3rd Person's POV
Xander stands working on a locker combination from a list as Giles comes down the other hall.
"You understand, in my capacity as school official, this search is completely unauthorized, and I, I cannot condone it."
"Fine, your butt's covered. Wanna grab a locker?" Buffy hands him a sheet.
"Uh, yes, yes, of course." He takes the sheet.
Laney approaches a locker frowning, "Okay, Eric. Let's see what's on your annoying little mind."
Willow stands at another locker, "Nothing in here but back issues of Scientific American. Ooo, I haven't read this one!" She starts to read making Laney slap her forehead.
Giles frowns, "Nothing remarkable here."
Xander opens one, "Guys!"
They all go over to see what Xander was looking at, except Laney who stands staring at Eric's locker.
"Your friend Chris Epps' locker."
Willow frowns reading off book titles, "'Grey's Anatomy', 'Mortician's Desk Reference', 'Robicheaux's Guide to Muscles and Tendons'."
Giles reaches in and pulls out a newspaper folded open to a picture of the three cheerleaders. The title above the picture reads 'Tragic Accident Kills Three'.
"I think it's fair to say Chris is involved."
Xander shakes his head, "He's into corpses alright, but we still don't know why."
Laney whistles gaining the gangs attention before pushing it all the way open.
"Yes, we do."
Eric's locker reveals a collage of a woman made from parts of various pictures.
...
In Chris' basement, Eric sings while Chris works on a body.
"I guess you'll say. What can make me feel this way? My girl... Talkin' 'bout my girl, My girl... How's my baby?"
Chris frowns, "She's not your baby."
Eric shrugs smirking, "She's not gonna be anybody's baby if we don't finish her soon."
"I'm working on it." Chris rolls his eyes.
"So am I, friend. So am I." He hangs up freshly developed pictures of Buffy, Willow and Cordelia to dry.
...
Buffy comes up to Laney, Willow, and Xander in the courtyard, sitting on the railing.
Xander glances over, "Any sign of our suspects?"
Buffy shakes her head, "Not yet. I don't get it. Why would anybody wanna make a girl?"
Xander chuckles, "You mean when there's so many pre-made ones just laying around?"
Laney scoffs braiding her hair "The things we do for love."
"Love has nothing to do with this." Buffy replies slapping Laney's arm.
Xander holds up a finger, "Maybe not, but I'll tell you this: people don't fall in love with what's right in front of them."
Willow gives Buffy a sad, knowing look. As Laney mutters under her breath, "You would know."
Xander continues not hearing Laney or seeing Willow's now upset expression, "People want the dream. What they can't have."
Willow looks over at Xander longingly. Buffy understands only too well. Laney sighs and pats Willow's hand before braiding her hair once again.
Laney rolls her eyes, "Oh yes... The more unattainable, the more attractive. That's how the game goes. Round and round we all go... where we stop no one knows."
Willow hops down from her perch.
"So for Eric the unattainable would include everyone. That's alive." She walks around Xander to head down the stairs. Buffy and Laney follow after them.
"Uh, Eric's sick enough to do something like this, but what about Chris? He seems like a human person."
Xander follows.
"I dunno. That thing with his brother was really hard on him. And he talked about death a lot. Maybe he just wanted to get one-up on it." Willow shrugs.
Laney blanks out thinking about Daryl. It had been a couple years now and she didn't want a recap of what happened. She was fine with the past being left in the past. Willow gives Laney a concerning stare making her smile as if she was okay, but really she wasn't.
"But it's not doable. I mean, making someone from scraps, actually making them live." Buffy throws her hands up in defeat.
"If it is, Willow's science project's definitely coming in second this year."
Willow frowns and flicks Laney's forehead.
"Ow... what?"
Xander chuckles and looks off spotting Giles, "And speaking of love..."
Willow frowns, "We were talking about the re-animation of dead tissue."
"Do I deconstruct your segues?"
Laney rolls her eyes and walks over to Giles with the others following behind her.
"Hey Doc."
No response.
"Hello? Earth to Giles?" Buffy says waving her hand in-front of his face.
Giles blinks rapidly before looking over distracted, "Oh! Yes. Hello."
"Still no sign of our mad doctors?"
Giles glances at Buddy for a second then away and back to Buffy, "What? Oh! Uh, corpses, yes. Evil. Huh. Very good."
Willow and Laney frowns before looking at each other and nodding. They glance to wear Giles was staring and see Jenny talking to a student.
"Okay, Giles, just remember, 'I feel a thing, you feel a thing...' But personalize it."
Giles frowns looking at Buffy with confusion, "Personalize it?"
Willow shrugs, "She's a technopagan, right?"
Giles nods.
Laney smirks, "Ask her to bless your laptop."
She turns to leave as Buffy replies to Giles, "Have fun," then follows her. Willow and Xander smile. Willow pats him on the shoulder and goes too.
...
Later that day inside the science classroom, Willow is looking through a book trying to figure out how it was possible to bring dead bodies to life.
"I still don't get how Chris could do it. I mean, arresting the cell deterioration is one thing, but..."
"Hello!" Xander interrupts her and holds up a visible head, "I wanna get ahead."
Willow ignores him and exhales, "Maybe an electrical current combined with an adrenaline boost."
Xander jokes, "For the love of God, can somebody scratch my nose?"
Laney frowns glancing up from her phone, "I think your mother dropped you on your head as baby."
Xander sticks his tongue out at Laney just as Buffy comes into the room.
"Well, it's official. Chris and Eric didn't come to school today."
Xander nods slowly, "That's no coincidence."
Willow grimaces, "Maybe they finished their project."
Buffy slams her hand on the table in frustration, "God! What if it worked? What, what if that poor girl is walking around?"
"Poor girls, technically."
Laney looks over at Xander shaking her head, "Ew..."
Willow frowns making Laney cough, "I meant awww."
Buffy paces around as the three stare at her, "What could she be thinking?"
Laney's eyebrows furrow in question as she thinks about the one thing that had been bothering her this whole time.
"I know nobody wants to hear this but... what are they gonna do with her?"
The door slams open scaring the group as Giles comes in with a sheepish look.
"Sorry but I don't think we need to worry about that just yet. I spoke to a press person this morning about the remains. The police have finished sorting through them, and apparently they found three heads in the dumpster."
Buffy frowns, "They only had three girls."
Giles nods, "Precisely."
Willow mutters quietly as she wrings her hands together in nervousness, "So, they don't have the whole, uh, package?"
Laney holds up a hand, "Wait a darn minute... you're saying that they didn't WANT the three heads that they had? Ugh they're sick."
Xander chuckles, "Heads must be no good. Huh. I found 'em attractive enough."
He freezes getting looks from the girls, "Well, obviously I'm not as sick as Chris and Eric."
"Based on what the police have put together, I would say they're one step short of completing their masterpiece."
Willow nods at Giles, "One step."
...
In Chris' basement, Eric paces around angrily.
"We're running out of time. If we wait too long, the onset of atrophy in the limbs will be irreversible."
"We can turn up the current. That'll buy us a day, at least." Chris suggests.
Eric shakes his head, "We will lose the entire body if we don't attach a head soon."
Chris gulps, "We have time."
"We don't! The crash with the girls was lucky. But we can't just keep waiting around for another lucky accident to drop a head in our laps. You know what we have to do. Hell, it's just one lousy girl."
Chris shakes his head, "I won't do it. I... I can't... kill anyone."
He turns to the shadows, "Please! Understand. I... I can't do that! Please don't make me."
A large burly figure steps out of the shadows into the light.
"But you gave me your word. You promised me, little brother... That I wouldn't be alone."
Daryl stands across from Chris, his face is discolored and criss-crossed with stitches. Much so like the rest of his body.
Eric smiles, "The body is perfect. And if we harvest a head tonight, she'll be ready by sunrise."
Daryl nods before looking at Chris, "When you brought me back you promised you'd take care of me. I need this, Chris. I need someone."
Chris shakes his head as his whole body starts to shutter, "Please don't ask me to do this. Don't ask me to take a life."
Eric shrugs, "I tried to tell him. If you take a life in order to make a life, the whole thing is a wash. No harm, no foul."
"Maybe you could... you could go out..."
Daryl frowns, "No!"
"Let people know." Chris shrugs suggesting the idea.
"They can't see me. Chris, you've always been smarter than me. You were always the brains. You're the only one who can help me now. Third and long, seconds to go. Where do you throw? Where do you throw?"
Chris sighs looking down, "Number five. Daryl's gonna drive."
"Help me, brother." Daryl begs.
Chris nods making Daryl hug him.
"Thank you," he turns to Eric, "Show me!"
Eric pulls a sheet of the board nearby showing Daryl the pictures.
Daryl smiles and points, "This one."
Eric laughs, "Ha, ha. A man of taste."
He grabs a pair of scissors and cuts around Cordelia's hair singing, "My girl... Talkin' 'bout my girl...My girl."
He snips her head off.
𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑑𝑖𝑑 𝑦'𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟? 𝐴𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑒 𝑠𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑒 𝐶𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑦? 𝑊ℎ𝑜 𝑖𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑓𝑎𝑣𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑤? 𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑒𝑒?