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
Morning - Sunnydale High School - Student Lounge
A career fair was going on in the lounge. Willow walked into the hall from outside and looked around at some of the displays being set up on her way to sign up for the career aptitude test. The other Scoobies were already sitting at a table filling out their tests.
Xander read. "'Are you a people person, or do you prefer keeping your own company?' Well, what if I'm a people person who keeps his own company by default?"
Willow walked for their table with a test to join them.
"So, mark 'none of the above'," Buffy told him.
"Well, there are no boxes for 'none of the above'," Zoey told her. "That would introduce too many variables into their mushroom head, number-crunching little world."
Alice smirked in amusement. "I'm sensing bitterness."
"No, it's just these people can't tell from one multiple-choice test what we're gonna be doing for the rest of our lives," Zoey told them. "It's ridiculous."
Willow smiled. "I'm kinda curious to find out what sort of career I could have."
"What, and suck all the spontaneity out of being young and stupid?" Carmen asked. "I'd rather live in the dark."
"You're not gonna be young forever," Alice told them.
"Yes, but I'll always be stupid," Xander told them, smirking. "Okay, let's not all rush to disagree."
Eric looked at Xander seriously. "You're not stupid."
Xander gave him an acknowledging sarcastic grin, then looked up when he heard Cordelia.
Cordelia had a clipboard, taking her test as she walked into the lounge accompanied by two of her groupies. "'I aspire to help my fellow man.'" She marked her test. "Check. As long as he's not smelly, dirty or something gross."
Cordelia walked by their table.
"Cordelia Chase, always ready to give a helping hand to the rich and the pretty," Xander told her.
"Which, lucky me, excludes you," Cordelia replied. "Twice."
Xander had no comeback, so Cordelia just walked away followed closely by her cronies.
"Is murder always a crime?" Brady asked. "Do I like shrubs?"
"That's between you and your god," Eric told him.
"What'd you guys put?" Brady asked.
"I came down on the side of shrubs," Willow answered.
"Go with shrugs," Carmen told them. "Okay."
Brooke groaned in frustration. "Alice, Buffy and I shouldn't even be bothering with this. It's all mootville for us. No matter what our aptitude tests say, we already know our deal."
"Yep," Eric agreed. "High risk. Sub-minimum wage."
"Pointy wooden things..." Buffy added, holding her pencil like a stake.
"And Guardian powers," Willow finished.
"Then why are you even taking the test?" Zoey asked.
"It's Principal Snyder's hoop of the week," Buffy answered. "He's not happy unless we're jumping. Believe me, we would not be here otherwise."
"You're not even a teensy weensy bit curious about what kinda careers you could've had?" Willow asked. "I mean, if you weren't already the Slayer and Guardians and all."
"Do the words 'sealed in fate' ring any bells for you, Will?" Brooke asked. "Why go there?"
"You know, with that kind of attitudes you could've had a bright future as an employee at the DMV," Brady told them, shaking his pencil at her.
Alice sighed. "I'm sorry. It's just, until Hell freezes over and every vamp in Sunnydale puts in for early retirement, I'd say our future is pretty much a non-issue."
∞
Spike's Warehouse
Drusilla was standing at one end of a large table, dealing her tarot cards for her and Bianca to read. At the other end, Spike was looking on as a vampire named Dalton tried to translate the ancient text in the book that they stole from the library.
"Read it again," Spike told him.
"Well, I'm not sure," Dalton told them. "I could be, uh..." He shrugged with his hands. "Depimere, ille, bubula, linter."
"Bianca?" Spike asked.
Bianca paged through the dictionary. "Debase. The beef. Canoe." Dalton looked up, smiling a stupid smile. Bianca punched him in the face. "Why does that strike me as not right?"
Dalton looked at them sheepishly, turning his attention back to the book.
"Spike, come dance?" Drusilla asked, holding out her hand.
Spike was still annoyed because of Dalton. "Give us some peace, would you? Can't you see I'm working?" Drusilla pulled back her hand, pouting and whining like a puppy. Spike sighed, walking closer. "Oh, I'm sorry, kitten." Bianca was amused. "It's just this manuscript, supposed to hold your cure, bu it reads like gibberish. Even Dalton here, the big brain, he can't make heads or tails of it."
Drusilla put her hand to her head. "I... I--I need to change Miss Edith."
Drusilla walked a few steps, putting her other hand to her head as well, leaning over, whining.
Spike walked to her side instantly, putting his arms around her, pulling her back up. "Oh, forgive me. You know I can't stand to see you like this." He had Dru sit down, crouching in front of her. "We're running out of time. It's that bloody Slayer and Guardians. The witches and gypsy and hunter." Bianca tilted her head at the mention of Brady, smirking. "Whenever I turn around, Wyatt and friends are mucking up the works."
Drusilla tried to comfort Spike back as well. "Shh, shh. You'll make it right. I know."
Spike put his hands around her neck, kissing her gently but firmly.
Bianca looked at Dalton as she walked around the table toward the tarot cards. "Well. Come on, now. Enlighten."
"Uh, well, it looks like Latin, but it's not," Dalton explained. "I'm not even sure it is a language, actually."
Bianca raised her voice in annoyance. "Then make it a language. Isn't that what a transcriber does?"
"Well, not exactly," Dalton answered.
Bianca grabbed Dalton by the shirt, lifting him from the chair, making him yelp.
Spike smirked, looking at Dru. "I'm surrounded by insane women."
Drusilla giggled.
Bianca held Dalton above her head, looking up at him. "They want the cure."
Spike stood. "Bianca."
"What?" Bianca asked innocently. "Some people find pain..." She punched Dalton in the stomach. "Very inspirational. Try having tumors eating away and liquefying your brain. Now, that is pain." She got distracted when she looked at the tarot cards. "Ooh. The cards changed."
Drusilla ran over to see for herself.
Spike followed. "What do you mean, they changed?"
"I mean, they changed," Bianca answered. "It's that clear."
Drusilla looked up from the cards. "He can't help you." She looked at the cards. "Not without the key."
"They key?" Bianca repeated. "You mean this book is in some kind of code?"
Drusilla nodded weakly, still in pain. "Yeah."
Bianca pointed to the card with a mausoleum on it. "Is that where we'll find this key?"
"Yeah," Drusilla answered.
"I'll send the boys, pronto," Spike told them.
Drusilla smiled. "Now will you dance?"
Spike smiled, taking her hand. "I'll dance with you, pet." He pulled her up from her chair, lifting her into his arms. "On everyone's grave."
Spike started to spin around with Dru in his arms.
Bianca smiled, giggling hysterically.
∞Slayers and Guardians ∞
Night - Cemetery
Wyatt walked through the cemetery at a relaxed paced, pausing for a moment, continuing on, scanning the graveyard around him as he went, stopping again when he heard clinking noises coming from a mausoleum, looking at it, seeing light coming from inside, walking over to it, pushing the door open a bit, peeking in. Dalton was chipping away at the wall, exposing a chamber behind it, reaching in for something. Wyatt pulled his head back out, closing the door, walking down the steps, turning around to wait for him to come out. Dalton opened the door, stepping out.
"Does 'rest in peace' have no sanctity to you people?" Wyatt asked. "Oh, I forgot. You're not people." Another vampire came up behind Wyatt. Wyatt sensed him, turning around, kicking him in the gut, punching him in the jaw. The vampire took a swing at Wyatt, but he grabbed his arm, punching him twice in the face. The vampire swung at him with his other arm, but Wyatt ducked and caught it, too, using magical energy to surge through both of the vampire's arms, breaking them, waving his fingers to create a magical energy wave in front of him the color of fire, throwing it into the vampire, setting him on fire immediately, watching as he burned alive and burst into ashes. "One down." Wyatt turned to see that Dalton was missing. "And one gone."
∞
Summers House - Buffy's Room
Eric was sitting in the room, waiting, picking up a stuffed pig from the shelf. Buffy climbed up o her window, looking in to see Eric, smiling slightly, climbing in, tossing her bag loudly through the window onto the floor.
Eric turned around, startled, gently squeezing the pig. "Buffy. You scared me."
Buffy smiled slightly, crouching down by her bag, reaching into her hair to pull out a few flips. "Just dropping by for some quality time with Mr. Gordo?"
Eric frowned. "What?"
"The pig," Buffy answered, opening her trunk, dumping the bag in.
Eric chuckled. "Oh, I, uh..."
Eric tossed the pig onto a chair, walking to the foot of he bed.
Buffy dropped her hair clips into a desk drawer, facing him. "You don't have to whisper. Mom's in LA till Thursday. Art buying, or something. Brooke and Brady went out with Wyatt and Alice after patrol with Carmen and Zoey."
"Then why'd you come in through the window?" Eric asked.
Buffy wrinkled her nose. "Habit."
"You feeling better?" Eric asked.
"You mean after being Cranky Miss at school today because of Career Week?" Buffy asked. Eric nodded. "Well, it's a whole week of 'what's my line', only, Brooke, Alice and I don't get to play." Buffy sat on her bed. "Sometimes I just want..."
Eric sat next to her. "You want what? It's okay."
Buffy looked up at Eric. "The cliff notes version? I want a normal life. Like I had before."
"Before Sunnydale?" Eric asked. "Before me?"
Buffy took his hand in hers. "No, Eric, it's not you." She put a hand to his cheek. "You're the one non-freaky thing in my freaky world that still makes sense to me." She lowered her hand. "I just get messed sometimes." Eric nodded. "I wish we could be regular kids."
Eric stood, picking up a picture, seeing it was of Young Buffy on ice skates. "Was this part of your normal life?"
Buffy laughed, standing. "Oh, my God, my Dorothy Hamill phase. My room in LA was pretty much a shrine. Dorothy dolls, Dorothy posters, I even got the Dorothy haircut, thereby securing a place for myself in the geek hall of fame."
Eric smiled. "At least I wouldn't be alone there." They laughed. "Hmm. You wanted to be like her?"
"I wanted to be her," Buffy answered. "My parents were fighting all the time, leaving me, Brooke and Brady to do our own thing, and skating was an escape. I felt safe."
Eric put the picture down, turning to face her. "When was the last time you put on your skates?"
Buffy had to think about it. "About a couple of hundred demons ago."
Eric stepped closer. "There's a rink out past Route 17. It's closed on Tuesdays."
Buffy realized what he meant, looking up at him, touched, smiling. "Tomorrow's Tuesday."
Eric nodded, chuckling. "I know."
They smiled.
∞
Day Two
Morning - Sunnydale High School - Hallway
Cordelia and Xander were going over the results of the career aptitude test posted on a bulletin board.
Cordelia found herself in the A-D list. "Oh, here I am. 'Personal shopper or motivational speaker'. Neato."
"Motivational speaker?" Xander repeated. "On what? Ten ways to a more annoying you?"
Cordelia paged through the H-K list, finding Xander's results. "Oh, what about you? You're..."
Cordelia giggled, leaving.
"What?" Xander asked, frantically looking for his name. "What?"
∞
Quad
The girls walked across the quad.
"You and Eric are going skating?" Carmen asked. "Alone?"
"Unless some unforeseen evil pops up," Willow answered. "But we should be in full 'see no evil' mode."
"Eric ice-skating?" Brooke asked.
"I know, right?" Zoey asked. "Two worlds collide."
Xander, Eric and Brady met up with them.
Xander was shaken. "Wouldn't you guys say you know me about as well as anyone else? Maybe even better than I know myself?"
"What's this about?" Brady asked.
"When you look at me, do you think 'prison guard'?" Xander asked.
The others laughed.
Brady shook his head. "Um, crossing guard? Maybe. But prison guard?" He looked at the girls. "They just put up the assignments for the career fair. And according to Xander's test results, apparently he can look forward to being gainfully employed in the growing field of corrections."
Alice smiled. "Well, at least he'll be on the right side of the bars."
Xander laughed sarcastically.
"Laugh now, Alice," Brady told her. "They assigned you, Brooke and Buffy to the booth for law enforcement professionals."
Brooke was stunned. "As in police?"
"For you and Buffy, as in polyester, doughnuts and brutality, Brooke," Brady told her.
Buffy and Brooke whined.
Carmen smiled. "But doughnuts."
"What about me?" Alice asked. "You said I was involved in this."
"You may not be a police officer, but you would be looking at a very convincing and intimidating lawyer DA," Brady answered. "Or maybe even a judge."
"Well, we'll just jump off those bridges when we come to them," Brooke told them.
"Well, don't feel too bad," Brady told them. "I got bounty hunter or personal trainer."
"I can for some reason see you be a bounty hunter, Brady," Zoey told him.
"Hmm?" Carmen asked. "What about me?"
"Miss Carmen Chase, you would be perfect in the entertainment industry as an actress, costume designer or director," Brady answered.
"Sounds like Car Chase," Eric told them.
"Next time you call me that, I'm gonna direct my magic to shutting you up," Carmen told him, only being half-serious.
They laughed.
"Eric got engineering or martial arts training," Brady added.
"You didn't check to see which seminar I was assigned to?" Zoey asked. "Or did you?"
"We did," Brady answered. "And we're looking at a future personal trainer for Zoey Francis. Or maybe a future musician."
Zoey couldn't help but laugh. "Like my dad? Yeah, okay."
"Laugh now, but when I get old and fat, or if I need cheap entertainment, you're the girl I'm gonna come to, Zo," Xander told her.
Zoey hit him playfully. They saw Giles and Wyatt walking along. Giles was carrying a large stack of books. Wyatt was making sure he didn't drop them.
"We have to deal with Wyatt and Giles," Brooke told them. "Giles is on this Tony Robbins hyper-efficiency kick. Expects us to check in every day after homeroom." They walked off after Giles and Wyatt. "Police?"
After Buffy, Brooke, Zoey, Alice, Carmen and Brady walked off, it was only Willow, Eric and Xander there.
"What about me?" Willow asked.
"You weren't," Xander told her.
"I wasn't what?" Willow asked.
"On the list," Xander answered.
"But I handed in my test," Willow told them. "I used a number two pencil."
"Then I guess you must've passed," Xander told her.
"It's not the kinda test you pass or fail," Eric told him. "But your name wasn't up there, Will."
Willow was a bit taken aback.
∞
Library
Giles walked to the table, balancing his stack of books, carefully setting them down, leaning over a bit to straighten the stack, but it over-leaned, and the books began to fall over. "Wyatt, a little help here?"
Wyatt smirked, using magic to make the books stop from falling over. "Oh. It was a bit more fun to let them fall. But fine."
Giles gave him a look. "Wyatt." Wyatt smirked. "Thank you."
The others walked in.
Wyatt nodded to them. "Brooke. Buffy. Zoey. Alice. Carmen. Brady. Is Layla not coming for training?"
Zoey shook her head. "No. Mom's been overrun with work at the hospital."
Giles looked sad to hear that after what happened. "I've been, uh, indexing the Watcher diaries covering the last couple of centuries. You would be amazed at how numbingly pompous and long-winded some of these Watchers were."
Alice raised her eyebrows. "Color me stunned."
"So, uh, I trust last night's patrol was fruitful?" Giles asked.
"Semi," Alice answered. "Mm. Wyatt caught one of two vamps after they stole something from a mausoleum."
"They were stealing?" Giles asked.
"Yeah," Wyatt answered. "They had tools. Flashlights. Whole nine yards."
"What does that mean, anyway?" Carmen asked. "Whole nine yards? Nine yards of what? Now it's gonna bug me all day."
"Giles, you're in pace mode," Brooke told him. "What's up?"
"Wyatt, this vampire who escaped, did you see what he took?" Giles asked.
"No," Wyatt answered. "But I could take a guess and say it was something old. I tried to see what he was taking. But the second vampire jumped me before I could see what was taken. And by the time I killed the second vampire, the first had taken off."
"Whatever the vampire took, it could be serious," Alice told them.
"Have a cow, Alice," Carmen told her. "What if it was just your every day vamp hijinks?"
"Well, what if it wasn't?" Giles replied. "As Alice said, it could be very serious."
"Either way, I'm bored," Brooke told them. "Constricted. We never get to do anything other than hunt."
"So really?" Zoey asked. "When you think about it, what's the diff?"
"Do we have to be introspective now?" Alice asked.
"Our only concern is to discover what was stolen from that mausoleum last night," Giles told them.
Everyone sighed.
∞
Spike's Warehouse
Spike held out a gold cross by red velvet cloth so he wouldn't be burned.
Bianca looked at the cross curiously. "This it then?"
Drusilla waved her hand over the cross. "It hums. I can hear it."
"How do you know all of this?" Bianca asked. "How can you sense things like this?"
"Before Dru was a vampire, she was a gypsy," Spike answered. "A vampire named Angel, friend to the ones we're after, tormented her and turned her insane before he turned her. Her people cursed him with a soul."
"Gypsies?" Bianca repeated. "You mean like Zoey and her mother Layla? I heard that it was their ancestors that cursed Angel. Wait. So Zoey and Layla are descendants of Drusilla? That's kinda cool."
They chuckled.
"I can never seem to see the other gypsies," Drusilla admitted. "I can't hear Zoey and Layla or sense them. Only rarely do I."
"Before, when they all trusted me before everything went down, Brady told me that Zoey and Layla have these necklaces that block their powers," Bianca explained. "Brady said that it makes them unable to be tracked by others. So maybe the necklace that they wear keep you from having visions about them. Or sensing them."
Drusilla considered this, looking at Spike. "You see, darling? I told you Bianca would be useful."
"That you did, and you were right," Spike agreed.
"But that's not the only reason why she has other abilities," Bianca guessed. "Is it?"
"Like I said before, Bianca," Spike told her. "The first time I met you, genius but insane." Bianca smiled. "Dru here once bagged a Guardian while I killed the Slayer she was protecting."
"So she can get into other people's heads like Guardians like Alice and Brooke can," Bianca realized. "Like the Master could. That is so cool."
"Yeah, but it doesn't help with her current condition, sad to say," Spike told them. "Once you're well again, we'll have a coronation down Main Street, and invite everyone and drink for seven days and seven nights."
Dalton walked closer. "What about the others? Wyatt almost blew the whole thing for us. He's trouble."
"You don't say," Bianca told him sarcastically. "Trouble?"
Spike started to pace in annoyance. "Wyatt and his friends are the gnats in my ear. The gristles in my teeth. They're the bloody thorns in my bloody side!"
Spike kicked a table violently.
Drusilla frowned. "Spike?"
"We gotta do something," Spike told them. "We'll never complete Dru's cure with Wyatt and his friends breathing down our necks. I need to bring in the big guns. They'll distract Wyatt and take care of his friends once and for all."
"Big guns?" Bianca repeated, confused.
"The Order of Taraka," Spike answered.
Dalton was shocked. "The bounty hunters?"
Drusilla dealt three tarot cards, one being a Cyclops, another of a centipede, and the third of a panther. "They're coming to my party."
Bianca walked over, looking at the cards. "There's more than three of them?"
"Enough to take care of our business," Spike answered.
Bianca looked up, tilting her head. "Yeah, well, the Order of Taraka? I mean, isn't that overkill?"
"No," Spike answered. "I think it's just enough kill."
∞∞
Sunnydale High School - Hallway
The career fair in the school lounge was going on. Xander and Eric walked into the hall at the far end, spotting Willow.
"Willow," Xander told her. They walked. "What are you doing here? Fly. Be free, little bird. You defy category."
"I'm looking for Buffy, Brooke, Zoey, Alice and Carmen," Willow answered.
"Oh, they went with Brady, Wyatt and Giles about an hour ago," Xander told her. "Some kind of field trip deal."
"If they don't get back soon, Snyder's really..." Willow trailed off, seeing Snyder on the stairs. "Done a great job with the fair this year, hasn't he, guys?"
"Principal Snyder," Xander told him. "Great career fair, sir. Really. In fact, I'm so inspired by your leadership, I'm thinking principal school. I wanna walk in your shoes. Not your actual shoes, of course, because you're a tiny person. Not tiny in the small sense, of course."
"Xander, shut up," Eric told him.
Xander nodded.
"Where are they?" Snyder asked.
"Who?" Willow asked.
"You know who," Snyder told them.
"You mean Buffy, Brooke, Zoey, Alice, Carmen and Brady?" Willow asked, looking around. "I just saw them--"
"And don't feed me that 'I just saw them a minute ago, they're around here somewhere' story," Snyder told them.
"But we did just see them a minute ago, and they are here somewhere," Willow told him.
"For what it's worth--" Eric started.
"It's worth nothing, Eric," Snyder told him. "Whatever comes out of your mouths are meaningless wastes of breath. An airborne toxic event."
"Well, I'm glad you feel comfortable enough to be so honest with us," Eric told him. "And I can only hope that one day we're in the position to be that honest with you."
"Fascinating," Snyder told them, walking away.
Xander looked at Willow and Eric. "Well, love to stay and chat, but I got an appointment with the warden on standard riot procedure. Ciao."
"See you guys," Eric told them.
Eric and Xander walked away. Two recruiters in dark suits approached Willow.
"Willow Rosenberg?" Recruiter 1 asked. Willow turned to face them. "Come with us, please?"
"Excuse me?" Willow asked.
"Let's walk," Recruiter 2 told her.
They took Willow by the arms, guiding her to a curtained off area of the lounge.
∞
Student Lounge
The men pulled the curtain aside for Willow. Willow stepped through. They followed her, letting the curtain fall closed again behind them. A waiter in a white jacket and black bow tie held a hors-d'oeuvre tray up for her.
"Try the canape," Recruiter 1 told her. "It's excellent."
Willow shook her head. "What is all this?"
"You've been selected to meet with Mr. McCarthy, head recruiter for the world's leading software concern," Recruiter 2 answered. "The jet was delayed by fog at Sea-Tac, but he should be here any minute. Please, make yourself comfortable."
"But I didn't even get my test back," Willow told them.
"The test was irrelevant," Recruiter 1 told her. "We've been tracking you for some time."
"Is that a good thing?" Willow asked.
Recruiter 2 nodded. "I would think so. We're extremely selective. In fact, only two other Sunnydale students met our criteria. One is here, but the other is apparently off limits, according to our London associates."
Willow realized that the London associates were the Council and had made Alice off limits because of her being a Guardian. Without another word, the two recruiters turned, leaving through the curtain. Willow was a bit stunned, turning around to see who the last student was. Oz was sitting there on the couch, studying another tray of canape. Willow stepped over, sitting down on the other end of the couch, folding her hands in her lap, looking at Oz.
Oz noticed someone sit, turning to look, looking at the tray in his hand, offering it to her. "Canape?"
∞
Cemetery
Buffy, Brooke, Wyatt, Brady, Alice, Giles, Carmen and Zoey arrived, walking around.
Giles was running to keep up with them. "Slow down, please."
"Giles," Zoey replied. "We have work to do, remember? Get with the program."
Giles held his chest, breathing heavily to catch his breath. "You're behaving remarkably im--immaturely."
"You know why?" Brooke asked. "We are immature. We're teens. We have yet to mature."
"I was simply offering some constructive criticism," Giles told them.
"No," Alice told him. "I was. You were harsh. You act like we picked these jobs. But remember? We're the picked. I mean, aside from Brady. He picked this gig because he wanted to protect his sisters and friends."
"Yeah," Carmen agreed. "Me and Zoey? Even Wyatt and Layla? We were born with powers. We should be able to choose what to do with them. But here we are. Following lead of everyone else."
"What you have is more than a gig, or powers," Giles told them. "It's a sacred duties. Which shouldn't prevent you from eventually procuring some more gainful form of employment, such as I did."
"Uh, Giles, it's one thing to be a Watcher and a librarian," Zoey told him. "They go together like chicken and another chicken, or two chickens, or something. You know what I'm saying."
"I think their point is, no one blinks an eye if you want to spend all your days with books," Brady told him. "What are they supposed to do? Carve stakes or practice magic for a nursery?"
"Point taken," Wyatt told them. "Although, Layla has also a job and is still a gypsy fighting the fight."
"Layla is taking a break from fighting the fight after she was possessed by an old one and nearly killed, Wyatt," Brooke replied. "Yes, she's still a doctor. But that's because she's not out here 24/7 like we are."
"Well, now here's a thought," Giles told them. "Have you ever considered law enforcement?" Buffy, Brooke and Alice stopped walking because that was what their tests suggested, even if for different roles. Zoey, Carmen and Brady looked at them knowingly in amusement. Wyatt and Giles turned to face them in confusion. "What?"
Wyatt gestured to the mausoleum. "Here it is."
They walked up the steps, going in.
∞
Mausoleum
The chamber was bare except for two large stone vases and a pile of rubble on the floor. They walked down the steps.
Wyatt used magic to create light in the dark crypt. "May I?"
"Be our guest," Alice answered. "And thanks."
"It's a reliquary," Giles told them. "Used to house items of religious significance. Most commonly a finger or some other body part from a saint."
"Note to self," Zoey muttered. "Religion: freaky."
Zoey leaned against the wall. They scanned around the rest of the room with Wyatt's magical light, spotting a name engraved on a stone high above.
Alice read the name. "Du Lac. Oh, God."
"I hate when you say that," Carmen told her.
"Josephus du Lac was buried here," Giles explained. "He belonged to a religious sect that was excommunicated by the Vatican at the turn of the century.'
"Excommunicated and sent to Sunnydale?" Brooke asked. "There's a guy big with the sinning."
"You remember the book that was stolen from the library by a vampire a few weeks ago?" Wyatt asked.
"You mean by the vampire that Ford and Bianca let go?" Brady asked sarcastically. "Before they turned into vampires and I killed Ford myself? Yeah, I remember."
"It was written by Du Lac," Alice explained. "Damn it. I let it slip my mind with all the excitement."
"I'm guessing it wasn't a 'Taste of the Vatican' cookbook," Carmen told them.
They walked toward the door.
"No, the, uh, book was said to contain rituals and spells that reap unspeakable evil," Giles answered. "However, it was written in archaic Latin so that nobody but the sect members could understand it."
∞
Outside
They walked outside.
"So, everything's cool then?" Zoey asked.
"It's not," Giles answered. "First the book was taken from the library and now the vampires have stolen something from Du Lac's tomb."
"You think they figured out how to read the book?" Carmen asked.
Wyatt nodded. "Something's coming. And whatever it is, we can guarantee it's not good."
∞
Bus Depot
The camera panned from the depot building to a bus just arriving as the announcement was being made. "Bus 219, continuing service to Los Angeles, now arriving in Sunnydale at the west gate."
The doors of the bus opened, and the passengers began to file out. A man in a pair of heavy steel-toed boots stopped on the bottom step of the bus. The camera panned up past his leather jacket and long hair to his face. A scar ran across his left eye, apparently blinded by the injury. A member of the Taraka, and judging by Drusilla's cards earlier featuring a Cyclops, this was him. Cyclops looked around, stepping off of the bus.
∞
Summers House - Outside
A salesman named Norman was walking along the street carrying a large case, eyeing the Summers nameplate hanging from their mailbox, looking up at the house, but continuing on past to the next house, walking up to the front door, knocking, and a woman answered.
"Mrs. Kalish?" Norman asked.
"Yes?" Kalish asked.
"Hello," Norman told her. "I'm Norman Pfister with Blush Beautiful Skin Care." He held up is case. "I'm not selling anything, so I'm not asking you to buy, just to accept a few free samples."
Kalish took off her glasses. "Free?"
Norman smiled. "Absolutely."
Kalish looked him up ad down, nodding him into her home. Norman walked in. Kalish followed, closing the door behind her. The camera closed in on the door. Kalish screamed from inside her home.
∞
Airport
The scream blended into the noise of a 747 flying overhead as it came in for a landing. Cut to a view of the tarmac. Several jets were parked at their gates. Inside the cargo bay of a jet, the cargo door opened.
A baggage handler came up the loading ramp, stepping in, noticing that the cargo nets had been torn open, taking off his headphones. "What the hell?" He looked closer, suspecting someone was there. "Hey, you're not supposed to be in here." He pulled out his flashlight, holding it ready to use as a club. "Hey, come on."
The handler walked in further, looking for whoever it was, seeing a shadow moving behind a baggage container. Kendra Young came out of hiding, kicking the handler in the face, in the gut, and again in the face.
The new Slayer's Guardian, Sofia Valeska, walked out of the back, waving her arms to use her red energy to throw the handler into the wall, making him hit his head and fall unconscious. Kendra and Sofia exchanged a look, nodding, making their way out of the plane, keeping a careful watch for anyone who might have seen them.
∞
Sunnydale High School - Library
The Scoobies were sitting around.
"So Giles, Alice and Wyatt are sure that the vampire who stole his book is connected to the one you slayed last night?" Willow asked. "Or is it slew?"
Giles walked out of the stacks with a National Geographic magazine. "Both are correct, and, yes, we're sure. Du Lac was both a... a theologian and a mathematician." He walked down the stairs. "This article describes an invention of his, which he called 'The Du Lac Cross'."
"So, why go to all the trouble of inventing something, and then giving it a weak name like that?" Xander asked. "I mean, I'da gone with 'The Cross-o-matic', or, uh, 'The Amazing Mr. Cross'."
The girls looked at him. Xander looked up, nodding.
"The cross was more than a mere symbol," Alice explained. "It was used to understand certain mystical texts, to, uh, decipher hidden meanings and so forth."
"So you're saying these vampires went to all this hassle for your basic decoder ring?" Eric asked.
Giles was taken aback by the metaphor. "Uh, actually, yes, I--I suppose we are."
"According to this, Du Lac destroyed every cross except the one buried with him," Brooke told them.
"Why destroy your own work?" Buffy asked.
Wyatt paced. "Maybe he feared what might happen if it fell into the wrong hands."
"A fear we'll soon get to experience for ourselves up close and personal," Zoey told them.
"U-unless we can preempt their plans," Giles told them.
"How?" Carmen asked.
"Uh, by learning what's in the book before they do," Wyatt answered. "Which means we can expect to be here later tonight."
Giles sat down.
Willow smiled widely. "Goody. Research party."
"Will, you need a life in the worst way," Zoey told her.
Buffy and Eric exchanged a knowing look, standing.
"Speaking of, we really have to bail," Eric told them. "But I promise we'll be back bright and early tomorrow and ready to slay."
"This is a matter of some urgency, Eric," Giles told him.
"We realize that," Buffy told him. "Well, you have to admit, I kinda lack in the book area. I mean, you guys are the brains. I'd only be here for moral support anyway."
"That's untrue, Buffy," Brady told her. "You totally contribute. You and Eric go for snacks."
"Thanks, Brady," Buffy told him sarcastically.
Buffy and Eric looked at their friends for help.
"They should go," Willow told them. "You know, Buffy could gather her strength and see what all Eric remembers from Halloween. You know, how to fight and all."
Wyatt wasn't convinced, amused, but nodded for them to go, playing along. "You're right. There may be fierce battles ahead. Eric may need all his knowledge from Halloween."
Buffy and Eric looked at him in relief, thankful, leaving the library.
"But Ho-Hos are a vital part of my cognitive process," Xander told them.
Brooke smiled. "Sorry, Xander. Someplace Buffy and Eric have to be."
Xander and Giles exchanged a look of realization, knowing that they had a date. Brady and Wyatt smirked in amusement. The girls exchanged smiles.
∞
Ice Skating Rink
The place was empty except for Buffy and Eric, skating by themselves, making use of the whole rink.
Buffy did practiced turns and spins. "Thank you for suggesting this, Eric. I love that I have a boyfriend that comes up with the idea to take his girlfriend ice skating."
Eric smiled, pulling Buffy closer by the hands. "You save the world every day. Least I could do is give you a day off."
They smiled, kissing slowly and passionately. The camera panned from them happily making out to a stage panel being pushed open. The cyclops looked in at them.
∞∞
Buffy and Eric were still skating. Buffy did a crouching maneuver, but wiped out, sliding backward against the sidewall, starting to get up. The cyclops reached down, putting his arm around Buffy's neck, lifting her off of the ice, pushing her onto the railing, choking her. Buffy tried to pry his hands from her throat, struggling to breathe.
Eric skated closer instantly. "Buffy!"
Eric used the ice skates to kick the cyclops in the face, knocking him off of Buffy, and cutting his head in the process, which was bleeding profusely. Buffy fell from the railing onto the ice on her knees. Eric kicked the cyclops in the face again to cut him and make him stand up, making him bleed more, punching him in the face. Cyclops wasn't fazed, returning with a double fisted punch to Eric's stomach, sending him back into the wall. Eric pushed off the wall, jabbing the cyclops in the face with his skates. The cyclops grabbed Eric by the throat, lifting him up. Buffy stood, skating closer instantly, grabbing a net, using it to swing up with her foot, hitting the cyclops in the throat with the blade of her skate, crushing his trachea. The cyclops let go of Eric, grabbing his own neck, unable to breathe. Eric used his skates to slit his throat. The cyclops took a few steps onto the ice as his throat bled, collapsing on the ice, dead. Buffy rubbed her knee.
Eric looked at the dead body. "The Hellmouth presents Dead Guys On Ice. Not exactly the evening we were aiming for."
Buffy stood, skating closer. "Eric, are you okay?"
"Fine," Eric answered. "You?"
"Good," Buffy answered. "Thanks to you. You really did keep all that fighting and weapon knowledge from Halloween. You were badass. Thank you, Eric."
They smiled in relief, holding each other in an embrace.
∞
Spike's Warehouse
Drusilla took the tarot card of the cyclops, turning it over, looking up at Spike and Bianca. "He's passing under our feet right now."
Bianca shrugged. "No worries. We're close to decoding the manuscript. We just need a bit more time."
"Time is ours," Spike told them. "It brings Wyatt and his friends closer to them."
They looked at the rest of the tarot cards.
∞
Alley
Carmen and Angel were walking together in an alley where the sunlight wasn't visible, on the way to his apartment.
"Anyway, while Buffy and Eric are at an ice skating date, the others are at the library researching," Carmen explained. "We don't know exactly what's going on."
Angel chuckled slightly. "Well, we'll figure it out, Carmen." They looked at each other, smiling slightly. Carmen stopped walking when she sensed something off, looking around. Angel stopped, turning to face her. "What?" Carmen used magic to push Angel back the same instant an assassin tried to stake Angel from the side alley. The assassin turned to Carmen, trying to kick her. Carmen levitated herself up to make her miss, flipping through the air to kick her in the head, making her fall, landing on the ground nearby Angel. The assassin stood, trying to punch Angel. Angel shifted into vampire visage, ducking, punching her in the gut, turning to backhand punch her in the face, followed up with an elbow to her stomach. The assassin threw Angel aside to get to Carmen, pushing her against the wall, strangling her. Carmen struggled to breathe, waving her hands to use her power to freeze the assassin in front of her. Angel stood, pulling the frozen assassin off of Carmen, snapping her neck, letting her fall. Carmen held her throat, catching her breath. Angel put a hand on her arm worriedly. "Carmen? You okay?"
"Yeah," Carmen answered. "I think."
Angel noticed something on the assassin's hand, kneeling next to the body, lifting her hand to inspect her ring. "You're in danger. You know what the ring means?"
Carmen shook her head. "We just killed a Super Bowl champ?"
"I'm serious," Angel told her. "You should go home and wait until you hear from me." Carmen frowned in confusion. Angel stood. Carmen walked closer. "Are you sure you're okay?"
Carmen placed a hand on his cheek, seeing a cut above his eye. "What about you? That cut."
"Forget about me," Angel told her. "This is bad, Carmen. We gotta get you out of here."
"What, you mean hide?" Carmen asked.
"Let's just get you someplace safe," Angel told her.
"No, your eye," Carmen told him, reaching back up to him. Angel took a step back. "Hey, don't be a baby. I'm not gonna hurt you.."
"It's not that," Angel admitted. "I..."
"What?" Carmen asked.
"You shouldn't have to touch me when I'm like this," Angel answered.
Carmen looked up into his vampire features, realizing. "Oh." She reached up to touch his brow, his wound, brushing gently across and down his cheek. "I didn't even notice."
They looked at each other for a moment, kissing gently and passionately. Carmen wrapped her arms around his neck.
Off to the side, outside of the alley, Kendra and Sofia were walking down the main street of Sunnydale, having heard the sounds of fighting and voices, observing Carmen and Angel, seeing Angel with his vampire visage on, putting his arms around Carmen. Carmen rose up onto the tips of her toes to get even closer.
∞
Sunnydale High School - Library
Buffy, Eric and Carmen met back up with the others, showing them the rings they had taken from the bodies. Giles inspected the ring under a magnifying lamp. Buffy was sitting on the steps, holding an icepack to her knee. Eric was sitting next to Buffy. The others were sitting or standing.
"These guys were hard core," Zoey told them. "Carmen said Angel was power freaked by those rings."
"I'm afraid he was not overreacting," Alice told them. "These rings are worn only by members of the Order of Taraka. It's a society of deadly assassins dating back to King Solomon."
"Assassins?" Brady repeated. "What's the problem? We send in the Killer of men in Zodom. Gypsy Zoey. Assassin of Zonia. Not to mention secret agent special commando guy Eric. Who actually killed one of these guys."
Zoey tilted her head. Eric smirked.
"And didn't they beat the Elks this year in the Sunnydale adult bowling league championships?" Xander asked.
"Their credo is to sow discord and kill the unwary," Giles told them.
"Bowling is a vicious game," Xander told them.
Giles was very annoyed. "That's enough, Xander!"
Xander looked down in shame. The others were concerned and upset.
"Sorry," Wyatt told them. "It's just not the time for jokes. We need to think."
Giles took off his glasses.
"I get why the assassins would go after Buffy," Brooke told them. "She's one of the scourges of the underworld. Along with me and Alice. But why did they go after Carmen?"
"Yeah," Zoey agreed. "Carmen hasn't been that scourgey lately."
"I don't know," Alice told them. "I don't know."
"Maybe it doesn't have to do with being the Slayer or Guardians," Willow told them. "I mean, Carmen isn't either. But she's always helping you guys. And if we're going by that logic? Then Layla, Zoey, Brooke, Alice, Brady and Wyatt are all in danger too."
"You're very right, Willow," Alice told her.
"I think the best thing we can do is to find a secure location for all of you," Giles told them. "Somewhere out of the way you can go until we decide on the best course of action."
"Okay, now you and Angel have both said to head for the hills," Zoey told him. "Are you saying we can't handle this? That we're not strong enough? Or good enough to fight these people?"
"They're a breed apart, Zoey," Alice told her. "Unlike vampires, they have no earthly desires but to collect their bounty."
"They find a target, and, uh, they eliminate it," Wyatt told them. "In this case, it's all of us."
Everyone listened in shock, solemnly.
"You can kill as many of them as you like," Giles told them. "It won't make any difference."
"Where there's one, there will be another and another," Alice explained. "They won't stop coming until the job is done."
∞
Mrs. Kalish's House - Living Room
Norman was sitting in a chair, keeping an eye on the Summers home through binoculars.
Wyatt: (voice over) "Each one of them works alone, his own way."
Kalish was lying on the floor, dead. A trail of mealworms led from her over to Norman sitting in a chair.
Giles: (voice over) "Some are human, some are not. Y--you won't know who they are until they strike."
Norman took the binoculars from his eyes. There were mealworms crawling over his shoes. His hand and part of his forearm was missing, and he mealworms crawled all over it. They quickly formed a hand, and it took on the appearance of human skin. He reached over to a cup of tea, lifting it to take a sip.
∞
Sunnydale High School - Hallway
Brooke was wigged, tense, walking down the hall, holding her hands to the back of her neck and shoulders, jumping when a boy barged through the doors in the hall in front of her. She walked through the doors, scanning the students in the hall, paranoid about them looking at her. The police recruiter looked a her. Brooke stared back. A teacher walked down the stairs in front of her, looking at Brooke as he ran a comb through his hair. Several students walked past Brooke, giving her the occasional glance. Behind her, Oz came walking at a quick pace.
Brooke heard a locker slam behind her, spinning toward the noise, noticing Oz quickly bearing down on her, taking him by the neck, shoving him into the wall. "Try it."
Oz frowned in confusion. "Try what?"
Brooke realized the mistake, letting him go. "Uh..." She sighed shakily. "I--I'm sorry."
"Still not clear what I'm supposed to try," Oz admitted.
"Nothing," Brooke answered. "God. I... I'm sorry. I..."
Brooke stepped away, looking both ways down the hall, quickly heading off in the direction she was going.
Oz pushed away from the wall, shuddering. "That is a tense person."
∞
Francis House - Living Room
Layla was just getting home from so much work, sitting down, laying back, trying to relax.
Zoey walked in quickly. "Mom? Mom, you home?"
"I'm here, Zoey," Layla answered. Zoey sighed in relief, walking closer. "Why? What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost. Is everything okay?"
"Not really," Zoey answered.
"Is it the Order of Taraka?" Layla asked. Zoey looked at her in surprise. Layla sighed. "Rupert and Alice called to tell me. They wanted me to be made aware. After everything that happened? It was an awkward conversation. But we needed to have it. Especially considering that my daughter is on the hit list of many psycho assassins."
"I'm fine, Mom," Zoey told her. "I just need to make sure that you are. They may come after you."
"Well, I'm fine, Zoey," Layla told her. "But if it makes it any easier? I'll stay close to you. At the school. In the library. It gives me time off of sitting at home doing nothing but worry. And for working overdrive at the hospital. They finally let me have a few days off. You know, after overworking me. After everything. Would that make you feel better? Set your mind a little more at ease?" Zoey sighed in relief, nodding. "Okay. Then that's it. Done deal." Zoey sighed in relief, closing her eyes, nodding. "It's okay, Zo." They embraced, holding each other close. "Everything's gonna be okay." They pulled away. "Besides? It gives me more time to spend with your Aunt Jenny. And probably seeing Rupert? It'll be easier to talk to him. Later." Zoey nodded, looking sad and sympathetic. "Don't worry. It's not completely over. I just needed some time. After all that."
"I know," Zoey told her.
"You're really scared about all of this," Layla realized. "You're not scared for yourself. You're scared for your friends. For me." Zoey nodded in answer. Layla wrapped her arm around her daughter. "It'll be okay, Zo. Come on."
They left the house together.
∞
Sunnydale High School - Library
Giles walked out of his office cleaning his glasses. The others, minus Carmen, were sitting at the table. Zoey and Layla walked in. They looked at them in relief.
"Layla," Giles told her.
"Rupert," Layla replied, nodding.
"I wish there was more we could do," Brady admitted.
"We're doing all that we can," Willow told them. "The only way we can do this is to try and find out what was in that stolen book. But Brady may be right about one thing."
"Zoey the gypsy assassin and Eric the secret agent commando guy against the human assassins coming after Buffy, Brooke, Zoey, Alice, Carmen, Brady and Wyatt?" Xander asked. "Neato."
"Yeah," Willow agreed. "I mean, Zoey and Eric both can still fight the way they had on Halloween."
Zoey pulled a machete out of the arsenal in the cage, tossing up multiple tennis balls, slicing through the air quickly. All of the tennis balls fell to the floor, sliced in half. The others were very impressed.
"They might not have the strength they had that night, but the movements?" Brady asked. "It's like it's hardwired in their brains. Like it had actually been them."
Xander applauded. "Gypsy assassin of Zonia and badass Eric at your service."
"Where's Carmen?" Willow asked.
"We thought she was with Zoey and Layla," Buffy told them.
"No," Layla answered.
"Well, she's not at home," Brooke told them.
"I let her house phone ring a few times, but there wasn't an answer," Alice told them.
"Well, maybe Carmen unplugged the phone," Brady told them.
"No, it's a statistical impossibility for a 16-year-old girl to unplug her phone," Willow told them.
Buffy, Brooke, Zoey and Alice nodded in agreement.
"Well, perhaps our words of caution were a little too alarming," Wyatt told them.
"You think?" Eric asked, heavy with sarcasm.
"It's good that she took you seriously, Wyatt," Xander told him. "I mean, it's a good thing we all took you, Alice and Giles seriously."
Zoey sighed worriedly. "I just wish we knew where she was."
∞
Night - Angel's Apartment Building Hallway
Carmen walked down the stairs, toward the door, knocking. "Angel?"
∞
Apartment
Carmen opened the door, walking in, having a look around, closing the door, turning on the lights. The apartment was sparsely furnished. A modern desk strewn with papers was against the far wall with a dozen old pictures hanging on the wall around it. The floor was bare concrete, and Carmen's heels clicked quietly as she slowly walked over to an ivory state enclosed in a glass display case. She looked at it, going on, passing an elegant antique armoire, finally finding his unmade bed, slowly walking over to it, sitting down, taking a deep breath, letting it out slowly, weary from everything, laying down, resting her head on the pillow, curling up, hugging her arms close to her heart, falling asleep.
∞
Willy's Bar
Willy was sweeping up the place after hours. Angel appeared in the shadow of the doorway.
"We're closed," Willy told him. "Can't you read the sign?" Angel stepped into the light. "Oh, uh, hey, Angel. I didn't recognize you in the dark there. What, uh, what can I do for you tonight?"
"I need some information," Angel answered.
"Yeah?" Willy asked. "Man, that's too bad, 'cause I'm staying away from that whole scene. I'm living right, Angel."
Angel slowly walked past the booths, over to the pinball machine. "Sure you are, Willy. And I'm taking up sunbathing."
"Come on, man," Willy told him. "Don't be that way. I--I treat you vamps good. I--I--I--I don't hassle you, you don't hassle me. We all enjoy the patronage of this establishment. Everybody's happy, right?"
"Who sent them?" Angel asked.
"Who sent who?" Willy asked.
Angel stopped at the pinball machine. "The Order of Taraka."
Willy shook his head. "I--I... I tell ya, I haven't been in the loop."
"Let's try again," Angel told him. "The Order of Taraka? They're after Carmen Chase. Buffy, Brooke and Brady Summers. Zoey and Layla Francis. Alice Giles. And Wyatt Pratt."
Angel walked toward him.
"Come on, man," Willy told him.
"Was it Spike?" Angel asked. "A new game of his? To torture Wyatt? Or is it more than that this time? More than just torturing little brother Wyatt. It's to get them all out of the way. To distract Wyatt. For what? What are Bianca Fordham, Spike and Drusilla planning?"
"Look, Angel, I--I got some good pigs' blood in, good stuff," Willy told him. "My fence said--" Angel grabbed Willy, slamming his head into the bar. Willy knocked a half-empty pitcher of beer onto the floor. Angel pressed down hard on Willy's head with his hand. "Damn it!"
"You know, I'm a little rusty when it comes to killing humans," Angel told him. "It could take a while."
"Oh, Spike will draw and quarter me, man," Willy told him.
"Wyatt and I will take care of Spike," Angel told him.
"You know he ordered those guys," Willy answered. "Spike's sick of Wyatt and his friends getting in his way."
"Where can we find him?" Angel asked.
"I tell you that, I'm gonna need relocating expenses," Willy told him. "It'll cost you."
Angel pressed harder on his head. "It'll cost who?"
"Okay, okay," Willy told him. "He and that freaky chick of his, and Brady Summers' crazy ex turned vampire..."
"Bianca?" Angel asked. "She really is apart of this?"
"Yeah," Willy answered. "Bianca's--"
They were interrupted when Kendra and Sofia arrived. Sofia used her red Guardian energy to throw Angel away from Willy into the wall, making him fall onto the bar and shatter glasses all over. Angel looked up, dazed. Kendra grabbed Willy's broom, breaking the end of the handle off, attacking Angel with the makeshift stake.
∞∞
Angel rolled out of the way of Kendra's thrust with the makeshift stake. Willy took the opportunity to flee the bar. Angel stood, ducking a swing from Kendra. Kendra tried to stake him. Angel pushed her arm aside. Kendra punched him in the face with her other hand, using her momentum to spin around for a roundhouse kick to his head. Sofia used her Guardian energy to wrap around Angel so he couldn't attack Kendra, throwing him through the door into the backroom, making him crash into several cases of beer. When Angel got back up, he was vamped out. Kendra charged him with the stake held above her head in both hands. Angel blocked her charge with his arms, twisting her arms down, forcing her to drop the stake, shoving her back into Sofia, making them both fall. Sofia sent a burst of her Guardian energy to throw into his chest, throwing him into the wall to the floor. On the floor, Angel kicked out at both of them, knocking Kendra down, but Sofia used red energy to levitate herself over his leg, letting herself float to the floor, grabbing Angel's shirt, pulling him up a bit to kick him in the face. Angel and Kendra scrambled to their feet. Angel tried to punch Sofia. Sofia used her energy as a shield, blocking another move with another shield. Kendra punched Angel three times in the gut, then a right hook to his jaw, shoving him into the door of the cage, kicking him in the chest. Sofia used her energy to throw Angel into the cage, into a bunch of empty water bottles, making several cans fall onto Angel from a shelf above.
"Who are you?" Angel asked. "If you tell me what I need to know, I won't hurt you." Kendra and Sofia laughed, stepping back. "You think this is funny?"
Sofia magically slammed the door closed on the cage to lock Angel inside. Angel scrambled to his feet to slam up against the door, nearly taking it down, but Sofia used a shield of red Guardian energy to keep the door from giving way to keep Angel trapped.
Kendra and Sofia's accents were weird, sometimes hard to understand, being from where they were.
"We tink it is funny now," Kendra answered. "Dat girl. De one we saw you wit before?"
"You stay away from her," Angel told them angrily.
"I'm afraid you are not in a position to treaten," Sofia told him.
Angel struggled. "When I get out of here, I'll do more than threaten."
"Den I suggest ya move quickly," Sofia told him, looking up at the windows. "Eastern exposure. De sun will be coming in a few hours. More dan enough time for us to find your girlfriend."
Sofia and Kendra turned to leave. Angel yelled in anger, slamming the cage with his hand.
∞
Day Three
Morning - Sunnydale High School - Library
Layla had fallen asleep in Giles' office. The others were researching. Xander, Buffy, Brooke and Alice weren't here, out looking for Carmen.
Eric was on the phone. "Buffy? No, we haven't heard from Carmen yet. Look, we think you should go to her house and check on her. You have Brooke and Alice with you so you should be safe. Xander's out there, too. Oh, he and Cordelia are out looking for Carmen. They're gonna drop by your house first and wait for you. Okay."
Eric hung up.
Giles noticed that Layla had fallen asleep in his office, walking toward her, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. "Layla?" Layla woke up. "Are you all right?"
Layla was confused as to where she was at first. "Rupert, what are you doing here?"
"It's the library, Layla," Giles answered. "You fell asleep."
Layla looked around. "Oh. Working so hard at the hospital lately. It takes a lot out of a person." Giles nodded in understanding, sympathy, still ashamed of what happened to her because of him. "I'm sorry."
"What?" Giles asked. "Please. You've gone quite beyond the call of duty."
"Hey," Willow called from the other room. "Guys. Fortunately, Wyatt, Eric and I think we may have found something finally."
Giles and Layla stood, returning to the others.
"You did?" Brady asked.
"We found a description of the missing Du Lac manuscript," Willow explained.
"It's a ritual," Wyatt told them. "No, we, uh, we haven't managed to decipher the exact details, but we believe the purpose is to restore a weak and sick vampire back to full health."
Brady realized. "A vampire like Drusilla."
"Well," Zoey said. "Wait. This ritual wouldn't effect the mind of the weak and sick vampire, would it?"
"No," Wyatt answered. "Afraid not. Even if it restores Drusilla's strength, she would still be insane. Just like Bianca."
"I'm not making an excuses for Bianca," Brady told them. "Or defending her. But she was sick before she turned. It's why she turned."
"We know, Brady," Zoey told him. "And she was in love with you before that. So now that Bianca's a vampire. Still with damage on her mind. And jealous of Alice..."
Brady sighed, sitting back. "Bianca could come after me again. Or Alice."
"Yeah," Eric agreed.
"But don't worry, Brady," Willow told him. "We'll keep you guys safe. From Bianca. From the assassins."
"From anything," Zoey agreed. "Plus? Both you and Alice? You can most definitely take care of yourselves. I mean, you got away from Bianca, Ford and Spike's vampires. While you were alone, Brady."
"And all of you think that Spike, Drusilla and Bianca are the ones that called for the assassins," Layla told them.
They all nodded, sighing.
∞
Spike's Warehouse
Dalton slammed the Du Lac manuscript closed, handing Spike and Bianca the handwritten pages of translation.
Bianca smiled. "By George, I think he's got it."
Spike walked toward Drusilla. "The key to your cure, ducks. The missing bloody link, it was..."
"Right in front of us the whole time," Drusilla finished weakly, taking Spike's hand, pulling it down to her deck of tarot cards.
The top card was a picture of an angel.
Bianca smirked. "You need Angel. But going past witchy Carmen and friends to do it?"
Spike nodded. "That's the tricky part."
∞
Summers House - Outside
Xander and Cordelia walked up to the house.
"I can't even believe you," Cordelia told him. "You dragged me out of bed for a ride? What am I, mass transportation?"
"That's what a lot of guys say, but it's just locker room talk," Xander replied. "I wouldn't pay it any mind."
"Oh, great, so now I'm your taxi and your punching bag," Cordelia told him sarcastically.
"I like to think of you more as my witless foil, but have it your way," Xander told her. "We're just meeting up here for Buffy, Brooke and Alice so that we can go and find Carmen. Remember Carmen, your sister? Come on, Cordelia, you wanna be a member of the Scooby Gang, you gotta be willing to be inconvenienced every now and then."
"Oh, right, 'cause I lie awake at night hoping you tweakos will be my best friends," Cordelia told him sarcastically. "And that my first husband will be a balding, demented, homeless man."
"Carmen could be in trouble," Xander told her.
"And I am worried about the fact that my sister could be in trouble," Cordelia told him. "I really am. But what if Carmen is, exactly? What are you and I gonna do about it? In case you haven't noticed, we have no powers, fighting skills or super strength, but they all do."
Xander opened the door for her. They walked in.
∞
Inside - Living Room
Xander had to go upstairs to the bathroom while they were waiting for Buffy, Brooke and Alice to go look for Carmen. Cordelia spun her keys around, walking around the room, looking around everything. She heard a knocking at the door, going to answer it, finding Norman outside.
"Good day," Norman told her. "I'm Norman Pfister with Blush Beautiful Skin Care and Cosmetics." He held up his case. "I was wondering if I might interest you in some free samples?"
Cordelia smiled. "Free?"
Cordelia stepped aside to let him in, closing the door.
∞
Willy's Bar - Backroom
Sunlight was streaming through the window, starting to shine into the cage. Angel slammed against the door, trying to break it open, but the shield that Sofia had made out of Guardian energy was staying strong to keep the door in place and keep Angel trapped.
∞
Alley
Carmen was walking along, finally being found by Buffy, Brooke and Alice.
"Carmen!" Alice told her. "There you are. You really shouldn't be taking off like that. Not with assassins out to get all of us."
"No kidding," Brooke agreed. "I mean, do you have any idea how much you had us freaking out? With the idea of you being hurt? Or worse?"
Carmen sighed apologetically. "Oh. I'm sorry, guys. I was just in Angel's apartment. I fell asleep there last night."
"Was Angel not there?" Buffy asked. "You were there all night? By yourself?" Carmen nodded. "Well, where is he?"
"I don't know," Carmen admitted. "That's something that I gotta figure out. It can be alone. Or if you're worried about me, you can come help."
Brooke gave her a look. "Well, no duh. We're helping you. It's not safe for you to be alone out there. Come on."
Buffy sighed, looking around. "I'm not sure where to start. Uh... we have to figure that out first. Right?"
They heard a noise, looking around. Alice turned around, immediately backing away toward the other girls just as a hatchet was swung toward her. Kendra was the one swinging the hatchet. Sofia was behind her. Kendra swung her hatchet at Buffy. Buffy did a flip over her back, onto the ground behind her, ready to fight.
Alice, and the others, thought that they were assassins. "You must be numbers three and four." Kendra swung the hatchet at Brooke. Brooke ducked, grabbing a blanket from a box nearby, pulling it down, over Kendra's head, pushing her into Sofia, making them both fall. Kendra and Sofia quickly scrambled to their feet. Kendra pulled the curtain off her head, holding the hatchet up and ready, swinging it at Carmen, but she ducked. Kendra pulled her around to slam Carmen into the wall, pushing the hatchet toward her chest. Buffy, Brooke and Alice pushed Kendra away from Carmen into Sofia. "Come on. Don't make us do the chick fight thing."
"Chick fight?" Kendra repeated.
"You know," Alice told them.
Alice and Brooke flipped Kendra and Sofia to the ground. Buffy kicked the hatchet out of Kendra's hand. Kendra tried two kicks, which Buffy easily blocked, ducking a swing to her head, swinging back. Kendra grabbed her arm, flipping her over onto the ground, reaching down for her. Brooke used her power to grab Kendra, throwing her into Sofia, making them both fall. Buffy, Kendra and Sofia jumped up to their feet. Alice did a roundhouse kick to Sofia's face, making her start to fall. Sofia used her red Guardian energy to keep herself up, to the shock of the others. They all faced each other to continue the fight.
"Who are you?" Sofia asked.
"Who are we?" Buffy repeated. "You attacked us."
"Who the hell are you?" Brooke asked.
"I am Sofia, de Guardian," Sofia answered. "This is Kendra, de vampire Slayer."
Buffy, Brooke, Alice and Carmen looked at them in utter disbelief.