" SLAYERS INCORPORATED "
(Part Two)
" Brother?! What brother? You never told me about any brother." asks Buffy, looking surprisingly at Angel. " I didn't think I needed to." replies Angel, " He's supposed to be dead." Buffy sits down to try and grasp this new information. " So how do we stop him?" asks Faith. Angel turns to look at her, " You can't. You're not ready." he says. " What do you mean, I'm not ready?" asks Faith, defensively.
" Julian's not a fighter. He's more of the head vampire in charge type. It'll be more of a mental battle, than a physical one with him." says Angel. Suddenly, Angel doubles over with pain. Buffy jumps up and holds him up from the floor. " Angel? What's wrong?" she asks, helping him to a seat. " Nothing. I'm...I'm alright." he replies, unconvicingly, " Right now, we gotta' focus on stopping Julian." Faith and Triana takes a seat, knowing that this is going to take a while.
AT THE BRONZE...
The Bronze is unusually packed for it to be a school night and all. Xander and Jacen enter, and make their way over to a pool table. " So whaddaya' think? Is this a hangout, or is this a hangout?" asks Xander. Jacen looks around. " It's alright. Could be better though." he says. Xander grabs a pool stick off of the wall. " You play?" he asks. Jacen smiles and racks the balls up. " I do a lil' somethin'." he says, taking a stick from Xander.
Up on stage Oz and his band are playing a pretty nice tune. In front of the stage is Cordelia. She looks around and spots Xander over at the pool table. She smiles, and struts over to them. " Side." says Jacen, calling his shot. He hits the cue ball with amazing accuracy, and his shot falls. " Lucky shot." says Xander, trying to cover up his envy. Cordelia comes up and leans over on the table. " Hi Xander." she says. " Hello Cordelia." he replies, annoyed. " Uh...who's your friend?" she asks, making her way around the table to Jacen, who's just staring at her in awe. " Jacen. Jacen Cartier." he says, shaking her hand. " You're new around here, aren't you?" she asks. " I guess you could say that." Jacen answers, trapped in Cordelia's eyes.
" Excuse me. We're trying to play a game here." he says. Cordelia looks into Jacen's eyes. " So am I." she says.
BACK AT BUFFY'S HOUSE...
" And this army is supposed to attack when?" asks Triana. " I'm not sure. But if I know Julian, he's not going to attack until he's sure his plan is foolproof." answers Angel. " So what can we do?" asks Buffy. " Nothing. All we can do is wait. It's Julian's move now." he replies. Faith fidgets around in her seat. " I can't wait. I wanna' stake this guy now." she says, jumping up. " Where are you going?" asks Buffy. " To find Julian." she answers, putting on her jacket. " Faith, don't." says Angel, " You're gonna' get yourself killed." Faith turns back to argue, but finds herself locking eyes with Angel. During which he silently pleads with her to stay. While she silently pleads with him to let her go. " Angel's right. If this Julian character is as bad as he says he is, we're gonna' have to work together." says Buffy. Faith, looks at her. Then Triana. Then back to Angel. " Fine. What's the plan?" she asks sitting back down.
ELSEWHERE...
Julian is once again sitting on his throne, Marlous stands nearby. " What did you find out?" asks Julian, cleaning off a dagger. " Well master, I think I might've found out where the slayers are staying." answers Marlous, proudly. " Yes, but...what about her?" his master inquires, without taking his eyes off of the dagger. Marlous takes a couple of steps back from Julian. " Master, I don't think that she's gonna' cooperate. I mean..."
" No one asked you to think, Marlous. I want her found."
"Yes master, but I need more time." says Marlous. " Fine." says Julian.
" Thank you, master." says Marlous, as he leaves the room. Julian's expression becomes one of anger. " I want that slayer!!" He throws the dagger into the wall directly in front of him. It sticks right into a picture of Buffy.
THE NEXT MORNING...
Everyone's (minus Angel) in the library. " So like Julian is Angel's brother?" asks Willow. " That's what he said." replies Buffy. " Woah, that's kinda' creepy." says Willow. Jacen wraps his arms around Triana. " I missed you, last night." he says. " I missed you too, baby." she replies. " Awww, that is so sweet." says Buffy, " How come you never say things like that Xander?" Xander looks up from the magazine he's reading. "What?" he asks. " The way I see it, we've got to find this Julian before he and his army get any larger." says Giles. " I agree. If we wait any longer, it might already be too late." reinforces Martin. " But this guy. I mean, he must be pretty powerful, right? I mean, he's Angel's brother." says Oz. " He does have a point, Giles. It's not like we're goin' up against Spike." agrees Buffy. Giles flips through the pages of a book. " Here." he says, pointing to the page he stopped on,
"Temporary solar immunity." Faith smiles. " See, I told you." she says. " It says here that during T.S.I., a vampire is immune garlic and sunlight. However, the vampire's strength is very low." reads Giles. " So all we gotta' do is get him to take the serum, come out during the day, and then stake him. Piece of cake." says Jacen. " Yeah, but first we gotta' find him, baby." says Triana.
" No we don't."
Everyone turns and looks at Xander, who has put down his magazine. " Why don't we make him come to us." he suggests. " And just how do you propose we do that?" asks Oz. Xander stands up to address the group. " Easy, " he says, " All we need is the right bait." He goes over and touches Willow on the shoulder. " I don't think I like where this is going." she says, slowly slipping away from him. "Hey, what about that girl I met last night?" asks Jacen. Triana turns around to face him. " You met a girl, last night?!" she says. " Who Cordelia?" asks Xander. " Yeah." says Jacen. Xander shakes his head. " I don't think she'd be up for it. We're kinda' not seein' eye to eye right now." he says. " Wait a minute...you saw Cordy last night?!" Buffy asks. " But Jacen...I'm sure you could get her to play along." says Oz. Jacen and Triana both look at him surprised. " How?" they ask in unison. " C'mon, don't tell me you didn't notice the way she was looking at you." says Oz. Xander thinks for a second. " He does have a point. Cordy does seem to have the hots for ya', Jacen." he adds. Willow looks at her watch. " Um I'm sorry to like interuppt this planning process, but guys we're late." she says, putting on her backpack. The rest of the group (minus Jacen, Faith and Triana), grabs their respective school materials, and start towards the door. " Uh... everyone meet back here during lunch. Meanwhile, we'll try to figure something out." says Giles. The gang heads out the door. " So you think you could get her to do it, Jacen?" asks Martin. " Yeah, I think so. I can be very persuasive right honey?." says Jacen, putting his arm around Triana. " Don't... touch me." she says, sliding out from under him. " Woah, trouble in paradise huh Jacen?" Faith asks.
MEANWHILE...
" No. The answer was no, two minutes ago. The answer is no, now. And the answer will continue to be no." says Cordelia, walking away from Xander and Willow. " Cordy wait..." he says. She stops and turns around. " Don't you call me that, Xander. At least, not anymore." she says. " What are you talking about? I used to always call you Cordy. Back when we were..." Cordelia grabs his shirt. " Don't you even think about saying it, Xander. As a matter of fact, don't even think it." she says, threateningly. " Okay, um... I hate to like break up this little love disconnection thingy, but we like really need your help Cordelia." says Willow. " Again, I say... no." says Cordelia, " You two have a real problem with hearing that word, don't you?" Cordelia walks away. Buffy walks over to her friends. " Let me guess, she said no?" she says, trying to add some humor to the situation. " Correctamundo." says Xander. " Looks like it's up to Jacen, now." says Willow.
Down the hall comes five students, all wearing black leather jackets, and dark shades. Xander notices them first. " Woah, get a load of these guys." he says, motioning towards them. " Creepy." says Willow. They walk over to the gang and stand behind Buffy. " Buffy Summers?" asks the leader. Buffy turns around.
" Yeah?" she asks. " Somebody wants to speak wit' ya'. Let's go." he says, grabbing her arm. " Sorry..." Buffy pulls away from him, " I've got other plans." Xander steps in between Buffy and the guy. " Okay, you can leave now." says Xander. " I was hoping to avoid a violent confrontation..." he says, lifting Xander into the air, " guess not." He throws Xander into the lockers. Xander hits the floor. Buffy swings at him, but he catches her arm and twists it behind her back. " Again I say... let's go." says the leader, " Bring 'em too." One of the others picks up Xander, who's unconcious. Another picks up Willow, and throws her over his shoulder. " Put me down!" she says, hitting him in his back. They continue down the hall, towards the exit.
BACK AT THE LIBRARY...
" I still say we should stake him at first sight. Don't even give him time to make a move." says Faith, carving a stake. " I'm down wit' that." says Jacen, " and besides, this whole putting Cordy in danger thing doesn't sound to friendly. Know what I'm sayin'?" Martin looks up from the book he's reading. " Oh, so it's just Cordy now huh?" asks Triana, jealously. " Triana, that's her name." says Jacen, walking toward her. " Well, actually, her name is Cordelia... but I guess that would be irrelevant." says Giles. " Look, you're gonn' have to control this jealous attitude of yours Triana." says Jacen. " Jealous? Who jealous?" asks Triana, turning away from him.
Suddenly, Cordelia bursts into the library. " Mr. Giles!" she says, rushing over to him. " Yes Cordelia, what is it?" says Giles. " This." she says, dropping a ring on the table. " What is this?" asks Giles, picking it up. " That's the ring I gave Xander for his birthday. You know, before we... well anyway, he never takes that thing off. I think something's happened to him." she says, quickly. " Looks like somebody still loves somebody." says Faith, patronizingly. " Oh yeah, and I can't find Buffy or Willow around anywhere either." says Cordelia. " Are you sure?" asks Jacen. " Yeah. I looked everywhere for Xander. He's not on campus." says Cordelia, sitting down. Martin and Giles look at each other. " I don't like this." says Martin. " Neither do I." Giles agrees, " Is it possible that Julain could have something to do with this?"
" I don't know. Kidnapping really isn't his style." says Martin. " So what are we gonna' do?" asks Faith. " The only thing we can do..." says Jacen, " wait." Cordelia nervously fidgets in her chair. Finally, she jumps up. " Well I can't wait. I'm going to find my Xander... I mean, our Xander." says Cordelia, as she starts for the door.
ELSEWHERE...
" Well, well. How nice of you to join us, Ms. Summers." says Julian, smiling evily. Buffy just looks at him, as she stuggles against her shackles. " What about them?" asks Marlous, motioning toward Willow and Xander, who are now bound and gagged. " Lock them up. I always like to keep a little insurance, when I'm conducting business." Julian answers. Marlous and two other vampires take Buffy's friends away. " I say, we haven't been properly introduced yet have we? I'm Julian. And you are..."
" Buffy... The Vampire Slayer."
" Yes I know. Such a horrid occupation." says Julian. He walks over to Buffy and looks her up and down. The other vampires, stand around awaiting further orders. " So what is this? Some kind of ancient vampirial ritual?" asks Buffy, looking around the room. Julian laughs, " No, I'm afraid not, Ms. Summers..."
" Please, call me Buffy."
" Buffy. This is more of a recruiting assignment. See, you've been chosen to lead the illustirous army you see before you, in a most horrific attack on the citizens of Sunnydale." says Julian, making his way back to his throne. " Sorta' like a feeding frenzy, huh?" asks Buffy. " Oh, how I do enjoy your irreverent sense of humor." replies Julian. Marlous enters, followed by the others. " They're all locked up, master. What's next?" he asked, taking his place by Julian's side. Julian's eyes lock with Buffy's. They stare at each other in silence. " Next, Marlous, our new general will lead us into battle. Isn't that right, Buffy?" explains Julian. Buffy smiles a somewhat devious smile. " Whatever you say, Julian." she says. Marlous watches her suspiciously. Julian stands and turns to his army. " Go and rest, my army of darkness. For at the next sunrise, mankind's journey toward extinction will begin!" he says. The army cheers for Julian, as they make their way out of the exits. " Keep an eye on her. I dont trust her yet." Julian whispers to Marlous. " Yes master."
To Be Concluded....