dark, gorgeous, in an annoying sort of way, guy."
"His name's Angel," Wyatt explained.
"You don't know this Angel very well, do you, Wyatt?" Alice asked.
Wyatt shook his head in answer. "We've only crossed paths in the past, but he came to me when I came to town to help you, Alice. He said he wanted to help."
"With the Harvest?" Carmen asked. "I know, he told me."
"What did you say?" Brooke asked.
"The Harvest," Carmen answered. "That mean something to you? 'Cause I'm drawing a blank."
Alice shrugged. "I'm not sure. Angel told you this?" Wyatt and Carmen nodded. "Did he say anything else?"
"Something about the Mouth of Hell," Carmen answered.
"Well, this is a perfect breeding ground for vampire activity," Alice told him. "It's dark, it's crowded."
The band finished their song, causing everyone to cheer, before they started another song.
(Song Ends)
(Song:) Swirl - Sprung Monkey
"Look at them, throwing themselves about, completely unaware of the danger that surrounds them," Alice told them.
"Lucky them," Buffy told them.
Alice looked at the Summers' siblings sarcastically. "Or perhaps you're right. Perhaps there is no trouble coming. The signs could be wrong." She looked at Brooke. "It's not as though you've been having the nightmares, the visions that come with being a Guardian. You might not be able to control all your powers as a Guardian, Brooke, but I can show you how to control them all. I can teach you. Just as my father can teach you, Buffy. And I promise that whatever harm comes there way, Brady, that they will not have to face the dangers alone. Carmen, you will not have to lose control of your growing powers, even if you don't have that charm around your neck, because Wyatt can teach you how to control your powers. None of us should have to go through any of this alone, and none of us have to."
∞
Elsewhere
Zoey was getting drinks, dancing around happily.
Jesse walked toward her. "Hey, Zoey!" Zoey turned to face him. "Hey, you, uh, you look great."
Zoey handed him one of the drinks in her hands. "Well, I'm glad we had this little chat."
"Listen, uh, you know, you wanna dance, you know?" Jesse asked nervously.
"Jesse, I told you over and over, just friends," Zoey told him, starting to walk away.
Jesse turned after her, watching her go. "Fine. Plenty of other fish in the sea. Oh, yeah, I'm... on the prowl. Witness me prowling."
Zoey smiled. "If you wanna dance, fine, let's dance, but just as friends, okay?"
Jesse nodded, smiling. "Totally."
Zoey shook her head, smiling, going to dance. Jesse started to dance, but not with her the way that he wanted to be.
∞
Balcony
Wyatt, Brooke, Brady, Alice, Buffy and Carmen were still talking.
"Neither me or Brooke said we'd never slay another vampire," Buffy told them. "It's not like we have all these fluffy-bunny feelings for them. We're just not gonna get way extracurricular with it. You know, if we see one, sure, we'll--"
"Will you be ready?" Alice asked. "There's so much you don't know about them, about your own powers. Now, to the rest of you, a vampire appears to be completely normal until the feed is upon them, only then do they reveal their true demonic visage."
"You and your dad are like textbooks with arms," Brady told her.
"The point is, a Guardian can use a second sight based out of the energy in the air, to see if someone is a vampire," Alice told them. "Without looking, without thinking. Brooke, can you tell me if there's a vampire in this building?"
Brooke looked around. "Maybe."
"You should know," Alice told her. "Even though this mass and this... din, you should be able to sense them. Well, try. Reach out with your mind." Brooke closed her eyes to focus for a moment, opening them. They had a slight underglow of red energy. "You have to hone your senses, focus until the energy washes over you, until you feel every particle of..."
Brooke blinked away the glow in her eyes, pointing. "There's one."
"W--where?" Buffy asked.
"Right there, talking to that girl," Brooke answered.
"How do you know?" Carmen asked.
"Well, other than the energy Alice was talking about, his jacket," Brooke answered. "He's got the sleeves rolled up, and the shirt. Deal with that outfit for a moment."
Wyatt shrugged. "It's dated."
"It's carbon dated," Buffy told them. "Trust me, only someone living underground for ten years would think that was still the look."
"Outfit aside, good job with using your power, Brooke," Alice told her.
Brooke smiled. "Well, maybe you teaching me more about my power isn't so bad, Alice."
Carmen noticed that girl talking to the vampire was Willow. "Oh, no."
"Isn't that--" Brady started.
"Willow," Carmen answered.
"What's she doing?" Wyatt asked.
"Seizing the moment," Carmen answered, instantly walking downstairs to save her friend.
The others followed.
Xander had been listening from further on the balcony, stunned.
∞
Elsewhere
Willow had already left with the vampire, and Wyatt, Brady and the girls had lost them.
∞
Back
Buffy, Brooke and Alice were checking the back, while Carmen, Wyatt and Brady were looking through the main room.
Buffy broke a leg off of a chair from a stack, beginning to stalk.
Cordelia came out of the restroom, surprising them. Buffy reacted without thinking, grabbing Cordelia by the throat, pushing her up against a wall.
Brooke recognized her, pulling Buffy away. "Cordelia."
"God, what is your childhood trauma?" Cordelia asked incredulously.
Cordelia's entourage appeared in the restroom door behind her.
"Have you guys seem Willow?" Alice asked. "Did she come by here?"
"Why?" Cordelia asked. "Do you need to attack her with the stick? Jeez!" Buffy, Brooke and Alice walked away. Cordelia turned to her groupies. "Excuse me, I have to call everyone I have ever met, right now."
∞
Main Room
Buffy, Brooke and Alice met up with Carmen, Brady and Wyatt.
"That was quick," Wyatt told them. "Well done. Alice, you should probably call your father, ask him to research this Harvest thing."
"We didn't find them," Brooke told them worriedly.
"The vampire's not dead?" Brady asked.
"No, but our social lives are on the critical list," Buffy answered.
"So, what do we do?" Brady asked.
"We'll take care of it," Alice answered. "Wyatt, can you go to my dad at the library, and tell him about the Harvest? Buffy, Brooke and I can handle one vampire."
"No, Willow is Carmen's friend, and Buffy and Brooke are my sisters," Brady told her. "Alice, we're coming with you."
"I barely know Brady, but I am fully agreeing with him, Alice," Carmen told her. "With this charm that you and Wyatt cooked up, I can control my powers. I can help save Willow. She's been Zoey's best friend long before she was mine. I can't let Zoey lose Willow, either."
They all walked out together.
Across the club, Jesse was talking to Darla.
"So, um, what did you say your name was?" Jesse asked.
"Darla," Darla answered.
"Darla," Jesse repeated. "You know, I haven't seen you around before. Are you from around here?"
"No," Darla answered. "But I have family here."
"Have I met them?" Jesse asked.
Darla smirked. "You probably will."
(Song Ends)
∞
Master's Lair
The Master rose out of the pool of blood. Luke was kneeling, looking on. The Master stepped out of the pool, over to Luke, offering his hand.
Luke took his hand. "Master!"
∞∞
Master looked at Luke. "I am weak."
Luke quoted scripture. "'In the Harvest, he will be restored.'"
Master looked up in recognition. "The Harvest."
Luke nodded reassuringly. "We're almost there. Soon you'll be free."
The Master reached his arm out to test his mystical confines. "I must be ready. I need my strength."
"I've sent your servants to bring you some food," Luke told him.
"Good," Master told him. "Luke?"
"Yes?" Luke asked.
The Master smirked. "Bring me something... young."
∞
Cemetery
Willow was walking with the vampire from the Bronze, named Thomas, on a sidewalk next to the cemetery. "Sure is dark."
"It's night," Thomas told her.
Willow chuckled nervously. "Well, that's a dark time, night. Traditionally. I still can't believe I've never seen you at school. Do you have Mr. Chomsky for history?" Thomas ignored her babbling and headed into the cemetery. "Uh, the ice cream bar is this way. It's past Hamilton Street?"
"I know a shortcut," Thomas told her.
Willow was unsure and nervous, but Thomas grabbed her hand, leading her into the cemtery.
∞
Bronze - Outside
(Song:) Things Are Changing - Sprung Monkey
Buffy, Brooke, Wyatt, Brady, Alice and Carmen were trying to find Willow.
Xander and Eric walked toward them.
"Hey, you're leaving already?" Xander asked.
"Oh, Xander, Eric," Carmen told them, relieved to see them. "Have you seen Willow?"
"Not tonight, no," Eric answered. "Then again, my sister doesn't like it when people, especially her brother, keeps tabs on her."
"She left with a guy," Buffy told them.
"We're talking about Willow, right?" Xander asked. "Scoring at the Bronze? Work it, girl." He looked at Eric awkwardly. "Sorry, Eric, totally not awkward when it comes to your sister."
"No, we need to find her," Brady told them. "Where would he take her?"
"Why?" Eric asked. "Oh, hey, I hope he's not a vampire, because then you might have to slay him."
The others were taken aback by the fact that they knew.
"Was there a school bulletin?" Brooke asked in annoyance, exasperated. "Was it in the newspaper? Is there anyone in this town who doesn't know that Buffy's the Slayer, Alice and I are Guardians, and Carmen's a witch?"
"No, I only know that you think that you're are," Xander told them.
"I have a little solid proof that they are not crazy, because while I was hiding in the stacks in the library, I saw Alice manipulating some red energy," Eric explained.
"Well, whatever, it doesn't matter," Alice told them. "Just tell us, where would Willow go?"
Eric realized that his sister was really in danger, worried instantly. "You're serious."
Wyatt nodded. "We don't find her, and there's gonna be one more dead body in the morning. Eric, hold out your hand."
"Why?" Eric asked.
"Because you're Willow's brother, and I'm a witch," Wyatt answered. "I can use you as a connection to cast a spell to find your sister before she gets hurt, or worse. Eric, I can find her."
Eric held out his hand.
∞
Cemetery
Willow and Thomas were walking together through the cemetery.
Willow was getting more nervous by the second. "Oh, okay, th--this is nice... and scary. Are you sure this is faster?"
They reached the mausoleum.
Thomas smiled. "Hey. Ever been in one of these?"
"No, thank you," Willow answered, turning away.
Thomas walked up behind Willow, pulling her hair back. "Come on, what are you afraid of?"
Thomas moved in toward Willow's neck, pushing her into the mausoleum.
∞
Mausoleum
Willow tripped down the stairs, stopping up against the stone coffin, turning to face Thomas. "That wasn't funny!" Thomas walked closer. Willow backed away from him, against a wall, tripping over some stones. "I think I'm gonna go."
"Is that what you think?" Thomas asked in amusement, walking closer.
Willow ran past Thomas, but only because he let her.
Darla blocked the way out of the mausoleum, looking at Thomas skeptically. "Is this the best you could do?"
Thomas shrugged. "She's fresh."
"Hardly enough to share," Darla complained.
"Why didn't you bring your own?" Thomas asked.
Darla gave him a look. "I did."
Jesse stumbled into the mausoleum, holding his neck. "Hey, wait up."
Willow looked at him worriedly. "Oh, my God, Jesse."
Jesse was weak from blood loss, collapsing. Willow tried to catch him and break his fall.
Jesse looked at Darla weakly. "You know, you gave me a hickey."
Thomas gave Darla a look.
Darla shrugged. "I got hungry on the way."
"Jesse, let's get out of here," Willow told him worriedly.
"Oh, you're not going anywhere," Darla told them.
Willow stood to confront Darla. "Leave us alone."
"You're not going anywhere until we've..." Darla trailed off, vamping out, growling. "Fed!"
Willow screamed, falling back down next to Jesse. Carmen, Alice, Wyatt, Xander, Buffy, Brooke, Brady and Eric arrived in the doorway.
"Well, this is nice," Brooke told them sarcastically. "It's a little bare, but a dash of paint, a few throw pillows... call it home."
Buffy and Brooke circled around the crypt to draw the vampires away from Jesse and Willow.
"Who the hell are you?" Darla asked.
"You mean there's actually someone in this town who doesn't know already?" Buffy asked. "Whew, that's a relief. I'm telling you, having a secret identity in this town is a job of work."
"We bail now, right?" Brady asked.
"Not yet," Thomas told them.
"Okay, first of all, what's with the outfit?" Carmen asked. "Live in the now, okay? You look like DeBarge. And I just totally sounded like Cordelia for a minute, didn't I?"
"Yeah, Carmen, you did, just a little," Xander answered.
"Now, we can do this the hard way, or..." Alice trailed off, walking closer, reconsidering. "Well, actually, there's just the hard way."
"That's fine with me," Darla told them.
"Are you sure?" Alice asked. "Now, this is not gonna be pretty. We're talking violence, strong language, adult content..."
Thomas roared, running toward Alice from behind. Alice waved her hands, forming a ball of red energy from the air around her, manipulating it to throw Thomas back into the wall, making him fall, holding her hands toward Thomas, surrounding his form with red energy, lifting him up with the power of the energy and her mind without moving a muscle, slamming him from the ceiling to the ground, using the red energy to throw him toward Wyatt with waves of her hand.
Wyatt held his hands toward Thomas, using his powerful magic to turn him into ash before he could reach him, killing him while he was still in midair.
The others couldn't believe their eyes, even Darla. Especially Brooke and Carmen, because they knew that with Alice and Wyatt's guidance, they would be able to do something like that in the future.
"See what happens when you roughhouse?" Wyatt asked. He looked at Brooke and Carmen. "See the power that you could have with my help, and Alice's help?"
"Yeah, Wyatt, we see," Brooke answered, stunned.
Darla was enraged over Thomas' death. "He was young and stupid."
"Xander, Eric, Brady, take Willow and Jesse, go," Buffy told them. "Alice, Wyatt, Carmen, they're gonna need help."
"Don't go far," Darla told them.
Xander, Eric and Brady ran to help Willow and Jesse up. Alice, Wyatt and Carmen could sense more vampires coming from outside, heading outside, while Alice, Wyatt and Carmen were using their powers to help them get to safety.
Buffy, Brooke and Darla started to fight. Darla tried to punch Brooke. Brooke used the red Guardian energy to stop Darla before she could finish the blow, pushing her hands toward Darla to make the red energy surrounding Darla's hand push her to the floor, obviously not as powerful or experienced as Alice, but enough to get by. Darla flipped up to a standing position, trying to backhand punch Buffy. Buffy blocked the move, following up with a front snap kick to Darla's stomach, making her double over, slamming her elbow into Darla's back. Brooke used her red energy to grab Darla, throwing her to the ground.
∞
Outside
Alice, Wyatt and Carmen were fighting off the vampires that were trying to come after them, Xander, Brady, Eric, Willow and Jesse.
Alice waved her arms in the air, manipulating Guardian energy in front of her, using it to throw into several vampires, throwing them to the ground.
"Starting to see why you're a Guardian," Brady told her.
Carmen was able to more control her powers and focus them now that she had the charmed cross necklace around her neck, using her telekinesis to throw a vampire into a branch sticking out of a tree, impaling him through the back into his heart, killing him, making him fall into ash. She was relieved and exhilarated at the fact that she could now use her powers without hurting someone that she would later regret.
∞
Mausoleum
Brooke used her red Guardian energy to throw Darla into the wall, making her fall to the floor.
"You know, we just wanted to start over," Buffy told her. "Be like everybody else. Have some friends, you know, maybe a dog. But, no, you had to come here. You couldn't go suck on some other town."
"Who are you?" Darla asked.
"Don't you know?" Brooke asked.
Luke grabbed Brooke by the neck from behind suddenly. "I don't care!" He threw Brooke across the room, making her fall into Buffy and making both fall to the floor. Brooke hit her head hard, stunned and unconscious. Luke grabbed Darla, lifting her to her feet. "You were supposed to be bringing an offering for the Master. We're almost at Harvest, and you dally with these children."
Darla was almost fearful. "We had someone, but then they came, with others. They killed Thomas. Luke, their powers, their strength..."
"You go," Luke told her. "I'll see if I can handle the little girls." He approached Buffy and Brooke. Buffy started to get up, still a little dazed, noticing that Brooke was unconscious. Darla quickly climbed the steps, looking back once, running out of the door. Luke attacked Buffy with a double punch, but she blocked it, delivering a punch to his gut and a hopping front snap kick to his jaw, making him step back, but he wasn't fazed. "You're strong." Luke landed a solid backhand fist on Buffy, sending her flying to the ground. "I'm stronger."
∞
Outside
Alice, Carmen and Wyatt were still taking care of vampires, while Xander, Brady and Eric were helping Willow and Jesse.
"We'll get the police," Willow told them. "It's just a few blocks up."
Alice felt more vampires coming, turning around to see an entire group more walking toward them, holding her arms toward them, creating a wall of red Guardian energy, bringing them to a halt, sending them flying to the ground.
Wyatt was using his powerful witch magic to turn them to dust one by one, while Carmen used telekinesis to break off stakes from wooden benches and trees in the cemetery, throwing them into their hearts to kill them, all of them turning to ash, but vampires just seemed to keep coming and coming.
∞
Mausoleum
Buffy backed away from Luke toward Brooke, trying to get her to wake up, but Luke kept her away from Brooke so she couldn't.
"You're wasting my time," Luke told her.
"Hey, we had other plans, too, okay?" Buffy asked.
Luke shoved the heavy lid off of the coffin toward Brooke and Buffy. Buffy moved Brooke out of the way, doing a cartwheel onto and over the lid to avoid it, kicking Luke in the chest with both feet, knocking him down. She grabbed her makeshift stake from earlier, lunging at Luke.
Luke was too quick, grabbing her by the wrist. "You think you can stop me? Stop us?" He grabbed the stake with his other hand, breaking it, grabbing Buffy by the shirt. "You have no idea what you're dealing with." He threw Buffy onto the rim of the now open coffin, making her roll off onto the floor in a daze, standing, starting toward her, quoting scripture. "'And like a plague of boils, the race of man covered the Earth.'"
∞
Sunnydale High School - Library
Giles was paging through an old volume, stopping on a picture of Satan with lightning coming from his hand to a man's.
Luke: (voice over) "'But on the third day of the newest light would come the Harvest. And the blood of men will flow as wine.'"
∞
Master's Lair
The Master was in his lair, sitting in an intricately carved chair.
Luke: (voice over) "'When the Master will walk among them once more.'"
∞
Cemetery
Alice, Wyatt, Carmen, Xander, Brady, Willow and Jesse were surrounded by dozens of vampires, including Darla, while Alice, Wyatt and Carmen continued to fight them off with their powers.
Luke: (voice over) "'The Earth will belong to the old ones.'"
∞
Mausoleum
Still unconscious on the ground, Brooke was starting to stir.
Buffy saw that Brooke was about to wake up, but kept Luke focused on her.
Luke stood in Buffy's face. "'And Hell itself will come to town.'" He grabbed Buffy, growling, lifting her by the throat, throwing her toward the coffin, making her flip over in a front layout and land in the coffin next to a skeleton. Buffy let out a quick scream, then remained silent, breathing heavily. She couldn't see or hear Luke, starting to get up. Luke jumped up and into the coffin, pinning Buffy down, smiling widely. "Amen!"
Luke moved in to bite Buffy.
To Be Continued...